Religion Past and Present

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Edited by: Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning†, Bernd Janowski and Eberhard Jüngel

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Religion Past and Present (RPP) Online is the online version of the updated English translation of the 4th edition of the definitive encyclopedia of religion worldwide: the peerless Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG). This great resource, now at last available in English and Online, Religion Past and Present Online continues the tradition of deep knowledge and authority relied upon by generations of scholars in religious, theological, and biblical studies. Including the latest developments in research, Religion Past and Present Online encompasses a vast range of subjects connected with religion.

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Caacupé

(164 words)

Author(s): Bussmann, Claus
[German Version] Capital of the Departamento de Cordillera, Paraguay, 55 km ESE of Asunción. It is the most important place of pilgrimage (III) in the country, where the Virgen de los Milagros (Virgin of Miracles) is venerated. The major festival on Dec 8 (Immaculata Conceptio) and the founding legend suggest that the origins were in the period of the early Franciscan mission, primarily under L. Bolaños (1549–1629). However, the place Caacupé (“behind the woods”)…

Cabanagem

(160 words)

Author(s): Hoornaert, Eduardo
[German Version] The Cabanagem uprising, begun in 1832 and bloodily put down in 1849, was a revolt of local caboclos (catechumens) of Indian and African descent against the Portuguese colonial regime, which ruled the entire lower Amazon (Brazil). In the 17th and early 18th centuries, Jesuits and other missionaries had sought to impose a uniform Catholic Indian culture on the diverse peoples of Amazonia and therefore had established Nheengatu or Tupí as the lingua franca. When the missionaries were expelled in 1759, the disastrous results of these policies b…

Cabeiri

(201 words)

Author(s): Auffarth, Christoph
[German Version] The two or perhaps more Cabeiri constitute a nameless group of gods for whom local cults were established in the eastern and northern Aegean. A cult in mainland Greece existed only in Boeotia. Sometimes identified with other cultic groups such as the Curetes, ¶ the Corybants, the Dioscuri or the Daktyloi, they reflect male cultic associations to which admittance was effected through initiation (Rites of passage). The mysteries of Samothrace, in which especially seafaring persons sought to acquire protec…

Cabot, Richard Clarke

(164 words)

Author(s): Evison, Ian
[German Version] (May 21, 1868, Brookline, MA – May 8, 1939, Cambridge, MA), physician in Boston, MA; together with E. Worcester and others, and with the Emmanuel movement, he was concerned with the introduction of methods of group therapy which aimed to combine somatic and psychological treatments. With A Plea for a Clinical Year in the Course of Theological Education (Survey 55 of Dec 1, 1925) Cabot's involvement in the reformation of theological education commenced. He envisioned a general reform moving away from the traditional academi…

Cabrol, Fernand

(159 words)

Author(s): Lurz, Friedrich
[German Version] (Dec 11, 1855, Marseille – Jun 4, 1937, St. Leonard's-on-Sea), a Benedictine liturgist and patristics scholar, was prior of Solesmes and professor of church history at the University of Angers ¶ from 1890 to 1896; in 1896 he moved to Farnborough, England, where he became the first abbot in 1903. As author of numerous works on liturgical and ecclesiastical history, he stood in the Solesmes tradition. Motivated by a problematic idealization of early worship, he left his mark on subsequent liturgical scholarship, above all through the Dictionnaire d’archéologi…

Cadbury, Henry Joel

(158 words)

Author(s): Grant, Robert M.
[German Version] (Dec 1, 1883, Philadelphia – Oct 7, 1974, Bryn Mawr), New Testament scholar. Born a Quaker, Cadbury had to leave Haverford College after publicly denouncing wartime hatred, but was secretary of the Society of Biblical Literature (1916–1933), and even its president (1936). He taught at Bryn Mawr (1926–1934) and Harvard (Hollis Professor of Divinity) (1934 –1954). He also served as chairman of the American Friends Service Committee (1928–1934 and 1944–1960) and played an important part in the editing of the Revised Standard Version of the NT. His books, including The M…

Caeremoniale

(255 words)

Author(s): Klöckener, Martin
[German Version] Appearing in the 12th century, the Caeremoniale or “Ceremonial” is a book regulating especially the ceremonial shape of papal and episcopal liturgy, and to some extent also of religious orders. It is not a book of celebration and is not used in liturgy itself. The oldest editions are primarily concerned with arranging the external details of papal liturgy, as for example in papal elections (Pope, Election of), papal consecrations and coronations, …

Caesarea

(319 words)

Author(s): Meyers, Eric M.
[German Version] The great port city on the Mediterranean coast on the Sharon plain was named by Herod the Great for Caesar Augustus. It became a Roman colony under Vespasian and a metropolis under Severus Alexander. The name “Caesarea Maritima” was unknown in antiquity, though today it may connote the Roman harbor, which is under water. The Hellenistic town on which the Roman city was built was called “Strato's Tower” and is mentioned in the Zeno papyri. A Jewish population was introduced to the city in c. 100 bce, when Alexander Jannaeus captured it. Herod's Caesarea was h…

Caesarea Philippi

(220 words)

Author(s): Weber, Thomas
[German Version] (modern Baniyas) is located southwest of Mount Hermon on a tributary of the Jordan; it was the site of a battle between the Ptolemies (Ptolemaic dynasty) and the Seleucids in 200 bce. Originally called Paneas, it was renamed Kaisáreia hē Philíppou (Lat. Caesarea Philippi) after the tetrarch Philip rebuilt it and set up a temple of Augustus in 3 bce. For a time the city was called Neronias in honor of the emperor Nero. Its chief deity was the Greek Pan, who was worshiped alongside Zeus (Olybris, Heliopolitanus),…

Caesar, Gaius Julius

(717 words)

Author(s): Cancik, Hubert
[German Version] The word “Caesar” has three senses: (a) a branch of the Julian clan ( gens Julia), which traced its genealogy through Aeneas back to Aphrodite; (b) a title (cf. Mark 12:13–17; Acts 25:11) and the office of supreme ruler (cf. OHG keisar, Russian Tsar); (c) the personification of a modern conception of antique greatness, drive, and genius, which can be interpreted as the antithesis of Christian humility, passivity, and “foolishness” (F. Nietzsche: “Caesar figure,” “Jesus figure”; Gundolf). The best-known representative of the gens Julia is C. Julius Caesar (100–44 bce).…

Caesarius of Arles (Saint)

(300 words)

Author(s): Zelzer, Michaela
[German Version] (469/470, Chalon-sur-Saône – Aug 24, 542, Arles). At the age of 20, Caesarius entered the famous island monastery of Lérins in southern Gaul, where he was noted for his particularly ascetic life. Sent to Arles to recover his health, which had suffered from his asceticism, he was ordained priest by Aeonius, the bishop of Arles, made abbot of the monastery of Trinquetaille on an island in the Rhone, and designated as Aeonius's successor. For 40 yea…

