Dialegue for peace
the history and
definition
development of
Indulgence - a partial or full remission of
Christianity
the punishment of sin granted by the
Roman Catholic Church. In the
for around 300 years from the time of Jesus, Christianity
middle ages ,this was seen as a way to
grew and spread throughout the Roman world, especially
shorten the person's time in Purgatory. This
around the area of the eastern Mediterrian .This was
was where it was believe a person's soul
despite persecution by the Romans. The Community was
went after they died and before they were
made up of small groups with male and female leaders, who taught and led
accepted into heaven.
these early christians. They often met in secret and were forced to hide their religion
from the authorities. Some were killed by the Romans.
In the fourth century, the Roman Emporor Constantine became Christian and the religion spread and developed. More
Churches were built, and the community formalized the statements of faith or creeds. It became more organised in terms of
leaders and roles.
In 1054, the first big divide in Christianity took place. Known as the great Schism, it divided christianity into east and west.
The eastern Orthodox Church used Greek as its language and was centered in the city of constantipole (Istanbul). The
Orthodox Church was was led by the Patriarch of Constantinople. The western Church used latin as its
language, and was centered on the City of Rome. The roman Church was was led by the Pope or Bishop of Rome.
In the sixteenth century, some people wanted to change or 'reform' the Western Church, which they felt had become corrupt.
They disagreed with the Church on issues like the number of sacraments, the leadership of the pope transubsansation (the belief
that the bread and wine in the eucharist turn into the body and blood of Christ), the need for priests to stay unmarried and
and the importance of Church teaching and tradition. In 1517, in Wittenberg, Germany, a monk named Martin Luther
posted 95 theses against the selling of indulgences and other corrupt practices in the Roman Catholic Church. This
event is seen as the beginning of the Reformation. This eventually led to a complete split in the western Church, as it
divided into the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches.
