Sahl al-Tustari

Sahl al-Tustarī () or Sahl Shushtarī () according to Persian custom, born Abū Muḥammad Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh (c.818 CE (203 AH) – c.896 CE (283 AH)), was a Persian Sunni Muslim scholar and early classical Sufi mystic. He founded the Salimiyah Muslim theological school, which was named after his disciple Muhammad ibn Salim.
Tustari is most famous for his controversial claim that "I am the Proof of God for the created beings and I am a proof for the saints (awliya) of my time" and for his well-known Tafsir, a commentary on and interpretation of the Qur'an.
Biography.
Sahl al-Tustari was born in the fortress town of Tustar (Arabic) or Shushtar (Persian) in Khūzestān Province in what is now southwestern Iran.
From an early age he led an ascetic life with frequent fasting and study of the Qur'an and Hadith, the oral traditions, of the Prophet Muhammad. He practised repentance (tawbah) and, above all, constant remembrance of God (dhikr). This eventually culminated in a direct and intimate rapport with God with whom he considered himself a special friend and one of the spiritual elect.
Tustari was under the direction of the Sufi saint Dhul-Nun al-Misri for a time, and Tustari in his turn was one of the Sufi mystic Mansur Al-Hallaj's early teachers.
Tustari was also near to the Islamic Scholars of Hadith when he met (Abu Dawood) he said "O Abu Dawud, I want something from you." He said, "What is it?" Sahl said, "On a condition that you say that you will fulfill it if possible." Abu Dawud replied in the affirmative. Sahl said, "Get out your tongue with which you narrated the hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him) so that I kiss it." Abu Dawud accept that and Sahl kissed his tongue. This shows the close proximate of early hadith scholars and early sufis.
In these early days when the Sufis were becoming established mostly in Baghdad (the capital of modern Iraq), the most notable Sufis of the time elsewhere were: Tustari in southwestern Iran, Al-Tirmidhi in Central Asia and the Malamatiyya or "People of Blame".
An Islamic scholar who commented on and interpreted the Qur'an, Tustari maintained that the Qur'an "contained several levels of meaning", which included the outer or zahir and the inner or batin. Another key idea that he unravelled was the meaning of the Prophet Muhammad's saying "I am He and He is I, save that I am I, and He is He", explaining it "as a mystery of union and realization at the center of the Saint's personality, called the sirr ('the secret'), or the heart, where existence joins Being." Tustari also "was the first to put" the Sufi exercise of remembrance of God, Dhikr, "on a firm theoretical basis."


Patricia Hillas

Patricia Dorothy Hillas (born 1966) is a Church of England priest. She has been appointed as the Priest-in-Charge of St Mary-at-Hill, City of London, and Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, succeeding Rose Hudson-Wilkin. She was previously the Canon Pastor at St Paul's Cathedral. In April 2021 she was appointed by HM The Queen to serve as fourth Canon Residentiary of Westminster. The installation was on 9th May 2021 in Westminster Abbey.
Early life.
Hillas was born in 1966 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to an Indian mother and a British father. She moved to the UK with her family in 1971. She trained as a social worker, before ordination in 2002. She completed a MSc in conflict resolution and mediation in the 2010s.
Career.
Before Hillas' ordination she was a youth and social worker specialising in supporting those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS.
She was ordained deacon in 2002 and priest in 2003. She served her curacy (2002 to 2005) at the Kensell Rise Team Ministry. From 2005 to 2014 she was vicar of St Barnabas Northolt Park. From 2014 until 2020 she was Canon Pastor at St Paul's Cathedral.
In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, Hillas led a team supporting the families of victims.
On 13 May 2021, she led a short service to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Parliament in World War II.
Personal life.
Hillas has been married to Andrew Hillas, who is head of the youth offending service for Southwark.


Dalit saints of Hinduism

Dalit is an ancient designation for a group of indigenous Indian people. Several influential Hindu saints, though, were members of this group.


Ascaric (bishop of Braga)

Ascaric (died 810/1) was either the bishop of Astorga or bishop of Braga. He was condemned in the third letter of Pope Hadrian I for adoptionism sometime between 785 and 791 (probably 786). His "Epistula ad Tuseredum" ("letter to Tuseredo"), explaining the resurrection of the body, places him in the Kingdom of Asturias at the time. He also penned a poem to Tuseredo, modelling it on the "Hamartigenia" of Prudentius and the verse of Coelius Sedulius.


Yohannah Audu

Yohannah Ahmed Audu is an Anglican bishop in Nigeria: a former Archdeacon he is the current Bishop of Damaturu, one of ten dioceses within the Anglican Province of Jos, itself one of 14 provinces within the Church of Nigeria.


Adam Bargielski

Adam Bargielski (January 7, 1903 – September 8, 1942) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest. He was born in Kalinowo, Łomża County. He died in the Nazi German Dachau concentration camp. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II and is a member of the 108 Martyrs of World War II.


Thor With

Thor Scherffenberg With was a Norwegian bishop and theologian in the Church of Norway. He was bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin from 1977 until 1987.
Thor With was born on 14 January 1918 in the village of Honningsvåg in Nordkapp Municipality in far northern Norway. He received his cand.theol. degree in 1943 and was ordained as a priest in 1946. He completed further studies of the Northern Sami language in 1950 from the University of Oslo.
With served as the acting parish priest in Narvik from 1947 until 1949. He then was an assistant priest at Tromsø Cathedral from 1949–1950. In 1950 he became the rector of the Sami folk high school in Karasjok, a position he held until 1957. He next was the parish priest in Tana from 1957 until 1961. In 1961 he became the secretary general of the Norwegian Sami Mission (). In 1968 he left Northern Norway and became the head chaplain at the Deaconess Hospital in Oslo, where he stayed until 1975. In 1975, he became the Dean of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. Then in 1977, he succeeded Per Juvkam as the new bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin, based in the city of Bergen. He retired in 1987.
With died on 5 June 1997 at the age of 79.


Alfred Cooper (bishop)

Alfred Philip (Alf) Cooper b 1950) is an Anglican bishop in Chile.
Cooper was educated at the University of Bristol and ordained in 1978. He has spent his career as a missionary in Chile. He was consecrated in 2016.

Early life and education.
Pajula was born in Käru, Virumaa, the son of August Pajula and Amanda Alber. Between 1931 and 1942 he studied at Käru and Salla Primary School and Väike-Maarja Gymnasium. He studied at the Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church) between 1949 and 1959. In 1960/61 he went for further training at the University of Göttingen in West Germany.
Ministry.
He was ordained priest on May 24, 1950 by Archbishop Jaan Kiivit Sr. in St. Mary's Cathedral, Tallinn. Between 1949 and 1950 and again between 1954 and 1957, he served as pastor of the parishes of Illuka and Iisaku. In 1950 he transferred to Kursi, Jõgeva County to become pastor of the parish church. Between 1954 and 1956 he was also responsible for the Alexander's Cathedral and in 1957 he became pastor of St. John's Church, Tallinn, where he remained till 1987.
Archbishop.
On June 11, 1987, the Church council elected Pajula Archbishop and Primate. He was consecrated on November 15, 1987 by John Vikström Archbishop of Turku and Finland and co-consecrated by Karl-Gunnar Grape Bishop of Skara; Olav Christian Lindegaard Bishop of Haderslev; Fredrik Grønningsæter Bishop of Sør-Hålogaland; Jan Michalko General Bishop of the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church; Dieter Knall Bishop of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria; and Gyula Nagy Bishop of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary. He retired on June 29, 1994. He was the first President of the Estonian Council of Churches in 1989-1993 and member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches 1983–1992.


Billy Johnson (Mormon)

Joseph William Billy Johnson (17 December 1934 – 27 March 2012) was one of the first converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Ghana, and was one of the first two stake patriarch in the country. Prior to his baptism, he had worked for many years to spread the doctrines of the LDS Church to many of his fellow countrymen. He was baptized a six months after the 1978 Revelation on Priesthood among the first to be baptized in the church in Ghana.
Early life in the church.
Johnson was born in Lagos, Nigeria and grew up in the Roman Catholic faith. In 1964, Johnson learned about the Book of Mormon from Frank A. Mensah. Upon receiving a copy of the Book of Mormon, Johnson started "Latter-Day Saint" congregations in Ghana, independent from any other "Mormon" sect.
Although he was not able to be baptized at the time, Johnson received support and encouragement in sharing the faith with others from Latter-day Saints who were expatriates that occasionally lived in or visited Ghana. This began primarily with Virginia Cutler, who was a visiting professor at the University of Ghana. Merrill J. Bateman also visited, along with M. Neff Smart, Edwin Q. "Ted" Cannon and Lynn M. Hilton. During these visits new literature was brought and members were encouraged to continue in faith. These visits all happened unofficially.
His leadership prior to baptism.
In 1976, Johnson set out to contact all Latter-day Saints within Ghana and found the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church). However, no further contact was established with the RLDS Church. After sharing the message of Mormonism with many in Accra, Johnson moved to Cape Coast, Ghana, where he set up at least ten congregations there and in the surrounding areas. Some of the Cape Coast group of these independent congregations in Ghana schismed when ongoing contact was not established with the LDS Church or RLDS Church in 1976. Some of the individuals in this group formed the Apostolic Divine Church of Ghana, however, this sect only lasted a few months. During this time he also helped establish a primary school called the Brigham Young Educational Institute. That same year, LDS Church president Spencer W. Kimball announced Official Declaration 2 which extended the priesthood to all worthy male members of the church regardless of race or color. In gratitude, Johnson sent a letter to Kimball, explaining that God had prepared the people in Ghana, asking him to send missionaries to the members. Kimball responded to his pleas and sent the first called missionaries Rendell N. Mabey and Rachel Mabey. They joined Edwin Q. Cannon and Janath R. Cannon.
Baptism and later religious achievements.
Johnson was finally baptized into the LDS Church on 9 December 1978. The previous October a letter from Johnson had been among those read by Spencer W. Kimball in his speech to the training meeting for the Regional Representatives of the 12 and other Church leader urging that the sending of missionaries to Ghana and Nigeria be done quickly. He was ordained as a priest and called to be the first branch president. He later served as a district president.
In 1990, the Ghanaian government decided to suspend the activities of the church in the country, claiming they thought it was a CIA plot. During this time, the church functioned very differently in Ghana. Foreign missionaries had to quickly withdraw from the country, including the acting mission president. Members held sacrament meetings in their homes on a family basis, instead of at formal meetinghouses. Johnson and his wife were called as the only missionaries at the time.
After the end of the freeze, stakes were organized in Accra and Cape Coast. Johnson was called as the first stake patriarch in Ghana. In 2004, the Accra Ghana Temple was completed, the LDS Church's second temple to be built in Africa. Johnson served as a temple worker in this temple from the time it started operation.