Caesarius of Heisterbach

(194 words)

Author(s): Lawo, Mathias
[German Version] (c. 1180 – after 1240) was educated at Cologne (school of St. Andrew, cathedral school); in 1199 he entered the Cistercian monastery at Heisterbach, where he is documented as novice master in 1221 (Neininger). He became prior some time after 1226. An incomplete catalogue ¶ ( Epistola catalogica, c. 1240) of his works, all in Latin, comprises 36 entries (14 previously unknown) – besides lost anti-heretical polemics, a few exegetical works, approx. 200 homilies and sermons interspersed with exempla, but also historical and hagiographic writings: a Continuatio catalog…

Caesaropapism

(264 words)

Author(s): de Wall, Heinrich
[German Version] denotes a combined secular and ecclesiastical government in which the secular ruler, who enjoys a special religious status, exercises authority over the church even in spiritual and internal affairs. Since J.H. Böhmer at the beginning of the 18th century, the term has been applied particularly to the ecclesiastical authority of the emperors from Constantine the Great until the Investiture Controversy, above all for the system in the Eastern Roman…

Cage, John

(301 words)

Author(s): Mohr, Burkhard
[German Version] (Sep 15, 1912, Los Angeles – Aug 12, 1992, New York). As a composer, performance artist, and designer of, among other things, prints (situated on the borderline between musical score and figurative art), John Cage was one of the major driving forces behind the artistic avant-garde of the 20th century. While studying under Arnold Schönberg and Henry Cowell, it had already become apparent that he was not concerned with academically correct musical …

Caiaphas

(197 words)

Author(s): Horn, Friedrich Wilhelm
[German Version] (Caiphas; Aram. Qayafa on an ossuary), in the New Testament always Καϊάφας or Καϊ  ϊφᾶς (manuscripts), in Josephus ( Ant. XIII, 95) ᾽Ιωσήφος ὁ Καϊ  ϊάφας/ Iōsḗphos ho Kaïáphas, where it seems to be an epithet. The Roman prefect Valerius Gratus installed Caiaphas as high priest (III) in 18 ce, and the Syrian governor Vitellius deposed him in 36 ce ( Ant., loc. cit.). The office of high priest had been awarded discretionarily since the Herodians (Herod/Herodian dynasty). Caiaphas achieved this long period in office only through t…

Cain and Abel

(1,259 words)

Author(s): Janowski, Bernd | Zchomelidse, Nino
[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. Art History I. Old Testament Cain and Abel, the children of the first human couple Adam and Eve, are the protagonists of one of the characteristic fraternal narratives of the book of Genesis (cf. Jacob and Esau). Their names are semantically associated with the pre- or non-priestly Paradise narrative of Gen 3*: While the meaning “transitoriness” may be discerned in the name Abel (הֶבֶל, Gen 4:2, 4, 8f., 25), the name Cain (קַיִן, Gen 4:1–25, Tubal-Cain Gen 4:22 [a description of metallurgical skills], as a tribal name in Nu…

Cainites

(69 words)

Author(s): Hanig, Roman
[German Version] A mainstream church designation for “heretics,” and especially for 2nd century Gnostics who effected a reassessment of the OT and venerated Cain as well as Judas Iscariot (use of the “Gospel of Judas” [ NTApo I, 61990, 309f.]; Iren. Haer. I 31.1f.; Ps.-Tert., Adversus omnes haereses 2.5f.; Epiph. Haer. 38). Roman Hanig Bibliography Sources: W. Foerster, ed., Die Gnosis: Zeugnisse der Kirchenväter, 1995, 57–59 (Ger. trans.)

Cairouan

(7 words)

[German Version] North Africa

Caitanya

(194 words)

Author(s): Michaels, Axel
[German Version] (Feb 27, 1486, Nadia/Navadvīpa – c. Jul 9, 1533, Puri), commonly known as Viśvambhara Miśra, also as Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya (lit. “one whose consciousness is Kṛṣṇa ”). After a mystical encounter with Kṛṣṇa ¶ (Kṛṣṇa) Caitanya became a leading holy man of (Bengali or Gauḍīya-) Vaiṣṇavism and of bhakti piety. The brahmin Caitanya preached a personal, loving Brahman and a unio mystica with Kṛṣṇa, which is understood to be expressed in his unification with his lover, the cowherd Rādhā. His followers honor him as an avatāra of Kṛṣṇa or as an androgynous …

Cajetan of Tiene, Saint

(128 words)

Author(s): Smolinsky, Heribert
[German Version] (Gaietano; 1480, Vicenza – Aug 7, 1547, Naples), founder of the Theatine Order. In 1524, after studying law and serving as a lawyer to the Roman Curia, together with Gian Pietro Carafa (later Pope Paul IV) and others, Cajetan founded the Order of Theatines, a clerical reform community which quickly spread through Italy. Cajetan worked to maintain a strict form of orthodox Roman Catholicism. From 1533 to 1547 he was almost continuously in N…

Cajetan, Thomas de Vio

(305 words)

Author(s): Wicks, Jared
[German Version] (Giacomo de Vio; Feb 20, 1469, Gaeta – Aug 10, 1534, Rome). When Cajetan joined the order of the Dominicans in 1484, he assumed the name Thomas, but was later called “Caietanus” after his place of birth. In Padua in 1494 he defended Thomistic positions against Duns Scotus and the Averroists (Averroism). After treatises on being, essence and analogy, Cajetan's commentary on Aristotle’ De anima (1509) questioned philosophical arguments for the immortality of the soul, while regarding it as revealed – leading some to link Cajetan wi…

Cakra

(201 words)

Author(s): Schetelich, Maria
[German Version] (Sanskrit “wheel”), in Indian religions, describes dynamic movement and energy in many different forms as well as the self-containment of a system or circle. Thus in Buddhism and Jainism the dharma cakra (Dharma) symbolizes the spread of teachings. In Hinduism cakra is one of the attributes of Viṣṇu as world ruler. Kuṇḍalinī-yoga defines the seven overlapping energy centers in the human body as cakras which have to be set in motion by means of yoga exercises, in order to activate the functions of life and, as energy rises from the lowest to the uppermost cakra, to bring ab…

Cakravartin

(191 words)

Author(s): Schetelich, Maria
[German Version] (Sanskrit “wheel-mover”), in all Indian religions a term for the world-conqueror. A cakravartin is marked out as an extraordinary person by marks on his body. His attributes are a wheel and insignia of dominion. He is victorious by virtue of his behavior or his just teaching. The difference between the cakravartin concept in Hinduism and Buddhism/ Jainism lies in the goal of world dominion. In Hinduism the cakravartin removes the disruption of the world by demons and antigods; his central power base is formed by dharma and truth. The embodiment of cakravartin here is …

