(Encyclopedia) Nehemiah, originally combined with Ezra to form a single book in the Hebrew canon. In the Septuagint, Ezra and Nehemiah are combined as Second Esdras. The book narrates the return to…
(Encyclopedia) Obadiah, short prophetic book of the Bible. The prophet is otherwise unknown. The oracle which comprises this book dates from after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in…
(Encyclopedia) Paul of the Cross, Saint, 1694–1775, Italian, religious founder of the Passionists. His original name was Paolo Francesco Danei. He had visions calling him to found a new order and…
(Encyclopedia) Maccabees, two books included in the Septuagint and placed as the last two books in the Old Testament of the Vulgate; they are not included in the Hebrew Bible and are placed in the…
(Encyclopedia) M, 13th letter of the alphabet, usually representing a bilabial nasal as in the English much. It corresponds with the Greek mu. M is the Roman numeral for 1,000.
(Encyclopedia) Mary, in the Bible, mother of Jesus. Christian tradition reckons her the principal saint, naming her variously the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, and Mother of God (Gr., theotokos).…
(Encyclopedia) ArpadArpadŏrˈpäd [key], c.840–907?, chief of the Magyars. He led his people into Hungary c.895. The leaders of the Magyars and the first dynasty of Hungarian kings (St. Stephen I to…
(Encyclopedia) Knights of the Golden Circle, secret order of Southern sympathizers in the North during the Civil War. Its members were known as Copperheads. Dr. George W. L. Bickley, a Virginian who…