基督教相關用字 Cathedral

在美國常常看到一些基督教相關的字, 常常搞混, 在這裡紀錄一下.

這些字還漫粗淺的, 只是用法習慣和台灣不同, 所以搞混. 在這裡紀錄一下.

cathedral noun

the principal church of a diocese, with which the bishop is officially associated

Christianity noun

the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.

catholicism 名詞

天主教義、信仰及組織; 天主教

protestantism 名詞

新教; 新教教義; 新教教會

orthodoxy 名詞

東正教

台灣的習慣是分成天主教, 基督教, 和東正教 (其實這個很少見). 但是這個分法有點誤導. 根據維基百科,

The three primary divisions of Christianity are Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism.

也就是說, 在西方人的觀點裡, 所有以耶穌基督的教誨為基礎的宗教, 都是 Christianity (基督教), 而基督教可以分為三個主要的流派 -- 天主教 (Catholicism), 東正教 (Eastern Orthodoxy), 和新教 (Protestantism). 而這裡所指的新教, 就是台灣常說的 基督教. 像是 長老會, 浸信會 在台灣一般人都認為她們是基督教, 其實指的是新教.

另外我曾經在某個地方讀過, Cathedral 差不多等於 天主教的意思. 但是我現在卻查不到. 我想可能是因為 Cathedral 是用在有主教 (bishop) 專屬座位的大型教堂, 而主教這個職位主要是天主教制度下的產物, 所以才有此一說吧.

Ref.: Cathedral- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word cathedral is derived from the Latin word cathedra ("seat" or "chair"), and refers to the presence of the bishop's or archbishop's chair or throne. In the ancient world, the chair was the symbol of a teacher and thus of the bishop's role as teacher, and also of an official presiding as a magistrate and thus of the bishop's role in governing a diocese.

Though now grammatically used as a noun, the term cathedral was originally the adjective in the phrase "cathedral church", from the Latin ecclesia cathedralis. The seat marks the place set aside in the prominent church of the diocese for the head of that diocese and is therefore a major symbol of authority.