| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| PASSION | PASSION – (1) A term used to describe the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. (2) Holy Week is often called Passion Week, describing Christ’s struggle and suffering in Jerusalem. (3) Passions are human appetites or urges – such as hunger, the desire for pleasure and sexual drives – which become a source of sin… Read More |
| PASSION WEEK | PASSION WEEK – The week preceding Easter, each day commemorates the suffering of our Lord. Thursday evening at Matins the twelve Passion Gospels are read. |
| PASSION-BEARER | PASSION-BEARER – One of the various customary saint titles used in commemoration at divine services when remembering saints on the Church Calendar. A passion-bearer is one who faces his death in a Christ-like manner. Unlike martyrs, passion-bearers are not explicitly killed for their Orthodox faith, though they hold to that faith with piety and true… Read More |
| PASSOVER, OUR | PASSOVER, OUR – (an appellation or Title of Jesus) “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:” 1 Cor 5:7 (also: our paschal lamb) |
| PASTORAL LETTER | PASTORAL LETTER – A letter of instruction or admonition from a Bishop or Council of Bishops to the faithful. |
| PASTORAL THEOLOGY | PASTORAL THEOLOGY – The theological field that studies the ways and methods to be used by the clergy for carrying through their duties as Pastors of the Church. |
| PATEN | PATEN – (Sl. Diskos) A round, flat plate of gold or silver on which the species of bread is placed at the celebration of the Eucharist. |
| PATRIARCH | PATRIARCH – (1) The highest bishop rank (of honor) in the Orthodox Church. In the early Church there were five jurisdictional territories each headed by a Patriarch. These patriarchates were: Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome. After Rome broke away from the unity of the Church in 1054 A.D. other territories were raised to partriarchates… Read More |
| PATRIARCHATE | PATRIARCHATE – An ecclesiastical jurisdiction governed by a patriarch. There are eight such jurisdictions today in the Orthodox Church, the four ancient Patriarchates of the East, and the four Slavic patriarchates. |
| PATRISTICS | PATRISTICS – The theological field that studies the lives and the writings of the Fathers of the Church. |
| PATRON SAINT | PATRON SAINT – (Sl. Nebesny Pokrovitel’) A Saint chosen by a nation, society or any religious or lay organization to be a special advocate, guardian and protector. The saints have special spheres of activity and tasks of love. St. Nicholas is the Patron Saint of sailors. St. George – Patron of those in military service. |
| PATRONAL FEAST | PATRONAL FEAST – Patronal feast of a temple is the celebration honoring the feast or saint in whose name the temple is dedicated. “Temple saint” or “saint of the temple” is the patron saint of a temple which bears the name of a saint. Usually a “temple saint” is accorded the same rank of liturgical celebration as… Read More |
| PAUL (Epistles) | PAUL (Epistles of St. Paul) – Of all the New Testament holy authors, Apostle Paul – having written some 14 Epistles – stands out as being the most prolific in expounding instructions on Christian living. Because of the significance of their contents, they are rightfully regarded as the “second Gospel,” attracting attention from both thinkers-philosophers… Read More |
| PEACE | PEACE – (Heb. shalom) Tranquillity, harmony with God, self, and other people made possible through Christ, who unites human beings to God and to each other. (Rom. 14:17; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 2:13-16; Phil. 4:6, 7.) |
| PEACEMAKER | PEACEMAKER – In the beatitudes, “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they will be called the sons of God”, means that we must not only keep peace but as well to make peace. |
| PECTORAL CROSS | PECTORAL CROSS – (Sl. Naperstny Krest) A cross on a chain worn by Priests and Bishops as a mark of their office, and a reminder that they are servants of Christ and preachers of the Cross of salvation. |
| PEDALION | PEDALION – (Rudder) The book containing the rules and regulations prescribed by the Ecumenical Synods and the Fathers. It is the Constitution of the Orthodox Church. |
| PELAGIANISM | PELAGIANISM – The name of a heresy saying that man can save himself without divine grace. |
| PENANCE | PENANCE, Sacrament of – (Sl. Pokayaniye) Properly the Sacrament of Penitence. A Sacrament by which sins are forgiven when the penitent acknowledges and confesses his sins and receives absolution. |
| PENITENTIAL PSALM | PENITENTIAL PSALM – The 50th Psalm of David: “Have mercy on me, O God.” (English version Psalm 51). |
| PENTARCHY | PENTARCHY – The Pentarchy consisted of the five ancient patriarchates of the undivided Church of the first millennium of her history, including the Churches of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. These major centers of early Christianity, founded by the apostles, were looked to by their respective regions as leaders in Church life, and eventually… Read More |
| PENTECOST | PENTECOST – (Gr. fiftieth day) Originally an OT harvest festival celebrated fifty days following the Passover. In time, Pentecost became the commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Pentecost took on a new meaning with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles at Pentecost. Through the Sacrament of… Read More |
| PENTECOSTARION | PENTECOSTARION – (also known as the Flowery Triodion or Festal Triodion) The liturgical service book which contains all the variable prayers and parts of services for the season between Easter (Pascha) , through the feast of All Saints (the Sunday following Pentecost). |
| PEREBOR | PEREBOR – The Toll (Perebor). This is the slow tolling of each bell, beginning with the largest to the smallest and ending with a striking of all the bells at once. It is used at the carrying-out of the deceased from the church for burial and is known as the funeral toll. There is no… Read More |