A
rite is an established, ceremonious, usually
religious act or
process art.
Rites in this sense fall into three major categories:
Christian
This Lutheran pastor is performing the rite of confirmation on the youth of his congregation after instructing them in
Luther's Small Catechism.
Within
Christianity, "rite" often refers to what is also called a
sacrament or to the ceremonies associated with the sacraments. In Roman Catholicism, for example, the sacrament of
Anointing of the Sick is one of the three that used to be called "the last rites", because it was administered to someone who was dying. The other two were
Penance and
Eucharist (administered as
Viaticum in the case of a dying person). Since the
Second Vatican Council, Anointing of the Sick is administered to those who are seriously ill but not necessarily in immediate danger of death.
The term "rite" also refers to a body of liturgical tradition usually emanating from a specific center. Examples include the
Roman Rite, the
Byzantine Rite, and the
Sarum Rite. Such rites may include various sub-rites. For example, the Byzantine Rite has Greek, Russian, and other ethnically-based variants. For a full list of Christian liturgical rites, see
Christian liturgy.
In addition, the same term was and still is, though less frequently than before, applied to an autonomous
particular Church within the
Catholic Church associated with a particular liturgical tradition. Of these, the largest is the
Latin Rite or Western Church. There are also 22
Eastern Catholic Churches or Rites.
Masonic
In
North America,
Freemasons have the option of joining the
Scottish Rite and/or the
York Rite, two appendant bodies that offer additional degrees to those who have taken the basic three.
See also
- Rites: a Confucian philosophical concept
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