Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) canon law, in the Roman Catholic Church, the body of law based on the legislation of the councils (both ecumenical and local) and the popes, as well as the bishops (for diocesan matters). It is the la...

(Encyclopedia) Aristides, Saint ârĭstīˈdēz [key], 2d cent., Greek philosopher, author of an early Christian apology. It was presented (c.126 or 136) to the emperor to protest anti-Christian slanders and persecu...

(Encyclopedia) Prester John, legendary Christian priest and monarch of a vast, wealthy empire in Asia or in Africa. The legend first appeared in the latter part of the 12th cent. and persisted for several centuries....

(Encyclopedia) Passion play, genre of the miracle play that has survived from the Middle Ages into modern times. Its subject is the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Passion plays were first given in Lati...

(Encyclopedia) Retz or Rais, Gilles de Laval, seigneur de zhēl də lävälˈ sānyörˈ də rĕts, rĕs [key], 1404–40, marshal of France, a lord of the Breton marches. A noted soldier, he was at Orléans with Jo...

(Encyclopedia) Bodley, George Frederick bŏdˈlē [key], 1827–1907, English architect. One of the most prominent and prolific ecclesiastical architects, Bodley was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott. A friend of ...

(Encyclopedia) Vergil or Virgil, Polydore, 1470?-1555?, historian and humanist, b. Urbino, Italy. He studied at Bologna and Padua, served as secretary to the duke of Urbino, was chamberlain to Pope Alexander VI, and...

(Encyclopedia) Saint Andrews, town (1991 pop. 11,302), Fife, E Scotland, on the North Sea. A summer resort, it is famous for its golf courses. It was the seat of an archbishop from 908 and the ecclesiastical capital...

(Encyclopedia) Oxford movement, religious movement begun in 1833 by Anglican clergymen at the Univ. of Oxford to renew the Church of England (see England, Church of) by reviving certain Roman Catholic doctrines and ...

(Encyclopedia) Martens, Wilfried, 1936–2013, Belgian statesman. A lawyer, Flemish Christian Democrat, and well-respected negotiator, he was president (1965–71) of the youth wing of the Christian People's party a...