1.
Ajax the Lesser
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Ajax was a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris. He was called the lesser or Locrian Ajax, to him from Ajax the Great. He was the leader of the Locrian contingent during the Trojan War and he is a significant figure in Homers Iliad and is also mentioned in the Odyssey, in Virgils Aeneid and in Euripides The Trojan Women. In Etruscan legend, he was known as Aivas Vilates, according to Strabo, he was born in Naryx in Locris, where Ovid calls him Narycius Heroes. According to the Iliad, he led his Locrians in forty ships against Troy and he is described as one of the great heroes among the Greeks. In battle, he wore a cuirass, was brave and intrepid, especially skilled in throwing the spear and, next to Achilles. On his return from Troy, his vessel was wrecked on the Whirling Rocks and he would have been saved in spite of Athena, but he said that he would escape the dangers of the sea in defiance of the immortals. In punishment for this presumption, Poseidon split the rock with his trident, in later traditions, this Ajax is called a son of Oileus and the nymph Rhene and is also mentioned among the suitors of Helen. After the taking of Troy, he rushed into the temple of Athena, where Cassandra had taken refuge, Ajax violently dragged her away to the other captives. According to some writers, he raped Cassandra inside the temple, odysseus, accused him of this crime and Ajax was to be stoned to death, but saved himself by establishing his innocence with an oath to Athena, clutching her statue in supplication. Since Ajax dragged a supplicant from her temple, Athena had cause to be indignant, despite this, Ajax managed to hide in the altar of a deity where the Greeks, fearing divine retribution should they kill him and destroy the altar, allowed him to live. When the Greeks left without killing Ajax, despite their sacrifices, when Ajax finally left Troy during the Returns from Troy, Athena hit his ship with a thunderbolt, but Ajax still survived with some of his men, managing to cling onto a rock. He boasted that even the gods could not kill him and Poseidon, upon hearing this, split the rock with his trident, thetis buried him when the corpse washed up on Myconos. Other versions depict a different death for Ajax, showing him dying when on his voyage home, after his death, his spirit dwelt in the island of Leuce. The story of Ajax was frequently made use of by ancient poets and artists, and the hero who appears on some Locrian coins with the helmet, shield, other accounts of his death are offered by Philostratus and the scholiast on Lycophron. The abduction of Cassandra by Ajax was frequently represented in Greek works of art, such as the chest of Cypselus described by Pausanias and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Smith, William, ed. article name needed. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Ajax
2.
Cassandra
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Cassandra, also known as Alexandra or Kassandra, was a daughter of King Priam and of Queen Hecuba of Troy in Greek mythology. In modern usage her name is employed as a device to indicate someone whose accurate prophecies are not believed by those around them. In an alternative version, she fell asleep in a temple, Cassandra became a figure of epic tradition and of tragedy. Hjalmar Frisk notes unexplained etymology, citing various hypotheses found in Wilhelm Schulze, Edgar Howard Sturtevant, J. Davreux, R. S. P. Beekes cites García Ramóns derivation of the name from the Proto-Indo-European root *kend- raise. Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba and the twin sister of Helenus. According to legend, Cassandra had dark curly hair and dark brown eyes and was both beautiful and clever, but considered insane. However, her perceived insanity is the result of being cursed by the god Apollo, many versions of the myth relate that she incurred the gods wrath by refusing him sex, sometimes after first promising herself in exchange for the power of prophecy. Hyginus says, In another version, Cassandra consented to have sex with Apollo in exchange for the gift of prophecy and her punishment was the curse of never being believed. In some versions of the myth, Apollo curses her by spitting into her mouth during a kiss, in Aeschylus Agamemnon, she foretells the betrayal of Clytemnestra. She also bemoans her relationship with Apollo, Cassandra had served as a priestess of Apollo and her cursed gift from Apollo became a source of endless pain and frustration to Cassandra. Cassandra was seen as a liar and a madwoman by her family, in some versions of the story, she was often locked up in a pyramidal building on the citadel on her father King Priam’s orders. She was accompanied there by the wardress who cared for her under orders to inform the King of all of his daughters prophetic utterances. She was driven insane by this in the versions where she was incarcerated, though in the versions where she was not. According to legend, Cassandra had instructed her twin brother Helenus in the power of prophecy so he could be a prophet, like her, Helenus was always correct whenever he had made his predictions, but unlike his sister, people believed him. Cassandra made many predictions, with all of her prophecies being disbelieved except for one and she was believed when she foresaw who Paris was and proclaimed that he was her abandoned brother. This took place after he had sought refuge in the altar of Zeus from their brothers’ wrath, Cassandra foresaw that Paris’ abduction of Helen for his wife would bring about the Trojan War and cause the destruction of Troy. She did warn Paris not to go to Sparta along with Helenus who echoed her prophecy, Cassandra saw Helen coming into Troy at Paris return home from Sparta. She furiously snatched away Helens golden veil and tore at her hair, for she had foreseen that Helens arrival would bring the calamities of the Trojan War, the Trojan people, however, welcomed Helen into their city
3.
Palladium (classical antiquity)
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See also Palladium for post-classical usages. The Roman story is related in Virgils Aeneid and other works, such beliefs first become prominent in the Eastern church in the period after the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, and later spread to the Western church. Palladia were carried in procession around the walls of besieged cities and sometimes carried into battle, the Trojan Palladium was said to be a wooden image of Pallas and to have fallen from heaven in answer to the prayer of Ilus, the founder of Troy. In Ilion, King Ilus was blinded for touching the image to preserve it from a burning temple, during the Trojan War, the importance of the Palladium to Troy was said to have been revealed to the Greeks by Helenus, the prophetic son of Priam. After Paris death, Helenus left the city but was captured by Odysseus, the Greeks somehow managed to persuade the warrior seer to reveal the weakness of Troy. The Greeks learned from Helenus, that Troy would not fall while the Palladium, image or statue of Athena, the difficult task of stealing this sacred statue again fell upon the shoulders of Odysseus and Diomedes. Since Troy could not be captured while it safeguarded this image, in this way the Greeks were then able to enter Troy and lay it waste using the deceit of the Trojan Horse. Odysseus, according to The Epic Cycle, in the chrestomathy summarizing the Little Iliad, went by night to Troy in disguise, there he was recognized by Helen, who told him where the Palladium was. After killing some of the Trojans, he returned to the ships and he and Diomedes then re-entered the city and stole the Palladium. Diomedes is sometimes regarded as the person who removed the Palladium. There are several statues and many ancient drawings of him with the Palladium, in the Narratives of the Augustan period mythographer Conon, summarised by Photius, on the way to the ships, Odysseus plotted to kill Diomedes and claim the Palladium for himself. He raised his sword to stab Diomedes in the back, Diomedes was alerted to the danger by glimpsing the gleam of the sword in the moonlight. He disarmed Odysseus, tied his hands, and drove him along in front, from this action was said to have arisen the Greek proverbial expression Diomedes necessity, applied to those who act under compulsion. Because Odysseus was essential for the destruction of Troy, Diomedes refrained from punishing him, Diomedes took the Palladium with him when he left Troy. According to some stories, he brought it to Italy, some say that it was stolen from him on the way. According to various versions of this legend the Trojan Palladium found its way to Athens, or Argos, or Sparta, to this last city it was either brought by Aeneas the exiled Trojan or surrendered by Diomedes himself. It was kept there in the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum for centuries and it was regarded as one of the pignora imperii, sacred tokens or pledges of Roman rule. Pliny the Elder said that Lucius Caecilius Metellus had been blinded by fire when he rescued the Palladium from the Temple of Vesta in 241 BC, an episode alluded to in Ovid and Valerius Maximus
4.
Tondo (art)
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A tondo is a Renaissance term for a circular work of art, either a painting or a sculpture. The word derives from the Italian rotondo, round, artists have created tondi since Greek antiquity. The circular paintings in the centre of painted vases of that period are known as tondi, the style was revived in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, particularly in Italy, where it may have developed from the smaller desco da parto or birthing tray. Since then it has been less common, in Ford Madox Browns painting The Last of England, the ships wire railing curving round the figures helps enclose the composition within its tondo shape. The background scene is consolidated or omitted, and to an extent, unimportant. While the background may be visible in paintings, in tondo relief carvings the background is not seen. Andrea della Robbia and other members of his family created glazed terracotta tondi that were framed in a wreath of fruit and leaves. In the sixteenth century the style of istoriato decoration for maiolica wares was applied to large circular dishes. The infrequently-encountered synonym rondo much more usually refers to a musical form, adoration of the Magi Taddei Tondo Doni Tondo Pitti Tondo Severan Tondo, Roman painting of c.200 AD Roberta J. M. Olson, The Florentine Tondo, Oxford 2000. Moritz Hauptmann, Der Tondo, Ursprung, Bedeutung und Geschichte des italienischen Rundbildes in Relief und Malerei, six tondi from the National Gallery, London
5.
Attic
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An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building, an attic may also called a sky parlor or a garret. While some attics are converted into bedrooms, home offices, or attic apartments complete with windows and staircases, Attics are generally used for storage, though they can also help control temperatures in a house by providing a large mass of slowly moving air. The hot air rising from the floors of a building is often retained in attics. However, in recent years attics have been insulated to help decrease heating costs, since, on average, the word attic is derived from the Attica region of Greece and comes from Attic style architecture. Modern building codes require unoccupied attics to be ventilated to reduce the accumulation of heat and moisture that contribute to growth and decay of wood rafters. Various types of turbine ventilators and exhaust fans can also be used to assist with attic ventilation, Attic ladder Basement Hayloft Loft Penthouse apartment Media related to Attics at Wikimedia Commons
6.
Shrine
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A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other objects associated with the figure being venerated. A shrine at which offerings are made is called an altar. Shrines can be found in various settings, such as churches, temples, cemeteries, or in the home, a shrine may become a focus of a cult image. Many shrines are located buildings and in the temples designed specifically for worship, such as a church in Christianity. A shrine here is usually the centre of attention in the building, in such cases, adherents of the faith assemble within the building in order to venerate the deity at the shrine. In classical temple architecture, the shrine may be synonymous with the cella, historically, in Hinduism, Buddhism and Roman Catholicism, and also in modern faiths, such as Neopaganism, a shrine can commonly be found within the home or shop. This shrine is usually a structure or a setup of pictures and figurines dedicated to a deity that is part of the official religion. Small household shrines are common among the Chinese and people from South and Southeast Asia, whether Hindu. Usually a small lamp and small offerings are kept daily by the shrine, Buddhist household shrines must be on a shelf above the head, Chinese shrines must stand directly on the floor. Small outdoor yard shrines are found at the bottom of many gardens, following various religions, including historically. Shrines are found in most, though not all, religions, Shrines therefore attract the practice of pilgrimage. Shrines are found in many, though not all, forms of Christianity, Roman Catholicism, the largest denomination of Christianity, has many shrines, as do Orthodox Christianity and Anglicanism. For a shrine to be described as national, the approval of the Episcopal Conference is necessary, for it to be described as international, the approval of the Holy See is required. Another use of the shrine in colloquial Catholic terminology is a niche or alcove in most – especially larger – churches used by parishioners when praying privately in the church. They were also called Devotional Altars, since they could look like small Side Altars or bye-altars, Shrines were always centered on some image of Christ or a saint – for instance, a statue, painting, mural or mosaic, and may have had a reredos behind them. However, Mass would not be celebrated at them, they were used to aid or give a visual focus for prayers. Side altars, where Mass could actually be celebrated, were used in a way to shrines by parishioners
7.
