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t. [Pref. mis-, and English sheathe (q. v.).] To sheathe ami or in a wrong place. *mis-sif-1-cate, v. i . [Low Lat. mi a -ma , and Lat. facio =to do.] To celebrate ma . mis-sile, a . & s. [Lat. mi ilis=that can be thrown; neut. mi ile ( telum )=(a weapon) that can be thrown, from mi us , pa. par. of mit to =to send.] IMG:content-1274.png:[blocks in formation] "If by any means he be mi ing, then shall thy life be for his life." -1 Kings xx. 39. *mi -ing-ly, adv . [Eng. mi ing; -ly.] With regret; with a feeling of regret. "I have, mi ingly, noted, he is of late much retired from court."-Shakesp.: Winter's Tale, iv. 1. mi ion, s. & a. [Lat. mi io =a sending, from mi us, pa. par. of mit to =to send.] IMG:content-1275.png:[blocks in formation] 4. Persons sent or delegated by authority to per form any service or commi ion; spec., persons sent on political busine , or to propagate religion. "There should be a mi ion of three of the fellows, or brethren of Salomon's House." - Bacon : New At lant is. 5. The busine on which a person or agent is sent; that duty with which the persons sent are charged; a commi ion; a charge or duty intrusted. "Pronounce-what is thy mi ion?" Byron: Manfred, iii. 4. IMG:content-1276.png:[blocks in formation] 7. A station or residence of mi ionaries; the mi ionaries connected with such station. II. Ecclesiastical and Church History : IMG:content-1277.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-1278.png:[blocks in formation] words in which an Anglican bishop does homage to denominations, mi ion is generally act a governing body. (2) A quasi-parish. In countries not in communion with the Roman Church, priests are appointed to mi ions, and are removable at the will of the bishop. (3) The holding of special services in any particular district with the view of stirring up the inhab itants to a more active spiritual life. 2. Plural : (1) Foreign Mi ions : The injunction of Jesus which renders the duty of instituting mi ions imperative on the Christian Church is found in Matt. xxviii. 18-20 and Mark xvi. 15-18. The latter version of the command belongs to that portion of the last chapter of Mark which is of doubtful authenticity [MARK]. The Acts of the Apostles narrate the Pentecostal descent of the Holy Spirit accompanied by the gift of tongues, this miraculous endowment being evidently designed for mi ionary purposes (Acts ii.). They tell also how Peter and John (ii. 14, v. .), and subsequently Saul, or Paul, fulfilled the final command of Jesus (xiii.-xxviii). The revelation made to Peter that no man, Gentile chin, bench; go, gem; thin, this; mi ish or Jew, was common or unclean, having removed the prejudice against the propagation of the gospel cial apostle, while St. Peter had for his chief charge among the Gentiles (x), St. Paul became their spe the Jews. Tradition is probably correct in making every apostle a mi ionary, though details as to their several spheres are not trustworthy. In anteNicene times a series of zealous mi ionaries labored to spread the gospel. A certain tacit compromise with the prior faiths took place in various respects. The pagan festivals in particular showed intense tenacity of life, and as a rule it was found needful them a Christian varnish, and adopt them into the new religion. On the establishment of Christianity under Const an tine in the fourth century, the civil power concerned itself about the spread of Christianity, and early in the ninth Charlemagne effected the conversion of the Saxons by a series of bloody wars. But genuine mi ionaries appeared. Thus, St. Patrick, who labored in the fifth century, is called the "Apostle of Ireland;" Winifred, or Boniface, in the eighth century, the "Apostle of Germany." Christianity had reached Britain in Roman times, but the early British churches having been trampled out by the pagan Anglo-Saxons, Augustine and forty monks were sent to Canterbury. He became the "Apostle of England," and the first English primate. In the East, the Nestor i ans, from the eighth to the fourteenth centuries, prosecuted mi ions in Tartary and other parts of Asia, their zeal and devotion eliciting the admiration of Gibbon. The first Spaniards in this country and the Portuguese in India made it a prominent object to spread Christianity, using, however, force for the purpose. In the sixteenth century, the order of Jesuits was established, to spread the Roman Catholic faith abroad as well as defend it at home. This order established mi ions in India, China, Japan, and South America. The greatest name was Francis Xavier (1506-1522), the "Apostle of the Indies." The zeal of the Jesuits stirred up the Do mini cans, the Francis cans, and other orders. The Society de Propaganda Fide was instituted in 1622. The Protestant churches, while in conflict with Rome during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, had little energy to spare for mi ions. In 1701 there arose in England the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and immediately thereafter the denominations began each to follow this example. During the present century all Christian churches have engaged in foreign mi ion work. The mi ionaries have extended their operations over the whole habitable globe, and have expended enormous sums of money in their ardent desire to evangelize heathen nations. (2) Home Mi ions : The taunt, "Why send so much money abroad when there are practically so many heathen at home?" helped to create home mi ions, which are now prosecuted with ardor in nearly every city and town in this country and in all Christian nations. B. As adj .: Of or pertaining to mi ions or mi ionaries. mis-sión (sion as shun), v. t. [MISSION, 8.] Το send on a mi ion; to commi ion, to delegate. *mis-sion-ar-I-ne (sion as shun), s. [Eng. mi ionary; -ne .] The quality or state of a mi ionary; fitne or aptitude for the position or office of a mi ionary. "Their rapid insight and fine aptitude, Particular worth and general mi ion a rin e As long as they keep quiet by the fire." E. B. Browning: Aurora Leigh , i. mis-sión-a-ry (sion as shun), s. & a . [English mi ion ; -ary; Fr. mi ion a ire .] A. As subst.: One who is sent upon a religious mi ion; one who is sent to propagate religion. "His friends said that he had been a mi ionary : his enemies that he had been a buccaneer."- Macaulay: Hist. Eng., xx. B. As adj .: Of or pertaining to religious mi ions or mi ionaries.