Glossary of Terms

Bishop-elect

A presbyter elected to the episcopate but not yet ordained and consecrated. The term may also apply to a person who is already a bishop in one jurisdiction, who has been elected to another jurisdiction, but who has not yet been officially recognized and invested with authority in that diocese.

Bishop, Provisional

A bishop authorized to serve a diocese whose own bishop is unable to fulfill that ministry due to disability or judicial sentence. The convention of a diocese may choose a bishop (or bishop coadjutor) of another diocese to take full episcopal authority until the disability or judicial sentence no longer exists or until the diocese […]

Bishop’s Staff

See Crozier, or Crosier.

Bishops

Bishops also preside at services of Confirmation, Reception, or Reaffirmation. Bishops bless altars and fonts, and the blessing of chalices and patens and church bells are traditionally reserved for the bishop. In the Episcopal Church, diocesan and suffragan bishops are elected by Diocesan Convention. Bishops-elect are ordained and consecrated after consents have been received from […]

Bishops’ Crusade

The Commission on Evangelism, in July, 1925, made an impassioned report to the National Council concerning evangelism and the church. It called for the Episcopal Church to make evangelism its top priority. It was decided that the initial step in a program of evangelism would take the form of a nationwide effort to rouse the […]

Black Fast

The custom of observing the two great Prayer Book fast days, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, by eating no food at all. This was observed as a pious custom by some devout church people in the nineteenth century in imitation of the fasting of the ancient church.

Black Letter Days

Lesser feasts of the church year. About sixty-seven lesser feasts were added to the calendar of the English Prayer Book in 1567. These lesser feasts became known as black-letter days. They were distinguished from the major feasts which were known as red-letter days. That term reflects the early practice of printing Prayer Book calendars in […]

Black Rubric, The

Name usually given to the “Declaration on Kneeling” that was printed at the end of the rite for Holy Communion in the 1552 BCP. The “Declaration” was understood to deny the real presence in the eucharistic elements. This statement was removed in the 1559 BCP, but replaced in the 1662 BCP in an altered version […]

Blair, James

(c. 1656-Apr. 18, 1743). Commissary to Virginia and Founder of the College of William and Mary. He was born in Scotland. Blair received his M.A. from the University of Edinburgh in 1673. He was ordained in the Church of Scotland in late June or early July, 1679. He moved to England and was ordained in […]

Blandina

(d. 177). She was a virgin slave girl. Blandina was one of forty-eight Christians who were martyred at Lyons, France, during a persecution by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Her heroic courage is described in a “Letter of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne,” which was preserved by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History. Blandina and the […]

Blasphemy

An expression of contempt for God. A Scottish jurist in the seventeenth century characterized it as “treason against God.” The term has been used differently in different eras. Understandings of what constitutes blasphemy have changed with changing sensibilities, social norms, and political considerations. The Judeo-Christian tradition rejects blasphemy on the basis of Ex 22:28, “You […]

Blessed Sacrament

The term may indicate the sacrament of the eucharist, or the consecrated eucharistic elements of bread and wine, or the reservation of the consecrated elements. Christ's body and blood are understood to be really present in the consecrated bread and wine. See Eucharistic Adoration.

Blessing

l) A sacerdotal pronouncement of God's love and favor, addressed to one or more persons. The BCP prescribes forms of blessing to be used by a bishop or priest prior to the dismissal in Rite 1 eucharistic liturgies. Although no form of blessing is required in the Rite 2 eucharistic liturgies, all four Rite 2 […]

Bliss, William Dwight Porter

(Aug. 20, 1856-Oct. 8, 1926). Priest and social reformer. He was born in Constantinople, the son of missionaries. He received his B.A. from Amherst College in 1878 and his B.D. from the Hartford Theological Seminary in 1882. After several years as a Congregationalist minister, he became an Episcopalian. He was ordained deacon on June 16, […]

Blood Theology

In the OT “blood” denotes life, especially the life of a sacrificial animal poured out in death. In the NT it denotes the sacrificial death of Christ inaugurating the new covenant in which the faithful partake in the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:25). Blood theology typically concerns the saving benefits of Christ's sacrifice on the […]

Bloomer, Amelia Jenks

(May 27, 1818-Dec. 30, 1894). Social reformer. She was born in Homer, Cortland County, New York. She married Dexter C. Bloomer, editor of the Seneca County Courier. With his encouragement, she began to publish articles in newspapers on moral and social issues. Bloomer was baptized at Trinity Episcopal Church, Seneca Falls. She attended the first […]

Bloy House

See Episcopal Theological School at Claremont (Bloy House).

Blue Book

A book containing reports from boards, committees, and commissions for the General Convention. It is distributed to delegates and other participants prior to General Convention. The first "Blue Book" was published for the sixty-fourth General Convention, Oct. 11-Oct. 29, 1973, which met at Louisville, Kentucky. It was entitled The Blue Book: Supplement. The name is […]

Blue Box (Bishop Gordon’s Airplane in Alaska)

In 1952 the United Thank Offering appropriated money to purchase a Cessna 170 airplane for Bishop William Gordon of Alaska. The plane was named after the “blue box” that the women used to raise funds for their projects. A replica of a “blue box” was painted on the plane. A year later, a second plane, […]

Blue Box (UTO)

Also called “mite boxes,” these small, blue, cardboard boxes are used to collect funds for the United Thank Offering, sponsored by the Episcopal Church Women. The name was first used at the General Convention of 1925. Mary Abbot Emery, first secretary of the Women's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions, and Mrs. Richard Soule of […]

An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church

Glossary of Terms