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A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act. Rites fall into three major categories: Within Christianity it can have a much more specific meaning -- in this sense a rite is a particular liturgy. For example, in the Roman Catholic faith, the sacrament now called the Anointing of the Sick has traditionally been known as the last rites, being often performed on someone who is dying. In Christian usage, the term also refers to a body of liturgical tradition usually emanating from a specific center. Examples include the Roman or Latin Rite, the Byzantine Rite, and the Syriac Rite. Such rites may include various sub-rites. For example, the Byzantine Rite has Greek, Russian, and other ethnically-based variants. (See Christian liturgy.) In North America, Freemasons have the option of joining the Scottish Rite and/or the York Rite, two appendant bodies that offer additional degrees to those who have taken the basic three.
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