title: Leopard 1

text: In 1984, the Army Command decided to upgrade 132 Leopard to the A5 standard as Leopard 1A5(BE). At the end of the Cold War, there was a drastic cut in the number of tanks and 128 were sold to Brazil. The upgrade started in 1993 and was completed in 1997. The upgrade included a new gun firing direction system with thermal imaging, a laser rangefinder and a muzzle reference system. At that time, four regiments were still equipped with the Leopard 1A5(BE). At the end of the 1990s, the remaining four regiments amalgamated into two tank regiments, the 1st/3rd Lancers and the 2nd/4th Lancers. In 2010, the 2nd/4th Lancers was disbanded.


title: Leopard 1

text: Around 40 Leopard 1A5(BE) were kept operational in the 1st/3rd Lancers and Carabiniers Prins Boudewijn – Grenadiers. The 1st/3rd Lancers is no longer a tank regiment, but a medium infantry battalion, identical to the rest of the medium infantry battalions of the Belgian Army except for having a single squadron of Leopard 1A5(BE). Belgian Leopards have served in Kosovo. In 2014, following the government's decision to replace all Land Component tracked vehicles (Leopards, AIFV, and M113) with PIRANHA DF90s, Belgian Leopards were retired from service with most tanks being sold, put on display, or used for target practice.


title: Leopard 1

text: During Eurosatory 2022, John Cockerill offered the Cockerill Medium Tank 3105 upgrade package for Leopard 1 tanks. The prototype for the upgrade integrated the hull of the Leopard 1A5(BE) with a Cockerill 3105 turret. The only modification to the hull is the installation of an adaptor ring for the new turret and an electronic cable. The turret is armed with a 105 mm Cockerill 105HP with a 12-round autoloader and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, with both thermal and day sights. The installation of the new turret reduces the tank's weight by 5 tonnes and the tank crew to 3 personnel. The prototype was converted at the John Cockerill facility in Aubange and underwent firing tests at the Suippes military base in March 2022.


title: Leopard 1

text: As a replacement for the Centurion Tank, Canada acquired 114 Leopard C1 tanks (equivalent to Leopard 1A3 with laser rangefinder) in 1978–79 for its Land Forces. Most of these tanks were stationed in Germany during the Cold War, with a few retained at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick for training. In 1976, prior to delivery of these new Leopards, the Canadian government leased 35 Leopard 1A2 tanks from the contractor in order to begin training crews from the 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (4CMBG) based in West Germany. These tanks equipped the Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) that competed against other NATO tank crews and won the Canadian Army Tank competition in 1977.


title: Leopard 1

text: While investigating the possibilities of increasing the Leopards' armour prior to a refit, the turret armour on close-up inspection was 1.5-inch + turret wall cast 0.75-inch steel, the 'belly' armour was approx. 2.25-inch + cast frame steel 0.75-inch steel, skirt covering treads (tracks) was 1-inch rubber – not steel. Additional armour was applied on the forward half of the skirt during the refit as well as increased 0.6-inch steel on the upper hull sides and 1.1-inch steel on the upper Glacis – although only a small handful of C1s received a complete refit.


title: Leopard 1

text: The refit included adding thermal night-vision equipment. Five or six Leopard C1 tanks had an extremely thick MEXAS appliqué armour kit applied, made by German firm IBD Deisenroth Engineering. These tanks, designated Leopard C1 MEXAS, served with Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) in the 1999 KFOR mission in Kosovo. They were later upgraded with the same sights and fire-control system as the Leopard C2 (see below).


title: Leopard 1

text: Starting in 1996, the 114 Leopard C1 tanks in service were due to be upgraded to the Leopard 1A5 standard, designated as the Leopard C2, at a cost of CA$139 million. The turrets of 123 surplus Leopard 1A5 tanks purchased from the German Defence Ministry were fitted into the existing hulls (nine turrets were reserved for spare parts and training), and the German tank hulls sold back to the upgrade contractor. For the process, the original Leopard 1A3 turrets had their main armament removed first, then were removed from the original C1 hulls. The modified Leopard 1A5 turrets were then fitted onto the C1 hulls. The removed L7A3 105mm guns were refitted onto the new turrets. Due to the complexity of the upgrade process, of the 114 tanks, 66 tanks were successfully upgraded. The first updated Leopards, now named the Leopard C2, entered service in November 1999, at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick.


title: Leopard 1

text: The Leopard C2's turret was modified according to the Canadian Army's request, with new radios being installed, and new stowage containers being fitted to the rear of the turret. Aside from the requested add-ons, the biggest update for the Canadian Leopard tank fleet was the implementation of the Atlas-Elektronik EMES-18 Fire Control System module, which featured a similar computerized setup as the C1's SABCA FCS, a laser rangefinder, and thermal imager. Eighteen Leopard Crew Gunnery Trainers were purchased at the same time.


title: Leopard 1

text: Canada also operates the Leopard 1-based Beaver armoured bridgelayer vehicle and Taurus armoured recovery vehicle, bought with the original Leopard C1, and the Badger armoured engineer vehicle with a dozer blade and excavator bucket, which entered service in 1990.


title: Leopard 1

text: A number of the Canadian Leopard tanks were pulled out of service during the mid-2000s in anticipation of replacing them with the eight-wheeled Mobile Gun System. These plans were put on hold after US experience revealed serious shortcomings related to stability and weight. Of the obsolescent tanks, 23 were sold to companies in North America, four put in museums or used as monuments, including two at the Bovington Tank Museum, and 21 used as hard targets on ranges.


title: Leopard 1

text: Canada sent a squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) to Afghanistan in the fall of 2006, equipped with 17 Leopard C2 tanks with the MEXAS add-on armour, as well as four recovery vehicles and four engineering vehicles. The armoured squadron was intended to provide convoy protection, supporting Canada's Provincial Reconstruction Teams and other organizations equipped with lighter vehicles, and combat operations. The first tanks arrived in Kandahar in mid-October 2006. On 2 December 2006, the Leopards stationed in Kandahar entered the field, marking the first time since the Korean War that a Canadian armoured squadron had sent tanks into an active war zone. They fired their guns in combat for the first time in as many years the following day, in response to a Taliban rocket attack.


title: Leopard 1

text: The deployed tank squadron was in combat operations from late 2006 until July 2011. The first squadron deployed with C2 MEXAS. In mid July 2007, a thermal cover and a cooling unit with crew vests was added to the tanks. The tank squadron was augmented in mid September 2007 with the 20 Leopard 2A6Ms with slat bar type armour. The Barracuda system was added in mid-2008. In late 2010, the tank squadron added five of the new Leopard 2A4Ms. The tank squadron operated with the three different Leopards until it was pulled from combat operations. The C2 MEXAS with the mine ploughs, mine rollers and the dozers were used alongside the Leopard 2's, until a bracket was installed for the Leopard 2A6M to mount them.


title: Leopard 1

text: After an initial assessment of the performance of the Leopard C2 in Afghanistan, Canada decided to invest in Leopard 2 tanks. It was determined that the lack of adequate air conditioning, essential in the searing heat of Afghanistan, was degrading the tank crew's war fighting ability. The Army later downplayed this factor, citing increased armour protection and the main gun armament as reasons for upgrading to the Leopard 2. After some public speculation, Canadian Defence Minister Hon. Gordon O'Connor clarified the situation in April 2007.


title: Leopard 1

text: To meet immediate needs in Afghanistan, 20 of the Bundeswehr's stock of Leopard 2A6s were upgraded to the 2A6M standard and loaned to Canada at no cost by the German government. Two Leopard 2 "Büffel" Armoured Recovery Vehicles were acquired at the same time. These vehicles were shipped from Germany to Afghanistan, with the first arriving on 16 August 2007.


title: Leopard 1

text: For the long term, Canada plans to replace the borrowed Leopard 2 tanks with a purchase of 100 surplus vehicles from the Netherlands, including 20 Leopard 2A6Ms for combat service, 40 Leopard 2A4s for training, and 20 support vehicles, such as Armoured Recovery Vehicles, Bridge-Layers and Armoured Engineer vehicles.


title: Leopard 1

text: The older Leopard C2 tanks are considered to become completely obsolete by 2015, but specific plans for them have not yet been announced. Until deployment with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, the Leopard 1 C2 had never seen active combat.


title: Leopard 1

text: In February 2018, Canada attempted to sell the surplus Leopard 1C2 tanks to the Jordanian Armed Forces. In July, it was announced that the plan to sell the older Leopard tanks to Jordan fell through and the Canadian Department of National Defence has yet to decide what to do with the surplus vehicles. Daniel Le Bouthillier, a spokesperson for the Canadian Department of National Defense, said "the last option would be to destroy the tanks."


title: Leopard 1

text: As of November, 2021, no buyer was found for the Canadian Army's Leopard 1C2 tanks, "About 45 retired Canadian Army tanks will soon be used for target practice at the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range." A Vegreville Alberta company, Quest Disposal & Recycling Inc., was contracted to repurpose them to be used for target practice at Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, and the tanks were at the company's site being processed in December 2021.


title: Leopard 1

text: In 1976, Denmark acquired 120 Leopard 1A3 tanks, which were designated Leopard 1 DK. Delivery was completed in 1978. In 1992, Denmark acquired another 110 1A3 tanks, partly through Conventional Forces Europe treaty AFV reduction requirements. These tanks were upgraded to Leopard 1A5-DK, along with the first 120 Leopards. Being fitted with the welded turret of the Leopard 1A3, the Danish Leopard 1A5-DK tanks were not identical to the German Leopard 1A5, which were fitted with the cast turrets. Denmark had 230 Leopard 1A5-DKs in service from 1993, until their retirement and complete replacement by the Leopard 2A5-DK tanks in 2005.


