Acts of the Apostles is one of the books of the New Testament. It was written in Greek by St Luke, probably in 63 or 64. It embraces a period of about thirty years, beginning immediately after the resurrection, and extending to the second year of the imprisonment of St Paul in Rome. Very little information is given regarding any of the apostles, excepting St Peter and St Paul, and the accounts of them are far from being complete.
It describes the gathering of the infantchurch; the fulfilment of the promise of Christ to his apostles in the descent of the Holy Ghost; the choice of Matthias in the place of Judas, the betrayer; the testimony of the apostles to the resurrection of Jesus in their discourses; their preaching in Jerusalem and in Judea, and afterwards to the Gentiles; the conversion of Paul, his preaching in Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy, his miracles and labours. Research Acts of the Apostles
The Anabaptists were a 16th century Christian sect, so called because they rejected infant baptism in reference of adult baptism. They were a fanatical sect led by Nicholas Storck who intended reorganisation of German society based upon civil and political equality. Research Anabaptist
Anabaptists (from the Greek anabaptisein, to rebaptize) was a name given to a Christian sect by their adversaries, because, as they objected to infantbaptism, they re-baptized those who joined their body. The founder of the sect appears to have been Nicolas Storch, a disciple of Luther's, who seems to have aimed also at the reorganization of society based on civil and political equality. Gathering round him a number of fiery spirits, among whom was Thomas Munzer, he incited the peasantry of Suabia and Franconia to insurrection - the doctrine of a community of goods being now added to their creed. This insurrection was quelled in 1525, when Munzer was put to the torture and beheaded. After the death of Munzer the sectaries dispersed in all directions, spreading their doctrines wherever they went. In 1534 the town of Miinster in Westphalia became their centre of action. Under the leadership of Bockhold and Matthias their numbers increased daily, and being joined by the restless spirits of the adjoining towns, they soon made themselves masters of the town and expelled their adversaries. Matthias became their prophet, but he fell in a sally against the Bishop of Munster, Count Waldeck, who had laid siege to the city. Bockhold then became leader, assuming the name of John of Leyden, king of the New Jerusalem, and Munster became a theatre of all the excesses of fanaticism, lust, and cruelty. The town was eventually taken in June, 1535, and Bockhold and a great many of his partisans suffered death. This was the last time that the movement assumed anything like political importance.
In the meantime some of the apostles, who were sent out by Bockhold to extend the limits of his kingdom, had been successful in various places, and many independent teachers, who preached the same doctrines, continued active in the work of founding a new empire of pure Christians. It is true that they rejected the practice of polygamy, community of goods, and intolerance towards those of different opinions which had prevailed in Munster; but they enjoined upon their adherents the other doctrines of the early Anabaptists, and certain heretical opinions in regard to the humanity of Christ, occasioned by the controversies of that day about the sacrament. The most celebrated of those Anabaptist prophets were Melchior Hoffmann, the founder of the Hoffmannists or Millenarians; Galenus Abrahamssohn, from whom the sect of the Galenists were called; and Simon Menno, founder of various sects known as Mennonites.
