Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

287 results found

liturgy, Christian

(Encyclopedia)liturgy, Christian [Gr. leitourgia = public duty or worship] form of public worship, particularly the form of rite or services prescribed by the various Christian churches. In the Western Church the p...

Geneva, canton and city, Switzerland

(Encyclopedia)Geneva jənēˈvə [key], Fr. Genève, canton, 109 sq mi (282 sq km), SW Switzerland, surroun...

All Saints' Day

(Encyclopedia)All Saints' Day, feast of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, and day on which churches glorify God for all God's saints, known and unknown. It is celebrated on Nov. 1 in the West, since Pope Gr...

Merseburg

(Encyclopedia)Merseburg mĕrˈzəbo͝ork [key], city (1994 pop. 41,528), Saxony-Anhalt, E central Germany, on the Saale River. It is an industrial city and a lignite-mining center. Manufactures include chemicals, p...

Laski, John

(Encyclopedia)Laski, John yän lăsˈkē [key], Latin Johannes Alasco, 1499–1560, Polish Protestant reformer. A learned priest, he went in 1523 to Basel, where he was a close friend of Erasmus. After returning to...

Leslie, John

(Encyclopedia)Leslie or Lesley, John, 1527–96, Scottish bishop, historian, and statesman. After studying in France, he returned (c.1554) to Scotland, where he opposed the Reformation. He became ecclesiastical adv...

Capuchins

(Encyclopedia)Capuchins kăpˈyo͞ochĭnz [key] [Ital.,=hooded ones], Roman Catholic religious order of friars, one of the independent orders of Franciscans, officially the Friars Minor Capuchin [Lat. abbr., O.M.Ca...

Wyclif, John

(Encyclopedia)Wyclif, Wycliffe, Wickliffe, or Wiclif, John all: wĭkˈlĭf [key], c.1328–1384, English religious reformer. A Yorkshireman by birth, Wyclif studied and taught theology and philosophy at Oxford. He ...

Schmalkaldic League

(Encyclopedia)Schmalkaldic League shmälkälˈdĭk [key], alliance formed in 1531 at Schmalkalden by Protestant princes and delegates of free cities. It was created in response to the threat (1530) by Holy Roman Em...

Saint Andrews

(Encyclopedia)Saint Andrews, town (1991 pop. 11,302), Fife, E Scotland, on the North Sea. A summer resort, it is famous for its golf courses. It was the seat of an archbishop from 908 and the ecclesiastical capital...