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Religion and Spirituality - An open forum for the discussion of religion and spirituality. This forum is not intended solely for one religion nor is is intended to bash on any religion. It is for the discussion of any and all religions and forms of spirituality.
Fabiola, Saint - Divorced, remarried, widowed, penitent, renowned for her generosity. She died in 399 or 400.
Fabre, Joseph - Second Superior General of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. (1824-1892)
Fabri, Honoré - Jesuit, theologian, b. about 1607 in the Department of Ain, France; d. at Rome, 8 March, 1688.
Fabriano and Matelica - Fabriano, a city in the province of Macerata, Central Italy, is noted for its paper manufactories and its trade in salted fish. The town of Matelica possesses some ancient inscriptions. A Roman colony was established there in 89 B.C.
Fabrica Ecclesiæ - Latin term, meaning, etymologically, the construction of a church, but in a broader sense the funds necessary for such construction.
Fabyan, Robert - English chronicler, died 28 February, 1513.
Facade - The face or front of any building. In ecclesiastical architecture the term is generally used to designate the west front; sometimes the transept fronts.
Faith - In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word means essentially steadfastness. As signifying man's attitude towards God it means trustfulness or fiducia.
Faith, Hope & Charity, Saints - Two groups of martyrs. The first were martyred along with their mother Sophia during the reign of Hadrian, and buried on the Aurelian Way. The second band, also along with someone named Sophia, were martyred at a later date, and buried along the Appian Way.
Faith, The Rule of - The word rule (Lat. regula, Gr. kanon) means a standard by which something can be tested, and the rule of faith means something extrinsic to our faith, and serving as its norm or measure.
Faithful, The - Those who have bound themselves to a religious association, whose doctrine they accept, and into whose rites they have been initiated. Among Christians the term is applied to those who have been fully initiated by baptism and, regularly speaking, by confirmation.
Falco, Juan Conchillos - Painter, b. at Valencia of an ancient noble family in 1641; d. 14 May, 1711.
Faldstool - A movable folding chair used in pontifical functions by the bishop outside of his cathedral, or within it if he is not at his throne or cathedra.
Fall River - A suffragan see of the Province of Boston; comprises the counties of Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket, with the towns of Marion, Mattapoisett and Wareham in Plymouth county, Massachusetts.
False Decretals - A name given to certain apocryphal papal letters contained in a collection of canon laws composed about the middle of the ninth century by an author who uses the pseudonym of Isidore Mercator, in the opening preface to the collection.
Falsity - A perversion of truth originating in the deceitfulness of one party, and culminating in the damage of another party.
Famagusta - A titular see in the Island of Cyprus.
Familiars - Strictly speaking, seculars subject to a master's authority and maintained at his expense. In canon law the term usually signifies seculars residing in monasteries and other religious houses, actually employed therein as servants and subject to the authority of the regular prelate to the same extent as servants are subject to their masters.
Family - In the classical Roman period the familia rarely included the parents or the children. Its English derivative was frequently used in former times to describe all the persons of the domestic circle, parents, children, and servants. Present usage, however, excludes servants.
Farfa, Abbey of - A legend in the "Chronicon Farfense" relates the foundation of a monastery at Farfa in the time of the Emperors Julian, or Gratian, by the Syrian St. Laurentius, who had come to Rome with his sister, Susannah, and had been made Bishop of Spoleto.
Fatalism - The view which holds that all events in the history of the world, and, in particular, the actions and incidents which make up the story of each individual life, are determined by fate.
Fathers of Mercy, The - A congregation of missionary priests first established at Lyons, France, in 1808, and later at Paris, in 1814, and finally approved by Pope Gregory XVI, 18 February, 1834.
Fathers of the Church - The word Father is used in the New Testament to mean a teacher of spiritual things, by whose means the soul of man is born again into the likeness of Christ:
Faustus of Riez - Bishop of Riez in Southern Gaul, the best known and most distinguished defender of Semipelagianism, b. between 405 and 410, d. between 490 and 495.