Vladimir Beneshevich

Vladimir Nicolayevich Beneshevich (; August 9, 1874 – January 17, 1938) was a scholar of Byzantine history and canon law, and a philologer and paleographer of the manuscripts in that sphere.
Beneshevich was a corresponding-member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences from 1914, of the Russian Academy of Sciences from 1924, and of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and of the Strassburg Academy of Sciences from 1929.
Beneshevich was executed by the Soviet regime in 1938, and is one of the Eastern Orthodox Church's "New Martyrs".
Biography.
Vladimir Nicolayevich Beneshevich was born on August 9, 1874, in Druya, Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Vitebsk Region in Belarus). He was of Belarusian ethnicity. His father was a bailiff at the local court, and his grandfather was a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church. He had one brother, Dmitri, who was three years older.
Beneshevich graduated 'first class' from Gymnasium in 1893. He then studied law at the Saint Petersburg State University from 1893–1897, graduating with a first-degree diploma. From 1897 until 1901 he studied philosophy, law, and history in Germany, first at the University of Heidelberg, then at the University of Leipzig, and finally at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Upon his return to Russia, he married Amata Ludmila Faddeevne (1888–1967), daughter of professor of classical philology Faddei Zielinski at the University of St. Petersburg. The Beneshevichs had three sons; Nikita (1910-1918) and the twins Dmitri (1911-1937) and George (1911-1937).
Between 1900–1905 Beneshevich worked in libraries in Europe and the Middle East, studying Slavic and Byzantine written sources, and participated in his first archaeological expeditions to the ancient religious center of Mount Athos, Mount Sinai, Egypt, Greece, Asia Minor, and Palestine. He was granted access to handwritten monastic collections in 49 European libraries, and worked in Paris, Vienna, Munich, and Rome, discovering many hitherto-unknown legal monuments in the process. The main focus of his research activities was to reconstruct the history of Greco-Roman law, based on a systematic source base. He also briefly (1903-1904) taught history of canon law at the Alexander Lyceum. His research findings were published in his Master's thesis on "The story of the sources of Canonical Law of the Greek Orthodox Church" in 1905, for which he received a Master of Church Law. He had also discovered three new fragments of the "Codex Sinaiticus" (these are now housed at the Russian National Library in Saint Petersburg).
In 1905, Beneshevich was appointed privat-docent of Byzantine history at the faculty of history and philology at the University of St. Petersburg. In 1908, Benshevich was appointed editor of the journal "Обозрения трудов по славяноведению", a post that he would held until 1918.
In 1909, Beneshevich was appointed extraordinary professor, and, shortly thereafter ordinary professor of Byzantine history. He also lectured extensively on paleography, and, from 1906 onwards, on the history of canon law at the University's faculty of law, at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy (1906–1909), at the summit of women's courses (1909–1917), at the Raeva (1910–1911), and at the Military Academy of Law (1909–1912).
In 1912, Beneshevich received a doctor of law from the Athens State University. In the same year, and together with egyptologist Boris Alexandrovich Turayev and linguist Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr, Beneshevich initiated the founding of the journal "Christian East" under the auspices of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.
In 1914, on the eve of World War I, Beneshevich published his doctoral thesis on the "Synagogue among the 50 works and other Canonical Collections of John Scholasticus". He was granted a Doctor of Church Law the same year.
Between 1917–1918 Beneshevich served as secretary to the Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Between 1919–1926 he served in several different capacities in the Church's archives and libraries; from 1923–1926, as head of the Public Library of the History of Material Culture Academy, and from 1925–1926 as head librarian of the Greek manuscripts department of manuscripts Public Library in Leningrad.
In July 1922, and again in 1924, he was arrested in connection with the Case of the Metropolitan Benjamin, but was not held long in either instance.
In 1926, Beneshevich was appointed Secretary of the Byzantine Commission of the USSR. In 1927, he was granted permission to travel to Germany on a three-month scientific mission, where he had the opportunity to study a number of Greek manuscripts. Shortly before his return, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences offered to translate his work on John Scholasticus. Beneshevich consented.
In early 1928, Beneshevich was elected corresponding–member to the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
Imprisonment and execution, 1929-1938.
In November 1928, he was arrested on charges of spying for the Vatican, Germany and Poland. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment and sent to Solovki prison camp. He was returned to Leningrad in 1930 to attend trial with his wife and brother on charges of sedition. In August 1931, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and sent to in the Ukhta-Pechora prison camp. The arrest and searches almost completely destroyed his collection of (copies of) ancient manuscripts. Of the 49 manuscripts known from his published prolegomena on them, only three survived. Some 2000 photographs were also destroyed.
At the request of the Old Bolshevik Vladimir Bonch-Bruevich, Beneshevich was released prematurely in March 1933. From 1933 Beneshevich then served as archivist of Greek manuscripts in public libraries, and lectured on Byzantine history at Leningrad State University.
The first German edition of his work on John Scholasticus was published in Munich in May 1937. In October, an article in "Izvestia" portrayed this as a betrayal, and questioned why a Russian scientific work was published in Nazi Germany. Beneshevich was dismissed from his post, and on November 27 was arrested on charges of spying for Germany.
Together with his twin sons and brother, who had been indicted on the same charges, Vladimir Nicolayevich Beneshevich was shot by the NKVD on 17 January 1938 in Leningrad.
Beneshevich was struck from the rolls of the Russian Academy of Sciences on 29 April 1938. He was exonerated of the charges of treason by a Military Tribunal LVO on 20 August 1958, over 20 years after his execution. Beneshevich was rehabilitated by the Academy of Sciences on 19 December 1958.
Contributions.
Vladimir Nicolayevich Beneshevich published more than 100 works related to Byzantine history and culture. The most important of these are:
Further reading.
Biography of his wife:
Biography of his brother:
Biographies of his brother and his sons:


Babatunde Ogunbanwo

Babatunde Ogunbanwo is an Anglican bishop in Nigeria: he is the current Bishop of Ijebu-South West.
Ogunbanwo was educated at the University of Ibadan and Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan.
He was elected as Bishop of Bishop of Ijebu-South West on 29 October 2009 at the Episcopal synod of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion held at the Basilica of Grace Apo in Gudu district of the Anglican Diocese of Abuja. He had previously been Dean of the Cathedral of St. Paul in Shagamu.


Dharma samsthapana

Dharma Samsthapana is a Social Service Movement (SSM) formed initially to protect Chilkuru Balaji Temple from commercialization by the Endowments Department.
Chilkur Balaji Temple of Hyderabad the most ancient temple in north part of Andhra pradesh i.e. Telangana, was built during the days of Akkanna and Maadanna, the uncles of Bhakta Ramdas. The deity in this temple is Swayambhu and is accompanied with Sridevi and Bhoodevi, both standing besides the deity.
Support to handloom weavers Industry.
Supports Sircilla weavers. The NGO supports environment development.
The temple has introduced a dress code. Starting April 2008, Devotees are requested to wear handloom clothes on Saturdays. Lakhs of weavers in and around sircilla handloom industry are committing suicides. The dress code has been introduced to encourage handloom industries in these area of Andhra Pradesh. and also to protect polluting the environment with plastic, Chilkur Balaji Temple banned using plastics in the temple area and introduced hand weaved bags with the help from Sircilla handloom weavers.


Helsinki Finland Temple

The Helsinki Finland Temple (, ) is the 124th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Unlike LDS chapels, where worship services are held and visitors are welcome, the temple is open only to church members.
Located at Leppäsillantie 3 in Espoo, the Helsinki Finland Temple has a total of , two ordinance rooms, and four sealing rooms. It once served the geographically largest temple district of the church, which included Finland, the Baltic states, and all of Russia. It was the final temple dedicated during the presidency of Gordon B. Hinckley and the last dedicated by Hinckley.
History.
The church's First Presidency announced on April 2, 2000 that a temple would be built near Helsinki in Espoo, Finland.
On March 29, 2003 a site dedication and groundbreaking ceremony were held in Karakallio, a district of Espoo. D. Lee Tobler, of the church's Second Quorum of the Seventy, presided at the ceremony and gave the site dedication prayer.
An open house was held September 21 to October 7, 2006 to allow the public to tour the temple prior to its dedication. The temple was dedicated on October 22, 2006 by Gordon B. Hinckley, after a cultural celebration was held the evening before.
In 2020, like all the church's other temples, the Helsinki Finland Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.


Christianity in Niger

Christianity in Niger was brought with French colonial institutions, and its adherents include local believers from the educated, the elite, and colonial families, as well as immigrants from neighboring coastal countries, particularly Benin, Togo, and Ghana.
Demographics.
Christians, both Roman Catholics and Protestants, account for less than one percent of the population—one estimate has Christians at 0.4% and Evangelicals at 0.1%—and are mainly present in the regions of Maradi and Dogondoutchi, and in Niamey and other urban centers with expatriate populations. Current estimates place the current Christian population at about 56,000 individuals with projected growth resulting in about 84,500 Christians by the year 2025.
Foreign Christian missionary organizations are active in the country, continuing a tradition dating back to the colonial period. The first Catholic mission was founded in 1931, while the first Protestant missionaries came to Zinder in 1924 and to Tibiri a few years later. In the late 1970s there were some 12,000 Catholic and 3,000 Protestant converts in Niger, with the remaining Christian population made up of foreigners. A 2015 study estimates some 4,500 believers in Christ came from a Muslim background residing in Niger.
Violence by Muslims.
In January 2015, churches and Christian-owned shops were targeted in protests over the publications of the "Charlie Hebdo issue No. 1178" in France. The publication sparked riots in the Nigerien city of Zinder, Maradi and Gouré, which resulted in attacks on churches, Christian-owned shops and a French cultural center. Muslim crowds demonstrating against Muhammad's depiction attacked and set alight French businesses and churches with incendiary devices in Niamey. According to President Mahamadou Issoufou at least ten people were killed over two days of protests.


Dora Yu

Dora Yu (; 1873–1931) was a prominent Chinese evangelist in China in the first part of 20th century.
Biography.
Yu was trained in western medicine in Suzhou, which she practiced briefly. She also took her medical training for work in evangelism. As a bible woman, Yu and Josephine Campbell in 1897 became the first two female medical missionaries from the Southern Methodist Church to do work in Korea.
After working in Korea for six years, Yu returned to China and became a well-known revivalist preacher. She was invited to preach in many parts of China and, in 1927, spoke at the Keswick Convention in northern England. Her preaching was said to have had a great impact on many Chinese, who devoted their lives to Christian work. For instance, in a 1920 revival meeting in Church of Heavenly Peace, Fuzhou, Yu influenced a woman by the name of Lin Heping (Peace Lin) to have a conversion experience and, a few months later, also Lin's son, Watchman Nee, both of whom would become well-known revivalists themselves.


