Xiao Chaogui

Xiao Chaogui (; 1820 – 1852) was an important leader during the early years of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty of China. He was a sworn brother to Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taipings, and claimed to serve as a mouthpiece for Jesus Christ. Because of his importance to the rebellion, he was awarded the title of the "West King."
Early life.
Xiao Chaogui was a poor peasant farmer from Wuxuan, now part of Guiping, in the Thistle Mountain region of Guangxi. Despite his modest means, he became an influential leader in the region. He was probably a member of the Hakka people, but it has also been suggested that he was Yao He may have been a relative of Yang Xiuqing. He, along with his wife, father, and brothers, joined Hong Xiuquan's Society of God Worshippers. He possessed a "legendary reputation for valor and physical strength."
Wife.
He was married to Yang Yunjiao, a zealous God Worshipper. Yang claimed to have visited Heaven in 1837 during a serious illness and to have been informed of the coming of a religious instructor, who was later presumed to be Hong Xiuquan.
Some sources have stated that, following the death of his first wife, Xiao married Hong Xuanjiao, a younger sister of Hong Xiuquan. This Hong Xuanjiao has left an imprint on Chinese culture as a valiant female warrior. However, Hong Xiuquan had no younger sister. Instead, it appears that wives of Taiping Kings like Xiao Chaogu were referred to as "younger sisters" of Hong Xiuquan. The most likely explanation appears to be that Yang Yunjiao and Hong Xuanjiao were the same person; Yang Yunjiao changed her given name from Yunjiao to Xuanjiao (possibly due to issues related to pronunciation), and folk historians provided her with the surname Hong to honor Hong Xiaquan.
The God Worshippers.
In the autumn of 1848, while Feng Yunshan and Hong Xiuquan were in a neighboring province, Xiao Chaogui assumed a leadership role in the God-Worshipping Society. At this time, Xiao began to claim that Jesus Christ had descended to earth and that Jesus spoke through him while he himself was in a trance. This claim was ratified by Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan when the two returned to Thistle Mountain the following summer. Xiao, speaking as Jesus, provided doctrine, advice, and leadership to the God Worshippers. When speaking as Jesus, Xiao was able to reprimand even Hong Xiuquan, as Jesus necessarily possessed greater authority than even Hong. During that summer of 1848, Xiao entered into a sworn brotherhood with Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, and Jesus Christ.
Leadership in the Taiping Rebellion.
Xiao acted as one of the principal military commanders of the Taiping forces in the early days of the Taiping Rebellion and was named commander in chief of the Taiping's Front Army Corps on January 11, 1851. Shortly after their capture of Yongan, Hong Xiuquan named Xiao Co-Marshal, the ceremonial rank of marshal being the "ultimate mark of distinction in the Taiping organization." On December 4, 1851, Hong bestowed further honors on Xiao, declaring him to be the West King, Lord of 8,000 Years. Six days later, during a Qing counterattack on a supply depot near Yongan, Xiao was wounded. With one minor exception, Xiao ceased to speak with the voice of Jesus soon thereafter.
In the summer of 1852 while the Taiping were encamped in Daozhou, three proclamations were issued by Xiao and Yang Xiuqing (by then the East King of the Taipings) in an attempt to gain the sympathy of the locals and to drum up new recruits. These proclamations demonstrated the triune religious-nationalist-political nature of the Taiping Rebellion by calling for the conversion of the people to Christianity, for the ruling ethnic-minority Manchus to be overthrown, and for the destruction of a government the Taipings considered to be thoroughly corrupt. The proclamations hardened the opposition of the gentry and scholars but helped convince over 20,000 locals to join the rebellion.
Death.
In late August 1852, Xiao lead a small force from Chenzhou, the current base of the Taiping, in attempt to capture the city of Changsha. They arrived at Changsha in September and began besieging the city. Seeing little progress being made, Xiao chose to don robes indicating his noble rank, hoisted a large banner above his head, and headed to the front lines to direct his troops. He was quickly hit in the left shoulder by a cannonball fired from the walls of the city and succumbed to his wounds near the end of September. The siege was ultimately abandoned in November. Xiao's actions leading up to his death have been harshly condemned by Chinese historians, who characterize them as "not an act of heroism but another example of 'stupid loyalty and stupid valor.'"
Despite his death, Hong Xiuquan continued to regularly issue decrees in his name. He was also posthumously awarded the title "Rain Master." One of his sons inherited his noble title and was addressed as Junior West King, until his death in the aftermath of the fall of Nanjing. Both sons were considered to be nephews to Jesus and grandchildren to God.


Ibrahim al-Khalil Convent

The Convent of Ibrahim Al Khalil ( Arabic: دير إبراهيم الخليل) is a Melkite Greek Catholic Convent located in Kashkul Jaraman, 8 km east of Damascus, Syria. The Convent contains a Church, Health Center, Dormitory, computer lab, and child care facility.
History.
The convent was initiated by Al Assaf family in the 90s. With the support of the Patriarchy in Damascus and many Christian families the convent was extended and started offering various services free of charge. After the war in Iraq in 2003 the Convent served a big number Iraqi refugees. The Center offered free meals and health care for thousands of people
Health Center.
The Charity Health Center of the Convent is a Medical Center with eight clinics of various specializations and a pharmacy. The center offer health care and medications free of charge for the general public regardless of religion, ethnicity, or nationality. 62 doctors volunteer to rotate on the Clinics of the Health Center. It received support from UNHCR and other organizations
. With their support the Center was able to acquire modern medical equipments which are not available in the poor suburb of Damascus.
Dormitory.
The dormitory contains 50 rooms. It is designated for students and convent visitors.
Kinder care.
The kinder care is child care facility consisting of five class rooms, three shared rooms, and three administrative rooms. The facility has a capacity of 80 aged between three and seven years of age.


Taoism in Vietnam

Taoism in Vietnam () is believed to have been introduced into the country during the first Chinese domination of Vietnam. Under Lý Dynasty King Lý Nhân Tông (1072-1127), the examination for the recruitment of officials consisted of essays on the "three doctrines - Tam Giáo/三教” (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism).
Taoism in its pure form is rarely practiced in Vietnam, but elements of it have been absorbed into the Vietnamese folk religion and you may still see fragments of it practiced in areas with small Chinese communities. One of these small communities is Khanh Van Nam Vien Pagoda which is a temple owned by Cantonese Quanzhen Taoists in Saigon. Fujianese Taoists also inhabit smaller rural villages in the west such as Châu Đốc where the local spirit medium rituals belong to the Lu Shan Sect. Other than these small Chinese communities, most other descendants of the Taoist religion in Vietnam are not as organized as they would be in places with larger Chinese communities therefore have been turned into nothing more than “witch doctors/thầy pháp”. These masters are said to specialize removing curses or to curse someone. The only similarities between a “Taoist” and a “witch doctor” would be that both share practices and rites and one of the main deities that would be worshippedand invoked is Thái Thượng Lão Quân.
Taoism has also influenced the Caodaist and Dao Mau religions in Vietnam.
According to Professor Liam Kelley during the Tang dynasty native spirits were subsumed into Daoism and the Daoist view of these spirits completely replaced the original native tales. Buddhism and Daoist replaced native narratives surrounding Mount Yên Tử (安子山).


Simbhoonath Capildeo

 Simbhoonath Capildeo (; born 1914) was a prominent lawyer and politician in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the elder brother of Rudranath Capildeo and uncle of Nobel laureate Sir Vidia "V. S." Naipaul and Shiva Naipaul. He was father to two sons, Surendranath and Devendranath Capildeo and a daughter, Sita Capildeo. Capildeo was one of the founding members of the Democratic Labour Party and a member of parliament from 1956 to 1966, becoming known as "the Lion of the Legislative Council". He served as the Leader of the Opposition in 1956. Capildeo was also an important leader of the Hindu community in Trinidad and played in role in the foundation of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha and the Bhadase Sagan Maraj. In 1989 he was awarded the Chaconia Gold Medal by the Trinidad and Tobago government, honoring his service to the country.
His father, Pundit Capildeo Dubey, an immigrant from the village of Mahadeva Dubey, Somra, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, built Anand Bhavan (the "Lion House") on the Main Road in Chaguanas. The Lion House is arguably the most famous architectural icon representing the Indian heritage of Trinidad and Tobago. Pundit died on a trip to India in 1926, leaving Simbhoonath in the role of family patriarch at the age of 12. His mother, Soogee Capildeo, guided him, but Simbhoonath was an autodidact. His nephew, V.S. Naipaul, wrote about Simbhoonath's love for books in The Mystic Masseur. In his 9-line biographical sketch in the Indian Centenary Review (1845–1945) his hobby is listed as "Reading".
Capildeo studied Hindustani and Sanskrit and became a local expert on Hinduism, and he also explored the philosophers of Western Civilization. He rapidly assumed intellectual leadership of the local Hindu society and in 1928 began creating the modern formal structure of Hindu society in Trinidad and Tobago. He was also the Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, preceding Satnarayan Maharaj.
Simbhoonath was married to Indradai Capildeo ("née" Ramoutar) and was the father of one daughter, Sita, born in 1936, and two sons: Devendranath, born in 1938, and Surendranath, born in 1940. Surendranath, also a lawyer, was the only child who followed his father into local politics: he served as a senator of the United National Congress (UNC) party in the early 1990s.


