Glossary

A 17th-century scholar and bishop, Taylor is one of the leading devotional writers in English history. Feast day: Aug. 13.

Pronounced “teck,” an acronym for The Episcopal Church. To be avoided in formal communications.

A service typically held on Wednesday of Holy Week, featuring candles and structured around psalms, readings, and responsories.

A 16th-century Spanish mystic and monastic reformer. Feast day: Oct. 15.

A seventh-century monk, scholar and reformer who served as the seventh archbishop of Canterbury. Feast day: Sept. 19.

A 15th-century German monastic, priest, and spiritual writer, who stressed the importance of imitating Christ by loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Feast day: July 24.

The apostle known for voicing the first explicit acknowledgement of Christ’s divinity, “My Lord, and my God.” Sometimes known as Doubting Thomas because he refused to believe that Jesus Christ had been resurrected without seeing him. Feast day: Dec. 21.

A small metal pot on chains in which incense is burned during the Eucharist and other liturgies.

Server or acolyte who carries and swings the thurible in which incense is burned during the Eucharist and other liturgies.

A coauthor of several of Paul’s New Testament letters, and recipient of the First and Second Letters to Timothy. Believed to have become the first bishop of Ephesus. Feast day: Jan. 26, along with Titus, another devoted companion of Paul.

Large black scarf worn by clergy over surplice and cassock at the Daily Offices and Evensong.

A spiritual discipline of Christian stewardship in which an individual offers a portion of their income to the church, traditionally one-tenth, as a grateful response to God’s love.

The portion of the Canons of The Episcopal Church that regulates disciplinary proceedings pertaining to bishops, deacons, and priests.

The recipient of the Letter to Titus, who is believed to have become the first bishop of Crete. Feast day: Jan. 26, along with Timothy, another devoted companion of Paul.

An acolyte or server who carries a torch in procession, including the Gospel procession.

Candles mounted on poles for use in the liturgy.

In a cruciform or cross-shaped church building, the parts of the building forming the two lateral arms of the cross.

The feast, celebrated on Aug. 6, that marks Jesus’ radical change of appearance while in the presence of Peter, James, and John, on a high mountain. The transfiguration revealed Christ’s glory prior to the crucifixion, and anticipated his resurrection.

The belief that the substance of Christ’s body and blood replaces the substance of the Eucharistic bread and wine. A Roman Catholic doctrine that differs from Episcopal and Anglican theology. See Real Presence.

Authorization by General Convention for temporary use of liturgical texts or rites not currently authorized, for purposes of evaluation and possible future authorization. A bishop may also permit experimental or provisional use within a diocese.

The three-day observance of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, leading up to Easter Day; may also designate any three-day period of preparation for a feast day.

Trinity means “threefold unity.” The Trinity is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (BCP, p. 852).

One of the seven principal feasts of the church year, celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost to commemorate the one and equal glory of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

A 19th-century traveling preacher, advocate for women’s rights, and abolitionist who was enslaved for the first 28 years of her life. Feast day: July 20, along with Amelia Bloomer and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

A 19th-century abolitionist who escaped from slavery and helped more than 300 others escape through the Underground Railroad. Feast day: March 10.