Human
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Modern humans are the only extant members of Hominina tribe, a branch of the tribe Hominini belonging to the family of great apes. Several of these hominins used fire, occupied much of Eurasia and they began to exhibit evidence of behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago. In several waves of migration, anatomically modern humans ventured out of Africa, the spread of humans and their large and increasing population has had a profound impact on large areas of the environment and millions of native species worldwide. Humans are uniquely adept at utilizing systems of communication for self-expression and the exchange of ideas. Humans create complex structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families. Social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals. These human societies subsequently expanded in size, establishing various forms of government, religion, today the global human population is estimated by the United Nations to be near 7.5 billion. In common usage, the word generally refers to the only extant species of the genus Homo—anatomically and behaviorally modern Homo sapiens. In scientific terms, the meanings of hominid and hominin have changed during the recent decades with advances in the discovery, there is also a distinction between anatomically modern humans and Archaic Homo sapiens, the earliest fossil members of the species. The English adjective human is a Middle English loanword from Old French humain, ultimately from Latin hūmānus, the words use as a noun dates to the 16th century. The native English term man can refer to the species generally, the species binomial Homo sapiens was coined by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th century work Systema Naturae. The generic name Homo is a learned 18th century derivation from Latin homō man, the species-name sapiens means wise or sapient. Note that the Latin word homo refers to humans of either gender, the genus Homo evolved and diverged from other hominins in Africa, after the human clade split from the chimpanzee lineage of the hominids branch of the primates. The closest living relatives of humans are chimpanzees and gorillas, with the sequencing of both the human and chimpanzee genome, current estimates of similarity between human and chimpanzee DNA sequences range between 95% and 99%. The gibbons and orangutans were the first groups to split from the leading to the humans. The splitting date between human and chimpanzee lineages is placed around 4–8 million years ago during the late Miocene epoch, during this split, chromosome 2 was formed from two other chromosomes, leaving humans with only 23 pairs of chromosomes, compared to 24 for the other apes. There is little evidence for the divergence of the gorilla, chimpanzee. Each of these species has been argued to be an ancestor of later hominins
8.
Ancient Greek temple
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Greek temples (Ancient Greek, Ναός, Naós dwelling, semantically distinct from Latin templum were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, since the sacrifices, temples were frequently used to store votive offerings. They are the most important and most widespread building type in Greek architecture, in the Hellenistic kingdoms of Southwest Asia and of North Africa, buildings erected to fulfill the functions of a temple often continued to follow the local traditions. Even where a Greek influence is visible, such structures are not normally considered as Greek temples and this applies, for example, to the Graeco-Parthian and Bactrian temples, or to the Ptolemaic examples, which follow Egyptian tradition. Most Greek temples were oriented astronomically, stylistically, they were governed by the regionally specific architectural orders. Whereas the distinction was originally between the Doric and Ionic orders, an alternative arose in late 3rd century BC with the Corinthian order. A multitude of different ground plans were developed, each of which could be combined with the superstructure in the different orders. From the 3rd century BC onwards, the construction of temples became less common, after a short 2nd century BC flourish. Thereafter, only structures were newly begun, while older temples continued to be renovated or brought to completion if in an unfinished state. Greek temples were designed and constructed according to set proportions, mostly determined by the diameter of the columns or by the dimensions of the foundation levels. The nearly mathematical strictness of the basic designs thus reached was lightened by optical refinements, in spite of the still widespread idealised image, Greek temples were painted, so that bright reds and blues contrasted with the white of the building stones or of stucco. The more elaborate temples were equipped with rich figural decoration in the form of reliefs. The construction of temples was usually organised and financed by cities or by the administrations of sanctuaries, private individuals, especially Hellenistic rulers, could also sponsor such buildings. New temples now belonged to the tradition of Roman architecture, which, in spite of the Greek influence on it, aimed for different goals and followed different aesthetic principles. The Mycenaean Megaron was the precursor for later Archaic and Classical Greek temples, the basic principles for the development of Greek temple architecture have their roots between the 10th century BC and the 7th century BC. In its simplest form as a naos, the temple was a rectangular shrine with protruding side walls. Until the 8th century BC, there were also apsidal structures with more or less semi-circular back walls, by adding columns to this small basic structure, the Greeks triggered the development and variety of their temple architecture. The columns and superstructure were wooden, door openings and antae were protected with wooden planks, the mud brick walls were often reinforced by wooden posts, in a type of half-timbered technique
9.
Roman temple
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Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain the most obvious symbol of Roman architecture and their construction and maintenance was a major part of ancient Roman religion, and all towns of any importance had at least one main temple, as well as smaller shrines. The main room housed the image of the deity to whom the temple was dedicated. Behind the cella was a room or rooms used by attendants for storage of equipment. The ordinary worshipper rarely entered the cella, and most public ceremonies were performed outside, on the portico, with a crowd gathered in the temple precinct. The most common architectural plan had a rectangular temple raised on a podium, with a clear front with a portico at the top of steps. The sides and rear of the building had much less architectural emphasis, there were also circular plans, generally with columns all round, and outside Italy there were many compromises with traditional local styles. The Roman form of temple developed initially from Etruscan temples, themselves influenced by the Greeks, public religious ceremonies of the official Roman religion took place outdoors, and not within the temple building. Some ceremonies were processions that started at, visited, or ended with a temple or shrine, sacrifices, chiefly of animals, would take place at an open-air altar within the templum. Especially under the Empire, exotic foreign cults gained followers in Rome and these often had very different practices, some preferring underground places of worship, while others, like Early Christians, worshipped in houses. The decline of Roman religion was relatively slow, and the temples themselves were not appropriated by the government until a decree of the Emperor Honorius in 415. Santi Cosma e Damiano, in the Roman Forum, originally the Temple of Romulus, was not dedicated as a church until 527. The best known is the Pantheon, Rome, which is however highly untypical, being a large circular temple with a magnificent concrete roof. The English word temple derives from the Latin templum, which was not the building itself. The Roman architect Vitruvius always uses the word templum to refer to the sacred precinct, the more common Latin words for a temple or shrine were sacellum, aedes, delubrum, and fanum. The Etruscans were a people of northern Italy, whose civilization was at its peak in the seventh century BC, the Etruscans were already influenced by early Greek architecture, so Roman temples were distinctive but with both Etruscan and Greek features. Especially in the periods, further statuary might be placed on the roof. As in the Maison Carrée, columns at the side might be half-columns and these steps were normally only at the front, and typically not the whole width of that
10.
Fanum
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The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans and this legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on later juridical and religious vocabulary in Europe, particularly of the Western Church. For theonyms, or the names and epithets of gods, see List of Roman deities, for public religious holidays, see Roman festivals. For temples see the List of Ancient Roman temples, individual landmarks of religious topography in ancient Rome are not included in this list, see Roman temple. The verb abominari was a term of augury for an action that rejects or averts an unfavourable omen indicated by a signum, the noun is abominatio, from which English abomination derives. At the taking of formally solicited auspices, the observer was required to acknowledge any potentially bad sign occurring within the templum he was observing, regardless of the interpretation. He might, however, take actions in order to ignore the signa, including avoiding the sight of them. The latter tactic required promptness, wit and skill based on discipline, thus the omen had no validity apart from the observation of it. The aedes was the place of a god. It was thus a structure that housed the image, distinguished from the templum or sacred district. Aedes is one of several Latin words that can be translated as shrine or temple, for instance, the Temple of Vesta, as it is called in English, was in Latin an aedes. See also the diminutive aedicula, a small shrine, in his work On Architecture, Vitruvius always uses the word templum in the technical sense of a space defined through augury, with aedes the usual word for the building itself. The design of an aedes, he writes, should be appropriate to the characteristics of the deity. Thus in theory, though not always in practice, architectural aesthetics had a theological dimension, the word aedilis, a public official, is related by etymology, among the duties of the aediles was the overseeing of public works, including the building and maintenance of temples. The temple of Flora, for instance, was built in 241 BC by two aediles acting on Sibylline oracles, the plebeian aediles had their headquarters at the aedes of Ceres. In religious usage, ager was terrestrial space defined for the purposes of augury in relation to auspicia, there were five kinds of ager, Romanus, Gabinus, peregrinus, hosticus and incertus. The ager Romanus originally included the space outside the pomerium. According to Varro, the ager Gabinus pertained to the circumstances of the oppidum of Gabii
11.
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin is a U. S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, Wisconsin is the 23rd largest state by total area and the 20th most populous. The state capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee, the state is divided into 72 counties. Wisconsin is second to Michigan in the length of its Great Lakes coastline, Wisconsin is known as Americas Dairyland because it is one of the nations leading dairy producers, particularly famous for its cheese. Manufacturing, especially paper products, information technology, and tourism are major contributors to the states economy. The word Wisconsin originates from the given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian-speaking Native American groups living in the region at the time of European contact. French explorer Jacques Marquette was the first European to reach the Wisconsin River, arriving in 1673, subsequent French writers changed the spelling from Meskousing to Ouisconsin, and over time this became the name for both the Wisconsin River and the surrounding lands. English speakers anglicized the spelling from Ouisconsin to Wisconsin when they began to arrive in numbers during the early 19th century. The legislature of Wisconsin Territory made the current spelling official in 1845, the Algonquin word for Wisconsin and its original meaning have both grown obscure. Interpretations vary, but most implicate the river and the red sandstone that lines its banks, other theories include claims that the name originated from one of a variety of Ojibwa words meaning red stone place, where the waters gather, or great rock. Wisconsin has been home to a variety of cultures over the past 12,000 years. The first people arrived around 10,000 BCE during the Wisconsin Glaciation and these early inhabitants, called Paleo-Indians, hunted now-extinct ice age animals such as the Boaz mastodon, a prehistoric mastodon skeleton unearthed along with spear points in southwest Wisconsin. After the ice age ended around 8000 BCE, people in the subsequent Archaic period lived by hunting, fishing, agricultural societies emerged gradually over the Woodland period between 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. Toward the end of period, Wisconsin was the heartland of the Effigy Mound culture. Later, between 1000 and 1500 CE, the Mississippian and Oneota cultures built substantial settlements including the village at Aztalan in southeast Wisconsin. The Oneota may be the ancestors of the modern Ioway and Ho-Chunk tribes who shared the Wisconsin region with the Menominee at the time of European contact, the first European to visit what became Wisconsin was probably the French explorer Jean Nicolet. He canoed west from Georgian Bay through the Great Lakes in 1634, pierre Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers visited Green Bay again in 1654–1666 and Chequamegon Bay in 1659–1660, where they traded for fur with local Native Americans. In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet became the first to record a journey on the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway all the way to the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien
12.
