The Encyclopedia of World Religions

86 S Christianity

Christianity at the time of the Schism, 1054

Christians agree on the 27 books that make up the New Testament. Christians have never been able to reach unanimity on all beliefs. One very significant dif ference concerns the process by which sins are forgiven. To what extent is salvation a gift from God, and to what extent do human beings need to perform certain actions in order to be saved? The Roman Catholic Church teaches that salva tion requires both God’s gift of GRACE and human actions. The most extreme Protestant view, “dou ble predestination,” suggests that God has deter mined whether a person will be saved or damned even before that person is born. Another point on which Christians differ concerns the significance of the bread and the wine in the RITUAL known as

the E UCHARIST . Catholic and Orthodox Christians teach that the bread and wine actually become Jesus’ body and blood. Most Protestants teach that they are only symbols of Jesus’s body and blood. PRACTICES In recognition of Jesus’ resurrection on a Sunday, most Christian churches have set aside Sunday as a day for communal worship. Orthodox and Catho lic worship centers on the celebration of the eucha rist in the Divine LITURGY or the Mass. Readings from the Bible, PRAYERS , and usually a homily (a short address or sermon) are also parts of the cel ebration. Specially ordained priests must perform the ritual of the eucharist itself, but in recent years