- Glossary of key terms

Lecture

Это продолжение увлекательной статьи про .

...

establishment of the Kingdom of God). The Sermon on the Mount also contains moral exhortations to believers: not to be angry with one's brother, to be reconciled with one's adversary, not to lust after a woman, not to divorce, not to swear oaths, not to resist evil, to love one's enemies, to give alms in secret, and so on.

Namaz (Pers. - prayer) - the daily Muslim prayer consisting of verses of the Quran, addressed to God.

Monastery superior's deputy - the head of a monastery, appointed by the patriarch and the ruling bishop, under whose direct authority the monastery is placed. Since he cannot constantly be present at the monastery and exercise daily direction, he appoints a deputy superior for these purposes.

Neophyte - a newly converted person in Christianity: one just baptized as a follower of Christ's teaching, one just ordained a priest, one just tonsured a monk. Later the term acquired a broader meaning - a newly converted person in any religion whatsoever.

New Testament - the part of the Bible venerated by Christians as Holy Scripture. The name expresses the idea of a new covenant, a testament of God and humankind, as opposed to the ancient, Old Testament. The Jewish sectarians who lived in the region of the Dead Sea in the 2nd century BC - 1st century AD called themselves the «New Covenant». «Testament» in the sense of «covenant» goes back to the ancient Greek translation of the Jewish Bible, the Septuagint. In this same sense it is used in the Gospel of Luke. This phrase began to be applied to writings recognized as sacred only from the end of the 2nd century.

296

IMAGE

The New Testament comprises 27 books: the four Gospels (of Matthew, of Mark, of Luke, of John), the Acts of the Apostles, 21 epistles (the Epistle of James, 2 epistles of Peter, 3 epistles of John, the Epistle of Jude, and 14 epistles of Paul), and the Revelation of John the Theologian (the Apocalypse). All the Christian churches venerate the New Testament in this composition as the principal source of doctrine concerning the incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who redeemed original sin by His death, rose on the third day, and ascended into heaven, concerning His expected Second Coming, and concerning the preaching activity and teachings of the disciples of Jesus - the apostles.

Nuncio (Lat. - messenger) - the permanent diplomatic representative (ambassador) of the Vatican in states with which the latter maintains diplomatic relations. In a number of countries the nuncio is the doyen (senior member) of the diplomatic corps. The nuncio also exercises oversight of the activity of the Catholic Church in the country of his residence. In Russia a papal nuncio was accredited from the end of the 18th century, with a small break, right up until 1917. A new accreditation of a nuncio in Russia took place in 1990.

Image - a depiction of the countenance of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, a saint; an icon. According to Christian tradition, the church, even during Christ's lifetime, possessed a «not made by hands» image of His countenance, imprinted on a cloth, or towel, with which the Savior wiped His face.

Circumcision - a religious-magical rite of removal of the foreskin of the male sexual organ, widespread among Semitic peoples, in Africa, Australia, and Oceania, as a religious ritual - in Judaism (performed on infants) and Islam (performed on boys aged 7-10).

Rite (ritual) - a totality of symbolic, stereotyped, collective actions, embodying certain social ideas, conceptions, norms, and values and evoking certain collective feelings. Rites arose already in primitive society. Unlike other social actions, a rite has no direct material result. The meaning of a rite

297

OCCULTISM

lies in the individual's assimilation of certain social ideas, norms, and values. Rites should not be linked only with religion; they may bear a secular or even atheistic character. The power of a rite lies in its emotional-psychological impact on the individual. In a rite there occurs not only a rational assimilation of norms, values, and ideals, but also the shared experience of them by the participants in the ritual action. This is fostered by the visual arts, music, and dances included in the ritual.

Occultism (Lat. - hidden) - one of the kinds of mystical teachings about supernatural forces, spirits, and the special connection of certain people with these forces. These forces supposedly exist in nature, become personified under the influence of incantations and rites, and can be made subject to a person. The origins of occultism go back to the primitive belief in an impersonal supernatural spiritual force and to magic. The occult «sciences» are based on fantastic «laws» and «experiments». Occultism divides the sciences into exoteric ones, which study the external form of the phenomena of nature, and esoteric ones, which investigate their inner essence, supposedly accessible only to initiates. Modern occultism is closely connected with spiritualism and theosophy; its elements are inherent in ufology and in esoteric societies, which consider that ordinary knowledge does not possess the means for understanding truth and knowing the world.

Umar - the second in sequence of the «rightly guided caliphs», who became head of the Muslim community in 634, after the death of Abu Bakr. One of the most prominent figures of early Islam. He energetically continued the establishment of Islam beyond Arabia, begun already by Abu Bakr. During Umar's ten-year period of rule, Islam spread to Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Cyrenaica (a historical region of Libya).

Uthman ibn Affan - the third in sequence of the «rightly guided caliphs». One of the very first followers and companions (sahaba) of the prophet Muhammad; he came from the Umayyad clan, a wealthy merchant. According to Arab-Muslim tradition, Uthman's chief service consisted in the fact that by his order there was established

298

SEPARATION OF CHURCH FROM STATE

the single and definitive text of the Holy Scripture of the Muslims - the Quran.

Separation of church from state - a fundamental norm of a secular state, one of the most important guarantees of freedom of conscience and religion and of the legal equality of religions; it means that the state does not interfere in the lawful activity of religious associations, does not impose on them the performance of any state functions, and state officials have no right to use their official position in the interests of one or another religious association. For their part, religious associations do not interfere in the affairs of the state, do not participate in elections to bodies of state power, or in the activity of political parties. At the same time members of religious associations, including clergy and ministers, have equal rights with other citizens to personal participation in political life, the right to participate in the administration of the affairs of the state, to elect and to be elected to bodies of state power. In the Russian Federation, in Ukraine, and in other CIS countries the church is separated from the state.

