The Episcopal Church
fe Its Teaching and Worship
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The Episcopal church
The Episcopal
Its Teaching and Worship
BY
THE REVEREND LATTA' GRISWOLD. M.A
TENTH THOUSAND
(1)
New York
EDWIN S. GORHAM
PUBLISHER
11 West 45th Street 1922
COPYRIGHT 1917 By EDWIN S. GORHAM
FOREWORD
These instructions on the teaching of our Communion of the Holy Catholic Church, first given at the Chapel of the Intercession Trinity Parish New York, having met with gratifying appreciation, are now in response to many requests issued in a cheap edition. It is hoped that the low price will result in their more general use in connection with con- firmation classes and in their wider circulation amongst Church people generally and amongst others who may de- sire to know the position and teaching of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
L. G.
Lenox: April, 1922.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2009 with funding from
Princeton Theological Seminary Library
http://www.archive.org/details/episcopalchurchiOOgris
CONTENTS
FACE
Foreword 4
I. Brief Outline of Church History 1 7
II. Brief Outline of Church History II 11
III. Brief Outline of Church History III IS
IV. The Creeds 20
V. The Prayer Book 28
VI. The Christian Year 34
VII. Holy Baptism 37
VIII. Confirmation 40
IX. The Holy Communion 44
I. Titles
II. The Institution
X. The Holy Communion 48
III. The Holy Communion as a Sacrament
IV. The Holy Communion as a Sacrifice
XI. The Holy Communion 53
V. The Ceremonial of the Holy Communion
XII. The Holy Communion 57
VI. The Order for the Administration
VII. Preparation for Holy Communion
XIII. The Holy Communion 61
VIII. A Method of Preparation
XIV. Holy Order 66
XV. Penance, Matrimony, Unction 70
XVI. Bible Reading 73
XVII. The Holy Scriptures 77
I. The Old Testament
XYIII. The Holy Scriptures 81
II. The Aprocrypha
PAGE
XIX. The Holy Scriptures 84
III. The New Testament
XX. Rule of Life 88
XXI. Self-Examination 96
XXII. Meditation 100
XXIII. The Counsels of Perfection 104
XXIV. The Four Last Things 109
(Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell)
Finis.
^be jEpiacopal Cburcb
A BRIEF OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY— I.
The Church is Christ's mystical Body (Col. i, 24; I Cor. xii, 13-27). Christ is the head of the Church; all baptized persons are its members. The Church is called CathoUc because it is intended for all people and all times. 1. The Church is the ark of safety. "The Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved" (Acts ii, 47). 2. The Church is the sphere of truth — i. e., the authoritative teacher in matters of faith and morals (Eph. v, 24, 25, 27; Jude 3, 5). 3. The Church is the channel of grace; i. e., by Baptism people are made members of Christ's body, the Church ; by Holy Communion, which only the priests of the Church can celebrate, people are spiritually fed. In the other sacraments special grace is given for special needs.
The Apostolic Church. The history of the first age of the
Church is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and the other New Testament books. In apostolic days the Gospel was preached in every civilized land, and in most nations the Church was planted firmly; but from the deaths of the last of the Apostles (St. John died in Ephesus about the year 100) few details are preserved until the end of the second century. Dur- ing this period the Church was persecuted and proscribed; thousands of Christians were martyred for their faith; but "the blood of mc^rtyrs is the seed of the Church." At last, in the early part of the fourth century, the Emperor Constantine
8 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
was converted, and from his time the Catholic religion was the official religion of the Roman Empire. In 325 a great council of bishops gathered at Nicea to defend and define the faith. They issued the Nicene Creed, which the whole Church accepted together with the Apostles' Creed, which had come down from Apostolic days. These two Creeds are the short statement of what every Christian is bound to beUeve.
The Church in the "Dark Ages." From the fourth century on, chiefly because Rome was the capital of the empire and its most important city, the bishops of Rome began to acquire great influence over the Church Catholic. Many of them ad- vanced claims which had never been heard of in the early days. These bishops were afterwards called Popes, and pro- fessed to have authority over all other bishops. None of the bishops in the great Eastern branch of the Church ever acknowledged this claim. But in the West the Popes were more successful; partly because they also became Italian princes and gave strength to their pretensions by force of arms. By the fifteenth century there were but few Church men in the West to dispute the Pope's right to rule the Church, although there were protests against it. Once two rival Popes made a great schism in the West. At another time there were three persons each of whom claimed to be Pope. The Council of Constance deposed them all.
The Church in Britain. No one knows who first carried Christianity into England. But the Church sprang up there in very early times. It was Catholic, but practically independent of Rome. But in 597 Pope Gregory sent Augustine, a monk, as a missionary to England. He was successful in converting the greater part of the nation which had held off from the old British Church. He became the first Archbishop of Canter- bury, and brought the Church of England into close relation with the Church of Rome. Gradually the authority of the Pope was acknowledged by all save a few.
OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY. 9
The Reformation. With the rise of the Papacy many abuses sprang up in the Church. The Pope's claims them- selves were an abuse of the rightful authority of other CathoHc bishops. Many superstitious practices and devotions sprang up; the Gospel was frequently lost sight of under the multi- tude of useless practices sanctioned by the priests. The worship of saints was allowed to detract from the worship due to God The sacraments of the Church were bought and sold. Indul- gences were granted for money by the Popes, which practically permitted people to sin with the assurance of immediate par- don. The lives of the clergy in many instances were scan- dalous. All these things made good men and women impatient of the Church, which seemed to have forgotten the faith and practice of the Gospel, and to be existing only for selfish worldly ends. On the Continent of Europe, under great moral leaders, like Luther, and Calvin, and Zwingli, multitudes threw oflF allegiance to the Church and set up Christian societies o£ their own. But in their Reformation they went too far: they gave up much that was of divine appointment and is necessary to the well-being and the very existence of the Church, such as the order of bishops, who as successors of the Apostles have always ruled the Church. They also no longer regarded the clergy as men ordained of God to minister spiritual things, but rather as men whom they themselves chose for that pur- pose. It makes a great difference whether a priest's authority is derived from God or from the people. In England it was otherwise; there Churchmen reformed the Church itself, keep- ing its ApostoHc ministry and doctrine. They felt they had no right to leave the Church and set up new societies ; but they refused any longer to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Pope, and abohshed many of the corrupt practices and purified the wrong doctrines which the Papacy had tolerated. After the Reformation the Roman Church met in council at Trent It, too, reformed many of its abuses; but it re-asserted the Pope's claim to universal jurisdiction, and excommunicated, or professed to excommunicate, all who refused to acknowledge
10 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
it — the Catholic bishops in England as well as the Protestant communities on the Continent, By that act the Roman branch of the Church separated itself from the Catholic Church in England, just as it had separated itself several hundred years before from the Catholic Church in the East. Thereafter it has always been known as "the Roman Church," while other branches of the church have been known by the name of the country in which they existed, except our own branch of the Church, which bears the inexact and misleading title "Protestant Episcopal." No one branch of the Church has now the right to call itself the Catholic Church. But all should pray that the Catholic Church may be reunited and that all the Christian societies, which hold the faith to such large extent but have denied the rightful order, may join with the historic Catholic Church in communion. For it is our Lord's wish that all his followers should be one.
OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY. 11
II.
A BRIEF OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY— II.
The English Reformation. The causes that brought about the Reformation of the Church in England were much the same as those upon the continent. The pure doctrines of the undivided CathoHc Church had been corrupted by papal teach- ing; the popes had usurped the authority of English bishops; Catholic practice had been corrupted by superstitions with Regard to indulgences, the worship of the saints, the buying of masses (i. e., celebrations of the Holy Communion) ; and also by the laxity and immorality of great numbers of the clergy and members of the religious orders. The people were impatient of the Pope's interference in English affairs; good men and women longed for a reform in doctrine and morals; they wanted the Bible, which had been grossly neglected, restored to the people and recognized as a chief factor in the rule of faith.
There had been many attempts at reform, but they were all unsuccessful until Henry VHI quarrelled with the Pope and took the side of the reforming party. King Henry wished to divorce his wife, Katherine of Aragon, that he might marry Anne Boleyn, a maid of honour. The Pope, though at first he was willing to grant this, afterwards declined to do so because Katherine's uncle, the Emperor Charles V, threatened, if he did so, to oppose the Pope's pretensions to power in Italy. This started a personal quarrel between Henry and the Papacy, and this quarrel was the occasion but not the cause of the sub- sequent Reformation. No king could have forced a religious revolution upon his people, if they had not desired it on their own account. Henry saw at last that he could not marry Anne Boleyn as long as he looked to the Pope for a divorce. Accord- ingly he threw his influence with the reforming party in the Church and in the State, and appealed to the English Church to grant him what the Pope refused. Katherine was the widow of Henry's brother, Arthur. An ancient biblical and church law forbade the marriage of a man with his deceased brother's
12 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
wife, and when Henry had married Katherine he had obtained a dispensation from the Pope to do so. His claim now was that the Pope had no right to dispense a law of God, and he appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury to pronounce his union with Katherine invalid. Archbishop Cranmer tried the suit in his own court, and after long delays, declared that Henry and Katherine had never been legally married, and that the King was free to marry another. Accordingly the King married the maid of honour. He had Enghsh Church and State law on his side, but his motives were bad.
Parliament was then called together and passed laws for- bidding in the future any suit, ecclesiastical or civil, to be appealed to Papal courts. And in 1533 it declared that the Church of England was free and independent, and that the Pope and his appointees were absolutely without jurisdiction within the dominions of the English crown, and that, so far as the law of Christ allowed, in England the King was the supreme temporal head of the Church. The English bishops (of whom only a few refused to acquiesce in these reforms), assisted by the King and his Parliament, then set out seriously to reform the English Church of all its abuses in doctrine and practice. This task was carried on all during the reigns of Henry VIH, of his son Edward VI, and (except for a bloody period of reaction under Mary) of his daughter Elizabeth, in whose reign it was finally settled. There were different parties in the Church during these troublous times — first, the zealous reforming Cathohc party, of which Cranmer was the leader; second, reactionists who would have liked to have brought back the Papal influence; and third, thorough-going Protest- ants, who would like to have abolished the Catholic constitu- tion of the English Church, as Luther had done in Germany and Calvin in Switzerland. It was the first party who proved strongest, and under whose influence in the main the Reforma- tion Settlement was effected.
Space forbids that we should do more than summarize the chief results of this century of conflict and change.
OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY. 13
1. No new church was set up. The Church of England was the same church after the Reformation that it was before, only afterwards it was a reformed church. The unlawful authority and jurisdiction of the Popes were aboHshed in England and for two centuries Roman CathoHcism was illegal in Great Britain. The Church was still ruled by Bishops, who were successors of the Apostles, but who, as many think, weakly allowed the State too much power of interference in Church government. The Creeds were maintained inviolate, and the Church departed from no essential article of Catholic teaching. From time to time King or Parliament unjustly interfered in Church affairs; but that has been the fate of all branches of the Church which, for the sake of its advantages, have allied themselves with the State.
2. Some of the peculiarly Roman doctrines that the English Church repudiated were: The supremacy of the Pope; the theory of transubstantiation as an explanation of the mystery of our Lord's presence in the sacrament of the altar; the power of the Church to issue indulgences, either to permit unlawful acts, or to remit the punishment that God pronounces against the wicked in the next world. The worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints was declared idolatrous, though the Church still taught that they were to be reverenced and that their prayers for us were helpful. The saying of mass for the remission of the sins of the dead was forbidden, as was the sale of any sacrament. The clerg>' were permitted to marry. The Bible was restored to the people and read much more frequently in church, and it was declared that nothing but what could be proved by Scripture should be held as nec- essary to salvation.
3. In the services of the Church a great change was made. A multitude of superstitious and useless customs were swept away. The Mass, from now on more commonly called the Holy Communion, was ordered to be celebrated in English,
14 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
and was revised to accord more nearly with the ancient models of that service which have come down to us. The many offices of prayer, said only by priests for centuries, were combined and rearranged to form our present offices of Morn- ing and Evening Prayer, and restored to their rightful place in daily worship. Similar changes were made in all the occa- sional offices, and the whole published in a book, called the Book of Common Prayer, which was imposed upon all churches as the rule of public worship.
4. One of the unfortunate results of the Reformation was the practical abolition of all monasteries and convents. But in doing so they swept away a useful institution of the Church which had flourished from post-apostolic days. Henry VIII was guided also by motives of avarice in destroying the reli- gious orders, for he confiscated all their property. They were not revived in the English Church until the middle of the nine- teenth century.
It is our duty to-day to see to it that nothing of good of the olden time be lost or longer neglected, at the same time be true to the great principles of national independence which the Reformation secured to us.
OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY. 15
III. A BRIEF OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY— III.
England after the Reformation. The English Reformation
may be said to have been "settled" by 1559, when the second edition of the Book of Common Prayer was issued and made the legal form of worship in England. One of the chief results of the Reformation was the growth of Puritan ideas, under the influence of the continental Lutherans and Calvinists. A strong Puritan party, who wished to Protestantize the Church and make a more drastic reform in the moral life of the nation, grew up in England. It aimed at abolishing the Episcopal government of the Church, at remodelling the Prayer Book along Presbyterian lines, at changing the Catholic worship and teaching that the Prayer Book enforced. The Puritans re- jected the doctrines of baptismal regeneration, sacramental grace, and the Apostolic ministry. They laid particular stress on a teaching of Predestination — i. e., that some men were certain to be saved, and some to be damned — a doctrine which the Church altogether rejects. They were Presbyterians in church poUty.
Queen Elizabeth had great difficulty in maintaining Catholic worship, doctrine and discipline. But in the seventeenth cen- tury some great men rose up to defend the Church and the ancient faith. The names of Archbishop Laud, Lancelot An- drewes, Jeremy Taylor, Bishop Ken, Bishop Cosin, Hooker and George Herbert deserve especially to be commemorated wit* gratitude. They defended the Church on the one hand againct the Puritans and on the other against the Roman Catholics. These latter, who still clung with persistency, des- pite persecution, to the Papal supremacy, were constantly en- deavoring to regain the ascendancy in Church and State. Pope Pius V pretended to excommunicate and depose Queen Eliza- beth, and to absolve her subjects from their allegiance. He called on Spain and France to carry out his threats. Spain at once made war on England and sent out a great Armada to
16 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
destroy her power on the sea, and open the way for invasion. The great fleet was destroyed by a storm (1588) as it drew near the EngHsh coast, and from that time all danger of the Pope re-establishing his jurisdiction by force was over. Eng- lishmen rallied around the throne; Roman CathoHcism was punished with heavy penalties, and for many years Roman Catholics were treated as traitors.
Under the reign of James I great steps in advance were taken. The Bible (our present version) was translated in 1611, and an effort was made to keep the Puritans in the Church. They were unwilling to stay, however, unless they could change the Church to accord with their doctrinal views. For twenty years (1640-1660), under the military revolution and rule of Oliver Cromwell, the Puritans were in power. The bishops were driven from their sees, the Prayer Book was proscribed, the CathoHc churches and altars were destroyed ruthlessly, and the Puritans endeavoured to establish the Inde- pendent (or Congregational) system of Church polity.
In 1660 Charles II was restored to the throne of his fathers and the Church came back to her own. The English Prayer Book had its final revision in 1662. This began the era of reli- gious toleration. The Puritans and the Calvinists who would not conform to the Church were permitted to form religious societies of their own and worship according to their taste and conscience. The Roman Catholics likewise took advantage of this change of policy to set up an organization in England. During the next fifty years many of the modern sects had their beginnings.
The Lutheran Church had been set up in Germany by Luther in 1538; the Presbyterian Church was first organized in Scot- land by the General Assembly in 1560; the Congregational Church by Robert Brown in 1583 ; the Baptists by Roger Wil- liams in 1639 in Rhode Island (many of the Puritans in the days of struggle and intolerance had come to the new world) ; the Quakers by George Fox in 1647 ; and finally the Methodists by the Wesleys in 1738. These various societies and their
OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY. 17
descendants are grouped under the general name of Protest- ants, because they "protested" against the Pope (on the conti- nent), and against the Catholic bishops (in England). All except the Methodists were Calvinist in doctrine and Presby- terian or Congregational in church government (the Quakers repudiated the whole idea of the Church) ; and all were Puri- tan in their habits, customs and general moral outlook upon the world. It is common to hear our Church (which is the daughter of the EngHsh Church) sometimes grouped with the Protestants. This is true so far as with them we protest against the false claims of the Papacy; but on the other hand in our doctrine of the Church, the Sacraments, the Ministry, we are Catholic and not Protestant.
With the coming of the Hanoverian sovereigns into England, the Church sank to its lowest ebb in all the ages that it had flourished in Britain; men grew indifferent and unbeliev- ing; the services were cold and frequently neglected; the clergy were many of them worldly and slothful; the people, immoral and faithless. Two great forces came to awake the Church of England from this letharg}' : first, the Evangelical revival in 1738; and second, the Oxford Move- ment in 1833. The Evangelical revival, begun by the Wesleys at Oxford, aimed at deepening personal religious life and re- forming the low tone of society. It laid its great emphasis upon the necessity of an immediate and emotional conversion. It swept over England and saved the Church from the death- grasp of irreHgion. The EvangeHcals are still a strong, pious and noble party of men in the Church to-daj^ In America, owing to the lack of sympathy which the Evangelicals met, they separated from the Church and formed the Methodist Society, which a little later was also set up in England. The Methodist people should still find a true home in the Church. The Oxford Movement, which began in the same great univer- sity center nearly a century later, under the great leaders, Newman, Keble, Pusey, and their friends, was designed to revive the Catholic doctrines, worship and discipline of the
(2)
18 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Church which had suffered, first, at the Reformation, second, at the hands of the Puritans, and even more under the indiff- erence and irreHgion of the eighteenth century. The Oxford party had a marvellous success ; the "movement" spread over the entire Anglican Communion, and is still going on to-day, wherever the priests and people of the Church are endeavour- ing to recover her ancient heritage, to teach the reality and supreme value of sacramental grace, and revive Catholic prac- tice and discipline.
The Church in America. In 1588 the defeat of the Span- ish Armada made English settlements possible in America. In 1587 Thomas Hariot, a priest of the EngUsh Church, baptized Manteo, the first Indian convert, and Virginia Dare, the first child born of En^ ish parents in America. Soon afterward Sir George Weymouth visited the coast of Maine and set up a cross on Monhegan Island to show that Christian men had been there. On Sunday, August 9, 1607, a second expedition landed on the island, and the chaplain, Richard Seymour, held a service at the cross. This was the first religious service on the soil of New England of which there is a record. In May, 1607, Jamestown, Virginia, was settled by EngHshmen, and from that time on Prayer Book services have regularly been held on this continent.
During the first period (colonial times) the Episcopal Church was strongest in Virginia and Maryland, but it laboured under the great disadvantage of having no resident bishop. Clergy- men had to go to England to be ordained. Gradually the non- Episcopal churches were set up and flourished much more rap- idly because they were not dependent on bishops. This serious defect in the life and growth of our Church was not removed until after the Revolution.
