Eastern Orthodox ChurchThe Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church and officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the head of the Catholic Church—the pope—but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognized by them as primus inter pares ("first among equals").
Full communionFull communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but typically when two or more denominations are in full communion it enables services and celebrations, such as the Eucharist, to be shared among congregants or clergy of any of them with the full approval of each.
ExcommunicationExcommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the congregation, and of receiving the sacraments. It is practiced by all of the ancient churches (such as the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox churches and the Eastern Orthodox churches) as well as by other Christian denominations, but it is also used more generally to refer to similar types of institutional religious exclusionary practices and shunning among other religious groups.
FilioqueFilioque (ˌfɪliˈoʊkwi,_-kweɪ ; filiˈokwe), a Latin term meaning "and from the Son," was added to the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (commonly known as the Nicene Creed), and has been the subject of great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. The term refers to the Son, Jesus Christ, with the Father, as the one shared origin of the Holy Spirit. It is not in the original text of the Creed, attributed to the First Council of Constantinople (381), which says that the Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father", without additions of any kind, such as "and the Son" or "alone".
Francis of AssisiGiovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, OFM, better known as Francis of Assisi (Francesco d'Assisi, Franciscus Assisiensis; 1181 – 3 October 1226), was an Italian mystic and Catholic friar who founded the Franciscans. He was inspired to lead a life of poverty as an itinerant preacher. One of the most venerated figures in Christianity, Francis was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on 16 July 1228. He is usually depicted in a brown habit with a rope around his waist with three knots, symbolizing the three Franciscan vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
First Council of ConstantinopleThe First Council of Constantinople (Concilium Constantinopolitanum; Σύνοδος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. This second ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom, except for the Western Church, confirmed the Nicene Creed, expanding the doctrine thereof to produce the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, and dealt with sundry other matters.
ConventA convent is a community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, convent means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Communion. The term convent derives via Old French from Latin conventus, perfect participle of the verb convenio, meaning "to convene, to come together". It was first used in this sense when the eremitical life began to be combined with the cenobitical.
Holy SeeThe Holy See (Sancta Sedes, ˈsaŋkta ˈsedes; Santa Sede ˈsanta ˈsɛːde), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See, Apostolic See, and Government of Vatican City, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome and sovereign of Vatican City. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome, which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Catholic Church, and sovereignty and governance over the city-state known as Vatican City.
Holy ordersIn certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders include the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox (ιερωσύνη [hierōsynē], ιεράτευμα [hierateuma], Священство [Svyashchenstvo]), Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, Independent Catholic and some Lutheran churches.
Humanae vitaeHumanae vitae (Latin: Of Human Life) is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled On the Regulation of Birth, it re-affirmed the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding married love, responsible parenthood, and the rejection of artificial contraception. In formulating his teaching he explained why he did not accept the conclusions of the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control established by his predecessor, Pope John XXIII, a commission he himself had expanded.
