CHAPTER 1
Dictionary
A
Aaronic Blessing. Prayer of blessing drawn from Nm 6:24–26.An optional blessing at the close of An Order ofWorship for the Evening (BCP, p. 114). The form ofcommittal in the Burial of the Dead is an adaptation of theAaronic Blessing (BCP, pp. 485, 501). It is provided as aSeasonal Blessing by the BOS for Trinity Sunday.
Abbess. Female leader or superior of a religious community,usually a community following the Benedictine Rule. Incommunity matters, the abbess has the same authority asan abbot, but without the abbot's sacramental function.The abbess is the spiritual, administrative, and jurisdictionalsuperior of the community.
Abbey. A monastic community of religious persons alongwith the buildings of the community. The abbey consistsof monks ruled by an abbot, or of nuns under an abbess.Abbeys are independent of the jurisdiction of the localbishop. The traditional plan of the buildings included anoratory (chapel), a chapter room (for assemblies of thecommunity in which a chapter of the rule is read), a refectory(dining area), and dormitories, all of which are arrangedaround a cloister or an open inner court.
Abbot. Male leader or superior of a religious community.The title is derived from the Latin abbas or the Aramaicabba, "Father." The abbot functions as the "father" of thecommunity. He is elected for life and receives authorityfrom a bishop. The role of the abbot is to regulate the lifeof the community in accordance with the rule of life of hiscommunity.
Abjuration. A solemn renunciation of any belief, thing, orperson to which one was previously loyal. This formalretraction of errors, made before witnesses, often concernedmatters of apostasy, heresy, or schism. Prior to 1972, thissolemn disavowal was required of baptized Christiansbeing received into the Roman Catholic Church. The GreekChurch has required particular forms of abjuration by whichformer members of other churches must specificallydisavow certain beliefs of their previous faith community.The Episcopal Church has no such requirements forpersons being received from other denominations. SeeAnathema; see Apostasy; see Reception (ChristianCommitment).
Abjure. See Abjuration.
Ablutions. Liturgical and ceremonial cleaning of the patenand chalice with water, or with water and wine, followingthe communion of the people at the Holy Eucharist. If theconsecrated bread and wine are not reserved for lateruse, they are consumed by the ordained and lay ministersof the eucharist either after the communion of the peopleor after the dismissal. The ablutions may also include thecleaning of the celebrant's fingers before and aftercommunion, depending on the liturgical custom of thecongregation.
Absalom Jones Theological Institute. A unit of theInterdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, from1972 to 1978. Named for the first African American priestin the Episcopal Church, it was to be a resource institutionfor Episcopal seminarians who wanted to serve AfricanAmerican communities. Its only dean was QuinlandReeves Gordon.
Absolution. The formal act by a bishop or priest ofpronouncing God's forgiveness of sins through JesusChrist. The absolution of sins reflects the ministry ofreconciliation committed by Christ to the church.Absolution may be pronounced following privateconfession of sins, as provided for by the two forms forThe Reconciliation of a Penitent in the BCP (pp. 447–452).Absolution may also be pronounced following a generalconfession of sin in the Holy Eucharist, the Daily Offices,the Ash Wednesday service, and the Penitential Order.The BCP provides that a deacon or lay person may makea "Declaration of Forgiveness" by God of the penitent'ssins after private confession, and that a deacon or layperson may pray for God's forgiveness following thegeneral confession in the Daily Offices.
Abstinence, Days of. See Days of Abstinence.
Acclamation. A salutation or greeting in the openingdialogue of the eucharistic liturgy arranged by versicleand response and varied according to the liturgicalseason. The memorial acclamation is a congregationalresponse that may follow the institution narrative in theeucharistic prayers.
Acolyte. In contemporary Anglicanism, a general termwhich covers not only servers, torchbearers, and lightersof candles but also crucifers, thurifers, and banner-bearers.Acolytes are mentioned as a minor order (along withporters, lectors, and exorcists) as early as a letter of PopeCornelius to Fabius of Antioch in 252. They were alsomentioned in Cyprian's writings. They assisted deaconsor subdeacons at the preparation of the table. Later theycarried candles in processions. In Rome they carriedfragments of the bread consecrated at the papal Mass toother churches. In the late middle ages, when candlesbegan to appear upon altars, they lighted the altar candles.Eventually lay servers or sacristans performed dutiesearlier associated with acolytes, and the order of acolytewas normally conferred upon a candidate for priesthoodin the course of his training. The minor orders were notperpetuated in Anglicanism. Some of the duties earlierperformed by persons in the minor order of acolyte weretaken over by lay clerks. In the later nineteenth centurythe clerks were suppressed and their duties were largelytaken over by lay "acolytes" and sacristans or altar guilds.See Minor Orders.
Acts 29. See Episcopal Renewal Ministries (ERM).
