“Windows To Spirituality”
Roman Curia The Roman Curia (Romana Curia ministerium suum implent) comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. It acts in the Pope’s name and with his authority for the good and for the service of the particular churches and provides the...
Hierarchy Of The Catholic Church The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, “hierarchy” strictly means the “holy ordering” of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity (1 Cor 12). In canonical and...
Religious Institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church where its members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrated life; the other is that of the secular institute, where its members are “living in...
Birkat Hamazon Birkat Hamazon (בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, The Blessing of the Food), known in English as the Grace After Meals (בֶּענְטְשֶׁן; bentschen or “to bless”, Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish Halakha (“collective body of Jewish religious laws”) prescribes following a meal that includes at least a kezayit...
Aniconism In Christianity This article covers Aniconism in Christianity in detail. Christianity has not generally practiced aniconism, or the avoidance or prohibition of types of images, but has had an active tradition of making and venerating images of God and other religious figures. However, there are periods of aniconism in Christian...
Aniconism In Islam Aniconism is the avoidance of images of sentient beings in some forms of Islamic art. Aniconism in Islam stems in part from the prohibition of idolatry and in part from the belief that creation of living forms is God’s prerogative. Although the Quran does not explicitly prohibit...
Aniconism in Judaism Aniconism in Judaism covers a number of areas. The portrayal of God in any kind of human or concrete form is not encouraged. The Tanakh A number of verses in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) refer to prohibitions against the creation of various forms of images, invariably linked directly with idolatry. The strongest overall...
Idolatry In Judaism Idolatry in Judaism is prohibited. Judaism holds that idolatry is not limited to the worship of an idol itself, but also worship involving any artistic representations of God. In addition it is forbidden to derive benefit (hana’ah) from anything dedicated to idolatry. However, aniconism in Judaism has not prevented traditions of Jewish art at various periods....
Outline Of Judaism The following outline (Outline of Judaism) is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Judaism. Judaism (יהודה, Yehudah, “Judah”) is the religion of the Jewish people. It is an ancient, monotheistic, Abrahamic religion with the Torah as its foundational text. It encompasses the religion, philosophy, and...
Ritual Purity In Islam This article covers the importance of ritual purity in Islam. Purity (طهارة, ṭaharah) is an essential aspect of Islam. It is the opposite of najāsa, the state of being ritually impure. It is achieved by first removing physical impurities (for example, urine) from the body, and then removing ritual...
Wudu Wudu (الوضوء al-wuḍūʼ ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. Wudu consists of washing the face, arms, then wiping the head and finally washing the feet with water. Wudu is an important part of ritual purity in Islam. It is governed by fiqh (Islamic...
Jewish State The Jewish state is a characterization of the nation state of Israel as a sovereign homeland of Jewish people. Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as the homeland for the Jewish people. It was also defined in its declaration of independence as a “Jewish state,” a term that appeared in...
Apostasy In Judaism In Judaism, apostasy refers to the rejection of Judaism and possible defection to another religion by a Jew. The term apostasy is derived from Ancient Greek: ἀποστάτης, meaning “rebellious” (מורד) Equivalent expressions for apostate in Hebrew that are used by rabbinical scholars include mumar (מומר, literally “the one that was changed”), poshea Yisrael (פושע ישראל, literally,...
Persecution Of Jews Persecution of Jews has been a major part of Jewish history, prompting shifting waves of refugees throughout the diaspora communities. Historically, what began as a conflict over religious beliefs evolved into a systematic policy of political, economic, and social isolation; exclusion, degradation and attempted annihilation. It did not begin in the Nazi...
Trinity: Jewish Objections This article covers Trinity: Jewish Objections. Trinity: The fundamental dogma of Christianity; the concept of the union in one God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three infinite persons. It was the Nicene Council and even more especially the Athanasian Creed that first gave the dogma...
Jews Jews (יְהוּדִים ISO 259-2 Yehudim) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and a nation originating from the Israelites and Hebrews of historical Israel and Judah. Jewish ethnicity, nationhood, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the ethnic religion of the Jewish people, while its observance varies from strict observance to complete nonobservance. Jews originated as an ethnic...
Outline Indigenous Religions Indigenous religions or Nature Religions consist of the traditional customs and beliefs (Paganism, Animism, Totemism, Shamanism) of particular ethnic groups, refined and expanded upon for thousands of years, often lacking formal doctrine. Indigenous religions, formerly found on every continent, but now marginalized by the major organized faiths....
Greek Orthodox Church The name Greek Orthodox Church (Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἑκκλησία, Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía), or Greek Orthodoxy, is a term referring to the body of several Churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the Septuagint and the New Testament. Its history, traditions, and theology are rooted in the early Church Fathers and...
Christianity In The 1st Century Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity, from the start of the ministry of Jesus (c. 27–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles (c. 100) (and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age). Early Christianity developed out of the eschatological ministry of Jesus. Subsequent to Jesus’ death,...
Oriental Orthodox Churches The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a group of Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology and theology, with a total of 60 million members worldwide. As some of the oldest religious institutions in the world, the Oriental Orthodox Churches have played a prominent role in the history and culture of Armenia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan...
