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Banns of Marriage: Traditionally, the public announcement of a forthcoming marriage (BCP 437). The banns are published on the three Sundays prior to the marriage, a custom that derives from a medieval practice insuring that those getting married were not closely related to each other and had no prior commitments to marry others.

Baptism, Holy: Sacramental rite of full initiation (by water and the Holy Spirit) into the Christ’s church. Baptisms take place in the context of the Eucharist at any Sunday or feast day of the year, but the Great Vigil of Easter, Pentecost, All Saint’s Day, and the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord (the first Sunday after the Epiphany) are particularly appropriate times. At the service all the members of the congregation renew their own baptismal vows and welcome the newly baptized into the community of faith. If the baptized person is too young to make the baptismal promises, they are made in the name of the child by sponsors, godparents, or by the child’s parents. Baptism may take place by immersion or by pouring water over the head of the baptized, and, in the Anglican tradition, is always accompanied by the celebrant making the sign of the cross on the forehead of the baptized, often anointing with the oil of chrism at the same time.

Baptismal covenant: A statement of belief and series of promises made by the candidates, sponsors, and entire congregation during the baptismal service (BCP 304-5). The baptismal covenant in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer is based on the Apostles’ Creed, a baptismal creed from the early church. See also: Baptism, Holy.

Baptistry: Traditionally, a separate building or area of the church that contained the baptismal font. In some Episcopal churches, the baptismal font is set apart in an alcove at the back of the church, but it is always part of the main body of the church. The virtue of the baptistery is that it provides a distinctive space for the sacrament of baptism, and, thus, underscores its importance.

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament: Usually, an evening rite in which a consecrated host is placed on display in a special stand or monstrance and venerated by the congregation with hymns and incense. Originally, the rite brought together Marian and eucharistic devotion. It is intended to celebrate the real presence of Christ in the bread of the Holy Eucharist.

Bendictus (ben.eh.DIK.toos): Anthem sung or said after the Sanctus in the eucharist, deriving from the Latin phrase Benedictus qui venit, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Benedictus Dominus Deus: The song of Zachariah from the gospel of St. Luke (1:68-79). Zachariah was the father of John the Baptist, and said those words on the occasion of John’s circumcision. Like the Magnificat, it is a cong of deliverance and describes John as the forerunner of the Messiah.

Bible, Holy: From the Latin word biblia, “books,” the collection of Jewish and Christian sacred texts divided into the Old Testament (Hebrew) and the New Testament (Christian), as well as sometimes the Apocrypha. Anglicans accept only the Hebrew and Christian text as authoritative for doctrine, but include readings from the Apocrypha in their lectionary and liturgy. According to the Lambeth Quadrilateral, Anglicans believe that the “Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments” contain “all things necessary for salvation” and are “the rule and ultimate standard of faith” (BCP 877). A select number of translations of the Holy Bible are authorized for reading in the Episcopal Church, including the King James Version, the Jerusalem Bible, the Revised English Bible, the New American Bible, and the New Revised Standard Version.

Bier (BEER): Stand on which the coffin rests in church during the rite of the Burial of the Dead.

Biretta (beh.RET.tuh): A stiff, square black or purple hat with three raised corners and pom-pom on top sometimes worn by priest and bishops.

Biretta belt: Once a popular informal term for a group of Episcopal dioceses in the upper Midwest known for their adherence to Anglo-Catholicism. The name derives from the supposed fondness of clergy in those dioceses for wearing birettas.

Bishop: The chief sacramental officer of the Episcopal Church, and the office that gives that church its name. The Greek word for bishop is episcopos, “overseer.” The name of the Episcopal Church, therefore, means that it is a church with bishops. Diocesan bishops are the chief pastors for their dioceses, entrusted with safeguarding the teaching and faith of the church and with special offices of ordination and confirmation. They are required to visit all the parishes and missions in their diocese at regular intervals, preside at diocesan conventions, and assume administrative oversight of their dioceses. In the Episcopal Church, there are six kinds of bishops: the Presiding Bishop, diocesan bishops, bishop coadjutors, suffragan bishops , assistant bishops, and retired bishops. See also: bishop, assistant; bishop coadjutors; bishop, suffragan; Bishop, Presiding; House of Bishops; ordinary.

Bishop, Assistant: A bishop who has retired from being the bishop in one diocese and who is hired by a bishop in another diocese to assist with visitations and other Episcopal work. An assistant bishop serves at the pleasure of the diocesan bishop.

Bishop, coadjutor (KO.ah.JOO.ter): A bishop elected by the diocesan convention to become the bishop of that diocese when the present diocesan bishop retires. A coadjutor differs from a suffragan bishop in that the suffragan is elected only to assist the diocesan bishop.