Faversham Abbey - A former Benedictine monastery of the Cluniac Congregation situated in the County of Kent about nine miles west of Canterbury. It was founded about 1147 by King Stephen and Queen Matilda.
Fear - A mental disturbance caused by the perception of instant or future danger.
Fear (from a Moral Standpoint) - Viewed from the moral standpoint, that is, in so far as it is a factor to be reckoned with in pronouncing upon the freedom of human acts, as well as offering an adequate excuse for failing to comply with positive law, particularly if the law be of human origin.
Feast of Fools - A celebration marked by much license and buffoonery, which in many parts of Europe, and particularly in France, during the later Middle Ages took place every year on or about the feast of the Circumcision (1 Jan.).
Feasts, Ecclesiastical - Feast Days, or Holy Days, are days which are celebrated in commemoration of the sacred mysteries and events recorded in the history of our redemption, in memory of the Virgin Mother of Christ, or of His apostles, martyrs, and saints, by special services and rest from work.
Febronianism - The politico-ecclesiastical system outlined by Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, Auxiliary Bishop of Trier, under the pseudonym Justinus Febronius.
Feckenham, John de - Last Abbot of Westminster, and confessor of the Faith; b. in Feckenham Forest, Worcestershire, in 1515(?); d. at Wisbech Castle, 16 Oct., 1585.
Felicitas, Saint - Roman martyr. Article explains how she and the seven martyrs who are called her sons have come to have different feast days.
Felix and Adauctus, Saints - Martyrs at Rome in 303. "Adauctus" is not the second martyr's proper name--it means "added."
Felix, Célestin Joseph - French Jesuit, b. at Neuville-sur-l' Escaut (Nord), 28 June 1810; d. at Lille, 7 July, 1891.
Felix I, Pope Saint - The successor of Pope St. Dionysius, Felix died in 274. He is sometimes confused with a Roman martyr of the same name.
Felix II - Pope (more properly Antipope), 355-358; d. 22 Nov., 365.
Felix III, Pope Saint - Felix II was an antipope, irregularly imposed by the Arians while Pope Liberius was still alive, so St. Felix III is sometimes called Felix II. Pope St. Felix III was much involved in battling heresy, and died in 492.
Felix IV, Pope Saint - Since Felix II was an antipope imposed by the Arians while Pope Liberius was still alive, St. Felix IV is sometimes called Felix III. Pope St. Felix IV died in 530.
Felix of Cantalice, Saint - Biography of this Capuchin lay brother, known for his goodness, popular with children, d. 1587.
Felix of Nola, Saint - Third-century confessor. Possibly the same as St. Felix of Nola, bishop and martyr.
Felix of Valois, Saint - Co-founder of the Order of the Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives, d. 1212.
Felix V - Regnal name of Amadeus of Savoy, Antipope (1440-1449). (1383-1451)
Feller, François-Xavier de - An author and apologist, b at Brussels 18 August, 1735; d. at Ratisbon 22 May, 1802.
Feneberg, Johann Michael Nathanael - Born in Oberdorf, Allgau, Bavaria, 9 Feb., 1751; died 12 Oct., 1812. He studied at Kaufbeuren and in the Jesuit gymnasium at Augsburg, and in 1770 entered the Society of Jesus, at Landsberg, Bavaria.
Fenelon, François de Salignac de la Mothe- - French bishop and author, b. in the Château de Fénelon in Périgord (Dordogne), 6 August, 1651; d. at Cambrai, 7 January, 1715.
Fenn, John - Born at Montacute near Wells in Somersetshire; d. 27 Dec., 1615. He was the eldest brother of Ven. James Fenn, the martyr, and Robert Fenn, the confessor.
Ferber, Nicolaus - A Friar Minor and controversialist, born at Herborn, Germany, in 1485; died at Toulouse, 15 April, 1534.
Ferdinand, Blessed - Prince of Portugal, always pious and known for his generosity. When a military mission of his brother failed, Ferdinand offered himself as a hostage, and died in captivity in 1443.
