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I
A DICTIONARY
i IF
JRISTIAN ANTIQUITIES.
BEING
A CONTINUATION OF THE 'DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE.
EDITED BY
WILLIAM SMITH, D.C.L., LL.D.
AND
SAMUEL CHEETHAM, M.A.,
PROFESSOR OF PASTORAL THEOLOGY IN KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON.
5/^
O
IN TWO VOLUMES. Vol. I.
ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS UN WOOD.
BOSTON:
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
1875.
V
Ill .
LIST OF WRITERS
IN THE DICTIONARIES OF CHRISTIAN ANTIQUITIES
AND BIOGRAPHY.
NAMES.
Rev. Churchill Babington, B.D., F.L.S.,
Disney Professor of Archaeology in the University of
Cambridge ; late Fellow of St. John's College.
Rev. Henry Bailey, D.D.,
Warden of St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, and
Honorary Canon of Canterbury Cathedral ; late Fellow
of St. John's College, Cambridge.
Rev. James Barmby, B.D.,
Principal of Bishop Hatfield's Hall, Durham.
Rev. Edward White Benson, D.D.,
Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral ; late Fellow of Trinity
College, Cambridge.
Rev. Charles William Boase, M.A.,
Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.
Henry Bradshaw, M.A.,
Fellow of King's College, Cambridge ; Librarian of the
University of Cambridge.
Rev. William Bright, D.D.,
Canon of Christ Church, Oxford ; Regius Professor of
Ecclesiastical History in the University of Oxford.
The late Rev. Henry Browne, M.A.,
Vicar of Pevensey, and Prebendary of Chichester Cathedral.
Isambard Brunel, D.C.L.,
Of Lincoln's Inn ; Chancellor of the Diocese of Ely.
Thomas Ryburn Buchanan, M.A.,
Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.
Rev. Daniel Butler, M.A.,
Rector of Thwing, Yorkshire; late Head Master of the
Clergy Orphan School, Canterbury.
a 2
iv LTST OF WRITERS.
INITIALS. NAMES
J. M. C. Rev. John Moore Capes, M.A.,
of Balliol College, Oxford.
J. G. C. Rev. John Gibson Cazenove, M.A.,
late Principal of Cumbrae College, N.B.
C. Rev. Samuel Cheetham, M.A.,
Professor of Pastoral Theology in King's College, London,
and Chaplain of Dulwich College ; late Fellow of
Christ's College, Cambridge.
E. B. C. Edward Byles Cowell, M.A.,
Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Cambridge.
J. LI. D. Rev. John Llewelyn Davies, M.A.,
Rector of Christchnrch, Marylebone ; late Fellow of
Trinity College, Cambridge.
C. D. Rev. Cecil Deedes, M.A.,
Vicar of St. Mary Magdalene, Oxford.
t
W. P. D. Rev. William P. Dickson, D.D.,
Regius Professor of Biblical Criticism, Glasgow.
S. J. E. Rev. Samuel John Eales, M.A.,
Head Master of the Grammar School, Halstead, Essex.
J. E. Rev. John Ellerton, M.A.,
Rector of Hinstock, Salop.
E. S. Ff. Rev. Edmund S. Ffoulkes, B.D.,
Late Fellow of Jesns College, Oxford.
A. P. F. The Right Rev. Alexander Penrose Forbes, D.C.L.,
Bishop of Brechin.
W. H. F. Hon. and Rev. William Henry Fremantle, M.A.,
Rector of St. Mary's, Marylebone ; Chaplain to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury.
J. M. F. Rev. John M. Fuller, M.A.,
Vicar of Bexley.
C. D. G. Rev. Christian D. Ginsburg, LL.D.
W. F. G. The late Rev. William Frederick Greenfield, M.A.,
Master of the Lower School, Dulwich College.
A. W. H. The late Rev. Arthur West Haddan, B.D.,
Rector of Barton-on-the-Heath and Honorary Canon of
Worcester Cathedral ; formerly Fellow of Trinity
College, Oxford.
E. H. Rev. Edwin Hatch, M.A.,
A'ice-Principal of St. Mary Hall, Oxford.
LIST OF WRITERS. v
INITIALS. NAMES.
E. C. H. Rev. Edwards Comerford Hawkins, M.A.,
Head Master of St. John's School, Leatherhead.
L. H. Rev. Lewis Hensley, M.A.,
Vicar of Hitchin, Herts ; late Fellow of Trinity College,
Cambridge.
H. Rev. Fenton John Anthony Hort, M.A.,
Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge ; Chaplain to
the Bishop of Winchester.
H. J. H. Rev. Henry John Hotham, M.A.,
Vice-Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.
J. H. John Hullah,
Late Professor of Music in King's College, London.
W. J. Rev. William Jackson, M.A.,
Late Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford ; Bampton
Lecturer for 1875.
G. A. J. Rev. George Andrew Jacob, D.D.,
late Head Master of Christ's Hospital, London.
W. J.J. Rev. William James Josling, M.A.,
Rector of Moulton, Suffolk ; late Fellow of Christ's College,
Cambridge.
L. Rev. Joseph Barber Lightfoot, D.D.,
Canon of St. Paul's ; Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity
in the University of Cambridge ; Fellow of Trinity
College, Cambridge.
R. A. L. R. A. Lipsius,
Professor in the University of Kiel.
J. M. L. John Malcolm Ludlow, M.A.,
Of Lincoln's Inn.
J. R. L. Rev. John Robert Lunn, B.D.,
Vicar of Marton, Yorkshire; late Fellow of St. John's
College, Cambridge.
G. F. M. Rev. George Frederick Maclear, D.D.,
Head Master of King's College School, London.
S. M. Ruv. Spencer Mansel, M.A.,
Vicar of Trumpington, Cambridge ; Fellow of Trinity
College, Cambridge.
W. B. M. The late Rev. Wharton B. Marriott, M.A.,
Of Eton College; formerly Fellow of Exeter College,
Oxford.
G. M. Rev. Geor(;e Mead, M.A.,
Chaplain to the Forces, Dublin.
vi LIST OP WRITERS.
INITIALS. NAMES.
F. M. Rev. Frederick Meyrick, M.A.,
Eector of Blickling, Norfolk ; Prebendary of Lincoln
Cathedral; Chaplain to the Bishop of Lincoln; late
Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.
W. M. Rev. William Milligan, D.D.,
Professor of Biblical Criticism in the University of Aber-
deen.
G. H. M. Rev. George Herbert Moberly, M.A.,
Chaplain to the Bishop of Salisbury; Rector of Dunst-
bourne Rouse, Gloucestershire.
H. C. G. M. Rev. Handley Carr Glyn Moule, M.A.,
Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
I. R. M. John Rickards Mozley, M.A.,
late Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.
A. N. Alexander Nesbitt, F.S.A.,
Oldlands, Uckfield.
P. 0. Rev. Phipps Onslow, B.A.,
Rector of Upper Sapey, Hereford.
G. W. P. Rev. Gregory Walton Pennethorne, M.A.,,
Rector of Ferring, Sussex ; late Vice-Principal of the
Theological College, Chichester.
W.G.F.P. Walter G. F. Phillimore, B.C.L.,
Lincoln's Inn ; Chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln.
E. H. P. Rev. Edward Hayes Plumptre, M.A.,
(sometimes Professor of New Testament Exegesis in King's College,
P.) London; Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral ; Vicar of
Bickley ; formerly Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.
de Pressense. Rev. E. de Pressense,
of Paris.
J. R. Rev. James Ralne, M.A.,
Prebendary of York ; Fellow of the University of Durham.
W. R. Rev. William Reeves, D.D.,
Rector of Tynan, Armagh.
G. S. Rev. George Salmon, D.D.,
Regius Professor of Divinity, Trinitv College, Dublin.
P. S. Rev. Philip Schaff, D.D.,
Professor of Theology in the Union Theological Seminary,
New York.
W. E. S. Rev. William Edward Scudamore, M.A.,
Rector of Ditchingham ; late Fellow of St. John's College,
Cambridge.
J. S. Rev. John Sharpe, M.A.,
Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge.
LIST OF WRITERS.
vn
INITIALS. NAMES.
B. S. Benjamin Shaw, M.A.,
Of Lincoln's Inn ; late Fellow of Trinity College, Cam-
bridge.
B. S. Bev. Bobert Sinker, M.A.,
Librarian of Trinity College, Cambridge.
I. G. S. Bev. I. Gregory Smith, M.A.,
Beetor of Great Malvern, and Prebendary of Hereford
Cathedral ; late Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.
J. S t. John Stuart, LL.D.,
Of the General Begister-House, Edinburgh.
S. Bev. William Stubbs, M.A.,
Begius Professor of Modern History, in the University of
Oxford ; Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford.
C. A. S. Bev. Charles Anthony Swainson, D.D.,
Norrisian Professor of Divinity in the University of
Cambridge, and Canon of Chichester Cathedral; late
Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge.
E. S. T. Bev. Edward Stuart Talbot, M.A.,
Warden of Keble College, Oxford.
B. St. J. T. Bev. Bichard St. John Tyrwhitt, M.A.,
Late Student and Ehetoric Lecturer of Christ Church,
Oxford.
E. V. Bev. Edmund Venables, M.A.,
Canon Besidentiary and Precentor of Lincoln Cathedral ;
Chaplain to the Bishop of London.
W. Bev. Brooke Foss Westcott, D.D.,
(sometimes Canon of Peterborough ; Begius Professor of Divinity in
B. F. W.) the University of Cambridge ; late Fellow of Trinity
College, Cambridge.
H. W. Bev. Henry Wace, M.A.,
Chaplain of Lincoln's Inn, and Professor of Ecclesiastical
History, King's College, London.
G. W. Bev. George Williams, B.D.,
Beetor of Bingwood, Hants ; late Fellow of King's College,
Cambridge.
J. W. Bev. John Wordsworth, M.A.,
Prebendary of Lincoln; Examining Chaplain to the Bishop
of Lincoln ; late Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.
W. A. W. William Aldis Wright, M.A.,
Trinity College, Cambridge.
E. M. Y. Bev. Edward Mallet Young, M.A.,
Assistant Master of Harrow School ; Follow of Trinity
College, Cambridge.
H. W. Y. Bev. Henry William Yule, B.C.L., M.A.,
Beetor of Shipton-on-Cherwell, and Vicar of Hampton
Gay, Ox on.
Mill
JX
PBEFACE.
This Work is intended to furnish, together with the ' Dictionary of
Christian Biography, Literature, and Doctrines,' which will shortly
follow, a complete account of the leading Personages, the Institu-
tions, Art, Social Life, Writings and Controversies of the Christian
Church from the time of the Apostles to the age of Charlemagne.
It commences at the period at which the ' Dictionary of the Bible '
leaves off, and forms a continuation of it : it ceases at the age of
Charlemagne, because (as Gibbon has remarked) the reign of this
monarch forms the important link of ancient and modern, of
civil and ecclesiastical history. It thus stops short of what we
commonly call the Middle Ages. The later developement of Bitual
and of the Monastic Orders, the rise and progress of the great
Mendicant Orders, the Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, the
Hagiology and Symbolism, the Canon Law, and the Institutions
generally of the Middle Ages, furnish more than sufficient matter
for a separate book.
The present Work, speaking generally, elucidates and explains
in relation to the Christian Church the same class of subjects that
the ' Dictionary of Greek and Eoman Antiquities ' does in reference
to the public and private life of classical antiquity. It treats of
the organization of the Church, its officers, legislation, discipline,
and revenues ; the social life of Christians ; their worship and
ceremonial, with the accompanying music, vestments, instruments,
vessels, and insignia ; their sacred places ; their architecture and
other forms of Art ; their symbolism ; their sacred days and seasons ;
the graves or Catacombs in which they were laid to rest.
We can scarcely hope that every portion of this wide and varied
field. has been treated with equal completeness ; but we may venture
to assert, that this Dictionary is at least more complete than any
attempt hitherto made by English or Foreign scholars to treat in
one work the whole archaeology of the early Church. The great
X PEEFACE.
work of Bingham, indeed, the foundation of most subsequent, books
on the subject, must always be spoken of with the utmost respect ;
but it is beyond the power of one man to treat with the requisite
degree of fulness and accuracy the whole of so vast a subject ;
and there is probably no branch of Christian archaeology on which
much light has not been thrown since Bingham's time by the
numerous scholars and divines who have devoted their lives to
special investigations. We trust that we have made accessible
to all educated persons a great mass of information, hitherto only
the privilege of students with the command of a large library.
In treating of subjects like Church Government and Ritual it
is probably impossible to secure absolute impartiality ; but we are
confident that no intentional reticence, distortion or exaggeration
has been practised by the writers in this work.
It has been thought advisable not to insert in the present work
an account of the Literature, of the Sects and Heresies, and of
the Doctrines of the Church, but to treat these subjects in the
'Dictionary of Christian Biography,' as they are intimately con-
nected with the lives of the leading persons in Church History,
and could not with advantage be separated from them.
It has not been possible to construct the vocabulary on an
entirely consistent principle. Where a well -recognized English
term exists for an institution or an object, that term has generally
been preferred as the heading of an article. But in many cases
obsolete customs, offices', or objects have no English name ; and
in many others the English term is not really co-extensive with the
Latin or Greek term to which it seems at first sight to correspond.
The word Deeanus (for example) has several meanings which are not
implied in the English Dean. In such cases it was necessary to
adopt a term from the classic languages. Cross-references are given
from the synonyms or quasi-synonyms to the word under which any
subject is treated. The Councils are placed (so far as possible)
under the modern names of the places at which they were held, a
cross-reference being given from the ancient name. In the case of
the Saints' Days, the names of the Western saints have been taken
from the martyrology of Usuard, as containing probably the most
complete list of the martyrs and confessors generally recognized in
the West up to the ninth century ; the occurrence of these names
in earlier calendars or martyrologies is also noted. In the letters A
and B, however, the names of Saints are taken principally from the
' Martyrologium Romanum Vetus,' and from the catalogues which
bear the names of Jerome and of Bede, without special reference
PREFACE. xi
to Usuard. In the case of the Eastern Church, we have taken
from the calendars of Byzantium, of Armenia, and of Ethiopia,
those names which fall within our chronological period. This
alphabetical arrangement will virtually constitute an index to the
principal martyrologies, in addition to supplying the calendar,
dates of events which are fixed as is not uncommonly the case in
ancient records by reference to some festival. The names of
persons are inserted in the vocabulary of this Work only with
reference to their commemoration in martyrologies or their repre-
sentations in art, their lives, when they are of any importance,
being given in the Dictionary of Biography.
References are given throughout to the original authorities on
which the several statements rest, as well as to modern writers of
repute. In citations from the Fathers, where a page is given without
reference to a particular edition, it refers for the most part to the
standard pagination generally that of the Benedictine editions -
which is retained in Migne's Patrologia.
At the commencement of this work, the Editorship of that por-
tion which includes the laws, government, discipline, and revenues of
the Church and the Orders within it, was placed in the hands of
Professor Stubbs ; the education and social life of Christians in those
of Professor Plumptre ; while the treatment of their worship and
ceremonial was entrusted to Professor Cheetham ; all under the
general superintendence of Dr. William Smith. As the work pro-
ceeded, however, a pressure of other engagements rendered it impos-
sible for Professors Stubbs and Plumptre to continue their editorship
of the parts which they had undertaken ; and from the end of the
letter C Professor Cheetham has acted as Editor of the whole
work, always with the advice and assistance of Dr. William Smith.
In conclusion, we have to express our regret at the long time
that has elapsed since the first announcement of the work. This
delay has been owing partly to our anxious desire to make it as
accurate as possible, and partly to the loss we have sustained by
the death of two of our most valued contributors, the Eev. A. W.
Haddan and the llev. W. B. Marriott.
XII
DICTIONAEY
OF
CHBISTIAN ANTTOTTTTTTCR
ERRATA.
Page 9, Col. 2, Line 32 from top, for Confession, Penitence, read Exomologesis.
15,
35,
78,
104,
145,
153,
213,
237,
350,
364,
396,
424,
623,
2,
2,
2,
1,
1,
1,
1,
2,
1,
2,
2,
1,
1,
, dele Actistetae [Ctistolatrae].
, for Cheonologt read Era.
, for pressing read preserving.
, for Holt Orders read Desertion.
9
16
9
8 & 9 from top, for Clermont, Council of, read Gallican Codncils.
25 from top, for Orange read Orleans.
42 , , , for Eucharist read Priest.
20 , , , for Fribur read Tribur.
8 from bottom, for Education read Schools.
25, 24 , , , for Paschal Cycle read Indiction : dele Golden Numbers.
31, 30 , , , for Arvernense read Gallican Councils.
31 from top, for Penitence read Penitentiary.
27, , , , for year-day read year-date.
diately after the death of Constantine. The
earliest instances are an aureus nummus of Con-
staatius (Banduri, v. ii. p. 227, Numismata Imp.
Romanorum, &c.) ; and another golden coin bear-
ing the effigy of Constantine the Great, with the
words "Victoria Maxima." Constantine seems
not to have made great use of Christian em-
blems on his coin till after the defeat of Lici-
nhis in 323, and especially after the building
of Constantinople. (Sec Martigny, s. v. Numis-
matique.)
The use of these symbolic letters amounts to
a quotation of Rev. xxii. 13, and a confession of
faith in our Lord's own assertion of His infinity
CHRIST. ANT.
antiquity at Lucca (Borgia, Be Cruce Veliterna,
p. 33). For its general use as a part of the
monogram of Christ, see Monogram. It will be
found (see Westwood's Palaeographia Sacra) in the
Psalter of Athelstan, and in the Bible of Alcuin ;
both in the British Museum. [R. St. J. T.]
AARON, the High Priest, commemorated
a Boldetti: "Quantoalielettere Aandw.non v'hadubbio
che quei priini Cristiani le presero dall' Apocalisse."
He goes on to say that it is the sigif of Christian, not
Arian, burial ; and that Arians were driven from Rome,
and excluded from the Catacombs. Aringhi also protests
that those cemeteries were " baud unqitam heretico scbis-
maticoque coinmercio pollutae."
B
Xll
DICTIONAEY
OP
CHEISTIAN ANTIQUITIES.
D
U)
X
J
A and a
A and It). (See Rev. xxii. 13.) Of these
symbolic letters the 01 is always given in the
minuscular form. The symbol is generally com-
bined with the monogram of Christ. [Mono-
gram.] In Boldetti's Osservazioni sopra i oimiteri,
&c. Rom. 1720, 61. tav. iii. p. 194, no. 4, it is
found, with the more ancient decussated mono-
gram, on a sapulchral cup or vessel. See also
De Rossi {Inscriptions, No. 776), where the letters
are suspended from the arms of
the St. Andrew's Cross. They I
are combined more frequently
with the upright or Egyptian
monogram. Aringhi, Rom.
Subt. vol. i. p. 381, gives an
engraving of a jewelled cross,
with the letters suspended
by chains to its horizontal arm, as below. And
the same form occurs in sepulchral inscriptions
in De Rossi, Inscr. Chr. Rom.
t. i. nos. 661, 666. See also
Boldetti, p. 345, and Bottari,
tav. xliv. vol. i.
The letters are found, with
or without the monogram, in
almost all works of Christian
antiquity ; for instance, right
and left of a great cross, on which is no form or
even symbolic Lamb, on the ceiling of the apse
of St. Apollinare in Classe at Ravenna, circ. A.D.
675. They were worn in rings and sigils, either
alone, as in Martigny, s. v. Anneaux, or with
the monogram, as in Boldetti, ms. 21-31, 30-33.
On coins they appear to be first used imme-
diately after the death of Constantine. The
earliest instances are an aureus nummus of Con-
stantius (Banduri, v. ii. p. 227, Numismata Imp.
Romtinorum, &c.) ; and another golden coin bear-
ing the effigy of Constantine the Great, with the
words " Victoria Maxima." Constantine seems
not to have made great use of Christian em-
blems on his coin till after the defeat of Lici-
nius in 323, and especially after the building
of Constantinople. (See Martigny, s. v. Numis-
matique.~)
The use of these symbolic letters amounts to
a quotation of Rev. xxii. 13, and a confession of
faith in our Lord's own assertion of His infinity
CHRIST. ANT.
1
10
AAEON
and divinity. There is one instance iu Martial
(Epiij. v. 26) where A, Alpha, is used jocularly
(as A 1, vulgarly, with ourselves) for " chief" or
" first." But the whole expression in its solemn
meaning is derived entirely from the words of
Rev. xxii. 13. The import to a Christian is
shewn by the well-known passage of Prudentius
(Hymnus Omni Hora, 10, Cathemerinon, ix. p.
35, ed. Tubingen, 45) :
"Corde natus ex parentis ante mundi exordium,
Alpha et $1 cognominatus, ipse tons et clausula,
Omnium quae sunt, tuerunt, quaeque post futura sunt."
The symbol was no doubt much more frequently
used after the outbreak of Arianism. But it ap-
pears to have been used before that date, from its
occurrence in the inscription on the tomb raised
by Victorina to her martyred husband Heraclius
in the cemetery of Priscilla (Aringhi, i. 605).
It is here enclosed in a triangle, and united with
the upright monogram. See also another in-
scription in Fabretti {Inscr. antiq. explicatio,
Rom. 1699, fol.), and the cup given in Boldetti
from the Callixtine catacomb, tav. iii. no. 4, at
p. 194. From these it is argued with apparent
truth that the symbol must have been in nse
before the Nicene Council. a No doubt, as a con-
venient symbolic form of asserting the Lord's
divinity, it became far more prominent after-
wards. The Arians certainly avoided its use
(Giorgi, De Monogram. Christi, p. 10). It is
found on the crucifix attributed to Nicodemus
(Angelo Rocca, Thesaurus l'ontificiarum, vol. i.
153, woodcut), and on a wooden crucifix of great
antiquity at Lucca (Borgia, De Cruce Veliterna,
p. 33). For its general use as a part of the
monogram of Christ, see MONOGRAM. It will be
found (see Westwood's Palaeographia Sacra) in the
Psalter of Athelstan, and in the Bible of Alcuin ;
both in the British Museum. [R. St. J. T.]
AAEON, the High Priest, commemorated
a Boldetti: "Quantoalie letiere A andw.non v'hadubbio
che quei primi Cristiani le presero dall' Apocalisse."
He goes on to say that it is the sign* of Christian, not
Arian, burial; and that Arians were driven from Rome,
and excluded from the Catacombs. Aringhi also protests
that those cemeteries were " baud unqunm heretico scbis-
maticoque commercio pollutae."
B
1
ABACUC
ABBAT
Miaziah 1 =March 27 {Cal. Ft/nop.). Deposition
in Mount Hor, July 1 {Mart. Bedae, Hieron.). [C]
ABACUC. (1) Habakkuk the Prophet, com-
memorated Jan. 15 {Martyrologium Rom. Vetas,
Micron., Bedae).
(2) Martyr at Rome under Claudius, a.d. 269,
commemorated Jan. 20 {Martyr. Rom. Vetus).
[C]
ABBA. [Abbat.]
ABBAT. {Abbas or Abba [-atis], a&fcs,
afifia, in low Latin sometimes Abas, Ital. Abate,
Germ. Abt, from the Chaldee and Syriac form of
the common Semitic word for Father, probably
adopted in that form either by Syriac monks,
or through its N. T. use.) A name employed
occasionally in the East, even so late as the 10th
century, as a term of respect for any monks
(Cassian., Collat. i. 1, a.d. 429; Reg. S. Columb.
vii., A.D. 609 ; Jo. Mosch., Prat. Spir., A.D. 630 ;
Epiphan. Hagiop., Be Loc. SS., a.d. 956 ; Byzant.
auth. ap. Du Cange, Bex. Inf. Graec. ; Bulteau,
Hist. Mon. d'Orient, 819 : and, similarly, a/3/3a-
Siov. afifiaSlcTKiov, \J/eu5a/3j6a9, /cAf7TTa/3/8as, for
an evil or false monk, Du Cange, ib.) ; and some-
times as a distinguishing term for a monk of
singular piety (Hieron., in Epist. ad Gal. c. 4 ; in
Matt. lib. iv. in c. 23) ; but ordinarily restricted
to the superior of a monastery, Rater or Princeps
Monasterii, elective, irremoveable, single, abso-
lute. Replaced commonly among the Greeks
by 'Apx^avSpLT'ns [Archimaxdrita], 'Hyov- '
fjisvos, or more rarely KoivojSiapx 7 )* j tl ie fi rs t
of which terms however, apparently by a con-
fusion respecting its derivation, came occasion-
ally to stand for the superior of more monas-
teries than one (Helyot, Hist, des Ordr. Mon.
i. 65) : extended upon their institution to the
superior of a body of canons, more properly
called Praepositus, Abbas Canonicorum as op-
posed to Abbas Monachorum (e. g. Cone. Paris.
a.d. 829, c. 37; Com. Aquisg. II. a.d. 836.
canon, c. ii. P. 2, 1 ; Chron. Beod.); but varied
by mauy of the later monastic orders, as e. g. by
Carmelites, Augustinians, Dominicans, Servites,
into Praepositus or Prior Conventualis, by Fran-
ciscans into Custos or Guardianus, by Camaldu-
lensians into Major, by Jesuits into Rector :
distinguished in the original Rule of Pachomius,
as the superior of a combination of monasteries,
from the Pater, Princeps, or Oeconomus of each
and from the Praepositi of the several families of
each. Enlarged into Abbas Abbatum for the Ab-
bat of Monte Cassino (Pet. Diac. Chron. Casin.
iv. 60 ; Leo Ostiens., ib. ii. 54), who was vicar of
the Pope over Benedictine monasteries {Privil.
Nicol. I. Papae, a.d. 1059, ap. And. a Nuce ad
Leon. Ostiens. iii. 12), and had precedence over
all Benedictine abbats {Privil. Paschal. II. Papae,
A.D. 1113, in Bull. Casin. ii. 130; Chart. Bothar.
Imp., A.D. 1137, ib. 157). Similarly a single
Abbat of Aniana, Benedict, was made by Ludov.
Pius, a.d. 817, chief of the abbats in the empire
{Chron. Farf. p. 671 ; Ardo, in V. Bened. c. viii.
36) : and the Hegumenos of St. Dalmatius in
Constantinople was, from the time of St. Dal-
matius himself (A.D. 430), &pxaiv or Trarvp
p.ovaai7]piu>v, Abbas Universalis or K<x8o\ikus,
Exarchus omnium monasteriomm in urbe regia
{Cone. Constant, iv., A.D. 536, Act i. ; Cone.
Ephes. iii. a.d. 431 ; and see Tillem., Mem. Eccl.
xiv. 322 and Kustath. in V. Eutych. n. 18, Jo.
Cantacuz. i. 50, Theocterictus in V. S. Nicetae, n.
43, quoted hy Du Cange). Transferred im-
properly sometimes to the Praepositus or Prior,
the lieutenant (so to say) of a monastery, Abbas
Secundus or Secundarius {Reg. S. Bened. 65 ; and
see Sid. Apoll. vii. 17), the proper abbat being
called by way of distinction Abbas Major {Cone.
Aquisgr. A.D. 817 c. 31). Transferred also, in
course of time, to non-monastic clerical offices,,
as e. g. to the principal of a body of parochial
clergy (i. the Abbas, Custos, or Rector, as distin-
guished from ii. the Presbyter or Capellanus, and
iii. the Sacrista; Ughelli, Ital. Sac. vii. 506, ap. Du
Cange); and to the chief chaplain of the king or
emperor in camp under the Carlovingians, Abbas
Castrensis, and to the Abbas Curiae at Vienne
(Du Cange) ; and in later times to a particular
cathedral official at Toledo (Beyerlinck, Magn.
Theatrum, s. v. Abbas), much as the term car-
dinal is used at our own St. Paul's ; and to the
chief of a decad of choristers at Anicia, Abbas
Clericulorum (Du Cange) ; and later still to the
abbat of a religious confraternity, as of St. Yvo
at Paris in 1350 and another in 1362 {Id.).
Adopted also for purely secular and civil officers,
Abbas Ropuli at Genoa, and again of the Genoese
in Galata (Jo. Pachym. xiii. 27), of Guilds at
Milan and Decurions at Brixia ; and earlier still,
Palatii, Clockerii, Campanilis, Soholaris, Esclafi
fardorum (Du Cange) ; and compare Dante
{Purgat. xxvi.), Abate del Collegio. Usurped
in course of time by lay holders of monasteries
under the system of commendation [C03I-
MENDA]; Abbas Protector, Abbas Baicus, Archi-
abbas, Abba- [or Abbi-~\ Comes, denominated by a
happy equivoque in some papal documents Abbas
Irreligiosus ; and giving rise in turn to the Abbas
Begitimus or Monasticus {Serm. de Tumulat. S.
Quintin., ap. Du Cange), as a name for the abbat
proper (sometimes it was the Decani, Contin.
Aimoin. c. 42 ; and in Culdee Scotland in the
parallel case it was a Prior) who took charge ot
the spiritual duties. Lastly, perverted altogether
in later days into a mock title, as Abbas Baetitiae,
Juvenum, Fatuorum, or again Abbas Bejanorum
(of freshmen, or " Yellc-w Beaks," at the univer-
sity of Paris), or Cornardnrum or Conardorum (an
equally unruly club of older people elsewhere in
France), until " in vitium libertas excidit et vim
dignam lege regi," and the mock abbats accord-
ingly " held their peace " perforce (Du Cange).
The abbat, properly so called, was elected in
the beginning by the bishop of the diocese out of
the monks themselves (with a vague right of
assent on the part of the people also, according
to Du Cange) ; a right confirmed at first by
Justinian {Novell, v. c. 9, A.D. 534-565) ; who,
however, by a subsequent enactment transferred
it to the monks, the abbat elect to be confirmed
and formally blessed by the bishop {Novell, exxiii.
c. 34). And this became the common law of
Western monasteries also {Reg. 8. Bened., A.D.
530, c. 64 ; Cone. Carthag., A.D. 525, in die I Ida ;
Greg. M., Epist. ii. 41, iii. 23, viii. 15; Theodor.,
Poenit. II. vi. 1 in Wasserschl. p. 207 ; Pseudo-
Egbert, Poenit. Add. in Thorpe, ii. 235, &c. ;
"Fratres eligant sibi abbatem," Aldhelm ap. W.
Malm., Be G. P. v. p. Ill), confirmed in time by
express enactment {Capit. Car. M. et lud. Pii,
I. vi., A.D. 816),' " Quomodo (monachis) ex se
ipsis sibi eligendi abbates licentiam dederimus;"
Urban. Pap. ap. Gratian, cap. Alien, cans. 12.
ABBAT
A BEAT
qu. 2 ; and so also cap. Quoniam Dist. lxix.
enforcing the episcopal benediction, from Cone.
Nicaen. ii., a.d. 787, c. 14. So also Counc. of
Cealchyth, a.d. 785, c. 5 (monks to elect from
their own monastery, or another, with consent of
bishop), but Counc. of Becanceld, A.D. 694, and
of Cealchyth, A.D. 816 (bishop to elect abbat or
abbess with consent of the "family"). And
forms occur accordingly, in both Eastern and
Western Pontificals, for the Bencdictio re-
spectively of an Hegumenos, or of an Abbas, both
Monachorum and Canonicorum, and of an Abba-
tissa (see also Theodor., Poenit. II. iii. 5, in
Wasserschl. p. 204, &c. ; and a special form for
the last named, wrongly attributed to Theodore,
in Collier's Records from the Ordo Rom., and
with variations, in Gerbert). An abbat of an
exempt abbey (in later times) could not resign
without leave of the Pope (c. <S'j Abbatem, Bonif.
VIII. in Sext. Deer. 1. vi. 36) ; and was to be
confirmed and blessed by him (Matt. Par. in an.
1257). A qualification made in the Benedictine
Rule, allowing the choice of a minority if theirs
were the sanius consilium, necessarily became a
dead letter from its impracticability. Bishops,
however, retained their right of institution if not
nomination in Spain in the 7th century (Cone.
Tolet., A.D. 633, c. 50) ; and the Bishop of
Chalons-sur-Marne so late as the time of St.
Bernard (Epist. 58). See, however, Caus. xviii.,
Qu. 2. The nomination by an abbat of his suc-
cessor, occurring sometimes in special cases (e.g.
St. Bruno), and allowed under restrictions (Gone.
Cabilkm. ii., a.d. 650, c. 12; Theodor., Capit.
Backer, c. 71, in Wasserschl. p. 151), was ex-
ceptional, and was to be so managed as not to
interfere with the general right of the monks.
So also the founder's like exceptional nominations,
as e.g. those made by Aldhelm or Wilfrid. The
interference of kings in such elections began as a
practice with the system of commendation ; but
in royal foundations, and as suggested and pro-
moted by feudal ideas, no doubt existed earlier.
The consent of the bishop is made necessary to
an abbat's election, " ubi jussio Regis fuerit,"
in a.d. 794 (Cone, Francof. c. 17). The bishop
was also to quash an unfit election, under the
Benedictine rule, and (with the neighbouring
abbats) to appoint a proper person instead (Reg.
Ben. 64).
Once elected, the abbat held office for life,
unless canonically deprived by the bishop ; but
the consent of his fellow-presbyters and abbats is
made necessary to such deprivation by the
Council of Tours (Cone. Turon. ii., a.d. 567, c. 7 ;
so also Excerpt. Pseudo-Egberti, 65, Thorpe ii.
107). And this, even if incapacitated by sickness
(Hincmar ad Corbeiens., ap. Flodoard. iii. 7).
Triennial abbats (and abbesses) were a desperate
expedient of far later popes, Innocent VIII.
(a.d. 1484-1492) and Clement VII. (a.d. 1523-
1534).
Like all monks (Hieron., ad Rustic. 95 ;
Cassian., CoUat, v. 26 ; Caus. xvi. qu. 1, c. 40 ;
Dist. xeiii. c. 5), the abbat was originally a lav-
man ('' Abbas potest esse, et non presbyter :
laicus potest esse abbas;" Jo. de Turrecrem., sup.
Dist. lxix.) ; and accordingly ranked below .ill
orders of clergy, even the Ustiarius (Dist. xciii.
c. 5). In the East, Archimandrites appear to
have become either deacons at least, or .com-
monly priests, before the close of the 5th century
(inter Epist. Hormisd. Pap., a.d. 514-523, ante
Ep. xxii.; Cone. Constantin. iv., A.D. 536, Act i.),
although not without a struggle: St. Sabas, e.g.,
A.D. 484, strictly forbidding any of his monks
to be priests, while reluctantly forced into the
presbyterate himself by the Patriarch of Jeru-
salem (Surius, in Vila. 5 Dec, cc. xxii. x.w).
And Archimandrites subscribe Church Councils
in the East, from time to time, from Cone.
Constantin., a.d. 448. The term 'A/^aSoirpeo--
fivrepos, however, in Nomocan. (n. 44, ed. Co-
teler.), appears to indicate the continued ex-
istence of abbats not presbyters. In the West,
laymen commonly held the office until the end
of the 7th century, and continued to do so to
some extent or other (even in the proper sense
of the office) into the 11th. Jealousy of the
priestly order, counterbalanced by the 'absolute
need of priestly ministrations, prolonged the
struggle, in the 6th century, whether Western
monasteries should even admit priests at all. St.
Benedict, a.d. 530, hardly allows a single priest ;
although, if accepted, he is to rank next the
abbat (Reg, 60). Aurelian of Aries, a.d. 50,
allows one of each order, priest, deacon, sub-
deacon (Rei. 46). The Regula Magistn (23)
admits priests as guests only, " ne abbates ut-
pote laicos excludant." St. Gregory, however,
A.D. 595, gave a great impulse, as to monastic
life generally, so in particular, by the nature of
his English mission, to presbyter (and episcopal)
abbats. And while Benedict himself, a layman,
was admitted to a council at Rome, A.D. 531, as
by a singular privilege (Cave, Hist. Litt. in V.
Bened.) ; during the next century, abbats occur
commonly, 1. at Councils of State, or in Councils
of abbats for monastic purposes, in Saxon England
and in France ; but 2. in purely Church Councils
in Spain. Theodore (about a.d. 690) repeats
the continental canon, inhibiting bishops from
compelling abbats to come to a council without
reasonable cause (Poenit. II. ii. 3 ; Wasserschl.
p. 203). And in one case, both Abbates pres-
byteri, and Abbates simply, subscribe a Saxon
Council or Witenagemot, viz.. that of Oct. 12.
803 (Kemble, C. D. v. 65), which had for its
purpose the prohibition of lay commendations ;
while abbesses occur sometimes as well, e. g. at
Becanceld, a.d. 694 (Anglo-Sax. Citron.), and
at London, Aug. 1, a.d. 811 (Kemble, C. D. i.
242). Lay abbats continued in England a.d.
696 (Wihtred's Dooms, 18), a.d. 740 (Egbert's
Answ. 7, 11), A.D. 747 (Cuunc. of Clovesho, c. 5),
a.d. 957 (Aelfric's Can. $ 18, abbats not an
order of clergy). In France, an annual Council
of abbats was to be summoned by the bishop
every Nov. 1, the presbyters having their own
special council separately in May (Cone. Aure-
lian. i., a.d. 511 ; Cone. Autisiod., A.D. 578 or
586, c. 7). Abbats, however, sign as represen-
tatives of bishops at the Councils of Orleans, iv.
and v., a.d. 541, 549. But in Spain, abbats
subscribe Church Councils, at first after and then
before presbyters (Cone. Bracar. iii., A.D. 572;
Oscens., a.d. 588; Emerit., a.d. 666 ; Tolet. xii.
and xiii., a.d. 681,683); occurring, indeed, in
all councils from that of Toledo (viii.) A.D. 653.
From A.D. 565, also, there was an unbroken
succession of presbyter-abbats at Hy, retaining
their original missionary jurisdiction over their
monastic colonies, even after these colonies had
grown into a church, and both needed and had
B 2
ABBAT
ABBAT
bishops, although undiocesan (Baed., H. E., iii.
4, v. 24). And clerical abbats (episcopal indeed
first, in Ireland, and afterwards presbyteral
see Todd's St'. Patrick, pp. 88, 89) seem to have
been always the rule in Wales, Ireland, and
Scotland. In Ireland, indeed, abbats were so
identified with not presbyters only but bishops,
that the Pope is found designated as "Abbat
of Rome" (Todd's St. Patrick, 156). Most con-
tinental abbats, however (and even their Prae-
positi and Decani') appear to have been pres-
byters by a.d. 817. These officers may bestow
the benediction ("quamvis presbyteri non sint";
Cone. Aquisgr., a.d. 817, c. 62). All were ordered
to be so, but as yet ineffectually, A.d. 826 {Cone.
Rom. c. 27). And the order was still needed,
but was being speedily enforced by custom, a.d.
1078 (Cone. Pictav. c. 7: " Ut abbates et decani
[aliter abbates diaconi] qui presbyteri non sunt,
presbyteri fiant, aut praelationes amittant ").
A bishop-abbat was forbidden in a particular
instance by a Council of Toledo (xii., a.d. 681,
c. 4), but permitted subsequently as (at first) an
exceptional case at Lobes near Liege, about A.D.
700, (conjecturally) for missionary purposes among
the still heathen Flemish (D'Achery, Spicil. ii.
730) ; a different thing, it should be noted, from
bishops resident in abbeys under the abbat's
jurisdiction (" Episcopi monachi," according to
a very questionable reading in Baed. H. E. iv.
5), as in Ireland and Albanian Scotland, and in
several continental (mostly exempt) abbeys (St.
Denys, St. Martin of Tours, &c), and both at this
and at later periods in exempt abbeys generally
(DutCange, voc. Episcopi Yagantes: Todd's St.
Patrick, 51 sq.) ; although in some of these con-
tinental cases the two plans seem to have been
interchanged from time to time, according as the
abbat happened to be either himself a bishop, or
merely to have a monk-bishop under him
(Martene and Durand, Thcs. Nov. Anecd. i.
Pref. giving a list of Benedictine Abbatial bishops ;
Todd, &.). In Wales, and in the Scottish sees
in Anglo-Saxon England (e.g. Lindisfarne), and
in a certain sense in the monastic sees of the
Augustinian English Church, the bishop was also
an abbat ; but the latter office was here ap-
pended to the former, not (as in the other cases) the
former to the latter. So, too, " Antistes et abbas,"
in Sidon. Apoll. (xvi. 114), speaking of two abbats
of Lerins, who were also Bishops of Eiez. Pos-
sibly there were undiocesan bishop-abbats in
Welsh abbeys of Celtic date (Rees, Welsh SS.
182, 266). Abbats sometimes acted as chore-
piscopi in the 9th century : v. Du Cange, voc.
Chorepiscopus. The abbats also of Catania and of
Monreale in Sicily at a later period were always
bishops (diocesan), and the latter shortly an
archbishop, respectively by privilege of Urban II.,
a.d. 1088-1099, and from a.d. 1176 (Du Cange).
So also at Fulda and Corbey in Germany.
We have lastly an abbat who was also ex
officio a cardinal, in the case of the Abbat of
Clugny, by privilege of Pope Calixtus II., A.D.
1119 (Hug. Mon. ad Pontium Abb. Ciun., ap.
Du Gauge).
The natural rule, that the abbat should be
chosen from the seniors, and from those of the
monastery itself {Reg. S. Scrap. 4, in Holsten.
p. 15), became in time a formal law {Decret.
Bonif. VIII. in 6 de Elect. Abbat to be an
already professed monk ; Capit. Car. M. et Lud.
Pii, i. tit. 81, " ex seipsis," &c, as above quoted;
Concil. Rotom., a.d. 1074, c. 10) : although the
limitation to one above twenty-five years old is
no earlier than Pope Alexander III. {Cone. La-
teran. A.D. 1179). In the West, however, the
rule was, that " Fratres eligant sibi abbatem
de ipsis si habent, sin autem, de extraneis "
(Theodor., Capit. Bach. c. 72, in Wasserschl. p.
151 ; and so also St. Greg., Epist. ii. 41, viii. 15) :
while in the East it seems to be spoken of as a
privilege, where an abbey, having no fit monk
of its own, might choose a fyvonovp'iTns one
tonsured elsewhere (Leunclav. Jus Graeco-Rom.
p. 222).
Repeated enactments prove at once the rule of
one abbat to one monastery, and (as time went
on) its common violation (Hieron. ad Rustic. 95 ;
Reg. S. Serap. 4, and Regulae passim ; Cone.
Venetic, A.D. 465, c. 8 ; Agath., A.D. 506, cc. 38,
57 ; Epaon., a.d. 517, cc. 9, 10 ; and so, in the
East, Justinian, L. I. tit. iii. ; P)e Episc. 1. 39 : and
Balsamon ad Nomocan. tit. i. c. 20, " Si non per-
mittitur alicui ut sit clericus in duabus ecclesiis,
nee prafectus seu abbas duobus monasteriis
praeerit "). No doubt such a case as that of
Wilfrid of York, at once founder and Abbat of
Hexham and Ripon, or that of Aldhelm, Abbat
at once (for a like reason) of Malmesbury, Frome,
and Bradford, was not so singular as it was in
their case both intelligible and excusable. The
spirit of the rule obviously does not apply, either
to the early clusters of monasteries under the
Rule of St. Pfichomius, or to the tens of thou-
sands of monks subject to the government of
e. g. St. Macarius or St. Serapion, or to the later
semi-hierarchical quasi-jurisdiction, possessed as
already mentioned by the Abbats of St. Dalma-
tius, of Monte Cassino, or of Clugny, and by
Benedict of Aniana. Generals of Orders, and
more compact organization of the whole of an
Order into a single body, belong to later times.
The abbat's power was in theory paternal, but
absolute " Timeas ut dominum, diligas ut pa-
trem " {Reg. S. Macar. 7, in Holsten. p. 25 ; and
Regulae passim). See also St. Jerome. Even to
act without his order was culpable {Reg. S.
Basil.). And to speak for another who hesitated
to obey was itself disobedience {Reg. passim).
The relation of monk to abbat is described as
a libera servitus {Reg. S. Orsies. 19, in Holsten.
p. 73); while no monk (not even if he was a
bishop, Baed. H. E., iv. 5) could exchange mo-
nasteries without the abbat's leave {Reg. passim),
not even (although in that case it was some-
times allowed) if he sought to quit a laser for
a stricter rule {Reg. PP. 14, in Holsten. p. 23 ;
Gild. ap. MS. S. Gall. 243, pp. 4, 155) ; unless
indeed he fled from an excommunicated abbat
(Gild. ib. p. 155, and in D'Ach.. Spicil. i. 500).
In later times, and less civilized regions, it was
found necessary to prohibit an abbat from blind-
ing or mutilating his monks {Cone. Franco/.
A.D. 794, c. 18). The rule, however, and the
canons of the Church, limited this absolute power.
And each Benedictine abbat, while bound exactly
to keep St. Benedict's rule himself (e. g. Cone.
Augustod. c. a.d. 670), was enjoined also to make
his monks learn it word for word by heart {Cone.
Aquisgr., a.d. 817, cc. 1, 2, 80). He was also
limited practically in the exercise of his authority
(1) by the system of Praepositi or Priores, elected
usually by himself, but " consilio et voluntate fra-
ABBAT
trum " {Reg. Orient. 3, in Holsten. p. 89 ; Reg. S.
Bened. 65), and. in Spain at one time by the
bishop (Gone. Tolet. iv. a.d. 633, c. 51) ; one in a
Benedictine abbey, but in the East sometimes
two, one to be at home, the other superintending
the monks abroad {Reg. Orient. 2, in Holsten.
p. 89) ; and under the Rule of Pachomius one to
each subordinate house ; a system in some sense
revived, though with a very different purpose, in
the Priores non Conventuales of the dependent
Obedientiae, Cellae, &c, of a later Western Abbey ;
and (2) by that of Decani and Centenarii, elected
by the monks themselves (Hieron. ad Eustoch.
Epist. xviii. ; Reg. Monctch. in Append, ad Hieron.
Opp. V. ; Reg. passim ; see also Baed. H. E. ii. 2),
through whom the discipline and the work of the
monastery were administered. He was limited also
from without by episcopal jurisdiction, more effi-
ciently in the East {Cone. Chalc, a.d. 451, cc. 4,
8, &c. &c. ; and so Balsam, ad Nomocan. tit. xi.,
" Episcopis magis subjecti monachi quam monas-
teriorum praefectis "), but in theory, and until
the 11th century pretty fairly in fact, in the
West likewise {Reg. S. Bened. ; Cone. Agath., a.d.
506, c. 38; Aurelian. i., A.D. 511, c. 19; Epaon.,
a.d. 517, c. 19; Herd. a.d. 524, c. 3; Arelat. v.,
a.d. 554, cc. 2, 3, 5 ; and later still, Cone. TulL,
A.D. 859, c. 9 ; Rotomag., A.D. 878, c. 10 ; Au-
gustan., a.d. 952, c. 6; and see also Greg. M.
Epist., vii. 12 ; x. 14, 33 ; Hincmar, as before
quoted ; and Cone. Paris, a.d. 615 ; Tolet. iv. a.d.
033 ; Cabillon. i. a.d. 650 ; Harutf. a.d. 673, c. 3,
in Baed. H. E. iv. 5, among others, putting restric-
tions upon episcopal interference). The French
canons on this subject are repeated by Pseudo-
Egbert in England {ExcerpA. 63-65, Thorpe, ii.
106, 107). Cassian, however, in the West, from
the beginning, bids monks beware above all of
two sorts of folk, women and bishops {De Instit.
Coenob. xi. 17). And although exemptions, at first
merely defining or limiting episcopal power, but
in time substituting immediate dependence upon
the Pope for episcopal jurisdiction altogether, did
not grow into an extensive and crying evil until
the time of the Councils of Eheims and of Rome,
respectively a.d. 1119 and 1122, and of the self-
denying ordinances of the Cistercians {Chart.
Chirit. in Ann. Cisterc. i. 109) and Premonstra-
tensians, in the years a.d. 1119, 1120, repudiating
such privileges but with a sadly short-lived
virtue, and of the contemporary remonstrances of
St. Bernard {Lib. 3 De Consid., and Epist. 7, 42,
179, 180); yet they occur in exceptional cases
much earlier. As e. g. the adjustment of rights
between Faustus of Lerins and his diocesan bishop
at the Council of Aries, c. a.d. 456 (which se-
cured to the abbat the jurisdiction over his lay
monks, and a veto against the ordination of any
of them, leaving all else to the bishop, Mansi,
vii. 907), a parallel privilege to Agaune (St.
Maurice in the Valais), at the Council of Chalons
a.d. 579, and privilegia of Popes, as of Hono-
rius I. a.d. 628 to Bobbio, and of John IV. a.d.
641 to Luxeuil (see Marculf., Formul. lib. I. 1 ;
and Mabill., Ann. Bened. xiii. no. 11, and Ap-
pend, n. 18). Even exempt monasteries in the
East, i.e. those immediately depending upon a
patriarch, were subject to the visitatorial powers
of regular officials called ExarcJii Monasteriorum
(Balsam, in Nomocan. i. 20 ; and a form in Greek
Pontificals for the ordination of an exarch, Ha-
bert., Archierat., Pontif. Grace, observ. i. ad Edict.
ABBAT 5
pro Archimandrit. pp. 570, 587), exercised some-
times through Apocrisiarii (as like powers of the
bishops through the Defensores Ecclesiaruni) ; and
even to visitations by the emperor himself (Justi-
nian, Novell, exxxiii., cc. 2, 4, 5). The Rule of
Pachomius also qualified the abbat's power by a
council of the Majores Monasterii, and by a tri-
bunal of assessors, viri sancti, 5, 10, or 20, to as-
sist in administering discipline {Reg. S. Pack.
167, in Holsten. p. 49). And the Rule of St. Bene-
dict, likewise, compelled the abbat, while it re-
served to him the ultimate decision, to take
counsel with all the brethren (juniors expressly
included) in greater matters, and with the Seni-
ores Monasterii in smaller ones {Reg. 8. Bened. 2,
3). The Rule of Columbanus gave him an un-
qualified autocracy.
The abbat was likewise limited in his power
over abbey property, and in secular things, by his
inability to interfere in person with civil suits ;
which led to the appointment of an Advocatus,
Yicedomnus, Oeconomus, Procurator {Cod. Can.
Afric. a.d. 418 (?), c. 97; Justinian, lib. i. Cod.
tit. 3, legg. 33, 42 ; Cod. Theodos. lib. ix. tit. 45,
leg. 3 ; St. Greg. Epist. iii. 22 ; Cone. Nicaen. ii.
a.d. 787, c. 11), revived with greater powers
under the title of Advocatus Ecclesiae, or Monas-
terii, by Charlemagne {Capit. A.D. 813, c. 14 ; and
Lothar., Capit. tit. iii. cc. 3, 9, 18, &c.) ; who from
a co-ordinate, frequently proceeded to usurp an
exclusive, interest in the monastic revenues. The
abbat also was required to give account of the
abbey property to both king and bishop, by the
Council of Vern (near Paris) A.D. 755 ; while
neither abbat nor bishop separately could even
exchange abbey lands in Anglo-Saxon England,
but only by joint consent (Theodor., Poen. II. viii.
6, in Wasserschl. p. 208).
Within the abbey and its precincts, the abbat
was to order all work, vestments, services {Reg.
S. Bened. 47, 57 ; Regulae passim) ; to award all
punishments, even to excommunication {Reg. S.
Bened. 24 ; Leidrad., Lugdun. Arch., ad Car. M.
ap. Galland., xiii. 390, restoring to the Abbat of
Insula Barbara, " potestatem ligandi et solvendi,
uti habuerunt praedecessores sui ;" Honorius III.
cap. Dilecta, tit. de Major, et Obedientia, desiring
a neighbouring abbat to excommunicate refrac-
tory nuns, because their abbess could not ; and see
Bingham), or to the use of the " ferrum abscis-
sionis" {Reg. S. Bened. 28). He was also to be ad-
dressed as " Domnus et Abbas " {ib. 63). And while
in the East he was specially commanded to eat with
the other monks {Reg. PP. 11, in Holsten. p. 23),
the Rule of Benedict (56) appoints him a separate
table " cum hospitibus et peregrinis," to which
he might, in case there was room, invite any monk
he pleased. The Council of Aix A.d. 817 (c. 27)
tried to qualify this practice by bidding abbats
" be content " with the food of the other monks,
unless " propter hospitem ;" and some monas-
teries kept up a like protest in the time of Peter
Damiani and Peter the Venerable ; but it con-
tinued to be the Western rule. He was ordered
also to sleep among his monks by the Council
of Frankfort a.d. 794 (c. 13). The abbat was spe-
cially not to wear mitre, ring, gloves, or sandals,
as being episcopal insignia a practice growing
up in the West in the 10th and 11th centuries,
and (vainly) then protested against by the Coun-
cil of Poictiers a.d. 1100, and by St. Bernard
{Epist. 42) and Peter of Blois {Epist. 90 ; and see
6
ABBAT
ABBAT
also Thorn. Cantiprat., De Apiius, i. 6 ; Chron.
Casin. iv. 78). But a mitre is said to have been
granted to the Abbat of Bobbio by Pope Theodo-
rus I. a.D. 643 {Bull. Casin. I. ii. 2), the next
alleged case being to the Abbat of St. Savianus
by Sylvester II. A.D. 1000. A staff, however, but
of a particular form, and some kind of stockings
(" baculum et pedules "), were the special insig-
nia of an abbat in Anglo-Saxon England in the
time of Theodore A.D. 668-690, being formally
given to him by the bishop at his benediction
(Poenit. II. iii. 5, in Wasserschl. p. 204). And the
staff was so everywhere. He was also to shave his
beard, and of course to be tonsured (Cone. Bitu-
ric. A.D. 1031, c. 7). His place of precedence,
if an ordinary abbat, appears to have been finally
fixed as immediately after bishops, among prae-
lati, and before archdeacons (see, however, Decret.
Greg. IX., lib. ii. tit. 1, cap. Decerninms) ; but
the list of our English convocations from Arch-
bishop Kemp's Register A.D. 1452 (Wilk. I. xi.
sq.), though following no invariable rule, appears
usually to postpone the abbat and prior to the
archdeacon. In Saxon England, he shared in like
manner with the king (as did an abbess also) in
the " wer " of a murdered " foreigner " (Lams of
Ine, 23; Thorpe, i. 117). The abbat also was
not named in the canon of the mass (Gavant. in
l!ul>r. Miss. P. iii. tit. 8 ; Macr. F.F., Hierolex, in
Can. Missae), except in the case of the abbat of
Monte Cassino (Ang. a Kuce, in notis ad Leo.
Ostiens. ii. 4). But an anniversary was allowed
to be appointed for him on his death (e. g. Cone.
Aquisgr. A.D. 817, c. 73). He was forbidden (as
were all monks, at least in France) to stand
sponsor for a child (Cone. Autissiod. A.D. 578, c.
25 ; Greg. M., Epist. iv. 42), with a notable ex-
ception, however, in England, in the case of Abbat
Robert of Mont St. Michel, godfather to King
Henry II. 's daughter Eleanor (Rob. de Monte ad
an. 1161), or to go to a marriage (Cone. Autissiod.,
i'.) ; or indeed to go far from his monastery at
all without the bishop's leave (Cone. Arel. v.
a.d. 554) ; or to go about with a train of monks
except to a general synod (Cone. Aquisgr. a.d.
817, c. 59). He of course could not hold pro-
perty (although it was needful sometimes to pro-
hibit his lending money on usury, Pseudo-Egbert.
Poenit. iii. 7, in Thorpe, ii. 199); neither could
he dispose of it by will, even if it accrued to him
by gift or heirship after he became abbat (Eeq.
PP. 2, in Holsten. p. 22) ; but if the heirship
was within the 4th degree, he was exceptionally
enabled to will the property to whom he pleased
(Justinian, lib. i. Cod. tit. de Episc. ct Cler. c.
33). Further, we find bishops and archdeacons
prohibited from seizing the goods of deceased
abbats (Cone. Paris, a.d. 615 ; Cabillon. i. a.d.
650). And later wills of abbats in the West are
sometimes mentioned and confirmed, but prin-
cipally in order to secure to their abbeys pro-
perty bequeathed to those abbeys (see Thomassin).
Privileges of coining money, of markets and tolls,
of secular jurisdiction, began certainly as early
as Ludov. Pius, or even Pipin (Gieseler, ii. p. 255,
notes 5, 6, Eng. Tr.). Others, such as of the title
of prince, of the four Abbates Imperii in Germany
(viz., of Fulda also ex officio the empress's
chancellor of Weissenberg, Kempten, Murbach),
of the English mitred baronial abbats, and the
like, and sumptuary laws limiting the number of
their horses and attendants, &c, belong to later
times. An abbat, however, might hunt in Eng-
land (Laics of Cnut, in Thorpe, i. 429). An abbat,
or an abbess, presiding over a joint house of
monks and nuns, is noted by Theodore as a pecu-
liar Anglo-Saxon custom : " Apud Graecos non
est consuetudo viris feminas habere monachas,
neque feminis viros ; tamen consuetudinem istius
provinciae" (England) "non destruamus"(PoeiY.
II. vi. 8, in Wasserschl. p. 208). The well-known
cases of the Abbesses Hilda and Aelbfied of Whitby
and of Aebba of Coldingham are instances of the
latter arrangement (Baed. H. E. iv. 23, 24, 25,
26) ; and the last of them also of its mischievous-
ness (Id. ib. 25). Tynemouth and Wimbourne
are other instances. But the practice was a Celtic
one (e. g. St. Brigid ; see Todd, St. Patrick,
pp. 11, 12), not simply Anglo-Saxon; and with
Celtic monastic missions, penetrated also into the
Continent (e.g. at Remiremont and Poictiers), and
even into Spain and into Rome itself (so Montalem-
bert, Monks of West, vol. v. p. 297, Engl. Tr.).
It is, however, remarkable, that while instances
of abbesses ruling monks abounded, abbats ruling
nuns rest for us upon the general assertion of
Theodore. And the practice, while it died out on
the Continent, was not restored in England after
the Danish invasion. In the East there was a
rigorous separation between monks and nuns.
And where two such communities were in any
' way connected, a special enactment prohibited all
I but the two superiors from communication with
one another, and placed all possible restrictions
upon even their necessary interviews (Peg. S.
Basil, in Holsten. p. 158). St. Pachomius esta-
blished the double order, but put the Kile be-
tween his monkn and his nuns (Pallad., Hist. Laus.,
cc. 30-42).
Interference by abbats with the ministrations
of parochial clergy could scarcely exist until ab-
bats were presbyters themselves, nor did it ever
(as was naturally the case) reach the extent to
which it was carried by the friars. We find,
however, an enactment of Theodore (Poenit. II. vi.
16, in Wasserschl. p. 209), prohibiting a monas-
tery from imposing penances on the laity, " quia
(haec libertas) proprie clericorum est." And a
much later and more detailed canon, of the 4th
Lateran Council (a.d. 1123), forbids abbats to
impose penance, visit the sick, or administer
unction. They were authorized in the East, it
presbyters, and with the bishop's leave, to confer
the tonsure and the order of reader on their own
; monks (Cone. Nicaen. ii. a.d. 787, c. 14). And
I they could everywhere admit their own monks
("ordinatio monachi" Theodor., Poenit. II. iii. 3,
I in Wasserschl. p. 204). But encroachments upon
the episcopal office, as well as upon episcopal in-
signia, gradually arose. Even in A.D. 448 abbats
were forbidden to give airoo-ToMa (Cone. Constan-
tin., corrected by Du Cange into iriffT6hia =
commendatory letters for poor, and see Cone. Au-
relian. ii. c. 13, and Turon. ii. c. 6). But by a.d.
1123 it had become necessary to prohibit gene-
rally their thrusting themselves into episcopal
offices (Cone. Lateran. iv. c. 17). And we find
it actually asserted by Sever. Binius (in Canon.
Apostol. ap. Labb. Cone. i. 54e, on the authority
of Bellarmine, De Eccles. iv. 8), that two or more
" abbates infulati " might by Papal dispensation
be substituted for bishops in consecrating a
bishop, provided one bishop were there ; while
Innocent IV. in 1489 empowered an abbat by
ABBAT
ABBESS
nimself to confer not only the subdiaconate, but
the diaconate.
The spiritual abbat was supplanted in Wales
(Girald. Cambr., Itin. Camb., and repeatedly) and
in Scotland (Robertson, Early Scotl. i. 329, 339),
by the end of the 8th and so on to the 12th cen-
tury, by the Advocatus Ecclesiae (confused
sometimes with the Oeconomus, who in Welsh
and Irish monasteries was a different officer, and
managed the internal secular affairs, as the other
did the external), called in Scotland Herenach, in
Ireland Airchirvneach, who was originally the lay,
and gradually became also the hereditary, lessee of
the Termon (or abbey) lands, being commonly the
founder or his descendant, or one of the neighbour-
ing lords ; and who held those lauds, receiving a
th ; rd part of their value in the first instance, but
who is found as an hereditary married lay abbat
during the period named ; e. </. Crinan, the Abbat
of Dunkeld, who was grandfather of Shakspeare's
Duncan, and one Dunehad, also Abbat of Dunkeld,
who died in battle a.d. 961. The case was the
same at Abernethy and at Applecross. The spi-
ritual duties devolved upon the bishop and a
prior. See also Du Cange (voc. Advocatus), for
a similar process although to a less degree on the
Continent. In Ireland, the Comoro, or similar
hereditary abbat (or bishop), retained his spiritual
character (Todd, St. Patrick, pp. 155 sq.). The
lay abbats in Northumbria, denounced by Baeda
(Epist. ad Egbert.), were simply fraudulent imi-
tations of abbats in the proper sense of the word.
An entirely like result, however, and to as wide
an extent during Carlovingian times as in Scot-
land, ensued abroad from a different cause,
viz., from the system of commendation [Com-
MENDA]; which began in the time of Charles
Martel (a.d. 717-741, being approved by Cone.
Leptin. a.d. 743 ; Cone. Suession., a.d. 744 ; and
see Baron, in an. 889, n. 31), with the plausible
object of temporarily employing monastic re-
venues for the pressing needs of warfare with
Saracens, Saxons, or other heathens, care being
taken to reserve enough to keep up the monas-
tery proper. The nobleman, or the king himself,
who led the troops thus raised, became titular
abbat. And in Carlovingian times, accordingly,
most of the great Frank and Burgundian nobles
and kings, and sometimes even bishops (e. g.
Hatto of Mainz, a.d. 891-912, who enjoyed the
reputation of holding twelve abbeys at once),
were titular abbats of some great monastery, as
of St. Denys or St. Martin, held for life or even
by inheritance ; the revenues of which were soon
diverted to purposes less patriotic than that of
supplying the king with soldiers (see a short
list by way of specimen in Gieseler, ii. p. 411,
note 1, Eng. Tr.). In the East a like system ap-
pears to have grown up, although hardly from
the same origin, some centuries later ; John, Pa-
triarch of Antioch, at the beginning of the 12th
century, informing us that most monasteries in
his time were handed over to laymen (xapivTa-
KapioL = benefciarii), for life or for two or tine
descents, by gift of the emperors; while Balsamon
(ad Cone. Nicaen. c. 13) actually condemns him
for condemning the practice. Later abuses of the
kind in the West, as in the time of Francis
I. of France or of Louis XIV., need here be only
alluded to.
(Bingham ; Bulteau, Hist. Mon. d'Orient ; Du
Cange; Ant. Dadini, Ascetic, sen Origg. Eei Monas-
tic. ; Ferraris ; Helyot, Hist . des Ordr. Mon. ; Her-
zog ; Hospinian, Be Monach. ; Macri FF., Hiero-
lexic. ; Martene, De Antiq. Monach. Bitibus ; Mar-
tigny ; Montalembert, Monks of the West ; Tho-
massin, Be Benefic. ; Van Espen.) [A. W. H.]
ABBATISSA. [Abbess.]
ABBESS. (Abbatissa found in inscript. of
a.d. 569, in Murator. 429. 3, also called Anti-
stiia and Majorissa, the female superior of a body
of nuns ; among the Greeks, 'Hyovfj.4vti, 'Apx<-
fxav<Sp?Tis, Archimandritissa, Justinian, Novell.,
'Afi/xas or mother, Pallad., Hist. Bans., c. 42, in
the time of Pachomius, Mater monasterii or moni-
alium, see St. Greg. M., Bial. IV. 13 [where
" Mater " stands simply for a nun] ; Cone.
Mogunt. A.D. 813; Aquisgr., A.D. 816, lib. ii.).
In most points subject to the same laws as ab-
bats, mutatis mutandis ; elective, and for life
(triennial abbesses belonging to years so late as
A.n. 1565, 1583) ; and solemnly Admitted by the
bishop Benedictio Abbatissae (that for an abbess
monasticam rcgulam profitentem, capit. ex Canone
Theodori Anglorum Episcopi, is in the Ordo Bo-
manus, p. 164, Hittorp.); and in France re-
stricted to one monastery apiece (Cone. Vern. A.D.
755) ; and with Braepositae, and like subordinates,
to assist them (Cone. Aquisgr., A.D. 816, lib. ii.
cc. 24-26) ; and bound to obey the bishop in all
things, whether abbesses of Monachae or of Cano-
nicae (Cone. Cabillon. ii. a.d. 813, c. 65) ; and sub-
ject to be deprived for misconduct, but in this
case upon report of the bishop to the king (Cone.
Francof. A.D. 794) ; bound also to give account of
monastic property to both king and bishop (Cone.
Tern., a.d. 755) ; entitled to absolute obedience
and possessed of ample powers of discipline, even
to expulsion, subject however to the bishop (Cone.
Aquisgr. a.d. 816, lib. ii.) ; and save only that
while an abbat could, an abbess could not, excom-
municate (Honorius III., cap. Bilecta, tit. de Ma-
jor, et Obediential) ; neither could she give the veil
or (as some in France appear to have tried to
do) ordain (Caj/itul. Car. M. an. 789, c. 74,
Anseg. 71); present even at Councils in England
(see Abbat, and compare Lingard, Antiq. i.
139 ; Kemble, Antiq. ii. 198 ; quoted by Mont-
alembert, Monks of West, v. 230, Engl. Tr.).
While, however, a bishop was necessary to
admit and bless an abbat, Theodore ruled
in England, although the rule did not become
permanent, that a presbyter was sufficient in like
case for an abbess (Poenit. II. iii. 4, in Wasserschl.,
p. 203). The limitation to forty years old at elec-
tion is as late as the Council of Trent ; Gregory
the Great speaks of sixty (Epnst. iv. 11). An
abbess also was not to leave her monastery, in
France, save once a year if summoned by the
king with the bishop's consent to the king's
presence upon monastic business (Cone. Vern.
a.d. 755 ; Cabillon. ii. a.d. 813, c. 57). Neither
was she even to speak to any man save upon
necessary business, and then before witnesses
and between the first hour of the day and
evening (Cone. Cabillon. ii. a.d. 813, cc. 55,
56). For the exceptional cases of Anglo-Saxon,
Irish, or Continental Irish, abbesses ruling
oyer mixed houses of monks and nuns, see
Abbat. It was noted also as a specially
Western custom, that widows as well as virgins
were made abbesses (Theod., Boenit. II. iii. 7, in
Wasserschl. p. 204). [A. W. H.]
ABBEY
ABJURATION
ABBEY. [Monastery.]
ABBUNA, the common appellation of the
Bishop, Metran, or Metropolitan, of Axum, or
Abyssinia, or Ethiopia, not a patriarch, but, on
the contrary, appointed and consecrated always
by the patriarch of Alexandria, and specially
forbidden to have more than seven suffragan
bishops under him, lest he should make himself
so, twelve bishops being held to be the lowest
canonical number for the consecration of a patri-
arch. In a Council, if held in Greece, he occu-
pied the seventh place, immediately after the
prelate of Seleucia. (Ludolf, Hist. Ethiop.
iii. 7.) [A. W. H.]
ABDELLA, martyr in Persia under Sapor,
commemorated Apr. 21 (Martyr. Rom. Vet.). [C]
ABDIANUS, of Africa, commemorated June
3 (Mart. Hieron.). [C]
ABDON, Abdo or Abdus, and SENNEN,
Sennes, or Sennis, Persian princes, martyred at
Rome under Decius, A.D. 250, are commemorated
July 30 (Marty rologium Rom. Vet.,Bedae, Adonis).
Proper office in Gregorian Sacramentary, p. 116 ;
and Antiphon in the Lib. Antiphon. p. 704.
It is related (Adonis Martyrol. iii. Kal. Aug.)
that their relics were translated in the time of
Constantine to the cemetery of Pontianus. There
Bosio discovered a remarkable fresco, represent-
ing the Lord, seen from the waist upward emerg-
ing from a cloud, placing wreaths on the heads
of SS. Abdon and Sennen (see woodcut). This is
_ "iiiuuiiwii'niiiii
Abdon and Sennen. (Fiom the cemetery of Pontianus.)
in front of the vault enclosing the supposed
remains of the martyrs, which bears the inscrip-
tion [depositi]ONIS DIE. The painting is, in
Martigny's opinion, not earlier than the seventh
century. It is remarkable that the painter has
evidently made an attempt to represent the Per-
sian dress. The saints wear pointed caps or
hoods, similar to those in which the Magi are
sometimes represented; cloaks fastened with a
fibula on the breast ; and tunics of skin entirely
unlike the Roman tunic, and resembling that
given to St. John Baptist in a fresco of the
Lord's Baptism in the same cemetery of Ponti-
anus (Bottari, Sculture e Pitture, tav. xliv.).
Some account of the peculiar dress of Abdon and
Sennen may be found in Lami's treatise Be Eru-
ditione Apostolorum, pp. 121-166.
The gesture of the Lord, crowning the martyrs
for their constancy, is found also on the bottoms
of early Christian cups [Glass, Christian],
where He crowns SS. Peter and Paul, and
other saints (Buonarruoti, Vasi Antichi, tav.
xv. fig. 1, and elsewhere) ; and on coins of the
Lower Empire the Lord is uot unfrequently
seen crowning two emperors. (Martigny, Diet,
des Antiq. chreticnnes.~\ [C]
ABECEDARIAN. The term " Hymnus " or
" Paean Abecedarius " is applied specially to the
hymn of Sedulius, "A solis ortus cardine."
[Acrostic] [C]
ABERCIUS of Jerusalem, laairoaToXos
dau^aTovpybs, commemorated Oct. 22 (Cal.
Byzant). [C]
ABGARUS, King, commemorated Dec. 21
(Cal. Armen.). [C]
ABIBAS, martyr of Edessa, commemorated
Nov. 15 (Cal. Byzant.). [O]
ABIBON, invention of his relics at Jerusa-
lem, Aug. 3 (Martyrol. Rom. Vet.). [O]
ABILIUS, bishop of Alexandria (a.d. 86-96),
commemorated Feb. 22 (Martyrol. Rom. Vet.)]
Maskarram 1 = Aug. 29 (Cal. Ethiop.). [C]
ABJURATION-denial, disavowal, or re-
nunciation upon oath. Abjuration, in common
ecclesiastical language, is restricted to the renun-
ciation of heresy made by the penitent heretic
on the occasion of his reconciliation to the Church.
In some cases the abjuration was the only cere-
mony required ; but in others it was followed
up by the imposition of hands and by unction.
The practice of the ancient Church is described
by St. Gregory the Great in a letter to Quiricus
and the bishops of Iberia on the reconciliation
of the Nestorians. According to this, in cases in
which the heretical baptism was imperfect, the
rule was that the penitent should be baptized ;
but when it was complete, as in the case of the
Arians, the custom of the Eastern Church was
to reconcile by the Chrism ; that of the Western,
by the imposition of hands. As, however, the
mystery of the Chrism was but the Oriental rite
of Confirmation, the practice was substantially
identical. (On the question of Re-baptism, see
Re-Baptism, Baptism.) Converts from the
Monophysites were received after simple confes-
sion, and the previous baptism was supposed to
take effect " for the remission of sins," at the
moment at which the Spirit was imparted by
the imposition of hands ; or the convert was re-
united to the Church by his profession of faith
(St. Greg. Ep. 9, 61). A similar rule is laid
down by the Quinisext Council, canon 95, which
classes with the Arians, the Macedonians, Nova-
tians and others, to be received with the Chrism.
The Paulianists, Montanists, Eunomians, and
others, are to be re-baptized ; to be received as
Christians, on the^r profession, the first day, as
Catechumens the second, and after they have
been allowed a place in the Church as hearers
for some time, to be baptized. In all cases, the
profession of faith must be made by the pre-
sentation of a libellus, or form of abjuration, in
which the convert renounced and anathematized
his former tenets. After declaring his abjura-
tion not to be made on compulsion, from fear or
any other unworthy motive, he proceeded to
anathematize the sect renounced, by all its
ABLUTION
names ; the neresiarchs, and their successors, past,
present, and future; he then enumerated the
tenets received by them, and, having repudiated
them singly and generally, he ended with making
profession of the true faith. (Bandinius, Monu-
menta ii. 109-111. But for the whole subject see
Martene and Durand, De Antiquis Ecclesiae IUti-
bus II. liber iii. ch. 6 ; Abj. de levi et de vehement i,
later date. See Landon's Eccl. Die.) [D. B.]
ABLUTION. A term under which various
kinds of ceremonial washing are included. The
principal are the following : the washing of the
head, as a preparation for unction in baptism,
and the washing of the feet, which in some
places formed part of the baptismal ceremony
[Baptism] ; the washing of the feet of the poor
by exalted persons, which forms part of the cere-
mony of Maundy Thursday [Feet, washing of];
the lustral ceremony which preceded entrance to a
church [Cantharus; Holy Water]; and the
washing of the priest's hands at certain points
in the celebration of the liturgy [Aquamanile ;
Hands, washing of]. [C]
ABORTION. The crime of procuring abor-
tion is little, if at all, noticed in the earliest
laws. It is a crime of civilization : the repre-
sentative of the principle which in a barbarous
state of society is infanticide. The oration of
Lysias which was pronounced on occasion of a
suit on this subject is lost, so that it cannot be
decided whether the act was regarded by the
Athenians as an offence against society, or merelv
as a private wrong. It is in the latter aspect
that it is chiefly regarded in the civil law. The
child unborn represents certain interests, and his
life or death may be beneficial or injurious to
individuals : thus, it may have been, that a
father, by his wife's crime, might lose the jus
trium liberorum. The case quoted from Cicero
pro Cluentio (Dig. xlviii. 19, 39), in which a
woman was condemned to death for having pro-
cured abortion, having been bribed by the second
heir, is clearly exceptional. The only passage
in the civil law in which the crime is mentioned
without such connexion, is a sentence of Ulpian,
in the Pandects (Dig. xlviii. 8, 8, ad legem Cor-
neliam de Sicariis), where the punishment is
declared to be banishment. The horrible preva-
lence of the practice among the Romans of the
Empire may be learned from Juvenal.
It was early made a ground of accusation by
the Christians against the heathen. Tertullian
denounces the practice as homicidal. "Pre-
vention of birth is a precipitation of murder,"
Apol. ix. Minucius Felix declares it to be par-
ricide.
The Council of Ancyra (a.d. 314) having men-
tioned that the ancient punishment was penance
for life, proceeds to limit it to ten years ; and
the same space of time is given by St/Basil, who
condemns the practice in two canons, ii. and viii.,
alleging the character of the crime as committed
against both the mother and the offspring ; and
declining to accept the distinctions drawn by
the lawyers between the degrees of criminality
varying with the time of the gestation. The
Council of Lerida (324) classes the crime with
infanticide, but allows the mother to be received
to Communion after seven years' penance even
when her sin is complicated with adultery. The
Council in Trullo condemns it to the penance
ABSTINENCE 9
of homicide. Pope Gregory III. in the next
century reverts to the ten years' penance, al-
though he differs from St. Basil in modifying the
sentence to a single year in cases where the
child has not been formed in the womb ; this is
based on Exod. xxi., and is countenanced by St.
Augustine, in Quacstiones Exodi, in a passage in-
corporated by Gratian.
There is thus abundant evidence that the crime
was held in extreme abhorrence, and punished
with great severity, as pertaining to wilful
murder, by the canons of the Church. By the
Visigothic law (lib. VI. tit. iii. c. 1), the person
who administered a draught for the purpose
was punished with death. [D. B.]
ABRAHAM. (1) the patriarch, comme-
morated Oct. 9 (Martyrol. Rom. Vet.). Also on
the 23rd of the month Nahasse, equivalent to
August 16. {Gal. Ethiop. ; Neale, Eastern Church,
Introd. pp. 805, 815.)
(2) Patriarch and martyr, commemorated
Taksas 6 = Dec. 2 {Cal. Ethiop.). [C]
ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB are
commemorated by the Ethiopic Church on the
28th of every month of their Calendar. [C]
ABRAXAS GEMS. [See Abrasax in
Dict. of Christ. Biogr.]
ABREHA, first Christian king of Ethio-
pia, commemorated Tekemt 4 = Oct. 1 {Gal.
Ethiop.). [-&]
ABRENUNTIATIO. [Baptism.]
ABSOLUTION (Lat. Absolutio). (For Sacra-
mental Absolution, see Confession, Penitence.)
1. A short deprecation which follows the
Psalms of each Nocturn in the ordinary offices
for the Hours. In this usage, the word "" abso-
lutio " perhaps denotes simply " ending " or " com-
pletion," because the monks, when the Nocturns
were said at the proper hours of the night, broke
off the chant at this point and went to rest
(Maori Hierolexicon s. v.). In feet, of the " Ab-
solutions " in the present Roman Breviary, only
one (that " in Tertio Nocturno, et pro feria iv.
et Sabbato ") contains a prayer for absolution,
in the sense of a setting free from sin.
2. For the Absolution which follows the intro-
ductory Confession in most Liturgies and Offices
see Confession.
3. The prayer for Absolution at the beginning
of the office is, in Oriental Liturgies, addressed
to the Son : but many of these liturgies contain
a second "Oratio Absolutionis," at some point
between Consecration and Communion, which is
addressed to the Father. For example, that in
the Greek St. Basil (Pieuaudot, Lit. Orient, i. 81),
addressing God, the Father Almighty (o Qeas,
6 Ylaryp 6 YlavTOKpa.ru. p), and reciting the pro-
mise of the Keys, pi^iys Him to dismiss, remit
and pardon our sins (&ves, &(pes, avyxupyo-ov
VlJ.1v). Compare the Coptic St. Basil (/6. i. 22).
4. The word " Absolutio " is also applied to
those prayers said over a corpse or a tomb in
which remission of the sins of the departed is
entreated from the Almighty. (Macri Hiero-
lexicon, s. v.) [C]
ABSTINENCE. Days of abstinence, as they
are called, on which persons may take their
meals at the ordinary hour, and eat ami drink
what thoy please, in any quantity so that they
10
ABUNA
ACCENTUS ECCLESIASTICUS
abstain from meat alone, belong to modern times.
Anciently, fasting and abstinence went together,
as a general rule, formed parts of the same idea,
and could not be dissevered. There may have
been some few, possibly, who ate and drank in-
discriminately, when they broke their fast, as
Socrates (v. 22, 10) seems to imply ; but in
general, beyond doubt, abstinence from certain
kinds of food was observed on fasting days wften
the fast was over, " abstinentes ab iis, quae non
rejicimus, sed differimus," as Tertullian says
(De Jejun. 15). Thus it will be more properly
considered under the head of fasting, to which
it subserved. [E. S. F.]
ABUNA. [Abbuna.]
ABUNDANTIUS, of Alexandria, commemo-
rated Feb. 26 (Mart. Hicron.). [C]
ABUNDIUS. (1) Martyr at Rome under
Decius, commemorated Aug. 26 (Mart. Rom. Yet.
et Bedae); Aug. 23 (Mart. Hieronym.).
(2) The deacon, martyr at Spoleto under Dio-
cletian, Dec. 10 (Martyrol. Rom. Vet.). [C]
ACACIUS, martyr, commemorated May 7
(Cal. Byzant.). [C.J
ACATH1STUS (Gr. aKaQivTos). A hymn of
the Greek Church, sung on the eve of the fifth
Sunday in Lent, in honour of the Blessed Virgin,
to whose intercession the deliverance of Constan-
tinople from the barbarians on three several oc-
casions was attributed. Meursius assigns its
origin more especially to the deliverance of the
city from Chosroes, king of the Persians, in the
reign of the Emperor Heraclius (626). It is
called axadicTTOs, because during the singing of
it the whole congregation stood, while during
the singing of other hymns of the same kind
they occasionally sat. (Suicer's Thesaurus, s. v. ;
Keale's Eastern Ch. Introd. 747 ; Daniel's Codex
Llturg. iv. 223.)
Francis Junius wrongly supposed this use of
the Acathistus to commemorate the journey of
Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. (Macri Hiero-
lexicon, s. v.)
The word Acathistus is also used to designate
the day on which the hymn was used. (Sabae
Typicum, in Suicer, s. v.) [C]
ACCENTUS ECCLESIASTICUS. One of
the two principal kinds (accentus and concentus)
of ecclesiastical music.
1. The consideration of this subject is encum-
bered by an especial difficulty the popular, and
now all but exclusive application of the word
" accent " to emphasis, stress, or ictus. Accent,
however, claims and admits of a much wider
application. Ben Jonson a speaks of accent as
being "with the ancients, a tuning of the voice,
in lifting it up, or letting it down," a defini-
tion not only clear and concise, but thoroughly
accordant with the derivation of the word
" accent," from accino, i. e. ad cano, to sing to.
We are ail conscious of and affected by the
varieties of accent b (in this, its etymological
and primitive acceptation) in foreign languages
spoken by those to whom they are native, as
well as in our native language spoken by fo-
reigners, or (perhaps still more) by residents of
a English Grammar, 1640, chap. viii.
h " Est in dicendo etiam quidam cantus obscurior."
Cicero, Orat. 1*, 57.
parts of Great Britain other than our own. The
Scottish, Irish, and various provincial accents,
are not so much the result of different vocaliza-
tion (i.e. utterance of vowel sounds) as of the
different gradations in which the Scotch, Irish,
and others, " tune their voices."
2. The Accentus Ecclesiasticus, called also mo-
dus choraliter legendi, is the result of successive
attempts to ensure in Public Worship uniformity
of delivery consistent with uniformity of matter
delivered; so as, if not to obliterate, at least to
hide individual peculiarities under the veil of a
catholic " use." It presents a sort of mean be-
tween speech and song, continually inclining to-
wards the latter, never altogether leaving its
hold on the former ; it is speech, though always
attuned speech, in passages of average interest
and importance ; it is song, though always dis-
tinct and articulate song, in passages demanding
more fervid utterance. Though actually musical
only in concluding or culminating phrases, the
Accentus Ecclesiasticus is always sufficiently iso-
chronous to admit of its being expressed in musi-
cal characters, a process to which no attempt
(and such attempts have been repeatedly made)
has ever succeeded in subjecting pure speech.
3. Accentus is probably the oldest, as it is cer-
tainly the simplest, form of Cantus Ecclesiasticus.
Like most art-forms and modes of operation
which have subsequently commended themselves
on their own acco int to our sense of beauty, it
grew in all likelihood out of a physical difficulty.
The limited capacity of the so-called "natural"
or speaking voice must have been ascertained at
a very early period ; indeed its recognition is
confirmed by the well-known practice whether
of the ancient temple, theatre, or forum. The old
rhetoricians, says Forkel, are, without exception,
of the same way of thinking ; and we may, from
their extant works, confidently conclude, that
neither among the Greeks nor the Romans was
poetry ever recited but in a tone analogous to
that since known as the accentus ecclesiasticus.
The Abbe' du Bos d too has demonstrated that
not only was the theatrical recitation of the
ancients actually musical " un veritable chant,"
susceptible of musical notation, and even of in-
strumental accompaniment but that all their
public discourses, and even the,ir familiar lan-
guage, though of course in a lesser degree, par-
took of this character.
4. The advantages resulting from the employ-
ment of isochronous sounds (sounds which are
the result of equal-timed vibrations) would be-
come apparent on the earliest occasion, when a
single orator was called upon to fill a large
auditorium, and to make himself intelligible, or
even audible, to a large assembly. So, too, for
simultaneous expression on the part of large num-
bers, these advantages would at once make them-
selves felt. In congregational worship a uniform
(technically, a " unisonous ") utterance might
seem as essential, as conducive to the decency
and order with which we are enjoined to do *' all
c " Die alten Sprach- and Declamations-Lehrer sind
sammtlich eben derselben Meinung, und wir konnen aus
ihren hinterlassenen Werken mit dem bochsten Grad von
Wahrscheinlichkeit schliesscn, dass sowohl bei den Grie-
chen als Riimern die meisten Gedichte mit keiner amiern
als mit dieser Art von Gesang gesungen wetden sein.'"
Forkel, Allgevi. Gcschiddr da- Musilc, ii, 153.
"i Reflexions sur la l J oesk. &c.
ACCENTUS ECCLESIASTICUS
ACCENTUS ECCLESIASTICUS 11
things," as is that still more essential uniformity
expressed in the term Common Prayer, without
which, indeed, congregational worship would seem
to be impossible. " Accent," says Ornithoparcus,
" hath great affinity with Concent, for they be
Brothers : because Sonus, or Sound (the King of
Ecclesiastical Harmony), is Father to them both,
and begat one upon Grammar, the other upon
JMusick," &c. (He) "so divided his kingdome,
that Concentus might be chief Ruler over all
things that are to be sung, as Hymnes, Sequences,
Ant i phones, Responsories, Introitus, Tropes, and
the like : and Accentus over all things which are
read ; as Gospels, Lectures, Epistles, Orations,
Prophecies : For the functions of the Papale
Kingdome are not duely performed without Con-
cent" &c. " Hence it was that I, marking how
many of those Priests (which by the leave of the
learned I will saye) doe reade those things they
have to reade so wildly, so monstrously, so
faultily (that they doe not onely hinder the de-
votion of the faithful, but also even provoke
them to laughter and scorning, with their ill
reading), resolved after the doctrine of Concent
to explain the rules of Accent ; in as much as it
belongs to a Musitian, that together with Con-
cent, Accent might also as true heire in this
Ecclesiasticall Kingdome be established : Desiring
that the praise of the highest King, to whom all
honour and reverence is due, might duely be
performed." e
5. The Accentus Ecclesiasticus, or modus cho-
raliter legendi, must have been perpetuated by
tradition only, for many ages. That the rules
for its application have been reduced to writing
only in comparatively modern times does not in
the least invalidate its claim to a high antiquity.
On the contrary, it tends to confirm it. That
which is extensively known and universally ad-
mitted has no need of verification. It is only
when traditions are dying out that they begin to
be put on record. So long as this kind of reci-
tation was perfectly familiar to the Greeks and
Romans there could be no necessity for " noting "
it ; not till it began to be less so were " accents "
(the characters so called) invented for its pre-
servation, just as the " vowel-points " were
introduced into Hebrew writing subsequently to
the dispersion of the Jews. The force and accu-
racy of tradition, among those unaccustomed to
the use of written characters, have been well
ascertained and must be unhesitatingly admitted ;
their operation has certainly been as valuable in
music as in poetry and history. Strains incom-
parably longer and more intricate than those now
accepted as the ecclesiastical accents have been
passed on from voice to voice, with probably but
trifling alteration, for centuries, among peoples
who had no other method of preserving and
transmitting them.
6. The authorities for the application of the
Cantus Ecclesiasticus are, as we have said, com-
paratively modern. Lucas Lossius, f a writer
frequently quoted by Walther, Kock, and other
more recent musical theorists, gives six forms of
cadence or close, i.e., modes of bringing to an
end a phrase tin.' earlier portion of which had
been recited in monotone. According to Lossius,
e Andreas Ornithoparcus, Bis Microiogus.
by John Dowland. 1G09. P. 69.
' Erotemaia ilusicae Fraction, 1590.
Translated
acceut is (1) immutahilis when a phrase is con-
cluded without any change of pitch, i.e., when it
is monotonous throughout ; (2) it is medius when
on the last syllable the voice falls from the
reciting note (technically the dominant) a third ;
(3) gravis, when on the last syllable it falls a
fifth ; (4) acutus, when the " dominant," after the
interposition of a few notes at a lower pitch, is
resumed ; (5) moderatus, when tjie monotone is
interrupted by an ascent, on the penultimate, of
a second ; (6) interrogativus, when the voice,
after a slight descent, rises scale-wise on the last
syllable. To these six forms other writers add
one more, probably of more recent adoption ;
(7) the finalis, when the voice, after rising a
second above the dominant, falls scale-wise to
the fourth below it, on which the last syllable is
sounded. The choice of these accents or cadences
is regulated by the punctuation (possible, if not
always actual) of the passage recited ; each par-
ticular stop had its particular cadence or cadences.
Thus the comma (distinctio) was indicated and
accompanied by the accentus immutabilis, acutus,
or moderatus ; the colon (duo punctd) bv the
medius ; and the full stop (punctum quadratum
ante syllabam capitalem) by the gravis.
7. The following table, from Lossius, exhibits
the several accents, in musical notation :
(l) Immutabilis.
Lee - ti - o
(2) Medius.
E - pis - to - lae sane - ti Pau - li.
et o - pe - ra - tur vir - tu - tes in vo - bis :
(3) Gravis.
Be - ne - di- cen - tur in te om-nes gen-tes.
(4) Acutus. (5) Moderatus.
Cum spi - ri - tu coe - pe - ri - tis nunc, Cum li-de - li,
(6) ISTERROGATIVUS.
m
ex op-e-ri-bus le-gis an exau-di-tu fi-de - i?
(7) Fixalis.
*_
ri
a - in - ma me
ad te
De
The examples given by Ornithoparcus are similar
to the above, with two exceptions (5), the Mode-
ratus, which in ' His Microiogus ' appears thus :
zs .-
il - lu - mi
sa - lem.
And the Tntcrrogativus, of which he says : " A
speech with an interrogation, whether it have in
the end a word of one sillable, or of two sillables,
or more, the accent still falls upon the last sil-
lable, and must be acuated. Now the signs of
such a speech are, who, which, what, and those
which are thus derived, why, wherefore, whei,
how, in what sort, wlwther, and such like."
12
ACCESS
ACLEENSE CONCILIUM
i
-=+ *-
Un - de es tu i
i
Quid est ho mo?
Quantas ha- be - o In - i -qui- ta-tes etpec-ca-ta?
" To these are joyned verbes of asking ; as,
Iaske, I seeke, I require, I searche, I hear e, I see,
and the like."
Some variations too from the above, in the
present Roman use, are noticed by Mendelssohn :8
e.g. in the Gravis, where there the voice rises a
tone above the dominant, on the penultimate,
before fallina; :
changing the cadence from a fifth (compare 5)
to a sixth ; and in the Interrogativus, where the
voice falls from the dominant (also on the penul-
timate) a third :
To the accentus belong the following forms, or
portions of offices of the Latin Church : h (1)
Tonus Collectarum sew Orationum. (2) Tonus
Epistolarum et Evangelii, including the melodies
to which the Passion is sung in Passion Week.
(3) Tonus Lectionum solemnis et lugubris ; Pro-
phetiarurn et Martyrologii. (4) Various forms
of Intonation, Benediction, and Absolution used
in the Liturgy. (5) Single verses. (6) The
Exclamations and Admonitions of the assistants at
the altar. (7) The Prefaces ; the Pater Noster,
with its Prefaces ; the Benediction, Pax Domini
sit semper vobiscum. [J. H.]
ACCESS. 1. The approach of the priest to
the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist.
Hence the expression " prayer of access " is used
as equivalent to the Evxh ttjs irapao-Tao-zws, or
prayer of the priest's presenting himself at the
altar, in the Greek Liturgy of St. James (Neale's
Eastern Church, Introduction, i. 360).
2. But the expression " prayer of access," or
"prayer of humble access," is more commonly
used by English liturgical writers to designate
a confession of unworthiness in the. sight of God,
occurring at a later point of the service ; gene-
rally between consecration and communion. So
that the " prayer of humble access " corresponds
to the " Prayer of Inclination " or " of bowing
the neck " in the Greek Liturgies. Though
words more expressive of " humble access "
occur in other places ; for instance, in the Greek
St. James, where the priest declares : iSov irpos-
iiXOou to> deicp TOVTtfj Kal fTTOVfiaviw jj.v<TTripi(ji
ovx &s |ios virapx^" (Daniel's Codex Lit., iv.
88); in the Mozarabic, "Accedam ad Te in
humilitate spiritus mei " (lb. i. 71) ; or in the
" Domine et Deus noster, ne aspicias ad multitu-
dinem peccatorum nostrorum" in the Liturgy of
Adaeus and Maris (lb. i. 176). Compare CON-
FESSION. [C]
ACCLAMATION. 1. A term applied by
epigraphists to certain short inscriptions, ex-
pressed in the second person, and containing a
e Eeisebriefe aus den Jahren 1830 bis 1832, p. 167.
h Rb.au, Enchiridion, 1538 ; quoted by Arrey von
Donimer; Koch's Musikalischcs Lexikon.
wish or injunction ; as, VIVAS IN DEO (Mura-
tori, Thesaurus Vet. Inscrip. 1954, no. 4). By
far the greater part of these acclamations are
sepulchral [Epitaph], but similar sentences are
also seen on amulets, on the bottoms of cups
[Glass, Christian] found in the Catacombs, and
on gems. (See the Articles.)
2. The term acclamation is also sometimes
applied to the responsive cry or chant of the
congregation in antiphonal singing. Compare
Acrostic ( 5) ; Antiphon. [C]
ACCUSERS, FALSE ; HOW PUNISHED.
Those who made false accusations against any
person were visited with severe punishments
under the canons of several councils.
In Spain. The Council of Illiberis (a.d. 305
or 306) refused communion even at the hour ot
death (" in fine," al. " in finem ") to any person
who should falsely accuse any bishop, priest, or
deacon (can. 75).
In France. By the 14th canon of the 1st
Council of Aries (a.d. 314) those who falsely
accuse their brethren were excommunicated for
life (" usque ad exitum "). This canon was re-
enacted at the 2nd Council held at the same
city (a.d. 443), but permission was given for the
restoration of those who should do penance and
give satisfaction commensurate with their
offence (can. 24). See also Calumny". [I. B.]
ACEPSIMAS, commemorated Nov. 3 (Cal.
Byzant.) ; Nov. 5 (Cal. Armen.) ; April 22
(Mart. Pom.). [C]
ACERRA or ACERNA. (The latter is
possibly the original form, from Acer, maple.)
Acerra designated, in classical times, either the
incense-box used in sacrifices ; or a small altar, or
incense-burner, placed before the dead. (Smith's
Diet, of Greek and Roman Antiquities, s. v.) And
in ecclesiastical latinity also it designates either
an incense-box or an incense-burner ; " Area
thuris, vel thuribulum, vel thurarium." (Papias
in Ducange's Glossary s. v. ' Acerna.')
It is used in the rubrics of the Gregorian sa-
cramentary (Corbey MS.) in the office for the
consecration of a church (p. 428) ; and in the
office for the baptism of a bell (p. 438) ; in
the latter in the form Acerna : " tunc pones in-
censum in acerna." In both cases it designates
an incense-burner or Thurible (q. v.). [C]
ACHAICUM CONCILIUM. Two synods
of Achaia, in Greece, are recorded : one, a.d. 250,
against the Valesians, who, like Origen, inter-
preted St. Matth. xix. 12, literally; the other, in
359, against the followers of Aetius. [A. W. H.]
ACHILLEA S (or Achillas), bishop of Alex-
andria, commemorated Nov. 7 (Martyrol. Pom.
Vet.). [C]
ACHILLEUS, the eunuch, martyr at Rome,
May 12, A.D. 96. (Martyrol. Mom. Vet, Bier.
Bedae). [C] '
ACINDYNUS (' AklvSwos) and companions,
martyrs, A.d. 346, commemorated Nov. 2 (Cal.
Byz.). [C]
ACEPHALI [Vagi Clerici ; Autoce-
phali].
ACLEENSE CONCILIUM (of Aclea =
" Eield of the Oak," supposed to be Aycliffe, in
Durham; Raine's Priory of Hcxlmm, i. 38, note),
(i.) a.d. 781 (Flor. Wig. in M. II. B. 545), but
ACOEMETAE
782 (Angl.-Sax. Chr. and H. Hunt., ib. 336,
731). (ii.) a.d. 787 (Kemble, C. D., No. 151).
(iii.) A.D. 788, Sept. 29, in the year and month of
the murder of Elt'wald of Northumbria, Sept. 21,
788 (Wilk. i. 153 ; Mansi, xiii. 825, 826). (iv.)
a.d. 789 (Angl.-Sax. Chr., M. H. B. 337 "a great
synod "), in the 6th year of Brihtric, King of
Wessex (H. Hunt., ib. 732). (v.) a.d. 804 (Kemble,
C. D., No. 186). (vi.) a.d. 805, Aug. 6 (id. ib.,
Nos. 190, 191). (vii.) a.d. 810 (id. ib., No. 256).
Nos. ii., v., and vi. probably, and No. vii. cer-
tainly, were at Ockley, in Surrey ; or, at any
rate, not in the Northumbrian Aclea. Nothing
more is known of any of these synods, or rather
Witenagemots, beyond the deeds (grants of lands)
above referred to, in Kemble. [A. W. H.]
ACOEMETAE, lit. the " sleepless " or " un-
resting " (for the theological or moral import of
the term v. Suicer, 2'Jiesaur, Eccl. s.v.), a so-called
order of monks established in the East about the
middle, rather than the commencement, of the
5th century, being altogether unnoticed by
Socrates and Sozomen, the latter a zealous chro-
nicler of monks and monasteries, who bring their
histories down to A.D. 440 ; yet mentioned by
Evagrius (iii. 19) as a regularly established order
in 483. Later authorities make their founder to
have been a certain officer of the imperial house-
hold at Constantinople named Alexander, who
quitted his post to turn monk, and after having
had to shift his quarters ia Syria several times,
at length returned to Constantinople, to give
permanence to the system which he had already
commenced on the Euphrates. The first monas-
tery which he founded there was situated near
the church of St. Mennas. It was composed of
300 monks of different nations, whom he divided
into six choirs, and arranged so that one of them
should be always employed in the work of prayer
and praise day and night without intermission
all the year round. This was their peculiar cha-
racteristic and it has been copied in various
ways elsewhere since then that some part of
" the house," as Wordsworth (Excurs. viii. 185)
expresses it, " was evermore watching to God."
Alexander having been calumniated for this
practice as heretical, he was imprisoned, but
regained his liberty, and died, say his biographers,
about A.D. 430 it might be nearer the mark to
say 450 in a new convent of his own founding
on the Dardanelles. Marcellus, the next head of
the order but one, brought all the zeal and
energy to it of a second founder ; and he doubt-
less found a powerful supporter in Gennadius,
patriarch of Constantinople, A.D. 458-71, a great
restorer of discipline and promoter of learning
amongst the clergy. Then it was that Studius,
a noble Roman, and in process of time consul,
emigrated to Constantinople, and converted one
of the churches there, dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, into the celebrated monastery bearing
his name, but which he peopled with the Acoe-
metae. There was another monastery founded by
St. Dius, in the reign of Theodosius the Great,
that also became theirs sooner or later, to which
Valesius (Ad. Evag. iii. 19 and 31) adds a third
founded by St. Bassianus. It may have been
owing to their connexion with Studius that they
were led to correspond with the West. At all
events, on the acceptance by Acacius, the patri-
arch succeeding Gennadius, of the Henoticon of
the emperor Zeno, and communion with the schis-
ACOLYTES
13
matic patriarch of Alexandria, their "hegumen."
or president, Cyril lost no time in despatching
complaints of him to Home ; nor were their
emissaries slow to accuse the legates of the Pope
themselves of having, during their stay at Con-
stantinople, held communion with heretics. The
ultimate result was, that the two legates, Vitalis
and Misenus, were deprived of their sees, and
Acacius himself excommunicated by the Popes
Simplicius and Felix. Meanwhile one who had
been expelled from their order, but had learnt
his trade in their monasteries, Peter the Fuller,
had become schismatic patriarch of Antioch, and
he, of course, made common cause with their op-
ponents. Nor was it long before thev laid them-
selves open to retaliation. For, under Justinian,
their ardour impelled them to deny the cele-
brated proposition, advocated so warmly by the
Scythian monks, hesitated about so long at Rome,
that one of the Trinity had suffered in the flesh.
Their denial of this proposition threw them into
the arms of the Nestorians, who were much in-
terested in having it decided in this wav. For,
if it could be denied that one of the Trinity had
suffered, it could not be maintained, obviouslv,
that one of the Trinity had become incarnate.
Hence, on the monks sending two of their bodv
Cyrus and Eulogius, to Rome to defend their
views, the emperor immediately despatched two
bishops thither, Hypatius and Demetrius, to
denounce them to the Pope (Pagi ad Baron.,
a.d. 533, n. 2). In short, in a letter, of which
they were the bearers, to John II., afterwards
inserted by him in Lib. I. Tit. " De summa Trini-
tate " of his Code, he himself accused them of
favouring Judaism and the Nestorian heresv.
The Pope in his reply seems to admit their hete-
rodoxy, but he entreats the emperor to forgive
them at his instance, should they be willing to
abjure their errors and return to the unity of
the Church. With what success he interceded
for them we are not told. During the iconoclastic
controversy they seem to have shared exile with
the rest of the monks ejected from their monas-
teries by ConstantineCopronymus (Pagr; ad Baron.
A.D. 798, n. 2) ; but under the empress Irene the
Studium, at all events, was repeopled with its for-
mer alumni by the most celebrated of them all,
Theodore, in whose surname, " Studites," it has
perhaps achieved a wider celebrity than it ever
would otherwise have possessed.
In the West a branch of the order long held
the abbey of St. Maurice of Agaune in Valais,
where they were established by Sigismund, king
of Burgundy, and had their institute confirmed
by a Council held there A.D. 523. For fuller de-
tails see Bonanni's Hist, du Clerg. sec. et reg. vol.
ii. p. 153 et seq. (Amsterdam, 1716) ; Bulteau's
Hist. Monast. d' Orient, iii. 33 (Paris, 1680);
Hospin, De Orig. Monach. iii. 8 ; Du Fresne,
Gloss. Bat. s. v. ; and Constant. Christian, iv. 8,
2 ; Bingham's Antiq. vii. 11, 10. [E. S. F.]
ACOLYTES ACOLYTHS ACOLYTH-
ISTS ("Ak6\ov6oi). One of the minor orders
peculiar to the Western Church, although the
name is Greek. In the Apostolic age, the only
order which existed, in addition to those of
bishops, priests, and deacons, was that of dea-
conesses widows usually at first, who were em-
ployed in such ministrations towards their own
sex as were considered unsuitable for men, espe-
cially in the East. But about the end of the 2nd
14
ACOLYTES
ACROSTIC
or early in the 3rd century, other new officers
below the order of the deacons were introduced,
and amongst thern this of Acolytes, though only
in the Latin Church as a distinct order. In the
rituals of the Greek Church the word occurs only
as another name for the order of sub-deacon.
The institution of the minor orders took its
origin in the greater Churches, such as Rome
and Carthage, and was owing partly to the sup-
posed expediency of limiting the number of dea-
cons to seven, as first appointed bv the apostles,
and partly to the need which was felt of assist-
ance to the deacons in performing the lower por-
tions of their office; of which functions, indeed,
they appear in many cases to have been impa-
tient, regarding them as unworthy of their im-
portant position in the Church. Tertullian is the
earliest writer by whom any of the inferior orders
is mentioned. He speaks of Readers, Be Praescr.
c. 41. It is in the epistles of Cyprian that the
fuller organization of these orders comes before
us (Bpp. xxix., xxxviii., lxxv., &c). It is also
stated by his contemporary Cornelius, Bishop of
Rome, that the Church of Rome at that time
numbered forty-six presbyters, seven deacons,
seven sub-deacons, forty-two acolyths, and fifty-
two exorcists, readers, and doorkeepers (Ostiarii).
None of these inferior orders, according to St.
Basil, were ordained with imposition of hands,
but they were simply appointed by the bishoj)
with some appropriate ceremony, to certain sub-
ordinate functions of the ministry such as any
Christian layman might be commissioned by
episcopal authority to perform. The form of
ordination employed in the case of Acolytes is
thus prescribed by a canon of the 4th Council of
Carthage. " When any Acolythist is ordained, the
bishop shall inform him how he is to behave him-
self in his office ; and he shall receive a candlestick
with a taper in it, from the archdeacon, that he
may understand that he is appointed to light the
candles of the church. He shall also receive an
empty pitcher to furnish wine for the Eucharist
of the blood of Christ." Hence it appears that
the Acolyte's office at that period consisted chiefly
in two things, viz., lighting the candles of the
church and attending the officiating priest with
wine for the Eucharis*t.
The Acolyte of the ancient Western Church is
represented in the later Roman communion by
the Ceroferarius or taper-bearer, whose office con-
sists in walking before the deacons or priests with
a lighted taper in his hand.
Both in the East and West the minor orders of
ancient times were afterwards conferred as merely
introductory to the sacred orders of deacon and
presbyter, while the duties which had formerly
belonged to them were performed by laymen. In
the 7th century the readers and singers in the
Armenian Church were laymen in the 8th cen-
tury the readers, and in the 12th the ostiarii
and exorcists were laymen in the Greek Church.
Before the year 1300 the four orders of acolyte,
exorcist, reader, and ostiarius began to be con-
ferred at the same time in the Western Churches.
Not long afterwards it became customary to re-
lease the clerks thus ordained from discharging
the duties of their orders, which were entrusted
to lay clerks. The Councils of Cologne and Trent
vainly endeavoured to alter this custom ; and
,aymen continue generally to perform the offices
of the ancient orders in the Roman churches to
the present day. In England the same custom has
prevailed ; and the minor orders having for some
centuries become merely titular, were disused in
the Reformation of our Churches.
Fuller information on the subject of the minor
orders may be found in Field's Book of the
Church, b. v. c. 25 ; Bingham's Antiquities, b.
iii. ; Thomassin, Yet. et Nov. Bed. pars I. lib. ii.
See also Robertson's History of the Church ami
Palmer's Treatise on the Church of Christ. [D.B.]
ACONTIUS, of Rome, commemorated Julv
25 {Mart. Hicron.). [C.]"
ACROSTIC. ('AKpOGTlx'lS, aKpOITTLXlOJ/,
a.Kp6(TTixov, Acrostichis.) A composition in
which the first letters of the several lines form
the name of a person or thing. The invention is
attributed to Epicharmus.
We find several applications of the Acrostic
principle in Christian antiquity.
1. The word Acrostic is applied to the well-
known formula IxOvs. [See IX0YC]
2. Verses in honour of the Saviour were fre-
quently written in the acrostic form ; Pope Da-
masus, for instance, has left two acrostics on the
name Jesus (Carm. iv. and v.), the former of
which runs as follows :
" In rebus tantis Trina conjunctio mundi
Erigit humanum sensum laudare venuste :
Sola salus nobis, et mundi summa potestas
Vcnit peccati nodnm dissolvere fructu.
Summa salus cunctis nituit per saecula terris."
The same pope, to whom so many of the in-
scriptions in the Catacombs are due, composed
an acrostic inscription in honour of Constantia,
the daughter of Constantiue. This was origin-
ally placed in the apse of the basilica of St.
Agnes in the Via Nomentana, and may be seen in
Bosio, A'oma Sotteranea, p. 118. And inscrip-
tions of this kind are frequent. Lest the reader
should miss the names indicated, an explanation
of the acrostic principle is sometimes added to
the inscription itself. For instance, to the epi-
taph of Licinia, Leontia, Ampelia, and Flavia
(Muratori, Thesaurus Novus, p. 1903, no. 5) are
added these verses, which give the key :
" Nomina sanctarum, lector, si forte requiris,
Ex omni versu te litera prima docebit."
So the epitaph of a Christian named Agatha
(Marini, Fratelli Arvali, p. 828), ends with the
words, " ejus autem nomen capita ver[suum] ;"
and another, given by the same authority, ends
with the words, " Is cujus per capita versorum
nomen declaratur." Fabretti (Inscript. Antiq. iv.
150) gives a similar one, "Revertere per capita
versorum et invenies pium nomen." Gazzera
(Iscrizione del Piemonte, p. 91) gives the epitaph
of Eusebius of Vercelli, in which the first letters
of the lines form the words EVSEBIVS EPIS-
COPVS ET MARTYR; and another acrostic
epitaph (p. 114), where the initial letters form
the words CELSVS EPISCOPVS (Martigny,
Diet, des Antiq. Chre't. 11).
We also find acrostic hymns in Greek. Several
of the hymns of Cosmas of Jerusalem, are of
this kind ; the first, for instance (Gallandi, Bi-
bliotheca Bat. xiii. 234), is an acrostic forming
the words,
Xpcoros /3poTu)9et9 riv oirep ebs neVr;.
3. Those poems, in which the lines or stanzas
commence with the letters of the alphabet taken
ACROTELEUTIC
ACTORS AND ACTRESSES 15
in order, form another class of acrostics. Such
is the well-known hymn of Sedulius, "A solis
ortns cardine," a portion of which is introduced
in the Roman offices for the Nativity and the Cir-
cumcision of the Lord ; and that of Venantius
Fortunatus {Carm. xvi.), which begins with the
words " Agnoscat omne saeculum." St. Augustine
composed an Abecedarian Psalm against the Do-
natists, in imitation of the 119th, with the con-
stant response, " Omnes qui gaudetis de pace,
modo verum judicate."
4. A peculiar use of the acrostic is found in
the Office-books of the Greek Church. Each
Canon, or series of Troparta, has its own
acrostic, which is a metrical line formed of the
initial letters of the Troparia which compose the
0:non. To take the instance given by Dr. Neale
{Eastern Church, Introd. p. 832); the acrostic
for the Festival of SS. Proclus and Hilarius is,
SeTTTOt? a9Xrjral<; (Tztvtov eis^e'pw jUe'Aos.
The meaning of this is, that the first Troparion
of the Canon begins with 2, the second with E,
and so on. These lines are generally Iambic, as
in the instance above ; but occasionally Hex-
ameter, as,
Tbv 'SiKn](f>6pov d)s vucy(p6poi> acTjuacrc ixe\iro3.
They frequently contain a play on the name of
the Saint of the day, as in the instance just given,
and in
Atopoz/ 0eou ere TrajUjuaKap Hdrep (re'jSto,
for St. Dorotheus of Tyre. The Troparia are
sometimes, but rarely, arranged so as to form
an alphabetic acrostic, as on the Eve of the
Transfiguration (Neale, u. s.).
5. The word aKpoarlxia, in the Apostolical
Constitutions (ii. 57, 5) denotes the verses, or
portions of a verse, which the people were to
sing responsively to the chanter of the Psalm,
" 6 Actos ra aKpor/Ti'xia unotpaWiTa." The
constantly repeated response of the 136th Psalm
("For His mercy endureth for ever"), or that
of the ' Benedicite omnia Opera ' (" Praise Him,
and magnify Him for ever "), are instances of
what is probably intended in this case. Compare
Axtiphon, Psalmody (Bingham's Antiq. xiv. 1,
12).
[O]
ACROTELEUTIC. [Doxology; Psalmody.]
ACTIO. A word frequently used to desig-
nate the canon of the mass.
The word " agere," as is well known, bears in
classical writers the special sense of performing
a sacrificial act ; hence the word " Actio " is ap-
plied to that which was regarded as the essential
portion of the Eucharistic sacrifice ; " Actio dici-
tur ipse canon, quia in eo sacramenta conficiuntur
Dominica," says Waiafrid Strabo {De Rebus Ecol.
c. 22, p. 950, Migne). Whatever is included in
the canon is said to be " infra actionem ;" hence,
when any words are to be added within the
canon (as is the case at certain great festivals),
they bear in the liturgies the title or rubric
" infra actionem ;" and in printed missals these
words are frequently placed before the prayer
"Communicantes." Compare Canon. (Bona,
de Rebus Liturgicis, lib. ii. c. 11; Maori, Hiero-
lexicon, s. v. " Actio ".)
Honorius of Autun supposes this use of the
word "actio" to be derived from legal termino-
logy. " Missa quoddam judicium imitatur; uude
et canon Actio vocatur " (lib. i., c. 8) ; and " Canon
. . . etiam Actio dicitur, quia causa populi in eo
cum Deo agitur" (c. 103). (In Du Cange's
Glossary, s. v. "'Actio.") But this derivation,
though adopted by several mediaeval writers,
does not appear probable. [C]
ACTISTETAE. [Did. of Biogr. s.v."Ctisto-
latrae."
ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. The in-
fluence of Christianity on social life was seen,
as in other things, so specially in the horror
with which the members of the Christian Church
looked on the classes of men and women whose
occupations identified them with evil. Among
these were Actors and Actresses. It must be re-
membered that they found the drama tainted by
the depravity which infected all heathen societv,
and exhibiting it in its worst forms. Even Au-
gustus sat as a spectator of the "scenica adulteria"
of the " rnimi," whose performances were the
favourite amusement of Roman nobles and people
(Ovid. Trist. ii. 497-520). The tragedies of
Aeschylus or Sophocles, or Seneca," the comedies
even of Menander and Terence could not compete
with plays whose subject was always the " vetiti
crimen amoris," represented in all its baseness
and foulness {Ibid.). What Ovid wrote of " ob-
scaena" and " turpia" was there acted. The
stories of Mars and Venus, the loves of Jupiter
with Danae, Leda, and Ganymede, were exhibited
in detail (Cyprian, De Grat. Dei, c. 8). Men's
minds were corrupted by the very sigiit. They
learnt to imitate their gods. The actors became,
in the worst sense of the word, effeminate, taught
"gestus turpes et molles et muliebres exprimere"
(Cyprian, Ep. 2, ed. Gersdorf. 61, ed. Rigalt).
The theatre was the "sacrarium Veneris," the
" consistorium impudicitiae " {Ibid. c. 17). Men
sent their sons and daughters to learn adultery
(Tatian. Orat. adv. Graec. c. 22 ; Tertull. De
>2)ect. c. 10). The debasement which followed
on such an occupation had been recognized
even by Roman law. The more active cen-
sors had pulled down theatres whenever they
could, and Pompeius, when he built one, placed
a Temple of Venus over it in order to guard
against a like destruction {Ibid. c. 10). The
Greeks, in their admiration of artistic culture,
had honoured their actors. The Romans looked
on them, even while they patronised them, with
a consciousness of their degradation. They were
excluded from all civil honours, their names were
struck out of the register of their tribes ; they
lost by the " minutio capitis" their privileges as
citizens {[bid. c. 22 ; Augustin. De Civ. Dei, ii.
14). Trajan banished them altogether from
Rome as utterly demoralized.
It cannot be wondered at that Christian writers
should almost from the first enter their pro-
test against a life so debased. b They saw
in it part of the " pompae diaboli," which
they were called on to renounce. Tertul-
a Augustine, who in his youth had delighted in the
higher forms of the drama (Confess, iii. 2), draws, after
his conversion, a distinction between these (" scenicorum
tolerabiliora ludorum ") and the obscenity of the mimes
(De Civ. Dei, ii. 8).
b No specific reference to this form of evil is found, it
is true, in the N. T. The case had not yet presented
itself. It would have seemed us impossible for a Christian
to take part in it as to join in actual idolatry.
16
ACTOES AND ACTRESSES
ADRIANUS
lian wrote the treatise already quoted specially
against it and its kindred evils of the circus and
the amphitheatre, and dwells on the inconsis-
tency of uttering from the same lips the amen
of Christian worship, and the praises of the
gladiator or the mime. The actor seeks, against
the words of Christ, to add a cubit to his stature
by the use of the Cothurnus. He breaks the
Divine law which forbids a man to wear a
woman's dress (Deut. xxii. 5). Clement of
Alexandria reckons them among the things
which the Divine Instructor forbids to all His
followers {Paedagog. iii. c. 77, p. 298). In course
of time the question naturally presented itself,
whether an actor who had become a Christian
might continue in his calling, and the Christian
conscience returned an answer in the negative.
The case which Cyprian deals with {Ep. 2, ut
supra) implies that on that point there could be
no doubt whatever, and he extends the prohibition
to the art of teaching actors. It would be better
to maintain such a man out of the funds of the
Church than to allow him to continue in such a
calling. The more formal acts of the Church spoke
in the same tone. The Council of Illiberis (c. 62)
required a "pantomimus" to renounce his art
before he was admitted to baptism. If he re-
turned to it, he was to be excommunicated.
The 3rd Council of Carthage (c. 35) seems to
be moderating the more extreme rigour of some
teachers, when it orders that " gratia vel recon-
ciliatio" is not to be denied to them any more
than to penitent apostates. The Codex Eccles.
Afric. (c. 63) forbids any one who had been con-
verted, " ex qualibet ludicra arte," to be tempted
or coerced to resume his occupation. The Coun-
cil in Trullo (c. 51) forbids both mimes and their
theatres, and ras eVl (TK7]vS>v opx^creis, under
pain of deposition for clerical, and excommuni-
cation for lay, offenders. With one consent the
moral sense of the new society condemned what
seemed so incurably evil. When Christianity
had become the religion of the Empire, it was
of course, more difficult to maintain the high
standard which these rules inrplied, and Chryso-
stom {Horn. vi. in Matt., Horn, x v. ad Pop. Antioch.
Hum. x. in Coloss. ii. p. 403, i. 38, 731, 780),
complains that theatrical entertainments pre-
vailed among the Christians of his time with no
abatement of their evils. At Rome they were
celebrated on the entrance of a consul upon his
office (Claudian in Cons. Mall. 313). On the
triumph of the Emperors Theodosius and Arcadius
the theatre of Pompeius was opened for perfor-
mances by actors from all parts of the Empire
(Symmachus, Epp. x. 2, 29). With a strange
inversion of the old relations between the old and
the new societies, the heathen Zosimus reproaches
the Christian Emperor Constantine with having
patronised the mimes and their obscenity. The
pantomimes or ballets in which the mythology
of Greece furnished the subject-matter (Medea
and Jason, Perseus and Andromeda, the loves of
Jupiter), were still kept up. Women as well
as men performed in them (Chrysost., Horn. vi.
in Thess.), and at Rome the number of actresses
was reckoned at 3000. The old infamy adhered
to the whole class under Christian legislation.
They might not appear in the forum or basilica,
or use the public baths. And yet, with a strange
inconsistency, the civil power kept them in their
degradation rather than deprive the population
of the great cities of the empire of the amuse-
ments to which they were so addicted. If
the Church sought to rescue them, admitting
them to baptism, and after baptism claiming
immunity from their degrading occupation, it
stepped in to prevent any such conversion, ex-
cept in extremis (Cod. Theodcs., Be Scenicis, xv.).
Compare Milman's History of Christianity, book
iv. c. 2 ; Chastel, p. 211. Perhaps the fullest
collection of every passage in Christian antiquity
bearing on the subject is to be found in Prynne's -
HistriomastiX. [P.]
AGUTUS, martyr at Naples, commemorated
Sept. 19 {Martyrol. Rom. Vet). [C]
ACUS (accubium, or acubium, acicula, spina,
spinula). Pins made of precious metal, and, in
later mediaeval times, enriched with jewels, for
attaching the archiepiscopal (or papal) pallium
to the vestment over which it was worn, i. e. the
planeta or casula (the chasuble). The earliest
mention of these known to the present writer is
in the description given by Joannes Diaconus of
the pallium of St. Gregory the Great. Writing
himself in the 9th century, he notes it as a point
of contrast between the pallium worn by St. Gre-
gory and that customary in his own time, that
it was nullis acubus perforatum. Their first
use, therefore, must probably date between the
close of the 6th and the beginning of the 9th
century. For details concerning these ornaments
at later times, see Bock {Gesch. der liturg. Ge-
wander, ii. 191). Innocent III. {De Sacro
Altaris Mysterio, lib. i. cap. 63) assigns to these
pins, as to every other part of the sacerdotal
dress, a certain mystical significance. " Tres
acus quae pallio infiguntur, ante pectus, super
humerum, et post tergum, designant compas-
sionem proximi, administrationem officii, destric-
tionemque judicii." [W. B. M.]
ADAM AND EVE are commemorated in
the Ethiopic Calendar on the 6th day of the
month Miaziah, equivalent to April 1. The
Armenian Church commemorates Adam with
Abel on July 25. (Neale, Eastern Church, Introd.,
pp. 800, 812.) [C]
ADAUCTUS or AUD ACTUS. (1) Martyr
at Rome, commemorated Aug. 30 {Martyrol.
Rom. Vet., Hieron.). Proper collects in Gre-
gorian Sacramentary (p. 127), and Antiphon in
Lib. Antiph. p. 709.
(2) Commemorated Oct. 4 {M. Hieron.). [C]
ADDERBOURN, Council near the (Ad-
DERBURNENSE CONCILIUM), A.I). 705 ; OU the
River Nodder, or Adderbourn, in Wiltshire ; of
English bishops and abbats, where a grant of
free election of their abbat, after Aldhelm's
death, made by Bishop Aldhelm to the abbeys
of Malmesbury, Frome, and Bradford, was con-
firmed (W. Malm., De Gest. Pont. v. pars iii., p.
1645, Migue ; Wilk. i. 68). [A. W. H.]
ADJUTOR, in Africa, commemorated Dec.
17 {Mart. Hieron.). [C]
ADMONITION. [Monition.]
ADRIANUS. (1) Martyred by Galerius in
Nicomedia, commemorated Sept. 8 {Martyrol.
Horn. Vet., Hieron. Bedae) ; Aug. 26 {Cal,
Byzant.) ; Nov. 6 {M. Hierori.).
(2) Martyr, Natale March 4 {Mart. Bedae)
ADULTERY
ADULTERY
17
(3) July 26 (M. Hieron.).
(4) August 8 (Gal. Armen.).
[C]
ADULTERY. We shall attempt to give a
general account of laws and customs relating to
this topic, dwelling more fully upon such as
elucidate the spirit of their several periods, and
upon the principles involved in disputable points.
Our outline breaks naturally into the three fol-
lowing divivions :
1. Antecedents of Christian jurisprudence in
Church and State on adultery.
2. Nature and classification of the crime.
3. Penalties imposed upon it.
Our quotations from Eastern canonists when
compared with civilians are made from the older
Latii. versions ; on occasion the Greek phrases
are added. In imperial laws the Latin is com-
monly the most authentic. These are numbered,
first the Book of Codex, next Title, then Law ;
but in the Digest, where it is usual to subdivide,
the Title is distinguished by a RonTan numeral.
I. Antecedents of Christian Jurisprudence in
Church and State on Adulter}/. Respecting the
germs of future differences as regards this and
connected subjects traceable in the Apostolic
times, Neander has some useful observations
(Planting of the Christian Church, Bohn's ed. I.
246-9 and 257, 261). Many circumstances, how-
ever, kept down these tendencies to opposition.
