Glossary of Terms

Secularizing a Consecrated Building

This service is used to deconsecrate and secularize a consecrated building that is to be taken down or used for other purposes. The form for this service is provided by […]

Seder Meal

At this traditional Jewish Passover meal the story of the Exodus (haggadah) is read and ritual actions are performed. The seder today consists of fourteen elements: 1) Kiddush, the blessing […]

Sedilia

This triple seat in the sanctuary of a church is for the celebrant, deacon, and sub-deacon at solemn Mass. It is usually a bench with a back divided into thirds. […]

See

The bishop's throne or chair. The term is from the Latin, “seat.” The episcopal throne is a symbol of the bishop's authority and jurisdiction. It is typically located in the […]

Seedlings, Inc

A ministry providing Christian Education materials. It has a special concern to address the needs of very small churches. The Rev. Betty Works Fuller began publishing a Sunday School curriculum […]

Selwyn, George Augustus

(Apr. 5, 1809-Apr. 11, 1878). First Church of England Bishop of New Zealand. He was born in Hempstead, London, England. Selwyn was educated at Eton and St. John's College, Cambridge. […]

Seminary

Theological school for training ordained and lay leaders of the church. Those seeking to be ordained typically participate in a three-year course of studies leading to the Master of Divinity […]

Sentences (Opening)

Sentences of scripture that may be used at the beginning of Morning and Evening Prayer. These sentences may relate the office to the season, day, or time of worship. The […]

Sentences of Administration

Words said by the ministers of the eucharist at the distribution of the consecrated bread and wine during the communion of the people.

Septuagint

Name given to the Greek version of the OT. The word “Septuagint,” meaning seventy, comes from the early legend that seventy-two (rounded down to seventy) Jewish scholars translated the Pentateuch […]

Sequence

A hymn sung after the second lesson and before the gospel acclamation at the eucharist. Many sequences were composed in the middle ages, but the Council of Trent (1545-1563) sought […]

Seraph (s), Seraphim (pl)

Supernatural creatures which have six wings and stand in attendance above the throne of the Lord, according to the vision of Isaiah (6:2-7). In this vision, a seraph said “Holy, […]

Sergius I

(d. 701). Pope from 687. He was Syrian and spoke Greek. Sergius brought several liturgical innovations to the Roman Church. He introduced the Agnus Dei (“O Lamb of God, that […]

Sergius of Radonezh

(1314-1392). Abbot, mystic, and a patron saint of Russia. Sergius is considered the most popular Russian saint. In 1334 Sergius and his brother went to the forests near Radonezh, north […]

Sermon

Religious address in a worship service. The sermon is to “break open” the Word of God and proclaim the gospel in the context of the readings from scripture, the liturgical […]

Sermon on the Mount

A collection of the teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (Chapters 5-7). It is the first of five special speeches in Matthew and takes place at the beginning […]

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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.

An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church