Religion in Palau

Christianity is the dominant religion in Palau, although there is no state religion. Freedom of religion is enshrined in Palau's constitution, and both the government and general society respect this right in practice.
Demographics.
In the 2015 census, of the population of 13,300 people over 18, 46% are members of the Roman Catholic Church. Other Christian groups were Evangelicals at 25%; Seventh-day Adventists at 6.5%; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) at 1.4%; Assembly of God at .9%; and Baptists at .7%. Modekngei, which embraces both animist and Christian beliefs and is unique to the country, has 6% of the population. Muslims made up about 4% of the population. Other which includes everyone not in the religions above as well as the non-religious were about 10% of the population.
There also is a primarily Filipino Catholic expatriate community of 6,800 persons.
Additionally, about 0.8% of the population was estimated to be Buddhist in 2010 and 0.2% was reported to be practicing elements of Chinese folk religion alongside as well. 0.7% of the population in 2010 was estimated to be practicing the Baháʼí Faith and 0.1% practiced Hinduism. 2.4% identified as agnostic while a non-negligible amount, under 0.1% of the population identified as atheist.
History.
Since the arrival of Jesuit priests in the early 19th century, foreign missionaries have been active; some have been in the country for many years. During the Japanese mandate, Japanese Christian missions were heavily subsidized; Japan's native Buddhists were given a comparative pittance. Japanese rule brought Mahayana Buddhism and Shinto to Palau, with the syncretism of the two being the majority religion among Japanese settlers. However, following Japan's World War II defeat, the remaining Japanese largely converted to Christianity, while the remainder continued to observe Buddhism, but stopped practicing Shinto rites. The Seventh-day Adventist and Evangelical churches have missionaries teaching in their respective elementary and high schools. There are also approximately 400 Bengali Muslims in Palau, and recently a few Uyghurs detained in Guantanamo Bay were allowed to settle in the island nation. There are two mosques in Palau, one of which is located in Koror.
Religious freedom.
The constitution of Palau establishes the freedom of religion and prohibits the government from taking any action to infringe upon it. It also states that the country has no state religion.
Religious groups are required to register with the government as nonprofit organizations. Foreign missionaries are also required to apply for missionary permits from the Bureau of Immigration and Labor.
Religious instruction is prohibited in public schools, but religious groups are allowed to request government funds to run private schools.
According to US State Department reports, there have been no significant societal breaches of religious freedom in Palau.


Walter Watson (priest)

Walter Clarence Watson (1867–1921) was an Anglican priest: most notably Archdeacon of the Virgin Islands from 1915 until 1916.
Watson was born in Barbados on 26 May 1867. He was educated at Codrington College and ordained in 1891. He was Inspector of Schools in St Vincent then Curate of St George, Grenada. After this he was Priest in charge of St Paul, St Croix then Canon at St John's Cathedral, Antigua. In 1916 he became Archdeacon, residing at All Saints’, St Thomas, Danish West Indies.


Ma Yue

Ma Yue (Xiao'erjing: ) was born in 1959 in Hebei, to a Muslim Hui family whose association with martial arts goes back six generations.
As a five-year-old, his father Ma Xianda took him to train with his grandfather, Ma Fengtu where he learned his family styles Tongbeiquan, Piguaquan, Fanziquan, Bajiquan, and Cuojiao. At the age of 11, Ma Yue won the Xian city and Shaanxi province all-around championships and beat renowned International Wushu champ Zhao Changjun.
In 1983, he won a four gold awards, placing firsts in fanzi, pigua, short weapon and straight sword. Ma Yue has since had a long career in the martial arts. He is a Chinese National Wushu Champion, two-time gold medallist and a graduate of Wushu University of China.


Gennadi Kryuchkov

Gennadi Konstantinovich Kryuchkov (, 20 October 1926, Stalingrad, Soviet Union - 15 July 2007, Tula, Russia) was a Russian leader of the Baptist church in the Soviet Union. He was pursued by the KGB for over 25 years, and was described in his obituary in "The Independent" as "one of the most extraordinary of the Soviet Union's religious leaders in the post-Stalin era".
Kryuchkov was born in the then newly renamed Stalingrad (previously Tsaritsyn, now Volgograd). His parents became Baptists shortly before his birth, and he was raised in that denomination. In 1931, his father was sent to a labour camp for five years as a result of his faith, and was banned from living in Moscow after he was released.
Kryuchkov was conscripted into the Red Army in 1943. He remained a soldier until 1951, when he rejoined his family in Uzlovaya, near Tula, where his father was a coal miner. He became an electrician. He married Lydia Domozhirova in 1951, and they were both baptised as Baptists later that year at an unregistered church. The official All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists considered sending him for training outside the Soviet Union, but he refused to cooperate with the Soviet authorities. He was ordained as a Baptist pastor in 1960, but was quickly in trouble when in 1961 he joined a call to resist new and more restrictive regulations imposed on the church.
He became chairman of the predecessor of the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in 1962, after its leader Pastor Alexei Prokofiev was imprisoned. He worked with its general secretary Georgi Vins. He and Vins had met Anastas Mikoyan at the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1961, in an attempt to encourage reform. The Council of Churches was formally set up as an underground body in 1965.
After a mass prayer meeting outside the building of the Communist Party Central Committee in Moscow on 16 May 1966, Kryuchkov and Vins were arrested. After months of interrogation, they were convicted after a show trial in November 1966, and they were imprisoned in a special regime camp for three years. They were released in 1969, and went into hiding the following year, sheltered by their supporters. Despite being illegal and persecuted, the Council maintained a network of prayer houses, pastors and printing presses producing Bibles and Christian literature across the Soviet Union. Vins was recaptured in March 1974, and deported from the Soviet Union in 1979. Kryuchkov continued to preach and lead the Council until his death. He also wrote for the journal "Herald of Truth".
Kryuchkov was hunted by the police and the KGB until 1990, with wanted posters displayed in public places. Although he saw little of his wife and family, who were subject to constant surveillance, he and his wife had nine children together.
After 19 years in hiding, he reappeared in public at the Council's annual congress at Rostov-on-Don in July 1989, in the wake of Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika reforms. After speaking, he quickly made his escape before the waiting KGB could arrest him.
His wife died before him in 2007. He died in Tula on 15 July 2007.


Fruit ganesh

Fruit Ganesh is one of the best known Ganesh stores in the old city of Hyderabad.
Every year during the Ganesh Chaturti festival, the fruits for the Ganesha statue are placed at Pardiwada, New Shakkar Gunj, Rajanna Bavi, Hyderabad. This Ganesh is also known as Panda Ganesh and will later be immersed at the Hussain Sagar.
Namaste Telangana (2014) newspaper stated "awesome Ganesh idol with flowers and fruits."
Sakshi (newspaper) (2015) newspaper stated "Fruits Ganesh & Chain Ganesh idols are getting ready for immersion in Hyderabad."
On the occasion of Ganesh immersion, one can see the various types of Ganesh statues, that have been placed in different locations of the city. These statues are decorated with various types of items.
In the old city at the Rajanna Bavi colony, people pray to the Ganesh statue while it is decorated with various types of fruits. One can also come across the chain Ganesh statues at Tank Band which are getting ready for immersion.
The Ganesh immersion truck of the Pardhiwada's (fruit sellers) from the New Shakkar Gunj, Rajanna Bavi was the star attraction as it was completely decorated with over 2,000 fruits. There was also a 85-kilo laddu and a 25-kilo garland on the idol.
Preparation for Ganesh Immersion.
There were groups of individuals, which included women and youngsters, which were seen seated beside the ramping tall mountain of apples, grapes, flowers, guavas, coconuts, maize and a variety of other fruits carefully stringed into fruit garlands, all of which would be adorning the trucks carrying over 3,000 kg Ganesh statues, of various hues and sizes, during the procession.


National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches

The National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of charismatic Christian churches in Ghana.
Origin.
The NACCC plays a supervisory role to ensure that ministers maintain high moral standards.
Protestant churches in Ghana belonged to The Christian Council of Ghana or The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) until the NACCC was founded.
The NACCC was founded on 1 December 1999 by Dag Heward-Mills who was also elected twice as Chairman.
It had existed informally before that date.
The word "Christian" was included in the name to show that the organization was open to churches that shared its vision even if they did not consider themselves charismatic.
The NACCC defined one of its objectives as fostering close cooperation between its members and with other umbrella church organizations including the CCG, GPCC and the Council of Charismatic Churches.
History.
The NACCC and the GPCC came to play an important role in the transmission of gospel teaching in Ghana. The older classical Pentecostals belong to the GPCC, while the younger, independent Charismatic ministries are NACCC members. The majority of charismatic churches now belong to the NACCC, but some are associated with the GPCC including the Perez Chapel International, Royal House Chapel International, Full Gospel Church International and the Christian Action Faith Ministry.
By May 2006 the NACCC had registered 119 member churches, each of whom agreed with the query, "Would you be faithful to ministry by upholding the highest standards of ministerial ethics, moral and financial rectitude, self-sacrifice, living a godly life and cherishing the call of God on your life?" Most of the members are Neo-Pentecostal.
In August 2003 Steve Mensah of Christian Evangelistic Ministry (CEM) was elected Chairman of the NACCC for a two-year term at the end of its four-day annual conference, replacing Dag Heward-Mills of Lighthouse Cathedral.
As of 2015 Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams was chairman of the NACCC.
Since 2004 the NACCC has organized all Christians all night prayer vigils.
Members.
As of 2015 the NACCC board members included representatives of the following churches or organizations:


