1.
Gregorian chant
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Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the western Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, although popular legend credits Pope St. Gregory the Great with inventing Gregorian chant, scholars believe that it arose from a later Carolingian synthesis of Roman chant and Gallican chant. Gregorian chants were organized initially into four, then eight, the scale patterns are organized against a background pattern formed of conjunct and disjunct tetrachords, producing a larger pitch system called the gamut. The chants can be sung by using six-note patterns called hexachords, Gregorian melodies are traditionally written using neumes, an early form of musical notation from which the modern four-line and five-line staff developed. Multi-voice elaborations of Gregorian chant, known as organum, were a stage in the development of Western polyphony. Gregorian chant was sung by choirs of men and boys in churches. It is the music of the Roman Rite, performed in the Mass, although Gregorian chant is no longer obligatory, the Roman Catholic Church still officially considers it the music most suitable for worship. During the 20th century, Gregorian chant underwent a musicological and popular resurgence, singing has been part of the Christian liturgy since the earliest days of the Church. Until the mid-1990s, it was accepted that the psalmody of ancient Jewish worship significantly influenced and contributed to early Christian ritual. However, early Christian rites did incorporate elements of Jewish worship that survived in later chant tradition, canonical hours have their roots in Jewish prayer hours. Amen and alleluia come from Hebrew, and the threefold sanctus derives from the threefold kadosh of the Kedushah, the New Testament mentions singing hymns during the Last Supper, When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives Matthew 26.30. The 3rd-century Greek Oxyrhynchus hymn survived with musical notation, but the connection between this hymn and the plainchant tradition is uncertain, musical elements that would later be used in the Roman Rite began to appear in the 3rd century. The Apostolic Tradition, attributed to the theologian Hippolytus, attests the singing of Hallel psalms with Alleluia as the refrain in early Christian agape feasts, around 375, antiphonal psalmody became popular in the Christian East, in 386, St. Ambrose introduced this practice to the West. In the fifth century, a school, the Schola Cantorum, was founded at Rome to provide training in church musicianship. Scholars are still debating how plainchant developed during the 5th through the 9th centuries, around 410, St. Augustine described the responsorial singing of a Gradual psalm at Mass. 520, Benedict of Nursia established what is called the rule of St. Benedict, around 678, Roman chant was taught at York. Distinctive regional traditions of Western plainchant arose during this period, notably in the British Isles, Spain, Gaul and these traditions may have evolved from a hypothetical year-round repertory of 5th-century plainchant after the western Roman Empire collapsed. John the Deacon, biographer of Pope Gregory I, modestly claimed that the saint compiled a patchwork antiphonary, unsurprisingly and he reorganized the Schola Cantorum and established a more uniform standard in church services, gathering chants from among the regional traditions as widely as he could manage
2.
Mass (liturgy)
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Mass often refers to the entire church service in general, but is specifically the sacrament of the Eucharist. The term mass is called in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodox churches and many Old Catholic, Anglican, as well as some Lutheran churches. Some Protestants employ terms such as Divine Service or service of worship, the English noun mass is derived from Middle Latin missa. The Latin word was adopted in Old English as mæsse, and was sometimes glossed as sendnes, the Latin term missa itself was in use by the 6th century. It is most likely derived from the concluding formula Ite, missa est, historically, however, there have been other explanations of the noun missa, i. e. as not derived from the formula ite, missa est. Already Du Cange reports various opinions on the origin of the noun missa mass, including the derivation from Hebrew matzah, here attributed to Caesar Baronius. The Hebrew derivation is learned speculation from 16th-century philology, medieval authorities did derive the noun missa from the verb mittere, but not in connection with the formula ite, missa est. Thus, De divinis officiis explains the word as a mittendo, quod nos mittat ad Deo, the Catholic Church sees the Mass or Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life, to which the other sacraments are oriented. The Catholic Church believes that the Mass is exactly the same sacrifice that Jesus Christ offered on the Cross at Calvary, after making the sign of the cross and greeting the people liturgically, he begins the Act of Penitence. This concludes with the prayer of absolution, which, however. The Kyrie, eleison, is sung or said, followed by the Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Introductory Rites are brought to a close by the Collect Prayer. On Sundays and solemnities, three Scripture readings are given, on other days there are only two. If there are three readings, the first is from the Old Testament, or the Acts of the Apostles during Eastertide, the first reading is followed by a psalm, either sung responsorially or recited. The second reading is from the New Testament, typically one of the Pauline epistles. A Gospel Acclamation is then sung as the Book of the Gospels is processed, sometimes with incense and candles, the final reading and high point of the Liturgy of the Word is the proclamation of the Gospel by the deacon or priest. At least on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, a homily, finally, the Creed is professed on Sundays and solemnities, and it is desirable that in Masses celebrated with the people the Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful should usually follow. The congregation responds, May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, the priest then pronounces the variable prayer over the gifts. The Eucharistic Prayer, the centre and high point of the entire celebration, the priest continues with one of many Eucharistic Prayer thanksgiving prefaces, which lead to the reciting of the Sanctus acclamation
3.
