Christianity

Christianity In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire. Under Ottoman rule the Greek Orthodox Church acquired substantial power as an autonomous //millet//. The ecumenical patriarch was the religious and administrative ruler of the entire "Greek Orthodox nation" (Ottoman administrative unit), which encompassed all the Eastern Orthodox subjects of the Empire. As a result of the Ottoman conquest and the fall of Constantinople, the entire Orthodox communion of the Balkans and the Near East became suddenly isolated from the West. It became confined within a hostile Islamic world, with which it had little in common religiously or culturally. For the next four hundred years, it would be confined within a hostile Islamic world, with which it had little in common religiously or culturally. This is, in part, due to this geographical and intellectual confinement that the voice of Eastern Orthodoxy was not heard during the Reformation in sixteenth century Europe. As a result, this important theological debate often seems strange and distorted to the Orthodox. They never took part in it and thus neither Reformation nor Counter-Reformation is part of their theological framework. Religious rights under the Ottoman Empire The new Ottoman government that arose from the ashes of Byzantine civilisation was neither primitive nor barbaric. Islam not only recognised Jesus as a great prophet, but tolerated Christians as another People of the Book. As such, the Church was not extinguished nor was its canonical and hierarchical organisation significantly disrupted. Its administration continued to function. One of the first things that Mehmet the Conqueror did was to allow the Church to elect a new patriarch, Gennadius Scholarius. The Hagia Sophia and the Parthenon, which had been Christian churches for nearly a millennium were, admittedly, converted into mosques, yet countless other churches, both in Constantinople and elsewhere, remained in Christian hands. Moreover, it is striking that the patriarch's and the hierarchy's position was considerably strengthened and their power increased. They were endowed with civil as well as ecclesiastical power over all Christians in Ottoman territories. Because Islamic law makes no distinction between nationality and religion, all Christians, regardless of their language or nationality, were considered a single millet, or nation. The patriarch, as the highest ranking hierarch, was thus invested with civil and religious authority and made ethnarch, head of the entire Christian Orthodox population. Practically, this meant that all Orthodox Churches within Ottoman territory were under the control of Constantinople. Thus, the authority and jurisdictional frontiers of the patriarch were enormously enlarged. However, these rights and privileges (see Dhimmitude), including freedom of worship and religious organisation, were often established in principle but seldom corresponded to reality. The legal privileges of the patriarch and the Church depended, in fact, on the whim and mercy of the Sultan and the Sublime Porte, while all Christians were viewed as little more than second-class citizens. Moreover, Turkish corruption and brutality were not a myth. That it was the "infidel" Christian who experienced this more than anyone else is not in doubt. Nor were pogroms of Christians in these centuries unknown (see Greco-Turkish relations). Devastating, too, for the Church was the fact that it could not bear witness to Christ. Missionary work among Moslems was dangerous and indeed impossible, whereas conversion to Islam was entirely legal and permissible. Converts to Islam who returned to Orthodoxy were put to death as apostates. No new churches could be built and even the ringing of church bells was prohibited. Education of the clergy and the Christian population either ceased altogether or was reduced to the most rudimentary elements. So christians believe that there is one god. They also believe that he create the universe and continues to care for it. Christianity also teaches that god sent the messiah, to help people fulfill their religeous duties. They also teach that after Jesus earthly life God's presence remained on earth in the form of the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost. There beliefe is that there is three persons The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. They are known as the doctrine of the Trinity. Most Christians v iew Jesus as God incarnate. Incarnate means that is, a divine being who tooks on the humman appearance and characterstics of a man.they also believe that jesus is the Savior who died to save humanity from sin. In terms of Jesus being dead made it made salvation and eternal life possible for others. Judea was a cross-cultura Mecca of bustiling cities and farms. People believed that god was a jew, but only jews thought that. The jews at that time hated that roman ruled. The emperor of rome was the ruler. Also the polytheistic cultural beliefs of rome were also pagan and intrusive to jews. Right now there is alot of beliefs in chritianity.