Christianity
(redirected from Mainstream Christianity)Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Encyclopedia.
Chris·ti·an·i·ty
(krĭs′chē-ăn′ĭ-tē, krĭs′tē-)n.
1. A religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. Most forms of Christianity hold that Jesus is the son of God and is the second person of the Trinity, through whom humans may attain redemption from sin.
2. Christians as a group; Christendom.
3. The state or fact of being a Christian.
4. pl. Chris·ti·an·i·ties A particular form or sect of the Christian religion: the Christianities of antiquity.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Christianity
(ˌkrɪstɪˈænɪtɪ)n
1. (Theology) the Christian religion
2. (Theology) Christian beliefs, practices, or attitudes
3. (Theology) a less common word for Christendom1
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Chris•ti•an•i•ty
(ˌkrɪs tʃiˈæn ɪ ti)n.
1. the Christian religion, including the Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox churches.
2. Christian beliefs or practices; Christian quality or character.
3. the state of being a Christian.
4. Christendom.
[1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French < Late Latin]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Christianity
See also catholicism; christ; eastern orthodoxy; faith; god and gods; heresy; mary; protestantism; religion; theology.
1. Obsolete, the pronouncing of a curse or ban with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority; anathematization.
2. a curse or malediction. — anathema, n.
2. a curse or malediction. — anathema, n.
a collection of prayers used for solemn feasts in the Orthodox Eastern Church. See also books.
1. a belief in, or adherence to the system of, the Antichrist.
2. the state of opposing Christianity in thought or action. Also antichristianity.
2. the state of opposing Christianity in thought or action. Also antichristianity.
the study of the methods and contents of defenses or proofs of Christianity. — apologetical, adj.
the condition of adhering to the evangelical doctrine of sanctification and to practicing such rites as healing and foot washing; following the teachings of the twelve apostles. — apostolic, n. — apostolical, adj.
one of a sect of early Christians who used unleavened bread for the Eucharist.
Eastern Orthodoxy.
1. a manual of instruction in the principles of the Christian religion, usually in question and answer form.
2. catechetical instruction. — catechist, n. — catechetical, adj.
2. catechetical instruction. — catechist, n. — catechetical, adj.
the doctrines, system, and practice of the Catholic Church, especially the Roman Catholic Church. — Catholic, n., adj.
Christians collectively or the Christian world.
the religious tenets held by all Christians.
1. a writer of the anonymous 2nd-century Christian manual of morals and church practices called the Didache.
2. an expert on or student of the Didache.
2. an expert on or student of the Didache.
the doctrines, systems, and practices of local and national independent churches (including the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches) in communion with the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople and adhering to the Nicene Creed and to a common rite celebrated in various languages. Also called Byzantinism. — Eastern Orthodox, n., adj.
a movement within Christianity toward the recovery of unity among all Christians. — Ecumenicist, n.
the theological doctrine of God’s predestination of individuals as objects of divine mercy and salvation.
the practices of a 2nd-century sect that abstained from marriage, wine, and meat. — Encratite, n.
the state of not being a Christian. — ethnic, n. — ethnical, adj.
the missionary, reforming, or redeeming spirit evident throughout the history of Christianity in various guises or emphases. — evangelical, evangelistic, adj.
1. the practice of ascetic individuals or groups who indulge in scourging for the sake of discipline or punishment.
2. (cap.) the practice of a 13th- and 14th-century fanatical European sect that indulged in scourging to avoid the punishment of God. — flagellant, n., adj.
2. (cap.) the practice of a 13th- and 14th-century fanatical European sect that indulged in scourging to avoid the punishment of God. — flagellant, n., adj.
lack of repentance or contrition for sins committed. — impenitent, n., adj.
the theological doctrine that man’s fall was foreseen and permitted by God, who then decreed election as a method for the salvation of some of mankind. Cf. supralapsarianism. — infralapsarian, n., adj.
1. the original, oral gospel preached by the apostles.
2. the preaching of the Christian gospel, especially the activity of the earliest Christian missionaries. — kerygmatic, adj.
2. the preaching of the Christian gospel, especially the activity of the earliest Christian missionaries. — kerygmatic, adj.
worship of the highest order that can be offered only to God.
the beliefs of an anti-Semitic Gnostic sect in the early Christian church. — Marcionite, n., adj.
a 2nd- and 3rd-century Christian doctrine that maintained that God is a single person as well as a single being. — monarchian, adj.
1. the rule or system of life in a monastery.
2. the life or condition of a monk. — monastic, n., adj. — monastical, adj.
2. the life or condition of a monk. — monastic, n., adj. — monastical, adj.
1. a religious offering, either as charity or to God or a god.
2. the Eucharist, especially the offering of bread and wine to God.