In an age of newly awakened faith, and under
the pressure of persecution, living motive took
the place of outward law. The revulsion from
heathen sins was strong, and filled the souls of
converts with abhorrence, while the tender sym-
pathy of their teachers urged men to control
themselves, succour the tempted, and pity the
fallen. "I am overwhelmed with sadness,"
writes Polycarp to the Philippians (cap. xi.),
" on account of Valens who was made presbyter
amongst you, because he thus knows not the
place which was given him." This man had
fallen into adultery (see Jacobson in loco). "I
grieve exceedingly both for him and for his
wife, to whom may the Lord grant true repent-
ance. Be ye therefore also sober-minded in this
matter, and count not such persons as your ene-
mies ; but as suffering and wayward members
call them back, that you may save the one Body
of you all. For so doing ye shall establish your
own selves."
Clement of Rome, unlike Polycarp, had no
special example to deal with ; his warnings are
therefore general. In Ep. i. 30 and cap. 6 of
the 2nd Ep., attributed to him, adultery is stig-
matized among the foulest and most heinous
sins. His exhortations and promises of forgive-
ness (i. 7, 8, 9, 50) are likewise general, but
their tenour leaves no doubt that he intended to
invite all such sinners to repentance. The same
declarations of remission to all penitents and
the loosing of every bond by the grace of Christ,
occur in lgnat. Ep. ad Philadelph. 8 ; and are
found in the shorter as well as the longer recen-
sion (see Cureton, Corp. Ignat. p. 97). In these
addresses we seem to catch the lingering tones
of the Apostolic age ; and all of like meaning
and early date should be noted as valuable testi-
monies. De l'Aubespine (Bingham, xvi. 11, 2)
asserted that adulterers were never taken back
into communion before the time of Cyprian, and,
I though Bishop Pearson refutes this opinion, he
CHRIST. ANT.
allows that respecting them, together with mur-
derers and idolaters, there was much dispute in
the early Church. Beveridge also (Cod. Can.
vii. 2) believes that its severity was so great as
to grant no such sinners reconciliation except
upon the very hardest terms.
Of this severe treatment, as well as the differ-
ence of opinion alluded to by Pearson, we see
various traces ; yet the prevailing inclination
was to hold out before the eyes of men a hope
mingled with fear. Hermas (Pastor Mandat. 4, 1
and 3) concedes one, and but one, repentance to
those who are unchaste after baptism ; for which
mildness and a reluctant allowance of second
nuptials, Tertullian (De Pudicit. 10) styles this
book an Adulterers' Friend. Dionysius of Co-
rinth, writing to the churches of Pontus on
marriage and continency, counsels the reception
of all who repent their transgressions, whatever
their nature may be (Euseb. iv. 23). Thus also
Zephyrinus of Rome announced, according to
Tertullian, " ego et moechiae et fornicationis
delicta, poenitentia functis dimitto ;" and though
quoted in a spirit of hostility and satire, this
sentence, which forms a chief reason for the
treatise (De Pudicit.), probably contains in sub-
stance an authentic penitential rule. Of Tertul-
lian's own opinion, since he was at this time a
Montanist, it is needless to say more than that,
differing from his former views, not far removed
from those maintained by Hermas (cf. De Peni-
tent. 7-10), he now held adultery to be one of
those sins not only excluding for ever from the
company of believers, but also (cap. 19) abso-
lutely without hope through our Lord's inter-
cession. Exclusion from the faithful was, how-
ever, insisted upon in such cases by some
Catholic bishops. Cyprian (ad Antonian.), while
himself on the side of mercy, tells us how cer-
tain bishops of his province had, in the time of
his predecessors, shut the door of the Church
against adulterers, and denied them penitence
altogether. Others acted on the opposite system ;
yet we are assured that peace remained un-
broken a surprising circumstance, certainly,
considering the wealth and intelligence of that
province, and the importance of such decisions
to a luxurious population. Cyprian hints at no
lay difficulties, and simply says that every
bishop is the disposer and director of his own
act, and must render an account to God (cf. also
Cypr. De Unitate, several Epistles, and Cone.
Carthag. Proloquium). Hence the determination
of one bishop had no necessary force in the
diocese of another. So, too, the acts of a local
council took effect only within its own locality,
unless they were accepted elsewhere. But the
correspondence of bishops and churches set
bounds to the difficulties which might otherwise
have arisen, and prepared the way for General
Councils see, for instance, the fragment (Euseb.
v. 25) of the early Synod at Caesarea in Pales-
tine its object being the diffusion of the Syno-
dical Epistle. United action was also much
furthered by the kind of compilation called
Codex Canonum, but the first of these (now
lost) was formed towards the end of the 4th
century. See Dion. Exig. ap. Justell. I. 101, and
Bevereg., Pand. Can. Proleg. vii.
The passages already cited show the strength of
Christian recoil from heathen sensuality. In his
instructive reply to Celsus (iii. 51) On^en com-
C
18
ADULTEKY
ADULTERY
pares the attitude of the Church towards back-
sliders, especially towards the incontinent, with
that feeling which prompted the Pythagoreans to
erect a cenotaph for each disciple who left their
school. They esteemed him dead, and, in pre-
cisely the same way, Christians bewail as lost to
God, and already dead, those who are overcome
with unclean desire or the like. Should such
regain their senses, the Church receives them at
length, as men alive from death, but to a longer
probation than the one converts underwent at
first, and as no more capable of honour and
dignity amongst their fellows. Yet Origen goes
on to state (59-64) the remedial power of Chris-
tianity. Taken together these sections paint a
lively picture of the treatment of gross trans-
gressors within and without the Christian fold.
On the passage in his De Oratione, which sounds
like an echo of Tertullian, see foot-note in Dela-
rue's ed., vol. i. 256.
Christians might well shrink from what they
saw around them. Licentious impurities, count-
less in number and in kind, were the burning
reproaches, the pollution, and the curse of
heathendom. It is impossible to quote much on
these topics, but a carefully drawn sketch of
them will be found in two short essays by Pro-
fessor Jowett appended to the first chapter of
his Commentary on the Romans. They demon-
strate how utterly unfounded is the vulgar
notion that Councils and Fathers meddled un-
necessarily with gross and disgusting offences.
With these essays may be compared Martial
and the Satirists, or a single writer such as
Seneca unus instar omnium e. g. " Hinc de-
centissimum sponsaliorum genus, adulterium,"
&c, i. 9; or again, iii. 16, " Nunquid jam alia
repudio erubescit postquam illustres quaedam
ac nobiles foeminae, non consilium numero,
sed maritorum, annos suos computant ? et
exeunt matrimonii causa, nubunt repudii ? . . .
Nunquid jam ullus adulterii pudor est, postquam
eo ventum est, ut nulla virum habeat, nisi ut
adulterum irritet? Argumentum est deformi-
tatis, pudicitia. Quam invenies tam miseram,
tam sordidam, ut illi satis sit unum adulterorum
par ? " &c. In Valerius Maximus we hear a
sigh for departed morals in Christian writers,
from the Apologists to Salvian, a recital of the
truth, always reproachful, and sometimes half
triumphant. Moreover, as usual, sin became the
punishment of sin Justin Martyr, in his first
Apology (c. 27 seq.), points out the horrible con-
sequences which ensued from a heathen prac-
tice following upon the licence just mentioned.
The custom of exposing new-burn babes pervaded
all ranks of society, and was authorized even by
the philosophers. Almost all those exposed, says
Justin, both boys and girls, were taken, reared,
and fed like brute beasts for the vilest purposes
of sensuality ; so that a man might commit the
grossest crime unawares with one of his own
children, and from these wretched beings the
State derived a shameful impost. Compare Ter-
tull. Apologet. 9, sub fin. Happy in comparison
those infants who underwent the prae or post
natal fate, described by Minucius Felix c. 30. To
Lactantius (we may remark) are attributed the
laws of Constant ine intended to mitigate the
allied evils of that later age, cf. Milman {Hist.
Christ, ii. 394). "We," continues Justin (c.
29), " expose not our offspring, lest one of them
should perish and we be murderers ; nay, the
bringing up of children is the very object of our
marriages." There are passages to the same
effect in the Ep. ad Diognet. c. 5, and Athenag.
Legat. pro Christian, (c. 33 al. 28), and thus
these early apologists adduce a principle laid
down amongst the ends of matrimony in the
Anglican marriage - service. They no doubt
utter the thought of their fellow Christians
in opposing to the licence of the age the purest
parental instincts, and ' these are perhaps in
every age the most strings nt restraints upon
adultery.
The standard of contemporary Jewish practice
may be divined from the Dial, cum Tryphon,
cc. 134 and 141. The Rabbis taught the law-
fulness of marrying four or five wives, if any
man were moved by the sight of beauty Jacob's
example excused him, if he sinned, the prece-
dent of David assured his forgiveness.
Surrounding evils naturally deepened the im-
pression upon Christians that they were stran-
gers and pilgrims in the world, that their aim
must be to keep themselves from being partakers
in other men's sins ; to suffer not as evil doers,
but as Christians, and to use the Roman law as
St. Paul used it, for an appeal on occasion a
possible protection, but not a social rule. Hence
the danger was Quietism ; and they were in fact
accused of forsaking the duties of citizens and
soldiers accusations which the Apologists, par-
ticularly Tertullian and Origen, answered,
though with many reserves. The faithful
thought that their prayers and examples were
the best of services ; they shunned sitting in
judgment on cases involving life and death, im-
prisonment or torture, and (what is more to our
purpose) questions de pudore. On the admission
of Christians to magistracy as early as the An-
tonines, cf. Dig. 50, tit. 2, s. 3, sub fin., withGotho-
fred's notes. Traces of their aversion from such
business appear in some few Councils ; e. g. Elib.
56, excludes Duumvirs from public worship
during their year of office. Tarracon. 4, forbids
bishops to decide criminal causes a rule which
has left its mark on modern legislation. Natu-
rally resulting from these influences, was a
higher and diffused tone of purity. Obeying
human laws, believers transcended them, Ep. ad
Diognet. 5, and compare Just. Apol. I. 17, seq.
with 15. He speaks emphatically of the in-
numerable multitude who turned from license
to Christian self-control. The causeless divorce
allowed by law led to what Christ forbade as
digamy and adultery, while the latter sin was
by Him extended to the eye and the heart. In
like manner, Athenagoras {Leg. pro Christ. 2)
asserts that it was impossible to find a Christian
who had been criminally convicted and that no
Christian is an evil-doer except he be a hypocrite
32, 33, al. 27, 28, that impurity of heart is
essentially adultery, and that even a slightly
unchaste thought may exclude from everlasting
life. He says, as Justin, that numbers in the
Church were altogether continent ; numbers, too,
lived according to the strictest marriage rule.
Athenagoras goes so far (33 al. 28) as to pro-
nounce against all second marriages, because he
who deprives himself of even a deceased wife by
taking another is an adulterer. Clement of
Alexandria {Paedag. ii. 6) quaintly ohserves
that " Non Moechaberis " is cut up by the roots
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through " non concupisces," and in the same
spirit Commodian (Instruct, 48) writes
" Escam ruuscipuli ubi mors est longe vitate :
Multa sunt Martyria, quae fiunt sine sanguine fuso,
Alienum non cupere," &c.
Compare other passages on adultery of the
heart, Lactant. Instit. vi. 23, and Epit. 8 ; Greg.
Nazianz., Horn. 37 al. 31 ; and later on, Photius,
Ep. 139 a remarkable composition.
Another safeguard from licentiousness was
the high valuation now set upon the true dignity
of woman not only as the help-meet of man but
as a partaker in the Divine Image, sharing the
same hope, and a fit partner of that moral
union in which our Lord placed the intention
and essence of the married state. Clement of
Alexandria draws a picture of the Christian
wife and mother (Paedag. iii. 11, p. 250 Sylb.
and Potter's Gr. marg.); of the husband and
father, (Strom, vii. p. 741). Tertullian before
him, in the last cap. ad Uxorem describes a truly
Christian marriage the oneness of hope, prayer,
practice, and pious service ; no need of conceal-
ment, mutual avoidance, nor mutual vexation ;
distrust banished, a freeborn confidence, sym-
pathy, and comfort in each other, presiding over
every part of their public and private existence.
This language derives additional strength
from Tertullian's treatment of mixed marriages.
Those contracted before conversion fall under 1
Cor. vii. 10-17 (cf. ad Uxor. ii. 2), yet their
consequences were most mischievous. He tells
us (ad Scapulam 3) how Claudius Herminianus,
whose wife became a convert, revenged himself
by barbarous usage of the Cappadocian Chris-
tians. A mixed marriage after conversion is a
very great sin, forbidden by 1 Cor. vii. 39 and 2
Cor. vi. 14-16, and Tertullian ad Uxor. ii. 3
condemns those who contract it as " stupri reos "
transgressors of the 7th Commandment.
Addressing his own wife, he proceeds to describe
its serious evils to a woman. When she wishes
to attend worship her husband makes an appoint-
ment for the baths. Instead of hymns she hears
songs, and his songs are from the theatre, the
tavern, and the night cellar. Her fasts are
hindered by his feasts. He is sure to object
against nocturnal services, prison visits, the kiss
of peace, and other customs. She will have a
difficulty in persuading him that such private
observances as crossing and exsufflation, are not
magical rites. To these and other remarks,
Tertullian adds the sensible arguments, that
none but the worst heathens would marry
Christian women, and how then could believing
wives feel secure in such hands ? Their hus-
bands kept the secret of their religion as a
means of enforcing subjection ; or, if dissatisfied,
nursed it for the day of persecution and legal-
ized murder. Their own motives were of the
baser kind they married for a handsome litter,
mules, and tall attendants from some foreign
country ; luxuries which a faithful man, even
if wealthy, might not think proper to allow
them. This being the early experience of the
Church, we are not surprised to find mixed
marriages forbidden in after times sub poena
adulterii.
We cannot here pass over a history told by
Justin Martyr in his Apol. ii. 2. and repeated
by Eusebius iv. 17, respecting which the learned
Bingham has been led into a remarkable mis-
ADULTERY
19
take, copied and added to by Winston in a note
on Antiq. xv. 7, 10. A woman married to a
very wicked husband, herself as drunken and
dissolute as the man, became a convert to the
faith. Thoroughly reformed, she tried to per-
suade him by the precepts of the Gospel and
the terrors of eternal fire. Failing in her at-
tempts, and revolted by the loathsome and un-
natural compulsion to which her husband sub-
jected her, she thought repudiation would be
preferable to a life of impious compliances. Her
friends prevailed upon her to wait and hope for
the best, but a journey to Alexandria made her
husband worse than before, and, driven to des-
pair, she sent him a divorce. Immediately he
informed against her as a Christian ; a blow
which she parried by presenting a petition for
delay to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who
granted her request. Upon this her husband,
thirsting for revenge, accused her teacher in
religious truth, and had the satisfaction of seeing
three lives sacrificed in succession to his ven-
geance.
Bingham (xvi. 11, 6) cites the narrative as an
instance of a wife's being allowed by the Church
to divorce a husband on the ground of adultery.
But the valuable writer, led perhaps by Gotho-
fred (Cod. Tkeod. vol. i. p. 312) has here erred in
a matter of fact, for Justin takes some pains to
show that the woman's grievance was not adul-
tery at all. Fleury (iii. 49) has apprehended
the truth with correctness and expressed it with
delicacy. The like case is discussed by an author
long called Ambrose in his comment on 1 Cor. vii.
11 (Ambros. op. ed. Benedict., torn. ii. appendix
p. 133 E-F), and he determines that, under the
given circumstances, a woman must separate
from her husband, but she must not marry again.
The Imperial law also provided a remedy, Cod.
Theod. 9, tit. 7, s. 3. It is certainly noteworthy
that, in telling this brief tragedy, neither Justin
nor Eusebius says a word against the wife's seek-
ing relief from the heathen custom of divorce.
Yet its license was condemned on all sides. The
founder of the Empire strove to check it ; and,
had the aggrieved woman lived under the first
Christian emperor, that resource would have
been denied her. Clearly, circumstances justi-
fied the wife, but it would seem natural to have
mentioned the danger of doing wrong, while
pleading her justification. We, in modern times,
should say that such cases are exceptional, and
the inference from silence is that similar wicked-
ness was not exceptional in those days, and was
treated by the Church as a ground of divorce ;
a mournful conclusion, but one that many facts
render probable, e.g. the Imperial law above
cited.
From these antecedents our step is brief to
laws for the repression of incontinency. The
natural beginning was for each community to
follow simply the example of St. Paul (1 Cur.
v. and 2 Cor. ii.), but, as converts multiplied, it
became necessary to prescribe definite tesfs of
repentance which formed also the terms of re-
conciliation. Such rules had for one object the
good of the community, and in this light every
offence was a public wrong, and is so looked
upon by canon law at this day. But penitence
had a second object the soul's health of the
offender and thus viewed, the same transgres-
sion was treated as a moral stain, and censured
C 2
20
ADULTERY
ADULTERY
according to its intrinsic heinousness, or, in few
words, the crime became a sin. This idea, no
doubt, entered into the severe laws of Christian
princes against adultery, and is an indication of
ecclesiastical influence upon them. Framers of
canons had in turn their judgment acted upon
by the great divines, who were apt to regulate
public opinion, and to enforce as maxims of life
their own interpretations of Scripture. Some-
times the two characters met in the same per-
son, as in the eminent Gregories, Basil, and
others ; but where this was not the case, theo-
logians commonly overlooked many points which
canonists were bound to consider.
Church lawgivers must indeed always have
regard to existing social facts and the ordinary
moral tone of their own age and nation. They
must likewise keep State law steadily in mind
when they deal with offences punishable in civil
courts. That they did so in reality, we learn
from the Greek Scholia ; and hence, when divorce
is connected with adultery (particularly as its
cause), the Scholiasts trace most canonical
changes to foregoing alterations in the laws of
the Empire. The reader should reproduce in his
mind these two classes of data il he wishes to
form a judgment on subjects like the present.
We have called attention to the license which
tainted prae-Christian Rome. Of the Christian
world, homilists are the most powerful illustra-
tors, but the light thrown upon it by canons is
quite unmistakable. The spirit prevalent at the
opening of the 4th century may be discerned
from its Councils, e.g. Gangra ; one object of
which (can. 4) was to defend married presbyters
against the attacks made upon them ; cf. Elib. 33,
and Stanley's account of the later 1 Nio. 3 (Eastern
Ch. 196-9). Gangra, 14, forbids wives to desert
their husbands from abhorrence of married life ;
9 and 10 combat a like disgust and contempt of
matrimony displayed by consecrated virgins,
and 16 is aimed against sons who desert their
parents under pretext of piety, i.e. to become
celibates, something after the fashion of " Cor-
ban." An age, where the springs of home life
are poisoned, is already passing into a morbid
condition, and legislative chirurgeons may be
excused if they commit some errors of severity in
dealing with its evils. But what can be said -of
the frightful pictures of Roman life drawn, some-
what later, by Ammian. Marcell. xiv. 6 ; xxvii. 3 ;
and xxviii. 4 ; or the reduced copies of them in
Gibbon, chaps. 25 and 31, to which may be added
the fiery Epistles of Jerome (passim), and the
calm retrospect of Milman (Hist, of Christ, iii.
230, seq.)? Can any one who reads help reflect-
ing with what intensified irony this decrepit
age might repeat the old line of Ennius
Mulierem : quid potiu9 dicam aut verius quam mulierem ?
Or can we feel surprised with violent efforts at
coercing those demoralized men and women ?
Gibbon, in giving an account of the jurispru-
dence of Justinian, saw that it could not be
understood, particularly on the topic of our
article, without some acquaintance with the
laws and customs of the earliest periods. To
his sketch we must refer the reader, adding only
the following remarks : -
1. His opinion upon the barbarity of marital
rule has found an echo in Hegel (see Werke, Bd.
ix. p. 348, seq.). F. von Schlegel, though in his
Concordia highly praising the conjugal purity of
ancient Rome, had already ( Werke, xiii. 261, 2)
blamed that rigid adherence to letter and for-
mula which pervades the system. To such cen-
sures Mommsen is thoroughly opposed. In book
i. chap. 5, he views the stern simplicity of idea
on which all household right was founded as true
to nature and to the requirements of social im-
provement. In chap. 12 he points out how the
old Roman religion supplemented law by its
code of moral maxims. The member of a
family might commit grievous wrong untouched
by civil sentence, but the curse of the gods
lay henceforth heavy on that sacrilegious head.
Mommsen's remarks on religious terrors agree
well with the very singular restraints on divorce
attributed by Plutarch to Romulus. The im-
pression of ethical hardness is in fact mainly
due to the iron logic of Roman lawyers. Father,
husband, matron, daughter, are treated as real-
istic universals, and their specific definitions
worked out into axioms of legal right. Yet in
application (a fact overlooked by Schlegel) the
summumjus is often tempered by equitable allow-
ances, e.g. a wife accused of adultery had the
power of recrimination, Dig. 48, tit. 5, s. 13, 5 ;
and cf. August. De Conjug. Adulterin. ii. 7 (viii.)
for a longer extract, and a comment on the re-
script. Such facts go far to explain the course
pursued by Christian lawgivers.
2. On the vast changes which took place
after the 2nd Punic war Gibbon should be com-
pared with Mommsen, b. iii. cap. 13, pp. 8845.
But neither of these writers, in dwelling on
the immoral atmosphere which infected married
life, point out any specially sufficient cause why
Roman matrons showed such irrepressible avi-
dity for divorce with all its strainings of law,
its dissolution of sacred maxims, its connection
with celibacy in males, and a frightful train of
unbridled sensualities. Perhaps the only true
light is to be gained from a comparison with
ecclesiastical history. We shall see that in
later ages of the Church there came about an
entire reversal of earlier opinions on the crimi-
nal essence and the very definition of adultery,
and that the ground of complaint at both periods
(Pagan and Christian) was one and the same ;
the cause, therefore, may not improbably be one
also, viz., the inadequate remedy afforded to
women for wifely wrongs. Some particulars
will be found in our second division, but the
question opens a wide field for speculation, out-
lying our limits, and belonging to the philoso-
phy of history.
3. The parallel between Church and State
ought to be carried further. Imperial Rome,
looking back upon the Republic, felt the de-
cadence of her own conjugal and family ties,
and wrote her displeasure in the laws of the
first Caesars. So, too, when the nobleness of
apostolic life ceased to be a substitute for legis-
lation, it sharpened the edge of canonical cen-
sure by regretful memories of the better time.
The same history of morals led to a sameness in
the history of law, the State repeated itself in
the Church.
4. Gibbon has a sneer against Justinian for
giving permanence to Pagan constitutions. But
those laws had always been presupposed by
Christian government, both civil and spiritual.
The emperors amended or supplemented them,
ADULTERY
and where bishops felt a need, they petitioned
for an Imperial edict e.g. the canons of three
African councils relating to our subject, and
noted hereafter, in which the synods decide on
such a petition. Then, too, the opposite experi-
ment had been tried. The Codex Theodosianus
began with the laws of Constantine (cf. art.
Theodosms in Diet. Biograph.) ; but when Jus-
tinian strove to give scientific form to his juris-
prudence he found that completeness could no
way be attained except by connecting it with
the old framework ; and, as we have seen, Gibbon
himself felt a similar necessity for the minor
purpose of explanation.
Our plan here will therefore be to use the
great work of Justinian as our skeleton, and
clothe it with the bands and sinews of the
Church. We gain two advantages : his incom-
parable method ; and a stand-point at an era of
systematic endeavour to unify Church and State.
For this endeavour see Novell. 131, c. 1, held by
canonists to accept all received by Chalcedon,
can. 1 (comprehending much on our subject), and
Novell. 83, extending the powers of bishops on
ecclesiastical otfences. His example was after-
wards followed by the acceptance of Trull, can. 2,
adding largely to the list of constitutions upon
adultery ; cf. Photii Nomocanon, tit. i. cap. 2, with
Scholia, and for the difficulties Bev. Pand. Can.
Pro/eg. viii., ix. For harmonies of spiritual
and civil law as respects breaches of the 7th
Commandment see Antiocheni Nomoc., tits. xli.
and xlii., and Photii Nomoc. tit. ix. 29, and tit.
xiii. 5 and 6. Both are in Justellus, vol. ii.
After a.d. 305 the Church was so frequently
engaged in devising means for upholding the
sanctity of the marriage tie that every step in
the reception of canons concerning it forms a
landmark of moral change. Such an era was
the reign of Justinian ; it was an age of great
code makers of Dionysius Exiguus and Joannes
Antiochenus. Numbers of local constitutions
became transformed into world-wide laws ; the
fact, therefore, never to be overlooked respecting
canons on adultery, is the extent of their final
acceptance.
We now come to Division II., and must con-
sider at some length the definition of adultery
strictly so called. On this point a revolution
took place of no slight significance in the great
antithesis between East and West. Details are
therefore necessary.
II. Nature and Classification of the Crime.
Neglecting an occasional employment of the words
promiscue (on which see first of following refer-
ences), we find (Dig. 48, tit. 5, s .6, 1, Papinian),
" Adulterium in nupta committitur stuprum
vero in virginem viduamve." Cf. same tit., 34,
Modestinus, and Dig. 1, tit. 12, s. 1, 5, Ulpian;
see Diet. Antiq., and Jirissonhis de Verb. Signif.
1, s. v. for distinctions and Greek equivalents.
The offending wife is thus regarded as the real
criminal ; and her paramour, whether married
or unmarried, as the mere accomplice of her
crime. She is essentially the adultera, and he,
because of his complicity with a married woman,
becomes an adulter. If the woman is unmarried,
the condition of the man makes no difference
the offence is not adulterium.
This was also the position of the Mosaic code
see Lev. xx. 10, compared with Deut. xxii. 22.
It is not easy to perceive how the law could
ADULTERY
21
stand otherwise when polygamy was permitted;
cf. Diet, of Bible, in verbo. Espousal by both codes
(Roman and Jewish) is protected as quisi wedlock
(Dig. 48, tit. 5, s. 13, _ 3, Deut. xxii. 23, 24).
So likewise by Christian' canons, e.g. Trull. 98.
" He who marries a woman betrothed to a man
still living is an adulter." Cf. Basil, can. 37.
Both in Scripture language and in ordinary
Roman life the legal acceptation of the crime is
the current meaning of the word. Hosea (iv.
13, 14) distinguishes between the sins of Jewish
daughters and wives; and the distinction is kept
in the LXX and Vulgate versions. A like dis-
tinction forms the point of Horace's " Matronam
nullam ego tango ; " cf. Sueton. Oct. 67 " adul-
terare matronas." Instances are sufficiently com-
mon, but, since (for reasons which will soon
appear) it is necessary to have an absolutely
clear understanding of the sense attached to the
word adulterium ( = fioix^ia) during the early
Christian period, we note a few decisive re-
ferences from common usage. Val. Max. (under
Tiberius) explains (ii. 1, 3) adulteri as " sub-
sessores alieni matrimonii." Quintilian (under
Domitian) defines, Instit. Orat. vii. 3, "Adulte-
rium est cum aliena uxore domi coire." Juvenal
may be consulted through the index. Appuleius
(under the Antonines), in the well known story
Metamorph. ix., describes the deed, and refers to
the law de Adulteriis.
Christian writers seldom explain words un-
less used out of their current sense, and when
they do so, the explanation is of course inci-
dental. We find an early example in Athena-
goras, De Mesur. Mort. 23. al. 17, where in
treating of bodily appetites occurs a designed
antithesis. On the one side " legitimus coitus
quod est matrimonium" on the other, " incon-
cessus alienae uxoris appetitus et cum ea consue-
tudo tovto yap Sctti /xotxeia" Another early
instance is in the Shepherd of Hermas, Mandat.
iv., which thus begins: "Mando, ait, tibi, ut
castitatem custodias, et non ascendat tibi cogi-
tatio cordis de alieno matrimonio, aut de forni-
catione." We have here a twofold division like
Papinian's above quoted, but instead of opposing
stuprum to adulterium (implied in alieno Matri-
monio), he employs " fornicatio," an ecclesiasti-
cal expression when it has this special meaning.
Origen (Levit. xx., Homil. xi.), in contrasting
the punishment of adulterers under the Mosaic
and Christian dispensations, assumes the same
act to be intended by the laws of both. This
passage has often been ascribed to Cyril of Alex-
andria, but Delarue (ii. 179, 180) is clear for
Origen. Arnobius (under Diocletian) writes, lib.
iv. (p. 142, Varior. ed.), " Adulteria legibus vin-
dicant, et capitalibus afficiunt eos poenis, quos in
aliena comprehenderint foedera genialis se lectuli
expugnatione jecisse. Subsessoris et adulteri
persona," &c.
The canonists, Greek and Latin, use criminal
terms like ordinary authors without explanation,
and obviously for the same reason. But on our
subject the meaning is generally made certain
by (1) an opposition of words resembling the
examples before quoted ; (2) by the case of un-
married women being treated in separate canons;
or else (3) by a gradation of penalties imposed
on the several kinds of sin.
In the latter half of the 4th century we have
again exact ecclesiastical definitions. They are
22
ADULTERY
ADULTERY
very valuable, because given by two of the
greatest canonists the Church ever produced,
and also because they were accepted by can. ii.
Trull. Gregory of Nyssa thus distinguishes (ad
Letoium, resp. 4), " Fornicatio quidem dicatur
cupiditatis cujuspiam expletio quae sine alterius
fit injuria. Adulterium vero, insidiae et injuria
quae alteri affertur." This antithesis is substan-
tially the same with that in the Digest, but
Gregory so states it because (as his canon tells
us) he is replying to certain somewhat subtle
reasoners who argued that these acts of inconti-
nence are in essence identical a theory which
would equalize the offences, and, by consequence,
their punishments. The arguments are such as
we should call verbal, e.g. what the law does
not permit, it forbids the non proprium must be
alienum. He answers by giving the specific di-
vision made by the Fathers (as above), and main-
tains (1) its adaptation to human infirmity, (2)
the double sin of adultery, and (3) the propriety
of a double penitence. With Gregory, therefore,
the canonist prevails over the theologian he
refuses to treat the crime merely as a sin.
In Basil's canon ad Amphiloch. 18 which is
concerned with lapsed virgins who had been
treated as digamists, and whom Basil would
punish as adulterous, we find an incidental defi-
nition : " eum, qui cum aliena muliere cohabitat,
adulterum nominamus."
Basil's important 21st canon is summed by
Aristenus : " Virum, qui fornicatus est, uxor pro-
pria recipiet. Inquinatam vero adulterio uxorem
yir dimittet. Fornicator, enim, non adulter est,
qui uxori juuctus cum soluta " (an unmarried
woman) " rem habuerit." Here, again, is the
old opposition (as in stuprum and adulterium)
the logical essence of the crime turning upon
the state of the woman, whether married or sole.
But a clause of great value to us is omitted by
Aristenus. Basil considers the fornicatio of a
married man heinous and aggravated ; he says,
" eum poenis amplius gravamus." yet adds ex-
pressly, " Canonem tamen non habemus qui eum
adulterii crimini subjiciat si in solutam a Matri-
monio peccatum commissum sit." This clear
assertion from a canonist so learned and vera-
cious as Basil must be allowed to settle the
matter of fact, that up to his time Church law
defined adultery exactly in the same manner as
the civil law.
It is to be remarked, too, that Basil's answer
addresses itself to another kind of difficulty
from Gregory's, that, namely, of injustice in the
different treatment of unchaste men and women.
No objection was of older standing. We almost
start to hear Jerome (Epitaph. Fabiolae) echoing,
as it were, the verses of Plautus ; cf. the passage
(Mercator, iv. 5)
" Ecastor lege dura vivont mulieres,
Multoque iniquiore miserae, quam viri ....
.... Utinam lex esset eadem, quae uxori est viro."
Yet no writer tells more pointedly than Plautus
the remedy which Roman matrons had adopted
(Amphitr. iii. 2)
" Valeas : tibl habeas res tuas, reddas meas."
As to the legal process by which women com-
passed this object, it was probably similar to
their way of enlarging their powers respecting
property and other such matters, on which see
Mommsen, book iii. 13.
We now note among divines a desire to im-
press upon the public mind the other, i.e. the
purely theological idea that all incontinent
persons stand equally condemned. They appear
to reason under a mixture of influences 1. A
feeling of the absolute unity of a married couple,
a healthy bequest from the first age ; 2. Indig-
nation at marital license ; 3. Desire to find a
remedy for woman's wrong ; 4. The wish to
recommend celibacy by contrast with the " ser-
vitude " of marriage.
Lactantius (as might be expected from his
date) fixes upon points 1 and 2. He finds fault
with the Imperial law in two respects that
adultery could not be committed with any but a
free woman, and that by its inequality it tended
to excuse the severance of the one married body.
Instit. vi. 23. "Non enim, sicut juris publici
ratio est ; sola mulier adultera est, quae habet
alium ; maritus autem, etiamsi plures habeat, a
crimine adulterii solutus est. Sed divina lex ita
duos in matrimonium, quod est, in corpus unum,
pari jure conjungit, ut adulter habeatur, quis-
quis compagem corporis in diversa distraxerit."
Cf. next page " Dissociari enim corpus, et dis-
trahi Deus noluit." It would seem therefore
that this Father would really alter the ordinary
meaning of the word adulterium, and explain the
offence differently from its civil-law definition.
He would extend it to every incontinent act of
every married person, on the ground that by
such an act the marriage unity enforced by our
Lord is broken. It is true that another view
may be taken of the words of Lactantius. They
may be considered as rhetoric rather than logic,
both here and in Epitome 8, where the same
line of thought is repeated ; but this is a ques-
tion of constant recurrence in the Fathers, and
reminds us of Selden's celebrated saying. The
student will in each case form his own judg-
ment ; in this instance he may probably think
the statement too precise to be otherwise than
literal.
The same must be said of Ambrose, whose
dictum has been made classical by Gratian. Yet
it should be observed that he is not always con-
sistent with himself, e.g. (Hexaem. v. 7) he lays
it down that the married are both in spirit and
in body one, hence adultery is contrary to nature.
We expect the same prefatory explanation as
from Lactantius, but find the old view : "Nolite
quaerere, viri, alienum thorum, nolite insidiari
alienae copulae. Grave est adulterium et naturae
injuria." So again, in Luc. lib. 2, sub init., he
attaches this term to the transgression of an
espoused woman.
The celebrated passage, one chief support of a
distinction which has affected the law and lan-
guage of modern Europe (quoted by Gratian,
Decret. ii. c. 32, q. 4), occurs in Ambrose's Defence
of Abraham (De Mr. Patr. i. 4). We give it as
in Gratian for the sake of a gloss : " Nemo sibi
blandiatur de legibus hominum " (gloss quae
dicunt quod adulterium non committitur cum
soluta sed cum nupta)"Omne stuprum adulte-
rium est : nee viro licet quod mulieri non licet.
Eadem a viro, quae ab uxore debetur castimonia.
Quicquid in ea quae non sit legitima uxor, com-
missum fuerit, adulterii crimine damnatur."
This extract sounds in itself distinct and con-
secutive. But when the Apology is read as a
whole, exactness seems to vanish. It is divided
ADULTERY
ADULTERY
into three main heads or defensiones : 1st, Abra-
ham lived before the law which forbade adultery,
therefore he could uot have committed it. " Deus
in Paradiso licet conjugium laudaverit, non adul-
terium damnaverat." It is hard to understand
how such a sentence could have been written in
the faoe of Matt. xix. 4-9, or how so great an
authority could forget that the very idea of con-
jugium implied the wrong of adutterium. 2ndly,
Abraham was actuated by the mere desire of
offspring ; and Sarah herself gave him her hand-
maiden. Her example (with Leah's and Rachel's)
is turned into a moral lesson against female
jealousy, and then men are admonished " Nemo
sibi blandiatur," &c, as above quoted. 3rdly.
Galat. iv. 21-4, is referred to, and the conclusion
drawn, " Quod ergo putas esse peccatum, adver-
tis esse mysterium ; " and again " haec quae in
figuram contingebant, illis crimini non erant."
We have sketched this chapter of Ambrose be-
cause of the great place assigned him in the
controversy of Western against Eastern Church
law.
Another passage referred to in this Q. " Dicat
aliquis," is the 9th section of a sermon on John
the Baptist, formerly numbered 65, now 52 (Ed.
Bened. App. p. 462), and the work of an Am-
brosiaster. But here the adutterium (filii testes
adulterii) is the act of an unmarried man with
his anuilla (distinguished from a concubina, De-
cret : I. Dist. 34, " Concubina autem," seq.), i. e.
a sort of Contubernium is called by a word
which brings it within the letter of the 7th
Commandment.
Perhaps Ambrose and his pseudonym, like
many others, saw no very great difference be-
tween the prohibition of sins secundum literam
and secundum analogiam as, for example, idola-
try is adultery. It seems clear that he did not
with Lactantius form an ideal of marriage and
then condemn whatever contradicted it. His
language on wedlock in Paradise forbids this
explanation.
Looking eastwards, there is a famous sermon
(37, al. 31) preached by Gregory Nazianzen, in
which he blends together the points we have
numbered 2, 3, and 4. He starts (vi.) from the
inequality of laws. Why should the woman be
restrained, the man left free to sin ? The Latin
version is incorrect ; it so renders Karairupvev^iv
as to introduce the later notion of adulterium.
Gregory thinks (inore Acsopi) that the inequality
came to pass because men were the law-makers ;
further, that it is contrary to (a) the 5th Com-
mandment, which honours the mother as well as
the father ; (6) the equal creation, resurrection,
and redemption of both sexes ; and (c) the mys-
tical representation of Christ and His Church.
A healthy tone is felt in much of what Gre-
gory says, but (ix.) the good of marriage is de-
scribed by a definition far inferior in life and
spirituality to that of the pagan Modestinus,
and (in x.) naturally follows a preference for the
far higher good of celibacy. The age was not to
be trusted on this topic which formed an under-
lying motive with most of the great divines.
Chrysostom notices the chief texts in his
Expository Homilies. For these we cannot afford
space, and they are easily found. We are more
concerned with his sermon on the Bill of Divorce
(ed. Bened. iii. 198-209). " It is commonly called
adultery," he says in substance, " when a man
wrongs a married woman. I, however, affirm it
of a married man who sins with the unmarried.
For the essence of the crime depends on the con-
dition of the injurers as well as the injured.
Tell me not of outward laws. I will declare to
thee the law of God." Yet we encounter a
qualification : the offence of a husband with the
unmarried is (p. 207) /uoixeias erepov e/Sos.
We also find the preacher dwelling with great
force upon the lifelong servitude (SouAeia) of
marriage, and we perceive from comparing other
passages that there is an intentional contrast
with the noble freedom of celibacy.
Asterius of Amaseia has a forcible discourse
(printed by Combefis, and particularly worth
reading) on the question: "An liceat homini
dimittere uxorem suam, quacunque ex causa?"
The chief part of it belongs to our next division,
but towards the end, after disposing of insuffi-
cient causes, he enters on the nature of adul-
tery. Here (as he says) the preacher stands by
the husband. " Nam cum duplici fine matrimo-
nia contrahuntur, benevolentiae ac quaerendorum
liberorum, neutrum in adult erio continetur. Nee
enim affectui locus, ubi in alterum animus
inclinat ; ac sobolis omne decus et gratia perit,
quando liberi confunduntur." Our strong Teu-
tonic instincts feel the truth of these words.
Asterius then insists on mutual good faith, and
passes to the point that the laws of this world
are lenient to the sins of husbands who excuse
their own license by the plea of privileged
harmlessness. He replies that all women are
the daughters or wives of men. Some man
must feel each woman's degradation. He then
refers to Scripture, and concludes with precepts
on domestic virtue and example. The sermon
of Asterius shows how kindred sins may be
thoroughly condemned without abolishing esta-
blished distinctions. But it also shows a gene-
ral impression that the distinctions of the Forum
were pressed by apologists of sin into their own
baser service.
Jerome's celebrated case of Fabiola claims a
few lines. It was not really a divorce propter
adutterium, but parallel to the history told by
Justin Martyr. The points for us are the
antithesis between Paulus noster and Papini-
anus ( with Paulus Papiniani understood )
and the assertion that the Roman law turned
upon dignity i.e. the matrona as distinguished
from the ancillula. Jerome feels most strongly
the unity of marriage, and joins with it the
proposition that the word Man contains Woman.
He therefore says that 1 Cor. vi. 16, applies
equally to both sexes. Moreover, the same
tendency appears, as in Chrysostom, to de-
press wedlock in favour of celibacy. Marriage
is servitude, and the yoke must be equal, " Eadem
servitus pari conditione censetur." But the
word adutterium is employed correctly ; and in
another place (on Hosea, ii. 2) he expressly
draws the old distinction " Fornicaria est, quae
cum pluribus cojmlatur. Adultera, quae unum
virum deserens alteri jungitur." 8
Augustine, like Lactantius, posits an idea of
marriage (De Gencsi, ix. 12 [vii.j ). It possesses a
Good, consisting of three things fides, prulcs,
* The inmipta who offends cum viro conjugate- is not
here made an adulteress; Jerome's remedy might have
been a specific constitution.
24
ADULTERY
ADULTERY
sucramentum. " In fide attenditur ne praeter vin-
culum conjugale, cum altera vel altero concum-
batur." But (Quaest. in Exod. 71) he feels a
difficulty about words "Item quaeri solet utrum
moechiae nomine etiam fornicatio teneatur. Hoc
euim Graeeum verbum est, quo jam Scriptura
utitur pro Latino. Moechos tamen Graeci nonnisi
adulteros dicunt. Sed utique ista Lex non solis
viris in populo, verum etiam feminis data est "
(Jerome, supra, thought of this point); how
much more by "non moechaberis, uterque sexus
astringitur, .... Ac per hoc si femina
moecha est, habens virum, concumbendo cum
eo qui vir ejus non est, etiamsi ille non habeat
uxorem ; profecto moechus est et vir habens
uxorem, concumbendo cum ea quae uxor ejus
non est, etiamsi ilia non habeat virum." He
goes on to quote Matt. v. 32, and infers " omnis
ergo moechia etiam fornicatio in Scripturis
dicitur sed utrum etiam omnis fornicatio
moechia dici possit, in eisdem Scripturis non
mihi interim occurrit locutionis exemplum."
His final conclusion is that the greater sin im-
plies the less a part the whole.
Augustine's sermon (ix. al. 96) De decern
Chordis is an expansion of the above topics. In
3 (iii.) occurs the clause quoted Decret. ii. 32, q.
6. (a quaestio wholly from Augustine) " JS T on
moechaberis : id est, non ibis ad aliquam aliam
praeter uxorem tuam." He adds some particulars
reminding us of Asterius. On the 7th Com-
mandment, which Augustine calls his 5th string,
he says, 11 (ix.), " In ilia video jacere totum pene
genus humanum ; " and mentions that false
witness and fraud were held in horror, but (12)
"si quis volutatur cum ancillis suis, amatur,
blande accipitur ; convertuntur vulnera in joca."
We cannot pass by two popes cited by Gra-
tian. One is Innocent I., whose 4th canon Ad
Exup. stands at the end of same c. 32, q. 5. " Et
illud desideratum est sciri, cur communicantes
viri cum adulteris uxoribus non conveuiant :
cum contra uxores in consortio adulterorum
virorum manere videantur." The gloss explains
" communicantes " of husbands who commit a
like sin with their wives. But this may or may
not mean that they sinned cum conjugatis, and
the words " pari ratione," which follow, to be-
come decisive must be read with special emphasis.
The other is the great Gregory, quoted earlier
in same q. 5. The passage is from Greg. Mag.
Moralium, lib. 21, in cap. Jobi xxxi. 9; and as
it is truncated in quotation, we give the main
line of thought, omitting parentheses : " Quam-
vis nonnunquam a reatu adulterii nequajuam
discrepet culpa fornicationis (Matt. v. 28, quoted
and expounded). Tamen plerumque ex loco vel
ordine concupiscentis discernitur (instance). In
personis tamen non dissimilibus idem luxuriae
distinguitur reatus in quibus fornicationis culpa,
quia ab adulterii reatu discernitur, praedicatoris
egregii lingua testatur (1 Cor. vi. 9)." The dif-
ference between the two sins is next confirmed
from Job. It is easy to see that the old juridical
sense of adulterium is not taken away by these
expository distinctions.
We now come to the event which gives signi-
ficance and living interest to our recital of
opinions. The canon law of Rome took ground
which allied it on this as on other questions
with w T hat appeared to be the rights of women.
Its treatment of cases arising out of the 7th
Commandment widened the separation of East
and West, and left a mark on those barbarian
nations which owed their civilization or their
faith to pontifical Rome. Our business here is
only with a definition, but canonists followed
civilians in working their doctrine out to its
more remote consequences, and some of these
would form a curious chapter in history.
The essence of the pontifical definition is not
that a wife is the adultera, and her paramour
the adulter, but that the offence be committed
"cum persona conjugata," whether male or
female. Hence it comprehends two distinct
degrees of criminality. It is called simplex in
two cases, " cum solutus concumbit cum conju-
gata, vel conjugatus cum soluta." It is called
duplex "cum conjugatus concumbit cum conju-
gata." These distinctions are taken from F. L.
Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca (ed. 1781), in verbo.
They rest upon the Decrctum as referred to by
Ferraris, part 2, cause 32, quaest. 4. But the
extracts we gave from qs. 5 and 6 should not be
neglected.
The Becretum, according to C. Butler (Ilorae
Juridicae Subsecivae, p. 168), is made up from
(1) decrees of councils, (2) letters of pontiffs,
(3) writings of doctors. But on our subject the
last-named is the real source e.g. q. 4 is from
the moral and doctrinal writings of Augustine,
Ambrose, Jerome, and Gregory I. ; q. 6 wholly
from Augustine. This is a very noteworthy
fact, since it tends to confirm a conclusion that
canonists had previously agreed with the civil
law so for as concerns its definition of the crime.
Gratian would never have contented himself with
quoting theologians if he could have found
councils, or canonical writings accepted by coun-
cils, to support his own decisions.
Such, then, is one not unimportant antithesis in
the wide divergence between East and West. It
would form an interesting line of inquiry (but
beyond our province) to use this antithesis as a
clue in those mixed or doubtful -cases of descent
where the main life of national codes and cus-
toms is by some held homesprung, by others
given to old Rome, and by a third party derived
from Latin Christianity.
Through all inquiry on this subject the stu-
dent must bear in mind that a confusion of
thought has followed the change in law ; e.g.
Ducange, Glossar., s. v., commences his article
with a short quotation from Gregory of Nyssa's
4th can. ad Let. (explained above), but the sen-
tence cited contains the opinion, not of the
saint, but of the objector whom he is answering.
Ducange proceeds to trace the same idea through
various codes without a suspicion that he has
begun by applying to one age the tenets of an-
other. The difficulty of avoiding similar mis-
takes is greater than at first sight might have
been anticipated. In the Dictionnaires of Tre-
voux, Furetiere, Richelet, and Danet, avoutrie
or adultere is explained from papal law or Thom.
Aquin., while the citations mostly give the older
sense. In Chaucer's Persone's Tale we find the
same word (avoutrie) defined after the civilians,
but soon after he mentions " mo spices " (more
species) taken from the other acceptation. John-
son gives to adultery the papal meaning, but his
sole example is from pagan Rome, and most
modern English dictionary makers are glad to
copy Johnson. A still more striking instance
ADULTEitY
ADULTEEY
25
of confounded explanations occurs in a remark-
able dialogue between the doctor and his friend,
vol. iii. 46, of Croker's Boswell.
The natural inference is that the above-men-
tioned authors were not conversant with the
great change of definition undergone by the word
adultery and its equivalents. But when those
who write on the specialties of church history
and antiquities quote Fathers, councils, jurists,
and decretals, they ought in reason to note how
far the common terms which their catenae link
together are or are not used in the same sense
throughout. This precaution has been generally
neglected as regards the subject of this article,
hence endless confusion.
Immediately upon the nature of the crime (as
legally denned) followed its Classification. By
Lex Julia, 48 Dig., i. 1, it was placed among
public wrongs. But a public wrong does not
necessarily infer a public right of prosecution ;
see Gothofred's note on Cod. Theod. 9, tit. 7, s. 2.
" Aliud est publicum crimen ; aliud publica
accusatio." For Publica Judicia, cf. Dig. as
above and Institut. Justin. 4, 18, sub init.
Under Augustus the husband was preferred as
prosecutor, next the wife's father. The hus-
band was in danger of incurring the guilt of
procuration (lenocinium) if he failed to prose-
cute (48, Dig. v. 2, 2, and 29, sub init. ; also
9, Cod. Just. 9, 2). He must open proceedings by
sending a divorce to his wife (48, Dig. v. 2, 2 ;
11, 10 ; and 29, init.). Thus divorce was made
an essential penalty, though far from being the
whole punishment. By Nocell. 117, c. 8, pro-
ceedings might commence before the divorce.
Such prosecution had 60 days allowed for it,
and these must be dies utiles. The husband's
choice of days was large, as his libellus might
be presented " de piano," i.e., the judge not sit-
ting " pro tribunal! " (48, Dig. v. 11, 6 ; and
14, 2). The husband might also accuse for 4
months further, but not "jure mariti," only "ut
quivis extraneus" (Goth, on 11, 6). For ex-
ample, see Tacit. Ann. ii. 85 ; Labeo called
to account by the praetor (cf. Orell. note),
for not having accused his wife, pleads that his
60 days had not elapsed. After this time an
extraneus might intervene for 4 months of avail-
able days (tit. of Dig. last quoted, 4, 1).
If the divorced wife married before accusation,
it was necessary to begin with the adulterer (2,
init. ; 39, 3). The wife might then escape
through failure of the plaint against him (17,
6). He was liable for five continuous years
even though she were dead (11, 4; 39, 2),
and his death did not shield her (19, init.), but
that period barred all accusation against both
offenders (29, 5; and 31 ; also 9, Cod. J. 9, 5).
Under Constan'tine, A.D. 326 (9, Cod. Theod. 7, 2,
and 9, Cod. J. 9, 30), the right of public prose-
cution was taken away. The prosecutors were
thus arranged : husband ; wife's relations, i.e.
father, brother, father's brother, mothei - 's brother.
This order remained unaltered (see Balsam. Schol.
iu Bevereg. Pandect, i. 408, and Blastaris Syn-
tagma, p. 185).
The Mosaic law, like the Roman, made this
offence a public wrong, and apparently also a
matter for public prosecution ; compare Deut.
xxii. 22, with John viii. 3 and 10. As long as
the penalty of death was enforced, the husband
could not condone. But in later times he might
content himself with acting under Deut. xxiv. 1-
4. See Matt, i., 19. [Espousals count as matri-
mony under Jewish law even more strongly than
under Roman ; compare Deut. xxii. 23, seq., with
48, Dig. v, 13, 3]. See also Hosea, ii. 2, iii. 1,
and parallel passages.
By canon law all known sins are scandals, and
as such public wrongs ; cf. Gothofr. marg. annot.
on Dig. 48, tit. 1, s. 1 ; Grat. Decret. ii. c. 6, 9, 1 ;
J. Clarus, Sent. Bee. v. 1, 6; and on Adultery,
Blackstone, iii. 8, 1, and iv. 4, 11. This offence
became known to Church authorities in various
ways; see Basil 34; Innocent ad Exup. 4; and
Elib. 76, 78, Greg. Nyss. 4, where confession
mitigates punishment. A similar allowance for
self-accusation is found in regard of other crimes,
e.g. Greg. Thaum. cans. 8 and 9.
The Church agreed with the State in not
allowing a husband to condone (Basil, 9 and
21), and on clerks especially (Neocaesarea, 8).
Divines who were not canonists differed consi-
derably. Hermas's Pastor (Mandat. iv.) allowed
and urged one reconciliation to a penitent wife.
Augustine changed his mind ; compare De Adul-
terin. Conjug. lib. ii. 8 (ix.) with Rttractat. lib.
i. xix. 6. In the first of these places he hesitates
between condonation and divorce ; opposes for-
giveness " per claves regni caelorum " to the pro-
hibitions of law " secundum terrenae civitatis
modum," and concludes by advising continence,
which no law forbids. In the latter passage he
speaks of divorce as not only allowed but com-
manded. " Et ubi dixi hoc permissum esse, non
jussum ; non attendi aliam Scripturam dicentem ;
Qui tenet adulteram stultus et impius est
(Prov. xviii. 22 ; lxx.).
A public wrong implied civil rights ; therefore
this offence was the crime of free persons (Dig.
48, tit. 5, s. 6 init.). "Inter liberas tantum per-
sonas adulterium stuprumve passas Lex Julia
locum habet." Cf. Cod. J. 9, tit. 9, s. 23 init. A
slave was capable only of Contubernium (see Ser-
vus and Matrimonium in Diet. Antiq.). Servitude
annulled marriage (Dig. 24, tit. 2, s. 1), or rather
made it null from the first (Novell. Just. 22. 8, 9,
10). "Ancillam a toro abjicere" is laudable ac-
cording to Pope Leo I. (Ad Rustic. 6). That
Christian princes attempted to benefit slaves
rather by manumission than by ameliorating the
servile condition, we see from the above-quoted
Novell, and from Harmenop. Proch. i. 14 ; the
slave (sec. 1) is comjjetent to no civil relations,
and (sec. 6) his state is a quasi-death.
Concubinage was not adultery (Dig. 25, tit. 7,
s. 3, 1); but a concubine might become an adult-
eress, because, though not an uxor, she ought to
be a matrona, and could therefore, if unfaithful, be
accused, not jure mariti, but jure extranei. For
legal conditions, see Cod. J. 5, tit. 26 and 27, Just.
Novell. 18, c. 5 ; also 74 and 89. Leo (Nov. 91)
abolished concubinage on Christian grounds. For
the way in which the Church regarded it, cf.
Bals., on Basil, 26, and Cone. Tolet. i. 17; also
August. Quaest. in Oenesim, 90, De Fid. et Op.
35 (xix.), and Serm. 392, 2. Pope Leo I. (Ad
Rustic. 4, cf. 6, as given by Mansi) seems to make
the legal concubine a mere ancilla ; cf. Grat.
Decret. I. Dist. 34 (ut supra) and Diet. Antiq. s. v.
We now come to much the gravest conse-
quence of a classification under public wrongs
its effect on woman's remedy. By Lex Julia, the
wife has nc power of plaint against the husband
26
ADULTERY
ADULTERY
for adulteiy as a public wrong (Cod. J. 9.
tit. 9, s. 1.). This evident!)' flows from the de-
finition of the crime, but the glossators' reasons
are curious. She cannot complain jure mariti
because she is not a husband, nor jure extranet
because she is a woman.
The magistrate was bound by law to inquire
into the morals of any husband accusing his wife
(Dig. 48, tit. 5, s. 1 3 5). This section is from an
Antonine rescript quoted at greater length from
the Cod. Gregorian, by Augustine, Be Coning.
Adulterin. lib. ii. 7 (viii.). The husband's guilt
did not act as a compensatio criminis. In Eng-
land the contrary holds, and a guilty accuser
shall not prevail in his suit (see Burns, Eccl.
Law, art. " Marriage."). But the wife's real
remedy lay in the use of divorce which during
the two last centuries of the Republic became
the common resource of women under grievances
real or fancied, and for purposes of the worst
kind. There is a graphic picture of this side
of Roman life in Boissier's Cice'ron et ses Amis ;
and for the literature and laws, see " Divor-
tium " in Smith's Diet, of Antiquities. Bris-
souius de Formulis gives a collection of the
phrases used in divorcing.
Constantine allowed only three causes on
either side on the woman's these were her
husband's being a homicide, poisoner, or violator
of sepulchres (Cod. Theod. 3, tit. 16, s. 1 ; cf. Edict.
Theodor. 54). This law was too strict to be
maintained ; the variations of Christian princes
may be seen in Cod. J. 5. tit. 17. Theodos. and
Valentin. 1. 8, added to other causes the hus-
band's aggravated incontiuency. Anastasius, 1.
9, permitted divorce by common consent ; this
again " nisi castitatis concupiscentia " was taken
away by Justinian in his Novell. 117, which (cap.
9) allowed amongst other causes the husband's
gross unchastity. Justin restored divorce by
common consent.
The Church viewed, the general liberty to re-
pudiate under the civil law, with jealousy ; cf.
Greg. Naziauz. Epp. 144, 5 (al. 176, 181), and
Victor Antiochen. on Mark x. 4-12. But it was
felt that women must have some remedy for
extreme and continued wrongs, and this lay in
their using their legal powers, and submitting
the reasonableness of their motives to the judg-
ment of the Church. Basil's Can. 35 recognizes
such a process ; see under our Div. III. Spiritual
Penalties, No. 2. Still from what has been said,
it is plain that divorce might become a frequent
occasion of adultery, since the Church held that
a married person separated from insufficient
causes really continued in wedlock. Re-marriage
was therefore always a serious, sometimes a cri-
minal step. [Divorce.]
Marriage after a wife's death was also viewed
with suspicion. Old Rome highly valued conti-
nence under such circumstances ; Val. Max. ii. 1,
3, gives the fact ; the feeling pervades those
tender lines which contrast so strongly with
Catullus V. ad Lesbiam
" Occidit mea Lux, meumque Sidus ;
Sed caram sequar ; arboresque ut alta
Sub tellure suos agunt amoves,
El radicibus implicantur imis :
Sic nos consociabimur sepulti,
Et vivis erimus beatiores."
Similar to Val. Max. is Herm. Mandat. iv. 4.
Gregory Nazianz. (Horn. 37, al. 31) says that
marriage represents Christ and the Church,
and there are not two Christs ; the first mar-
riage is law, a second au indulgence, a third
swinish. Against marriages beyond two, see
Neoeaes. 3, Basil, 4, and Leo. Novell. 90. Curi-
ously enough, Leo (cf. Diet. Biog.) was him-
self excommunicated by the patriarch for marry-
ing a fourth wife. [Digamy.]
III. Penalties. We are here at once met by a
very singular circumstance. Tribonian attri-
butes to Constantine and to Augustus two suspi-
ciously corresponding enactments, both making
death the penalty of this crime, and both inflict-
ing that death by the sword. The founder of
the Empire and the first of Christian emperors
are thus brought into a closeness of juxtaposi-
tion which might induce the idea that lawyers,
like mythical poets, cannot dispense with Epo-
nyms.
The Lex Julia furnishes a title to Cod. Theod. 9,
tit. 7 ; Dig. 48, tit. ; and Cod. J. 9, tit. 9 ; but in
none of these places is the text preserved, and we
only know it from small excerpts. The law of
Constantine in Cod. Theod. 9, tit. 7, s. 2, contains
no capital penalty, but in Cod. J. 9, tit. 9, s. 30,
after fifteen lines upon accusation, six words
are added " Sacrilegos autem nuptiarum gladio
puniri oportet." The word " sacrilegos " used
substantively out of its exact meaning is very
rare (see Facciolati). For the capital clause,
ascribed to the Lex Julia, see Inst it. iv. 18, 4 ; but
this clause has been since the time of Cujacius
rejected by most critical jurists and historians, of
whom some maintain the law of Constantine,
others suppose a confusion between the great em-
peror and his sons. Those who charge Tribonian
with emblemata generally believe him to have
acted the harmonizer by authority of Justinian.
On these two laws there is a summary of the case
in Selden, Uxor. Ebr. iii. 12, with foot references.
Another is the comment in Gothofred's ed. of Cod.
Theod. vol. iv. 296, 7. Heineccius is not to be
blindly trusted, but in Op. vol. III. his Syll. xi. De
Secta Triboniano-mastigum contains curious mat-
ter, and misled Gibbon into the idea of a regular
school of lawyers answering this description.
The passages in Cujacius may be traced through
each volume by its index. See also Hoffmann,
Ad Leg. Jul. (being Tract iv. in Fellenberg's
Jurisprudentia Antiqua) ; Lipsii Excurs. in Tacit.
Ann. iv. ; Orelli, on Tacit. Arm. ii. 50 ; Ortolan,
Explication des Instituts, iii. p. 791 ; Sandars,
On the Institutes, p. 605 ; Diet. Antiq., " Adult-
erium"; and Diet. Biog., " Justinianus."
The fact most essential to us is that prae-
Christian emperors generally substituted their
own edicts for the provisions of the Lex Julia,
and that the successors of Constantine were
equally diligent in altering his laws. Histo-
rians have frequently assumed the contrary ;
Valesius' note on Socrates, v. 18, may serve by
way of example. The Church could not avoid
adapting her canons to the varied states of civil
legislation ; cf. Scholia on Can. Apost. 5, and
Trull. 87, besides many other places. The true
state of the case will become plainer if we briefly
mention the different ways in which adultery
might be legally punished.
1. The Jus decidendi, most ancient in its ori-
gin ; moderated under the Empire ; but not taken
away by Christian princes. Compare Dig. 48, tit.
5, s. 20 to 24, 32 and 38, with same 48, tit, 8,
ADULTER
ADULTERY
1\
s. 1, 5 ; Cod. J. 9, tit. 9, s. 4 ; and Pauli Recept.
Scntent. ii. 26. This right is common to most
nations, but the remarkable point is that Roman
law gave a greater prerogative of homicide to the
woman's father than to her husband. For a
similar custom and feeling, see Lane's Modem
Egyptians i. 297. The Jus Occidendi under the
Old Testament is treated by Selden, Be Jure Nat.
et Gent, juxta Discip. Ebraeor. iv. 3 ; in old and
modern France, by Ducange and Ragueau ; in
England, by Blackstone and Wharton. There is
a provision in Basil's Can. 34- directing that if a
woman's adultery becomes known to the Church
authorities either by her own confession or other-
wise, she shall be subjected to penitence, but not
placed among the public penitents, lest her hus-
band, seeing her should surmise what has occurred
and slay her on the spot (cf. Blastaris Syntagma,
letter M, cap. 14). This kind of summary venge-
ance has often been confounded with the penalty
inflicted by courts of law, e.g. its celebrated as-
sertion by Cato in A. Gell. x. 23, though his words
"sine judicio " ought to have prevented the mis-
take. Examples of it will be found Val. Max.
vi. 1, 13 ; the chastisement of the historian Sal-
lust is described A. Gell. xvii. 18 ; many illustra-
tions are scattered through the satirists, and
one, M. Ann. Senec, Controv. i. 4, is particularly
curious.
2. The Household Tribunal, an institution
better known because of the details in Dion.
Hal. ii. 25. The remarks of Mommsen (i. 5 and
12), should be compared with Mr. Hallam's phi-
losophical maxim (Suppt. to Middle Ages, art. 54)
that the written laws of free and barbarous
nations are generally made for the purpose of
preventing the infliction of arbitrary punish-
ments. See for the usage Val. Max. ii. 9, 2, and
A. Gell. x. 23, in which latter place the husband
is spoken of ns the wife's censor, a thought which
pervades Origen's remarkable exposition of Matt.
xix. 8, 9, compared with v. 32 (tomus xiv. 24).
The idea itself was likely to be less alien from
the mind of the Church because of the patri-
archal power which sentenced Tamar to the
flames, and the apostolic principle that " the
Head of the Woman is the Man." It is plain,
however, that all private administration of jus-
tice is opposed to the whole tenour of Church
legislation. But perhaps the most pleasant ex-
ample of the Roman Household Court best shows
the strength and extent of its jurisdiction. Pom-
ponia Graecina (Tacit. Ann. xiii. 32) was so tried
on the capital charge of foreign superstition,
and the noble matron, an early convert, as is
sometimes supposed, to Christianity, owed her
life to the acquittal of her husband and his
family assessors.
3. A far more singular penalty on adultery is
mentioned, Tacit. Ann. ii. 85, Sueton. Tib. 35, and
Mem-ale, v. 197. It consisted in permitting a
matron to degrade herself by tendering her name
to the Aediles for insertion in the register of pub-
lic women. Tacitus speaks of it as " more inter
veteres recepto," and looks back with evident
regret upon the ages when such shame was felt
to be an ample chastisement. His feeling is
shared by Val. Max. ii. 1. A like custom sub-
sisted before 1833 among the modern Egyptians,
(see Lane, i. 176-7), differing only in the fact that
the degradation was compulsory, a custom curi-
ously parallel to a narrative of Socrates, v. 18,
(copied by Nicephorus, xii. 22), who says that
there remained at Rome, till abolished by the
Christian Emperor Theodosius I., places of con-
finement called Sistra, where women who had
been caught in breaking the 7th Commandment
were compelled to acts of incontinency, during
which the attention of the passers-by was at-
tracted by the ringing of little.bells in order that
their ignominy might be known to every one.
Valesius has a dubious note founded chiefly on
a mistake, already observed, as to the constancy
of Roman punishments. They really were most
variable, and here again Egypt offers a parallel,
cf. Lane, i. 462-3. Kiebuhr {Lectures on Roman
Hist. i. 270) thinks the unfixed nature of penal-
ties for numerous offences in Greece and Rome a
better practice than the positive enactments of
modern times. We now pass to
4. Judicial Punishments. A ugustine ( Civ. Dei,
iii. 5) says that the ancient Romans did not in-
flict death upon adulteresses (cf. Liv. i. 28, x.
2, xxv. 2, and xxxix. 18 ;) those who read Plautus
will find divorce described as their usual chas-
tisement. The critics of Tribonian generally be-
lieve that Paulus (Sentent. ii. 26, 14) gives the
text of the Lex Julia. It commences with the
punishment of the woman, and proceeds to that
of her paramour on the principle before noticed
of the adultera being the true criminal, and the
adulter her accomplice. After Constantine,
though the civil law maintains this ancient
position, there is an apparent inclination to punish
the man as a seducer a clearly vital alteration,
and due probably to Christian influences.
Augustine places the lenity of old Rome to-
wards adulterous women in contrast with the
severities exercised on Vestal virgins. His state-
ment is not necessarily impugned by those who
rank adultery among capital crimes (e.g. Cod. J.
9, tit. 9, s. 9), since by some kinds of banishment
"eximitur caput de civitate," and hence the
phrase " civil death " (see Dig. 48, tit. 1, s. 2 ;
tit. 19, s. 2 ; tit. 22, s. 3-7). Emperors varied
from each other, and from themselves. Augustus
exceeded his own laws (Tacit. Ann. iii. 24). Ti-
berius was perverse (ibid. iv. 42). Appuleius,
under the Antonines, represents the legal penalty
as actual death, and seems to imply that burn-
ing the adulteress alive was not an unknown
thing (Met. ix. ut supra). Of Macrinus it is ex-
pressly stated (Jul. Capit. 12), " Adulterii reos
semper vivos simul incendit, junctis corporibus."
Alexander Severus held to a capital penalty (Cod.
J. 9, tit. 9), as above. Paulus was of his council
(cf. Ael. Lamprid. 25), a fact favouring the sup-
position that the section (Recejt. Sent. ii. 26, 14)
which mentions a punishment not capital must
represent an earlier law. Arnobius, under Dio-
cletian (see Diet. Biog.), speaks of adultery as
capital (iv. p. 142, ed. Var.). With the above
precedents before him, the reader may feel in-
clined to distrust the charge of new and Mosaic
severity brought against Constantine and his
successors in chap. 44 of Gibbon, vol. v. p. 322,
ed. Milman and Smith.
Whether tlie disputed penal clause of Con-
stantine be genuine or not, by another law of his
(Cod. J. 9, tit. 11) a woman offending with a
slave was capitally punished, and the slave burned.
Constantius and Constans (Cod. Thcod. 11, tit.
:'>(, s. 4) enacted " pari similiqne ratione sacrilegos
nuptiarum. tanquam manifestos parricidas, in-
28
ADULTERY
ADULTERY
suere culeo vivos, vel exurere, judicantcm opor-
teat." Compare Diet. Antiq. art. Leges Corneliae,
" Lex Pompeia de Parricidiis," and for burning,
Pauli Sentent. Eeccpt. v. 24. Baronius (sub fin.
Ann. 339) has a note on " Sacrilegos," a word
which placed the male offenderin a deeply criminal
light. The execution of the sentence was en-
forced by clear cases of adultery being excepted
from appeal (Sent. Recept. ii. 26, 17), and after-
wards (Cod. Theod. 9, tit. 38, s. 3-8), from the
Easter indulgence, when, in Imperial phrase, the
Resurrection Morning brought light to the dark-
ness of the prison, and broke the bonds of the
transgressor. Yet we may ask, Was the Con-
stantian law really maintained ? Just thirty
years later, Ammianus (xxviii. 1) gives an ac-
count of the decapitation of Cethegus, a senator
of Rome ; but though the sword was substituted
for fire, he reckons this act among the outrages
of Maximin, prefect of the city; and how easily
a magistrate might indulge in reckless barbarity
may be seen by the horrible trial for adultery
described by Jerome (Ad Innocent.), in which both
the accused underwent extreme tortures. Again,
though the Theodosian code (in force from A.D.
439) gave apparent life to the Constantian law,
yet by a rescript of Majorian (a.d. 459) it is
ordered that the adulterer shall be punished " as
under former emperors," by banishment from
Italy, with permission to any one, if he return,
to kill him on the spot (Novell. Major. 9). That
death in various times and places was the penalty,
seems clear from Jerome on Nah. i. 9 ; the Vandal
customs in Salvian, 7 ; and Can. Wallici, 27.
Fines appear in later Welsh, as in Salic and
A. S. codes. For these and other punishments
among Christianized barbarians, see Ancient Laws
of Wales ; Lindenbrogii Cod. Leg., Wilkins, vol. i.,
Glaus Mag. de Gent. Septent. XIV. ; and Ducange
s. v. and under Trotari.
For Justinian's legislation see his 134th Novell.
Cap. 10 renews the Constantian law against the
male offender, extends it to all abettors, and in-
flicts on the female bodily chastisement, with
other penalties short of death. Cap. 12 contem-
plates a possible evasion of justice, and further
offences, to which are attached further severities.
Caps. 9 and 13 contain two merciful provisions.
Leo, in his 32nd Novell, (cited by Harmenop. as
19th), compares adultery with homicide, and
punishes both man and woman by the loss of
their noses and other inflictions. For a final
summary, cf. Harmenop. Proch. vi. 2, and on the
punishment of incontinent married men, vi. 3.
Spiritual penalties may be thus arranged 1.
Against adultery strictly so called (Can. Apost.
61 al. 60). A convicted adulter cannot receive
orders. Ancyra, 20. Adultera and adulter (so
Schol., husband with guilty knowledge, Routh
and Fleury), 7 years' penitence. Neocaesarea, 1.
Presbyter so offending to be fully excommunicated
and brought to penitence. Neocaesarea, 8. The
layman whose wife is a convicted adultera can-
not receive orders. If the husband be already
ordained, he must put her away under penalty
of deprivation. Basil, can. 9. An unchaste wife
must be divorced. An unchaste husband not so,
even if adulterous ; this is the rule of Church
custom. [N.B. We place Basil here because ac-
cepted by Trull. 2.] Basil, 58. The adulter 15
years' penitence ; cf. 59, which gives 7 years to
simple incontinence, and compare with both can.
7 and Scholia. Gregor. Nyss., can. 4, prescribes
18 years (9 only for simple incontinence). Basil,
27, and Trull. 26, forbid a presbyter who has
ignorantly contracted an unlawful marriage be-
fore orders to discharge his functions, but do not
degrade him. Basil, 39. An adultera living with
her paramour is guilty of continued crime. This
forbids her marriage with him, as does also the
civil law. Cf. on these marriages Triburiense, 40,
49, and 51. On intended and incipient sin, com-
pare Neocaesarea, 4, with Basil, 70 (also Scholia)
and Blastaris Syntagma, cap. xvi. The synod of
Eliberis, though held a.d. 305, was not accepted
by any Universal Council, but it represents an
important part of the Western Church, and its
canons on discipline are strict. The following
arrangement will be found useful. Eliberis, 19.
Sin of Clerisy. (Cf. Tarracon. 9.) 31. Of young
men. 7. Sin, if repeated. 69. Of married men
and women. 47. If habitual and with relapse
after penitence. 64. Of women continuing with
their accomplices ; cf. 69. 65. Wives of clerks.
70. Husbands' connivance (F. Mendoza remarks
on the antiquity of this sin in Spain). 78. Of
married men with Jewesses or Pagans.
2. Against Adultery as under Spiritual but not
Civil Law. Both canonists and divines joined with
our Saviour's precepts, Prov. xviii. 23; Jer. iii. 1
(both LXX); 1 Cor. vi. 16, and vii. 11-16 and 39.
They drew two conclusions: (1) Divorce, except
for adultery, is adultery. Under this fell the
questions of enforced continence, and of marriage
after divorce. (2) To retain an adulterous wife
is also adultery a point disputed by divines, e.g.
Augustine, who yielded to the text in Proverbs
(Retract, i. xix. 6). These divisions should be
remembered though the points are often blended
in the canons.
Can. Apost. 5. No one in higher orders to
cast out his wife on plea of religion. This is
altered as regards bishops by Trull. 12, but
the change (opposed to African feeling) was not
enough to satisfy Rome. It must be remem-
bered that, though divorce was restrained by
Constantine, whose own mother had thus suf-
fered (see Eutrop. ix. 22), his law was relaxed
by Theod. and Valentin, and their successors,
and it was common for a clerk, forced into conti-
nence, to repudiate his wife. Trull. 13, opposes
the then Roman practice as concerns priests and
deacons, and so far maintains, as it says, Can.
Apost. 5. The Scholia on these three canons
should be read. For the Roman view of them
compare Binius and other commentators with
Fleury, Hist. Eccl. xl. 50. Cf. Siricius, Ad Himer.
7 ; Innocent I. Ad Exup. 1, and Ad Max. et Sev. ;
Leo I. Ad Rustic. 3, and Ad Anastas. 4. See also
Milman, Lot. Christ, i. 97-100. The feeling of
Innocent appears most extreme if Jerome's asser-
tion (Ad Demetriad.') of this pope's being his
predecessor's son is literally meant, as Milman
and others believe. Can. Apost. 18, al. 17.
On marriage with a cast-out wife ; cf. Levit.
xxi. 7. 48, al. 47. Against casting out and
marrying again, or marrying a dismissed woman.
"Casting out" and "dismissed" are explained
by the Scholiasts in the sense of unlawful repu-
diations. Sanchez (De Matrim. lib. x. de Divort.
Disp. ii. 2) quotes this canon in the opposite sense,
and brings no other authority to forbid divorce
before Innocent I.; indeed in Disp. i. 12, he says,
" Posterior (excusatio) est, indissolubilitatem ma-
ADULTERY
ADULTERY
29
triraonii non ita arete in primitiva Ecclesia in-
tellectam esse, quia liceret ex legitima causa,
apud Episcopos provinciales probata, libellum
repudii dare." F. Mendoza makes a like reserve
on Eliberis, 8. It is to be observed that Latin
renderings of Greek law terms are apt to be am-
biguous ; e.g. " Soluta " is sometimes used of
a dismissed wife, sometimes of an unmarried
woman. Basil, Ad Amphiloch. can 9. The dictum
of our Lord applies naturally to both sexes, but
it is otherwise ruled by custom [i.e. of the
Church, see a few lines further, with Scholia ;
and on unwritten Church custom having the
force of law cf. Photii Nomoc. i. 3, and refer-
ences]. In the case of wives that dictum is
stringently observed according to 1 Cor. vi. 16 ;
Jer. iii. 1, and Prov. xviii., latter half of 23
(both in LXX and Vulgate). If, however, a di-
vorced husband marries again, the second wife is
not an adultera, but the first ; cf. Scholia. [Here
the Latin translator has mistaken the Greek ; he
renders ovk olSa el Si/varai by " nescio an possit,"
instead of " nescio an non " so as to give the con-
trary of Basil's real meaning.] A woman must
not leave her husband for blows, waste of dower,
incontinence, nor even disbelief (cf. 1 Cor. vii. 16),
under penalty of adultery. Lastly, Basil forbids
second marriage to a husband putting away
his wife, i.e. unlawfully according to Aristenus,
Selden, Ux. Ebr. iii. 31, and Scholia on Trull. 87.
On like Scripture grounds Can. 26 of 2nd Synod
attributed to St. Patrick, commands divorce of
adulteresses, and permits husband to remarry.
Basil, 21, assigns extra penitence to what would
now be called simple adultery (then denied by
Church custom to be adultery), i.e. the incon-
tinency of a married man. Divorce is next
treated as a penalty an offending wife is an
adulteress and must be divorced not so the hus-
band ; cf. can. 9. Basil, unlike Gregory of Nyssa,
does not justify in reason the established custom.
35. Alludes to a judgment of the sort men-
tioned by Sanchez and Mendoza, and referred
to above. Can. 48. Separated wife had better
not re-marry.
Carthage, 105 ap. Bev. (in Cod. Eccl. Afric.
102). Divorced persons (i.e. either rightly or
wrongly repudiating) to remain unmarried or
be reconciled, and an alteration of Imperial law
in this sense to be petitioned for. This breathes
a Latin rather than an Eastern spirit, and is the
same with 2 Milevis(Mileum), 17 (repeated Cone.
Afric. 69), cf. 1 Aries, 10, and Innocent I., Ad
Exup. 6. The case is differently determined
under differing conditions by Aug. de Fid. et
Oper. 2 (i.) compared with 35 (xix.).
The Scholiasts hold that the Carthaginian
canon was occasioned by facility of civil divorce,
but superseded by Trull. 87. Innocent III., with
a politic regard for useful forgeries, ordained that
earlier should prevail over later canons (cf.
Justell. i. 311), but the Greek canonists (as here)
maintain the reverse, which is likewise ably up-
held and explained by Augustine, l>e Baft. II. 4,
(iii.), and 14 (ix.).
Trull. 87, is made up of Basil's 9, 21, 35, and
48. The Scholia should be read but they do
not notice that, when it was framed, divorce by
consent had been restored by Justin, Novell. 2
(authent. 140). They are silent because neither
this Novell, nor all Justinian's 117 were inserted
in the Basilica then used ; his 134 alone repre-
sented the law (see Photii Nomoc. XIII. 4, Sch. 3).
Trull. 87, is so worded as to express desertion,
and therefore implies a judicial process, without
which re-marriage must be held mere adultery
(see on this point, Blastaris Syntagm. : Gamma,
13). The " divine " Basil, here highly magnified,
is elevated still higher in Blastaris, Caus. Matrim.
ap. Leunclavii Jus Graeco-Roman. p. 514.
This canon closes the circle of Oecumenical
law upon adultery, and on divorce, treated partly
as its penalty and partly as its cause. The
points of agreement with State law are plain ;
the divergence is an effect of Church restraint
upon divorce, which, if uncanonical, easily led to
digamy, and formed per se a species of adultery.
According to canonists (Photii Nomoc. I, 2, Schol.
2), Church law, having a twofold sanction, could
not be resisted by Imperial constitutions.
As the ancient mode of thinking on adultery
is alien from our own, it seems right to refer
the reader to the vindication of its morality by
Gregory Nyss. (Ad Bet. 4). Gregory is by no
means lenient to the incontinency of married or
unmarried men with single women ; 9 years of
penitence with all its attendant infamy made up
no trifling chastisement. But he held that the
offence of a married woman and her paramour
involves three additional elements of immorality
the treacherous, the specially unjust, and the
unnatural ; or, to put the case another way, he
estimated the sin by the strength of the barriers
overleaped by passion, and by the amount of
selfishness involved in its gratification. So, in
modern days, we often speak of an adulteress as
an unnatural mother, and visit her seducer with
proportionate indignation. Thus viewed, spuri-
ousness of progeny is not a censure by rule of
expediency, but a legal test of underlying de-
pravity.
This section may usefully close with examples
showing how the ancient position has been over-
looked as well as resisted. We saw that Car-
thage, 105, and its parallels forbade marriage
after divorce, whether just or unjust, and that
the view of its being adultery had gained ground
in the West. Now, three earlier Eliberitan canons
uphold the other principle. Can. 8. Against re-
marriage of a woman causelessly repudiating.
9. Against re-marriage of a woman leaving an
adulterous husband. 10. Against marriage with
a man guilty of causeless dismissal. From this
last canon, compared with 8 and 9, it appears
that the husband divorcing an adulteress may
marry again, which by 9 an aggrieved wife can-
not do ; cf. the parallel, Basil, 9, supra. Cote-
lerius, note 16, 3, to Herm. Past. Mand. iv.,
quotes cans., 9 and 10 as a support to the pseudo-
Ambrose on 1 Cor. vii. 10, 11, and construes
both to mean that the man is favoured above
the woman under like conditions. He is fol-
lowed by Bingham, xvi. 11, 6, as far as the so-
called Ambrose is concerned. But we have suf-
ciently proved that Church custom did not per-
mit incontinency to be held a like condition
in husband and in wife. The pseudo-Ambrose
himself misleads his readers his law agrees
with the Basilean canon, but not content with
laying down the law, he goes on to reason out
the topic the man's being the head of the
woman, &c. The Western Canon ascribed to St.
Patrick (supra) seems a remarkable contrast to
the Latin rule. The fact is equally remarkable
30
ADULTERY
ADVENT
that at no further distance from Eliberis than
Aries, and as early as A.D. 314, it was enacted
by Can. 10 that young men detecting their wives
in adultery should be counselled against marry-
ing others during the lifetime of the adulteresses
(cf. Nantes 12). Most curious to us are the de-
crees of Pope Leo I., Ad Nicct. 1, 2, 3, 4, which
allow the wives of prisoners of war to marry
others, but compel them to return to their
husbands under pain of excommunication should
the captives be released and desire their society.
Such instances as these and some before cited
illustrate the various modes of affirming an iron
bond in marriage, and of resisting the law on
adultery, and on divorce as the penalty of adul-
tery (afterwards received in Trullo), ere yet the
opposition formed an article in the divergence
of Greek and Latin Christendom. With them
should be compared the extracts from divines
given under Division II. supra, which display in
its best colours the spirit of the revolution. For
other particulars, see Divorce.
3. Constructive Adultery. The following are
treated as guilty of the actual crime : Trull. 98.
A man marrying a betrothed maiden; cf. Basil,
37, with Schol., and Dig. 48, tit. 5, s. 13, 3 ;
also Siricius, Ad Him. A. Elib. 14. Girls seduced
marrying other men than their seducers. Basil,
18. Consecrated virgins who sin and their para-
mours ; cf. his 60. These supersede Ancyra, 19,
by which the offence was punished as digamy.
See on same, Trull. 4 ; Elib.13 ; Siric. Ad Him. 6,
Innocent, Ac? Victr. 12 and 13. Cyprian, Ad Pom-
pon., pronounced it better they should marry
the offender is " Christi Adultera." Jerome, Ad
Demetriad. sub fin., perplexes the case for irre-
vocable vows by declaring, " Quibus aperte dicen-
dum est, ut aut nubant, si se non possunt conti-
nere, aut contineant, si nolunt nubere." Laod.
10 and 31, accepted by Chalced. i. and Trull. 2,
forbid giving sons and daughters in marriage to
heretics. Eliberis, 15, 16, 17, enact severe penal-
ties against parents who marry girls to Jews,
heretics, and unbelievers, above all to heathen
priests. 1, Aries, 11, has same prohibition, so too
Agde, 67. By Cod. Thcod. 16, tit. 8, s. 6 (a.d.
339), Jews must not take Christian women ; by
Cod. Theod. 3, tit. 7, s. 2 (a.d. 388), all marriage
between Jew and Christian is to be treated, as
adultery, a law preserved by Justinian {Cod. J.
1, tit. 9, s. 6). Some suppose this phrase simply
means treated as a capital offence, but Elib. 15,
mentions the risk of adulterium animae. The pas-
sage in Tertullian, Ad Ux. ii. 3, "fideles gentilium
matrimonia subeuntes stupri reos esse constat,"
&c. (cf. Division I. supra) shows how early this
thought took hold of the Church. Idolatry
from Old Testament times downward was adul-
tery; and divines used the principle 1 Cor. vi.
15, 16, and parallel texts, to prove that marriage
with an unclean transgressor involved wife or
husband in the sinner's guilt. Compare Justin
Martyr in the history cited Division I., Cyprian,
Testimon. iii. 62, and Jerome, Epitaph. Fabiolae.
It would appear therefore that law was thus
worded to move conscience, and how hard the
task of law became may be gathered from Chal-
cedon, 14. This canon (on which see Schol. and
Routh's note, Opusc. ii. 107) concerns the lower
clerisy ; but the acceptance of Laodicea by Can.
1 had already met the case of lay people. See
further under Marriage.
The Church was strict against incitements and
scandals. Professed virgins must not live with
clerks as sisters. See SUB-iNTRODUCTAE. On
promiscuous bathing, Trull. 77, Laod. 30 ; the
custom was strange to early Rome, but practice
varied at different times (see Diet. Antiq. Bal-
neae). On female adornment, Trull. 96, and com-
pare Commodian's address to matrons, Inst. 59,
60. Elib. 35, forbids women's night watching
in cemeteries, because sin was committed under
pretext of prayer. Against theatricals, loose
reading, some kinds of revels, dances, and other
prohibited things, see Bingham, xvi. 11, 10-17,
with the references, amongst which those to
Cyprian deserve particular attention.
For the general literature on Canon Law see
that article. Upon civil law there are excellent
references under Justinianus, Diet. Biogr., with
additional matter in the notes to Gibbon, chap.
44, ed. Smith and Milman, and a summary re-
specting the Basilica, vol. vii. pp. 44, 45. " We
may here add that Mommsen is editing a text ot
the Corpus Juris Civilis ; and the whole Russian
code is now being translated for English publica-
tion. There is a series of manuals by Ortolan
deserving attention : Histoire de la legislation
romaine, 1842 ; Cours de Legislation penale com-
paree, 1839-41 ; Explication des Instituts, 1863.
Gothofredi Manuale Juris, and Windscheid's
Lchrhuch d. Pandektenrechts (2nd ed.) may be
useful. An ample collection of Councils and Ec-
clesiastical documents relating to Great Britain
and Ireland is being published at Oxford. Re-
ferences on special topics have been fully given
above, and will serve to indicate the readiest
sources for further information. Curious readers
will find interesting matter in Saint Edme, Dic-
tionnaire de la Pe'nalite ; Taylor, On Civil Law ;
and Duni, Origins e Progressi del Cittadino e del
Governo civile di Roma, 1763-1764. [W. J.]
ADVENT (Atlventus, N7?(rTeia rwv XpicrTov-
yevvcoi/), is the season of preparation for the
Feast of the Nativity, to which it holds the like
relation as does Lent to Easter. As no trace of
an established celebration of the birth of our
Lord is met with before the 4th century [Na-
tivity], no earlier origin can be assigned to the
ecclesiastical institution of Advent ; the state-
ment of Duvand (Rationale divin. off. vi. 21), which
makes this an appointment of St. Peter (unless,
like other statements of the same kind, it means
only that this was an ordinance of the see of St.
Peter), may rest, perhaps, on an ancient tradition,
making Christmas an apostolic institution, but
is contrary to all historical testimony, and devoid
of probability. Expressions which have been
alleged on that behalf from Tertullian, St. Cyprian,
and other early writers, are evidently meant, not
of "Advent " as a Church season, but of the
coming of the Lord in the fulness of time. A
passage of St. Chrysostom (Horn. iii. ad Eph.
t. xi. 22 B), in which Kaipbs tt/j TrpoaSSov is
mentioned in connection with ra 'ETritpavia (i. e.
the ancient Feast of Nativity and Baptism) and
with the Lenten Quadragesima, speaks, as the
context manifestly shows, not of the season of
Advent, but of the fit time (or rather fitness in
general) for coming to Holy Communion (comp.
Menard on Libr. Sacram. S. Gregorii ; Opp. t. iii.
col. 446). Setting aside these supposed testi-
monies, and that of the Sermons de Adventu,
ADVENT
ADVENT
31
alleged as St. Augustine's, but certainly not his,
we have two homilies In (or De) Adcentu Domini,
de eo quod dictum est, sicut fuhjur coruscans, &c,
et de duobus in lecto uno, by St. Maximus, Bishop
of Turin, ob. 466. In neither of these sermons
is there any indication of Advent as a season,
anv allusion to Lessons, Gospels, &c, appro-
priated to such a season, or to the Feast of
Nativity as then approaching. And, indeed, the
fact that the " Sundays in Advent " are unknown
to the Sacramentary of Pope Leo of the same age
sufficiently shows that this season was not yet
established in the time of Maximus. Among
the Homilies (doubtfully) ascribed to this
bishop, edited by Mabillon (Mus. Ital. t. i. pt. 2),
one, hom. vii., preached on the Sunday before
Christmas, simply exhorts to a due observance of
the feast, and contains no indication of any
ecclesiastical rule. Even in the Sermons de
Adventu, formerly ascribed to St. Augustine,
now generally acknowledged to have been
written by Caesarius, Bishop of Aries, ob. 542 (S.
Augustini Opp. t. v. 210,' Ben. Append, n. 115,
116), there is no distinct recognition of Advent
as an established observance. In these, the faithful
are exhorted to prepare themselves, several days
(ante plures dies), foi the due celebration of the
Nativity, especially of the Christmas Communion,
by good works, by guarding against anger and
hatred, by modest hospitality to the poor, by
strict continence, &c. Still there is no indi-
cation of the length of time so to be set apart,
nor any reference to Lessons, Gospels, or other
matters of Church usage. The preacher urges
such preparation, not on the ground of Church
observance, but as matter of natural fitness :
" Even as ye would prepare for celebrating the
birth-day of a great lord by putting your houses
in order," &c. " Ideo ab omni inquinamento
ante ejus Natalem multis diebus abstinere de-
betis. Quotiescumque aut Natalem Domini aut
reliquas sollemnitates celebrare disponitis, ebrieta-
tem ante omnia fugite," &c. And so in the
second sermon : " Et ideo quotiescumque aut dies
Natalis Domini, aut reliquae festivitates adveniunt,
sicut frequenter admonui, ante plures dies non
solum ab infelici concubinarum consortio, sed
etiam a propriis uxoribus abstinete : ab omni ira-
cundia," &c. There is indeed a canon cited by
Gratian (Decretal, xxxiii. qu. 4) as of the Council
of Lerida, A.D. 523, prohibiting all marriage from
Advent to Epiphany. But this canon is known
to be spurious, and does not appear in the
authentic copies (see Brun's Concilia, t. ii. 20).
A similar canon of the Council of Macon, (A.D.
581, ibid. 242) is undisputed. This (can. ix.)
enjoins that from the Feast of St. Martin
(Nov. 11) to the Nativity there be fasting
on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each
week, and that the canons be then read ; also
that the sacrifices be offered in the quadragesimal
order. (Subsequent councils, after our period,
enjoin the observance of this Quadragesima S.
Martini as the preparation for Christmas, corre-
sponding to the Lenten Quadragesima before
Easter.) It does not appear what were the
canons appointed to be read, relating, of course,
to the observance of these forty days before
Christmas; only, it may be inferred that such
canons were, or were supposed to be, in exist-
ence, of earlier date than that of Macon (in the
preface to which council it is said these enact-
ments are not new : " non tarn nova quam prisca
patrum statuta sancientes " &c). In the second
Council of Tours (a.D. 567), the fast of three
days in the week is ordered (can. xvii.) for the
months of September, October, and November,
and from (1) December to the Nativity, omni
die. But this is for monks only. St. Gregory,
Bishop of Tours, in De Vitis Patrum, written
between 590 and 595, alleges that Perpetuus,
Bishop of Tours (461-490), ordered "a deposi-
tione B. Martini usque ad Nat. Dom. tenia in
septimana jejunia." This may have been one
of the prisca statuta appealed to ; but no trace
is extant of any such canon, either in the First
Council of Tours, A.D. 460, or in any other Latin
council before that of Macon. It seems, from all
that is certainly known, that Advent took its place
among Church seasons only in the latter part
of the 6th century. When the Nativity had
become established as one of the great festivals,
it was felt that its dignity demanded a season of
preparation. The number of days or weeks to be
so set apart was at first left to the discretion of
the faithful: "ante plures dies, multis diebus, '
as in the above-cited exhortation of Caesarius.
Later, this was defined by rule, and first, it
seems, in the Churches of Gaul. Yet not every-
where the same rule: thus the oldest Gallican
Sacramentary shows three Sundays in Advent,
the Gothic-Gallican only two (Mabillon, Mus.
Ital. t. i. pp. 284-288 ; and de Liturg. Gallicana,
p. 98, sqq.). But the rule that the term of pre-
paration should be a quadragesima (correspond-
ing with that which was already established for
Easter), to commence after the Feast of St.
Martin, which rule, as has been seen, was not
enacted, but reinforced by the canon of Macon,
581, implies six Sundays ; and that this rule ob-
tained in other Churches appears from the fact
that the Ambrosian (or Milan) and Mozarabic
(or Spanish) Ordo show six missae, implying that
number of Sundays ; and the same rule was ob-
served (as Martene has shown) in some of the
Gallican Churches. The Epistola ad Bibianum
falsely alleged to be St. Augustine's account of
" the offices of divine worship throughout the
year " in his diocese of Hippo (see Bened. Ad-
monitio at end of Opp. S. Augustini, t. ii.),
also attests this for Churches of Gaul, if, as
Martene surmises, this was the work of some
Gallican writer. It should be remarked that
this writer himself makes the ordo adventus
Domini begin much earlier, at the autumnal
equinox, Sept. 25, as being the day of the
conception of St. John the Baptist, and so the
beginning of the times of the Gospel. "Sed
quia sunt nonnulli qui adventum Domini a festi-
vitate B. Martini Turonensis urbis episcopi
vidcntur insipienter excolere, nos eos non repre-
hendamus" &c. This Quadragesima 8. Martini
seems to have originated in Gaul, in the diocese
of Tours, to which it was specially recommended
by the devotion paid to its great saint ; an
additional distinction was conferred upon his
festival in that it marked the beginning of the
solemn preparation for the Nativity. So far, we
may accept Binterim's conclusion (Denfttourdig-
keiten der christ.-kathol. Kirchc, vol. v., pt. i., p.
166): the rule not, as he says, of Ad vent, but of
this Quadragesima is first met with in the diocese
of Tours. If, indeed, the Tractatus de sant tis
tribus (Juadragesimis, " undo eas observari ac-
32
ADVENT
ADVENT
cepirous, quodque qui eas transgrediuntur legem
violent " (ap. Coteler, Monum. Eccl. Gr. iii. 425),
be, as Cave (Hist. Lit.) represents, the work of
that Anastasius Sina'ita who was patriarch of
Autioch, 561, ob. 599 ; this Quadragesima, under
another name ("Q. S. Philippi," or " Fast of the
Nativity "), was already observed in the East.
But the contents make it plain enough that its
author was another and much later Anastasius
Sina'ita, who wrote after a.d. 787. The ob-
servance of the "Quadragesima Apostolorum,"
and "Quadragesima S. Philippi" (the Feast of
St. Philip in the Greek Calendar is November
14) is enjoined upon monks by Nicephorus,
Patriarch of Constantinople, 806. This fast of
40 days before Christmas seems to have been
kept up chiefly by the monastic orders in Gaul,
Spain, Italy, (Martene De Bit. Ant. Eccl., iii.
p. 27) ; it was observed also in England in
the time of Bede (Hist. iii. 27 ; iv. 30), and
much later. It was not until the close of the
6th century that the Church of Rome under
St. Gregory received the season of preparation
as an ecclesiastical rule, restricted, in its proper
sense, to the four Sundays before the Nativity
(Amalarius De Eccl. Off. iii. 40, A.D. 812, and
Abbot Berno, De quibusdam rebus ad Missam
pertinentibus, c. iv. 1014) ; and this became the
general rule for the Western Church throughout
the 8th century, and later. And, in fact, four is
the number of Sundays in Advent in the Sacra-
mentary of Gregory (Liber Sacrament, de circulo
anni, ed. Pamelius ; and in the Lectionarium Ro-
manum, ed. Thomasius). But other and older
copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary (ed. Menard,
1642, reprinted with his notes in the Benedic-
tine Opp. S. Gregorii, t. iii.); the Comes, ascribed
to St. Jerome ; the Sacramentary of Gelasius, ob.
496 (a very ancient document, but largely in-
terpolated with later additions); the Antiquum
Kalend. Sacrae Romanae Eccl. ap. Martene. Thes.
Anecdot. t. v. (in a portion added by a later hand) ;
the Pontifical of Egbert, Archbishop of York, ob.
767 ; a Lectionary written for Charlemagne by
Paul the Deacon (ap. Mabillon) ; and other MSS.
cited by Martene (u. s. iv. 80, ff.), all give five
Sundays. Hence, some writers have been led to
represent that the practice varied in different
Churches, some reckoning four, others five Sundays
in Advent an erroneous inference, unless it could
be shown that the first of the five Sundays was
designated "Dominica Prima Adventus Domini."
The seeming discrepancy is easily explained.
The usual ancient names of the four Sundays,
counted backwards from the Nativity, are : Do-
minica i., ante Nat. Domini (our 4th Advent),
Dom. ii.. Dom. iii., Dom. iv. ante Nat. Domini.
To these the next preceding Sunday was prefixed
under the style Dom. v. ante Nat. Dom., not as
itself a Sunday in Advent, but as the preparation
for Advent. So Amalarius and Berno, u. s.,
and Durandus : "In quinta igitur hebdomada
ante Nat. D. inchoatur praeparatio adventus . . .
nam ab ilia dominica sunt quinque officia domi-
nicalia, quinque epistolae et quinque evangelia
quae adventum Domini aperte praedicant." The
intention is evident in the Epistle and Gospel
for this Sunday, which iu the Sarum Missal is
designated "dominica proxima ante Adventum,"
with the rule (retained by our own order from
that of Sarum), that these shall always be used
for the last Suudav before Advent begins.
After the pattern of the Lenten fast, Advent
was marked as a season of mourning in the pub-
lic services of the Church. The custom of
omitting the Gloria in Excelsis (replaced by the
Benedicamus Domino), and also the Te Deum and
Lte missa est, and of laying aside the dalmatic
and subdeacon's vestment (which in the 11th
and 12th century appears to have been the
established rule, Micrologus De Eccl. Obs. c. 46 ;
Rupert Abbas Tuit. de Div. Off. iii. c. 2), was
coming into use during the eighth century. In
the Mozarabic Missal, a rubric, dating probably
from the end of the 6th century (i.e. from the
refashionment of this ritual by Leander or Isidore
of Seville), appoints : " In Adventu non dicitur
Gloria in Excelsis dominicis diebus et feriis, sed
tantum diebus testis." And Amalarius, ob. 812
(De Offic. Sacr. iii. c. 40), testifies to this custom
for times within our period : " Vidi tempore
prisco Gloria in Excelsis praetermitti in diebus
adventus Domini, et in aliquibus locis dalmaticas":
and iv. c. 30 : " Aliqua de nostro officio reser-
vamus usque ad praesentiam nativitatis Domini,
h. e. Gloria in Excelsis Deo, et clarum vesti-
mentum dalmaticam ; st forte nunc ita agitur
ut vidi actitari in aliquibus locis.'" The Bene-
dictine monks retained the Te Deum in Advent as
in Lent, alleging the rule of their founder. The
Alleluia also, and the Sequences, as also the
hymns, were omitted, but not in all Churches.
In the Gregorian Antiphonary, the Alleluia is
marked for 1 and 3 Advent and else wli ere. In
some Churches, the Miserere (Ps. Ii.) and other
mournful Psalms were added to or substituted
for the ordinary Psalms. For lessons, Isaiah
was read all through, beginning on Advent
Sunday ; when that was finished, the Twelve
Minor Prophets, or readings from the Fathers,
especially the Epistles of Pope Leo on the Incar-
nation, and Sermons of St. Augustine, succeeded.
The lesson from " the Prophet " ended with the
form, " Haec dicit Dominus Deus, Convertimini ad
me, et salvi eritis."
In the Greek Church, the observance of a season
of preparation for the Nativity is of late intro-
duction. No notice of it occurs in the liturgical
works of Theodorus Studites, ob. 826, though,
as was mentioned above, the 40-days' fast of St.
Philip was enjoined (to monks) by Nicephorus,
A.D. 806. This Te<T<rapctKovTariix.epov, beginning
November 14, is now the rule of the Greek
Church (Leo Allat. de Consensu iii. 9, 3). Codinus
(De Off. Eccl. et Curiae Constnntinop. c. 7, n. 20)
speaks of it as a rule which in his time (cir.
1350) had been long in use. The piece De Tribus
Quadragcsimis above noticed, ascribed to Ana-
stasius Sina'ita, Patriarch of Antioch, shows that,
except in monasteries, the rule of a 40-days' fast
before the Nativity was contested in his time
(a.d. 1100 at earliest). And Theodore Balsamou,
A.D. 1200, lays down the rule thus: "We ac-
knowledge but one quadragesima, that before
Pascha ; the others (named), as this Fast of the
Nativity, are each of seven days only. Those
monks who fast 40 days, viz. from St. Philip
(14 Sept.), are bound to this by their rule. Such
laics as voluntarily do the like are to be praised
therefor." Respons. ad qu. 53 Marci Patriarch.
Alex., and ad interrog. monachorum, app. to
Photii Nomocanon. In the calendar formed
from Evangelia Eclogadia of 9th century our 4
Advent is marked " Sunday before the Nativity,'
ADVOCATE OF THE CHURCH
ADVOCATE OF THE CHURCH 33
while the preceding Sundays are numbered from
All Saints = our Trinity Sunday. (Assemanni
Kalend. Eccl. Univ., t. vi. p. 575.) The term
" Advent " is not applied to this season : the
KvpiaKT) T7js SeuTtpas Tlupouaias is our Sexa-
gesima.
In the separated Churches of the East, no
trace appears, within our period, of an Advent
season ; unless we except the existing Nestorian
or Chaldean rule, in which the liturgical year
begins with four Sundays of Annunciation (evay-
yeXia/xov), before the Nativity (Assemanni Bi-
bliotheca Orient, t. iii. pt. 2, p. 380 sqq.). This
beginning of the Church year is distinguished as
Rish phenkito, i.e. initium codicis, from the Bish
snannoto, i.e. new-year's day in October. The
Armenian Church, refusing to accept 25th De-
cember as the Feast of Nativity, and adhering to
the more ancient sense of the Feast of Epiphany
as including the Birth of Christ, prepares for
this high festival (6th January) by a fast of 50
days, beginning 17th November.
The first Sunday in Advent was not always
the beginning of the liturgical year, or circulus
totius anni. The Comes and the Sacramentary
of St. Gregory begin with IX. Kal. Jan., the
Vigil of the Nativity. So does the most ancient
Lectionarium Gallicanum ; but the beginning of
this is lost, and the Vigil is numbered VII., the
Nativity VIII. Hence Mabillon (Liturg. Gallic.
p. 98, 101) infers that it began with the fast of
St. Martin (or with the Sunday after it, Dom.
VI. ante Nat. Dom.). One text of the Missale
Ambrosianum begins with the Vigil of St.
Martin (ed. 1560). The Antiphonarius of St.
Gregory begins 1 Advent, and the Liber Re-
sponsalis with its Vigil. But the earlier practice
was to begin the ecclesiastical year with the
month of March, as being that in which our
Lord was crucified (March 25); a trace of this
remains in the notation of the Quatuor Tem-
pora as Jejunium primi, quarti, septimi, decimi
mensis, the last of which is the Advent Ember
week.
Literature. Be Catholicae Ecclesiae divinis offic.
ac ministeriis, Borne, 1590 (a collection of the
ancient liturgical treatises of St. Isidore, Alcuin,
Amalarius, Micrologus, Petr. Damianus, &c);
Martene, Be Ritibus Ant. Ecclesiae et Mona-
chorum, 1699 ; Binterim, Die vorziiglichsten
Denkwiirdigkeiten der christ.-katholischen Kirche,
Mainz, 1829 (founded on the work of Pel-
licia, Be Christ. Eccles. Primae Mediae et No-
vissirnae Aetatis Politia, Neap. 1777); Augusti,
Denkwurdigkciten aus der christlichen Arclmo-
logie, Leipzig, 1818; Herzog, Real-Encyclopudie
fiir protestantische Theologie u. Kirche, s. a. Ad-
ventszeit, 1853 ; Rheinwald, Kirchliche Archii-
ologie, 18*50 ; Alt, Der Christliche Cultus, Abth.
ii. Das Kirclienjahr, 1860. [H. B.]
ADVOCATE OF THE CHURCH (Ad-
vocatus, or Defensor, Ecclesiae or Monasterii ;
'S.vuSikos^F.kSikos : and Advocation the office, and
sometimes the fee for discharging it): an eccle-
siastical officer, appointed subsequently to the
recognition of the Church by the State, and in
consequence (1) of the Church's need of pro-
tection, (2) of the disability, both legal and re-
ligious, of clergy or monks (Can. Apost. xx.,
lxxxi. ; Constit. Apostol. ii. 6 ; Justinian, Novell.
exxiii. 6 ; and see Bingham, vi. 4) either to plead
CIIRI3T. ANT.
in a civil court or to intermeddle with worldly
business. In its original form it was limited to
the duties thus intimated, and took its origin as a
distinct and a lay office in Africa (Cod. Can. Eccl.
Afric. c. 97, a.d. 407, " Defensores," to be taken
from the " Scholastici ; " Cone. Milevit. ii. c. 16,
A.D. 416 ; Can. Afric. c. 64, c. A.D. 424) ; but re-
ceived very soon certain privileges of ready and
speedy access to the courts from the emperors
(Cod.' Thcod. 2. tit. 4. 7 ; 16. tit. 2. 38).
It became then a lay office (defensores, distin-
guished in the code from " coronati" or tonsured
persons), but had been previously, it would seem,
discharged by the oeconomi (Du Cange). And, as
it naturally came to be reckoned almost a minor
order, so it was occasionally, it would seem, still
held by clerics (Morinus, De Ordin. ; Bingham).
The advocatus was to be sometimes asked from
the emperors (authorities as above), as judices
were given by the Praetors ; but sometimes was
elected by the bishop and clergy for themselves
(Cod, lib. i. tit. iv. constit. 19). The office is
mentioned by the Council of Chalcedon, cc. 2,
25, 26, A.D. 451, and is there distinguished both
from the clergy and from the oeconomus ; by Pope
Gelasius, Epist. ix. c. 2, A.D. 492-496 ; and by
Maxentius (Resp. ad Hormisd.) some score of
years later. But it had assumed a much more
formal shape during this period, both at Con-
stantinople and at Rome. In the former place,
as protectors of the Church, under the title of
'EkkXtjctUkSikoi, there were four officers of the
kind : i. the wpairiKSiKos, who defended the
clergy in criminal cases; ii. one who defended
them in civil ones; iii. 6 rov B^/uaroy, also called
the irpwT6iro.it as ; iv. 6 ttjs 'EKK\i)(rias ; increased
by the time of Heraclius to ten, and designed in
general for the defence of the Church against
the rich and powerful (Justinian, Edict, xiii., and
Novell. Ivi. and lix. c. 1 ; and see the passages
from Codrinus, Zonaras, Balsamon, &c, in Meur-
sius, Gloss. Gr'aecobarbarum, voc. "TLkSikos, and in
Suicer). They appear also to have acted as
judges over ecclesiastical persons in trifling cases
(Morinus). They were commonly laymen (so
Cod. Thcod. as above) ; but in one case certainly
(Cone. Constantin., A.D. 536, act. ii.) an fiacXin-
ffuKStKos is mentioned, who was also a pres-
byter ; and presbyters are said to have com-
monly held the office, while later still it was held
by deacons (Morinus). In Rome, beginning with
Innocent I. (a.d. 402-417, Epist. xii. ed. Cou-
stant) and his successor Zosimus (Epist. i. c. 3),
the Defensores became by the time of Gregory
the Great a regular order of officers (Defensores
Romanae Ecclesiae), whose duties were i. to de-
fend Church interests generally ; ii. to take care
of alms left for the poor ; iii. to be sent to held
applicants from a distance for Papal protection ;
iv. to look after outlying estates belonging to
St. Peter's patrimony (S. Greg. M., Eiristt. pas-
sim). There were also in Rome itself at that
time seven officers of the kind, called Defensores
Regionarii (Ordo Roman.), each with his proper
region, and the first of the seven known as tin?
Primicerius Defensorum or Primus Defensor (St.
Greg. Epistt., passim). St. Gregory certainly
marks them out as usually laymen, yet in some
cases clerics, and generally as holding a sort of
ecclesiastical position. And the other Popes who
allude to them (as quoted above), are led to do
so while treating the question of the steps and
1>
34 ADVOCATE OF THE CHURCH
ADVOCATE OF THE CHURCH
delays to be made in admitting laymen to holy
orders, and feel it necessary to say that such re-
strictions apply " even " to Defensores. See also
St. Gregory of Tours, De Vitis Patrum, c. 6.
The great development of the office, however,
took place under Charlemagne ; who indeed, and
Pipin, were themselves, Kar i^oxw, "Defensores
Ecclesiae Ponumae." And the German emperors
became, technically and by title, Advooati et
Defensores Ecclesiarum (Charles V. and Henry
VIII. being coupled together long afterwards as
respectively ecclesiae, and fidei, defensores). It was
then established as a regular office for each church
or abbey, under the appellations also occasionally
of Mundiburdi (or -burgi), Pastores Laid, and
sometimes simply causidici or tutores ; to be nomi-
nated by the emperor [Leo IX., however, as Pope
appointed (Du Cange)], but then probably for a
particular emergency only (Car. M. Capit. v. 31,
vii. 308) ; and usually as an office for life, to
which the bishops and abbats were themselves
to elect (Cone. Mogunt. c. 50, a.d. 813, all
bishops, abbats, and clergy, to choose " vicedo-
minos, praepositos, advocatos, sive defensores;"
Cone. Mem. ii. c. 24, A.D. 813, " Ut praepositi et
vicedornini secundum regulas vel canones con-
stituantur ; " and see also Cone. Roman, cc. 19,
20, a.d. 826, and Cone. Duiiac. ii. P. iii. c. 5.
A.D. 871), but "in praesentia comitum " (Legg.
Longobard. lib. ii. tit. xlvii. 1, 2, 4, 7), and from
the landowners in their own neighbourhood (cap.
xiv. ex Lege Salica, Pomona, et Gumbata, " Et
ipsi [advocati] habeant in illo comitatu propriam
haereditatem ; " and in a capitular of A.D. 742,
we find mention of a " Graphio" i. e. count, "qui
est defensor," Morinus, De Ordin., P. III. p. 307) ;
and this, not only to plead in court or take oath
there (sometimes two advocati, one to plead, the
other to swear, Legg. Longo'iard. ii. xlvii. 8),
but in course of time to hold courts (placita or
malla) as judges in their own district (Du Cange,
but A.D. 1020 is the earliest date among his
authorities), and generally to protect the secular
interests of their own church or abbey. The
Advocatus was at this time distinguished from
the Vicedomnus, sometimes called Major Domus,
who ruled the lay dependents of the Church ;
from the Praepositus, who ruled its clerical de-
pendents ; and from the Oeconomus, who (being
also commonly a cleric) managed the interior
economy of its secular affairs ; although all these
titles are occasionally used interchangeably. He
was also distinct from the Cancellarius, whether
in the older sense of that term when it meant
an inferior officer of the court, or in the later
when it meant a judge (Bingh. III. xi. 6, 7).
Two circumstances however gradually changed
both the relative position of the Advocatus to
his ecclesiastical clients, and the nature of his
functions ; the one arising from the mode in
which he was remunerated, the other from the
mode of his nomination. 1. He was paid in
the first instance at this period by sometimes an
annual salary, with certain small privileges of
entertainment and the like ; also, by the third
part of the profits of his judicial office (Tertia
pars bannorum, emendarum, legum, compositionum,
sc. " placitorum ad quae ab abbate vocatus fue-
rit," Chron. Sen. lib. ii. c. 5, in D'Ach. Spicil. ii.
G13, ed. 1723 ; tertius denarius) ; but commonlv
and finally by lands held from the church or
abbey, a third of their value belonging to himself
as his portion. And the growth of the feudal
tenure, in addition to other obvious influences,
gradually converted him through this last cir-
cumstance from a dependent into a superior,
from a law officer into a military one, and from
a beneficiary into an owner, and sometimes into
an usurper outright. In the Ordo Ponvmus, is
an Ordo ad armandum Ecclesiae Defensorem vel
alium Militem, beginning with a benedictio vexilli,
lanceae, ensis (p. 178 Hittorp., about the time of
Charlemagne). His subadvocatus, let us add (the
number of whom was limited by various enact-
ments), was to be paid in one instance by the
receipt, from each vill of the ecclesiastical pro-
perty, of one penny, one cock, and one sextarius
of oats. 2. The nomination to the office, resting
originally with the Church itself or with the em-
peror, was usurped gradually by the founder,
and as an hereditary appanage of his own estate ;
whence followed first an usurpation of the Church
property by the lay Advocatus, and next an usurpa-
tion by the same officer of the right of nomi-
nating to the church or abbey. And from the
latter of these has arisen the modern use of the
word advoirson, which now means exclusively
and precisely that right which the original advo-
catus did not possess ; the jus patronatits no
doubt being attached to the founder of a church
from the time of the Council of Orange (c. 10)
A.D. 441, and of Justinian (Novell, lvii. c. 2, exxiii.
c. 18), A.D. 541, 555 ; but the combination of
foundership with the office of advocatus being an
accidental although natural combination, belong-
ing to the ninth and following centuries. The
earliest charter quoted by Du Cange, in which
mention is made of an election (in this case of an
abbat) " asseusu et consilio advocati," is a " pri-
vilegium Rudolphi Episc. Halberstad.," A.D. 1147.
But in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, the officer
analogous to the lay advocatus had usurped the
position and the very name of abbat long pre-
vious to the 12th century [see Abbat], And
instances of similar usurpation abroad may no
doubt be found of a like earlier date (see Robert-
son's Early Scotland). The advocatio of a bishopric
seems to have included, at least in England, the
custodia (i. e. the profits) of the property of the
see, sede vacante ; but was a distinct right from
that of nomination to the office, the " dignitas
crociae" (as e.g. in the case between the Welsh
Lords Marchers and the English Crown, the former
claiming the custodia but not the nomination) :
although the two became in England combined
in the Crown. There does not, however, appear
to be evidence, that this particular usurpation
was laid to the charge of advocati abroad during
the Carlovingian period ; although the system of
lay abbats, commendataries, &c, and the usurpa-
tion of such offices by kings and nobles, led to
the same general result of usurpation, there
also, by the lay, over the ecclesiastical, func-
tionary. Councils in England put restrictions on
these usurpations of lay domini, advocati, &c, as
early as the Council of Beccanceld, A.D. 696 X 716
and of Clovesho, A.D. 803 (Councils III. 338,
Haddan and Stubbs ; Wilk. i. 56, 167). Abroad,
the first canon on the subject is that of Rheims
(c. 6), A.D. 1148, followed among others by
the Councils of Salzburg (c. 24), A.D. 1274 and
(c. 12), A.D. 1281. But a check upon them
was attempted as early as the 10th century by
the Capetian dynasty in France.
ADVOCATES
The title of Fidei Defensor, attached to the
Crown of England, and so strangely inverted from
the special intent of its original Papal donor, may
be taken as the last existing trace of the ancient
Advocatus or Defensor Ecclesiae. Unless (with
Spelman) we are to give an ancient pedigree to
churchwardens, and find the old office still in
them. (Bingham ; Du Cange ; Meursius, Gloss.
Graecobarbar. ; Morinus, De Ordinat.; Tho-
massin.) , [A. W. H.]
ADVOCATES, NOT TO BE ORDAINED,
Amongst the laws which imposed restraints
upon the clergy was one which forbad them,
except in certain specified cases, to act as advo-
cates before civil tribunals ; since it was con-
sidered that any such interference with worldly
matters would be inconsistent with the words
of St. Paul (2 Tim., ii. 4 " No man that war-
reth [militans Deo'] entangleth himself with the
affairs of this life:" see St. Ambrose, De Off.
Minist. 1, 36 ; and Gelasii Papae Epp. 17, sec.
15). For this reason the 3rd Council of Car-
thage (a.d. 397) in its 15th canon prohibits all
clerks from becoming agents or procurators.
The prohibition is repeated in the 3rd canon of
the Oecumenical Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451),
but with the proviso that secular business may
be undertaken by the clergy when the bishop
directs it for the protection of Church property,
or of orphans and widows who are without any
one to defend them. This exception was in later
times extended to the poor and all others who
came under the designation of " miserabiles
personae." So likewise were monks forbidden by
the 11th canon of the Council of Tarragona
(a.d. 516) to undertake any legal business ex-
cept for the benefit of the monastery and at the
command of the abbot.
In France the above-cited provisions of the
Council of Chalcedon were repeated by the 16th
canon of the Council of Verneuil (a.d. 755) and the
14th canon of the Council of Mayence (A.D. 813).
There are many other canons which prohibit the
clergy from mixing themselves up with worldly
matters, and which therefore forbid, though
not in express terms, their acting as advocates.
There are also several imperial constitutions
to the same effect, as, for instance, one of Theodo-
sius II. (a.d. 416) which he afterwards repeated
in the Codex Theodosianus, a.d. 438 (16. tit. 2.
42), and which was also inserted in the 1st book
(tit. 3. s. 17) of the Codex Repetitae Praelectionis
of Justinian (a.d. 534).
Similar provisions are to be found in the 34th
title of the Liber novellamm of Valentian III.
(a.d. 452), and in the 6th chapter of the 123rd
novell. of Justinian (a.d. 541).
(Thomassinus, Vetus et nova Ecelesiae Disci-
plina, De Beneficiis, Pars III. Lib. 3, cap. 17-19 ;
Bouix, Tractatus de Judiciis Ecclesiasticis, Pars
I-, 3, 4-5). [I. B.]
AEDITUI. [Doorkeeper.]
AEGATES, Saint, commemorated Oct. 24
{Mart. Bedae).
AEITHALAS. (1) Deacon and martyr, com-
memorated Nov. 3 (Cal. Byzant.).
(2) Martyr, commemorated Sept. 1 (lb.). [C]
AEMILIANUS. (1) Saint in Armenia, com-
memorated Feb. 8 (Martyrol. Rom. Vet., Hieron.).
(2) Confessor in Africa, Dec. 6 (Mart. R. V.).
AFFINITY
35
(3) Confessor, Jan. 8 (Cal. Byzant.).
(4) Bishop of Cyzicum, Confessor, Aug. 8
W- [C]
AEMILIUS. (1) Martyr in Africa, comme-
morated May 22 (Marti/rol. Rom. Vet.).
(2) Of Sardinia, May 28 (lb.).
(3) Commemorated June 18 (Mart. Hieron.).
[C]
AER. [Veil.]
AERA. [Chroxology.1
AFRA, martyr in Rhaetia, commemorated
Aug. 5 (Martyrol. Rom. Vet.); Aug. 6 (M.
Hieron.). [C~\
AFFIDATIO (affiance, Spenser; Fr. fian-
cailles), betrothal. It appears doubtful whether
this term came into use within the first nine cen-
turies of the Christian era. It seems rather to
belong to the period of fully developed feudalism.
The earliest example quoted by Du Cange, from
the synodal statutes of the Church of Liege in
Martene's Thesaurus Kovus Anecdotorum, is in-
deed of the year 1287. The forms given in
Martene's work, De Antiquis ecclesiae Ritibus
(see vol. ii. pp. 136, 137), in which the word
occurs, from the rituals of Limoges and of
Rheims, are palpably more modern yet, to judge
from the passages in French which are inter-
mixed in them. [J. M. L.]
AFFINITY (adfinitas), a relationship by
marriage. The husband and wife being legally
considered as one person, those who are related
to the one by blood are related to the other in
the same degree by affinity. This relationship
being the result of a lawful marriage, the per-
sons between whom it exists are said to be related
in law ; the father or brother of a man's wife
being called his fatlier-in-law or brother-in-law.
The distinction between affinity and consanguinity
is derived from the Roman law. The kinsfolk
(cognati) of the husband and wife become re-
spectively the adfines of the wife and husbands
We have borrowed the words affinity and con-
sanguinity from the Roman law, but we have no
term corresponding to adfines. The Romans did
not reckon degrees of adfinitas as they did of
consanguinity (cognatio) ; but they had terms to
express the various kinds of adfinitas, as socer,
father-in-law ; socrus, mother-in-law.
It has resulted from the Christian doctrine of
marriage that persons related by affinity have
been always forbidden by the Church to marry
within the same degrees as those who are related
by blood. The Council of Agde (506) particu-
larises the forbidden degrees as follows (Can. 61) :
"A man may not marry his brother's widow,
his own sister, his step-mother or father's wife,
his cousin-german, any one nearly allied to him
by consanguinity, or one whom his near kinsman
had married before, the relict or daughter of his
uncle by the mother's side, or the daughter of
his uncle by the father's side, or his daughter-
in-law, i.e. his wife's daughter by a former
husband."
This canon is repeated almost verbatim in the
Council of Epone, and again in the second Council
of Tours (566). The same prohibitions are also
specified in the Council of Auxerre (578).
Certain spiritual relations have been also in-
cluded within the prohibited degrees. This re-
striction, however, was first introduced by
D 2
36
AFFUSION
AFRICAN COUNCILS
Justinian, who made a law (Cod. Just. lib. 5,
tit. 4, de Nuptiis, leg. 26) forbidding any min
to marry a woman for whom he had been god-
father in baptism, on the ground that nothing
induces a more paternal affection, and, therefore,
a juster prohibition of marriage, than this tie,
by which their souls are in a divine manner
united together.
The Council of Trullo (Can. 53) extends the
prohibition to the mother of the godchild : and,
by the Canon law afterwards, these spiritual
relations were carried still further, so as to
exclude from marrying together even the bap-
tiser and the baptised, the catechist and cate-
chumen, and various other degrees of supposed
spiritual affinity. Such restrictions, however, of
course, could not be maintained in practice, and
the dispensing power of the Pope was accordingly
extended to meet the necessity. (Bingham ; Gib-
son's Codex; Thorniiike ; Wheatly, On Common
Prayer.) [D. B.]
AFFUSION. [Baptism.]
AFRICAN CODE. [African Councils.]
AFRICAN COUNCILS. Under this head
we must include whatever Councils were held in
Africa no matter at what places, only distinct
from Egypt for this simple reason : that so many
of their canons were so soon thrown together in-
discriminately and made one code, which, as
such, afterwards formed part of the code received
in the East and West. On this African code a
good deal has been written by Justellus (Cod. Eccl.
Afric, Paris, 1614, 8vo.), who was the first to pub-
lish it separately, Bishop Beveridge (Synod, vol.
ii. p. 202, et seq.), De Marca (Diss, de Vet. Coll.
Can. c. iv.-xi.), and the Ballerini in their learned
Appendix to the works of St. Leo (torn. iii. De
Antiq. Col. Diss., pars I. c. 3, 21-9), but a good
deal also remains unsolved, and perhaps insoluble.