Thomas Nowell

Thomas Nowell (1730? – 23 September 1801) was a Welsh-born clergyman, historian and religious controversialist.
Life.
Nowell was the son of Cradock Nowell of Cardiff. He went up to Oriel College, Oxford, in 1746 and in 1747 he won the Duke of Beaufort's exhibition. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1750, was awarded an exhibitionship in 1752, and took his Master of Arts degree in 1753. Nowell was made a fellow of Oriel in 1753 and served as junior treasurer to college between 1755 and 1757, senior treasurer between 1757 and 1758, and Dean between 1758 and 1760 and again in 1763.
In 1759 Benjamin Buckler preached a flippant sermon at All Souls College, Oxford, titled "Elisha's Visit to Gilgal, and his Healing the Pot of Pottage, Symbolically Explain'd". In 1760 Nowell wrote an anonymous rebuttal titled "A Dissertation upon that Species of Writing called Humour, when Applied to Sacred Subjects", which argued that biblical topics deserved to be treated with ‘decency and seriousness’ instead of humour and levity.
Between 1760 and 1776, Nowell was Public Orator of Oxford University. Oriel nominated Nowell for the post of Junior Proctor to the University in 1761, and Nowell spent many years as Secretary to the Chancellor of the University. In 1764 Nowell became Principal of St Mary Hall and obtained both a Bachelor of Divinity and a Doctorate of Divinity in the same month of his appointment as principal. In 1764 Nowell married Sarah Munday (the daughter of Sir Thomas Munday, Oxford upholsterer) and had one son, Thomas, who died in childhood in 1768. On getting married, Nowell resigned his fellowship at Oriel. In 1771 Lord North appointed him to the Regius Professorship of Modern History at Oxford, a post he held, along with the principalship of St Mary Hall, until his death in 1801.


Christianity in Azerbaijan

Christianity in Azerbaijan is a minority religion. Christians who estimated between 280,000 and 450,000 (3.1%-4.8%) are mostly Russian and Georgian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic (All Armenians live in the Republic of Artsakh, which is contested by Azerbaijan). There is also a small Protestant Christian community which mostly came from Muslim backgrounds.
History.
Christianity spread to territory of present-day Azerbaijan in the first years of the new era. The first stage of this period is called the period of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus (same ones who Christianized Armenia), who spread the new religion by the benediction of the first patriarch of Jerusalem Yegub.
Eastern Orthodoxy.
Adherents of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Azerbaijan are mainly ethnic Russians and Georgians. Russian Orthodox communities belong to the Russian Orthodox Church in Azerbaijan. Entire territory of Azerbaijan is under ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the "Russian Orthodox Eparchy of Baku and Azerbaijan", centered in the Holy Myrrhbearers Cathedral in Baku.
Oriental Orthodoxy.
Adherents of Oriental Orthodox Christianity in Azerbaijan are mainly ethnic Armenians. The Armenian Apostolic Church currently has no community outside the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Before the outbreak of the war, Armenians formed the largest Christian population in the country. Today, Armenian churches in Azerbaijan remain closed, because of the large outmigration of Armenians and fear of Azerbaijani attacks. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, despite the constitutional guarantees against religious discrimination, numerous acts of vandalism against the Armenian Apostolic Church were reported throughout Azerbaijan. At the height of the Baku pogrom in 1990, the Armenian Church of St. Gregory Illuminator was set on fire, but was restored in 2004 and is not used anymore.
Other denominations.
There is only one congregation in the Catholic Church in Azerbaijan: a church in Baku was opened in 2007.
There are eleven Molokan communities. The Molokans are a Protestant minority which, much like other Protestants, center their beliefs on the Bible and reject church hierarchy. There is also a German Lutheran community, likely to number less than 7,000 Protestants. According to Rev Elnur Jabiyev, the former general secretary of the Baptist Union in Azerbaijan, up to 2010 there were eight or nine evangelical churches in Baku but these have now been prevented from openly meeting together by the authorities.
2.5% of the population belong to the Russian Orthodox Church (1998). The Russian Orthodox Church in Azerbaijan has the Eparchy of Baku and the Caspian region with a seat in Azerbaijan. Among the famous landmark Russian churches are Church of Michael Archangel and the Holy Myrrhbearers Cathedral; the once grand Alexander Nevsky Cathedral has been destroyed by the communists in 1937.
The Albanian-Udi Church, established in 2003, is of the Udi people minority in Azerbaijan.
There is also a Georgian Orthodox community and churches.


Legal system of the United Arab Emirates

The legal system of the United Arab Emirates is based on the civil law system with influences from Islamic, French, Roman and Egyptian laws.
Judicial structure.
Under the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates, each Emirate is allowed to either establish its own judiciary or to merge with the federal court system.
Federal Court System
The UAE federal system includes courts of first instance (trial court), courts of appeal and the court of cassation (Supreme Court).
State Court System
The State (or Emirate) judicial system (النظام القضائي المحلي "local judicial system") has also trial, appeal and cassation courts. The Emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al-Khaimah have their own courts of cassation.
Criminal law.
The UAE penal code is not based completely on Islamic Sharia, but derives several elements from it. Sharia law does exist in the UAE and is used in specific circumstances, such as in the payment of blood money. Individual emirates have also suspended some Sharia punishments such as flogging, replacing them with jail terms. Bounced cheque complaints. Charges of Assault such as Murder, Armed aggression, and Libel suits etc.
Financial charges such as Fraud, Insolvency, Breach of trust etc. Cases related to drugs such as Drug trafficking, possessing and using. Charges of intoxication while driving, Human rights violation complaints. Crimes of dishonesty e.g., Theft, Fraud, Conspiracy, Obtaining pecuniary advantage etc. Crimes of violence, Sexual abuse allegations, International Tax evasion cases, Rehabilitation cases.
Juveniles.
Under UAE Law, a juvenile is an individual aged 18 or below. Capital punishment, imprisonment, or fines cannot be imposed as sentences against juveniles who commit criminal offences. The Juveniles law follows a Restorative Justice model focusing on the needs of the young offender. Judges can issue a variety of non-punitive sentences including reprimand, putting young offenders under the supervision of a guardian, or rehabilitation.
In 2015, 40% of all cases examined by prosecutors were related to offences committed by juveniles.
Islamic Law.
The competence of Sharia Courts has been limited by presence of Civil and Criminal Courts. In some Emirates, particularly Abu Dhabi, however, Sharia law came to apply to all types of civil and commercial disputes, capital criminal offences and matters of personal status. Each of the seven federal Emirates maintains a parallel system of Sharia Courts proper to it.
Flogging is a punishment for certain criminal offences (such as adultery, and alcohol consumption by Muslims) and it is applicable to both genders. Between 2007 and 2014, many people in the UAE were sentenced to 100 lashes.
Stoning is a legal punishment under Sharia. Between 2009 and 2013, several people were sentenced to death by stoning.
Punishable offenses.
Verbal abuse.
Verbal abuse pertaining to a person's sexual honour is illegal and punishable by 80 lashes. In January 2014, a man in Abu Dhabi was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 80 lashes for alcohol consumption and raping a toddler.
Alcohol consumption for Muslims is illegal and punishable by 80 lashes, many Muslims have been sentenced to 80 lashes for alcohol consumption. 80 lashes is the standard amount for anyone sentenced to flogging in some emirates. Sometimes 40 lashes are given. Non Muslims are required to have Alcohol Licenses to be allowed to consume spirits and alcohol. If a license was not obtained, the punishment will be 1–6 months detention and/or a fine not exceeding 2000 Dirhams (approximately 544 US Dollars). Non Muslims cannot be punished by flogging under Sharia Principles for consuming alcohol and this has been confirmed by UAE Federal Law No.52 of year 2006. Drunk-driving is strictly illegal.
Abortion.
Under article 340 of the Penal Code abortion is illegal in the United Arab Emirates except where a woman's life is at risk or the unborn child has a genetic condition that will prove to be fatal. A woman who is found to have undergone an elective abortion may face a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine up to 10,000 AED.
False allegations crimes.
Many western associations state that many women who reported rape but were convicted for false allegations are still victims of rape. This is what they call criminalization of rape victims. The Emirates Center for Human Rights expressed concern over Dubai's criminalization of rape victims.
In Dubai, a woman who engages in consensual extramarital relations and press false allegations of rape can be sentenced to over a year of time in prison.
The Emirates Center for Human Rights states that "Until laws are reformed, victims of sexual violence in the UAE will continue to suffer" referring to a case in July 2013 in which a 24 year old Norwegian woman, Marte Dalelv reported an alleged rape to the police and received a prison sentence for "perjury, illicit [consensual extramarital] sex and alcohol consumption" and false allegations after she admitted lying about the rape.
Apostasy from Islam.
Apostasy is a crime punishable by death in the UAE. Blasphemy is illegal, expats involved in insulting Islam are punished by deportation. UAE incorporates hudud crimes of Sharia into its Penal Code - apostasy being one of them. Article 1 and Article 66 of UAE's Penal Code requires hudud crimes to be punished with the death penalty; therefore, apostasy is punishable by death in the UAE.
Dress code violations.
The UAE has a modest dress code. The dress code is part of Dubai's criminal law. Most malls in the UAE have a dress code displayed at entrances. At Dubai's malls, females should cover their shoulders and knees, therefore sleeveless tops and short shorts are not permitted. However, the dress code is not strictly enforced in public places and it is very common to see people wearing all kinds of outfits at those places, especially in Dubai.
Cheque bounces.
The wording of the Federal Penal Code provides presumption of bad faith on the part of 'anyone who draws a draft without a sufficient and drawable balance'. However, in practice, it is far more common for a cheque to be deposited by the payee as a tool to threaten and blackmail rather than male fides on the part of the drawer.
Homosexuality.
Homosexuality is illegal and a crime punishable by law.
Public display of affection.
Romantic kissing in public places is considered discourteous to the Emirati culture and is discouraged and can be punished by law. Engaging in sexual intercourse in public areas is a crime punishable by law.
Other offenses.
Article 1 of the Federal Penal Code states that "provisions of the Islamic Law shall apply to the crimes of doctrinal punishment, punitive punishment and blood money." The Federal Penal Code repealed only those provisions within the penal codes of individual emirates which are contradictory to the Federal Penal Code. Hence, both are enforceable simultaneously.
A new federal law in the UAE prohibits swearing in Whatsapp and penalizes swearing by a $68,061 fine and imprisonment, expats are penalized by deportation. In July 2015, an Australian expat was deported for swearing in Facebook.
During the month of Ramadan, it is illegal to publicly eat, drink, or smoke between sunrise and sunset. Exceptions are made for pregnant women and children. The law applies to both Muslims and non-Muslims, and failure to comply results in arrest.
Personal status law.
Sharia law dictates the personal status law, which regulate matters such as marriage, divorce and child custody. The Sharia-based personal status law is applied to Muslims and even non-Muslims if they volunteer. Non-Muslims can be liable to Sharia rulings on marriage, divorce and child custody. However, the burden is on the Non Muslim party to request that foreign family laws are applied on a particular case. Judges would entertain such requests in line with Article 1 of the Personal Status Law.
In 2015, non-Muslims owning assets in the Emirate of Dubai were given the option to register their wills with the DIFC Wills & Probate Registry. Previously, the Sharia Law could still apply to the real estate assets owned by the non-Muslims. This welcome change has brought certainty in this area of law. The wills can now be prepared by wills draftsman duly registered with the Registry.
Emirati women must receive permission from a male guardian to marry for the first time or before age of 25. The requirement has been federal law since 2005. In all emirates, it is illegal for Muslim women to marry non-Muslims.
Personal Status courts have exclusive jurisdiction to hear family disputes, including matters involving divorce, inheritances, child custody, child abuse and guardianship of minors.
Social security.
The UAE has no social security laws, but make available welfare benefits such as free hospital and medical care, education subsidies, water, and electricity. By virtue of the National Assistance Law, victims of catastrophic illnesses and disasters are entitled benefits. Social security payments are granted to people of old age, with disabilities or incapable of self support.


