The Deist movement, beginning in late 17th-century Europe, set forth a belief in one Supreme Being and a natural, moral law common to all people. The movement influenced some American revolutionary leaders such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

The third book of the Humash or Five Books of Moses, Leviticus (or Vayikra, meaning ‘And He Called’) details the priestly obligations the formed the spiritual heart of the forty-year journey in the wilderness, as well as the basis for the later service in the Temple in Jerusalem. Leviticus is almost completely devoid of narrative, and is sometimes seen as less accessible than the other four books of the Humash, due to the fact that sacrifices are no longer a part of Jewish ritual life.

All Saints Day is November 1, the day on which the church celebrates the saints, known and unknown.

A covenant (or brit) is a mutual promise or compact between two parties. In the Jewish and Christian traditions, covenant is of deep significance in describing the mutual relationship of God and the people of faith. The major covenants in Jewish scriptures are God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15) and the Sinai/Moses covenant (Exodus 19-24) between God and Israel. For Jews, the covenant is an eternal bond between God and the people of Israel grounded in God’s gracious and steadfast concern, and calling for obedience to the divine commandments (mitzvot) and instruction (... Read more about covenant

A patriarchate is one of the sectors of the Eastern Orthodox church over which a patriarch, or senior bishop, has jurisdiction. The ancient church recognized Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Constantinople as patriarchates. Today, for example, the Greek Orthodox Church has a Patriarchate of North and South America.

The Vatican is the residence and administrative headquarters of the Pope. Located in the area around St. Peter’s basilica in Rome, it is the official headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. Vatican City is the name of the independent state headed by the Pope that includes these buildings.

Communion or holy communion—also called the Eucharist, or the Lord’s supper—is the central rite of the Christian community in which the faithful partake as a community of the sanctified bread and wine. By extension, communion is often used to refer to a family of churches that understand or observe this rite in the same way and are, thus, in communion with one another.

Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1534 and given approval by Pope Paul III in 1540. The Society of Jesus was formed both to counter the influence of the Protestant Reformation and to propagate Christianity among non-Christians. Jesuits became known for their commitment to education, scholarship, and teaching as well as their service as missionaries.

The Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox churches are a family of fourteen or fifteen churches that developed from the Church of the Byzantine Empire, which formally separated from the Church of Rome in the 11th century. Today they include the ancient patriarchates of, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, the large Greek and Russian Orthodox churches and the new Orthodox Church in America.

Transcendentalism was a movement of 19th century American thought, associated especially with Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82), Henry David Thoreau (1817-62), and subsequent liberal and Romantic thinkers. Their vision was stretched toward universalism by a vision of the Transcendent, which Emerson called the “unbounded, unboundable empire” underlying the whole universe which is, at the same time, the “one soul which animates all men.” Some would argue that this thinking came from their encounter with the sacred books of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

A chaplain is a member of the clergy who serves in a prison, a hospital, a college, or some other institution outside the context of the normal congregational life of a religious community.

Holy Week is the week preceding Easter in which the whole drama of the Christian story is recalled, from Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Nostra Aetate,”In our time,” are the first words (and thus the title words) of an important document produced by the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) addressing with new openness the relation of the Roman Catholic Church to non-Christian religions.

Calvary is the hill on the outskirts of ancient Jerusalem on which Jesus was crucified.

The first book of the Humash or Five Books of Moses, Genesis (or Bereishit, meaning ‘In the Beginning’) details the Jewish understanding of the creation of the universe, from the seven days of creation, through the Garden of Eden, ending with the events of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt (the fathers of the Twelve Tribes).