The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (987 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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High Mass
(Lat.,
missa solemnis
). In W. churches the more ceremonial form of the
mass
, in which the emphasis may be more on adoration than reception of communion.
High place
.
Place of worship. In biblical times, shrines were built on hills throughout
Erez Israel
; though ‘high place’ may mean ‘raised altar’.
High priest
.
The chief priest
(Heb.,
kohen gadol
) of the
Jerusalem
Temple
. By the end of the second Temple period, when the land was under Roman rule, the high priest was often considered merely an arm of the secular administration and was under constant criticism from the
Pharisees
and
Zealots
. Once the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE the office lapsed.
ij
b
(Arab.). Any partition which separates two things (e.g. that which separates God from creation), but usually the veil worn by Muslim
women
. The almost total covering of the
chaddor
is not required by Qur’
n, The Qur’
n requires a comparable modesty in dress for men. See also
PURDAH
.
Hijiri
.
1
(Jap., ‘holy person, wise person’). Buddhist title for a monk of lower rank. In general, it is an epithet for any wise or virtuous person, but especially for devotees of a particular
buddha
, etc., as in Amida-hijiri; or for one who dwells in a particular place, as in K
yahijiri.
2
(Jap., ‘he who knows the sun’). Lay
ascetics
in Japanese religion, often in opposition to, and conflict with, officials in religion.

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