Manuscripts
Medieval manuscripts abound in abbreviations, owing in part to the abandonment of the uncial, or quasi-uncial, and the almost universal use of the cursive, hand. The medieval writer inherited a few from Christian antiquity; others he invented or adapted, in order to save time and parchment.
They are found especially in manuscripts of scholastic theology and canon law, annals and chronicles, the Roman law, and in administrative documents, civil and privileges, bulls, rescripts. They multiplied with time, and were never so numerous as on the eve of the discovery of printing; many of the early printed books offer this peculiarity, together with other characteristics of the manuscript page.
Printing
The development of printing brought about the abandonment of many abbreviations, while it suggested and introduced new ones a process also favoured by the growth of ecclesiastical legislation, the creation of new offices, etc. There was less medieval abbreviation in the text of books much used on public occasions, e.g. missals, antiphonaries, Bibles; in one way or another the needs of students seem to have been the chief cause of the majority of medieval abbreviations.
The means of abbreviation were usually full points or dots (mostly in Roman antiquity), the semicolon (eventually conventionalized), lines (horizontal, perpendicular, oblong, wavy curves, and commas). Vowel-sounds were frequently written not after, but over, the consonants. Certain letters, like p and q, that occur with extreme. frequency, e.g. in prepositions and terminations, became the source of many peculiar abbreviations; similarly, frequently recurring words like et (and), est (is). Habit and convenience are today the principal motives for using abbreviations.
Most of those in actual use fall under one or other of the following heads: Administrative, Liturgical, Scholastic, and Chronological.
Administrative
The first class of abbreviations includes those used in the composition of Pontifical documents. They were once very numerous, and lists of them may be seen in the works quoted below (e.g. Quantin, Prou). It may be well to state at once that since 29 December 1878, by order of Leo XIII, the great papal documents (Litterae Apostolicae) are no longer written in the old Gothic hand known as bollatico; all abbreviations, with the exception of a few obvious ones, like S.R.E., were abolished by the same authority (Acta Sanctae Sedis, XI, 465–467). In the transaction of ordinary business the Roman Congregations are wont to use certain brief and pithy formulas (e.g. Negative = "No"; Negative et amplius = "No with emphasis"). They are not, correctly speaking, abbreviations. For a list of these see Canon law. This class includes also the abbreviations for the names of most sees.
The full Latin titles of all existing (Latin) dioceses may be seen in the Roman annual, "Gerarchia Cattolica", a complete list of the Latin names of all known dioceses (extant or extinct) is found in the large folio work of the Comte de Mas Latrie, "Trésor de chronologie, d'histoire et de géographie" (Paris, 1884). For the same purpose the reader may also consult the episcopal catalogues of the Benedictine Pius Bonifacius Gams, "Series Episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae" (Ratisbon, 1873–86), and the Franciscan Conrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Ævi (Münster, 1898–1902).
Under this general heading may be included all abbreviated forms of addresses in ordinary intercourse, whether of individuals or of members of religious orders, congregations, institutes, to which may be added the forms of addresses usual for members of Catholic lay societies and the Papal orders of merit. (See Catholic societies, orders of merit.) The abbreviations of the titles of Roman Congregations, and of the individual canonical ecclesiastical authorities, belong also to this class.
Anointing of the sick, known also by other names such as unction, is a form of religious anointing or "unction" for the benefit of a sick person. It is practiced by many Christian churches and denominations.
The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass, the Traditional Rite, or the Extraordinary Form, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in 1570 and published thereafter with amendments up to 1962. Celebrated almost exclusively in Ecclesiastical Latin, it was the most widely used Eucharistic liturgy in the world from its issuance in 1570 until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI.
In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation or precepts are days on which the faithful are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation, according to the third commandment.
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views.
The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy, is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons not belonging to religious orders. The Congregation for the Clergy handles requests for dispensation from active priestly ministry, as well as the legislation governing presbyteral councils and other organisations of priests around the world. The Congregation does not deal with clerical sexual abuse cases, as those are handled exclusively by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Congregation for Catholic Education (Institutes of Study) (Latin: Congregatio de Institutione Catholica (Studiorum Institutis)) was the pontifical congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for: universities, faculties, institutes and higher schools of study, either ecclesial or non-ecclesiastical dependent on ecclesial persons; and schools and educational institutes depending on ecclesiastical authorities.
The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, is the dicastery of the Roman Curia with competency over everything which concerns institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, regarding their government, discipline, studies, goods, rights, and privileges.
The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic churches for the sake of assisting their development and protecting their rights. It also maintains whole and entire in the one Catholic Church the heritage and canon law of the various Eastern Catholic traditions. It has exclusive authority over the following regions: Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, southern Albania and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Jordan and Turkey, and also oversees jurisdictions based in Romania, Southern Italy, Hungary, India and Ukraine.
In the Catholic Church, a consecrated virgin is a woman who has been consecrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity as a bride of Christ. Consecrated virgins are consecrated by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical rite.
Consecrated life is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life, societies of apostolic life, as well as those living as hermits or consecrated virgins.
A society of apostolic life is a group of men or women within the Catholic Church who have come together for a specific purpose and live fraternally. It is regarded as a form of consecrated life.
The Congregation of Jesus and Mary, abbreviated CIM or (CJM) also known as the Eudists, is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men in the Catholic Church. It was established on March 25, 1643 by Saint Fr. John Eudes, C.I.M.
The Stigmatines, officially named the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. The Stigmatine Congregation was founded on November 4, 1816 by Gaspar Bertoni, in Verona, Italy. Its members use the post-nominals C.S.S..
Congregatio Canonicorum Sancti Augustini (CCSA) is a German High Church religious community of clergy and laymen.
The Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier, Pilar, abbreviated SFX and commonly referred to as the Society of Pilar or the Pilar Fathers is a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men. Its members add the nominal letters S.F.X. after their names to indicate their membership in the Congregation.
This is a glossary of terms used within the Catholic Church. Some terms used in everyday English have a different meaning in the context of the Catholic faith, including brother, confession, confirmation, exemption, faithful, father, ordinary, religious, sister, venerable, and vow.
The Religious Congregations of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church are divided in Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches as Monasteries, Hermitages, Orders, Congregations, Societies of Common Life in the Manner of Religious, Secular Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life.
In Catholicism, "of pontifical right" is the term given to ecclesiastical institutions either created by the Holy See, or approved by it with the formal decree known by the Latin name decretum laudis. The term is included in the names of institutions, often capitalised in English: "Institute of [xxx] of Pontifical Right".
