Episcopal Glossary

Recession - a procession out of a church.

Rector - the priest or minister of a local church or parish; the head priest of a parish.

Rectory - the residence of a rector; the place where an Episcopal minister lives.

Red Book - see Church Annual.

Requiem - A celebration of the Eucharist for the commemoration of the dead; a funeral service or memorial service. Sometimes the word is preceded by the word 'solemn': Solemn Requiem. Sometimes the word is preceded by 'high': High Requiem--which only indicates that portions of the service will be sung or chanted. A High Requiem Mass is a funeral service with communion and singing of parts of the service.

Reredos - [rear-re-doss] any decoration behind or above an altar; may be in the form of statues, screens, or tapestries.

Reverend Doctor - and ordained person [hence Reverend] who also holds some degree at the doctorate level [hence Doctor]--a way of referring to a priest who was also a professor or to a priest who held an honorary doctorate; a bishop who held a doctorate would be referred to as the Right Reverend Doctor.

Reverend Father - an affectionate, devotional or pietistic way of referring to a priest who accepted the term Father.

Reverend Mr./Mrs./Ms. - see Mr./Mrs./Ms.

Reserved Sacrament - The consecrated Bread and Wine reserved for administration to the sick or others who could not attend the celebration of the Eucharist.

Reverence - (of the Altar or the Blessed Sacrament) A genuflection or solemn bow.

Rite I - a portion of the Book of Common Prayer which contains worship services using the older (traditional) language of the 1928 edition of the prayerbook; sometimes the phrase "Rite One" is used as a derogatory reference to older or more "conservative" Episcopalians: "He is a Rite One type."; The liturgies in The Book of Common Prayer that are in traditional language.

Rite II - a portion of the Book of Common Prayer containing worship services which use more modern language.

Rubric -  The ceremonial and other directions found printed in italics in The Book of Common Prayer. The word comes from the Latin for "red" since the directions were traditionally printed in that color.