Government Municipal Degree College, Faisalabad

Government Municipal Degree College, Faisalabad, previously known as Lyallpur Khalsa College, (خالصہ کالج لائل پور) Faisalabad, is a degree college located in Faisalabad, Pakistan. on Faisalabad-Jaranwala Road near Abdullah our.
It was founded by Master Sunder Singh Lyallpuri in 1908 in the building of Lyallpur Sangh Sabha as Khalsa High School.
The philanthropists of the city donated land and other resources for the establishment of the school. Noted Sikh statesman Master Tara Singh served as the first headmaster of the school and it was here that he got the title of 'Master' prefixed to his name. The school was later upgraded to a degree college in 1928.


Susanna Parr

Susanna Parr (fl. 1650–1659) was a religious writer in Exeter, Devon, England. She protested when her former minister tried to pressurise her after she attended another church. Her former minister said she was excommunicated and this was all documented in six pamphlets by Parr.
Life.
Parr's birth date, birthplace and birth name are unknown. One estimate is that was born in 1630 or before, as it is known that she married a Mr Parr and she had one child. She attended church services in Exeter Cathedral in 1650. This was an independent group that was not associated with the cathedral's hierarchy. The group employed its own minister, Lewis Stucley, in 1650 after it was decided that he would be better than Mr Hanmer. The church and her attendance proceeded for the next four years but in 1654 Parr became discontented. She decided that this group were not the "true church" and she decided to attend Presbyterian services organised by another minister Thomas Ford.
Lewis Stucley became concerned and he sent people to ask Parr if she would return to his church. She would not, and Stucley accused her of "contention" and he held public meetings to highlight her behaviour.
In 1657 her non attendance at her former church was highlighted again by the case of Mary Allein. Allein was a member of Stucley's church and she objected when a petition was circulated at the church. The petition concerned an objection to Oliver Cromwell and Allein's objection was not about the detail of the petition, but she felt that a petition concerning secular affairs should not be circulated during a religious meeting. Allein and her husband decided to leave Stucley's church. Stucley and the church decided to threaten to excommunicate Allein and they added Parr's name into their action. They were asked to answer these charges.
Allein's husband, Toby, non attendance was not raised, so it was Parr and Allein who wrote a reply to the congregation. Stucley refused to read the reply and moved to proclaim their excommunication. Parr's reply was theological and rational and it ran to 114 pages. Toby Allein also published a defence and Stucley also published a reply.
Parr's life after this is not known.


Christianity in Colombia

The National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) does not collect religious statistics, and accurate reports are difficult to obtain. However, based on various studies and a survey, about 90% of the population adheres to Christianity, the majority of which (70.9%) are Roman Catholic, while a significant minority (16.7%) adhere to Protestantism (primarily Evangelicalism).
Other Churches.
The Episcopal Diocese of Colombia is a part of Province 9 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.


Julien Gouyet

Julien Gouyet was a French priest, credited with discovering the House of the Virgin Mary. In 1881, led by the visions of Jesus of the Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (Klemens Brentano, 1852) he discovered a house near Ephesus in Turkey, said to be the House of the Virgin Mary. Pope Leo XIII visited in 1896, and in 1951 Pope Pius XII declared it a Holy Place. Pope John XXIII made the declaration permanent, and popes Paul VI (1967), John Paul II (1979) and Benedict XVI (2006) all visited the shrine.


Japanese New Interconfessional Translation Bible

New Interconfessional Translation Bible (新共同訳聖書 in Japanese, pronounced "Shin Kyōdō Yaku Seisho") is the most recent Japanese translation of the Christian Bible, completed in 1987, and is now the most widely used Japanese Bible, by both Catholics and Protestants.
Joint ecumenical effort.
In accordance with the ecumenical movement of the latter half of the 20th century, a joint ecumenical translation committee was set up in 1969 to get a new translation of the Bible, so it can be used by all Christian denominations.
Interconfessional Translation Bible.
Its New Testament translation, called the Interconfessional Translation Bible (共同訳聖書 in Japanese, pronounced "Kyōdō Yaku Seisho") was completed in 1978. However, for example, its local pronunciation rule of the people and place names, such as "Yesusu" (Jesus) and "Paurosu" (Paul), when used in worship, created some confusions and problems.
New Interconfessional Translation Bible.
The committee, therefore, made necessary adjustments, such as "Yesu" (Jesus) and "Pauro" (Paul), and continued the translation work. In 1987, both Old and New Testaments were published as the New Interconfessional Translation Bible (新共同訳聖書 in Japanese, pronounced "Shin Kyōdō Yaku Seisho").
Original Bible texts.
It is a complete Bible translation, of the Old and New Testaments and the Deuterocanonical books. The original texts used are: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia in Hebrew for the Old Testament, Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece in Greek, and the Greek Old Testament for the Deuterocanonical books.
Publication.
Its publication is done by Japan Bible Society (日本聖書協会), a member of the United Bible Societies (UBS). It is published in various forms, such as the whole Old and New Testament book, Old Testament only book, New Testament only book, Old Testament with or without the Deuterocanonical books, Japanese translation with the English translation (Good News Bible (TEV) or New International Version (NIV)), with the Korean translation, etc.
Use in churches.
It is now the most widely read Japanese Bible, by both Catholics and Protestants. It is used by Catholic churches, Anglican/Episcopal churches, Lutheran churches, United Church of Christ churches and other churches. It is not used by the Japanese Orthodox Church because they, although participated in the translation committee initially, later backed out and did not approve its use in the church.
The other Japanese Bible translation often used is the New Japanese Bible (新改訳聖書 in Japanese, pronounced "Shin Kaiyaku Seisho"), first published in 1970, mainly by the Evangelical Protestants. The Bible, Colloquial Japanese (口語訳聖書 in Japanese, pronounced "Kōgo Yaku Seisho"), first published in 1955, is Japan's first effort to translate the Bible in compliance with the modern Japanese writing system that went into effect right after World War II and is now much less used.


Moglietti sanctuary

The Moglietti sanctuary (Italian: "Santuario dei Moglietti") is a sanctuary devoted to Our Lady of Graces in the "comune" of Coggiola.
History.
The sanctuary was built from 1888 enlarging an ancient chapel dating back to the 18th century.
The site once was a wetland and the name "Moglietti" (from the local expression "muijeit", swamp) remembers the past ambient. The place is also known as "the battlefield" because, according to the local tradition, there has been a battle between the citizen of Coggiola and Fra Dolcino and his fellows.
Description.
Today the sanctuary is composed by a small church, with apse, portico, belltower, and a small hostel. The ancient votive column with the fresco of the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus is still preserved in the church. In front of the sanctuary there is the characteristic fountain that can be found in every sanctuary in the Biellese territory.
Inside the church are exposed the many Ex voto donated by the devotees.


