The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1819 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Peter Lombard
(
c.
1100–60).
Christian theologian. Born in Lombardy, after studying in Italy, he went to Reims, and then to Paris where he taught from
c.
1134. In 1159 he became bishop of Paris. His chief work, the
Sentences
, was written 1155–8. It became the standard textbook of theology during the Middle Ages, commented on by nearly every theologian of repute.
Peter Moghila
(Petr Moghila)
(Russian Orthodox theologian):
Peti
ah
(Heb., ‘opening’). The Jewish ritual of opening the
Ark
of the
synagogue
. Peti
ah is performed during the course of services to take out the
Torah
scrolls or to recite prayers of particular importance.
Petits Frères
.
French (and proper) name for the Little Brothers, a
Roman Catholic
order derived from
de Foucauld
, characterized by long training, especially in prayer, and by absolute commitment to the places (usually poor) where they are sent. Notable among them have been René Voillaume (
see especially his Seeds of the Desert
) and J.
Maritain
.
Petrine texts
.
Those New Testament texts which are held by
Catholics
(mainly, but not exclusively,
Roman Catholics
) to establish the supreme authority of
Peter
over the
Church
, whose foundation, after
Christ
, he is. The major text is Matthew 16. 18 f., but others are Mark 3. 16, Luke 24. 34, 1 Corinthians 15. 5. On these texts, the
papacy
in fact and theory is founded.
Peyote
.
A hallucinogenic cactus and the basis of an inter-tribal religion among N. American Indians. It grows only in the Rio Grande valley and N. Mexico, and has long been central in local rites. Peyote brings peace and healing, resists alcoholism, and gives visions of the Peyote Spirit who is regarded either as Jesus or an Indian equivalent.

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