baptism: From a Greek verb meaning “to dip” or “immerse;” a ritual
washing marking Christian beliefs of death of sin with Christ and rising
to newness of life in him, and also their incorporation as members of the
Church, which is the Body of Christ.
Baptists: Originating as 17th century congregations of English Puritan
Separatists who rejected infant baptism, the Baptists became a family of
denominations emphasizing congregational self-government and regenerate
church membership.
beati¿ c vision: Roman Catholic concept of seeing the essence of God
with the intellect, called “beati¿ c” because it confers beatitude or ultimate
happiness, and thus constitutes the ultimate goal of human existence.
beatitude: From the Latin term for happiness, beatitudo, used especially in
Roman Catholic theology to refer to the ultimate ful¿ llment of human beings
in God, which is thus equivalent to the biblical term “eternal life.”
bishop: (See episcopate.)
Book of Common Prayer: The of¿ cial prayer book of the Church of England
and many of its offshoots in the Anglican communion (often called simply
“the prayer book”). First published under King Edward VI in 1549, revisions
were issued under Edward (1552), Elizabeth (1559), James I (1604), and
Charles II (1662), and in the United States in 1789, 1892, 1928, and 1979.
Calvinism: Central theological trend of the Reformed tradition, de¿ ned not
just by relation to the work of John Calvin but also by the Synod of Dordt
and the Westminster Confession.
canon: From a Greek term for “rule” (in the sense of ruler or measuring
rod), in early Christian theology the canon was a list of books approved
for reading aloud in the church service, which thus eventually formed the
content of holy scripture.