Privileged Altar
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Privileged Altar
A Privileged Altar () was an altar in a Roman Catholic church where a plenary indulgence could be applied in favor of a soul in purgatory by the priest celebrating Mass whenever Mass was celebrated there. This was an additional indulgence, over and above the graces and benefits normally flowing from the celebration of Mass. Such altars were once granted by special concession, but later became widespread: the privilege was extended by the Pope to altars in many churches and by the twentieth century any bishop could designate one altar in each church under his jurisdiction as a privileged altar (normally the main altar for daily Mass in most parish churches). Such altars were supposed to have a plaque or inscription nearby, "altare privilegiatum". Individual priests could, by various means, obtain a grant of a, "personal privileged altar". This type of grant of the indulgence was not limited to a physical altar, as above, but traveled with the priest whenever, and wherever, he celebr ...
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Altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and modern paganism. Many historical-medieval faiths also made use of them, including the Religion in ancient Rome, Roman, Religion in ancient Greece, Greek, and Norse paganism, Norse religions. Etymology The modern English language, English word ''wikt:altar#English, altar'' was derived from Middle English ''wikt:alter#Latin, altar'', from Old English ''wikt:alter, alter'', taken from Latin ''wikt:altare#Latin, altare'' ("altar"), probably related to ''wikt:adolere#Etymology 2, adolere'' ("burn"); thus "burning place", influenced by ''wikt:altus#Latin, altus'' ("high"). It displaced the native Old English word ''wikt:weofod#Old English, wēofod''. Altars in antiquity In antiquity, alta ...
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Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics 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. O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world, each overseen by one or more bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, upo ...
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Plenary Indulgence
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions…" The recipient of an indulgence must perform an action to receive it. This is most often the saying (once, or many times) of a specified prayer, but may also include a pilgrimage, the visiting of a particular place (such as a shrine, church, or cemetery), or the performance of specific good works. Indulgences were introduced to allow for the remission of the severe penances of the early church and granted at the intercession of Christians awaiting martyrdom or at least imprisoned for the faith.Cross, F. L., ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' ...
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Purgatory
In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul. A common analogy is dross being removed from gold in a furnace. In Magisterium, Catholic doctrine, purgatory refers to the final cleansing of those who died in the State of Grace, and leaves in them only "the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven"; it is entirely different from the punishment of Damnation, the damned and is not related to the forgiveness of sins for salvation. A forgiven person can be freed from his "unhealthy attachment to creatures" by Indulgence#Catholic teaching, fervent charity in this world, and otherwise by the non-vindictive "temporal (i.e. non-eternal) punishment" of purgatory. In late medieval times, metaphors of time, place and fire were frequently adopted. Catherine of Genoa (fl. 1500) re-framed the ...
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Mass (liturgy)
Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term ''Mass'' is commonly used in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Old Catholicism, and Independent Catholicism. The term is also used in many Lutheran churches, as well as in some Anglican churches, and on rare occasion by other Protestant churches. Other Christian denominations may employ terms such as '' Divine Service'' or '' worship service'' (and often just "service"), rather than the word ''Mass''. For the celebration of the Eucharist in Eastern Christianity, including Eastern Catholic Churches, other terms such as ''Divine Liturgy'', ''Holy Qurbana'', ''Holy Qurobo'' and ''Badarak'' (or ''Patarag'') are typically used instead. Etymology The English noun ''Mass'' is derived from the Middle Latin . The Latin word was adopted in Old English as (via a Vulgar Latin form ), and was sometimes glossed as ''sendnes'' (i.e. 'a sending, dismission'). The Latin term itself w ...
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Papal Bull
A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal bulls have been in use at least since the 6th century, but the phrase was not used until around the end of the 13th century, and then only internally for unofficial administrative purposes. However, it had become official by the 15th century, when one of the offices of the Apostolic Chancery was named the "register of bulls" ("''registrum bullarum''"). By the accession of Pope Leo IX in 1048, a clear distinction developed between two classes of bulls of greater and less solemnity. The majority of the "great bulls" now in existence are in the nature of confirmations of property or charters of protection accorded to monasteries and religious institutions. In an era when there was much fabrication of such documents, those who procured bulls ...
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Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII (; ; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco (or Pierfrancesco) Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May 1724 to his death in February 1730. A Dominican friar, Orsini focused on his religious responsibilities as bishop rather than on papal administration. Orsini's lack of political expertise led him to increasingly rely on an unscrupulous secretary (Cardinal Niccolò Coscia) whose financial abuses ruined the papal treasury, causing great damage to the Church in Rome. In the process towards sainthood, his cause for canonization opened in 1755, but it was closed shortly afterwards. It was reopened on 21 February 1931, but it was closed once again in 1940. It was opened once more on 17 January 2004, with the official process commencing in 2012 and concluding later in 2017. He now has the posthumous title of Servant of God. Early life He was born in Gravina in ...
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Indult
In Catholic canon law, an indult is a permission or privilege, granted by the competent church authority – the Holy See or the diocesan bishop, as the case may be – for an exception from a particular norm of church law in an individual case. For example, according to the canons 692 and 693 of the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'', an indult is needed when members of the consecrated life want to be dispensed from their religious vows, or when priests and deacons voluntarily seek to return to the lay state (usually to marry). A recent indult was the one granted in 1984 by Pope John Paul II, '' Quattuor abhinc annos'', which authorised the world's Catholic bishops to permit celebrations of the Tridentine Mass liturgy in their dioceses. This indult was superseded in 2007 by new legislation introduced by Pope Benedict XVI in the ''motu proprio'' ''Summorum Pontificum (English: 'Of the Supreme Pontiffs') is an Ecclesiastical letter#Letters of the popes in modern times, apostolic ...
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Patriarchate
Patriarchate (, ; , ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, referring to the office and jurisdiction of a patriarch. According to Christian tradition, three patriarchates—Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria—were established by the apostles as apostolic sees in the 1st century. These were officially recognized by the First Council of Nicaea. The Patriarchate of Constantinople was added in the 4th century, and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem followed in the 5th century. These five sees were later recognized collectively as the pentarchy by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Over the course of Christian history, additional patriarchates were gradually recognized by the original ancient episcopal sees. However, several of these later lost jurisdiction—primarily due to the Islamic conquests in the Middle East and North Africa—and became titular or honorary patriarchates without real institutional authority over their historical territories. Histo ...
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Metropolitan Bishop
In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the bishop of the chief city of a historical Roman province, whose authority in relation to the other bishops of the province was recognized by the First Council of Nicaea (AD 325). The bishop of the provincial capital, the metropolitan, enjoyed certain rights over other bishops in the province, later called "suffragan bishops". The term ''metropolitan'' may refer in a similar sense to the bishop of the chief episcopal see (the "metropolitan see") of an ecclesiastical province. The head of such a metropolitan see has the rank of archbishop and is therefore called the metropolitan archbishop of the ecclesiastical province. Metropolitan (arch)bishops preside over synods of th ...
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Cathedral Church
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Catholic Church, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicanism, Anglican, and some Lutheranism, Lutheran churches.''New Standard Encyclopedia'', 1998 by Standard Educational Corporation, Chicago, Illinois; page B-262c. Church buildings embodying the functions of a cathedral first appeared in Italy, Gaul, Spain, and North Africa in the 4th century, but cathedrals did not become universal within the Western Catholic Church until the 12th century, by which time they had developed architectural forms, institutional structures, and legal identities distinct from parish churches, monastery, monastic churches, and episcopal residences. The cathedra ...
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