Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Mass, religious service of the Roman Catholic Church, which has as its central act the performance of the sacrament of the Eucharist. It is based on the ancient Latin liturgy of the city of Rome, now ...

(Encyclopedia) Olives, Mount of, or Olivet ŏlˈĭvĕt [key], ridge, E of Jerusalem, mentioned in the Old Testament as the scene of David's flight from the city, Ezekiel's theophany, and Zechariah's prophecy, and in...

(Encyclopedia) Bethany bĕthˈənē [key]. 1 Village, at the southeastern foot of the Mount of Olives, the modern El Aziriye, 2 mi (3.2 km) E of Jerusalem. In the Gospels, it is the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary...

(Encyclopedia) Cynewulf kĭnˈəwo͝olfˌ, ko͝onˈ– [key], fl. early 9th cent.?, Old English religious poet of Northumbria or Mercia. Four poems have been ascribed to him on the evidence of his signatures in rune...

(Encyclopedia) Corpus Christi [Lat.,=body of Christ], feast of the Western Church, observed on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday (or on the following Sunday). The feast, which celebrates the founding of the sacramen...

(Encyclopedia) Sol sŏl [key], in Roman religion, sun god. An ancient god of Mesopotamian origin, he was introduced (c.220) into Roman religion as Sol Invictus by emperor Heliogabalus. His worship remained an import...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Equatorial coordinate system equatorial coordinate system, the most commonly used astronomical coordinate system for indicating the positions of stars or other celestial objects on the celesti...

(Encyclopedia) Holy Thursday: see Ascension.

(Encyclopedia) mandorla mänˈdôrlä [key], [Ital.,=almond], a medieval Christian artistic convention by which an oval or almond-shaped area or series of lines surrounds a deity, most commonly Jesus. The mandorla i...

(Encyclopedia) Vesta, in Roman religion and mythology, hearth goddess. She was highly honored in every household from early times to the beginning of Christianity. Her public cult maintained a sacred building in whi...