Vespers
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Vespers is the sunset evening prayer service in the Orthodox, Western and Eastern Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours. The word comes from the Greek ἑσπέρα and the Latin vesper and it is also referred to in the Anglican tradition as evening prayer or evensong. The term is used in some Protestant denominations to describe evening services. Vespers, also called Evening Prayer, takes place as dusk begins to fall, Evening Prayer gives thanks for the day just past and makes an evening sacrifice of praise to God. The general structure of the Roman Rite Catholic service of vespers is as follows, Vespers opens with the singing or chanting of the words Deus, Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum, each psalm concludes with a doxology and is preceded and followed by an antiphon. After the psalms, there is a reading from the Bible, following the reading, there is a short responsory consisting of a verse, a response, the first half only of the Gloria Patri, and then the verse again. Then the participants sing the Magnificat — the canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the Gospel of Luke 1, the Magnificat is always preceded by an antiphon, and followed by the Gloria and an antiphon. The preces are then said, followed by the Our Father, the office is frequently followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, Daily Vespers is the form served on other days when Great Vespers is not served. Small Vespers is an abbreviated form of the service which is celebrated only on the afternoon before an All-Night Vigil. Since the liturgical day begins at sunset, Vespers is the first service of the day, the general structure of the service is as follows, Vespers opens with a blessing by the priest and then Come, let us worship. When part of an All-Night Vigil, the blessing that normally begins matins is used, when part of the Divine Liturgy, proemial Psalm, Bless the Lord, O my soul, O Lord my God, Thou hast been magnified exceedingly. The Great Litany A selection of psalms, called a kathisma is sung, on Saturday evening, it is the First Kathisma. Lord I have Cried is chanted in the tone of the week, starting with the last two verses of Psalm 141, stichera about the feast day are chanted alternately with the verses. The Entrance is made with the censer The hymn Phos Hilaron is sung, on feast days, there are three or more readings from the Old Testament, called Paroemia. The prayer Vouchsafe, O Lord, is read, the Litany of Fervent Supplication On major feast days, a Litiy will be served at this point. The clergy and the cantors will process to the back of the church in front of an icon of the feast or saint being commemorated
4.