Chancel
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In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary, at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse and it is generally the area used by the clergy and choir during worship, while the congregation is in the nave. Direct access may be provided by a door, usually on the south side of the church. In smaller churches, where the altar is backed by the outside east wall and there is no distinct choir, in churches with a retroquire area behind the altar, this may only be included in the broader definition of chancel. In a cathedral or other large church there may be a choir area at the start of the chancel, before reaching the sanctuary. All these may be included in the chancel, at least in architectural terms, in churches with less traditional plans the term may not be useful in either architectural or ecclesiastical terms. The chancel may be a step or two higher than the level of the nave, and the sanctuary is often raised still further and this is an arch which separates the chancel from the nave and transept of a church. As well as the altar, the sanctuary may house a credence table, in some churches, the congregation may gather on three sides or in a semicircle around the chancel. In some churches, the pulpit and lectern may be in the chancel, the word chancel derives from the French usage of chancel from the Late Latin word cancellus. This refers to the form of rood screens. The chancel was formerly known as the presbytery, because it was reserved for the clergy, a large chancel made most sense in monasteries and cathedrals where there was a large number of singing clergy and boys from a choir school to occupy the choir. These usually sat in the nave, with any lay congregation, however the screen enjoyed a small revival in the 19th century, after the passionate urgings of Augustus Pugin, who wrote A Treatise on Chancel Screens and Rood Lofts, and others. After the Reformation Protestant churches generally moved the forward, typically to the front of the chancel. The rear of deep chancels became little used in churches surviving from the Middle Ages, with the emphasis on sermons, and their audibility, some churches simply converted their chancels to seat part of the congregation. Fleming, John, Honour, Hugh, Pevsner, Nikolaus, Dictionary of Architecture,1980, Pevsner, Nikolaus, Priscilla Metcalf, The Cathedrals of England, Southern England,1985, Viking White, James F. The Cambridge Movement, The Ecclesiologists and the Gothic Revival,1962, Wipf and Stock Publishers, ISBN1592449379,9781592449378, google books Chancel
13.
St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
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It is dedicated to the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia and holds the title and dignity of a minor basilica, bestowed upon it by Pope Pius XI on 4 August 1932. St Marys has the greatest length of any church in Australia, in 2008, St Marys Cathedral became the focus of World Youth Day 2008 and was visited by Pope Benedict XVI who consecrated the new forward altar. Sydney was established as a settlement on 26 January 1788 in the name of King George III by Captain Arthur Phillip. Many of the people to arrive in Sydney at that time were military, some wives and family. The first chaplain of the colony was the Reverend Richard Johnson of the Church of England, no specific provision was made for the religious needs of those many convicts and settlers who were Roman Catholics. To redress this, an Irish Catholic priest, a Father OFlynn, travelled to the colony of New South Wales but, as he arrived without government sanction, he was sent home. It was not until 1820 that two priests, Father Conolly and Father John Therry, arrived to officially minister to the Roman Catholics in Australia, Father Conolly went to Tasmania and Father Therry remained in Sydney. Therry claimed that on the day of his arrival, he had a vision of a mighty church of golden stone dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary raising its twin spires above the city of Sydney. This vision came to pass, but not until after 180 years, Father Therry applied for a grant of land on which to build a church. He asked for land on the side of Sydney, towards Darling Harbour. The site for the Catholic church overlooked an area upon which the bricks for Macquaries buildings were made. The area is now Hyde Park, with avenues of trees, the foundation stone for the first St Marys was laid on 29 October 1821 by Governor Macquarie. Built by James Dempsey, it was a cruciform stone structure which paid homage to the rising fashion for the Gothic style in its pointed windows. In 1835, John Polding became the first archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Australia, in 1851 the church was modified to the designs of Augustus Welby Pugin. Father Therry died on 25 May 1864, on 29 June 1865, the church caught fire and was destroyed. The then archdeacon, Father McEnroe, immediately set about planning and fund raising in order to build the present cathedral, Polding wrote to William Wardell, a pupil of Augustus Welby Pugin, the most prominent architect of the Gothic Revival movement. Polding was impressed with Wardells building of St Johns College at the University of Sydney, in his letter, Polding gives Wardell a completely free hand in the design, saying Any plan, any style, anything that is beautiful and grand, to the extent of our power. Wardell had also designed and commenced work on St Patricks Cathedral, there were to be two intermediate stages
14.
Western Christianity
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Western Christianity consists of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, and a variety of Protestant denominations. The name has applied in order to distinguish these from Eastern Christianity. Today, the distinction between Western and Eastern Christianity is not nearly as absolute, due to the spread of missionary activities, migrations. The adjectives Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity are thus used to refer to historical origins rather than present geographical locations. For most of its history the church in Europe has been divided between the Latin-speaking west, whose centre was Rome, and the Greek-speaking east, whose centre was Constantinople. Cultural differences and political rivalry created tensions between the two churches, leading to disagreement over doctrine and ecclesiology and ultimately to schism, like Eastern Christianity, Western Christianity traces its roots, directly or indirectly, to the apostles and other early preachers of the religion. In Western Christianitys original area Latin was the principal language, Christian writers in Latin had more influence there than those who wrote in Greek, Syriac, or other Eastern languages. With the last-named form of Eastern Christianity, reunion agreements were signed at the Second Council of Lyon and the Council of Florence, but these proved ineffective. The rise of Protestantism led to divisions within Western Christianity, which still persist, and wars—for example. In and after the Age of Discovery, Europeans spread Western Christianity to the New World, Roman Catholicism came to the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Protestantism, including Anglicanism, came to North America, Australia-Pacific and this Western version also has the additional phrase God from God, which was in the Creed as adopted by the First Council of Nicaea, but which was dropped by the First Council of Constantinople. The date of Easter usually differs between Eastern and Western Christianity, because the calculations are based on the Julian calendar and Gregorian calendar respectively, for example, the Church of England continued to observe Easter on the same date as the Eastern Church until 1753. Even the dates of other Christian holidays differ between Eastern and Western Christianity, Western Christianity makes up about 90% of Christians worldwide, with the Roman Catholic Church accounting for over half and various Protestant denominations making up another 40%. Hussite movements of 15th century Bohemia preceded the main Protestant uprising by 100 years and evolved into several small Protestant churches, waldensians survived also, but blended into the Reformed tradition
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Lutheranism
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Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity which identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer and theologian. Luthers efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone and this is in contrast to the belief of the Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent, concerning authority coming from both the Scriptures and Tradition. In addition, Lutheranism accepts the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church, unlike Calvinism, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lords Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, the purpose of Gods Law, the grace, the concept of perseverance of the saints. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism, with approximately 80 million adherents, it constitutes the third most common Protestant denomination after historically Pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism. The Lutheran World Federation, the largest communion of Lutheran churches, Other Lutheran organizations include the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as independent churches. The name Lutheran originated as a term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Catholics followed the practice of naming a heresy after its leader. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran, preferring the term Evangelical, which was derived from euangelion, the followers of John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other theologians linked to the Reformed tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed. As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped, Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists. In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title Lutheran as referring to the true church, Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther, who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century, as the monarch of Denmark–Norway, through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia. Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen, under the reign of Frederick I, Denmark-Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers. During Fredericks reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark, at an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by the king in 1536, the people shouted, We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore. Fredericks son Christian was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his fathers death, however, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1537 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark-Norway
16.