Adams, William (July 3, 1813–Jan. 2, 1897). One of thefounders of Nashotah House, he was born in Monaghan,Ireland, and received his B. A. in 1836 from Trinity College,Dublin. In 1838 he came to the United States and enteredthe General Theological Seminary, New York, graduatingin 1841. He was ordained deacon on June 27, 1841, and inSept. of that year went to Wisconsin with two of hisclassmates, James Lloyd Breck and John Henry Hobart Jr.,to do missionary work under Bishop Jackson Kemper. Theyformed the Nashotah mission and founded NashotahHouse. Adams was ordained priest on Oct. 9, 1842, andserved as professor of systematic divinity at NashotahHouse from 1843 until his retirement in 1893. He died atNashotah House and is buried there. Among his publishedworks are Mercy to Babes (1847) and A New Treatise UponRegeneration in Baptism (1871).
Addison, James Thayer (Mar. 21, 1887–Feb. 13, 1953). Aleader and authority in overseas missionary work, Addisonwas born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and received hisB.A. from Harvard in 1909. He received his B.D. from theEpiscopal Theological School in 1913. Addison wasordained deacon on June 7, 1913, and priest on Dec. 13,1913. After serving as a missionary in Oklahoma, he joinedthe faculty of the Episcopal Theological School as alecturer in the History of Religion and Missions, 1915–1918,and then professor of the same, 1919–1940. From1940 until 1947, he was vice-president of the NationalCouncil of the Episcopal Church, with supervision of itsoverseas missionary work. Among his numerous booksare Our Expanding Church (1930) and The EpiscopalChurch in the United States, 1789–1931 (1951, reprinted1969). He died in Boston.
Adiaphora. From the Greek, "things indifferent," matterswhich can be accepted or rejected without prejudice tobelief. Such practices or beliefs may be tolerated orpermitted, but may not be required of faithful members ofthe church. A sixteenth-century dispute among GermanProtestants over Roman Catholic practices such as ExtremeUnction and Confirmation was finally resolved by theFormula of Concord (1577), which allowed individualchurches to use or alter ceremonies not commanded orforbidden by scripture. During this controversy, the"adiaphorists" urged that the disputed rites and practiceswere matters of indifference. In Anglicanism, manypractices are allowed but not required.
Administration, Sentences of. Words said by the ministersof the eucharist at the distribution of the consecratedbread and wine during the communion of the people.
Adonai. A Hebrew word literally meaning "my lord," orsimply "lord." It is frequently used in the OT to refer tohuman lords. However, in the period following the Exilewhen the proper name for God, Yahweh, was understoodto be too holy to pronounce, Adonai was substituted. Inmost English translations, following this tradition, the Lordin upper case is used rather than the name Yahweh, whichstands in the original Hebrew.
Adoptionism. The teaching that Jesus was born an"ordinary man" who lived an exemplary life pleasing toGod and was consequently "adopted" by God as the divineSon. The moment of adoption was usually considered tobe his baptism. Jesus' resurrection was also consideredby some the moment of his adoption. Adoptionism relaxesthe paradoxical divine-human relationship in Jesus in theinterest of emphasizing his independent humanity. Thechurch has regularly found this teaching one-sided andheretical in its failure to give full expression to Jesus' divinenature. Anglican theology has characteristically avoidedit. See Chalcedon, Council of.
Adoration. An expression of supreme love and worshipfor God alone. Adoration, one of the six principal kinds ofprayer, "is the lifting up of the heart and mind to God,asking nothing but to enjoy God's presence." (BCP, p.857).
Advent. The first season of the church year, beginningwith the fourth Sunday before Christmas and continuingthrough the day before Christmas. The name is derivedfrom a Latin word for "coming." The season is a time ofpreparation and expectation for the coming celebration ofour Lord's nativity, and for the final coming of Christ "inpower and glory."
Advent Festival of Lessons and Music. A service held duringthe pre-Christmas Advent season in which the reading ofthe scriptural history of salvation from the creation to thecoming of Christ is interspersed with the singing of thegreat music of the season, including but not limited tocarols. A traditional form of service is included in the BOS.The most popular forms of service are those based looselyon that used on Christmas Eve at King's College,Cambridge.
Advent Wreath. A circle of greenery, marked by fourcandles that represent the four Sundays of the season ofAdvent. An additional candle is lit as each new Sunday iscelebrated in Advent. Advent wreaths are used both inchurches and in homes for devotional purposes. Thecandles may be blue, purple, or lavender, depending onlocal custom. Some Advent wreaths include a white candlein the center known as the "Christ Candle," which is lit onChristmas Eve.
Adventures in Ministry, Inc. (AIM). On May 3–5, 1985,twenty-three concerned Episcopalians met in Orlando,Florida, to discuss issues of renewal and lay ministry. AIMwas organized at that time, with Jack and Nancy Ousley ofPensacola, Florida, as the leaders. Its purpose is to assistpriests and parishes to become equippers and enablersfor lay ministry in the church and in the world.
Advowson. The right to appoint a member of the clergy toa parish or other ecclesiastical benefice. The term alsomeans the patronage of a church living. The right ofadvowson is a property right under English law. Advowsonreflects the control that was exercised by feudal lords overchurches on their estates. It also reflects earlier paganpractice in Teutonic Europe. The right of advowson maybe held by a bishop or by a lay patron. The patron mayalso be a university or corporation. The patron maynominate or present a candidate to the bishop orecclesiastical superior, and this nomination cannot berefused without legal cause. Under English law, anadvowson may be transferred by gift or sale. This practiceled to abuses and scandals. There is no right of advowsonin the Episcopal Church.