Separation of school from church - a principle of the construction of the state system of education, in accordance with which it functions without connection to confessional organizations and is independent of them. This ensures the secular, ideologically neutral character of education, and thereby guarantees to all citizens, irrespective of their attitude to religion or their confessional affiliation, an equal opportunity to obtain an education in state educational institutions. The need of citizens to obtain a religious education in accordance with their faith, or to give one to their children, can be satisfied through optional forms of instruction, and also in non-state educational institutions, established including by religious associations.

299

Pagoda (Port. - sacred) - a Buddhist religious-memorial structure and repository of sacred relics, images of the gods of the pantheon, in the form of a pavilion or tower, most often multi-tiered; a Buddhist temple.

Pan-Islamism - a religious-political ideology, at the basis of which lie conceptions of the unity and solidarity of all members of the Muslim community irrespective of their state, racial, national, or social-class affiliation, conditioned by the «equality» of all Muslims «before the face of Allah», and of the necessity of uniting all Muslims within the framework of a single theocratic state.

Pantheon (Lat. - a place dedicated to all the gods) - 1) a mausoleum for outstanding people of a country (in Rome, Paris, etc.); 2) an ancient Greek and ancient Roman temple of all the gods; 3) the totality of the gods of some religion.

Church porch (Gk.) - a gallery or portico before the entrance to a Russian Orthodox church

Flock - a term traditionally applied in Christianity to ordinary believers (the laity), who are compared to sheep tended by shepherds (pastors), i.e., priests.

Pastor (Lat. - shepherd, pastor) - a clergyman, a mentor of believers - the flock.

Pater (Lat. - father) - a Roman Catholic priest.

Patriarch - the highest ecclesiastical rank in Orthodoxy: the head of a number of local Orthodox churches. In the Roman Catholic Church the title of patriarch is borne by the heads of certain dioceses. The heads of certain other churches are also called patriarchs - the Armenian Apostolic, the Georgian Orthodox, and the Coptic. With the establishment of the patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church, its head began to bear the title of Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus. According to the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church, the patriarch governs the church together with the Holy Synod. He has precedence of honor before the bishops and is accountable only to the Local Council and the Council of Bishops. The patriarch is the plenipotentiary representative of the church before other churches and before the state. The rank of patriarch is held for life.

Patriarchate (Gk. - father plus origin, power) - the church governed by a patriarch with all its elements, includ

300

REINCARNATION

ing doctrine, cult, traditions and customs, as well as the ecclesiastical institution with its hierarchical system of governance and its means of influencing believers.

Reincarnation - one of the cornerstone concepts of Eastern philosophies, according to which the spirit lives not just one small earthly life, but many lives, passing through the most diverse forms, bodies, and conditions. From this point of view the spirit, being a spark of the Absolute, has already, in its cosmic journey, passed through countless forms and worlds lying below the human level and must pass through higher worlds. The goal of the path is union with the Absolute. The law of reincarnation entered as a component part into practically all the philosophical systems of the ancient East. It was also recognized by Western spiritual traditions - Pythagoreanism, Neoplatonism, and Gnostic doctrines. Mention of reincarnation, with recognition of its reality, is also found in early Christianity, for example, in the writings of Origen. The dogma of reincarnation in Christianity was abolished only at the 6th Ecumenical Council.

Polytheism (Gk. - many plus God) - polytheism, belief in many gods (as opposed to monotheism, belief in one god).

Pontificate (Lat.) - in Catholicism the period of rule of the Roman Pope, one of whose titles is pontiff.

Tonsure - the rite of entry into monasticism, and also of ordination into the clergy (accompanied by the cross-shaped shearing of hair on the head of the novice).

Presbyter (Gk. - elder, senior) - the most ancient canonical designation for the second degree of the sacrament of holy orders - a clergyman (after a bishop) of the degree of the Christian church hierarchy. The same as «priest», «iereus». In Protestantism a presbyter is the leader of a community (local church) or of a regional association of local churches, elected, like a pastor, for a fixed term from among the laity.

Altar table - a four-sided table in the middle of the sanctuary in Catholic and Orthodox churches on which are placed the antimension, the cross, and the Gospel, and the bread and wine for communion which are consecrated.

301

RABBI

Primate (Lat. - first, foremost) - in the Catholic and Anglican churches the title of the heads of churches.

Parish - the lowest (elementary) church-administrative unit in the Orthodox and certain other Christian churches; a community of believers (consisting of clergy and laity), united around a church. A parish is part of a diocese, is under the administration of the diocesan bishop and the direct leadership of the rector-priest. A parish community is formed by the voluntary agreement of not less than 10 believers and is registered with the judicial authorities in the manner established by law. The governing bodies of a parish are the Parish Assembly and the Parish Council.

Clerus - in the Christian churches - the ordained and non-ordained ministers of some particular church.

Proselyte (Heb. - foreigner, wanderer, settler) - historically, a person who moved from one country to another, from one community to another; at present - one who has changed one faith for another.

Proselytism - the striving or activity directed at converting persons of other faiths to one's own faith; ardent devotion to a newly adopted faith.

Protestantism (Lat. - proclamation, solemn declaration) - one of the three main branches of Christianity (along with Catholicism and Orthodoxy), which arose in the 16th century in the course of the Reformation in the form of various movements.

Protodeacon - the senior deacon in a cathedral.

Archpriest - a senior Orthodox priest; the same as protopresbyter, protopope.