During the Revolution, as a good many Churchmen were Tories and loyaHsts, the Church of England became still more unpopular. It really did not begin to have a vigorous and aggressive life until the war was over, and the Church, as well
OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY, 19
as the State, was definitely separated from England. Many of the great statesmen of the early days of the United States were Churchmen, and under their guidance the Church was better organized. Bishops were obtained, and the American Churdi started its real career of success. Marshall, Lee who moved the Declaration of Independence, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jef- ferson (as far as he was anything), Benjamin Franklin, Wash- ington, Madison, Jay, Robert Morris, were all Episcopalians.
Two great prelates deserve to be remembered as contributing to the reorganization of the American Church: (1) Dr. Sam- uel Seabury, who secured ApostoHc bishops for the Church in America. After the Revolution he was elected Bishop of Con- necticut, and went to England to seek consecration from the Archbishop of Canterbury. The English bishops were obliged by the State authorities to refuse this petition. He then went to Scotland, found the Scotch bishops more alive to their duty, and by them was consecrated the first bishop for the Church in America. On his return he fixed his see in Connecticut. (2) Dr. William White, of Pennsylvania, called together the first General Convention. At this convention, held in 1789, the Prayer Book was revised and adopted and the Constitution was promulgated. (It is interesting to know that the Constitu- tion of the United States was modelled on the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church; you can compare the two, and see how striking is the similarity). White and Provost at this convention were elected bishops of Pennsylvania and New York. They repeated the request to the Archbishop of Canter- bury for consecration, and this time the American petition was heard. The two priests went to England, and were consecrated bishops in the chapel of Lambeth Palace, by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishops of Peterborough and Bath and Wells. In 1790 the same English bishops conse- crated James Madison to be Bishop of Virginia. This com- pleted the organization of the American Church as an inde- pendent branch of the Church Catholic.
Until the Civil War it was a time of struggle and contention. The Church had to win back the confidence of the people,
20 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
IV.
THE CREEDS.
(It is assumed in these instructions that the authority ia matters of faith is the Holy Scriptures, as interpreted by the Church, particularly in the Book of Common Prayer.)
It is important that we should not only act aright, but that we should believe aright. The truth is not what men think, but what God has revealed. Our actions are invariably coloured by our beliefs, for faith is the chief motive of action. In the last analysis, right is right and wrong is wrong, because the one is in accordance with God's will and the other is against it; so truth is truth and error is error because the one is at- tested by God and the other is invented by men. It is God's will that we should know the truth as well as do the right. The briefest summary of Christian faith, which all Christians are bound to believe, is found in the Creeds. The word creed is taken from the Latin "credo," / believe. The Greek term for the Creed is "the symbol" ; this word signified the earnest- money paid to secure a contract, and also the password of a soldier. Thence, it came to mean the belief which a Christian pledged himself to at Baptism, as a part of the Christian cov- enant or contract. The use of Creeds is earlier than the writ- ing of the first books of the New Testament. (/ Tim. i, 15 ; vi, 20; // Tim. i, 11 ; i, 13; Titus i, 9; iii, 8). The Creeds are three in number.
1. The Apostles' Creed, so-called because it was derived from the teaching of the Apostles, and has come down from Apostolic times.
2. The Nicene Creed was drawn up by the Fathers of the Church at the first General Council held at Nicea A. D. 325; the latter part being added at the Council of Constantinople in 381.
3. The Creed of St. Athanasius is a longer exposition of the
THE CREEDS. 21
Faith which has come down from the fourth century and has always been accepted by the Church. It is printed in the Eng- lish Prayer Book but not in the American.
I. "I believe in God the Father Almighty."
We beHeve in God because it is instinctive to do so; because our conscience witnesses to his existence and his willing our righteousness ; because reason supplies us with many arguments for doing so; and because he has revealed himself in our Lord Jesus Christ, and in a long Hne of prophets and saints, and in the preservation and work of his Church.
God is a Spirit (John iv, 24) ; he is self-existent (Ex. iii, 14) ; eternal (Matt, xix, 17) ; holy (Job iv, 18) ; almighty (Mark x, 27; Luke i, 37) ; omnipresent, i. e., exists in every place (Heb. iv, 12, 13). God is love (/ John iv, 8). There are Three Per- sons in one God, — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. These Three Persons are co-equal in all things. "The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but one God." This is the doctrine of the Trinity, taught by the Church, and proved by Scripture. The Bible teaches that there is one God, but it speaks of each of the Three Persons as God, and thus declares to us their co- equal Godhead. If we could thoroughly understand the Trinity we would be as God. It is a mystery, just as the relation of our bodies, minds and spirits is a mystery; just as the relation of matter and mind in human hfe is a mystery. We do not understand perfectly anything that we commonly accept and act upon. So we can hardly hope to fathom the deepest things of God's life. God created the universe, as most men think now, by a very gradual process that occupied unknown periods of time. The account of the Creation in Genesis we are to accept as an allegory of the truth, not as a scientific explana- tion. God created man in his own image as being capable of knowing, serving, and loving him. To do these things is the
end for which man was created; and that this purpose might
be intelligently and willingly fulfilled, he gave man moral
freedom.
22 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Instead of always fulfilling the end for which he exists, man has chosen evil, that is, he has rebelled against and disobeyed God, and by so doing has corrupted his own nature. The nature of man grew so corrupt that it was necessary for God to make a special effort to reveal himself to man, to instruct him in truth, to give him commandments anew, to redeem him from sin, and show him the way to reunite himself with God. This God did and is doing by his revelation through the prophets and saints, and above all through our Lord Jesus Christ, and his Church.
II. "I believe in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary/'
This is the doctrine of the Incarnation, of the Word or Son of God taking human nature upon himself, and being bom into the world, living a human life, for our salvation. (John i, 14.) The Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, out of love for mankind, took man's nature of the Blessed Virgin Mary without the agency of a human father. The child thus miraculously born was called Jesus, to which was added after- wards the title Christ, or The Anointed One. Thus our Lord is both divine and human, very God of very God, and truly man. The purpose of the Incarnation was that God and humanity might be truly united, and that God as Man might offer a per- fect sacrifice for sin and show men a perfect human Hf e. (Rom. viii, 29; Eph. I, 10, 22; Col. I, 15-21; 11, 10; Heb. ii, 10, etc.) The account of the human life of our Lord is found in the four Gospels.
III. "Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried."
Jesus not only led a perfect human Hfe as our example; but he offered a perfect sacrifice for sin, by submitting to all human sorrow and suffering, and by A'-ielding his life itself on the Cross, proving to men God's love for them, making a perfect satisfaction ; that sinners, reaUzIng how little they deserved o£
THE CREEDS. M
God, might plead the merits of Christ who gave himself to win and save them. This is called the doctrine of the Atonement. The sufferings and death of Jesus were the witness to his per- fect obedience to the will of God; and by identifying himself with man and uniting man with himself, he satisfied God's de- mand of a perfect obedience from man. He is not our sub- stitute before God but our representative. The Cross of Christ shows what sin leads to, how God hates sin, and at the same time how he loves sinners and would save them from sin,
IV. "He descended into Hell" (i. e., he went into the place of departed spirits, where the souls of all men go at death, St. Peter iii, 19; iv, 6), "and the third day He rose again from the dead" (thus proving his divine power and authority, and showing the destiny of the men who should be united with him) ; "He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God" (where he maketh intercession for us, and through the Holy Spirit rules the Church) ; "from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead" (at the last day, at the end of the world).
V. "I believe in the Holy Ghost" the Lord, and Giver of life, who proceedeth (or cometh forth) from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is wor- shipped and glorified (as God), who spake by the prophets (that is, who inspired the Scriptures), and rules the Church, sanctifying the people of God, carrying on through human means the great work of Christ in the world. (John xiv, etc.).
VI. "I believe in the holy Catholic Church."
Our Lord founded the Church to carry on his work of sal- vation among men. It came to be known as The Catholic Church because it was designed for all men and nations. Branches of the Church have usually been known by the name of the country over which they had jurisdiction; e. g., The Church of Rome, The Church of England, etc. The Church in the East is called The Holy Orthodox Church. The Church
24 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
in America has been afflicted with the curious and misleading titles— Protestant Episcopal — protestant because it has repudiated the modern Papacy; episcopal because it is ruled by the Apos- tolic order of bishops.
The founding of the Church was signalized by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost, ten days after our Lord's Ascension into Heaven, in fulfill- ment of the Saviour's promise, "I will send you another Com- forter, even the Spirit of truth; who will guide you into all truth." Since then the Church has believed and experienced the guiding presence of the Spirit of God, leading it on to a fuller knowledge of the divine revelation, guiding its develop- ment as a manifold and world-wide institution, preserving it from serious error in matters of faith and morals, nourishing it in sanctity, and making it the great force for good in the world of men. The history of the Church, its conquest of paganism, its corruption and reformation in the Middle Ages, its unfortunate divisions in modern times, has already been briefly sketched. It is the purpose of this paper to state as briefly as possible what as Churchmen the Church requires us to believe as to her constitution, authority and mission.
The Church is a divine society, consisting of all baptized persons, of which Jesus Christ is the head. Accordingly, St. Paul calls it the "Body of Christ." According to our Lord's appointment it is ruled on earth, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, by the order of Apostles, who after the first age of the Church's history, came to be called bishops. The Catho- lic Church has ever denied the right of any men to bear rule and authority in religious matters who have not been ordained to do so by bishops, who themselves were successors of Apos- tles. This descent of ecclesiastical authorit}'- through the ages is called in theology the doctrine of the Apostolical Succession. We believe it necessary for the Church to preserve this suc- cession, and that is where we dlff'er from Protestant societies of modern times, which at the Reformation repudiated the Apostohc ministry, and claimed the right of any congregation
THE CREEDS. 25
of Christians to ordain ministers for themselves. Under the bishops is the order of priests, men selected trained and or- dained to their office by Apostolic bishops, for the work of administering the Sacraments, preaching and expomiding the Word of God, teaching the doctrine and history of the Church, and ministering to the spiritual needs of Christian communi- ties. The Church believes that no men have the right to perform these functions except they be ordained thereto by the bishops, the chief pastors of the Church. Under the priests is the order of deacons, men who are trained and ordained to assist priests in pastoral work. In most cases the diaconate is the preparation for the priesthood.
There are four words which describe the Church, and these may be gathered from the first two creeds.
The Church is one, consisting of all those who are united with Christ in the one baptism, who partake of the same sort of authority, and hold the same faith. Many baptized persons, however, have separated themselves from the unity of the Church, and in most cases in doing so have rehnquished im- portant doctrines of the Faith.
The Church is holy, because it is the Body of Christ wherein dwells the Holy Spirit of God. Its work is to forward the salvation of humanity. This does not mean, however, that eveiy member of the Church is holy. Would that it did !
The Church is catholic, because it is designed for every soul and for every age, and teaches everywhere the same funda- mental faith and offers the same sacraments as means of grace. The word "catholic" means "universal," while the word "protest- ant" means "making a protest." Churchmen are Protestants in so far as they protest against the historic usurpations of the Papacy ; but it would seem more important for them to realize that they are Catholics, and to call themselves such.
The Church is Apostolic because she traces her origin to Apostolic days, is governed by the successors of the Apostles, and holds the Apostolic faith and order.
Furthermore the Church is "the sphere of truth"; it is tke
26 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
guardian and interpreter of God's Word, the dispenser of divine grace through the sacraments, the teacher of morals, and the appointed medium for conducting the pubHc worship of God. The faith of the Church is enshrined in the Bible, the canons or laws of General Councils of bishops, the authorized books of Common Prayer, and the common teaching of great theologians. The Church is likewise universally engaged in works of charity, such as providing hospitals, orphanges, schools, and the like. In this country the Church is ruled by a General Convention, in which priests and laity have a voice as well as bishops.
It is the duty of every human being to belong to the Church, that is, to be baptized, or made a member of Christ's Body; to be confirmed, that is, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, prom- ised with laying-on of the bishop's hands; to receive the sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood at frequent intervals; to pray for the Church's welfare ; to attend regularly upon its public worship ; to give money and labour to its support and the support of its good works; to learn its teaching about the revelation of God and the moral life he wills us to lead; to study its inspiring history; and to defend it by practice of ita precepts and by argumerts against its gainsayers.
VII. "I believe in the communion of saints." The word "communion" in this connection means "fellow- ship," and "saints" is the New Testament word for baptized persons. Therefore we believe that our Christian faith and membership in the Church makes us all one fellowship in Christ, brethren of each other, children of the Heavenly Father. It is inserted in the creed to emphasize the import- ance of loving-kindness for all of God's children, and it applies to those in the Church in heaven as well as those in the Church on earth. So the Church has always commemorated in her services and commended to private devotion the example and the welfare of the blessed and beloved dead. The Church teaches us that the saints in heaven pray for us still on earth,
THE CREEDS. 27
and bids us pray likewise for those who are dead in Christ, that they may go on from grace to grace eternally.
VIII. "I believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life pverlasting."
The forgiveness of sins proceeds from the love and mercy of God, and from the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Augustine says that "sins are forgiven in three ways in the Church : in Baptism, in Prayer, in Priestly Absolution." The Church teaches that at death each soul is judged by God, and assigned its place in the next world according to his justice and mercy, and its condition in the place of waiting depends on this Particular Judgment. But at the end of time, there shall be a resurrection of the bodies of all people to appear at a General Judgment, when the good shall be received in heaven unto everlasting life, and the wicked shall be cast out into eternal death. The state of everlasting life is otherwise called Heaven, and that of eternal death is otherwise called Hell. The place of waiting between death and the final state of the soul is called in the Creed, Hades (mistranslated "hell") or Paradise; by Roman CathoHcs it is called Purgatory. A good deal of confusion has grown up in connection with the use of these terms, because of the mistranslation of the Greek word "Hades," and also because most Protestants, with whom we have been so largely associated, have held the doctrine of a middle state either not at all or in a very vague fashion.
(It is ancient and general custom reverently to bow the head at the mention of our Lord's name Jesus, particularly during the recitation of the Creeds in public worship, and at other times when the Holy Name is mentioned. Other ancient cus- toms that are becoming more general in our Church are bow- ing the head, genuflecting or kneeling at the words "And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man." Many people use the sign of the cross at the end of the Creed at the words "the life everlasting.")
28 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
V.
THE PRAYER BOOK.
Our Lord and the Apostles worshipped in the Jewish Temple and synagogues according to the Jewish ritual. But as time went on and the Christians were more and more separated from the Jews, a system of Christian worship grew up under the sanction of the Apostles and their successors. This was chiefly in connection with the practice of Baptism and the cel- ebration of the Holy Eucharist, and soon elaborate services developed in connection with them, which ever since have been used by the Church, though many changes have been made from age to age and in different countries to meet altered con- ditions. The services of our Prayer Book and the ceremonial commonly followed in connection with them are descended from the ancient use of the Church Universal.
Development of the Liturgy.
The account of the institution of the Eucharist is familiar: how upon the night in which he was betrayed our Lord met together with his Apostles in the "upper chamber" of a Jerusa- lem house to celebrate the passover of the Jews; and in the midst of the feast he took the unleavened bread in his hands, and blessed it, and brake it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you." And how likewise, after supper, he took the cup filled with the paschal wine, and bless- ing it, gave it to them, saying, "This is my blood, which is shed for you. Do this for a memorial of me." And they then must have remembered his words {John vi), spoken only a httle while before, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." And so from that day when his followers were gathered together they frequently offered that memorial of their Lord, continuing steadfast in the breaking of bread and the prayers. {Acts ii, 42.) St. Paul gives a similar account of the institution of the Lord's Supper in his first letter to the Corinthians (xi, 23).
THE PRAYER BOOK. 29
In the Apostolic Age the Christian faith spread rapidly throughout the known world. It is almost impossible, how- ever, to trace in detail the gradual development of the system of worship. At the beginning of the fourth century, how- ever, when a period of comparative peace had come to the Church, there were in existence several great Liturgies (i. e., services for the celebration of Holy Communion), in general use. These liturgies, all more or less alike in their essential structure, but varying considerably in unessential detail, are commonly divided into several groups.
Classification of the Ancient Liturgies.
I. The Jerusalem Group.
1. The Greek Liturgy of St. James (used by the Syr-
ian Christians).
2. The Syriac Liturgy of St. James (used by the Mel-
chites, a Syrian sect).
3. The Liturgy of St. Basil (used by the Greek Church
in the east).
4. The Liturgy of St. Chrysostom ( a modification of
the former, also used by the Greeks).
II. The Liturgy of St. Mark (used by the Church of Egypt).
III. The Ephesine Group.
1. (The liturgy used in Asia Minor ; no copies extant.)
2. The Ambrosian Liturgy (modelled on that of
Ephesus, used in Northern Italy and Gaul).
IV. The Roman Liturgy.
(This liturgy, which has come down to us in the Roman Mass, was used at first in Rome, and afterwards, as Roman Catholicism developed, superseded local uses wherever the Roman Church estabUshed its jurisdiction.)
There were other liturgies, modeled on the Ro- man use, used by the Churches of Spain, Britain, etc,
30 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Besides the office for the Eucharist other services developed, offices of prayer and thanksgiving for use in churches and monasteries, offices for the administration of the several sacra- ments. These differed in different parts of Christendom very much as the Liturgy differed. By the time of the Middle Ages the Roman use had spread all over western Europe and was largely the use of England before the Reformation. All the Roman services were in Latin, and were practically the same as those used by the Roman Church to-day. During the centuries the worship of the Church became overloaded with ceremony; it was celebrated in a language no longer understood by the people, and in many instances superstitious practices crept in.
The Prayer Book.
At the time of the Reformation, when the Church of Eng- land repudiated the Papacy, and set out to reform its doctrine and practice, returning more nearly to the standards of the Apostolic Church, it was felt necessary to simplify the worship of the Church and translate the services into English. During the reign of Edward VI, a committee, of which Archbishop Cranmer was the leader, set forth a Book of Coimnon Prayer (1549) which was imposed upon the Church by royal authority, but warmly received. This Prayer Book was in part a transla- tion of the Roman service-books, in part an adaptation of Eastern liturgies, and to some extent a new composition, largely influenced by the Protestant forms of worship used by Luther- ans and Calvinists on the Continent. The Prayer Book was revised and republished by royal authority in 1552, with still sev- eral more changes in a Protestant direction. For a hundred years English Churchmen were then engaged upon the effort still fur- ther to revise the Book of Common Prayer; one party wanted it made a distinctly Protestant book, another favoured a closer following of the Catholic models. It was not until 1662 (under Charles II) that the final edition of the Prayer Book (as used in England to-day) was set forth. This book is in thorough accord with the principles of Catholic worship such as have
THE PRAYER BOOK. 31
always been held in the Church, but is freed from the objection- able features that had existed in the old Roman service-books. This book was used in the Colonial Churches of America until the Revolution. After the independence of the American States was secured, the Prayer Book was revised to suit the changed political conditions (1789). The revisers took the opportunity to bring it more closely into accordance with ancient models. In 1892 there was another revision of the American Prayer Book, but no important structural changes were made.
The Contents of the Prayer Book.
1. Preface. In this are stated the reasons for the revision of the Prayer Book, and the statement is made that the Ameri- can Church "is far from intending to depart from the Church of England, in any essential point of doctrine, discipline, or worship"; or further than local circumstances require.