Hymns to Mary
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Marian hymns are Christian songs focused on the Virgin Mary. They are used in devotional and liturgical services, particularly by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican. They are often used in the month of May devotions, some have also been adopted as Christmas hymns. Marian hymns are not popular among Protestants, as many Protestants see Marian veneration as idolatry, however, the practice is very common among Christians of Catholic traditions, and a key component of the Eastern Orthodox liturgy. There are many more hymns to Mary within the Eastern Orthodox yearly cycle of liturgy than in Roman Catholic liturgy, the Magnificat hymn is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and historian Marjorie Reeves states that it is perhaps the earliest Christian hymn. The Magnificat is named after the line in the 4th century Vulgate Bible, based on Luke 1, 46-55, and continues to be widely used to date by Roman Catholics, Anglicans. Marian hymns are at times shared among different groups of Christians, for instance, The second stanza of the Anglican hymn Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones is derived from the Eastern Orthodox hymn to the Theotokos. In the Eastern Church, the Theotokia are a part of the Divine Liturgy. In the Theotokia people repeat the name Mary many times as a sign of their friendship with her. Parts of the Axion Estin hymn date back to the earliest days of Orthodoxy, in the Eastern Church, the Theotokia often include biblical references that emphasize the mystery of the Incarnation. These Marian hymns have been used in daily prayers since early Christianity as a way to people the Orthodox beliefs. Marian hymns remain a key element in the liturgy of the Coptic Church and are included in every hour, day. The widely used Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos is attributed to Saint Romanos the Melodist who composed many hymns to saints during the 6th century, in the Orthodox weekly liturgical cycle, Wednesday is dedicated to the Theotokos, and all daily services include numerous Marian hymns. These take precedence over the veneration of saints and angels. As of the 12th century a number of diataxeis, giving the order of the liturgy included Marian hymns. Centuries later, the Sunday of Orthodoxy continues to combine Marian hymns, hymns, feasts and miraculous Marian icons are now combined within Eastern church practices, e. g. the Akathistos to the wonder working Theotokos Iverskaya. Marian hymns, litanies and the veneration or Benediction of the icons of Mary are combined in the Maronite Churchs, here a hymn litany includes the repetition of the phrase, We petition you. This Marionite hymn litany has two parts, first the giving of praise to Mary, then the petitions, according to Saint Augustine, it was Saint Ambrose who, in the 4th century, introduced the use of hymns outside the liturgy of the Western Church
5.
Kirtan
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It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas. It may include dancing or direct expression of bhavas by the singer, many Kirtana performances are structured to engage the audience where they either repeat the chant, or reply to the call of the singer. A person performing kirtana is known as a kirtankara and it is a major practice in Vaisnava devotionalism, Sikhism, the Sant traditions and some forms of Buddhism, as well as other religious groups. Kirtana is sometimes accompanied by story-telling and acting, texts typically cover religious, mythological or social subjects. Kirtana has Vedic roots and it means telling, narrating, describing, enumerating, reporting, the term is found as Anukirtana in the context of Yajna, wherein team recitations of dialogue-style and question-answer riddle hymns were part of the ritual or celebratory dramatic performance. The Sanskrit verses in chapter 13.2 of Shatapatha Brahmana, the Vedic sacrifice is presented as a kind of drama, with its actors, its dialogues, its portion to be set to music, its interludes, and its climaxes. The root of Kirtana is kirt, the root is found in the Samhitas, the Brahmanas and other Vedic literature, as well as the Vedanga and Sutras literature. Kirt, according to Monier-Williams contextually means, to mention, make mention of, tell, name, call, recite, repeat, relate, declare, communicate, commemorate, celebrate, praise, glorify. Kirtana, sometimes referred to as sankirtana, is a call-and-response chanting or musical conversation, Kirtan is locally known as Abhang, Samaj Gayan, Haveli Sangeet, Vishnupad, Harikatha. In regional languages, Kirtana is scripted as Bengali, কীর্তন, Nepali & Hindi, कीर्तन, Kannada, ಕೀರ್ತನೆ, Marathi, कीर्तन, Punjabi, ਕੀਰਤਨ, Tamil, கீர்த்தனை, Telugu, కీర్తన. Musical recitation of hymns, mantras and the praise of deities has ancient roots in Hinduism, as evidenced by the Samaveda, Kirtana relates to the bhakti marga tradition of Hinduism. References to Kirtana as a musical recitation are also found in the Bhagavata Purana, Kirtana is often practiced as a kind of theatrical folk song with call-and-response chanting or antiphon. The ancient sage Narada revered as a genius, is called a kirtankar in the Padma Purana. The so-called Naradiya Kirtana divides kirtana into five parts, naman, purvaranga, chanting, katha or akhyan and a final prayer for universal welfare. Kirtan as a genre of music has been a major part of the Vaishnavism tradition. The Varkari saint Namdev used the form of singing to praise the glory of god Vithoba. Marathi kirtana is typically performed by one or two performers, called kirtankar, accompanied by harmonium and tabla. It involves singing, acting, dancing, and story-telling and it is usually based on poetry of the seven famous saints of Maharashtra, Nivruttinath, Dnyaneshwar, Sopandev, Muktabai, Eknath, Namdev and Tukaram
6.