Several of the canons contained in it have been
assigned to more Councils than one, and several
of the Councils differently dated or numbered by
different editors or collectors. Perhaps the best
edition of it is that published in Greek and Latin
by Mansi (torn. iii. pp. 699-843). Not that it
was originally promulgated in both languages,
though, as Beveridge suggests, the probability is
that it had been translated into Greek before the
Trullan Council of A.D. 683, by the second canon
of which it became part of the code of the Eastern
Church. As it stands in Mansi, then, it compre-
hends, first, the deliberations of the Council of
Carthage, A.D. 419 ; then the canons of the same
Synod to the number of 33 ; then " canones di-
versorum conciliorum ecclesiae Africanae " in
the words of their heading, the first of which is
numbered 34, in continuous series with the pre-
ceding, and the last 138. However, in reality,
the canons proper ought to be said to end with
the one numbered 133, at which point Aurelius,
Bishop of Carthage, who presided, calls upon the
Council to subscribe to all that had gone before,
which is accordingly done ; he signing first, the
primate of Numidia second, the legate from
Rome, Faustinas, Bishop of Potenza, third, St.
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, fourth ; and the other
bishops 217 or 229, according to the reading
selected in order ; and after them all the two
presbyter-legates from Rome, who sign last.
This done, the day following, a letter in the
name of the whole Synod was addressed to Boni-
face, bishop of Rome, to be despatched by the three
legates. This is given at length, and numbered
134. It acquaints him with their objections to
the " commonitorium " or instructions received
by the legates from the late Pope Zosimus, par-
ticularly to that part of it bearing upon appeals
to Rome in conformity with some supposed canons
of Nicaea, which they had not been able to find in
any Greek or Latin copy of the acts of that
Council in their possession, and therefore beg him
to send for authentic copies of them at once from
the Churches of Antioch, Alexandria, and Con-
stantinople. This course they had already taken
themselves, while recommending it to him ; and
what follows as canon 135 proves to be a letter
from St. Cyril of Alexandria to the same bishops,
telling them that in conformity with their re-
quest he has sent them, by his presbyter Inno-
cent, faithful copies of the authentic Synod of
Nicaea, which they would also find, if they looked
for them, in the ecclesiastical history : he does
not say by whom.
In the same way canon 136 is a letter from
Atticus, patriarch of Constantinople, telling them
that he too sends them the canons as defined by
Nicene Fathers pure and entire, by their mes-
senger Marcellus the sub-deacon, as they had re-
quested. We can hardly suppose the Synod to
have been sitting all the time that it must have
taken these messengers to go and return. Next
a copy of the Nicene Creed follows, and is num-
bered 137. It had been already recited and ac-
cepted, together with the Nicene canons, in the.
previous deliberations of the Council, before the
resolution to send for authentic copies of both
had been carried out. Caecilian, who was Bishop
of Carthage at the time of the Council of Nicaea,
and had attended it, had brought back with him
copies of its creed and canons in Latin, which had
been preserved with great care by his Church
ever since. What follows in the last place, and
is numbered 138, cannot have been written
earlier than A.D. 422, it being a letter addressed
to Celestine, the successor of Boniface, who died in
that year, " our beloved lord (Stcnr^T?;) and most
honoured brother," as he is styled, in the name
of Aurelius and others whose names are given
(St. Augustine's is not one) and the rest of those
present in the universal Council of Africa, in
which they tell him that the canons of which his
predecessor had spoken were nowhere to be found
in the authentic copies of the Nicene decrees just
received from the East ; and, further, that in no
Council of the Fathers could they find it defined
that " any should be despatched as it were from
the side of his Holiness," as had been attempted in
this instance. If the last, or 20th Council, as it is
called, under Aurelius, therefore, has been rightly
assigned to A.D. 421, and Aurelius opens its pro-
ceedings by saying that, for reasons well known
to his audience, it had been suspended for the
space of two years, thus connecting it with the
Council of A.D. 419, either it must have sat the
year following as well, or there must have been
a 21st Council under Aurelius the year following
to indite this episiie, which, as has been observed,
could not have been done till the accession of
Celestine had become known in Africa, that is,
till towards the end of A.D. 422. And with it this
collection of the canons of the African Church is
brought to a close. Dionysius Exiguus, in his
edition, heads them appropriately " the Synod of
AFRICAN COUNCILS
AFRICAN COUNCILS
37
the Africans at Carthage that enacted 138
canons," meaning of course the Synods of A.D.
419-22 considered as one, where they were
passed or confirmed (Migne's 1'atrol., torn. 67,
p. 161 et seqS). Not but there are other collec-
tions extant containing fewer or more canons
than are included in this. For instance, the
Spanish and Isidorian Collections begin with the
Synod of Carthage under Gratus, A.D. 348, and
end with the Synod of Milevis, A.D. 402, making
eight Synods in all, one of Milevis and seven of
Carthage (Migne's Patrol., torn. 84, pp. 179-236).
In Beveridge (Synodic, i. p. 365-72) the synodi-
cal letter of a Council of Carthage as far back as
A.p. 258 (or 256 according to others) under St.
Cyprian, is printed in the form of a canon, and
placed, together with the speeches made there by
him and others, immediately before the Ancyran
canons, as though it had been one of the provin-
cial Councils whose canons had been accepted by
the whole Church, which it was not. Earlier far
than either of them is the compendium of eccle-
siastical canons, African mainly, 232 in all, by
Fulgentius Ferrandus, deacon of the Church of
Carthage, seemingly drawn from independent
sources (Migne's Patrol., torn. 67, p. 949-62).
Then earlier still than his were the two books
produced by Boniface, Bishop of Carthage, at the
Synod held there by him A.D. 525, as having
been discovered in the archives of that church,
one volume containing the Nicene canons in part,
and those which had been passed in Africa
before the time of Aurelius ; the other volume
called " the book of the canons of the time of
Aurelius," in which, according to the Ballerini,
nine of the Synods of Carthage under Aurelius,
and some others of Milevis and Hippo, were con-
tained (Mansi, viii. p. 635-56). Finally, there
is a " Breviarium canonum Hipponensium "
printed in Mansi, with the comments of the
Ballerini upon them, supposed to have been
passed in the Synod held there A.D. 393 r .at
which St. Augustine was present, but as a
priest ; and afterwards inserted in the Council of
Carthage, held four years afterwards under
Aurelian, amongst its own, and evidently con-
firmed by the 34th canon of the Synod of A.D.
419, as proposed by one of the bishops named
Epigonius.
The argument drawn by the Ballerini, after
elaborately comparing these collections, is unfa-
vourable to the title given by Justellus to the
138 canons above mentioned of the African code :
still as designating those canons alone which
have been received generally by the East and
West, it cannot be called meaniugless ; and this
fact having been made patent by his publication
of them, it remains as a matter of antiquarian
interest solely to determine what canons belong
to what councils. The general account seems to
be that there are sixteen Councils of Carthage,
one of Milevis, and one of Hippo, whose canons
were received and confirmed by the Council of
a.d. 419 besides its own (Johnson's Vade Mecum,
ii. 171); but it is beset with difficulties. The
two canons interdictiag appeals beyond the sea
28 and 125 according to the Latin numbering,
and doubtless 23 and 39 were passed with the
same object have been attributed to a Synod of
Hippo by some ; but the 22nd canon of the
second Synod of Milevis, A.D. 416, to which both
Aurelius and St. Augustine subscribed, reads
identical with one of them, and the 34th canon
of a Council of Carthage two years later with the
other. It is of more practical importance to
ascertain whether they steer clear of the Sardican
canons, as some maintain ; or were framed in
antagonism to them, as others. The Sardican
canons, it has been said, allowed bishops to appeal
to Rome ; the African canons forbade priests and
all below priests to appeal to Rome. The African
fathers carefully abstained from laying the same
embargo upon bishops : nay, they undertook to
observe the canons cited by Zosimus as Nicene,
till authentic copies of the Nicene canons had
been obtained from the East. There can be no
doubt whatever that all this is delusive. In the
discussion that took place on the canons cited in
the " Commonitorium," some were for observing
them, pending the inquiry; St. Augustine among
the number. But when Aurelius called upon the
Council to say definitively what it would do, the
collective reply was : "All things that were en-
acted in the Nicene Council are acceptable to us
all." And to no more could they be induced to
pledge themselves. Then as to the canons, which
if they did not frame, they confirmed subse-
quently; the 28th, according to the Latin num-
bering, is: "It was likewise agreed that presby-
ters, deacons, or any of the inferior clergy with
causes to try, should they have reason to com-
plain of the judgment of their bishops, might be
heard by the neighbouring bishops with consent
of their own ; and such bishops might decide
between them ; but should they think they ought
to appeal from them likewise, let them not ap-
peal to transmarine tribunals, but to the primates
of their provinces, as has also been frequently en-
acted in regard of bishops. But in case any should
think he ought to appeal to places beyond the
sea, let him be received to communion by nobody
within Africa." The words "sicut et de episcopis
saepe constitutum est," are found in all manu-
scripts of this canon, as it stands here. They are
wanting in the 125th. And the meaning is
clearly, that there had been earlier canons in
abundance passed for regulating episcopal ap-
peals ; for instance, the 6th canon of the Council
of Constantinople, where it is said that bishops
should be brought before the greater Synod of
the diocese, in case the provincial Synod should
be unable to decide their case. And nothing had
occurred to induce them to legislate further for
bishops. The present controversy had originated
with a simple priest, Apiarius. Accordingly their
canons were directed to prevent priests and all
below priests in future from doing as he had
done. In short, they told Celestiue that " the
canons of the Nicene Council left all, whether
inferior clergy or bishops themselves, to their
own, metropolitan ; it having been wisely and
justly considered there that, whatever questions
might arise, they ought to be terminated in their
own localities." Which was in effect as much as
telling him that the genuine Nicene canons were
in flat contradiction, upon each point to those so
designated by his predecessor. Canon 125 is
identical with the preceding, except that it omits
the clause " sicut et de episcopis," &c, And men-
tions the African Councils as another legitimate
tribunal of appeal besides the primates. Canon
23, that " bishops should not go beyond the sea
without leave from their primate," reads very
like another outpouring of their sentiments on
38
AFRICAN COUNCILS
AFRICAN COUNCILS
the same subject ; and canon 39, that " no pri-
mate should be called a prince of priests, or pon-
tiff," seems almost borrowed from the well-
known invective of St. Cyprian against Stephen.
Such, then, is the language of some of the canons
of the African code, fairly construed, to which
the assent of Rome as well as Constantinople has
been pledged. And " it was of very great autho-
rity," says Mr. Johnson (Vade Mecum, ii. p. 171)
in the old English Churches; for many of the
" excerptions " of Egbert were transcribed from
it.
It only remains to set down the different
African Councils in the order in which they are
generally supposed to have occurred, with a run-
ning summary of what was transacted in each ;
referring generally for all further information to
Mansi, Cave, Beveridge, Johnson, De Marca, the
Art de verifier les dates, and the Ballerini. Num-
bering them would only serve to mislead, at least
if attempted in any consecutive series. Cave, for
instance, reckons 9 African between A.D. 401 and
603, and as many as 35 Carthaginian between
A.D. 215 and 533 ; but among the latter are in-
cluded 6 (between A.D. 401 and 410), which he
had already reckoned among the 9 African.
Carthage, a.d. 200,217 Supposed to be one
and the same, under Agrippinus, in favour
of rebaptizing heretics.
a.d. 251 Under St. Cyprian ; decreed
that the lapsed should be received to com-
munion, but not till they had performed
their full penance.
a.d. 252 Against Novatian, who denied
that the lapsed were ever to be received to
communion again ; and Felicissimus, who af-
firmed they were, even before they had
performed their penance.
a.d. 254, 255 Doubtful in which year ;
under St. Cyprian, in favour of infant bap-
tism.
a.d. 256 Under St. Cyprian, approving
the consecration by the Spanish bishops of
Felix and Sabinus in place of Basil and
Martial, two bishops who had purchased
certificates, or "libels," of having sacrificed
to idols, and declaring that Stephen, Bishop
of Rome, had interposed in favour of the
latter unreasonably, from having been
duped by them.
A.D. 256 Another held in the same year
or there may have been several in fa-
vour of rebaptizing all who had received
heretical baptism, when St. Cyprian uttered
his celebrated invective against Stephen.
The question was finally ruled in the 7th
of the Constantinopolit.au canons. This is
the Council whose synodical letter is
printed by Beveridge in the form of a
canon, immediately before those of Ancyra.
It is given in Mansi, i. 922-6 ; but the
speeches belonging to it follow 951-92,
under the head of "Concil. Carthag. iii.
sub Cypriano episcopo ;" what purports to
have been the second being given p. 925,
and all three supposed to have been held
a.d. 256.
CiRTA, A.D. 305 To elect a new bishop in
place of one who had been a " traditor ;"
that is, had surrendered copies of the Scrip-
tures to the Pagan authorities, to which all
present, when they came to be asked, how-
ever, pleaded equally guilty.
Carthage, a.d. 312 Of 70 Donatist bishops
against Caecilian, bishop of that see.
A.D. 333 under Donatus, author of the
schism ; favourable to the " traditores."
A.D. 348 under Gratus ; its acts are
comprised in fourteen chapters, of which
the first is against rebaptizing any that
have been baptized with water in the name
of the Trinity. This is probably the Council
whose canons are invoked in canon 12 of
the African code.
Theveste, a.d. 362 Of Donatists quarrelling
amongst themselves.
African, a.d. 380 Of Donatists, in condem-
nation of Tichonius, a Donatist bishop.
Carthage, a.d. 386 Confirmatory of the
synodical letter of Siricius, Bishop of Rome.
Leptes, a.d. 386 Passed canons on disci-
pline.
Carthage, a.d. 390 Formerly regarded as
two sejiarate Councils, under Genethlius,
Bishop of Carthage; made 13 canons, by
the second of which bishops, priests, and
deacons are required to abstain from theii
wives and observe continence. Mansi prints
what used to be regarded as a second
Council of this year twice, iii. pp. 691-8
and 867-76.
A.D. 393 Of Maximian's (Donatist
bishop of Carthage) supporters against
Primian (another Donatist bishop of Car-
thage).
Hippo, a.d. 393 At which St. Augustine dis-
puted " de fide et symbolo " as a pres-
byter.
Cabarussi and of the Caverns, a.d. 394 Of
the same on the same subject.
Bagais, a.d. 394 Of Primian's supporters,
against Maximian.
a.d. 396 One canon only preserved ;
against translations of bishops and priests.
Byzatium, a.d. 397 Confirming all that had
been decreed in 393 at Hippo.
Carthage, a.d. 397 Called the 3rd, either
reckoning that under Gratus as first, and
that under Genethlius as 2nd ; or else
supposing two to have been held under
Aurelius previously in 394 and 397, and
making this the 3rd under him ; passed 50
canons, among which the "Breviarium
canonum Hipponensium " is said to have
been inserted (Mansi, iii. 875, and the
notes).
Carthage, a.d. 400 Called the 5th under
Aurelius; of 72 bishops; passed 15 canons
on discipline (Pagi, quoted by Mansi, iii.
p. 972). Yet, p. 979, Mansi reckons a first
African Council in 399, and a 2nd and 3rd
in 401, which he calls 4th, 5th, and 6th
Councils under Aurelius, in the pontificate
of Anastasius.
Milevis, a.d. 402 To decide several points
affecting bishops.
Carthage, a.d. 403, 404, 405 Mansi makes
3 African Councils of these ; a 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd, in the Pontificate of Innocent,
or 8th, 9th, and 10th under Aurelius, for
bringing back the Donatists to the Church
(iii. pp. 1155 and 1159).
a.d. 407, 408, 409 Called bv Mansi
AFRICAN COUNCILS
AGAPAE
39
4th. 5th, Gth, and 7th African Councils in
the pontificate of Innocent, the 5th and
Gth being regarded by him as one, or the
1 1th, 12th, and 13th Councils under Aure-
lius all incorporated into the African
code (iii. p. lib":!).
Carthage, a.d. 410 Against the Donatists
probably the 14th under Aurelius.
A.D. 411 Great conference between the
Catholics and the Donatists ; Aurelius and
St. Augustine both taking part on behalf
of the former ; 286 bishops said to have
been present on the Catholic side, and 279
on the Donatist, yet 313 names are given
on the latter side. There were three dif-
ferent stages in the proceedings. (Mansi,
iv. pp. 269 and 276.)
A.D. 412 In which Celestius was ac-
cused of Pelagianism and appealed to the
Pope, probably the 15th under Aurelius.
Cirta, A.D. 412 In the matter of the Donatists
published a synodical letter in the name
of Aurelius, St. Augustine and others. Sil-
vanus, primate of Numidia, heads it.
African, a.d. 414 Of Donatists.
Carthage, a.d. 416 or the 2nd against the
Pelagians : probably the 16th under Au-
relius : composed of 67 bishops : addressed
a synodical letter to Innocent of Rome,
condemning both Pelagius and Celestius.
Milevis, a.d. 416 Called the 2nd of Milevis
against Pelagius and Celestius composed
of 60 bishops published 27 canons on
discipline addressed a synodical letter to
Innocent of Rome, to which was appended
another in a more familiar tone from
Aurelius, St. Augustine and three more.
Tisdra, a.d. 417 Passed canons on disci-
pline.
Carthage, a.d. 417, 418 Against the Pela-
gians regarded as one, probably the 17th
under Aurelius.
Hippo, Suffetula, Macriana, a.d. 418
Passed canons on discipline preserved by
Ferrandus (Mansi, iv. 439).
Thenes, a.d. 418 Published nine canons on
discipline.
Carthage, a.d. 419 Attended by 229, or,
according to other accounts, 217 bishops ;
and by Faustinus, Bishop of Potenza, and
two presbyters as legates from Rome. Its
proceedings have been anticipated in what
was said on the African code. It would
seem as if it really commenced in 418,
and extended through 419. Pagi supposes
33 canons to have been passed in the
former year, and but 6 in the latter
(Mansi, iv. 419) ; and Mansi seems even to
make two synods of it, calling one a 5th
or 6th, and the other a 7th Council of
Carthage (against tjie Pelagians, he pro-
bably means), and yet evidently reckoning
both together as the 18th under Aurelius.
From 419 it seeme to have been adjourned
to 421, and then lasted into 422 at least,
as has been shown above ; this adjourned
council was therefore in reality the 20th
under Aurelian, though sometimes headed
the 18th, as being one with the council of
which it was but the adjournment. Then
the 19th under Aurelius is the title given
in Mansi (iv. 443) to one held in the
interim, a.d. 420, to determine certain
questions of precedence amongst bishops,
possibly the missing 6th against Pela-
gianism.
Numidia, a.d. 423 In which Antonius, a
bishop of that province, was condemned.
Carthage, a.d. 426 At which Leporius, a
French presbyter, cleared himself from
Pelagianism.
Hippo, a.d. 426 At which Heraclius was
elected successor to St. Augustine at his
nomination.
a.d. 427 Said to have passed canons
29 and 30, in the Latin numbering of the
African code (Mansi, iv. 539).
African, a.d. 484 To render account of their
faith to King Hunneric, when it appeared
that of 475 sees, 14 were then vacant : 88
had been deprived of their bishops by
death, and most of those who survived
were in exile (Mansi, vii. pp. 1156-64
and the notes).
Byzatium, a.d. 507 To appoint new bishops
in place of those who had died or been
exiled.
Junca, a.d. 523 under Liberatus : to con-
demn a bishop of the province of Tripoli
who had usurped a church not in his
diocese : St. Fulgentius, Bishop of Ruspe,
being one of those present.
Carthage, a.d. 525 under Boniface ; when
two volumes of the canons were found, as
already described (Mansi, viii. 635-56).
African, a.d. 533 Sent a synodical letter to
John II. of Rome by Liberatus, deacon of
the church of Carthage, so well known for
his writings.
Byzatium, a.d. 541 Sent a deputation to
Justinian, and legislated on discipline.
African, a.d. 550 Excommunicated Vigilius
for condemning the three chapters.
Suffetula, a.d. 570 Passed canons on dis-
cipline, some of which are preserved.
African, a.d. 594 Against the Donatists,
probably for the last time.
Byzatium, a.d. 602 To examine certain
charges made against Clement the pri-
mate.
Numidia, a.d. 603 To examine the case of
Donadeus, a deacon, who had appealed
from his bishop to Rome.
Byzatium, Numidia, Mauritania, Car-
thage, a.d. 633 Against Cyrus, Pyrrhus,
and Sergius, the Monothelite leaders.
Byzatium, Numidia, Mauritania, Car-
thage, 646 Against the Monothelites :
the councils of Byzatium, Numidia, and
Mauritania addresse'd a joint synodical
letter: and the Bishop of Carthage a
letter in his own name to Theodore,
Bishop of Rome : all preserved in the acts
of the Lateran Council under Martin I.,
a.d. 649. [E. S. F.]
AGABITS, the prophet (Acts xxi. 10), com-
memorated Feb. 13 (Martyrol. Horn. Vet.); April
8 {Cal. Byzant.). [O.]
AGAPAE. The custom which prevailed in
the Apostolic Church of meeting at fixed times
for a common meal, of which all alike partook
as brothers, has been touched on in the Diet, of
the Bible [Lord's Supper.] It had a precedent
40
AGAPAE
AGAPAE
in the habits of the Essene communities in
Judaea (Joseph. Bell. Jud. ii. 8), and in the epavoi
of Greek guilds or associations ; in the Charisties
of Roman life (Ovid, Fasti, ii. 616), in the
(rvtra-'iTta of Crete, in the (peiS'ina of Sparta.
The name apparently was attached to the meals
towards the close of the Apostolic age. The
absence of any reference to it in 1 Cor. xi. or
xiii., where reference would have been so natural,
had it been iu use, may fairly be taken as nega-
tive evidence that it was not then current. The
balance of textual authority inclines in favour of
aydircus, rather than airaTCUs, in Jude v. 12,
and perhaps also, though less decidedly, in 2 Pet.
ii. 13, and we may fairly assume (without enter-
ing on the discussion of the authorship and date
of those epistles) that they represent the termi-
nology of the Church in the period from A.D. 60
to A.D. 80. The true reading of 1 Pet. v. 14
(eV <j>iAr)t*aTi ayairns) cannot be disjoined from
the fact that there was a feast known then or
very soon afterwards by that name, at which
such a salutation was part of the accustomed
ceremonials. Soon the name spread widely both
in the East and West. Ignatius (ad Smijrn. c. 8), R
for the Asiatic and Syrian Churches, Clement
for Alexandria (Paedag. ii. p. 142), Tertullian for
Western Africa (Apol. c. 39), are witnesses for
its wide-spread use.
It is obvious that a meeting of this character
must have been a very prominent feature in the
life of any community adopting it. The Christians
of a given town or district came on a fixed
day, probably the first day of the week (the
"stato die" of Pliny's letter to Trajan, Epp. x.
96), in some large room hired for the purpose,
or placed at their disposal by some wealthy con-
verts. The materials of the meal varied ac-
cording to the feeling or wealth of the society.
Bread and wine were, of course, indispensable,
both as connected with the more solemn com-
memorative act which came at some period or
ether in the service, and as the staple articles of
food. Meat, poultry, cheese, milk, and honey,
were probably used with them (August., c.
Faust, xx. 20). Early paintings in the cata-
combs of Rome seem to show that fish also
was used (Aringhi, Ruma Subtcrran. ii. pp. 77,
83, 119, 123, 185, 199, 267). Both the fact of
its being so largely the common diet of the poor
in Syria (Matt. vii. 9, xiv. 17, xvi. 34), and
the associations of Luke xxiv. 42, John xxi.
9 (to say nothing of the mystical significance
attached to the word Ixdvs as early as Tertul-
lian), would naturally lead Christians to use it
at their " feasts of love." The cost of the meal
fell practically on the richer members of the
Church, whether it was provided out of the
common funds, or made up of actual contribu-
tions in kind, meat or fruit sent for the purpose,
or brought at the time. At the appointed hour
they came, waited for each other (1 Cor. xi. 33),
There is a suggestive difference, indicating a change
in language and practice, between the shorter and longer
texts of the Jgnatian Epistles in this passage. Jn the
former the writer claims for the bishop the sole prero-
gative of baptizing, or aydirr)v 7701611/. In the latter the
word 7rpoo-0epeti' is interpolated between them. The
.Agape is distinguished, i. e. from the "Supper of the
Lord," with which it had before been identified; and the
latter, thus separated, is associated with a more sacrificial
terminology, and placed before the social feast.
men and women seated at different tables, per-
haps on opposite sides of the room, till the bishop
or presbyter of the Church pronounced the
blessing (ev\oy'to). Then they ate and drank.
Originally, at some time before or after b the
rest of the meal, one loaf was specially blessed
and broken, one cup passed round specially as
" the cup of blessing." When the meal was over,
water was brought and they washed their hands.
Then, if not before, according to the season of the
year, lamps were placed (as in the upper room at
Troas, Acts xx. 8) on their stands, and the more
devotional part of the evening began. Those
who had special gifts were called on to expouud
Scripture, or to speak a word of exhortation, or to
sing a hymn to God, or to " Christ as to a God"
(Plin. 1. c). It was the natural time for intel-
ligence to be communicated from other Churches,
for epistles from them r their bishops to be
read, for strangers who had come with iirivToXai
avcrraTiKal to be received. Collections were
made for the relief of distressed churches at a
distance, or for the poor of the district (1 Cor.
xvi. 1; Justin. M. Apol. ii. ; Tertullian. Apol. c.
39). Then came the salutation, the kiss of love
(1 Pet. v. 14), the " holy kiss" c (Rom. xvi. 16),
which told of brotherhood, the final prayer, the
quiet and orderly dispersion. In the ideal Agapae,
the eating and drinking never passed beyond the
bounds of temperance. In practice, as at
Corinth, the boundary line may sometimes have
been transgressed, but the testimony of Pliny in
his letter to Trajan (1. a), as well as the state-
ments of the Apologists, must be allowed as
proving that their general character at first was
that of a pure simplicity. The monstrous
slanders of " Thyestean banquets " and " shame-
less impurity" were but the prurient inventions
of depraved minds, who inferred that all secret
meetings must be like those of the Bacchanalian
orgies which had at various periods alarmed the
Roman Senate with their infinite debasement
(Liv. xxxix. 13, 14). At Alexandria, indeed, as
was natural in a wealthy and luxurious city,
there seems to have been a tendency to make
the Agape too much of a sumptuous feast,
like the entertainments of the rich, and to give
the name to banquets to which only the rich
were invited. Clement protests with a natural
indignation against such a misapplication of it
by those who sought to " purchase the promise
of God with such feasts" {Paedag. ii. 1, 4, p. 61).
It seems probable from his protest against the
use of flutes at Christian feasts (Paedag. ii. 4, p.
71) that instrumental music of a secular and
meretricious character had come to be used instead
of the " psalms and hymns and spiritual songs"
(Eph. v. 19, Col. iii. 16) which had been in use,
without accompaniment, at the original Agapae.
Clement, however, permits the employment of
the harp or lyre.
At first the practice would naturally serve as a
b Chrysostom (Rom. 27 and 54, on 1 Cor. xi.), followed
by Theodoret and Theophylact in loc, and most liturgical
writers, say " before," but obviously under the influence
of later practice, and the belief that the Kucharist could
not have been received otherwise than fasting in the time
of the Apostles.
c We may probably think of some order like that which
attends the use of a " grace-cup" in college or civic feast ;
each man kissed by his neighbour ou one side, and kissing
in turn him who sat on the other.
AGAPAE
AGAPE
41
witness nnd bond of the brotherhood of Christians.
Rich and poor, even master and slave, met together
on the same footing. What took place but once
a year in the Roman saturnalia was repeated in
the Christian society once a week. But in pro-
portion as the society became larger, and the
sense of brotherhood less living, the old social
distinctions would tend to reassert themselves.
The Agapae would become either mere social
entertainments for the wealthy, as at Alexan-
dria, or a mere dole of food for the poor,
as in Western Africa (Augustin. c. Fauslum
xx. 20), and in either case would lose their
original significance. Other causes tended also
to throw them into the back-ground. When
Christians came to have special buildings set
apart for worship, and to look on them with
something of the same local reverence that the
Jews had had for the Temple, they shrank from
sitting down in them to a common meal as an
act of profanation. The Agapae, therefore, were
gradually forbidden to be held in churches, as
bvthe Council of Laodicea (c. 27), and that of 3rd
Carthage A.D. 391 (c. 30), and that in Trullo
much later d (a.D. 692). This, of course, to-
gether with the rule of the 3rd Council of Carthage
(c. 29), that the Eucharist should be received
fasting, and the probable transfer, in consequence
of that rule, of the time of its " celebration " from
the evening to the morning, left the " feast of
love " without the higher companionship with
which it had been at first associated, and left it
to take more and more the character of a pauper
meal. Even the growing tendency to asceticism
led men who aimed at a devout life to turn aside
fastidiously from sitting down with men and
women of all classes, as a religious act. So
Tertullian, who in his Apology had given so
beautiful a description of them, after he became
a Montanist, reproaches the Church at large
with the luxury of its Agapae, and is not ashamed
to repeat the heathen slander as to the preva-
lence in them even of incestuous licence (Be
Jcjun. c. xvii.). One effort was made, as by the
Council of Gangra, to restore them to their old
position. Those who despised and refused to
come to them were solemnly anathematised (c.
11). But the current set in strongly, and the
practice gradually died out. Their close con-
nexion with the annual commemoration of the
deaths of martyrs, and the choice of the graves
of martyrs as the place near which to hold them,
was, perhaps, an attempt to raise them out of
the disrepute into which they had fallen. And
for a time the attempt succeeded. Augustine
describes his mother Monica as having been in
the habit of going with a basket full of provi-
sions to these Agapae, which she just tasted her-
self, and then distributed (Confess, vi. 2). And
this shows the prevalence of the practice in
Western Africa. In Northern Italy, however,
Ambrose had suppressed them on account of the
disorders which were inseparable, and their re-
semblance to the old heathen Parentalia, and
Augustine, when he returned to Africa, urged
Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage, to follow the
example (Epist. xxii.). The name, indeed, still
lingered as given to the annual dedication feasts
d The significance of the reversal of the prohibition
at so late a date, is that it shews that the practice still
lingered.
of churches at Rome in the sixth century (Greg.
M., Epp. ii. 76), and the practice left traces of
itself, in the bread, blest as distinct from conse-
crated, which, under the title of Eulogia, was
distributed in churches, or taken from them to
absent members of the congregation, (2) in the
practice, prohibited by the Apostolic canons (c.
3), and by the Council in Trullo (c. 28, 57, 99)
of bringing to the altar honey, milk, grapes,
poultry, joints of meat, that the priest might
bless them there before they were eaten at a
common table. The grapes appear, indeed, to
have been actually distributed with the 071a, or
consecrated elements, while the joints of meat
are mentioned as a special enormity of the
Armenian Church. (3) Traces of the Agapae
are to be found lastly in the practice which
prevailed in Egypt, from the neighbourhood of
Alexandria to the Thebaid, in the 5th century,
of meeting on the evening of Saturday for a
common meal, generally full and varied in its
materials, after which those who were present
partook of the " mysteries " (Sozom. H. E.
vii. 19 ; Socrates, H. E. v. 22). The practice,
then, noticed as an exception to the practice
of all other Churches (comp. Augustin. Epist.
ad Jan. i. 5) was probably a relic of the primi-
tive Church, both as to time and manner, when
the Lord's Supper had been, like other suppers,
eaten in the evening, when an evening meeting
on " the first day of the week" meant, according
to the Jewish mode of speech, the evening of
Saturday, when the thought that " fasting" was
a necessary condition of partaking of the Supper
of the Lord was not only not present to men's
minds, but was absolutely excluded by the
Apostle's rule, that men who could not wait
patiently when the members of the Church met,
should satisfy their hunger beforehand in their
own houses (1 Cor. xi. 34).
The classification of Agapae, according to the
occasion on which they were held, as (1) con-
nected with the anniversaries of martyrdoms
[comp. Natalitia], (2) as Connubiules [comp.
Marriage], (3) as accompanying funerals
[Burial], (4) as at the dedication festivals of
churches [Dedications], must be looked on as
an after-growth of the primitive practice of
weekly meetings. Details will be found under
the respective headings.
We have lastly to notice the probable use at the
Agapae of cups and plates with sacred emblems
and inscriptions, of which so many have been
found in the Catacombs [Glass, Christian], and
which almost suggest the idea of toasts to the me-
mory of the martyrs whose Natalities were cele-
brated. " Victor Vivas in Nomine Laureti"
(Buonarrott. Plate xix. fig. .2), " Semper Refri-
geris in Nomine Dei" (Ibid. xx. 2), "ITIE
ZH2AI2 EN ArA0OI2, DULCIS ANIMA VI-
VAS, BIBAS (for Vivas) IN PACE," are ex-
amples of the inscriptions thus found. In the
judgment of the archaeologist just referred to,
they go back to the third, or even to the second
century. The mottoes were probably determined
by the kind of Agape for which they were intended
(comp. Martigny, art. Fo/ids de Cou/je.). [E.H.P.]
AGAPE. (1) Virgin of Antioch, commemo-
rated Feb. 15 and March 10 (Mart. Hieron.').
(2) Virgin of Thessalonica, commemorated April
3 (Martijrol. Bom. Vet.).
42 AGAPETI, and AGAPETAE
(3) Martyr, April 16 (Cal. Byzant.).
(4) Daughter of Sophia, Sept. 17 (lb.).
(5) Virgin, commemorated at Rome Aug. 8
(M. Hieron.).
(6) Virgin, commemorated at Heraclea, Nov.
20 (M. Hieron.). [C]
AGAPETI, and AGAPETAE, respectively,
men who dwelt in the same house with dea-
conesses, and virgins who dwelt in the same
house with monks, under a profession of merely
spiritual love ; the latter of the two akin to
avuiaaKToi, and also called aSeAcpal : denounced
by St. Greg. Naz. (Carm. III.), by St. Jerome
(Ad Eustoch. and Ad Occanum, " Agapetarum
pestis"), by St. Chrysostom (Pallad. in V. S.
Chrys. p. 45), by Epiphanius (Haer. lxiii., lxxix.),
and by Theodoret (In Epist. ad Philem. v. 2) ;
and forbidden by Justinian (Novell, vi. c. 6), and
others (see Photius in Xomocan. tit. viii. c. xiv.
p. 99). (Du Cange, Meursius in Glossar., Suicer.)
The Irish Rules and Penitentials severely con-
demn a like practice : see e. g. Reg. Columban.
ii. l.'i. And the "second order of saints," in
Ireland itself (according to the well-known
document published by Ussher), " abnegabant
mulierum administrationem, separantes eas a
monasteriis," owing apparently to the abuse
arising from the practice when permitted by
" the first order." See Todd, Life of St. Patrick,
pp. 90-92. (See owei'iraKToi.) [A. W. H.]
AGAPETUS or AGAPITUS. 1. Comme-
morated March 24 (Mart. Hieron., Bedae).
(2) Of Asia, April 12 (Mart. Hieron.).
(3) The deacon, martyr at Rome, commemo-
rated with Felicissimus, Aug. 6 (Mart. Rom.
Vet., Hieron., Bedae). Proper office in Gregorian
Sacramentary, p. 118, and Antiphon in Lib.
Antiph., p. 705.
(4) Martyr at Praeneste, commemorated Aug.
18 (Mart. Bom. Yet., Hieron., Bedae). Proper
office in Gregorian Sacramentary, p. 123, and
Antiphon in Lib. Antiph. p. 707. [C]
AGAPIUS. (1) The bishop, martyr in Nu-
midia, commemorated April 29 (Mart. Bom. Vet.).
(2) And companions, martyrs at Gaza, March
15 (Cal. Byzant). [C.]
AGATHA or AGATHE. (1) The virgin,
martyr at Catana, passion commemorated Feb. 5
(Mart. Born. Vet., Hieron., Bedae, Cal. Byzant.).
Another commemoration, July 12 (M. Hieron.).
One of the saints of the Gregorian Canon. Proper
office for her Natalis in Gregorian Sacramentary,
p. 25, and Antiphon in Lib. Antiph. p. 665.
(2) Commemorated April 2 (Mart. Hieron.).
[C]
AGATHANGELUS, martyr, commemorated
Jan. 23 (Cal. Byzant.). [C]
AGATHENSE CONCILIUM. [Agde.]
AGATHO. (1) Martyr at Alexandria, com-
memorated Dec. 7 (Mart. Rom. Vet.).
(2) Deacon, April 4 (Mart. Bedae).
(3) Commemorated July 5 (76. et Hieron.). [C]
AGATHONICA of Pergamus, commemo-
rated April 13 (Mart. Rom. Vet.). [C]
AGATHONICUS, martyr, commemorated
Aug. 22 (Cal. Byzant.). [C.]
AGATHUS, commemorated May 8 (Mart.
Hieron.). [C.]
AGAUNE, COUNCIL OF (Agaunense
AGE, CANONICAL
Concilium), April 30, a.d. 515, 516, or 523 ; ot
sixty bishops and sixty nobles, under Sigismund,
King of the Burgundians ; established the " Laus
Perennis" in the monastery of Agaune (oi St.
Maurice in the Valais), then also endowed with
lands and privileges. Maximus, Bishop of Geneva,
heads the signatures ; but Avitus, Archbishop
of Vienue, is supposed to have been also present
(Mansi, viii. 531-538). [A. W. H.]
AGDE, COUNCIL OF (Agathehse Conci-
lium), in Narbonne, a.d. 506, Sept. 10 or 11;
of 35 bishops from the South of Fiance ; in the
22nd year of Alaric, (Arian) King of the Goths ;
enacted 73 canons in matters of discipline ;
among other things, forbidding " bigami " to
be ordained ; commanding married priests and
deacons to abstain from their wives ; fixing 25
as the age of a deacon, 30 as that of a priest or
bishop, &c. It was assembled " ex permissu
domini nostri gloriosissimi magnificentissimique
regis," sc. Alaric; without any mention of the
pope (Svmmachus), save as mentioning his year
in the title (Mansi, viii. 319-346). [A. W. H.]
AGE, CANONICAL. The age required by
the canons for ordination. In the case of bishops,
it appears to have been the rule of the Church
from early times that they should be thirty
years old at the time of their ordination. This
rule, however, was frequently dispensed with,
either in cases of necessity or in order to pro-
mote persons of extraordinary worth and singular
qualifications. It may be questioned whether
this rule was observed from the days of the
Apostles, as it is nowhere enjoined in St. Paul's
Pastoral Epistles or elsewhere in the New Testa-
ment. And in the so-called Apostolical Consti-
tutions, which may be taken as expressing the
system of the Eastern Church as it was es-
tablished about the end of the third century,
fifty is the age required of a bishop at his ordi-
nation, except he be a man of singular merit,
which may compensate for the want of years.
The age of thirty is required by implication
by the Council of Neocaesarea, A.D. 314, which
forbids to admit any one, however well qualified,
to the priesthood, under thirty years of age,
because the Lord Jesus Christ at that age be-
gan His ministry. The Council of Agde (Con-
cilium Agathense) forbids the ordination of
bishops or priests under thirty years of age.
By this rule, as enacted by the above-named
councils, the ordinary practice of the Church
has been regulated. The deviations, however,
in special cases have been numerous, and for
these a warrant may be found in the case of
Timothy, whose early ordination as Bishop of
Ephesus is inferred from the Apostle's admo-
nition, " Let no man despise thy youth " (1
Tim. iv. 12). We learn from Eusebius, that
Gregory Thaumaturgus and his brother Atheno-
dorus were both ordained bishops very young ;
en veovs a/xcpw. It is probable that Athanasius
was ordained to the see of Alexandria before he
was thirty. Remigius, Bishop of Rheims, as all
authors agree, was ordained at the age of twenty-
two, A.D. 471.
In later times, boys of eleven or twelve years
of age have been ordained to the episcopate by
papal dispensation; but this abuse was unknown
to the ancient Church.
Presbyters, like bishops, might not be ordained
AGENDA
AGNUS DEI
43
before the age of thirty. Justinian, indeed,
enacted that none should be a presbyter before
thirty-five; but the Sixth General Council of Con-
stantinople reduced it to the old period, appointing
thirty for a priest and twenty-five for a deacon.
Which ages were also settled in the Saxon Church,
as appears by Egbert's Collection of the Canons
then in force in this country.
The councils of Agde, 506, of Carthage, 397,
of Trullo, 692, of Toledo, 633, all prescribe
twenty-five as the minimum of age for a deacon ;
and, according to Bingham, this rule was very
nicely observed, so that we scarce meet with an
instance of any one that was ordained before this
age in all the history of the Church. For this the
Council of Toledo cites the Levitical precedent.
In the Greek Church the age of thirty is still
prescribed for a priest, and twenty-five for a
deacon. In our own Church, the first Prayer-
book of Edward VI. prescribed twenty-one for
deacons, twenty-four for priests. The present
rubric is a provision of Canon 34.
(Bingham, x. 1, xx. 20 ; Landon's Manual of
Councils ; Comber's Companion ; Prayerbook in-
terleaved.) [D. B.]
AGENDA (from agere in the special sense of
performing a sacred act). A word used to desig-
nate both the mass and other portions of Divine
service.
1. In the plural. The second Council of Car-
thage (390) speaks of presbyters who committed
a breach of discipline, in that " agant agenda " in
private houses, without the authority of the
bishop (Canon 9). Innocent I. (Epistola ad De-
centium, 3, p. 552, Migne) speaks of cele-
brating other agenda, in contrast with the con-
secration of the mysteries.
2. The plural form "agenda" came in time,
like " Biblia," to be considered a singular femi-
nine. For instance, St. Benedict in his Rule, c.
13 (p. 291), speaking of the morning and evening
office, says, " Agenda matutina et vespertina non
transeat."
3. The word "agenda" is not unfrequently
used absolutely to denote the office for the dead.
This may not improbably be the case in the
canon quoted above by the II. Cone. Carthage ;
and it is certainly used in this sense by Venerable
Bede, when, speaking of local commemorations of
the dead, he says, " Per omne sabbatum a presby-
tero loci illius Agendae eorum sollenniter cele-
brantur" (Vita St. Augxistini, in Ducange s. v.).
Compare Menard's note in his edition of Gregory's
Sacramentary, p. 482. (Ducange's Glossary, s. v.
" Agenda "). [C]
AGNES, or AGNE (ayrii). (1) The virgin,
martyr at Rome. Her Natalis, which is an an-
cient and highly-honoured festival, is celebrated
Jan. 21 (Mart. Rom. Vet., Hieron., Bedae) ; Octave,
Jan. 28 (ib.). Proper office for the totalis in
the Gregorian Sacramentary, p. 23, and Antiphon
in Lib. Antiph. p. 664. By Theodorus Lector
(Ecloga ii.) the deposition of her relics is joined
with the deposition of those of Stephen and
Laurence (see Greg. Sacrum, p. 304, ed. Menard).
She is one of the saints of the Gregorian Canon,
where her name appears in the form Agne.
Tillemont (Me'm. Feci. iv. 345) conjectures
that the second festival on Jan. 28 commemorates
the apparition of St. Agnes to her parents eight
days after her death.
Her remains are said to have been buried in a
praediolum belonging to her family on the Via
Nomentana. The crypt dug to receive them bo-
came the nucleus of the famous cemetery of St.
Agnes. Two churches at Rome are dedicated to
St. Agnes, one of which is said to be that built
by Constantine at the request of his daughter
Constantia, and is certainly one of the most an-
cient basilicas in Rome. In early times, it was
customary for the Pope to be present at the fes-
tival of St. Agnes in this church, in which
Gregory the Great delivered several of his homi-
lies (e.g. in Matt. c. xiii., Horn. 2); and in this
church still, on Jan. 21, the lambs are blessed,
from the wool of which the Pallia destined for
archbishops are to be made.
St. Agnes.
In the illustration, taken from an ancient
glass vessel, the doves on each side bear the two
crowns of Chastity and of Martyrdom. This
representation illustrates the verse of Prudentius
(Peristeph. xiv. 7),
"Duplex corona est praestita martyri."
Representations of St. Agnes are found very fre-
quently on glass vessels in the catacombs ; only
St. Peter and St. Paul are found more often so
represented. When alone, she is generally placed
between two trees ; sometimes she is at the side
of the Virgin Mary ; sometimes between the
Lord and St. Laurence ; between St. Vincent
and St. Hippolytus ; between St. Peter and St.
Paul.
(2) There is another festival of St. Agnes on
Oct. 18 (Mart. Hieron.). Tillemont (1. c.) con-
jectures that this was instituted in commemora-
tion of the dedication of some church in her
honour. (Martigny, Diet, des Antiq. chre't. p.
22 ff. ; the Abbe Martigny has also written a
monograph, Notice historique, liturgique, et arche'o-
logique sur le Culte de Ste. Ague's. Paris et
Lyons, 1847.) [C]
AGNITUS, commemorated Aug. 16 (Mart.
Hieron.). [C.J
AGNUS DEI. The versicle " Agnus Dei, qui
tollis peccata mundi, Miserere nobis," is generally
spoken of as the "Agnus Dei."
1. A reference to the " Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world." was intro-
duced (as was natural) into some of the liturgies
at an early period. Thus in the Liturgy of St.
Chrysostom, during the breaking of the bread,
the priest says, MtAiferai Kal Siautfyi^tTai o
44
AGNUS DEI
AGNUS DEI
a/xi/bs rov eov (Neale's Tctralogia, 176); and in
that of St. James, after breaking and signing
with the cross, the priest says, 'I8e 6 a/Avhs rov
Qeov, 6 Tibs rov Harpbs, 6 alpwv tt]v afxapriav
rov KoVyuou, o-(payiao~0tls virtp ttjs rov k6(t/j.ov
Coiris Kal (rcoTrjpi'as {lb. 179). And in the ancient
" Morning Hymn " [Gloria in Excelsis]
adopted both in Eastern and Western Liturgies,
the deprecation is found : 'O a/aubs rov 0eou,
'O Tibs tov Tlarpbs, 6 aipoiv ras afiaprias rov
k6o-jxov, 'EAtrio-ov rifMas.
2. At the Trullau Council (692) it was decreed,
among other matters, that the Lord should no
longer be pictured in churches under the form of a
lamb, but in human form (Canon 82). The then
Pope, however, Sergius I., rejected the decrees of
this Council (though its conclusions had been
subscribed by the Papal legates), and Anastasius
the Librarian (in Baron., an. 701, vol. xii. 179) tells
us that this Pope first ordered that, at the time
of the breaking of the Lord's body, the " Agnus
Dei " should be chanted by clerks and people.
Some think that Sergius ordered it to be said
thrice, where it had previously been said only
once ; others, as Krazer {De Liturgiis, p. 545),
that he ordered it to be said by the whole body
of the clergy and people, as being a prayer for
all ; not, as previously, by the choir only. How-
ever this may be, the evidence of the Ordines
Eomani I., II., and III. (Mabillon, Museum Itali-
cum, ii. pp. 29, 50, 59), and of Amalarius of
Metz, shows that in the beginning of the 9th cen-
tury the choir alone, and not the priest at the
altar, chanted the " Agnus Dei ;" and this was
the case also when Innocent III. wrote his trea-
tise on the " Mystery of the Altar." The Ordines
Romani do not define the number of repetitions of
the versicle ; but Martene {De Bitihus Ecclesiae,
lib. i., c. 4, art. 9) proves from ancient documents
that the threefold repetition was expressly en-
joined in some churches as in that of Tours
before the year 1000; and in the 12th century
this custom prevailed in most churches. Subse-
quently, probably from about the 14th century,
the " Agnus Dei " came to be said in a low voice
by the priest with his deacon and subdeacon. In
later times, says Innocent III. {De sacro Altaris
Mysterio, i. 4, p. 910, Migne), as trouble and ad-
versity fell upon the Church, the response at the
third repetition was changed into " Dona nobis
pacem ;" in the church of St. John Lateran
only was the older form retained. When
the substitution of " Dona nobis pacem "
was made is uncertain ; it is found in no
MS. older than the year 1000. The reason
which Innocent gives for the introduction of the
prayer for peace may perhaps be the real one ;
but it is not an unreasonable conjecture that it
had reference to the " pax," or kiss of peace,
which was to follow.
3. Gerbert {De Musica Sacra, i. p. 458) men-
tions among ancient customs the chanting of the
" Agnus Dei " by the choir during the time that
the people communicated, before the antiphon
called "Communio" (Daniel, Codex Liturgicus,
i. 148).
4. The " Agnus Dei " was sometimes interpo-
lated with "tropes;" for instance, the following
form is quoted by Cardinal Bona from an ancient
missal, the date of which he does not mention :
"Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, crimina
tollis, aspera mollis, Agnus honoris, Miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, vulnera
sanas, ardua planas, Agnus amoris, Miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, sordida
mundas, cuncta foecundas, Agnus odoris, Dona
nobis pacem " {De Rebus Liturgicis, lib. ii. c. 16,
p. 473). And Rupert of Deutz has the addition,
" Qui sedes ad dextram Patris, Miserere nobis "
(Daniel, Codex Lit. i. 142).
5. In the Ambrosian rite the " Agnus Dei "
occurs only in masses for the dead ; where, after
" Dona nobis pacem," the words are added, " Re-
quiem sempiternam, et locum indulgentiae cum
Sanctis tuis in gloria " (Krazer, De Liturgiis,
p. 637).
6. A legend preserved by Robert of Mount St.
Michael (in Bona, De Beb. Lit. lib. ii. c. 16) tells
how, in the year 1183, the Holy Virgin appeared
to a woodman at work in a forest, and gave him
a medal bearing her own image and that of her
Son, with the legend "Agnus Dei, qui tollis pec-
cata mundi, Dona nobis pacem." This she bade
him bear to the bishop, and tell him that all who
wished the peace of the Church should make
such medals as these, and wear them in token of
peace. [C]
AGNUS DEI. A medallion of wax, bearing
the figure of a lamb. It was an ancient custom
to distribute to the worshippers, on the first
Sunday after Easter, particles of wax taken from
the Paschal taper, which had been solemnly
blessed on the Easter Eve of the previous year.
These particles were burned in houses, fields, or
vineyards, to secure them against evil influences
or thunder-strokes.
In Rome itself, however, instead of a Paschal
taper, the archdeacon was accustomed to pro-
nounce a benediction over a mixture of oil and
wax, from which small medallions bearing the
figure of a lamb were made, to be distributed to
the people on the first Sunday after Easter, espe-
cially to the newly baptised. {Ordo Bomanus I.
pp. 25, 31 ; Amalarius de Eccl. Off. i. 17, p.
1033 ; Pseudo-Alcuin, de Div. Off. c. 19, p. 482.)
In modern times this benediction of the Agnus
Dei is reserved to the Pope himself, and takes
place in the first year of each pontificate, and
every seventh year following.
The Paschal taper was anciently thought to
symbolise the pillar of fire which guided the
Israelites, and the Agnus Dei the Passover Lamb
(Amalarius, u. s. c. 18 ; compare the Gregorian
Sacramentary, p. 71; " Deus, cujus antiqua
miracula in praesenti quoque saeculo coruscare
sentimus").
A waxen Agnus Dei is said to have been among
the presents made by Gregory the Great to
Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards (Frisi,
Memorie di Monza, i. 34) ; but nothing of the
kind is mentioned by the saint himself in the
letter {Epist. xiv. 12, p. 1270) in which he gives
a list of his presents. One was found in 1725 in
the church of San Clemente on the Coelian Hill
at Rome, in a tomb supposed to be that of
Flavius Clemens a martyr. This Agnus is sup-
posed, by De Vitry (in Calogiera's Baccolta,
xxxiii. 280), to have been placed in the tomb at
the translation of the relics which he thinks took
place in the 7th century.
An Agnus was frequently enclosed in a case or
reliquary ; and some existing examples of such
cases are thought to be of the 8th or 9th ccn-
AGRICIUS
tury. A very remarkable one, said to have
belonged to Charlemagne, is among the treasures
of Aix-la-Chapelle ; but the style appears to be
of a much later age than that of Charlemagne
(Cahier and Martin, Melanges cTArche'ologie,
vol. i. pi. xix. fig. D.). [C.]
AGRTCIUS, Bishop of Treves and confessor,
deposition Jan. 13 {Mart. Bedae). [C]
AGRICOLA. (1) In Africa, martyr, com-
memorated Nov. 3 {M. Hieron.).
(2) Martyr at Bologna, commemorated Nov.
27 {Mart. Rom. Vet.).
(3) Saint, Natale Dec. 3 {M. Bedae).
(4) In Auvergne, Dec. 9 (M. Hieron.).
(5) At Ravenna, Dec. 16 {M. Hieron.). [C]
AGRIPPINA, martyr at Rome, commemo-
rated June 23 {Col. Byzant.). [C]
AGRIPPINENSE CONCILIUM. [Co-
logne, Council of.]
AGRIPPINUS, of Alexandria, commemo-
rated Julv 15 {Mart. Hieron.); Jakatit 5 = Jan.
30 (Cal. Ethiop.).
AINOI. [Lauds.]
AISLE. [Church.]
AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, COUNCILS OF
(Aquisgranensia Concilia) : i. a.d. 789 ; a
mixed synod held under Charlemagne in his
palace, which enacted 82 capitulars respecting
the Church, 16 ad monachos, 21 on matters of a
mixed kind (Baluz., Capit. i. 209). ii. a.d. 797 ;
also under Charlemagne, and consisting of bishops,
abbats, and counts ; at which 11 capitulars were
made respecting matters ecclesiastical and civil,
and 33 " de partibus Saxoniae." The canons (46)
of Theodulph, Bishop of Orleans, "ad parochiae
suae sacerdotes," are appended to this council
(Baluz., Capit. i. 250 ; Mansi, xiii. 99-4-1022).
iii. a.d. 799 ; also under Charlemagne, and in
his palace, of bishops, abbats, and monks, where
Felix of Urgel was induced by Alcuin to re-
nounce the heresy of Adoptianism (Mansi, xiii.
1033-1040, from Alcuin, ad Elipand. L, and the
Vita Alcuin.). iv. a.d. 802, October ; also under
Charlemagne, of bishops, priests, and deacons,
who then took the oath of allegiance to him
(Mansi, xiii. 1102). v. A.D. 809, November;
also under Charlemagne, upon the question of
*he Filioque ; which sent messengers to Pope
.eo III., and was instructed by him to omit the
arords from the Creed, although the doctrine
itself was de fide (Mansi, xiv. 17-28). The later
Councils of Aix are beyond the period assigned
to this work. [A. W. H.]
ALB {alha, tunica alba, tunica talaris, poderis,
Knea, supparus, subucula, camisia ; see also Sti-
Charion).
1. The word and its derivation. The Latin
word alba, the fuller expression for which is
tunica alba, first appears, as fhe technical de-
signation of a white tunic, in a passage of Vopis-
cus, who speaks of an alba subserica, or tunic
made of silk interwoven with some other mate-
rial, sent as a present, circ. 265, a.d., from Gal-
lienus to Claudius (Hist August. Script. Tre-
bellius in Claudio, p. 208). The same expression,
alba subserica, occurs more than once in a letter
of the Emperor Valerian. The word survives in
the Fr. " aube," as in our own " alb." The cor-
ALB
45
responding Italian word "camice" is derived
from " camisia " (see below, 3).
2. Ecclesiastical use of the icord, and of the
vestment. There are two uses of the term in
ancient writers, between which it is not always
easy to distinguish. When used in the singular
it has generally the technical meaning above no-
ticed, that of a white tunic. But in the plural
the phrase in albis, and the like, may either
mean " in albs," or, more vaguely and compre-
hensively, '-in white garments." Context only
can determine which is meant.
The first recorded instance of the technical
use of the term, as a designation of a vestment
of Christian ministry, occurs in a canon of the
African church {Concil. Carthag. iv. can. 41),
dating from the close of the 4th century. That
canon prescribes that deacons shall not wear the
alb except when engaged in Divine service. " Ut
diaconus tempore oblationis tantum, vel lectionis,
alba utatur." This probably implies that bishops
and presbyters, but not deacons, were allowed
to wear in ordinary life a long white tunic, re-
sembling that worn in divine service. Other
early canons, on the subject of ecclesiastical
habits, show, as does that last quoted, that there
was a general tendency on the part of the dea-
cons, and other yet inferior orders, to assume the
insignia which properly belonged to the higher
grades of the ministry. "Human nature "had
found its expression in such and the like ways in
the early church as in later times.
This conjecture as to an alb being worn bv
bishops and presbyters even in ordinarv life
(from the time of" the " Peace of the Church "
under Constantine), at least on occasions when
"full dress" was required, is confirmed by the
remarkable mosaics in the church of St. George
at Thessalonica. These date in all probability
from the 4th century. Among the personages
represented, all of them in the more statelv dress
of ordinary life, there are two only who are
ecclesiastics, Philip Bishop of Heraclea, and the
Presbyter Romanus ; and the dress of each is so
arranged as to show the white chiton (or tunic),
though an outer tunic of darker colour is also
worn. In this respect their dress differs from
that of the other figures, which are those of lav-
men. These mosaics are figured in the Byzantine
Architecture of Texier and Pullan (Lond., 1864).
That an alb was so worn, more or less generally,
by presbyters, at least in some parts of the West
in later centuries, appears clearly from such a
direction as that of Leo IV. in his Cura Pastor-
alis : " Nullus in alba qua in suo usu utitur
praesumat missas cantare." This direction is
repeated almost verbatim in the Capitula of
Hincmar of Rheims (|882), and in the Disciplina
Ecclesiastica of Regino, abbot of Prume, in the
following century.
3. Primitive forms of the Alb. In the earlv
ages of the church the alb of Christian ministry
was of full and flowing shape, and distinguished
in this respect from the closely-fitted tunic of
Levitical priesthood. St. Jerome {Epist. ad Fa-
biolam) follows Josephus {Antiq. Jud. iii. 7) in
dwelling particularly on this distinctive charac-
teristic of the Levitical tunic ; and in order to
convey to his readers an idea of its general ap-
pearance, he is obliged to refer them to the linen
shirts, called camisiae, worn by soldiers when on
service. More than four centuries later, Amala-
46
ALB
rius of Metz quotes this passage of St. Jerome,
in his treatise Dc Ecclesiasticis Officiis (lib. n.
cap. 18); and expressly notices the fact that the
Christian alb differed from the poderis, or full-
length tunic of Levitical ministry, in that, while
this last was strictum, closely fitted to the body,
that of the church was largum, full and flowing.^
With this statement the earliest monuments ot
ministering vestments quite accord. The albs
(if they be not rather dalmatics) worn by
Archbishop Maximian and his attendant clergy
in the Ravenna mosaics (see Yestiarium Chris-
tianum, PI. xxviii. ; and under vestments), and
in a less degree, that assigned to the deacon m
the fresco representing Ordination in the
cemetery of St. Hermes at Rome (Aringhi, Roma
>ubt. torn. ii. p. 329); and again those worn
under a planeta by Pope Cornelius of Rome and
St. Cyprian of Carthage in frescoes of (probably)
the 8th century (De Rossi, Roma Sott. vol. i. pp.
'298-304) all agree in this respect. In these
last, particularly, the albs (possibly dalmatics,
q. v.) worn under the planeta, have sleeves as
laree as those of a modern surplice.
But while this was, no doubt, the prevailing
form, we have pictorial evidence to show, that,
in the ninth century certainly, and in all proba-
bility at a considerably earlier time, a different
form of alb was in use side by side with the first.
Considerations of practical convenience deter-
mined this, as had been the case, we may well
believe, in the case of the Levitical priests. If
these latter, in the discharge of their sacrificial
duties, would have been not only incommoded
but endangered by wearing full and flowing linen
garments, 'so were there occasions, particularly
the administration of baptism, when large and
full sleeves, like those of the ordinary alb or
dalmatic, would have been inconvenient in the
highest degree to those engaged in offices ot
Christian ministry. We find accordingly, in an
illumination dating from the 9th century (see
woodcut in the article BAPTISM), that the priest
in baptizing wore a closely fitted alb, girded.
This is, we have reason to believe, the earliest
example in Christian art of an alb so shaped ;
but in later centuries, as the "sacred vest-
ments" continually increased in number, the
alb, which was worn underneath the rest, was
gradually more and more contracted in form ;
and at the present time the alb, technically so
cailed, is a closely-fitting vestment, girded,
nearly resembling that of the priest in the plate
just referred to.
4. Decoration of the alb. like other vest-
ments which, in primitive times, were of white
linen only, the alb was often enriched in later
times in respect of ornament, material, and
colour. Details as to this are given by Bock
(Liturgische Gewander, ii. 33) and by Dr. Rock
(Church of our Fathers, vol. i. p. 424 sqq.). The
most common ornaments of the kind were known
as parurae (a shorter form of paraturae), which
were oblong patches, richly coloured and orna-
mented, attached to the tunic. Hence a distinc-
tion between alba parata, an alb with " ap-
parels " (technically so called), and alba pura,
this last being the "white alb plain" spoken of
in the first Prayer-book of Edward VI. These
albae paratae date, according to Professor Weiss,
from the close of the 10th century (Eostum-
ktindc, u. s. iv\, p. 667). But this is true only of
ALEXANDRIA
ecclesiastical use. Ornaments like in kind to
these apparels had long been in use for the richer
albs worn by persons of high secular rank. They
were called Paragaudae, from a Syriac word of
similar import. See Casaubon's note on the pas-
sage of Trebellius referred to in 1. [W.B.M.]
ALBANUS (1) (St. Alban) or Albinus
(Mart. JJieron.) and his companions, martyrs in
Britain, commemorated June 22 (Mart. Rom.
Vet., Hieron., et Bedae).
(2) Saint, commemorated December 1 (M.
Bedae). [ C -J
ALBLNUS. (1) Bishop and confessor, com-
memorated March 1 (Mart. Hieron., Bedae).
(2) Martyr, June 21 (M. Bedae). [C]
ALC ESTER., Council of (Alnense Con-
cilium), a.D. 709 ; an imaginary council, resting
solely on the legendary life of Ecgwin, Bishop
of Worcester, and founder of Evesham Abbey, by
Brihtwald of Worcester (or Glastonbury); said
to have been held to confirm the grants made
to Evesham (Wilk. i. 72, 73; Mansi, xii. 182-
189). Wilfrid of York, said to have been at the
council, died June 23, 709. [A. W. H.]
ALDEGTJNDIS, virgin, deposition Jan. 30
(Mart. Bedae). [C-]
ALDERMANN. [Ealdorman.]
ALEXANDER, (1) martyr under Decius,
commemorated Jan. 30 (Mart. Rom. Vet.).
(2) Commemorated Feb. 9 (Mart. Bedae).
(3) Son of Claudius, martyr at Ostia, Feb.
18 ("'>.).
(4) Bishop of Alexandria, Feb. 26 (76.) ; April
10 (M. Hieron.).
(5) Of Thessalonica, Feb. 27 (M. Hieron.).
(6) Of Africa, March 5 (M. Hieron.).
(7) Of Nicomedia, March 6 (M. Hieron.).
(8) With Gaius, March 10 (Mart. Bedae).
(9) Bishop of Jerusalem, martyr, March 18
(Mart. Rom. Vet., Bedae).
(10) Martyr at Caesarea in Palestine, March
28 (Mart. Rom. Vet.) ; Mar. 27 (M. Bedae).
(11) Saint, April 24 (Mart. Bedae) ; April 21
(Hieron.).
(12) The Pope, martyr at Rome under Trajan,
May 3 (Mart. Rom. Vet., Bedae). Named in the
Gregorian Canon, Antiphon in Lib. Antiph. p. 693.
(13) Martyr at Bergamo, Aug. 26 (Mart. Rom.
Vet).
(14) Bishop and confessor, Aug. 28 (lb.).
(15) " In Sabinis," Sept. 9 (lb. et Hieron.).
(16) Commemorated Sept. 10 (M. Hieron.).
(17) In Capua, Oct. 15 (M. Hieron.).
(18) Patriarch, Nov. 7 (Col. Armen.) ; Miaziah
22 = April 17, and Nahasse 18 = Aug. 11 (Cal.
Ethiop.).
(19) Bishop and martyr, Nov. 26 (M. R. V).
(20) Martyr at Alexandria, translated Dec.
12 (Tb.). C c -]
ALEXANDRIA, CATECHETICAL
SCHOOL OF. The school thus described occu-
pies an exceptional position in the history of the
Christian Church. Everywhere, of course, there
was instruction (kut^xWis) of some kind for con-
verts [Catechumens] ; everywhere, before long,
there must have been some provision made for
the education of Christian children. That at Alex-
andria was the only one which acquired a special
reputation, and had a succession of illustrious
ALEXANDRIA
ALEXANDRIA
47
teachers, and affected, directly and indirectly,
the theology of the Church at large. The lives
of those teachers, and the special characteristics
of their theological speculations will be treated
of elsewhere. Here it is proposed to consider
(1) the outward history of the school ; (2) its
actual mode of working, and general influence on
the religious life of the Alexandrian Church.
(1.) The origin of the Alexandrian school a is
buried in obscurity. Eusebius (i/. E., v. 10)
speaks of it as of long standing (e apxalou
eflous), but the earliest teacher whom he names is
Pantaenus, circ. A.D. 180. If we were to accept
the authority of Philip of Sida (Fragm. in Dod-
well's Dissert, in Iren. Oxf. pp. 488-497), the
honour of being its founder might be conceded
to Athenagoras, the writer of the Apologia ; and
this would carry us a few years further. But the
authority of Philip is but slight. His list is
manifestly inaccurate, the name of Clement com-
ing after Origen, and even after Dionysius, and
the silence of Eusebius and Jerome must be held
to outweigh his assertion. Conjecture may look
to St. Mark (Hieron., Cat. 36), with more proba-
bility, perhaps, to Apollos, as having been the first
conspicuous teacher at Alexandria. Pantaenus,
however, is the first historical name. He taught
both orally and by his writings, and, though his
work was interrupted by a mission to India, he
seems to have returned to Alexandria, and to
have continued teaching there till his death.
First working with him, and then succeeding
him, we have the name of Clement, and find him
occupying the post of teacher till the persecution
of Severus, A.D. 202, when he with others fled for
safety. The vacant place was filled by Origen
(Euseb. H. E. vi. 3), then only eighteen years of
age, but already well known as a teacher of
grammar and rhetoric, and as having studied
profoundly in the interpretation of the Scriptures.
It is probable, but not certain, that he himself
had attended Clement's classes. As it was, seekers
after truth came to him in such numbers that he
renounced his work as an instructor in other
subjects, and devoted himself to that of the
school which was thus reopened. Clement may
possibly have returned to Alexandria, and worked
with him till his death, circ. A.D. 220. Origen
himself left soon afterwards, and founded, in some
sense, a rival school at Caesarea. Of the teachers
that followed we know little more than the names.
Philip of Sida (I. c.) gives them as Heraclas,
Dionysius, Pierius, Theognostus, Serapion, Peter,
Macarius, Didymus, Rhodon. Eusebius (ZT. E.
vii. 32) names Pierius as a man of philosophical
attainments at Alexandria, and mentions Achillas
more distinctly as having been entrusted with
the 8i8affKaA*?uv there under the episcopate of
Theonas. He further speaks of the school as
existing in his own time (circ. A.D. 330). Theo-
doret (i. 1) names Arius as having at one time been
the chief teacher there, and Sozomen(//. E. iii. 15)
and Rufinus (H. E. ii. 7) name Didymus, a teacher
who became blind, as having held that post for a
long period of years (circ. A.D. 340-395). During
the later years of his life he was assisted by
Rhodon as a coadjutor, who, on his death, re-
a It may be worth while to note the names by which it
18 described : (1) to ty\<; KarTj\^crew?, or to riav tepaii'
Ao-ywi' SioWicaAeioi', Euseb., H. E. V. 10, vi. 3, 26 : (2) to
lepbi/ oioacrKaAeioi' T(ui' tepwc iiaOrinaTtof, Sozom. iii. 15 :
(3) Kcclesiastica Schola, Hieron., Cat. c. 38.
moved to Sida, where he numbered among his
pupils the Philip from whom we get the list of
the succession. This seems to have broken up the
school, and we are unable to trace it further.
(2.) The pattern upon which the work at Alex-
andria was based may be found in St. Paul's
labours at Ephesus. After he ceased to address
the Jews through his discourses in the synagogue
he turned to the " school " (o-xoA?/) of Tyrannus
(Acts, xix. 9). That " school " was probably a
lecture-hall (so the word is used by Plutarch, Vit.
Arati, c. 29), which had been used by some teacher
of philosophy or rhetoric, and in which the apostle
now appeared as the instructor of all who came to
inquire what the " new doctrine "meant. Some-
thing of the same kind must have been soon
found necessary at a place like Alexandria. With
teachers of philosophy of all schools lecturing
round them, the Christian Society could not but
feel the need of lecturers of its own. Elsewhere,
among slaves and artisans it might be enough to
hand down the simple tradition of the faith, to de-
velope that teaching as we find it in the Catechises
of Cyril of Jerusalem. The age of apologists, ap-
pealing, as they did, to an educated and reading
class, must have made the demand for such teachers
more urgent, and the appearance of Pantaenus as
the first certainly known teacher, indicates that
he was summoneo. oy the Church to supply it.
In a room in his own house, or one hired for the
purpose, the teacher received the inquirers who
came to him. It was not a school for boys, but
for adults. Men and women alike had free access
to him. The school was open from morning
to evening. As of old, in the schools of the
Rabbis, as in those of the better sophists and
philosophers of Greece, there was no charge for
admission. If any payment was made it came, in
the strictest sense of the word, as an honorarium
from grateful pupils (Euseb. H. E. vi. 4).
After a time he naturally divided his hearers
into classes. Those who were on the threshold
were, it is natural to think, called on, as in the
GoAortatio ad Graecos of Clement, to turn from
the obscenities and frivolities of Paganism to the
living and true God. Then came, as in his Paeda-
f/ogus, the " milk " of Catechesis, teaching them
to follow the Divine Instructor by doing all
things, whether they ate or drank, in obedience
to His will. Then the more advanced were led
on to the " strong meat " of tj tiro-n-TiKr) dewpia
(Clem. Alex., Strom, v. p. 686, Pott.). At times
he would speak, as in a continuous lecture,
and then would pause, that men might ask the
questions which were in their hearts (Origen,
in Matt. Tr. xiv. 16). The treatises which
remain to us of Clement's, by his own account
of them, embody his reminiscences of such instruc-
tion partly as given by others, partly doubtless
as given by himself. We may fairly look on
Origen's treatises and expositions as having had
a like parentage. (Comp. Guerike, De Schola
Alex.; Hasselbach, Be Schola Alex.; Redepen-
ning's Origenes, i. 57, ii. 10 ; and Art. Alex-
andrinisches Catecheten Schule, in Herzog's Peal.
Encyclopadie ; Neander's Church History [Engl.
Translation], ii. 260, et seq.) [E. H. P.]
ALEXANDRIA, COUNCILS OF. There
were no councils of Alexandria proportionate to
its situation as the marine gate of the East, or to
the fame of its catechetical and eclectic schools,
48
ALEXANDRIA
ALEXANDRIA
or to its ecclesiastical position, as having been
the second see of the world. And the first ot'
them was held a.d. 230, under Demetrius, in a
hasty moment, to pass judgment upon one of
the most distinguished Alexandrians that ever
lived, Origen : his chief fault being that he had
been ordained priest in Palestine, out of the
diocese. His works were condemned in this,
and he himself excommunicated and deposed in a
subsequent council ; but both sentences were
disregarded by the bishops of Palestine, under
whose patronage he continued to teach and to
preach as before.
A.d. 235 There was a synod under Heraclas,
who is said to have appointed 20 bishops ;
one of whom, Ammonius, having betrayed
the faith, was reclaimed at this synod.
A.D. 263 This was a synod, under Dionysius,
against the errors of Sabellius ; in another,
Nepotianus, a bishop of Egypt, and Ce-
rinthus fell under censure for their views
on the Millennium.
A.d. 306 under Peter ; against Meletius, a
bishop of Lycopolis, who had sacrificed to
idols, and was therefore deposed.
A.D. 321 Against Arius, who was deposed in
two synods this year under Alexander.
A.D. 324 Against Arius once more ; but this
time under Hosius, Bishop of Cordova, who
haa been despatched to Alexandria to
make enquiries, by Constantine.
A.D. 328 When St. Athanasius was conse-
crated bishop. (On the date, see Mansi,
ii. 1086.)
A.D. 340 In favour of St. Athanasius. De-
puties were sent from the council to Rome
and Tyre in that sense. Its synodical
letter is given by St. Athanasius in his 2nd
Apology.
A.D. 352 Called "Egyptian;" in favour of
St. Athanasius again.
A.D. 362 under St. Athanasius, on his return
from exile, concerning those who had
Arianised. It published a synodical letter.
On its wise and temperate decisions, see
Newman's Avians, v. 1.
a.d. 363 under St. Athanasius on the death of
Julian ; published a synodical letter to the
new emperor Jovian.
A.D. 371 Of 90 bishops, under St. Athanasius :
to protest against Auxentius continuing in
the see of Milan. This is one of those
called " Egyptian."
A.D. 371 under St. Athanasius the same
year; to receive a profession of faith from
Marcellus, Bishop of Ancyra, which turned
out orthodox.
A.D. 399 Against the followers of Origen,
who were condemned. Part of its synodical
letter is preserved in that of the emperor
Justinian to Mennas on the same subject
long afterwards.
A.D. 430 under St. Cyril against Nestorius ;
where St. Cyril indited his celebrated
epistle with the twelve anathemas.
A.D. 457 under Timothy, surnamed Aelurus,
or the Cat, at which the Council of Chal-
cedon was condemned. This was repeated,
A.D. 477.
A.D. 482 At which John Tabenniosites was con-
secrated bishop ; he was ejected at once by
the emperor Zeno, when Peter Moo-o-us re-
turned, and in a subsequent synod tne
same year condemned the 4th council,
having first caused a schism amongst his
own followers by subscribing to the He-
noticon (Evag. iii. 12-16).
A.D. 485 under Quintiau, to pronounce Peter
the Fuller deposed from Antioch.
A.D. 578 The last of those called Egyptian j
it was composed of Jacobites, to consider
the case of the Jacobite patriarch of
Antioch, Paul.
A.D. 589 under Eulogius ; against the Sa-
maritans.
A.D. 633 under Cyrus, the Monothelite pa-
triarch : the acts and synodical letter of
which are preserved in the 13th action of
the 6th general council. This is the last
on record.
The interests of the Church History of Alex-
andria are so great, that a few words may be
added respecting its patriarchate.
The patriarchate of Alexandria grew out of the
see founded there by St. Mark, " according to the
constant and unvarying tradition both of the East
and West " (Neale's Patriarch of Alex. 1. i.) ; to
which jurisdiction was assigned, as of ancient
custom appertaining, by the 6th Nicene canon,
over " Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis." This was,
in effect, what was already known as the Egyp-
tian diocese, being one of five placed under the
jurisdiction of the praefect of the East, and com-
prehending itself six provinces. Of these, Au-
gustanica was subdivided into Augustanica prima,
and secunda : the first stretching upon the coast
from Rhinocorura on the borders of Palestine to
Diospolis on the east of the Mendesian mouth of
the Nile, with the second immediately under it
inland ; Egypt proper was likewise subdivided
into prima and. secunda, of which secunda
stretched westwards of the same mouth of the
Nile along the coast, with prima lying imme-
diately under it inland. Then Arcadia at Hep-
tanomis, forming the 3rd province, lay under
Augustanica secunda and Aegyptus prima on
both sides of the Nile ; and south of this Thebais,
or the 4th province, whose subdivisions, prima
comprehended all the rest of the country lying
north, and secunda all the country lying south
of Thebes, included in Egypt. Returning to-
wards the coast, westwards of Aegyptus secunda,
the 5th province, Libya inferior or secunda, was
also called Marmarica ; and to the west of it
was the 6th province, Libya Pentapolis, also
called Cyrenaica. The ecclesiastical arrange-
ments in each of these provinces have yet to be
given. For this purpose the " Notitia " pub-
lished by Beveridge (Synod, ii. 143-4) might
have been transcribed at length ; but as the sites
of so many of the sees are unknown, their mere
names, which are often uncouth and of doubtful
spelling, would be devoid of interest. It may
suffice to enumerate them, with their metropolis
in each case. Thus Augustanica prima con-
tained 14 episcopal sees, of which Pelusium was
the metropolis ; Augustanica secunda 6, at the
head of which was Leonto ; Aegyptus prima 20,
at the head of which was Alexandria ; Aegyptus
secunda 12, at the head of w-hich was C.nbasa
The province of Arcadia contained 6, under the
metropolitan of Oxyrinchus ; but 7 are given
subsequently, corresponding to the 7 mouths of
the Nile, of which Alexandria is placed first.
ALEXANDRIA
ALEXANDRIA
49
There were 8 sees in Thebais prima, under the
metropolitan of Antino ; and twice that number
in Thebais secunda, under the metropolitan of
Ptolemais. Libya secunda, or Marmarica, con-
tained 8, under the metropolitan of Dranicon ;
and Libya Pentapolis 6, at the head of which
was Sozuza. Tripoli was a later acquisition, in-
cluding 3 sees only. They may have been placed
under Alexandria subsequently to the time of
the 4th Council, when all to the west of them
lay in confusion under the Vandals ; and possibly
may have been intended to compensate for those
two sees of Berytus and Rabba bordering on
Palestine, of which Alexandria was then robbed
to swell the patriarchate of Jerusalem on the
south-west (Cave, Ch. Govt. iv. 11). The list of
sees in Le Quien (Oriens Christianus, vol. ii. p.
330-640), illustrated by a map of the patriarch-
ate from D'Anville, agrees with the above in
most respects, only that it is shorter.
Alexandria had been synonymous with ortho-
doxy while St. Athanasius lived ; shortly after
his death, however, the next place after Rome,
which it had ever enjoyed from Apostolic times,
was given by the 2nd General Council to Con-
stantinople. For this it seemed to have re-
ceived ample compensation in the humiliation
of the Constantinopolitan patriarch Nestorius,
at the 3rd Council under St. Cyril ; when the
want of tact and perverseness of his successor
Dioscorus enabled the more orthodox patriarchs
of Jerusalem and Constantinople to help them-
selves at its expense, and obtain sanction for
their proceedings at the 4th Council. For a
time, it is true, Rome peremptorily refused as-
senting to them ; and charged their authors with
having infringed the Nicene canons. But Alex-
andria falling into the hands of those by whom
the doctrinal decisions of the 4th Council were
called in question and even condemned, Rome
naturally ceased taking any further steps in its
favour ; and under Jacobite patriarchs princi-
pally, and sometimes exclusively, Alexandria
gradually came to exercise no palpable influence
whatever, even as 3rd see of the world, on the
rest of the Church. Le Quien reckons 48 patri-
archs in all, down to Eustathius, who was con-
secrated a.d. 801, but several of them were
heretical ; and there were numerous anti-patri-
archs, both heretical and schismatical, from time
to time disputing their claims. The ' Art de
verifier les Dates ' makes this Eustathius the
66th patriarch. Dr. Neale makes him the 40th,
and contemporary with Mark II., the 49th Jaco-
bite patriarch.
There were several peculiarities connected
with the see of Alexandria, which have been
variously explained. One rests upon the autho-
rity of Eutychius, patriarch of Alexandria in the
10th century, and of St. Jerome. The words of
Eutychius are as follows : " St. Mark along with
Ananias ordained 12 presbyters to remain with
the patriarch ; so that when the chair should
become vacant, they might elect one out of the
12 on whose head the other 11 should lay their
hands, give him benediction, and constitute him
patriarch ; and should after this choose some
other man to supply the place of the promoted
presbyter, in such sort that the presbytery
should always consist of 12. This custom con-
tinued at Alexandria till the time of the patri-
arch Alexander, one of the 318 ("Fathers of
CHRIST. ANT.
Nicaea) who forbade the presbyters in future to
ordain their patriarch ; but decreed that on a
vacancy of the see, the neighbouring bishops
should convene for the purpose of filling it with
a proper patriarch, whether elected from those
12 presbyters or from any others." Eutychius
adds, " that during the time of the first 10 patri-
archs, there were no bishops in Egypt ; Deme-
trius the 11th having been the first to consecrate
them." (Taken from Neale, p. 9.) This per-
haps may serve to explain the extreme offence
taken by Demetrius at the ordination of Origen
to the priesthood out of the diocese, if a priest
in Alexandria was so much more to the bishop
than a priest elsewhere. It may also serve to
explain the haste with which Alexander insti-
tuted proceedings against Arius. The passage
of St. Jerome seems conclusive as to the inter-
pretation to be given to that of Eutychius.
This Father in an epistle to Evagrius, while
dwelling on the dignity of the priesthood, thus
expresses himself: "At Alexandria, from the
time of St. Mark the Evangelist to that of the
bishops Heraclas and Dionysius (in the middle
of the 3rd century), it was the custom of the
presbyters to nominate one, elected from among
themselves, to the higher dignity of the bishopric ;
just as the army makes an emperor, or the dea-
cons nominate as archdeacon any man whom they
know to be of active habits in their own body."
{Ibid.). St. Jerome would be talking nonsense,
if the 12 of whom he is speaking had been
bishops themselves; that is, of the same rank
as their nominee was to be. Hence the theory
of an episcopal college, to which Dr. Neale seems
to incline, falls to the ground at once. On the
other hand, it seems unquestionable that St.
Jerome must have meant election, not ordina-
tion, from the marked emphasis with which he
lays down elsewhere that presbyters cannot or-
dain. Otherwise, from the age in which Euty-
chius lived, and still more the language in which
he wrote, it would hardly be possible to prove
that he meant election only, when he certainly
seems to be describing consecration. But again,
if there were " no bishops in Egypt during the
time of the first ten patriarchs," how could epis-
copal consecration be had, when once the patri-
arch had ceased to live ? To this no satisfactory
answer has ever been returned. Eutychius,
though he lived in the 10th century, may be
supposed to have known more about the ancient
customs of his see, in a land like Egypt, than
those who have decried him. And certainly,
though we know there were bishops in Egypt
under Demetrius, for two synods of bishops
(Phot. Bihl. s. 118 and Huet. Origen. i. 12), we
are told, met under him to condemn Origen ; it
would be difficult to produce any conclusive
testimony to the fact that there were any epis-
copal sees there, besides that of Alexandria, be-
fore then. The vague statement of the Emperor
Adrian, " Illi qui Serapim colunt Christiani sunt ;
et devoti sunt Serapi, qui se Christi episcopos
dicunt." speaking of Egypt, clearly warrants no
such inference, standing alone ; nor does it ap-
pear to have ever been suggested that each of
the first ten patriarchs consecrated his suc-
cessor during his own life-time. Yet there was
a strange haste in electing a new patriarch of
Alexandria, that seems to require some expla-
nation. The new patriarch, we learn from Libe-
E
50
ALEXIUS
ALIENATION
ratus, always interred his predecessor ; and be-
fore doing so, placed his dead hani on his own
head. Can it have been in this way, during
that early period, extraordinary as it may seem,
that episcopal consecration was supposed to be
obtaine I, as it were, in one continuous chain
from St. Mark himself? The position of the
patriarch after consecration was so exceptional,
that it would be no wonder at all if his consecra-
tion differed materially from all others. In
civil matters his authority was very great ; in
ecclesiastical matters it was quite despotic. All
bishops in Egypt were ordained by him as their
sole metropolitan. If any other bishop ever per-
formed metropolitan functions, it was as his dele-
gate. The Egyptian bishops themselves, in the
4th action of the Council of Chalcedon, professed
loudly that they were impotent to act but at
his bidding ; and hence they excused themselves
from even subscribing to the letter of St. Leo
while they were without a patriarch, after Dios-
corus had been deposed ; and that so obstinately,-
that their subscription was allowed to stand
over, till the new patriarch had been consecrated.
The patriarch could moreover ordain presbyters
and deacons throughout Egypt in any number,
where he would ; and it is thought proteble
that the presbyters, his assessors, had power given
them by him to confirm. All the episcopal sees
in Egypt seem to have originated with him alone.
As early as the 3rd century we find him called
" papa," archbishop in the next, and patriarch
in the 5th century, but not till after St. Cyril.
In later times, "judge of the whole world " was
a title given him, on account of his having for-
merly fixed Easter. On the liturgies in use in
the Egyptian diocese, Dr. Neale says (General
Tntrod. i. 323-4), " The Alexandrine family con-
tains 4 liturgies : St. Mark, which is the normal
form, St. Basil, St. Cyril, and St. Gregory. . . .
St. Mark's was the rite of the orthodox Church
of Alexandria. . . . The other three are used by
the Monophysites. St. Basil (i. e. the Copto-
.Tacobite) is the normal and usual form ; St.
Gregory is employed in Lent ; St. Cyril on festi-
vals. . . . Why the first of these liturgies bears
the name of Basil " is uncertain. " It is not
possible now to discover its origin, though it
would appear to have been originally Catholic ;
to have been translated from the Greek into
Coptic, and thence after many ages into Arabic.
The liturgy of St. Cyril is to all intents and
purposes the same as that of St. Mark . . . .
and in both that, and in the office of St. Gregory,
the first part is taken from the normal liturgy
of St. Basil." Both the proanaphoral and ana-
phoral parts of the Copto-Jacobite liturgy of St.
Basil, together with the anaphoral part of that
of St. Mark are given in parallel columns further
on in the same work. And the Copto-Jacobite
patriarchal church at Alexandria, said to be the
burial-place of the head of St. Mark, and of 72
of the patriarchs, is described there likewise, p.
277. Between the two works of Dr. Neale
already cited, and the Oricns Christianus of Le
Quien, everything further that has yet been
discovered on the subject of this patriarchate
may be ootained. [E. S. F.]
ALEXIUS, b &v6p<i>wos tov 06ov, comme-
morated March 17 (Cal. Byzant.) July 17
(Mart Bom.). [C]
ALIENATION OF CHURCH PRO-
PERTY. In treating of a subject like that
of the alienation of Church property, the canons
and other authorities cited as evidence of the
law concerning it might either be arranged ac-
cording to the various descriptions of property
to which they refer, or else the entire legislation
of each church and nation might be exhibited in
chronological order apart from the rest. The
latter plan has been here adopted, both as being
more suitable to a general article, and also
because in matters of church order and disci-
pline the canons of councils were not in force
beyond the limits of the churches in which they
were authoritatively promulgated.
The alienation by which is to be understood
the transference by gift, sale, exchange, or per-
petual emphyteusis" of Church property [see
Property of the Church] was from early times
restrained by special enactments.
It is a much debated question amongst Ca-
nonists whether or not alienation, except in ex-
traordinary cases, was absolutely prohibited in
the first ages of the Church, by reason of the
sacred character impressed upon property given
for ecclesiastical purposes, and by that act dedi-
cated to God (seeBalsamon in can. 12, Cone. VII.
ap. Beveridge Band. Can. i. 303). As, however,
the property of the Church must in those times
have consisted only of the offerings and oblations
of the faithful, which were placed in the hands
of the bishops, b it would appear most probable
that they were free to make such use of it as
they might think would be productive of the
greatest benefit to their several dioceses.
The general law of the Church has been well
epitomised in the Commentary of Balsamon (ap.
Beveridge Band. Can. ii. 177). " Unusquisque
nostrorum Episcoporum rationem administra-
tionis rerum suae Ecclesiae Deo reddet. Vasa
enim pretiosa Ecclesiarum, seu sacra, et reliqua
Deo consecrata, et possessiones irnmobiles, non
sunt alienabilia, et Ecclesiae servantur. Eccle-
siasticorum autem redituum administratio secure
credi audacterque committi debere illis,-qUi statis
temporibus sunt Episcopi." Its history, as it is
found in the councils of different churches, has
now to be traced.
In the East. -The earliest canon which refers
to the subject is the 15th canon of the Council
of Ancyra (a.D. 314), which provides that the
Church (on the expression rb Kvpiaxbv see Beve-
ridge, Adnott. in loc.) may resume possession of
whatever property the presbyters of a diocese
may have sold during the vacancy of the see ;
but this canon does not limit any power which
the bishop himself may previously have possessed,
and is simply an application of the well-known
rule " sede vacante nihil innovetur."
The Council of Antioch (a.d. 341) has two
canons, the 24th and 25th, bearing upon this
On the nature of this tenure see Smith's Dictionary
of Greek and Roman Antiquities, sub voce, 'Emphy-
teusis.' It may be described in brief as the right to use
another person's land as one's own, on condition of culti-
vating it, and paying a fixed rent at fixed times.
b The oath now taken by bishops consecrated accord-
ing to the Roman ordinal, contains a clause relating to
the alienation of Church property. In what words and
at what time a clause of this nature was first introduced
into the ordinal is a question which has given rise to
much controversy.
ALIENATION OF CHURCH PEOPEETY
51
question, which are either imitated from the
39th and 40th Apostolic Canons, or have been
imitated by the authors of that collection [APOS-
TOLIC Canons]. The 24th directs that Church
property, which ought to be administered subject
to the judgment and authority of the bishop,
should be distinguished in such a way that the
presbyters and deacons may know of what it
consists, so that at the bishop's death it may not
be embezzled, or lost, or mixed up with his private
property. That part of this canon in which
reference is made to the duties imposed on pres-
byters and deacons is not contained in the Apos-
tolic canon. This omission would seem to point
to the conclusion that this council is later in
date than the 39th Apostolic canon ; and Beve-
ridge (Cod. Can. i. 43) draws the same inference
as to the date of the 40th Apostolic canon from
its not making mention of ol twv aypuv Kapiro),
words which are to be found in the 25th Canon
of Antioch. By the 25th canon it is provided that
the Provincial Synod should have jurisdiction in
cases where the bishop is accused of converting
Church property to his own use, which was
also forbidden by the 37th Apostolic canon,
or managing it without the consent (/jlt) ixzto.
yvd/j.T}s) of the presbyters and deacons, and also
in cases where the bishop or the presbyters who
are associated with him are accused of any mis-
appropriation for their own benefit. Here again
it will be noted that the effect of this canon is
to make provision for the better and more care-
ful management of Church property, and that it
does not abridge any right of alienation which
the bishop may have before possessed. It must,
however, be observed that the power of the
bishop to manage (xeipi'C eiJ/ ) Church property (an
expression which would doubtless include the
act of alienation) is qualified by the proviso that
it must be exercised with the consent of his
presbyters and deacons.
The 7th and 8th canons of the Council of
Gangra (the date of this council is uncertain,
some writers placing it as early as A.D. 324, and
others as late as a.d. 371 : see Van Espen,
Dissertatio in Synodum Gangrensem, Op. iii. 120,
ed. Lovan. 1753, and Beveridge, Adnott. in id.
Cone, who inclines to the opinion that it was
held a short time before the Council of Antioch,
A.D. 341), prohibit under pain of anathema all
persons from alienating (SiSovai eo> rrjs 4kkKt}-
a-'ias) produce belonging to the Church, except
they first obtain the consent of the bishop or his
oeconomus, or officer entrusted with the care of
Church property.
The enactments contained in the second Coun-
cil of Nicaea (or as it is generally styled the 7th
Oecumenical Council) a.d. 787, will be more con-
veniently considered below.
The African Church seems to have found it
necessary to place special restrictions upon the
power of alienating Church property possessed
by bishops under the general law. By the 31st
canon of the code known as the Statuta Ecclesiae
Antiqua, promulgated (according to Bruns, Ca-
nones, i. 140) at the 4th Council of Carthage
(a.d. 398), the bishop is enjoined to use the pos-
sessions of the Church as trustee, and not as if
they were his own property ; and by the next
canon all gifts, sales, or exchanges of Church
property made by bishops without the consent in
writing (" absque conniventia et subscriptione ")
of their clergy are pronounced invalid. In the
31st canon there are further provisions against
the unauthorized alienation of Church property
by the inferior clergy. If convicted in the
synod of this offence they are to make restitu-
tion out of their own property.
Again by the 26th (ap. Bev. 29th) canon
of the Codex Ecclesiae Africanae promulgated
A.D. 419, which repeats the 4th canon of the
5th Council of Carthage ( a.d. 401 ), it is
ordained that no one sell the real property be-
longing to the Church ; but if some very urgent
reason for doing so should arise, it is to be com-
municated to the Primate of the Province, who is
to determine in council with the proper number of
bishops (i.e. twelve) whether a sale is to be made
or not ; but if the necessity for action is so great
that the bishop cannot wait to consult the synod,
then he is to summon as witnesses the neigh-
bouring bishops at least, and to be careful after-
wards to report the matter to the synod. The
penalty of disobedience to this canon was de-
position. By the 33rd canon (ap. Bev. 36th)
presbyters are forbidden to sell any Church pro-
perty without the consent of their bishops ; and
in like manner the bishops are forbidden to sell
any Church lands (praedia) without the privity
of their Synod or presbyters. (See on these
canons Van Espen, Op. iii. 299, &c. ; and the
Scholion of Balsamon ap. Bev. Pand. Can. i. 551.)
Passing from Asia Minor and Africa to Italy,
the earliest provisions with reference to alienation
to be found in the councils are in the council held
at Rome by Pope Symmachus in a.d. 502. The
circumstances under which the canons of this
council were passed (and which relate solely to the
question of alienation) are thus described by Dean
Milman : " On the vacancy of the see [by the death
of Pope Simplicius, A.D. 483] occurred a singular
scene. The clergy were assembled in St. Peter's.
In the midst of them stood up Basilius, the
Patrician and Prefect of Pome, acting as Vice-
gerent of Odoacer the barbarian King. He ap-
peared by the command of his master, and by
the admonition of the deceased Simplicius, to
take care that the peace of the city was not
disturbed by any sedition or tumult during the
election. ... He proceeded, as the protector
of the Church from loss and injury by church-
men, to proclaim the following edict : ' That no
one under the penalty of anathema should alie-
nate any farm, buildings, or ornaments of the
churches ; that such alienation by any bishop
present or future was null and void.' So im-
portant did this precedent appear, so dangerous
in the hands of these schismatics who would
even in those days limit the sacerdotal power,
that nearly twenty years after, a fortunate occa-
sion was seized by the Pope Symmachus to annul
this decree. In a Synod of bishops at Rome the
edict was rehearsed, interrupted by protests of
the bishops at this presumptuous interference of
the laity with affairs of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. ,
The authenticity of the decree was not called
in question ; it was declared invalid as being
contrary to the usages of the Fathers enacted
on lay authority, and as not being ratified by
the signature of any Bishop at Rome. The
same council, however, acknowledged its wisdom
by re-enacting its ordinances against the aliena-
tion of Church property " (History of Latin
Christianity, vol. i., p. 221, 2nd ed.). On this
E 2
52
ALIENATION OF CHURCH PROPERTY
Council Boehmer notes that it has not more
authority than belongs to it as a Council of
the Italian Church, and that therefore its decrees
(which go far beyond any yet promulgated else-
where) were not binding upon other Churches.
Previously, however, to this date Pope Leo the
Great (a.d. 447) had written to the bishops of
Sicily and forbidden the alienation of Church
property by the bishops except for the benefit of
the Church, and with the consent of the whole
clergy (Ep. 17). Pope Gelasius also (a.d. 492-
496), writing to Justinus and Faustus (who were
acting in the place of their bishop), directed the
restitution of all property belonging to the
Church of Volterra which had been alienated up
to that time ; and in another letter he forbad
the appropriation of Church lands for the pay-
ment of any particular stipend (Fragg. 23 and 24,
ap. Thiel).
In the history of the Galilean Church the
earliest reference to alienation is to be found
in a letter from Pope Hilarus (a.d. 462) to the
bishops of the provinces of Vienne, Lyons, Nar-
bonne, and the Maritime Alps, in which he pro-
hibits the alienation of such Church lands as are
neither waste nor unproductive (" nee deserta
nee damnosa ") except with the consent of a
council (Ep, 8 sec. ult.).
The Council of Agde (a.d. 506) contains seve-
ral canons on alienation. The 22nd canon, while
declaring that it is superfluous to define any-
thing afresh concerning a matter so well known,
and a practice forbidden by so many ancient
canons, prohibits the clergy from selling or
giving away any Church property under pain of
being excommunicated and having to indemnify
the Church out of their private resources for
any loss, the transaction being at the same time
declared void. The 26th canon inflicts the like
punishment on those who suppress or conceal or
give to the unlawful possessor any document by
which the title of the Church to any property
is secured. The 48th canon reserves to the
Church any property left on the death of a
bishop, which he had received from ecclesiastical
sources. The 49th canon repeats almost in the
same words the above cited 31st canon of the
Statuta Ecclesiae Antlqua ; the 53rd canon pro-
hibits, and pronounces void, any alienation by
parish priests ; while by the 56th canon abbots
are forbidden to sell Church property without
the bishop's consent, or to manumit slaves, " as
it would be unjust for monks to be engaged in
their daily labours in the field while their slaves
were enjoying the ease of liberty."
The 1st Council of Orleans (a.d. 511) places
all the immoveable property of the Church in
the power of the bishop "that the decrees of the
ancient canons may be observed " (canons 14
and 15).
Pope Symmachus, A.D. 513 (who died A.D. 514),
in answering certain questions put to him by
Caesarius, Bishop of Aries, forbids Church pro-
perty to be alienated under any pretence, but
he permits a life rent to be enjoyed by clerks
worthy of reward (Ep. 15).
By the 5th canon of the 1st Council of Cler-
mont (A.D. 535) all persons are excommunicated
who obtain any Church property from kings.
In the same year Pope Agapetus writing to
Caesarius, Bishop of Aries, says, that he is un-
willingly obliged to refuse the bishop permission
to alienate some Church lands, " revocant nos
veneranda Patrum manifestissima constituta,
quibus specialiter prohibemur praedia juris ec-
clesiae quolibet titulo ad aliena jura transferre"
(Cone. Gall. i. 240).
The 12th canon of the 3rd Council of Orleans
(A.D. 538) allows the recovery of Church pro-
perty within 30 years, and ordains that if the
possessor should refuse to obey the judgment of
the Council ordering him to surrender, he is
excommunicated.
The 23rd canon renews the prohibition against
the alienation of Church property by abbots or
other clergy without the written consent of the
bishop; and by the 9th canon of the 4th Council
held at the same city (a.d. 541) it is provided
that Church property which has been alienated
or encumbered by the bishop contrary to the
canons shall, if he has left nothing to the
Church, be returned to it ; but slaves whom he
may have manumitted shall retain their freedom,
though they must remain in the service of the
Church. The 11th,, 18th, 30th, and 34th canons
contain further provisions on the subject.
The 1st canon of the 3rd Council of Paris
(a.d. 557) is directed against the alienation of
Church property, but this canon, as well as those
next mentioned, would appear to refer to seizure
by force jather than to possession by any quasi-
legal process. Alienation is forbidden by the 2nd
canon of the 2nd Council of Lyons (a.d. 567).
In the 2nd Council of Tours (a.d. 567) there
are two canons the 24th and 25th relating to
the recovery of Church property from the hands
of unlawful possessors.
In Spain the Council held a.d. 589 at Nar-
bonne, which in its ecclesiastical relations must
be considered in Spain (Wiltsch. Geog. of the
Church, i. 100), prohibits the alienation of Church
property by the inferior clergy, without the con-
sent of the bishop, under pain of suspension for
two years and perpetual inability to serve in
the church in which the offence was committed
(can. 8).
By the 3rd Council of Toledo (held in the same
year), can. 3, bishops are forbidden to alienate
Church property, but gifts which, in the judg-
ment of the monks of the diocese, are not detri-
mental to the interests of the Church cannot be
disturbed ; by the next canon bishops may
assign Church property for the support of a
monastery established with the consent of his
Synod.
By the 37th canon of the 4th Council of
Toledo (a.d. 633) the bishop is permitted (sub-
ject to the confirmation of a Provincial Council)
to redeem any promise of reward made for ser-
vices to the Church.
The 9th Council of Toledo (a.d. 655) contains
provisions very similar to the above cited canons
of the 3rd Council held at the same place.
In England, Archbishop Theodore of Canter-
bury (a.d. 668-690) forbids abbots to make ex-
changes without the consent of the bishop and
their brethren (Poenitentiale Be Abbatibus).
The Excerptiones ascribed erroneously to Arch-
bishop Egbert of York (who held that metropo-
litical see from A.D. 732 to 766) declare that
gifts, sales, or exchanges of Church property by-
bishops without the consent and written per-
mission of the clergy shall be void (cap. 144).
The Poenitentiale, also attributed wrongly to the
ALIENATION OF CHURCH PROPERTY
53
same prelate, permits exchanges between mo-
nasteries with the consent of both communities
(addit. 25).
The last Council which passed canons on the
subject of alienation during the period covered
by this article, is the 2nd Council of Nicaea (the
" Seventh Oecumenical Council ") held a.d. 787.
The 12th canon making mention of the 39th
Apostolic Canon forbids the alienation or transfer
of Church lands by bishops and abbots in favour
of princes or other secular potentates ; and it also,
like many of the canons hereinbefore cited, pro-
hibits bishops from appropriating any ecclesias-
tical property to their own use or to that of
their relatives. Even when the retention of any
Church lands is unprofitable they may not be
sold to magistrates or princes, but to the clergy
or to farmers ; and these again may not sell them
to magistrates, and so contravene the spirit of the
canon. Such deceitful transactions are invalid,
and the bishop or abbot who is guilty of taking
part in them is to be deposed. See the elaborate
Scholion of Balsamon on this canon, ap. Bev.
Pand. Can. i. 303.
Having now gone through the principal
canons passed by the ecclesiastical assemblies of
the first eight centuries, there remain to be consi-
dered the laws by which the Christian emperors
limited the power of the Church as regards the
alienation of its property.
Constantine the Great had in a decree of the
year a.d. 323 (sees. 16, 18) assured to the
Church the safe enjoyment of its property, and
had commanded the restitution as well by the
State as by private individuals of all such pro-
perty as they might have got possession of; but
it does not appear that there was any imperial
legislation concerning the alienation of Church
property until after the promulgation of the
Codex Theodosianus in a.d. 438.
The Codex Repetitae Praelectionis promulgated
by Justinian in December a.d. 534 contains in
the 2nd title of the 1st Book various provisions,
made by his predecessors and re-enacted by him,
on the subject of alienation.
In the 14th section there is a constitution of
the Emperor Leo (a.d. 470) which prohibits the
Archbishop of Constantinople, or any of his
stewards (oeconomi) from alienating in any way
the land or other immoveable property or the
coloni or slaves or state allowances ( civiles
annonae) belonging to his Church, not even if all
the clergy agreed with the Archbishop and his
steward as to the propriety of the transaction.
The reason given for this stringent law is that
as the Church which is the mother of Religion
and Faith, is changeless, her property ought to
be preserved also without change. Any trans-
. actions completed in defiance of this constitution
were void, and all profits resulting therefrom
were given to the Church. The stewards who
were parties to the act were to be dismissed, and
their property made liable for any damage which
might arise from this infringement of the law.
The notaries employed were to be sent into per-
petual exile, and the judge who ratified the pro-
ceeding was punished by the loss of his office
and the confiscation of his property. There
was, however, an exception made to this rule in
the case of a usufruct, the creation of which
was permitted for a term of years or for the
life of the usufructuary. (The editions of the
Corpus Juris Civilis generally contain after this
section a series of extracts from the Novells on
the same subject.)
The 17th section contains a constitution of the
Emperor Anastasius to which no precise date
is affixed by the commentators, but which must
have been promulgated between the years A.D.
491 and 517 (Haenel, Indices ad Corpms Legum
ab Imp. Rom. ante Just, latarum, p. 82, Lipsiae
1857). This constitution, like the last cited,
applies solely to the Church of Constantinople,
and relates to monasteries, orphanages and
other eleemosynary institutions whose property
might in cases of necessity be sold, exchanged,
mortgaged, or leased in perpetual emphyteusis ;
provided that the transaction be effected in the
manner therein prescribed and in the presence
of the civil authorities and the representatives
of the particular body whose property is about
to be dealt with. It is, however, decreed that if
there be moveable property (the sacred vessels
excepted) sufficient to meet the sum required,
the immoveable property shall not be touched.
In the 21st section is given a constitution of
Justinian himself (a.d. 529) in which he forbids
any sale or other alienation of sacred vessels or
vestments except only with the object of re-
deeming captives (and, according to some edi-
tions, relieving famine) ; " quoniam non absur-
dum est animas hominum quibuscunque vasis
vel vestimentis praeferri."
The rule which permitted the sale or melting
down of Church plate for the redemption of
captives is one of great antiquity. Its propriety
is nowhere more eloquently defended than in
the following passage from the 2nd Book of
St. Ambrose Be Officiis Ministrorum (cir. a.d.
391) " Quid enim diceres ? Timui ne templo
Dei ornatus deesset ? Responderet : Aurum Sa-
cramenta non quaerunt ; neque auro placent,
quae auro non emuntur. Ornatus sacramento-
rum redemptio captivorum est. Vere ilia sunt
vasa pretiosa, quae redimunt animas a morte.
Hie verus thesaurus est Domini qui operatur
quod sanguis Ejus operatus est. . . . Opus
est ut quis fide sincera et perspicaci providentia
munus hoc impleat. Sane si in sua aliquis deri-
vat emolumenta, crimen est ; sin vero pauperibus
erogat, captivum redimit, misericordia est." He
concludes by directing that vessels which are
not consecrated should be taken in preference to
those which have been consecrated ; and that
both must be broken up and melted within the
precinct of the Church (cap. 28). The supreme
claims of charity over all other considerations are
insisted upon in the same strain by St. Jerome
(Ep. ad Nejwtianum, A.D. 394) and St. Chrysostom
(Horn. 52 in St. Matthaeum), while at the same
time the proper respect due to the sacred vessels
is always emphatically enjoined, as, for example,
by St. Optatus, Be Schism/de Bonatistarum vi. 2.
An example of the precautions taken against the
abuse of this privilege is to be found in one of
the letters of Gregory the Great (vii. 13) in
which writing (a.d. 597) to Fortunatus, Bishop
of Fano, he gives permission for the sale of
Church plate in order to redeem captives, but
directs, with the view of avoiding all suspicion,
that the sale and the payment over of the
money received therefrom should be made in
the presence of the " defensor."
Passing to the Novclls of Justinian -the 71 h
54
ALIENATION OF CHURCH PROPERTY
Novell (a..d. 535) relates to the question of
alienation of Church property, and professes to
amend and consolidate the then existing laws,
and to extend their operation to the whole of
^he empire. In the first chapter the alienation,
either by sale, gift, exchange, or lease on per-
petual emphyteusis, of immoveables or quasi-
i immoveables belonging to churches or eleemo-
svnarv institutions, was forbidden under the
penalties prescribed by the above-cited consti-
tution of Leo.
Under the 2nd chapter alienation is permitted
in favour of the emperor when the proper forms
are observed and ample compensation made, and
when the transaction is for the public benefit.
The reason given for this exception is not with-
out significance. In the Latin version it is as
follows : " Nee multum different ab alterutro
sacerdotium et imperium, et res sacrae a com-
munibus et publicis ; quando omnis sanctissimis
ecclesiis abundantia et status ex imperialibus
munificentiis perpetuo praebeatur."
The third and four succeeding chapters con-
tain regulations for the lease of Church estates
by emphyteusis. Their provisions are too ela-
borate to be set out at length, but may be
briefly stated thus : " The usual conditions of
these emphyteuses are for three lives that
of the original emphyteuta and of two of his
or her heirs, being children or grandchildren,
or the husband or wife of the emphyteuta if
there be a special clause to that effect (though
about this power there is some doubt) in suc-
cession. Thus the duration of the lease is in-
determinate and contingent. The contract was
invalidated by default in payment of the quit
rent (canon) for two instead of for three years
as was the case with lay emphyteuses " (Colqu-
houn, Roman Civil Law, 1709).
The 8th chapter renews the prohibition against
the sale, pledge, or melting down of Church
plate, except with the object of redeeming cap-
tives.
The 12th chapter sanctions the abandonment
of all contracts made on behalf of the Church
for the acquisition by gift or purchase of un-
profitable land.
The 40th Novell (promulgated the following
year, "A. D. 536) gives to the "Church of the
Holy Resurrection " at Jerusalem the privilege
of alienating buildings belonging to it, notwith-
standing the general prohibition contained in
the 7th Novell.
The 46th Novell (a.d. 536 or 537) relaxed the
law against the alienation of immoveable Church
property when there was not sufficient moveable
property to pay debts owing to the State or to
private creditors. But this step could not be
taken except after investigation by the clergy,
the bishop, and the metropolitan, and under a
decree of the "judex provinciae."
The 2nd chapter of the 54th Novell (a.d.
537) permits exchanges between ecclesiastical
and eleemosynary corporations, but the Church of
St. Sophia at Constantinople is excepted from
the operation of this law as it is also from that
of the 46th Novell.
The 55th Novell (a.d. 537) forbids alienation
male ostensibly in favour of the emperor, but
really for the benefit of private individuals. It
ilso permits churches and other religious bodies
(Vith the exception of the Church of St. Sophia)
to lease their lands to one another in perpetua.
emphyteusis.
The 65th Novell has reference to the alienation
of property belonging to the Church of Mysia,
but being only of local importance it need not
be further considered.
In the 67th Novell (a.d. 538) the number
of persons appointed under the 46th Novell to
enquire into the propriety of any alienation is
increased by the addition of two bishops chosen
by the metropolitan from his Svnod.
The 10th chapter of the 119th Novell (a.d.
544) permits the alienation by the emperor of
Church property which had been transferred to
him.
The last of the numerous edicts promulgated
by Justinian on the alienation of Church pro-
perty is contained in the 120th Novell (a.d.
544) in which he again undertakes the task of
consolidating the law on this subject.
The first four chapters concern only the
Church of Constantinople. The alienation of
immoveables is forbidden, except in favour of the
emperor.
The 5th chapter relates to the property of
other Churches. The provisions therein con-
tained, and those contained in the previous
chapters on emphyteusis are thus briefly sum-
marized by Colquhoun (Soman Civil Law,
1709): "The 120th Novell was promulgated
by Justinian in order to modify the rigour of
the prohibition against creating perpetual em-
phyteuses on ecclesiastical property by restrict-
ing it to the estates of the Church of Constanti-
nople, leaving the property of other Churches to
be regulated by the common law. It is, how-
ever, very doubtful whether or not the emphy-
teusis on Church property can be perpetual
without the express stipulation for a term. Nor
does the prohibition appear to be absolute even
as regards the Church of Constantinople, which
had permission to grant perpetual emphyteuses
in cases where it owned ruined edifices without
the means of restoring them. The Novell fixes
the amount at a third of the revenue which
such edifices produced before their then ruined
state, payable from the date of the emphyteu-
tical title, or at a half of the revenue which the
buildings actually produced after their restora-
tion. What is doubtful with respect to the lay
is clear with regard to ecclesiastical emphyteusis,
viz., that they must be reduced to writing. As
before, the contract was invalidated by default to
pay the quit rent for two instead of three years,
as was the case with lay emphyteuses. The
point open to discussion, in respect to lay emphy-
teuses, of whether the rent in arrear may be
recovered and the expulsion of the tenant also
insisted on, is clear in the case of ecclesiastical
emphyteuses in the affirmative. Lastly, the
Churches enjoyed a right of resumption entirely
exceptional to the common law when the estate
accrued ' aut in imperialem domum, aut in sac-
rum nostrum aerarium, aut in civitatem aliquam,
aut in curiam, aut in aliquam venerabilem ali-
am domum.' This right of resumption applied
equally in the case of all transmission of the
right, whether inter vivos or mortis causa, with-
out reference to the title of acquisition, and the
time for its exercise was two years instead of
two months as in lay cases."
The remaining chapters of this Novell relate
ALIENATION
ALLELUIA
to the exchange of ecclesiastical property and
the sale of immoveables and Church plate for
the redemption of captives. The provisions
therein contained do not differ in any important
particular from the previous laws above cited on
the same subject, and they need not be repeated.
The provisions of the Civil Law (which have
now been examined) have been usefully arranged
by the glossator on the Corpus Juris Civilis,
Nov. 7 and Nov. 120 (ed. Lugd. 1627). Im-
moveable property belonging to the Church can-
not be alienated under any circumstances if it
fall within the following classes 1. If it had
been given by the emperor (Nov. 120, 7). 2. If
the thing to be alienated is the church or mo-
naster}' itself ('&.). 3. When the proposed trans-
feree is the oeconomus or other church officer
(ib.). 4. When the property was given to the
Church subject to a condition that it should
not be alienated (Nov. 120, 9). 5. If the pro-
posed transferee be a heretic (131, 14). But
subject to the above restrictions, immoveable
property may be alienated under the following
circumstances, viz. : 1. For debt (Nov. 46).
2. By way of emphyteusis for a term (var.).
3. In exchange with another church (Nov. 54, 2).
4. If the transferee be the emperor (Nov. 7, 2).
5. For the redemption of captives (Nov. 120, 9).
On the other hand moveable property can be
freely alienated if it be for the advantage of the
Church that such a step should be taken. The
exception to this rule is in the case of Church
plate, which cannot be alienated except for the
redemption of captives (Nov. 7, 8 and Nov. 120,
10), and for the payment of debt when it is not
necessary for the proper performance of Divine
Service (Nov. 120, 10).
The Barbarian Codes contain, as might be
expected, many laws directed against the forci-
ble seizure of Church property, but such acts
can hardly be considered to fall under the head
of alienation. There are, however, a few pro-
visions on the subject anterior in date to the
death of Charlemagne.
By the 3rd chapter of the 5th Book of the
Leges Visigbtkorum (cir. a.d. 700 : see Davoud
Oghlou, Histoire de la Legislation des Anciens
Germains, i. 2) if any bishop or clerk alienate
by sale or gift any Church property without the
consent of the rest of the clergy, such sale or
gift is void, unless it be made according to the
ancient canons.
Again in the 20th chapter of the Lex Alam-
manorum (which in its present shape was pro-
bably compiled about the beginning of the 8th
centui-y see Davoud Oghlou, op. cit. i. 304) the
inferior clergy are forbidden to sell Church lands
or slaves except by way of exchange.
In the collection entitled Capitularia Regum
Francorum there is a Capitulary of the date A.D.
814, forbidding all persons whatsoever to ask
for or receive any Church property under pain of
excommunication (6, 135).
There are also two Capitularies which are
probably not later in date than the one last
cited. By the first of these presbyters are for-
nidden to sell Church property without the con-
sent of the bishop (7, 27); to which in the
second is added the consent of other priests of
good reputation (7, 214).
(The following authorities may be consulted :
Du Kousseaud de la Combe, liecucil de Juris-
prudence Canonique [Paris 1755], sub voce Alie-
nation ; Boehmer, Jus Ecclesiasticum Protettan-
tfwn'[Halae Magd. 1738, &c] m Decretal. III. 13 ;
Ferraris, Bibliotlwca Canonica [ed. Migne], sub
voce Alienatio ; Sylvester Mazzolini da Prierio
[Lugd. 1533] sub voce Alienatio ; Redoanus, De
Re'ius Ecclesiae non alienandis [printed in the 2nd
part of the 15th volume of the Tractatus Uni-
versi Juris, Venice, 1584]; and the Commenta-
tors on the above-cited passages from the Cor [jus
Juris Civilis, and on the following passages from
the Corpus Juris Canonici, Decreti Secunda
Pars, Causa xii. Quaestio 2 ; and Decretal, lib.
III. 13). [I. B.]
ALLELUIA (Greek 'AAArjAovia). The litur-
gical form of the Hebrew iT , "'P?n, " Sing ye
praises to Jehovah ;" a formula found in Psalm
117, and in the headings of several Psalms, espe-
cially Psalms 113-118, which formed the "Hal-
lel," or Alleluia Magnum, sung at all the greater
Jewish feasts. Alleluia and Amen, says the
Pseudo-Augustine {Up. 178, ii. 1160, Migne),
neither Latin nor barbarian has ventured to
translate from the sacred tongue into his own ;
in all lands the mystic sound of the Hebrew is
heard.
1. It is thought by some that the early Church
transferred to the Christian Paschal feast the
custom of singing Psalms with Alleluia at the
Paschal sacrifice ; and this conjecture derives
some probability from the fact, that in the most
ancient sacramentaries the Alleluia precedes and
follows a verse, as in the Jewish usage it precedes
and follows a Psalm. Yet we can hardly doubt
that the use of the Alleluia in the Church was
confirmed, if not originated, by St. John's vision
(Apoc. 19, 6) of the heavenly choir, who sang
Alleluia to the Lord God Omnipotent. By the
4th century it seems to have been well known as
the Christian shout of joy or victory; for Sozo-
men (H. E. vii. 15, p. 298) tells of a voice
heard (an. 389) in the temple of Serapis at
Alexandria chanting Alleluia, which was taken
for a sign of its coming destruction by the Chris-
tians. The victory which the Christian Britons,
under the guidance ofGermanusof Auxerre, with
their loud shout of Alleluia, gained over the
pagan Picts and Scots (an. 429) is another instance
of the use of Alleluia for encouragement and
triumph (Beda, Historia Ecclesiastica, i. c. 20,
p. 49); and Sidonius Apollinaris (lib. ii. Ep. 10,
p. 53) speaks as if he had heard the long lines of
haulers by the river side, as they towed the
boats, chanting Alleluia as a "celeusma," to make
them pull together. These instances are of course
not altogether tree from suspicion ; but they
serve to show that in early times the Alleluia
was regarded as a natural expression of Christian
exultation or encouragement.
2. A special use of the Alleluia is found in the
liturgies both of East and West. In most Eastern
liturgies, it follows immediately upon the Che-
rubic Hymn, which precedes the greater En-
trance; as, for instance, in those of St. James,
St. Mark, and St. Chrysostom (Neale's Tetralogia,
pp. 54, 55). In the Mozarabic, which has many
Oriental characteristics, it is sung after the
Gospel, while the priest is making the, oblation :
"Interim quod chorus dicit Alleluia, offevat sacer-
dos hostiam cum calico" (Neale's Tetralogia,
p. 60). In the West, it follows the Gkaij'JAL,
50
ALLELUIA
ALL SAINTS
and so immediately precedes the reading of thi
Gospel. In early times it seems to have been
simply intoned by the cantor who had sung the
Gradual, standing on the steps of the Ambo, and
repeated by the choir ; but before the 8th cen-
tury the custom arose of prolonging the last syl-
lable of the Alleluia, and singing it to musical
notes (Ordo Romanus II., in Mabillon's Museum
Italicurn, vol. ii. p. 44). This was called juhila-
tio. The jubilant sound of the Alleluia, however,
was felt to be fitting only for seasons of joy ;
hence its use was in many churches limited .to
the interval between Easter and Whitsunday.
Sozomen, indeed (//. E. vii. 19, p. 307) seems to
say that in the Roman Church it was used only
on Easter-day; but we cannot help suspecting
that he must have misunderstood his informant,
who may have used the word " Pascha " to de-
note the whole of the seven weeks following
Easter-day ; for St. Augustine distinctly says
(Ep. ad Janarium; Ep. 119 [al. 55] p. 220
Migiie) that the custom of singing Alleluia dur-
ing those fifty days was universal, though in
several churches it was used on other days also.
In the Rule of St. Benedict (c. 15, p. 297) the
use of Alleluia in the responsories of the mass
seems to be limited to the season from Easter to
Whitsunday ; but soon after Benedict's time it
was probably more common in the West to inter-
mit its use only from Septuagesima to Easter.
For at the end of the 6th century, Gregory the
Great writes to John of Syracuse (Epist. ix. 12,
p. 940) that some murmured because he (Gregory)
was overmuch given to following the customs of
the Greek Church, and in particular because he
had ordered the Alleluia to be said at mass
beyond the Pentecostal season (extra tempora
Pentecostes) ; so far, he continues, is this from
being the case, that whereas the Church of Rome
in the time of Pope Damasus had adopted,
through Jerome's influence, from the Church of
Jerusalem the limitation of the Alleluia to the
season before Pentecost, he had actually inno-
vated on this Greek custom in ordering the
Alleluia to be said at other seasons also. This
seems the most probable sense of this much-con-
troverted passage, as to the reading and interpre-
tation of which there is much difference of
opinion. (See Baronius, Ann. 384, n. 27, vol. v.,
p. 578; and Mabillon, Museum Italicurn, ii. xcvii.).
The 4th Council of Toledo (canon 11) orders that
(in accordance with the universal custom of
Christendom) the Alleluia should not be said in
the Spanish and Gaulish churches during Lent -
an injunction which seems to imply that its use
was permitted during the rest of the year. The
same canon (in some MSS.) also forbids the Alle-
luia on the Kalends of January, "quae propter
errorem gentilium aguntur," but on which Chris-
tians ought to fast.
The intermission of Alleluia during a particular
season is expressed by the phrase " Alleluia clau-
sum " (Du Cange, s. v.).
3. We have already seen that St. Benedict
prescribed the use of the Alleluia in the respon-
sories of the Mass from Pasch to Pentecost. He
prescribed it also in the ordinary offices (Eegu/a,
c. 12, p. 286). From Pentecost to Ash-Wednes-
day, however, it was to be said in the nocturnal
office only with the six last Psalms: "A Pen-
tecoste autem ad caput quadragesimae omnibus
noctibus cum sex posterioribus Psalmis tan-
tum ad nocturnas dicatur" (Beguld, c. 15, p,
297).
In the Roman arrangement of the ordinary
offices, the Alleluia follows the " Invocation " in
all the hours ; but from Septuagesima to the
Thursday in Holy Week the verse, " Laus tibi
Domine ; Rex aeternae gloriae," is substituted.
4. We learn from Jerome (Ep. 27 [108], 19,
p. 712, ad Eustochium ; cf. 23 [38], 4, p. *175)
that the sound of the Alleluia summoned monks
to say their offices : " Post Alleluia cantatum, quo
signo vocabantur ad collectam, nulli residere
licitum erat."
5. It was chanted at funerals ; as, for instance,
at that of Fabiola (Jerome, Ep. ad Oceanum, 30
[77], p. 466) ; at that of Pope Agapetus in Con-
stantinople (Baronius, ann. 536, 64, vol. ix.,
p. 544).
This usage is found in the Mozarabic rite, and
perhaps once existed in the ancient Gallican (Ba-
ronius, ann. 590, 39, vol. x. p. 485).
(Bona, De Divina JPsalmodia, c. xvi. 7 ; De
Rebus Liturgicis, lib. ii., c. 6, 5 ; Krazer, lie
Liturgiis, p. 419.) [C]
ALL SAINTS, Festival of (Omnium Sanc-
torum JSatalis, Festivitas, Solcmnitas').- In the
Eastern Church a particular Sunday, the first
after Pentecost, was appropriated in ancient
times to the commemoration of all martyrs.
Chrysostom, in the 'EyKw/j-iov eis tovs ayiovs
wdvTas tovs ev oA<j> tu> k6o-jau> fiapTvpricrai>TO.s,
says that on the Octave of Pentecost they find
themselves in the midst of the band of martyrs ;
7rapeAaj3ei> 7)fias /xapTvpav x^pos (Opp. ii. 711):
and there is a similar allusion in Urat. contra
Judaeos, vi. (Opp. ii. p. 650). This Festival of
All Martyrs became in later times a Festival of
All Saints, and the Sunday next after Pentecost
appears in the Calendar of the Greek Menologion
as Kvpiattr] tSiv 'Aylaiv ttolvtodv. The intention
in so placing this commemoration probably was
to crown the ecclesiastical year with a solemnity
dedicated to the whole glorious band of saints
and martyrs.
