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Originally posted by jlg:
Newcomers: You might want to read the Opening Post and the most recent post and then simply skim if you are interested. This isn't a discussion thread, but rather something that would be in the Reference section in your local library.

Feel free to post a question if you are wondering about something in particular (even if you haven't read the entire thread). There are a number of nice shipmate 'librarians' who will be happy to answer your questions and wish to make Eccles as user-friendly as possible.

-jlg/Ecclesiantics host

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quote:

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Originally posted by Manipled Mutineer:

[...] I am delighted to unveil, "the Ecclesiantics Dictionary, being a compendium of liturgical and ecclesiastical terms and references old and new, copiously revised and updated etc., etc."

I suggest that we use this thread to post common Eccles shorthand and references, together with a definition, and also to bring up terms with which we are not familiar, in the hope that others can supply one.

I think that working definitions should suffice; they need not be perfect, only serviceable - enough to allow people to follow the discussions here and provide a basis for further exploration as necessary.

Please keep your definitions instructive, helpful and clean...


I will kick off - in some fear and trepidation - with a few bits of shorthand or casual references which I am aware that I use, and perhaps others with follow suit, feeling free to improve or correct as necessary:

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Posted                       

quote:

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Originally posted by Manipled Mutineer:
The Ecclesiantics Dictionary, being a compendium of liturgical and ecclesiastical and other terms and references old and new, copiously revised and updated by our honoured guest editors and constantly under review, etc., etc. Sixteenth edition.

architectural terms

Ambo: (predominantly Western use) a structure from which the Gospels are proclaimed and the scriptures read; may also be used for delivery a sermon or homily.

Aumbry: a wall-mounted cupboard, generally in the chancel of a church, used in some Anglo-Catholic circles as a place of reservation for the consecrated host or (in Roman Catholic practice) for reservation of the consecrated oils.

Parts of an Orthodox Church: The Temple is divided into four parts: 1. The Sanctuary (Altar), beyond the Image-screen (Ikonostás). 2. The prolongation of the Sanctuary platform outside the Image-Screen, called the Soleá, which consists of: (a) the Amvón or Tribune, which is the portion immediately in front of the Holy Doors, in the centre of the Screen and (b) the railed Klíros, or places for the two choirs, on either side of the Amvón. 3. The Body of the Church. 4. The Porch (Pritvór) (Isabel Hapgood Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church)

Sacrament House: a variant, typically German, form of place of reservation, along with aumbries, tabernacles and pyxes. See Dom Gregory Dix, A Detection of Aumbries for more on the subject.

Pyx: a hanging receptacle (generally positioned over the altar) used as a place of reservation for the consecrated host. Sometimes shaped like a dove. Anglo-Catholic, generally a marker of an English Use church.

Stoup: a receptacle for Holy Water, generally to be found in a niche by the doorway of a Catholic church, and used by the people when crossing themselves on entering and leaving the church.

Tabernacle: a freestanding cupboard, generally on the altar of a church, used in Roman Catholic churches and those Anglican churches influenced by Roman Catholic practice as a place of reservation for the consecrated host.


Ecclesiastical Terms and Tendencies

AC, A/C, Anglo-Catholic: Anglicans who emphasise continuity of doctrine between Anglicanism and the historic churches to which they are related. Usually High Church in ritual.

Alt. Worship: alternative worship

BVM: The Blessed Virgin Mary (also her IC - Immaculate Conception - and her GA - Glorious Assumption, and see SMV)

Confraternity, Archconfraternity: A pious association, often Roman Catholic. See also Sodality

DDO: Diocesan Director of Ordinands (UK Anglican)/Diocesan Deployment Officer (US Episcopalian)

English Use: a movement or party within the Anglican Communion looking to pre-Reformation and Caroline precedents for liturgical practices to enrich the Book of Common Prayer. Often in opposition to the Western Use.

Episcopi Vagantes (often simply vagantes):- the plural form of episcopus vagans, which is a Latin term meaning wandering bishop. An episcopus vagans is somebody - usually, but not always, a man - who has received ordination to the episcopate (office of bishop), but is not attached to any particular church. He may have been regularly ordained and then left his church or simply been a layman who sought irregular ordination. The 20th century saw a rise in this phenomenon, with such bishops ordaining numerous other bishops and priests outside of any church structure, and performing rites and ceremonies of varying degrees of elaborateness, often with more clergy than laity present. The sacramental nature of these ordinations is a matter of contention, and they are usually not recognised by any of the mainstream churches, although vagantes go to great lengths to prove their authenticity, often maintaining websites tracing their tactile apostolic succession, usually to one or more of a number of well-known episcopi vagantes of the early 20th century. A small minority have gone on to form stable churches which have been subsumed into some of the mainstream churches but, by and large, characteristic of vagantes is a colourful series of peculiar events, many of which are recounted in Peter Anson's Bishops At Large, among other volumes to which Manipled Mutineer will happily direct you.