Sea shanty
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A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. The term shanty most accurately refers to a style of work song belonging to this historical repertoire. However, in recent, popular usage, the scope of its definition is expanded to admit a wider range of repertoire and characteristics. Shanty songs functioned to economize labor in what had become larger vessels having smaller crews. The practice of singing shanties eventually became ubiquitous internationally and throughout the era of wind-driven packet, Shanties had antecedents in the working chants of British and other national maritime traditions. They were notably influenced by songs of African Americans, such as those sung whilst manually loading vessels with cotton in ports of the southern United States. Such tasks, which required a coordinated group effort in either a pulling or pushing action, included weighing anchor. The shanty genre was typified by flexible lyrical forms, which in practice provided for much improvisation and its hallmark was call and response, performed between a soloist and the rest of the workers in chorus. The leader, called the shantyman, was appreciated for his piquant language, lyrical wit, Shanties were sung without instrumental accompaniment and, historically speaking, they were only sung in work-based rather than entertainment-oriented contexts. Although most prominent in English, shanties have been created in or translated into other European languages, the switch to steam-powered ships and the use of machines for shipboard tasks, by the end of the 19th century, meant that shanties gradually ceased to serve a practical function. Their use as work songs became negligible in the first half of the 20th century, commercial musical recordings, popular literature, and other media, especially since the 1920s, have inspired interest in shanties among land-folk. The modern performance contexts of these songs have affected their forms, their content, the origin of the word shanty is unknown, though several inconclusive theories have been put forth. One of the earliest and most consistently offered derivations is from the French chanter, the phenomenon of using songs or chants, in some form, to accompany sea labor preceded the emergence of the term shanty in the historical record of the mid-19th century. One of the earliest published uses of this term for such a song came in G. E. Clarks Seven Years of a Sailors Life,1867, while telling of another voyage out of Provincetown, Mass. in 1865, he wrote, Every man sprang to duty. The cheerful chanty was roared out, and heard above the howl of the gale, the cable held very hard, and when it surged over, the windlass sent the men flying about the deck, as if a galvanic battery had been applied to their hands. Additionally, Clark referred to a singer as a chanty man, and he referred to stevedores unloading cargo from the vessels as chanty men. This reference to singing stevedores as chanty men connects the genre to an earlier reference to chanty-man as the foreman of a work gang. Around the late 1840s, Charles Nordhoff observed work gangs engaged in a type of labor called cotton-screwing in Mobile Bay
7.
