The Confession of Saint Patrick Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Confession of Saint Patrick - Essay Example He narrates the story of his life from his childhood through to adulthood and right up to the time before his death. This account by St. Patrick gives us an insight into the background of the prevailing times and also lending focus to the legends and the myths that shrouded his personality. This biographical account is edited by Whitely Stokes and was compiled by Beatrix Fà ¤rber and Benjamin Hazard. The language used by the author was Latin. His father was Calpornius, who was a deacon in an era much before celibacy became the rule for priests. He was a Romanized Briton. Patrick’s mother came from an upper-class Gaulish family of Martin of Tours, though Patrick does not pride himself for the fact. As time gradually rolled by, Patrick’s enslavement had a great impact on him and strengthened his faith in the Christian religion. At the very impressionable age of sixteen, he admitted in his ‘Confessions’ that he was captured and brought to Ireland to serve as a slave to a Druidic chieftan named Milchu in Dalriada, at the County Antrim. But at the age of twenty two he escaped from there and once again reunited with his parents at Britain where later he became ‘one of the first Christian clergymen in Ireland, being preceded by men such as Pallidius (c.380-457/61). His first convert was his patron Dichu, who gifted him a huge barn (sabhal) where a church was constructed and the site still retains the name of Sabhal that is pronounced as â€Å"Saul.† In Ireland, Patrick was not the first Christian missionary, because much before him were missionaries like Secundus and Pallidius who continued their active work in the south of the island. But even so, Patrick is given a lot of credence as one of the best missionaries because his teachings had a great impact especially in provinces like Ulster and Connaught where there were no Christians before. He came across as a man who possessed a deep love for God and courageous enough to face

What are the main features of Christian teaching and practice, church Essay

What are the main features of Christian teaching and practice, church organization and life which distinguish Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism from one another - Essay Example In fact, the division of the religion occurred itself for the division of faith and the way of teaching pertaining to the religion and owing to various area. Roman Catholicism, which is the most popular among the three on the global perspective and have more than 1 billion members, believes in the reconciliation amidst all the smaller divisions within the religion. The Catholicism emphasizes in religious hierarchy and comprises precisely of those churches that are headed by bishops in communion with Pope, the supreme commandant of all the catholic churches. The Catholics trace their origin in apostolic succession which is believed to be found directly by Jesus Christ. The Eastern Orthodoxy finds their communion in Patriarchal Sees of the East and are is quite similar to the Roman Catholics that trace their origin through Apostolic Succession. The churches under this regime give recognition to the first three councils which are ecumenical namely Nicaea, Constantinople and Ephesus. These divisions of Christianity reject the definitions of the Council of Chalcedon and in its place, emphasizes on the Miaphysite Christology. The Eastern Orthodoxy also focuses upon the autonomy of individuals. The Protestants are the orthodox followers of Christianity and many of them identify themselves as â€Å"Christians or born-again Christians†. They maintain a neat distance with the typical confessionals of the Christian communities adhering to other faiths. Protestants strongly deviate from the faith of denominational. They declare themselves strongly as â€Å"non-denominational†. This religious segment is often guided by individual pastors and they have very little affiliation with historical