Methodism
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Methodism, or the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their inspiration from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and Johns brother Charles Wesley were also significant leaders in the movement and it originated as a revival within the 18th century Church of England and became a separate Church after Wesleys death. Because of vigorous missionary work, the movement spread throughout the British Empire, Wesleys theology focused on sanctification and the effect of faith on the character of a Christian. Distinguishing Methodist doctrines include an assurance of salvation, imparted righteousness, the possibility of perfection in love, the works of piety and the primacy of Scripture. Most Methodists teach that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for all of humanity and that salvation is available for all, in theology and this teaching rejects the Calvinist position that God has pre-ordained the salvation of a select group of people. However, Whitefield and several others were considered Calvinistic Methodists and held to the latter position, Methodism emphasises charity and support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the works of mercy. These ideals are put into practice by the establishment of hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens and schools to follow Christs command to spread the gospel, the movement has a wide variety of forms of worship, ranging from high church to low church in liturgical usage. Denominations that descend from the British Methodist tradition are generally less ritualistic, Methodism is known for its rich musical tradition and Charles Wesley was instrumental in writing much of the hymnody of the Methodist Church. In Britain, the Methodist Church had an effect in the early decades of the making of the working class. In the United States, it became the religion of many slaves who later formed black churches in the Methodist tradition. The Methodist revival began with a group of men, including John Wesley and his younger brother Charles, the Wesley brothers founded the Holy Club at the University of Oxford, where John was a fellow and later a lecturer at Lincoln College. The club met weekly and they set about living a holy life. They were accustomed to receiving Communion every week, fasting regularly, abstaining from most forms of amusement and luxury and frequently visited the sick, the fellowship were branded as Methodist by their fellow students because of the way they used rule and method to go about their religious affairs. John, who was leader of the club, took the attempted mockery, unsuccessful in their work, the brothers returned to England conscious of their lack of genuine Christian faith. They looked for help to Peter Boehler and other members of the Moravian Church, at a Moravian service in Aldersgate on 24 May 1738, John experienced what has come to be called his evangelical conversion, when he felt his heart strangely warmed. Charles had reported an experience an few days previously. Considered a pivotal moment, Daniel L. John Wesley came under the influence of the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, Arminius had rejected the Calvinist teaching that God had pre-ordained an elect number of people to eternal bliss while others perished eternally. Conversely, George Whitefield, Howell Harris, and Selina Hastings, George Whitefield, returning from his own mission in Georgia, joined the Wesley brothers in what was rapidly to become a national crusade
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Eucharist
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The Eucharist /ˈjuːkərɪst/ is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches. Through the Eucharistic celebration Christians remember Christs sacrifice of himself on the cross, the elements of the Eucharist, bread and wine, are consecrated on an altar and consumed thereafter. Communicants may speak of receiving the Eucharist, as well as celebrating the Eucharist, Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present. While all agree there is no perceptible change in the elements, Catholics believe that they actually become the body. Some Protestants view the Eucharist as an ordinance in which the ceremony is not as a specific channel of divine grace. Do this in remembrance of me, the term Eucharist is that by which the rite is referred by the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr. Today, the Eucharist is the still used by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians. Other Protestant denominations rarely use this term, preferring either Communion, one remains hungry, another gets drunk. Communion or Holy Communion are used by some groups originating in the Protestant Reformation to mean the entire Eucharistic rite. The term Communion is derived from Latin communio, which translates Greek κοινωνία in 1 Corinthians 10,16, the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ. The phrase appears five times in the New Testament in contexts which, according to some and it is the term used by the Plymouth Brethren. The Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar are common terms used by Catholics, Lutherans and some Anglicans for the consecrated elements, Sacrament of the Altar is in common use also among Lutherans. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the term The Sacrament is used of the rite. Among the many terms used in the Catholic Church are Holy Mass, the Memorial of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The term Mass is probably derived from the fact that the Roman rite celebrates the Eucharist with unleavened bread and this explains why the Eastern Catholic Liturgies are never referred to as the Mass. Eastern rite Liturgies are celebrated with leavened bread, although the prevailing theory is that it is derived from the Latin word missa, a word used in the concluding formula of Mass in Latin, Ite, missa est. The reverse is more likely. The word dismissal probably came about because the Mass signaled the time for the Catechumens to leave, thus, the term Misa came to imply a mission, because at the end of the Mass the congregation are sent out to serve Christ
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Church tabernacle
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A tabernacle is a fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is reserved. A less obvious container for the purpose, set into a wall, is called an aumbry. Within Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and in some congregations of Anglicanism and Lutheranism and it is normally made of metal, stone or wood, is lockable and secured to its altar or adjacent wall to prevent the consecrated elements within from being removed without authorization. By way of metaphor, Catholics and Orthodox alike also refer to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Tabernacle in their devotions,6 Year XXIII – June 2005. The preferred containers, the original tabernacles, then had the form of a dove within a tower, gian Lorenzo Bernini’s 29-metre-high Baroque baldacchino over the main altar in today’s Saint Peter’s Basilica is at present the best-known such structure. Later, simpler vessels replaced to some extent the dove and the tower, by the thirteenth century, the Eucharist was most often kept in a highly embellished cabinet inserted into the wall to the right or left of the altar. The Altar lamp indicated the Presence of Christ and this was a means of following the decree of the 1215 Fourth Lateran Council requiring that the reserved sacrament be kept in a locked receptacle. In the late century, special stone constructions for the Eucharistic bread began to be built. They were in use until the mid-nineteenth century, as the presence of the sanctuary lamp in the adjacent picture shows, some have been returned to their traditional use. Belgian churches with such sacrament towers include St Catherines in Zuurbemde, St Martins in Kortrijk, St Peters and St Jamess in Leuven, St Jamess in Bruges and St Leonards in Zoutleeuw. In the early century, Bishop Matteo Giberti ordered that, in his diocese of Verona, in Italy. The custom spread through northern Italy, Saint Charles Borromeo, who became Archbishop of Milan, Italy in 1560, had the Sacrament moved from the sacristy to an altar of his cathedral. However, in 1614 Pope Paul V imposed on the churches of his diocese of Rome the rule of putting the tabernacle on some altar. Whether on the altar of the church or in a special chapel. The Catholic Church holds the doctrine of transubstantiation, i. e. that Christ is truly present, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity and this presence perdures after the consecration, so that even after Mass is concluded, the Eucharistic elements are still Christs Body and Blood. A tabernacle serves as a place in which to store the Blessed Sacrament for carrying to the sick who cannot participate in Mass. The altar, it was decided, should be truly the centre to which the attention of the congregation of the faithful naturally turns. Before Vatican II, Mass was often celebrated directly in front of the tabernacle, the same Instruction lays down that,314
19.
Protestantism
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Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
20.
Altar
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An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes, and by extension the Holy table of post-reformation Anglican churches. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches, today they are used particularly in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Taoism, as well as in Neopaganism and Ceremonial Magic. Judaism used such a structure until the destruction of the Second Temple, many historical faiths also made use of them, including Greek and Norse religion. Altars in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth or unwrought stone, altars were generally erected in conspicuous places. The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah, altars were erected by Abraham, by Isaac, by Jacob, and by Moses. In Catholic and Orthodox Christian theology, the Eucharist is a re-presentation, hence, the table upon which the Eucharist is consecrated is called an altar. The altar plays a role in the celebration of the Eucharist, which takes place at the altar on which the bread. The altar is often on a higher elevation than the rest of the church, in Reformed and Anabaptist churches, a table, often called a Communion table, serves an analogous function. In some colloquial usage, the altar is used to denote the altar rail also. The main altar was also referred to as the high altar, in the earliest days of the Church, the Eucharist appears to have been celebrated on portable altars set up for the purpose. Some historians hold that, during the persecutions, the Eucharist was celebrated among the tombs in the Catacombs of Rome, other historians dispute this, but it is thought to be the origin of the tradition of placing relics beneath the altar. Although in the days of the Jerusalem Temple the High Priest indeed faced east when sacrificing on Yom Kippur, the ministers, celebrated the Eucharist facing east, towards the entrance. Some hold that for the part of the celebration the congregation faced the same way. After the sixth century the contrary orientation prevailed, with the entrance to the west and the altar at the east end. Then the ministers and congregation all faced east during the whole celebration, most rubrics, even in books of the seventeenth century and later, such as the Pontificale Romanum, continued to envisage the altar as free-standing. The rite of the Dedication of the Church continued to presume that the officiating Bishop could circle the altar during the consecration of the church and its altar. Despite this, with the increase in the size and importance of the reredos, most altars were built against the wall or barely separated from it. This diversity was recognized in the rubrics of the Roman Missal from the 1604 typical edition of Pope Clement VIII to the 1962 edition of Pope John XXIII, Si altare sit ad orientem, versus populum
21.
Altar rails
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Often a gate, or just a gap, at the centre divides the line into two parts. Rails are a common, but not inevitable, feature of Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran. They are usually two feet 6 inches high, with a padded step at the bottom, and designed so that the wider top of the rail can support the forearms or elbows of a kneeling person. The altar rail is a modest substitute for earlier barriers demarcating the chancel, the containing the altar. Barriers of various kinds often mark off as especially sacred the area of a close to the altar. The templon was typical for the Late Antique period, in the Armenian Apostolic Church, curtains are still drawn to cut off that area during the holiest moments of the liturgy. Apart from the congregation, pet dogs were taken to church. However the screen enjoyed a revival in the 19th century, after the passionate urgings of Augustus Pugin, who wrote A Treatise on Chancel Screens and Rood Lofts. There were medieval structures like communion rails, but the types of screen were much more common. A church in Hasle, Bornholm claims to have a rare 15th-century altar rail, perhaps, like other examples, this is in fact a sawn-off medieval screen. In England the rail became one of the focuses of tussles between the High Church and Low Church factions, and in churches they were added, removed and re-added at different times. This too was controversial in England, and the Laudian party did not push too hard for this in many dioceses, many Roman Catholic churches have had altar rails, those of the late nineteenth century being particularly decorative. Communicants receiving the Eucharist knelt at the railings to be given communion by a priest, after the Second Vatican Council, many parishes removed their altar rails, and a myth has arisen that the Council ordered the change. Previously, only altar servers were allowed to join the clergy within the sanctuary during the celebration of the liturgy, now, Lay Readers of Scripture and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion enter the sanctuary during Mass. Some Catholics and many architects and planners criticised some removals, often on liturgical, historical, many Catholics resisted the changes, some have taken legal action to try to prevent the removal of altar rails and of other traditional features in pre-Vatican II sanctuaries. The same legislation makes it clear there is no requirement in liturgical law necessitating the removal of altar rails from historic churches. In other denominations, such as many of the churches of the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Church, and the Methodist Church, there is typically no specific regulation concerning their presence or use, although they remain a common feature even in newly constructed churches. Their continued popularity results from a preference on the part of many to assume a posture of kneeling to receive the Eucharist
22.
Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
23.
Syro-Malabar Church
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The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church or Church of Malabar Syrian Catholics is an Eastern Catholic Major Archiepiscopal Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. It is one of the sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic communion. The Church is headed by Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry of the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly in Kerala and it is the largest of the Nasrani denominations with around 5.01 million believers and traces its origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. It is the second largest Eastern Catholic Church, the largest being the Ukrainian Catholic Church and it is one of the two Eastern Catholic Churches from India, the other being the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church which follows the West Syrian Rite liturgy. Saint Alphonsa is the first canonized saint from the Church, Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Euphrasia Eluvathingal are other saints from the church. D. Traditionally, he founded seven churches or communities in Kerala, at Kodungalloor, Niranam, Kollam, Chayal, Kottakkavu, Gokkamangalam and Paloor. From early centuries the Church of St. Thomas Christians came into communication with the Christian communities that came to be known as the Church of the East, the Christians of St. Thomas kept their distinctive character especially in Church administration and socio-cultural and ascetic-spiritual life. At least from the 4th century until the end of the 16th century the Bishops of the Church of Malabar were sent from the East Syrian Church, Ancient prayers and customs of the Syro-Malabar Christians partially deny their alleged Nestorian connection. The bishops who came from the East Syrian Church, were concerned with spiritual matters. The governance of the Church was through Palliyogam, Synod, the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama arrived in Calicut on 20 May 1498. When Gama and the Portuguese missionaries arrived they found no Christians in the country except in the Malabar Coast, the Christians they found were St. Thomas Christians. The Christians were friendly to Portuguese missionaries at first, there were exchanges of gifts between them, and these groups were delighted at their common faith. Later, due to differences, mainly in the sacraments including liturgy. Under the Padroado agreement with the Holy See the Portuguese missionaries started to interfere in day-to-day operations of the church and these reforms included secret confession to priests, a change of the Lent starting day from Sunday to Ash Monday, and the introduction of the veneration of Sts. Syril and Gregory instead of Theodorus and Nestorius, as directed by the Portuguese Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes, together, these changes made the Malankare church more Eastern and Oriental Orthodox than East Syrian churches. At a Goan Synod held in 1585, it was decided to introduce the Catholic Roman Rite liturgy, during the Synod of Diamper of 1599, Menezes succeeded in bringing the indigenous church under the Latin Catholic fold and formed a catholic diocese in Malabar. The Malabar church became more Eastern Orthodox and Oriental than East Syrian churches and he appointed a Catholic bishop in the newly formed Catholic Archdiocese of Angamaly-Kodungallur to govern the St. Thomas Christians. The Portuguese padroado was extended over them, the strife between the Portuguese missionaries and the indigenous Christians and their Mesopotamian prelates was of an ecclesiological and jurisdictional character. Attempts to resist the Latinization process were branded as heretical, under their Archdeacon, the Thomas Christians resisted, and, consequently, the once united Church in full communion with the East Syrian Patriarch ended up in various denominations
24.