Eucharistic Hospitality: a reciprocal process whereby churches agree to extend communion to visiting members of other churches

GLE: Good Little Evangelical

and by imitation:

GLRC: Good Little Roman Catholic

High Church: Having a high/elevated view of the nature of the church; can be associated with strong sacramental doctrines and (often) with a developed system of liturgical ritual and ceremonial.

Imprimatur: "let it be printed": an official declaration (generally by a bishop) that a work is free from error in matters of Roman Catholic doctrine and morals. See also Nihil Obstat.

Imprimi Potest: “it may be printed”: certifying that a book by a Religious had been examined and approved by the religious superior or head of the religious order (or their representative.) Subsequent to the Nihil Obstat, a precursor to the Imprimatur.

Mariolatry: the practice of offering divine worship/adoration to the Blessed Virgin Mary; can be used pejoratively to refer to all honour given to the BVM.

Matinolatry: A fixation on the use of Matins as the primary Sunday service. [Pejorative, shading to jocular, Anglo-Catholic use, presumably in imitation of Mariolatry]

MBS: The Most Blessed Sacrament of OLJC.

MBSA: Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar; a variant on MBS

MOTR: "Middle of the Road"; bears a range of meanings according to writer. May mean (positively) a line somewhere between (for example) Catholic and Evangelical in worship or (negatively) being neither one thing or another. Bears a disputed relationship to the term “central.”

Nihil obstat: "nothing hinders" or "nothing stands in the way": official approval that a work dealing with faith or morals does not contradict Catholic teaching. A necessary precursor to receiving an Imprimatur.

Old Catholic: Term for a range of churches, often close to the Roman Catholic church in faith and practice, which split from that church over a range of matters principally but not exclusively relating to dogma, over the last two hundred years. [DN – I’d be grateful for help in improving this one.]

OLJC: Our Lord Jesus Christ. Also OLSJC ('Saviour').

OoW: Ordination of Women.

PEVs "Flying Bishops": (Church of England) The Bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough for the south of England and the Bishop of Beverley for the north are suffragans of the Archbishops. The job of each is to provide extended episcopal care to those parishes who have petitioned for it and to act as ombudsman for those who cannot accept the ordination of women. The Bishop of Fulham performs a similar role in the dioceses of London, Southwark and Rochester.

PV/Parochial Vicar: (RC Canon Law) A priest who is assigned by the competent authority (e.g. the Bishop) to assist the pastor in the pastoral ministry of a parish.

Resolutions: (Church of England) PCCs may pass resolutions which mean: Res. A: no woman may celebrate the Eucharist within that parish; Res. B: no woman may be appointed as parish priest. Res. C. (more correctly, the Episcopal Ministry Act Synod, 1993) the parish has petitioned the diocesan bishop for extended episcopal care from a bishop who does not ordain women, generally a PEV

Sedevacantist: A position adopted by some traditional Catholics, believing that the successors of Pope Pius XII (or, in some cases, of Blessed John XXIII) are not true popes, and that the Holy See is therefore vacant.

Shrine Church: (particularly of Anglo-Catholic churches), a parish church widely noted for its particular brand of Anglo-Catholicism and/or quality of liturgy. Attracts worshippers from outside the parish, possibly exclusively so, sometimes from quite far away.

SMV: S. Mary the Virgin. The Blessed Virgin Mary; usually used with reference to churches of that name.

Sodality: A pious association, often Roman Catholic. See also Confraternity, Archconfraternity.

Traditional Integrity: (Of priests in the Church of England) those who do not in conscience believe the Church of England has the authority to ordain women to the priesthood. Usually implies they have passed Resolutions.

Western Use: A movement or party within the Anglican Communion looking to Roman Catholic precedents for liturgical practices to enrich the Book of Common Prayer.

Westminster Confession: a Reformed confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition, drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly. The 'subordinate standard' of doctrine in the Church of Scotland and influential within Presbyterian churches worldwide.

Liturgical and WorshipTerms

Ablutions: the ceremonial washing/purifying of the communion vessels, including washing out the chalice with water and drinking the residue – thus “taking the ablutions.” Cf. TARP.

Ad orientem: manner of celebrating Mass; the celebrant faces East, standing on the same side of the altar as the people, facing the same way (often described as “backs to the people”; cf versus populum)

Altar Call: A practice in some evangelical churches in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. It is so named because the supplicants gather at the altar located at the front of the church.

Anaphora: Literally meaning offering back, the anaphora is that part of the Eucharistic liturgy which takes the form of a lengthy prayer of thanksgiving and praise, in which the words of the Lord at the Mystical Supper are recalled Father is asked to send the Holy Spirit on the bread and wine to change them into the Body and Blood of Christ, and in which the words of the Lord Himself are repeated. In western liturgies, the anaphora is more commonly referred to as the Canon or the Eucharistic Prayer.

