Doctrine – an official teaching of the Church. Doctrinal
beliefs do not change, but they may be elaborated upon or explained in new
ways.
Dogma – a Church teaching which is considered part of Divine
Revelation.
Encyclical – a circular letter written by a Pope and shared
with all of the bishops, clergy, and Christian Faithful. In the last few
decades encyclicals have been social in nature – addressing the whole world and
the problems facing it.
Ecumenism – efforts on the part of leaders of different
Christian denominations to work toward unity of belief or practice.
Laity – all the Christian faithful who have not received the
sacrament of Holy Orders.
Consecrated life – a life set aside for service to God and
man by professing vows. Typically consecrated individuals live in community
with others and according to a particular Religious Rule.
Vows – binding promises or agreements such as those between
a husband and wife, between a priest and his bishop, or between the member of a
religious order and his or her superior.
Religious / diocesan – Religious Priests are members of a
particular religious order whereas diocesan priests serve the Church within a
particular diocese.
Deacon – a clergyman who is dedicated to charitable service.
Catholic deacons can either be men who are in the final phase of preparation
for the priesthood or men (even married men) who have secular jobs but are
committed to ministry.
Priest – a clergyman ordained to celebrate the sacrifice of
the mass, hear confessions, and celebrate other sacraments. Priests serve as
pastors of parishes and fulfill other duties. They are co-workers with the
bishops in serving the people of God.
Bishop – a clergyman ordained to the fullness of the
priesthood, a bishop is the successor to the Apostles. His ministry is that of
overseer or administrator of a diocese. He ensures unity within the diocese and
with the universal Church.
College of cardinals – the group of advisors selected by the
pope to assist him in the affairs of the Church. Upon the death of a pope, the
cardinals gather at the Vatican, seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and
select a new pope. Typically the new pope is himself one of the cardinals, and
typically the cardinals are bishops, though neither of these is the rule.
Pope – the bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter as head of
the Universal Church, he is the Vicar of Christ on Earth.
Eschatology – The study of the End of Time or the “last
things”, namely death, judgment, heaven, & hell.
Parousia – the second coming of Christ at the end of time to
judge the living and the dead.
Pantocrator – the title of a particular style of image
portraying Jesus as the Divine Lawgiver and Judge, it is usually a stern-faced
Christ holding a book of the Gospels.
Communion of Saints – the union of all believers, past,
present, and future – in the one Body of Christ. This union transcends space,
time, and even death.
Veneration – the rightful respect that we show toward
persons and sacred objects (relics, images, the book of the Gospels, etc.)
Worship – praise and adoration, this is reserved for God
alone. To offer worship to anything other than God would be idolatry and a
violation of the Commandments.
Purgatory – the state of purification of the soul that
follows death. Purgatory is always a temporary state before the soul passes on
to heaven. Guilt is forgiven by Christ, but temporal consequences of sin
remain. It is during purgatory that the soul is purified of the consequences of one’s sinful actions.
Heaven – The ultimate spiritual happiness of fully seeing,
knowing, and loving God for all eternity.
Hell – The state of eternal separation from God for those
who refuse his mercy and forgiveness.
Final Judgment – the universal judgment of the souls of all
the living and the dead at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. (sometimes called general judgment)
Personal Judgment – the judgment of the individual soul by
God immediately upon death. (sometimes called particular judgment)
Indulgence – the remission of the temporal consequences of
sins (already forgiven). This remission flows from the charitable nature of the
deed performed and the degree to which one performs it.
St. Ignatius of Antioch – a first Century bishop of Syria,
ordained by St. Peter. He wrote a series of letters expounding upon the nature
of the bishop and his role within the Church, Christian morality, and the grace
of martyrdom. He was martyred at Rome in the early 2nd Century,
being eaten by wild beasts.
No comments:
Post a Comment