Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Vigilantius vĭjˌĭlănˈshəs [key], fl. 400, Christian priest of Gaul who was violently opposed by St. Jerome. Jerome's letters and a tract, Liber contra Vigilantium, declare that Vigilantius denie...

(Encyclopedia) Sebastian, Saint, fl. 3d cent.?, Roman martyr. Little is known of his life. According to tradition he was an officer of the Praetorian guards much favored by Emperor Diocletian, who did not know that ...

(Encyclopedia) Tay Ninh tā nĭn [key], city, S Vietnam, NW of Ho Chi Minh City. It is the center of the Cao Dai, a politically active religious group that was suppressed by South Vietnamese forces after an armed in...

(Encyclopedia) Tébessa təbĕsˈə [key], ancient Theveste, town (1998 pop. 153,246), NE Algeria, in the Atlas Mts. The town is an important agricultural market and is noted for its silk embroidery and carpets. The...

(Encyclopedia) Gethsemane gĕthsĕmˈənē [key], olive grove or garden, E of Jerusalem, near the foot of the Mount of Olives. In the Gospels, it is the scene of the agony and betrayal of Jesus. A number of sites in...

(Encyclopedia) Eugene, city (2020 pop. 176,654), seat of Lane co., W Oregon, on the Willamette River; inc. 1862. A processing and shipping center in a farming area, th...

(Encyclopedia) Reuchlin, Johann yōˈhän roikhˈlən [key], 1455–1522, German humanist and lawyer, a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, b. Baden. He taught jurisprudence at Tübingen. In 1492 he began the study of Hebr...

(Encyclopedia) Williams, Rowan Douglas, 1950–, archbishop of Canterbury (2002–12), b. Swansea, Wales; grad. Christ's College, Cambridge (B.A., 1971; M.A., 1975), Wadham College, Oxford (D.Phil., 1975). Ordained ...

(Encyclopedia) Sancho III or Sancho the Great sänˈchō [key], c.970–1035, king of Navarre (1000–1035). Having inherited the kingdom of Navarre, which included Aragón, he launched an annexation campaign that m...

(Encyclopedia) missions, term generally applied to organizations formed for the purpose of extending religious teaching, whether at home or abroad. It also indicates the stations or the fields where such teaching is...