Antiphon: part of the Daily Office, being one or more psalm verses or sentences from Holy Scripture sung or recited before and after each psalm and the Magnificat during Matins and Vespers.

BAS: The Book of Alternative Services of the Anglican Church of Canada, a permissive alternative to the Canadian Book of Common Prayer. See BCP

BCP: Book of Common Prayer; the service book of the Church of England and (in variant forms) adopted by most [all?] other churches within the Anglican Communion

Benediction: A rite in which the consecrated host, contained in a monstrance is exposed for veneration and then used to bless the congregation.

Benedictus: (if qui venit) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord – part of the Ordinary of the Mass

Binate, bination: To celebrate, the practice of celebrating the Eucharist more than once in the course of the day

Blessed Sacrament: term for the Host and wine as consecrated by the sacrament of the Eucharist. (cf. MBS, MBSA.

Byzantine Rite: The rite used by Christians who follow the liturgical and spiritual traditions with origins in the churches of Constantinople/Byzantium.

Chalice: a stemmed vessel, like a goblet, used to hold the wine/precious blood during Mass.

Corporal: a square white linen cloth upon which the Sacred Host and chalice are placed during the celebration of Mass.

Customary: a document or publication detailing the ceremonial that is used as standard, for a particular parish church/diocese or similar

Daily Office: a set round of liturgical prayers said in the course of a day; an example would be the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours or Roman Breviary. See also hours.

Evensong: Anglican office of Evening Prayer.

Genuflection:the act of kneeling as a form of reverence for persons or things, touching the right knee to the ground briefly whilst facing or being passed by the thing or person reverenced. Also double genuflection, the act of making a reverence by kneeling on both knees, generally to the Blessed Sacrament exposed

Gloria [in excelsis]: Glory be to God on high/ Glory to God in the Highest. A hymn of praise sung as part of the Mass/eucharist in certain seasons. Also Gloria Patri – Glory be to the Father Son & Holy Ghost - doxology used at the end of psalms and canticles (like psalms but from other biblical books).

Holy Water: water which has been blessed by a priest, used for a variety of liturgical and paraliturgical purposes. Often found in a stoup by the doorway in Catholic churches.

Hours, The: refers to the canonical hours of prayer, the collection of individual services that make up the daily office. The term is sometimes used as a synonym for the daily office - e.g., the official office of the Roman Catholic Church is called 'The Liturgy of the Hours' (sometimes shortened to 'LOTH' around here).

Invitatory: the Invitatory Psalm or the antiphon sung with the Invitatory Psalm, (e.g. the sense in which the 1549 Book of Common Prayer directs the 95th Psalm to be sung "without an invitatory") or to the combination of the two.

Irmos: (also spelled Eermos in Slavonic) Literally, "chain." The opening stanza in each of the canticles of the Canon, which serves as a model for all of the remaining troparia in the canticle. It acts as a link in a chain by coordinating the message of the biblical canticle that the Canon is expected to accompany and the theme of the feast or celebration that is the subject of the troparia that follow. Cf. Troparion.

Kontakion: A collect hymn which recalls the subject of the day's feast and is sung after the sixth ode of the Canon at the Little Hours and during the Liturgy. Also called Kondak in Slavonic. See also troparion.

Kyrie: Part of the Ordinary of the Mass. Lord have mercy/Christ have mercy/Lord have mercy (From the Greek), Kyrie being the Gk for Lord). Can be 3, 6 or 9 fold (i.e say each line once, twice or thrice).

Last Rites: sacraments administered to a dying person, typically penance, unction/anointing, and the viaticum

Magnificat: a Gospel hymn or canticle, sung as part of the Roman Catholic office of Vespers and the Anglican office of Evensong or Evening Prayer.

Matins: the morning part of the Roman Catholic office of daily prayer, also the name of the morning office in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer

Minor propers: The choral settings for the introit, gradual, tract, sequence, offertory, and communion; see Proper of the Mass. Cf. Ordinary of the Mass

Monstrance: a liturgical vessel, often shaped like a sun, used to contain a consecrated host and employed in the rite of Exposition and Benediction

Mystic(al) Supper: The meal shared by Christ and his disciples before his death, at which the Eucharistic mandate was given. The Mystical Supper is also referred to as the Last Supper.

Office: A liturgical activity such as the Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours or the office of Evensong from the Book of Common Prayer for example. See also Daily Office.

Ordinary of the Mass: Those texts which stay the same week by week rather than being proper to the day, as follows:

Kyrie Lord have mercy/Christ have mercy Lord have mercy[/i]. Can be 3, 6 or 9 fold (i.e say each line once, twice or thrice).
Gloria [in exclesis] Glory be to God on high (See here for more.)
Credo The [Nicene] Creed -- We/I believe in one God, the Father Almighty etc etc.
Sanctus Holy Holy Holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest
Benedictus [qui venit] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the Highest (usually sung immediately after the Sanctus.)
Agnus Dei Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us (x2) Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the world, grant us thy peace

NB many have been reused/rewritten/rearranged recently as worship songs, e.g.
[*]Kyrie - Empty, broken, here I stand/Kyrie-e-e Eleison...
[*]Credo - Petra's "Creed" (from album "beyond Belief")

Pall: a square of linen stiffened with starch, cardboard or plastic set upon the chalice during the celebration of the Mass, to protect the contents from flies and dust.

