Christendom

Christendom or the Christian world,Marty, Martin E. The Christian World: A Global History. Modern Library chronicles, 29. New York: Modern Library, 2007. in the widest sense, means Christianity as a territorial phenomenon. That means: those countries where most people are Christian and because of that are part of Christendom.

People have used the term Christendom for the medieval and Renaissance understanding of the Christian world as one single Body of Christ with Christ as the head.  With the rise of modern secularism and the Reformation during the early 16th century the understanding changed to a modern idea of a tolerant and diverse society that consists of many different communities.

Related pages
 Caliphate (an Islamic analog to the Medieval political concept)
 Muslim World and Ummah

References

Other websites
Catholic Encyclopedia: Christendom

Category:Christian terminology
Category:Christianity in the Middle Ages
Category:Cultural geography