Agape.--A Greek word meaning _love_. The name given to the "Love Feast" or social meal which the ancient Christians were accustomed to have when they came together and which was partaken of before the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. But owing to abuses, which St. Paul rebuked in writing to the {9} Corinthians, it was finally abolished. There seems to be some confusion of ideas in regard to this ancient custom as is seen in the wrong use that is made of the term LORD'S SUPPER (which see). Agnus Dei.--Meaning "The Lamb of God." This is the name given to the prayer "O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us," to be found in the Litany and Gloria in Excelsis. The Agnus Dei is often sung as an anthem after the Prayer of Consecration in the Holy Communion. It is also the name given to a representation of a lamb with banner as an emblem of Christ. (See EMBLEMS). Aisle.--This term is often wrongly applied to the alleys or passageways between the pews of a church. Aisle, properly speaking, is an architectural term given to the side or wing of a church or cathedral separated from the nave by rows of pillars and arches. The word is derived from the Latin _ala_, meaning a wing. Alb.--A long white linen garment worn as one of the Eucharistic Vestments. (See VESTMENTS). Alleluia.--A Hebrew word meaning "Praise ye the Lord." Sometimes written "Hallelujah." It is used on joyous occasions such as Christmas and Easter. All Saints' Day.--A Feast held on November 1, in commemoration of all saints of the Church who are not commemorated on other days. This Festival is very dear to the hearts of Christians. It is a day full of touching memories, when in the Holy Eucharist we memorialize before God the lives not only of Martyrs and Confessors and the great army of valiant {10} and faithful souls in every age and clime, but also of those dear to us by ties of kindred and affection,--fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, little children and noble youth--who "having finished their course in faith do now rest from their labors." It is thus we have brought home to us, as in no other way, the meaning and reality of "The Communion of Saints." Amid the solemnities of worship "and memorial we thus learn that the living and the dead are bound together by ties that are eternal, ties that no change of time can break, because before God they are _one_ in the Mystical Body of Christ. (See DIPTYCHS).