Pentecostals - Christians of the evangelical faith, a religious organization whose doctrine is based on the parable of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles on the 50th day after Christ's resurrection (arose in the USA at the end of the 19th century, in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century); they do not recognize official rites, icons, or the cross.

Rabbi (Old Heb. - my teacher) - in Judaism the leader, spiritual mentor, minister of the cult, elected

302

PARADISE

by a Jewish religious community; a representative of the Jewish community of Talmudists.

Paradise - 1) in most religions, a place of eternal bliss of the righteous or their souls after death, granted for faithful service to God during life; 2) (fig.) a beautiful, pleasant place.

Raka (Lat. - box, coffin) - a tomb with the relics of saints in the form of a sarcophagus or an architectural structure in a church.

Rakat (Arab.) - a complex of religious formulas and bodily positions, an element of the Muslim prayer sequence. A prayer may consist of two rakats or more. In performing a rakat, the one praying bows, kneels, prostrates himself, uttering meanwhile praises to Allah, His names, the first sura of the Quran, the shahada, and so on.

Ramadan (Pers.), ramazan (Turk.) - the name of the 9th month of the Muslim lunar calendar (hijra) and of the especially strict fast of the same name (uraza) from sunrise to sunset (according to the dogmas of Islam, in this month the Quran was sent down to earth), the conclusion of which is marked by a great feast - Eid al-Fitr.

Crucifixion - 1) an ancient execution on a cross, to which the hands and feet of the person being crucified were nailed; 2) a cross with a depiction of the crucified Jesus Christ.

Defrocked cleric - a former clergyman who has voluntarily renounced his ecclesiastical rank or has been deprived of it for some offense.

Choirmaster - a person who directs a church choir. In the Russian Orthodox Church the training of choirmasters is carried out in special choir-directing schools (in particular at the Moscow Theological Academy, which admits Orthodox Christians of both sexes who have demonstrated sufficient musical-vocal abilities).

Religious studies - one of the fields of socio-humanitarian knowledge, closely interacting with cultural studies, formed primarily on the basis of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, ethnology, and archaeology. Religious studies investigates the laws governing the formation, development, and functioning of religion, and the character and forms of its interaction with other elements of culture. The main branches of religious studies are the philosophy of religion (a worldview-level understanding of the human being and society, of

303

SADAQAH

nature and culture within the context of some philosophical system), the sociology of religion (the social determination of religion and its functioning in society), the psychology of religion (the analysis of religious phenomena in social, group, and individual psychology), and the history of religion (the investigation of the world religions in their history).

Religious association (society) - a voluntary association of adult citizens, adhering to a single common creed, numbering not less than 10 persons, united for the joint satisfaction of their religious needs. Also recognized as religious associations are associations (regional, interregional, and centralized) of religious organizations with a hierarchical form of governance, as well as unions and associations of religious organizations.

Religion - the worldview and behavior of an individual, group, or community, which are determined by belief in the existence of the supernatural. Religion constitutes one of the important social institutions, including a system of social norms, roles, customs, beliefs, rituals (cult), prescriptions, standards of behavior, and organizational forms. Throughout most of human history it played a decisive role in the human construction of social reality and was a means of legitimation (explanation and justification) and maintenance of the social order.

Rishi - a term of Hinduism, denoting holy sages, seers, and ascetics of a divine level. Tradition even gives their sacred number, which is usually taken to be seven, and connects their existence with the cosmos, in particular with the seven-star constellation of the Great Bear. Great saints, ascetics, who gave people the Vedas.

Ordination - in Orthodoxy and Catholicism - the rite of elevation to holy orders (of deacon, priest, bishop), performed by the laying of the bishop's hands on the head of the one being ordained; the same as cheirotonia.

Sadaqah (Arab.) - voluntary almsgiving, prescribed by Islam for every well-to-do Muslim, used

304

SACRALIZATION

to help needy members of the community - the poor, the destitute, travelers, participants in the war for the faith. It may be transmitted directly by the giver or distributed through authoritative religious figures. The solemn distribution of sadaqah is an important part of the ritual of the main Muslim feasts.

Sacralization - the drawing into the sphere of religious sanction of social, group, and individual consciousness, activity, and behavior of people, and of social relations and institutions; the endowing of material objects, persons, actions, verbal formulas, norms of behavior, etc. with magical properties and their elevation to the rank of the sacred (holy).

The sacred (holy) - the totality of things, persons, actions, texts, linguistic formulas, buildings, etc., entering into the system of religious cult. The sacred is opposed to the profane, the secular, not belonging to the sphere of religion.

Samsara (Skt. - wandering, the flow of life) - in Brahmanism, Buddhism, Jainism, and elsewhere - the doctrine of the inevitable suffering of beings in earthly life and the transmigration of the souls of the dead into other bodies, carried out according to the law of karma.

Santana - in Buddhist philosophy denotes the stream of the flow of life.

Sawm (Arab. - to fast) - fasting. The Muslim fast consists in abstention from drink, food, pleasures, and entertainment during the day. Obligatory for all Muslims is the fast throughout the entire month of Ramadan. In addition to this there are also dates during which fasting is considered desirable, for example, on Ashura - the 10th day of the new year (according to the lunar calendar), in the month of Sha'ban, and so on.

Swastika - an ancient Hindu sign of well-being and prosperity in the form of a cross with equal arms bent at right angles; the crossing of arms on the chest, a symbol of fertility, the sun, crossed lightning bolts, the hammer of Thor.

Secular state - a state that is neutral in worldview or confessional terms, fundamentally not adopting any of the worldview systems or religions as its official ideology, provid

20-1047 305

FREEDOM OF RELIGION

ing its citizens the opportunity to freely make their own worldview choice.