title: Leopard 1

text: These Leopards were involved in one of the most important engagements in modern Danish military history. Denmark was the only Scandinavian country to send a significant tank force to support their peacekeeping operations in Croatia and Bosnia. On 29 April 1994 near the city of Tuzla seven Danish Leopard 1A5 tanks were involved in a skirmish between UNPROFORs Nordic Battalion (NORDBAT 2) and Bosnian-Serb military forces from the Šekovići brigade. The tanks were sent out to relieve a Swedish-manned observation post that had come under ambush fire by the Bosnian-Serb forces. Upon the tanks arrival at the observation post they were shelled by mortar fire and anti-tank rockets, which led the UN marked and white-painted Leopard 1A5 tanks to return fire. No casualties were suffered by Swedish observation post nor the Danish tank. Serbian casualties were estimated as high as 150 soldiers. This is believed to be the first hostile engagement involving the Leopard 1 tank.


title: Leopard 1

text: Greece bought its first 104 Leopard 1A3 GR tanks during 1983–1984. They are actually Leopard 1A3s, but came with an EMES 12A3 FCS and some other modifications required by the Greek army at that time. During 1992, the Greek army received a batch of 75 Leopard 1A5 as offsets for the construction of 4 MEKO 200 frigates. Some months later, Greece received another batch of 170 Leopard 1V and 2 Leopard 1A5 from the Royal Netherlands army – the Leopard 1V is actually an 1A1A4 with an EMES 12A3 AFSL-2 FCS.


title: Leopard 1

text: From 1998 until 2000, Greece bought 192 used Leopard 1A5s as offsets for the upgrade of the Greek F-4 aircraft in Germany in a symbolic price. In 2001, the Greek army decided to upgrade 104 Leopard 1A4GR and 120 Leopard 1V to the A5+ version, costing 234 million dollars. The programme was cancelled because Greece received a batch of 150 Leopard 1A5s along with the newly built Leopard 2A6 HEL. As of 2011, Greece is the largest user of Leopard 1 tanks, having over 500 Leopard 1A5 GR MBTs as well as many ST, Biber and Leguan versions.


title: Leopard 1

text: Italy had to replace an enormous amount of M47 Patton, with over 2,000 received from US stocks, but unlike other NATO members did not instigate a national project to achieve this. Its army, not entirely satisfied by the M60 Patton (300 delivered, of those 200 were produced by OTO-Melara), placed its first order for the Leopard 1 in 1970. 200 Leopard 1A1 and 69 Bergepanzer 2 were delivered between 1971 and 1972. The vehicles replaced the M47 in the Italian Army's Cavalry Brigade ""Pozzuolo del Friuli"".


title: Leopard 1

text: A further 600 Leopard 1A2 and 67 Bergepanzer 2 were built in Italy by OTO Melara with deliveries starting in 1975, with a second batch of 120 build by OTO Melara between 1980 and 1983. All Italian-built Leopards were A2, but without stabilizer and skirts. The 200 A1s originally bought from Germany were partially upgraded lately at this standard. Forty Pionierleopard (AEV), nine school (for drivers, without armament) and 64 Biber (AVLB) were ordered in 1985. Twelve of the Pionierleopard were produced in Germany and 28 by OTO Melara in Italy. All of the Biber were assembled by OTO Melara in Italy.


title: Leopard 1

text: By the end, Italy was the biggest customer of the Leopard outside Germany with 920 plus 250 special versions, the only one with a licence production, and the only country that produced both the M60 and Leopard 1. The Leopard was the basis for Italian MBTs and heavy artillery systems, starting with Leone/Lion and the following OF-40, leading to other developments like the Palmaria and OTOMATIC artillery systems (both on an OF-40 hull). The experience made possible the development of the C1 Ariete, after the Italian army decided in 1984 to have a new national tank, rather than buying 300 Leopard 2s.


title: Leopard 1

text: At the end of the Cold War, the Italian Army began an upgrade and a downsizing of its armoured units. A number of Leopards were retired in 1991, along with its fleet of M60 tanks. In 1995, Italy bought 120 A5 surplus turrets from the Bundeswehr, which were mounted on the same number of reworked A2 hulls. These tanks took part in the various peacekeeping missions in the Balkans, never seeing action.


title: Leopard 1

text: The last A1/A2 was retired in 2003, with the last A5 going in 2008, leaving the Ariete as the sole tank in Italian service. The AEVs, ARVs, and AVLBs have been reduced in number and some have been modified to work with the Ariete. They are stated to serve for some more years, as no replacement has been selected yet.


title: Leopard 1

text: Lebanon and Belgium finalized the transfer of 43 Leopard 1A5 tanks to the Lebanese Armed Forces in a deal worth 3.5 million euros, which also includes a number of ex-Belgian APCs. The purchased ex-Belgian APCs include 16 AIFV-B-C25s and 12 M113 armoured ambulances.


title: Leopard 1

text: In 2008 a sale of 43 Leopard 1A5(BE) to Lebanon was concluded, but as of 2018 was not finalized due to "the absence of licensing for export from Germany."


title: Leopard 1

text: The Turkish Army upgraded its Leopard 1 tanks to a version called the Leopard 1T 'Volkan'. The modernization program included the serial production and integration of the Volkan fire control system developed by ASELSAN. The new indigenous system provides the capability of detecting the targets in daylight or at night in all weather conditions and combat environments. It significantly increases the first round hit probability on the move and also improve the usage life over 20 years.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Skylar Annette Neese (February 10, 1996July 6, 2012) was an American teenage girl who disappeared from her home in Star City, West Virginia, around midnight on July 6, 2012. Neese's body was found on January 16, 2013, in Wayne Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Neese was murdered by two of her high school best friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. On January 3, 2013, Shoaf confessed to authorities that she and Eddy planned and carried out Neese's murder. Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 1, 2013, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison with eligibility for parole after 10 years. Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on January 24, 2014, and was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 15 years. Neese's disappearance led to new West Virginia legislation that made changes to the AMBER Alert missing child alert system.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Skylar Annette Neese (born February 10, 1996) was the only child of Mary and David "Dave" Neese. At that time, Mary Neese worked as an administrative assistant in a cardiac lab and David Neese was a product assembler at Walmart. Skylar was a student at University High School who wanted to become a criminal defense lawyer. She worked at Wendy's with two close friends.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Shelia Rae Eddy (born September 28, 1995) was born in Blacksville, West Virginia, the only child of Tara Clendenen and Greg Eddy.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Rachel Shoaf (born June 10, 1996) grew up in Morgantown, the only daughter of Rusty and Patricia Shoaf.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: On July 5, 2012, Neese returned to her family's Star City, West Virginia apartment after working a shift at Wendy's. Her apartment complex's surveillance video shows Neese left the apartment via her bedroom window at 12:30 a.m. on July 6 and got into a sedan. Neese's father said she did not take her cell phone charger, her window was left open and that she planned on coming home.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: On the night of the murder, Shoaf and Eddy invited Neese to sneak out with them. Neese, who had recently fallen out with the two, was initially hesitant. After a series of phone calls and texts from the girls, Neese changed her mind.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Shoaf and Eddy had been planning Neese's murder for months. They left Eddy's house prepared to carry out the assault on Neese, bringing with them kitchen knives, paper towels, bleach, cleaning cloths, clean clothes and a shovel. They concealed the knives in their hoodies.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: At approximately 12:30 a.m., Neese climbed out of her bedroom window, crossed the street and got into the back seat of a four-door sedan. Law enforcement officers later determined that the sedan had been in the possession of Eddy that evening. The three girls then headed northwest from Star City toward Blacksville via U.S. Route 19. The perpetrators had planned to travel along W.V. Route 7, but turned around after spotting a state police car. They eventually arrived at their destination just across the Pennsylvania state border, a spot where all three of the girls had occasionally smoked marijuana.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Once the girls were out of the vehicle, the perpetrators told Neese they had forgotten to bring a lighter. Neese volunteered to go back to the vehicle to fetch her own lighter. Once Neese had turned her back, Shoaf and Eddy counted to three, their agreed-upon signal, then began to stab her. Neese attempted to run, but was only able to run a few feet (a meter or two) before Shoaf tackled her to the ground and continued the assault. Neese managed to wrestle Shoaf's knife from her and, in an apparent attempt to defend herself, cut Shoaf's ankle. Eddy continued to stab Neese until there was complete silence and, according to Shoaf, "Neese's neck stopped making gurgling sounds."


