Descriptionary

mendicants friars who take a vow of poverty and live entirely from alms.

Mennonites the Protestant denomination that bap­tizes adults, stresses nonresistance, and rejects war and violence.

missal in the Roman Catholic Church, a book con­taining a year of instructions, readings, and prayers for the Mass.

monotheism the belief in only one God.

nones the service that takes place at 3 p.m. at Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

original sin the first sin—that of Adam and Eve eat­ing of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Palm Sunday the Sunday before Easter; it com­memorates Christ riding into Jerusalem on a don­key, when palms were spread in welcome before him.

papacy the supreme office of the pope.

papal authority the leadership of the pope in gov­erning the Roman Catholic Church.

parish a local Catholic or Anglican community within a specific territorial district.

paschal candle in Roman Catholic and several Anglican churches, a tall candle lit the night before Easter and kept burning near the altar until the feast of the Ascension or Pentecost Sunday. Also known as the Easter Candle.

Passion the suffering of Christ from the Last Supper to his Crucifixion, on our behalf, as recounted from Gospels as a part of Holy Week services.

pastor "shepherd." A minister in the Lutheran, Baptist, and Pentecostal Churches.

patriarch the highest-ranking bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

patron saint in the Roman Catholic Church, a saint who has been designated as a special guardian or protector of a nation, community, profession, group, individual, and so forth. Also, any saint for whom an individual is named at baptism.

penance a sacrament comprising contrition, confes­sion, the imposition of a good work, or the saying of prayers and absolution.

penitent one who has sinned and wishes to repent. Also, a person who confesses his or her wrongdoings to a priest at confession.

Pentecost a festival held on the seventh Sunday after Easter to commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit after Christ's Ascension. Also known as Whitsunday or Whit Sunday.

Pentecostal Church a multidenominational group of churches stressing the need for believers to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Most noted for con­gregation members who spontaneously "speak in tongues" during a service and who claim to have the gift of healing or prophecy.

plainsong a method of chanting psalms or hymns. polytheism a belief in more than one god. pontiff the pope.

pope the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the bishop of Rome.

Presbyterian Church the Christian Protestant denomination with a doctrine based on the teachings of Calvin. Noted for its lack of elaborate rituals and plain churches.

presbytery a minister's house, often located beside a church.

primate in an Anglican district or group of dioceses, the highest-ranking bishop. Also, the highest-ranking bishop in a country.

proselyte one who converts from one faith to another.

psalter a book of psalms from the Old Testament.

rector in the Anglican Church, a clergyman in charge of a parish.

rectory the house of a Catholic priest or an Episco­pal minister.

requiem a Roman Catholic funeral mass set to music to aid the deceased through purgatory to heaven.

resurrection the restoration of the life of Jesus by God after Christ's Crucifixion. Also, the rising of souls from the bodies of the dead.

rosary a circle of beads used as an aid to prayer. Also, a prayer to God directed through the Virgin Mary.

sacrament any one of several rites performed in the Christian Church to receive God's grace. In the Roman Catholic Church, these include baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, matrimony, orders, penance, and extreme unction. In the Protestant Church, only baptism and the Eucharist are consid­ered sacraments.

Sanctus a hymn sung before the prayer of consecra­tion at a Eucharist service.

sanctus bell a bell rung at Roman Catholic Mass to draw attention to the consecration of the bread and wine.

see the center of a bishop's diocese.

seminary a religious training institution for priests and ministers.

seven virtues in Roman Catholic theology, pru­dence, justice, fortitude, temperance, faith, hope, and charity.

shunning an Amish and Mennonite practice of refusing to socialize with excommunicated members in any way.

synod an ecclesiastical council.

theophany a manifestation of God, as through fire or thunder.

tithe one-tenth; to donate one-tenth of one's income to the church, practiced by some Christians according to Mosaic law.

Transfiguration a festival held on August 6 to com­memorate Christ's appearance before the Apostles. Known as the Feast of Tabor in the Eastern Orthodox Church.