Morris Chapel was dedicated in 1942 and is located on the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, United States.
In 1937, University of the Pacific's President Knoles envisioned the chapel which has become a Stockton landmark. Percy and Lillie Morris, having borne the majority of the financial burden of construction, were memorialized when the chapel was officially named and dedicated on April 19, 1942. In 1946, Ovid Ritter, Vice President of the university, wrote, “The College of the Pacific serves students of all faiths, and Morris Chapel renders service to them all without distinction at all times.”
The Chapel was conceived as a spiritual ‘lighthouse’ for the University of the Pacific. It serves as the focal point for Christian worship on campus, both Protestant and Roman Catholic and it has also provided over the years a venue for the celebration of marriage for thousands of couples, both within and beyond the University community.
The great Sanctuary Window above and behind the altar originally consisted of three lancet windows, tall and narrow, which were installed in the Temple Methodist Church in San Francisco in 1930. These windows were removed when the church gave up its building in 1937. The windows were then on exhibition in 1939-1940, after which they were presented to Morris Chapel by the trustees of the Temple Methodist Church. The three separate windows were then merged into one large window consisting of the three great panels, and were installed for the "enrichment of our sanctuary and to the glory of God". [1] The three principal figures from left to right represent Faith, Love (John 4:8; Jesus with the children), and Hope.
At the opposite end of the Chapel over the gallery is the Rose Window, also a gift of Temple Methodist. It expresses symbolically the Life of Christ. Beginning with the lowest rosette, the descending dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit hovering over Mary the mother of Jesus at the moment of her conception. Moving clockwise, the five-pointed Star of Bethlehem recalls the Epiphany of Jesus to the wise men from the East, and subsequently to all nations beyond Israel. The next rosette portrays the figures of an open book, the Bible, the Word of God, which Jesus is and which he preached. At the top, the figure of the sun encircling the Greek abbreviation for Jesus’ name (IHC) recalls his title as the Sun of Righteousness. To the right, the chalice recalls his last Passover meal with his disciples, and the sacrament of the Eucharist that he instituted there. In the last rosette, the crown of thorns symbolizes his passion, and the abbreviation, INRI, recalls the legend that Pilate commanded to be placed over his head on the cross: Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorim, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. The central rosette of the Cross and the Crown recalls the Kingdom of God, which Christians believe was announced and initiated in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. [1]
The original organ was contributed by Samuel H. Kress of New York. The present organ, dedicated on April 2, 1992, is a two-manual tracker organ with 1,300 speaking pipes, custom-built by J. W. Walker & Sons, Ltd., of Suffolk, England. Its purchase, installation, and maintenance have been made possible through the generous gifts of alumni and friends of the University.
A remarkable feature of Morris Chapel is the inscription of the Apostles' Creed, written in Latin above the side arches in the nave. The Apostles' Creed is one of the earliest known professions of Christian faith, and was used as a baptismal confession in Rome as early as the second century of the Common Era. Over the chancel arch is inscribed the Kyrie (Kyrie eleison..., Christe eleison..., Kyrie eleison...; Lord have mercy..., Christ have mercy..., Lord have mercy...), another of the most ancient liturgical elements of Christian worship, used perhaps even by the very first Christian communities. [1]
The liturgical elements of the ancient church, combined with the majestic architecture of the medieval church lend contemporary worship a palpable solidarity with the communion of saints, all those who have given their lives to Christ throughout the ages. [1]
The Apostles' Creed, sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith".
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term Mass is commonly used in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Old Catholicism, and Independent Catholicism. The term is also used in some Lutheran churches, as well as in some Anglican churches, and on rare occasion by other Protestant churches.
A church service is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day ; a number of traditions have mid-week services, while some traditions worship on a Saturday. In some Christian denominations, church services are held daily, with these including those in which the seven canonical hours are prayed, as well as the offering of the Mass, among other forms of worship. In addition to this, many Christians attend services on holy days such as Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Ascension Thursday, among others depending on the Christian denomination.
Compline, also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times.
Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek Κύριε, vocative case of Κύριος (Kyrios), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison.
Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin litania from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (litaneía), which in turn comes from λιτή (litḗ), meaning "prayer, supplication".
The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It is one of the ecumenical feasts of Christian churches, ranking with the feasts of the Passion and Pentecost. Following the account of Acts 1:3 that the risen Jesus appeared for 40 days prior to his Ascension, Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter according to inclusive counting, although some Christian denominations have moved the observance to the following Sunday, sometimes called Ascension Sunday. The day of observance varies by ecclesiastical province in many Christian denominations, as with Methodists and Catholics, for example.
Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn.
Sacred tradition, also called holy tradition or apostolic tradition, is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to this theological position, sacred Tradition and Scripture form one deposit, so sacred Tradition is a foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority of Christianity and of the Bible. Thus, the Bible must be interpreted within the context of sacred Tradition and within the community of the denomination. The denominations that ascribe to this position are the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Assyrian churches.
The Penitential Act is a Christian form of general confession of sinfulness that normally takes place at the beginning of the celebration of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholicism, as well as in Lutheranism.
The ordinary, in Catholic liturgies, refers to the part of the Mass or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted to the proper, which is that part of these liturgies that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the liturgical year, or of a particular saint or significant event, or to the common which contains those parts that are common to an entire category of saints such as apostles or martyrs.
The Roman Rite is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the sui iuris particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs rites such as the Roman Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours as well as the manner in which sacraments and blessings are performed.
The Improperia are a series of antiphons and responses, expressing the remonstrance of Jesus Christ with his people. Also known as the Reproaches or the Solemn Reproaches, they are sung In the Catholic liturgy as part of the observance of the Passion, usually on the afternoon of Good Friday. In the Byzantine Rite, they are found in various hymns of Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The Improperia appear in the Pontificale of Prudentius (846–61) and gradually came into use throughout Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, finally being incorporated into the Roman Ordo in the fourteenth century.
Catholicity is a concept of pertaining to beliefs and practices that are widely accepted by numerous Christian denominations, most notably by those Christian denominations that describe themselves as catholic in accordance with the Four Marks of the Church, as expressed in the Nicene Creed formulated at the First Council of Constantinople in 381: "[I believe] in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church." The English adjective catholic is derived from the Ancient Greek adjective καθολικός, meaning "general", "universal". Thus, "catholic" means that in the Church the wholeness of the Christian faith, full and complete, all-embracing, and with nothing lacking, is proclaimed to all people without excluding any part of the faith or any class or group of people. An early definition for what is "catholic" was summarized in what is known as the Vincentian Canon in the 5th century Commonitory: "what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all."
The Divine Service is a title given to the Eucharistic liturgy as used in the various Lutheran churches. It has its roots in the Pre-Tridentine Mass as revised by Martin Luther in his Formula missae of 1523 and his Deutsche Messe of 1526. It was further developed through the Kirchenordnungen of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that followed in Luther's tradition.
The English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC) is a group of national associations of ecumenical liturgists in the English-speaking world. Their work has been concerned with developing and promoting common liturgical texts in English and sharing a common lectionary wherever possible. It is the successor body to the International Consultation on English Texts (ICET).
Deutsche Messe was published by Martin Luther in 1526. It followed his work Formula missae from the year 1523, pertaining to the celebration of a Latin mass. Both of these masses were meant only as suggestions made on request and were not expected to be used exactly as they were, but could be altered. The function of the mass, according to Luther, is to make people hear the word.
The Four Marks of the Church, also known as the Attributes of the Church, describes four distinctive adjectives of traditional Christian ecclesiology as expressed in the Nicene Creed completed at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381: "[We believe] in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church."
This is a glossary of terms used in Christianity.
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