Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

85 results found

Pátmos

(Encyclopedia)Pátmos pätˈmôs, pătˈməs [key], island (1991 pop. 2,663), c.13 sq mi (34 sq km), SE Greece, in the Aegean Sea; one of the Dodecanese, near Turkey. On the island, according to Rev. 1.9, the exile...

Schmidt, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Schmidt, Wilhelm, 1868–1954, German linguist and anthropologist, a Roman Catholic priest. Educated at the universities of Berlin and Vienna, he entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1890. Residi...

Samaras, Lucas

(Encyclopedia)Samaras, Lucas lo͞okˈəs sämärˈəs [key], 1936–, American artist, b. Kastoria, Greece. Samaras is noted for his unusual assemblages, incorporating such diverse materials as straight pins, multi...

Ramadan

(Encyclopedia)Ramadan rämädänˈ, rămˌədänˈ [key], in Islam, the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which all Muslims must fast during the daylight hours. Indulgence of any sort is forbidden during the f...

Unity

(Encyclopedia)Unity, religious movement incorporated as the Unity School of Christianity, with headquarters at Lee's Summit, Mo. Although the movement used the name Unity after 1891, it was founded earlier by Charl...

Jezebel

(Encyclopedia)Jezebel jĕzˈəbĕl [key], in the First Book of Kings, Phoenician princess who was the wife of King Ahab and the mother of Ahaziah, Jehoram, and Athaliah. She encouraged worship of Baal, including th...

Luzzatto, Moses Hayyim

(Encyclopedia)Luzzatto, Moses Hayyim häˈyēm lo͞ot-tsätˈtō [key], 1707–47, Hebrew playwright, poet, and mystic, a leader of the renaissance of Hebrew literature, b. Padua. At 15 he formed a group to study k...

deists

(Encyclopedia)deists dēˈĭsts [key], term commonly applied to those thinkers in the 17th and 18th cent. who held that the course of nature sufficiently demonstrates the existence of God. For them formal religion ...

Lee, Ann

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Ann, 1736–84, English religious visionary, founder of the Shakers in America. Born in Manchester, she worked there in the cotton factories and then became a cook. In 1762 she was married to Abr...

Söderblom, Nathan

(Encyclopedia)Söderblom, Nathan näˈtän söˈdərblo͞omˌ [key], 1866–1931, Swedish churchman, primate of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, archbishop of Uppsala. He was professor of the history of religion and ...

Browse by Subject