2. Then follow some directions about the service of the Church, when the several services are to be used, the lessons of Scripture proper to the different days, mathematical tables for finding the dates of the movable feasts, and a Kalendar.
3. The Kalendar. In the Church kalendars of the Middle Ages there was not a day in the year which was not set aside for the commemoration of some saint. The American Church retained in her Kalendar only those festivals commemorating events in the life of our Lord, or divine mysteries, feasts of the Apostles and a few other New Testament Saints, the Blessed Virgin, St. Stephen, St. John the Baptist, and All Saints ; and the forty days of Lent, Ember and Rogation Days and Fridays, as fast days. The Kalendar of the Church of Eng- land is much richer, and many Churchmen regret that our own is so meagre.
3. Morning and Evening Prayer. In ancient times the service-books contained seven day-hours which are still ob- served in monasteries and convents. These were called Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline. There was also a night-ofl&ce called Matins. The Reformers combined
32 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
these eight offices into two, called Morning Prayer (Matins) and Evening Prayer (Evensong). The chief points in which the modern differ from the ancient offices are as follows : — The psalter is read now in course month by month, in place of being nominally read each week; the Scripture lessons have been entirely rearranged; the ancient hymns have been omitted; the antiphons (verses of Scripture said before and after the psalms) have been removed; the canticles have been changed in most cases ; and the prayers greatly lengthened. In short, the services have been made more suitable for congregational worship. There have been both gain and loss in the changes.
4. The Litany. It was the custom in early Christian ages to sing Htanies in procession for a blessing upon the crops; gradually they were introduced into the services of the Church. Our Litany is partly a translation of medieval litanies, partly a modern composition.
5. Prayers and Thanksgivings for use on special occa- sions— all modern compositions.
6. A Penitential Office for Ash Wednesday.
7. The Collects, Epistles and Gospels to be used through- out the year. Many of the Collects are translations of the ancient collects ; others were composed by the Reformers.
8. The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Sup- per, or Holy Communion. (This service is otherwise called The Holy Eucharist, i. e., service of thanksgiving, and the Mass). Our communion service is modelled largely upon the ancient liturgies, though with some changes in the order of its parts, and the addition of several features more or less mod- elled after the Lutheran services of the Continent — e. g., the Commandments and the Exhortations.
9. The several offices for Holy Baptism. 10. A Catechism to be learned before Confirmation. IL The Order of Confirmation. (This sacrament is ad- ministered only by bishops ; in ancient times the candidate was
THE PRAYER BOOK. 33
also anointed with consecrated oil; but with us the essence of the rite consists in the laying on of the bishop's hands.)
12. The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony.
13. The Order for the Visitation of the Sick.
14. The Order for the Burial of the Dead.
15. The Thanksgiving of Women after Child=birth.
16. Forms of Prayer to be used at Sea.
17. The Visitation of Prisoners.
18. A form of Prayer and Thanksgiving to be used on Thanksgiving-day.
19. Family Prayer,
20. The Psalter (arranged to be read through at daily ser- vice in the course of each month).
21. The Ordering of Deacons.
22. The Ordering of Priests.
23. The Consecration of Bishops.
24. The Consecration of a Church.
25. The Institution of Ministers into Parishes.
26. Articles of Religion. (Commonly called the Thirty- nine Articles.) These were drawn up at the time of the Reformation, as a statement of belief, required to be signed by candidates before Ordination. They are not a Creed ; have no binding force on the lay people, or in the American Church at all ; and are being happily neglected. We will best find the statements of our Faith in the Creeds and in the other parts of the Prayer Book,
(3)
34 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
VI. THE CHRISTIAN YEAR.
From the earliest times the Church has ordered her services to conform to the seasons of the Christian Year, partly with the idea of following in an orderly manner the life of our Lord, partly with a view to the systematic unfolding of Chris- tian doctrine. The great seasons of the Christian Year are as follows :
I. Advent (from the fourth Sunday before Christmas to Christmas Eve). A penitential season of preparation for the Christmas festival. It commemorates the preparation of the world for the first coming of Christ and looks forward to his coming again at the Last Day to judge the quick and the dead.
n. Christnias=tide (from Christmas Eve to Epiphany Eve). The commemoration of the Nativity of our Saviour.
IIL Epiphany (from Epiphany Eve to Septuagesima). Com- memoration of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles ; the visit of the Magi to the Infant Jesus ; Christ's preaching to the heathen; the extension of the Church to the Gentiles by mis- sionary activity.
IV. Lent (from Ash Wednesday to Easter Even, the three Sundays before Ash Wednesday being preparatory but not properly belonging to the Lenten Season). A penitential sea- son of fasting and prayer in preparation for the great Easter festival.
V. Easter=tide (from Easter Even to Ascension Eve). Com- memoration of our Lord's Resurrection.
VI. Ascension=tide (from Ascension Eve to WhitsunEve). Commemoration of our Lord's Ascension into Heaven.
VII. Whitsun=tide or Pentecost (from Whitsun Eve to Trinity Sunday). Commemoration of the Descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost.
VIII. Tnnity=tide (from Trinity Sunday to the Sunday next
THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 35
before Advent). This season begins the festival in honor of the Most Holy Trinity. Its many Sundays are given to an or- derly exposition of our Lord's ministry and teaching.
Holy Days. Throughout the various seasons of the Chris- tian Year certain days are set aside for commemorating special events in our Lord's hfe, or in memory of the greater Saints. The American Kalendar marks the following holy days: The Circumcision of our Lord, the Epiphany, Easter Day, Ascen- sion Day, The Transfiguration of Christ, Whitsun Day, Trin- ity; the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or Presenta- tion of Christ in the Temple), the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the Conversion of St. Paul; St. Matthias, SS. Philip and James, St. Barnabas, St. Peter, St. James, St. Bar- tholomew, St. Matthew, St. John, SS. Simon and Jude, St. Andrew and St. Thomas, Apostles; St. Luke and St. Mark, Evangelists; St. Stephen, the first Martyr; the Nativity of St. John the Baptist ; St. Michael and all Angels ; The Holy Inno- cents (martyred by King Herod), and All Saints. The Eng- lish Kalendar appointed days for the commemoration of var- ious other saints, martj^rs, confessors, and holy men and women of the Christian centuries. The additional holy days of the Enghsh Kalendar are as follows: Martyrs — SS. Lucian, Prisca, Fabian, Agnes, Vincent, Blasius, Agatha, Valentine, Perpetua, George, Nicomede, Boniface, Alban, Margaret, Laurence, Lambert, Faith, Denys, Crispin, Katherine, Lucy, King Edmund, King Charles I; Confessors — SS. Hilary, David, Chad, Gregory, Benedict, Alphege, Ambrose, Richard, Dunstan, Augustine of Hippo, Augustine of Canterbury, the Venerable Bede, Mary Magdelene, Anne (Mother of the Vir- gin), Martin, Swinthun, Translation of King Edward of the West Saxons, SS, Giles, Evurtius, Cyprian, Jerome, Remigius, Translation of King Edward, SS. Etheldreda, Leonard, Trans- lation of St. Martin, SS. Britus, Hugh of Lincoln, Machutus, Nicolas and Silvester; also Invention of the Holy Cross, Ex- altation of the Holy Cross, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Peter's Chains (Lammas Day), Name of Jesus, B^-
36 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
heading of St. John the Baptist and Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Irish Kalendar has St. Patrick and the Scottish, St. Columba. The Greek and Roman Kalendars con- tain many additional festivals which the AngHcan Communion dropped from its Kalendar at the time of the Reformation..
Fast Days. The Church also appoints certain days of fast- ing and abstinence; Ash Wednesday, and Good Friday (com- memorative of our Lord's Crucifixion) as strict fast days; and as days of abstinence, the forty days of Lent (excluding Sun- days in Lent) ; the Ember Days at the four seasons of the lunar year (days set apart for ordination) ; the Rogation days in the spring (for prayer and blessing upon the crops) ; and all Fridays in the year (except Christmas Day).
The Civil Authority appoints a day of national Thanksgiving in November, for which a special service is provided in the Prayer Book.
All the feast days and a few of the fast days are marked by special Collects, Epistles and Gospels; and by special les- sons at Morning and Evening Prayer ; some by Proper Psalms, Proper Prefaces in the Communion service, special Anthems and the like. The proper way to observe a holy day is attend a celebration of the Holy Communion, if possible ; at least to read the Epistle and Gospel appointed, to use the proper Col- lect in private devotion, and to meditate on the truth or the character commemorated.
The obvious advantages of a Christian Year are that it pro- vides for an orderly exposition of the great facts and doctrines of the Faith ; that it follows in memory the Saviour's earthly life; and affords great opportunity if its scripture lessons, etc., be followed, for going over the most important portions of the Bible every year. The services of the Church bring be- fore the faithful worshipper every important fact and doctrine and moral precept of the Christian faith each year; a result that is highly improbable when the services are devised week by week by the taste and abihty of individual pastors.
HOLY BAPTISM. Zl
VII. HOLY BAPTISM.
The word sacrament originally meant an oath, i.e., that which binds. Later it was restricted to certain ordinances of the Church. The Sacraments are commonly called "the means of grace," that is to say, the ordinary means whereby benefits of Christ's Hfe and death are made over to the faithful. There are two classes of Sacraments: (1) those "generally (univer- sally) necessary to salvation" — Baptism and the Holy Com- munion; (2) those which are not necessary for all men to re- ceive— Confirmation, Penance, Holy Order, Holy Matrimony and Unction. Our Lord's authority can be directly traced for the institution of Baptism, Holy Communion, Penance and Holy Order; Matrimony, instituted by God at the beginning, was raised by our Lord to a higher dignity; Confirmation and Unction were instituted by the Apostles {Acts vii, 12; St. James v, 14).
The first idea associated with Baptism is that of cleansing. As all feel the need of bodily cleansing, so every man feels the necessity of the cleansing of his heart and conscience. Baptism — the washing of water — is a symbol, appointed by Christ, of that cleansing, the symbol of the grace of God which purifies the soul. So the Church has always taught by the practice of immersion, though for convenience's sake, in cold countries the mode of pouring has been allowed, and with us has come to be the common practice. So also with Baptism the idea of life has always been associated. Wherever water is there is life, and without water we know there is no life. There is life in an oasis in a barren desert, because a foun- tain of water springs up there. By this washing of water we die unto sin and are born into a new life, born of the Spirit of God ; made members of God's family, members of Christ. God has promised His mercies to generations upon generations of them that love Him ; and we would not exclude little children from God's family— the Church — for "of such," Jesus said, "i» the Kingdom of Heaven."
38 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Only impenitence and unbelief can hinder Baptism. With grown persons, repentance and conversion are first required: before they can receive the washing for the remission of sins they must promise to believe in Christ and lead a Christian hfe. But with little children repentance cannot be required because they have no actual sins of which to repent. Faith and righteousness of Hfe is promised for them by their parents and sponsors. We bring children to Baptism to make them Chris- tians, and at that time we solemnly promise before God that we will bring them up as Christians. To be a sponsor for a child is to undertake a very serious responsibility. It is not merely to make a promise in his name to renounce the Devil and his works, the pomps and vanities of the world, and the sinful desires of the flesh; to beUeve the articles of the Chris- tian faith; and to keep God's will and commandments; but it pledges us to help our godchildren, as they grow up, themselves to do those things, teaching them, by taking them to the Church, and by setting them the example of a godly life. Only baptized persons who will honestly undertake to fulfill these promises are fit sponsors for children. Therefore in most cases parents are the proper persons to act as sponsors, and in many cases the only proper persons. If parents themselves are not Christians why should they bring their children to Christian Bap- tism? If they would have their children made Christians, why not become Christians first themselves and seek the bishop's blessing upon their resolutions to lead a new Hfe? In every case the parents should come with their child to the Church at the time of Baptism. It is manifestly improper that they should not be with their child at one of the most important moments of his life.
It is a minor duty of sponsors, but not an unimportant one, that they should carefully read the Baptismal Office before they come to Church, and respond audibly and clearly to the ques- tions that are addressed to them therein, and join reverently \n the prayer beginning, "Almighty and everlasting God, Heavenly Father," as the Prayer Book expects them to do, in common with all other Christian persons present. Also it is
HOLY BAPTISM. 39
necessary to remember that in Baptism we give a Christian name to a child. His father's name is his already ; so when the minister says, "Name this child," only the Christian name or names is to be given.
The official way in which the Church seeks to carry into ef- fect the duties of sponsors is by the work of the Sunday School. Therefore it seems only reasonable that parents and sponsors should have a special interest in the Sunday School, and, when their talents enable them, join in its practical work. But neither parents nor sponsors should ever leave the entire Christian education of a child to the teachers of the Sunday School or the occasional attention of the minister. The home is the first place for the nourishment of Christian life.
Our Lord, talking to Nicodemus {St. John iii), declared a new birth of water and the Spirit to be necessary for entrance into his kingdom, and just before his ascension he gave the charge to the Apostles, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." {St. Matt, xxviii, 19). Baptism is the first act of God upon the soul, whereby it is transferred from a natural condition to a state of grace; hence it is called by our Lord the New Birth. By Baptism we are admitted in- to the Church, God's family; made members of Christ {Gal. iii, 27) and inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven ("Baptism doth also now save us." / St. Peter iii, 21). So it is reason- able to baptize children as the Church has always done, for it remits all sin, original and actual; and children have as much right to be Christians as grown people. There has been much confusion between the terms Regeneration and Conversion. Regeneration is the new birth effected by Baptism ; Conversion is the voluntary turning of the soul toward God. One is God's act; the other is man's. Water is just the symbol of the cleansing grace ; the minister is but an instrument in the hands of God. Anyone may baptize by using water and the formula, "N. or M., I baptize thee, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen," but except in cases of necessity it is proper that Baptism should be administered by the parish priest.
40 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
VIII. CONFIRMATION.
Confirmation is one of the so-called "lesser sacraments," because it has not been regarded by the Church, as have Bap- tism and Holy Communion, as necessary to salvation. Never- theless it is of the greatest importance and all people should be confirmed whenever it is possible, for ordinarily none are admitted to the Holy Communion until they are "ready and desirous to be confirmed."
The New Testament does not record the institution of Con- firmation. Probably it was commanded by our Lord after the resurrection, when he spoke to the Apostles about "the things concerning the kingdom of God." It was administered by the Apostles, as is recorded in Acts. It is mentioned in the Epistle to the Hebrews as one of the fundamentals of Christianity. {Acts viii, 14-17; xix, 6; Heh. vi, 1-2). The manner of administering Confirmation has differed. In the primitive Church it was administered by the bishop, by the laying on of hands, and with words appropriate to the special gift of the presence of the Holy Spirit; though sometimes it was administered by the priest. With us the bishop is always the minister of Confirmation. In the Greek and Roman Churches the person to be confirmed is anointed with oil (chrism). The Lutheran Church retains the rite and directs her ministers to administer it. Other Protestant bodies have dropped it altogether, or have substituted the "giving of the right hand of fellowship" by the pastor when a person "joins the church." All baptized persons should be confirmed, and in ancient times Confirmation immediately followed Baptism in the case of both children and adults. Since the Reformation our branch of the Church has postponed it until children ar- rive at the years of discretion, and can recite the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and are instructed in the Catechism. This sacrament is never repeated.
CONFIRMATION. 41
Like the other sacraments Confirmation has two aspects — what God does for us, and what we do for God.
First, and of the most importance, the sacrament of Con- firmation conveys a special gift of the Holy Spirit to enable us more consistently and successfully to lead the Christian life. The symbol of this grace of the Holy Spirit is the laying on of the bishop's hands. It is a solemn authoritative blessing in God's name by his chief minister of the soul that in this ser- vice freshly dedicates itself to God. That blessing confirms the soul in grace.
Second, on our part, it is the taking upon ourselves of the vows that were made for us by our sponsors at Baptism (or of reaffirming those that we took ourselves at Baptism, if we were baptized as adults). The Baptismal Vows are such as all people should take: they are (i) to renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, and the sinful desires of the flesh; (ii) to beUeve all the articles of the Christian Faith; and (iii) to obey God's holy will and commandments. The first vow of Renunciation is the solemn promise to avoid sin and its occasions to the very best of our ability : it is not a promise that we will never sin again, but it is a promise that we will try never wilfully to sin ; that we will not live worldly selfish lives, and that we will not be intemperate, or slothful, or impure. The second vow of Be- lief is that we will accept the teaching of the Christian Church. The Church desires of course that every soul should accept its teaching in all its fulness, but it holds it sufficient for salvation if we accept the articles of the Apostles' Creed, which is an adequate, though by no means full, statement of the chief doc- trines of the faith. We are not called upon to condemn peo- ple who, through ignorance or prejudice or lack of opportun- ity, do not believe as we do. We may safely trust them to God's mercy and justice. But we do need to be careful about our own belief and practice, for we will not be able to plead ignorance or lack of opportunity. The last vow is that of
42 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Obedience. Obedience is at the basis of all moral and spiritual life. The authority that the Christian obeys is God. We learn God's will and commandments in the Bible, particularly in our Lord's own teaching in the Gospels, we learn it by our own conscience, which is the witness of God the Holy Spirit in our hearts; we learn it through the Church. The Church teaches by her authorized "formularies," that is, her sacra- ments and offices, the Prayer Book, and by her ministry.
Confirmation is also the doorway to the Holy Communion. It is the safeguard the Church places about that most important sacrament. We require our own people to be confirmed. If members of other Christian societies desire to become com- municants in our Church they must be confirmed, though many clergymen in our Church do not require confirmation of other Christians who occasionally desire to communicate at our altars.
Confirmation is not "joining the Church." We join the Church at Baptism; Confirmation is the completion of our Baptism, and admits us to the full communion of the Church.
Since Confirmation is so important a duty for Church peo- ple, since by it they are admitted to such great privileges and responsibilities in the Church, and receive with the laying-on-of- hands special grace to enable them to meet those responsibil- ities and appreciate those privileges, it should be carefully and seriously prepared for.
Part of the preparation for Confirmation is practically al- ways to receive instruction from the clergy of the parish where one is to be confirmed. Classes are formed and meet for five or six weeks before the Confirmation service. Candidates for Confirmation should supplement that preparation by reading and study on their own part, as far as opportunity and time permit. But the most important part of preparation is the spiritual preparation that must be done entirely alone. It is a time above all others for special prayer, for careful examin- ation of conscience, confession of sin to God, and the form-
CONFIRMATION. 43
ing of good resolutions and the adoption of a rule of life to be followed faithfully as a communicant of the Church.
Candidates for Confirmation should firmly resolve to be faithful in the worship of the Church and in the practice of Christian duty and faith. All Christian people should attend service at least once on Sunday and the chief holy days, and whenever possible that service should be the Holy Communion. By a rule of the English Church people are required to re- ceive Holy Communion three times a year, at Christmas- tide, Easter-tide, and Whitsun-tide. They ought, it would seem, to receive at least once a month. Devout people will naturally wish to receive oftener. It is simply not true that a frequent reception of the Holy Communion makes the service too famiUar or "common." All the testimony of experience points in the other direction. The people who sometimes object to too frequent celebrations of Holy Communion are usually those who rarely receive. Those who make a faithful, devout, and frequent use of the sacra- ment invariably testify to its great spiritual benefit and help- fulness. Familiarity does not dull the happiness of our asso- ciation with those we love, nor does it indeed cheapen our com- munion with the Lord, however frequent that may be. Con- firmation is the great and necessary preparation for Holy Com- munion,
44 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
IX.
THE HOLY COMMUNION.
I. Titles.
The sacrament of the Holy Communion is known by several names amongst Christian people, all of them derived from some different aspect of the rite. In the Prayer Book it is called The Lord's Supper, or The Holy Communion, and by this latter title is most commonly known in the Anglican Churches. In the Roman Church it is invariably called The Mass, a cor- ruption of the phrase Ite, missa est (Go, it is finished,) said by the priest at the close of the service. Originally of no meaning whatever, in the course of time the terra Mass came tc denote not only the service itself but a particular doctrine of it held in the Church of Rome, The First Prayer Book of King Edward VI called the office "The Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion, commonly called The Mass," but during the Reformation the word Mass became un- popular and was finally dropped from the formularies of the English Church. It has never since been widely used by An- glicans, though of late years there has been a tendency in some quarters to revive it. The Holy Eucharist (meaning The Holy Thanksgiving) is another term that has been widely used in the Church ; so also is the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Greek Church calls the Holy Commun- ion The Holy Mysteries. None of these titles should be habitually disused by Churchmen, though probably it is best to use generally the term that is most familiar.
THE HOLY COMMUNION. 45
II. The Institution.
The Holy Communion Is one of the two sacraments ordained by Christ and declared by him, and so held by the Church, as "generally (i. e. universally) necessary to salvation." A sacra- ment, in the language of the Catechism, is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace," or, as it has been well stated, "the veil of an unseen presence and the chan- nel of a spiritual power."
Our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, came into the world to reveal God's will for man, and to give man grace (that is, strength or power) to renounce self-will and sin and to be- lieve and do God's will. We believe what he taught because we believe that he was God manifest in the flesh, the Incarna- tion of God, God made man, and we are bound to strive to think with him, to feel with him, and to live as he lived. Man was created in the image of God, but through disobedience he fell from that state of grace, became alienated from God, and brought upon himself the curse of sin. To win men back from sin to himself, God who loved the world, sent his Son into the world, that all that believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. If men could have saved themselves, perhaps the Incarnation would not have been necessary, but human history is the sad record of man's failure to win back by him- self all that he had lost. God himself therefore came into the world and became man that he might unite men with himself, thus saving them from sin to God.
Redemption or salvation is a complex process: on God's part it was the sacrifice of his heavenly glory, that he might become man, suffer all human pains and temptations, offer himself on the cross a sacrifice for sin, and by his death and resurrection triumph over death and corruption. For man it means a gradual conforming of his conscious faculties to God's will and laws, as they are made known in nature, by our Lord, through the Church or inspired men ; a gradual con- forming of the inner will by prayer and communion with the
46 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Divine Spirit, and a mystical union with Christ himself so that the end may be that we no more live but Christ in us. In all this, two things are necessary — God working in us, and our- selves working together with God. One of the important means of salvation, of achieving this end, is the grace given us by means of sacraments or signs. Just as in his relation with men God took upon him our common humanity, so he has sanctified some of the most common human actions to be the means of giving his life to us — the washing with water, the laying on of hands, the partaking of food and drink.
Our Lord declared that this process of salvation begins by our being "born again" or anew into God's family {St. John iii, 5), and he declared that the outward symbol of this new birth was the baptism or washing with water with the appro- priate prayer ("In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost"), and he commanded that all who would follow him should be baptized {St. Mark xvi, 16). He further de- clared that the soul so made a fellow-heir with him and a child of God, needed to have that spiritual life continually fed and sustained by spiritual food. This food, he said, was his own life — his body and blood. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." And many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" {St. John vi, 52 and follow- ing). And then when he was about to leave the world and had gathered his disciples together in the Upper Chamber at the Passover (the feast of the redemption of the Jews in Egypt, when the Angel of Death passed over the houses marked with blood), he took bread into his hands, and blessed it, and brake it, and said, "Take, eat, this is my body." And he took the cup (filled with wine), and gave thanks, and gave it to thera, saying, "This is my blood of the new testament.
THE HOLY COMMUNION. A7
which is shed for many for the remission of sins." {St. Mat- thew xxvi, 26-28). And then he promised his Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and later, after his Resurrection, he entrusted to them the keys of the kingdom of heaven (i. e. power and authority over his Church), and bade them go forth into the world, baptize, preach the Gospel, and feed his flock {St. John xxi).
And so from that day to this when Christians are gathered together, frequently they celebrate this memorial of their Mas- ter's death, and blessing the bread and wine in his name, and partaking of the same in faith and love, know that in so doing they are in communion with him, and are receiving his strengthening, cleansing life and being united with him.
In our own Church, as we know, the Holy Communion is celebrated frequently. It will help us to a right use of the sacrament if we strive to understand more fully what Christ means it to be to us, what are the great benefits of a right use of it, and if we see how our particular Liturgy (i. e., Com- munion Service) brings these great truths out.
48 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
X.
THE HOLY COMMUNION.
III. The Holy Communion as a Sacrament.
(The Real Presence.)
If we wish to keep our bodies in condition to meet the de- mands made upon them we must nourish them properly. Food supphes the body, worn out by use, with new tissues. Under- fed bodies lack the necessary materials for forming new tis- sues to take the place of those exhausted by use. In this way the mind must be supplied constantly with new ideas, or like an underfed body, it will decline. The soul, too, suffers when spiritual food is lacking. The path before it lies uphill. The descent is easy, and the slips backward are many. It is prone to temptations which drag it down. The soul, worn out with struggling, is like the exhausted tissues of the body — in order to regain the losses and forge ahead, it must be refreshed and nourished.
Christ has provided the chief food for the soul in the Holy Communion. The bread and wine of which we partake are veils of Christ's unseen presence. The Church from the be- ginning has taught that Christ is actually, though invisibly, present in the Holy Eucharist. Her belief is founded on his own words — "This is my body." "This cup is the new testa- ment in my blood." By these words we are not to understand a physical presence in the elements. The bread and wine re- main bread and wine, but they are now become to us the chan- nels of Christ's life. We cannot explain how Christ comes to us in the sacraments. It is as much of a mystery to us as the mystery of life and death. It is beyond our power of compre- hension. But it is the experience of every sincere Christian who faithfully uses the sacrament that it is the means of his actual communion with the Lord.
Several errors regarding this truth have arisen in the
THE HOLY COMMUNION. 40
Church. The first is one which grew up in the middle ages. It taught that at the consecration the elements were changed so that their substance was no longer bread and wine, though appearing so to the senses, but that they had been trans-sub- stantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ. This view is held now by the Roman Catholic Church.
At the time of the Reformation just the opposite view was taught by many; i. e., that the Holy Communion was but the commemoration of our Lord's death, and nothing more. It was simply to keep alive the memory of his passion and death. His presence, it was taught, was no more in the Eucharist than in any other object. The bread and wine were held to be mere signs of what was really absent. But such a view of the matter is in contradiction to the belief of the Church, founded on Christ's words — "This is my body," "This is my blood."
Thus we see on the one hand the presence of Christ in the sacrament does not cause the elements to suffer any physical change; and on the other hand that the service is not simply a commemoration of Christ's death. We believe that Christ draws near to us through the channels of the sacrament, and that in doing so he gives to the faithful Christian soul his own life as spiritual food. There is no better phrase to de- scribe the doctrine of the Holy Communion than this : The bread and wine are veils of his presence, and channels of his power.
<4)
50 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
IV. The Holy Communion as a Sacrifice.
The Eucharist is not only a communion with our Lord Jesus Christ, but a sacrifice. Just as the sacramental idea (i. e., the communication of a spiritual life or grace through material or outward symbols) underlies all Christian faith and doctrine and finds its highest expression in the Incarnation (the mani- festation of God in the Man Christ Jesus,) so, too, the idea of sacrifice is fundamental. Sacrifice means the dedication of self to God. It was the chief characteristic of our Lord's life on earth, and received perfect expression when he gave him- self even to the death upon the Cross.
The Incarnation (the sacramental principle) finds its exten- sion and appHcation to us in the Eucharist as a communion, wherein we receive our Lord's Hfe; the Atonement (the sacri- ficial principle) receives its extension and appHcation in the Eucharist as a sacrifice, wherein we re-present "the full, per- fect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world" before the Father as a perpetual memory or memorial until the Lord comes again.
1. The Sacrificial Principle or Idea. Sacrifice as a reHg- ious principle or idea did not originate with Christianity. It is the essence of all religion. Men have always and everywhere instinctively felt that the way of propitiating or appeasing the heavenly power and entering into communion with the unseen Deity was by sacrifice. In pagan and the old Jewish religions the symbols of such sacrifices were the offerings of animals. It was Christ who purified the notion of sacrifice, by substi- tuting his own hfe for those old barbaric offerings, and by teaching us to sacrifice ourselves in union with him. Through his Incarnation and Atonement he offered himself, and in the Eucharist, by prayer and faith, we unite ourselves with him. In other words, the Holy Eucharist is a great outward sym- bolic act of a great inward spiritual experience. No wonder therefore that it is regarded as the chief act of Christian wor- ship, and is held as one of the sacraments "generally necessary to salvation.'*
THE HOLY COMMUNION. 51
2. The Eucharistic Sacrifice. Eucharist, we remember, means "thanksgiving"; accordingly the Prayer Book refers to the Eucharistic Sacrifice as "this, our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving." There is a difficuhy in explaining the nature of the sacrificial aspect of the Holy Communion because it is a subject about which Christians have thought differently, and about which the Church, though she has always taught the reality and truth of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, has never de- fined any explanation of it that we are bound to accept. Just so the Church has always regarded as a central behef the fact of our Saviour's atoning for the sins of the world by his sacrifice upon the Cross, but has never stamped with her ap- proval any of the explantions how that sacrifice was accom- pHshed. So she has taught us that the Holy Communion is a re-presentation, a pleading again of the sacrifice and atonement on Calvary, but has not too curiously explained the manner in which God the Holy Spirit works through our Eucharistic of- fering.
Let us see in what terms the Book of Common Prayer pre- sents the Holy Communion for our use and faith as a sacri- fice:—
i. First, there is the "oblation" (or offering) of our sub- stance— the bread and wine and alms — as symboHc of the dedi- cation to God of our worldly goods.
ii. Second, there is the re-presentation of the Lord's sacri- fice on the Cross (in the Prayer of Consecration) — the night of his betrayal, the giving to his disciples of the blessed sj^m- bols of his broken Body and shed Blood, and the pleading be- fore God of the merits of that sacrifice — "that we, receiving them ... in remembrance of his death and passion, may be made partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood," that is, receive the Life he freely gave for us and to us, and so receiv- ing him, be united with him in his sacrifice.
52 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
iil. Third, there is "our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiv- ing," the offering to God of joy and gladness for the great blessings he has bestowed upon us in Christ — the Christ who died for us on the Cross, the Christ who lives for us in heaven, the Christ who gives himself to us in the Holy Communion.
iv. And there is the offering of "our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice" unto him.
V. And lastly, there is the solemn commemoration of our Lord's victorious sacrifice, and prayer that we may derive its benefits.
These ideas, though they do not exhaust the meaning of the Eucharist, express what is essential for us to understand and believe to our soul's health and salvation. In the Holy Com- munion, therefore, we dedicate our substance to God, we offer ourselves, we re-present and plead again the one Sacrifice, and receiving Christ into our souls are united with him, and so, coming faithfully to the altar, we keep the memorial, we offer the sacrifice that he commanded, until his coming again.
Too frequently Church-people who come reverently to the Holy Communion forget that it is a sacrifice — a great sym- bolic re-presentation of what should be a deep soul-searching experience. And so it is a duty, as well as a privilege, as opportunity offers and other imperative duties do not pre- vent, to come to the Eucharist, not only to partake of a most holy feast, but to offer ourselves to God, to give of our substance, to plead again Christ's sacrifice, and to join with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven in the great sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
THE HOLY COMMUNION. 53
XI.
THE HOLY COMMUNION.
V. The Ceremonial of the Holy Communion.
The minister of the Holy Communion is a priest (or bishop), though a deacon may assist by reading the Epistle or Gospel, serving the elements to the celebrant, and administering the chalice after the consecration.
In ancient times the Eucharist was celebrated with a great deal of pomp and ceremony. At the time of the Reformation the Anglican rite was simplified and much of the ceremony abolished. In recent years there has been a great revival of the ceremonial in connection with the celebration of the Holy Communion in all the Anglican Churches. The matter, how- ever, as long as the rubrics and the plain injunctions of the Prayer Book are observed, is left largely to the taste and feel- ing of the individual congregations. Whether the service is "elaborate" or "simple," the Prayer Book office is always used.
There is a distinction between the vestments worn by the clergy at the Eucharistic and at the choir offices (i. e.. Morning and Evening Prayer). It is convenient here to describe both sets of vestments which are worn by the ministers in this Church.
The Choir Vestments. The cassock and girdle, the long black garment and band of stuff or silk worn over the clothes ; the surplice, a long white Hnen over-garment, reaching below the knees ; the tippet, a broad scarf of black silk worn around the neck and reaching below the knees ; the hood, which signi- fies the degree of the minister and the academic institution which granted it; the cap (sometimes a small round black cap; sometimes a cap shaped much like that worn in colleges ; some- times a biretta).
The hood by its shape indicates the degree. The doctor's hood is full and round; the master's hood is long and ends in the shape of a crescent; the bachelor's hood is shorter and
54 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
pointed. The color of the border indicates the department o£ learning in which the degree was taken: red, divinity; purple, laws; white, arts; green, medicine; etc. The lining of the hood is usually of the colors of the college which granted the degree: red, Harvard; blue, Yale; orange and black, Prince- ton, etc.
For the last generation it has been a very general custom in the Church to cast aside the old-fashioned black scarf or tip- pet and substitute the coloured stoles. The stole is properly a Eucharistic vestment and should not be worn in choir offices. There is a growing tendency to restore the tippet or scarf.
The Eucharistic Vestments. The cassock; the amice (a white garment placed first on the head and pulled down over the neck, so that it appears as a simple stiff, broad collar, sup- posed to symbolize "the helmet of salvation") ; the alb (a long, white garment reaching to the feet, like the surphce, but close fitting and longer, supposed to symbolize our Lord's seamless robe) ; the girdle (a white rope worn about the waist) ; the maniple (a band with flowing ends worn about the left wrist, the relic of the early napkin which the priest used in the ad- ministration of the elements) ; the chasuble (the ancient "casula," or little woolen house worn by priests as an out- door garment or cloak, now only at the Eucharist. It is a round, sleeveless garment worn over all the rest).
The stole is always the color of the season. Frequently the chasuble and maniple are also of the color of the season, and are sometimes elaborately embroidered and ornamented; more generally they are of plain white Hnen. In many churches clergymen prefer to celebrate in the choir vestments and the Eucharistic vestments are not used.
Appointments of the Altar. The great act of Christian worship has always been the Holy Eucharist, and in early times, when churches first began to be built and Christians were no longer obliged to worship in private houses, their places of assembly (sometimes remodelled houses, or even converted papan temples and halls) were arranged to suit the
THE HOLY COMMUNION, 55
convenience of priests and congregation in the celebration of the Eucharist. Churches were frequently buih in the form of a cross, and usually facing the East whence it is supposed the Lord will appear. Churches may of course be of any size, but they should be divided into three parts — the Sanctuary with Altar in its midst ; the Chancel or choir ; and the Nave or body, where the congregation sits.
The following are the principal ornaments used in Churches :
The Altar, or Holy Table. On the Altar are usually to be found a cross (sometimes a crucifix) ; candlesticks (two large wax candles to be lighted at the Eucharist, symbolizing the Divine and Human Natures of Our Lord as Light of the world; and others for ornamental purposes) ; vases for holding flowers ; a service book ; and coverings — sometimes a coloured frontal or altar cloth, and at celebrations a covering of "fair linen." Near by usually stands a Credence table on which the oblations (bread, wine and water) are kept until they are needed. A paten for holding bread, and a chalice for holding wine are required at the communion service. Frequently these are covered with a silk veil, and rest upon a linen cloth, known as the corporal. The chalice is usually covered by a stiff piece of linen, called the pall.
The Pulpit, used for preaching, usually stands in the nave.
The Lectern, for holding the Bible from which the lessons are read in the daily offices, stands in the chancel; and there are commonly prayer-desks and stalls for the clergy and choir.
The Font, which holds the water used at the administration of Baptism, usually stands near the door of the church, or in larger churches, in a side chapel.
In some churches incense is used ceremonially during the Eucharist, at the singing of the Te Deum in Morning Prayer and of the Magnificat at Evensong. In such churches an in- cense-boat and censer are required. So long as a clergyman conforms to the plain directions of the Prayer Book the ques- tion of the amount of ceremonial to be used in the conduct of
56 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
public worship is determined by the preferences of his parish and himself.
The Sequence of Colours. Five different colours — White, Red, Violet, Green and Black are used in the Church, for altar hangings, book-markers, dossals, and the priests' stoles or vestments. These colours are changed to mark the different seasons and holidays. The old Sarum Sequence (used in the Church of England vi^idely before the Reformation) is occa- sionally substituted, more frequently in England than America. A few churches have adopted no colour sequence. It is to be noted that Cloth of Gold may be substituted for any other colour.
Violet: from the Evensong of the Saturday before the first Sunday in Advent to the Evensong of Christmas Eve; from Septuagesima to the Evensong of Easter Eve; on the Ember Days, the Rogation Days and the Feast of the Holy Innocents except it fall on a Sunday.
White: from the Evensong of Christmas Eve to the Monday after the Octave of Epiphany (an Octave is the eighth day af- ter a feast) ; at celebrations of the Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday; from the Evensong of Easter Eve to the Evensong of Whitsun Eve (except on holy days that require other colours); on Trinity Sunday; on Feasts of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary ; on All Saints' Day and the feasts of saints not martyrs.
Red: from the Evensong of Whitsun Eve to Trinity Sun- day ; on feasts of mart>TS, and the feast of the Holy Innocents if it fall on a Sunday.
Green: on all other days not otherwise provided for.
Black: on Good Friday, and at funerals.
THE HOLY COMMUNION. 57
XII.
THE HOLY COMMUNIONo
yi. The Order for the Administration of the Holy Communion.
The Holy Communion begins with the Lord's Prayer, which is said by the priest alone (the people not even joining in the Amen), this being a part of the priest's private preparation. Then comes the preparation of the people: — first the Collect for Purity, and second, the recital by the priest of the Ten Commandments or The Summary of the Law, each Com- mandment being followed byaKyrie (i. e., "Lord have mercy upon us") etc.; then comes the part of the service devoted to Instruction — i. e. The Collect for the Day (a brief prayer which usually sums up the teaching of the day or season,) and the Epistle and Gospel, (passages of Scripture designed to illustrate the teaching of the day). The announcement of the Gospel is followed by the Qlori tibi. It should be noted that the people should kneel from the time the priest enters the chancel until he turns about to read the Epistle; then they should sit in their seats until the Epistle ends, and just before the Gospel is announced they should stand, and remain stand- ing through the creed until the priest says "Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's Church militant." The Gospel is followed by the recitation by the priest and people of the Nicene Creed. It is customary during the recitation of the Creed to bow the head at the mention of the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ and to bow or kneel at the words "And was made man," in honour of our Lord's Incarnation. It is also an ancient custom to sign oneself with the sign of the cross at the words "And the life of the world to come." After the Creed a hymn is sometimes sung and a sermon is preached, and then the priest prepares the bread and wine for the celebration, having first offered them to God, together with the alms which are collected from the people at this time. Then
58 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
follows the Prayer for the Church, at which the people kneel. They shall remain kneeling now until they go up to the Altar to receive the Sacrament. After the Prayer for the Church comes the preparation for the Communion itself. At this point many people commonly leave the church. It is difficult to un- derstand why, for it is then that the important part of the ser- vice begins. Communicants should always stay through the service even if they do not receive. It is the best time in the world for prayer; and they should join in the worship of thanksgiving even when for one reason or another they do not receive the Blessed Sacrament. There is no reason why non- communicants should leave the church either, and it would be far better if they did not do so. The special preparation con- sists of an Exhortation and Invitation delivered by the priest, a Confession of sins made by the priest and people together, and then the Absolution pronounced by the priest over the people. Then come the Comfortable Words, the Sursum Corda, and the Sanctus, with its Proper Preface if there be one. Then in the name of all who come to the Sacrament, he kneels down and says the Prayer of Humble Access. Then follows the Prayer of Consecration, the commemoration of the Sacrifice on the Cross, and the words of Institution, the repetition by the priest over the elements of the words used by our Lord. Then comes the Oblation of the Holy Gifts, the offering to God of our Lord's sacrifice and this memorial of it; then the Invocation that the Holy Spirit may descend upon the blessed elements and upon us, and make us par- takers of Christ's Body and Blood; then comes the final part of the Prayer of Consecration, in which we offer unto God ourselves, our souls and bodies, and ask him to accept this our bounden duty and service. After this the priest makes his own communion, and then administers to the people as they come up and kneel before the altar. The element of conse- crated bread should be received in the palm of the right hand opened and supported by the left, and so carried to the mouth. In receiving the chalice it is sufficient if the communicant
THE HOLY COMMUNION. 59
guide it to his lips. It is not necessary and not desirable that the chalice should be taken out of the minister's hand. After the communion the people return to their seats and remain kneel- ing until the Gloria in excelsis. After all have received the priest covers the consecrated elements with a fair linen cloth, leads the people in the Lord's Prayer, and in their behalf says a Prayer of Thanksgiving. This is followed by the Gloria in excelsis (in penitential seasons a hymn is frequently substituted), all standing. Then the priest may say additional prayers if there be occasion, or turn immediately and give the Blessing, which of course the people kneel to receive. They should remain kneeling until the celebrant leaves the chancel. After the Blessing the priest consumes what remains of the consecrated elements and cleanses the sacred vessels. Frequently a Hymn or the Agnus Dei (O Lamb of God) is sung during the priest's communion, and the Nunc Dimittis, or the De Pro- fundis, or the Seven-fold Amen is sung during the ablutions. The people should stand as the ministers leave the church, then kneel for a moment and say a final prayer for them- selves. They should make a private thanksgiving as soon after receiving the Blessed Sacrament as possible. It is an ancient custom to make the sign of the cross at the time of the Blessing, but this is a private devotion and should be adopted or not as inclination prompts. Many persons bow toward the altar on entering and leaving their pews or passing before it; many genuflect or bend the knee before the Blessed Sacrament, if it is on the altar, when they pass before it or enter or leave their pews. These are also private acts of reverence which should be adopted if they are found helpful and personal in- clination prompts.
We should all be careful not to criticise others for showing outward acts of reverence that we do not ourselves practice; nor to judge others adversely for not adopting our own ways of devotion. Outward things of that sort are things that we can well have different opinions and customs about.
60 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
VII. Preparation for the Holy Communion.
There is an ancient English rule that requires communicants to receive the Sacrament at least three times a year, within the octaves o£ Christmas, Easter and Whitsun Day. Devout per- sons will scarcely be satisfied with the minimum requirement, but will naturally desire to receive at least once a month. All Christians should be present at the celebration of the Holy Communion every Sunday, if possible ; and it is a great reproach to our Church that this duty is so widely neglected. It is an ancient and general rule of the Church that the Holy Communion always be received fasting. The value of the Holy Communion as a help in living the Christian life depends to some extent at least upon sincere and faithful preparation for it. Of course, the real preparation is repentance for our sins, faith in God's love and willingness to forgive, and earnest resolution to Hve more nearly in accordance with God's will: such preparation is the very essence of our inner life. But it is a help to re- pentance to make a careful examination of ourselves and a confession of our sins and faults, and to give expression to our love and good will through prayer and devotion. It is well to set aside a period of time, fifteen minutes or half an hour, for this purpose a day or two before the ser- vice, for the examination of our consciences and the confes- sion of our sins, and special devotion to God for the gift that we are seeking. There are various methods of self-examina- tion: a convenient one is to question ourselves as to how we have kept to the standard of Christian faith and practice, go- ing over our lives from the period when we last made such an examination. Having discovered just what our sins are, our next duty is to confess them (to God alone, or if the need be felt with the help of a priest). "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (/ St. John i, 9). Then should follow such prayers as express or will stir in us the proper disposi- lion for a right communion.
THE HOLY COMMUNION, 61.
XIII.
THE HOLY COMMUNION.
VII. A Method of Preparation for Holy Communion.
►f" In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Our Father.
In thy presence, O my God, do I place myself. O my soul, of a truth, God is here.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Very God and Very Man, my Creator and Redeemer, I grieve with my whole heart that I have of- fended thee, my Lord and my God; whom I desire to love above all things: I accuse myself of the wrong desires and thoughts which I have indulged, especially . . . ; of the unholy words which I have spoken, especially . . . ; of the sinful and ungodly deeds which I have committed, especially , . . ; I desire earnestly to sin no more, and to shun all occasions of sin. I offer the Father, in satisfaction for my sins, thy most sacred Life, thy Passion and thy Death, and the whole price of thy Blood which was shed for me. I trust that of thine infinite mercy, thou v/ilt, by the merits of thy precious Blood, forgive me all my sins; and that thou wilt pour on me the riches of thy grace, whereby I may live holily and serve thee perfectly to the end; who with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, God, blessed forever. Amen.
•f" The Almighty and Most Merciful God grant me the par- don, absolution, and remission of all my sins. Amen.
Anima Christi.
Soul of Christ, sanctify me!
Body of Christ, save me !
Blood of Christ, inebriate me!
Water from the side of Christ, wash me!
Passion of Christ, strengthen me !
O Good Jesu ! hear me I
63 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Within thy wounds hide me !
Suffer me not to be separated from thee 1
From the maUcious enemy defend me!
In the hour of my death, call me,
And bid me come to thee,
That with thy saints I may praise thee
For ever and ever. Amen.
Psalm Ixxxiv.
O how amiable are thy dwellings : thou Lord of Hosts !
My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house, and the swallow a nest, where she may lay her young : even thy altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house : they will be always praising thee.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee : in whose heart are thy ways.
Who going through the vale of misery use it for a well : and the pools are filled with water.
They will go from strength to strength : and unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Zion.
0 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer : hearken, O God of Jacob.
Behold, O God our defender: and look upon the face of thine anointed.
For one day in thy courts : is better than a thousand.
1 had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God : than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness.
For the Lord God is a light and a defence : the Lord will give grace and worship, and no good thing shall he withhold from them that lead a godly life.
O Lord God of Hosts: blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee.
Glory he to the Father.
THE HOLY COMMUNION, 63
(In Penitential Seasons.) Psalm cxxx.
Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord : Lord, hear my voice.
0 let thine ears consider well : the voice of my complaint. If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss:
O Lord, who may abide it? For there is mercy with thee : therefore shalt thou be feared.
1 look for the Lord ; my soul doth wait for him : in his word is my trust.
My soul fleeth unto the Lord : before the morning watch, I say, before the morning watch.
O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy: and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel : from all his sins.
Glory he to the Father.
Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.
Turn thee again, Lord, at the last, and be gracious unto thy
servants. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, And let thy saints sing with joy fulness. Cleanse thou me from my secret faults, And keep thy servant also from presumptuous sins. O Lord, hear my prayer. And let my cry come unto thee.
Most gracious God, incline thy merciful ears to our prayers, and enlighten our hearts by the grace of thy Holy Spirit; that we may worthily approach thy holy mysteries, and love thee with an everlasting love.
O Lord, we beseech thee, may the Comforter, who proceed-
64 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
eth from thee, illuminate our minds, and lead us, as thy Son hath promised, into all truth.
O Lord, we beseech thee, may the power of the Holy Ghost, be with us, and both mercifully cleanse and purge our hearts, and defend us from all adversities.
Cleanse our consciences, we beseech thee O Lord, by thy vis- itation : that thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ, when he cometh, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself ; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Joy with peace, amendment of life, time for true repentance, the grace and comfort of thy Holy Spirit, perseverance in good works, grant me, O Almighty and Merciful Lord. Amen.
Blessed Jesus, who art about to come to us thy unworthy servants in the Blessed Sacrament of thy Body and Blood, prepare our hearts, we beseech thee, for thyself. Grant us that repentance for our past sins, that faith in the Atonement made for them by thee upon the Cross, that full purpose of amend- ment of life, that perfect love to thee and all men, that shall fit us to receive thee. Lord, we are not worthy that shouldest come under our roof, much less that we should receive thee into ourselves, but since thou didst not disdain to be laid in a manger amidst unclean beasts, so vouchsafe to enter into our souls and bodies, unclean though they may be through many defilements. Lord, come to us, that thou mayst cleanse us. Lord, come to us that thou mayst heal us. Lord, come to us that thou mayst strengthen us. And grant that having received thee, we may never be separated from thee by our sins, but may continue thine forever, till we see thee face to face in thy heavenly kingdom, where with the Father and the Holy Ghost, thou livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.
O sacred Feast! wherein Christ is received; the memory of
THE HOLY COMMUNION. 65
his Passion is brought to our remembrance; our souls are ful- filled with grace, and the pledge of eternal glory is given us. Alleluia.
O Almighty Lord of heaven and earth, behold I, an unworthy sinner, desire to offer up unto thee by the hands of thy minis- ter, the mystical and commemorative sacrifice of the Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, in union with the one true sac- rifice, which he offered up to thee upon the Cross. I desire to offer it, first, for thine own honour, praise, adoration and glory; secondly, in remembrance of his Death and Passion; thirdly, in thanksgiving for all thy blessings bestowed on him on his whole Church, whether triumphant in heaven or militant on earth, and especially for those bestowed upon me, the most unworthy of all; fourthly, for obtaining pardon and remission of all my sins, and of those of all others for whom I ought to pray; and lastly, for obtaining all graces and blessings, for both myself and for the whole mystical Body of thy Son, that such as are alive may finish their course with joy, and that such as are dead in the Lord may rest in peace and hope, and rise in glory : for the Lord's sake, whose death we are about to commemorate. Amen.
O Saving Victim, opening wide
The gate of heaven to man below ; Our foes press on from every side;
Thine aid supply, thy strength bestow.
All praise and thanks to thee ascend,
Forevermore blest One in Three: O grant us life that shall not end
In our true native land with thee. Amen.
(5)
^ EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
XIV.
HOLY ORDER.
I. Holy Order. The Sacrament of Holy Order confers grace on those who receive it for the office and work of the ministry. The commission for ordaining men to the ministry was given by our Lord to the Apostles (St. Matt. xxviii, 19, 20) in these words : "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." And when he himself ordained the Apostles to their ministry he said over them these words (St. John xx, 22, 23) : "Receive ye the Holy Ghost ; Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." The Apostles in turn commissioned others to this ministry, bishops to succeed them in their own Apostolic office, priests and dea- cons to assist the bishops in caring for the Church, administer- ing the sacraments, and preaching the Gospel.
The Church has thought it in accordance with the mind of Christ to restrict the right of conferring the sacrament of Order to the bishops who throughout all the ages have repeated very much the same formula at ordination times. The proper recipients of this sacrament are men who, feeling themselves called to the work of the ministry, make adequate preparation therefor, are tested and examined by proper authority, and submit themselves to the obedience of their canonical bishop, either in the work of priests or of deacons. Bishops are elected in America by the representatives of the clerg^'- and laity in Convention, and then consecrated to their office by other bishops appointed for that purpose by the Presiding Bishop of the Church. Bishops in the Church of England are nominated by the Crown and elected by the chapter of the Cathedral, in the Church of Rome they are appointed by the Pope.
The fact that the Church restricts ordination and consecra-
THE LESSER SACRAMENTS. 67
tion of bishops to her bishops and recognizes only those who can estabhsh such episcopal consecration or ordination, thus tracing their authority back to the Apostles themselves, is called the doctrine of the Apostolical Succession, Only priests and bishops of the Apostolical Succession have the right to minis- ter in our churches.
The various Protestant societies, at the time of the Reforma- tion, repudiated the necessity of episcopal ordination, in most cases aboHshed the office of bishop, and set up independent ministries. The English Church, though it repudiated the authority of the Pope, retained the Apostolic ministry of bish- ops, priests and deacons, and has always taken great care that her ministers should be validly and regularly ordained and commissioned. The Church has never recognized the right of seceding groups of her members to set up independent minis- tries of their own.
II. The Anglican Ministry. The Anglican Communion consists of a number of independent but closely-allied churches, all professing the same faith and order, all having the three grades of ministers — bishops, priests and deacons. These churches are the the Church of England, the Church of Eng- land in Canada, the Church of England in the British Colonies and in Heathen Lands, The Church of England in Australia, the Church of England in New Zealand, The Church of Ire- land, The Episcopal Church of Scotland, the Province of South Africa, and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
All these National Churches are divided into provinces, con- sisting of groups of dioceses, over which an Archbishop pre- sides. The leading Archbishop of a national Church is usually called a Primate. The American Church, though it is divided into eight provinces, has not adopted the titles of Primate or Archbishop. The leading bishop of our Church is called The Presiding Bishop of the Church. He is always the senior bishop in point of consecration, and at present is the Bishop of Missouri. The heads of the provinces in the American Church
68 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
are elected by Bishop, clergy and lay deputies present, and are called Presidents of the Provincial Synods.
Each diocese is presided over by a Bishop, elected by the Diocesan Convention, with the consent of a majority of the bishops and dioceses of the Church. He may be assisted in episcopal work by a Bishop-Coadjutor (who has the right of succession to the see), or by a Bishop-Suffragan (who has not the right of succession). The city in which a bishop resides is called his see. A missionary jurisdiction (not yet erected into a diocese) is presided over by a Missionary Bishop, who is elected by the House of Bishops or General Convention when in session.
A diocese consists of parishes in union with the Diocesan Con- vention. The ecclesiastical authority of a parish is usually the Rector, Wardens and Vestry. The rector must be a priest, the wardens and vestrymen are laymen who have charge of the temporal affairs of the parish. Curates are the assistant min- isters to the rector of a parish. A rector is elected by the members of a parish or by the vestry of a parish, with the consent of the Bishop. A Vicar is the head of a parish, who is not elected by a vestry or parishioners, but is appointed by the ecclesiastical authority. The tenure of office of bishops and rectors is permanent, of all other ecclesiastical officers it is at the pleasure of the appointing power or for a definite term of years.
A Cathedral is the church where the Bishop has his seat or throne. The rector of a cathedral church is called the Dean; the assistant ministers of cathedral churches are called Canon^s,
An Archdeacon is the missionary assistant to the bishop. Rural Deans and Deans of Convocation (the name differs in different dioceses) are the leaders in the missionary work, but are elected by the Diocesan Convention, whereas the arch- deacon is appointed by the bishop.
Deacons are always assistants, and by canon cannot hold independent positions in the Church.
Deacons and priests are addressed as "The Reverend"; arch-
THE LESSER SACRAMENTS. 69
deacons as "The Venerable" ; deans as "The Very Reverend" bishops as "The Right Reverend" ; archbishops and primates as "The Most Reverend," and "His Grace."
The American Church is governed by a General Convention^ which meets every three years, consisting of two houses — the House of Bishops (in which only diocesan bishops and bishops- coadjutor vote), and the House of Deputies (composed of four clerical and four lay deputies from each diocese, elected by the Diocesan Convention).
70 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
XV.
PENANCE, MATRIMONY, UNCTION.
I. Penance. During our Lord's ministry he promised the Apostles authority to forgive and to retain sins in his name; "Whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." {St. Matt. xvi. 19; xviii, 18; St. John xx, 21-23.) Instances of the exercise of this power may be found in the writings of St. Paul (e. g., / Cor. V, 3-5; // Cor. ii, 10; / Tim. i. 20). In some form this authority to remit and retain sins has always been exercised in the Church. Belief in it may be traced through all the writings of the ancient Fathers and theologians. In early times the administration of Penance was in most cases public, and rarely private. From the fifth century on it became customary for confession and absolution to be made in private. It has been retained in all branches of the Catholic Church, as witnessed, e. g., by our own Ordinal. The form of Absolution usually employed in our Church may be found in the office for the Visitation of the Sick in the English Prayer Book. The meaning of Penance is simply this : in any case where a person is not satisfied with the private confession of his sins to God he is permitted by the Church to make his confession to a priest, who if satisfied of his repentance and desire of amendment pronounces the absolution on earth which God ratifies, accord- ing to Christ's promise, in heaven. The Church of Rome re- quires confession of her members at least once a year; the American Church leaves the question of private confession absolutely to the conscience of the individual. The priest who hears confessions is bound, of course, on pain of mortal sin, never to tell, refer to, or act upon anything he hears in con- fession. Since the Reformation the practice of habitual con- fession has fallen more or less into disuse amongst Anglican Christians. This has been due not to any doubt the Church has had as to the value and reality of the sacrament, but because of certain abuses connected with obligatory confession in the
THE LESSER SACRAMENTS. n
Middle Ages. Recently the practice has spread amongst our people, as they find, upon experience, something of its power and helpfulness in leading the Christian Hfe. Some of the considerations that might lead Christians of to-day to ask themselves if confession may not be desirable for them are these: (1) it is a great act of self-humihation and penance; no one, when not required, would be apt to confess his sins to a priest unless he were sincerely sorry for them, and desired in a special manner the assurance of God's pardon; (2) when one has committed a grave sin, the very act of confessing it goes to deepen the sense of its awfulness; the sinner no longer trusts himself, but submits himself to the judgment of one ordained by God to deal with this very problem of sin; (3) a person who goes to confession puts himself in such a relation to the priest whom he trusts that the priest may give him wise counsel; (4) the sense of forgiveness, received sacramentally, in God's appointed way, is a great help in reformation; (5) the knowledge that he is going to confess his sins to a priest is a great check upon temptation.
Methods of self-examination and instructions for confession may be found in any manual of devotion or may be had by consultation with a clergyman of the Church.
It is sometimes argued by persons who do not believe in sac- ramental confession that it is weakening and dangerous. In reply to that it may be said that such criticisms are invariably made by people who never practice it, and therefore can know little about it. It is to be noted, however, that there is no obhgation on the part of members of our Church to use the sacrament of Penance. The Church provides the op- portunity for her children if they desire to use confession, but she leaves them free to do so or not, as they see fit. The Church teaches very plainly that private confession to God alone is sufficient for forgiveness, but she gives those whose consciences may not be set at rest thereby the privilege of confessing to a priest.
II. Holy Matrimony. At Cana of Galilee our Lord gave his
il EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
divine sanction to Marriage, and at a later time in his ministry he reaffirmed the sacred character of the marriage bond, (St. Matt, xix, 4-6.) It is essential to a valid marriage that there be no impediment, such as relationship within certain degrees, or the existing marriage of either person; and also that both parties deliberately and openly consent. The ministers of this sacrament are the contracting parties, the priest being a wit- ness, and bestowing the blessing of God upon what they have done. The effect of Marriage is to connect indissolubly the man and woman in the marriage relation, and if they be worthy recipients of the sacrament, to give them grace for right living in the married state. Our Lord taught that remarriage after divorce was adultery, except apparently in one case (St. Matt. V. 31, 32) when he permits the husband to put away the wife for one serious cause and to re-marry. The interpretation of this text, however, is disputed by many theologians. The American Church law permits the remarriage of the innocent party in a divorce for adultery. This law is not acceptable, however, to many Churchmen, and there can be found few priests who will re-marry divorced persons under any circum- stances.
III. Unction. This is an ancient sacrament which has fallen into almost complete disuse amongst Anglican Christians, and in the Church of Rome is administered only to the dying. It is the anointing of the sick with consecrated oil, accompanied by prayer for recovery. The Scriptural warrant for the sacra- ment is found in St. James v, 14, 15. *Ts any sick amongst you? let him call for the elders of the Church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord : and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up : and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." Many persons feel that this sacrament should be revived amongst us, particularly as an antidote to the vagaries of Christian Science healing. The 1913 General Convention ap- pointed a committee to set forth an appropriate office, as none exists in the present English or American Prayer Book.
BIBLE READING. 73
XVI.
BIBLE READING.
Religion, as we learn it from Christ, concerns itself with the whole man, with every department of his conscious activity. It seeks to captivate his will and bring it into complete and continuous subjection to the will of God; it seeks to win his heart so that the love of God shall completely fill it, not ex- pelHng other natural affections, but colouring and informing them with its superior passion; it seeks to be the main-spring of his action, so that all his intercourse with his fellows and his use of the gifts of nature and of his own body shall be directed toward moral ends ; and it seeks to discipline his mind, to preserve him from error with regard to facts and to train his reasoning powers so that he shall interpret facts correctly, to the end that he may have an ever-deepening appreciation of the truth. Rehgion aims to direct the whole activity toward God — to make an at-one-ment between man's hfe and God's Ufe.
We pay too Httle attention to the intellectual side of our faith. We learn the rudiments in Sunday School, perhaps; and then, just when we are fitted by that early study for some real pro- gress in religious knowledge, our education stops. We do not prepare ourselves for "strong meat" but are content with "milk for babes." The result is that our spiritual lives are not well- rounded; we lose the sense of the proportion of the faith; and too often end by holding, with the easy-going world, that exceedingly vain and foolish idea that it does not make any difference what we think about things but only what we do.
God speaks to us in all the uses of the world, but he speaks to us in a pecuHar and personal way in the pages of the Bible. And the surest, sanest way of taking care of our minds is by the study and the faithful reading of his Word. It is the glory of our Church that she reads more Scripture to her people than any Church in Christendom; but it is doubtful if our
74 EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
people are as faithful readers of their Bibles as our good friends the Presbyterians or the Methodists or the members of some other churches that we might name.
There are some great debates going on about the Bible be- tween Christian and non-Christian men, and the result of these controversies is that we are learning more and more about the Bible, and of some things in the Bible we have to think as our fathers did not; but the Bible is justifying itself as the great spiritual charter of the race, the great record of God's dealings with his people, and a peculiar means of his revelation to us, of his will and love for us. In the Bible is the great account of the life and teaching of our Saviour. There are problems still — e. g., it is impossible to define just how this book is inspired; but research and experience are abundantly proving, as our Church has wisely said, that it "contains all things necessary for salvation." We ought to read it — there is no doubt about our duty there — and some suggestions may be made in this connection that will perhaps prove helpful.
I. The Bible should he read regularly and systematically. The value of regularity in any study will not be disputed; regularity forms habit and makes work easy and agreeable. People who acknowledge that they only read their Bibles irreg- ularly will usually also have to confess, if pressed, that they do not read them at all. A definite time should be appointed and kept, so far as may be ; fifteen minutes daily for the devotional reading of the Bible is not impossible for even the busiest man or woman; but to take even so much time from the idlest life requires a degree of steadfastness and determination that it is well to make up the mind to in advance. By system is meant method. The poorest way to read the Bible is to read where you happen to open it. You are as apt to open II Chronicles as the Gospels. All parts of the Bible are not of equal value. Let the bulk of your reading be done in those parts that are of the greatest spiritual value. One may suggest that for spiritual purposes the Bible might be arranged as foJlows, regarding
BIBLE READING. 7S
those that come first as of the most importance : — The Gospels, the Psalms, the great Epistles of St. Paul, St. John and St. James, Isaiah, the rest of the New Testament, the old Hebrew stories in Genesis, Exodus, I and II Samuel, etc., Proverbs, the Minor prophets, the rest of the Old Testament. A good way to do is to take a book a month or two or three books a year; using the important ones over and over. Many persons Hke to read a chapter a day, and that is an excellent idea ; but is is well to remember that it is more helpful to read a short por- tion of scripture carefully, think over its meaning, and use it as a suggestion in devotion, than it is daily to cover a good deal of ground that may be read hurriedly and carelessly. It is a good plan to map out a course of Bible reading in advance; make a table and check off the portions as they are read or studied. The amount of ground that can be covered by a daily fifteen-minute reading is really quite remarkable. If any one cares for the advice, it is safe to say that your parish priest or any clergyman of your acquaintance will gladly give you a list of profitable Bible-readings.
II. The Bible should be read devotionally, that is, it should be read thoughtfully and with prayer. The foundation of devo- tion is the knowledge that we gain of God from Holy Scrip- ture. The Bible, when read properly, should always stimulate us to prayer and good works. It is a means of grace, a way of getting strength and help from God that is very much akin to the way in which we get help and strength from God by prayer and the sacraments. There is sometimes the danger of formal- ism in devotion — i, e., the mere mechanical performance of duties previously determined upon, the thoughtless utterance of set prayers, the indifferent reading of set passages. The only way of avoiding this is to bring the will to bear upon the mat- ter, to carry out the routine despite coldness and the sense of irksomeness, and to put into effect the resolutions that are bound to be suggested to us from time to time. Prayer, devo- tion, spiritual reading, resolution, are to the spiritual life as the
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sun and rain are to plants and flowers. They are the only effectual means of raising our souls above the trials and troubles of Hfe into a region of calm where we hear the voice of God and feel the reaUty of "things above."
III. The reading of the Bible is profitable, St. Paul says, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. It is the record of God's dealings with man- kind, God's will for men, revealed in a long line of prophets, priests, kings, heroes, saints, and supremely in the person and teaching of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. It is the great law-code of the Kingdom of God, by which we are to pattern our lives; the standard by which we are to reprove and correct them. It is the great text-book of righteousness, replete with the principles and precepts that may make us wise unto salvation. If we are really in earnest in our Christian life, really desirous of developing in spiritual knowledge and power, we shall hardly neglect a method or help for its cultivation which the experience and wisdom of all the Christian centuries have proved so effective.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 7J
XVII.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
I. The Old Testament.
The Old Testament (OT) was written in Hebrew. The oldest extant manuscript of the whole OT dates from A. D. 1230, though there are various manuscripts of an earlier date containing parts. The text is determined by scholars who compare all the manuscripts and the ancient versions (i. e. old translations of the OT from Hebrew into Greek, Latin, etc.). The text accepted by the Anglican Church is that from which our Authorized Version was translated in IblL Jewish scribes were very careful in making copies of the Scriptures, so that we can be confident that we have a correct text dating from before the time of Christ, although the most ancient manuscripts have been lost.
The Canon. The Canon of Scripture means the rule as to what books are to be accounted inspired. We have records of the Council of Jamnia, a synod held by the Jews in B. C. 90, which proves that all the books of the OT were accounted canonical at that time except Joshua, Judges, Chronicles, and several of the minor prophets. From other evidence it is proved that these books also were held to be Scripture by the Jewish Church. The Christian Church adopted the Jewish Canon of the OT as it stood. The OT is divided into three parts: (i) The Pentateuch (the so-called five books of Moses) ; (ii) The Prophets; (iii) The Holy Writings (Psalms, Job, Esther, etc.). In olden times it was generally supposed that all the books of the OT were composed by the men whose names occur in the title. Modem biblical criticism, employing meth- ods of investigation unknown to our fathers, has arrived at different conclusions.
The Pentateuch. (Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Num- bers, Leviticus.) It was formerly supposed that these books were written by Moses about as we have them. This has be^i
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proved not to be the case. They are a compilation, composed during various stages of Israel's history, and woven together by different editors. It is impossible in short space to give proof of this analysis, but the result may be summarized as follows : There were two original documents, composed in Judah and Ephraim about the 6th-8th centuries B. C. These two documents contained outlines of Israel's history from the Creation to their own time. They contain a good portion of the historical narratives of the Pentateuch. By 621 B. C. these two documents were woven together and legal matter added by the author who is mainly responsible for Deuteronomy. In Babylonia after the Exile, Ezra, or one of his disciples, re- edited the Pentateuch, and added Leviticus, in which the whole state of Israel's religion is sketched as it existed at the time of the return from Exile. Thus it will be seen that the Penta- teuch was a gradual compilation, and represents the Law, as it was first given by Moses, and developed through the centuries of Jewish history. The date at which the Pentateuch was com- pleted substantially as we have it is about 444 B. C. The books of Joshua and Judges have been analyzed in similar fashion. This criticism of the Pentateuch has thrown great light upon the actual course of Israel's history, which has never been cor- rectly understood.
The authorship, date of composition, and purpose of the other books of the OT may be briefly summarized. Ruth: author's name is unknown; the book was probably written after the Exile (i.e., the third century B. C.) as a protest against the prohibition of mixed marriages. Samuel: Kings: these books are compilations somewhat like the Pentateuch, com- posed by different hands, at different stages of history, and took their present form about 444 B. C. The his- torical books treat of the crucial events and main Hues of the history of Israel — the Exodus, the Conquest, the establish- ment, development and fall of the Monarchy. With the history are interwoven many legends and folk-lore stories which have come down from prehistoric times. They are largely con-
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. '^
cerned with the development of the Mosaic law, and trace the Jew's conduct and attitude toward the one God — Jehovah. Chronicles: Ezra: Nehemiah: are later historical books, com- posed after the Exile, for the purpose of recasting the history, and carrying it on up to a later period. They are compilations from older historical books which have been lost Ezra and Nehemiah were composed largely by the men whose names they bear. The book of Esther is rather an historical story than a history. It was composed about 200 B. C. Job: this book was written by an unknown author during the Exile. It is a dramatic poem, worked up from an old legend, designed to exhibit one man's religious experience. The Psalms are a collection of the hymns used by the Jews in public worship and private devotion. A few may have been composed by David; most of them date from the Exile and later. Proverbs is a compilation of proverbial sayings, added to from age to age, and took its final form about the time of the return from Exile. Ecclesiastes: a late book composed after the Exile by an unknown author. The entire Psalter was formerly wrongly assigned to David, and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes to Solomon. The Song of Songs is a marriage ode, wrongly as- cribed to Solomon, actually composed after the Exile. Isaiah is really two books, known as "First Isaiah" and "Second Isaiah," the first composed by Isaiah, son of Amos, about 700 B. C, the second by an unknown author after the Exile. The first is directed against Assyria and Egypt, the second is a Messianic prophecy,
Jeremiah and Lamentations were composed by the Prophet Jeremiah at the time of the Assyrian invasion of Israel. Ezekiel was composed by Ezekiel about 575 B. C, during the Exile in Babylon. He sketches the constitution of the restored Israel. Daniel was composed by an unknown author about 168 B. C. It is not history but an apocalypse (i. e., a forecast of the coming of Messiah and the Last Day). Hosea is a prophecy against Assyria dating about the eighth century, B. C. Joel is a late prophecy dating about the third century, B. C. Amos
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about 750 B. C. Ohadiah: nothing is known with certainty. Jonah was written by an unknown author after the Exile. It is not a history, but a story with a moral. Micah, about the eighth century B. C. Nahum, seventh century B. C. Habak- kuk, sixth century B. C. Zephaniah, seventh century B. C. Haggai, about 500 B. C. Zechariah, 520 B. C. (last six chap- ters after the Exile). Malachi is anonymous. "Malachi" means "my messenger." It was written about the fifth century B. C
This seems very uninteresting information, but unless we know when the books of the OT were written and what were the historical circumstances of which they treat, we cannot get a clear idea of the course of Israel's history.
English Versions.
Sixteenth Century. WycUff's version (first complete transla- tion).
Sixteenth Century. Tyndale's and Coverdale's versions.
1611. Authorized version (King James' version). All of these Enghsh versions were based on the previous Latin ver- sions. The King James' version is a new translation from the original tongues.
1881 Revised Version, translated by a committee of scholars called together by the Church of England. This transla- tion was made from the original Hebrew, and compared with every existing manuscript and version of the Bible. It is the most accurate version of the Scriptures in any tongue. Where it differs from the Authorized version the American Church permits its readings to be used in Church. It is the basis of all serious study of the OT for those who do not understand Hebrew,
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 81
XVIII.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
II. The Apocrypha.
In every complete Bible between the Old Testament and the New Testament will be found fourteen books or parts of books : / Esdras (written between 170 and 100 B. C.) ; H Esdras (80 A. D.) ; Tohit (between 170 and 100 B. C) ; Judith (100 B. C.) ; Esther (between 170 and 100 B. C.) ; Wisdom of Solo- mon (4 B. C.) ; Ecclesiasticus (180 B. C.) ;Baruch (320 B.C.— 70 A. D.) ; Song of the Three Children (168 B. C.) ; The Story of Stisanna (100 B. C.) ; The Idol Bel and the Dragon (After 160 B. C.) ; The Prayer of Manasses (170 and 100 B. C.) ; / Maccabees (100 B. C.) ; H Maccabees (10 B. C).
These books were in all the early Christian Bibles and con- tinued to be part of every Bible until about 1820, when the Scotch Presbyterians and others in England attacked them and succeeded in persuading the British and Foreign Bible Society to leave them out of the Bibles which they issued. This was done against the protest of the members of the Society who belonged to the Church of England. In our own country the Episcopal Church at the time was very small, but the leaders of our Church also protested. However, The American Bible Society, which at that time was getting most of its Bibles from England, followed the example of the British Society. The great publication society of the Church of England, called The Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, has always published a complete Bible. The complete Bible, that is, the Bible which contains the Apocr3'pha, is the official Bible both of the Church of England and of our own Church.
The word "Apocrypha" originally had a laudatory meaning and was applied to writings considered so valuable and sacred that they could only be disclosed to the initiated, for, as was said, "In them is the spring of imderstanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowled^" (6)
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In general it may be said that there are two early forms of the Old Testament. One was the Jewish OT, which was used by rather a small number of Jews who Hved in Syria. This did not contain the books of the Apocrypha. The Jews of Alexandria and the large number of those dispersed through- out the world had the OT which had been translated into Greek and which afterwards became widely known as the Septuagint. The Septuagint OT contained the books which we now call the books of the Apocrypha. The early Christian Church used this larger OT, so that the Septuagint OT be- came the Christian Bible. As soon as the books of the New Testament began to be written, these were incorporated, one by one, into what might be called the Early Christian Bible, and by about the year 100 A. D. the Bible of the Church was thus completed. The Council of Hippo, 393 A. D., and the Council of Carthage, 397 A. D., drew up a list of canonical books. That list is practically the same as the list of books to be found in every complete Bible — that is to say, every Bible which includes the Apocr3^pha within its covers. Early in the history of the Bible, St. Jerome made a distinction. He thought only the books of the OT that had been written in Hebrew ought to be considered canonical. He apparently was unaware that many of the books of the Apocrypha were written in Hebrew. He thought all the so-called Apocryphal books had been written in Greek. At the same time he realized the value of the books of the Apocrypha. He took the position that the books of the Apocrypha, or, as they were called in our sixth article of religion, "the other Books," should be read for example of life and instruction of manners, but not to estab- lish any doctrine. The English Church and a large part of the so-called Protestant Church at the beginning held the same opinion. For instance, the Geneva Bible speaks as follows: "As books proceeding from godly men [they] were received to be read for the advancement and furtherance of the knowl- edge of history and for the instruction of godly manners: which books declare that at all times God had an especial care
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 83
of his Church, and left them not utterly destitute of teachers and means to confirm them in the hope of the promised Mes- siah."
The Apocrypha bridges the gap between the last book of the Old Testament and the first book of the New. No one can understand the New Testament who is ignorant of the Apoc- rypha. There are many quotations from the Apocrypha in the New Testament writings. In addition, the books of the Apocrypha give the history of God's dealings during these three hundred years with "the chosen people."
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XIX.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
III. The New Testament.
The New Testament (NT) (Covenant) is that part of the Bible which deals with the covenant predicted by Jeremiah (xxxi, 31) and confirmed by our Lord Jesus Christ {St. Mark xvi, 24; Hebrews vii, 22). It consists of records of Christ's life, death, and resurrection ; an account of the early churches and the lives of some of the missionary leaders ; a number of letters to churches and individual persons, treating of Chris- tian truth and Church polity, and the Revelation, a mystical prophecy. Our Lord's Ascension occurred in the year 29. For a period of about forty years the teaching was by word of mouth ; the books of the NT were written gradually and were not col- lected into one book before the middle of the second century. From the year 65 on, a number of Gospels (accounts of Christ's life and teachings) were composed, of which at length the Church accepted four which it admitted in the canon of authoritative books of Holy Scripture. These four were our Gospels, called St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. It has become evident to modern scholars, from the study of the Gospels themselves and from certain allusions in ancient writers, that these four depended on more ancient ac- counts which have been lost.
The earliest Gospel is St. Mark; it was composed for the Roman Christians about the year 65. It was written by John Mark, at one time the companion of St. Paul, and afterwards "the interpreter" of St. Peter. It is the written account of St. Peter's oral teaching, the substance of St. Peter's sermons.
The next Gospel to be written was St. Matthew. This was composed by an unknown author and based on our present Gospel of St. Mark, on a collection of sayings written in Ara- maic /the language of Palestine) by the Apostle Matthew, and other oral teaching, the origin of which cannot be traced (e. g.,
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 85
the stories of the Infancy). It was composed about the year 68, though many scholars think it about five or ten years later.
St. Luke's Gospel was written not much later than the year 70 by St. Luke the physician, a companion of St. Paul on his missionary journeys. It was based on the Apostle Matthew's Aramaic Sayings of Jesus, on St. Mark's Gospel, and on special sources which have been lost. St. Luke probably got much of his special matter from the oral teaching of St. Paul, and many think (especially his account of the Infancy) from the Blessed Virgin herself.
These three Gospels are commonly called the Synoptic Gos- pels, and represent the same general tradition. Did we only possess these three, we would find in them all the essential arti- cles of Christian faith. But we owe a great debt to St. John for writing a "spiritual" Gospel, a clearer exposition of Christ's life and teaching and its theological significance. St. John wrote his Gospel in his old age toward the end of the first century. He doubtless knew the other three, but wrote quite independently of them, from his own point of view, with the design of bringing out more clearly our Lord's divine nature. A great many scholars doubt St. John's authorship of this Gos- pel, but the ancient tradition is very strong, and the Church has ever accepted it. St. John's authorship is defended by many leading scholars.
The Acts of the Apostles was written by St. Luke probably not long after the composition of his Gospel. It Is based on oral accounts of the early days of the Jerusalem Church, upon St. Paul's own accounts of his missionary journeys, and Into the second half is woven a diary kept by St. Luke during his travels in company with St. Paul. We can trace this diary wherever St. Luke uses "we" in telling his story. The Acts describe the spread of the Gospel in Jerusalem, In Judea and Samaria, in Syria and surrounding countries, and finally under the leadership of St. Paul to Rome and Europe. In the first half of the book St. Peter is the principal figure, in the second half St. Paul.
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It was St. Paul's habit, after he had left a church which he had founded, to send letters to it on doctrinal and practical subjects, somewhat in the fashion in which bishops nowadays send pastoral letters to the churches of their dioceses. Many of these letters have doubtless been lost, but a number of them have been preserved, which the Church has accepted as as the writings of inspired men, and has admitted therefore in- to the canon of scripture. A list is appended below with the ap- proximate dates at which they were written. It will be seen that they are the first books of the NT to have been written.
A. D. 53, / and // Thessalonians.
A. D. 57, / and // Corinthians, Galatians, Romans.
A. D. 62, 63, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Philippians (written when St. Paul was in captivity at Rome).
A. D. 65, Titus, I and // Timothy. (These last are called "pastoral" epistles because they have to do with the duties of ministers.)
There remain several other books of the NT : —
The Epistle to the Hebrews, a theological treatise on our Lord's sacrifice, composed about the year 70 by an unknown author. It has been assigned with more or less probability in each case to St. Paul, St. Barnabas, Apollos, Clement of Rome, Priscilla.
The Epistle of St. James was probably written by St. James, the Lord's brother, the first head of the Church at Jerusalem. Its date is to be assigned some time between the years 50-60 A. D.
The First Epistle of St. Peter was written by St. Peter about the year 62.
The Second Epistle of St. Peter is a late work, probably written about the middle of the second century by an unknown author. It is wrongly ascribed to St. Peter.
The Epistle of St. Jude was probably written at an early date by St. Jude, the Lord's brother.
The three Epistles of St. John were probably written by St. John the Apostle toward the end of the first century.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 87
The Revelation of St. John the Divine. Some think it was written by the Apostle John in the reign of Nero (about 65), others by him in the reign of Diocletian (about 95). Other scholars think that it is a late anonymous work wrongly as- cribed to St. John. The question is a dififi.cult one and has not been solved.
It is helpful to read the NT with these points in view. First the Gospels, then the Acts, the Epistles of St. Paul, St. James, St. John, and Hebrews, and / Peter.
Other books during the first two centuries were regarded in different parts of the Church as being Holy Scripture, but in the middle of the second century the canon was settled, and since then there has never been any serious doubt that all the books in the NT ought to be there. We must remember that it was the Church, gathered in council, that authorized the Holy Scriptures, and provided us with the authoritative inter- pretation of the Bible in her creeds, ofiSces, Hturgy, and decrees of general councils.
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XX.
RULE OF LIFE.
It has been the wisdom of the Church to systematize her doctrine, her worship and her practice, — those three elements of the spiritual life that appeal to the intellect, the heart and the will of men. We have the essence of Christian doctrine set forth in the Creeds; Christian worship is outhned in the Book of Common Prayer; and Christian practice, developed under the three "notable duties" commended by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, is set forth in the lives of the saints. Although on every hand we find the evidence of such system- atic presentation of the Faith, it has also been the wisdom of the Church to leave to the individual a large liberty in his own thought and practice. In the matter of Christian practice, for example, the Church has concerned herself with urging upon her children general principles rather than with instructing them in details. But, although the principles of Christian living are widely accepted, they frequently fail of effective applica- tion. It is an ancient custom amongst Christians for those who seriously undertake to live the spiritual life, to make for them- selves rules of life; to systematize, in the spirit of Christ's teaching, the observance of Christian duties. We employ system with success in every department of life; it is imreason- able not to do so in our reHgious life. People often imagine that rules, principles, system, interfere with freedom. On the contrary, they guarantee freedom ; for system means order, regularity, habit; those who undertake to live without system find themselves free only to get into trouble and make mis- takes. Ideally speaking, it is much finer to regard the life of the spirit as a spontaneous communion with God ; to look upon worship as the unfailing free-will offering of the lips ; and to suppose the Christian virtues to be innate graces that flower as a matter of course in the soul. But we forget that our religion is the means of salvation for a sinful race which has Ic^st that perfect communion with God by age-long disobedience; that
A RULE OF LIFE. 89
Christian faith is a medicine for sick souls; that Christian practice is a school for righteousness ; and that Christian virtue and Christian character, though they are the gift of God, need persistent cultivation at our hands. The whole conception of Christianity is that it is guidance in a life-struggle to win back something the soul has lost. Common sense should teach us that Christian practice, if followed systematically, may be by way of accomplishing something definite with us, some measur- able approach to the ideal life; whereas, if we allow ourselves to drift, guided only by caprice and inclination, we are apt to miss the very best our religion can give us.
There are few Christians who would not live more deeply and effectively if they endeavoured to live by rule. It is our purpose to suggest a simple rule, made up not of "the coun- sels of perfection" but of the ordinary duties that are in real- ity incumbent upon every Christian. Such a rule conveniently groups itself about the three "notable duties" commended by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, which he introduces by the expressions : (i) — "When thou prayest; .... ; (ii) — "When thou doest thine alms; . . . . ; and (iii) — "When ye fast; . . ."
I. Prayer. 1. Private Devotion. It is common for people to pray only at night, as if we needed God's protection more when we confide ourselves to sleep than we do when we go forth to meet the duties and temptations of the day. We should pray at least twice a day, and set aside for our prayers at least a short time which we will not sacrifice to weariness, work, or dryness of spirit. There is a passage in Bishop An- drewes's Devotions that is suggestive in the formation of a rule of prayer. "Do I pray, if not seven times, as David, yet at least thrice, as Daniel? If not, as Solomon, at length, yet shortly, as the publican? If not like Christ, the whole night, at least for one hour? If not on the ground and in ashes, at least not m my bed? If not in sackcloth, at least not in purple and fine linen? If not altogether free from all, at least freed from
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immoderate desires?" And in this connection it may be sug- gested that most persons will find it helpful to possess a manual of devotion, not for invariable, but for occasional use. Our prayers need suggestion and stimulus just as our thoughts do.
There are two other particulars about private devotion that we should have in mind, beside setting aside a definite time or times for prayer: (i) The duty of intercession, that is, prayer for others, and those not only of our immediate circle of family and friends, but for the whole estate of Christ's Church. We should pray for the working of God's will everywhere, for all who need. Oftentimes prayer is all we can offer. If we pray for others constantly and earnestly it is the surest way of en- larging our sympathies and our outlook ; it teaches us unselfish- ness, for it unites us in thought and aspiration with the needs and cares and hopes of others, and with God's great work everywhere, (ii) Another duty of private devotion is confes- sion; not merely a general confession of sinfulness, but a de- tailed confession of our particular sins and weaknesses. For, "if we confess our sins," we may claim the promise "that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (/ St John i, 19.) And in order to confess, we need to keep tally of our particular shortcomings, to examine ourselves, not with morbid introspection, but with the wholesome intention of amendment. Such self-examination and confession should be a frequent, if not a daily, part of our rule of private devotion. The standard by which we are to measure ourselves is the rule of God's commandments, our Saviour's teaching, and the continual practice of the Church. Can we fail to see that unless we have definite rules about these things they are likely to be neglected?
The substance of the foregoing remarks may be summed up in a simple rule such as this :
Rule 1. Of Private Prayer. I will set aside at least ten minutes every morning and every night for prayer. (More, if you can; hardly less.) And I will try to pray regularly and faithfully not only for myself and those I love, hut for all whom I believe
A RULE OF LIFE. 91
God wants me to pray for and to care for; whom our Lord prays and cares for. And I will examine myself briefly every day, and confess to God my acts of omission and my sins, and beseech his forgiveness and his help to sin no more.
After all, that is not more than God may reasonably expect of us, is it?
2. Public Worship. The duty of prayer is concerned not only with private devotion but with public worship. We are "not to forget the assembling of ourselves together," and by law and custom the first day of the week has been set aside for fulfill- ment of this obligation since the earliest days of the Church. Simple rules in this particular might be formulated as follows :
Rule 2. Of Public Worship. I will be present at least once every Sunday at divine service, unless I am prevented for some cause that I feel sure is acceptable to God. And as often as may be, I will choose for that service the Holy Communion.
Rule 3. / will endeavor, after due preparation, at least once every month to receive the Blessed Sacrament of our Lord's Body and Blood, never neglecting my Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun Day communions.
The test of a rule is to put it into practice. It is safe to say that those who endeavour to lead the spiritual life, under the guidance of a few simple rules, never give up the practice. Simple and easy though they seem, yet the keeping of them requires a good deal of resolution and effort.
II. Almsgiving. The next duty, commended by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, is introduced by the expression "When thou doest alms . . ."
The general principle that covers Almsgiving is that it should be done secretly if possible, and in every case unostentatiously or modestly. "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." {St. Matt, vi, 13.) In other words, the motive should be love for God and our fellows. Whenever unworthy motives enter into our giving— that we may be seen of men and have honour or praise from them for our generosity — the gift loses
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its value in the sight of God. You remember that the poor widow who cast but two mites into the Temple treasury in modesty and humility while the rich were making great gifts, in our Lord's eyes cast in more than they all. {St. Luke xxi, 2, 3.) The Christian soul desires to give to God out of pure love for his goodness, and to others out of sincere sympathy with those who are less fortunate than himself. "Freely ye have received, freely give."
Though "almsgiving" has come popularly to mean the giving of somewhat pitiable sums of money now and then to the poor, of course in the real, the Christian sense, it means very much more: the giving of one's self and one's service, as well as of one's worldly goods. There should be no rule about, no check upon, how much we are willing to give ; but it is wise and practicable to have a rule that, whatever happen, we will not give less than so much of ourselves or of our own. "Remem- ber the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." {Acts xx, 35.) "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, even so do to them : for this is the law and the prophets." {St. Matt, vii, 12.) "He that soweth little shall reap little; and he that soweth plente- ously shall reap plenteously. Let every man do according as he is disposed in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver." (// Cor. ix, 6, 7.) "Whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shut- teth up his compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (/ St. John iii, 7.)
The following rules are suggested as covering the minimum we may give:
Rule 4. / will seek every day the opportunity of doing some- thing in the way of service for God and my fellows.
Rule 5. / will give regularly a fixed amount of my income to God's work. (In the case of the rich and the well-to-do the Old Testament law of the tithe, or tenth part of the income, is not enough; in the case of the poor it is often beyond their
A RULE OF LIFE, 93
power to give so much.) And I will make a generous offering towards the support of the Church and its work every Sunday.
It is sometimes wise to take advice in the matter of giving for the direct reHef of individuals in poverty or distress from those who know the conditions. But beyond taking such advice it is more in the spirit of our Lord's teaching, that no one else, not even the person benefited, should know whence the help came.
III. Fasting. The third notable duty of Christians is intro- duced by our Lord by the expression, "When ye fast . . . ." He takes it for granted that his followers will fast, as well as pray and serve.
The underlying principle of Fasting is that it shall be, as far as possible, unnoticed. "Be not as the hypocrites," said Jesus, "of a sad countenance, that they may be seen of men to fast." The popular notion of Fasting as going without food by no means exhausts its meaning. In the Christian sense it em- braces every form of self-denial. There are two principal motives that should prompt us to fast: (1) denying ourselves lawful goods for the sake of others; and (2) denying ourselves desirable things for the sake of self-discipline. The first motive is so obvious as to commend itself, and is indeed the underlying principle of all Christian activity — the application to daily life of the divine principle of sacrifice. It does not seem proper therefore that we should have any special rule about self-denial for the sake of others, for all our Christian life should be the effort to live more and more for others and less and less for self. But in the matter of self-discipline it has been found valuable by many saints to make at least some rules. These rules should be simple, such as we may keep without great dif- ficulty, and with which nothing should be permitted to inter- fere. The strength of character that results in complete self- control is won by the frequent and habitual denying of self in little things. Left to our own inclination and devices we are apt to grow self-indulgent, as is the world we mostly know.
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It is a safeguard against this vice to deny ourselves daily some- thing that we like which is not necessarily wrong in itself. It has been the custom of Christians since the days of Christ to make abstinence and actual fasting from food a part of the Christian duty of fasting. There are other forms of self-denial that are perhaps as valuable, but it should seem better to us to be at one with the Church in our practice than to be singular. Some such simple rules as the following have been found valu- able:
Rule 6. / will try each day to deny myself something, and forego some pleasure for myself, that I may give to those "who need or that I may render a kindness.
Rule 7. / will practice self-denial regularly for the sake of self-discipline ; and in this connection I will observe the fasts of the Church. (The days of abstinence are all Fridays in the year, except Christmas Day; the Ember Days at the four sea- sons ; the Rogation Days in the spring ; and the forty days of Lent. The fast days are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It is also the ancient rule of the Church to receive the Holy Communion fasting. Abstinence is usually taken to mean, going without flesh food; sometimes to mean, foregoing the luxuries of the table. Fasting means going without food. There is little danger of injuring our health by fasting or abstinence; much more frequently danger to health lies in the neglect than in the observance of this duty.)
The rules suggested cover hardly more than what most Christians will acknowledge as their obvious duties. They are not "counsels of perfection." They are meant to be safeguards, suggestions, promptings. Keeping them will not save us, much less make us perfect ; but experience has abundantly proved that they will help our inner spiritual lives, which should be an ever- deepening communion with God as we live more and more in accordance with his will.
IV. Self=Examination.* There remains one necessary fac-
* This i? discussed fully in the next chapter.
A RULE OF LIFE. 95
tor of a rule of life — the duty of self-examination, frequently as to our entire lives in our daily prayers and before Holy Communion, and occasionally as to how how we have kept our rule.
Rule 8. / will examine myself at Christmas, Easter and Michaelmas (St. Michael's Day) as to how I have kept my rule; confess my failures to God; renew my resolutions, and strive to amend myself,
A Rule of Life is, of course, only a means to an end; a device to capture the attention and regulate the impulses; and like the rules of every other undertaking, it is subservient to the object in view and the goal to be attained. For Christians the goal is the Kingdom of God — that is, the formation of such righteous character as shall fit them to be members of it and extend its blessings to others. Rules are but the practical appli- cation of Christian principles. Let us be humble enough, if for any reason our lives seem to be at variance with our principles, to try such a device as the making and keeping of a Rule of Life concerning those obvious duties to which our membership in Christ commits us,
96 EPISCOTAL CHURCH.
XXI. SELF-EXAMINATION.
In the previous chapter stress was laid upon self-examination as a part of daily devotion, and particularly before Holy Com- munion. The reason why it is an important discipUne of the spiritual life is easily stated. The great concern of Chris- tianity in the world is the sanctification of the individual soul; and to that end it seeks to do away with sin. It is not sufficient merely to have accepted Christ as a Saviour. That indeed is the first and essential step ; but it is only the intro- duction to the gradual and lifelong process of conforming our- selves to the pattern of Christ, or, as it may better be put, of making ourselves at one with Christ, or forming Christ within us. One of the most important means of grace is Confession, either to God directly or as a penitent seeking the absolution and counsel of one of God's ministers. Confession does not mean the general acknowledgment of unworthiness, but the direct, straightforward telling God of our particular sins, and consulting him about them, with at least the detail and concern that we would use in consulting a physician about the health of our bodies. As diagnosis has its part in the healing of the body, so self-examination is a part of the healing of the soul. The promise is, "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- righteousness." (/ St. John i, 8, 9.) And in order to confess our sins we must know what they are. Knowing them, we see more clearly how to deal with them, how to use the forgiving grace that is promised upon their confession and repentance.
I. The Scope of Self=Examination. St. Paul says, "Exam- ine yourselves whether ye be in the faith" (// Cor. xiii, 5) ; that is to say, with regard to the Christian religion that we profess. Christianity is a series of historic facts ordered by Almighty God, interpreted by a system of doctrine, of which the creeds are the summary, to which all men have a vital relation; and in consequence of this, it is a code of morals and conduct, the
SELF EXAMINATION, 97
particulars of which are obligatory upon all men. Many a per- son talks and writes nowadays as if ignorance of fact in the sphere of religion were not a sign of mental disorder. Yet, after all, is it not our just business not to be ignorant of our religion? It is important to know that facts on which our religion rests; it is also important to know the interpretation of those facts to which reason and the Church assent. When we know what we beheve, and what our faith requires of us, we need to examine ourselves with reference to the degree with which our own lives measure up to the standard.
II. Methods of SeIf-=Examination. Particular methods of self-examination are various, but each one has at least these important characteristics :
1. It must be specific; that is, made with a reference not to a general sense of unworthiness, but with regard to particular sins, errors, ignorances and omissions, which make us in a peculiar sense unworthy.
2. It must be systematic ; that is, conducted according to a definite plan; not haphazard and according to any plan that comes into our head at the moment,
3. It must be regular and habitual; not left to the caprice of a late evening's tired and languid devotions, but conducted at regular times and stated intervals, and frequently rather than occasionally. The ideal is certainly to make a brief self- examination of the past day a part of the prayers of every night; and certainly, as the Prayer Book expressly directs us, it should be made carefully before every reception of the Blessed Sacrament. "Dearly beloved," the priest is bidden to «ay, "ye who mind to come to the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, must consider how St. Paul exhorteth all persons diligently to try and examine them- selves before they presume to eat of that bread and drink of that cup."
4. The examination must be made with reference to some ideal standard of faith and practice. And here again the
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98 EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
Prayer Book furnishes us with the clue as to what Chat stand- ard is : "... by the rule of God's commandments ; and whereinsoever ye shall perceive yourselves to have offended, either by will, word, or deed, there to bewail your own sinful- ness, and to confess yourselves to Almighty God, with full pur- pose of amendment of life."
It is easy to suppose when we take the letter of God's com- mandments that we have not broken them. But of course we are to be guided not by the letter of the law, but by its spirit; the spirit in which our Lord interprets it in the Sermon on the Mount.