Calamy, Edmund

(168 words)

Author(s): Watts, Michael R.
[German Version] (Apr 5, 1671, London – Jun 3, 1732, London), nonconformist minister and biographer, and son and grandson of nonconformist ministers of the same name (Dissenters). Following the restoration of the Stuarts and the reinstallation of Charles II to the English throne (1660) English and Welsh clergymen were required by the Act of Uniformity of 1662 to give the Anglican Book of Common Prayer their “unfeigned assent.” The first two Edmund Calamys were among the 2029 clergy and lecturers who were deprived of their posts r…

Calcidius

(148 words)

Author(s): Enders, Markus
[German Version] (Chalcidius), Christian philosopher, whose dates are disputed. Either in the first half or at the end of the 4th century, he composed a Latin translation of the first, cosmological section of Plato's Timaios 17A–53C and a corresponding commentary, in which – with reference to Middle Platonic sources in particular (Numenius) – he drew up a hierarchy of metaphysical entities in which divine Providence was identified with divine Will and Reason and made superior to Fate, which rules all things, including the world soul, though humans, gifted with reason, do not nec¶ essari…

Calderón de la Barca, Pedro

(540 words)

Author(s): Geisler, Eberhard
[German Version] (Jan 17, 1600, Madrid – May 25, 1681, Madrid). Calderón, along with Lope de Vega, is considered the most important Spanish dramatist of the 17th century. Appointed court dramatist in 1635 and ordained priest in 1651, he composed cloak-and-dagger pieces (concerned primarily with the theme of honor), historical, philosophical, mythological, and religious dramas, as well as Corpus Christi pieces ( Autos sacramentales). In what is probably his best-known work, Life is a Dream (1636), the Jesuit student engages the question of the relationship betwe…

Caleb

(8 words)

[German Version] Tribes of Israel

Calendar

(3,500 words)

Author(s): Mohn, Jürgen | Lichtenberger, Hermann | Meßner, Reinhard | Gerö, Stephen | Nagel, Tilman | Et al.
[German Version] I. General – II. Jewish Calendar – III. Christian Calendar – IV. Islamic Calendar – V. Liturgical Calendar I. General 1. The term calendar derives from the Roman “calendae,” the day on which a new month was proclaimed. It designates the structuring and hence the consequent mediation of time, i.e. records in pictorial and literary media to communicate structures of time. Calendars are concrete translations of chronologies. The performance of activities to be collectiv…

Caligula, Gaius

(238 words)

Author(s): Klein, Richard
[German Version] (Aug 31, 12 ce, Antium – Jan 24, 41, Rome), Roman emperor from 37 to 41 ce. The son of Germanicus and Augustus's granddaughter Agrippina, who received the nickname “Caligula” (soldier's boot) in his father's camp and grew up, following the early death of his parents, at the court of Tiberius, was quickly named Caesar by the people, the army and the Senate after Tiberius's death. After initial reticence, the young ruler, characterized by repeated illnesses, trans…

Caliph

(589 words)

Author(s): Busse, Heribert
[German Version] Arabic ḫalīfa (“successor” or “deputy”), the leader of the Islamic community (Arab. umma) among the Sunnis (Sunna/Sunnis), and to a degree also among the Shiaites (Šīaa/Shiaites; see also →Islam: II). As prophet (Prophets and prophecy: V), Mu˙ammad could have no successor, for he was the last prophet, the “seal” of the prophets; he could, however, be succeeded as the leader of the community. After the four “rightly-guided caliphs” ( al-ḫulafā' ar-rāšidūn) Abū Bakr, aUmar, aUtmān and aAlī, the Umayyads came to power in Damascus (III) in 661, f…

Calixtus, Georg

(544 words)

Author(s): Mager, Inge
[German Version] (Dec 14, 1586, Medelby, Schleswig – Mar 19, 1656, Helmstedt). The son of the country clergyman Johannes Callisen, a Lutheran controversial theologian, irenicist and adherent of the early Enlightenment, Calixtus spoke out in favor of an ecumenical Christianity. Having grown up without the Formula of Concord or the notion of ubiquity (Omnipresence), he came to Helmstedt in 1603 as a student shaped by the ideas of Melanchthon. Calixtus acquired his knowledge ¶ of theology as an autodidact under the influence of J. Caselius and C. Martini. After receiving his Magister (16…

Callaway, Henry

(162 words)

Author(s): Hexham, Irving
[German Version] (Jan 17, 1817, Lymington, Somerset – Mar 26, 1890, Ottery St Mary, Devon, England), doctor and missionary in South Africa (1855–1886), pioneer in the study of religion, folklore, and linguistics in South Africa. An agnostic, he joined the Quakers in 1837, studied medicine in Aberdeen, Scotland, and converted to Anglicanism in 1853. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts overlooked his lack of theological training an…

Callenberg, Johann Heinrich

(220 words)

Author(s): Bochinger, Christoph
[German Version] (Jan 12, 1694, Molschleben near Gotha – Jul 16, 1760, Halle on the Saale). From humble origins, Callenberg was given a pietistic upbringing at the Gotha Gymnasium under G. Vockerodt. He began studying oriental languages and theology at Halle on the Saale in 1715. In the 1720s, he was commissioned by A.H. Francke to author a multivolume church history, in which he gave particular attention to the historical background of Pietism (manuscript…

Calligraphy

(605 words)

Author(s): Lauer, Uta
[German Version] I. East Asian Calligraphy – II. Islamic Calligraphy (Greek, English “beautiful writing”) refers to the art of lettering or to the work of artistic lettering produced according to aesthetic and artistic principles, particularly well-developed in East Asia and Islamic culture. I. East Asian Calligraphy In China, calligraphy has long been numbered among the six free arts. An elastic brush is the writing tool. In addition to silk, paper has been used to write on since the 2nd century bce. Indian ink or a similar pigment was already in use in the Shang…

Calling

(3,654 words)

Author(s): Hjelde, Sigurd | Waschke, Ernst-Joachim | Wilhelm Horn, Friedrich | Sparn, Walter | Martin Müller, Hans
[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Dogmatics – V. Practical Theology I. Religious Studies The term calling or “call” refers to a person's experience of being grasped by a divine or other superhuman power and being taken into its service. The concept thus relates closely to that of election; at the same time, a calling can be seen as a kind of initiation that can precede or follow a longer period of instruction and maturation. The early…

Callistus I

(308 words)

Author(s): Schöllgen, Georg
[German Version] (217–222), bishop of Rome. His life and teachings are known almost exclusively from the portrayal by his competitor and opponent Hippolytus ( Haer. 9.11f.; 10.27), who depicts him as a social climber and careerist. Born a slave, Callistus was entrusted with the banking affairs of his Christian master. A conflict with Roman Jews (debtors?) led to his condemnation as a Christian and to forced labor in the Sardinian mines. After a pardon, manumission, and a decade-long sojourn in …