Paten: a small disc or plate used to hold the host during Mass.

Preface: the part of the Eucharistic prayer between that and the Sanctus (from the Latin again). The proper preface is that part which is `proper' to the day e.g. propers for Christmas or Easter etc.

Prokeimenon: a short responsory of verses from Scripture used in a number of services in the Byzantine Rite. There are often special prokeimena for various feasts and seasons.

Proper of the Mass: Those texts of the Mass which are proper to the day and thus changeable.

Purificator: A small cloth used to clean [purify] the vessels used at Mass (e.g. chalice, paten.)

Reproaches: Verses and response chanted during the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday in Catholic churches.

Reservation: The process of setting aside a portion of the consecrated host for the purpose of communicating the sick or for Eucharistic adoration. Cf. Benediction

Reserved Sacrament, Blessed Sacrament Reserved: Portion of the consecrated host set aside in Reservation.

Rite: loosely, the term can refer to any liturgical ceremony. More specifically, a rite is a collection of liturgical and spiritual traditions and disciplines which form a unit. Different rites have existed and still exist in the Christian churches. Elements peculiar to various rites include the texts, rubrics, and rituals of services; styles, colours, and arrangement of vestments; musical traditions; fasting disciplines; prayer disciplines; liturgical kalendars; arrangement of services, and so forth. Some examples of these include the Latin Rite/Roman Rite, the Mozarabic Rite, the Byzantine Rite, the Melkite Rite, the Maronite Rite, among others. Cf. Use.

Roman Canon: the key texts of the Mass, beginning after the conclusion of the Sanctus, as used in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and Eucharistic Prayer 1 of the Ordinary Form of the Roman rite

Roman Rite, Ordinary Form: The Rite followed by the majority of Catholics within the Catholic Church, also known [arguably pejoratively] as the Novus Ordo, derived from the Roman Missal as reformed according to the decrees of the Second Vatican Council. The Missal of Pope Paul VI/1970 Missal.

Roman Rite, Extraordinary Form: The Rite followed by the majority of Catholics within the Catholic Church until the promulgation of the Missal of Pope Paul VI and still licit. Also known [unofficially] as the Tridentine Rite, Traditional Rite, etc. The Missal of Blessed John XXIII/1962 Missal.

Sarum Rite: a mediaeval development of the Roman Rite as practised at Salisbury Cathedral and in many places throughout the British Isles. Suppressed at the Reformation, except for a time under Mary I of England, it provided some material for Archbishop Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer, and later was a source of inspiration for those seeking to enrich the provisions of that book. See also English Use and The Parson's Handbook.

Snog and Bendy/Benders: Evensong and Benediction. Typical AC evening worship, involving a blessing with the MBSA.

Sursum Corda:the series of response at the start of the Eucharistic prayer which includes Lift up your hearts/We lift the to the Lord. From the Latin.

TARP: Abbreviation used in advanced Anglo-Catholic circles, standing for “Taking the Ablutions in the Right Place”: consuming the 'leftover' elements immediately communion finishes and performing the ablutions immediately, the traditional Roman Catholic practice. Now rather archaic. Used by contrast to the Prayerbook practice of doing so at the end of the service.

Troparion: A stanza of religious poetry, for example, the apolytikion, known as the troparion of the day. Originally it was a short prayer, but later became modified as poems, a number of which became known as heirmoi, which were models for others. Some developed individual rhythms and melodies and became known as the idiomela or automela. Each strophe of the hymn is really a troparion, several of which make up an ode, while the nine odes, which allude to the scriptural canticles, make up a Canon, so the term could really be applied to the stanza of the Canon. There are different classes of troparia, for example a kontakion refers to the feast of the day, an oikos serves to expand this, while a Theotokion is in honor of the Mother of God.

At the Divine Liturgy, the troparia and kontakia serve as entrance hymns. Just after the Little Entrance, the appropriate troparia and kontakia are sung. These include those of whatever feast is being celebrated, those of the dedication of the church, those of whatever Saints appear in the kalendar on that day, and those proper to the day of the week or, if a Sunday, according to the tone of the week in honour of the Resurrection, (there are eight tones with their own resurrectional troparia and kontakia, used in a cycle). On certain feasts, the troparion of the feast is also used at the third antiphon just before the Little Entrance, interspersed between psalm verses, and then only it and the kontakion of the feasts are sung after the Entrance.

Unction: the sacramental anointing of the sick with oil, for the purposes of healing and/or remission of sin.

