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Jewish liturgical music

(Encyclopedia)Jewish liturgical music, the music used in the religious services of the Jews. The Bible and the Talmud record that spontaneous music making was common among the ancient Jews on all important occasion...

John XXIII, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)John XXIII, Saint, 1881–1963, pope (1958–63), an Italian (b. Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo) named Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; successor of Pius XII. He was of peasant stock. Educated at Bergamo and t...

Mary, the mother of Jesus

(Encyclopedia)Mary, in the Bible, mother of Jesus. Christian tradition reckons her the principal saint, naming her variously the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, and Mother of God (Gr., theotokos). Her name is the He...

John Chrysostom, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John Chrysostom, Saint krĭsˈəstəm, krĭsŏsˈ– [key] [Gr.,=golden-mouth], c.347–407, Doctor of the Church, one of the greatest of the Greek Fathers. He was born in Antioch and studied Greek cl...

litany

(Encyclopedia)litany lĭtˈənē [key] [Gr.,=prayer], solemn prayer characterized by varying petitions with set responses. The term is mainly used for Christian forms. Litanies were developed in Christendom for use...

Basel, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Basel, Council of, 1431–49, first part of the 17th ecumenical council in the Roman Catholic Church. It is generally considered to have been ecumenical until it fell into heresy in 1437; after that i...

Zoë

(Encyclopedia)Zoë zōˈē [key], c.978–1050, Byzantine empress (1028–50), daughter and successor of Constantine VIII. Zoë was first married when she was 50 years old at the request of her father to insure sta...

Poroshenko, Petro Oleksiyovych

(Encyclopedia)Poroshenko, Petro Oleksiyovych pĕtrôˈ ôlĕksēˈyôvĭch pôrôshĕnˈkô [key], 1965–, Ukrainian political leader and businessman. He studied economics at Kiev State Univ. (grad. 1989) and went...

Sarajevo

(Encyclopedia)Sarajevo sârˌəyāˈvō [key], city (2013 pop. 438,443), capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the Miljacka River. An important industrial and railway center, its industries include food and tobacco...

Bene Beraq

(Encyclopedia)Bene Beraq or Bene Berak both: bēˈnē bēˈrăk [key], town, central Israel, near Tel A...