ABSTRACT
Abbot/Abbess superior of a monastery or nunnery; derived from Syriac word abba, 'father'. Albigensians name for dualist heretics of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; derived from the city of Albi in southern France, one of their centres of influence; also called Cathars (see below). Apostolic Life the way of life of the apostles, emphasizing their poverty and preaching; a powerful religious ideal, particularly in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Apostolic Succession the doctrine that the authority of Jesus was passed down in an unbroken line from the apostles to their successors, the bishops. Arianism view defended by Arius, a fourth-century priest in Alexandria, that Jesus was not the same as God, but was the greatest of all creatures; Arianism was the version of Christianity held by important Germanic kingdoms, including the Visigoths and the Lombards, between the fifth and seventh centuries. Beguines/Beghards since the twelfth century, a name for pious women who lived in small voluntary groups for religious purposes, but did not take religious vows. They were free to own property, to leave the group and to marry. Beghards were men who lived the same sort of life. They were prominent in the Low Countries and the Rhineland; sometimes suspected by church authorities of heresy. Benefice an endowed church office. Bishop a church officer consecrated to the highest of the holy orders; usually the head of a diocese with spiritual authority over the other clergy and laity in that diocese; believed to be a successor to the apostles; word derived from the Greek episcopos, 'overseer'.
