Serapias: S. stenopetala features pale yellow flowers and is endemic to Algeria and Tunisia; the plant is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

biblical literature: Nature and significance: …illustrated in a letter by Serapion, bishop of Antioch. He stated that he accepts Peter and the other Apostles “as Christ” but rejects what is falsely written in their name. When some Christians showed him the Gospel of Peter, he allowed them to read it, but, after further investigation, he…

Serapion Brothers, group of young Russian writers formed in 1921 under the unsettled conditions of the early Soviet regime. Though they had no specific program, they were united in their belief that a work of art must stand on its own intrinsic merits, that all aspects of life or fantasy were

Saint Sarapion ; feast day March 21; Coptic church March 7) was an Egyptian monk, theologian, and bishop of Thmuis, Lower Egypt, in the Nile River delta. Sarapion was a champion with St. Athanasius of Alexandria of orthodox doctrine in the 4th-century theological controversy over Arianism. A key

Serapion Brothers, group of young Russian writers formed in 1921 under the unsettled conditions of the early Soviet regime. Though they had no specific program, they were united in their belief that a work of art must stand on its own intrinsic merits, that all aspects of life or fantasy were

E.T.A. Hoffmann: …Wagner drew on stories from Die Serapionsbrüder for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868), as did Paul Hindemith in Cardillac (1926) and Jacques Offenbach in The Tales of Hoffmann (1881), in which Hoffmann himself is the central figure. The ballet Coppélia (1870), by Léo Delibes, is also based on a Hoffmann…

Serapis, Greco-Egyptian deity of the Sun first encountered at Memphis, where his cult was celebrated in association with that of the sacred Egyptian bull Apis (who was called Osorapis when deceased). He was thus originally a god of the underworld but was reintroduced as a new deity with many

engagement between Bonhomme Richard and Serapis, (Sept. 23, 1779), in the American Revolution, notable American naval victory, won off the east coast of England by Captain John Paul Jones. Challenged by a large combined French and Spanish fleet, the British Navy was too preoccupied to prevent

sedative-hypnotic drug: oxazepam (Serax), and triazolam (Halcion). They are, however, intended only for short- or medium-term use, since the body does develop a tolerance to them and withdrawal symptoms (anxiety, restlessness, and so on) develop even in those who have used the drugs for only four to…

Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian language: …forms of speech employed by Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins, and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). The term Serbo-Croatian was coined in 1824 by German dictionary maker and folklorist Jacob Grimm (see Brothers Grimm). In the 21st century, linguists and philologists adopted Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) as a

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnia and Herzegovina in communist Yugoslavia: In 1991 several self-styled “Serb Autonomous Regions” were declared in areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina with large Serb populations. Evidence emerged that the Yugoslav People’s Army was being used to send secret arms deliveries to the Bosnian Serbs from Belgrade (Serbia). In August the Serb Democratic Party began boycotting…

Bosnian War: Background: …however, made cooperation with the Serb Democratic Party, led by Radovan Karadžić, increasingly difficult.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitutional framework: …entities, the Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic) and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The latter is a decentralized federation of Croats and Bosniaks. Each entity has its own legislature and president. The central institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina include a directly elected tripartite presidency, which rotates every eight months…

Serbia, landlocked country in the west-central Balkans. For most of the 20th century, it was a part of Yugoslavia. The capital of Serbia is Belgrade (Beograd), a cosmopolitan city at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers; Stari Grad, Belgrade’s old town, is dominated by an ancient fortress

Serbia: The federation of Serbia and Montenegro: In the late 1990s secessionists gained ground in Montenegro and called for independence from the Yugoslav federation and their much-larger Serbian neighbour. Despite the popularity of independence within Montenegro, international authorities, particularly those in the European Union (EU), believed that further political…

national flag containing three equal red, blue, and white horizontal stripes and, near the hoist, the Serbian coat of arms. Its width-to-length ratio is 2 to 3.The design of the Serbian flag dates to Serbia’s revolt against Ottoman rule in 1804, when it adopted the white-blue-red tricolour flag of

history of Serbia, a survey of the important events and people in the history of Serbia from ancient times to the present. The use of the term Serb to name one of the Slavic peoples is of great antiquity. Ptolemy’s Guide to Geography, written in the 2nd century ce, mentions a people called

Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian language: …forms of speech employed by Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins, and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). The term Serbo-Croatian was coined in 1824 by German dictionary maker and folklorist Jacob Grimm (see Brothers Grimm). In the 21st century, linguists and philologists adopted Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) as a

Serbian literature, the literature of the Serbs, a Balkan people speaking the Serbian language (referred to by linguists as the Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian language). Serbian literature developed primarily from the 12th century, producing such religious works as the illuminated Miroslav

Serbian Orthodox Church, autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Eastern Orthodox communion, located primarily in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The southern Serbs wavered for long periods in their ecclesiastical allegiance between Rome and Constantinople (now

Serbia: Independent Serbia: The newly formed Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska Napredna Stranka; SNS), which had split off from the Radicals in 2008, had by 2010 joined the DS in supporting Serbia’s accession to the EU. In March 2010 the Serbian parliament voted to condemn the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of Bosniaks (Bosnian…

fascism: Serbia: …the expense of Vojislav Seselj’s Serbian Radical Party (Srpska Radikalna Stranka; SRS), then the largest neofascist party in Serbia. Although the SPS had won 65 percent of the vote in elections to the Serbian assembly in 1990, deteriorating economic conditions and perceived threats to Serbian enclaves in Croatia and Bosnia…

fascism: Serbia: …guerre, Arkan) and his new Serbian Unity Party (Srpska Partja Jedinstva; SJP). In elections in December 1993, the SPS increased its representation in the Serbian assembly at the expense of the SRS, taking 49 percent of the vote, compared with the SRS’s 14 percent.

Željko Ražnatović: …nationalist who headed the paramilitary Serbian Volunteer Guard (known as the Tigers), which was accused of committing atrocities during the conflicts that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia in the first half of the 1990s.

Serbo-Bulgarian War, (Nov. 14, 1885–March 3, 1886), military conflict between Serbia and Bulgaria, which demonstrated the instability of the Balkan peace settlement imposed by the Congress of Berlin (Treaty of Berlin, July 1878). Both Serbia and Bulgaria felt that the Treaty of Berlin should have

Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian language (BCMS), term of convenience used to refer to the forms of speech employed by Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins, and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). The term Serbo-Croatian was coined in 1824 by German dictionary maker and folklorist Jacob Grimm (see Brothers

Serbo-Turkish War, (1876–78), military conflict in which Serbia and Montenegro fought the Ottoman Turks in support of an uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, in the process, intensified the Balkan crisis that culminated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. By the settlement of that conflict

Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian language: …forms of speech employed by Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins, and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). The term Serbo-Croatian was coined in 1824 by German dictionary maker and folklorist Jacob Grimm (see Brothers Grimm). In the 21st century, linguists and philologists adopted Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) as a

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, Balkan state formed on December 1, 1918. Ruled by the Serbian Karadjordjević dynasty, the new kingdom included the previously independent kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro and the South Slav territories in areas formerly subject to the Austro-Hungarian

Sark, one of the Channel Islands, a dependency of Guernsey, located in the English Channel, south of England’s coast. Sark lies 7 miles (11 km) east of Guernsey and about 25 miles (40 km) west of the Cherbourg Peninsula of France. The island, which is 3 miles (5 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide

Sofia, capital of Bulgaria. It is situated near the geographical centre of the Balkans region, in the Sofia Basin, a troughlike valley in the western part of the country. The Serdi (Sardi), a Thracian tribe, established a settlement in the region in the 8th century bce. This community was conquered

Code of Canon Law: …and 1939 Cardinal Gasparri and Jusztinian Serédi, a Hungarian canonist and the archbishop of Esztergom, published nine volumes of the sources of the code under the title Fontes Juris Canonici (“Sources of the Code of Canon Law”).