Use: a variation within a Rite where local customs have developed coherently. A local liturgical Use may be peculiar to a diocese, a country or other geographical area, or a religious order. Examples of Uses include the Sarum Use of the Roman Rite and the modern Greek Use of the Byzantine Rite.

Veneration of the Cross: the practice, in Roman Catholic churches and those influenced by them, of ceremonially kneeling before a crucifix and kissing it, as part of the liturgical observance of Good Friday.

versus populum: manner of celebrating the Mass; the celebrant faces the people over the altar. Cf Ad orientem

Vespers: the evening part of the Roman Catholic office of daily prayer.

Viaticum: “provisions for the journey”; the blessed sacrament given to a dying person. Often accompanies the Last Rites

Miscellaneous Terms

IANACL: I am not a Canon Lawyer. Popular disclaimer.

Jezebel’s Trumpet: Affectionate name for the Church Times, an Anglican newspaper.


Organisations/Lay and Priestly Societies, etc.

ACC: Anglican Church of Canada; a church within the Anglican Communion

Anglican Communion: A group of churches descended from, or otherwise linked with, the Church of England, and acknowledging the Archbishop of Canterbury as the focus and spokesman of its unity.

Catholic League (Unitas): An ecumenical society promoting the Unity of all Christians with and through the ministry of the Bishop of Rome as successor to St Peter the Apostle.

CBS/Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament : An Anglo-catholic society dedicated to fostering devotion to Our Lord in His MBS.

CSF/Community of St Francis: occurs after the name of a sister of the Anglican first order of Franciscans.

CU: inter-denominational associations of christian students studying at a particular institution, often affiliated (in the UK) to the UCCF

ECUSA: Episcopal Church of the USA, former name for The Episcopal Church, a church within the Anglican Communion. See also TEC, PECUSA

FCP/Federation of Catholic Priests: Established in 1917, with a particular emphasis on promoting Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. To-day, not unlike SSC, but somewhat smaller. Restricted to male priests of Traditional Integrity.

FiF/Forward in Faith: A movement within Anglicanism (primarily Anglo-Catholic) that cannot accept the ordination of women to the priesthood or the episcopate and seeks a structural provision within the Church. Also known (pejoratively) as Backwards in Bigotry.

FSSP/Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter: a traditional catholic priestly society in full communion with the Holy See. Its members have the right to use all the liturgical books in use in 1962. See also ICK/Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest.

FSSPX/Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X : official name of the SSPX/Society of Saint Pius X. Not to be confused with the FSSP.

GSS/Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary: An Anglican association of altar servers and the like, also known [pejoratively] as the "Guild of the Serpents of the Sanctuary." Associated with the Anglo-Catholic party within that Communion.

ICK/Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest: a traditional catholic priestly society in full communion with the Holy See. Its members have the right to use all the liturgical books in use in 1962. See also FSSP/Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter

OGS/Oratory of the Good Shepherd: Founded in 1913 at the University of Cambridge. Open to celibate men, ordained and lay, bound by a common rule and discipline, who do not normally live together, but meet regularly. There is a sister organisation, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, open to women, ordained and lay.

OHP/Order of the Holy Paraclete: An Anglican order of nuns whose mother house is at Whitby. (Not to be confused with the OHP used by some in worship, the Overhead Projector!)

OSC/Order of St Clare : 2nd Order (contemplative) nuns of St Francis (Anglican)

PECUSA: The Protestant Episcopal Church of the USA, former name for The Episcopal Church, a church within the Anglican Communion. See also TEC, ECUSA

PNCC/Polish National Catholic Church: An Old Catholic church, principally North American, serving Polish communities there, but also with some presence in Poland itself.

ROCOR/ROCA - The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: also the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, commonly abbreviated in speech but less so in writing to simply "The Church Abroad", and still occasionally referred to by its very old name of the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile, (ROCiE - not to be confused with the episcopi vagantes group of the same name). Now an autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church, ROCOR was originally formed by exiled Orthodox clergy and laity who fled Russia at the time of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. A number of factors, including the political situation in Russia and a resultant shift towards conservatism in the Church Abroad, gradually led to ROCOR existing in relative isolation from the rest of the Orthodox world. Despite this, there was no official severing of communion and Sacraments in ROCOR were generally open to all Orthodox, (allowing for varying local practice). Understanding the basis of its irregular separate existence only ever to have been a temporary arrangement, and with a mellowing of its conservatism, moves began within ROCOR some years after the fall of the Soviet state to restore normal relations with the Church in Russia and thereby the rest of the Orthodox world. This came to its climax on the Feast of the Ascension (17th May), 2007, when all of the marks of full canonical communion were restored. While this was not universally welcomed, most of the more rigorist elements of ROCOR who opposed this move have now left, leaving a mainstream yet still traditional ROCOR.

SCP/Society of Catholic Priests: A broadly Anglo-catholic priestly fraternity, founded in 1994, and closely linked with Affirming Catholicism (considered by some as its priestly arm.) Open to men and women. The current Archbishop of Canterbury is a member and patron.

