A message about the religion Christianity. Christianity from its origins to the present day: the essence of religion, its history and main provisions

The history of the Christian religion goes back more than two thousand years. But humanity, before giving preference to this world religion, has traveled a long historical path. Throughout it, religious ideas and beliefs were formed. Christianity is based on the doctrine of the God-man Jesus Christ, who descended from heaven to earth (incarnate in the form of a man) and accepted suffering and death in order to atone for the original sin of mankind. After death, Christ resurrected and ascended to heaven. In the future, according to Christian teaching, the second coming of Christ will occur to judge the living and the dead.

Christianity is characterized by the presence of strict commandments and rules established for its adherents. Followers of Christianity must fulfill the commandments of Christ and endure the hardships of life without complaint. For compliance and for non-compliance with all the rules, Christians are promised reward in the afterlife, as I said in the introduction, this is Eternal Life. The religious basis of Orthodoxy is the Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. The basic principles of Orthodoxy are set out in the 12 points of the creed adopted at the first two ecumenical councils. Christianity has its roots in the teachings of Jewish religious sects. Judea at the turn of our era was part of the Roman Empire and under the control of its governors. But in resolving some vital issues, primarily judicial and religious, it granted autonomy to the priesthood, headed by the high priest of the Jerusalem Temple, and to the Sanhedrin.

The second half of the first century BC and the entire first century AD were a time of continuous protests by the population of Judea against Roman rule. All these speeches were ruthlessly suppressed, which paved the way for the emergence of eschatological ideas among the oppressed Jews. ideas. The fairly stable Jewish tradition of waiting for the Messiah - a savior who will help the oppressed to free themselves from the power of foreigners - also played a role. The continuous struggle against powerful enemies for independence, devastating enemy invasions, and the increasing exploitation of the Jews led to the formation of part of the people outside their homeland.

As a result of this and other circumstances, a number of movements were formed in Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes. The first two movements were traditional. The community arose in the 2nd century. BC. In its ideas and in the organization of communities it already contained much of what was then developed in early Christianity. Information about the Essenes was replenished after the discovery of ancient manuscripts in the Qumran caves on the shores of the Dead Sea in 1947. The Essenes recognized the absoluteness of divine predestination and were distinguished by a strong belief in the immortality of the soul. Members of their sects were in opposition to official Judaism and strongly condemned slavery and trade. Gradually, the Essenes began to move away from the complex religious rituals of official Judaism. In addition to the Essene communities opposed to Judaism, other similar religious communities arose in the Diaspora. This was due to the loss of the Jews' former social and ideological unity. In the process of religious searches against the backdrop of the decline and decay of the Roman Empire, the idea of ​​equality, the idea of ​​salvation, the idea of ​​​​the possibility of obtaining and finding happiness in the other world are formed and introduced into the consciousness of believers.

Religious syncretism, as well as some philosophical ideas, played a significant role in the formation and development of early Christian beliefs. Researchers of the emergence of Christianity note, in particular, the enormous influence of the philosophical ideas of the Neoplatonists on the process of formation of the ideology of Christianity. Neoplatonism is a system of late antique idealism, which included many provisions and images of ancient religious and mythological teachings and legends. The founder of this trend in philosophy, Plotinus, systematized Plato’s objective idealism. In his theoretical constructions, he also used some of the ideas and views of Aristotle. Plotinus saw the source of being in a supernatural principle, which he thought of as a pure and simple unity, completely rejecting any multiplicity.

Christianity arose as a synthesis of Judaism, the teachings of the Stoics and some other elements of the cultural life of the Roman Empire.

Christianity arose at the crossroads of eras and cultures, was able to unite the achievements of the spiritual and practical activities of mankind and adapt them to the needs of a new civilization, leaving behind the threshold the decrepit clothes of tribal and national religious ideas and beliefs.

The new religion was a contradictory set of ideas, often not even logically consistent with each other. The Christian religion had to go through a difficult path of adaptation to the surrounding society, and society had to survive and understand the collapse of the world order, so that this religion could become dominant and state.

An important role in the formation of Christianity was played by the democracy of primitive Christianity, which manifested itself primarily in the organization of communities of believers. The emergence of primitive Christianity is due to the idea of ​​equality contained in it. The idea of ​​equality was formulated as the equality of all people as sinful “creatures” before a powerful and all-merciful God. The desire for equality, always living in the depths of the people's consciousness, helped to develop this religious system. In the early days of the existence of Christians, there was no church clergy in their communities. Christianity arose in Palestine in the 1st century AD. against the backdrop of the mystical-messianic movements of Judaism, as a religion of the oppressed and those who sought salvation from cruel conditions in the coming of the savior. The Roman Empire during this period extended from the Euphrates to the Atlantic Ocean and from North Africa to the Rhine. In 6 AD, after the death of Herod, dissatisfied with the civil strife between his sons, the Romans transferred control of Judea to the imperial procurator.

