Portal:Christianity

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Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.

The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, Mary was six days old when her father died and she inherited the throne. During her childhood, Scotland was governed by regents, first by the heir to the throne, James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, and then by her mother, Mary of Guise. In 1548, she was betrothed to Francis, the Dauphin of France, and was sent to be brought up in France, where she would be safe from invading English forces during the Rough Wooing. Mary married Francis in 1558, becoming queen consort of France from his accession in 1559 until his death in December 1560. Widowed, Mary returned to Scotland in August 1561. The tense religious and political climate following the Scottish Reformation that Mary encountered on her return to Scotland was further agitated by prominent Scots such as John Knox, who openly questioned whether her subjects had a duty to obey her. The early years of her personal rule were marked by pragmatism, tolerance, and moderation. She issued a proclamation accepting the religious settlement in Scotland as she had found it upon her return, retained advisers such as James Stewart, Earl of Moray (her illegitimate half-brother), and William Maitland of Lethington, and governed as the Catholic monarch of a Protestant kingdom. (Full article...)

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Death in 19th-century Mormonism involved several unique religious rituals, cultural customs, and eschatological beliefs. In the years of the Church of Christ and, later, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), death played a prominent role in the lives of members due to various diseases, forced removal from settlements, the harsh nature of life on the American frontier, and the lack of medical knowledge at the time. Mormon mortality rates climbed through most of the century until a permanent settlement in Utah Territory was established and advances in medical science were made. Before these improvements, the commonality of death in Latter-day Saint communities produced a distinct culture surrounding the death of a member of the community. The dying were either blessed to be healed or to be received into heaven, depending on the person's wishes. A phenomenon known as the "beautiful death" set forth traditions such as family and friends gathering around a person's deathbed to witness their transition into the next life. Nineteenth-century Latter-day Saints came to terms with the frequent deaths of loved ones – especially those of infants and children – by turning to the teachings offered by their religion. The early Latter-day Saints' respect for the dead is evidenced by burial and funeral traditions. Corpses were washed, dressed, and laid in graves, most often in cemeteries. A member of the church then blessed the gravesite to be protected until the resurrection. Postmortem treatment of fellow church members was an organized community effort most often led by women. Sermons and poetry were composed to memorialize the deceased; death masks, coffin canes, and locks of hair also served as tokens of the person's life and were believed to possess spiritual power. Mormons believed that glorious rewards awaited the righteous in the afterlife. Both teachings from 19th-century church leaders and near-death experiences recorded by church members at the time attest to a pleasant existence after death in a realm called the "spirit world." This desired fate was believed to be attainable only through baptism and the ordinances received in LDS temples. (Full article...)

Finding in the Temple

The Finding in the Temple, also called "Christ among the Doctors" or the Disputation (the usual names in art), was an episode in the early life of Jesus depicted in the Gospel of Luke. It is the only event of the later childhood of Jesus mentioned in a gospel.

• ... that "O komm, du Geist der Wahrheit" is an 1833 German-language hymn for Pentecost in which the "Spirit of Truth" is called to come and restore the attitude of early Christianity?
• ... that a call to prayer is a common feature to Christianity, Islam and Judaism?
• ... that the earliest representation of the devil might be a mosaic in San Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna from the 6th century, in the form of a blue angel?
• ... that wood type for printing was invented in China, first mass-produced in the United States, and later exported back to China for use by missionaries?
• ... that Mount Yasumandake was considered sacred to Buddhists, Shintoists, and Christians?
• ... that the Correspondence of Paul and Seneca was cited in the Middle Ages to claim that Seneca, a Roman philosopher of Stoicism, had converted to Christianity?