You can make such detailed interpretations for yourselves; working out by careful thought what the commandment, taken in its Christian sense, requires ; what particular sins or errors mean the breaking of it. You can gather round the Ten Com- mandments a series of questions that cover the whole course of Hfe.
Like every other Christian practice, the value of self-exam- ination can be appreciated only by those who will give it a fair and sincere test. I do not know of any objections to the practice. It is a duty commended to us by the Bible and the Church, and an example set by practically all the saints. It is the logical and natural preliminary of a thoroughgoing con- fession of our sins to God, and in itself it has a strong ten- dency to correct the faults that it discovers, because of the constant watchfulness that it engenders. It tends to clarify our thinking on religious subjects and to sharpen our moral sense by constantly holding before our minds the articles of faith, which we profess and are bound to believe, and the rule of God's commandments, by which we are required to live.
Like all duties, there are times when it is irksome and seems a part of the cross that sooner or later is laid on all who be- lieve in him who died upon the Cross. But his yoke is easy
SELF EXAMINATION. 99
and his burden Is light, compared with burdens we lay upon ourselves when we wilfully or ignorantly follow our way.
III. A Scheme of Daily Self=Examination.
•^ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Did I say my prayers this morning reverently and carefully?
Have I wasted my time?
Have I injured the character of any one, by word or deed?
Have I led any one to commit sin?
Have I been angry or impatient with any one? If so, have I done anything to make peace?
Have I earnestly put away all evil, bitter or impure thoughts that may have occurred to me?
Have I used bad words, done unkind deeds, or committed any act that I would be ashamed to have known ?
Confession. I confess to Thee, Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, all my sins which I have committed against thee, whether knowingly or ignorantly, and especially what I
have done this day ( ) in thought, word, or deed,
against thy divine Majesty. To thee, O Lord, I confess from my heart, and I entreat of thee forgiveness ; most humbly I be- seech thee to pardon all my offenses, whatsoever thou knowest me to have been guilty of. Kindle within me the flame of thy love, and inspire me with thy fear, and grant me a real amend- ment of my whole life, with true faith, hope, and love. For the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
►I* May the Almighty and Most Merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, grant me pardon, absolution, and remission of all my sins. Amen.
100 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
XXII.
MEDITATION.
I. The duty of private devotion is recognized by all who desire to lead the Christian life. This should mean more than the saying of customary prayers at night and morning and should include the devotional reading of the Bible. Unless we have system and method in our devotion, it is apt to be neglected. Meditation is simply a method of devotion. To meditate means to think seriously of important matters with a view to action in regard to them. As a spiritual exercise, it means to think seriously about God, about the great mysteries of our religion and the chief matters of revelation, with a view toward ordering our lives in accordance with God's will and commandments. All Christians meditate at some times; the object of this paper is to suggest that meditation be made a formal, methodical and regular exercise of devotion. It means the effort to restrain our wandering thoughts and emo- tions by acts of will and bring them into captivity to Christ; the effort to form habits of righteous thought and feeling, which as they become habitual become more spontaneous and react on the outward condition. The ease and perfection ac- quired by great artists, writers, and musicians is the re- sult of long and faithful practice; so with great saints, their spirituality, their holiness, the depth and beauty of their lives and characters, according to their own confession, is largely due to methodical and systematic meditation upon the truths of religion.
II. A Method of Meditation. There are of course various methods of meditation devised by the saints and great spirit- ual writers. They can be found in almost all popular books of devotion (such as The Treasury of Devotion), in such books as Bishop Andrewes's Devotions and Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living. But all contain common features that may be regarded as indispensable.
MEDITATION. 101
1. A quarter or half an hour should be set aside every day when interruption is least likely to occur, and a place chosen that is as free from noise as possible. This time should not be allowed to encroach on the time we already give to prayer. In busy lives it is difficult to set aside this period; but when we find so much time for social engagements it ought not to be impossible for any one to give fifteen minutes at least to de- votion to God.
2. Next we must have a subject for meditation, for this exercise does not mean to kneel down and think aimlessly about God or vaguely about our duty. The subjects are well- nigh inexhaustible. Perhaps those that are best adapted to the beginner are such as are taken directly from the Scriptures: e. g., the leadmg events in our Lord's Hfe as they are recorded in the Gospels; the Parables or the Miracles of Christ; the Sermon on the Mount; the greater chapters in the Prophets; the best psalms ; or certain books of the New Testament, con- sidered a few verses at a time. Or again, the great mysteries of the Faith : the Five Joyful Mysteries of the Incarnation, as they are called (The Annunciation and Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of our Lord, the Pre- sentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, the Finding of the Boy Jesus in the Temple*), or the Mysteries of the Redemption (The Bloody Sweat of Jesus in the Garden, the Scourging of Jesus, the Crowning with Thorns, the Bearing of the Cross, the Crucifixion**), or the Glorious Mysteries of the Resurrec- tion (The Rising of our Lord, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Saints in glory, the Beatific Vision***). Or such subjects may be taken as Repentance, Forgiveness, Death, Heaven, the Blessed Sacrament; or the festivals of the Church, using the Collects, Epistles or Gospels for the day.
* St. Luke I, 26-38; i, 39-56; ii, 1-20; ii, 22-40; ii, 41-51 ** St. Luke xxii, 44; St John xix, 1; 2, 3; 17; 18-31 ***St. Matt, xxviii, 1-9; Acts i, 9-12; ii, 1-5; Revelation vii, 2-13; iv, 1-11.
102 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
3. The meditation itself may be considered as being divid- ed into three parts :
A. Preparation. This may consist of the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the General Confession ; or any such prayers as we may take from the Prayer Book or authorized manuals of devotion, or such prayers as we may ourselves compose. By one prayer at least we should solemnly place ourselves in God's presence, and ask for the guidance of God's Holy Spirit.
B. The Consideration of the Subject. This means reading over carefully the passages from scripture bearing on the sub- ject, or perhaps of some other book; pausing to think what is meant, presenting the event or truth as a picture to our imagi- nation; and seeking to find what may be the relation of that incident, parable, or mystery to ourself, our own condition, problems.
C. The Resolution. We can hardly think seriously and prayerfully of the great facts and teachings of our religion, without having stirred in us the desire and the resolve to do and live in accordance therewith. One of the practical values of meditation is that it proposes that each day we make a definite resolution to do some good thing, with the end in view that such good action may become habitual. We will often be led to make resolutions of nobler living, of great reform. But medi- tation means that we shall also make a particular resolution that we can fulfill that very day. We will be wise, therefore, to make such resolutions as are not too difficult. It is better to fulfill a little promise to ourself, than to neglect a great one. Unfulfilled resolutions are a permanent source of weakness to the character; every one that is kept strengthens the will, be- cause it tends to make such right action a habit. Simple reso- lutions are such as offering a particular prayer, a petition for someone we are inclined to dislike; to restrain our tongues; to bear pain or trouble with patience; to go out of our way to do a kindness or to say a kind word; or to make an act of denial for someone's sake, to listen more patiently to fault- finding. Just as the subjects for meditation are inexhaustable, so are the resolutions they will suggest.
MEDITATION. 103
D. Let the meditation end with a simple act of Thanksgiving that God has permitted us to turn from our ordinary occupa- tions, cares and interests to seek the strength that comes of quietness and confidence in him.
III. The only way to estimate the value of meditation as a help to leading the spiritual life is to give it a fair test, say, for six months or a year. If we do this, faithfully and sin- cerely, it is safe to say that we will never wilHngly give up the practice; that it will deepen in its meaning; and that we will learn from it the art and the beauty of prayer and de- votion as we are apt to learn them in no other way. It forms hahits of prayer, devotion, of Bible reading, and of the mak- ing of good resolutions. It familiarizes us with the facts and teaching of the Holy Scripture, and with the doctrines and principles of Christian faith. It is a safe guide toward a deeper and real knowledge of the will and love of God. It takes us for a little while at least from the cares and burdens of the day, from distracting social duties and pleasures, and puts us in a situation where we are apt, being still, to hear the still small voice speaking to us in the name of God. It gives depth and reality to the spiritual life, and helps us to take our re- ligion into the work-a-day world as something fresh, vigorous and inspiring, not only for ourselves, but for others ; for if we are but faithful they will see by the growing kindness, charity, patience, justice, and purity of our lives that we have been with God.
104 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
XXIII. THE COUNSELS OF PERFECTION.
The Counsels of Perfection is the name given to the three vows of Poverty, Charity and Obedience taken by those who become monks or nuns, or, as it is technically expressed, who enter the Religious Life. There is a great deal of ignorance about Monasticism, and therefore a great deal of prejudice against it. American Churchmen should not be prejudiced against the Religious Life for two reasons : first, because Eng- lish Christianity was due largely to the missionary efforts of monks — St. Columba and his companions in the north of England, and St. Augustine and his mission in the south; and, second, there is coming about in the Anglican Communion a re- vival of the Religious Life that is destined to accomplish great things for Christ, and therefore well merits our prayers and our material aid.
What is a monk or a mm? There are some who limit the word to mean only those who withdraw from the w^orld and live in solitude and silence within the walls of monas- teries or convents, confining their activities to prayer. But this is a narrow use of the words which does not cover the facts. The word Monk was first applied to the hermits of the desert. The early monks of Britain, of whom St. Columba was the greatest, v/ere by no means confined to their monasteries. From their holy islands of lona and Landisfarne they issued forth to preach, teach, and heal — in a word, to evangelize Scotland and England. Their work was practically that of the parish priest and itinerant missionary combined. So with the nuns. A Re- ligious (i. e., a monk or nun) is one, we may say, who feels called upon to forsake all, wealth, family ties, independent livli- hood, and follow Christ, associating with others in obedi- ence to a holy rule and a good superior. Such endeavour literally to fulfill those counsels of perfection, commended by the Master himself. (L) Poverty. "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, . . . and come and fol-
THE COUNSELS OF PERFECTION. 105
low me." (St. Matt, xix, 21.) America today is facing spirit- ual ruin because of the wide-spread love of money, luxury, and covetousness. Surely in this age there is need of those who will set the example of voluntary poverty in obedience to the divine command. (II.) Chastity. "There be eunuchs (i. e., celibates, unmarried) which have made them selve eunuchs (i.e., the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it." (St. Matt, xix, 12.) Our Lord does not tolerate celibacy, he recommends it for those who would de- vote their hves wholly to his work. He bestows his richest blessings on those who would leave all for his Name's sake (St. Matt, xix, 28, 29) or for the Kingdom of God's sake (St. Luke xviii, 29, 30. Cf. also St. Paul's teaching in / Cor, vii, 32). III. Obedience. Jesus said, "I come not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me." So the monk or nun, de- siring to imitate the Master completely, conforms to a rule of life and promises obedience to a superior chosen by the com- munity.
What are the motives that lead men and women to embrace this life? (I.) There is God's call — Vocation, as it is called; the inward conviction that God would have the soul serve him in that state; and (II) Love for God which leads one to re- spond to the call, choosing God before all creatures ; and (III) Self-Denial, which surrenders all in order to win God wholly. The entire effort of the ReHgious is to perfect this imion be- tween the soul and God, by a life of self-denial, purity, and unselfish service in obedience to the freely-chosen ideal.
Perhaps the value and work of the Religious Orders can best be explained by suggesting something of what they have accomplished in the past, and then what are their methods and aims in the present.
Monasticism in the past. Here is a passage from the his- torian Lecky's European Morals: "It was amidst the dense forests and savage wastes of desolated Europe that the monks settled down, building huts for themselves with the trees they felled. There they lived, worked, taught, and were often mar-
106 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
tyred. But others took their place, and the work went on, century after century. Every monastery became a center of charity. By the monks the nobles were overawed, the poor protected, the sick tended, travellers sheltered, prisoners ran- somed, the remotest spheres of suffering explored. During the darkest period of the Middle Ages monks founded a refuge for pilgrims amidst the horrors of the Alpine snows. When the hideous disease of leprosy overflowed into Europe, monks flocked in multitudes to serve the afflicted." Monasti- cism saved both Christianity and civilization during the Dark Ages when Europe was invaded by the barbarians. Says Powell in his Social England: "In the early Saxon times the monasteries were the means of preserving to our use all the most precious treasures of literature, art and religion." The monks with their own hands cleared the soil of half of western Europe. "During times of social unrest, the goldsmith, the illuminator, the embroiderer, the historian, the philosopher, all found protection and leisure to pursue their work in religious houses." In the Middle Ages the monks were the great social benefactors ; their hospitals, schools, libraries, houses of refuge^ dotted Europe. And, says Lecky again, "they led the fight for freedom against despotism," were the real founders of the democratic idea. They were the great missionaries — Patrick of Ireland, Gall, Aiden, Columba, Augustine of England, Boni- face of Germany, Francis of Assisi, Francis Xavier — a host of other names forever brigfht in the annals of Christian history. Unfortunately, during the century before the Reformation Monasticism suffered a corruption and decline, but the true spirit of the Religious Life was never extinguished, as witness its great revival in the Roman Communion, and later the les- ser revival in our own Church. In England the wicked King Henry VIII destroyed all the monasteries and appropriated their revenues for his own purposes, and gave the Religious Life a blow from which it has not yet recovered. The Protes- tant churches repudiated the Religious Life altogether. Mon- asticism needed reform, but the Church could ill afford to
THE COUNSELS OF PERFECTION, 107
abolish it. It is reviving to-day throughout the AngUcan com- munion. It is said that in England there are as many women under vows in Rehgious Orders as there were at the time when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the sixteenth century. The Religious Orders in the Anglican Communion today; their method and work. The majority of the Orders live in houses of their own, under a superior, sometimes in affiliation with other houses or orders, in obedience to a rule modelled on that of the older rules that have been tested by the cen- turies' experience. Their work is of two sorts — interior and exterior. The interior work is prayer and study; the exterior work differs widely — missionary work in heathen lands, mis- sion preaching at home, retreats, the management of schools, colleges, orphanages, hospitals, refuges — indeed there is scarcely a form of social service in which you will not find the Rehgious Orders engaged. Their work of prayer consists, in part, of the Divine Office, as it is called, that is, services for the seven hours of prayer, — Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers (or Evensong) and Compline. In large houses these services are rendered most carefully. After the services of the Holy Communion they are the oldest forms of worship in Christendom. The Holy Communion is offered daily in al- most all Religious Houses, and that is the time when the entire community unites for intercession for their work. The morn- ings are given so far as possible to study and preparation for their active work amongst men. Naturally the rules of differ- ent Orders vary according to their aims and work. They are supported entirely by the offerings made by those who approve of their work and use their services; though it is important to remember that all their services are always given; their support is the alms of the faithful. Below is printed a list of the principal Orders for men in the Anglican Commim- ion and a few of those for women in America.
The Society of Mission Priests of St. John the Evangelist, commonly called the "Cowley Fathers." This Order is en- gaged in parish work in England and the United States, and
108 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
has various mission schools in India and South Africa.
The Order of the Holy Cross. Father Huntington was the founder of this Order, which is confined to America. Its ex- ternal work consists in the preaching and holding of missions, retreats, etc. It conducts a boys' school at Kent, Connecticut, and a school for mountain boys in Tennessee.
The Community of the Resurrection, which maintains houses at Mirfield and Leeds, England, for the training of young men for the ministry and for mission work. Many of the Resurrec- tionist Fathers have become distinguished as scholars and theologians. The Order has two houses in South Africa.
The Society of the Sacred Mission, an Order similar to that above. It has a great theological school at Kelham, Eng- land for the training of missionaries, and maintains a hostel at Leeds.
There are numerous Orders for women for all kinds of work — prayer, parish work, missions, schools, orphanages, refuges, etc. Among them may be mentioned the Community of St. Mary, the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, the Sisterhood of St. John the Baptist, the Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity.
A little patient Investigation of the work of the Religious Or- ders In our Church can hardlv fail to convince one of their value and of their bright promise for the future. We can aid them by our prayers and by our gifts. It is also common for people living in the world to become associates of some Re- ligious Order, follow a simple rule, and endeavour to help in its work as opportunity offers.
THE FOUR LAST THINGS 109
XXIV.
THE FOUR LAST THINGS.
(Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell.)
The teaching of the Church about the state of the soul after death, about Heaven and Hell, the Resurrection and the Last Judgment, has been involved, in its details, in much confusion. This has been due partly to the fact that there has been re- vealed only the general outline of eschatological truth (that is, truth about "the Four Last Things") ; partly to the fact that the Church has never formulated her doctrine about these subjects; and partly because the bodies separated from the Church have held widely divergent views, many of which have become popular.
There will be attempted here only the briefest summary of the teaching that our branch of the Church accepts.
All souls are immortal. Life in this world is regarded as a period of probation, and at death (when the soul passes from the body) there is a Particular Judgment, when the soul will be judged for the deeds done in the body, and as a consequence of this judgment will be assigned to the place of waiting, — a place, that is, of preparation for the ultimate glories of Heaven or for the eternal loss of Hell. This place of waiting or "the intermediate state" is variously named — Paradise (most frequently with us), Purgatory (by the Roman Catho- lics), or Hades (as in the Creeds).
It is to be noted, however, that in the phrase of the Creed "He descended into hell," the Greek word translated Hell is elsewhere always translated Hades, and it is practically the same word that is often translated Paradise. So we are not to un- derstand by the Creed that our Lord descended into Hell (the place of punishment) but into Hades, the place of waiting, the intermediate state, or Paradise. Our English word Hell, meaning the place of everlasting punishment, is represented by the Hebrew word Gehenna and does not prvoperly stand for the Greek word Hades. Accordingly there is a rubric which
110 EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
permits any church to replace the customary phrase of the Creed by the expression "He descended into the place of de- parted spirits."
The Church has always held that it is right and proper for us to pray for the souls of the departed, that they may go on from grace to grace until they finally are received into Heaven.
At the Last Day (of which no man knows the time or the hour), our Lord Jesus Christ will come again in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory; there will be a resurrec- tion of the dead, and he will hold a General Judgment. The "saved" will go to Heaven, and the "lost" to Hell (Gehenna, the place of eternal loss, not Hades), and this present world will be destroyed.
It is commonly held that martyrs and the perfectly sancti- fied are taken immediately to Heaven before the General Judgment at the Last Day. There the Church believes that they make intercession for us, as on earth we commemorate them. It is by some considered right that we may ask God for the prayers of the saints, but that we are not ask the saints to do for us those things which only God can do. In the Middle Ages so many superstitious and corrupt practices grew up in connection with the Invocation of Saints, so much improper worship was paid to them, particularly to the Blessed Virgin Mary, that the Anghcan Church, at the time of the Reformation, eliminated all invocations to the saints and all references to their intercession for us from our service books.
Heaven is the state where ultimately the souls of the re- deemed will enjoy the Beatific Vision of the Godhead and dwell in God's presence in perpetual blessedness. Hell is the state in which the lost are eternally separated from God. Perhaps the doctrine of Eternal Loss is the most difficult of all truths to reconcile with our belief in the absolute goodness of God, but we must remember that our Lord taught the reality of eternal loss as clearly and definitely as he taught the reality of eternal salvation, and God is not only perfectly just but infinitely merciful.
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Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library
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