rite

Definition of rite in English English dictionary: {n} a solemn act of religion, ceremony, form; any customary observance or practice; Short for right: A A means Attract Attention rite?; religious custom; The act of performing divine or solemn service, as established by law, precept, or custom; a formal act of religion or other solemn duty; a solemn observance; a ceremony; as, the rites of freemasonry; A "doing" of sorts that can be done inside or outside of ritual For example the Great Rite Usually one or more rites are included as part of a ritual, but not always; An ordered act of worship; General word for ritual, or set order of prayers for worship One may speak, for example, of the Rite of Initiation (Baptism, Chrismation and Eucharist); the Rite of Holy Crowning; the Rite of Ordination; the Rite of Kneeling on Pentecost Formerly, rite was incorrectly used to describe a particular *Tradition of the *Church, for example, the "Ukrainian Rite " Doing so, however, too narrowly limited a particular Catholic Tradition is much broader See TRADITION; A ceremony that is supposed to be repeated the same way each time it is performed See also essay on Ceremony and Information Systems; customary and solemn ritual or ceremony, as in: The rite of baptism is taken very seriously in many faiths; an established ceremony prescribed by a religion; "the rite of baptism; This word refers to an actual set of words used in the Liturgy; A rite is a traditional ceremony that is carried out by a particular group or within a particular society. Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty. see also last rites; A ritual; {i} ceremonial act or procedure; religious custom or tradition; (Gr Telete, Sl Tchin) The performance of a religious ceremony following a prescribed order of words and actions (typikon); an established ceremony prescribed by a religion; "the rite of baptism"
rite of passage: a ceremony or series of ceremonies, often very ritualized, to celebrate a transition in a person’s life. Baptisms, bar mitzvahs, weddings and funerals are among the best known examples
Examples: After John officially attained his majority, Robert bought him his first legal beer. This is a common American rite of passage.
rite of passage: A rite of passage is a ritual that marks a change in a person's social or sexual status. Rites of passage are often ceremonies surrounding events such as childbirth, menarche or other milestones within puberty, coming of age, weddings, menopause, and death
rite of passage: A ritual or ceremony signifying an event in a person's life indicative of a transition from one stage to another, as from adolescence to adulthood. Any of numerous ceremonial events, existing in all societies, that mark the passage of an individual from one social or religious status to another. The term was coined by the French anthropologist Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957) in 1909. Many of the most important rites are connected with the biological stages of life birth, maturity, reproduction, and death. Other rites celebrate changes that are wholly cultural, such as initiation into special societies. In modern societies, graduation from school is a rite of passage. Scholars often interpret rites of passage as mechanisms by which society confronts and incorporates change without disrupting the equilibrium necessary to social order. See also secret society
rite of passage: a ritual performed in some cultures at times when a individual changes his status (as from adolescence to adulthood)
rite of passage: ceremony or tradition that mark major life changes; induction ceremony
Great Rite: In Wicca, ritualistic sexual intercourse symbolizing creation. The Great Rite can also be performed symbolically: the high priest plunges the athame, or ritual knife (the male symbol), into a cup or chalice (the female symbol) that is filled with wine and is held by the high priestess
Roman Rite: The Latin rite used by the Roman Catholic Church
Eastern rite church: or Eastern Catholic church Any of several Eastern Christian churches that trace their origins to ethnic or national Eastern churches but are united with the Roman Catholic church (see Roman Catholicism). A few of these churches became associated with Rome in the 12th century, but most trace their origins to the failure to unite Eastern and Western churches at the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1439 or to churches that rejoined Rome in the 16th century or later. Eastern rite churches acknowledge the authority of the pope but are allowed to use their own ancient liturgies and to maintain rites and customs more typical of Eastern Orthodoxy, such as allowing priests to marry and admitting infants to Holy Communion. The Eastern rite includes the Ukrainian Orthodox church, the Maronite Church, and some Armenians, Ruthenians, and Melchites (in Syria). Today Eastern Catholics number more than 12 million
Scottish rite: A ceremonial rite in a Masonic system
rites: Plural of rite
scotch rite: The ceremonial observed by one of the Masonic systems, called in full the Ancient and Accepted Scotch Rite; also, the system itself, which confers thirty-three degrees, of which the first three are nearly identical with those of the York rite
york rite: The rite or ceremonial observed by one of the Masonic systems, deriving its name from the city of York, in England; also, the system itself, which, in England, confers only the first three degrees