Callistus III, Pope

(250 words)

Author(s): Herbers, Klaus
[German Version] (Apr 8, 1455 – Aug 6, 1458). Alfonso De Borja [Borgia] born Dec 31, 1378 at Canals, near Játiva, Valencia. Callistus studied and taught civil and canon law at Lérida (Llerda/Lleida). He entered the service of Alfonso V of Aragon and in 1429 persuaded Pope Clement VIII to abdicate. He was then made bishop of Valencia by Pope Martin V. In 1444 he was made cardinal priest of SS. Quattro Coronati in Rome; on Apr 8, 1455, he was elected pope. One of h…

Callistus II, Pope

(185 words)

Author(s): Schmidt, Tilmann
[German Version] (Feb 2, 1119 – Dec 13, 1124), birth name Guido, son of the count of Burgundy. As archbishop of Vienne (from 1088), he competed with Arles in his efforts to justify a primatial see for Vienne, a status he confirmed as pope. In 1112 a council convened in Vienne to oppose the right of investiture which the German Emperor Henry V had extorted from Paschal II in 1111. Owing to this conflict, the diplomatically skilled Callistus was elected pope follow…

Callistus I of Constantinople

(244 words)

Author(s): Nikolaou, Theodor
[German Version] , patriarch (born end 13th cent. – died 1363/1364, Serrhai) was a dis¶ ciple of Gregory Sinaites and lived, at least from 1314 onward, as a monk (from c. 1335 as a clerical monk) in the Magoula skete monastery, and from 1342 (?) until 1350 in the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos. As a hesychast (Hesychasm) and a companion of G. Palamas, he signed the Tomos Hagioreitikos in 1340. During the civil war of 1342, Callistus was a member of the peace embassy. Elected patriarch in June 1350, he presided over the synod of 1351 (against the a…

Calovius, Abraham

(668 words)

Author(s): Baur, Jörg
[German Version] (Kalau; Apr 16, 1612, Mohrungen – Feb 25, 1686, Wittenberg) began his philosophical and theological studies in Königsberg in 1626, and continued them in Rostock from 1634 to 1637. In 1640 he became professor extraordinarius in Königsberg, and in 1643 rector and pastor in Danzig. In 1650 he became professor ordinarius in Wittenberg. He was married six times and fathered 13 children (who all died before 1685). Funeral sermon by J.F. Mayer. As the “second Athanasius” (Mayer), Calovius stood for the integrity of the Lutheran church and theology. He…

Calvary

(787 words)

Author(s): Deines, Roland | Arnulf, Arwed | Eder, Manfred
[German Version] I. Name – II. Art and Liturgy – III. Roman Catholic Congregations I. Name The Greek interpretation of the Aramaic Golgotha as Κρανίου Τόπος/ Kraniou Topos, “Skull Place” (Matt 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17; cf. Luke 23:32), is rendered almost uniformly in the Latin versions (Old Latin, Vulgate) as c alvariae locus. The Latin form gave rise to “Calvary” and similar terms in other European languages. It is based on the Latin noun calvaria, “cranium, skull,” which makes its first appearance in the middle of the 1st century ce in medical works (Aurelius Cornelius Celsus,…

Calvinism

(1,241 words)

Author(s): Gerrish, B.A.
[German Version] I. Term – II. The Establishment of Orthodoxy – III. The Revision of Orthodoxy I. Term The word Calvinism was coined in the 16th century by Lutherans who feared the intrusion of Calvin's ideas, especially on the Eucharist (III, 1.b), into Germany. In time, it acquired several meanings: It may refer to the theological system of Calvin himself or to the theology of his pupils from the 16th century to the present; the adjective “Calvinist” is often used interchangeably…

Calvin, John

(10,728 words)

Author(s): Gerrish, B.A.
[German Version] (Jean Cauvin, Jul 10, 1509, Noyon – May 27, 1564, Geneva) I. Life and Work – II. Theology – III. Impact I. Life and Work 1. Development as a Reformer a. Childhood and youth. Calvin's biography until his first stay in Geneva is only partially known (autobiographical foreword to the Commentarius in librum Psalmorum, Geneva 1557). His father, Gérard Cauvin, was a notary in the service of the cathedral chapter of Noyon. In 1521, Calvin received the tonsure and the income from a benefice sine cura to provide for his education. Probably in 1523, during an outbr…

Calvisius, Seth

(223 words)

Author(s): Petzoldt, Martin
[German Version] (Feb 21, 1556, Gorsleben, Thüringen – Nov 24, 1615, Leipzig) attended school in Frankenhausen (1569) and Magdeburg (1572), where he may have been a student of Gallus Dressler. He attended the Universities of Helmstedt (1579) and Leipzig (1580). In 1581, he became cantor at the University Church in Leipzig; in 1582, cantor and Hebrew teacher in the Princes' School in Pforta; in 1594, Thomas cantor in Leipzig. The significance of this office is due…

Camaldolese

(470 words)

Author(s): Merz, Birgit
[German Version] The Camaldolese are an offshoot of Benedictine monasticism, combining eremitic and cenobitic styles of life. They wear a white habit; nuns also a black veil. The order originated c. 1000 from the monastic reforms of Romuald of Ravenna (c. 952–1027), put into place at Fonte Avellana (c. 1000; Peter Damian) and Camaldoli (between 1023 and 1026). The constitutions, written between 1045 and 1057 by Peter Damian, followed between 1080 and 1085 …

Câmara, Hélder Pessoa

(289 words)

Author(s): Goldstein, Horst
[German Version] (Feb 7, 1909, Fortaleza – Aug 27, 1999, Recife, Brazil) was ordained priest in 1931; for a short time he was an adherent of the Brazilian Integralistic action (Integralism). From 1936 he served in the Education Department of Guanabara State. In 1952 he became auxiliary bishop of ¶ Rio de Janeiro. In 1964, at the beginning of the military dictatorship, he became archbishop of Olinda and Recife; he retired in 1985. In Rio he was already developing social programs for the slums. In 1952 he founded the Conferência Nac…

Cambodia

(579 words)

Author(s): Gern, Wolfgang
[German Version] The population of Cambodia is 12 million, with a growth rate of 2.5%. Theravada Buddhists (Hĩnayãna) comprise 90% of the population, Muslims2%, Christians 1.5%, adherents of Chinese popular religion and tribal religions 1.5% each, Caodaiists (Caodaism) and Bahā'i 1% each. Of the population, 90% are Khmer, 5% Vietnamese, 1% Chinese, and 2.5% Malay. Catholic missionary work began in 1555 with the arrival of the Dominicans Gaspar da Cruz (died 1570) and Sylvester Azevedo (died 1576) from Malacca (Melaka). Around 1770 P. Levasseu…

Cambridge Platonists

(395 words)

Author(s): Pailin, David Arthur
[German Version] The Cambridge Platonists were a group of independent philosophical theologians influenced by the ideas of Platonism and Neoplatonism, who sought to develop a theology that would eschew both Puritan Calvinism and Laudian (W. Laud) Anglo-Catholicism. Reason was for them “the spirit in man,” which serves as “the cradle of the Lord.” They were unanimous in their conviction that ¶ God acts in harmony with the eternal reason of things, in their rejection of all notions of an absolute, sovereign divine will, and finally in their trust in …

Cambridge Ritualists

(332 words)

Author(s): Ackermann, Robert
[German Version] The “Cambridge Ritual Anthropologists” or “Ritualists” consisted of four classicists, three of them from Cambridge – Jane Ellen Harrison (1850–1928), Arthur Bernard Cook (1868–1952), and Francis Macdonald Cornford (1874–1943) – as well as Gilbert Murray (1866–1957) from Oxford. The period of their activity lay between 1890 and 1920, when they jointly developed a daring irrationalist interpretation of Greek religion, and especially of Greek drama,…

Cambridge University

(762 words)

Author(s): Ehrenschwendtner, Marie-Luise
[German Version] The founding of Cambridge University probably goes back to members of Oxford University who left Oxford in reaction to the closing of schools in 1209 that resulted from disputes between the city and the university. Although instruction resumed in Oxford in 1214, a few scholars remained in Cambridge. Proximity to the episcopal see of Ely favored the establishment of a permanent institution, and Cambridge and Oxford remained the only English univer…

Camerarius, Joachim

(181 words)

Author(s): Scheible, Heinz
[German Version] (Apr 12, 1500, Bamberg – Apr 17, 1574, Leipzig) began studies in Leipzig in 1512, in Erfurt in 1518 (M.A. 1521), and in Wittenberg in 1521, where he enjoyed a close friendship with Melanchthon. He became professor of rhetoric in 1522, although he often spent long periods in Bamberg and traveling, in 1524 with Melanchthon to Bretten and as Luther's emissary to Erasmus in Basel. In 1525 he became professor of Greek in Wittenberg, in 1526 rector in …

Cameron, John

(283 words)

Author(s): Strohm, Christoph
[German Version] (1579, Glasgow – Nov 27, 1625, Montauban) went to France around 1600 and was initially active as a teacher in the vicinity of Humaniora. After studying in Paris, Geneva, and Heidelberg, he became pastor in Bordeaux in 1608, professor of theology at the Protestant academy in Saumur in 1618 and in Montauban in 1624. In the disputes with the Arminians, Cameron defended the Calvinist doctrine of predestination, but modified it by emphasizing …

Cameroon

(618 words)

Author(s): Dah, Jonas Nwiyende
[German Version] The name “Cameroon” derives from the Portuguese name of the Wouri River estuary in Douala: Rio dos Camarões, “River of Prawns.” In 1884 the German colonial administration extended the name to the entire land, whose boundaries were fixed in 1910/1911. Cameroon covers an area of 475,441 km2. It comprises rainy and semi-arid tropical regions, including one of the wettest regions of the world around Mount Cameroon, an active volcano (4095 m.). Cameroon is a potpourri of 120 ethnic groups speaking 236 differen…

Camillians

(208 words)

Author(s): Eder, Manfred
[German Version] ( Clerici regulares ministrantes infirmis, MI; Ordo Sancti Camilli, OSC). The Camillians are the only clerical order of the Catholic Church devoted entirely to charitable service. The order was founded in Rome in 1582 by Camillo de Lellis (1550–1614) to renew the ministry of service to the sick (fourth vow: to serve the sick, regardless of mortal danger – hence grave losses during epidemics of the plague and cholera). After the demise of the Order of Servants o…

Camisards

(559 words)

Author(s): Dingel, Irene
[German Version] The Camisards were Protestants in southern France who, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1686 (Huguenots), secretly formed armed bands in the Cévennes region, the “desert,” to fight for the freedom and rights of their suppressed church in the face of harsh persecution. The term “Camisard” probably derives from the camisia (“shirt”) worn over their clothing during night raids, which were therefore called camisades. The movement, which at times appeared fanatical, survived until 1711; especially when its followers were being pu…

Campanella, Tommaso

(456 words)

Author(s): Ernst, Germana
[German Version] (Sep 5, 1568, Stilo, Calabria – May 1, 1639, Paris) attempted to reconcile the Renaissance philosophy of nature with a radical reform of science and society. Born in a small village in southern Italy, he entered the Dominican order as a young man. Campanella read medical works and books on natural science, works of Plato and of Neoplatonism, but the great encounter of his youth was with Bernardino Telesio's natural philosophy. Accor…

Campanus, Johannes

(159 words)

Author(s): Leppin, Volker
[German Version] (c. 1500, Maaseik – after 1574). After studying at Cologne and a stay in the duchy of Jülich, Campanus came to Wittenberg c. 1527/1528. His exclusion from the debate at the Colloquy of Marburg (Disputations, Religious: I) marked the beginning of his conflict with the Wittenberg Reformers, which was intensified in 1530 when he disputed the divinity of the Holy Spirit. He soon returned to Jülich, where a warrant for his arrest (at first not executed) was issued in 1532. His Göttlicher und Heiliger Schrift … Restitution (1532) expounded his anti-trinitarian th…

Campbell, Alexander

(294 words)

Author(s): Harrell, David Edwin
[German Version] (Sep 12, 1788, Near Ballymena, Ireland – Mar 4, 1866, Bethany, WV) was one of the founders of the 19th-century American Restoration Movement that gave birth to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Christian Church/Churches of Christ (Independent), and the Churches of Christ. While studying at the University of Glasgow, Campbell had stood under the influence of the primitivist teachings of J. and R. Haldane. He arrived in Virginia in 1808 and found that his…

Campbell, Donald T.

