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Kirill

(Encyclopedia)Kirill kĭrēlˈ [key], 16th patriarch of Moscow and all Russia (2009–), b. Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) as Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev. The son and grandson of Russian Orthodox priests, he be...

Basilian monks

(Encyclopedia)Basilian monks bəzĭlˈēən [key], monks primarily of the Eastern Church. They follow the Rule of St. Basil the Great, which has been universal among them since the 7th cent. They have no centralize...

Monophysitism

(Encyclopedia)Monophysitism mənŏfˈĭsĭtˌĭzəm [key] [Gr.,=belief in a single nature], a heresy of the 5th and 6th cent., which grew out of a reaction against Nestorianism. It was anticipated by Apollinarianis...

Irenaeus, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Irenaeus, Saint īrĭnēˈəs [key], c.125–c.202, Greek theologian, bishop of Lyons, and one of the Fathers of the Church. Born in Asia Minor, he was a disciple of St. Polycarp. Irenaeus went to Rom...

church, building for Christian worship

(Encyclopedia)church [Gr. kuriakon=belonging to the Lord], in architecture, a building for Christian worship. The earliest churches date from the late 3d cent.; before then Christians, because of persecutions, wors...

Ruthenia

(Encyclopedia)Ruthenia ro͞othēˈnēə [key], Latinized form of the word Russia. The term was applied to Ukraine in the Middle Ages when the princes of Halych briefly assumed the title kings of Ruthenia. Later, in...

consanguinity

(Encyclopedia)consanguinity kŏnˌsăng-gwĭnˈĭtē [key], state of being related by blood or descended from a common ancestor. This article focuses on legal usage of the term as it relates to the laws of marriage...

council, ecumenical

(Encyclopedia)council, ecumenical ĕkˌyo͞omĕnˈĭkəl [key] [Gr.,=universal], in Christendom, council of church leaders, the decisions of which are accepted by some segment of the church as authoritative, also c...

Chernivtsi

(Encyclopedia)Chernivtsi chĭrnĭftˈsē [key], Ger. Czernowitz, Romanian Cernauţi, Rus. Chernovtsy, ...

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...