Freedom of religion (religions) - a necessary element of freedom of conscience, including: the admission within the state of the activity of various confessions, the granting to them of equal rights and the imposition on them of equal obligations, and free, unhindered activity.

Freedom of religion - a necessary and inalienable element of freedom of conscience, including: the right of a person to choose, to profess any religion, or to change his religious convictions, the free establishment by believers of religious societies; the possibility for everyone, irrespective of affiliation to one or another religion, to enjoy all political and civil rights and freedoms.

Freedom of conscience - a legal norm of a democratic secular state, meaning the freedom of every person independently to make his own worldview choice, to determine his attitude to religion, to express, disseminate, and change his religious or atheistic convictions. In this connection any direct or indirect restriction of rights or establishment of any advantages for citizens depending on their attitude to religion is excluded.

Holy places - places which, according to religious conceptions, are connected with visitations by gods and saints, with various events of «sacred history», with miracle-workings, and which are objects of veneration by believers. Holy places exist in all religions. Among Christians special veneration is enjoyed by the shrines in Palestine, where Jesus Christ allegedly lived, preached, suffered a martyr's death, and rose again, and where other events reflected in the New Testament books also took place.

Priest (official ecclesiastical term - iereus, presbyter) a minister of religious cult in Orthodoxy, admitted to the independent conduct of divine services. A priest performs all the sacraments (except holy orders).

Priestly vestments in the Orthodox Church - the vestments of clergy during divine services, having a special spiritual significance. These include: the sti

306

HOLY SCRIPTURE

charion - a long straight garment with wide sleeves; the phelonion (chasuble) - a long sleeveless garment with an opening for the head; the sakkos - a short sticharion with small sleeves, worn only by bishops. Deacons wear on the left shoulder the orarion - a narrow long band, while priests and bishops wear the epitrachelion - a wide band placed around the neck. Among the headwear: the skufia - a round velvet cap, the kamilavka - a tall velvet headdress. The priestly vestments also include: the nabedrennik, an oblong four-sided cloth, and the palitsa - a similar cloth in the shape of a rhombus. They are worn at the belt, hanging down onto the hips. A bishop's vestments also include the omophorion, a wide band, which is hung over the shoulder. Ministers of cult in other religions have their own priestly vestments, to which a symbolic meaning is attached, connected with the particularities of the doctrine.

Holy Scripture - religious books, written, according to doctrine, at the inspiration of God Himself. Holy Scripture exists in every religion. In Christianity Holy Scripture is considered to be the Bible.

Holy Tradition, or apostolic tradition, a totality of religious propositions and institutions which, like Holy Scripture, are venerated by the Orthodox and Catholic churches as a divinely inspired source of doctrine. The church holds that the records of Holy Tradition transmit the oral teaching of the apostles. Holy Tradition arose in the process of the evolution of Christian doctrine and the organization of the church after the creation of Holy Scripture, in order to fix norms and dogmas absent from it. Holy Tradition includes the creeds, the «Apostolic Canons», certain writings of the church fathers, and the decisions of the Ecumenical and Local Councils.

Clergy - ministers of cult in the Orthodox and certain other Christian churches, possessing holy orders, i.e., ordained to one or another degree of the priesthood. There exist three degrees of clergy: the lowest (first) - deacon (deacon, protodeacon, archdeacon; in monasticism - hierodeacon, archdeacon), the middle (second) - presbyter (priest, archpriest, protopresbyter; in monasticism - hieromonk, hegumen, archimandrite); the highest (third) - bishop (vicar

20* -1047 307

RELIGIOUS SECT

bishop, ruling bishop, archbishop, metropolitan, exarch, patriarch). Together the clergy constitute the church hierarchy. The rights and duties of the clergy, and the subordination among them, are built on a hierarchical principle. The bishop is the chief teacher and ruler of the diocese under his authority, over the diocesan clergy; the first-ranking clergyman, who can perform all seven Christian sacraments and ordain to the diaconate and the presbyterate. The presbyter receives from the bishop the power to perform all sacraments except holy orders, and all services and rites, both in the church and outside it; a presbyter fulfilling the duties of a rector of a church directs the parish clergy and the parishioners, and concelebrates with the bishop at episcopal services. A deacon cannot independently perform sacraments and services, but only assists, concelebrating with the bishop and the presbyter in the performance of sacraments and services by them.

Religious sect (Lat. - teaching, direction, school) - a confessional group, one of the types of religious associations. It arises as an oppositional movement in relation to previously established, as a rule dominant, religious currents, often as a result of a schism, as a result of protest against their doctrine, cult, or organizational structure. Characteristic of a religious sect, especially in the period of its emergence and formation, are radicalism of doctrine and system of values, the preaching of its own exceptionalism, a sense of being chosen, and a sharp opposition of itself to the church from which it separated, to other religious movements, and to «the world». Typical are criticism of the dominant church for departure from the original doctrines and practice (for example, of Christianity, of Islam) and a demand for a return to them, for spiritual rebirth. They are distinguished by a charismatic or authoritarian type of leadership, voluntary entry into the community with subsequent strict submission to discipline and to the accepted moral norms. Characteristic of Christian sects of a Protestant orientation are the absence of a hierarchy of clergy, the principle of the universal priesthood of the laity, the rejection of the veneration of icons and crosses, and the denial of the cult of

308

SECULARIZATION

saints. In the course of historical development some religious sects disintegrate over time and cease to exist, while others turn into different types of religious associations (churches, denominations), as, for example, the Evangelical Christian Baptists, the Seventh-day Adventists, and others. In the literature the term «sect» is often applied without sufficient grounds to other types of religious associations merely on the grounds that they set themselves in opposition to the dominant or most numerous church.