Psalms
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The Book of Psalms, commonly referred to simply as Psalms or the Psalms, is the first book of the Ketuvim, the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοί psalmoi, meaning instrumental music and, by extension, the book is an anthology of individual psalms, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many of the psalms are linked to the name of David, over a third appear to be musical directions, addressed to the leader or choirmaster, including such statements as with stringed instruments and according to lilies. Others appear to be references to types of composition, such as A psalm and Song. Many superscriptions carry the names of individuals, the most common being of David, others named include Moses, Asaph, the Sons of Korah and Solomon. A natural way of understanding these attributions is as a claim to authorship, Psalms are usually identified by a sequence number, often preceded by the abbreviation Ps. Numbering of the Psalms differs—mostly by one digit, see table—between the Hebrew and it is generally admitted that Pss.9 and 10 were originally a single acrostic poem, they have been wrongly separated by Massorah, rightly united by the Septuagint and Vulgate. On the other hand, Ps.144 is made up of two songs — verses 1–11 and 12–15, Pss.42 and 43 are shown by identity of subject, of metrical structure and of refrain, to be three strophes of one and the same poem. The Hebrew text is correct in counting as one Ps.146, later liturgical usage would seem to have split up these and not a few other psalms. Zenner combines into what he deems were the original choral odes,1,2,3,4,6 +13,9 +10,19,20,21,56 +57,69 +70,114 +115,148,149,150. A choral ode would seem to have been the form of Pss.14 +70. The two strophes and the epode are Ps,14, the two antistrophes are Ps.70. It is noteworthy that, on the breaking up of the ode, each portion crept twice into the Psalter, Ps.14 =53, Ps.70 =40. Other such duplicated psalms are Ps and this loss of the original form of some of the psalms is allowed by the Biblical Commission to have been due to liturgical uses, neglect of copyists, or other causes. The Septuagint bible, present in Eastern Orthodox churches, includes a Psalm 151, Some versions of the Peshitta include Psalms 152–155. There are also the Psalms of Solomon, which are a further 18 psalms of Jewish origin, likely written in Hebrew. These and other indications suggest that the current Western Christian and Jewish collection of 150 psalms were selected from a wider set, gunkel divided the psalms into five primary types, Hymns, songs of praise for Gods work in creation or in history. They typically open with a call to praise, describe the motivation for praise, two sub-categories are enthronement psalms, celebrating the enthronement of Yahweh as king, and Zion psalms, glorifying Mount Zion, Gods dwelling-place in Jerusalem
8.
Israelites
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The Israelites were a Semitic-speaking people of the ancient Near East, who inhabited a part of Canaan during the tribal and monarchic periods. The ancient Israelites are considered to be an outgrowth of the indigenous Canaanite populations that inhabited the Southern Levant, Syria, ancient Israel. In the period of the monarchy it was only used to refer to the inhabitants of the northern kingdom. The Israelites were also known as the Hebrews and the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the Jews are named after and also descended from the southern Israelite Kingdom of Judah, particularly the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and partially Levi. The word Jews is found in 2 Kings, Chronicles, and in passages in the Book of Jeremiah, the Book of Zechariah. The Kingdom of Israel, often called the Northern Kingdom of Israel, contained all the tribes except for the tribes of Judah, following its conquest by Assyria, these ten tribes were allegedly dispersed and lost to history, and they are henceforth known as the Ten Lost Tribes. Jewish tradition holds that Samaria was so named because the mountainous terrain was used to keep Guard for incoming enemy attacks. According to Samaritan tradition, however, the Samaritan ethnonym is not derived from the region of Samaria, thus, according to Samaritan tradition, the region was named Samaria after them, not vice versa. In Modern Hebrew, the Samaritans are called Shomronim, while in Samaritan Hebrew they call themselves Shamerim, in Judaism, an Israelite is, broadly speaking, a lay member of the Jewish ethnoreligious group, as opposed to the priestly orders of Kohanim and Levites. In texts of Jewish law such as the Mishnah and Gemara, the term יהודי, meaning Jew, is rarely used, Samaritans commonly refer to themselves and to Jews collectively as Israelites, and they describe themselves as the Israelite Samaritans. The name Israel first appears in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 32,29, the Hebrew Bible etymologizes the name as from yisra to prevail over or to struggle/wrestle with, and el, God, the divine. The name Israel first appears in non-biblical sources c.1209 BCE, the inscription is very brief and says simply, Israel is laid waste and his seed is not. The inscription refers to a people, not to an individual or a nation-state, in modern Hebrew, bnei yisrael can denote the Jewish people at any time in history, it is typically used to emphasize Jewish religious identity. From the period of the Mishna the term Yisrael acquired a narrower meaning of Jews of legitimate birth other than Levites. In modern Hebrew this contrasts with the term Yisraeli, a citizen of the modern State of Israel, the term Hebrew has Eber as an eponymous ancestor. It is used synonymously with Israelites, or as a term for historical speakers of the Hebrew language in general. Today, Jews and Samaritans both recognize each other as communities with an authentic Israelite origin, the terms Jews and Samaritans largely replaced the title Children of Israel as the commonly used ethnonym for each respective community. The name Yahweh, the god of the later Israelites, may indicate connections with the region of Mount Seir in Edom, the Canaanites were also the first people, as far as is known, to have used an alphabet
9.
Christian
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A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christian derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach, while there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term Christian is also used as an adjective to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a sense all that is noble, and good. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, by 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the worlds largest religion in 2050, about half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant. Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the worlds Christians, other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories,280 million Christian live as a minority. In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, in other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish. The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26,28, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4,16, which believers, Yet if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames, in the Annals he relates that by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians and identifies Christians as Neros scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24, the Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes, Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian, denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of Christianity. Most Baptists and fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian, in fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism, the term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוּצְרי, a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מָשִׁיחַיים, the term Nasara rose to prominence in July 2014, after the Fall of Mosul to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The nun or ن— the first letter of Nasara—was spray-painted on the property of Christians ejected from the city, where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī from ṣalīb which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations
10.
Byzantine Rite
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It has also been employed, although less frequently, in the Anglican Communion and Lutheran churches. Its development began during the century in Constantinople and it is now the second most-used rite in Christendom after the Roman Rite. Traditionally, the stands throughout the whole service, and an iconostasis separates the sanctuary from the nave of the church. The faithful are very active in their worship, making frequent bows and prostrations, also, traditionally, the major clergy and monks neither shave nor cut their hair or beards. Scripture plays a role in Byzantine worship, with not only daily readings. The entire psalter is read each week, and twice weekly during Great Lent, fasting is stricter than in the Roman rite. On fast days, the faithful give up not only meat, but also dairy products, and on many fast days they also give up fish, wine, the rite observes four fasting seasons, Great Lent, Nativity Fast, Apostles Fast and Dormition Fast. In addition, most Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year are fast days, there are two ancient liturgical traditions from which all of the Eastern Rites developed, the Alexandrian rite in Egypt and the Antiochene Rite in Syria. These two Rites developed directly from practices of the Early Church, of these two traditions, the Rite of Constantinople developed from the Antiochene Rite. Prior to the see of Constantinoples elevation to the dignity of patriarch by the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, with the councils elevation of Constantinople to primacy in the East, with the words The Bishop of Constantinople. Further developments continued to occur, centered mostly around Constantinople and Mount Athos, monasticism played an important role in the development of the rituals. In Constantinople, the work of the monastery of the Studion greatly enriched the liturgical traditions, iconography continued to develop and a canon of traditional patterns evolved which still influences Eastern religious art to this day. Historical events have also influenced the development of the liturgy, the great Christological and Trinitarian controversies of Late Antiquity are reflected in the glorifications of the Trinity heard in the numerous ekphonies encountered during the services. All liturgical rites change and develop over time, as new saints are canonized, new hymns are composed, as new needs arise, new prayers are written. The rite also profits from the fact that the Christian East is not so centralized in ecclesiastical polity as the West and this allows for greater diversity, and as members of one church visit another, a natural cross-pollination occurs with resultant enrichment on all sides. In spite of its emphasis on tradition, the Byzantine Rite comprises a constantly growing and expanding ritual. The tradition of the Church of Constantinople ascribes the oldest of its two main Divine Liturgies to St. Basil the Great, Metropolitan of Cæsarea in Cappadocia and this tradition is confirmed by the witness of several ancient authors, some of whom were contemporaries. It is certain that St. St. Basil himself speaks on several occasions of the changes he made in the services of Cæsarea. Basil had as his goal the streamlining of the services to make them more cohesive and attractive to the faithful
11.
