The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (514 page)

 
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(Chin., ‘fasting’). Formal fast in Taoism, especially before sacrifice. It developed into an occasion during which pupils confess their faults to their teacher or master. This may last for days. Generally, these rituals begin with the participants stepping into a designated space, dishevelled or smeared (e.g. with charcoal in
t’ut’an chai
) to indicate penitence. They repeat the twelve vows of repentance, then confess their sins to the accompaniment of rhythmic dreams. This, combined with thrice-daily repetition and little food, produces physical and ecstatic states. Among the different Tao schools, chai ceremonies are especially important in
Ling-pao p’ai
,
T’ai-ping tao
, and
Wutou-mi tao
; in these, the connection between sickness and sin is explicit, so that the repentance rituals are tied to healing expectations.

 
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Chaitanya
:

see
CAITANYA
.

 
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Chakugo
(summary of k
an)
:

see
JAKUGO
.

 
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Chalcedon
.

City in Asia Minor near Constantinople and venue of the fourth ecumenical
council
in 451. By drawing up a statement of faith, the so-called Chalcedonian definition, it attempted to end the controversy between
Alexandrian
and
Antiochene
christologies
. The strong
Monophysite
party in the E. never accepted the definition, and until Islamic times repeated attempts were made by ‘neo-Chalcedonians’ to remove its offence without actually rescinding it. The
Oriental Orthodox churches
still remain ‘non-Chalcedonian’.

 
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(Lat.,
calix
, ‘cup’). The vessel containing the wine at the
eucharist
. Present Roman Catholic law requires a chalice to be made of strong (i.e. not breakable and not able to absorb liquid) materials, preferably those which are valued in the country of use.

 
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