Episcopal Church A's

As promised, let's start with the A B C's... which apply to many Christian churches, not exclusively the Episcopal Church:


Ablution(s): A washing or cleansing of the body, especially as part of a religious rite; the ritual washing of a priest's hands or of sacred vessels [from the Middle English ablucioun, from Latin ablti, abltin-, from abltus, past participle of abluere, to wash away : ab-, away; see ab-1 + -luere, to wash; see leu()- in Indo-European roots.]


Absolution: The condition of being formally forgiven by a priest in the sacrament of the Reconciliation of a Penitent;
the act of absolving or remitting; formal redemption as pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of Reconciliation of a Penitent; General Absolution refers to the pronouncement by a priest of God's forgiveness of sins during the service of Morning or Eventing Prayer, or the Eucharist [from the 12th Century French absolution, Latin absolutio (accusative absolūtiōnem) (acquittal), from absolvere to absolve].

Advent: The coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important; The liturgical period preceding Christmas, beginning in Western churches on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and in Eastern churches in mid-November, and observed by many Christians as a season of prayer, fasting, and penitence [Middle English, the Advent season, from Old French, from Latin adventus, arrival, from past participle of advenre, to come to : ad-, ad- + venre, to come; see gw- in Indo-European roots.]

Apse: A usually semicircular or polygonal, often vaulted recess, especially the termination of the sanctuary end of a church; An arched or domed recess at the east end of a church; a domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building, especially the east end of a church, which usually contains the altar [from Greek apsis a fitting together].

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N.B. All of the definitions used in this series are drawn from: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved;
WordNet 3.0. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.;
Collins Essential Thesaurus 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2005, 2006