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
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Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
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The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the largest Christian Church in Egypt, Northeast Africa and the Middle East. According to tradition, the Church was established by Saint Mark, the head of the Church and the See of Alexandria is the Patriarch of Alexandria on the Holy See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Coptic Pope. The See of Alexandria is titular, and today the Coptic Pope presides from Saint Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The precise Christological differences that caused the split with the Coptic Christians are still disputed, highly technical, the foundational roots of the Coptic Church are based in Egypt, but it has a worldwide following. Isaiah the prophet, in Chapter 19, Verse 19 says In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, the first Christians in Egypt were common people who spoke Egyptian Coptic. There were also Alexandrian Jews such as Theophilus, whom Saint Luke the Evangelist addresses in the chapter of his gospel. When the church was founded by Saint Mark during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, in the 2nd century, Christianity began to spread to the rural areas, and scriptures were translated into the local languages, namely Coptic. The Catechetical School of Alexandria is the oldest catechetical school in the world, St. Jerome records that the Christian School of Alexandria was founded by Saint Mark himself. Origen wrote over 6,000 commentaries of the Bible in addition to his famous Hexapla, many scholars such as Jerome visited the school of Alexandria to exchange ideas and to communicate directly with its scholars. The scope of this school was not limited to subjects, science, mathematics. The question-and-answer method of commentary began there, and 15 centuries before Braille, wood-carving techniques were in use there by blind scholars to read, the Theological college of the catechetical school was re-established in 1893. Many Egyptian Christians went to the desert during the 3rd century, by the end of the 5th century, there were hundreds of monasteries, and thousands of cells and caves scattered throughout the Egyptian desert. A great number of these monasteries are still flourishing and have new vocations to this day, countless pilgrims have visited the Desert Fathers to emulate their spiritual, disciplined lives. In the 4th century, an Alexandrian presbyter named Arius began a dispute about the nature of Christ that spread throughout the Christian world and is now known as Arianism. We confess one Baptism for the remission of sins and we look for the resurrection of the dead, as a consequence of this, he denied the title Mother of God to the Virgin Mary, declaring her instead to be Mother of Christ Christotokos. When reports of this reached the Apostolic Throne of Saint Mark, Pope Saint Cyril I of Alexandria acted quickly to correct this breach with orthodoxy, when he would not, the Synod of Alexandria met in an emergency session and a unanimous agreement was reached. Pope Cyril I of Alexandria, supported by the entire See and this epistle drew heavily on the established Patristic Constitutions and contained the most famous article of Alexandrian Orthodoxy, The Twelve Anathemas of Saint Cyril. In these anathemas, Cyril excommunicated anyone who followed the teachings of Nestorius, for example, Anyone who dares to deny the Holy Virgin the title Theotokos is Anathema
26.
Nave
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The nave /ˈneɪv/ is the central aisle of a basilica church, or the main body of a church between its western wall and its chancel. It is the zone of a church accessible by the laity, the nave extends from the entry — which may have a separate vestibule — to the chancel and may be flanked by lower side-aisles separated from the nave by an arcade. If the aisles are high and of a width comparable to the central nave and it provides the central approach to the high altar. The term nave is from medieval Latin navis, a ship was an early Christian symbol. The term may also have suggested by the keel shape of the vaulting of a church. The earliest churches were built when builders were familiar with the form of the Roman basilica and it had a wide central area, with aisles separated by columns, and with windows near the ceiling. Old St. Peters Basilica in Rome is a church which had this form. It was built in the 4th century on the orders of Roman emperor Constantine I, the nave, the main body of the building, is the section set apart for the laity, while the chancel is reserved for the clergy. In medieval churches the nave was separated from the chancel by the rood screen, medieval naves were divided into bays, the repetition of form giving an effect of great length, and the vertical element of the nave was emphasized. During the Renaissance, in place of dramatic effects there were more balanced proportions, longest nave in Denmark, Aarhus Cathedral,93 metres. Longest nave in England, St Albans Cathedral, St Albans,84 metres, longest nave in Ireland, St Patricks Cathedral, Dublin,91 metres. Longest nave in France, Bourges Cathedral,91 metres, including choir where a crossing would be if there were transepts, longest nave in Germany, Cologne cathedral,58 metres, including two bays between the towers. Longest nave in Italy, St Peters Basilica in Rome,91 metres, longest nave in Spain, Seville,60 metres, in five bays. Longest nave in the United States, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City, highest vaulted nave, Beauvais Cathedral, France,48 metres high but only one bay of the nave was actually built but choir and transepts were completed to the same height. Highest completed nave, Rome, St. Peters, Italy,46 metres high, abbey, with architectural discussion and groundplans Cathedral architecture Cathedral diagram List of highest church naves
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Iconostasis
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In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church, the iconostasis evolved from the Byzantine templon, a process complete by the fifteenth century. A direct comparison for the function of the iconostasis can be made to the layout of the great Temple in Jerusalem. That Temple was designed with three parts, the holiest and inner-most portion was that where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. This portion, the Holy of Holies, was separated from the larger part of the buildings interior by a curtain. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, the third part was the entrance court. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition only men can enter the altar portion behind the iconostasis, the word comes from the Greek εἰκονοστάσι, which means icon stand. The nave is the body of the church where most of the worshippers stand. The sanctuary is one to three steps higher than the nave. The Iconostasis does not sit directly on the edge of the sanctuary and this forms a walkway in front of the iconostasis for the clergy, called a soleas. In the very center of the soleas is an extension, often rounded, called the ambon, on which the deacon will stand to give litanies during the services, the iconostasis, though often tall, rarely touches the ceiling. Acoustically, this permits the ekphoneses of the clergy to be heard clearly by the faithful, in small, modern churches the iconostasis may be completely absent, in such cases it is replaced by a few small icons on analogia, forming a virtual divide. The iconostasis typically has three openings or sets of doors, the Beautiful Gates or Holy Doors in the center, and the North and South Doors to either side. The Beautiful Gates are sometimes called the Royal Doors, but that more properly belongs to the central doors connecting the narthex, or porch. They remain shut whenever a service is not being held, modern custom as to when they should be opened during services varies depending upon jurisdiction and local custom. The North and South Doors are often called Deacons Doors because the use them frequently. Icons of sainted deacons are often depicted on these doors, alternatively, they may be called Angels Doors, and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel are often depicted there. The South Door is typically the entrance door, and Michael is depicted there because he is the Defender, the North Door is the exit and these doors may also be casually referred to as the side doors
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Icon
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An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and certain Eastern Catholic churches. The most common subjects include Christ, Mary, saints and/or angels, icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, painted on wood, done in mosaic or fresco work, printed on paper or metal, etc. Comparable images from Western Christianity are generally not described as icons, Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that the creation of Christian images dates back to the very early days of Christianity, and there is has been a continuous tradition since then. The icons of later centuries can be linked, often closely, to images from the 5th century onwards, there was enormous destruction of images during the Byzantine Iconoclasm of 726-842, although this did settle for good the question of the appropriateness of images. Since then icons have had a continuity of style and subject. At the same time there has been change and development, Christian tradition dating from the 8th century identifies Luke the Evangelist as the first icon painter. Aside from the legend that Pilate had made an image of Christ and he relates that King Abgar of Edessa sent a letter to Jesus at Jerusalem, asking Jesus to come and heal him of an illness. In this version there is no image, further legends relate that the cloth remained in Edessa until the 10th century, when it was taken to Constantinople. It went missing in 1204 when Crusaders sacked Constantinople, but by then numerous copies had firmly established its iconic type. They crown these images, and set them up along with the images of the philosophers of the world that is to say, with the images of Pythagoras, and Plato, and Aristotle, and the rest. They have also other modes of honouring these images, after the manner of the Gentiles. And he called him and said, Lycomedes, what do you mean by this matter of the portrait, can it be one of thy gods that is painted here. For I see that you are living in heathen fashion. Later in the passage John says, But this that you have now done is childish and imperfect, at least some of the hierarchy of the Christian churches still strictly opposed icons in the early 4th century. At the Spanish non-ecumenical Synod of Elvira bishops concluded, Pictures are not to be placed in churches, so that they do not become objects of worship and adoration. to our religion. After the emperor Constantine I extended official toleration of Christianity within the Roman Empire in 313 and this period of Christianization probably saw the use of Christian images became very widespread among the faithful, though with great differences from pagan habits. Robin Lane Fox states By the early century, we know of the ownership of private icons of saints. 480-500, we can be sure that the inside of a saints shrine would be adorned with images and votive portraits, when Constantine himself apparently converted to Christianity, the majority of his subjects remained pagans
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Oriental Orthodoxy
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Oriental Orthodoxy has approximately 84 million adherents worldwide. Oriental Orthodox Churches uphold their own ancient ecclesiastic traditions of apostolic succession and these Churches rejected the definition of the two natures of Christ, known as the Chalcedonian Definition, which was issued by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Eastern Orthodox maintain numerous theological and ecclesiological similarities with the Oriental Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox Churches are in full communion with each other, but not with the Eastern Orthodox Church, despite the similar name. The schism between Oriental Orthodoxy and the Great Church was based on differences in Christology, the First Council of Nicaea, in 325, declared that Jesus Christ is God, that is to say, consubstantial with the Father. Later, the ecumenical council, the Council of Ephesus, declared that Jesus Christ, though divine as well as human, is only one being. Thus, the Council of Ephesus explicitly rejected Nestorianism, the Christological doctrine that Christ was two distinct beings, one divine and one human, who happened to inhabit the same body. The Churches that later became Oriental Orthodoxy were firmly anti-Nestorian, and those who opposed Chalcedon saw this as a concession to Nestorianism, or even as a conspiracy to convert the Church to Nestorianism by stealth. As a result, over the decades, they gradually separated from communion with the Great Church. Monophysitism was condemned as heretical alongside Nestorianism, and to accuse a church of being Monophysite is to accuse it of falling into the opposite extreme from Nestorianism, however, the Oriental Orthodox themselves reject this description as inaccurate, having officially condemned the teachings of both Nestorius and Eutyches. They define themselves as Miaphysite instead, holding that Christ has one nature, the schism between the Oriental Orthodox and the rest of Christendom occurred in the 5th century. They would accept only of or from two natures but not in two natures and it is not entirely clear that Nestorius himself was a Nestorian. The Oriental Orthodox churches were often called Monophysite, although they reject this label, as it is associated with Eutychian Monophysitism. It was not until 518 that the new Byzantine Emperor, Justin I, Justin ordered the replacement of all non-Chalcedonian bishops, including the patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria. The extent of the influence of the Bishop of Rome in this demand has been a matter of debate, Justinian I also attempted to bring those monks who still rejected the decision of the Council of Chalcedon into communion with the greater church. The exact time of event is unknown, but it is believed to have been between 535 and 548. St Abraham of Farshut was summoned to Constantinople and he chose to bring with him four monks, upon arrival, Justinian summoned them and informed them that they would either accept the decision of the Council or lose their positions. Abraham refused to entertain the idea, theodora tried to persuade Justinian to change his mind, seemingly to no avail. Abraham himself stated in a letter to his monks that he preferred to remain in exile rather than subscribe to a faith which he believed to be contrary to that of Athanasius of Alexandria
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Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew (New York City)
