Early church in the context of "Jewish diaspora"

In Christianity, a martyr is a person who was killed for their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In the years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake, or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word martyr comes from the Koine word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness" or "testimony".

At first, the term applied to the Apostles. Once Christians started to undergo persecution, the term came to be applied to those who suffered hardships for their faith. Finally, it was restricted to those who had been killed for their faith. The early Christian period before Constantine I was the "Age of Martyrs". "Early Christians venerated martyrs as powerful intercessors, and their utterances were treasured as inspired by the Holy Spirit."

The Three Hierarchs (Ancient Greek: Οἱ Τρεῖς Ἱεράρχαι; Greek: Οι Τρεις Ιεράρχες) of Eastern Christianity refers to Basil the Great (also known as Basil of Caesarea), Gregory the Theologian (also known as Gregory of Nazianzus) and John Chrysostom. They were highly influential bishops of the early church who played pivotal roles in shaping Christian theology. In Eastern Christianity they are also known as the Three Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers, while in Roman Catholicism the three are honored as Doctors of the Church. The three are venerated as saints in Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Anglicanism, and other Christian churches.

Henry Chadwick KBE FBA (23 June 1920 – 17 June 2008) was a British academic, theologian and Church of England priest. A former dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford – and as such, head of Christ Church, Oxford – he also served as master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.

A leading historian of the early church, Chadwick was appointed Regius Professor at both the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He was a noted supporter of improved relations with the Catholic Church, and a leading member of the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission. An accomplished musician, having studied music to degree level, he took a leading part in the revision and updating of hymnals widely used within Anglicanism, chairing the board of the publisher Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd. for 20 years.

Kerygma (from Ancient Greek: κήρυγμα, kḗrygma) is a Greek word used in the New Testament for 'proclamation' (see Luke 4:18-19, Romans 10:14, Gospel of Matthew 3:1). It is related to the Greek verb κηρύσσω (kērússō), literally meaning 'to cry or proclaim as a herald' and being used in the sense of 'to proclaim, announce, preach'. Amongst biblical scholars, the term has come to mean the core of the early church's teaching about Jesus.

The Catholic Church under Pope Francis strongly emphasized the importance of the kerygma as the center of all evangelization and work of renewal, formulating it as "Jesus loves us, died for us, is alive and near us", and extolling it as the wisest and truest proclamation and stating that "all Christian formation consists of entering more deeply into the kerygma."

In Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine-rite Catholic churches, an entrance is a procession during which the clergy enter into the sanctuary through the Holy Doors. The origin of these entrances goes back to the early church, when the liturgical books and sacred vessels were kept in special storage rooms for safe keeping and the procession was necessary to bring these objects into the church when needed. Over the centuries, these processions have grown more elaborate, and nowadays are accompanied by incense, candles and liturgical fans. In the liturgical theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the angels are believed to enter with the clergy into the sanctuary, as evidenced by the prayers which accompany the various entrances.

Saint Glyceria (Greek: Γλυκερία; died ca. 177 in Perinthus, Propontis) was a Roman virgin of the early church.

According to Christian tradition, she was forced to pay tribute to a stone statue of Jupiter but it was destroyed while she stood before it. The virgin was imprisoned for this, then sentenced to be torn apart by wild animals. She, however, was not torn apart. Before the animals could render her any harm, Glyceria died a virgin martyr in Heraclea. Her relics reputedly poured forth the substance known as the Oil of Saints, and her name means "sweetness". Theophylact Simocatta and John of Nikiu report that the flow of sacred oil was temporarily stopped when a silver basin which was used for witchcraft by a man named Paulinus was used to receive it. This event led to Paulinus and his sons execution and removal of the bowl at which time the oil resumed flowing.