2. Faith Traditions Preamble and Overview Each of the major Faith Traditions has several “sects” or groups. These various groups began either: When leaders disagreed with each other on who should be the leader, Or they disagreed on fine points of what to believe, Or the tradition was gradually influenced by the culture of the various nations in which it existed, Or one group broke away from the original to try to live the tradition in what they thought was a better way. Muslims all revere Mohammed as their founder, and the Koran as their holy book. They are divided into two groups: the Sunnis and the Shiites. They disagreed about leadership. Jews, all of whom follow the scriptures, are subdivided into groups from the most strict to the most liberal: the Hasidic, Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform traditions. All hold the same beliefs as regards faith, but they live the 613 rules in the scripture to a different degree. Buddhists have different branches. They may be of the Theravada branch, the Mahayana branch (which includes Zen and Tibetan Buddhism), or the Vajrayana branch. The various branches are culturally and philosophically different. Christians all believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the World. Christians are monotheistic. That is they believe in one God, although that one God is expressed as the loving community of the Trinity, which includes the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. It must be stated that for Christians, God is eternal, creator, and not gender specific (neither male nor female). Although most frequently referred to as he, or father, even the ancient texts of the Hebrew Scriptures portray feminine images of God where God is referred to as mother.

3. Beliefs Held in Common by Most Christians The belief that the Messiah, long awaited by the Jewish people, had come. (The Jewish people are still waiting for the Messiah (the savoir) who will “save” the people. For Christians the Messiah is Jesus, the Christ (the anointed one), and his followers are called Christians. The belief that Jesus fulfilled the Hebrew Scriptures. He was born in Bethlehem, and he was to be a suffering servant. Jesus lived quietly until he was ~30 years of age, and then he went around preaching about G-d’s love, about forgiveness for sins, about how to love to all people – poor, the handicapped, widows (single parents), friends, family, and even enemies. Jesus was an observant Jew, and he continued to proclaim the 10 Commandments, and the Great Commandment: “Love G-d with your whole heart, your whole strength, and your whole self; and love your neighbour as yourself.” The belief that Jesus died, was buried, and three days later he rose again from the dead. This is celebrated on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Jesus called G-d, Father (Abba), and he sent the Spirit to strengthen and guide us (Celebrated at Pentecost -70 days after Easter). Thus Christians believe in ONE God who is three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – The Trinity. On Holy Thursday – the day before Good Friday, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, thus teaching them to serve others; and then gave himself in the bread and wine that he and the disciples consumed at the Passover meal – the last supper. Various Christian denominations give these two events varying emphases. In the Catholic mass and the High Anglican service, the Word (the scriptures) and the Eucharist (the celebration of the Last Supper) - Jesus’ real presence in the bread and wine, have equal emphasis. Some Christian denominations attend only to the word, and others celebrate the last supper as a remembrance, not as an anamnesis (it is really happening again).

4. The story of the birth of Jesus, the Christ (the anointed one ), is important to all Christians. Here you can see Jesus as the baby in the manger, Mary & Joseph, a shepherd & sheep, and the cow & the ox, as mentioned in the Christmas story in Scripture. Christmas Crèche

5. All Christians believe that through Baptism they become members of the Christian community. As water is poured over their head (or they are fully immersed), a designated person says, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. The pictures of the Baptismal fonts above are from several different branches of Christianity. Baptismal Fonts

6. All Christians hold to the Bible as their book of Holy Scripture. The Bible includes the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), and the Christian Scriptures (the New Testament). Catholics include a few ancient Jewish texts called the apocrypha. Christians may differ on how literally or how symbolically they read the texts of the Bible. Protestants place more emphasis on reading the Scriptures (the Word of God), singing, and listening to sermons, than on the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. For most Protestants, the Lord’s Supper is a celebration remembering Jesus’ actions and words at the Last Supper. The Bible

7. Divisions The first division in the Christian faith tradition occurred in 1054 between the Greek and the Roman groups over a fine point of faith, leading to the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholic traditions. In the sixteenth century (1517), a Roman Catholic monk, Martin Luther, protested against financial, theological, and power abuses in the church, which resulted in the beginning of various Protestant groups – Lutherans, Methodists, etc. The Anglican Church began when King Henry VIII of England who wanted to divorce his wife, had a fight with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, and started his own church, the Church of England. (1534) (called Anglicans in Canada). Other Christian groups began for a variety of reasons. Since the different sects placed a different emphasis on different aspects of the faith or of the celebration, Christian churches will have differences that are beyond artistic or architectural differences. This can be observed in the pictures that follow. In Catholic Churches, the altar (for the liturgy of the Eucharist) is in the middle, and the lectern (where the scriptures are read - for the equally important liturgy of the Word) is usually off to one side.

8. St. Aidan’s Anglican Anglican churches may have several rows of seats along each side of the altar, for the choir to sit. (The Anglican Communion includes high Anglican which is closer to Catholic beliefs and celebrations, and low Anglican which is closer to Protestant beliefs and celebrations.) Anglican Church

9. The sanctuary in Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches is hidden behind the Iconostasis. The Iconostasis is a beautiful wall separating the congregation from the most holy place where the priests pray and God becomes present in the Holy Sacrament. The wall is decorated in carved wood and gold, and covered in pictures of the apostles and special saints, especially the one after whom the Church is named. This is the Iconostas at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox. The wall is plain because it is being rebuilt after a fire destroyed the whole church. Greek & Russian Orthodox

10. Christian churches may be decorated with paintings, mosaics, and stained glass windows, mainly to tell the stories in the Scriptures. The decorations were not present for merely artistic reasons. They began as a way to educate the people in their faith, as the majority of them could not read. Jesus the Good Shepherd Montreal West United Church Stained Glass

11. Stories of the Virgin Mary – progressing through each frame Christ Church Cathedral - Anglican A Memorial to the Soldiers who fought in the First World War – St. James United