Christianity initially spread among Jews in Palestine and the countries of the Mediterranean basin, but already in the first decades of its existence it received a large number of followers from other nations. In the second half of the 1st millennium, Christianity spread among the Germanic and Slavic peoples. Until the first half of the 2nd century, Christianity was a series of communities consisting of slaves, freedmen, and artisans. In the second half of the 2nd century, Christian writers already noted the presence of noble and wealthy people in the communities.

One of the important elements of the transition of Christianity to a fundamentally new level was its break with Judaism in the 2nd century. After this, the percentage of Jews in Christian communities began to steadily decrease. At the same time, Christians abandoned the Old Testament laws: observance of the Sabbath, circumcision, and strict dietary restrictions. The expansion of Christianity and the involvement of a large number of people of different faiths in Christian communities led to the fact that Christianity of this period was not a single church, but a huge number of trends, groupings, and theological schools. The situation was complicated by a large number of heresies, the number of which by the end of the 2nd century, the church historian of the end of the 4th century, Philastrius, puts the number at 156. In the second half of the 3rd century, the process of further centralization of the church took place, and by the beginning of the 4th century, several metropolises emerged from the existing dioceses, each of which united a group dioceses. Large church centers were created in the most important political centers of the empire, primarily in the capitals. Christians accepted everyone who came to them and did not hide their belonging to the new religion. Thanks to the rich who came to them, a clergy gradually appeared - permanent ministers of worship and property managers. This is how it came about:

elders(elders)

deacons (ministers),

bishops(wardens).

The clergy soon declared himself the sole bearer of divine grace and subsequently secured this function for himself through church teaching and church laws.

The clergy traced their monopoly on divine grace to the twelve apostles - the disciples of Jesus Christ himself. The general crisis of the ancient worldview and the oppression of imperial power contributed to the entry into the ranks of the new faith of an increasing number of rich and educated people. Naturally, it was they, more educated and experienced in management, who took strong positions in the leadership of many communities.

The strengthening of their positions was facilitated by the hope of the imminent second coming of the Savior. Individual church leaders began to advocate the autocracy of bishops, who later became leaders of communities in all matters, including doctrine. In 323, the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital east to the city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople. By order of Emperor Constantine, the First Ecumenical Council was convened in 325.

By the providence of God, the Life-Giving Cross was miraculously found in 326 by Constantine’s mother, the holy Queen Helena. At the beginning of the 4th century, Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire. At this time, the church organization is strengthened and the church hierarchy is formalized, the highest part of which is the episcopate.

Until the 5th century, the spread of Christianity occurred mainly within the geographical boundaries of the Roman Empire, as well as in its sphere of influence - Armenia, Ethiopia, and Syria.

Since the 7th century. Christianity collides with Islam and loses almost all of Africa and the Middle East. In the 11th century, as a result of the division of churches, the unified Christian Church split into Catholicism and the Eastern Church. The Eastern Church, in turn, fragmented into many churches, where the largest today is the Orthodox Church. In the XIII - XIV centuries, Christianity spread among the Baltic peoples. By the 14th century, Christianity had almost completely conquered Europe, and from that time on it began to spread outside Europe. In the 16th century, another direction of Christianity appeared in Europe - Protestantism. The emergence of Protestantism is associated with the Reformation - a powerful anti-Catholic movement. By the beginning of the 21st century, the number of Christians worldwide exceeds 1.5 billion, of whom about half live in Europe.

Wednesday, 18 Sep. 2013

The Greek-Catholic Orthodox (Right Faithful) Church (now the Russian Orthodox Church) began to be called Orthodox Slavic only on September 8, 1943 (approved by Stalin’s decree in 1945). What then was called Orthodoxy for several millennia?

“In our time, in modern Russian vernacular in official, scientific and religious designation, the term “Orthodoxy” is applied to anything related to the ethnocultural tradition and is necessarily associated with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Christian Judeo-Christian religion.

To a simple question: “What is Orthodoxy,” any modern person, without hesitation, will answer that Orthodoxy is the Christian faith that Kievan Rus adopted during the reign of Prince Vladimir the Red Sun from the Byzantine Empire in 988 AD. And that Orthodoxy, i.e. The Christian faith has existed on Russian soil for more than a thousand years. Historical scientists and Christian theologians, in support of their words, declare that the earliest use of the word Orthodoxy on the territory of Rus' is recorded in the “Sermon on Law and Grace” of the 1037-1050s of Metropolitan Hilarion.

But was it really so?

We advise you to carefully read the preamble to the federal law on freedom of conscience and on religious associations, adopted on September 26, 1997. Note the following points in the preamble: “Recognizing the special role Orthodoxy in Russia...and further respecting Christianity , Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and other religions..."

Thus, the concepts of Orthodoxy and Christianity are not identical and carry within them completely different concepts and meanings.

