CHRISTIANITY

Hello guys it has been long i posted on steemit becouse i was face by so many challanges and trials which which has made me to be more devoted to my christain life .. Here is a brief history about christianity

Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as the Christ. It is the world's largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, making up a majority of the population in about two-thirds of the countries in the world. Its adherents believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Logos, and the savior of humanity, whose coming as the Messiah (Christ) was prophesied in the Old Testament, as described in the Bible.Christianity and its ethics has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization.

Christianity grew out of Judaismas a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century in the Roman province of Judea. Jesus' apostles, and their sucessors the Apostolic fathers, spread it around Syria, Europe, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Transcaucasia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Asia, despite initial persecution. After decriminalisation by the Edict of Milan (313), Emperor Constantine the Great, himself a convert, convened the First Council of Nicaea (325) where Early Christianity was consolidated into what would become the state religion of the Roman Empire (380). The First Council of Nicaea formulated the Nicene Creed (325), and the Church fathers supervised the development of the Christian biblical canons (5th century). This period during the initial of the First seven ecumenical councils is sometimes referred to as the Great Church, when the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy thrived in communion. This lasted until Oriental Orthodoxy split after the Council of Chalcedon (451) over differences in Christology, and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East–West Schism (1054) especially over the authority of the Pope. Similarly, Protestantism, while not a single but numerous denominations, later split from the Catholic Church in the Protestant Reformation (16th century) over theological and ecclesiological deviation.

While influencing Western civilisation, particularly in Europe during the Middle Ages, persecution has been an issue ever since the Roman Empire. This intensified from the Early Islamic conquests (622–750) on, around what then became the Islamic world. Yet, following the Age of Discovery (15th century), Christianity spread to the Americas, Oceania, Sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Conversely, in the Western world since the Late Modern era, various variants of state-sponosored secularist and marxist movements have been significant opponents.

Today, the four largest branches of Christianity remain the Catholic Church (1.3 billion), Protestantism (920 million), the Eastern Orthodox Church (270 million) and Oriental Orthodoxy (86 million), while variously engaging in ecumenism. Their theology and professions of faith, in addition to the Bible, generally hold in common that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, descended into hell and rose from the dead in order to grant eternal life to those who believe and trust in him for the remission of their sins. They further maintain that Jesus physically ascended into heaven, where he reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit and that he will return to judge the living and the dead and grant eternal life to his followers. His incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion and resurrection are often referred to as "the gospel", meaning "good news". Generally accepted as the Bible, describing Jesus' life and teachings, are the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with the Jewish Old Testament as the Gospel's respected background.