Church Abbreviations

What is Church?

Church, from the Latin ecclesia, is a Christian temple, it is the place of preaching the teachings of Christ, obeying the principles of Christian ethics.

Church is the group of faithful united by the same faith and who celebrate the same religious doctrines.

In sociology Church is an organized and institutionalized religious group. It is a society whose members equally represent the sacred world and its relations with the profane world. As a group, a church comprises a community of believers and usually a body of priests, hierarchical or not. As an institution, the church represents a system of dogmatic precepts, rites, and beliefs.

Catholic church

Catholic Church or Roman Catholic Church, is a Christian Church, which aims to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The structure of the Church was formed by the Bible, teachings and Christian doctrine. Through a dynamic interaction between the Bible and tradition, the Church developed its teachings, beliefs and creeds, in addition to the liturgy, sacraments and festivities, imparting to the faithful the essence of the Christian faith.

Two rites or sacraments were instituted by Jesus himself: baptism and the Eucharist. Other rites include confirmation, marriage, ordination to the priesthood, confession, and extreme unction. Catholic clergy are male and celibate. It is formed by the ecclesiastical class of priests, the Pope being the supreme head of the entire Church and Vatican State, in addition to the cardinals, bishops and priests. The Catholic Church has its sanctuary where the altar is located, in addition to offering places for community devotion.

Orthodox church

Most Orthodox churches derive from ancient Greek Christianity from the Eastern Mediterranean. The direct link with the Churches founded by the apostles and the memory of the Christian Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire), which lasted until 1453, increase the importance of tradition as a guide for the Church. This tradition includes the scriptures, ancient councils and the writings of the priests, the liturgy, and the veneration of sacred images. The Orthodox Church does not recognize the pope as an authority. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is the highest authority in the Orthodox Church, the Russian is the highest. Each autonomous Church has its own patriarch, being self-governing. In addition to Russia, Orthodox Christianity is also important in Ukraine, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and others.

What is Baptist Church?

Baptist Church is a denomination included in Christianity, which has as one of the main doctrines the baptism of teenagers and adults. This Church has this denomination thanks to John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus Christ.

The Baptist Church emerged with the Anabaptist movement and predates the Protestant Reformation movement. The first Baptists were never part of the Catholic Church, but historical accounts say that they suffered persecution from both elements of the Catholic Church and Protestantism.

Within Christianity (which has Christ as the central element of the faith), there are different perspectives and denominations. Some differences between the Catholic Church and the Baptist Church are: in the Baptist Church there is no baptism of babies; Baptist Church leaders are known as pastors and do not have to take a vow of celibacy (they can marry and start a family); in the Baptist Church there are no images and statues of religious figures.

According to the Baptist Church, baptism is a public demonstration of faith, and when a person is submerged in the waters, he admits that he leaves the “old life” behind, professing his intention to live according to God’s will..

There are several different names regarding Baptist Churches, which often arise due to some doctrinal differences. However, some essential doctrines are common to all Baptist Churches.

In Brazil, some of the most well-known Baptist Churches are the Igreja Batista da Lagoinha, Igreja Batista Gethsemani and Igreja Batista do Povo.

What is the Roman Catholic Church?

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church is a church founded according to the teachings of Jesus Christ and which has the apostle Peter as a prominent figure, because it was through him that the Church began to be built (Matthew 16:18 ).

It is one, holy, catholic (universal) and apostolic, and as the only sacrament of salvation, by Christ’s will, it is characterized by indefectibility (it will survive until the end of the world) and infallibility.

The Catholic Church considers itself the only Church of Christ and therefore is called Catholic. It is made up of particular churches or dioceses, each of which is entrusted to a bishop in communion with the successor of Peter (the Pope or vicar of Christ). Those who are baptized who are united with Christ in his visible body through the bonds of faith, sacraments and ecclesiastical discipline are in communion with the Catholic Church.

For the Catholic Church, the Pope, Bishop of Rome residing in the Vatican, is the visible representative of Christ on earth and the visible head of the Church. As successor to the head of the apostles, Peter (apostolic succession), the Pope is the legitimate holder of the Church’s supreme hierarchical authority.

A visible sign of the union of God with men, the Catholic Church is a visible organism, instituted, therefore, as a society governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in union with him. They have a threefold mission or office: priestly, prophetic (of magisterium) and pastoral.

The Catholic Church, due to liturgical rites and ecclesiastical discipline, is divided into the Latin Church and the Eastern Church.

Brazilian Catholic Church

In the Portuguese overseas expansion, the Portuguese kings sought the support of the Church for the evangelization of the discovered lands. Thus, Christianity was implanted in Brazil, Africa, India, Japan and China.

The Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (ICAB) is a schismatic Christian church founded in 1945 by the Bishop of Maura, D. Carlos Duarte Costa. Before him, Canon Amorim, from Itapira (S. Paulo), tried to install it in 1914, and D. Salomão Ferraz, in 1936.

Its foundation is due exclusively to the refusal to submit to the Pope and to ecclesiastical discipline, namely with regard to the celibacy of the clergy. Its projection in national life is small.

Charismatic Catholic Church

The Charismatic Apostolic Catholic Church is a church that has several differences compared to the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church. The Charismatic Church does not have the seven sacraments that the Roman Apostolic and the Pope is not the supreme leader of the Church. In the case of the Charismatic Church, confession is not a sacrament.

Bishops, priests and deacons of the Charismatic Church can marry, unlike in the Catholic Church, due to celibacy. According to the Charismatic Church, purgatory does not exist, and for this reason the dead do not need prayer. Another difference between the two churches is that in the Charismatic Church, contraceptive methods are allowed.

What is the Pentecostal Church?

Pentecostal Church is a Protestant Christian movement that emphasizes the Day of Pentecost and has some differences compared to other denominations.

The Pentecostal movement began in 1906 in Los Angeles when William J. Seymour preached, giving rise to the Azusa Street Revival. Elements of the Pentecostal Church consider the baptism in the Holy Spirit essential in the way of salvation. Baptism in the Spirit is a charismatic phenomenon characterized by glossolalia, known as the gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10).

Pentacostalism spread very quickly in the United States through the Church of God in Christ, and evolved a lot mainly within the Afro-descendant community. In addition, the Assemblies of God became very popular in Chile, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa. From 1945 onwards, large popular missions were organized, where preachers used advanced technical resources. Many of these churches are present at the Pentecostal World Conference, which has been held every three years since 1949 in different cities around the world.

The term Pentecostal comes from the word Pentecost, which is a Christian festival that takes place 50 days after Easter, ending the cycle of festivals. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, where “tongues of fire” appeared over the apostles’ heads, and people who received the Holy Spirit began to speak in tongues. This episode is described in Acts 2:1-13.

Pentecostal churches are often known as charismatic churches because they reveal manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

Some of the main differences between the Pentecostal and Baptist church is that Pentecostal believes that the gift of tongues is for anyone who has the Holy Spirit, while Baptists believe that the Holy Spirit empowers every disciple with at least one gift that must be used. for the edification of the Church.

(Historical) Baptists believe that baptism in the Spirit takes place together with conversion (accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior) and there is no outward manifestation; Independent Baptists believe that a person receives the Holy Spirit at or after conversion and can be accompanied with the manifestation of a gift (such as the gift of tongues); Pentecostals believe that baptism in the Spirit and conversion are separate events that may not happen at the same time, with the gift of tongues always manifesting.

Some of the most well-known Pentecostal churches in Brazil are: Igreja Pentecostal de Jesus Cristo, Igreja Pentecostal Deus é Amor, etc.

What is the Orthodox Church?

The Orthodox Church is a Christian church, considered, with a doctrine similar to that of the Catholic Church, but which has a straighter, more rigid doctrine.

Orthodoxy is the doctrinal current that declares that it represents the correct view, founded on systematic (metaphysical) and scientific principles. The opposite is heterodoxy.

Orthodox Christians, by virtue of their denomination, are those who profess the entire doctrine of the Christian faith in accordance with the magisterium of the Church. However, they took over the designation of the Byzantine Church after the schism that opposed them to Rome (in the 9th and 11th centuries) by setting themselves up as depositaries of the true faith in opposition to the Latin Church. Christians in Eastern Europe, who remain separate from the Roman Catholic Church, were therefore called Orthodox.

The Orthodox Church sees itself as the true church created by Jesus Christ, in addition to not recognizing the Pope as an authority. For Orthodox Christians, as they are called, there is no purgatory and they do not believe in the virginity of Mary after conception. In the Orthodox Church, priests are allowed to marry, provided it took place before their conversion, and only bishops are required to maintain celibacy.

In the 11th century, in the year 1054, there was a schism between the Christian Churches, dividing them between Catholicism and the Orthodox Church. Orthodox Christians do not accept Catholic dogmas, nor do they consider the sacraments valid. The Orthodox Church arrived in Brazil in 1904, and the first institution was created in São Paulo, in 1954.

The greatest authority in the Orthodox Church is the Holy Ecumenical Synod, from its founding to the present day. The most important Orthodox churches are the Greek Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church.

List of Acronyms Related to Church