Serer, group of more than one million people of western Senegal and The Gambia who speak a language also called Serer, an Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Serer are a settled, agricultural people who grow millet, rice, and a wide variety of other crops, including tree crops.

sugarcane: Diseases: Sereh, a blackening and degeneration of the fanlike tops, is caused by an East Indian virus. Mosaic, which causes mottling or spotting of foliage and sometimes curling, dwarfing, and narrowing of the leaves, is due to infection by any of several viruses. Red rot (important…

Seremban, town, Peninsular (West) Malaysia, on the Linggi River. It lies approximately 25 miles (40 km) inland from Port Dickson on the Strait of Malacca. The town originated as a tin-mining settlement in the 1840s. Rubber production is now Seremban’s principal activity; tin is still mined, and

Kjartan Fløgstad: …in Valfart (1968; “Pilgrimage”) and Seremoniar (1969; “Ceremonies”), is a skillful mixture of symbolism, wide and eclectic reading, humour, and a responsiveness to both city and village life. In his collection of essays and short fictions, Den hemmelege jubel (1970; “The Secret Enthusiasm”), Fløgstad defended literature, art, and the imagination…

John Jones: …his views in two pamphlets: “Seren tan Gwmmwl” (1795; “A Star Under Cloud”) and “Toriad y Dydd” (1797; “The Break of Day”).

Jennifer Lawrence: …again paired with Cooper in Serena (2014), a poorly received drama set in a lumber camp in 1929. In 2015 she portrayed a benighted single mother whose entrepreneurial talents propel her to wealth and success in Russell’s Joy; for her performance, Lawrence received her fourth Oscar nomination. She narrated A…

La Serena, city, northern Chile. It lies on a marine terrace overlooking Bahía (bay) de Coquimbo, just south of the Río Elqui and east of Coquimbo city. Founded around 1543 on the river’s northern bank, it was named after the birthplace of the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia. Razed by Diaguita

Neil Diamond: …albums during the 1970s, including Serenade (1974), Beautiful Noise (1976), Love at the Greek (1977), You Don’t Bring Me Flowers (1978; featuring a duet with Barbra Streisand on the title track), and September Morn (1979).

James M. Cain: Serenade (1937) was daring for its period in its presentation of a bisexual hero. Three of a Kind (1943) contained the short novels Sinful Woman, Double Indemnity, and The Embezzler. His books continued to appear after World War II—among them The Butterfly (1947), The Moth…

serenade, originally, a nocturnal song of courtship, and later, beginning in the late 18th century, a short suite of instrumental pieces, similar to the divertimento, cassation, and notturno. An example of the first type in art music is the serenade “Deh! vieni alla finestra” (“Oh, Come to the

Anthony Mann: The 1950s: westerns of Anthony Mann: Serenade (1956) represented a major departure, but Mann’s adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel was a critical and commercial failure.

Luciano Berio: Serenata I (1957), his last major serial piece, was dedicated to Pierre Boulez. Différences (1958–59, revised 1967) contrasts live and prerecorded instruments. His Sequenza series (1958–2002) includes solo pieces for flute, harp, female voice (Sequenza

Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11, orchestral work by German composer Johannes Brahms, known for its unusually symphonic quality and for the prominence of its horn section. The final version of the work premiered in Hannover, Germany, on March 3, 1860, and was published that same year, making it

Eine kleine Nachtmusik, serenade for two violins, viola, cello, and double bass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, admired for its lively, joyful quality and its memorable melodies. The piece was completed on August 10, 1787, but was published posthumously. In present-day practice, it is typically

Bruno Maderna: His Serenata (1954) is a colourful orchestral work noteworthy for its subtle sonorities and polyrhythms. The Notturno for tape (1956) and Sintaxis for four different, unspecified electronic timbres (tone colours) display his interest in new sonorities. His oboe concerto (1962) reveals a more conventional viewpoint, although…

serenata, form of 18th-century vocal music combining many features of cantata, oratorio, and opera. Use of the term extends back at least to the 16th century. In its most general sense, it referred to music written and performed in someone’s honour; at times the term was used for purely

Serendib, name for the island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The name, Arabic in origin, was recorded in use at least as early as 361 ce and for a time gained considerable currency in the West. It is best known to speakers of English through the word serendipity, invented in the 18th century by the English

Serendib, name for the island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The name, Arabic in origin, was recorded in use at least as early as 361 ce and for a time gained considerable currency in the West. It is best known to speakers of English through the word serendipity, invented in the 18th century by the English

extraterrestrial intelligence: Radio searches: …radio SETI experiments, such as Project SERENDIP V (begun in 2009 by the University of California at Berkeley) and Australia’s Southern SERENDIP (begun in 1998 by the University of Western Sydney at Macarthur), scan large tracts of the sky and make no assumption about the directions from which signals might…