Ambrose
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Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose, was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was the Roman governor of Liguria and Emilia, headquartered in Milan, Ambrose was a staunch opponent of Arianism, and has been accused of fostering persecutions of Arians, Jews, and pagans. Ambrose was one of the four original Doctors of the Church and he is notable for his influence on Augustine of Hippo. Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family about 340 and was raised in Gallia Belgica and his mother was a woman of intellect and piety. Ambroses siblings, Satyrus and Marcellina, are venerated as saints. There is a legend that as an infant, a swarm of bees settled on his face while he lay in his cradle and his father considered this a sign of his future eloquence and honeyed tongue. For this reason, bees and beehives often appear in the saints symbology, after the early death of his father, Ambrose followed his fathers career. He was educated in Rome, studying literature, law, Ambrose was the Governor of Aemilia-Liguria in northern Italy until 374, when he became the Bishop of Milan. He was a popular political figure, and since he was the Governor in the effective capital in the Roman West. In the late 4th century there was a conflict in the diocese of Milan between the Nicene Church and Arians. In 374 the bishop of Milan, Auxentius, an Arian, died, Ambrose went to the church where the election was to take place, to prevent an uproar, which was probable in this crisis. His address was interrupted by a call Ambrose, bishop, which was taken up by the whole assembly. Ambrose was known to be Nicene Christian in belief, but also acceptable to Arians due to the charity shown in matters in this regard. At first he refused the office, for which he was in no way prepared. Upon his appointment, Ambrose fled to a colleagues home seeking to hide, upon receiving a letter from the Emperor Gratian praising the appropriateness of Rome appointing individuals evidently worthy of holy positions, Ambroses host gave him up. Within a week, he was baptized, ordained and duly consecrated bishop of Milan and this raised his popularity even further, giving him considerable political leverage over even the emperor. Ambrose also wrote a treatise by the name of The Goodness of Death, according to legend, Ambrose immediately and forcefully stopped Arianism in Milan. He studied theology with Simplician, a presbyter of Rome, in the confrontation with Arians, Ambrose sought to theologically refute their propositions, which were contrary to the Nicene creed and thus to the officially defined orthodoxy
12.
Mary, mother of Jesus
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Mary, also known by various titles, styles and honorifics, was a 1st-century Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament and the Quran. The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament and the Quran describe Mary as a virgin, the miraculous birth took place when she was already betrothed to Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, the Gospel of Luke begins its account of Marys life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus. According to canonical gospel accounts, Mary was present at the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. According to the Catholic and Orthodox teaching, at the end of her life her body was assumed directly into Heaven. Mary has been venerated since Early Christianity, and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the religion and she is claimed to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, there is significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas, namely her status as the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity, many Protestants minimize Marys role within Christianity, based on the argued brevity of biblical references. Mary also has a position in Islam, where one of the longer chapters of the Quran is devoted to her. Marys name in the manuscripts of the New Testament was based on her original Aramaic name ܡܪܝܡ. The English name Mary comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a form of Μαριάμ. Both Μαρία and Μαριάμ appear in the New Testament, in Christianity, Mary is commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary, in accordance with the belief that she conceived Jesus miraculously through the Holy Spirit without her husbands involvement. The three main titles for Mary used by the Orthodox are Theotokos, Aeiparthenos as confirmed in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, Catholics use a wide variety of titles for Mary, and these titles have in turn given rise to many artistic depictions. For example, the title Our Lady of Sorrows has inspired such masterpieces as Michelangelos Pietà, the title Theotokos was recognized at the Council of Ephesus in 431. However, this phrase in Greek, in the abbreviated form ΜΡ ΘΥ, is an indication commonly attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God, some Marian titles have a direct scriptural basis. For instance, the title Queen Mother has been given to Mary since she was the mother of Jesus, the scriptural basis for the term Queen can be seen in Luke 1,32 and the Isaiah 9,6. Queen Mother can be found in 1 Kings 2, 19-20 and Jeremiah 13, other titles have arisen from reported miracles, special appeals or occasions for calling on Mary
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Antiphon (in Greek Liturgy)". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "
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Antiphon "O Sapientia quae ex ore Altissimi..." (help·info)
