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The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth in Palestine,
a little less than 2,000 years ago,
gave birth to a new religious movement that would change the world forever.
Immediately after his death, considered by his followers as a sacrifice,
a small circle of disciples and followers began to spread his message and teachings,
based on love for God and neighbor.
For them, Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ or Messiah,
a divine redeemer of humanity who was reborn after death.
Christianity is essentially a monotheistic tradition based on the belief in one God,
an eternal Creator who participates actively in the world.
For Christians, God became incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, His son,
adopting a completely human form.
The belief in the Trinity,
the sacred mystery of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as one and triune God,
is the center of the Christian tradition.
Today the Christian faith is the majority religion,
with nearly 2,000 million followers all over the world.
The most important Christian doctrines are Roman Catholicism,
Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism.
Catholicism is dominant in much of Europe and Latin America.
Eastern Orthodoxy is based mainly in Eastern Europe and Russia,
while Protestantism is predominant in Britain,
the countries of northern Europe, USA and Australia.
In Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands,
the population is predominantly Christian,
Without the predomination of any doctrine.
the largest branch of Christianity is Catholicism.
Broadly speaking, Catholics accept the authority of an infallible pope,
the pope of Rome as head of the Church.
Catholic worship is focused on seven sacraments or acts that confer divine grace.
These are baptism, communion, confirmation,
penance, marriage, ordination and extreme unction.
In addition, the veneration of saints plays a major role in Catholic devotion.
The Orthodox Church rejects the concept of authority granted to a single leader.
The Orthodox churches are governed
by bishops, patriarchs, older bishops, and councils.
Its priests may marry if they do before being ordained.
Orthodox worship attaches importance to the use of icons
to promote spirituality in the sacraments.
With the figure of Martin Luther in the sixteenth century
comes the third great Christian movement, Protestantism.
Luther and his followers rejected many aspects of the Roman Church.
Even within Protestantism there are many groups;
all deny the Pope's authority and accept the primary authority of the Bible,
recognizing only the sacraments of baptism and confirmation.
For all Christians,
the Bible is their most sacred text and consists of two parts,
the Old Testament and the New.
The life of Jesus is kept mainly in the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, John and Luke.
According to the Gospels,
an archangel Gabriel appeared to *** Mary
and announces that she will miraculously conceive a divine child through the Holy Spirit.
Three Wise Men or Magi travel to the birthplace of Jesus
by following a star they believe will lead to the "King of the Jews."
The Gospels tell of the baptism of Jesus,
as an adult, at the hands of John the Baptist.
Once baptized, Jesus chose twelve mains disciples or apostles,
whose name in Greek means messenger, to help spread their message.
The stories talk about Jesus as a prophet, a miracle worker,
healing the sick, raising the dead
and turning water into wine, and multiplying loaves and fishes to feed the crowd.
Arrested in Jerusalem,
accused of proclaiming himself king of the Jews,
He was sentenced to death by crucifixion,
a common punishment in Rome for criminals and traitors,
dying on the cross few hours later.
After his death, the apostles were devoted to disseminate the teachings of Jesus.
The result of the travels of St. Paul and other disciples
was that Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire.
But until the time of Constantine in the fourth century,
Christian communities were small groups persecuted.
By the year 325, the boundaries of Christianity cover the entire Mediterranean world.
By 600, there are already many highly Christianized areas
like the Middle East, Anatolia, regions of Egypt, north of Africa
and parts of Hispania, Gaul and Italy, among others.
The expansion of the Church was based on the consecration of altars and churches,
a practice that will extend throughout the Middle Ages and the centuries.
The churches are considered by Christians as the house of God on Earth,
being the only place where the faithful gather to pray in private
or to do public acts of devotion.
In urban areas,
were the great cathedrals were in charge of spreading the Christian faith.
A magnificent building, the cathedral was not only a temple,
but also a fortress, the castle of the archbishop.
In Christianity, men and women that have accepted an extreme life
or who have died as martyrs are considered as saints.
The worship of these figures includes offerings and invocations,
and the request of healings and miracles.
The veneration of their remains was an important factor favoring the spread of Christianity,
moving the followers to make pilgrimages to the places where they are contained.
Among the most important pilgrimage centers are
Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela,
Rome and Canterbury.
Other centers have emerged in places where there have been visions of the *** Mary,
like Fatima, Lourdes or Czestochowa in Poland.
Devotion to Mary, revered as the mother of Christ,
also has a central importance,
especially in Eastern and Western churches.
From the thirteenth century it became common to refer to her as
"Our Lady", "Notre Dame" or "Madonna", consecrating to her hundreds of churches.
Mary is portrayed as a merciful and benevolent mother to the faithful sinners.
On other occasions, She is represented as the Immaculate Conception,
or it shows the time of her ascension to heaven.
In its expansion, Christianity collided with another monotheistic religion, Islam.
With the Holy Places of Palestine being occupied by Muslims, from the eleventh century,
Christianity held successive expeditions, called Crusades, to recover the places.
Another factor of the expansion of medieval Christianity were was religious orders.
San Antonio Abad is considered as the founder of these orders,
to lead a solitary life of prayer in the desert.
The Abbey of Monte Cassino, in Naples, founded by St. Benedict of Nursia,
is one of the first monasteries.
In them, monks and nuns renounce their worldly lives to devote themselves to prayer,
work or study.
Very important was also their cultural work in the Middle Ages by copying the old texts.
According to the tradition,
God gave Moses the Tablets of the Law or Ten Commandments,
the moral code governing the Christian life.
Disobeying this code involves incurring sin,
a concept that is in human nature since Adam and Eve,
the first humans created by God, broke the divine command.
Also transcendental in the Christian life are religious holidays.
Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus,
and Easter, which marks his resurrection,
are the two main festivities in the Christian year.
The cycle of life ends with death, the eternal repose,
the reward for a good and virtuous life,
while sinners will be condemned to live eternally in hell.