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Melchites

(Encyclopedia)Melchites or Melkites both: mĕlˈkīts [key], members of a Christian community in the Levant and the Americas, mainly Arabic-speaking and numbering about 250,000. They are in communion with the pope ...

mandorla

(Encyclopedia)mandorla mänˈdôrlä [key], [Ital.,=almond], a medieval Christian artistic convention by which an oval or almond-shaped area or series of lines surrounds a deity, most commonly Jesus. The mandorla i...

Holy Sepulcher

(Encyclopedia)Holy Sepulcher sĕpˈəlkər [key], church in Jerusalem, officially the Church of the Resurrection. It is in the east central part of the Christian quarter, on the supposed site of Jesus' tomb. Steps ...

Frederick III, king of Denmark and Norway

(Encyclopedia)Frederick III, 1609–70, king of Denmark and Norway (1648–70), son and successor of Christian IV. He at first made great concessions to the powerful nobles but later asserted his own power. In 1657...

Booth, William

(Encyclopedia)Booth, William, 1829–1912, English religious leader, founder and first general of the Salvation Army, b. Nottingham. Originally a local preacher for the Wesleyan Methodists, he went (1849) to London...

Gustavus I

(Encyclopedia)Gustavus I gəstāˈvəs [key], 1496–1560, king of Sweden (1523–60), founder of the modern Swedish state and the Vasa dynasty. Known as Gustavus Eriksson before his coronation, he was the son of E...

Helena, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Helena, Saint hĕlˈənə [key], c.248–328?, mother of Constantine I. She became a Christian in 313. According to tradition she found (327) the relic of the True Cross in Jerusalem and identified th...

Amplias

(Encyclopedia)Amplias ămplēāˈtəs [key], Christian in Rome to whom Paul sent greetings in his Letter to the Romans. ...

Eric IX

(Encyclopedia)Eric IX (Eric the Saint), d. 1160, king of Sweden. He led (1157?) a Christian crusade to Finland, where he left the bishop of Uppsala in charge of missionary work. While attending mass he was killed b...

De Mita, Ciriaco Luigi

(Encyclopedia)De Mita, Ciriaco Luigi, 1928–, Italian political leader, premier of Italy (1988–89). A Christian Democrat for most of his political career, he was a member of parliament (1963–94, 1996–2008) a...