Chapter (religion)

A chapter (Latin: capitulum^[1] or capitellum)^[2] is one of several bodies of clergy in Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheranchurches or their gatherings.

The name derives from the habit of convening monks, friars or canons for the reading of a chapter of the Bible or a heading of the order's rule.^[2] The 6th-century St Benedictdirected that his monks begin their daily assemblies with such readings,^[1] and over time expressions such as "coming together for the chapter" (convenire ad capitulum) found their meaning transferred from the text to the meeting itself and then to the body gathering for it.^[2] The place of such meetings similarly became known as the "chapter house" or "room".

Un cabildo catedralicio es el cuerpo (« colegio ») de asesores que asisten al obispo de una diócesis en la iglesia catedral . Estos surgieron de los presbiterios ( presbyteria ) integrados por los sacerdotes y otros funcionarios eclesiásticos de las ciudades catedralicias en la Iglesia primitiva. En la Iglesia Católica , actualmente solo se establecen por decreto papal . ^{[ 1 ]}

En caso de vacante episcopal, los cabildos catedralicios a veces se encargan de la elección del sucesor del obispo y del gobierno de la diócesis. Están integrados por sacerdotes canónigos . ^{[ 1 ]} Los cabildos numerados están formados por un número fijo de prebendados , mientras que los cabildos no numerados varían en número según las instrucciones del obispo. Originalmente, los cabildos estaban dirigidos por el archidiácono de la catedral , pero desde el siglo XI, ^{[ 1 ]} han sido dirigidos por un deán o un preboste . ^{[ 2 ]}

En la Iglesia Católica , el cabildo nombra a su propio tesorero, secretario y sacristán y, desde el Concilio de Trento , a un canónigo teólogo ^{[ 3 ]} y a un canónigo penitenciario . ^{[ 4 ]} El mismo concilio aprobó otros cargos locales, ^{[ 5 ]} que podían incluir precentores , chambelanes ( camerarii ) , limosneros ( eleemosynarii ) , hospitalarios , portarii , primicerii o custodes . A los canónigos a veces también se les asignan las funciones de punctator y hebdomadarius . ^{[ 1 ]} En la Iglesia de Inglaterra , el cabildo incluye miembros laicos , un canciller que supervisa sus funciones educativas y un precentor que supervisa sus servicios musicales. Algunas catedrales de la Iglesia de Inglaterra tienen cabildos «menores» y «mayores» con funciones separadas.

En la Iglesia Episcopal de los Estados Unidos , el capítulo es una reunión de aquellos que tienen las responsabilidades de un consejo parroquial para una iglesia catedral. ^{[ 6 ]}

A collegiate chapter is a similar body of canons who oversee a collegiate church other than a cathedral.

A general chapter is a general assembly of monks,^[7] typically composed of representatives from all the monasteries of an order or congregation. The equivalent meetings of provincial representatives of Franciscan orders is called a Chapter of Mats.^[8]

Catholic orders of nuns or sisters also often hold general chapters: periodic governing assemblies of the order, which vary in geographic scope from congregants within a city to an international gathering. These are considered "a graced, holy time" and often involve long preparation of prayer and study to discuss future directions of the order. General chapters are also a time to elect officers and leadership (e.g., a Mother superior). Pope Paul VI observed in 1964 that general chapters "primarily have relevance to [individual] Orders and Congregations", but "also influence the life of the Church; for the Church, to a great extent, derives Her vigor, Her apostolic zeal, and Her fervor in seeking holiness of life, from the flourishing condition of Her Religious Institutes".^[9]

After the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church delegated "especially to general chapters" the consideration of how each religious order was to implement the general aims of adaptation and renewal which were set out in the Council's Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life (Perfectae caritatis).^[10]

Many orders of nuns or sisters have regular internal gatherings known as some form of chapter, which differs from "general chapters" – in some cases, these are called simply a chapter. These are times for pragmatic, collective discussions about issues relevant to their communal lives (e.g., among the nuns or sisters of a convent).^[11]

A chapter of faults is a gathering for public correction of infractions against community rules and for self-criticism separate from standard confession.^[12][13] Some orders of nuns have a resonant practice of sharing their "faults," which differ from the confession of sins. For example, cloistered, contemplative Dominican nuns in the U.S. use what they call a regular chapter for this purpose, during which the prioress invites members to accuse themselves of individual faults that go against community good. Participants may stand up and say, "Sisters, I accuse myself of (such and such a fault)." This exercise in humility is followed by the women prostrating themselves (known as the venia) and the prioress assigning a penance. The regular chapter is a demarcated event: "What has been spoken of at Chapter is never spoken of outside of the it."^[14]

The assembled body of knights of a military or knightly order was also referred as a "chapter”.

• Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). "Capítulo"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 5 (11.ª ed.). Cambridge University Press. pág. 855.
• Fanning, William (1908). "Capítulo"  . En Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Enciclopedia Católica . Vol. 3. Nueva York: Robert Appleton Company.

• Baynes, TS, ed. (1878). "Capítulo"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 5 (9.ª ed.). Nueva York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pág. 398.
• Cripps, HW (1937). Un tratado práctico sobre la ley relativa a la Iglesia y al clero (8.ª ed.). KM Macmorran. págs.  127–146 .