Ferdinand II - Emperor, eldest son of Archduke Karl and the Bavarian Princess Maria, b. 1578; d. 15 February, 1637.
Ferdinand III, Saint - King of León and Castile, Third Order Franciscan, d. 1252.
Ferentino, Diocese of - In the province of Rome, immediately subject to the Holy See.
Fergus, Saints - There are at least ten Irish saints named Fergus. This article gives details on three of them: St. Fergus Cruithneach, or the Pict, bishop, d. about 730; St. Fergus, Bishop of Duleek, d. 778; and St. Fergus, Bishop of Downpatrick, d. 583.
Feria - A day on which the people, especially the slaves, were not obliged to work, and on which there were no court sessions.
Ferland, Jean-Baptiste-Antoine - A French Canadian historian, b. at Montreal, 25 December, 1805; d. at Quebec, 11 January, 1865.
Fernández, Antonio - A Jesuit missionary; b. at Lisbon, c. 1569; d. at Goa, 12 November, 1642.
Fernández de Palencia, Diego - A Spanish conqueror and historian; b. at Palencia in the early part of the sixteenth century.
Fernández, Juan - A Jesuit lay brother and missionary; b. at Cordova; d. 12 June, 1567, in Japan.
Ferns - Diocese in the province of Leinster (Ireland), suffragan of Dublin.
Ferrara - Archdiocese immediately subject to the Holy See.
Ferrari, Gaudenzio - An Italian painter and the greatest master of the Piedmontese School, b. at Valduggia, near Novara. Italy, c. 1470: d. at Milan, 31 January, 1546.
Ferraris, Lucius - An eighteenth-century canonist of the Franciscan Order.
Ferreira, Antonio - A poet, important both for his lyric and his dramatic compositions, b. at Lisbon, Portugal, in 1528; d. there of the plague in 1569.
Ferrer, Rafael - A Spanish missionary and explorer; b. at Valencia, in 1570; d. at San José, Peru, in 1611.
Ferrières, Abbey of - Situated in the Diocese of Orléans, department of Loiret, and arrondissement of Montargis.
Ferstel, Heinrich, Freiherr von - Architect; with Hansen and Schmidt, the creator of modern Vienna; b. 7 July, 1828, at Vienna; d. at Grinzing, near Vienna, 14 July, 1883.
Fesch, Joseph - Cardinal, b. at Ajaccio, Corsica, 3 January, 1763; d. at Rome, 13 May, 1839.
Fessler, Josef - Bishop of St. Polten in Austria and secretary of the Vatican Council; b. 2 December, 1813, at Lochau near Bregenz in the Vorarlberg; d. 25 April, 1872.
Feti, Domenico - Italian painter; born at Rome, 1589; died at Venice, 1624.
Fetishism - The word fetish is derived through the Portuguese feitiço from the Latin factitius (facere, to do, or to make), signifying made by art, artificial (cf. Old English fetys in Chaucer).
Feuardent, François - Franciscan, theologian, preacher of the Ligue, b. at Coutanees, Normandy, in 1539; d. at Paris, 1 Jan., 1610.
Feuchtersleben, Baron Ernst von - An Austrian poet, philosopher, and physician; born at Vienna, 29 April, 1806; died 3 September, 1849.
Feudalism - The source of feudalism rises from an intermingling of barbarian usage and Roman law.
Feuillants - The Cistercians who, about 1145, founded an abbey in a shady valley in the Diocese of Rieux (now Toulouse) named it Fuliens, later Les Feuillans or Notre-Dame des Feuillans.
Feuillet, Louis - Geographer, b. at Mane near Forcalquier, France, in 1660; d. at Marseilles in 1732.
Fiacc, Saint - Poet, chief bishop of Leinster, d. around 520.
Fiacre, Saint - Biography of this Irish priest and hermit, patron saint of gardeners, d. 670.
Ficino, Marsilio - Entry on this Renaissance Platonist, by M. Schumacher. Details his life and explores his relation to the classical thinkers.
