The idea of making India, and not only it, Christian, dominated the minds of both politicians and those who chose the path of missionary work in order to teach Hindus to live and think according to the New Testament. This process has absorbed and still absorbs huge resources - both material and human. The result is that only a little more than two percent of Indians consider themselves to be in the Christian community
The Vatican is a mysterious city-state with an area of slightly less than two Moscow Kremlin. However, this territory, which is not large by modern standards, contains huge cultural treasures. After all, for many centuries the Catholic Church collected priceless objects from all over the world in order to safely hide them in the secret rooms of the papal palace
It would seem that in the 21st century, mankind should have gone far from medieval witch hunts, but the profession of an exorcist
In the Middle Ages, many medieval women and men voluntarily preferred to be walled up alive, which today raises many questions and bewilderment, but at that time it was commonplace. What was the main reason for this decision and why the hermits were walled up alive of their own free will - further in the article
It is extremely difficult to imagine modern life without cars, electricity, household appliances and electronic assistants. However, there are entire communities of people in the world who deliberately locked themselves and their children at the level of the 18th century
Many buildings have remained in the vast domestic spaces from the past. It goes without saying that sacred buildings are no exception. However, while some of the cathedrals are considered a national treasure and are carefully preserved, others have not just gone to the periphery of history, but have simply been abandoned
A huge number of crosses existed and still exist in the world: the ancient Egyptian Ankh, Celtic cross, solar, Latin, Orthodox, Byzantine, Armenian
On ancient Novgorod churches, you can find crosses with circles, traditional for the Celts. What is it really?
There were times when the vastness of Russia was inhabited by very outlandish Orthodox sects. They had funny names, bizarre customs, and you would consider them a humorist invention
Why did Moses lead his people in the wilderness for 40 years? After all, going from the Nile Delta to Israel is not so far?
In 1739 the Scottish philosopher David Hume published A Treatise on Human Nature. The ideas of the treatise became the basis for the further philosophy of Hume and his criticism of religion. In it, the philosopher formed the famous "Hume's guillotine", which became a painful thorn for theologians
Since ancient times, an unusual and incomprehensible ritual to many modern people has been practiced in Christian culture - eating a book. Who needed it and why?
Missionary work has always been an important political tool. The salvation of lost souls was justified by diplomatic intrigues and bloody conquests. America was conquered by the priests along with the conquistadors, and the Indians who had escaped the Spanish swords were forced to kiss the Catholic cross. In the Far East, things were different
From the domes on the Orthodox church, one can understand not only the time of its construction and regional affiliation, but also what it is dedicated to. Early Christian basilicas and ancient Roman temples often had one huge dome in the shape of a hemisphere. Russian churches could be crowned with a different number of domes, which appeared in different forms
Orthodox Christians in Russia have revered and continue to do so many bizarre icons. Some of them were even banned by the Church - for their frightening appearance
One of the most impressive miracles of the Middle Ages is the burning book that soared three times over the flames as a sign of the triumph of the Christian doctrine over the heresy of the Albigensians
The sect "Church of the Last Testament" and its leader, who declared himself Jesus Christ, had been known in Russia for a long time. During this time, their community built a city in the taiga and turned the lives of its members into a nightmare
The entire 2000-year history of Christianity is the preaching of an event that happened on the spring morning of the month of Nisan, when Jesus Christ was crucified, and the day of His Resurrection immediately became the main holiday of Christians
The well-known author of aphorisms Arkady Davidovich once noted: "How many times have we been deceived by the end of the world, but we still believe in it every time." He is absolutely right - the Apocalypse is constantly awaited all over the world, zealously following all kinds of predictions and signs. They especially succeeded in this expectation in Russia, where the End of the World is thoughtfully and selflessly awaiting
The horrors of the Inquisition, which operated for several centuries in Europe and America, are well known to all of us since our school days. But we know almost nothing about the hunt for domestic witches. Were there witches in Russia, and if so, how at ease did they feel where there was no Catholic church court with its tortures and bonfires?