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The Church of Saint Paul and Saint Andrew is a historic United Methodist church located in the Upper West Side of New York City, New York, on West 86th Street. The Church is known for being socially moderate and for being accepting of people of all races, ages, the Church hosts a number of performing arts groups, including the Empire City Mens Chorus, The Prospect Theater Company, and David Parker & The Bang Group. The congregation welcomes all who wish to worship God the Creator, God the Redeemer and God the Holy Spirit, the 2010 Service of Lessons and Carols was featured on 31 December 2010 on the CBS Television Network. The senior pastor is Rev. Dr. James Karpen and the associate pastors are Rev, bridget Cabrera serves as Minister for Young Adults and Frank Glass is the Minister of Music. SPSA also serves as host sanctuary for Congregation Bnai Jeshuran, also housed at 263 West 86th Street are the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, a food pantry and nutritional resource center, and West End Theatre, presenting many performing arts companies. The church building was declared a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1981, media related to Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew at Wikimedia Commons
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Solomon
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Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was, according to the Bible, Quran, hadith and Hidden Words a fabulously wealthy and wise king of Israel and a son of David, the previous king of Israel. The conventional dates of Solomons reign are circa 970 to 931 BC and he is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, which would break apart into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah shortly after his death. Following the split, his descendants ruled over Judah alone. According to the Talmud, Solomon is one of the 48 prophets, in the Quran, he is considered a major prophet, and Muslims generally refer to him by the Arabic variant Sulayman, son of David. Solomon was, according to the Quran, a king of ancient Israel as well as the son of David, the Hebrew Bible credits him as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem. It portrays him as great in wisdom, wealth, and power any of the previous kings of the country. His sins included idolatry, marrying foreign women, and ultimately turning away from Yahweh, Solomon is the subject of many other later references and legends, most notably in the 1st-century apocryphal work known as the Testament of Solomon. Solomon was born in Jerusalem, the second child of David and his wife Bathsheba. The first child, a son conceived adulterously during Uriahs lifetime, had died before Solomon was conceived as a punishment on account of the death of Uriah by Davids order. Solomon had three named full brothers through Bathsheba, Nathan, Shammua, and Shobab, besides six known older half-brothers through as many mothers, according to the First Book of Kings, when David was old, he could not get warm. So they sought a young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, while David was in this state, court factions were maneuvering for power. Solomon greatly expanded his military strength, especially the cavalry and chariot arms and he founded numerous colonies, some of which doubled as trading posts and military outposts. Trade relationships were a focus of his administration, Solomon is considered the most wealthy of the Israelite kings named in the Bible. Solomon also built the First Temple, beginning in the year of his reign. Solomon was the Biblical king most famous for his wisdom, in 1 Kings he sacrificed to God and prayed for wisdom. God personally answered his prayer, promising him great wisdom because he did not ask for self-serving rewards like long life or the death of his enemies. Perhaps the best known story of his wisdom is the Judgment of Solomon, Solomon easily resolved the dispute by commanding the child to be cut in half and shared between the two
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Holy of Holies
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The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle where God dwelt. The area is defined by the four pillars, the pillars held up the veil of the covering under which the Ark of the Covenant was held off the floor by its two staves. 300 years later, it was the Temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the First Temple, the area could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur after sanctifying himself. The Ark is said to have contained the Ten Commandments, which were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai and it is currently thought to be located under the Dome of the Rock. The construction Holy of Holies is a translation of a Hebrew idiom which is intended to express a superlative. Examples of similar constructions are servant of servants, Sabbath of sabbaths, God of gods, Vanity of vanities, Song of songs, king of kings, in the Authorized King James Version, Holy of Holies is always translated as Most Holy Place. This is in keeping with the intention of the Hebrew idiom to express the utmost degree of holiness, the King James Version of the Bible has been in existence for over four hundred years. For most of time, it was a primary reference in much of the English speaking world for information about Judaism. Thus, the name Most Holy Place was used to refer to the Holy of Holies in many English documents, the Bible reports that in the wilderness, on the day that the tabernacle was first raised up, the cloud of the Lord covered the tabernacle. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant with representation of Cherubim, upon completion of the dedication of the Tabernacle, the Voice of God spoke to Moses from between the Cherubim. The Holy of Holies, the most sacred site in Judaism, is the sanctuary within the Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem when Solomons Temple. The Holy of Holies was located in the westernmost end of the Temple building, being a perfect cube,20 cubits by 20 cubits by 20 cubits. The inside was in darkness and contained the Ark of the Covenant, gilded inside and out. According to Hebrews 9,4 in the New Testament, Aarons rod, the Ark was covered with a lid made of pure gold, known as the mercy seat for the Divine Presence. Josephus records that Pompey profaned the Temple by insisting on entering the Holy of Holies in 63 BCE, the animal was sacrificed on the Brazen Altar and the blood was carried into the most holy place. The golden censers were found in the Most Holy Place. According to the Hebrew Bible, in order that God may dwell among the Israelites, the Magdala stone is thought to be a representation of the Holy of Holies carved before the destruction of the Temple in the year 70. The exact location of the Kodesh Hakodashim is a subject of dispute, traditional Judaism regards the Holy of Holies as the place where the presence of God dwells
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Ark of the Covenant
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The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a gold-covered wooden chest described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. According to various texts within the Hebrew Bible, it also contained Aarons rod, when carried, the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and blue cloth, always carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the priests and the Levites who carried it. God was said to have spoken with Moses from between the two cherubim on the Arks cover. When at rest the tabernacle was set up and the holy Ark was placed under the veil of the covering the staves of it crossing the side bars to hold it up off the ground. Moses instructed Bezalel and Oholiab to construct the Ark, in Deuteronomy, however, the Ark is said to have been built specifically by Moses himself without reference of Bezalel or Oholiab. The Book of Exodus gives detailed instructions on how the Ark is to be constructed and it is to be 2½ cubits in length, 1½ in breadth, and 1½ in height. Then it is to be gilded entirely with gold, and a crown or molding of gold is to be put around it, a golden lid, the kapporet which is covered with 2 golden cherubim, is to be placed above the Ark. Instructions missing from the biblical account include the thickness of the seat, the thickness of its sides and bottom. The Ark is finally to be placed under the veil of the covering, the biblical account continues that, after its creation by Moses, the Ark was carried by the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. Whenever the Israelites camped, the Ark was placed in a room in a sacred tent. When the Israelites, led by Joshua toward the Promised Land, arrived at the banks of the River Jordan, as memorials, twelve stones were taken from the Jordan at the place where the priests had stood. In the Battle of Jericho, the Ark was carried round the city once a day for seven days, after the defeat at Ai, Joshua lamented before the Ark. When Joshua read the Law to the people between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, they stood on each side of the Ark and we next hear of the Ark in Bethel where it was being cared for by the priest Phineas the grandson of Aaron. According to this verse it was consulted by the people of Israel when they were planning to attack the Benjaminites at the battle of Gibeah. A few years later the elders of Israel decided to take the Ark out onto the battlefield to assist them against the Philistines and they were, however, heavily defeated with the loss of 30,000 men. The Ark was captured by the Philistines and Hophni and Phinehas were killed, the news of its capture was at once taken to Shiloh by a messenger with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. The mother of the child Ichabod died at his birth, the Philistines took the Ark to several places in their country, and at each place misfortune befell them. At Ashdod it was placed in the temple of Dagon, the next morning Dagon was found prostrate, bowed down, before it, and on being restored to his place, he was on the following morning again found prostrate and broken
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Synagogue
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A synagogue, also spelled synagog, is a Jewish house of prayer. Synagogues have a hall for prayer, and may also have smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall. Some have a room for Torah study, called the beith midrash beis medrash —בית מדרש. Synagogues are consecrated spaces used for the purpose of prayer, Tanakh reading, study and assembly, halakha holds that communal Jewish worship can be carried out wherever ten Jews assemble. Worship can also be carried out alone or with fewer than ten people assembled together, however, halakha considers certain prayers as communal prayers and therefore they may be recited only by a minyan. The synagogue does not replace the long-since destroyed Temple in Jerusalem, israelis use the Hebrew term beyt knesset. Jews of Ashkenazi descent have traditionally used the Yiddish term shul in everyday speech, Sephardi Jews and Romaniote Jews generally use the term kal. Spanish Jews call the synagogue a sinagoga and Portuguese Jews call it an esnoga, persian Jews and some Karaite Jews also use the non-Hebrew term kenesa, which is derived from Aramaic, and some Arab Jews use kenis. Reform and some Conservative Jews use the word temple, the Greek word synagogue is used in English, to cover the preceding possibilities. The all-day Yom Kippur service, in fact, was an event in which the congregation both observed the movements of the kohen gadol as he offered the days sacrifices and prayed for his success. During the Babylonian captivity the Men of the Great Assembly formalized and standardized the language of the Jewish prayers, prior to that people prayed as they saw fit, with each individual praying in his or her own way, and there were no standard prayers that were recited. Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, one of the leaders at the end of the Second Temple era and this contributed to the continuity of the Jewish people by maintaining a unique identity and a portable way of worship despite the destruction of the Temple, according to many historians. A synagogue dating from between 75 and 50 BCE has been uncovered at a Hasmonean-era winter palace near Jericho, more than a dozen Second Temple era synagogues have been identified by archaeologists. Any Jew or group of Jews can build a synagogue, there is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. In fact, the influence from local religious buildings can often be seen in synagogue arches, domes. Historically, synagogues were built in the architectural style of their time. Thus, the synagogue in Kaifeng, China looked very like Chinese temples of that region and era, with its outer wall, the styles of the earliest synagogues resembled the temples of other sects of the eastern Roman Empire. The surviving synagogues of medieval Spain are embellished with mudéjar plasterwork, the surviving medieval synagogues in Budapest and Prague are typical Gothic structures
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Bema
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The bema, or bima, is an elevated platform used as an orators podium in ancient Athens. In Jewish synagogues, it is known as a bimah and is for Torah reading during services. In an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, a bema is the area around the aron kodesh. In antiquity it was made of stone, but in times it is usually a rectangular wooden platform approached by steps. The Ancient Greek bema means both ‘platform’ and ‘step’, being derived from bainein, the original use of the bema in Athens was as a tribunal from which orators addressed the citizens as well as the courts of law, for instance, in the Pnyx. In Greek law courts the two parties to a dispute presented their arguments each from separate bemas, the bimah in synagogues is also known as the almemar or almemor among some Ashkenazim. The post-Biblical Hebrew bima, ‘platform’ or ‘pulpit’, is almost certainly derived from the Ancient Greek word for a raised platform, among the Sephardim, it is known as a tevah or migdal-etz. It is typically elevated by two or three steps, as was the bimah in the Temple, at the celebration of the Shavuot holiday when synagogues are decorated with flowers, many synagogues have special arches that they place over the bimah and adorn with floral displays. The importance of the bimah is to show that the reader is the most important at that moment in time, a raised bimah will typically have a railing. This was a requirement for safety in bimah more than 10 handbreadths high. A lower bimah will typically have a railing as a measure to prevent someone from inadvertently stepping off. The bimah became a fixture in synagogues from which a portion from the Torah. In Orthodox Judaism, the bimah is located in the center of the synagogue, in other branches of Judaism, the bimah and the Ark are joined together. The ceremonial use of a bema carried over from Judaism into early Christian church architecture and it was originally a raised platform with a lectern and seats for the clergy, from which lessons from the Scriptures were read and the sermon was delivered. In Western Christianity the bema developed over time into the chancel and it may be approached by one or several steps. The bema is composed of the altar, the soleas, Orthodox laity do not normally step up onto the bema except to receive Holy Communion. Ambo Templon Tribune Media related to Bimot at Wikimedia Commons