Alexander Salazar

Alejandro Salazar (born November 28, 1949) is a Costa Rican-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 2004 to 2018.
Biography.
Salazar was born in San José, Costa Rica, but moved with his family to the United States in 1953, settling in Los Angeles, California. He attended Daniel Murphy High School; East Los Angeles College; California State University, Los Angeles; and Immaculate Heart College, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bi-Lingual Studies in 1978. From 1968 to 1979, he taught at St. Albert the Great School in Compton.
In 1977, Salazar entered St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. He was ordained to the priesthood by Timothy Cardinal Manning on June 16, 1984. He served as associate pastor at St. Gregory the Great, Whittier; Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pasadena; and the Cathedral of St. Vibiana. He was pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Church in Silverlake from 1995 to 2004. He also served as Dean of Deanery 14, and as a member the Council of Priests, College of Consultors, Clergy Pension Board, and Archdiocesan Personnel Board. In 2003, he was named Vice-Chancellor of the Archdiocese and Honorary Chaplain of His Holiness.
On September 7, 2004, Salazar was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles and Titular Bishop of "Nesqually" by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following November 4 from Roger Cardinal Mahony, with Bishops Gabino Zavala and Gustavo Garcia-Siller, M.Sp.S., serving as co-consecrators. He selected as his episcopal motto: "Do What Jesus Tells You" ().
In 2005, the Archdiocese learned that in 2002 civil authorities had investigated a claim that Salazar had been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor in the 1990s and decided not to prosecute him. According to Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith then "conducted an investigation and imposed certain precautionary measures on the ministry of Bishop Salazar".
Pope Francis accepted his resignation on December 19, 2018, after the Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board, an archdiocesan body, recommended he not be allowed to exercise his ministerial functions.


Archdeacon of Armagh

The Archdeacon of Armagh is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Anglican Diocese of Armagh. The Archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the Diocese.
History.
The archdeaconry can trace its history back to Luke Netterville who held the office in 1207. The current incumbent is Terry Scott. In between, some of them went on to higher office:


Zhengding Missionary Murder

The Zhengding Missionary Murder is an incident in which nine Catholic priests were kidnapped and killed in Zhengding, Hebei province, China on October 9, 1937.
Details.
During the Sino-Japanese war, troops of the Japanese empire progressed to take in the city of Zhengding. Up to 5,000 local residents sought refuge from the local Bishop, Frans Schraven. Of those 5,000, it is estimated that 200 young women were amongst those seeking refuge, who were thought to be at risk of being abused as comfort women.
The clergymen initially resisted the Japanese troops demands and were later abducted and according to reports burned alive. Besides Schraven, those who died were Fathers Gerard Wouters and Antoon Gerts (Netherlands), Father Thomas Ceska (Austria with Croatian heritage), Fathers Lucien Charny, Eugene-Antoine Bertrand, André Robial (France), Brother Wladislaw (Poland) and Anton Biskupits (Slovakia).
The heroic act of the bishop and his priests has led to calls for his beatification and canonisation as patron saint for victims of sexual abuse.


John Panaretos

John Panaretos (; born 1948 in Kythera) is a Greek educator and statistician. He is Professor of Probability and Statistics at the Athens University of Economics and Business. He was Deputy Minister of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs (October 6, 2009 – June 17, 2011). He has also been appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of the Open Government project.
Before joining the Athens University of Economics and Business, he taught at the universities of Patras and Crete in Greece, University of Iowa and University of Missouri in the United States, and at Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland.
He has been Director of the Institute of Statistical Documentation Research and Analysis since 1996, a life member of the Scientific Council of the Greek Parliament since 1987, and a member of the governing board of the Institute of Strategic and Development Studies (ISTAME) - Andreas Papandreou (2005–2008). Since 2004, he is the education adviser of George Papandreou, leader of Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK, the main opposition party of Greece) and the Socialist International. He was a member of the National Council of Education, the Council of University Education, the Council of Technical Education and the Council of Primary and Secondary Education.
He has acted as Chairman of the Department of Statistics (1993–1996 & 2000-2002) and as member of the research committee of the University (1993–1996). At the University of Patras, he served as Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, as Chairman of the Research Committee, as Associate Dean of the Engineering School and as Chairman of the Division of Mathematics of the School.
Panaretos has served as Vice President of the European Network of the National Councils of Education (1997–2000), Chairman of the National Council of Education of Greece (1996–2000), the Council of Higher Education (1988–1989), and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs in Greece (1988–1989 and 1995–1996), and member of the governing board of the Institute of Strategic and Development Studies (ISTAME) - Andreas Papandreou (2004–2008).
He has published more than fifty papers in international scientific journals, was an invited speaker in many scientific meetings, and served as Associate Editor of "Communications in Statistics (A), Theory and Methods".


Oriental Orthodoxy by country

Oriental Orthodox Churches are the churches descended from those that rejected the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Despite the similar name, they are therefore a different branch of Christianity from the Eastern Orthodox. Oriental Orthodoxy consists of several autocephalous and autonomous jurisdictions holding a single set of beliefs and united in full communion. However, they each have their own separate rites, and there are significant differences between their respective practices. Thus, there is more internal diversity of practice among the Oriental Orthodox than among the Eastern Orthodox.
Distribution.
Oriental Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Armenia (94%), the ethnically Armenian Artsakh (98%), Ethiopia (44%, the total Christian population being 63%), and Eritrea (47%, the total Christian population being 54%).
Oriental Orthodoxy is especially the dominant religion in the two Ethiopian regions of Amhara (82%) and Tigray (95%), as well as the chartered city of Addis Ababa (75%). It is also important in Oromia Region (31%).
Oriental Orthodoxy is also one of two dominant religions in Eritrea (47%), especially in its highland regions Maekel Region (87%) and Debub Region (86%).
It is a significant minority religion in Egypt (10%), Sudan (5%, the total Christian population being 15%), Syria (3%, the total Christian population being 10-11% the rest being Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Church of the East), Lebanon (5%, the total Christian population being 40%) and Kerala, India (1%, the total Christian population being 2.3%).
Predominantly Oriental Orthodox Christian countries.
Oriental Orthodoxy is the largest single religious faith in:
Countries with a high percentage of Oriental Orthodox Christians include:
See also.
Other religions:
General:


Albert Hermelink Gentiaras

Albert Hermelink Gentiaras (born 1898 in Emmen, Netherlands) was a Dutch clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tanjungkarang. He was ordained in 1925. He was appointed bishop in 1952. He died in 1983.


List of religious organizations based in Estonia

This is the list of religious organizations based in Estonia. The list is incomplete.


List of different terms by Christian denominations in Japanese

List of different terms by Christian denominations in Japanese presents the difference of terms between Christian denominations in Japanese. This article presents Japanese terms of Eastern Orthodoxy (Japanese Orthodox Church), Roman Catholic, Anglican Church (Anglican Church in Japan), and Protestant.
In Japan, the Roman Catholic mission began in August 1549, Protestant mission - in 1859, Eastern Orthodox mission - 1861.
Each different mission founded their churches, determined terms in Japanese, and translated the Bible and other religious books, whose activities are almost separately by denominations.
Their terms have concepts found by each theology or history, etc. They are suitable for using in own denomination. Thus Japanese Christians use many different terms in each denomination.
Clergy.
As Protestantism does not have a hierarchy, its frames are omitted here.
In some of Protestants, bishop is ", pastor is " and deacon is "".


Diocese of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands

The Anglican Diocese of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands was originally established in 1861 as the Diocese of Nassau. Retitled the Diocese of Nassau and The Bahamas in 1942, it is now known as the Diocese of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is a diocese of the Church in the Province of the West Indies, a constituent province of the Anglican Communion.
History.
Source:
When the Bahamas was granted to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina by the English Crown in 1670 one of the conditions was the establishment of the Anglican church on the islands. The first Christ Church was built in Nassau between 1670 and 1684 to act as the Parish church of the colony. This wooden structure and its successor were destroyed by the Spanish and a third wooden building was demolished to make way in 1754 for a stone built structure. This in turn was enlarged to become the present building in 1841.
In 1729, with the arrival of Woodes Rogers, the first Royal Governor, the Bahamian church was established by law and came under the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of London. In 1768 a second parish of St John's was created to serve Harbour Island and Eleuthera. When the Diocese of Jamaica was created in 1824, the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands were incorporated into that diocese, becoming in 1844 a separate Archdeaconry.
On 4 November 1861 the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands became a diocese in their own right as the Diocese of Nassau, the township of Nassau was proclaimed a city and Christ Church made the diocesan cathedral. The Anglican church was disestablished in 1869.
In 1999 Angela Palacious was ordained as the first woman deacon in the Anglican Diocese of Nassau's 138-year history and the following year, she became the first Bahamian woman to be ordained as an Anglican priest.


Ministry of Islamic Affairs (Maldives)

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs () is a government agency of the Republic of Maldives, handling the country's religious affairs. It was previously known as Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and was constituted by the president of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 1996. The institution was renamed in November 2008, by the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs' mandate is established by Constitution of Maldives.


