CHRISTIANITY

Key Beliefs

Christianity begins with the person of Jesus Christ who Christians believe to be both divine and human. Christians understand God as one but revealed in three ‘persons’: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is thought to have been revealed in Jesus Christ’s human life, death and resurrection.

Christians believe that human beings are not on their own in the universe but are loved and rescued by the one God revealed in Jesus Christ. Rescue is needed because although God is thought to have created a world characterised by peace and unity, human beings and the world have gone fundamentally wrong. Without God’s intervention, Christians believe human beings are locked into a state of self-centredness called sin. Sin in people’s lives can be removed by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus when he died on the cross on Good Friday. God’s spirit, the Holy Spirit, is active in the lives of Christians The Christian Scriptures, the Bible, teach that the fruits of the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives are: love; joy; peace; patience; kindness; goodness; faithfulness; humility; and self-control.

Cross – Symbolises the belief that the crucifixion of Jesus was the ultimate expression of God’s love for humanity.

Christians believe that sin and God’s rescue impact on every aspect of human life and the world in which humans live. As a result, Christians work actively, as individuals and through the Christian Church, to demonstrate social concern both by serving those who are disadvantaged and by addressing social structures that cause disadvantage and environmental damage. The Church is the community of Christian believers with a mission to spread the message of Jesus Christ learning to follow the example set by him.

Key Practices

Prayer/Worship: Sunday is the usual day for Christian worship because it is the day of the week on which Jesus is believed to have been raised from death. Many Roman Catholics attend Vigil Sunday Mass on Saturday evening since, following the Biblical tradition, the day is seen as commencing the previous evening. Sabbatarian or Seventh Day Churches believe that the commandment to the Jews to keep the seventh day (Saturday) holy is still binding on Christians after the coming of Jesus. Icons (sacred pictures of Christ, his Mother and the Saints) are extremely important to Orthodox Christians, and many will insist on having some near them. They will sign themselves with the Cross many times in prayer.

Fasting: Some Christians prefer to eat no meat on Fridays. Some will abstain from food and drink before taking Holy Communion. During Lent, the 40 days of preparation for Easter, many people choose to observe some kind of fasting. In the Roman Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days when meat is avoided and only one main meal and two lighter snacks are taken. Some Ukrainian Christians are strict with their diet and do not eat meat on Fridays or even throughout the whole of Lent. Some eat nothing from Good Friday night until Easter Sunday and only take a few sips of water in that time. Fasting is a recognised part of an Orthodox Christian's life. Wednesday and Friday each week, and a long period before Easter and Christmas are fasts, when no meat, fish or milk products or alcohol is taken, though there are many days when the fast is relaxed. However, Orthodox are taught to eat what is put before them, and, in any case, many are not strict about keeping the fasts, except at particular times. Some Christians also fast at other, individually chosen times.

Diet: There are no universally agreed dietary regulations. Some, but by no means all, will not drink alcohol.

Greetings & Etiquette: Though some sects may issue guidelines, Christians are not enjoined to dress in a particular way. It is traditional for men to remove headgear when entering and in some places for women to cover their head with a hat, scarf or veil.

Work

Christians believe that God is a worker (the Bible describes his creation of the world as work) who works voluntarily, taking pleasure in his work. Similarly, human beings are thought to have been created for pleasurable and satisfying work. However work, through sin, often becomes a source of frustration and limits are set on the amount of time that humans should work – one day in seven should provide a rest from work. Christians believe that work should be done for God as part of Christian worship and for provision, service, generosity and personal development. Many Christians will be concerned with business ethics and may not consider work in companies that promote pornography, supply armaments, with management practices which are judged unacceptable, or whose business activity/focus is gambling or the supply of tobacco products, alcoholic beverages or non-defensive military equipment.

Christian community

The Christian community is organised on the basis of Church denominations. There are four main Church groupings:

Catholic: The Catholic Church has its roots in the Western part of the Old Roman Empire and embraces around half the Christians in the world. It understands itself as one united Church, universal in scope and in an unbroken line of transmission of the Christian faith from the earliest Apostles to the present time. Catholics are in communion with the Pope in Rome.

Orthodox: These are Churches with their roots in the Eastern part of the Old Roman Empire. Byzantine Orthodox Churches (including the Greek, Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches) are in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Oriental Orthodox Churches are found mainly in the Middle East and Africa.

Protestant: Protestant Churches have developed from the sixteenth century Reformation in the West and include: Baptist; Brethren; Congregationalist; Lutheran; Methodist; Moravian; Presbyterian or Reformed; Quakers; and Salvationist Churches. Churches of the Anglican tradition see themselves as both Protestant and Catholic. The Congregational Church in England and Wales, the Congregational Union of Scotland, the Presbyterian Churches of England and the Re-formed Churches of Christ have united to form the United Reformed Church.

Pentecostal: The Pentecostal tradition emerged from the broader Protestant tradition and includes the Apostolic Church, Assemblies of God, many Black-Majority Churches, the Elim Pentecostal Church and the House and Restorationist Church movements.

Within the denominations, churches are generally organised regionally, nationally and internationally. Most Jobcentre Plus contact would be best initiated at the regional level through: Areas (Baptist Union and Congregational Federation); Associations (Unitarian and Free Churches); Dioceses (Anglican and Roman Catholic); Districts (Methodists, Moravians and New Testament Church of God); Divisions (Salvation Army); Regions (Assemblies of God); and Synods (United Reformed). Ecumenical Deans and Industrial Missions provide other useful networks.

Other important points of contact are the Ecumenical Borough Deans Network (representative senior clergy from all the Christian denominations in London), local Churches Together groups where local churches co-operate in Local Ecumenical Partnerships linked to the national Inter-Church organisation Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI). CTBI Intermediate Bodies operate at a level that approximates to a county and are serviced by a full- or part-time Ecumenical Officer.