In the West, the institution of this festival
is intimately connected with the dedication to
Christian purposes of the Pantheon or Rotunda
at Rome. This temple, built in honour of the
victory of Augustus at Actium, was dedicated
by M. Agrippa to Jupiter Vindex, and was called
the Pantheon, probably from the number of
statues of the gods which it contained, though
other reasons are assigned for the name.
Up to the time of St. Gregory the Great, idol-
temples were generally thrown down, or, if they
were suffered to remain, were thought unworthy
to be used in the service of God. Gregory
himself at first maintained this principle, but in
the latter part of his life, thought it would con-
duce more to the conversion of the heathen if
they were allowed to worship in the accustomed
spot with new rites (see his well-known letter
to Mellitus, in Bede, Hist. Eccl. ii. 30 ; Opp. vi.
p. 79) ; and from this time, the principle of con-
verting heathen fanes to Christian uses seems to
have become familiar. In the beginning of the
7th century, the Pantheon remained almost the
solitary monument of the old heathen worship
in Rome. In the year 607 Boniface III. obtained
from the Emperor Phocas the important re-
cognition of the supremacy of Rome over all
ALL SAINTS
ALL SOULS
57
other churches ; and in the same year his suc-
cessor, Boniface IV., having cleansed and restored
the Pantheon, obtained the emperor's permission
to dedicate it to the service of God, in the name
" S. Mariae semper Virginis et omnium Mar-
tyrum :" (Liber Pontif. in Muratori, Rer. Ital.
Scriptores, iii. 1, 135). This dedication is com-
memorated, and is believed to have taken place,
on May 13. On this day we find in the old Ro-
man Martyrology edited by Rosweyd, " S. Mariae
ad Martyres dedications dies agitur a Bonifacio
Papa statutus." Baronius tells us, that he found
it recorded in an ancient MS. belonging to the
Church itself, that it was first dedicated " In
honorem S. Mariae, Dei Genetricis, et omnium
SS. Martyrum et Confessorum ;" and that at the
time of dedication the bones of martyrs from
the various cemeteries of the city were borne in
a procession of twenty-eight carriages to the
church. (Mariyrol. Rom. p. 204.) The technical
use of the word " confessor " seems, however, to
indicate a somewhat later date than that of the
dedication ; and Paulus Diaconus (Hist. Longo-
bard. iv. 37, p. 570) tells us simply that Phocas
granted Boniface permission, " Ecclesiam beatae
semper Virginis Mariae et omnium Martyrum
fieri, ut ubi quondam omnium non deorum sed
daemonum cultus erat, ibi deinceps omnium fieret
memoria sanctorum," and the church bears to
this day the name of "S. Maria dei Martiri."
This festival of the 13th May was not wholly
confined to the city of Rome, yet it seems to have
been little more than a dedication-festival of the
Rotunda, corresponding to the dedication-festivals
of other churches, but of higher celebrity, as the
commemoration of the final victory of Christianity
over Paganism.
The history of the establishment of the
festival of All Saints on Nov. 1 is somewhat
obscure. The Martyrologwm Rom. Yet., al-
ready quoted, gives under " Kal. Novembr." a
" Festivitas Sanctorum, quae Celebris et gene-
ralis agitur Romae." The very terms here used
show that this " Festivitas Sanctorum " was a
specially Roman festival, and it was probably
simply the dedication-feast of an oratory dedi-
cated by Gregory III. " In honorem Omnium
Sanctorum." But in the 8th century, the ob-
servance of the festival was by no means con-
fined to Rome. Beda's Metrical Martyrology has
" Multiplier rutilat gemma ceu in fronte November,
Cunctorum fulget Sanctorum laude decoris."
In the ancient Hieronymian calendar in
, D'Achery (Spicileg. torn, ii.), it appears under
Kal. Novemb., but only in the third place ;
" Natalis St. Caesarii ; St. Andomari Episcopi ;
sive Omnium Sanctorum." The list of festivals
in the Penitential of Boniface gives " In solemni-
tate Omnium Sanctorum;" but the feast is not
found in the list given by Chrodogang (an. 7G'_'),
or in Charlemagne's Capitulary (Opp. Caroli
Magni, i. 326) on the subject of festivals. It
appears then to have been observed by some
churches in Germany, France, and England in
the middle of the 8th century, but not univer-
sally. It was perhaps this diversity f practice
which induced Gregory IV., in the year 835, to
suggest to the Emperor Lewis the Pious, a ge-
neral ordinance on the subject. Sigebert, in his
Chronicon (in Pistorius, Script. Germ. torn, i.),
tells us, under that vear, '"Tunc monenteGre-
gorio Papa, et omnibus cpiscopis assentientibus,
Ludovicus Imperator statuit, ut in Gallia et
Germania Festivitas Omnium Sanctorum in Kal.
Novemb. celebraretur, quam Romani ex instituto
Bonifacii Papae celebrant." (Compare Adonis
Martyrol. ed. Rosweyd, p. 180.) It would seem
from this, that the festivals of May 13 and
Nov. 1 had already coalesced on the latter day,
and that the one festival then observed was
referred to Boniface IV., who, in fact, instituted
that of May 13. The time was perhaps chosen
as being, in a large part of Lewis's dominions,
the time of leisure after harvest, when men's
hearts are disposed to thankfulness to the Giver
of all good. From this time, All Saints' day be-
came one of the great festivals of the Church,
and its observance general throughout Europe.
It probably had a Vigil from the first, as bo-
fore the time of its general observance a Vigil
and Fast preceded the great festivals of the
Church. It may, perhaps, have had an octave
from its first institution in Rome itself; but this
was not the case in other churches, for an octa\ r e
of All Saints does not seem to be found in any
calendar earlier than the 13th century. Proper
collects, preface, and benediction for the " Natalis
Omnium Sanctorum " are found in some, but not
the most ancient, MSS. of the Gregorian Sacra-
mentary (p. 138).
(Baronius in Martyrologio Romano, May 13
and Nov. 1 ; Binterim's Denkwiirdigkeiten, vol.
v. pt. 1, p. 487 ff. ; Alt in Herzog's Real-Ency-
clopddie, i. 247.) [C.j
ALL SOULS, Festival of (Omnium fide-
Hum defunctorum memoria or commemoratio).
Very ancient traces of the observance of a day
for the commemoration of "the souls of all
those who have died in the communion of the
body and blood of our Lord " (according to
Cyprian) appear in the Fathers of the Church.
Tertullian (De Corona Militis, c. 3) says,
" Oblationes pro defunctis annua die facimus."
And to the same effect he speaks (De Exhort.
Castitatis, c. 11, and Be Monognm. c. 10) of
annual offerings (oblationes) for the souls of the
departed. These were probably made on the an-
niversary of the death, and were especiallv the
business of surviving relatives. So Chrysostom
(Horn. 29 in Acta Apost.), speaks of those who
made commemoration of a mother, a wife or a
child. Similarly Augustine (De Curd pro Mor-
tuis, ch. 4).
It appears from an allusion in Amalarius of
Metz (before 837) that in his time a day was
specially dedicated to the commemoration of all
souls of the departed, and it seems probable that
this was the day following All Saints' Day.
Amalarius says expressly (De Evil. Officiis, lib.
iii. c. 44) " Anniversaria dies ideo repetitur
pro defunctis, quoniam nescimus qualiter eorum
causa habeatur in altera vita." And in c. 65,
he says " Post officium Sanctorum inserui of-
ficium pro mortuis ; multi enim transierunt de
praesenti saeculo qui non illico Sanctis conjun-
guntur, pro quibus solito more officium agitur."
The festival of All Souls is here regarded as a
kind of supplement to that of All Saints, and
may very probably have taken place en the
morrow of that day. But the earliest definite
injunction for the observance of a commemoration
of all souls of tin departed on Nov. 2 appears to
58
ALMACHILS
ALMS
be that of Odilo, Abbot of Clugny, in the 10th
century. A pilgrim returning from Jerusalem,
says Peter Damiani ( Vita Odi/onis, Opp. ii. 410),
reported to Odilo a woful vision which he had
had on his journey of the suffering of souls in
purgatorial fire ; Odilo thereupon instituted in
the churches under his control a general com-
memoration of the souls of the faithful departed
on the day following All Saints' Day : " per
omnia monasteria sua constituit generale de-
cretum, ut sicut primo die Mensis Novembris
juxta universalis Ecclesiae regulam omnium
Sanctorum solemnitas agitur ; ita sequenti die
in psalmis, eleemosynis et praecipue Missarum
solemniis, omnium in Christo quiescentium
memoria celebraretur." This order was soon
adopted, not only by other monastic congrega-
tions, but by bishops for their dioceses; for
instance, by the contemporary Bishop Notger of
Liege (Chronicon Belgicum, in Pistorius's Scrip-
tores German, iii. 92). The observance appears,
in fact, in a short time to have become general,
without any ordinance of the Church at large on
the subject.
But even after the observance of a commemo-
ration of All Souls on Nov. 2 became common,
we find (Statutes of Cahors, in Martene, The-
saurus Anecdot. iv. 766) that in some places the
morrow of St. Hilary's Day (Jan. 14), and in
others the morrows of the Octaves of Easter
and Pentecost were appropriated to the special
commemoration of the souls of the departed
(Binterim's Denkwiirdigkeiten, vol. v. pt. 1, p.
492 ri'.). [C]
ALMACHIUS, martyr at Rome, commemo-
rated Jan. 1 (Mart. Rom. Vet., Bedae). [C]
ALMS ( , EA7j/ixoo'yj'Tj, non-classical in this
sense, either word or thing ; although for the
thing, see Seneca, I)e Benefic. vi. 3, and Martial,
I.) igt\ v. 42 ; and for the word also, Diog. Laert.
v. 17 : first found in the special meaning of alms in
LXX., Dan. iv. 24 [27 Heb.], where the original
reads "righteousness;" so also Tobit xii. 9, xiv.
11 [and elsewhere], Ecclus. iii. 30, iv. 2, vii. 10,
xxix. 15, 16, xxxv. 2). Alms recognized as a duty
throughout the 0. T., but brought into promi-
nence in the later Jewish period (cf. Buxtorf,
Floril. Ilebr. p. 88 ; Lightfoot, Hor. Hebr. in
Matt. vi. 2, Luc. ii. 8), when they were formally
and regularly given in the synagogues (Vitring.
De Syn. Vet.) to be distributed by appointed
officers, as also by putting them into certain
trumpet-shaped alms-boxes in the temple, called
ya(o(pv\a.Kia (Le Moyne, Not. in Var. Sac. ii.
75 ; Deyling, Observ. Sac. iii. 175 ; distinct from
the yao(pv\6.Kiov or treasury of St. Luke xxi. 1).
They were regarded also as a work specially
acceptable to God (Prov. xix. 17, xxii. 9, &c. ;
Tobit, and Ecclus., passim ; St. Luke xi. 41, Acts
x. 2). In like manner they became in the Chris-
tian Church
I. A fundamental law of Christian morality
(St. Matt. x. 42, xix. 21, xxv. 35 ; St. Luke xii.
33 ; Acts ii. 44, iv. 34-37, xi. 29, 30 ; Rom. xii.
13, xv. 25 ; 2 Cor. viii. 12, ix. 7 ; Gal. ii. 1, vi.
10 ; Ephes. iv. 28 ; 1 Tim. vi. 18 ; Hebr. xiii.
16; 1 Pet. iv. 8, 9 ; 1 John iii. 17), so tho-
roughly recognized as to make it both super-
fluous and impossible to enumerate patristic
allusions to it. Special tracts on almsgiving,
by St. Cyprian, De Opere ct Elecmos. ; St. Greg.
Nyss., De Pauperibus Amandis Oratt. II. St.
Greg. Naz., De Pauperum Amore Orat. ; St. Basil
M., Serin, de Eleemos. inter Sermon. XXIV. ; St.
Ephraem Syrus, De Am,ore Pauperum ; St. Leo
M., Sermones VI. De Collectis et Eleemos. ; St.
Maximus, Ad Joann. Cubic. Epist. II. (De Elee-
mos.) ; and among the sermons attributed to St.
Chrysostom, one De Jejun. et Eleemos., and three
De Eleemos., &c. (and see a collection of patristic
citations in Drexelius, De Elecmosynci). Even
Julian the Apostate, c. a.d. 351, bears testimony
that the almsgiving of " the Galileans " over-
flowed beyond their own poor to the heathen
(Epist. ad Arsac, Epist. xlix.; and compare Lucian,
as quoted below); and thinks it expedient to
boast of his own kindness (Ad Themist.). Com-
pare also such notable examples as those, e.g.,
of Pope Soter as described by his contemporary
Dionysius Bishop of Corinth, c. a.d. 160 (ap.
Euseb. H. E. iv. 23); of Paulinus of Nola; of
Deo Gratias Bishop of Carthage towards Gen-
seric's captives (see Milman, L. C. i. 205, and
Gibbon); of Johannes " Eleemosynarius," Patri-
arch of Alexandria, a.d. 606-616: and the oc-
currence of such expressions as, " Hoc praestat
eleemosyna quod et Baptisma " (St. Hieron. in
Ps. cxxxiii.), " Christiani sacrificium est eleemo-
syna in pauperem " (St. Aug. Serm. xlii., from
Heb. xiii. 16); or again, that almsgiving is the
" characteristic mark of a Christian," x a P aK ~
Tvpuniichv Xpicrriavov, and that it is /xriTvp
ayd-rrris, <pap/xaKov afj.apTriixa.Twv, K\l/J.a eis tov
ovpavbv taTwpiyiJ.ivri (St. Chrys. in Heb. Horn.
xxxii., and in Tit. Horn, vi.) ; or again, that
" res ecclesiae " are " patrimonia pauperum."
II. An integral part of Christian worship (Acts
ii. 42, vi. 1 ; 1 Cor. xvi.l ; 1 Tim. v. 3, 16) : alms
for the poor, to be distributed by the clergy (Acts
xi. 30), being a regular portion of the offerings
made in church, among those for the support cf
the clergy, and oblations in kind for the Church
services (Justin M., Apol. I. p. 98, Thirlby ; St.
Greg. Naz., Orat. xx., Opp. i. 351 ; Constit.
Apostol. iv. 6, 8 ; St. Chrys., Horn. 1. in S.
Matth. Opp. vii. 518, Ben. ; Cone. Gangrens.,
circ. A.D. 324, c. 8 ; for the East : St. Iren.,
Adv. Haer. iv. 18 ; St. Cypr., De Op. et Eleem.,
203, Fell; TertulL, Afol. 39;' Arnob., Adv.
Gent, iv., in fin. ; St. Ambros., Ep. xvii. Ad
Valent. Opp. ii. 827, Ben. ; Cone. Eliber., a.d.
304, cc. 28, 29 ; Cone. Carthag. iv., a.d. 398,
cc. 93, 94 ; Optatus, De Schism. Donat. vi. p. 93,
Albaspin. ; Cone. Matiscon. ii., a.d. 585, c. 4 ;
Horn, eclxv. in Append, ad S. Aug. Opp. v. ;
Rcsp. Greg. M. ad Qu. Aug. ap. Baed. H. E..
i. 27 ; for the West : Psalms being sung, at least
at Carthage, during the collection and distribu-
tion, St. Aug. Retract, ii. 11); and this as a pri-
vilege, the names of considerable donors being
recited (Constit. Apostol. iii. 4; St. Cypr., Epist.
ix. al. xvii., Ix. al. lxii. ; St. Hieron., in Jercm. xi.
lib. ii., in Ezcch. xviii. ; St. Chrys., Mom. xviii.
in Art. ; Gest. Caecil. et Felic. ad fin. Optatij). 95),
and the offerings of evil-livers, energumeni, ex-
communicate persons, suicides, and of those at
enmity with their brethren, being rejected (St.
Iren., Adti. Haer. iv. 34 ; TertulL, De Praescrip.
30 ; Constit. Apost. iv. 5-7 ; St. Athan., Ep. ad
Solitar., p. 364, ed. 1698; Epist. ad Bonifac. in
App. ad Opp. S. Aug. ii. ; Cone. Herd. a.d. 524, c.
13; and Aitissiod. i., a.d. 578, c. 17 : the Irish
synods assigned to St. Patrick, c. 12, Wilk. i. 3,
ALMS
ALMS
59
aud c. 2, ib. 4 ; and St. Ambrose, Optatus, and the
Councils of Lerida and Carthage, above quoted ;
or later still, Capit. Herard. Archiep. Turon.
116, in Baluz. Capit. i. 1294, and repeatedly in
the Capitularies). There was also an alms-box
(ya(o(pv\a.Kiov, corbona, see St. Cypr., De Op. et
Eleemos., and St. Hieron., Epist. 27, c. 14). placed
in the church for casual alms, to be taken out
nonthly (Tertull. Apol. 39). And Paulinus
{Epist. 32) speaks of a table (mensa) for re-
ceiving the offerings. Collections for the poor in
church both on Sundays and on week days are
mentioned by St. Leo the Great (Serm. de Col-
lectis). The poor also habitually sat at the
church door, at least in the East, to receive alms
(St. Chrys., Horn. xxvi. De Verb. Apost., Horn. i.
in 2 Tim., Horn. iii. De Poenit.).
III. An institution having a formal list of re-
cipients, mainly widows and orphans (St. Ignat.,
ad Pohjcarp. iv. ; Constit. Apost. iv. 4, &c.) ; or,
upon occasion, martyrs in prison or in the mines,
or other prisoners, or shipwrecked persons (Dion.
Corinth, ap. Euseb. H. E. iv. 23 ; Tertull., De
Jejun. 13 ; Lucian, De Morte Peregrin. 11, Op.
viii. 279, Bipont. ; Liban., A.D. 387, Orat. xvi.
in Tisamen., Orat. de Vinctis, ii. 258, 445, ed.
Reiske): and special officers, as for other directly
ecclesiastical functions, so also for managing the
Church alms, viz. deacons (Const. Apost. ii. 31,
32, iii. 19 ; Dionys. Alex. ap. Euseb. H. E. vii.
11 ; St. Cypr., Epist. xli., and xlix. al. Hi., Fell. ;
St. Hieron., Ad Nepot. Epist. xxxiv.) ; and among
women, deaconesses, commonly widows of ad-
vanced age (Constit. Apost. iii. 15 ; St. Hieron.,
Ad Nepot. Ej/ist. xxxiv. ; and Lucian and Libanius
as above). See also Tertullian (Ad Uxor. ii.
4 and 8) for the charitable works of married
Christian matrons.
IV. These arrangements were supplemented
when necessary by special collections appointed
by the bishop (Tertull., De Jejun. 13), after the
pattern of St. Paul, for extraordinary emer-
gencies, whether at home or among brethren or
others elsewhere; e.g. St. Cyprian's collection
of " sestertia centum millia nummorum " for
the redemption of Numidian captives from the
barbarians (St. Cypr., Epist. lx.) ; mostly accom-
panied by fast days (Tertull. ib. and so, long
after, Theodulph, A.D. 787 [Capit. 38], enjoins
almsgiving continually, but specially on fast days),
but sometimes at the ordinary Church service
(St. Leo M., De Collectis) : a practice which grew
sometimes into the abuse which was remedied by
the Council of Tours (ii. a.d. 567, c. 5), enact-
ing that each city should provide for its own
poor, and by Gregory the Great, desiring the
Bishop of Milan to protect a poor man at Genoa
from being compelled to contribute to such a
collection (St. Greg., Epist. ix. 126). See also
St. Hieron., Adc. Vigilantium.
The aydnai also may be mentioned in this
connection (1 Cor. xi. 20, Jude 12 ; Tertull.,
Ajul. 39; Constit. Apost. ii. 28; prohibited
Cone. Laod., a.d. 364, c. 5, and see Cone. Quini-
sext. a.d. 762, c. 74; and under Agapae). Also
the fi>uii/es or |ej/o8oxeia (St. Chrys., Bom. xlv. in
Art. Aj/ostcl. ; St. Aug., Tract, xcvii. in Joh.
4); the TTTwxorpocpe'ia, managed by the " K\rj-
piKol or a.(pt)yovfXivoi rwv irT<i)X ei00V " ('"'"'
Choked, a.d. 451, c. 8 ; and Pallad., Hist. Daus.
v.); the yripoKouua, the voaoKufjLua (Pallad., V.
Chrys. p. 19), the 6p(pavorpo(p(7a: of which the
names explain themselves (and see abundant re-
ferences in Suicer, sub voce., and Justinian also
enacts laws respecting such institutions and the
clergy who manage them), and which came into
being with the Christian Church. E. g., the
[ia<n\eias of St. Basil at Caesarea stands as a
notable example of a Christian hospital, at once
for sick and strangers (St. Basil. M., Epist. 94;
St. Greg. Naz., Orat. xxvii. and xxx. : Sozom. vi.
34), with its smaller offshoots in the neighbour-
ing country (St. Basil. M., Epist. 142, 143) ; and
so also the hospital of St. Chrysostom, with his
advice on the subject to the faithful of Con-
stantinople (St. Chrys., Horn. xlv. in Act. Apost.
Opp. ix. 343) ; and the Xenodochium founded
" in portu Romano " by Pammachius and Fabiola
(St. Hieron., Ad Ocean. Ep. lxxxiv.). Add also
the alms given at marriage and at funerals (St.
Chrys., Horn, xxxii. in S. Matth.; St. Hieron.,
Ad Pammach. de Obitu Uxor. Ep. liv. ; Pseudo-
Origen., Comment, in Job. lib. iii. p. 437 ; St.
Aug., Cont. Faust, xx. 20 ; and see Bingham).
Our own Council of Cealchyth, in a.d. 816 (c.
10), directs the tenth of a bishop's substance
to be given in alms upon his death. The Mani-
chaeans appear to have refused alms to needy
persons not Manichaeans on some recondite prin-
ciple of their connection with the principle of
evil, for which they are condemned by St. Aug.
(De Mor. Manich. ii. 15, 16) and Theodoret
(Ilaer. Fab. i. 26).
There was apparently no specified rule for
division of ecclesiastical revenues, originally of
course entirely voluntary offerings, anterior to
the 5th century; the bishop being throughout
their chief administrator, but by the hands of
the deacons (see e. g. St. Cypr., about Felicis-
simus, Epist. xli. ; and Cone. Gangr., c. 8, and
Epiphan, Ilaer. xl., condemning the Eustathians
for withdrawing their alms from the bishop or
the officer appointed by him). In the Western
Church in the 5th century (setting aside the
questionable decree of the Synod of Rome under
Sylvester in 324) we find a fourfold division of
them : 1, for the bishop ; 2, for the clergy ; 3,
for the poor ; 4, for the fabric and sustentation
of the churches. Or again, for 1. Churches;
2. Clergy ; 3. Poor ; 4. Strangers. This origin-
ated with the Popes Simplicius (Epist. 3, A.D.
467) and Gelasius (in Gratian Caus. 12 qu. 2,
c. Sancimus, A.D. 492); is mentioned repeatedly
by St. Gregory the Great at the end of the 6th
century (e.g. Ep. iv. 11, v. 44, vii. 8, xiii. 44 :
Resp. ad August., &c. ; and see also Cone. Aurel.
I. c. 5), was varied in Charlemagne's and Lud.
Pius' Capitularies (i. 80, Baluz. 718), as re-
garded voluntary offerings, into two-thirds to
the poor and one-third to the clergy in rich
places, and half to each in poor ones; but was
repeated in the old form by the Capit. of Charle-
magne him t elf respecting tithes (Baluz. i. 356)
and by the Counc. of Worms, a.d. 868, c. 7 ;
Tribur., a.d. 895, c. 13 ; and Nantes, a. d. 895 (?),
c. 10 (if at least this last is not to be referred
to the Council of Nantes in 658).
The special office of Eleemosynarius or Almoner
occurs in later times, afterwards the name of
the superintendent of the alms-house or hospital,
but at first a distributor of alms : both in monas-
teries (described at length by Du Cangc, from a
51S. of St. Victor of Paris), although the office in
the older Egyptian monasteries belonged to the
60
ALMS
oeconomus, under the special name of StaKovia
(Cassian, Collat. xviii. 7, xxi. 9) ; and afterwards,
in England at least, as an officer attached to
each bishop (Cone. Oxon., a.d. 1222 ; Lyndw.,
Provinc. i. 13, p. 67) ; and lastly to the king, as
e.g. in England, and notably to the Kings of
France (see a list in Du Cange).
In the history of doctrine, the subject of alms-
giving is connected I. With the notions of com-
munity of goods, voluntary poverty, and the
difficulty of salvation to the rich ; the current
voice of fathers, as e. g. Tertull., AjjoL 39, Justin
M., Apol. i., Arnob. Adv. Gent. iv. in fin., magni-
fying the temper indicated by to. tuv (pikuiv
TrdvTa Koivd, while others, as St. Clem. Alex.
(Strom, iii. 6, p. 536, Potter), rejected its literal
and narrow perversion (see also his tract at
length, Quis Dices Salvetur); which perversion
indeed the Church condemned in the cases of the
Apostolici or A[.otactitae (St. Aug., De Haer. xl.
Opp. viii. 9 ; St. Epiphan., Haer. lxi.), and of the
Massalians (St. Epiphan. Haer. lxx.), and again
in that of the Pelagians, who maintained that
rich men must give up their wealth in order to
be saved (so at least Pseudo-Sixtus III., De
Divitiis ; and see St. Aug., Epist. cvi. ad Paulin.,
and Cone. Diospolit. 6, a.d. 415). Compare
Mosheim's Diss, de Vera Nat. Commun. Bono-
rum in Eccl. Hieros. II. With the relation of
good works to justification ; alms and fasting
standing prominently in the question, i. as com-
paratively outward and positive acts, ii. as being
specially urged from early times as parts of
repentance and charity (e. g. Hermas, Pastor
x. 4 ; Salvian, Adv. Avarit. ii. p. 205 ; Lactant.,
Div. Instit. vi. 13, torn. i. p. 470 ; Constit. S.
Clem. vii. 12 ; St. Ambros., De Elia et Jejun.
xx. ; St. Chrys., Horn. vii. de Poenit. 6, Opp.
ii. 336 C). " Date et dabitur vobis," found its
answer in the repeated occurrence of the words
(e. g. St. Caesar. Arel., Horn. xv. ; St. Eligius, in
Vita ii. 15, ap. D'Ach., Spicil. ii. 96). "Da, Do-
mine, quia dedimus ; " but the whole doctrine
derived its colour in each case from the succes-
sive phases of the doctrine of merit. III. With
(in time) the idea of compounding for other sins
by alms, a feeling strengthened by the imposition
of alms by way of satisfaction and of commuta-
tion of penance. The introduction of the practice
is attributed to Theodore of Canterbury, c. A.D.
700, but upon the ground only of the Peniten-
tials hitherto falsely attributed to him ; while the
abuse of it is severelv condemned by the Council
of Cloveshoe, A.D. 747 (o. 26), and by Theodulph
(Capit. 32, a.d. 787). Its grossest instance is
probably to be found in the ledger-like calcula-
tion of the payments, by which " powerful men "
could redeem their penances, in Eadgar's canons,
in fin. (Thorpe, ii. 286-289), about A.D. 963.
See also Morinus, De Poenit. lib. x. c. 17, who
treats the question at length. IV. With alms
for the dead. See Cone. Carth. iv., A.D. 398, c.
79 ; St. Chrys., as before quoted, and Bingham.
See also for later times, Car. M., Capit. v. 364,
ap. Baluz. i. 902.
Plough-alms in England (cleem. carucarum,
Suhl-aelmi/ssa>i), viz., a penny for every plough
used in tillage, to be paid annually fifteen days
after Easter (Laws of Eadgar and Guthrun, A.D.
906, c. 6 ; Eadgar's Laws i. 2, and can. 54, a.d.
959 and 975; EthelrecTs, ix. 12, a.d. 1014;
Cnut's, c. 8, c. A.D. 1'XJO ; Bectit. Sing Pers., de \
ALTAR
Villanis), were rather a church due than alms
properly so called. As was also St. Peter's
penny, Eleemos. S. Petri. And Libera Eleemo-
syna, or Frank-Almoign, is the tenure of most
Church lands from Saxon times (viz., tenure
on condition, not of specified religious services,
but of Divine Service generally), although now
incapable of being created de novo (Stat. Quia
Emptores, 18 Edw. I.). See Stephen's Blackstone,
i., Bk. II. Pt. i. c. 2, in fin. [A. W. H.]
ALNENSE CONCILIUM. [Alcester,
Council of.]
ALTAR. The table or raised surface on
which the Eucharist is consecrated.
I. Names of the Altar.
1. Tpdire(a, a table ; as rpcurefa Kvpiov, 1 Cor.
x. 21. This is the term most commonly used by
the Greek Fathers and in Greek Liturgies ; some-
times simply, 7) rpairefa, as the Table by pre-
eminence (Chrysost. in Ephes. Horn. 3), but
more frequently with epithets expressive of awe
and reverence ; fivariicfi, wvevfjiaTiicfi, (pofiepd,
<ppLKT7), (ppixddns, PcmtlAikt), aBdvaros, iepd, ayia,
6eia, and the like (see Suicer's Thesaurus, s. v.).
St. Basil in one passage (Ep. 73, Opp. ii. 870)
appears to contrast the Tables (rpenrefas) of the
orthodox with the Altars (duffiaffT-fipta) of Basi-
lides. Sozomen (Eccl. Hist. ix. 2, p. 368) says
of a slab which covered a tomb that it was
fashioned as if for a Holy Table (lia-rrep us Upav
e'lrjcrK-ciTo rpdne^av), a passage which seems to
show that he was familiar with stone tables.
2. vaiacnr]pwv, the place of Sacrifice ; the
word ussd in the Septuagint for Noah's altar
(Gen. viii. 20), and both for the Altar of Burnt-
sacrifice and the Altar of Incense under the
Levitical law, but not for heathen altars.
The word dvfftaaTrjptou in Heb. xiii. 10, is
referred by some commentators to the Lord's
Table, though it seems to relate rather to the
heavenly than to the earthly sanctuary (Thomas
Aquinas). The Ovffiaarripiov of Ignatius, too
(ad Philad. 4 ; compare Magn. 7 ; Trail. 7 ),
can scarcely designate the Table used in the
Eucharist (see Lightfoot on Philippians, p. 263,
n. 2). But by this word Eusebius (Hist. Eccl.
x. 4, 44) describes the altar of the great
church in Tyre, and again (Panegyr. sub fin.) he
speaks of altars (dvtriaffrripia) erected through-
out the world. Athanasius, or Pseudo-Athana-
sius (Disp. cont. Arium, Opp. i. 90), explains
the word rpdwe^a by 8vcna.(TT7}piov. This name
rarely occurs in the liturgies. Qvffiaarfjpiov
not unfrequently designates the enclosure within
which the altar stood, or Bema (see Mede, On the
Name Altar or vaiaarnpiov, Works, p. 382 ff.).
3. The Copts call the altar '\KaaT-i)piov, the
word applied in the Greek Scriptures to the
Mercy-Seat, or covering of the Ark [compare
Arca] ; but in the Coptic liturgy of St. Basil
they use the ancient Egyptian word Pimaner-
schoouschi, which in Coptic versions of Scripture
answers to the Heb. n3TO and the Greek Bvcria-
fTTr\piov (Renaudot, Lit. Orient, i. 181).
4. The word Ewpbs (see Nitzsch on the
Odyssey, vol. ii. p. 15) is used in Scripture and
in Christian writers generally for a heathen
altar. Thus in 1 Maccab. i. 54, we read that in
the persecution under Antiochus an "abomina-
tion of desolation" was built on the Temple-altar
ALTAR
ALTAR
61
(Qvffiaffr-fipiov), while idol-altars (Buiixul) were
set up in the cities of Judah ; and, again (i. 59),
sacrifices were offered " iirl tov Bcoudv 2>s i\v iirl
rod vffia<TTi)piov." The word B&ytos is, how-
ever, applied to the Levitical altar in Ecclesias-
ticus 1. 12, the work of a gentilizing writer. It
is generally repudiated by early Christian writers,
except in a figurative sense : thus Clement of
Alexandria (Strom, vii. p. 717) and Origen (c.
Celsum viii. p. 389) declare that the soul is the
true Christian altar (Bwfxos), the latter expressly
admitting the charge of Celsus, that the Chris-
tians had no material altars. Yet in later times
Bw/xos was sometimes used for the Christian
altar ; Synesius, for instance (Kcn-a<XTa<7is, c. 19,
p. 303), speaks of flying for refuge to the
unbloody altar (BcojUoV).
5. The expression " Mensa Domini," or " Mensa
Dominica," is not uncommon in the Latin Fathers,
especially St. Augustine (e.g.Sermo 21, c. 5, on
Ps. lxiii. 11). And an altar raised in honour of
a martyr frequently bore his name ; as " Mensa
Cypriani" (Augustine, Sermo 310). The word
" mensa " is frequently used for the slab which
formed the top of the altar (v. infra).
6. Ara, the Vulgate rendering of Bcc/xos (1
Maccab. i. 5-1 [57], etc.), is frequently applied
bv Tertullian to the Christian altar, though not
without some qualification ; for instance, " ara
Dei" (de Oratione, c. 14). Yet ara, like Bwixos,
is repudiated by the early Christian apologists
on account of its heathen associations ; thus
Minucius Felix (Octavius, c. 32) admits that
" Delubra et aras non habemus ; " compare Arno-
bius (adv. Gentes vi. 1) and Lactantius (Divin.
Instit. ii. 2). In rubrics, Ara designates a port-
able altar or consecrated slab. (Macri Hiero-
lexicon, s.v. " Altare.") Ara is also used for the
substructure on which the mensa, or altar proper,
was placed; "Altaris aram funditus pessum-
dare " (Prudentius, Peristeph. xiv. 49). Compare
Ardo Smaragdus, quoted below.
7. But by far the most common name in the
Latin Fathers and in Liturgical diction is altare,
a - " high altar," from altus (Isidore, Origines, xv.
4, p. 1197; compare alveare, collare). This is
the V'ulgate equivalent of Qvcnao-rripiov. Ter-
tullian (de Exhort. Castitatis c. 10) speaks of the
Lord's Table as " altare " simply ; so also Cyprian
(Epist. 45, 3, ed. Goldhorn), who, by the
phrase " altari posito," indicates that the church-
altar in his time was moveable ; and who, in
another place (Epist. 59, 25), contrasts the
Lord's Altar (" Domini Altare ") with the " ara "
of- idols. So again (Epist. 65, 1) he contrasts
" aras diaboli " with " Altare Dei." So Augus-
tine (Sermo 159, 1) speaks of "Altare Dei."
Yet Cyprian speaks (Ep. 59, 15) of "diaboli
altaria," so uncertain was the usage. In the
Latin liturgies scarcely any other name of the
altar occurs but altare. The plural altaria is
also occasionally used by ecclesiastical writers,
as invariably by classical authors, to designate
an altar ; thus Caesarius of Aries (Horn. 7) says
that the elements (creaturae) to be consecrated
"sacris altaribus imponuntur." (Mone's Griech.
u. Lat. Messen, p. 6.)
The singular " altarium " is also used in late
writers : as in the Canon of the Council of
Auxerre quoted below, mass is not to be said
more than once a day, " super uno altario."
Altarium is also used in a wider sense, like
Ovo-tao-T-fipiov, for the Bema or Sanctuary ; so
also altaria.
8. In most European languages, not only of
the Romanesque family, but also of the Teutonic
and Slavonic, the word used for the Lord's Table
is derived, with but slight change, from altare.
In Russian, however, another word, prestol, pro-
perly a throne, is in general use. [C]
II. Parts composing altars. Although in strict-
ness the table or tomb-like structure consti-
tutes the altar, the steps on which it is placed,
and the ciborium or canopy which covered it,
may be considered parts of the altar in a larger
sense, or, at least, were so closely connected with
it, as to make it more convenient to treat of
them under the same head.
The altar itself was composed of two portions,
the supports, whether legs or columns, in the
table form, or slabs in the tomb-like, and the
"mensa" or slab which formed the top.
The expression " cornu altaris," horn of the
altar," often used in rituals (as in the Sacrament.
Gelasianum 1, c. lxxxviii.), appears to mean
merely the corner or angle of the altar, no known
example showing any protuberance at the angles
or elsewhere above the general level of the
mensa, although in some instances (as in that in
the church of S. Giovanni Evangelista at Ravenna
hereafter mentioned) the central part of the sur-
face of the mensa is slightly hollowed. By the
Cornu Evangelii is meant the angle to the left of
the priest celebrating, by Cornu Epistolae that to
the right. These phrases must, however, it would
seem, date from a period subsequent to that
when the Gospel was read from the ambo.
III. Material and form of altars. It is admitted
by all that the earliest altars were tables of
wood ; in the high altar of the church of S. Gio-
vanni Laterano at Rome is enclosed an altar of
the tomb-like form, the mensa and sides formed
of wooden planks, on which St. Peter is asserted
to have celebrated the Lord's Supper, and at
Sta. Pudenziana, in the same city, fragments of
another are preserved to which the same tra-
dition attaches. [Arca.]
This shows an ancient belief that altars were
of wood. And there is abundant proof that in
Africa at least the Holy Table was commonly of
wood up to the end of the fourth century.
Athanasius, speaking of an outrage of the Arians
in an orthodox church (Ad Monachos, Opp. i.
847), says that they burnt the Table (v\iuri
yap ?iv) with other fittings of the church. Op-
tatus of Mileve, describing the violence of the
Donatists, mentions their planing afresh, or
breaking up and using for firewood, the Holy
Tables in the churches of their rivals (De Schis-
mate Donatistarum vi. 1, p. 90 ff.) ; and St. Augus-
tine (Epist. 185, c. 27) declares that they beat
the orthodox Bishop Maximinianus with the
wood of the altar under which he had taken
refuge. In England, at a much later date, if we
may trust William of Malmesbury (Vita S.
Wulstani, in De Gestis Pontif. Angl. iii. 14),
Wulstan, bishop of Worcester (1062-1095), de-
molished throughout his diocese the wooden
altars which were still in existence in England
as in ancient days, "altaria lignea jam inde a
priscis diebus in Anglia." Martene (De Antiq.
Eccl. Ritibus i. 3) and Mabillon (Acta SS. Bene-
dict. Saec. vi., pars 2, p. 860) have shown that
wooden altars were anciently used in Gaul.
62
ALTAR
ALTAR
Yet there is distinct evidence of the exist-
ence of stone altars in the fourth century.
Gregory of Nyssa (De Christi Baptismate, Opp.
iii. 369) speaks of the stone of which the altar
was made being hallowed by consecration. To
the same effect St. Chrysostom (on 1 Cor. Horn.
20). And stone became in time the usual canon-
ical material of an altar. The assertion that
Pope Sylvester (314-335) first decreed that
altars should be of stone rests upon no ancient
authority (Bonn, De Beb. Lit. i., c. 20, 1).
The earliest decree of a council bearing on the
subject is one of the provincial council of Epaona
(Pamiers in France) in 517, the 26th Canon of
which (Brun's Canones ii. 170) forbids any other
than stone altars to be consecrated by the appli-
cation of Chrism.
As this council was only provincial, its decrees
were no doubt only partially received. The
14th chap, of the Capitularies of Charles the
Great, A.D. 769 (Migne's Patrologia, xcvii. 124),
orders that priests should uot celebrate unless
" in meusis lapideis ab Episcopis consecratis."
This seems to mark a period when the use of
wooden altars, although disapproved of, was by
no means unknown. In the Eastern churches
the material of the altar has been deemed a
matter of less importance, and at all times down
to the present day altars have been made of
wood, stone, or metal.
Assemani (Bibl. Orient, iii. 238) cites a Canon
of a Synod of the Syro-Jacobites, held circa A.D.
908, which orders the use of fixed altars of stone,
and the disuse of wood; he adds that in the
churches of the Maronites and of the Jacobites
the altars were sometimes of wood, sometimes
of stone (compare Neale, Eastern Ch. Intr. 181).
In some instances at the present day pillars of
stone are used to support a mensa of wood.
This change of material was in some degree
occasioned or accompanied by the adoption of a
different type of form, that of the tomb. Such
adoption has been usually accounted for by the
supposition that the tombs in the Roman cata-
combs known as " arcosolia " were used during
the period of persecution as altars. These arco-
solia were formed by cutting in the wall of the
chamber or oratory, at a height of about three
feet from the floor, an opening covered by an
arch. In the wall below this opening an exca-
vation was made sufficiently large to receive one
or sometimes two bodies, and this was covered
by a slab of marble.
Such tombs would evidently furnish suffici-
ently convenient altars, but there appears to be
some deficiency of proof that they were actually
so used during the period of persecution, to
which, indeed, the far greater number are by
some centuries posterior. Some writers assert
that up to the time of St. Sylvester the only
altars in use were wooden chests [compare
Arca] carried about from place to place where-
ever the Roman bishop had his habitation.
Whether this opinion be or be not well-founded,
it is certain that traces of altars occupying the
normal position, viz., the centre of the apse, have
been found in the oratories of the catacombs.
Bosio and Boldetti state that they had met with
such, the one in the cemetery of Priscilla, the
other in that of SS. Marcellinus and Peter, and
Martighy (Diet, des Antiq. Chret. p. 58), adds
that he had been shown by the Cav. de Rossi in
the cemetery of Calixtus the traces left by the
four pillars which had supported an altar. The
date of the altars in question does not, however,
appear to have been clearly ascertained.
It was, however, not only in Rome that the
memorials of martyrs and altars were closelv
associated; the 83rd Canon of the Codex Can.
Eccl. Afric. A.D. 419 (in Brun's Canones, i.
176) orders that the altaria which had been
raised everywhere by the roads and in the fields
as "Memoriae Martyrum," should be overturned
when there was no proof that a martyr lay
beneath them ; and blames the practice of erect-
ing altars in conseauence of dreams and "inanes
revelationes."
In the Liber Pontificalis it is stated that Pope
Felix I. (a.d. 269 274) " constituit supra sepul-
cra martyrum missas celebrari," but perhaps the
most clear proofs of the prevalence of the prac-
tice of placing altars over the remains of martyrs
and saints at an "early period, are furnished by
passages in Prudentius, particularly that so often
quoted (Peristeph., Hymn XL v. 169 174):
" Talibus Hippotyti corpus mandatur opertis
Propter ubi apposita est ara dicata Deo,
Ilia sacramenti donatrix mensa eademque
Custos fida sui martyris apposita,
Servat ad aeterni spem judicis ossa sepulcro
Pascit item Sanctis tibricolas dapibus.''
The practice of placing the altar over the re-
mains of martyrs or saints may probably have
arisen from a disposition to look upon the suffer-
ings of those confessors of the faith as analogous
with that sacrifice which is commemorated in
the Eucharist ; and the passage in the Reve-
lation (chap. vi. v. 9), " I saw under the altar
the souls of them that were slain for the word
of God," no doubt encouraged or instigated the
observance. The increasing disposition to vene-
rate martyrs and their relics fostered this prac-
tice, by which, as Prudentius says (Peristeph.,
Hymn. III. v. 211)
" Sic venerarier ossa libet
Ossibus altar et impositum."
And it took firm root in the Western Church ;
so much so that a rule has long been established
that every altar must contain a relic or relics,
among which should be one of the saint in whose
honour it was consecrated. [Consecration of
Churches; Relics.]
This practice, no doubt, conduced to the change
of material from wood to stone, and also to a
change of form from that of a table to that of
a chest or tomb, or to the combination of the
two. The. table-form seems to have been still
common in Africa in the early part of the 5th
century : for Synesius (KaTaaracris, c. 19, p.
303), says that, in the terrors of the Vandal
invasion, he would cast himself beneath the
altar, and clasp the columns that supported it.
The annexed woodcut furnishes an example of
the combination of the table-form with the
tomb-form. It was discovered in the ruins of
the so-called basilica of S. Alessandro on the
Via Nomentana, about seven miles from Rome,
and may with all probability be ascribed to the
fifth century. The mensa is a slab of porphyry,
the rest is of marble. The small columns were
not placed as represented in the woodcut at the
time when the sketch from which it is taken
was made; they were, however, found close by
/J
ALTAR
ALTAR
63
the altar, and there can be little doubt but that
they were originally so placed. Beneath the
altar is a shallow excavation lined with marble,
Altar of S. Alessandro on the Via Nomeutana.
in which the bones of St. Alexander are believed
to have been deposited. The square opening in
the cancellated slab was probably used for the
purpose of introducing cloths [Braxdf.a], which
were laid on the tomb of a saint, and afterwards
preserved as relics. A part of the inscription on
the front has been lost: what remains reads " et
Alexandra Delicatus voto posuit dedicante Aepis-
copo Ui'S . . " The name wanting at the begin-
ning is supposed to be that of Event ius, also buried
in the same cemetery. Ursus is believed to have
been bishop of Nomentum.
The altar in the sepulchral chapel at Ravenna,
known as " SS. Nazzaro e Celso," is an example
of the simple tomb-like form. The chapel was
built about A.D. 450, and this altar may be of
about the same date. According to the Rev. B.
Webb (Sketches of Continental Ecclesiology, p.
429) it is composed of three slabs of alabaster
supporting a mensa ; on the ends are carved
crosses ; on the front is a cross between two
sheep ; and on each side of it the device of a
crown suspended from a wreath. It is shewn
in the engraving of the chapel in Gaily Knight's
Eccl. Arch, of Italy.
In the somewhat earlier mosaics in the bap-
tistery of the cathedral of Ravenna, altars are
represented as tables supported by columns with
capitals ; the tables are represented red and the
columns gold, indicating perhaps the use of por-
phyry and gilt bronze as the materials. Nor,
although the tomb-like form eventually became in
the Western Church the ruling one, was the table-
form disused, for examples of it of a date even as
late as the thirteenth century are still extant.
Altar, from Auriol iu Fiance.
A variety of the table-form, in which the
mensa is supported by only one leg, is shown in
the accompanying woodcut. This altar was
found in the neighbourhood of Auriol, in the
department of the Bouches-du-Rhone, in France,
and may be attributed to the fifth or sixth
century.
Martigny {Did. des Antiq. Chret., p. 59) men-
tions other examples in which the mensa is sup-
ported by five columns, one being in the centre.
One of these found at Avignon is supposed to
have been erected by S. Agricola (dec. A.D. 580).
Another, in the Muse'e at Marseilles, he attri-
butes to the 5th century, and a third he says
exists in the crypt of the church of St. Martha,
at Tarascon.
. In the baptistery of the cathedral of Ravenna
is an altar composed of a mensa with two columns
in front, and a quadrangular block of marble, in
which is a recess or cavity now closed by a
modern brass door ; the front of this block has
some decoration of an architectural character, a
small cross, doves, ears of wheat, and bunches of
grapes. This central block would appear to be
an altar (or part of one) of the 6th century. A
very similar block is at Parenzo, in Istria, and is
engraved in Heider and Eiselberger's Mittelalter-
liche Kunstdenkmale des Oesterreichischen Kaiser-
staates (i. 109) ; the writer of that work is,
however, disposed to consider it not an altar but
a tabernacle.
Mr. Webb (Sketches of Cont. Ecclesiology, pp.
430, 440) mentions two altars at Ravenna, one
in the crypt of S. Giovanni Evangelista, the other
in the nave of S. Apollinare in Classe, of the same
form as that of the baptistery of the Cathedral
described above, and seems to consider this ar-
rangement as original ; but says of the altar of
the baptistery that it was the tabernacle of the
old Cathedral. He remarks that the mensa of
the altar in S. Giovanni is not level, but slightly
hollowed so as to leave a rim all round.
Many notices of altars may be found in the
Liber Fontificalis (otherwise known as Anastasius
Bibliothecarius de Vitis Ponlificum) as that Pope
Hilarus (A.D. 461-467) made at S. Lorenzo f.
1. m. " altare argenteum pensans libras quadra-
ginta," that Leo III. (a.d. 795-816) made at S.
Giovanni Laterano " altare majus mirae mag-
nitudinis decoratum ex argeuto purissimo pensans
libras sexaginta et novem."
In these and in the numerous like instances it
is either expressly stated that the altar was
decorated with gold or silver, or the quantity of
the metal employed is evidently quite insufficient
to furnish the sole material ; but we are not told
whether the altar was constructed of stone or of
wood.
In a mosaic at S. Vitale, at Ravenna, dating
from the 6th century (engraved in Webb's Cont.
Eccles. p. 437), an altar doubtless is represented
as standing on feet at the angles, and therefore
of the table form. It has, according to Mr.
Webb, an ornamental covering of white linen
with a hanging beneath.
The annexed woodcut taken from the same
work (p. 440) shows an altar similarly re-
presented in a mosaic in S. Apollinare in Classe
at Ravenna. This church was commenced
between 534 and 538, and dedicated between
546 and 552, but much of the mosaic was not
executed until between 671 and 677 (Hiibsch,
Altchristlichen Kirchen).
Paul the Silentiary, in his poetical description
6-i
ALTAR
ALTAR
of St. Sophia at Constantinople, as rebuilt by
Justinian (between a.d. 532 and A.D. 563),
&.
p=-
i
w
Altar, from a mosaic of S. Apollinare iu Classe at
Eavenna.
describes the altar as of gold, decorated with
precious stones and supported on golden columns.
This has of course long since been destroyed,
but there still exists an altar of almost equal
splendour, though of the other type, viz., that of
the tomb, and more recent by three hundred
years. This is the high altar of S. Ambrogio, at
Milan, made iu a.d. 835, measuring 7 ft. 3 in. in
length and 4 ft. 1 in. in height, the mensa being
4 ft. 4 in. wide. The front is of gold, the back
and sides of silver. It is covered with subjects
in relief in panels divided by bands of ornament.
and many small ornaments in cloisonne enamel
are interspersed. The subjects on the back are
chiefly incidents in the life of St. Ambrose ;
those of the front are Christ seated within an
oval compartment within a cross, in the branches
of which are the symbols of the Evangelists,
figures of the Apostles being placed above and
below. On the right and left are subjects from
the Gospels or the Acts of the Apostles. On the
ends of the altar are crosses in compartments,
surrounding which are angels in various attitudes
of adoration. It is represented in the woodcut.
Altar of S. Ambrogio, at Milan.
Two examples of the tomb-like form, of stone
and of earlier date, may be seen in the lateral
apses of the basilican church which forms part
of S. Stefano at Bologna. These perhaps date
from the 7th or 8th century. On one are a cross
and two peacocks, and an inscription in honour
of S. Vitalis ; on the other, figures of a lion and
a stag or ox. It is not clear whether these were
constructed to serve as altars, or are tombs con-
verted to that use ; but the first seems the more
probable suggestion.
The account given by Ardo Smaragdus, in his
life of St. Benedict of Aniane (Act. Sand. Feb.
vol. ii. die 12, p. 614), of one of the altars con-
structed by the latter in the church of that place
(in A.D. 782 ?), is, though somewhat obscure, too
remarkable to be passed over; the altar was hol-
low within, having at the back a little door ; in
the cavity boxes (capsae) containing relics were
preserved on non-festive days. This " altare,"
which was the high altar, was so constructed
(in altari . . . tres aras causavit subponi) as to
symbolize the Trinity.
It is difficult to find the date at which it
became customary to incise crosses, usually five
in number, on the mensa of an altar ; they do
not appear to exist on the mensa of the wooden
altar in S. Giovanni Laterano at Rome, which is
no doubt of an early date, on that of the altar of
S. Alessandro, near Rome, or on those of the early
altars at Ravenna, or Auriol, or even on the altar
of S. Ambrogio. Crosses are however found on
the portable altar which was buried with St.
Cuthbert (a.d. 687). The very fragmentary
state of this object makes it impossible to deter-
mine with certainty how many crosses were on
it. Two are to be seen on the oaken board to
which the plating of silver was attached, and
two on the plating itself, but it is quite possible
that originally there w r ere five on each. In the
order for the dedication of a church in the
Sacramentary of Gregory the Great (p. 148),
the bishop consecrating is desired to make
crosses with holy water on the four corners of
the altar; but nothing is said of incised crosses.
The practice of making below the mensa a
cavity to contain relics, and covering this by a
separate stone let into the mensa, does not appear
to be of an early date. [Consecration.]
IV. Structural accessories of the altar.
Usually, though not invariably, the altar was
raised on steps, one, two, or three in number.
From these steps the bishop sometimes preached ;
hence Sidonius Apoll., addressing Faustus, Bishop
of Riez, says (Carm. XVI. v. 124),
"Seu te conspicuis gradibus venerabilis arae
Concionaturum plehs sedula circumsistit."
Beneath the steps it became customary, from
the fourth century at least, at Rome and wherever
the usages of Rome were followed, to construct,
a-small vault called confessio ; this was originally
a mere grave or repository for a body, as at S.
Alessandro near Rome, but gradually expanded
into a vault, a window or grating below the altar
allowing the sarcophagus in which the body of
the saint was placed to be visible. [Confessio.]
In the Eastern Church a piscina is usually
found under the altar (Neale, Eastern Church
Introd. 189), called x ov 'h x ov ^ ov or more com-
monly daKaaaa or daAaaaiStov. What the an-
tiquity of this practice may be does not seem to
be ascertained, but it may have existed in the
Western Church, as appears from the Frankish
missal published by Mabillon (Liturg. Gall. iii.
12, p. 314), where, in consecrating an altar,
holy water is to be poured " ad basem." So the
Gregorian Sacramentary, p. 149.
The altar was often enclosed within railings of
wood or metal, or low walls of marble slabs ;
these enclosures were often mentioned by early
writers under the names " ambitus altaris,"
" circuitus altaris ; " the railings were called
; ' cancelli," and the slabs " transennae." Some
further account of these will be found under the
words.
Upon these enclosures columns and arches of
silver were often fixed, and veils or curtains of
rich stuffs suspended from the arches : they are
frequently mentioned in the Lib. Pontiff as in
ALTAR
ALTAR
65
the instance where Tope Leo III. gave 96 veils,
some highly ornamented, to be so placed round
the " ambitus altaris " and the " presbyterium "
of St. Peter's at Rome.
V. Ciborium, otherwise umbraculum, Gr. ki-
fSxpiov. Ital. baldachino. Down to the end of
the period with which we are now concerned,
and even later, the altar was usually covered by
a canopy supported by columns, the ciborium.
The word is no doubt derived from the Greek
Kifiwptov, the primary meaning of which is the
cup-like seed-vessel of the Egyptian water-lily.
It does not appear when the ciborium came
first to be in use, though this was probably at as
early a date as that in which architectural
splendour was employed in the construction of
churches. Augusti quotes Eusebius (Vit. Const.
M. lib. iii. c. 38) as using the word KiPwpiov
when describing the church of the Sepulchre at
Jerusalem, and connecting it with the word r)fii-
<T<palpiov ; but in this there seems to be a mistake,
as neither word occurs in cap. 38, while in cap.
37 the latter occurs in connection with icecp-
d\aiov : by which last it would seem that the
apse was meant.
Paulinus of Nola has been thought to allude
to the ciborium in the verses (Lib. ii. Epig. 2) :
" Divinum veneranda tegunt altaria foedus,
Compositisque sacra cum cruce martyribus."
& ^
s i i a ,i 'a - s : . i, i
Ciborium, from mosaic in the church of St. ueorge at
Thessalonica.
Veils are mentioned by St. Chrysostom (Horn.
iii. in Ephes.) as withdrawn at the consecration
of the Eucharist, and it is probable that these
were attached to the ciborium in the fashion
represented by the accompanying woodcut,
where a ciborium is shown with the veils con-
cealing the altar. This representation, taken
CHRIST. ANT.
from Messrs. Texier and Pullan's work on By-
zantine Architecture, is found in the mosaics
of St. George at Thessalonica, works certainly
not later than A.D. 500, and perhaps much
earlier ; the authors are indeed disposed to refer
them to the era of Constantine the Great.
Ciboria are not mentioned in the Liber Pon-
tificate in the long catalogue of altars erected in
and gifts made to churches erected in Rome and
Naples by Constantine, unless the "fastigium"
of silver weighing 2025 lbs. in the basilica of St.
John Lateran was, as some have thought, a
ciborium. Much doubt, it must be remembered,
has been thrown on the trustworthiness of this
part of the Liber Pontificalis, nor does any men-
tion of one occur until the time of Pope Symma-
chus (498 514), who, it is stated, made at S.
Silvestro a ciborium of silver weighing 120 lbs.
Mention is made in the same work of many
other ciboria ; they are generally described as of
silver or decorated with silver. The quantity of
metal varies very much : one at S. Paolo f. 1. m.
is said to have been decorated with 2015 lbs. of
silver, that of St. Peter's, of silver-gilt, weighed
2704 lbs. 3 oz., and that at S. Giovanni Laterano
only 1227 lbs. All these were erected by Pope
Leo III. (795-816). The last is described as
" cyborium cum columnis suis quatuor ex
argento purissimo diversis depictum historiis
cum cancellis et columnellis suis mirae magni-
tudinis et pulchritudinis decoratum." The
" cancelli" were, no doubt, railings running from
column to column and enclosing the altar. The
ciborium in St. Sophia's, as erected by Justinian,
is described by Paul the Silentiary as having
four columns of silver which supported an
octagonal pyramidal dome or blunt spire crownea
by a globe bearing a cross. From the arches
hung rich veils woven with figures of Christ, St.
Paul, St. Peter, &c.
Ciboria were constructed not only of metal,
or of wood covered with metal, but of marble ;
the alabaster columns of the ciborium of the
high altar of St. Mark's at Venice are said to
have occupied the same position in the chapel of
the Greek Emperor at Constantinople. They
are entirely covered with subjects from Biblical
history, sculptured in relief, and appear to be of
as early a date as the fifth century; but perhaps
the earliest ciborium now existing is one in the
church of S. Apollinare in Classe at Ravenna,
which is shown by the inscription engraved upon
it to have been erected between A.D. 806 and
A.D. 810.
Various ornaments, as vases, crowns, and
baskets (cophini) of silver, were placed as deco-
rations upon or suspended from the ciboria;' and,
as has been already said, veils or curtains were
attached to them ; these last were withdrawn
after the consecration but before the elevation of
the Eucharist. These curtains are mentioned
repeatedly in the Liber Pontif. as gifts made by
various popes of the seventh, eighth, and ninth
centuries, e. g., " Vela alba holoserica rosata
quae pendent in arcu de cyborio numero qua-
tuor," given to S. Maria Maggiore by Pope
Leo III. (A.D. 795-816).
It does not appear when the use of these veils
was discontinued in the Western Church ; in the
Eastern a screen (eiKovocTTacns) with doors now
serves the like purpose. Some of the ciboria at
Rome, according to Martigny (Art. Colombc
F
60
ALTAR
ALTAR
Eucharistique), having a ring fixed in the centre
of the vault, from which he conceives a receptacle
for the host to have been suspended. [Peei-
STEEIUm]. No ciborium now existing at Rome
seems to be of earlier date than the twelfth
century, but the practice of suspending such
receptacles is no doubt much earlier.
Martigny is of opinion that besides the cibo-
rium, the columns of which rested on the ground,
there was sometimes a lesser one, the columns of
which rested on the altar, and that these last
were more properly called ".peristeria," as enclos-
ing a vessel in the form of a dove, in which the
host was contained. [Ciborium, Turris, Peri-
STERIUM.]
Ciborium of St. Apollinare in Classe, at Eavenna.
VI. Appendages of the Altar. In ancient times
nothing was placed upon the altar but the
Altar-cloths and the sacred vessels with the
Elements. A feeling of reverence, says Mar-
tene (de Antic/. Eccl. Hit. i. 112), permitted not
the presence of anything on the altar, except the
things used in the Holy Oblation. Hence there
were no candlesticks on the altar, nor (unless on
the columns, arches, and curtains of the ciborium)
any images or pictures. Even in the ninth cen-
tury we find Leo IV. (an. 855) limiting the objects
which might lawfully be placed on the altar to
the shrine containing relics, or perchance the
codex of the Gospels, and the pyx or tabernacle
in which the Lord's body was reserved for the
viaticum of the sick. (De Cxira Pastorali, 8,
in Migne's Patrologia, cxv. 677.)
The Book of the Gospels seems anciently to
have been frequently placed on the altar, even
when the Liturgy was not being celebrated
(Neale, Eastern Ch. Introd. 188). An example
may be seen in the frescoes of the Baptistery at
Ravenna (Webb's Continental Ecclesiologg, 427).
With regard to the relics of saints, the ancient
rule was, as St. Ambrose tells us (Ad Marcel-
linam, Epist. 85) " Ille [Christus] super altare . .
isti [martyres] sub altari ;" and this was the
practice not only of the age of St. Ambrose, but
of much later times, even up to the middle of
the ninth century, as Mabillon (Acta SS. Be-
nedict. Saec. iii. Praefatio 105), assures us ; for
the anonymous author of the Life of Servatius
of Tongres says expressly that the relics of this
saint, when translated by command of Charles
the Great, were laid before the altar, as men
did not yet presume to lay anything except the
sacrifice on the altar, which is the Table of the
Lord of Hosts. And even later, Odo of Clugny
tells us (Collationes ii. 28) that when Berno
(an. 895) laid the relics of St. Walburgis on
the altar, they ceased to work miracles, resenting
the being placed " ubi majestas divini Mysterii
solummodo debet celebrari." The passage of
Leo IV., quoted above, seems in fact the first
permission to place a shrine containing relics on
the altar, and that permission was evidently not
in accordance with the general religious feeling
of that age.
In the early centuries of the Christian Church,
the consecrated bread was generally reserved in
a vessel made in the form of a dove and sus-
pended from the ciborium [Peristerium], or
perhaps in some cases placed on a tower on the
altar itself (Liber Pontif., Innocent I. c. 57, and
Hilary, c. 70). Gregory of Tours (De Gloria
Martyrum i. 8(3) speaks distinctly of the deacon
taking the turris from the sacristy and placing
it on the altar, but this seems to have contained
the unconsecrated elements [Turris], and to have
been placed on the altar only during celebration;
nor does the reservation of the consecrated bread
in the turris, capsa or pyxis on the altar appear
to be distinctly mentioned by any earlier autho-
rity than the decree of Leo IV. quoted above
(Binterim's Denkwiirdigkeiten, ii. 2. 167 fi'.).
No instance of a Cross placed permanently on
the mensa of an altar is found in the first eight
centuries, as we should expect from the decree
of Leo IV. The vision of Probianus (Sozomen,
Hist. Eccl. ii. 3. p. 49) shows that crosses were
s'een in the sanctuary (duvtaarripioi') in the
fourth century ; the cross was found on the sum-
mit of the ciborium, as in the great church of
St. Sophia at Constantinople (Paul the Silentiary,
Descrip. S. Sophiae, Til [al. ii. 320]), and, in some
churches both at Rome and in Gaul, suspended
from the ciborium over the altar (Gregory of
Tours, De Gloria Mart. ii. 20), but not on the
mensa of the altar itself. A cross was, however,
placed on the altar during celebration. Seo
Sacram. Gelas. i. 41.
The third Canon of the Second Council of
Tours (an. 567, Bruns's Canones ii. 226), " ut
corpus Domini in altari non in imaginario online,
sed sub crucis titulo componatur," which has
been thought to mean, that the Body of the
Lord should not be reserved among the images
in a receptacle on the reredos, but under the
cross on the altar itself, might possibly refer to
a suspended cross ; but it is probably rightly
explained by Dr. Neale (Eastern Ch. Introd. 520)
to mean that the particles consecrated should
not be arranged according to each man's fancy,
but in the form of a cross, according to the
rubric.
Tapers were not placed on the altar within
the period which we are considering, though it
is a very ancient practice to place lights about
the altar, especially on festivals. [Lights.]
Flowers appear to have been used for the
ALTAR
ALTAR
67
festal decoration of altars &v least as early as
the sixth century; for Venantius Fortunatus
{Carmina viii. 9) says, addressing St. Rhadegund,
" Texistis variis altaria festa coronis."
They appear as decorations of churches as
early as the fourth century.
VII. Number of altars in a Church. There was
in primitive times but one altar in a church, and
the arrangements of the most ancient Basilicas
testify to the fact. (See Pagi on Baronius, ann.
313, No. 15.) Eusebius {Hid. Eccl. x. 4, 45),
in the description of the great church at Tyre,
mentions only one altar. St. Augustine {on
1 John, Tract. 3) speaks of the existence of two
altars in one city (civitate) as a visible sign of
the Donatist schism. But his words should per-
haps not be taken in their literal sense ; for in
the time of St. Basil, there was more than one
altar in Neo-Caesarea ; for he, speaking (Horn. 19,
in Gordium) of a persecution of Christians in that
city, says that " altars {dvffiacrTTjpta.) were over-
thrown."
The Greek and other oriental churches have
even now but one altar in each church (Renau-
dot, Lit. Orient, i. 182) ; nor do they consecrate
the Eucharist more than once on the same day
in the same place. They have, however, and have
had for several centuries, minor altars in irape/c-
KKr/aiai or side-chapels, which are really dis-
tinct buildings. Such side-chapels are generally
found where there has been considerable contact
with the Latin Church (Neale, Eastern Church,
Introd. 183).
Some writers, as Martiguy {Diet, des Antiq.
Chre't., art. Autel), rely upon the " arcosolia "
or altar-tombs in the catacombs as proving the
early use of many altars : two, three, and more
such tombs are often found in one crypt, and in
one case, a crypt in the cemetery of St. Agnes
near Rome, there are as many as eleven arco-
solia (Marchi, Mon. delle Arti prim. Crist., tar.
xxxv., xxxvi., xxxvii.), ei?;ht of which, according
to Padre Marchi,' might have been used as altars
(p. 191); but there seems to be generally a
deficiency of proof that such tombs were actually
so used, nor is their date at all a matter of
certainty in the great majority of cases.
It would appear probable that the practice of
considering the tomb of a martyr as a holy place
fitted for the celebration of the Eucharistic
sacrifice, and such celebration as an honour and
consolation to the martyr who lay below, led first
to the use of several altars in a crypt in the
catacombs where more than one martyr might
rest, and then, when the bodies of several martyrs
had been transferred to one church above ground,
to the construction of an- altar over each, from
a wish to leave none unhonoured by the celebra-
tion of the Eucharist above his remains. Such
ideas were prevalent as early as the beginning of
the fifth century, as may be seen in the writings
of Prudentius {Peristeph. Hymn. XI. v. 169-
174; Hymn. III. v. 211), Pope Damasus, and St.
Maximus, Bishop of Turin {Sermo LXIII. De na-
tali sanctorum; v. Marchi, p. 142 et seq.). At
that period, and indeed long after, the disturbance
of the relics of saints was held a daring and
scarcely allowable act, and was prohibited by
Theodosius and much disapproved of by Pope
Gregory the Great ; nor was it until some cen-
turies later that the increasing eagerness for the
possession of such memorials was gratified by the
dismemberment of tke holy bodies.
It has been contended that more than one
altar existed in the Cathedral of Milan in the
latter part of the fourth century. That St.
Ambrose more than once uses the plural "al-
taria" in connection with the church proves
nothing, for "altaria" frequently means an
altar ; but in describing the restoration of the
church to the orthodox (an. 385), after the
attempt of the Arians to occupy it, he has been
understood to say that the soldiers rushing in
kissed the altar : hence it is argued that, as they
could not reach the altar of the Bema or sanc-
tuary, which was closed to the people, there
must have been at least one altar in the nave.
But the words " milites irruentes in Altaria os-
culis significare pacis signum " {ad MarceUiwim,
Ep. 33) seem rather to imply that the soldiers
rushing into the Bema signalized by their kisses
the making of peace. Altaria is used in the
same sense, as equivalent to " sanctuary," in the
Theodosian Codex. [Altarium.] However this
may be, at the end of the sixth century we find
distinct traces of a plurality of altars in Western
churches. Gregory of Tours {De Gloria Mar-
tyrum i. 33) speaks of saying masses on three
altars in a church at Braisne near Soissons ; and
Gregory the Great {Epist. v. 50) says that he
heard that his correspondent Palladius, bishop
of Saintonge, had placed in a church thirteen
altars, of which four remained unconsecrate 1
for defect of relics. Now certainly Palladius
would not have begged of the Pope, as he did,
relics for his altars, if the plurality of altars
had not been generally allowed. Moreover, the
Council of Auxerre of the year 578 (Can. 10 ;
Bruns's Canones ii. 238) forbade two masses to
be said on the same day on one altar, a prohi-
bition which probably contributed to the multi-
plication of altars, which was still further acce-
lerated by the disuse of the ancient custom of
the priests communicating with the bishop or
principal minister of the church, and the intro-
duction of private masses, more than one of
which was frequently said by the same priest on
the same day (Walafrid Strabo, De Reb. Eccl.
c. 21). Bede {Hist. Eccl. v. 20) mentions that
Acca, bishop of Hexham (deposed an. 732), col-
lected for his church many relics of apostles
and martyrs, and placed altars for their vene-
ration, " distinctis porticibus ad hoc ipsum intra
muros ejusdem ecclesiae," placing a separate
canopy over each altar within the walls of the
church. There were several altars in the church
built by St. Benedict at Aniaue {Acta Sanctorum,
Feb. ii. 614).
In the seventh and eighth centuries the num-
ber of altars had so increased that Charlemagne,
in a Capitulary of the years 805-6 at Thionville,
attempted to restrain their excessive multiplica-
tion. See Capitula infra Ecclesiam, c. 6 (Migne's
Patrol. 97, 283).
This was not very effectual, and in the ninth
century the multiplication of altars attained a
high point, as may be seen by the plan of the
church of St. Gall in Switzerland [Church],
prepared in the beginning of that century. In
this are no less than seventeen altars. The
will of Fortuuatus Patriarch of Grado (dec.
c. a.d. 825) also affords proof of the increase in
the number of altars then in active progress: in
F 2
68
ALTAR
ALTAR
one oratory he placed three altars, and five others
in another (Marin. Com. dei Veneziani, t. i.
p. 270).
VIII. Planes of Altars in Churches. From the
earliest period of which we have any knowledge^
the altar was usually placed, not against the
wall as in modern times, but on the chord of the
apse, when, as was almost invariably the case,
the church ended in an apse ; when the end of
the church was square, the altar occupied a
corresponding position. St. Augustine therefore
says (Sermo 46, c. 1.) " Mensa Christi est ilia in
medio posita." The officiating priest stood with
his back to the apse and thus faced the congre-
gation. In St. Peter's at Rome, and a very few
other churches, the priest still officiates thus
placed ; but though in very many churches,
particularly in Italy, the altar retains its ancient
position, it is very rarely that the celebrant
does so.
That such was the normal position of the altar
is shown by many ancient examples, and by the
constant usage of the Eastern churches. The
ancient rituals invariably contemplate a detached
altar as when, in the Sacramentary of Gregory,
in the order for the dedication of a church (p.
148), the bishop is directed to go round the altar
(vadit in circuitu altaris), or in the Sacramentary
of Gelasius where the subdeacon (L. 1, cxlvi.)
is directed, after having placed the Cross on the
altar, to go behind it (vadis retro altare).
Exceptions at an early date to the rule that
the altar should be detached, are of the greatest
rarity, if we except.the tombs in the catacombs,
which have been supposed to have been used as
altars. It is possible, also, that in small chapels
with rectangular terminations, as the chapel
of St. John the Evangelist, annexed to the bap-
tistery of the Lateran, the altar may for con-
venience have been placed against the wall.
When, however, it became usual to place many
altars in a church it was found convenient to
place one or more against a wall ; this was done
in the Cathedral of Canterbury [Church], where
the altar enclosing the body of St. Wilfrid was
placed against the wall of the eastern apse ;
another altar, however, in this case occupied the
normal position in the eastern apse, and the
original high altar was placed in the same
manner in the western apse.
In the plan of the church of St. Gall, prepared
in the beginning of the ninth century, the places
of seventeen altars are shown, but of these only
two are placed against walls.
In a few instances the altar was placed not on
the centre of the chord of the arc of the apse but
more towards the middle of the church ; such
was the case in S. Paolo f. 1. m. at Rome, if the
altar occupies the original position. In this in-
stance it stands in the transept. In some other
early churches at Rome, the altar occupies a posi-
tion more or less advanced. The Lib. Pontif. tells
us that in the time of Pope Gregory IV. (a.D. 827-
844) the altar at S. Maria in Trastevere stood in
a low place, almost in the middle of the nave (in
humili ioco paene in media testudine), the Pope
therefore removed it to the apse, and the altar
at S. Maria Maggiore seems to have been in the
time of Pope Hadrian I. (a.d. 772-795), as
appears from the account in the same book of the
alterations, effected by that Pope in that church.
It is thought by some that in the large circular
or octagonal churches of the fourth and fifth
centuries, as S. Lorenzo Maggiore at Milan, and
S. Stefano Rotondo at Rome, the altar was placed
in the centre.
In the churches of Justinian's period con-
structed with domes, there is usually, as at St.
Sophia's Constantinople and S. Vitale, Ravenna, a
sort of chancel intervening between the central
dome and the apse ; when such is the case, the
altar was placed therein.
IX. Use of Pagan Altars for Christian purposes.
Pagan altars, having a very small superficies,
are evidently ill suited for the celebration of the
Eucharist; nor would it appear probable that a
Christian would be willing to use them for that
purpose ; nevertheless, traditions allege that in
some cases pagan altars were so used (v. Mar-
tigny art. Autel), and in the church of Arilje in
Servia, a heathen altar sculptured with a figure
of Atys forms the lower part of the altar.
(Mittheil. der K K. Central Comm. zur Erfor-
schung and Erhaltung der Baudenkmale, Vienna,
1865, p. 6.) Such altars, or fragments of them,
were, however, employed as materials (par-
ticularly in the bases) in the construction of
Christian altars. Instances are stated by Mar-
tigny to have been observed in the churches of
St. Michele in Vaticano and of St. Nicholas de'
Cesarini at Rome.
X. Portable Altars (altaria portatilia, gesta-
toria, viatica) are probably of considerable anti-
quity ; indeed, it is evident that from the time
when the opinion prevailed that the Eucharist
could not be fitly celebrated unless on a conse-
crated mensa or table, a portable altar became a
necessity. Constantine the Great (Sozomen, Hist.
Eccl. i. 8) carried with him on his campaigns a
church-tent, the fittings of which no doubt in-
cluded a portable altar, as the participation of
the mysteries is especially mentioned. Bede
(Hist. Eccl. v. 10) tells us that the two Hewalds,
the English missionaries to the continental
Saxons (an. 692), took with them sacred vessels
and a consecrated slab to serve as an altar (tabu-
lam altaris vice dedicatam) ; and bishop Wulfram,
the apostle of Friesland (before 740), was accus-
tomed to carry with him on his journeys a port-
able altar, in the midst and at the four corners
of which were placed relies of saints (Jonas in
Surius's Hist. Sanctorum ii. 294). The portable
altar of St. Willebrord is described by Brower
(Annal. Trevirens. an. 718, 112, p. 364); it
bore the inscription : " Hoc altare Willebrordus
in honore Domini Salvatoris consecravit, supra
quod in itinere missarum oblationes Deo offerre
consuevit, in quo et continetur de ligno crucis
Christi et de sudario capitis ejus." This, how-
ever, is probably not a contemporary inscrip-
tion, and the genuineness of the relic may per-
haps be doubted. St. Boniface also carried an
altar with him in his journeys. And the monks
of St. Denys, when accompanying Charles the
Great in his campaign against the Saxons,
carried with them a wooden board, which, covered
with a linen cloth, served as an altar (Anonymus
de Mirac. S. Dionysii i. 20, in Mabillon, Acta SS.
Ben. saec. iii. pt. 2, p. 350).
These portable altars seem to have been in
almost all cases of wood. Not until the latter
part of the eighth century do we find instances
of such altars being made of any other material.
The capitulary of 796 (quoted above) seems to
ALTAR
ALTAR CLOTHS
69
en join the use of stone tablets for portable as well
us fixed altars. Hiucmar, bishop of Reims (Ca-
pitulare lii. c. 3 ; in Hardouin's Concilia v. 408),
forbids any priest to celebrate mass except on a
regular altar, or on a " tabula ab episcopo conse-
crata," which table might be "de marmore vel
nigra petra aut licio honestissimo." If the read-
ing be correct, the last term certainly seems to
indicate a consecrated cloth [Antimexsium] of
very rich material ; though some (Binterim's
Denkwiirdigkeiten iv. 1, 106) connect "licium"
with "sublicius," and suppose that it means a
thick piece of wood. An " altare portatile " is
said to have been given by Charles the Bald to
the monastery of St. Denys at Paris, square in
shape, made of porphyry set in gold, and con-
taining relics of St. James the Less, St. Stephen,
and St. Vincent (ib. 107).
A portable altar of wood is preserved in the
church of S. Maria in Campitelli at Rome,
which is said to have belonged to St. Gregory
Nazianzen, but it does not appear to have a
legitimate claim to so high an antiquity. Pro-
bably no earlier existing example is to be found
than that which was found with the bones of
St. Cuthbert (dec. A.D. 687) in the cathedral of
Durham, and doubtless belonged to him: it is
now preserved in the chapter library. The an-
nexed woodcut will render any detailed de-
Portable Altar of St. Cuthbert.
scription needless: it measures 6 inches by 5J,
and is composed of wood covered with very thin
silver : on the wood is inscribed in honor . .
S. fetrv . . and two crosses. The sense of the
letters on the silver has not been satisfactorily
made out (v. St. Cuthbert, by James Raine,
p. 200). A similar portable altar is recorded by
Simeon of Durham (Monumenta Hist. Brit. p. 659
l>) to have been found on the breast of St. Acca,
Bishop of Hexham (ob. A.D. 740), when his body
was exhumed more than 300 years afterwards.
It was of two pieces of wood joined by silver
nails, and on it was cut the inscription, " Alme
Trinitati agie Sophie Sanctae Mariae." Whether
relies were placed in it, the writer adds, is not
known.
The "taboot" still in use in the Abyssinian
churches is a square slab of wood, stone or metal,
on which the elements are consecrated, in fact, a
portable altar. [Arca.]
In the Greek Church the substitute for a port-
able altar was the AjNTIMENSlUM.
For the consecration of altars, see Consecra
tion of Churches.
XI. Literature. Besides the works quoted in
this article, the following may be mentioned:
J. B. Thiers, Dissertation sur les Principaux
Autels, la Cloture du Chwur et les Jube's des
Eglises: Paris, 1688. J. Fabricius, De Aris Ye-
terum Christianorum : Helmstadt, 1698. G.Voigt,
Thysiasteriologia, seic De Altaribus Veterum Chris-
tianorum: Ed. J. A. Fabricius; Hamburg, 1709.
S. T. Schonland, Histor. Nachricht von Altdren :
Leipzig, 1716. J. G. Geret, De Veterum Chris-
tianorum Altaribus : Anspach, 1755. J. T. Trei-
ber, De Situ Altarium versus Orientem : Jena,
1668. Kaiser, Dissertatio De Altaribus Porta-
tilibus : Jena, 1695. Heideloff, Der Christl.
Altar : Niirnberg, 1838. [A. N.]
ALTAR CLOTHS (linteamina, pallia or
pallae altaris. In Greek writers, "Aptpia, a/j.cpi-
aafxara, iTrdfx.(pia, air\wfjiaTa, evfivrai, and in
authors " infimae aetatis," to KardaapKa, and to
Tpaire^otpopov). Cloths of different kinds, and of
various materials (in the earliest ages, probably
of linen only), must have been used in connection
with the celebration of Holy Communion from
the very earliest times. They were needed
partly for the covering of the holy table, and of
the oblations, and of the consecrated elements
[Corporale] ; partly also for the cleansing of
the sacred vessels, and the like [Mappa], The
first of these uses, of which we have now
more particularly to speak, is referred to by St.
Optatus, Bishop of Milevis in Africa (circ. 370
A.D.) as matter of general notoriety. " Who is
there," he asks, " among the faithful, who
knows not that during the celebration of the
mysteries the wood of the altar is covered with
a linen cloth (' ipsa ligna linteamine cooperiri,' "
De Schism. Donat. lib. vi. c. i. p. 92.) With
this we may compare the allusion made by
Victor Vitensis {De Persec. Afric. lib. i. cap. 12).
Writing in the year 487, he says that Genseric,
the Vandal, some sixty years before, sent Pro-
culus into Zeugitana, and the latter required
the vessels used in holy ministry, and the books,
to be given up ; and when these were refused
they were violently seized by the Vandals, who
" rapaci manu cuncta depopulabantur, atque de
palliis altaris proh nefas ! camisias (shirts) sibi
ct femoralia faciebant." In the 6th century
St. Gregory of Tours speaks of an altar, with
the oblations upon it, being covered with a silken
cloth during the celebration of mass. "Cum
jam altarium cum oblationibus pallio serico
opertum esset " (Hist. Franc, vii. 22 ; compare
Mabillori, Liturgia Gallicana, p. 41). A little
later in the same passage he speaks of one claim-
ing right of sanctuary in the church, and laying
hold on the "pallae altaris" for his protection.
It is remarkable that at Rome no mention is
found of any pal/in altaris among the many do-
nations to churches recorded by Anastasius, till
after the close of the 6th century. Writing of
Vitalianus Papa (sed. 658-672), Anastasius says
that in his time the Emperor Constans came to
Rome and went to St. Peter's in state, "cum
70
ALTAR CLOTHS
ALTARIUM
exercitu sue," attended by his guards, the clergy
coming out to meet him with wax tapers in their
hands; and he offered upon the altar "pallium
auro textile," or, according to another reading,
" pal lam auro textilem," after which mass was
celebrated (Anast. Bibl. 135, 1. 15; Migne, P. C. C.
torn. 128, p. 775). The same writer, speaking
of Zacharias Papa (sed. 741-752), says that he
" fecit vestem super altare beati Petri ex auro
textam, habentem nativitatem Domini et Salva-
toris nostri Jesu Christi, ornavitque earn gemmis
pretiosis." The earliest monument in the west,
showing an altar (or holy table) set out for the
celebration of "mass," is of the 10th or 11th
century (Vestiarium Christianum, PL xliii.), one
of the frescoes in the hypogene church of S.
Clemente at Rome. The holy table is there
covered with a white cloth, which is pendent in
front, but apparently not so on the two sides.
A richly ornamented border, several inches in
breadth, appears on the lower edge of this " lin-
tcamen " (if such be' intended) as it hangs down
in front of the altar.
The allusions in Greek writers of early date
correspond in character with those above quoted.
In the collection of Canons Ecclesiastical (Jiii'-
Tay/xa Kavovuv) formed by Photius of Constan-
tinople, the earliest in date, bearing upon this
point, is one of the so-called " Canons of the
Apostles " (Kay. 73) to this effect : " Let no one
alienate for his own private use any vessel of
gold or of silver, which has been set apart for
holy use" (ayiaadev), "or any linen" (uQ6vriv) ;
and the inference we naturally draw that the
" linen " here spoken of has reference to altar
linen (perhaps also to ministering vestments)
is confirmed by the subsequent language of the
First and Second Councils of Constantinople. In
Canons 1 and 10, after quoting the " Canon of
the Apostles " above mentioned, the Council
identifies the bdovt} of that earlier canon with
t; as^aa/xta rrjs ayias rpairt^ris eVSurrj, " the
sacred covering of the holy table." On the other
hand a passage of Theodoret, which has been
alleged (Martigny, Diet, des Ant it/. Chre'tiennes,
in voc. ' Autel ') as proving the use of rich cloths
for the altar early in the 4th century, has pro-
bably a very different meaning from that attri-
buted to it. The word Ouaiaar-fipLov in early
ecclesiastical Greek is more frequently used in
the sense of the whole space immediately about
the holy table, the " sanctuary," than of the
" altar " itself. When therefore Theodoret states
(Hist. Eccl. lib. i. cap. xxix. al. cap. xxxi.) that
at the consecration of a church at Jerusalem, in
the time of Constantine the Great, SteKoa/j.^'iro
to diiov 8uaiaaTi)piov fiaaiXiKois re 7rapa7reTa-
a/xaaiv kclI Kei/u,Ti\iois \i6okoAAtitois xP v(T0 ^-i the
reference is in all probability to rich curtains, or
" veils," hung about the sanctuary, not to altar-
cloths properly so called. Much more certainly
to the purpose is a passage of St. Chrysostom
(Horn. 1. al. li. in Matt. cap. xiv. 23, 24), part
of a homily originally delivered at Antioch, in
which he draws a contrast between the cover-
ings of silk, often ornamented with gold (xpvero-
iraffTa. i-ml3\riiJ.aTa), bestowed upon the holy
table, and the scanty covering grudgingly given,
or altogether refused, to Christ in the person of
His poor members upon earth. Among the Acts
of the Council of Constantinople, held in the year
36, is preserved (Labbe's Concilia, by Mansi,
torn. ix. pp. 1102, 3) a curious lettei drawn up
by the clergy of the church of Apamea in Syria
Secuuda. They complain of the iniquitous con-
duct of Severus, bishop of Antioch, and of their
own bishop Petrus ; and amid many grave charges
brought against the latter, one is that owing to
the gross carelessness (worse than carelessness is
charged by the letter) with which he celebrated
the Holy Liturgy, the purple covering of the
altar was defiled (KaTe-^pwae irTva/xaTi toO <je-
tttov BvcnaffTTipiov t)/v aAovpyiSa). In the 7th
and 8th centuries we find evidence that these
richer coverings of the altar were in some cases
adorned with symbolic ornaments and with pic-
tures of saints (xapaKTrjpes hyiwv), which in-
curred the condemnation of the Iconoclasts, who
carried them away together with images and
pictures of other kinds. So we learn from Ger-
manus of Constantinople, early in the 8th century
(Scti. Germani Patriarchae de Sanctis Synodis, &c.
apud Spicileg. Rom. A. Mai, torn. vii. p. 62).
On the other hand, in times of grievous public
calamity, we read, in one instance at least, of the
altar as w r ell as the person of the bishop and his
episcopal throne being robed in black. So Theo-
dorus Lector records of Acacius, patriarch ot
Constantinople : Kai kavTov koll tov dpovov teal
to dvaiaffTiipLov fieXavols ivSvfj.acriv ri/.i.(pieaev.
In the later liturgical offices (see Goar, Euchol.
Grace, pp. 623, 627, sqq.), and in writers such
as Symeon of Thessalonica (circ. 1420 A.D.), we
find mention of an inner covering of linen, known
as KaTaaapKa, and of a second and more costly
covering without. Patriarch Symeon makes
further mention of four pieces of cloth on each
of the four corners of the altar. " The holy
table hath four pieces of woven cloth Qreaaapa
ixipr) iKpaa/xaTus') upon the four corners thereof;
and that because the fulness of the Church was
formed out of all the quarters of the world ; and
on these four pieces are the names of the four
Evangelists, because it was by their instrument-
ality that the Church was gathered, and the
Gospel made circuit of the whole compass' of the
world. But the [inner cover] called KaTaaapKa,
has an outer covering (Tpaire^cxpSpov) imme-
diately above it. For here is at once the tomb,
and the throne, of Jesus. The first of these cover-
ings is as it were the linen wherein the dead
body was wrapped ; but the second is as an outer
garment (7repi/3oA7J) of glory according to that
(if the psalm, said at the putting on thereof,
' The Lord is king : he hath put on beauteous
apparel ' " (Symeon of Thessalonica, apud Goar,
Euchol. Graec. p. 216). Of the two words here and
elsewhere employed as the technical designation
of these two altar-cloths, the first, KaTaaapKa,
was originally used of an inner chiton, or tunic,
worn " next the skin " (Kara adpKa). Thence its
secondary usage as a compound word (to KaTa-
aapKa) in speaking of any inner covering, as here
of an inner covering, of linen, for the holy table.
The use of the word rpaireCocpopuy, as a desig-
nation for the more costly outer cover, belongs
in all probability to a comparatively late date.
The word does occur in earlier., writers, but in a
wholly different sense, and one more in accord-
ance with classical analogy. [W. B. M.]
ALTARIUM (compare Altar). This word
is sometimes used to designate not merely an altar,
but the space within which the altar stood. For
ALTINO
AMBITUS
71
instance, Perpetuus, Bishop of Tours, feuilt a
basilica in honour of St. Martin, which had
" fenestras in altario triginta duas, in capso vi-
ginti ;" " ostia octo, tria in altario, quiuque in
capso" (Gregory of Tours, Hist. Franc. [\. 14).
Ruinart remarks upon the passage that by "alta-
rium " we are to understand the presbytery, by
" capsum " the nave. Compare Mabillon, de Lit.
Gall. i. 8, 1, p. 69. [Bejia.]
The plural " altaria " is also used in a similar
sense ; as by St. Ambrose in the passage {Epist.
33) quoted under Altar ; and in the Theodosian
Codex, where (Lib. ix. tit. 45, De Spatio Ecclesi-
astici Asyli) it is provided : " Pateant summi
Pei templa timentibus ; nee sola altaria," etc.
The equivalent word in the Greek version is
6vaia(TT7}pia.
The same extended sense is found in some
modern languages, e.g. in Portuguese " altar
mor " (great or high altar) is used in the sense
of choir or chancel (Burton, Highlands of the
Brazil, i. 128). [A. N.]
ALTINO (near Aquileia), Council of (Al-
tinense Concilium), a.d. 802 ; considered as
fictitious by Mansi (xiii. 1099-1102); said to
have been held by the Patriarch of Aquileia to
appeal to Charlemagne for protection against the
Doge of Venice. [A. W. H.]
ALYPIUS, Holv Father, commemorated Nov.
26 {Gal. Byzant.). " [C]
AMA {Amula, Hama, Hamula; compare Germ.
Ahm, Ohme).
(i Amae vasa sunt in quibus sacra oblatio con-
tinetur, ut vinum Amula, vas vinarium.
Amulae dicuntur quibus ofi'ertur devotio sive
oblatio, simile arceolis " (Papias, in Ducange's
Glossary, s. v.). The vessel in which wine for
the celebration of the Eucharist was offered by
the worshippers.
The word Ama is used by Columella and other
classical authors, but the earliest instance of its
use as a liturgical vessel which has been noticed
is in the Charta Cornutiaua of the year 471
{Mabillon de Be Dipt. vi. 262), where "hamulae
oblatoriae " are mentioned. " Amae argenteae "
are mentioned in the Ordo Bomanus I. (p. 5)
among the vessels which were to be brought
from the Church of the Saviour, now known
as St. John Lateran, for the Pontifical Mass
on Easter-Day; and in the directions for the
Pontifical Mass itself in the same Ordo (p. 10),
we find that after the Pope had entered the
senatorium or presbytery, the archdeacon follow-
ing him received the amulae, and poured the
wine into the larger chalice (calicem majorem)
which was held by the subdeacon ; and again
(c. 14, p. 11) after the altar was decked, the arch-
deacon took the Pope's amula (compare Araa-
larius, Eeloga, 554) from the oblationary sub-
deacon, and poured the wine through the strainer
(super colum) into the chalice [Chalice]; then
those of the deacons, of the primicerius, and the
others. Whether the " amae argenteae " are iden-
tical with the " amulae " may perhaps be doubted ;
but at any rate the amulae seem to have been
church-vessels provided for the purpose of the
offertory. Among the presents which Pope Ad-
rian (772-795) made to the church of St. Adrian
at Rome, the Liber Bontif calls (p. 346) mentions
"amam unam,"and also an "amulam offertoriam"
ut silver which weighed sixty-seven pounds.
They were, however, often of much smaller size,
and the small silver vessels (see woodcuts) pre-
served in the Museo Cristiano in the Vatican
are deemed to be amulae. They measure onlv
about 7 inches in height, and may probably date
from the 5th or 6th century. Bianchini in his
edition of the Lib. Pontif. has given an engraving
of a similar vessel of larger size. On this the
miracle of Cana is represented in a tolerably
good style. Bianchini supposes this to be of
the fourth century.
Ama, from the Vatican Museum.
The material of these vessels was usually
silver, but sometimes gold, and they were often
adorned with gems. Gregory the Great {Epist.
i. 42, p. 539) mentions " amulae onychinae,"
meaning probably vessels of onyx, or glass imi-
tating onyx. [A. N.]
AMACIUS, bishop, deposition of, July 14
{Mart. Bedae). [C]
AMANDUS, Bishop and confessor. Natalis,
Feb. 6 {Mart. Bedae); translation, Oct. 26 {Lb.).
His name is recited in the Canon in one MS. of
the Gregorian Sacramentary . (See Menard's ed.
p. 284.) [C.l
AMANTIUS. (1) Martyr at Rome, com-
memorated Feb. 10 {Mart. Bom. Vet.).
(2) Of Nyon, commemorated June 6 {Mart.
Hieron., Bedae). [C]
AMATOE, Bishop of Auxerre, commemorated
Nov. 26 {Mart. Hieron.). [C]
AMATUS, confessor, commemorated Sept. 1 3
{Mart. Bedae). [C]
AMBITUS, compass, in music. {Toni debi-
tus ascensus et descensus.) The compass of the
earliest Church melodies did not in some instances
reach, in few did it exceed, a fifth. " Principio
cantilenae adeo simplices fuere apud primores
Ecclesiae, ut vix diapente ascensu ac descensu
implerent. Cui consuetudini proxime accessisse
dicuntur Ambrosiani. Deinde paulatim ad Dia-
pason deventum, verum omnium Modorum sys-
tema." (Glareanus, Dodecachordon, lib. i. cap.
xiv.) In Gregorian music the octave was the
72
AMBITUS ALTARIS
AMBO
limit; the four authentic scales [Authentic]
moving from the key-note to its 8ve, the four
plagal [Plagal] from the 4th below the key-
note to the 5th above it. In later times this
compass (ambitus) was much extended. A me-
lody occupying or employing its whole compass
was called Cantus Perfectus; falling short of it,
Cantus Lnperfectus ; exceeding it, Cantus Plus-
quamperfectus. Subsequently other interpre-
tations (such as the course of modulation per-
mitted in fugue) have been given to the word
ambitus. With these we are not now concerned.
(Gerbert, Script. 3Ius. ; Forkel ; Kock, J/ms.
Lex.) [J. H.]
AMBITUS ALTARIS CUparuov, Renaudot,
Lit. Orient, i. 182). This expression is some-
times used, as apparently by Anastasius (Lib.
Pontif. in Vita Sergii II.), for the enclosure
which surrounded the altar. Pope Sergius II.
(A.D. 844-877), he says, constructed at St. John
Lateran an " ambitus altaris " of ampler size
than that which had before existed.
It would seem that it was, in some cases and
perhaps in most, distinct from the presbyterium
or " chorus cantorum ;" and according to Sarnelli
(Antica Basilicographia, p. 84) there was usually
between the presbyterium and the altar a raised
space called " solea." Various passages in the
Lib. Pontif. e.g. those in which the alterations
made by Pope Hadrian I. (a.d. 772-795) at
S. Paolo f. 1. M., and by Pope Gregory IV. (a.d.
827-844) at Sta. Maria in Trastevere, are de-
scribed show that the position of the altar and
the arrangement of the enclosures were not alike
in all cases. It seems not improbable but that in
the lesser churches one enclosure served both to
fence round the altar and to form the "chorus."
In the plan prepared for the church of St.
Gall in the beginning of the 9th century (v.
woodcut, s. v. Church) an enclosure is marked
" chorus," and a small space or passage intervenes
between this and an enclosure shutting off the
apse, within which stands the altar. This is at
the west end of the church ; at the east end the
apse is in like manner enclosed, but the enclosure
of the " chorus " is brought up to the steps
leading to the raised apse without a break. A
small enclosure is shown round all the altars,
except those which are within the enclosures of
the apses.
It appears not unlikely that the square en-
closure in the church at Djemla in Algeria
[Church] may be such an " ambitus ; " Mr.
Fergusson considers this enclosure a cella or
choir, and says that it seems to have been enclosed
up to the roof, but that the building is so ruined
that this cannot be known for a certainty. A
choir enclosed by solid walls would be a plan so
anomalous in a Christian church that very
strong evidence would be required to prove its
having existed. The building in question may,
from the purely classical character of the mosaic
floor, be safely assigned to an early date, probably
anterior to the fourth century.
It is doubtful whether any early example of
an "Ambitus altaris" now exists. We may learn
from the Lib. Pontif. that they were usually of
stone or marble, no doubt arranged in posts or
uprights alternating with slabs variously sculp-
tured, and pierced in like manner with the
presbyterium at S. Clemente in Rome. The Lib.
Pontif. tells us of the Ambitus which as above
mentioned Pope Sergius II. constructed at St.
John Lateran, that he " pulchris columnis cum
marmoribus desuper in gyro sculptis splendide
decoravit : " many fragments of marble slabs
with the plaited and knotted ornament charac-
teristic of this period are preserved in the
cloister of that church, and may probably be
fragments of this " Ambitus."
In the richer churches silver columns bearing
arches of the same metal were often erected on
the marble enclosure, and from these arches hung
rich curtains, and frequently vessels or crowns
of the precious metals ; repeated mention of such
decorations maybe found in the Lib. Pontif., and
a passage in the will of Fortunatus Patriarch of
Grado (Hazlitt, Hist, of the Republic of Venice,
vol. i. App.), who died in the early part of the 9th
century, describes a like arrangement very clearly
in the following words: "Post ipsum altare alium
parietem deauratum et deargentatum similiter
longitudine pedum xv. et in altitudine pedes iv. et
super ipso pariete arcus volutiles de argento et
super ipsos arcus imagines de auro et de argento."
This expression " ambitus altaris " may per-
haps also sometimes stand for the apse as sur-
rounding the altar. [A. N.]
AMBO (Gr. "Afx&oiv, from ava^aivnv). The
raised desk in a church from which certain
parts of the service were read. It has been
also called vvpyos, pulpitum, sttggestus. By
Sozomen (Eccles. Hist. ix. 2, p. 3(37) the ambo
is explained to be the " trj/j.a tusv kvayvuxntav "
the pulpit of the readers. From it were read,
or chanted, the gospel, the epistle, the lists of
names inscribed on the diptychs, edicts of bishops,
and in general any communications- to be made
to the congregation by presbyters, deacons, or
subdeacons ; the bishop in the earlier centuries
being accustomed to deliver his addresses from
the cathedra in the centre of the apse, or from a
chair placed in front of the altar ; St. John Chry-
sostom was, however, in the habit of preaching
sitting on the ambo (kir\ rod a.jxlioivos f Socrates
Eccl. Hist. vi. 5), in order that he might be
better heard. Full details as to the use of the
ambo will be found in Sarnelli (Antica Basilico-
grafia, p. 72), and Ciampini (Vet. Mon., t. i. p.
21 et seq.); but the examples which they describe
are probably later by several centuries than the
period with which we are now concerned, and
the various refinements of reading the gospel
from a higher elevation than the epistle, and
the like, are probably by no means of very early
introduction. Two and even three ambones some-
times existed ; one was then used for the gospel,
one for the epistle, and one for the reading of
the prophetical or other books of the Old Testa-
ment (Martigny, Diet, des Antiq. Cliret.). In the
old church of St. Peter's there was, however,
but one, which Platner (Beschreibung von Pom)
thinks was a continuance of the ancient usage.
Something in the nature of an ambo or desk no
doubt was in use from a very early period.
Bunsen (Basiliken des Christlichen Poms, p. 48)
expresses his opinion that the ambo was origin-
ally moveable. In the earlier centuries much of
the church furniture was of wood, and the am-
bones were probably of the same material.
Wherever a " presbyterium " or " chorus can-
torum " (i.e. an enclosed space in front of tlie
AMBO
AMBROSIAN MUSIC
73
altar reserved for the use of the inferior clergy)
existed, an am bo was probably connected with it,
being placed usually on one side of the enclosure.
Where no "chorus" existed, the ambo was pro-
bably placed in the centre.
At St. Sophia's in Constantinople the ambo con-
structed by Justinian stood nearly in the middle
of the church, but more towards the east. A full
account of it is given by Paul the Silentiary in a
poem in hexameter verse upon it. From this we
learn that it was ascended by two flights of
stairs, one from the west, the other from the east;
and that it was covered by a canopy resting on
eight columns. It was constructed of the most
precious marbles, and adorned with gold and
precious stones. The area at the top of the stairs
was sufficiently spacious for the coronation of the
Emperor, and the space below enclosed by rail-
ings was occupied by the singers. During the
services the gospels and epistles were no doubt
read from the raised part.
Pope Pelagius (555-559) erected an ambo in
St. Peter's (Lib. 1'ontif.), and in the cathedral of
Ravenna are the remains of one erected by
Archbishop Agnellus (558-566). This last is
ornamented with figures of lambs, peacocks,
doves, fishes, &c, within panels, the design and
execution being poor find rude.
Ambo of S. Apollinare Nnora, at Ravenna
The ambo represented in the woodcut is m the
church of S. Apollinare Nuovo at Ravenna, the
date of its erection has not been ascertained
with certainty, but it would seem not impro-
bable that it formed a part of the original fittings
of the church built between a.d. 493 and a.d.
525. The pillars on which it is now elevated
were doubtless added at some later period, when
it was arranged in order to be employed as a
pulpit.
The ambones in S. Clemente at Rome are of
different periods : the smaller and earlier may
perhaps be of the same date as the chorus with
which it is connected (6th century ?), but there
is some difference in the character of the work.
The larger dates probably from the 12th century,
as no doubt does also that in S. Lorenzo f. 1. M. at
Rome. The circumstance upon which the Abbe*
Martigny (Diet, des Antiq. Chret.) relies as prov-
ing the high antiquity of this last, viz. that a
part of its base is formed from a bas-relief relating
to pagan sacrifices, cannot be considered as having
much weight, as a part of the superstructure is
formed from a slab bearing an early Christian
inscription, and as the whole style and character
of the work are so evidently those in use at Rome
during the 12th and 13th centuries.
The lesser and earlier ambo at S. Clemente has
two desks one, the most elevated, looking towards
the altar, the other in the contrary direction ;
the later ambo has a semi-hexagonal projection
on each side, and is ascended by a stair at each
end. This latter plan seems to have been the
more usual ; the ambones at Ravenna and those at
Rome of the 12th and 13th centuries are all thus
planned.
In the plan for the church of St. Gall (c. A.D.
820), the ambo is placed in the middle of the
nave but near its eastern end, in front of the
enclosure marked " chorus," and is within an
enclosure.
A tall ornamented column is often found at-
tached to the ambo ; on this the paschal candle
was fixed. This usage may have existed from
an early period, but perhaps the earliest existing
example of such a column is one preserved in the
museum of the Lateran at Rome, which however
is probably not older than the 11th century. It
is engraved by Ciampini ( Yet. 2Ion., t. i. pi. xiv.).
According to Sarnelli (Ant. Bus. p. 84), the
word ambo is the proper expression for the raised
platform or chorus cantorum ; he however gives
no authorities for this use of the word. [A. N.]
AMBROSE. (1) Bishop of Milan, confessor,
commemorated April 4 (Mart. Rom. Vet., Hieron.,
Bedae); Dec. 7 (Gal. Byzant.).
(2) Bishop, commemorated Nov. 30 (Mart.
Hieron.). [C]
AMBROSIAN MUSIC, the earliest music
used in the Christian Church of which we have
any account, and so named after Ambrose, bishop
of Milan (374-398), who introduced it to his
diocese about the year 386, during the reign of
Constantine.
The notions prevailing among musical and
other writers respecting the peculiarities of
Ambrosian music are based rather on conjecture
than knowledge. It may be considered certain
that it was more simple and less varied than the
Gregorian music which, about two centuries
later, almost everywhere superseded it. Indeed
it has been doubted whether actual melody at
all entered into it, and conjectured that it was
only a kind of musical speech monotone with
melodic closes, or Accentus Ecclesiasttcus,
a kind of music, or mode of musical utterance,
which Gregory retained for collects and responses,
but which he rejected as too simple for psalms.
and hymns. On the other hand, it has been
argued more plausibly that, to whatever extent
the Accentus or Modus choraliter legend* may
74
AMBROSIAN MUSIC
AMBROSIAN MUSIC
have been used in Arabrosian music,- an element
more distinctly musical entered largely into it ;
that a decided cantus, as in Gregorian music, was
used for the psalms ; and that something which
might even now be called melody was employed
for (especially metrical) hymns. That this me-
lody was narrow in compass [Ambitus], and
little varied in its intervals, is probable or cer-
tain. The question however is not of quality.,
but of kind. Good melody does not of necessity
involve many notes ; Rousseau has composed a
very sweet one on only three (Consolations des
Miseres de ma Vie, No. 53).
The probability that this last view of Ambro-
sian music is the right one is increased by the
accounts of its effect in performance, given in
the Benedictine Life of St. Ambrose, drawn from
his own works, wherein one especial occasion is
mentioned on which the whole congregation sang
certain hymns with such fervour and unction
that many could not restrain their tears an
incident confirmed by an eye-witness, St. Augus-
tine. "How did I weep,", he says, "in Thy
hymns and canticles, touched to the quick by
the voices of Thy sweet attuned Church ! The
voices flowed into mine ears, and the truth dis-
tilled into my heart, whence the affections of my
devotions overflowed, and tears ran down, and
happy was 1 therein." 11 It is difficult to attri-
bute to mere " musical speech," however em-
ployed, such effects as these, even upon the
rudest and least instructed people, a fortiori, on
persons like Augustine, accomplished in all the
learning and the arts of his time. The hymns
and canticles must surely have been conjoined,
and the voices attuned to a sweeter and more
expressive song. " Dulcis est cantilena," says
Ambrose ("/> t. i. p. 1052) himself, "quae non
corpus effeminat, sed mentem animamque con-
firmat." Whatever its properties, its usefulness,
or its dignity, no one would apply the epithet
dulcis to the Accentus Ecclesiasticus, or speak of
it. or anything like it, as cantilena.
That neither Augustine nor any contemporary
writer has described particularly, or given us
any technical account of, the music practised by
the Milanese congregations of the end of the 4th
century, however much we may regret it, need
hardly cause us any surprise. We are very im-
perfectly informed about many things nearer to
us in point of time, and practically of more im-
portance. Augustine has indeed told us in what
manner the psalms and hymns were sung in the
church of St. Ambrose, and that this manner was
exotic and new. b But of the character of the
song itself in what the peculiarity of the Cantus
Ambrosianus consisted he tells us nothing. Pos-
sibly there was little to tell ; and the only pecu-
liarity consisted in the employment in psalmody
of more melodious strains than heretofore
strains not in themselves new, but never before
a "Quantum flevi in hymnis et canticis tuis, suave
sonantis Ecclesiae tuae vocibus commotus acriter ! Voces
illae influebar.t auribus meis, et eliquabatur Veritas in cor
meum ; et exaestuabat inde affectus pietatis, et currebant
lacrimae, et bene mini erat cum eis." S. Augttstini
Confessionum, lib. ix. cap. vi. c. 14.
b " Tunc liymni et psalmi ut ' canerentur ' secundum
moiem orientalium partium, ne populus maeroris taedio
contabesceret, institutum est; et ex illo in hodiernura re-
tentum, niultis jam ac pene omnibus gregibus tuis, et per
otera orbls imitantibus." Conf., lib. ix. cap. 7-15.
so employed ; for, " in the first ages of Christi-
anity," says St. Isidore, "the psalms were re-
cited in a manner more approaching speech than
song." c In this view most writers on Ambrosian
music have concurred ; that it was veritable
song, in the proper musical sense of the word,
not musical speech or " half-song ;" and that,
not only was it based on a scale system or tona-
lity perfectly well understood, but that its
rhythmus was subject to recognised laws. S.
Ubaldo, the author of a work (Disquisitio do
cantu a D. Amhrosio in Mcdiolanensem ecclesiam
introducto, Mediolani, 1695) especially devoted
to Ambrosian music, says expressly that St. Am-
brose was not the first to introduce antiphonal
singing into the West, but that he did introduce
what the ancients called Cantus Harmonicus, on
account of its determined tonality and variety of
intervals, properties not needed in, and indeed
incongruous with, musical speech. With this
C '"s Harmonicus was inseparably connected
the Cantus Bhythmicus or Metricus; so that, by
the application of harmonic (i. e. in the modern
sense, melodic) rule, a kind of melody was pro-
duced in some degree like our own. That Am-
brosian music was rhythmical is irrefragably at-
tested by the variety of metres employed by
Ambrose in his own hymns, and that such was
held to have been the case for many centuries is
confirmed by Guido Aretinus and John Cotton
(11th century).
The first requisite of melody is that the sounds
composing it be not only in the same " system,"
but also in some particular scale or succession,
based upon and moving about a given sound.
The oldest scales consisted at the most of four
sounds, whence called tetrachords. The influ-
ence of the tetrachord was of long duration ; it
is the theoretical basis even of modern tonality.
Eventually scales extended in practice to penta-
chords, hexachords, heptachords, and ultimately
octachords, as with us. . The modern scale
may be defined as a succession of sounds con-
necting a given sound with its octave. The
theory and practice of the octachord were fami-
liar to the Greeks, from whose system it is
believed Ambrose took the first four octachords
or modes, viz. the Phrygian, Dorian, Hypolydian,
and Hypophrygian, called by the first Christian
writers on music Protus, Deuterus, Tritus, and
Tetrardus. Subsequently the Greek provincial
names got to be misapplied, and the Ambrosian
system appeared as follows :
Protus or Dorian.
i
w
-2-, a, .
Deuterus or. Phrygian.
&
FT3 &~
Tritus or Aeolian.
$
Tetrardus or Mtxoltdian.
$
is- zg:
I
These scales differ essentially from our scales,
c "Ita, ut pronuntianti vicinior esset, quam psallenti."
-De Otiic, cap. vii.
AMBROSIAN MUSIC
AMEN
75
major or minor, of D, E, F, G, which are virtu-
ally transpositions of one another, or identical^
scales at a higher or lower pitch, the seats of
whose t\vo semitones are always in the same
places, between the 3rd and 4th and the 7th
and 8th sounds severally. Whereas the Greek
and Ambrosian scales above are not only unlike
one another (the seats of the semitones being in
all different), but they are also unlike either our
modern typical major scale of C, which has its
semitones" between the 3rd and 4th and 7th and
8th sounds, or our typical minor scale of A,
which has one of its semitones always between
the 2nd and 3rd sounds, another between the 5th
and 6th or the 7th and 8th, and in its chromatic
form between both.
5Ioi)ERN T Typical Major Scale.
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Ambrosian scales
or tones therefore are not what we now call
"kevs," but "modes," differing from one another
as the modern major and minor modes differ, in
the places of their semitones. Melodies there-
fore in this or that Ambrosian " tone " have a
variety of character analogous to that which
distinguishes our major and minor modes so very
widely. Thus tenderness is the popular attri-
bute of the minor mode ; strength and clearness
are those of the major. In like manner one
Ambrosian tone was supposed to be characterised
by dignity, another by languor, and so on.
The rhythmus of Ambrosian melody is thought
by some to have consisted only in the adaptation
to long and short syllables of long and short
notes. " Of what we call time," says Forkel
(Gesch. der Musik, ii. 168), the proportion
between the different divisions of the same
melody, " the ancients had no conception."
He does not tell us how they contrived to march
or to dance to timeless melodies melodies with
two beats in one foot and three in another, or
three feet in one phrase and four in another, nor
how vast congregations were enabled to sing
them ; and if anything is certain about Ambrosian
song it is that it was above all things congrega-
tional.
Whether Ambrose was acquainted with the
use of musical characters is uncertain. Probably
he was. The system he adopted was Greek, and
he could hardly make himself acquainted with
Greek music without having acquired some
knowledge of Greek notation, which, though in-
tricate in its detail, was simple in its principles.
But even the invention, were it needed, of cha-
racters capable of representing the compara-
tively few sounds of Ambrosian melody could
have been a matter of no difficulty. Such cha-
racters needed only to represent the pitch of
these sounds ; their duration was dependent on,
and sufficiently indicated by, the metre. Copies
of Ambrosian music-books are preserved in some
libraries, which present indications of what may
be, probably are, musical characters. Possibly
however these are additions by later hands. It
is certain that, in the time of Charlemagne, Am-
brosian song was finally superseded, except in
the Milanese, by Gregorian. The knowledge
of the Ambrosian musical alphabet, if it ever
existed, may, in such circumstances, and in such
an age, have easily been lost, though the melo-
dies themselves were long preserved tradition-
ally. [J. H.]
AMBEOSIANUM. This word in old litur-
gical writings often denotes a hymn, from S.
Ambrose having been the first to introduce
metrical hymns into the service of the Church.
Originally the word may have indicated that the
particular hymn was the composition of S.
Ambrose, and hence it came to signify any hymn.
Thus S. Benedict, in his directions for Nocturns,
says, " Post hunc psalmus 94 (Venite) cum anti-
phona, aut certe decantandus. 11 Inde sequatur
Ambrosianum : Deinde sex psalmi cum anti-
phonis." Also, S. Isidore de Divin. off. lib. i.
c. 1, 2, speaking of hymns, mentions S.
Ambrose of Milan, whom he calls "a most illus-
trious Doctor of the Church, and a copious com-
poser of this kind of poetry. Whence (he adds)
from his name hymns are called Ambrosians,"
(unde ex ejus nomine hymni Ambrosiani appel-
lantur). ' [H. J. H.]
AMEN (Heb. JCX). The formula by which
one expresses his concurrence in the prayer of
another, as for instance in Deut. xxvii. 15.
1. This word, which was used in the services
of the synagogue, was transferred unchanged in
the very earliest age of the Church to the
Christian services [compare Alleluia] ; for the
Apostle (1 Cor. xiv. 16) speaks of the Amen of
the assembly which followed the (vxapicrTia, or
thanksgiving. And the same custom is traced
in a series of authorities. Justin Martyr (Apol.
i. c. 65, p. 127) notices that the people present
say the Amen after prayer and thanksgiving;
Dionysius of Alexandria (in Euseb. H. E. vii. 9, p.
253, Sehwegler) speaks of one who had often
listened to the thanksgiving (^vxapia-ria), ami
joined in the. Amen which followed. Cyril of
Jerusalem (Catechismus Mystag. 5, p. 331) says
that the Lord's Prayer is sealed with an Amen.
Jerome, in a well-known passage (Prooemium in
lib. ii. Comment. Ep. Gal., p. 428) speaks of the
thundering sound of the Amen of the Roman
congregations.
2. The formula of consecration in the Holy
Eucharist is in most ancient liturgies ordered to
be said aloud, and the people respond Amen. Pro-
uably, however, the custom of saying this part
of the service secrete afterwards universal in
the West had already begun to insinuate itself
in the time of Justinian ; for that emperor ordered
{Novella 123, in Migne's Patrol, torn. 72, p. 1026),
that the consecration-formula should be said
aloud, expressly on the ground that the people
might respond Amen at its termination. [Com-
pare Canon.] In most Greek liturgies also,
* This is explained as "omnino protrahendo et ab uno
aut a pluribus morose" or as "in directum sine Anti-
phonft." Martcnc de Ant. Mon. rit, Lib. I. cap. ii. 22.
76
AMENESIUS
AMICE
when the priest in administering says, " ccS^a
Xf)L<iTov," the receiver answers Amen. So, too,
m the Clementine Liturgy, after the ascription
of Glory to God {Apost. Const, viii. 13, p. 215,
Ultzen). (Bona, l)e Rebus Liturgicis, 1. ii. cc. 5,
12, 17.) [C]
AMENESIUS,
10 {Hart. Bedae).
deacon, commemorated Nov.
[C]
AMICE {Amictus, Humerale, Superhumerale
or Ephod, Anaboladium, Anaboltgium, Anagolai-
urri). 1. The word Amictus is employed in clas-
sical writers as a general term for any outer
garment. Thus Virgil employs it {Acn. iii. 405)
in speaking of the toga, ornamented with purple,
the end of which was thrown about the head by
priests and other official persons when engaged
in acts of sacrifice. (See for example " the
Emperor sacrificing," from the column of Trajan,
Vest. Christ, pi. iii.) The same general usage
mav be traced in the earlier ecclesiastical writers,
as in St. Jerome, and in Gregory of Tours, who
uses the word in speaking of a bride's veil. St.
Isidore of Seville (circ. 630 A.D.) nowhere em-
plows the word as the designation of any par-
ticular garment, sacred or otherwise. But in
defining the meaning of anaboladium (a Greek
word which at a later time was identified with
amictus as the name of a sacred vestment), he
describes it as " amictorium lineum femmarum
quo humeri operiuntur, quod Graeci et Latini
sindouem vocant." {Origines, xix. 25.) With
this may be compared St. Jerome on Isaiah, cap.
iii., where in referring to the dress of Hebrew
women, he says, " Habent sindones quae vocantur
amictoria." This usage of " amictorium," and
its equivalent " anaboladium," in speaking of a
linen garment worn by women as a covering for
the shoulders, will prepare us for the first refer-
ence to the "amictus" as a vestment early in
the 9th century, when it is compared by Kabanus
Maurus (such seems to be his meaning) with the
'superhumerale" of Levitical use {Be Inst it.
Cler. Lib. 1. cap. 15). Rabanus, however, does
not use the word " amictus," though he seems
evidently to refer to the vestment elsewhere so
called. Amalarius of Metz, writing about the
same time (circ. 825 A.D.), speaks of the "amic-
tus" as being the first in order of the vestments
of the Church, "primum vestimentum nostrum
quo collum undique cingimus." Hence its sym-
bolism in his eyes as implying " castigatio vocis,"
the due restraint of the voice, whose organs are
in the throat {De Eccl. Off. ii. 17.). Walafrid
Strabo writing some few years later (he was a
pupil of Rabanus), enumerates the eight vest-
ments of the -Church, but without including in
them the amice {De Reh. Eccl. c. 24.). But in all
the later liturgical writers the vestment is named
under some one or other of the various designa-
tions enumerated at the head of this article.
As to its use in this country there is no evidence
till nearly the close of the Saxon period. It is
not mentioned in the Pontifical of Egbert. In
a later Anglo-Saxon Pontifical (of the 10th cen-
tury, Dr. Rock says,) among the vestments
enumerated occurs mention of the " super-
humerale seu poderem," an expression which has
been supposed to point to the amice, though the
use of " poderis," as an alternative name, seems
to make this somewhat doubtful. (Quoted by
Dr. Rock, Church of our Fathers, vol. i. p. 4(35 ;
from the Archaeologia, vol. xxv. p. 28.)
2. Shape of the Amice, its Material, and orna-
mentation. The amice was originally a square or
oblong piece of linen, somewhat such as that
which forms the background in the accompany-
ing woodcut, and was probably worn nearly as
shown in Fig. 1, so as to cover the neck and
shoulders. Early in the 10th century (a. D. 925)
we hear, for the first time, of ornaments of gold
on the amice. {Tcstamentum Reculji Episcopi in
Migne's Patrologia, torn, exxxii. p. 468, " caligas
et sandalias paria duo, amictos [sic] cum auro
quattuor.") This ornament was probably an
"aurifrigium" or " orfrey." From the 11th
century onwards the richer amices were adorned
with embroidery, and at times even with pre-
cious stones. These ornaments were attached to
a portion only of the amice, a comparatively
small patch, known as a plaga, or parura (i. e.,
paraturd) being fastened on (see Fig. 4 in wood-
|j?
wmcit '*^VaH
i-llii-i-I-ll-lllKllM
Fig. 4.
cut) so as to appear as a kind of collar above the
alb (see Fig. 3). An example is given of late
date, to show the shape of the parura, as, from
the nature of the material, very early amices
are not extant. These parurae were known in
later times as " collaria " or " colleria " (see
Rock, Ch. of our Fathers, i. 470).
3. How icorn. All the earlier notices of
the amice are such as to imply that it was worn
on the neck and shoulders only. Honorius of
Autun (writing circ. 1125 A.D.) is the first who
speaks of it as being placed on the head. " Hu-
merale quod in Lege Ephot, apud nos Amictus
dicitur, sibi imponit et illo caput et collum et
humeros (unde et Humerale dicitur) cooperit, et
in pectorecopulatum duabusvittis ad mammillas
cingit. Per Humerale quod capiti imponitur
spes caelestium intelligitur." {Gemma animae, i.
c. 201.) It appears to have been temporarily
placed on the head (as shown in Fig. 2 of the
above woodcut) till the other vestments were
arranged, after which it was turned down so
that the parwa might appear in its proper
place. To this position on the head is to be
referred its later symbolism as a helmet of
AMICUS
AMPULLA
Salvation. " Amictus pro galea caput obnubit."
Durandi Rationale iii. 1. For other symbol-
isms see Innocent III., Be Sacro Altaris Mysterio,
i. cc. 35 and 50. (The woodcut above is from
Dr. Bock's Geschichte der liturgischen Gewander,
B. ii. Tat. ii.) [W. B. M.]
AMICUS, confessor at Lyons, commemorated
July U {Mart. Hieron.). [C]
AMMON. (1) Commemorated Feb. 7 {Mart.
Hieron.).
(2) Commemorated Feb. 9 (M. Hieron., Bedae).
(3) ' hfxjxovv, the deacon, with the forty women
his disciples, martyrs, commemorated Sept. 1
(Col. Byzant).
(4) Commemorated Sept. 10 (M. Hieron.,
Bedae).
(5) Martyr at Alexandria, Dec. 20 {Mart.
Rom. Vet, Bedae). [C]
AMMONARIA, martyr at Alexandria, com-
memorated Dec. 12 {Mart. Rom. Yet.). [C]
AMMONIUS. (1) Martyr, Jan. 31 {Mart.
Hieron., Bedae).
(2) Infant of Alexandria, commemorated Feb.
'12 {Mart. Rom. Vet.).
(3) Commemorated Oct. 6 {31. Hieron.). [C]
AMOS, the prophet, commemorated June 15
{Cal. Byzant). [C]
AMPELUS of Messana, commemorated Nov.
20 {Mart. Rom. Vet). [C]
AMPHIBALUM or AMPHIBALUS. 1.
This word appears to be confined to Gallican
writers. And this fact, coupled with its Greek
derivation, pointing as this does to a very early
period for its introduction, is noticeable, as one
among many instances of diversities of usage
in minor matters, characteristic of the Gallican
church, and indicating an origin distinct from
that of other western churches.
2. Form of the vestment, and its prevailing
use. There are three passages to which refer-
ence may here be made as determining all that
can with certainty be known with regard to
the vestment now in question. St. Eemigius,
Archbishop of Aries, dying about 500 A.D.,
left to his successor in the see " Amphibalum
album paschalem," a white amphibalus for
use on Sundays and high festivals. (For
' paschalis ' see Ducange in voc.) We cannot
here conclude with absolute certainty that it
is of a vestment for church use that he is
speaking, though the context seems to imply
this. (The quotation is from the Testamentum
S. Remigii Remensis, ajnid Galland, Bibliothec.
Pat., torn. x. p. 806.) But in the passages that
follow this meaning is beyond doubt. In a life
of S. Bonitus {alias S. Bonus), fcirc. 710, A.D.
written, as it is supposed, by a contemporary
{Acta Sanctorum Januar., d. xv. p. 1071 sqq.), we
are told that the saint was much given to weep-
ing even in church ; so much so, that the upper
part of his amphibalus, which served as a cover-
ing for his head, was found to be wet with the
tears he shed. " Lacrimarum ei gratia in sacro
non deerat officio ita ut amphibali summitas, qua
caput tegebatur, ex profusione earum madida
videretur." This "upper part" of the amphi-
balus was evidently a kind of hood (like thai of
the casula), separable, in some sort, from the
rest of the garment. For the saint is repre-
sented as appearing after death, in a vision, to a
certain maiden, devoted to God's service, and
sending through her a message to the " mother"
of the neighbouring monastery, bidding her keep
by her (no doubt as a relic) that part of his
amphibalus which covered his head. " Ut par-
tem amphibali mei qua caput tegitur, secum re-
tineat."