Roman Catholic Diocese of Odessa-Simferopol

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Odessa-Simferopol () is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in southern Ukraine and Crimea that was annexed by Russia in 2014. It covers an area about one-third the size of Poland including areas impacted by 2014 Crimean crisis, and the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. Since 2014, there has been a de facto inter-state border that splits the diocese.
Bronislaw Bernacki is the current bishop of the diocese. He was appointed to the See of Odessa-Simferopol in May 2002 and is based in Odessa. Jacek Pyl is an auxiliary bishop and is based in Simferopol.
History.
The history of the diocese begins in 2002, when the diocese of Odessa-Simferopol was erected from the Diocese of Kamyanets-Podilskyi. The diocese's "basic work" began about the time of the Fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Auxiliary bishop Pyl described the diocese in 2014 as “missionary territory” with “many challenges.” He reported that there were about 64 priests and 3,000 faithful in the diocese. In 2014, in Crimea there were seven parishes and 13 priests and masses were celebrated mainly in Russian but also in English, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Polish.
As of 2014, Simferopol does not have a co-cathedral. “We have been waiting for the last 20 years to get permission to build a church,” Bishop Pyl is quoted as saying. Plans for a co-cathedral had been underway but were put on hold following Russian annexation of Crimea.
Geography.
The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lviv of the Latins.


Basil Roberts

Basil Coleby Roberts (23 September 1887- 3 February 1957) was an Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century.
Born into a clerical family — his father was Henry Eugene Roberts — he was educated at Marlborough College and Pembroke College, Cambridge. Ordained in 1912, his first post was as a Curate at St Jude's, Salterhebble. He was a Lecturer at St Augustine's College, Canterbury from 1913 to 1922. He was Chaplain of Selangor from 1922 to 1927 when he became Bishop of Singapore, a post he held until 1940. The following year he became Warden of St Augustine's and an Assistant Bishop of Canterbury (both until 1955).


Gora Qabaristan, Karachi

The Gora Qabaristan (Urdu: ; also spelled as "Gora Kabristan"), or Gora Cemetery, literally transliterated as "White (man's) graveyard" is Karachi's only operational Christian cemetery.
History.
The original consecration of the Karachi Christian Cemetery was in 1845 during colonial rule but there is a tombstone set in the wall near the main gate of the cemetery bearing the date 1843.
The graveyard covers an area of around 20 acres.
After the independence in 1947, the British High Commission in Karachi invited the members of the various Christian bodies to form the Karachi Christian Cemeteries Board.
Its official name is 'Maseehi Qabraistan' (meaning Christian Cemetery). There is some evidence that an even older Christian cemetery existed on Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road near an area known as Eidgah. Having fallen into disuse it has since been built over with commercial establishments.
In May 2002, the mutilated body of American journalist Daniel Pearl was found in the graveyard. No one knows how it was dumped there.
In 2016 it was reported that 300,000 bodies were registered to be buried here. However, there is space for only 3,000 graves, which means each grave has been used one hundred times over its history.
Location.
It is located on main Shahrah-e-Faisal.
Division.
Until around 1981, the cemetery was divided into two parts, Protestant and Catholic. However, since then, the wall separating them was removed and the two merged.
Management.
The Karachi Christian Cemetery Board manages its affairs.
Over time the condition of the cemetery has deteriorated. In 1995, a group called CARE (Caring, putting into Action, and Restoring the Environmental degradation of the cemetery), made up of people from all parishes and churches, made it their objective to make the cemetery a clean and peaceful resting place for the departed.
Among the problems identified requiring attention were: stopping the continuous flow of sewage into the cemetery grounds; the cutting and clearing of weeds almost 8 feet high, removal of garbage piled up at least 3 feet high over an area of almost 2000 square yards along the West wall; the construction of a concrete wall (estimated to be 6,000 feet), and a permanent pumping station to drain out rain water during the monsoons.
In 2006 the cemetery continues to be desecrated with boys of the surrounding localities playing cricket and football here causing damage to the graves.
Burial services.
From 1885, burial services have been performed by a family firm, Anthony Coutinho and Company. The office still exists on Shahrah-e-Iraq, near St. Patrick's Cathedral, but it has all but stopped functioning. More recently, the St. Joseph's Association, a diocesan organization that organises burials has taken over this function.
Polish memorial.
Following the Soviet invasion of Poland, hundreds of thousands of Poles were deported to Soviet labor camps. Between 1942-1945 some 3,000 refugees were given refuge in Karachi. In memory of the 58 Polish citizens who died in Karachi in the 1940s, a memorial has been erected by the Polish government. It lists the names of all 58 individuals.
The most prominent Pole buried in the cemetery is Air Commodore Władysław Turowicz who played a key role in Pakistan's aviation and aerospace industry.
Renovations.
The city’s district government in 2011 installed two new gates and paved the pathways inside the graveyard.
In 2014 a giant cross, said to be one of the highest in the region - about 43m, has been constructed just inside the cemetery wall. The construction of the cross has been paid for by a Christian businessman, Parvez Henry Gill.


Muslim Rajputs

Muslim Rajputs are the descendants of Rajputs of Northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam during the medieval period in India, retaining their surnames such as Rana and Chauhan. Today, Muslim Rajputs can be found in present-day Northern India and eastern parts of Pakistan. They are further divided into different clans.
History.
The term "Rajput" is traditionally applied to the original Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi and Agnivanshi clans, who claimed to be Kshatriya in the Hindu varna system.
Conversion to Islam and ethos.
There are recorded instances of recent conversions of Rajputs to Islam in Western Uttar Pradesh, Khurja tahsil of Bulandshahr.
Upon their conversion from Hinduism to Islam, the Rajputs maintained many of their Hindu customs.
Despite the difference in faith, where the question has arisen of common Rajput honour, there have been instances where both Muslim and Hindu Rajputs have united together against threats from external ethnic groups.
Medieval Muslim Rajput dynasties of the Indian subcontinent.
Soomra dynasty period.
When Sindh was under the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Arab Habbari dynasty was in control. The Umayyads appointed Aziz al Habbari as the governor of Sindh. Habbaris ruled Sindh until Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi defeated the Habbaris in 1024. Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi viewed the Abbasid Caliphate to be the caliphs thus he removed the remaining influence of the Umayyad Caliphate in the region and Sindh fell to Abbasid control following the defeat of the Habbaris. The Abbasid Caliphate then appointed Al Khafif from Samarra; 'Soomro' means 'of Samarra' in Sindhi. The new governor of Sindh was to create a better, stronger and stable government. Once he became the governor, he allotted several key positions to his family and friends; thus Al-Khafif or Sardar Khafif Soomro formed the Soomro Dynasty in Sindh; and became its first ruler. Until the Siege of Baghdad (1258) the Soomro dynasty was the Abbasid Caliphate's functionary in Sindh, but after that it became independent.
When the Soomro dynasty lost ties with the Abbasid Caliphate after the Siege of Baghdad (1258,) the Soomra ruler Dodo-I established their rule from the shores of the Arabian Sea to the Punjab in the north and in the east to Rajasthan and in the west to Pakistani Balochistan. The Soomros were one of the first indigenous Muslim dynasties in Sindh of Parmar Rajput origin.
Samma Dynasty period.
In 1339 Jam Unar founded a Sindhi Muslim Rajput Samma Dynasty and challenged the Sultans of Delhi. He used the title of the "Sultan of Sindh". The Samma tribe reached its peak during the reign of Jam Nizamuddin II (also known by the nickname Jám Nindó). During his reign from 1461 to 1509, Nindó greatly expanded the new capital of Thatta and its Makli hills, which replaced Debal. He patronized Sindhi art, architecture and culture. The Samma had left behind a popular legacy especially in architecture, music and art. Important court figures included the poet Kazi Kadal, Sardar Darya Khan, Moltus Khan, Makhdoom Bilawal and the theologian Kazi Kaadan. However, Thatta which was a port city unlike garrison towns, it could not mobilize large armies against the Arghun and Tarkhan Mongol invaders, who killed many regional Sindhi Mirs and Amirs loyal to the Samma. Some parts of Sindh still remained under the Sultans of Delhi and the ruthless Arghuns and the Tarkhans sacked Thatta during the rule of Jam Ferozudin.
Kharagpur Raj.
The Kharagpur Raj was a Muslim Kindwar Rajput chieftaincy in modern-day Munger district of Bihar. Raja Sangram Singh led a rebellion against the Mughal authorities and was subsequently defeated and executed. His son, Toral Mal, was made to convert to Islam and renamed as "Roz Afzun". Roz Afzun was a loyal Commander to the Emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan and Jahangir referred to him as his "favourite" commander in the empire. Another prominent chieftain of this dynasty was Tahawar Singh who played an active role in the Mughal expedition against the nearby Cheros of Palamu.
Gujarat Sultanate.
The Gujarat Sultanate was an independent Muslim Rajput kingdom established in the early 15th century by the Muzaffarid dynasty in Gujarat. The Muzaffarids were descended from Hindu Tanka Rajputs with origins in Thanesar in modern-day Haryana. Under the dynasty, trade, culture, and Indo-Islamic architecture flourished. The city of Ahmedabad was founded by the dynasty.
Khanzada Dynasty.
Mewat was a kingdom in Rajputana with its capital at Alwar ruled by a Khanzada Rajput dynasty during the period of the Delhi Sultanate in India. Mewat was covered over a wide area, it included Hathin tehsil, Nuh district, Tijara, Gurgaon, Kishangarh Bas, Ramgarh, Laxmangarh Tehsils Aravalli Range in Alwar district and Pahari, Nagar, Kaman tehsils in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan and also some part of Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh. The last ruler of Mewat, Hasan Khan Mewati was killed in the battle of Khanwa against the Mughal emperor Babur. The Khanzadas were descended from Hindu Yadu Rajputs.
Qaimkhanis of Fatehpur-Jhunjhunu.
The Qaimkhanis were a Muslim Rajput dynasty who were notable for ruling the Fatehpur-Jhunjhunu region in Rajasthan from the 1300s to the 1700s. They were descended from Hindu Chauhan Rajputs.
Lalkhani Nawabs.
The Lalkhanis are a Muslim Rajput community and a sub-clan of the Bargujars. They were the Nawabs of various estates in Western Uttar Pradesh. These included Chhatari and neighbouring regions including parts of Aligarh and Bulandshahr.
Mayi chiefs.
The Mayi clan were the chieftains of the Narhat-Samai (Hisua) chieftaincy in modern-day Nawada district in South Bihar. The founder of the Mayi clan was Nuraon Khan who arrived in Bihar in the 17th century. His descendants were Azmeri and Deyanut who were granted zamindari rights over six parganas by the Mughal authorities. Deyanut's son was Kamgar Khan who expanded his land by attacking and plundering neighbouring zamindars. Kamgar Khan also led numerous revolts against the Mughals and attempted to assert the Mayi's independence. His descendant was Iqbal Ali Khan who took part in the 1781 revolt in Bihar against the British however his revolt failed and Mayi's lost much of their land.
Beliefs and customs.
Muslim Rajputs often retain common social practices (such as purdah [seclusion of women], which is generally followed by Hindu and Muslim Rajputs).