(243 words)

Author(s): Hefner, Philip
[German Version] (Nov 20, 1916, Grass Lake, MI – May 5, 1996, Bethlehem, PA) was professor of psychology at Northwestern University (1953–1979), Syracuse University (1979–1982), and Lehigh University (1982–1996); he was president of the American Psychological Association in 1975/1976. He won international recognition for his work in social and experimental psychology, especially in the fields of methodology and the philosophy of the social sciences. He made funda…

Campbell, John McLeod

(178 words)

Author(s): Hart, Trevor A.
[German Version] (May 4, 1800, Kilninver – Feb 7, 1872, Roseneath, Scotland). The son of an Argyll¶ shire clerical family, Campbell was educated at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. In 1821 he obtained a license to preach and was presented to the parish of Rhu in 1825, where he sought to nurture a well-founded and properly orientated piety among his congregation. Initial difficulties were diagnosed by him as the result of a legalistic attitude stemming from Reformed theology …

Campeggio

(324 words)

Author(s): Müller, Gerhard
[German Version] 1. Lorenzo (1474, Milan – Jul 20, 1539, Rome) became professor of law at Bologna in 1500, was ordained priest in 1511, made bishop in 1512 and cardinal in 1517. He achieved fame through his positions as nuncio: in 1511, Julius II sent him to Emperor Maximilian I; Leo X gave him the same assignment (1513–1517). Campeggio established cordial relations with Maximilian and Charles V, as well as with Henry VIII of England. In 1524/1525, Clement VII com…

Campe, Joachim Heinrich

(291 words)

Author(s): Koerrenz, Ralf
[German Version] (Jun 29, 1746, Deensen/Braunschweig – Oct 22, 1818, Braunschweig). Having received instruction from a private tutor and subsequently attended the local village school as well as the monastery school in Holzminden, Campe began studying Protestant theology at Helmstedt and Halle in 1765. After the completion of his studies, he found employment as a preacher in Potsdam, but also as a tutor in the household of the chamberlain Georg v. Humboldt, whose two so…

Campello, Enrico di

(329 words)

Author(s): Oeyen, Christian
[German Version] (Nov 15, 1831, Spoleto – Jul 2, 1903, Rome) was the most important proponent of Old Catholicism (Old Catholics) in Italy. Count Campello, a member of the Academia dei Nobili who became a priest in 1855 and canon of St. Peter's in 1868, inclined toward Italian nationalism. After 1870 he founded a secret society to demand the popular election of the pope and the bishops. After the liberal press discovered the plan, in 1881 he declared (in the American Methodist Church) a breach with the Vatican and in 1882 established the “Italian Catholic Church” (known ¶ after 1899 as the Ca…

Campenhausen, Hans von

(243 words)

Author(s): Ritter, Adolf Martin
[German Version] (Dec 16, 1903 [Old Style, Dec 3, 1903], Rosenbeck, Livonia – Jan 6, 1989, Heidelberg), doctor of theology, Heidelberg 1926; 5 honorary doctorates in theology; Privatdozent in church history, Marburg, 1928; Göttingen 1930; 1935 temporary professorship in Gießen; 1936 appointed professor in Heidelberg; appointment withdrawn in 1937 on political grounds; 1938 Privatdozent in Greifswald; 1940 temporary professorship in Vienna; ordinary professor in Heidelberg from 1946. With the exception of A. v. Harnack, whose theory …

Camphuysen, Dirck Raphaelszoon

(135 words)

Author(s): de Groot, Aart
[German Version] (1586, Gorinchem – Jul 19, 1627, Dokkum) was deposed as Reformed pastor because of his Arminian views (1619) and banished (1620). He led a beggarly existence, settling nowhere. Inclined toward the newly founded Remonstrantist church (Arminians), he finally felt at home with the Rijnsburger Collegiants. Theologically, he had sympathies with Socinians, and he translated some of F. Sozzini's works into Dutch. He refused a professorship in Raków in 1625. His heartfelt Stichtelycke Rymen (1624, 121658), which revolve around the theme of suffering, wer…

Campion, Edmund, Saint

(210 words)

Author(s): Gilley, Sheridan
[German Version] (Jan 25, 1539/1540, London – Dec 1, 1581, Tyburn), protomartyr of the English Province of the Jesuits. Originally an Anglican, Campion became Junior Fellow at St. John's College, Oxford, in 1557. He moved to Dublin in 1570 and wrote his History of Ireland (1571). Having converted to Catholicism following a crisis of faith, he fled to the University of Douai in Flanders and then to Rome, joined the Austrian Province of the Jesuits, studied in Prague and Brno/Brünn (Moravia), and was ordained priest in 1578. I…

Camus, Albert

(383 words)

Author(s): Kodalle, Klaus-M.
[German Version] (Nov 7, 1913, Mondovi, Algeria – 4 Jan, 1960, in a car accident in Petit-Villeblevin, France) was deeply involved as a journalist and resistance fighter in the conflicts of his age – the Spanish Civil War, the French resistance, the Algerian War of Indepen¶ dence, Soviet occupations, etc. He was honored with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. His most important works include short stories ( L'envers et l'endroit, 1937; L'été, 1954; L'exile et le royaume, 1957), novels ( L'étranger, 1942; La peste, 1947), plays ( Caligula, 1945; Les justes, 1949), philosophi…

Cana

(123 words)

Author(s): Zangenberg, Jürgen
[German Version] The village (κώμη/ kōmē, Jos. Vita LXIV, 206) of Κανά (τῆς Γαλιλαίας)/ Kaná ( tēs Galilaías; from Heb. קָנֶה/ qāneh, “reed”?) is to be identified with the site of Ḫirbet Qana and lies on the northern slope of the Bet Netofa Valley. According to Josh 19:28, Cana belonged to the tribe of Asher (Tribes of Israel). The New Testament mentions it only in John 2:1, 11; 4:46; 21:2, while Jewish sources locate the priestly family of Eliashib in Cana. Excavations have uncove…

Canaan

(10 words)

[German Version] Palestina, Syria, Israel and Canaan

Canada

(1,422 words)

Author(s): Goodwin, Daniel
[German Version] After Russia, Canada is the largest country in the world, but one of the most sparsely populated. It covers almost 40% of the land area of North America (9, 970, 610 km2). It borders the Arctic Sea to the north, the Atlantic to the east, twelve states of the USA to the south, and Alaska and the Pacific to the west. Its capital is Ottawa. The greatest population density and the largest cities are along the coast and the border with the USA, where 90% of the Canadian population live. In 2001 it had approx. 30 million inhabitants. Canadian society is multicultural, comprising gro…

Canadian Conference of Bishops

(209 words)

Author(s): Clarke, Brian
[German Version] Founded in 1943 as the Canadian Catholic Conference (renamed the Canadian Conference of Bishops [CCB] in 1977), the CCB is a voluntary association of Canadian bishops for the coordination of their responses to social issues and of internal administrative measures within the church. In the years following Vatican II, the CCC became a truly nation-wide collegial body and played a crucial role in the implementation of the council's liturgical reforms, in the coordination of episcopal reactions to Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vita encyclical on birth control (cf. …

Canadian Council of Churches

(178 words)

Author(s): Gauvreau, Michael
[German Version] The Canadian Council of Churches, the successor organization to the Social Service Council of Canada (SSCC; est. 1914), was founded in 1944 as an umbrella organization for the various social services of the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Anglican churches, and maintained close ties to various women's organizations. Initially concentrating on moral issues such as abstinence, prostitution, and the censorship of pornographic literature, the focus of the SSCC…

Canadian Missions

(211 words)