Bishop of the Armed Forces: Bishop with the administrative and pastoral oversight of all the Episcopal chaplains in the armed forces, veterans’ affairs, and institutions of federal corrections. The bishop is also the liaison to Anglican clergy serving in hospitals, prisons, and jails.

Bishop, Presiding: Presiding officer and primate of the Protestant Episcopal Church, USA, and a symbol of the unity of its dioceses. The Presiding Bishop is elected at a meeting of the General Convention by the House of Bishops with the concurrence of the House of Deputies, for a term of nine-years, ending at the General Convention nearest to his or her sixty-eighth birthday. The office of Presiding Bishop is located in New York. The Presiding Bishop’s official cathedra is in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul (the National Cathedral) in Washington, D.C. The responsibilities of the Presiding Bishop are to preside at meetings of the House of Bishops and of the Executive Council, to be the chief officiant at ordinations of bishops, to oversee the entire program of the church, and to represent the Episcopal Church to the members of the Anglican Communion.  Currently, Katharine Jeffert Schori.

Bishop, suffragan: A bishop elected by the diocesan convention especially to assist the bishop of the diocese with Episcopal visitations, confirmations, and baptisms. The suffragan bishop may succeed the diocesan bishop only if he or she is specifically elected by the diocesan convention.

Bishops Advisory Committee: See: Mission Committee

Bishop’s Chaplain: Member of the clergy designated to walk before the bishop in procession and carry the bishop’s pastoral staff.

Bishop, House of: See House of Bishops

Blessed Sacrament: Term for the consecrated bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist.

Blessing: A formal pronouncement of God’s favor by a priest or bishop in the context of a liturgy. Or, a formal thanksgiving for God’s gifts before a meal.

Blood of Christ: The consecrated wine of the Holy Eucharist.

Body of Christ: The consecrated bread of the Holy Eucharist, which is either unleavened, sometimes in the form of individual wafers for each communicant, or a large loaf of leavened bread that is broken into small pieces.

Book of Common Prayer, The:  The authorized prayer book of the Episcopal Church.    It contains the regular services appointed for public worship, including the Holy Eucharist, the daily offices of baptism, marriage, and burial;  Episcopal services;  the collect; and the psalter.  In the first Book of Common Prayer, composed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1549, the complicated rites of the medieval church were gathered into a single book for clergy and laity.  Henceforth, worship could be conducted in the vernacular instead of the traditional Latin.  The first American prayer book was ratified in 1789 after the American War for Independence, with new editions authorized in 1892, 1928, and 1979.  The prayer book is essential to the character of the church because it holds together the congregations with very different styles of worship within the church's broader traditions of Christian belief and practice.  See also:  Book of Occasional Services, The, and Supplemental Liturgical Texts.  For online version of the BCP, click here.

Book of Occasional Services, The: A companion volume of The Book of Common Prayer, containing liturgical resources for less frequent occasions in the life of individuals, families, and parishes. It includes services related to the church year, such as the Advent Festival of Lessons and Music, Tenebrae, and Blessings over Food for Easter, as well as pastoral services, including liturgies for the catechumenate, marriage anniversaries, the blessing of children, and the dedication of church ornaments. The book also contains Episcopal services used by and for bishops in their ministries.

Bow, simple: Act of reverence by bowing from the head and shoulders, particularly appropriate at the name of Jesus, during the Sanctus, and at the Gloria Patri. See also: Bow, solemn.

Bow, solemn: Bow from the waist, with inclination of the head and shoulders, performed in reverence to the altar and the consecrated elements of the Holy Eucharist, and before and after being censed in parishes where incense is used. See also: Bow, simple.

Bread box: See ciborium

Brother: See monk

Brotherhood of St. Andrew, The:  The Brotherhood of St. Andrew is an international ministry of men within the Anglican Communion with corporate offices in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. The Brotherhood was incorporated by an Act of the U. S. Congress signed May 30, 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt. That Act states, "the sole object of said corporation shall be the spread of Christ's Kingdom among men."

Burial of the Dead: Service found in the prayer book in two versions, along with An Order for Burial, which provides an outline of a burial rite for use when neither of the regular forms is appropriate. The prayer book assumes the burial rites will take place in the context of a celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The service also contains a rite for the graveside committal, including the traditional casting of earth upon the coffin. Episcopal funerals are Easter liturgies that derive their meaning from the hope of resurrection. The liturgical color is white. See also: Committal, The.

Burse: A clothbound envelope or pocket of two square pieces of still material in a liturgical color. It is used to hold the corporal to be placed on the altar at the time of setting the table for the Holy Eucharist, and it sometimes can hold extra purificators as well.