Church body in the context of "Liturgical book"

In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community. The term is taken from Latin minister ("servant", "attendant"). In some church traditions the term is usually used for people who have been ordained, but in other traditions it can also be used for non-ordained.

In the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, Anglicanism and Lutheranism, the concept of a priesthood is emphasized, though in the Church of England there are nearly as many non-ordained licensed lay ministers as there are paid clergy. In other traditions such as Baptist, Methodist, and Reformed groups like Congregationalists and Presbyterians, the term "minister" usually refers to a member of the ordained clergy who leads a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such a person may serve as an elder (presbyter), pastor, preacher, bishop, or chaplain.

A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to hungry and homeless people, usually for no cost, or sometimes at below-market price (such as coin donations). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, soup kitchens are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church or community groups. Soup kitchens sometimes obtain food from a food bank for free, or at a low price, because they are considered a charity, which makes it easier for them to feed the many people who require their services.

Historically, the majority of soup kitchens served mostly soup (or stew), usually with some kind of bread. Modern establishments which refer to themselves as "soup kitchens" frequently serve a wider variety of foods, so social scientists sometimes discuss them together with similar hunger relief agencies that provide more varied hot meals, such as community kitchens and meal centers.

The Old Catholic Mariavite Church refers to one of two independent Christian churches, both of which can be dated from 1906 but which became distinct after 1935 as a result of doctrinal differences, and are collectively known as Mariavites. Mariavitism first emerged from the religious inspiration of Polish noblewoman and nun Feliksa Kozłowska (1862–1921) living in the Congress Kingdom of Poland in the late 19th-century. A young Catholic priest from a modest background, Jan Maria Michał Kowalski (1871–1942), became convinced by Kozłowska's revelations and adopted her vision as his own project by her side.

The movement represented an ideology whose aim was to imitate the simplicity of the life of Mary, in Latin, qui Mariae vitam imitantur, ("Let them imitate the Life of Mary"), thus vita Mariae, the Life of Mary, gave the movement its name. The movement became the subject of two Papal bulls in 1906 which resulted in the mass excommunication from the Catholic Church of both clergy and lay adherents to the movement.

The Paschal homily or sermon (also known in Greek as Hieratikon or as the Catechetical Homily) was written by St. John Chrysostom (died 407).

It is read aloud at Paschal matins, the service that begins Easter, in Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches. According to the tradition of the Church, no one sits during the reading of the Paschal homily. Portions of it are often done with the interactive participation of the congregation.