Even in this passage, however, though it is
evidently spoken of as worn in church, and
during the " holy office," it does not follow that
a sacerdotal vestment, distinctively so called, is
there intended. The mention of the hood (or
hood-like appendage) as worn over the head
points rather to use in the choir. But in a
fragmentary account of the Gallican rite, of un-
certain date, but probably of the 9th or 10th
century, the word amphibalus is used as equiva-
lent to the " casula," then regarded as specially
belonging to sacerdotal ministry. " The casula,
known as amphibalus," the writer says, " which
the priest puts upon him, is united from top to
bottom . . . it is without sleeves . . .
joined in front without slit or opening
' Casula, quam amphibalum vocant, quod sacer-
dos induetur {sic), tota unita . . . Ideo
sine manicas {sic) quia sacerdos potius benedicit
quam ministrat. Ideo unita prinsecus, non scissa,
non aperta,' " &c. (See Martene, Thesaurus
Anecdotorum, torn, v.)
From the above passages we may infer that
" amphibalus " was a name, in the Gallican
church of the first eight or nine centuries, for
the more solemn habit of ecclesiastics, and par-
ticularly for that which they wore in offices of
holy ministration. Having regard to its (pro-
bably) Eastern origin, and to its subsequent iden-
tification with the casula, we shall probably be
right in thinking that it resembled in shape the
white phenolia, in which Eastern bishops are re-
presented in mosaics of the 6th century, in the
great church (now Mosque) of St. Sophia at
Constantinople. For these last see the article
Vestments (Greek), later in this work, and
Salzenberg's Altchristliche Baudenkmale, plates
xxviii. and xxix. [W. B. M.]
AMPHILOCHIUS, bishop of Iconium, com-
memorated Nov. 23 {Cal. Byzant). [C]
AMPIDIUS, commemorated at Rome Oct. 14
{Mart Hieron.). [C]
AMPLIAS, "Apostle," commemorated Oct.
31 {Cal. Byzant). [C]
AMPODIUS, commemorated Oct. 11 {Mart'.
Hieron.). [C]
AMPULLA (Probably for amb-olla, from its
swelling out in every direction), a globular ves-
sel for holding liquid. In ecclesiastical language
the word denotes
1. The flasks or cruets, generally of precious
metal, which contain the wine and water used
at the altar. The word "pollen," used in some
districts of Germany to designate these vessels
(Binterim's Denkwurdigkeiten, iv. 1. 183) is pro-
bably derived from "Ampullae."
When the custom of making offerings of wine
for the Holy Communion ceased, ampullae seem
to have taken the place of the larger AMAE.
78
AMPULLA
AMULETS
The notion of the ampullae themselves having
been large vessels is probably founded on the
ancient etymology, " ampulla, quasi vas am-
plum ;" an etymology which Walafrid Strabo
(Be Beb. Eccl. c. 2-1) adapts to the facts of his
own time by reversing it, " ampulla quasi parum
ampla." The first mention of ampullae as altar-
vessels, appears to be in the Liber Pontificalis
(c. 110) in the life of John III. (559-573), who
is said to have ordered that the oratories of the
martyrs in the city of Rome should be supplied
with altar-plate, including ampullae [al. amulae]
from the Lateran church.
2. More commonly the word ampulla denotes
a vessel, AyicvBos, used for holding consecrated
oil or chrism. In this sense it is used by Optatus
Milevitanus (contra Bonatistas ii. 19, p. 42),
when he tells us that an "ampulla chrismatis"
thrown from a window by the Donatists mira-
culously remained unbroken. In the Gregorian
Sacramentary (p. 65), in the directions for the
benediction of Chrism on the " Feria V. post
Palmas," or Thursday in Holy Week, "ampullae
duo cum oleo" are ordered to' be prepared, the
better of which is to be presented to the Pope.
[Chrism.]
Ampulla at llonza.
By far the most renowned ampulla of this
kimd is that which was said to have been brought
by a dove from heaven at the baptism of Clovis,
and which was used at the coronation of the
Frank kings. Hincmar, in the service which he
drew up for the coronation of Charles the Bald
(840), speaks of the first Christian king of the
Franks having been anointed and consecrated
with the heaven-descended chrism, whence that
which he himself used was derived ("caelitus
sumpto chrismate, unde nunc habemus, perunc-
tus et in regem sacratus"), as if of a thing well
known. In Flodoard, who wrote in the first
half of the 10th century, we find the legend fully
developed. He tells us (Hist. Eccles. Eemensis
l. 13, in Migne's Patrol, vol. 135, p. 52 c.) that
at the Baptism of Clovis, the clerk who bore the
chrism was prevented by the crowd from reach-
ing his proper station; and that when the
moment for unction arrived, St. Kemi raised his
eyes to heaven and prayed, when " ecce subito
columba ceu nix advolat Candida rostro deferens
ampullam caelestis doni chrismate repletam."
This sacred ampulla (the " Sainte Ampoulle")
was preserved in the abbey of St. Eemi, at Reims,
and used at the coronation of the successive kings
of France. It was broken in 1793, but even
then a fragment was said to have been preserved,
and was used at the coronation of Charles X.
The ampulla represented in the woodcut, from
Monza, is said to be of the 7th century. It is
of a metal resembling tin, and has engraved
upon it a representation of the Adoration of the
Magi and of the Shepherds, with the inscription,
A60N EYAOY ZcoHC TqjN AricoN XPICTOV
TOricoN, having been used for pressing Holy
Oil. [Oil, Holy.] [C]
AMULETS. The earliest writer in whom
the word occurs is Pliny (H. N. xxix. 4, 19 ; xxx.
15, 47, et al.), and is used by him in the sense of
a " charm " against poisons, witchcraft, and the
like (" veneficiorum amuleta"). A Latin deriva-
tion has been suggested for it as being that
" quod malum amolitur." Modern etymologists,
however, connect both the word as well as
the thing with the East, and derive it from the
Arabic hammalet (= a thing suspended). The
practice which the word implies had been in the
Christian Church, if not from the first, yet as
soon as the Paganism and Judaism out of which
it had emerged began again to find their wav
into it as by a process of infiltration, and the
history of amulets presents a strange picture of
the ineradicable tendency of mankind to fall back
into the basest superstitions which seem to belong
only to the savage bowing before his fetiche.
Man has a dread of unseen powers around him
demons, spectres, an evil eye and he believes
that certain objects have power to preserve him
from them. That belief fastens sometimes upon
symbolic forms or solemn words that have once
served as representatives of higher thoughts,
sometimes upon associations which seem alto-
gether arbitrary. When the Israelites left
Egypt, they came from a people who had car-
ried this idea to an almost unequalled extent.
The scarabaeus, the hawk, the serpent, the
uraeus, or hooded snake, an open eye, outspread
wings, with or without formulae of prayer,
deprecating or invoking, are found in countless
variety in all our museums, and seem to have
been borne, some on the breast, some suspended
by a chain round the neck. The law of Moses,
by ordering the Zizith, or blue fringe on the gar-
ments which men wore, or the papyrus scrolls
with texts (Exod. xiii. 2-10, 11-17; Deut. vi.
4-9, 13-22), which were to be as frontlets on
their brows, and bound upon their arms, known
by later Jews as the Tephillim, or when nailed on
their door posts or the walls of their houses as
the Mesusa, sought, as by a wise " economy," to
raise men who had been accustomed to such
usages to higher thoughts, and to turn what had
been a superstition into a witness for the truth.
The old tendency, however, crept in, and it seems
clear that some at least of the ornaments named
by Isaiah (iii. 23), especially the D^Tlp, were of
the nature of amulets (Bib. Diet. Amulets). And
the later (pvha.KTT)pia of the N. T., though an at-
tempt has been made by some archaeologists to
explain the name as though they reminded
AMULETS
AXAGNOSTES
men (pvXaffaciv rbv vo/xov (Schottgen) were,
there can be little doubt, so called as "pre-
servatives" against demons, magic, and the evil
eye. a Through the whole history of Rabbinism,
the tendency was on the increase, and few Jews
believed themselves free from evil spirits, unless
the bed on which they slept was guarded by the
Mesusa. Mystic figures the sacred tetragram-
maton, the shield of David, the seal of Solomon
with cabalistic words, AGLA (an acrostic formed
from the initial letters of the Hebrew words for
"Thou art mighty for everlasting, Lord"),
Abracalan, and the like, shot up as a rank after-
growth. Greek, Latin, Eastern Heathenism, in
like manner, supplied various forms of the same
usage. Everywhere men lived in the dread of
the fascination of the " evil eye." Sometimes in-
dividual men, sometimes whole races (e.g. the
Thibii of Pontus) were thought to possess the
power of smiting youth and health, and causing
them to waste away (Plutarch, Sympos. v. 7).
And against this, men used remedies of various
kinds, the 'E^eVia ypd/x/naTa, the phallus or
fascinum. The latter was believed to operate as
diverting the gaze which would otherwise be
fixed on that which kept it spell-bound (Plu-
tarch, I. c. ; Varr. de Ling. Lat. vi. 5), but was pro-
bablv connected also with its use as the symbol
of life as against the evil power that was working
to destroy life. It is obvious that superstitions
of this kind would be foreign to Christian life in
its first purity. The " bonfire " at Ephesus was
a protest against them and all like usages (Acts
xix. 19). They crept in, however, probably in
the first instance through the influence of Juda-
izing or Orientalizing Gnostics. The followers
of Basilides had their mystical Abraxas and Jal-
dabaoth, which they wrote on parchment and
used as a charm \_Chr. Biogr. art. Basilides].
Scarabaei have been found, with inscriptions
(Jao, Sabaoth, the names of angels, Bellerman,
Uber die Scarabaeen, i. 10), indicating Christian
associations of this nature. b The catacombs of
Home have yielded small objects of various kinds
that were used apparently for the same purpose,
a bronze fish (connected, of course, with the
mystic anagram of IX0Y2), with the word
2H2AI2 on it, a hand holding a tablet with
ZHCE2, medals with the monogram which had
figured on the labarum of Constantine (Aringhi,
Rom i Subterranea, vi. 23 ; Costadoni, Del Pesce,
pi. ii., iii., 19 ; Martigny, s. v. Poisson). In the
East we find the practice of carrying the Gospels
(/3i/3Aia or evayytXia, LiiKpd) round the neck
as (pu\aKTr)pia (Chrysost. Horn, lxxiii. in Matt.) ;
and Jerome (in Matt. iv. 2-i) confesses that
he .had himself done so to guard against disease.
When the passion for relics set in they too were
employed, and even Gregory the Great sent to
Theodelinda two of these (puAaKT-rjpia, one a cross
containing a fragment of the true cross, the other
a box containing a copy of the Gospels, each with
Greek invocations, as a charm against the eVil
spirits' or lamiae that beset children (Epp. xii. 7).
In all these cases we trace some Christian asso-
a This is distinctly stated in the Jerusalem Gemara
(Berach. fol. 2, 4). Conip. the exhaustive article by Leyrez
on ' Phylakterien' in Herzog.
b The mention of " the horns of the Scarabaeus " as an
amulet by Pliny {H. N. xxviii. 4) shews how widely the
old Egyptian feeling about it had spread in the first
century of the Christian era.
ciations. Symbolism passes into superstition.
In other instances the old heathen leaven was
more conspicuous. Strange words, irtpiepyoi
XapaKTTJpes (Basil, in Ps. xlv., p. 229 A), names
of rivers, and the like (Chrysost. Horn, lxxiii. in
Matt.), "ligaturae" of all kinds (August. Tract vii.
in Joann.), are spoken of as frequent. Even a
child's caul (it is curious to note at once the
antiquity and the persistency of the superstition),
and the iyKoA-jriov evovica. became an kyu6\Tn.ov
in another sense, and was used by midwives to
counteract the " evil eye " and the words of evil
omen of which men were still afraid (Balsamon.
in Cone. Trull., c. 61). Even the strange prohibi-
tion by the Council just referred to of the practice
of " leading about she bears and other like beasts
to the delusion (irpos iraiyviov) and injury of the
simple," has been referred by the same writer
{ibid.'), not to their being a show as in later
times, but to the fact that those who did so car-
ried on a trade in the <pvAa.Krripia, which they
made from their hair, and which were in request
as a cure for sore eyes.
Christian legislation and teaching had to carry
on a perpetual warfare against these abuses.
Constantine indeed, in the transition stage which
he represented, had allowed " remedia humanis
quaesita corporibus " (Cod. Theodos. ix. tit. 16,
s. 3), as well as incantations for rain, but the
Council of Laodicea (c. 36) forbade the clergy
to make (pvAaKTr)pia, which were in reality "Seu-
/xwrripia for their own souls." Chrysostom fre-
quently denounces them in all their forms, and
lays bare the plea that the old women who sold
them were devout Christians, and that the prac-
tice therefore could not be so very wrong (Horn.
viii. in Coloss. p. 137-4 ; Horn., vi. c. Jud. ; Horn.
lxii. p. 536, in Matt. p. 722). Basil (I. c.) speaks
in the same tone. Augustine (I. c. and Serm. cexv.
De Temp.) warns men against all such " diabolica
phylacteria." Other names by which such amulets
were known w r ere irtplaina. irzpia.fxij.aTa.. We
may infer from the silence of Clement of Alex-
andria and Tertullian that the earlier days of the
Church were comparatively free from these super-
stitions, and from the tone of the writers just re-
ferred to that the canon of the Council of Laodicea
had been so far effectual that the clergy were no
longer ministering to them. [E. H. P.]
ANACHORETAE. [Hermit.]
ANACLETUS, the pope, martyr at Rome,
commemorated April 26 (Mart. Rom. Vet.). [C.j
ANACTORON ('Avdicropov from avdnrvp),
the dwelling of a king or ruler. In classical
authors, generally a house of a god, especially
a temple of the Eleusinian Demeter or of the
Dioscuri ; also, the innermost recess of a temple,
in which oracles were given (Lobeck's Aglaopha-
mus, i. pp. 59, 62). Eusebius (Panegyr. c. 9)
applies the word to the church built by Constan-
tine at Antioch, whether as equivalent to flaai-
Aikt), or with reference to the unusual size and
splendour of the church, or with a reminiscence
of the classical use of the word, is difficult to say.
(Bingham's Antiquities, viii. 1. 5.) [C.j
ANAGNOSTES LECTOR-READER.
Tertullian is the earliest writer who mentions
this oliice as a distinct order in the Church (De
Praescr. c. 41). It would seem that, at first, the
public reading of the Scriptures was performed
80
ANANIAS
ANASTASIS
indifferently by presbyters and deacons, and pos-
sibly at times by a layman specially appointed
by the bishop. From Tertullian's time, how-
ever, it was included among the minor orders,
and as such is frequently referred to by Cyprian
{Epp. 29, 38, &c). It is also one of the three
minor orders mentioned in the so-called Apos-
tolical Canons, the other two being the viroSid-
kovos .and the ^/dXrrjs. The Scriptures were
read by the Anagnostes, from the pulpitum or
tribunal ecclesiae. If any portion of the sacred
writings was read from the altar, or more pro-
perly from the bema or tribunal of the sanc-
tuary, this was done by one of the higher clergy.
By one of Justinian's Novels it was directed
that no one should be ordained reader before
the age of eighteen ; but previously young boys
were admitted to the office, at the instance
of their parents, as introductory to the higher
functions of the sacred ministry (Bingham,
Thorndike). [D. B.]
ANANIAS. (1) Of Damascus (Acts ix. 10),
commemorated Jan. 25 {Mart. Rom. Yet.); Oct.
1 (Cal. Byzant.); Oct. 15 {C. Armen.).
(2) Martyr in Persia, April 21 {Mart. Bom. Vet).
(3) Martyr, with Azarias and Misael, Dec. 16
{lb.); April 23 {Mart. Bedae); Dec. 17 {Cal.
Byzant.). [C]
ANAPHOEA. {'AvaQopd. The word ava-
(pepav acquired in later Greek the sense of
" lifting up " or " offering : " as avacptpeiv 8v-
crias, Heb. vii. 27 ; 1 Pet. ii. 5 ; avatyepeiv ev-
Xapiariau, evcp-nfxiav, $oo\oyiav, Chrysostom in
Suicer, s. v. 'Avacpopd was also used in a cor-
responding sense ; in Ps. 1. 21, [LXX], it is the
equivalent of the Hebrew i"Py, " that which
goeth up on the altar.")
1. In the sense of "lifting up" Anaphora
came to be applied to the celebration of the
Holy Eucharist ; whether from the " lifting
up " of the heart which is required in that
service, or from the " oblation " which takes
place in it; probably the latter.
In the liturgical diction of the Copts, which
has borrowed much from the Greeks, the word
Anaphora is used, instead of liturgy, to designate
the whole of the Eucharistic service, and the
book which contains it ; but more commonly its
use is restricted to that more solemn part of the
Eucharistic office which includes the Consecration,
Oblation, Communion, and Thanksgiving. It be-
gins with the " Sursum Corda," or rather with
the benediction which precedes it, and extends
to the end of the office, thus corresponding with
the Preface and Canon of Western rituals.
The general structure of the Anaphorae of
Oriental liturgies is thus exhibited by Dr. Neale
{Eastern Church, Introduction, i. 463).
The Great Eucharistic Prayer
1. The Preface. [Sursum Corda.]
2. The Prayer of the Triumphal Hymn. [Preface.]
3. The Triumphal Hymn. [Sanctus.]
4. Commemoration of our Lord's Life.
5. Commemoration of Institution.
The Consecration
6. Words of Institution of the Bread.
1. AVords of Institution of the Wine.
8. Oblation of the Body and Blood.
9. Introductory Prayer for the Descent of the
Holy Ghost.
10. Prayer for the Change of Elements.
The Great Intercessory Prayer
11. General Intercession for Quick and Dead.
12. Prayer before the Lord's Prayer.
13. The Lord's Prayer.
14. The Embolismus.
Hie Communion
15. The Prayer of Inclination (tA; e$aA.As k\L-
z/tojuev).
16. TA a-yia tois ayuns and Elevation of Host:
17. The Fraction.
18. The Confession.
19. The Communion.
20. The Antidoron ; and Prayers of Thanksgiving.
This table exhibits the component parts of the
Anaphorae of all, or nearly all, the Eastern litur-
gies, in the state in which they have come down
to us ; but different parts are variously de-
veloped in different liturgies, and even the order
is not always preserved ; for instance, in the
existing Nestorian liturgies, the general inter-
cession is placed before the invocation of the
Holy Ghost, and other minor variations are found.
The principal of these will be noticed under their
proper headings.
It is in the Anaphorae that the characteristics
are found which distinguish different liturgies
of the same family ; in the introductory or pro-
anaphoral portion of the liturgies there is much
less variety.' " In every liturgical family there
is one liturgy, or at most two, which supplies
the former or pro-anaphoral portion to all the
others, and such liturgies we may call the normal
offices of that family ; the others, both in MSS.
and printed editions, commence with the ' Prayer
of the Kiss of Peace,' the preface to the Ana-
phora " (Neale, Eastern Church, i. 319). Thus,
when the liturgy of Gregory Theologus or of
Cyril is used, the pro-anaphoral portion is taken
from that of St. Basil ; the Ethiopian Church has
twelve liturgies, which have the introductory
portion in common ; the numerous Syro-Jacobite
liturgies all take the introductory portion from
that of St. James ; the three Nestorian from
that of the Apostles. Further particulars will
be found under Canon and Communion.
2. The word avcupopd is sometimes used in
liturgical writings as equivalent to the arip or
Chalice-veil ; and has found its way in this sense,
corrupted in form {Nuphir) into the Syrian
liturgies. (Renaudot, Lit. Orient, ii. 61.) [C]
ANASTASIA. (1) Martyr under Diocletian.
Her Natalis, an ancient and famous festival, falls
on Dec. 25 {Mart. Rom. Vet., Hieron., Bedae).
Her name is recited in the Gregorian Canon.
The proper office for her festival, in the Gre-
gorian Sacram. (p. 7), is headed, in Menard's
text, Missa in Mane prima Nat. Dom., site S.
Anastasiae ; and is inserted between the Missa
In Vigilia Domini in Node and the Missa In Die
Natalis Domini. The titles in the other MSS.
are equivalent. In the Byzantine Calendar she
is .commemorated as (pap/j-aKoAvrpiu, dissolver of
spells on Dec. 22 (see Neale's Eastern Church,
Introd. 786).
(2) Of Rome, oaiofidprvs, commemorated Oct.
29 {Cal. Byzant.). [C]
ANASTASIS. The Orthodox Greek Church
commemorates the dedication of the Church of
the Anastasis by Constantine the Great {'Eyicai-
via rov NaoO ttjs ayias rod Xpiarov Kal eov
ij/xcov ' Avacndo-tuis) on Sep. 13. (Daniel, Codex
ANASTASIUS
ANCHOK
81
Liturgicus, iv. 268.) This festival refers to the
dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
or of the Resurrection of the Lord, at Jerusalem,
A.D. 335. (Eusebius, Vita Constantini, iii. 26 ft'.)
A similar name was given to the room where
Gregory of Nazianzus preached at Constantinople,
afterwards converted into a magnificent church.
(Gibbon's Some, iii. 367, ed. Smith.) [C]
ANASTASIUS. (1) The monk, martyr in
Persia, commemorated Jan. 22 (Cal. Byzant.,
Mart. Rom. Vet., Hieron.).
(2) Saint, April 1 {Mart. Bedae).
(3) The pope, April 27 {Mart. R. V., Bedae) ;
Oct. 28 (Cal. Armen.).
(4) Saint, May 2 (M. Bedae).
(5) The Cornicularius, martyr, Aug. 21 {Mart.
R. V.).
(6) Commemorated Aug. 26 (M. Hieron.).
(7) Bishop, Oct. 13 (M. Bedae, Hieron.). [C]
ANATHEMA, the greater excommunica-
tion, answering to Cherem in the Synagogue,
as the lesser form did to Niddui, i.e. Separation :
this latter is called a<popi<Tfnbs in the Constitutions
of the Apostles.
The excision of obstinate offenders from the
Christian fellowship was grounded upon the
words of Christ " If he will not hear the Church,
let him be as a heathen man and a publican."
So St. Gregory interprets them " let him not
be esteemed for a brother or a Christian" "vi-
delicet peccator gravis et scandalosus, notorius
aut accusatus et convictus " ; being reproved by
the bishop in the public assemblies of the Church,
if he will not be humbled but remains incorri-
gible and perseveres in his scandalous sins
" turn anathemate feriendus est et a corpore Ec-
clesiae separandus" (St. Gregory in Ps. v.), and
St. Augustine (Tract xxvii. in Johan.) vindicates
this severity of discipline on the Church's part
in such a case " quia neque influxum habet a
capite, neque participat de Spiritu Christi."
This application of the word Anathema to the
" greater excommunication " was warranted, in
the belief of the ancient Church, by St. Paul's
use of it (Gal. i. 8, 9), and the discipline itself
being distinctly warranted by our Lord's words,
as well as by other passages in the New Testa-
ment, the anathema was regarded as cutting
a man oft' from the way of salvation ; so that
unless he received the grace of repentance he
would certainly perish.
A milder sense, however, of the word Ana-
thema, as used by St. Paul, has not been without
its defenders, both among our own Divines as
Hammond and Waterland, and by Grotius. The
latter writer, commenting on Rom. ix. 3, gives
the following interpretation : " Hoc dicit : Velim
non modo carere honore Apostolatus, verum
etiam contemptissimus esse inter Christianos,
quales sunt qui excommunicati sunt."
And as to the effect of the Ecclesiastical Ana-
thema it is maintained by Viucentius Lirinen-
sis that it did not bear the sense of cursing
among the ancient Christians, as Cherem did
among the Jews.
It is certain, however, that the word Ana-
thema is uniformly employed by the LXX as the
equivalent of Cherem ; and it can hardly be
questioned, therefore, that where it occurs in
the N. T. it must be understood in the deeper
sense as relating to the spiritual condition
CHRIST. ANT.
and not merely to exclusion from Church privi-
leges, whatever may have been the force subse-
quently attached to the word, as expressing the
most solemn form of ecclesiastical excommuni-
cation. On this point and on the history of the
word in general, the reader is referred to Light-
foot on, Galatians ; Thorndike, vol. ii. 338 ; Bp.
Jeremy Taylor (Ductor Duhitantium) ; J. Light-
foot, De Anathemate Maranatha. [D. B.]
ANATOLIA, martyr, commemorated July 9
(Mart. Rom. Vet.). [C]
ANATOLIUS, bishop, commemorated Julv 3
(Mart. Rom. Vet.). [C.]
ANAXARBE (Synods of), a.d. 431, to con-
firm the deposition of St. Cyril, and those who
held with him. Another was held there two
years later, as at Antioch, to make peace with
St. Cyril. [E. S. F.]
ANCHOR (as Symbol). The anchor is an
emblem very frequently used, from the earliest
ages of Christianity, in symbolism. As the anchor
is the hope and often the sole resource of the
sailor, the ancients called it sacred; to weigh
anchor was, " Anchoram sacrum solvere." St.
Paul adopts an obvious symbolism, when he
says (Heb. vi. 19) that we have hope as " an
anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast ;" so
that, in its special Christian sense, the anchor
would seem to be an emblem of hope.
By the early Christians we find it used, some-
times with reference to the stormy ocean of
human life, but more often to the tempests and
the fierce blasts of persecution which threatened
to engulf the ship of the Church. Thus the
anchor is one of the most ancient of emblems ;
and we find it engraved on rings, and depicted
on monuments and on the walls of cemeteries in
the Catacombs, as a type of the hope by which
the Church stood firm in the midst of the storms
which surrounded it. In this, as in other cases,
Christianity adopted a symbol from Paganism,
with merely the change of application.
The symbols on sepulchral tablets often con-
tain allusions to the name of the deceased. The
Chevalier de Rossi (De Monum. IX0TN cxhib. p.
18) states that he has three times found an
anchor upon tituli bearing names derived from
Spes or eAir is ; upon the tablet of a certain
ELPIDIVS (Mai, Collect. Vatican, v. 449), and
upon two others, hitherto unpublished, in the
cemetery of Priscilla, of two women, ELPIZVSA
and Spes. In some cases, above the transverse
bar of the anchor stands the letter E, which is
probably the abbreviation of the word 'EAirfr.
Further, we find the anchor associated with the
fsh, the symbol of the Saviour [IX0T2J. It is
clear that the union of the two symbols expresses
" hope in Jesus Christ," and is equivalent to the
formula so common on Christian tablets, " Spes
in Christo," " Spes in Deo," " Spes in Deo
Christo."
The transverse bar below the ring gives the
upper part of the anchor the appearance of a crux
ansata [Cross]; and perhaps this form may have
had as much influence in determining the choice
of this symbol by the Christians as the words of
St. Paul. The anchor appears, as is natural, very
frequently upon the tombs of martyrs. (See
Lupi, Severae Epitaphium, pp. 136, 137 ; Boldetti,
Osservazioni, 366, 370, &c. ; Fabretti, Inscrip-
G
82
ANCYEA
tionum Explic. 568, 569 ; and Martigny, Diet,
des Antiq. Chre't. s. v. 'Ancre.') [C]
ANCYEA. Two synods of Ancyra are re-
corded ; the first of which stands at the head of
those provincial synods whose canons form part
of the code of the universal Church. It was
held under Vitalis of Antioch, who signs first ;
and of the 18 bishops composing it, several
attended the Nicene Council subsequently.
Twenty-five canons were passed, about half of
which relate to the lapsed, and the rest to dis-
cipline generally (v. Beveridge, Synod, ii. ad l.~).
The date usually assigned to it is a.d. 314.
Another synod met there, A.D. 358, composed
of semi-Arians. They condemned the second
Synod of Sirmium, accepted the term homoi-
ousion,, and published 12 anathemas against all
who rejected it, together with a long synodical
letter. Another synod of semi-Arians was held
there, A.D. 375, at which Hipsius, Bishop of
Parnassus, was deposed. [E. S. F.]
ANCYEA, THE SEVEN VIRGINS OF,
are commemorated by the Armenian Church on
June 20, as fellow-martyrs with Theodotion, or
Theodorus, of Salatia, the first Bishop of Ancyra
of whom we have any account. (Neale, Eastern
Church, Introd. p. 800.) [C]
ANDEGAVENSE CONCILIUM. [An-
gers, Council of.]
ANDELAENSE CONCILIUM. [Ande-
lot, Council of.]
ANDELOT, COUNCIL OF (Andelaexse
Concilium), near Langres ; summoned by Gun-
tram, King of Orleans (at a meeting to ratify a
compact, also made at Andelot, between himself
and Childebert, Nov. 28 or 29, 587), for March 1,
A.D. 588, but nothing further is recorded of it, and
possibly it was never held at all (Greg. Turon.,
Hist. Fr. ix. 20; Mansi, ix. 967-970). [A.W.H.]
ANDOCHIUS or ANDOCIUS, presbyter,
commemorated Sept. 24 (Mart. Hieron.,
Bedae). [C]
ANDEEAS. (1) Martyr, commemorated
Aug. 19 (Mart. Bom: Vet.).
(2) King, Hedar 16 = Nov. 12 (Cal. Ethiop.).
(3) The general, with 2953 companion mar-
tyrs, commemorated Aug. 19 (Cal. Byzant.).
(4) Of Crete, daioixaprvs, Oct. 17 (Cal.
Byz.). [C]
ANDEEW, Saint, Festival of. As was
natural, the name of the "brother fisherman"
of St. Peter was early held in great honour.
He is invoked by name as an intercessor in the
prayer "Libera nos " of the Roman Canon, with
the Virgin, St. Peter, and St. Paul ; and his
principal festival was anciently placed on the
same level as that of St. Peter himself (Krazer,
Be Liturgiis, p. 529). His "Dies Natalis," or
martyrdom, is placed in all the Martyrologies,
agreeing in this with the apocryphal Acta Andreae,
on Nov. 30. It is found in the Calendar of Car-
thage, in which no other apostles are specially
commemorated except St. Peter, St. Paul, and
St. James the Great ; and in St. Boniface's list
of Festivals, where no other apostles are named
except St. Peter and St. Paul (Binterim's Benk-
wurdigkeiten,
299). The hymn " Nunc An-
dreae solemnia," for the festival of St. Andrew,
is attributed to Venerable Bede. Proper offices
ANDEEW, SAINT
for the Vigil and Festival of St. Andrew are
found in the Sacramentaries of Leo and Gregory.
In the latter (p. 144) there is a clear allusion to
the Acta (see Tischendorf's Acta Apost. Apocry-
pha, p. 127), where it is said that the saint frankly
proclaimed the truth, "nee pendens taceret in
cruce ; " and in the ancient Liber Besponsalis,
which bears the name of Gregory, is one equally
clear to the same Acta in the words of St. An-
drew's prayer, " Ne me patiaris ab impio judice
depoui, quia virtutem sanctae crucis agnovi " (p.
836). A trace of the influence of these same Acta
is found again in the Gallo-Gothie Missal (pro-
bably of the 8th century), published by Mabillon,
in which the " contestatio," or preface (Liturgia
Gall. lib. iii. p. 222), sets forth that the Apostle,
" post iniqua verbera, post carceris saepta, alli-
gatus suspendio se purum sacrificium obtulit.
. . . Absolvi se non patitur a cruce . . . turba
. . . laxari postulat justum, ne pereat populus
line delicto ; interea fundit martyr spiritum."
'flu' Armenian Church commemorates St. Andrew
with St. Philip on Nov. 16.
The relics of the apostle were translated, pro-
bably in the reign of Constantius, though some
authorities place the translation in that of Con-
stantine (compare Jerome, c. Vigilantium, c. 6,
p. 391, who says that Constantius translated the
relics, with Paulinus, Carm. 26, p. 628), to Con-
stantine's great "Church of the Apostles" at
Constantinople, where they rested with those of
St. Luke ; the church was indeed sometimes
called, from these two great saints, the church
of St. Andrew and St. Luke. Justini in built
over their remains, to which those of St. Timothy
had been added, a splendid tomb.
The Martyrologium Hieronymi places the trans-
lation of St. Andrew on Sept. 3, and has a
" Dedicatio Basilicae S. Andreae " on Nov. 3 ; but
most Martyrologies agree with the Martyro-
logium, Bomanum in placing the translation on
May 9. Several Martyrologies have on Feb. 5
an " Ordinatio Episcopatus Andreae Apostoli," in
commemoration of the saint's consecration to
the see of Patras (Florentinus, in Martyrol.
Hieron. p. 300 ; Baronius, in Martyrol. Bomano,
Nov. 30, p. 502 ; Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. i. 320,
589 ; Binterim's Denkwurdigkeiien, v. i. 503, ff.).
As was natural in the case of so distinguished
a saint as the first-called Apostle, churches were
dedicated in honour of St. Andrew in early times.
Pope Simplicius (c. 470) is said to have dedicated
a basilica at Rome in his honour (Ciampini, Vet.
Monum. i. 242) ; and somewhat later (c. 500)
Pope Symmachus converted the "Vestiarium
Neronis " into a church, which bore the name
" S. Andreae ad Crucem." This was not far from
the Vatican (Ciampini, Be Sacris Aedif. p. 86).
Later examples are frequent.
The representation of St. Andrew with the
decussate cross (X) as the instrument of his
martyrdom belongs to the Middle Ages. In
ancient examples he appears, like most of the
other apostles, simply as a dignified figure in
the ancient Roman dress, sometimes bearing a
crown, as in a 5th-century Mosaic in the
church of St. John at Ravenna (Ciampini, Vetera
Monumenta, torn. i. tab. lxx. p. 235), sometimes
a roll of a book, as in a 9th-eentury Mosaic
figured by Ciampini (u. s. torn. ii. tab. liii.
p. 162), where he is joined with the favoured
disciples, SS. Peter, and James, and John. [C]
ANDRONICUS
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
83
ANDRONICUS. (1) Saint, April 5 (M.
Bedae).
(2) May 13 (M. Hieron.).
(3) "Apostle," with Junia (Rom. xvi. 7), com-
memorated May 17 (CaL Byzant.) ; invention
of their relics, Feb. 22 {lb., Neale).,
(4) Commemorated Sept. 27 (M. Hieron.').
(5) " Holy Father," Oct. 9 (CaL Byzant.).
(6) Martyr, commemorated Oct. 10 (Mart.
Hieron.); Oct. 11 (M.Rom. Vet.); Oct. 12 (CaL
Byzant). [C]
ANESIUS, of Africa, commemorated March
31 (Mart. Hieron.). [C]
ANGARIENSE CONCILIUM. [Sanga-
riense Concilium.]
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS, in Chris-
tian Art. The representations of angels in
Christian art, at various periods, reproduce in
a remarkable manner the ideas concerning them,
which from time to time have, prevailed in the
Church. In one and all, however, we may trace,
though with various modifications of treatment,
an embodied commentary upon the brief but ex-
pressive declaration concerning their nature and
office which is given in the Epistle to the Hebrews
(i. 1-1). Worship or service rendered unto
God (AeiTovpyia)* and work of ministration
(SiaKovia.) done on God's behalf to men, these are
the two spheres of angelic operation suggested in
Holy Scripture, and these, under various modifi-
cations b curiously characteristic of the successive
ages in which they are found, come before us in
a series of monuments extending from the fourth
to the close of the 14th century.
2. First three Centuries. Existing monu-
ments of early Christian art, illustrative of our
present subject, are, for the first 500 years, or
more, almost exclusively of the West, and, with
one or two doubtful exceptions, all these are of
a date subsequent to the " Peace of the Church,"
under Constantine the Great, and probably, not
earlier than 400 A.D. As a special interest
attaches to these earliest monuments, it may be
well here to enumerate them. The earliest of them
all, if D'Agincourt's judgment (Histoire, etc. vol.
v. Peinture, PI. vii. No. 3.) may be trusted, is
a monument in the cemetery of St. Priscilla, c
a Heb. i. 14. AeiTOupytKa nvevnaTa a7ro<rxeAA6/ieva eis
SiaKoviav. The distinction of the two words noticed
above is lost in our English version. It is well brought
out by Origen, cont. Celsum, lib. v. (quoted by Bingham,
Antiq., book xiii. cap. iii. } 2, note 2). See this further
illustrated in the description of woodcut in $ 6 below.
b Absent (almost, if not altogether) for the first four
centuries (see $ 2), they subserve purposes of dogma (} 3)
in the 5th century ; they are Scriptural still, but also in
one case legendary ($4) in the 6th. From that time for-
ward canonical and apocryphal Scripture and mediaeval
legend are mixed up together. We find them imperial
in character, or sacerdotal and liturgical, as the case may
be ; while in the later middle ages even feudal notions
were characteristically mixed up with the traditions con-
cerning them derived from Holy Scripture. (For this last
see Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art, 3rd edit. vol. l.
p. 95, quoting from II I'erfeUo Legendario.)
c The Abbe Martigny ( Uictionnaire, he. in vnc. ' Anges ')
speaks with evident doubt of the date assigned to this
fresco. D'Agincourt himself in his description gives no
particulars as to the source from which his drawing was
derived. Neither earlier nor later antiquaries know any-
thing of its history. And this being so, an unsupported
opinion as to its date, resting on the authority of D'Agin-
dating, as he thinks, from the second century.
It is a representation of Tobias and the angel.
(This same subject, suggestive of the "Guardian
Angel," reappears in some of the Vetri Antichi,
of the 4th and 5th century.) Another fresco of
early but uncertain date in the cemetery of
St. Priscilla (Aringhi, B. S. ii. p. 297) has been
generally interpreted as representing the Annun-
ciation. The angel Gabriel (if such be the inten-
tion of the painter) has a human figure, and the
dress commonly assigned to Apostles and other
Scriptural personages, but is without wings, or
any other special designations. With these
doubtful exceptions, no representations of angels,
now remaining, are earlier than the fourth cen-
tury, and probably not earlier than the fifth.
3. Fourth and fifth Centuries. There was an
interval of transition from this earlier period,
the limits of which are indicated by the Council
of Illiberis, <J a.d. 305, on the one hand, and on
the other by the Christian mosaics of which we
first hear e at the close of that century, or early
in the next. The first representation of angels
in mosaic work is supposed (by Ciampinus and
others) to be that of the Church of S. Agatha at
Ravenna. These mosaics Ciampinus admits to be
of very uncertain date, but he believes 1 them to
be of the beginning of the 5th century. (See his
Vetera Monumenta, vol. i. Tab. xlvi.) The first
representations of the kind to which a date can
with any certainty be assigned, are those in the
Church of S. Maria Major at Rome, put up by
Xystus III. between the years 432 and 440 A.D.
In those of the Nave of this Church (Ciampini
V. M. torn. i. Pll. 1. to lxiv.) various subjects from
the Old Testament have their place ; and amongst
others the appearance of the three angels to
Abraham (PL li.) and of the "Captain of the
Lord's Hosts" (by tradition the archangel
Michael) to Joshua (PL lxii.). But on the
"Arcus Triumphalis"s of this same Church,
there is a series of mosaics, of the greatest pos-
sible interest to the history of dogmatic theology ;
and in these angels have a prominent part.
This series was evidently intended to be an em-
court alone, carries but little weight. The same subject is
reproduced in the Cemetery of SS. Thraso and Saturninus
(Perret, vol. iii. pi. xxvi.).
d The 37 th canon forbids the painting upon walls the
objects of religious worship and adoration. " Placuit pic-
turas in ecclesia esse non debere, ne quod colitur et adoratur
in parietibus depingatur." Roman writers, for obvious
reasons, seek to explain away the apparent meaning
of this prohibition. As to this, see Bingham, C. A.,
book viii. cap. viii. $ 6.
e Paulliuus, bishop of Nola, early in the 5th century,
describes at much length in a letter (Ep. xii.) to his friend
Severus the decorations with which he had adorned his
own church. His descriptions accord closely with some
of the actual monuments (sarcophagi and mosaic pictures)
of nearly contemporary date, which have been preserved
to our own time.
f The form of the Nimbus here assigned to our Lord
seems to indicate a later date.
e By the " triumphal arch" of a Roman church is
meant what will correspond most nearly with the chancel
arch of our own churches. It was full in view of the
assembled people on entering the church. And for the
first six centuries (or nearly that time) it was reserved
exclusively for such subjects as had immediate reference
to our Lord ; more particularly to His triumph over sin
and death, and His session as King In heaven. See
farther on this subject Ciampini, V. M. torn. i. p. 19S, sqq.
G 2
84
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
bodiment in art of the doctrine decreed just
previously in the Council of Ephesus, A.D. 481.
The angels represented in the scenes of " The
Annunciation," the Worship of the Magi (see
woodcut h annexed), and the Presentation in the
Temple, are here made to serve to the declaration
of what had just before been proclaimed, viz. :
that He who was born of Mary was not a mere
man in whom the Word of God might afterward
take up his abode,' but was himself God, as well
as man, two natures united in one person. The
angels throughout are represented as ministering
as it were in homage to a king. Even in the
Annunciation, not Gabriel only is represented,
but two other angels are seen standing behind
the seat on which the Virgin Mary is placed.
Of these Ciampinus rightly says, that thevare to
be regarded as doing homage to the Word then
become incarnate. " Duo illi .... astant, sive
Gabrielis asseclae, sive Deiparae custodes, aut
potius incarnato tunc Verbo obsequium ex-
hibentes." They embody, as he observes, the
thought expressed by St. Augustine. " All
angels are created beings, doing service unto
Christ. Angels could be sent to do Him homage,
(ad obsequium) could be sent to do Him service,
but not to bring help (as to one weak or helpless
in himself) : and so it is written that angels
ministered to Him, not as pitying one that needed
help, but as subject unto Him who is Almightv.''
(S. Aug. in Psal. lvi.)
4. Sixth Century. Between 500 A.D. and
600 A.D., the following examples may be cited :
the triumphal arch of the Church of SS. Cosmas
and Damianus at Rome (Ciampiui V. M. torn. ii.
Tab. xv.) circ. 530 A.D., and fifteen years later the
mosaics of S. Michael the archangel at Ravenna,
ibid. Tab. xvii.). In the apse of the tribune is
a representation of Our Lord, holding a lofty
cross, with Michael r. and Gabrihel (sic) 1. On
the wall above, the two archangels are again
seen on either side of a throne, and of one seated
thereon. These two bear long rods or staves,
but on either side are seven other angels (four r.
and three 1.) playing upon trumpets. There is
here an evident allusion to Rev. viii. 2, 6, " I saw
Worship of the Magi, from S. Maria Major at Rome.
the seven angels, which stand before God, and to
them were given seven trumpets." Comp.
Ezek. x. 10, Tobit xii. 15, and Rev. i. 4; iv.
5. (Ciampiui V. 31. ii., xvii., comp. Tab. xix.)
Michael and Gabriel appear yet again on the
arch of the Tribune of S. Apollinaris in Classe
(ibid. Tab. xxiv.) ; and there are representations
of the four archangels, as present at the Worship
of the Magi, in the S. Apollinaris Novus (ibid.
Tab. xxvii.) towards the close of that century.
To this period also is to be assigned the diptych
of Milan, k which is remarkable as containing an
h For further particulars as to this see 15 below.
See Cyril. Alex. Epist. ad Monachos, in which the
patriarch of Alexandria, the chief opponent of Nestorius,
represents in these terms the doctrine condemned at
Ephesus.
k Figured and described in Bugatl, Memorie di S. Celso
Martire, Append, tab. i. and ii. The particular group
above referred to is figured in Martigny, Dictionnaire, &c,
under ' Annonciation.' The whole diptych is published
in facsimile of fictile ivory by the Arundel Society.
embodiment (probably the first in Christian art)
of legends concerning the appearance of Gabriel
to the Virgin Mary, derived from the Apocryphal
Gospels.
5. From 600 to 800 A.D. Art monu-
ments of this period are but few in number.
For examples, bearing upon our present subject,
see Ciampini V. M. vol. ii. Tabb. xxxi. and
xxxviii. and D'Agincourt, m Feinture, torn, v.,
PI. xvi. and xvii. They contain nothing to call
for special remark, save that, in the 8th century
particularly, the wings of angels become more
and more curtailed in proportion to the body;
a peculiarity which may serve as an indication of
date where others are wanting. One such ex-
ample in sculpture, of Michael and the Dragon, is
referred to below, 10.
6. Eastern and Greek Representations. Early
monuments of Christian art in the East are un-
m See also his pi. x. and xii., containing frescoes of late
but uncertain date from the catacombs.
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
85
fortunately, very rare, the zeal of the Iconoclasts,
and at a later period of Saracens and Turks,
having been fatal to many, which might other-
wise have been preserved. The earliest example
in (ireek art is a representation of an angel in
a MS. of Genesis in the Imperial Library at
Vienna, believed to be of the 4th or 5th century.
It is figured by Seroux D'Agincourt, Pcinture,
PI. xix. It is a human figure, winged, and with-
out nimbus or other special attributes. The
fiery sword, etc., spoken of in Gen. iii. is there
represented not as a sword, in the hand of the
angel, but as a great wheel n of fire beside him.
Next in date to this is an interesting picture of
the Ascension, in a Syriac MS. of the Gospels,
written and illuminated in the year 586 a.d. at
Zagba in Mesopotamia. We have engraved this,
as embodying those Oriental types of the angel
form which have been characteristic of Eastern
and Greek art from that time to this. It
The Ascension, frum an ancient Syriac MS.
will be seen that the Saviour is here repre-
sented in glory. And the various angelic powers
appear in three diil'erent capacities. Beneath the
feet of the Saviour, and forming as it were
a chariot upon which He rises to Heaven, is what
the Greeks call the Tetramorphou. The head
and the hand of a man (or rather, according to
Greek tradition, of an angel), the heads of an
eagle, a lion, and an ox, are united by wings that
are full of eyes (comp. Ezekiel i. 18). On either
side of these again are two pairs of fiery wheels,
" wheel within wheel," as suggested again by the
description in Ezek. i. 16. These serve as
symbolic representations of the order of angels
known as "thrones" (comp. 7 below), and of the
cherubim. Of the six other angels, here repre-
sented in human form, and winged, four are min-
istering to Our Lord (AeiToup-yoiWes), either bv
active service, as the two who bear Him up in
n Compare the mosaic of the S. Vitalis at Ravenna
(Ciamp. V. M. ii. tab. xix.), in the upper part of which
two angels are seen upholding a mystic "wheel." Ciam-
pinus, apparently without understanding what was the
symbolism intended, rightly describes it in the words
(p. 72) " duo angeli .... quandam rotam prae manibus
tenentes."
86 ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
their hands, or by adoration, as two others who are
offering Him crowns of victory (ffrecpavoi). Two
othersf lastly, have been sent on work of ministry
to men (comp. note a above), and are seen, as
St. Luke's narrative suggests, asking of the
eleven disciples, "Why stand ye here gazing
up into heaven?" and the rest. (The central
figure of the lower group is that of the Virgin
Mary.)
7. The Celestial Hierarchy of Dionysius.
The best comment on the picture last described is
to be found in the 'Celestial Hierarchy' of Diony-
sius. The whole number of celestial beings are
to be divided (so he tells us), into three orders, in
each of which a triple gradation is contained. In
_ . . Til It 1 1 '* A"U
the first order are contained the "thrones, the
seraphim and cherubim. And these are con-
tinually in the immediate presence of God, nearer
than all others to Him, reflecting, without inter-
vention of anv other created being, the direct
effulgence of His glory. Next to these, and of
the second order, are dominions, authorities,
powers (Kvpi6Tt\Tts, eov<ria.i, Swdpeis), forming
a link between the first and the third order. To
these last (principalities [apx<"'], archangels,
and angels) he assigns that more immediate ex-
ecution 3 of the divine purposes in the sphere of
creation, and towards mankind, which in the
belief of religious minds is generally associated
with the idea of angelic agency.
This teaching of Dionysius, regarded as it was
both in East and West as of all but apostolic
authority, has served as a foundation upon which
all the later traditions have been built up. And
this language, with the additional comments
quoted in the next section, will give the reader
the key to much that would be otherwise obscure
in the allusions of Greek fathers, and in the
forms of Greek art.
8. Angels in later Greek Art. The language
of the 'Ep/Mji/ei'a rris &ypa<piKris, or ' Painter's
Guide ' of Panselinos, a monk of Mount Athos in
the 11th century, may be regarded [see under
Apostles] as embodying the unchanging rules of
Greek religious art from the 8th century to the
present time. Taking up the division quoted
above, the writer says, as to the first order, that
" the thrones are represented as wheels of fire,
compassed about with wings. Their wings are
full of eyes, and the whole is so arranged as to
produce "the semblance of a royal throne. The
cherubim are represented by a head and two
wings. The seraphim as having six wings,
whereof two rise upward to the head, and two
droop to the feet, and two are outspread as if for
flight. They carry in either hand a hexapteryx, p
inscribed with the words ' Holy, Holy, Holy.'
It is thus that they were seen by Isaiah." Then,
after describing the " Tetramoxphi," he proceeds
to speak of angels of the second order." These
are dominions, virtues, powers. "These," he
says, "are clothed in white tunics reaching to
the feet, with golden girdles and green outer
robes, i They hold in the right hand staves of
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
gold, and in the left a seal formed thus (5<) ."'
Then, of the third order, (principalities, arch-
angels, angels), he writes thus. "These are
represented vested as warriors, and with golden
girdles. They hold in their hands javelins and
axes; the javelins are tipped with iron, as
lances."
9. Attributes of Angels. There are two
sources from which we may infer the attributes
regarded as proper to angels in early times; the
description given of them in the treatise of
Dionysius already quoted, and the actual monu-
ments of early date which have been preserved
to our times. As to these Dionysius writes thn,t
angels are represented as of human form in regard
of the intellectual qualities of man, and of his
heavenward gaze, and the lordship and dominion
which are naturally his. He adds that bright
vesture, and that which is of the colour of fire,
are symbolical of light and of the divine likeness,
while sacerdotal vesture serves to denote their
oiKce in leading to divine and mystical contem-
plations, and the consecration of their whole life
unto God. He mentions, also, girdles, staves or
rods (significant of royal or princely power),
spears and axes, instruments for measurement or
of constructive art (t<x ytwueTpiKa Kal tckto-
j/ca (TKevTi), among the insignia occasionally
attributed to angels. If, from the pages of
Dionysius, we turn to actual monuments, we find
the exact counterpart of his descriptions. They
may be enumerated as follows : 1. The human
form. In all the earlier monuments (enumerated
above, 3, 4), angels are represented as men,
and either with or without wings. In this
Christian art did but follow the suggestions of
Holy Scripture. But St. Chrysostom expresses
what was the prevailing (but not the universal)
opinion of early Christian writers, when he says
<De Sacerd. lib. vi. p. 424 D) that although
angels, and even God Himself, have ofttimes
appeared in the form of man, yet what was then
manifested was not actual flesh, but a semblance
assumed in condescension to the weakness of
mankind s (oil crapKbs a\7)deta a\\a ffvyKard-
Pacris). Both in ancient and in modern art
examples are occasionally found of angels thus
represented as men, without any of the special
attributes enumerated below. 2. Wings. As
heavenly messengers ascending and descending
between heaven and earth, angels have, with a
natural propriety 1 as well as on Scriptural
Obtained by M. Didron in MS. at Mount Athos, and
published by him in a French translation.
. p The " flabellum " or " fan " of the Greeks was called
jfanrepuf, as containing the representation of a six-
winged seraph. The " thrones," represented as wheels
(with wings of flame), described by Panselinos, may be
seen in the second of the illustrations of this article.
q Outer robes. " Des eHoles vertes," says M. Didron.
But we suspect that in the original he found <ttoW, a word
which Greek writers never use in the technical sense of
" stoles " (the ecclesiastical vestment known as stola in
the West since the nth century).
r This is what was known in mediaeval times as the
" Signaculum 1 lei," or Seal of God. Such a seal is repre-
sented in the hand of Lucifer before his fall, in thellortus
Deliciarum, a MS. once in the Library of Strasbourg.
8 With this agrees the language of Tertullian, De Kesur-
rectione Carnis, cap. lxii. : " Angeli aliquando tanquam
homines fuerunt, edendo et bibendo, et pedes lavacro por-
rigendo, humanam enim induerunt superficiem, salva
intus substantia propria. Igitnr si angeli, facti Umquam
homines, eadem substantia spirUus perm an serunt,' &c.
Similar language reappears in other Latin Fathers.
t Comp. rhito, Quaest. in Exod. xxv. 2", <u tou Oeov
nwai Svvdfuts WTepo^voucri ti",s avio Trpbs rov Xlardpa
oSov v^xo/""" Te KoX ^' e > e " at - And very boautlfu "y
elsewhere he speaks of the angels as going up and down
between heaven and earth, and conveying (StayveA-
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
87
authority," been represented in all ages of the
church as furnished with wings. We may add
that this mode of expressing the idea of ubiquity
and power, as superhuman attributes, had pre-
vailed in heathen art from the earliest times,
and that in East and West alike. Examples of
this in Assyrian art are now familiar to us.
Similar figures are found in Egypt. They were
less common in classical art. Yet Mercury, as
the messenger of the gods, had wings upon his
feet ; and little winged genii were commonly repre-
sented in decorative work, and thence were trans-
ferred (probably as mere decorations) into early
Christian * works of art. As to the number of
these wings, two only are to be found in all the
earlier representations. We do not know of any
example of four, or of six wings, earlier than the
9th century, though the descriptions given in Holy
Scripture of the "Living Creatures" with six
wings, and the four-winged deities of primitive
Eastern art, might naturally have suggested
such representations. As to later representations
of cherubim and seraphim, and the like, see
below, section 14. 3. Vesture. The vesture
assigned to angels, in various ages of the Church,
has ever been such as was associated in men's
minds with the ideas of religious solemnity, and
in the later centuries, of sacerdotal ministry. In
Holy Scripture the vesture of angels is described
as white (Matt, xxviii. 3 ; John xx. 12 ; Rev. iv.
4 ; xv. 6), y and in mosaics of the 5th and 6th
centuries, at Rome and Ravenna (where first we
ean determine questions of colour with any
accuracy), we find white vestments generally
assigned to them (long tunic and pallium), ex-
actly resembling those of apostles. But in
mosaics, believed to be of the 7th century (St.
Sophia at Thessalonica)* angels have coloured
himatia (outer robes) over the long white tunic,
and their wings, too, are coloured, red and blue
being the prevailing tints. And these two
colours had, long ere that time, been recognised
as invested with a special significance, red as the
colour of flame, and symbolical of holy love
(caritas), blue as significant of heaven, and of
heavenly contemplation or divine knowledge.
And in the later traditions of Christian art (from
the 9th century onwards) a these two colours
were as a general rule assigned, red more espe-
cially to the seraphim as the spirits of love, and
blue to the cherubim as spirits of knowledge or
of contemplation ; while the two colours com-
bined, as they often are found, are regarded as
Aouo-ai) the biddings of the Father to His children, and
the wants of the children to their Father.
u See the passages in Exodus, Isaiah, and Ezekiel already
referred to ; and compare the expression in Rev. xiv. 6, of
an angel flying (n-eTdp.ei/0?) there.
x For examples see Aringhi, Roma Subterranea, torn. i.
pp. 323, 615 ; torn. ii. p. 167. Compare p. 29, where similar
figures, without wings, are introduced in an ornamental
design
y See Ciamplni, PI M. ii. pp. 58 and 64. He speaks of
"tunieae" and " pallia" as being white ; and of " stoles"
(really stripes on the tunic), and wings of violet.
2 Texier and Pullan, Byzantine Architecture, pi. xl.
Compare the curioua picture of the Holy Family, a bishop
(or other ecclesiastic), and tw-o angels, fromUrgub, figured
in plate v., where the robes of the angels are white, their
wings blue and reddish yellow.
a " The distinction of hue in the red and blue angels we
find wholly omitted towards the end of the 15th century "
(Mrs. Jameson, Sacred and Leyendary Art).
suggesting the union of the two qualities of love
and knowledge, the perfection of the angelic
nature. It should be added that the vestments
of angels have not unfrequently such ornament
appended to them as was of ordinary usage from
time to time in ecclesiastical dress, viz., coloured
stripes on the tunic, in the earlier centuries,
afterwards oraria or stoles, and even "omophoria,"
the distinctive insignia of episcopal office in the
East. 4. The AimJjus. In the early Greek MS.
already noticed, 6, and in one or two early
representations in the catacombs at Rome, angels
are represented without the Nimbus. But from
the middle of the 5th century onward, this orna-
ment is almost invariably assigned to them.
[Nimbus.] 5. The Wand of Power. Only in
exceptional instances during the first eight cen-
turies, are angels represented as bearing anything
in the hand. Three examples may be cited, iu
mosaics, b of the 6th century, at Ravenna, in
which angels attendant on our Lord (see 3)
hold wands in their hands, which may either
represent the rod of divine power, or, as some
have thought, the " golden reed " the " mea-
suring reed," assigned to the angel in Rev. xxi.
15, as in Ezek. xl. 3. The representations of
archangels, particularly of Michael, as warriors
with sword, or spear, and girdle, are of later date.
6. Instruments of Music. One early example
has been already referred to ( 4) of a Ravenna
mosaic, in which the " Seven Angels" are repre-
sented holding trumpets in their hands. In the
later traditions of Christian art, representations
of angels as the "Choristers of Heaven" have
been far more common, various instruments of
music being assigned to them.
10. Michael. The archangel Michael is first
designated by name in mosaics of the 5th cen-
tury, at Ravenna (Ciampini, vol. ii. pi. xvii. and
xxiv.). And in other cases where we see two
angels specially marked out as in attendance on
our Lord, we may infer that. Michael and Gabriel
are designated. For the names of these two
alone are prominent in Holy Scripture. And
according to a very ancient tradition, traced back
to Rabbinical belief, perpetuated as many such
traditions were in the East, and thence handed
on to Western Christendom, these two arch-
angels personified respectively 1 * the judgment
b Ciampini, V. M. ii. tab. xvii., xix., and xxiv. Com-
pare in his plate xlvi. of vol. i. the mosaic at S. Agatha,
which we believe to be of nearly the same date.
c in the church dedicated in the name of the archangel
Michael at Ravenna, in the year 545, an indication of
special honour is given to him by the small cross upon his
wand, which is wanting in that of Gabriel (Ciamp. V. M.
ii. tab. xvii.).
d In yet other traditions the mercy of God, and more
particularly His healing grace, is ministered by Raphael.
There is great variety in the older Jewish traditions.
According to one (Joma, p. 37, quoted by Bohmer in
Herzog's Encycl.), when the three angels appeared to
Abraham, Michael, as first in rank, occupied the central
place, having Gabriel, as second, on his right hand, and
Raphael, as third in rank, on his left. This place on the
right hand of O'od is elsewhere assigned to Gabriel, as
being the angel of his power (corop. Origen, 7rpl apxw,
i. 8), and to Raphael that on the left (near the heart), as
being the angel of His mercy. And again in Philo (Quaest.
in Gen. iii. 24), the two cherubim on either side of the
mercy-seat represent respectively the messengers of the
Wrath, and of the Mercy, of the Lord (comp. Exod. xxxiv.
5-7).
88
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
ANGELS and ARCHANGELS
and the mercy of God, and were therefore fitly
placed, Michael, as the angel of power, on the
right hand, Gabriel, nearer to the heart, on the
left hand. For the special traditions concerning
"St. Michael," his appearances in vision at
Mount Galgano in Apulia, to St. Gregory the
Great on the mole of Hadrian, now the castle of
St. Angelo, and to Aubert, Bishop of Avranches
in 706, A.D., at "Mount St. Michel" in Nor-
mandy (to this our own St. Michael's Mount
owes its designation), see Jameson's Sacred and
Legendary Art, pp. 94 sqq. The oldest ex-
ample in sculpture of St. Michael treading under
foot the dragon (see Rev. xii. 7, 8), is on the
porch of the Cathedral of Catana, believed to be
St. Michael.
of the 7th century. [Figured above] Later
pictures often represent St. Michael as the angel
of judgment, holding scales in his hand, in which
souls are weighed.
11. Gabriel (Heb. " Man of God,") as the
messenger more especially of comfort and of good
tidings, occupies a prominent place in the New
Testament, as announcing the birth both of John
the Baptist to Zacharias and of our Lord to the
Virgin Mary. (In apocryphal legend he is repre-
sented as foretelling to Joachim the birth of the
Virgin Mary.) In the language of Tasso he is
" l'Angelo Annunziatore." Though only twice
(as far as I have observed) designated by name
in early Christian Art (Ciampini, V. M. ii., Tab.
xvii. and xxiv.), yet in the various pictures of
the Annunciation, which are many, it is he, of
course, who is to be understood. By a singular
fate, having been regarded by Mahomet as his
immediate inspirer, he is looked upon in many
parts of the East as the great protecting angel
of Islamism, and, as such, in direct opposition to
Michael the protector of Jews and Christians.
12. Raphael (Heb. the Healer who is from
God, or "Divine Healer") is mentioned in the
book of Tobit as " one of the seven holy angels
which go in and out before the glory of the Holy
One," cap. xii. 15. Through the influence of
this beautiful Hebrew story of Tobias and
Raphael, his name became associated in early
times with the idea of the guardian ana;el. As
such he is twice figured in the Roman catacombs,
and allusions to the same story are frequent
in the Vetri Antichi. [Glass, Christian.] In
mediaeval Greek art the three archangels already
named are sometimes represented together, de-
signated by their initial letters M, r, and P,
Michael as a warrior, Gabriel as a prince, and
Raphael as a priest the three supporting be-
tween them a youthful figure of our Lord, him-
self represented with wings as the "angelus"
or messenger of the will of God. (Figured in
Jameson's S. L. A., p. 93.)
13. Uriel. (The Fire of God.) The fourth
archangel, named Uriel in Esdras ii. 4, has been
much less prominent in legend and in art than
the three already named. He is regarded as
charged more particularly with the interpreta-
tion of God's will, of judgments and prophecies
(with reference, doubtless, to Esdras ii.). These
"archangels" of Christian tradition are to the
Jews the first four of those "Seven Angels" who
see the glory of God (Tobias xxii. 15); the other
three being Chamuel (he who sees God), Jophiel
(the beauty of God), and Zadkiel (the righteous-
ness of God). But these last three names have
never been generally recognised either in East or
West. And in the first example of the repre-
sentation of these Seven Angels in Christian art
they are distinguished from the two archangels
Michael and Gabriel, who hold wands, while to
the seven, as already noticed, 4, trumpets are
assigned. (Ciampini, V. M., ii., pi. xvii.)
14. Seraphim and Cherubim. These two
names appear, the first in Isaiah vi. 2 (there only),
and the latter in Exodus xxv. 18, where tico
are spoken of, and in Ezekiel i. 4-14, who speaks
of four (compare the four " living creatures "
of Rev. iv. 6). They have been perpetuated in
Seraphim and Cherubim
Christian usage, and the descriptions given of
them in Holy Scripture have been embodied
(those of the cherubim or four " living creatures,"
first, and somewhat later those of the seraphim)
in Christian art from the 5th century onwards.
They were regarded (see above 9) as the spirits
of love and of knowledge respectively. For fuller
details concerning the two in Holy Scripture see
e From the name of Uriel being little known, the fourth
archangel is designated in some mediaeval monuments
(Jameson, 8. and I.. Art, p. 9-) as " St. Clierubin."
ANGELS OF CHURCHES
ANGELS OF CHURCHES
89
' Dictionary of the Bible.' In art they do not
appear as Angel forms, with any special modi-
fication of the ordinary type, as far as we have
observed, in any earlier representation than that
of the Syriac MS. already described and figured.
Later modifications of this oldest type may be
seen in Jameson, S. and L. Art, p. 42 sqq.,
from which the cut given above is taken ;
D'Agincourt, Sculpture, pi. xii. 16 (the diptych
of Rambona, 9th century), Peinture, pi. 1. 3
(Greek MS. of 12th century). Cherubic repre-
sentations of the four " Living Creatures" will
be separately treated under Evangelists.
1.5. The Illustrations to this Article. Great
interest attaches to the mosaic of Xystus III.,
which forms the first of the illustrations to this
article, from its bearing upon the history of
doctrine, and especially of the cultus of the
Virgin Mary, and as restorations made in the
time of Benedict XIV. (1740-1758) have pro-
duced considerable changes in the mosaic here
figured, it will be well to state the authority
for the present representation. The only pub-
lished picture of the mosaic in its older state
(that here reproduced), is a very rude engraving
in Ciampini, Vetera Monumenta, i. p. 200, Tab.
xlix. In some important particulars of archaeo-
logical detail his engraving varies from the care-
fully drawn and coloured pictures, from which
the illustration above given has been taken. But
in the general arrangement and outline of the
ligures the two are in accord. The coloured
drawings of wdiich we speak, form part of a col-
lection (in two large folio volumes) which was
made by Pope Clement XI. when Cardinal
Albano. These, with a number of other volumes
containing classical antiquities of various kinds,
were purchased at Rome by an agent of George III.,
and are now in the Royal Library at Windsor.
The second of the illustrations (from a Syriac
MS.) is from a photolithograph, reproducing the
outline given by Seroux d'Agincourt, Peinture, pi.
xxvii. That author speaks of it as " caique' sur
l'original," and from a comparison with an exact
copy made from the original by Professor West-
wood, we are able to vouch for the perfect accu-
racy of the present illustration. [W. B. M.]
ANGELS OF CHURCHES Bishops. It
does not appear that the bishops of the Primitive
Church were commonly spoken of under this
title, nor indeed did it become in later times the
ordinary designation of the episcopal office. In-
stances, however, of this application of it occur
in the earlier Church historians, as, e.g., in So-
crates, who so styles Serapion Bishop of Thomais
(Lib. iv. c. 23). The word Bydel also, which is
Saxon for angel or messenger, is found to have
been similarly employed (see Hammond on Rev.
i. 20). But though no such instances were
forthcoming, it would prove nothing against the
received interpretation, as it may be considered,
of the memorable vision of St. John, recorded in
the first three chapters of the Apocalypse, in
which he is charged to convey the heavenly
message to each of the seven churches through
its "Angel." It should be remembered that
the language of this vision, as of the whole
book to which it belongs, is eminently mystical
and symbolical; the word "Angel," therefore,
as being transferred from an heavenly to an
earthly ministry, though it would very signifi-
cantly as well as honourably characterize the
office so designated, could yet scarcely be ex-
pected to pass into general use as a title of
individual ministers. By the same Divine voice
from which the Apostle receives his commission
the "mystery" of the vision is interpreted.
" The seven stars," it is declared, " are the
angels of the seven churches ; and the seven
candlesticks which thou sawest, are the seven
churches." The symbol of a star is repeatedly
employed in Scripture to denote lordship and
pre-eminence {e.g. Num. xxiv. 17). "There shall
come a star out of Jacob," where it symbolises
the highest dominion of all. Again, the actual
birth of Him who is thus foretold by Balaam is
announced by a star (Matt. ii. 2 ; cf. Is. xiv. 12).
Faithful teachers are " stars that shall shine for
ever " (Dan. xii. 3) ; false teachers are " wander-
ing stars " (Jude 13), or " stars which fall from
heaven " (Rev. vi. 13, viii. 10, xii. 4). Hence it
is naturally inferred from the use of this symbol
in the present instance that the "angels" of the
seven churches were placed in authority over
these churches. Moreover, the angel in each
church is one, and the responsibilities ascribed
to him correspond remarkably with those which
are enforced on Timothy and Titus by St. Paul
in the Pastoral Epistles. Again, this same title is
given to the chief priest in the Old Testament,
particularly in Malachi (ii. 7), where he is styled
the angel or messenger of the Lord of Hosts,
whose lips therefore were to keep knowledge,
and from his mouth, as from the oracle, the
people were to " seek the law," to receive know-
ledge and direction for their duty. To the chief
minister, therefore, of the New Testament, it may
be fairly argued, the title is no less fitly applied.
By some, however, both among ancient and
modern writers, the word " angel " has been
understood in its higher sense as denoting God's
heavenly messengers ; and they have been supposed
to be the guardian angels of the several churches
their angels to whom these epistles were ad-
dressed. It is contended that wherever the
word angel occurs in this book, it is employed
unquestionably in this sense ; and that if such
guardianship is exercised over individuals, much
more the same might be predicated of churches
(Dan. xii. 1). Among earlier writers this inter-
pretation is maintained by Origen (Horn. xiii. in
Luc. and Horn. xx. in Num.) and by Jerome {in
Mich. vi. 1, 2). Of later commentators, one of
its most recent and ablest defenders is Dean
Alford. But besides the obvious difficulty of
giving a satisfactory explanation to the word
" write " as enjoined on these supposed heavenly
watchers, there remains an objection, not easily
to be surmounted, in the language of reproof and
the imputation of unfaithfulness, which on this
hypothesis would be addressed to holy and sin-
less beings, those angels of His who delight to
" do His pleasure." So is it observed by Au-
gustine {Ep. 43, 22) : " ' Sed habeo adversum
te, quod caritatem primam reliquisti.' Hoc de
superioribus angelis dici non potest, qui per-
petuam retinent caritatem, unde qui defecerunt
et Lapsi sunt, diabolus est et angeli ejus.''
By presbyterian writers the angel of the
vision has been variously interpreted : 1. Of the
collective presbytery ; 2. Of the presiding pres-
byter, which office, however, it is contended was
soon to be discontinued in the Church, because
90
ANGERS
ANNE
of its foreseen corruption. 3. Of the messengers
sent from the several churches to St. John. It
hardly falls within the scope of this article to
discuss these interpretations. To unprejudiced
readers it will probably be enough to state them,
to make their weakness manifest. It is difficult
to account for them, except as the suggestions of
a foregone conclusion.
On the other hand, as St. John is believed on
other grounds to have been pre-eminently the
organiser of Episcopacy throughout the Church,
so here in this wonderful vision the holy Apostle
comes before us, it would seem, very remarkably
in this special character ; and in the message
which he delivers, under divine direction, to each
of the seven churches through its angel, we
recognize a most important confirmation of the
evidence on which we claim for episcopal govern-
ment, the precedent, sanction, and authority of the
apostolic age. (Bingham, Thorndike, Archbishop
Trench on Epp. to Seven Churches.') [D. B.]
ANGERS, COUNCIL OP (Andegavexse
Concilium), a.d. 453, Oct. 4; wherein, after
consecrating Talasius, Bishop of Angers, there
were passed 12 canons respecting submission
of presbyters to bishops, the inability of
" digami " to be ordained, &c. (Mansi, vii. 899
902). [A. W. H.]
ANGLICAN COUNCILS (Concilia Angli-
cana) ; a designation given to English general
councils, of which the precise locality is un-
known ; e. g. a.d. 756, one of bishops, presbyters,
and abbats, held by Archbishop Cuthbert to
appoint June 5 to be kept in memory of the
martyrdom of St. Boniface and his companions
(Cuthb. ad Lullum, intr. Epist.S. Botiif.70; Wilk.
i. 144 ; Mansi, xii. 585-590) ; A.D. 797 (Alford),
798 (Spelman), held by Ethelheard preparatory to
his journey to Rome to oppose the archbishopric
of Lichfield (W. Malm. G. P. A. lib. i. ; Pagi ad an.
796, n. 27 ; Mansi, xiii. 991, 992). [A. W. H.]
ANIANUS. (1) Patriarch, commemorated
Hedar 20 = Nov. 16 (Cal. Ethiop.).
(2) Bishop ; translation, June 14 (Mart. Bedae,
Hieron.) ; deposition at Orleans, Nov. 17 (M.
Hieron.). [C]
ANICETUS, martyr, commemorated Aug.
12 (Cal. Byzant.). [C.j
ANNA, the prophetess, commemorated Sept. 1
(Ado, Be Festiv., Marty rol.) ; Jakatit 8 = Feb. 2
(Cal. Ethiop.). ' [C]
ANNATES : lit. the revenues or profits of
one year, and therefore synonymous with first-
fruits so tar ; but being, in their strict anc
technical sense, a development of the Middle
Ages, the only explanation that can be given of
them here is how they arose. Anciently, the
entire revenues of each diocese were placed in
the hands of its bishop, as Bingham shews (v. 6.
1-3), who with the advice and consent of his
senate of presbyters distributed, and in the
Western Church usually divided them into 4
parts. One part went to himself; a 2nd to his
clergy ; a 3rd to the poor ; a 4th to the mainte-
nance of the fabric and requirements of the
diocesan churches. Of these the 3rd and 4th
were claimants, so to speak, that never died ;
but in the case of the two former, when offices
bscame vacant by death or removal, what was
to be done with the stipend attaching to them,
till they were filled up ? Naturally, when en-
dowments became fixed and considerable, and
promotions, from not having been allowed at all,
the rule, large sums constantly fell to the dis-
posal of some one in this way ; of the bishop,
when any of his clergy died or were removed ;
and of whom, when the bishop died or was re-
moved, by deposition or by translation, as time
went on, but of the metropolitan or primate at
last, though, perhaps, at first of the presbytery ?
And then came the temptation to keep bishop-
rics vacant, and appropriate " the annates," or
else require them from the bishop elect in return
for consecrating him. It was but a step further
in the same direction for Rome to lay claim to
what primates and archbishops had enjoyed so
long, when the appointment of both, so far as
the Church was concerned, became vested in
Rome. But, on the other hand, it is equally
certain, that had the primitive rule, founded as
it was in strict justice, been maintained intact,
each parish, or at least each diocese, would have
preserved its own emoluments, or, which comes
to the same thing, would have seen them applied
to its own spiritual exigencies in all cases. The
34th Apostolical canon, the 15th of Ancyra, and
the 25th of Antioch, alike testify to the old rule
of the Church, and to what abuses it succumbed.
Still, De Marca seems hardly justified in ascrib-
ing the origin of annates to direct simony (De
Concord. Sac. et Imp. vi. 10). [E. S". F.]
ANNE ("Awa, n3n). Mother of the Virgin
Mary. July 25 is observed by the Orthodox
Greek Church as the commemoration of the
" Dormitio S. Annae," a Festival with abstinence
from labour (dpy'ia). The same day is said to have
been anciently dedicated to S. Anne in the West
also, and the feast was probably transferred in the
Roman Calendar to the 26th (the day on which
it is at present held) from a desire to give
greater prominence to S. Anne than was possible
on S. James's Day. In the Greek Calendar, also,
Joachim and Anna, " &toncn6ps," have a festival
on Sep. 9, the day following the Nativity of the
Virgin Mary. Both the Armenian and the Greek
Calendars have on Dec. 9a" Festival of the Con-
ception of the Virgin Mary," or (as it is called
in the latter) 'H avAATjipis rrjs ayias koX Beoirpo-
lUrjTo'pos "hvviqs, i. e. S. Anne's Conception of
the Virgin, ko) yap avri] d.TrtKvriffe T7)j' vnip
Aoyov rov Aoyov Kv-fjCTaaav. In the Ethiopic,
" Joachim, avus Christi," has April 7 ; and on
July 20 is commemorated the " Ingressus Annae
Matris Mariae in Templum " or " Purificatio
Annae." (Daniel's Codex Liturgjcus, . torn. iv. ;
Alt's Kirchenjahr.) There is no evidence of any
public recognition of S. Anne as a patron saint
until about the beginning of the 6th century,
when Justinian I. had a temple built in her
honour, which is described by Procopius (De
AeJific. Justin, ch. iii.) as Upoirpeires re teal
ayaarbv oAoos e5os "Awn ayca, " whom," he
adds, " some believe to be ixrjTtpa Qzotokov and
grandmother of Christ ; " and we are informed
bv Codinus that Justinian II. founded another in
705.
Her body was brought from Palestine to Con-
stantinople in 740, and her " Inventio Corporis "
was celebrated with all the honour due to a
saint. [C]
ANNOTINUM PASCHA
ANTIMENSIUM
91
ANNOTINUM PASCHA. In the Grego-
rian Liber Responsalis, and in some MSS. of the
Sacranientary, following the Dominica in Albis
(First after Easter), we find an office in Pas-
cha Annotina. That it was not, however, in-
variably on the day following the Octave of
Easter is shown by Martene (quoted by Binterim,
v. i. 246), w r ho found it placed on the Thursday
before Ascension Day in an ancient ritual of
Vienne. And it is mentioned in later autho-
rities as having been celebrated on various days,
as on the Sabbatum m Albis, the Saturday after
Easter-Dav.
-As to the meaning of the expression there are
various opinions. Natalis Alexander {Hist. Eccl.
Diss. ii. quaest. 2), with several of the older au-
thorities, supposed it to be the anniversary of
the Easter of the preceding year. If this anni-
versary was specially observed, when it fell in
the Lent of the actual year it would naturally
be omitted, or transferred to a period when the
Fast was over ; for the services of the Pascha
annotinum were of a Paschal character, and con-
sequently unsuited for a season of mourning.
i Probablv, however, the nature of the Pascha
annotinum is correctly stated by the Micrologus
(c. 56); Annotine Pascha is a term equivalent
to anniversary Pascha ; and it is so called because
in olden time at Rome those who had been bap-
tized at Easter celebrated the anniversary of
their baptism in the next year by solemn ser-
vices. Honorius of Autun, Durand, and Beleth,
give the same explanation, which is adopted by
Thomasius, Martene, and Mabillon. To this call-
ing to mind of baptismal vows the collects of
the Gregorian Sacramehtary (p. 82) refer. The
words of the Micrologus, that this was observed in
olden time (antiquitus) seem to imply that even
at the time , when that treatise was written
(about 1100), it had become obsolete (Gregorian
Sacram. Ed. Menard, p. 399 ; Binterim's Dcnk-
wiirdiijkeitcn, v. i. 245 ff.). [C]
ANNUNCIATION. [Mary the Virgin,
Festivals of.]
ANOINTING. [Unction.]
ANOVIUS, of Alexandria, commemorated
July 7 {Mart. Hieron.).
ANSENTIUS. Commemorated August 7
{Mart. Hieron.). [C]
ANTEMPNUS, bishop, commemorated April
27 {Mart. Hieron.). [C]
ANTEPENDIUM (or Antipendium), a veil
or hanging in front of an altar. The use of such
a piece of drapery no doubt began at a period
when altars, as that at S. Alessandro on the Via
Nomentana near Rome [Altar], began to be
constructed with cancellated fronts: the veil
hanging in front would protect the interior
from dust and from profane or irreverent curio-
sity. Ciampini {Vet. Mon. t. ii. p. 57) says
that in a crypt below the church of SS. Cosmo
e Damiano at Rome there was in his time an
ancient altar "cum duabus columnis ac epistilio
et corona ; nee non sub ipso epistilio anuli sunt
ferrei e quibus vela pendebant." (Compare t. i.
p. 64.)
In the 7th and 8th centuries veils of rich and
costly stuffs are often mentioned in the /./''.
Pontif. as suspended "ante altare," as in the
case where Pope Leo III. gave to the ehu.-ch of
St. Paul at Rome " velum rubeum quod pendet
ante altare habens in medio crucem de chrysoclavo
et periclysin de chrysoclavo," a red veil which
hangs before the altar, having in the middle
a cross of gold embroidery and a border
of the same. It is possible, however, that in
this and like cases the veil was not attached to
the altar, but hung before it from the ciborium
or from arches or railings raised upon the altar
enclosure. [A. N.]
ANTEEOS, the pope, martyr at Rome,
commemorated Jan. 3 {Mart. Rom. Vet.,
Bedae). [C]
ANTHEM. [Axtiphon.]
ANTHEMIUS, commemorated Sept. 26 {Cat.
Armen.). [C]
ANTHIA, mother of Eleutherius, comme-
morated April 18 {Mart. Rom. Vet.). [C]
ANTHIMUS. (1) Bishop, martyr at Nieo-
media, commemorated April 27 {Mart. Rom.
Vet.).
(2) Presbyter, martyr at Rome, May 11 {lb.
et Bedae).
(3) Martyr at Aegaea, Sept. 27 {Mart.
R. V.). [C]
ANTHOLOGIUM QAvdo\6yiov), a compi-
lation from the Paracletice, Meuaea, and Horo-
logium, of such portions of the service as are most
frequently required by ordinary worshippers. It
generally contains the offices for the Festivals of
the Lord, of the Virgin Mary, and of the prin-
cipal saints who have festivals {t>v kopra^o-
fxivoiv a.yiwv) ; and those ordinary offices which
most constantly recur. (Neale, Eastern Church,
Introd. 890.) This book, which was intended to
be a convenient manual, has been so swollen by
the zeal of successive editors, that it has become,
says Leo Allatius, a very monster of a book. {De
lAbris Ecclesiasticis Graecorum, p. 89.) [C]
ANTIGONUS, of Alexandria, commemorated
Feb. 26 {Mart. Hieron.). [C]
ANTIMENSIUM, a consecrated altar-cloth,
"cujus nominis ratio haec est, quod ea adhibeant
loco mensae sive altaris " (Bona, De Lebus Lit.
I. xx. 2). This seems the natural derivation,
especially if, as Suidas says (in Suicer's Thesaurus
s. v.) the word was a Latin one, meaning a table
placed before a tribunal (irpb SiKaffTTiplou Kti-
fx-evn). Nevertheless, the Greeks always write
the word avrtfiivcriov, and derive it from fitvcros,
a canister (Neale, Eastern Church, Introd. p. 186).
These Antimensia were, and are, consecrated
only at the consecration of a church (Goar's Eu-
cho'logion, p. 648), when a piece of cloth large
enough to form several antimensia was placed on
the altar, consecrated, and afterwards divided
and distributed as occasion required. " Relics
being pounded up with fragrant gum, oil is poured
over them by the bishop, and, distilling on to the
corporals, is supposed to convey to them the
mysterious virtues of the relics themselves. The
Holy Eucharist must then be celebrated on them
for seven days, after which they are sent forth
as they may be wanted " (Neale, u. s. p. 187).
As to the antiquity of these ceremonies it is
difficult to speak with certainty.
Tli lore Balsamon (in Suicer, s. v.) says that
these Antimensia were for use on the Tables o/
92
ANTIOCH
ANTIOCII
Oratories Qrwv evKTriplow), which were probably
for the most part uneonsecrated ; and Manuel
Charitopulus (in Bona, u. s.) says that they were
for use in cases where it was doubtful whether the
altar was consecrated or not. They were required
to be sufficiently large to cover the spot occupied
by the paten and chalice at the time of conse-
cration.
The Syrians do not use these cloth antimensia,
but iu their stead consecrate slabs of wood, which
appear to be used even on altars which are con-
secrated (compare the Ethiopic Area [Arca]).
The Syriac Nomocanon quoted by Renaudot (Lit.
Orient, i. 182) in the absence of an Antimensium
of any kind permits consecration of the Eucharist
on a leaf of the Gospels, or, in the desert and in
case of urgent necessity, on the hands of the
deacons. [C]
ANTIOCH, COUNCILS OF. Cave reckons
only 13 Councils of Antioch between A.D. 252
and 800, at which date the first vol. of his Hist.
Literaria stops : Sir H. Nicolas as many as 33,
and Mansi nearly the same number. Numbering
them, however, is unnecessary, as there are no
first, second, and third Councils of Antioch as of
Carthage and elsewhere. They may be set
down briefly in chronological order, only three
of them requiring any special notice.
A.D. 252 under Fabian, against the followers
of Novatus (Euseb. vi. 46).
264, 269 On their dates see Mansi i.
1089-91 : both against Paul of Samosata,
who was also Bishop of Antioch after De-
metrian (Euseb. vii. 27-9). For details,
see below.
331 Of Arians, to depose Eustathius,
Bishop of Antioch, for alleged Sabellianism
(Soc. i. 24).
339 Of Arians, to appoint Pistus to the
see of Alexandria, to which St. Athanasius
had just been restored by Constantine the ,
. younger (Life of St. Athanasius by his
Benedictine editors).
341 known as the Council of the Dedi-
cation : the bishops having met ostensibly
to consecrate the great church of the
metropolis of Syria, called the " Dominicum
Aureum," the only council of Antioch
whose canons have been preserved (Soc.
ii. 8). For details, see below.
345 Of Arians : when the creed called
the " Macrostiche," from its length, was
put forth (Soc. ii. 18).
348 Of Arians : at which, however,
Stephen, Bishop of Antioch, himself an
Arian, was deposed by order of Constantius
for the monstrous plot organised by him
against the deputies from Sardica (New-
man's Arians, iv. 3, 4).
354 Of Arians : against St. Athanasius.
358 under Eudoxius : rejected the words
Homoousion and Homoiousion equally :
but " without venturing on the distinct
Anomoean doctrine " (Newman's Arians,
iv. 4).
361 To authorise the translation of St.
Meletius from Sebaste to Antioch. A
second was held shortly afterwards, by the
same party, to expel him for having made
proof of his orthodoxy.
363 Of semi-Arians : addressed a sy-
nodical letter to the new emperor Jovian,
as had been done by the orthodox at Alex-
andria. St. Meletius presided, and signed
first (Soe. iii. 25).
A.D. 367 Creed of the Council of the Dedica-
tion confirmed.
379 under St. Meletius: condemned Mar-
cellus, Photinus, and Apollinaris. Ad-
dressed a dogmatic letter to St. Damasus
and the bishops of the West, who had sent
a similar one to St. Paulinus.
380 For healing the schism thera : when
it war, agreed that whichever survived
St. Meletius or St. Paulinus should be ac-
cepted by all. Here the t6/j.os or synodical
letter of the Westerns was received (nt
least so says De Marca, Explic. Can. V.
Concil. Const. A.D. 381, among his Dis-
sertations). St. Meletius signed first of 146
others. St. Paulinus, apparently, was not
present at all. A meeting of Arians took
place there the same year on the death of
their bishop Euzoius, when Dorotheus was
elected to succeed him (Soc. iv. 35, and
v. 3 and 5).
389 To prevent the sons of Marcellus,
Bishop of Apamea, from avenging his
murder by the barbarians.
391 Against the Messalians.
424 or, as Mansi thinks (iv. 475) in 418 :
at which Pelagius was condemned.
431 under John of Antioch, condemning
and deposing St. Cyril and five others
(Mansi, 5, 1147).
432 -under John also ; for making peace
with St. Cyril : after which he in this, or
another synod of the same year, condemned
Nestorius and his opinions.
435 Respecting the works of Theodorus
of Mopsuestia and Diodorus of Tarsus
lately translated into Armenian.
440 On the same subject : occasioned by
a letter of Proclus, patriarch of Constanti-
nople.
445 under Domnus : in which a Syrian
bishop named Athanasius was condemned.
448 under Domnus also : when Ibas,
Bishop of Edessa, was accused ; but his
accusers were excommunicated.
471 At which Peter the Fuller was de-
posed, and Julian consecrated in his room ;
then Peter, having been restored by the
usurper Basilicus in 476, was again ejected
by a synod in 478 on the restoration of
Zeno.
482 At which the appointment of Ca-
lendio to that see was confirmed ; but he
in turn was ejected by the emperor Zeno
in 485, and Peter the Fuller restored, who
thereupon held a svnod there the same
year, and condemned the 4th Council.
512 at which Severus was appointed
patriarch.
542 Against Origen.
560 under Anastasius: condemning those
who opposed the 4th Council.
781 under Theodoric : condemning the
Iconoclasts.
Of these, the two synods A.D. 264 and 269
against Paul of Samosata were conspicuous both
from the fact that the accused was bishop of the
city in which they were held, and from the novel
ANTIOCH
ANTIPHON
93
character of their proceedings. They came to
the steru resolution of deposing him, yet had to
apply to a pagan emperor to enforce their sen-
tence, who, strange to say, did as they requested.
No such case had occurred before : it was the
gravity of their deliberations and the justice of
their decisions that caused them to be respected.
With the first of them ; as we learn from Eu-
sebius, there were some celebrated names as-
sociated. Firmilian, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappa-
docia, the well-known advocate for re-baptising he-
retics with St. Cyprian, St. Gregory the wonder-
worker, and Athenodorus his brother, the bishops
of Tarsus and Jerusalem, and others. Dionysius
of Alexandria was invited, but sent excuses on
account of his age ; declaring his sentiments on
the question in a letter addressed to the whole
diocese, without so much as naming the accused,
its bishop. Those who were present exposed his
errors ; but Paul, promising amendment, man-
aged to cajole Firmilian, and the bishops sepa-
rated without passing sentence. At the second
council, having been convicted by a presbyter
named Malchion, occupying the highest position
in the schools of Antioch as a sophist, he was
cut off from the communion of the Church ; and
a synodical letter was addressed in the name of
those present, headed by the bishops of Tarsus
and Jerusalem Firmilian had died on his road
to the council and of the neighbouring churches,
to the bishops of Rome and Alexandria, and the
whole Church generally, setting forth all that
had been done in both synods, as well as all the
false teaching and all the strange practices so
much in harmony with what is attributed to
the sophists of Athens in Plato for which Paul
had been deposed, also that Domnus, son of
Demetrian, his predecessor in the see, had been
elected in his place. Still, condemned as he had
been, Paul held his ground till the emperor
Aurelian, having been besought to interfere, com-
manded that " the house in which the bishop
lived should be given up to those with whom
the bishops of Italy and of the city of Piome com-
municated as regards dogma." This settled his
fate once for all.
The remaining council of Antioch to be spe-
cially noticed is that of the Dedicatio a.d. 341.
It was attended by 90 bishops, says St. Atha-
nasius, or by 97 as St. Hilary. Of these but 36
are said to have been Arian : yet they carried
their point through Constantius so far as to
substitute Eusebius of Hems for St. Athanasius,
and, on his hesitating, to get George or Gregory
of Cappadocia sent out to be put in possession of
the see of Alexandria without delay.
Not content with this, they got their 12th
canon levelled against those who, having been
deposed in a synod, presume to submit their
case to the emperor instead of a larger synod,
averring that they deserved no pardon, and
ought not ever to be restored again. In this
way the restoration of St. Athanasius to Alex-
andria by Constantine the younger was virtually
declared uncanonical and his see vacant. To
this canon St. Chrysostom afterwards objected,
when it was adduced against him, that it was
framed by the Arians. Lastly, they managed to
promulgate four different creeds, all intended to
undermine that of Nicaea. Yet, strange to say,
the 25 canons passed by this council came to be
among the most respected of any, and at length
admitted into the code of the Universal Church.
They are termed by Pope Zacharias " the canons
of the biessed Fathers;" by Nicholas I. "the
venerable and holy canons of Antioch;" and by
the Council of Chalcedon " the just rules of the
Fathers." Hence some have supposed two
councils : one of 50 orthodox bishops, or more,
who made the canons ; another of 30 or 40
Arians, who superseded St. Athanasius (Mansi, ii.
1305, note). But canon 12 plainly was as much
directed against St. Athanasius as anything else
that was done there. On the other hand, it laid
down a true principle no less than the rest ; and
this doubtless has been the ground on which
they have been so widely esteemed. Among
them there are five which cannot be passed over,
for another reason. The 9th, for distinctly
proving the high antiquity of one at least of the
Apostolical canons, by referring to it as " the
antient canon which was in force in the age of
our fathers," in connexion with the special
honour now claimed for metropolitans on which
see Bever., Synod: ii. ad loc. canons 4 and 5, for
having been cited in the 4th action of the Council
of Chalcedon, or rather read out there by Aetius,
Archdeacon of Constantinople, from a book as
"canons 83 and 84 of the holy Fathers ;" and
likewise canons 16 and 17, for having been read
out in the 11th action of the same council by
Leontius, Bishop of Magnesia, from a book as
" canons 95 and 96 ; " being in each case the
identical numbers assigned to them in the code of
the Universal Church, thus proving this code to
have been in existence and appealed to then, and
therefore making it extremely probable, to say
the least, that when the Chalcedonian bishops in
their first canon "pronounced it to be fit and
just that the canons of the holy Fathers made in
every synod to this present time be in full force,"
they gave their authoritative sanction to this
very collection. Hence a permanent and in-
trinsic interest has been imparted to this council
irrespectively of the merits of its own canons in
themselves, though there are few councils whose
enactments are marked throughout by so much
good sense. [E. S. F.]
ANTIPAS, Bishop of Pergamus, tradition-
ally the " angel " of that church addressed in
the Apocalypse, commemorated April 11 (Cat.
Byzant.). [C]
ANTIPHON (Gr. 'AvtIquvov. Lat. Anti-
pJiona : Old English, Antefn, Antem [Chaucer] :
Modern English, Anthem. For the change of
Antefn into Antem, compare 0. E. Stefn [prow]
with modern Stem. French, Antienne.) " An-
tiphona ex Graeco interpretatur vox reciproca ;
duobus scilicet choris alternatim psallentibus
ordine commutato." (Isidore, Oricjines vi. 18.)
There are two kinds of responsive singing used
in the Church ; the Responsorial, when one singer
or reader begins, and the whole choir answers in
the alternate verses ; the present Anglican prac-
tice when the Psalms are not chanted ; and the
Antiphonal (described in Isidore's definition) when
the choir is divided into two parts or sides, and
each part or side sings alternate verses. Of
these forms of ecclesiastical chant we are now
concerned only with the second, the Antiphonal.
We shall endeavour, as briefly as may be, to men-
tion (1) Its origin. (2) The different usages of
the term " Antiphon." (3) Its application in the
94
ANTIPHON
ANT1PHON
Missal, and in the Breviary; pointing out as
they occur anv peculiarity or difference of usage
between the Eastern and the Western Churches.
I. Its origin may be found in the Jewish
Church. For we read (1 Chron. vi. 31 &c), that
David divided the Levites into three bands, and
" &et them over the service of song in the house
of the Lord, after that the ark had rest. And
they ministered before the dwelling-place of the
tabernacle of the congregation with singing,
until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in
Jerusalem ; and then they waited on their office
according to their order." It appears further
that the sons of the Kohathites, under " Heman a
singer" (v. 33), stood in the centre while the
Gershomites, led by Asaph, stood on the right
hand, and the Merarites, led by Ethan (or Jedu-
thun), on the left. These arrangements, and the
further details given in 1 Chron. xxv. clearly
point to some definite assignment of the musical
parts of the tabernacle and temple worship.
Some of the psalms, moreover, as the xxiv. and
the cxxxiv. appear to be composed for antiphonal
singing by two choirs.
It appears on the evidence of Philo, that this
mode of singing was practised by the Essenes.
Speaking of them he says: "In the first place
two choirs are constituted ; one of men, the other
of women. They then sing hymns to the praise
of God, composed in different kinds of metre and
verse now with one mouth, now with anti-
phonal hymns and harmonies, leading, and direct-
ing, and ruling the choir with modulations of
the hands and gestures of the body ; at one time
in motion, at another stationary ; turning in one
direction, and in the reverse, as the case requires.
Then, when each choir by itself has satisfied
itself with these delights, they all, as though
inebriated with divine love, combine from both
choirs into one."
Pliny appears to allude to antiphonal chanting
when, in a well-known passage (Epist. x. 97), he
says that the Christians sing a hymn to Christ
as God, "by turns among themselves" (secum
invicem).
The introduction of antiphonal singing among
the Greeks is ascribed by an ancient tradition to
Iguatius of Antioch (Socrates, Eccl. Hist. vi. 8),
who saw a vision of antiphonal chanting in
heaven. And this tradition probably represents
the fact, that this manner of singing was early
introduced into Antioch, and spread thence over
the Eastern Church.
We learn from S. Basil that it was general in
his time. He says (Ep. ccvii. ad Cleric. Neo-
caesar.) prefacing that what he is going to speak
of are the received institutions in all the churches
(ra vvv KeKparriKSra td-q Trdcrais TaTy rov 0ov
4KK\T}<rlcus cuewSa eVri k<x\ (TvjMpuvci), " that the
people, resorting by night to the house of prayer
at length, rising from prayer, betake
themselves to psalmody. And now, divided into
two parts, they sing alternately to each other
(5<X?i SiavtfiriBdvTes, avTUpaWovaiv a\Xy\oi.s . .).
Afterwards they commit the leading of the
melody to one, and the rest follow him."
Theodoret {Hist. Eccles. ii. 19) ascribes the
introduction of antiphonal singing to Flavian
and Diodorus, who, while still laymen, he says,
were the first to divide the choirs of singers into
two parts, and teach them to sing the songs of
David alternately (ovtoi irp&JToi, Sixfl SieKovres
robs twv ityaW6vTuiv xev s ' ^ K 5ia5ox^s dSete
t))v AavidtKYjif t'5i8a|oi> /j.<B\w8iav), and then he
adds that this custom, which thus took its rise at
Antioch, spread thence in every direction.
In the Western Church the introduction of
Antiphonal singing after the manner of the Ori-
entals (secundum morem Orientalium), is attri-
buted to S. Ambrose, as S. Augustine savs
{Confess, ix. c. 7, 15), and he gives as a reason,
that the people should not become weary.
A passage, indeed, is adduced from Tertullian
(ad Uxor, ii.), from which it is argued that the
practice of alternate singing was in vogue before
the time of S. Ambrose. It has also been con-,
tended that Pope Damasus, or again Caelestiue,
was its originator in the Western Church. As
these opinions do not seem to be generally adopted,
and as the arguments by which they are sup-
ported may easily admit of another interpreta-
tion, it does not appear to be necessary to occupy
space by discussing them here.
II. The word Antiphon, however, has been
used in several different senses.
1. Sometimes it appears to denote the psalms
or hymns themselves, which were sung anti-
phonally. Thus Socrates (Hist. Eccl. vi. 8) calls
certain hymns which were thus sung "Anti-
phonas." When the word is used in this sense
there is generally a contrast expressed or implied
with a " psalmus directus," or " directaneus."
"Psallere cum antiphona" is a phrase much
used in this connexion, to which "psallere in
directum" is opposed. Thus S. Aurelian in the
order for psalmody of his rule, " Dicite Matu-
tinarios, id est primo canticum in antiphona :
deinde directaneum, Judica me Deus. ... in
antiphona dicite hymnum, Splendor paternae
gloriae." It is not quite certain what is meant
by these two expressions ; the general opinion is
that " psallere cum (or in) antiphona," means to
sing alternately with the two sides of the choir ;
and "psallere directaneum" to sing either with
the whole choir united, or else for one chanter to
sing while the rest listened in silence (this latter
mode of singing, however, is what is usually
denoted by " tractus ;") while some think that
" psallere in " or " cum antiphona" means to sing
with modulation of the voice ; and that " psallere
directaneum" denotes plain recitation without
musical intonation. Thus Cassian (Be Instit.
Coenob. ii. 2), speaking of psalms to be sung in
the night office, says, " et hos ipsos antiphonarum
protelatos melodiis, et adjunctione quarumdam
modulationum ;" and S. Benedict directs that
some psalms should be said " in directum," but
many more "modulatis vocibus." A third
opinion is that "psallere cum antiphona" means
to sing psalms with certain sentences inserted
between the verses, which sentences were called
antiphons, from their being sung alternately
with the verses of the psalm itself. Of this
method of singing we shall speak more fully
presently. In opposition to this sense, " psallere
directum" would mean to sing a psalm straight
through without any antiphon ; and it may be
remarked that the " psalmus directus," said daily
at Lauds, in the Ambrosian office, has no Anti-
phon. The expression " oratio recta" seems also
to be used in much the same sense.
2. The word Antiphona* is also used to denote
" A distinction is made by liturgical writers between
ANTIPHON
ANTIPPION
95
a sacred composition, or compilation of verses
from the Psalms, or sometimes from other parts
of Scripture, or several consecutive verses of the
same psalm appropriate to a special subject or
festival. This was sung by one choir, and after
each verse an unvarying response was made by
the opposite choir ; whence the name.
Compilations of this nature are to be found in
the old office books, e.g., in the Mozarabic office
for the dead, where, however, they are called "a
Psalm of David," as being said in the place of
psalms in the Nocturns ; and they have this pecu-
liarity, that each verse (with very few excep-
tions) begins with the same word. Thus the
verses of one such "psalm" all begin with " Ad
te ;" those of another with " Miserere ;" of
another with "Libera;" of another with " Tu
Domine," and so on. They are also found in the
Ambrosian burial offices, where they are called
Antiphonae, each verse being considered as a
separate Antiphon, and are headed Antiph. i.
Antiph. ii. and so on. The Canticles, which were
appointed to be said instead of the " Veuite" in
the English state services, there called " hymns,"
and directed to be said or sung " one verse by
the Priest, and another by the Clerk and people"
(i. e. antiphoually), are of this nature.
3. The word " Antiphona" denotes (and this
is the sense in which we are most familiar with
its use), a sentence usually, but by no means
invariably, taken from the psalm itself, and ori-
ginally intercalated between each verse of a psalm,
but which, in process of time, came to be sung,
wholly or in part, at the beginning and end only.
We shall speak more at length on this head pre-
sently.
4. The word "Antiphona" came to denote
such a sentence taken by itself, and sung alone
without connexion with any psalm. These Anti-
phons were frequently original compositions.
(We thus arrive at our common use of the word
anthem as part of an Anglican choral service.)
Antiphons of this description are of common
occurrence in the Greek offices.
As an example take the following from the
office for the taking the greater monastic habit
(rov fj.iya.Kov a-x^a-ros). In the Liturgy, after
the entrance of the Gospels, the following Anti-
phons ^A.vr{<pwva) are said :
Ant. 1 . " Would that I could wipe out with tears the
handwriting of my offences, Lord: and please Thee by-
repentance for the remainder of my life: but the enemy
deceives me, and wars against my soul. Lord, before 1
finally perish, save me.
" Who that is tossed by storms, and makes for it, does
not find safety in this port? Or who that is tormented
with pain and falls down before it, does not find a cure in
this place of healing ? thou Creator of all men, and
physician of the sick, Lord, before 1 finally perish,
save me.
" I am a sheep of Thy rational flock ; and I flee to Thee,
the good Shepherd ; save me the wanderer from Thy fold,
God. and have mercy on me."
Then follows " Gloria Patri " and a " Theoto-
kion," which is a short Antiphon or invocation
addressed to the B.V.M. as " Theotokos." Then
Antiphon ii., after the model of the first, but in
antiphona, and antiphonum, the neuter form denoting
antiphons of the nature here described; and the feminine
a sentence or modulation sung as a prefix or adjunct to a
given psalm ' quasi ex opposite respondens.' " Goar, Euch.
p. 123.
two clauses only. So after another " Gloria "
and " Theotokiou," Antiphon iii. in one clause.
III. We shall now refer to the principal uses
of Antiphons in the services of the Church.
1st. In the Liturgy, or office of the Mass.
We will take the Greek offices first. In these
(and we will confine ourselves to the two Litur-
gies of SS. Basil and Chrysostom) before the lesser
entrance (i.e. that of the Gospels) 3 psalms, or
parts of psalms are sung with a constant re-
sponse after each verse. These are called re-
spectively the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Antiphon, and
each is preceded by a prayer, which is called the
prayer of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Antiphon respec-
tively.
The Greek liturgical Antiphons consist each of
four versieles with its response, though occasion-
ally, as on Christmas Day, the third Antiphon
has but three ; that " Gloria Patri " is said after
the first and second Antiphons, but not after the
third. (This is doubtless because the office passes
on immediately after the third Antiphon to other
singing with which we are not now concerned.)
In the first Antiphon the antiphonal response
is always the same, and is that given in the
cases quoted ; in the second it varies with the
day to the solemnity of which it has reference ;
it always begins with the words " Save us," and
ends with " Who sing to Thee, Alleluia " (a&aov
T1/J.3.S . . . TpdWovTas o~oi 'AWTjAovia)', in the
third it varies likewise with the day, but is not
of so uniform a type. It is, as a rule, the same
as the " Apolyticon," an Anthem which is sung
near the end of the preceding vespers. That
after the "Gloria" in the second Antiphon, in-
stead of repeating the proper response of the
Antiphon "0 only begotten Son and Word of
God," &c, is sung as a response. (This invoca-
tion occurs in the office of the " Typics.")
Other compositions, which are virtually Anti-
phons, are found in Greek offices, and will be
spoken of under their proper heads ; see Conta-
KION, THEOTOKIOX.
We turn now to the Liturgies of the Western
Church.
The three Antiphons of the Greek Liturgies
correspond both in structure and position with
the single Antiphon of the Western Church.
The chant which the Church uses at the begin-
ning of the Mass is commonly called " Introitus,"
or " Antiphona ad Introitum," from its being
sung Antiphoually when the priest enters upon
the service, or mounts to the altar ; for both ex-
planations are given [Introit]. It still retains
its name of " Introitus" in the Roman missal;
and the word " Introit " is frequently used among
ourselves at the present day with a similar mean-
ing.
In the Ambrosian Liturgy the corresponding
Antiphon was called " Ingressa " for the same
reason ; while in the Mozarabic and Sarum Litur-
gies it was called "Officium." In the Gallican
rite it was called " Antiphona " or " Antiphona
ad praelegendum," or " do praelegere."
The institution of the Antiphon at the Introit
is almost universally ascribed to S. Caelestine,
who was Pope a.d. 422, and who is said to have
borrowed this kind of singing from >. Ambrose,
and to have appointed that the cl. psalms of
David should be sung antiphoually before the
Sacrifice, which was not done previously, but
only the Epistles of S. Paul and the Gospel
96
ANTIPHON
were read, and thus the Mass was conducted. 1 "
In the account given by S. Augustine {de Civ.
Dei, xxii. 8 sub fin.) of a Mass which he cele-
brated A.D. 425, there is no mention of such an
Introit. After speaking of certain preliminary
thanksgivings (as we should say occasional) for
a recent miracle, he says, " I saluted the people "
. . . when silence was at length established, the
appointed lections of Holy Scripture were read
as though that was the beginning of the Mass.
It seems, however, doubtful what we are to
understand by the singing of Psalms thus insti-
tuted by Caelestine whether an entire Psalm,
varying with the office, was sung, or only cer-
tain verses taken from the Psalms, and used as
an Antiphon. The former opinion is held by
Honorius {Gemma animae, 87), who says that
"Caelestine appointed Psalms to be sung at the
Introit of the Mass, from which (de quibus)
Gregory the Pope afterwards composed Anti-
phons for the Introit of the Mass with musical
notations (modulando composuit.)" Also by
Priscus in his " Acts of the Popes," and by Cardi-
nal Bona.
The latter opinion is held by Micrologus
(cap. i.), and by Amalarius {De Eccl. Off. iii.
5), who, in explaining this addition of Caeles-
tine's, says, " Which we understand to mean
that he selected Antiphons out of all the Psalms,
to be sung in the office of the Mass. For previ-
ously the Mass began with a lection, which cus-
tom is still retained in the vigils of Easter and
Pentecost."
It has again been argued with much force that
it was customary to sing Antiphons taken from
the Psalms at the Mass before the time of Caeles-
tine. S. Ambrose {de Myst. cap. 8) and the
writer de Sacr. (iv. 2) speak as though the use
of the verse " Introibo," &c, at the Introit were
familiar. So, too, Gregory Nazian. says, When
he (the priest) is vested, he comes to the altar
saying the Antiphon " I will go unto the altar of
God ""(Introibo ad altare Dei). It is also noticeable
that some of the verses said to have been used as
Antiphons in early times differ somewhat from
Jerome's version. This is strong evidence that
the use of Antiphons at the Introit was anterior
to the time of Caelestine. However this may
be, Caelestine may well have so organized or
altered, or developed the custom, as to be called
its inventor. And on the whole the more pro-
bable opinion seems to be that he appointed en-
tire Psalms to be sung before the Mass and that
afterwards Gregory the Great selected from them
verses as an Antiphon for the "Introit," and
others for the " Responsory," d " Offertory," and
" Communion," which he collected into the book
which he called his Antiphonary. In support of
this view it may be observed that the Respon-
sory &c. (which are really Antiphons, though
the Introit soon monopolized that name) are
often taken from the same Psalm as the Introit.
The form of the Antiphon at the Introit was
as follows. After the Introit, properly so called,
a psalm was sung, originally entire, but after-
b Liber pontificalis in vita S. Caelestini. See also the
' Catalogue of the Roman Pontiffs, April, vol. i. (Henschen
and Papebroch).
c Vide Radulph. Tungrens. De Can. Observ. prop. 23.
Cassian, I-nstit. iii. 11.
d Afterwards known as the "Gradual." In the Anti-
phonary it is called " Responsorium gradale."
ANTIPHOM
wards a single verse with "Gloria Patri." The
Introit was then repeated, and some churches
used to sing it three times on the more solemn
days.
The Introit in the Antiphonary of S. Gregory-
is taken from the Psalms, with a few exceptions,
which Durandus {Bat. iv. 5) calls " Irregular
Introits." These Introits, taken from other parts
of Scripture, are in all cases followed by their
appointed " Psalmus." There are also a few In-
troits which are not taken from any part of
Scripture. Such is that for Trinity Sunday in
the Roman and Sarum missals.
" Blessed be the Holy Trinity, and the undivided
Unity ; we will give thanks to It, for It has dealt merci-
fully with us."
And that for All-Saints Day in the same Missal.
" Let us all rejoice celebrating the festival in honour
of all the Saints, over whose solemnity the angels rejoice,
and join in praising the Son of God."
These non-scriptural Introits, however, are
mostly, as will be observed, for festivals of later
date, and are not found in Gregory's Antiphonary.
A metrical Introit is sometimes found. Thus
in the Roman Missal in Masses, " in Commemora-
tione B.V.M., a purif. usque ad pasch." the
Introit is :
Salve, sancta Parens, enixa puerpera Regem,
Qui coelum terramque regit in secula seculorum.e
Psalmus. Virgo Dei genetrix, quern totus non capit orbis
In tua se clausit viscera factus homo.
Gloria Patri.
Here the " Psalmus " is not from the Psalms,
which is very unusual, though this is not a soli-
tary case. That of Trinity Sunday is another.
The lines are the beginning of an old hymn to
the Virgin, which is used in her office in various
Breviaries.
The different Sundays were often poptilarly
distinguished by the first word of their " Officium,"
or "Introitus." Thus, the first four Sundays in
Lent were severally known as, " Invocavit,"
" Reminiscere," " Oculi," " Laetare." Low Sun-
day as "Quasimodo," and so in other cases.
So too we find week days designated, i.e. Wednes-
day in the third week in Lent called in Missals,
"Feria quarta post Ocidi." In rubrical direc-
tions this nomenclature is very frequent.
The Ambrosian " Ingressa " consists of one un-
broken sentence, usually but by no means always,
taken from Scripture, and not followed by a
"Psalmus," or the "Gloria Patri." It is often
the same as the Roman "Officium." It is never
repeated except in Masses of the Dead, when its
form approaches very nearly to that of the Ro-
man " Introitus."
The form of the Mozarabic " Officium " though
closely approaching that of the Roman " In-
troitus " differs somewhat from it. The Anti-
phon is followed by a " versus," corresponding to
the Roman "Psalmus," with the "Gloria Patri,"
before and after which the second clause alone of
the Antiphon is repeated.'
Durandus {Hat. lib. iv. cap. 5) and Beleth {De
Div. Off. cap. 35) state that in their time a
Tropus was sung, in some churches, on the more
solemn days before the Antiphon.
e The line is thus given in the Roman and Sarum
Missals. It was probably read " in secla seclorum."
f This is the Roman manner of repeating the " Re-
sponsories'' at Matins.
ANTIPHON
ANTIPHON
97
We now come to that use of Antiphons with
which we are probably most familiar as sung
;\s an accompaniment to Psalms and Canticles.
In general terms an Autiphon in this sense is
a sentence which precedes a Psalm or Canticle to
the musical tone of which the whole Psalm or
Canticle is sung, in alternate verses by the oppo-
site sides of the choir which at the end unite in
repeating the Autiphon. This sentence is usually,
but by no means universally, taken from the
Psalm itself, and it varies with the day and
occasion. Originally the Psalm was said by one
choir, and the Antiphon was intercalated between
each verse by the opposite choir : whence the
mine. Ps. 136 (Confitemini) and the Canticle
"Benedicite" are obvious examples of this
method of singing. Indeed in Ps. 135 (v. 10-12)
we have very nearly the same words, without
what we may call the Antiphon ("for His mercy
endureth for ever"), which occur in Ps. 136 with
that Antiphon inserted after each clause, and
the " Benedicite " is often recited without the
repetition of its Antiphon after every verse. R
Pss. 42 and 43 (Quemadmodum and Judica), 80
(Qui regis Israel), and 107 (Confitemini) will at
once suggest themselves as containing an Anti-
phonal verse which is repeated at intervals.
There are many examples of this earlier use of
Antiphons in the Greek Services. For instance:
at Vespers on the " Great Sabbath " (i. e. Easter
Eve), Ps. 82 (Deus stetif) is said with the last
verse, "Arise, God, and judge Thou the earth,
for Thou shalt take all heathen to Thine inheri-
tance," repeated with beautiful application, as an
Antiphon between each verse.
Again, in the Office for the Burial of a Priest,
Pss. 23 (Dominus regit me), 24 (Domini est
terra), 84 (Quam dilecta), are said with ''Alleluia,
Alleluia," h repeated as an Antiphon between
each verse. Here the three Psalms are called
respectively the first, second, and third Anti-
phons.
It appears that in the Roman Church the same
custom of repeating the Antiphon after each
verse of the Psalm originally prevailed. In an
old mass, edited by Menard, in the Appendix to
the Sacramentary of S. Gregory, we read, " An-
nuente Episcopo, incipiatur psalmus a Cantore,
cum Introitu reciprocante." *
Amalarius, too (De Ordine Antiphonarii, cap.
iii.), speaking of the Nocturns of weekdays, has
the words, " Ex senis Antiphonis quas vicissim
chori per singulos versus repetunt." We have
evidence that this custom was not obsolete (in
places at least) as late as the 10th century, in the
life of Odo, Abbot of Cluny, where we are told
that the monks of that house, wishing to pro-
long the office of the Vigils of S. Martin (Nov.
11), when the Antiphons of the office are short, k
K E.g. in the Lauds of the Ambrosian Breviary, and in
a still more compressed form in the Mozarabic Lauds ;
where the word " Benedicite " is omitted from the begin-
ning of each verse after the first..
h The use of " Alleluia " on this and on similar occa-
sions of mourning (e.g. during Lent) is different from the
usage of the Western Church.
1 This seems to point more to the mode of singing the
lntroit than Psalms in the daily office.
k The circumstance of their frequent repetition has
been suggested as a reason why the Antiphons to the
Psalms in the daily office are, as a rule, so much shorter
than that at the lntroit of the Mass.
CHRIST. ANT.
and the nights long, till daybreak, used to repeat
every Antiphon after each verse of the Psalms.
We find also, in a letter by an anonymous author
to Batheric, who was appointed Bishop of
Ratisbon, A.D. 814 (quoted by Thomasius), the
writer complaining that he has in the course of
his travels found some who, with a view to get
through the office as rapidly as possible, that
they may the quicker return to their worldly
business, recite it " without Antiphons, in a
perfunctory manner and with all haste" ("sine
Antiphonis, cursim, et cum omni velocitate '"' ).
Theodoret also relates (Hist. Eccl. iii. 10) that
Christians, in detestation of the impiety of
Julian, when singing the hymns of David, added
to each verse the clause, " Confounded be all they
that worship carved images."
A familiar instance of this older use of an
Antiphon is found in the " Reproaches " (" versi-
culi improperii " or " improperia ") of the
Roman Missal for Good Friday.
These are Gregorian : the introductory rubric
as it stands in the Roman Missal is cited, as it is
so precise as to the manner of singing them. It
runs thus : " Versiculi sequentes improperii a
binis alternatim cantantur, utrosque choro simul
repetente post quemlibet versum Popiule, &c." m
Sometimes metrical hymns were sung anti-
phonally after this manner. Thus at the " Salu-
tation of the Cross " the verse of the hymn
" Pange lingua," which begins " Crux fidelis," is
sung in the Sarum rite at the beginning, and
after every verse of the hymn, the rubric being
"Chorus idem repetat post unumquemque versum.
" Crux fidelis inter omnes," &c.
(. . . Sacerdotcs cantent hunc versum sequentem.)
" Pange lingua gloriosi proelinm certaminis," &c.
Chorus '' Crux fidelis," &c.
And so on. So also before the Benediction of
the Paschal Candles on Easter Eve, according
to the Sarum rite, the hymn " Inventor rutili "
is sung in the same manner, with the first stanza
repeated antiphonally after each stanza.
A variation of this form of antiphonal inter-
polation is when the interpolated clause itself
varies. The following is a striking example :
On the morning of Easter Eve in the Greek
office, the following Antiphons (rpoirdpia) are
said with Ps. IIP, "saying" (as the rubric
directs) " one verse (arixov) from the Psalm
after each troparium." These are known as to
" Blessed art Thou, O Lord, O teach me Thy statutes.
Blessed are those that are undefiled in the way, and walk
in the law of the Lord."
"Thou, O Christ, the Life, wast laid low in the
grave, and the angelic hosts were amazed, glorifying
Thy condescension."
" Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and seek
Him with their whole heart."
" O Life, how is it that Thou dost die ? How is it
that Thou dost dwell in the grave? Thou payest the
tribute of death, and raisest the dead out of Hades."
"For they who do no wickedness walk in His ways."
"We magnify Thee, O Jesu the King, and honour
Thy burial, and Thy passion, by which Thou hast saved
us from destruction."
And so on throughout the whole Psalm.
In the same manner at the burial of- monks,
the blessings at the beginning of the Sermon on
The rubrical directions with respect to the " fnipro-
peria" in the Mbzarabie Missal are very full.
H
98
ANTIPHON
ANTIPHON
the Mount (o fianapKr/j-oC) are recited with a
varying antiphonal clause after each, beginning
from the fifth.
As an example from the Western Church, we
may refer to the following, which belongs to
Vespers on Easter Eve. It is given in S. Gre-
gory's Antiphonary, with the heading Antiph. and
Ps. to the alternate verses.
Antiph. " In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn
towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene,
and the other Mary to see the sepulchre." Alleluia.
Ps. " My soul doth magnify the Lord."
Antiph. " And behold, there was a great earthquake, for
the angel of the Lord descended from heaven." Alleluia.
Ps. " And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."
And so the Magnificat is sung with the suc-
cessive clauses of the Gospel for the day used as
Antiphons after each of its verses.
The missal Litanies which are said in the Am-
brosian Mass on Sundays in Lent, and the very
beautiful Preces with which the Mozarabic
Missal and Breviary abounds, are so far anti-
phonal that each petition is followed by an un-
varying response. Their consideration, however
interesting, scarcely belongs to our present
subject.
The repetition of the Antiphon after each
verse was called " Antiphonare." In the old
Antiphonaries we frequently find such directions
as "Hoc die Antiphonamus ad Benedictus," or
simply " Hoc die antiphonamus." The word
" antiphonare " is explained to mean to repeat
the Antiphon after each verse of the Canticle.
The" Greater Antiphons " (('. e. "0 Sapientia,"
&c.) are directed to be sung at the Benedictus,
with the rubric, "Quas antiphonamus ab In Sanc-
titate ;" which means that the repetition of the
Antiphon begins from the verse of which those
are the first words.
At a later period the custom of repeating the
Antiphon after each verse of the Psalm dropped,
and its use was gradually limited to the beginning
and end of the Psalm. A relic of the old usage
still survives in the manner of singing the
" Venite " at Nocturns, in which Psalm the
Antiphon is repeated, either wholly or in part,
several times during the course of the Psalm.
It remained a frequent custom, and more par-
ticularly in the monastic usages, at Lauds and
Vespers on the greater feasts to sing the Anti-
phon three times at the end of Benedictus and
of Magnificat, once before Gloria Patri, once
before Sicut erat, and once again at the conclu-
sion of the whole. This seems to have been the
general use of the Church of Tours ; and the
Church of Rome retained the practice in the
12th century, at least in certain offices of the
festivals of the Nativity, the Epiphany, and S.
Peter. It was called " Antiphonam t riumphare,"
which is explained by Martene (Be Aid. Eccl.
Bit. iv. 4) as " ter fari." Antiphonam levare, v or
imponere, means to begin the Antiphon.
Other variations in the manner of singing the
Antiphon are mentioned by other writers. Thus
n This differs from the later (and the present) practice,
according to which these Antiphons are said to the Mag-
nificat at Vespers.
This is the manner in which the *' /xaKapio-jucu " men-
tioned above are recited. The first four are followed by
no antiphonal sentence.
p Compare our English use of the word to raise.
we are told 1 that sometimes the Antiphon was
said twice before the Psalm ; or at least, if onlv
said once, the first half of it would be sung by
one choir, and the second half by the other.
This was called " respondere ad Antiphonam." r
It appears that this method of singing the
Antiphon was confined to the beginning and end
of the Psalm or Canticle. When repeated during
the Psalm, the Antiphon was always sung by one
choir, the other taking the verse.
The repetition of the Antiphons was in later
times still further curtailed, and the opening
words only sung at the beginning of the Psalm
or Canticle, the entire Antiphon being recited at
the close. Still later, two or more Psalms were
said under the same Antiphon, itself abbreviated
as just stated. This is the present custom of the
Roman Breviary. When the Antiphon was taken
from the beginning of the Psalm or Canticle,
after the Antiphon the beginning of the Psalm or
Canticle was not repeated, but the recitation was
taken up from the place where the Antiphon
ceases. For instance, the opening verses of the
92nd Psalm are said at Vespers on Saturday in
the Ambrosian rite in this maimer :
Ant. " Bonum est."
Ps. " Et psallere nomini Tuo Altissime," &c.
"Gloria Patri," &c.
Ant. " Bonum est confiteri Domiuo Deo nostro."
Where the recitation of the Psalm begins with
the verse following the Antiphon, though the
opening words only of the Antiphon are said at
the beginning.
On the more important festivals the Anti-
phons at Vespers, Matins, and Lauds (but not at
the other hours), were said entire before as well
as after the Psalms and Canticles. These feasts
were hence called " double ;" those in which the
Antiphons were not thus repeated, " simple."
There are a few peculiarities in the use of
Antiphons to the Psalms and Canticles in the
Ambrosian and Mozarabic rites which may be
mentioned.
1. The Ambrosian Antiphons are divided into
simple and' double. The simple Antiphons are
said in the same manner as the Roman Antiphons
on days which are not " double." They are
always so said whatever be the nature of the
feast. In Eastertide the Antiphon is said entire
before the Psalm, and instead of its repetition
at the end, " Alleluia, Alleluia," is said.
The double Antiphons consist of two clauses,
the second being distinguished by a V.(i. e. versus).
and is said entire both before and after the
Psalm. The following is a specimen which is
said to be one of the Psalms on Good Friday :
A nt. duplex. " Simon, steepest thou ? Couldest not thou
watch with me one hour ?"
