Sindhu, in Hindu mythology, one of the compan- ions of Ganga, and, like the latter, a river.
Sindon (literally a coUon cloth), a word having sev- eral ecclesiastical meanings: 1. A napkin; 2. A cloth for holding and enclosing the bread offered for the holy eucharist in the Eastern churcli ; 3. A term sometimes applied to the communion-cloth which the faithful, in certain parts of the Church, hold before them when partaking of the sacrament; 4. In the Liturgy of the Church of Milan this term is applied to the linen cloth which covers the altar-slab. — Lee, Gloss, of Liturgical Terms, s. v.
Sindonary. See Sindon.
Sindri, an abode in Gimle — the Scandinavian heav- en— which is constructed entirely of gold.
Sindur, in Norse mythology, was one of the nine giant- virgins who together became the mothers of Heimdal by Odin.
Sinecure {sine cura, " without care," i. e. of souls), in ecclesiastical usage, may be either — 1. A benefice of pecuniary value, a rectory, or vicarage, in which there is neither church nor population ; 2. A benefice in which the rector receives the tithes, though the cure of souls, legally and ecclesiastically, belongs to some clerk ; or 3. A benefice in which there are both rector and vicar, in which case the duty commonly rests with the vicar, and the rectory is called a sinecure ; but no church in which there is but one incumbent is properly a sinecure. A church may be down, or the parisii become destitute of parishioners; but still there is not a sinecure, for the in- cumbent is under an obligation of performing divine service if the church shoidd be rebuilt or the parish be- come inhabited.— Lee, Gloss, of Liturtjical Terms, s. v.
Sinecurist, one who holds a sinecure or is an ad- vocate for sinecures (q. v.).
Siner, in Norse mythology, was one of the twelve famous asa- horses employetl by the gods when they rode to tlie place of judgment by the fountain of Urdar.
Sine'W (once for p'^S', a f/nawer, i. e. pain [Job XXX, 17] ; elsewhere T'S; gid) occurs especialh* in the phrase ndsri T^;, gid han-nasheh, "the sinew that shrank" (Gen. xxxii,33), i.e. the nervus ischiadicus, or thigh-cord (Gesenius, Thesuur. p. 921). Josephus ren- ders it the broad nerve (vtvpov TrXarv, A nt. i, 10, 2), be- ing that which is on the thigh (Tp^r) C|3 b"), extend- ing from the knee upwards, and in fact but a continua- tion of that along the shin (Rosenmiiller, //o«t/. rf. ^na- tomie, 6th ed. p. 519). Many understand by it the ham- string, or tendo A chillis ; but this is no proper nerve nor muscle. Modern Jews, in general, regard this part, even of clean animals, to be inedible, although the Mo- saic law contains no prohibition on the subject. For the Talmudic prescription see the Mishna {Cholin, vii). The rabbins mostly imderstand the sinews of the hips to be intended (see Philippson, ad loc). — Winer, ii, 484.
SinfioetH, in Norse mythology, was a son of Sig- mund by his sister Signy ( q. v.). The latter had, with- out being recognised, submitted herself to the embraces of her brother in order that she might obtain a son in whose veins should How the unmixed blood of Wolsung's race. That son was intended to become the avenger of her father's murder, and he justified his mother's expec- tations by the utmost boldness and fearlessness. — Voll- mer, Worteib. d. Mythol. s. v.
Singer (properly ^O, shdr, or some other form of T'UJ, to sing ; occasionally of "'•^f, to plag an accompa- niment; but the "chief singer" is styled Tl1l^'0,nienats- tseach, the pnecentor of the Levitical orchestra). Sing- ing was always natural to the Hebrews, and formed part of the Levitical worship ( see Schmid, De Cantoribus Eccl. V. et N. T. [Helmst. 1708]). See Hymn ; Music.
SINGERS, IN Christian Worship, one of the subor- dinate orders of the clergy in the^arlv Church, which seems to have taken its rise about the beginning of the 4th century. Mention is made of them by the Council of Laodicea; and the reason assigned for instituting them seems to have been to regulate and encourage the ancient psalmody of the Church. They were afterwards called canonical or registered singers. They were also called vTrojSoXf^Q, monitors, or suggesters, from their office, which was to act as precentors of the people. Their ordination required no imposition of hands, nor solemn consecration, and might be conferred by a pres- byter using this form of words: " See that thou believe in thy heart what thou singest with thy mouth, and ap- prove in thy works what thou believest in th}-^ heart." Their station in the church was in the ambo,or reading- desk. See Bingham, Christ. Ant iq. iii, 7; viii, 5. See Singing.
Singhalese Religion. See Buddhism.
Singhalese Version. This version— intended for the inhabitants of the southern part of Ceylon, from Batticaloa on the east to the river Chilaw on the west, and for those of the interior — was first made when Cey- lon was in the possession of the Dutch. In 1737 the Dutch governor, Van Imhoff, established a printing- press at Colombo, with the view of disseminating Christian knowledge among the natives. In 1739 an edition of the four gospels in Singhalese was completed at this press, under the care of the Kev. J. P. Wetzel, a minister at Colombo. The translation was prepared from the original (ireek by the Kev. W. Konym, and was puljlished imder the title Het Heylige Evangelium onses lleeren en Zuligmakers Jesii Christi na de Beschry- vinge van de Marnien Gods en H. Evangelisten Mattheus, Marcus, Lucas, en Johannes, uyt het Oorspronkelylce Grieks