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Shoaf and Eddy then attempted to bury Neese, dragging her to the side of the road, but the road ran along a creek and the soil there was too hard and rocky to dig a hole. They instead covered Neese's body with rocks, fallen branches and dirt. They returned to the car to clean themselves and the murder scene, then left the scene.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Neese was initially considered by law enforcement authorities to be a runaway and an Amber Alert was not immediately issued in connection with her disappearance. An early tip indicated that Neese had been seen in North Carolina, but the Star City Police Department determined that the person spotted was not Neese. Neese's parents posted flyers about their missing daughter in the Monongalia County region. Police determined that the unknown sedan in which Neese was last seen belonged to Eddy and interviewed her. Eddy admitted to picking up Neese but stated that she had dropped her off an hour later. The FBI and the West Virginia State Police joined the search for Neese on September 10, 2012, and began interviewing Neese's school friends.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: The break in the case came when Shoaf admitted plotting with Eddy to kill Neese. The motivation Shoaf gave for the murder was they "didn't like her" and "didn't want to be friends with her anymore". David Neese stated that these two girls were among his daughter's best friends and that Eddy had even helped the family by distributing missing person flyers. After her confession, Shoaf led investigators to Neese's body. On March 13, 2013, U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II issued a press release stating that a body found in Wayne Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania on January 16, 2013 had been identified as the body of Neese. Neese's body was found less than away from her home.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: On May 1, 2013, Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. According to the court transcript, Shoaf said that she and Eddy picked up Neese in Eddy's car. The girls drove to Pennsylvania, got out of the car and began socializing. At a pre-arranged time, Shoaf and Eddy stabbed Skylar to death. The teens attempted to bury Neese's body, but were unable to do so and instead covered the body with branches. The court transcript indicates that other students overheard conversations between Shoaf and Eddy about the murder plot, but failed to report it, mistakenly believing that the girls were joking. According to Shoaf's plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree by "unlawfully, feloniously, willfully, maliciously and intentionally causing the death of Skylar Neese by stabbing her and causing fatal injuries". In the plea agreement, the State of West Virginia recommended a sentence of 20 years incarceration. Rachel Shoaf expressed remorse and apologized to the Neeses, her own family, and God during her sentencing. Shoaf's family also issued a public apology for her actions through their lawyer.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: On September 4, 2013, West Virginia prosecutors publicly identified Eddy as the second alleged perpetrator of the murder of Neese and announced that she would be tried as an adult. Eddy was indicted by a grand jury on September 6, 2013 on one count of kidnapping, one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. She pleaded not guilty.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: The date of the trial was originally set for January 28, 2014. Facing the prospect of additional charges from Pennsylvania authorities, Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. She expressed no remorse, but was sentenced to life in prison "with mercy"; under West Virginia law, she is eligible for parole after 15 years. Pennsylvania authorities did not file charges as per the plea deal.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Following her guilty plea on May 1, 2013, on February 25, 2014 Shoaf received a sentence of 30 years in prison and will be eligible for parole after 10 years.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: Eddy originally was held in a facility for juveniles after her arrest. Both women, now in their 20s, are currently incarcerated at the Lakin Correctional Center in Mason County.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: An Amber Alert was not issued in Neese's disappearance because the circumstances did not meet all four criteria for an alert to be issued: (1) a child is believed to be abducted; (2) the child is under 18; (3) the child may be in danger of death or serious injury; (4) there is sufficient information to indicate the Amber Alert would be helpful. A waiting period of 48 hours had to elapse before a teenager could be considered missing. A West Virginia state legislator from the Neese family home district introduced a bill called Skylar's Law to modify West Virginia's Amber Alert plan to issue immediate public announcements when any child is reported missing and in danger, regardless of whether the child is believed to have been kidnapped. Opinion columns appeared in both West Virginia and national media in support of Skylar's Law, some of which also acknowledged criticism and drawbacks of the legislation. On March 27, 2013, the West Virginia House of Delegates approved Skylar's Law with a 98-0 vote. On April 12, 2013, the West Virginia Senate unanimously passed the law, but made minor technical changes to the bill which the House of Delegates voted to accept on the same day. West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed the legislation into law in May 2013.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: On March 10, 2014, the Dr. Phil show covered the story in an episode titled "Best Friends Betrayal"; Neese's parents participated, as did two women who described themselves as "second mothers" to Shoaf. Eddy’s cousin also made an appearance.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: On October 22, 2014, LMN's show "I Killed My BFF" covered the story using parent and friend commentaries in an episode titled "Real Life Heathers".


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: On November 14, 2014, Investigation Discovery's show "See No Evil" covered the story in an episode titled "Skylar Neese". The show uses surveillance video to piece together the last few hours of Neese's life. First person interviews with her family, friends and the investigators are used, along with limited dramatic recreation.


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: On March 26, 2016, ReelzChannel show "Copycat Killers" covered the story in an episode titled "Heathers".


title: Murder of Skylar Neese

text: On October 28, 2016, Investigation Discovery covered the story on an episode of "Suspicion" titled "A Daughter Disappears."


title: Pressure

text: Pressure (symbol: "p" or "P") is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled "gage" pressure) is the pressure relative to the ambient pressure.


title: Pressure

text: Pressure is a standard mechanical quantity. Various units are used to express pressure. Some of these derive from a unit of force divided by a unit of area; the SI unit of pressure, the pascal (Pa), for example, is one newton per square metre (N/m); similarly, the pound-force per square inch (psi) is the traditional unit of pressure in the imperial and U.S. customary systems. Pressure may also be expressed in terms of standard atmospheric pressure; the atmosphere (atm) is equal to this pressure, and the torr is defined as of this. Manometric units such as the centimetre of water, millimetre of mercury, and inch of mercury are used to express pressures in terms of the height of column of a particular fluid in a manometer.


title: Pressure

text: Pressure is the amount of force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area. The symbol for it is "p" or "P".


title: Pressure

text: However, upper-case "P" is widely used. The usage of "P" vs "p" depends upon the field in which one is working, on the nearby presence of other symbols for quantities such as power and momentum, and on writing style.


title: Pressure

text: Pressure is a scalar quantity. It relates the vector area element (a vector normal to the surface) with the normal force acting on it. The pressure is the scalar proportionality constant that relates the two normal vectors:


title: Pressure

text: The minus sign comes from the convention that the force is considered towards the surface element, while the normal vector points outward. The equation has meaning in that, for any surface "S" in contact with the fluid, the total force exerted by the fluid on that surface is the surface integral over "S" of the right-hand side of the above equation.


title: Pressure

text: It is incorrect (although rather usual) to say "the pressure is directed in such or such direction". The pressure, as a scalar, has no direction. The force given by the previous relationship to the quantity has a direction, but the pressure does not. If we change the orientation of the surface element, the direction of the normal force changes accordingly, but the pressure remains the same.


title: Pressure

text: Pressure is distributed to solid boundaries or across arbitrary sections of fluid "normal to" these boundaries or sections at every point. It is a fundamental parameter in thermodynamics, and it is conjugate to volume.


title: Pressure

text: The SI unit for pressure is the pascal (Pa), equal to one newton per square metre (N/m, or kg·m·s). This name for the unit was added in 1971; before that, pressure in SI was expressed simply in newtons per square metre.


title: Pressure

text: Other units of pressure, such as pounds per square inch (lbf/in) and bar, are also in common use. The CGS unit of pressure is the barye (Ba), equal to 1 dyn·cm, or 0.1 Pa. Pressure is sometimes expressed in grams-force or kilograms-force per square centimetre (g/cm or kg/cm) and the like without properly identifying the force units. But using the names kilogram, gram, kilogram-force, or gram-force (or their symbols) as units of force is expressly forbidden in SI. The technical atmosphere (symbol: at) is 1 kgf/cm (98.0665 kPa, or 14.223 psi).


title: Pressure

text: Since a system under pressure has the potential to perform work on its surroundings, pressure is a measure of potential energy stored per unit volume. It is therefore related to energy density and may be expressed in units such as joules per cubic metre (J/m, which is equal to Pa).


title: Pressure

text: Some meteorologists prefer the hectopascal (hPa) for atmospheric air pressure, which is equivalent to the older unit millibar (mbar). Similar pressures are given in kilopascals (kPa) in most other fields, except aviation where the hecto- prefix is commonly used. The inch of mercury is still used in the United States. Oceanographers usually measure underwater pressure in decibars (dbar) because pressure in the ocean increases by approximately one decibar per metre depth.


title: Pressure

text: The standard atmosphere (atm) is an established constant. It is approximately equal to typical air pressure at Earth mean sea level and is defined as .


title: Pressure

text: Because pressure is commonly measured by its ability to displace a column of liquid in a manometer, pressures are often expressed as a depth of a particular fluid (e.g., centimetres of water, millimetres of mercury or inches of mercury). The most common choices are mercury (Hg) and water; water is nontoxic and readily available, while mercury's high density allows a shorter column (and so a smaller manometer) to be used to measure a given pressure. The pressure exerted by a column of liquid of height "h" and density "ρ" is given by the hydrostatic pressure equation , where "g" is the gravitational acceleration. Fluid density and local gravity can vary from one reading to another depending on local factors, so the height of a fluid column does not define pressure precisely. When millimetres of mercury (or inches of mercury) are quoted today, these units are not based on a physical column of mercury; rather, they have been given precise definitions that can be expressed in terms of SI units. One millimetre of mercury is approximately equal to one torr. The water-based units still depend on the density of water, a measured, rather than defined, quantity. These "manometric units" are still encountered in many fields. Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury in most of the world, and lung pressures in centimetres of water are still common.


title: Pressure

text: Underwater divers use the metre sea water (msw or MSW) and foot sea water (fsw or FSW) units of pressure, and these are the standard units for pressure gauges used to measure pressure exposure in diving chambers and personal decompression computers. A msw is defined as 0.1 bar (= 100000 Pa = 10000 Pa), is not the same as a linear metre of depth. 33.066 fsw = 1 atm (1 atm = 101325 Pa / 33.066 = 3064.326 Pa). Note that the pressure conversion from msw to fsw is different from the length conversion: 10 msw = 32.6336 fsw, while 10 m = 32.8083 ft.


title: Pressure

text: Gauge pressure is often given in units with "g" appended, e.g. "kPag", "barg" or "psig", and units for measurements of absolute pressure are sometimes given a suffix of "a", to avoid confusion, for example "kPaa", "psia". However, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology recommends that, to avoid confusion, any modifiers be instead applied to the quantity being measured rather than the unit of measure. For example, rather than .


title: Pressure

text: Differential pressure is expressed in units with "d" appended; this type of measurement is useful when considering sealing performance or whether a valve will open or close.


title: Pressure

text: As an example of varying pressures, a finger can be pressed against a wall without making any lasting impression; however, the same finger pushing a thumbtack can easily damage the wall. Although the force applied to the surface is the same, the thumbtack applies more pressure because the point concentrates that force into a smaller area. Pressure is transmitted to solid boundaries or across arbitrary sections of fluid "normal to" these boundaries or sections at every point. Unlike stress, pressure is defined as a scalar quantity. The negative gradient of pressure is called the force density.


title: Pressure

text: Another example is a knife. If we try to cut with the flat edge, force is distributed over a larger surface area resulting in less pressure, and it will not cut. Whereas using the sharp edge, which has less surface area, results in greater pressure, and so the knife cuts smoothly. This is one example of a practical application of pressure


title: Pressure

text: For gases, pressure is sometimes measured not as an "absolute pressure", but relative to atmospheric pressure; such measurements are called "gauge pressure". An example of this is the air pressure in an automobile tire, which might be said to be "", but is actually 220 kPa (32 psi) above atmospheric pressure. Since atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 100 kPa (14.7 psi), the absolute pressure in the tire is therefore about . In technical work, this is written "a gauge pressure of ". Where space is limited, such as on pressure gauges, name plates, graph labels, and table headings, the use of a modifier in parentheses, such as "kPa (gauge)" or "kPa (absolute)", is permitted. In non-SI technical work, a gauge pressure of is sometimes written as "32 psig", and an absolute pressure as "32 psia", though the other methods explained above that avoid attaching characters to the unit of pressure are preferred.


title: Pressure

text: Gauge pressure is the relevant measure of pressure wherever one is interested in the stress on storage vessels and the plumbing components of fluidics systems. However, whenever equation-of-state properties, such as densities or changes in densities, must be calculated, pressures must be expressed in terms of their absolute values. For instance, if the atmospheric pressure is , a gas (such as helium) at (gauge) ( [absolute]) is 50% denser than the same gas at (gauge) ( [absolute]). Focusing on gauge values, one might erroneously conclude the first sample had twice the density of the second one.


title: Pressure

text: In a static gas, the gas as a whole does not appear to move. The individual molecules of the gas, however, are in constant random motion. Because we are dealing with an extremely large number of molecules and because the motion of the individual molecules is random in every direction, we do not detect any motion. If we enclose the gas within a container, we detect a pressure in the gas from the molecules colliding with the walls of our container. We can put the walls of our container anywhere inside the gas, and the force per unit area (the pressure) is the same. We can shrink the size of our "container" down to a very small point (becoming less true as we approach the atomic scale), and the pressure will still have a single value at that point. Therefore, pressure is a scalar quantity, not a vector quantity. It has magnitude but no direction sense associated with it. Pressure force acts in all directions at a point inside a gas. At the surface of a gas, the pressure force acts perpendicular (at right angle) to the surface.


title: Pressure

text: This tensor may be expressed as the sum of the viscous stress tensor minus the hydrostatic pressure. The negative of the stress tensor is sometimes called the pressure tensor, but in the following, the term "pressure" will refer only to the scalar pressure.


title: Pressure

text: According to the theory of general relativity, pressure increases the strength of a gravitational field (see stress–energy tensor) and so adds to the mass-energy cause of gravity. This effect is unnoticeable at everyday pressures but is significant in neutron stars, although it has not been experimentally tested.


title: Pressure

text: Fluid pressure is most often the compressive stress at some point within a fluid. (The term "fluid" refers to both liquids and gases – for more information specifically about liquid pressure, see section below.)


title: Pressure

text: Pressure in open conditions usually can be approximated as the pressure in "static" or non-moving conditions (even in the ocean where there are waves and currents), because the motions create only negligible changes in the pressure. Such conditions conform with principles of fluid statics. The pressure at any given point of a non-moving (static) fluid is called the hydrostatic pressure.


title: Pressure

text: Closed bodies of fluid are either "static", when the fluid is not moving, or "dynamic", when the fluid can move as in either a pipe or by compressing an air gap in a closed container. The pressure in closed conditions conforms with the principles of fluid dynamics.


title: Pressure

text: The concepts of fluid pressure are predominantly attributed to the discoveries of Blaise Pascal and Daniel Bernoulli. Bernoulli's equation can be used in almost any situation to determine the pressure at any point in a fluid. The equation makes some assumptions about the fluid, such as the fluid being ideal and incompressible. An ideal fluid is a fluid in which there is no friction, it is inviscid (zero viscosity). The equation for all points of a system filled with a constant-density fluid is


title: Pressure

text: Explosion or deflagration pressures are the result of the ignition of explosive gases, mists, dust/air suspensions, in unconfined and confined spaces.


title: Pressure

text: While pressures are, in general, positive, there are several situations in which negative pressures may be encountered:


title: Pressure

text: Stagnation pressure is the pressure a fluid exerts when it is forced to stop moving. Consequently, although a fluid moving at higher speed will have a lower static pressure, it may have a higher stagnation pressure when forced to a standstill. Static pressure and stagnation pressure are related by:


title: Pressure

text: The pressure of a moving fluid can be measured using a Pitot tube, or one of its variations such as a Kiel probe or Cobra probe, connected to a manometer. Depending on where the inlet holes are located on the probe, it can measure static pressures or stagnation pressures.


title: Pressure

text: There is a two-dimensional analog of pressure – the lateral force per unit length applied on a line perpendicular to the force.


title: Pressure

text: and shares many similar properties with three-dimensional pressure. Properties of surface chemicals can be investigated by measuring pressure/area isotherms, as the two-dimensional analog of Boyle's law, , at constant temperature.


title: Pressure

text: Surface tension is another example of surface pressure, but with a reversed sign, because "tension" is the opposite to "pressure".


title: Pressure

text: In an ideal gas, molecules have no volume and do not interact. According to the ideal gas law, pressure varies linearly with temperature and quantity, and inversely with volume:


title: Pressure

text: Vapour pressure is the pressure of a vapour in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed phases in a closed system. All liquids and solids have a tendency to evaporate into a gaseous form, and all gases have a tendency to condense back to their liquid or solid form.


title: Pressure

text: The atmospheric pressure boiling point of a liquid (also known as the normal boiling point) is the temperature at which the vapor pressure equals the ambient atmospheric pressure. With any incremental increase in that temperature, the vapor pressure becomes sufficient to overcome atmospheric pressure and lift the liquid to form vapour bubbles inside the bulk of the substance. Bubble formation deeper in the liquid requires a higher pressure, and therefore higher temperature, because the fluid pressure increases above the atmospheric pressure as the depth increases.


title: Pressure

text: The vapor pressure that a single component in a mixture contributes to the total pressure in the system is called partial vapor pressure.


title: Pressure

text: When a person swims under the water, water pressure is felt acting on the person's eardrums. The deeper that person swims, the greater the pressure. The pressure felt is due to the weight of the water above the person. As someone swims deeper, there is more water above the person and therefore greater pressure. The pressure a liquid exerts depends on its depth.


title: Pressure

text: Liquid pressure also depends on the density of the liquid. If someone was submerged in a liquid more dense than water, the pressure would be correspondingly greater. Thus, we can say that the depth, density and liquid pressure are directly proportionate. The pressure due to a liquid in liquid columns of constant density or at a depth within a substance is represented by the following formula:


title: Pressure

text: The pressure a liquid exerts against the sides and bottom of a container depends on the density and the depth of the liquid. If atmospheric pressure is neglected, liquid pressure against the bottom is twice as great at twice the depth; at three times the depth, the liquid pressure is threefold; etc. Or, if the liquid is two or three times as dense, the liquid pressure is correspondingly two or three times as great for any given depth. Liquids are practically incompressible – that is, their volume can hardly be changed by pressure (water volume decreases by only 50 millionths of its original volume for each atmospheric increase in pressure). Thus, except for small changes produced by temperature, the density of a particular liquid is practically the same at all depths.


title: Pressure

text: Atmospheric pressure pressing on the surface of a liquid must be taken into account when trying to discover the "total" pressure acting on a liquid. The total pressure of a liquid, then, is "ρgh" plus the pressure of the atmosphere. When this distinction is important, the term "total pressure" is used. Otherwise, discussions of liquid pressure refer to pressure without regard to the normally ever-present atmospheric pressure.


title: Pressure

text: The pressure does not depend on the "amount" of liquid present. Volume is not the important factor – depth is. The average water pressure acting against a dam depends on the average depth of the water and not on the volume of water held back. For example, a wide but shallow lake with a depth of exerts only half the average pressure that a small deep pond does. (The "total force" applied to the longer dam will be greater, due to the greater total surface area for the pressure to act upon. But for a given -wide section of each dam, the deep water will apply one quarter the force of deep water). A person will feel the same pressure whether their head is dunked a metre beneath the surface of the water in a small pool or to the same depth in the middle of a large lake. If four vases contain different amounts of water but are all filled to equal depths, then a fish with its head dunked a few centimetres under the surface will be acted on by water pressure that is the same in any of the vases. If the fish swims a few centimetres deeper, the pressure on the fish will increase with depth and be the same no matter which vase the fish is in. If the fish swims to the bottom, the pressure will be greater, but it makes no difference what vase it is in. All vases are filled to equal depths, so the water pressure is the same at the bottom of each vase, regardless of its shape or volume. If water pressure at the bottom of a vase were greater than water pressure at the bottom of a neighboring vase, the greater pressure would force water sideways and then up the narrower vase to a higher level until the pressures at the bottom were equalized. Pressure is depth dependent, not volume dependent, so there is a reason that water seeks its own level.


title: Pressure

text: Restating this as energy equation, the energy per unit volume in an ideal, incompressible liquid is constant throughout its vessel. At the surface, gravitational potential energy is large but liquid pressure energy is low. At the bottom of the vessel, all the gravitational potential energy is converted to pressure energy. The sum of pressure energy and gravitational potential energy per unit volume is constant throughout the volume of the fluid and the two energy components change linearly with the depth. Mathematically, it is described by Bernoulli's equation, where velocity head is zero and comparisons per unit volume in the vessel are


title: Pressure

text: An experimentally determined fact about liquid pressure is that it is exerted equally in all directions. If someone is submerged in water, no matter which way that person tilts their head, the person will feel the same amount of water pressure on their ears. Because a liquid can flow, this pressure isn't only downward. Pressure is seen acting sideways when water spurts sideways from a leak in the side of an upright can. Pressure also acts upward, as demonstrated when someone tries to push a beach ball beneath the surface of the water. The bottom of a boat is pushed upward by water pressure (buoyancy).


title: Pressure

text: When a liquid presses against a surface, there is a net force that is perpendicular to the surface. Although pressure doesn't have a specific direction, force does. A submerged triangular block has water forced against each point from many directions, but components of the force that are not perpendicular to the surface cancel each other out, leaving only a net perpendicular point. This is why water spurting from a hole in a bucket initially exits the bucket in a direction at right angles to the surface of the bucket in which the hole is located. Then it curves downward due to gravity. If there are three holes in a bucket (top, bottom, and middle), then the force vectors perpendicular to the inner container surface will increase with increasing depth – that is, a greater pressure at the bottom makes it so that the bottom hole will shoot water out the farthest. The force exerted by a fluid on a smooth surface is always at right angles to the surface. The speed of liquid out of the hole is formula_24, where "h" is the depth below the free surface. This is the same speed the water (or anything else) would have if freely falling the same vertical distance "h".


title: Pressure

text: is the kinematic pressure, where formula_2 is the pressure and formula_27 constant mass density. The SI unit of "P" is m/s. Kinematic pressure is used in the same manner as kinematic viscosity formula_28 in order to compute the Navier–Stokes equation without explicitly showing the density formula_27.


title: Kristen Johnston

text: Kristen Angela Johnston (born September 20, 1967) is an American actress. Best known for her work on television sitcoms, she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sally Solomon in "3rd Rock from the Sun". She starred as divorce attorney Holly Franklin on "The Exes", and as recovering addict Tammy Diffendorf on "Mom". She has also appeared in such films as "" (1999), "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" (2000), "Ice Age" (2002), "Music and Lyrics" (2007), and "Bride Wars" (2009).


title: Kristen Johnston

text: Johnston made her professional stage debut with New York's Atlantic Theater Company, founded by playwright David Mamet, where she appeared in many productions including "As You Like It" and "Stage Door". She performed with the Naked Angels Theater Company in "The Stand-In" and "Hot Keys", and with New York Stage and Film in "Kim's Sister" with David Strathairn and Jane Adams. For her performance in "The Lights" at Lincoln Center Theater, she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actress.


title: Kristen Johnston

text: A Carsey-Werner casting agent who saw her in "The Lights" recommended her for the role of Sally Solomon on the TV series "3rd Rock from the Sun." After numerous auditions in 1996, she won the part and starred on the show from 1996 to 2001, winning two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.


title: Kristen Johnston

text: She made her feature film debut in "The Debt", winner of Best Short at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. In 1995, she played Kate in the film "Backfire!" She played Esmeralda, a sea hag in "Thrill Ride", a family friendly film released in 2016. Her other television credits include guest-starring roles on "Chicago Hope", "Hearts Afire", and "The 5 Mrs. Buchanans". She narrated "Microscopic Milton" on the Disney Channel. Her significant roles in commercially successful movies include "" in 1999, "Ice Age", and "Music and Lyrics" in 2007. In 1998, she was a spokesmodel for the Clairol company.


title: Kristen Johnston

text: Johnston appeared in the sixth and final season of "Sex and the City". In the "" episode, her character, Lexi Featherston, an aging party girl, accidentally falls out of a window and dies (after saying, "I'm so bored I could die"), prompting Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) to reexamine her life. In 2005, Johnston was featured in six episodes of NBC's "ER". She was cast as Patsy in a proposed American remake of the British TV series "Absolutely Fabulous", but it was never picked up by a network. She had a recurring role in the 2009 season of "Ugly Betty," and had a single-episode appearance as a dominatrix in the second season opener of "Bored to Death".


title: Kristen Johnston

text: She starred in the TV Land sitcom "The Exes", which ran for four seasons from November 30, 2011 to September 16, 2015. In 2018, she began a recurring role on the CBS sitcom "Mom", and was upgraded to series regular for season 7 (2019–2020).


title: Kristen Johnston

text: In her autobiography, "Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster" (2012), Johnston discusses an addiction to alcohol and pills that began when she was in high school. She wrote that at the height of her addiction, she drank on average two bottles of wine per evening, and that she had been sober for five years. Through her charity SLAM, NYC (Sobriety, Learning and Motivation), she mentors high school girls from New York City with addiction and self-esteem issues and has campaigned for the city to build a recovery high school.


title: Kristen Johnston

text: Johnston said she was diagnosed in November 2013 with lupus myelitis, which caused her to miss filming some episodes of her series "The Exes". A character played by Leah Remini was introduced in season 3 to cover her absence.


title: Christian denomination

text: A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worship style and sometimes a founder. It is a secular and neutral term, generally used to denote any established Christian church. Unlike a cult or sect, a denomination is usually seen as part of the Christian religious mainstream. Most Christian denominations self-describe themselves as "churches", whereas some newer ones tend to interchangeably use the terms "churches", "assemblies", "fellowships", etc. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine; issues such as the nature of Jesus, the authority of apostolic succession, biblical hermeneutics, theology, ecclesiology, eschatology, and papal primacy may separate one denomination from another. Groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as "branches of Christianity". These branches differ in many ways, especially through differences in practices and belief.


title: Christian denomination

text: Individual denominations vary widely in the degree to which they recognize one another. Several groups say they are the direct and sole authentic successor of the church founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject the term "denomination" to describe themselves, to avoid implying equivalence with other churches or denominations.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Catholic Church, which has over 1.3 billion members or 50.1% of all Christians worldwide, does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational Church, a view rejected by other Christians. Protestant denominations altogether have an estimated 800 million to 1 billion adherents, which account for approximately 37 to 40 percent of all Christians worldwide. Together, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism (with major traditions including Adventism, Anabaptism, Anglicanism, Baptists, Calvinism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Moravianism, and Pentecostalism) compose Western Christianity. Western Christian denominations prevail in Western, Northern, Central and Southern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Eastern Orthodox Church, with an estimated 230 million adherents, is the second-largest Christian body in the world and also considers itself the original pre-denominational Church. Orthodox Christians, 80% of whom are Eastern Orthodox and 20% Oriental Orthodox, make up about 11.9% of the global Christian population. The Eastern Orthodox Church is itself a communion of fully independent autocephalous churches (or "jurisdictions") that recognize each other, for the most part. Similarly, the Catholic Church is a communion of sui iuris churches, including 23 Eastern ones. The Eastern Orthodox Church, together with the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, the Oriental Orthodox communion, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Ancient Church of the East constitute Eastern Christianity. There are Protestant Eastern Christians that have adopted Protestant theology but have cultural and historical ties with other Eastern Christians. Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in Eastern Europe, North Asia, the Middle East, Northeast Africa, and India (especially South India).


title: Christian denomination

text: Christians have various doctrines about the Church (the body of the faithful that they believe Jesus Christ established) and about how the divine church corresponds to Christian denominations. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Church of the East denominations, each hold that only their own specific organization faithfully represents the one holy catholic and apostolic Church, to the exclusion of all others. Sixteenth-century Protestants separated from the Catholic Church as a result of the Reformation; a movement against Roman Catholic doctrines and practices which the Reformers perceived to be in violation of the Bible. Generally, members of the various denominations acknowledge each other as Christians, at least to the extent that they have mutually recognized baptisms and acknowledge historically orthodox views including the divinity of Jesus and doctrines of sin and salvation, even though doctrinal and ecclesiological obstacles hinder full communion between churches.


title: Christian denomination

text: Restorationism emerged after the Second Great Awakening and collectively affirms belief in a Great Apostasy, thus promoting a belief in restoring what they see as primitive Christianity. It includes Mormonism, Christadelphians, Jehovah's Witnesses, among others, although beliefs between these religions differ greatly.


title: Christian denomination

text: Since the reforms surrounding the Second Vatican Council of 1962–1965, the Roman Catholic Church has referred to Protestant Churches as ecclesial communities, while reserving the term "church" for apostolic churches, including the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as the Ancient and Assyrian Churches of the East . But some non-denominational Christians do not follow any particular branch, though they sometimes are regarded as Protestants.


title: Christian denomination

text: Each group uses different terminology to discuss their beliefs. This section will discuss the definitions of several terms used throughout the article, before discussing the beliefs themselves in detail in following sections.


title: Christian denomination

text: A denomination within Christianity can be defined as a "recognized autonomous branch of the Christian Church"; major synonyms include "religious group, sect, Church," etc. "Church" as a synonym, refers to a "particular Christian organization with its own clergy, buildings, and distinctive doctrines"; "church" can also more broadly be defined as the entire body of Christians, the "Christian Church".