Orthodoxy. How historical myths appeared

It is worth wondering who participated in the seven councils Judeo-Christian churches? Orthodox holy fathers or still Orthodox holy fathers, as indicated in the original Word on Law and Grace? Who and when made the decision to replace one concept with another? And was there ever any mention of Orthodoxy in the past?

The answer to this question was given by the Byzantine monk Belisarius in 532 AD. Long before the baptism of Rus', this is what he wrote in his Chronicles about the Slavs and their ritual of visiting the bathhouse: “Orthodox Slovenians and Rusyns are wild people, and their life is wild and godless, men and girls lock themselves together in a hot, heated hut and wear out their bodies... »

We will not pay attention to the fact that for the monk Belisarius the usual visit to the bathhouse by the Slavs seemed something wild and incomprehensible; this is quite natural. Something else is important for us. Pay attention to how he called the Slavs: Orthodox Slovenians and Rusyns.

For this one phrase alone we must express our gratitude to him. Since with this phrase the Byzantine monk Belisarius confirms that the Slavs were Orthodox for many thousands years before their conversion to Judeo-Christian faith.

The Slavs were called Orthodox because they RIGHT was praised.

What is "RIGHT"?

Our ancestors believed that reality, the cosmos, is divided into three levels. And this is also very similar to the Indian system of division: Upper world, Middle world and Lower world.

In Rus' these three levels were called:

• The highest level is the level of Government or Edit.
• The second, middle level is Reality.
• And the lowest level is Nav. Nav or Non-reality, unmanifested.

• World Rule- this is a world where everything is right or ideal higher world. This is a world where ideal beings with higher consciousness live.
• Reality- this is ours, the manifest, obvious world, the world of people.
• And peace Navi or do not appear, unmanifest is the negative, unmanifested or lower or posthumous world.

The Indian Vedas also speak of the existence of three worlds:

• The upper world is a world where the energy of goodness dominates.
• The middle world is engulfed in passion.
• The lower world is immersed in ignorance.

Christians do not have such a division. The Bible is silent about this.

Such a similar understanding of the world gives similar motivation in life, i.e. it is necessary to strive for the world of Rule or Goodness. And in order to get into the world of Rule, you need to do everything correctly, i.e. according to God's law.

Words such as “truth” come from the root “rule.” Is it true- what gives the right. " Yes" is "to give", and " edit" - this is "highest". So, " Truth" - this is what the government gives.

If we talk not about faith, but about the word “Orthodoxy”, then of course it was borrowed by the church(according to various estimates in the 13th-16th centuries) from “those who glorify the rule”, i.e. from ancient Russian Vedic cults.

If only for the following reasons:

• a) it was rare that an Old Russian name did not contain a piece of “glory”,
• b) that the Sanskrit, Vedic word “prav” (spiritual world) is still contained in such modern Russian words as: right, right, righteous, right, rule, management, correction, government, right, wrong. The roots of all these words are " rights».

“Right” or “rule”, i.e. highest beginning. The point is that the basis of real management should be the concept of Rule or the highest reality. And real governance should spiritually elevate those who follow the ruler, leading his wards along the paths of rule.

• Details in the article: Philosophical and cultural similarities of Ancient Rus' and Ancient India .

Substitution of the name "Orthodoxy" is not "Orthodoxy"

The question is, who and when on Russian soil decided to replace the terms orthodoxy with Orthodoxy?

This happened in the 17th century, when Moscow Patriarch Nikon instituted church reform. The main goal of this reform by Nikon was not to change the rituals of the Christian Church, as it is interpreted now, where everything supposedly comes down to replacing the two-fingered sign of the cross with a three-fingered one and walking the procession in the other direction. The main goal of the reform was the destruction of dual faith on Russian soil.

Nowadays, few people know that before the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Muscovy, dual faith existed on Russian lands. In other words, the common people professed not only orthodoxy, i.e. Greek Rite Christianity, which came from Byzantium, but also the old pre-Christian faith of their ancestors ORTHODOXY. This was what most worried Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and his spiritual mentor, Christian Patriarch Nikon, for the Orthodox Old Believers lived by their own principles and did not recognize any authority over themselves.

Patriarch Nikon decided to put an end to dual faith in a very original way. To do this, under the guise of reform in the church, allegedly due to the discrepancy between the Greek and Slavic texts, he ordered to rewrite all liturgical books, replacing the phrases “orthodox Christian faith” with “Orthodox Christian faith.” In the Chetiy Menaia that have survived to this day, we can see the old version of the entry “Orthodox Christian Faith.” This was Nikon’s very interesting approach to the matter of reform.

Firstly, there was no need to rewrite many ancient Slavic, as they called then, charati books, or chronicles, which described the victories and achievements of pre-Christian Orthodoxy.

Secondly, life during the times of dual faith and the very original meaning of Orthodoxy were erased from the memory of the people, because after such a church reform, any text from liturgical books or ancient chronicles could be interpreted as the beneficial influence of Christianity on Russian lands. In addition, the Patriarch sent out a reminder to Moscow churches about the use of the three-finger sign of the cross instead of the two-finger sign.

