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Alexander of Hales

(Encyclopedia)Alexander of Hales, d. 1245, English scholastic philosopher, called the Unanswerable Doctor by his fellow scholastics. He was a Franciscan and a lecturer at the Univ. of Paris. His Summa universae the...

holy water

(Encyclopedia)holy water, in Christian churches, water blessed to symbolize spiritual cleansing. In Roman Catholic churches there is a bowl (stoup or font) of holy water near the doors, so that the faithful may ble...

Montañes, Juan Martínez

(Encyclopedia)Montañes, Juan Martínez hwän märtēˈnĕth mōntäˈnyās [key], c.1568–1649, Spanish sculptor. He was known for his polychrome figures in wood. Most of his work was done for the churches and co...

Agustini, Delmira

(Encyclopedia)Agustini, Delmira dĕlmēˈrä ägo͞ostēˈnē [key], c.1886–1914, Uruguayan poet. Essentially a poet of ideas, Agustini combined deep spiritual and erotic yearnings in bold and expressive imagery....

Carrière, Eugène

(Encyclopedia)Carrière, Eugène özhĕnˈ käryĕrˈ [key], 1849–1906, French painter and lithographer. He is best known for his spiritual interpretations of maternity and family life. Characteristic are his Cru...

United Service Organizations

(Encyclopedia)United Service Organizations (USO), organization that supplies social, recreational, welfare, and spiritual facilities to members of the armed services. The USO was organized in 1941, originally to co...

Prokopovich, Feofan

(Encyclopedia)Prokopovich, Feofan fāəfänˈ prəkəpôˈvĭch [key], 1681–1736, Russian churchman. He was appointed bishop by Czar Peter I to carry out his ecclesiastic reforms and wrote Spiritual Regulation (1...

asceticism

(Encyclopedia)asceticism əsĕtˈĭsĭzəm [key], rejection of bodily pleasures through sustained self-denial and self-mortification, with the objective of strengthening spiritual life. Asceticism has been common i...

Leopardi, Giacomo

(Encyclopedia)Leopardi, Giacomo jäˈkōmō lāōpärˈdē [key], 1798–1837, Italian poet and scholar, considered Italy's outstanding 19th-century poet. An intellectual prodigy, he taught himself Hebrew and ancie...

bodhisattva

(Encyclopedia)bodhisattva bōˌdĭsätˈwə [key] [Sanskrit,=enlightenment-being], in early Buddhism the term used to refer to the Buddha before he attained supreme enlightenment; more generally, any being destined...