title: Christian denomination

text: Some traditional and evangelical Protestants draw a distinction between membership in the universal church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church; one then may join a fellowship of other local believers. Some evangelical groups describe themselves as interdenominational fellowships, partnering with local churches to strengthen evangelical efforts, usually targeting a particular group with specialized needs, such as students or ethnic groups. A related concept is denominationalism, the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. (Conversely, "denominationalism" can also refer to "emphasizing of denominational differences to the point of being narrowly exclusive", similar to sectarianism.)


title: Christian denomination

text: The views of Protestant leaders differ greatly from those of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, the two largest Christian denominations. Each church makes mutually exclusive statements for itself to be the direct continuation of the church founded by Jesus Christ, from whom other denominations later broke away. These churches, and a few others, reject denominationalism.


title: Christian denomination

text: Historically, Catholics would label members of certain Christian churches (also certain non-Christian religions) by the names of their founders, either actual or purported. Such supposed founders were referred to as heresiarchs. This was done even when the party thus labeled viewed itself as belonging to the one true church. This allowed the Catholic party to say that the other church was founded by the founder, while the Catholic church was founded by Christ. This was done intentionally in order to "produce the appearance of the fragmentation within Christianity"–a problem which the Catholic side would then attempt to remedy on its own terms.


title: Christian denomination

text: Although Catholics reject branch theory, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II used the "two lungs" concept to relate Catholicism with Eastern Orthodoxy.


title: Christian denomination

text: Christianity can be taxonomically divided into six main groups: the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Restorationism. Protestantism includes many groups which do not share any ecclesiastical governance and have widely diverging beliefs and practices. Major Protestant denominations include Adventism, Anabaptism, Anglicanism, Baptists, Lutheranism, Methodism, Moravianism, Pentecostalism and Reformed Christianity. Reformed Christianity itself includes the Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, Evangelical Anglican, Congregationalist, and Reformed Baptist traditions.


title: Christian denomination

text: Christianity has denominational families (or movements) and also has individual denominations (or communions). The difference between a denomination and a denominational family is sometimes unclear to outsiders. Some denominational families can be considered major branches. Groups that are members of a branch, while sharing historical ties and similar doctrines, are not necessarily in communion with one another.


title: Christian denomination

text: There were some movements considered heresies by the early Church which do not exist today and are not generally referred to as denominations. Examples include the Gnostics (who had believed in an esoteric dualism called gnosis), the Ebionites (who denied the divinity of Jesus), and the Arians (who subordinated the Son to the Father by denying the pre-existence of Christ, thus placing Jesus as a created being), Bogumilism and Bosnian Church. The greatest divisions in Christianity today, however, are between the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and the various denominations formed during and after the Protestant Reformation. There also exists a number of non-Trinitarian groups.


title: Christian denomination

text: Denominationalism is the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. The idea was first articulated by Independents within the Puritan movement. They argued that differences among Christians were inevitable, but that separation based on these differences was not necessarily schism. Christians are obligated to practice their beliefs rather than remain within a church with which they disagree, but they must also recognize their imperfect knowledge and not condemn other Christians as apostate over unimportant matters.


title: Christian denomination

text: Some Christians view denominationalism as a regrettable fact. As of 2011, divisions are becoming less sharp, and there is increasing cooperation between denominations, which is known as ecumenism. Many denominations participate in the World Council of Churches. Theological denominationalism ultimately denies reality to any apparent doctrinal differences among the "denominations", reducing all differences to mere matters "de nomina" ("of names").


title: Christian denomination

text: A denomination in this sense is created when part of a church no longer feel they can accept the leadership of that church as a spiritual leadership due to a different view of doctrine or what they see as immoral behaviour, but the schism does not in any way reflect either group leaving the Church as a theoretical whole.


title: Christian denomination

text: This particular doctrine is rejected by Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy. In these churches, it is not possible to have a separation over doctrinal or leadership issues, and any such attempts automatically are a type of schism. Some Protestant groups reject denominationalism as well.


title: Christian denomination

text: Christianity has not been a monolithic faith since the first century or Apostolic Age, if ever, and today there exist a large variety of groups that share a common history and tradition within and without mainstream Christianity. Christianity is the largest religion in the world (making up approximately one-third of the population) and the various divisions have commonalities and differences in tradition, theology, church government, doctrine, and language.


title: Christian denomination

text: The largest schism or division in many classification schemes is between the families of Eastern and Western Christianity. After these two larger families come distinct branches of Christianity. Most classification schemes list three (in order of size: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodox Christianity), with Orthodox Christianity being divided into Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and the Church of the East, which was originally referred to as Nestorianism but in modern times is embodied by the Assyrian and Ancient Churches of the East. Protestantism includes diverse groups such as Adventists, Anabaptists, Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists (inclusive of the Holiness movement), Moravians, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Reformed, and Unitarians (depending on one's classification scheme) are all a part of the same family but have distinct doctrinal variations within each group—Lutherans see themselves not to be a part of the rest of what they call "Reformed Protestantism" due to radical differences in sacramental theology and historical approach to the Reformation itself (both Reformed and Lutherans see their reformation in the sixteenth century to be a 'reforming' of the Catholic Church, not a rejection of it entirely). From these come denominations, which in the West, have independence from the others in their doctrine.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Catholic Church, due to their hierarchical structures, are not said to be made up of denominations, rather, they include kinds of regional councils and individual congregations and church bodies, which do not officially differ from one another in doctrine.


title: Christian denomination

text: The initial differences between the East and West traditions stem from socio-cultural and ethno-linguistic divisions in and between the Western Roman and Byzantine empires. Since the West (that is, Western Europe) spoke Latin as its "lingua franca" and the East (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and northern Africa) largely used Aramaic and Koine Greek to transmit writings, theological developments were difficult to translate from one branch to the other. In the course of ecumenical councils (large gatherings of Christian leaders), some church bodies split from the larger family of Christianity. Many earlier heretical groups either died off for lack of followers or suppression by the early proto-orthodox Church at large (such as Apollinarians, Montanists, and Ebionites).


title: Christian denomination

text: The first significant, lasting split in historic Christianity came from the Church of the East, who left following the Christological controversy over Nestorianism in 431 (the Assyrians in 1994 released a common Christological statement with the Catholic Church). Today, the Assyrian and Catholic Church view this schism as largely linguistic, due to problems of translating very delicate and precise terminology from Latin to Aramaic and vice versa (see Council of Ephesus).


title: Christian denomination

text: Following the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the next large split came with the Syriac and Coptic churches dividing themselves, with the dissenting churches becoming today's Oriental Orthodox. The Armenian Apostolic Church, whose representatives were not able to attend the council did not accept new dogmas and now is also seen as an Oriental Orthodox church. In modern times, there have also been moves towards healing this split, with common Christological statements being made between Pope John Paul II and Syriac Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, as well as between representatives of both Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy.


title: Christian denomination

text: There has been a statement that the Chalcedonian Creed restored Nestorianism, however this is refuted by maintaining the following distinctions associated with the "person" of Christ: two hypostases, two natures (Nestorian); one hypostasis, one nature (Monophysite); one hypostasis, two natures (Orthodox/Catholic).


title: Christian denomination

text: In Western Christianity, there were a handful of geographically isolated movements that preceded the spirit of the Protestant Reformation. The Cathars were a very strong movement in medieval southwestern France, but did not survive into modern times. In northern Italy and southeastern France, Peter Waldo founded the Waldensians in the 12th century. This movement has largely been absorbed by modern-day Protestant groups. In Bohemia, a movement in the early 15th century by Jan Hus called the Hussites defied Catholic dogma and still exists to this day (alternately known as the Moravian Church).


title: Christian denomination

text: Although the church as a whole did not experience any major divisions for centuries afterward, the Eastern and Western groups drifted until the point where patriarchs from both families excommunicated one another in about 1054 in what is known as the Great Schism. The political and theological reasons for the schism are complex, but one major controversy was the inclusion and acceptance in the West of the filioque clause into the Nicene Creed, which the East viewed as erroneous. Another was the definition of papal primacy.


title: Christian denomination

text: Both West and East agreed that the Patriarch of Rome was owed a "primacy of honour" by the other patriarchs (those of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Jerusalem), but the West also contended that this primacy extended to jurisdiction, a position rejected by the Eastern patriarchs. Various attempts at dialogue between the two groups would occur, but it was only in the 1960s, under Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, that significant steps began to be made to mend the relationship between the two.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Protestant Reformation began with the posting of Martin Luther's "Ninety-Five Theses" in Saxony on October 31, 1517, written as a set of grievances to reform the pre-Reformation Western Church. Luther's writings, combined with the work of Swiss theologian Huldrych Zwingli and French theologian and politician John Calvin sought to reform existing problems in doctrine and practice. Due to the reactions of ecclesiastical office holders at the time of the reformers, these reformers separated from the Catholic Church, instigating a rift in Western Christianity.


title: Christian denomination

text: In England, Henry VIII of England declared himself to be supreme head of the Church of England with the Act of Supremacy in 1531, founding the Church of England, repressing both Lutheran reformers and those loyal to the pope. Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury introduced the Reformation, in a form compromising between the Calvinists and Lutherans.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Old Catholic Church split from the Catholic Church in the 1870s because of the promulgation of the dogma of papal infallibility as promoted by the First Vatican Council of 1869–1870. The term 'Old Catholic' was first used in 1853 to describe the members of the See of Utrecht that were not under Papal authority. The Old Catholic movement grew in America but has not maintained ties with Utrecht, although talks are under way between independent Old Catholic bishops and Utrecht.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Liberal Catholic Church started in 1916 via an Old Catholic bishop in London, bishop Matthew, who consecrated bishop James Wedgwood to the Episcopacy. This stream has in its relatively short existence known many splits, which operate worldwide under several names.


