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Erasmus

(Encyclopedia)Erasmus dĕsĭdērˈēəs [key] [Gr. Erasmus, his given name, and Lat., Desiderius=beloved; both are regarded as the equivalent of Dutch Gerard, Erasmus' father's name], 1466?–1536, Dutch humanist, ...

Kulturkampf

(Encyclopedia)Kulturkampf ko͝olto͞orˈkämpfˌ [key] [Ger.,=conflict of cultures], the conflict between the German government under Bismarck and the Roman Catholic Church. The promulgation (1870) of the dogma of ...

Bamberg

(Encyclopedia)Bamberg bämˈbĕrk [key], city, Bavaria, S Germany, a port on the Regnitz River. It is an in...

Tenebrae

(Encyclopedia)Tenebrae tĕnˈĕbrā [key] [Lat.,=darkness], in the Roman Catholic Church, ceremony performed on the Wednesday and following evenings of Holy Week. As the choir chants, a number of candles set on a h...

Zacharias

(Encyclopedia)Zacharias [Gr. from Heb. Zechariah] or Zachary [Eng. from Heb.]. 1 Priest to whom an angel appeared and foretold the birth of his son, John the Baptist. Luke 1.5–80. He and Elizabeth, his wife, are ...

canon, in Christianity

(Encyclopedia)canon, in Christianity, in the Roman Catholic Church, decrees of church councils are usually called canons; since the Council of Trent the expression has been especially reserved to dogmatic pronounce...

indulgence

(Encyclopedia)indulgence, in the Roman Catholic Church, the pardon of temporal punishment due for sin. It is to be distinguished from absolution and the forgiveness of guilt. The church grants indulgences out of th...

Holy Roman Empire

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Holy Roman Empire (c.1100) CE5 Holy Roman Empire, designation for the political entity that originated at the coronation as emperor (962) of the German king Otto I and endured until the renu...

celibacy

(Encyclopedia)celibacy sĕlˈĭbəsē [key], voluntary refusal to enter the married state, with abstinence from sexual activity. It is one of the typically Christian forms of asceticism. In ancient Rome the vestal ...

Langton, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Langton, Stephen, c.1155–1228, English prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was educated at Paris. Innocent III named him cardinal in 1206, and he became archbishop of Canterbury the f...