Author(s): Grant, John Webster
[German Version] Under French rule, only Roman Catholic missionaries were permitted, including the Jesuits, several of whom suffered martyrdom in 1649/1650. In the 19th century, Anglicans of the Church Missionary Society competed with Oblates of Mary Immaculate and Grey Nuns (Grey Brothers and Sisters) for the souls of Native American Indians (II) and Inuit. Among the Protestant churches, the Methodists were the most active, both in Ontario and in northern…

Candle

(292 words)

Author(s): Fechtner, Kristian
[German Version] Candles have been used in Christian liturgy for centuries. To distinguish Christianity from other religions, the cultic use of candles was originally rejected, but candles soon became a standard element of Christian worship even in the Early Church. From the perspective of religious history, candles symbolize the contrast of light and darkness. Their biblical interpretation derives from John 8:12 (Jesus Christ as the “light of the world”). The c…

Candles, Blessing of

(169 words)

Author(s): Maas-Ewerd, Theodor
[German Version] Despite their multi-faceted use in liturgy and popular piety, candles were not originally blessed or “consecrated.” The Easter candle first attested in 384 for Piacenza (PL 30, 182f.) consitutes an exception. Evening light blessings attested since the 2nd century survive in its “consecration.” Only since the 10th century have prayers for the blessing of candles appeared, which were used in processions, first and foremost in the procession …

Candlestick/Candelabrum

(1,161 words)

Author(s): Schreiner, Stefan | Wirtler, Ulrike
[German Version] I. Hebrew Bible and Judaism – II. Christianity I. Hebrew Bible and Judaism According to 1 Kgs 7:49, the furnishings of the First Temple (II) included, in addition to gold and silver candlesticks that belonged the temple treasury but were not otherwise used (1 Chr 28:12, 18; Jer 52:19), “ten candlesticks of pure gold” of which five stood respectively on each side of the holy of holies. Following rabbinic tradition ( b. Men. 28b), the menorah, i.e. the seven-branched (or seven-armed) candelabrum that Moses ¶ had made (Exod 25:31; 37:17) after being shown a mo…

Candomblé

(249 words)

Author(s): Piepke, Joachim
[German Version] represents an Afro-Brazilian mixed religion from African and Christian elements; it is based on the Bantu word candombe (= percussion instrument). Other mixed forms appear under the names Umbanda, Macumba, Catimbó, and Batuque. The center of Candomblé continues to be Salvador da Bahia. The roots of Candomblé trace back principally to West African Yoruba culture which prevailed over Bantu cultures in Brazil. Today, between 20% and 30% of the population sta…

Canisius, Peter (Saint)

(398 words)

Author(s): Decot, Rolf
[German Version] (Peter Kanis until c. 1547; May 8, 1521, Nijmegen – Dec 21, 1597, Fribourg, ¶ Switzerland) contributed to the renewal of the Catholic Church after the Reformation. Residing in Cologne from 1535 onward, he became the first German Jesuit in 1543. He turned to Charles V of Germany for support against the reforming attempt of the archbishop of Cologne (Hermann of Wied). After a brief stay at the Council of Trent and the continuation of his Jesuit training in Rome …

Cankov, Stefan

(234 words)

Author(s): Döpmann, Hans-Dieter
[German Version] (Zankow; Jul 4, 1881, Gorna Oryakhovitsa – Mar 20, 1965, Sofia). A Bulgarian Orthodox theologian, Cankov earned his Dr. theol. in Chernivtsi (Czernowitz) in 1905, his Dr. jur. in Zürich in 1918, ¶ and received honorary doctorates from Athens (1936), Oxford (1937), Berlin (1940), Sofia (1953), and Budapest (1955). He was professor of canon and matrimonial law and of Christian sociology from 1923 to 1960, rector of the University of Sofia from 1940 to 1941, as well as a member of the Bul…

Cannibalism

(7 words)

[German Version] Ritual Killing

Cano, Melchior

(283 words)

Author(s): Körner, Bernhard
[German Version] (1509, Tarancón or Pastrana – Sep 30, 1560, Toledo), a Dominican friar (1523) and disciple of Francisco de Vitoria. He lectured as professor in Valadolid, Alcala, and Salamanca, and was conciliar theologian at Trent in 1551/1552 (Trent, Council of). His chief work, De locis theologicis libri duodecim (publ. posthumously in 1563; unfinished), exerted a lasting influence on Catholic epistemology and methodology on account of its thorough theological treatment of the subject matter. Cano's philosophical orie…

Canon

(4,367 words)

Author(s): Pezzoli-Olgiati, Daria | Schindler, Alfred | Huizing, Klaas | Troianos, Spyros N. | Felmy, Karl Christian | Et al.
[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Church History – III. Fundamental Theology – IV. Orthodox Law – V. Eastern Poetry – VI. Islam – VII. Buddhism – VIII. Taoism I. History of Religion The canon can be defined as a complex process of selection of documents regarded as authoritative; from the totality of the extant written tradition, documents are set apart according to certain criteria as holy or inspired (Inspiration/Theopneustia). Although the concept of the canon as a normative collection…

Canonesses Regular

(294 words)

Author(s): Auge, Oliver
[German Version] (from Lat. canonicae) first appeared in the Greek church in the 4th century, in the West in the 8th. The term derives from the canon in which these women were registered. Initially, the title was given to all women leading a religious life but not bound by monastic vows. The Aachen Institutiones of 816 defined canonesses as a community under abbatial supervision and following certain rules, albeit enjoying legal and personal privileges such as possession of personal property, having their own curiae, permission to vi…

Canonical Age

(239 words)

Author(s): Becker, Hans-Jürgen
[German Version] Like secular law, canon law also distinguishes different stages of life that are of significance for the legal assessment of the legal actions of a natural person, or for access to the stages of ordination and to offices. For tort responsibility, for example, a ¶ person must have completed the 16th year (c. 1323 no. 1 CIC/1983 and c. 1413 §1 CCEO). From this age on, persons who have not yet come of age can also function as godparents (c. 874 §1 no. 2 CIC/1983 and c. 685 §2 CCEO). Admission to the novitiate requires a person to be 17 years old (c. 643 §1 no. 1 CIC/1983 and cc. 450 no. 4…

Canonical Approach

(966 words)

Author(s): Seitz, Christopher R. | Wall, Robert W.
[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. New Testament I. Old Testament “Canonical approach” refers to a primarily synchronic interpretation of the canonized final text of the Bible in the context of all scriptures of the biblical canon (Bible: II, 2; III, 2), which, in view of the various confessional forms of the canon, can and will claim validity only within the boundaries of a faith community. It contrasts with a historical-critical exegesis oriented toward the literary-hi…

Canonical Lists

(349 words)