title: Christian denomination

text: In the Eastern world, the largest body of believers in modern times is the Eastern Orthodox Church, sometimes imprecisely called "Greek Orthodox" because from the time of Christ through the Byzantine empire, Greek was its common language. However, the term "Greek Orthodox" actually refers to only one portion of the entire Eastern Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church believes itself to be the continuation of the original Christian Church established by Jesus Christ, and the Apostles. The Orthodox and Catholics have been separated since the 11th century, following the East–West Schism, with each of them saying they represent the original pre-schism Church.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Eastern Orthodox consider themselves to be spiritually one body, which is administratively grouped into several autocephalous jurisdictions (also commonly referred to as "churches", despite being parts of one Church). They do not recognize any single bishop as universal church leader, but rather each bishop governs only his own diocese. The Patriarch of Constantinople is known as the Ecumenical Patriarch, and holds the title "first among equals", meaning only that if a great council is called, the patriarch sits as president of the council. He has no more power than any other bishop. Currently, the largest synod with the most members is the Russian Orthodox Church. Others include the ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, the Georgian, Romanian, Serbian and Bulgarian Orthodox churches, and several smaller ones.


title: Christian denomination

text: The second largest Eastern Christian communion is Oriental Orthodoxy, which is organized in a similar manner, with six national autocephalous groups and two autonomous bodies, although there are greater internal differences than among the Eastern Orthodox (especially in the diversity of rites being used). The six autocephalous Oriental Orthodox churches are the Coptic (Egyptian), Syriac, Armenian, Malankara (Indian), Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox churches. In the Aramaic-speaking areas of the Middle East, the Syriac Orthodox Church has long been dominant. Although the region of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea has had a strong body of believers since the infancy of Christianity, these regions only gained autocephaly in 1963 and 1994 respectively. The Oriental Orthodox are distinguished from the Eastern Orthodox by doctrinal differences concerning the union of human and divine natures in the person of Jesus Christ, and the two communions separated as a consequence of the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451, although there have been recent moves towards reconciliation. Since these groups are relatively obscure in the West, literature on them has sometimes included the Church of the East, which, like the Oriental Orthodox, originated in the 1st century A.D., but has not been in communion with them since before the Council of Ephesus of 431.


title: Christian denomination

text: Largely aniconic, the Church of the East represents a third Eastern Christian tradition in its own right. In recent centuries, it has split into three Churches. The largest (since the early 20th century) is the Baghdad-based Chaldean Catholic Church formed from groups that entered communion with Rome at different times, beginning in 1552. The second-largest is what since 1976 is officially called the Assyrian Church of the East and which from 1933 to 2015 was headquartered first in Cyprus and then in the United States, but whose present Catholicos-Patriarch, Gewargis III, elected in 2015, lives in Erbil, Iraq. The third is the Ancient Church of the East, distinct since 1964 and headed by Addai II Giwargis, resident in Baghdad.


title: Christian denomination

text: There are also the Eastern Catholic Churches, most of which are counterparts of those listed above, sharing with them the same theological and liturgical traditions, but differing from them in that they recognize the Bishop of Rome as the universal head of the Church. They are fully part of the Catholic communion, on the same level juridically as the Latin Church. Most of their members do not describe themselves as ""Roman" Catholics", a term they associate with membership of the Latin Church, and speak of themselves in relation to whichever Church they belong to: Maronites, Melkites, Ukrainian Catholics, Coptic Catholics, Chaldean Catholics, etc.


title: Christian denomination

text: And finally the smallest Eastern Christian group founded in early 20th century is Byzantine Rite Lutheranism where accept Byzantine Rite as Church's liturgy while retaining their Lutheran traditions like Ukrainian Lutheran Church. It is considered part of Eastern Protestant denominational movement.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Latin portion of the Catholic Church, along with Protestantism, comprise the three major divisions of Christianity in the Western world. Catholics do not describe themselves as a denomination but rather as the original Church; which all other branches broke off from in schism. The Baptist, Methodist, and Lutheran churches are generally considered to be Protestant denominations, although strictly speaking, of these three, only the Lutherans took part in the official Protestation at Speyer after the decree of the Second Diet of Speyer mandated the burning of Luther's works and the end of the Protestant Reformation. Anglicanism is generally classified as Protestant, being originally seen as a "via media", or middle way between Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity, and since the Oxford Movement of the 19th century, some Anglican writers of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship emphasize a more catholic understanding of the church and characterize it as being "both" Protestant and Catholic. A case is sometimes also made to regard Lutheranism in a similar way, considering the catholic character of its foundational documents (the Augsburg Confession and other documents contained in the Book of Concord) and its existence prior to the Anglican, Anabaptist, and Reformed churches, from which nearly all other Protestant denominations derive.


title: Christian denomination

text: One central tenet of Catholicism (which is a common point between Catholic, Scandinavian Lutheran, Anglican, Moravian, Orthodox, and some other Churches), is its practice of apostolic succession. "Apostle" means "one who is sent out". Jesus commissioned the first twelve apostles (see Biblical Figures for the list of the Twelve), and they, in turn laid hands on subsequent church leaders to ordain (commission) them for ministry. In this manner, Catholics and Anglicans trace their ordained ministers all the way back to the original Twelve.


title: Christian denomination

text: Catholics believe that the Pope has authority which can be traced directly to the apostle Peter whom they hold to be the original head of and first Pope of the Church. There are smaller churches, such as the Old Catholic Church which rejected the definition of Papal Infallibility at the First Vatican Council, as well as Evangelical Catholics and Anglo-Catholics, who are Lutherans and Anglicans that believe that Lutheranism and Anglicanism, respectively, are a continuation of historical Catholicism and who incorporate many Catholic beliefs and practices. The Catholic Church refers to itself simply by the terms "Catholic" and "Catholicism" (which mean universal).


title: Christian denomination

text: Sometimes, Catholics, based on a strict interpretation of "extra ecclesiam nulla salus" ("Outside the Church, there is no salvation"), rejected any notion those outside its communion could be regarded as part of any true Catholic Christian faith, an attitude rejected by the Second Vatican Council (19621965). Catholicism has a hierarchical structure in which supreme authority for matters of faith and practice are the exclusive domain of the Pope, who sits on the Throne of Peter, and the bishops when acting in union with him.


title: Christian denomination

text: Each Protestant movement has developed freely, and many have split over theological issues. For instance, a number of movements grew out of spiritual revivals, such as Pentecostalism. Doctrinal issues and matters of conscience have also divided Protestants. Still others formed out of administrative issues; Methodism branched off as its own group of denominations when the American Revolutionary War complicated the movement's ability to ordain ministers (it had begun as a movement within the Church of England). In Methodism's case, it has undergone a number of administrative schisms and mergers with other denominations (especially those associated with the holiness movement in the 20th century).


title: Christian denomination

text: The Anabaptist tradition, made up of the Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites, rejected the Roman Catholic and Lutheran doctrines of infant baptism; this tradition is also noted for its belief in pacifism. Many Anabaptists do not see themselves as Protestant, but a separate tradition altogether.


title: Christian denomination

text: Some denominations which arose alongside the Western Christian tradition consider themselves Christian, but neither Catholic nor wholly Protestant, such as the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Quakerism began as an evangelical Christian movement in 17th century England, eschewing priests and all formal Anglican or Catholic sacraments in their worship, including many of those practices that remained among the stridently Protestant Puritans such as baptism with water. They were known in America for helping with the Underground Railroad, and like the Mennonites, Quakers traditionally refrain from participation in war.


title: Christian denomination

text: Many churches with roots in Restorationism reject being identified as Protestant or even as a denomination at all, as they use only the Bible and not creeds, and model the church after what they feel is the first-century church found in scripture; the Churches of Christ are one example; African Initiated Churches, like Kimbanguism, mostly fall within Protestantism, with varying degrees of syncretism. The measure of mutual acceptance between the denominations and movements varies, but is growing largely due to the ecumenical movement in the 20th century and overarching Christian bodies such as the World Council of Churches.


title: Christian denomination

text: Messianic Jews maintain a Jewish identity while accepting Jesus as the Messiah and the New Testament as authoritative. After the founding of the church, the disciples of Jesus generally retained their ethnic origins while accepting the Gospel message. The first church council was called in Jerusalem to address just this issue, and the deciding opinion was written by James the Just, the first bishop of Jerusalem and a pivotal figure in the Christian movement. The history of Messianic Judaism includes many movements and groups and defies any simple classification scheme.


title: Christian denomination

text: The 19th century saw at least 250,000 Jews convert to Christianity according to existing records of various societies. Data from the Pew Research Center has it that, as of 2013, about 1.6 million adult American Jews identify themselves as Christians, most as Protestants. According to the same data, most of the Jews who identify themselves as some sort of Christian (1.6 million) were raised as Jews or are Jews by ancestry.


title: Christian denomination

text: Within Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Transylvania, Hungary and Romania Unitarian Churches emerged from the Reformed tradition in the 16th century. They adopted the Anabaptist doctrine of credobaptism. The Unitarian Church of Transylvania is an example of such a denomination that arose in this era and is represented in the Protestant Theological Institute of Cluj. Due to their rejection of the Athanasian Creed which contains the doctrine of the Trinity, many mainstream Christian Churches do not recognize Unitarians as Christians.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1870) of the early 19th century. The movement sought to restore the church and "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament." Members do not identify as Protestant but simply as Christian.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Restoration Movement developed from several independent efforts to return to apostolic Christianity, but two groups, which independently developed similar approaches to the Christian faith, were particularly important. The first, led by Barton W. Stone, began at Cane Ridge, Kentucky and called themselves simply as "Christians". The second began in western Pennsylvania and Virginia (now West Virginia) and was led by Thomas Campbell and his son, Alexander Campbell; they used the name "Disciples of Christ". Both groups sought to restore the whole Christian church on the pattern set forth in the New Testament, and both believed that creeds kept Christianity divided. In 1832 they joined in fellowship with a handshake.