Secularization - the process of freeing all spheres of public and private life from the influence of religion and the church. It is accompanied by the alienation of church property in favor of the state and private individuals, the narrowing of the sphere of social influence of religion and the church; the release of state-legal relations from religious sanctioning; the removal of education from the church's jurisdiction; the development of secular art and culture; the emancipation of people's everyday life, consciousness, and behavior from church and religious-ecclesiastical influence; a decline in the popularity of religion among various strata of the population accompanied by a peculiar "secularization" of the religious complex, manifested in the orientation of religion and church activity toward solving real earthly problems, and the transformation of religious consciousness toward replacing orthodox conceptions with scientific views of the world. Secularization is an objectively conditioned process, an element of social progress, closely dependent on the development of economic, political-legal relations, education, and culture. In contemporary society the process of secularization is ambiguous and contradictory in character.

Seminary (Lat.) - in Christianity, a secondary educational institution intended for the training of clergy; in pre-revolutionary Russia, also for the training of primary school teachers.

Creed - a brief summary of the main dogmas constituting the foundation of the doctrine of a given religious movement or church. A creed must be accepted boldly, on faith, without proof. The universal Christian (Apostles') Creed consists of 12 parts, or "articles." In the first eight

309

SYNAGOGUE

it speaks of the trinity of God, the "incarnation" of Jesus Christ, and the redemption of sins; the last four are devoted to the church, baptism, and "eternal life." The Creed was composed by the Church Fathers and confirmed at the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381). The Creed is read as a prayer during church services and at home, and is also sung in chorus by those present in the church.

Synagogue (Gk. - assembly) - a Jewish religious community, as well as a place of worship, a house of prayer in Judaism.

Synod (Gk. - assembly) - a consultative body under the heads of the Catholic and some Orthodox churches, consisting of senior church officials and hierarchs.

Shinto, Shintoism (Jap. - way of the gods) - the national religion of the Japanese, which arose on the basis of animistic, totemistic, and fetishistic beliefs and developed under the influence of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

Skete (Gk. - ascetic, hermit) - the dwelling of a hermit. An independent dwelling, or one structurally set apart within a monastery, for solitary life. Monks living in a skete take additional vows. A skete is usually closed to outside visitors. Among the Old Believers, the term "skete" refers to any monastery or settlement of monastic type.

Conscience - pertaining to moral consciousness, a person's inner conviction in understanding and distinguishing what is good and evil in the culture of human relations. Conscience is a person's awareness and sense of responsibility for their own conduct, one of the expressions of the individual's moral consciousness.

Solomon (c. 965-928 BCE) - the third king of the Israelite-Judean kingdom, who uttered three thousand proverbs and one thousand five songs, which made up a whole series of books of the Old Testament. "Wisdom, the artificer of all things" enabled Solomon to know "the structure of the world and the activity of the elements... all things both secret and manifest." (Wisdom of Solomon 7:17). The hero of numerous legends and traditions. Builder of the temple on Mount Moriah.

The Presentation of the Lord - one of the twelve great feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on February 2 (15).

310

THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD

It was established in memory of the event of the Gospel narrative - the meeting (presentation) of the infant Jesus, whom his parents, according to the Old Testament law, brought to the temple forty days after his birth, with a certain elder named Simeon, who foretold that Jesus "would go forth to the salvation of the people."

Old Belief (Old Ritualism) - a religious movement consisting of a number of sects that arose as a result of the church schism in Russia in the 17th century, whose adherents did not accept the reforms of Patriarch Nikon and sought to preserve the old church rules and conservative institutions, in opposition or hostility to the official Orthodox Church.

Last Judgment - according to Christian doctrine, the final determination of human destinies, which will be carried out by Jesus Christ at the second coming.

Sukkot (Heb. - booths, tabernacles) - a Jewish holiday marking the arrival of autumn and the gathering of the late harvest (usually in October), and also symbolizing God's protection of Israel during the people's sojourn in the wilderness (lasting 9 days).

Sunnah - the Sacred Tradition of Islam, set forth in accounts (hadiths) of the deeds and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. In Islam the Sunnah is regarded as a source explaining and supplementing the Quran and serving as the second (after the Quran) foundation of Muslim law.

Sunnism - the more numerous of the two (along with Shiism) branches of Islam. Sunnism arose in the second half of the 7th century in Arabia, and in the 8th-12th centuries took shape as the dominant branch of Islam. Adherents of Sunnism - Sunnis - recognize, alongside the Quran, the sanctity of the Sunnah, and place particular emphasis on faithfulness to tradition and on the believers' participation in choosing their head - the caliph.

Scientism (Lat. - knowledge, science) - a worldview position whose basis is the notion of scientific knowledge as the highest cultural value and the exhaustive condition for humanity's self-affirmation in the world. Scientism is oriented primarily toward the methodology and results of the natural sciences and thereby reserves for science the right and capacity to resolve all soci

311

TABOO

al problems. Scientism became established in culture at the end of the 19th century, giving rise to the opposite worldview orientation - anti-scientism. The latter emphasizes the limitations of the possibilities of science, interprets it as a force hostile to human nature, and demands that science be placed on an equal footing with other value-forms of social consciousness such as religion, morality, and art.

Taboo (Polynesian - prohibition) - sacred prohibitions imposed on certain actions and objects in primitive culture.

Sacraments - the most important rites in Christianity, during the performance of which, according to church teaching, a special divine grace descends upon believers. The Orthodox and Catholic churches recognize 7 sacraments - baptism, communion, ordination, penance, chrismation, marriage, and unction.

Talmud (Heb. - study) - a multi-volume compendium, a collection of Jewish dogmatic, legal, religious-philosophical, moral, and everyday precepts, formed over the course of many centuries (from the 4th century BCE to the 5th century CE), based on the interpretation of the Bible.