Thus began the reform, as well as the protest against it, which led to a church schism. The protest against Nikon's church reforms was organized by the patriarch's former comrades, archpriests Avvakum Petrov and Ivan Neronov. They pointed out to the patriarch the arbitrariness of his actions, and then in 1654 he organized a Council at which, as a result of pressure on the participants, he sought to carry out a book review of ancient Greek and Slavic manuscripts. However, for Nikon, the comparison was not with the old rituals, but with the modern Greek practice of that time. All the actions of Patriarch Nikon led to the fact that the church split into two warring parts.

Supporters of the old traditions accused Nikon of a trilingual heresy and indulgence in paganism, as Christians called Orthodoxy, that is, the old pre-Christian faith. The split spread throughout the country. This led to the fact that in 1667 a large Moscow council condemned and deposed Nikon, and anathematized all opponents of the reforms. Since then, adherents of new liturgical traditions began to be called Nikonians, and adherents of old rituals and traditions began to be called schismatics and persecuted. The confrontation between the Nikonians and the schismatics at times led to armed clashes until the tsarist troops came out on the side of the Nikonians. In order to avoid a large-scale religious war, part of the highest clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate condemned some provisions of Nikon’s reforms.

The term Orthodoxy began to be used again in liturgical practices and government documents. For example, let us turn to the spiritual regulations of Peter the Great: “...And as a Christian Sovereign, he is the guardian of orthodoxy and all piety in the Holy Church...”

As we see, even in the 18th century, Peter the Great was called the Christian sovereign, the guardian of Orthodoxy and piety. But there is not a word about Orthodoxy in this document. It is not in the editions of the Spiritual Regulations of 1776-1856.

Thus, the “church” reform of Patriarch Nikon was clearly carried out against the traditions and foundations of the Russian people, against Slavic rituals, not church ones.

In general, the “reform” marks the milestone from which a sharp decline in faith, spirituality and morality begins in Russian society. Everything new in rituals, architecture, icon painting, and singing is of Western origin, which is also noted by civilian researchers.

The “church” reforms of the mid-17th century were directly related to religious construction. The order to strictly follow the Byzantine canons put forward the requirement to build churches “with five peaks, and not with a tent.”

Tent-roofed buildings (with a pyramidal top) were known in Rus' even before the adoption of Christianity. This type of building is considered originally Russian. That is why Nikon, with his reforms, took care of such “trifles”, because this was a real “pagan” trace among the people. Under the threat of the death penalty, craftsmen and architects managed to preserve the tent shape of temple buildings and secular ones. Despite the fact that it was necessary to build domes with onion-shaped domes, the general shape of the structure was made pyramidal. But not everywhere it was possible to deceive the reformers. These were mainly the northern and remote areas of the country.

Nikon did everything possible and impossible to ensure that the true Slavic heritage disappeared from the vastness of Rus', and with it the Great Russian People.

Now it becomes obvious that there were no grounds at all for carrying out church reform. The reasons were completely different and had nothing to do with the church. This is, first of all, the destruction of the spirit of the Russian people! Culture, heritage, the great past of our people. And this was done by Nikon with great cunning and meanness.

Nikon simply “planted a pig” on the people, so much so that we, the Russians, still have to remember in parts, literally bit by bit, who we are and our Great Past.

But was Nikon the instigator of these transformations? Or maybe there were completely different people behind him, and Nikon was only a performer? And if this is so, then who are these “men in black” who were so disturbed by the Russian man with his many thousands of years of great past?

The answer to this question was outlined very well and in detail by B.P. Kutuzov in the book “The Secret Mission of Patriarch Nikon”. Despite the fact that the author does not fully understand the true goals of the reform, we must give him credit for how clearly he exposed the true customers and implementers of this reform.

• Details in the article: The great scam of Patriarch Nikon. How Nikita Minin killed Orthodoxy

Education of the Russian Orthodox Church

Based on this, the question arises: when did the term Orthodoxy begin to be officially used by the Christian Church?

The fact is that in the Russian Empire did not have Russian Orthodox Church. The Christian Church existed under a different name - “Russian Greek Catholic Church”. Or as it was also called “Russian Orthodox Church of the Greek Rite”.

Christian church called The Russian Orthodox Church appeared during the reign of the Bolsheviks.

At the beginning of 1945, by order of Joseph Stalin, a local council of the Russian church was held in Moscow under the leadership of responsible persons from the State Security of the USSR and a new Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' was elected.

• Details in the article: How Stalin created the Russian Orthodox Church MP [video]

It should be mentioned that many Christian priests, those who did not recognize the power of the Bolsheviks left Russia and beyond its borders they continue to profess Christianity of the Eastern Rite and call their church nothing more than Russian Orthodox Church or Russian Orthodox Church.