Author(s): Aland, Barbara
[German Version] are lists of the biblical books of the Old Testament and New Testament (cf. Bible II, 2; III, 2) compiled in the Early Church either by individuals or by synods. They possessed authoritative character, though in practice this was not always evident. The earliest canonical indices are the Muratorian Fragment (see also Canon) from Rome (c. 200) and the index of the Codex Claromontanus (3rd cent.). 1 and 2 Thessalonians along with Philemon are inadvertently omitted here, as is Hebrews, while Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Acts of Paul, and the Apocalypse of Peter are i…

Canonical Provision

(185 words)

Author(s): Rees, Wilhelm
[German Version] is a technical term in Catholic canon law for all types of sovereign grants through individual administrative decrees (c. 48 CIC/1983; c. 1510 § 2, 1 CCEO; administration: IV, 3). More precisely, it involves the grant of legal capacity (Juridical persons: cc. 114 § 1; 116 § 2 CIC/1983; public Voluntary associations [II, 1.b]: c. 313 CIC/1983), of authorities (Delegation: cc. 131 § 1; 133; 137 CIC/1983; the authority to confirm and hear confession: cc. 882; 969 CIC/1983; delegation of the authority to perform marriages: c. 1111 CIC/1983), of names and titles (cf. cc.…

Canon in Confucianism

(8 words)

[German Version] Confucianism

Canon in Hinduism

(8 words)

[German Version] Vedas

Canonization

(582 words)

Author(s): Döpmann, Hans-Dieter
[German Version] I. Catholic Church – II. Orthodox Churches (Latin canonisatio, Greek ᾽Αν̆ακῆρυξις/ anakḗryxis, “public proclamation”) refers to the placement in the list (canon) of saints (Saints/Veneration of saints). Such placement includes remembrance in worship, a vita, an icon (Icons; Saints, icons and attributes), the possibility of having an altar or church dedicated to the saint (Consecration/Ordination/Dedication), and the appropriation of the saint's name at ba…

Canon Law/Church Law

(11,049 words)

Author(s): Schöllgen, Georg | Kalb, Herbert | Puza, Richard | Pirson, Dietrich | Engelhardt, Hanns | Et al.
[German Version] I. History – II. The Present – III. Orthodox Church – IV. The Study of Canon Law and Church Law – V. Practical Theology – VI. Oriental Orthodox Canon Law I. History 1. Early Church. The church has had laws ever since Christians recognized the need for a generally recognized authority to regulate the uncertainties, problems, and controversies involving church discipline brought about by the rapid expansion of Christianity. After the death of the initial authority figures (e.g. the fou…

Canon, Muratorian

(8 words)

[German Version] Muratorian Fragment

Canons/Canon Collections

(812 words)

Author(s): Ohme, Heinz
[German Version] Into the 4th century, synods did not call their decisions “canon” or “regula.” In the Greek East, they used the term horos as the older term for ecclesiastical decisions (Ankyra, cc. 6, 19, et passim). In the Latin language sphere, designations including placita, statuta, instituta, decreta, sententiae were drawn from Roman legal language as the specific terminology applicable in such cases. The designation as canons appeared for the first time at the Synod of Antioch c. 330 (cc. 19 etc.) and quickly established itself in the East (Bas. Ep. 188, cc. 4, 10). Th…

Canons Regular

(334 words)

Author(s): Auge, Oliver
[German Version] Members of a chapter (Cathedral chapter) that exists to celebrate liturgical worship in cathedral and college churches under the leadership of the bishop or an archipresbyter. The term, attested in France since 535, derives from inclusion in the list, called the canon, of those clergy of a church entitled to maintenance or obligated to live according to the canons. A specific church regulation, offered in 755 by Chrodegang of Metz on the local, and in 816 by the Insitutiones Aquisgranenses on the general level, distinguishes canons from monasticism. I…

Canons Regular of St. Augustine

(603 words)

Author(s): Crusius, Irene
[German Version] The ideal of a communal life in discipleship to Christ also moved the early medieval clergy of episcopal cities to the vita communis on the example of Augustine. However, only the Gregorian Reform movement (Gregory VII) produced the adoption of strict monastic forms of life for ¶ the clergy, too, so that, alongside the secular collegiate chapters who lived according to the 816 Rule of Aachen, communities of clergy arose who followed the so-called Augustinian Rule ( canonici regulares; Augustine, Rule of). Their way of life between secular clergy and …

Canstein, Karl Hildebrand von

(279 words)

Author(s): Schicketanz, Peter
[German Version] (Baron; Aug 4, 1667, Lindenberg in Mark Brandenburg – Aug 19, 1719, Berlin). The son of the Prussian Kammerpräsident Raban v. Canstein, Canstein studied law in Frankfurt an der Oder, traveled throughout Europe, and took part in a military campaign. While suffering from an illness, he vowed to devote the rest of his life to the service of God, something he accomplished without ever holding public office. On returning to Berlin, he made the acquaintance of P.J. Spen…

Cantata

(1,082 words)

Author(s): Petzoldt, Martin
[German Version] The term cantata now refers especially to the polyphonic church music with multiple movements as specified by J.S. Bach and whose text is based on ¶ the proprium of the Sundays and festival days of the church year. In contrast to the sonata (a “sounding” instrumental piece), the cantata is a choral piece that developed in the 17th century largely in Italy as secular music. Textually, non-strophic, so-called madrigal poetry is used for arias and recitatives. In Germany, ca…

Canterbury

(535 words)

Author(s): Köpf, Ulrich
[German Version] Seat of a bishopric in the county of Kent, England. Situated at an important road junction during the Roman period, Canterbury became the main settlement of the Cantiani in the first century ce and shows evidence of Christianization from the beginning of the 4th century. The conquest of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons dealt a severe blow to the development of the city. King Ethelbert made it the capital of the kingdom of Kent, while the Roman monk Augustine of Canterbury, a missionary dispatched by Pop…

Canticle

(435 words)

Author(s): Halmo, Joan
[German Version] (from Lat. canticulum, “little song”): poetic prayer or song from the Bible but outside the Psalter. Of the canticles which have been put to liturgical use, most are from the OT (including apocryphal/deuterocanonical literature), for example “Benedicite, omnia opera domini,” or “The Song of Creation,” which comes from the prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Youths in the Fiery Furnace (Daniel, Additions to). Examples of NT canticles are the three from the Gospel of Luke ( Magnificat , 1:46–55, Benedictus , 1:68–79, Nunc dimittis , 2:29–32). Canticles in their …

Cantor

(317 words)

Author(s): Brusniak, Friedhelm
[German Version] From the 4th century, the term cantor (Lat.) refers to a singer, chanter, or leader of church music; from the 10th century it refers also to an office held by a member of the cathedral chapter. In the traditional, pre-reformation understanding, the cantor was distinguished from the trained musicus; this distinction survived well into the 18th century. The Protestant image of the leader of a city Kantorei following the model of Johann Walter in Torgau (1525) combined this post with the duties of an ac…
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