The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2177 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Seal of the Prophets/prophecy
(Arab.,
khatm al-anbiyya
,
khatm al-nubuwwah
). Title of the prophet
Mu
ammad
, indicating that he is the last prophet whose message supersedes that of earlier prophets (e.g.
Moses
, Jesus).
Seamless pagoda, the
(part of a k
an):
Sebastian, St
.
Roman Christian martyr who is believed to have died in the persecution of Diocletian (late 3rd cent.). As a young man transfixed by arrows he was an extremely popular subject for Renaissance artists. Feast day, 20 Jan.
Second Coming
(of Christ to earth):
Second days
.
Additional holy day or days observed by Jews living in the
diaspora
at the
festivals
of
Passover
,
Shavu‘ot
and Sukkot. The need for them arose from the problem of securing the observation of the New Moon, on which the date of the festivals (and subsequent festivals or fasts) depend. When a fixed
calendar
was introduced in the 4th cent. CE, Jews in Babylon asked the authorities in the land of Israel whether these ‘two festivals of the Exile’ (
yom tov sheni shel galuyyot
) should be discontinued. They were told that so long-standing a custom should be continued even though the reason for it had disappeared.
Second diffusion
(of Buddhism in Tibet):

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