In order to finally move away from well crafted historical myth and to find out what the word Orthodoxy really meant in ancient times, let us turn to those people who still keep the old faith of their ancestors.

Having received their education in Soviet times, these learned men either do not know or carefully try to hide from ordinary people that in ancient times, long before the birth of Christianity, Orthodoxy existed in the Slavic lands. It covered not only the basic concept when our wise ancestors glorified the Rule. And the deep essence of Orthodoxy was much larger and more voluminous than it seems today.

The figurative meaning of this word also included the concept of when our ancestors The right was praised. But it was not Roman law or Greek law, but ours, our native Slavic law.

It included:

• Family Law, based on the ancient cultural traditions, laws and foundations of the Family;
• Communal law, creating mutual understanding between various Slavic clans living together in one small settlement;
• Cop law which regulated the interaction between communities living in large settlements, which were cities;
• Vesi law, which determined the relationships between communities living in different cities and settlements within the same Vesi, i.e. within one area of ​​settlement and residence;
• Veche law, which was adopted at a general meeting of all the people and was observed by all clans of the Slavic community.

Any Right from the Tribal to the Veche was established on the basis of the ancient Laws, the culture and foundations of the Family, as well as on the basis of the commandments of the ancient Slavic gods and the instructions of the ancestors. This was our native Slavic Right.

Our wise ancestors commanded to preserve it, and we preserve it. Since ancient times, our ancestors glorified the Rule and we continue to glorify the Rule, and we preserve our Slavic Right and pass it on from generation to generation.

Therefore, we and our ancestors were, are and will be Orthodox.

Substitution on Wikipedia

Modern interpretation of the term ORTHODOX = Orthodox, appeared on Wikipedia only after this resource switched to funding from the UK government. In fact, Orthodoxy is translated as rightVerie, Orthodox is translated as orthodox.

Either, Wikipedia, continuing the idea of ​​​​the “identity” Orthodoxy = Orthodoxy, should call Muslims and Jews Orthodox (for the terms Orthodox Muslim or Orthodox Jew are found throughout world literature) or still admit that Orthodoxy = Orthodoxy and in no way relates to Orthodoxy, as well as the Christian Church of the Eastern Rite, called the Russian Orthodox Church since 1945.

Orthodoxy is not a religion, not Christianity, but a faith

By the way, on many of his icons it is written in implicit letters: MARY LIK. Hence the original name of the area in honor of the face of Mary: Marlykian. So in fact this bishop was Nicholas of Marlikiysky. And his city, which was originally called “ Mary"(that is, the city of Mary), is now called Bari. There was a phonetic replacement of sounds.

Bishop Nicholas of Myra - Nicholas the Wonderworker

However, now Christians do not remember these details, hushing up the Vedic roots of Christianity. For now Jesus in Christianity is interpreted as the God of Israel, although Judaism does not consider him a god. But Christianity says nothing about the fact that Jesus Christ, as well as his apostles, are different faces of Yar, although this is read on many icons. The name of the god Yara is also read on Shroud of Turin .

At one time, Vedism reacted very calmly and brotherly to Christianity, seeing in it simply a local outgrowth of Vedism, for which there is a name: paganism (that is, an ethnic variety), like Greek paganism with another name Yara - Ares, or Roman, with the name Yara is Mars, or with the Egyptian, where the name Yar or Ar was read in the opposite direction, Ra. In Christianity, Yar became Christ, and Vedic temples made icons and crosses of Christ.

And only over time, under the influence of political, or rather geopolitical reasons, Christianity was opposed to Vedism, and then Christianity saw manifestations of “paganism” everywhere and waged a struggle with it not to the stomach, but to the death. In other words, he betrayed his parents, his heavenly patrons, and began to preach humility and submission.

The Judeo-Christian religion not only does not teach a worldview, but also prevents the acquisition of ancient knowledge, declaring it heresy. Thus, at first, instead of the Vedic way of life, stupid worship was imposed, and in the 17th century, after the Nikonian reform, the meaning of Orthodoxy was replaced.

The so-called "Orthodox Christians", although they have always been true believers, because Orthodoxy and Christianity are completely different essences and principles.

• Details in the article: V.A. Chudinov - Proper education .

Currently, the concept of "paganism" exists only as an antithesis to Christianity, and not as an independent figurative form. For example, when the Nazis attacked the USSR, they called the Russians “Rusishe Schweine”, so why should we now, imitating the fascists, call ourselves “Rusishe Schweine”?

A similar misunderstanding occurs with paganism; neither the Russian people (our ancestors) nor our spiritual leaders (magi or brahmans) ever called themselves “pagans.”

The Jewish form of thinking needed to vulgarize and mutilate the beauty of the Russian Vedic system of values, so a powerful pagan (“pagan”, filthy) project arose.

Neither the Russians nor the Magi of Rus' ever called themselves pagans.