Tara - one of the principal sacred concepts of Tibetan Buddhism, denoting the divine feminine principle. Tara is sometimes regarded as synonymous with the Mother of the World, or is used as the name for an outstanding luminous spiritual woman of bodhisattva rank. Tradition, wishing to emphasize various aspects of feminine divinity and using color symbolism, distinguishes the White, Yellow, and Green Tara.

Theocracy - a form of government in which power in the state rests in the hands of the head of the church and the clergy.

Theology (the doctrine of God) - the systematic exposition and interpretation of religious doctrine, an elaborated theological system present in all confessions.

Theosophy (Gk. - god plus wisdom) - a religious-mystical doctrine concerning the union of the human soul with the deity and the possibility of direct communication with the other world.

312

UMMAH

Theurgy (Gk. - god plus work) - a form of magic through which it was considered possible to change the course of events by influencing the will of gods and spirits.

Torah (Heb.) - the first five books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch (of Moses)."

Totemism - a complex of beliefs and rites of primitive society associated with conceptions of kinship between groups of people and totems, in which each clan bore the name of its totem.

Tripitaka (Skt.), Tipitaka - three baskets (of the law) - the canonical collection of the sacred texts of Buddhism.

Tushita - one of the concepts of Tibetan Buddhism denoting the "Buddhist heaven" - one of the higher spiritual-cosmic spheres, into which the most perfect and enlightened souls pass after death.

Ummah (Arab. - people, nation) - the Muslim community of the faithful. Canonical Islam does not recognize the concept of "nation" in the ethnic sense; for it there exists only the "ummah" - the Muslim community, united by faith in Allah and his messenger Muhammad.

Uniatism - a church movement based on the union of various Christian church organizations with the Catholic Church, on the condition that the former recognize the primacy of the Pope of Rome and Catholic dogma while retaining their traditional rite and the use of the local language for worship. Such are the Uniate churches of the Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Maronite, and other rites. In Ukraine, the Greek Catholic Church existed as a result of the Union of Brest of 1596-1946. A church council held in 1946, conducted under the control of the state security organs, announced the union of the Greek Catholics of Ukraine with the Russian Orthodox Church. Priests who did not recognize the council's decision were subjected to repression. Until the late 1980s the Greek Catholic structures existed illegally and were officially restored in December 1989.

Church union (from Late Lat. - union) - the union of Orthodox and Catholic churches on the condition

313

FATIMA

that the Orthodox Church recognize the primacy of the Pope of Rome, purgatory, and the filioque, while retaining its own rites and worship in the native language and permitting marriages among the secular clergy. After the split of the churches, church union became one of the forms of the Vatican's expansionist policy aimed at bringing the Eastern Orthodox churches into subjection.

Upanishads - inner knowledge, secret teaching that penetrates into the ultimate truth and is established in it; one of the types of sacred Indian scriptures.

Eid al-Fitr (Turk.) - one of the two main Muslim holidays, marking the end of the fast of Ramadan at the end of the month of Ramadan.

Dormition of the Mother of God - one of the twelve great fixed feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on August 15 (28) in memory of the death of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ.

Statute of a religious association - a body of rules, established by the founders of a religious association, governing its activity. Statutes may be canonical, defining the internal regulations of religious associations, or civil-legal, defining the legal status of religious associations recognized as legal entities. The statute of a religious association acquiring the rights of a legal entity is subject to state registration.

Fatima - the eldest daughter of Muhammad, who became the wife of his cousin and closest associate Ali and the mother of the Prophet's grandsons - Hasan and Husayn. All the descendants of Muhammad trace their line from them. Fatima is held in high esteem by Muslims, especially by Shiites.

Fatwa (Arab. - opinion, decision) - an official written conclusion, a decision by a Muslim religious authority (usually a mufti) on theological-legal and ritual questions. A fatwa is based on the Quran, sharia, and hadiths.

Fetishism - one of the most ancient religious forms; vestiges of fetishism are also found in contemporary religions:

314

HAJJ

the veneration of icons, relics, and the like; a mature worship of something.

Fiqh (Arab.) - the theory of Muslim law, developing the principles for the use of the Quran and the Sunnah and their interpretation for the practical elaboration of the norms of life of Muslim society. Fiqh deals with the direct interpretation of the Law, and therefore this term is sometimes used more broadly to designate the entire body of religious disciplines, or to designate Muslim theology in general. Fiqh is also the theoretical foundation and elaboration of sharia, which is why the terms "sharia" and "fiqh" are often used interchangeably.

Filioque (Lat. - and from the son) - an addition to the Christian Creed first formulated at the Council of Toledo in 589. According to the Creed confirmed by the First and Second Ecumenical Councils (325 and 381), the Holy Spirit proceeds from God the Father. The addition consisted in the assertion that the Holy Spirit proceeds both from God the Father and from God the Son. The Greek-Byzantine (Orthodox) Church did not accept the addition, which became one of the formal pretexts for the division of the Christian Church in 1054 into Western and Eastern branches.

Religious fundamentalism (Lat. - foundation) - a tendency, or a fully formed movement, in theology asserting the inviolability of the basic, original principles of a particular religion, insisting on their revival and unconditional observance, regardless of changing socio-historical circumstances. It is present to one degree or another among adherents of all religions with a centuries-long history. It is often used as a religious framing for radical-conservative political aspirations, taking on a militant character.

