Christian teaching

The sacred book of Christianity is the Bible (“books”): the “Old Testament” (books sharing a basis with the Jewish Tanakh) and the “New Testament” (the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the letters and Revelation; 27 books in all). The first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 and the later Council of Constantinople in 381 formulated the creed, a short statement of Christian beliefs. According to it Christians believe in one God in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (the Holy Trinity); they regard Jesus as the Son of God and hold belief in his taking human form (incarnation), his death on the cross and resurrection, and in life after death. The Orthodox and Catholic churches recognise seven sacraments (“mysteries”) – including baptism, the Eucharist (bread and wine), penance and marriage; most Protestants accept two – baptism and the Eucharist. In 1054 a long dispute between the churches of Rome (Catholic) and Constantinople (Orthodox) ended in a formal split; it had religious, political and cultural causes. The Crusades, beginning in 1096, left a deep mark on the history of Western Europe and the Near East; historians point to religious, political and economic motives, and many innocent people died, including in Jerusalem in 1099. In 1517 Martin Luther published his “95 Theses” criticising the sale of indulgences; the Reformation produced Protestant branches such as Lutheranism, Calvinism and the Anglican Church. Protestants stress the primary authority of the Bible and the priesthood of all believers; the Catholic Church is a centralised organisation headed by the Pope in Rome. In Uzbekistan, Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Lutheran, Baptist, Adventist and other Christian organisations are registered in the manner prescribed by law.