V. " Or do ye see Judas, how he sleeps not, but hastens
to deliver Me to the Jews?"
These double Antiphons occur occasionally and
irregularly on days which have proper Psalms.
) By Amalarius, De Eccl. Off. iv. 7.
r In thf Vatican Antiphonary we find the following
direction on the Epiphany : " Uodie ad omnes Antiphonas
respondemus," and so in other instances. In a MS. of the
church of Rouen the antiphon before and after the "Mag-
nificat" at first Vespers of the Assumption is divided into
four alternate parts between the two sides of the choir,
and after the "Gloria Patri" is again sung by both sides
together.
ANTIPHON
ANTIPHON
99
Thus on Wednesday before Easter, out of liine
Psalms, one was a double Antiphon ; on Thurs-
day, out often, none, and on Good Friday, out of
eighteen, one ; on Christmas Day, out of twenty-
one, four ; and on the Epiphany, out of twenty-
one, six. Festivals are not divided into " double "
and " simple " as distinguished by the Anti-
phous.
2. The Mozarabic Antiphons are said entire
before as well as after their Psalm or Canticle.
Occasionally two Antiphons are given for the
same Canticle. 3 They are often divided into two
clauses, distinguished by the letter P* in which
case at the end of the Psalm the " Gloria " is in-
tercalated between the two clauses.
Of the nature of the sentence adopted as an
Antiphon little is to be said. It is, for the most
part, a verse, or part of a verse, from the Psalm
it accompanies, varying with the day and the
occasion, and often with extreme beauty of ap-
plication. Sometimes it is a slight variation of
the verse ; or it is taken from other parts of
Scripture ; sometimes it is an original composi-
tion, occasionally even in verse. E. q. in the
3rd Nocturu on Sundays between Trinity and
Advent in the Sarum Breviary :
To Ps. 19 (Coeli enarravt),
" Sponsus ut e thalamo processit Christus in orbem :
Descendens coelo jure salutifero."
The Antiphons for the Venite are technically
called the Ixvitatoria. u
The corresponding Antiphons of the Eastern
Church need not detain us, as they are less pro-
minent and important, and present no special
features. They are always taken from the Psalm
itself, and are said after the Psalm only, and are
prefaced by the words Kal iraXiv (and again),
and are introduced before the " Gloria Patri."
Thus Ps. 104 {Bencdic anima mea) is said
daily at Vespers. It is called the prooemiac
Psalm ; and the Antiphon at the end is
And again.
" The sun knoweth his going down. Thou makest
darkness that it may be night.
" Lord, how manifold are Thy works. In wisdom
hast Thou made them all."
" Glory be," &c. " As it was," &c.
Antiphona Post Evangelium. An Antiphon
said, as its name indicates, after the Gospel, in
the Ambrosian rite. It consists of a simple un-
broken clause, and is sometimes taken from the
Psalms or other parts of Scripture ; sometimes
it is composed with reference to the day. One
example will show its form, that for the Christo-
phory or return of Christ out of Egypt (Jan. 7).
" Praise the Lord, all ye angels of His ; praise Him all
His host. Praise Him sun and moon : praise Him all ye
stars and light."
There is nothing corresponding in the Roman
Monastic and Sarum Missals, in which the Gospel
s We do not feel sure whether in these cases it is In-
tended that both Antiphons be used at once, or a choice
given between the two.
1 It does not seem quite clear what this 1'. represents.
Probably it stands for f'salmus.
The Roman is taken rather than any other Breviary
as (riving a short form. The Invilatories of the Sarum
Breviary are nearly the same for the weekdays. For
ordinary Sundays there is a greater variety, which would
have made them longer to quote, without adding to the
value of the illustration.
is immediately followed by the Greed. In the
Mozarabic office the Lauda followed the Gospel.
(The Creed, it will be remembered, is sung after
.the consecration.)
Antiphona ad Confr actionem Panis. An Anti-
phon said in the Mozarabic Mass on certain days
at the breaking of the consecrated Host.* It
occurs for the most part during Lent, and in
votive Masses. Also on Whitsunday and on
Corpus Christi. It is usually short and said in
one clause. Thus from the 4th Sunday in Lent
{Mediante die Festo), up to Maundy Thursday
(/ coend Domini), and also on Corpus Christi,
it is
" Do Thou, Lord, give us our meat in due season.
Open Thine hand, and fill all things living with plen-
teousness."
In the Ambrosian Missal the Confractorium
corresponds to the Antiph. ad Confrac. There
is no Antiphon appointed at the same place in
the Roman and Sarum Missals.
Antiphona in Choro. An Antiphon said in
the Ambrosian rite at Vespers on certain days.
It occurs near the beginning of the office, before
the Hymn, and is said on Sundays, and at the
second Vespers of festivals. It is also said at
the first Vespers of those festivals which have
the office not solemn 7 (officium non solemne) and
of some, but not of all, " Solemnities of the Lord."
It is not said at first Vespers of a Solemn Office.
This is the general rule, though there are oc-
casional exceptions. It varies with the days, and
is usually a verse of Scripture, in most cases from
the Psalms, and has no Psalm belonging to it.
Sometimes it is an adaptation of a passage of
Scripture, or an original composition. Thus, on
Easter Day, we have
Ant. in ch. Hallel. Then believed they His words,
and sang praise unto Him." Hallel.
Antiphona ad Crucem. An Antiphon said in
the Ambrosian rite at the beginning of Lauds
after the Benedictus. It is said on Sundavs
(except in Lent), on Festivals which have the
"Solemn Office" (except they fall on Satur-
day), in " Solemnities of the Lord " (even
though they fall on Saturday), and during
Octaves. It is usually a verse from Scripture,
but sometimes an original composition with very
much of the character of a Greek rpoirapiov, and
always ends with Kyr. Kyr. Kyr. (i. e. Kyrie
eleison, sometimes written K. K. K.). It is said
five times, the Antiphon itself is repeated three
times, then follows Gloria Patri, then the Anti-
phon again, then Sicut erat, and then the Anti-
phon once more. On Sundays in Advent, except
the 6th, on Christmas Day, the Circumcision,
and the Epiphany, it is said seven times, i. e., is
repeated five times before the Gloria Patri.
* In the Mozarabic rite the Host after consecration is
divided, as is well known, into nine parts, which arc
arranged on the paten in a prescribed order, which it
would be foreign to our present purpose to describe. In
the Eastern Church the Host is broken into four parts by
the Priest, who recites an unvarying form of words. But
this is not an Antiphon, and therefore beyond our pro-
vince.
> Festivals are divided in the Ambrosian rite into So-
lemnities of the Lord (Solemnitides Domini), and those
which have the office toUm.il (officium solemne), or not
solemn (officium non solemne).
IJ 2
100
ANTIPHONAEIUM
ANTIPHONAEIUM
Thus on Ascension Day
Ant. ad crucem quinquies. " Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven ? As ye have seen Him
go into heaven, so shall He come." Hallel. Ky r. Kyr. Kyi".
" Ye meD," &c.
" Ye men," &c.
" Glory be," &c.
" Ye men," &c.
" As it was," &c.
" Ye men," &c.
An Antiphona ad crucem, apparently recited
once only, often occurs in the Antiphonary of
Gregory the Great, after the Antiphons of Ves-
pers or Lauds. The early writers on the offices
of the Roman Church make no mention of it, so
that it was probably peculiar to the monastic
rites, which more readily admitted additions of
this nature. It has been conjectured that the
monastic orders derived it from the Church of
Milan.
Antiphona ad Accedentes or ad Accedendum.
An Antiphon in the Mozarabic Mass, sung after
the Benediction, and before the Communion of
the Priest. They do not often change. There
js one which is said from the Vigil of Pentecost
to the first day of Lent inclusive, one which is
said from Easter Eve to the Vigil of Pentecost.
In Lent they vary with the Sunday, that for
the first Sunday being said on weekdays up to
Thursday before Easter exclusive. The first of
these which is said during the greater part of
the year, is as follows :
" taste and see how gracious the Lord is." Allel.
Allel. Allel.
V. " I will always give thanks unto the Lord. His
praise shall ever be in my mouth." P. Allel. Allel. Allel.
V. " The Lord delivereth the souls of His servants ;
and all they that put their trust in Him shall not be des-
titute." P. Allel. Allel. Allel.
V. "Glory and honour be to the Father, and to the
Sou, and to the Hnly Ghost, world without end." Amen.
P. Allel. Allel. Allel.
In the Apostolical Constitutions, Ps. 24 (Bene-
dicam), from which this Antiphon is taken, is
appointed to be said during the Communion, as
it is in the Armenian Liturgy during the dis-
tribution of the Azymes. z (During the com-
munion of the people another Canticle is sun:;.)
S. Ambrose alluded to the practice in the words
" Unde et Ecclesia videns tantam Gratiam, horta-
tur, Gustate et videte."
The second Antiphon, that used between Easter
and Pentecost, has reference to the Resvrrrection.
It is adapted from the words of the Gospel nar-
rative, and we need not quote it.
That for Thursday before Easter is much
longer, and is broken into many more ant iphonal
clauses, and is an abstract of the Gospel narra-
tive of the institution of the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper. Those in use during Lent are of
precisely the ordinary form.
There is nothing in the other Western Liturgies
which exactly corresponds to this Antiphon.
The Roman and Sarum Communio, and the Am-
brosian Transitorium, which are the analogous
parts of those offices, are said after the Recep-
tion. [H. J. H.]
ANTIPHONAEIUM (also Antiphonale, An-
tiphonarius, Antiphonarius liber), an office book
of the Latin Church, containing the Antiphons
2 These correspond to the French pain beni. [Kclogiae.]
and other portions of the Service, which were
sung antiphonally.
The name Antiphonarium is applied to such
books by John the Deacon, in his Life of Gregory
the Great, who says that that Pontiff was the
author of Antiphonaries. The complete collec-
tion, however, of Antiphons and Responsories,
known by the general name of Antiphonarium
or Besponsorium, was usually divided into three
parts in the Roman Church.
Amalarius writes:" "It is to be observed
that the volume which we call Antiphonarium
has three names b (tria habet nomina) among
the Romans. That part which we term Gradxud
(Gradale) they term Cantatory (Cantatorium),
which is still, according to their old custom, in
some churches bound in a separate volume. The
following part they divide under two headings
(in duobus nominibus). The part which contains
the Responsories is called the Responsorial (Re-
sponsoriale) ; and the part which contains the
Antiphons is called the Antiphonary (Antiphon-
arius)."
As to the name Cantatorium, we find in the
" Ordo Romanus I." ( 10) the direction :
" After he [the Subdeacon] has finished reading
[the epistle], the singer (Cantor), with the Canta-
tory, mounts, and sings the Response." And
Amalarius (Be Eccl. Off. iii. 16) says : " The
singer holds the Tablets (Tabulas)," where the
word Tabulas is thought to mean the same thing
as Cantatorium, i. e. the book itself.
The derivation of these words is obvious. The
book was called Cantatorium from its containing
the parts of the Service which were sung : Gradale,
Gradalis, or Graduale (Gradual or Graile), from
their being sung at the steps of the ambo or
pulpit ; and Tabulae in all probability from the
plates in which the book was contained, and
which appear to have been of bone, or perhaps
horn. Amalarius, in the context of the passage
quoted, says that the tabulae which the Cantor
holds are usually made of bone (solent fieri de
osse).
By whatever name this book was known, it
contained those portions of the office of the Mass
which were sung antiphonally, and was the first
of the three divisions above alluded to. The
second part, the Eesponsoriale, contained the
Responsories after the lessons at Nocturns ; and
the third part, the Antiphonarium, the Antiphons
for the Nocturns and diurnal offices.
The three parts together make up what is
generally understood by the Antiphonale or An-
tiphonarium. The book is also sometimes called
the Official Book, or the Office Book (Liber offi-
cialis. A MS. of the Monastery of St. Gall, of
part of an Antiphonary and Responsorial of the
usual type, is headed " Incipit officialis liber ").
It seems also to have been occasionally called the
Capitular Book (Capitulare). In a MS. of St.
Gall, of apparently about the beginning of the
11th century, we find the direction, " Respon-
soria et Antiphonae sicut in Capitular i habet ur ;"
and though, according to the ld Roman use of
words, "-Capitulare" means the Book of Epistles
and Gospels, the context in this place necessitates
a De ord. Antiph., Prologus.
b i.e. consists of three parts, as the context shows.
c i.e. the Ambo or its steps, for the custom would seem
to have varied.
ANTIPHONAEIUM
ANT1THONARIUM
101
the meaning of Antiphonary. The word occurs,
moreover, throughout the MS. in the same
sense.
Antiphonaries are sometimes found in old
MSS. divided into two parts one beginning
with Advent, and ending with Wednesday or
some later day (for the practice is not uniform)
in the Holy Week, and the other comprising
the rest of the year. Sometimes, again, they
were divided into two parts, containing respect-
ively the services for the daily and the nocturnal
offices. Among the books of the Monastery of
Pisa (Muratori, Ann. Ital. iv.) we meet with
" Antiphonarios octo, quinque diurnales, tres noc-
turnales," and in an old inventory of the church
of Tarbes " Antiphonarium de die " and " Anti-
phonarium de node are mentioned. We have
thus to distinguish between
(1.) The Antiphonarium (properly so called),
which contained the Antiphons for the Nocturns
and daily office.
(2.) The Liber Responsorialis ct Antiphona-
rius, frequently, and in the Roman Church
usually, called for brevity Antiphonarium, which
comprised the contents of the last-mentioned
hook, together with the Responsories, originally
divided into two distinct parts, but afterwards
united into one, and arranged in order of
sequence.
(3.) The Antiphonarium, otherwise called Gra-
duate, Gradale, or Gradalis, and which contains
those portions of the missal which are sung anti-
phonally. This is what is called by some Canta-
iorium.
Those which are most frequently met with are
of classes 2 and 3.
2. As to the origin of Antiphonaries, St.
Gregory the Great is, as we have stated, usually
considered to have been the author of Antipho-
naries. It is, however, maintained by some, d and
with much reason, that as the use of Antiphons
and Responsories in the Roman Church was older
than the time of Gregory, it is likely that books
of Antiphons and Responsories existed likewise
previously, and that that Pontiff merely revised
and rearranged the Antiphonal and Responsorial
books he found in use, much in the same manner
as he recast the old Sacramentary of Gelasius
into what is now universally known as the Gre-
gorian Sacramentary.
It has been also questioned by some whether
Gregory, the reputed author of Antiphonaries,
may not be Pope Gregory II. a.d. 715. But as
the title of the Great was not ascribed to Gregory
I. till long after his death, e the argument founded
on the absence of that title, which is much relied
on, does not seem of great force.
The Roman Antiphonary, substantially, we
may suppose, as Gregory compiled it, was sent
by Pope Adrian I. (a.d. 772-795) to Charle-
magne. The received story is that the Pope
sent two Antiphonaries to the Emperor by two
singers (Cantores) of the Roman Church. f Of
these, one fell ill on his journey, and was received
at the Monastery of St. Gall, to which monastery
<i As by Thomasius, Opera, iv. p. xxxiv.
c In the writings of Bede, Gregory of Tours, &c. &c,
he is called B. Gngorius, or Uregnrrius Fapa, or Gre-
gorius EccUsiae Doctor, but not GregorivA Magnus.
f It was after this, according to Thomasius (h'p. i. ad
Sdicnk), that the Antiphonary was divided into the parts
above named.
he left an Antiphonary. The other book reached
its destination, and was deposited at Metz. This
Antiphonary was held in high estimation, as we
learn from St. Bernard, who says that the early
Cistercians, who could find nothing more authen-
tic, sent to Metz to transcribe the Antiphonary,
which was reputed to be Gregorian, for their
use. It is also said that the clergy of Metz
excelled the rest of the Gallic clergy in the
Roman Church song (Romana Cantilena) as much
as the Roman clergy excelled them.
A Roman Antiphonary was also sent by Pope
Gregory IV. (a.d. 827-84-1) to the then Abbat of
Corbie, which was known as the Corbie Anti-
phonary ; and as this often varies from that of
Metz, it is inferred (as is probable) that certain
changes and variations between different copies
had by that time crept into the Antiphonary as
compiled by Gregory.
After the Gregorian Antiphonary was intro-
duced into France, it soon underwent many addi-
tions and modifications.
Walafrid Strabo, who lived in the 9th century,
says that the Church of Gaul, which possessed
both learned men and ample materials for the
divine offices of its own, intermingled some of
these with the Roman offices. Hence a great
variety in the usages of the different French
churches, on which we need not touch.
3. As examples of the contents of these books,
we will give a sketch of two.
(1.) The Antiphonary for the Mass, or Gra-
dual, attributed to St. Gregory. This is headed
" In Dei nomine incipit Antiphonarius ordinatus
a St. Gregorio per circulum anni."
This title is followed in the St. Gall MS. by
the well-known lines
"Uregorius Praesul meritis et nomine dignns,
TJnde genus dueit Summum conseendit Honorem," etc.
The book contains the various Antiphons sung
at the Mass for the course of the ecclesiastical
year, divided into two parts ; that for the Sun-
days and moveable feasts, and that for the Saints'
days. The first part, corresponding to the Tem-
porate of the Missals, has no special heading. It
begins with a rule for finding Advent (that it
must not begin before V. Kal. Dec, or after*
III. Non. Dec), and then proceeds with the
Sundays and Festivals in their course, beginning
with the first Sunday in Advent (Dom. l ma de
Adventu Domini), giving for each day the Station,
the Antiphona ad Introitum, with the tone for
the Psalm ; the Eesponsorium Gradale, the Trac-
tus, when it occurs ; the Antiphona ad Offerenda,
and the Antiphona ad Communioncm,s each with
its versus ad repetendum, and the last with its
psalm also.
In the arrangement of the year, there is little
to be noticed. The Sundays during the summer
are counted from the Octave of Pentecost, and
are called Dominica prima post Octavas Pente-
costas; and so on until the 5th, which is called in
some MSS. Dominica prima post Natale Aposto-
lorum^ the numbering from the Octave of Pente-
cost being likewise continued till Advent. After
six of these Sundays post-Natale, &c, comes
s These are now called respectively the Gradual (Gra-
duate, or Gradale), the Offertory (Oil'ertorium), and the
Communion (Communiu), and the last two are shortened
into a single verse.
h i.e. SS. l'eter and PauL
102
ANTIPHONARIUM
ANTIPHONARIUM
Dominica prima post St. Laurentii,' and so on for
six Sundays more, when we come to Dominica
prima post S. Angeli, k of which last set of Sun-
days seven are provided. Trinity Sunday does
not appear, but the last Sunday before Advent is
called " dc SS. Trinitate, [a/.] Donn. xxiv. post
Octav.-Pentec. ; and the Antiphonsare those now
used in the Roman Church on Trinity Sunday,
i.e., the Octave of Pentecost. The Festival of the
Circumcision does not appear, the day being called
Oct. Domini. There is also a second office pro-
vided for the same day, according to an old prac-
tice, called variously In Natal. Sanctae Mariae
or De Sancta Marin in Octava D ni , or Ad hono-
rem Sanctae Mdriae. m
'Die offices for Good Friday " ad crucem ado-
rdndam" and the Reproaches (called here simply
Ad crucem Antiphona) and that for baptism on
Blaster Eve, as also various Litanies and other
occasional additions to the usual office, are found
in their proper places.
The second part is headed " De natalitiis
Sanctorum," and corresponds with the Sanctorale
of later books. It begins with the festival of St.
Lucy [Dec. 13], and ends with that of St. Andrew
[Nov. 30]. This is followed in the St. Gall MS.
by offices for St. Nicholas, the Octave of St.
Andrew, St. Damasus [Dec. 11], and the Vigil of
St. Thomas, and one for the Festival of St. Thomas,
which differs from that previously given. There
are also a variety of occasional and votive offices.
The Festival of All Saints is found in some
MSS. There is one Festival of the Chair of St.
Peter in one of the St. Gall copies on Jan. 18, n
and one in three MSS. on Feb. 22. There is no
addition in either case of the words Romae or
Antiochiae. and both are not, it seems, found in
the same MS.
As a specimen of the arrangement, take the
first Mass for Christmas Day, that in media nocte
or in galli cantu.
"VJII. Kalendas Januarii
Nativltas Domini nostri Jesu Chrittil
Ad Sauctam Mariam.
Antiphmta ad Introitum.
Dominus dixit ad me, Filius meus es tu, I Ego hodie
genui te. [Dominus dixit.]
Ton. ii. oia, euonae.
Ps.2. Quare fremuerunt gentes? et populi meditati
suntinania? [Dominus dixit] [Gloria/" Dominus dixit]
V c ad repetendum. Postula a me, ef dabo tibi gentes
haereditatem tuam, et possessionem tuam terminos terrae.
[Dominus dixit.]"
Then follow successively the Responsorium
gradale, the Antiphona ad offerenda, and the
Antiphona ad Communionem, each with its
versus, and the last with its psalm and versus ad
repetendum. All these Antiphons are repeated
in the manner which has been explained in the
article on Antiphons ; and as they are of the
i.e. Aug. 10.
k i.e. Michaelmas, as we should say.
m This has been put forward as an argument for the
Gregorian authorship of this Antiphonary, as it is said
that St. Gregory was in the habit of celebrating two
masses on this day, the second of which was "de Sancta
Maria."
> This corresponds with the present festival of the
Chair of St. Peter at Rome.
This corresponds with the present festival of the
Chair of St. Peter at Antioch.
ordinary form, it does not seem necessary to set
them out at length here.
(2.) As an example of an Antiphonary for the
canonical hours, we will take the Antiphonary of
the Vatican Basilica. It is a MS. with musical
nutation differing from that adopted later. It
represents the use of the Roman Church in the
12th century, and may be considered as embody-
ing the substance of the Gregorian Antiphonary,
together with some later additions. It is headed
" In nomine Domini Jesu Christi incipit Re-
sponsoriale et Antiphonarium Rumanae Ecelesiae
de circulo anni juxta veterem usum Canonicorum
Basilicae Vaticanae St. Petri." It begins with a
calendar, with the usual couplets of hexameters
at the head of each month, and then, without
any further title, proceeds with the Antiphons
at the first Vespers of the first Sunday in Ad-
vent, and thence onwards throughout the course
of the year, giving the Antiphons at Nocturns
and all the hours; and the Responsories after
the lessons at Nocturns. These Antiphons and
Responsories are so nearly the same as those in
the present Roman Breviary that it is unneces-
sary to quote more than the following specimen
of the manner in which they are set out :
" Dominica i. de Adventu Domini.
Statio ad Sanctam Mariam Majorem ad Praesepe.
Istud Invitatorium cantamus eo die ad Matntinum
usque in Vigil. Natal. Domini, exceptis Festivitatibns
Sanctorum.
Regem renturum Dominum, venite adoremus. Venite.
In i. Nocturne
Ant. Missus est Gabriel Angelus ad Mariam Virginem
desponsatam Joseph. Psal. Beatus vir. Quare fremu-
erunt. Domine quid. Domine ne in.
Ant. Ave Maria, gratia plena, benedicta tu inter muli-
eres. Psal. Domine Deus meus.i Domine Dominus
noster. Confitebor. In Domino confido.
Ant. Ne timeas Maria, invenisti gratiam apud Domi-
num; ecce concipies et paries Filium. AUeluja. Psal.
Salvum me fac. Usquequo. Dixit insipiens. Domine
quis.
V. Ostende nobis Domine misericordiam Tuam.
R. Et salutare Tuum da nobis."
Then follows a long rubric, directing how the
Responsories should be sung, and then the three
well-known Responsories :
(1) Aspiciens a longe, &c.
(2) Aspiciebam in visu noctis, &c.
(3) Missus est Gabriel, &c.
The lessons are not indicated ; but the Re-
sponsories are usually taken from the book which
is being read in its course. Thus, on the Octave
of Pentecost the Books of the Kings p were
begun ; and we have the rubric, " Historia
Regum cantatur usque ad Kalendas Augusti,"
followed by a series of Responsories taken or
adapted from those books for use during that
time.i
The Antiphons, &c, for ordinary week days
{Feriae) are given after the Octave of the Epi-
phany. On days on which there are nine lessons,
nine Responsories are given. According to the
present Roman custom, the ninth is replaced by
Te Deum on those days on which it is said.
There is also an Antiphonary of this description
p Including what we call the Books of Samuel.
i The older Roman custom was to sing in the Octave
of Pentecost and during the following week Responsories
from the Psalms (de Psalmista) after that from the Kings.
ANTISTES
attributed to St. Gregory, which exists at St.
Gall. It is headed by an introduction in verse,
which begins thus
" Hoc quoque Gregorius Patres de more secutus,
Instauravit opus, auxit et in melius.
His vigili Clerus mentem conamine subdut
Ordinibus, pascens hoc sua corda favo."
(and so on for 14 lines.)
The MS. bears the heading "Incipiunt Re-
sponsoria et Antiphonae per circulum anni."
These are in the main identical with those in the
Antiphonary just mentioned, but are arranged
with reference to the monastic distribution of
psalms and lessons.
Towards the end of the Antiphonary is a large
number of Antiphons, given for the Benedicite,
the Benedictus, and the Magnificat respectively.
In a portion of an Antiphonary (" ex vetus-
tissimo codice MS. membranaceo Palatino signato
num. 487 in Bibliotheca Vaticana, in quo conti-
neutur vetustiores, germanioresque libelli Ordinis
Romani "), containing the service for Easter
week, one or more of the Antiphons to the
psalms for each day is given in Greek, but
written in Roman characters, the others remain-
ing in Latin. Thus at Vespers on Easter Tuesday,
the Antiphon to Ps. cxii. is thus given
" Alleluja. Prosechete laos mu to nomo mu : clinate to
us hymon is ta rhimata tu stomatos mu.
V. Anixo en paiabolaes to stoma mu : plithenxoniae
problemata aparches." r
Those to the other psalms at the same Vespers
are in Latin.
This may suffice to explain the general nature
of Antiphonaries. The consideration of the many
points of interest which their details present is
beyond the scope of this article. [H. J. H.]
ANTISTES. This title appears to have
been common to bishops and presbyters in the
Early Church. As the name " sacerdos " is com-
mon to both estates in respect of the offices of
divine service which were performed by both,
so in respect of the government of the Church
in which they were associated, we find them
designated alike, sometimes as " Presbyters " as
marking their age and dignity sometimes in
respect of their " cure " or charge as " antis-
tites," TTpoea-TwTes, praepositi. Thus in the first
canon of the Council of Antioch, a.d. 341, the
bishop and presbyter are both expressly classed
among the TrpoecrraJTes, and the corresponding
title of " Antistites " is evidently extended to
the second order of the ministry by St. Augus-
tine (Serm. 351 de Poenitentia), as follows: " Ve-
niat (peccator) ad antistites, per quos illi in
ecclesia claves ministrantur, et . . . a praepo-
sitis sacramentorum accipiat satisfactionis suae
modum." Here it is plain that " antistites in
ecclesia " are not the bishop alone, but the bishop
and the presbyters. This usage of the word
agrees with that of Archisynagogus in the
Jewish synagogue, and may have been suggested
by it. (Thorndike, Primitive Government of
Churches, vol i. p. 34.) [D. B.]
ANTONICUS, saint, commemorated April 19
(Mart. Bedae). ' [C]
r npouexere Aao? fiou to! yojua> fiov ' /cAiVaTt to o6s
vjxitiv et? Ta pij/xaTa tou OTojixaTos fxov.
aroifio iv irapa/3oAais to o"TOjua (nou, <fi6iyl;0)j.a.i 7rpo- I
^A>i(XOTa a7r' dpxrjs.
APOLLONIUS
103
ANTONINA, martyr, commemorated June
10 (Cal. Byzant., Neale). [C]
ANTONINUS. (1) Abbat, Jan. 17 (M.
Hieron.).
(2) Martyr at Nicomedia, May 4 (M. Hieron.).
(3) Martyr at Apamea, commemorated Sept. 2
(Mart. Rom. Vet.) Sept. 3 (Mart. Hieron.). [C]
ANTONIUS. (1) The hermit, Jan. 17 (Mart.
Bedae, Cal. Byzant., Armen.).
(2) Martyr at Rome, commemorated Aug. 22
(Mart. Rom. Vet.).
(3) In Piacenza, Sept. 30 (M. Hieron.).
(4) In Caesarea, commemorated Nov. 13
(Mart. Hieron.). [C]
ANYSIA, martyr of Thessalonica, commemo-
rated Dec. 30 (Cal. Byzant.). [C]
APER, bishop, commemorated Sept. 15 (Mart.
Bedae, Hieron.). [C]
APOCREOS ('ATTd'Kpea.s). The Sunday in
the Orthodox Greek Calendar, which corresponds
to our Sexagesima Sunday, is called KvpiaKi]
'ArroKpews, because from it the abstinence from
flesh begins, though the more strict observance of
the Lent fast does not commence until the follow-
ing Sunday. [Lent.] The whole of the preceding
week is also named from this Sundav, and is a
kind of carnival. (Daniel, Codex Liturgicus, iv.
214 ; Suicer, Thesaurus, s. v. 'A-nroKpecos.) [C]
APODOSIS ('A7ro'5o<m). When the com-
memoration of a Festival is prolonged over several
days, the last day of this period is called in the
Greek Calendar the " Apodosis" of the Festival.
For instance, on the Thursday before Pentecost
is the Apodosis of the Ascension (airuSiSorat r\
'Eopr^i rrjs 'Ai/a\7}\f/fws). In this case, and in
some others (for instance, the Exaltation of the
Cross and the Transfiguration) the Apodosis
coincides with the octave ; but this is not always
the case. Sometimes the period is more than an
octave ; Easter-day, for instance, has its Apodosis
on the eve of the Ascension: but generally it is
less ; the Nativity of the Theotokos (Sept. 8), for
instance, has its Apodosis Sept. 12. (Neale's
Eastern Church, Introd. 764 ; Daniel's Codex
Liturgicus, iv. 230.) fC]
APOLLINARIS. (1) Bishop, martyr at
Ravenna, commemorated July 23 (Mart. Rom.
Vet, Bedae). Antiphon for Natalis Sancti Apol-
liiwris in Liber Antiphon. p. 704.
(2) Commemfirated Aug. 23 (Mart. Bedae).
(3) " Avernus," Sept. 26 (M. Hieron.).
(4) Bishop, Oct. 5 (lb. et Hieron.). [C]
APOLLINARIUS, martyr, commemorated
June 5 (Mart. Bedae). [C]
APOLLONIA, virgin, martyr at Alexandria,
commemorated Feb. 9 (Mart. Rom. Vet.). [C]
APOLLON, bishop and martyr, commemo-
rated Feb. 10 (Mart. Hieron.). [C]
APOLLONIUS. (1) Commemorated March
19 (Mart. Bedae).
(2) Of Egypt, commemorated April 5 (Mart.
Rom. Vet.) ; Dec. 14 (Cal. Byzant.).
(3) rrcsbytcr, of Alexandria, April 10 (B>. et
Hieron.).
(4) Senator, martyr at Rome, April 18 (lb.
et Bcdac).
104
APOSTASY
APOSTASY
(5) Commemorated July 7 {Mart. Bedae et
Hjeron.).
(6) Commemorated Dec. 23 (M. Hieron.). [C]
APOSTASY (jxiroaraffia, apostasia, praevari-
catio) is of three kinds. 1. Apostasy a fide, or
perfidiae ; 2. Apostasy a religione ; 3. Apostasy
ah ordine suscepto. Of these the two last will
be more appropriately considered under the
articles Monasticism and Holy Orders.
Apostasy a fide is the voluntary and com-
plete abandonment of the Faith by those who
have been made members of the Church by
baptism. It is voluntary, and herein to be dis-
tinguished from the sin of the lapsed [Lapsi],
who fall away through compulsion or the fear
of death ; it is also complete, and consequently a
graver crime than heresy, which is the denial
of one or more of the articles of the Faith, but
not an entire rejection of the Faith itself. Lastly,
.Apostasy is an abandonment of the Faith, and
therefore an offence which could only be com-
mitted by members of the Church, by those
who had in baptism taken the soldier's oath to
fight under her standard. For this reason apos-
tates were accounted to be betrayers of their
Master's cause, and deserters from the ranks
in which they had sworn to serve. " Praeva-
ricatores eos existimamus, qui susceptam fidem
et cognitionem Dei adeptam relinquunt ; aliud
pollicitos, et aliud nunc agentes " (St. Hilar.
Fict. in Ps. 118, vers. 119).
It would also appear that catechumens were
by some considered capable of committing the
sin of apostasy (Cod. Theod., De Apostat. xvi. 7, 2),
although their guilt was not so great as that of
the baptized apostate.
Apostates a fide were of two classes : those
who became Jews, and those who became Pagans.
Of the former class there were those who entirely
abandoned the Christian Faith, and who there-
fore were properly called apostates ; and those
who did not altogether reject it, but mingled to-
gether Christianity and Judaism, and, as it were,
made for themselves a new religion. Such were
the Coelicolae, Cerinthiani, Ebionaei, Nazaraei,
Elcesaei, and Samsaei. There were others, again,
who were also called apostates, who, without
embracing any distinctive Jewish doctrines, ob-
served parts of the ceremonial law, such as rest-
ing on the Sabbath, or who kept the Jewish
feasts and fasts, or consulted Jews with the
object of pi - ocuring charms for the cure of sick-
ness.
And, secondly, there were those who volun-
tarily abandoned Christianity and returned to
heathenism. And persons, who without going
to this length, accepted the office of flamen, or
who attended sacrifices (except in the discharge
of duty), or joined as actors, stage players, or
charioteers in the heathen games, or who sold
animals or incense for sacrifice, or manufactured
idols and the like, were considered to have be-
trayed their faith and to be guilty of a sin almost
as grave as that of apostasy, and to merit the
name of apostates (Devoti. Inst. Can. iv. 3 ;
Bingham, Antiq. xvi. 6, 4).
The crime of apostasy was punished in the
same way as heresy, though it was a graver
offence. There are also special enactments in re-
ference to it, both in the canons of Councils and
in the constitutions of the Christian emperors.
By the 11th canon of the Oecumenical Council
of Nicaea (a.d. 32.5), those who had voluntarily
denied Christ, if they gave proof of hearty re-
pentance, were admitted for three years amongst
the audientes. For the next seven years they
were permitted to become substrati, and were
obliged to leave the church at the same time a?
the catechumens. After the expiration of this
term they were allowed to join as consistentes in
the prayers of the faithful ; but two years had
still to elapse before they were permitted
to make oblations, or to partake of the Holy
Eucharist ; then they were said i\9e7v eVi rh
riKsiov (cf. Beveridge, Pand. Can. Annotationes
in loc, and Bingham, Antiq. viii. 3 ; xviii. 1).
These provisions were an amelioration of the
earlier discipline of the Church, as we learn from
St. Cyprian (A.D. 252). " Apostatae vero et de-
sertores vel adversarii et hostes et Christi Eccle-
siam dissipantes, nee, si occisi pro nomine foris
fuerint, admitti secundum Apostolum possunt
ad ecclesiae pacem, quando nee Spiritus nee Eccle-
siae tenuerunt unitatem " (St. Cyprian, Ep. Iv.
ad fin.).
By the 63rd (or G4th) of the Canons of the
Apostles, clerks who went into synagogues to
pray were deposed and excommunicated ; and if
laymen committed a like offence they were ex-
communicated (on the interpretation of this canon
with regard to the question whether or not clerks
were to be excommunicated as well as deposed,
see Beveridge, Pand. Can. Annotationes, in loc).
The same punishments were by the 65th (or
66th) canon inflicted on clerks and laymen who
fasted on the Lord's Day, or upon any Sabbath
Day except the Great Sabbath, Easter Eve ; and
by the 69th (or 70th) canon, those were included
who observed Jewish fasts or feasts, or (canon
70 or 71) who gave oil for consumption in syna-
gogues or heathen temples.
By the 11th canon of the "Concilium Quini-
sextum," or "in Trullo " (a.d. 691 or 692), the
clergy and laity were forbidden the former under
pain of deposition, and the latter under pain of
excommunication to eat unleavened bread with
Jews, or to have any friendly intercourse with
them, or to consult them in sickness, or even to
enter the baths in their company.
In Africa, by the 35th canon of the 3rd
Council of Carthage (a.D. 397) "Apostaticis con-
versis vel reversis ad Dominum gratia vel re-
conciliatio non negetur."
In the East, by the 29th canon of the Council
of Laodicea (a.d. 365, according to Beveridge)
Christians were forbidden to Judaize QovSaC^eiv)
under the penalty of anathema. By the 37th
and following canons of the same Council they
were forbidden to be present at Jewish or Pagan
feasts.
In Spain, the Council of Eliberis (a.d. 305 or
306) contains several provisions for the suppres-
sion and punishment of apostasy ; for example,
by the first canon persons of full age, who after
baptism went to a heathen temple and sacrificed
to an idol were refused communion, even at the
hour of death. By the 46th canon of the same
Council apostates who have not been guilty of
idolatry are admitted to communion after ten
years' penance ; by the 49th the blessing of the
fruits of the earth by Jews is forbidden, and
those who allow that ceremony to be performed
are cast out altogether from the Church. Upon
APOSTASY
APOSTLE
105
this canon Hefele (Conciliengeschichte, i. 148) ob-
serves : " In Spain the Jews had become so nu-
merous and powerful during the early ages of the
Christian era that they believed they might ven-
ture to attempt to convert the whole country. . .
There is no doubt that at that period many
Christians in Spain of high standing became con-
verts to Judaism."
Again, by the 59th canon of the 4th Council of
Toledo (a.d. 633), apostate Jews who practise
circumcision are punished ; but (canon 61) their
children, if believers, are not excluded from suc-
cession to their property. The next canon (62)
forbids any intercourse between converted Jews
end those who remain in their old faith ; and there
are several other canons which show that apos-
tasy to Judaism was still a prevalent crime in
Spain ; as, for instance, the 64th canon, which
ordains that the evidence of apostate Jews should
not be received in a court of justice.
In the French Councils there are several canons
relating to apostasy. By the 22nd canon of the 1st
Council of Aries (a.d. 314) it was forbidden to
give communion to apostates who sought it in
sickness, until they were restored to health, and
had exhibited proper evidence of their repent-
ance.
By the 12th canon of the Council ofVennes
(a.d. 465) the clergy were forbidden to attend
Jewish banquets or to invite Jews to their own
tables a prohibition which was repeated in the
40th canon of the Council of Agde (a.d. 506), and
extended to laymen by the 15th canon of the
Council of Epone (a.d. 517), and also by the 13th
canon of the 3rd Council of Orleans (A.D. 538),
and the 15th canon of the 1st Council of Macon
(a. D. 581).
In the collections of the Imperial Law the
' Codex Theodosianus ' (which was promulgated
A.D. 438) contains various provisions made by the
Christian emperors for the punishment of apos-
tasy. Constantine the Great ordained (a.d. 315)
that apostates to Judaism should suffer " poenas
meritas " (Cod. Tlieod. xvi. 8, 1), which were de-
fined by Constantius (a.d. 357) to be the confis-
cation of the property of the offender (Cod.
Theod. xvi. 8, 7). They were deprived by Valen-
tinian the Younger (a.d. 383) of the jus testandi,
but the action upsetting the will had to be
brought within five years of the death of the
testator, and by persons who had not in his
lifetime known of his offence, and remained
silent (Cod. Theod. xvi. 7, 3). Apostates to Pa-
ganism were deprived by Theodosius the Great
(a.d. 381) of the jus testandi (Cod. Theod. xvi. 7,
1) ; but another constitution of the same emperor,
promulgated A.D. 383, made a distinction be-
tween the baptized (Christiani ac fidcles) and
catechumens (Christiani et catechumeni), and the
latter were permitted to execute testamentary
dispositions in favour of their sons and brothers
german. By this constitution it was further pro-
vided that apostates should not only be unable,
with the foregoing exceptions, to bequeath pro-
perty by will, but should also be incapable of
receiving property under the will of another
person (Cod. Tlieod. xvi. 7, 2). One day later
Valentinian the Younger promulgated through-
out the Western Empire the constitution cited
above, which applied to all classes of apostates
alike (Cod. Theod. xvi. 7, 3). By a constitution
of the year of I 1 he same emperor ordained that
baptized apostates professing Paganism should be
deprived of the right of bequeathing by will, of
receiving property under a will, of bearing wit-
ness in a court of justice, and of succeeding to an
inheritance. They were also condemned " a con-
sortio omnium segregari" (on the meaning of
this expression see the note of Godefroi, in loc),
and were dismissed from all posts of civil dignity.
It was also declared that these penalties remained
in force even though the apostate repented of
his sin " perditis, hoc est sanctum Baptismum
profanantibus, nullo remedio poenitentiae (quae
solet aliis criminibus prodesse) succurritur " (Cod.
T/icod. xvi. 7, 4-5). Arcadius (a.d. 396) extended
the power which his father Theodosius the Great
had given to apostate catechumens to make cer-
tain testamentary dispositions, and ordained that
all apostates, whether baptized or catechumens,
should have the power to bequeath property to
their father and mother, brother and sister, son
and daughter, and grandson and granddaughter
(Cod. Theod. xvi. 7, 6). The last constitution
contained in the Codex Theodosianus under this
title is a very severe enactment of Valentinian
the Third (A.D. 426), abrogating the provisions
of the above-cited constitution of Valentinian the
Younger of the year 323, as far as it related to
apostates to Paganism. Under its provisions a
person could be accused of apostasy at any time,
although five years may have passed since his
death, and it was immaterial whether the accuser
had or had not been privy to the offence. Apo-
states were also prohibited from disposing of
their property by will and from alienating it by
sale or gift (Cod. Theod. xvi. 7 ult.). The " Para-
titlon " prefixed to this title in the edition of
Godefroi (Leipsic, 1736, &c.) gives a brief but
very useful summary of its contents.
The ' ; Codex Repetitae Praelectionis " promul-
gated by Justinian in December A.D. 534 contains
a title, " De Apostatis " (Lib. i. tit. 7), the first
four Sections of which relate to this subject, and
consist of extracts from the " Codex Theodosi-
anus."
The first section re-enacts the constitution of
Constantius (a.d. 357), by which the property of
apostate Jews is confiscated (Cod. Theod. xvi. 8,
7). The second section contains that part of the
constitution of Valentinian the younger (a.d.
383), which limits the time in which an accusa-
tion of apostasy could be brought (Cod. Theod.
xvi. 7, 3). In the third section the constitution
of the same emperor {a.d. 391) is re-enacted,
which is contained in the Codex Theodosianus (xvi.
7, 4), and is cited above. The fourth section re-
peats the enactment of Valentinian the Third
(a.d. 426), by which very severe penalties were
inflicted on apostates (Cod. Theod. xvi. 7 ult.
cited above). It appears, therefore, that the le-
gislation of Justinian was not more tolerant than
that of his predecessors in its treatment of this
offence.
Although beyond the limits of this article, it
may be noted that the title of the Decretals re-
lating to apostasy is the 9th title of the tilth
book (''De Apostatis et Reiterantibus Baptisma ").
The subject is also considered by St. Thomas
Aquinas (Summa Theol. 2-2, quaestio 12). [I. B.]
APOSTATE (airoo-T arris, apostata, praevari-
cator~). See Apostasy.
APOSTLE (in Hu.jioloiji]). The word 'A
106
APOSTLES
APOSTLES
(tto\os is used in the Greek Calendar to designate
not only those who are called Apostles in the
New Testament, hut the Seventy Disciples and
others who were companions of the Apostles,
strictly so called. It is applied, for instance, to
Agabus, Rufus, Asyncritus, and others, supposed
to be of the Seventy (April 8) ; and to Ananias
of Damascus (Oct. 1). But the Apostles, in the
narrower sense, are distinguished from others to
whom the title is applied by some epithet or
description. For instance, Nov. 30 is described
as the Festival tov ayloi* ivb~6ou Kal iraf(v<pr]-
/J.OU 'AtTOCToAoU 'AvSptOV TOV TlpWTOK\i]TOV,
k.t.A. ; SS. Peter and Paul are described by
the terms irpurroKopvcpcuoi, in addition to the
epithets applied to St. Andrew. It is noteworthy
that the Constantinople " Typicum " expressly
forbids St. Peter to be called the Apostle of Rome,
inasmuch as he was a teacher and enlightener ot
the whole world ; and it hints that if any place
is to be connected with his name, it should be
Antioch (Daniel, Codex Lit. iv. 261).
The term 'I<ra7rocn-oAos, the equal of the
Apostles, is applied to
1. Bishops supposed to be consecrated by
Apostles ; as Abercius of Hierapolis (Oct. 22).
2. Holy women who were companions of the
Apostles : as Mary Magdalene, Junia, and Thekla.
3. Princes who have aided the spread of the
Faith ; as Constautine and Helena in the Ortho-
dox Greek Church, and Vladimir in the Russian
Church.
4. The first preachers, or " Apostles," of the
Faith in any country ; as Nina, in the Georgian
Calendar (Neale, Eastern Church, Introd. p.
761). [C.J
The Twelve Apostles on thrcnes, with Onr Lord in centre.
APOSTLES IN CHRISTIAN ART. 1. I
In representations of the Twelve, antecedent to |
the year 1300 a.d. or thereabouts, only slight
variations of treatment are to be observed,
whether in Eastern or in Western monuments.
It will be convenient to speak separately of these
two classes.
2. Of the Eastern and Greek Churches.
Eastern monuments of an early date are very
limited in number, owing to the destructive zeal,
first of the Iconoclasts, and afterwards, in many
cases, of the Turks. And among these the only
representations of the Twelve Apostles known to
the present writer are the following. In an early
Syriac manuscript of the Gospels written at
Zagba in Mesopotamia in the year 585 A.D., now
in the Library of the Medici at Florence, is a
picture of the Ascension, in which twelve (not
eleven only) Apostles are represented, the Virgin
Mary standing in the midst of them (see this
figured under Angels). Of about the same date
are some mosaics in the church of St. Sophia at
Thessalonica, figured by Texier and Pullan in
their ' Byzantine Architecture,' pi. xl., xli. Se-
parate representations of many of the Apostles
will be found among the illuminations of the
Menologium Graecorum of the emperor Basil.
These, though of considerably later date (10th or
11th century), are all but identical in character
with those above mentioned. Indeed the reli-
gious art of the Greeks, as everything else per-
taining to religion, has been stereotyped once for
all from the close of the 8th century until now.
" Greek art," says M. Didron, " is wholly inde-
pendent of time and place. The painter of the
Morea reproduces at this day art such as it was
at Venice in the 10th century; and those Vene-
tians again reproduce the art of Mount Athos
four or five centuries before. The costume of
the personages represented is everywhere and
at all times the same, not only in shape, but
in colour and drawing, even to the very number
and size of the folds of a dress." For in the eyes
of the Greeks, at all times, religious art has been,
what one of the Fathers of the Seventh General
Council described it not a matter to be regu-
lated by the inventive power of painters, but by
the prescriptions and tradition of the Church
(Labbe's Concil. torn. vii. col. 831).
3. Earl)/ Monuments in the West. Repre-
sentations of the Apostles in monuments of early
date, still existing in Italy and in France, are
very numerous, and of very various kinds ; as,
for example, in mosaics, frescoes, marble sarco-
phagi, and even in smaller objects of art, such
as vessels of glass or ornaments of bronze. The
principal works in which these are figured or de-
scribed arc enumerated in 12 below.
APOSTLES
APOSTLES
107
4. Costume and Insignia. In all the early-
monuments above referred to, whether of the
East or of the West, in which the Twelve are
represented, almost exactly the same costume
and insignia are attributed to them. Only St.
Peter and St. Paul [see Paul and Peter below]
have any special attributes. The dress assigned
to them is a long tunic reaching to the feet (with
rare exceptions, which are confined, as far as the
writer knows, to some of the Roman catacombs)
and with a pallium (ifjaxTiov) as an outer gar-
ment. The insignia by which they are designated
are a roll of a book (volumen) generally in the
left hand, indicative of their office as Preachers
of the Divine Word, or a chaplet (corona), also
held in the hand, significant either of the Mar-
tyr's crown, or of what is but a slight variation
of the same idea, the crown of Victory which
the Lord bestows upon them who contend faith-
fully unto the end. The scroll above spoken of
is sometimes replaced by a codex or book of the
more modern form (this latter is generally the
distinctive mark of a bishop). In the mosaics of
St. Sophia at Thessalonica above mentioned ( 2)
the roll is assigned to some, the codex to others,
while others are represented without either.
[For an example of the codex assigned to an
apostle in Western Art, see Ciampini, Vet. Mon.
torn. ii. tab. xliii., a monument of the 9th cen-
tury.] They are occasionally represented as seated
on ' thrones ' or chairs of state (see woodcut, p.
106) in reference to their delegated authority
(compare Luke xxii. 30) to rule in Christ's name
over the Church. And in one mosaic, probably
of the 5th century, in the church of St. John in
Fonte at Ravenna, all the Twelve wear a kind of
tiara or peaked cap, suggestive of the thought
that the office of the Apostles in the Church
corresponds to that of the High Priest under
the Law. [See further under Tiara.] This
monument is engraved by Ciampini, Vet. Mon.
torn. i. tab. lxx.
5. Names of the Apostles in early Monuments.
In early representations of the whole number of
the Twelve the addition of names to each is
of very exceptional occurrence. The only ex-
ample known to the present writer is that of a
mosaic referred to above in the church of St.
John in Fonte at Ravenna. The arrangement
there is a circular one, the figures being so dis-
posed that St. Peter and St. Paul occupy the
principal position, while the names, and figures,
of the rest occur in the following order: An-
dreas Jacobus Joannes Philipus Bar-
tolomeus Simon Judas Thadeus Jacobus
mi Mateus Thomas. It will be observed that
the number Twelve is obtained, after insert-
ing the name of St. Paul, by omitting that of
Mathias. This last omission is generally made
in similar enumerations of the Twelve in later
centuries.
6. Mode of representation. In Western mo-
numents of the first eight centuries (the period
with which we are here principally concerned)
the Twelve are almost invariably represented as
standing, or as seated, on either side of our Lord,
who is either figured in His human person, or
(much more rarely) symbolically designated. In
either case He is distinguished from the Apostles
themselves by conventional designations of higher
dignity. And in the case of the Apostles them-
selves symbolical designations sometimes take the
place of any more direct representation, while in
other cases, as on many of the sarcophagi, the
two modes of representation are combined.
7. Direct representation In many early mo-
numents (see under Paul and Peter) there has
been an evident attempt at portraiture in the
case of the two " chiefest Apostles." Of the rest,
some are represented as of youthful appearance,
and beardless, others as bearded, and of more ad-
vanced years. But beyond this no special tradi-
tionary rules of representation can be traced in
early monuments.
8. Symbolical designation. Of the symbols
employed to represent the Twelve, the most
common is that of twelve sheep, adopted (so it
has been thought) with reference to those words
of Our Lord, " Behold I send you forth as sheep
in the midst of wolves." These twelve sheep are
commonly represented six on either side of Our
Lord (personally or symbolically represented),
who is generally seen standing upon a rock,
whence flow four streams. To such a repre-
sentation Paulinus refers (in his Epist. xxxii. ad-
dressed to his friend Severus, bishop of Milevis
in Africa; Migne, P. C. C. torn. lxi. p. 366) in
speaking of his own church at Nola in Campania.
He is writing circ. 400 a.d.
"Petram superstat Ipse petra Ecclesiae,
De qua sonori quatuor fontes meant,
Evangelistae, viva Christi flumina."
The two groups, each of six sheep, are generally
represented as issuing from two towers repre-
senting Betnlehem and Jerusalem, the cities of the
birth and the passion of Our Lord, the beginning
and the end, as it were, of that Life upon earth,
of which the Apostles were the chosen witnesses.
Another symbol, founded also, in all probability
on words of Our Lord (" Be ye . . . harmless as
doves," Matt. x. 16) is that of twelve doves. Pau-
linus, bishop of Nola, in the letter already quoted,
speaks of a mosaic picture on the roof of the apse
of his church, on which was represented, inter
alia, a Cross surrounded with a 'Corona,' a circle
of light, to use his own words, and round about
this Corona the figures of twelve doves, emblem-
atic of the twelve Apostles. Beneath this picture
was the following inscription, descriptive of its
meaning :
" Pleno coruscat Trinitas mysterio :
Stat Christus agno ; vox Patris caelo tonat ;
Et per columbam Spiritus Sanctus Quit,
Crucem corona Iucldo cingit globo,
Cui coronae sunt corona Apostoli,
Quorum figura est in columbarum choro."
A representation 8 of the Twelve, nearly an-
swering to this description, forms the frieze of an
early sarcophagus preserved in the Museum at
Marseilles, and figured below (after Millin, Voy-
ages, etc. plate lvi. 6). Yet other symbols are
occasionally used in designation of Apostles, but
these, as being less capable of definite interpre-
tation, are rather accompaniments of personal
a A crucifix with twelve doves upon the four portions
of the cross itself, in the apse of the church of St. Clement
at Rome, is of the 13th century. So Didron, in the Annalei
Arckaeologiqtu j, torn. xxvi. p. 1 7. This cross is figured by
Allegranza, Spieyazione., &c, torn. i. p. 118.
108
APOSTLES
APOSTLES
representations of the Twelve, than substitutes
for them. Such are palm trees, vines, and other
trees, to which a mystical reference was given
in Christian art as well as in early Christian
literature. St. Hilary of Poitou, commenting on
Matt. xiii. (the parable of the ' Sinapis ' or Mus-
tard Plant), sees in the seed committed to the
ground, and then springing up therefrom, a type
of Christ, and in the branches of the tree, put
forth by the Power of Christ, and embracing the
whole earth beneath their shade, a type of the
Apostles, branches to which the Gentiles, like
birds of the air, should fly from the w T orld's
troubling storms, and find rest. St. Augustine
uses nearly similar language in reference to the
same parable. (Sermo in Festo S. Laurentii.)
And this traditional application affords a pro-
bable interpretation of the small bush-like trees b
which are seen associated in some early frescoes
with figures of Our Lord and the Apostles. The
symbolism of the vine resulted naturally from
the words addressed to His disciples by Our Lord
(" I am the vine : ye are the branches," Joh. xv.
5). The palm-tree, as the recognised symbol of
victory and of triumph, was suggestive of the
same thoughts as those indicated by the victor's
chaplet (corona) which Apostles often bear in
their hands, or have bestowed upon them by a
hand from heaven.
Yet one other symbol may be referred to,
unique of its kind, adopted, so it has been inge-
niously suggested/ by some poor man who could
not by any other more elaborate means express the
Christian faith and hope in which he rested. On
Apyetiea.
the walls of the cemetery of St. Callixtus is an
inscription, in rude characters, much such as
that here given :
AAAAAA/^^ A AA A AA]
The central letters of the inscription are believed
to represent the A and a, which frequently occur
in early monuments as symbols of Our Lord ;
while the twelve letters on either side signify
the twelve Apostles, who in early monuments,
and especially on sarcophagi, are frequently re-
presented, six on either hand.
9. Later conventional designations of the
different Apostles. Christian art ' in the West
for the last five centuries, or rather more, has
assigned special attributes to each one of the
Twelve, most of them having reference to late
traditions concerning them, unknown to the early
Church. These traditions, by their late date,
lie beyond the range properly embraced by the
present work. But for the sake of comparison
and contrast with the older representations above
described, it may be well very briefly to notice
them. For fuller particulars, the reader should
consult Didron's Manuel d'Iconographie (see be-
low 12) and Jameson's Sacred and Legendary
Art.
10. As Authors of separate Articles of the
Creed. Probably the earliest of these later modes
(after 1300 A.D.) of designating the several
Apostles, is that of assigning to each (written on
a scroll held in the hand) the particular article
of the Creed of which each was, by tradition, the
author. (For the tradition as to this authorship,
see Durandi, Rationale, lib. iv. cap. xxv.) In the
cathedral church of Albi (Didrou, Manuel d'Ico-
nographie, p. 304) the Apostles are represented
in this manner.
11. Distinguislwd by special Insignia. As
an example of yet another mode of designating
the Apostles individually, we may refer (with
M. Didron) to a series of enamels by Leonard
Limousin in the church of St. Peter at Chartres.
The Twelve are there represented with the fol-
lowing insignia : St. Peter with the Keys ; St.
Paul with a Sword ; d St. Andrew with a Cross,
saltier-wise; e St. John with a Chalice ; f St. James
the Less with a Book and a Club ; d St. James the
Elder with a Pilgrim's Staff - , 11 a broad Hat h with
scallop-shells, and a Book ; e St. Thomas with an
Architect's Square;' St. Philip with a small
b As, for example, in that of our Lord as the giver of
the Divine Word, with two Apostles on either side, in the
cemetery of St. Agnes at Rome. Aringhi, R. S. torn. ii.
p. 329 ; figured also in Yestiarium Christianum, pi. xii.
c Lupi (Antonmaria), Dissertazione, &c. Faeuza, 1785,
4to. ; torn. i. p. 260.
d As the instrument by which he was believed to have
suffered martyrdom : or (so Durandus, Rat. i. cap. iii. 16)
as a soldier of Christ, armed (so he probably would suggest)
with " the sword of the Spirit."
e " En sautoir:'' the " crux decussata," shaped like an
X, and generally known as St. Andrew's Cross. In Greek
Martyrologies (and in one or two Western examples)
St. Andrew is depicted as crucified on a cross of the ordi-
nary form. See the Menologium Graecorum, vol. i. p. 221
(Nov. 3d).
f Originally perhaps with reference to the words (Matt.
xx. 23), " Ye shall indeed drink of my cup." For the later
legendary stories of a poisoned chalice given to him, see
Jameson, S. and L. Art, voL i. p. 159.
k Equivalent to the scroll (see $ 4) of primitive
Christian art.
h All the insignia here mentioned are assigned to St.
James (the St. Iago of Spanish legend), as the patron of
pilgrims. The pilgrimage to Compostella, the reputed
place of St. Iago's burial, was a favourite object of medi-
aeval devotion.
i In allusion to a beautiful legendary story (Jameson,
.sr. and L. A. p. 246), in respect of which St. Thomas ts
recognised as the patron of architects and builders.
APOSTLES 1 FESTIVALS AND FASTS
109
Cross, the staff of which is knotted like a reed ; k
St. Matthew with a Pike (or Spear) ; m St. Ma-
thias with an Axe; m St. Bartholomew with a
Book 11 and a Knife ; m St. Simon with a Saw.
12. Authorities referred to. In the follow-
ing section are enumerated the principal works
in which the monuments above referred to are
figured or described. For the Syriac MS. re-
ferred to in 2, see the Bibliotheca Medicea of
S. E. Assemanus, Florentiae, fol. 1742. For the
Greek Monuments, see Texier and Pullan, Byzan-
tine' Architecture, fol.' London, 1864. The Meno-
logium Graecorum referred to in 2 was published
at Urbino, 3 vols. fol. 1727. And on the subject
of the later Greek Religious Art generally, see Di-
dron, Manuel d'Tconographie Chre'tienne, Grecque,
et Latine, Paris, 1845. (This is a French trans-
lation of the 'Ep/xvueia ttjs faypacpiKris, or
'Painter's Guide' of Penselinos, a monk of Mount
Athos in the 11th century, and the recognised
authority in the school of Greek Art which has
its centre in the same " holy mountain " to this
day. It is enriched with very valuable notes by
the editor. For what relates to the Apostles,
see p. 299 sqq.) For early monuments at Rome
and Ravenna Ciampini, Vetera Monumcnta,
Romae, fol. 1699 ; and for those of the Roman
Catacombs more particularly Aringhi, Roma
Subterranea, 2 vols. fol. Romae, 1651, or Bottari,
Sculture e Pitture sagre, etc., Romae, fol. 1737 ;
Perret, Catacombes de Rome, 6 vols. fol. Paris,
1851 (not always to be depended on in matters
of detail); Alemannus, de Rarietinis Lateranen-
sibus, Romae, 4 1625 ; and for ancient ornaments
in Glass, chiefly from the Roman Catacombs,
Garrucci, Vetri ornati, etc. Roma, 1864. For
monuments at Verona, Maffei, Verona Illustrata,
fol. 1732 ; and at Milan, Allegranza (Giuseppe),
Spiegazione e Riflessioni, etc., Milano, 4 1757.
For early sarcophagi at Aries, Marseilles, Aix,
and other towns in France, the chief authority
is Millin, Voyaqes duns les De'partemens du Midi
de la France, 8 and 4 Paris, 1807-1811. One
monument of special interest, that of the Sancta
Pudentiana at Rome (the figures of the Twelve,
ten only of which now remain, are believed with
good reason to be of the 4th century, though
the upper part of the mosaic is of the 8th) may
best be studied in the coloured drawing and
description given by Labarte, Histoire des Arts
Industriels, etc., vol. iv. p. 166 sqq., and the
Album of Plates, vol. ii. pi. cxxi. This mosaic
is also represented in Gaily Knight, Ecclesias-
tical Architecture of Italy (London, 1842), vol. i.
pi. xxiii. [W. B. M.]
APOSTLES' FESTIVALS AND FASTS.
I. Festivals. 1. In the A/ostolical Consti-
tutions (viii. 33, 3) we find abstinence from
labour enjoined on certain " days of the Apostles"
(toss r]/j.4pas t&v airoo~Tu\wv apyeiTbiaav), but
k " Petite croix de roseaux." So Didron. A reference
to .Jameson's S. and L. A. p. 242, and (o the drawing there
given, suggests the explanation above given. The shape
described is that of a traveller's staff' ; and the emblem
marks the apostle as a preacher of Christ crucified to
distant nations.
" See note d , preceding page.
" See note , preceding page.
According to Western tradition he was sawn asr.nder;
but in the Greek representation of his martyrdom he
is affixed to a cross exactly like that of our Saviour
(Jameson, vol. i. p. 253).
what these days were does not appear, though
the injunction to abstain from labour betokens
a great festival.
2. As the services of Easter week, following
the evangelic narrative of the events after the
Resurrection, placed a commemoration of the
solemn sending and consecration of the Apostles
(St. John xx. 21-23) on the first Sunday after
Easter, this day appears to have been sometimes
called " the Sunday of the Apostles." This
Sunday was one of the highest festivals in the
Ethiopian Calendar (Alt, Christliche Cultus, ii.
33, 184).
3. In the West the commemoration of all the
Apostles was anciently joined with that of the
two great Apostles, St. Peter and St;. Paul ; and
this festival appears to have been, at the time of
its first institution, the only festival in honour
of the Apostles ; for we find in the Missae for
that festival in the Leonine Sacrameniary
(Migne's Patrol, vol. 55, p. 44) an " oratio super
oblata," which runs, " Omnipotens sempiterne
Deus, qui nos omnium apostolorum merita sub
una tribuisti celebritate venerari." And this
seems to have been the case also when the
" Epistola ad Chromatium" quoted by Cas-
siodorus (in Leonine Sacram. p. 44) was written ;
for we there read that the Apostles were com-
memorated on one day, " ut dies varii non
videantur dividere quos una dignitas Apostolatus
in coelesti gloria fecit esse sublimes."
4. It was no doubt from this close connection
with the Festival of SS. Peter and Paul (June 29)
that the Festival of the Twelve Apostles (2iWi?
twv SwfieKa 'A.tto(tt6\wv) came to be celebrated in
the orthodox Greek church on the morrow of
that festival June 30 as it is to this day.
This is a great festival, with abstinence from
labour CApyia).
5. In the Armenian calendar, the Satuuday of
the sixth week after Pentecost is dedicated to the
Twelve Holy Apostles, and their chiefs, Peter
and Paul ; and the Tuesday in the fifth week
after the elevation of the Cross is dedicated to
Ananias of Damascus, Matthias, Barnabas, Philip,
Stephen, Silas and Silvanus, and the Twelve
Apostles. (Alt, Christliche Cultus, ii. 242, 256.)
6. The Micrologus tells us (c. 55) that on
May 1, " invenitur in Martyrologiis sive in
Sacramentariis festivitas SS. Philippi et Jacob;
et omnium Apostolorum." The existing Mar-
tyrologies and Sacramentaries, however, men T
tion no commemoration on May 1, beyond that
of SS. Philip and James ; but the mention of a
commemoration of all Apostles may have arisen
from the " Deposition " of the bodies of SS. Philip
and James in the " Basilica omnium Apostolo-
rum." (Binterim's Denkiciirdigkeiten, v. i. 365 ;
Wetzer and Welte's Kirchenlexicon, xii. 57.)
7. The 15th of July is in the Roman calendar
the Feast of the " Division of the Apostles,"
(Divisio SS. Apostolorum). This was probably
intended to commemorate the traditional event
related by Rufinus (//. E., i. 9), that the Apostles,
before leaving Jerusalem to begin their work of
preaching the Gospel to nil nations, determined
by lot the portions of the world which each
should evangelise. By others, however, the
Feast is supposed to commemorate the " Divisio
ossium Petri et Pauli." The legend to which
this refers is as follows: The remains of St.
Poter and St. Paul were placed together after their
110
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
martyrdom, and when Pope Sylvester, at the
consecration of the great church of St. Peter,
desired to place the sacred remains of the patron
saint in an altar, it was found impossible to dis-
tinguish them from those of St. Paul ; but after
fasting and prayer, a divine voice revealed that
the larger bones were those of the Preacher, the
smaller of the Fisherman ; and they were con-
sequeDtlv placed in the churches of St. Peter
and St. Paul respectively. (Ciampini, de Sacris
Aedificiis, p. 53, quoting Beleth, Explicat. Divin.
Offic. c. 138.)
II. Fasts. 1. As early as the Apostolical
Constitutions (v. 20, 7) we find the week fol-
lowing the octave of Pentecost marked as a fast.
The intention of this probably was, as no fast
was allowable in the joyful season between Pasch
and Pentecost, that men should endeavour to
render themselves fit recipients of the gifts of
the Holy Spirit by subsequent mortification.
This fast was afterwards extended to the eve of
the Festival of SS. Peter and Paul, and as it
now filled the whole space between the " Apostle
Sunday " and the great commemorations of the
Apostles on June 29 and June 30, it came to be
called the "Apostles' Fast," Nr/ffreia tu>v ay'iosv
'Attoo-tJacoc. (Augusti, Handbuch der Christ I.
Archaologie, iii. 481.)
2. There is a collect for a Fast in the mass
already referred to in the Leonine Sacramentary.
This, perhaps, indicates that an extraordinary
fast, instituted in the time of St. Leo for the
relief of Rome, or for some other reason, con-
curred with the Festival of All Apostles. (Note
in the Leonine Sacram. Migne's Patrol, vol. 55,
p. 44.)
III. Dedications. A church (Maprvpiov), de-
dicated to the Twelve Apostles, second in
splendour only to that of St. Sophia, was built
at Constantinople by Constant ine the Great, who
intended it for the place of his own sepulture
(Eusebius, Vita Constantini, lib. iv., cc. 58-60).
He also dedicated at Capua, in honour of the
Apostles, a church to which he gave the name of
Constantinian (Liber Pontif., under ' Sylvester,'
Muratori Scriptores, iii. 1). The ancient church
at Rome dedicated to the Apostles, is said to have
been begun by Pope Pelagius I. (555-560), and
completed by his successor John III. (560-573).
(Ciampini, de Sacris Aedif. p. 137.) [C]
APOSTOLUS, the formal missive of the judge
of a lower court, whereby a cause was trans-
ferred to a higher court to which appeal had
been made from him. See Justinian, Cod. vii.
62, &c. &c, and under Appeals. [A. W. H.]
APOSTOLICAL CANONS. About 500
A.D., Dionysius Exiguus, a Roman monk of great
learning, at the request of Stephen, Bishop of
Salona, made a collection of Greek canons, trans-
lating them into Latin. At the head of this
collection he placed 50 canons, with this title,
" Incipiunt Regulae Ecclesiasticae sanctorum
Apostolorum, prolatae per Clementem Ecclesiae
Romanae Pontirieem." At the same time, how-
ever, Dionysius says in the preface to his work,
" In principio itaque canones, qui dicuntur Apos-
tolorum, de Graeco transtulimus, quibus quia
plurimi consensum non praebuere facilem, hoc
ipsum vestram noluimus ignorare sanctitatem,
quamvis postea quaedam constituta pontiticum
ex ipsis canonibus assumpta esse videantur."
These words obviously point to a difference of
opinion prevailing in the Church, though it has
been doubted by some whether the dissentients
spoken of rejected the canons altogether, or
merely denied that they were the work of the
apostles. And with regard to the last clause, it
is much disputed whether previous popes can be
shown to have known and cited these canons. a
Hefele denies that " Pontifices " means Popes, and
would understand it of bishops in their synodical
constitutions. b
The subsequent course taken by the Church of
Rome in relation to these canons is not altogether
clear. In the last decade of the 5th century
Pope Gelasius published a decree De Libris non re-
cipiendis, and in the text of this decree as it now
stands in the Decretum Gratiani there appears,
amongst other rejected works, ' Liber canonum
Apostolorum apocryphus.' But it is said that
these words are not found in the most ancient
MSS. of the decree, and Hincmar of Rheims, in
speaking of it, expressly says that Gelasius is
silent as to the Apostolical Canons. Moreover,
Dionysius, who was by birth a Scythian, does not
seem to have come to Rome until after the death
of Gelasius, and consequently his collection cannot
have appeared at the time of the decree. "
Hefele therefore thinks that the words in ques-
tion were for the first time inserted by Pope Hor-
misdas (514-523), when he republished the decree
' De Libris non recipiendis ' (C'onciliengeschichte, i.
719). d If so, the point is not very material. It
is clear that Dionysius, in setting forth a later
collection during the popedom of Hormisdas (of
which the preface alone is now extant) left out
these canons. He says : " Canones qui dicuntur
Apostolorum et Sardicensis concilii atque Afri-
canae provinciae quos non admisit universitas, ego
quoque in hoc opere praetermisi, &c." e
a Bishop Pearson contends that Leo, Innocent, and Ge-
lasius himself, refer to them ( Vindic. fgnat., part i. cap.
iv.) ; but this has been as strongly denied. Bickell thinks
that Dionysius may have had in view expressions of
Siricius (Ep. ad Diu. Episc, anno 386) and Innocent (Ep.
ad Victric, anno 404), which, however, he conceives him
to have misunderstood (Gesch. des Kirchenrechts, p. 74).
Von Drey seems to think the canons were not known at
Rome till the version of Dionysius ; but Hefele observes
that they might have been known in their Greek form.
Dionysius in his preface says that he had been exhorted
to the work of translation by his friend Laurentius, who
was " confusione priscae translations offensus." Dors this
point to an existing version of the canons, or is it to be
understood of the other matters contained in his col-
lection ? The latter seems most in accordance with the
received theory.
t> See his Conciliengeschichte, vol. i. p. 767. But unless
it can be limited to Eastern bishops, this view would
equally admit that the canons so quoted or relied en must
have been known in the Western Church.
c Dionysius says in his preface : " Nos qui eum (Ge-
lasium) praesentia corporali non vidimus." This in itself
would not be conclusive as to the decree, though the only
alternative would be to admit that the canons were known
at Rome before Dionysius's translation. Bishop Pearson
seeks to throw doubt on the decree ( Vindic. Ignat., part i.
cap. iv.) ; but much of his reasoning is not inconsistent
with the theory of Hefele.
d So too, apparently, Bickell, vol. i. p. 74.
e Cited in Bickell (i. 75), who also mentions that they
were omitted from the Spanish collection of canons in the
7th century, with these words: "Canones autem qui
dicuntur Apostolorum, scd quia eosdem nee sedes apos-
tolica recipit, nee SS. patrt'S illis consensum praehuerunt.
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
111
At all events it must be taken that the Church
of Rome at the present day does not accept these
canons as of apostolic authority. Though the
citations made by Gratian under the head " De
auctoritate et numero Canonum Apostolorum,"
are not very consistent with each other, yet the
latest canonists speak more distinctly.
" Canones illi non sunt opus genuinum aposto-
lorum, nee ah omni ixaevo immuncs ; merito tamen
imputantur insigne monumentum disciplinae Ec-
clesiae per priora secula," says M. Icai'd in his
Praeleetiones Juris Canonici at St. Sulpice (pub-
lished with the approbation of the authorities of
the Church) in 1862, and he then cites the Gela-
sian decree declaring them apocryphal.
Nevertheless great attention has been paid to
them. Extracts were admitted by Gratian into
the Decretum, and, in the words of Phillips (' Du
Droit eccle'siastique dans ses Sources,' Paris, 1852)
'' ils ont pris rang dans la legislation canonique."
But we must return to the 6th century.
About fifty years after the work of Dionysius,
John of Autioch, otherwise called Johannes Scho-
lasticus, patriarch of Constantinople, set forth a
<rvvTayfj.a Kavovwv, which contained not 50 but
85 Canons of the Apostles. And in the year 692
these were expressly recognized in the decrees of
the' Quinisextine Council, not only as binding
canons, but (it would seem) as of apostolic ori-
gin^ They are therefore in force in the Greek
Church.
How it came to pass that Dionysius translated
only 50 does not appear. Some writers have
supposed that he rejected what was not to be re-
conciled with the Roman practice, s But, as
Hefele observes, this could hardly be his motive,
inasmuch as he retains a canon as to the nullity
of heretical baptism, which is at variance with
the view of the Western Church. Hence it has
been suggested that the MS. used by Dionysius
was of a different class from that of John of An-
tioch (for they vary in some expressions, and
have also a difference in the numbering of the
canons), and that it may have had only the 50
translated by the former. And an inference has
also been drawn that the 35 latter canons are of
later date. h Indeed, according to some, they
are obviously of a different type, and were pos-
sibly added to the collection at the same time
pro eo quod ab haereticis sub nomine Apostolorum com-
positi dignoscuntur, quamvis in eisdem quaedam inve-
niuntur utilia, auctoritate tamen canonica et apostolica
eorum gesta constat esse remota et inter apocrypha
deputata."
f *E5oe Kat tovto rrj ayta rav-rrj ovi'680) KakXifTTa re
Kat cnrov&aioTaTa., uhttg fiiveiv Kat arrb toi) vvv /3e/3atous
Kat dtr^taAets 7rpbs tyv\>v 0pa7retai' Kat laTpctav TraBuyv
tous v7rb j)V 7rpo rjfioju ayiuiv Kat fxaKapicjv iraTcpiov
SfX^eVTa? Kat KupwfleVTas, etAAa p.y\v Kat 7rapa5o0t'i'Ta9
T/ptf Ofojutart twv ayitav Kat ei'56ftop anoaroXtov ovSot?-
kovtol ire'i'Te Kapovas. Can. II., cited in Ultzen, Pref.
p. ix.
Beveridge argues that the word 6>'dp.ai-i shews that,
while their validity as canons of the Church was admitted,
their apostolical origin was not decided. Cotitra Hefele,
t'onciliev geseh. i. 768.
The additional 35 canons in the collection of Scho-
lasticus have not been iti any way recognized by the
Church of Rome.
e As, for instance, De Marca; and see Ayliffe's Parergtm,
Introd., p. iv.
h See on this subject, Hefele, i. 7(>S. Scbolasticus says
there were previous collections containing 85.
that the canons were appended to the Constitu-
tions.'
It is time to come to the Canons themselves.
Both in the collection of John of Antioch and in
that of Dionysius they are alleged to have been
drawn up by Clement from the directions of the
Apostles. In several places the Apostles speak in
the first person, k and in the 85th canon Clement
uses the first person singular of himself.
Their subjects are briefly as follow: '
I & 2 (I. & II.). Bishop to be ordained by two
or three bishops ; presbyters and deacons, and the
rest of the clerical body by one.
3 & 4 (III.) relate to what is proper to be of-
fered at the altar ; mentioning new corn, grapes,
and oil, and incense at the time of the holy ob-
lation.
5 (IV - .). First-fruits of other things are to be
sent to the clergy at their home, not brought to
the altar.
6 (V.). Bishop or presbyter or deacon not to
put away his wife under pretence of piety.
7 (VI.). Clergy not to take secular cares on
them.
8 (VII.). Nor to keep Easter before the vernal
equinox, according to the Jewish system.
9 (VIII.). Nor to fail to communicate without
some good reason.
10 (IX.). Laity not to be present at the read-
ing of the Scriptures without remaining for
prayer and the Communion.
II (X.). None to join in prayer, even in a
house, with an excommunicate person.
12 (XL). Clergy not to join in prayer with a
deposed man as if he were still a cleric.
13 (XII. & XIIL). Clergy or lay persons, being
under excommunication or not admitted to Com-
munion, going to another city not to be received
without letters.
14 (XIV.). Bishop not to leave his own diocese
and invade another, even on request, except for
good reasons, as in case he can confer spiritual
benefit ; nor even then except by the judgment of
many other bishops, and at pressing request.
15 (XV.). If clergy leave their own diocese,
and take up their abode in another without con-
sent of their own bishop, they are not to perform
clerical functions there.
16 (XVI.). Bishop of such diocese not to treat
them as clergy.
17 (XVIL). One twice married after baptism,
or who has taken a concubine, not to be a cleric.
18 (XVIIL). One who has married a widow or
divorced woman, or a courtesan or a slave, or
an actress, not to be admitted into the clerical
body.
So Bickell, i. 86 and 235. For the Constitutions, see
the next article.
k Beveridge however contends, from the variations and
omissions in MSS. and versions, that the introduction of
the first person is a mere interpolation of late date, in
order to promote the fiction of apostolic origin (Cod. Can.
in Cotel., vol. ii. p. 73, Appendix). Ses instances in
Canons XXIX., L., TAX XI I., LXXX.V. The various read-
ings may be seen in Ultzen 's edition, and in Lagarde's
Hi Uij. Jar. Kcclcs. Antiquiss.
1 The numbering varies. Thus Canon III. of the Greek
text is divided into two by Dionysius. The Arabic nu-
merals represent the order in Dionysius; the Roman that
in the (ireek of Johannes Scholasticus. Cotelerius, again,
gives a different numbering, making the canons only 76
in all.
112
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
1 9 (XIX.). Nor one who has married two sis-
ters or his niece.
20 (XX.). Clergy not to become sureties.
21 (XXI.). One who has been made a eunuch
by violence, or in a persecution, or was so born,
may be a bishop.
22 (XXII.). But if made so by his own act,
cannot be cleric.
23 (XXIII.). A cleric making himself so, to be
deposed.
24 (XXIV.). A layman making himself a
eunuch to be shut out from Communion for three
years.
25 & 26 (XXV.). Clerics guilty of inconti-
nence, perjury, or theft, to be deposed, but not
excommunicated (citing Nah. 1, 9 ovk iicSiKJiafis
Sis eVi rb avrby
27 (XXVI.). None to marry after entering the
clerical body, except readers and singers.
28 (XXVII.). Clergy not to strike offenders.
29 (XXVIII.). Clergy deposed not to presume
to act, on pain of being wholly cut off from the
Church.
30 (XXIX.). Bishop, &c. obtaining ordination
by money to be deposed, and, together with him
who ordained him, cut off from communion, as
was Simon Magus by me, Peter.
31 (XXX.). Bishop obtaining a church by
means of secular rulers to be deposed, &c.
32 (XXXL). Presbyters not to set up a sepa-
rate congregation and altar in contempt of his
bishop, when the bishop is just and godly.
33 (XXXII.). "Presbyter or deacon under sen-
tence of his own bishop not to be received else-
where.
31- (XXXIII.). Clergy from a distance not to
be received without letters of commendation, nor
unless they be preachers of godliness are they
to have anything beyond the supply of their
wants.
35 (XXXIV.). The bishops of every nation are
to know who is chief among them, and to consi-
der him their head, and do nothing without his
judgment, except the affairs of their own dio-
ceses, nor must he do anything without their
judgment.
36 (XXXV.). Bishop not to ordain out of his
diocese.
37 (XXXVI.). Clergy not to neglect to enter
on the charge to which they are appointed, nor
the people to refuse to receive them.
38 (XXXVII.). Synod of bishops to be held
twice a year to settle controversies.
39 (XXXVIII.). Bishop to have care of all ec-
clesiastical affairs, but not to appropriate any-
thing for his own family, except to grant them
relief if in poverty.
40 (XXXIX. & XL.). Clergy to do nothing
without bishop. Bishop to keep his own affairs
separate from those of the Church, and to provide
for his family out of his own property.
41 (XLI.). Bishop to have power over all eccle-
siastical affairs, and to distribute through the
presbyters and deacons, and to have a share him-
self if required.
42 (XLII.). Cleric not to play dice or take to
drinking.
43 (XLI II.). Same as to subdeacon, reader,
singer, or layman.
44 (XLIV.). Clergy not to take usury.
45 (XLV.). Clergy not to pray with heretics,
still less to allow them to act as clergy.
46 (XLVI.). Clergy not to recognize heretical
baptism or sacrifice.
47 (XLVIL). Clergy not to rebaptize one truly
baptized, nor to omit to baptize one polluted by
the ungodly, otherwise he contemns the cross
and death of the Lord, and does not distinguish
true priests from false.
48 (XLVIIL). Layman who has put away his
wife not to take another, nor to take a divorced
woman.
49 (XLIX.). Baptism to be in name of Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, not of three eternals, or
three sons, or three paracletes.
50 (L.). Baptism to be performed by three im-
mersions, making one initiation not one single
immersion into the Lord's death.
LI. Clergy not to hold marriage or the use of
meat and wine things evil in themselves, or to
abstain on any other than ascetic grounds.
LII. Bishop or presbyter to receive, not to re-
ject penitents.
LIII. Clergy not to refuse to partake of meat
and wine on feast days [as if evil, or on other
than ascetic grounds].
LIV. Clerics not to eat in taverns except on a
journey.
LV. Clerics not to insult bishop.
LVI. Nor presbyter or deacon.
LVII. Nor to mock the maimed, deaf, dumb,
blind, or lame, nor must a layman do so.
LVIII. Bishops and presbyters not to neglect
their clergy or people.
LIX. Nor to refuse succour to the needy
clergy.
LX. Nor to publish in the church as sacred
works forged by the ungodly in false names.
LXI. Those convicted of incontinence or other
forbidden practices not to be admitted into the
clerical body.
LXII. Clerics from fear of Jew or Gentile or
heretic denying Christ to be excommunicated, or
if only denying that they are clerics, to be de-
posed. On repentance, to be admitted as laymen.
LXIII. Cleric eating blood, or things torn by
beasts, or dying of themselves, to be deposed, on
account of the prohibition in the law. Laymen
doing so to be excommunicated.
LXIV. Cleric or layman entering synagogue of
Jews or heretics to pray, to be deposed and ex-
communicated.
LXV. Cleric in a struggle striking a single
blow that proves mortal to be deposed for his
precipitancy. Laymen to be excommunicated.
LXVI. Neither cleric nor layman to fast on
Sunday or on any Saturday but one."
LXVII. Any one doing violence to an unbe-
trothed virgin to be excommunicated. He may
not take another, but must keep her, though
poor.
LXVIII. Clergy not to be ordained a second
time, unless when ordained by heretics, for those
baptized or ordained by heretics have not really
been brought into the number of the faithful or
of the clergy.
LXIX. Bishop, presbyter, deacon, reader, or
singer, not fasting in the holy forty days, or on
the fourth and sixth days, to be deposed, unless
m /. e. baptized by heretics. Heretical baptism is
styled not an initiation, but a pollution. See Apost.
Const, vi. 15.
n Namely, that before Easter day. Apost. Const, v.
IS and 20.
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
n:
suffering from bodily weakness. Laymen to be
excommunicated.
LXX. None to keep fast or feast with the
Jews, or receive their feast-gifts, as unleavened
bread and so forth.
LXXI. No Christian to give oil for a heathen
temple or Jewish synagogue, or to light lamps at
their feast times.
I. XXII. Nor to purloin wax or oil from the
Church.
LXXIII. Nor to convert to his own use any
consecrated gold or silver vessel or linen.
LXXIV. Bishop accused by credible men, to be
summoned by the bishops ; and if he appear and
(on less the charge, or be proved guilty, to have
appropriate sentence ; but if he do not obey the
summons, then to be summoned a second and
third time by two bishops personally ; and if he
still be contumacious, then the Synod is to make
the fit decree against him, that he may not ap-
pear to gain anything by evading justice.
LXXV. No heretic, nor less than two wit-
nesses, even of the faithful, to be received against
a bishop (Deut. 19, 15).
LXX VI. Bishop not to ordain relatives bishops
out of favour or affection.
LXXVII. One having an eye injured or lame
ma}" still be a bishop, if worthy.
LXXVIII. But not one deaf, dumb, or blind, as
being practical hindrances.
LXXIX. One that has a devil not to be a cleric,
nor even to pray with the faithful, but when
cleansed he may, if worthy.
LXXX. A convert from the heathen or from a
vicious life not forthwith to be made a bishop;
for it is not right that while yet untried he
should be a teacher of others, unless this come
about in some way by the grace of God.
LXXXI. We declare that a bishop or presbyter
is not to stoop to public [secular] offices, but to
give himself to the wants of the Church (Matt.
6, 24).
LXXXII. We do not allow slaves to be chosen
into the clerical body without consent of their
masters, to the injury of those who possess them,
for this would subvert households. But if a slave
seem worthy of ordination, as did our Onesimus,
and the masters consent and set him free, let him
be ordained.
LXXXI II. ( 'lergy not to serve in the army, and
seek to hold both Roman command and priestly
duties (Matt. 22, 21).
LXXXIV. Those who unjustly insult a king or
ruler to be punished.
LXXXV. For you, both clergy and laity, let
there be, as books to be reverenced and held holy,
in the Old Testament five of Moses, Genesis, Exo-
dus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy of Jesus
the son of Nun, one ; of Judges, one ; Ruth, one ; of
Kings, four ; of Paraleipomena the book of days,
two ; of Esdras, two ; of Esther, one ; of Macca-
bees, three; of Job. one; of the Psalter, one; of
Solomon, three Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of
i Songs ; of the Prophets, thirteen ; of Isaiah, one ;
of Jeremiah, one ; of Ezekiel, one ; of Daniel, one.
Over and above is to be mentioned to you that
your young men study the Wisdom of the learned
|>iracn, But of ours, that is of the New Testa-
ment, let there be four gospels, Matthew's,
/. e. unless he be designated as such in some special
way by the hand of God. Beveridge refers to the case
of Ambrose.
CHRIST. ANT.
Mark's, Luke's, John's ; fourteen epistles of
Paul ; two epistles of Peter ; three of John ; one
of Jame-s ; one of Jude ; two epistles of Clement ;
and the regulations addressed to you bishops
through me, Clement, in eight books,P which it is
not right to publish before all, on account of the
mysteries in them ; and the Acts of us, the
Apostles.
The above is merely the substance of the
canons in an abridged form. It will not of course
supersede the necessity of referring to the origi-
nal in order to form an exact judgment. For the
sake of brevity the penalties have been in most
cases omitted. They are usually deposition for
the clergy, excommunication for laymen.
Turrianus attempted to maintain that these
canons really are what they profess to be, the
genuine work of the apostles. Daille, on the
other hand, contended that they were a produc-
tion of the middle or end of the 5th century.
Against him Bishop Beveridge entered the field ;
and in two treatises of great learning, acuteness,
and vigour, t sought to show that though not the
work of the apostles themselves, they were yet
of great antiquity, being in substance the decrees
of primitive Synods convened in different places
and at different times during the latter part of the
2nd, or at latest the earlier part of the 3rd cen-
tury. And he further thinks that during the
3rd century they were brought together and
formed into a collection or Codex Canonum,
which was recognized, and cited as of authority
in the Church. r
Bishop Pearson also holds the canons in a col-
lected form to have been in existence prior to the
Council of Nice ( Vindic. Ljno.t. part i. cap. iv.
in Cotel., vol. ii., append, p. 295). 3
It will be well to endeavour to give some
samples of the evidence which Beveridge adduces
to show that the canons are quoted at all events
from the first part of the 4th century down-
wards.
George of Cappadocia buys the favour of the
Praefect of Egypt, and is thrust into the bishopric
of Alexandria. Athanasius thereupon says, to>-
ro robs GKKhricriacrTiKobs KavSvas 7rapaAurrer (ad
ubique orthod. c. 1, p. 945). The reference, it is
alleged, is to Apost. Can. 30 (xxix.) and 31 (xxx.)
p Viz. the Apost. Constitutions. See next article.
1 'Judicium de Canonihus Apostolicis,' to be found in
Cotel. l'atres Apost. vol. i. p. -132, edit. 1"24 ; and 'Codex
Canonum Ecclesiae Primitivae illustratus, Ibid. vol. ii.
Appendix, p. i.
* ' Judic.' in Cotel. vol. i. pp. 436-411 ; and see Col.
Can. in Cotel. vol. ii. Append, pp. 8-10, et alibi, lie
appears to think that in many cases they may represent
apostolical traditions. They were called "apostolical''
from this feeling, and also because framed by apostolical
men. He allows, however, that they were probably col-
lected by divers persons, some of whom put together
more, some fewer. Hence Dionysius found only 50 in
the Codex from which he translated, while Scolasticus
found 85. Hincmar of liheirus is cited by Beveridge as
en his side; but it would seem that he looked on the
Apostolical Canons as collections of apostolical tradi-
tions made by pious persons, rather than as decrees of
synods. He speaks of them as " antequam episcopi concilia
libere inciperent celebrare, a devotis quibusque collectos.''
See Cod. Can. in Cotel. vol. ii. App. p. 12.
9 The question of t lie collection, however, stands on
very different grounds from that of the antiquity of par-
ticular canons, and the two points should be kept separate
in investigating the stibjert.
I
114
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
Basil, in his letters to Amphilochius (which
hxve themselves obtained the authority of
Canons in the Greek Church) says a deposed
deacon is not to be excommunicated, 8i6ti
apxcu6s iffri Kavu>v tovs airb fiaBfxov -kcktwko-
ras, rovT(f> ii6v(f> t rpotrcp rrjs KoAaaews vwo-
PaAAeadai. Reference alleged to be to Apost.
Can. 25.'
Acain he savs, tovs Siya.fj.ovs TravreAws 6
Kavihv t-i,s vTTfjpeffias aneKAeiae. Comp. Can. 17.
Once more he says, the Church must SovAeveiv
aKpi/Zeia Kavovcov, and reject heretical baptism.
See Apost. Can. 46.
The Council of Nice, Can. 1, while treating
self-inflicted mutilation as a bar to orders, says:
&o-Kip 5e tovto TrpdSrjAov, '6tl irepl twv ttitt]-
SevovToov to irpciy/xa tco.l t oAfu&vr o>v kavTobs
KT(fxi'eiv efprjTai* ovtois (1 rives vvb fSapfSapwv
-;) SecnroTwu fvvovxi-ffdrjffav, evpicrKOLvro 8e aAAws
aiot. robs towvtovs (Is KAripov Trpoa'urai 6
Kavuv. Reference alleged to Can. Apost. 21
and 22.
Again Can. 2 says, that things had lately been
done irapa tov Kav6va tov sKKh-nmao-TiKov, to
correct which it enacts that no neophyte is to be
made a presbyter. The reference is alleged to
be to Apost. Can. lxxx.
Can. 5 says : KpaTdrw 7] yvdifxt] Kara top
Kavova Thy Siayopevovra tovs u(p' trzpoov curo-
0\r]6evTas, v(p' kriptiiv /it) 7rpo<riecr#ai. Comp.
Can. Apost. 13 (xii. and xiii.) and 33 (xxxii.)
Again, Can. 9, concerning the ordination of
known sinners, treats it as Trapa KavSva, and
says, tovtovs 6 Kavaiv oil irpoaieTcu. See Can.
Apost. lxi.
Can. 10, concerning such as are ordained in
ignorance of their having lapsed, says : toDto ov
TrpoKpivei T<p Kavovi T<i3 (KKA-naiacrTiKiS- yvoirr-
Ocvtzs yap Kadaipovvrat. Bev. thinks the re-
ference is to Can. Apost. lxii., and that the
Council of Nice found it needful to extend the
rule to those who had lapsed before ordination.
Can. 15 and 16 restrain the clergy from
moving from city to city, a practice which it
calls ffW7i8eia Trapa rbv Kav6va, and speaks of
such persons as jur/re rbv (KKA-qffiaffTiKbv Kavova
eiSii-res. Comp. Can. Apost. 14 and 15.
The Synod of Gangra, held in the middle
of the 4th century against the Eustathians, after
passing several canons on matters more or less
similar to those treated in some of the Apost.
Canons, declares that its object has been to con-
demn those who bring in novelties, irapa Tas
ypa(pas Kal tovs (KKA7io'ia(TTtKobs Kav6vas.
The Council of Constantinople, A.D. 381, speaks
of a waAaios Beo-fxbs, as well as the Nicene
Canon, for bishops to ordain in the eirapx'ia or
ecclesiastical province to which they belong.
Bev. finds in the mention of " provinces," a re-
ference to the authority of Metropolitans, Can.
Apost. 35 (xxxiv.).
Not long afterwards a synod at Carthage says :
6 apxaios Tvnos (pvAax^V^^rai, 'iva jxt) TjTTOves
Tptwv tuiv bpio~84vTO}v ds x i P 01 'ov'iav 'Etticko-
irwv apKco-waiv. Comp. Can. Apost. i.
' I >a:lle, and his ally," Observator" (who seems to have
been Matt, de la Roque) contend that the context shews
that Basil cannot have meant to allude to the Apostolical
Canons. Beveridge replies at length (Cod. Can. 38, 39).
Bickell takes the same view as Daille (Gesch. des Kirchen-
rechts, i. 83, note), but without noticing the arguments of
Beveridge.
The Council of Ephesus, 431 a.d., sent three
times to summon the accused bishop, Nestorius,
to appear, saying, that it did so in obedience r<Z>
icav6vi, and afterwards informed the Emperor of
the course taken, rwv tcavovwv irapaKeAevo-
fxevwv rfj Tp'nri kA{]G(i irapaKaA(7ff8ai rbv onrei-
dovvra.
And in like manner at Chalcedon, 451 A.D.,
upon the third summons sent to Dioscorus, the
bishops who were the bearers of it say that
the Council sent them to him : TpiT-qv rjSr;
KArjffiv TavT^v voiovfievr] Kara T7)e olkoAov-
8iav tuiv ayicov nav6vwv. Compare Can. Apost.
Ixxiv.
At Ephesus a complaint was made against the
Bishop of Antioch for trying to subject to him-
self the island of Cyprus : " Contrary to the
Apostolic canons and the decrees of the most
holy Nicene Synod." Comp. Can. Apost. 36
(xxxv.)
We may now perhaps pause in our extracts
from Councils and Synods, as we are approaching
a period about which there is less dispute : but
we must go back to the Nicene times in order to
cite one or two individual testimonies. Alex-
ander, bishop of Alexandria, writes that Arius,
though excommunicated there, was received by
other bishops, which he blames, rqi /iTjTe tov
' AiroaToAiKCtv Kavova tovto avyxoopuv (apud
Theodoret, Hist. Eecl. i. c. iv.). See Can. Apost.
13.
About the same time Eusebius, declining to be
translated from Caesarea to Antioch, Constantine
the Great writes to praise him for observing rds re
ivroAas tov @(ov Kal top 'ATroo-ToAi/cde Kavova,
Kal tt)$ iKKAriffias (Euseb. Vita Const, iii. 61).
The reference is alleged to be to Can. Apost. 14,
while eKKA7)o-ias is said to allude to the loth
Canon of Nice.
Again, during the reign of Constantine, Pope
Julius, writing of the deposition of Athanasius
and the intrusion of Gregory into his see, declares
it to have been done in violation of the Canons
of the Apostles. See 2nd Apol. of Athanasius.
The reference is asserted to be to Can. 36 (xxxv.)
and lxxiv. (Gregory being an untried lay-
man.)"
Once more, in a provincial synod at Con-
stantinople, 394 a.d., it was determined that the
deposition of a bishop must not be merely by two
or three bishops, aAAa irAeiovos awSSov iprjcpcp,
Kal tSiv tt}s itrapx'ias, Ka8ws Kal ol ' AiroffToAiKol
Kavoves SioDplaavro. The allusion is said to be
to Can. Apost. lxxiv.
Of late years not much has been done by
English scholars in the way of original investiga-
tion into the subject, but German writers have
given a good deal of attention to it during the
present century, and have arrived at results
widely different from those w r e have just been
considering. Among these Von Drey and Bickell
stand conspicuous. The former seems to con-
sider that the first 50 canons were collected in
the early part of the 5th century, partly out of
decrees of post-Nicene Councils, partly out of
the so-called apostolical constitutions ; and that
the other 35 were added subsequently, probably
u If this could be considered to be proved, it would
settle the point that the Canons were known at Rome,
and referred to by popes before Dionysius's version of
them. And if the LXX1 Vth be really intended, it would
show that more than 50 were then recognised.
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
11. ">
at the beginning of the 6th century, when the
whole 85 were appended to the constitutions."
Biokell while adopting a similar theory does
not press it so far. He believes the collection to
have been made out of like materials to those
specified by Drey, but to be not later than the
end of the 4th century ; and holds that the apos-
tolical canons were quoted at Chalcedon (instead of
being in part derived from the decrees of that Coun-
cil as Drey would maintain), and possibly also at
Ephesus and Constantinople, 448 (Gesch. des Kir-
chenrechts, vol. i. p. 83 ; see also Hefele Conci-
liengesch., vol. i. p. 771). Both Von Drey and
Bickell agree in denying the position of Beve-
ridge that the collection was made not later
than the 3rd century, and was composed out of
bond fide previous canons then existing. And
they meet his citations by denying that ko.vwv.
6(aij.6s and such like words always imply what
we call a canon, and by alleging that they are
used in early times of any generally received
rule in the Church. Thus Kavihv airoaroXtKbs
might either refer to some direction of the Apos-
tles contained in the New Testament, or to some
ecclesiastical practice supposed to have been
originated by them, and to have their authority.
Thus Clem. Rom. speaks of rdv aipto-fi^vov rrjs
\eiTovpylas avrov navova (Ep. i. 41), and it is
not to be supposed that he can here allude to
any synodical decree. Comp. Iren. Ad. Haer. i. 9 ;
Polycrates, apud Euseb. Hist. Eccl. v. 24 ; Clem.
Al. Strom, i. 350, vi. 076, vii. 753, 756, 764 (see
also the instances in De La garde Eel. Jur. Eccl.
Ant. pref. p. vi.). Accordingly Bickell would
thus interpret (as Daille' had done before him)
the use of the words Kaviov and kclvovlkos vojxos,
in canon 15 of Neocaesarea, and in canons 13, 15,
18, of Niee.y So also Cornelius Ad Fabium
1 The following table gives what he supposes to be the
original of the various Canons :
1, II., VI., VII., XVII., XVIII., XX., XXVI., XXXIII.,
XLVI., XLV1I., XLIX., LI., LIL, LIU., LX., LX1V, are
all taken from the Apostolical Constitutions ; the first
six books of which he considers as of latter half of 3rd
century.
LXXIX. is from the Sth book, which is later, but
before the year 325.
XXL- XXIV., and LXXX., are taken from the Nicene
Decrees.
VIII.-XVL, and XXVIII., and XXXI.-XLL, from
those of Antioch.
XLV, LXX., LXXI., from those of Laodicea.
LXXV. from those of Constantinople, a d. 381.
XXVII. from those of Constantinople, a.d. 394.
XXIX., LXV1L, LXXIV, LXXXL, LXXXIIL, from
those of Chalcedon.
XIX. from Neocaesarea.
XXV. from a canonical letter of Basil.
LX1X. and LXX., out of the supposed Epistle of
Ignatius, Ad 1'hiladdph.
About a third of the Canons Drey treats as of unknown
origin. The subject matter of many of them he considers
may be more ancient, but not in the form of canons.
As to the distinction said to be apparent between the
first 50 Canons and the residup, see Bickell, i. 86 and 236.
y For an examination of these instances from a con-
trary point of view, see Beveridge (Cod. Can. lib. i. cap.
xi.). Hut the reader should notice that in Nic. Can. 18,
he inexactly translates iootrep outc 6 xaviav ovre 17 <rvv-
>j0cia 7rape'SaiKe by " nee canonem nee consuetudinem
esse," and neglects the words napo. Kavova koX wapa rajiv
at the end of the Canon. He understands the Canon of
Neocaesarea, that there must lie seven deacons, Kara toi-
icai/ova, to allude to Acts vi. (the written law of Scrip-
II.
(Euseb. vi. 43) kvto. tov ttjs tKKk-no-'ias Kavova,
and Firmilian Ad Cyprian. (ep. 75) and Cone. Are-
lat. canon 13, " ecclesiastica regula," and comp.
Euseb. vi. 24. Bickell also thus interprets .the
letter of Alexander to Meletius, and that of
Constantiue, which as we have seen (ante, p. 114)
Beveridge takes as allusions to the apostolical
canons.
In short Von Drey and Bickell maintain that
the instances brought forward by Beveridge are
not really proofs that the set of canons called
apostolical are there quoted or . referred to, but
rather that allusion is made to broad and gene-
rally acknowledged principles of ecclesiastical
action and practice, whether written or un-
written (see Bickell, i. p. 2, and p. 81, 82, and
the notes). 2 But they go further and proceed
to adduce on their side what they consider to bo
a positive and decisive argument. Many canons
of the Council of Antioch, A.D. 341, correspond
not only in subject but to a very remarkable
degree in actual phraseology with the apostolical
canons. Yet they never quote them, at least eo
nomine.
The following table gives the parallel cases:
Antioch L compared with Can. Apost. VII.
(VIII., IX., X.,
" I XL, XII, XIII.
III. ,, ,, ,, XV., XVI.
IV. ,, ,, ,, XXVIII.
V . t , , , , , aaaI.
VI. ,, ,, ,, XXXII.
VII., VIII. ,, ,, ,, XII., XXXIII
IX. ,, ,, ,, XXXIV.
XIII. ,, ,, ,, XXXV.
XVIII. j " " " XXXVI -
XX. ,, ,, ,, XXXVII.
XXI , XIV.
XXII. ,, ,, ,, XXXV.
XXII I. ,, ,, ,, LXX VI.
XXIV. ,, ,, ,, XL.
XXV. ,, ,, ,, XLK
On this state of facts Von Drey and Bickell
maintain that the apostolical canons are ob-
viously borrowed from those of Antioch, while
Beveridge argues that the converse is the case.
The argument turns too much on a close com-
parison of phrases, and of the respective omis-
sions, additions, and modifications, to admit of
being presented in an abridged form. It will be
found on one side to some extent in Bickell, vol.
i. p. 79, et seq., and p. 230, et seq. (who gives
ture). Some might possibly contend that the words of
the Epistle of Alexander (supra, p. 114) refer to 2nd Epist.
John 10. He also deals with a Canon of Ancyra (Can.
21), which mentions that 6 7rpoTepcK opos refused com-
munion, except on the death-bed, to unchaste women
guilty of abortion. This Beveridge argues does not mean a
" Canon " at all, but rather a decision of Church discipline.
Hefele, on the other hand, thinks it alludes to a Canon
of Elvira, refusing the sacrament to such even at death
(Conciliengesch. i. 208).
1 To a certain extent, Beveridge discusses this theory
when put forward by " Observator " (see Cod. Can. lib. i.
c. 1 1 , p. 44), and appears to contend that kcuw is not used
for unwritten law, at all events by Councils in their de-
crees. There certainly seems some apparent distinction
drawn in Nic. Can. 18, ouTe 6 Kavtov ovre ) CTvr>;#eia
irapcSujKe.
It will be observed that all the Apostolical Canonq
except one, for which parallels are here (bund in the,
Antioch decrees, fall within the first 50 : and the parallel
to the LXXVIlh Canon is very far-fetched.
I 2
110 APOSTOLICAL CANONS
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
the references to the corresponding parts of Von
Drey's work) ; and on the other, in- Beveridge's
Codex Canonum, lib. i. cap. iv. and cap. xi., and
elsewhere in that treatise. b
As a general rule the apostolical canons are
shorter, the Antioch canons fuller and more ex-
press : a circumstance which leads Bickell to see
in the former a compendium or abridgment of
the latter, but which, according to Beveridge,
proves the former to be the brief originals, of
which the latter are the subsequent expansion.
Beveridge observes with some force that
though the apostolical canons are not quoted by-
name, the canons of Antioch repeatedly profess
to be in accordance with previous ecclesiastical
rules, whereas the apostolical canons never men-
tion any rules previously existing. Still the
same question must arise here as in relation to
the canons of Nice, viz., whether the allusion
really is to pre-existing canons of councils, or
whether the terms used are to be otherwise ex-
plained. And as regards the silence of the apos-
tolical canous as to anything older than them-
selves, it must be recollected that any other
course would have been self-contradictory. They
could not pretend to be apostolic and yet rely on
older authorities. Hence even had such refer-
ences been found in the materials of which they
were composed, these must have been struck out
when they were put together in their present
shape.
The synod of Antioch lying under the re-
proach of Arianism, it may seem improbable that
any decrees should have been borrowed from it.
To meet this objection Bickell urges that though
the Antioch clergy were Arian, the Bishop Me-
letius was not un-orthodox, and was much re-
spected by the Catholics. And he throws out
the theory that the apostolical canons, which
shew traces of Syrian phraseology, may be a
sort of corpus canonum made at that period in
Syria, and drawn up in part from the Antioch
decrees, in part from the apostolical constitutions
(which shew like marks of Syrian origin), and
in part from other sources. 11 This work, it is
conjectured, Meletius brought with him when
he came to the Council of Constantinople (where
he died) in 381 A.D., and introduced it to the
favourable notice of the clergy : a hypothesis
which is thought to account for the apostolical
canons being cited (as Bickell thinks for the first
time) at the Provincial Synod of Constantinople,
A.D. 394.
The opinion of Hefele may be worth stating.
He thinks that though there is a good deal to be
said for the theory that many of the apostolical
canons were borrowed from, those of Antioch,
b The suggestion is there made that the Council stu-
diously re-enacted certain orthodox canons, in order to
gain a good reputation, while they thrust in here and
there a canon of their own so framed as to tell against
Athanasius and the Catholics. See Cod. Can. lib. i. cap. iv.
ad Jin.
c However, it is to be observed that the 37-39 Canons
of Laodicea, which closely resemble the LXX. and LXXI.
Apostolical Canons, do not in any way refer to them,
though on Beveridge's theory the A post. Canons must
have been in the hands of the Fathers of Laodicea.
A In Can. XXXVII. the Syro-Macedonian name of a
month, Hyperberetaeus, occurs in connexion with the
time for the autumnal synod. Similar names of months
occur in Ap. Const, v. 17, 20, and at viii. 10. Evadius,
Bishop of Antioch, is prayed for as " our bishop."
the converse is quite possible, and the point by
no means settled. In regard to the Council of
Nice, it would appear, he thinks, that it refers
to older canons on the like subjects with those
which it was enacting. And it is by no means
impossible that the allusion may be to those
which are now found among the apostolic canons,
and which might have existed in the Church
before they were incorporated in that collection.
This view he thinks is supported by a letter from
certain Egyptian bishops to Meletius at the com-
mencement of the 4th century , e in which they
complain of his having ordained beyond the
limits of his diocese, which they allege is con-
trary to " mos divinus " and to " regula eccle-
siastica ; " and remind him that it is the " lex
patrum et propatrum. ... in alienis paroeciis
non licere alicui episcoporum ordinationes cele-
brare." The inference, Hefele thinks, is almost
irresistible that this refers to what is now the
36th (xxxv.) Apostolical Canon. And at all
events he appears to hold with Bickell that the
apostolical canons are referred to at Ephesus,
Constantinople (A.D. 448), and Chalcedon. But
such a view falls short of that of Beveridge.
Coming to the internal evidence, we find great
stress to have been laid by Daille, Von Drey,
Bickell, and others on the contents of the canons, as
distinctly marking their late date. Thus the 8th
(vii.) (as to Easter) is in harmony with the pre-
sent interpolated text of the apostolical consti-
tutions, but is at variance with what Epiphanius
read there, and with the Syriac didascalia (see
infra, pp. 122, 123). It relates to the settlement of
a particular phase of the Easter controversy which
did not, according to Hefele, spring up until
the 3rd century (Conciliengesch. i. 303 and 776). f
Moreover, if known and recognized previous to
the Council of Nice, it seems extraordinary that
this canon should not have been mentioned in
Constantine's famous letter to the Nicene Fathers
on the Easter Controversy (Euseb. Vita Const, iii.
18-20).
Canon 27 (xxvi.) hardly savours of a very
early time. On this canon Beveridge (Annot. in
Can. Apost., sub Canone xxvi.) cites the Council
of Chalcedon (a.d. 451), as saying that in many
provinces it was permitted to readers and singers
to marry ; and understands it of those provinces
in which the apostolical canons had been put in
force, they having been, he says, originally passed
in different localities by provincial synods. (See
also his Jud. de Can. Apost. xii. in Cotel. vol. i.
p. 436.) This seems to derogate somewhat from
the general reception which he elsewhere appears
disposed to claim for them. So limited an opera-
tion even in the 5th century is scarcely what was
to be expected if the whole collection had been
made, and promulgated a century and a half be-
fore.
The 31st (xxx.), the lxxxi., and lxxxiii., all
appear to speak of a time when the empire was
Christian (see Hefele, vol. i. p. 783, 789 ; Bic-
kell, i. 80.).s
* Given in Routh, Eel. Sacr. vol. iti. pp. 381, 382
t If Hefele's view on this subject be accepted, Beveridge
must be held to have confused the special point here ruled
with other questions in dispute in the Easter controversy
{Cod. Can. lib. 2, c. iii.).
S Von Drey, however, points out that it is difficult to
suppose a council under the empire would set itself so
openly against the emperor's interference. If so, some
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
APOSTOLICAL CANONS 117
The 35th (xxxiv.), recognizing a kind of metro-
politan authority, has also been much insisted
on by Yon Drey and Bickell, as well as by Daille.
in proof of an origin not earlier than the 4th
century (see contra, Bev. Cod. Can. lib. _'. cap. v.).' 1
The 46th suggests the remark that if it were in
existence at the time of Cyprian, it would surely
have been cited in the controversy as to heretical
baptism. It agrees with the doctrine of the apos-
tolical constitutions vi. 15, and according to some
has probably been taken thence. Beveridge indeed
observes that Cyprian (Epist. to Jubajanus) does
rely on the decree of a synod held under the
presidency of Agrippinus (see Jud. de Can. Ap.
xi. and Cod. Can. lib. 3, cap. xii.). This de-
cree he seems to think may be the original of
canon 46. If so, however, it would seem to shew
the local and partial character of the apostolical
canons, for we know that the Roman Church
held at this very time a contrary view (Comp.
the admissions of Bev. in Jud. de Can. xii.).
Again, other orders besides bishop, priest, and
deacon appear in the clerical body. We have sub-
deacons, readers, and singers (canon 43).' Though
the second of these is found in Tertullian, the
first and last are not to be traced further back
than the middle of the third century.
Nut to mention other instances, it may in con-
clusion be observed that much contest has taken
place over the list of canonical books in the last
canon, and as to the reference therein to the con-
stitutions. Beveridge thinks that the variation
in that list from the canon of Scripture as eventu-
ally settled, is a proof that it was drawn up at
an early date and before the final settlement
was. made. But at the same time he (somewhat
inconsistently) is inclined to take refuge in the
theory that this last canon- has been interpolated.
Here again it would be vain to attempt an
abridgement of the argument (see Cod. Canon.
lib. 2, c. ix. and Jud. de Can. Apost. xvi. ct seq.)
Before concluding, the opinions of one or two
other writers must be mentioned. Krabbe thinks
that at the end of the 4th or early in the 5th
century, a writer of Arian or Macedonian ten-
dencies drew up both the 8th book of the consti-
tutions and the collection of canons, the former
being composed out of precepts then in circulation
under the Apostles' names, with many additions of
his own, the latter out of canons made in different
placer, during the 2nd and 3rd centuries, with
support might be hence gained for the theory that these
canons (in the present form, at all events) did not really
emanate from any council.
h Beveridge observes that the Apostolical Canon merely
speaks of 7W irpuiTov enicr/co-nov, whereas the corre-
sponding Canon of Antioch has toi> ev rrj p.7)Tpo7r6Aei.
npoevTuiTa iiriuKonov ; the latter being in conformity
with the name metropolitan. This name did not arise till
the 4th century ; and he therefore thinks the Apostolical
Canon is proved to be the older of the two, and to be
before that era. Moreover the Canon of Antioch pro-
fesses its enactment to be Kara rbv ap\<xioTepoi> pa-
Trjatxi'Ta K Ttov TTaTzptjiv r\p.oiv Kavova. It may be worth
observing that there is no trace of a primacy among
hops in the Apostolical Constitutions, even in their
resent state.
1 Sometimes we find only a general expression, as in
'Can. 9 (viii.), which runs el Tts eirCa-KOTros rj 7rpea-/3t/Tepo9
I StaKOTOS f/ eK tou Ka.Ta\6yov tou iepaTi/cou ; the latter
ords comprehending the other orders, and being appa-
rently strictiy equivalent to the phrase Jj bAws rov Kara-
Aoyou tuiv KAqpinojv in Can. Ij.
the interpolation of the 7th and 85th canons
forged by himself (see tlltzen, p. xvi. pref.).
Bunsen attaches much importance to the apos-
tolical canons. He regards them as belonging
to a class of ordinances which were " the local
coutumes of the apostolical Church," i. e. if not
of the Johannean age, at all events of that imme-
diately succeeding. Yet such "never formed
any real code of law, much less were thev the
decrees of synods or councils. Their collections
nowhere had the force of law. Every ancient
and great church presented modifications of the
outlines and traditions here put together ; but
the constitutions and practices of all churches
were built upon this groundwork " {Christ, and
Mankind, vol. ii. 421). Our apostolical canons
served this purpose in the Greek Church. The
fiction which attributes them to the Apostles is
probably ante-Nicene (vol. vii. p. 373) ; but they
are now in an interpolated state.
Internal evidence shews, he thinks, that the
original collection consisted of three chapters :
I. On ordination.
II. On the oblation and communion.
III. On acts which deprive of official rights
or offiees.
These comprise, with some exceptions, rather
more than a third of the whole. To these, he
says, were appended, but at an early date
IV. On the rights and duties of the bishop ;
and subsequently when the collection thus ex-
tended had been formed
V. Other grounds of deprivation.
Canons 6 (v.), 27 (xxvi.), he considers from
internal evidence to be interpolations. Relying
on the fact that the Coptic version (to which hs
attaches much weight, calling it " The Apos-
tolical Constitutions of Alexandria ") omits
canons xlvii., xlviii., xlix., 1., he treats these
also as of later date. Canon 35 (xxxiv.) ho
appears to consider as a genuine early form of
what subsequently became the system of metro-
politan authority.
Coming then to what he styles " The Second
Collection, which is not recognized by the Roman
Church," i. e. to the canons not translated by
Dionysius, he says they " bear a more decided
character of a law boQk for the internal dis-
cipline of the clergy, with penal enactments."
Canon lxxxi. is a repetition and confirmation
of one in the first collection, viz., xx. compared
with 31 (xxx.). This and canons lxxxiii., lxxxiv.,
are post-Nicene. The canon of Scripture also is
spurious, as contradicting in many points the
authentic traditions and assumptions of the early
Church. It is wanting in the oldest MS., the
Codex Barberinus {Christianity and Mankind,
vol. ii. p. 227).
Ultzen, though modestly declining to express
a positive judgment, evidently leans to the view
of Bickell that the Antiochehe decrees were
the foundation of many of the canons, and re-
grets that Bunsen should have brought up again
the theory of Beveridge, which, he considers,
" recentiores omnes hujus rei judices reruta-
verant" (Pref. p. xvi. note, and p. xxi.).
There are Oriental versions of the apostolical
canons. As Bunsen has observed, the Coptic and
A.ethiopic (the former being a very late but
faithful translation from an old Sahidic version,
see Tattam's Edition, 1848) omit certain of the
canons relating to heretical baptism. Except in
118
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
APOSTOLICAL CANONS
this and in Can. lxxxv. they do not differ in any
important degree k Some account of these ver-
sions, and also of the Syriac, may be seen in Bickell,
vol. i. append, iv. He considers even the last-
named to be later than our Greek text, and that
little assistance is to be derived from them (see
p. 215) ; others, however, as Bunsen, rate them
highly. The subject deserves further inquiry.
To attempt to decide, or even to sum up so
large a controversy, and one on which scholars
have differed so widely, would savour of pre-
sumption. It must suffice to indicate a few
points on which the decision seems principally
to turn. The first question is, Can we come to
Beveridge's conclusion that a corpus canonum
corresponding to our present collection, and pos-
sessing a generally recognized authority, really
existed in the 3rd century ? If so, much weight
would deservedly belong to it.
But if an impartial view of Beveridge's argu-
ments should be thought to lead merely to the
conclusion, that a number of canons substanti-
ally agreeing with certain of those now in our
collection, are quoted in the 4th century, and
presumably existed some considerable time pre-
viously, we find ourselves in a different position.
In this case the contents of our present col-
lection may possibly be nothing more than de-
crees of synods held at different and unknown
times,- 1 and in different and uncertain places, not
necessarily agreeing with each other, and not
necessarily acknowledged by the Church at large,
at all events till a later period.
Again, if our present collection as a whole be
not shewn to be of the 3rd century, the question
at once arises when and how it was made, and
whether any modification or interpolation took
place in the component materials when they were
so collected together."
If it be to be looked upon as a digest of pre-
existing canons brought together from various
sources, it is necessary to consider how far the
fact that any particular canon is authenticated
fc In Can. LXXXV. the Coptic omits Esther from the
0. T. and puts Judith and Tobit in place of Maccabees,
and after mentioning the 16 Prophets, it goes on : " Those
also let your young persons learn. And out of the Wis-
dom of Solomon and Esther, the three Books of Maccabees,
and the Wisdom of the Son of Sirach, there is much in-
struction." In N. T. it adds the Apocalypse, between
Jude and the Epistles of Clement, and says nothing ivhat-
ever about the eight books of legulations. "The Acts"
are merely mentioned by that name, and follow the
Gospels in the list.
' Some may, no doubt, be of an early date : thus Von
Drey admits the probable antiquity of Can. 1, Can. K) (ix.),
Can. 11 (x.), and others. See notes to the Canons in
Hefele'S Conciliengeschichte, vol. i. Append.; and comp.
Bickell, vol. i. pp. 80, 81.
m Beveridge speaks of the Apostolical Canons as the
work " not of one hut of many synods, and those held in
divers places" {Cod. Can. lib. 1, cap. ii.). He thinks
that the name of the month Hyperberetaeus in Can.
XXXVII. shews that Canon to be of Eastern origin;
while he argues that the rule as to Easter in Can. VII.
proves that Canon to belong to the Western Church,
inasmuch as the rule In question does not agree with the
Oriental practice {Jud. de Can. s. 12 ; and see s. 27).
" As to admissions of interpolations, see Bev. Jud. de
Can. ad fine m, and Cod. Can. in Cotel. vol. ii. Append,
pp. 10, 73, 114. Nor can it be forgotten that, in the only
shapes in which ire know of their having been collected,
they are introduced by the untrue pretext of being the
words of the Apostles dictated to Clement.
by being cited at Nice or elsewhere, in an;
degree authenticates any other canon not s
cited. For unless some bond of connexion cat
be shewn, two canons standing in juxtaposition
may be of quite different age and origin.
These considerations have been principal!;
framed with reference to the arguments of Beve
ridge. Of course if the views of Von Drey b
adopted, any importance to be attached to th
canons is materially diminished. Up to a certaii
point Beveridge certainly argues not only wit]
ingenuity but force, and his reasoning does no
seem to have received its fair share of attentioi
from Von Drey and Bickell. Still, after allow
ing all just weight to what he advances, a carefu
consideration of the points just suggested, ma;
perhaps tend to shew that it is not difficult t
see why controversialists of modern times hav
not ventured to lay much stress on the apos
tolical canons.
But there is another reason for this. N
Western church can consistently proclaim thei
authority as they now stand. Protestant churclie
will hardly agree, for instance, to the rule tha
one who was ordained unmarried, may not after
wards marry, nor will they recognize the Mac
cabees as a canonical book ; while the canon
which require a trine immersion in baptism, an
the repetition of baptism when performed b
heretics, will not be accepted by either Protest
ant or Roman Catholic. p
It may be proper to add that the canons her
discussed are not the only series extant whici
claim apostolical authority.
Thus, for instance, besides the Aiard^ts rm
ayioov cbrocrToAajp irepl xeipoToviwu, Sia 'l7i
koXvtuv and Ai Siarayal ai Sia. KMjfieVros ko
Kavovts eKK\noiao-TtKol raov aylcov airoffToAco
(both of which will be treated of in connexio
with the Apost. Constitutions), we have certai
pretended canons of an apostolic council at An
tioch (the title being tov ayiov Upo/xdpTvpo
Ua/j.(pi\ov iie ttjs hv 'AvTiox^ia twit airoffi 6\oi
crwoSov, rovr' kffriv ex tuiv avvooiKwu avrio
Kav6va>v ixipos toiv vn' aliTOv evpedfvTcav els t))
TLpiytvovs QifiKioOriKnv). They are in Bickel
i. 138, and Lagarde, Belig. Juris Eccles. p. 18.
We also find another set of apostolic canon
(opos kolvovikos twv ayiwv airoffroAoov) als
published by Bickell, i. 133, and Lagarde, p. 3
(and of which the latter critic says that it i
"nondum theologis satis consideratum ") ; 'an
yet again a curious series of alleged apostoli
ordinances (many of which resemble parts c
the apostolical constitutions), in three ancien
Syriac MSS., one translated into Greek by Lagard
(Bel. Jur. Eccl. p. 89), and two into English, wit
notes, by Cureton, in ' Ancient Syriac Document:
Yet it is certainly remarkable that, when we firs
hear of these Canons, the question seems to be whethc
they are apostolic or apocryphal. The view that the
are an authentic collection of post-apostolic synodic;
decrees does not seem to have then suggested itself.
P Refined distinctions have indeed been drawn to quo
lify the apparent sense of some of these Canons (see Be\
Cod. Can. in Cotel. vol. ii. Append, p. 100, and p. 130)
but the difficulty attending them has probably had it
share in preventing their full recognition. Hefele speak
of the Canon on Heretical Baptism as contrary to th
Roman rule. Can. LXV1. is also contrary to the disci
pline of Rome; but not being in the first 50, it is hel
apocryphal,
APOSTOLICAL CONSTITUTIONS
119
relating to the earliest establishment of Christi-
anity in Edessa,' &c, with preface by W. Wright,
Lonil. 1864. It appears that in Cod. Add. 14,173,
fol. 37, in Brit. Mus. this document is quoted as
" Canons of the Apostles."
It is not perhaps a wholly unreasonable hope
that further researches into the ecclesiastical
MSS. of Syria may be the means of throwing
more light on the perplexing questions which
surround alike the apostolic canons and the apos-
tolic constitutions, both of them, in all proba-
bility, closely connected in their origin with that
Church and country.'