Christianity in Canada

Christianity is the most adhered to religion in Canada, with 67.3% of Canadians identifying themselves as of the 2011 census. The preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms refers to God. The monarch carries the title of "Defender of the Faith". The French colonization beginning in the 17th century established a Roman Catholic francophone population in New France, especially Acadia and Lower Canada (now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec). British colonization brought waves of Anglicans and other Protestants to Upper Canada, now Ontario. The Russian Empire spread Orthodox Christianity in a small extent to the tribes in the far north and western coasts, particularly hyperborean nomadics like the Inuit. Orthodoxy would arrive in mainland Canada with immigrants from the eastern and southern Austro-Hungarian Empire and western Russian Empire starting in the 1890s; then refugees from the Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc, Greece and elsewhere during the last half of the 20th century.
Demographics, concentration, and life.
The majority of Canadian Christians attend church services infrequently. Cross-national surveys of religiosity rates such as the Pew Global Attitudes Project indicate that, on average, Canadian Christians are less observant than those of the United States but are still more overtly religious than their counterparts in Western Europe. In 2002, 30% of Canadians reported to Pew researchers that religion was "very important" to them. A 2005 Gallup poll showed that 28% of Canadians consider religion to be "very important" (55% of Americans and 19% of Britons say the same). Regional differences within Canada exist, however, with British Columbia and Quebec reporting especially low metrics of traditional religious observance, as well as a significant urban-rural divide, while Alberta and rural Ontario saw high rates of religious attendance. The rates for weekly church attendance are contested, with estimates running as low as 11% as per the latest Ipsos-Reid poll and as high as 25% as per "Christianity Today" magazine. This American magazine reported that three polls conducted by Focus on the Family, Time Canada and the Vanier Institute of the Family showed church attendance increasing for the first time in a generation, with weekly attendance at 25 per cent. This number is similar to the statistics reported by premier Canadian sociologist of religion, Prof. Reginald Bibby of the University of Lethbridge, who has been studying Canadian religious patterns since 1975. Although lower than in the US, which has reported weekly church attendance at about 40% since the Second World War, weekly church attendance rates are higher than those in Northern Europe.
As well as the large churches — Roman Catholic, United, and Anglican, which together count more than half of the Canadian population as nominal adherents — Canada also has many smaller Christian groups, including Orthodox Christianity. The Egyptian population in Ontario and Quebec (Greater Toronto in particular) has seen a large influx of the Coptic Orthodox population in just a few decades. The relatively large Ukrainian population of Manitoba and Saskatchewan has produced many followers of the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches, while southern Manitoba has been settled largely by Mennonites. The concentration of these smaller groups often varies greatly across the country. Baptists are especially numerous in the Maritimes. The Maritimes, prairie provinces, and southwestern Ontario have significant numbers of Lutherans. Southwest Ontario has seen large numbers of German and Russian immigrants, including many Mennonites and Hutterites, as well as a significant contingent of Dutch Reformed. Alberta has seen considerable immigration from the American plains, creating a significant Mormon minority in that province. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claimed to have 178,102 members (74,377 of whom in Alberta) at the end of 2007. And according to the Jehovah's Witnesses year report there are 111,963 active members (members who actively preach) in Canada.
Canada as a nation is becoming increasingly religiously diverse, especially in large urban centres such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, where minority groups and new immigrants who make up the growth in most religious groups congregate. Two significant trends become clear when the current religious landscape is examined closely. One is the loss of 'secularized' Canadians as active and regular participants in the churches and denominations they grew up in, which were overwhelmingly Christian, while these churches remain a part of Canadians' cultural identity. The other is the increasing presence of ethnically diverse immigration within the religious makeup of the country.
As Mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics have experienced drastic losses over the past 30 years, others have been expanding rapidly: overall by 144% in 'Eastern' religions during the 1981-1991 decade. Considering Canada's increasing reliance on immigration to bolster a low birth rate, the situation is only likely to continue to diversify. This increased influx of ethnic immigrants not only affects the types of religions represented in the Canadian context but also the increasingly multicultural and multilingual makeup of individual Christian denominations. From Chinese Anglican or Korean United Church communities, to the Lutheran focus on providing much needed services to immigrants new to the Canadian context and English language, immigration is making changes.
For some Protestant denominations, adapting to a new secular context has meant adjusting to their non-institutional roles in society by increasingly focusing on social justice. However the pull between conservative religious members and the more radical among the church members is complicated by the numbers of immigrant communities who may desire a church that fulfils a more 'institutionally complete' role as a buffer in this new country over the current tension filled debates over same-sex marriage, ordination of women and homosexuals, or the role of women in the church. This of course will depend on the background of the immigrant population, as in the Hong Kong context where ordination of Florence Li Tim Oi happened long before women's ordination was ever raised on the Canadian Anglican church level.
As well a multicultural focus on the churches part may include non-Christian elements (such as the inclusion of a Buddhist priest in one incident) which are unwelcome to the transplanted religious community. Serving the needs and desires of different aspects of the Canadian and newly Canadian populations makes a difficult balancing act for the various mainline churches which are starved for money and active parishioners in a time when 16% of Canadians identify as non-religious and up to two-thirds of those who do identify with a denomination use the church only for its life-cycle rituals governing birth, marriage, and death.
Evangelical portions of the Protestant groups proclaim their growth as well but as Roger O'Tool notes they make up 7% of the Canadian population and seem to gain most of their growth from a higher birthrate. What is significant is the higher participation of their members in contrast to Mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics. This high commitment would seem to translate into the kind of political power evangelicals in the United States enjoy but despite Canada's historically Christian background as Lori Beaman notes neatly "...[forming] the backdrop for social process" explicit religiosity appears to have not effectively moved the government towards legal discrimination against gay marriage. Much as many Roman Catholics in Quebec ignore the Church's stance on birth control, abortion, or premarital sex, the churches do not dictate much of the daily lives of regular Canadians.
There was a major religious revival in Toronto in the nineties known as the Toronto Blessing at a small Vineyard Church near the Toronto Pearson International Airport. This religious event was the largest tourist attraction to Toronto in the year 1994. This event was characterized by unusual religious ecstasy such as being slain in the Spirit, laughing uncontrollably, and other odd behavior.
A 2015 study estimates some 43,000 believers in Christ from a Muslim background in Canada, most of whom belong to the evangelical tradition.
Major denominational families.
Christian denominations in Canada are usually divided into two large groups: Protestantism and the Catholic Church. There are also Christian denominations that do not fall within either of these groups, such as Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, but they are much smaller.
Protestantism.
Protestantism in Canada has existed ever since parts of northern Canada were colonized by the English.
Anabaptism.
Amish.
The Amish population in Canada as of 2018, is 5,375. There are Amish settlements in four provinces: Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and New Brunswick. The majority of Old Order settlements is located in the province of Ontario, namely Oxford (Norwich Township) and Norfolk counties. A small community is also established in Bruce County (Huron-Kinloss Township) near Lucknow.
Hutterites.
In mid-1870s Hutterites moved from Europe to the Dakota Territory in the United States to avoid military service and other persecutions. During World War I Hutterites suffered from persecutions in the United States because they are pacifist and refused military service. They then moved almost all of their communities to Canada in the Western provinces of Alberta and Manitoba in 1918. In the 1940s, there were 52 Hutterite colonies in Canada.
Today, more than 75% of the world's Hutterite colonies are located in Canada, mainly in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the rest being almost exclusively in the United States. The Hutterite population in North America is about 45,000 people.
Mennonites.
Mennonites first arrived in Canada in 1786 from Pennsylvania, but following Mennonites arrived directly from Europe. The Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches had 37,000 members across 250 congregations, and the Mennonite Church Canada had about 35,000 members in 212 congregations in 1998.
Roman Catholicism.
The Catholic Church in Canada, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, has the largest number of adherents to a religion in Canada, with 38.7% of Canadians (13.07 million) reported as Catholics in the 2011 National Household Survey, in 72 dioceses across the provinces and territories, served by about 8,000 priests. It was the first European faith in what is now Canada, arriving in 1497 when John Cabot landed on Newfoundland and raised the Venetian and Papal banners, claiming the land for his sponsor King Henry VII of England, while recognizing the religious authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Adherents of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Canada belong to several ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Historically, Eastern Orthodoxy was introduced to Canada during the course of 19th century, mainly through emigration of Christians from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Honoring such diverse heritage, Eastern Orthodoxy in Canada is traditionally organized in accordance with patrimonial jurisdictions of autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches, each of them having its own hierarchy with dioceses and parishes. According to 2011 census data, Greek Orthodox community constitutes the largest Eastern Orthodox community in Canada, with 220,255 adherents. It is followed by other communities: Russian Orthodox (25,245), Ukrainian Orthodox (23,845), Serbian Orthodox (22,780), Romanian Orthodox (7,090), Macedonian Orthodox (4,945), Bulgarian Orthodox (1,765), Antiochian Orthodox (1,220) and several other minor communities within Eastern Orthodoxy.
Oriental Orthodox Christianity.
Adherents of Oriental Orthodox Christianity in Canada also belong to several ethnic communities and ecclesiastical jurisdictions. According to 2011 census data, Coptic Orthodox community constitutes the largest Oriental Orthodox community in Canada, with 16,255 adherents. It is followed by other communities: Armenian Orthodox (13,730), Ethiopian Orthodox (3,025), Syriac Orthodox (3,060) and several other minor communities within Oriental Orthodoxy.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has had a presence in Canada since its organization in New York State in 1830. Canada has been used as a refuge territory by members of the LDS Church to avoid the anti-polygamy prosecutions by the United States government. The first LDS Church in Canada was established in 1895 in what would become Alberta; it was the first stake of the Church to be established outside the United States. The LDS Church has founded several communities in Alberta.
In 2011, the LDS Church of Canada claimed around 200,000 members; the 2011 Canadian National Household Survey calculates around 100,000. It has congregations in all Canadian provinces and territories and possess at least one temple in six of the ten provinces, including the oldest LDS temple outside the United States. Alberta is the province with the most members of the LDS Church in Canada, having approximately 40% of the total of Canadian LDS Church members and representing 2% of the total population of the province (the National Household survey has Alberta with over 50% of the Canadian Mormons and 1.6% of the province's population), followed by Ontario and British Columbia.
History.
Christianity first arrived in the territory later known as Canada in 1497, when the Catholic, John Cabot, landed on Newfoundland, raised the Venetian and Papal banners and claimed the land for his sponsor King Henry VII of England, while recognizing the religious authority of the Roman Catholic Church. A letter of John Day states that Cabot landed on 24 June 1497 and "he landed at only one spot of the mainland, near the place where land was first sighted, and they disembarked there with a crucifix and raised banners with the arms of the Holy Father and those of the King of England".
In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded the first Catholic colony in Quebec City.


