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Pentecost

(Encyclopedia)Pentecost pĕnˈtəkôst [key] [Gr.,=fiftieth], important Jewish and Christian feast. The Jewish feast of Pentecost, in Hebrew Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, arose...

Wesley, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Wesley, Charles, 1707–88, English Methodist preacher and hymn writer. As a student at Oxford he devoted himself to systematic study and to the regular practice of religious duties; he and companions...

Campion, Saint Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Campion, Saint Edmund kămˈpēən [key], c.1540–1581, English Jesuit martyr, educated at St. Paul's School and St. John's College, Oxford. As a fellow at Oxford he earned the admiration of his coll...

Gnosticism

(Encyclopedia)Gnosticism nŏsˈtĭsĭzəm [key], dualistic religious and philosophical movement of the late Hellenistic and early Christian eras. The term designates a wide assortment of sects, numerous by the 2d c...

Pseudepigrapha

(Encyclopedia)Pseudepigrapha so͞oˌdĭpĭˈgrəfə [key] [Gr.,=things falsely ascribed], a collection of early Jewish and some Jewish-Christian writings composed between c.200 b.c. and c.a.d. 200, not found in the...

Congregationalism

(Encyclopedia)Congregationalism, type of Protestant church organization in which each congregation, or local church, has free control of its own affairs. The underlying principle is that each local congregation has...

sacrament

(Encyclopedia)sacrament [Lat.,=something holy], an outward sign of something sacred. In Christianity, a sacrament is commonly defined as having been instituted by Jesus and consisting of a visible sign of invisible...

Ricci, Matteo

(Encyclopedia)Ricci, Matteo mät-tāˈō rētˈchē [key], 1552–1610, Italian missionary to China. He entered the Society of Jesus, and in Rome he studied under Clavius. Ricci was sent to the Indies (1578), and h...

Cuzco

(Encyclopedia)Cuzco or Cusco both: ko͞oˈskō [key], city, alt. 11,207 ft (3,416 m), capital of Cuzco dept., S Peru, at ...

Easter

(Encyclopedia)Easter [A.S. Eastre, name of a spring goddess], chief Christian feast, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. In the West, Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the full...