The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2473 page)

(Jap.). A temple or monastery. After a name, it appears as -dera, or -ji, the Sino-Japanese way of reading the character for tera—thus,
S
ji-ji
.

 
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see
BHIK
U,
C
RYA.

 
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Teraphim
.

Household gods mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures. The teraphim appear in the story of
Jacob
and Rachel (Genesis 31. 34) and of Michal and
David
(1 Samuel 19. 13). They were condemned and removed by
Josiah
in his reform of the cult (2 Kings 23. 24).

 
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see FOOD.

 
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(1910–97).
Founder of the Missionaries of Charity, winner of the Templeton Prize and of the Nobel Peace Prize (1979). Born Agnes Gonxha Boyaxhiu she joined the Sisters of Loreto to work in India, where she went after a brief period in Ireland. Upon completing her noviceship in Darjeeling, she was sent to teach in Calcutta. In her spare time she worked among the very poor and the sick, and in 1948 she left the Sisters of Loreto, gained some medical knowledge, and returned to Calcutta to found her order. Her nuns, in their distinctive sari-like habit, are now to be found all over the world, working with the poorest in society. Mother Teresa became also a constant campaigner against both artificial birth control and abortion.

 
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