A Glossary of Sorts
Genealogy can bring people to the Catholic church who have limited (or no) background in formal Catholicism, which can sometimes cause confusion. A while back I read a message board item that contained the line, "He wasn't a religious priest." Huh? He was an irreligious priest? Later I discovered that it meant that the man in question owed his allegiance to a diocese as opposed to a religious order -- very different than my interpretation. A fellow researcher had always heard priests referred to as "priests" or "fathers." When she found a marriage license signed by "Rev _______, Minister of the Gospel," she thought that it meant her relatives were married by a Protestant minister. This also proved to be an erroneous conclusion. Here is an informal attempt to clarify some of the terms that are found on this site or in NEPA research. It should not be considered exhaustive or authoritative. Links to additional glossaries are below.
Archdiocese - the chief diocese of a province. In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia is the archdiocese, with Allentown, Altoona-Johnstown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton its suffragen dioceses. Philadelphia is not only the largest city in the state, but the oldest diocese, founded in 1808. The diocese of Scranton was created sixty years later.
Diocese - territory under the control of a bishop
Eparchy - Eastern rite equivalent of a diocese
Minister of the Gospel - on a Lackawanna marriage license, the officient is supposed to identify him/herself as one of three types: Minister of the Gospel, Justice of the Peace, or Alderman. Leaders of any religious denomination, ie priests, rabbis, pastors, etc, use "Minister of the Gospel," regardless if the term is commonly used in their religion.
DJ - doctor juris (doctor of law) JCD - doctor of canon law LLD - doctor of law (honorary legal degree) DD - doctor of divinity (theology) STD - Doctor of Sacred Theology STL - Licentiate of Sacred Theology VG - Vicar-General VF - Vicar-Forane RD - Rural Dean Ecclesiastical Abbreviations - www.newadvent.org/cathen/01022a.htm
Additional Sources
Generally a dictionary or glossary is compiled for a specific purpose and what is on this site may not answer your question. Here are other places you can check.
- Catholic Almanac Online www.osvpublishing.com/catholicalmanac/04a.asp
- The Catholic Encyclopedia - www.newadvent.org/cathen
- A Catholic Glossary - eapi.admu.edu.ph/bodega/glossary.htm
- Catholic Hierarchy's Help/Terminology - www.catholic-hierarchy.org/help.html
- Dictionary of Catholic Terms - www.thesacredheart.com/dictnary.htm
- Glossary of Catholic Terms - www.xlministries.org/resources/apologetics/
roman/roman.html#glossary - Roman Catholic Wedding Glossary - www.whichwedding.com/types/catholic_glossary.htm
- Conference of Bishop's Catholic Glossary - www.nccbuscc.org/comm/alphagloss.htm
- Archdiocese of Milwaukee's Catholic Glossary - www.archmil.org/ourfaith/glossary.asp
- Archdiocese of St Louis' Catholic Glossary - www.archstl.org/links/gloss-terms.htm
- Vicariate of Kuwait's Catholic Glossary - www.catholic-church.org/kuwait/glossary.htm