Louis-Joseph Antoine


Syed Safdar Hussain Najafi

Syed Safdar Hussain Najafi (مولانا سید صفدر حسین نجفی) was a scholar and religious leader.
Social background.
Family and childhood.
Syed Safdar Hussain Najafi was born in 1932 at Alipur, a tehsil of Muzaffargarh District in the Panjab province of Pakistan. He is the son of Syed Ghulam Sarwar Naqvi from a well known Naqvi Syed family. He descended from Syed Jalal-ul-Din Surkhposh Bukhari (and his grandson Jahaniyan Jahangasht is buried in the Uch), who was from a branch of the scions of Imam Ali Naqi.
Education in Pakistan.
His uncle Muhammad Yar Shah proceeded to Najaf Ashraf and returned from there in 1940. He started his early education at the age of three years in the holy lap of his mother by learning of Quran. After that he began his religious education from Ustad ul Ulama at the age of 8 years.
Education in Najaf Ashraf.
On 17 October 1951 he went to Najaf Ashraf.
Higher education.
His mentors in Najaf Ashraf were
After 5 years in the Holy City in 1956 Allama Syed Safdar Hussain Najafi returned to his homeland Pakistan.
Activities in Pakistan.
Introduction of Imam Khomaini.
He introduced the personality of Imam Khomaini before 14 years of Islamic revolution of Iran and that time little peoples knows about Imam Khomaini he introduced him in Pakistan first time and he translated Imam Khomaini's "Tozih ul masail" in 1969 and he introduce Imam Khomaini in young generation in Pakistan first time, he was a true lover of Imam Khomaini. there was strong relation between Imam Khomaini and Allama Najafi through the letters and messages. Imam Khomaini always appreciated the efforts of Allama Najafi and once upon a time Allama Najafi and his mission partner Seith Nawazish Ali both met Imam Khomaini in France and requested him to stay in Pakistan. Imam Khomaini appreciated their suggestion. After the death of Imam Khomaini, Allama Najafi left Qum, Iran with these words: "Now it's hard to stay here without Imam Khomaini" and in same year six months after the death of Imam Khomaini Allama Najafi also died on 3 December 1989 in Lahore, Pakistan.
Work about Islamic Revolution of Iran.
He was the first religious scholar in Pakistan who introduced the revolution of Iran and wrote so many books on this topic first time in the history of Pakistan and explained the benefits of social, ethical, spiritual and moral values through his speeches, articles and personal struggles and he want to see a real ideal Islamic system in Pakistan and he take so many steps for this, specially he want to see all religious scholars both Shia and Sunni on a single platform that was unique character of his personality that's why all the Muslims love with him.
Development and awareness of Islamic knowledge in women.
He did lot of work for development and increasing basic Islamic knowledge among women in Pakistan. He made organisations and set up their educational institutions. He address with their gatherings and so many book for them and guide them in every field of life and he believed that only good mothers can develop and give us good Islamic society, because the mother's lap is the first institute of knowledge and Tarbiyat. He always requested women to follow the life and character of Fatimah Zahra and he introduced Islamic Hijab in women society.
Political efforts and solution of crises.
He was not against politics. He was against the wrong things in which politicians were doing in the name of politics.
After the death of Allama Mufti Jafar Hussain, the main problem was leadership in Pakistan and through his loving and charming personality he solved the problem. When he was selected as Shia leader in meeting held on 10 February 1984 in Bhakkar, he explained his mission. He said: "My mission of life is to make up schools and set up a worldwide educational system and I suggest the name of Syed Arif Hussain as the leader of my Nation". The scholars accepted his decision. Through his leadership he did a lot of hard work for Islamic education. He was well aware of national and international politics and always kept his eyes on the future problems and their solutions.
Institutions (Madaris).
When he took charge as a principal of Jamea tul Muntazar in 1966 there were only five Shia Madaris including Jamea tul Muntazar in Pakistan. Today there are more than 425 Madaris in Pakistan. It is the restless and continuous struggle of Muhsin e Millat. He made the chain of national and international following madaris.
International.
On one occasion he said to his companions "Sheir Shah Suri was built 1500 miles road from Peshawar to Snar village (Culcutta, India) and after every 10 miles there was a restaurant, water well and post choky built." Then he said "I want to Madaris on G.T. road (Shahrah e Pakistan), a madrasa after every 50 miles" and "I want to see religious madrasa in every district there should be madrasa" He also acted upon his statement. It was the mission of Muhsin e Millat to establish a worldwide system of Madaris.
Publications.
Allama Najafi started a monthly Islamic magazine with the title of Al-Muntazar for the children, adults, women and all the community, he was also the writer of 40 Books on different topics and translated more than 60 books.
Status.
First marriage.
He married into a respectable Pakistani family in Najaf (1953). No Child alive from her and she died on (1979).
Second marriage.
He married again (1967) into Sabzwari family, a respectable family of Sahiwal. He got four daughters and six sons from her. She died and is buried in Qum, Iran (1994). All the Children of Allama Syed Safdar Hussain Najafi and their life partners are Islamic scholars and they are serving their Nation.
Sons.
His eldest son, Ayatollah Syed Ali Naqi Naqvi Qumi, is a Mujtahid and religious scholar .He is talented, and he is able to speak, read and write Urdu, Arabic, Persian, English, Punjabi and Saraiki. He studied in Iran, Qum for 23 years. He served as the Principal of Jamea Islamia Baqiyyat-Ullah, Lahore from 2004 to 2008 and now he is serving as a teacher for senior classes (Doros Uloom-e-Aal-e-Muhammad) in Hawza Elmia Jamea tul Muntazar and also address in religious gatherings and gives lectures on Islamic ethics. He also has written many religious articles on different topics.
His second son, Allama Syed Muhammad Taqi Naqvi, is serving as a teacher in Jamea Elmia, Karachi since 1993. He is one of the great and famous teachers in madaris of Pakistan. He is serving from 17 years in Karachi and Sindh, Pakistan.
His third son, Maulana Syed Muhammad Mahdi Naqvi, died in 1986 during the period of his study in Najaf Abad, Iran in a road accident and buried in Qum, Iran.
His fourth son, Allama Syed Hassan Askari Naqvi, is also a famous religious speaker. He can address and speak, read and write Urdu, Arabic, Persian, English, Punjabi and Saraiki. He has studied in Qum for 15 years.
His two youngest sons, Maulana Syed Hussain Ali Naqvi and Maulana Syed Muhammad Ali Naqvi, are also studying Islamic higher education from famous institutions. The wives of the all sons of Allama Najafi are also religious scholars and serving the Nation.
Daughters.
His daughters are also religious scholars and are working as writers and teachers of Islam. They also attend to women in religious gatherings.


Joseph Miller (priest)

Reverend Joseph Miller BD (born 1874) was a Congregational minister, much in demand as an "eloquent preacher" for 14 years in the north of England. While in Hamburg during his ministry he "rendered valuable assistance to his countrymen in distress" following a call from the American Embassy there. However, in 1929 he "created a sensation" by becoming an Anglican priest. His first Anglican incumbency was as vicar of the Church of St Mark, Old Leeds Road, Huddersfield, England, from 1929 to 1931.
Life.
His father was Saul Miller (1841–1902) who was born in Leesrigg, Cumbria and died in Wigton. He was a farmer of 273 acres, employing five men and one woman. His mother was Betty "Jane" Timperon (1846–1895), born in Keswick. They were married at Wigton in 1870. Joseph was born in Leesrigg or Allhallows, Cumbria, the second of five children, in 1874. He was descended from a long line of Anglicans. Miller said that "one of his uncles offered to send him to Oxford or Cambridge in order to prepare for the Anglican ministry." However he graduated from Nottingham Paton College, a dissenting academy, in 1900. In 1901 he was a boarder at Kirton House, Spalding Road, Kirton, Lincolnshire, and a student Congregationalist pastor at age 26. He married Lily Hemsley (born Newcastle 1875) in Nottingham in 1908.
Congregationalist.
He was minister at the Congregational Church, Regent Street, Oldham 1904–1908. He was minister at Bethesda Church, Runcorn, 1908–1911, living with his wife at the eight-room Manse. He had just been appointed Minister of Spittal Congregational Church 1911–1912, when in 1911 he "received and accepted a unanimous call" to officiate in Hamburg.
He was Minister of the English Reformed Church, also described as the Congregational church, in Hamburg 1912–1914. World War I compelled him to leave. The "Morpeth Herald" claimed that he had completed four years there. In Hamburg he "rendered valuable assistance to his countrymen in distress." The church was closed, and he and his wife were asked by the American Consulate to work among the refugees in Hamburg. He was made treasurer of the British Emergency Relief Fund for Refugees. Alien men between 17 and 55 years old were interned, but doctors and clergy were permitted and advised to return home.
From May 1915 to 1922 he was the pastor of the Congregational Church, Morpeth, Northumberland. At his induction on 26 May 1915 there was "much rejoicing" due to his reputation as an "eloquent preacher and an earnest and energetic worker." On 8 August and 24 October 1915 the "Morpeth Herald" records that he preached morning and evening there. Sunday 13 May 1917 was the Pastor's Anniversary at the same church, where Miller preached morning and afternoon that day, with "special music" from the choir. On Whit Monday, 28 May 1917, he addressed a public meeting along with two other clerics at the Primitive Methodist Church, Howard Terrace, Morpeth. On Friday 17 July 1917 at Morpeth Town Hall, he gave a "limelight lecture" on the subject of food economy, under the auspices of the Food Control Campaign. On Friday 23 April 1920, Miller proposed a toast and gave a speech about Shakespeare, "far greater than England, far greater than empire", at the mayor's dinner during the St George's Day celebrations at the Earl Grey Hotel, Morpeth.
He was nonconformist pastor of Cleckheaton Westgate Congregational Church 1922–1929. On 4 November 1928 he preached in the morning and evening at the congregational Church in Ashbourne Road, Derby.
Published sermons.
In 1925, while pastor at Cleckheaton, he published a small volume of sermons, entitled "The Collapse of Christianity". The title of the book is the title of the first sermon. The "United Methodist" review said that: "These discourses have nothing sensational about them, but bear the stamp of a mind clear in thought, firm in conviction, and possessing the power of infusing its own glowing warmth into the lives of others ...The book ... contains a sermon on "The Work That Counts," which has pleased the writer of these lines greatly ... The fact is, this preacher has a progressive mind with a modern outlook."
The "Berwickshire News and General Advertiser" said that: "The series of sermons are marked by the work of the careful student and thinker. The optimistic note sounded in the opening sermon is refreshing ... The author's sound arguments ...admirably calculated to build up and stablish in the truth ... Mr Miller is well remembered locally where his many sterling qualities, while pastor of Spittal Church, endeared him to a much wider circle of friends than those which comprised his flock."
Anglican.
By his announcement on 6 January 1929, he "created a sensation in nonconformist Spen Valley by going over to the Church of England." On 29 February he began a short training course at Cuddesdon College, Oxford which he completed in 1929. In the same year he was ordained as an Anglican deacon and priest by the Bishop of Wakefield. He was vicar of the Church of St Mark, Old Leeds Road, Huddersfield, and its parish 1929–1931, in association with the vicar of Huddersfield Parish Church, where he was at the same time senior curate.
He was chaplain or vicar of St James Stainborough, Barnsley, from August 1931 to November 1934, with a parish population of 500. On 5 August 1934 he chaired the 44th open-air music festival on the local cricket ground, in aid of the Beckett Hospital, Barnsley.
On 7 October 1934 he was offered the living of St Andrew's, Wakefield by the Bishop of Wakefield but did not accept it. In November of the same year he was offered the living of St Lucius, Farnley Tyas, Huddersfield, by the bishop. He remained there until at least 1939. On Thursday 28 May 1936 he was visiting Stainborough in officiate at the dedication of a new organ. On Wednesday 5 July 1939 he officiated at the funeral at Farnley Tyas of retired magistrate and brewer Thomas Edward Dickinson who was mourned by numerous businessmen, magistrates, freemasons and councillors. Dickinson had been one of Miller's churchwardens. Miller was about 65 years old in 1939; the date of his death is unknown.