Aelred (1109–Jan. 12, 1167). The son of a Saxon priest inHexham, Northumberland, England, Aelred was aCistercian monk at the abbey of Rievaulx who became theabbot there in 1147. His two major writings are Mirror ofCharity and Spiritual Friendship. A biography of Aelredwas written by his pupil, Walter Daniel. His ministry iscommemorated in the Episcopal calendar of the churchyear on Jan. 12.
"Affirmation of St. Louis, The." A statement adopted bythe St. Louis Congress, called by the Fellowship ofConcerned Churchmen, Sept. 14–16, 1977. The Affirmationstated the basis for the structure of continuing Anglicanismin the United States and Canada. It argued that theEpiscopal Church had "departed from Christ's One, Holy,Catholic and Apostolic Church" and that the holy ordersof bishops, priests, and deacons consist "exclusively ofmen in accordance with Christ's will and institution." Itinsisted that the only standard of worship for Episcopalianswas the 1928 BCP. The Affirmation said that the WorldCouncil of Churches was non-Apostolic, humanist andsecular in purpose and practice, and that the Consultationon Church Union was non-Apostolic and non-Catholic."The Affirmation of St. Louis" was the theological andecclesiological basis for a number of new churches whichwere formed later.
Affirming Anglican Catholicism. A loose association ofmembers of the Episcopal Church in the United States andof the Anglican Church of Canada who affirmdevelopments in the life of the church such as theordination of women and Prayer Book revision. In England,Scotland, and Wales it is called Affirming Catholicism. In1990 a group of laity and clergy of the Church of Englandand the Scottish Episcopal Church, led by Bishop RichardHolloway of Edinburgh, met to assess the state of theCatholic tradition within the Anglican Communion. In July1991 an Affirming Anglicanism conference was held inYork, and in Nov. 1991 a conference was held in Chicago,led by Bishop Frank T. Griswold III of Chicago. On June1–4, 1994, the "Living the Catholic Mystery in the 21stCentury" conference was held at the University of St.Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, Illinois, with Bishop RowanWilliams of Monmouth, Wales, as leader. The British grouppublishes Affirming Catholicism and the North Americangroup publishes The Anglican Catholic.
Affusion. A method of administering baptism by pouringwater over the head of the candidate. Baptism may also beadministered by immersion of the candidate.
African Mission School. Mission school for trainingAfrican American Episcopal clergy and laypersons for workin Africa, especially Liberia. It opened on Oct. 6, 1828, inHartford, Connecticut. It was founded by the AfricanMission School Society, which was formed on Aug. 10,1828. The rector of the school was the Rev. NathanielSheldon Wheaton. Six students, Gaylord Jackson, WilliamJohnson, Edward Jones, Gustavus V. Caesar, James HenryFranklin, and Henry Williams, eventually matriculated atthe school. Of these six original students, Jones, Caesar,and Williams graduated. Jones was born in 1807 or 1808,in Charleston, South Carolina. He was ordained deaconon Aug. 6, 1830, and priest on Sept. 6, 1830. Jones wassent as a missionary to Sierra Leone, and in 1840 he becamethe principal of Fourah Bay College, Freetown, where heserved until 1858. Later he moved to England and died inChatham, Kent, on May 14, 1865. Caesar was ordaineddeacon on Aug. 6, 1830, and priest on Sept. 6, 1830. Heand his wife, Elizabeth, went to Liberia. In 1834 he drownedin the St. Paul River, near Monrovia. Little is known aboutWilliams. The first African American priest ordained inConnecticut was Jacob Oson, who was born around 1763.He was ordained deacon on Feb. 15, 1828, and priest thenext day. He died on Sept. 8, 1828. The school closedduring the nineteenth century.
African Orthodox Church. This church was founded byGeorge Alexander McGuire, a priest of the EpiscopalChurch, at a time when American Negro self-consciousnesswas developing as a result of the activities of MarcusGarvey, who wanted to establish a nation in Africa forAmerican Negroes. In 1919 McGuire founded theIndependent Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd,New York, for Negro Episcopalians dissatisfied with theEpiscopal Church. On Sept. 2, 1921, the First General Synodof the African Orthodox Church was held in New YorkCity. At that meeting McGuire was elected bishop andwas ordained and consecrated on Sept. 28, 1921, by JosephRene Vilatte, exarch and metropolitan of the AmericanCatholic Church, one of the episcopi vaganti. It has itsheadquarters at the Holy Cross Pro-Cathedral, New York.
Afro-American Churchman. This periodical wasestablished by George F. Bragg in 1886 at Petersburg,Virginia. It was published from 1886 until 1888. Beginningin 1889 it became a monthly and was published at Norfolk,Virginia. It ceased publication in 1890.
Agape. Selfless Christian love. Agape reflects the love ofGod, and it is the kind of love that Christians are called toshare with one another. The term is also used for a commonmeal or "Love Feast" of the early church, from which theeucharist developed as a separate rite.
