Glossary of Terms
Liturgy
The church’s public worship of God. The term is derived from Greek words for “people” and “work.” The church’s public worship of God is the work of the Christian people. The life of Christ active in the church by the Spirit is expressed through liturgy. In ancient Greece, liturgy indicated work done for the public […]
Liturgy and Music, Standing Commission on
An interim body of the General Convention created in 1997. This commission combines the work and responsibilities of two previous bodies, the Standing Liturgical Commission and the Standing Commission on Church Music.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
The second half of the eucharistic service, from the offertory to the end of the eucharistic rite. It is also known as the liturgy of the table. It is named the Holy Communion in the BCP (p. 361). It follows the liturgy of the word. The liturgy of the eucharist includes the Great Thanksgiving, the […]
Liturgy of the Lord’s Supper was presented to the 1967 General Convention and approved for trial use
It was also in 1967 that the General Convention approved the constitutional change allowing trial use for liturgical revision. Responses to this eucharistic rite influenced Services for Trial Use, a series of rites authorized by the 1970 General Convention. Subsequent publications in the process of trial use for Prayer Book revision included Authorized Services 1973 […]
Liturgy of the Lord’s Supper, The (1966)
A book containing a eucharistic rite for trial use, along with study materials concerning the process of liturgical revision, the problem of liturgical norms, new perspectives in liturgical renewal, and a detailed rationale for the proposed revision of the eucharistic rite. Its appendices included a document of an Inter-Anglican Committee on the structure and contents […]
Liturgy of the Table
A convenient, frequently used term for the portion of the eucharistic rite which is celebrated at the altar (holy table), titled “The Holy Communion” in the BCP. It consists of four basic actions: preparation of the table, the eucharistic prayer or Great Thanksgiving, the breaking of the bread, and the ministration of communion. These actions […]
Liturgy of the Word
The first part of the eucharist, centered upon the proclamation of the Word of God, preceding the Great Thanksgiving. The BCP identifies this part of the eucharist as the Word of God (p. 355). Since it precedes the Great Thanksgiving (the anaphora), it is known as the Pro-anaphora. It is also known as the ministry […]
Living Church Annual, The
See Episcopal Church Annual, The.
Living Church, The
A weekly magazine dedicated to serving the Episcopal Church, The Living Church was founded in 1878 and published in Chicago under the editorship of the Rev. Charles W. Leffingwell. It soon achieved nationwide readership. Leffingwell established the policy still followed of providing honest news and articles on church-related topics for the entire Episcopal Church, while […]
Living the Good News, or Colorado Curriculum
A Christian education curriculum based on the common lectionary. It was begun in the Diocese of Colorado in 1976 as a six-week program. It is sometimes referred to as the “Colorado Curriculum.” Living the Good News emphasizes the heritage of the Episcopal Church, the sacraments, and the Prayer Book. The curriculum also emphasizes the liturgical […]
Lloyd, Arthur Selden
(May 3, 1857-July 22, 1936). Bishop and president of the Board of Missions. He was born in Mt. Ada, Alexandria County, Virginia. Lloyd received his B.A. in 1877 from the University of Virginia, and his B.D. from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1880. He was ordained deacon on June 25, 1880, and priest on June 24, […]
Lloyd’s Clerical Directory
In 1898 the Rev. Frederick Ebenezer John Lloyd, rector of Trinity Church, Hamilton, Ohio, published a volume patterned on the English Crockford's Clerical Directory. It was entitled Lloyd's Clerical Directory for 1898: Being a Statistical Book of Reference for Facts Relating to the Clergy, Parishes and Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United […]
Local priest
See Canon 9 clergy.
Locum tenens
A member of the clergy who temporarily fills the office of another. From the Latin, “to hold a place.” A substitute or deputy. The position may be known as a locum tenency.
Logos
Greek for “word,” used in various senses. The term is used for the Christian message or kerygma, which is the proclamation of God's saving act in Jesus Christ. It is also used as a christological term, which is believed to have originated from use in Hellenistic Judaism as a synonym for the divine wisdom. In […]
London Company
See Virginia Company of London.
London, Bishop of
From the earliest days of the Virginia colony the Bishop of London had a vague responsibility for the Church of England in the American colonies. This may have been because Bishop John King of London was a member of the first Council of the Virginia Company. William Laud was Bishop of London from 1628 until […]
Long Island, Diocese of
The 1868 General Convention voted to divide the Diocese of New York and establish a new diocese. The new diocese included the following counties: Brooklyn, Nassau, Queens, and Suffolk. The primary convention of the new diocese met at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Brooklyn, on Nov. 18-19, 1868, and adopted the name the Diocese […]
Lord, have mercy or with silent prayer
Audible intercession virtually disappeared from the Mass in the west during the middle ages, until Cranmer revived it in his "prayer for the whole state of Christ's Church." In Cranmer's 1549 and 1552 versions of the BCP, however, intercession retained its medieval character as a responsibility of the priest. Modern liturgical revisers restored general intercessions […]
Lord, The
The term is an English translation of several words from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek indicating a person or deity with power and authority. The Hebrew Adon indicates a superior or human master, with Adonai used almost exclusively for divine lordship. The BCP notes that Adonai is used in the Psalms with reference to God, and […]
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.