Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin (Hardcover)

by Leo F. Stelten (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Leo Stelten has put to use his years of experience teaching Latin in compiling this concise reference book. The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin includes approximately 17,000 words with the common meanings of the Latin terms found in church writings. Entries cover Scripture, Canon Law, the Liturgy, Vatican II, the early church fathers, and theological terms. This volume will prove to be an invaluable resource for theological students, as well as for those seeking to improve their knowledge of ecclesiastical Latin. An appendix also provides descriptions of ecclesiastical structures and explains technical terms from ecclesiastical law. The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin has already been widely praised for its serviceability and indispensability in both academic and Church settings.

"For seminarians studying for the priesthood, the Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin by Leo F. Stelten will be helpful for examining Vatican documents in the original language, papal encyclicals and allocutions, publications on church liturgy, and Cannon Law volumes. This product of years of teaching, now updated, will be a happy resource in chanceries as well. The format is easy to follow and the vocabulary of some 17,000 words and phrases is quite adequate."
—Reverend Joseph F. Downey, S. J., Editorial Director, Loyola University Press, Chicago, Illinois

"A working knowledge of Latin is important for anyone who wishes to study the nearly two thousand years of living tradition of the Catholic Church. It is essential for those who wish to study seriously the sacred sciences of philosophy, theology, and cannon law. Father Leo Stelten, drawing upon his long experiences in teaching Latin to students for the priesthood, has developed in his Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin a most helpful tool both for those who are beginning their study of the church's lingua materna, as well as for those who are working to renew and improve their knowledge of church Latin."
—Monsignor Raymond L. Burke, Supremum Signaturae Apostolicae Tribunal, Vatican City, Rome

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565631315
• ISBN-13: 978-1565631311
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #37,243 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars none better, March 10, 2002

By	Robert W. Flammang (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you want to read the Vulgate and don't have 180 dollars to spend on Lewis & Short, this is the dictionary for you. Neither Cassel's nor the Chambers-Murray nor even the Oxford Latin dictionary will suffice; their vocabularies are restricted to classical authors. This is the best inexpensive Latin-English dictionary I've seen that lists words from after the 5th century AD. It simply has no competition!

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference on Vulgate Latin, May 27, 2003

By	Gary Bisaga "Christian Father and Husband" (Leesburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this dictionary solely for reading the Latin Vulgate, for the on-line Vulgate reading group that I run. Although I have some knowledge of Greek, I wanted a good and easy-to-use resource that provides the Latin translations. This dictionary succeeds admirably, although you should have a decent basic Latin dictionary like Cassell's also. I have never found a word in the Vulgate that was not defined in either Cassell's or this dictionary. Even "problem words" (usually directly transliterated into Latin from Greek) are there - for example, "telonium".

In addition to good word coverage, it also explains idiomatic usages of words, especially with prepositions. Look at the example pages and you'll some examples of idiomatic uses of words with the preposition "ad".

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, but not the best resource, March 2, 2005

By	Ryan R. Grant (Lancaster, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin is helpful-IF you already are past the intermediate level and know the grammar and a good deal of vocabulary already.

This is a one-way dictionary (Latin-English only, not English Latin) which makes it difficult when attempting to learn Ecclesiastical Latin. Thus if you want to find the meaning of an English word in Latin by looking it up you can't find it. I know some seminarians who take Latin, and all of them agree this dictionary is worthless for those trying to learn it. You are better off with a classical dictionary. I myself have taught Latin for 2 years, and can say pedagogically this dictionary is of little help.

However, if you already know the language, or perhaps you know Classical Latin and want to learn Ecclesiastical usage, this can be an excellent resource for translating the Breviary, Vulgate, Church Councils, Canon Law, Old certificates and Official Catholic Directories since in those you are reading the Latin and can look up its meaning. This dictionary includes not only nouns adjectives and verbs but phrases, constructions and nuances in Ecclesiastical documents.

Worthless to the Student
Valuable to the reader of Church Latin.