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Torah ark
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The ark in a synagogue is generally a receptacle, or ornamental closet, which contains each synagogues Torah scrolls. Most arks feature a parokhet placed either outside the doors of the ark or inside the doors of the ark, the ark is known in Hebrew as the aron kodesh by the Ashkenazim and as the hekhál among most Sefardim. Aron Kodesh comes from Hebrew אָרוֹן קׄדֶש ʼārōn qōdeš, Holy Ark, similarly, Hekhál, also written hechal, echal or heichal — and sometimes also Echal Kodesh comes from Hebrew הֵיכָל ‘palace’, was used in the same time period to refer to the inner sanctuary. The hekhal contained the Menorah, Altar of Incense, and Table of the Showbread, the ark is often placed on the wall of the sanctuary which is facing Jerusalem, however it is sometimes placed on the north wall or another wall for architectural reasons. In those cases where the ark does not show the direction to Jerusalem, the Torah was brought into the synagogue for reading purposes. Ark of the Covenant Bimah Three hares Church tabernacle “Aron Kodesh” in Jewish Encyclopedia
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Torah
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The Torah is the central reference of Judaism. It has a range of meanings and it can most specifically mean the first five books of the twenty-four books of the Tanakh, and it usually includes the rabbinic commentaries. In rabbinic literature the word Torah denotes both the five books and the Oral Torah, the Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash. According to the Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the creation of the world, traditionally, the words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a scribe in Hebrew. A Torah portion is read publicly at least once every three days in the presence of a congregation, reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases for Jewish communal life. The word Torah in Hebrew is derived from the root ירה, the meaning of the word is therefore teaching, doctrine, or instruction, the commonly accepted law gives a wrong impression. Other translational contexts in the English language include custom, theory, guidance, the earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been The Torah of Moses. This title, however, is neither in the Torah itself. It appears in Joshua and Kings, but it cannot be said to refer there to the entire corpus, in contrast, there is every likelihood that its use in the post-Exilic works was intended to be comprehensive. Other early titles were The Book of Moses and The Book of the Torah, Christian scholars usually refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as the Pentateuch, a term first used in the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria, meaning five books, or as the Law. The Torah starts from the beginning of Gods creating the world, through the beginnings of the people of Israel, their descent into Egypt, and it ends with the death of Moses, just before the people of Israel cross to the promised land of Canaan. Interspersed in the narrative are the teachings given explicitly or implicitly embedded in the narrative. This is followed by the story of the three patriarchs, Joseph and the four matriarchs, God gives to the patriarchs a promise of the land of Canaan, but at the end of Genesis the sons of Jacob end up leaving Canaan for Egypt due to a regional famine. They had heard there was a grain storage and distribution facility in Egypt. Exodus begins the story of Gods revelation to his people of Israel through Moses, Moses receives the Torah from God, and teaches His laws and Covenant to the people of Israel. It also talks about the first violation of the covenant when the Golden Calf was constructed, Exodus includes the instructions on building the Tabernacle and concludes with its actual construction. Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use the Tabernacle, leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following Gods commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not following them. Numbers tells how Israel consolidated itself as a community at Sinai, set out from Sinai to move towards Canaan, even Moses sins and is told he would not live to enter the land
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St. Peter's Basilica
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The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, or simply St. Peters Basilica, is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. While it is neither the church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. It has been described as holding a position in the Christian world. Catholic tradition holds that the Basilica is the site of Saint Peter, one of Christs Apostles. Saint Peters tomb is supposedly directly below the altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St. Peters since the Early Christian period, construction of the present basilica, which would replace Old St. Peters Basilica from the 4th century AD, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. St. Peters is famous as a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions. The Pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Basilica or the adjoining St. Peters Square. St. Peters has many associations, with the Early Christian Church, the Papacy. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age, St. Peters is one of the four churches in the world that hold the rank of Major Basilica, all four of which are in Rome. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop, St. Peters is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrians Mausoleum. Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome, the basilica is approached via St. Peters Square, a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall colonnades. The first space is oval and the second trapezoid, the basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world, the entrance is through a narthex, or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door. The interior is of vast dimensions when compared with other churches and this in its turn overwhelms us. The nave which leads to the dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel-vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them, there are also chapels surrounding the dome
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St Albans Cathedral
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St Albans Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, and referred to locally as the Abbey, is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its dates from Norman times. It ceased to be an abbey in the 16th century and became a cathedral in 1877, probably founded in the 8th century, the present building is Norman or Romanesque architecture of the 11th century, with Gothic and 19th-century additions. According to Bede, whose account of the life is the most elaborate, Alban lived in Verulamium. At that time Christians began to suffer cruel persecution, Alban met a Christian priest fleeing from persecutors, and sheltered him in his house for a number of days. Alban was so impressed with the faith and piety that he soon converted to Christianity. Eventually Roman soldiers came to seize the priest, but Alban put on his cloak, Alban was brought before a judge and was sentenced to beheading. It was at this place that his head was struck off, immediately one of the executioners delivered the fatal stroke, his eyes fell out and dropped to the ground alongside Albans head. In later legends, it is said that Albans head rolled downhill, St Albans Cathedral stands near the supposed site of Albans martyrdom and a well does exist at the bottom of the hill, Holywell Hill. However, the dates from the 19th century and the name of the street may derive from the Halywell river. The date of Albans execution is a matter of debate and is given as circa 250 — scholars suggest dates of 209,254 or 304. The tomb of St Amphibalus is in the Cathedral, a memoria over the execution point and holding the remains of Alban existed at the site from the mid-4th century, Bede mentions a church and Gildas a shrine. Bishop Germanus of Auxerre visited in 429 and took a portion of the apparently still bloody earth away, the style of this structure is unknown, the 13th century chronicler Matthew Paris claimed that the Saxons destroyed the building in 586. Offa II of Mercia, who ruled in the 8th century, is said to have founded the Benedictine abbey, all later religious structures are dated from the foundation of Offas abbey in 793. The abbey was built on Holmhurst Hill—now Holywell Hill—across the River Ver from the ruins of Verulamium, again there is no information to the form of the first abbey. The abbey was sacked by the Danes around 890 and, despite Pariss claims. There was an intention to rebuild the abbey in 1005 when Abbot Ealdred was licensed to remove building material from Verulamium, with the town resting on clay and chalk the only tough stone is flint. This was used with a mortar and then either plastered over or left bare
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Saint Peter
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Saint Peter, also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simōn pronunciation, according to the New Testament, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, leaders of the early Christian Great Church. Hippolytus of Rome, a 3rd-century theologian, gave him the title of Apostle of the Apostles, according to Catholic teaching, Peter was ordained by Jesus in the Rock of My Church dialogue in Matthew 16,18. He is traditionally counted as the first Bishop of Rome and by Eastern Christian tradition also as the first Patriarch of Antioch. The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a saint and as founder of the Church of Antioch. The New Testament indicates that Peter was the son of John and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee or Gaulanitis and his brother Andrew was also an apostle. According to New Testament accounts, Peter was one of twelve apostles chosen by Jesus from his first disciples, originally a fisherman, he played a leadership role and was with Jesus during events witnessed by only a few apostles, such as the Transfiguration. According to the gospels, Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, was part of Jesuss inner circle, thrice denied Jesus and wept bitterly once he realised his deed, according to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar. It is traditionally held that he was crucified upside down at his own request, Tradition holds that he was crucified at the site of the Clementine Chapel. His remains are said to be contained in the underground Confessio of St. Peters Basilica. According to Catholic doctrine, the direct successor to Saint Peter is the incumbent pope. Two general epistles in the New Testament are ascribed to Peter, the Gospel of Mark was traditionally thought to show the influence of Peters preaching and eyewitness memories. Peters original name was Shimon or Simeon and he was later given the name Peter, New Testament Greek Πέτρος derived from πέτρα, which means rock. In the Latin translation of the Bible this became Petrus, a form of the feminine petra. Another version of this name is Aramaic, , after his name in Hellenised Aramaic. The English, Dutch and German Peter, French Pierre, the Italian Pietro, the Spanish and Portuguese Pedro, the Syriac or Aramaic word for rock is kepa, which in Greek became Πέτρος, also meaning rock. He is also known as Simon Peter, Cephas and Kepha, both Cephas and Kepha also mean rock. In the New Testament, he is among the first of the disciples called during Jesus ministry, Peter became the first listed apostle ordained by Jesus in the early church. Peter was a fisherman in Bethsaida and he was named Simon, son of Jonah or John
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Saint Alban
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Saint Alban is venerated as the first recorded British Christian martyr, and is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius, and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at a date from Roman Britain. He is traditionally believed to have been beheaded in the Roman city of Verulamium sometime during the 3rd or 4th century, little can actually be known about the real St Alban, as there are no contemporaneous accounts of his martyrdom. The major sources on his life were written hundreds of years after his death, in the view of Robin Lane Fox, the date and historicity of the first British martyr, St Alban, are highly disputable. Saint Alban was long regarded as a martyr saint, the Proto-martyr of Britain. For much of the 20th century controversy centred around the date of his martyrdom, more recently some researchers have taken a more skeptical view about the historicity of Saint Alban. Assorted later figures, of mainly hagiographical legend, were identified as, at least in part and this theory received little support, or even notice, but in 2008 the historian Ian Wood proposed that the martyr-saint was an invention of Saint Germanus of Auxerre. Germanus visited Britain in 429, as we know from the very near-contemporary mention by Prosper of Aquitaine. His chronicle, in the entry for the year 429, states, Agricola, a Pelagian, the son of the Pelagian bishop Severianus, corrupted the British churches by the insinuation of his doctrine. But at the persuasion of the deacon Palladius, Pope Celestine sent Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, as his representative, and having rejected the heretics, directed the British to the catholic faith. The Vita Germani was long regarded as the earliest source for the martyr Alban although recent research by Richard Sharpe has suggested the earliest version of the Passio Albani may be even earlier. It is, in any case, a part of what suggested to Professor Wood that “it is Germanus who gives Alban a name”, on this basis he states, “This would make good sense in terms of his mission, claiming Britain’s most famous cult for Catholicism”. Key to the argument here is a passage in the T version of the Passio that Professor Richard Sharpe has convincingly argued represents an interpolation into the more original E text, all extant versions of the Passio mention Germanuss visit to the tomb of Saint Alban. The E version, followed essentially by the T version, states, When Germanus came to Albans basilica, carrying with him relics of all the apostles and of several martyrs. But interpolated at this point in only the T version is. Alban had revealed himself to Germanus on his journey, and now, so Germanus himself relates, St Alban met him on the stormy seas. But while he had been keeping vigil at night in his basilica, when all these things were revealed and made known a huge crowd of people was brought to god with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom is honour and glory for ever and ever. It is also possible to deduce that it was simply the acta, or story of the martyrdom and these acta were then written down in tituli, that is possibly engraved in the walls of a church with illustrations. This might have been either in a church in Auxerre as argued by Professors Sharpe and Wood, the location of the tomb of Saint Alban that Germanus visited is most often thought to have been Verulamium, the modern St Albans
42.