Serengeti National Park, national park and wildlife refuge on the Serengeti Plain in north-central Tanzania. It is partly adjacent to the Kenya border and is northwest of the adjoining Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It is best known for its huge herds of plains animals (especially gnu [wildebeests],

Tanzania: Plant and animal life: For example, the famous Serengeti Plain owes its grasslands to a calcrete, or calcium-rich hardpan, deposited close to the surface by evaporated rainwater. Swamps are found in areas of perennial flooding. Desert and semidesert conditions range from an alpine type at high elevations to saline deserts in poorly drained…

Vittorio Sereni was an Italian poet, author, editor, and translator who was known for his lyric verse and for his translations into Italian of works by Pierre Corneille, Guillaume Apollinaire, Paul Valéry, René Char, Albert Camus, Ezra Pound, and William Carlos Williams. A graduate of the

Taurus-Littrow Valley: …enormous impact that created the Serenitatis Basin. Some rocks from the Taurus-Littrow site, which is crossed by one of the rays of material ejected from the impact that formed the comparatively young crater Tycho, suggested an age for the crater of about 100 million years. The complex geologic history of…

Anne Hathaway: The Dark Knight Rises, Les Misérables, and Interstellar: Her credits from 2019 included Serenity, a thriller in which her character solicits her ex-husband (Matthew McConaughey) to commit murder; the comedy The Hustle, about two rival con artists; Modern Love, an Amazon anthology series in which Hathaway appeared in an episode as a woman struggling with mental illness; and…

Paul Sereno is an American paleontologist who discovered several notable dinosaur species while on field expeditions in Africa, Asia, and South America. Sereno was raised in Naperville, Illinois. As an undergraduate at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Sereno majored in both art and biology,

Paul Sereno is an American paleontologist who discovered several notable dinosaur species while on field expeditions in Africa, Asia, and South America. Sereno was raised in Naperville, Illinois. As an undergraduate at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Sereno majored in both art and biology,

palm: Evolution: genera, including Phoenix, Sabal, Serenoa, Livistona, Trachycarpus, and Oncosperma, existed in the United States, Canada, India, Europe, and China, many in places where palms do not occur today. These genera include members of groups considered primitive and specialized within the family and appear to represent an early burst of…

palm: Ecology: disperses Sabal, Rhapidophyllum hystrix, and Serenoa repens in Florida, U.S. Fruits of Euterpe in northern South America are sought by fish and by the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus). Wild dogs (family Canidae) and palm civets (Paradoxurus) devour fruits of Arenga and Caryota in Asia. Studies of fruit dispersal are in…

Serer, group of more than one million people of western Senegal and The Gambia who speak a language also called Serer, an Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Serer are a settled, agricultural people who grow millet, rice, and a wide variety of other crops, including tree crops.

Serer: …speak a language also called Serer, an Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.

Clackmannanshire: …end of the 7th century St. Serf, who had come to the Fife peninsula to convert the Picts, visited Tullibody, Tullicoultry, and Alva; a well at Alva and a bridge over the Devon commemorate his name. The victory of Kenneth MacAlpin, king of the Scots, over the Picts in 844…

serfdom, condition in medieval Europe in which a tenant farmer was bound to a hereditary plot of land and to the will of his landlord. The vast majority of serfs in medieval Europe obtained their subsistence by cultivating a plot of land that was owned by a lord. This was the essential feature

serge, (from Latin serica, “silk”), fabric much-used for military uniforms, made in an even-sided twill weave and usually clear-finished—that is, the fibre ends on the surface of the cloth are sheared or singed so that the twill weave is prominent. The resulting flat diagonal rib pattern goes from

legal profession: England after the Conquest: More particularly, they could become serjeants—the most dignified of the advocates, from whom alone after about 1300 the royal judges were appointed. Various agents for litigation resembling procurators also became known. The “attorneys,” authorized by legislation, at first shared the life of the Inns with the “apprentices” in advocacy, who…

military unit: …and is led by a sergeant. (A slightly larger unit is a section, which consists of 10 to 40 soldiers but is usually used only within headquarters or support organizations.) Three or four squads make up a platoon, which has 20 to 50 soldiers and is commanded by a lieutenant.…

sergeant at arms, an officer of a legislative body, court of law, or other organization who preserves order and executes commands. In feudal England a sergeant at arms was an armed officer of a lord and was often one of a special body required to be in immediate attendance on the king’s person, to

Norman Taurog: Elvis movies: received Frankie Avalon comedies: Sergeant Deadhead (1965), a comedy about a U.S. soldier who is accidentally sent into space with a chimp and undergoes a personality change that threatens his upcoming wedding, and Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1966), a spy spoof about a secret agent’s attempts to…

cobia, (species Rachycentron canadum), swift-moving, slim marine game fish, the only member of the family Rachycentridae (order Perciformes). The cobia is found in most warm oceans. A voracious, predatory fish, it may be 1.8 m (6 feet) long and weigh 70 kg (150 pounds) or more. It has a jutting

major: …used adjectivally in the title sergeant major, the third principal officer in a regiment. In the 16th and 17th centuries there was a similarity between the duties of the sergeant, sergeant major, and sergeant major general in that they attended to the drill and administration of a company, a regiment,…

military unit: …and is commanded by a major general. A division contains all the arms and services needed for the independent conduct of military operations. Two to seven divisions and various support units make up an army corps, or a corps, which has 50,000 to 300,000 troops and is commanded by a…

John Ford: Postwar career: …the hands of white men, Sergeant Rutledge (1960) involves buffalo soldiers, the African American troops who fought in the West, and Ford overtly challenged his own legacy in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Without a lavish budget and shot in black and white, this film is somewhat visually…

Sergeant Stubby was a stray dog whose heroic service during World War I (1914–18) saved lives and even led to the capture of a German spy. He was the unofficial mascot for the 102nd Infantry, 26th “Yankee” Division, and is the first dog to be promoted to the rank of sergeant in the U.S. Army. When

Sergeant York, American war film, released in 1941, that was noted for Gary Cooper’s Academy Award-winning portrayal of Alvin York, one of the most decorated and celebrated American heroes of World War I. The inspirational film, directed by Howard Hawks and cowritten by John Huston, was nominated

United States presidential election of 1832: Banking battle: …nominated Clay for president and John Sergeant for vice president, while the Democrats chose former secretary of state Martin Van Buren to replace Calhoun as Jackson’s vice president. Though the National Republicans attempted to paint Jackson’s positions as unconstitutional, his reform agenda remained popular, and he won a second term…

John Sergeant was an English Roman Catholic priest, notable for his criticisms of several of the leading thinkers of his time, including John Locke. After serving as secretary to Thomas Morton, Anglican bishop of Durham, Sergeant was converted to Roman Catholicism. He then took theological studies

damselfish: …and the sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis), a black-banded, bluish and yellow fish of the tropical Atlantic.

sergeanty, in European feudal society, a form of land tenure granted in return for the performance of a specific service to the lord, whether the king or another. Sergeants included artisans, bailiffs within the lord’s realm, domestic servants, and sometimes those who provided the lord with some

John Sturges: Bad, Magnificent, and Great: …then reunited with Sinatra on Sergeants 3 (1962), a comedic western that included other members of the “Rat Pack”: Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop.

sergeanty, in European feudal society, a form of land tenure granted in return for the performance of a specific service to the lord, whether the king or another. Sergeants included artisans, bailiffs within the lord’s realm, domestic servants, and sometimes those who provided the lord with some

Nicholas Sergeyev was a Russian dancer and company manager of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, who re-created for several western European companies the many classical ballets that had been preserved in the Russian repertoire. Trained at the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet School, Sergeyev

Neoclassical art: Denmark and Sweden: The Swede Johan Tobias Sergel, court sculptor to the Swedish king Gustav III, and the Dane Bertel Thorvaldsen, who lived most of his life in Rome, were among the best-known Neoclassical sculptors in Europe. Thorvaldsen was the chief rival to Canova and eventually replaced him in critical…

Italian literature: Social commitment and the new realism: …by Mario Rigoni Stern (Il sergente nella neve [1952; The Sergeant in the Snow]). By contrast, there were humorous recollections of provincial life under fascism—for example, Mario Tobino’s Bandiera nera (1950; “Black Flag”) and Goffredo Parise’s Prete bello (1954; “The Handsome Priest”; Eng. trans. The Priest Among the Pigeons).…

