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Documents for "Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches: General Terms and Concepts":
  • abbey monastic house, especially among Benedictines and Cistercians, consisting of not less than 12 monks or nuns ruled by an abbot or abbess. Many abbeys were originally self-supporting. In the...
  • anointing of the sick sacrament of the Orthodox Eastern Church and the Roman Catholic Church, formerly known as extreme unction. In it a sick or dying person is anointed on eyes, ears, nostrils, lips, hands, feet, and sometimes,...
  • antipope [Lat.,=against the pope], person elected pope whose election was declared uncanonical and in opposition to a canonically chosen pontiff. Important antipopes were Novatian ; Clement III (see Guibert...
  • asperges ceremonial sprinkling of the people with holy water by the priest before the Sunday High Mass in the Roman Catholic Church. The accompanying antiphon begins, Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo et mundabor...
  • Athanasian Creed exact, elaborate Roman Catholic statement on the Trinity and the Incarnation. It is no longer believed to have been written by Athanasius, but rather by an unknown Western author of the 6th cent...
  • bull [Lat. bulla =leaden seal], papal letter. As the diplomatic organization of the papal chancery progressed in the Middle Ages, the papal bull came to be more solemn than the papal brief or encyclical. The letter, traditionally sealed with lead, but in special circumstances with silver or gold, begins with the name of the pope and his title as servus servorum Dei [servant of the servants of God]. Today only the consistorial bull, the most solemn of all papal pronouncements, carries the leaden seal; all other bulls and lesser documents have a red ink seal...
  • canon in Christianity, in the Roman Catholic Church, decrees of church councils are usually called canons; since the Council of Trent the expression has been especially reserved to dogmatic...
  • canon law in the Roman Catholic Church, the body of law based on the legislation of the councils (both ecumenical and local) and the popes, as well as the bishops (for diocesan matters). It is the law of the...
  • canonization in the Roman Catholic Church, process by which a person is classified as a saint. It is now performed at Rome alone, although in the Middle Ages and earlier bishops elsewhere used to canonize. Canonization is not necessary for martyrs, who are considered to be enrolled among...
  • cherub plural cherubim, kind of angel. Cherubim were probably thought of in the ancient Middle East as composite creatures like the winged creatures of Assyria. In Jewish tradition, they are described (Ezek. 10) as having four faces...
  • Constantine, Donation of Lat. Constitutum Constantini, forged document, probably drafted in the 8th cent. It purported to be a grant by Roman Emperor Constantine I of great temporal power in Italy and the West to the papacy. Its purpose was apparently to enhance papal territorial claims in Italy by giving them greater antiquity. The document also recognized the spiritual authority of the popes, but this statement had...
  • Constitutions, Apostolic late-4th-century compilation, in eight books, of administrative canons for the clergy and the laity and of guides for worship. They were supposed to be works of the apostles, but actually included...
  • Counter Reformation 16th-century reformation that arose largely in answer to the Protestant Reformation; sometimes called the Catholic Reformation. Although the Roman Catholic reformers shared the Protestants'...
  • encyclical originally, a pastoral letter sent out by a bishop, now a solemn papal letter, meant to inform the whole church on some particular matter of importance. Benedict XIV circulated the first known...
  • False Decretals collection of documents, partly spurious, treating of canon law. It was composed between 847 and 852 probably in France, either at Reims or in the province of Tours (specifically at Le Mans), and composed by a man who called himself Isidore Mercator (hence the...
  • Fathers of the Church collective name for the Christian writers of early times whose work is considered generally orthodox. A convenient definition includes all such writers up to and including St. Gregory I (St. Gregory the Great) in the West and St. John of Damascus in the East (see patristic literature ). There are several conventional groupings of the Fathers of the Church. One of these is the Apostolic Fathers, usually considered to include the authors of the Didache, of the Epistles of Clement, of the Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch, and of the Shepherd of Hermas. In an ancient category of honor eight Doctors of the Church are set apart; the Four Doctors of the Greek Church are St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Athanasius; the Four Doctors of the Latin Church are St. Ambrose,...
  • glossolalia [Gr.,=speaking in tongues], ecstatic utterances usually of unintelligible sounds made by individuals in a state of religious excitement. Religious revivals are often accompanied by manifestations...
  • Golden Legend, The collection of saints' lives written in the 13th cent. by Jacobus da Varagine. Originally entitled Legenda sanctorum [readings in the lives of the saints], it soon came to be called Legenda aurea [the golden legend] because of its popularity, which continued until the Reformation. It is a saints' calendar, with an introduction for each division of the year and a section on each great feast...
  • holy water in Christian churches, water blessed to symbolize spiritual cleansing. In Roman Catholic churches there is a bowl (stoup or font) of holy water near the doors, so that the faithful may bless...
  • Host [Lat.,=sacrificial victim], in Roman Catholic practice, consecrated wafer of the Eucharist. The bread used is pure white and unleavened, baked in small disks. The Hosts not consumed at Mass are set...
  • Index in the Roman Catholic Church, list of publications forbidden to be read, called Index librorum prohibitorum [list of forbidden books]. This censorship was exercised by the Holy See. Catholics are forbidden, as a natural part of ethics, to read anything they know may endanger their faith or moral life;...
  • indulgence in the Roman Catholic Church, the pardon of temporal punishment due for sin. It is to be distinguished from absolution and the forgiveness of guilt. The church grants indulgences out of the...
  • infallibility in Christian thought, exemption from the possibility of error, bestowed on the church as a teaching authority, as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It has been believed since the earliest times to be...
  • Inquisition tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church established for the investigation of heresy.
  • interdict ecclesiastical censure notably used in the Roman Catholic Church, especially in the Middle Ages. When a parish, state, or nation is placed under the interdict no public church ceremony may take...
  • Knights of Columbus American Roman Catholic society for men, founded (1882) at New Haven, Conn. (where its headquarters are still located), by Father Michael J. McGivney. Its mission is to encourage fraternity and...
  • liberation theology belief that the Christian Gospel demands "a preferential option for the poor," and that the church should be involved in the struggle for economic and political justice in the contemporary world—particularly in the Third World. Dating to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65)...
  • Mass religious service of the Roman Catholic Church, which has as its central act the performance of the sacrament of the Eucharist. It is based on the ancient Latin liturgy of the city of Rome, now used in most, but not all, Roman Catholic churches. The term Mass [Lat. missa, =dismissed] probably derives from the practice of dismissing the catechumens—those not yet initiated into the mystery of the Eucharist—before the offertory and from the words Ite, missa est [Go, you are dismissed] spoken to the faithful at the end of the Mass. The term is also used among Anglo-Catholics; in the Eastern churches the Mass is generally called the Holy Liturgy or the...
  • missal [Lat.,=of the mass], in the Roman Catholic Church, liturgical book containing all directions and texts necessary for the performance of Mass throughout the year. The Roman Missal ( Missale Romanum ) published by Pope Pius V in 1570, over the years replaced the widespread use of separate missals by each diocese. A number of religious orders (e.g., the Dominicans) and certain privileged...
  • novena [Lat.,=a group of nine], in the Roman Catholic Church, primarily a series of public or private prayers extending over nine consecutive days, especially nine days preceding a feast. They often carry...
  • nuncio, apostolic resident legate of the Holy See at the capital of a temporal government. Nuncios are in most of the principal countries of Europe and Latin America, but there are none in the United States, Great Britain, or the...
  • pallium vestment proper to the pope, who confers it on archbishops in token of their union with and obedience to him. It is a band of cloth worn around the neck and has a 2-in. (5.1-cm) pendant hanging...
  • papacy office of the pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church. He is pope by reason of being bishop of Rome and thus, according to Roman Catholic belief, successor in the see of Rome (the Holy See) to its...
  • papal election election of the pope by the college of cardinals meeting in secret conclave in the Sistine Chapel not less than 15 nor more than 18 days after the death of the previous pontiff. The election is by secret ballot; Pius XII fixed the electoral...
  • penance sacrament of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Eastern churches. By it the penitent (the person receiving the sacrament) is absolved of his or her sins by a confessor (the person hearing the confession and...
  • Peter's pence in the Roman Catholic Church, the annual voluntary laymen's contribution to the support of the pope. Formerly Peter's pence was a yearly tax of a penny levied by the Holy See on every household in...
  • pope see papacy ; Popes of the Roman Catholic Church , table; Roman Catholic Church.
  • purgatory [Lat.,=place of purging], in the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the state after death in which the soul destined for heaven is purified. Since only the perfect can enjoy the vision of God...
  • relics part of the body of a saint or a thing closely connected with the saint in life. In traditional Christian belief they have had great importance, and miracles have often been associated with them...
  • rosary [rose garden], prayer of Roman Catholics, in which beads are used as counters. The term, applied also to the beads, is extended to Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist prayers that use beads. The...
  • sacramental in the Roman Catholic Church, aid to devotion that is not a sacrament. Sacramentals are commonly divided into six classes: prayer, anointing, eating, confession, giving, and blessings. According to...
  • Schism of East and West division between the Orthodox Eastern Church and the Roman Catholic Church. See Christianity ; Ferrara-Florence, Council of ; Leo IX, Saint ; Lyons, Second Council of ; papacy ; Photius....
  • Schism, Great or Schism of the West, division in the Roman Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. There was no question of faith or practice involved; the schism was a matter of persons and politics. Shortly after Gregory XI had returned the papacy from Avignon to Rome, he died (Mar. 27, 1378). The Romans feared that the papal court might be returned to Avignon, and there was rioting, with the mob demanding a Roman, or at least an Italian,...
  • simony in canon law , buying or selling of any spiritual benefit or office. The name is derived from Simon Magus , who tried to buy the gifts of the Holy Spirit from St. Peter (Acts 8). Simony is a very grave sin, and ecclesiastics who commit it may be excommunicated. The temporal price may be one of many...
  • stigmata [plural of stigma, from Gr.,=brand], wounds or marks on a person resembling the five wounds received by Jesus at the crucifixion. Some 300 cases of stigmatization have been attested, nearly all of them being women...
  • veronica [Lat., probably connected with Greek Berenice ], relic preserved in St. Peter's Church, Rome. It is said to be a veil that a woman used to wipe the face of Jesus as he was on the way to Calvary. The cloth retained the print of his face. The...
  • viaticum [Lat.,=provision for a journey], in the Roman Catholic Church, Communion given to the dying by a priest. Catholics are obliged to receive the viaticum if they are able and to procure it for others...
  • vigil [Lat.,=watch], in Christian calendars, eve of a feast, a day of penitential preparation. In ancient times worshipers gathered for vespers before a great feast and then waited outside the church...
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