2. the Eucharist, especially the offering of bread and wine to God.
the Holy Spirit, considered as comforter, intercessor, or advocate.
the coming of Christ on Judgement Day. Also called Second Advent, Second Coming.
the teachings of the apostle Paul, who believed that people should be emancipated from Jewish law and allowed to follow the faith and spirit of Christ. — Paulist, n. — Paulinian, adj.
the state or condition of regretting sins or offenses and being willing to atone for them. — penitent, n., adj.
the Holy Spirit in Christian theology. See also soul.
Theology.
1. the doctrines concerning the Holy Spirit.
2. the belief in spiritual beings, as angels, between men and God. — pneumatologist, n. — pneumatologic, pneumatological, adj.
1. the doctrines concerning the Holy Spirit.
2. the belief in spiritual beings, as angels, between men and God. — pneumatologist, n. — pneumatologic, pneumatological, adj.
the belief that the prophecies of the book of Revelation have already come to pass. — preterist, n., adj.
the doctrines and practices of those Western Christian churches not in communion with the Roman or Eastern churches. — Protestant, n., adj.
Theology. the doctrine that death causes the soul to sleep until the day of resurrection. — psychopannychist, n. — psychopannychian, psychopannychistic, adj.
1. the first Sunday of Lent. Also called Quadragesima Sunday.
2. Obsolete, the forty days of Lent. — Quadragesimal, quadragesimal, adj.
2. Obsolete, the forty days of Lent. — Quadragesimal, quadragesimal, adj.
the Sunday before Lent. Also called Quinquagesima Sunday. — Quinquagesimal, quinquegesimal, adj.
1. the practice in Judaism and some Christian groups of keeping the seventh day holy.
2. the practice of keeping Sunday holy and free of work and pleasureful activity. — sabbatarian, n., adj.
2. the practice of keeping Sunday holy and free of work and pleasureful activity. — sabbatarian, n., adj.
1. the theological doctrines concerning the sacraments.
2. the doctrines asserting that the sacraments are necessary to salvation as a conveyor of grace to a human soul. — sacramentalist, n.
2. the doctrines asserting that the sacraments are necessary to salvation as a conveyor of grace to a human soul. — sacramentalist, n.
the theological tenet of progressively declining essence within the Trinity. — subordinationist, n.
the theological doctrine asserting that God’s plan for the salvation of man decreed election before the fall of man and permitted the fall as an instrumentality for fulfilling the divine purposes. Cf. infralapsarianism. — supralapsarian, n., adj.
Obsolete, one who believes that Christ was a mixture of divine and human substance.
the force or process of divine inspiration; the power by which the Holy Spirit reveals truth to men. — theopneustic, theopneusted, adj.
1. the heretical belief that the Trinity consists of three distinct gods.
2. any polytheistic religion having three gods. — tritheist, n. — tritheistic, tritheistical, adj.
2. any polytheistic religion having three gods. — tritheist, n. — tritheistic, tritheistical, adj.
the Eucharist given to one about to die; last rites or extreme unction. — viatic, viatical, adj.
the doctrine that in the Lord’s supper there is an influence of Christ upon the soul but that the true body of Christ is present only through faith and not reality. — Zwinglianist, n. — Zwinglian, adj.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  Christianity - a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as saviormortification - (Christianity) the act of mortifying the lusts of the flesh by self-denial and privation (especially by bodily pain or discomfort inflicted on yourself) inerrancy - (Christianity) exemption from error; "biblical inerrancy" errancy - (Christianity) holding views that disagree with accepted doctrine; especially disagreement with papal infallibility; "he denies the errancy of the Catholic Church" Paradise - (Christianity) the abode of righteous souls after death infernal region, nether region, perdition, Inferno, Hell, pit - (Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment; "Hurl'd headlong...To bottomless perdition, there to dwell"- John Milton; "a demon from the depths of the pit"; "Hell is paved with good intentions"-Dr. Johnson faith, religion, religious belief - a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality" tritheism - (Christianity) the heretical belief that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are three separate gods Adventism, Second Adventism - any Christian religion that believes the second coming of Christ is imminent Catholicism, Catholicity - the beliefs and practices of a Catholic Church Albigensianism, Catharism - a Christian movement considered to be a medieval descendant of Manichaeism in southern France in the 12th and 13th centuries; characterized by dualism (asserted the coexistence of two mutually opposed principles, one good and one evil); was exterminated for heresy during the Inquisition Donatism - a schismatic Christian religion in northern Africa from the 4th to the 7th century; held that only those who led a blameless life belonged in the church or could administer the sacraments Protestantism - the theological system of any of the churches of western Christendom that separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation Puseyism, Tractarianism - principles of the founders of the Oxford movement as expounded in pamphlets called `Tracts for the Times' article of faith, credendum - (Christianity) any of the sections into which a creed or other statement of doctrine is divided Annunciation - (Christianity) the announcement to the Virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel of the incarnation of Christ ecumenicalism, ecumenicism, ecumenism - (Christianity) the doctrine of the ecumenical movement that promotes cooperation and better understanding among different religious denominations: aimed at universal Christian unity Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Immaculate Conception - (Christianity) the Roman Catholic dogma that God preserved the Virgin Mary from any stain of original sin from the moment she was conceived Incarnation - (Christianity) the Christian doctrine of the union of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ Nicene Creed - (Christianity) a formal creed summarizing Christian beliefs; first adopted in 325 and later expanded real presence - (Christianity) the Christian doctrine that the body of Christ is actually present in the Eucharist Assumption - (Christianity) the taking up of the body and soul of the Virgin Mary when her earthly life had ended communion - (Christianity) a group of Christians with a common religious faith who practice the same rites council - (Christianity) an assembly of theologians and bishops and other representatives of different churches or dioceses that is convened to regulate matters of discipline or doctrine Church Father, Father of the Church, Father - (Christianity) any of about 70 theologians in the period from the 2nd to the 7th century whose writing established and confirmed official church doctrine; in the Roman Catholic Church some were later declared saints and became Doctor of the Church; the best known Latin Church Fathers are Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Jerome; those who wrote in Greek include Athanasius, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and John Chrysostom Antichrist - (Christianity) the adversary of Christ (or Christianity) mentioned in the New Testament; the Antichrist will rule the world until overthrown by the Second Coming of Christ Laurentius, Lawrence, Saint Lawrence, St. Lawrence - Roman martyr; supposedly Lawrence was ordered by the police to give up the church's treasure and when he responded by presenting the poor people of Rome he was roasted to death on a gridiron (died in 258) Ascension, Ascension Day, Ascension of the Lord - (Christianity) celebration of the Ascension of Christ into heaven; observed on the 40th day after Easter August 6, Transfiguration, Transfiguration Day - (Christianity) a church festival held in commemoration of the Transfiguration of Jesus transubstantiate - change (the Eucharist bread and wine) into the body and blood of Christ receive - partake of the Holy Eucharist sacrament assume - take up someone's soul into heaven; "This is the day when May was assumed into heaven" |
| 2. | Christianity - the collective body of Christians throughout the world and history (found predominantly in Europe and the Americas and Australia); "for a thousand years the Roman Catholic Church was the principal church of Christendom" body - a group of persons associated by some common tie or occupation and regarded as an entity; "the whole body filed out of the auditorium"; "the student body"; "administrative body" Christian church, church - one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship church - the body of people who attend or belong to a particular local church; "our church is hosting a picnic next week" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Christianity
Christian denominations and sects
Adventism, Amish, Anabaptism, Anglicanism, Baptist Church, Byzantine Church, Calvinism, Catholicism, Christadelphianism, Christian Science, Congregationalism, Coptic Church, Dutch Reformed Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Episcopal Church, evangelicalism, Greek Orthodox Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheranism, Maronite Church, Methodism, Moravian Church, Mormons or Latter-day Saints, New Jerusalem Church, Orthodox Church, Pentecostalism, Plymouth Brethren, Presbyterianism, Protestantism, Quakerism, Roman Catholicism, Russian Orthodox Church, Salvation Army, Seventh-Day Adventism, Shakerism, Society of Friends, Unification Church, UnitarianismCollins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
الـمَسِيحِيَّةالمَسيحِيَّه، النَّصْرانِيَّه
křesťanství
kristendom
kristinusko
kršćanstvo
kereszténység
kristindómurkristnikristni, kristin trú
キリスト教
기독교 신앙
krikščionybė
creştinism
kresťanstvo
krščanstvo
kristendom
ศาสนาคริสต์
đạo Thiên chúa
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Christianity
[ˌkrɪstiˈænɪti] n → christianisme mChristian name n → prénom mChristian Science [ˌkrɪstʃənˈsaɪəns] n → Science f chrétienneChristian Scientist [ˌkrɪstʃənˈsaɪəntɪst] n → scientiste mf chrétien(ne)Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Christianity
n
(= faith, religion) → Christentum nt, → christlicher Glaube; (= body of Christians) → Christenheit f
(= being a Christian) → Christlichkeit f, → Frömmigkeit f; his Christianity did not prevent him from doing it → sein christlicher Glaube hinderte ihn nicht daran(, das zu tun)
(= Christian character) → christliche Haltung or Gesinnung
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
Christian
(ˈkristʃən) noun a follower of or a believer in Christ.
adjectiveHe had a Christian upbringing.
ˌChristiˈanity (-ˈӕnəti) noun the religion of Christ.
christian name (American given name) the personal name given in addition to the surname. Peter is his Christian name.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Christianity
→ الـمَسِيحِيَّة křesťanství kristendom Christentum Χριστιανισμός cristianismo kristinusko christianisme kršćanstvo cristianesimo キリスト教 기독교 신앙 christendom kristendom chrześcijaństwo cristianismo христианство kristendom ศาสนาคริสต์ Hristiyanlık đạo Thiên chúa 基督教Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009