Christianity

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” says Jesus Christ in the gospel of Matthew, one of the holy scriptures of Christianity. Over the nearly two millennia since Jesus lived on earth, Christian communities, collectively called the Church, have spread all over the globe, becoming immersed in many cultures. Christianity is one of the world’s largest religions, with more than two billion followers. As varied as the faces of these different Christians are the myriad ways in which they express their experience of and devotion to Jesus Christ: worship and ritual; ministries of charity; active engagement for social justice and peace; prayer; monasticism; and study of the Holy Scriptures.

Who was this Jesus Christ, whose presence is felt even today and who inspires so many different women and men?

The various Christian traditions, as they developed, sought in different ways to answer this question more deeply and to reconnect with the mysterious and challenging person of Jesus. After his death, old and new followers gathered in his name and were soon called Christians. They proclaimed that Jesus Christ was and is the Messiah; that Jesus is Emmanuel (God-with-us), the divinity who was incarnated in human form, was resurrected after being dead for three days, and is now the King of heaven and earth; and that Jesus Christ is still alive today, giving strength to and being present in individuals and communities who dedicate themselves to him and to his teaching and action of peace and praise of God.