The concept of "paganism" is a purely Jewish concept, which the Jews used to designate all non-biblical religions. (And as we know, there are three biblical religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And they all have one common source - the Bible).

• Details in the article: There has NEVER been paganism in Rus'!

Secret writing on Russian and modern Christian icons

Thus Christianity within ALL Rus' was adopted not in 988, but in the interval between 1630 and 1635.

The study of Christian icons made it possible to identify sacred texts on them. Explicit inscriptions cannot be included among them. But they absolutely include implicit inscriptions associated with Russian Vedic gods, temples and priests (memes).

On the old Christian icons of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus there are Russian inscriptions in runes, saying that they depict the Slavic Goddess Makosh with the baby God Yar. Jesus Christ was also called HOR OR HORUS. Moreover, the name CHOR on the mosaic depicting Christ in the Church of Christ Choir in Istanbul is written like this: “NHOR”, that is, ICHOR. The letter I used to be written as N. The name IGOR is almost identical to the name IHOR OR CHORUS, since the sounds X and G could transform into each other. By the way, it is possible that the respectful name HERO came from here, which later entered many languages ​​practically unchanged.

And then the need to disguise Vedic inscriptions becomes clear: their discovery on icons could entail accusing the icon painter of belonging to the Old Believers, and this could result in punishment in the form of exile or the death penalty.

On the other hand, as is now becoming obvious, the absence of Vedic inscriptions made the icon a non-sacred artifact. In other words, it was not so much the presence of narrow noses, thin lips and large eyes that made the image sacred, but it was the connection with the god Yar in the first place and with the goddess Mara in the second place through reference implicit inscriptions that added magical and miraculous properties to the icon. Therefore, icon painters, if they wanted to make an icon miraculous, and not a simple piece of art, were obliged to supply any image with the words: FACE OF YAR, MIM OF YAR AND MARA, TEMPLE OF MARA, YAR TEMPLE, YAR Rus', etc.

Nowadays, when persecution on religious charges has ceased, the icon painter no longer risks his life and property by applying implicit inscriptions to modern icon paintings. Therefore, in a number of cases, namely in the cases of mosaic icons, he no longer tries to hide this kind of inscription as much as possible, but transfers them to the category of semi-explicit.

Thus, using Russian material, the reason was revealed why explicit inscriptions on icons moved into the category of semi-explicit and implicit: the ban on Russian Vedism, which followed from. However, this example gives rise to the assumption of the same motives for masking obvious inscriptions on coins.

This idea can be expressed in more detail as follows: once upon a time, the body of a deceased priest (mime) was accompanied by a funeral golden mask, on which there were all the corresponding inscriptions, but not very large and not very contrasting, so as not to destroy the aesthetic perception of the mask. Later, instead of a mask, smaller objects began to be used - pendants and plaques, which also depicted the face of the deceased mime with corresponding discreet inscriptions. Even later, portraits of mimes migrated to coins. And this kind of image was preserved as long as spiritual power was considered the most significant in society.

However, when power became secular, passing to military leaders - princes, leaders, kings, emperors, images of government officials, not mimes, began to be minted on coins, while images of mimes migrated to icons. At the same time, secular power, being more coarse, began to mint its own inscriptions weightily, roughly, visibly, and obvious legends appeared on coins. With the emergence of Christianity, such explicit inscriptions began to appear on icons, but they were no longer written in the runes of the Family, but in the Old Slavonic Cyrillic script. In the West, the Latin script was used for this.

Thus, in the West there was a similar, but still somewhat different motive, why the implicit inscriptions of mimes did not become explicit: on the one hand, aesthetic tradition, on the other hand, the secularization of power, that is, the transition of the function of managing society from priests to military leaders and officials.

This allows us to consider icons, as well as sacred sculptures of gods and saints, as substitutes for those artifacts that acted as carriers of sacred properties before: golden masks and plaques. On the other hand, icons existed before, but did not affect the sphere of finance, remaining entirely within religion. Therefore, their production has experienced a new heyday.

• Details in the article: Secret writing on Russian and modern Christian icons [video] .

A message about Christianity will briefly tell you a lot of useful information about one of the most influential religions in the world. The report on Christianity can be used during preparation for classes.

Message about Christianity

Christianity is an ancient religion whose history goes back more than 2000 years. Together with Islam and Buddhism, it is one of the world religions. Approximately 1/3 of the planet's inhabitants profess Christianity.

The religion originated in the 1st century AD. The territory where Christianity spread was the Roman Empire. More precisely, here the opinions of scientists are divided. Some believe that his homeland is Palestine, while others believe that the Jewish diaspora in Greece.