SPB/ Sodality of the Precious Blood: A priestly sodality connected to the Catholic League. It is open to male priests in the Church of England. Its members observe celibate chastity and use the ordinary-form of the Roman Rite for the Divine Office

SSC/Societas Sanctae Crucis/ Society of the Holy Cross : An Anglo-catholic priestly fraternity.

SSF/Society of St Francis: occurs after the name of a brother of the Anglican first order of Franciscans

SSPV/Society of Saint Pius V: A traditionalist catholic priestly society, deriving from the larger SSPX but splitting from it owning to the requirement upon members of that society to use the 1962 Missal. Like the SSPX, it opposes the liturgical and other changes attendant upon the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), but goes further than the SSPX in treating the sedevacantist position - that the successors of Pope Pius the XII were not true popes and that therefore the Holy See is vacant (sede vacante) - as a probable opinion.

SSPX/Society of Saint Pius X: A traditionalist catholic priestly society, opposing the liturgical and other changes attendant upon the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). Also known as FSSPX. Also known as Lefebvrists after their founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

TEC: The Episcopal Church (of the USA), a church within the Anglican Communion. Formerly PECUSA, ECUSA

TSSF/Tertiary of the Society of St Francis: Members of the Third Order of SSF. These are those who live out their vocation and rule of life in the world. The order is open to lay and ordained, male and female, single or married.

UCCF: Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF - The Christian Union Movement). An organisation providing resources, training, advice and encouragement for Christian Unions around the UK. Cf. CU


People and places

+[Name], +[Place]: Indicates that the person referenced is a bishop

++[Name], ++[Place]: [Ship slang] Indicates that the person referenced is an archbishop, also +++[Name], used of Popes.

Archbishop of Canterbury: The [Anglican] Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, Primate (senior bishop) of All England and senior bishop of the Anglican Communion

ASMS/ All Saints Margaret Street: Rather grand AC church just off Oxford Street in London.

B16, Benny, the Rat: More-or-less affectionate terms for His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Servant of the Servants of God. Also Darth Benedictus, a reference to the character Darth Sidious in the Star Wars series.

Bishop of Rome: The Pope.

BVM: The Blessed Virgin Mary
(also her IC - Immaculate Conception - and her GA - Glorious Assumption, and see SMV)

Fortescue: see under "reference works"

Lefebvre, Archbishop Marcel: Former Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers and founder of the SSPX.

OLJC: Our Lord Jesus Christ. Also OLSJC ('Saviour').

OLW: Our Lady of Walsingham. The national Marian devotion in England, focussed upon the RC, Anglican and Orthodox Shrines at the Norfolk village of that name.

SMV: S. Mary the Virgin. The Blessed Virgin Mary; usually used with reference to churches of that name.

SMVPH: The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Primrose Hill - the first church of which Percy Dearmer was incumbent; a flagship for English Use/Parson's Handbook ceremonial.

St. Percy, Blessed Percy: Affectionate terms for Percy Dearmer, Anglican clergyman and author of the Parson's Handbook


Reference works

Bishops at Large: A famous survey of the Episcopi Vagantes phenomenon by Peter F. Anson, recently reprinted by the Apocryphile Press. Other works on the same topic include Henry Reynaud Turner Brandreth’s Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church, A.J. MacDonald’s Episcopi Vagantes in Church History , Alan Bain’s Bishops Irregular and Mellon/Pruter’s Old Catholic Sourcebook

Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite (Monsignor (now Bishop) Peter J Elliot): An updating of Fortescue (cf) for the Ordinary (1970) form of the Roman Rite.

Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described: A Roman Catholic liturgical manual relevant to celebrations of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Fortescue/Fortescue-O'Connell: A reference to the book "Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described" referred to above. Description of someone as a "Fortescue man" would imply that they follow the liturgical prescriptions in this book, or the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite more generally.

The Parson's Handbook: An Anglican liturgical manual, authored by Percy Dearmer and drawing on details of pre-Reformation English ceremonial for its liturgical directions. Description of someone as a "Parson's Handbook man" would imply that they follow the liturgical prescriptions of this book, and are a proponent of the English Use more generally.

Ritual Notes: an Anglican liturgical manual authored by a number of clergymen over different editions seeking to enrich the services of the Book of Common Prayer with liturgical practices drawn from the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and Roman Catholic ("Western") sources more generally (see Western Use.) The last edition was in 1964, coincident with the moves towards liturgical reform in the Catholic Church resulting in the Missal of Pope Paul VI.


Vestments and other Ornaments:

Biretta: A form of clerical headgear, traditionally worn liturgically by Roman Catholic priests but now rare. Still used in some Anglo-Catholic circles. Cf Canterbury Cap

Canterbury Cap: clerical headgear in the form of a soft black four-pointed cap, traditionally associated with proponents of the English Use.

