Glossary of Terms

Kairos

1) Kairos refers to a time of crisis and decision. The concept is drawn from Greek philosophy. The Christian kairos reflects the availability of salvation in Christ, which calls for a life-changing response of faith by the believer. This turning point or moment of decision takes place in chronological (clock) time, which is also known […]

Kamehameha

(Feb. 9, 1834-Nov. 30, 1863) and Emma (Jan. 2, 1836-Apr. 25, 1885), King and Queen of Hawaii. Kamehameha IV became the King of Hawaii on Jan. 11, 1855. On June 19, 1856, he married Emma Rooke and she became queen. In 1860 they asked the Bishop of Oxford to send missionaries to Hawaii to establish […]

Kansas City, Diocese of

The Diocese of West Missouri was known as the Diocese of Kansas City from June 17, 1904, until May 13, 1914.

Kansas Theological School, Topeka

This theological school operated from 1876 until 1918. In 1892 the charter was amended to permit the school to grant the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. The number of students varied from two to 26.

Kansas, Diocese of

The primary convention of the Diocese of Kansas met at St. Paul's Church, Wyandotte (now Kansas City), Aug. 11-12, 1859. On June 5, 1879, Grace Church, Topeka, was set apart as Grace Cathedral. The 1901 General Convention voted to divide the diocese and create a Missionary District in the western part of the state. The […]

Kanuga Conference Center

The conference center is a mountain resort area, located at Kanuga, North Carolina. It is near Hendersonville. The idea of a summer conference center developed in 1923 and property was acquired shortly thereafter. It is now a large conference center that serves as a national center for major conferences, including meetings of the House of […]

Kataphatic

See Cataphatic.

Kearney, Missionary District of

The 1889 General Convention voted to divide the Diocese of Nebraska and create the Missionary District of The Platte. It was in existence from 1889 until 1946. From Oct. 10, 1907, until Oct. 14, 1913, it was known as the Missionary District of Kearney.

Keble College, Pass Christian, Mississippi

This school, named after John Keble, opened in 1951. The Rev. Hewitt Breneman Vinnedge (1898-1957) was its first president. It was to be a co-educational, liberal arts, pre-professional school. Vinnedge resigned as president in 1952 and the school closed.

Keble, John

(Apr. 25, 1792-Mar. 29, 1866). One of the initiators of the Oxford (Tractarian) Movement in England. He was an Anglican priest and professor of poetry at Oriel College, Oxford. In 1833 he preached the sermon on “National Apostasy” before the Judges of Assize in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford. This sermon defended […]

Keith, George

(c. 1638-Mar. 27, 1716). First missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. Keith was educated for the Presbyterian ministry of the Church of Scotland at Marischal College and received his M.A. degree from Aberdeen University in 1658. He joined the Quakers in 1662. Keith was harassed […]

Keith, Reuel

(June 26, 1792-Sept. 1, 1842). Seminary professor and prominent low churchman. He was born in Pittsford, Vermont, and educated at Middlebury College in Vermont. He studied for the ordained ministry under John Prentiss Kewly Henshaw, later Bishop of Rhode Island, and at the Andover Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon on May 10, 1817, and […]

Kelleran, Marion Macdonald

(Apr. 20, 1905-June 27, 1985). Leader of the Anglican Communion and seminary professor. She was born in Byng Inlet, Ontario, Canada. Kelleran received her B.A. in 1926 from the University of Buffalo and did graduate study at Union Theological Seminary, New York, Harvard University, and the Episcopal Divinity School. She married the Rev. Harold C. […]

Kemp, James

(May 20, 1764-Oct. 28, 1827). Second Bishop of Maryland. He was born in the parish of Keith Hall, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and raised a Presbyterian. Kemp graduated from Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1786, and came to America in the next year. He was attracted to the Episcopal Church and read for holy orders under the Rev. […]

Kempe, Margery

(c. 1373-d. after 1433). English mystic of the medieval period. She was born in Lynn, Norfolk, England. She was the wife of John Kempe, burgess of Lynn, by whom she had 14 children. After a period of mental illness, she received several visions. She and her husband went on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. In 1413 […]

Kemper College

Nineteenth-century college named for the Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, the first Missionary Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Kemper had concluded that the only hope for supplying the west with clergy was to train westerners in the west. On Jan. 13, 1837, a charter for a college was granted with the qualification that the trustees would […]

Kemper, Jackson

(Dec. 24, 1789-May 24, 1870). First missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was born in Pleasant Valley, New York. He graduated from Columbia College in 1809 and studied for the ordained ministry under Bishop John Henry Hobart of New York. Kemper was ordained deacon on Mar. 10, 1811, and priest on Jan. 23, 1814. […]

Kempis, Thomas

(c. 1380-July 25, 1471). See Thomas à Kempis.

Ken, Thomas

(July 1637-Mar. 19, 1711). Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1685-1691, Ken wrote devotional literature still popular among Anglicans, especially The Practice of Divine Love (1685). He was an important figure in early English hymnody, and two of his hymns are in The Hymnal 1982: “Awake, my soul, and with the sun” (Hymn 11), and “All […]

Kenosis

A Greek term which means “emptying.” It appears in the christological hymn of Phil 2:6-11, where it means the giving up of divine glory by the eternal Son of God when he became incarnate. The Anglican theologian Charles Gore (1853-1932) popularized the term in Anglican theology as an explanation of the limitations of our Lord's […]

An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church

Glossary of Terms