Pahan Charhe

Pāhān Charhe (Devanagari: पाहां चह्रे) also known as Pāsā Charhe (पासा चह्रे) is one of the greatest religious festivals of the year in Nepal Mandala. It is celebrated with particular fervor in Kathmandu, and consists of a conglomeration of activities including parades, masked dances, horse racing and religious worship held over three days in different places.
Pahan means "guest" and pasa mean "friend" in Nepal Bhasa. Charhe means "fourteenth day of the lunar fortnight" when the festival commences. It starts on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of Chillā (चिल्ला), the fifth month in the lunar Nepal Era calendar. Inviting friends and relatives to one's home and honoring them with a feast is one of the highlights of the festival. Pahan Charhe is held according to the lunar calendar, so the dates are changeable. In 2015, the festival was marked from 19-21 March.
Day one.
The celebrations start with the worship of the deity Luku Mahadyah (लुकु महाद्यः) in the evening. He is one of the forms of the Hindu god Shiva. Luku Mahadyah means "sunken Mahadyah", and his image is enshrined in a hole in the ground, often in a rubbish corner. Householders perform their devotions to the deity by making offerings of a feast including meat and wine. Rape blooms (लुँबुँ) and radish blooms (वहबुँ) are special offerings of the festival, and are considered to symbolize gold and silver respectively.
At Nyata in Kathmandu, sacred masked dances are shown on the stone platform at the street corner. It is known as Nyatamaru Ajimā Pyākhan or Swetkali Dance. The dance drama is performed by actors wearing masks representing various deities. The dance starts in the evening and lasts throughout the night. The historic neighborhood of Nyata is also known as Naradevi.
Day two.
The main event of the second day, which coincides with Ghode Jatra, the horse festival, is the Dyah Lwākegu (द्यः ल्वाकेगु) ceremony at Tundikhel parade ground in Kathmandu where portable shrines of the Ajimā mother goddesses are brought together. Ghode Jatra consists of horse races and other activities organized by the Nepal Army at Tundikhel. At Bal Kumari in the neighboring city of Lalitpur, a one horse race is held.
Images of seven mother goddesses Lumadhi Ajimā, Kanga Ajimā, Mhaypi Ajimā, Takati Ajimā, Mayti Ajimā, Yatamaru Ajimā and Bachhalā Ajimā are installed on portable shrines and paraded in their respective localities of Kathmandu. Late at night, they are carried on the shoulders of their attendants and assembled at Tundikhel accompanied by musical bands. After all the palanquins arrive, the Dyah Lwākegu ceremony is held when the entourages accompanying them exchange flaming torches symbolizing the meeting of the goddesses. The palanquin procession of the Ajimā goddesses was started by King Amar Malla in Nepal Sambat 580 (1460).
Day three.
The concluding event is the gathering of the palanquins of three Ajimā mother goddesses Lumadhi Ajimā, Kanga Ajimā and Tebāhā Ajimā at the market square of Asan for another Dyah Lwākegu ceremony. Prior to the event, the portable shrines are paraded through the streets of Kathmandu escorted by musical bands. The palanquin bearers, musicians and followers wear red, blue and yellow caps representing their respective neighborhoods. The processions stop frequently to allow devotees to make offerings to them. When the palanquins reach Asan through various routes, the Dyah Lwākegu ceremony is held.
During the Dyah Lwākegu ceremony, participants accompanying the shrines exchange flaming torches as crowds of onlookers fill the market square. Rice flat breads known as chatānmari (चतांमरि) are scattered on the palanquins from the rooftops of houses around the square. The festival re-enacts the meeting of the three Ajimā mother goddesses who are sisters.
A seasonal song with a melancholy tune is the theme music of the Pahan Charhe celebrations. Musical bands play the song when participating in the processions of the mother goddesses. Nepalese residing abroad celebrate the festival by holding get-togethers.
References.
External Links
Pahachare - Festivals of Newars


Claude Dausque

Claude Dausque (1566–1644) was a French Jesuit.


John of Ragusa

John of Ragusa (; born c. 1380 at Dubrovnik, Republic of Ragusa) was a Croatian Dominican theologian. He died at Lausanne, Switzerland in 1443.
He was president of the Council of Basle, and a legate to Constantinople. He was created cardinal by Antipope Felix V, so would be considered by many a "pseudocardinal".
Life.
He entered the Dominican Order and devoted himself to the observance of the rule of his order and the study of the sacred sciences. By reason of his great attainments in theology, Scripture, and the Oriental languages, he was considered an oracle in his native Dalmatia.
In 1420 he became a master of theology at the University of Paris.
In the year 1426 he was appointed procurator general of the Dominican Order, and went to reside at Rome under Pope Martin V. There he received marks of honour and esteem from the pope and the College of Cardinals, and the former eventually named him papal theologian for the General Council of Basle. John was, moreover, chosen to open the council, in place of Cardinal Julian Cesarini, who was detained by other business.
Arriving at Basle on 19 May 1431, he on the same day arranged with the Bishop of Basle for the opening of the council on the 23rd of the same month. The opening did not take place, however, until 23 July 1431, in the cathedral church, when John preached from the text: "Et angelus testamenti, quem vos vultis. Ecce venit" (Mal., iii, 1). In the council he exonerated the absent cardinals from the charge of contempt (Feb., 1433). On eight mornings he spoke against the doctrines of the Hussites.
Having been sent as a legate of the council to Constantinople to urge the reunion of the Eastern and Western Churches, John of Ragusa induced the Emperor John Paleologus and the Patriarch Joseph to send an embassy to the council through the treaty which they made with Pope Eugenius IV was broken by the Greeks. John afterwards sojourned at Constantinople to study the Greek language and to become better acquainted with the situation of ecclesiastical affairs.
Here he completed an etymological work bearing upon the Greek text of Scripture and destined to be of service to Catholic controversialists in treating of the doctrine of the Procession of the Holy Ghost against the Greek "schismatics". He returned to Bologna as a member of a deputation, to obtain from Eugenius IV an assurance that the pope would be present at the council. Having acceded to this request, Eugenius employed John once more to be the bearer of a document (dated 15 July 1437) to the Greek emperor in which the emperor's assistance was invited at a meeting of the council to be held in some Italian city. John's subsequent course has been a subject of dispute: some authors assert that he remained in sympathy with the council, while others insist that he allied himself with Eugenius IV, who made him Bishop of Argos. It is probable that he took the side of Eugenius.
Works.
His extant writings are:
His work on Greek indeclinable nouns and Scriptural Greek etymology seems to have been lost.


Islam in Chad

The earliest presence of Islam in Chad can be traced back to the legendary Uqba ibn Nafi, whose descendants can be found settled in the Lake Chad region to this day. By the time Arab migrants began arriving from the east in the fourteenth century in sizeable numbers, the creed was already well established. Islamization in Chad was gradual, the effect of the slow spread of Islamic civilization beyond its political frontiers. Among Chadian Muslims, 95% professed to be Sunni, 1% Shia and 4% Other.
Islam in Chad was not influenced much by the great mystical movements of the Islamic Middle Ages, nor the fundamentalist upheavals that affected other countries. Consistent contact with West African Muslim traders and pilgrims may be the reason Chadian Muslims identify with the Tijaniyya order. Similarly, in the mid-nineteenth century, the Sanusiyya brotherhood was founded in Libya, which benefited from economic and political influence in the Lake Chad Basin around 1900. An Islamic revival movement, feared by some French, led by Sanusi fanatics, Chadian adherents, limited to the Awlad Sulayman Arabs and the Toubou of eastern Tibesti, have never been numerous.
Higher Islamic education in Chad is sparse; thus, serious Islamic students and scholars must travel to other countries. Scholars travel abroad to places such as Khartoum and Cairo, where Chadians attend Al Azhar.
Chadians observe the five pillars of the faith differently than the orthodox version. Prayer, both public and communal, occur more than once a week, but often not in a mosque. Chadian Muslims likely make the pilgrimage less often than Hausans in northern Nigeria. Some Chadian Muslims follow the Ramadan fast stricter than typical, with some refusing to swallow their saliva during the day.


Benjamin Hawkshaw

Benjamin Hawkshaw (died 1738) was an Irish Anglican divine.
Life.
Hawkshaw was born in Dublin, and entered Trinity College, Dublin in 1687. He left Ireland upon the revolution, and entered St. John's College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. there in 1691. He subsequently returned to Dublin, where he proceeded B.A. in 1693 and M.A. two years afterwards. He took orders, and was appointed to the parish of St. Nicholas-within-the-Walls at Dublin, a rectory in the gift of the Corporation of Dublin. Hawkshaw held four rectories in North Tipperary, in the Diocese of Killaloe (Nenagh, Monsea, Kneagh (Knigh), Killodiernan from 1720–38, and may also have held two rectories in diocese of Kilmacud. He died in 1738.
Works.
Hawkshaw was author of an octavo volume entitled "Poems upon Several Occasions", which was ‘printed by J. Heptinstall for Henry Dickinson, Bookseller in Cambridge,’ in 1693. In the dedicatory letter to ‘the Learned and Ingineous Dr. Willoughby,’ prefixed to the volume, the poet describes his effusions as ‘the essays but of a very young pen, a few by-thoughts in my vacancies from Irish studies.’ He also published in 1709 "The Reasonableness of constant Communion with the Church of England represented to the Dissenters."


Christian Maramatanga Society

The Christian Maramatanga Society is a small Christian-based denomination originating in New Zealand in mid-1920s.
History.
Following a theological debate in the Rātana Established Church of New Zealand, Mrs. Ngapaki Hakaraia left the church to form her own movement at Kai Iwi, a settlement in New Zealand to the west of Wanganui. It is said that when Mr. Tahupotiki Wiremu Rātana, Mangai, founder of the Rātana Established Church of New Zealand (commonly known as Rātana Church) "closed the Bible", many thought that he implied that the members of the church should not read the Bible as well. This influenced Mrs. Hakaraia into forming her own church to ensure that the Bible "remained open". However, Rātana did not imply this but rather that the Bible be closed in order to stop fanciful prophecies being heralded from the Book of Revelation in the future.
Following the Rātana church, the Society actively engaged in politics.
Today.
The church continues today with a small membership.


