Propitiation
The appeasement of divine wrath through sacrifice or its substitute in prayer. The term is not in current usage. It was used in older versions of the BCP. It appears three times in the Authorized Version (King James) of the Bible and four times in the Revised Version. The death of Jesus Christ has been presented among Christians as a propitiatory sacrifice to God the Father on behalf of the sins of the world. It is understood that this sacrificial act proceeds from divine love. See Atonement.
Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.