Glossary of Terms

Lexington, Diocese of

The General Convention of 1895 voted to divide the Diocese of Kentucky to create a new diocese in the eastern half of the state. The Diocese of Lexington held its primary convention at Christ Church, Lexington, Dec. 4-5, 1895. Christ Church, Lexington, was dedicated as Christ Church Cathedral on Mar. 21, 1897 but was disestablished […]

Liberal Catholicism and the Modern World

This volume, published in 1934, was inspired by the English publication, Essays Catholic and Critical (1926). The volume stressed the Catholic tradition and a liberal, critical approach to biblical and historical studies. Liberal catholics wanted “to preserve the best of the past in the light of the best of the present so as to build […]

Liberal Catholicism, Liberal Catholic Movement

Liberal catholicism, as a theological development in Anglicanism, had its beginnings in the publication of Lux Mundi (1889), a collection of essays written by Oxford Anglican teachers and edited by Charles Gore. Lux Mundi took the doctrine of the Incarnation as a central theme for interpreting Christian faith in light of the conflicts which were […]

Liberal Evangelicalism

Within Anglican churches evangelicalism is the name given to the movement founded and fostered by John Wesley. Those followers of Wesley who did not stay inside the Church of England became known as Methodists. Those who remained in the Church of England formed the evangelical party, which took shape during the latter years of the […]

Liberation Theology

Gustavo Gutiérrez notes in A Theology of Liberation (1973) that the problem which liberation theology seeks to address is “what relation is there between salvation and the historical process in the liberation of man?” This distinguishes liberation theology from any attempt at making human liberation a “spiritual matter.” Gutierrez urged that “the work of salvation […]

Liberia, Diocese of

The 1844 General Convention established the Missionary District of Cape Palmas and Parts Adjacent. The first Missionary Bishop of the District was John Payne, after whom the Bishop Payne Divinity School for African Americans in Petersburg was named. In 1884 the House of Bishops elected Samuel David Ferguson Missionary Bishop. He was the first African […]

Licentiate in Theology

This serves as a certificate of successfully completed study by a seminarian, but it is not an academic degree. A student without a bachelor's degree or equivalent who has fulfilled all the requirements for the M.Div. degree is eligible for the Licentiate in Theology. Many seminaries no longer award it.

Lichtenberger, Arthur

(Jan. 8, 1900-Sept. 3, 1968). Twenty-first Presiding Bishop. Lichtenberger was a leading ecumenical churchman. He was a member of the General Board of the National Council of Churches and a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches. In 1961 he made an unofficial visit to Pope John XXIII. In that same […]

Life and Work

An early ecumenical movement seeking, along with the Faith and Order Movement, the reunion of the separated Christian churches. Unlike the Faith and Order Movement, whose principal concern was theological, Life and Work emphasized the practical cooperation of separated churches in the moral, ethical, and social application of Christian faith in the world. It stressed […]

Lifeline

The educational and fundraising publication of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief. It began publication in Dec. 1988.

Lift Every Voice and Sing II: An African American Hymnal

This collection was published in 1993 by the Church Hymnal Corporation as a supplement to The Hymnal 1982. It contains 234 hymns and songs, and thirty-six selections of service music for the Holy Eucharist. The music is drawn from the following genres: Negro spirituals, traditional and contemporary gospel songs, adapted Protestant hymns, missionary and evangelistic […]

Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Collection of Afro-American Spirituals and Other Songs

This collection was published in 1981 by the Church Hymnal Corporation as a supplement to The Hymnal (1940). The project was conceived by the Rev. Franklin D. Turner, staff officer for Black Ministries at the time, and later Suffragan Bishop of Pennsylvania. The volume contains 151 selections and reflects the religious musical heritage of African […]

Lima Document

See Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (BEM).

Lima Eucharistic Liturgy, The

A liturgy developed by Max Thurion of the Taizé community. At the meeting of the Faith and Order Commission in Lima, Peru, in 1982, some revisions were made, and the liturgy was used for the first time on Jan. 15, 1982, with J. Robert Wright, an Episcopal priest, as the celebrant. It embodies the eucharistic […]

Lima Report

” See Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (BEM).

Linkage

The newsletter of the Office of Black Ministries. It began publication in Feb. 1984. The first issue was called the Premier Absalom Jones Issue.

Litany

An intercessory prayer including various petitions that are said or sung by the leader and fixed responses by the congregation. It was used as early as the fifth century in Rome. It was led by a deacon, with the collects led by a bishop or priest. The litany was the first English language rite that […]

Litany Desk

A low kneeling desk for prayer. Historically it was placed in the midst of the church for use by the leader of the litany. It is also known as a faldstool and a prie-dieu.

Little Gidding

The home of the community and household of prayer founded by Nicholas Ferrar (Feb, 22, 1592-Dec. 4, 1637) in Huntingdonshire, England, about 18 miles from Cambridge. Ferrar and his mother and some 40 members of his extended family and household retired to this deserted estate in 1625 and dedicated themselves to a life of prayer […]

Little Hours of the Divine Office

The canonical hours of prime, terce, sext, and none. Prime was said at 6 a.m., the traditional “first hour” of prayer; terce was said at 9 a.m., the “third hour”; sext was said at 12 noon, the “sixth hour”; and none was said at 3 p.m., the “ninth hour.” These offices make up the traditional […]

An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church

Glossary of Terms