Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint klrvōˈ [key], 1090?–1153, French churchman, mystic, Doctor of the Church. Born of noble family, in 1112 he entered the Cistercian abbey of Cîteaux, taking along 4 or 5...

(Encyclopedia) Luke, Saint [Gr. Lucas], traditional author of the third Gospel (see Luke, Gospel according to Saint) and of its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles. Paul's letter to the Colossians identifies him as “...

(Encyclopedia) Wesker, Arnold, 1932–, English playwright, b. London. At various times he has been a carpenter's mate, a seed sorter, and a pastry cook. His plays Chicken Soup with Barley (1958), Roots (1958), and ...

(Encyclopedia) Denis, Saint dĕnˈĭs, dənēˈ [key], fl. 3d cent.?, patron of France. He is said to have been first bishop of Paris and to have died a martyr on Montmartre. His shrine was Saint-Denis. The Latin of...

(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 ...

(Encyclopedia) Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin mēˈnē, mēˈnē, tēˈkəl, yo͞ofärˈsĭn [key], in the Bible, the mysterious riddle written by a hand on the wall at Belshazzar's feast. These Aramaic words may be tr...

(Encyclopedia) pallium pălˈēəm [key], vestment proper to the pope, who confers it on archbishops in token of their union with and obedience to him. It is a band of cloth worn around the neck and has a 2-in. (5.1...

(Encyclopedia) Celestine I, Saint sĕlˈəstĭn [key], d. 432, pope (422–32), an Italian; successor of St. Boniface I. The opposition of St. Cyril of Alexandria to Nestorianism inspired both sides to appeal to the...

(Encyclopedia) Gregory II, Saint, d. 731, pope (715–31), a Roman; successor of Constantine. When Byzantine Emperor Leo III tried to impose iconoclasm in Italy by an imperial edict, Gregory answered that the empero...

(Encyclopedia) Joan of Arc, Fr. Jeanne D'Arc (zhän därk), 1412?–31, French saint and national heroine, called the Maid of Orléans; daughter of a farmer of Domrémy on the border of Champagne and Lorraine. In...