Ficker, Julius - Historian, b. at Paderborn, Germany, 30 April, 1826; d. at Innsbruck, 10 June, 1902.
Fideism - A philosophical term meaning a system of philosophy or an attitude of mind, which, denying the power of unaided human reason to reach certitude, affirms that the fundamental act of human knowledge consists in an act of faith, and the supreme criterion of certitude is authority.
Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Saint - Former lawyer who joined the Capuchins, and was sent as a missionary to the Calvinists. Martyred in 1622.
Fiesole - Diocese in the province of Tuscany, suffragan of Florence.
Figueroa, Francisco de - A celebrated Spanish poet, surnamed "the Divine", b. at Alcalá de Henares, c. 1540, d. there, 1620.
Figueroa, Francisco García de la Rosa - Franciscan, b. in the latter part of the eighteenth century at Toluca, in the Archdiocese of Mexico; date of death unknown.
Filliucius, Felix - An Italian humanist, philosopher, and theologian, b. at Siena about the year 1525; supposed to have d. at Florence c. 1590.
Finan, Saint - Irish monk, second Bishop of Lindisfarne, d. 661.
Finbarr, Saint - Bishop and patron of Cork, Ireland. (550-623)
Finland - As of the time of this article, a department or province of the Russian Empire; bounded on the north by Norway, on the west by Sweden and the Gulf of Bothnia, on the south by the Gulf of Finland.
Finnian of Moville, Saint - Irish monk, author of a monastic rule and a penitential. Also the founder of a famous school in County Down. St. Finnian died in 589.
Fintan, Saints - Brief biographical sketches of two saints of this name: St. Fintan of Clonenagh, and St. Fintan (Munnu) of Taghmon.
Fioretti di San Francesco d'Assisi - Little Flowers of Francis of Assisi, the name given to a classic collection of popular legends about the life of St. Francis of Assisi and his early companions as they appeared to the Italian people at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
Fire, Liturgical Use of - One of the most expressive and most ancient of liturgical symbols.
Firmament - The notion that the sky was a vast solid dome seems to have been common among the ancient peoples.
Firmilian - Bishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia, died c. 269.
First-Born - The word, though casually taken in Holy Writ in a metaphorical sense, is most generally used by the sacred writers to designate the first male child in a family.
First-Fruits - First-fruit offerings are designated in the Law by a threefold name: Bíkkûrîm, Reshîth, and Terûmôth.
Fiscal Procurator - The duties of the fiscal procurator consist in preventing crime and safeguarding ecclesiastical law.
Fish, Symbolism of the - The symbol itself may have been suggested by the miraculous multification of the loaves and fishes or the repast of the seven Disciples, after the Resurrection, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, but its popularity among Christians was due principally, to the famous acrostic consisting of the initial letters of five Greek words forming the word for fish (Ichthys), which words briefly but clearly described the character of Christ and His claim to the worship of believers: Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter, i.e. Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.
Fisher, Philip - Missionary, b. in Madrid, 1595-6; d. in Maryland, U. S., 1652.
Fitter, Daniel - Born in Worcestershire, England, 1628; died at St. Thomas' Priory, near Stafford, 6 Feb., 1700.
Fitton, James - Missionary, b. at Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., 10 April, 1805; d. there, 15 Sept., 1881.
Fitzalan, Henry - Twelfth Earl of Arundel, b. about 1511; d. in London, 24 Feb., 1580.
Flabellum - A fan made of leather, silk, parchment, or feathers intended to keep away insects from the Sacred Species and from the priest.
Flaccilla, Aelia - Empress, wife of Theodosius the Great, died c. A. D. 385 or 386.
Flagellants - A fanatical and heretical sect that flourished in the thirteenth and succeeding centuries.
Flagellation - Includes history and its use in scripture.
Flaget, Benedict Joseph - First Bishop of Bardstown (subsequently of Louisville), Kentucky, U.S.A. (1763-1850)
Flanagan, Thomas Canon - Canon of Birmingham Diocese. Born in England in 1814, though Irish by descent; died at Kidderminster, 21 July, 1865.
