Christian genres

A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial expression is a type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. Collectively, they form a genre of folklore.

thumb|Fragment of a flyleaf with the title of the Gospel of Matthew, (). From [[Papyrus 4 (), it is the earliest manuscript title for Matthew and one of the earliest manuscript titles for any gospel.]]

right|thumb|Codex Manesse, fol. 292v, "The Schoolmaster of Esslingen" (Der Schulmeister von Eßlingen)

thumb|Page from by Sulpicius Severus

thumb|A Roadside Sermon by John Pettie

thumb|The Return of the Prodigal Son (Rembrandt)|The Return of the Prodigal Son, by [[Rembrandt, 1660s]]

type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church

manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration

thumb|Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, by [[Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier (c. 16th century, Blaffer Foundation Collection, Houston, TX).]]

thumb|Apocalypse depicted in Eastern Orthodox Church|Christian Orthodox traditional [[fresco scenes in Osogovo Monastery, North Macedonia]]

type of traditional Christmas song

Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient authors, as glosses. One who writes scholia is a scholiast. The earliest attested use of the word dates to the 1st century BC.

thumb|The Sermon on the Mount by [[Carl Heinrich Bloch, Danish painter]]

thumb|Carolingian Psalter (facsimile) thumb|Folio 15b of the Utrecht Psalter illustrates Psalm 27

branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity against objections

decree issued by the Roman Catholic Pope

rite practiced in Eastern Christian traditions

tradition of pictorial Bibles

A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, homilía) is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered exemplary forms of Christian homily.

thumb|Page from the 11th-century "Bamberg Apocalypse", Gospel lectionary. ([[Bamberg State Library, Msc.Bibl.140).]] A lectionary () is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christian or Jewish worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evangeliary, and an epistolary with the readings from the Epistles of the New Testament.

In rhetoric, a pericope (; Greek , "a cutting-out") is a set of verses that forms one coherent unit or thought, suitable for public reading from a text, now usually of sacred scripture.

pattern for worship used by a Christian congregation or denomination

Agrapha (; Greek for "non written"; singular ) are sayings of Jesus that are not found in the canonical Gospels. The term was used for the first time by J.G. Körner, a German Bible scholar, in 1776.

formal document emanating from the pope

prophecy reported in the Jewish or Christian Bible

thumb|Icon depicting Emperor Constantine (center) and the Fathers of the [[First Council of Nicaea (325) as holding the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381]]A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets.

thumb|250px|Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 3929, a libellus from the [[Decian persecution, found in Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.]] A libellus (plural libelli) in the Roman Empire was any brief document written on individual pages (as opposed to scrolls or tablets), particularly official documents issued by governmental authorities.

book without words and with colour pages by Charles Spurgeon