Christian Church

This article is about the universal religious institution. For general information about Christianity or information about specific Christian denominations, see the appropriate page. For other uses, see Church (disambiguation).

A Christian Church is a set group of Christians. They meet together to practice Christianity. "The Church" can also mean all Christians everywhere, also called the Catholic Church. It means every person who has ever accepted or ever will accept the Christian Faith.

The idea is that all these people together make up one "body" called "the Church". "The Church" (in this sense) is not thought of by Christians as an ordinary human organisation. It is thought of as being part of God's way to bring people close to him. "The Church" was begun by Jesus in the 1st century AD. It is called "The Christian Church" because Jesus was called "The Christ" (or holy one from God).

Today there are many churches in the sense of "church organisations". The different organised churches are called Christian denominations.

The main Christian beliefs are held by all major Christian denominations. These beliefs are often said aloud by Christian people in a "statement of faith" which is called the Creed. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican Communion and other Protestant churches all believe that God is the "creator and eternal father of all things", that Jesus was the "Christ" and son of God who died to save people from the punishment for their sins, and that the Holy Spirit is God's gift to help and comfort Christian people. Christians believe that these are three parts of One God.

There are many other beliefs that are different between different denominations. These differences have sometimes caused arguments and have caused the organised church to split into denominations. The different opinions are called controversies.

During Late Antiquity, the Christian Church started became the most important persecuting organization in human history.^[1]: 201

1. ↑ de Ste. Croix, G. E. M. (2006). Whitby, Michael; Streeter, Joseph (eds.). Christian Persecution, Martyrdom, and Orthodoxy. Oxford University Press. pp. 201–252. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278121.003.0005. ISBN 978-0-19-927812-1. the Christian Church—or rather churches—became during the fourth and following centuries, and remained for more than a millennium and a half, the greatest organized persecuting force in human history