Menno's principles are contained in his Principles of the True Christian Faith, 1556, a work which is held as authoritative on points of doctrine and worship among the Baptist communities of Germany and the Netherlands. The application of the term Anabaptist to the general body of Baptists throughout the world is unwarranted, because these sects have nothing in common with the bodies which sprung up in various countries of Europe during the Reformation, except the practice of adult baptism. The Baptists themselves repudiate the name Anabaptist, as they claim to baptize according to the original institution of the rite, and never repeat baptism in the case of those who in their opinion have been so baptized. Research Anabaptists
Infant schools have changed little in their objectives and guides since then. They were established in Britain to teach children between the ages of three and six, and while this is now five to seven years, the basic premise that the schools should 'amuse, interest and instruct' has little changed. When established it was realised that elementary instruction should be simple, pleasing and as much as possible imparted by means of models, pictures and singing. Research Infant School
Innocents Day is a festival of the Christian church, celebrated on December the 28th, in memory of the supposed massacre of the children on the command of the king of Judea, Herod, who, upon hearing that an infant had been born who was destined to be king of the Jews seeing the child as a threat to his own position and sent orders that all children in Bethlehem and the surrounding area be killed. Christian belief has it that some 14,000 children were slain in the massacre. Research Innocents Day
Twelfth Day is the festival of Epiphany, being the twelfth day after Christmas, it is kept as the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. It was formerly the occasion for festivities in commemoration of the visit of the three kings to the infantJesus. A king (the beanking) of the feast was chosen by a bean hidden in the twelfth Cake. Research Twelfth Day
The newt (Molge) is a genus of Urodela. Newts are scaleless, lizard-like, semi-aquatic creatures related to frogs, but which keep their tales, that always resort to ponds during the breeding season. The males frequently differ from the females in the possession of high crests and other nuptial ornaments. All newts lay eggs, usually singularly, and these are attached to the leaves of submerged plants. By the skilful use of her feet, the female twists or folds the leaf around the egg, the eggs sticky envelope causing the leaf to stick to it, thus concealing the egg from predators. Infant newts are born with external gills, their transformation into lung-breathing newts taking place three or four months after hatching. Generally, after breeding newts leave the ponds and live in holes in the ground in the surrounding area.
The largest British newt is the Great Crested Newt also known as the Warty Newt so called on account of its warty skin. The Great Crested Newt is about 15 cm long, dark brown along the back with a bright orange underside marked with black spots. The male Great Crested Newt has a crest that runs from the head to the tail. Research Newt
The salmon (Salmo salar) is a fish of the Salmonidae family. Salmon are hatched in fresh water, and make for the sea, where most of their food is found, usually in their third year. When first hatched the infant salmon are known by the name of 'alevin'. They soon attain the 'parr' stage, being then olive-brown in colour with dark transverse bands and red spots. When two years old the silvery 'smelt' stage is attained.
Salmon generally re-enter the river to spawn for the first time when some three and a half years old during the autumn months, when they are known as ' Grilse'. On the way up-stream the fishfeed scarcely at all, and so lose much in condition. Often the journey is arduous, necessitating the leaping of falls and other obstacles. At this time the fish lose their silvery tint, and the males are known as 'red fish', the females as 'black fish'. Savage fights may take place between the males, and their jaws undergo a strange modification, often assuming a hooked or beak-like form. Having reached the gravely shallows suitable for spawning, trough-shaped depressions known as 'redds' are excavated by the fish with their tails, and in these the hen- fish deposit their eggs, loosely covering them with silt. It is at this period that many eggs become fertilised by trout, which seize the opportunity to do so when the cock salmon is otherwise engaged repulsing rivals of his own species. It is doubtful if salmon spawn more than three or four times, as the procedure is very exhaustive, and an interval of some years may elapse between successive spawnings. In the River Tay in Scotland the salmon attains a weight of over eighty pounds. Research Salmon
Aubrey Thomas De Vere was an Irish poet and general writer. He was born in 1814 and died in 1902. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he published his first volume of verse, The Waldenses, in 1842, and The Search after Proserpine in 1843. In 1851 he became a Roman Catholic. His subsequent books of verse include Poems, Miscellaneous and Sacred published in 1853; May Carols; The Sisters; The Infant Bridal; Irish Odes; The Legends of St Patrick ; Alexander the Great; Legends of the Saxon Saints; The Foray of Queen Meave, and other Legends of Ireland's Heroic Age, etc. His prose works include English Misrule and Irish Misdeeds (1848); Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey; Ireland's Church Property and the Right Use of it; Essays, chiefly on Poetry; Essays, chiefly Literary and Ethical; and Recollections of Aubrey de Vere (1897). His collected poems were, issued between 1893 and 1894 in six volumes. Research Aubrey de Vere
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Acts of the Apostles