Hajj (hadj, haddj) - the pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the chief duties of a Muslim. People who have performed the Hajj enjoy special honor and respect in Muslim society, and often wear special clothing, such as a green turban. The Hajj is performed in the first ten days of Dhu al-Qi'

315

HAJJI

dah and begins with a sevenfold circumambulation of the Kaaba. Pilgrims kiss the "black stone" or touch it, and drink water from Zamzam. Then they run several times between the hills of Safa and Marwa in memory of how Ibrahim's wife Hajar ran there in search of water for the infant Ismail. The pilgrims then proceed to the foot of Mount Arafat, where mass prayer takes place. After this they return toward Mecca, to Mount Muzdalifah, where a special sermon is read, after which everyone proceeds to the valley of Mina, where they throw seven stones three times at designated spots, where, according to legend, Ibrahim drove away Iblis, who stood in his path. After this the solemn sacrifice of sheep takes place in memory of the sacrifice offered by Ibrahim to Allah. On this day, the 10th of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the main pan-Islamic holiday, Eid al-Adha, begins. During the period of the Hajj, pilgrims put on the ihram - special white garments, and do not cut their hair or nails. There is also a lesser pilgrimage rite (umrah), performed at any time of the year, which is limited to veneration of the Kaaba. The rite of the Hajj is an Islamization of ancient pagan rituals.

Hajji (Arab.) - a Muslim who has performed the religious pilgrimage of the Hajj to Mecca and Medina; also an honorific title among Muslims.

Hadith (Arab.) - an account, introduced by an isnad, of the deeds and sayings of Muhammad and his companions. There are six major and numerous minor collections of hadiths.

Caliph (Arab. - successor, deputy) - in early Islam and subsequently among Sunnis, the head of the Muslim community, who in certain functions took the place of the deceased Prophet Muhammad. Caliphs, each of whom "replaced" the one before him, were required to be pious men, chosen by the community to regulate its life according to sharia and to see to the community's fulfillment of the "divine ordinances" commanded by Allah.

Caliphate - 1) an institution of power characteristic of the Sunni branch of Islam. It denotes the concentration of secular and spiritual authority over the community in the hands of the caliph. The Sunni caliphate is in principle identical to the imamate. Questions concerning the character

316

KHATIB

of the caliphate and its practical realization served as the basis for sharp political struggle in early Islam, which led to the emergence of its main branches - Sunnism, Shiism, and Kharijism; 2) the name of the state headed by a caliph. The term "Caliphate" (or Arab Caliphate) is usually applied to the Muslim state that arose after the Muslim conquests in the 7th century and existed, steadily disintegrating into independent states, until the Mongol conquest in the 13th century.

Khatib (Arab.) - a clergyman who delivers the sermon (khutbah) in the mosque during Friday prayer and holidays. He is often simultaneously the imam of the mosque (imam-khatib); as a rule, he has considerable influence over Muslims.

Hijra (Arab. - departure, emigration) - the Muslim calendar era, based on the lunar calendar (with a year length of 354 days), connected with the migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622, which played a decisive role in the formation and spread of Islam (special tables exist for synchronization with the European solar calendar).

Hinayana (Skt. - lesser vehicle) - one of the two main movements of Buddhism (the so-called southern Buddhism), widespread in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and certain other countries of Southeast Asia, in which the Buddhist concept of "liberation" takes the form of personal perfection, independent of external conditions.

Ordination (Cheirotonia) (Gk. - laying on of hands, action by the power of hands) - a Christian sacrament performed on a person of the male sex belonging to the clergy and chosen for elevation to one of the three degrees of the church hierarchy: deacon, priest, bishop. During the rite of ordination the senior clergyman lays his hands on the head of the person being consecrated to office, in the course of which "special gifts of God's grace invisibly descend" upon the latter. In Protestant churches, presbyters, deacons, and other male ministers chosen by the church are consecrated to service by the laying on of hands.

Christianity - one of the three world religions (along with Islam and Buddhism), which arose in the 1st century CE and divides

317

CELIBACY

into three main branches - Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism, united by faith in Christ; the principal source of doctrine is the Bible (above all the New Testament).

Khural (Mong.) - a religious service in a monastery.

Khurde (Mong.) - a prayer mill, a hollow cylinder in which prayer texts are placed. One turn of the khurde is equivalent to the reading of all the prayers placed within it. They are set up on the grounds of a monastery, next to the temple.

Celibacy (Lat. - unmarried) - the vow of celibacy of Catholic priests, made law in the 13th century.

Church law - the body of norms established for defining and ordering church relations. It is subdivided into internal church law, which includes norms concerning the church as an institution (the ordering of spheres of activity, relations of subordination, and the measures and means for achieving church tasks), and external church law, which is divided into state-church law and inter-confessional law. Church law does not coincide with canon law. Canon law includes all the law developed by the church during the era of the Ecumenical Councils in the East and up to the end of the Middle Ages in the West, regardless of whether it concerns church or civil affairs. Church relations, both in the autocephalous churches of Eastern Orthodoxy and in the West, are only partly regulated by canon law, but are determined mainly by norms of later origin, both ecclesiastical and civil.

Church servers (minor clergy) - representatives of the lower clergy in the Orthodox and certain other Christian churches, who perform an auxiliary role in preparing for and conducting services. Church servers include: the sacristan (verger), reader, cantor, subdeacon; and in monasticism, the novice, riasophore monk, and monk. The sacrament of holy orders (ordination) is not performed over church servers; they are inducted into office merely by the bishop's blessing,

318

CHAPEL

which is called cheirothesia. It consists in the bishop laying his hand on the bowed head of the one being consecrated and reading the prescribed prayers.

Church (Gk. - house of God) - 1) an organization of believers, formed in the course of the development of a doctrine and the union of people within the framework of a common religion. A church is characterized by the existence of a system of obligatory dogmas and rites (cult). Its governance, as a rule, is based on the hierarchical principle; 2) a building for the performance of Christian worship, an obligatory component of which is the altar and the space where worshippers stand.

