SANCTUARY. As etymology suggests, a sanctuary is a sacred place, a place set apart from the space of ordinary existence (LL, sanctuarium, from sanctus, "sacred, holy," by analogy with sacrarium, "shrine," from sacer). Thus,...

The central place of Jewish worship. The shrines at *Shiloh and Bethel were described as sanctuaries when they contained the *Ark of the Covenant. The *Holy of Holies in the *Temple in *Jerusalem was also seen as a sanctuary. Today the term is used to...

A place of refuge (See also *CITIES OF...

Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar. An animal sanctuary is a place where animals live and are protected. In modern parlance the term is used to mean a place of...

Illegal Immigration: As Elvira Arellano goes to Washington to plead her case for sanctuary, another illegal alien who benefited from it stands accused of a heinous crime. Whom should our laws protect?For the past year, Arellano has been holed up in Chicago's Aldaberto United Methodist...

For the first time in a year, an illegal immigrant who took refuge in a church to avoid deportation has left the sanctuary to attend an immigration rights rally in Los Angeles.Elvira Arellano left the church for the first time since seeking sanctuary there Aug....

An effort being billed as a new sanctuary movement for immigrants is loosely based on a 1980s movement in which churches harbored Central American refugees fleeing wars in their home countries.As religious leaders from different faiths across the nation announced the initiative Wednesday, the Rev....

Churches in a handful of U.S. cities are preparing to launch a "sanctuary" movement to help illegal immigrants avoid deportation and unite faith-based groups in a push for immigration reform.The "New Sanctuary Movement" is based on the sanctuary movement of the 1980s, when churches harbored...