Hinduism in Poland

Hinduism in Poland is a minority religion. Hinduism has spread to Poland through ISKCON since 1976. First groups of Polish devotees were established in Warszawa and Wrocław. The first Polish Hindu temple was established in 1980 in Czarnów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship (New Shantipur Temple in Czarnów). Main ISKCON temple is New Ramana Reti Temple in Mysiadło (est. in 1989).
The Communist regime in Poland promoted an antireligious campaign. After the breakdown of this regime in 1989, missionaries from other Hindu religious denominations have arrived and met with very limited success.
Hindu organisations in Poland.
[[File:2016 Woodstock 018 Hare Krishna.jpg|thumb|Hindu festival in Poland.]]
There are around thirteen Hindu religious movements in Poland. Some of the important organisations are [[ISKCON]], Chaitanya Mission, [[Satya Sai Baba movement]] (though it is partially Hindu), [[Brahma kumaris]], [[Sivananda Yoga]], Radha Govind Society of Poland, and [[Sahaja Yoga]], [[swadhyay parivar]].
The Bhakti Marga Foundation led by Swami Vishwananda established its first Polish temple in [[Warszawa]] in 2009.
ISKCON in Poland.
There are 915 (official sources) [[ISKCON]] followers in Poland. There are 3 main temples in [[Czarnów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship|Czarnów]], [[Warszawa]], and [[Wrocław]]. Additionally ISKCON has its centres in almost all important cities.
ISKCON centres/temples in Poland.
[[File:Czarnow temple.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Czarnow temple]]
New Shantipur Mandir in [[Czarnków]], [[Poland]]
Indians in Poland.
The Indian community in Poland is relatively small and is estimated at around 20,000 persons. The large majority are NRIs and there not more than 100 PIOs.
Demographics.
According to the 2011 Census, there were 866 Hindus in Poland. Among them 341 belonged to the Hindu Bhavan Religious Association, 285 to [[ISKCON]], and the remaining to the Chaitanya mission, Radha Govind Society of Poland.
According to census data in 2017 provided by Główny Urząd Statystyczny, Poland's Central Statistical Office, [[ISKCON]] had 2388 followers, 333 clergy and 24 centres.
Yoga in Poland.
[[File:2016 Yoga Day 2016-06-19.jpg|thumb|2nd [[International Yoga Day]], Warsaw, 2016]]
Yoga is gaining popularity in Poland.
International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres in Poland
Yoga in daily Life Centre in Poland
Recently, Yoga Master Anil Machado from [[Sieradz]] had received special honor from the Prime Minister of India Shri. [[Narendra Modi]], for spreading the teachings of Yoga and also presenting Yoga in over 500 schools throughout Poland.
External links.
[[Category:Hinduism in Poland| ]]


Lazarus Union

The Corps Saint Lazarus International (CSLI), or simply the Lazarus Union, is an international non-governmental organization that focuses on humanitarian aid and civil protection, whilst following the principles of Saint Lazarus; tolerance, humility, mercy and charity.
The Lazarus Union has members in more than 6 countries and enjoys General Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations.
History.
CSLI was founded in Austria in 2008. It is an international organization with headquarters in Austria, in Vienna, and is recognized by the authorities of that country with registration no. 023914681 (Austrian central register). In a short time the CSLI expands in Europe and in many other countries, in each of which develops projects with local specificities. Recognized as an NGO at the UN in 2013 (Code: 632158), in 2014 it obtained special consultative status at the UN ECOSOC and in 2019 the general consultative status.
The reference to Lazarus is not so much to the Christian saint, Lazarus Union itself derives its tradition from the Order of St. Lazarus.
Activities.
The Lazarus Union has a multitude of activities, mostly focused on helping those in need, such as the homeless, handicapped etc. In some countries the CSLI has civil protection groups, such as in Austria, Germany, Brazil, United States and Italy.
Flying Days.
Each year the Austrian CSLI arranges a "Flugtag" (Flying Day) for the handicapped. The day is held at the Stockerau Airport and it is composed of a wide array of activities that the handicapped can try - free of charge.
Besides being able to get a free flight in several different types of planes and helicopters the visitors can also get a ride in a vintage firetruck, a WW2 jeep and other special vehicles.
Help for the Homeless.
The CSLI is very active in helping the homeless. Each winter in Denmark the CSLI donates tents and sleeping bags to the homeless.
Music Corps.
The CSLI have their own orchestra playing both brass band music and traditional military marches, as well as an honor guard.


Parish of Weetangera

Weetangera Parish is a parish of Murray County, New South Wales, a cadastral unit for use on land titles. It is now very small, after most of the land in the parish was transferred to the Australian Capital Territory in 1911, but it once included the south-west part of what is now the Canberra town centre of Belconnen including the town centre. It currently includes a small section of land in New South Wales between the ACT border, Ginninderra Creek and the Murrumbidgee River.
Former boundaries.
Before 1911, it included the area between Ginninderra Creek to the north and the Molonglo River to the south, with the Murrumbidgee River on the west, and land near what is currently the suburb of Aranda to the east. The name is still used today in the suburb of Weetangera, which was a small part of the much larger parish. In addition it included all of the present day suburbs of Holt, Higgins, Scullin, Florey, Hawker, Macquarie, and Cook, and the parts of Macgregor and Latham that are south of Ginninderra Creek.