Chapel - a special building, usually crowned with a cross. Services may be held in it - except for the liturgy. (The latter may be performed if a portable antimension is available). Chapels were built in cemeteries, near villages, in squares, along roads, and over holy springs, both for religious needs and to commemorate important events in church and public life. During the years of Soviet power, most chapels were destroyed. At present some of them have been restored and new ones are being built.

Purgatory - according to Catholic belief, a place in the afterlife, between heaven and hell, where the souls of the dead are cleansed of sins before entering heaven.

Shavuot (Heb. - feast of weeks), Pentecost - a Jewish harvest festival of the wheat harvest at the end of May or beginning of June, also celebrated simultaneously as the feast of the Ten Commandments, or the "giving of the law" to the Jewish people, on the 50th day after Pesach (the revelation on Mount Sinai).

Shaitan (Arab.) - in Islam, the devil, Satan, also called Iblis.

Shamanism - a complex of beliefs, views, and rites that formed over the course of many centuries; in the course of its evolution, later beliefs were superimposed on the older

319

SHAMBHALA

ones and together formed a certain whole. That is why in the shamanism of later eras one can find conceptions from more ancient eras (ancestor cult, totemism, magic, animism, etc.), when shamanism encompassed almost the entire religious practice of a given people. A characteristic feature of shamanism is belief in the existence of special people (shamans) who are able to act as intermediaries between man and some spirit. As a rule, shamans are "chosen" by one or another spirit, pass through a stage of falling ill with the "shamanic sickness," which confirms the "shamanic gift," and thereby become ready to fulfill their duties. According to the belief of those around them, they are able to cure incurable diseases, foretell the future, bring about changes in nature, and so on. Communication with spirits takes place by means of special rituals (kamlaniya, seances), during which the shaman enters an ecstatic state. All this is accompanied by rhythmic beats on a special shamanic drum or some other musical instrument. On the territory of Russia, shamanism is traditionally widespread among the peoples of Siberia; it survived in the struggle for existence despite the pressure of Buddhism and Christianity. At present a revival of shamanism is being observed in the territories of its traditional distribution.

Shambhala - the Buddhist name for the dwelling place, in the Himalayas, of the community of the great Mahatmas. Conceptions of an abode of saints and the righteous in the mountains of the East are widespread throughout Asia (Shambhala, Kalapa, the Valley of the Immortals), as well as in Russia (Belovodye) and in Europe (the Riphean Mountains, the Brotherhood of the Grail, the Kingdom of Prester John). The second meaning of the term "Shambhala" in Buddhism is the personification of a coming age of good and truth.

Sharia (Arab. - the right path to the goal) - a complex of legal norms, principles, and rules of conduct, religious life, and actions of a Muslim, observance of which means leading a righteous life pleasing to Allah, leading the Muslim to paradise. Sharia is considered "divine law," communicated to people through the Quran, the hadiths, and the writings of religious authorities.

Sheikh (Arab. - to become old, to age) - 1) in the modern and contemporary era, the title of the head of a tribe in Arabia; 2) an honorific title for major religious authorities, experts

320

SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM

in religious disciplines, heads of Sufi brotherhoods, people known for their piety.

Sheikh-ul-Islam - an honorary title of prominent Muslim theologians; this title is also borne by the head of the Muslim Shiites of Transcaucasia.

Shaivism - one of the two main branches (along with Vaishnavism) of contemporary Hinduism, the veneration of the god Shiva, widespread mainly in South India.

Shiism - the second largest branch of Islam by number of adherents (after Sunnism). The followers of Shiism - the Shiites - while recognizing the Quran as divine revelation, hold that in its Uthmanic redaction verses relating to Ali - the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad - were omitted. In the Sunnah they recognize only those hadiths that go back to Ali; they have their own tradition - the akhbar, collections of which, together with the Quran, serve as a source of sharia. Beginning in the 7th-9th centuries, Shiism split into several branches. In the countries of the CIS, followers of Shiism live mainly in Azerbaijan.

Shiites (Arab. - to join someone) - a general name for various movements and sects that recognize Ali ibn Abi Talib and his descendants as the only legitimate successors of the Prophet Muhammad. In the course of the struggle for power at the beginning of the second half of the 7th century, a political grouping of Ali's supporters formed, recognizing his exclusive right to supreme power - the imamate. The basic difference between the Shiites and the Sunnis lies in their differing interpretations of the concept of the imamate. Whereas for the Sunnis the imam is a spiritual and secular leader, elected or appointed by the people, the Shiite imam is such by his very essence, owing to the mysterious emanation of "divine grace" passing from one imam to another. The Alid imams (with the exception of the Zaydis) embody the principle of hereditary supreme power and the principle of the continuity of prophecy. However, the question of the transmission of the right to the imamate to one or another descendant of the Alids caused disagreements and schisms among the Shiites. Already in the 8th century the Shiite movement split into two main currents - the "moderate" and

21-1047 321

EPIC

the "extreme." Among the "moderate" Shiites are counted the Zaydis and the Imamis, who, apart from the doctrine of the imamate, did not diverge far from the Sunnis. The other current was represented by the so-called "extreme" Shiites, who deified the Alid imams, and the Ismailis, whose teaching departed very far from the basic tenets of Islam. In turn, these branches split into numerous sects. At present, the Shiite creed is held by the absolute majority of the population of Iran, more than half the population of Iraq, and a significant part of the Muslims of Lebanon, Yemen, and Bahrain. Followers of various Shiite sects exist in practically all Muslim

продолжение следует...