Flanders - Designated in the eighth century a small territory around Bruges; it became later the name of the country bounded by the North Sea, the Scheldt, and the Canche.
Flathead Indians - A name used in both Americas, without special ethnologic significance, to designate tribes practising the custom of compressing the skull in infancy by artificial means.
Flavia Domitilla - A Christian Roman matron of the imperial family who lived towards the close of the first century.
Flavian, Saint - Bishop of Constantinople, excommunicated Eutyches, was the recipient of the famous "Tome of Leo," deposed by the Latrocinium, died from severe beatings in exile in 449.
Flavigny, Abbey of - Benedictine abbey in the Diocese of Dijon, the department of Côte-d'Or, and arroundissement of Semur.
Flaviopolis - A titular see in the province of Honorias.
Flechier, Esprit - Bishop; b. at Pernes, France, 1632; died at Montpellier, 1710.
Flemael, Bertholet - Painter, b. at Liège, Flanders, in 1614; d. there in 1675.
Fleming, Patrick - Franciscan friar b. at Lagan, County Louth, Ireland, 17April, 1599; d. 7 November, 1631.
Fleming, Richard - Bishop of Lincoln and founder of Lincoln College, Oxford; b. about 1360; d. at Sleaford, 25 Jan., 1431.
Fleming, Thomas - Archbishop of Dublin, son of the Baron of Slane. (1593-1665)
Fletcher, John - A missionary and theologian; d. about 1848.
Flete, William - An Augustinian hermit friar, a contemporary and great friend of St. Catherine of Siena; the exact place and date of his birth are unknown and those of his death are disputed.
Fleuriot, Zénaide-Marie-Anne - French novelist, b. at Saint-Brieuc, 12 September, 1829; d. at Paris, 18 December, 1890.
Fleury, Abbey of - One of the oldest and most celebrated Benedictine abbeys of Western Europe. Its modern name is Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, applicable both to the monastery and the township with which the abbey has always been associated.
Flodoard - French historian and chronicler, b. at Epernay in 894; d. in 966.
Floreffe, Abbey of - Situated on the Sambre, about seven miles southwest of Namur, Belgium, owes its foundation to Godfrey, Count of Namur, and his wife Ermensendis.
Florence - Located in the province of Tuscany (Central Italy).
Florence, Council of - The Seventeenth Ecumenical Council was the continuation of the Council of Ferrara.
Florians, The - An independent order, and not, as some consider, a branch of the Cistercians; it was founded in 1189 by the Abbot Joachim of Flora.
Florida - The Peninsular or Everglade State, the most southern in the American Union and second largest east of the Mississippi.
Florilegia - Systematic collections of excerpts (more or less copious) from the works of the Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers of the early period, compiled with a view to serve dogmatic or ethical purposes.
Florus - A deacon of Lyons, ecclesiastical writer in the first half of the ninth century.
Fogaras - Archdiocese in Hungary, of the Greek-Rumanian Rite.
Foggia - Diocese in the province of the same name in Apulia (Southern Italy).
Foillan, Saint - Blood brother of SS. Fursey and Ultan. Irish-born abbot of Cnoberesburg until it was captured by the Mercians, whereupon Foillan fled to Nivelles. He was murdered in 652.
Forcellini, Egidio - Latin lexicographer, b. at Fener, near Treviso, Italy, 26 Aug., 1688; d. at Padua, 4 April, 1768.
Fordham University - Developed out of Saint John's College, founded by Bishop Hughes upon the old Rose Hill Farm at Fordham, then in Westchester County, and formally opened on St. John the Baptist's Day, 24 June, 1841.
Foreman, Andrew - A Scottish prelate; b. at Hatton, near Berwick-on-Tweed; d. 1522.
Forer, Laurenz - Controversialist, b. at Lucerne, 1580; d. at Ratisbon, 7 January, 1659.
