Glossary

A time when persons are relieved from their duties for study, travel, and spiritual renewal. Many clergy and some lay employees work under letters of agreement that provide periodic sabbaticals.

The Episcopal Church recognizes two sacraments: baptism and the Eucharist, both given by Christ as sure and certain means for receiving God’s grace.

A person who works in the sacristy, the room for storing and working with the various items needed for the liturgies and worship of the church.

A room adjoining a church where vestments, altar hangings and linens, sacred vessels, and liturgical books are kept until needed for use in worship.

A holy person, a faithful Christian, one who shares life in Christ. The term may also indicate one who has been formally canonized or recognized as a saint by church authority.

Liturgical dialogue of mutual greeting: “The Lord be with you”; “And also with you.” (In Rite I, the response is “And with thy spirit.”)

Eternal life in the fullness of God’s love.

Formally, the area of a church around the altar. In common usage, the entire worship space. See Nave.

From the Latin for holy, a hymn of adoration and praise which begins, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts.”

Sleeveless garment that hangs from the shoulders to the ankles.

A 19th-century Russian American who became missionary bishop to Shanghai and devoted much of his life to translating Christian writing for the Chinese people. Feast day: Oct. 14.

A formal and willful separation from the unity of the church. The earliest major schism from The Episcopal Church was the Reformed Episcopal Church in 1873, and the most recent was the establishment of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009.

An Episcopal seminary, The School of Theology at the University of the South is located in Sewanee, Tennessee. By 1878, the theological department of the university was formally organized as an Episcopal seminary. Education for Ministry (EfM) was developed at Sewanee.

See Bexley Hall Seminary

The first bishop, and later the second presiding bishop, of The Episcopal Church in the 18th century. A slaveholder and former loyalist to the British Crown, he was ordained and consecrated in Scotland after the American Revolution because he would not take an oath of allegiance to the king. Feast day: Nov. 14.

A group charged to identify candidates for the position of bishop, rector, or other ministry in the life of the church. The search often begins by clarifying the job description and qualifications.

Literally, the seat of a bishop; normally refers to the geographic area of a bishop’s ecclesiastical authority.

The city where the diocesan cathedral is located. A “see” generally refers to the geographic area of a bishop’s ecclesiastical authority.

The 19th-century first Church of England bishop of New Zealand, he encouraged churches in the English colonies to be independent of the Church of England. Feast day: April 11.

An educational institution for the formation and training of people for ordained and lay ministry.

An Episcopal seminary in Austin, Texas, established in 1952 by Bishop John Hines, and one of only two seminaries west of the Mississippi River.

A hymn sung after the second lesson and before the Gospel acclamation at the Eucharist.

A 14th-century abbot, mystic, and a patron saint of Russia. Feast day: Sept. 25.

A leading 18th-century English evangelical who was an acclaimed preacher and one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society. Feast day: Nov. 12.

Two of the 12 apostles, Simon and Jude were an evangelizing team, and tradition holds they were martyred together in 65. Feast day: Oct. 28.

A form of address for a woman who is a member of a religious order or community.

Colloquial term for the use of incense and sanctus bells in Anglo-Catholic worship intended to evoke an atmosphere of mystery and transcendence.

A canonically required body, composed of clergy and lay members elected by diocesan convention, that advises the bishop, acts on governance matters as required by the Canons, and serves as the ecclesiastical authority in the absence of a bishop.

A 20th-century American women’s rights leader and abolitionist, and organizer of the famed 1848 women’s conference in Seneca Falls, New York. Feast day: July 20, along with Amelia Bloomer and Sojourner Truth.

A devotion to the Passion of Christ marking a series of events at the end of the life of Jesus. Usually 14 stations, beginning with Jesus condemned to death and ending with being laid in the tomb.

The first Christian martyr, Stephen, a deacon, prayed for his enemies as he was being stoned to death, as recounted in Acts of the Apostles. Feast day: Dec. 26.

Our personal response to God’s generosity in the way we share our resources of time, talent, and treasure.

A long band of fabric placed behind the neck, draped over the shoulders, and hanging down the front of the body for a priest, and diagonally across the torso for a deacon, to signify the wearer’s particular order and authority.

See Bishop Suffragan

The person who has been designated as the head or presider of a religious order or community.

A 19th-century American who lost his hearing to scarlet fever, Syle was the first deaf person ordained in The Episcopal Church. Feast day: Aug. 27, along with Thomas Gallaudet.

A formal assembly or council of church leaders convened to deliberate and make decisions on matters of doctrine, discipline, governance, or policy.