Martin Luther King Jr

                                                                                                                                            Wikipedia.org

Christianty

Christianity (from the Ancient Greek translation Χριστός, Christos of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, Mašíaḥ, meaning "the 

anointed one"^[1] and the Latinsuffixes ian and -itas) is a monotheistic,^[2] Abrahamic religion based on the 

life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament. Christianity is the world's largest 

religion,^[3][4] with approximately 2.2 billion adherents, known as Christians.^[5][6][7][8] Most Christians 

believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, and the savior of humanity prophesied in 

the Old Testament. Consequentially, Christians refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah.

The foundations of Christian theology are expressed in ecumenical creeds that are accepted by followers of 

the Christian faith. These professionsstate that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and was resurrected from 

the dead in order to grant eternal life to those who believe in him and trust in him for the remission of their 

sins. The creeds further maintain that Jesus bodily ascended into heaven, where he reigns with God the 

Father. Mostdenominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all humans, living and dead, and to grant 

eternal life to his followers. He is considered themodel of a virtuous life. His ministry, crucifixion, and 

resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning "Good News" (a loan translation of the Greek: 

εὐαγγέλιον euangélion). The term gospel also refers to written accounts of Jesus's life and teaching, four of 

which -- the Gospels ofMatthew, Mark, Luke and John -- are considered canonical and are included in the 

Christian Bible.

Christianity began as a Jewish sect in the mid-1st century.^[9][10] Originating in the Levant region of the 

Middle East, it quickly spread to Syria,Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and Egypt. It grew in size and influence over 

a few centuries, and by the end of the 4th century had become the officialstate church of the Roman Empire, 

replacing other forms of religion practiced under Roman rule.^[11] During the Middle Ages, most of the 

remainder of Europe was Christianized, with Christians also being a sometimes large religious minority in 

the Middle East, North Africa, Ethiopia and parts ofIndia.^[12][13] Following the Age of Discovery, Christianity 

spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world throughmissionary work 

and colonization.^[14][15][16] Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western 

civilization.^{[17][18][19][20][21]}

Worldwide, the three largest groups of Christianity are the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox 

Church, and the various denominations ofProtestantism. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox 

patriarchates split from one another in the schism of the 11th century, and Protestantism came into 

existence during the Reformation of the 16th century, splitting from the Roman Catholic Church

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