FORGED DECRETALS. A false collection of canonical decrees and epistles put forth in the ninth century under the name of Archbishop Isidore in support of Papal pretensions, which contributed largely to the final separation between the Eastern and Western Churches. GENUFLECTIONS. Bendings of the knee on the part of individuals, as tokens of voluntary personal reverence toward the Sanctuary. GLEBE. Land given for purely Church purposes. ICONOCLAST. An image-breaker. A religious party of this name caused great havoc in the East in the eighth century, as did Cromwell's adherents in England in the seventeenth. MUNIMENT-ROOM. In Cathedrals and collegiate Churches, for the preservation of charters and important papers. OFFERTORIUM. The Offertory Anthem, sung during the presentation of the Alms and Oblations. PERVERT. One who has apostatized or turned to error; especially applied to those abandoning the Church's Communion for that of Rome. PLACET. An expressed sanction or vote of assent. PONTIFF. From the Latin Pontifex Maximus, and applied to the Pope of Rome, or to a Jewish High-Priest. PROFESS, TO. To receive into a religious order by profession. SIGN OF THE CROSS. An outline traced by the hand upon the head and breast by individuals as a token of reverence, or by an officiating Priest in accompaniment of a Blessing. SUBSCRIPTION, DOCTRINAL. Signature before ordination to the constitutional declaration of belief in the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God, and of conformity to the Church's doctrine, discipline and worship. SYLLABUS. Specifically a catalogue attached to an encyclical letter of Pope Pius IX., in 1864, condemning many so-called errors, among them the principles of civil and religious liberty, and the separation of Church and State. VEST, TO. To put on an ecclesiastical Vestment, either personal or belonging to the Sanctuary. WAITS. Singers of carols out-of-doors at Christmas time. X. The symbol of our Blessed Lord. Used also in combination, as Xmas (Christmas), Xn (Christian). |