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First Sunday Of Advent
Advent Sunday, also called the First Sunday of Advent or First Advent Sunday, is the first day of the liturgical year in the Western Christian Churches and the start of the Christian season of Advent; a time of preparation for the celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. Advent Sunday is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. On the First Sunday of Advent, Christians start lighting their Advent wreaths, and praying their Advent daily devotional; believers may also erect their Chrismon tree, light a Christingle, as well as engage in other ways of preparing for Christmas, such as setting up Christmas decorations, a custom that is sometimes done liturgically through a hanging of the greens ceremony. Background In Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist churches the celebrant wears violet-coloured or blue vestments on this day, and the first violet or blue Advent candle is lit in the worship service. In the Church of Sweden, a Lutheran natio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Advent Wreath
The Advent wreath, or Advent crown, is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the Western Christianity, Western church. It is traditionally a Lutheran practice, although it has spread to many other Christian denominations. It is an evergreen wreath with four candles, sometimes with a fifth, white candle in the center. Beginning with the First Sunday of Advent, the lighting of a candle can be accompanied by a Bible study (Christian), Bible reading, daily devotional, devotional time and Christian prayer, prayers. An additional candle is lit on each subsequent Sunday until, by the last Sunday of Advent, all four candles are lit. Some Advent wreaths include a fifth, Christ candle which is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The custom originated in family settings but has also become widespread in public worship. History The concept of the Advent wreath originated among German Lutherans in the 16th century. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 1517. The Lutheran Churches adhere to the Bible and the Ecumenical Creeds, with Lutheran doctrine being explicated in the Book of Concord. Lutherans hold themselves to be in continuity with the apostolic church and affirm the writings of the Church Fathers and the first four ecumenical councils. The schism between Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism, which was formalized in the Diet of Worms, Edict of Worms of 1521, centered around two points: the proper source of s:Augsburg Confession#Article XXVIII: Of Ecclesiastical Power., authority in the church, often called the formal principle of the Reformation, and the doctrine of s:Augsburg Confession#Article IV: Of Justification., justification, the material principle of Luther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Sunday Observances
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title (), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term '' mashiach'' () (usually rendered as ''messiah'' in English). While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term ''Christian'' used as an adjective is descriptive of anything associated with Christianity or Christian churches, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.3 billion Christians around the world, up from about 600 million in 1910. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Americas, about 26% live in Europe, 24% live in sub-Saharan Africa, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stir-up Sunday
Stir-up Sunday is an informal term in Catholic and Anglican churches for the last Sunday before the season of Advent. It gets its name from the beginning of the collect for the day in the Book of Common Prayer, which begins with the words, "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people...", but it has become associated with the custom of making the Christmas puddings on that day. The Christmas pudding is one of the essential British Christmas traditions and is said to have been introduced to Britain by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria (the reality is that the meatless version was introduced from Germany by George I in 1714). Most recipes for Christmas pudding require it to be cooked well in advance of Christmas and then reheated on Christmas Day, so the collect of the day served as a useful reminder. Family activity Traditionally, families gather together in the kitchen of their homes to mix and steam Christmas pudding on Stir-up Sunday. Parents tea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambrosian Rite
The Ambrosian Rite () is a Latin liturgical rites, Latin liturgical rite of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church (specifically The Divine Liturgy of Saint Ambrose). The ritual family, rite is named after Ambrose, Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century. It is used by around five million Catholics in the greater part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan, Archdiocese of Milan (excluding Monza, Treviglio and Trezzo sull'Adda), in some parishes of the Diocese of Como, Roman Catholic Diocese of Bergamo, Bergamo, Diocese of Novara, Novara, Diocese of Lodi, Lodi, in the Diocese of Lugano, Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, less prominently in some Western Rite Orthodoxy, Western Rite orthodox parishes and on special occasions of other jurisdictions. The Ambrosian Rite has risked suppression at various points in its history. It was reformed after the Second Vatican Council (Pope Paul VI belonged to the Ambrosian Rite, having previously been Archbishop of Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaudete Sunday
Gaudete Sunday ( ) is the third Sunday of Advent in the liturgical calendar of Western Christianity, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, Lutheran churches, and other mainline Protestant churches. It can fall on any date from 11 December to 17 December. Gaudete The day takes its common name from the Latin word ''Gaudete'' ("Rejoice"), the first word of the introit of this day's Mass: Background The season of Advent originated as a fast of 40 days in preparation for Christmas, commencing on the day after the feast of Saint Martin (11 November), whence it was often called ''Saint Martin's Lent'', a name by which it was known as early as the fifth century. In the ninth century, the duration of Advent was reduced to four weeks (a period starting four Sundays before Christmas), and Advent preserved most of the characteristics of a penitential season, which made it a kind of counterpart to Lent. Gaudete Sunday is a counterpart to Laetare Sunday, and provid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization.Gerald O'Collins, O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites#Churches, ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and Eparchy, eparchies List of Catholic dioceses (structured view), around the world, each overseen by one or more Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the Papal supremacy, chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity), rites such as the Roman Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours as well as the manner in which Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacraments and Blessing in the Catholic Church, blessings are performed. The Roman Rite developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while distinct Latin liturgical rites such as the Ambrosian Rite remain, the Roman Rite has gradually been adopted almost everywhere in the Latin Church. In medieval times there were numerous local variants, even if all of them did not amount to distinct rites, yet uniformity increased as a result of the invention of printing and in obedience to the decrees of the Council of Trent of 1545–1563 (see ''Quo primum''). Several Latin liturgical rites which had survived into th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liturgical Colours
Liturgical colours are specific colours used for vestments and hangings within the context of Christian liturgy. The symbolism of violet, blue, white, green, red, gold, black, rose, and other colours may serve to underline moods appropriate to a season of the liturgical year or may highlight a special occasion. There is a distinction between the colour of the vestments worn by the clergy and their choir dress, which with a few exceptions does not change with the seasons of the liturgical year. Roman Catholic Church Current rubrics In the Roman Rite, as reformed by Pope Paul VI, the following colours are used, in accordance with the rubrics of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Section 346.; cf. ; ; On more solemn days, i.e. festive, more precious, sacred vestments may be used, even if not of the colour of the day. Such vestments may, for instance, be made from cloth of gold or cloth of silver. Moreover, the Conference of Bishops may determine and propose to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Church
A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing the question of church and state around 1828 wrote that :"a National Church might exist, and has existed, without Christianity, because before the institution of the ''Christian'' Church – as ..the Levitical Church in the Hebrew Constitution, ndthe Druidical in the Celtic, would suffice to prove". John Wordsworth, Bishop of Salisbury, wrote about the National Church of Sweden in 1911, interpreting the Church of Sweden and the Church of England as national churches of the Swedish and the English peoples, respectively. The concept of a national church remains alive in the Protestantism of United Kingdom and Scandinavia in particular. While, in a context of England, the national church remains a common denominator for the Church of E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Of Sweden
The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List of Lutheran denominations, Lutheran denomination in Europe and the third-largest in the world, after the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. A member of the Porvoo Communion, the church professes Lutheranism. It is composed of thirteen dioceses, divided into parishes. It is an open national church which, working with a democracy, democratic organisation together with the ministry of the church, covers the whole nation. The Primate (bishop), Primate of the Church of Sweden, as well as the Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan of all Sweden, is the Archbishop of Uppsala. It is liturgy, liturgically and theologically "High Church Lutheranism, high church", having retained priests, vestments ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
