Encyclopedic Dictionary of Bible and Theology

churches, blessing of Any building intended for use as a church or public chapel should be solemnly blessed , before Divine services are celebrated therein. This blessing is reserved to the bishop , but, with his consent, any priest may impart it. The ceremony prescribed in the Roman Ritual consists mainly of sprinkling the exterior … Continue reading “churches, blessing of”

churches, Apostolic Term used from the 2nd to the 4th century to signify the Churches founded or ruled by an Apostle; e.g., Alexandria, by Saint Mark. Later Apostolic church was used frequently to mean the whole Church, especially in connection with the expression, Catholic Church. Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary

Church-Year Neither the New Testament nor the Church literature of the first three centuries contain any intimation that the Christians of that time viewed the year from any other stand-point than that of subjects of the Roman emperor or other princes. SEE CALENDAR; SEE CHRONOLOGY, CHRISTIAN. The first impulse to the idea of a church … Continue reading “Church-Year”

Church-yards The dead were not buried, in the earlier times, in the outer court of the church, but examples of the practice occur in the 4th century, and after the 6th century it became general. The first recorded instance of a formal consecration of a church-yard occurs in the writings of Gregory of Tours, in … Continue reading “Church-yards”

CHURCH-YARD A piece of ground adjoining to the church, set apart for the interment of the dead. In the church of Rome, church-yards are consecrated with great solemnity. If a church-yard which has been thus consecrated shall afterwards be polluted by any indecent notion, or profaned by the burial of an infidel, an heretic, an … Continue reading “Church-Yard”

CHURCH-WARDENS Officers chosen yearly, either by the consent of the minister, or of the parishioners, or of both. Their business is to look to the church, church-yard, and to observe the behaviour of the parishioners; to levy a shilling forfeiture on all such as do not go to church on Sundays, and to keep persons … Continue reading “Church-Wardens”

Church Unity Octave The observance of which was extended by Pope Benedict XV to the Universal Church and enriched with indulgences, 25 February 1916, had its inception in 1908 under Reverend Paul J. Francis, when he was a “Pro-Roman” Anglican of tbe Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. The first practical result was the … Continue reading “Church Unity Octave”

Church, United Presbyterian SEE PRESBYTERIAN (UNITED) CHURCH. Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Church, Thomas D.D. a divine of the Church of England, was born 1707, and educated at Brazenose College, Oxford. In 1740 he was made vicar of Battersea, and afterwards prebend of St. Paul’s. He died in 1756. Among his publications are, Essay on the Demeniacs of N.T. (Lond. 1737, 8vo); Doctrine of the Church of … Continue reading “Church, Thomas D.D.”

Church, The The term church (Anglo-Saxon, cirice, circe; Modern German, Kirche; Sw., Kyrka) is the name employed in the Teutonic languages to render the Greek ekklesia (ecclesia), the term by which the New Testament writers denote the society founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ. The derivation of the word has been much debated. It is … Continue reading “CHURCH, THE”