Durga Temple of Virginia

Durga Temple of Virginia is a Hindu Temple located in Lorton, Virginia and serves the Hindu population within in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. In 2010, the temple served 6500 Hindus residing in Fairfax County.
History.
In 1991, The Durga Temple was established as a religious organization for Northern Virginia. In 1996, work began on constructing the Hindu Temple. It was financed with a 2.5 million Dollar loan from First Virginia Bank (now part of Truist Financial). In October 1996, Bhoomi Pooja was held to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony. The Temple was complete on March 21 1999. The Durga Temple held a "Hinduism Summit" to educate people on Hinduism, The Struggle of Hindus, Hindu History and to change the perception of Hindus in America. The temple also offers Indian Cultural Classes, Spiritual classes and a Boy Scouts Program.


Kabir Khalil

Kabir Khalil or "Great Khalil" was a 19th-century scholar and one of the three head Ulama in the Emirate of Harar. He was a member of the Qadiriyya order which was prominent in the Horn of Africa at the time.
Biography.
Kabir Khalil was fluent in both Harari, and Arabic. During the reign of Emir Ahmad Ibn Abu Bakr the European explorer Richard Burton would visit the Harar in 1855 and Khalil was described as the leading religious figure in the city.
Khalil advised his pupil Sheikh Madar to establish a Qadiriyya tariqa commune in present-day Hargeisa and spread the tariqa and it's values. One of which being to try and reduce the tribal conflict along the trade route between Harar and Berbera which was damaging livelihoods and causing unnecessary death. This led Sheikh Madar and his companions to found the Big Commune (Jama’a weyne) of Little Harar (Hargeisa) in circa 1860. Sheikh Madar also started sorghum plantations in the vicinity of the town to maintain self-sufficiency as well as taking care of the sick and elderly inhabitants of the growing settlement. This cultivation soon spread and was taken up eagerly across the region by Somalis.


Islam in Mozambique

Estimates about adherents of Islam in Mozambique vary between 17% and 45% of the total population. The vast majority of Mozambican Muslims are Sunni Muslims. The Muslims consist primarily of indigenous Mozambicans, citizens of South Asian (Indian and Pakistani) descent, and a very small number of North African and Middle Eastern immigrants.
Pre-colonial history.
Mozambique has long historic ties with the Muslim world. Initially by way of Sufi merchants, mostly from Yemen, and centuries after through a more organized system of coastal trading cities, more heavily influenced by the Ibadi Muslims from Oman along the shores of Eastern Africa.
The arrival of the Arab trade in Mozambique dates to the fourth Hijri century when Muslims established small emirates on the coast of East Africa. Links between Islam and the chiefly clans in Mozambique have existed since the eighth century, when Islam made inroads into the northern Mozambican coast and became associated with the Shirazi ruling elites.
Since the founding of the Kilwa Sultanate in the 10th AD century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi, Islam had become a major religion in the region. The former port city of Sofala, which became famous for its trade in ivory, timber, slaves, gold (by way of Great Zimbabwe) and Iron with the Islamic Middle East and India, was one of the most important trading centers on the Mozambique coast. Sofala and much of the rest of coastal Mozambique was part of the Kilwa Sultanate from Arab arrival (believed to be the 12th century) until the Portuguese conquest in 1505.
During the subsequent period of the Omani Al Bu Said dynasty, Muslim merchants expanded their trading zones south along the coast. It is believed that nearly all of the cities' inhabitants were Muslim before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century.
Colonial history.
Islam faced serious challenges in Mozambique during the colonial era. Since the "Estado Novo" period (1926–1974), Roman Catholicism has become the dominant religion following a formal alliance (Concordat) between the Church and the government. Only with the start of the War of Liberation did the state lower its opposition to Islam and try to coopt the religion, in order to avoid an alliance between Muslims and the dissident liberation movement.
Modern Mozambique.
Since the end of the socialist period (1989 onwards), Muslims have been able to proselytise freely and build new mosques. Muslims have also made their way into the parliament. Several South African, Kuwaiti and other Muslim agencies are active in Mozambique, with one important one being the African Muslim Agency. An Islamic University has been set up in Nampula, with a branch in Inhambane. Mozambique is also an active member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Rather than relying on the culturally loaded notions of a "chief" of régulo, the FRELIMO government has preferred to use the term "traditional authorities" to indicate a group of chiefs and their entourage of subordinate chiefs and healers. Realizing the social importance of this group, FRELIMO gradually reinstated "traditional authority."
While the Muslim leadership in northern Mozambique seems to have recovered the "traditional" side of their authority and power with legal reforms, they are still largely associated with chiefship and African culture rather than Islam. Because of this they are barely able to access benefits or gain socio-political influence through Islamic platforms or organizations. This situation has been the source of their continual frustration and resistance to the alleged racial and cultural discrimination perpetrated by FRELIMO allied with southern Wahhabis, Afro-Indians, and Indians.
Whereas Sudan, for instance, had made sharia the law of the land, Mozambique has made attempts to recognize both traditional and religious marriages.
Impact.
Since the arrival of Islam in the region, literacy rates among the locals via utilizing the Arabic script became widespread by the late 19th century. Use of the script was often used for secular affairs like recording business transactions, writing local histories or creating literature. The script was used by diverse groups including the Swahili, non-Swahili Africans, non-Muslims, and women.


Muslim Community of Albania

The Muslim Community of Albania (KMSH; ) is an independent religious organisation of Muslims in Albania existing since February 24, 1923. The headquarters of the community are located in Tirana and the current Grand Mufti () is Bujar Spahiu.
History.
Organized Islamic religious life in Albania has existed since the time the Ottoman Empire started administering this region. All Muslims who lived in the Ottoman Empire were part of the Muslim community headed by the Sultan, who replaced the role of the caliph. During the reign of the Sultan Murad II the competencies of the caliph were transferred to the "grand mufti". Since then, the grand mufti was titled "Sheykhul-Islam" and was considered the highest religious authority within the Ottoman Empire. However, every region inhabited by Muslims had its own Mufti, who was in a lower position than the "Sheykhul-Islam". After the independence of Albania in 1912 the Islamic Community of Albania continued to be under the authority of the "Sheykhul-Islam" in Constantinople until 1923. In 1923, following the government program, the Albanian Muslim congress convened at Tirana decided to break with the Caliphate ("Sheykhul-Islam"), and created the Muslim Community of Albania.
During the period from 1941 to 1944 the Islamic Community of Kosova was under the authority of the Muslim Community of Albania. The community would be active until 1967, when the communist regime of Enver Hoxha declared Albania the only non-religious country in the world, banning all forms of religious practice in public. After the Fall of Communism, on November 16, 1990, the Muslim Community of Albania was re-established under the Grand Mufti Hafiz Sabri Koçi.
With the beginning of the War on Terror by George W. Bush, most Arab NGOs funding the institutions of the KMSH were driven out of the country or had to reduce their activity. Since then, Turkish organisations - mainly those that are close to the spiritual preacher Fethullah Gülen based in the United States - took control over it. The Gülen movement controls five out of seven Madrasas in the country. The election of Skënder Bruçaj to head the KMSH was marred by controversy. Some imams and other Muslim clerics viewed it as illegal that contravened the rules of KMSH and regarded his elevation to the position as a coup by the Gülen movement.
On 26 November 2019, an earthquake struck Albania. The Muslim Community of Albania has organised nationwide fundraising for monetary, food and material supplies and opened its mosques and madrasas as a place of shelter for earthquake victims.


Alamin Usman Alamin

Alamin Usman Alamin is the second Mufti of Eritrea. He was appointed in 1996 and is the incumbent mufti. In 1954 he graduated from Al-Azhar University in Egypt.


Zhanran

Zhanran (; 711-782), sometimes called Miao-lo (or Miaole) was the sixth patriarch of the Tiantai school of Chinese Buddhism and helped to revive the school's proéminence after a period of decline. His lay surname was Qi 戚 and he was also known as Jingqi 荊溪 after his birthplace (in modern-day Yixing 宜興 county, Jiangsu province). Early in his monastic training, traditional biographies stated that he thoroughly studied the Vinaya in Four Parts before being ordained by precepts master T'an-i (曇一, 692-771).
As head of the Tiantai order, Zhanran spent much time and energy writing commentaries on the works of Zhiyi, and writing defenses of the Tiantai school against the newer Faxiang and Huayan schools. Zhanran is best known for his scriptural exegesis of such works as Zhiyi's "Mohe Zhiguan" (The Great Calming and Contemplation), as well as his promotion of the doctrine of universal Buddha-nature. He is the author of The Adamantine Scalpel (金剛錍 "Jin'gang Pi") among other works.


Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple of Greater Cleveland

Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple of Greater Cleveland is a Hindu Temple in Parma, Ohio and serves the Hindu population of the Greater Cleveland Area. The temple serves 12,000 Hindus and hosts up to 30,000 visitors a year.
History.
In 1983, Hindus would meet up at Cleveland State University since there was no permanent location. Several locations were looked at such as an abandoned building in North Royalton, Ohio but plans were aborted in North Royalton due to the community's negative perception of Hindus. In 1987, a burned out building with 22 acres was bought for $200,000. In March 1989, the burned out building was remodeled using $350,000 to have an upper level and a walkout lower level. On September 10, 1989, the temple was inaugurated with over 2,000 Hindus in attendance. In 1997, the temple was remodeled yet again to accommodate the growing Hindu Population and expanded to 32 Acres, costing an estimated $20 million.
Design.
The temple has two main altars, Shiva is on the left and Vishnu is on the right. An altar of Ganesh is right outside the Shiva altar and Durga and Laxmi are in the middle of the Shiva and Vishnu altar. Nandi the bull is also outside the Shiva altar and looks directly at Shiva. The walls are sculpted with the designs of many Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The temple is flanked on all sides by wetlands. The temple itself is over 11,000 Square feet.


Qarqarat al-Kudr

Qarqarat al-Kudr is a place in Saudi Arabia near Khaybar. During the Islamic prophet Muhammad's era, the Al Kudr Invasion took place here against the Banu Salim tribe. It was a watering place at the time.
The Banu Salim tribe lived in Nejd at the time


Lewis Hippolytus Joseph Tonna

Lewis Hippolytus Joseph Tonna (3 September 1812 – 2 April 1857) was an English polyglot and campaigner on behalf of evangelical protestantism.
Born Liverpool, son of the Spanish vice-consul and consul for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, his father died in 1828 while he was a student in Corfu and he was compelled to find employment as an interpreter aboard the "Hydra". He served on various ships until returning to England in 1835 to become a director of the Royal United Services Institute.
Tonna married Charlotte Elizabeth Browne, a widow, in 1841 and the two were prolific pamphleteers for the evangelical Protestant cause. When Giacinto Achilli was interned following the fall of the Roman Republic, Tonna was prominent in the campaign for his release and return to England. Following Charlotte's death in 1846, in 1848 he married Mary Anne Dibdin, daughter of Charles Dibdin (the younger). Neither marriage produced children and Tonna died in London.


Lady Elizabeth Basset

Lady Elizabeth Basset, DCVO ("née" Legge; 5 March 1908 – 30 November 2000), was an English author and courtier.
Biography.
Basset was born at 8 Prince's Gate, Knightsbridge, the second daughter of the 7th Earl of Dartmouth and Lady Ruperta Wynn-Carrington, daughter of the Marquess of Lincolnshire. She was educated at home.
On 31 October 1931, she married Ronald Lambert Basset (1898–1972), senior representative of the ancient Basset family of Tehidy in Cornwall. They had two children, industrialist Bryan Ronald Basset (1932–2010) and Peter Francis Basset (1935–1954). During the Second World War, she ran a small farm in North Devon.
In 1959, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, asked Basset to be a Woman of the Bedchamber. She held that position until 1981. She was active as a Lady-in-Waiting from 1982 to 1993. She retired at the age of 85.
She was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1976 and a dame of the same order in 1989.
Lady Elizabeth authored a devotional book, "Love Is My Meaning", and four anthologies.
Lady Elizabeth Basset died in London in 2000, aged 92.


Sikhism in Greater Vancouver

Sikhism in Greater Vancouver, is one of the main religions across the region, especially among the Indo-Canadian population. The Sikh community in Vancouver is the oldest, largest and most influential across Canada, having began in the late 19th century. By 1995, Vancouver had one of the two largest Sikh populations in the world that are not in India. In 2003, the Sikhs became the largest group in Greater Vancouver who did not practice Christianity.
By 2011, there were 155,945 Sikhs in Greater Vancouver, representing 6.8% of the region's population. Hugh Johnston, the author of "The Development of the Punjabi Community in Vancouver since 1961," wrote that "Sikhs are exclusively Punjabi".
History.
At the turn of the century the Mayor of Vancouver did not permit cremation, so when the first Sikh died in 1907 he could not be cremated in the Vancouver city limits. Christian missionaries did not permit him to be buried with whites. Even though the missionaries promoted burial, the Sikhs instead cremated the man in a distant wilderness. This prompted Sikhs to establish their own religious institutions.
Beginning in the 1930s, within the Vancouver area, many clean-shaven or "sahajdhari" Sikhs began hanging up their hats and entering the gurdwaras with uncovered heads; this practice was like men removing hats before attending Christian churches. Turbanned or "kesdhari" Sikhs objected to this practice.
Until the 1960s Sikh religious organizations were the primary political interest groups of the Indo-Canadian community in the Vancouver region. At that time there were three gurdwaras in Metro Vancouver: the two Khalsa Diwan Society (KDS) gurdwaras in Vancouver and New Westminster and the Akali Singh gurdwara in Vancouver. The political structure of the Sikh community began to shift in the early 1970s since newcomers to politics began vying for influence against established political leaders as immigration increased the size of the community. In 1981 there were 22,392 Sikhs in Vancouver, virtually all of them being ethnic Punjabi. That year, Dusenbery wrote that the maturation of Punjabi Sikhs who were children of immigrants, the increase in immigration, and the rise of gora (White) Sikh converts from Canada and the United States changed the character of the Vancouver Sikh community in the period 1971-1981. Several turbanned Sikhs began criticizing the practice of entering gurdwaras with uncovered heads in the 1970s.By 1977, Vancouver's Sikh community, along with that of the Greater Toronto Area, were one of the two largest Canadian Sikh communities.
Organizations that favored the establishment of Khalistan began assuming control of Greater Vancouver gurdwaras after Operation Bluestar occurred in 1984. In 1988 Hugh Johnston wrote that in regards to the city's Punjabi community, "being Punjabi is coming to mean, exclusively, being Sikh", and that "it seems likely that Punjabi culture" in Vancouver would be exclusively "an aspect of Sikh identity" and exclude Hindus, who disagreed on the Khalistan issue.
Around 1995 moderate Sikhs politically challenged more extremist Sikhs in gurdwaras in Vancouver and Surrey. A December 1996 attack on the Guru Nanak temple in Surrey led by extremists and a January 1997 fight occurred.
Varieties of Sikhism.
In 1988 Hugh Johnston wrote that there are political divisions and religious divisions within the Sikh community of Vancouver. In 2008 Elizabeth Kamala Nayar, the author of "Misunderstood in the Diaspora," stated that Vancouver media reporting on orthodox Sikhs is often negative and that orthodox Sikhs "are portrayed negatively as ‘backward’ and ‘violent’". She also stated that journalists of mainstream publications in Canada often conflate "fundamentalist" Sikhism with the pro-Khalistan movement and "moderate" Sikhism with those opposed to the Khalistan movement; she explained that this occurred when the publications discussed religious conflicts in the Sikh community Vancouver as well as conflicts involving Sikhs throughout Canada. Nayar added that in Vancouver the wearing of turbans often is associated with Sikh fundamentalism.
Gora Sikhs (White Sikhs) are present in Greater Vancouver. Many have attempted to gain involvement with Punjabi Sikhs. Nayar, in "", wrote that "For the most part, the Gora Sikh community functions separately from the Punjabi Sikh community." Some Gora Sikhs have criticized a focus on Indian politics and the factionalism within Punjabi Sikh gurdwaras.
Gurdwaras.
Sikh gurdwaras (Sikh temples) in Vancouver were the city's only community centres for the Indo-Canadians until the 1960s. This meant that the gurdwaras at the time also gave social outlets to Punjabi Hindus and other South Asians. By 1981, gurdwaras mainly filled religious purposes. Many major gurdwaras in Greater Vancouver were initially established in isolated areas, but these areas over time became urbanized.
Sikhs often selected gurdwaras due to religious beliefs, family ties, political beliefs, and/or social reasons, and these were not necessarily gurdwaras that were the closest to them.
By 1988 there were six gurdwaras within a radius in one area in Vancouver. Four new gurdwaras opened in Metro Vancouver in the 1980s.
Gurdwaras in Vancouver.
The first "gurdwara" in Vancouver opened in 1908. It was founded by the Khalsa Diwan Society (KDS), which was established in 1906, This gurdwara was originally on West 2nd Avenue. making it Vancouver's oldest Sikh Society. In 1969 it moved to the intersection of Southwest Marine Drive and Ross Street, in South Vancouver.
The Akali Singh Gurdwara is in East Vancouver, along Skeena Street. It opened in 1952 in response to a religious dispute. Around the time it opened, the Akali Singh Gurdwara did not permit people who had no facial hair from being a part of its management committee, but it allowed them to be a part of the auditing committee and some of the individuals who gave significant amounts of money to the gurdwara were clean-shaven. The construction of the current gurdwara, valued at 1.5-2 million dollars, began construction in 1981. Previously the revenue of the Akali Singh gurdwara was equal to that of the KDS, but around the time of the new gurdwara construction, a takeover of the gurdwara was attempted. The gurdwara prevented an internal takeover by restricting election participation to persons who were not members of other Sikh societies. As a result, a severe membership split occurred and the size was reduced. The Akali Singh was opposed to the KDS, which had a more militant attitude towards the Khalistan question.
Around 1975 a Marxist–Leninist Sikh group purchased the Desh Baghat Mandir centre on Main Street after a failed attempt to seize control of other gurdwaras.
Gurdwaras in suburbs.
Most South Asians in Surrey, as of 2001, are Sikhs. The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara is on Scott Road in the City of Surrey. As of 2011 in regards to its orthodoxy it is a "moderate" gurdwara. As of 2004 it had 37,000 members, making it one of North America's largest Sikh temples.
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara was established in North Delta in 1973 by the Guru Nanak Sikh Society in order to serve the around 200 Sikh families living in the Surrey-Delta area. The society itself, the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple Society of Delta Surrey, opened that year. The current facility opened in 1981 along Scott Road in Surrey. Due to opposition to the gurdwara from non-Sikhs in Delta, the Delta city government asked the Guru Nanakh Sikh Society to build the new gurdwara in the Surrey side of a property that had been purchased by the society in 1973. In exchange the Delta city government gave access to the Delta sewage system. As of 1988 it was largest Greater Vancouver gurdwara building. The gurdwara was receiving a level income slightly below those of the two largest Vancouver-area gurdwaras by 1979. Around 1984 the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) took control of the Guru Nanakh Gurdwara. The ISYF was a daughter organization of the World Sikh Organization (WSO), which controlled the KDS. According to Hugh Johnston, as of 1988 the gurdwara "probably" had the second largest membership in Greater Vancouver, after the KDS. In January 1998 a coalition of anti-ISYF Sikhs and Sikhs who favored the Indian Congress wrested power away from the ISYF.
The KDS had its own branch gurdwara in New Westminster. In 1974 the New Westminster Khalsa Diwan became its own Sikh society. Another gurdwara had opened west of the KDS New Westminster and as a result the gurdwara lost membership, but it continued to operate. Hugh Johnston stated that in the 1970s the KDS New Westminster had a "sizeable income".
Dasmesh Darbar Gurdwara is an orthodox gurdwara in Surrey.
The gurdwara of the New Westminster Society is in Richmond. The previous membership followed Baba Mihan Singh, an individual from Doaba who had been invited to attend the New Westminster Society after he arrived in Vancouver; the New Westminster Society had employed one of his relatives as a priest. In 1979 the Nananksar Gurdwara, established by followers of Baba Mihan Singh, was being established, sapping membership from the New Westminster Society. As of 1989, the group controlling the KDS also controlled the New Westminster Society. Since 1984 the Nanaksar Gurdwara attracted Sikhs who were uninterested in politics.
There is a dalit gurdwara in Burnaby, the Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Temple. It opened in 1982. As of 2008 there were 900 members. Two Jats filed a complaint with the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal after they were denied membership, but the tribunal ruled that the gurdwara was minority-serving and had the right to reject the Jats.