An icon is a painted or mosaic image of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Trinity, or the saints which is used in the liturgy, prayer, and theology of the Eastern Orthodox churches. The icon is understood to be a window opening upon the divine reality.

A nun is a woman who renounces worldly life and is ordinarily a member of a monastic order or community, thereby undertaking a special commitment to study, service, asceticism, prayer, or disciplined spiritual practice. In the Buddhist tradition, fully ordained nuns are called bhikkhunis, those who beg alms, depending upon the laity for their food and support. The early lineage of bhikkhunis died out long ago in the Theravada traditions of South Asia, but was preserved in the Mahayana traditions of East Asia where nuns outnumber monks today in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In the Jain tradition,... Read more about nun

The Unification Church was established in 1954 by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, a Korean religious leader whose followers believe him to be the Messiah and whose writings, The Divine Principle, are accepted as a new revelation.

A cardinal is a high-ranking office in the Roman Catholic Church, conferred by the Pope and involving both ecclesiastical and administrative duties on behalf of the church. The College of Cardinals is charged with the responsibility of electing a new pope when the office becomes vacant.

Gospel means “Good News” and refers to the central message of the Christian tradition: the good news of Christ’s life and message of redemption. Gospel refers more specifically to the four books that tell the story of the Christ event and became part of the New Testament. There are other gospel accounts that were not included in the canon of the New Testament.

The Roman Catholic Church, often referred to as the Catholic Church, is the largest of the major streams of Christianity. It claims the authority of Christian tradition dating to the time of the apostles. Its representative and interpreter is the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, whose center of authority is the Vatican in Rome. The church is organized worldwide into parishes and dioceses.

The Greek term biblia means the “books.” Bible is used in both the Jewish and Christian traditions to refer to the book which gathers together their sacred writings. The Hebrew Bible includes the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings—a collection referred to as Tanakh. The Christian Bible includes the Hebrew Bible as well as the four Gospels, the Book of Acts, the apocalyptic Book of Revelation, and the letters of the apostle Paul and others.

The Christian Franciscan religious order, distinctive for its adherence to a vow of poverty, was founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209.

The Methodist church is a Protestant communion of churches which began in England with John Wesley (1703-91) and has become a worldwide movement. In the U.S., the United Methodist Church—one of the largest Protestant denominations—is known for its strong social principles and hearty evangelical spirit.

The Book of Psalms is part of the Bible cherished by both Jews and Christians as a song-book and prayer-book. It is ascribed to King David and expresses such heart-felt prayers of praise, petition, and penitence that it has become a central part of the liturgical life and the private devotions of people in both religious communities. The Bay Psalm Book of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was the first English-language book printed in the Americas.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of the season of fasting, penitence, and spiritual discipline and study called Lent, the six and one half weeks preceding Easter. For many Christians it is a day of fasting and a day on which the season ahead is symbolized by the imposition of ashes on one’s forehead.

The dispensational view is one that divides human history into eras called “dispensations.” In the premillennialist view, there are seven dispensations beginning with the Garden of Eden and ending with the Millennium and the coming of the Kingdom of God.

The Church of England is a national church that broke with the Roman Catholic Church in the English Reformation of the 16th century; the Worldwide Anglican communion, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, consists of more than thirty-eight autonomous provinces throughout the world, including the Episcopal Church in the United States.

Deism is a belief system that upholds the existence of a God using rational (rather than supernatural) grounds.

In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of forty days of preparation, study, and penitence preceding Easter.