Crozier: the Episcopal staff or crook.

Fiddleback of chasubles, an example the front of which is shaped like a fiddle’s back. Cf. Gothic and Spanish chasubles

Gremial: a vestment laid across the Bishop's lap when seated at Pontifical functions.

Humeral veil: a shawl or scarf-like vestment principally used by the celebrant to hold the monstrance at benediction and (in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) by the sub-deacon when holding the sacred vessels at a solemn high mass.

Mitre: Episcopal headgear. In Roman Catholic use it comes in up to three variants, depending upon the occasion upon which it is worn – simplex, auriphrygiata, and pretiosa, being of white linen or silk, cloth of gold or white silk with gold/silver bands, and gold with jewels or similar decoration, respectively.

Offertory Veil (also sudary): in certain Uses (e.g. Sarum, also features in Ordo Romanus Primus), a veil of cloth used to cover the chalice as it is brought to the altar at Mass.

Vimpa: a veil or shawl used by altar servers when holding a bishop’s crozier or mitre


Also see the Mystery Worshipper Dictionary

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Originally posted by Ned43:
Have no idea if it's still in use, since it appears to be a moot point these days:

TARP Take At Roman Position: To consume the remaining elements of the Sacrament at the altar rather than covering them up for later disposal.

Must be truly an ancient acronym.

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Originally posted by Angloid:

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Originally posted by Ned43:

TARP Take At Roman Position:

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I thought it meant 'Take the Ablutions in the Right Place'

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Originally posted by Edward Green:

quote:

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Originally posted by Ned43:

TARP Take At Roman Position: To consume the remaining elements of the Sacrament at the altar rather than covering them up for later disposal.

Must be truly an ancient acronym.

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I still follow the BCP rubrics for BCP services.

But I thought it meant Take Ablutions ... as opposed to TAWP.

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Originally posted by The Silent Acolyte:

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Originally posted by Autenrieth Road:
What is a minor proper?

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Originally posted by lukacs:
The choral settings for the introit, gradual, tract, sequence, offertory, and communion.

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Close, but no cigar.

In the old Roman Rite (and in the places where that rite is preserved or modified), the minor propers are those texts—assigned in a lectionary to a mass on a specific day—that are said or sung at the entrance (the introit), after the epistle (the gradual and the alleluia, tract or sequence, depending on the season), at the preparation of the gifts (the offertory), and after the consecration (the communion).

The priest always says these texts, but if there is a choir, the texts are also sung. Thus, by close association, the settings themselves can be called minor propers.

I'm reasonably certain someone will come along shortly to say that this post wins no cigar either, but it gets us further along the road.

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Originally posted by Banner Lady:
Can't you conflate the MW Dictionary and the Ecclesiantics Dictionary o great manipled one? Then I'd like to see the latest version stuck to the top of Eccles permanently, but this thread kept open for suggestions.

Anyway here's hoping this hasn't been put in somewhere already:

Tat: church vestments and ornamentation
Tatology: The study of such
Tatophile: One who knows a lot about High Church embellishments and outfitting
Tat Brat: One who openly admires and embraces such forms of beautification in the church
Tat Prat: One who seems to have elevated the importance of church tat above the message of the gospel

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Originally posted by Manipled Mutineer:

quote:

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Originally posted by Banner Lady:
Can't you conflate the MW Dictionary and the Ecclesiantics Dictionary o great manipled one? ....Tat: church vestments and ornamentation
Tatology: The study of such
Tatophile: One who knows a lot about High Church embellishments and outfitting
Tat Brat: One who openly admires and embraces such forms of beautification in the church
Tat Prat: One who seems to have elevated the importance of church tat above the message of the gospel

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Will do my best!

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Originally posted by hamletta:
Hey, I have a question that might be a good addition: When you talk about "facing east," is that literal, or does it just mean facing the altar?

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Originally posted by Oferyas:
Sorry to be late with this, but
T A R P = Take Ablutions (at the) Right Place.

I learned this, and much else of interest but limited use, from the late great Fr Peter Blagdon-Gamlen, whose obituary described him memorably as having a flypaper memory.

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Originally posted by Mamacita:

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Originally posted by hamletta:
Hey, I have a question that might be a good addition: When you talk about "facing east," is that literal, or does it just mean facing the altar?

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Perhaps the definition of ad orientum could be expanded to include the answer to that, and/or have a cross-reference to east or east-facing.

Meanwhile, hamletta, you could also post this question on the "Random Liturgical Questions" thread, and I'm sure you'd get an answer or three very quickly.

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Originally posted by Michael Astley:
I have responded on the "Random Questions" thread.

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Originally posted by otyetsfoma:
Father Peter Blagdon-Gamlin would interpret Tarp that way. Others understood the r to stand for roman.Orthodox do not "tarp" nor do the eastern rites under Rome.

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Originally posted by Mamacita:
Thanks to Vulpior, I have just learned the term Jumbo Jesus, a large Host scored into 24 pieces.

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Originally posted by FatherRobLyons:
I might add a second definition of Pyx: In North American usage, a small case, usually made of or plated with precious metal, similar in size and shape to a pocket watch, which is used to carry the MBS for communion outside the Church.

Rob+

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Originally posted by Angloid:

quote:

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Originally posted by FatherRobLyons:
I might add a second definition of Pyx: In North American usage, a small case, usually made of or plated with precious metal, similar in size and shape to a pocket watch, which is used to carry the MBS for communion outside the Church.

Rob+

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Nothing specifically American about that definition.

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Posted                      

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Originally posted by Angloid:

quote:

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Originally posted by FatherRobLyons:
I might add a second definition of Pyx: In North American usage, a small case, usually made of or plated with precious metal, similar in size and shape to a pocket watch, which is used to carry the MBS for communion outside the Church.

Rob+

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Nothing specifically American about that definition.

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Posted                      

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Originally posted by Mamacita:
Perhaps the definition of ad orientum could be expanded to include the answer to that, and/or have a cross-reference to east or east-facing.

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Posted                       

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Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:

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Originally posted by Mamacita:
Perhaps the definition of ad orientum could be expanded to include the answer to that, and/or have a cross-reference to east or east-facing.

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Ad orientem, please.

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I stand corrected.

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Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

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Crozier: the Episcopal staff or crook.

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That would be the Archdeacon, then?

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Irish dogs needing homes! http://www.dogactionwelfaregroup.ie/ Greyhounds and Lurchers are shipped over to England for rehoming too!

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Originally posted by LQ:
Is there any chance of a blurb in the Societies etc section on the Congregation of the Companions of the Holy Saviour? Other than celibacy, the only clue I could find about what makes them "tick" was a couple of oblique references to an Ignatian-inspired charism.

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Originally posted by A.Pilgrim:
Reading through the entry for ‘Altar call’ I was affected by a moment of cognitive dissonance. Evangelical churches don’t have altars at the front of their churches, they have communion tables. So how did the usage ‘altar call’ come about? I’ve never noticed the incongruity before, but now it’s going to bug me... (Forgive me if this is straying off-topic.)

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Originally posted by Angloid:
I wonder if it is an Anglo-catholic over-reaction to talk of 'tables' that means we are more used to using the word for the table itself?

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I've only ever used the word to mean the table itself, since before I ever heard of Anglo-Catholics.

I find "on the altar" a very strange phrase (although I've heard it among Anglicans) and assume the speaker is really saying "an the altar" and borrowing the German preposition "an" meaning "at or next to."

[ 26. May 2011, 15:57: Message edited by: Oblatus ]

Posted                      

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Originally posted by Oblatus:

I find "on the altar" a very strange phrase (although I've heard it among Anglicans) and assume the speaker is really saying "an the altar" and borrowing the German preposition "an" meaning "at or next to."

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Originally posted by Hart:
I don't think it's that Catholics use the word "altar" in a broader sense than the table, rather the phrase "on the altar" has a technical sense that can't be predicted from the compositional meanings of "on" "the" and "altar."

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Brian: You're all individuals!
Crowd: We're all individuals!
Lone voice: I'm not!

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Originally posted by Alex Cockell:
Might a definition of "worship-space" be an idea?

WQorship-space possibly being more acceptable to some than "auditorium"?

Just that us Baptists and charismatic sorts are more likely to use the term "sanctuary" to mean the entire worship-space.

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Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
I don't think we have narthexes in Britain.

Are they catching?

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Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
Church - the people of God.
Church - the people of God gathered around the Words and sacrament.

Jengie

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Definitions (4) and (5)

However, they only seem to pop up when I am talking theologically not trying to get something done.

PD

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Roadkill on the Information Super Highway!

My Assorted Rantings - http://www.theoldhighchurchman.blogspot.com

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Originally posted by Oferyas:
If I remember rightly, the Church - English Dictionary published a few years ago treated narthex as an insult, as in you steaming great narthex, I told you to put the books out...

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Originally posted by Angloid:
But isn't it also an Orthodox one? Knowledgeable shipmates please correct me if necessary, but don't they use the term 'altar' to refer to the whole sanctuary area, and 'holy table' to the holy table?

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Originally posted by Mr. Rob:

quote:

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Originally posted by Mamacita:

... practice over here is to use the base to guide the chalice to your mouth and to tip it while the server holds on to the knobby thing (which probably has a proper liturgical name but I don't know it).

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You're close. The knobby thing at the top of a chalice foot and just below the cup itself is properly called a "knop," pronounced 'nop'. Rhymes with mop.

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Originally posted by PD:

quote:

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Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
Church - the people of God.
Church - the people of God gathered around the Words and sacrament.

Jengie

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Definitions (4) and (5)

However, they only seem to pop up when I am talking theologically not trying to get something done.

PD

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