Nainativu

Nainativu ( "Nainatheevu", "Nagadeepa"), is a small but notable island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The name of the island alludes to the folklore inhabitants, the Naga people.
It is home to the Hindu shrine of Nagapooshani Amman Temple; one of the prominent 64 Shakti Peethas, and the Buddhist shrine Nagadeepa Purana Viharaya.
Historians note the island is mentioned in the ancient Tamil Sangam literature of nearby Tamil Nadu such as "Manimekalai" where it was mentioned as "Manipallavam" (, and ancient Buddhist legends of Sri Lanka such as "Mahavamsa". Ptolemy, a Greek cartographer, describes the Tamil territory including islands around the Jaffna peninsula as "Nagadibois" in the first century CE.
History.
Nāka Tivu / Nāka Nadu was the name of the whole Jaffna peninsula in some historical documents. There are number of Buddhist myths associated with the interactions of people of this historical place with Buddha. The two Tamil epics of the second century - "Kundalakesi" and "Manimekalai" - describe the islet of "Manipallavam" of Nāka Nadu, this islet of the Jaffna peninsula, from where merchants came to obtain gems and conch shells. The protagonists of the former story by Nathakuthanaar, visited the island. In the latter poem by Sīthalai Sāttanār, the sea goddess Manimekhala brings the heroine to the island, where she worships Buddha. She is also told of the petrosomatoglyph atop the mountain of the main island and a magic bowl Amudha Surabhi (cornucopia bowl) that appears once every year in a lake of the islet.
The "Manimekhalai" and the "Mahavamsa" both describe Buddha settling a dispute between two Naga princes over a gem set throne seat on an island known as "Manipallavam" or "Nagadeepa", identified as Nainativu by several scholars. The Tamil language inscription of the Nainativu Hindu temple by Parâkramabâhu I of the 12th century CE states that foreigners landing at new ports must meet at Kayts and they must be protected, and if ships to the islet carrying elephants and horses get shipwrecked, a fourth of the cargo must go to the treasury.
The epic Manimekalai tells the story of the Chola king Killi who on a visit to the island fell in love with the naga princess Pilivalai, the daughter of king Valaivanan of Manipallavam. The prince born out of this union was Tondaiman Ilamtiraiyan. When the boy grew up the princess wanted to send her son to the Chola kingdom. So she entrusted the prince to a merchant who dealt in woolen blankets called Kambala Chetty when the latter's ship stopped in the island. During the voyage to the Chola kingdom, the ship was wrecked due to rough weather and the boy was lost. He was later found washed ashore with a Tondai twig (creeper) around his leg. So he came to be called Tondaiman Ilam Tiraiyan meaning "the young one of the seas or waves". When he grew up the northern part of the Chola kingdom was entrusted to him and the area he governed came to be called Tondaimandalam after him. He is considered by some scholars to be the progenitor of the Pallava dynasty and the dynasty he founded took its name after the native place of his mother, that is Manipallavam.
Naga People.
Naga people were snake-worshippers, a Dravidian custom, and spoke Tamil based on Ptolemy's description of the Naga people. They also likely spoke Prakrit, a language of the school of Amaravathi village, Guntur district with which the early Tamils of Jaffna had strong cultural relations during the classical period. The Nākas were a branch of the Dravidian community, and were at that time part of the Chera kingdom, and of ancient Tamilakam. Archaeological excavations and studies provide evidence of palaeolithic inhabitation in the Tamil dominated Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka and in Tamil Naadu and Chera Naadu (Kerala region). The findings include Nāka idols and suggest that serpent worship was widely practised in the Dravidian regions of India and Sri Lanka during the megalithic period.
The Nākas lived among the Yakkha, Raksha and Deva in Ceylon according to the "Manimekalai" and "Mahavamsa". Cobra worship, Tamil speech and Keralan cuisine extant in Jaffna Tamil culture from the classical period attests to the Nāka's heritage.
Sangam literature details how the ancient Tamil people were divided into five clans ("Kudi") based on their profession during the Sangam period, where the "Nāka" clan, who were in charge of border security guarding the city wall and distant fortresses, inhabited the Coromandel Coast - South Tamil Nadu, East Tamil Nadu and North Sri Lanka. The name Nāka was either a corrupted version of the word Nayinaar or may have been applied to this community due to their head covering being the shape of a hydra-headed cobra in reverence to their serpentine deities. British historian and author of "Ancient Ceylon" considers the Nāka to be an offshoot of the Nayars of Kerala Ancient Tamil epic Manimekalai and the Sri Lankan history book Mahavamsa both mention a dispute between two Naga kings in northern Sri Lanka. Some scholars derives the origin of the Pallava dynasty of Tamilakam from an marriage alliance of the Cholas and the Naga from Jaffna Peninsula. This incident is mentioned in the Tamil epic, Manimekalai.
Decline of Naga identity and assimilation.
According to scholars did the Naga people, also known as "Nayanair", assimilate to Tamil language and culture, forming one of descendants of the Sri Lankan Tamils. They continue to worship their patron Nayinaar deity (a five headed cobra) and Nagapooshani Amman even today within the sanctum sanctorum of the Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple.
Demography.
The population of the island is approximately 2,500 Sri Lankan Tamils and about 150 Muslims. Many Tamils of Nainativu origin, live in various cities and towns of India, Europe, Australia, and North America as part of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.


Parwati Soepangat

Parwati Soepangat (1 May 1932 – 24 July 2016), also known as Maha Upasaka Pandita Metta Pannakusuma Parwati Soepangat Soemarto, was an Indonesian Buddhist figure who established Wanita Buddhis Indonesia (WBI) in 1973 and became the first chairman of WBI.
Parwati was born in Keraton Surakarta from Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung (KRT) Widyonagoro, Regent of Keraton and Raden Ajeng Soewiyah, a teacher in "Sekolah Keraton".
In 1958, she graduated from Gajah Mada University. Parwati continued her study in United States. Back to Indonesia, she became a lecturer in Faculty of Psychology in Padjadjaran University and Maranatha Christian University, which located in Bandung.


