Anglican
Relating to the Church of England or an international church connected to it, or a member of an Anglican Church.
Beatification
The first step towards canonisation and permitting public veneration.
Breviary
A book containing the prayer services for each day to usually be said at fixed times by Catholics.
Brother
A member of a religious order who commits himself to following Christ in consecrated life of the Church, usually by the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Brothers are not ordained as a deacon or priest, and usually live in a religious community.
Canonisation
In the Roman Catholic Church this is the official admission of an individual into sainthood.
Catholic
Usually relating to the Roman Catholic Church or a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
Chalice
A large, decorative gold or silver cup from which wine is drunk during the Eucharist, a sacrament commemorating Jesus’ Last Supper.
Chaplain
A priest who is responsible for the religious needs of an organisation, family or individual.
Chasuble
An ornate sleeveless outer vestment worn by the officiating priest at Mass.
Friar
A friar belongs to a religious order within the Catholic church and lives and works among regular people in society.
Gunpowder Plot
A failed attempt to blow up the King and Parliament on 5 November 1605 to end the persecution of Roman Catholics by the English government.
Host
A consecrated wafer of bread upon which priests say the words of Jesus from the Last Supper: “This is my body.”
Jesuit
A member of the Society of Jesus, a male Catholic religious order.
Layman Laywoman Layperson
Non-ordained members of a Church.
Martyr
An individual who has suffered death for their faith.
Miracle
An extraordinary event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency.
Mission
The English Mission was intended to promote Catholicism in England and Wales and ultimately restore it.
Missionary
An individual sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country.
Monk
A member of a group of religious men who live a simple life apart from general society, usually in a monastery.
Pope
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Priest
An ordained minister of the Catholic Church, authorised to perform certain rites and administer certain sacraments. Priests are required to take vows of chastity and obedience to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
Protestant
An adherent of Christian bodies that separated from the Catholic Church during the Reformation.
Pursuivants
Priest-hunters.
Recusant
Individuals who refused to attend the services of the Church of England.
Reformation
The 16th century religious movement marked ultimately by rejection or modification of some Roman Catholic doctrine and practice and establishment of the Protestant churches.
Relic
An object esteemed and venerated because of association with a saint or martyr, usually physical remains or personal effects, preserved for purposes of veneration.
Reliquary
A container for relics.
Saint
A holy person who is known for his or her heroic sanctity and who is thought to be in heaven.
Venerate
The act of honouring a person or object that has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness.
Vestments
Liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion.