The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Church Handy Dictionary, by Anonymous

ALTAR CLOTH, p. 3 add—
This is the modern Roman sequence of colours, but there is another
more truly belonging to the English Church, viz., the Sarum, in
which only Red and White are used.

MIRACLES, p. 69, at the end, dele. and add— , which latter deals with certain specious arguments adduced by these writers against the a priori possibility of a miracle taking place.

PRESENCE, REAL, p. 81, add,—
Bishop Harold Brown says, in his history of Art. 28, "The
doctrine of a real, spiritual presence is the doctrine of the
English Church," and quotes the following passage from Jer.
Taylor: "The result of which doctrine is this: it is bread,
and it is Christ's Body. It is bread in substance, Christ in
the Sacrament; and Christ is as really given to all that are
truly disposed, as the symbols are: each as they can; Christ
as Christ can be given; the bread and the wine as they can; and
to the same real purpose to which they were designed."

The Article referred to above states, "The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith."

From the nature of the case a little work such as this cannot lay claim to much originality, but must be, in the main, a compilation from various sources. Thus the articles on controverted subjects set forth the views of the best authorities to which the compiler has had access, but not necessarily his own, though his stand-point all along is, he trusts, distinctly that of the Church of England.

The idea of this book was suggested by Dean Hook's invaluable Church Dictionary, but, as will be seen on comparison, it is by no means a mere abridgement of that work, many other authors having been laid under contribution, and fresh articles having been added. Dean Hook's Dictionary is admirable for its comprehensiveness and general accuracy, but unfortunately the price puts it out of the reach of most of those for whose use the present "Handy Dictionary" is intended.

The compiler wishes to furnish not only the younger clergy, but also the laity of the Church of England, with a cheap and handy book of reference on all Church matters. He believes that Sunday School Teachers and Church Workers, Teachers in National Schools, the upper scholars in Church Schools of higher grade, both public and private; and, indeed, all engaged in the elementary study of the Prayer Book, or of Church History, will find this short "Handy Dictionary" full of useful information.

The compiler desires in this place to acknowledge gratefully his obligations to all the authors and books consulted, especially to those contained in the following list:—

ABLUTIONS. Small quantities of wine and water poured into the chalice, after a celebration, and consumed by the Priest. Some take two ablutions, the first of wine, the second of wine and water mixed. The object of this is to insure the entire consumption of the consecrated element.

ABSOLUTION. In the Anglican Church the authoritative declaration, by a Bishop or Priest, of God's pardon to the truly penitent. "All the office and power of man in it is only to minister the external form, but the internal power and grace of remission of sins is properly God's." ( Bingham .)

There are three forms of absolution in our Prayer Book, viz., in the Order for Morning and Evening Prayer; in the Communion Service, and in the Office for the Visitation of the Sick. It is to be noticed in each case that Confession precedes Absolution. The Scriptural authority for Absolution is found in Matt. xvi.19; xviii.18; John xx.23; 1 Cor. v.3-5; 2 Cor. ii.10.

St. Jerome compares the office of the Christian Priest in Absolution, with that of the Jewish Priest in cases of cleansing from leprosy.

ACOLYTE. One of the minor Orders of the Church of Rome. An Acolyte's duties are to wait upon the Priests and Deacons, carrying the bread and wine, &c. In some of our churches a layman, called a "Server," performs these duties.

ADVENT. Latin , Coming. Four Advent Sundays immediately precede Christmas. They are so called because they are designed to prepare us to commemorate the advent , or coming , of Christ in the flesh at Christmas, and also to prepare for His second coming to judge the world. The Ecclesiastical, or Church Year, begins with Advent Sunday. The season of Advent is spoken of in a homily written as far back as the year A.D. 450.

ADVOWSON. The right in perpetuity of patronage to a church, or any ecclesiastical benefice.

AGAPAE. Love feasts. After a celebration of Holy Communion the early Christians frequently partook of a social and friendly repast known by this name. This custom was discontinued in the Vth. century on account of abuses. It has been partially revived by some dissenting sects of our own day, who partake of a frugal meal and narrate their spiritual "experiences."

AGNUS DEI. Two Latin words, meaning "Lamb of God." It is an anthem sung in some places by the choir during the Communion of the Priest. The choir sing thrice, "O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world," adding twice, "Have mercy upon us," and the third time, "Grant us Thy peace." The anthem is found in Edward VI.'s First Prayer Book.

AGNOSTICISM. A school of thought which denies that we can know anything of God, or of a future state. It does not say that there is no God, but simply that it is impossible for us to know anything of God. It would do away with all revelation and theology, and make us think of God as the great Unknown and Unknowable.

AISLE. From a Latin word, meaning a wing . The lateral division of the choir, nave, or transept of a church.

ALL SAINTS' DAY. Nov. 1st. On this day the Church commemorates all the known and unknown departed Christian worthies, and the communion of the Church triumphant with the Church as yet militant on earth. It is called also All Hallows Day.

ALMONER. One who has the distribution of alms to the needy. In monasteries it was the officer who had charge of the Almonry, or room where alms were distributed. The Lord High Almoner is a Prelate who has the disposing of the alms of the sovereign.

ALMS. Relief given out of pity to the poor. In ecclesiastical language, the money collected during the Offertory. Alms should be collected every Sunday, whether there is a communion or not, as the rubric directs. The disposal of the alms rests with the clergyman and churchwardens, when there is an offertory, i.e. , when the offertory sentences are read (see Rubric). Collections made at other times seem to be at the Clergyman's sole disposal.

ALTAR; LORD'S TABLE; HOLY TABLE; COMMUNION TABLE. Disputes have frequently arisen as to whether the Holy Table was to be called the Communion Table or the Altar . Bingham writes—"The ancient writers used both names indifferently; some calling it Altar, others the Lord's Table, the Holy Table, the Mystical Table, the Tremendous Table, &c., and sometimes both Table and Altar in the same sentence. Ignatius, Irenaeus, Origan, and Tertullian all call it Altar. It is certain that they did not mean by Altar what the Jews and heathen meant: either an altar dressed up with images, or an altar for bloody sacrifices. In the first sense they rejected altars, both name and thing. But for their own mystical, unbloody sacrifice, as they called the Eucharist, they always owned they had an altar."

In our Prayer Book it is styled the Table , the Holy Table , and the Lord's Table . The phrase Communion Table occurs in the Canons only. The word Altar is used in the Coronation Service.

Bishop Sparrow, one of the reviewers of the Prayer Book in 1662, writes thus:—"That no man take offence at the word Altar , let him know, that anciently both these names, Altar , or Holy Table were used for the same thing; though most frequently the Fathers and Councils use the name Altar . And both are fit names for that holy thing. Por the Holy Eucharist being considered as a sacrifice, in the representation of the breaking of the bread, and the pouring forth of the cup, doing that to the holy symbols which was done to Christ's body and blood, and so showing forth and commemorating the Lord's death, and offering upon it the same sacrifice that was offered upon the cross, or rather the commemoration of that sacrifice, it may fitly be called an Altar ; which again is as fitly called an Holy Table , the Eucharist being considered as a Sacrament, which is nothing else but a distribution and application of the sacrifice to the several receivers."

ALTAR CLOTH. The 82nd Canon provides that the Altar be covered with a carpet of silk, or some other decent stuff; also with a fair linen cloth at the time of the ministration. It is usual in many churches to vest the Altar in different colours to mark the various seasons of the Church. Thus at Christmas, Easter, and festivals, other than the feasts of Martyrs, White is used. For Whit Sunday and feasts of Martyrs, Red is used. For Trinity Sunday White is used, but for the Sundays after Trinity, Green . Violet is the colour for Advent, Lent, Rogation Days, and Vigils.

ALTAR LIGHTS, CANDLES. On this subject, Proctor in his book on the Prayer Book says, "No direction was given upon the subject of the Ornaments of the Church in Edward VI.'s First Prayer Book, or in the Act of Uniformity which sanctioned it: but the publication of the Book was immediately followed by Injunctions (1549), condemning sundry popish ceremonies, and among them forbidding to set 'any lights upon the Lord's board at any time.'" This was especially mentioned because the Injunctions of 1547 had forbidden candles before pictures or images, but allowed "only two lights upon the high altar, before the Sacrament, for the signification that Christ is the very true light of the world." Although these Injunctions (1549) have not the authority of Parliament, yet they were undoubtedly issued with the intention of promoting that uniformity in all parts of Public Worship which had been enjoined by statute, and under the large notions of the royal supremacy which then prevailed. They may fairly be considered as affording evidence of the contemporary practice, and of the intention of the authors of the Prayer Book in matters of rites and ceremonies. Persons who yield the amount of authority to these Injunctions (which never became law) which is readily given to others (which were law), consider that candles upon the Communion Table are ornaments which were forbidden in the second year of Edward VI., and therefore are not authorized by our present Rubric. On the other hand, we may conclude from the terms of Elizabeth's Act of Uniformity, and from the Rubric of her Prayer Book, that it was her intention to distinguish between the customs of 1549, represented by Edward's Injunctions of that year, and those which, not being mentioned and forbidden in the statute, might be considered as authorized by the Parliament of 1549. And she certainly gave this practical interpretation to her own law, since in the royal chapel "the cross stood on the altar, and two candlesticks, and two tapers burning." Hook, in his Church Dictionary, says,—"From the time of Edward there never seems to have been a time when the lights were not retained in Cathedral churches, and wherever we might look for an authoritative interpretation of the Law. And to the present day the candles are to be seen on the Altars of almost all Cathedrals. In Collegiate churches, also, they are usually found; and so also in the Chapels Royal, and in the Chapels of several Colleges in Oxford and Cambridge."

ALTAR LINEN. The rubric at the beginning of the Communion Service provides that "The Table, at the Communion-time," is to have a "fair white linen cloth upon it." And a further rubric declares that "What remaineth of the consecrated Elements" is to be covered with "a fair linen cloth." This latter cloth is called a corporal , although some understand a cloth laid on the altar by that name. Other things used in some churches at the time of the celebration are—(1) a chalice-veil , which is a square of silk embroidered and fringed, varying in colour, according to the season, or of transparent material edged with lace. It is used for covering the chalice. (2) The pall , a small square of card-board, with linen on either side, is sometimes used to cover the chalice till after the people have communicated. (3) The burse is a kind of purse or pocket in which the corporal and pall are kept.

ALTAR RAILS. Archbishop Laud, 1640, ordered that the Holy Table should be placed at the east end of the chancel, and protected from rude approach by rails. They do not appear to have been in general use in the Western Church before the Reformation; although it is probable their use in the side chapels of Cathedrals is early. It is hard to say whether by the Latin word cancelli is meant the chancel-screen or the altar-rails, in some cases probably the latter. The use of altar-rails is ancient in the Eastern Church. The space within the rails, where the altar stands, is called the sanctuary.

ALTAR VESSELS. Flagon, Chalice or Cup, and Paten. To these may be added the cyborium , a covered vessel, placed upon the altar of Roman Catholic churches, and holding the consecrated host. Altar vessels from very ancient times have usually been made of the most costly materials which the congregation using them could afford. The flagon appears to be the vessel in which the wine is placed before consecration. The chalice, or cup, that in which it is consecrated, and administered to the people. The paten is the plate on which the bread is consecrated, and from which it is dispensed to the people. A second plate is used for the unconsecrated bread, and is placed, with the flagon, on the Credence Table.

AMBULATORY, or PROCESSIONARY. The continuance of the aisles round the east end of a church, behind the altar.

AMEN. A Hebrew word meaning "So be it," and thus it is explained in the Catechism. The same word in the Greek is rendered the "Verily, verily" of our Lord's parables. It should be said aloud by every member of the congregation, as testifying his assent to the prayer or praise offered, who thus makes it his own. St. Jerome says the primitive Christians at their public offices "echoed out the Amen like a thunderclap."

When printed in the Roman character in our Prayer Book it is for the minister to say alone; when in Italics, it is for the people to say, and not for the minister.

ANDREW'S (St.) DAY. Nov. 30th. St. Andrew appears to have been a disciple of the Baptist before he became a follower of our Lord. He was the means of bringing his brother Simon, afterwards called Peter, to Jesus. After the Ascension he is supposed to have laboured in Scythia, and finally to have suffered death by crucifixion. The form of the cross on which he was martyred is called after him the St. Andrew's Cross.

ANGEL. A Greek word, meaning a messenger , and as such it is applied sometimes to God's ministers on earth; e.g. , the Bishops of the seven Churches of Asia are called "Angels" in Rev. i. and ii. The word is more generally used of those bright beings who wait around the throne of God to do His will. They are the ministers of His good Providence to us.

Angels are of a different order of creation from man. It is a mistake to believe that "the dead in Christ" become angels.

There are different orders among the angels; the Prayer Book speaks of "Archangels," of "Cherubim and Seraphim." The Bible tells us that the name of one of the Archangels is Michael; Gabriel is also probably of this order, and Raphael. The Cherubim (the derivation of this word is uncertain) are frequently spoken of in the Bible: Gen. iii.24; Exodus xxv.19, 20; Ezekiel i.10; Rev. iv.6. The Seraphim, (plural of Seraph , a Hebrew word, meaning fiery , or burning ) are possibly referred to in Psalm civ.4, "He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flaming fire."

The Holy Angels are the objects of worship in the Church of Rome, in a degree which many think idolatrous, although Romanists deny this.

ANNUNCIATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. March 25th. At the time of the Reformation the Church held seven festivals in honour of the Virgin. Our Reformers have appointed a Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, for only those two which have a foundation in the Gospel, viz: the Annunciation and the Purification. Two more, however, are retained in the Calendar, viz: the Visitation of the B. V. M., July 2nd, and the Nativity of the B. V. M., September 8th. The two principal festivals were probably observed as early as the 5th century. It is to be noticed how the collects for both these festivals bring forward their bearing on our Lord's life, rather than the incidents they commemorate in the life of the Blessed Virgin.

ANTINOMIANISM. (literally " against law ") The doctrine or opinion that the Elect (see Calvinism ) are freed from obligation to keep the Law of God. A power or privilege is asserted for the elect to do what they please without prejudice to their sanctity; it being maintained that to them nothing is sinful, and this is represented as the perfection of Christian Liberty. History shows, as was to be expected, that this doctrine has borne the most disastrous fruits among those who have embraced it.

APOSTASY. A renouncing of our religion either formally, or virtually by our actions.

APOSTLE. From a Greek word, meaning "one sent." A designation of those twelve who were our Lord's companions on earth, and who, afterwards, were sent into "all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature." After the treachery and death of Judas Iscariot, Matthias was chosen to fill his place, St. Paul, by virtue of his heavenly commission, is also termed an Apostle.

APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION. "The line in which the ministry of the Church is handed on from age to age by the laying on of hands by Bishops; the corporate lineage of the Christian clergy, just as in the Jewish Church there was a family lineage. The Church of England maintains the Apostolical Succession in the preface to her Ordination Service. Those are said to be in Apostolical Succession who have been sent to labour in the Lord's vineyard by Bishops, who were consecrated by other Bishops, who, in their turn, were consecrated by others, until the derived authority is traced to the Apostles, and through them to the great Head of the Church. The Apostolical Succession of the Ministry is essential to the right administration of the Sacraments. The clergy of the Church of England can trace their connexion with the Apostles by links in the long chain, not one of which is wanting, from the times of St. Paul and St. Peter to our own." ( Hook's Church Dictionary .)

APPROPRIATION. In pre-Reformation times. Monasteries, and other spiritual corporations, frequently annexed to themselves benefices, placing in them some clergyman, who was called a Vicar, to do the work of the place, for which they allowed him a certain sum out of the income they had appropriated. At the Reformation, the Monasteries, and religious houses were put down, and their property distributed among the favourites of Henry VIII., and so the patronage and major part of the income of these appropriated benefices came into the hands of laymen. Thus, at the present day, a great number of our nobility and landed gentry are drawing large incomes from land, which is, in all right, the property of the Church, while the clergy who do the work of the Church receive a miserable pittance out of what was once their own. Laymen drawing these incomes, "great-tithes," as they are called, are named Lay-Rectors. A benefice in the hands of a layman is termed, not an Appropriation, but an Impropriation .

APSE or APSIS. A semi-circular, or polyhedral termination of the chancel. This style of Church building, although common in the East, has not been in use since the 13th century in England until quite the last few years. Mr. Street, the Architect of the Law Courts, built many churches in this style. In churches of this kind the altar should not be placed against the East wall, but upon the chord of the arc, as in the ancient Basilicas.

ARCHBISHOP. An Archbishop does not differ from a Bishop in order , but only in degree . Like a Bishop he has his own diocese, but besides that he is the chief of the clergy of a whole province. This, however, is not always the case in the Roman and Eastern churches. To him all appeals are made from inferior jurisdictions within his province. He also, upon the King's writ, calls the Bishops and clergy within his province to meet in Convocation.

ARCHDEACON. As each province is divided into dioceses, severally presided over by a Bishop, so each diocese is divided into archdeaconries, consisting of a certain number of parishes. Over each archdeaconry one of the clergy, a priest, sometimes a bishop, is appointed to preside in subordination to the Bishop of the diocese. The office dates back to very early times. In England the dioceses were divided into archdeaconries about the time of the Norman Conquest.

ARCHES, COURT OF. An ancient court of appeal, belonging to the
Archbishop of Canterbury. The judge of it is called the Dean of
Arches , because he anciently held his court in the Church of St.
Mary-le-Bow (Sancta Maria de Arcubus). (See Ecclesiastical
Courts .)

Norman, 1066 to 1154. Round-headed doorways, windows and arches, heavy pillars and zig-zag ornaments. The Nave of Rochester Cathedral is a good example. From 1154 to 1189 this style underwent a Transition , the rounded arches becoming pointed, as in the choir of Canterbury Cathedral.

Early English, 1189 to 1272. Narrow, pointed windows, lancet-shaped; clustered pillars. Example, the choir, Westminster Abbey, or Salisbury Cathedral. 1272 to 1307 was another Transition period, tracery being introduced into the windows, as at the east end of Lincoln Cathedral.

Decorated, 1307 to 1377. Geometrical tracery in windows, enriched doorways, and beautifully arranged mouldings. The Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral is a good example. This style underwent Transition from 1377 to 1407, when the lines became less flowing, as in the choir of York Minster.

Perpendicular, 1399 to 1547. Upright lines of moulding in windows; doorways, a combination of square heads with pointed arches. Example, King's College Chapel, Cambridge.

Tudor, or Elizabethan, 1550 to 1600. A debased species of
Perpendicular, mostly employed in domestic architecture.

Jacobean, 1603 to 1641. An admixture of the Classical with the
Gothic, or Pointed style.

ARIANS. Heretics, so named from Arius, a native of Libya, their first founder. He was born about the middle of the 3rd century, and taught that God the Son was not equal to God the Father, being neither consubstantial nor co-eternal with the Father. As created by the Father, Arius looked upon our Lord as the highest of all creatures, and in that sense the Son of God. These heretics were condemned by the Council of Nice, in 325.

ARMINIANS. A party so-called after Arminius, (the Latin form of James Harmensen, a Dutchman,) the opposer of Calvinism. Arminius held that salvation is possible for all men, if they repent and believe in Jesus Christ, inasmuch as He died for the sins of the whole world. They reject the doctrine of Predestination, as generally held; and the doctrine of final perseverance, they deem uncertain and needing more proof. (See Antinomianism and Calvinism .)

ARTICLES, THE THIRTY-NINE. The Church of England's definition of Christian doctrine, and as such they have to be subscribed by all who seek Holy Orders. Formerly, every graduate of our Universities had to subscribe them. Many of the Articles are of a confessedly elastic nature, being so framed as to embrace the views of the various parties in the Church: but at the same time they are not so indefinite as many would have us believe.

Their history is this:—In 1553 Cranmer, Ridley, and others, drew up 42 Articles, which were more or less taken from the "Confession of Augsburgh," composed by Luther and Melancthon. In 1562 these 42 Articles were entirely re-modelled by Archbishop Parker and Convocation, when they were reduced to 38. In 1571, Parker and Convocation added Article xxix., which made up our present 39, which were subscribed in the Upper House of Convocation, by the Archbishops and Bishops, and by all the clergy of the Lower House. They were published the year after (1572) under the superintendence of Bishop Jewel, and the Ratification, still subjoined to them in the Prayer Book, was added. With regard to their arrangement—The first five treat of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity; the three following establish the rule of Christian Faith; from the ninth to the eighteenth they bear reference to Christians considered as individuals; and thence to the end they relate to Christians, considered as Members of a Church or religious society.

ASCENSION DAY or HOLY THURSDAY. The observation of this Festival cannot be traced with certainty to an earlier period than the 4th century, although, in the Western Church, at any rate, it was in St. Augustine's time so thorough and universal, that he supposes it to have had an Apostolic origin. It is one of the four great Festivals of the Church. It is held forty days after Easter, in memory of our Lord's Ascension into heaven. Special psalms and lessons are appointed for the day, as is also a special preface in the Communion Service.

ASH-WEDNESDAY. The first day of Lent. It is so called from the ceremony anciently used in admitting people to penance, ashes being sprinkled upon their heads.

A special service, called the Commination Service, is appointed for use on this day.

ATHEIST. The "fool who saith in his heart, There is no God." Ps liii. The atheist differs entirely from the sceptic and agnostic (which see). In "A plea for Atheism," the writer says: "If the word 'God' is defined to mean an existence other than that existence of which I am a mode, then I deny 'God,' and affirm that it is impossible that 'God' can be." The Psalmist's definition is the clearer.

ATONEMENT. Originally at-one-ment , the reconciling of two parties who were before at variance. From that the word easily passed into a term to denote the means by which the reconciliation was made, viz: the life and death of our Saviour, Eph. ii. 16.

ATTRITION. This term is used by Romanists to denote the lowest form of Contrition, or Repentance; namely, mere sorrow for sin because of its consequences.

BAPTISM. This word means literally "dipping." Holy Baptism is one of the two Sacraments taught by our Church to be generally (universally) necessary to salvation. The reason why the Church baptizes is well shewn in the exhortation which immediately follows the Gospel in the Service for the "Public Baptism of such as are of riper years." The doctrine of the Church on the subject is explained in Article xxvii., and in the Catechism; also throughout her Baptismal Offices she shows what she believes it to be. Notwithstanding this, there are diverse views held of Holy Baptism by parties in the Church; as, for example, some will deny that the passage in John iii. 3 has anything to do with Baptism, although the Church quotes it as a Scriptural authority for Baptism in the exhortation previously alluded to. These seem to degrade Holy Baptism into a mere formal admittance into the visible Church, this being the view the Wesleyans of the present day take, but not their founder's view. Hooker, in his fifth book, writes thus,—"Baptism is not merely a sign or token of grace given, but an instrument or mean whereby we receive that grace; for it is a Sacrament instituted by God for incorporation into Christ, and so through His merit to obtain (1) that saving grace of imputation which takes away all former guiltiness, (2) that infused divine virtue of the Holy Ghost which gives to the powers of the soul their first disposition towards future newness of life. It is a seal perhaps to the grace of election before received; but to our sanctification here a step that hath not any before it."

BAPTISM, ADULT. This office was added at the last revision of the Prayer Book, in 1661. It was made necessary by the general neglect of Church ordinances during the Rebellion. The Service is formed from that for the Baptism of Infants, but there are important differences, as will be seen by comparison. Confirmation and Communion should immediately follow the Baptism of an adult.

BAPTISM, INFANT. The question whether it is right to baptize infants will be gone into under the head of Baptists . Our present service for the Baptism of Infants is the out-come of many much older. Baptism should always be administered in the presence of a congregation, as the Rubric orders. The question about sponsors will be gone into under that head. The first prayer is by Luther, the second is from an old Office; the Gospel, with nearly all the addresses or exhortations here and elsewhere in the Prayer Book, is from the "Consultation," the work of Hermann, a German reformer. The questions to the sponsors are taken from an old Office. The prayer of Consecration came into the present form in 1661; but by Consecration here we only mean that the element of water is separated from common to sacred uses. It is not a necessary part of Baptism, as is shown by its being omitted in the Office for Private Baptism. The only two things necessary for the validity of Holy Baptism are (1) that it should be administered in water, (2) in the name of the Holy Trinity, as is shown by the questions in that part of the Office for Private Baptism which treats of receiving a child publicly into the Church. It is to be noticed that the rule of our Church is that the child should be immersed in the water (see the Rubric before the form of words which accompany the act of Baptism). Thus the rite of immersion can be claimed by any Church people. The custom of affusion, or aspersion, or sprinkling, came into use in the Western Church as early as the 13th century; but in the ancient Church Baptism was so administered to the sick. The difference in the climates of Western Europe and the Holy Land is sufficient to account for the custom.

The words which express the reception of the newly-baptized child into the congregation belong altogether to the English Prayer Book. The ceremony of making the sign of the cross has come down from the ancient Church.

The Address to the congregation, the Lord's Prayer, and the Thanksgiving which follows, were placed here in 1552. It is to be noticed how clearly the Church expresses her belief in the regeneration (see Regeneration ) of each baptized infant. The latter part of the last exhortation was added in 1661. "The vulgar tongue" of course means the "common" or English language.

The note at the end of the Office, although declaring the eternal safety of a baptized child, dying before it commits actual sin, does not express any opinion as to the future of an unbaptized child.

BAPTISM, PRIVATE. To be used only for "great cause and necessity." This service was drawn up in 1661, chiefly from the "Consultation." It is very much to be deplored that so few of the children baptized at home, who live, are brought to be publicly received into the Church. The distinction which the poor draw between Baptism and Christening as meaning respectively Private and Public Baptism is, of course, unfounded. Baptism is also called " Christening ," because in it the child is made a Christian, or member of Christ.

Lay Baptism. Until 1604 this was allowed in the Church of England, but the rubrics were then brought into such a shape that Baptism by any but a "lawful minister" was distinctly disallowed. Still we find that by the present law, Lay Baptism, that is to say, Baptism by any man, or even woman, is valid so far as to qualify for burial with the usual service. Lay Baptism is allowed in the Roman Church, as it was in the Mediaeval Church, and in primitive times. Such having always been the custom of the Catholic Church, it is well that anybody should baptize a child in a case of great emergency, when a "lawful minister" cannot be procured. Should the child live and be brought to church, the clergyman can always, if doubtful of the validity of the Baptism, use the hypothetical form at the end of the Office for Private Baptism.

BAPTISTS or ANABAPTISTS. A name improperly assumed by those who deny the validity of Infant Baptism. They were formerly called Anabaptists because they re-baptized all who had been baptized in their infancy. The Baptists formed a separate community in England in 1633. They may be looked upon as the successors of the Dutch Anabaptists. Their object in forming themselves into a separate body was (1) for the maintenance of a strictly Calvinistic doctrine; (2) for the exercise of a vigorous and exclusive discipline; (3) for the practice of a literal scriptural ritual, especially in the matter of Baptism. In Church polity they follow the Independents. The Baptists hold that immersion is essential to the validity of the ordinance. Their leading idea is that the Church must consist of true Christians, and not merely of professing ones.

In 1882 in the United Kingdom there were
Sunday
Ministers , Members , Chapels , Scholars
1,905. 298,880. 3,502. 401,517.

In addition to these they have numerous congregations abroad, and they raise about L200,000 yearly for missionary and benevolent purposes.

Infant Baptism. The following reasons seem to afford ample proof that the baptism of infants has always been the practice of the Church, notwithstanding all the Baptists allege against it.

Under the Law infants were admitted into covenant with God by circumcision when eight days old. Gen. xvii.10, 14, so, too, when the Jews admitted proselytes into their communion, they not only circumcised all the males, but baptized all, male and female, infant and adult.

Thus, when the Apostles were sent "to make proselytes of all nations, by baptizing them" (Matt, xviii.19, should be so translated) would they not baptize infants as well as adults, seeing that such was the Jewish custom?

Compare John iii.5, "Except a man (Greek, except any one ) be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God ," with Mark x.14, where our Lord says of infants that "of such is the kingdom of God ." If so, they must be capable of baptism, both by water and the Spirit.

St. Peter, when speaking of baptism, said the promise was not only to adults, but also to their children , Acts ii.38, 39.

Again, where there no children among the whole households which were baptized by the apostles, Acts xvi.15, 33, 1 Cor. 1.16?

The early Fathers show that children were baptized in their time, which, in some cases, was less than a century after the Apostles lived. Justin Martyr, for instance, writing A.D. 148 ( i . e ., 48 years after the death of the last Apostle), speaks of persons 60 and 70 years old, who had been made disciples to Christ in their infancy. How can infants be made disciples, but by baptism? And, if these had been baptized in their infancy, it must have been during the lifetime of the Apostle St. John, and of other apostolic men.

BARNABAS' (St.) DAY. June 11th. This Apostle's name was changed from Joses into Barnabas, which means the "Son of Consolation." He was a highly educated man, being brought up, as St. Paul was, at the feet of Gamaliel. He travelled with St. Paul until there was a disagreement on the subject of Mark, the kinsman of Barnabas. After they separated, it is probable that St. Barnabas laboured in Cyprus. He is believed to have suffered martyrdom at Salamis by being stoned.

BARTHOLOMEW'S (St.) DAY. August 24th. This Apostle is believed to have been identical with Nathaniel. We are told nothing of his labours in the Bible. He is believed to have worked in Armenia and Lycaonia, and to have suffered martyrdom by crucifixion at Albanople.

This day is rendered famous in history, on account of the horrible massacre of Protestants in Paris in 1572. Thirty thousand persons were put to death in France, and this with the deliberate consent of the Pope and the authorities of the Roman Church!

BELFRY. Originally and properly, a watch-tower. That part of a church where the bells are hung.

BELLS. Bells have been used in churches in England from the 7th century. Their various uses are well summed up in the following monkish distichs,—

"Laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum,
Defunctos ploro, pestem fugo, festa decoro."

"Funera plango, fulgura frango, sabbata pango,
Excito lentos, dissipo ventos, paco cruentos."

In the Roman Church they are "baptized," with a certain ceremony; in the English Church they are merely consecrated, that is, set apart for a sacred purpose.

The "passing bell" is the tolling of a bell while anybody is dying, or passing out of this life, in order that the faithful may offer prayers on his behalf. It is ordered by Canon 67.

BENEDICITE. The apocryphal ending of Daniel iii. It is a paraphrastical exposition of Ps. 148; it was commonly sung in the Christian Church in the 4th century. In 1549 it was ordered to be sung during Lent instead of the Te Deum . It is now generally used when the lessons speak of the Creation. The "three children" are Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, who are better known by their Chaldean names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

BENEDICTION. A solemn act of blessing performed by Bishops and Priests of the Church. A certain form was given by God Himself for the use of the Jewish Priests, Num. vi.22-27. In our Church several forms are used agreeing with the Office of which they form a part. The ordinary benediction at the end of the Communion Service is from Phil, iv.7, and Num. vi.23.

BENEDICTUS. The song of Zacharias, the father of the Baptist, Luke 1.68-79. The alternate Psalm, called the Jubilate Deo , was inserted in 1552 to be used when the Benedictus happened to be read in the second lesson. The song of Zacharias has always been a hymn of the Church.

BENEFICE or LIVING. A church endowed with a revenue for the performance of Divine Service; the holder of which is called a Rector, or Vicar, or Incumbent, or Perpetual Curate (see under each head). Heresy, Simony, and other grave offences, disqualify a man from holding a benefice.

A clergyman can only be deprived of his benefice for want of capacity, Heresy, Contempt of Court, or crime.

BIBLE, THE HOLY. So called from a Greek word, meaning "the books," just as the word Scriptures means "the writings." The Bible is divided into two parts—the Old and the New Testaments, or Covenants. The Old Testament, or the Covenant of God with the Hebrew nation, is written partly in Hebrew, and partly—the latter part—in Aramaic. It is most important to remember that it was written by many different persons, and at widely different times, spreading over the course of 2,000 years. The New Testament, or the New Covenant of God with His people, whether Jews or Gentiles, although also written by many various authors, was produced between the years A.D. 50, and A.D. 100.

The Bible is called the "Word of God" because the authors wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, Heb. i.i; Acts iv.25; 2 Peter i.21; &c. It is important to remember that we do not claim a verbal inspiration, for the writers, but simply that God put into their minds what they should write. Inspiration did not preserve them from errors in grammar, or natural philosophy, or anything else foreign to the actual design of the Bible, which is the revelation of God, and of His will to man.

Thus, it is most important that we should know what books are inspired, and have a right to form a part of the Holy Scriptures, in other words what books are canonical . The Old Testament, as we have it now, was used by the Jews in the time of our Lord, who often quotes from its various books Himself, thus stamping them with the divine authority which they claimed. Ezra seems to have determined the canon of Old Testament Scriptures. With regard to the New Testament, the question of the authenticity and canonicity of some books was very much more difficult to determine, and an enormous amount of labour and scholarship has been expended on the subject. There can be no reasonable doubt now with regard to any of the books of the New Testament; the only thing now doubtful is what the original words were in the places where the ancient manuscripts differ. These differences are called various readings . The publication of the Revised Version of the New Testament in 1881 was partly an attempt to settle this question. The differences, as a rule, are very unimportant.

The chief translations of the Bible into English are Wiclif's, 1360;
Tindal (or Tyndale) and Coverdale's, 1526; The Geneva Bible, 1560;
The Bishops' Bible, 1568. The Translation we use now, called the
Authorized Version, was published in 1611. About 50 learned men were
appointed by King James 1st for the task.

We will now proceed to consider the contents of the Bible, first remarking that the division into Chapters and verses does not date back beyond the 13th century, that it rests on no authority, and very often spoils the sense.

The Old Testament consists of 39 books, which may be thus classified:—The Books of the Law; The Historical Books; The Holy Writings, or Poetical Books; and the Prophetical Books.

The Books of the Law , five in number, were written by Moses, and are called the Pentateuch; they are:—Genesis. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The Historical Books are twelve. Where the name of the Author differs from the name of the Book it is given in brackets,—Joshua, Judges (Samuel?), Ruth (Samuel or Ezra), 1st and 2nd Samuel (Samuel, Nathan, and Gad), 1st and 2nd Kings (Jeremiah), 1st and 2nd Chronicles (Ezra?), Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (author not known).

The Poetical Books , or Hagiographa , consist of five books,—Job (author not known), Psalms (by various authors, about half by David), Proverbs (Solomon chiefly), Ecclesiastes (generally attributed to Solomon), Song of Solomon, or Canticles.

The Prophetical Books are divided into two classes, the Greater Prophets and the Lesser Prophets. They are so called, not from any superiority or inferiority, but from the extent of their writings.

The Greater Prophets are four in number,—Isaiah, Jeremiah (author of two books—his Prophecy and his Lamentations), Ezekiel, Daniel.

The Minor Prophets are twelve,—Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

The ordinary reader of the Bible misses much from the fact that the books are not grouped in any chronological order. In the following table the books are placed so as to form a continuous history of the Jews, while, by their side, are the names of those books which should be read as commentaries on the period. The book of Job, however, it is impossible to place. He seems to have been a shepherd king, perhaps of the time of Abraham, but he was not of the Hebrew nation. The two books of the Chronicles contain a summary of history from the Creation down to the Restoration under Cyrus; parts, however, may be read with other books. ( For Table , see opposite page .)

From the time of Malachi to the Birth of John the Baptist, a period of about 400 years, there seems to have been no special revelation from God. The Apocrypha was composed in that period by various authors. Although parts of it are appointed to be read as Lessons in Church, yet it is not considered as inspired, and consequently it does not belong to the Word of God. Our Church, in Art. vi., says that "the other books (viz., the Apocrypha) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners, but yet it doth not apply them to establish any doctrine." The Church of Rome receives the Apocrypha as Canonical.

We now pass on to consider the New Testament. It consists of 27 books, written by eight persons. They were all written in Greek, unless perhaps St. Matthew's Gospel, which some critics hold was originally written in Hebrew. The whole of the New Testament was written before the end of the first century, and during the lifetime of the Apostle John. The books were all received from the first as inspired, except the Epistle to the Hebrews, Epistles of James and Jude, 2nd of Peter, 2nd and 3rd of John, and the Book of the Revelation; but all these were in early times accepted as Canonical. It is still doubtful who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews.

The Four Gospels are by St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. Of these, the first three are called the Synoptical Gospels, because they give a general view, and contain a brief account of the chief events of our Saviour's life, His miracles and His parables, from the same standpoint. St. John chiefly dwells on our Lord's words and discourses. The word "Gospel" means " good news ."

The Book of the Acts of the Apostles is generally considered to have been written by St. Luke (c.f. Acts 1.1 with Luke 1.1-4).

The Epistles were written by the authors whose names they bear (except perhaps Hebrews). Seven of them are called Catholic , which means addressed to the Church generally , or universally , and not to particular persons or particular bodies of Christians.

The following is a chronological table of the books of the New
Testament, with their probable dates:—

Books Date
A.D.
S. Matt's 60
S. Mark's 64
S. Luke's 64
S. John's 70
The Acts 64
I. Thess. 52
II. Thess. 52
Galatians 52
I. Corinth. 53
II. Corinth. 57
Romans 58
Ephesians 61
Philipp. 62
Colloss. 62
Philemon 62
I. Tim. 56
Titus 56
II. Tim. 61
S. James 61
I. Peter 64
II. Peter 64
Jude 64
I. John 80
II. John 85
III. John 90
Revelation 95
Some scholars assign an earlier date to the Revelation.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

BIBLE CHRISTIANS. Sometimes called Bryanites. They are the followers of a Mr. William O'Bryan, a Wesleyan local preacher in Cornwall, who, in 1815, separated from the Wesleyans, and began himself to form societies upon the Methodist plan. In doctrine they do not appear to differ from the various bodies of Arminian Methodists. The forms of public worship are of the same simple character. But in the administration of the Lord's Supper "it is usual to receive the elements in a sitting posture, as it is believed that that practice is more comformable to the posture of body in which it was first received by Christ's Apostles, than kneeling; but persons are at liberty to kneel, if it be more suitable to their views and feelings to do so." Members of this sect are nearly all Cornish people.

BIDDING PRAYER. The Prayer before the Sermon. Before the Reformation it was called the Bidding of the beads . The people were bid to pray for certain objects as the preacher successively named them. The canonical form of the present prayer is given in the 55th Canon. The ordinary practice of using a collect is now sanctioned by custom. An extempore prayer, however, from the preacher is quite unauthorized. At the University sermons, and also on occasions of more than usual solemnity, the Bidding Prayer is always used. In Borough towns it is appropriately repeated on the Sunday next after November 9th, when the Mayor is elected.

BOUNTY, QUEEN ANNE'S. Before the Reformation, the Annates or First-fruits , being the profits for one year of every vacant benefice, were paid to the Pope. In Henry VIII.'s reign they were paid to him instead. Queen Anne, however, instead of receiving them for her own use, established a fund for the benefit of the poor clergy. This fund has since been called Queen Anne's Bounty. Money was granted to it also by Parliament, and many generous individuals increased the sum.

BOWING AT THE NAME OF JESUS. This pious custom is ordered by the 18th Canon of our Church, in supposed accordance with the idea of the Apostle in Phil. ii.9. In many churches the custom is now observed by bowing at the Sacred Name in the Creed only; but the Canon orders "due and lowly reverence to be done" whenever the "Name of the Lord Jesus is mentioned in the time of Divine Service."

BOWING TOWARDS THE ALTAR. This reverent custom is still practised in many of the Royal Chapels, and in some churches and Cathedrals, e.g. , in Christ Church, Oxford, in many village churches where the custom, once universal, has not died out, and it survives in some College Chapels.

The synod of 1640 said, "We heartily commend it to all good and well affected people, that they be ready to tender to the Lord their reverence and obeisance, both at their coming in and going out of church, according to the most ancient custom of the primitive Church in the purest times."

BURIALS ACT. A Bill passed in Parliament, 1880. Before the passing of the Act no deceased persons (with certain exceptions, specified in the Rubric) could be buried in consecrated ground without the Service of the Church of England being read over their remains. Now, anyone who wishes to have his relatives or friends buried in any such ground without any religious service, or with any other Christian and orderly service than that of the Church of England, can do so. This service may be conducted by anybody, man, woman, or child, but 48 hours' notice must be given in writing to the incumbent, who still has all his legal rights preserved. The Burials Bill deals solely with the churchyard, and confers no rights as to the tolling of the bell, or to the use of any church or consecrated chapel.

Under this Act the Clergy are empowered to use the Service of the Church for the burial of the dead in any unconsecrated burial ground or cemetery.

The Bill owes its origin to the agitation of Dissenters, and that their supposed grievances were purely sentimental is shown by the fact that comparatively few funerals are taken under this Act.

BURIAL SERVICE, THE. The present arrangement of this Office is the outcome of several revisions. In 1549 (1st Prayer Book of Edward VI.) there was a special Communion Office for use at funerals. The custom obtaining in many places of the mourners coming to church on the Sunday next following the funeral perhaps has its origin in the ancient practice of their receiving Holy Communion together. The Rubric denying Christian burial to the unbaptized, the excommunicate, and to suicides was added in 1661. The first two sentences, or anthems—John xi.25, 26, and Job xix.25-27, formed part of an ancient Office. The third sentence, I Tim. vi.7, and Job i.21, and the two Psalms, were added in 1549. The Lesson formerly formed part of the Mass for the Dead. The sentences, or anthems, to be said at the grave side are from old Offices, so also what follows down to the Collects. The prayer, "For as much," &c., is called the Committal Prayer , and the practice of casting earth upon the coffin is part of a very old ceremony. The last two prayers were added in 1552, and the "Grace" in 1661. Many of the dissenting sects use this Service. The whole Office is of a nature to cheer the heart of the mourner, and to rouse in all a "hope full of immortality."

CALENDAR, THE CHURCH, is the detailed (excepting, of course, the rubrics) law of the Church for the daily worship of God. It also contains a list of Fasts and Festivals, or Holy Days. Our Church recognises eighty-two such Holy Days, of which the following is a classification, not including Ash Wednesday, Holy Week or Passion Week, and Easter Eve:—

The object for which Holy Days are instituted, is the commemoration of some person or event by devotional observance, the devotion being, of course, offered to Almighty God. ( Blunt's Household Theology .)

The Calendar contains a Table of Lessons, or portions of Holy Scripture, to be read in Church, and rules for finding the date of the Moveable Feasts.

CALL TO THE MINISTRY. Every Candidate for Deacon's Orders (see Ordinal) has this question put to him by the Bishop,—"Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you this Office and Ministration, to serve God for the promoting of His glory and the edifying of His people?"

In the "Ordering of Priests" a similar question is put in this form,—"Do you think in your heart that you be truly called, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the order of this Church of England, to the Order and Ministry of Priesthood?" And in the "Consecration of Bishops" the question is put thus,—"Are you persuaded that you be truly called to this Ministration, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the order of this realm?"

It should be noticed that the question is not "Are you sure?" but ( a ) "Do you trust?" ( b ) "Do you think?" ( c ) "Are you persuaded?" If a man deals earnestly and truly with his own heart, he can scarcely be deceived as to whether he answers these solemn questions truly or not. He need not wait for some miraculous intimation from the Holy Spirit. By ordinary signs he may safely judge: primarily, from his own sincere inward conviction; and in an inferior degree from the advice of his parents, or of God's ministers, or of other godly persons qualified to advise in such a matter. These are all ways of learning God's will.

Bishop Oxenden, in his "Pastoral Office," says to the Candidate for Holy Orders, "If, after looking well at your motive, you find it pure,—if you are entering the Ministry in a serious, thoughtful spirit,—if the love of souls, and an earnest desire to save them, impels you—if you feel the work is one in which your soul will find delight, and that you are heartily willing to labour in the service of your Heavenly Master,—then I hesitate not to say that you have chosen for yourself the best and most delightful of all professions." This consciousness of purity of motive is a true indication that a candidate is called of God.

CALVINISTS. These form no particular sect, but are to be found among different bodies of Christians. They are the followers of the Reformer, John Calvin, who was born in 1509. The five points , or essential doctrines of Calvinism, are (1) particular election, (2) particular redemption, (3) moral inability in a fallen state, (4) irresistible grace, and (5) the final perseverance of the saints. In other words, a Calvinist holds that before the foundation of the world God elected a certain number to salvation, and reprobated the rest of mankind to damnation; that Christ Jesus died only for the elect; that mankind are totally depraved in consequence of the fall; that God, in His own good time, calls all those he has before predestinated to life by the irresistible power of the Holy Spirit to grace and salvation; that those once called can never finally fall from a state of grace.

It is true that the 17th Art. is so ambiguous in language that even such a doctrine as the above is not reproved by it; but the Church of England, in her Communion Office, says that "Christ, by the one oblation of Himself once offered, made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world," and in the Church Catechism it is said that "God the Son hath redeemed all mankind." These two passages alone are enough to show that the Church of England is not Calvinistic in her doctrine. (See Antinomianism and Arminians .)

CANON. A Greek word, meaning a Rule or Measure. The laws of the Church are called Canons . The Canons made before the Reformation are binding on our Church now, and are acted upon in the Ecclesiastical Courts, except where they have been superseded by subsequent Canons, or by the provisions of an Act of Parliament.

CANON. An ecclesiastic, having the right to a stall in a Cathedral, and of giving a vote in the Chapter. He differs from a Prebendary in that a Prebendary means one who enjoys a Prebend, or endowment, whereas a Canon does not necessarily do so. In England the Honorary Canons are all without capitular revenues.

CANON. A name applied to part of the Roman Office of Mass, and it was also made use of in first Prayer Book of Edward VI. The name is given to the more solemn part of the Eucharistic Service, from just after the Preface till the final close.

CANONICAL HOURS. At a very early date special hours of prayer were appointed by the church. In the Church of Rome the Canonical Hours begin with vespers , or evening prayer, about 6 o'clock, or sunset; next follows compline , a service at bedtime; at midnight the service of nocturns , or matins , was held; lauds , an early morning service of praise, was held at cock-crow. Then came the "Little Hours," prime at 6 o'clock, terce at 9, sext at noon, and nones at 3.

CANTATE DOMINO. Psalm xcviii, used occasionally at Evening Prayer in place of the Magnificat.

CANTICLES. Songs, especially also the Song of Solomon. The sacred
songs appointed to be sung or said in the Order for Morning and
Evening Prayer. These are the Venite, Te Deum, Benedicite,
Benedictus, Jubilate, Magnificat, Cantate, Nunc Dimittis, and Deus
Misereatur; each of which see.

CATECHISM. From a word meaning to instruct by word of mouth . The insertion of this elementary exposition of Christian Faith and Practice into the Prayer Book is a feature of the Reformation. The Catechism, as drawn up in 1549, finished with the explanation of the Lord's Prayer. The explanation of the Sacraments was not added until 1604. Bishop Overall is believed to have written it. The Catechism formerly stood in the Confirmation Service, but was placed in its present position in 1661. The first rubric at the end of the Catechism has for a long time been rendered practically obsolete by the institution of Sunday Schools and Children's Services.

CATHEDRAL. The chief church of every diocese is called the
Cathedral, because in it is the cathedra , or seat , of the
Bishop. Every Cathedral has a body of clergy belonging to it of
various degrees of dignity. (See Dean , Dean and Chapter .)

CATHOLIC. A Greek word, meaning universal or general . The Holy Catholic Church is the visible Church of Christ throughout the world, of all ages, all whose branches have retained unbroken the Apostolical succession in the Ministry. There may be erring Branches of the True Church. Art. xix. declares, "As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch have erred, so also the Church of Rome hath erred…."

It is improper to speak of the Roman Catholic Church simply by the name of Catholic; in England, members of the Church of England are Catholics .

CEMETERY. A sleeping place . The beautiful name given to places of burial by Christians.

CEREMONY. Ceremonia in its classical sense was a general term for worship. Johnson defines a ceremony to be "outward rite, external form in religion." Hooker uses the word in this sense. In a larger sense it may mean a whole office. All should read that part of the introduction to our Prayer Book which treats "Of Ceremonies, why some are to be abolished, and some retained" (written in 1549). see also Art. xxxiv.

CHANCEL. The choir, or upper part of a church, commonly at the east end, is called the chancel. It is the freehold of the Incumbent should he be a Rector. Where there is a lay impropriator he has the freehold. It usually is raised some steps above the level of the nave, from which it was formerly separated by a screen, called the rood screen, upon which was the rood , or figure of our Blessed Lord on the Cross. The chancel contains the seats, or stalls, for the clergy and the choir. The east end of the chancel is partitioned off by the altar rails. The part thus enclosed is called the sanctuary, and contains the altar. The sanctuary is usually raised still higher than the chancel by additional steps.

CHANCELLOR. A deputy of the Bishop, with a jurisdiction in all ecclesiastical matters throughout the diocese.

The Chancellor of a Cathedral is quite a different personage. He is an ecclesiastic, frequently a canon, who discharges many duties in connection with the Cathedral of which he is Chancellor. He directs the services, is secretary of the chapter, the librarian, the superintendent of schools connected with the Cathedral, &c. These offices, however, are not always combined.

CHAPEL. Any consecrated building other than a Parish Church or Cathedral. The word is also now applied to the Meeting Houses of the various dissenting bodies. Lately, some of these bodies have taken to calling their places of worship churches .

CHAPLAIN. A person authorized to officiate in places other than the Parish Church, such as the private chapels of noblemen, and the chapels attached to Asylums, Workhouses, Hospitals, and the like. A statute of Henry VIII. restricts the number of chaplains which may be appointed by personages of various ranks as follows:—an Archbishop, eight; a Duke or Bishop, six; Marquis or Earl, five; Viscount, four; Baron, Knight of the Garter, or Lord Chancellor, three; a Duchess, Marchioness, Countess, Baroness, the Treasurer or Comptroller of the King's household, the Clerk of the Closet, the King's Secretary, the Dean of the Chapel, Almoner, and Master of the Rolls, each of them two chaplains. The Queen has forty-eight chaplains, called Chaplains in Ordinary.

CHAPTER. The governing body of a Cathedral or Collegiate Church, consisting of the Dean, the Canons, Prebendaries, &c. (See Dean and Chapter .)

CHAPTER HOUSE. A building attached to a Cathedral, in which the Dean and Chapter meet for the transaction of business.

CHARGE. The address delivered by a Bishop or Archdeacon at their respective Visitations of the Clergy.

CHOIR, or QUIRE. That part of a church which is called the chancel, is generally called the choir in a Cathedral. The word is also applied to the singing men and boys, who lead the musical part of the service. (See Church Music .)

CHORISTER. A member of the choir, and more properly one of the boys of the choir.

CHRIST. The Anointed One . The Greek form of the Hebrew Messiah . One of the titles of our Blessed Lord. Acts x.38. (See Trinity , The Holy .)

CHRISTIAN. A title given, in ridicule possibly in the first instance, to the believers in Christ by the people of Antioch. (Acts. xi.26.)

CHRISTIAN NAME. The name given us when we were made Christians, viz., at our baptism.

CHRISTMAS DAY. Dec. 25th. The day kept as the anniversary of our Saviour's birth. This is believed to be the true day and month. W. H. Mill says that the objections against it are "for the most part weak and groundless." This high Festival has been kept at least since the IVth century. There are special Psalms and Lessons appointed, and a "proper preface" in the Communion Service. It is one of those "three times" at which all professing members of the Church are expected to communicate every year.

CHURCH, THE. Our Prayer Book supplies us with a definition in Art. xix. The three chief branches of the Church Catholic are—(1) the Eastern, or Greek Church; (2) the Western, or Roman Church; and (3) the Anglican Church, of which the Episcopal Churches of England, Scotland, Ireland, America, and the Colonies form part. Although, unhappily, there are grave differences in both faith and ceremony among these great branches of the Church, yet we can still profess our belief in "one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church," inasmuch as we are all one by unity of faith in Christ, by Apostolical foundation, and succession of Orders. It seems well here to give a brief sketch of the English, Greek, and Roman Churches.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Christianity was introduced into Britain at the end of the first, or beginning of the second, century. Three British Bishops were present at a Council held at Arles, in Gaul, in 314. At the invasion of the heathen Anglo-Saxons the British Church retreated into Wales. In 597 Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, sent Augustine to this island, who was instrumental in reviving Christianity in the south-east of England. When he came he found seven Bishoprics existing, and two Archbishoprics, viz., London and York. Augustine was made the first Archbishop of Canterbury; this was the first appointment by Papal authority in England. The northern part of England was evangelized in the earlier portion of the following century, by Irish Missionaries from Iona, under Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne; and his successor, Finan, who lived to see Christianity everywhere established north of the Humber, and died in 662. "The planting, therefore, of the Gospel in the Anglo-Saxon provinces of Britain was the work of two rival Missionary bands (597 to 662); in the south, the Roman , aided by their converts, and some teachers out of Gaul; in the north, the Irish , whom the conduct of Augustine and his party had estranged from their communion. If we may judge from the area of their field of action, it is plain that the Irish were the larger body; but a host of conspiring causes gradually resulted in the spread and ascendancy of Roman modes of thought." (Hardwick.)

In the time of Archbishop Theodore (668—689) the fusion of the English Christians was completed, and the Pope began to assert (not without opposition) an usurped authority in the English Church ( c.f. , Hardwick).

What are called the "dark ages" were indeed dark in the Church, for then it was that she became erring in faith, doctrine, and practice, and almost a caricature of what she once was. This state of things continued until the 16th century, when the Reformation took place. The movement was popular in England, and nearly all, clergy and people, were glad to see the superstitions and corruptions which had crept into the Church swept away by Archbishop Cranmer and his colleagues. Still, there was a party which would take no share in this movement, but remained faithful to the Pope,—the representatives of what was falsely called the "old faith." Notwithstanding the differences of faith between these two parties, they both continued nominally members of the Church of England. It was not until 1569 that the Roman Catholic party seceded from the Church of England, and formed a distinct sect. It is most important for Churchmen to remember that the Church of England did not secede from that of Rome, but Romanists seceded from the Church of England. Just as Naaman the leper remained the same Naaman after he was cured of his leprosy as he was before, so the Church of England remained the same Church of England after the Reformation as she was before, composed of the same duly consecrated Bishops, of the same duly ordained Clergy, and of the same faithful people. The present Church of England is the old Catholic Church of England, reformed in the 16th century of certain superstitious errors, but still the same Church which came down from our British and Saxon ancestors, and as such it possesses its original endowments, which were never, as some suppose, taken from one Church and given to another. And thus, when Roman Catholics speak of our grand old Cathedrals and Parish Churches as being once theirs, they assert what is not historically true. These buildings always belonged, as they do now, to the Church of England, which Church has been continuous from British times to the present. (See Endowment .)

The Established Church in England is governed by 2 Archbishops and 31 Bishops. Besides these, there are 4 Suffragan (which see) Bishops (Dover, Bedford, Nottingham, and Colchester). There are also 22 retired Colonial Bishops in England. Four new Bishoprics have recently been created, and two more are in course of formation. As assistants to the Bishops there are 82 Archdeacons, and 613 Rural Deans. There about 13,500 benefices in England, and about 23,000 clergymen of every class. The Church sittings number about 6,200,000. It is somewhat difficult to arrive at the number of the members of the Church of England, as Nonconformists have always objected to a religious census being made. Taking the following official returns, we find that, out of every 100,—

School returns give 72 28
Cemetery " " 70 30
Marriages " " 75 25
Army " " 63 37
(Of which 37 no fewer than 24 are Roman Catholics.)
Navy returns give 75 25
Workhouse " " 79 21
Giving an average of 72 per cent, to the Church, and 28 per cent,
to Dissenters.
The whole population in England and Wales in 1878 was 24,854,397
Church population at 72 percent. 17,995,159
Nonconformist population (including Roman Catholics) 6,859,238

In Day Schools connected with the Church, there are 2,092,846
Ditto with Wesleyans 173,804
Ditto Roman Catholics 223,423
In British and Undenominational Schools 324,144
School Board Schools 1,197,927

We also find that on Hospital Sunday, 1881, the following
contributions were made:

England and Wales (including 4 Suffragan,
and 4 Assistant, Bishops) 41 23,000
Ireland 12 1,700
Scotland 7 250
British Colonies, India, &c. 75 3,100
United States 69 3,600
Retired Bishops 22
—- ———
Total (in round numbers) 226 30,000

CHURCH, THE GREEK. This ancient branch of the Catholic Church is the Church of the East. The great schism between the Eastern and Western Churches took place in the eleventh century, though for centuries before a separation had been imminent. One of the chief causes of the separation of the Eastern from the Western Church was that the latter holds the doctrine that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son ( filioqe ) as well as from the Father, eternally; and inserted the words "filioque" (and from the Son) in the Nicene Creed. This the Eastern Church rejects; and also she errs in other details both of faith and practice. Her orders are without doubt Apostolical, and efforts have been made for her union with the Anglican Church, but the "filioque" clause in the Creed has hitherto hindered this from being accomplished.

CHURCH OF ROME. This is properly that branch of the great Church Catholic over which the Bishop, or Pope, of Rome presides. It in no way belongs to the object of this work to trace the history of this Church from Apostolic times, nor yet to notice how by degrees it claimed and assumed the supremacy over other churches. But since we find amongst us certain congregations who worship according to the Roman use, and who look up to the Pope of Rome as their head, it will be well to see how Romanism was introduced into this land after the Reformation. As has been before noticed (see Church of England ), it was not until about forty years after the Papal usurpation had been suppressed in England that those who still remained Roman at heart fell away from the ancient Church of England, and constituted themselves into a distinct community or sect. This was in the year 1570. This schismatic community was first governed by the Jesuits. In 1623 a Bishop, called the Bishop of Chalcedon, was consecrated, and sent from Rome to rule the Roman sect in England. The Bishop of Chalcedon was banished in 1628, and then the adherents of the Papacy in England were left without any Bishops until the reign of James II. This King favoured the Romanists, and would gladly have re-introduced the Roman Catholic religion into the country. He filled many vacant Sees with members of the Church of Rome; but all he did in favour of Popery was more than reversed in the reign of his successor, William III., Prince of Orange. In 1829 a Bill, called the Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill, was passed, by which Roman Catholics were made eligible to sit in Parliament, and restored to other rights of English citizenship from which they had before been excluded. In the present reign (1850) Dr. Wiseman, and a few other Roman Catholic priests, led the Pope to trench upon the Royal prerogative by establishing a Romish Hierarchy in this country. Cardinal Wiseman was made Archbishop of Westminster; and twelve others, Bishops of territorial Sees. A Bill, however, was brought into Parliament by the Government to resist this Papal aggression, and forbidding the assumption of English territorial titles. This Act has been repealed.

We of the Reformed Church hold that many doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome are erroneous and unscriptural, the most important of which are the following:—The doctrine of Original Sin, and Justification, as defined by the Council of Trent; Propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass; Transubstantiation; Communicating in one kind only; the Seven Sacraments; Purgatory; the Worship, Invocation, and Intercession of the Blessed Virgin, Saints, and Angels; Veneration of Relics; Worship of Images; Universal Supremacy of the Roman Church; the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; and the Infallibility of the Pope. These two last were not imposed upon the Roman Church as articles of faith, necessary to be believed, until 1854 and 1870. With the exception of the last two, the above is a summary of the errors of Rome, drawn up by Dr. Barrow, and quoted by Bishop Harold Browne in his book on the 39 articles.

In England the Roman Church has two Cardinals, one of whom
(Cardinal Manning) is also Archbishop, 17 Bishops, 2,112 other
Clergy. The number of Roman Catholic Archbishops and Bishops now
holding office in the British Empire is 131.

CHURCH MUSIC. Certain parts of our Service are directed to be "said or sung," the former possibly describing the parochial, the latter the Cathedral, manner of performing Divine Service. The use of musical instruments in the singing of praise to God is very ancient. The first Psalm in the Bible—viz., that which Moses and Miriam sang after the passage of the Red Sea—was then accompanied by timbrels. Afterwards, when the Temple was built, musical instruments were constantly used at public worship. In the 150th Psalm the writer especially calls upon the people to prepare the different kinds of instruments wherewith to praise the Lord. And this has been the constant practice of the Church in all ages. It is not clearly known when organs were first brought into use, but we find that as early as the year 766 the Emperor of the East sent an organ as a present to Pippin, King of France. It is certain that the use of them has been very common now for several hundreds of years.

The custom of dividing the choir into two parts, stationed on either side of the chancel, in order that they may say, or sing, alternate verses, dates from the primitive Church. Thus Miriam sang. (Ex. xv.20.) Thus the angels in heaven sing. (Isaiah vi.3)

The Psalms and Canticles are generally sung to a chant. These are of two kinds— Gregorian and Anglican . Gregorian chants are very ancient; a collection of them was compiled by Gregory, Bishop of Rome, about A.D. 600. They are sung in unison. Anglican chants, which are of much more recent invention, are sung in harmony. Nearly all our Church music is based on the Gregorian chant. A single chant is an air consisting of two phrases, corresponding to the two parts into which every verse of the Psalms and Canticles is divided in our Prayer Book by a colon. A double chant consists of four parts. Sometimes the Canticles are sung to what is called a Service , which is a musical arrangement similar to the Anthem.

Hymn , a metrical song of praise. Hymns are nowhere formally authorised in our Church, with one exception, viz., the Veni Creator in the Ordination Service. Still, metrical hymns have been sung in the Church from Apostolic times, the words of some of which are extant. The "hymn" sung by our Lord and his disciples at the Last Supper was probably the "Hallel," Psalms cvii.—cxviii.

Anthem , as the term is usually understood in England, consists of passages from Holy Scripture set to music; such also are Introits . Anthems are almost peculiar to our Church, but have been in constant use in it since the Reformation.

Other parts of the Service, such as the Prayers, the Versicles, the Litany, are frequently read either on one note ( monotoned ), or on one note occasionally varied at the end by a cadence ( intoned ). This is objected to by some as being unnatural; but it is not so. A child naturally intones or monotones if set to read or recite. And where a congregation have to repeat the same words together, it is absolutely necessary that they should do it on some given note, or the result would be Babel. Children in school, of their own accord, say their lessons together in a monotone. The practice of doing so in the Church dates from the very earliest times.

CHURCH PARTIES. There always have been, and probably always will be, in every religious community different schools of thought. Truth is many-sided, and while men may agree in prescribing a certain limit, outside which is error, yet within the boundary there may be room for many different views of central truths. In the Church of England the views held by different parties are generally reckoned under three heads,—(1) High Church , a section of which party are Ritualists; (2) Low Church , or Evangelicals ; (3) Broad Church . Roughly speaking their influence may be thus described: The High Church party has deepened the sense of the Church's corporate life and work, and added to the reverence, the order, the beauty of holy worship. The Low Church party has done much to awaken a spirit of vital personal religion. The Broad Church party has done much to co-ordinate the truths of religion with the certain results of science. The members of this party hold views more or less latitudinarian. The teaching of these three parties will best be seen by an enumeration of the names most favoured by each; thus High Churchmen appeal to Laud, Hammond, Sancroft, Hooker, Andrewes, Cosin, Pearson, Ken, Wilson, Robert Nelson, George Herbert, John Keble, and Pusey. Low Churchmen delight in Melanchthon, Zwingli, Cranmer, Hooper, Ridley, Jewel, Bunyan, Whitfield, Cowper, Scott, Cecil, John Newton, Romaine, Venn, Wilberforce, Simeon, and Henry Martyn. The Broad Church School contains such names as Bacon, Milton, Hales, Jeremy Taylor, Tillotson, Locke, Isaac Newton, Coleridge, Arnold, Maurice, Hare, Robertson, Kingsley, Thirlwall, and Stanley.

CHURCH RATE. A rate which the Churchwardens and Vestry had the right to levy on ratepayers for the repairs of the Church, and for the expenses connected with Divine Service. Ina, king of Wessex, drew up a code of Ecclesiastical Laws, which were accepted in a National Council in A.D. 690. Among these laws was that—"The Church Scot (or Rate) for the repair of Churches, and supply of all things necessary for Divine Worship, was to be paid by every house before Martinmas, according to a valuation made at Christmas." This right of the Church to levy compulsory Church Rates was only taken from her by an Act passed in the present reign, in consequence of the opposition raised by Dissenters.

CHURCH WARDENS. The Office of Church Warden dates from very early times in England, but we have no clear account of its origin. The Church Wardens, of whom there are two in most Parishes, are appointed at a meeting of parishioners held at Easter. The Incumbent has the power of appointing one, the other is elected by the vote of the parishioners. The Church Wardens were originally mere ecclesiastical officers; the State then added various civil functions to the office, such as levying rates, &c., but a good deal of this civil power has now been withdrawn. Their business has become in substance that of assisting in the finances, repairs, warming, &c., of the Church. It is also their duty to complain to the Bishop or Archdeacon if the Incumbent be neglectful or irregular in the conduct of Divine Service.

When Church Wardens have been chosen, they are admitted to their office by the Archdeacon. The office is of one year's duration only. In many larger parishes they are assisted by Synodmen, or Sidesmen.

A Church Warden should be a resident rate-payer; but non-residence is not always a disqualification. The following are certainly disqualified to hold office,—all aliens born, as well as aliens naturalized; all Jews; all children under 10 years of age; all persons convicted of felony; all idiots and insane persons.

CHURCH YARD. The ground adjoining the Church, in which the dead are buried. It is the freehold of the parson, but inasmuch as it was the common burial place, it was fenced and cared for at the charge of the parishioners, who could be rated for it. Recent Burial Acts (which see) have lately given power to laymen to conduct funeral services even in the consecrated Churchyard. Rates have also been done away with, and thus we find the parson burdened with the charge of a Churchyard in which any man, woman, or child, may hold funeral services. The Church of England is the only religious body in England which may not have a distinct burial ground for her dead!

CHURCHING OF WOMEN. From the earliest times it has been usual for a woman after child-birth to come to God's house to offer thanks. It was so among the Jews, although with them the idea of purification is involved as well as of thanksgiving, as it is in the Eastern Church at the present day. In some country places there is an idea that a woman can be " Churched " at home, which is a contradiction in terms.

CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST. A feast dating from before the 6th century, when a special service was already in use for it. The collect—a translation from an ancient Latin one—sums up well the teaching of the day.

CLERGY. A general name for ecclesiastics of all orders (see Orders ), as distinguished from the laity. The word is from a Greek one, meaning a portion .

CLERK. The legal designation of a clergyman is " Clerk in Holy Orders ." The Parish Clerk was formerly a person in Holy Orders, but his office, as defined in our Prayer Book, is usually discharged by a layman. The appointment of a Parish Clerk is in the hands of the incumbent, by whom also he may be dismissed; but in some parishes the office is a freehold. The almost universal use of choirs in churches has nearly done away with that strange mode of public worship which consisted of a duet between the parson and clerk. The clerk has certain stated fees for his assistance at marriages and funerals.

CLOISTER. A covered walk attached to monastic and collegiate buildings and Cathedrals.

COLLECT. A short concentrated prayer. The derivation of the word is doubtful. The greater part of our Collects are found in the Sacramentaries of St. Leo (A.D. 420), Gelasius (A.D. 494), and Gregory the Great (A.D. 590.) Fifty-seven out of tie existing eighty-two Prayer Book Collects are thus translations from the Latin. The later Collects may sometimes be distinguished from these ancient ones by their lack of terseness, and by their greater use of scriptural language.

COLLEGE. A corporation or community. The Colleges of our Universities are independent societies, governed by their own statutes and officers. Still, they are connected in certain ways with the greater Corporation, called the University (which see.)

COLLEGIATE CHURCHES. Churches with a College , or body of Canons or
Prebendaries attached, such as Westminster Abbey, and St. George's,
Windsor. The only others remaining now are Wolverhampton, Middleham,
and Brecon.

COMMANDMENTS, The TEN. The recital of the Decalogue is peculiar to our English Communion Service. It was ordered in 1552, possibly to counteract the growth of Antinomianism (which see.) While other parts of the Levitical Law relating to ceremonies and the like are not binding on Christians, the Commandments are so, because they embody the Moral Law, which is for all time and all people.

For the sense in which the Commandments are to be understood, see the explanation of them in the Catechism. The reason of their being placed in the Communion Service is to remind us of the duty of self-examination before we "presume to eat of that bread and drink of that cup," and to give us a standard whereby we may measure ourselves. For the alteration from the seventh day to the first , see Sunday .

COMMENDATORY PRAYER. One of the four extra prayers added to the Office for the Visitation of the Sick in 1662. It is a most beautiful commendation of a "sick person at the point of departure" to God's gracious mercy.

COMMINATION. The word means a threat , or denunciation of vengeance . The Service, so-called in our Prayer Book, took its present shape in 1549. It is, as the first exhortation states, an imperfect substitute for the primitive practice of open penance. Notice that in using this Service we do not invoke the wrath of God on sinners, but merely declare that a curse must rest on sin. The Service is used on Ash Wednesday, although, if ordered, it may be used at other times. The first seven sentences are from Deut. xxvii.15-26; the eighth is from Jer. xvii.5; the ninth is an agglomeration of sins condemned in Scripture. The Amen here means not So be it , but So it is . The exhortation which follows is a succession of quotations from Scripture. The Rubric mentions the "place where they are accustomed to say the Litany," which place is neither the pulpit nor reading pew mentioned in the first Rubric in the Office, but is a desk placed "in the midst of the church" (Injunctions of 1549). Following the Lord's Prayer, Versicles, and Collects, comes a most forcible confession couched in the words of Scripture, but less comprehensive than those of the Morning and Communion Services. The Blessing, added in 1662, is a shortened form of the old Jewish Blessing (Num. vi.24-26), but here it is precatory not declaratory.

COMMITTAL PRAYER. That prayer in the Burial Service in which the minister commits the body to the ground, "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." (See Burial Service .)

COMMUNION, THE HOLY. Variously called the Lord's Supper and the Eucharist . This Service, formerly exclusively called the Liturgy is the highest act of Christian worship. We will consider it under four heads,—(1) History; (2) Rubrics; (3) Service; (4) Views.

(1) History . The two Sacraments—Holy Communion, and Holy Baptism—differ from all other Christian observances in that they are the only two expressly ordained by our Lord. We have four records of the institution of the Lord's Supper in the New Testament, viz., Matt, xxvi.26-28; Mark xiv.22-24; Luke xxii.19-20; 1 Cor. xi.23-25. In obedience to our Lord's command, "This do in remembrance of Me," we find the Apostles constantly celebrated the Holy Communion; Acts ii.46; xx.7; &c. This was always accompanied by a set form of prayer, traces of which we may even find in the New Testament—Acts ii.42; 1 Cor. x.16; 1 Cor. xiv.16. Justin Martyr, who wrote A.D. 140, gives an account of a Sunday Service. Almsgiving usually, if not always, accompanied a celebration of the Holy Communion. As the number of Christians increased, the various Churches throughout Europe compiled for their own use forms of prayer for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist; the form most used in England was known by the name of the "Sarum, or Salisbury, Use." The Communion Service in our Prayer Book is based upon, and translated from, this "Sarum Use," with considerable modifications and adaptations. The first reformed Office appeared in 1548; the first full English Office was put forth in 1549; the present Office is substantially that in the second Prayer Book of Edward VI., 1552. A great deal of it is from Hermann's "Consultation," a Liturgy drawn up in 1543 by Melanchthon and Bucer.

(2) Rubrics . The first, inserted in 1661, has become virtually obsolete. The "Ordinary," mentioned in the third, is the Bishop, and the "Canon" referred to is the 109th. For first part of fourth rubric, see Altar . For the latter part of this rubric, see Eastward Position . This rubric was added in 1552.

The rubric before the Commandments was inserted in 1552, but the words "turning to the people," were added in 1661. The next was inserted in 1549. In the next rubric, the alternate form of giving out the Epistle is for use when the passage selected as the Epistle is not really from the Epistles, but is some other "portion of Scripture;" the "sung or said" refers, possibly, to the Cathedral and Parochial modes of conducting Service. (See Church Music .)

Three rubrics follow the Nicene Creed; in the first, 1662, the word "Curate," there and elsewhere in the Prayer Book, means the minister in charge of the parish, having "cure of souls," not the assistant minister generally so denominated now. The direction that notice of Holy Communion is to be given at this part of the service is quite contradictory to the rubric following the Prayer for the Church Militant, which should be altered. The word "Homily," in the second of these rubrics, means "a plain sermon." Two books of Homilies have been put forth, one in 1547, by Archbp. Cranmer and others, and the second in 1562, by Bishop Jewel. There is no authority in this, or any other rubric, for changing the surplice for a black gown, neither is there any direction for a prayer before the sermon, although a form is given in the 55th Canon. (See Bidding Prayer .)

The first rubric after the Offertory Sentences was inserted in 1661; in 1552 the alms were to be put in the poor box, and not presented. The next rubric orders the bread and wine to be placed on the Holy Table, thus implying the existence of some shelf or table, called the Credence Table, on which they had been previously placed. This rubric was omitted from 1552 to 1661, which perhaps accounts for the custom existing in some churches of not placing the elements on the altar till the time of consecration. The rubrics before the two exhortations giving notice of Holy Communion, were inserted in 1661, but now they have fallen into disuse. The next rubric, inserted in 1552, refers to the custom, almost obsolete now, of intending communicants taking places in the chancel for the rest of the service.

The rubric before the Confession is ambiguous in language, and may mean that the Confession is to be said by the minister alone. The next rubric, directing the Bishop, if present, to pronounce the Absolution, is from the Scottish Office, and was introduced here in 1661. For the rubric before the Consecration prayer, see Eastward Position . The "fair linen cloth," ordered to be thrown over what remains of the consecrated elements, is by some thought to represent the linen clothes in which the Saviour's body was wrapped when placed in the tomb.

Of the nine rubrics at the close of the service, the second, third, and fourth are directed against the practice obtaining in the Roman Catholic Church of solitary masses. The fifth is stated by Archbishop Parker and Bishop Cosin not to forbid the use of wafer-bread, but merely to legalize the use of ordinary bread. The rubric in the Scottish Liturgy expresses this more clearly,—"Though it be lawful to have wafer-bread, it shall suffice that the bread be such as is usual." The sixth rubric exhibits the Church's careful and reverent treatment of the remains of the consecrated elements; but its main office was to forbid the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament for the use of invalids and others. This was allowed in the primitive Church, and is now by the Scottish Episcopal Church; but the superstitions which grew up around the custom seemed to make the present rule necessary. The next rubric has been required since offerings in kind were discontinued.

In the next rubric the Lateran Council (1215) enjoined one communion yearly, at Easter-tide only; but the present rule is more in accordance with the custom of the ancient Church, and encourages lay communions.

The last rubric only provides for the distribution of alms when there is an offertory, i.e. the reading of the offertory sentences. Other collections are in the hands of the incumbent only. The Ordinary is the Bishop.

The "declaration" is a protest against certain low and gross notions of a carnal presence, as taught in the Roman Church. The " kneeling " here, and the " meekly kneeling " in the rubric after the Consecration Prayer, exclude prostration, which is not kneeling.

(3) The Service . As was said in the paragraph on the History of the Communion Service, it is chiefly taken from the "Sarum Use." When there is no celebration, the Service concludes with a Collect and the Benediction, said immediately after the Prayer for the Church Militant; and this is called the Ante-Communion Office. The Lord's Prayer is said by the Priest alone, notwithstanding the general rubric to the contrary; that, and the Collect following, being taken from an Office which was repeated by the Priest alone, in preparation for Mass. The Decalogue was inserted in 1552 (see Commandments .) In the Collects following, the Mediaeval Offices coupled the Pope, King, and Bishop of Diocese together.

It is an ancient custom to sit during the reading of the Epistle, and to stand during the reading of the Gospel, out of reverence for the repetition of the words or acts of Christ. The Doxology "Glory be to Thee, O Lord" has, from a very early period, followed the announcement of the Gospel; but the "Thanks be to Thee, O Lord," afterwards, is a comparatively late custom. For the Nicene Creed, see Creed . In the Prayer Book of 1662, the Banns of Marriage were ordered to be published after the Nicene Creed. For the Sermon see article Sermon . The sentences following are called the "Offertory Sentences;" formerly a verse was sung before the oblation of the elements. The next prayer, called the Prayer for the Church Militant , has, in some form or other, formed part of every known Liturgy. It is divided into three main parts—(1) The Oblation; (2) Commemoration of the living; (3) Commemoration of the faithful departed. The oblation is twofold, firstly of the alms which have been collected, and, secondly, of the elements, the bread and wine for Holy Communion. The Exhortations, here and elsewhere in the Prayer Book, are sixteenth century compositions. The first is from Hermann's "Consultation" (which see); the close of this exhortation is important as shewing that in certain cases the Reformers allowed auricular confession. The parts of this Service following the Exhortations are respectively called the Invitation, Confession, Absolution, and the "Comfortable Words," and are very characteristic of the Anglican Liturgy. After the "Comfortable Words" begins the most solemn part of the Office, anciently called the Canon. The versicles, called, after the Latin for the first, the "Sarsum Corda," are found in all Liturgies; and the "Holy, Holy, Holy,"—the Ter-sanctus,—is probably from Apostolic times. The "Proper Prefaces" are five out of the ten found in English and Roman Missals; the first is an old form, re-modelled in 1549; the second remains as it was in 494; the third dates from 590; the fourth seems to be a new composition in 1549; the fifth, like the second, dates from 494. Next follows a very beautiful prayer, called the "Prayer of Humble Access," which is peculiar to the Anglican Liturgy. After this comes the "Prayer of Consecration." The recital of the words and actions used by our blessed Lord at the Institution of this Holy Feast has always formed an essential feature in every Liturgy. The form of words to be used at the Reception has varied. Originally, the words used were, "The Body of Christ," "The Blood of Christ." Of the form in use now, the first clause only was ordered in 1549, the second only in 1552, and both were combined in 1559. The Lord's Prayer, following, formerly was part of the Consecration Prayer; and the next prayer, called the "Oblation," was the conclusion of the Consecration Prayer in 1549. After the alternate prayer, composed in 1549, comes the ancient hymn known as the "Gloria in Excelsis," or "Angelic Hymn," or the "Great Doxology." It is of Eastern origin, and in the time of Athanasius was said, together with certain Psalms, at dawn. The "Benediction" is a Scriptural composition of the Reformed Church, the latter part being from Hermann's Consultation. Of the collects concluding the service, the first, second, and fourth are from ancient Offices, the others being composed in 1549.

(4) Views , or Doctrine . In nothing does the belief of men so differ as in this matter of Holy Communion. There may be said to be three views existing among members of the Church of England relative to that which all allow to be the greatest ordinance of religion. This difference of belief in this matter is the real foundation of party spirit in the Church.

( a ) The Symbolic : viz., that consecration simply implies a setting apart for a holy use of certain elements by a Minister authorised to do so; that the Bread and Wine thus set apart are symbols of Christ's Body, which was broken, and of His blood, which was shed; and that the participation of them is, on the one hand, a sign of the fellowship of love binding all true hearts together; and, on the other, a sign of the nourishment and growth of the soul, as fed by Christ Himself. This is the doctrine of Zuinglius, the Swiss Reformer. It is adverse to the doctrine of the whole primitive Church, which, says Bishop H. Browne, "unquestionably believed in a presence of Christ in the Eucharist." (Art. xxviii. Sec. I.)

( b ) The Receptionist ; viz., that after consecration the elements become in such a sense changed that they become the channels through which the Body and Blood of Christ are subsequently conveyed to those who receive them with certain dispositions of mind. The Presence of Christ in the elements is potential, not actual; that is, the elements have the power of conveying the Presence of Christ to only a properly qualified receiver.

( c ) The Objective ; viz., that after the consecration the elements receive not potentially, but actually, the Present Body and Blood of Christ, and that therefore, the Presence does not depend, as in the view above, upon faithful participation, but upon the act of consecration.

More briefly, the Holy Communion is considered as (1) a memorial feast of love; (2) the actual Presence of Christ in the heart of the faithful recipient; this might also be called the Subjective view of the Real Presence; and (3) the Real Presence of Christ in the consecrated elements themselves, or the Objective view.

There is also the Sacrificial view of the Eucharist, which is held, in a greater or less degree, by all schools of thought. Sadler, in "Church Doctrine,—Bible Truth," thus states what he believes to be the Church of England view—"The Eucharist is the solemn ecclesiastical memorial of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ. It is the Saviour's own ordained means of showing forth before God, men, and angels. His love in His Death. Just as the Old Law sacrifices were anticipatory showings forth of the One Atoning Death which was to be, so this Communion is a memorial, or commemorative showing forth, of the One Atoning Death which has been."

COMMUNION OF THE SICK. This Office differs from the ordinary Communion Service in its introduction, a special Collect, Epistle, and Gospel being appointed. After this is concluded, the Priest continues with the ordinary Office, beginning "Ye that do truly," &c. Up to 1552 it was allowed to carry the consecrated elements from the church to the sick person; and even later than this we find the rubric allowing of reservation inserted at large in Queen Elizabeth's Latin Prayer Book. This Prayer Book was drawn up for the use of the Universities and the Colleges of Winchester and Eton. The third rubric in the Service is for the prevention of infection. The direction in the fourth rubric with regard to what is called "Spiritual Communion" is from the ancient Office of Extreme Unction. The last rubric does not allow mere infection to be a sufficient excuse for a clergyman's not giving Holy Communion.

COMMUNION OF SAINTS. An article of our Faith. The faithful have (1) an external fellowship, or communion, in the Word and Sacraments; (2) an intimate union as the living members of Christ. Nor is this communion, or fellowship, broken by the death of any, for in Christ all are knit together in one uninterrupted bond.

COMTISM, or POSITIVISM. A philosophy taught by one Auguste Comte, a Frenchman, who was born in 1798, and died 1857. He denied the Deity, and introduced the worship of Humanity. In his religion, which must not be confounded with his philosophy, there are many festivals, a calendar of saints, nine sacraments, and a caricature of the Holy Trinity. His philosophical system is based on altruism, a word meaning much the same as the Biblical command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." This philosophy has many adherents.

CONCEPTION, THE IMMACULATE, OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. A doctrine of the Roman Church, invented about the middle of the ninth century. It teaches that the Blessed Virgin herself was conceived and born without sin. Although this dates from so far back, yet it was not imposed by the Church of Rome upon her members as a definite article of faith until the year A.D. 1854.

CONFESSION. The verbal admission of sin. The Prayer Book provides three forms of public confession—one in Morning Prayer, one in the Communion Service, and one in the Commination Service. Besides this the Church of England allows private confession to a priest in exceptional cases, as in the latter part of the first exhortation in the Communion Service, and in the rubric immediately preceding the Absolution in the Office for the Visitation of the Sick. Private, or Auricular , Confession forms a prominent feature in the Church of Rome, and it is that which gives to the Roman Priest his great authority over his flock. The practice is, to some extent, founded upon S. James v. 16, which, however, is not necessarily to be understood as speaking of confession to a priest.

CONFIRMATION, RITE OF. The practice of confirming those who have been baptized is spoken of in Acts viii.12-17; xix.4-6. In the early Church it was administered by Bishops alone, and followed as immediately as possible after Baptism. Such is the custom of the Greek Church at the present day, but there the Office is not restricted to Bishops, as in the Western Church, confirmation being administered with chrism, an unguent consecrated by a Bishop. In the Western Church the Rite became gradually dissociated from Baptism, although it has never lost its primary signification as a confirming , or strengthening, by the Holy Ghost of those who have been baptized. It is now administered, as the rubric directs, to those who have arrived at "years of discretion," that is to say, to those who are old enough to understand the leading doctrines of the Christian Faith. The age at which Bishops of the Anglican Church will confirm children varies a little in the different dioceses, but 13 or 14 is the general age. The Rite of Confirmation forms one of the seven Sacraments of the Churches of Greece and Rome.

The Preface to the Service, inserted in 1661, is, in substance, the rubric of 1549. The Vow, at all times implied, was not explicitly inserted until 1661. The Versicles and Prayer are from ancient Offices. The form of words accompanying the Imposition of Hands dates from 1552. The Lord's Prayer was inserted in 1661, and the Collect following was composed in 1549. The second Collect is from the Communion Office. The concluding rubric, although making it a point of Church order that people should be confirmed before coming to Holy Communion, allows that in certain cases the privilege conferred by the Rite may be anticipated.

CONFIRMATION of a BISHOP. When a Bishop dies, or is translated, the sovereign grants a license, called a conge d'elire , to the Dean and Chapter of the vacant see to elect the person, whom by his letters missive he has appointed. The Dean and Chapter, having made their election, certify it to the sovereign, and to the Archbishop of the province, and to the Bishop elected; then the sovereign gives his royal assent under the great seal, directed to the Archbishop, commanding him to confirm and consecrate the Bishop thus elected. The Archbishop subscribes this " fiat confirmatio ." After this, a long and formal process is gone through, and at length the Bishop elect takes the oaths of office, and the election is ratified and decreed to be good. The matter is in no way of a spiritual nature.

CONGREGATION. In an ordinary sense, an assemblage of people for public worship. In the Bible our translators consider Congregation and Church convertible terms. Psalm xxii.22; Heb. ii.12.

CONGRUITY. A term used in the 13th Art. The "School authors" mentioned are the theologians of the middle ages as compared with the "Fathers" of the early times. Bishop Harold Browne says, "The school-authors thought that some degree of goodness was attributable to unassisted efforts on the part of man towards the attainment of holiness: and, though they did not hold, that such efforts did, of their own merit, deserve grace, yet they taught that in some degree they were such as to call down the grace of God upon them, it being not indeed obligatory on the justice of God to reward such efforts by giving His grace, but it being agreeable to His nature and goodness to bestow grace on those who make such efforts." (Art. X.)

These endeavours on the part of man to attain to godliness were by the schoolmen said to deserve grace de congnio , of congruity .

CONSECRATION of CHURCHES, CHURCH YARDS, and CEMETERIES. A Christian custom dating, at latest, from the 4th century. Nor does the law of England recognise any place as a church until it has been consecrated by a Bishop. Nothing more, however, is implied, than that the building or place consecrated is set apart for holy uses.

CONSUBSTANTIATION. A doctrine of the Lutheran Church with regard to the Real Presence in Holy Communion. "It differs from Transubstantiation, in that it does not imply a change in the substance of the elements. Those who hold this doctrine, teach that the bread remains bread, and the wine remains wine; but that with, and by means of the consecrated elements, the true, natural Body and Blood of Christ are communicated to the recipients." (Bp. Harold Browne.)

CONSULTATION, HERMANN'S. A book frequently referred to in the articles on the different parts of the Prayer Book. Hermann was Archbishop of Cologne at the time of the Reformation, and adopted Protestantism. He employed Melanchthon and Bucer, two celebrated Reformers, to draw up a book of formularies, doctrine, and the like, which was called the Consultation . Much of our Prayer Book is derived from it.

CONVERSION. Literally, turning round . By this is generally meant a sudden and sensible action of the Blessed Spirit upon a newly-awakened sinner. A certain party in the Church, and nearly all dissenting bodies, declare the absolute necessity of conversion before a person can be saved. This view is based upon a mistaken interpretation of our Lord's intercourse with Nicodemus, S. John iii., and confuses conversion with regeneration (which see). To the heathen, and infidel, conversion —a change of heart and life—is absolutely and always necessary to salvation; but the baptized Christian may, by God's grace, so continue in that state of salvation (see Church Catechism ) in which he was placed in baptism, that conversion , in the above sense, is not necessary to him; but inasmuch as all fall into sin day by day, he will need renewal , or renovation —the quiet and continuous work of the Holy Spirit upon his heart. There is not a single reference to sudden conversion in any of the formularies of the Church of England.

CONVOCATION. An assembly of Bishops and Clergy to consult on matters ecclesiastical. Each Province (Canterbury and York) has its own convocation, consisting of two Houses—an Upper, in which the Bishops of the Province sit, and a Lower, in which the Deans, Archdeacons, and chosen members of the clergy sit. These chosen clergy are called proctors, and are elected by the votes of the beneficed clergy. It was, and is, the custom of convocation to sit at the same time as parliament; but in the sixteenth century a great deal of the power and authority of convocation was lost, and it became no longer able to legislate for the Church without the consent of parliament.

CORONATION. The solemn religious rite by which a sovereign prince is consecrated to his high office. The Coronation Service is substantially the same as that used in the times of the Heptarchy, and is very valuable as recording certain high religious and political principles prevailing in those early times, and still to be cherished.

COUNCILS. GENERAL or OECUMENICAL COUNCILS, or SYNODS. Assemblies of Bishops from all parts of the world, to determine some weighty matter of faith or discipline. Of such Councils there have been six received by the whole Catholic Church, but the Roman Church acknowledges several others. Of these six Councils the first four are the most important:—(1) Council of Nice, A.D. 325, summoned by the Emperor Constantine, against the Arian heresy. (2) Council of Constantinople, A.D. 381, summoned by the Emperor Theodosius, against the heresy of Macedonius. (3) Council of Ephesus, A.D. 431, summoned by the Emperor Theodosius the younger, against the Nestorian heresy. (4) Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 451, summoned by the Emperor Marcianus, against the heresy of the Eutychians. The other two generally received Councils are the Second and Third Councils of Constantinople. (See OEcumenical .)

Besides these General Councils, there are National, Provincial, and Diocesan Councils,

COVENANT. A mutual agreement between two or more parties. In the Bible, God is spoken of as entering into covenant with man, as in Gen. xv.8-18; xxviii.20-22; and elsewhere. In an historical sense it denotes a contract or convention agreed to by the Scots in 1630 for maintaining the Presbyterian religion free from innovation. This was called the National Covenant. The "Solemn League and Covenant," a modification of the above, guaranteed the preservation of the Scottish Reformed Church, and was adopted by Parliament in 1643.

CREDENCE TABLE. A table or shelf near the altar, on which the bread and wine to be used in Holy Communion are placed previously to consecration. The word seems to be derived from the Italian credenzare , a buffet, or sideboard, at which meats were tasted in early times before being presented to the guests, as a precaution against poison. It is used for the more convenient observance of the rubric following the offertory sentences, "And when there is a Communion, the priest shall then place upon the Table so much bread and wine as he shall think sufficient."

CREED. There are three Creeds recognised in the Catholic Church—the Apostles' Creed , the Nicene Creed , and the Athanasian Creed . The name Creed is derived from the Latin Credo , "I believe."

The Apostles' Creed , rehearsed in the Morning and Evening Service of our Church, is the most ancient of all creeds, and can be traced back, with few variations, almost to Apostolic times; some indeed allege that it, in its earliest form, is referred to in Rom. vi.17, and 2 Tim. i.13. It is in no way controversial, but is a simple and plain statement of the fundamental truths of Christianity, and being such, a profession of faith in it is demanded of all candidates for Baptism.

The Nicene Creed , which has a place in the Communion Service, is so called from its being drawn up at the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325). A more distinct enunciation of belief was made necessary by the growth of the Arian and other heresies which denied the Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ. The latter portion, from "I believe in the Holy Ghost," was added later, viz., at the Council of Constantinople, A.D. 381. Other heresies led to the introduction of the " filioque clause "—"Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son "—at a still later date. This is one cause of the great schism between the Eastern and Western Churches.

The Athanasian Creed , recited on certain Festivals instead of the Apostles' Creed, is not so ancient as the other two, nor does it rest on the same authority. It is not known for certain by whom it was composed, but at any rate it was not by Athanasius. It has been regularly used in the Western Church since the year 800, and is regarded as a most valuable exposition of Scriptural Truth. So much objection is taken to the "damnatory clauses," as they are called, that it may be well to quote the declaration of the Convocation of Canterbury (1879):—"For the removal of doubts, and to prevent disquietude in the use of the Creed, commonly called the Creed of St. Athanasius, it is hereby solemnly declared—

"(I.) That the Confession of our Christian Faith, commonly called the Creed of St. Athanasius, doth not make any addition to the faith as contained in Holy Scripture, but warneth against errors, which from time to time have arisen in the Church of Christ.

"(II.) That as Holy Scripture in divers places doth promise life to them that believe, and declares the condemnation of them that believe not, so doth the Church in this Confession declare the necessity for all who would be in a state of Salvation, of holding fast the Catholic Faith, and the great peril of rejecting the same. Wherefore the warnings in this Confession of Faith are not to be understood otherwise than like warnings of Holy Scripture; for we must receive God's threatenings, even as His promises, in such wise as they are generally set forth in Holy Writ. Moreover, the Church doth not herein pronounce judgment on any particular person or persons, God alone being the Judge of all."

CROSIER. In Skeat's Etymological Dictionary Crosier is derived from Crook ; thus a pastoral staff terminating in a crook. The use of a pastoral staff is ordered in the Prayer Book of the second year of Edward VI. The pastoral staff of an Archbishop is distinguished from the pastoral staff of a Bishop by terminating in a cross instead of in a crook.

CROSS. The instrument of death to our Blessed Lord, and as such it has been considered in all ages by the Church as the most appropriate emblem, or symbol, of our Christian profession. The sign of the cross was formerly used in nearly every part of the Church Service, but owing to the superstitious use of it by Roman Catholics it is retained in our Church in the baptismal office only.

CRUCIFIX. A cross upon which is a representation of our Lord's body. It is used by the Romanists, and the Lutheran Protestants, as an aid to devotion. In the Church of England we sometimes find it in reredoses and stained glass.

CRYPT. The subterranean vault under any portion of a Church. Possibly used as an additional place of worship; and, also, sometimes of burial, and of concealment.

CURATE. Properly the person who has the cure , or care, of souls in a parish. In this way the word, is used in the Prayer Book. But the word, in common parlance, is used to denote the assistant clergyman in a parish. He is licensed by the Bishop of the diocese, and can be removed only by consent of the Bishop after six months' notice. He can, however, resign, after giving the Incumbent three months' notice. For particulars with regard to ordination see Orders .

CURE. The spiritual charge of a parish, or, in another sense, the parish itself.

DAILY PRAYERS. Every Priest and Deacon is bound to say publicly in
Church, if a congregation of two or three can be obtained; or
privately, unless hindered by some good cause, the Office for
Morning and Evening Prayer. This is directed in the preface of the
Book of Common Prayer.

DEAN. An ecclesiastic next in degree to a Bishop. He is the head of a corporate body called a Chapter, attached to a Cathedral, and has the direction of the Cathedral services. Deans of Peculiars have no Chapters. The Dean of a College at Oxford or Cambridge is the officer appointed to maintain discipline.*

The Dean of Faculty presides over meetings of the particular faculty of which he is Dean. It is an office in most ancient, and some modern universities.

* The Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, is the Head both of the Cathedral, and the College .

DECORATION of CHURCHES. It is right and fitting that churches should be made as beautiful as possible for the worship of Almighty God, for so God Himself directed the Tabernacle to be made. The custom of especially decorating them with evergreens, flowers, &c., at the chief festivals of the Church is a very ancient one.

DEGREES. A rank or grade conferred by a university on her members. After three years' residence at Oxford or Cambridge, and after the passing of certain examinations, a degree is conferred on the student in accordance with the subjects in which he has passed. If, as is the general rule, he has studied and passed in Arts,—Classics, Mathematics, and the like—the student is made a B.A., or Bachelor in Arts, and in about three years—not necessarily of residence—he is able to proceed to the higher degree of M. A., or Master in Arts, without further examination. Other degrees are in the faculties of Divinity, Laws, Medicine, and Music; for the last it is not necessary to reside. The highest degree conferred by a university in any faculty is that of Doctor. A Bachelor of Oxford wears a small black hood trimmed with white fur; a Bachelor of Cambridge has a larger hood lined with white fur. An Oxford Master wears a hood of black silk lined with red silk, but the Cambridge Master's hood is of black silk lined with white silk. The difference in shape can easily be seen by comparison. A Dublin Master's hood is lined with blue silk. Other universities have other colours; and many theological colleges, which have no power to confer degrees, have arrogated to themselves hoods with various linings, which bear a close resemblance to some of the hoods worn by graduates.

DEISTS. A Deist acknowledges the existence of a God, but denies the existence and necessity of any revelation.

DENOMINATIONS. There appear to be about 180 Denominations having Places of Meeting for Religious Worship in England and Wales. Among these there are—

DESK. The name usually given to the "reading-pew," mentioned in the rubric before the Commination Service, where morning and evening prayers are said or sung. In 1549 it was directed that the Service should be said "in the Quire" and "with a loud voice." This was done by the Priest near to, and facing, the Altar. In 1552 the Service was directed to be said from such a place as the people could best hear. This direction caused a great commotion, one party retaining their old position in the Chancel, the other performing all services in the body of the Church. In 1559 the rubric before the Order for Morning Prayer was brought into its present shape, and the "accustomed Place" would undoubtedly be the Chancel, but still the discretion left with the "Ordinary" sanctioned the use of the unsightly "reading-pew" or desk , which is occasionally found outside the Chancel and in the body of the Church.

DEUS MISEREATUR. Psalm lxvii., inserted in the Evening Service for occasional use instead of the Nunc Dimittis in 1552.

DIGNITARY. One who holds cathedral or other preferment to which jurisdiction is annexed. "One who holds an ecclesiastical rank above a priest or canon." (Chambers' Etymological Dictionary.)

DIMISSORY LETTERS. When a Candidate for Holy Orders is ordained by some Bishop other than the one in whose diocese he is going to work, it is because the ordaining Bishop has received leave, or Letters Dimissory , from the candidate's rightful Diocesan.

DIOCESE. The extent of a Bishop's rule. England at present is divided into 32 dioceses; 23 being in the Province of Canterbury, and 9 in the Province of York. It is to be very earnestly wished that these dioceses may be sub-divided, and the number of Bishops increased, that the Church may be more able to cope with the enormously increased population.

DISSENTERS. A civil , not a religious term, and denotes those who have diverged from the civilly established religion of a country. Episcopalians are Dissenters in Scotland, Christians are Dissenters in Turkey. In England all are Dissenters who do not belong to the Church of England, whether they are Protestants or Papists. For further particulars see under their various names.

DONATIVE. A form of conferring an ecclesiastical benefice on any clerk, by which he is exempt from presentation, induction, or institution; the patron acting virtually as a Bishop. This is said to be the usual manner in which benefices were anciently conferred.

DOXOLOGY. An ascription of praise to God. The most familiar doxologies in use in our Church are the "Gloria Patri," the "Gloria in Excelsis," and the well-known verse, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," &c. Many of our prayers, especially those of thanksgiving, conclude with a doxology.

EAST, TURNING TO THE. This is now generally done at the Creeds. It is a survival of a general custom of worship towards the East—as the region of light, symbolical of the rising of the "Sun of Righteousness"—which is at least as old as the time of Tertullian, who lived in the second century.

EASTWARD POSITION. A term descriptive of the position used by a Priest who adopts the custom of celebrating Holy Communion facing the East, with his back to the people. There is a very great difficulty in ascertaining what the rubrics with relation to the Priest's position really mean, because the Altar itself occupied various positions at the time the rules were framed.

(1.) Position of Altar . "The Table. . . .shall stand in the Body of the Church, or in the Chancel," is the rubric of 1552. "The Holy Table shall be set in the place where the Altar stood. . . .saving when the Communion of the Sacrament is to be distributed, at which time the same shall be so placed in good sort (conveniently) within the Chancel," is the direction in the Injunctions of 1559.

By degrees, however, the custom of moving the Holy Table at the time of Communion, and placing it length-ways in the Church ceased, and it was allowed to remain at all times placed "Altar-wise" at the East End of the Church.

(2.) Position of the Priest . In the rubric of 1549 the direction was for him "to stand humbly afore the midst of the Altar," of course with his back to the people. In 1552 the present rubric, directing the "North-side," was introduced, but owing to the Altar's standing East and West then, the position of the Priest remained virtually the same as before. But when, through Laud's influence, the Holy Table was removed back to its original position, the question was whether the Priest was still to obey the letter of the rubric and stand at the "North-side," or rather what was now the "North end," or whether he too was to retain his old relative and original position. The matter has been further complicated by the insertion of the rubric before the Consecration Prayer in 1662, which seems to favour the Eastward position in directing the Priest to "stand before the Table," while, on the other hand, that very position renders it difficult to "break the Bread before the people," unless, as some maintain, the "before" does not mean "in the sight of," but "in front of."

EASTER. The great festival of the Church's Year, and kept in commemoration of our Saviour's glorious Resurrection. It has always been observed by the Church, but in early ages there were bitter disputes as to the season when it was to be kept. Some wished it to be observed on the actual anniversary, whether the day happened to be a Sunday or not. The matter was settled at the Council of Nice, when it was decided that Easter should be kept on the first Sunday following the full moon which falls on, or next after, March 21st.

The word Easter is probably derived from the name of a Saxon goddess, whose festival was kept in the Spring of the year. The other name, Paschal, applied to this festival, is a Hebrew word meaning "passage," and is applied to the Jewish feast of the Passover, to which the Christian festival of Easter corresponds.

Easter used to be the great day for Baptism, for the restoring of
Penitents, and, in the early ages, even for the freeing of prisoners.
Every confirmed member of the Church of England is expected to
Communicate on Easter Day, in accordance with the direction at the
end of the Communion Service.

EASTER ANTHEMS. Certain passages, chosen from 1 Cor. v., Rom. vi., 1 Cor. xv., directed to be sung instead of the Venite on Easter Day.

ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSIONERS. "In the year 1837 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners were embodied. They are not, as many suppose, the dispensers of State funds to the Church. They are a corporation for the purpose of holding as trustees a large amount of Church revenues. The sources from which the income in their hands arises are certain annual payments from several bishoprics, emoluments of suspended canonries, the property of suspended deaneries and sinecure rectories, capitular estates, and other Ecclesiastical sources." (Webb's "England's Inheritance in her Church.")

"The Ecclesiastical Commission does with the lands of Bishops and Chapters what these could never do for themselves. It can afford to wait for the falling in of leases, whereas those old corporations were obliged to renew them, that they might live on the money paid for renewals; and when it has got the lands it lets them for their full value. By this means it is able to pay the old corporations out of half their lands as much as they used to get from the whole under their own system, and the other moiety is taken out of the hands of laymen (regard being had to equity) and devoted to other beneficial purposes for the Church. In this way the surplus revenues of capitular estates have been applied to the benefit of an immense number of parishes which had claims upon them." (Dixon's "Peek Essay.")

ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. The following are the principal: the
Consistory Courts of the Bishops; the Arches Court of Canterbury;
and the Supreme Court of Appeal, composed of members of the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council. Under the Public Worship Act the
Dean of the Arches Court has been made Official Principal of both
Provinces. A Royal Commission has recently issued a Report upon the
Ecclesiastical Courts, and the question of their constitution
generally is under consideration.

ELECTION. A choosing, hence the "chosen people" of God. There are three views taken of election,—the Calvinistic, the Arminian, and the Catholic. The Calvinistic view is that certain persons are from all eternity chosen or elected by God to salvation, the rest of mankind being condemned to eternal death (See Predestination , Calvinism , Antinomianism .)

The Arminian view is that God, knowing what the life of every man born into the world shall be, and foreseeing that some "will refuse the evil and choose the good," hath elected them to eternal life. (See Arminianism .)

The Catholic view is that God of his mercy elects certain of His creatures for a place in the visible Church, and thus causes them to be placed in "a state of salvation," of which, however, they may fall short by their own perverseness.

The Church of England, as a branch of the great Church Catholic, is believed to teach this latter view, as will be seen by a study of her Liturgy.

ELEMENTS. The Bread and Wine used in Holy Communion (See Communion, Holy ). In Holy Baptism, Water, wherein the person is baptized, is the Element .

ELEVATION. In Articles xxv. and xxviii. reference is made to a ceremony of the Church of Rome, called the Elevation of the Host, which consists in the consecrated wafer being held up, or elevated, for the adoration of the people. Bp. Harold Browne says, "Elevating the Host resulted from a belief in transubstantiation. . . .There is evidently no Scriptural Authority for the Elevation of the Host, the command being, 'Take, eat.' The Roman ritualists themselves admit that there is no trace of its existence before the 11th or 12th centuries." (See Note on Art . xxviii.)

EMBER DAYS. In early times special fasts were appointed at the four seasons of the year, and of later years they have been made to have a special reference to the ordination of clergy which immediately follows them. The derivation of the name is uncertain. The days thus set apart, and now used for supplicating God's blessing on those about to be ordained, are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the 1st Sunday in Lent, after Whit Sunday, after the 14th of September, and after the 13th of December. Special Collects are appointed for use on these days.

EMMANUEL, or IMMANUEL. A Hebrew word, used as a name of our Lord, and meaning, "God with us," Isaiah vii.14; Matt. i.23.

ENDOWMENT. The permanent provision for the support of the ministry. The annual sum derived from the endowments of the Established Church amounts to rather more than four millions sterling . Of this sum—Tithes and Rents voluntarily given to the Church of England by charitable persons before the Reformation bring in about L1,950,000; Tithes, Rents, and Interest on Money voluntarily given to the Church of England since the Reformation bring in about L2,250,000. Thus the total of the yearly value of endowments is about L4,200,000. Of this the State receives as taxes about L200,000, which leaves a net yearly value of endowments of about; L3,500,000, which is paid to the clergy, of whom there are about 20,000. It is thus divided: 2 Archbishops, 28 Bishops, 73 Archdeacons, receive about L173,000; 30 Deans, 132 Canons, 128 Minor Canons, 600 Singers, Lay Officers and Servants, receive about L203,000; 19,600 other Clergy, Rectors, Vicars, and Curates receive about L3,124,000. The average, therefore, is just L3, 10s. a week for each clergyman.

To supplement its endowments, which were voluntarily given by private persons, the Church receives, by free gifts from her own members, about five millions and a half sterling every year. This money is all spent on Schools, Church Institutions, Charities, Relief of the Poor, Foreign Missions, Expenses attendant upon the regular performance of Divine Worship, and Building and Restoring Churches (See Establishment .)

EPIPHANY. A Greek word, meaning "manifestation." The term applied to that festival of the Church observed on Jan. 6th, in commemoration of our Lord's manifestation to the Wise Men from the East, the representatives of the Gentile world.

EPISCOPACY. The term applied to the Apostolical form of government, which consisted in the appointment of a Bishop as an Overseer (for that is the meaning of the Greek word) of a particular Church. (See Orders .)

EPISTLE. The name given to the Letters of the Apostles, which the Church has admitted as forming part of the Canon of the New Testament (see Bible ). St. Paul wrote fourteen, if we allow the Epistle to the Hebrews to have been written by him. St. James wrote one, which, like others addressed to no particular Church, is called a general Epistle. St. Peter wrote two Epistles; St. John, three; and St. Jude, one. Those portions of Scripture read in the Communion Service, and called Epistles, have been used, with few alterations, for 1200 years by the Church of England.

EPISTOLER. The 24th Canon directs that "In all cathedral and collegiate churches the Holy Communion shall be administered, . . . the principal minister using a decent cope, and being assisted with the gospeller and epistoler." So, in the advertisements published in the seventh year of Elizabeth, we read, "The principal minister shall use a cope with gospeller and epistoler agreeably."

ERASTIANISM. The heresy of Erastus, a German, born 1524. His main principle was that the source of all pastoral authority is the civil magistrate, who, whether Christian or not, possesses an inherent right to nominate and commission teachers of religion, and is under no necessity of admitting the least difference between priests and laymen.

ESTABLISHMENT and ENDOWMENT. These two terms are constantly linked together in the publications of the Liberation Society, and by other enemies of the Church of England, as though they formed one and the same thing. In truth, they are wholly distinct, and are descriptive of two quite different features of the Church of England. It is Established , and it is also Endowed . It is called the former because it is established in this country by the Law of the land, and professes the acknowledged religion of the State. If the Church were disestablished to-morrow she would still continue to be the true Church of God in this country, because her origin, doctrine, and constitution are Apostolic. Besides being called a "State Church," the Church of England has also been called a "State paid Church." It is well to remember that the Parochial Clergy, and all others except Army and Navy Chaplains and the like, do not receive one farthing from the State. The property, or Endowment , of the Church was the voluntary gift of private individuals in all ages, who, out of regard to the spiritual interests of those who lived upon their estates, built churches, and endowed them for the maintenance of religious worship. The State has no right to alienate any portion whatever of that property from the purpose for which it was given. (See Church of England and Endowment .)

EUCHARIST. A term applied to the Holy Communion (which see), derived from the Greek, and meaning, "a giving of thanks." It is used in the Latin version of our Articles.

EVANGELISTS. Properly, preachers of the "Evangel," or Gospel, of Christ; Eph. iv. 11. The term now is limited to the four writers of the Gospel.

EVES, or VIGILS. The nights or evenings before certain Holy Days of the Church. A list of days which have vigils may be found in the beginning of the Prayer Book, in the table of the Vigils, Fasts, and Days of Abstinence, to be observed in the year. (See Vigil .)

EVEN-SONG. Evening Prayer. The word occurs in the table of Proper
Lessons at the commencement of the Prayer Book. (See Morning
Prayer .)

EVOLUTION. A name given to the theory of the origin of animal life, set forth by certain scientists. Thus they tell us that the account given us in Genesis of the Creation is certainly wrong. That man was not created as man, but that he has grown to be what he is through a series of stages. According to Professor Haeckel, the pedigree of man is as follows:—1. Monera —formless little lumps of mucus matter supposed to be originated by spontaneous generation. 2. Amoebae —a little piece of protoplasm enclosing a kernel. 3. Synamoebae —a collection of Amoebae. 4. Planaeada . 5. Gastraeada , or primaeval "stomach animals." 6. Turbellaria , or worms of a very simple kind. 7. Scolecida , worms of a higher class. 8. Himatega , or worms of a higher class still. 9. Acrania , or skull-less animals. 10. Monorrhina , or animals with one nostril. 11. Selachii , or primaeval fish. 12. Dipneusta , or mud-fish. 13. Sozobranchia , or gilled amphibians. 14. Sozura , or tailed amphibians. 15. Protamnia . 16. Primary Mammals . 17. Pouched animals . 18. Prosimiae , or semi-apes. 19. Tailed Apes . 20. Man-like Apes . 21. Ape-like Men . 22. Men .

This may be all true, and yet Genesis need not be false. Genesis begins with man as man, and not with man as a Monera—supposing he ever was such. But when scientists speak of the principle of life as being the outcome of an act of spontaneous generation without any external creative power, then we must disagree with them. The principle of life is hidden with God alone, and must come from God. Nor does it in any way affect our belief in Almighty God, whether He was pleased to create man from the first in "His own image," or whether He was pleased to make him first pass through the preliminary stages Professor Haeckel enumerates!

EXCOMMUNICATION. An ecclesiastical censure, whereby the person against whom it is pronounced is for the time cast out of the communion of the church. The first rubric in the Office for the Burial of the Dead prohibits the use of the Service for any that die excommunicate.

EXHORTATION. The name given to the various addresses in the Liturgy.
They are nearly all the production of the Reformers. The Burial
Office is the only Service of the Prayer Book which has not one or
more of these exhortations.

EXTREME UNCTION. One of the seven so-called Sacraments of the Church of Rome. It consists in the application of consecrated olive oil, by a priest, to the five organs of sense of a dying person. It is considered as conveying God's pardon and support in the last hour. It is administered when all hope of recovery is gone, and generally no food is permitted to be taken after it. This custom is founded on Mark vi. 13, and James v. 14, 15, but in both these places it is evident that the anointing should be for the recovery of the sick. When miraculous powers ceased in the Church, it was reasonable that the unction should cease also.

FACULTY. An order by the Bishop of a diocese to award some privilege not permitted by common law. A faculty is necessary in order to effect any important alterations in a church, such as the erection of a gallery or an organ. Without a faculty a person is not entitled to erect a monument within the walls of a church.

FAITH. Man is justified by God in respect of, and by means of, Faith in Christ. It is not the principal cause for our Justification, that being God's mercy; it is not the meritorious cause of our Justification, for that is Christ's death; audit is not the efficient cause of our Justification, for that is the operation of the Holy Spirit; but it is the instrument on our side , by which we rely on God's word, and appeal to Him for mercy, and receive a grant of pardon, and a title to the evangelical promises of God.

FALD STOOL. The desk at which the Litany is usually said. In the rubric before the penitential psalm in the Commination Service a special place is mentioned for the saying of the Litany, and this we know from the Injunctions of 1549 was to be "in the midst of the Church," thus marking the congregational character of the service.

FASTING. The Romanist regards the use of fasting, or abstinence, as a means of grace; the Protestant regards it only as a useful exercise, recommended in Scripture, for the subduing of the flesh to the Spirit.

FASTS. Days appointed by the Church for the particular discipline of the flesh, and for a peculiar sorrow for sin. A list of these days is given at the commencement of the Prayer Book.

FATHERS, THE. A term applied generally to all the ancient orthodox
Christian writers. St. Bernard, who flourished in the twelfth
century, is reputed to be the last of the Fathers. The Schoolmen
(which see) succeeded the Fathers. Those writers who knew the
Apostles personally are called Apostolical Fathers; such were
Hermas, Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Ignatius and Polycarp. Other
Fathers of the early Church were Justin, Irenaeus, Clement of
Alexandria, and Tertullian. In the third century we have Origen and
Cyprian, and succeeding them Eusebius, Athanasius, Ambrose, Basil,
Jerome or Hieronymus, John Chrysostom, and Augustine.

The writings of the Fathers are most valuable to us as showing us what were the doctrines and ceremonies of the first Christians. The Tractarian movement was of great service in calling attention to the well-nigh forgotten mine of theological wealth stored up in these writers. Pusey has published a library of the works of the Fathers in English.

FEASTS, or FESTIVALS. These are days of rejoicing in the Church, in commemoration of some great truth of Christianity, or of some great example of Holy Life. The commencement of the Prayer Book furnishes us with a list of these Holy Days. The rubric, after the Nicene Creed, directs that "The Curate shall then declare to the people what holy days, or fasting days are in the week following to be observed."

FELLOWSHIP. A settled income bestowed by a college on a student as a reward for distinguished scholarship. Various conditions are associated with these prizes in the different colleges.

FONT. From a Latin word, meaning a fountain . The vessel holding the water for Baptism. The 81st Canon says it is to be made of stone. By ancient custom it is usually placed at the West end of the Church, near the door, as signifying that Holy Baptism is the entrance into Christ's Mystical Body, the Church.

FORMULARY, see Liturgy . A formulary is a book containing the rites, ceremonies, and prescribed forms of the Church. The formulary of the Church of England is the Book of Common Prayer.

FREE WILL. see Article x. The doctrine of our Church is that although man has a perfectly free will to choose good or evil, yet we prefer the animal life to the spiritual life, and, through the badness of our perverse will, shall continue to prefer it until prevented by the grace of God.

GLEBE. Land belonging to an ecclesiastical benefice, and which forms part of its endowment, the freehold being vested in the Incumbent.

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS. "Glory be (to God) on high." A hymn in the Communion Office, sometimes called the Angelic Hymn, because the first part was sung by angels at Bethlehem. It has been used by the Church for more than 1,500 years, and, in substance, was sung by Polycarp at his martyrdom.

GLORIA PATRI. "Glory be to the Father." This is one of the oldest doxologies of the Church; in substance, at least, it is as old as the 4th century. It is directed to be said at the end of every Psalm, thus turning Jewish praises into Christian hymns.

GNOSTICS. Early heretics who boasted of their superior knowledge , for that is the meaning of the word, just as agnostic means without knowledge . This heresy dates back to Apostolic days, Simon Magus being considered its founder.

They mixed up the Christian faith with systems based on Platonism, Oriental Philosophy, or corrupt Judaism. St. John is believed to have written against the gnostics in certain parts of his Gospel.

GOD, see Trinity, The Holy. The word God can be traced back no further as yet than the Gothic Gutha , but no one knows its root.

GOLDEN NUMBER. A term used in the elaborate tables placed at the beginning of the Prayer Book for the finding of Easter. The Golden Number of a year marks its place in a cycle, called the Metonic Cycle (from Meton, an Athenian astronomer B.C. 432), of nineteen years. The year A.D. 1 was fixed as the second year of such a cycle. Hence the rule given to find the Golden Number, viz., "Add one to the year of our Lord, and then divide by 19; the remainder, if any, is the Golden Number; but if there be no remainder, then 19 is the Golden Number."

GOOD FRIDAY. The day regarded as the anniversary of our Saviour's death. It has been observed from the first age of the Church as a day of peculiar solemnity, to be spent in fasting and humiliation.

GOSPELLER. The priest or deacon who, in the Communion Service, reads the Gospel, standing at the north side of the Altar. (See Epistoler .)

GRACE. Favour. A word used with various meanings in Holy Scripture.
The influence of the Holy Spirit upon the heart of man.

GRADUATE, see Degree. One who has passed through the curriculum of a University, and has had a degree conferred on him.

GUILD. In the Church, a Society formed for a certain purpose, and governed by certain rules; to promote personal piety; or active usefulness.

HADES. Unfortunately two distinct words in the original of the New Testament have both been translated Hell . Hades is one of these words; Gehenna is the other. The latter is applied only to the place of the damned, Hades is the abode of departed spirits, good and bad, waiting for the final Judgment. When, in the Creed, we say of our Lord that He "descended into Hell," it should be "into Hades ," showing that alive and dead He was perfect man.

It is generally believed that a foretaste of final joy or woe is experienced in Hades by the spirits waiting for their doom.

HERESY. From a Greek word meaning "a choice," and thus an adoption and obstinate holding of a doctrine not taught by the Catholic Church. Heresies began very early in the Church, even in Apostolic times. (See Gnostic .) The heresies of the present day are for the most part revivals of the heresies of the first six centuries.

HERETIC. One who holds doctrines opposed to those of the Catholic
Church. (See above.)

HIERARCHY. Properly, rule in sacred matters. The apostolic order of ministry.

HOLY WEEK. Some consider the terms Holy Week and Passion Week equally to apply to the week preceding Easter—the last week in Lent. This is Dr. Hook's opinion. Others restrict the term Holy Week to the week commencing with Palm-Sunday, and call the week preceding that Passion Week . Undoubtedly the fifth Sunday in Lent was commonly called in old times Passion Sunday, because of the anticipation of the Passion in the Epistle.

HOMILIES. The Homilies of the Church of England are two books of discourses, composed at the time of the Reformation, and appointed to be read in churches, on "any Sunday or Holy Day, when there is no sermon." Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer are thought to have composed the first volume; the second is supposed to be by Bishop Jewel, 1563.

HOODS. The ornamental fold which hangs down the back of a graduate to mark his degree. (See Degree .) The 58th Canon provides that "every minister saying the public prayers, or ministering the Sacraments, or other rites of the Church, if they are graduates, shall wear upon their surplice, at such times, such hoods as by the orders of the Universities are agreeable to their degrees." The same Canon goes on to say "It shall be lawful for such ministers as are not graduates to wear upon their surplices, instead of hoods , some decent tippet of black, so it be not silk."

IDOLATRY. The worship of any person or thing but the one true God, whether it be in the form of an image or not.

IMPROPRIATION. Ecclesiastical property, the profits of which are in the hands of a layman. Impropriations have arisen from the confiscation of monasteries in the time of Henry VIII., when, instead of restoring the tithes to Church purposes, they were given to Court favourites.

INCARNATION. The act whereby Christ, the "Word, was made flesh."
The "taking of the Manhood into God."

INDEPENDENTS. The first body of Dissenters which actually broke away from the Church of England was that of the Independents , or—as they are nowadays perhaps more intelligibly called—the Congregationalists . An Independent sect seems to have existed about the year 1568, the whole question in dispute between them and the Church being then, as it is still, essentially one of "discipline," or Church Polity. They made each congregation a body corporate, governed exclusively by itself, and disclaim, more or less, every form of union between churches. In doctrine they are strictly Calvinistic, and, reviving the ancient heresy of Donatus, they profess to receive only accredited or really serious Christians into their fellowship, and to exclude any who may prove themselves unworthy members.

The Independents are sometimes called Brownists , from Robert Brown, a clergyman of the Church of England, who was the first to secede from her ranks, and who, retreating to Holland, set up a separatist communion.

There are 76 County and other Associations at home and in the Colonies, with 3,895 meetinghouses, and 1,039 preaching stations, 300 being foreign mission stations; of ministers and missionaries they have about 3,500. They reckon to have about 360,000 members in the British dominions.

INDUCTION. The ceremony whereby a minister is put in actual possession of the living to which he has been presented.

INFALLIBILITY. The claim set up by the Church of Rome, either for the Pope, or the Church, or for the Pope and the Church consenting together; of absolute freedom from error in deciding questions of faith and doctrine. Roman divines are not agreed among themselves as to precisely where the infallibility of their Church is found. Certain it is that Councils and Popes have contradicted and anathematized each other.

INNOCENTS' DAY, THE HOLY. This festival has been observed ever since the 3rd century, in memory of the slaughtered children of Bethlehem (Matt. ii. 16.) Its old English name is Childermas, and it is kept on December 28th; the attendants on the nativity being St. Stephen, a martyr in will and deed, December 26th; St. John the Divine, a martyr in will though not in deed, December 27th; and The Holy Innocents, martyrs in deed but not in will, December 28th.

INSPIRATION. The extraordinary and supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the human mind, by which the sacred writers were qualified to set forth the things of God. In this sense the word occurs in 2 Tim. iii. 16. (See Bible .)

The word is also used of the ordinary influence of the Holy Spirit on the heart of man, as "Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit."

INSTITUTION. The legal act by which the Bishop commits to a clergyman the cure of a church.

IRVINGITES. The followers of Edward Irving, a minister of the Scottish establishment, who was born in 1792, and died in 1834. He was deposed from the Presbyterian ministry for teaching that our Lord's nature was peccable, or capable of sin. He gathered a congregation round him in London, and now has many followers both in Scotland and England, and also in Germany. His followers entertain peculiar notions about the millennium, and they claim to exercise the power of prophecy, to have the miraculous gift of tongues, and to be able to raise the dead.

The Irvingites call themselves "The Catholic and Apostolic Church," and among their ministers number apostles, prophets, angels, evangelists, &c. They use as much as possible the liturgies of the Church in their worship, and observe a very ornate ritual. In their principal places of worship the Holy Communion is administered daily, and throughout the day many other Services are held.

They have 19 places for public worship, besides many preaching stations, in England; the principal erection is in Gordon Square, London, and is a large building of considerable architectural pretensions.

JAMES'S (St.) DAY. July 25th. The day on which the Church celebrates the memory of the Apostle St. James the Great, or the Elder. He was one of the sons of Zebedee, and a brother of St. John the Divine. He was the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom. (Acts xii. 2.)

JESUITS, or SOCIETY OF JESUS. A Roman Catholic Society founded by Ignatius Loyola, a Spaniard, born in 1491. Members of the Order bind themselves to yield the most blind, implicit, and unlimited obedience to the General of the Order. Before the conclusion of the 16th century the Jesuits had obtained the chief direction of the youthful mind in every Roman Catholic country in Europe. They had become the confessors of almost all its monarchs, and the spiritual guides of nearly every person distinguished for rank or influence. At different periods they obtained the direction of the most considerable courts, and took part in every intrigue and revolution. Their great principle of action is not so much the advance of Christianity, as the extension of the Papal power; and in effecting this, their great maxim is "the end will justify the means." The Society is still flourishing, and has a power which is probably as little imagined as it is unknown to all but themselves.

JOHN (St.) BAPTIST'S DAY. June 24th. This feast commemorates, not the martyrdom, but the miraculous birth of St. John Baptist. It is the only nativity, besides that of our Lord, that is kept by the Church; although September 8th is marked in our Calendar for the commemoration of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The festival has been observed since the 4th or 5th century.

JOHN (St.) THE EVANGELIST'S DAY. December 27th. This festival, with those of St. Stephen and the Holy Innocents, immediately follows on Christmas Day. "Martyrdom, love, and innocence are first to be magnified, as wherein Christ is most honoured." The eagle is supposed to be emblematic of St. John the Evangelist.

JUBILATE DEO. Psalm c, appointed to be sung in the Morning Service instead of the Benedictus, when the latter happens to be read in the Gospel for St. John Baptist, or the lesson for the day.

JUSTIFICATION. This term signifies our being accounted just or righteous in the sight of God, not for any merit in ourselves, but solely for the sake of Christ, and by our faith in Him. The 11th Article of the Church of England treats of this. All believers are justified by Christ, but that does not necessarily imply that they are sanctified; the one is a work wrought exterior to ourselves, the other is the work of the Holy Spirit in the individual heart of man.

KEYS, POWER OF THE. The authority existing in the Christian Priesthood of administering the discipline of the Church, and communicating or withholding its privileges. It is so called from our Lord's words to St. Peter in Matt. xvi. 19.

KINDRED, TABLE OF. The Table of Kindred and Affinity found at the end of our Prayer Book was drawn up by Archbishop Parker, in 1563. It rests on an Act of Henry VIII., and is designed to be an authoritative interpretation of it. The whole is based on Lev. xviii. 6-18. The principles on which it is drawn up are the following:—

( a ) It places both sexes on the same footing, forbidding to the man whatever is forbidden to the woman.

( b ) It forbids marriage to a man on the grounds of near kindred or consanguinity; omitting, however, prohibition of marriage between cousins as not being forbidden in the Levitical Law, nor definitely by the Canon Law.

( c ) Acting on the important principle sanctioned by our Lord Himself, that "man and wife are one flesh," it puts affinity, or connection by marriage, on exactly the same footing as kindred, or connection by blood, affirming that a man's wife's connections are to be held strictly as his own. It is for this reason,—a reason distinctly based upon Holy Scripture,—that the marriage with a "deceased wife's sister" is forbidden.

KNEELING. The practice of kneeling in confession, in prayer, and in adoration, is of great antiquity. David says, "Let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker," Psalm cxv. 6. See also Ps. cxxxii. 7; 1 Kings viii. 54; Ezra ix. 5-15; Dan. vi. 10; Acts vii. 60; Acts ix. 40; Acts xx. 36, xxi. 5. Our blessed Lord Himself " kneeled down " when He prayed, Luke xxii. 14. How the example of David and Solomon, Ezra and Daniel, St. Stephen, St. Peter and St. Paul, nay, of our Saviour Himself, condemns the lolling, irreverent posture assumed by too many Christians of the present day in the public worship of the Lord of Hosts!

KYRIE ELEISON. Two Greek words, meaning "Lord, have mercy." The responses to the Commandments are so called.

LAITY, LAYMAN. A baptized member of the Church, not being an ecclesiastic. The term "layman" denotes a positive rank, not the mere lack of rank.

LAMBETH DEGREES. The Archbishop of Canterbury has the power of conferring degrees in any of the faculties of the University to which he himself belongs. These degrees are called Lambeth Degrees . The Archbishop exercised this power as Legate of the Pope, retaining it (like the power of granting special marriage licences) under the Tudor legislation.

LAPSE. When a patron neglects to present a clergyman to a benefice within his gift, within six months after its vacancy, the benefice lapses to the Bishop; if he does not collate within six months, it lapses to the Archbishop: and if he does not collate within six months, it lapses to the Crown.

LAY BAPTISM. Baptism administered by laymen. Although not authorized in our Prayer Book, such baptisms have always been held valid by the Church of England. It is better that children should receive lay baptism than not be baptized at all.

LAYING ON OF HANDS, see Ordination. This ceremony has always been esteemed an essential part of ordination, and rests on undoubted Scriptural authority. It is also the form, in the Anglican Church, by which the Bishop conveys the grace of Confirmation.

LECTURN, or LECTERN. The desk from which the Lessons are read. The form frequently adopted is that of the eagle, doubtless with some reference to the eagle, the symbol of St. John. The eagle lectern in Peterborough Cathedral was given in 1471.

LENT. The name is probably derived from the old English Lencten , "Spring," from its always being observed at the Spring-tide of the year. The forty days fast before Easter are so called. In primitive times the duration of the fast appears to have been forty hours. The present custom of reckoning forty days, exclusive of the Sundays, prevails from the 7th century.

LESSONS. The portions of Holy Scripture read in Morning and Evening Prayer. The calendar of lessons now in use was authorized on Jan. 1st, 1873. The lessons were then made generally shorter, by the selection of parts of chapters containing one complete subject and no more. A choice of lessons was given in many cases, that the same portions of Scripture might not be read twice on the same day in churches with three Sunday services. By the present arrangement the main substance of the whole of the Old Testament is now read through once every year; and the New Testament twice, except the book of Revelation, which, with a few omissions, is read once in the year.

LETTERS OF ORDERS. A certificate given by the Bishop to every one whom he ordains, whether Priest or Deacon. Churchwardens have the power to require the exhibition of the Letters of Orders of any minister assisting in the church of which they are guardians.

LITANY. In the 4th century this name began specially to be applied to a Form of Supplication, used in times of need, which was sung in procession, with hymns and frequent responses, and with collects at the various halting places. The old Litanies bore a general resemblance to ours. In 1544 Cranmer, by desire of the king, drew up the first English Litany, which was compiled principally from ancient sources. The Litany at first was a separate service. In 1662 it was ordered to be sung after Morning Prayer. The Act of Uniformity of the present reign, 1872, allows it to be used in the Morning or Evening, or as a separate service. It was ordered for Wednesdays and Fridays only in 1549; Sundays were added in 1552.

LITERATE. This term, applied to a Clergyman, means one who has not taken a degree, and is not a member of a Theological College.

LITURGY. From a Greek word, meaning a public act or duty; it is now popularly used of the entire Book of Common Prayer, although formerly it was applied only to the Service for administering the Holy Eucharist.

As each different part of the Prayer Book is discussed under its own heading, this article will be confined to ( a ) why a formulary is used; ( b ) the history of our own.

( a ) Forms of Prayer were used in the Jewish Church. Moses and Miriam used a prescribed form as a thanksgiving for the crossing of the Red Sea, Exodus xv God appointed a form of prayer, Deut. xxi. 7, 8; also a benediction, Num. vi. 22, 26. Moses used a form of prayer, Num. x. 35, 36. Josephus and Philo tell us that the worship both in the Temple and in the Synagogues consisted of a settled form of prayer; this our Lord sanctioned by His frequent presence. He Himself gave us a form of prayer—the Lord's Prayer. He promises a special blessing on congregational worship. Matt, xviii. 19; the "agreement" must pre-suppose a settled form. Traces of forms of prayer some think are found in the New Testament.

The voice of history is unanimous on this point, nearly all the
Fathers testifying to the use of formularies.

Common sense reasons are plentiful, as, for instance, that in Eccles. v. 2. A formulary makes the congregation independent of the minister's mood, or ability, or piety, or orthodoxy.

( b ) History. Before the time of Augustine (597) the English Church had its own National Use, largely derived from the East, through the Galilean Church. It is certain that the entire Roman Ritual was never used, although attempts were made to force it upon the Anglo-Saxon Church. There was a considerable variety in the manner of performing Divine Service in the different Dioceses, each having its own particular "Use." (See Sarum, Use of .)

The earliest Liturgy in general use in England was the book of Offices, "secundum usum Sarum," hence called the "Sarum Use," compiled by Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, in 1078. This book contained much that had been in use from very early times. At the Reformation it became necessary to remove the Roman corruptions which had accumulated in the various Office books, the "Breviaries," the "Missals," the "Manuals," &c. One objection common to them all was that they were in Latin.

The object of the Reformers was to retain as much of the old as was free from error. The first English Prayer Book was the King's Primer , published 1545; and a Communion Service was put forth in 1548. The First Prayer Book of Edward VI ., 1549, was drawn up by a Commission of Bishops and Divines under Cranmer and Ridley; an Ordinal was added in 1550.

The Second Prayer Book of Edward VI ., 1552, was a revised form of the older book. Cranmer, Peter Martyr, and Bucer assisted in the revision, and much was added from Hermann's Consultation (which see). This Prayer Book was almost identical with the one in use now. Abolished during the reign of Mary, it was restored by Queen Elizabeth, 1559, with a few alterations. In 1604 a Conference was held at Hampton Court under James I., between Church and Puritan Divines, when some further alterations were made in deference to Puritan objections. The last revision was made in 1661, at the Savoy Conference, under Charles II., between Bishops and Presbyterian Divines. The Prayer Book then took the form which we have now, save that in 1859 the services for use on Nov. 5th, May 29th, and Jan. 30th (Charles the Martyr) were removed. In 1873 a revised Table of Lessons was put forth. In 1872 permission was given to use the Shortened Service, to separate the services, and to use hymns.

For further particulars the reader is referred to the articles on the various different services of the Church.

LOGOS. Greek, a word . Christ is called "The Word" because in Him
God is revealed to man. (John i.) The Jews sometimes spoke of the
Messiah as the "Word of God."

LORD'S DAY. The first day of the week, so called by St. John, Rev. i. 10. Sunday has ever been kept as the weekly festival in commemoration of our Lord's resurrection on that day. In the fourth Commandment, and elsewhere, we receive stringent directions to keep the seventh day—that is to say, the Sabbath, or Saturday—holy. It will be well to see on what authority Christians have hallowed the first , instead of the last , day of the week. We find from writers who were contemporary with the Apostles, or who immediately succeeded them, that Christians were always accustomed to meet on the first day of the week for the performance of their religious exercises. We find them asserting that this festival was instituted by the Apostles, who acted under the immediate direction and influence of the Holy Ghost. From the constant practice of the Apostles in keeping this day holy, it is believed by many that they must have had especial directions to that effect from their risen Lord, who, we know, gave them instructions relating to "the kingdom of God."—His Church,—during the forty days He was with them. And more, it was often while they were gathered together, celebrating the festival of the Lord's Day , that the Lord Himself appeared among them.

LORD'S PRAYER. The prayer taught us by our blessed Lord as the model of all our devotions. (Matt. vi. 9.) But it is not only a model of prayer, but an express form to accompany all our worship. (Luke xi. 2.) Thus we find it frequently in our Prayer Book, no Service being without it. The often repetition of it, however, in our Sunday Service is caused by the fact of three separate Services being used as one whole.

LOW SUNDAY. The Sunday after Easter is called Low Sunday , because, although it partakes in some sort of the festal nature of Easter, it being the Octave, yet it is a festival of a much lower degree than Easter itself.

LUKE'S (St.) DAY. October 18. Kept in commemoration of St. Luke, the companion of St. Paul, the author of the third Gospel, and also probably of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. He is believed to have been a physician, and his writings prove that he was a man of education. According to St. Augustine, his symbol is the ox, the Sacrificial Victim.

LUTHERANS. The followers of Martin Luther, an Augustine monk, a German, born 1483. He was the great Reformer of the Continent. They retain the use of the Altar, some of the ancient vestments, lighted tapers, incense, crucifix, confession, &c. At the time of the Reformation, the Lutherans, meeting with nothing but opposition from the Bishops, were constrained to act without them, and consequently they are in much the same position as the Scottish Presbyterian body, though not from the same cause. The Lutherans earnestly protested, that they much wished to retain episcopacy, but that the Bishops forced them to reject sound doctrine, and therefore they were unable to preserve their allegiance to them. The ritual and liturgies differ in the various Lutheran countries, but in fundamental articles they all agree.

LYCH GATE. A covered gate of the churchyard where the body ( Leich , a corpse) rests on its way to burial.

MAGNIFICAT. The song of the Blessed Virgin, Luke i. It is the first canticle of Evening Prayer, and has been sung in the Church from very early times.

MARIOLATRY. The worship, or cultus, of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the principal errors of the Church of Rome, and on the increase.

MARK'S (St.) DAY. April 25th. St. Mark was a companion of St. Peter, and is thought to have written his Gospel under St. Peter's directions. This evangelist is symbolized by the Man .

MARTINMAS. November 11th. A festival formerly kept in honour of St.
Martin, Bishop of Tours, in France, in 374.

MARTYR. One who lays down his life for his religion. The word means a "witness." St. Stephen was the first, or proto-martyr.

MARY, The BLESSED VIRGIN. We admit to her the title of "Mother of
God," but protest against her being worshipped. No instance of
Divine honour being paid her is earlier than the fifth century.
Two festivals only in the Church of England are kept in her honour,
viz., the Purification, and the Annunciation.

MASS. In Latin, Missa , with which word congregations were accustomed to be dismissed. Then it was used for the congregation itself, and finally became applied only to the Communion Service.

MATERIALISM. One of the philosophies of the day which looks upon everything as the out-come of mere physical energy; denies the soul, and every spiritual force; and regards matter as eternal.

MATRIMONY, HOLY. With regard to the Marriage Laws, the Church and the State are not agreed. The former maintains Holy Matrimony to be a religious ceremony, while the State recognises the legality of mere civil contracts, and allows people to enter into the nuptial state by a civil ceremony. We find the early Fathers distinctly stating that marriage is of a sacred nature. Paley, in his Moral Philosophy, says, "Whether it hath grown out of some tradition of the Divine appointment of marriage in the persons of our first parents, or merely from a design to impress the obligation of the marriage-contract with a solemnity suited to its importance, the marriage-rite, in almost all countries of the world, has been made a religious ceremony; although marriage, in its own nature, and abstracted from the rules and declarations which the Jewish and Christian Scriptures deliver concerning it, be properly a civil contract, and nothing more." It was forbidden in the 4th century during Lent, and so custom and propriety forbid it now during the same season. In the Manual marriages were prohibited in the following seasons:—( a ) Advent to the octave of Epiphany, ( b ) Septuagesima to the octave of Easter inclusive, ( c ) Rogation Sunday to Trinity Sunday.

The State so far recognises the position of the Church with regard to Holy Matrimony that no clergyman can be forced to marry a divorced person, though he may be obliged to lend his church to any other who will perform the ceremony.

MATRIMONY, THE FORM OF SOLEMNIZATION OF. Of all our services this preserves most of the older Office in the Sarum Manual. Some of the hortatory portions come as usual from Hermann's Consultation. There has been no change since 1549, except the omission of the ceremony of giving gold and silver to the bride as "tokens of spousage."

The Service is divided into two parts ( a ) the Marriage Service proper, performed in the body of the Church; ( b ) the succeeding service at the Holy Table, evidently intended as an introduction to the Holy Communion which should follow.

The Banns . From a barbarous Latin word meaning an edict or proclamation. In 1661 the rubric directed them to be published immediately before the offertory sentences. The marriage Acts of the Georges are supposed to set aside this rubric, and to order them to be published after the Second Lesson. It is doubtful whether this does not apply to the Evening Service only, in places where there is no Morning Service.

The Licence of the Bishop makes the publication of Banns unnecessary. Without a Special Licence, Marriage can be solemnized only between the hours of 8 and 12 in the forenoon.

( a ) The Marriage Service proper should be performed in "the body of the church" (see rubric, 1661) the place selected being generally the Chancel steps.

The Exhortation , 1549, from the "Consultation" chiefly; it rests on the following passages of Holy Scripture:—Gen. ii. 24; Matt. xix. 5; Eph. v. 22-33; John ii. 1-11; Heb. xiii. 4. No impediment being alleged, the Espousal or Betrothal follows. The joining of hands is from time immemorial the pledge of covenant, and is here an essential part of the Marriage Ceremony. The words of the betrothal are agreeable to the following passages: 1 Cor. xi. 1-12; Eph. v. 22-33; Col. iii. 18, 19; 1 Tim. ii. 10-14; 1 Peter iii. 1-7.

The Marriage Rite itself. The use of the ring is probably of pre-Christian antiquity. The old Service directed it to be worn on the fourth finger because "there is a vein leading direct to the heart."

Gold and Silver was also given the bride in 1549, but omitted in 1552. The word "worship" means "honour," as in Wycliffe's Testament, Matt. xix. 19, " Worship thy father and thy mother."

(b) The Post-Matrimonial Service . The rubric directs only the "minister or clerks" to go to the Lord's Table, but the practice is to carry out the older rubric, 1549, "Then shall they"—the whole marriage party—"go into the Quire." A second Psalm is added for use in cases when the language of the first would be unsuitable. The following rubric is almost unique, in directing the Priest to turn his face to the people. The Versicles are substantially the same as those used at the Visitation of the Sick and in the Churching of Women. The concluding rubric dates from 1661; the rubric in 1549 definitely ordered the reception of Holy Communion.

MATTHEW'S (St.) DAY. Sept. 21st. This Apostle and Evangelist, before his call to the apostleship, was known as Levi, the publican, or tax-gatherer. He may possibly have been the brother of St. James the Less, and of St. Thomas also. He was the first to write a Gospel, which he addressed to the Jews, his aim being to show that Jesus was the Messiah. It is probable that he alone, of all the New Testament writers, wrote in Hebrew. His symbol is the Lion, according to St. Augustine.

MATTHIAS'S (St.) DAY. Feb. 24th. Of St. Matthias we know simply
nothing, except that he was elected to the vacant place in the
Apostolic College, caused by the desertion and death of the traitor
Judas; Acts i. 15 to end.

MAUNDY THURSDAY. The Thursday before Easter, being the day on which our Lord instituted the Holy Sacrament of His Body and Blood. The name is a corruption of the Latin word mandatum , meaning a command, in allusion to the "New Commandment" of mutual love.

METHODISTS. The original Methodists are the Wesleyans, but already this sect has split up into numerous sections, or "Churches," as they call themselves. The leading sub-divisions will each have a separate notice. The leading idea of Methodism is a revival of religion by a free appeal to the feelings, and the method adopted is an elaborate system of "societies," and preaching the doctrine of "sensible conversion."

The "people called Methodists," or Wesleyans, are the followers of John Wesley, who was born in 1703. He took his degree at Oxford, and was ordained in 1725. He held a Fellowship at Lincoln College until his marriage in 1752. While at Oxford, he, with his brother Charles, of Christ Church, and his friend Whitefield, of Pembroke, and some twelve others, determined to live under a common rule of strict and serious behaviour; to receive frequently the Holy Communion; and to adopt a methodical and conscientious improvement of their time. After ordination, these two brothers, John and Charles, set to work to revive a spirit of religion in the Church of England, of which they were priests, and were aided by the good-will and sound paternal advice of some of the Bishops.

In 1735 John Wesley went out as a missionary to Georgia, in America, but the settlers rejected his services, and his mission to the Indians was a failure. On his voyage out, he unfortunately came under the influence of some Moravians; and on returning to England, after a three years' absence, he became a regular member of the Moravian Society in London. It was here he learnt the two peculiar doctrines of subsequent Wesleyanism, viz.: (1) instantaneous and sensible conversion, (2) the doctrine of perfection, i . e ., of a Christian Maturity, on attaining which, he that is (in the Wesleyan sense) "born again," "born of God," sinneth not. If, however, we take into view Wesley's own persistent affirmation in later times, "I have uniformly gone on for fifty years, never varying from the doctrine of the Church at all;" and many other such passages, we cannot escape the inevitable conclusion that the very doctrine on which his modern followers have built their separation from the Church, is nothing else than a transient and foreign element in their great founder's teaching.

In 1744 Wesley called around him his most trusted friends,—six clergymen of the Church of England and four lay preachers, and held what we should now call a Retreat ; this meeting, however, is regarded by the Wesleyans as the first regular "Conference" of the Methodist Societies. It was in 1784 that Wesley drew up a "Deed of Declaration," which was formally enrolled in Chancery, establishing Methodism in the eye of the Law. This was an unintentional step on the part of Wesley towards an ultimate separation from the Church. Now it was too that he made his second great mistake of consecrating an English Clergyman as bishop, and two laymen as presbyters of the American Societies. This was the origin of the Episcopal Methodists of America. John Wesley died in 1791, almost his last printed utterance being, "I declare that I live and die a member of the Church of England; and none who regard my opinion or advice will ever separate from it." ( John Wesley , Arminian Magazine , April , 1790.)

Four years after his death, in 1795, the separation took place, and the Conference allowed the preachers to administer the Lord's Supper. No sooner was the severance complete than the punishment followed. In 1795 the Methodist New Connexion split away from them, under a man named Kilham. In 1810 the Primitive Methodists caused another schism. In 1815 the Bible Christians seceded, and so on. What would John Wesley have thought of all this? Only nine months before his death, he had solemnly charged his preachers: "In God's name, stop there! Be Church of England men still!" (Wesley, Sermons, iii. 268). And his dying breath was spent in a prayer for the Church!

The Minutes of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference for the year 1883-4 give the following statistics:—

Members. 1. In Great Britain 407,085 2. In Ireland & Irish Missions 24,384 3. In Foreign Missions 70,747 4. South African Conference 20,739 5. French Conference 1,856 Total 524,811

On Trial. 1. In Great Britain 34,399 2. In Ireland & Irish Missions 668 3. In Foreign Missions 5,299 4. South African Conference 9,093 5. French Conference 168 Total 49,627

Ministers. 1. In Great Britain 1,545 2. In Ireland & Irish Missions 181 3. In Foreign Missions 285 4. South African Conference 93 5. French Conference 28 Total 2,137

On probation.
1. In Great Britain 91
2. In Ireland & Irish Missions 16
3. In Foreign Missions 98
4. South African Conference 74
5. French Conference —
Total 279

Supernumeries.
1. In Great Britain 284
2. In Ireland & Irish Missions 42
3. In Foreign Missions 9
4. South African Conference 10
5. French Conference 3
Total 348

Ministers and full members in the Australian Wesleyan Methodist "Church," and in the Methodist "Church" of Canada are under their respective Conferences, and consequently are not enumerated above.

Whitaker's Almanack for 1883 gives the following statistics for Wesleyan Methodism in Great Britain. It will be seen that its figures are slightly larger than those given above.

Ministers. 2,170
Lay Preachers. 15,450
Members. 418,229
On Probation. 40,653
Chapels. 6,978
Sunday Scholars. 829,666

Missionary Fund L138,346
Home Mission Income 34,210
Education of Minister's Children 22,036
Chapel Building 292,599
Training Candidates for Ministry 12,130
Total L499,321

During the past four years the Wesleyan Methodists have raised a
"Thanksgiving Fund" amounting to L303,600.

METHODIST ASSOCIATION. In 1834 a controversy arose among the Methodists as to the propriety of establishing a Wesleyan Theological Institution; and a minister who disapproved of such a measure, and prepared and published some remarks against it, was expelled from the Connexion. Sympathizers with him were in like manner expelled. Hence the formation of the Methodist Association , which differs from the parent Society in a few particulars of Church government. This Society is now joined with the Wesleyan Reform Association , and with the Protestant Methodists, the union being effected in 1857. The amalgamation is known by the name of " The United Methodist Free Churches ." They number—

Ministers. 377
Lay Preachers. 3,134
Members. 66,297
Sunday Scholars 8,599
On Probation. 1,233
Chapels. 186,254

METHODISTS, CALVINISTIC. Up to 1751, John Wesley and George Whitefield had worked in harmony, but then arose a difference of opinion between them on the doctrine of election, which resulted in their separation. Whitefield held the Calvinistic view, Wesley the Arminian.

After Whitefield's death, in 1769, his followers gradually settled
into two separate religious bodies, one being the Lady Huntingdon's
Connexion , or, as it is sometimes called, the English Calvinistic
Methodists , and the other the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists .

Whitefield was chaplain to the Countess of Huntingdon, and it was by his advice she became the patroness of his followers, and founded a college for the education of Calvinistic preachers. The doctrines of this connexion are almost identical with those of the Church of England, interpreted, of course, in a Calvinistic sense, and her liturgy is generally employed. They have no general ecclesiastical government, and have become virtually Congregational Societies.

The Welsh Calvinistic Methodists owe their origin in a great degree to a Mr. Harris, who did for Wales much what Wesley and Whitefield did for England. He instituted "Private Societies" in 1736, but it was not till 1811 that the connexion separated from the Church. Their Church government differs slightly from Wesleyanism, and their doctrines are said to be in accordance with the 39 Articles, interpreted in a Calvinistic sense.

Chapels 1,343
Ministers and Preachers 981
Deacons 4,317
Members 5,029
On probation 177,383
Sunday Scholars 119,358

METHODIST, NEW CONNEXION. This party, under a Mr. Kilham, split off from the Wesleyans in 1795, four years after the Wesleyans had left the Church of England. In doctrines, and in all essential and distinctive features, it remains the same as its parent society. The grand distinction rests upon the different degrees of power allowed in each communion to the laity, the Methodist New Connexion allowing them to participate in Church government, whereas the Wesleyans leave Church government in the hands of the ministers.

Ministers 179
Lay Preachers 1,225
Members 418,229
On probation 442
Chapels 79,697
Sunday Scholars 4,277

METHODISTS, PRIMITIVE. The "Primitives," or "Ranters," as they are sometimes called, represent more truly the original genius of Wesleyan Methodism than any other of the various bodies into which the original secession from the Church of England has split up. Some still kept to camp-meetings and the like, after the original connexion had given them up. This practice was condemned by the Conference of 1807, and the consequence was the birth of the Primitive Methodist Connexion in 1810. Messrs. Hugh Bourne and William Clowes may be looked upon as the fathers of this body. Their doctrines are precisely the same as those of the original connexion.

Ministers 1,152
Lay Preachers 15,728
Members 191,329
Chapels 4,397
Sunday Scholars 394,238

METHODIST REFORMERS. In 1849 certain points in Methodist procedure were attacked in anonymous pamphlets called "Fly Sheets," which resulted in the expulsion of many ministers from the original Society. They, with those sympathising with them, have set up a distinct machinery of methodism, although still regarding themselves as Wesleyan Methodists, illegally expelled.

MICHAEL (St.) & ALL ANGELS. A festival observed on the 29th of September. St. Michael is described in the Old Testament as the guardian angel of the Jewish people; and in the New Testament he is the great archangel fighting for God and His Church against the devil. (See Angel .)

MILITANT, THE CHURCH. The name given to the Church on earth in the
Prayer following the Offertory. Militant means fighting , and
is used of the Church on earth in contra-distinction to the Church
Triumphant, the Church above.

MILLENNIUM. Latin, a thousand years . Certain people look for a return of Christ to the earth before the end of the world, and hold that there will be a first or particular resurrection limited to the good, and a reign of Christ with all the saints upon the earth for a thousand years, or millennium . This doctrine is chiefly based upon a most literal interpretation of part of the book of Revelation (chap, xx.), which is confessedly the most figurative and mystical book in the Bible.

MINOR CANONS. Priests in Collegiate Churches next in rank to the Canons and Prebendaries, but not of the Chapter. They are responsible for the performance of daily service, and should be well skilled in Church music.

MINISTER. One who serves . A term applied generally to the clergy about the time of the Great Rebellion. It is equivalent to the Greek word rendered Deacon . An effort was unsuccessfully made in 1689 to substitute minister for priest throughout the Prayer Book wherever the latter word occurred.

MIRACLE. Latin, A Wonder . The general notion of miracles, viz., that they are necessary proofs or credentials of our Saviour's commission from God, can scarcely be maintained on Scriptural grounds. (Matt. vii. 28.) A better definition of miracles is given by Archbishop Thomson: "The miracles of the Gospel are works done by Christ in the course of His divine mission of mercy, which could not have proceeded from ordinary causes then in operation, and therefore proved the presence of a superhuman power, and which, by their nature and drift, showed that this power was being exerted in the direction of love and compassion for the salvation of mankind."

If the miraculous works of Christ were disproved and done away with, two miracles would still remain which are unassailable, viz., the character of Christ, and the message of Christ. Therefore the question is not whether miracles by themselves are probable, but whether the Lord from heaven, who lived on this earth—for none could have invented the story of His life; who left a message on earth—for none could have invented that message; added to his utterances certain marvels of love and compassion to draw men's eyes towards Him for their good. This may be called the historic consideration of miracles; the scientific is briefly as follows:—We are told that the phenomena of nature are so many links in a chain of causes and effects, and to suppose that God breaks through this chain, is to make God contradict Himself. To this it may be answered that apart from any question of miracles, there are already flaws in this chain of causation, or rather, powers from without that can shake it, as, for instance, the outbreak of a war rendering a country, which should have been fertile, barren and wasted. Holy Scripture is not responsible for the phrase, "suspension of the laws of nature." Theologians do not dogmatise about the nature of miracles, and it would be well if science were less zealous for the inviolability of laws, the outside limits of which she cannot now ascertain. Miracles are but a part of the Gospel, and we judge them by the setting in which they are placed. Those who received them at first were not made Christians by them. (Mark ix. 23, 24.) To us they are not even the beginning of faith, for Christ was our Teacher and Friend before our infant minds could conceive what miracles meant. He, the sinless Lord, is our first miracle; His teaching is our second miracle; and a third may be added, viz., the transforming power of the Gospel in human hearts.

The reader is referred to the sermon on Miracles in Archbishop
Thomson's "Life in the Light of God's Word," "The Reign of Law," by
the Duke of Argyll, and Sir Edmund Beckett's "Review of Hume and
Huxley on Miracles."

MISSION. A sending forth . The power or commission to preach the Gospel. Thus our blessed Lord gave His disciples and their successors their mission, when He said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature."

MISSION. An effort to awaken or increase spiritual life in a
Parish by means of special Services and Sermons.

MORAVIANS, or UNITED BRETHREN. A sect generally said to have arisen under Nicholas Lewis, a German nobleman of the last century, and thus called because among the first converts were some Moravian families. They themselves claim to have sprung from the Greek Church in the ninth century. Hook says, "It is sometimes supposed that because the Moravians have Bishops they are less to be blamed than other dissenting sects. But, to say nothing of the doubt that exists with respect to the validity of their orders, an Episcopal Church may be, as the English Moravians and Romanists in this country are, in a state of schism. And the very fact that the difference between them and the Church is not great, if this be so, makes the sin of their schism, in not conforming, yet greater." In England the Moravians number 5,000 members, 6,000 scholars, and have 32 chapels and preaching stations.

MORMONISTS, or LATTER DAY SAINTS. The founder of this sect was Joseph Smith, born in 1805, of poor parents, in the State of Vermont, U.S. At the age of 15 he declared himself to have seen a vision of "two personages," who informed him that all existing Christian sects were erroneous. According to his own account, this vision was repeated three years afterwards, when he was informed that the American Indians were a remnant of the Israelites, and that certain prophetical writings of the Jews were buried in a spot from which he was destined to rescue them. The absurd story goes on to say that Joseph Smith accordingly found in a stone box, just covered with earth, in Ontario, the "Record," consisting of gold plates engraven with "Reformed Egyptian" characters. Although discovered in 1823, the angel would not allow Smith to remove them until 1827. Luckily he also discovered the Urim and Thummim in the same box with the golden plates, and by its aid he was able to translate a portion of the revelation, which, when complete, composed a large volume. This volume he called the "Book of Mormon," "Mormon" meaning, as he explained, more good , from "mor," a contraction for more , and "mon," the Egyptian for good . Mormon , too, was the name of a supposed prophet living in the fourth or fifth century. The golden plates, said to have been discovered in the above extraordinary manner, were never publicly produced, but three witnesses were found to testify that they had actually seen the plates, an angel having exhibited them. These three witnesses were the two brothers and the father of Smith. Four other witnesses of the name of Whitmer also testified the same. The "Book of Mormon" was succeeded by a "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," being a collection of special revelations made to Smith and his associates. Followers soon began to flock around the new "prophet," as Smith called himself. But at the same time much hostility was shown to the sect. They were expelled from different States, until at last they settled in Illinois. An altercation between the "Saints" and the county resulted in the imprisonment of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum; but in 1844 a mob broke into the prison and the brothers were shot. Brigham Young succeeded to the post of "prophet." Fresh troubles with the State caused another migration of the "Saints" in 1846, who, after much suffering, settled in the valley of the Great Salt Lake. There they have prospered, and the settlement itself, by the name of Utah, has been admitted to the United States Confederacy. They send missionary agents to all parts of the world to make fresh converts. The practice of polygamy they justify by their doctrine concerning "spiritual wives." They have published a "Creed," in which they profess their belief in the Holy Trinity, in Salvation through Christ, in the necessity of the Sacraments and the ordinary means of grace. They further believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit continue. They believe in the word of God recorded in the Bible, and in the Book of Mormon. They look for the restoration of the Jews, and expect a millennium. They have 82 congregations in England.

MORNING PRAYER The construction of the Morning and Evening Services is so similar that they will both be considered under this heading. It will be noticed that the Services recognise distinctly what may be called God's part and man's part in the communion of worship. They open by the message of God to His people, calling for penitence and promising forgiveness, which is met by the response of the Confession. Next pardon is pronounced in God's Name, which naturally awakens in the pardoned soul the outburst of Praise and Thanksgiving in the Lord's Prayer, the Psalms and the Canticles. Then the voice of God is again heard in the Lessons, and His revelation is accepted by the response of faith in the Creed. Lastly, in the sense of His grace and the knowledge of His will, we turn to Prayer for ourselves and for others, and end with the commendation of all to His blessing.

Many parts of the Morning and Evening Service are considered under their own particular names, but the history of the rest is given here.

The Introductory Sentences , from the Psalms, the Prophets, and New Testament, are taken from old Lent Services. The Exhortation , 1552, was composed partly from the preceding sentences, and partly from ancient forms. The Confession , 1552, is derived from old forms.

The Absolution , like the previous part of the service, was added in 1552. In the Rubric, the words "Remission of sins" were added by the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, to meet the objection that the word Absolution was popish. In 1661 the word Priest was substituted for "Minister," showing that a deacon may not read the Absolution.

With the Lord's Prayer the old Latin Service begins. The Rubric directs it to be said with an "audible voice," because formerly it was said inaudibly, to keep it from the ears of the unbaptized. The direction that the people are to say it with the Minister was added in 1661. The Versicles date from the 6th century. The answer, "The Lord's Name be praised," was added in 1661. For the Canticles and Creed see different articles.

The Salutation , "The Lord be with you," is apostolic. Next comes the Lesser Litany . The Versicles following are said by the Priest "standing up," in accordance with mediaeval custom. Morning Prayer ended with the Collect for Grace until 1661, when the five final prayers were added. The Second Collect dates from 5th century, the third from 6th century. The prayers for the Queen , and for the Clergy and People , stood in the Litany in 1559, and the Prayer of St. Chrysostom (John, the Golden Mouthed) was in the Litany in 1545, and dates from the 4th century. The Prayer for the Royal Family was composed in 1604.

NAVE. From the Latin navis , a ship, because the nave , or body, of a church somewhat resembles the hull of a ship turned upside down. The nave formerly was always separated from the chancel (which see) by a screen.

NON-CONFORMISTS. The name now given to all those who do not conform to the practice of the Established Church. Originally, however, it was restricted to the Puritan section within the Church, dissidents from the Church being called Separatists , which is still their correct title. In Elizabeth's reign many of the clergy refused to conform to the Act of Uniformity; the use of the surplice, and many things in the Book of Common Prayer, being objectionable to them. The Non-Conformists afterwards assumed the name of Puritan, which had previously been used of a heresy of the 3rd century. They formally separated from the Church in 1572. (See Puritan .)

NUNC DIMITTIS, or the SONG OF SIMEON. (Luke ii. 29.) The sweetest and most solemn of all the Canticles—the thanksgiving of the aged saint for the sight of the Saviour. It is appropriately sung by us after the revelation of Christ in the Lessons for the day. It is, and has been, used by the whole Catholic Church from the earliest times.

OBLATION. An offering to God. In the Office for the Holy Communion we pray God to "accept our alms and oblations ." The word oblations was added to this prayer at the same time that the rubric which directs the priest to "place upon the table so much bread and wine as he shall think sufficient," was inserted, 1662. From this, many—Wheatly, Palmer, Bishop Patrick, &c.—conclude that the oblation consists in the offering of the bread and wine. Others would consider it merely synonymous with " alms ."

OCTAVE. The octave is the eighth day after any principal festival of the Church. In ancient times it was customary to observe these days with much devotion, including the whole period also from the festival to the octave. In our Prayer Book we observe the octaves of Christmas, Easter, Ascension, and Whit-Sunday, by using the special preface appointed in the Communion Service at every celebration during the octave. The Whit-Sunday preface, however, is only used six days, because Trinity Sunday falls on the octave.

OECUMENICAL. (Belonging to the whole inhabited world.) A term applied to General Councils of the Church, to distinguish them from councils of less importance. It is also a title of the Patriarch of Constantinople.

OFFERTORY. In an ecclesiastical sense, the anthem said or sung while the offerings are being made; it is now frequently used to denote the alms collected. Oblations in money or kind have always been made from apostolic times (1 Cor. xvi. 2). Out of these offerings in kind were taken the bread and wine used in the celebration of the Holy Communion. (See Alms , Communion .)

ORDERS, HOLY. Three Orders have always been recognised in the Church of Christ—Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. The preface to the Ordinal in our Prayer Book affirms this very strongly. To these were added, but on a distinctly different footing, what are called the Minor Orders —Sub-Deacon, Acolyte, Exorcist, Singer, Reader, Door-keeper; these are of merely ecclesiastical institution, and are not generally retained in the Church of England, although the office of Reader may be said to be in part revived, and the revival of Sub-Deacon is recommended. The Church of Rome has seven Orders. Articles xxiii., xxxvi. and xxxvii., as well as the preface referred to above, should be carefully read on this matter. (See also Apostolical Succession and Ordinal .)

Bishop . From a Greek word ( episcopos ) meaning an "Overseer." It is the title now given to the highest Order in the Christian Ministry, to which appertains the function of ordination. Of this Order were Titus and Timothy, the one being Bishop of Crete, the other Bishop of Ephesus. In the English Church a Bishop must not be less than 30 years old, a Priest 24, and a Deacon 23, unless dispensed by a faculty from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Priest . The second Order in the Christian Ministry. The word is a corruption of Presbyter (which see). In common with Bishops, Priests have the power to absolve, to consecrate, and to bless, but not to ordain. The difference between a Priest and a Deacon is far greater than that between a Deacon and a layman.

Deacon . The lowest Order in the English Church. The word is derived from the Greek, and means a minister . He is the assistant of the Priest, and may only perform certain spiritual duties— e. g ., the rubrics of our Prayer Book direct certain parts of the Service to be taken by the "Priest," while the rest is left to the "Minister," Priest or Deacon as he may happen to be, unless from the nature of the office, we know that the term "Minister" refers only to "Priest." (See Minister .)

ORDERS, QUALIFICATIONS FOR. Although the preface to the Ordinal and Canon 39 lay down generally what is necessary from Candidates for Holy Orders, yet any one intending to be ordained had better write to the Secretary of the Bishop into whose diocese he thinks of going for further particulars as to the subjects for examination, &c. The papers generally necessary for Deacon's orders are the following—(1) Certificate of Baptism, or a declaration by some competent witness that the candidate has completed his 23rd year and has been baptized. (2) Graduates of Cambridge must have passed either the Special Theological, or the Preliminary Examination for Holy Orders; Graduates of Oxford must produce Certificates that they have attended two courses of Lectures by Divinity Professors. Durham men must be either B.A. or L.Th. Dublin men must be B.A., and hold also the Divinity Testimonial. (3) College Testimonials. (4) The "Si quis," a notice read in the Church of the place where the candidate resides, to give opportunity for raising objections, something like the asking of Banns. (5) Letters Testimonial for three years, or for the time elapsed since the Candidate left College. This Testimonial must be subscribed by three beneficed clergymen. (6) A Title, or nomination to a Curacy. For Priest's Orders, the Candidate requires 4, 5, and 6, as above. When a Candidate is accepted by the Bishop, he has then to pass an Examination, which slightly differs in the various dioceses, but generally comprehends the following subjects, viz.—The Bible; the New Testament in Greek, and a minute acquaintance with some specified portion of it; The Prayer-Book; The 39 Articles; Church History; Latin; some theological authors, such as Pearson, Hooker, Butler, Paley, &c.; a Hebrew Paper is set for those who care to take up Hebrew.

ORDINAL. "The form and manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating Bishops, Priests, and Deacons." Various forms of Service for Ordination have existed from the earliest times. Although differing in many ways, each kept the essentials of Ordination, viz., Imposition of hands, with Prayer and Benediction, as used by the Apostles themselves. The first Reformed Service was taken as usual partly from the ancient ordinals in use. It was revised in 1552, and again in 1662, when some changes, tending to greater solemnity, were introduced.

The Preface insists upon the necessity of Episcopal Ordination. It determines the age at which men may be ordained, viz.. Deacon at 23, Priest at 24, Bishop at 30, and speaks of the qualifications of candidates for the ministry. Canon 34 of 1604 mentions further qualifications necessary (see Orders , Qualifications for ). The times for Ordination appointed by the Canon are, of course, the four Ember Seasons, which have been so set apart from the 5th century.

The Form and Manner of making of Deacons . After Morning Prayer, including the Sermon, is ended, the Candidates for Deacon's Orders, dressed either in surplice or gown, are presented by the Archdeacon to the Bishop, who is sitting in his chair in the Sanctuary. The Bishop's address to the people is of much the same nature as the Si quis already read. The Litany is made specially appropriate by the insertion of the suffrage, "That it may please Thee to bless these Thy servants, now to be admitted to the Order of Deacons (or Priests), and to pour Thy grace upon them; that they may duly execute their office, to the edifying of Thy Church, and the glory of Thy Holy Name." Then follows a special Collect and Epistle. Before the Gospel the Bishop proceeds with the Ordination Service. Until 1865 the Oath of the Queen's Supremacy was administered here, but now it is taken before the Service. Sitting in his chair, the Bishop puts certain searching questions to those he is about to ordain. The first is of the "Inward Call" of the Holy Ghost. This perhaps is sometimes misunderstood, but several high authorities unite with Calvin in explaining it to be "the good testimony of our own heart, that we have taken this office neither from ambition, covetousness, nor any evil design, but out of a true fear of God, and a desire to edify the Church." (See Call to the Ministry .) The next question is of the "Outward Call," and implies a willingness to accept all the regulations under which the Ministry is to be exercised in the Church of England. The third and fourth questions demand a belief in the Bible, and a desire to read (and perhaps expound it) in the Church.

The next question explains the duties of the Diaconate, and marks very distinctly the great difference between that Order and the Priesthood. The answer expresses the candidate's intention to be faithful in the public ministration of his office, and the answer to the next question his desire to be an example in his private life. The last question concerns canonical obedience. Next follows the Ordination itself, which is notable for its extreme simplicity in comparison with the great solemnity of the Ordination of Priests. The Gospel is usually read by the Deacon who passes first in the Examination.

The Communion Service is then proceeded with, one final prayer being added in behalf of those who have just become Deacons in the Church.

The Form and Manner of Ordering of Priests . The ground-plan of this Service is the same as that of the preceding. The Deacons are ordained before the Gospel, the Priests after. The Bishop's exhortation before putting the question brings out in a striking manner a picture of the whole pastoral duty and life. The first question dwells on the outward call to the Priesthood; the second, third, and fourth, on the rule of faith and practice ; the fifth and sixth on the individual life ; the seventh and eighth on the submission to order and peace . Then follows a call to the congregation present to engage in silent prayer on behalf of those about to be ordained to the Priesthood. After which the hymn Veni Creator is sung, as it always has been sung since the 11th century on this occasion; and after another prayer the special act of Ordination is proceeded with. It is to be noticed that Priests present are to join with the Bishop in the laying on of hands in obedience to 1 Tim. iv. 14. The Charge given in this Ordination is threefold, ( a ) The Dispensation of the Word; ( b ) The Dispensation of the Sacraments; ( c ) the "Power and Commandment" of Absolution, John xx. 23, and compare Matt, xvi. 19; xviii. 18. The Service of the Holy Communion is then proceeded with, the final collect being a twofold prayer for the newly-ordained and for the people. The concluding rubric is a direction for the order of the Service if Priests and Deacons are to be ordained on the same occasion.

The form of Ordaining and Consecrating of an Archbishop or Bishop . This form of Service differs from the other services in beginning with the Communion Service, placing the Sermon in its usual place in that Service, and then inserting the Litany after the Gospel and before the Consecration. The Service is to be conducted by the Archbishop, or some Bishop appointed by him. The presence of other Bishops is implied throughout, according to the old rule, which prescribed, as a matter of church order, though not of absolute necessity, that three Bishops at least should concur in the Consecration. The Candidate, vested in a Rochet, is presented by two Bishops, in accordance with a custom of great antiquity. The Queen's mandate is then read, and the oath of canonical obedience taken. The Litany contains a special suffrage and prayer. The questions which follow are substantially the same as in the Ordination of Priests; except that ( a ) in the sixth the duty of enforcing discipline is insisted upon; and ( b )the seventh requires a promise to be faithful in ordaining others; and ( c ) the eighth lays stress on the duty of gentleness and charity. After this the Bishop elect is to put on the rest of the episcopal habit. The form of consecration itself corresponds to the Ordination of Priests, save that in place of conferring the power of absolution, we have St. Paul's exhortation to Timothy (2 Tim. i. 6, 7), to stir up the gift of Consecration in "power, love, and soberness." The charge at the delivery of the Bible takes the form of an earnest exhortation. The Holy Communion is then proceeded with.

ORDINARY. Where used in the Prayer Book this word almost always means the Bishop of the Diocese. The word properly signifies any judge authorized to take cognizance of causes in his own proper right.

ORNAMENTS OF THE CHURCH, and MINISTERS THEREOF. This Rubric is well known as the "Ornaments Rubric." It will be considered under two heads, (1) the Vestments of the Minister, (2) the Ornaments of the Church.

(1.) This Rubric had no existence in 1549; but a direction in the Communion Service says that the Priest is to wear "a white albe plain, with a Vestment or Cope," and the assisting Priests or Deacons, "Albes with tunicles," or Dalmatics. At other Services in Parish Churches the ministers were to use a surplice and, in Cathedrals and Colleges, the hood of their degree. At a celebration a Bishop was to wear a Surplice or Albe, and a Cope or Vestment. In 1552 the Ornaments Rubric ran thus:—"The Minister, at the time of the Communion, and at all other times of his ministration, shall use neither Albe, Vestment, nor Cope; but, being Archbishop or Bishop, he shall have and wear a Rochet, and being Priest or Deacon, a Surplice only." In 1559 this Rubric was altered thus:—"The Minister….shall use such ornaments in the Church as were in use by authority of Parliament in the second year of Edward VI., according to the Act of Parliament set forth in the beginning of this book." This Act spoke of authorizing the Queen to ordain other ceremonies; but whether she did so or not, according to this Act, has been a matter of controversy. But in the "advertisements" of Archbishop Parker (1566), no other vestment than the Cope and Surplice is named. In 1662 the Rubric was altered into its present form.

As a matter of history, it seems unquestionable that, with a few exceptions, all vestments except the Surplice and Hood in Parish Churches, and Copes in some Cathedrals, were disused after 1564. Within the last 25 years, the use of the old vestments ordered in the first Prayer Book, and authorized by Parliament, has been revived on the authority of the Rubric of 1662. The Privy Council, however, has, rightly or wrongly, pronounced against the legality of the revival of the vestments named in the Rubric. (See Vestments .) (2.) The ornaments of the Church are discussed under the headings of Altar , Altar Lights , &c. In Canons 80 to 84 among the things pertaining to the Church are enumerated (1) a great Bible and Prayer Book, (2) a Font of stone, (3) a "decent Communion Table covered in time of Divine Service with a carpet of silk or other decent stuff," (4) the "Ten Commandments to be set up" and "other chosen sentences written," (5) a Pulpit, (6) an Alms Chest.

ORTHODOX. Sound in doctrine according to the consentient testimony of Scripture and the Church. The opposite is heterodox .

PALM SUNDAY. The Sunday next before Easter, so called from palm branches being strewed on the road by the multitude, when our Saviour made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

PANTHEISM. From two Greek words meaning "all" and "God." It is a subtle kind of Atheism, which makes God and the universe the same, and so denies the existence and sovereignty of any God over the universe. What may be called Natural Religion partakes largely of Pantheism.

PAPISTS. Roman Catholics. The term is derived from Papa, a title restricted in the West to the Pope. In the Greek Church it is the title of all parish priests.

PARABLE. In the New Testament a figurative discourse, or a story with a typical meaning. In the Old Testament it sometimes signifies a mere discourse, as Job's parable, Job xxvi-xxxi. inclusive. The Parable, in the New Testament sense, was and is a common mode of expression in the East.

PARISH. "That circuit of ground which is committed to the charge of one parson or vicar, or other minister." Some think England was divided into parishes by Archbishop Honorius, about the year 630. There are instances of Parish Churches in England as early as the year 700. The cause of the great difference in the extent of different parishes is explained by the fact that churches were most of them built by lords of the manor for their tenants, and so the parish was the size of the lord's manor. In 1520 the number of Parish Churches was between 9,500 and 10,000. There are now about 13,500 Benefices; and many more District and Mission Churches, and Chapels of Ease.

PARSON. The Rector or Incumbent of a Parish, when the income of the living is derived from land. It represents two Latin words, 'Persona Ecclesiae,' the ecclesiastical person of a place.

PASSING BELL. A bell tolled now after the death of a person. The 67th canon orders "When any one is passing out of this life, a bell shall be tolled, and their minister shall not then be slack to do his last duty." Thus the beautiful idea of calling for the prayers of the Church, by the tolling of a bell, for the dying person is altogether lost sight of by our modern custom.

PASTORAL STAFF. A Staff shaped like a crook, which a Bishop shall either bear "in his hand" or else have "borne or holden by his chaplain." This is the direction of a rubric in the Prayer Book of 1549, and which is still the law of the Church according to the present Ornaments Rubric.

PAUL (St.), THE CONVERSION OF, January 25. The festival of St. Paul is not, as usual, of the day of his martyrdom, but of his miraculous conversion, and it is upon this, rather than on his wonderful character and work, that the services lay stress.

PECULIARS. Parishes exempt from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of the Diocese in which they lie. They were for the most part abolished in the reign of William IV.

PENANCE. In the law of England penance is an open ecclesiastical punishment for sin. This discipline of the Church has fallen into disuse, a fact deplored in the opening exhortation of the Commination Service. Absolution after penance has been exalted into a Sacrament in the Church of Rome.

PENITENTIAL PSALMS. Seven psalms, from their internal character, are thus called, viz., 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143. These are appointed to be read on Ash-Wednesday.

PENTECOST. A solemn festival of the Jews, so called because it is celebrated fifty days after the Passover. It corresponds to the Christian Whitsuntide, which is sometimes called by the same name.

PERPETUAL CURATE. The incumbent of a church, chapel, or district, within the boundaries of a rectory or vicarage. His position is in every respect that of a Vicar.

PESSIMISM. A philosophy which acknowledges the evils that are in the world, but instead of looking for a "new heaven and a new earth" it looks for release in unconsciousness. It is the religion of doubt, and hopelessness, and despair. It makes the worst of everything.

PETER'S (St.) DAY. June 29. This festival, originally a festival of both St. Peter and St. Paul, on the traditional anniversary of their common martyrdom, is of great antiquity, certainly known from the 4th century, and kept both in the East and West on this day. The institution of the festival of the Conversion of St. Paul has now transferred the commemoration of that Apostle to another day, January 25th.

PEWS. Enclosed seats in churches. They did not come into use until the middle of the 17th century, and almost belong to the past now. But long before pews there were appropriated seats. The first mention of a "reading pew," or desk, in the body of the church, for the minister, is in 1596: previous to that time his place was in the chancel.

PHILIP (St.) AND St. JAMES'S DAY. May 1. There seems to be no adequate reason for the coupling together of these two Apostles. In the Greek Church their festivals are observed separately. Of St. Philip we have notices only in St. John, and early tradition speaks of his preaching in Pamphylia. Of St. James the Apostle, the son of Alphaeus, sometimes supposed to be the same as "James the Less," or the Little, of Mark xv. 40, we know nothing except his name in the Apostolic catalogue. In the Epistle for this day he is identified with James, the brother of the Lord, surnamed the Just, and author of the Epistle bearing his name. But this identification is very uncertain.

PISCINA. A drain for water, usually accompanied with decorative features, near the altar on the south side. It was formerly used to pour away the water in which any sacred vessel had been washed. In many churches the Piscina is the only remaining trace of where an altar has been.

PLYMOUTH BRETHREN. The name is a misnomer. They call themselves merely "Brethren," and instead of originating in Plymouth, their principal source was near Dublin. They date from 1827, and their existence is a protest against all sectarianism, they holding that there should be a visible unity among Christians. They decline to be looked upon as one of the many sects into which Christianity is divided, and refuse to be identified with any.

They hold in great esteem the primitive constitution of the Church, and trust largely to the power of prayer for the supply of their temporal necessities. They have no recognised ministry, but any one believing himself to be inspired of the Spirit may address their meetings.

POLITY, ECCLESIASTICAL. The constitution and government of the Christian Church, considered as a society. The great book on this subject is Hooker's immortal work.

POPE. From Papa , Father, a title anciently given to all Christian Bishops; but at the end of the 11th century it was assumed exclusively by Gregory VII., Bishop of Rome, whose successors' peculiar title it has ever since continued. (See Papists .) There are but few instances of the exercise of the papal power in England before the Norman Conquest, nor has the Church of England ever wholly submitted to papal rule. (See Church of England .)

PREACHING. Proclaiming the truths of religion. The term is not necessarily to be limited to what are called sermons, as we see by Acts xv. 21, "Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." Hooker, in his fifth book, cleverly argues against the exaltation of sermons as being the means of grace to the detriment of other parts of public worship, a custom prevalent in his time among the Puritans, and now among most of the dissenting sects.

PREBENDARY. A clergyman attached to a Cathedral Church, who anciently enjoyed a prebend , or stipend, arising from some part of the Cathedral property, in return for his officiating at stated times in the Cathedral. The appointment is now often honorary. (See Canon .)

PRECENTOR. The leader of a choir. In almost all Cathedrals of old foundation in England, and very generally on the Continent, the precentor was the first dignitary in the chapter, ranking next to the dean. He superintended the choral service and the choristers. In all new foundations the precentor is a minor canon, holding a rank totally different from, and inferior to that of his namesake of the older foundation. (See Minor Canon.)

PREDESTINATION, see Election. The 17th Article treats of Predestination, but in such a way as to make it very difficult to comprehend what it teaches with regard to this most controverted subject. It seems designedly drawn up, in guarded and general terms, on purpose to embrace all persons of tolerably moderate views. (See Arminianism , Calvinism , Antinomianism .)

PRELATE. Generally a Bishop, but strictly an ecclesiastic having jurisdiction over other ecclesiastics.

PRESBYTER. A Greek word signifying an Elder . In the Christian Church a presbyter or elder is one who is ordained to a certain office, and authorized by his quality , not his age , to discharge the several duties of that office and station in which he is placed. In this large and extended sense, Bishops were sometimes called presbyters in the New Testament, for the apostles themselves did not refuse the title. Priests are in an ordinary sense the presbyters of the Church, and in the Scotch Liturgy, compiled in the reign of Charles I, the word presbyter is substituted for that of priest . (See Orders .)

PRESBYTERIANS. A Protestant sect which maintains that there is no order in the Church superior to presbyters, and on that account has separated from the Catholic Church. This sect is established by law in Scotland, where there nevertheless exists a national branch of the Catholic Church, under canonical Bishops. Of course the establishment or disestablishment of a sect in no way alters its position as being, or not being, a branch of the Catholic Church. From time to time considerable secessions have occurred in Scotland from the Established Church, the principal being the " United Presbyterian Church ," and the " Free Church of Scotland ." English Presbyterians are not to be confounded with Scotch Presbyterians, the former being the main supporters of Socinianism and Rationalism in this country.

The " Presbyterian Church of England " has 10 presbyteries, 275 congregations, 56,099 communicants.

PRESENCE, REAL, see Communion, Holy, part iv. The Homily on the Sacrament asserts, "Thus much we must be sure to hold, that in the Supper of the Lord there is no vain ceremony or bare sign, no untrue figure of a thing absent ; but the communion of the body and blood of our Lord in a marvellous incorporation, which, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, is, through faith, wrought in the souls of the faithful."

PRESENTATION. The offering of a clerk to the Bishop by the patron of a benefice, for institution.

PRIMATE. A "Primate" is the highest in rank in a National Church.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is Primate of all England, but is
without power in the province of York. The Archbishop of York is
Primate of England.

PROCESSION OF THE HOLY GHOST. The doctrine that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. It is an incomprehensible mystery, and in thinking of it we shall do well to remember the words of Gregory Nazianzen to an objector; "Do you tell me how the Father is unbegotten, and I will then attempt to tell you how the Son is begotten, and the Spirit proceeds." The Eastern or Greek Church (which see) split from the Western on this question of the procession of the Holy Ghost, believing that the eternal procession is from the Father alone, and not from the Son.

PROCTOR A name given to the clergy elected by their brethren to represent them in convocation. The same name is given to those officers of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge whose duty it is to guard the morals, and preserve the quiet of the university.

PROTESTANT. The term is now used of all who protest against Popery. It was originally given to those who protested against a certain decree issued by the Diet of Spires in 1529.

PROVINCE. The limit of an Archbishop's jurisdiction, as a diocese is the limit of the jurisdiction of a Bishop. (See Archbishop and Diocese .)

PSALTER. The word Psalter is often used by ancient writers for the book of the Psalms, considered as a separate book of Holy Scripture; but the term is generally used now of the book in which the Psalms are arranged for the public service of the Church. The Roman Psalter, for instance, does not follow the course of the Psalms as in the Bible, but arranges them for the different services. The division of the Psalms into daily portions, as given in our Prayer Books, has been done with a view to convenience. The Psalter , properly speaking, is a separate book from that of Common Prayer. The English Psalter does not follow the last translation of the Bible (which is the authorized one), but that of Coverdale's Bible, corrected, which had become familiar to the people from constant use.

PUBLIC WORSHIP. The united Service of the Congregation. A Christian duty very much neglected by the laity, notwithstanding the Apostolic direction not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together." (Heb. x. 25.) Formerly the law of the land compelled every parishioner to attend public worship, unless excommunicate. There is a special blessing promised to the assembly of believers for common prayer and praise. "Where two or three are gathered together there am I in the midst of them." (Matt, xviii. 20.) "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob" (Ps. lxxxvii. 2.) Both in the Old Testament and New Testament this duty holds a prominent place.

PUBLIC WORSHIP REGULATION ACT. An Act of Parliament, passed in 1874, for the better administration of the Laws respecting the regulation of Public Worship. Under this Act any three aggrieved Parishioners, calling themselves members of the Church of England, though not necessarily Communicants, may report to the Bishop anything their clergyman does which they believe to be unlawful. The Bishop may use his discretion whether proceedings are to be taken against the clergyman on the representation of his parishioners. If the litigious parties prefer it, the case may be taken out of the Bishop's hands and brought before a Judge appointed under this Act—at present Lord Penzance.

The workings of the Act have been far from satisfactory to any, and in many cases have given rise to grave scandal.

PULPIT. A raised desk. Sermons were formerly delivered from the steps of the Altar. By Canon 83, a raised desk, called a pulpit, is ordered in every church, from which the preacher is to address his flock.

PURGATORY. A place in which souls are, by the Romanists, supposed to be purged from carnal impurities, before they are received into heaven. The Council of Florence, 1439, first gave an authoritative decree concerning Purgatory,—"If any who truly repent depart from this life before that by worthy fruits of repentance they have made satisfaction for their sins of commission and omission, their souls are purified after death, and to relieving these pains, the suffrages of the faithful who are alive, to wit, the sacrifice of masses, prayers, alms, and other pious works, are profitable. But whether purgatory is a fire, or a mist, or a whirlwind, or anything else, we do not dispute."

The idea of Purgatory was very early broached by individuals. St. Augustine, 398, speaks of it as a thing which "possibly may be found so, and possibly never;" the Venerable Bede says it is "not altogether incredible." Origen, in the 3rd century, is by some thought to have been the first to teach distinctly the doctrine of Purgatory, but his view differs altogether from the Roman. Article xxii. gives the view of the Church of England on this subject. "Purgatory… is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word of God." However, in the celebrated "Essays and Reviews" case, the point arose in respect of a doctrine, scarcely discernible from that of Purgatory, being taught by Mr. H. B. Wilson, and the Privy Council decided that there is no condemnation of it in the Anglican formularies. The teaching of Article xxii. is borne out by the following: Luke xxiii, 43; Phil. i 23; 2 Cor. v. 8; Rev. xiv. 13; and many other passages.

PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. February 2nd. The alternative title (the "Presentation of Christ in the Temple,") suggests the lesson to be drawn from all the services of the day. The name "Candle-mas Day" is derived from the custom of a procession with torches, superseding (it is thought) the heathen festival of torches to Ceres in the early part of February, with a reference to the true "light to lighten the Gentiles." Exodus xiii. 1-17 (the proper lesson for the day) gives the Mosaic law of the dedication of the first-born.

PURITANS. A name assumed by the ultra-Protestants in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I. The following chapter of history is often much misrepresented by the enemies of the Church:—In the time of the great Rebellion seven thousand English clergymen, having refused to take the covenant, were ejected from their livings, their places being supplied by dissenting teachers. At the Restoration it was required that all those persons who had thus become possessed of the property of the English Church should either conform to the regulations of the Church, or resign. Of all the Puritan clergy then in possession only fifteen hundred refused to conform. These fifteen hundred were ejected, and from what? From their rights? No; from what they had usurped. More than five thousand conformed and still retained possession of their benefices, so that but few of the loyal English clergy who had been ejected regained their rights even at the Restoration.

QUAKERS. A sect owing their origin to George Fox, a cattle-drover, in 1624. They are also called the "Society of Friends." The first assembly for public worship was held in Leicestershire in 1644. The Society is diminishing in numbers in the United Kingdom. The body is much more numerous in America. Three gradations of meetings or synods—monthly, quarterly, and yearly—administer the affairs of the Society. Fit persons are chosen by monthly meetings as Elders , to watch over the religious duties of the members. They make provision for their poor, none of whom are ever known to require parochial relief. At the monthly meetings also marriages are sanctioned. Monthly meetings being limited to a certain circuit, several monthly meetings compose a quarterly meeting, at which general reports are given and appeals heard. The yearly meeting has the general superintendence of the Society. In case of disputes among Friends the matter is submitted, not to law, but to arbitration. Their solemn affirmations are accepted in lieu of oaths. The chief rule of their faith is that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so guides and teaches them that the Bible and all else is subordinate to this inward monition of the Spirit. Their ministers may be either male or female, the only qualification necessary being the immediate inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They decline to define in any way the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. They deny the necessity of any outward sign accompanying Baptism, it being a wholly spiritual matter. Also they affirm that taking or receiving the Eucharist is not of perpetual obligation. And they condemn all war, even in self-defence, as unlawful for Christians.

The Society of Friends consists of about 12,000 members, 254 recorded ministers, and about 400 unrecorded; and in England and Wales they have 317 places of worship. As a rule their moral character is excellent, and they are very valuable members of society.

QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. The fiftieth day before Easter, reckoning in whole numbers.

RATIONALISM. There are two ways by which the human mind can attain to a knowledge of the truth; first by receiving a divine revelation of it, and secondly by means of observation and reasoning. The name of Rationalism is given to that school of thought which believes that the latter of these two ways is of itself fully sufficient for the attainment of all truth.

READING IN. Every incumbent upon entering his living is obliged to read the Thirty-nine Articles, and to give his assent thereto publicly, in Church, on some Sunday nearly following his appointment. He must also read the Morning and Evening Prayer, and declare his assent to the Prayer Book. A certificate to that effect has to be signed by the Churchwardens. The whole ceremony is known as that of " reading in ."

RECTOR. A clergyman who has charge of a parish, and who possesses all the tithes. The distinction between a Rector and Vicar is that the former has the whole right to all the ecclesiastical dues within his parish, whereas the latter is entitled only to a certain portion of those profits, the best part of which are often absorbed by the impropriator.

REFORMATION. The great revolt in Europe in the 16th century against the Papacy. The rescue of our Church from the usurped dominion of the Pope, and its restoration from the corruptions of Popery to primitive purity was then effected. (See Church of England .)

REFRESHMENT SUNDAY The fourth Sunday in Lent is so called probably because the Gospel for the day relates the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. It is also frequently called Mid-Lent Sunday. In several parts of England it is known by the name of Mothering Sunday , from an ancient practice of making a pilgrimage to the Mother Church, usually the Cathedral, of the neighbourhood on this day. The comparatively modern and local custom of young men and women going home to visit their parents on this day is probably a survival of the older practice.

REGENERATION. A Latin word meaning new birth , or being born again. The catechism teaches us that the grace of Baptism is "a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness…" So, in perfect consistency with the catechism, the minister, immediately after the administration of Holy Baptism to a child, addresses the congregation thus: "Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren, that this child is regenerate ;" and he returns thanks to God that it hath pleased Him "to regenerate this infant with Thy Holy Spirit." The same connexion between regeneration and baptism is expressed in the Office for Private Baptism and in the Office for the Baptism of Adults. There has been much confusion and misunderstanding caused by using the word regeneration as though it meant conversion . Both the Bible—Tit. iii. 5; John iii. 3-5—and the Fathers use regeneration as the new birth of baptism, but never as meaning anything else, unless figuratively as Matt. xix. 28. (See Conversion, Baptism .)

REGISTER. A parochial record of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials. The keeping of a church book for registering the age of those that should be born and christened in the parish began in the thirtieth year of Henry VIII. Canon 70 gives directions for the safe keeping of parish registers wherein baptisms, weddings, and burials were entered. Duplicate registers of weddings are now kept by order of recent legislation, and also copies are made quarterly and given to the registrar of the district. There is a small fee payable by those who wish to search the parish registers; and for a copy of an entry 2s. 6d. is the legal charge.

RENOVATION. This action of the Holy Spirit upon the heart of man differs from Regeneration (which see) in that it is progressive, and may often be repeated or totally lost. Whereas Regeneration comes only once, in or through Baptism, and can never be repeated nor ever totally lost.

REPENTANCE or CONTRITION, A sincere sorrow for all past sins, an unfeigned disposition of mind to perform the will of God better for the future, and an actual avoiding and resisting of those temptations to sin under which we have before fallen.

REREDOS. A screen behind an altar, necessary in cathedrals, and some large churches, because the altar is not against the East wall. The name is commonly given to all carved or decorated work immediately behind the altar.

RESIDENTIARY CANONS. These Cathedral officers have to reside in the Cathedral Close for three months in the year, in their respective turns, and take their part in the services of the Cathedral. (See Canon.)

RESPONSE. In the Church Service an answer made by the people speaking alternately with the minister. This has always been a fundamental feature in every liturgy. The practice has been handed down from the Jewish Church.

RESURRECTION. Both the resurrection of our Lord and our own future resurrection are articles of the Christian faith. What the resurrection body will be like we do not know, but we believe that our mortal, corruptible body, which is laid in the grave, will rise again immortal and incorruptible. The principal passages of Scripture bearing on the resurrection are—1 Thess. iv. 14-16; 1 Cor. xv. 20-52; Rev. xx. 13; Phil. iii. 21; Rom. viii. 11.

RITES. Religious observances prescribed by competent authority. This "competent authority" is described to be the Church in that portion of the preface of the Prayer Book which treats of "Ceremonies;" and the claim of this right for the Church accords with Art. xxxiv., which says: "Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish ceremonies or rites of the Church ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying."

RITUAL. The name given before the Reformation to that book or manual (sometimes it was so called) which comprised all those occasional offices of the Church which a Presbyter could administer. The word is now often used of the mode or manner in which Divine Service is conducted.

RITUALIST. (1) A writer on the rites of Churches. (2) A name given of late to the school which has revived disused ceremonial in the Church of England. (See Church Parties .)

ROOD SCREEN. A screen separating the chancel from the nave, on which the rood ( i.e. , the figure of our Lord on the Cross) was placed, and on either side the Blessed Virgin and St. John. The place of the rood , where the screen was sufficiently substantial, as in cathedrals, has been almost universally converted into an organ loft.

RUBRICS. Rules for the ordering of Divine Service. They were formerly written or printed in a red character, and therefore called Rubrics , from a Latin word signifying red .

The most controverted rubric in the Church of England is the well-known " Ornaments Rubric " (which see.) The Rubrics dealing with the position of the Priest at Holy Communion are examined in the articles on Communion and Eastward Position .

RURAL DEAN. As each Province is divided into Dioceses, and each Diocese into Archdeaconries, so each Archdeaconry is divided into Rural Deaneries, consisting of a certain number of Parishes. Over this Rural Deanery some beneficed clergyman, usually appointed by the Bishop, presides. In the Diocese of Exeter the clergy elect their own Rural Deans. His duties are to call together the clergy in his Deanery at certain times for the discussion of ecclesiastical matters. These meetings are called Ruri-decanal Chapters. It is also the duty of the Rural Dean to see that the churches in his Deanery are in fit order for public worship, and supplied with those things by law required. He is to report any immorality or crime among the clergy of his Deanery.

The office of Rural Dean is an ancient office of the Church, and is mentioned as early as the time of Edward the Confessor.

SABAOTH. A Hebrew word meaning hosts or armies . Jehovah
Sabaoth is the Lord of Hosts. "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of
Sabaoth."

SABBATH. Rest . The seventh day of the week, commanded in the
Decalogue to be kept holy, and still observed by the Jews. The
Christian Sabbath is kept on the first day of the week. (See
Sunday and Lord's Day .)

SACERDOTALISM. The spirit or character of the priestly class or priesthood; devotion to priestly interests. From Latin Sacerdos , one given to sacred things.

SACRAMENT. Latin, sacramentum , an oath or promise ratified by a sacred or religious ceremony; thus the oath taken by soldiers in classical times was called sacramentum . In the early Church the word "sacrament" was used to express the promises made by Christians in Holy Baptism. Then it came to be used of the ceremony itself, and thence to signify any religious ordinance. In this extended sense the Church of England acknowledges other rites to be sacraments beside Baptism and the Eucharist; thus in the Homily on Swearing we find, "By the like holy promise the sacrament of matrimony knitteth man and wife in perpetual love," &c. So the catechism does not limit the number of sacraments to two, but says, "Two only, as generally necessary to salvation ." Thus in the Church of England we distinguish Baptism and the Eucharist from all other ordinances, because they are, what the others are not, necessary for salvation to all men, wherever they can be had. Other ordinances may confer grace, but Baptism and the Eucharist alone unite with Christ Himself. Thus we may say that in the strict definition of the word there are only two sacraments. Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there are seven sacraments, but this can hardly be borne out; for if the word be taken in the larger sense as meaning any religious ordinance, then there are more than seven, but if in a limited sense, there are only two. For the Roman view of sacraments see Article xxv. The Church Catechism defines a sacrament in the strict sense as follows:—It is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ Himself as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof."

SACRIFICE. An offering made to God. In strictness of speech there has been but one great sacrifice—once offered, and never to be repeated—the sacrifice of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered "death upon the Cross for our redemption; Who made there (by His one oblation of Himself once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world." But, figuratively speaking, all Divine worship was anciently called a sacrifice , a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; but more especially this term has been applied to the Eucharist. Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, both Fathers of the 2nd century, speak of the Eucharist as a sacrifice. Tertullian, of the 3rd century, does the same. (See Altar , and Communion, The Holy .)

SACRILEGE. The desecration of objects sacred to God. Thus the robbing of churches or of graves, the abuse of sacred vessels and jars, by employing them for unhallowed purposes, the plundering and misappropriation of alms and donations, &c., are acts of sacrilege which, in the ancient Church, were punished very severely.

SACRISTAN. The person to whose charge the sacred vestments, &c., in a Church are committed. The word is now corrupted to sexton (which see.)

SACRISTY. The place in which sacred vestments, &c., are kept, answering to the modern vestry.

SAINT. Holy . The Apostles in their Epistles use this word simply for baptized believers, that is, for all Christians. (See Communion of Saints .)

SAINTS' DAYS. The Church of Rome commemorates an enormous number of holy men and women who have lived and died following in the footsteps of Christ. But at the Reformation it was decided to celebrate in the Church of England only the festivals of the principal saints mentioned in the New Testament. If the line was not drawn there, it was difficult to say where it should be drawn. When two Holy-Days occur ( i.e. , fall on the same day), the service appointed for the superior day should be used, but in certain cases the Collect for the inferior day should be used after the Collect for the superior day. As a general rule, a Saint's Day, or Holy-Day, takes precedence before an ordinary Sunday.

SALVATION ARMY, THE, was commenced as a Christian Mission in 1865, by its present "General," then known as the "Rev." W. Booth, formerly a minister of the Methodist New Connexion. In 1878 the name "Salvation Army" was assumed. In 1880 the Army was established in the United States and in France, and a weekly newspaper called the "War Cry" was issued, which has now (1883) reached the sale of 400,000 copies. In 1882 the "Army" had in Great Britain 420 stations, or corps; 980 officers (as the missionaries, male and female, entirely engaged in the work, are called); and held 7,500 services weekly in the streets, and in buildings bought, built, or hired for the purpose.

"Every member or soldier of the Army is expected to wear an 'S,' meaning Salvation, on the collar, and those who can, provide themselves with a complete uniform of dark blue cloth thus marked."

The grotesqueness, not to say irreverence, of many of their proceedings, and much of their language; the noise, excitement, and display which always accompany their work; the silly affectation of constantly using a quasi-military phraseology, and some other features of the movement, do not commend it to sober-minded Christians; while the unauthorised celebration of the (so-called) Sacrament of the Lord's Supper condemns it in the eyes of the Church.

SANCTIFICATION. Holiness ; the effect of the Holy Spirit's work upon the heart of man, (See Justification .)

SANCTUARY. The place within the Septum, or rails, where the altar stands in the Christian church. The term is also used of the privilege of criminals, who, having fled to a sacred place, are free from arrest so long as they remain there. This custom of "Sanctuary," which is now almost wholly done away with everywhere, arose from Deut. xix. 11, 12, and Joshua xx.

SARUM, THE USE OF. In the early Church in England every Bishop was allowed to ordain rites and ceremonies, and prayers for use in his own diocese. The exercise of this power, in process of time, caused a considerable variety in the manner of performing Divine Service; and the custom of a diocese in its ceremonial, mode of chanting, &c., became a distinct Use , and was known by the name of that diocese. Thus gradually the Uses , or customs, of York, Sarum (or Salisbury), Hereford, Exeter, Lincoln, Bangor, and doubtless others of which the records have perished, were recognised as defined and established varieties of the Ritual of the English Church.

The most remarkable of these was the Use of Sarum . It was drawn up about 1085 by Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England. He re-built his cathedral, collected together clergy distinguished for learning, and skill in chanting, and took much pains to regulate the ecclesiastical offices; so that his church became a model for others, and his "Custom-book" was wholly or partially followed in various parts of the kingdom, more especially in the South of England.

SATAN. An adversary , an enemy , an accuser . Sometimes the word Satan is put for the Devil, as in Job i. 6, 7; Ps. cix. 6.; Zech. iii. 1, 2. In the New Testament it almost always means the Devil, but in Matt. xvi. 23, it simply means an adversary . "Be gone, O mine adversary, you that withstand what I most desire," &c.

The word Devil is from the Greek for an accuser, or calumniator. The Devil, or Satan, is a wicked spirit, who with many others, his angels or under-agents, is fighting against God. He has a limited dominion over all the sons of Adam, except the regenerate, in his kingdom of this world.

SCEPTICS. From a Greek word meaning to look about , to deliberate . Anciently the term was applied to a sect of philosophers founded by Pyrrho. In modern times the word has been applied to Deists, or those who doubt of the truth and authenticity of the sacred Scriptures.

SCHISM. Greek, a fissure , or rent . In an ecclesiastical sense it means a breaking off from communion with the Church, on account of some disagreement in matters of faith or discipline. Those who do so are called Schismatics . To separate wilfully from the Church of God is a sin; (1 Cor. i. 10; iii. 3; xi. 18;) and we are directed to avoid those who cause divisions. (Rom. xvi. 17.) In the Litany we pray, "From heresy and schism , good Lord deliver us."

History brings before our notice many considerable schisms , in which whole bodies of men separated from the communion of the Catholic Church. Such were, in the fourth century, the schisms of the Donatists, and of the numerous heretics which sprung up in the Church, as the Arians, Photinians, Apollinarians, &c., the schism in the Church of Antioch; in the fifth century, the schism in the Church of Rome, between Laurentius and Symmachus; the schism of the rival popes at Rome and Avignon, in the fourteenth century.

In England the chief schisms have been by the Romanists, the
Independents, and the Wesleyans.

SCHOOLMEN. The title given to a class of learned theologians who flourished in the middle ages. They derive their name from the schools attached to the cathedrals or universities in which they lectured. The chief Schoolmen were, Albertus Magnus, a Dominican friar, died 1280, Bonaventure, surnamed the Seraphic Doctor, born 1221, and died a cardinal. Thomas Aquinas, surnamed the Angelical Doctor, born 1224, was a pupil of Albertus Magnus. John Duns Scotus, surnamed the Subtle Doctor, was a Scotchman by birth, but educated in Paris. William Ocham, surnamed the Singular Doctor, was born in Surrey, in England. He, too, like Scotus, was educated at the University of Paris, about the year 1300. Raymond Lully, born in Majorca, 1236. Durandus, surnamed the Most resolving Doctor, Bishop of Meaux, 1318.

SCREEN. Any separation of one part of a church from another. The screens separating side chapels from the chancel, nave, or transept, are usually called parcloses . (See Rood Screen , &c.)

SEALED BOOKS. By an Act of Charles II. it was ordered that the Dean and Chapter of every Cathedral and Collegiate Church should obtain under the great seal of England a true and perfect printed copy of the Prayer Book, as revised in his reign (1662), to be kept by them in safety for ever, and to be produced in any Court of Record when required. These copies are called "Sealed Books."

SEDILIA. Seats near an altar almost always on the south side, for the ministers officiating at the Holy Eucharist.

SEE. Latin, sedes , a seat. The scat of episcopal dignity and jurisdiction, where the Bishop has his throne, or cathedra .

SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. The Sunday which is, in round numbers, seventy days before Easter.

SEPTUAGINT. The Greek Version of the Old Testament which was in general use in the time of our Lord. The word Septuagint means seventy , and this name was given this Version from the tradition that it was the work of seventy translators. According to the common account, Ptolemy Philadelphus procured seventy-two learned Jews (six from each tribe) to translate their sacred books into the Greek language. The translators, it is said, were placed in houses on the island of Pharos, at the mouth of the Nile, where they completed their work in seventy-two days. The whole Greek Version of the Hebrew Scriptures was completed before B.C. 130. The Gospels quote from this version.

SEPULCHRE or TOMB. A niche figuring our Lord's tomb, generally at the north side of the altar, and used in the scenic representations of our Saviour's burial and resurrection. Before the Reformation these sacred plays were common on Good Friday and at Easter. Perhaps the most beautiful Sepulchre now in England is in Lincoln Cathedral.

SEQUESTRATION. "The process by which the creditor of a clergyman of the Church of England in possession of a living, sues out execution on his judgment, and obtains payment of the debt." "The Bishop puts in force the law, and appoints sequestrators to take possession of the benefice and draw the emoluments, and pay them over to the creditor, first making due provision for the proper celebration of Divine Worship."

SERMONS. Orations or discourses, delivered by the clergy of the Christian Church in their religious assemblies. In the ancient Church it was one of the chief offices of a Bishop to preach, and it was only in the lesser churches of the city and country that the office of preaching devolved upon presbyters. Deacons were never allowed to preach, and they are only permitted to do so now by special licence of the Bishop (see Ordination Service .) St. Augustine has laid down excellent rules for the practice of Christian eloquence. The subject is to be weighty, the style answering to the subject. It was no part of the ancient oratory to raise the affections of the congregation, either by gesticulations, or the use of external shows. Scarcely any of their sermons would last an hour, and many not half the time. Many of St. Augustine's might be preached in eight minutes. They always concluded their sermons, as we do now, with a doxology to the Holy Trinity. The preacher usually sat, and the people stood.

The sermon in the Church of England is enjoined after the Nicene Creed, according to ancient custom; but nowhere else. (See Preaching .)

SERVICE. In technical language those stated parts of the Liturgy which are set to music; but the term is also used of the whole of Public Worship.

SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. That Sunday which is, in round numbers, sixty days before Easter.

SEXTON. From Sacristan . The name is now generally given to the person who digs the graves, &c.

SHAKERS. A party of enthusiasts who left England for America in 1774. They affected to consider themselves as forming the only true Church, and their preachers as possessed of the Apostolic gift. They disowned Baptism and the Eucharist.

Their leader was Anna Lees, whom they believed to be the woman mentioned in the Apocalypse (Rev. xii. 1, 2).

SHROVE TUESDAY. The day before Ash Wednesday, so called in the Church of England from the old Saxon word shrive , shrif , shrove , which means to confess ; it being our duty to confess our sins to God on that day in order to receive the Holy Communion, and thereby qualify ourselves for a more holy observance of Lent. Before the Reformation Auricular Confession was compulsorily made to a priest, and Absolution was sought.

SICK, VISITATION OF. A duty entailed upon the Christian minister by Canon 76, and by the rubric before the Office for the Visitation of the Sick. This Office, with the exception of the Exhortations, is chiefly taken from the Sarum Use (which see). The Service has little changed since 1549, except by the addition in 1662 of the final Commendation, and of the four beautiful collects appended to the service. The Salutation is in obedience to our Lord's command (Luke x. 5). The Versicles are the same as those in the Marriage Service, except the prayer for deliverance from the enemy, which is taken from Ps. lxxxix. 22, 23. After two Collects come two very beautiful and practical exhortations, which are followed by an examination in the faith of the sick person. Next comes the provision for Confession and Absolution, which is similar to that in the first exhortation at Holy Communion, as to private confession and special Absolution. Till 1662 the initiative was left wholly to the sick person, "Then shall the sick man," &c., but now the minister is to "move him" to confession. The Absolution is only to be given if the sick person "humbly and heartily desire it." The latter part of the Absolution is taken from the ancient Office, and is declaratory, the first clause being precatory. The phrase, " I absolve thee ," has been much discussed; this form has been used ever since the 12th century. A rubric in 1549 provided this Absolution for use in all cases of private confession, and thus it is probably the Absolution referred to in the Exhortation at Holy Communion. (See Absolution .) The next Collect is the original Absolution, or reconciliation of a dying penitent, in the Sacramentary of Gelasius, a 5th century compilation. After the Psalm comes a beautiful specimen of the ancient antiphon. The Benediction was composed in 1549, and the Commendation was added in 1662. (Num. vi. 24-26.) The four beautiful final prayers were added in 1662.

SIMON (St.) AND JUDE'S (St.) DAY. October 28th. These two Apostles are found together in all the Apostolic catalogues immediately after "James the son of Alphaeus," and in the list of the "brethren of our Lord" we have "James, Judas, and Simon;" thus it has been usual to identify the two lists. However, the weight of evidence seems against this identification.

St. Simon is surnamed the Canaanite (it ought to be Cananite ) and Zelotes , which two names are really the same; the one being Hebrew and the other Greek. The "Zealots" were an enthusiastic sect in Judaea about the time of our Lord.

Of neither Apostle have we any special notice in Scripture, or trustworthy tradition.

SIMONY. The conferring of Holy Orders, or the presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical benefice for money, gift, or reward. Canon 40 calls it "the detestable sin of simony," and every person on being instituted to a benefice has to swear that he is not guilty of it. It is so called from the sin of Simon Magus (Acts viii. 19), though Paley states that the resemblance is an imaginary one.

SIN. The subject Sin may be considered under various heads; 1. Original Sin ; 2. Actual Sin ; 3. Deadly Sin ; 4. Sin against the Holy Ghost .