Antimins
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The Antimins, is one of the most important furnishings of the altar in many Eastern Christian liturgical traditions. A small relic of a martyr is sewn into it and it is not permitted to celebrate the Eucharist without an antimins. The antimins is kept in the centre of the Holy Table and is unfolded only during the Divine Liturgy, at the end of the Liturgy, the antimins is folded in thirds, and then in thirds again, so that when it is unfolded the creases form a cross. A flattened natural sponge is also kept inside the antimins, which is used to collect any crumbs which fall onto the Holy Table. When the antimins and eileton are folded, the Gospel Book is laid on top of them, the antimins must be consecrated and signed by a bishop. The antimins, together with the remain the property of the bishop. It is, in effect, a licence to hold divine services, were a bishop to withdraw his permission to serve the Mysteries, he would do so by taking the antimins. The antimins may also function as an altar, in that a priest may celebrate the Eucharist on it in the absence of a properly consecrated altar. In emergencies, war and persecution, the antimins thus serves an important pastoral need. At the Divine Liturgy, during the Ektenias that precede the Great Entrance, the eileton is opened fully, after the Entrance, the chalice and diskos are placed on the antimins and the Gifts are consecrated. The antimins remains unfolded until after all have received Holy Communion and the chalice and diskos are taken back to the Prothesis. The deacon must very carefully inspect the antimins to be there are no crumbs left on it, and then it is folded up, the eileton is folded. A wooden tablet, the ţablîtho, is the equivalent of the antimins in the churches of Syriac tradition. However, it is no longer used by the Antiochian Orthodox Church or the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Ethiopian Tawahedo Church, the tâbot is functionally similar to the tablitho. However, this word is used in the Geez language to describe the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is symbolically represented by the manbara tâbôt, a casket that sits on the altar, in the Coptic Orthodox church, a wooden tablet, the maqta‘ or al-lawh al-khashab, is the liturgical equivalent of the antimins in contemporary usage. Usually it is decorated with a cross and bears letters in Coptic which signify Jesus Christ Son of God in the four squares between the arms of the cross
43.
Bishop
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A bishop is an ordained, consecrated, or appointed member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within these churches, bishops are seen as those who possess the full priesthood, Some Protestant churches including the Lutheran and Methodist churches have bishops serving similar functions as well, though not always understood to be within apostolic succession in the same way. Priests, deacons and lay ministers cooperate and assist their bishop in shepherding a flock, the earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish synagogues, but it had a council or college of ordained presbyters. In, we see a system of government in Jerusalem chaired by James the Just. In, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia, in Timothy and Titus in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. We are told that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete to oversee the local church, Paul commands Titus to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight, telling him to rebuke with all authority. Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches, eventually, as Christendom grew, bishops no longer directly served individual congregations. Instead, the Metropolitan bishop appointed priests to each congregation. Around the end of the 1st century, the organization became clearer in historical documents. While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who dont recognize the bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of episkopoi in a city, plainly therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 6,1. Your godly bishop — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 2,1, therefore as the Lord did nothing without the Father, either by Himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters. — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 7,1. Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was to the Father, and as the Apostles were to Christ and to the Father, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 13,2. Apart from these there is not even the name of a church, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallesians 3,1. Follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the presbytery as the Apostles, and to the deacons pay respect, as to Gods commandment — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 8,1. He that honoureth the bishop is honoured of God, he that doeth aught without the knowledge of the bishop rendereth service to the devil — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 9,1
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Place of Refuge
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This right was already recognized by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Hebrews, from whom it was adopted into Western tradition. René Descartes fled to the Netherlands, Voltaire to England, and Thomas Hobbes to France, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews recognized a religious right of asylum, protecting criminals from legal action to some extent. This principle was adopted by the established Christian church, and various rules were developed that detailed how to qualify for protection. The Council of Orleans decided in 511, in the presence of Clovis I and this protection was extended to murderers, thieves and adulterers alike. In England, King Æthelberht of Kent proclaimed the first Anglo-Saxon laws on sanctuary in about 600 CE, however Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae says that the legendary pre-Saxon king Dunvallo Molmutius enacted sanctuary laws among the Molmutine Laws as recorded by Gildas. The laws of king Ethelred used the term grith, some of these items survive at various churches. Elsewhere, sanctuary held in an area around the church or abbey, sometimes extending in radius to as much as a mile, stone sanctuary crosses marked the boundaries of the area, some crosses still exist as well. Thus it could become a race between the felon and the law officers to the nearest sanctuary boundary. Serving of justice upon the fleet of foot could prove a difficult proposition, Church sanctuaries were regulated by common law. An asylum seeker had to confess his sins, surrender his weapons and those who did return faced execution under the law and/or excommunication from the Church. If the suspect chose to confess their guilt and abjure, they did so in a public ceremony and they would surrender their possessions to the church, and any landed property to the crown. The coroner, an official, would then choose a port city from which the fugitive should leave England. The fugitive would set out barefooted and bareheaded, carrying a wooden cross-staff as a symbol of protection under the church, theoretically they would stay to the main highway, reach the port and take the first ship out of England. In practice, however, the fugitive could get a distance away, abandon the cross-staff and take off. Knowing the grim options, some fugitives rejected both choices and opted for an escape from the asylum before the forty days were up, others simply made no choice and did nothing. Since it was illegal for the friends to break into an asylum. Henry VIII changed the rules of asylum, reducing to a short list the types of crimes which were allowed to claim asylum, the medieval system of asylum was finally abolished entirely by James I in 1623. Upon realizing this situation they would rush to sanctuary at the nearest church until it was safe to come out, a prime example is Queen Elizabeth Woodville, consort of Edward IV of England
45.
Right of asylum
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This right was already recognized by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Hebrews, from whom it was adopted into Western tradition. René Descartes fled to the Netherlands, Voltaire to England, and Thomas Hobbes to France, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews recognized a religious right of asylum, protecting criminals from legal action to some extent. This principle was adopted by the established Christian church, and various rules were developed that detailed how to qualify for protection. The Council of Orleans decided in 511, in the presence of Clovis I and this protection was extended to murderers, thieves and adulterers alike. In England, King Æthelberht of Kent proclaimed the first Anglo-Saxon laws on sanctuary in about 600 CE, however Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae says that the legendary pre-Saxon king Dunvallo Molmutius enacted sanctuary laws among the Molmutine Laws as recorded by Gildas. The laws of king Ethelred used the term grith, some of these items survive at various churches. Elsewhere, sanctuary held in an area around the church or abbey, sometimes extending in radius to as much as a mile, stone sanctuary crosses marked the boundaries of the area, some crosses still exist as well. Thus it could become a race between the felon and the law officers to the nearest sanctuary boundary. Serving of justice upon the fleet of foot could prove a difficult proposition, Church sanctuaries were regulated by common law. An asylum seeker had to confess his sins, surrender his weapons and those who did return faced execution under the law and/or excommunication from the Church. If the suspect chose to confess their guilt and abjure, they did so in a public ceremony and they would surrender their possessions to the church, and any landed property to the crown. The coroner, an official, would then choose a port city from which the fugitive should leave England. The fugitive would set out barefooted and bareheaded, carrying a wooden cross-staff as a symbol of protection under the church, theoretically they would stay to the main highway, reach the port and take the first ship out of England. In practice, however, the fugitive could get a distance away, abandon the cross-staff and take off. Knowing the grim options, some fugitives rejected both choices and opted for an escape from the asylum before the forty days were up, others simply made no choice and did nothing. Since it was illegal for the friends to break into an asylum. Henry VIII changed the rules of asylum, reducing to a short list the types of crimes which were allowed to claim asylum, the medieval system of asylum was finally abolished entirely by James I in 1623. Upon realizing this situation they would rush to sanctuary at the nearest church until it was safe to come out, a prime example is Queen Elizabeth Woodville, consort of Edward IV of England
46.
John of Beverley
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John of Beverley was an English bishop active in the kingdom of Northumbria. He was the bishop of Hexham and then the bishop of York which was the most important religious designation in the area and he went on to found the town of Beverley by building the first structure there, a monastery. John was associated with miracles during and after his lifetime, and was canonised a saint by the Catholic Church in 1037. John was said to have born of noble parents at Harpham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, He is said to have received his education at Canterbury under Adrian. However, all facts are first recorded after his canonization in 1037. He was for a time a member of the Whitby community, under St Hilda and he won renown as a preacher, displaying marked erudition in expounding Scripture. In 687 he was consecrated bishop of Hexham and in 705 was promoted to the bishopric of York. Of his new activity little is known beyond that he was diligent in visitation, considerate towards the poor and he ordained Bede as a deacon and as a priest. He resigned perhaps about 717 and retired to a monastery which he had founded at Beverley, John was canonised in 1037, and his feast is celebrated annually in the Roman Catholic Church on 7 May. His translation is celebrated on 25 October, many miracles of healing are ascribed to John, whose pupils were numerous and devoted to him, and the popularity of his cult was a major factor in the prosperity of Beverley during the Middle Ages. He was celebrated for his scholarship as well as for his virtues, around 1066, Folcard was commissioned to write a Life of John. An account of Johns miracles was written by William Ketel in the 11th or 12th century which contains the first mention of King Æthelstans visit to Beverley. The earliest existing mention of Johns banner is in 1138 when Thurstan incorporated it into the standard which gave its name to the Battle of the Standard. By 1266 it was accepted that when levies were made in Yorkshire for the royal army, in 1292 a new shrine was commissioned. An extant contract between Roger de Faringdon and the canons of Beverley Minster states, For a silver-gilt shrine, made from gold and silver supplied by the Chapter, 5ft long, Roger to remake any figure at the whim of The Chapter. The pay to be equal to the weight used before gilding. Roger may not undertake any work before completion. Edward I was a devotee of John and furthered the cult, in 1295 Edward established a chantry in Beverley Minster in the saints honour
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