The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Christianity S 87

being, the pope. The Orthodox churches are orga nized along national lines—Greek, Russian, Ukrai nian, and so on. Each national church is headed by a patriarch or metropolitan. The congregational model is found among many Protestants. On this model, authority resides with the local congregation, which selects a person to be its minister. Usually congregations are joined together into larger regional or national groups. However, fundamentalist and evangelical Protes tants in the United States have founded a large number of independent “Bible churches.” CHRISTIANITY IN THE WORLD TODAY At the beginning of the 21st century, Christianity was the world’s largest religion. Some 2 billion people, about a third of the world’s population, were at least nominally Christian or of Christian cultural background. However, the role and impact of the religion varied greatly from one place to another. Moreover, the Christian “center of grav ity,” that is, where its greatest number and dyna mism are concentrated, was rapidly shifting from Europe and North America to what is called the Third World or Southern Hemisphere, the coun tries of Latin America, Africa, and southern Asia. Traditionally, Christianity has been considered chiefly the religion of the white races of Europe and their immigrant descendents in the Americas. Since its origin within the Roman Empire, most sig nificant Christian history appeared to take place in Europe or the Mediterranean basin. This is where the papacy ruled, dominant theologies were devel oped, theological wars were fought, the Protestant Reformation took place, and the major DENOMINA TIONS were formed. Even Christianity in the Ameri cas, including the United States ( see U NITED S TATES , RELIGION IN ), although it soon displayed some dis tinctive features, has often been seen as little more than the transplanting of what was essentially a European faith. Now, in Europe, although the great cathedrals still stand and traditional Christian festivals are observed, the religion seems to have lost consider able vigor. In a few places religious identity remains important and divisive, for example, whether one is

steps have been taken to increase the participation of laypeople in other ways. Protestant churches have tended to celebrate the eucharist less frequently, in some churches as infrequently as once or twice a year. Protestant worship has emphasized PREACHING the word of God. Worship consists of a sermon, generally by a specially appointed minister, along with readings from the Bible, prayers, and songs or hymns. Most Christians follow a cycle of annual fes tivals linked to the life of Jesus: Advent prepares for the coming of Jesus; C HRISTMAS celebrates his birth; Epiphany celebrates his manifestation as God incarnate; L ENT , which begins on Ash Wednesday, is a time for preparation and repentance; Palm Sun day recalls Jesus’ entry into J ERUSALEM just before his death, Maundy Thursday his last meal with his followers, and Good Friday his crucifixion; E ASTER celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. One becomes a Christian through BAPTISM (sprinkling with or immersion in water). Catholic and Orthodox Christians generally practice bap tism as a birth ritual. Some Protestants practice it as a ritual of maturation, like BAR / BAT MITZVAH in J UDAISM . In addition to baptism and the Eucharist, the Catholic and Orthodox churches recognize five other SACRAMENTS through which Christians receive God’s grace: confirmation or chrismation, pen ance, marriage, holy orders, and anointing with oil for healing or as “extreme unction” for the dying. They also give special veneration to M ARY , Jesus’ mother, and SAINTS , exemplary Christians from the past. The Orthodox churches also emphasize the use of sacred pictures known as icons ( see IMAGES , ICONS , IDOLS IN RELIGION ). ORGANIZATION Christian churches are organized according to two models, the episcopal model and the congrega tional model. On the episcopal model, authority resides with a bishop (Greek, episkopos ) or archbishop. Bish ops are persons in charge of an entire area, and they oversee the activities of a variety of subordi nates, such as priests. The Roman Catholic Church concentrates ultimate authority in a single human