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Stave Churches: Norway’s National Treasures
Stave churches are the most famous medieval buildings in Norway and are admired for their unique architecture and beautiful decorations. They are named after the staves or masts that hold up the main structure of the church. Only 28 stave...
Article
Unam Sanctam: Spiritual Authority & the Medieval Church
The Unam Sanctam (1302) was a papal bull issued by Pope Boniface VIII (served 1294-1303) requiring the complete submission of all people, including kings, to the authority and dictates of the pope. As the Church was understood as holding...
Definition
Bohemian Reformation
The Bohemian Reformation (c. 1380 to c. 1436) was the first concerted effort by Catholic clergy to reform the abuses and corruption of the medieval Church. Bohemian clerics and theologians called for reform and, like later advocates, initially...
Definition
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was an Anglo-Irish chemist, physicist, and experimental philosopher. Boyle was a prolific author, made significant experiments with air pumps, and presented the first litmus test. A founding member of the Royal Society...
Definition
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is the belief that human beings contain a piece of God (the highest good or a divine spark) within themselves, which has fallen from the immaterial world into the bodies of humans. All physical matter is subject to decay, rotting...
Definition
Christianity
Christianity is the world's largest religion, with 2.8 billion adherents. It is categorized as one of the three Abrahamic or monotheistic religions of the Western tradition along with Judaism and Islam. 'Christian' is derived from the Greek...
Article
Canons of the Council of Trent
The Canons of the Council of Trent (1545-1563) were rules one was expected to follow in order to be a member of the Catholic Church and, according to the Church's teachings, merit the grace of God and eternal life in heaven after death. The...
Definition
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the designation of Jesus of Nazareth (d. c. 30 CE), who was an itinerant Jewish prophet from the Galilee in northern Israel. He preached the imminent intervention in human affairs by the God of the Jews, when God would establish...
Article
Martin Luther's 95 Theses
Martin Luther's 95 Theses of 31 October 1517, although they have since come to represent the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, were not written to challenge the authority of the Roman Catholic Church but were simply an invitation to...
Collection
12 Great Scientists of the Scientific Revolution
In this collection, we gather together some of the greatest minds of the Scientific Revolution (1500-1700) when European science made great leaps forward, particularly in the fields of astronomy, microscopy, anatomy, and physics. Each scientist...