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Biblical Values Of
Turkey
Turkey, because of its
geographical location has always been a crossing point for
civilizations and believes. As a result of a 3000 years rich
background, Anatolia houses many important values for many religions.
Among this values, because the closeness to the Holly Land,
Christianity has a big portion. With the missionary trips of the
Apostles and mainly St.Paul, Christianity has been spread all over
Anatolia from the years AD 40 on. The first Christian church in
history which was built in a cave, The Ephesus city which was the
main cult center of the east around "0", The birth place of St
Nicholas (The famous Santa Claus), The cities where the main
ecumenical councils that has the main influence on the formation of
Christianity has been made, The ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch, The
house where Virgin Mary is believed to live in her last years, The
masterpiece and biggest church in the world in its times 6th century
built Hagia Sophia Church, and many more values are all in Anatolia
and Turkey waiting for you to explore and visit...
Jesus Christ and The
Christian Religion
The Christian religion
takes its name from Jesus of Nazareth, born 2000 years ago, called
Christ, meaning "the Anointed One", one of the Messianic titles from
the Books of the Old Testament. What we know about Christ is what we
find in the Gospel, that was never meant to be a biography of Jesus,
but an account of the Good News, in Greek "Evangelion"; of his being
born among us, his teaching, his death and, in particular, his
resurrection. The angel, on the night of his birth, told the
shepherds: "I bring you news of great joy,... a Saviour has been
born to you; he is Christ the Lord"; Jesus lived a relatively short
life, approximately 33 years. Only during the last 3 years, he came
out in public to preach the Good News. Announcing that a new era was
dawning: "The time has come, the kingdom of God is close at hand.
Repent, and believe the Good News." he started preaching, first in
Galilee and then in the whole of Judaea and Jerusalem. His teaching
was well received by the people, but not by the establishment, both
political and religious. So the high priests, the elders and the
scribes got together and decided to have him condemned by the Roman
procurator. He was crucified and died on a cross. On the third day
he rose again from the dead and his resurrection was witnessed by
many. After his ascension into heaven, on the day of Pentecost, the
apostles, who at the time of his trial had all abandoned him, with
great courage came out in public preaching the GOOD NEWS: "Jesus the
Nazarene, whom you have killed, God raised back to life and made him
Lord and Christ". This marks the birth of the Christian Church.
Anatolia the Holly Land
of the Church
The Christian faith soon
started to spread outside the boundaries of Palestine, the land of
Jesus. Especially after the open persecution by the Jewish
establishment against the new Christian community, considered as a
sect and a threat for the Law of Moses, that saw the stoning to
death of Stephen, the first martyr, and the beheading of James,
brother of John, first among the Apostles to lay down his life for
Christ, many Judeo-Christians fled their homeland and took refuge
among kinsmen in Diaspora. Among the new Christian communities, the
one in Antioch (Antakya) was very lively and well organized. Against
this background we come to the first missionary activity of the
Church, which to the north-west of Palestine found very fertile soil
in Anatolia. |