Forgery, Forger - The deliberate untruthfulness of an assertion, or in the deceitful presentation of an object, and is based on an intention to deceive and to injure while using the externals of honesty.
Forli - Diocese in the province of Romagna (Central Italy); suffragan of Ravenna.
Form - The original meaning of the term form, both in Greek and Latin, was and is that in common use - eidos, being translated, that which is seen, shape, etc., with secondary meanings derived from this, as form, sort, particular, kind, nature.
Formby, Henry - Writer, born 1816; died at Normanton Hall, Leicester, 12 March, 1884.
Formularies - Medieval collections of models for the execution of documents (acta), public or private; a space being left for the insertion of names, dates, and circumstances peculiar to each case.
Fort Wayne - The Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, U.S.A., established in 1834, comprised the whole State of Indiana till the Holy See, on 22 September, 1857, created the Diocese of Fort Wayne, assigning to it that part of Indiana north of the southern boundary of Warren, Fountain, Montgomery, Boone, Hamilton, Madison, Delaware, and Randolph Counties.
Fortaleza, Diocese of - Co-extensive with the State of Ceará in the Republic of Brazil.
Fortitude - One of the gifts from the Holy Ghost is a supernatural virtue.
Fortunato of Brescia - Morphologist and Minorite of the Reform of Lombardy; b. at Brescia, 1701; d. at Madrid, 1754.
Fortunatus - Lengthy biographical article on the talented sixth-century poet and hymn-writer.
Forty Hours' Devotion - Somewhat dated with regard to the liturgical details, but otherwise an accurate depiction. A eucharistic devotion.
Forty Martyrs - Article in the Catholic Encyclopedia about this group of soldiers who, for professing Christianity, were ordered by the prefect to lie naked on a frozen lake. One of these threw himself into a warm bath which had been set up for defectors, but one of the guards was so impressed with the others that he declared himself a Christian and died with them. Early fourth century.
Forum, Ecclesiastical - Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is distinguished into that of the internal and external forum.
Fossano - Diocese located in the province of Cuneo, in Piedmont, Northern Italy, a suffragan of Turin.
Fossombrone - Diocese in the province of Pesaro, Italy, a suffragan of Urbino.
Fossors - Grave diggers in the Roman catacombs in the first three or four centuries of the Christian Era.
Foundation - An ecclesiastical foundation is the making over of temporal goods to an ecclesiastical corporation or individual, either by gift during life or by will after death, on the condition of some spiritual work being done either in perpetuity or for a long time.
Foundling Asylums - Under this title are comprised all institutions which take charge of infants whose parents or guardians are unable or unwilling to care for them.
Fountains Abbey - A monastery of the Cistercian Order situated on the banks of the Skell about two and a half miles from Ripon in Yorkshire, established by thirteen Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey, York.
Fouquet, Jehan - French painter and miniaturist, b. at Tours, c. 1415; d. about 1480.
Four Crowned Martyrs - The Four Crowned Martyrs are actually two groups, with a total of nine or ten martyrs. The first five were masons or sculptors in Pannonia, martyred in 305. The second was a group of four martyrs, names unknown. They have been venerated since the fourth century and share a feast day on 8 November.
Frances d'Amboise, Blessed - Biographical article on the Duchess of Brittany. While married, she was a great friend of the Poor Clares, Dominicans, and Carmelites. After she was widowed, she became a Carmelite herself, and died in 1485.
Franceschini, Marc' Antonio - Italian painter; b. at Bologna, 1648; d. there c. 1729; best known for the decorative works he carried out in Parma, Bologna, and Genoa, and for the designs executed for Clement XI for certain mosaics in St. Peter's.
Franchi, Ausonio - Philosopher; b. 24 February, 1821, at Pegli, province of Genoa; d. 12 September, 1895, at Genoa.
Francia - Bolognese goldsmith, engraver, and artist, b. about 1450; d. in 1517.
Francis Borgia, Saint - Long essay on the dramatic life of the Duke of Gandia turned Jesuit.