title: Christian denomination

text: Among other things, they were united in the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; that Christians should celebrate the Lord's Supper on the first day of each week; and that baptism of adult believers by immersion in water is a necessary condition for salvation. Because the founders wanted to abandon all denominational labels, they used the biblical names for the followers of Jesus. Both groups promoted a return to the purposes of the 1st-century churches as described in the New Testament. One historian of the movement has argued that it was primarily a unity movement, with the restoration motif playing a subordinate role.


title: Christian denomination

text: The Restoration Movement has since divided into multiple separate groups. There are three main branches in the US: the Churches of Christ, the Christian churches and churches of Christ, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Other U.S.-based groups affiliated with the movement are the International Churches of Christ and the International Christian Churches. Non-U.S. groups include the Churches of Christ in Australia, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Churches of Christ in Europe. The Plymouth Brethren are a similar though historically unrelated group which originated in the United Kingdom. Some churches, such as Churches of Christ or the Plymouth Brethren reject formal ties with other churches within the movement.


title: Christian denomination

text: Other Christian groups originating during the Second Great Awakening including the Adventist movement, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and Christian Science, founded within fifty years of one another, all consider themselves to be restorative of primitive Christianity and the early church. Some Baptist churches with Landmarkist views have similar beliefs concerning their connection with primitive Christianity.


title: Christian denomination

text: Most Latter Day Saint denominations are derived from the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) established by Joseph Smith in 1830, which is categorized as a Restorationist denomination. The largest worldwide denomination is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, colloquially referred to as Mormonism. Various considerably smaller sects broke from this movement after its relocation to the Rocky Mountains in the mid-1800s. Several of these broke away over the abandonment of practicing plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto. Most of the "Prairie Saint" denominations (see below) were established after Smith's death by the remnants of the Latter Day Saints who did not go west with Brigham Young. Many of these opposed some of the 1840s theological developments in favor of 1830s theological understandings and practices. Other denominations are defined by either a belief in Joseph Smith as a prophet or acceptance of the Book of Mormon as scripture. Mormons generally consider themselves to be restorationist, believing that Smith, as prophet, seer, and revelator, restored the original and true Church of Christ to the earth. Some Latter Day Saint denominations are regarded by other Christians as being nontrinitarian or even non-Christian, but the Latter Day Saints are predominantly in disagreement with these statements. Latter Day Saints see themselves as believing in a Godhead comprising the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as separate personages united in purpose. Latter Day Saints regard traditional definitions of the Trinity as aberrations of true doctrine and emblematic of the Great Apostasy but they do not accept certain trinitarian definitions in the post-apostolic creeds, such as the Athanasian Creed.


title: Christian denomination

text: Spiritual Christianity, inclusive of the Molokans and Doukhobors emerged in Russia, each containing a unique tradition. The Doukhobor have maintained close association with Mennonite Anabaptist Christians and Quaker Christians due to analogous religious practices; all of these groups are furthermore collectively considered to be peace churches due to their belief in pacifism.


title: Christian denomination

text: Protestant denominations have shown a strong tendency towards diversification and fragmentation, giving rise to numerous churches and movements, especially in Anglo-American religious history, where the process is cast in terms of a series of "Great Awakenings".


title: Christian denomination

text: The most recent wave of diversification, known as the Fourth Great Awakening took place during the 1960s to 1980s and resulted in phenomena such as the Charismatic Movement, the Jesus movement, and a great number of parachurch organizations based in Evangelicalism.


title: Christian denomination

text: Many independent churches and movements consider themselves to be non-denominational, but may vary greatly in doctrine. Many of these, like the local churches movement, reflect the core teachings of traditional Christianity. Others however, such as The Way International, have been denounced as cults by the Christian anti-cult movement. Further, others may have similar doctrine to mainline churches but incorporate a multi-faith and ecumenical model such as the Interfaith-Ecumenical Church (IEC) that is based entirely in a virtual and international model.


title: Christian denomination

text: Two movements, which are entirely unrelated in their founding, but share a common element of an additional Messiah (or incarnation of Christ) are the Unification Church and the Rastafari movement. These movements fall outside of traditional taxonomies of Christian groups, though both cite the Christian Bible as a basis for their beliefs.


title: Christian denomination

text: Syncretism of Christian beliefs with local and tribal religions is a phenomenon that occurs throughout the world. An example of this is the Native American Church. The ceremonies of this group are strongly tied to the use of peyote. (Parallels may be drawn here with the Rastafari spiritual use of cannabis.) While traditions vary from tribe to tribe, they often include a belief in Jesus as a Native American cultural hero, an intercessor for man, or a spiritual guardian; belief in the Bible; and an association of Jesus with peyote.


title: Christian denomination

text: There are also some Christians that reject organized religion altogether. Some Christian anarchists – often those of a Protestant background – believe that the original teachings of Jesus were corrupted by Roman statism (compare Early Christianity and State church of the Roman Empire), and that earthly authority such as government, or indeed the established Church, do not and should not have power over them. Following "The Golden Rule", many oppose the use of physical force in any circumstance, and advocate nonviolence. The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy wrote "The Kingdom of God Is Within You", and was a Christian anarchist.


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None (), also translated as Thus Spake Zarathustra, is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche between 1883 and 1885. The protagonist is nominally the historical Zoroaster, but, besides a handful of sentences, Nietzsche is not concerned with a specific resemblance. Much of the book consists of discourses by Zarathustra on a wide variety of subjects, most of which end with the refrain, "Thus spoke Zarathustra." The character of Zarathustra first appeared in Nietzsche's earlier book "The Gay Science" (at §342, which closely resembles §1 of "Zarathustra's Prologue" in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra").


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: The style of "Zarathustra" has facilitated varied and often incompatible ideas about what Zarathustra says. Zarathustra's "[e]xplanations and claims are almost always analogical and figurative." Though there is no consensus with what Zarathustra "means" when he speaks, there is some consensus "about" that which he speaks. "Zarathustra" deals with ideas about the "Übermensch", the death of God, the will to power, and eternal recurrence.


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: Nietzsche has suggested that his "Zarathustra" is a tragedy, a parody, a polemic, and the culmination of the German language. It was his favorite of his own books. He was aware, however, that readers might not understand it. This is possibly why he subtitled it "A Book for All and None". However, as with the content as a whole, the subtitle has baffled many critics, and there is no consensus.


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: "Zarathustra"s themes and merits are continually disputed. It has nonetheless been hugely influential in various facets of culture.


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: Nietzsche was born into, and largely remained within, the Bildungsbürgertum, a sort of highly cultivated middleclass. By the time he was a teenager, he had been writing music and poetry. His aunt Rosalie gave him a biography of Alexander von Humboldt for his 15th birthday, and reading this inspired a love of learning "for its own sake". The schools he attended, the books he read, and his general milieu fostered and inculcated his interests in Bildung, or self-development, a concept at least tangential to many in "Zarathustra", and he worked extremely hard. He became an outstanding philologist almost accidentally, and he renounced his ideas about being an artist. As a philologist he became particularly sensitive to the transmissions and modifications of ideas, which also bears relevance into "Zarathustra". Nietzsche's growing distaste toward philology, however, was yoked with his growing taste toward philosophy. As a student, this yoke was his work with Diogenes Laertius. Even with that work he strongly opposed received opinion. With subsequent and properly philosophical work he continued to oppose received opinion. His books leading up to "Zarathustra" have been described as nihilistic destruction. Such nihilistic destruction combined with his increasing isolation and the rejection of his marriage proposals (to Lou Andreas-Salomé) devastated him. While he was working on "Zarathustra" he was walking very much. The imagery of his walks mingled with his physical and emotional and intellectual pains and his prior decades of hard work. What "erupted" was "Thus Spoke Zarathustra".


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: Nietzsche has said that the central idea of "Zarathustra" is the eternal recurrence. He has also said that this central idea first occurred to him in August 1881: he was near a "pyramidal block of stone" while walking through the woods along the shores of Lake Silvaplana in the Upper Engadine, and he made a small note that read "6,000 feet beyond man and time."


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: A few weeks after meeting this idea, he paraphrased in a notebook something written by Friedrich von Hellwald about Zarathustra. This paraphrase was developed into the beginning of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra".


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: A year and a half after making that paraphrase, Nietzsche was living in Rapallo. Nietzsche claimed that the entire first part was conceived, and that Zarathustra himself "came over him", while walking. He was regularly walking "the magnificent road to Zoagli" and "the whole Bay of Santa Margherita". He said in a letter that the entire first part "was conceived in the course of strenuous hiking: absolute certainty, as if every sentence were being called out to me".


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: According to Nietzsche in "Ecce Homo" it was "scarcely one year for the entire work", and ten days each part. More broadly, however, he said in a letter: "The "whole" of "Zarathustra" is an explosion of forces that have been accumulating for decades".


title: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

text: In January 1884 Nietzsche had finished the third part and thought the book finished. But by November he expected a fourth part to be finished by January. He also mentioned a fifth and sixth part leading to Zarathustra's death, "or else he will give me no peace". But after the fourth part was finished he called it "a fourth (and last) part of "Zarathustra", a kind of sublime finale, which is not at all meant for the public".