Authorities. Ceitturiatores Magdeburg, ii. c. 7,
p. 544, &c. Fr. Turrianus, Pro Canon. Apost. et
Epp. Decret. Pontif. Apost. Advarsus Magd. Centur.
Defensio (Flor. 1572, Lutetiae 1573), lib. i. P. de
Marca, Cone. Sacerd., iii. 2. J. Dallaeus, DePseud-
epigraphis Apost., lib. iii. Pearsoni Vindic.
/gnat, (in Cotelerius, Patr. Apost., vol. ii. app.
p. 251), part i. cap. 4. Matt. Larroquanus in
App. Obs. ad Pearsonianas Ignatii Vindic. (Rotho-
mag. 1674). Beveregii Judicium de Can. Apost.
(iu Cotel., Patr. Apost., edit. 1724, vol. i. p. 432).
Beveregii Adnotationes ad Can. Apost. (Ibid. p.
455). Codex Canonum Ecclesiae Universalis Vin-
dicates a Gul. Beveregio (Ibid. vol. ii. app. p. 1,
and Oxford 1848.) Brunonis Judicium de Auctore
Canonum et Const itutionum Apostulicorum (Cotel.
vol. ii. app. p. 177). Proleg. in Ignatium Jac.
Usserii (Ibid. vol. ii. app. p. 199), see cap. vi.
Hegenbrecht, Diss, de Can. Ap. et Cod. Ecc.
Jiisp., Katisb. 1828. Krabbe, De Cod. Can. qui
Apost. dicuntur, Eitt. 1829. Von Drey, Neue
Untersuch. iiber die Konstit. und Kanones der
Apost., Tubingen 1832. Bickell, Geschichte des
Kirchenrechts, Giessen 1843, vol. i. Hefele, Con-
ciliengeschichte, Freiburg 1855, vol. i. append.
Bunsen, Christianity and MantmuX, Lcndon 1854.
Ultzen, Constitutiones Apost., Suerini 1853, pre-
face 2. De Lagarde, Reliquiae Juris Ecc/esi-
astici Antiquissimae, 1856. [B. S.]
APOSTOLICAL CONSTITUTIONS. The
apostolical constitutions consist of eight books.
Their general scope is the discussion and regula-
tion (not in the way of concise rules, but in
diffuse and hortatory language) of ecclesiastical
affairs. In some places they enter upon the
private behaviour proper for Christians ; in
other parts, in connexion with the services of
the Church, they furnish liturgical forms at
considerable length. 3 A large share of the
whole is taken up with the subjects of the sac-
raments, and of the powers and duties of the
clergy.
At the end of the eighth book, as now com-
monly edited, are to be found the apostolical
canons. These we have already treated of in the
previous article.
The constitutions, extant in MSS. in various
libraries, b appear during the middle ages to have
been practically unknown. When in 1546,
4 Bickell, however, warns us that the fruits of such
researches must be used with caution, on account of the
uncritical way in which various pieces are put to-
gether in these MSS. (vol. i. p. 218).
a These belong especially to the question of Liturgies,
and will not therefore be considered at length here.
b An account of the MSS. is given in tjltzen's edition,
and by Lagarde in Bunsen's Christ, and Man., vol. vi.
p. 35.
Carolus Capellus, a Venetian, printed an epitome
of them in Latin translated from a MS. found in
Crete, Bishop Jewell spoke of it as a work " iu
these countries never heard of nor seen before."
(Park. Soc, Jew., i. 111.) In 1563 Bovius pub-
lished a complete Latin version, and in the same
year Turrianus edited the Greek text. It is not
expedient here to pursue at any length the
question of subsequent editions, but it may be
as well to mention the standard one of Cote-
lerius in the Patres Apostolici and the useful and
portable modern one of Ultzen (S tier in, 1853).
There is also one by Lagarde, Lipsiae, 1862.
The constitutions profess on the face of them
to be the words of the Apostles themselves
written down by the hand of Clement of Rome.
Book 1 prescribes in great detail the manners
and habits of the faithful laity.
Book 2 is concerned chiefly with the duties of
the episcopal office, and with assemblies for
divine worship.
Book 3 relates partly to widows, partly to the
clergy, and to the administration of baptism.
Book 4 treats of sustentation of the poor, of
domestic life, and of virgins.
Book 5 has mainly to do with the subjects of
martyrs and martyrdom, and with the rules for
feasts and fasts.
Book 6 speaks of schismatics and heretics, and
enters upon the question of the Jewish law, and
of the apostolic discipline substituted for it, and
refers incidentally to certain customs and tradi-
tions both Jewish and Gentile.
Book 7 describes the two paths, the one of
life, the other of spiritual death, and follows out
this idea into several points of daily Christian
life. Then follow rules for the teaching and
baptism of catechumens, and liturgical pre-
cedents of prayer and praise, together with a list
of bishops said to have been appointed by the
Apostles themselves.
Book 8 discusses the diversity of spiritual
gifts, and gives the forms of public prayer and
administration of the communion, the election
and ordinations of bishops, and other orders in
the Church, and adds various ecclesiastical regu-
lations.
This enumeration of the contents of the books
is by no means exhaustive the style being
diffuse, and many other matters being incident-
ally touched upon but is merely intended to give
the reader some general notion of the nature of
the work.
From the time when they were brought again
to light down to the present moment, great
differences of opinion have existed as to the date
and authorship of the constitutions.
Turrianus and Bovius held them to be a
genuine apostolical work, and were followed in
this opinion by some subsequent theologians, and
notably by the learned and eccentric Whiston,
who maintained that (with the exception of a
few gross interpolations) they were a record of
what our Saviour himself delivered to his
Apostles in the forty days after his resurrection,
and that they were committed to writing and
were sent to the churches by two apostolic
councils held at Jerusalem, A.D. 64 and A.D. 67,
and by a third held soon after the destruction
of the city.
On the other hand Baronius, Bellarmine and
Petavius declined to attach weight to the Con-
120
APOSTOLICAL CONSTITUTIONS
stitutions, while Daille and Blondel fiercely at-
tacked their genuineness and authority.
Winston's main argument was that the early
Fathers constantly speak of oioatTKaAiu airo-
<tto\lkt], Stard^fis, fiia.Ta.yai, 8 jot ay jxarr a rS>v
awoaruAwv. km'wi/ ttjs Aetrovpyias, Kavwv ttjs
aAnGeias, and so forth, which is true ; but he
has not proved that these expressions are neces-
sarily used of a definite book or books, and far
less, that they relate to what we now have as
the so-called Apostolical Constitutions.
It will be well to look at some of the chief of
these passages from the Fathers.
We may begin with the words of Irenaeus in
the fragment first printed by Pfaffin 1715. oi
rats Sevrepais rSiv airoaroAwv 8iaTa|eo"i Kaprj-
koAovQt)k6t(s iaaai tov Kvpwv veav wpocrtpopav
ei' t;; naivy Sia8r}Krj /caflecrrTj/ceVcu Kara, to
"/iaAax'tov k. t. A.
Professor Lightfoot is disposed to see here a
reference to the apostolical constitutions, but
does not recognise the Pfaffian fragments as
genuine." (Lightfoot On Epist. to Philippians,
London, 1868, pp. 201, 202.) But if the genu-
ineness be admitted, the reference is surely in
the highest degree vague and uncertain. There
is no evidence that the ordinances spoken of
(whatever they were) were to be found in any
one particular book still less is there anything
to identity what is spoken of with the apostolical
(.institutions either as we now have them, or
under any earlier and simpler form. Moreover,
it appears singular that if the CDnstitutions were
really what the writer was relying on, he should
not quote some passage from them. Instead of
this, he goes on to cite the Revelation, the Epistle
to the Romans, and the Epistle to the Hebrews,
almost as if these contained the Siard^eis in
question. What is meant by the word Sevrtpai
it seems very difficult to say with certainty.
Origen speaking of fasting (in his 10th Homily
on Leviticus) says, " Sed est et alia adhuc re-
ligiosa [jejunandi ratio], cujus laus quorundam
apostolorum Uteris praedicatur. Invenimus enim
iu quodam libello ab apostolis dictum, Beatus
est qui etiam jejunat prae eo ut alat pauperem.
1 hi jus jejuuium valde acceptum est apud Deum
et revera digne satis : imitatur enirn Ilium qui
an imam suam posuit pro fratribus suis."
The terms in which Origen introduces this
citation do not seem very appropriate to such a
work as the Constitutions, nor in point of fact
do the words (which seem meant as an exact
quotation) occur in it. There is indeed (Book
v. 1) a general exhortation to fast in order to
give the food to the saints, but the passage has a
primary reference (at all events) to r-aints im-
prisoned on account of the faith. There is, there-
fore, a considerable divergence between the words
in Origen and those in the Constitutions ; aud
we are hardly justified in seeing any reference to
the latter in the former.' 1
c Hitgenfeld appears to take a like view, both as to the
Apostolical Constitutions being intendea, and as to the
passage not being genuine. {Nov. Test, extra Canon, i ecept.
I'ascic. iv. pp. 83, 84.) Bunsen thinks the Fragment ge-
nuine, and that it refers to some early " Ordinances," not
necessarily the same as we now have: Christ, and Man.,
vol. ii. p. 398, et seq.
< Prima facie, too, " literae qum undam apostolorum " is
not an apt designation of a work professing lo represent
the jolut decrees of all.
A later treatise entitled ' De Aleatoribus,' of
unknown date and authorship, erroneously as-
cribed to Cyprian, refers to a passage " in doc-
trinis apostolorum," relating to Church discipline
upon offenders. Here again no effort has suc-
ceeded in tracing the words of the citation either
in the constitutions or in any known work.
There is, indeed, a passage of a similar effect
(Book ii. c. 39), but the actual language is not
the same ; and a similarity of general tenor is
not much to be relied upon, inasmuch as the
subject in hand is a very common one.
We come now to Eusebius. In his list of
books, after naming those generally allowed, and
those which are avriAtySixtvoi, he goes on, " We
must rank as spurious (yodoi) the account of the
' Acts of Paul,' the book called ' The Shepherd,'
and the ' Eevelation of Peter,' and besides these,
the epistle circulated under the name of ' Bar-
nabas,' and what are called the 'Teachings of
the Apostles ' (TW o.ttoo~t6Au>u o.l AeySfxevai oi-
Saxai), and moreover, as I said, the ' Apocalypse
of John,' if such an opinion seem correct, which
some as I said reject, while others reckon it
among the books generally received. We may
add that some have reckoned in this division the
Gospel according to the Hebrews, to which those
Hebrews who have received [Jesus as] the Christ
are especially attached. All these then will be-
long to the class of controverted books." (Euseb.
Hist. Eccl. iii. 25.)
The place here given to the SiSax^i (even
supposing them to be the constitutions) is in-
consistent with their being held a genuine work
of the Apostles. It speaks of them, however, as
forming a well-known book, and from the con-
text of the passage, they seem to be recognised
as orthodox ; but there is nothing to identify
them directly with our present collection.
Athanasius, among books not canonical, but
directed to be read by proselytes for instruction
in godliness, enumerates the Wisdom of Solomon,
the Wisdom of Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobias,
and what he styles Sioaxv KaAov/j.ei/7] twv airo-
o-ToAwv. The same remarks obviously apply to
this Father as to Eusebius (Op. S. Athan. i. 90;;,
Ed. Bened.).
The language of neither of them indicates that
the w T ork in question was looked upon as an au-
thoritative collection of Church laws. Lagarde
denies that either of them is to be considered
as quoting any book of our constitutions, laying
much stress on the distinction between SiSaxai
and 5iaTa|eis or SiaTayal aTvoaroAuv. (Bunsen.
Christ, and Man., vol. vi. p. 41. c ) Bunsen, how-
ever, himself is inclined to see here a real refer-
ence to a primitive form of the constitutions.
(Ibid. vol. ii. p. 405.)
We now come to Epiphanius, who, writing at
the close of the 4th century, has numerous
explicit references to the otaTa^ts of the Apostles,
meaning thereby apparently some book of a
similar kind to that which we now have. His
view of its character and authority is to be found
in the following passage :
" For this purpose the Audiani themselves
[a body of heretics] allege the Constitution of
the Apostles, a work disputed indeed with the
e Iii this work Lagarde writes under the name of
BoetticUer, which he has since changed for family reasons
to Lagarde.
APOSTOLICAL CONSTIT UTIONS
121
majority [oi Christians] yet not worthy of re-
jection.' For all canonical order is contained
therein, and no point of the faith is falsified, nor
yet of the confession, nor yet of the adminis-
trative system and rule and faith of the Church."
(Haer. 70, No. 10 ; comp. also Ibid. No. 11, 12 ;
75, No. 6; 80, No. 7.)
But when we examine his citations, we find
that none of them agree exactly with our present
text, while some of them vary from it so widely,
that they can be connected with it only by the
supposition that they were meant to be made ad
sensum not ad literam. Even this resource fails
in a famous passage, immediately following that
just cited, where Epiphanius quotes the consti-
tutions as directing Easter to be observed ac-
cording to the Jewish reckoning,* whereas in our
present copies they expressly enjoin the other
system. (See Book v. 17.)
In a work known as the 'opus imperfectum in
Matthaeum,' once ascribed to Chrysostom, but
now considered to have been the production of
an unknown writer in the 5th century, there is
a distinct reference to "the 8th book of the
apostolic canons." And words to the effect of
those quoted are found in the second chapter.
Another citation, however, in the same writer
cannot be verified at all.
It is not necessary to pursue the list further.
From this time forwards references are found
which can be verified with more or less exactness,
and iu the year 692 the council of Constantinople,
known as Quinisextum, or the Trullan council,
had the work under their consideration, but came
to a formal decision, refusing to acknowledge it
as authoritative on account of the extent to which
it had been interpolated by the heterodox.
It appears then that we must conclude that
there is no sufficient evidence that the Church
generally received as of undoubted authority any
collection of constitutions professing to have
come from the Apostles themselves, or at least
to be a trustworthy primitive record of their
decisions. Even Epiphanius bases his approbation
of the work of which he speaks on subjective
grounds. He refers to it, because he thinks it
orthodox, but admits that it was not received as
a binding authority. Yet had such a work
existed, it should seem that from its practical
character it must have been widely known, per-
petually cited, and generally acted upon.
Indeed that the so-called apostolic constitu-
tions, as they now stand, are not the production
of the Apostles or of apostolical men, will be
clear to most readers from their scheme and con-
tents. ' Apostles," says the author of an article
on the subject in the ' Christian Remembrancer '
in 1854, " are brought together who never could
have been together in this life: St. James, the
greater (after he was beheaded), is made to sit
in council with St. Paul (Lib. vi. c. 14), though
elsewhere he is spoken of as dead (Lib. v. c. 7).
Thus assembled, they condemn heresies and
heretics by name who did not arise till after
f Tr t i> Tun 1 a7TO(7T6Aoi' fiia-a^ii/, ovaav fieu rols ttoA-
Aots ev ajutpiAeKTw, aAA' ovk a5oKi.ju.or.
S Optt ) "oua"(. yap j/ rrj auryj fitara^et oi a:roo~TOAoi OTt.
Yp.ei? fxy^ ipr}(jur]Te, aAAa 7roitTe oral/ oi a6"tA</>ot up-wr ot
(K tt}s TrcpiTop.yjs" p.er' aUTwl' ap:a 7roieiTt". Anil ho utMs :
Ilapa rot? aTroo~ToAois 5e to prjTOV 6Y op.di'oiai' fc7. nJtiptTai ,
ids tn-ip-apri/poutrt Acyoi'Tes on KaV tc 7rAar))0cuo"i, (jSd
iiuv p.Atrco.
their death (Lib. vi. c. 8) ; they appoint the
observance of the days of their death (Lib. viii.
c. 33), nay, once they are even made to say
' These are the names of the bishops whom we
ordained in our lifetime ' (Lib. viii. c. 47)."
Most persons will also be of opinion that there
is a tone about the constitutions themselves
which is by no means in harmony with what we
know of apostolic times. Thus for instance, the
honour given to the episcopate is excessive and
hyperbolical.
ovtos [i. e. 6 eirio"K07ros] vfxwv PaffiXtvs ku\
SvvdcrTrjs' ovtos vixaiv iiuyeios 0eos juera @eov,
6s ooieiAei tt)s irap' vfxwv Ti/xfjs o7roAai)eii' (citing
Ps. lxxxii. 6 and Exod. xxii.-xxviii. in LXX.).
'O yap in'icTKoiros rrpoKadt^tadw vfjuv ons eov
a|(a TeTtiJ.yifJ.tvos, y /cparei tov K\i)pov Kal tov
apx 61 (Book ii.
comp.
also
Aaoi/ iravTds
Book ii. 33).
And in Book vi. 2 we read :
el yap b fiaaiXevcriv iireyeip6fJ.vos KuAacrecus
a|ios, Kav vlos fh Kav <pi\os- K&ffw fiaWov 6
Upevaiv i-KaviGTafj.Vos ; "Offcp yap iepcoavvif
[iamAeias afxtivwv, irepl ^iv^hs tx ovaa r "
aywva, too~ovtw Kal fSapvTtpav ex 6 T ^ v T'M'""
piav 6 TavTTj -roA^Tjcras avTOfjfjaTUV, fjnep 6 Ttj
/3a<nAeia. h
A system, too, of orders and classes in the
Church stands out prominently, especially in the
8th book, of which there is no trace in the ear-
liest days (see Bickell, vol. i. p. 62). Thus we
have subdeacons, readers, &c, with minute direc-
tions for their appointment. Ceremonies also are
multiplied. The use of oil and myrrh in baptism
is enjoined (Book vii. 22), and the marriage of
the clergy after ordination is forbidden (vi. 17).
We must therefore feel at once that we have
passed into a different atmosphere from that of
Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians, and that
the connection of Clement's name with the work
must be a fiction, no less than the assertion that
he wrote its contents at the mouth of the apos-
tles. Even those who think that they trace
something like the origin of such a system in the
letters of Ignatius must allow that it is here
represented in a state of development which
must have required a considerable period of time
to bring about.
The questions, however, still remain :
To what date are we to assign the work in the
form in which it now exists ?
Can we show that it was in any degree formed
out of pre-existing materials ?
Bishop Pearson ' and Archbishop Usher regard
the variations between the citations of Epipha-
nius, and what we read in our present copies of
the constitutions, as conclusive evidence that
there have been alterations and interpolations on
a large, scale since the time of that Father, and
the latter of these writers thinks that the same
falsifier has been at work here, who expanded the
shorter epistles of Ignatius into the so-called
longer epistles. J
>> Comp. Usher, in Cotel. Fair. Apost. vol. ii. p. 220,
edit. 1724.
i Yind. l<jnat. Part i. c. 4 prope fin. And see the
opinion of Beverid,ge, Cod. Can. lib. 2, cap. ix.
j Cotel. Patr. Ap. vol. ii. Append, p. 228. Bickell lias
collected some instances of correspondence in phraseology
between the Ignatiau Epistles and the Constitutions as
they stand, which the reader may refer to in order to
examine the probability of the latter theory (ffess/i. dcs
22
APOSTOLICAL CONSTITUTIONS
According to Pearson, we should probably
attribute the work in its existing form to about
the middle of the 5th century, while Usher re-
fuses to place it higher than the 6th century. If,
on the other hand, we could suppose that Epipha-
nius quoted loosely, and that the book which he
had may, with occasional exceptions, have re-
sembled in substance what we now have, k we
should be able to put its antiquity somewhat
higher. But whatever conclusion may be come
to on this point, there is no satisfactory evidence
to warrant its being assigned to any period suffi-
ciently early to make it, as it stands, an authority
as to apostolic usage.
But the question still remains. Can we trace
its composition, and in any degree identify the
materials out of which it has been put together ?
That the work was a pure and simple forgery
is improbable. Such was not the course which
matters took in early days ; nor would the mea-
sure of acceptance which it obtained be easily ac-
counted for on this theory.
Moreover it contains passages which seem
manifestly to belong to an early age. Thus in
case of quarrels the Christian is recommended
to seek reconciliation even at a loss to himself,
Kal ytoj fpxfcrOw eni Kptr-ripiov idvtKov (book ii.
c. 45) words which at all events savour of a
time before the empire was Christian. So again,
the secular judges are said to be iOvtKol Kal ov
yivciffKoi/Tts fleoVrjTa. So also martyrdom and
persecution ou account of Christianity are spoken
of as by no means exclusively belonging to the
past (see Lib. 5, init. et alibi).
And to mention but one more point, the charge
of Arianism, which was at one time freely brought
against the constitutions, and used to prove that
they had been corrupted, if not forged, by here-
tics, 1 has in later days been sometimes made the
ground of an opposite inference. It is thought by
some modern writers merely to show that the
phrases excepted against date from a time before
the controversy arose, and when therefore men
spoke with less of dogmatic exactness. m
Perhaps it is possible to go even a step further,
at all events, by way of not unreasonable conjec-
ture. We have seen that Whiston relied on a
number of places in which the early Fathers
speak of SiSaxcu, Si5a.crKaA.icu, 5iaTa|eis twv cuto-
(xtoXwv, and some years before Whiston wrote,
Bishop Pearson (in his Vindiciae Tgnatianae)
had suggested the idea that, so far as such ex-
pressions really referred to any specific works at
all, they were to be understood of smaller, more
ancient, and more fragmentary treatises, of a
kind not rare in the Primitive Church, professing
to contain the words of the apostles or of aposto-
lical men on matters of doctrine and Church
order. Some of these were the production of here-
tics, some were of an orthodox character. Those
which related to doctrine were called didascaliae,
Kirchenrechts, vol. i. p. 58, note). Pearson takes a some-
what different view, Vind. Ignat. ubi supra.
k Comp. Bickell, i. pp. 57, 58, note. Epiphanius, how-
ever, never quotes from the 7th or 8th books, which on
any theory are doubtless of later date.
i See for instance Le Clerc, in Cotel. Patr.Apnst. vol. ii.
App. p. 492, et seq.; and Bruno, ibid. p. 177, et seq.
Indeed Photius and the Trullan Council had insinuated
the same accusation {Biblioth. Can. 112, 113).
m See Bickell, p. 58, note, p. 61, and p. 69, note. Comp.
Bull, Dcf. Fid. Aic. lib. 2, c. 3, C\ 6
those which gave rules of ritual or discipline,
5(aT<zeis or Constitutiones. These works, written
at different times and in different parts of the
Church, furnished (as Pearson supposes) the mate-
rials to the compiler, who, with many alterations
and interpolations formed out of them our present
constitutions ( Vindic. Ignat., Part i. c. 4).
Other critics have spoken in terms which seem
rather to point to a gradual accretion, added to
from time to time to express the Church system
as developed, and modified at the periods when
such additions were respectively made. Thus
Lagarde says, " Communis virorum doctorum fere
omnium nunc invaluit opinio, eas [Constitutiones]
saeculo tertio clam succrevisse et quum sex ali-
quando libris absolutae fuissent, septimo et octavo
auctas esse postea " (Reliq. Juris Eccles. Antiq.
1856).
That the work as we have it is a composite
one is indeed manifest enough " from the general
want of internal unity, method, or connexion ;
the difference of style in the various portions, and
sometimes statements almost contradictory ; the
same topics being treated over and over again in
different places ; besides a formal conclusion of
the end of the sixth book, and other indications
of their being distinct works joined together "
(Christ. Rcmcmhr. ubi supra).
In the Paris Library is a Syriac MS. called the
Didascalia or Catholic doctrine of the 12 Apos-
tles and holy disciples of our Saviour. It con-
tains in a shorter form much of the substance of
the first six books of the constitutions, but with
very great omissions, and with some variations
and transpositions.
Its contents were printed in Syriac by De La-
garde (without his name) in 1854: and the same
critic, in the 6th vol. of Bunsen's Christianity and
Mankind, has published, 1st, our present text,
with what he states to be the variations of the
Syriac ; and 2nd, a shorter Greek text or ' Didas-
calia Purior,' founded on the Syriac. n
Bickell, who, however, when he wrote had
only seen extracts, thought this Syriac MS. 'a
mere abridgement of the larger work, and there-
fore posterior in date to it, and adding little to
our knowledge.
But Bunsen (Christianity and Mankind, vol i. p.
x.), Lagarde (Eel. Jur. Eccl. Ant. pref., p. iv.), and
the author of the article in the Christian Remem-
brancer 1854, all agree that we have here an
older and more primitive, if not the original
work. Hilgenfeld says, " Equidem et ipse Syria-
cam Didascaliam ad hujus operis primitivam
formam propius accedere existimo, sed eandem
nunquam mutatam continere valde dubito." He
concludes, on the whole, " tertio demum saeculo
didascalia apostolica in earn fere formam redacta
esse videtur, quam Eusebius et Athanasius nove-
rant, quam recensionem a nostris constitutiouibus
apostolicis valde diversam fuisse antiquissima
doceut testimonia, praecirjue Epiphanii. Ea autem
n It doe3 not seem, however, that this literal'y repre-
sents the Syriac. For one of the passages given by Hil-
genfeld (see infra), which undoubtedly exists in the Syriac,
is not to be found in the Didascalia Purior.' It is much
to be regretted that neither Lagarde nor any other Oriental
scholar has published a literal translation of the Syriac
text. ,
His own view is that the Apostolical Constitutions
sprang from an Ebionite source, allied to that which pro-
duced the Clementine Kccogni lions.
APOSTOLICAL CONSTITUTIONS
123
etiara a Syriaca didascalia quamvis cognata
saepfus discedunt." He thinks that the Syriac
appears not to be very consistent on the subject
of the calculation of Easter. It seems, however
(from the translations which he gives), that it
contains a passage agreeing in substance with what
Epiphanius quotes as to keeping Easter by the
.le wish met hod (ante p. 121): "Ihr sollt aber begin-
nen dann, wenu eure Briider aus dem Volk [Israel]
das Pascha halten, weil, als unser Herr und Lehrer
mit uns das Pascha ass, er nach dieser Stunde von
Judas verrathen wurde. Und um dieselbe Zeit
haben wir angefangen, bedriiekt zu werden, weil
er von uns genommen war. Nach der Zahl des
Mondes, wie wir ziihlen nach der Zalil der gliiu-
bigen Hebraer, am zehnten im Monat, am Montag
haben sich die Priester und Aeltesten des Volks
versammelt " u. s. w., and subsequently "Wie
also der vierzehnte des Pascha fallt, so sollt ihr
ihn halten. Deun nicht stimmt der Monat, und
auch nicht der Tag in jedem Jahre mit dieser
Zeit, sondern er ist verschieden." p
Tli is is worthy of serious attention, as an argu-
meut for the antiquity of this Syriac work.
It would seem that it must at all events be ad-
mitted that the original work from which the
Syriac was taken consisted of six books only.
The 7th and 8th books, as they now stand, formed
no part of it.
The same is the case with an Aethiopic version
translated by Mr. Piatt. This also, though said
to be very loose and of little value as a guide to
the original text, is a witness to the fact that
there were but six books when it was made. The
like is true of the Arabic versions, of which some
account was first given by Grabe, and of which
two MSS. are in the Bodleian, i
Not only do these facts tend to isolate the first
six books from the 7th and 8th ; but the formal
conclusion which occurs at the end of the 6th
even in our present Greek, and the style of the
contents itself, furnish internal evidence in the
same direction.
It has therefore been contended that the
kernel out of which, to a great extent, the first
six books sprang was a shorter book called
5i5a<x/caAta twu a.ivoar6\oiv, of which the Syriac
version furnishes a fair idea, if not a really pure
text.
And as none of Epiphanius's citations are mnde
from the two last books, it is suggested that we
may have here something like a key to the work
as it was in his time, the 7th and 8th books hav-
ing been added since. r
Coming to the 7th book, we must notice that
its first thirteen chapters or thereabouts exhibit
a great similarity, both in matter and expression,
to the first part of an ancient tract printed by
Bickell from a Vienna MS., and entitled Ai Sta-
rayal al Slo. KAt]/j.4vtos Kal Kavivis ixKAricriacrTt.-
p See Hilgenfeld, Xovum Test, extra Can. recept. Fasci-
culus iv. p. 79, et seq. (Lipsiae, 1866.)
'i 1'here are in the Arabic five chapters not in the
Greek.
r The fact that there is no Oriental version of the eight
Greek books as a whole, has been relied on to shew that
they had not been united together in one work up to
the year 451, when the Egyptian, Aethiopic, and Syriac
churches were severed from the communion of the Greeks
and Latins {Christ. Remembr., ist>4, p. 2T8). The same
authority is inclined to. date the Didascaly in the latter
part Of the 3rd century.
Kol twv ayiwv airoo-ToXcav. 8 This tract professes
to contain short and weighty utterances by the
apostles (who are introduced as speaking success-
ively) on Christian morals, and on the ministers
of the Church.' An Aethiopic version (for it is
extant in Coptic, Aethiopic, and Arabic) calls it
" canons of the apostles which they haye made
for the ordering of the Christian Church." u It
is the piece which Bickell and others after him
have called " Apostolische Kirchenordnung."
It is assigned by him to the beginning of the
3rd century. * The same date is given in the
article on the subject in Herzog's Encyolopadie,
where it is treated as a document independent of
the constitutions. Bunsen, removing the dra-
matic form and presenting only the substance of
the piece, considers it to be in fact a collection of
rules of the Alexandrian Church. This view,
however, is warmly disputed by the writer in the
Christian Remembrancer (1854, p. 293), who
contends that its whole garb, style, and lan-
guage show that it was not an authoritative
work, but was the production of a pious writer,
who arrayed in a somewhat fictitious dress what
he sought to inculcate. It is more remarkable for
piety than knowledge ; for though the number of
twelve apostles is made out, it is by introducing
Cephas as a distinct person from Peter, and bv
making him and Nathanael occupy the places of
James the Less and of Matthias. St. Paul does
not appear at all a fact, perhaps, not without
its bearing on conjectures as to its origin.
It should be observed that the language of the
first part of this tract, and of the 7th Book of the
Constitutions, coincides to a great extent with the
latter part of the Epistle of Barnabas, leaving it
doubtful whether it was taken thence or whether
the transcribers of that epistle subsequently in-
corporated therewith a portion of this treatise.
Borrowing and interpolation must, it would
seem, have taken place on one hand or on the
other, and, as in other cases, it is difficult to de-
cide the question of originality.
Upon this state of tacts the writer in the
Christ. Rem. argues that this tract furnished
materials for the first part of the 7th Book of
the Constitutions. He also thinks that it is it-
self the work referred to by Eusebius and Atha-
nasius under the name of SiSaxr] twv cbro-
(TtoAcdi/. We have seen already that the title
in the Greek varies from that in the Aethiopic,
and it is urged that (considering the subject)
there seems no reason why it may not also be
suitably designated 'Teaching of the Apostles.'
Now in an old stichometry appended to Niceph-
orus' chronography,}' but perhaps of earlier date
than that work, the number of lines contained
in certain works is given, and from this it would
appear that the ' Doctrina Apostolorum ' was
8 Bickell, vol. i. App. I. It will also be found i;i
Lagarde's Rel. Juris Keel. Ant., p 74.
* It is the former of these points alone in which the
likeness appears between this work and the 7th Book of
the Constitutions.
u See Bickell ubi supra; and i. p. 88.
* It mentions only " Readers' in addition to the three
orders of the ministry; and as Terlulliau does the same
(/)e Praescr. Ilaer., c. 41), this is thought a ground for
attributing it to his epoch (Bickell, vol. i. p. 92). See
also Hilgenfeld, Nov. Test, extra Can. rec., Fasciculus iv.
pp. 93, 94.
y A production of the 9th century.
124
APOSTOLICAL CONSTITUTIONS
shorter than the Book of Canticles, and that a
book called the 'Teaching of Clement,' was as
long as the Gospel of Luke. Hence, if the ' Doc-
trina ' of this list be the same as that of Euse-
Lius, it must have been a book very much
shorter than our present constitutions, and one
not far differing in length from the tract of
which we have been speaking; while the 'Teach-
ing of Clement ' (a larger work) may be a desig-
nation of the earlier form of our present first
six books in short, of the Didascalia. Ruffinus,
in a list otherwise very similar to those of
Eusebius and Athanasius, omits the 'Teaching
of the Apostles,' and inserts instead ' The two
ways, or the Judgment of Peter.' Assuming
that the ' Doctrina ' is the tract we have been
discussing, reasons are urged for supposing that
it reappears here under a different title. We
have already seen that the Greek and Aethiopic
give it two different names, and its contents
might perhaps render the designation in Ruf-
finus not less appropriate. For St. John, who
speaks first, is introduced as beginning his ad-
dress with the words, "There are two ways,
one of life and one of death ;" and St. Peter in-
tervenes repeatedly in the course of it, and at
the close sums up the whole by an earnest ex-
portation to the brethren to keep the foregoing
injunctions. Such is the hypothesis of the
learned writer in the Christ. Bern.
Hilgenfeld, it may be mentioned, has independ-
ently arrived at a conclusion in part accordant
with the above. He argues strongly that the
treatise published by Bickell is that spoken of by
Ruffinus under the name of ' Duae viae vel Judi-
cium Petri,' but does not apparently identify it
with the 'Doctrina Apostolorum ' of Athanasius.
He thinks the book was known in some form to
Clemens Alexandrinus, and agrees that great part
of it passed inti the 7th Book of the Constitu-
tions (see Hilgenfeld's Novum Test, extra Canonem
Eeccptum, Lipsiae 1866 ; Fasciculus iv. p. 93).
We now come to the 8th Book. Extant in
several Greek MSS. (one being at Oxford) are
large portions of the matter of the earlier part
of this book, not however connected together
throughout, but appearing in two distinct and
apparently separate pieces. The first of them
is entitled ' Teaching of the Holy Apostles con-
cerning gifts ' (xapKruaToov), the second ' Regu-
lations (5iaT<xeis) of the same Holy Apostles
concerning ordination [given] through Hippo-
lytus' (jrepl x el P 0T0Vl '*" / "ia T7T7roAuTot/). The
two together, as just observed, comprise a very
large proportion of the 8th Book, but are not
without some omissions and several variations
from it. In that book as we have it, the two
portions represented respectively by these sepa-
rate treatises stand connected by a short chapter,
containing nothing of importance, and seeming
to serve only as a link.
Hence it has been suggested that we have in
the treatises in question an older and purer form
of the 8th Book, or rather the materials used in
its composition. The ' Regulations ' are also in
existence in Coptic (indeed there are two Coptic
forms differing from each other and from the
Greek by additions and omissions and probably
in age), in Syriac, Arabic, and Aethiopic, the
text being in many cases a good deal modified. 2
* TTie Syriac and Coptic form part of the collections
Bunsen treated these as a collection of Alex-
andrian Church rules, and a lewed the por-
tions common to them and to the 8th Book of
the Constitutions as in a great degree derived
from a lost work of Hippolytus Trepi x a / J " r /" _
Tcor a {Christ, and Man., vol. ii., p. 412).
On the other hand Bickell argues that the
tracts in question are nothing more than ex-
tracts from the constitutions, more or less
abridged and modified. He relies, for example,
on the fact that in one of these treatises no less
than in the text of our 8th Book, St. Paul (who
is introduced as a speaker) is made to command
Christian masters to be kind to their servants,
" as we have also ordained in what has preen led,
and have taught in our epistles." This he con-
siders to be a clear reference to what has been
before said in the constitutions on the same sub-
ject (Book vii. c. 13).
Lagarde expresses a similar view, and draws
mentioned infra, p. 125. See also Christ. Hemembr.,p. 230,
as to another Syriac MS., and comp. p. 283.
a The inscription on the statue of Hippolytus at Rome
mentions among his works 7repi xapwr/ndTwv o,tto<tto\iki\
mipaSoo-i;. It is not clear whether the 7repl \ap. was
one treatise and an-ocrr. napdS. another, or whether the
whole is the title of one work. See Bickell, p. 60, note.-
As regards the 7repl xeipoToviuiv, Bunsen considers it to
have been the subject of much interpolation, and regards
its fate in this respect to have been like that of the Consti-
tutions themselves, the composition of which he describes
in words worth quoting in relation to the general subject :
" Here we see the very origin of these Constitutions.
Towards the end of the ante-Nicene period they made
the old simple collections of customs and regulations into
a book, by introducing different sets of ' coutumes,' by a
literary composition either of their own making, or by
transcribing or extracting a corresponding treatise of some
ancient father. Thus the man who compiled our 7th book
has, as everybody now knows, extracted two chapters of
the ancient epistle which bears the name of Barnabas.
The compiler of the 8th book, or a predecessor in this sort
of compilation, has apparently done the same with the
work of Hippolytus on the Charismata" (Christianity
and Mankind, vol. ii. 416). Elsewhere, in the same work,
he expresses an opinion that the old collections of customs
here spoken of were themselves made at a much earlier
time perhaps in the 2nd century and express the prac-
tice of various great churches ; and that the consciousness
of apostolicity in that primitive age justifies, or at least
excuses, the fiction by which they were attributed to
Apostles, a fiction which deceived no on, and was only
meant to express an undoubted fact, viz., the apostolicity
of the injunctions as to their substance (vol. ii. 399).
Ascending still a step higher, he believes that the mate-
rials employed in these old collections were of all but
apostolic times. The oldest horizon to which we look
back as reflected in them is perhaps the age immediately
posterior to Clement of Rome, who himself represents the
end of the Johannean age, or first century (see vol. ii.
p. 402). To Bunsen's mind, full of faith in the power
and tact of subjective criticism, this means more
than to the mind of theologians of the English school.
He believed in the possibility of applying the cri-
tical magnet to draw forth the true fragments of steel
from the mass in which to our eyes they seem inex-
tricably buried. He thus speaks of the subjective
process by which he makes the first step upwards:
" As soon as we get rid of all that belongs to the bad
taste of the fiction, some ethic introductions, and all occa-
sional moralising conclusions, and generally everything
manifestly re-written with literary pretension ; and lastly,
as soon as we expunge some interpolations of the 4th and
5th centuries, which are easily discernible, we find our-
selves unmistakeably in the midst of the life of the Church
of the 2nd and 3rd centuries" (vol. ii. p. 405).
APOSTOLICAL CONSTITUTIONS
125
attention to the circumstance that in one part of
the Munich MS. of the irepl x iL P orovl ^ lv ' there
is a note which expressly speaks of what follows
as taken out of the apostolical constitutions. 1 "
In conclusion, it may be remarked that all
such researches as those we have been consider-
ing as to one piece being the basis or original of
another, are beset with much difficulty, because
certain statements or maxims often recur in
several tracts which (in their present state at
all events) are distinct from each other, though
sometimes bearing similar names. Lagarde points
out (Eel. Jur. Keel. Ant., preface p. xvii., and
Bunsen's Christianity and Mankind, vol. vi. p. 38,
of) that there once was a Syriac collection in
eight books equally professing to be the work of
Clement, yet far from being identical with our
present Greek constitutions, though here and
there embracing similar pieces. Passages which
Lagarde deems to be extracts from the 2nd and
3rd Books have been edited by him in Syriac
from fragments found in the same Paris MS.
(Sangerm. 38) which contains the Syriac Didas-
calia c (see his Bel. Jur. Eccl. Ant. Syrian. 1856).
He has also translated them into Greek (see his
Bel. Jur. Eccl. Ant. Graece, p. 80, and Pref.
p. xvii.). d Then again, there is an Egyptian col-
lection^ also in eight books, the relation of which
to the abovementioned Syrian Octateuch is dis-
cussed by Lagarde (Bel. Jur. Eccl. Ant. preface,
and Bunsen's Christ, and Mankind, vol. vi. p. 39).
We have thus endeavoured to present a sketch
of some of the leading theories which have been
put forward as to the apostolical constitutions.
Did space permit it would not be difficult to add
others. Krabbe appears to have thought that
Eusebius, Athanasius, and Epiphanius knew the
first seven books, and that they were composed
in the East not long after the time of Cyprian
(the seventh being a kind of appendix to the
others), and probably by one author, whose object
was to model the Church on a Levitical pattern,
anil who perhaps described not so much what
existed as what he desired to see. At a later
period (end of 4th or beginning of 5th century)
the 8th Book was added, embracing divers pre-
cepts which were commonly supposed to be apos-
tolical, together with much from the writer him-
b Lagarde, Rrf. Juris Eccl. Ant., Preface, p. viii. ; and
see also, ibidem, a theory as to the name of Hippolytus,
as connected with the treatise.
c This must not be confounded witli the Syriac Didas-
calia previously mentioned, from which it is quite
distinct.
<l Matter closely agreeing with these fragments, though
not in quite the same order, and connected with much
that is additional, is also found in a MS. of the 12th cent,
in the Cambridge Univ. Library. This MS. (brought by
Buchanan from Southern India) contained eight hooks of
Clementine Constitutions placed at the end of a Syriac
Bible ; but it is now in a dilapidated state. It may be
that the Paris fragments are extracts from it, or, on the
other hand, this MS. (as the later of the two in date) may
possibly contain a subsequent development. It may be
hoped that farther attention will be paid to it by Oriental
Bcholars. Its existence seems to have been unknown to
Lagardp.
e Of this Egyptian collection, the first two books arc
printed in a Greek version by Lagarde in Bunsen's Clirist.
and Mankind, vi. 451 ; and see Bunsen's analysis of the
collection, ibid. vii. 372. Another Coptic .MS. was trans-
lated by Dr. Tattam in 1S4S. There is a notice of it in
the Christ, Rcmembr. for 1354, p. 282.
self, probably an Arian or Macedonian. This
sceon I writer probably is responsible for many
interpolations in the previous books. f
Von Drey again, who spent much labour on
the subject, advocated the view that the treatises
of four distinct writers are combined in our pre-
sent work. The first six books, he thought,
were written after the middle of the 3rdcenturv,
to teach practical religion, and were adapted for
catechumens. The seventh is probably of the
date of A.D. 300, and treats of the mysteries for
the use of the faithful alone. The 8th Book is
a kind of pontifical of some Eastern Church, being
full of liturgies for the use of the clergy, it
dates perhaps from the 3rd century, but has
been altered and adapted to the state of things
in the middle of the 4th. Athanasius, who
speaks of the Sidaxv Ka\ov/j.4vr] rwv airocnoKwv
as fit for recent converts desirous of instruction,
is to be taken as referring to tlje six first books.s
But before the time of Epiphanius the eight
books were joined as one work.
Interesting as such inquiries are, they cannot
at present be considered as having removed the
question of the origin and date of the apostolical
constitutions out of the class of unsolved problems. 11
The majority of scholars will perhaps decline to
say with confidence more than that the precise
age and composition of the work is unknown,
but that it is probably of Eastern authorship,'
and comprises within itself fragments of very
different dates, which we have no certain means
for discriminating from one another, and which
have undergone great modifications when in-
corporated with the rest. The consequence is
that, as it stands, the work cannot be deemed to
reflect a state of things in the Church much, if
at all, prior to the Nicene age. k
Nor can it be said ever to have possessed, so
far as we know, any distinct ecclesiastical au-
thority. We are in the dark as to its author-
ship, and there is no such proof of its general
and public reception at any period as would
seem needful to establish its validity as an autho-
ritative document. There are indeed signs of a
common nucleus of which various churches seem
to have availed themselves, but in adopting it into
their respective systems they modified it in re-
lation to their respective needs, with a freedom
hardly consistent with the idea that it was en-
titled to very great veneration.
Authorities. F. Turrianus, Proocm. in Libr.
1 When, however, a very late date is attempted to be
assigned, it should be remembered e contra that, as ob-
served by Bickell, metropolitan authority does lint appear ;
and if we hear of asceticism (in book viii.), there is no
mention of monasticism.
e While, on the other haud, the 85th of the Apostolical
Canons perhaps refers to ihe "th and sth when it speaks
of the Apostolical Constitutions as SiaTayaX a; ov \prj
57)fAO<7ieueii> eTri iravTivv Sta to. ev avrous fj.vaTiKa.
h See the words of Lagarde in Bunsen, Christ, and
Mank., vol. vi. p. 40.
See Bickell, vol. i. p. 63, who assigns several grounds
for this conclusion. It is worth notice that throughout
the Constitutions the Church of Rome never occupies any
position of priority or pre-eminence.
k The age of the Syria. I >id i-i alia is of course anolher
question. It demands fuller consideration, which it can
hardly receive from scholars in general until it has been
literally translated. According to the ' Didascalia Purior'
in Bunsen, it is not free from very hyperbolical language
in relation to the clergy.
126
APOSTOLICUS
APPEAL
Clemcntis Rom. de Const. Apost., &c. Antv. 1578.
Joh. Dallaeus, De Pseudepigraphis Apost., lib.
iii. Harderv. 1653. Jac. Usserii, Diss, da
Ignat. Epist. (in Cotel. Pair. Ap., vol. ii. app.
p. 199, &c. Edit. 1724). Pearsoni, Vindic. Ignat.
(in Cotel. Patr. Ap., vol. ii. app. p. 251). Part I.
chap. 4. Brunonis, Judicium (Ibid. p. 177).
Cotelerii, Judic. de Const. Apost. (Cotel. vol. i.
p. 195). J. E. Grabe, Spicileg. Patr. Oxon.
1711. J. E. Grabe, Essay upon ttco Arabic MSS.
Lond. 1711. W. Whiston, Primitive^ Christianity
Recived. Lond. 1711. Krabbe, TJber den Ur-
sprung und den Pahalt der Ap. Const. Hamb.
1829. Von Drey, Neue Untersuchungen iiber
die Const., &c. Tubingen 1832. Rothe, Anfdnge
der Christl. Kirche. Bickell, Geschichtc der Kir-
ehenrechts, vol. i. Giessen 1843. Ultzen, Const.
Apost. Sueriui 1853. Bunsen's Cliristianity and
Mankind, London 1854. Christian Remembrancer
for 1854. De Lagarde, Reliquiae Juris Ecclesi-
astics Antiquissimae, 1856. Idem, Syriace 1856.
Hilgenfeld, Novum Testamentum extra Canonem
receptum. Lipsiae 1866; Fascic. IV. The Ethiopic
Didascalia ; or, the Ethiopic version of the Apos-
tolical Constitutions, received in the Church of
Abyssinia. With an English translation. Edited
and translated by Thomas Pell Piatt, F.A.S.
London, printed for the Oriental Translation
Fund, 1834. The Apost. Constitutions ; or, the
Canons of the Apostles in Coptic, with an English
Translation by Henry Tattam, LL.D., &c. ; printed
for the Oriental Translation Fund, 1848. [B. S.]
APOSTOLICUS, a title once common to all
bishops (the earliest instance produced by Du
Cange is from Venantius Fortunatus, 6th century,
addressing Gregory of Tours, Prolog, to Y. S.
Martini and elsewhere ; but none of his quota-
tions use the word absolutely and by itself, but
rather as an epithet); but from about the 9th
century restricted to the Pope, and used of him
in course of time as a technical name of office.
It is so used, e. g., by Rupertus Tuitiensis, 12th
century (De Divin. Offic. i. 27) ; but had been
formally assigned to the Pope still earlier, in
the Council of Rheims A.D. 1049, "quod solus
Romauae sedis Pontiles universalis Ecclesiae pri-
mas esset, et Apostolicus," and an Archbishop
of Compostella was excommunicated at the same
council for assuming to himself " culmen Apo-
stolici nominis " (so that, in the middle ages,
Apostolicus, or, in Norman French, VApostole or
lApostoile, which = Apostolicus, not Apostolus,
became the current name for the Pope of the
time being). Claudius Taurinensis, in the 9th
century, recognizes the name as already then
appropriated to the Pope, by ridiculing his
being called " not Apostolus, but Apostolicus," as
though the latter term meant Aposioli ciistos :
for which Claudius's Irish opponent Dungal
takes him to task. (Du Cange ; Ravnaud, Contin.
Baronii.) ' [A. W. H.]
APOSTOLIUM ('A-n-o(TTo\e7ov), a church
dedicated in the name of one or more of the
Apostles. Thus Sozomen (Hist. Eccl. ix. 10, p.
376) speaks of the Basilica of St. Peter at Rome
as to Tldrpov airo'crtoheiov; and the same writer,
speaking of the church which Rufinus built at
the Oak (a suburb of Chalcedon) in honour of
SS. Peter and Paul, says that he called it 'Airo-
(TToKelou from them (Hist. Eccl. viii. 17, p. 347).
[Martyrium, Propheteum.] [C]
APOTAXAMENI (aTtoTa&ntvoCy renun-
ciantes, renouncers, a name by which the monks
of the ancient Church were sometimes designated,
as denoting their renunciation of the world and
a secular life, e.g. in Palladius Hist. Bausiac,
c. 15, and Cassian, who entitles one of his books,
De Bistitutis Renunciantium. (Bingham, book vii.
c. 2.) [D. B.]
APPEAL (Appellatio in reference to the
court appealed to, Provocatio in reference to the
opponent ; e<peais in classical Greek, verb in
N. T. iivLKa\e?cr8ai), a complaint preferred before
a superior court or judge in order to obtain due
remedy for a judgment of a court or judge of an
inferior rank, whereby the complainant alleges
that he has suffered or will suffer wrong. We
are concerned here with ecclesiastical appeals
only. And they will be most conveniently dis-
cussed if distinguishing between 1, appeals
from an ecclesiastical tribunal to another also
ecclesiastical, and 2, appeals from an eccle-
siastical to a lay tribunal, or vice versa ;
and further, as regards persons, between (o)
bishops and clergy, to whom in some rela-
tions must be added monks and nuns, and (/3)
laity we treat successively, as regards subject
matter, of I. Spiritual Discipline properly so
called, II. Civil Causes, and III. Criminal ones.
It will be convenient also to include under the
term Appeal, both appeals properly so called,
where the superior tribunal itself retries the
case ; and that which is not properly either
revision or rehearing, where the jurisdiction of
the superior tribunal is confined to the ordering,
upon complaint and enquiry, of a new trial by
the original, or by an enlarged or otherwise
altered, body of judges ; and that again which
is properly a mere revision, where the case is
revised by a higher tribunal but without sus-
pending sentence meanwhile ; and, lastly, the
transference also of a cause from one kind of
tribunal to another not co-ordinate with it, as
e.g. from lay to spiritual or vice versa, w r hich, if
the first court have completed its sentence,
practically constitutes the second into a court of
appeal to its predecessor. It is necessary also
to bear in mind the difference between a friendly
interference, such as brotherly love requires on
the part of all bishops if any fall into heresy
or sin, but which implies no formal authority
of the adviser over the advised ; and an arbitra-
tion, where the arbiter, who may be any one,
derives his authority from the mutual and free
consent of (properly) both parties, but (as will
be seen) in certain cases sometimes from the sole
action of one ; and an appeal, where some defi-
nite superior tribunal may be set in motion by
either part)-, but has in that case exclusive as
well as compulsory jurisdiction ; and the yet
further step, where (like the intercessio of the
Tribuni Plebis) the superior court or magistrate
has the power of calling up the case for revision,
and of suspending sentence meanwhile, suo motu.
An appeal, however, of whatever kind, implies
the legality in the abstract, and assumes the
tact, of the jurisdiction of the court appealed
from as a primary court. And it becomes need-
ful, therefore, here to assume, although it is
no business of this article either to detail or
to prove, the extent and limits of ecclesiastical
jurisdiction in the first instance ; in order clearly
APPEAL
APPEAL
127
to set forth the various checks in the way of
appeal placed in such case upon that original
jurisdiction. On the other hand, the limitation
of the subject to the period antecedent to
Charlemagne, excludes from consideration the
whole of the elaborate fabric built up by the
Canon Law of later times, mainly upon the basis
of the False Decretals. And we have nothing
to do, accordingly, with that grand innovation,
whereby, in the West, the entire system of purely
ecclesiastical appeals (and, indeed, of justice) was
in effect perverted and frustrated, viz., the right
gradually allowed of appealing immediately from
any ecclesiastical tribunal, high or low, upon
Any subject great or small, to the Pope at once ;
nor yet with the elaborate disputes upon the
nature and limits of majores causae (the phrase,
however, dating from Innocent I.) ; nor with
the encroachments of the highest or of other
ecclesiastical tribunals upon those of the State ;
nor with the celebrated Appel comma cl'Abus in
medieval and later France ; nor with such
questions as the legitimate effect of the clause
appellations remota or postposita in a Papal
brief; nor with the appeal from the Pope to a
General Council, present or future ; or from the
Pope ill-informed, to the Pope well-informed :
nor again, on another side of the subject, with
distinctions between appeals judicial or extra-
judicial, or from sentences definitive or inter-
locutory ; nor with the system, at least as sub-
sequently elaborated, of Apostoli (certainly not
derived from post appellationcm) or letters di-
missory, whether reverential, refutatory, repo-
sitory, testimonial, or conventional, whereby
the under court formally transferred the cause
to the upper one ; nor with the fatalia appel-
lationum, scil., the fixed times within which an
appeal must be laid, carried to the upper court
by means of Apostoli. prosecuted, and concluded ;
nor, in a word, with any other of the elaborate
details of the later Canon Law upon the subject.
Our attention must be confined to the system
so far as it was worked out under the Roman
Empire, and renewed or modified under that of
Charlemagne.
I. 1. Spiritual jurisdiction in matters of dis-
cipline over clergy and laity alike, rested in the
beginning both by Scriptural sanction and by
primitive practice with the bishop, acting, how-
ever, rather with paternal authority and in the
spirit of mutual love, through moral influence
on the one side met by willing obedience on the
other, than according to the hard outlines of a
fixed Church law laid down in canons ; although
such canons gradually grew into existence and
into fulness, and the ultimatum of excommuni-
cation must have existed all along as the punish-
ment of obstinate or repeated transgression. The
Apostolic canons, however (xxxvii. and lxxiv.),
recognize as the then Church law, and the Nicene
Council (a.d. 325) formally establishes, the au-
thority of the synod of each province as a court
of (revision rather than) appeal from a single
bishop: enacting, that "excommunicate clerks
and laymen shall abide by the sentence of their
bishop," but that, "to prevent injustice, synods
of the bishops of a province (eVapx' a ) shall be
held twice a year, in order that questions arising
on such subjects may be enquired into by the
community of the bishops; a sentence of excom-
munication, if confirmed by them, to hold good
until a like synod should reverse it" (Cone. Nic.
can. 5) : such right of appeal being apparently
the common law of the Church, and the Council
interfering only to secure it by requiring synods
to be held with sufficient frequency. And this
right, as respects presbyters and all below pres-
byters, was recognised and confirmed by Cone.
CartL, a.d. 390 can. 8, and a.d. 398 can. 29,
66, Cone. Mileo. a.d. 416 c. 22, for Africa ; by
Cone. Vasens. a.d. 442* can. 5, and Cone. Venet.
a.d. 465 can. 9 (" Episcoporum audientiam, nou
secularium potestatum," in this last instance),
for Gaul and Armorica ; by Cone. Jlispal. a.d.
590 cc. 5, 9, for Spain ; and by Cone. Antioch.
cc. 6, 11, A.D. 341, directed both against the Pope
and against appeals to the Emperor (adopted into
the canons of the Church Catholic), and by the
Council of Constantinople in 381, cc. 2, 3, 6, for
the East. The last-named Council also in effect
limited the right of appeal from above as well
as below, by forbidding all bishops reus inrepopiois
iKKAvcrlais iiruvau and by establishing each pro-
vince in an independent jurisdiction (Cone. Con-
stantinop. c. 2).
a. Confining ourselves first to the case of clergy,
the right of the bishop to judge his brethren or
his clerks, was further limited, in that part of
the Church where Church law was earliest and
most formally developed, viz., Africa, by the
requirement of twelve bishops to judge a bishop,
of six to judge a presbyter, of three to judge a
deacon (Cone. Carth. a.d. 348 can. 11, a.d. 390
can. 10, a.d. 397 can. 8). And a dispute be-
tween two bishops was still later referred by the
(African) Council of Mileurn A.D. 416 (can. 21),
to bishops appointed by the metropolitan. In
the East, and generally, bishops (and presbyters)
would seem to have been left by the Nicene
canon merely to the natural resort of an appeal
from one synod to another and a larger one, viz.
to the metropolitan and bishops of the next pro-
vince ; which is the express rule laid down in
Cone. Antioch. A.D. 341, cc. 11, 12, 14, 15, and
in Cone. Constantlnop. A.D. 381, can. 6. So also
canon 13 of the collection of Martin of Braga.
But between the Nicene and Constantinopolitan
Councils and that of Chalcedon in 451, a further
modification took place in accordance with the
settlement of the several Patriarchates, whereby
the appeal was made to lie from the bishop to
the metropolitan with his synod, and then from
him to the Patriarch ; with the further claim
gradually emerging on the part of the Bishop of
Rome to a right of supreme judicial authority*
over the entire Church. (But whether the sen-
tence was to remain in force pending the appeal
seems to have been a doubtful question, variously
settled at different times and places ; see Bal-
samon in Can. Afric. 32.) The first step was
that, in the West, of the Council of Sardica, A.D.
347, intended to be oecumenical but in result only
Western, and not accepted as authoritative either
by the Eastern or even by the African Churches :
which attempted to make the system work more
fairly, and perhaps to escape reference to an Arian
Emperor, by giving presbyter or deacon an ap-
peal to the metropolitan and the comprovincial
bishops (can. 14 Lat.), and by enacting witli re-
spect to bishops, in the way of revision rather
than appeal, that, whereas ordinarily they should
be judged by the bishops of their own province,
if a bishop thought himself aggrieved, either the
128
APPEAL
APPEAL
bishops who tried him or those of the neighbour-
ing province should consult the Bishop of Rome ,
and if he judged it right, then the comprovincial
or the neighbouring bishops should by his ap-
pointment retry the case, with the addition (if
the complainant requested it, and the Bishop of
Rome complied with his request) of presbyters
representing the Bishop of Rome, who were to
take their place in that capacity among the
judges (can. 4, 5, 7): no successor to be appointed
to the deposed bishop pending such new trial. The
choice of the Bishop of Rome as referee (to decide,
however, not the case itself, but whether there
ought to be a new trial) has some appearance of
having been personal to Julius the then Pope (as
was the subsequent grant of Gratian to Pope
Damasus), to whom the right is granted byname
in the Greek version of the canons (so Richerius
and De Marca) ; but certainly it was determined
to the see of Rome, not through previous prece-
dent, or as by inherent right, but as in honour
of the one Apostolical see of the West, " in
honour of the memory of St. Peter." It was in
fact giving to the Pope the right previously
possessed exclusively by the Emperor, save that
the latter would refer causes to a Council. Prior
to 347, the case of Fortunatus and Felicissimus
A.D. 252 (striving to obtain the siipport of Pope
Cornelius against their own primate St. Cyprian,
and eliciting from the latter an express assertion of
the sufficiency and finality of the sentence passed
upon them by their own comprovincial African
"bishops, St. Cypr. Epist. 59, Fell) and that of
Marcian, Bishop of Aries a.d. 254 (whom the
bishops of Gaul are exhorted to depose for Nova-
tianism, St. Cyprian interfering on the sole
ground of brotherly episcopal duty to urge them
to the step, and asking Pope Stephen to inter-
fere also, but solely on the like ground, Id. Epist.
68),' and those of Basileides and of Martial,
Bishops respectively of Leon with Astorga and of
Merida, also A.D. 254 (deposed by the Spanish
bishops as having lapsed, and of whom Basileides,
having deceived Pope Stephen into re-admitting
him to communion, and into "canvassing" for his
restoration, was rejected nevertheless by the
Spanish, seconded by the African bishops. Id. Epist.
67) sufficiently shew that while the Nicene
canons only confirmed and regulated the pre-
viously established and natural principle of the
final authority of the provincial synod, that of
Sardica introduced a new provision, although one
rather opening the way for further extensive
*changes than actually enacting them. In 341,
also, the Council of Antioch, representing the
East, repudiated the same Pope Julius's in-
terference on behalf of St. Athanasius (Sozom.
iii. 8 ; Socrat. ii. 15) and passed a canon
against the return of a deposed bishop to hi see
unless by decree of a synod larger than that
which had deposed him (can. 12); as well as
against appeals of deposed bishops to emperors,
unsanctioned by the comprovincial bishops: canons
adopted into the code of the whole Church. In
the West, however, the Sardican canon became
the starting point of a distinctly marked ad-
vance in the claims of the Bishop of Rome,
although not without opposition on the part of
the Church, nor, on the other hand, without
political support from the Emperors. In 367 a
Council of Tyana restored Eustathius of Sebastea
to his see, among other grounds, on the strength
of a letter of Pope Liberius ; but the proceed-
ing was condemned in strong terms by St.
Basil the Great (Epist. 263 3). In 378, the
Emperor Gratian added State sanction at least
during the Popedom of Damasus, and in reference
to the schism of the antipope Ursicinus to the
judicial authority of the Bishop of Rome, but in
conjunction with six or seven other bishops if
the accused were a bishop himself, and with an
alternative of fifteen comprovincial bishops in the
case of a metropolitan, the attendance of the
accused bishop at Rome to be compelled by the
civil power (Cone. Bom., Epist. ad Gratian. et
I alentin. Tmjpp. A.D. 378, in Mansi, iii. 624, and
the Rescript appended to it of the same Em-
perors ''(/ Aquilinum Vicarium). In 381, how-
ever, the epistle of the Italian bishops (including
St. Ambrose) to Theodosius, claims no more re-
specting Eastern bishops in the case of Maximns
(deposed by the Council of Constantinople), than
that the voice "of Rome, of Italy, and of all the
West," ought to have been regarded in the matter.
But in some year between 381 and 398 (see
Tillemont, Me'm. Eccl.), although Theodoret (v.
23) seems to place it under Innocent I. in 402,
Flavian, accepted by the East, but rejected by
Egypt and by Rome and the West, as Bishop of
Antioch, was summoned by the Emperor to go
to Rome to be judged there by the Bishop of
Rome, but refused to submit ; and was finally
accepted by the Pope, to whom he sent a depu-
tation of bishops, at the intercession of St.
Chrysostom, but without any pretence of trial.
In 404-406, Innocent's interference to procure
St. Chrysostom's own restoration to his see, even
to the extent of withdrawing communion from
St. Chrysostom's opponents, proved as great a
failure as Pope Julius's like attempt on behalf
of St. Athanasius (Sozom. viii. 26-28. and the
letters of St. Chrysostom and Pope Innocent in
Mansi, iii. 1081-1118); although the mean pro-
posed was not a trial by the Pope but a general
Council. While St. Chrysostom himself at the
same period affirms the old principle, that causes
must not virepopiovs eA/<70ai, aAA' iv tous inap-
X<ats twv i-napxiuv yv/xva^aOai (in Mansi, il<.~).
But even in the Western Church at the same
period the Roman claim was admitted with diffi-
culty, and only gradually and by continual strug-
gles. Innocent I. indeed declared that, "si majores
causae in medium fuerint devolutae, ad seder.i
Apostolicam, sicut synodus statuit" (meaning, of
course, but exaggerating, the Sardican canons)
" et vetus sive iuveterata consuetudo exigit, post
judicium episcopale referantur " (Epist. 2 ad
Victric.). But in actual fact, 1. in Africa, A.D.
417-425, the appeal to Pope Zosimus of the pres-
byter Apiarius, condemned by his own Bishop,
Urbanus of Sicca, whom the Pope summoned to
Rome to be judged, and on refusal sent legates to
successive Carthaginian Councils to enforce his
claims, was in the first instance provisionally com-
promised, by a temporary admission of the Papal
authority (Ejnst. Cone. Afric. ad Bonifac. Papam
a.d. 419, in Mansi, iv. 511), on the ground of the
canons of Sardica, alleged by the Popes (Zosimus,
Boniface, Celestine) to be Nicene; but on the
production of the genuine canons of Nicaea from
Constantinople and Alexandria, was absolutely
rejected (Epist. Cone. Afric. ad Caelestinum A.D.
425, in Mansi, iv. 515): whilst the canon (22)
of Mileum, A.D. 416, which is repeated byCarth-
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aginian Councils down to a.d. 525 (Mansi, viii.
644), assigns presbyters and all below them to
appeal, " non ad transmarina judicia sed ad
primates suarum provinciarum ; ad transmarina
autem qui putaverit appellandum, a nullo intra
Africam ad commuuionem suscipiatur ;" and the
Cod. Can. Afric. 18 Gr. 31 (a.d. 419), adds to this
"sicut et de Episeopis saepe constitutum est,"
the genuineness of which last clause is supported
by Tillemont, De Marca, and Beveridge, although
denied by Baronius. It seems certainly to have
been inserted in the canon by some African coun-
cil of this period. At the same time, while the
gloss of Gratian on the word " transmarina "
' nisi forte ad Romanam sedem appellaverit "
is plainly of the kind that as exactly as possible
contradicts its text; it is evident by St. Augustin's
letter to Pope Celestine in 424 (Epist. 209), that
applications from Africa in a friendly spirit to
Rome in disputes respectiag bishops, both to
judge and to confirm others' judgments, and this
not only during the provisional admission of,the
Papal claim (as in the case of the Bishop of
Fussala), but before it, had been frequent. It is
hard to believe, in the face of the precisely con-
temporary and unmistakeable language of the
assembled African bishops at the close of the
controversy respecting Apiarius, that such ap-
plications could have been in the nature of formal
appeals ; although the case of Pope Leo I. and Lu-
picinus, a.d. 446, shows the Papal claim to have
been still kept up (St. Leo, Epist. xii. al. i. 12).
2. In Illyria, whereas, in 421, the Emperor
Theodosius had decreed that doubtful cases should
be determined by a council, "non absque scientia"
of the Bishop of Constantinople (Cod. Theod.
xvi. tit. 2. s. 45), in 444, Pope Leo I., insisting
upon the canons apparently of Sardica, and as
part of the Papal measures for securing the
whole of Illyria to the Roman Patriarchate,
commanded appeals ("caussae graviores vel appel-
lationes ") from Illyria to be brought to Rome
(St. Leo, Epist. v. 6). And 3. in Gaul, in 445,
the same Pope, overthrowing the decree of Pope
Zosimus in 418, which had constituted Aries
the metropolitan see of the province, insisted on
rehearing at Rome in a synod the causes of
Bishop Projectus and of Celidonius Bishop either
of Vesontio or of Vienne, whom Hilary of Aries
had deposed, and carried the point, although with
strong opposition from Hilary (St. Leo, Epist.
x.). Pope Hilary, however, 461-462, Epist. xi.,
respecting the Metropolitan of Vienne and Aries,
refers his authority as Bishop of Rome to the
" decreta principum." And undoubtedly a decree
of the Emperor Valentinian III., in the year 445,
definitely assigned to the Pope, not simply an ap-
pellate jurisdiction, but the right of evoking causes
to Rome sno nwtu, by enacting that " omnibus pro
lege sit quidquid sanxit vel sanxerit Apostolicae
sedis auctoritas, ita ut quisquis Episcoporum ad
judicium Romaui autistitis cvocatus venire neg-
lexerit, per moderatorem ejusdem provinciae
adesse cogatur" (Cod. Theod. Novell, tit. xxiv.,
Sktppl. p. 12). An ultimate appellate jurisdiction
was also given at the same period, but by Church
authority, viz., by the general council of Chalce-
don in 451, to the Bishop of Constantinople : the
order of appeal being there fixed from bishop to
metropolitan and synod, and from the latter to
the particular Patriarch or to the Bishop of Con-
stantinople (Gone. Chalc. c. 9).
CHRIST. ANT.
The Eastern rule appears to have henceforward
remained the same ; except that Justinian A.D.
533, confirming the canon of Chalcedon in other
respects, dropped all special mention of the
Bishop of Constantinople, but enacted in general
that an appeal should lie from bishop to metro-
politan, and from metropolitan alone to me-
tropolitan with synod, but that from the synod
each Patriarch should be the final court of
appeal in his own Patriarchate, as final as was in
civil cases the Pracfectus Praetorio (Justin. Cod.
vii. tit. 62. s. 19) ; although no cause was to come
to him at once unless in the form of a request
that he would delegate it to the bishop, who was
the proper primary tribunal (Id. i. tit. 4. s. 29 ,
7. tit. 62. s. 19; Novell, exxiii. 22). A law of Leo
and Constantius in 838 (Leunclav. Jus Gr. Pom. II.
99) likewise declares the patriarch to be the apxv
of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, whose decision, there-
fore, is final, unless indeed he chooses to review it
himself. And so also, apparently, the 8th General
Council of Constantinople A.D. 870 (Act 10, cc.
17, 26). It is to be added, however, that in the
case of any one under the degree of bishop,
and in cases not ecclesiastical, the bishop was
the primary judge, but from him the case might
be taken to the civil judge, the Emperor deciding
if they differed ; but in the case of a bishop, the
right of appeal to the patriarch enacted by
Justinian is final (Justin., Novell, lxxxiii. 12,
exxiii. 21, 22).
In the West, the changes in the matter relate
to two points, to the fruitless attempts of the Popes
to obtain appellate jurisdiction over the East,
and to their more successful efforts to secure their
Western claim of the like kind under the altered
laws and policy of the new Barbarian rulers of
Europe ; efforts which may be said to have
finally secured success under the Carlovingians,
in the popedom of Nicholas I. about 858. and as
confirmed by the false Decretals, first used by
Nicholas in 864 (Gieseler). For the former, in
449, Flavian no doubt appealed from Dioscorus
and the Ephesine Latrocinium nominally to the
Pope, but Leo's own lettei to Theodosius in con-
sequence (St. Leo, Epist. 43 al. 34, and 44 al. 40 ;
Liberat. Brev. 12, in Mansi, ix. 379), shows that
the tribunal of appeal contemplated by even the
Pope himself, was a general council (see Quesnel
and Van Espen). In 484, however, Felix II. in a
synod at Rome, as the issue of a long dispute,
during which, among other steps, he had sum-
moned Acacius of Constantinople to be tried at
Rome upon the strength of the canons of Sardica,
misnamed Nicene, made an open schism with the
East, which lasted 40 years, by excommunicating
and deposing Acacius (Mansi, vii. 1054) ; a sen-
tence which, it need not be said, was disregarded.
In 587, Pelagius II. seems to have confirmed the
sentence of acquittal passed by a tribunal at
Constantinople, summoned by the Emperor, in
the case of Bishop Gregory of Antioch, while
protesting against the title of universal bishop
applied by the same authority to the Bishop of
Constantinople (St. Greg. M., Epist. v. 18; Eva-
grius, vi. 7) ; a protest renewed, as every one
knows, by Gregory himself. But this implied
no formal superiority over Eastern bishops.
And the claim unhesitatingly advanced by Gre-
gory "Do Const antinopoli tana ecclesia quis earn
dubitet Apostolicae sedi esse subjectam" (St. Greg.
M., Epist. ix. 12) was assuredly not admitted by
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the Church of Constantinople itself. Further
ou, the Council in Trul/o in 691, repeated not
only the 3rd canon of Constantinople in 381,
but the 28th of Chalcedon in 451, which latter
equals Constantinople to Rome {Cone. Quinisext.
can. .".(3) ; and also the 17th of the same Council
of Chalcedon (t/>. 38), which involves the 9th of
the same council, viz., that which (as above said),
so regulates the course of appeals as to put the
patriarch of a province with an alternative of
the Bishop of Constantinople as the ultimate
tribunal. The dispute which a century after
issued in the great schism, cut short the narrower,
by absorbing it in the broader, controversy. For
the West, however, matters proceeded more suc-
cessfully. Gelasius (492-496), while allowing
the subordination of the Pope to a general
council approved by the Church, asserts posi-
tively {Epist. 13), that the see of St. Peter " de
omni ecclesia jus habeat judicandi, neque cui-
quam de ejus liceat judicare judicio," and that
" ad illain de qualibet mundi parte canones ap-
pellari voluerint, ab ilia autem nemo sit appellare
permissus." In 503, although the Arian Theodoric
appointed a commission of bishops, under the presi-
dency of a single bishop (of Altino), toj.udge of the
disputed election of Symmachus to the Popedom,
and although Symmachus in the first instance
admitted their jurisdiction, and both parties
appealed to the judgment of Theodoric himself ;
yet 1. a Roman synod {Synodus Palmaris) both
sanctioned Symmaehus's election without pre-
suming to make enquiry, and declared the inter-
ference of laity in Church elections or property
to be against the canons (Mansi, viii. 201, sq. ;
Anastas. Lib. Poutif. in v. Symmachi'); and 2. Enno-
dius of Ticinum, in 511, formally asserted in an
elaborate document the absoluteness of the Papal
power, and especially that the Pope is himself
the final court of appeal, whom none other may
judge (Mansi, viii. 282-284). And at the end
of the century Gregory the Great assumes as
indisputable that every bishop accused is subject
to the judgment of the see of Rome {Epist. is.
59). During the following period, however,
while the suffering African Church, retaining her
privilege untouched, but as a privilege, under Gre-
gory the Great, yet practically gave up her an-
cient opposition a few years later {Epist. Episc.
Afric. ad Papain Theodorum, in Act. Cone. Lat-
er an. A.D. 649, Mansi, x. 919), the European
Churches were practically under the government
of the kings, although the theoretical claims of
the Popes remained undiminished. The Irish
Churches, indeed, were still independent of the
Pope, the end of the seventh century being the
close of the Celtic schism, except in Wales. In
Saxon England, the proceedings of both kings and
synods in the appeals of Wilfrid (678-705),when
the Pope reversed the judgments of English
synods on Wilfrid's complaint, showed on the one
hand a feeling of reverence for the Pope (e.g. the
Council of Nidd, A.D. 705 [Eddius 58] did. not
repudiate the Pope's decree, but the testimony of
Papal letters, which might be forged, as against
the viva voce evidence of Archbishop Theodore) ;
but on the other, disregarded such decree in
practice, by enforcing that precise severance of
Wilfrid's diocese against which he had appealed.
And the Council of Cloveshoo, A.D. 747, pointedly
limits appeals to the provincial council, and no
further (can. 25). In Spain, although Gregory
the Great interfered by a legate authori*
tatively in favour of deposed bishops, viz.,
Stephanus and Januarius, on the ground, first,
of Justinian's law as being their Patriarch, and
if that was refused, then by the right of the see
of Rome as head of the Church {Epist. xiii. 45),
yet in 701 or 704. King Witiza, in a Council of
Toledo, expressly forbade appeals to any foreign
bishop {Cone. 'Volet, xviii.). And a little earlier,
admission into Church communion was declared
dependent on the will of the Prince {Cone. Tolef.
A.D. 681 c. 3, and 683, c. 9). The Kings in effect
were in Spain supreme judges of bishops ( Cenni,
De. Antiq. Ecct. Uisp. ii. 153, quoted by
Gieseler). In Gaul, the cases of Salonius,
Bishop of Embrun, and Sagittarius, Bishop ot
Gap, deposed in 577 by a synod of Lyons, re-
stored by Pope John III. on appeal, but by per-
mission and power of King Guntram, and then
again finally deposed in 579 by a Council of
Chalons (Greg. Turon., Hiit. Franc, v. 21-28),
leave the Papal claim in a similar state of half
recognition to that in which it stood in England.
And in the ensuing century the Royal authority
here also practically superseded the Papal. In
615, the administration of ecclesiastical disci-
pline is made subservient to the king's interces-
sion {Cone. Paris, c. 3, as confirmed by Chlotarius
II.). And many instances of depositions of bishops
occur without appeal to the Pope, beginning
with that of Saffaric of Paris, deposed by a
second synod there, to which he had appealed
from a former one, under King Chilperic, A.D.
555. Gregory the Great, indeed, renewed the
ingenious expedient of appointing the Bishop of
Aries his vicar to decide such causes in Gaul, in
conjunction with twelve bishops ; and yet even
so, most of such causes were decided without
even the presence of the Papal vicar (De Marca,
vii. 19). The Capitula of Hadrian I., sent to
Ingilram of Metz in 785, introduced the first
great innovation upon preceding rules, by enact-
ing (c. 3) that no bishop should be condemned
unless in a synod called " Apostolica aucto-
ritate ;" and again, that, if a deposed bishop,
whose primary tribunal was the comprovincial
synod, appealed from it to Rome, " id observandum
esset quod (Papa) ipse censuerit" (c. 20, 23, and
Epitome Capit. A.D. 773). But they contained
also the African prohibition of appeals ad trans-
marina judicia (see Gieseler). And while the Ca-
pitulary of Aix in 789, repeated more expressly
by the Council of Aix in 816 (cc. 73, 74), repeats
the Nicene and Antiochene (341) canons without
the addition of those of Sardica, the Capitularies
as collected by Benedict Levita contain also the
Sardican canons. For bishops, then, Charlemagne
allowed the appeal to Rome for a new trial,
the comprovincial synod being still held to be
the proper tribunal for such cases : and an appeal
being also allowed to more numerous episcopal
judges if dissatisfaction were felt with those
originally appointed by the metropolitan, and,
again, from them to a synod {Capit. vii. 413),
or again, from a suspected judge to another (i'6.
vii. 240, and Add. iii. 25, iv. 18, sq.) : see
Oapit. v. 401, 410, vi. 300, vii. 102, 103, 314,
315, 412, Add. iii. 105 : but left the ordinary
and direct right of a proper appeal to the Pope,
and the condition of his prior consent to the trial
of an accused bishop, sufficiently unsettled to lead
to the great disputes of the following period, of
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131
which the case of Hincmar and Bishop Rothad
is the primary case. The Carlovingian Princes,
indeed, deposed bishops in synods, just as they
elected them, without any reference to the
Pope. But the Papal power gradually in-
creased. And while Gregory IV., in 835, and
Leo IV., about 850, expressly claim a proper
appellate jurisdiction, Pope Nicholas I., 858.-867.
on the strength of the False Decretals, may
be said to have finally established the claim
in its fulness. Even in 791, however, the synod
of Friuli asserted for the Patriarch of Aquileia
the right, that even no presbyter, deacon, or
archimandrite be deposed, in his Patriarchate,
without consulting him (can. 27) : the same right
which Hadrian claimed universally for the Bishop
of Rome. As regards all below bishops, the
Council of Frankfort in 794, can. 6, re-enacts the
order of appeal from bishop to metropolitan, i.e.,
to the provincial synod, but no further ; and, in
addition, orders the civil magistrate (Comes) to
act as assessor, and to refer to the Emperor all
cases too hard for the metropolitan. And Capit.
iii. 1, a.d. 812, includes bishops also among those
who are to bring their disputes to the Emperor
for settlement.
In sum, appeal from a bishop or bishops to his
neighbouring brethren, under their metropolitan,
i.e., from one or few bishops to many, was
the Church's common law ; the appeal termi-
nating there, until the law of Valentinian in
445 for the Bishop of Rome, the canon of Chal-
cedon in 451 for the Bishop of Constantinople
and patriarchs generally, and the law of Jus-
tinian in 533 for all patriarchs without dis-
tinction, allowed further appeal from bishops to
their patriarchs : the Bishop of Rome, however,
alleging also for his right the narrow and in-
sufficient basis of the canons of Sardica, and cus-
tom, and in time also the broader and sentimental
grouud of the privilege of St. Peter. The False
Decretals first established in the West, in its full
meaning, the absolute both appellate and imme-
diate jurisdiction of the Popes as of Divine right, in
the 9th century, during the Papacy of Nicholas I.
It remains to add, that the Cyprian, the Armenian,
the Georgian, the Bulgarian, and the Ravennate,
claims, to be autocephalous, were simply rem-
nants of the older condition of things before the
existence of patriarchates, differing from each
other only in the fact that the Cyprian right
was actually tried and confirmed by a general
council.
S. The above canons for the most part leave
laymen to their original right of appeal to a
provincial synod, according to the canon of Nice.
And this was plainly their right, generally
.speaking, throughout ; and is confirmed (as above
said) by the Council of Frankfort in 794. In
Africa, however, where the right of appeal was
more jealously guarded than elsewhere, it was
; enacted at one time (Cone. Garth. A.D. 397 can.
i 8, and a.d. 398 can. 22, 23) that the bishop of
i the place " agnoscat et finiat" the causes of all
| below presbyters, although in no case " absque
ptaesentia clericorum suorum." Hincmar, in the
|9th century, limits the same class of appeals to
(the provincial synod, protesting only against any
[further right of appeal in such cases to the Pope.
I. 2. The interference of lay tribunals in causes
[spiritual, utter the Emperors became Christian,
belongs properly to other articles. Questions of
faith and such as were purely ecclesiastical, as it
is sullicieut here to state upon the unqualified
testimony of Gothofred (Comment, in Cod. T/ieoL
16. tit. 2. s. 23, quoted by Bingham), were left
ordinarily to bishops and synods, by laws reach-
ing from Constantius to Justinian (e.g. Novell.
lxxxiii., exxiii. 21). And the law of Honorius
in 399 (Cod. Theod. 16. tit. 11. s. 1), among others,
which expressly denies any proper right of
Church courts to civil jurisdiction, affirms also
that causes of religion as properly belong to
them. When, however, either questions of faith
or private causes became of political importance,
a qualified and occasional practice of appeal to
the Emperors from spiritual tribunals naturally
grew up. Our business is with the latter, i.e.
with judicial cases. And here it may be said in
brief, that the Emperors throughout claimed and
exercised a right of ordering a new trial by
spiritual judges ; the choice of whom so far
rested with themselves, that they took them if it
seemed good from another province than that of
the parties accused or accusing. So Constantino
dealt with Caecilianus in the Donatist contro-
versy, appointing first Melchiades of Rome and
three Gallic bishops to judge the case at Rome,
and then, upon the dissatisfaction of the Dona-
tists, commanding a synod to rehear it at Aries
(without the Pope at all) in 314. The precise
question, however, was one of discipline more
than of belief. And Constantino disclaimed all
right of appeal from the episcopal tribunal to
himself. So also Bassianus of Ephesus, and
Eusebius of Dorylaeum, asked letters from the
Emperor Marcian, that the Council of Chalcedon
in 451 might judge their appeals. And at a
somewhat earlier period Theodosius in a like
case transferred causes from one province to
another (De Marca, De Cone. Sac. <t Imp. iv.
3). So also Theodoric appointed bishops to de-
cide the case of Pope Symmachus c. A.D. 500,
although, after commencing the case, they ulti-
mately refused to judge the Bishop of Rome,
save by a merely formal judgment. And the
Council of Mileum in 416, while condemning to
deprivation any appellant to a civil tribunal,
excepts the case of those who ask from the
Emperor " episcopate judicium." On both sides,
however, this middle course was occasionally
transgressed. Bishops sometimes asked the
Emperors themselves to decide their appeals :
e.g., even St. Athanasius, while in his Apol.
ii. expressly repudiating the Emperor's power
to decide such a cause, yet, after the Coun-
cil of Tyre had deposed him, requested the
Emperor nevertheless, not only to assemble a
" lawful" council of bishops to rehear the case,
but as an alternative, ?) teal aiirbv 5e'acr0ai
tV airoAoyiav (Socrat. i. 33). And the Council
of Antioch accordingly, in 341, took occasion (as
above said) to prohibit all applications to the
Emperor except such as were backed by letters
of metropolitan and provincial bishops, and to
insist upon the restriction of fresh trials to " a
larger synod :" canons repeated down to the
days of Charlemagne, and adopted by the Church
at large, although repudiated as Arian by
St. Chrysostom and by Pope Innocent I., when
quoted against the former. And about A.D. 380,
Sulpicius Severus, again, affirms that he himself
and his fellow bishops had done wrong in allow-
ing Priscillian to appeal to the Emperor, and
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lays it down that he ought to have appealed to
other bishops. Yet both Pope Symmachus and his
opponent Laurentius requested the Arian Lom-
bard Theodoric to decide between them. On
the other side, when mentioning a very late
case, where the Emperor transferred a cause o'f
a spiritual kind from the Patriarch Luke of Con-
stantinople, A.D. 1156-1169, to a civil court,
Balsamon (in can. 15 Syn. Carthag.), while
affirming this to be against the canons, yet ad-
mits that a lay co-judge might rightly be asked
of the Emperor. And Justinian (Novell, cxxiii.
21) reserves indeed a right upon appeal of as-
signing judges, from whom an appeal lay "se-
cundum legum ordiuem," i.e. ultimately to the
Praefectus Praetorio and Quaestor Palatii (Cod.
7. tit. 62. s. 32); but ecclesiastical causes are
expressly excepted from such appeal. On the
other hand, Arcadius and Honorius expressly
prohibit appeals from councils to themselves;
unless, indeed, this Vefers only to civil and
criminal causes. The Carlovingian Emperors
(as we have seen above) reserved an appeal to
themselves in difficult cases from the metro-
politan, in causes of presbyters and all below
them ; besides appointing the civil magistrate
as assessor to the metropolitan in the first in-
stance. And in the case of Leo III. a.d. 800,
when Charlemagne convened a synod at Rome to
investigate accusations against that Pope, the
bishops appointed declined to act, on the ground
that it was the Pope's right to judge them, and
not theirs to judge the Pope (Anastas., in V.
Leon. III.).
II. We pass next to civil causes : and the
jurisdiction of bishops in these, whether lay or
clerical, is of course, as a coercive jurisdiction,
purely a creation of municipal law. As founded
upon 1 Cor. vi. 4, it could not have been until
the time of Constantine more than a voluntarily
conceded power of arbitration, whereby both
plaintiff and defendant, being Christians, agreed
to be bound (see Estius, ad foe). But upon prin-
ciples of Christian love and of avoiding scandal,
the decision of such cases became the common
and often the inconveniently troublesome busi-
ness of bishops : e.g., of Paphnutius (see Ruffi-
nus), Gregory Thatimaturgus (St. Greg. Nyss. in
Vita), St. Basil the Great (St. Greg. Naz. Orat.
20), St. Ambrose (Epist. 34), St. Augustine (Pos-
sid. in Vita), St. Martin of Tours (Sulp. Ser.
Dial, ii.) : and is recognized as their work by
St. Chrysostom {Be Sac. iii. 18). The Apost.
Constit. ii. 45-47 regulate the process. St.
Cyprian (Adv. Judaeos iii. 44), speaking of resort
to the bishop and not to the secular court as the
duty of Christians, may serve as a specimen of
the feeling upon which the practice rested. And
while Socrates (vii. 37) speaks of Bishop Syl-
vanus of Troas as declining it either for himself
or his clergy, it is recognized even by the Council
of Tarragona in 516 (c. 4) as extending to pres-
byters and deacons also. The practice was
changed from a precarious to a recognized and
legal institution by Constantine. Either party
to a suit was allowed by him, not in form to
appeal from magistrate to bishop, but to do so
in effect ; in that he gave to either the power to
choose the bishop's court in preference to the
magistrate's, the bishop's sentence to stand as
good in law as if it were the Emperor's (Euseb.,
De V. Constantini, iv. 27; Sozom. i. 0); and if
the law at the end of the Theodosian code is
(as Selden, and, among later writers, Haenel
and Walter [see Robertson's Becket, p. 80] think,
but Gothofred denies) his, then took the still
further step of empowering either, without the
other's consent, and whether the cause were
actually pending or even already decided by the
civil court, to claim a rehearing in the court of
the bishop (Extrav. de Elect. Judic. Episc. Cod.
Theocl. vi. 303).
a. This power was enlarged in the case of the
clergy into a compulsory jurisdiction, the Church
forbidding clergy to take civil cases in which
they were concerned before any other tribunal
than the bishop's (Cone. Carth. A.D. 397 c. 9,
Cone. Milevit. a.d. 416 c. 19, Cone. Chalc. a.d.
451 c. 2, Cone. Venetic. a.d. 465 c. 9, Cone.
Cabillon. i. a.d. 470 c. 11, Cone. Matiscon. a.d.
582 c. 8), while the Emperors permitted and
ratified episcopal jurisdiction between clergy in
civil cases, and where both parties agreed to the
tribunal (Valentin. III., Novell, de Episc. Judicio,
xii. Gothofr.). And Justinian in 539 gave civil
jurisdiction outright to the bishops over the
clergy, the monks, and the nuns, subject to an
appeal to the Emperor in case the civil judge
decided differently to the bishop (Novell, lxxix.,
lxxxiii., cxxiii. c. 21). The law also of Constan-
tius, in a.d. 355, refers all complaints against
bishops without distinction, and therefore civil
as well as criminal, to an episcopal tribunal
(Cod. Theod. 16. tit. 2. s. 12) ; which Justinian
specifies into a regular chain of appeal to metro-
politan and patriarch, unless in one exceptional
case, where either the Praefectus Praetorio per
Orientem, or "judges appointed by the Emperor,"
are to decide (Novell, cxxiii. cc. 22, 24). If a
layman, however, were a party to the suit, it
rested with him to choose the tribunal.
/3. With respect to laymen, indeed, generally,
the law of Constantine, if it ever did go to the
length of allowing a transfer of the cause at the
will of either party, and at any stage of the suit,
was soon limited. Arcadius and Honorius a.d.
408 require the consent of both parties (Cod.
Justin. 1. tit. 4. s. 7, 8). And both they, and
V r alentinian III. A.D. 452, expressly allow a lay-
man to go if he chooses to the civil court, and in
all cases and persons require the " vinculum com-
promissi," and the "voluntas jurgantium," as a
prior condition to any episcopal (coercive) juris-
diction at all ; expressly laying down also that
bishops and presbyters " forum non habere nee de
aliis causis praeter religionem posse cognoscere "
(Cod. Theod. 16. tit. 11. s. 1 ; and Valentin. III.,
as before cited). Justiuian, however, appears to
have gone further. 1. He granted to the clergy
of Constantinople a right to have all their pe-
cuniary causes, even if a layman were con-
cerned, tried in the first instance by the bishop ;
and only if the nature of the case hindered him
from deciding it, then, but not otherwise, before
the civil court (Novell, lxxxiii.); and 2. he ap-
pointed the bishop generally co-judge with the
civil magistrate, and with an appeal from the
latter to the former (Novell, lxxxvi.). And both
in Cone. Carthag. a.d. 399 c. 1 (Cod. Can. Afric.
5), and in Justin. Novell, cxxiii. 7, Cod. 1. tit.
3. s. 7, and Cod. Theod. 11. tit. 39. s. 8, provi-
sion is made to protect a bishop or clergyman,
who had thus acted as judge, from being subse-
quently molested by a discontented party to the
APPEAL
APSE
133
suit, who should summon him to give account
of his judgment before a secular tribunal.
The law of Constantine in its widest form, and
as applying to laity as well as clergy, is alleged
to have been revived by Charlemagne {Capit. vi.
281), expressly as a renewal of the (extreme)
Theodosian enactment, but very serious doubts
are thrown on the genuineness of the re-enact-
ment : viz., that "Quicunque litem habeat, sive
possessor sive petitor fuerit, vel in initio litis xa]
decursis temporum curriculis, sive cum negotium
peroratur sive cum jam coeperit promi sententia.
si judicium elegerit sacrosanctae legis Autistitis,
illico sine aliqua dubitatione, etiam si alia pars
refragatur, ad Episcoporum judicium cum ser-
mone litigantium dirigatur : . . . omues itaque
causae, quae vel praetorio jure vel civili tractan-
tur, Episcoporum sententiis terminatae, perpe-
tuostabilitatis jure firmentur : nee liceat ulterius
retractari negotium, quod Episcoporum senten-
tia deciderit :" -thus interposing an absolute
right of appeal in civil causes for either party,
whether lay or clerical,, at every stage of the
civil suit, from the civil judge to the bishop, and
forbidding appeal from the latter (see also Capit.
vii. 306, and Gratian, Decret. P. II., c, si. qu. 1
cc. 35-37 ; and Hallam, Middle Ages, ii. 146,
11th ed.). At the same time it is obvious, by
Cone. Franco/', a.d. 794 c. 6, above referred
to, that an appeal to the Emperor himself was
allowed, even from the metropolitan, in all civil
cases. The joint jurisdiction of bishops and
aldermen in Saxon England belongs to a different
subject.
III. In criminal cases, this article is not con-
cerned to define the limits and nature of the
exemptions or privileges of clergy, beyond the
brief statement that, 1. Clergy, and in. particu-
lar bishops, were exempted from civil tribunals
by the Emperors in criminal cases, provided that
first the delicta were lezia, and next the con-
sent of the plaintiff if a layman were obtained ;
and 2. Episcopal intercession for criminals, all
along looked upon as a duty and regarded with
favour, received a civil sanction at the hands of
Justinian; w : hile Heraclius a.d. 028 formally
committed jurisdiction over the criminal offences
of clergy to the bishops, to be judged " Kara
rovs Betuvs K<xv6va.s" (Leunclav. Jus Graeco-
Rom. i. 73). In relation to appeals, we have
only to mention, that Justinian, in criminal
cases of clerks, appoints the bishop and civil
judges to act together, with an appeal to the
Emperor {Novell, exxiii. c. 21); the civil judge
to try the case, but within two months, and
the bishop then (if the accused is condemned)
to deprive {Novell, lxxxiii.) ; and that in the law
of Heraclius, just mentioned, occurs the well-
known phrase that if the case were beyond
canonical punishment, then the bishop should
be directed, " rhv toiovtov to7s iroKt-
tikoIs & p xov (T i ir ap aS to 6 a 8 a i, ras
ro?s T]/xeTtpois SiwpicriJLii'as v6/jlois rt/xaipias
inroerxTja-o^iej/oi/." And in such cases, therefore,
the cause was thenceforth transferred from the
spiritual to the lay tribunal. So also Justinian
{Novell, lxxxiii.) requires the convicted criminal
clerk to be first deposed by the bishop, and then,
but not before, virh ras rwv vojxwv yivtaOai
Xiipas. Under the Carlovingian empire, the
Apocrisiarius or Archicapcllanus acted as the
Emperor's deputy in the final decision of clerical
causes of all kinds, the Emperor being the ulti-
mate judge in these as in secular ones {Cone.
Franco/, a.d. 749 c. 6 ; and see for Cappellani
under the Franks, Walafr. Strab., De Reb. Eccl.
c. 31).
(Besides the works of De Marca, Richenus,
Quesnel, Thomassin, Van Espen, and Church
Historians, such as Fleury, Neander, Gieseler :
and Beveridge, Bingham, &c. among ourselves,
the works of Allies and of Hussey, on the Papal
Supremacy, and Greenwood's Cathedra, Petri,
Lond., 1856, sq., may be referred to ; also, He-
benstreit, Hist. Jurisd. Feel, ex lege], utriusque
Cod. illustrata, (Lips. 1773), Schilling, De Origine
Jurisd. Eccles. in Causis Givilibus (Lips. 1825),
and Jungk, De Originibus et Progrcssu Episcop.
Judicii in Causis Civilihus Laicorum usque ad
Justinianum, Berlin 1832-8, referred to by
Gieseler.) [A. W. H.]
APPROBATION OF BOOKS. [Censor-
ship or Books.]
A*PRONIANUS, martyr at Pome, comme-
morated Feb. 2 {Mart. Rom. Yet.). [C]
APSE, the niche or recess which terminates
a church at the end near which the high altar
is placed. This feature existed in the basilicas
or halls of justice constructed by the Romans,
the tribunal for the presiding magistrate having
been placed in the centre of the arc forming the
apse.
In the earlier centuries the apse was almost
invariably semicircular, in some churches and
particularly in those which would appear to
date from the third or early part of the fourth
century the apse is internal, so that the building
has a rectangular termination. Sta. Croce in
Gerusalemme, at Rome, has this plan, though it
is doubtful whether this was the plan adopted
when it first became a church ; but in Italy it is
very rarely found ; in Africa and in Asia it seems
to have prevailed, particularly in the earlier
period : the basilica of Reparatus at Orleansville,
in Algeria, believed to date from a.d. 252 ; the
chinches at Deyr Abu-Faneh near Hermopolis
Magna, at Hermouthis (Erment) in Egypt, at
Ibrihm in Nubia, at Pergamus, and Ephesus, are
all thus planned. [Church.]
In the basilica of St. Reparatus there is a se-
cond apse, also internal, at the other end of the
building ; this is believed to have been added
about the year 403.
In the churches built in the fifth century in
the East three apses are often found, the aisles
as well as the central nave being so terminated ;
in the following century this plan, the so-called
parallel triapsal, was introduced into Italy and
churches at Ravenna, as St. Apollinare in Classe,
built a.d. 538-549, (though with a peculiar mo-
dification), and the Duomo at Parenzo (a.d. 542),
exhibit it. In the eighth and ninth centuries it
appears at Rome, as in St. Maria in Cosmedin (a.d.
772-7'.'"'). and a few other chuixhes.
The transverse-triapsal plan, that in which
there are three apses, one projecting from the
end, and one from cadi side of the building, is
rarely found in churches of the usual basilican
plan, or in any anterior to the sixth century. It
occurs (with some modification) in St. Sophia's,
Constantinople, ami in other churches lor which
that building served in some degree as a model,
and in the eleventh and twelfth centuries is com-
134
APTONIUS
mon in Germany. It is, however, found at Rome
in oratories, even in the fifth century, as in that
of St. John the Baptist opening from the bap-
tistery of the Lateran, built by Pope Hilarus,
cir. A.D. 461, and that of Sta. Croce, built by the
same pope, but now destroyed.
About the year 800 churches in Germany were
constructed with an apse at each end : the greater
church at Reichenau, in the Lake of Constance,
begun in 816, has a semicircular apse at one
end and a square recess at the other ; the plan
prepared for the church of St. Gall in the begin-
ning of the ninth century shows a semicircular
apse at each end.
The altar was usually placed in the chord of
the arc of the apse, the cathedra or chair for the
bishop in the centre of the arc against the wall,
while a stone bench, or a series of such, one
above the other, afforded places for the clergy.
At Torcello, near Venice, thei - e are sis such
ranges. Apses so fitted appear to have been
called "apsides gradatae." [Church.] [A. N-]
APTONIUS, commemorated May 23 (Mart.
/Heron.). [C]
APULEIUS, disciple of Peter, martyr at
Rome, commemorated Oct. 7 (Mart. Bom. Vet.,
Bedae); in Rheims MS. of the Gregorian Sacra-
mentary (see Menard's ed. p. 418).
AQUAMANILE (other forms, Aquamani-
lium, Aquamanus, Gr. Kipvifiov), the bason
used for the washing of the hands of the cele-
brant in the liturgy. The aquamanile with the
urceus are the bason and ewer of the sacred
ceremony.
In the Statuta Antiqua called the " Canons of
the Fourth Council of Carthage " (Canon V.), it
is laid down that a subdeacon should receive at
his ordination from the hands of the archdeacon
an aquamanile (corruptly written " aqua et man-
tile ") as one of the emblems of his office. Com-
pare Isidore, Be Eccl. Off. ii. 10. And these di-
rections are repeated verbatim in the office for
the ordination of a subdeacon in the Gregorian
Sacramentary (p. 221). In the Greek office, the
subdeacon receives x e P vl ^"^ (rT0V Kat ^a.v'bvXiov ,
where the word x f f )V '& e ' rrov perhaps includes
both urceus and aquamanile (Daniel's Codex Lit.
iv. 550).
In the Vrdo Bomanus I. (p. 5), the acolytes
are directed to carry an aquamanus (among other
things) after the Pope in the great procession of
Easter-Day.
Aquamanilia of great splendour are frequently
mentioned in ancient records. Desideriusof Aux-
erre is said to have given to his church " aqua-
manile pensans libras ii. et uncias x. ; habet in
medio rotam liliatam et in cauda caput homi-
nis;" and Bruuhilda, queen of the Franks, ottered
through the same Desiderius to the church of
St. Germanus " aquamanilium pensans libras iii.
et uncias ix. ; habet in medio Neptunum cum tri-
dente " (Krazer, De LAtunjiis, p. 210). Compare
Urceus. [C]
AQUILA. (1) Wife of Severianus, martyr,
commemorated Jan. 23 (Mart. Rom. Vet.).
(2) Husband of Priscilla, July 8 (lb.); July
14 (Cal. Byzant.).
(3) Martyr in Arabia, Aug. 1 (Mart. Bom.
Vet). [C]
AQUILEIA, COUNCIL OF (Aqojliensk
Concilium). I., a.d. 381, provincial, although
AECA ARCULA
the Easterns were invited, St. Ambrose being the
most important bishop pre:;eut ; summoned by
the Emperor Gratian, to try the cases of Bishop
Palladius and Secundianus, who were there con-
demned for Arianism (Mansi, iii. 599-632).
II. A.D. 553, Western or rather provincial, on
behalf of the three chapters. It rejected the
Oecumenical Council of Constantinople of A.D.
550, and thereby severed the Aquileiau Church
from the Church Catholic for over 100 years
(Baed., De VI. Aetat. ; Mansi, ix. 659). III.
A.D. 698, a like Synod for a like purpose (Baed.,
ib. ; Paul. Diac, v.- 14 ; Sigebert in an. ; Mansi,
xii. 115). [A. W. H.]
AQUILINA, martyr, commemorated June 13
(Cal. Byzant.). [C]
AQUILINUS. (1) Martyr in Africa, Jan. 4
(Mart. Hieron., Bedae).
(2) Commemorated Feb. 4 (M. Hieron.).
(3) Of Isauria, commemorated May 16 (Mart.
Bom. Yet., Hieron., Bedae).
(4) Presbyter, May 27 (M. Hieron.).
(5) Saint, July 16 (lb.); July 17 (M.
Hieron.). [C]
AQUISGEANENSE CONCILIUM. [Aix.]
AKABICUM CONCILIUM. A council
was held, A.D. 247, in Arabia against those who
maintained that the soul died with the body.
Origen went to it, and is said to have reclaimed
them from their error (Euseb. vi. 37). [E. S. F.]
ABATOR, commemorated April 21 (Mart.
Hieron.). [C]
ARAUSICANUM CONCILIUM.[Orange.]
ARCA, ARCULA. 1. A chest intended to
receive pecuniary offerings for the service of the
church or for the poor (Tertullian, Apologeticus,
c. 39). Of this kind was probably the " area
pecuniae," which Pope Stephen (an. 260) is said
to have handed over, with the sacred vessels, to
his archdeacon when he was imprisoned (Liber
Bontif. c. 24) ; and such that which Paulinus
Petricordius says (in Vita S. Martini, lib. iv. ap.
Ducange) was committed to the charge of a
deacon chosen for the purpose. The box from
which priests received their portions is described
as " arcula sancta" by Marcellus (VitaS. Felicis,
c. 3).
2. It is used of a box or casket in which the
Eucharist was reserved : thus Cyprian (De Lapsis,
c. 26, p. 486) speaks of an " area in qua, Domini
sacramentum fuit," from which fire issued, to
the great terror of a woman who attempted to
open it with unholy hands. In this case, the
casket appears to have been in the house, and
perhaps contained the reserved Eucharist for the
sick.
3. Among the prayers which precede the Ethi-
opic Canon (Renaudot, Lit. Orient, i. 501) is
one " Super arcam sive discum majorem." The
prayer itself suggests that this area was used
for precisely the same purpose as the paten,
inasmuch as in both cases the petition is that
in or upon it may be perfected (perficiatur) the
Body of the Lord. Renaudot (p. 525) seems to
think that it may have served the purpose of an
ANTIMENSIUM (q. v.).
It does not appear, however, that its use was
limited to the case of unconsecrated altars; and
when we remember that the Copts applied the
term l\a<jTt)piov to the Christian altar (Renau-
AKOADIUS
dot, i. 182) it does not seem improbable that
this area was an actual chest or ark, on the lid
bf which, the Mercy-Seat, consecration took place.
it is worth noticing that chests are said to have
been anciently used as altars in Rome [Altar].
Dr. Neale {Eastern Church, Introd. p. 186) says
that the tabout or ark of the Ethiopic Church is
used for the reservation of the Sacrament. Major
Harris's informant (Highlands of Ethiopia, iii.
138) declared that it contains nothing except a
parchment inscribed with the date of the dedi-
cation of the building. [C]
AECADIUS. (1) Martyr, commemorated
Jan. 12 (Mart. Bom. Vet.\
(2) Martyr in Africa, Nov. 12 (lb.). [C]
ARCANI DISCIPLINA [Disciplina Ar-
CANl].
ARCHANERIS, commemorated at Rome
Aug. 10 (Mart. Hieron.). [C]
ARCHBISHOP The earliest use of this
title was probably the same as that with which
we are familiar in the Modern Church, viz., as
designating a metropolitan or chief bishop of a
province. Afterwards, however, as the hierar-
chical system of the Church was further extended
to correspond with the civil divisions of the
Roman empire, it became appropriated to the
higher dignity of patriarch. Thus, according to
Bingham (ii. 17), Liberatus (Brcviar., c. 17) gives
all the patriarchs this title of archbishops, and,
he adds, so does the Council of Chalced'on fre-
quently, speaking of the patriarchs of Rome and
Constantinople under the name of archbishops
also. About the time of Constantine the empire
was divided into dioceses, each of which contained
many provinces. This division, like the earlier
one of provinces, was also adopted by the Church ;
and as the State had an exarch or vicar in the
capital city of each civil diocese, so the Church,
in process of time, came to have her exarchs or
patriarchs in many, if not all, the capital cities
of the empire. These patriarchs were originally
called archbishops, which title had therefore a
much more extensive signification than it has at
present. The principal privileges of the arch-
bishops of that period were 1. To ordain all the
metropolitans of the diocese, their own ordination
being received from a Diocesan Synod ; 2. To con-
vene Diocesan Synods and to preside in them ;
3. To receive appeals from metropolitans and from
Metropolitan Synods ; 4. To censure metropoli-
tans, and also their suffragans when metropolitans
were remiss in censuring them. The Patriarch or
Archbishop of Alexandria had from very early
times some peculiar privileges within his diocese,
but originally all patriarchs were co-ordinate, as
well as mutually independent as regards actual
power, though some had a precedence of honour,
as those of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and
Jerusalem, to whom the canons gave precedence
of all others.
For " Archbishop " in its later and present sig-
nification, see Metropolitan. [D. B.]
ARCHDEACON. 'Apx^taKovos, 'Ap X '-
Stdicwv, 'Apxi^ev'tT-ns (Catal. Patriarch. Constant.
10306, ap. Mai Script. Vet. iii. 243, though per-
haps somewhat late), Archidiaconus, Archidia-
coii, Levita Septimus. (Joannes Secundus, Vit. Greg.
ARCHDEACON
13b
Ma
i. c.
IS).
1. Origin of Name and Office. That there was
from the first a primacy among deacons, as there
appears to have been among presbyters, and as
there was afterwards among bishops, is more a
matter of conjecture than of historical certainty.
It is reasonable to suppose that some one deacon,
either the senior in office or the most eminent in
ability, took the lead of the rest, as St. Stephen
appears to have taken the lead of the seven first
deacons (whence the Menologium gives him the
title 'Apx'SiaKwos) ; but it is uncertain when
this became a part of the regular ecclesiastical
order. The name is sometimes given by later
writers to prominent deacons of the first four
centuries ; for example, St. Lawrence, who had
evidently some precedence over his brother
deacons, is called archdeacon by St. Augustine
(Serm. do Diversis, cxi. cap. 9 ; Sanctus Laurentius
archidiaconus fuit) ; and Caecilian of Carthage is
called archdeacon by Optatus (1. i. p. 18, ed.
Paris, 1679). But other writers describe the
office by a periphrasis ; for example, Theodoret
(H. E. i. 26) uses the phrase 6 tov xPv t ^ v
StaKovwv Tjyovfxeyos to describe the position
which was evidently equivalent to that of an
archdeacon of Athanasius at Alexandria ; and
there is the negative evidence that neither the
name nor the office is mentioned in the Aposto-
lical Constitutions (although some have supposed
the phrase 6 irapzcrTws tw dpx^pe? SidKovos, in
ii. 57, to refer to it), and that Cornelius (ap.
Euseb. H. E. vi. 43) omits the archdeacon from
his list of Church officers at Rome. The first
contemporary use of the title is, in the Eastern
Church, in the old version of the acts of the
Council of Ephesus (Labbe, Supplem. Concil. p.
505), and, in the Western Church, in St. Je-
rome (e.g. Ep. xcv. ad Rusticum). After that
period it is in constant use.
In both East and West the title appears to
have been restricted to the secular clergy ; the
first in rank of the deacons of a monastery
seems to have had, in the East, the title of
KpooToZiaKovos (but not universally, for Joannes
Climacus, Seal. Parad. p. 58, also uses the title
apx^idiKoov of a monk); a deacon in a similar
position in the West seems to have had, at least
in early times, no special designation.
II. Mode of Appointment. The mode of ap-
pointment varied with particular times and
places. At first, and in some places perma-
nently, the deacon who was senior in date ot
ordination appears to have held the office, with-
out any special appointment, by right of his
seniority. That this was the usual practice at
Constantinople is clear from the answer of Ana-
tolius to Leo the Great in the case of Andrew
and Aetius. Leo, probably having the use of
the Roman Church in his mind, assumes in his
letter of remonstrance to Anatolius that the
latter had appointed (constituisse) Andrew arch-
deacon. Anatolius replies that, on the ordina-
tion of Aetius as presbyter, Andrew had suc-
ceeded him as archdeacon in regular order (non
provectus a nobis sed gradu faciente Archidiaconi
dignitate honoratus S. Leon. Mag. Op. vol. L p.
653, ed. Paris, 1675). But, on the other hand,
Sozomen speaks of Serapion as having, been ap-
pointed by Chrysostom (%v apx&idKOvov avrov
Kar4(TT-n<T( //. E. viii. 9), and Theodoret notices
that Athanasius was at the head of the deacons,
though young in years (vtos tV ^XtKiav). which
could hardly have been the case in so large a
136
ARCHDEACON
ARCHDEACON
church as that of Alexandria if the rule of
seniority had been followed. St. Jerome has
indeed been sometimes quoted to show that the
practice at Alexandria was for the deacons to
elect their archdeacon, but the hypothetical
form of the sentence (" quomodo si ... .
diaconi eligant de se quern industrium noverint
et Archidiaconum vocent ") makes it difficult to
U6e the passage as an assertion of an existing
fact. In the West there appears to have been a
similar diversity of practice. The phrases which
are sometimes used (e.g. by Joannes Secundus,
Vit. S. Greg. Max. i. 25, " levitam septimum
ad suum adjutorium constituit ") seem to show,
what might also be expected from the nature of
the case, that when the archdeacon became not
so much the first in rank of the minor officers
of the Church as the bishop's secretary and dele-
gate, the bishop had at least a voice in his ap-
pointment. But there is a canon of a Gallic
council in A.d. 506 (Cone. .Agath. can. xxiii.,
Mansi, viii. 328) which strongly asserts the rule
of seniority, and enacts that even in cases in
which the senior deacon, propter simpliciorem
naturam, was unfit for the office, he was to have
the title (loci sui nomen teneat), although the
burden of the duty devolved upon another. In
later times, however, it is clear that the right of
appointment rested absolutely with the bishop.
III. Number, and Duration of Office. It is clear,
both from the statement of St. Jerome (Ep. xcv.
ad Rusticum, " singuli ecclesiarum episcopi, sin-
guli archipresbyteri, singuli archidiaconi ") and
from the invariable use of the singular number
in the canons of the councils which refer to the
office, that for several centuries there was but
one archdeacon in each diocese. When the
number was increased is not altogether clear.
The increase seems to have been a result partly
of the increase in the number of rural parishes,
partly of the difficulty of dividing dioceses
which were coextensive with civil divisions.
The fact of the Council of Merida (a.d. 666)
having directly prohibited the appointment of
more than one archdeacon in each diocese seems
to indicate that such a practice had been con-
templated, if not actually adopted (Cone. Emerit.
can. x., Mansi, xi. 81) ; but the first actual re-
cord of a plurality of archdeacons occurs a
century later in the diocese of Strasburg. In
774, Bishop Heddo divided that diocese into
three archdeaconries (archidiat onatus rurales),
and from that time there aj>pears to have been
throughout the West except in Italy, where the
dioceses were small a general practice of re-
lieving bishops of the difficulties of the admi-
nistration of overgrown dioceses by appointing
archdeacons for separate divisions, and giving
them a delegatio (ultimately a delegatio perpetud)
as to the visitation of parishes. Thence grew
up the distinction between the " Archidiaconus
magnus" of the Cathedral Church and the
" Archidiaconi rurales." The former was at the
head of the cathedral clergy, whence in much
later times he was known as the provost (prae-
positus) of the cathedral, ranking as such before
the archpresbyter or dean. The latter had a
corresponding status in their several districts ;
they were usually at the head of the chapter of
a provincial town, and they had precedence, and
perhaps jurisdiction, over the " Archipresbyteri
rurales," who were at the head of subdivisions
of the archdeaconries, and corresponded to modern
" rural deans." There was this further differ-
ence between the two classes, that the rural
archdeacons were usually priests, whereas the
cathedral archdeacon, even so late as the 12th
century, was usually a deacon.
Originally, the office was limited to deacons ;
an archdeacon who received priest's orders
ceased thereby to be an archdeacon. Proofs and
examples of this are numerous. St. Jerome
says (in Ezech. c. xlviii.) that an archdeacon
" injuriam putat si presbyter ordinetur." Anato-
lius made his archdeacon Aetius a presbyter in
order to get rid of him, of which proceeding
Leo the Great, in a formal complaint to the
Emperor Marcian on the subject, says " dejec-
tionem innoceutis per speciem provectionis im-
plevit " (S. Leon. Magn. Epist. 57, al. 84) ; and
Sidonius Apollinaris speaks of an archdeacon
John who was so good an archdeacon that he was
kept from the presbyterate in consequence (" diu
dignitate non potuit augeri ne potestate posset
absolvi " lib. iv. ep. 24). It is not certain at
what date presbyters were allowed to hold office
as archdeacons ; probably the earliest certain
evidence on the point is that which is afforded
by Hincmar of Rheims, who (A.D. 874) addresses
his archdeacons as " archidiaconibus-presbyteris "
(Mansi, xv. 497).
IV. Functions. At first an archdeacon dif-
fered only from other deacons in respect of pre-
cedence. In the churches of the East he was
probably never much more. Individual arch-
deacons attained to eminence, but not by virtue
of their office. Their office gave them such
privileges as the right of reading the Gospel in
the cathedral (e.g. at Alexandria ; Sozomen, vii.
19), and of receiving the sacred elements before
the other deacons (Joannes Citri, Resp. ad Cabasil.
ap. Meursius, Gl. Graeco-Barb. s. v.); but they
appear to have had no administrative functions,
and at Constantinople, so unimportant did the
office become, from an ecclesiastical point of view,
that at last the archdeacon became only an officer
of the Imperial court (Codinus, De Off. Constant.
c. xvii. 38).
It was different in the West. Partly from the
fact that the deacons, and especially, therefore,
the senior deacon, were the administrative offi-
cers of the Church ; partly from the fact that
the senior deacon had been from early times es-
pecially attached to the bishop, the office, which,
even in the time of St. Leo, was called the " offi-
ciorum primatus" (S. Leon. Magn. Ep. 106, al.
71), assumed an importance which at one period
was hardly inferior to that of the episcopate
itself.
The functions of the office may conveniently
be distributed under two heads, according as they
grew out of the original functions of the diaco-
nate, or out of the special relation of the arch-
deacon to the bishop.
(1) The archdeacon seems to have had charge
of the funds of the Church ; e.g. both St. Am-
brose and St. Augustine, in speaking of St. Law-
rence, speak of him as having the " opes ecclesiae"
in his custody (S. Aug. fierm. de Divers, cxi.
c. 9); and St. Leo describes the appointment of
an archdeacon by the phrase " quern ecclesias-
ticis negotiis praeposuit " (S. Leon. Magn. Ep.
85, al. 58).
This involved the distribution of the funds to
ARCHDEACON
ARCHDEACON
135
the pool - ; St. Jerome speaks of the archdeacon
as " mensarum et viduarura minister " (S. Hie-
ron. in Ezech. cxlviii.), and the 4th Council of
Carthage prohibits a bishop from attending to
the " gubernationem viduarum et peregrinarum "
himself, but orders him to do so " per archi-
presbyterum aut per archidiaconum " (IV. Cone.
Carth. can. xvii. ; Mansi, iii. 952).
Afterwards, if we are to trust the letter of
Isidore of Seville to the Bishop of Cordova,
he appears to have distributed to the clergy of
the several orders the money which was ottered
for their support at the communion (Isid. Hisp.
Ep. ad Zuidifr., Op. ed. Paris, 1601, p. 615).
(2) The archdeacon had the " ordinatio eccle-
siae," that is, the superintendence of the arrange-
ments of the cathedral church and of divine
service. He was " master of the ceremonies."
As such he had (a) to keep note of the calendar,
and to announce the fasts and festivals (Isid.
Hisp. ibid. ; cf. the phrase " concionatur in po-
pulos " of Jerome in Ezech. c. xlviii.). (/3) He
had to correct offences against ecclesiastical order
during divine service ; for example, at Carthage
a woman who kissed the relics of an unrecog-
nized martyr was reproved (correpla) by Caeoi-
lian (Optat. i. p. 18). Probably this was a duty
of the archdeacon in the East as well us in the
West ; at least it is difficult to account for the
origin of the unseemly scuffle between Meletius
and his archdeacon at Antioch (Sozom. H. E. iv.
28) unless we suppose that the latter was exer-
cising a supposed right. (y) He had to see that
the arrangements of the Church for divine ser-
vice were properl}- made, and that the ritual
was properly observed. Isidore of Seville (ibid.)
assigus to him in detail, " cura vestiendi
altaris a levitis, cura incensi, et sacrificii
uecessaria sollicitudo, quis levitarum Aposto-
lum et Evangelium legat, quis preces dicat."
(5) The same authority, or quasi-authority, may
be quoted for his having also charge of the
fabric of the cathedral church : " pro repa-
randis diocesanis basilicis ipse suggerit sacerdoti "
(ibid.).
(3) The archdeacon had to superintend and to
exercise discipline over the deacons and other
inferior clergy. This was common to both East
and West ; and as early as the Council of Chal-
cedon we find it stated that a deacon (Maras of
Edessa) had been excommunicated by his arch-
deacon (JutoivuvriTOs kffTi tw iSicv apx^iaKovcii :
but t he bishop, Ibas, who is speaking, goes on to say,
ou5e fjuot iaTiv aKoivwvriTos, which seems to im-
ply that the bishop and the archdeacon had co-
ordinate jurisdiction over deacons : Mansi, vii.
232). A curious instance of the extent of their
authority is afforded by a canon of the Council
of Agde, in Gaul, which enacts that " Clerici qui
comam nutriunt ab archidiacono etiamsi nolu-
erint inviti detondeantur " (Cone. Agath. can. xx. ;
Mansi, viii. 328). This ordinary jurisdiction of
an archdeacon over the inferior clergy must bo
distinguished from the delegated jurisdiction
which he possessed in later times. The canon
of the Council of Toledo which is cited in the
Decretals as giving him an ordinary jurisdiction
over presbyters is confessedly spurious (Mansi,
iii. 1008).
(4) This power of exercising discipline was
combined with the duty of instructing the in-
ferior clergy in the duties of their office. The
4th Council of Carthage enacts that the ostia-
rius before ordination is to be instructed by
the archdeacon. Gregory of Tours identifies the
archdeacon with the " praeceptor " (//. F. lib.
vi. c. 36), and speaks of himself as living at the
head of the community of deacons (Vit. Fair. c.
9). The house of this community appears to
have been called the " diaconium " (" lector in
diaconio Caeciliani" Optat. lib. i. c. 21), and is
probably referred to by Paulinus when he says
that he lived " sub cura " of the deacon Castus
(Paulin. Vit. Ambros. c. 42).
(5) As a corollary from these relations of an
archdeacon to the inferior clergy, it was his office
to enquire into their character before ordination,
and sometimes to take part in the ceremony
itself. Even in the East it is possible that he
had some kind of control over ordinations, for
Ibas is said to have been prevented by his arch-
deacon from ordaining an unworthy person as
bishop (ko}\v9(\s irapa tov rr^viKavra apx'^ia-
k6vov avTov Gone. Chale. act x., as quoted by
Labb, iv. 647, <?., but Mansi substitutes irpeo--
fivrepov vii. 224). In the African Church the
archdeacon was directed to take part in the
ordination of the subdeacons, acolytus, and
ostiarius (IV. Cone. Garthag.; Mansi, iii. 951).
Throughout the West his testimony to charac-
ter appears to have been required. At Rome
this was the case even at the ordination of pres-
byters ; but Jerome speaks of it as " unius urbis
consuetudinem " (S. Hieron. Ep. ci. al. lxxxv. ad.
Evang.). In later times the archdeacon enquired
into the literary as well as into the moral quali-
fications of candidates for ordination ; but there
is no distinct authority for supposing this to
have been the case during the first nine cen-
turies ; the earliest is that of Hincmar of Rheims,
in 874, who directed his archdeacon-presbyters
to enquire diligently into both the "vita et
scientia" of those whom they presented for ordi-
nation (Mansi, xv. 497). In one other point they
appear in some places to have conformed to later
practice, for Isidore of Pelusium (Ep. i. 29) re-
proves his archdeacon for making money from
ordination fees (airb Tijj.r\s x l P 0T0Vl &> v> )'
2. The second class of an archdeacon's func-
tions were those which grew out of his close
connection with the bishop. The closeness of
this connection is shown as early as the 4th
century by St. Jerome, who says of the " primus
ministeriorum," i.e. the archdeacon, that he
never leaves the bishop's side (" a pontificis
latere non recedit " Hieron. in Ezech. c. xlviii.).
This expression has, without any corroborative
evidence except the indefinite phrase of the
Apostolical Constitutions (quoted above), been in-
terpreted exclusively of his attendance upon the
bishop at the altar. It is probable that this is
included in the expression, but it is improbable
that nothing else is meant by it. The mass of
evidence goes to show that while the arch-pres-
byter was the bishop's assistant chiefly in spi-
ritual matters, the archdeacon was his assistant
chiefly in secular matters.
(1) He was attached to the bishop, probably
in the capacity of a modern chaplain or secre-
tary. He transacted the greater part of the
business of the diocese ; for example, St. Leo
speaks of the office as involving "dispensationem
tut ins causae et curaeocclesiasticae " (Ep. lxxxiv.
<d. 1 vii.). He conveyed the bishop's orders to the
138
AECHUEACON
ARCHIMANDRITE
clergy; for example, when John of Jerusalem
prohibited Epiphanius from preaching, he did
so "per archidiaconum" (S. Hieron. Ep. xxxviii.
al. Ixi.). He acted as the bishop's substitute at
synods ; for example, Photinus at the Council of
Chalcedon (Mansi, vi. 567). Compare the canon
of the Council of Trullo, in 692 (Mansi, xi. 943),
which forbids a deacon from having precedence
over a presbyter, except when acting as substi-
tute for a bishop, and the canon of the Council
of Merida, in 666 (Mansi, xi. 79), which expressly
disapproves of the practice. Ordinary deacons
were sometimes called the " bishop's eyes,"
whence Isidore of Pelusium, writing to his arch-
deacon, says that he ought to be " all eye "
(oKos 6(pda\fibs d(p(i\(is inrapxeiv Isid. Pel.
Ep. i. 29).
(2) In somewhat later times he was dele-
gated by the bishop to visit parishes, and to
exercise jurisdiction over all orders of the clergy.
