Glossary of Terms
Collegiality
The principle that bishops are ordained (consecrated) into a college. It is based on the assumption that bishops succeed the apostles collectively, not individually. As a consequence each bishop is responsible not only for a diocese but also for the universal church. The mode of exercise of this responsibility varies with circumstances. While bishops are […]
Colombia, Diocese of
The House of Bishops established the Missionary District of Colombia on Nov. 12, 1963. In 1970 it became the Missionary Diocese of Colombia and later the Diocese of Colombia. The first indigenous bishop was the Rt. Rev. Bernardo Merino-Botero, who was consecrated on June 29, 1979.
Colorado School of Mines
The Rt. Rev. George Maxwell Randall (1810-1873), the first Bishop of Colorado, received a gift of $5,000 in 1868 from a Brooklyn, New York, merchant, George A. Jarvis, to establish a school. With this gift plus ten acres of land in Golden, Colorado, he laid the cornerstone of Jarvis Hall, on Aug. 25, 1869. It […]
Colorado, Diocese of
The state of Colorado was part of the Missionary District of the Northwest from Oct. 19, 1859, until Oct. 21, 1865, when the House of Bishops established the Missionary District of Colorado and Parts Adjacent with jurisdiction in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. On Oct. 4, 1866, the House of Bishops changed the Missionary District […]
Columba, St.
(c. 521-June 9, 597). Founder of many churches and monasteries in Ireland. He was born in Gartan, County Donegal, Ireland. Columba was trained in several Irish monasteries. He was ordained priest around 551. In 563 Columba left Ireland with twelve companions and went to the Isle of Hy or Ioua, now called Iona. He founded […]
Come Celebrate! A Hymnal Supplement
This volume consists of “Service Music,” and “Songs and Hymns.” It represents the results of the life of worship of the Community of Celebration. Its contents are eclectic: international, intergenerational, and sacramental. Come Celebrate! was designed to be a supplement to The Hymnal 1982. It was commended by the 1991 General Convention. It includes “Performance […]
Commination
A “threatening of punishment.” A service for Ash Wednesday drawn up for the first English Prayer Book of 1549 to replace the blessing of ashes. It included an exhortation on God's judgment, the solemn cursing of those who have committed various sins, Ps 51, suffrages, and a collect. It has remained in the English Prayer […]
Commissary
Representatives of the Bishop of London appointed to oversee the work of the Church of England in the American colonies during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. By the time of the Glorious Revolution (1688), the Bishop of London held responsibility for control over Anglican affairs in America. Since commissaries already performed functions for […]
Commission on Ministry
In 1970 the General Convention of the Episcopal Church passed a new canon, Canon III.1, which required each diocese to establish a Commission on Ministry. The number of members, their selection, and their terms of office are to be determined by diocesan canons. The functions of Commissions on Ministry specified in the canon are to […]
Commissions of the General Convention
The General Convention may establish Standing Commissions and Joint Commissions. A Standing Commission is to study and make recommendations to the General Convention on major subjects considered to be of continuing concern to the church. Members of the Standing Commissions have a six-year term, serving until the adjournment of the second General Convention following their […]
Companion Diocese
Companion diocese relationships are formally recognized by the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church at the request of the dioceses involved, on the basis of a resolution by both partners proposing the companion relationship. The companion dioceses usually commit to the relationship for a fixed period of years, but this commitment is renewable. A companion […]
Compasrose, The
This journal had the subtitle, News of the Anglican Communion. It was published four times a year by the Anglican Consultative Council. It is continued by Anglican World. See Anglican Consultative Council.
Compass Rose
The emblem of the Anglican Communion. It was designed by Canon Edward West of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. It has a stylized compass in which the center holds the Cross of St. George, surrounded by the Greek inscription “The truth shall make you free.” It symbolizes the spread […]
Compline
The last of the four services in the Daily Office (BCP, p. 127). It is descended from the night prayers said before bed at the end of the monastic round of daily prayer. Compline is a simple office including a confession of sins, one or more psalms, a short reading from scripture, versicles and responses, […]
Compton, Henry
(1632-July 7, 1713). He was consecrated Bishop of Oxford on Dec. 6, 1674, and was the ninety-fourth Bishop of London from Feb. 6, 1676, until his death. As Bishop of London he had responsibility for the Church of England in the American colonies. He was the first Bishop of London to send or name commissaries […]
Concelebration
Joint celebration of the eucharist by a chief celebrant and one or more concelebrants. Concelebration may or may not include recitation of all or part of the eucharistic prayer by the concelebrants. In the early church, the bishop typically served as chief celebrant and was flanked by priests who joined in the celebration. The […]
Concomitance
Eucharistic doctrine that affirms the simultaneous presence of Christ's body and blood in each of the eucharistic elements. It contradicts a narrow identification of Christ's body with the bread and Christ's blood with the wine. The doctrine of concomitance upholds the truth that the fullness of communion is available by receiving either the consecrated bread […]
Confession of Faith
A declaration of belief in the triune God, after the example of the Christian martyrs and confessors of faith. In Christian liturgy, this confession is expressed through the recitation of the ancient ecumenical creeds-the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed-and through the eucharistic prayer. At every baptism in the Episcopal Church, the congregation welcomes the […]
Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle, The
The confession of Peter is recorded in the Gospel According to Matthew (16:16), “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The liturgical celebration of Peter's confession is celebrated on Jan. 18. It is a major feast in the Prayer Book calendar. This observance was first included in the 1979 BCP. The date […]
Confession of Sin
An acknowledgment of sin, as in Ps 51: “Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Confessions of sin during the liturgy are general, made by all the people. The church also provides for confessions of sin by individual penitents, and for their absolution, pronounced by a bishop or […]
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.