Francis Xavier, Saint - Biographical article on one of the first Jesuits, and missionary to Asia, who died in 1552.
Franciscan Order - An article on the history of the Franciscan order and its role within the Catholic Church.
Franck, Kasper - A theologian and controversialist; b. at Ortrand, Saxony, 2 Nov., 1543; d. at Ingolstadt, 12 March, 1584.
Franco, Giovanni Battista - Italian historical painter and etcher, b. at Udine in 1510; d. at Venice in 1580.
Frank, Michael Sigismund - Catholic artist and rediscoverer of the lost art of glass-painting; b. 1 June, 1770, at Nuremberg; d. at Munich, 16 January, 1847.
Frankenberg - Archbishop of Mechlin (Malines), Primate of Belgium, and cardinal. (1726-1804)
Frankfort, Council of - Convened in the summer of 794, by the grace of God, authority of the pope, and command of Charlemagne (can. 1), and attended by the bishops of the Frankish kingdom, Italy, and the province of Aquitania, and even by ecclesiastics from England.
Frankfort-on-the-Main - Formerly the scene of the election and coronation of the German emperors.
Franks, The - A confederation formed in Western Germany of a certain number of ancient barbarian tribes who occupied the right shore of the Rhine from Mainz to the sea. Their name is first mentioned by Roman historians in connection with a battle fought against this people about the year 241.
Frascati - One of the six suburbicarian (i.e. neighbouring) dioceses from an immemorial date closely related to the Roman Church.
Frassen, Claude - A celebrated Scotist theologian and philosopher of the Order of Friars Minor; b. near Peronne, France, in 1620; d. at Paris, 26 February, 1711.
Fraticelli - A name given to various heretical sects which appeared in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, principally in Italy.
Fraud - In the common acceptation of the word, an act or course of deception deliberately practised with the view of gaining a wrong and unfair advantage.
Fredegarius - The supposed author of an anonymous historical compilation (Chronicon Fredegarii) of the seventh century, in which is related the history of the Franks from the earliest times until 658.
Frederick II - German King and Roman Emperor, son of Henry VI and Constance of Sicily; born 26 Dec., 1194; died at Fiorentina, in Apulia, 13 Dec., 1250.
Free Church of Scotland - Short introduction and history of the United Free Church. Briefly covers the secession, notes the events leading up to the disruption and deals with the events during the unification.
Free Will - The question of free will, moral liberty, or the liberum arbitrium of the Schoolmen, ranks amongst the three or four most important philosophical problems of all time.
Free-Thinkers - Those who, abandoning the religious truths and moral dictates of the Christian Revelation, and accepting no dogmatic teaching on the ground of authority, base their beliefs on the unfettered findings of reason alone.
Fregoso, Federigo - Cardinal; b. at Genoa, about 1480; d. 22 July, 1541.
Freiburg - City, archdiocese, and university in the Archduchy of Baden, Germany.
Frejus - Suffragan of Aix; comprises the whole department of Var (France).
Fremin, James - Jesuit missionary to the American Indians; b. at Reims, 12 March, 1628; d. at Quebec, 2 July, 1691.
Frigolet, Abbey of - The monastery of St. Michael was founded, about 960, at Frigolet, by Conrad the Pacific, King of Arles.
Fringes (in Scripture) - A special kind of trimming, consisting of loose threads of wool, silk, etc., or strips of other suitable material, along the edge of a piece of cloth.
Fritz, Samuel - A Jesuit missionary of the eighteenth century noted for his exploration of the Amazon River and its basin.
Froissart, Jean - Biography of the French historian and poet.
Fundamental Articles - This term was employed by Protestant theologians to distinguish the essential parts of the Christian faith from those non-essential doctrines, which, as they believed, individual churches might accept or reject without forfeiting their claim to rank as parts of the Church universal.
Funeral Dues - The canonical perquisites of a parish priest receivable on the occasion of the funeral of any of his parishioners.
Funeral Pall - A black cloth usually spread over the coffin while the obsequies are performed for a deceased person.