Prerequisites for the emergence of Christianity

Already by the 1st century BC. The Mediterranean was under the rule of the Roman Empire. She owned a large number of colonies, in which many nationalities lived, professing their own religious beliefs. For a long time there was no single religion in the vast empire. In 63 BC, Rome captured Judea and Syria. Jerusalem also became part of the empire. The people living in these territories professed an earlier Christianity, which, having no written sources, existed at first only in oral tradition. With the appearance of the first Christian documents “The Revelation of John” and “The Epistles of Paul” in the 1st century, persecution of the first Christians began by Emperor Nero. They were considered dissidents because they believed not in a pantheon of gods, but in a single savior.

After the execution under Tiberius of Jesus Christ, from whose name the name of the religion was derived, a superstition “harmful” for Rome began to spread throughout the empire itself. Christians were persecuted, mocked, given over to be torn to pieces by wild animals, crucified on crosses, burned at night to illuminate the streets. But it was not possible to suppress the spread of Christianity - political and social oppression by the colonial empire gave birth in the minds of people to the idea of ​​the existence of God, who, through the path of repentance in earthly life, will give life in paradise in heaven.

Until the 5th century, Christianity covered the geographical boundaries of the entire Roman Empire and the spheres of its cultural influence - Armenia, Ethiopia. Then it spread among the Slavic and Germanic peoples. In the XIII-XIV centuries, the religion was practiced by the Finnish and Baltic peoples. In modern times, its spread beyond Europe was facilitated by the activities of missionaries and colonial expansion.

Christianity basic ideas

Briefly, all the ideas of Christianity come down to the following:

1. God created the world - this is the main position of Christianity. This happened in 5508 BC (according to some sources).
2. Man has a spark of God - a soul. It is eternal and does not die after the death of the body. The first people created by God were given a pure and unclouded soul. But when Eve ate an apple from the tree of knowledge and gave it to Adam, original sin arose.
3. Original sin, which lies on all people, after the life of Adam and Eve, was atoned for by the death of Christ. A person leads a sinful life, violating the 7 commandments of God (pride, gluttony, reverence for neighbors, etc.)
4. To atone for sins, it is necessary to lead a righteous life - not to break God’s laws, repent of what you have done and pray for the redemption of the soul.
5. If a person leads an unrighteous life, then after death he will go to hell.
6. God is merciful. He forgives all sins committed if a person sincerely repents of what he has done.
7. The world is awaiting the Last Judgment, when the Son of Man will come to earth again and judge the dead and the living, separating the sinners from the righteous. And the end of the world will come.

Directions and currents of Christianity

Directions of modern Christianity:

1. Catholicism.This is the western branch of the religion, which was formed in 1054. The Church is headed by the Pope.
2. Orthodoxy. This is the eastern part of Christianity. Unlike Catholics, it does not have a single center and is divided into 15 independent churches.
3. Protestantism. This trend appeared in the 16th century during the European Reformation. Its founder was Martin Luther. Protestantism has several movements:

• Lutheranism. Originated in the 16th century. Founder Martin Luther. Recognize liturgy, baptism and communion.
• Baptistism. It arose at the beginning of the 17th century. Founder John Smith. The main idea is that only adults who have consciously made their choice can be baptized. Rituals: marriage, baptism, communion and ordination.
• Pentecostalism.Arose in the 19th century in the USA. Recognizes the baptism of adults only. It is based on the belief that after Easter (on the 50th day) every Christian can receive various abilities from the Holy Spirit.
• Advendism. It arose in the 30s of the nineteenth century in the USA. Founder William Mueller. Lots of restrictions on relationships and food. They honor the Sabbath and engage in missionary activities.
• Jehovah witnesses. It arose in the 70s of the nineteenth century in the USA. Founder Charles Taze Russell.
• Calvinism. Founder John Calvin. The goal of a Christian is conscientious work and worldly asceticism.

We hope that the message about Christianity helped you learn many interesting facts about one of the dominant religions in the world. A short story about Christianity can be supplemented through the comment form below.

The most powerful, influential and numerous of all the main ones existing today, ahead of Buddhism and Islam, is Christianity. The essence of religion, which breaks down into so-called churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and others), as well as many sects, lies in the veneration and worship of one divine being, in other words, the God-man, whose name is Jesus Christ. Christians believe that he is the true son of God, that he is the Messiah, that he was sent to Earth for the salvation of the world and all humanity.

The religion of Christianity originated in distant Palestine in the first century AD. e. Already in the first years of its existence it had many adherents. The main reason for the emergence of Christianity, according to clergy, was the preaching activity of a certain Jesus Christ, who, being essentially a half-god, half-man, came to us in human form in order to bring people the truth, and even scientists do not deny his existence. About the first coming of Christ (the second of the Christian world is just awaiting) four sacred books have been written, which are called the Gospels. The sacred writings written by his apostles (Matthew, John, as well as Mark and Luke, disciples of the other two and Peter) tell about the miraculous birth of the boy Jesus in the glorious city of Bethlehem, about how he grew up, how he began to preach.

The main ideas of his new religious teaching were the following: the belief that he, Jesus, really is the Messiah, that he is the son of God, that there will be his second coming, there will be the end of the world and the resurrection from the dead. With his sermons, he called for loving one's neighbors and helping those in need. His Divine origin was proven by the miracles with which he accompanied his teachings. Many sick people were healed by his word or touch, he raised the dead three times, walked on water, turned it into wine and fed about five thousand people with just two fish and five cakes.

He expelled all merchants from the Jerusalem Temple, thereby showing that dishonest people have no place in holy and noble deeds. Then there was the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, accusations of deliberate blasphemy and brazen encroachment on the royal throne and a death sentence. He died, being crucified on the cross, having taken upon himself torment for all human sins. Three days later, Jesus Christ was resurrected and then ascended to heaven. About the religion Christianity says the following: there are two places, two special spaces that are inaccessible to people during earthly life. and paradise. Hell is a place of terrible torment, located somewhere in the bowels of the earth, and heaven is a place of universal bliss, and only God himself will decide who is sent where.

The religion of Christianity is based on several dogmas. The first is that the Second is that he is trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The birth of Jesus occurred by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; God became incarnate in the Virgin Mary. Jesus was crucified and then died to atone for human sins, after which he was resurrected. At the end of time Christ will come to judge the world and the dead will rise. Divine and human natures are inextricably united in the image of Jesus Christ.

All religions of the world have certain canons and commandments, but Christianity preaches to love God with all your heart, and also to love your neighbor as yourself. Without loving your neighbor, you cannot love God.

The religion of Christianity has its adherents in almost every country, half of all Christians are concentrated in Europe, including Russia, one quarter in North America, one sixth in South America, and significantly fewer believers in Africa, Australia and

The history of Christianity goes back more than two thousand years. Along with Buddhism and Islam, it is one of the three world religions. About a third of the world's inhabitants profess Christianity in all its varieties.

Christianity arose in the 1st century. AD on the territory of the Roman Empire. There is no consensus among researchers about the exact place of origin of Christianity. Some believe that this happened in Palestine, which was at that time part of the Roman Empire; others suggest that it happened in the Jewish diaspora in Greece.

The Bible paints such a picture of the emergence of a new religion. In the days of King Herod, a son, Jesus, was born to a simple girl, Mary, in the city of Bethlehem. It was a miracle, since he was born not from an earthly father, but from the “holy spirit” and was not a man, but a god. Eastern astrologers learned about this event by the movement of a star in the sky. Following her and noticing the place where she stopped, they found the desired house, found the newborn, in whom they recognized the Messiah (in Greek - Christ) - God's anointed one, and presented him with gifts.

When Jesus, it is further narrated, matured, he gathered around himself a circle of 12 trusted people - disciples (in the New Testament they are called apostles) and, making repeated rounds of the cities and villages of Palestine with them, preached a new religion brought to him from heaven. At the same time, he performed miracles: he walked on water as if on dry land, healed, and much more.

Christianity belongs to one of the three largest world religions. In terms of the number of adherents and the area of ​​distribution, Christianity is several times larger than Islam and Buddhism. The basis of the religion is the recognition of Jesus of Nazareth as the messiah, belief in his resurrection and adherence to his teachings. It took a long time before Christianity became established.

Christianity began to penetrate Rus' at the end of the 10th century. In 988, Prince Vladimir declared the Byzantine branch of Christianity the state religion of Kievan Rus. Previously, the Slavic tribes that inhabited the territory of the ancient Russian state were pagans who deified the forces of nature. By the end of the 10th century, pagan religion, divided into the beliefs of individual Slavic tribes and sanctifying tribal fragmentation, began to hinder the strengthening of the centralized power of the Kyiv prince. In addition, there was a growing need to bring the ancient Russian state closer to the European peoples, to Byzantium, where Christianity dominated and with which Kievan Rus enjoyed brisk trade. Under these conditions, Prince Vladimir carried out the “baptism of Rus'” and introduced Christianity instead of the pagan religion.

Temples and idols were abandoned to destruction and destruction. Many Kiev residents did not want to accept the new faith. They were forcibly driven to the Dnieper and to one of the outskirts of ancient Kyiv (now Khreshchatyk). and baptized, driving him into the water.

Orthodoxy is not Christianity

The Greek-Catholic Orthodox (Right Faithful) Church (now the Russian Orthodox Church) began to be called Orthodox Slavic only on September 8, 1943 (approved by Stalin’s decree in 1945). What then was called Orthodoxy for several millennia?

“In our time, in modern Russian vernacular in official, scientific and religious designation, the term “Orthodoxy” is applied to anything related to the ethnocultural tradition and is necessarily associated with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Christian Judeo-Christian religion.

To a simple question: “What is Orthodoxy,” any modern person will answer without hesitation that Orthodoxy is the Christian faith that Kievan Rus adopted during the reign of Prince Vladimir the Red Sun from the Byzantine Empire in 988 AD. And that Orthodoxy, i.e. The Christian faith has existed on Russian soil for more than a thousand years.