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Formerly British Honduras (to 1973), Belize lies between Guatemala and Mexico on the Caribbean coast of Central America. From the middle of the 17th century British traders exploited the coast from Campeche to Belize, cutting timber (for dyeing) and building factories. After 1680 Spanish pressure forced the British out of the Yucatán peninsula and into the stretch of coast in Belize between the Río Hondo and the Río Belize. With the Dallas-Clarendon agreement they secured control over a territory enlarged from 6,000 to 20,000 sq. km. (2,300 to 7,700 sq. mi.). In 1859 Guatemala re…

1. Term The term “divination” comes from Lat. divinatio, meaning “divine inspiration; soothsaying.” Divination is a social practice of choosing and evaluating signs. It is related to such phenomena as the interpretation of events, the seeking of causes (diagnosis), and the planning of action (prognosis). But it also carries with it the extraordinary claim of being the disclosure of what is hidden (Apocalypticism 1), of having privileged access to a special “pool” of signs (e.g., the anatomy of sheep livers), and of having unquestionable authority. Divination practic…

1. Biblical Aspects 1.1. OT The Heb. word for truth is ʾemet, indicating something firm, reliable, and trustworthy or durable. True words or events may be denoted (Deut. 22:20; 1 Kgs. 10:6), or authentic guarantees (Josh. 2:12). The truth may be that of a revelation (Dan. 10:1) or of wisdom (Prov. 22:21). The antithesis is what is false, deceptive, or unstable. Those who tell the truth are people of truth (Gen. 42:16). The reference may be to the truth of their statements or to their inner truthfulness (1 Kgs. 17:24). The word ʾemet often occurs for the truthfulness of God and is somet…

In Roman Catholic churches the sanctuary light is the hanging light that shines constantly before the altar, where the reserved sacrament is kept in the tabernacle (§2). The purpose of the lamp is “to indicate and honor the presence of Christ” (1983 CIC  940). Evidence exists of the use of this light in the West from the 11th and 12th centuries. The Rituale Romanum (1614) made it obligatory. Oil or wax is usually burned, but electric light is permitted. See Eucharist; Eucharistic Spirituality; Liturgical Books The Editors

1. Phenomenon So-called Uniate Churches are churches of Eastern Christendom that are in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The term “uniate” was first used by those opposed to the Union of Brest-Litovsk (1595/96), which brought many Ukrainian Orthodox believers into allegiance with Rome. The churches thus united with Rome, which prefer to call themselves Eastern Catholic (EC) churches, belong to various traditions, following Byzantine, Coptic, Syrian, and other rites. The several EC churches of the Byzantine tradition, which were given the designation “Greek-…

1. Term and Founding From the Middle Ages onward, universities have been cooperative amalgamations of teachers and students devoted to scholarship (universitas magistrorum et scholarium). The learned academies of Greece (Greek Philosophy), of the Roman Empire, and of Islam were predecessors. The church’s monasteries and schools played a part in preserving the early scholastic tradition (Monasticism). As an independent search for knowledge grew, it involved a desire to link faith to reason and science. Scholasticism led to the formation of the first c…

1. Historical Overview Ancient Baltic culture can be traced to around 2500 b.c., when local cultures began to merge with newly arrived Indo-Europeans. The pre-Christian religion, largely known from a few shrines still being uncovered by archaeologists, was Indo-European in origin and, while it changed considerably over time, had a certain correspondence to the pantheons of other religions (Paganism). In about a.d. 1240 Mindaugas (d. 1263) became the ruler of Lithuania and was able to unite the unruly duchies of the area. In 1251 he was, largely for politic…

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a voluntary association that includes 12 of the 15 republics of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union). Proclaiming itself a successor to the USSR in some aspects of international affairs, the commonwealth provides a framework for unified military policy, a single currency, and a single “economic space.” The Minsk Agreement of December 8, 1991, which established the commonwealth, was signed by the three Slav republics Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Later that month, eight other for…

The sultanate of Brunei (official name: Negara [State of] Brunei Darussalam) is a small enclave on the northwestern coast of Borneo. It is bordered by the South China Sea and, on land, is surrounded entirely by Sarawak, an eastern state of Malaysia. In 1997 the sultan was Sir Muda Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzadin Waddaulah, who, upon succeeding his father in October 1967, became the 29th ruler in a single family of sultans tracing back to Sultan Mohammed (reigned 1405–15), the first Brunei leader to embrace Islam. According to the official census, in 1991 the population of Brunei was…