Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) pontifex maximus pŏnˈtĭfĕks măkˈsĭməs [key], highest priest of Roman religion and official head of the college of pontifices. As the chief administrator of religious affairs he regulated the c...

(Encyclopedia) ember days, in the Western Church, traditionally the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following the first Sunday in Lent; Whitsunday; Sept. 14 (Exaltation of the Cross); and Dec. 13 (St. Lucy's Day). T...

(Encyclopedia) Hakuho, 1985–, Mongolian sumo wrestler, b. Ulaanbaator as Mönkhbatyn Davaajarga. The son of a wrestler, he went to Japan in 2000 to train and made his professional debut in 2001. He won his first c...

(Encyclopedia) international date line, imaginary line on the earth's surface, generally following the 180° meridian of longitude, where, by international agreement, travelers change dates. Traveling eastward acros...

(Encyclopedia) Hooker, Richard, 1554?–1600, English theologian and clergyman of the Church of England. He studied and lectured at Oxford and preached at Drayton-Beauchamp, Buckinghamshire; at the Temple Church, Lo...

(Encyclopedia) patriarch, in Christian churches, title of certain exalted bishops, implying authority over a number of other bishops. There were originally three patriarchates: the West, held by the bishop of Rome (...

(Encyclopedia) Numa Pompilius no͞oˈmə pŏmpĭlˈēəs [key], legendary king of Rome, successor to Romulus. His consort, the nymph Egeria, was said to have aided him in his rule. The origin of Roman ceremonial law...

(Encyclopedia) Baronius, Caesar bərōˈnēəs [key], 1538–1607, Italian ecclesiastical historian, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He went to Rome c.1557 and soon came under the tutelage of St. Philip Neri....

(Encyclopedia) Gratian, fl. 1140, Italian legal scholar, founder of the science of canon law. Almost nothing is known of his life beyond the fact that he was a monk, almost certainly Camaldolite, and that he taught ...

(Encyclopedia) Catherine, Saint kăthˈrən, kăthˈərĭn [key], 4th cent.?, Alexandrian virgin martyr. Nothing certain is known of her life, and in 1969 her name was dropped from the liturgical calendar. According...