Glossary of Terms
Keith, Reuel
(June 26, 1792-Sept. 1, 1842). Seminary professor and prominent low churchman. He was born in Pittsford, Vermont, and educated at Middlebury College in Vermont. He studied for the ordained ministry under John Prentiss Kewly Henshaw, later Bishop of Rhode Island, and at the Andover Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon on May 10, 1817, and […]
Kelleran, Marion Macdonald
(Apr. 20, 1905-June 27, 1985). Leader of the Anglican Communion and seminary professor. She was born in Byng Inlet, Ontario, Canada. Kelleran received her B.A. in 1926 from the University of Buffalo and did graduate study at Union Theological Seminary, New York, Harvard University, and the Episcopal Divinity School. She married the Rev. Harold C. […]
Kemp, James
(May 20, 1764-Oct. 28, 1827). Second Bishop of Maryland. He was born in the parish of Keith Hall, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and raised a Presbyterian. Kemp graduated from Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1786, and came to America in the next year. He was attracted to the Episcopal Church and read for holy orders under the Rev. […]
Kempe, Margery
(c. 1373-d. after 1433). English mystic of the medieval period. She was born in Lynn, Norfolk, England. She was the wife of John Kempe, burgess of Lynn, by whom she had 14 children. After a period of mental illness, she received several visions. She and her husband went on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. In 1413 […]
Kemper College
Nineteenth-century college named for the Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, the first Missionary Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Kemper had concluded that the only hope for supplying the west with clergy was to train westerners in the west. On Jan. 13, 1837, a charter for a college was granted with the qualification that the trustees would […]
Kemper, Jackson
(Dec. 24, 1789-May 24, 1870). First missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was born in Pleasant Valley, New York. He graduated from Columbia College in 1809 and studied for the ordained ministry under Bishop John Henry Hobart of New York. Kemper was ordained deacon on Mar. 10, 1811, and priest on Jan. 23, 1814. […]
Kempis, Thomas
(c. 1380-July 25, 1471). See Thomas à Kempis.
Ken, Thomas
(July 1637-Mar. 19, 1711). Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1685-1691, Ken wrote devotional literature still popular among Anglicans, especially The Practice of Divine Love (1685). He was an important figure in early English hymnody, and two of his hymns are in The Hymnal 1982: “Awake, my soul, and with the sun” (Hymn 11), and “All […]
Kenosis
A Greek term which means “emptying.” It appears in the christological hymn of Phil 2:6-11, where it means the giving up of divine glory by the eternal Son of God when he became incarnate. The Anglican theologian Charles Gore (1853-1932) popularized the term in Anglican theology as an explanation of the limitations of our Lord's […]
Kent School
Founded in 1906 by Frederick Herbert Sill of the Order of the Holy Cross, it is a coeducational Episcopal secondary school located in Kent, Connecticut. Sill envisioned the school as integral to the mission of his order and dedicated to the education of boys from families with modest financial means. He began classes at Kent […]
Kentucky, Diocese of
The Diocese of Kentucky was organized on July 8, 1829, at Christ Church, Lexington. The General Convention of 1895 divided the Diocese and created the Diocese of Lexington. The Diocese of Kentucky covers the western half of the state, including the following counties: Adair, Allen, Ballard, Barren, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Carroll, Christian, […]
Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio
A coeducational, four-year liberal arts college founded by the Rt. Rev. Philander Chase, the first Bishop of Ohio, who wanted to establish “a school for the education of young men for the ministry.” He went to England to raise money for the project and met two of his greatest benefactors, Lord Kenyon and Lord Bexley. […]
Kerygma
1) A Greek term used in the NT to mean either the content or act of proclamation or preaching. The term began to be used in English and other modern western languages early in the twentieth century to signify the core of the Christian gospel. C. H. Dodd's The Apostolic Preaching and Its Developments (1936) […]
Key, Francis Scott
(Aug. 1, 1779-Jan. 11, 1843). Episcopal layman and author of “The Star Spangled Banner.” He was born in Frederick, now Carroll, County, Maryland. Key studied at St. John's College, Annapolis, 1789-1796. After graduation he studied law in Annapolis. On Sept. 13-14, 1814, the British were firing on Fort McHenry in the Chesapeake Bay. Key was […]
Keyser, Harriette Amelia
(July 27, 1841-Oct. 9, 1936). Social reformer who lived and worked in New York City for almost a century. She was active in the labor movement and the campaign for women's suffrage. From 1896-1926 she served as executive secretary of the Church Association for the Interests of Labor (CAIL), at times also editing its journal, […]
King Hall, Howard University (Washington, D
C.). From its beginning, Howard University in Washington, D.C., had a Theological Department to train African American ministers. On Jan. 15, 1889, the Board of the University resolved that the University would be glad to associate with denominations that might desire to establish divinity schools under their auspices and cooperate with them in giving the […]
King James (Authorized Version of the) Bible (KJV)
This English translation of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament, including the Apocrypha, was produced by Anglican bishops and other divines in 1611. It was undertaken in response to a request at the Hampton Court Conference, which was summoned by King James I of England and VI of Scotland in an […]
King, Martin Luther, Jr.
(Jan. 15, 1929-Apr. 4, 1968). Civil rights leader. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son and grandson of African American Baptist preachers. He received his B.A. from Morehouse College in 1948 and was ordained a Baptist minister on Feb. 25, 1948. King received his M.Div. from the Crozer Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, in 1951. While […]
King’s Chapel, Boston
The first Anglican church in Massachusetts, it also became the earliest recognized Unitarian congregation in America after the Revolution. The parish was organized on June 15, 1686, and the church building was opened for worship on June 30, 1689. King's Chapel remained an Anglican stronghold in Puritan New England throughout the colonial period. When British […]
King’s College, New York City
On Oct. 31, 1754, King George II of England granted the charter for King's College. On Nov. 22, 1753, the trustees invited the Rev. Samuel Johnson, rector of Stratford Parish in Connecticut, to be president. On July 17, 1754, Johnson began instruction in the vestry room of the schoolhouse of Trinity Church, New York City. […]
Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.