There is no trace of this in the East. It grew
up in the West with the growth of large dio-
ceses, with the prevalence of the practice of ap-
pointing bishops for other than ecclesiastical
merits, and with the rise of the principle of the
immunity of ecclesiastical persons and things
from the jurisdiction of the secular power. But
it is difficult to determine the date at which
such delegations became common. The earliest
evidence upon which reliance can be placed is
that of the Council of Auxerre in 578, which
enacted that, in certain cases, a parish priest
who was detained by infirmity should send " ad
archidiaconum suum," implying a certain official
relation between them. More definite testimony
is afforded by the Council of Chalons in 650,
which expressly recognises his right of visiting
private chapels ("oratoria per villas potentum "
/. Cone. Cabill. can. 14 ; Mansi, x. 1 1 92). A simi-
lar enactment was made at the second Council
of Chalons, in 813, which, however, censures the
exacting of fees for visitations (" ne census exi-
gant" II. Cone. Cabill. c. 15). In later times
this " delegatio " became a " delegatio perpetua,"
not revocable at the pleasure of the bishop who
had conferred it ; but that such was not the case
during the first nine centuries is clear from the
letter of Hincmar to his archdeacons (quoted
above), and also from the fact that Isidore of
Seville, whose authority, or quasi-authority,
was so frequently quoted to confirm the later
pretensions of the archdeacons, only speaks of
their visiting parishes " cum jussione episcopi."
The rise of the separate jurisdiction of the
archdeacon is still more obscure. In the 6th
century we find him named as the bishop's as-
sessor in certain cases (I. Cone. Matisc. can. 8,
Mansi, ix. 933; II. Cone. Matisc. can. 12; Mansi, ix.
954) ; but there is no trustworthy evidence in
favour of the existence of an " archdeacon's
court " within the period of which the present
work takes cognizance.
(3) In the East, during the vacancy of a see,
the archdeacon appears to have been its guardian
or co-guardian. Chrysostom writes to Innocent
of Rome, complaining that Theophilus of Alex-
andria had written to his archdeacon "as though
the church were already widowed, and had no
bishop "(w<T7rep ijSri xvpovarrjs rrjs eKKAricrias Ka)
ovk exova-rjs iirliTKOTrov Mansi, iii. 1085) ; and in
the letter which the Council of Chalcedon wrote
to the clergy of Alexandria to inform them of the
deposition of their bishop Dioscorus, the arch-
ill sacon and the oeconomus are specially named.
In the West it is not clear that this was the case ;
but sometimes the archdeacon was regarded as
having a right of succession. Eulogius {ap. Phot.
Bibl. 182) says that it was a law at Rome for the
archdeacon to succeed ; but the instance which
he gives, that of Cornelius making his arch-
deacon a presbyter, to cut oft' his right of suc-
cession, is very questionable, the date being
earlier than the existence of the office. No
doubt, many archdeacons were chosen to succeed,
but the most striking instances which are some-
times quoted to confirm the statement of Eulogius,
those of St. Leo and St. Gregory, were probably
both exceptional.
(An amusing blunder identified the archdeacon,
who was sometimes called not only " oculus epis-
copi," but " cor e2)isco]yi," with the chorepiscopus
or suffragan bishop; the blunder, which has been
not unfrequeutly repeated, seems to be traceable
in the first instance to Joannes Abbas de trans-
latione reliquiarum S. Glodesindis, quoted in H.
Vales. Adnot. ad Tfieodoret, i. 26.) [E. H.]
ARCHELAUS, or ARCHILLAUS, com-
memorated Aug. 23 (Mart. Bom. Vet.). [C]
ARCHIMANDRITE (tyx t9,s /u.di>Spas,
praefectus coenobii), lit. ruler of " the fold "
the spiritual fold that is a favourite me-
taphor for designating monasteries in the East,
and very soon applied. As early as A.D. 376
we find St. Epiphanius commencing his work
against heresies in consequence of a letter ad-
dressed to him by Acacius and Paul, styling
themselves "presbyters and archimandrites,"
that is, fathers of the monasteries in the parts of
Carchedon and Beroea in Coele-Syria. Possibly
St. Epiphanius omits to style them " archiman-
drites " in his reply, because the term was not
yet in general use. a But at the time of the
Council of Ephesus the Emperors Theodosius and
Valentinian received a petition from "a deacon
and archimandrite," named Basil (Mansi, torn. iv.
p. 1101). At the Council of Constantinople, a.d.
448, under Flavian, 23 archimandrites affixed
their signatures to the condemnation of Eutvches,
himself an archimandrite. Sometimes the same
person was styled archimandrite and hegumen
indifferently ; but, in general, the archimandrite
presided over several monasteries, and the hegu-
men over but one. The latter was therefore sub-
ject to the former, as a bishop to a metropolitan
or archbishop. Again, there was an exarch, or
visitor of monasteries, by some thought to have
been inferior to the archimandrite, by some supe-
rior, and by some different only from him in
name. But if it is a fact that archimandrites
were admitted to their office by the patriarch
alone, though he, of course may have sometimes
admitted the others as well, it would seem to
suggest that they occupied the highest rank in
the monastic hierarchy, analogous to that of pa-
triarch amongst bishops. According to Goar
(Euchol. p. 240) archimandrites had the privilege
of ordaining readers, which the ordinary hegumen
had not ; but he has omitted to point out where
this privilege is conferred in the form of admis-
sion given by him further on (p. 492). King
(p. 367), in his history of the Greek Church, re-
a Both letters are prefixed fo bis work.
ARCHINIMUS
ARCOSOLIUM
13-
gards archimandrite as the equivalent for ahbot,
and hegumen for prior, in "the Western monas-
teries ; but he can only mean that the offices in
each case were analogous. Rarely, but occasion-
ally, bishops and archbishops themselves were
designated archimandrites in the West and East.
For fuller details, see Suicer, Thesaur. Eccl. s. v. ;
Du Fresne, Gloss. Graec. s. v., fxavSpa ; Habert's
Pontifical. Eccl. Graec. p. 570, et scq. [E. S. F.]
ARCHINIMUS, confessor, commemorated
March 29 (Mart. Bom. Vet.). [C]
ARCHIPARAPHONISTA ('Apx^apacpcc-
vktttis), a principal officer of the Roman
" Schola Cantorum," [Castor] called also
' Quartus Scholae." It belonged to his office to
name the chanters who were to sing the several
parts of the service in a Pontifical Mass (Ordo
Romanus, I. c. 7 ; III. c. 7) ; to go before the pope,
and place for him a prayer-desk before the altar
( 0. R. I. c. 8) ; and to bring to the sub-deacon
the water for use in the celebration of mass
(0. R. I. c. 14). [C]
ARCHIPPUS, the fellow-labourer of St. Paul
commemorated March 20 (Mart. Rom. Vet.) ; as
" Apostle," Feb. 19 (Cal. Byzant.). [C]
AROHISUBDIACONUS. This is a word
which occurs in the canons of the synod of Aux-
erre (Synod. Autissiodor. can. 6 ; Mansi, ix. 912),
but apparently not elsewhere. If the reading be
genuine, it would appear that in some dioceses
the subdeacons as well as the deacons had their
primate ; but it is probable that the reading
should be subarchidiaconum, which may have
been another name for the officer known to the
Greeks as 6 Sevrepevaif, and to some Western
dioceses as secundarius. [E. H.]
ARCH PRESBYTER. (a.p X pe<r&VTtpos,
Sozom. H. E. viii. 12 ; but the ordinary Greek
term was irpwToirpecrfivTepos, which is found ap-
plied to the same person in the corresponding
passage of Socrates, H. E. vi. 9 ; cf. also Phot.
Bill. 59, in the account of the irregular synod
against Chrysostom, and Mansi, vii. 252, from
which it appears that the word was found in
some versions of the acts of the Council of Chal-
cedon ; in later times = irpooroirdTras, Codin. Be
Off. Eccl. Const, c. i. ; archipresbyter, S. Hieron.
Ep. xcv. ad Rustic.)
The origin of the office is not clear ; after the
permanent establishment of the distinction be-
tween the episcopate and presbyterate it appears
that the senior presbyter had certain recognized
rights in virtue of his seniority ; but there is no
evidence of his having had a distinct name until
the close of the 4th century, when we find it, as
quoted above, in Socrates.
For some time the name, when given at all,
seems to have been given as a matter of course
to the presbyter who was senior in date of ordi-
nation. But the assertion of Gregory Nazianzen
(Orat. xliii. 39) that he refused tt\v twu irpea-
fSvripuiv TrpoTifx-natv, which Basil offered him,
and the phrase of Liberatus (Brev. c. xiv.) "qui
[see Diet, of Chr. Biogr. art. Dioscorus of
Alexandria] et eum [Diet, of Chr. Biogr. art.
PrOTERIUS] archipresbyterum fecerat " seem to
show that in some places in the East the bishop
had the power of making a special appointment.
Iu the West, however, this was regarded as a vio-
lation of the regular order, for St. Leo (Ep. v.
al. xvii.) finds great fault with Dorus of Bene-
ventum for giving precedence (he does not use
the word archpresbyter) to a newly ordain.J
presbyter over his seniors.
At first there appears to have been only one
archpresbyter in a diocese (cf. S. Hieron. Ep. xcv.
ad Rustic, " singuli ecclesiarum episcopi, singuli
archipresbyteri, singuli archidiaconi"). He took
rank next after the bishop, all of whose functions
he performed during the vacancy of a see, and
some of them, e.g. baptism, during the bishop's
temporary absence. It has been held that lie
had also a right of succession, but this is hardly
proved. With the increase in the population in
the large dioceses of the West and the growing
difficulty of subdividing them, on account of their
identification with civil divisions, began the sys-
tem of placing an archpresbyter (arch, ruralis)
in each of the larger towns, who stood in the
same relation to the clergy of the surrounding
district as 'the archpresbyter of the cathedral to
the rest of the clergy of the cathedral. The
first mention of these rural archpresbyters is in
Gregory of Tours (Mirac. i. 78, ii. 22). Their
duties may be gathered from various canons of
Gallican and Spanish councils. The Council of
Tours, in 567, enacted that subpresbyters were to
be liable to penance if they neglected to compel
the presbyters and other clergy of their re-
spective districts to live chastely (Mansi, ix. 797).
The Council of Auxerre, in 578, inflicted a similar
but heavier penalty on them if they neglected
to inform the bishop or the archdeacon (the first
instance of such a subordination of rank) of
clerical delinquencies ; and also enacted that
" saeculares " who neglected to submit to the
" institutionem et admoniticnem archipresbyteri
sui " were to be not only suspended from ecclesi-
astical privileges but also to be fined at the king's
discretion (Mansi, ix. 797). From Can. 19 of the
Council of Rheims, in 630, it would appear that
certain feudal rights of seigniority had begun to
attach to the archpresbyters, in consequence of
which the office was being held by laymen
(Mansi, x. 597). The Council of Chalons, in 650,
enacted that lay judges were not to visit monas-
teries or parishes, except on the invitation in the
one case of the abbot, in the other of the
archpresbyter (Mansi, x. 1191).
The name decanus, which was given to the
archpresbyter of the cathedral, and decanus ru-
ralis, which was given to the archpresbyter of a
country district, as also the struggle for pre-
cedence between the archpresbyters and the
archdeacons, in which the latter were ultimately
victorious, belong to a later period. [E. H.]
ARCHIVES. [Registers.]
ARCOSOLIUM. This word is derived by
Martigny (Diet, des Antiq. Chre't.) from "arcus,
an arch, and " solium," which according to him
is sometimes used in the sense of sarcophagus.
Some inscriptions, and particularly one now in
the cortile of the Palazzo Borghese (March i,
Mon. delle Arti Christ, primit. p. 85), which runs
thus, "Domus eternalis Aur. Celsi et Aur. Ilarl-
tatis compari mees [leg. comparavimus] fecimus
nobis et nostris et amicis arcosolio cum parieti-
culo suo in pacem," make mention of it, and it
has been supposed to denote those tombs hewn
in the living rock of the catacombs at Rome (and
elsewhere), iu which there is an arched opening
above the portion reserved for the deposition of
140
ARCOSOLIUM
ARCOSOLIUM
the body to be interred, the grave being dug
from above downwards into the reserved portion
below the arch.
There seems, however, some reason for doubt-
ing whether the attribution of the word is
correct, and whether we ought not rather to
understand by it the sepulchral chambers or cu-
bicula in which the great majority of th&se
tombs are found.
It is difficult to understand how one tomb of the
kind could contain more than about five bodies,
even if two were placed in the grave below, and
three in loculi cut in the wall under the arch ;
while the inscription quoted above would seem
to imply that a much larger number were to be
placed in the arcosolium made by Aurelius Cel-
sus ; but it may be that these persons were all men-
tioned in order that the right of interment of rela-
tions or friends might not be disputed if claimed.
It is not clear how or where the parieticulum
or partition could be placed. Martigny says
that the arcosolia were divided into several com-
partments by these walls, but does not explain
in what way. If the word mean merely the
tomb, parieticulum would probably mean the
wall included under the arch.
The word may really be derived from " area,"
a sarcophagus, and " solium," which among other
meanings has that of a piscina or reservoir in a
bath, and in mediaeval Latin of a chamber gene-
rally ; it may thus denote a vault containing
sarcophagi.
In the tombs of this kind the receptacle for the
corpse was sometimes covered by a slab of marble,
or sometimes a marble sarcophagus is inserted.
In a few cases the sarcophagus projects forward
into the chamber, and the sides of the arch are
continued to the ground beyond the sarcophagus.
Such slabs or sarcophagi have been supposed
to have served as altars during the period of per-
secution, as being the resting-places of saints or
martyrs, and in some instances this may have
been the case ; but the far greater number of these
tombs are no doubt of later date, and simply the
monuments used by the wealthier class. The
bishops and martyrs of the 3rd century were, as
may be seen in the cemetery of Callixtus (011 the
Via Appia near Rome), placed, not in these "ar-
cosolia" or "monumenta arcuata," but in simple
" loculi," excavations in the wall just large
enough to receive a body placed lengthwise (v.
De Rossi, Boma Sott. Crist, t. ii. tav. i. ii. iii.).
It seems hardly probable that, when such illus-
trious martyrs were interred iu so humble a
manner, more obscure sufferers should be more
highly honoured; this consideration seems to
afford ground for the supposition that, where a
saint or martyr of the first three centuries has
been placed in a decorated tomb, such a memorial
is to be attributed not to the period of the ori-
ginal interment, but to the piety of a later time.
In the 4th and 5th centuries the humble "locu-
lus" was altered into the decorated "monu-
mentum arcuatum," and the whole sepulchral
chamber in many cases richly adorned with in-
crustations of marble, with stucco, and with
paintings. An excellent example of this is afforded
by the chamber in the cemetery of Callixtus, in
which the remains of the Popes Eusebius (309-
311) and Miltiades (or Melchiades, 311-314)
were placed, a part of which is represented in
the annexed woodcut.
In the walls of this chamber are three large
"arcosolia," in front of one of which was a
marble slab, with an inscription by Pope Damasus
commemorating Pope Eusebius (v. De Rossi, t.
ii. tav. iii. iv. and viii.). The whole chamber
has been richly decorated with marble incrusta-
tions, paintings, and mosaics. These decorations
it would seem reasonable to assign to Pope Da-
masus, who undoubtedly set up the inscription.
Another inscription by Tope Damasus, found in
the crypt of St. Sixtus in the same cemetery, tes-
tifies the desire then felt to lie in death near the
remains of holy personages, and at the same
time the awe and respect felt for them in these
words
" Hie fateor volui Damasus mea condere membra
Sed cineres timui sanctos vexare piorum."
This pious awe gradually diminished, and loculi
are found excavated above, below, before, at the
side of the sepultures of confessors and martyrs;
Hence the formulae "ad sanctos," "ad martyres,"
" supra sanctos," "retro sanctos," "ante sanctos,"
often found in inscriptions iu the catacombs. A
good instance of this practice may be seen over
the tomb of Pope Eusebius, where a painting re-
presenting the Good Shepherd has been cut
through in order to form a loculus.
Arcosulium in the Cemetery of Callixtus.
Loculi so excavated within the arch of the " ar-
cosolia " are, however, too common to be always
accounted for in this manner, and in many in-
stances were no doubt intended for the children
or near relatives of those who lay below.
In the year 1859, in the cemetery of St. Cal-
lixtus, an unviolated "arcosolium" was disco-
vered : in this a marble sarcophagus was found,
in which lay a body swathed in numerous bands
of linen exactly in the manner shown in the early
representations of the raising of Lazarus.
These "arcosolia" were often decorated with
paintings, either on the front of the sarcophagus
or on the wall above it. Examples may be found
in Perret's work on the 'Catacombs,' vol. i.
pi. lvii.-lxx. One of the most remarkable in-
AREA
ARLES
141
stances is the tomb of St. Hermes in the cata-
combs near Rome called by his name.
Tiie tombs of this class are more usually found
in the " cubicula," or small chambers, than in
the galleries of the catacombs : in the former, two,
three, or more are often found. Martigny seeks
to draw a distinction between those found in the
" cubicula," which he thinks may often or gene-
rally be those of wealthy individuals made at
their own cost, and those in the so-called chapels
or larger excavations, which he thinks were con-
structed at the general charge of the Christian
community. In one such chapel in the cemetery
of St. Agnes near Rome there are eleven such
tombs. Rostell (Beschreibung von Rom, by Bunsen
and others, vol. i. p. 408) gives it as his opinion
that such chapels, specially connected with the
veneration of martyrs, do not usually date from
an earlier period than the 4th or 5th century.
The work of the Cav. de' Rossi on the catacombs
(Roma Crist. Solterranea) will no doubt when
completed throw great light on all these ques-
tions, which cannot be satisfactorily solved except
by that union of the most careful and minute in-
vestigation, and candid and impartial criticism,
which that learned archaeologist will bring to
bear upon them.
Examples of tombs of the same form may be
found in structures above ground at a much later
date : two such are in the walls of the entrance
to the baptistery at Albenga, between Nice and
Genoa, a building probably not later than the
7th century. One tomb is quite plain, the other
decorated with plaited ornaments in the style
prevalent circa 800. [A. N.J
AREA. I. A space within which monuments
stood, which was protected by the Roman law
from the acts of ownership to which other lands
were liable. Such areae are frequent by the
side of most of the great roads leading into Rome,
and letters on the monument describe how many
feet of frontage, and how many in depth, belong to
it. The formula is, IN-FR-P INAG'P. . . .
i.e., "In fronte pedes ": "In agro pedes ."
The size of these areae varied much ; some were
16 feet square, some 24 feet by 15 ; a square of
about 125 feet each way seems to have been
common; the example in Horace (Sat. i. 8, 12)
gives us 1000 feet by 300 ; and some appear to
have been even larger than this ; one of Gruter's
Tnscriptiones, for instance, (i. 2, p. cccxcix. 1),
runs, "Huic monumento cedunt agri puri jugera
decern." So large a space was required, not for the
mausoleum which was to be erected, but in some
cases for the reception of many tombs, in others
for the performance of sacra, which were often
numerously attended (Northcote and Brownlow's
Roma Sotterranea, pp. 47 f.).
On a monument or a boundary stone of the
area was engraved a formula indicating that this
plot was not to pass to the heirs of him who set
it apart for sepulture. This was generally
H-MTPN'S. i.e., "Hocmonumentum haeredes non
sequitur " (Orelli's Tnscriptiones, No. 4379). The
corresponding Greek form was, " rots KXt)povt>-
/uou uov ovk tiraKoAovdri<rei tovto to fivqfxiiov'
(Bockh's Corpus Inscriptionum, No. 3270).
In the Roman catacombs care has evidently
been taken lest the subterranean excavations
should transgress the limits of the area on the
surface (Northcote, u.s. 48).
This reverence of the Roman law for burial-
places enabled the early Christians, except in
times of persecution or popular tumult, to
preserve their sepulchres inviolate. The areas
about the tombs of martyrs were especially so
preserved, where meetings for worship were held,
and churches frequently built. Tertullian (Ad
Scapul. 3) tells us that when Hilarianus, a perse-
cutor, had issued an edict against the formation of
such areae, the result was that the areae (thresh-
ing-floors) of the heathen lacked corn the follow-
ing year. So the Acta Proconsularia of the trial
of Felix (in Barouius, ann. 314 24) speak of the
areae," where you Christians make prayers" (ubi
orationes facitis). These areae were frequently
named from some well-known person buried
there ; thus St. Cyprian is said to have been
buried "in area Candidi Procuratoris " (Acta
Mart. S. Cypriani in Ducange's Glossary s. v.). In
the Gesta Purgationis Caeciliani (Ibid.), certain
citizens are said to have been shut up " in area
martyrum," where, perhaps, a church is intended.
Compare Cemetery, Martyrium.
II. The court in front of a church [Atrium.]
(Bingham's Antiquities, viii. 3 5.) [C]
ARELATENSE CONCILIUM. [Arles.]
ARETHAS and companions, martyrs, com-
memorated Oct. 24 (Cat. Byzant.). [C]
commemorated Jan. 2
ARGEUS, martyr,
(Mart. Rom. Vet.).
ARICION, of Nicomedia,
June
[C]
commemorated
23 (Mart. Ilieron.). [C]
ARIMINENSE CONCILIUM. [Rimini.]
ARISTARCHUS, disciple of Apostles, com-
memorated Aug. 4 (Mart. Rom. Vet.); "Apostle,"
April 15 [14, Neale], (Cal. Byzant.). [C.j
ARLSTIDES, of Athens, commemorated Aug.
31 (Mart. Rom. Vet.). [C]
ARISTION, one of the Seventy Disciples of
Christ, commemorated Oct. 17 (Mart. Rom.
Vet). [C]
ARISTOBULUS, "Apostle," commemorated
Oct. 31 (Cal. Byzant.). [C]
ARISTON, and others, martyrs, comme-
morated July 2 (Mart. Rom. Vet.). [C]
ARISTONICUS, martyr, commemorated
April 19 (Mart. Rom. Vet.). [C]
ARISTONIPPUS, commemorated Sept. 3
(Mart. Hicron.). [C]
ARISTUS, commemorated Sept. 3 (Mart.
Bcdac). [C]
ARLES, COUNCILS OF (Arelatensia
Concilia). I. a. d. 314, summoned by the
Emperor Constantine to try afresh the cause
of the Donatists against Caecilian, Bishop of
Carthage, a cause " de Sancti Coelestisque
Numinis cultu et fide Catholica ;" because
tlic former complained that the judgment given
at Rome in 313 by the Pope and certain Gallic
bishops (whom Constantine had appointed to try
the case there), was an unfair one. The emperor
accordingly summoned other bishops, from Sicily,
Italy (not the Bishop of Rome, he having been
one of the former judges), the Gauls (which
include Britain), and Africa itself, to the number
of 200 according to St. Augustin, to come to
Aries by August 1 to retry the case. The sum-
142
ARLES
ARRHAE
mous to Chrestus of Syracuse (Mansi, li. 466,
467, from Euseb. x.) desires him to bring two
presbyters and three servants with him at the
public expense. And the letter of Constantine
to the Vicar ius Africae (ib. 463-465) claims it
as the emperor's duty to see that such conten-
tions are put an end to. The sentence of the
Council, adverse to the Donatists, is likewise
to be enforced by the civil power (Rescript.
Constant, post Synodum, ib. 477, 478). But Con-
stantine in the same letter expressly disclaims all
appeal to himself from the " judicium sacerdot um"
(ib. 478). The Synod also announces its judg-
ment and its canons to Pope Sylvester, in order
that " per te potissimum omnibus insinuari," re-
gretting also the absence of their " frater dilectis-
simus," who probably would have passed a
severer sentence. The canons .begin with one
enacting that the observance of Easter shall be
"unodie et tempore," the Bishop of Rome "juxta
consuetudinem " to make the day known. They
include also among other regulations a prohibi-
tion of the rebaptizing of heretics if they had
been baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity ;
an exhortation (" consilium ") to those whose
wives had been guilty of adultery, not to marry
another " viventibus uxoribus;" a requirement
to the consecration of a bishop of eight bishops,
if possible, but of three at the least ; and a con-
demnation of those "sacerdotes et Levitae," who
do not abstain from their wives. The Council
was purely a Western one, and of the emperor's
selection, although St. Augustine (Be Baft. cont.
Borutt., ii. 9, and elsewhere) calls it "universal."
Among the signatures to it, according to the
most authentic list, are the well-known ones of,
" Eborius Episcopus de civitate Eboracensi pro-
vincia Britannia ; Restitutus Episcopus de civi-
tate Londinensi provincia suprascripta ; Adelfius
Episcopus de civitate Colonia Londinensium " (i. e.
probably, Col. Legionensium i.e. Caerleon on Usk);
"exinde Sacerdos presbyter, Arminius diaconus "
(Mansi, ib. 476, 477). There were present, ac-
cording to this list, 33 bishops, 13 presbyters, 23
deacons, 2 readers, 7 exorcists, besides 2 presby-
ters and 2 deacons to represent Pope Sylvester.
II. A.D. 353, of the Gallic bishops, summoned
by the Emperor Constans to condemn the person
of St. Athanasius (but without discussing doc-
trine) under penalty of exile if they refused,
Paulinus, Bishop of Treves, being actually exiled
for refusing (Sulp. Sever., ii. ; Hilar., Libell. ad
Constant.; and Mansi, iii. 231, 232).
III. a.d. 452, called the second, which com-
piled and reissued 56 canons of other recent Gallic
Councils respecting discipline (Mansi, vii. 875).
Possibly there had been another in 451 (Id. ib.
87:i).
IV. a.d. 455, commonly called the third, pro-
vincial, determined the dispute between Bishop
Theodorus and Faustus abbat of Lerins, by de-
creeing that the right of ordination, and of
giving the chrism, &c, pertain to the bishop,
but the jurisdiction over laymen in the monas-
tery to the abbat (Mansi. vii. 907).
V. a.d. 46:;, provincial, convened by Leontius,
Archbishop of Aries, to oppose Mamertinus,
Archbishop of Vienne, who had encroached upon
the province of Aries (Mansi, vii. 951, from St.
Hilary's Epist.).
VI. a.d. -L75, provincial, under the same Leon-
tius, to condemn the error of "predestination."
The books of Faustus, Be Gratia Bei, &c, were
written to express the sense of the Council, and
the Augustinians condemned it as semi-Pelagian
(Mansi, vii. 1007).
VII. A.D. 524, commonly called the fourth,
provincial, among other canons on discipline, ap-
pointed 25 as the age for deacons' orders, and 30
for priests' (Mansi, viii. 625).
VIII. a.d. 554, commonly called the fifth, pro-
vincial, chiefly to reduce monasteries to obedience
to their bishop (Mansi, ix. 702).
IX. a.d. 813, under Charlemagne, enacted 26
canons respecting discipline, and among others,
that the Bishop " circumeat parochiam suam
semel in anno"(c. 17), and that "Comitesjudices,
seu reliquus populus, obedientes sint Episcopo, et
invicem consentiant ad justitias faeiendas " (c.
13 ; Mansi, xiv. 55). [A. W. H.]
ARMARIUS, in monastic establishments, the
precentor and keeper of the church books. Ar-
marius is continually used by Bernard (in Online
Cluniaccnsi, &c.) for Cantor and Magister Cere-
moniarum. a [J. H.]
ARMENIA, COUNCIL OF. A council
was held in Armenia, simultaneously with an-
other at Antioch, a.d. 435, condemning the
works of Theodorus of Mopsuestia, and Diodorus
of Tarsus, lately translated into the language
of Armenia and circulated there (Mansi, v.
1179). [E. S. F.]
ARMOGASTES, confessor, commemorated
March 29 (Mart. Mom. Vet.). [C]
ARMORICA. COUNCIL IN, a.d. 555, to
excommunicate Maclou, Bishop of Vannes, who
had renounced tonsure and celibacy on the death
of his brother Chanao, Count of Brittany (Greg.
Tur., Hist. iv. 4 ; Mansi, ix. 742). [A. W. H.]
ARNULPHUS, confessor, Aug. 16 (Mart.
Bcdae) ; July 18 (M. Bieron.).
ARONTIUS, commemorated Aug.
Bieron.).
ARRIANUS, martyr, commemorated Dec. 14
(Cal. Byzant.). [&]
ARRHAE, or ARRAE SPONSALITIAE,
also Arrhabo, Arrabo, earnest money on be-
trothal. The practice of giving earnest money
on betrothal, of which traces are to be found in
all parts of the world, has its root evidently in
the view, common yet to many savage races, of
marriage as the mere sale of a wife, to which
betrothal stands in the relation of contract to
delivery.
Among the Jews, as will be seen from Seidell's
treatise, Be Uxore llebraica (Book ii. cc. 1, 2,
3, 4), betrothal was strictly a contract of pur-
chase for money or money's worth (although
two other forms were also admitted) ; the coin
used being, however, the smallest that could be
had. The earnest was given either to the wife
herself, or to her parents. It could not be of
forbidden things or things consecrated to priestly
use, or things unlawfully owned, unless such as
might have been taken from the woman herself;
but a lawfully given earnest was sufficient to
constitute betrothal without words spoken. In
[C]
27 (Mart.
[C]
11 I'raecentur et Avmarius: Armani nonuMi ohtinuit, eo
quod in ejus manu solet esse ISibliotheca, quae tt in alio
nomine Armarium appellatur. JJucanoe.
ARRIIAti
ARRHAft
145
strict consistency with the view of marriage as a
purchase by the man, it was held that the giving
of earnest by the woman was void. And when,
at a later period, the use of the ring as a symbol
of the earnest crept into Jewish betrothals from
Gentile practice, so carefully was the old view
preserved that a previous formal inquiry had to
be made of two witnesses, whether the ring
offered was of equal value with a coin.
The first legal reference among the Romans
to the arrha on betrothal, and the only one in
the Digest, belongs to the 3rd century, i.e. to a
period when the Roman world was already to a
great extent permeated by foreign influences,
at this time chiefly Oriental. It occurs in a
passage from Paul us, who flourished under
Alexander Severus, 223-235 (Dig. 23. tit. 2.
s. 38). The jurist lays it down that a public
functionary in a province cannot marry a woman
from that province, but may become betrothed
to her ; and that if, after he has given up his
office, the woman refuses to marry him, she is
only bound to repay any earnest-money she has
received, a text which, it will be observed,
applies in strictness only to provincial function-
aries, and may thus merely indicate the ex-
istence of the practice among subject nations.
Certain it is that the chapter of the Digest on
betrothals (J)e Sponsalibus, 23. tit. 1) says not a
word of the arrha ; Ulpian in it expressly states
that " bare consent suffices to constitute be-
trothal," a legal position on which the stage
betrothals in Plautus supply an admirable com-
ment.
About eighty years later, however at a time
when the northern barbarians had already given
emperors to Rome the arrha appears in full
development. Julius Capitolinus who wrote
under Constantine in his life of Maximinus
the younger (killed 313), says that he had
been betrothed to Junia Fadella, who was
afterwards married to Toxotius, " but there
remained with her royal arrhae, which were
these, as Junius Cordus relates from the testi-
mony of those who are said to have examined
into these things, a necklace of nine pearls, a net
of eleven emeralds, a bracelet with a clasp of
four jacinths, besides golden and all regal vest-
ments, and other insignia of betrothal." 8 Am-
brose indeed (346-397) speaks only of the
symbolical ring in relating the story of St. Agnes,
whom he represents as replying to the Governor
of Rome, who wished to marry her to his son,
that she stands engaged to another lover, who
has ottered her far better adornments, and given
her for earnest the ring of his affiance (et
aunulo fidei suae subarrhavit me, Ep. 34). To
a contemporary of Ambrose, Pope Julius I. (336-
352) is ascribed a decree that if any shall have
espoused a wife or given her earnest (si quis
desponsaverit uxorem vel subarrhaverit) his
brother or other near kinsman may not marry
her (Labbe and Mansi, Condi, ii. 1260). About
a century later, the word arrha is used figura-
tively in reference to the Annunciation, considered
as a betrothal, by Peter Chrysologus, Archbishop
of Ravenna in 433, as quoted by Du Cange, in
verho.
In the days of Justinian, we see from the Code
a A few words <if tlie above passage have greatly exer-
cised commentators.
that the earnest-money was a regular element in
Byzantine betrothal. It was given to the in-
tended bride or those who acted for her, and
was to be repaid in the event of the death of
either party (Cod. 5. tit. 1. s. 3, Law of Gra-
tian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, a.D. 380),
or of breach of promise by the woman ; in
the latter case, indeed, the woman sui juris, or
the father, mother, grandfather or great-grand-
father of one under age having to pay an equal
additional sum by way of penalty ; though a
woman under age was only bound to simple re-
payment, as was also the case in the event of
any unlawful marriage, or of the occurrence
of some cause unknown at the time of betrothal
which might dispense the woman from fulfilling
her promise. The fourfold penalty of the earlier
law was still, by the one now quoted, made
exigible by special contract (Ibid. 5, Law of Leo
and Anthemius, A.D. 469). Simple restitution
was sufficient in case, after betrothal, either party
chose to embrace a religious life (1. tit. 3. s.
56 ; Nov. 123, c. xxxix.) ; or in case of diversity
of religious faith between the betrothed, if dis-
covered or occurring after betrothal, but not
otherwise (Code, 1. tit. 4. s. 16, law of Leo and
Anthemius, A.D. 469).
It is difficult not to seek for the reason of thin
development of the arrha within the Roman or
Byzantine world of the 6th century in some
foreign influence. Accordingly, if we turn to
the barbarian races which overran the empire
from the end of the 4th century, we find almost
everywhere the prevalence of that idea of wife-
buying, which is the foundation of the betrothal
earnest ; see for instance in Canciani, Leges Bar-
barorum Antiquae, vol. ii. 85, the (reputed) older
text of the Salic law, tit. 47, as to the purchase of
a widow for three solidi and a denarius, vol. iii.
17, 18, 22 ; the Burgundian Law, titles xii. 1
and 3, xiv. 3, and xxxiv. 2 ; vol. v. 49, 50 ;
the Saxon Law, titles vi. 1, 2, 3, xii. xviii. 1, 2,
&c, or (in the volume of the llecord Commission)
our own Laws of Ethelbcrt, 77, 83; Ine, 31.
And in the regions overspread by the Prankish
tribes in particular, the arrha, as a money
payment, is visible as a legal element in be-
trothal. Gregory of Tours (544595) repeatedly
refers to it (i. 42 ; iv. 47 ; x. 16).
In the earlier writers there is nothing to
connect the betrothal earnest with a religious
ceremony. Nor need we be surprised at this,
when we recollect that, in the early ages of
Christianity, marriage itself was held by the
Roman world as a purely civil contract ; so that
Tertullian, enumerating those ceremonies of
heathen society which a Christian might inno-
cently attend, writes that " neither the virile
robe, nor the ring, nor the marriage-bond (neque
annulus, aut conjunctio maritalis) rlows from
any honour done to an idol " (De idolol., c. 16).
And indeed the opinion has been strongly held,
as August] points out, whilst disclaiming it, that
church betrothals did not obtain before the 9th
century. The earliest mention of a priestly
benediction upon the sponsi appears to occur in
the 10th cation of the Synod of Reggio, A.D. 850
(see l.alibti and Mansi, Concil. xiv. p. 934); and
it is not impossible that that confusion between
the sjionsus and maritus, the sponsa and uxor,
was then already creeping into middle age Latin,
which has absolutely prevailed in French, where
144
AEEHAE
fyoux, spouse, are synonymous with man and
femme in the sense of uxor. In a contemporary
document, the reply of Pope Nicolas I. (858-
867) to the consultation of the Bulgarians, the
question whether betrothal was a civil or reli-
gious ceremony remains undecided ; but as he
professes to exhibit to them " a custom which
the holy Roman Church has received of old, and
still holds in such unions," his testimony, though
half a century later than the death of Charle-
magne, deserves to be here recorded, bearing wit-
ness as it does expressly to the betrothal earnest.
" After betrothal," he says, " which is the
promised bond of future marriage, and which
is celebrated by the consent of those who enter
into this, and of those in whose authority they
are, and after the betrother hath betrothed to
himself the betrothed with earnest by marking
her finger with the ring of affiance, and the be-
trother hath handed over to her a dower satisfac-
tory to both, with a writing containing such con-
tract, before persons invited by both parties,
either at once or at a fitting time (to wit, in
order that nothing of the kind be done before the
time prescribed by law) both proceed to enter
into the marriage bond. And first, indeed, they
are placed in the Church of the Lord with the
oblations which they ought to offer to God by the
hand of the priest, and thus finally they receive
the benediction and the heavenly garment."
It will be seen from the above passage that
whilst Pope Nicolas recognises distinctly the
practice of betrothal by arrha, symbolized
through the ring, yet the only benediction
which he expressly mentions is the nuptial, not
the sponsal one.
It has been doubted in like manner whether
church betrothals were practised at this period
in the Greek Church, and whether the form of
betrothal in the Greek Euchologium is not of
bite insertion. That at the date of the last quoted
authority, or say in the middle of the 9th cen-
tury, the Greek ceremonies appertaining to mar-
riage differed already from the Roman appears
from the text of Pope Nicolas himself; his very
object being to set forth the custom of the Roman
Church in contrast to that of the Greek (consue-
tudinem quam Graecos in nuptialibus contuberniis
habere dicitis). Now the striking fact in refer-
ence to the form of the Euchologium is that in it
the earnest or appafiuv is not a mere element in
betrothal, but, as with the Jews, actually consti-
tutes it a practice so characteristic that it can
hardly be supposed to flow otherwise than from
ancient usage. Here, in fact, the words appafiwv,
appafiwui^eadai, can only be translated " be-
trothal," " betrothing." The formula, repeated
alternately by the man and the woman, runs :
" So and so, the servant of God, betroths to him-
self (a.ppa.fSwv'iTai) this handmaid of God in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost, now and ever, and world without
end. Amen." The prayer is in like manner :
" Look upon this Thy servant and this thine
handmaid, and confirm their betrothal ((Tr-qpl^ov
tov ap'pa^wva avTwv) in faith and concord, and
truth, and love. For thou, Lord, didst show us
to give the earnest and thereby to confirm all
things." And the heading which may indeed
well be more modern is " service for betrothal,
otherwise of the earnest."
The most therefore that can be concluded on
AESENIUS
this still doubtful subject seems to be this
1st. That the earnest-money on betrothal, sym-
bolizing as it clearly does the barbarous custom
of wife-buying, must essentially have been every-
where in the first instance a civil, not a religious
act. 2. That the practice was unknown to an-
cient Greek and Roman civilization, and was
especially foreign to the spirit of the older
Roman law. 3. That it was nevertheless firmly
rooted in Jewish custom, and may not impro-
bably have passed from thence into the ritual
of the Eastern Church, where, as with the Jews,
the giving of earnest constitutes the betrothal.
4. That it was very generally prevalent among
the barbarian tribes which overran the Roman
empire, and seems from them to have passed into
its customs and its laws, making its appearance
in the course of the 3rd century, and becoming
prominent by the 6th century in Justinian's
Code, at the same time when we also find its
prevalence most distinctly marked in Gaul, and
as a Frankish usage. 5. That no distinct trace
of it in the ceremonies of the Church can how-
ever be pointed out till the later middle age,
although it may very likely have prevailed in
the Eastern Church from a much earlier period.
It follows, however, from what has been said
above that whatever may have lingered in later
times of the betrothal arrha must be ascribed
to very ancient usage ; as in the formula quoted
by Selden from the Parochial of Ernest, Arch-
bishop of Cologne and Bishop of Liege, which
includes the use, not only of the ring, but also,
if possible, of red purses with three pieces ot
silver, "loco arrhae sponso dandae." Our own
Sarum ordinal says in reference to betrothal :
" men call arrae the rings or money or other
things to be given to the betrothed by the be-
trother, which gift is called su'iarratio, particu-
larly however when it is made by gift of a ring."
And the two forms of Sarum and York respec-
tively run as follows : (Sarum) "With this ring
I thee wed, and this gold and silver I thee give ;"
(York) " With this ring I wed thee, and with
this gold and silver I honour thee, and with
this gift I honour thee." The latter formula
indeed recalls a direction given in one of the two
oldest rituals relating to marriage given by Mar-
tene, Be Antiquis Ecclesiae Bitihus, vol. ii. p. 127
(extracted from a Rennes missal, to which lie
ascribes about 700 years of antiquity, or say, of
the 11th century), entitled, " Ordo ad sponsum
et sponsam beuedicendam," which says that
" after the blessing of the ring in the name of
the Holy Trinity .... the betrother shall hon-
our her (the betrothed) with gold or silver ac-
cording to his means " (honorare auro vel argento
prout poterit sponsus).
As respects the use of the ring in betrothal,
see further under Ring, and also Betrothal.
(August!, Denkwurdigkeiten, vol. ix. 295, and
foil, may be consulted, but is far from satis-
factory. Bingham, Antiquities, book xxii. ch.
iii., confounds together everything that can be
confounded. Selden, Uxor Hebraica, book ii.,
remains by far the best single source of re-
ference.) [J. M. L.]
AESENIUS. (1) 6 piyas, May 8 (Cal. By-
zant.y.
(2) Confessor, July 19 (Mart. Bedac).
(3) Martyr, commemorated Dec. 14 (Mart.
Bom. Vet). [C]
AKTEMIUS
ASCENSION DAY
145
ARTEMIUS. (1) Husband of Candida,
martyr, at Rome, commemorated June 6 (Mart.
Horn. Vet.).
(2) Meya\op.dpTvp of Antioch, Oct. 20 (Cal.
Byzant.). [O]
ARTEMON, commemorated Oct. 24 (Cal.
A nnen.). [C.]
ARVERNENSE CONCILIUM. [Cler-
mont, Council of.]
ASCENSION DAY: (Asccnsio and Ascensa
Domini; dies festus Ascensiorus : toprri ttjs
ava\r)tpQis ; t] avaKri^is and T]/xepa aj/aA7Jif<(,uos).
This festival, assigned, in virtue of Acts i. 3, to the
fortieth day after Easter-day, is not one of those
which from the earliest times were generally ob-
served. No mention of it occurs before the 4th
century, unless an earlier date can be made good
for the " Apostolic Constitutions," or for the pas-
sages in which mention is made of this festival
Lib. v. 19 : " From the first day (Easter-day) num-
ber ye forty days to the fifth day (Thursday), and
celebrate the Feast of the avd\r)\pis rod Kvpiov,
KaQ' $;>/ TrXripuaas iraaav olKovo/j-iav kcl\ Sidra^iv
di/7)A0e, k. t. A.." : viii. 33, " On what days serv-
ants are to rest from work : r\\v dvaKr^w apyei-
Toiffav 5ia to irepas ttjs Kara. Xpicrrbv oIkovo-
fxias." Origen (c. Cels. viii. 362), names as holy-
days generally observed, besides the Lord's Day,
only Parasceue (Good Friday), Pascha (Easter-
day), and Pentecost. No others than these are
mentioned by Tertullian. Of sermons preached
on this festival, the oldest seems to be one extant
only in a Latin version, ap. Sirmondi Opp. Varia,
t. i. p. 39, which he and Valesius, on insufficient
grounds, assign to Eusebius the Church historian;
Cave, and later writers, to Eusebius of Emesa.
Its title is de Resurrections et Ascensione Domini,
and the preacher dwells chiefly on the Resurrec-
tion ; but the opening words show that it was
preached on Ascension Day : " Laetantur quidem
coeli de festivitate praesenti, in qua Dominum
suscepere victorem." Next, perhaps, in point of
antiquity, is one by Epiphanius (t. ii. 285, ed.
Petav.). In the opening, he complains that the
greatness of this festival is not duly appreciated,
though it is, to the others, what the head is to the
body, the crown and completion. First, he says,
is the Feast of Incarnation ; second, the Theopha-
nia ; third, the Passion and Resurrection. " But
even this festival brought not the fulness of joy,
because it still left the risen Lord fettered to this
earth. The Pentecost, also, on which the Holy
Ghost was communicated, contains a great, un-
speakable joy. But to-day, the day of the
Ascension, all is filled with joy supreme. Christ,
opening highest heavens, &c." It is, of course,
only with a rhetorical purpose that Pentecost is
here named before Ascension. There were in-
deed heretics, Valentinians and Ophites (Iron.
i. 1, 5, and 34 ad fin.), and other Gnostics (repre-
sented by the Aseensio Esaiae, Aethiop.), who
assigned a period of eighteen months to our
Lord's sojourn on earth after the Resurrection;
and besides, there are traces of a belief among
the orthodox that the bodily presence of the
risen Lord with his disciples, from time to time,
was continued during three years and six
months (Eus. Dem. Ev. viii. 400 B. ; Browne's
Ordo Saeclorum, p. 82 f.); but certainly the day on
which the Ascension was celebrated was, in all
the churches, the fortieth after Easter-day. Of
CHRIST. ANT.
about the same time, is a sermon by St. Gregory
of Nyssa, remarkable for its title : Els tt\v
Xsyofxivnv t<2 irnxocpta) -rSiv KairiraSoKoov eflei,
''E.-KKToi^ofXfvqv, rjTis i<TTiv 7] avaArji^is tov K.
71/j.wv 'I. X. Bingham, Augusti, Rheinwald, Alt,
and others, explain this as eopTrj ttjs iiricrw^o-
fxiv7]S (pvceais avOpooirivrji (or iirl aoo^oixevy (pvoti
avQpunrivri), with reference to the crowning work
of redemption in the glorification of the Manhood.
The name, marked by Gregory as local to Cap-
padocia, is not retained in the Greek calendar,
but it occurs in the title of St. Chrysostom's
19th sermon on the Statues (ad pop. Antioch., t.
ii. 188 Ben.), rfj Kvpiaicrj ttjs 'ZTriacu(ofM4u7]S, al.
Sco^o/ie'fTjs. Leo Allatius (de Domm. et Hebdoni.
Graecorum, 28), who evidently knows the
designation only from these two places, says that
the Sunday is the fifth after Easter, the Sunday
of Ascension week. Tillemont (see the Bene-
dictine Praefat. t. ii. p. xi. sqq.) infers from the
place of this sermon in the series between S. 18,
preached after mid-Lent, and S. 20, preached
at the end of the Quadragesima, that it was
delivered on Passion Sunday, 5 Lent. But
Chrysostom's own recital in the first sermon de
Anna (t. iv. 701 A.) clearly shows that the 19th
sermon is later by " many days " than the
21st, preached on Easter-day : see the Bene-
dictine Monitum, prefixed to the sermons on
Anna, and also (for Montfaucon's final conclusion)
Vit. Chrysost. t. xiii. 128 sqq. ed. Par. Ben. 2.
Hence it appears that the Sunday 'ETncrajfo-
/j.4v7]s cannot be, as Savile (t. viii. 809) supposes,
the octave of Easter, dominica in albis, and it
seems most probable that Leo Allatius is right in
making it the Sunday of Ascension week. In
this case, the term 'ETricrcofoiteVrj belongs to the
Feast of Ascension. Baumgarten (Erldut. des
Cliristl. Alterthums, p. 299 ap. Augusti) takes
it to mean any day specially retained for solemn
celebration over and above the great festivals ;
in this sense, or rather, perhaps, in that of "a
holiday gained or secured in addition," it will be
suitable to the Feast of Ascension as one of receut
introduction, regarded as a welcome boon espe-
cially to servants and labourers. On the Feast
itself, Chrysostom has one sermon (t. ii. 447), of
uncertain date. The celebration was held e|co rrjs
7ro'Aecos : this, which was the established rule for
Good Friday (Serin, de Coemet. et de Cruce, t. ii.
397), was here done on a special occasion, in
honour of the martyrs whose remains the bishop
Flavian had rescued from impure contact, and
translated to the martyrium called Romanesia
outside the walls. It does not follow that an
extramural celebration or procession was the
established practice at Antioch on Ascension-day,
as some writers have inferred from this passage.
In the sermon de b. Philogonio, preached
20th Dec. 386, St. Chrysostom (t. i., 497 O),
extolling the dignity of the approaching Feast of
Nativity (then of recent introduction), says:
" From this the Theophania and the sacred
Pascha, and the Ascension, and the Pentecost
have their origin. For had not Christ been born
after the flesh, He had not been baptised, which
is the Theophania; not crucified, which is the
Pascha; had not sent the Spirit, which is the
Pentecost." Here the words Kal r\ dvdXrf^^ are
clearly an interpolation. The three ancient,
festivals, he would say, are Theophania. l'as-
cha, Pentecost: they require Nativity as their
L
146
ASCENSION DAY
ASCENSION DAY
ground. So in Serm. 1 de Pentecoste (t. i. 458)
also of anknown date he enumerates as the
three leading festivals, Epiphany, Pascha, Pen-
tecost, with no mention of Nativity or of
Ascension, although p. 461 he refers to the As-
cension as an event : " for, ten days since, our
nature ascended to the royal throne," &c. But
iu another, the second do Pentecoste (ib. 469), he
savs : " Not long since we celebrated the Cross
and Passion, the Resurrection, after this, the
Ascension into heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ."
On the whole, it would seem that, so far as
our sources of information go, the institution of
this festival, in the East, dates at earliest from
the middle of the 4th century.
Nor do we find it earlier in the Western
Church : there is no mention of it in Tertullian,
SS. Cyprian, Ambrose, Hilary, or in the canons
of the early councils. In St. Augustine's time,
indeed, the usage was so well-established that he
speaks of it as universal, therefore of Apostolic
institution. In the Epistle to Januarius, liv. [al.
cxviii.] (t. ii. 123, sqq. Ben.), he ranks it with
Pascha and Pentecost. "Ilia autem quae non
scripta sed tradita custodimus, quae quidem toto
terrarum orbe servantur, datur intelligi vel ab
ipsis Apostolis vel plenariis conciliis. . . com-
mendata atque statuta retineri, sicuti quod
Domini passio et resurrectio et ascensio in caelum,
et adventus de caelo Sp. sancti, anniversaria
solemnitate celebrantur," &c. (He does not
name the Nativity, this was well understood to
be of recent institution.) Beverege, Cod. Can.
Vindic. c. ix. puts the argument thus : " What-
ever is universal in the Church must be either
Apostolic or ordained by general councils ; but
no general council did ordain these festivals,
therefore they come to us from the Apostles
themselves." On the authority of this passage
of St. Augustine, liturgical writers, Martene and
others, have not hesitated to conclude that the
Feast of Ascension is as old as Pascha and Pente-
cost. In the silence of the first three centuries.
we can, at most, accept the passage as testimony
to matter of fact, that at the end of the 4th
century Ascension-day was generally kept ; as in
the second of his five Ascension-sermons (261-
265, t. v. 1065 sqq. Ben.), St. Augustine says, 3,
" Ecce celebratur hodiernus dies toto orbe ter-
rarum." From this time, certainly, the observ-
ance of the day was general in East and West.
But it does not appear to have ranked with the
highest festivals, which were Nativity, Easter,
and Pentecost (Concil. Agathense, a. 506. can. 63,
and Aurelianense 1, a. 511, can. 25). As a feast
of r jcondary order, it ranked, in the Latiu Church
wirh Epiphany and St. John Baptist's-day (comp.
Concil. Agath. can. 21). In the Eastern Church
it was celebrated with solemn extra-mural pro-
cessions possibly as early as St. Chrysostom's
time at Antioch, though, as before observed,
this is not necessarily implied in the passage
cited ; in Jerusalem, to the Mount Olivet, on
which the Empress Helena had erected a church.
Bede says that the celebration there was almost
as solemn as that of Easter ; it began at mid-
night, and with the multitude of tapers and
torches the mountain and the subjacent land-
scape were all ablaze {de loc. s<icr. c. 7). Else-
where, the procession was to the nearest hill or
rising ground, from which at the same time a
benediction was pronounced on the fields and
fruits of the earth. In the Western Church this
procession and benediction were transferred to
the Rogation-days; and when Gregory of Tours,
ob. 595 (Hist. Franc, v. 11), speaks of the
solemn processions with which Ascension-day
was everywhere celebrated, perhaps he means
only- processions into the churches. Martene
describes one such as held at Vienne, in France!
The archbishop, with deacon and snbde'acon,
headed it : on their return to the church, they are
received by all standing in the nave; two canons
advance towards the cantors: Cant. Quern quae-
ritis ? Canon. Jesum qui resurrexit. Cant.
Jam ascendit, sicut dixit. Canon. Alleluia.
Then all proceed into the choir, and mass is cele-
brated. There was also, on this day, in some
churches (in others reserved for Pentecost) a
service of benediction over loaves provided for
the poor, and also over the new fruits of the
earth.
The vigil of Ascension was kept by some as a
fist, as an exception to the ancient rule, rigidly
maintained by the Greeks, and long contended
for by many of the Latins. "Hoc [paschal i]
tempore nullius festi vigiliam jejunare vel
observare jubemur, nisi Ascensionis et Pente-
costes." (Micrologus, de Eccl. Observed, c. 55.)
Isidore of Seville (610) (de Eccles. Off. c. 37)
acknowledges no fast whatever between Easter
and Ascension-day: he holds that all fifty days
to Pentecost are days of rejoicing only ; but some,
he says, on the ground of our Lord's words, St.
Matt. ix. 15, "Can the children of the bride-
chamber mourn," &c, kept fast on the eight
days from Ascension to Pentecost. The extended
fast of three days before Ascension, which
Amalarius (de Eccl. Off. iv. 37) calls triduanuni
vigiliae Ascens. jeju'nium (apologising, as do other
early liturgical writers, for that institution as
an innovation upon the known ancient rule of
East and West) came but slowly into general
observance in the Western Church. Especially
was this the case in Spain. " Hispani, propter
hoc quod scriptum est," savs Walafrid Strabo
(823) (de rebus Eccl. c. 28), " ' Non possunt filii
sponsi lugere quamdiu cum illis est sponsus,' infra
quinquagesimam Paschae recusantes jejunare,
litanias suas post Pentecosten posuerunt, quinta,
sexta et septima feriis ejusdem hebdomadis ens
facientes." Accordingly, in the Spanish collection
of the Canons, the wording of those relating to the
Rogation fast is altered. In Cone. Aurelian. i. can.
27, the title, " De Litaniis ante asc. Domini cele-
brandis," is made, " Ut Litaniae post Dom. asc.
celebrentur ;" and in the body of the Canon,
for " Rogationes, i.e.. Litanias ante asc. Dom. ab
omnibus ecclesiis placuit celebrari ita ut prae-
missum triduanum jejunium in Dom. ascensionis
festivitate sol vat ur," the Spanish codex has,
" Rog., i.e., lit. post Asc. Dom. placuit celebrari,
ita ut praem. trid. jej. post Dom. asc. solemni-
tatem solvatur ;" and the next canon which
pronounces censure " de clericis qui ad litanias
venire contempserint," is made to affect only
clerics who refuse to come ad officium, ad opus
sacrum generally.
The Mosarabic Order does not even recognise
a vigil of Ascension, though it has one for
Pentecost.
There was no octave of Ascension ; the fol-
lowing Sunday is simply Dominica post Ascetf
sioncm.
ASCENSION DAY
ASCETICISM
147
(Binterim, Die vorzilqlichsien Denhc. der Christ-
Kathol. Kirche, B. v. Th. i. 253-256. Augusti,
Denkm, der Christ/. Archdolocjie, B. ii. 351 sqq.
Rheinwald, Die Kirchliche Archiiologie, 204 sq.
Horn, Ueher das Alter des Himmelfahrtsfestes, in
Liturg. Journal, v. J. H. Wagnitz, 1806.) [H. B.]
ASCETICISM. The difficulty of tracing the
history of asceticism in the early ages of Christi-
anity arises in part from scantiness of materials,
but chiefly from the circumstance that this and
the cognate terms have been used in two senses,
one genera], one more specific. These two signi-
fications, and this enhances the difficulty, cannot
be strictly assigned to different periods, being
not infrequently synchronous ; nor is it always
easy to distinguish one from the other merely by
the context. The neglect of this important dis-
tinction and the vehemence of partisanship have
complicated the controversy on the origin and
growth of asceticism ; some writers contending
that Ascetics as an order are coeval with
Christianity, some denying their existence alto-
gether till the 4th century. Neither statement
can be accepted without stime qualification. The
following attempt at an historical sketch of
asceticism among Christians, in its earlier phases,
is based on a collation of the principal passages
in early Christian writers bearing on the subject.
The principle of asceticism, and this is allowed
on all sides, was in force before Christianity.
The Essenes, for instance, among the Jews, owed
their existence as a sect to this principle. It was
dominant in the oriental systems of antagonism
between mind and matter. It asserted itself
even among the more sensuous philosophers of
Greece with their larger sympathy for the plea-
surable development of man's physical energies.
But the fuller and more systematic development
of the ascetic life among Christians is contem-
poraneous with Christianity coming into con-
tact with the Alexandrine school of thought,
and exhibits itself first in a country subject
to the combined influences of Judaism and of
the Platonic philosophy. Indeed, the great and
fundamental principle on which asceticism, in its
narrower meaning rests, of a two-fold morality,
one expressed in " Precepts " of universal obliga-
tion for the multitude, and one expressed in
" Counsels of Perfection " intended only for those
more advanced in holiness, with its doctrine that
the passions are to be extirpated rather than
controlled (Orig. Ep. ad Bom. Lib. iii. ; Tertull.
de Pallio, 7, 8 ; Clem. Alex. Strom, iv. 529, vi.
775) is very closely akin to the Platonic or Py-
thagorean distinction between the life according
to nature and the life above nature, as well as to
their doctrine of the supremacy of the contem-
plative above the practical life, and is more
naturally deducible from this source than from
any other (Porphyr. de Abstinent. ; Eus. If. E.
ii. 17). In fact the ascetics of the 3rd and 4th
Centuries loved the designation of philosophers
(Rosw. Vitae Patr. pass.; rf. Greg. Nyss. Orat.
C'atech. 18 ; Soz. H. E. i. 13). At the same time
it must be noted that the Church uttered its
protests from time to time against the idea of
there being anything essentially unholy in matter,
and its cautions against excessive abstinence.
Thus Origen insists that the Christian reason for
abstinence is not that of Pythagoras (c. Celsum
v. 264); and the so called " Apostolic Canons "
(51, 53) while approving asceticism as a useful
discipline condemn the abhorrence of things in
themselves innocent as if they involved any
contamination (ef. Eus. JT. E. v. 3).
During the 1st century and a half of Chris-
tianity there are no indications of ascetics as a
distinct class. While the first fervour of conver-
sions lasted, and while the Church, as a small and
compact community, was struggling for existence
against opposing forces on every side, the pro-
fession of Christianity was itself a profession of
the ascetic spirit; in other words, of endurance,
of hardihood, of constant self-denial (cf. Acts ii.
44; iv. 34, 35). Thus, even at a rather later
date, Clemens of Alexandria represents Chris-
tianity as an &.(TKr)<ris (Strom, iv. 22 ; cf. Minuc.
Fel. Oct. cc. 12, 31, 36). Similarly the term is
applied to any conspicuous example of fortitude
or patience. Eusebius so designates certain
martyrs in Palestine (de Mart. Pal. 10), a region
into which monks, strictly so called, were not
introduced till the middle of the 4th century
(Hieron. Vit. Hilar. 14), and Clemens of Alex-
andria, calls the patriarch Jacob an <xo-k-7jt-//s
(Paedagog. i. 7). This more vague and more
general use of the word appears again and again
even after the formal institution of monachism.
Athanasius, or whoever is the author, speaking
of the sufferings of the martyr Lucian, in prison,
calls him " a great ascetic " (Synops. Scr. Sacr.).
Cyril, of Jerusalem, calls those who, like Anna
the prophetess, are frequent and earnest in
prayer "ascetics" (Catech. i. 19). Jerome ap-
plies the word to Picrius for his self-chosen
poverty, and to Serapion, Bishop of Antioch
(Scr. Ecc. 76. 41); and Epiphanius to Maroion
because, prior to his lapse into heresy, h# had ab-
stained, though without any vow, from marriage
(Haer. xlii,). Cyril of Alexandria uses &<r/c7)<xis
as equivalent to self-denial (in Joan. xiii. 35) in
the same way as Chrysostom speaks of virtue as
a discipline (Horn, in Inscr. Act. Apostol. ii. /3).
So far there is nothing to prove the existence of
an ascetic class or order bound by rules not
common to all Christians.
For about a century subsequent to 150 a.t>.
there begin to be traces of an asceticism more
sharply defined and occupying a more distinct
position ; but not as yet requiring its votaries to
separate themselves entirely from the rest of their
community. Athenagoras speaks of persons
habitually abstaining from matrimony (Apol.pro
Chr. xxviii. 129 ; cf. Irenaeus ap. Eus. //. E. v.
241 ; cf. Dionys. Alexandr.). Eusebius mentions
devout persons, ascetics, but not an order, who
ministered to the poor (de Mart. Pal. cc. 10, 11),
and calls Narcissus, Bishop of Jerusalem, an
"ascetic" (//. E. vi. 9). Tertullian uses the
term "exercitati " or disciplined, (de Pueer. 14),
but, apparently in reference to students of Holy
Scripture. Clemens of Alexandria styles the
ascetics K\e ktwv iKKtKToripoi " more elect than
the elect" (Horn. " Quis Dives?" 36; cf. Strom;.
viii. 15) ; and Epiphanius in a later century
speaks of monks as ol n-jrovdcuoi or "the earn-
est" (Expos. Fid. 22; cf. Eus. II. E. vi. 11),
just as the word "religious" came in the mid-
dle ages to be restricted to those who devoted
themselves to a life of more than ordinary st rict-
ness. This increasing reverence for austerities
as such is seen in most of the sects, which were
prominent in the 2nd century; only with the
exaggeration which usually characterises move-
L 2
148
ASCETICISM
ASCETICISM
ments of the kind. The Montariists prescribed
a rigorous asceticism, not for their more zealous
disciples only, but for all indiscriminately. The
Syrian Gnostics, the followers of Saturninus and
Basilides, the Encratitae, the disciples of Cerdo
and Marcion in Asia Minor and Italy, all car-
ried the notion of there being an inherent pollu-
tion in the material world, and of it being the
positive duty of Christians to shun all contact
with it, to an extent which left even the Church
doctrine of asceticism far behind (Iren. adv. JBaer.
i. 24 ; Epiphan. liner. 23). How far their prac-
tice corresponded with theory is doubtful. The
proueness of human nature to a reaction into
excessive laxity after excessive austerities hardly
admits of exception, and gives probability to the
allegations made by the orthodox writers of
flagrant licentiousness in some cases.
The middle of the 3rd century marks an era in
the development of Christian asceticism. Antony,
Paul, Ammon, and other Egyptian Christians not
content, as the ascetics before them, to lead a life
of extraordinary strictness and severity in towns
and villages, aspired to a more thorough estrange-
ment of themselves from all earthly ties ; and
by their teaching and example led very many
to the wilderness, there to live and die in almost
utter seclusion from their fellows. The Great
Decian persecution was probably the imme-
diate occasion of this exodus from the cities
into the desert ; not only by driving many to
take refuge in the desert, but by exciting a spirit
which longed to emulate the self-renunciation of
the martyrs and confessors. But it was probably
the influence of the Alexandrine teaching, as has
been already suggested, which had fostered the
longing to escape altogether from the contamina-
tions and persecutions of an evil world. It was
no longer, as in earlier days, only or chiefly from
external enemies that a devout Christian felt
himself in danger. As Christianity widened the
circle of its operations, it became inevitably less
discriminating as to the character of those who
were admitted into the community ; and the
gradual intrusion of a more secular spirit, among
Christians, first forced those who were more
thoroughly in earnest to aim at a stricter life in
the world, and then thrust them out of the world
altogether. Eusebius bears witness to this
Alexandrine influence on Christian asceticism in
a remarkable comparison of the ascetics of his
own creed with the Therapeutae in Egypt (H. E.
ii. 17; Soz. H. E. i. 13). There seems to have
been something in the climate and associations of
Egypt (as in Syria) which predisposed men thus
to abdicate the duties and responsibilities be-
longing to active life. The exact position which
these Therapeutae occupied is uncertain. Pro-
bably they were in existence prior to Christianity ;
are not to be confounded with the Essenes ; but
were chiefly, though not exclusively, Jews.
From Philo's account (de Vita, Contempt, pp.
892-4) it 'seems clear, at any rate, that this
manner of life resembled in many respects that
of the Christian ascetics in the desert. They
dwelt in separate cells not far from one another ;
renounced their possessions ; practised fastings
and other austerities; and devoted themselves
partly to contemplation, and in part to study. In
this last point their example was not imitated by
their Christian anti-types in Egypt. They seem
to have been imbued with the mystical spirit of
Alexandria. Their name signifies that they gave
themselves either to serve God, or, more proba-
bly, to cultivate their own souls and those of
their disciples. (Eus. H. E. ii. 17.)
Hitherto Christian asceticism has been in-
dividualistic in its character. About the middle
of the 4th century it begins to assume a corporate
character. Naturally, as the number of recluses
increased, the need was felt of organisation.
Pachomius is generally regarded as the first to
form a " Coeuobium," that is an association of
ascetics dwelling together under one supreme
authority (Hieron. Reg. Pack. ; cf. Graveson Hist.
Eccl. i. 116). A fixed rule of conduct and a
promise to observe the rule were the natural
consequences of forming a society. But the
exaction of an irrevocable and lifelong vow be-
longs to a later phase of asceticism. James of
Nisibis speaks of ascetics practising a rigid celi-
bacy (Serm. 6tus). The term ascetic begins now
to be nearly equivalent to monastic. The so-
called " Apostolical Constitutions," which are
generally assigned to this period, enumerate
" ascetics," but not " monks " among orders of
Christians (13). The \6yos acrKririKbs of Basil
of Caesaraea is on the monastic life. So &<rK7)<ns
is used by Palladius (Hist. Laus. Proem, c. 46,
&c.) ; in canons of the Council of Gangra against
excessive asceticism (12, 13), and by Athanasius
in his life of Antony. Athanasius calls the
two disciples who waited on Antony aaKoufxevoi,
" learning to be ascetics." 'Act K-qT-qpiov in So-
crates (//. E. iv. 23) means what is now called a
monastery ; atrKrjTiKi) KaAv/Zri, a monastic cell
(Theodoret, //. E. iv. 25). At that time fiovaa-
Tripiov was, as the word literally expresses, a
separate cell ; aaKr\TOpiov a common dwelling-
place under the rule of a superior, in which those
who desired, according to the idea of the age, a
yet higher stage of perfection, might be trained
and disciplined for absolute seclusion (Greg.
Naz. Or. xx. 359). In the middle ages the word
" asceterium " was altered into " arcisterium
or " archisterium " (Du Cange, s. voce).
In the beginning of the 6th century the widow?
and virgins who were officially recognised as such,
are designated aff/crjTpicu (Justinian, Nocell. exxiii.
43). At a later period the word means a nun :
and is the Greek equivalent for " sanctimoui'alis,"
or " monialis " (Phot. Nomocan. Tit. ix. 1 p. 207).
Afr/c7)Tpioy is a later form for b.aKTirr)s.
The history of asceticism, after the institution
of monastic societies belongs to the history of
monasticism. There it will be seen with what
marvellous rapidity this development of Christian
asceticism spread far and wide from the deserts
of the Thebaid and Lower Egypt ; how Basil,
Jerome, Athanasius, Augustine, Ambrose, were
foremost among its earliest advocates and propa-
gators, and how Cassian, Columbanus, Benedict
and others crowned the labours of their prede-
cessors by a more elaborate organisation. It is
enough here to endeavour to trace the gradual
and almost imperceptible process by which as-
ceticism, from being the common attribute of
Christianity, became in course of time the dis-
tinctive speciality of a class within the Christian
community.
(Besides" the writers quoted already, see Bing-
ham, Origines, bk. vii. Paleotimo, Summa Aati-
guitatum, lib. vii. Gluck's Atteserrae Origines
Rei Monasticae. Mamachi, Costumi dei primitivi
ASCHAIMENSE
Christiani. Dissertatio de Ascetts praef. S. Jac.
Nis. Serm. vi. Claudii Salmasii Notae in Tertull.
de Pallio.) [I. G. S.]
ASOHAIMENSE CONSILIUM. A coun-
cil was held, a.d. 763, at Ascheim, under Tas-
silo II., Duke of Bavaria, that passed 15 decrees
on discipline. [E. S. F.]
ASCLEPIADES, bishop and martyr, com-
memorated Oct. 18 (Mart. Horn. Vet.). [C]
ASH WEDNESDAY. [Lent.]
ASIATICUM CONCILIUM. A council
was held, a.d. 245, in Asia Minor against Noetus,
but at what place is uncertain. [E. S. F.]
ASLNARII (Tertull. Apol. c. xvi.), a term
of reproach against the early Christians. That
the Jews worshipped an ass," or the head of an
ass, was a current belief in many parts of the
Gentile world. Tacitus (Hist. v. 4) says that
there was a consecrated image of an ass" in the
temple, the reason for this special honour beinc
that a herd of wild asses had been the means of
guiding the Jews, when they were in the desert,
to springs of water. Plutarch (Sympos. iv. 5, 2)
tells virtually the same story. Diodorus Siculus
says (lib. xxxiv. Frag.') that Antiochus Epiphanes
found in the temple a stone image representing
a man sitting upon an ass; but on the other
hand Josephus (c. Apion. ii. c. 7) adduces the
fact that no such image had been found in the
temple by any conqueror as an argument for the
groundlessness of the calumny. '
The same belief appears to have prevailed in
reference to the early Christians. It is men-
tioned by both Tertulfian (Ad Not. i. 14 ; Apol
xvi.) and Minueius Felix (Octav. 9 and 28), but,
though referred to in later times, appears to
have died out in the course of the 3rd century.
(The fact mentioned by Servetus, De Trin. Error.
c. 16, that he heard the same reproach made by
the Turks against the Christians in Africa is
probably to be connected with the mediaeval
"Festival of the Ass" rather than with the
earlier calumny.)
The origin of the reproach has been a subject
of various speculations : (1) It has been con-
sidered to have arisen somewhere in the Gentile
world, and to have been applied to the Jews
before the Christian era. On this hypothesis
various explanations of it have been given.
Morinus (De Capitis Asinino Deo Christiano,- Dord-
recht, 1620) thought that there was a confusion
between the two words Chomer (IDh), which is
used (?) for the " pot " of manna in the temple,
and Chamor (TIEri), which means a " wild ass,"
and that this confusion was confirmed by the
appearance of the pot of manna with its two large
ears. Hasaeus (De Onolatria olim Judaeis et Chrts-
tianis impacta, Erfurt, 1716) thought that the
use among the Jews (? more probably late Sama-
ritans) of the word "Ashima" ( = "name") for
the more sacred word "Jehovah " may have sug-
gested the perversion "asinus" to the Roman
soldiers; and Heinsius (De Laude Asiiti, p. 186,
ed. 1629) thought that the oiipavds which the
Jews were reputed to worship (" nil praeter nubes
et coeli numen adorant," Jut. Hat. xiv. 97) was
corrupted into ilvos. (2) It has been considnvd
to have arisen in Egypt, and on this hypothesis
two explanations have been given. TanaqnU
Faber (Epist. i. 6) thought that it was a corrup-
ASTERISCUS I4J
tion from the name of Onias, who built a Jewish
temple at Heliopolis; and Bochart (Hierozoic. i.
2, c. 18) thought that the Egyptians wilfully per-
verted the expression "Pi iao " ( = " mouth of
God ") into " Pieo," which in an Egyptian voca-
bulary edited by Kircher signifies "ass." (3) It
has been viewed as a calumny of the Jews against
the Christians, which was reflected back upon the
Jews themselves. In favour of this view it is
urged that Tertullian distinctly speaks of it as a
Jewish calumny; and against it is the prevalence
of the story in writers whom a Jewish calumny,
however industriously spread, would hardly
reach. (4) It has been regarded as having
originated from the use of the ass as a symbol
by some Gnostic sects. That the ass was thus
used is clear from the statement of Epiphanius
(c. Haeres. 26, 10 ; see also Origen, c. Cels. vi. 9).
Between these various hypotheses it is hardly
possible, in the absence of further evidence, to
make a choice ; the question must be left un-
decided. A slight additional interest has been
given to it by the discovery at Rome, in 1856, on
a wall under the western angle of the Palatine,
of a graffito, which forcibly recalls the story
mentioned by Tertullian. The apologist's words
are (Ad. Nat. i. 14) " nuper quidam perditissi-
mus in ista civitate, etiam suae religionis de-
sertor, solo detrimento cutis Judaeus .... pic-
turam in nos proposuit sub ista proscriptione
ONOCOETES. Is erat auribus canteriorum et
in toga, cum libro, altero pede ungulato. Et
credidit vulgus infami Judaeo." The graffito in
question represents an almost similar caricature,
evidently directed against some Christian con-
vert of the 2nd century. Upon a cross is a
figure with a human body wearing an interula,
but with an ass's head. On one side is another
figure lifting up his head, possibly in the attitude
of prayer. Underneath is written AAEEAMENOs
sEBETE 0EON ("Alexamenos is worshipping
God"). The form of the letters points to the
graffito having been written towards the end of
the 2nd century, about the very time at which
Tertullian wrote (see P. Garrucci's article, with
a copy of the graffito, in the Civilta Cattolica,
serie 3, vol. iv. p. 529). This graffito is now
preserved in the library of the Collegio Romano
in Rome. rg_ jj -i
ASPERGILLUS!. The brush or twig used
for sprinkling Holy Water [Holy Water]. It
anciently was, or was said to be, of hyssop, a
plant supposed to possess cleansing virtues, from
its use in the Mosaic law, and the well-known
reference to it in the 51st Psalm. Thus, in the
Gregorian Sacramentary (p. 148) the bishop in
the consecration of a church, sprinkles the altar
seven times with hyssop. The modern French
name Goupil indicates that a fox's brush was
some time used as an aspergillum. (Goupil for
Vulpicula, Ducange's Glossary, s. v.). [C]
ASPERSION. [Baptism.]
ASS, WORSHIP OF THE. [Asinarh ]
ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN
MARY. [Mar? the Virgin, Festivals of.]
ASTERISCUS (sometimes called Stcllula by
Latin writers). To prevent the veil from dis-
turbing the particles arranged on the discus or
paten, in preparation for the celebration of the
Eucharist, St. Chrysostom is said to have invented
two small arches to support it. These, when
150
ASTERIUS
ATHEISTS
placed so as to cross each other, resembled a star,
and hence were called dcrr^p or acrrripiffKos, the
star; hence the priest, placing it over the paten,
is directed to say, " And the star came and stood
over where the young child was." In modern
times the arches are riveted together at the point
of intersection, but so loosely as to admit of one
arch being turned within the other for con-
venience of carriage. See woodcut. (Neale,
Eastern Church, Lit rod. 350 ; Daniel, Codex
Liturgicus, iv. 336, 390.) [C]
Asteriscus.
ASTERIUS, martyr, commemorated March 3
{Mart. Rom. Vet). [O]
ASTORGA, COUNCIL OF (Asturicense
CONCILIUM), a.d. 446, condemned certain Mani-
chees, or Priscillianists (Cave ; Mansi, vi. 490 ;
but omitted by Labbe). [A. W. H.]
ASTROLOGERS. No element of heathenism
was more difficult to eradicate than the belief
that the stars in their courses influenced the
lives of men, and that the destinies of individuals
and of nations might be foretold by those who
studied their combinations. Under the names of
Chaldaei (as representing those who were more
famous than any other people of the ancient
world for their devotion to this study), Mathc-
matici (in popular language this had become the
exclusive meaning of the word), Apotelcsmatici
(as dealing with the airoTcAeVyiiara, or influences
of the stars), Genethliaci (as casting horoscopes
of the positions of the planets at the hour of
birth), they were to be found in every city of the
empire. They became on many grounds objects
of suspicion to its police. They were cheats and
impostors ; they brought in the foreign, eastern
superstitions of which Roman magistrates stood
in dread ; they might at any time play into the
hands of political rivals by predicting their suc-
cess as the favourites of heaven. The annals of
the empire accordingly present a series of edicts
against them. They were banished from Rome
by Agrippa and Augustus (Dion. Cass. xlix. 43,
lvi. 25), by Tiberius (Tacit. Ann. ii. 32 ; Sueton.
Tiber, c. 36), by Claudius (Tacit. Ann. xii. 52),
by Vitellius (Sueton. Vitell. 14). The frequent
repetition of the measure shews how ineradicable
was the evil. Sometimes the emperor himself,
Vespasian, in his eager ambition (Tacit. Hist. ii.
78), Domitian, in his restless suspicion, yielded
to their influence. Otho's murder of Galba had
been prompted by their counsels. Over the
minds of most men, and yet more, of women,
they exercised an unbounded sway (Juven. vi.
553-568), often in proportion to the notoriety
which they had gained by being mixed up in
political or other mysteries, and were on that
account expelled from the city.
Christian feeling was opposed to the practice
on other grounds. It belonged to the system
of demou-worship and lying magic, which Scrip-
ture had forbidden. The astrologer was a child
of the devil. His art had come down from the
Egyptians and Chaldaeans (Clem. Alex. Strom.
i. 16, p. 132). It substituted the idea of des-
tiny for that of the providence of God, and
tampered with the sense of responsibility by
leading men to impute their vices to the stars.
(August, de Civ. Dai, v. 1 ; Tract, in Ps. lxi. ; de'
Mathem. ; Greg. Nyss. Ep. contr. Faturn; Tertull.
de Idol. c. ix. p. 156.),. Some teachers pointed to
the case of Esau and Jacob, born in the same
hour yet with such different destinies, as a proof
that the system was false (August, de Doctr.
Christ, ii. 21). Some conceding that the heathen
world was subject to these influences, favourable
or malignant, held that baptism placed men in
another region in which they were set, and that
the " new birth " annulled the horoscope that
was cast for the first nativity. The action of
the Church was in accordance with the teaching
of its chief writers. The burning of the books
of those who used " curious arts " in Acts xix. .
19, served as a precedent. Mathematici were to
give up their books to the bishop, or to burn
them {Constit. Apost. i. 4). Clergy of all orders
were forbidden to practise the art under pain of
excommunication (C Laod. c. 36). In two or
three instances the operation of the laws con-
nects itself with memorable names. Aquila, the
translator of the Old Testament, was said to
have been expelled from the Church on the
charge of being an astrologer (Epiphan. de Mens,
et Pond. xv. t. ii. p. 171, but the narrative is
hardly more than a legend). Eusebius, of Emesa,
had to contend against the suspicions to which
his love of science exposed him, that he was
addicted to the /xepos OTroTeAccr^aTiKbj' of astro-
logy (Sozom. II. E. iii. 6). It was one of the
crimes imputed to the Priscillianists of Spain
that they had revived the old superstitions of
the Mathematici, and had taught men that the
several parts of their body were under the con-
trol of the signs of the zodiac (August, de Haer.
Ixx.) [E. H. P.]
ASTURICENSE CONCILIUM. [Astoega.]
ASYLUM. [Sanctuary.]
ASYNCRITUS, "Apostle," commemorated
April 8 {Cal. Byz.). [C]
ATHANASIUS (1) Bishop of Alexandria;
Naiale commemorated Jan. 18 {Cal. Byzant.) ;
Jan. 26 and June 6 {Armen.); May 2 {Mart. Pom.
Vet.) ; Dec. 20 {Mart. Bedae) ; translation, May 2
{Cal. Byzant.) ; commemorated Maskarram 13 =
Sept. 16, and Ginbot 7 = May 2 {Cal. Ethiop.).
(2) Presbyter, Oct. 11 {Mart. Bedae, Hieron.).
ATHEISTS {&0eoi), a name of reproach
which was applied to the early Christians. The
absence of material symbols of the Deity, of sac-
rifice, of temples, and of almost all the external
observances which constituted the religion of
contemporary heathendom, naturally induced a
popular cry that Christianity was a new form of
atheism. The cry was repeated by Jews as weli
as by Gentiles (see Justin Mart. c. Tryph. cviii.).
It was a leading cause of the general animosity
against the Christians and the apologists were
at some pains to refute it (see especially Athenag.
Leyat. pro Christ. 3 and 4). The following are the
ATHENAGORAS
chief allusions to the calumny outside the writings
of the apologists : Eusebius (H. E. iv. 15) tells
us that the formula in which Polycarp was de-
sired by the proconsul to abjure his faith was
alpe tovs adeovs. Dion Cassius (lxvii. 14) relates
that Flavins Clemens, the uncle of Domitian,
whom some writers have identified with Clemens
Romanus, and who was no doubt a Christian,
was put to death for atheism. Lucian (Alexahd.
Pseud, c. 25, cf. c. 38) says that Pontus was full
aQiwv Ka\ Xpiariavwv. Even so late as the 4th
century we find Licinius accusing Constantine of
having embraced tV o-9eov $6a.v (Euseb. lit.
Const, c. 15) ; and Julian summed up his objec-
tions to Christianity when he described it as
adeorriTa (Julian, Ep.ad Arsac. ap Sozom. H. E.
v. 16). But by that time the Christian fathers
had already begun to turn the tables upon their
adversaries and atheism became a reproach, not
of Paganism against Christianity, but of Chris-
tianity against Paganism (see Clem. Alex. Pro-
trept. p. 11). [E. H.]
ATHENAGORAS, with ten disciples and
five priests, commemorated July 23 (Cal.
Armeu.). v^-j
ATHENOGENES, martyr, and ten disciples,
commemorated July 16 {Cal. Byzant.). [C]
ATRIUM, the court attached to churches
in the earlier centuries- It was usually placed
before the front of the church, and surrounded
by porticoes. In the centre of the open area
was a fountain, or at least a cantharus [CAN-
tharus], a large vessel containing water for ab-
lution. This fountain was sometimes covered
with a roof and surrounded by railings. The
atrium was in the earlier ages considered an im-
portant, almost indispensable adjunct to at any
rate the larger churches. Eusebius describes
(Eccles. Hist. x. 4, 39) the atrium with its
four porticoes in his account of the church built
by St. Paulinus at Tyre ; and atria dating from
the 5th century existed at St. Peter's and S.
Paolo f. 1. M. at Rome. Examples, though not
dating from the period with which this work
is concerned, may be seen in several churches
at Rome, as S. Clemente, S. Cecilia, and others,
and indeed elsewhere. In the ruins of the basi-
.ica of S. Stefano, in Via Latina, the atrium, in-
stead of occupying its normal place, is placed by
the side of the apse, the reason probably being
that the Via Latina ran past the apse, and that
those who wished to enter the church from that
great thoroughfare would thus pass through the
atrium. Where, however, no important street,
or public building prevented the architect from
fully developing his plans, the atrium, it should
seem, during the whole period treated of in this
work (and indeed until a later period), in Italy
at least, and probably elsewhere, formed a part
of every important church. [A. N.]
ATTIGNY, COUNCILS OF (Attiniacen-
sia Consilia), held at Attigny (Attiniacum), a
town of France, on the river Aisne, N.E. of
Rheims. I. a.d. 765, provincial, under Pipin
(Mansi, xii. 674).
II. a.d. 822, at which the Emperor Louis did
public penance, " de omnibus quae publice perpe-
ram gessit," and especially for his cruelty to
his nephew Bernard (Mansi, xiv. 403).
IH. a.i>. 834, November, under Ludovicus
Pius, a synod of "the whole empire," passed
AUD1ENTES
151
;
some canons oa behalf of the Church, and re-
ferred a criminal cause, brought before them
by the emperor, to the state tribunal (Mansi,
xiv. 655). [A. W. LL]
ATTINIAOENSE CONCILIUM. [AT-
TIGNY.]
AUBERTUS or AUTBERTUS, bishop
and confessor, commemorated Dec. 13 {Mart.
Bedae). [C]
AUCTOR, bishop, commemorated Aug. 9
{Mart. Bedae). [C]
AUDACTES, martyr, commemorated Oct. 24
(Mart. Pom. Vet.). [C]
AUDACTUS. [Adauctus.]
AUDAX, martyr, commemorated July 9
(Mart. Pom. Yet.). [C]
AUDIENTES (' kitpo&ixevoi). Two stages
have to be noted in the history and significance
of this word. Down to the time of Novatus and
the consequent development of the penitential
system of the Church, it is used as equivalent
to catechumen. The Audientes are those who
are present in the Church, but are not yet bap-
tized, and who therefore, in the nature of the
case, were not present during the passages of
the Fideles, or the yet more sacred service which
followed. They heard the psalms, the lessons,
the sermon, and then left (Tertu.ll. de Poenit.
c. vi., vii. ; Cypr. Ep. 13). At Carthage they
were placed under the special care of a catechist
or Audientium Doctor (Cypr. Ep. 31). The trea-
tise of Augustine, de catechizandis rudibus, was
written for such a catechist, and shews fully
what was the nature of the instruction given.
The word seems to be used with somewhat of
the same vagueness by Augustine (Serm. 132).
There is no trace at this period, if indeed at
any time in the West, of a distinct position for
them in the place where Christians met for
worship.
In the East, however, we find from the time
of Gregory Thaumaturgus onwards a more syste-
matic classification, and that one made subser-
vient to an elaborate penitential system. The
Audientes are the second in a graduated series of
those who, as catechumens or members of the
Church, have fallen, and need to be restored.
Outside the Church stood the Flentes (K\aiAp.evoi)
mourning over their guilt, catching only the
indistinct sounds of what was passing within,
exposed to sun or rain. Then within the
narthex, the portico in one sense outside the
church, but communicating with it by open
doors, were the Audientes (Greg. Thaum. Can.
xi.). They might stay there and listen, like those
who bore the same name in the older system, till
the sermon was over. Then the deacon bade
them depart along with the unbelievers (Const.
Apost. viii. 5), and they had not the privilege of
joining in any prayers. After a year thus passed
they came within the church, as Flectentes
(yovvKXivovres), joining in the prayers up to
the commencement of the proper Eucharistic
service, but kneeling in their contrition. Lastly,
they became < 'onsistentes (avviaTa.fji.svoi), stand-
ing with those in full communion with the
Church, but not yet admitted themselves to that
privilege. Such was the ideal system laid down
by (he Council of Nicaea (c. xi.), elaborated by
Basil (Can. xxii., lxxv.), and more or less acted
152
AUDIENTIA
AUGUSTINUS
on throughout the churches of the East. It
brought with it, in the risk of degradation from
a higher order to one of shame and dishonour,
from the position of full membership to any one
of them, a system of secondary punishments the
actual effect of which it is not easy to estimate.
[Catechumens ; Penitents.] [E. H. P.]
AUDIENTIA EPISOOPALIS. This
forms one of the heads or titles in the first book
of Justinian's Codex, and is there used in rela-
tion to an authority, not only in spiritual but
also in certain secular matters, conferred upon
the bishops of the Church. In conjunction with
the temporal magistrates, they were empowered
to take part in managing the revenues of cities,
the guardianship of young persons, and various
other matters of a civil nature (see Guizot, Hist,
of Civilisation in Europe, Lecture II., as to the
influence which the Church thus exercised in
society). But the phrase more especially de-
notes the power given to the bishops of hearing
and deciding disputes as to temporal rights in
certain cases. Thus we find {Cod. i. tit. 4. s. 8)
" si qui ex consensu apud sacrae legis antistitem
iitigare voluerint, non vetabuntur. Sed expe-
rientur illius in civili duntaxat negotio, more
arbitri sponte residentis, judicium ; " and {Ibid.
s. 9) " Episcopale judicium ratum sit omnibus,
qui se audiri a sacerdotibus elegerint ; eamque
eorum judicationi adhibendam esse reverentiam
jubemus, quam vestris deferri necesse est potesta-
tibus, a quibus non licet provocare, &c." Two
limitations appear on the face of these passages :
1. That the matter in controversy must be of
a civil character, no criminal cases being to be
thus decided. 2. That both parties to the dis-
pute must voluntarily agree to have their cause
thus tried. The result therefore is to make the
bishop an authoritative arbitrator, whenever the
parties submitted themselves to his decision.
This repeats what had been previously autho-
rized by Arcadius and Honorius (see Theod.
Codex. De Jurisdict. ii. 1), and by Valentinian
III. ; and, indeed, was perhaps little more than
an acceptance and recognition on the part of the
state of a custom which had long prevailed in
Christian communities, of bringing their disputes
before their Christian superiors instead of before
heathen judges,. in accordance with the words of
St. Paul (1 Cor. vi.). At one period, however,
there is some ground to believe that the secular
power of Rome was inclined to go much further.
According to Eusebius {Vit. Const, iv. 27) and
Sozomen (i. 9), Constantine ordained that either
party in a dispute of a civil nature might select
the bishop as his judge, even against the will of
the other party ; and that the episcopal decision
should be conclusive, and should be executed by
the temporal authorities. This compulsory set-
ting aside of the ordinary tribunals of the Roman
Empire at the pleasure of either litigant, did not
long endure, and seems to have been superseded
by the more moderate principle adopted by Arca-
dius and Honorius. Indeed the learned commen-
tator Gothofred, who is followed by Bingham
(Antiq. ii. 7, 3), doubts whether Constantine ever
really made any such decree. Later writers,
however, have not shared these doubts (see
Herzog, Real. Encycl. sub voce, " audientia Epis-
copi."). This alleged decree was in later ages
revived in the west, being then attributed to
Theodosius. In that form it was accepted by
Charlemagne {Capit. vi. 366), passed into the
collections of laws, and finally found its way into
the Decretum of Gratian (Part II. causa xi.
quaest. i. 35). Innocent III. lays stress upon it
(Decretal. Greg. i. lib. 2, tit. i. 13), and indeed
in this shape it was well calculated to minister
to the Papal pretensions. [B. S.]
ATJDIFAX, martyr, commemorated Jan. 20
{Mart. Rom. Vet, Eieron.). [C]
AUDOENUS or AUDOINUS (St. Ouen),
bishop of Rouen, commemorated Aug. 24 {Mart.
[C]
in Africa, Oct. 16 {M.
[C]
Africa, Jan. 4 {Mart.
[C]
and martyr, comme-
[C]
Hieron.).
AUFINUS. Natalia
Hieron.).
AUGENTIUS. In
Hieron.).
AUGULUS, bishop
morated Feb. 7 {Mart. Bedae, Hieron.).
AUGURIES. [Divinations.]
AUGUSTA, virgin, commemorated July 28
{Mart. Bedae). [C]
AUGUSTALIS, commemorated at Aries,
Sept. 7 {Mart. Hieron.). [C]
AUGUSTINE'S OAK, Conferences at, be-
tween Augustine of Canterbury and the British
bishops: I. In A.D. 602 or 603, and probably
at Aust on the Severn, or some spot near to it,
with a view to induce the British bishops to give
up their Easter Rule, and to co-operate with
Augustine in preaching to the Saxons. The first
conference (Baed. ii. 2) was only preliminary
(Augustine, however, working a miracle at it,
ace. to Bede), and led to II. A more formal
conference shortly after, in the same year, at the
same place, at which seven British bishops were
present, with "many learned men," especially
from Bangor monastery (near Chester), then
under Dinoth as its abbat. On this occasion
Augustine limited his demands to three, con-
formity in keeping Easter, and in the baptismal
rite, and co-operation in preaching to the Saxons :
suppressing, if Bede's account is complete, all
claim of the jurisdiction which Gregory the Great
had bestowed upon him over the British bishops,
and saying nothing of the tonsure ; but disgust-
ing the Britons by refusing to stand up at their
approach a token, according to the words of a
certain anchorite whom they had consulted, that
he was not a man of God, and therefore was
not to be followed. The conference accordingly
broke up without any other result than that of
drawing from Augustine some angry words,
which unfortunately came true a dozen years
afterwards, when he was dead, in the slaughter
of the Bangor monks at Chester (Baed. ib.). The
baptismal differences have been conjectured by
Kiinstmann to relate to trine immersion, by
Dr. Rock (upon the better evidence of the
Stowe Missal) to have referred to the washing
of the feet which the Britons are supposed to
have attached to baptism ; but both are con-
jectures only. For the date, locality, and his-
tory of these conferences, see Haddan and Stubbs,
Councils, iii. 40, 41. And for the well-known
" Answer of Dinoth," which is plainly the
work of some mediaeval Welsh antiquary, see
ib. i. 122. [A. W. H.]
AUGUSTINUS. (1) Martyr at Nicomedia,
commemorated May 7 {Mart. Rom. Vet., Hieron.).
AUGUSTODUNENSE
AUTOCEPHALI
153
(2) Bishop and confessor, Apostle of England,
May 26 (Martyrol. Bedae, Adonis).
(3) Commemorated at Rome Aug. 22 (M.
Hieron.).
(4) Bishop of Hippo, confessor, Aug. 28 (Mart.
Bom. Vet., Hieron., et Bedae). In Mart. Hieron.,
under May 26, " in Africa Agustini Episcopi ;"
under Aug. 28, " Ipono regio Depositio Agustini
Episcopi ;" so that May 26 seems to have been
given to St. Augustine of Canterbury at a date
later than that of Mart. Hieron. His name is
recited in the Gregorian Canon.
(5) Presbyter, Oct. 7 (M. Bedae).
(6) " In Cappadocia Agustini Episcopi," Nov.
17 (M. Hieron.). [C]
AUGUSTODUNENSE CONCILIUM.
[Autun, Council of.]
AUGUSTUS. (1) Of Alexandria, Jan. 11
(if. Hieron.).
(2) Martyr, commemorated May 7 (Mart.
Bom. Vet.).
(3) Confessor, commemorated at Bourges, Oct.
7 (if. Hieron.). [C]
AURELIANENSE CONCILIUM.
[Orange, Council of.]
" AUREOLA. [Nimbus.]
AURELIUS, commemorated April 26 (Mart.
Hieron.). [O]
AUSTERIUS, commemorated Oct. 19 (Mart.
Hieron.). [C]
AUSTREBERTANA, abbess, commemo-
rated Feb. 10 (Mart. Hieron.). [O]
AUTHENTIC. The sounds connecting the
final (in Gregorian music) with its octave, or a
melody in which they only are employed, were
called Authentic, in contradistinction to those con-
necting the 4th below the final with its 8ve, the
5th above it, which were called Plagal (v. Plagal).
In Ambrosian music authentic scales only were
employed, and of these only four ; the Phrygian
(D d), Dorian (E e), Hypolydian (F f), and
Hypophrygian (G g) of the Greek system. The
Aeolian (A a) and the Ionian (C c), subse-
quently added to the number of the church
scales (tones or modes), were subjected to the
same classification. Authentic scales are cha-
racterised by the harmonic division (6:4:3)
of their octaves ; e.g. C g c ; the plagal by the
arithmetical division (4:3:2); e. g. G C g.
Authentic melodies are thought to have gene-
rally greater dignity and strength than plagal.
A good modern example of the former is the
well-known German chorale Ein fcste Burg ist
unser Gott, and of the latter our Evening Hymn,
attributed to Tallis ; and it would be difficult
to find in pure melodic music better examples
of the sublime and the beautiful. But the tune
known in England as the Old Hundredth (essen-
tially plagal) certainly contravenes this theory
in a very striking instance and manner.
The relations of subject and answer in the
modern tonal fugue (as when C g are " an-
swered" not by g d but by g C) obviously
grew out of the division of scales into authentic
and plagal. [J. H.]
AUTISSIODORENSE CONCILIUM.
[Auxerre, Council of.]
AUTOCEPHALI (AvroK^aAoi, from avrbs
and Ke(pa\r}), a name given by canonists and in
the Notitiae 1. To Metropolitans who remained
independent of Patriarchs after Patriarchs were
established, i. <?., who then continued still to be
what all Metropolitans originally were. So the
Cyprian archbishop (Cone. Ephes. A.D. 431, act.
vii. ; and again, as late as Cone. Trull, a.d. 691,
can. 39, at a time when the Cypriots had tied
from Cyprus itself, and had taken refuge in the
'Eirupx'ia- 'EAAriffirSvTios) : to whom Balsamon
joins the archbishops of Bulgaria and of Iberia
(Georgia). The privilege had been given to the
former of these two by Justinian. (See, how-
ever, Le Quien, Oriens Christ., vol. i. 96.) The
latter would seem to have been at first reckoned
as subject to the Patriarchate of Antioch, and
then to Constantinople ; but from A.D. 450 he
styled himself ahroKityahos, and appears to have
been considered as such (Malan, Hist, of Georg.
Ch. 35, 196, &c). The Armenian Church is also
so styled in the Notitiae (see Bingh. II. xviii. 2) ;
but it would rather appear to have claimed to
be in itself a patriarchate, inasmuch as Nerses
its second bishop, present at Cone. Constanthi.,
A.D. 381, styled himself Patriarch and Katho-
licos of Armenia, as did thenceforward his suc-
cessors (Malan, Life of Gregory the Illuminator,
27). Ravenna in the west is also said to have
arrogated the privilege of " autocephalism," and
only to have surrendered it under the pontifi-
cate of Pope Donus, a.d. 676-679. Roman (and
Welsh) Britain, which is usually adduced as
another western instance, and which undoubtedly
had no relations to the Roman patriarchate or
any other for three centuries (400-700), as
neither had Celtic Ireland nor Columban Scot-
land, was rather a case of bishops who still
remained without a metropolitan, the legends
of the archbishoprics of Caerleon or of St. David's,
or indeed of any archbishopric in the island at
all except as an honorary and unmeaning title,
being without any historical authority whatever.
The epithet is applied to Britain only by late
controversial writers.
2. A name given to a class of bishops who
came to exist in the 9th century in the eastern
patriarchates, as Constantinople, Jerusalem, An-
tioch, who were dependent directly upon their
patriarch without the intervention of a metro-
politan, and who might be more accurately (and
sometimes were) called archbishops or metropo-
litans themselves, only without suffragans (see
authorities in Bingh. II. xviii. 3).
3. The name might be applied, on the same
principle upon which it is attached to metropo-
litans whose independence survived the establish-
ment of patriarchs, to bishops whose independence
survived the establishment of metropolitans. But
the origin of metropolitans was too early and too
universal to allow of any ancient authority sig-
nalizing possible temporary exceptions of this
kind by a name. The British bishops, however,
appear to be (substantially) a case in point.
And Valesius, although inaccurately in point of
fact, has applied the name to the Bishop of Jeru-
salem before that Bishop became himself a
patriarch (Bingh. ih. 4).
4. No doubt also the name might be applied,
as Bingham suggests, to any case where there
happened to be only one bishop in the country,
as in Scythia in the time of Sozomen.
Acephohis ('A/ce'^aAos) is said to be sometimes
used for Autocephalus.
154
AUTONOMUS
BALANCE
(Bingham ; Brerewood, Patriarch, Gov. of
Anc. Ch. ; Cave, Dissert, on Gov. of Anc. Ch. ;
Beverido-e, Pandect. ; Du Cange ; Meursius ;
Suicer.) [A. W.H.]
AUTONOMUS, commemorated June 24 (Cal.
Armen.). [C.]
AUTUN, COUNCIL OF (Augustodun-
ense Concilium), a.d. 670, under Bishop Leo-
degar, passed some canons respecting monks,
and one enforcing the Athanasian creed (Mansi,
xi. 123). [A. W. H.]
AUVERGNE, COUNCILS OF. [Cler-
mont, Council of.]
AUXENTIUS, holy father, commemorated
Feb. 14 {Gal. Byzant.) ; July 28 (Mart.
Hieron.). [C]
AUXERRE, COUNCILS OF (Autissiodo-
Rensia Concilia). I. a.d. 578, diocesan, where
the bishop, with his 7 abbats, and 34 presbyters
and 3 deacons, passed 45 canons, and among
others, one requiring a synod of abbats every
November and of presbyters every May (Mansi,
ix. 911).
II. a.d. 841, provincial, gathered by the Em-
perors Louis and Charles to consult respecting
the slaughter in the war between them, for which
a three days' fast was appointed (Mansi, xiv.
786). [A. W. H.]
AVE MARIA. [Hail Mary.]
AYITUS. (1) Bishop, deposition, Feb. 5
(Mart. Hieron.).
(2) Presbyter, commemorated June 17 (Mart.
Bedae).
(3) Confessor, June 23 (lb. et Hieron.). [C]
AZARIAS, martyr, with Ananias and Misael,
commemorated Dec. 16 (Mart. Rom. Vet.); April
23 (Mart. Bedae); Dec. 17 (Cal. Byzant.). [C]
AZYME. [Elements.]
B
BABYLAS. (1) Bishop, martyr at Antioch,
A.D. 253 ; commemorated Jan. 24 (Mart. Rom.
Vet., Hieron., Bedae) ; Sept. 4 (Cal. Byz.).
(2) Saint, Natale, June 11 (M. Bedae). [C]
BACCANCELDENSE CONCILIUM.
[Bapchild, Council of.]
BACCHUS. (1) Secuudicerius, martyr, A.D.
290 ; commemorated Oct. 7 (Mart. Rom. Vet.,
Cal Byz.). (2) " Passio S. Bacchi," Sept. 25
(M. Bedae). [C]
BACULUS. [Staff.]
BAGAJENSE CONCILIUM, Donatist, at
Vagais or Bagais, in Numidia, A.D. 394, where
310 bishops, under Primian the Donatist Primate
of Carthage, condemned Maximian, the Catholic
bishop of that city (St. Aug. Cont. Crescon. iii.
53, v. 10, Opp. x. 465, 490 ; Tillemont, M. E. vi.
165; Labb. ii. 1154). [A. \V. H.]
BAGAN, virgin, commemorated with Eu-
g 'iiia, Jan. 22 (Cal. Armen.). [C]
BAHED. The name of a fast in the Ethiopic
Calendar, observed on Ter 10 = Jan. 5 (Neale,
Eastern Ch. Int. p. 810). [C]
BALANCE (Symbol). The balance appears
sometimes upon Christian tombs. A sepulchral
stone from the cemetery of St. Cvriac (Aringhi,
Roma Subt. ii. 139) displays this instrument in
conjunction with a crown ; it may also be seen
upon a marble slab taken by Bosio from a
cemetery of the Yia Latina (Aringhi, ii. 658),
accompanied by a house, a fish, by a doubtful
object which has been taken wrongly for a can-
delabrum, and by a mummy set up in a niche.
A monument of the same nature reproduced in
the work of M. Perret ([nscript. No. 37) repre-
sents a balance with a weight (see woodcut). De
Eossi (Roma Sott. T. i. p. 86) notices another
example in the church of St. Cecilia at Rome.
1
Balance with weight, from the Cataccmbg.
Some antiquaries, as Mamachi (Origines v. 98)
have supposed that the balance is symbolical of
judgment or justice. And it is true that it is
found, doubtless with this signification, on coins
of Gordian, Diocletian, and other emperors of
pagan Rome. The mediaeval artists again have
frequently made use of this idea. We may sec
it, for instance, in the tympanum of the great
doorway of Notre Dame in Paris, and in that of
the cathedral of Autun, where it may be con-
sidered as a translation in sculpture of the words
of the Apocalypse (xxii. 12). But in the first
two instances which we have mentioned, and
which are almost the only examples transmitted
to us by Christian antiquity properly so called,
it is important to observe that mention is made
of the contract entered into between the pur-
chasers of the tombs and the fossores Montanus
and Calevius: VRSICINVS ED QVINTILIANA
SE BIBI (vivis) CONPARAVERVNT LOCY A
MONTANV. || CALEVIVS BENDIDIT (ven-
didit) AVIN TRISOMY.
It is therefore more natural to suppose that
the balance symbolises purchase and sale, per acs
et Ubram.
Sometimes upon tombs the balance is simply
indicative of a trade, as for example on the slab
of a Roman moneyer found in the cemetery of
St. Priscilla (Marini Papiri diplom. p. 332)..s
AVR. VENERANDO. NVM || QVI. VIXIT.
ANN. XXXV || ATILIA. VALENTIN A.
FECIT || MARITO. BENEMERENTI. IN. PACE.
Bronze balances were found in a Prankish se-
pulchre of the Merovingian period by the Abbe
Cochet (Sepull. Gauloises, p. 253 and following),
where in all probability they indicated the tomb
of a monetary officer, or fiscal agent, or accountant
of some kind. This is rendered almost certain
by the fact that a balance in the Faussett col-
lection (Inventorium Sepulchrale, p. 43 ; pi. xvii.
fig. 1, 2, 3), was found in the same tomb with a
" touch-stone " for the trial of metals. Another,
found like the preceding in an ancient tomb in
Kent, is described and figured by Mr. Roach
Smith in Collectanea Antipii, vol. iii. pp. 12-14;
BALBINA
BAPTISM
155
pi. iv. fig. 1 (Martignv, Diet, des Antiq. Chrtft.
p. 67). [C]
BALBINA. (1) Virgin, martyr at Rome,
A.D. 130 ; commemorated March 31 {Mart. Rom.
Vet., Bedae).
(2) Natide, Oct. 6 (M. Bedae).
BALDEGUNDIS, deposition at Poictiers,
F<;b. 11 {Mart. Hieron.).
BANNER. [Labarum; Vexillum.]
BAPCHILD, COUNCIL OF (Baccancel-
densb Concilium), or rather Witenagemot.
(1) Between A.D. 696 & 716, at Bapchild, near
Sittingbourne, in Kent; a Kentish Witenagemot,
at which abbesses and presbyters, as well as
bishops and abbats, were present, and where the
celebrated Privilege of Wihtred was enacted,
granting to the Kentish metropolitan a free
election in the case of abbats, abbesses, priests,
and deacons. The date cannot be precisely
determined ; and is further confused by a dis-
crepancy between the Canterbury Register and
the Textus Roffensis on the one hand, and the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle on the other, respecting
the dates of Gebmund and Tobias, successively
bishops of Rochester. Spurious forms of the
Rrivilegium extend it to the election of bishops
and to the whole of Saxon England. See Haddan
and Stubbs, Councils, iii. 238-247. (2) A.D. 798,
if at all ; said to have been held under Kenulf,
king (not of Kent, but) of Mercia, and Archbishop
Athelard, with bishops (two lists, both spurious),
abbats, and an archdeacon ; and to have prohi-
bited lay interference with churches and mo-
nasteries, in compliance with a mandate of Pope
Leo III. The decree, however, is verbatim that
of the (genuine) Council of Cloveshoo of A.D. 803,
from which also one of the lists of bishops is
partially taken (Kemble, Cod. Dipl. 1018, 1024,
Wilk. i. 162 ; Haddan and Stubbs, Counc. iii.
517). The copy in Reg. A 1 at Canterbury,
however, has no signatures. [A. W. H.j
BAPTISM. This Article -is arranged as
follows: I. Terms used to designate Baptism.
II. The Order of Baptism in various Churches.
III. The several Parts of the entire Ritual, viz. :
Consecration of the Water ; Interrogations and
Responses (Renunciation and Profession) ; Pre-
paratory Unction ; Unclothing of the Catechu-
men ; the Immersion ; the Baptismal Formula ;
the subsequent Ceremonies, viz. : the Kiss, the
lighted Tapers, the white Garments, the red
and white Thread, the Chaplet, and the washing
of Feet. IV. At what times, in what places,
and by whom, Baptism was administered ; with
what matter, in what mode, and at what age.
V. Graphic representations of Baptism. VI. Li-
terature. The subject of Sponsors, and that of
Baptismal Names, are treated separately in their
alphabetical order.
I. Terms used to designate Baptism.
1. Bcnr-n^eif and derived icords. The meaning
of this verb is not, as commonly asserted, identical
with that of fiaTrTiiv, to "dip," but presented this
idea under special modifications characteristic of
the various ages in which it was employed. In
classical usage it was commonly used meta-
phorically in speaking of one "drenched" with
wine, "overwhelmed" with misfortunes, and
the like. Polybius uses it (iii. 72) in speaking
of troops passing through water which reached
up to their breasts : /j.6\is eus twv fxaaruv
ol Trefoi PanTL^o/j-evoi Sie&aivov. In the Canon-
ical Books of the LXX it occurs but once
in speaking of Naaman either " washing " or
"dipping " himself in the Jordan (1 Kings v. 14).
In the Apocrypha, in speaking of one washing
herself (eySaTTTi^eTO eirl rijs Trrjyrj?, Jud. xii. 7)
at a spring ; and again (Ecclus. 24, 37 al. 29) of
one washing himself after touching a dead body ;
both cases having reference to ceremonial puri-
fication. In the New Testament it is occasionally
used metaphorically (Matt. xx. 22 ; Mark x. 38,
39 ; Luke xii. 50). But it generally has reference
either to Jewish ceremonial purification (Mark
vii. 4 ; Luke xi. 28), or to Christian Baptism.
2. Aourpbu, or irT]yri, lavacrum, fons. These
terms (laver and font) have reference, like the
last noticed, to the outward circumstances of the
Baptismal Rite. Aovrpbv, the Latin lavacrum,
means literally, " what serves for washing the
body," that is, either the vessel, or the water so
used. St. Paul twice (Eph. v. 26, and Tit. iii. 5)
uses the word in reference to baptism. In Justin
Martyr it appears as an evidently technical de-
signation of baptism (rb Aovrpbv tcoiovvtoli, Apol.
I. c. 79), and from that time onward the word is
repeatedly used. The terms irnyr] and fons,
meaning a spring, or a pool fed by a spring, date
as technical terms from the time when either
natural pools (see 39) in the open air, or bap-
tisteries supplied, as was commonly the case, by
natural springs, were made use of for the purpose
of Christian baptism.
3. Terms expressive of doctrine. The most
common of these doctrinal designations are those
which have reference to the idea of Regeneration
in Greek avxyivvnais, and more rarely iraAiy-
ysvtaia and 0eoyeVe<m, in Latin regeneratio,
secunda or spiritualis nativitas, renasci, and re-
nascentia. Terms of regeneration had been used
in a figurative sense both by classical authors
and by Hellenists, such as Philo and Josephus,
before they were adopted into the language
of Christianity. They served to express the idea
of an entire change of condition, as for ex-
ample the passing out of a state of misery, of
slavery or of subjection, into a state of well-
being, of freedom and of independence. (See
Wetstein on Matt. xix. 28; Trench's Si/nonyjns of
N.T. pp. 71, 72. Add Tertullian, de Bapt. c. 5.)
The Rabbinical use of such terms more directly
illustrates the Christian meaning of these words,
but the ultimate date to which that use is to
be traced is open to doubt. (See Lightfoot on
John iii. 4 ; Opp. torn. ii. p. 610, fol. Rotterdami
1687 ; Schoettgen, Hor. Heb. i. p. 704, Dresdae
4,1733; Carpzovii Annotationes in Th. Goodwini
Mosen et Aaronem, Francofurti 4, 1748, lib. i.
cap. iii. vii.)
4. 'Zfppayis, Signaculum, &c. Baptism is*
not unfrequently spoken of as " the seal," or
more fully "the seal of the Lord," (Clemens
Alex.), and that partly perhaps with reference to
the language of Holy Scripture (2 Cor. i. 22,
Eph. i. 13, and iv. 30). But other thoughts were
also connected with the term, as e.g. that of the
sign of the cross (this being more especially the
seaf) being the seal of the Christian covenant or of
tin. 1 "spiritual circumcision." (St. Cyril. Hieros.
tech. v. Mtxa t))v iriariv ttjv irviVfxariKi)v
Aafj.0d.vop.eu o~(ppay75a, 'Aylw Tlvev/jLaTi 5ia rov
\oi/Tf>oD TTepirifj.v6p.evoi.) Hence further modi-
156
BAPTISM
BAPTISM
fications of the same idea, such as " Character
Dominicus," the mark impressed by the Lord
(St. Augustine de Bapt. c. Dunat. lib. vi. cap. i.
and Epist. 184 bis, c. vi. 23. Migne, torn. ii.
p. 803); deo-iroreias o-npeiaiats, a mark indicative
of ownership or dominion (St. Greg. Naz. Or. xl. ;
compare St. Isaac of Armenia, quoted below,
101); or again the Nota Militaris (St. Augus-
tine de Bapt. lib. i. cap. iv.), ?; rov arpaTiwTOv
(rippayis (St. Chrysostom in ii. Cor. Horn. iii. ad
fin.), the mark put upon soldiers to ensure their
recognition.
5. Terms of Initiation or Illumination. The
idea of baptism being an initiation (nvrjais,
pvoraywyia, TfAer?;) into Christian mysteries,
an enlightenment (<j>a)Tto~p.ns, illuminatio, illus-
tratio) of the darkened understanding, belonged
naturally to the primitive ages of the Church,
when Christian doctrine was still taught under
great reserve to all but the baptized, and when
adult baptism, requiring previous instruction,
was still of prevailing usage. Most of the Fathers
interpreted the cpwTiadevTes, " once enlightened,"
of Heb. vi. 4, as referring to baptism. In the
middle of the second century (Justin M. Apol. ii.
KaAe?rcu Se tovto to Aovrphv cpcoTtaphs cos <poi-
tioh*vwv tt]u Sidvoiav twv Tavra pavdavivruiv)
we find proof that " illumination" was already
a received designation of baptism. And at a
later time (St. Cyril Hieros. Catech. passim), ol
(puTi^ofxtvoi (illuminandi) occurs as a technical
term for those under preparation for baptism,
ol (paiTio-devTes of those already baptised. So ol
a/xv7}TOL and ol pepvypevoi, the uninitiated and
the initiated, are contrasted by Sozomen, //. E.
lib. i. c. 3.
6. Modern terms. In most of the modern Eu-
ropean languages the words expressive of baptism
are derived directly from the Latin baptizare, and
testify to the fact of Latin having been in the
Western Churches the one ecclesiastical language
almost to the exclusion of all others. But there
is one notable exception. The German taufen,
to "baptize," akin to our English "dip," has the
same technical meaning as baptizare, and recals
the time when on the conversion of the German
tribes baptism was as a rule performed by " dip-
ping " (see 92), and when not Latin, but as far
as possible the mother-tongue of the converts
was employed in the baptismal offices. Our
countryman, St. Boniface, in his Statuta (Mar-
tene, de Ant. Ecc. Bit. torn. i. p. 48) desires that
the catechumens be taught to make the Renun-
ciations and Confessions of Faith in Baptism " in
Jpsa lingua qua nati sunt," and directs any pres-
byter to leave the diocese who is too proud to
obey this direction.
II. The Order of Baptism in various Churches
of the East and of the West.
7. Described by Justin Martyr. The earliest
description of the actual rite of baptism is that
given by Justin Martyr in his first Apology (cap.
lxxix.), which dates from the middle of the
second century. " We will now relate after what
manner we dedicated (autdrtKainev) ourselves unto
God, when we were new-made through Christ
(KaivowoLTidisvTes 5ia tov X.). So many as are
convinced, and believe the truth of what we
teach and affirm, and who promise to be able to
live accordingly, are taught both to pray, and
with fasting to ask of God remission of their past
sins, while we join with them in their prayers
and in their fast. Then they are conducted
by us to a place where there is water, and
they are regenerated (kvay twain ai) after the
same manner of regeneration as that in which
we ourselves were regenerated. For they then
make their ablution (to Xovrphv -Koiovvrai) in
the water, in the name of God, the Father and
Lord of the Universe, and of our Saviour Jesus
Christ, and of the Holy Ghost. For Christ said :
'Except ye be regenerated (Jav pi] avay<:uvnQr\Tt)
ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.' "
8. It will be seen that the description here
given is without full details concerning the rite
itself, as was natural in one writing concerning
a Christian Sacrament to persons who were not
Christians themselves. But we may trace clear
allusions to the prefatory instruction and guid-
ance of the catechumens to the baptismal pro-
mises or stipulations to a- place of baptism apart
from the ordinary place of assembly for the
faithful (ayovTcu vcp' 7)/j.ooi> ev8a vSup iari). We
find also the baptismal formula, " In the name
of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,"
though with slight interpolations which are pro-
bably due to the need of some explanation in
addressing a heathen audience on such a subject.
9. Ritual described by Tertullian. About
fifty years later than Justin Martyr, and about
the close of the second century, we find evidence
in the works of Tertullian of the nature of the
baptismal rite as observed at that time. He
speaks first of the Preparation of the Catechumens
immediately before Baptism saying that they
should be frequent in prayer, with fasting and
kneeling (then a penitential attitude), and watch-
ing, and with confession of all former sins.
" Ingressuros baptismum, orationibus crebris,
jejuniis et geniculationibus, et pervigiliis, orare
oportet, et cum confessione omnium retro delict-
orum, ut exponant etiam baptismum Joannis.
Tinguebantur, inquit, confitentes delicta sua"
{pcBapt. c. 20). 10. He describes the solemn
renunciation of the devil and his pomp, and his
angels, distinguishing the renunciation made at
the time of baptism from that made some time
previously in the church (on admission as cate-
chumens). (" Aquam adituri ibidem, sed et ali-
quanto prius in ecclesia sub antistitis manu,
contestamur nos renuntiare diabolo et pompae et
angelis ejus." De Cor. Mil. c. 3.) He speaks then
of other " responses " made by the baptized while
standing in the water, alleging these as an ex-
ample of custom founded on tradition only, not on
any express direction of our Lord. (" Dehinc ter
mergitamur amplius aliquid respondentes quam
Dominus in evangelio determinavit." Ibid. See
below, 93.) 11. The words (ter mergitamur)
just quoted, and those of the treatise De Bapt. c. 1,
" in aquam homo demissus et inter pauca verba
tinctus," have reference to the Trine Immersion
then customary (see below, 49) and the use
of the words implicitly prescribed in Matt, xxviii.
19. These points he more exactly determines
elsewhere. (" Novissime mandans ut tinguerent
in Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum, non in
unum : nam nee semel sed ter, ad singula nomina,
in personas singulas tinguimur." Ado. Braxeam,
c. 26.) 12. Among the traditionary customs,
Tertullian mentions the tasting of a mixture
(concordiam) of honey and milk on leaving the
font (" Inde suscepti lactis et mollis concordiam
BAPTISM
BAPTISM
15"
praegustamus." Pc Cor. Mil. c. 3). But there is
no reference to this in his treatise de baptismo, so
that it may not improbably have been of occa-
sional or local usage only in his time. 13. The
anointing with a consecrated (benedicta) oil, and
the imposition of hands by the bishop, which
followed upon baptism, is spoken of as being
intimately connected with the actual baptism.
In the font, according to his view, we are washed
from sin, and so prepared for the reception of
the Holy Spirit. (" Non quod in aquis spiritum
sanctum consequamur sed in aqua emundati sub
Angelo Spiritui Sancto praeparamur .... An-
gelas baptismi arbiter superventuro Spiritui
Sancto vias dirigit ablutione delictorum quam
fides impetrat obsignata in Patre et Filio et
Spiritu Sancto .... Exiude egressi de lavacro
perungimur benedicta unctione .... Dehiuc
manus imponitur per benedictionem advocans
et invitans Spiritum Sanctum." De bapt. cc. 6,
7, 8). The evidence of Tertullian on other points
will come under notice later in this article.
14. Ritual at Jerusalem, a.d. 347. The
Catecheses of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, delivered in
Lent, a. 347, picture to us in tolerably full
detail the ceremonial usages there customary in
his time. Throughout Lent (Catech. i. Teao-apd-
Kovra ryxepas ov <7xoAa(,'eis rfj irpoatvxfl ', and
again Teo~o~a.pi.KovT a. rj-iepuiv ex is fJ-eTavoiav) the
catechumens assembled day after day in the
church of the Anastasis (Cat. xiv.) for prayer,
and for catechetical instruction. 15. And at
the close of Lent, on the " Sabbath," or Easter
Eve, as the evening (Myst. Catech. i. /cot' eKeivi-v
too fiaffTLff/LLaTos ttjv ecnrepav. Compare Chry-
sost. in 1 Cor. Horn, xl., where he speaks of tt-v
ea-repav eKeivqv, that evening in which baptism
is solemnized) closed in upon the holy city, those
to be baptized assembled in the outer chamber
of the baptistery (els rhv izpoavAiov too fSaTnia-
rripiov olkov, Myst. Cat. i.) and facing towards
the west, as being the place of darkness, and of
the powers thereof, with outstretched hand,
made open renunciation of Satan. 16. Then
turning them about, and with face towards the
East, "the place of light," they exclaimed, " I be-
lieve in the Father (els tov n.) and in the Son,
and in the Holy Ghost, and in one baptism of
repentance." 17. This said, they went forward
into the inner chamber (oIkos) of the baptistery,
and (Myst. Cat. ii.) put off the garment (chiton)
wherewith they were clothed, and being thus
naked were anointed with oil from head to foot.
18. After this preparatory unction they were
led by the hand to the font itself, and then each
one was asked, "Dost thou believe in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost?" and they, in answer, witnessed the
saving confession of their faith, and dipped them-
selves thrice in the water, and thrice lifted
themselves up from out thereof; and so set
forth, by symbol, the three days' burial of the
Lord, and his Resurrection ; and the saving
water was to them at once death and life, at
once "a tomb and a mother." 19. Then, on
coming forth from the water, they were clothed
with white garments, significant of the purity
and brightness of that spiritual vesture with
which they were ever henceforth to be clothed
(Myst. Cat. iv. in fin.). 20. Afterward, as
Christ, coming up out of the waters, was
anointed witli the unction of the Holy Ghost,
descending upon Him in bodily shape as a dove,
an unction, not bodily but spiritual, so the bap-
tized, when made partakers of "the anointed,"
are themselves "anointed" with a holy oil "on
the forehead, the ears, the nostrils, and the
breast ; and while the body was thus touched
with material ointment, the spirit was sanctified
[or ' consecrated,' ayiaCeTcu] by the holy and
lifegiving Spirit" (Myst. Cat. iii.). 21. Holy
Communion. After this followed holy communion,
of which all the newly baptized were partakers,
therein becoming " of one body and of one blood "
with Christ (avaawfxoi Kal avvaifioi rov Xpiarov),
and there partaking of a heavenly bread, and of a
eup of salvation, that sanctify both soul and body
(lb. iv.). 22. Psalms and lights. Under the
figurative language employed by St. Cyril in his
prefatory address, we may see evident allusions to
the accompanying ceremonial of the great Easter
rite. This was celebrated, as we have already
mentioned, on the eve, and during the night
(irore /u.ev Vfuv 8ei|j7 6 debs eKeivnv ti]V
vvkto. k.t.A., Praefatio) preceding Easter day.
And the use of artificial light, thus rendered
necessary, was singularly in harmony with the
occasion, and with some of the thoughts most
prominently associated with it (see 5 above).
It would be difficult to imagine any scene more
moving than that pictured to us in the pages of
St. Cyril, when on the eve of the Saviour's
resurrection, and at the doors of the church of
the "Anastasis," the white-robed (19) band
of the newly baptised was seen approaching from
the neighbouring baptistery, and the darkness
was turned into day (to o~k6tos to i-fiepo-paves,
Praefat. ad Catech.) in the brightness of unnum-
bere'd lights. Aud as the joyous chant swelled
upwards, " Blessed is he whose unrighteousness
is forgiven, and whose sin is covered," it might
well be thought that angels' voices were heard
echoing the glad acclaim, " Blessed is the man
unto whom the Lord imputeth no sin, and in
whose spirit there is no guile." (ore xipoiv accdev-
t-cv, i. e., after your baptism, oi dyyeAoi ewicpco-
vt]o~ovo~ 
