The Rite reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Rite

A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act. Rites fall into three major categories:

• rites of passage, generally changing an individual's social status, such as Christian marriage, or baptism
• rites of worship, where a community comes together to worship, such as Jewish synagogue or Christian Mass
• rites of personal devotion, where an individual worships, including prayer and pilgrimages such as the Muslim Haj.

Within Christianity it can have a much more specific meaning -- in this sense a rite is a particular liturgy. For example, in the Roman Catholic religion, the last rites are often performed on someone who is dying.

See also: ritual, ceremony, Rite of Spring

This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This is the "Rite" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.