John Of Kronshtadt was a Russian Orthodox priest-ascetic whose pastoral and educational activities, particularly among the unskilled poor, contributed notably to Russia’s social and spiritual reform. After graduating from the theological academy in St. Petersburg, John entered the married

Konstantin Mikhailovich Sergeyev was a Russian ballet dancer and director long associated with the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Ballet as a premier dancer (1930–61) and as artistic director and chief choreographer (1951–55; 1960–70). In 1930 Sergeyev completed his studies with the State Academic Theatre

Nicholas Sergeyev was a Russian dancer and company manager of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, who re-created for several western European companies the many classical ballets that had been preserved in the Russian repertoire. Trained at the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet School, Sergeyev

Nicholas Sergeyev was a Russian dancer and company manager of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, who re-created for several western European companies the many classical ballets that had been preserved in the Russian repertoire. Trained at the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet School, Sergeyev

Sergipe, smallest estado (state) of Brazil, located on the southern coast of that country’s northeastern bulge into the Atlantic Ocean. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic, on the south and west by the state of Bahia, and on the north by the state of Alagoas, from which it is separated by the

Sergius was a theologian and patriarch of Moscow and the Russian Orthodox church who, by his leadership in rallying the church membership in a united effort with the Soviet government to repel the German invasion of 1941, obtained substantial advantages for the church in the postwar period. The son

Saints Sergius and Bacchus ; feast day October 7) were among the earliest authenticated and most celebrated Christian martyrs, commemorated in the Eastern and Western churches. Early martyrologies record that Sergius and Bacchus were officers in the Roman army on the Syrian frontier. They were

Sergius I was a Greek Orthodox theologian and patriarch of Constantinople (610–638), one of the most forceful and independent churchmen to hold that office. He not only supported the emperor Heraclius (610–641) in the victorious defense of the Eastern Roman Empire against Persian and Avar invaders

Saint Sergius I ; feast day September 8) was the pope from 687 to 701, and he was one of the most important 7th-century pontiffs. Sergius was of Syrian parentage, and he served under popes St. Leo II and Conon, whom he succeeded after a fierce struggle between two other candidates, the archdeacon

Sergius II was the pope from 844 to 847. Of noble birth, Sergius was made cardinal by Pope St. Paschal I and became an archpriest under Pope Gregory IV, whom he was elected to succeed by the Roman nobility against the wishes of the populace, which enthroned the deacon John as antipope. Although

Sergius II was the patriarch of Constantinople (1001–19) who claimed the title of “ecumenical patriarch” against the objections of the papacy. He also supported for a time the continuing schismatical movement begun in 867 in the Byzantine church by the patriarch Photius (c. 820–895), occasioned by

Sergius III was the pope from 904 to 911, during a scandalous period of pontifical history. Of noble birth, Sergius was a deacon when made bishop of Caere by Pope Formosus, during whose pontificate powerful Roman factions developed that involved the influential Tusculani count Theophylactus. Later,

Sergius IV was the pope from 1009 to 1012. He became bishop of Albano, Papal States, about 1004. Elected to succeed Pope John XVIII, he was consecrated on July 31, 1009; he changed his name from Peter to Sergius out of deference to the first pope. He was powerless in the hands of the Roman nobles

Italy: The papacy and the Normans: In 1030 Sergius, duke of Naples, granted the county of Aversa to the Norman Rainulf in return for his support against Pandulf of Capua. Rainulf was able to add Gaeta to his holdings, and his nephew, Count Richard, who had succeeded to Aversa in 1047, added the…

Saint Sergius of Radonezh was a Russian Orthodox monk whose spiritual doctrine and social programs made him one of Russia’s most respected spiritual leaders. His monastery of the Trinity became the Russian centre and symbol of religious renewal and national identity. He was tonsured a monk in 1337

Aristotelianism: The Syriac, Arabic, and Jewish traditions: Proba and Sergius of Resaina were among those who contributed, through translations of the basic logical texts and commentaries on them, to the establishment of Aristotelian studies in these centres. At the time of the Arabic invasion of the Byzantine and Sāsānian empires about 640, and for…