Christianity religion Christians

Christianity is a religion of Abraham, monotheism based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth oral, as presented in the New Testament. Christianity is the largest religion in the world, with about 2.4 billion adherents, known as Christians. Christians believe that Jesus has a "unique meaning" in the world. Most Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, and El Salvador of humanity, whose coming was prophesied in the Old Testament. Consequently, Christians refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah.
The foundation of Christian theology expressed in the ecumenical creeds. These professions of faith state that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and rose from the dead, to give eternal life to those who believe in him and trust him for forgiveness of their sins. The creeds also maintain that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven, where he reigns with God the Father. Most Christian denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all, living and dead, and grant eternal life to his followers. He is considered the model of a virtuous life. His ministry, crucifixion and resurrection are often referred to as "gospel" means "good news" (a translation of the Greek loan: euangelion εὐαγγέλιον). The term also refers to gospel written accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus, of which four - the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - are considered canonical and are included in Christian Bibles.
Christianity began as a Jewish sect Second Temple in the middle of the first century. Originally from the Levant region of the Middle East, which quickly spread to Europe, Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and Egypt. He grew in size and influence over a few centuries, and by the end of the fourth century had become the official state church of the Roman Empire, replacing other forms of religion practiced under Roman rule. During the Middle Ages, most of the rest of Europe was Christianized, and adherents were obtained in the Middle East, North Africa, Ethiopia and parts of India. After the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the formation of Western civilization paper.
Globally, the three major groups of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and various Protestant denominations. Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox patriarchates were separated from each other in the schism of the 11th century, and Protestantism came into existence during the Reformation of the 16th century, the division of the Roman Catholic Church.