George Alexander McGuire

George Alexander McGuire (28 March 1866 – 10 November 1934) is best known for his prominence in Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). McGuire was elected in 1920 as Chaplain-General of the UNIA and wrote important documents about black ritual and catechism, drawing from his knowledge of religion and African history. Both he and Garvey were immigrants to the United States from Caribbean islands who had a vision of Pan-African goals.
In addition McGuire was known for his other religious contributions. Already a minister in the Moravian Church when he immigrated in 1894 to the US, McGuire soon joined the Episcopal Church. He was ordained in 1897 as an Episcopal priest. An early member of the American Negro Historical Society in Philadelphia, McGuire became more concerned about developing institutions that supported persons of African ancestry. In 1921 McGuire founded the African Orthodox Church (AOC); and he was consecrated that year as its first bishop, serving until his death in 1934. During his tenure, new congregations were started in several cities in the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and in East Africa.
McGuire envisioned the AOC as a home for Blacks of Episcopal belief who wanted ecclesiastical independence. It was based on Christian tradition and Apostolic succession. Orthodoxy attracted persons of African descent because it had not been implicated in colonialism or slavery.
Life.
George McGuire was born to an Afro-Caribbean family on 28 March 1866 in Swetes, Antigua. He studied in local grammar schools, then at the Antigua branch of Mico College for teachers. He also studies at the Moravian Miskey Seminary in the Danish West Indies. From 1888 to 1894 McGuire served as pastor of a Moravian Church in the Danish West Indies.
Episcopal Church USA.
In 1894, McGuire immigrated to the United States. He initially joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was the first independent black denomination in the country, founded in the early nineteenth century. On 2 January 1895, McGuire formally joined the Episcopal Church, and two years later he was ordained as a priest.
McGuire was called to lead small, mostly black Episcopal churches in Cincinnati, Ohio; Richmond, Virginia; and Philadelphia. St. Philip's Episcopal Church of Richmond, Virginia lists "Reverend George Alexander McQuire" as rector from April 1898 to November 1900. After McGuire's tenure, the Rev. Robert Josias "Raphael" Morgan was listed as the rector there from "1901 – April 1901", likely acting on an interim basis until a full-time rector was called. The two men may have known each other. Morgan was later known as Fr. Raphael when he was ordained in 1907 as an Orthodox priest.
By 1901 McGuire was appointed rector of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Philadelphia; this was the first black congregation in the Episcopal Church. Saint Thomas served the African-American elite of Philadelphia. It had been started in 1794 by Absalom Jones, earlier a founder with Richard Allen of the Free African Society. This mutual aid society preceded the African Methodist Episcopal Church founded by Allen. McGuire was rector of St. Thomas from 1902–05.
He was succeeded as rector there by A.C.V. Cartier (1906–12). Cartier later followed Fr. Raphael Morgan in his interest in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In 1908 Fr Raphael recommended Cartier to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for Orthodox ordination.
From 1905 to 1909, McGuire served as Archdeacon for Colored Work in the Diocese of Arkansas. He was the church's highest-ranking African American and the first to achieve the rank of Archdeacon. He worked to increase the number of missions in the state from one to nine. He encountered opposition from the local Episcopal bishop, who believed blacks should be segregated from whites and placed in their own church jurisdiction. Following the Reconstruction era, Arkansas and other southern states had imposed legal racial segregation in most public and private facilities. At the turn of the century, Arkansas and other former Confederate states effectively disenfranchised most black citizens by raising barriers to voter registration.
Eventually McGuire resigned and moved North to Cambridge, Massachusetts. There he established St. Bartholomew's Church for West Indians who were living in the Boston area. While in Cambridge, McGuire also studied at Boston College of Physicians and Surgeons, receiving his M.D. degree in 1910. When his small church was not recognized by the Episcopal diocese, McGuire resigned in 1911. As he traveled across the U.S., he became more discouraged, believing that blacks did not have opportunities to advance in the Episcopal Church, and decided to leave it.
Return to Antigua.
In 1913 McGuire returned to the West Indies, settling in British-controlled Antigua to care for his sick mother. While there he volunteered at a local parish, serving as a minister in the Church of England. He gained acclaim for practicing medicine on the island. When a strike of local sugar cane workers led to rioting and burning of the sugar cane fields, British colonial officials urged local and religious leaders to oppose the strikes, but McGuire refused and urged official to ensure that workers were paid decent, living wages.
UNIA.
McGuire returned to the United States in 1918 and soon afterward joined the UNIA. Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant and the president and founder of UNIA, appointed him as first Chaplain-General of the organization, at its inaugural international convention in New York in August 1920. In this position McGuire wrote two important documents of UNIA, "Universal Negro Ritual", and "Universal Negro Catechism", the latter containing both religious and historical sections, reflecting his interest in religion and race history.
This was a period of black disillusionment and disenchantment with their status and with the enactment of discriminatory laws. This was not only true in the American South, but also in the Northern cities where the discrimination was also pervasive. In this period, some black leaders promoted separate development of the races. The mainline churches, such as the Episcopal Church (Anglican), wanted to bring faith to the Blacks, but did not want to advocate "political and social equality".
African Orthodox Church.
On 2 September 1921, in the Church of the Good Shepherd in New York City, McGuire founded the African Orthodox Church(AOC). The new denomination was first called the "Independent Episcopal Church". A few years later at its first Conclave, or House of Bishops meeting, on 10 September 1924, the denomination was formally organized as the African Orthodox Church (AOC).
McGuire believed that blacks who supported the Protestant Episcopal church deserved ecclesiastical independence. Based on traditional Roman Catholic doctrines, was open to all but was under complete black leadership and control. McGuire declared to his followers: "You must forget the white gods. Erase the white gods from your hearts. We must go back to the native church, to our own true God."
McGuire may have been attracted to the Eastern Orthodox Church because it was not associated with racism, colonialism or religious imperialism. It was never involved in widespread missionary activity and had limited contacts with Afro-Americans and Africans. It was not perceived as racist. The adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy were primarily southern and eastern Europeans, people who were recent immigrants to the US and not associated with the establishment. Oriental Orthodoxy was based in what was then known as the Middle East, Egypt, Ethiopia and southern India. The name, "African Orthodox Church", "denoted its aim: to be a universal Black church in affiliation with a branch of Christianity not known for racism or colonialism."
Article one of the constitution of the African Orthodox church said:
The name of this church, which was organized September 2nd, 1921, is and shall be THE AFRICAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. Its faith as declared, is Orthodox, in conformity with the Orthodox Churches of the East from which its Episcopate is derived. While it admits to membership and other privileges persons of all races, IT SEEKS PARTICULARLY TO REACH OUT TO THE MILLIONS OF AFRICAN DESCENT IN BOTH HEMISPHERES, and declares itself to be perpetually autonomous and controlled by Negroes. Hence the name, AFRICAN ORTHODOX.
Shortly after the UNIA convention in August 1924, McGuire broke with Marcus Garvey. He focused on expanding the AOC church, which primarily attracted Anglican immigrants from the West Indies who were from the High Church Anglican tradition (Anglo-Catholicism). McGuire would have liked the AOC to be designated as the official church of UNIA, but Garvey was unwilling to grant such an exclusive privilege to any denomination. McGuire resigned from the UNIA. He ensured official "orthodox" status for his new church by arranging apostolic succession for himself.
Consecration in the American Catholic Church.
McGuire initiated negotiations with the Russian Orthodox Church in America in order to obtain valid Apostolic Orders. The Russians were hesitant to assist the formation of another "independent" jurisdiction, however. They were willing to talk, but in the end, they intended to fully control this Black church. This was unacceptable to Fr. McGuire and the other leaders of this new jurisdiction. He met with similar positions from representatives of other Orthodox groups in the U.S.A. Finally the African Orthodox Church entered into negotiations with Archbishop Joseph René Vilatte of the "American Catholic Church" (ACC), an episcopal sect which he had founded.
Fr. McGuire was re-ordained as Bishop in the American Catholic Church, consecrated on 28 September 1921, in Chicago, Illinois, by Archbishop Joseph René Vilatte. He was assisted by bishop Carl A. Nybladh, who had been consecrated by Vilatte.
The early issues of "The Negro Churchman", the official organ of the AOC, had articles that repeatedly tried to establish the validity of McGuire's consecration. On at least four occasions, a chart was printed on the cover page that traced the apostolic succession from the See of Antioch to McGuire:
Meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch.
McGuire tried to gain recognition from the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. In December 1921, three months after his consecration, McGuire, through the intercession of Eastern Orthodox prelates, was granted an audience with Patriarch Meletios while the latter was on a visit to New York City. The Patriarch was interested in the origins and dogma of the AOC. He accepted the Jacobite episcopal source as legitimate but was concerned over its monophysite dogma. McGuire apparently had no difficulty in satisfying the Patriarch. Meletios also was concerned with Western Christian influences in dogma that might have permeated the AOC, especially on the question of the nature of the Trinity. (Both Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism adhere to the belief that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and Son, while Orthodoxy holds procession only from the Father). Here too McGuire appears to have satisfied the Patriarch.
Areas of agreement between Greek Orthodoxy and the AOC included common acceptance of the dogmatic decisions of the seven Ecumenical Councils, the seven Sacraments, the original form of the Nicene Creed, the concept of transubstantiation, the declaration of the Virgin Mary as Mother of God (God-bearer or "Theotokos" in Greek Orthodoxy), justification by both faith and good works, and the rejection of predestination, a Protestant Calvinist belief. McGuire claimed that the Patriarch accepted the AOC as an Orthodox Church but would not afford it communion with Eastern Orthodoxy until it demonstrated stability and growth.
In 1924 Meletios and his successor, Gregorios VII, requested more information and received copies of the AOC's Divine Liturgy, canons, constitution and Declaration of Faith. The AOC never gained the desired recognition from a major Eastern Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy does recognize different rites, but its leaders may have rejected the apparent eclectic nature of the AOC's liturgy and services. At the church's inception, the liturgy was described as a mixture of Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism and Orthodoxy. The chief service was the Mass; minor and major orders were conferred through the Catholic Pontifical; and the official hymnal was the Anglican "Hymns Ancient and Modern". The AOC was essentially High Anglican and it was Orthodox only to the extent that its leader had the title of Patriarch, that the original form of the Nicene Creed had been adopted, and that its episcopal source was in an Oriental Orthodox Church.
AOC consolidation and growth 1924–1934.
In 1924, the newly organized conclave of AOC unanimously elected McGuire as archbishop of the church. During the remaining decade of his life, McGuire built the AOC into a thriving international church. Branches were eventually established in Miami, Chicago, Harlem (New York), Boston, and Cambridge, Massachusetts of the US, Canada, Barbados, Cuba, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and elsewhere. The official organ of AOC, "The Negro Churchman", was an effective link for the far-flung organization, with McGuire as its editor. Endich Theological Seminary was founded shortly thereafter, as well as an Order of Deaconesses.
In 1925 McGuire founded an AOC parish in West Palm Beach, Florida. Two years after that, he consecrated , an African clergyman, as Metropolitan Archbishop for South Africa and central and southern Africa. At the same time McGuire was elected Patriarch of the denomination with the title "Alexander I". The church spread to Uganda as well, where it grew to about 10,000 members.
On 8 November 1931 McGuire dedicated Holy Cross Pro-Cathedral in Harlem (New York). His church maintained its greatest strength in NYC.
Death.
McGuire died 10 November 1934. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City. He was survived by his wife, Ada Robert McGuire (also a native of Antigua), and one daughter.
At the time of his death in 1934, the African Orthodox Church claimed over 30,000 members, fifty clergy, and thirty churches located on three continents: North America, South America and Africa.
George Alexander McGuire was canonized by the African Orthodox Church on 31 July 1983 and is a saint of that church.
Historical perspective.
The movement for ecclesiastical independence started by McGuire in 1921 can be viewed from two perspectives.
First, it was an expression of Black cultural independence in the United States and Africa. It was an effort to promote widespread religious unity under Black leadership. The AOC's inclusion within the apostolic succession was intended to give it legitimacy both within the Black community and larger Christian world. McGuire did not achieve the growth in his church that he hoped for. While it did increase in size during its first decade, this was primarily through his forceful personality rather than attraction to its principle of apostolic succession. After McGuire's death, the AOC splintered and weakened. In South Africa there was growth, but not at the rate anticipated by Daniel William Alexander. He did plant new AOC churches in Uganda and Kenya, where they are now under the administrative umbrella of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria.
Second, in its attempt to bring together Blacks of the diaspora and Africa into a common movement, the AOC was a manifestation of Pan-Africanism of the period. Spiritual and emotional needs left unattended in their respective countries, propelled Blacks in the United States and South Africa to affiliate and assert their autonomy in an area where the White establishments saw no threat. Discrimination, racism and second-class citizenship engendered this effort at ecclesiastical independence and racial cooperation on both sides of the Atlantic.


Adrien Languillat

Adrien-Hippolyte Languillat SJ (1808–1878) was a French Jesuit and missionary in China. He was titular bishop of Sergiopolis (1856–1878) and vicar apostolic of Southeastern Chi-Li (1856–1864) and Kiangnan (1864–1878).
Life.
Adrien-Hippolyte Languillat was born in Chantemerle, district of Épernay (Marne), on 28 September 1808. He was a French bishop who was Bishop in partibus of Sergiopolis, Apostolic Vicar of Nanjing and Honorary Member of the Société d'Agriculture, Commerce, Sciences et Arts de la Marne.
Languillat was ordained in Châlons-sur-Marne and was immediately placed as vicar in the parish of Notre-Dame, from where he was soon called to be parish priest of the Saint-Alpin church in Châlons. In 1841, he joined the Society of Jesus and went to China as a missionary.
In 1856, he was created Bishop in partibus of Sergiopolis, and appointed Apostolic Vicar of the new Apostolic Vicariate of the South-East Zheli, in the province of Nanjing, then in 1865, he was transferred to Jiangnan.
Soon after his appointment, he paid his respects to the French Minister to confirm French protection of the mission.
Languillat emphasized the importance of education in the work of the mission, and was eager to support the development of an indigenous clergy. To this end, he established a minor seminary.
In 1867, he had come to see his native country again and recruit nuns for the mission in China. He returned to China after three months in France, accompanied by six sisters of the Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls who were to take charge of an orphanage in Zikawei (Shanghai). In Shanghai (which depended on Nanjing's headquarters), he approved the foundation of the Sisters of the Presentation (the "presentandines") in 1873 for young Chinese women. Three nuns made their first vows that year. Their convent, closed after the 1949 revolution, reopened in 1985.
He also brought the Carmelites to (Shanghai). On 1 March 1868 Bishop Languillat consecrated the chapel and blessed the image of Our Lady of Sheshan, Help of Christians, which was copied from Our Lady of Victory in Paris. Languillat took part in the Vatican Council in 1870.
His last years were overshadowed by a stroke in 1874. He died in Zikawei (Shanghai) on 30 November 1878.