CHRISTIANITY

Of the four major religions, Christianity is probably the most widely practiced among Navy and Marine Corps personnel and their dependents. Christianity was founded upon the life, teachings, deeds, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as told in the New Testament of the Bible. In its broadest sense, Christianity embraces all persons who express a belief in Christ and his teachings. As a religious philosophy, Christianity is practiced worldwide through several different organized groups or churches, referred to as denominations.

Within America, Christianity as practiced through its several denominations or branches is one of the largest religious communities. As an RP, you must be aware of the different criteria observed by each denomination with which you may come into contact and respect the titles and worship traditions of each denomination. You must also remember to use the term denomination guardedly, as many Christian churches will consider themselves to be entities and not offshoots of a larger denomination or group. As a major religion, however, Christianity includes the largest percentage of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel, and Christian chaplains comprise the largest faith group within the military chaplaincy.

HISTORY

Christianity started from a little group of men and women who followed Jesus while he was living on earth. Less than 300 years later, Christianity was the religion of the great Roman Empire. Despite its early oppression, Christianity spread to all parts of the world.

From its early history, divisions in the Christian church were extensive. To hold his empire together, the Emperor Constantine (A.D. 306-337) mandated Christianity. He encouraged the leaders of the church to gather publicly. Such gatherings were called Ecumenical Councils because representatives of the full or universal church were present. Even today, Ecumenical Councils rule on teachings within the church, blessing some as proper expressions of the faith while banning others.

In spite of Constantine attempts to mandate Christianity, groups continued to diversify and remove themselves from the Christian mainstream. At first, these groups had few devotees. Years later, however, these Christian divisions developed into entire regions that defended rival teachings. The first division followed the Council of Chalcedon in the fifth century and resulted in the initial break between Greek and ^{Roman Christianity.} About A.D. 1054, the next significant split occurred between the Greek and Latin factions of the church. Officially, this event marked the division between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.

During the early 16th century, the Protestant Reformation developed within the western half of Christianity from a reform movement started by Martin Luther and John Calvin against the ruling Roman Catholic Church. This division later resulted in the growth of fragment groups called denominations.

RITES OF LITURGY

As a reflection of the diversity of its denominations, the Christian worship service can be in either the formal or the less structured style.

Formal Style

In the formal style, the Christian worship service is offered according to fixed rites. You should use the term liturgy in reference to these rites. A formal liturgical rite is used within the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and various Protestant denominations, such as the Episcopal Church, Lutheran Church, and others.

Free Style

You will find the free-style or less structured rite of worship used in many of the other Protestant faith groups. The different styles in the rites of liturgy have resulted from the many divisions that have occurred within the history of the Christian church.

Diversity

Table 1-1 provides some examples of the variations in the rites of Christian worship. Notice how even the forms of worship-praise, petition, repentance, thanksgiving, devotion, and offering-are varied. In recent decades, the Christian rites of liturgy have

Table 1-1.-Variations in the Rites of Christian Worship

Table 1-1.-Variations in the Rites of Christian Worship-Continued

undergone even broader changes. Changing styles of worship have occurred in every Christian community in America. As explained earlier, we are living in an age marked by pluralism. This means we are living in a society in which many dissimilar ethnic, religious, or cultural groups coexist within one nation. Within the pluralistic denominations of the Christian faith, members and religious support personnel must respect diversity in the Christian rites of worship and the changes that may evolve.

Special Concerns

In today's Navy, chaplains must address special concerns in administering the rites of Christian worship. These concerns include sexist language, involvement of the laity, uplifting worship appointments, user-friendly worship spaces, small chapels for daily use, public prayer in interfaith settings, and other complex issues. Since the chaplains are involved with these issues, you, the RP, should also be aware of them.

Basic Concepts

Whether formal or informal, the rites and ceremonies of Christian worship are demonstrations- external acts or gestures -that guide prayers or liturgical worship. In all cases, Christian rites and ceremonies are based on four concepts: (1) symbolism, (2) consecration, (3) recurrence, and (4) commemoration. Regardless of the denomination or style, the rites and ceremonies in Christian worship recall and convey the heritage of the people in a shared experience. In the following paragraphs, we will look at some special rites of worship and their different interpretations and practices.