Among the Orthodox media, there are pronounced authoritarian and liberal ones. Pravoslavie.ru and Tsargrad express conservative ideology and expose the vices of the West. The faithful children of the church cannot do without knowledge of geopolitics: behind every trend from the West are NATO interests
What do we know about the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy? Beard, kosovorotka, "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina"
Scientists recently found an unpublished article by Winston Churchill. In it, he talks about exoplanets and the high probability of the appearance of living beings in other star systems
Every self-respecting religion can boast of its saints. Usually saints are credited with various miracles, acts of self-sacrifice, severity and humility. Let's remember the biblical commandment: Thou shalt not kill! The saints were so white and fluffy. But in Orthodox Christianity there is one reverend who, if you look at it, had a very mediocre relationship to Christianity. We are talking about Sergius of Radonezh. What's wrong with him? Let's figure it out
Easter cakes, eggs, “Christ is Risen” - “Truly is Risen” - it would seem that there could be more traditional and understandable than Christian Easter. After the New Year and celebrating its own birthday, Easter takes the honorable third place in a series of secular and religious holidays. But in fact, this is also not the case with this holiday. Let's figure it out
You can have a master, you can have a king, but most of all fear the "master"
The priests from the ROC once again showed themselves and the contents of their cranium not from the best side. Because of what ordinary people are forced to remember the long-forgotten term "obscurantism"
Russian history is like a rope with knots! Yes, just imagine the history of Russia like this - in the form of a rope with knots, and each knot on it is a new historical twist associated with a change of government, with a change in ideology, and even with a change in national-historical symbols
The Greek word for "Christ" and the Hebrew word for "Messiah" are not complete synonyms. The Messiah is the one who was "anointed with oil for the kingdom." Christ is the one who uses the healing ointment, oil, anointing, that is, the healer. That is why in ancient Greece all healers were called CHRIST! And the legendary Isus too
In Yekaterinburg, the Russian Orthodox Church decided to build a church in the city square in the very center of the city. On May 12, the townspeople, who came to the park for a walk, saw a fence covering the entrance. A piece of greenery in an industrial city is very valuable. The people were outraged. On the evening of May 12, more than 3 thousand citizens gathered near the fence. The arrived mayor was greeted with a chant "Resign!"
The Jews realized in modern Russia everything that is described in the "Old Testament", but I forced the Jews to realize in modern Russia the plot described in the "New Testament"
A Christian believing in lies, saturated with lies and living in lies, at the high levels of the Christian hierarchical ladder himself begins to look like a lie: the well-known "painted" smile on a lean face. Physical form soaks up lies
The early years of the Christian Church were marked by incessant theological controversy. The fragile church organization could not adequately respond to various philosophical challenges that arose from different sides - numerous trends arose throughout the Christian world, primarily due to the fact that the clergy did not have time to unify dogmas
Representatives of various religious denominations in Belarus, primarily Orthodox and Catholics, do not remain aloof from what is happening. Do they support the protests and how does Lukashenka react to this?
There are many who reprimand priests for using luxurious clothes and golden crosses. It's time to figure out whether the crosses are really golden and where did such a strange "tradition" come from in religion, which preaches love for one's neighbor. As it is not boring, but first of all we will have to return to our beloved Romans
Before Muhammad, before Jesus, before Buddha, there was Zarathustra. About 3,500 years ago, in Bronze Age Iran, he saw a vision of the one Supreme God. A thousand years later, Zoroastrianism, the world's first great monotheistic religion, became the official faith of the powerful Persian Empire, its fiery temples were visited by millions of adherents. After another thousand years, the empire collapsed, and the followers of Zarathustra were persecuted and adopted the new faith of their conquerors - Islam
Sodomy, incest, mass rape, trade in positions, worship of Satan, murder, torture, atheism and even "such sins that cannot be pronounced." All this is not a complete list of the arts of some pontiffs
We have already said more than once that the thesis that Orthodoxy in tsarist Russia was allegedly a stronghold of spirituality and morality in the country, which is being actively promoted in our Russian society
One should get acquainted with the history of religious wars in France in the 16th century not only as a direct confrontation between two worldviews. Social and dynastic problems in the kingdom directly influenced the unleashing of bloody unrest
Many who came across and were interested in the history of religions