Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Colossus of Rhodes kəlŏsˈəs [key], large statue of Helios, the sun god, destroyed by an earthquake in antiquity. Consider one of the Seven Wonders of the World by the ancients, it was built in par...

(Encyclopedia) Colossians kəlŏshˈənz [key], New Testament letter. It was written to the Christians of Colossae and Laodicea, ostensibly by Paul while he was in prison, presumably in Rome (c.a.d. 60). Its writing...

(Encyclopedia) Church of the Brethren: see Brethren. ...

(Encyclopedia) States of the Church: see Papal States. ...

(Encyclopedia) Masolino da Panicale mäzōlēˈnō dä pänēkäˈlā [key], 1383–c.1447, Florentine painter of the early Renaissance, whose real name was Tommaso di Cristoforo Fini. His versatile painting incorpo...

(Encyclopedia) saint [O.Fr., from Latin sanctus=holy], in Christianity, a person who is recognized as worthy of veneration. Accounts of saints' lives have been favorite reading material for many, and at times thei...

(Encyclopedia) New Jerusalem, Church of the, or New Church, religious body instituted by the followers of Emanuel Swedenborg, who are generally called Swedenborgians. Knowledge of Swedenborg's teachings was spread i...

(Encyclopedia) Ebionites ēˈbēənītsˌ, ĕbˈē– [key] [Aramaic,=poor], Jewish-Christian sect of rural ancient Palestine, of the first centuries after Jesus. There were two groups, according to Origen. The Juda...

(Encyclopedia) Renewed Church of the Brethren: see Moravian Church. ...

(Encyclopedia) Thomas, Gospel of, a collection of sayings, composed originally in Greek, attributed to the “living” (i.e., resurrected) Jesus. Some of the sayings were previously known from papyri discovered at ...