Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Justin Martyr, Saint, c.a.d. 100–c.a.d. 165, Christian apologist, called also Justin the Philosopher. Born in Samaria of pagan parents, he studied philosophy, and after his conversion in Ephesus to ...

(Encyclopedia) glasnost gläsˈnōst [key], Soviet cultural and social policy of the late 1980s. Following his ascension to the leadership of the USSR in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev began to promote a policy of openness...

(Encyclopedia) novena nōvēˈnə [key] [Lat.,=a group of nine], in the Roman Catholic Church, primarily a series of public or private prayers extending over nine consecutive days, especially nine days preceding a f...

(Encyclopedia) angel ānˈjəl [key], [Gr.,=messenger], bodiless, immortal spirit, limited in knowledge and power, accepted in the traditional belief of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and other religions. Angels a...

(Encyclopedia) Islam in Africa, the development of the Muslim religion on the African continent. During Muhammad's lifetime a group of Muslims escaped Meccan persecution (615) by fleeing to Ethiopia, where the Negus...

(Encyclopedia) Vaughan, Henry vôn [key], 1622–95, one of the English metaphysical poets. Born in Breconshire, Wales, he signed himself Silurist, after the ancient inhabitants of that region. After leaving Oxford,...

(Encyclopedia) Iona īōnˈə [key] [Irish Ioua=island] or Icolmkill [Irish,=island of Columba of the church], island (1985 est. pop. 267), 3.5 mi (5.6 km) long and 1.5 mi (2.4 km) wide, Argyll and Bute, NW Scotland...

(Encyclopedia) Páez, Pedro pāˈᵺrō päˈāth [key], 1564–1622, Spanish Jesuit missionary. He preached in Goa, India, was enslaved for seven years in Sana, Yemen, and in 1603 arrived in Ethiopia. He rapidly le...

(Encyclopedia) Monk, Meredith Jane, 1942–, American dancer, choreographer, composer, singer, director, and filmmaker, b. Lima, Peru, grad. Sarah Lawrence College, 1964. A major figure in the avant-garde, she began...

(Encyclopedia) Oswy or Oswiu both: ŏzˈwē [key], d. 670, king of Northumbria. He succeeded (641) his brother Oswald in Bernicia only, Deira (the other part of Northumbria) having become a dependency of Mercia. How...