By: Olivia, Meghan, Amy, Matteo and Jonathan Christianity By: Olivia, Meghan, Amy, Matteo and Jonathan

How Christianity Began Christianity began when God sent an angel down to Mary to tell her that she was going to have a baby named Jesus. He was born on December 25 over 2000 years ago in Bethlehem and was Jewish.

Basic Beliefs The three parts of God or the Holy Trinity are God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We believe in life after death in heaven.

Sacred Texts Sacred texts include the Holy Bible. It consists of two major parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. John, Mathew, Paul and all of Jesus' disciples are all major characters of the Bible. The disciples are followers of Jesus.

The Disciples

Key Leaders The pope is one of the key leaders. He lives in Italy, in The Vatican. He is the leader of all Catholic churches. Under the pope are cardinals. Once the pope dies, one of the cardinals will be the new pope.

Other Key Leaders Under the cardinals are bishops. They are men who are in charge of the Christians in certain cities. Under all of those leaders are priests. They celebrate the mass in front of the altar every Sunday at church.

Sacred Places and Spaces A sacred place in Christianity is the church. The church is special because it is the home of God and that’s where the altar is. On the altar is where the wine, the hosts and gospel are kept.

Sacred Places and Spaces There is also the bell tower and the seating area. In the church you will find stained glass windows to represent some pictures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and other disciples.

Rituals The sacraments that we share are Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation. Every Christian child has to do these rituals.

Baptism Baptism is the way in which the church receives people into the family of God. They are received to live life in a new way and with new meaning. At the time of baptism, the person is now accepted as a member of the church. The water cleanses the baby’s sins. Later on, the baby may go through the process of First Communion.

Communion First Communion is one of the holiest and most important occasions in a Roman Catholic’s life. It means that person has received the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the body of Jesus Christ.

Confirmation Confirmation is when we receive the spirit. It's a ceremony where you are saying that you are a member of the church. You are confirming your commitment to the religion. You stand up in front of the church and you have a sponsor who stands with you who is already a member of the religion.

Holidays, Festivals and Celebrations There are many Christian holidays, but the most important ones are Christmas and Good Friday and Easter Sunday. They are important because Christmas is when Jesus was born and Good Friday is when He died. Easter is when Jesus rises from the dead.

Lent Lent is when Jesus didn’t eat or drink for 40 days in the desert, so we should try to give up something for 40 days.

Advent Advent is four weeks before Christmas. We light 4 candles. Three purple ones and one pink one and sometimes a white one. The meanings of these candles are: peace, joy, hope, love and the white one means Christ.

Symbolism Some of our symbols are the cross which symbolizes Jesus' death. Another symbol is the ichthus, which is shaped like a fish that symbolizes that you are a Christian. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit and peace.

Demographics As of the early 21st century there were about 2.2 billion Christians in the world. 90 percent of Italy is Christian and about 75 percent of Canadians are Christians.