What is "holy of holies"

Holy \Ho"ly\, a. [Compar. Holier; superl. Holiest.] [OE. holi, hali, AS. h[=a]lig, fr. h[ae]l health, salvation, happiness, fr. h[=a]l whole, well; akin to OS. h?lag, D. & G. heilig, OHG. heilac, Dan. hellig, Sw. helig, Icel. heilagr. See Whole, and cf. Halibut, Halidom, Hallow, Hollyhock.]

1. Set apart to the service or worship of God; hallowed; sacred; reserved from profane or common use; holy vessels; a holy priesthood. ``Holy rites and solemn feasts.''
   --Milton.

2. Spiritually whole or sound; of unimpaired innocence and virtue; free from sinful affections; pure in heart; godly; pious; irreproachable; guiltless; acceptable to God. Now through her round of holy thought The Church our annual steps has brought. --Keble. Holy Alliance (Hist.), a league ostensibly for conserving religion, justice, and peace in Europe, but really for repressing popular tendencies toward constitutional government, entered into by Alexander I. of Russia, Francis I. of Austria, and Frederic William III. of Prussia, at Paris, on the 26th of September, 1815, and subsequently joined by all the sovereigns of Europe, except the pope and the king of England. Holy bark. See Cascara sagrada. Holy Communion. See Eucharist. Holy family (Art), a picture in which the infant Christ, his parents, and others of his family are represented. Holy Father, a title of the pope. Holy Ghost (Theol.), the third person of the Trinity; the Comforter; the Paraclete. Holy Grail. See Grail. Holy grass (Bot.), a sweet-scented grass ( Hierochloa borealis and Hierochloa alpina). In the north of Europe it was formerly strewed before church doors on saints' days; whence the name. It is common in the northern and western parts of the United States. Called also vanilla grass or Seneca grass. Holy Innocents' day, Childermas day. Holy Land, Palestine, the birthplace of Christianity. Holy office, the Inquisition. Holy of holies (Script.), the innermost apartment of the Jewish tabernacle or temple, where the ark was kept, and where no person entered, except the high priest once a year. Holy One.

   1. The Supreme Being; -- so called by way of emphasis. `` The Holy One of Israel.''
      --Is. xliii. 14.

   2. One separated to the service of God. Holy orders. See Order. Holy rood, the cross or crucifix, particularly one placed, in churches. over the entrance to the chancel. Holy rope, a plant, the hemp agrimony. Holy Saturday (Eccl.), the Saturday immediately preceding the festival of Easter; the vigil of Easter. Holy Spirit, same as Holy Ghost (above). Holy Spirit plant. See Dove plant. Holy thistle (Bot.), the blessed thistle. See under Thistle. Holy Thursday. (Eccl.)

      1. (Episcopal Ch.) Ascension day.

      2. (R. C. Ch.) The Thursday in Holy Week; Maundy Thursday.

         Holy war, a crusade; an expedition carried on by Christians against the Saracens in the Holy Land, in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, for the possession of the holy places.

         Holy water (Gr. & R. C. Churches), water which has been blessed by the priest for sacred purposes.

         Holy-water stoup, the stone stoup or font placed near the entrance of a church, as a receptacle for holy water.

         Holy Week (Eccl.), the week before Easter, in which the passion of our Savior is commemorated.

         Holy writ, the sacred Scriptures. `` Word of holy writ.''
         --Wordsworth.

n. (alternative spelling of Holy of Holies English)

1. n. (figurative) something regarded as sacred or inviolable; "every politician fears to touch that holy of holies, the Social Security System"

2. (Judaism) sanctuary comprised of the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle in the temple of Solomon where the Ark of the Covenant was kept [syn: sanctum sanctorum]

Holy of Holies may refer to:

• Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle
• Well of Souls, also called the Holy of Holies by medieval Christians, who believed the site marked the annunciation of John the Baptist

The Holy of Holies ( Tiberian Hebrew: Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm) is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle where God dwelt. This area is defined by the four pillars which held up the veil of the covering and under which the Ark of the Covenant was held off the floor by its two staves and 300 years later the Temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the First Temple, which could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur after sanctifying himself. The Ark is said to have contained the Ten Commandments, which were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. It is currently thought to be located under the Dome of the Rock.

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the Holy of Holies is a room in the Salt Lake Temple wherein the church's president—acting as the Presiding High Priest of the church—enters to act as High Priest of Israel in direct relationship with God, in accordance with the LDS interpretation of the Book of Exodus. Hence, this Holy of Holies in the temple is considered by adherents to be a modern cognate to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem.