The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (549 page)

Chung Yüan
.

Chinese festival (predominantly Buddhist), held to assist the hungry ghosts. It is held on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and from this day until the end of the month offerings are made, or gifts contributed, which will assist those who have died with none otherwise to remember them, those without graves, and those without descendants.

 
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(‘Central Norm’, often referred to as ‘The Doctrine of the Mean’). A work attributed to Tzu Ssu,
Confucius'
grandson (5th cent. BCE), but more probably a compilation of two or more works, being extracted from
Li Chi
. It advocates the discernment of a basic norm of human action which, if then put into effect, will bring life into harmony with the process of the universe. This requires a life controlled by
ch’eng
, sincerity, genuineness, and integrity. In this way, the natural order embraces both cosmos and ethical life; and those who live accordingly experience a mystical union between heaven and earth.

 
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Chün tzu
(ideal person)
:

see
ETHICS
(CONFUCIAN).

 
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Chuppah
(canopy used at Jewish weddings)
:

see
UPPAH
.

 
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(from Gk.,
kuriakon
, ‘belonging to the Lord’). The institution of
Christianity
. The word may refer to the whole number of organized Christians everywhere, to a particular denomination, to a local congregation, or to a building where Christians assemble. Reflection on the nature of the church, ‘ecclesiology’
(Gk.,
ekkl
sia
), is also a traditional part of Christian teaching.
In
Orthodox
understanding, the Church must be constituted by the
apostolic succession
, and be
episcopal
in character. It must accept the first seven
Councils
, and its doctrine is held within that parameter.
For
Catholics
, the Church is characterized as ‘one, holy, catholic and apostolic’. Thus conceived, it is a visible body; its membership, its orders of ministers, and its unity are all constituted by participation in visible
sacraments
.
The
Reformation
gave rise to two major doctrines of the Church:

(i) that it is a visible body, and, in God's intention, one (though divided if corruption and error have demanded a reformation); and
(ii) that the true church is an invisible body, since it is by the personal commitment of faith that a person is saved and made a member of it.

 
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