(1.) Original Sin . This is "the fault and corruption of our nature, which infects all men." (See Article ix.) We inherit it from Adam, our first parent. It is the dread consequence of the Fall. Scripture proofs: Gen. viii. 21; Job xiv. 4; Ps. li. 5; Rom. viii. 18; Ep. iv. 22; Ep. ii. 3; Gal. iii. 22; 1 Cor. xv. 22; Rom. v. 12, 15, 17, 18, 19. The Church of England teaches that although all taint of original sin is not done away in baptism, yet it holds that its condemnation is remitted.

(3.) Deadly Sin . (See Article xvi.) The Church of Rome divides sin into two classes: mortal sin, that sin which is in its nature gross, and is committed knowingly, wilfully, deliberately; and venial sin , sins of ignorance, and negligence, and the like. We also make a distinction between sins of greater or less enormity; we admit that there is a difference of degree, but the Romanists make a difference in their nature and kind, a distinction we cannot admit. According to the Romans, no amount of venial sins would ever make a mortal sin. We consider every sin to be in its nature mortal or deadly, and deserving of God's wrath and condemnation (James ii. 10, 11), and only hope to be saved through the intercession of our "Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins."

(4.) Sin against the Holy Ghost . (See Article xvi.) What is the nature of this terrible sin which "shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come?" (Matt. xii. 31, 32.)

The Church clearly teaches in Article xvi. that wilful sin after baptism is not, as some have taught, the unforgivable sin, but it seems rather to be "obstinate, resolute, and wilful impenitence, after all the means of grace and with all the strivings of the Spirit, under the Christian dispensation as distinguished from the Jewish, and amid all the blessings and privileges of the Church of Christ." (Harold Browne on the Thirty-nine Articles.) This, in effect, is the teaching of St. Augustine, that the sin against the Holy Ghost is a final and obdurate continuance in wickedness, despite the calls of God to repentance, joined with a desperation of the mercy of God. In Matt. xii. 31, 32, it would seem that the unpardonable sin was committed by those who ascribed our Lord's miracles to the power of Beelzebub.

SOCIETIES, CHURCH. It will be possible to mention a few only of the chief societies, &c., connected with the Church, in a work like the present. They will be described under the headings (1) Charitable, (2) Educational, (3) Missionary, (4) Building, (5) General.

1. Charitable . Each diocese has charities of its own in addition to those which are not of limited area,—

The Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy . Founded 1655. Registrar, W. P. Bowman, Esq. Office, 2, Bloomsbury Place, London. Objects, assistance to necessitous clergymen, their widows and maiden daughters; education of children of poor clergymen, and the starting of them in life.

The Friend of the Clergy Corporation , 1849. Secretary, Rev. H. Jona, 4, St. Martin's Place, Trafalgar Square, London. Objects much the same as above.

The Poor Clergy Relief Corporation , 1856. Secretary, Dr. Robert Turtle Pigott, 36, Southampton Street, Strand. Objects, immediate relief, both in money and clothing, to poor clergymen, their widows and orphans, in sickness and other temporary distress.

The Cholmondeley Charities . Treasurer, John Hanby, Esq., 1, Middle Scotland Yard, Whitehall, S.W. Class I., Augmentation of certain stipends. Class II., Much the same as above Societies. Class III., Exhibitions to sons of clergymen to the Universities. Class IV., Allowance for starting the children of clergymen in life.

2. Educational Societies . Each diocese has societies of its own in addition to the following:—

Church of England Sunday School Institute . Founded 1843. Sec., J. Palmer, Esq., Serjeant's Inn, Fleet Street, E.C. Objects, to provide educational appliances (Books, Lessons, &c.) both for teachers and scholars, and to assist teachers in the work of teaching by means of lectures, &c.

Incorporated National Society . Secretary, Rev. J. Duncan, National Society Office, Sanctuary, Westminster. Object, to help forward the education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church by making grants to Church Schools and the like, and by training teachers.

( a ) The Missions to Seamen Society . Office, 11, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C. Object, to make provision for the spiritual needs of British Merchant Sailors when afloat.

The Navvy Mission Society . Office, Palace Chambers, Bridge Street, Westminster, S.W. Object, to promote the spiritual welfare of navvies working on railways, docks, &c.

Church Pastoral Aid Society , 1836. Office, Falcon Court, 32, Fleet Street, London, E.C. Object, to give grants to "Evangelical" Clergyman towards the incomes of additional curates and lay helpers in populous parishes. The Committee interferes in the appointments.

Additional Curates' Society , 1837. Office, 7, Whitehall, London, S.W. Object, to assist in the payment of additional Curates, irrespective of party views. This Society does not interfere in the appointments, but very properly leaves them to the Bishop and the Incumbent.

( b ) Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts . Incorporated 1701. 19, Delahay Street, Westminster, S.W. Object, the spiritual care of our Colonists and the evangelizing of the heathen in British Dominions abroad on thorough Church of England principles.

Church Missionary Society , 1799. Salisbury Square, London, E.C. Object, the preaching of the Gospel of Christ among the heathen, in strict accordance with the doctrines and discipline of the Church of England.

Colonial Bishoprics Fund , 19, Delahay Street, Westminster, S.W. Object, to help endow Colonial Sees.

4. Building Societies . There are many Diocesan, as well as General Church Building Societies.

Queen Anne's Bounty . (See Bounty, Queen Anne's .) Dean's Yard, Westminster, S.W. Object, the building of Parsonage Houses, &c.

Incorporated Church Building Society . 7, Whitehall, London. Object, the Enlargement, Building and Repairing of Churches and Chapels in England and Wales.

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge . Address, The Secretaries, S.P.C.K., Northumberland Avenue, London, W.C. Objects, to provide good and cheap Bibles and Prayer Books in various languages; to circulate general literature of a high character in thorough keeping with the principles of the Church of England, and suitable to all classes; to help forward Church Education, Home Mission Work, The Building of Churches and Chapels abroad, and the Training of a Native Ministry abroad.

The Religious Tract Society , 6, Paternoster Row, London. Object, the production and circulation of religious books, treatises, tracts and pure literature, in various languages, throughout the British Dominions, and in Foreign Countries, of a Protestant and Evangelical description.

The British and Foreign Bible Society , 146, Queen Victoria St., London, E.C. Object, the circulation of the Holy Scriptures in various languages without note or comment, both at home and abroad.

Church Penitentiary Association , 14, York Buildings, Adelphi, London. Object, the establishment and maintenance of Penitentiaries and Houses of Refuge throughout the country for the lessening of vice, and furthering efforts for the recovery of the fallen.

Church of England Temperance Society . Object, the Promotion of the Habits of Temperance; the Reformation of the Intemperate; and the removal of the Causes which lead to Intemperance.

The Church Defence Association . St. Stephen's Palace Chambers, 9, Bridge Street, Westminster. Object, to resist all attempts to destroy or weaken the union between Church and State, or to injure the temporal interests of the Church.

English Church Union , 35, Wellington Street, Strand, London, W.C. Object, to unite Clergy and Laity in loyal Defence of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England and the Rights and Liberties of her faithful children.

The Church Association , 14, Buckingham Street, Strand. Object, to uphold the doctrines of the Evangelical Party in the Church of England. This Society is notorious as the prosecutor of Mr. Mackonochie and other clergy of the same school. The Free and Open Church Association, 33, Southampton Street, Strand. Objects, (1) The throwing open of our Churches for the free and equal use of all classes; (2) The adoption of the Weekly Offertory instead of Pew Rents; (3) The opening of Churches throughout the day for private prayer.

SOCINIANISM. The doctrine of Faustus Socinus, an Italian, born 1539. He taught that the eternal Father was the one only God, and that Jesus was God no otherwise than by His superiority over all creatures. That Jesus Christ was not a mediator between God and man, but only a pattern to men. That the punishment of Hell will last only for a time, after which both body and soul will be destroyed. That it is not lawful for princes to make war. Many of the Anabaptists are Socinian in doctrine. (See Unitarianism .)

SPIKE. The high pyramidical capping or roof of a tower. This is sometimes confounded with the word Steeple , which latter really means the tower, with all its appendages.

SPONSORS. In the administration of Baptism, Sponsors have from time immemorial held an important place. They are called Sponsors , because they respond or answer for the baptized. They are also called Sureties , in virtue of the security given by them to the Church, that the baptized shall be "virtuously brought up to lead a Godly and a Christian life." They are also called Godparents because of the spiritual affinity created in Baptism when they undertake a responsibility almost parental in the future training of the baptized. In the Church of Rome Godparents may not intermarry. Anciently only one Sponsor was required. Their action at the font may be likened to that of those who brought the man sick of the palsy to our Lord. (Mark ii.)

Although it is not necessary to have Sponsors for the validity of Baptism, still the rule of the Church of England requires that "There shall be for every male child to be baptized two Godfathers and one Godmother; and for every female, one Godfather and two Godmothers." (Rubric.) And Canon 29, "No person shall be urged to be present, nor be admitted to answer as Godfather for his own child; nor any Godfather or Godmother shall be suffered to make any other answer or speech, than by the Book of Common Prayer is prescribed in that behalf. Neither shall any person be admitted Godfather or Godmother to any child at Christening or Confirmation, before the said person so undertaking hath received the Holy Communion." Parents are now allowed to act as sponsors for their children.

STEPHEN'S (St.) DAY. Dec. 26th. A festival in honour of the proto- (first) martyr, St. Stephen. He was one of the seven deacons, and all we know of him is told us in Acts vii. and viii.

SUCCENTOR. The precentor's deputy in Cathedral Churches. At York he is a dignitary, and is called Succentor Canonicorum to distinguish him from the other subchanter, who is a vicar-choral.

SUFFRAGANS. Properly all provincial Bishops who are under a Primate or Metropolitan; but the word now is applied especially to assistant Bishops, such as the Bishop of Bedford, the Bishop of Nottingham, &c.

SUNDAY. The first day of the week, so called by the Saxons, because it was dedicated to the worship of the Sun.

Among Christians it is kept "holy" instead of the Jewish Sabbath, because on that day our Lord rose from the dead, and for that reason it is called by St. John "the Lord's Day." (Rev. i. 10.) When the Sunday began to be kept instead of the Sabbath we are not quite sure, but we find that the Apostles kept the first day of the week as a festival. Our Lord Himself sanctioned it by His repeated appearance among His disciples on that day. The Holy Spirit, too, poured down His miraculous gifts on that day. The early Christians observed the Sunday.

By many it is believed that it is one of the things in which our Lord instructed His Apostles before His Ascension, while "speaking of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." (Acts 1,3.) The phrase "kingdom of God" is always used of the Church. In keeping the Sunday "holy," Christians comply with the spirit of the fourth Commandment, which orders a seventh part of our time to be consecrated to God.

SUPER-ALTAR, or RE-TABLE. A shelf or step behind the altar, on which the vases, candlesticks, and cross are placed. Properly the Super-Altar is a small portable slab of stone which is placed on wooden altars.

SUPEREROGATION. The 14th Article gives the teaching of the Church of England. Romanists teach that there are certain good deeds which have been performed by saints over and above those necessary for their own salvation. From this fund of good works, technically known as the Treasury of Merits , the Pope claims to have the power to draw and apply the good deeds of others to the benefit of those who are deficient in them themselves.

SUPREMACY. The Church of England regards the Sovereign as being over all persons, and all causes, ecclesiastical as well as civil, supreme in this realm. (See Article xxxvii.) This does not teach in any way that the Clergy derive their authority and mission from the State, as some misunderstand. (See Apostolical Succession .)

SURROGATE. One appointed in place of another. Thus to avoid the necessity of journeying to the Bishop, he grants to other clergymen living in the principal towns, the power of giving licenses for marriage instead of publishing banns, of granting probates of wills, &c. These clergymen acting in place of the Bishop are called Surrogates .

SWEDENBORGIANS. The followers of Emanuel, Baron Swedenborg, who was born in Stockholm in 1688, and died in London, 1772. He believed himself to be the subject of inspiration, and taught that the Scriptures have two senses, natural and spiritual. The natural sense is that held by the Christian Church, but the spiritual is that which is concealed within the natural sense of the same words. He taught that the second advent had been realized in the establishment of his New Church, the "New Jerusalem" of the Apocalypse.

They do not receive the usual doctrine of the Trinity, and reject the doctrine of justification by faith alone. They administer the Sacraments. They still profess to believe themselves visited by super-natural beings, by the Apostles and other saints. It is not generally known that the heaven of the Swedenborgian bears a close resemblance to the Mahometan's idea of heaven,—a place of sensual delights; and one of their books which is as hard to obtain as the others are easy, named "Conjugal Love," is not particularly moral in its teaching!

SYNOD. A meeting duly summoned and constituted of ecclesiastical persons for the discussion of religious matters. Synods are of less authority than general or OEcumenical Councils.

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS. A canticle of Morning Prayer, which has been sung for 1,500 years throughout the Western Church. Its origin is not known. The tradition which ascribes it to St. Ambrose, or to St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, conjointly, rests on very slight foundation. An able article in the Church Quarterly Review (April, 1884), comes to the conclusion that the Te Deum very probably originated from the monastery of St. Honoratus, at Lerins, about the middle of the 5th century. It is the great triumphant hymn of praise of the Western Church as the Gloria in Excelsis is of the Eastern. Verses 1 to 13, are praise ; vv. 14-19 are a Creed in our Lord Jesus Christ; vv. 20-29 are prayer to our Lord broken by another burst of praise. There is a musical setting of the Te Deum , called the Ambrosian, dating from the 5th century.

THANKSGIVING, THE GENERAL. Composed by Bishop Reynolds, and inserted in 1662. The custom obtaining in some churches of the congregation repeating this Thanksgiving after the minister, was certainly not originally intended, and perhaps has been based on a mistaken idea of the meaning of the word "general," as applied to this Thanksgiving: we understand it to mean that the terms and subjects of the prayer are general .

THEISM. The recognition of a principle apart from nature, independent of nature, yet moulding, regulating, and sustaining nature. The idea of Personality is essential to Theism. A-theism , literally, is the denial of Theism .

THEOLOGY. The science which treats of the Deity. It is too often forgotten that theology is a science as much as medicine or mathematics, or we should not find the laity so confident of their knowledge, and so ready to give the law on questions of systematic Divinity.

THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES. Colleges specially established for the training of candidates for Holy Orders, in theology. They seem to answer to the assemblies of "sons of the prophets," spoken of in 2 Kings ii. 3, 5, 7, &c. These colleges have not the power of conferring degrees.

THOMAS'S (St.) DAY. Dec. 21st. The name Thomas (Hebrew), and Didymus (Greek), means a "twin brother." Some think St. Matthew to have been his brother. The only incidents of his life with which we are acquainted, are told us by St. John, (xi. 16; xiv. 5; xx. 28.) Tradition says that he laboured in Persia, and finally suffered martyrdom in India.

THRONE. The Bishop's seat in his Cathedral. Anciently it stood behind the altar in churches which terminated in an apse.

TITHES. A certain portion, or allotment, for the maintenance of the priesthood, being the tenth part of the produce of land, cattle, or other branches of wealth. It is an income, or revenue, common both to the Jewish and Christian priesthood. (Gen. xiv. 20; Lev. xxvii. 30-33; &c.) The origin of tithes , in the Christian Church, was something of this kind: When a benefactor was not able or not willing to part with an estate out and out, he settled on the Church which he was endowing a certain portion of the income arising out of the estate. The ratio which this portion bore to the whole amount varied enormously, and so one man gave a tithe of corn only, another a tithe of wood, another a tithe of meadow land, another a tithe of stock, another tithes of all these together. There is a very common mistake made that tithes are a kind of tax, levied on the whole country by Act of Parliament. They are nothing of the kind, being simply a certain portion of the income arising out of lands settled by the former owners of those lands for the maintenance of the parson of the parish. They date back to the 4th century.

Although the Church is disestablished in Ireland, tithes are still paid, not to the clergy, but to the Government. Disestablishment, therefore, is small gain to the farmer.

Tithe Redemption Trust . In the year 1846 a very excellent Society was formed, called "The Tithe Redemption Trust," the object of which is the very opposite of that at which the Liberation Society aims. It has been quietly at work for some years, endeavouring, with some success, to get back, either by redemption or by voluntary donation, the tithes which have been alienated by appropriation or impropriation. What portion of Church property has been long enjoyed by private families, or by Corporations, has, of course, become inalienable; but it would be a reasonable and a righteous thing (and all the more blessed for being voluntary) that every person who receives tithes, or possesses glebe land in a parish, for which no spiritual service is rendered, should give in some way or other to the Church a very liberal percentage of what was never meant to be raised for the purpose of private emolument, but for the fitting discharge of ecclesiastical duties. (Webb's "England's Inheritance in her Church.")

TRACTARIANISM. The Anglican movement which began with the publication of the celebrated " Tracts for the Times " in 1833. The principal results of this movement are (1) the complete reintegration of the original theory of the Church of England; of that "ancient religion which, in 1830, had well-nigh faded out of the land;" (2) the improvement which has taken place in the lives of the clergy, in the performance of the Services, and in the condition of our churches; and the marked revival in the Corporate life of the Church herself.

The great names of this movement are Pusey, Newman, Marriott, Oakley, Manning, Robert Wilberforce, Keble, and Palmer. For some few the movement led to disastrous issues; and they fell at last into Roman errors, and joined that erring Church.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION. The name given to the philosophical theory whereby the Church of Rome has endeavoured to explain and define the doctrine of the Real Presence. In it they allege that the bread and wine in the Eucharist is miraculously converted or changed into the very body and blood of our Lord, by the consecration of the priest. This false doctrine is condemned in Article xxviii.

TRENT, COUNCIL OF. An important Council of the Roman Church which met in 1545, and was dissolved in 1563. The city of Trent is in the Tyrol. It was at this Council that the Creed of the Roman Church was last defined, and all who differed from it were anathematised. Neither the Greek Church nor the English Church was represented there, so it has no claim to the title of oecumenical, or general, as asserted by Romanists.

TRINITY, THE HOLY. The Athanasian Creed and Article i. give the teaching of our Church on the Holy Trinity. There we learn that in the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons; that is, though there be but one living and true God, yet there be three Persons, who are that one living and true God. Though the true God be but one in substance, yet He is three in subsistence, so as still to be but one substance. And these three Persons, every one of which is God, and yet all three but one God, are really related to one another; as they are termed in Scripture, one is the Father, the other the Son, the other the Holy Ghost.

The Father is the first Person in the Deity; not begotten, nor proceeding, but begetting; the Son, the second, not begetting nor proceeding, but begotten; the Holy Ghost, the third, not begotten, nor begetting, but proceeding. The first is called the Father, because He begot the second; the second is called the Son, because He is begotten of the Father; the third is called the Holy Ghost, because breathed both from the Father and the Son.

This is a great mystery to us, which, however, we are not called upon to understand , but only to believe on the plain statement of Scripture.

The Holy Ghost is God. This, however, has to be proved by implication and analogy, as with Luke i. 35 compare Matt. i. 18; Acts v. 3, 4, with John iii. 6 compare 1 John v. 4; with 1 Cor. iii. 16 compare vi. 19, &c.

The unity of the Godhead is declared in many such passages as
Deut. vi. 4; Gal. iii. 20; John x. 30, &c.

The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, "took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance; so that the two whole and perfect natures, that is to say the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ very God and very Man." (Art. ii. and Luke i.)

TRINITY SUNDAY. This is a festival of Western origin, and of comparatively recent date; the earliest formal notice of the festival is in England, under Becket, in 1162; though the collect dates from the 5th century.

TRIUMPHANT, The CHURCH. Those who have departed this life in God's faith and fear; the Church in Heaven. The Church on earth is called the Church Militant.

TYPE. An impression, image, or representation of some model which is termed the anti-type ; thus the brazen serpent and the paschal lamb were types, of which our Lord was the anti-type .

UNITARIANS. Heretics who deny the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the separate personality of the Holy Ghost. The name includes all Deists, whether the Arians of old, or the Socinians (which see) of later years.

The Arians were heretics named after Arius, whose doctrine was condemned at the Council of Nice, A.D. 325. He taught that there was a time when the Son of God was not, and that He was created by the Father. He called Him by the name of God, but denied that He was homoousios , " of one Substance " with the Father. The Arians seem to have held that the Holy Ghost also was a created Being. The Athanasian Creed, vv. 4-19 opposes the Arian heresy.

The Unitarians have in England 325 ministers, 355 chapels, and about 13 mission stations.

UNIVERSITY. (Lat., universitas , corporation.) A corporation of teachers and students instituted for the promotion of the higher education, and empowered to grant degrees in the various faculties of Divinity, Arts, Law. Medicine, &c.

England has five Universities, two ancient—Oxford and Cambridge; and three modern, viz., Durham, London, and the Victoria University, Manchester.

UTILITARIANISM. The name of the peculiar theory of Ethics, or of the ground of moral obligation, that adopts, as the criterion of right, the happiness of mankind; or, as Jeremy Bentham defined it, "the greatest happiness of the greatest number." It is opposed to the view that founds moral distinctions on the mere arbitrary will of God. The most eminent modern advocates of Utilitarianism are Hume, Bentham, Paley, James Mill, John Stuart Mill, Sir James Mackintosh, John Austin, Samuel Bailey, Herbert Spencer, and Bain.

VENI CREATOR. An old Latin hymn ascribed by common tradition to St. Ambrose, but with no sufficient authority. It has been used with special reference to the gifts of Ordination since the 11th century. The first version in the Ordination Service was inserted in 1662, previous to that the second and longer form had been used.

VENITE, EXULTEMUS DOMINO. Ps. xcv. has been sung as the "Invitatory Psalm," opening the Service of Praise, from time immemorial. It is found in the Sarum Use. In the Eastern Church a condensed form of it is used.

VERGER. From the Latin Virga , a Rod . One who carries the mace before the Dean or Canons in a Cathedral, or conducts the congregation to their seats in church.

VERSICLES. The short ejaculatory prayers of our Service, generally taken from Holy Scripture.

VERSION, The AUTHORISED. The version of the Bible now in use in England. It was published in 1611, and authorised by King James I. It retains in many places the original translation of Tyndale, very little altered. A company of Divines and Scholars of the present day have been engaged in revising this version of the Old Testament. The result of their labours will probably be given to the public in 1885. (See Bible .)

VERSION, THE REVISED. The version of the New Testament put forth in 1881. It is a revision of that of 1611, made by a company of Scholars and Divines, and aims at being a more exact reproduction of the original. Although at present it has not been authorised for public use, yet it will be found by all to be a very useful commentary on the Authorised Version.

VESPERS, or EVENSONG. The Evening Service of the Church. For arrangement, &c., see Morning Prayer , but the various parts of the Service are given each under its own heading.

VESTMENTS. Generally, the garments worn by the clergy in the public services of the Church, but more particularly the special robes worn by some clergymen during the celebration of the Holy Communion.

Alb . A linen vestment longer than the surplice, and with tight sleeves. It is confined at the waist by a girdle, and, when employed in the Eucharist, it is often, though not necessarily, ornamented with patches of embroidery called apparels .

Biretta . A square cap of black silk worn at processions and other out-door functions. It is simply the ordinary cap (beret) of civil life, and, like the cassock, is not strictly an ecclesiastical vesture at all. It is worn also in church during certain parts of the service by extreme Ritualists.

Cassock . A long coat buttoning over the breast and reaching to the feet, confined at the waist by a wide sash, called the cincture. It is worn immediately over the ordinary clothes of the minister, and is usually of black, though violet and scarlet are sometimes used.

Chasuble . An oval garment without sleeves, open at the sides, and having an aperture at the neck through which the priest passes his head. It is embroidered with a Y-Cross behind, and is considered the principal vestment of the priest. It varies in colour with the season.

Cope . A large semicircular cloak of silk or other material, fastening in front by a clasp or morse. At the back is a piece of embroidery in the shape of a shield, called the hood. It varies in colour with the season.

Cotta . A vestment of linen, shorter than the surplice, and not quite so full. It has short sleeves, and is frequently edged with lace.

Dalmatic and Tunicle . These differ very slightly in form, but the former is generally the more richly embroidered. It is the special dress of the Deacon at Holy Communion, and varies in colour with the season.

Stole . A narrow strip of silk passed round the neck and hanging in front to about the knees. It varies in colour with the season.

Surplice . A linen vestment of various degrees of fulness, and with long wide sleeves. It is the garment usually worn by the clergy of the Church of England, although many of the above are ordered in the first Prayer Book of Edward VI.

The Eucharistic Vestments are the Amice, Alb, Girdle, Stole,
Maniple, Tunicle, Dalmatic and Chasuble.

Besides these we have the Episcopal Vestments, called the chimere and the rochet .

Chimere . The upper robe worn by a Bishop, to which the lawn sleeves are generally attached. Until Queen Elizabeth's time it was of scarlet, but in her reign it was changed into black satin.

Rochet . A linen garment worn by Bishops under the chimere. The lawn sleeves now sewn on the chimere properly are part of the rochet, and formerly were much less full than now worn. (See Ornaments .)

VESTRY. A room attached to a church for the keeping of the vestments and sacred vessels. Meetings of parishioners, for the despatch of the official business of the parish are held in this room, whence they are called Vestries , or Vestry Meetings . It is not however essential to the validity of the meeting that it should be held in the Vestry of the church, indeed, by making application under an Act passed in 1850, meetings in the Vestry can be made illegal. Notice of the meeting must be affixed on or near the door of the Church three days previously. The Incumbent is ex-officio chairman of the meeting, and all persons rated to the relief of the poor are entitled to attend and vote.

VIA MEDIA. The middle road. This position is occupied in the Christian world by the Anglican Church. On the one side there is the Church of Rome; on the other, the ultra-Protestant Sects. The phrase is also used of any middle way between two extremes.

VIATICUM. A provision made for a journey. In the ancient Church both baptism and the Eucharist were called Viatica , because they are equally necessary for the safe passage of a man through this world to eternal life. More particularly, however, the term is used of the Eucharist given to persons in immediate danger of death. The 13th Canon of the Council of Nice ordains that none "be deprived of his perfect and most necessary viaticum when he departs out of this life."

VICARS CHORAL. The assistants or deputies of the canons or prebendaries of cathedrals and collegiate churches, in the discharges of their duties. They are not necessarily all in Holy Orders; those who are so are now generally called "Minor Canons," (which see) and the others are "Lay-clerks."

VICAR GENERAL. An officer whose duties are much the same as those of the Chancellor of a Diocese (which see.)

VIGIL. The night or evening before certain holy-days of the Church. The word means a watching , and is derived from the custom of the primitive Christians, who used to spend the whole night previous to any great festival in watching and fasting. The Collect for those holy-days which have vigils is read at the Evening Service of the day before. Festivals occurring in seasons of joy as a rule have no vigil preceding them.

VISITATION. Once in three years a Bishop goes through his diocese, calling together the Clergy at different centres, and delivering to them a charge , (which see.) An Archdeacon does the same for his Archdeaconry once a year. It is at this latter visitation that Church-wardens are admitted to their office.

VOLUNTARY. A piece of Music played on the organ at the beginning and close of Divine Service. Formerly a Voluntary was played after the Psalms, sometimes after the Second Lesson. The name implies that its performance is optional. Lord Bacon approved of Voluntaries as giving time for meditation.

VULGAR TONGUE. The native language of a country. The phrase in the Baptismal Office stood formerly, "in the English tongue," but it was altered to embrace the case of foreigners.

VULGATE. The Latin translation of the Bible in common use. The first Vulgate of the Old Testament was translated, not from the original Hebrew, but from the Septuagint (which see), the author being unknown. The second Vulgate was by St. Jerome, and was made from the Hebrew. A mixture of these two was authorised for use by the Council of Trent. Other translations have since been made. It is the official and standard text in the Roman Church.

WAFERS. The bread used by the Romanists, by Lutheran Protestants, and by some Ritualists in our own Church, in the Eucharist.

WHITSUN-DAY, or WHITSUNDAY. The derivation of the name is doubtful; some taking it from Whitsun, a corruption of Pentecosten, the old Anglo-Saxon name for the day; and some from White Sunday, because those who had been baptized on its eve wore white robes. This festival is the birthday of the Church, and has been observed, like Easter, from the first days of Christianity. (See Pentecost .)

WORD, THE. A name given to our Lord in the opening of St. John's
Gospel. The term was familiar to the Jews. (See Logos .)

WORSHIP. Besides meaning the supreme homage and devotion due to Almighty God, it is also used in the Bible and Prayer Book, to denote honour, respect, and reverence given to men. Thus it is used in Ps. lxxxiv.12; Luke xiv.10; and in 1 Chron. xxix.20, it seems to be used in both senses.

In the marriage service the husband promises to worship his wife, that is, to render her all due respect and honour. In like manner we call a Mayor or a Chancellor "Worshipful."

YEAR, THE ECCLESIASTICAL. The different seasons of the Church Year have each a separate notice. The Church begins her year with Advent, because, as Bishop Cosin says, "she does not number her days, or measure her seasons, so much by the motion of the sun, as by the course of our Saviour; beginning and counting her year with Him who, being the true Sun of Righteousness, began now to rise upon the world."

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The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Church Handy Dictionary

THE CHURCH HANDY DICTIONARY

TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD

CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, D.D.

LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN,

THIS LITTLE BOOK IS

(WITH HIS LORDSHIP'S KIND PERMISSION)

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY

THE AUTHOR.

THE CHURCH HANDY DICTIONARY

TO THE RIGHT REV. THE LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN.

NEW YORK:

CHURCH HANDY DICTIONARY.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

CHAPTER. The governing body of a Cathedral or Collegiate Church, consisting of the Dean, the Canons, Prebendaries, &c. (See Dean and Chapter .)

CHAPTER HOUSE. A building attached to a Cathedral, in which the Dean and Chapter meet for the transaction of business.

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE