The faiths of the world; an account of all religions and religious sects, their doctrines, rites, cermonies, and customs

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481

promise, a lie extorted by modesty or nee
and sins which are the result of peculiar temptations,
incidental to the avocations or circumstances of indi-
viduals. The more heinous sins, which involved ex-
communication, the same author enumerates as
murder, idolatry, fraud, apostacy, blasphemy, and
fornication. Of these, idolatry is called by Cyprian
the summum delictum, the highest of all crimes, the
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Augustine men-
tions that there were some in his time who limited
the greater sins to tliree only — adultery, idolatry, and
murder. These alone demanded public penance, but
all others, they alleged, might be easily compensated
for by giving of alms. In inflicting the censures of
the church, due care was uniformly taken that the
crimes charged were overt acts, and not sins which
were merely cherished in the heart, without being
carried into outward act.

Ecclesiastical censures were usually inflicted upon
offending clergymen in the ancient church with
water severity than upon others. For. while all
other offenders might, by submitting to public pen-
ance, recover the privileges which they had lost, it was
otherwise with the clergy, who, when they had fall-
en into crimes which were a scandal to their profes-
sion, were straightway deposed from the sacred office.
In some very flagrant cases, they were also excom-
municated, but with this peculiarity, that though by
repentance they might be restored to the communion
of the church, they were not thereby restored to the
office of the ministry, but could only communicate
as laymen. Some canons did not require them to do
public penance in the church ; others obliged them
to submit to that part of discipline also. The crimes
which were considered as inferring degradation from
the clerical office, appear to have been theft, murder,
perjury, fraud, sacrilege, fornication, adultery, and
such like gross and scandalous offences. Another
offence which was viewed as calling for deposition
from the ministry, was that of falling away in time
of persecution, and, so careful was the early church
in watching over the purity of its clergymen, that
drinking and gaming of every kind were prohibited
under the same penalty of deprivation. The taking
of usury, also, was punished with deposition.

CENSER, a vessel employed in offering incense
in the service of the Jewish tabernacle and temple.
The censers of the Jews were generally of brass, but
sometimes of gold, and their precise form can only
be guessed at from the appearance of the censers re-
presented on the Egyptian monuments, which are
simply small cups with lids such as could be carried
in the hand. A censer was used by the ancient
Greeks and Romans in their sacred rites under the
name of Ackkra (which see). The censer is used
both in the Greek and Romish Churches in their
8acred services, but the form of it, and its suspension
by chains, suggests rather the heathen than the
Jewish censer. Two words are found in the Hebrew
Bible which arc both of them rendered censer in the

authorized version. The first, mechateh, is used to
describe the censers of .-Won, and of Korah and his
company. They appear to have been composed of
brass or copper. The same word is also applied to
the censers of gold afterwards made by Solomon.
But the censer which king I'zziah held in his hand
while he attempted to burn incense in the house ot
the Lord, as we find recorded in 2 Chron. xwi. 19,
is described by an entirely different word from the
former, being mekatheret, which appears to have been
an implement used by idolaters, as the prophet Eze-
kiel says (viii. 11) that the seventy apostate Jews
engaged in idolatrous worship had each of them
his censer (rnelcatheret) in his hand. This might he
perhaps an inferior kind of censer appropriate to the
priests, and common to them all. It is not, however,
certain that the mechateh was peculiar to the high
priest, as we find it used by the sons of Aaron (Lev
x. 1), and also bv 250 companions of Korah.

CENTENARIUS (Lat. centum, a hundred), an
officer in ancient monasteries, who presided over a
hundred monks.

CENTEOTL, the great or primitive goddess of
the Mexican mythology, who was destined to put an
end to the human sacrifices which were offered at
Mexitli, and to re-establish the simple offerings of the
first-fruits of harvest. She was the originator of
agriculture, and taught the art to mortals.

CKXTIMANKS (Lat. centum, a hundred, and
meatus, a hand), a name given to Briareus, Gyges,
and Cottus, three giants in ancient Roman mytho-
logy, who were possessed each of a hundred hands.
They assisted Jupiter in overthrowing the Titans.

CENTURIES (Magdeburg), a celebrated eccle-
siastical history, compiled by a society of Lutheran
divines, known by the name of the Magdeburg Ceu-
turiators. It was published between the years 1559
and 1574, in thirteen volumes folio, each volume
containing one century. The name of the entire
work was derived from the city where the first part
of their history was finished, and from the chronolo-
gical mode in which they conducted their undertak-
ing. The individual who chiefly presided over the
preparation of the work was the learned Flacius
lllyricus. The history is divided into periods of
centuries, in which the authors undertake to give B
complete view of the aspect which the church pre-
sented, in a series of chapters, amounting to sixteen,
with numerous subdivisions. Everything connected
with the propagation and persecutions of Christianity,
is set forth century by century in three distinct
chapters. This is followed by a statement of the
articles of doctrine taught by ecclesiastical writers,
with extracts from their works upon forty heads of
doctrine, constituting a whole body of divinity. The
succeeding chapters are devoted to a description of
heresies, the rites and ceremonies of religion, schisms,
councils, the lives of eminent persons, miracles and
prodigies, the affaire of the .lews, religions fori i n I i
the church, and finally, the political condition of tl.e
2 k

482

CEPHALONOMANCY— CEREMONIES.

world. " The learning and industry of the Centuria-
tors," says Dr. Welsh in his ' Elements of Church
History,' " have never been disputed. Their work
has been considered as a storehouse by Protestant
divines in succeeding times. In Germany it super-
seded all farther inquiiy into church history for up-
wards of a century, and its influence in determining
the mode in which historians direct their inquiries,
has been more or less felt even to our own days.
Very serious objections, however, may be made to
this great undertaking. Notwithstanding the multi-
tude of subjects which the authors proposed to illus-
trate, some of the most interesting in the field of
historical investigation are wholly omitted ; and by
the mode of division, all interest in the work as a
continued narrative is necessarily destroyed. The
natural relations which connect different subjects are
wholly disregarded, and, it must be added, that the
prejudices of the authors sometimes misled them in-
to error." It cannot be denied that the arrangement
followed by the Magdeburg Centuriators is objec-
tionable, but Mosheim having constructed his church
history on the same plan, has done more than any
other author to render the division into centuries
popular in Britain and even on the continent. Dr.
Welsh, who disapproves of the plan in the strongest
manner, says, " It is as if we were to study the geo-
logy of a country, not by examining continuously the
natural position of the strata, but by determining the
spaces for observation by concentric circles at the
distance of mile-stones." A new edition of the
' Magdeburg Centuriators ' was commenced in 1757
at Nuremburg, but was carried only to the sixth vo-
lume in 4to. An edition, somewhat abridged, was
published by Lucius at Basil, 1624, thirteen volumes
in three, large folio. Tins edition is most current
among the Reformed, though disapproved by the
Lutherans. Cresar Baronius, a father of the oratory,
at the instigation of Philip Neri, founder of the So-
ciety of the oratory, undertook to confute this history,
in a work of twelve volumes folio, each volume like-
wise embracing one century. His work is entitled
' Anuales Ecclesiastici,' and was published at Rome
between the years 1588 and 1607, and afterwards at
Mentz, with the approbation of the author. The
latest, most splendid, and most complete edition, was
published with the corrections of Antony Pagi, a
French Franciscan, and the continuation of Odoric
Raynald, at Lucca, 1738—1756, in thirty-eight vo-
lumes folio. Raynald's continuation reaches to the
year 1565. James de Laderchi, likewise a father of
the oratory, extended the anuals to the year 1572.
Henry de Sponde, or Spondanus, bishop of Pamiers,
likewise composed a continuation of Baronius to the
year 1640, in three volumes folio. Abraham Bzo-
vius, also a Polish Dominican, continued Baronius
to the year 1572, in eight volumes folio.

CEPHALONOMANCY (Gr. hephale, the head,
and manteia, divination), a species of divination
practised occasionally among the ancient Greeks

with an ass's head, which they broiled upon coals,
and, after muttering a few prayers, mentioned the
person's name whom they suspected of the crime in
question. If the jaws moved and the teeth chat-
tered, they thought the guilt was sufficiently disco-
vered.

CEPHISSUS, the divinity of the river Cephissus.
CERBERUS, the many-headed dog of ancient
mythology which guarded the entrance of Hades.
According to Hesiod, he had fifty heads, but later
writers assign him only three heads, while some
poets call him hundred-headed, and many-headed.
The employment of this fabulous monster was to ad-
mit the shades into the infernal regions, while he
prevented their return to the abodes of the living.

CERDONIANS, a Gnostic sect of the second cen-
tury, who derived their name from Cerdo, a teacher
from Antioch in Syria, who held to the purely Dua-
listic Gnosis. According to Irenaeus, he taught at
Rome that the God of the Jews is to be carefully
distinguished from the God of the Christians. Epi-
phanius alleges that Cerdo affirmed that Christ was
not born, but had only the appearance of a body,
that he denied the resurrection of the dead, and re-
jected the Old Testament. He seems to have been
one of the first who recommended the celibate life.
Marcion, one of the most noted leaders of the Gnos-
tics, is universally believed to have borrowed a con-
siderable number of the peculiar doctrines of his
system from the instructions of Cerdo. See Mak-
cionites.

CEREMONIES, outward acts employed in Di
vine service to impress the mind of the worshipper,
and, by an appeal to the outward senses, to convey
important truths to the intellect and the heart.
From the intimate connection which subsists be-
tween the physical constitution of man and his intel-
lectual and moral nature, ceremonies have evei
formed a necessary part of religious worship in all
ages and countries. From the earliest period, while
the promise of a Mediator was given to restore man
to the favour and friendship of God, we find at the
same time the ceremony of sacrifice instituted, in
which was embodied the great principle, that with-
out shedding of blood there is no remission. In the
whole of the varied and interesting observances of
the Jewish ritual, were embodied the grand abstrac-
tions of the Christian system, which were thus
brought to bear with peculiar force on the minds of
the people. Visible symbols or signs, in fact, through
the whole course of the Jewish history, were the
medium of communication between heaven and earth.
Even posterior to the advent of our Lord, we find
tliat the same mode of instruction appears to have
been adopted : and the condition of the Jews at that
time rendered its adoption the more expedient. So
rude and uncultivated were they ; to such a degree
had they lost sight of the spirituality of the moral,
and the great end of the ceremonial law, that simple
external signs were absolutely necessary to conviey

CEREMONIES.

483

iny religious ideas to their minds. They, at least
the great mass of them, trusted to their sacrifices
and external offerings for the pardon of sin, thus
substituting the letter for the spirit, the type for the
antitype. In these circumstances, our Lord resorted
to a mode of instruction admirably adapted to the
exigencies of the case — we refer to the employment
of parables. Accustomed as the Jews of those days
were to think of religion as consisting merely of ex-
ternal observances, and employed as they were in
sedulously tithing mint, and anise, and cummin, to
the neglect of the weightier matters of the law, para-
bolic instruction was the simplest and easiest mode
of leading their minds away from such a false view
of divine truth, to the spiritual perception of it.
Their ceremonies were originally intended to point
their thoughts to a higher and nobler economy.
When our Lord, therefore, appeared upon earth, with
the express design of introducing a new dispensa-
tion, there was a beautiful propriety in his adopting
a mode of teaching, which combined somewhat of
the material nature of the old with the spirituality
of the new scheme. Under a plain and possible
story, finely wrought in all its details, the Divine
teacher revealed some sublime doctrine, or enforced
some necessary duty ; and many, no doubt, who lis-
tened with interest, would remember with advantage
the doctrine in the one case, and the duty in the
other, long after the narratives themselves were for-
gotten.

This adaptation of the truth to our physical na-
ture appears to have been carefully kept in view in
the institution of the standing ordinances of the
church. In the sacramental symbols an impressive
exhibition is made to our bodily senses of some of
the most important and interesting truths of the
Christian system, and not only are these truths signi-
ficantly represented, they are also impressively sealed
upon the believing children of God. In other words,
by the sensible display given in the solemn ordi-
nances of baptism and the supper, ample provision
is made for the emblematic exhibition of the truths
as well as the actings of God in reference to His
people. Both were held forth under a figure in the
ancient economy ; all that referred to the plan of re-
conciliation was sensibly taught in the mission and
mediation of the God-man, Christ Jesus. The full
development of the plan, however, in its application
to individual believers, was yet to be made known.
The general principles, if we may so speak, of the
echeme of salvation were fully taught in the Bible,
but the application of these principles to believers
separately could only be represented by some stand-
ing memorial. Hence the institution of the sacra-
mental ordinances in which, by external symbols.
the leading truths of the gospel were set forth, both
in their abstract meaning and in their practical bear-
ing upon individual Christians.

But while certain standing ceremonies have been
instituted in the Christian church, the question has

been often proposed, whether the church is authorized
in instituting ceremonies which were not originally
either enjoined or practised by our Lord and his
apostles. One thing is certain, that the conduct ol
the Jews, in this respect, in the days of our Lord,
met with his explicit and decided disapproval. Thus,
he plainly declares, in reference to all ceremonies ot
merely human invention, Matth. xv. 9, "But in vain
they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the com-
mandments of men." By the word "doctrines" in
this passage, Jesus points to certain significant cere-
monies, such as the Pharisaical washing of hands,
cups, tables, and other outward emblems by which it
was designed to teach and signify holiness. All
sacred ceremonies of man's devising, then, are plainly
to be condemned as an addition to the Word of God
which is forbidden no less than a taking away from
it. In the Old Testament church there was an al-
most complete uniformity in the ritual observed in
the worship and service of God. And in the early
Christian church, although there was not an uni-
formity in all particulars among all the churches, for
instance in the point of fasting, some fasting on the
Sabbath, others not ; some taking the Lord's Supper
fasting, others not ; although likewise there was a
great difl'erence between the custom of one church
and another in the time and manner of celebrating the
Lord's Supper, and in other particulars, still there
was a remarkable uniformity in the primitive church,
even in many things belonging to church govern-
ment and form of worship. The danger attendant
on the introduction of unscriptural and unwarranted
ceremonies into the church is strikingly seen in the
history of the Church of Rome, which has originated
many innovations, not only indifferent in themselves,
but very absurd and injurious to religion. Dr. Mid-
dleton, in his ' Letters from Rome,' has very strik-
ingly pointed out the conformity between the Pa-
gan and Romish ceremonies, exemplifying it in the
use of incense, holy water, the placing of lamps and
candles before the shrines of saints, votive gifts
round the shrines of the deceased, and other similar
ceremonies. In 1646, a history of ancient ceremo-
nies was published by M. Ponce, tracing the rise,
growth, and introduction of each rite into the church,
and its gradual abuses as they appeared. Many of
them he traces to Judaism, but still — .;re to hea-
thenism.

It may be interesting to the reader to notice the
gradual progress of innovation in the ceremonies of
Christian worship. We learn from Eusebius that
even so late as the third and fourth centuries there
was considerable variety in the mode of conduct
log religious worship among Christians. Some dif-
ference of opinion, indeed, seems to have existed ai
to the precise manner in which certain rites had been
observed in apostolic times; for when a contest
arose in the second century between the Eastern
and Western Christians respecting the day on which
Easter should be observed, Eusebius informs us thai

481

CEREMONIES.

the former maintained that John was the author of
their custom, and the latter that Peter and Paul were
the authors of theirs. Again, the Greek and Latin
churches, at a later period, disputed whether lea-
cened or unleavened bread should be used in the
Lord's Supper ; and both of them contended, that
their respective opinions were warranted by the
practice of the apostles. From the peculiar aspect
which the Christian church presented in its primi-
tive state, the converts being drawn partly from the
Jews, and partly from the heathens, it is quite plain
that the apostles permitted some diversity in the
outward ceremonies, according as the Jewish or the
Pagan converts predominated in particular churches.
Various writers contend, that, in the earliest ages
of Christianity, both the Jewish and the Christian
Sabbaths were held sacred ; and it is not improba-
ble that this may havt been the case in those
churches which were composed chiefly of converts
from Judaism. Besides, Thursday and Friday, but
especially the latter, were observed as days of fast-
ing and prayer, consecrated to the remembrance of
the sufferings of Christ, and of what preceded them.
On these days, meetings were held for prayer and
fasting till three o'clock in the afternoon. These ar-
rangements, however, were not obligatory upon any
one, but observed by each member of the church ac-
cording to his special necessities and inclinations.
In the Eastern Church the Jewish and the Christian
Sabbaths were distinguished from the Station days,
as Thursday and Friday were termed, by the exclu-
sion of fasts, and by the standing position in prayer.
But in the Western, and especially in the Roman
church, the Jewish Sabbath was held as a fast-day.

The opposition which was early manifested be-
tween the communities composed of Jewish, and
those composed of Gentile Christians, had an im-
portant influence in modifying the ceremonies of
religious worship. The churches in which Jewish
converts prevailed retained, along with the whole
Jewish ceremonial law, all the Jewish festivals,
though they gradually assigned to them a Christian
import. On the contrary, among the churches of
Gentile Christians there were probably from the
first no yearly festivals whatever. Controversies
very early arose between the Church of Asia Minor
and the Church of Rome, as to the time of keeping
Easter, the former alleging that the fourteenth day
of the month Nisan ought to be regarded as the day
of Christ's passion on whatever day of the week it
might occur ; the latter maintaining that a Friday
should always be consecrated to the memory of
Christ's paseion, a Sunday to the memory of Christ's
resurrection. The dispute was carried on for a long
period with the utmost bitterness on both sides. In
the end of the third century, so sharp did the contest
become, that Victor, bishop of Rome, published a
6entence of excommunication against the churches of
Asia Minor on account of this trifling point of dis-
pute. Another annual religious festival, which was

introduced at an early period into the Christian
church, was the Pentecost or Whitsunday, observed
in commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit
on the apostles. The period which elapsed between
Easter and Whitsuntide was also regarded as in
some sense sacred. There was no fasting during
this interval ; prayers were made in the standing,
and not in the kneeling posture ; and in many of the
churches there seems to have been a daily service,
at which the communion was celebrated. The days
on which martyrs died (see Birth-days) were also
held sacred from an early period. In the second
century they were everywhere observed ; and they
are often mentioned by Tertullian and Cyprian.

Twice a-year, namely, at Easter and Whitsuntide,
baptism was publicly administered in the ancient
Christian church. The candidates for it were im-
mersed wholly in water, with invocation of the Sa-
cred Trinity, after having repeated the creed and
renounced their sins and transgressions. The bap-
tized were signed with the cross, anointed, com-
mended to God by prayer and imposition of hands,
and finally directed to taste some milk and honey.
The eucharist was celebrated chiefly on the Lord's
Day with a portion of bread and wine consecrated
with prayer. The wine was mixed with water, and
the bread was divided into small pieces. Portions
of the consecrated bread and wine were usually sent
to the sick and absent. It is even affirmed, that in
very early times the eucharist was given to infants.
Agap^e (which see) or love-feasts were also par-
taken of by the primitive Christians.

Public worship was observed originally in the room
of some private member of the church. Gradually,
as circumstances required, the place was fitted up in
a manner suited to the object. An elevated seat was
constructed for the reading of the Scriptures and the
delivering of the sermon ; a table was set for the
distribution of the Lord's Supper, which so early as
the time of Tertullian received the name of altar.
As the communities increased in numbers and wealth,
buildings were erected specially for Divine service.
This appears to have been the case even in the third
century. In the time of the outward prosperity ol
the church, under the reign of Diocletian, many
splendid churches had already arisen in the large
cities.

The introduction of images was opposed to the
whole spirit of the Christian system, but the con
verts from paganism who had been accustomed to
such modes of worship, were the first to make
images of Christ ; as for example, the Gnostic sect
of the Carpocratians, who placed images of the Re-
deemer beside the busts of Plato and Aristotle. It
was not in the first instance in the church, but in the
family, that religious images came into use among
the Christians. Accustomed to observe everywhere
around them the objects of the Pagan mythology,
they were naturally anxious to substitute other em-
blems more agreeable to their religious and mora]

CEREMONIES

481

wntiments, as for example, a shepherd carrying a
lamb on his shoulder, to represent our Redeemer res-
cuing the repentant sinner ; a dove the symbol of
the Holy Spirit, or an anchor the token of Christian
hope. Religious emblems passed from domestic
use into the churches, as earlv probably as the third
century; for the council of Elvira in A. n. 303 for-
bade "the objects of worship and adoration to be
painted on the walls." The visible representation of
the cross must have early found its way among the
Christians, both in their domestic and ecclesiastical
life. This token was used by them on almost every
occasion. It was the sign of blessing when they
rose in the morning, and when they retired at night,
when they went out, and when they came in. Such
is the tendency of our fallen nature to confound the
symbol with the idea which it represents, that we
can scarcely be surprised that even so early as the
third century the sign of the cross should ha'.
abused to purposes of superstition. The use of in-
cense was introduced about the same time into many
Christian churches, probably in imitation of a pre-
vailing custom of the heathens in their religious
worship. From the same source'seem to have arisen
exorcisms, the multiplication of fasts, and the aver-
sion to matrimony. After the manner of the pagan
mysteries, the eucharist was so far dispensed in se-
cret, that neither penitents nor catechumens were
allowed to be present at its dispensation. This holy
ordinance was commonly administered every Lord's
Day, as well as on other festival days ; and in times
of persecution daily.

In the course of the third century some innova-
tions were introduced in the ceremonies attendant on
the sacrament of baptism. Exorcism came to be
practised as a necessary part of the ordinance, that
the soul of the candidate for baptism might be deli-
vered from the bondage of Satan, and introduced into
the service of God. Another ceremony, also hitherto
unknown to the church, was added to the baptismal
rite. The persons baptized returned home decorated
with a crown and a white robe. Great importance
was now attached to the practice of fasting. The
Latins kept every seventh day as a fast, but the
Greek and Oriental Christians refused to imitate
them in this point.

No sooner had Constantino the Great renounced
paganism, and recognized Christianity as the estab-
lished religion of the Roman Empire, than he hast-
ened to erect gorgeous churches which he adorned
with pictures and images. These buildings for
Christian worship were consecrated with great pomp
and imposing rites, borrowed in great measure from
the ancient pontifical code of the Romans. The ce-
temonies which were introduced at this time into
the ordinary service of the church, and which tended
to approximate it to the heathen worship, are thus
briefly noticed by Mosheim : — "The pravcrs had dc
dined very much from their primitive simplicity and
solemnity, and became turgid and bombastic. Among

the public hymns the Psalms of David were now
received. The public discourses among the Greeks
especially were formed according to the rules for
civil eloquence, and were better adapted to call forth
the admiration of the rude multitude who love dis-
play than to amend the heart. And that no foolish
and senseless custom might be omitted in their pub-
lic assemblies, the people were allowed to applaud
their orators as had been practised in the forum and
in the theatres; nay, they were instructed both to
applaud and to clap their preachers. Who could
suppose that men professing to despise vain glory,
and who were appointed to show to others the
emptiness of all human things, would become so
senseless ?

" The first day of the week, on which Christians
were accustomed to meet for the worship of God,
Constantine required by a special law to be observed
more sacredly than before. In most congregations
of Christians five annual festivals were observed, in
remembrance namely of the Saviour's birth, of his suf-
ferings and death for the sins of men, of his resurrec-
tion, of his ascension to heaven, and of the descent
of the Holy Ghost upon his ministers. Of these
festivals that of the fourteen days sacred to the
memory of Christ's return to life was observed with
much more ceremony than the rest. The Oriental
Christians kept the memorial of the Saviour's birth
and of his baptism on one and the same day, namely,
the sixth day of January, and this day they called
Epiphany; but the western Christians seem always
to have consecrated the twenty-fifth day of Decem-
ber to the memory of the Saviour's birth; for what
is reported of the Roman bishop, Julian I. that he
transferred the memorial of Christ's birth from the
sixth of January to the twenty-fifth of December,
appears to me very questionable. The untoward
success of the age in finding the dead bodies of certain
holy men increased immensely the commemorations
of the martyrs. Devout men would have readily
consented to the multiplication of festivals, if the
time that Christians consumed in them had been
employed to advance them in true holiness ; hut the
majority spent the time rather in idleness and dissi-
pation and other vices than in the worship of God.
It is well known among other things what opportu-
nities of sinning were offered to the licentious by the
Vigils, as they were called, of Easter and Whitsun-
tide.

" It was believed that nothing was more effectual
to i' pel the assaults of evil spirits and to propitiate
the Deity than fasting. Hence it is easy to discover
why the rulers of the church ordained fasts by ex
press laws, and commanded as a necessary doty what
was before left at discretion. The Quadragesimal oi
Lent fast, as it was called, was considered more sa-
cred than all the rest, though it was not as vet fixed
to a determinate number of days. But it should be
remembered that the fasts of this age differed much
from those observed by Christians in prea igei

<86

CEREMONIES.

Anciently those who undertook to observe a fast
abstained altogether from food and drink ; in this age
many deemed it sufficient merely to omit the use of
Hesh and wine, and this sentiment afterwards became
universal among the Latins.

" For the more convenient administration of bap-
tism sacred fonts or baptisteria were erected in the
porches of the temples. This sacred rite was al-
ways administered, except in cases of necessity, on
the vigils of Easter and Whitsuntide, with lighted
wax candles and by the bishop, or by the presbyters
whom he commissioned for that purpose. In some
places salt, a symbol of purity and wisdom, was put
into the mouth of the baptized; and everywhere a
double anointing was used, the first before and the
other after the baptism. After being baptized the
persons appeared clad in white gowns during seven
lays."

From the days of Constantine a marked change
was observed in the whole aspect of Christian wor-
ship. A pompous ceremonial took the place of the
ancient simplicity. Various ornaments were added
to the sacerdotal garments, in order to increase the
veneration in which the clergy were held. The
temples were fitted up with unbounded magnificence,
adorned with images of the apostles and saints, but
more especially with an image of the Virgin Mary
holding the infant Jesus in her arms. Altars and
reliquaries of solid silver were procured in various
places, and no expense was spared to supply the
churches with sacred utensils of the most costly
description.

This obvious departure from primitive simplicity,
however, was not limited to the external ceremonies
of the church, but extended also to its worship and
discipline. Thus the agapa? or love-feasts, which
had formed in early times one of the most striking
evidences of the harmony and mutual kindness which
prevailed among Christians, were found in the fourth
century to have so far degenerated in their charac-
ter, that it was necessary to prevent them from being
held in churches. The strictness of the ancient dis-
cipline towards ecclesiastical offenders was now
greatly relaxed. The more heinous delinquents, it
is true, were still liable to public censures. But the
practice of voluntary confession before the church
of private offences and secret sins, had for some time
fallen into desuetude ; and in most places, both of
the East and West, private confessions before a
priest had been substituted in place of public con-
fessions before the church.

In the sixth century, the differences chiefly arose
in respect of rites and ceremonies between the Greek
and Latin churches. The Nestorian and Eutychian
neresies in particular, gave origin to various forms
which were designed to characterize the contending
sects. In the Western Church, Gregory the Great,
signalized his pontificate by the introduction of a
number of ceremonies which were altogether new.
To him is generally admitted to be due the inven-

tion of the canon of the mass, or at least lie must b«
accorded the honour of having wholly remodelled
the old canon. He discriminated also the different
times, occasions, and places of public worship, and
framed a service for each. Hence the vast multi-
plications of liturgical formulas in the Homan
Church. It was in the time of Gregory too, that
churches both in the East and West were erected
in great numbers, in memory, and to the honour, of
the saints. The number of festivals and saints' days
were almost as numerous as the churches. At the
period at which we have now arrived, the festival
began to be celebrated of the Purification of the
Virgin Mary.

The ceremonies of the Greek church were not a
little increased in number by the enactments of the
Trullan council, which was held at Constantinople
A. D. 692, and which, as being supplemental to the
fifth and sixth general councils, is commonly called
Concilium Quinisextum. Nor were the Roman pon-
tiffs of the seventh century behind in making addi-
tions to the ceremonies of the church. Pope Hono-
rius instituted a festival in honour of the wood of
the cross on which our Lord was crucified ; and
Pope Boniface also consecrated the Feast of All
Saints. The churches were now adorned in a more
luxurious and magnificent style than they had been
even in the time of Constantine. The confessional
of St. Peter at Rome was covered with pure silver,
and the great doors at the entrance of the church
were overlaid with the same precious metal.

Christianity thus gradually lost the simplicity
which had characterized it in apostolic times, and
dwindled down into a system of external ceremonies.
The multiplication and regulation of these became
the chief object of solicitude, and to effect this,
both the doctrines and duties of religion were
almost wholly neglected. The mass of the Roman-
ists was now looked upon as the principal part of
divine worship. One addition after another was
made to its already cumbrous ceremonial, and Pope
Gregory III. seems to have converted the whole into
a series of superstitious observances. Charlemagne
directed his efforts to the abolition of various super-
stitious rites, abolishing the worship of images,
limiting the number of holidays, rejecting the con-
secration of bells with holy water, and introducing
several other useful and important regulations. But
while thus endeavouring to effect some improve-
ments in the observances of the church, — this em-
peror remained devotedly attached to the Roman
pontiffs, and exerted his influence in inducing all the
churches of the Latin Christians to adopt the entire
ritual of the Romish worship.

So complicated at length did the public rites of
religion become, that in the ninth century works be-
gan to be published, having for their sole object tht»
explanation of divine offices, as religious ceremonies
were in that age termed. The minuteness with
which these treatises detailed the various particulars

CEREMONIES.

481

of the cumbrous ritual, shows the exaggerated im-
portance attached to the mere externals of religion.
Churchmen were chiefly employed in regulating the
cumbrous forms of worship. Hence the splendid
furniture of the temples, the numerous wax-candles
burning at noon-day, the multitudes of pictures and
statues, the decorations of the altars, the frequent
processions, the splendid dresses of the priests, and
masses appropriate to the honour of saints. Every
new saint which was added to the calendar, called
for the appointment not only of a new feast-day, but
of new forms of worship, and new religious rites.
But while the worship of the saints thus rose into
prominence, that of the Virgin Mary came every
day to occupy a more conspicuous place in the ritual
of the Romish church. Masses were celebrated, and
rlesh abstained from on Saturdays in honour of
Mary; the daily office of St. Mary was introduced,
which was afterwards confirmed by Urban II. ; the
rosary now came into use, consisting of fifteen repe-
titions of the Lord's Prayer, and one hundred and
fifty Ave Marias ; the crown of St. Mary also was
invented, which consisted of six or seven repetitions
of the Lord's Prayer, and sixty or seventy Ave
Marias, according to the age, ascribed by different
authors to the Holy Virgin.

Although Rome had thus for centuries been add-
ing to the number of the rites of Christian worship,
the innovations which she had introduced were very
slow in being adopted in many parts of the Latin
world. Spain, in particular, showed itself for a long
period most reluctant to part with its ancient liturgy,
called the Mozarabic or Gothic, and to adopt that of
Rome. Gregory VII., however, in the eleventh cen-
tury, succeeded in persuading the Spaniards to lay
aside their long-cherished prejudices, and to fall in
with the arrangements of the Romish ritual. The
Greek church was at this period as completely over-
run with superstition as the Latin, and, accordingly,
both its public and private worship received various
additions to its outward rites and ceremonies, not only
by decrees of councils, but by the mere personal re-
commendations of individual patriarchs. Among the
Latins a new festival was instituted A. n. 1138, in
honour of the immaculate conception of the Virgin, —
a doctrine which, though opposed by Bernard and
others, was now extensively believed in the Romish
church. Pictures and ornaments of various kinds
were found in almost all the churches. Even the
tloors were covered over with paintings of saints
and angels. New churches were consecrated with
sprinkling of holy water and other superstitious cer-
emonies. More than one altar was now found in
the same church, for in the twelfth century we find
mention made of the high altar. In many churches
the altars were ornamented with gold, silver, pre-
cious stones, and costly pictures. Expensive lamps
and candles were kept burning before the images of
saints, which were only to be extinguished for three
days preceding Easter. The eucharist was still ad-

ministered in both kinds, but Clement III. decreed
that only unleavened bread should be used, and that
the wine should be mixed with water. The doctrine
of transubstantiation having now become a received
dogma of the Latin church, the adoration of the host
followed as a natural consequence. This practice
seems to have been first introduced by Guido, a Cis-
tercian monk, whom the Pope had created a cardi-
nal, and despatched as his legate to Cologne. It
was naturally succeeded by other rites designed to
do honour to the consecrated bread. Splendid
caskets wore constructed in which God, in the form
of bread, might reside, and be carried from one place
to another. Processions were formed to convey the
host to the houses of the sick. In addition to these
numerous rites connected with the transubstantiated
bread, a new festival was instituted in honour of the
body of Christ as present in the holy supper. This
festival was imposed by Urban IV. upon the whole
church in A. n. 1264, but in consequence of the death
of that pontiff soon after signing the decree, it was
not universally observed by the Latin churches until
Clement V. in A. D. 1311 confirmed the edict of
Urban.

A very important addition was made to the public
ceremonies of the church towards the close of the thir-
teenth century, by the institution of the year of jubilee
by Boniface VTII., who decided that every hundredth
year all who should confess and lament their sins,
and devoutly visit the church of St. Peter and St.
Paul at Rome, should receive plenary remission of
their sins. Finding that this new festival brought
both honour and gain to the church of Rome, some
future pontiffs limited it to shorter periods than a
century. Thus Clement VI. repeated the jubilee in
A. d. 1350, and both Gregory XL and Urban VI.
wished to reduce the interval to thirty -three years,
the supposed years of our Lord's age at his cruci-
fixion ; but were prevented by death from accom-
plishing their design. Boniface IX. first attained
the object. Paul II. ordered that the festival should
be kept every twenty-five years. Yet death, in his
case, also compelled him to resign the benefit of the
alteration to his successor, Sixtus IV. One pope
after another seems, as darkness gradually covered
the church, to have been anxious to signalize his
reign by some addition to the ceremonies of reli-
gion. Innocent V. instituted festival days in com-
memoration of the spear which pierced the Saviour's
side, of the nails which fastened him to the cross,
and of the crown of thorns which he wore in the
judgment-hall. Among many other superstitious
rites, John XXII. added the angel's salutation to
Mary to the prayers in common use.

True spiritual religion had now almost wholly dis-
appeared, and given place to a gorgeous system of
external worship calculated only by parade and glit-
ter to gratify the senses (if an ignorant multitude.
The worship of the Virgin was substituted for that
of Jesus, and legends wire framed to enhance the

188

CEREMONIES.

estimation in which she was held. Indulgences were
openly sold to enrich the cotters of an avaricious
priesthood. Mimic shows were got up ; trifling cer-
emonies were devised ; incense and holy water were
used in profusion, and the worship of the professing
Christian church was nothing more than a raree show.
The discourses of the few priests who were capable
of preaching, consisted of an account of pretended
miracles, ridiculous fables, and silly legends strung
together without method and without skill. The
authority of holy mother church was loudly pro-
claimed, the influence of the saints with God, the
dignity, glory, and all-prevailing efficacy of the
prayers of the Virgin Mary, the surpassing value of
relics, the indescribable utility of indulgences, the
awful torments of purgatory, such were the principal
themes on which the clergy descanted in their ad-
dresses to the people. No wonder that in these
circumstances a deplorable ignorance of divine tilings
everywhere prevailed, and superstition, united with
gross corruption of morals, characterized the great
mass of the population of so-called Christendom.

It was when matters had reached this crisis that,
in the sixteenth century, the Reformation took place
in Germany, which speedily extended itself over the
other countries of Europe, leading to a change in
the rites and ceremonies of the church, as well as in
many points of doctrine. The Protestant party
held, that all the innovations which the Romanists,
in the course of time, had introduced into the
church, ought to be rejected as of merely human
invention. Many of these rites, however, were
retained by the Reformed Church, chiefly on the
ground that they were matters of comparative in-
difference, not affecting the character of the church
as a Christian body. In England, accordingly, when
the Reformed religion had been adopted as the estab-
lished religion of the country, the Puritans com-
plained that so much of the leaven of Antichrist
should still be permitted to remain in the Church of
Christ. For example, they wished the abolition of
all saints' days, and the prohibition of the sign of the
cross, more especially in the sacrament of baptism.
They were opposed to the employment of sponsors
in baptism while the parents were still living. They
disapproved of the Apocrypha being read or ex-
pounded in public worship. They called for the
abolition of various rites and customs, which they
regarded as unscriptural, such as kneeling at the
sacrament of the Lord's Supper, bowing at the name
of Jesus, giving the ring in marriage, the prohibition
of marriage during certain times of the year, and the
licensing it for money, as also the confirmation of
children by episcopal imposition of hands. The
Puritans, while they objected to these and other
rites belonging to the Romish system, held also that
all human traditions are superfluous and sinful; that
only the laws of Christ are to be practised and
taught, and that mystical and significant ceremonies
in religion are unlawful. Queen Elizabeth was herself

violently opposed to the Puritans during the whole
of her reign, but several persons belonging to her
court, and even some of her most eminent ecclesias-
tics, were favourable to them, and approved of their
opposition to the Romish ceremonies. Accordingly
some continued to wear the prescribed clerical vest-
ments, and others laid them aside ; some adminis-
tered the sacrament kneeling, and others standing, or
even sitting ; some baptized in a font with the sign
of the cross, and others in a basin without it. This
unseemly and unsettled state of things continued for
some years, whilst the Puritan party was increasing
in numbers and in influence. The queen at length
interfered, and in 1565 directed her ecclesiastical
commissioners to devise some means of bringing
about an exact uniformity. Upon this, a book called
' Advertisements,' was set forth by Archbishop Par-
ker, containing orders for preaching, administering the
sacraments, and the dress of ecclesiastical persona :
to which were added certain protestations, to be
made, promised, and subscribed by all for the future
admitted into the church. The queen did not give
her authority to these Advertisements till some years
after ; but she issued a proclamation requiring con
formity in the use of the vestments, under penalty
of prohibition from preaching, and deprivation, which
the archbishop in several instances earned into effect.
The London ministers were cited before him, and
thirty-seven out of ninety-eight refused to promise
compliance with the ordained ceremonies ; whilst the
younger students at Cambridge were so infected with
the Puritan doctrines, that the famous Thomas Cart-
wright, and 300 more, threw off their surplices in
one day, within the walls of one college.

The suspended clergymen, finding that renewed
applications to the queen and her ministers were
ineffectual, in 15GG published a treatise in their own
vindication ; in which they alleged, that neither the
prophets of the Old Testament, nor the apostles ef
the New, were distinguished by their garments ;
that such a distinction was not introduced into the
Christian Church until long after the appearance of
Antichrist ; that the habits to which they objected
had been connected with idolatry and sorcery, were
an offence to weak Christians, and an encourage-
ment to papists ; that they were only human appoint-
ments, and even if they had been indifferent, the
imposition of them was an infringement of Christian
liberty. And, finally, the suffrage of foreign divines
was cited, who all condemned them, though they
were not willing to hazard the dawning Reformation
solely on their account.

As none of the points were conceded to the Puri
tans, in 1566 they came to the resolution of separat
ing from the parish churches, and assembling in
private houses, or wherever they could enjoy their
own form of worship. They debated, however, as to
whether they should retain any of the Common
Prayer ; or, since they were parted from the Eng-
lish Church, whether they should not set up a new

CEREMONIES (Masters of the)— CERINTHIAN'S.

486

order of service more conformable to the Scriptures
and the practice of foreign divines. The latter was
decided upon, and the established liturgy was en-
tirely laid aside. The ceremonies of the Church of
England have continued, down to the present day,
in much the same condition as they were in the reign
of Elizabeth, and the controversy between that
church and Dissenters turns upon the single point
of the twentieth article, " That the church hatli
power to decree rites and ceremonies," — a point
which is strenuously denied by all Dissenters, though
the same article guards this power claimed for the
church against abuse, by asserting, " Yet it is not
lawful for the church to ordain anything that is con-
trary to God's Word written ; neither may it so
expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant
to another." The caution thus introduced is with-
out avail, since the church herself is to be the judge
of what is or is not opposed to the Word of God.
The great safety of any church is simply to adhere
to the arrangements of Christ and his apostles in
the Scriptures, and thus to trench in nothing upon
the simplicity of primitive Christianity.

CEREMONIES (Masters of the), attendants
on the Pope, usually six in number, two of them be-
ing called assistants, and the other four supernumer-
aries. Their duty is to regulate all pontitical func-
tions, acquaint the cardinals with their duties, and
issue orders to all persons belonging to the court,
i'hey have admission into the conclave, and likewise
into the congregation of rites, but only one goes to
the ceremonial congregation. Whenever the Pope
eends any cardinal d latere out of Rome, he deputes
one of the supernumerary masters of the ceremonies
to wait upuu him. These officials are generally
clothed in purple cassocks, with black buttons and
lacings, and sleeves trailing on the ground, but in
the papal chapel they wear a red cassock like the rest
of the cardinals, and rochets like the prelates. When
they appear in this ceremonial habit, they do not
give precedency to any of the Pope's officers or do-
mestics, with the exception of the major-domo, the
naster or first gentleman of the bedchamber, and the
chief cup-bearer.

CERES, one of the principal female divinities of
the ancient Romans, which they derived from the
Greeks, by whom she was termed DEMETEE (which
eee). She was the daughter of Saturn and Vesta,
mid the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was accounted
the goddess of fruits, who lirst taught men the art
of husbandry, and is usually represented as a tall
"majestic woman with yellow hah, crowned with ears
of corn, bearing in her right hand poppies and wheat,
and in her left a lighted torch. The reason of this
last emblem is to he found in the legend, that when
her daughter Proserpine was stolen by Pluto, she
sou-lit her with lighted torches through the whole
world, until she learned from Arethusa that she had
been earned by l'luto to the infernal regions. The
distressed mother made her complaint to Jupiter,

who, moved with compassion, allowed Proserpine to
live half the year with her mother in the heavens,
and the other half with her husband in the regions
below. The worship of Ceres seems to have readied
the Romans through Sicily. The lirst temple to this
goddess was dedicated at Rome in B. c. 496, and a
festival (see next article) was instituted with games
in honour of her, over which a Greek priestess pre-
sided, to indicate that the worship of Ceres was bor-
rowed from the Greeks. Ceres, though a foreign
divinity, soon rose to great importance among the
Romans, the decrees of the senate being deposited in
her temple, which was committed to the special care
of the sediles. In his work on the ' Nature of the
Gods,' Cicero defines the name of Ceres as given
from her power of bearing fruits, thus showing that
by this goddess was represented the earth. The
greater Eleusinian mysteries, winch were observed
in the autumn, were dedicated to Ceres, and the
lesser to her daughter Proserpine. (See Eleusinian
Mysteries.) Bulls were sacrificed to Ceres on
those festal occasions ; libations were made to her of
their blood, which they poured upon the earth, the
prolific lap of the patron goddess, and their flesh was
burnt upon her numerous altars. In the Ambar-
valia (which see), a sow, a sheep, and a bull, were
sacrificed to Ceres, and hymns sung in her honour.
Ceres was honoured at Catania in Sicily, as she was
at Rome.

CEREALIA, a festival anciently celebrated at
Rome in honour of Ceres (see preceding article),
generally on the ides of April, though some think a
few days earlier. To represent Ceres wandering in
search of Proserpine, women clothed in white
dresses ran up and down with lighted torches in
their hands. During the festival games were cele-
brated in the Circus Maximus, to which none were
admitted unless clothed in white.

CERIDWEN, a goddess of the ancient Cymri,
corresponding to the Ceres of the Romans, or De-
meter of the Greeks.

CERINTIIIANS, one of the earliest of the Gnos-
tic sects, which derived its name from its founder
Cerinthus, who is said to have been a contemporary of
the apostle John. He was the first who taught that
system of Judaizing Christianity, which gradually
ripened into Gnosticism. Epiphanius represents him
as by birth a Jew, and according to Theodoret, he
received his training in the school of Alexandria.
Early writers inform us, that he resided at Ephesus
while John was in that city, and lrcmcus tells a
story of John having met Cerinthus in a public bath
at Ephcsus, and that on seeing the heretic, he in-
stantly tied out, saying that he was afraid the bath
would fall upon so noted im enemy of the truth and
kill him.

I lie most varied accounts have been given of the
doctrines of Cerinthus, according as the writers are
disposed to attach more prominence to the Gnostic
or to the Judaizing element, lienaus inclines chietly

490

CEROFERARII— CESTUS.

to the former view, and Cains, a presbyter at Rome,
and Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, incline to the
latter. Neander regards Cerinthus as best entitled
to be considered as the intermediate link between
the Judaizing and the Gnostic sects. He was in
fact one of the first who framed a regular system of
heresy after the apostolic times. Being himself a
Jew, it was natural that his starting point should be
decidedly Jewish. Accordingly, he sets out with the
doctrine that between God and the world there exists
a countless number of intermediate angels or spirits,
of various ranks and degrees. By their instrumen-
tality the world was originally created, and all its
concerns were arranged and presided over by one
who was placed at the head of the angels, and who,
though himself ignorant of the character of God, re-
presented him in the superintendence of this lower
world, and more especially as the ruler of the Jewish
people, and the being through whom the Supreme
God revealed himself to them. The view which
Cerinthus gave of the constitution of the Person of
Christ, approached somewhat to the sentiments of
the Ebionites, at least in so far as concerned the
denial of the supernatural conception of Christ. He
believed Jesus Christ to be simply a Jewish man,
sprung of Joseph and Mary, and so remarkable for
his piety and purity that he was selected to be the
Messiah. The commencement of his higher destiny,
when he became invested with Divine attributes, was,
according to the Cerinthian system, to be dated from
the hour of his baptism by John the Baptist, when
the Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove.
The Spirit of the Messiah, which now entered into
Jesus, was the true heavenly Christ himself, by
whom lie was miraculously endowed with the know-
ledge of the Supreme God, and invested with the
supernatural power of working miracles. The man
Jesus was the organ through whom the heavenly
Christ manifested himself to men, but being superior
to all suffering, no sooner was the man Jesus given
into the hands of men to be crucified and slain,
than the Christ or the Logos left him, and returned
to the Father. Epiphanius alleges that Cerinthus
denied the resurrection of Jesus, but this assertion
is supported by no other writer. Cerinthus held
that the Jewish Law was in a certain sense binding
upon Christians. He taught also that there would
be a resurrection of the body, and that the righteous
would enjoy a millennium of happiness in Palestine,
where the man Jesus having conquered all his ene-
mies, through the power of the heavenly Christ
united to him, would reign in the glorified Jerusalem
over all his saints. Caius and Dionysius attribute
carnal views on this subject to Cerinthus, which it is
very unlikely that he ever held. Epiphanius charges
him with rejecting Paul because of that apostle's
renunciation of circumcision, but it is far from pro-
bable that he rejected the whole of the Epistles of
Paul, though he may have objected to some of them.
It is an ancient opinion, that the apostle John wrote

his Gospel mainly with a view to refute Cerinthus,
but many theological critics are opposed to the idea.
Epiphanius says, that Cerinthus was head of the fac-
tion which rose at Jerusalem against the apostle
Peter, on account of some uncircumcised persons
with whom that apostle had eaten ; and also that he
was one of the leaders in the disturbance raised at
Antioch in Syria, contending for the necessity of
circumcision. He is said to have been endowed
with a prophetic spirit, and to have published many
prophecies and revelations throughout Phrygia and
Pisidia. He began to propagate his heresy towards
the close of the first century.

CEROFERARII (Lat. cera, wax, fero, to carry),
taper-bearers in the Church of Rome, whose office
it is to walk before the deacons with a lighted taper
in their hands. (See Accensorii.) Similar officers
are found in the Greek church.

CEROMANCY, a species of divination practised
among the ancient Greeks by means of wax, which
they melted and let drop into water within three de-
finite spaces, and by observing the figure, distance,
situation, and connection of the drops, foretold future
events, or answered any question proposed. See
Divination.

CESARINS, a religious order which arose in the
thirteenth century, in consequence of various abuses
having crept into the order of St. Francis. The
abuses complained of, however, having been re-
formed, the order of the Cesarins ceased to exist.

CESSATION, an act of discipline in the Church
of Rome, styled technically cessatio a divinis, when
for any notorious injury or disobedience to the
church, a stop is put to all divine offices and the ad-
ministration of sacraments, and Christians are de-
prived of church burial. An interdict differs from a
cessation, in that during the former divine service
may be performed in such churches of any place in-
terdicted, the doors being shut, as are not expressly
under the interdict, and even may be celebrated
solemnly on certain high festivals, but in a cessation,
no religious service can be performed solemnly ; the
only liberty allowed is in order that the consecrated
host may be renewed, to repeat every week a private
mass in the parish churches, the doors being shut ;
taking care also not to ring the bell, or to admit
more than two persons to administer in it. More-
over, it is lawful during the cessation to administer
baptism, confirmation, and penance, to such persons
as desire it, provided they are not excommunicated,
or under an interdict. The viaticum or extreme
unction may also be administered, but then the
prayers which are said before and after that admin-
istration must not be repeated. Cessation may be
incurred by a whole diocese, a city, a village, or one
or more churches.

CESSION, a term used in the Church of England,
when a church is void in consequence of the incum-
bent of any living being promoted to a bishopric.
CESTUS, the girdle of Venus, the goddess of

CHACAM— CHAKIA-MOUNI.

491

Love among the ancient Romans. It was said to
have this property, that whatever female wore it
would become lovely in the eyes of him whom she
wished to please. Venus used it to win the affec-
tions of Mars, and Juno borrowed it from her when
she wished to attract the regards of Jupiter.

CHACAM, the name given in some countries to
the chief or presiding rabbi among the modern Jews,
who holds a spiritual, and to some extent a civil, au-
thority over a country or large district. He has the
power of inflicting ecclesiastical censures, excommu-
nications, and anathemas, the consequences of which
are believed to extend beyond the present life. He
takes cognizance of all violations of the Sabbath, all
disregard of the fasts or festivals, all marriages,
divorces, and commercial contracts, and all cases of
adultery or incest. He hears and determines ap-
peals against decisions of inferior rabbis within his
district, and decides all difficult questions of the
law. The chacam preaches three or four sermons
in a year. The name chacam, or wise man, or doc-
tor, is usually applied to the chief rabbi among the
Spanish and Portuguese Jews.

CHA1TYA, the name applied among 'the Bud-
lusts to all objects proper to be worshipped. Such
objects Gotama Budha declared to be of three kinds.
The first class includes the relics of his body, which
were collected after his cremation. The second in-
cludes those things which have been erected on his
Recount or for his sake, wliich the commentators
say, mean the images of his person. And the third
includes the articles he possessed, such as his girdle,
his alms-bowl, the robe he put on when he bathed,
the vessel from which he drank water, and his seat
or throne. All these are called Chaitijas, on account
of the satisfaction or pleasure they produce in the
mind of those by whom they are properly regarded.

CHAKIA-MOUNI, a name adopted by Budha
according to the legendary accounts given by the
Mongol books, which are only translations from the
Thibetan or Sanscrit. The narrative differs consi-
derably from the Singhalese version of the story
which has been already noticed under the article
Budha (Gotama). The Mongolian legend is as fol-
lows. Soutadanna, a cluef man of the house of
Chakia, of the caste of the Brahmins, reigned in
India over the powerful empire of Magadha. He
married Mahamaya, the great illusion, but did not
consummate his marriage with her. While still a
virgin, she conceived by divine influence, and on the
, fifteenth day of the second month of spring she gave
birth to a son, whom she had earned three hundred
jays in her womb. A king, an incarnation of Indra,
oaptized the young god in a divine water. The
child received the name of Arddha-Chiddi, and was
nstantly recognized as a divine being, while it was
predicted that he would surpass in holiness all pre-
ceding incarnations. Every one adored him as the
god of gods, a title which in Mongolian is Tinyri-in-
Tinyri. The utmost care having been lavished

upon his childhood, he was committed at the age
of ten to the care of an eminent sage under whose
instruction he acquired a knowledge of poetry,
music, drawing, the mathematics and medicine. He
made such rapid progress in knowledge that he puz-
zled his teacher with various perplexing questions.
Without the slightest assistance he acquired the
knowledge of fifty different languages with their
peculiar characters, and thus he was supernaturally
fitted to fulfil his great mission, the enlightenment
of the world, and the diffusion of the knowledge of
religion among all nations. At the age of twenty
he married a virgin of the race of Chakia, by whom
he had a son named Bakholi, and a daughter. Soon
after he left his wife and family, and resolved to
give himself to a life of contemplation. Having
mounted a horse accordingly, which was brought
him by an angel from heaven, he fled to the king-
dom of Oudipa on the banks of the Naracara. There
he assumed the priestly office, cut off his hair, and
took the dress of a penitent, and exchanged his
name for Gotama, that is, one who obscures the
senses. After having spent six years in the desert,
far from the abodes of men, and accompanied only
by five favourite disciples, he set out to exercise his
apostleship. Having reached Benares (which see),
the holy city, he mounted the throne, taking the
name of Chakia-Mouni, or the penitent of Chakia.

Having given himself up for a time to preparatory
meditations, the great sage made public proclama-
tion at Benares of the new system of doctrine. His
instructions are contained in a collection of 108 large
volumes, known by the generic name of Gandjour
or verbal teaching. They treat chiefly of the meta-
physics of creation, and the frail and perishable na-
ture of man. The best edition of this great work is
that of Pekin, being in four languages, Thibetan, Mon-
golian, Mantchoo, and Chinese. No sooner were the
new doctrines made public, than Chakia-Mouni
met with the keenest and most determined opposi-
tion from the priests of the ancient religious creeds
of India, but challenging them to open controversy,
he obtained a complete triumph over them, in hon-
our of which a festival was instituted, which is held
during the first fifteen days of the first month.

Chakia-Mouni laid down as the foundation of hie
religious system certain established principles of
morality. These he reduced to four: 1. The power
of pity resting upon immoveable bases. 2. The
avoidance of all cruelty. 3. An unlimited compas-
sion towards all creatures. 4. An inflexible con-
science. Then follows the decalogue or ten special
prescriptions and prohibitions. 1. Not to kill. 2.
Not to rob. 3. To be chaste. 4. Not to bear false
witness. 5. Not to lie. 6. Not to swear. 7. To
avoid all impure words. 8. To be disinterested. 9.
Not to avenge one's self. 10. Not to be gnpenti-
tious. The new prophet pretended to have received
these precepts by revelation from heaven ; and when
he died at the age of eighty, they began to 6pread

Mi

CHALASSA— CHALDEE PARAPHRASES.

throughout all Asia, as a divine code of morality de-
signed to regulate the actions of men. Before bid-
ding a last farewell to his disciples, the sage pre-
dicted that his doctrine woidd prevail for five thou-
sand years ; that at the expiry of that period there
would appear another Budha, another man-god, pre-
destined to be the teacher of the human race. Till
that time, he added, my religion will be exposed to
constant persecution, my followers will be obliged to
quit India, and to retire to the highest mountains of
Thibet, a country which will become the palace, the
sanctuary, and the metropolis of the true faith.

Such is the Mongolian legend of the history of
the famous founder of Budhism (which see), a sys-
tem which, being first devised in Hindustan, crossed
the Himalaya, and became the predominant religion
of Thibet, Bokhara, Mongolia, Burmah, Japan, Cey-
lon, and to a great extent even of the vast empire of
China. The Brahmans regard Budha as an avatar
or incarnation of Vislvnu.

CHALASSA, an idol worshipped by the ancient
Arabians. It was destroyed in the tenth year of
the Hegira.

CHALCKECUS, a surname given to Athena at
Sparta, as the goddess of the brazen house, her
temple in that city being built of brass, and contain-
ing also her statue of brass. A festival was insti-
tuted in honour of Athena under this surname. See
next article.

CHALCKECIA, a festival celebrated every year
at Sparta, in honour of Athena, as the goddess of
the brazen house. A procession of young men in
full armour repaired to her temple, where sacrifices
were offered.

CHALDEANS (Religion op the Ancient).
See Babylonians (Religion of the Ancient).

CHALDEANS. See Nestorians.

CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. This
church, which acknowledges subjection to the Papal
See, comprehends, according to the ' Annals of the
Propagation of the Faith,' the Patriarchate of Baby-
lon, the Archbishoprics of Diarbekr, Jizeirah, Morab,
Aderbijan, and the Bishoprics of Mardin, Sirid,
Amadia, Salmas, and Karkut, with ten bishops, and
one hundred and one priests. The number of the
Chaldean Catholics is said to be reduced to 15,000.
For a long period the Romanists have been making
great efforts to gain converts, more especially among
the Nestorians on the banks of the Euplirates and
the Tigris. So far back as 1681, a patriarch was
ordained by Pope Innocent XL, over such of the
Nestorians as had seceded to Rome, under the title
of Mar Yoosuf or Joseph, Patriarch of the Chal-
deans. The seat of this functionary was at Diar-
bekr until the year 1778, when this line of patriarchs
was discontinued on the submission of Mar Elias of
Elkosh, one of the two regular patriarchs of the
Nestorians to the papal jurisdiction. The Chaldean
Catholics are usually styled by the Pope Chaldean
Christians, a title which belongs to the rest of their

countrymen, as much if not more than to them
The books of the Chaldean Catholic Church are
written in the ancient Syriac language, and are the
same with those of the Nestorians, with the excep-
tion of such modifications as have been introduced
to render them conformable to the creed of Rome.
All the clergy except the metropolitan bishop and
the patriarch are allowed to marry before ordination,
but not after it. The American missionaries at Mo-
sul, and among the Nestorians, have succeeded in
gaining several converts from the Chaldean Catho-
lics, and although Papal influence has been used
with the Pasha to interrupt, and if possible, defeat
the labours of these devoted heralds of the cross,
they still persevere in propagating the truth, and in
building up a Protestant church amid all the oppo-
sition and even persecution to which they are ex-
posed.

CHALDEE PARAPHRASES, or Takgums,
a name given to translations of the Old Testament
into the Chaldee tongue. When the Jews were car-
ried captive into Babylon, they naturally lost -soma
part of their own language, and acquired a know-
ledge of the Chaldee which was spoken in the land
of their exile. Thus there appear to have been three
dialects of the Chaldee. 1. The language spoken in
the Babylonish empire. 2. The Syriac, spoken by
the people of Syria. 3. The Jewish dialect, ap-
proaching more to the original Hebrew. Hence the
necessity for Chaldee Paraphrases, on account both
of the Jews in Chaldea, and also of those in Judea,
many of whom had lost all knowledge of the original
Hebrew. Accordingly, in the service of the syna-
gogue, a passage was first read in the Hebrew Scrip
tures, and then translated to the people into the
Chaldee dialect. In this way numbers of transla-
tions were formed, which in course of time yielded
to a few of acknowledged superiority, which were
generally adopted both for public and private use.
The most celebrated of these are the Targums or
Paraphrases of Onkelos, and of Jonathan Ben Uz-
ziel ; the former being a version of the five books of
Moses, and the latter a version of Joshua, Judges,
the two books of Samuel, the two books of Kings,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor
Prophets. The Targum of Onkelos is undoubtedly
the most ancient now extant. It is rather a version
than a paraphrase, being rendered from the Hebrew
word for word, and with great exactness. It has
always been preferred by the Jews to all other Tar-
gums, and being set to the same musical notes with
the Hebrew Text, it is thus fitted to be read in the
same tone with it in the public assemblies. The
Targum of Jonathan resembles that of Onkelos in
purity of style, but is much more of the nature of
a paraphrase, particularly his version of the later
Prophets. The Jews allege that he was the favour-
ite disciple of Hillel, and lived before the time of
our Lord. They hold him in so high estimation, thai
they consider him as equal even to Moses himself

CHALICE.

49J

Besides these two celebrated Targums, there is
another Targum on the Law, which is called that of
Jerusalem. It is not a continued paraphrase as the
rest are, but only a commentary on some passages
here and there as the author thought the text re-
quired an explanation, and sometimes whole chap-
ters are passed over. It is written by an unknown
hand, and the time when it was composed is uncer-
tain, but it is conjectured to have been written after
the third century. There are also Targums on all
the other books of the Old Testament, excepting
Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, which may possibly
have been lost.

CHALICE, the cup in which the wine used in
the eucharist is administered. In the early ages of
the church it was generally composed of the most
simple materials, for example, of glass or wood. Ac-
cording to Irenasus, supported by Epipham'us, the
impostor Marcus, of the second century, used a glass
cup in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, and the
custom seems to have continued for several cen-
turies. But when the simplicity of primitive Chris-
tianity gave way before a carnal system of ceremo-
mies, more costly materials came to be employed in
the dispensation of the Supper. Hence we find
gold and silver cups mentioned in the inventory of
churches in the sixth and seventh centuries.

The use of the chalice, or communicating in both
kinds, is denied by the Church of Rome to the laity,
who are allowed to communicate only in one kind ; the
right of communicating in both kinds being reserved
only for the officiating priest. This practice has not
the slightest sanction from the Word of God. Our
blessed Lord, when iirst instituting the sacrament of
the supper, administered both the bread and the
wine to all his disciples, using these remarkable
words in reference to the cup, " Drink ye all of it."
He neither dispensed the sacrament nor authorized its
dispensation under one form only. This indeed has
been generally conceded by Romish doctors and
councils, and even by the council of Trent itself,
which acknowledges our Lord's administration of
each species in the original institution. And yet
these theologians and councils urge the propriety of
half-communion, alleging that all to whom the cup
at the time of institution was presented were not lay-
men but priests; and the use of the wine by the
clergy affords no example for its distribution to the
laity. But unfortunately for this argument, it ap-
plies to the bread equally with the wine, so that if it
Ijfi valid, both ought to be denied to the laity.
Half-communion seems to have been utterly unknown
in the first ages of the church. " One bread," says
Ignatius, " is broken, and one cup distributed to
all." "The deacons," says Justin Martyr, "give to
every one present to partake of the blessed bread
and wine " Chrysostom too is equally explicit,
" One body and one cup is presented to all." Ac-
cording to Jerome, " the priests who administer the
jommunion, divide the Lord's blood among the

people." These authorities, extending through the
four first centuries, might be corroborated by the evi-
dence of many others.

The first who practised half-communion were the
Manicheans, who abhorred wine, and it is worth
noticing that Pope Leo in A. d. 443 commanded
this heretical sect to be excommunicated, on ac-
count of the denial of the cup, — a practice which
his Holiness accounted sacrilege. Pope Gela-
sius in a. d. 495 spoke in the strongest and most
condemnatory terms of this Manichcan practice.
Pope Urban in A. D. 1095, presiding in the council
of Clermont, which consisted of two hundred and
thirty-eight bishops, declared that " no person, ex-
cept in cases of necessity, is to communicate at the
altar, but must partake separately of the bread and
wine." Pope Paschal, so late as A. d. 1118, issued
enactments to the same effect. "Our Lord himself,"
says he, " dispensed the bread and the wine, each by
itself; and this usage we teach and command the
holy church always to observe." By the confession
of Bellarmine, Baronius, and Lyra, the ancient
church celebrated this institution in both kinds.
And even the council of Trent declares, that " both
elements were often used from the beginning of the
Christian religion ; but in process of time this usage
was changed for just and weighty reasons." It is
an important fact, that in denying the cup to the
laity, the Church of Rome differs from all other
Christian churches, Eastern and Western, at the
present day. The only sect of antiquity who are
known to have practised half-communion were the
Manicheans, from whom the Latin church seem to
have adopted it. The former held wine in abhor-
rence, accounting it the gall of the Dragon ; the lat-
ter held, and still hold, the sacramental wine in such
veneration, as to account it unfit to be used by any
other than a priest, and that too only when engaged
in sacred service.

Nor was the use of the chalice withheld all at
once from the laity. The practice was introduced
gradually and by slow successive steps. At so early
a date as the end of the sixth century, the custom
seems to have found its way into some churches, of
dipping the bread in the wine before presenting it to
the communicant. This erroneous practice had be-
come frequent in the eleventh century ; and tlie
council of Clermont condemned it as an unscriptural
mode of communion. A second step in the same
direction was taken by the introduction of the
strange device of suction. Pipes or quills, generally
of silver, were annexed to the chalice, through which
the communicant was required to suck the wine, or
as it was imagined, the blood of the Redeemer. The
design of this absurd process was to prevent the
spilling of the sacred fluid, which by the words of
consecration was thought to become possessed of a
Divine character.

So late as the twelfth century, the denial of tlit
chalice to the laity is admitted, even by lfomisl:

«04

CHALINITIS— CHANCELLOR.

authors, to have been unknown. In the following
century, however, the practice begins to make its
appearance. Father Bonaventura, who died in 1274,
mentions its introduction into some churches, and
his testimony is supported by that of Aquinas. It
was first enacted into a law two hundred years later
by the council of Constance, and this enactment was
renewed and confirmed by the council of Basil in
1-137. The matter was discussed at great length in
the council of Trent in 1562 amid great variety of
opinion. Twenty-nine voted for the restoration of
the cup, and thirty-eight against it. Fourteen were
for deferring the decision, and ten for sending a de-
legation to Germany to investigate the subject.
Twenty-four were in favour of referring the ques-
tion to the Pope, and thirty-one to the prelates.
At length the dispute terminated in the production
of canons, which approved in the strongest manner
of half-communion, and a discretionary power of
granting or refusing the cup to the laity was vested
in the Roman pontiff. The utmost difference of
opinion now manifested itself throughout the whole
of Europe. The Spaniards and Italians were vio-
lently opposed to the restoration of the sacramental
cup, and France, Germany, Bohemia, Poland, and
Hungary contended as keenly in its favour. The
Trentine decree is now universally admitted to be
the rule of the church throughout the Roman Catho-
lic world.

CHALINITIS (Gr. chalinos, a bridle), a surname
of Athena (which see), derived, it is supposed, from
that goddess having tamed Pegasus, the winged
horse, and given him to Bellerophontes.

CHALKEIA ( Gr. chalx-kos, brass), a festival of
great antiquity, celebrated at Athens at first in hon-
our of Athena, when it received the name of Athe-
naia. Afterwards it was kept in honour of Hephres-
tus, and being celebrated only by artizans, especially
smiths, it was called Chalkeia.

CHAMMANIM, temples in honour of the sun,
which the ancient Hebrews erected in imitation of
the Syrians and Phoenicians. These buildings are
frequently referred to in the Old Testament ; but the
authorized version translates the Hebrew word by
the general term " images." The word chammanim
thus rendered, is found in Lev. xxvi. 30 ; 2 Chron.
xxxiv. 4; Is. xvii. 8; xxvii. 9 ; Ezek. vi. 4.

Considerable variety of opinion prevails as to the
precise object to which the chammanim refers. Rab-
bi Solomon Jarchi says, that they were idols which
they set upon towers, and he alleges that the
name chammanim was given to them because they
were exposed to the sun. Jurieu argues that the
word being generally joined in the Old Testament
with groves and altars, must be understoodas referring
not to images, but places appropriated for the idola-
trous worship of the sun. He agrees accordingly in
opinion with Aben-Ezra, that they were "arched
houses, built in honour of the sun, and in the form of
n chariot." These, therefore, may have been the

chariots of the sun which Josiah is said to have
burnt, and may be the same with the fire-temples
of the ancient Persians, " in the midst of which,"
says Strabo, " is an altar upon which the magi
keep an immortal fire, upon a heap of ashes."
Maundrell, in hisjourney from Aleppo to Jerusalem,
mentions that he saw the remains of several of these
enclosures in Syria.

CHAMSI, called also Solares, a small sect men
tioned by Hyde, in his ' History of the Ancient Re-
ligion of the Persians,' as inhabiting a certain
district of Mesopotamia. He describes them as
amounting to not more than a thousand souls, having
no priests nor doctors, and no places of meeting, ex-
cept caves, where they perform their religious wor-
ship, the mysteries of which are kept so secret, that
they have not been discovered even by those who
have been converted to the Christian religion. Be-
ing compelled by the Mohammedans to declare
themselves members of some Christian communion,
they chose the Jacobite sect, baptizing their chil-
dren, and burying their dead according to the cus-
toms of these Christians. They believe in the pro-
pitiatory death of Christ. Some have supposed the
Chamsi to have been a branch of the Elcesaites
(which see), a heretical sect of Christians in the
second century.

CHAMYNE, a surname of Demeter (which see),
in Elis.

CHANCEL. See Bema.

CHANCELLORS, laymen deputed to hear certain
secular causes in name of the bishops. In ancient
times the clergy were allowed even by emperors and
kings to exercise jurisdiction in certain civil matters,
such as marriages, adultery, wills, &c, which were
decided by them in their consistory courts. In pro-
cess of time individuals were selected to act as as
sistants or substitutes of the bishops in this depart-
ment of their duty. The first mention of chancellor
by name occurs in the Novel of Heraclius in the
seventh century, where twelve chancellors are stated
to be allowed in the great church of Constantinople,
The cancellarii or chancellors in the civil courts were
not judges, but officers attending the judge in an in-
ferior station, and called cancellarii, because they
stood ad cancellos, at the rails or barriers, which se-
parated the secretum from the rest of the court. The
ecclesiastical chancellors, however, occupied the po-
sition of assistants or advisers in giving judgment
and were generally experienced in civil and canou
law. There appear to have been no chancellors in
England until the reign of Henry II. At length
a chancellor became an indispensable officer to a
bishop, who was bound to elect one, and if he re-
fused, the archbishop could appoint one. When
chosen, a chancellor derives his authority not from
the bishop, but from the law, and his jurisdiction
extends throughout the whole diocese, and to all
ecclesiastical matters.

CHANCELLOR (The Pope's). This func-

CHANCERY— CHAOS.

495

tionary, who claims for his office an antiquity as far
jack as the time of Jerome, wrote formerly, in the
Pope's name, all the rescripts, doubts, and scruples
with respect to faith, which bishops and others pro-
posed to him. Till the pontificate of Gregory VIII.,
in A. D. 1187, this office had always been conferred
on a bishop or cardinal ; but this Pope, who had
himself filled the office of chancellor, conferred it
upon a canon of St. John of Lateran, who assumed
the title of the Pope's vice-chancellor, as did also
five or six other canons of the same church, who
exercised it after him. But Boniface VIII. restored
it to the college of cardinals, still retaining the sub-
ordinate title of vice-chancellor, though the duties
were undoubtedly those of a chancellor. This dig-
nity is purchased, and is held for life. The juris-
diction of the cardinal vice-chancellor, as he is called,
extends to the issuing out of all apostolical letters
and bulls, and also to all petitions signed by the
Pope, except those expedited by brief, under the
fisherman's ring.

CHANCERY (The Pope's), a court at Rome,
which is sometimes styled the apostolic chancery,
and which consists of thirteen prelates, being a re-
gent and twelve referendaries, who are called regis-
ters of the High Court, and are clothed each in a
long purple robe. The court at which the Pope is
understood to preside assembles thrice a-week, viz.
on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, in the vice-
chancellor's palace. The registers of this court draw
up the minutes of all bulls from the petitions signed
by the Pope, and collate them after they are written
in parchment. Those bulls which collate to bene-
fices are issued only on the payment of certain fees
proportionable to the value of the benefices. John
XXII., though he did not invent the regulations and
fees of the apostolic chancery, is admitted, by Ro-
mish writers, to have enlarged them, and reduced
them to a more convenient form.

CHANDRA, the goddess of the moon among the
Hindus. She is also called Somvar, and presides over
Monday.

CHANG-KO, a goddess worshipped by the Chi-
nese.

CHANT, a word which, in its most extended
meaning, is used to denote the musical performance
of all those parts of the liturgy of the Church of
England which are permitted by the rubric to be
sung. Dr. Hook draws the following distinction
between singing and chanting: " Chanting does not
apply to the performance of those metrical versions
6f the Psalms, the use of which in parish churches,
though legitimate, as sanctioned by authority, is not
contemplated by the rubric. Neither does it apply
to those musical arrangements of the Canticles and
of the Nicene Creed, used in collegiate churches, and
technically called ' services.' The chant properly
signifies that plain tune, to which the prayers, the
iitany, the versicles and responses, and the Psalms,
ud where services are not in use, the canticles, are

set in quires and places where they sing. In the
chant, when properly and fully performed, both the
minister and the choir bear their respective parts
The minister recites the prayers, and all the parts
of the service which he is enjoined to say alone, (ex-
cept the lessons,) in one sustained note, occasionally
varied at the close of a cadence : and the choir makea
the responses in harmony, sometimes in unison. But
in the Psalms and Canticles both the minister and
choir join together in the chant, without distinction ;
each verse being sung in full harmony." In the
principal cathedrals the prayers have always been
chanted, and down to a recent period the same prac-
tice has been uniformly followed, wherever choral
foundations existed. From Ambrose of Milan was
derived a chant called the Ambrosian chant. From
Gregory the Great, who was the great patron ol
sacred music in the sixth century, originated the
famous Gregorian chant, a plain system of church
music, which the choir and the people sung in
unison. There are two modes of chanting in pre-
sent use in the Church of England, the single and
the double chant. The former, which is the more
ancient of the two, is an air consisting of two
parts ; the first part terminating with the point
or ■ colon ( : ) which uniformly divides each verse
of the Psalms or Canticles in the English Prayer
Book ; the second part terminating with the verse
itself. The double chant is an air consisting of four
strains, and consequently extending to two verses, a
species of chanting which does not appear to be
older than the time of Charles II. The chanting ol
the Psalms is said to have been derived from the
practice of the Jewish church.

CHANTRY, a little chapel or particular altar in
a cathedral church, built and endowed for the main-
tenance of a priest to sing masses, in order to release
the soul of the donor out of purgatory. These
prayers being chanted, the place was called a chan-
try, and the priest a chanter. There were many
chantries in England before the Reformation, and
any man might build a chantry without the leave of
the bishop. The doctrine of purgatory does not
seem to have been admitted in England before the
thirteenth century, and, accordingly, the erection of
chantries cannot be traced farther back than that
period. In the last year of the reign of Henry V 1 1 1
the chantries were given over into the hands of the
king, who had power to issue commissions to seize
those endowments. Those which escaped this ar
rangement were given to his successor, Edward VI.,
in whom they became vested, and from that tinu
none could build a chantry in England without the
royal license.

CHANTERS. See Choristers.

CHAOS, the oldest of the gods, according to He
siod, and from him sprang the earth ; Tartarus, thai
is, the inner abyss in or under the earth ; and Amor,
or the lovely order and beauty of the world. Th(
same author informs us, that Chaos b'ouglit forth

W6

CHAPEL— CHAPLAIN.

Erebus, or gloominess, and Nox, or night, and from
these two sprang air and day, that is, when light was
divided from the darkness, and both together formed
one day ; which corresponds very closely with the
Mosaic description in the Book of Genesis. The
Chaos of Hesiod is unformed matter, " without form
and void," as Moses terms it. Some Pagan nations
consider it to have been the result of the ruin of a
former world, which had perished by fire. The very
term chaos, which has come to us from Greece
through the Romans, is thought by M. Eougemont to
be of Semitic origin, and to be derived from oahah,
which signifies to be extinguished. This derivation
proceeds upon the idea, that the chaotic state pre-
ceded the formation of the earth in its present
aspect, and was itself the ruined condition of a for-
mer world destroyed bv fire. On this subject Pro-
fessor Sedgwick remarks : " The Bible instructs us
that man and other living things have been placed
but a few years upon the earth ; and the physical
monuments of the world bear witness to the same
truth. If the astronomer tells us of myriads of
worlds not spoken of in the sacred records, the geo-
logist in like manner proves (not by arguments from
analogy, but by the incontrovertible evidence of
physical phenomena) that there were former condi-
tions of our planet, separated from each other by
vast intervals of time, during which man and the
other creatures of his own date had not been called
into being. Periods such as these belong not, there-
fore, to the moral history of our race, and come
neither within the letter nor the spirit of revelation.
Between the first creation of the earth, and that day
in which it pleased God to place man upon it, who
shall dare to define the interval ? On this question
Scripture is silent, but that silence destroys not the
meaning of those physical monuments of his power
that God has put before our eyes, giving us at the
same time faculties whereby we may interpret them,
and comprehend their meaning." Chaos, according
to the ancient cosmogonies, denoted the empty, in-
finite space which existed before the creation of the
world, and out of wluch gods, men, and the whole
universe arose. Ovid, however, describes it as the
confused mass out of which all things arose. Thus,
in tbe. beginning of his ' Metamorphoses,' he says :

" Before the appearance of the earth and sky
Which covereth all things, Nature
Throughout the universe had but one form,
Which men have named Chaos — 'Twas a
Raw and shapeless mass — a heap of Nature's
Discordant seeds wildly huddled together."

What was the precise state of the chaotic mass
before the fiat of the Creator it is impossible to say.
But no sooner did the Spirit of God brood upon the
face of the waters than a -world of beauty and order
Btraightway sprang into existence.

CHAPEL, a building erected for Divine worship.
The name is derived from capella, which primarily

means a certain kind of hood, and refers to an an-
cient custom of the kings of France, who, when they
took the field against their enemies, carried with
them St. Martin's capella or hood, wdiich was kepi
in a tent as a precious relic, the place inwhuh it
■was deposited being termed capella, and the priests,
to whose charge it was committed, capellani. In the
fifth century, the name ot capella; or chapels was
applied to oratories or private churches, which were
built about that time in France, and afterwards be-
came common in the West. Constantine the Great
seems to have been the first who introduced this
kind of private worship. Eusebius merely says,
that he converted his palace, as it were, into a
church, being accustomed to hold meetings in it for
prayer and reading the Scriptures. Sozomen, how-
ever, affirms still more plainly, that Constantine had
erected a chapel in his palace : and that it was also
his custom to set apart in war a particular tent for
Divine worship, which certain of the clergy were
appointed to conduct. It appears also that several
persons of note followed the example of the emperor,
and had chaplains in their houses. Hence the decree
of the second Trullian council, that no clergyman
should baptize or celebrate the Lord's Supper in a
private chapel without the consent of the bishop.
After the Crusades, many places where sacred relics
were preserved received the name of chapels. In
England there are various kinds of chapels ; 1. Do-
mestic chapels built by noblemen, that their families
and households may engage together in private wor
ship. 2. College chapels connected with the differ-
ent universities. 3. Chapels of Ease for the accom-
modation of parishioners who may reside at an in-
convenient distance from the parish church. 4.
Parochial chapels, which, though Chapels of Ease,
have a permanent minister or incumbent. 5. Free
chapels, such as were founded by kings of England,
and made exempt from episcopal jurisdiction. 6. The
burial places of people of rank, which are attached
to churches, are sometimes termed chapels. 7. The
places of worship built by Methodists and Protest-
ant Dissenters generally in England, are usually
termed chapels, though the name is denied to them
by the Anglo-Catholics of the Church of England.

CHAPELS (Union), a name given to those places
of worship in which the service of the Church of
England is performed in the morning, and the ser-
vice of Dissenters in the evening. Such buildings
were intended to unite both parties.

CHAPELLE ARDENTE, or castrum doloris,
a form sometimes followed in the Romish church in
the case of masses for the dead, when tbe deceased
happens to be a person remarkable for his rank or
virtues. A representation of the deceased is set up
with branches and tapers of yellow wax, either in
the middle of the church, or near the tomb ot the
deceased, where tbe priest pronounces a solemn ab-
solution of the dead.

CHAPLAIN, the minister or incumbent ot a

CHAPLET.

497

Chapel (which see). Although, in the days of Con- \
stantine, the emperor himself and a few of his nobles
may have liad private chaplains, the practice seems
not to have been generally followed for a long period.
At length, however, in the Byzantine empire, the
emperor and empress were permitted to have private
chaplains in their palace. Hence the origin of court
preachers. " Whether tempted," says Neander, " by
this example, or induced by the necessity arising
from the migratory character of their court, the
Frankish princes selected certain clergymen to ac-
company them, and perform the service of the
church. At the head of these ministers was an arch-
chaplain, and this body of clergy exercised, by their
constant and close Intercourse with the prince, an
important influence on the affairs of the church. The
example of the prince was followed by other great
men. Nobles and knights appointed private chap-
lains, and placed particular priests in their castles.
This practice was attended with very injurious con-
sequences. The clergy thus employed and pro-
tected, threatened to make themselves independent
of the bishop's inspection. The result was that the
proper services of the parish church lost their dig-
nitv : they were attended only by the peasantry;
the rich and poor had now their distinct worship of
God. The knights, moreover, often selected for
their chaplains worthless men, mere ramblers, who
contented themselves with the most mechanical re-
petition of the liturgy, and were ready to become the
instruments of any vice or folly. Even serf's were
sometimes appointed by their masters to this office,
and though chaplains were still expected to perform
the most menial duties. Both religion and the cleri-
cal character were disgraced by these abuses. Nu-
merous regulations were introduced to oppose them,
and secure the respect due to the public service of
the church."

In England the Queen has forty-eight chaplains,
four of whom are in attendance each month, preach
in the royal chapel, read service in the family and
to the Queen in her private oratory, and say grace in
the absence of the clerk of the closet. In Scotland,
the Queen has six chaplains, whose only duty at
present is to pray at the election of peers for Scot-
land to sit in parliament.

According to a statute of Henry VIII. the per-
sons vested with the power of retaining chaplains,
together with the number each is allowed to qualify,
are as follow : — an archbishop, eight ; a duke or
bishop, six; marquis or earl, five; viscount, four;
bartm, knight of the garter, or lord chancellor, three ;
a duchess, marchioness, countess, baroness, the trea-
surer or comptroller of the king's house, clerk of the
closet, the king's secretary, dean of the chapel, al-
moner, and master of the rolls, each of them two ;
chief justice of the king's bench, and warden of the
cinque ports, each one. All these chaplains may
purchase a license or dispensation, and take two
benefices, with cure of 60uls. A chaplain must be

i.

retained by letters testimonial under hand and seal,
for it is not sufficient that he serve as chaplain in the
family. The name of chaplain is given also to min-
isters who officiate in the army and navy, in jails, pub
lie hospitals, and workhouses.

CHAPLET, an instrument of devotion used by
Roman Catholics, Greeks, Armenians, and other
Eastern communions. It consists of a string of beads
by which they count the number of their prayers.
Ecclesiastical antiquaries are considerably divided as
to the origin of chaplets. They seem to have had
no existence, however, earlier than the twelfth cen-
tury, when they are said to have been introduced by
the Dominicans, who claim the merit of inventing this
supposed aid to devotion as belonging to their founder,
St. Dominic, to whom also is traced the honour of ori-
ginating the Inquisition. The Mohammedans are
allowed to have borrowed the use of chaplets from
the Hindus, and the Spaniards, among whom St. Do
minic laboured, may have received them from the
Moors. These bead-strings were in common use in
the thirteenth century, and then, as now, they con-
sisted of fifteen decades of smaller beads for the
Hail Mary, with a large one between each ten for the
Paternoster. It was not, however, till the fifteenth
century that the rosary, as chaplets came to be
called, started into very high estimation in the Ro-
man Catholic world. Alain de la Roche, a Dominican
friar, pretended to have had an interview with the
Virgin Mary, in the course of which she communi-
cated the peculiar virtues of this implement of devo
tion. The story is thus related by Southey, in his
1 Vindicia; Ecclesiae Anglicanse:' "The prodigious
virtues of the rosary were manifested at Carcassone,
where there dwelt so active and pertinacious a here-
tic, that Dominic, not being able to convert him by
reasoning, (and as it appears, not having at that time
the efficacious means of tire and faggot at command,)
complained to the Virgin what mischief this mon-
ster was doing to the cause of the faith ; upon which a
whole host of devils was sent into the heretic to punish
his obstinacy, and give the saint an opportunity ol
displaying his power. The encrgumen was in a
dreadful state ; and well he might be ; for when, in
the presence of the people, he was brought before
Dominic for help, and the saint throwing a rosary
round his neck, commanded the foul fiends, by vir-
tue of that rosary, to declare how many they were,
it appeared that they were not less than fifteen thou
sand in number : the heretic had blasphemed the
rosary, and for every decade of that sacred bead-
string, a whole legion had entered him. Grie-
vously, however, as he was tormented, the devils
themselves were not less so, when being thus put
to the question, they were compelled to answer all
that the saint asked. Was what he preached of the
rosary false, or was it true? They howled in agony
at this, and cursed the tremendous power which the
confessed. . . . Whom did they hate moBt
. . . Whom but Dominic himself, who was theii
2 L

urn

CHAPLETS— CHAPTER.

worst enemy ou earth ! . . . Which saint in
eaven did they fear most, and to which might
prayers with most confidence be addressed, and
ought the most reverence to be paid ? So reluctant
were they to utter the truth in this case, that they
entreated he would be pleased to let them reply in
private ; and when he insisted upon a public answer,
they struggled with such violence, that fire issued
from the eyes, mouth, and nostrils of the miserable
demoniac. Touched with compassion at the sight,
Dominic adjured the Virgin by her own rosary to
have mercy upon him. Immediately heaven opened,
the blessed Virgin herself, surrounded with angels,
descended, touched the possessed with a golden wand,
and bade the fiends make answer. Bitterly com-
plaining of the force which was put upon them,
they exclaimed at last, — ' Hear, 0 ye Christians !
this Mary, the mother of God, is able to deli-
liver her servants from hell : one supplication of
hers is worth more than all the prayers of all the
saints; and many have had their sins, unjustly so
we think, forgiven them, for invoking her at the
point of death. If she had not interposed we should
ere this have destroyed Christianity ; and we confess
and proclaim that no one who perseveres in her ser-
vice and in the use of the rosary can perish.'"

The same Dominican monk was favoured with
another visit from the Virgin, complaining of the
neglect into which her rosary had fallen : " By
the Ave Marias it was, she said, that this world had
been renovated, hell emptied, and heaven replen-
ished ; and by the rosary, which was composed of
Ave Marias, it was that in these latter times the
world must be reformed. She had chosen him as
her dearest and most beloved servant, to proclaim
this, and exhort his brethren to proclaim it, and she
promised to approve their preaching by miracles.
With that, in proof of her favour, she hung round
his neck a rosary, the string whereof was composed
of her own heavenly hair ; and with a ring made of
that same blessed hair, she espoused him, and she
blessed him with her virgin lips, and she fed him at
her holy bosom."

The historians of the Crusades allege, that Peter
the Hermit first taught the soldiers the use of chap-
lets, which he himself had invented. But the greater
number of Romish writers attribute the discovery to
St. Dominic, who appears, at all events, to have
been the originator of the Rosary (which see), a
large chaplet consisting of one hundred and fifty
beads. Chaplets are in use in China among the
worshippers of Fo or Budha. The devotees of this
sect wear a chaplet about their necks or round their
arms, consisting of one hundred middle-sized beads,
and eight considerably larger. At the top. where
Roman Catholics fix their crucifix, they have one
verv large bead made in the fashion of a gourd.
The Chinese probably were in the habit of using
these bead-strings long before they were known in
Christendom. The Japanese, also, say their prayers

upon a chaplet or rosary. Each sect has one pecu-
liar to itself. The chaplet of one sect consists o
two circles, one over the other. The first or upper-
most consists of forty beads, and the lowest of thirty.
The Budsdoists in Japan are obliged to repeat their
prayers one hundred and eight times over, because
the Bonzes assure them that there are as many dif-
ferent sins which render a man polluted and unclean,
and each devotee ought to be provided with a prayer
for his spiritual defence.

CHAPLETS (Marriage). The crowning of the
married pair with garlands, was a marriage rite pe-
culiar to many nations professing different forms of
religion. Tertullian inveighs against it with all the
zeal of a gloomy Montanist ; but it is spoken of witli
approbation by the fathers of the fourth and fifth
centuries, from whom it appears that the friends and
attendants of the bridal pair were adorned in the
same manner. These chaplets were usually made of
olive, myrtle, amaranth, rosemary, and evergreens,
intermingled with cypress and vervain. Chaplets were
not worn by the parties in the case of a second mar-
riage, nor by those who had been guilty of impro-
priety before marriage. In the Greek church the
chaplets were imposed by the officiating minister at
the altar. In the Western church it was customary
for the parties to present themselves thus attired.

CHAPTER. See Bible.

CHAPTER (Cathedral), the governing body
of a cathedral. It consists of the dean with a certain
number of canons or prebendaries, heads of the
church. This body corresponds to the ancient se-
nate of the early presbyters, who assisted the bishop
in his ecclesiastical government. During the life-
time, and still more on the death, of the bishop,
the cathedral chapter formerly took a part in the
administration of aflairs in the diocese. The most
important concerns, according to the canon law,
shall not be undertaken by the bishop without
consultation with the chapter. From this govern
ing body certain members were chosen to examine
the candidates for ordination, and the priests as to
their care for the souls under their charge. The
chapter is styled by the canon law concilium and
senatus episcopi. As they formed a corporation,
they acquired property, and became independent oi
the bishop, whom they had also in England, as else-
where, the power of choosing. The old English
cathedrals had, generally speaking, a common pro-
perty, from which the expenses of the fabric and
other necessary outgoings were defrayed, and from
which also the dean and resident officers and canons
received a daily portion according to their time of
residence, the dean's share being double that of a
canon. The new cathedrals have a corporate pro-
perty from which are paid the stipends and expenses.
The revenues of twenty-six cathedrals and two col-
legiate churches in 1852 amounted to £313,005 2s.
9d. Out of this sum the amount divided between
the members of the chapters in the same year was

CHAPTERS (The Three)— CHARAK PUJAH.

499

£160,713, and about one-sixth part of the revenue is
now paid to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The
greater part of the revenues of the chapters is de-
rived from fines paid on the granting or renewal of
lea-es.

The chapters, as has been already noticed, at a for-
mer period possessed the power of electing bishops.
Henry VIII., however, assumed this right as a pre-
rogative of the crown. Their authority no longer
extends over the diocese during the life of the
bishop, but in them is vested the whole episcopal
authority daring the vacancy of the see.

CHAPTERS (The Three), (Lat. capitula,
heads), three subjects condemned by a decree of
Justinian passed A. D. 544, commonly called Justi-
nian's creed. The obnoxious points were (1.) The per-
son and writings of Theodoras, bishop of Mopsuestia,
whom the decree pronounced a heretic and a Nesto-
rian. (2.) The writings of Theodoret, bishop of Cy-
ricus, in so far as they favoured Nestorianism, or
opposed Cyril of Alexandria and his twelve ana-
themas. (3.1 An epistle said to have been written
by Ibas, bishop of Edessa, to one Maris a Persian,
which censured Cyril and the first council of Ephe-
sus, and favoured the cause of Nestorius. To under-
stand the dispute about the Tliree Chapters, it must
be remembered that the orthodox doctrine on the
person of Christ was opposed to the Nestorians on
the one hand, who dissevered the two natures of
Christ, and the Eutychians or Monophysites on the
other hand, who confounded them together. In op-
posing these two extremes, the orthodox were some-
what divided, some leaning to the one party, and
others to the other party. Those who, in their zeal
against the Nestorians, approached near to the
Monophysites, were ready to condemn the Three
Cliapters, while they were defended by those who
were inclined to favour the Nestorians. To this lat-
ter party belonged Theodoras, Theodoret, and Ibas.
In this controversy the Oriental church took a very
lively interest, but in the "Western church where
both the Nestorian and Eutychian controversies had
prevailed to no great extent, the Three Chapters
were felt to be of little consequence. It was a bold
step in Justinian, on the ground simply of his civil
authority as emperor, to issue a decree condemning
the Three Chapters, but having rashly taken the
step he resolved to persevere in it. The church
was agitated long and severely on the subject, and
at length the opinions held forth in the Creed of Jus-
tinian having received ecclesiastical sanction, the
doctrine on the person of Christ, as consisting of two
natures in one person, became the settled opinion of
the Catholic Christian church, and has continued so
tu this day.

CHAI1AK PUJAH, one of the most popular fes-
tivals in Eastern India. It is held in honour of
Shiva, in his character of Maha Kali ; or time, the
great destroyer of all things. The consort of Shiva
i» Parvati. under the distinction, and appropriate

form of Maha Kali. In course of tiir»e, accordingly
the goddess Kali has come to occupy a most con-
spicuous place in the annual festival of the Charak
Pujah. She is of all the Hindu deities the most
cruel and revengeful. Dr. Duff informs us that, ac-
cording to some of the sacred legends, she "actually
cut her own throat, that the blood issuing thence
might spout into her mouth ; " and images of this
horrid spectacle are to be seen this day in some dis-
tricts of Bengal. This blood-thirsty divinity is the
protectress and special guardian of the Thugs, who
profess to plan and to execute their sanguinary de
predations under her auspices. The festival of
Charak Pujah also, though held in honour of her
lord, as the great destroyer, is embraced as an occa-
sion of adoring Kali as his destructive energy. It is
described in the following graphic and glowing style
by Dr. Duff in his ' India and India Missions :'

"The festival itself derives its name of Charak
Pujah from chalcra, a discus or wheel ; in allusion to
the circle performer! in the rite of swinging, which
constitutes so very prominent a part of the anniver-
sary observances. An upright pole, twenty or thirty
feet in height, is planted in the ground. Across the
top of it, moving freely on a pin or pivot, is placed
horizontally another long pole. From one end of
this transverse beam is a rope suspended, with two
hooks affixed to it. To the other extremity is fas-
tened another rope, which hangs loosely towards the
ground. The devotee comes forward, and prostrates
himself in the dust. The hooks are then run
tlirough the fleshy parts of his back, near the shoul-
ders. A party, holding the rope at the other side,
immediately begins to run round with considerable
velocity. By this means the wretched dupe of su-
perstition is hoisted aloft into the air, and violently
whirled round and round. The torture he may con-
tinue to endure for a longer or shorter period, ac-
cording to his own free-will. Only, this being
reckoned one of the holiest of acts, the longer he
can endure the torture, the greater the pleasure con-
veyed to the deity whom he serves ; the greater the
portion of merit accruing to himself; and, conse-
quently, the brighter the prospect of future reward.
The time usually occupied averages from ten minutet
to half an hour. And as soon as one has ended,
another candidate is ready, — aspiring to earn the
like merit and distinction. And thus on one tree
from \\\'^ to ten or fifteen may be swung in the
course of a day. Of these swinging posts there are
hundreds and thousands simultaneously in operation
in the province of Bengal. They are always erected
on the most conspicuous parts of the towns and vil-
lages, and are surrounded by vast crowds of noi»y
spectators. On the very streets of the native city
of Calcutta, many of these horrid swings are annu-
ally to be seen, and scores around the suburbs. It not
(infrequently happens that, from the extreme rapi-
dity of the motion, the ligaments of the back give
way, in which case the poor devotee is tossed to a

BOO

CHARAN DASIS.

distance, and dashed to pieces. A loud wail of
commiseration, you now suppose, will be raised in
behalf of the unhappy man who has thus fallen a
martyr to his religious enthusiasm. No such thing!
Idolatry is cruel as the grave. Instead of sympathy
or compassion, a feeling of detestation and abhor-
rence is excited towards him. By the principles of
their faith he is adjudged to have been a desperate
criminal in a former state of being ; and he has now
met with this violent death, in the present birth, as
a righteous retribution, on account of egregious sins
committed in a former !

" The evening of the same day is devoted to an-
other practice almost equally cruel. It consists in
the devotees throwing themselves down from the
top of a high wall, the second storey of a house, or a
temporary scaffolding, often twenty or thirty feet in
height, upon iron spikes or knives that are thickly
Btuck in a large bag or mattress of straw. But these
Bharp instruments being fixed rather loosely, and in
a position sloping forward, the greater part of the
thousands that fall upon them dexterously contrive
to escape without serious damage. Many, however,
are often cruelly mangled and lacerated ; and in the
case of some, the issue proves speedily fatal.

" At night, riumbers of the devotees sit down in
the open air, and pierce the skin of their foreheads ;
and in it, as a socket, place a small rod of iron, to
which is suspended a lamp, that is kept burning till
the dawn of day, while the lampbearers rehearse the
praises of their favourite deity.

" Again, before the temple, bundles of thorns and
other fire-wood are accumulated, among which the
devotees roll themselves uncovered. The materials
are next raised into a pile, and set on fire. Then
the devotees briskly dance over the blazing embers,
and fling them into the air with their naked hands,
or toss them at one another.

" Some have their breasts, arms, and other parts,
stuck entirely full of pins, about the ' thickness of
small nails, or packing needles.' Others betake
themselves to a vertical wheel, twenty or thirty feet
in diameter, and raised considerably above the
ground. They bind themselves to the outer rim, in
a sitting posture, so that, when the wheel rolls
round, their heads point alternately to the zenith and
the nadir.

" But it were endless to pursue the diversity of
these self-inflicted cruelties into all their details.
There is one, however, of so very singular a charac-
ter, that it must not be left unnoticed. If the pro-
blem were proposed to any member of our own com-
munity to contrive some other distinct species of
torture, — amid the boundless variety which the most
fertile imagination might figure to itself, probably
the one now to be described would not be found.
Some of these deluded votaries enter into a vow.
With one hand they cover their under lips with a
layer of wet earth or mud ; on this, with the other
hand, they deposit some small grains usually of

mustard-seed. They then stretch themselves fist on
their backs, — exposed to the dripping dews of night,
and the blazing sun by day. And their vow is, that
from that fixed position they will not stir, will nei-
ther move, nor turn, nor eat, nor drink, — till the
seeds planted on the lips begin to sprout or germi-
nate. This vegetable process usually takes place on
the third or fourth day ; after which, being released
from the vow, they arise, as they doatingly imagine
and believe, laden with a vast accession of holiness
and supererogatory merit."

Such scenes as these form a most impressive
though painful commentary on the declaration ot
Sacred Scripture, "The dark places of the earth
are full of the habitations of horrid cruelty." What
a contrast to the spirit which the gospel everywhere
inculcates ! See Hinduism, Kali, Shiva.

CHARAN DASIS, one of the Vaishnava sects
among the Hindus. It was instituted by Charan
Das, a merchant of the Dhusar tribe, who resided at
Delhi in the reign of the second Alemgir. Their
doctrines of emanation are much the same as those
of the Vedanta school, though they correspond with
the Vaishnava sects in maintaining Brahm, or the
great source of all things, to be Krishna. They re-
nounce the Guru, and assert the pre-eminence of
faith above every other distinction. They differ
from the other Vaishnava sects, in requiring no par-
ticular qualification of caste, order, or even sex for
their teachers; and they affirm that they origi-
nally differed from them also in worshipping no sen-
sible representations of the deity, and in excluding
even the Tulasi plant and the SaMagram stone from
their devotions ; though they admit that they have
recently adopted them, in order to maintain a friendly
intercourse with the followers of Ramanand. An-
other peculiarity in their system is, the importance
they attach to morality, while they do not acknow-
ledge faith to be independent of works. They
maintain that actions invariably meet with punish-
ment or reward. Their Decalogue is as follows :
(1.) Not to he. (2.) Not to revile. (3.) Not to
speak harshly. (4.) Not to discourse idly. (5.) Not
to steal. (6.) Not to commit adultery. (7.) Not to
offer violence to any created thing. (8.) Not to ima-
gine evil. (9.) Not to cherish hatred. (10.) Not to
indulge in conceit or pride. These precepts, however,
do not exhaust their system of morality. They en-
join upon their followers also to discharge the duties
of the profession or caste to which they belong, to
associate with pious men, to put implicit faith in
the Guru or spiritual preceptor, and to adore Han
as the original and indefinable cause of all, and who,
through the operation of Maya, created the uni
verse, and has appeared in it occasionally in a mor-
tal form, and particularly as Krishna.

The followers of Charan Das consist of two
classes, the clerical and the secular. The latter
are chiefly of the mercantile order ; but the formei
lead a mendicant and ascetic life, and are distin-.

CHARENTON (The Decree of)— CHARISTIA.

501

guishttd by wearing yellow garments, and a single
streak of sandal down the forehead, a necklace
and rosary of Tvlasi beads, and a small pointed
cap, round the lower part of which they wear a
yellow turban.

The authorities of the sect are the Sri Bhagavat
md Gi'ta\ Their chief seat is at Delhi, where
there is a monument to the memory of the founder.
This establishment consists of about twenty resi-
dent members. There are also rive or six similar
Mat'hs at Dehli, and others in the upper part of
the Doab, and their numbers are said to be rapidly
increasing.

CHARENTON (The Decree of), a celebrated
decree of the Reformed Church of France, passed
in the second synod of Charenton A. D. 1631, by
which a way was opened up for the professors of the
Lutheran religion to hold sacred and civil commu-
nion with the Reformed. The words of the decree,
as given in Quick's ' Synodicon in Gallia Reformats,'
were these : " The province of Burgundy demand-
ing whether the faithful of the Augsburg Confession
might be permitted to contract marriages in our
churches, and to present children in our churches
into baptism, without a previous abjuration of those
opinions held by them contrary to the belief of our
churches, this Synod declareth, that inasmuch as the
churches of the Confession of Augsburg do agree
with the other Reformed churches in the principal
and fundamental points of the true religion, and that
there is neither superstition nor idolatry in their
worship, the faithful of the said Confession, who,
with a spirit of love and peaceableness, do join them-
selves to the communion of our churches in this
kingdom, may be, without any abjuration at all
made by them, admitted unto the Lord's table with
us, and as sureties may present children unto bap-
tism, they promising the Consistory that they will
never solicit them, either directly or indirectly, to
transgress the doctrine believed and professed in
our churches, but will be content to instruct and
educate them in t host points and articles which are
in common between us and them, and wherein both
the Lutherans and we are unanimously agreed."
Before this attempt in France at a union between
the Lutheran and Reformed churches, the same ob-
ject was sought to be accomplished in England by
James L, who, in 1615, tried to reconcile the two
parties through the instrumentality of Peter du
Moulin, a celebrated divine among the French Re-
formed. These well meant efforts, however, both in
France and England, failed to accomplish the desired
result.

CHARGE, an address delivered by a bishop in
Episcopal churches at a visitation of the clergy be-
longing to his diocese ; and in Presbyterian churches
an address delivered to the minister on the occasion
of his ordination to the pastoral office.

CHAR! DEI (Lat. Beloved ones of God), a
name alleged by Tertullian to have been sometimes

applied to believers in the early Christian church,
because their prayers and intercessions were power-
ful with God to obtain freedom for others as well as
for themselves. Accordingly, that eminent father
exhorts penitents to fall down at the feet of these
favourites of heaven, and to implore them to make
intercession with God for them.

CIIARILA, a heathen festival, anciently ob-
served among the inhabitants of Delphi, once it
every nine years. The circumstances which led to
its institution at first, are related by Plutarch to the
following effect. The Delphians having been visited
with a famine, they proceeded with their wives and
children to the gate of the king, entreating his as-
sistance. Being unable to supply the wants of the
whole of the inhabitants, he distributed meal and
pulse only to the better sort. Among the appli-
cants was a little orphan girl, who earnestly en-
treated a share of the royal bounty, but instead of
granting her relief, the king beat her with his shoe,
and drove her from his presence with every insult
and indignity. The girl, though a destitute orphan,
felt the affront deeply, and unable to brook the in-
sulting treatment, hastily untied her girdle and
hanged herself with it. After this the famine is said
to have increased, and brought along with it exten-
sively prevailing disease; whereupon the king con-
sulted the oracle of Apollo, which declared that the
death of the virgin Charila must be expiated. After
long search as to the meaning of the reply of the
oracle, the Delphians discovered that the virgin
Charila was the orphan whom the king had beaten
with his shoe, and, therefore, as the oracle directed,
certain expiatory sacrifices were established, which
were to be performed every nine years. The mode
of their celebration was in accordance also with the
occasion of their appointment. The king, who pre-
sided at the festival, distributed meal and pulse to
all who applied, whether strangers or citizens.
When all had received their portion, an image of
the virgin Charila was brought in, when the king
smote it with his shoe, and then the chief of the
Thyades conveyed it to a lonesome and desolate
place, where a halter being put about its neck, they
buried it in the same spot where Charila was in-
terred.

CHARIS (Gr. grace), the personification of grace
and beauty among the ancient Greeks. The Char-
ties or Graces are said by Ilesiod to have been the
daughters of Zens and Eurynome or Eunomia, one
of the Oceanides ; or as others affirm, of Dionysus
and Aphrodite. They were three sisters, named
respectively Arjlaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne. See
Graces.

CHARISTIA (Gr. diaris, grace), a solemn feast
among the ancient Romans, to which only immediate
relatives and members of the same family were in-
vited, for the purpose of arranging amicably any dis
puted matter, and eliciting a reconciliation among
friends who might happen to be at variance. Thil

502

CHARITY (Charter of)— CHARMER.

feast was celebrated on the 19th of February, and it
is referred to by Ovid in his Fasti.

CHARITY (Charter of), the name which Pope
Stephen gave to the constitutions which he drew up
for the regulation and guidance of the Cistercian
monks, when he united their monasteries into one
body. See Cistercians.

CHARITY OF OUR LADY (Order of the),
in order of monks founded towards the end of the
thirteenth century. It originated in the erection of
an hospital for the sick and poor in the diocese of
Chalons in France. The order was confirmed by
Boniface VIII. in A. D. 1300, and nourished for a
time, but becoming disorderly and corrupt, it gra-
dually dwindled away, and soon became extinct.

CHARITY OF OUR LADY (Nuns Hospital-
lers of the), an order of nuns founded at Paris in
1624, by Francis de la Croix. The religious of this
hospital were obliged by vow to administer to the
necessities of poor and sick females. They were
distinguished by a dress of grey serge. The consti-
tutions of this order were drawn up by the Arch-
bishop of Paris in 1628, and approved by Pope
Urban VIII. in 1633.

CHARITY OF ST. HIPPOLYTUS (Religi-
ous Hospitallers of the), an order founded in
1585 in Mexico, by Bernardiu Alvarez in the ponti-
ficate of Gregory XIII. This charitable Mexican
founded an hospital for the poor, dedicating it to the
honour of St. Hippolytus the martyr. Bernardin
drew up constitutions for the government of the
order, which received the approbation of the Pope.
Afterwards some others of the same kind were built,
and being united, they formed a congregation under
the name of the Charity of St. Hippolytus.

CHARMS. See Amulets.

CHARMER, one who makes use of charms. The
Jews understand by the word as employed in Deut.
xviii. 11, a person that practises magic by the use of
certain words and sounds, as well as signs and cere-
monies, which they allege have been appointed by
the devil to accomplish what is beyond the power of
man ; to charm a serpent, for example, so as to pre-
vent it from stinging or inflicting any injury. In
ancient times they spoke in verse or rhyme, and
hence the word "charmer" is translated by the Sep-
tuagint, " one that sings his song." To this sort of
superstition the Jews were at one time very much
addicted, and when they threw away their own
charms, they substituted for them the words of
Scripture. Thus they pretended to cure wounds by
reading from the Law, Exod. xv. 26. " I will put
none of these diseases upon thee." A chamier was
generally thought to have intercourse with evil spirits
under whose influence he acted. Ludolph translates
the word that we interpret " charmer," by the words
"gathering together in company." The allusion is
supposed to be to an ancient kind of enchantment,
by which various kinds of beasts were brought to-
ilet]"* into one place, distinguished by the Rabbins

into the great congregation and the little congrega-
tion, the former implying that a great company oi
the larger sort of beasts were assembled together,
and the latter an equally great company of the
smaller sort of beasts, such as serpents, scoqiions,
and the like. Charmers of various kinds have been
found in many nations, both in ancient and in mo-
dem times. Shaw, Bruce, Lane, and others, who have
been in the Levant, testify to the prevalence parti-
cularly of serpent-charmers. The most famous ser-
pent-charmers of antiquity were the Psylli, a people
of Cyrenaica, whose power Pliny ascribes to a pecu-
liar odour about their persons, which the serpents
abhorred. The most potent form of words used in
India against serpents, is said by Roberts to be,
" Oh ! serpent, thou who art coiled in my path, get
out of my way : for around thee are the mongoos,
the porcupine, and the kite in his circles ready to
take thee." In Egypt, as Mr. Lane informs us, the
following words are used to attract serpents from
their hiding-places, " I adjure you by God, if ye be
above, or if ye be below, that ye come forth : I ad
jure you by the most Great name, if ye be obedient,
that ye come forth; and if ye be disobedient, die I
die! die!" In all heathen nations, but particularly
in Southern and Western Africa, charmers are found
to exercise a remarkable influence over the minds oi
the people. The Fetish (which see) of many Negro
tribes is regarded with the utmost veneration. The
whole religious history of our race, indeed, in so far
as it is uninfluenced by Divine revelation, shows a
striking tendency to contemplate most of the ob-
jects and phenomena of external nature in the light
of charms, viewing them as possessed of life and
power. On this subject, Mr. Gross remarks, in his
ingenious work on the Heathen Religion, " The wind
moans or howls ; the stream leaps or runs ; the tree
nods or beckons ; the rains are tears, which heaven,
in sorrow or in anger, sheds upon the earth ; and the
fantastic cloud-forms are so many ghostly warriors,
ominously hovering over the human domicile. Be-
sides, the tire bites : its flames are tongues, which —
like the serpent-locks of Medusa — encircle and de
vour their victim. Hail is the algid missile of some
shaggy or sullen frost king, the Joetun Rime, for
example, in Scandinavian mythology. The earth is
a mother, producing and nourishing an innumerable
progeny, and hence called Ceres, or Alma Nostra.
Here we find not only impersonation, but also apo-
theosis ; and the reason is, that man, more sentient
than rational, is restricted in the unfolding process of
his inner life, to the intercourse with the object?
of sense, unable as yet to rise to abstract ideas.
' You remember,' writes the author On Heroes,
Hero- Worship and the Heroic in Hittory, ' that fancy
of Aristotle's, of a man who had grown to maturity
in some dark distance, and was brought, on a sudden,
into the upper air to see the sun rise. What would
his wonder be,' says the philosopher, ' his rapt asto-
nishment at the sight we daily witness with indirier

CHARON— CHASIDIM.

SOS

tnce ! With the free, open sense of a child, yet with
the ripe faculty of a man, his whole heart would be
kindled by tha sight, he would discern it well to be
godlike, his soul would fall down in worship before
:t. Now, just such a childlike greatness was in the
primitive nations. The first Pagan Thinker among
rude men, the first man that began to think, was pre-
cisely the child-man of Aristotle. Simple, open as a
child, yet with the depth and strength of a man.
Nature had. as yet, no name to him ; he had not yet
united under a name the infinite variety of sights,
sounds, shapes, and motions, which we now collec-
tively name universe, nature, or the like, and so with
* name dismiss it from us. To the wild, deep-
hearted man, all was yet new, unvailed under names
r>r formulas ; it stood naked, flashing in on him
there, beautiful, awful, unspeakable. Nature was to
this man, what to the Tliinker and Prophet it for ever
is, preternatural. This green, flowery, rock-built
earth, the trees, the mountains, rivers, many-sound-
mg seas ; that great deep sea of azure that swims
overhead ; the winds sweeping through it ; the black
cloud fashioning itself together, now pouring out fire,
now hail and rain: what it it? Ay, what? At
bottom we do not yet know ; we can never know at
all. It is not by our superior insight that we escape
the difficulty; it is by our superior levity, our inat-
tention, our want of insight. It is by not thinking
lhat we cease to wonder at it. Hardened around us,
incasing wholly every notion we form, is a wrappage
of traditions, hearsays, mere words. We call that
lire of the black thunder-cloud " electricity," and lec-
ture learnedly about it, and grind the like of it out
of glass and silk : but ichat is it ? What made it ?
Whence comes it ? Whither goes it ? Science has
done much for us ; but it is a poor science that
would hide from us the great, deep, sacred infinitude
of Nescience, whither we can never penetrate, on
which all science swims as a mere superficial film.
This world, after all our science and sciences, is still
» miracle ; wonderful, inscrutable, magical, and more
to whomsoever will think of it.' "

CIIAROX, a son of Erebos, regarded among the
heathen nations of antiquity as the ferryman of the
infernal regions, employed in carrying in his boat the
shades of the dead across the Styx, and other rivers
of the lower world. For tliis service Charon was
supposed to receive from each an obolus, and, accord-
ingly, it was customary to put a coin of that value
into the mouth of every dead body before burial.

.CHAROPS, a surname of Hercules, under which
he had a statue erected to him on the spot where he
was said to have brought forth Cerberus from the
infernal regions.

CHARTOPHYLACES, officers in the early
Christian church, identical with the CErMELIABi us
(which see). The name given also to grand officials
in the Greek church.

CHARTREUX (Order of). See Carthu-
sians.

CHASIBLE, Chasuisle, or Casula, the outer-
most dress which was formerly worn by the priest in
the service of tue altar. It was in a circular form,
with an aperture to admit the head in the centre,
while it fell down so as completely to envelope the
person of the wearer. In the Romish church it is
cut away at the sides, so as to expose the arm6, and
leave only a straight piece before and behind. The
Greek church, which retains it in its primitive shape,
calls it Phalonion. That which is worn by the
Greek Patriarch is embellished all over with trian-
gles and crosses, from which it sometimes received
the name of Poly-itaurium. The phcelonion or cloak
is supposed to be the garment which Paul left at
Troas, and hence, as is alleged, his peculiar anxietv
that it should be brought him, it being an ecclesias-
tical robe.

CHASCA, the name of the planet Venus, under
which it was worshipped among the ancient Peru-
vians.

CHASIDIM (Heb. saints), a modern Jewish sect
originated in 1740 by a Polish Jew, named Rabbi
Israel Baal Schem, who taught first in Poland, and
afterwards in Podolia. They recognize the Cab-
bala as the foundation of their doctrines and practices.
They discipline themselves with fasting and other
austerities, abstain from animal food, and in gen-
eral from all earthly enjoyments. Baal Schem was
revered by his followers as the representative of the
Deitv upon earth, whose commands they were bound
implicitly to obey. He bore the title of Tzadik,
or the righteous, a name which the sect still retain
instead of that of Rabbi. The founder died in 1700
and after his death his three principal disciples, who
were also his grandsons, were elected chiefs of three
divisions of the Chasidim, and its unity being once
broken, the sect was split up into a number of se-
parate communities or associations. Meanwhile the
number of adherents had increased from ten to forty
thousand. Israel Baal Schem is said, in the books
of the Chasidim, to have been taken up into hea-
ven, there to live in the society of angels, acting as
mediator with God, and reconciling to Him every
Jew who brings up his children in the doctrines oJ
the Chasidim. " The dignity of Tzadik," as we are
informed by Da Costa, " continued high in esteem
long after the death of Israel Baal Schem ; not only
was its possessor venerated as holy, but his whole
family shared in the deference paid to him, and all
Lis relations were looked upon as saints among the
Jews. His books, his clothes, his furniture, and
especially his tomb, were considered as preservatives
from sin, and instrumental in its expiation. To serve
the Tzadik gave a right to eternal life hereafter, —
to converse with him was to be in a state of beati-
tude here upon earth."

The Chasidim have separate synagogues, and use
the prayer-book of the Spanish Jews. They rever-
ence the Talmud less, and the Sohar more than the
other Jews, and the grand object which they profess

b04

CHASSAX— CIIEIROTHKSIA.

to seek after is a perfect imiou with God. Much of
their time is spent in contemplation and in prayer,
during which they use the most extraordinary con-
tortions and gestures, jumping, writhing, howling,
until they work themselves up into a state of in-
tense excitement approaching to madness. As a
preparation for their devotions they are said to make
a liberal use of mead, and even of ardent spirits, with
the view of inducing cheerfulness. Messrs. Bonar
and M'Cheyne visited a synagogue of the Chasidim
at Tamapol, and witnessed a dance in honour of the
law, which they thus describe : " At first they
danced two and two, then three or four all joined
hand in hand ; they leaped also as well as danced,
singing at the same time, and occasionally clap-
ping hands in a manner that reminded us of the
Arab dance and song in the East. A few seemed
^uite in earnest, with a wild fanatical expression in
their countenances, while others were light and
merry." Dr. M'Caul, in his ' Sketches of Judaism
»nd the Jews,' mentions some of the religious cus-
toms of the Chasidim. " Their chief means of edifica-
tion," he says, " is the spending the Sabbath-day with
the Tzadik. On Friday afternoon and evening, be-
fore the approach of the Jewish Sabbath, waggon-
loads of Jews and Jewesses, with their children, pour
in from all the neighbourhood from a distance of
thirty, forty, or more miles. The rich bring presents
and their own provisions, of which the poor are per-
mitted to partake. The chief entertainment is on
Saturday afternoon at the meal which the Jews call
the third meal, during which the Tzadik says Torah,
that is, he extemporises a sort of moral-mystical- cab-
balistical discourse, which his followers receive as
the dictates of immediate inspiration. For the bene-
fit of those who are too far removed to come on the
Saturday, the Tzadik makes journeys through his
district, when he lodges with some rich member of
the sect, and is treated with all the respect due to
one who stands in immediate communication with
the Deity. He then imposes penances on those
whose consciences are burdened with guilt, and dis-
penses amulets and slips of parchment with cabba-
listic sentences written on them to those who wish
exemption from sickness and danger, or protection
against the assaidts of evil spirits." The sect of the
Chasidim seems to have been an offset from the Sab-
bathaists, who also originated in Poland, and like the
Chasidim, its doctrines are derived partly from the
Talmud and partly from the Cabbala. They declare
themselves, indeed, as originally Talmudist Jews',
and their Liturgy is that of the Sephardim, while
their hymns and poems are of Cabbalistic tendency.
At last the entire discrepancy between the tenets of
the Chasidim and the Talmud became evident, when
in 1755, a certain Meschullam, a member of the sect,
publicly burnt a copy of the Talmud in the midst of
the Jewish quarter of a city in Podolia. The Tal-
mudist rabbins in Poland, however, had before tins
time discovered that the Chasidim were opposed to

their authority, and had excommunicated them as a
heretical sect. See Sabbathaists.

CHASSAN, the reader or chanter in a modern
Jewish synagogue.

CHASTE BRETHREN and SISTERS, a name
which the Apostolici (which see) of the twelfth
century assumed to themselves, in consequence of
their preference of celibacy to marriage.

CHASTITY, a virtue worshipped among the an-
cient heathens, two temples being dedicated to the
worship of this deity at Rome ; the one entered only
by ladies of patrician rank, and the other being de-
signed for ladies of plebeian birth. In both temples
no matron was permitted to offer sacrifice unless she
had an unblemished character, and had been but
once married; such matrons being honoured with
the crown of chastity. This goddess is usually re-
presented under the figure of a Roman matron wear-
ing a veil, and in the modest attitude of putting it
over her face.

CHAZIXZARIAXS, a sect which arose in Ar-
menia in the seventh century, deriving their name
from the Armenian word chazus, a cross, because
they were accused of worshipping the cross. They
held an annual feast in honour of the dog of their
false prophet Sergius.

CHEIMAZOMEXT (Gr. tossed as in a tempest),
a name given sometimes by Greek writers to de-
moniacs or anergumens, who were possessed with an
evil spirit. The modem Greeks also have in their
Euchologium a prayer for those that are tossed with
unclean spirits. Some learned men, however, think
that the Cheimazomeni were such penitents as, from
the heinousness and aggravation of their crimes, were
not only expelled out of the communion of the
church, but cast out of the very atrium or court,
and porch of the church, and put to do penance in
the open air, where they stood exposed to the in-
clemency of the weather.

CHEIRODOTUS. See Dalmatica.

CHEIROMANCY (Gr. chair, the hand, and man
tela, divination), foretelling future events in the his-
tory of an individual from the appearance of the
hands.

CHEIRON, one of the centaurs of ancient fabu-
lous mythology, to whom the Magnesians, until a
very late period, offered sacrifices. He was alleged
to have been killed by a poisoned arrow shot by
Heracles, and afterwards placed by Zeus among the
stars.

CHEIROSEMANTRA, the wooden board which
is struck by a mallet among the Greeks to summon
the people to church. Tins is the usual call to wor
ship both among the orthodox and heretics in the
East, in consequence of the prohibition of bells by
the Turks, who imagine that their sound drives away
good spirits.

CHEIROTHESIA (Gr. cheir, the hand, and tithe-
mi, to put or place), a word used in the original
Greek of the New Testament to indicate ordination.

CHEIROTONIA— CHEREM.

505

(hough it literally signifies Imposition of Hands
(which see). To the cheirothesia in the ordination of
office-bearers, the Episcopalians attach a very great
importance.

CHEIROTONIA (Gr. cheir, the hand, and teino,
•o stretch out), a word used in the original Greek of
the New Testament to indicate the election of office-
bearers in the Christian church. The act of elec-
tion was performed either by casting lots or by giv-
ing votes, signified by elevating or stretching out
the hands. To the latter mode of election, the word
cheirotonia refers. It is sometimes translated " or-
dain" in the authorized version. Thus Acts xiv. 23,
" And when they had ordained them elders in every
shurch, and had prayed with fasting, they com-
mended them to the Lord, on whom they believed."
Hence the two words cheirotltesia and cheirotonia be-
ing both translated ordination, in one instance at
least, the Congregationalists found an argument
thereupon in favour of both election and ordination
being vested in the Christian people. Presbyte-
rians, on the other hand, allege that the two words
are essentially distinct, and that the cheirotonia by
the Christian people ought not to hinder the cheiro-
thesia or laying on of hands by t he Presbytery. See
Ordination.

CHEL, one of the courts of the second temple of
Jerusalem. The Hebrew expositors define it to be
i space of ten cubits broad, encompassed with a wall,
between the mountain of the house and the courts,
so that it may justly enough be called the enclo-
sure or outer verge of the courts. The ascent from
the mountain of the house into the Chel was by
twelve steps, or six cubits, every step being half a
cubit in elevation; and the Chel being ten cubits
broad, it was level with the wall of the court of the
women. The wall by which the Chel was enclosed
was not so high as the other walls about the temple,
and there were many passages through this wall
into the Chel, one before every gate that led into
either of the courts ; and on each side of the passage
was a pillar on which was a notice written in Greek
and Latin, warning strangers not to enter into that
place, but to beware of treading upon holy ground.
When the Jews were subject to the Syro-Grecian
kings, this bar against strangers was scornfully bro-
ken through in thirteen places ; but the Jews re-
paired the breaches, and ordered that thirteen prayers
should be offered against the heathen kingdoms, if a
stranger presumed to approach to any of the places
where the breaches had been made.
• CHEMARIM (Heb. the black ones), an order of
priests of Baal, who probably derived their name
from the black garments which they wore when sa-
crificing, or as others think, because they painted
their faces black. The word only appears once in
the English translation, viz. Zeph. i. 4, " I will
also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon
all the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; and I will cut off
the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name

of the Chemarims with the priests." Lowth con-
siders the chemarim to have been an order of super-
stitious priests appointed to minister in the service
of Bai I, and who were his peculiar chaplains. In
Hosea x. 5, the Hebrew word chemarim is used to
denote the priests who officiated in the service of the
golden calves set up by Jeroboam at Dan and Beth-
el. The Jews still use the word, and apply it in
derision to Christian ministers, because they officiate
in black robes.

CHEMOSH, an idol of the Moabites sometimes
confounded with Baal-Peor or Balphegor. It is
supposed to be derived from an Arabic word signi-
fying swift, and hence Chemosh has been thought,
like Baal, to be an emblem of the sun. According to
Strabo and Ammianus Marcellinus, this god is con-
sidered as identical with Apollo, to whom they give
the name of Chomeus, and who is also considered as
representing the sun. It is very probable, there-
fore, that Chemosh was the great solar god of the
Moabites. Solomon, as we are informed 1 Kings
xi. 7, erected an altar to this deity on the Mount ot
Olives. No information is given in Scripture as to
the precise form of the idol Chemosh, but if it re
sembled Baal, it must have been of the ox species,
and the rites of worship of a riotous and immoral
character. So much do the Moabites appear to have
been identified with the worship of this national
god, that they are described in Num. xxi. 29, as the
sons and daughters of Chemosh. Jerome says, the
image of Chemosh was placed in a temple upcD
Mount Nebo. Jurieu regards him as a representa-
tion of Noah, who is also identical with Comus, the
god of feasts.

CHERA. a surname of Hera (which see).

CHEREM, the second degree of excommunica
tion among the Jews, and commonly called the
greater excommunication. The offence was pub-
lished in the synagogue, and at the time of the pub
lication of the curse, candles were lighted, but when
it was ended they were extinguished to denote that
the excommunicated person was deprived of the light
of heaven. His goods were confiscated ; his male
children were not admitted to be circumcised ; and
if he died without repentance, by the sentence of the
judge a stone was cist upon his coffin or bier, to
show that he deserved to be stoned. He was not
mourned for with any solemn lamentation, nor fol-
lowed to the grave nor buried with common burial
The sentence of <■/<* rem was to be pronounced by
ten persons, or in the presence at least of ten per-
sons. But the excommunicated person might be ab-
solved by three judges, or even by one, if he should
happen to be a doctor of the law. The vow called
clterem among the Hebrews, or the accursed thing, is
nowhere enjoined by Moses, nor does he mention in
what respects it was distinguished from other vows,
but takes it for granted that this was well known.
The species of clterem with which we are most fami-
liar was the previous devoting to God of hostile

606

CHERUBIM.

eities against which the Israelites intended to proceed
with the utmost severity. The intention of pro-
nouncing the cherem was to excite the people to war.
In such cases all the inhabitants were doomed to
death, and it was not allowed to take any portion of
plunder. The beasts were slain ; all other things
were ordere 1 to be consumed with fire, and what
could not be burned, as for example, gold, silver, and
other metals, were deposited in the treasury of the
sanctuary. When the city was destroyed, a curse
was pronounced, as in the case of Jericho, upon any
man who should attempt to rebuild it.

CHERUBIM, mysterious representations fre-
quently mentioned in Sacred Scripture. Much dis-
cussion has taken place among the learned as to the
real nature of these creatures, and a great variety of
opinion still exists upon the subject. The very ety-
mological meaning and derivation of the word Cherub
is at this day a matter of doubtful disputation. The
most prevalent opinion for a long period, and that
which has been revived of late years by Mr. Elliott,
in his Horoe Apocahjpticm, regards them as simply
Hngelic natures, but whether it is the name of a dis-
tinct class of celestial beings, or is intended to desig-
natethe sameorder as the Seraphim, cannot be with
certainty determined. Michaeho held that they were a
sort of thunder-horses of Jehovah, somewhat similar
to the horses of Zeus in the ancient heathen mytho-
logy of the Greeks ; while Herder, and several other
German writers of more recent times, maintained
them to have been merely fabulous monsters, like
the dragons of ancient story, who were supposed to
guard certain treasures. It was a kindred idea of
Spencer in his erudite work, ' De Legibus Hebrse-
uiuni,' that the cherubim were of Egyptian origin,
and designed to be an imitation of the monster-
shapes which so much abounded in the ancient reli-
gion of Egypt, and which were thence transferred to
Assyria and Babylon. It is unfortunate, however,
for this theory, that figures having the precise form
of the Hebrew cherubim are not to be found in the
representations on the Egyptian monuments, and so
general is the occurrence of compound figures in the
mythology of all the nations of antiquity, that there
is no special reason for assigning their origin to
Egypt exclusively, rather than to India, or Persia,
or China. Other men of great erudition, among
whom may be mentioned Philo, Grotius, and Bochart,
followed in more recent times by Rosenmuller and
l)e Wette, regard the cherubim as having been
symbols of the Divine perfections, or representations
of the attributes of the Godhead.

The cherubim in Eden, referred to in Gen. iii. 29,
seem to have differed from those in the hidden sanc-
tuary of the temple ; the former, like the cherubim in
F.zekiel and Revelation, having the appearance of
life in the highest state of activity, and therefore
well termed " the living ones," while the latter were
fixed inanimate objects represented with wings over-
shadowing the mercy-seat, The place which the

cherubim may have held in the primitive worship o
Eden, is alleged by Dr. Fairbaim, in his instructive
work on the Typology of Scripture, to have been a«
follows : " Their occupation of Eden must have af-
forded a perpetual sign and witness of the absolute
holiness of God, and that as connected with the ever-
lasting fife, of which the tree in the midst of the
garden was the appropriate food. This life had be-
come for the present a lost privilege and inheritance
to man, because sin had entered and defiled his na-
ture ; and other instruments must take his place to
keep up the testimony of God, which he was no
longer fitted to maintain.

" But while in this respect the cherubim in Eden
served to keep up the remembrance of man's guilt,
as opposed to this righteousness of God, the chief
purpose of their appointment was evidently of a
friendly nature — a sign and emblem of hope. They
would not of themselves, perhaps, have been suffi-
cient to awaken in the bosom of man the hope of
immortality, yet, when that hope had been brought
in by other means, as we have seen it was, they
came to confirm and establish it. For why should
the keeping of the tree of life have been committed
to them ? They were not its natural and propel
guardians ; neither was it planted to nourish the
principle of an undying life in them ; they were but
temporary occupants of the region where it grew,
and being ideal creatures, whatever they kept, must
obviously have been kept for others, not tor them-
selves. Their presence, therefore, around the tree
of life, with visible manifestations of divine glory,
bespoke a purpose of mercy toward the fallen. It
told, that the ground lost by the cunning of the
tempter, was not finally abandoned to his power and
malice, but was yet to be re-occupied by the beings
for whom it was originally prepared ; and that in the
meantime, and as a sure pledge of the coming resto-
ration, Heaven kept possession of it by means spe-
cially appointed for the purpose. Eden thus had the
appearance of an abode, though for the present lost,
yet reserved in safe and faithful keeping for its pro-
per owners, against the time when they should be
provided with a righteousness qualifying them for a
return to its pure and blessed privileges ; and there
was set before the family of man a standing pledge,
that the now forfeited condition of immortality would
be restored.

" It would not be difficult, we conceive, for the
first race of worshippers, with the aptness they pos-
sessed for symbolical instruction, to go a step farther
than this, and derive one lesson more from the ap-
pearance of the cherubim in Eden. While these
could not fail to be regarded as witnesses for God's
holiness, in opposition to man's sin, and signs of
God's purpose to rescue from the power and malice
of the tempter what had been lost ; they would also
very naturally suggest the thought, that the fulfil-
ment of that purpose would even more than recover
what was lost. These ideal creatures, which were

CHERUBIM.

50?

placed tor a season in paradise in man's room, united
in their compound structure powers and faculties
super-additional to those which were now possessed
by man, or had ever been his — combining with man's
intelligence, the capacity for productive labour and
usefulness peculiar to the ox, the might and dominion
»f the lion, the winged speed and far-seeing penetra-
tion of the eagle. The garden of God, and the tree
of life, as emblems of hope to the church, being now
in the keeping of creatures possessed of such a sin-
gular combination of qualities, was surely fitted to
awaken the conviction, that a higher place and des-
tiny was to be won for man in the new creation ;
and that when the lost inheritance should be recov-
ered, and the restitution of all things should take
place, the nature of man should be endowed with
other gifts and faculties for the service of God, than
it originally possessed. Eden was not only main-
tained in its primeval honour after the fall, but it
seemed rather to have gained by that unhappy
event ; higher beings kept possession of its treasures,
brighter manifestations of divine glory hung around
its approach ; clearly indicating to the eye of faith,
that the tempter should be more.than foiled, 'and that
frhat tended in the first instance to defeat the pur-
pose, and deface the blessed workmanship of God,
ihould be ultimately overruled in his providence,
for ennobling and beautifying this territory of crea-
tion."

The cherubim in the most holy place of the Jew-
ish tabernacle and temple, are thus described in the
Mosaic Law, Exod. xxv. 18, 19. "And thou shalt
make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt
thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
And make one cherub on the one end, and the other
cherub on the other end : even of the mercy seat
shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends there-
of.'' Nothing more is known of these figures than
that they were winged creatures. Grotius supposes
them to have resembled a calf in figure, while Spen-
cer and Bochart imagine them to have borne the
image of an ox. Others again allege them to have
been compound figures like those in Ezekiel and
Revelation, having each of them the figure of a man,
a lion, an ox, and an eagle. The attitude, however,
id which they are represented, as looking down upon
the mercy-seat, is scarcely consistent with the idea
of a four-faced creature. From the account given of
the cherubim by Moses, we learn, that they were
two in number, stationed one at each end of the
mercy-seat or propitiatory which covered the ark.
The Shechinah, or visible manifestation of the Di-
vine glory, was revealed from between the cherubim,
and on this account they are termed " cherubim of
glory." Those in the tabernacle were of beaten
gold, but those in the temple of Solomon, which were
much larger, were composed of the wood of the olive-
tree. The faces of these cherubim looked one to
another, to signify, as the Jews allege, their mutual
harmony and love, and both looked toward the cover

of the ark, to show that they were keepers of the
Law, which was deposited under the mercy-seat
Their wings were stretched on high, to indicate that
they were ready to fly to execute the Divine com-
mands. Their wings were expanded over the ark, sr
as to form a seat, which was called the throne of God.
One of the most difficult points in theological
literature is to ascertain the symbolical meaning and
design of the cherubim, whether as found in Eden,
or as represented in the tabernacle and temple.
Bahr, whom Dr. Fairbairn has chiefly followed in
his discussion on this subject, declares the cherub to
be " a creature, which, standing on the highest grade
of created existence, and containing in itself the most
perfect created life, is the best manifestation of God
and the divine life. It is," he continues, "a repre-
sentative of creation in its highest grade, an ideal
creature. The vital powers communicated to the
most elevated existences in the visible creation, are
collected and individualized in it." Hengstenberg
has attempted to establish a similarity between the
Hebrew cherubim and the Eygptian sphinxes, alleg-
ing the only difference to be, that in the cherubim
the divine properties were only indirectly symbo-
lized, so far as they came into view in the works of
creation, whilst in the sphinx they were directly
symbolized. No small discussion has taken place on
the point, whether the cherubim adumbrated a hu-
man or an angelic order of beings. Dr. Fairbairn,
following in the steps of Bahr, says on this point :
'■ Its essential character consists in its being a crea-
ture ; it is the image of the creature in its highest
stage, an ideal creature. The powers of life, which
in the actual creation are distributed among the crea-
tures of the first class, are collected and concentrated
in it. All creation is a witness of the powers ol
life that are in God, and consequently the cherub,
in which the highest powers of life appear as an in-
dividual property, by means of its four component
parts, is a witness, in the highest sense, of the crea-
tive power which belongs to the invisible God — of
the majesty, (or power to rule and judge,) the omni-
presence and omniscience, and finally the absolute
wisdom of God. As such a witness, it serves for
the glorification and honour of God. nay. it is th«
personified living praise of God himself; and on this
account the object of the ceaseless activity of the
four living creatures in the Apocalypse is made to
ci insist in the perpetual praise and adoration of God:
'They rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy,
holy, Lord God Almighty, which was. and is, and is
to come. And when those beasts (living creatures)
give glory, and honour, and thanks to him that sat
on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four
and twenty elders fall down before him that sat od
the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and
ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, say-
ing, Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory, and
honour, and power; for thou hast created all things
and for thy pleasure they are, and were created.' "

508

CHERUBICAL HYMN.

Other writers, however, instead of regarding the
cherubim as testifying to the attributes of God as
displayed in creation, view them rather as symboliz-
ing the Divine glory as displayed in redemption.
Thus Mr. Holden remarks: "In attempting to ex-
plain the hieroglyphic meaning of the cherubim, it is
easy for a luxuriant imagination to transgress the
bounds of sobriety and reason; but some spiritual
instruction they were doubtless meant to convey;
and the proto-evangelical promise, that the seed of
the woman should bruise the head of the serpent,
combined with the reflected light from subsequent
revelations, points out the mystery of redemption as
the leading object of the celestial vision. The free
communication with the tree of life was forbidden to
the fallen, rebellious creature, and the only access to
it that now remained was through the mediatorial
office of a Redeemer, who has remedied the evil ori-
ginating from the fall. This was typically discov-
ered in the glorious and cherubic appearance at the
entrance of the garden of Eden, an appearance not
intended to drive our first parents from the tree of
life in terror, but to inspire them with hope, to de-
monstrate to them that the Divine mercy was still
vouchsafed to man, though now fallen, and to be an
emblematical representation of the covenant of
grace."

Parkhurst and the Hutchinsonian school hold a
kindred opinion, declaring the cherubim to be " em-
blematical of the ever-blessed Trinity in covenant to
redeem man.'' Professor Bush again considers them
as a symbol of holy men, and in his view the cheru-
bic symbol in its ultimate scope, pointed forward to
that condition of regenerate, redeemed, risen, and
glorified men, when they shall have assumed an an-
gelic nature. Following out this idea, he goes on
to observe : " Were the cherubim men — men stand-
ing in covenant relation with God — men possessed
of renewed spiritual life, and thus enjoying the divine
favour — then may we not conclude, that this unique
combination of forms represents some marked and
definable attributes in the character of those whom
the symbol adumbrates ? What then are the distin-
guishing traits in the character of the people of God,
which may be fitly represented by emblems so
unique ? How shall the hieroglyphic be read ? The
face of the ox reminds us of the qualities of the ox,
and these, it is well known, are patient endurance,
unwearied service, and meek submission to the yoke.
What claims has he to the title of a man of God who
is not distinguished by these ox-like attributes?
The lion is the proper symbol of undaunted courage,
glowing zeal, triumph over enemies, united with in-
nate nobleness, and magnanimity of spirit. The
man, as a symbol, we may well conceive as indicat-
ing intelligence, meditation, wisdom, sympathy, phi-
lanthropy, and every generous and tender emotion.
And, finally, in the eagle we recognise the impersona-
tion of an active, vigilant, fervent, soaring spirit,
prompting the readiest and swiftest execution of the

divine commands, and elevating the soul to th«
things that are above."

Dr. Candlish, in his Contributions towards an Ex
position of the Book of Genesis, advances a some
what similar view of the cherubim to that which
has been advanced by Professor Bush, and which
seems to be more ingenious than correct. His
view is stated in these words : " They are not an-
gelic, but human symbols, in some way associated
with the church, especially viewed as redeemed, and
significant of its glorious power and beauty, as pre-
sented before the throne of God and ot the Lamb.
The very same character may be ascribed to the
living creatures of Ezekiel's visions, and to the
cherubim, wherever they are mentioned in the Old
Testament. They typify and shadow the complete
church, gathered out of all times and nations, and
from the four corners of the world, in attendance on
her Lord and Saviour, in his redeeming glory. In
the holy place of the tabernacle and the temple, the
mercy-seat sprinkled with atoning blood — the cheru-
bim bending over and looking upon it — the glory oi
the Lord, the bright Shechinah light, resting in the
midst, — fitly express in symbol the redemption, the
redeemed, and the Redeemer ; believers, with stead-
fast eye fixed on the propitiation, whereby God ia
brought once more to dwell among them ; Jehovah
meeting, in infinite complacency with the church
which blood has bought, and blood has cleansed.
So also, when faith beholds God as the God of sal-
vation, he appears in state with the same retinue
Angels, indeed, are in waiting; but it is upon ot
over the cherubim that He rides forth. It is be-
tween - the cherubim that He dwells. The church
ever contemplates Him as her own, and sees Hiin
rejoicing over her in love."

It is impossible to enumerate the great variety of
opinions which have been entertained in reference
to the symbolical meaning of the cherubim. Philo
imagined that they were emblems of the two hemi-
spheres, and Athanasius of the visible heavens.
Both ancient and modern writers, indeed, have di.
fered so widely in their views on this subject, that,
after all that has been written upon it, even by men
of the most extensive erudition, we must be con-
tented to regard the matter as still involved in mys-
tery and doubt.

CHERUBICAL HYMN, a sacred ode, held in
high estimation in the ancient Christian church, and
still embodied in the liturgy of the Church of Eng-
land. Its original form was in these words, " Holy,
holy, holy, Lord God of hosts; heaven and earth
are full of thy glory, who art blessed for ever.
Amen." Ambrose of Milan refers to this hymn
under the name of Trisagion, telling us, that in most
of the Eastern and Western churches, when the eu-
charistic sacrifice had been offered, the priest and
people sung it with one voice. Jerome also speaks
of it as having been sung as a confession of the Holy
Trinity. Towards the middle of the fifth century

CIIIBBUT HAKKEFER— CIIIPPUR.

SOS

tlie form used by the church was in these words,

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have
mercy upon us;" the three expressions of adoration
being intended to apply to the Three Persons of the
Trinity. This form is sometimes ascribed to Pro-
clus, bishop of Constantinople, and Theodositis the
Younger ; and it continued to be used until the time
of Anastasius the emperor, who, or as some say,
Peter Gnapheus, bishop of Antioch, caused the
words to be added, " that was crucified for us ; " the
design of this addition being to introduce the heresy
of the Theopaschites, who maintained that the Di-
vine nature itself suffered upon the cross. To avoid
this error, the hymn was afterwards amended in the
time of the emperor Zeno, and made to read thus : —
" Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, Christ
our King, that wast crucified for us, have mercy
upon us." Those additions introduced great confu-
sion into the Eastern churches, while the Western
churches refused to receive them, and some of the
European provinces that they might apply it, as of old,
to the entire Trinity, expressly used the words, " Holy
trinity, have mercy on us." The cherubical hymn
was regarded as forming a necessary part of all com-
munion services. It occurs in the English Prayer
Book, a little before the prayer of consecration in
the Communion Office. Dr. Hook supposes it to
be derived from the apostolic age, if not from the
apostles themselves.

CBTBBUT HAKKEFER, the beating of the
dead, which, the Jewish Rabbis allege, is performed
in the grave by the angel Duma and his attendants,
who hold in their hands three fiery rods, and judge
at once the body and the soul. This is alleged to
be the fourth of the seven judgments which are in-
flicted upon men after death, and which are said to
be referred to in the threatening, Lev. xxvi. 28,
" Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury ;
and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your
sins."

CHICOCKA, a deity among the natives of Loando
in Western Africa, who is believed to be the guar-
dian of their dead. His statue, composed of wood,
is erected in the neighbourhood of their burying
grounds, and he is believed to prevent the bodies
from being clandestinely removed, or the dead from
being insulted, or compelled to work, hunt, or fish.

CHILD-BIRTH. See Birth.

CHILIASTS. See Millenarians.

CIIIMjERA, a monster in ancient Greek my-
thology, which breathed out fire, and was said to
have been sprung from the gods. Her body exhib-
ited in front the appearance of a lion, behind that of
a dragon, and in the middle parts that of a goat.
Hesiod represents her as having three heads, and
Virgil places her at the entrance to the infernal re-
gions. The fable of the Chimaira is probably founded
on a volcano of that name, near Phasclis in Lycia.

CHIMERIC, the upper robe worn by a bishop, to
which the. lawn sleeves are generally attached. When

assembled in convocation, the bishops wear a scarlet
chimere over the rochet, which was indeed the usual
dress of bishops until the time of Elizabeth, when it
was changed for black satin, as being more befitting
the episcopal dignity and gravity.

CIIIMHOAM, the guardian deity, among the
Chinese, of their provinces, cities, and courts of
judicature. There are temples erected to his honour
throughout the whole empire. The mandarins, when
they enter upon any important office, are obliged in
the first place to do homage to the Chimhoam of the
particular city or province which is committed to
their care, and having taken a formal oath that they
will faithfully discharge the trust reposed in them,
they consult the guardian deity about the most ef-
fectual mode of executing the duties of their office.
This act of homage must be repeated twice a-year.

CHINA (Religion of). See Budiiists, Con

FUCIANS, TAOISTS.

CHINA, a deity worshipped on the coast of Gui-
nea, in Western Africa. An annual procession in
honour of this god takes place about the latter end
of November, when the rice is sown. The people
having assembled at midnight, at the place where the
idol is kept, they take it up with great humility and
reverence, and walk in procession to the appointed
station where sacrifice is to be offered. The chief
priest marches at the head of the assembly, and be
fore the idol, bearing in his hand a long pole with a
banner of silk fastened to it. He carries also several
human bones, and some rice. When the procession
has reached the appointed place, a quantity of honey
is burnt before the idol ; after which each one pre-
sents his offering. The whole assembly then offer
up earnest prayer for a prosperous harvest; at the
close of which they carry back the idol in solemn
silence to its ordinary place of residence. This deity
is represented by a bullock's or a ram's head carved
in wood ; and sometimes it is formed of paste, com-
posed of the flour of millet, kneaded with blood, and
mixed with hair and feathers.

CHINES, idols formerly worshipped by the Chi
nese. They were constructed in the form of &
pyramid, and curiously wrought. Some allege that
they contained a kind of white ants, that lie hid in
their small apartments. So much did the Pagan
Chinese stand in awe of these idols, that they were
accustomed when they purchased a slave, to carry
him before one of the Chines, and after presenting
an offering of rice, and other kinds of food, they
prayed to the idol, that if the slave should run away,
he might be destroyed by lions or tigers. This
ceremony so alarmed the poor slaves, that tiiey sel-
dom ventured to abscond from tlieii masters, even
although subjected to the most cruel treatment. One
of these pyramidal temples is said to exist outside
the walls of Foncheou, the capital of the province of
Fokien.

CHIPPUR (Heb. pardon), a name given by the
Hebrews to the great day of atonement, because on

610

CHISLEU— CHOREPISCOPI.

that day the sins of the whole people were under-
stood to be expiated or pardoned. See Atonement
(Day of)

CHISLEU, or Kislev, the third month of the
civil, and the ninth of the ecclesiastical year, ac-
cording to the Jewish calendar. It contains
thirty days, and corresponds to part of our Novem-
ber and December. It is during this month that
the winter prayer for rain commences. "Various Jew-
ish festivals occur in the course of it. Thus, besides
the feast of new moon, on the first day of the month,
there is a feast on the third in memory of the idols
which the Asmoneans cast out of the temple. On
the seventh is held a fast which was instituted be-
cause Jehoiakim burned the prophecy of Jeremiah
which Baruch had written. Dr. Prideaux places
this fast on the twenty-ninth day of the month, but
Calmet supposes it to have been on the sixth, and
that on the following day a festival was celebrated
in memory of the death of Herod the Great, the
cruel murderer of the children of Bethlehem. On
the twenty-fifth day of Chisleu commenced the feast
of dedication, which was kept for eight days as a
minor festival in commemoration of the dedication of
the altar after the cleansing of the temple from the
pollution of Antiochus by Judas Maccabeus.

CHITONE, a surname of Artemis (which see).

CHITONIA, a festival celebrated in ancient times
in honour of Artemis, under the surname of Chitone
(which see), and in an Attic town of the same name.
The same festival was also celebrated among the
Syracusans.

CHIUN, the name of an idol among the Canaan-
ites and Moabites. It is referred to in only one pas-
sage of Sacred Scripture, viz. Amos v. 26, " But ye
have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun
vour images, the star of your god, which ye made to
yourselves." This passage is quoted by the martyr
Stephen, with a somewhat different reading, evi-
dently derived from the Septuagint, which makes no
mention of Chiim, Acts vii. 43, " Yea, ye took up
the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god
Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them :
and I will carry you away beyond Babylon." Dr.
Clarke supposes Chiun to be a literal corruption of
Rephan, a change, however, which is not sanctioned
by a single MS. or version of the Old Testament.
It has been thought, with some degree of probabi-
lity, that the translators of the Septuagint, writing in
Egypt, had rendered the word Chiun by Rephan or
Remphan, which in Coptic is used to denote the
planet Saturn. Vossius supposes both Remphan
and Chiun to signify the moon.

CHLOE, a surname of Demeter (which see), as
presiding over the green fields. Under this surname
she was worshipped at Athens in a temple near the
Acropolis.

CHLOIA, a festival celebrated at Athens in an-
cient times in honour of Demeter Chloe (see pre-
ceding article). It was held in spring when the

blooming verdure began to appear, and amid much
rejoicing a ram was sacrificed to the goddess.

CHLORIS, the spouse of Zephyrus, and the god-
dess of flowers among the ancient Greeks, identical
with Flora among the Romans.

CHOIR, a name given to the Bema (which see)
of primitive Christian churches, from the singing o<
the service by the clergy. The Bema is now usually
termed chancel, in speaking of parish churches, and
choir when speaking of cathedrals or collegiate
churches. Congregations usually assemble in the
choirs of cathedrals, while the clergy occupy the
stalls on each side.

The word choir is also used to signify a body ot
men set apart to perform all the services of the
Church in England. The whole body corporate of
a cathedral, form, properly speaking, the choir. But
the term is more commonly restricted to denote the
body of men and boys who perform the service to
music. The choir is usually divided into two parts,
stationed on each side of the chancel, in order to
sing alternately the verses of the psalms and hymns,
each side answering to the other.

CHOREPISCOPI, or Chor-Bishops, a name
given in ancient times to country bishops, the word
being probably derived from chora, which in Greek
signifies the country. The existence of these church
officers must be traced back to a very remote period,
as there can be little doubt that, in many districts,
Christianity veiy early made progress in the open
country ; and wherever Christians were found in
sufficient numbers to form separate ecclesiastical
communities, they would naturally choose their own
pastors or bishops, who were, of course, quite as inde-
pendent as the presiding officers in the city churches.
In the fourth century they seem to have begun to be
spoken of by a distinct name, that of chor-bishops,
as separate from and in conflict with the city bishops.
The chor-bishop presided over the church of a prin-
cipal village, and to him a certain number of village
churches, which had their own pastors, were subject
It is not improbable that some of these clerical dig
nitaries had abused their authority, as we find, in thti
fourth century, synods decreeing that the chor-bishopi
should only have power to nominate and ordain ec-
clesiastics of the lower grade without consulting the
city bishop. The council of Sardica and the council
of Laodicea at length wholly forbade the appoint-
ment of chor-bishops, and the latter council ordained
that, in place of the country-bishops, visitors should
be appointed who should take the general oversight
of the country churches. But at a later period chor-
bishops were still to be found in the churches of
Syria and in the West. No small discussion has
taken place among ecclesiastical writers as to the
precise nature of the authority possessed by the
chor-bishops, some maintaining that they were sim-
ply presbyters dependent on the city bishops, others
that they held an intermediate place between pres
byters and bishops and others still, that they exer_

CHOREUT-E— CHRISM.

511

cised the full episcopal authority. Tlie last opinion
is most probably the correct one ; and in the inde-
pendent exercise of their office, they came into col-
lision with the city bishops, who, of course, were
not long in seeking and finding an excuse, for, in the
first instance, curtailing, and afterwards altogether
abolishing the office.

CHOREUT^E, a heretical sect who maintained
that the Christian Sabbath ought to be kept as a fast.

CHORISTERS, singers in a Choir (which see).
Those attached to cathedrals in England are pro-
vided with education free of cost. They have an-
nual stipends varying between £27 per annum at
Durham, and £3 6s. 8d. in the least wealthy cathe-
drals, with other small allowances ; and in many
cases an apprentice fee on quitting the choir of £10,
£20, or £30. In the case of the old cathedrals, the
precentor, or one of the canons, was charged by the
old statutes with the care of their education; but in
the new cathedrals, the musical teaching of the
choristers is assigned to the organist or one of the
lay clerks, who are, in many cases, scholars of the
Grammar School, while we do not find any provision
for their superintendence by a qanon, as in 'the case
of the old cathedrals.

CHORKAM, the most exalted of celestial regions,
according to the doctrines of Hinduism (which see),
and at which, if a soul of a higher caste arrives, it
shall undergo no farther transmigrations.

CHOUBRET, a festival among the Mohamme-
dans in India, which begins with fear and sorrow,
and ends with hope and joy. On this occasion they
commemorate the examination of departed souls by
good angels, who write down all the good actions
which they have done in this life, while the evil an-
gels record with equal minuteness all their bad deeds.
(See DEAD, Examination or). This record they
believe is perused by God, and accordingly they are
afraid, and utter a few prayers, examine themselves,
and give alms. But flattering themselves that their
accounts will be settled in their favour, and that their
names will be written in the Book of Life, thej con-
clude the solemnities of the choiihret with illumina-
tions, and bonfires, and rejoicings of various kinds.

CHOURIA VANKCIIAM, the order of the Bun,
a name given to one of the two principal orders of
the rajahs among the Hindus. The; axe regarded as
the offspring of the sun, or, in other words, their
souls are believed to have formerly dwelt in the very
body of that luminary, or to have been, in the opinion
of some of them, a luminous portion of it.

CHRISM, oil consecrated by the bishop, and used
in the Romish and Greek churches in the administra-
tion of baptism, confirmation, ordination, and extreme
unction. There are two kinds of chrism ; the one a
composition of oil and balsam, which is used in bap-
t it in. confirmation, and orders; the other is plain oil
'.onsecratcd by the bishop, and used in anoint in I ate

ehumene and in extreme unction. The use of chrism is
referred to by very ancient Christian writers as having

been used first in confirmation, and at a later period in
baptism. The author of the Constitutions speaks of
two kinds of oil. The one is called mystical oil, and
the other mystical chrism, and he gives a distinct
form of consecration for each of them. The one was
applied before the party went into the water, and
might be performed by a deacon, and the other after
the party had come out of it again, and could only
be performed by a bishop. According to Bishop
Pearson, the use of chrism came into the church
shortly after the time of the apostles. No mention of
it is made, however, until the third century, when it
is referred to by Origen and Tertullian, in speaking
of confirmation. From a very remote period chrism
has been used at baptism both by the Greek and
Latin churches, with this difference however, that
the Greeks anoint the body all over, the Latins only
the top of the head. Confirmation is termed chrism
by the Greek church, when they anoint the forehead,
eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet,
signing them with the cross, the priest saying each
time, " The seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost." The
preparing and sanctifying of the chrism in the East-
ern church is an annual work, occupying sever.J
days, and the ceremony can only be performed dur
ing Passion week. The Nestorians condemn the
use of chrism, and substitute in its place olive-oil
alone, alleging that the latter is peculiarly suitable,
not only because the olive is an emblem of peace,
but also because, as the leaves of this tree do not
wither and fall oil", so those anointed with the lmly
olive-oil shall not wither in the day of judgment,
nor fall away into hell. The following is the usual
mode of preparing and consecrating chrism in the
Greek church, " The ingredients are no less than
twenty in number ; and each of them has previously
received a separate episcopal benediction. On the
Monday they are sprinkled with holy water, and put
into a large cauldron. The priests pour in wine and
oil, in such quantity that the mixture may continue
boiling for three days, and in such proportion that
there may be always a certain fixed depth of the
wine below the oil. During the entire process, dea-
cons' stand by stirring the mixture with long rods;
while a number of priests are in attendance, who in
succession keep up the reading of the Gospels, re-
commencing at Matthew should they reach the con-
clusion of John. On the Wednesday, the perfumed
oils are added ; and on the Thursday the bishop
consecrates the whole with the sign of the cross ;
after which it is deposited in urns and distri-
buted throughout the cities of the patriarchate.
This ceremony can be performed only in one place
for any one branch of the church. Thus, for the
Russo-Greek church it always takes place in the
Patriarchal Hall at Moscow. In describing this
room and the curiosities which it contains, Dr Hen-
derson says : ' The most remarkable object in this
splendid exhibition of sacred utensil* v.i ,i lar c
flagon, made of mother-of pearl, which still contain'

gi2

CHRISM.

some of the oil brought from Constantinople on the
introduction of Christianity into Russia in the tentli
century. It is preserved with great care, so that
when only a few drops are taken from it, as on the
present occasion, their place is supplied by some of
that which had been prepared at a former period,
by which means its perpetual virtue is supposed to be
secured."

The ceremony of preparing and consecrating chrism
in the Romish church takes place with the utmost
pomp on holy Thursday. On the morning of that
day, three jars, full of the purest oil, are pjaced in
the Sacrarium, and there carefully kept ; one for the
oil of the sick ; another for the oil of catechumens ; and
the third, a larger one, for the chrism ; and this last
must be covered with white cere-cloth, but the other
two with cere-cloth of a different colour. At the
office for the consecration of the chrism there ought
to be present, besides the pontift" and his assistants,
twelve priests, seven deacons, seven subdeacons,
acolyths, and others, all in white vestments. A pro-
cession is formed, which marches to the altar, an
incense-bearer first, and next to him two taper-
bearers. On reaching the altar the mass is pro-
ceeded with. Then follows the making of the holy
oils, commencing with the oil for the sick. This
process being finished, the officiating priests and
deacons go in procession to bring forth the chrismal
oil, and the oil of catechumens. For the rest of the
ceremony we avail ourselves of the description of
Poye, in his ' Romish Rites, Offices, and Legends.'

" They return with the jars in the following order :
first, an incense-fumer, fumigating ; then a subdea-
con, bearing the cross between two acolythes, carry-
ing blazing tapers ; next two chanters singing : 0
Redeemer, accept the song of those hymning thy-
self. After whom, are the subdeacons and deacons,
two and two ; then a deacon, carrying a vessel full
of balsam ; next, two deacons carrying the two jars,
having clean napkins hanging down from their necks
before their breasts, and holding the jars embraced
with the left arm, and wrapped in the extremities of
their napkins, — yet so as that they may be seen
from the middle upward; the deacon, carrying the
oil for the holy chrism, being on the right ; next fol-
low the twelve priests, two and two.

" Having arrived in this order within the presby-
tery, the Pontiff, taking off his mitre, rises: and,
having the jar of chrismal oil before him on the
table, and the balsam, first of all hallows the balsam,
praying thus :

" 0 Lord, the progenitor of all creatures, who by
thy servant Moses didst command the sanctifying of
ointment, to be made of mixed aromatic herbs, we
most humbly beseech thy mercy ; that, by a large
bestowment of spiritual grace, thou infuse the pleni-
tude of thy sancti+fication into this ointment, the
produce of the rooted trunk. Be it spiced imto us,
0 Lord, with the joyousness of faith ; be it a perpe-
tual chrism of priestly unguent ; be it most meet for

the imprinting of the heavenly banner ; that whoso
ever, being born again of holy baptism, shall be
anointed with this liquor, may obtain the most
plenary benediction of their bodies and souls, and bt
aggrandized for ever by the conferred reward oi
beatified faith.

" Then taking his mitre, and yet standing, he
blends, on the paten, the balsam with a small portion
of the chrismal oil, taken out of the jar, saying:

" Let us pray our Lord God Almighty, who by a
wonderful economy hath inseparably united to true
manhood the incomprehensible Godhead of his only-
begotten and co-eternal Son, and by the co-operating
grace of the Holy Ghost, anointed him above his
fellows with the oil of gladness ; that man, composed
of a two-fold and singular substance, though de-
stroyed by the fraud of the devil, might be restored
to the everlasting inheritance from which he had
fallen : to this end, that he hal+low. with the per-
fection of the Holy Trinity, these created liquors oi
diverse species of creatures, and by hallowing,
sanc+tify them, and grant, that blended together,
they become one ; and that whosoever shall be out-
wardly anointed of the same, be so inwardly anoint-
ed, as to be freed from all soil of corporal matter,
and joyfully made partaker of the heavenly king-
dom.

" This ended, the Pontiff sits, retaining his mitre,
and breathes fully three times in the form of a cross
over the mouth of the chrismal jar, still wrapt in the
napkin. Next, the twelve vested priests come up in
order, making a reverence to the sacrament on the
altar, and to the Pontiff; and standing before th«
table, one by one, they successively breathe, in tin
same way as the Pontiff had done, ovei the mouth
of the jar, in the form of a cross. Then, making a
reverence again as before, they return to their places
— Which being done, the Pontiff rises, and standing
in mitre, reads the chrismal exorcism, saying:

" I exorcise thee, thou creature of oil, by God the
Father Almighty, who made heaven and earth, the
sea, and all that therein is ; that all the might of tlio
adversary, all the host of the devil, and all the in-
cursion, and all the spectral power of Satan be rooted
out, and put to flight from thee ; so that thou be to
all that shall be anointed of thee, for the adoption of
sons by the Holy Ghost. In the name of God the
Fa+ther Almighty, and of Jesus + Christ his Son
our Lord, who with him liveth and reigneth (as) God,
in the unity of the same Holy + Ghost.

" Then putting off his mitre, and holding his hands
stretched out before his breast, he says the Preface.
The second, or petitionary part, is as follows :

" Therefore, we beseech thee, 0 holy Lord, &c
that thou vouchsafe to sancti+fy with thy bene
+diction the fatness of this creature, and blend there-
with the might of the Holy + Ghost, the power of
Christ thy Son co-operating, from whose holy name
it has received the name chrism . . . that thou
stablish this creature of chrism for a sacrament u)

CHRISMA— CHRISTIANS.

513

perfect salvation and life to those that are to be re-
newed by the baptism of spiritual laver ; that the cor-
ruption of their tirst birth being absorbed by the infu-
sion of this hallowed unction, the holy temple of every
one of them be redolent with the odour of the accept-
able life of innocence ; that, according to the sacra-
ment of thy appointing, being indued with Royal
and Priestly, and Prophetic dignity, they be clothed
in the robe of an undefiled gift ; that it (the chrism)
be to those that shall be born again of water and the
Holy Ghost, the chrism of salvation, and make them
partakers of eternal life, and crowned with heavenly
glory.

" This preface ended, the Pontiff puts back into
the chrismal jar the mixture of balsam and oil, blend-
ing it with the same, and saving :

"Be this mixture of liquors atonement to all that
shall be anointed of the same, and the safeguard of
salvation for ever and ever. R. Amen.

" Then the deacon having taken away from the
jar the napkin and silk-cover, the Pontiff taking off
his mitre, and bowing his head, salutes the chrism,
saying: Hail, Holy Chrism.

'• This he does a second, and a .third time, raising
his voice each time higher and higher : after which
he kisses the lip of the jar. Which being done, each
one of the twelve priests advances successively to
the table, and having made a reverence to the sacra-
ment that is on the altar, and to the Pontiff Bitting
in mitre, kneels before the jar three times, each time
at a different distance, saying at each kneeling, in a
higher and higher tone, Hail, holy Chrism. And
then reverently kisses the lip of the jar."

If any of the old chrism remains when the new is
made, it is put into the church lamps to be burned
before the sacrament ; and whatever remains in the
pyxes or capsules is consumed in fire with its silk,
and then the pyxes are replenished with the new
chrism.

ill IIISMA (Gr. unction), aname sometimes given
m the ancient Christian church to the ordinance of
baptism, as denoting the unction or anointing of the
Holy Spirit. Gregory Nazianzen makes reference
to this title.

CHRISOME, a white garment, which in ancient
times was used in the office of baptism, the priest
putting it upon the child while he uttered these
words, " Take this white vesture for a token of in-
nocence."

CHRIST (Gr. chrtxtos, anointed), one of the names
or_ titles applied in Sacred Scripture to the Son of
God, the second Person of the blessed Trinity, as
the Anointed One, consecrated by Jehovah to be the
Saviour of His people. The term is equivalent in
meaning to the Mkssi.wi (which see) of the Old
Testament, and has an obvious reference to the holy

anointing under the Law, by which certain ]

were consecrated or set apart to particular offices.
(See Anointing.) Jesus is said, Ps. xl\. 7, to have
jeen " anointed with the oil of gladness above his

i

fellows," an expression which implies that he was
anointed above those who possessed a fellowship
with him in the exercise of similar offices, as types
of himself. Thus Aaron was anointed high priest,
Saul was anointed king ; Elisha was anointed pro-
phet; Melchisedec, king and priest; Moses, priest
and prophet ; David, king and prophet. Yet none
was ever anointed to the exercise of all these toge-
ther, in one comprehensive union, except the Christ
of God. In him alone were combined the offices of
a prophet, a priest, and a king, in their highest and
holiest exercise, and to these he was anointed with
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. At his
baptism the Spirit descended upon him like a dove,
and in one of the Jewish synagogues we find that he
declared, applying the language of Isaiah to himself,
" The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ;
he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."
He became Jesus as the Saviour for the sake of his
people, and as the Saviour he was anointed, or be-
came Christ, that he might accomplish their salva-
tion. The copious anointing with the Holy Ghost
became apparent in every word that he spoke, and
in every action that he did. Whatever was conse-
crated with oil under the Jewish economy was re-
garded as holy, and being thus consecrated to God.
whatever touched it was also holy. And so it is
with the Christ, the Holy One of God. He is not
only holy in himself, but he communicates of his
Holy Spirit to all his people. He is their glorious
and exalted Head, and the anointing wherewith he is
anointed, flows down to the very humblest and mean-
est of his members. The Apostle Pam speaks of
believers as the anointed of God, and in this respect
Christ and his people are one. They have an unc-
tion from the Holy One, and they know all things.
(See next article.)

CHRISTIANS, a name given to the followers of
Christ, as being, like himself, anointed ones. They
were first called by this name at Antioch in A. D. 44.
It has been often supposed that to the designation
of Christians an allusion is made in Is. Ixv. 15,
where it is declared, that they shall "leave their name,"
that of Jews, " for a curse unto my chosen : for the
Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by
another name." The corresponding name of Anoint-
ed, however, was early applied to God's believing
people. Thus Psalm cv. 15, " Touch not mine
anointed, and do my prophets no harm." They were
Christians, or anointed, through faith in their Sa-
viour, by the unction of the Holy One. The name
of Christians is applied to all who profess their be-
lief in Christ, and subjection to his authority. But

the Christian in reality is alone anointed with the
Holy Ghost, who sets the sool apart for the ser-
vice of God, brings the soul by faith into the pre-
sence of God, enjoins bun to walk continually m
2m *

614

CHRISTIANS.

in that presence, admits him to communion and
love with the Father and Son, enables him to live
under a habitual feeling of the gracious privileges
conferred upon him, renews the mind after the image
of Christ, causes it to rejoice in the holy and righ-
teous will of Jehovah, and inspires a gracious long-
ing and waiting for the purity as well as peace of the
kingdom of glory.

The name Christian appears to have been un-
known except by remote allusion before its introduc-
tion at Antioch. The various names by which the
followers of Christ were distinguished previous to
tnat time are thus referred to by Mr. Hall of Lei-
cester. " Among themselves the most usual deno-
mination was, Brethren. Acts xxviii. 13, 14, ' And
we came the next day to Puteoli, where we found
brethren.' 'If any man,' saith St. Paul, 'that is
called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an
idolater, with such an one no not to eat.' They
were styled 'believers:' Acts v. 14, 'And be-
lievers were the more added to the Lord, both of men
and women.' They were denominated ' disciples : '
Acts xxi. 16, ' There went with us also certain of
the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them
Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we
should lodge.' Their enemies, by way of contempt,
styled them Nazarenes : thus, Tertullus accuses Paul
of being ' a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.'
Of similar import to this was the appellation of
Galileans, and the terms heresy, or sect, meaning by
that a body of men who had embraced a religion of
their own, in opposition to that established by the
law. And this appellation of Galileans was con-
tinued to be employed by the enemies of Christ as a
term of reproach as late as the time of Julian, who
reigned about the middle of the fourth century, and
used it incessantly in his invectives against Chris-
tians. The followers of Christ were also styled
' men of this way : ' — ' And I persecuted this way
unto the death.' "

The question has been raised, Whether the appel-
lation Christian was of human or of divine origin.
The Scriptures are silent on the point, so that it is
impossible to speak with certainty on the subject.
Benson, Doddridge, and others, incline to the opinion
that it was assumed by a divine direction. Mr. Hall
follows in the same track, arguing the matter thus :
" It is not at all probablp an appellation so inoffen-
sive, and even so honourable, originated with their
enemies ; they would have invented one that was
more opprobrious. But supposing it to have been
assumed first by the disciples themselves, we can
scarcely suppose they would have ventured to take a
step so important as that of assuming an appellation
by which the church was to be distinguished in
all ages, without divine direction ; especially at a
time when the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit were
so common, and in a church where prophets abound-
ed. For ' there were in the church that was at An-
tioch certain prophets and teachers ; as Barnabas,

and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of
Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up
with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.' Is it to be sup-
posed that they would assume a new appellation
without recourse to the prophets for that direction ;
or that, supposing it to have had no other than a
human origin, it would have been so soon and so
unanimously adopted by every part of the Christian
church? This opinion receives some countenance
from the word here used, ' and the disciples were
called (chrematisai) Christians first in Antioch,' a
term which is not in any other instance applied
to the giving a name by human authority. In
its genuine import, it bears some relation to an
oracle. Names, as they are calculated to give
just or false representations of the nature of
things, are of considerable importance ; so that the
affixing one to discriminate the followers of Christ,
in eveiy period of time, seems to have been not un-
worthy of divine interposition." Neander, however,
accounts for its application to believers in a very
different way. " As the term Christ," he says, " was
held to be a proper name, the adherents of the
new religious teacher were distinguished by a word
formed from it, as the adherents of any school of
philosophy were wont to be named after its founder."
Once introduced, the term Christian soon came into
general use. When Peter wrote his first epistle, it
seems to have been a familiar name; for he thus
speaks, 1 Pet. iv. 16, " Yet if any man suffer as a
Christian, let him not be ashamed ; but let him glo-
rify God on this behalf;" and James refers to it as
a highly honourable appellation, Jam. ii. 7, "Do not
they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye
are called?" In the times of persecution it was ac-
counted enough to put the question, Art thou a
Christian ? and if it was answered in the affirmative,
the severest tortures were considered to be justly in-
flicted, while the martyr gloried even at the stake in
the confession, "lama Christian."

Christians form the society of the faithful, or the
subjects of that spiritual kingdom which God hath
established in the earth, under the administration of
his Son Jesus Christ. AH who belong to this spiri
tual community, commonly known by the name of
the church, are agreed in maintaining the funda-
mental doctrines of the Bible. " The essential ele-
ment, however, of true and saving faith," as Dr.
Welsh well observes, " may appear in a great diver-
sity of forms, and be mixed up in various combina-
tions with other conditions of the religious character.
The perception of what is of vital moment, may be
connected with apprehensions more or less clear and
consistent of other truths. A prominence may be
given to one class of subordinate truths to the com-
parative neglect of others. In some instances, the
truths of revelation may find their way at once to
the belief and practice, with little or no acquaintance
on the part of those who receive them with the phi
losophy of the evidence by which they are supported,

CHRISTEMPORIA— CHRISTIANS.

515

and with scarcely any attempt to trace their mutual
connections, or their relations to the truths of other
systems. In other instances, where they may ope-
rate with equal power, their character and the
theory of their energy may be made the subject of
speculative consideration. And not being delivered
in the Scriptures in a systematic manner, and the
language in which they are conveyed often admitting
of different interpretations, they may be moulded
into various scientific forms. They may be progres-
sively developed in the advancement of true science,
or they may be distorted by partial exhibition, or
th»v may be vitiated by an admixture of the errors
of a false philosophy. Accordingly, the views of
Divine truth vary from age to age, whether consi-
dered in the faith of individuals, in the symbols of
churches, or in the systems of philosophical theolo-
gians. Alterations are sometimes made in the creeds
and confessions of churches. And even in cases
where profession of adherence continues to be made
to the same ecclesiastical standards, there are often
fluctuations in the living mind of the spiritual com-
munity. New principles of exegesis, — the attempt
to accommodate the ecclesiastical system to the
newly discovered truths of philosophy, — the experi-
ence of influential individuals bringing into greater
prominence views that had not been recognised as
issential, — the progress of error demanding a dogma-
tical declaration of what had previously been left
undefined, — these, and other causes, lead continually
to alterations or modifications of the internal charac-
ter of the church."

The diversities to which Dr. Welsh here refers,
though all of them quite consistent with a firm ad-
herence to the fundamental principles of the gospel,
have given rise to numerous sects and communities
which form branches of the catholic Christian Church.
The divisions which thus prevail in the great Chris-
tian community have sometimes been adduced as an
argument against the truth of that system of Chris-
tianity which they all of them profess to believe.
This objection has been current among the oppo-
nents of Divine truth, both in ancient and in modern
times. It is sufficient, however, to replv. that in
the great fundamental doctrines of the religion of the
Bible, all sects professing Christianity are found to
be generally agreed. The differences which exist
are chiefly on minor and unimportant points ; and
these differences are not more than the well-known
differences in the mental constitutions of individuals
warrant us to expect. Perfect uniformity in doc-
trine and practice would have been inconsistent with
that free agency which belongs to every member of
the human family. The very diversity of senti-
ment, therefore, which is found among professing
and even real Christians, is an argument for, and nut
against, the Divine origin of our holy faith.

CHRISTEMPORIA (Gr. selling of Christ), a
name sometimes given in the ancient Christian
church to Simony (which see).

CHRISTEN, a word often used as denoting " to
baptize," from the belief which prevails in the Ro-
mish church, and even among many Protestants,
that every baptized person is thereby constituted a
member of Christ.

CHRISTENDOM, a general term used to denote
all those parts of the world which profess Christian-
ity. It is calculated that the entire population of
the earth amounts to 800,000,000 souls, of which
the inhabitants of Christendom are not supposed to
exceed one-fourth or 200,000,000. This includes
Roman Catholics, Protestants, the Greek anc
Eastern churches.

CHRISTI, an appellation given by St. Ambrose
to believers in Christ, founded on Ps. cv. 15, " Touch
not mine anointed," or my Christs, as it is rendered
according to the Vulgate.
CHRISTIANS Bible). See Bible Christians.
CHRISTIANS, or Christian Connexion, a de-
nomination of Christians in the United States of
North America. It originated about the commence-
ment of the present century, by a simultaneous
movement in different parts of the country. The
leading idea was to acknowledge no earthly leader,
such as Luther, or Calvin, or Wesley, to shake off
all human creeds and prescribed forms of worship,
to take the Bible as their only guide, leaving every
individual to be his own expositor of the Sacred
Word, and without bowing to the decisions of sy-
nods or churches, to judge for himself on his own
responsibility. Following out this principle, they
held diversity of sentiment to be no bar to church
fellowship. The sect first attracted attention in
New England, where it was composed chiefly of in-
dividuals who had separated from the Cai.vinistic
Baptists. (See Baptists, American.) Soon
after the first formation of the denomination, they
were joined by several large churches belonging to the
Calvinistic Baptists, who seceded from the Baptist
body, and united with them. The Freewill Bap.
lists showed themselves somewhat favourable to the
new sect for a time, but afterwards renounced all
fellowship with them. In the Southern States,
again, the first associations of Christiana consisted
chiefly of seceders from the Methodists, and in
the Western States from the Presbyterians. With
such a mixed body of members, their cardinal prin-
ciple was universal toleration. At their first out-
set as a separate sect, they were almost unani-
mously Trinitarian in sentiment; but alter a time
they ceased to hold the doctrine of the Trinity,
and professed to deny the divinity of Christ. The
principles upon which their churches were at first
constituted are thus stated by the Rev. Joshua
V. Iliines, a minister of the connexion: "The Scrip-
tures," he says, "are taken to be the only rule of
faith and practice, each individual being at liberty to
determine for himself, in relation to these matters,
what they enjoin. No member is subject to the loss
of church fellowship on account of his sincere and

516

CHRISTIANS— CHRISTIANITY.

conscientious belief, so long as he manifestly lives a
pious and devout life. No member is subject to dis-
cipline and church censure but for disorderly and im-
moral conduct. The name Christian is to be adopted
to the exclusion of all sectarian names, as the most
appropriate designation of the body and its members.
The only condition or test of admission as a mem-
ber of a church is a personal profession of the Chris-
tian religion, accompanied with satisfactory evidence
of sincerity and piety, and a determination to live
according to the Divine rule, or the gospel of Christ.
Each church is considered an independent body pos-
sessing exclusive authority to regulate and govern
its own affairs."

From the latter part of this extract it appears
that the Christian Connexion adopt the Congrega-
tionalist mode of church government ; and in ac-
cordance with the usual arrangements of that body,
they have also associations which they term con-
ferences. Ministers and churches represented by
delegates formed themselves in each state into one
or more conferences, called State Conferences, and
delegates from the conferences formed the United
States' General Christian Conference, which, how-
ever, only existed for a short time, when it was
given up. The State Conferences, though useful in
the way of consultation and advice, are understood
to have no authoritative control over individual
churches. The body boasts of having no founder,
and having sprung up as by magic about 1803, in
three different localities at once, New England,
Ohio, and Kentucky, in opposition to the bondage of
creeds and sectarian distinctions. It has now dif-
fused itself over almost every one of the states, and
extended into Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova
Scotia. They have a book association in full opera-
tion for the publication and sale of books and pe-
riodicals designed to promulgate the peculiar opi-
nions of the sect, thereby increasing its numbers,
and in every way promoting its interests.

CHRISTIANS. According to the Report of the
last census of Great Britain in 1851, no fewer than
ninety-six congregations in England and Wales
returned themselves under this general appellation,
unwilling probably to identify themselves with any
sectarian designation. One congregation takes the
name of Orthodox Christians ; one of New Chris-
tians ; one of Primitive Christians ; two of New
Testament Christians ; one of Original Christians ;
and one of United Christians.

CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. Eight congre-
gations appear in the returns of the last census of
Great Britain imder this designation, acknowledging
simply an adherence to the great principles of Chris-
tianity.

CHRISTIANS of ST. JOHN. See Mendeans.

CHRISTIANS of ST. THOMAS. See Syrian
Christians.

CHRISTIANITY, the religion promulgated by
Christ, and professed by Christians. It is embodied

both in its principles and precepts in th Scriptures oi
the Old and New Testaments, which all denominations
of Christians believe to be a Divine revelation, and
the only rule of faith and obedience. It is no doubt
true, that there is a natural as well as a revealed re-
ligion, and both of them beautifully correspond to
each other. There is nothing indeed more obvious
and striking to a reflective mind than the adap-
tation of our moral constitution to that extensive
system of moral truth which is contained in the
Bible. Whether we reflect upon those primary re-
ligious principles which are inherent in the breast
of every man, or those principles which, though
essential to our nature, are never fully developed
until their counterpart is made known to us by reve-
lation, we are struck with amazement at the strange-
ness of the position which we occupy, as at once the
inherent possessors of important, though somewhat
mysterious truths, and the expectants of still clearer,
and, to us at least, more deeply interesting discover-
ies. In the one case we may be viewed as already
possessed of an important class of religious senti-
ments to which the name of natural religion has
usually been given ; while in the other, we must be
considered as prepared, by our knowledge of these
elementary truths, for the reception of still higher
and more enlarged information. Hence it is, that
we are wont to argue for the necessity of a Divine
revelation from the demand which is made on the
part of our moral nature for the filling up of a sys-
tem of knowledge which has been already imparted
to us in dark and indefinite outline. The informa-
tion, in regard to spiritual and divine objects, which
we have received from nature, is necessarily scanty
and imperfect, and yet it is enough to convince us
that, in our destitute and helpless condition, it is far
from being unworthy of the kind and merciful
Father, "in whom we live, and move, and have our
being," to make known to us such a revelation as
would satisfy the cravings of our moral constitution,
and relieve us from a state of darkness and doubt.

A revelation, then, is necessary to man, and not
unworthy of God, and, accordingly, it has been be-
stowed. The revelation thus imparted is Chris-
tianity. The question, however, may be, as indeed
it has often been, put, How shall it be known whe-
ther this alleged revelation be of human or of Divine
origin ? The reply to this question, fraught with
importance to every human being, involves the ex-
tensive subject of the evidences of Christianity, both
external and internal. The peculiar aspect and bear-
ing of the argument in behalf of Christianity must
obviously depend, in no slight degree, on the creed
of the individuals for whom it is intended. Some
writers, accordingly, have judged it proper to com-
mence by establishing the principles of pure Theism ;
but the greater number of objectors to the truth of
Christianity, far from being Atheistical in their sen-
timents, admit, not merely the existence of God, but
all the other principles of natural religion, and ma>

CHRISTIANITY.

517

thus be considered as in a condition not unfavourable
"or entering with candour into the examination of
the Christian evidences. Approaching the subject,
then, in such a spirit, we remark, that the first point
involved in the External or Historical evidence
in favour of Christianity, concerns the authenticity
of the New Testament, or the question, whether the
books which it contains were written by the persons
whose names they bear.

Now, in determining the authenticity of the New
Testament, precisely the same method of proof may be
adopted as in the case of any other literary production
of a past age. "We know," says Augustine, " the writ-
ings of the apostles as we know the works of Plato,
Aristotle, Cicero, Varro, and others, and as we
know the writings of divers ecclesiastical authors ;
forasmuch as they have the testimony of contempo-
raries, and of those who have lived in succeeding
ages." An unbroken chain of testimony of unques-
tionable veracity may be traced upwards to the very
age of the apostles, which goes to establish beyond
a doubt that the writers of the New Testament were
the very persons to whom the composition of its
several parts is ascribed. Besides, contemporary
writers can be adduced, Heathen and Jewish, as well
us Christian, who bear unanimous testimony to the
same fact. The language of the writings is charac-
teristic of the age, nation, and circumstances of their
authors ; and the style and genius of the produc-
tions harmonize with the peculiarities of mind and
disposition which belonged to their respective writers.
An additional confirmation of the argument may be
derived from the admitted fact, that amid all the
bitter opposition to which the apostles were exposed,
and notwithstanding the numerous and keen con-
troversies of their age, nowhere in the writings of
even their most virulent enemies, whether Heathen
or Jewish, is to be found even the remotest insinua-
tion that the New Testament did not contain the
genuine productions of the men to whom they are
attributed.

Intimately connected with the question as to the
authenticity of the New Testament, is that of its
integrity, or whether it may not have undergone
- in.- material alteration since the period at which it
wag written. On the impossibility of any such alter-
ation having taken place, Bishop M'llvaine makes
the following judicious observations. "The Scrip-
tures, as soon as written, were published. Chris-
t ians eagerly sought for them ; copies were multi-
plied; carried into distant countries; esteemed a
sacred treasure, for which disciples were willing to
die. They were daily read in families, and ex-
pounded in churches ; writers quoted them; enemies
attacked them; heretics endeavoured to elude their
decisions ; and the orthodox were vigilant, lest the
former, in their etTorts to escape the interpretation,
should change the text. In a short time, copies
were scattered over the whole inhabited portion of
the earth. Versions were made into different lan-

guages. Harmonies, and collations, and commetita
ries, and catalogues, were carefully made and pub-
lished. Tints universal notoriety, among friends Rud
enemies, was given to every book. How, in such
circumstances, could material alterations be made
without exposure? If made in one copy, they
must have been made universally ; or else some
unaltered copies would have descended to us, or
would have been taken notice of and quoted in
ecclesiastical history, and the writings of ancient
times. If made universally, the work must have
been done either by friends, or by heretics, or by
open enemies. Is it supposable that open enemies,
unnoticed by Christians, could have altered all or a
hundredth part of the copies, when they were so
continually read, and so affectionately protected?
Could the sects of heretics have done such a work,
when they were ever watching one another, as jea-
lously as all their doings were continually watched
by the churches ? Could true Christians have accom-
plished such a task, even if any motive could have
led them to desire it, while heretics on the one hand,
and innumerable enemies on the other, were always
awake and watchful, with the Scriptures in their
hands, to lay hold of the least pretext against the
defenders of the faith ? It was at least as unlikely
that material alterations in the New Testament
should pass unnoticed and become universal, in the
early centuries and in all succeeding ones, as that an
important change in a copy of the constitution of tht
United States should creep into all the copies scat-
tered over the country, and be handed down as part
of the original document, unnoticed by the various
parties and jealousies by which that instrument is so
closely watched, and so constantly referred to. Such
was the precise assertion of a writer of the fourth
century, on this very subject. 'The integrity,' says
Augustine, ' of the books of any one bishop, however
eminent, cannot be so completely kept as that of the
canonical Scripture, translated into so many lan-
guages, and kept by the people of every age ; and
yet some there have been, who have forged writings
with the names of apostles. In vain, indeed, since
Scripture has been so esteemed, so celebrated, so
known.' Reasoning with a heretic, he says : ' If any
one should charge you with having interpolated some
texts alleged by you, would you not immediately
answer that it is impossible for you to do such a
thing in books read by all Christians? And that if
any such attempt had been made by you, it would
have been presently discerned and defeated by com-
paring the ancient copies ? Well, then, for the same
reason that the Scriptures cannot be corrupted by
you, neither could they be corrupted by any other
people.'"

Not less important than the authenticity and integ-
rity is the credibility of the New Testament, for it is
quite possible that a book may be quite authentic
and yet not credible; or in other words, that it may
have been written by the author whose name it beJirs,

518

CHRISTIANITY.

aud yet its statements may not be worthy of confi-
dence. " Suppose, then, for a moment," says the
author we have just quoted, " that they were not
honest in their statements — that they knew they
were endeavouring to pass off a downright imposi-
tion upon the world. We will not speak of their
intellect in such a case, but of their motive. Now,
it would be difficult to suppose that any man could
devote himself to the diligent promotion of such an
imposture without some very particular motive.
Much more that, without such motive, the eight va-
rious writers concerned in the New Testament
should have united in the plan. What motive
could they have had? If impostors, they were
bad men ; their motive, therefore, must have
been bad. It must have been to advance them-
selves, either in wealth, honour, or power. Take
either, or all of these objects, and here, then, is the
case you have. Four historians, with four other
writers of the New Testament— all, but one of them,
poor unlearned men — undertake to persuade the
world that certain great events took place before the
eyes of thousands in Judea and Galilee, which none
in those regions ever saw or heard of, aud they know
perfectly well did never occur. They see before-
hand that the attempt to make Jews and Heathens
believe these things will occasion to themselves all
manner of disgrace and persecution. Nevertheless,
so fond are they of their contrivance, that though it
is bitterly opposed by all the habits, prejudices, dis-
positions, and philosophy — all the powers and insti-
tutions of all people — they submit cheerfully to
misery and contempt — they take joyfully the spoil-
ing of their goods — they willingly endure to be
counted as fools and the offscouring of all things —
yea, they march thankfully to death, out of a mere
desire to propagate a story which they all know is a
downright fabrication. At every step of their pro-
gress they see and feel, that instead of any worldly
advantage, they are daily loading themselves with
ruin. At any moment they can turn about and re-
nounce then- effort, and retrieve their losses; and
yet, with perfect unanimity, these eight, with thou-
sands of others equally aware of the deception, per-
sist most resolutely in their career of ignominy and
suffering. Not the slightest confession, even under
torture and the strong allurements of reward, escapes
the lips of any. Not the least hesitation is shown when
to each is offered the choice of recantation or death.
He that can believe such a case of fraud and folly as
this, can believe any thing. He believes a miracle
infinitely more difficult of credit than any in the gos-
pel history. I charge him with the most supersti-
tious and besotted credulity. In getting to such a
belief, he has to trample over all the laws of nature
and of reasoning. Then on what an unassailable
rock does the honesty of the writers of the New
Testament stand, if it can be attacked only at such
sacrifices. How evident it is, not only that they
could have had no motive to deceive, but that, in all

their self-devotion and sacrifices, they gave the
strongest possible evidence of having published what
they solemnly believed was true."

If then the authenticity and credibility of tha
New Testament be satisfactorily established, the
authenticity and credibility of the Old Testament
writings may be considered as resting on nearly the
same foundation. The Christian and Jewish Scrip-
tures are indeed intimately and essentially comiected
with each other. The former proceeds upon, and uni-
formly takes for granted, the truth and divine autho-
rity of the writings of Moses ; frequent quotations
and references are made, in the writings of the apos-
tles, to the law and the prophets as divinely in-
spired ; the arguments in behalf of the New are
completely parallel to those in favour of the Old
Testament ; the objections made by infidels and ca-
villers to the one, are just in substance the objections
made to the other ; aud thus the two portions of the
Bible stand upon the same footing both as to their
authenticity and credibility.

Such are the evidences in support of Christianity
as a simple statement of facts ; it is necessary, how-
ever, in order to vindicate the Christian faith, that a
conspicuous place be assigned in the argument to the
more powerful and direct evidences of miracles and
prophecy. " In what way," asks Paley, " can a re-
velation be made but by miracles?" " In none," he
answers, "which we can possibly conceive." But it
is important to remark, that the proof derived from
miracles goes to establish, in the first instance, not
the truth of any statements whatever, but simply
the Divine authority of Him by whom the miracles
are wrought ; and from this an almost immediate
transition may be made to the truth of Christianity
itself. Had no miracles been performed by our
blessed Lord, we would have had no proper evidence
that he came from God, nor could the Christian
scheme have asserted any valid claim to a Divine
origin. To the gospel of Christ, however, no such
objection can be offered. Miracles are alleged to
have been wrought ; water was changed into wine ;
the blind received their sight, the dumb spoke, the
deaf heard, the lame walked, and the dead were re-
stored to life. And the principle on which Christ
performed those miracles is obvious from his own
declaration, " The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me." The distinction is
palpable even to the most uncultivated mind, be-
tween events which are truly miraculous, and even
the most surprising of the ordinary phenomena of
nature, or the most wonderful discoveries of science ;
aud hence the peculiar value of miracles as evidences
and proofs of a system which addresses itself to the
illiterate as well as to the learned.

Another and powerful class of evidences in favour
of Christianity is usually drawn from prophecy.
The evidence of prophecy and that of miracles are
to some extent identical , the one being a miracle of
knowledge, while the other is a miracle of power.

CHRISTIANITY

519

The mode of investigation, however, is somewhat
different. In examining the alleged prophecies, it
is necessary previously to inquire, whether the
writings in which they are contained were really
penned before the events which constitute the fulfil-
ment of the prophecies took place. This, to be sure,
is no very difficult matter in the case of the Old
Testament, as the Hebrew Scriptures were notori-
ously written long before the advent of our Lord.
Another preliminary step also is necessary in our
nquiries into the evidence drawn from fulfilled pro-
phecy, viz., whether the event be in its nature such
as to require for its prediction more than human
prescience. Of this point we have satisfactory evi-
dence in the peculiar nature of Christ's character
and offices, as far transcending all that could enter
into the conception of men. Some analog)', it may
be said, is discoverable here between prophecy and
miracles. The one demands a previous inquiry,
whether the prediction can be considered as amount-
ing to a miracle of knowledge ; and surely the other
demands a scrutiny as strict to ascertain whether the
facts narrated amount, supposing them true, to a
miracle of power.

It has sometimes been alleged by writers on the
Christian evidences, that the argument drawn from
fulfilled prophecy possesses a peculiar advantage
over that drawn from miracles, inasmuch as the
former is gathering strength as time advances, while
the latter is becoming gradually weaker the further
we recede from the period when the miracles were
actually performed. Thus Dr. Inglis, in his ' Vindi-
cation of the Christian Faith,' remarks, " The infidel
who pleads, in justification of his unbelief, that he
would have believed in Christ if he had seen the
miracles which are ascribed to him, can offer no cor-
responding vindication of himself for resisting that
evidence which results from the fulfilment of pro-
phecy, in the appearance and work of Christ upon
earth. For, even at the present day, we have very
nearly, if not altogether, the same advantage that
was enjoyed by any who have gone before us, for
deliberately judging and ascertaining whether those
events, which the prophets foretold, could be fore-
seen or anticipated by human sagacity, and whether
the things foretold have been in their time and order
fulfilled." To the observation here made we decid-
edly object, it being impossible for us to concede for
a moment that the evidence of miracles can ever lose
aught of its force, even by the lapse of ages. Had
the proof been drawn from mere human tradition,
this might, and in all probability, would have been
the case ; but when we reflect that the miraculous
facts were recorded by eye-witnesses, soon after the
period of their performance, who thus exposed them-
selves to contradiction from their countrymen, if it
had been possible to contradict them ; when we con-
sider, besides, that the credibility of these writers, and
the genuineness and authenticity of their writings, is
»s capable of proof at this day as it was at least in

the third century, we cannot but regard this species
of evidence as remaining, and ceteris paribus, destined
to remain essentially the same in point of validity,
now that we have got beyond the sphere of the im-
mediate friends and companions of the apostles, and
their immediate descendants. While we readily ad-
mit that the evidence of miracles cannot possibly re-
ceive additional force, we do not see, on the other
hand, how it can be in the slightest degree deterior-
ated simply by the flight of time. Ages may elapse,
but the proof of the reality and truth of our Lord's
miracles must, we conceive, remain undiminished in
its power as long as the volume of inspiration shall
continue to unfold its pages to the sinful and suffer-
ing children of men.

While, however, the argument drawn from miracles
cannot possibly lose a single iota of its power as time
flows onward, it is readily admitted that neither does it
gather the slightest addition to its force. The ut-
most that can be said is, that it remains stationary.
But it is undoubtedly otherwise with the argument
from prophecy, which receives with the progress of
advancing time a continually growing force. As the
history of the world gradually developes itself, one
prediction after another comes to be fulfilled, and
with this additional advantage, that evidence of this
kind presents itself before our eyes. " The sublime
appeal of men," as has been eloquently remarked,
" professing to be commissioned of God, to the
events of thousands of years thereafter, as witnesses of
their truth ; the moral grandeur of that appeal which
— after having deposited in the hands of nations a
prediction of minute transactions which the innumer-
able contingencies of a long retinue of centuries are
to bring out — stakes its whole cause upon a perfect
fulfilment, thus resting itself singly upon the omni-
science and omnipotence of God, and separating to
an infinite distance all possibility of human support ;
this is a dignity to which nothing but the inspiration
of the Scriptures can pretend — a noble daring on
which nothing else was ever known to venture."
Nor does this evidence limit itself to one period of
the world's history. It commences at the remotest
period of the past, and stretches onward through a
course of more than four thousand years, only end-
ing its predictions with the very close and con
summation of all tilings. It is unnecessary to ente.
into minute details in order to point out the fulfil-
ment of the long series of Bible prophecies, opening
at the fall of man in Eden, and closing with his final
recovery in the heavenly Paradise. Babylon, Tyre,
lv_'v]it, Edom, and Judea, all attest as with one voice
the truth of ancient prophecy. But the clearest and
the most important of Scripture predictions are those
which refer to the character, condition, and work of
the promised Messiah, and those which relate to the
subsequent fortunes of the Christian church, and oi
the Jewish nation. On the last mentioned subject,
the conversion and ultimate restoration of the Jewish
people to their national glory, Dr. Mllvaine oilers

620

CHRISTIANITY

the following powerful observations : " There is
nothing in the history of nations so unaccountable,
on human principles, as the destruction and the pre-
servation of the Jews. ' Scattered among all na-
tions ' — where are they not ? Citizens of the world,
ivnd yet citizens of no country in the world — in what
habitable part of the world is not the Jew familiarly
known ? He has wandered every where, and is still
every where a wanderer. One characteristic of this
wonderful race is written over all their history, from
their dispersion to the present time. Among the
nations, they have found no ease, nor rest to the soles of
their feet. Banished from city to city, and from country
to country ; always insecure in their dwelling-places,
and liable to be suddenly driven away, whenever
the bigotry, or avarice, or cruelty of rulers demanded
a sacrifice — a late decree of the Russian empire has
proclaimed to the world that their banishments have
not yet ceased. Never certain of permission to re-
main, it is the notorious peculiarity of this people, as
a body, that they live in habitual readiness to re-
move. In this condition of universal affliction, how
singular it is that among all people the Jew is ' an
astonishment, a proverb, a by-word.' Such is not the
case with any other people. Among Christians,
Heathens, and Mohammedans, from England to
China, and thence to America, the cunning, the ava-
rice, the riches of the Jew are proverbial. And how
wonderful have been their plagues! The heart
sickens at the history of their persecutions, and mas-
sacres, and imprisonments, and slavery. All nations
have united to oppress them. All means have been
employed to exterminate them. Robbed of pro-
perty ; bereaved of children ; buried in the dungeons
of the inquisition, or bumed at the stake of deplor-
able bigotry — no people ever suffered the hundredth
part of their calamities, and still they live ! It was
prophesied that, as a nation, they should be restored ;
consequently, they were not only to be kept alive,
but unmingled with the nations, every where a dis-
tinct race, and capable of being selected and gathered
out of all the world, when the time for their restora-
tion should arrive. The fulfilment of this forms the
most astonishing part of the whole prophecy. For
nearly eighteen hundred years, they have been scat-
tered and mixed up among all people; they have
had no temple, no sacrifice, no prince, no genealo-
gies, no certain dwelling-places. Forbidden to be
governed by their own laws, to choose their own
magistrates, to maintain any common policy — every
ordinary bond of national union and preservation has
been wanting; whatever influences of local attach-
ment, or of language, or manners, or government,
have been found necessary to the preservation of
other nations, have been denied to them ; all the in-
fluences of internal depression and outward violence
which have ever destroyed and blotted out the na-
tions of the earth, have been at work with unprece-
dented strength, for nearly eighteen centuries, upon
the nation of Israel ; and still the Jews are a people

— a distinct people — a numerous people — unaxsiini
lated with any nation, though mixed up with all na-
tions. Their peculiarities are undiminished. Theii
national identity is unbroken. Though scattered
upon all winds, they are perfectly capable of being
again gathered into one mass. Though divided into
the smallest particles by numerous solvents, they
have resisted all affinities, and may be traced, un-
changed, in the most confused mixtures of human
beings. The laws of nature have been suspended in
their case. It is not merely that a stream has held
on its way through the waters of a lake, without los-
ing the colour and characteristic marks of its own
current ; but that a mighty river, having plunged
from a mountain height into the depth of the ocean,
and been separated into its component drops, and
thus scattered to the ends of the world, and blown
about by all winds, during almost eighteen centuries,
is still capable of being disunited from the waters ol
the ocean ; its minutest drops, having never been
assimilated to any other, are still distinct, unchanged,
and ready to be gathered, waiting the Voice that
shall call again the outcasts of Israel and the dis-
persed of Judah. Meanwhile, where are the nations
among whom the Jews were scattered ? Has not the
Lord, according to his word, made a full end oj
them t While Israel has stood unconsumed in the
fiery furnace, where are the nations that kindled its
flames ? Where the Assyrians and the Chaldeans ?
Their name is almost forgotten. Their existence is
known only to history. Where is the empire of
the Egyptians ? The Macedonians destroyed it, and
a descendant of its ancient race cannot be distin-
guished among the strangers that have ever since
possessed its territory. Where are they of Mace-
don? The Roman sword subdued their kingdom,
and their posterity are mingled inseparably among
the confused population of Greece and Turkey.
Where is the nation of ancient Rome, the last con-
querors of the Jews, and the proud destroyers of
Jerusalem? The Goths rolled their flood over its
pride. Another nation inhabits the ancient city.
Even the language of her former people is dead.
The Goths ! — where are they ? The Jews ! — where
are they not ? They witnessed the glory of Egypt
and of Babylon, and of Nineveh ; they were in ma-
ture age at the birth of'Macedon and of Rome;
mighty kingdoms have risen and perished since they
began to be scattered and enslaved ; and now they
traverse the ruins of all, the same people as when
they left Judea, preserving in themselves a monu-
ment of the days of Moses and the Pharaohs, as un-
changed as the pyramids of Memphis, which they
are reputed to have built. You may call upon the
ends of the earth, and will call in vain for one Kving
representative of those powerful nations of antiquity,
by whom the people of Israel were successively op-
pressed; but should the Voice which is hereafter to
gather that people out of all lands be now heard
from Mount Zion, calling for the children of Abra

CHRISTIANITY.

521

nam. no less than four millions would instantly an-
swer to the name, each bearing in himself unques-
tionable proofs of that noble lineage."

In addition to the leading arguments in favour of
Christianity drawn from miracles and prophecy,
that which is deduced from the rapid propagation of
the Christian religion in the early ages, in .spite of
the numberless obstacles which it was destined to
encounter, may be considered as one of the most
powerful secondary proofs. That the extent of its
diffusion in the days of the apostles was remarkable,
no reflecting man can possibly doubt. Paul, for ex-
ample, declares that from Jerusalem, round about
unto Illyrieum. he himself had not failed to declare
the unsearchable riches of Christ. At Jerusalem
and Antioch, at Ephesus, Athens, Corinth, Thessa-
lonica, and even in imperial Rome, the mistress of
the world, churches had been planted, and the truths
of Christianity wire openly promulgated. Thus ex-
tensively diffused throughout almost every part of
the Roman empire, the same apostle felt himself
warranted in addressing his Colossian brethren, to
speak of the truth of the gospel, " which," says he,
"is come unto you as it is in all the world;" and
a^'ain in the course of the same chapter he admon-
ishes them " not to be moved away from the hope of
the gospel, which," he adds, " was preached to every
creature under heaven." But the remarkable suc-
cess of the first promulgators of Christianity rests
nol simply on their own statements, but is fully at-
tested by contemporary writers. Had it been pos-
sible to account for the fact by a reference to mere
secondary causes, the acuteness and genius of Gib-
bon would surely have been able to accomplish the
task. It is unnecessary to say. however, that even
he lias failed, and all that cold sneering infidelity
could effect has utterly failed. The circumstances
of the case are sufficient to show that on any other
supposition than that of its truth, the success of the
gospel is wholly unaccountable. In what was pro-
bably the most illustrious period of Roman literature.
some individuals of high reputation for learning and
character adopted the tenets of Christianity, and
openly professed their belief in them — and that too
without the slightest hope of deriving any worldly
advantage — nay, even under the certain impression
that they would thereby expose themselves to the
ridicule, persecution, ami reproach of their fellow-
countrymen. And if such was the conduct of en-
lightened men in regard to what was strictly a ques-
tion of facts, on which every individual around them
was capable of deciding, and therefore might have
disproved them if it had been possible to do so. to
what other conclusion can we possibly come than
that the gospel ;< true? By the pure force of truth
alone it overcame the deadliest opposition, and in
full confirmation of the proverbial adage that "the

blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." it
flourished amid persecution, and trampling down

avery obstacle, it made its way to the gates of the

palace, and even mounted the imperial throne of the
mighty Csesars. To what other than to a divine
power is the success of Christian truth in the first
ages of its propagation to be attributed ? It is this,
and this alone, wdiich could sustain the Christian
convert in the view of those trials and persecutions
to which for the truth's sake he was doomed, and
wdiich could enable him amid them all to bear up
with a heroic firmness and fortitude which no terrors
could shake and no opposition appal. It is this, and
this alone, which could urge forward the Christian
cause in a career of unexampled rapidity, which even
the malignity that would willingly frustrate was
forced to promote, and before which the towering
imaginations of even the proudest hearts were effec-
tually subdued.

As naturally flowing out of the argument to which
we have now adverted, another striking proof of the
truth of Christianity may be found in its holy and
purifying influence on the minds of those, whether
individuals or communities, who sincerely embrace
it. Without this, indeed, the unbeliever would have
just reason to complain of the practical inutility of
the system, the truth of which we had been labour-
ing to demonstrate. Of the effect of Christianity,
however, upon the minds and hearts of all who truly
believe it, the Christian advocate may well boast.
It enlarges the mind, refines the taste, and purities
the heart. No man can be sincerely a Christian
without being in every sense the better for it. Select
an individual from the humblest walks of life, whose
soul has undergone a spiritual and saving change.
See how his furrowed and care-worn countenance is
lighted up with the smile of a holy and placid content-
ment. He enjoys a peace that passed) all under-
standing, and a hope that is full of immortality ; and
though doomed daily to earn his bread by the sweat
of his blow, his soul is often cheered amid his hours
of toil by the hopes and consolations of the gospel.
A purer, a loftier, a more powerful principle of holy
living has begun to animate his whole mind and
heart than has hitherto stirred within his bosom.
Impelled by this holy, this ennobling principle, he
engages in his daily avocations with a mind elevated
to the contemplation of objects the purest and the
most sublime, with a heart no longer debased by
earthly and grovelling desires, and with his whola
soul devoted to the service and the glory of his re-
deeming God. The hallowing influence of Cnris-
tianity bears with equal efficacy upon the hours of
his active engagements, and upon the calmer and
more retired seasons of private meditation and prayer
He seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteous
ness, anil he engages also with the utmost activity in
the duties of his station, in obedience to the com-
mand of God, and in compliance with bis providen-
tial arrangements. The beneficial influence of Cliris-
tianity is not merely discernible in the life and con-
versation of an individual believer, but in the
improved moral standing of nations who have simply
•2. K

622

CHRISTIANITY.

professed to embrace it. Their laws, their institu-
tions, their manners, have alike experienced the
ameliorating effects of the gospel of Christ ; and
though the process of reformation in these respects
may have been tardy, it has nevertheless become so
obvious and well-marked, as to render it an argu-
ment of considerable weight in favour of the truth
and divine authority of the Christian system.

Having thus briefly sketched the External or
Historical Evidences of Christianity, it is neces-
sary, in order to complete the vindication of the
religion of the Bible, that a short view be presented
of the Internal Evidences, which are founded on
a survey of Christianity itself, as it is set forth in
the revealed Word. Is there anything in the very
doctrines of our Christian faith which claim for them
a supernatural origin? Do they commend them-
selves to our reason, our heart, our conscience, as
irrefragably true, and not only as truths, but such
truths as are completely suited to our condition, both
as creatures and sinful creatures? Should these
questions be clearly shown to admit of only one an-
swer, and that an affirmative one, then does the con-
clusion necessarily follow, that the Christian revela-
tion is not unworthy of God, but, on the contrary,
that there is in its very doctrines strong presumptive
evidence of its Divine origin. Take, for example,
the view which Christianity gives of the Divine na-
ture and character. It tells us that " God is a Spi-
rit," and thus sweeps away the complicated and
elaborate theories of ancient and modern materialists.
On this point the Bible is throughout plain and ex-
plicit. It announces from first to last, One Living,
Personal God, the Maker and moral Governor of the
universe. How dark, vague, and unsatisfactory the
views on this subject of the most distinguished
heathen writers of antiquity ! All the philosophers,
except those who discarded altogether the idea of a
deity from their creed, agreed in admitting a plural-
ity of gods. Even Socrates and Plato, though on
various occasions they speak of one supreme and
omniscient Being, too often evince by other remarks
of a very different tone, that their belief in the unity
of God was not the result of permanent and satisfied
conviction. Nor were the writings of the ancients
less erroneous on the subject of the Divine attri-
butes. Not only were their deities uncertain and
variable in their individual character, but divided
into factions at once opposed to each other, and to the
welfare of mankind. Every nation had both its pa-
trons and its foes in the synod of Olympus, and its
prosperityordecline was less to be attributed to its own
virtues or vices than to the favour of the gods on the
one hand, or their enmity on the other. These deities,
6esides, were not more human in their discord than
in their wants, their desires, and their enjoyments.
Even the Zeus of the Greeks, and the Jupiter of the
Latins, exalted though he was in the ranks of the
celestial hierarchy, is often set forth as a being pos-
sessing many of the imperfections and weaknesses of

frail erring man ; nay, he is sometimes held forth aa
degraded in vice below the most depraved of mor-
tals. How different is the God of the Christian
system ! He is not only the greatest and most ex-
alted being in the universe, but characterized by ab-
solute, essential holiness, and unsullied purity. Seated
on the throne of the universe, He rules his creatures
with impartial sway, yet looking down with compla-
cent satisfaction upon all that seek to love him and
obey his commands. His unsearchable greatness
and ineffable majesty are beautifully blended with
compassion for the weakness of his erring .creatures.
He is slow to anger, plenteous in mercy ; holy, and
yet full of love; a just God, and yet a Saviour;
just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly who believe
in Jesus. What more sublime than the brief but
emphatic declarations of Scripture, " God is light,"
"God is love!"

It is no doubtful proof besides of the Divine ori-
gin of Christianity, that it gives a satisfactory expla-
nation of the difficulties which surround the present
state of things. Wherever we cast our eyes, we be-
hold numberless proofs of wisdom and goodness, but
at the same time there are apparent discrepancies
and anomalies which frequently puzzle and perplex
the thoughtful mind. Both the works of creation,
and the arrangements of providence, present us with
a state of things which it is difficult to reconcile with
perfect order and unmixed benevolence. Christian-
ity, however, fully and satisfactorily accounts for the
introduction and continued existence of both physi-
cal and moral evil in the world. God is shown to be
just and true in all his ways, as well as holy in all
his works. In the moral government of our race,
his justice is exercised as well as his goodness, the
guilty being punished, while the righteous are re-
warded. Thus it appears plain why man, the crea-
ture of God, is treated as an alien and an enemy.
He has sinned, and therefore justice and righteousness
alike require that he should endure the punishment
consequent upon sin. Hence it is that man is born
to trouble as the sparks fly upward. Sin and suffer-
ing are in the lot of the human being intimately and
inseparably connected, and death being the wages of
sin, it hath passed upon all men because all have
sinned. Thus it is that by the introduction of this
one element, — the justice of the Divine Being, —
Christianity unlocks the mystery of the present
aspect of matters both in the natural and moral
world.

Another question which Christianity completely
solves, and thus shows itself to be Divine, is the mo-
mentous inquiry, How a sinful man can obtain par-
don, justification, and acceptance before God. A
deep-felt consciousness of guilt is an inherent prin-
ciple in the heart of every man, and hence even
from the earliest times it has been an object of
eager anxiety to find some mode of propitiating the
Divine favour. The solemn inquiry has been pro-
posed by multitudes in their inmost souls : " Where- '

CIiniSTIAXITY.

523

with shall I come before the Lord, and bow
myself before the high God? shall I come before
him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or
with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my
firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body
for the sin of my soul?" These questions Chris-
tianity most satisfactorily answers. It points to a
sacrifice of infinite value, which has been offered as
an atonement for the sins of men. " Behold the
Lamb of God," it says, " which taketh away the sins
of the world." By this one sacrifice the demands of
the law and justice of God are fully satisfied, and
God is seen to be at once a just God and yet a Sa-
viour.

And how can Christianity be other than divine,
seeing that through it life and immortality have been
brought so clearly to light ! Men in all ages indeed,
and by the unaided operations of their own reason,
have formed to themselves faint, shadowy, impal-
pable conceptions of a world beyond the grave. But
nowhere, unless in the Bible, is the doctrine of im-
mortality set forth as a subject of well-grounded
practical belief. There it is exhibited in connection
witli the grand peculiarities of the Christian system,
the doctrines of atonement and justification. It is
set forth so closely connected with these peculiar
and essential articles of the Christian system, that it
cannot be separated from them. The heaven of the
Bible, unlike the Elysium of the ancient Heathens,
or the paradise of Mohammed, is a place of happi-
ness consisting of purely spiritual enjoyments, and
designed only for the morally good. If such be the
future state described in the Scriptures, — not reserved,
as among the Greeks and Etonians, for poets, states-
men, and philosophers, whose only qualifications
were of an intellectual kind, but belonging simply to
the pure in heart and holy in life, — we cannot rid
ourselves of the conviction that the sacred writers
have supplied no ordinary evidence of their inspira-
tion, in the very place which they assign to a future
state in the view of Christianity which they unfold.
Among the heathen authors of antiquity, their place
of punishment was peopled by persons wdio had been
guilty of flagrant violations of the admitted laws of
morality ; but the abodes of happiness were assigned
without the slightest regard to moral character. It
is the peculiar merit, however, of the CI
scheme, that while it plainly declares that " \
holiness no man shall see the Lord," it also reveals
an efi'ectual method by which sinful man may recover
the heaven he has lost, and at the same time acquire
a meetness for its pun' and blessed mansions. The
doctrine of immortality is thus made to OO
conspicuous place in the religious system, and also
to subserve in the highest degree the inter
Christian morality and piety; perfect cons
and harmony is preserved iii the whole scheme, and
Christianity shows itself to !"■ <li\ ine

But in discussing the Internal Evidences of the

Christian system, while various points have thus
been usually adduced which cannot fail to recom-
tem to the reflecting mind, as of super-
natural origin, it is on the peculiar doctrines of Chris-
tianity that we would be disposed chiefly to rest tho
nt for its divinity. By pursuing a different
method of reasoning, no little injury has frequently
been done to the cause of true religion. Under the
delusive idea, that by depriving Christianity of all
that was peculiar, and by endeavouring to reduce it
to a level with natural religion, they were thereby
serving the cause of truth, some well-meaning but
injudicious defenders of the religion of the Bible
have unwittingly furnished the infidel with powerful
weapons wherewith to assail the Christian system.
Tin- result, accordingly, has been such as might have
been anticipated. Bolmgbroke, Tindal, Collins, and
many others of the same school, have directed their
utmost efforts to show that nothing is revealed to us
in the Bible which was not previously revealed to
us in the religion of nature, or if there be any mys-
teries of which mankind were before ignorant, they
are merely resolvable into the figurative phraseology
in which the authors wrote, or into subsequent cor
ruption and interpolations of the record itself. Thu
it is that, under the guise of affected friendship, the
deadliest blows have been aimed at all that is vital in
the Christianity of the Bible ; and that too, arising
from no other cause than the injudicious conduct of
its real friends. It is not m Germany alone thai On*
spirit of rationalism has been diffusing its withering
influence; inJBritain also has such a spirit been gra-
dually gaining ground. The consistency of revela-
tion with reason, is, no doubt, when properly con-
ducted, a powerful and effective branch of the Inter-
nal Evidences, but it ought never to be forgotten,
that there is a point in the argument beyond which
wc dare not go, a point where reason ends, and im-
plicit faith in revelation must begin. The human
mind is not capable of discovering by its own unas-
sisted efforts all that the Bible unfolds to us, other-
wise what necessity for the Bible at all? If, then,
there be truths peculiar to the Christian system,
is no necessity for the slightest anxiety on the
part of the defenders of Christianity to reconcil
apparent inconsistei i a these peculiar Chris-

tian truths and the principles of reason. A strong

presumptive argument, it is true, may be fount
the fact which in most instances can be shown by
analogy, that what is peculiar to Christianity is not
contrary to reason. Such an argument, however,
can never amount to more than a presumption in its

favour; .and though it may he powerful e ill to

silence the cavils of objectors, it adds little to the
direct force of the Christian evidence. The essential
and primary elements of all religious truth i

i by the pure efforts of reason unaided by re

D, and all revealed religion u
the existence of that class of truths which is i
under the term Natural Religion. But to assert this.

624

CHRISTIANITY.

8 just tantamount to the assertion that the Scrip-
tures are accommodated to the nature of the beings
to whom they are addressed. This is not all, how-
ever, that may be said in reference to their value.
They state, no doubt, what is addressed to our rea-
son, and what proceeds on the supposition that there
are some truths which unassisted reason lias discov-
ered, but they do more, for they state, and in this
their peculiar excellence consists, many truths which
the reason of man hath not discovered, and by its
most strenuous and sustained exertions never could
discover. And the danger is, that in deference to
a certain class of sceptics and unbelievers, these pecu-
liarities of the Christian system should either be en-
tirely overlooked, or attempted to be so modified as to
suit the caprice of those who, while they profess an
adherence to the doctrines of revelation, are all the
while still more devoted admirers of human reason.
All systems of religion, even the most degrading, are
founded to some extent on natural religion, or, in
other words, on those religious sentiments and feel-
ings which are inherent in the constitution of every
mind. But from these Christianity stands separate
and apart ; and the exhibition of its peculiarities, as
contradistinguished from every other system of re-
ligious doctrine, forms a most important branch of
the Christian evidences.

The peculiar doctrines of Christianity, those which
mark it out as separate and distinct from all the other
systems of religion, that either are, or have been
prevalent in the world, may be resolved into three :
The doctrine of atonement by the blood of Christ ;
that of justification by the imputed righteousness of
Christ ; and that of sanctitication by the indwelling
operation of the Holy Spirit. These form the grand
distinguishing characteristics of the gospel system,
and the revelation of these doctrines, which could
never have been discovered by mere human reason,
imparts to Christianity a valid title, to be regarded
as supernatural in its character, and evidently sprung
from God.

Man, as a moral being, must be viewed in a twofold
aspect — as subject to the Divine law, and as having
transgressed that law. In the one view he is a re-
sponsible agent, and in the other he is a rebel
against the government of God, and therefore, liable
to the punishment due to sin. He has sinned, and
therefore he must die, for it is an established prin-
ciple of the Divine government, that " the soul that
sinneth, it shall die." How then can sinful man
escape the righteous indignation of an offended God ?
Not surely by a departure on the part of Jehovah
from the strict demands of justice, and by the procla-
mation of an arbitrary act of indiscriminate pardon.
Such a mode of acting would be plainly inconsistent
with the spotless perfection of the nature of God,
and with the maintenance of his authority as the
Moral Governor of the universe. But it may be
asked, Might not the repentance of the sinner be re-
garded as an adequate satisfaction to the justice of

God? No such plea, we reply, is for a moment ad
mitted even in an earthly court of law ; what reason
then have we for indulging the expectation that in
the far higher and holier jurisprudence of heaven,
repentance can be viewed as an expiation for sin ?
Christianity, however, provides a full and complete
atonement in the sufferings and death of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, who " suffered the just for,"
or in the room of, "the unjust, that he might bring
us unto God,"— words which plainly set before us the
idea of substitution. He who was the Holy and the
Just One, suffered in the place of us who were un-
just or unrighteous. " He was wounded for our
transgressions," says the prophet Isaiah, "he was
bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our
peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are
healed." " He bore our sins in his own body on the
tree." " The Lord laid upon him the iniquities of
us all." The sufferings of Christ then were strictly
penal, that is, they bore the character of a punish-
ment, not, however, for his own sins, he being abso-
lutely sinless, but for the sins of others.

Christ the propitiation for sin is a peculiarity in
the Christian system, which of itself is sufficient to
stamp it as of heavenly origin. True, infidels have
sometimes quarrelled with the doctrine of substitu
tion, it being inconsistent, as they imagine, with ab-
solute justice, that the innocent should suffer for the
guilty. To compel the innocent, we admit, to suffer
against their will, in place of the guilty, would
be both cruel and unjust. Christ, however, volun-
tarily and readily undertook his people's cause.
" He offered himself up a sacrifice for sin." And
besides, there was a grand peculiarity in the case of
our gracious substitute, which marked him out as
separate from, and infinitely superior to, all other
substitutes, inasmuch as no one can be permitted by
an earthly ruler to suffer in room of another, for the
plain and obvious reason, that the generous substi-
tute has no right voluntarily to give away his own
life, neither has the magistrate any right to accept it.
Far different, however, was the case with our great
Redeemer. He could declare with truth his abso-
lute and inalienable right over his own life. " No
man taketh my life from me ; I lay it down of my-
self, and I take it up again." It is plain then that
no obstacle to the legal substitution of Christ exist-
ed, in so far as the sufferer was concerned. He
suffered willingly, and he had a right to lay down
his own life if he chose. But the question may still
be asked, How could the crimes of any one be
charged upon another? To this question the reply
is simple. It is never asserted that Christ actually,
and in person became a sinner, but the doctrine of
Scripture is, that he was made sin, or judicially, and
in law, treated as a sinner. He was the representa-
tive, the substitute of sinners ; and does not even
human law recognise the principle of substitution ?
Does not the law account an individual free from the
consequences of a debt if it has been already paid by

CniUSTIANTTT.

.12.5

his surety? And yet, though the same principle
meets us in many different tonus ; though we often
lee in the ordinary course of events, children suffer-
ing for the sins of their parents, wives for the crimes
of their husbands, and friends for the vices of their
friends, it is strange that Christianity should be
taunted with injustice in representing the righteous
Governor of the universe as passing by the guilty, and
making the innocent Jesus suffer in their room.
This objection obviously proceeds upon a very erro-
neous view of the true design of punishment. In a
well-regulated state, punishment is not indicted with
the view of wreaking vengeance upon the criminal, but
solely and exclusively for fulfilling the ends of good
government ; and if in any case it were consistent
with the maintenance of the authority of law and
the well-being of the commonwealth that mercy should
be exercised, its exercise in such a case would not
be considered as inconsistent with the demand-, of
justice. If the principles thus laid down be correct,
it follows that full satisfaction having been made to
the Divine law and justice by the voluntary suffer-
ings of Christ in the room of his people, and the
rectitude of the Divine government having been fully
maintained in the transaction, mercy and truth may
meet together, and righteousness and peace embrace
each other, while God is seen to be just, even when
he justifies the ungodly who believe in Jesus. Ad-
mitting then that neither the law nor the justice of
God was compromised by the substitution of Christ
in room of guilty man, the question still offers itself,
Did the sufferings of Christ completely fulfil the
purpose required? Had he been a mere man, no
■offerings, however painful or protracted, which he
could have endured, would have been available as an
atonement for others, just because, as it is impossible
for a creature to do more than his duty to his Crea-
tor, it is impossible for a sinful creature to sutler
more than his iniquities deserve. All is due even
to the utmost extent of his powers, whether of doing
or suffering, and, therefore, both reason and Scrip-
ture agree in declaring, that " no man can redeem his
brother, or give to God a ransom for him." But it
was a peculiar excellence of our Substitute, that he
was not simply man, but God as well as man, Ema-
nuel, God with us, or in our nature. His humanity
suffered, and his divinity lent infinite value and effi-
cacy to his sufferings. " He gave himself for us, an
oii'rring and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet-smelling
savour." Justice was satisfied, mercy triumphed,
sinful man was pardoned.

The substitution of Christ, however, in his peo-
ple's room, is a strong evidence of the divine origin
of Christianity, not only because He has thereby
procured pardon for all who believe on him, but also
because He has thereby procured for them a valid
title to the possession of heaven. The sufferings of
Christ, as we have already seen, were un adequate
itonement for sin, and thus obtained the deliverance
of the 6inner from punishment. Chribt suffered the

penalty due to sin, and on that account the sinner is
pardoned, but he is not entitled to a single bene: t
beyond the privilege of pardon. The culprit is dis-
missed from the bar, but that is the full amount of
his privilege. As far as we have yet viewed the
matter, we have seen the sinner by his surety eatis
fying the penal, but we have not yet seen him satis
tying the preceptive part of the law. The alterna-
tive in earthly courts is simply punishment, or ac-
quittal from punishment, but the alternative in the
court of heaven is punishment, or reward. It was
necessary, therefore, that Christ, in order to com-
plete his work as Mediator, should not only atone
for sin. but that he should so perfectly obey the
Divine law which we bad broken, as to earn for us,
and in our name, a title to that reward which we had
forfeited. That perfect obedience, accordingly, he
yielded, an obedience both active and passive, that
is, he both performed the duties which the law re-
quired, and he suffered the punishment which
the broken law demanded. The sufferings of Christ,
then, may be viewed in a twofold aspect, as propi-
tiatory, and as meritorious ; propitiatory, inasmuch
as they averted from us the threatened punishment,
and meritorious, inasmuch as they procured for us
the forfeited reward. Man, by his disobedience to
the Divine law, at one and the same time forfeited
the reward of everlasting happiness, and incurred
the punishment of everlasting woe. When Christ,
therefore, stood in our room, it behoved him both to
discharge us from the penalty, and to earn for us the
reward. The former he accomplished by his pro-
pitiatory sufl'erings and death ; the latter he accom-
plished by his meritorious sufferings, even unto death.
He became the willing servant of the Father, and
he was made under the law, that he might redeem ui
who were under the law. As God, he was above
all law, being the Supreme Lawgiver and Judge, but
he condescended to yield obedience to the law, which
he himself had given, and by his active as well as
suffering obedience, he obtained eternal glory for
himself, and eternal blessedness for all his people.
He hath taken possession of heaven in their name ;
he hath entered it as their forerunner, and " he will
come again to receive them to himself, that where
he is they may be also."

The obedience to the law which Christ wrought
out for his people, is imputed to them or put down
to their account, as a justifying righterusness, in
virtue of which they have a valid claim to the pos-
session of the heavenly inheritance. This is the
spotless robe, clothed in which believers stand ac-
cepted in the Beloved. They receive it in theexer
cise of a lively faith, and thus to them Christ becomes
the end of the law for righteousness, and they are
" found in him, not having their own righteousness,
which is of the law, but the righteousness which is
Of God by faith." This is the "righteousness which,

without the law, is manifested, being witnessed by

the law and the prophets." This is " the righteous-

626

CHRISTIANITY.

pess of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ, unto
all, and upon all, them that believe ;" and upon the
footing of this righteousness alone can guilty man
expect to rind acceptance in the sight of a holy God.
By the revelation of such a righteousness, Chris-
tianity shows itself in the clearest and the most
convincing manner to be of supernatural and hea-
venly origin.

But while ample provision has thus been made in
the Christian scheme for our deliverance from hell,
and our admission to heaven, the argument in fa-
vour of the Divine origin of our religion acquires
additional strength from the fact, that provision has
also been made for our preparation for heaven . I f by
the righteousness of Christ his people are justified,
it is no less a scriptural truth, that, by the Spirit of
Christ, his people are sanctified. In virtue of his
perfect obedience, Jesus, on his ascension to the
Father, obtained gifts for men, the greatest of which,
and that which includes all the others, was the gift
of the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to commence,
to carry forward, and to perfect the work of sancti-
fication in the soul of the believer. The gift of the
Spirit was consequent upon the work of Christ, and
it was not before the ascension and glorification
of the Lord Jesus that the Spirit was fully given.
But no sooner had Jesus gone to the Father than
the Spirit came with Pentecostal power, and three
thousand souls were converted in a day. There is
no doubt a fullness of holiness in Jesus to purify
the most polluted sinner. But though the fountain
of holiness be full, not one drop can flow into the
believer's soul, unless by the effectual operation of
Jehovah's grace. He must " work in us both to will
and to do of his own good pleasure." The initial
step of the work of sanctification is the arousing of
the sinner to a consciousness of his true condition in
the sight of God. The eyes of his understanding
are opened to see his sinful state, and with anxious
heart he exclaims, What shall I do to be saved ?
The Spirit now takes of the things that are Christ's,
and shows them to the convinced sinner, making
known to him the soul-refreshing truth, that Christ
is a Saviour. The first step, or that of conviction,
is accomplished by the instrumentality of the law,
and the second step, or that of conversion, by the
instrumentality of the gospel. But both are the
work of the Spirit of God. The soul is now gra-
dually purified through the indwelling operation of
the Spirit ; remaining corruption is daily and hourly
mortified, and at length the work of sanctification
being perfected, the believer will be presented by
Christ to the Father, holy and unblameable, and un-
•eproveable in his sight.

Such is a rapid view of the peculiar doctrines of
the Christian scheme, those which are specially
adapted to meet the character and condition of man
as a guilty ruined sinner, and surely we may well
draw the inference, that a religion, so admirably
fitted to supply the wants and relieve the anxieties

of sinful mortals, cannot have sprung from any othei
than a Divine origin. But while the most effective
line of argument, in so far as the internal evidences Oi
Christianity are concerned, appears to be that which is
founded on the peculiar doctrines of the system, a col-
lateral line of proof may also be drawn from the pecu-
liar precepts which it inculcates. Morality addresses
itself not so much to the understandings as to the
hearts and the consciences of men. And in this re-
spect tin morality of tha Bible is singularly effec-
tive. Not content with tracing all overt acts of
crime to the inward workings of the naturally de-
praved heart, it directs all its efforts towards apply-
ing a remedy to the very source of the evil. It
puts in the very foreground love of the Redeemer, a
principle which, more than any other, is fitted to
lay hold of the affections of the human being, and
to mould him into a conformity to the image of Him
who hath loved his people with an everlasting love,
and in mercy hath redeemed them. This is the most
powerfully constraining influence which could pos-
sibly operate upon the mind of a Christian. The work
of Christ is to him all his salvation, and, therefore, the
glory of Christ becomes all his desire. His heart
glows with gratitude to his gracious Redeemer, and
as he thinks of all the love and the mercy which he
hath experienced at the hands of Jesus, his heart
overflows with love, and he longs with ever-increasing
earnestness to be like his Lord.

The moral precepts of Christianity are the purest,
the noblest, the most sublime, evidently deriving
their origin from the Fountain of all purity and
truth. Its fundamental, its all-pervading principle
is love, love to God, and love to man. In this hea-
ven-born religion, love is the fulfilling of the law.
And in laying this truth at the foundation of its
moral system, Christianity proclaims the absolute
necessity of a renewal of the whole nature, a new
birth to holiness and God. Without this radical,
vital change, there can be nothing in man that is
truly good or acceptable in the sight of the heart-
searching God. What stronger evidence could be
adduced of the divine origin of the religion of Christ,
than that which may be derived from the nature,
bearing, and connection of its moral precepts ! The
morality and the doctrines of the Bible are closely
and indissolubly joined ; they form one compact and
consistent whole.

In a sketch of the Evidences of Christianity, the
subject admits of being pursued in various directions,
all of them leading to the same satisfactory conclu-
sion. Thus an important argument may be drawn
in favour of the truth and divinity of the Christian
system, by comparing, or rather contrasting it with
all merely human systems of religion, whether of an-
cient or of modern times. There is a gorgeous
splendour thrown by classical writers over the my-
thology of Greece and Rome, which is apt at first
view to dazzle and mislead the superficial inquirer.
But such a delusion is only for a time. A closei

CHRISTIANITY.

527

examination speedily lays open to us the absurd, de-
grading, and immoral character of the entire s, stem.
Essentially idolatrous and polytheistic, it lavished
divine attributes on the most insignificant or worth-
less objects. Natural causes and material forms
were converted into gods, and so rapidly was their
Olympus peopled, that twenty thousand deities were
scarcely deemed sufficient for the hierarchy of hea-
ven. And not only were these deities so numerous,
that, as one of the ancient authors confesses, it was
easier to find a god than a man, but the morality
which these divinities both inculcated and practised,
was of the most polluted and impure description.
The result was. that in nations the most distinguished
for learning and taste, profligacy prevailed among all
classes of society to the most deplorable extent.
Their " elegant mythology," as Gibbon terms it, was
unable to control the fierceness of their passions, or
to prevent them from sinking into the lowest state of
moral degradation. On the contrary, their religion
too often gave countenance to vice both in public
and private.

Nor, if we pass from the examination of ancient to
that of modern systems of religion, do we lhid any
reason to congratulate ourselves on the transition.
It was the boast of Zoroaster that he abolished ido-
latry among the Persians, of Mohammed that he
accomplished the same work among the Arabians,
and of Gotama Budha that he bad reformed, the Brah-
Dianism of India: but whether we contemplate Par-
seeism, Llamism, Hinduism, or Budhism, we cannot
fail to be struck with the striking contrast which
bid to Christianity in every aspect in which
they can be viewed. Hinduism is a gigantic system
of polytheism, exceeding in the number of its gods
even the most idolatrous systems of antiquity. All
nature, the meads, the groves, the Btreams, the
mountains, the skies are peopled by the Hindu with
appropriate demons, genii and demigods. True, it
has its Brahm, one Great Spirit, the Supreme Being,
infinitely exalted above every other being in the
universe, but then he is not, like the Christian's God,
possessed of every possible perfection both natural
and moral; on the contrary, although all natural
attributes are ascribed to him, his primary and pro-
per state of being is that in which he exists wholly
without qualities or attributes of any kind; and
when in another state of being he is represented as
possessed of active qualities, these in no respect par-
take of the nature of moral attributes. The BUpreme
god of the Hindus is represented, it is true, of inef-
fable felicity, to a participation in which all his vota-
ries are taught to aspire as being final beatitude.
But instead of the felicity of Brahm resembling in
the least degree the ineffable felicity of the Chris-
tian's God, which consists in the ever-active contem-
plation of his own glory, and the communication of
happiness to all hi~ on is represented as

ting only of idle slumber and utter inactivity,
while men are taught to direct all their energies in

this world towards the attainment of a state of otter
and eternal unconsciousness. What a god to wor-
ship, what a heaven to seek ! No wonder if the be-
lievers of such a creed should be degraded almost to
the level of the beasts of the earth. Equally inju-
rious upon the minds if ill within the reach of their
influence must be the absorption of the Hindu, and
the annihilation of the Budhist religion. How strik-
ing the contrast which such doctrines exhibit to the
heaven of Christianity, where all is active happiness
and love and joy ! How can we venture to compare
the Hindu Triad with the Christian Trinity, or the
Avatars of Vishnu with the incarnation of Jesus ?
Krishna may be adorned by Oriental poetry with all
the graces of loveliness and elegance, but his attrac-
tiveness is that of the effeminate voluptuary. What
a contrast to the character of the holy, the meek, the
lovely Jesus ! How degrading the worship of the
Hindu pagodas! In these temples of pretended
worship, no fewer than three hundred and thirty mil-
lions of deities are adored. Prayers, tortures, alms-
deeds, ablutions, a thousand expedients are resorted to
by these poor benighted idolaters to recommend them-
selves to the favour of their gods, while the Chris-
tian, being justified by faith, has peace with God
through his Lord Jesus Christ. The Hindu seeks
moral purity by bathing in the waters of an earthly
river, but the Christian gladly resorts by faith to the
all-cleansing fountain of Immanuers blood. Nor are
the future prospects of the Hindu less dismal than
his present degraded condition. One can only look
forward to an incessant migration through millions
of successive births ; another to a temporary abode
in a region of unbounded sensual indulgences ; and
a third as the highest enjoyment to a literal absorp-
tion in the Deity, and a consequent loss of all per-
sonal identity. What a contrast to the blessed
prospects of the Christian, as he looks forward to the
ineffable happiness of being for ever with the Lord,
anl enjoying the ever-during pleasures which are at
God's right hand !

Christianity, however, can not only afford to be
compared with the complicated idolatrous systems
both of ancient and of modern times ; it may admit
of a comparison with those systems of religion which
have been the most violently opposed to idolatry.
Of these the ancient Zoroastrians, and the modem
Mohammedans are perhaps the most conspicuous.
The Zoroastrians, or Parsees as they are now termed,
have ever held all kinds of idolatry or image worship
in the most intense abhorrence. The only material
objects to which in their view adoration ought to be
paid, are the natural elements, especially the tire,
which they regard as the purest and most appro
priate symbol of the Supreme Being. Hence the
altar fires they have come to regard as sacred, and
they are, and have over been, guilty, notwith-
standing their boasted hatred of idolatry, of WOI*
shipping and serving the creature more than the
Creator. But if there is one characteristic of Chris

b28

CHRISTIANITY.

tianity which more than another elevates it above all
human systems of pliilosophy and religion, it is the
prominence which it gives to the spirituality of the
Divine nature. That God is a spirit, it lays down
as a doctrine not only to be believed, but to be habi-
tually present to our minds, that we may be led with
our whole souls to " worship Him in spirit and in
truth." The God of the Christian is a living, per-
sonal, immaterial Being, to whom no material ob-
ject, whether in heaven or on earth, can be compared;
and, therefore, it is written as the imperative com-
mand of Jehovah, " Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that
is in the water under the earth : thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them."

And while the Parsee religion strenuously main-
tains the unity of the Great First Source of all
things, it attempts feebly to resolve the problem of
the existence and introduction of evil in the world,
by alleging that creation presents an antagonism
throughout all its departments (see Abesta), a per-
petual strife which is carrying onward both in the
physical and moral worlds, and which, in the view of
Zoroaster, admits of no satisfactory explanation, un-
less by the supposition of two living, opposing be-
ings, which are ever exerting a powerful, counteract-
ing influence. The only legitimate inferences from
such a dualistic system is, that God is the au-
thor of imperfection and evil. How infinitely pre-
ferable is the simple explanation of the difficulty
which Christianity gives ! It represents the Creator
as pure and holy, while all creation, when it first is-
sues from his hands, is absolutely good, both physi-
c illy and morally good. It is at an after period that
sin is introduced through the influence of the
Tempter; and physical evil is unknown until moral
evil has entered into the world. Such a solution of
the problem is at once plain and satisfactory. It pro-
poses no such impossible hypothesis as that of the
Abesta, that there are two powerful ever-operative
agencies at work, equally strong and mutually de-
structive. Christianity on the contrary represents
good to be the rule of God's works, and evil the
exception, the latter destined to be extirpated by the
mighty power of Him who, when He had formed all
things, pronounced them " very good."

One more system still remains to be noticed,
which also lays claims to a divine origin — the reli-
gion of Mohammed, the great Eastern impostor,
which for more than twelve centuries has exercised
a powerful influence over a large portion of the
world. Preceded by Judaism and Christianity it has
borrowed from both, and it is impossible to read the
pages of the Koran without being struck with the
extent to which its author has been indebted to the
Law, the Prophets, and the Gospels. One truth
above all others, the Prophet of Arabia sought to
inculcate upon all his followers, — the unity of the

Divine Being. On this subject he speaks in terms
of remarkable beauty and power. " God ! There is
no God but he, the living and self-subsisting. Nei-
ther slumber nor sleep seizeth him. To him be-
longeth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth. He
knoweth that which is past and that which is to
come. His throne is extended over the universe.
He is the high, the mighty." The gods of Pagan-
ism are rejected by Mohammed with the utmost
contempt and abhorrence. But while he attempts
to convey to the readers of the Koran the most
sublime conceptions of the Divine Being, in the same
breath he impiously dares to exalt himself to a
level with the Deity. " There is no God but God,
and Mohammed is his Prophet." Thus was the one
true God, whom he had professed to exalt, placed on
a footing with a sinful man, and made to sanction
the vices, to subserve the passions, and to abet the
foulest crimes of his pretended messenger. The god of
Islam is the patron of licentiousness and corruption ;
an inconsistent and contradictory Being, making or
unmaking laws, announcing, confirming or repealing
decrees according to the capricious dictates of a
scheming and ambitious mortal. What a contrast
docs the God of Christianity present! ''The High
and the Holy One." "Just and true in all his
ways, and holy in all his works." " Without vari-
ableness or shadow of turning, the same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever." " I am the Lord, I change
not."

The religion of the Koran exhibits throughout prin-
ciples completely the reverse of those which we could
believe to have come from a righteous and merciful
God. It estimates the piety of the faithful by their
cold-bloodedness, and promises glory, honour, and im-
mortality to those who are the most zealous in the per-
secution and murder of the infidels. And not only
were the immediate followers of the prophet command-
ed to go forth on a war of extermination ; the same
ruthless precepts were bequeathed to the Moham-
medans of every future age. Islamism was thus
destined by the prophet to subjugate the world to its
sway by devastation and blood. How different the
spirit which marks the Christian system ! " Verily, I
say unto you," was the declaration of its Author,
" Love your enemies ; bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them that
despitefully use you, and persecute you." Christian-
ity is essentially the religion of peace, its Author is
the Prince of Peace, who hath made peace by the
blood of his cross ; and with a voice re-echoing
throughout the whole habitable world, it proclaims
" peace upon earth, and good will to the children of
men." It is defined to advance, and even to
" cover the earth ; " but its progress is marked at
every step by civilization and happiness. Imper-
fectly though this blessed system has yet been
brought to bear upon nations, it is impossible to
deny that the moral and political condition of those
countries who have embraced it has undergone a

CHRISTMAS.

529

most decided improvement. Their laws, their insti-
tutions, their manners, all exhibit the ameliorating
influence of the gospel of Christ, thus affording a
strong additional evidence of the divinity of the
Christian system.

What has been the result indeed of all the sys-
tems, whether of philosophy or religion, which have
:ner been invented by the wisdom of men? Has
the world been one whit the better for them? Have
they improved t lie condition of the human family?
Have they made men better acquainted either with
the nature of God, or their own nature? Have they
diffused a pure morality, promoted the true welfare
of man, and effected a marked improvement on the
social and political aspect of nations? Alas! the
contrary has been the case. But of Christianity,
and Christianity alone, can it be said, that the doc-
trines which it teaches, the morality which it incul-
cates, the spirit which it breathes, and the hallowed
influence which it exercises both upon communities
and individuals, are such as to extort from every un-
prejudiced mind the prompt and unqualified admis-
sion, that the hand that constructed such a system is,
md must be, Divine.

CHRISTMAS, a festival celebrated in honour of
our Lord's nativity. It begins with the Advent on
ihe last day of November, and continues until Epi-
phany, on the 6th of January ; and is more particu-
larly observed on the 25th of December. This fes-
tival seems to have first made its appearance in the
Roman church, under the Roman bishop Liberius,
after the middle of the fourth century. At a period
somewhat later, it spread into Eastern Asia. Chry-
sostom, in a discourse delivered at Antioch A. D. 386,
mentions that it had first become known there less
than ten years before. The crowded churches at
this period on Christmas-day showed the interest
which the people generally took in this new festival.
Some, however, were dissatisfied at the institution of
such a festival, and a controversy arose upon the
subject ; one party denouncing it as an innovation,
while others affirmed that it had been known of old
from Thrace to Cadiz. Not that any difference of
opinion existed in the church as to its object, but
many doubted, and justly, whether the time of its
observance was founded on any other than a mere
arbitrary arrangement. Chrysostom, in his homilies,
enters into an elaborate defence of the day usually
observed as Christmas. The festival thus introduced
was not received with equal readiness by all the
ehurches; those of Jerusalem and Alexandria reject-
ing it as an innovation, and resolving, in preference,
to unite the commemoration of Christ's nativity
with the ancient feast of the Epiphany — a combina-
tion which they attempted to justify by quoting
Luke iii. 23, from which passage they inferred, that
the baptism of Christ took place on the very day of
his nativity. It is not long, however, before we
find the Alexandrian church observing the feast of
Clu-Ut's nativity as a separate festival by itself. In

some of the Greek churches such confusion existed
on the subject of the two festivals, that the name
Epiphany or Theophany was actually given to the
feast which others termed Christmas.

Xeander gives a very interesting and satisfactory
account of the manner in which the Christmas festi-
val came to be observed first in the Roman church,
bom which it passed to the other churches. The
explanation is as follows : " Precisely in this season
of the year, a series of heathen festivals occurred, the
celebration of which among the Romans was, in
many ways, closely interwoven with the whole civil
and social life. The Christians, on this very ac-
count, were often exposed to be led astray into many
of the customs and solemnities peculiar to these fes-
tivals. Besides, these festivals had an import which
easily admitted of being spiritualized, and with some
slight change transformed into a Christian sense.
First came the saturnalia, which represented the
peaceful times of the golden age, and abolished for a
while the distinction of ranks, the distance between
servants and free men. This admitted of being
easily tranferred to Christianity, which, through thu
reconciliation of man with God, through the restora
tion of the fellowship between God and man, had
introduced the true golden age, representing the
equality of all men in the sight of God, and brought
the like true liberty as well to the freeman as to the
slave. Then came the custom, peculiar to this sea-
son, of making presents (the streme), which after-
wards passed over to the Christmas festival; next,
ihe festival of infanta, with which the saturnalia con-
cluded,— the sigillaria, where the children were pre
sented with images ; just as Christmas was the true
festival of the children. Next came a festival still
more analogous to the Christmas, that of the short-
est day, the winter solstice ; the birth-day of the new
sun about to return once more towards the earth (dies
natalis invicti solis). In the case of this last-named
feast, a transition to the Christian point of view na-
turally presented itself, when Christ, the sun of the
spiritual world, was compared with that of the mate-
rial. But the comparison was carried still further ;
for, as in the material world, it is after the darkness
has reached its highest point that the end of its
dominion is already near, and the light begins to ac-
quire fresh power; so, too, in the spiritual world,
after the darkness had reached its highest he ight,
Christ, the spiritual sun, must appear, to make an
end of the kingdom of darkness. In fact, many al-
lusions of this kind are to be found in the discourses
of the church fathers on the festival of Christmas.

" That Christian festival which could be so<:i-ilv
connected with the feelings and presentiments lying
at the ground of the whole scries of pagan festival*
belonging to this season, was now, therefore, to be
opposed to these latter; and hence the celebration of
Christmas was transferred to the 25th of December,
for the purpose of drawing away the Christian people
from all participation in the heathen festivals, and ol

630

CHRISTOLYTES— CHRONOS.

gradually drawing over the Pagans themselves from
their heathen customs to the Christian celebration.
Tliig view of the matter seems to be particularly fa-
voured in a New Year's discourse by Maximius,
bishop of Turin, near the close of the fourth century,
where he recognises a special divine providence in
appointing the birth of Christ to take place in the
midst of the pagan festivals ; so that men might be
led to feel ashamed of pagan superstition and
pagan excesses."

Augustine candidly admits that Christmas was
neither derived from apostolic usage, nor sanctioned
by any general council. And this view is confirmed
by the fact, that the ante-Nicene fathers are all of
them silent on the subject of such a festival, even
while enumerating the other festivals of the church.
Some writers have derived it from the Jewish En-
caenia or Feast of the Dedication, while others agree
with Neander in tracing it to the Heathen Saturna-
lia. Whatever may have been its origin, it is some-
what important to observe, that from its first insti-
tution many of the western nations transferred to it
some of the foolish customs which prevailed in the
pagan festivals observed at the same season, such
as adorning fantastically the churches, mingling pup-
pet-shows and dramas with worship, universal feast-
ing and merry-making, visits and salutations, pre-
sents and jocularity, and even revelry and drunken-
ness. For some time after the introduction of the
festival in commemoration of the nativity of Christ,
the Eastern and Western churches differed as to
the day on which it ought to be celebrated ; the
former keeping it on Epiphany or the 6th of Jan-
uary, the latter on the 25th of December. It
was not until the 6ixth century that anything like
unanimity prevailed as to the day for observing
Christmas. In the Roman church Christmas is ac-
counted a very high festival. Three masses are per-
formed, one at midnight, one at daybreak, and one
in the morning. In the church of Santa-Maria Mag-
giore at Rome, they profess to have the cradle in
which the Saviour was laid at his birth, and on the
feast of the nativity they bring out the cradle before
daybreak, and amid processions of priests, monks,
nuns, preceded by incense-bearers, accompanied by
singers, and guarded by soldiers, it is placed on the
high altar to be seen and worshipped by the faithful.
On Christmas day, and for eight days after, a Prese-
pio is exhibited in almost every church in Italy, and
sometimes even in private houses. The word Prese-
pio means a stable or manger, and it is now applied
to the representation of the nativity, in which men
and animals are fantastically arranged in the interior
of a room. The Saviour is generally exhibited lying
on the ground, or on the Virgin's knee, between an
ox and an ass. Joseph is also present, and several
angels, and sometimes the three kings of the east
presenting their offerings. Flowers and fruit, apples
and oranges, are frequently strewed on the floor of
the Presepio by the visitors, and sometimes money

also is given. In many Greek churches a similai
representation is to be seen on Christmas eve. Ir
the Church of England, and all Lutheran churches
the feast of the nativity is observed as a very solemn
festival, and at the close of divine Bervice and the
dispensation of the eucharist, the day is looked upon
as an occasion of rejoicing and congratulation. The
Church of Scotland, and all Presbyterian as well as
Congregational churches, decline to celebrate this
festival, regarding it as of human appointment, and
unwarranted either by Scripture or the practice of
apostolic times.

CHRISTOLYTES (Gr. Christoa, Christ, and
Luo, to loose), a Christian sect which arose in the
sixth century, in consequence of the keen disputes
which took place at that time, in reference to the
nature of the body of Christ. The Christolytes
maintained that, on the descent of Christ into hell,
he left both his body and soul there, and only rose
with his Divine nature to heaven.

CHRISTOPHORI (Gr. Christos, Christ, and
P/tero, to carry), one of the names sometimes as
cribed to Christians by the early Fathers, probably
from the circumstance that believers may be sup-
posed to carry Christ in their hearts, and hold habi-
tual communion with him, as it is written, " I will
dwell in them, and walk in them." See Christians.

CIIRISTO SACRUM, a sect or society formed
at Delft in Holland in 1801, by Onder de Wingaard,
an aged burgomaster of that city. The object oi
the founder was to unite, if possible, all denomi-
nations who held the divinity of Christ, and re-
demption through his blood ; and, accordingly, all
are admitted into fellowship who maintain these car-
dinal doctrines, on whatever other points they maj
diS'er. The sect, which had one place of worship at
Delft, is quite extinct, though, while it existed, va-
rious works were published in defence of its doc-
trines.

CHRODO, a god of the ancient Germans, repre-
sented under the fignre of an old man, on a pedestal,
with his head bare, and a large fish under his feet.
He is dressed in a tunic, which is girt around him
with a sash, the ends of which hang flowing to the
right and left. In his left hand he holds a wheel,
and in his right a large basket with fruits and
flowers. He is supposed by some to have been iden-
tical with the Roman god Saturn.

CHRONIT^E (Gr. chronos, time), a reproachful
name applied by the Arians of the fourth century to
the orthodox Christians of the period, by which they
designed to intimate that their religion was only
temporary, and would speedily have an end.

CHRONOLOGY. See /Era.

CHRONOS (Gr. time), a name which the an-
cients give to Saturn (which see), as the god of
time. Accordingly, the fable of Saturn devouring
his children, is explained by supposing time to de-
vour days, months, and years, which are produced
by him. '• The father of Zeus," writes Kaiser.

CHRYSOSTOM (St.)— CHURCHES.

631

' was defined as time or Chronns, according to a
more recent system of Theogony, because lie reigned
prior to his gieat son. though, as regards rank, he is
inferior to him." Zeus, however, considered as
demiurgos and governor of the world, is Chronos or
time realized in cosmos.

CHRYSOSTOM (St.}, Festival OP, celebrated
bv the Greek church on the 13th of November.

CHRYSOSTOM (St.), Liturgy of, one of the
numerous liturgies used in the Greek church. It is
in ordinary use all the year round, with the excep-
tion of certain appointed days, on which the liturgy
of St. Basil is substituted for it.

CHTHONIA ami CHTHONTUS, surnames appli-
ed to the shades or gods of the infernal regions among
.he ancient Greeks, such as Hecate, Nyx, and espe-
cial Demeter, in whose honour a festival was insti-
tuted bearing the name of Chthonia.

CHTHONIA, a festival celebrated at Hermione, in
honour of Demeter, surnamed Chthonia (see pre-
teding article). Pausanias represents it as celebrated
every year in summer by a procession, at the head of
which marched the priests and magistrates. Those
who joined the procession wore white garments, with
rhaplets of flowers on their heads, on which was an
inscription recording the premature death of Hva-
cinthus. In the rear of the procession was led a
heifer, which was conducted into the temple of De-
meter, and there sacrificed by four old women with
shut doors. Thereafter the temple was thrown open,
and another heifer was led in, which was also sacri-
ficed. The same operation was performed on four
different animals in succession, all of which were
made to fall on the same side on which the first fell.
/Elian says, that the heifers were sacrificed not by
the matrons mentioned by Pausanias, but by the
priestess of the goddess. The Lacedaemonians are
said to have celebrated the same or a similar fes-
tival.

CHURCH (German, Kirclte, a kirk, from Gr.
Kuriakon, belonging to the Lord), a word used in a
variety of different signification. (1.) It is employed
to denote the whole body of Christians, or all who
profe3S to believe in Christ, and vow subjection to
his authority. This is usually termed the Catho-
lic Church (which see). (2.) Any particular body
of Christians, who belong to one particular locality,
and are wont to hold communion with one another
■n the same ordinances. Thus we read of the church
at EpheflUB, the church at Antioch, the church at
Golosse. (3.) A particular sect or denomination of
Christians, distinguished by adherence to certain
doctrines, or the observance of certain ceremonies.
Thus the Greek church, the Romish church, the
Church of England, the Abyssinian church, tin- Ar-
menian church. (4.) The term church is sometimes
applied to a single congregation of Christians. (5.)
Sometimes the word denotes the clergy in contradis-
tinction to the laity; and vice versa. (6.) It is occa-
sionally employed in early writers to 'I* note the peo-

ple as distinguished from the clergy or ecclesiastics
(7.) It very frequently denotes the building within
which a particular congregat'on or society of Chris
tians assembles for the celebration of divine service.
CHURCHES. The places in which Christians as-
semble for worship have received different names at
different periods. The primitive appellation of such
a building seems to hate been the Greek word eccle-
sia, as we find in 1 Cor. xi. 18, 20 and 22. In the
early writers it is sometimes called the Lord's house,
the house of prayer, a temple, all which nanus were
familiarly used in the third and fourth centuries.
The first place of meeting among the primitive
Christians seems to have been a room in the house
of some member of the church. As the congrega-
tions became larger, particularly in towns, it became
necessary to select a more suitable place of assem-
bly. The church at Ephesus held their meetings
for a time in the house of Aquilaand Priscilla where
Paul preached to them. Gradually these private
apartments would be fitted up in a style better
adapted for public worship. An elevated seat would
be introduced for the speaker, and a table set for the
celebration of the Lord's Supper. Separate build-
ings for the special purpose of divine service were
erected so early as the third century, at which time
they are expressly mentioned in the edict of Gallien.
The Chronicle of Edessa speaks of a Christian church
as standing there even in A. d. 202. In the time of
Diocletian, many splendid churches had already
been built in the large cities, and more than forty
then existed in Rome. Mr. Coleman, in his ' Christian
Antiquities,' gives the following sketch of the pro-
gress made in the erection of edifices for Christian
worship onward to the Reformation : " After the
persecution of Diocletian, under Constantine and hie
successors, the demolished churches were rebuilt,
and such as had been closed were again opened.
Pagan temples were, in some instances, converted
into Christian churches ; but they were usually de-
stroyed, as not suited for public worship. Churches
in great numbers were erected in a style of magnifi-
cence before unknown in Constantinople, in Jerusa-
lem, and throughout the cities of Palestine, and
solemnly dedicated to the worship of God. This
religious rite was first introduced by Constantine.

"In his zeal for building churches, Justinian I.
far surpassed all others, and throughout his long
reign, from A. r>. 527 to 505, made this the great
business of his life. But his chief care he expended
in building the magnificent and colossal church oi
St. Sophia, at Constantinople. Such was the splen-
dour of this work, that at the consecration of it
he exclaimed, 'I have surpassed thee, 0 Solo-
mon.' The perpendicular height, from the Bummit
of the grand arch to the pavement of this edifice,
was one hundred and eighty feet. Some idea ol
.it work maj be obtained from the number
of ministers and attendants who were appointed
by the decree of the empeior for the service of

632

CHURCHES.

this church. They were as follows : sixty pres-
byters, one hundred deacons, forty deaconesses,
ninety subdeacons, one hundred and ten readers,
twenty-five singers, one hundred door-keepers ; mak-
ing a retinue of five hundred and twenty-five minis-
ters and attendants ! The value of 40,000 pounds of
silver was expended in ornamenting the altar and the
parts adjacent. The entire cost was nearly 5,000,000
dollars.

" After the death of Justinian, the zeal for build-
ing churches greatly declined, and few of any noto-
riety were erected from the fifth to the eighth cen-
tury. The arts of architecture, sculpture, and paint-
ing, had fallen into disrepute, and the churches
which were erected were of an inferior character,
devoid, in a great degree, of ornament and taste.

"The Byzantine, or ancient Gothic style of archi-
tecture was introduced under Theodoric, in the be-
ginning of the sixth century ; and in this and the
following centuries many churches of this order were
built in Italy, Spain, France, England, and Ger-
many. From the seventh to the twelfth century the
resources of the Christian church were expended
chiefly on cloisters, monasteries, and other establish-
ments suited to the ascetic life to which Christians
of those ages generally addicted themselves.

" The vast cathedrals of Europe, in the style of
modern Gothic, are the product of the middle ages,
and some of them date back even to the thirteenth
century. About this time ecclesiastical architecture
attained to the height of its perfection. After the
introduction of the pointed arch, at the beginning of
this period, buildings were erected which exceeded,
in size and architectural beauty, all which had
hitherto been dedicated to the services of the church.
The style of architecture which obtained at this time
has been usually denominated Gothic, or new Gothic ;
but it may more properly claim the title of German,
or English. It. prevailed in Germany, the Nether-
lands, England, and Denmark ; and from those coun-
tries it was introduced into Italy, France, and Spain.
Some suppose that Saxony is the country to which
its origin may be traced.

" Some antiquaries regard the beautiful architec-
ture of this period as a sudden effect produced by
the invention of the pointed arch, while others con-
tend that it was the result of a gradual improve-
ment in the art during the course of the eleventh
and twelfth centuries. Certain, however, it is, that
this style of building, after having attained its per-
fection more or less rapidly in the thirteenth cen-
tury, prevailed almost exclusively during the four-
teenth and fifteenth.

" Opinions are divided also upon a question relat-
ing to the quarter from which this style was origi-
nally derived. Some persons suppose that it was
brought from the Arabians or Saracens at the time
of the Crusades, or from the same people in Spain
and Sicily at a still earlier date. And it seems
likely that some of its forms, at least, may have ori-

ginated in this quarter. Others refer the design to
the talent and invention of one or two great master!
whom they supposed to have flourished in the early
part of the century, but without being able to say
who they were ; while others again consider that we
are indebted for the improvement to the societies ol
masons, which existed from a very early period, and
were greatly encouraged by popes and emperors
during the middle ages. They had lodges in Eng-
land and on the continent. Some place their begin-
ning in Germany, others in France, and others in
England under the Saxon kings. These architec-
tural corporations must not be confounded with the
modem freemasons.

" Early in the eleventh century began the system
of raising money for ecclesiastical buildings by the
sale of indulgences. The example of this practice
was set by Pontius, bishop of Aries, in the year
1016. According to Morinus, [De Sacram. Pcenit.
lib. vii. c. 14, 20,) the French bishops professed,
during the twelfth century, to remit a third or fourth
part of penance to persons who should contribute a
certain sum of money towards the building or re-
storing of a place of worship. In this way, Mauri-
tius, bishop of Paris, built the splendid cathedral of
Notre Dame, and four abbeys ; for which, however,
he incurred the censure of some of his contempora-
ries. In later times the example was frequently
followed at Rome ; and it is well known that the
collection of Peter's pence, and the sale of indul-
gences in raising money for the building of St. Pe-
ter's, was one of the proximate causes of the German
reformation."

The original form of Christian churches appears to
have been oblong, sometimes with parallel sides, but
more frequently of an elliptical figure like a ship,
and, accordingly, the building was sometimes termed
a ship, and at other times the ark of Noah, and the
boat of Peter. For several centuries after the time
of Constantine the Great, churches were most fre-
quently erected in the form of a cross. The circu-
lar form being generally adopted in building heathen
temples, was sedulously avoided by the Christians
in building their churches. " The spot chosen for
the site of a new church," says Dr. Jamieson, " was
generally an elevated piece of ground, consecrated
by being the burying-place of a martyr, — the primi-
tive Christians deeming a church built over the re-
mains of those who were faithful unto death, a more
suitable memorial of their excellencies, than a monu-
mental pillar erected to their honour. It accord-
ingly received their name, which was inscribed on
the front of the edifice. The church was approached
through a spacious area, in the middle of which was
a fountain, in which every one, as he entered, washed
his hands — an act intended for a significant memo-
rial of the purity of heart that alone can constitute
an acceptable worshipper. The entrance was formed
by a longitudinal porch, within which kings laid d.wn
their crowns, soldiers their arms, and magistrates o?

CnURCIIES.

533

judges the Insignia of their office. At one end of it
stood poor strangers, or such of that destitute or-
der as, from their distress being recent and sudden,
were allowed to make known their wants by asking
alms of their brethren, — while on the opposite side
were slationed gross offenders, who, being excom-
municated, and deprived of the privilege of entering
the church, implored, on their bended knees, and
with all the agony of remorse and the deepest
affliction, the prayers and sympathies of the faith-
ful. The interior of the building — which was often
in the form of a cross, or an eight-sided figure, but
most generally of an oblong shape, resembling that
of a ship, — was divided into different compartments,
corresponding to the different classes of hearers that
composed the primitive Church. The penitents —
under which term were included all offenders who
had made some progress in their course of discipline,
— occupied the first place on passing from the porch.
Xext to them were those new converts who were pre-
paring for baptism, — while the body of the church
was rilled by the congregation of the faithful, —
widows and young women by themselves, and the
young men by themselves, — the men with their sons,
the women with their daughters, sitting apart from
each other, either on opposite sides of the church, or,
as was frequently the case, the male part of the au-
dience remained on the ground floor, while the fe-
males had a gallery appropriated for their use. At
the further end, opposite the main entrance, was the
pulpit, or elevated bench, from which the minister
read the Scriptures and exhorted the people ; and
immediately behind this was the place set apart for
celebrating the communion, — the consecrated ele-
ments of which were deposited on a plain moveable
table, covered with a white cloth. Here and there
were niches in the walls, sufficiently large to hold
one or two persons, each of which was furnished with
a copy of the Scriptures, for the use of those who
might choose to retire in the intervals of public wor-
ship, to read and to meditate in these little recesses.
Besides this provision, invaluable in those days,
when books were all in manuscript and costly in
price, texts of Scripture appropriate to each class of
hearers were inscribed on that part of the wall that
lay immediately contiguous to the place they occu-
pied in the church, and were so selected, as to be
perpetual remembrancers of the temptations incident
to their age, of the duties belonging to their condi-
tion, and the motives and encouragements to sted-
fastness in faith and virtue. Thus, to let one exam-
ple suffice, over the space assigned to the young
women, was engraven in large characters this pas-
sage of Paul, 1 Cor. vii. 34 : ' There is difference
tetween a wife and a virgin ; the unmarried woman
careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be
liolv in body and in spirit.' For the benefit of those
who could not profit by such means of Christian in-
struction, the custom was latterly introduced of de-
corating the walls of churches with pictures of the

scenes and cha.'acters of sacred history. Adam and
Eve eating the forbidden fruit, — .Joseph sold bv hi?
brethren, — David encountering Goliath, — Solomon
dedicating his temple, — Mary and the infant Jesus,
— the Saviour expiring on the cross, were delineated
to the eye, — intended, like historical paintings, to
keep in remembrance the persons and events they
were meant to represent, and especially to enable the
illiterate to read that in the picture which they had
not education enough to do in the book. It was to-
wards the end of the third century when this innova-
tion crept into the Church ; and although, doubtless,
it sprang from a pious and well-meaning zeal for the
instruction of the ignorant, yet it was an imprudent
measure, productive of the worst consequences, and
tending to accelerate the superstition which was then
advancing with gigantic strides over the whole
Christian w-orld."

It does not appear that, for the first three centu-
ries at least, any particular arrangement was adhered
to in fitting up the interior of churches; but about
the fourth century a definite plan came into general
use. The body of the church was divided into three
parts, corresponding to the three classes in which
Christians were arranged — the clergy, the believers,
and the catechumens. This division corresponded
also to the different parts of the Jewish temple, the
holy of holies, the sanctuary or holy place, and the
court. The three divisions of Christian churches were:
(1.) The Bema (which see) or sanctuary, a sacred en-
closure round the altar, railed off from the rest of
the church, and appropriated to the clergy. (2.) The
Naos or Xave (which see), occupied by the faithful
or lay members of the church. (3.) The Narthex
(which see) or ante-temple, the place appropriated
for penitents and catechumens, and which was some-
times divided into the outer and inner. Besides
these three separate divisions of the interior of
churches, there were outer buildings of different
kinds, which usually bore the name of Exedra, the
most important of which was the Baptistery
(which see), which were erected close by cathedral
churches. Libraries were at a very early period col-
lected and kept in connexion with the churches.
These were sometimes very extensive, as seems to
have been the case with the library of the church
of St. Sophia at Constantinople, which contained
120,000 volumes. Schools also, particularly for the
instruction of catechumens, wen; very early estab-
lished in connexion with the churches. The bishops
and clergy had houses allotted to them, adjacent to
the church. Bathing houses and public rooms for
rest and refreshment, are also mentioned, as well as
hospitals for the poor and sick, which were erected
in the immediate vicinity of churches. Br.u.s (which
see) were not in use earlier than the seventh century.
Organs do not occur as a part of the furniture of
churches, until the time of Charlemagne, who re-
ceived one as a present from Constantino Michael

which was set up in the church at Aix-la Chapelle

534

CHURCHES.

Die early Christians exercised peculiar care in the
construction of the doors of their churches, from their
Anxiety to preserve secrecy in celebrating the myste-
ries of their religion, that not only the profane, but
even their own penitents and catechumens, might be
prevented from intruding into the sacred edifices. To
guard the entrance, accordingly, a special class of
men were set apart by the solemn rites of ordination.
These officials were termed Ostiarii or door-keepers.
There were generally three main entrances to the
churches, each of them provided with outer and in-
ner doors. The different sexes entered by different
doors, as they occupied different parts of the
churches. The doors were made of the choicest and
most durable wood, richly ornamented, and some-
times constructed of solid brass or bronze. In-
scriptions of various kinds, and the date of the build-
ing or dedication of the church, were usually written
on the doors. The appearance of the pavements
and walls of the early Christian churches is thus
briefly described by Mr. Coleman : " The floor of
the church consisted of pavement carefully laid, or
smooth marble. In large churches the narthex had
a pavement of plaster ; the flooring of the nave was
plastering or boards ; whilst the choir was adorned
with mosaic. Not unfrequently there was a tessel-
lated pavement of particoloured and polished mar-
ble, constituting a rich mosaic work. A curious
specimen of this ancient mosaic was found in 1805,
near Salzburg, delineating the story of Theseus and
Ariadne. Such decorations, in imitation of the Jew-
ish temple, (1 Kings vi. 15 — 30.) were used in the
churches so early as the fourth century. From the
seventh to the tenth century it became customary to
encumber and disfigure the nave and choir with the
graves of the dead, and from that period the floors
were occupied with pallisades, monuments, and epi-
taphs; and all unity and symmetry was destroyed.

" The walls and the canopy were also ornamented
with inscriptions, mosaics, paintings, and bas-reliefs.
The paintings were executed on wood, metals, and
canvas. The bas-relief was executed in gypsum,
mortar, stone, or metal, in imitation of the orna-
ments of the temple. Votive offerings of shields,
arms, standards, and the like, were also hung upon
the walls. To these the fights were attached and
suspended from the canopy. Vaulted roofs are of
later origin."

Churches were held in great veneration among the
primitive Christians. They entered the building
with the utmost reverence and respect, having pre-
viously washed at least their hands, and sometimes
also their faces. In Eastern churches, particularly
those of Abyssinia, they put off their shoes. The
emperors, when they attended divine service, laid
down their arms at the church door, left their usual
body guard behind them, and put oft' their crowns.
In the fourth and fifth centuries, during the heat of
the Ariau controversy, churches were sometimes
made the scene of the most unseemly contentions

and disorders, so that Honorius decreed, A. d. 398,
the sentence of scourging and banishment upon any
one who should enter the church and disturb the
minister in the discharge of his duties ; and if he
interrupted the religious services, he was to be sen-
tenced to death by any court civil or military. I
was an ancient and very general custom to kiss the
threshold of the doors, and the altars of the churches,
in token of reverence. Afterwards it became usual
to kiss the paintings and utensils. In early times
churches were carefully guarded from secular and
sacrilegious uses. The ceremony of dedicating oi
consecration of churches commenced in the reign o.
Constantine, when they were rebuilt, after having
been destroyed in the Diocletian persecution; and in
the fourth and fifth centuries, anniversary feasts, called
Exc.enia (which see), were introduced, which were
kept in memory of the dedication of churches. (See
Dedication of Churches.) By the laws of Jus-
tinian, no man was allowed to begin to build a church
before he had given security to the bishop of a main
tenance for the ministry, and the repairs of the church,
and whatever else might be necessary to uphold Di-
vine service in it. Churches were sometimes used as
places of refuge for criminals (see Asylum), and
they were also employed as the safest repository for
things of value, as well as the best security and re-
treat in times of common calamity and distress.
When Alaric the Goth took and sacked Rome, he
gave orders that all the churches should be inviolable,
and whoever fled to them should be spared, in con-
sequence of which numbers of the heathens as well
as the Christians escaped.

In England, churches cannot be erected without
the consent of the bishop, and they are not recog-
nised in law until they have been consecrated by the
bishop, though the canon law supposes that that ec-
clesiastical dignitary has the power to permit divine
service, including the administration of the sacra-
ments, to be performed in churches and chapels
which have not been consecrated. The repairs of
the church must be executed by the churchwar-
dens (which see), and the expenses defrayed from
the church rates (which see) raised by assessment
on the parishioners. If any addition is proposed to
be made to the church, the consent of the parish
must be previously obtained ; and if the addition be
inside the church, the license of the ordinary is ne-
cessary. When the repairs are of an ordinary and
obviously necessary kind, the churchwardens are not
obliged to consult the parishioners, the parish being
understood to have constituted them their trustees.
The rector of the parish is bound to keep the
chancel (which see) of the parish church in good
condition.

In Scotland, the expenses incurred in building,
enlarging, and repairing parish churches, are wholly
defrayed by the heritors or proprietors, who are as-
sessed in purely landward parishes, according to the-
valued rents of their estates ; and in parishes partly

CHURCII.

535

rural, partly burghal, according to the actual rent of
their properties. .Should the heritors tail to discharge
their legal obligation in repairing an old or building
a new church, the matter comes under the cognizance
of the presbytery of the bounds, who have power, on
the report of competent tradesmen, to order the ne-
cessary repairs, or it' the case require it, the erection
of a new church. The size of a parish church has
been fixed by statute to be such as shall accommo-
date two-thirds of the examinable population, a
phrase which is understood as including all the pa-
rishioners above twelve years of age. The precise
extent of the presbytery's power, in the question of
building or repairing churches, is well explained bv
Dr. Jamieson in his article on the Church of Scot-
land, in the 'Cyclopaedia of Religious Denomina-
tions :' "It is not the province of the ecclesiastical
court to interfere with the proposed site of the
church, with the style of its architecture, or'with the
amount of expenditure. They have to determine
only whether it be sufficient for the wants of the
population; and even should it be contemplated to
I ■ the church from one part of the parish to

another, to the inconvenience of the minister and
some of the people, the right of deciding in such a
case belongs not to the. presbytery, but to the lords
of session, who act as commissioners, and by -whom
a purpose of removal, if backed by three-fourths of
the heritors, and the general voice of the inhabitants.
may be sanctioned. The church sittings are distri-
i according to the1 same rules which determine
the proportion of expense each heritor has to pay in
the erection or repair of the building. The heritors
first of all choose their family scats. After i1
tron, the chief heritor has the right of choice, and
all the rest according to the relative amount of
their valued rents. Then the area of the church is
divided in conformity with the same rules; different
parts ai ated to different heritors, and as

the sittings are intended for the accommodation of
their respective tenantry, it is not competent

or to lease them, or to bestow them on
strangers. Should he sell his estate, or portions of
bis estate, the sittings in the church are transferable
along with the property, either in whole or in part.
This division of the area of a church is son
made by the kirk-session or by the presbyterj ; bnl
as disputes may arise, and a single proprietor has it
in his power to dispute their arrangement, it is usual
to invite the services of the sln-riil', whose judicial
distribution carries the force of a legal enactment.
In landward parishes the church accommodation is
free, but in towns magistrates are entitled to let the
sittings in churches, — onlv, however, for the purpose
of levying rent sufficient to keep the. edifice in pro-
pet repair, and defray the expense of ordinances."

CHURCH (Abyssinian). See Ai^-sinian
Church.

CHURCH (American Presbyterian.) See
Presbyterian Church of America.

CHURCH (Apostolic Catholic). See A pom -
toi.ic Catholic Church.
CHURCH (Armenian). See Armenian

I I I KCH.

CHURCH (Armenian Catholic). See Arme-
nian Catholic Church.

CHURCH (Cambrian). See Wales (Chris-
tianity in).

CHURCII (Chaldean Catholic). See Chal-
dean Catholic Church.

CHURCH (Coptic). See Coptic Church.

CHURCH (Dutch Reformed). See Dutch
Reformed Church.

CHURCH (English Presbyterian). SeePREs-
byti.kian (English) Church.

CHURCH (Episcopal) of America. See Epis-
copal (Protestant) Church of America.

CHURCH (Episcopal Methodist) of Ameri-
ca. See Methodist Episcopal Church of Ame-
rica.

CHURCII (Episcopal) of Scotland. Sec
Scottish Episcopal Churi h.

CHURCH (French Protestant). SeePBANi i:
(Protestant Church of).

CHURCII (Gallican). See Gallican Church.

CHURCH (Georgian). See Georgian Church.

CHURCH (German Lutheran). See German
Lutheran Church.

CHURCH (Greek). See Greek Church.

CHURCH (Irish Presbyterian). See Irish
Presbyterian Church.

CHURCH (Jacobite). See Jacobite Church.

CHURCH (Latin). See Latin Church.

CHURCH ..Moravian). See MORAVIAN CHUN B,

CHURCH (Nestorian). See Nestorian
Church.

CHURCII [New). See Swedenborgians.

CHURCII OF DENMARK. See DenMARI
(Church of).

CHURCH OF ENGLAND. See England
[Church of).

C HURCH OF G EXF.VA. See G ENEVA (Cn. ok).

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. See Scotland
(Church of).

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND (Free). See Scot-
land (Free Church of).

CHURCH OP SWEDEN. See SWEDEN (CH. OF).

CHURCH Protestant) of Hungary. See
i:v Protestant Church of).

CHURCH (Reformed Presbyterian). Sec
Pi formed Presbyterian Church.

CHURCH (Relief). See Relief Church.

CHURCH (Roman Catholic). See Rome
(Church of).

CHURCH (Russo-Gkeek). See Russo- Greek
Churi

CHI RCH (Secession United). See Seces-
i kited Church.

CHI RCH i sited Presbyterian). See Unit
ed Presbyterian Church.

536

CHURCH— CHURCHYARD.

CHURCH (Waldensian). See Waldensian
Church.

CHURCH DISCIPLINE. See Censures (Ec-
clesiastical).

CHURCHES (Congregationalist). See Con-
skegationalist Churches.

CHURCHES (Eastern). See Eastern
Churches.

CHURCHES (Helvetic Reformed). See
Helvetic Reformed Churches.

CHURCHES (Reformed). See Reformed
Churches.

CHURCHING OF WOMEN, a service of the
Church of England, used when women are desirous
of returning thanks to Almighty God for deliverance
from the pains and perils of childbirth. It may have
had its origin possibly in the Jewish ceremony of
purification enjoined in Lev. xii. The Rubric, at the
end of the service, appoints that the woman who
comes to give thanks, must offer accustomed offer-
ings, and if there be a communion it is becoming in
her to partake of it.

CHURCH LAWS. See Canons (Ecclesiasti-
cal).

CHURCH-RATES, an assessment made upon
the inhabitants of any parish in England for meet-
ing the expenses of repairing the parish church.
The rate must be agreed upon at a meeting of the
churchwardens and parishioners, regularly called by
public intimation in the church; and the law provides,
that " the major part of them that appear shall bind
the parish, or if none appear, the churchwardens
alone may make the rate, because they, and not the
parishioners are to be cited, and punished in defect of
repairs." Church-rates have for a long time been
very unpopular in England. No rate can be raised
at the mere instance of the bishop without the con-
sent of the parishioners. Houses as well as lands
are chargeable with rates, and in some places, as in
cities and large towns, houses alone may be charged.
A rate for repairing the fabric of the church is to be
charged upon the land, and not the person, but a
rate for providing ornaments is personal, upon. the
goods, and not upon the land. If a person reside
in one parish, and has land in another, which he
himself occupies there, he shall be charged for the
land to repair the church in which the laud lies ; and
if the lands are let in farm, not the landlord, but the
tenant must pay. The rector of a parish being at
the whole charge of repairing the chancel, is not
liable to be charged for repairing the body of the
church, unless he happens to have lands in the par-
ish which do not form part of the rectory.

CHURCH REVENUES. See Revenues (Ec-
clesiastical).

CHURCHWARDENS, officers of great anti-
quity in the Church of England, whose special
charge it is to take care of the goods of the
church, and to act as trustees for the parish-
ioners. They form a lay corporation, and may be

sued in law. It is their duty to repair the church,
imposing a rate upon the inhabitants for that object,
not, however, without their full consent given at
a public meeting regularly called. Originally tht
churchwardens formed a sort of jury, for the pur
pose of inquiring into, and attesting any irregularity
of conduct, either on the part of clergy or people.
Hence they were called synods-men, by corruption
sidesmen, and they are also sometimes termed quest-
men, as making inquiry into offences. The church-
wardens or questmen are chosen the lirst week after
Easter, or some week following, according to the
direction of the Ordinary. The minister and parish
ioners, in the first instance, endeavour to agree upon
the individuals who may be invited to accept the
office, but should they find themselves unable to
come to an agreement in the matter, then the law
ordains that the minister shall choose one, and the
parishioners another. If, however, the parish is en-
titled by custom to choose both churchwardens, then
the minister cannot insist upon his right. They con-
tinue only one year in office, unless re-elected. It
is also provided by canon 89, that " all churchwar-
dens at the end of their year, or within a month
after at the most, shall, before the minister and par-
ishioners, give up a just account of such money as
they have received, and also what particularly they
have bestowed in reparations, and otherwise for the
use of the church. And last of all, going out of
their office, they shall truly deliver up to the parish-
ioners whatsoever money or other things of right be-
longing to the church or parish, which remaineth in
their hands, that it may be delivered over by them
to the next churchwardens, by bill indented." The
usual practice is for the rector of the parish to chooso
one, who is commonly called the rector's church-
warden, and the parishioners assembled in the vestry
choose another.

CHURCHYARD, ground set apart for the burial
of the dead, and which derives its name from being
usually situated in the immediate vicinity of a
church. It does not appear before the sixth century
to have been customary to have burial-places adjoin-
ing to the church, and even then it was contrary to
all laws, both ecclesiastical and civil, to bury in the
church. About A. D. 563, as Bingham informs us,
the council of Braga in Spain gave permission to
bury, if necessary, in the churchyard under the walls
of the church, but forbade any to be buried within
the church. The same privilege allowed in Spain
extended, in the course of the same century, to
France, and the custom of burial in churchyards was
gradually adopted in other countries. The conse-
cration of such places of interment is referred to by
no writer before Gregory of Tours, a. d. 570, who
mentions that the burial-places in his time were
usually consecrated by sacerdotal benediction. The
heathens were accustomed to reckon such places
sacred, and to regard the violation of them in any
way as a sort of sacrilege, and Justinian in his Cod«

CHUTCSD— CIRCASSIANS.

537

applies to such an offence both the name and the
punishment of sacrilege. From the sacredness at-
tached to burial-places, valuable ornaments and trea-
sures were frequently- deposited in these abodes of
the dead. The sacred purposes to which bury-
ing grounds were often put among the early Chris-
tian", may be seen in the article CATACOMBS. The
consecration of churchyards is treated of under arti-
ticle Cemeteries. Iu England, the churchwar-
dens of each parish are bound by law to take care
that the churchyards be well and sufficiently re-
paired, fenced, and maintained with walls, rails, or
pales, according to the custom in each place. In
some cases, this duty devolves upon a proprietor,
whose lands may happen to be adjoining to the
churchyard. Though maintained at the expense of
the parishioners, the churchyard is the freehold of
the parson, who, however, is not allowed to cut
down trees growing there except for the necessary
repairs of the chancel.

CHUYCHU, the name given to the rainbow,
which was worshipped by the ancient inhabitants of
Peru, in South America.

CIAM, one of the principal deities in the most
ancient religion of China. He was considered as the
king of heaven, having dethroned Leu, a former
king, and seized the kingdom. Leu having been
forcibly excluded from heaven, is said still to rule in
a mountain on earth, while Ciam exercises supreme
authority in the heavenly world. His representative
on earth is regarded by the sect of Li-Laokun, as
their high-priest or pontiff, a dignity which has been
hereditary in one family for a thousand years. This
riceroy of the heavenly king resides usually in IV-
kin, and is a great favourite at court, being regarded
as a master in the art of exorcism, and therefore held
in high estimation.

CIBORIUM, a small temple or tabernacle placed
1411111 the altar of Roman Catholic churches, and
containing the host or consecrated wafer. The Ci-
borium is also termed the Pyx. In some of the
more magnificent churches in ancient times, as in
that of Sancta Sophia, the altar was overshadowed
with a sort of canopy, which, among the t 1
was usually termed Ciborium. This canopy was
raised in the form of a little turret upon four pil-
lars at each comer of the altar. The heads of
the pillars were adorned with silver bowls. The
top of the canopy was in the form of a sphere
adorned with graven Mowers, and above the
stood the cross, while the several arches between the
pillars were hung with veils or curtains, which
served also to conceal the whole altar. The term
Ciborium was anciently applied to denote this
canopy, and it is only in modern times that it came
to denote the Pyx.

CIDAR1A, a surname of the Eleusinian Demeteb
(which see), under which she was worst
Pheneus in Arcadia.

C1L1C1U.M. See Sackcloth.

Circassians the religion cp the). This

people inhabit the mountain valleys in the northern
declivities of the Caucasus. They are chiefly •Mo-
hammedans, but there are still remains of a system
of Paganism, which seems formerly to have been the
universal religion of the country. At one time, it
is true, through the zeal of the Georgian queen,
Thauiar. an attempt was made to spread the light ot
Christianity on these shores, which, however, attained
no farther success than the erection of a few wooden
crosses on the acclivities here and there. On pass-
ing these mouldering remains of the outward em-
blems of the Christian faith, the people make a hasty
obeisance, the reason of which they are unable to
explain in any other way than that their fathers had
done so before them. Islamism has supplanted the
ancient Paganism of Circassia, and has diffused a
spirit of equality among the people, which has tended
to limit the hereditary power of the nobles, and to
raise the condition of the serf. Besides, it. has con-
stituted from sea to sea a rampart against the en
croachments of the Russians, and by introducing a
strong religious element into their minds, has pre-
vented them from yielding to the sway of the czar.
"The bonds by which Circassia, notwithstanding hei
independence." as an intelligent traveller well re-
marks, "an independence guaranteed by the distinc-
tions of race, customs, and language, is united to
Turkey, are those of a common faith; and the
strength of these bonds must depend on that of the
reb'gious zeal which is so peculiarly powerful willi
Mussulmans, binding every heart in which it burns
in an electric chain of sympathy, an element of ad-
hesion, strong as it is subtle, and upon which the
sword makes no more impression than it would on
tire itself." Strong, however, as is the partiality ol
the Circassians for the Moslem faith, there are still
numerous traces of the ancient Pagan system which
formed the religion of the country. As an example,
we quote from ' A Year among the Circassians,' by Mr
Longworth, a description of a Pagan festival which
is still observed: "The wooden representative of
the deity Seoseres, consisting of a post, with a stick
placed crosswise towards the top, had been planted
iu the centre of the grove, and the lads and lasses
had danced about it in a ring. The oldest of the
patriarchs present, who officiated as priest, had then
come forward and delivered a thanksgiving for the
success of the harvest. Offerings, in the shape of
bread, honey, and triangular cheesecakes, and, lastly,
tin ample bowl of boza, were duly presented to the
idol; but he showing no stomach for them, they were
handed to his votaries, who had apparently much
keener appetites. To crown the whole, a bull was
led to the foot of the wooden deity, and there sacri-
ficed, having his throat cut with a cama. The car-
cass was taken away, roasted, and afterwards distri-
buted to the multitude, that they might eat and ha

iry. This, in fait, seemed to be the principal

object that had brought them together; and till In
2o *

538

CIRCASSIANS.

lamism can furnish an apology for feasting and good
fellowship as satisfactorily, it seems improbable that
the joyous old Pagan rites will be hastily aban-
doned." But although the Mussulman creed has
failed in abolishing some of the old Pagan customs,
it has notwithstanding obtained for itself a strong
footing in the country, and exercises an influence over
the people so powerful as to be almost incredible to
those who have not been intimately conversant with
the habits of this singular nation. Thus the travel-
ler, from whom we have already quoted, narrates
the effect which the ceremony of taking the national
oath administered upon the Koran had upon the
minds of the people : " The ceremony of taking
the oath, which was curious to us as spectators, had
a deep and thrilling interest for those who were en-
gaged in it. We perceived, on first attending it,
what was meant by hanging the Koran. Two copies
of that book were suspended by cords to a wooden
frame erected in the snow. It had, to our eyes, much
the look of a gibbet, but was regarded with feel-
ings of the profoundest veneration by the supersti-
tious multitude. Even those who were engaged at
mark-firing in a neighbouring field, cast ever and
anon expressive glances at it ; for on this simple ap-
paratus was enthroned the tremendous majesty of
the oath, and around it were marshalled the chief-
tains, elders, and judges of the land ; while, one by
one, the humbled population of that district pre-
sented themselves before it, and having abjured all
traffic and communication with the Russians, all ra-
pine and violence among themselves, made a public
confession of all their former transgressions. These
practices, as I have before had occasion to observe,
iuferred of themselves no degree of infamy, unless
they had been previously renounced by oath, so that
there was nothing very humiliating in the acknow-
ledgment of them. That which was felt more se-
verely was the payment of fines ; but, however heavy
their amount, none sought to evade them by per-
jury ; and it was a truly affecting spectacle to see
the gray-headed warrior, whose scars proclaimed
him a stranger to fear of every other description,
thus powerfully agitated before the dread volume of
the Mussulman law, and depositing his rifle, his bow,
or his pistol, in proof of his sincerity."

A further relic of that period in the history of Cir-
cassia, when Christianity had at least some footing
in the country, is to be foimd in a very ancient an-
nual festival called Merem, which is still observed for
about a fortnight in the month of October. Troops
of yoimg folks on this occasion go from house to
house in succession, and spend the night in dancing,
singing, and mirth of every kind. Part of the cere-
mony consists in some of the company holding cakes
with cheese in them, which they wave about, while
all shout out an invocation to Merem, begging her
»lways to send them health, plenty, and happiness.
The Circassians allege that this festival was anciently
instituted in honour of the mother of Jesus. Ming-

led, however, with these remains of a corrupt Chris-
tianity, which had once been introduced by Romish
missionaries, the relics of ancient Pagan superstition
are still to be found in various parts of the country.
Thus Tschible', the god of thunder, war, and justice, is
regarded as entitled to the best sheep of the flock when
a victory is gained, and this deity confers sanctity
on every object which he condescends to smite with
lightning. As an instance of this, Mr. Bell, in his
' Journal of a Residence in Circassia,' relates the fol-
lowing incident ; " On the evening of the 19th, in
ascending the small valley of Kwaff to seek quarters
for the night, I saw parties of people diverging from
it for their homes. We then came to a lofty pole,
which was firmly planted in the ground. On the up-
per end was transfixed the head of a goat, whose skin
stretched by sticks waved from the pole like a ban-
ner in the breeze, — close at hand were a sort of
canopy formed by four poles, with a flat roof of
branches and leaves thickly intertwined, and a small
circular inclosure of stout wicker-work. The latter
I found to be the sacred spot on which the goat had
received his blessed death by a thunderbolt, while
his mortal remains — saving the head and skin afore-
mentioned— were inclosed in the roof of the canopy.
Immediately adjoining these trophies, a large circu
lar space of the grass trodden and withered, showed
where the males and females of the neighbourhood
had danced and feasted during the three preceding
days, in commemoration of the honour conferred on
this valley by Tschible, the spirit of thunder."

The same writer, who spent three years in Cir
cassia, and had thus ample opportunity of becoming
acquainted with the manners and customs of this
singular people, gives the following remarkable in-
stance of the strange combination of Christianity
with Paganism, which forms a marked peculiarity
of their religion : " Luca has just been attending
a celebration at one of the numerous crosses in
this part of the country, each of which it appears
has its special day. The rites appear to be a mix-
ture of those of Christianity and of some other faith.
On this occasion only about fifty persons were pre-
sent, each of whom who is head of a family brought
with him a table or tables for refreshments. Besides
these two or three goats were sacrificed, lighted
tapers being placed at their heads at the time, while
others were placed on the cross. At a short distance
from the latter the tables were arranged, and each
person on passing them took off his bonnet ; but no
one approached the cross excepting some three or
four individuals who said aloud a short prayer — an
invocation to the Deity for the averting from them
of war, pestilence, and every other evil, and sending
them plenteous harvest and happiness. On approach-
ing the cross and saying the prayer, one of these in-
dividuals held in one hand some of the eatables taken
from the tables, and in the other a bowl of the na-
tional drink, shuat, which were then distributed
among the congregation."

CIRCE— CIRCLE.

533

Upon the race of the Adigtui in Circassia, Pa-
janism seems to have a firmer hold than upon other
tribes of the Caucasus. Besides the spirit of thun-
der, who is held in great veneration, there are other
which are also worshipped. Among these
may be men; . the god of fire, who a]

to have been a legacy from the ancient Persians :
and Iso MTMC&, the god of wind and water, who is
supposed to have the elements under his control.
This latter deity is more especially honoured by
those who have relatives at sea. The mode of
worship in this case is curious. The offerings to
the god are placed on a stream communicating
with the ocean, and his answers as to the fete of
the absent about whom he is consulted, are heard in
the rustling of the wind, or seen in the pa--
the clouds. The other principal deities adored by
the Circassians are Mesiicha, the god of the forests,
under whose sacred oaks, after the manner of the an-
cient Scandinavians, the nation holds its councils ;
Sekutcha, the god of travellers, who rewards hospita-
lity, reminding the Hellenist of Zeus Xemos ; Pe-
koaseh, a sort of nymph or naiad; and Acliin, the
god of horned cattle, in honour of whom the cow is
said voluntarily to leave the herd, and to march
readily to the place of sacriiice, a willing victim to
a venerated deity.

Thus among the tribes of the Caucasus does the
strange phenomenon present itself of a religion com-
pounded of two elements the most heterogeneous,
Christianity and Paganism, the latter, however, so
completely preponderating, that it is now difficult to
discover among the people any distinct traces of the
Christian faith.

The Circassians are a brave, warlike, independent
people, who have defied for many years all the armies
sent by Russia to subline them. The Russians have
been obliged to erect a line of fortresses along the
hanks of the Kuban and Terek, in order to
their invasions. The largest tribe dwells in the dis-
6trict of Daghestan, on the banks of the C
where, under the command of Schamyl, their indo-
mitable chief, they have often set the Russians at
defiance. Their form of government is strictly feu-
dal, their habits of life loose and predatory, and their
moral character deeply degraded by thee istora which
has lonir prevailed of selling their daughters .i<
slaves, the Circassian women having been always in
great request as wives by the rich Turks. The
number of their chiefs or uzdens is reckoned at 1,500,
and that of the whole population amounts to above
200,000.

CIRCE, a famous sorceress of antiquity. Pin-
was a daughter of Hyperion by Aerope, according
to some, and a daughter of JSBtes by Hecate, accord-
ing to others. She had her residence on the island
of .Ea'.i, where she was visited by Odysseus, who re-
mained with her a whole year.

CTRCENSIAN GAMES, a festival instituted by
Romulus, the founder of the city of Rome. They

were celebrated in honour of the god Consus, the
god of counsel, and hence they were at first termed
Consnales. 'When the Circus Maximus was after-
wards erected by Tarquinius Priscus, and the games
were held in that magnificent building, they re-
ceived the name of Circenses, in honour of the unri-
valled structure. The games commenced with a
procession, in which the statues of the gods were
carried upon wooden platforms, which were borne
upon the shoulders of men. The heavy statues were
drawn along upon wheeled cars. There were six
different kinds of games practised on the occasion.
1. Chariot races. 2. An equestrian battle, which
was simply a mock fight by young men of rank. 3. A
representation of a battle, with a regular camp, in
the circus. 4. Wrestling. 5. Hunting. 6. A re-
presentation of a sea-fight. Part of the games were
abolished by Constantine the Great, and another
part by the Goths ; but the chariot races continued at
Constantinople till the thirteenth century. The

:an games were held in great estimation, and
hence received the name of Ludi Magni, great
games. The celebration continued four days, be
ginning on the 15th of September. They were vo-
tive offerings, which were gifts conditionally pro-
mised to the gods, under the solemn obligation of a
vow. Kennet, accordingly, when speaking of vo-
tive games, says: "Such particularly were the Ludi

often mentioned in historians, especially by
Livy. Thus, he informs us, that in the year of the
citv five hundred and thirty-six, Fabius Maximus
the dictator, to appease the anger of the gods, and
to obtain success against the Carthaginian power
upon the direction of the Sibylline oracles, vowed

at games to Jupiter, with a prodigious sura
them; besides three hundred oxen
to be sacrificed to Jupiter, and several others to the
re-t of the deities. M. Aeilius. the consul, did the
same thins in the war against Antiochus. And we
have some examples of these games being made quin-

'. or to return every five years. They were
celebrated with Circcnsian sports four days together.
CIRCLE, the symbol of eternity among the an-
cienl Egyptians, Persians, and Hindus. The year
iu performing its revolution, forms a circle or ring
without beginning or end, and thus analogous to
eternity. Sanchoniathon tells US, that the Egyp-
tians represented the world under the figure of a
fiery circle, in the midst of which was Kwph, under
the form of a serpent. Pythagoras placed fire in
the centre of the celestial sphere, which was sup-

io lie circular. Among the ancient Celtic
remains, several stones are frequently found placed
in a circle, with a large stone in the centre. The
solar year among the Egyptians was symboliz I I

i- i Isymandyas. It played a

imong the architectural decorations

ofthe Egyptians, and was divided into three hun-
dred and sixty-five segments. Among the ancient

Rritons and Qauls, the 1'ruMs performed circulai

640

CIRCUMCELLIONS.

dances around the sacred oak-tree, in honour at once
of the tree, and the deity who was supposed to
dwell in it.

CIRCUMCELLIONS, a sect of Donatists which
arose in North Africa in the fourth century. They
received their name, which signifies vagrants, from
the cellie, or cottages of the peasants around which
(circum) they hovered, having no certain dwelling-
place. They styled themselves Agonistici (which
see), or combatants, pretending that they were com-
bating and vanquishing the devil. They are repre-
sented as having despised labour, and subsisted en-
tirely upon alms, having evidently sprung from the
ancient Ascetics. Whilst the Pagans were still in
power, parties of these Circumcellions had often de-
molished the idols on their estates, and thus exposed
themselves to martyrdom for their zeal. In A. D.
317, Constantine addressed a rescript to the North
African bishops and communities, calling upon them
to exercise forbearance towards these ardent icono-
clasts. Norwasthistoleration only temporary , butdur-
ing the whole of the emperor's life they experienced
the utmost tenderness at his hands. On one occa-
sion, when they had demolished a church which he
had caused to be erected for the Catholics in the town
of Constantina, he ordered it to be rebuilt at his own
expense, without demanding indemnification from
the Donatists. The death of Constantine produced a
complete change in the imperial policy. The West-
ern Emperor Constans, to whom North Africa fell
after the death of his father, set himself to attempt
the union of the Donatists once more to the domi-
nant church. At first he endeavoured, by the distribu-
tion of money under the name of alms, to win over
the Donatist churches. These means, however,
having proved unavailing, more forcible measures
were resorted to. The Donatists were ordered to
be deprived of their churches, and to be attacked by
armed troops while assembled for divine worship.
Bribery and persecution were alike ineffectual.
•' What has the emperor to do with the church?"
was the scornful language with which Donatus,
bishop of Carthage, repelled the advances of the
emissaries of the court. The Donatists now became
still more enraged with the dominant church, and
began openly to avow their decided opposition to
any union, of whatever kind, between the Church and
the State. This doctrine was quite in unison with
the views and feelings of the Circumcellions. The
extravagant steps to which they now resorted, and
the hot persecution which ensued, are thus described
by Neander: "They roved about the country, pre-
tending to be the protectors of the oppressed and
suffering — a sacred band who were fighting for the
rights of God. Perhaps they rightly perceived that
there was a great deal in the relation between the
proprietors and their oftentimes heavily oppressed
boors, between masters and slaves, that was at va-
riance with the spirit and doctrines of Christianity.
But in the way in which they were disposed to bet-

ter the matter, all civil order must be turned into
confusion. They took the part of all debtors against
their creditors : their chiefs, Fasir and Axid, who
styled themselves the leaders of the sons of the Holy
One, sent threatening letters to all creditors, in
which they were ordered to give up the obliga
tions of their debtors. Whoever refused to obey
was attacked on his own estate by the furious com-
pany, and might congratulate himself if he could pur-
chase back his life by the remission of the debt.
Whenever they met a master with his slave, they
obliged the former to take the place of the latter.
They compelled venerable heads of families to per-
form the most menial services. All slaves who com-
plained of their masters, whether justly or unjustly,
were sure of finding with them assistance and the
means of revenge. Several of the Donatist bishops,
desirous of clearing their party from the reproach of
being the abettors or advocates of such atrocities,
when they found themselves unable to produce any
effect by their representations on the fanatics, are
said to have besought themselves the interposition
of the civil power against men who refused to be
governed and set right by the church ; and thus gave
the first occasion for resorting to force for the pur-
pose of checking the outrages of the Circumcellions.
Now came in those exhortations of Donatus, and
other like-minded bishops, to excite the Circumcel-
lions to revolt. Their ferocious deeds furnished a
welcome pretext for resorting to other persecuting
measures. It was determined that the unity of the
church should be forcibly restored; the Donatists
were to- be deprived of their churches, and compelled
to worship with the Catholics. It cannot be exactly
determined how much, in all. that was done, pro-
ceeded from imperial edicts, and how much from the
despotism, the passion, or the cruelty, of individual
commanders. Force continually excited the fanatic
spirit still more ; the report spread that the emperor's
image was set up after the Pagan manner in the
churches, and the worship paid to it which is due
only to God. Many Donatist bishops and clergy-
men, many Circumcellions, fell victims to the perse-
cution. It is natural to suppose that the reporters
of the facts on the Catholic side would seek to cur-
tail, and those on the other side to exaggerate, tho
truth ; hence an accurate statement is out of the
question. Certain it is, that many Circumcellions
sought only the glory of martyrdom. Finally it
came to that pass, that they threw themselves from
precipices, cast themselves into the fire, and liked
others to kill them. The most eminent bishops of
the Donatist party, such as Donatus of Carthage,
were exiled ; and thus it was imagined a final check
had been given to the resistance of the Donatists.
So much the more violent was the reaction when a
change of political relations took place, and the party
hitherto oppressed thereby recovered once more its
freedom. This came about under the reign of the
Emperor Julian, in the year 301. The Donatists.

CIRCUMCISION.

541

in conformity with their peculiar principles, were
quite satisfied that Christianity should cease, tinder

the Pagan ruler, to be the dominant religion of the
state. Their bishops transmitted to him a petition,
in which they besought a ruler who regarded only
justice, to rescind the unjust decrees that had been
issued against them. There could be no difficulty in
obtaining a favourable answer, since the petition
perfectly agreed with the principles of this emperor.
He therefore issued an edict by which everything
which under the preceding reign had been unlawfully
undertaken against them, was to be annulled. As
they were now reinstated in possession of the churches
which had been taken from them, their separatist
fanaticism displayed itself in the wildest freaks.
They regarded those churches, and the church furni-
ture, as having been stained and polluted by the use
which the profane had made of them while they were
in their possession ; they dashed the utensils of the
church to pieces; they painted over the walls of the
churches ; they polished down the altars, or re-
moved them entirely from the churches."

The Circumcellions were the most zealous party
of the Donatists (which see), and in their doc-
trinal views agreed with that sect. They counted
it their duty to take the sword in defence of their
religions principles, and thus multitudes of them
perished by the sword, though the sect was not to-
tally suppressed before the seventh century.

CIRCUMCISION, a solemn rite practised by the
Jews and various other nations from very early
times. Considerable discussion has been raised as
to the period at which it was first instituted, but the
earliest authentic record of its appointment is found
in Gen. xvii. 10, 11, "This is my covenant, which
ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed
after thee ; Every man child among you shall be cir-
cumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your
foreskin ; and it shall be a token of the covenant
betwixt me and you." From this passage it plainly
appears, that the rite was appointed to be observed
by Abraham and his male descendants in all genera-
tions, as the sign or token of a covenant which God
made with the Jews. Herodotus, who lived more
than a thousand years after the days of Moses, is the
most ancient profane writer who adverts to the cus-
tom, and he declares it to have existed long before
his time among several nations, particularly the
Egyptians and Ethiopians. Some have earnestly

contended that the practice was first known at ig

the Egyptians, but it must be remembered, that we
learn from the narrative of Moses, that the Israelites
were circumcised before they went down into Eg) pt,
and, therefore, could not have learned the rite in thai
country. Besides, from the writings of doses, which.

not to speak of their inspiration, are admitted on all
hands to be the most ancient historical records in
existence, there is no evidence that the Egyptians
had ever practised that rite previous to its first in-

jtitution in the case of Abraham. Nay, we are in-

formed expressly, that Abraham circumcised the
men-servants whom he had brought with him out of
Egypt. Jeremiah and EzekieL, also both of them
rank the Egyptians among the uncircumcised. Thus
Ezek. xxxi. 18, "To whom art thou thus like in
glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden?
yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of
Eden unto the nether parts of the earth : thou shalt
lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that
be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his
multitude, saith the Lord God." Jer. ix. 25, 20,
" Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that 1 will
punish all them which are circumcised with the un-
circumcised; Egypt, and Judali. and Edom, and the
children of Amnion, and Moab, and all that are in
the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness : for
all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house
of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart." It ap-
pears to be far more probable, therefore, that the
Egyptians had borrowed the rite from the Israelites.
The question naturally arises, what were the objects
to be served by the institution of the rite of circum-
cision? It may be viewed in a twofold aspect, as a
sign and a seal. The first and most obvious design
of this rite, was to be a sign or token of the cove-
nant which God entered into with the Jews in the
person of their father Abraham. It was a distin-
guishing mark upon every male Israelite, separat-
ing the nation from the rest of the world, and denot-
ing their peculiar relation to the true God as his own
chosen, covenanted people. And still further, this
expressive rite was a memorial to Abraham and his
posterity of their engagement to be the Lord's people,
dedicated to his service. Bearing about in his body
this distinguishing mark, the Israelite was continually
reminded that he was under the most solemn obliga-
tions to be devoted to the glory of his covenant God.
Circumcision seems also, from various passages of
Scripture, to have been designed to convey, as in a
figure, some very important moral truths. Thus it
pointed out the necessity of " putting off the whole
body of sin," " crucifying the flesh with its affections
and lusts," " circumcising the heart, to love the Lord
with all tin' heart, and .'ill the soul." And Jeremiah
expresses the figurative bearing of the ordinance still
more Btrongly, iv. 4, "Circumcise yourselves to the
Lord, and lake away the foreskins of your heart, ye
men of Judah and inhabitants i I loin : lot mv

fury come forth like tire, and burn that none can
quench it, because of the evil of your doings." The

I'anl.in Koin. i\.'.i bi.teaches u- stiil farlhi r,

umcision is "a seal of the righteousness of
faith," or in other words, a figurative representation
of that circumcision of the heart which is an inward
seal of justification by faith. Such were some of the

which Jehovah seems to have hail in view in
enjoining the observance of this rite upon Abraham
and his posterity. The .lews are frequently termed
in s. ripture "the circumcision," while the Gentiles

are called "the Uncircumcision." Jesus Christ him-

542

CIRCUMCISION.

self, being a Jew, was circumcised that He might be
made under the law, and thus fitted to redeem them
that were under the law. No uncircumcised persons
were reckoned members ot* the Jewish church, or
could partake of the great festivals, particularly the
Passover.

The Jewish nation, without exception, continued
tenaciously to practise circumcision throughout their
whole history, until the formation of the Christian
church, when a Judaizing party arose among the con-
verts from Judaism to Christianity, who maintained
the perpetual obligation of the Law of Moses. For a
time they not a little disturbed the church, and en-
deavoured to force Paul to yield to their views in
circumcising Titus, a Gentile convert, who had ac-
companied him to Jerusalem. Paul successfully re-
sisted their pretensions, but soon afterwards he was
followed to Antioch by some of the party, who
raised a controversy, which threatened to produce a
schism in the church. The matter was referred to a
council of the apostles and elders, which was sum-
moned to meet at Jerusalem. After a full consider-
ation of the subject, the council decided that circum-
cision was not to be regarded as binding upon the
Gentiles, and nothing farther was exacted from them
than " the abstaining from meats offered to idols, and
from blood, and from things strangled, and from for-
nication." This decree, which was characterized by
the most consummate wisdom, was obviously de-
signed for a transition period of the church's history,
and to last only for a time, as appears from the very
nature of the case, as referring to a mere temporary
difficulty, and also from the conduct of Paul, who, in
the latter part of his apostleship, as we leam from
Rom xiv. 2, and 1 Cor. viii., does not seem to have
insisted upon its uniform observance in every parti-
cular.

Circumcision was appointed to be performed on
the eighth day, and so strict are the Jews in observ-
ing this, that even when that day happens to be the
Sabbath, they perform the operation notwithstand-
ing, according to the common proverb, that "the
Sabbath gives place to circumcision." The parents
who neglected this ordinance were commanded to be
cut off from among the people, and the Beth-Din, or
House of Judgment, was to see it performed. The
father of a child may perform the operation of cir-
cumcision if he chooses, but in eveiy synagogue
there is an individual to whom the office is generally
committed, and who must be a Jew, a man of expe-
rience, vigilance, and industry. Women not being
circumcised themselves, cannot assume the office of
circumcisers, unless it be absolutely necessary, no man
Deing at hand. It is not lawful for a Christian to
circumcise, but if at any time the rite has been per-
formed by a Christian, some of the blood must be
afterwards drawn from the circumcised part by an
Israelite before the sacrament can be considered as
valid. A circumciser may be known by his long
and sharp nails, which are the badge of his profes-

sion. The instrument employed in operating may
be of any material used for cutting, as stone, glass^
or wood, but a very sharp steel knife is generally
used. Among the richer Jews the haft is some-
times cased with silver, and embellished with jewels.

Along with the circumciser there is associated in
the ceremony another individual, usually termed
the Baal-Berith or master of the covenant. The
proper time for performing the operation is between
the rising and the setting of the sun, usually in the
morning when the child is fasting. It may either be
performed in the synagogue or in some room of the
father's dwelling-house. The ceremony itself is thus
described in a Modern History of the Jews : " The
morning of the eighth day being arrived, and all
things prepared, two seats covered with rich carpets
are placed, and, when in the synagogue, near the holy
ark. Then comes the ' master of the covenant,' and
sits down in one of the seats, while the Mohel or cir-
cumciser, stands by him. Then several Jews follow,
one of whom cries with a loud voice, to bring all
things which are necessary for the solemn operation
Several boys follow. One carrying a large torch
in which are placed twelve candles, to represent the
twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Next two
more, carrying cups full of red wine, another carry
ing the circumcising knife, which is formed of stone,
glass, iron, or commonly similar to a razor, and
among the opulent, set in silver, or adorned with
precious stones. And another boy brings a dish ol
sand, while the last boy brings a dish of oil, in which
are clean rags to be applied to the wound. Before
the infant is circumcised, he is carefully washed, and
laid in clean clothes, because no prayers can be of-
fered for him while he is defiled. All things being
thus prepared, the boys and all present stand in a
circle, and the circumciser in the centre. Some ol
whom generally bring spices, cloves, cinnamon, and
wine, to give to any person if he should faint during
the operation.

" The god-father then sits down upon one of these
seats, and the circumciser before him, who sings the
song of Moses after Israel had passed through the
Red sea. The women then bring the child to the
door of the synagogue, but they are not permitted to
enter ; but the god-father goes and takes the child,
and sits down with him in his seat, and cries with a
loud voice, saying, ' Blessed be he that cometb,' by
whom is understood Elias, who they suppose
comes to occupy the empty seat, because the Jews
have a tradition among them, that he is always
present at the baptizing of every child, and for him
the empty seat is placed ; therefore when that seat
is prepared, they say ' This seat is for the prophet
Elias.' They also suppose that unless he is invited
he will not come.

" The child is then laid upon the knees of the god
father, and the circumciser takes the knife from the
boy, and with a loud voice says, ' Blessed be thou, 0
God, our Lord, King of the world, who bast sane-

CIRCUMCISION— CIRCUMCISED.

543

titied us with thy commandments, and given us the
covenant of circumcision.' Meanwhile he performs
the operation, throws the cut off part among the
sand, and restores the knife to the boy. From an-
other boy he takes the cup of red wine, drinks a
mouthful, and squirts some of it upon the infant,
and with it washes away the blood, and binds up the
wound, having anointed it with oil. The ceremony
being ended, the father of the child says, • Messed
be thou, 0 God, our Lord, King of the world, who
hast sanctified us in thy commandments, and hast
commanded us to succeed into the covenant of our
father Abraham. ' To this, all the congregation re-
plv, ' As this infant has happily succeeded into the
covenant of our father Abraham, so happily shall he
succeed into the possession of the law of Moses, into
marriage also, and other good works.' Then the
eircumciser washes himself, and the god-father ris-
ing, and standing opposite to the eircumciser, takes
the other cup of wine, and prays over the infant,
Baying, ' 0 our God, God of our fathers, strengthen
and preserve this infant to his father and mother, and
grant that his name among the people of Israel may
be called Isaac, (here he names'the child,) who was the
eon of Abraham. Let the father rejoice in him that
came out of his loins. Let the mother rejoice in the
fruit of her womb, as it is written, ' thy father and
thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall
rejoice.' And God says by the prophet, ' when I
passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own
blood, I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood,
Live ; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy
blood, Live.' Here the eircumciser puts his finger
into the other cup, in which he had spilt the Mood,
and moistens the lips of the child three times with
that wine, supposing that he shall live longer, be-
cause of the blood of his circumcision. Then stand-
ing near to the ark, he prays for the whole congre-
gation, and particularly for long life to the parents
and to the boy. The cut off part is cast into the
Band, in allusion to that promise, ' I will make thy
seed as the sand of the sea,' and that of Balaam,
'Who can number the dust of Jacob?1 that is, his
posterity, whose foreskin is cast into the dust. By
this also, they say that the curse upon the serpent is
fulfilled, ' Dust shalt thou eat,' that is this skin in
the dust, so that the serpent can have no more power
over them. The child being thus made a Jew, they
return home, and restore him to his mother's arms."
When a Jewish child is sick on the eighth day,
circumcision is postponed. In a case of acute dis-
ease affecting the whole body, it is deferred seven
days after the child is perfectly recovered, but if the
disease be slight or partial, the ceremony is per-
formed immediately on recovery. If the child die
before the eighth day, being uncircumcised, the ope-
ration is performed upon the dead body in the burial
ground, that the reproach of uncircumcision may be
taken awav, and not be buried with him. No
prayers are said on such an occasion, but a name is

given to the child, in order that at the resurrection,
when he shall be raised with the rest of the Jews,
and every individual shall know his own father,
mother, and family, this infant also may by his name
be recognized by his parents. Spurious children are
circumcised in the same manner as legitimate chil-
dren, but some parts of the usual benediction are
omitted. In the ease of two sons at a birth, there
are two circumcisers, and the preparations are all
doubled. The ceremony of circumcision, in every
Jewish family which can afford the expense, is con-
cluded with a sumptuous entertainment, to which
numerous friends and acquaintances are invited.

Circumcision has not been practised among the
Jews alone, but among different nations which make
no pretensions to be of Jewish origin. Thus the
Abyssiniam (see Abyssinian Church) ' practise
circumcision upon children of both sexes, between the
third and the eighth day after their birth. The ex-
istence of this strange peculiarity among the Abys-
sinians may possibly arise from the circumstance
that some of the Ethiopians, who first embraced
Christianity, may have previously been Jewish pro-
selytes. That Jews at one time abounded in that
country, is plain from the fact, that their descend-
ants, estimated by Dr. "Wolff at 200,000, are still in
Abyssinia known by the name of Felashas. The
Copts also observe the rite of circumcision; but
Dr. Wilson states, that he had been informed by the
patriarch, that it was practised more as a civil than
a religious custom. They circumcise privately, with-
out any fixed age for its performance. It is a curi-
ous fact, that although circumcision is not even once
referred to in the Koran, the Mohammedans, never-
theless, hold it to be an ancient Divine institution,
and though they do not regard it as in all cases ab-
solutely indispensable, they yet practise the cere-
mony as proper and expedient. They do not imi-
tate the Jews, however, in circumcising on the eighth
day, but defer it until the child is able distinctly to
pronounce the two leading articles of their faith.
" There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his
prophet," or until some convenient time between the
age of six and sixteen. Circumcision is practised
among all the tribes in Western Africa, with the ex-
ception of those on the Grain Coast, and the neglect
of it exposes a man to much ridicule. There are
other traces of Judaism which are also found among
these tribes. Thus they follow the Jewish practice
of sprinkling the blood of animals upon the door
posts of their houses, and about the places
their fetishes are kept ; and in the house of their
chief priest thcie is an altar with two horns, to which
criminals fly, and lay hold of these horns, as tho
Jews did of old, and no man can remove them bm
the high-priest himself.

CIRCUMCISED (The), a sect of Judaizing
Christians, which arose in Lombard)* in the twelfth
century, deriving their name from the circun
that along with other Jewish customs they practised

£44

CIRCUMCISION— CITIES OF RFFUGE.

circumcision. They were also called Pasagini
(which see).

CIRCUMCISION (The Great), a name some-
times applied by early Christian writers to the ordi-
nance of baptism, because it succeeds in the room of
circumcision, and is the seal of the Christian cove-
nant, as that was the seal of the covenant made with
Abraham. Thus Ephiphanius says, The carnal
circumcision served for a time till the great circum-
cision came, that is baptism ; which circumcises us
from our sins, and seals us in the name of God.

CIRCUMCISION (Festival of the), celebrated
on the 1st of January, in commemoration of the
circumcision of Christ. h did not receive that
name, however, till the eles'enth century, having
been pr-eviously called the Octave of the Nativity, be-
ing the eighth day from that event. The day was
not observed as a festival of any kind before the
sixth century. It was anciently kept as a fast by
Christians in opposition to the Pagans, who held a
feast on that day in honour of the god Janus (which
see).

CISTjE, small chests or boxes, which among the
ancient Greeks were carried in procession in the fes-
tivals of Demeter and Dionysus. These boxes con-
tained sacred things connected with the worship of
these deities. In the worship of Dionysus, or the
Indian Bacchus, who has been sometimes identified
with Noah, the cista mystica, the mystic chest or ark,
occupied a conspicuous place. See Ark- Worship.

CISTERCIANS, a monastic order originated in
the end of the eleventh century by Robert, abbot of
Molesme in Burgundy, and reformed by Bernard
(which see) of Citeaux or Cistercium, in the diocese
of Chalons in France. The fame which the reformer
acquired for piety and strictness of discipline ex-
tended itself to the order which he had reformed.
After spending only three years at Citeaux, Bernard
was appointed abbot of a new monastery at Clair-
vaux, and here, such was the remarkable efficiency
of the system pursued, that mona sticism attained in
consequence fresh vigour and impulse, convents be-
ing everywhere formed after the model of Clair-
vaux. In the short space of thirty-seven years, the
convents of this order had increased to the number
of sixty-seven, and at the death of Bernard, in A. D.
1153, no fewer than one hundred and sixty Cister-
cian monasteries had been formed in all parts of Eu-
rope. The high reputation which the order rapidly
reached excited the envy and jealousy of the older
monasteries, particularly those of the Cluniacen-
sians. The two rival fraternities were distinguished
by their head-dress, the new order wearing a white
cowl, and the old, a black one. Earnestly did Ber-
nard endeavour to bring about a good understanding
between the two parties, but though the tract which
he published on the subject contains some valuable
exhortations, it failed entirely to accomplish the be-
evolent end with which it had been written. The
Cistercian order were regulated by the rule of St.

Benedict, which they professed rigidly to observe.
Under the pontificate of Innocent II., their monas-
teries became very wealthy by the great donations
bestowed upon them. From their reformer they
were sometimes called Bernardines. At their i ut-
set they had no possessions, and lived only by alms
and by the labour of their hands. This self-denying
spirit, however, was not of long duration ; as dona-
tions poured in upon them, the fatal thirst for gold
was awakened, and their chief efforts were directed
to the amassing of wealth. Under the pernicious
influence of luxurious habits, the order gradually
lost its reputation, and became as degraded as the
other monastic orders had been. The dress of the
Cistercians is a white cassock with a narrow pa-
tience or scapulary, and when they go abroad, a black
gown with long sleeves. They allege that St. Ber-
nard was commanded by the Virgin Mary to wear a
white dress for her sake.

CITATION, a summons formally served upon a
person charged with an offence, at the instance of
an ecclesiastical judge or court, requiring him to
appear on a certain day, at a certain place, to an-
swer the complaint made against him.

CITIES of REFUGE, six cities appointed by
Moses as places to which the Hebrew man-slayer
might resort, and have time to prepare his defence
before the judges, and that the kinsmen of the de-
ceased might not pursue and kill him. Three o)
the cities were situated on one side of the Jordan,
and three on the other. Those on the eastern sidi
were Bezer in the tribe of Reuben ; Ramoth-Gilead
in the tribe of Gad ; and Galan in the half tribe of
Manasseh. Those on the western side were He-
bron in the tribe of Judah ; Shechem in that of
Ephraim; and Kadesh-Naphtali in that of Naphtali.
Every proper arrangement was made for the com-
fort and protection of the offender during his resi-
dence in these cities. Although an individual, who
might be accused of manslaughter, found shelter in
one of the cities of refuge, he was not thereby be-
yond the reach of law. He was still liable to be
summoned before the judges and the people, that be
might prove that the crime with which he was
charged was accidental and involuntary, not deli-
berate and intentional. If found guilty not of ca-
sual manslaughter, but of murder, he was sentenced
to suffer death. If proved to be innocent of inten-
tional shedding of blood, he was allowed to remain
undisturbed in the city to which he had fled, during
the lifetime of the high-priest ; after which he
might go at large. Should the Avenger (which
see) pursue him into the city of refuge and kill him,
he himself was condemned to die. The roads which
led to the cities of refuge were kept carefully in a
good state of repair, that there might be no obstacle
in the way of any man who sought to flee thither
and at every little interval sign-posts were set up,
pointing out the way. Thus the escape of the unin
tentional manslayer was in every way facilitated ■

CLANCULARII— CLARENDON.

54 !>

that uo one might become llie victim of blind re-
venge. The same principle has been recognized
in both heathen and Christian countries. See Asy-
lum.

CLANCULARII, a Christian sect which arose
after the Reformation in the sixteenth century. They
alleged that if religion was seated in the heart, there
was no need of any outward expression of it. Like
many of the Anabaptists who appeared about the
same time, both in Germany and Holland, they de-
nied the necessity of public ordinances and social
meetings for worship. Their opinions in these mat-
ters somewhat approached to those of the Friends
(which see), attributing all to the operation of the
Holy Spirit, and nothing to the outward means of
grace.

CLARA'S (St.) DAY. A festival of the Ro-
mish church observed on the 12th of August.

CLARENDON (Constitutions of), sixteen ar-
ticles drawn up in the council of Clarendon in Eng-
land, A. D. 11G4, with the view of more accurately
defining the regal power in respect to the clergy,
and circumscribing within narrower limits' the prero-
gatives of the bishops and clergy. These constitu-
tions, as they were called, were drawn up by the
king, Henry II., and ratified in a full assembly of
the great lords, barons, and prelates of the nation.
But Thomas a Becket, archbishop of Canterbury,
for a long time refused to subscribe to them, and it
was not without the greatest reluctance that he was
at length prevailed upon to do so. This haughty
prelate afterwards repented of having adhibited his
name to the document, and sought and obtained ab-
solution from the Pope, who, at the same time, dis-
approved of most of the articles, and pronounced
them null and void. (See BeCKET, Thomas a,
Festival of). The passing of the Constitutions of
Clarendon being an important era in the history of
the Church of England, inasmuch as it formed one
of the first attempts made to assert and to establish
the authority of the state over the church, it may be
well to put the reader in possession of the articles in
detail.

" I. When any difference relating to the right of
patronage arises between the laity ; or between the
laity and clergy, the controversy is to be tried and
ended in the king's courts.

" II. Those churches which are fees of the crown
cannot be granted away in perpetuity without the
king's consent.

" III. When the clergy are charged with any mis-
demeanour, and summoned by the justiciary, they
shall be obliged to make their appearance in his
court, and plead to such parts of the indictment as
shall be put to them. And likewise to answer Buch
articles in the ecclesiastical court as they shall be
prosecuted for by that jurisdiction : always provided
that the king's justiciary shall send an officer to in-
spect the proceedings of the court Christian. And
in case any clerk is convicted, or pleads guilty, he is

to forfeit the privilege of his character, and be pro-
tected by the Church no longer.

"IV. No archbishops, bishops, or parsons,' are
allowed to depart the kingdom without a licence
from the crown, and provided they have leave to
travel, they shall give security not to act or solicit
any thing during their passage, stay, or return, to
the prejudice of the king or kingdom.

" V. When any of the laity are prosecuted in the
ecclesiastical courts, the charge ought to be proved
before the bishop by legal and reputable witnesses:
and the course of the process is to be so managed,
that the archdeacon may not lose any part of his
right, or the profits accruing to his office ; and if any
offenders appear screened from prosecution upon the
score either of favour or quality, the sheriff, at the
bishop's instance, shall order twelve sufficient men
of the vicinage to make oath before the bishop, that
they will discover the truth according to the best of
their knowledge.

" VI. Excommunicated persons shall not be
obliged to make oath, or give security to continue
upon the place where they live : but only to abide
by the judgment of the Church in order to their ab-
solution.

" VII. No person that holds in chief of the king,
or any of his barons, shall be excommunicated, or
any of their estates put under an interdict, before ap-
plication made to the king, provided he is in the
kingdom : and in case his highness is out of England,
then the justiciary must be acquainted with the (lis
pute, in order to make satisfaction: and thus thai
which belongs to the cognizance of the king's court
must be tried there ; and that which belongs to the
court Christian, must be remitted to that jurisdiction.

'•VIII. In case of appeals in ecclesiastical causes,
the first step is to be made from the archdeacon to
the bishop : and from the bishop to the arch
bishop : and if the archbishop fails to do justice, a
farther recourse may be had to the king; by whose
order the controversy is to be finally decided in the
archbishop's court. Neither shall it be lawful for
either of the parties to move for any farther remedy
without leave from the crown.

"IX. If a difference happens to arise between any
clergyman and layman concerning any tenement ■
and that the clerk pretends it held by frank -almoine,
and the layman pleads it a lay-fee: in this case the
tenure shall be tried by the enquiry and verdict of
twelve sufficient men of the neighbourhood, sum
ling to the custom of the realm. And it
the tenement, or thing in controversy, shall he found
frank -almoine, the dispute concerning it shall be
tried in the ecclesiastical court: hut it' it is brought
in a lay-fee, the suit shall be followed in the king's
courts, unless both the plaintiff and defendant hold
the tenement in question of the same bishop : in
which case, the cause shall he tried in the court cl
such bishop or baron; with this farther proviso
that he who is seized of the thing in controverts)
2*

546

CLARENINS— CLARISSINES.

shall not be disseized pending the suit, upon the
score of the verdict above-mentioned.

" X. He who holds of the king, in any city, castle,
or borough, or resides upon any of the demesne
lands of the crown, in case he is cited by the arch-
deacon or bishop to answer to any misbehaviour be-
longing to their cognizance ; if he refuses to obey
their summons, and stand to the sentence of the
court, it shall be lawful for the Ordinary to put him
under an interdict ; but not to excommunicate him
till the king's principal officer of the town shall be
pre-acquaiuted with the case, in order to enjoin him
to make satisfaction to the Church. And if such
officer or magistrate shall fail in his duty, he shall be
fined by the king's judges. And then the bishop
may exert his discipline on the refractory person as
he thinks fit.

" XI. All archbishops, bishops, and other eccle-
siastical persons, who hold of the king in chief, and
the tenure of a barony, are for that reason obliged to
appear before the king's justices and ministers, to
answer the duties of then- tenure, and to observe all
the usages and customs of the realm ; and, like other
barons, are bound to be present at trials in the king's
court, till sentence is to be pronounced for the losing
of life or limbs.

" XII. When any archbishopric, bishopric, abbey,
or priory of royal foundation, becomes vacant, the
king is to make seizure : from which time all the
profits and issues are to be paid into the exchequer,
as if they were the demesne lands of the crown.
And when it is determined the vacancy shall be
filled up, the king is to summon the most consider-
able persons of the chapter to the court, and the
election is to be made in the Chapel Royal, with the
consent of our sovereign lord the king, and by the
advice of such persons of the government as his
highness shall think fit to make use of.' At which
time, the person elected, before his consecration,
shall be obliged to do homage and fealty to the king,
as his liege lord : which homage shall be performed
in the usual form, with a clause for the saving the
privilege of his order.

"XIII. If any of the temporal barons, or great
men, shall encroach upon the rights or property of
any archbishop, bishop, or archdeacon, and refuse
to make satisfaction for wrong done by themselves
or their tenants, the king shall do justice to the
party aggrieved. And if any person shall disseize
the king of any part of his lands, or trespass upon
his prerogative, the archbishops, bishops, and
archdeacons shall call him to an account, and oblige
him to make the crown restitution.

" XIV. The goods and chattels of those who lie
under forfeitures of felony or treason, are not to be
detained in any church or churchyard, to secure
them against seizure and justice ; because such goods
aie the king's property, whether they are lodged
within the precincts of a church, or without it.
" XV. All actions and pleas of debt, though never

so solemn in the circumstances of the contract, shall
be tried in the king's courts.

" XVI. The sons of copyholders are not to he
ordained without the consent of the lord of the
manor where they were bom."

These articles were no doubt effectual to some ex-
tent in checking the growing power of the clergy
but at the same time they tended to establish the
doctrine that the sovereign is governor over the
church, which has come to be a recognized prin-
ciple in English church polity.

CLARENINS, an order of religious founded by
Angelus, a Celestine hermit, in the thirteenth cen-
tury, who, upon the persecution raised against the
Celestines, retired with some companions into Italy,
and founded this new congregation. After the death
of their founder, this order diffused itself over dif-
ferent parts of Italy, and established also several
convents of nuns, who were under the same rule with
themselves. Pope Sixtus IV. issued a Bull in fa-
vour of the Clarenins, granting them permission to
put themselves wider the authority of the general of
the Franciscans, and to assume the habit of that or-
der. This occasioned a division among them, some
adhering to the old observances, and others adopt-
ing the rule, and submitting to the general of the
Order of St. Francis. At length, in a. d. 1566,
Pius V. abolished the order of the Clarenins as a
separate and distinct order, incorporating them with
the Franciscans (which see).

CLARISSINES, an order of nuns originated by
Clara of Assisi in Italy, the first abbess of the Fran-
ciscans. This enthusiastic female had gone on a pil-
grimage to Rome and the holy sepulchre at Jerusa-
lem. Having become acquainted with Francis of
Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order, she was
persuaded to leave her family and friends, to cast in
her lot with the followers of St. Francis, and having
shaved her head, to take a vow of submission to his
direction. By the advice of her spiritual guide,
Clara fowided, in a. d. 1212, the order of Poor
Maids, which was afterwards named from her the
order of St. Clara, she herself being its first superin-
tendent. In a. d. 1224, it received its rule from
Francis, and Clara obtained the title of the great-
est poverty for her order from Innocent III., or
as some say, Honorius III. From the church in
which the order was instituted, the sisters were
sometimes called the nuns of St. Damien. In the
neighbourhood of that church, Clara lived forty and
two years, mortifying her body with fasting, watch-
ings, and all kinds of austerities. Next her flesh she
wore the skin of a bristly boar, lay on hard wooden
boards, and went barefooted. In Lent, and at other
fasting times, she lived only on bread and water ; and
tasted wine only on Sundays. Her reputation for piety
and austerity having rapidly spread, her followers so
multiplied, that many monasteries of this order were
formed in different parts of Italy. In 1219, the
order passed into Spain, and thence into France

CLEMENTIA— CLERGY.

547

By the rule of St. Francis which they followed, the
Bisters were allowed to retain no worldly possessions
whatever, and they were enjoined silence from the
compline to the tierce of the fallowing day. For
dress they were permitted to have three tunics and
a mantle. After the death of its founder, the order
made even greater progress than it had done
during her life, and at this day it is one of the most
flourishing orders of nuns in Europe. After the
conquest of Mexico by Cortez, some nuns of this
order were dispatched to that country, where they
formed settlements at different places, devoting them-
selves to the instruction of young Indian females.
These religious communities continue still to flourish.

CLASSIS, in the Dutch Reformed Church, both
in Holland and America, corresponds to the Pres-
bytery (which see) of other Presbyterian churches.

CLEMENTIA, a heathen goddess worshipped
among the ancient Romans, being a personification
of the virtue of clemency. Temples and altars were
reared in honour of this deity in the time of the Em-
perors, and she is still seen represented on the coins
of Tiberius and Vitellius, with a patera in her right,
and a lance in her left hand. Claudian describes
her as the guardian of the world. Plutarch and
Cicero tell us, that the Romans dedicated a temple
to her by order of the senate, after the death of Ju-
lius Caesar.

CLEMENTINES, a remarkable apocryphal book,
belonging to the second or third century. It is
called the Clementines or the eighteen Homilies, in
which, as it is pretended, Clement, descended from a
noble family in Rome, and afterwards bishop of the
church in that city, gives an account of his conver-
sion, and of the discourses and disputes of the apos-
tle Peter. The author seems to have adopted the doc-
trines of the Elccsaites, and he sets himself to com-
bat the Gnostics in the person of Simon Magus. He
opposes also the Montanist prophesying, the hypos-
tatic doctrine of the Trinity, and millenarianism. The
doctrines directly inculcated in this strange produc-
tion are thus briefly sketched by Gieseler in his
able Compendium of Ecclesiastical History: "God,
a pure, simple being of light, has allowed the world
to be formed in contrasts, and so also the history of
the world and of men runs off in contrasts, corre-
sponding by way of pairs, in which the lower con-
stantly precedes the higher. From the beginning
onward God has revealed himself to men, while his
Holy Spirit, from time to time in the form of indivi-
dual men, (Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Moses, Jesus), as the true prophet constantly an-
nounced the very same truth, and in Jesus, caused it
also to be communicated to the heathen. According
to the law of contrasts, false prophets also are al-
ways produced in addition to the true, who corrupt
the truth. Tims the original doctrines of Mosaism
are perfectly identical with Christianity; though
they have not been preserved in their purity in the
Pentateuch, which was not composed till long after

Moses ; and in the present form of Judaism, have
been utterly perverted. In general, the truth ha3
been constantly maintained in its purity only by a
few by means of secret tradition. Man is free, and
must expect after death a spiritual continuation of
life with rewards and punishments. The conditions
of happiness are love to God and man, and strug-
gling against the demons which draw away to evil
through sensuality. For this purpose these secta-
ries prescribed abstinence from animal food, frequent
fastings and washings, recommended early marriage
and voluntary poverty, but rejected all sacrifice."

Though the doctrines which the Clementines
taught were received only by a few persons in Rome
and Cyprus, yet the book attracted no small notice,
and was generally regarded rather as the corruption
of a genuine writing by heretics, than as a forgery.
Accordingly, not long after a work appeared pro-
fessing to purify the Clementines from heresy, and
altering it entirely that it might be conformed to the
standard of the orthodoxy of the day. This expur-
gated edition of the Clementines exists now only in
the Latin translation of Rufinus, under the title Re-
cognition's Clementis. Neander considers the Cle-
mentines as a sort of romance, partly philosophical
and partly religious, and though he admits it to be a
fiction, it appears to him to be clearly a fiction drawn
from real life.

CLEMENTINES, a sect which arose in the pre-
sent century in the south of France, particularly in
the neighbourhood of the Pyrenees, deriving theii
name from a priest of the name of Clement, who is
said to have been their founder. They dissent from
the Church of Rome on various points, expressing a
strong dislike to several Popish ceremonies, while
they retain the mass, and practise confession. They
reject the use of images in churches, and some of
their priests use the French language instead of the
Latin in their prayers. The adherents of this sect
are generally favourable to Augustinian doctrines,
and are characterized by a serious and devout de-
portment, irreproachable purity of morals, and strict
observance of the Lord's day.

CLERESTORY, the name applied to denote the
upper tier or story of windows in churches, above
the roof of the aisle on the outside, and above the
pier arches on the inside.

CLKKUY, a term by which those invested with
the ministerial office came to be distinguished from
the laity or ordinary members of the church. Such
a distinction seems to have been wholly unknown in
the early ages of Christianity. In Sacred Scripture
all believers are termed God's heritage, or ci,-,-i,
or clergy. Thus 1 Pet. v. 3, "Neither as being
lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to
the flock." The same apostle speaks of all be-
lievers also as, without distinction, " a royal priest-
hood." As long as the church was viewed in this
purely spiritual aspect, deriving its whole life in all
its members from union to Christ, no distinction

648

CLERGY.

was for a moment recognised among different classes
within its pale. But when the church came to be
viewed chiefly in its outward aspect, the universal
priestly character of its members was gradually lost
sight of, and the idea was formed of the necessity of
a particular mediatory priesthood attached to a dis-
tinct order. The change which thus took place in
the views of many Christians is seen as early as the
time of Tertullian, who calls the bishop a high priest.
Such a mode of expression shows that Jewish modes
of thinking had begun to insinuate themselves into
the minds of Christians, and a false comparison was
instituted between the Christian priesthood and the
Jewish. We find Cyprian in his writings completely
imbued with such erroneous notions, and attaching
to the terms clerus and clerici the unauthorized mean-
ing of a class of persons pre-eminently consecrated
to God, like the Levites of the Old Testament, who
received no particular allotment in the division of
the lands, but were to have God alone for their in-
heritance, and to receive tithes from the rest for the
administration of the public functions of religion. It
is quite possible, however, that when the term clergy
was first adopted, the full extent of the comparison
with the Levites might not be perceived. This may
have been reserved for a later period in the history
of the church. The Greek word cleros, as Neander
thinks, signified originally the place which had been
allotted to each one in the community by God's pro-
vidence, or the choice of the people directed by that
providence; hence the church offices were particu-
larly denominated deroi, and the persons chosen to
them ckricoi.

But while an order thus arose in the church deno-
minated clergy, and to whom the office of teaching
began to be exclusively confined, it was long before
the universal priesthood of Christians lost its hold
upon the great body of the faithful. Even in the
third century, so unwilling were many to drop this
idea, that many bishops of the East were accustomed
occasionally to invite competent laymen to preach
the word. And in the Apostolical Constitutions,
there is an ordinance under the name of the apostle
Paul, decreeing, " If any man, though a layman, be
skilful in expounding doctrine, and of venerable man-
ners, he may be allowed to teach, for all should be
taught of God." In very early times, when the great
body of Christiana were drawn from the poorer
classes, it is not unlikely that the presbyters and
deacons who taught in the church, continued to exer-
cise their former trades and occupations for the sup-
port of themselves and families. As the Christian
communities, however, became larger, and the spiri-
tual duties of the teachers were in consequence more
multiplied, the task of maintaining the presbyters on
whom the spiritual calling now devolved, was felt to
belong to the whole members of the church. The
clergy were now gradually withdrawn from all
worldly occupations, and in the third century they were
strictly forbidden to undertake any secularernployment

of whatever kind. Another motive which had a
powerful influence in accomplishing the separation
of the spiritual from the secular in the Christian
ministry, is thus noticed by Neander: " When the
idea of the universal Christian priesthood retired to
the back-ground, that of the priestly consecration
which all Christians should make of their entire life
went along with it. As men had distinguished, in a
way contradictory to the original Christian conscious-
ness, a particular priesthood from the universal and
ordinary calling of all Christians ; so now they set
over against each other a spiritual and a secular pro-
vince of life and action, notwithstanding Christ had
raised the entire earthly life to the dignity of a spi-
ritual life. And from this view of the matter it was
deemed necessary to forbid the priestly, consecrated
clergy, all contact with the world and the things of
the world. Thus we have here the germ out of
which sprang at length the whole medieval priest-
hood and the laws of celibacy. But by this outward
holding at a distance of secular things, the worldly
sense could not be charmed away from the clergy,
nor the sense for divine things awakened in them.
This external renunciation of the world might be the
means of introducing into the heart a spiritual pride,
hiding the worldly sense under this mask. Cy-
prian quotes 2 Tim. ii. 14, as warranting the prohi-
bition of worldly employments. But he could not
remain ignorant of what, at this particular time,
when the universal Christian calling was commonly
regarded as a militia Christi or Christian warfare,
must have immediately suggested itself to every one,
that these words applied to all Christians, who, as
soldiers of Christ, were bound to perform their duty
faithfully, and to guard against every foreign and
worldly thing which might hinder them in their wai»
fare. Acknowledging and presupposing this him
self, he concludes, ' Since this is said of all Chris-
tians, how much more should they keep themselves
clear of being involved in worldly matters, who, en-
grossed with divine and spiritual things, ought never
to turn aside from the Church, nor have time for
earthly and secular employments.' The clergy, then,
were, in following that apostolic rule, only to shine
forth as patterns for all others, by avoiding what wa»
foreign to their vocation, what might turn them from
the faithful discharge of it. But still that false op-
position between the worldly and the spiritual, found
here also a point of attachment."

The clergy seem to have been chosen to their office
in the primitive Christian church according to no defi-
nite and fixed rule, but probably in a variety of
different ways according to circumstances. We
have full information in the New Testament as to
the mode pursued in the election of deacons, the
choice being in their case vested in the whole churcli.
It is not unlikely, as we might argue from analogy,
that the same mode of election would be generallj
followed in regard to other church officers. On
tin's point, Clemens Romanus cites a rule as having

CLERGY.

549

been handed down from the days of the apostles, to
the effect that church offices " should be filled ac-
cording to the judgment of approved men, with the
consent of the whole community." This rule, if au-
thentic, would seem to indicate that the apostles
themselves had, in the first instance, nominated to
offices in the church; and this idea is in complete
accordance with the charge which Paul gives to
Titus, to ordain presbyters or elders in every city.
Cyprian held that the whole Christian community
had the power of choosing worthy, or rejecting un-
worthy bishops. Nor was this a mere form, but an
undoubted privilege, which the members of the
church were not slow to claim. Sometimes it hap-
pened that a bishop was proclaimed by the voice of
the community, even before arrangements had been
fully made for his regular election.

There appears no evidence of any difference of
rank among the clergy, either in the age of the
apostles or of their immediate successors, nor indeed
until the establishment of Christianity under Con-
stantine. Before that period a distinction had pro-
bably existed among the clergy theraselyes, some of
them being recognized as superior, and others as
inferior. But it was a long time before even these
relations became so distinct as they have been since
the establishment of the Eastern and Western hierar-
chy in the eighth century. The primitive presby-
ters first found it necessary to contend against the
pretensions of the bishops to superiority ; and after-
wards against the deacons, but especially the arch-
deacons, who took the side of the bishops. On the
other hand, bishops themselves had to maintain an
arduous and protracted struggle with the archbishops,
primates, and patriarchs. The contest with the
patriarchs in particular, resulted in the popish supre-
macy. It was Constantine the Great, who first in-
vested the Christian priesthood with peculiar honours.
The Christian bishops, it was supposed, ought at
least to be equal in rank to the Jewish priesthood,
who, besides, being distinguished from those who
were not anointed with the sacred oil, were consi-
dered as entitled to the highest respect in virtue of
their office. Constantine himself claimed a sacred
character. Eusebius terms him a bishop duly con-
•tituted by God. Gratian was the last emperor who
took upon himself this title. The clergy, in virtue
of their office, were viewed as the appointed guar-
dians of the morals of the community, and even the
highest magistrates and princes submitted to the cen-
sures of the church. But while their spiritual au-
thoritv was thus readily respected, we can gather no
proof that for a long period they were
holding any peculiar elevation of rank in civil life.
On the re-establishment of the Western empire,
however, their civil and political relations were
clearly defined; and under the Carlovingian dynasty
the bishops obtained the rank of barons and counts,
and thus invested with civil dignity, they took part
in all political, as well as ecclesiastical matters, and

were regular members of all imperial diets. At a
later period bishops, archbishops, and abbots, were
by statute lawa made princes of the empire, and
electors.

From the fourth century, when the clergy were
duly acknowledged by the civil authorities as a dis-
tinct body, they were invested with peculiar privi-
leges. Even previous to his conversion, Constan-
tine conferred upon the clergy of the Christian
church privileges equal to those enjoyed by the
Jewish and Pagan priests. Those of the early em-
perors who favoured Christianity, added to these
privileges from time to time, until they became both
numerous and valuable. The most important of
these special advantages are thus noticed by Mr.
Coleman in his 'Christian Antiquities:'

" 1. Exemption from all civil offices, and secular
duties to the state. Such exemption was granted by
Constantine A. D. 312; and in 319 and 330 it was
extended to the inferior order ; and the reason as-
signed for conferring this privilege was, that ' the
clergy might not for any unworthy pretence be
called off from their religious duties,' or, as Euse-
bius expresses it, ' that they might have no false pre-
tence or excuse for being diverted from their sacred
calling, but rather might rightfully prosecute it with-
out molestation.' By this right they were excused
from bearing burdensome and expensive municipal
offices. The Jewish patriarchs and pagan priests
enjov*ed a similar exemption.

" 2. Exemption from all sordid offices, loth predial
and personal. This right was also granted by Con-
stantine and confirmed by Theodosius the Great and
Honorius. The right relieved them from the neces-
sity of furnishing post-horses, &c. for public officers,
and sometimes from that of constructing and repair-
ing public highways and bridges.

" 3. Exemption from certain taxes and imposts, such
as the census capitum, analogous to poll-tax ; but the
learned are not agreed respecting the precise nature
of it ; the aurum tironium, an assessment for military
purposes, a bounty paid as a substitute for serving
in the army ; the egvus cartonicus, the furnishing and
equipping of horses for military service ; chrysargy-
rum, commerce-money, duties on articles of trade
assessed every five years, and paid in silver and gold ;
the metatum, a tax levied for the entertainment of
the emperor and his court as he travelled, or for
judges and soldiers in their journeys ; the coUatio
superindiiia ,l extraordinaria, a direct tax levied on
special emergencies. Certain taxes on real estate
they were required to pay.

"4. Exemption from military duty. This right is
not expressly stated, but fairly inferred from many
considerations.

" 5. Exemption in certain civil and criminal prose-
cutions. They were not required to give testimony
under oath. Neither were they required to make
oath to affidavits, but instead thereof they attested
the truth of them on the Bible at home.

650

CLERGY.

" 6. No ecclesiaetical matters were to be tried before
secular courts. Of this nature were all questions of
faith and practice which came appropriately under
the cognizance of presbyteries, bishops, or synods,
together with all such acts of discipline as belonged
to individual churches, in which the clergy were al-
lowed a controlling influence.

" The primitive church had originally no other
authority than that of deposing from office, excom-
municating, and pronouncing their solemn anathema ;
but after the church became dependent upon the
civil authority, that power was often exercised to
redress the offences of the church. Heretics espe-
cially were thus brought before courts of justice.
For it is undeniably evident that heresy was regarded
as an actionable offence, deserving severe punish-
ment. Offences of a graver character were at all
times punishable, not in ecclesiastical, but in secular
courts of justice.

" 7. Bishops, like the Jewish patriarchs, were
often requested to settle disputes and act as arbitra-
tors and umpires in civil matters. They were also
common intercessors in behalf of criminals for their
reprieve or pardon when condemned to death."

In regard to the costume of the clergy, to which
so much importance is attached in the Romish
church, it is generally admitted that during the three
first centuries their dress differed in no respect from
that of the laity. But although this was undoubt-
edly the case with their ordinary dress, it is not un-
likely that when engaged in official duty they might
wear some peculiar clerical dress. Tradition ascribes
even to the apostles themselves certain insignia of
office. Hegesippus, as mentioned by Eusebius, as-
signs to John, James, and Mark, a golden head-
band, and to Bartholomew a splendid mantle. The
Koran also speaks of the apostles under the name of
Albati, in allusion, as it would seem, to the traditional
notion that they wore white robes. But whatever
may be said of these unauthorized suppositions, it is
not until the fourth century that we find councils be-
ginning to regulate the costume of the clergy. The
council of Laodicea gave orders that the Orarium or
robe of an officiating minister should not be worn by
the subordinate attendants, readers or singers. The
fourth council of Carthage forbade the deacons to
use the white surplice, unless when engaged in the
discharge of the ministerial office. The monks ap-
pear to have been the first who assumed the eccle-
siastical garb in ordinary life, and the practice is
condemned by Jerome in strong language. Bellar-
mine has traced the clerical costume through eight
or nine hundred years. It would appear to have
been originally white. The bishops of Constanti-
nople, and the higher order of clergy in the fourth
century, assumed the black robe, while the Nova-
tians retained the white. But since the tenth cen-
tury the modem Greek church have changed the
colour of their costume. On festivals in honour of
saints, they usually wear a purple robe. In the

seventh and eighth centuries, red, blue, and green
was worn in clerical vestments as well as black and
white. Innocent III. prescribed white as the em
blem of purity, to be worn by confessors and young
persons, red as a suitable memorial of the apostles
and martyrs, green for Sundays and feast-days, and
black for fasts, funerals, and Lent. Violet was worn
at first, only twice a-year, but afterwards became
common in some churches. The clerical tonsure
was introduced between the sixth and eighth cen-
turies, and continued to be an essential requisite of
the clergy, while the other ornaments of the head
were endlessly varied both in the Eastern and
"Western churches. The use of the wig was of a
date still later, and was universally adopted, and
continued in use for a long time, after which it was
laid aside. It was introduced in the Protestant
churches in the seventeenth and eighteenth centu-
ries. Sandals, and a kind of half-boot called caliga,
were at first in common use among the clergy, and
the use of ordinary shoes was regarded as unclerical.
In a. d. 789, the priests were required to wear shoes
made after the fashion at Rome. In the middle
ages, they wore a kind of boot in summer, called
wstivalia.

On the mode in which the clergy have been main
tamed, see articles Revenues (Church), Tithes.

CLERGY (Benefit of), a privilege enjoyed by
persons in holy orders, which had its origin in the
claim asserted by the clergy in Romish countries, to
be wholly, or at least to a certain extent, exempt
from lay jurisdiction. In England, it was at first
confined to cases of felony, when committed by
clergymen-; but although such was the original de-
sign of the privilege, it came at length to extend to
almost every man, the word clerk being applied in
the laws of England to every man who was able to
read. The privilege was accorded to peers, whether
they could read or not, and by statutes passed in the
reign of William and Maty, women also became en-
titled to claim the privilege. A clergyman sought
benefit of clergy, when he asserted his right to be
delivered to his ordinary to purge himself of felony.
The right was extended to the laity by an act passed
in the reign of Elizabeth, whereby every man to
whom the benefit of clergy was granted, though not in
orders, was put to read at the bar after he was found
guilty, and convicted of felony, and so burnt in the
hand, and set free for the first time, if the ordinary
or deputy standing by should say, " He reads as a
clerk;" otherwise he was to suffer death. This pri-
vilege, while it existed in England, was attended with
great abuses, but by the statute of 7th and 8th
Geo. IV. c. 28, it was entirely abolished, so that no
felon, whether clerical or lay, can claim exemption
from trial by the ordinary civil tribunals of the land.
The benefit of clergy is still retained in one or two
of the States of North America, while it has been
formally abolished in all the others. By an act of
Congress of April 30, 1790, it is enacted, that benefit

CLERGY— CLERK.

551

uf clergy shall not be used or allowed upon convic-
tion of any crimes, for which by any statute of the
United States the punishment is or shall be declared
to be death.

CLERGY (Black). See Black Clergy.

CLERGY (Regular), those monks or religious
in the Church of Rome who have taken upon them-
selves holy orders, ami perform the offices of the priest-
hood in their several monasteries. In the Greek
church, their dress is a long cloth robe of a brown
colour, and confined with a girdle. Their monastic
life is of a very austere description; they never eat
meat, and during the fasts only bread and fruits.
Some of them live always upon bread and water, and
spend their time almost entirely in their devotions.

CLERGY (Secular), those of the Romish clergy
who are not of any religious order, and have the
care and direction of parishes. In the Greek
church, the secular are not so highly honoured as
the regular clergy, and are generally of a humbler
station in life, as well as very illiterate The secu-
lar Greek priests who are married, are distinguished
by a white muslin band round their bonnet of black
felt.

CLERGY (White), the Russian secular clergy.

CLERICI ACEPIIALI, a name given to vagrant
clergymen in the Romish church, or such ecclesias-
tics and monks as wandered about from one district
to another. The council of Pavia, in a. d. 850, is-
sued an edict against these clergy, declarin'_r that
while it was a praiseworthy thing that the laity
should be desirous of having the mass continually
celebrated in their houses, they should be on their
guard against employing for this purpose any but
ecclesiastic- duly approved by the bishops.

CLER1CIS LAICOS, a hull issued by Boniface
VIII. in A. I). 1296, and aimed against Philip the
Fair, king of France. In this hull all princes and
nobles were pronounced under ban who demanded
tribute under any form from the church and the
clergy; and all who paid such tribute were involved
in the same condemnation and penalty. The cir-
cumstance which led to the publication of this bull,
was the demand made by Philip that the spiritual
order, in common with all other classes, should con-
tribute money towards defraying the expenses of his
wars. Boniface looked upon such a demand as an
encroachment upon the liberties of the church, but
the king, in a declaration which he issued in answer
to the bull, argued that the church of Christ consists
not of the clergy alone, but also of laymen, and,
therefore, that the clergy have no right to appro-
priate to themselves exclusively the ecclesiastical
freedom wdiich belongs to all, understanding tie n by
the freedom obtained for us by the grace of Christ.
The king further reminded the Pope, that Christ
had enjoined the priests of the temple both to ren-
der to God the things that are God's, and to Ca ir
the things that are Cajsar's.

CLERK. From a coin struck during the trium-

virate of Augustus, Anthony, and Lepidus, some
have supposed the clerk, writer, or scribe, referred
to in Acts xix. 35, and translated in our version
" town-clerk," to have been a sacred officer, who offi-
ciated under tin' presidency of the Asiarchs, when
the Ephesians solemnized games in honour of Diana.
The word "clerk'' was formerly used in our Ian
guage simply to denote any learned man, and in the
statute law of England, implied any individual who
could read, but now it is the common appellation by
which clergymen distinguish themselves when sign-
ing any deed or instrument.

CLERK (Parish), an ecclesiastical officer in the
Church of England, who conducts or leads the re-
sponses in a congregation, and otherwise assists in
the services of the church. In cathedrals and colle-
giate churches there are several of these lay clerks ;
in parish churches generally there is but one who is
styled the parish clerk. In some of the old cathe-
drals, the lay vicars or clerks form a corporation
either jointly with the priest vicars or by themselves,
and have a common estate. In the new cathedrals
they do not form a corporation, but in some cases
have a common estate given to them subsequent! v
to the foundation, besides their statutable payments
from the chapter. The annual income of each lay
clerk varies from £114 12s. at Durham, to £40 at
Peterborough, and about £30 at Christ Church, Ox-
ford. They have not, in general, houses of residence
They are expected commonly to attend the cathe-
dral services twice every day throughout the year.
Before the Reformation, and for some time after, the
parish clerks were all clergymen, and the duties
which they were called upon to discharge included
the ordinary functions of a curate. They assistei
the incumbent in performing divine service, reading
the Snip t nre lesBons of the day, and leading the sacred
music. At present, in some places, the parish clerk
is in holy orders, but in such eases he generally has
a deputy clerk to perform the ordinary duties. The
genual practice, however, is for the minister, in
whom the right of election is by statute vested, to
confer the office upon a layman. The regular duties
of the parish clerk are to lead the responses, to give
out the psalms or hymns wdiich are to be sung dur-
ing service, to announce notices of vestry or parish
meetings, to attend on the officiating minister at
baptisms, marriages, and funerals, and to assist in
keeping a careful register of such proceedings. By
the canons, the clerk must he at least twenty years
known to the parson, vicar, or minister, to
he of honest conversation, and sufficient I'ur his read-
ing, writing, ami also for his competent skill in sing-
in Winn chosen, and appointed to the office,
he is generally licensed by the Ordinary, at'tc
be takes oath to obey the minister. The
clerk may he deprived of office by the incumbent
from whom he received bis appointment, and if uu-
justl] deprived, the churchwardens may restore him

CLERKS Apostolical). See Apostolic Clerks.

ITfl

CLERKS— CLIO.

CLERKS (Minor). See Franciscans.

CLERKS (Regular), a name given to various
religious orders or societies which sprung up in the
Church of Rome at the period of the Reformation in
the sixteenth century. The object of these institu-
tions was to aim at imitating and restoring the an-
cient virtue and sanctity of the clergy, which had to
a great extent declined.

CLERKS op the COMMON LIFE. See Bre-
thren of the Common Lot.

CLERKS (Regular) of St. Majoli, a religious
order which arose in Italy in the sixteenth century.
They were also called the Fathers of Somasquo,
from the name of the town where their first general
resided. The founder of the order was Jerome
JEmilianus. It was approved by Paul III. in
1540, and then by Pius IV. in 1543. Its members
took upon themselves the office of carefully instruct-
ing the ignorant, and especially the young in the
precepts of Christianity.

CLERKS (Regular) of St. Paul. See Bar-

XABITES.

CLERKS (Theatins), an order of religious which
arose in the Church of Rome in the sixteenth cen-
tury. It took its name from Theate or Chieti in the
Neapolitan territory, whose bishop at that time was
John Peter Cararl'a, afterwards Pope Paul IV., who
founded this society in 1524. The brethren of this
order were bound to keep a vow of voluntary pover-
ty, and to live upon the bounty of the pious. They
were required to succour decaying piety, to improve
the style of preaching, to attend upon the sick and
dyiDg, and to oppose all heretics manfully and
vigorously.

CLEROMANCY (Gr. ckros, a lot, and manteia,
divination), a method of divination by lot, which
was in use among the ancient Greeks and Romans.
It was generally performed by casting black and
white beans, small clods of earth, pebbles, dice, or
other things, into an urn or other vessel. After
making supplication to the gods, they drew them
out, and according to the characters or marks by
which they were previously distinguished, conjec-
tures were formed of what should happen. The
practice of divining by lot, according to Tacitus, pre-
vailed also among the ancient Germans. " Their
mode of proceeding by lots," says he, " is wonderfully
simple. The branch of a fruit-tree is cut into small
pieces, which being distinctly marked, are thrown at
random on a white garment. If a question of public
interest be pending, the priest of the canton per-
forms the ceremony ; if it be nothing more than a
private concern, the master of the family officiates.
With fervent prayers offered up to the gods, his
eyes devoutly raised to heaven, he holds up three
times each segment of a twig, and as the marks rise
in succession interprets the decree of fate. If ap-
pearances prove unfavourable, there ends all con-
sultation for that day; if, on the other hand, the
chances are propitious, they require for greater cer-

tainty the sanction of auspices." Among the an-
cient Romans, the lots were often little tablets or coun
ters, which were usually thrown into a sitella oi
urn having a neck so narrow that only one lot at
time could come to the top of the water when it was
shaken. Sometimes the names of the parties using
them were inscribed upon the lots, and in later times
verses from illustrious poets were written upon little
tablets. After the introduction of Christianity, the
practice became common among the early Christians
of using the lot as the heathens had done, but instead
of the writings of the poets, they substituted the
Bible, which they opened at random, regarding the
passage which first met the eye as the answer to
their inquiry, or the solution of their difficulty.
This superstitious custom was condemned by various
councils. See Bibliomancy, Divination.

CLETA, one of the two Charites or Graces
(which see), which the Spartans anciently worship-
ped, the other being Phaenna.

CLIDOMENI, a term used in one of Cyprian's
epistles, to denote Demoniacs (which see).

CLINIC BAPTISM, the name given in the an-
cient Christian church to baptism, when adminis-
tered to a person in sickness or on his death-bed.
The practice of administering the ordinance in these
circumstances often led to great abuse, as many per
sous, though professing Christianity, delayed submit
ting to baptism in the expectation that they would re
ceive it when they came to a sick or dying bed
Constantine the Great, though openly avowing his
belief in the Christian system, was not baptized
until a short time before his death. If an individual
recovered health after having received clinic bap-
tism, he was subjected to several disabilities, and in
particular, he was not permitted to enter into holy
orders. This mode of dispensing baptism could
only be done by sprinkling, and not by immersion,
or washing the body all over. A question, there-
fore, arose in the time of Cyprian, whether persons
thus baptized were to be looked upon as complete
Christians; and that eminent father resolves it in
the affirmative, at the same time leaving it to others
who had doubts as to the validity of clinic baptism,
to repeat the ordinance by immersion if they thought
right. Although it was undoubtedly the practice,
and even the law of the early church, to deny ordi-
nation to those who had undergone clinic baptism,
the council of Neocaesarea permitted them in time of
great exigence, or in case of great merit, to be or-
dained. Thus Novatian, as we are informed by
Eusebius, was ordained on account of his pregnant
parts, and the hopes which the church entertained of
him, although he had been admitted into the church
by clinic baptism. In rases of extreme sickness, this
kind of baptism was considered as valid, even when
administered to an individual in a state of utter un-
consciousness. See Baptism.

CLIO, one of the nine Muses (which see) wor
shipped by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Ph»

CLOACA— CLUNIACENSIANS.

553

was the Muse of history, and is usually represented
in a sitting attitude, with an open roll of paper, or
an open chest of books.

CLOACA, a name applied by Gregory the Great
to the baptismal font. See Baptistery.

CLOACINA, a surname of Venus among the
ancient Romans, said to be applied to that goddess
from an old Latin verb chare or cluere, to purify,
because Romulus and Tatius had caused their armies
to purify themselves with sacred myrtle branches,
on the spot which was afterwards occupied by the
temple of Venus Cloaciua.

CLOISTERS, a covered walk usually occupying
the four sides of a quadrangle, which is generally an
appendage to a monastery. The term is used some-
times to denote the monastery itself. In the early
Christian churches the porticos about the area were
called also cloisters, which formed the exterior
narihex of the church.

CLOTH (Purchase of the), a ceremony fol-
/owed by the modern Jews in forming contracts.
All bargains, sales or agreements, are reckoned duly
executed, and in full force, when both parties have
touched the clothes or the handkerchief of the wit-
nesses, which is a kind of oath called the Purchase
of the Cloth.

CLOTHES (Rending of the) a very ancient
mode of expressing sorrow in the East. Immedi-
ately on the death of any person, his relations rent
their garments from the neck downwards in front to
the girdle, and a cry of lamentation rilled the room.
This practice was never omitted by the Hebrews in
tase of any sorrowful event. It was forbidden, how-
ever, to the high priest, who never tore his robe ex-
cept when he heard blasphemy. The modern Jews
only fair.'.ly imitate this custom, cutting a small por-
tion of their garments to show that they are afflicted.
On the decease of a brother or sister, wife, daugh-
ter, or son, they take a knife, and holding the Midi'
downwards, give the coat or other upper garment a
cut on the right side, and then rend it about a hand-
breadth in length. On the decease of a father or
mother, the rent is made in the same manner on the
left side in all the garments. See Mourning.

CLOTHO, one of the three Fates (which see) of
the ancient heathens. Clotho was regarded as the
spinning fate, and hence her symbol was a spindle
with which she spun the thread of man's destiny.
She is generally ivpivsmti d as a grave maiden with
a spindle or a roll, which denotes the book of fate.

CLUNIACENSIANS, a congregation of Bene-
dictine monks which arose in the tenth century,
having Odo, abbot of Clnny or Clugni in France, at
their head. It happened that the rule of St. Bene-
dict had been so far departed from by many monks
of the Latin church, that a reform in this respect
seemed to be imperatively called for. This was af-
forded by Odo, a French nobleman, who, from his
position as abbot of a monastery, took occasion not
inly to restore the original strictness of the Bene-

dictine rule, but also to impose additional rites and
obligations. He evidently attached a high value to
the moral power of Christianity, and sought to in-
fuse into the monks under his care a greater regard
to the real spirit of the Christian system, than to its
mere external forms. To show that it was possible
even for a layman to lead a holy and pious life, he
composed a biographical account of Count Gerald of
Aurillv, a man distinguished above those of his own
order by his diligent and faithful study of the Scrip-
tures, by his devotional habits, his lively sympathy
in all Christian objects, his beneficence and his gentle
treatment of his tenants. The mode of living which
Odo prescribed to the Benedictine monks, procured
for its author great fame and popularity, and at
length fhe salutary regulations were adopted by
numerous monasteries throughout Europe, which
united in a kind of association under the abbot of
Cluny. Many of the ancient monasteries in France,
Germany, Italy, Britain, and Spain, embraced the
new and stricter rule thus introduced ; and the new
monasteries which were founded came under the
same discipline. Thus was formed that congeries of
associations, which, under the name of Cluniacen-
sians, rapidly rose into wealth, fame, and power.
The convent of Cluny was originally founded in A. D.
910, by Duke William of Aquitania; but it was
under Odo that its fame became general. From this
time lav abbots gradually disappeared in France.
Under the immediate successors of Odo the order
continued to flourish. In course of time, however,
its original strictness of discipline became gradually
relaxed, and its popularity in consequence declined.
In the twelfth century, an individual was appoint
ed to the office of abbot of Cluny, who was one of
the most distinguished men of the church in his
times, and to whom even his contemporaries gave
the title of Venerable. This man, Peter Mauritius,
infused new life and vigour into the Cluniacensiac
order. Of this remarkable person, and the benefi-
cial influence which he exercised. Meander gives the
following interesting sketch: "He was descended
from a family of consideration in Auvergne, and is
to be reckoned among the many great men of the
church on whose development the influence of Chris-
tian training, by pious mothers, had a lasting effect.
The character of his mother, who later in life became
a nun, was delineated by his own pen with filial af-
fection, soon after her death. Under him the ordei
took a different direction from that in which it had
originated. As this man, distinguished for his ami-
able and gentle spirit, strongly sympathized with
everything purely human, so, under his guidani e,
the monastery, before consecrated alone to rigid
asceticism, became a scat also of the arts and
sciences. A Christian delicacy of feeling, far re-
moved from the sternness and excess which we else-
where find in monastic-ism, forms a characteristic
trait in the character of this individual. To a prior,
win, was not disposed to relax in the least from the

554

CNEPH— COAT.

zeal of an over-rigid asceticism, he wrote : ' God ac-
cepts no sacrifices which are ottered to him contrary
to his own appointed order.' He held up to him
the example of Christ : ' The devil invited Christ to
cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple ;
but he who came to give his life for the salvation of
the world, refused to end it by a suicidal act, —
thereby setting an example, which admonishes us
that we are not to push the mortification of the body to
6elf destruction. With great boldness, he told even
the popes their faults. Thus he wrote to Eugene the
Third : ' Though you have been set by God over the
nations, in order to root out and to pull down, to
build and to plant (Jer. i. 10) ; still, because you are
neither God nor the prophet to whom this was said,
you may be deceived, betrayed, by those who seek
only their own. For this reason, a faithful son, who
would put you on your guard against such dangers,
is bound to make known to you what has been
made known to him, and what you perhaps may still
remain ignorant of.' "

About this time a new order, the Cistercians
(which see), attracted so much notice in consequence
of the strict discipline enforced by Bernard of Clair-
vaux, that the envy of the older monkish societies
was naturally excited. The Cluniacensians and the
Cistercians now passed into a state of mutual hostil-
ity. Bernard composed a tract upon the subject, in
which he exhorted both parties to mutual forbear-
ance and love. But these benevolent efforts were
unavailing. The controversy waxed warm on both
sides. The Cluniacensians accused the Cistercians
of too great austerity ; the Cistercians, on the other
hand, taxed the Cluniacensians with having aban-
doned their former sanctity and regular discipline.
To this contest was added another respecting tithes.
In A. d. 1132, Innocent II. issued a decree exempt-
ing the Cistercians from the payment of tithes on
their lands ; and as many of these lands had paid
tithes to the Cluniacensians, that order was greatly
offended at this indulgence shown to their rivals by
the pontiff, and, accordingly, they engaged in a warm
controversy both with the Cistercians and the pon-
tiff himself. This dispute terminated in some kind
of adjustment which was brought about in A. D.
1155. The monks of Cluny were addicted to osten-
tation and display in their places of worship. Hence
they were reproached by the Cistercians with hav-
ing churches " immensely high, immoderately long,
superfluously broad, sumptuously furnished, and
curiously painted." So that men were led to admire
that which was beautiful more than that which was
Hacred. At one time such was the pride of this order,
that the head of their monastery actually claimed
the title of abbot of abbots. The matter was re-
ferred to a council held at Rome in a. d. 1117, in the
pontificate of Paschal XL, when the title was decid-
ed rightfully to belong to the abbot of Monte Cas-
sino, that being considered as the most ancient of all
the monasteries.

CNEPH, or Cnuphis, an ancient Egyptian divi-
nity, corresponding to the Greek Agatiiod^emoh
(which see), a name which was also applied to thi«
deity by the Phoenicians. Both Strabo and Euse-
bius represent him as having been worshipped in the
form of a serpent; and in the amulets of later times
he is seen as a serpent or dragon raibing itself on its
tail, having rays about its head, and surrounded
with stars. Plutarch regards him as having been
a spiritual divinity. According to Eusebius, he
was the creator and ruler of the world, in the
Egyptian mythology, and represented as a man with
dark complexion, having a girdle, and a sceptre in
his hand. He was said to have produced an egg,
the symbol of the world, from which sprung Ptlia, or,
as he is called by the Greeks, Hephaestus. Cneph
then was among the Egyptians the first emanation
of the Supreme Being, the efficient reason of things,
the creator, the demiurgus.

CXIDIA, a surname of Aphrodite (which see),
derived from the town of Cnidus in Caria, for which
Praxiteles made his celebrated statue of the goddess.

COADJUTOR, one ordained to assist the incum-
bent of a parish who may happen to be disabled by
infirmity or old age.. In the early church, bishops
chosen in these circumstances were called bishops
coadjutor. They were subordinate to the bishop,
whom they were appointed to assist during his life,
and succeeded him when he died.

COAT, the innermost garment worn by the Jew-
ish high-priest in ancient times. It was made of
fine linen, and therefore white. It fitted close to
the body, and was provided with sleeves coming
down to the wrist, while the coat itself was so long
as to reach down to the heels. The Hebrew doctors
say, that if the high-priest happened to have a plas-
ter upon a sore between the inward garment and his
skin ; or if his garments had a rent in them, or were
stained with dirt, or any pollution, his ministration
was invalid and of no effect. The coat was woven
of chequer or diced work like diaper, and was
worn by all the priests in their ministrations with-
out any difference. The coat or robe of the ephod
which was worn by the high-priest, in addition to
the robes worn by the other priests, was made ot
blue wool, and worn immediately under the Ephod
(which see). Its Hebrew name is meil, an under
garment reaching down to the feet. It was a distin-
guishing priestly vestment, and therefore Christ ap-
pears, Rev. i. 13, " clothed with a garment down to
the feet," thus showing himself not only to be in-
vested with the priestly office, but to be the great
High-Priest of his church. This coat or robe was
a long linen gown of sky blue colour. It was all
of one piece, and so formed as to be put on, not
like other garments which are open in front, but
like a surplice, over the head, having a hole in
the top through which the head could pa6s, which
was strongly hemmed round with a binding to pre
vent it from rending, and provided with openings

COAT (Holy), OF TREVES.

655

ar arm-holes in the sides in place of sleeves.
Round its lower border were tassels made of blue,
purple, and scarlet, in the form of pomegranates,
interspersed with small in order to make

a noise when the high-priest went into or came out
from the holy place. We are not informed what
was the exact number of the pomegranates and bells.
The Rabbinical writers are nearly unanimous in al-
leging the entire number of bells to have been se-
venty-two, placed alternately with as many pome-
granates of embroidered work. "While the bod}- of
the coat was of a blue colour, the hem or border
was richly dyed of variegated hues. Josephus says,
that about eight years before the destruction of the
temple, the Levites obtained permission to wear a
linen coat or tunic, which gave considerable offence
to the priests.

COAT (Holy), OF TREVES, a Roman Catholic
relic, which for the last fifteen hundred years has
been regarded as the peculiar glory of the city in
which it is preserved. It is confidently believed by
many of the votaries of Romanism to be the iden-
tical seamless coat which was worn by our blessed
Lord, and for which the Roman soldiers cast lots at
his crucifixion. The tradition respecting this relic
is thus related in an article which appeared a few
years ago in the pages of the Athenaeum, from the
pen of an intelligent correspondent, who gives also
an account of the exhibition of the Holy Coat, he
himself having been an eye-witness on the occasion :

" Its origin, as a received object of veneration, re-
mounts to the early part of the fourth century, when
the Empress Helena undertook her memorable jour-
ney to Palestine. According to the tradition of
Treves, it was then and there that the Holy Tunic
ivas discovered. Helena's selection of Treves as the
place of deposit, arose not only from her predilection
for the city where she had so long dwelt, and where
some accounts say she was born ; but from the re-
putation which it enjoyed of being a second Rome
and the capital of the Empire beyond the Alps. An
interval of more than 800 years ensued, during which
no mention is made of the Holy Tunic. Towards
the close of the 9th century, Treves was sacked and
burned by the Normans, and nothing is said to have
been saved from their ravages but the holy relics,
which a constant sense of danger had caused the
clergy to preserve in crypts constructed expressly
tor their security. The traditional existence of the
Holy Tunic only remained, for that which fear ori-
.ginated, custom retained, and even in times of safety
the altar in or beneath which the relic was presumed
to lie was alone indicated; the relic itself was never
shown. In the quarrel between Adrian and the
Emperor in 11.07. Frederic, when he assembled a sy-
nod at Treves, alluded to the existence of the Tunic
there, for in his letter to Archbishop llillinus, he
says : — ' Since then you are the primate beyond the
Alps and the centre of the whole Empire, and that
vour cathedral, that of Treves, is renowned above all

others for the possession of the Coat without Seams,
&c.' Other proofs are also given in regard to its
alleged locality, which was at length put beypnd
doubt in the year 1196, by the discovery of the relic
in the adytum of the Cathedral, when Archbishop
John the First embellished and restored the build-
ing. It was t' .r the first time shown publicly on the
1st of May, 1196, amidst the acclamations of the
whole people, after which it was again shut up in the
high altar. Another interval of 316 years occurred
before the relic was again seen, when it was brought
forward, at the instance of the Emperor Maximilian,
who had assembled a diet in Treves. The opening
of the altar took place on the 14th of April, 1512,
before all the dignitaries of Treves, and a wooden
box, inlaid with ivory, of very beautiful workman-
ship, was found. It was sealed, and when opened the
robe was discovered with a written inscription,
' This is the coat without seam of our Lord and Sa-
viour Jesus Christ.' On the 12th of May following,
the relic was once more displayed to an immense
concourse of people, with no less effect than on the
first occasion ; an effect which suggested to Leo X.
the idea of turning it prominently to account, in the
sale of indulgences. His bull, dated 15th of Janu-
ary, 1514, granted a plenary indulgence to all who
came to Treves to confess their sins before the sacred
Tunic, — and, that opportunity might not be wanting,
he ordered that it should be publicly exhibited every
seven years. The Reformation however intervened
before the first term prescribed by the Pope, and it
was not till 1531 that the exhibition again took
place. During the remainder of the 16th century,
the relic was exposed at four different periods, in
1545, 1553, 1585, and 1594,— but the Thirty Years
War occupied the attention of Germany too closely
to admit of much religious ceremonial, especially
when the opposing armies were under such strong
religious influence: it was therefore not until after
the peace of Westphalia, 20th of February. 1655,
that it was again shown. The dread of the arms of
Louis XIV. induced the electors of Treves to trans-
port the relic to the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein ; nor
was it again made visible till 1725, when it was
shown to the Archbishop of Cologne. Other public
exhibitions subsequently took place at Ehrenbreit-
stein in the 18th century; but when the French ar-
mies approached the Rhine in 1794, it was no time
for trusting the security of the Holy Tunic even to a
fortress. It was then conveyed away and de]
in a place, the secret of which was known only to a
very few persons, whose interest it was not to divulge
it. It became afterwards known that that place was
Bamberg, where it remained till 1803, and was then
removed by the electors to Augsburg. A dispute
afterwards arose for its possession between the Duke
of Nassau and the Church of Treves; and the King
of Bavaria also put in his claim for it — but it was
finally decided by Napoleon, the arbiter at that time
of all things spiritual a» well as mundane, that rcsti-

B56

COAT (Holy), OF TREVES.

tution should be made to Treves, and in 1810, it was
once more brought to its accustomed resting-place.
The exhibition in that year was one remarkable for
its display, and for the number of the pious who
flocked to the electoral city to behold the relic, — no
less than 227,000 people ! So much for history and
tradition, which I have given at some length, that a
reason might be more satisfactorily rendered for the
enthusiasm which has attended the exhibition of
1844. which I have just arrived in time to witness.

" It may seem strange, that at a period when the
minds of the great masses in Germany are directed
towards utilizing objects, an effort — and a successful
one — should have been made to compete with the
advancing world, and that too with weapons from the
old armoury of Papal Rome ; but such is the case,
for a greater concourse of people has assembled this
year in Treves than was ever known before. The
number of those who have already visited the shrine
since the 18th of August exceeds a million! and that
number will be considerably augmented before the
exhibition is finally closed. Six weeks was the
period originally prescribed, but as every day brought
pilgrims in thousands from every country, far and
near, an additional week was granted, and the term
extended to Sunday the 6th of October. But how-
ever vast the enumeration of the faithful (to say no-
thing of the curious), however great the accumulation
of money offered before the altar of St. Peter, the
object of the Romish church would have failed, com-
paratively speaking, — but for more important results.
Adopting for device, the text of St. Mark (ch. 6. v.
5G), ' and all who touched it were cured,' the young
Countess Jeanne de Droste-Vischering, of Munster,
niece of the present Archbishop of Cologne, was the
first whose malady was submitted for cure by touch-
ing the holy robe. The success was triumphant !
the young lady who had, it is said, tried all the baths
in Germany for the last three years to remove her
lameness, no sooner bent before the relic and touched
the sacred cloth than her limbs were straightened,
her figure became once more erect, — and she quitted
the cathedral, leaving her crutches behind her in
memory of her miraculous cure. There the crutches
remain, beside the high altar, and there I have this
day seen them, when, one amongst many thousands, I
passed before the relic. But the Countess is not the
only instance of the efficacy of the Holy Tunic in
similar cases. It is positively affirmed that no less
than thirteen cures have been performed by the same
means: — a boy who had been blind from childhood;
a girl who was deaf and dumb ; and several others
affected with permanent maladies, subjected to the
test, have all been sent away restored ! My valet de
place told me he had himself known one subject, a
complete cripple, who was now as straight as an
arrow : I inquired where all these people lived, and
was told ' in distant villages,' — inaccessible of course
to the casual inquirer.

" After this, you may be curious to know something

of the relic itself, and the mode of visiting it. The
Tunic is a robe of a reddish-brown colour, stretched
out flat upon a piece of white silk in a glass frame
placed upright upon the high altar. The sleeves are
displayed ; and it measures 5 feet each way from
one extremity to the other. In its texture it is diffi-
cult to say how it has been wrought, so that Brower's
description holds perfectly good. He says, in his
'Annals of Treves' (torn. ii. p. 91), 'The threads
are so fine and so closely united, that the eye cannot
discover whether the vestment is woven or wrought
with a needle. . . . The colour i6 reddish, and
in the light of the sun resembles unprepared cinna-
bar.' At a short distance it resembles the stamped
leather now manufactured to imitate oak wainscoting,
but on a closer examination one sees that the material
is evidently of flax. The folds are apparent, and the
surface of the cloth appears to shale, or rather crack,
■ — the result of age. It has no collar, — merely a hole
for the head to pass through, and must have reached
to the ancles. The case in which it is contained, is
of the same form as the tunic, — like the letter T, —
and at the base on either side is an aperture through
which the officiating priests introduce the medals,
pictures, books, and other objects to be blessed by
contact with the sacred vestment. The manner in
which it is inspected is in procession formed in a double
line, marshalled by the Prussian gendarmerie outside
the doors of the cathedral. The procession advances
slowly until the steps of the high altar are passed, and
a momentary pause is made before the relic, to gaze
upon it and deposit an offering. The amount col-
lected in this manner must have been very great, for
each day produces an enormous heap, in which,
though copper predominates, a great deal of silver
appears, and now and then gold pieees and scheine or
paper-money. When I state that this procession
begins to form at an early hour in the morning, and
continues to stream into the cathedral until midnight,
with no other intermission than the occasional clos-
ing of the doors to prevent too dense a crowd, some
idea may be formed of the numbers that are daily
admitted. To facilitate the approach to strangers
and foreigners, certain hours are set apart, when, by
applying at a different door, admission to the cathe-
dral is given, and the line of the procession inter-
cepted, thus obviating the necessity of waiting for
some hours bareheaded in the streets. The mass of
people endure the delay without an impatient look ;
they keep close file, it is true, but are chiefly engag-
ed in chaunting the Ave Maria, — the women first
and then the men, in a clear ringing tone. Where
all the crowds come from, seems a wonder, — but the
stream is continuous, and its component part6 are
always changing. In point of costume it is curious,
the head-dresses of the women being of such various
form and colour, and the physiognomy and expres-
sion so different. The finest effect of the procession
is witnessed at night, when the cathedral is lit up
and the deep tones of the vesper bell peal through -

COCCEIANS.

557

'lie aisles like the diapason notes of an organ. The
body of the church is but feebly illuminated in com-
parison with the altar, where a blaze of light sur-
-ounds the shrine, but this comparative dimness adds
to the effect, as the pilgrims slowly advance along
the centre aisle, between rows of banners above the
tombs of the Electors, whose heavy folds sweep the
marble floor. It is impossible for any building to be
better adapted for the purpose of a procession than
this old Byzantine cathedral, as the floor continues
to rise by successive flights of steps from the nave
to the choir, from thence to the lower altar, and
from thence again on the south side by a very high
flight leading to the altar of St. Peter ; which is thus
elevated at least 20 feet above the western entrance,
and enables the spectator to catch a glimpse of the
upper part of the relic the instant he enters the
aisle.

" The streets of Treves are at this moment scarcely
less attractive to the stranger than the cathedral —
from daylight till dusk, and from dusk till daylight
again, with but a short interval for sleep,-;— there is
one continuous movement and hum of people all
having the same object in view, to join the proces-
sions. The sight witnessed, they spread over the
city for a few hours, and then disappear to make
way for fresh comers."

COCCEIANS, a denomination which arose in the
seventeenth century, deriving its name from its
founder, .lolm Cocceius, in German Koch, Professor
of Divinity at Leyden in Holland. Cocceius and
Voetius were two of the most eminent expositors of
Scripture among the Reformed at the period in which
they lived. The latter adhered only to the literal
sense in both the Old and the New Testaments, and
considered the predictions of the ancient prophets as
being all fulfilled in events anterior to the coming of
Christ, and, therefore, not at all applicable to the
Messiah. He supposed, however, that those prophe-
cies which are applied in the New Testament to
Christ, have, besides their literal sense, a secret and
mystical meaning which relates to Christ, to his his-
tory and mediation. Cocceius proceeded on very
different principles in interpreting the Sacred vol-
jme. He supposed that the whole Old Testament
lepresented, as in a mirror, the history of Christ and
of the Christian church, and that the predictions of
the ancient prophets were to be literally understood
as applying to Christ. He held also that the entire
. history of the Christian church down to the end of
time was prefigured in the Old Testament. The
Cocceian mode of interpretation was followed by
many Dutch, Swiss, and German divines, but stren-
uously opposed by the sect of the Voetians. The
strange extravagance of the leading principle laid
down by Cocceius, could scarcely be defended even
by his warmest friends — that the language of the
Bible must signify all that it can be made to signify.
Such a hermeneutic principle as this would lead in
the liands of ingenious and subtle men to the most

perverted explanations of multitudes of passages in
the Word of God. The following brief view of .the
leading opinions of Cocceius is given by Mosheim :
"Theology itself, in the opinion of Cocceius, ought
to be freed from the trammels of philosophy, and to
be expounded only in Scriptural phraseology. Hence,
perceiving that the sacred writers denominate the
method of salvation which God has prescribed, a
covenant of God with men, he concluded that thero
could be no more suitable and pertinent analogy, ac-
cording to which to adjust and arrange an entire
system of theology. But while intent solely on ac-
commodating and applying the principles of human
covenants to divine subjects, he incautiously fell into
some opinions which it is not easy to approve. For
instance, he asserted that the covenant which God
made with the Hebrew nation through the medium
of Moses, did not differ in its nature from the new
covenant procured by Jesus Christ. He supposed
that God caused the ten commandments to be pro-
mulgated by Moses, not as a law which was to be
obeyed, but as one form of the covenant of grace.
But when the Hebrews had offended him by various
sins, and especially by the worship of the golden
calf, God, being moved with just indignation, super-
added to that moral law the yoke of the ceremonial
law. to serve as a punishment. This yoke was in
itself very burdensome, but it became much more
painful in consequence of its import. For it con-
tinually admonished the Hebrews of their very im-
perfect, doubtful, and anxious state, and was a kind
of perpetual memento that they merited the wrath
of God. and that they could not anticipate a full ex-
piation and remission of their sins till the Messiah
should come. Holy men indeed under the Old Tes-
tament enjoyed eternal salvation after death; but
while they lived, they were far from having that as-
surance of salvation which is so comforting to us
under the New Testament. For no sins were then
actually forgiven, but only suffered to remain unpun-
ished, because Christ had not yet offered up himself
as a sacrifice to God, and therefore could not be re-
garded, before the divine tribunal, as one who h.-u
actually assumed our debt, but only as our surety."

The Dutch churches were agitated fur many yearo
with the keen controversies which were maintained
between the Cocceians and their opponents, the
Voetians, with varied success. At length the Coc-
ceian came to be absorbed in the Cartesian contro-
versy. At first, and for a considerable time, Coc-
ceius was opposed to Des Cartes, but at length both
came to be so far identified, that the most violent
combatants of the one were equally violent comba-
tants of the other. Not that the Cocceian theology
and the Cartesian philosophy have any natural con-
nection with each other. Yet it so happened, by
a strange coincidence, that those who took Cocci-ius
as their guide in theology, took Des Cartes as their
mas-er in philosophy. Thus the Cartesians and the
Cocceians became one united band, contending

558

COCYTUS— CODEX AKGENTEUS.

against the Voetians with the utmost earnestness
ind vigour. Throughout the remainder of the seven-
teenth century, the two parties were engaged in
keen controversy. Other sects arose in Holland,
which pushed the principles of the Cartesian philo-
sophy beyond their legitimate boundaries into abso-
lute atheism. Thus the Verschorists and the Hatte-
mists, combining the doctrines of Spinosa with those
of Cocceius, produced in 1080 a new system of reli-
gion, which was at once absurd and impious. See
Dutch Reformed Church.

COCYTUS, one of the four rivers which were
said in the ancient heathen mythology to be passed
over by the dead on their entrance into the infernal
regions. The Cocytus is represented as sending
forth a hollow melancholy sound. See Tartarus.

CODEX ARGENTEUS (Lat. silver copy), a
celebrated manuscript of the four gospels in the
Mceso-Gothic language, deriving its name from its
being written on vellum in letters of silver. The
people for whom this version was intended are not
to be confounded with the Goths of Sweden. They
came from the east of the Borysthenes, and gra-
dually moving westward, settled in Wallachia.
Here the celebrated Ulphilas invented a Gothic al-
phabet of twenty-five letters, " four of which," Gib-
bon informs us, "he invented to express the pecu-
liar sounds that were unknown to the Greek and La-
tin pronunciation." This indefatigable benefactor of
a barbarous people was himself by birth a Cappa-
docian, was a bishop of the Moeso-Goths, and a
member of the council of Constantinople in A. D
349.

For a long period it was thought that the labours
of Ulphilas had been limited to the translation of
the four Gospels, but from the discoveries which
have been made in the course of the present century,
it is now regarded as an undoubted fact that he must
have translated the entire Bible. This work, which
has earned for him an immortal name, he accom-
plished in the reign of the Emperor Valens. In his
version of the New Testament, he has followed the
original Greek ; while in that of the Old Testament
he has adhered to the Septuagint. From its anti-
quity, as well as its general fidelity, the Gothic ver-
sion of Ulphilas occupies a high place in the esti-
mation of biblical critics. Philostorgius alleges that
he designedly omitted the Books of Samuel and the
Kings, from an apprehension that the warlike spirit
of his nation might be roused by the relation of the
Jewish wars.

A variety of opinion exists as to the age of the
Codex Argenteus, which is limited to the four Gos-
pels, and these in an imperfect state. Some go so far
as to imagine that it is the very copy which Ulphilas
wrote with his own hand ; while others suppose it to
have been completed by a bishop of Thrace, towards
the latter end of the fourth century. The history of
the silver manuscript is somewhat interesting and cu-
cious. At a very remote period, it would seem to have

been the property of Alaric, King of Toulouse, whoso
kingdom and palace was destroyed by Chlodovic or
Clovis, in or about A. D. 507. Others again say,
that it belonged to Amalric, who had been conquered
by Childebert in A. D. 531. For many centuries
this book had been subsequently preserved in the
Benedictine monastery of Werden, on the river
Ruhr, in the county of Mark, in Westphalia, where
it was discovered in 1597 by Anthony Marillon, who
extracted a few passages, which he inserted in a work
entitled, ' A Commentary on the Gothic Alphabet.'
Some time after, Arnoldus Mercator observed it in
the same place, and having translated some verses of
it, Gruter gave them to the world in his ' Inscrip-
tions Antiquse.' From "Werden it was earned to
Prague, where in 1648, when that city was stormed
by the Swedes under the command of Count Konigs-
mark, it was found by that nobleman, who presented
it along with other treasures to his sovereign, Queen
Christina. After remaining for some time in the
royal library, it disappeared during the confusion
which preceded the abdication of the queen, having
been taken, as is supposed, by Isaac Vossius to the
Netherlands, where it was discovered again in 1655.
While the Codex Argenteus was in the Netherlands,
it was copied by Francis Junius, a learned antiqua-
rian, and for the first time given to the world. Some
writers assert that it was purchased back again by
Charles XII. King of Sweden, but whether such be
the fact or not, this valuable manuscript is at pre-
sent in the University of Upsaia, carefully bound
or covered over with silver, embossed with the like-
ness of Ulphilas engraved upon it. The present
state of the manuscript is thus described by Dr.
Loewe, in a learned article in the 'Journal of Sacred
Literature:' "This codex, of which there are 188
pages of a quarto size, is written on very thin and
smoothly-polished vellum, which is for the greater
part of a purple colour. On this ground the letters,
which are all uncial, i. e. capitals, were afterwards
printed in silver, the initials, and some other pas-
sages excepted, which are in gold. To the latter
belong the three first lines of the Gospels of St.
Luke and St. Mark, which are impressed with golden
foil, as were most probably those of St. Matthew and
St. John. At the commencement of a section, or
chapter, the whole is distinguished by golden char-
acters, and so it is with the beginning of the Lord's
Prayer, and the titles of the Evangelists, which are
all illuminated in gold. From the deep impression
of the strokes, the celebrated Michaelis has conjec-
tured that the letters were either imprinted with a
warm iron or cut with a graver, and afterwards
coloured, a circumstance, which is said to have led to
the discovery of those letters, the colour of which
had faded. But it has been recently proved that
each letter was painted, and not formed in the man-
ner supposed by Michaelis. Most of the silver let
ters have become green in the course of time
whereas the golden ones are as yet in a superior

CODEX CAROLINES.

55S

Mate of preservation. This covering of the letters
with .old and silver is a characteristic feature in
some ancient and modem Asiatic writings, and in
most of the Canticles, Missals, Breviaries, etc. of the
Middle Ages. The adjective argenteus, therefore, as
used in connection with the 'codex' in question, re-
fers solely to this circumstance. Some parts of this
codex, which is said to have amounted formerly in
all to 320 pages, have a pale violet hue." The Co-
dex Argenteus is undoubtedly the most ancient spe- \
cimen extant of the Teutonic or German language.

CODEX CAROLINUS, a name given to a manu-
script containing some fragments of the Gothic ver-
sion of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, which is
preserved in the library of the Duke of Brunswick
at Wolfenbiittel. It was discovered in 1756 by
Francis Anton Knittel, in a Codex Rescriptus be-
longing to the ducal library. This MS., which is on
vellum, contains the version of Ulpliilns in one col-
umn, and a Latin translation in the other. It is
Supposed to belong to the sixth century, and was so
defaced by another work written over it, that it was
with great difficulty decyphered and restored. It is
written in the character of the Codex Argenteus, but
neither so beautiful nor so interesting as that manu-
script. Both of them, however, have received great
improvement from the discoveries made in the Am-
brosian Library in Milan in 1817 by Cardinal Majo,
the late learned librarian of the Vatican. Dr.
Loewe, in the article from which we have already
quoted, gives the following account of these disco-
veries: "While examining two Codices Rescript!,
Majo discovered in one of them some Gothic writ-
ing, which, ere long, proved to be fragments of the
Book of Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Thus encour-
aged, he continued Iris inquiries, and had the satis-
faction to find four other Codices Rescript!, contain-
ing in like manner portions of Ulphilas' Gothic ver-
sion. Having communicated his discoveries to Count
Carlo Ottavio Castiglioni, the latter joined Main in
his inquiries, so that we are indebted to both these
tavans for whatever we know concerning some con-
siderable portions of this interesting production.
Availing ourselves of the labours of these distin-
guished men, we shall notice a few of the MSS. they
discovered.

" The first of them consists of 204 quarto pages ;
it is on vellum, and contains the Homilies of Gre-
gory the Great on the Prophecies of Ezekiel, which,
.judging from their appearance or character, must
have been produced about the eighth century. Be-
neath this are contained the Epistles of St. Paul to
the Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 of Timo-
thy, Titus, and Philemon, as also a portion of the
Gothic Calendar, all of which is written in a more
undent Gothic handwriting. The Epistles to the
Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, and to Timothy,
constitute the main part of this interesting MS., and
are almost entire. The titles of the Epistles are
given at the heads of the pages on which they com-

mence, and are pretty readable. Of the other Epis-
tles, there are considerable fragments only. The
whole seems to have been written by two different
writers or copyists, as there exists a marked differ-
ence in the writing, the one being more finished and
pleasing than the other. Some savaus have traced
various readings in some of the margins, which are
said to be written in a very small hand.

" The second manuscript consists of 156 quarto
pages, on much thinner vellum. It contains St.
Jerome's Exposition of Isaiah, written in Latin be-
longing to the eighth or ninth century. Under this
Exposition may be seen the Gothic Version of St.
Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians. Galatians, Ephe-
sians, Philippians, Colossians, the two Epistles to
the Thessalonians, and to Titus. What is wanting
in the former MS. is found in this, which has some
various readings peculiar to itself.

" In the third manuscript, which is a Latin vol-
ume of a quarto size, are contained the plays of
Plautus, and part of Seneca's Tragedies of Medea
and (Edipus. In this volume Cardinal Majo discov-
ered fragments of the Books of Kings, Ezra and
Nehemiah. This discovery is of the utmost impor-
tance, as being among the few fragments of Ulphi-
las' Version of the Old Testament extant. This
fact, moreover, furnishes a refutation of the asser-
tion that Ulphilas designedly omitted the Books ol
Kings for the reasons already alluded to. The date
of the Latin writing of this MS. is supposed to be
the eighth or ninth century.

" The fourth and last manuscript which we shall
notice, consists of a single sheet in small quarto, and
contains four pages of the Gospel according to St.
John in Latin, under which are found the very frag-
ments of chaps, xxv. xxvi. and xxvii. of the Gospel
of St. Matthew, which are wanting in the Codex
I '• us.

" All these manuscripts are written in broad and
thin characters, without any division of words or of
chapters, but with contractions of proper names, not
unlike those we find in ancient Greek MSS. Some
sections have been discovered which are indicated
by numeral marks or larger spaces, and sometimes
by large letters. The Gothic writing is said to be-
long to the sixth century."

The whole of Ulphilas's version, as it now exists,
comprising the Codex Argenteus, the Codex Caroli-
nus, and the Ambrosian MSS., include very large
portions of the four Gospels, the Epistles of St. Paid,
the Books of Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, the Macca-
bees, and some parts of the Psalms. The latest and
most finished critical edition of the entire remains ol
Ulphilas is that of Gabelenz and Loebe, published
al I pzig 1836 — 1847. Still another work sup-
posed i" be from the pen of Ulphilas, has been
discovered by II. P. Massmann, who found it
among some manuscripts belonging to the libraries
of Rome and Milan. It is an exposition of the Gos-
pel according to John, and has been published along

rf60

CtELICOL.E— COLLEGE OF AUGURS.

with & Latin version, explanatory notes, an histori-
cal inquiry, and a Gothic-Latin Dictionary. See
Bible.

CCELESTIAXS. See Pelagians.

CCELESTIXES. See Celestines.

CCELICOLiE (Lat. Cesium, heaven, colo, to wor-
ship), heaven-worshippers, a heretical sect which
arose in the end of the fourth century in Africa.
They are condemned by two different rescripts of
the Emperor Honorius, but the precise nature of
their opinions is not known. In the Theodosian
code they are ranked as Jews, and hence some have
considered them as apostates from the Christian to
the Jewish faith, but this is far from being certain
or even probable. This name was sometimes applied
bv Pagans to the early Christians by way of derision
and reproach.

CCELUS. See Uranus.

COEMPTIO, one of the methods of contracting
marriages among the ancient Romans, according to
which the parties solemnly bound themselveB to each
other by the ceremony of giving and receiving a
piece of money. See Marriage.

COENOBITES. See Cenobites.

COLjENIS, a surname of Artemis (which see),
derived from a mythical king called Colsenus.

COLARBASIANS, a sect of Gnostics which
arose in the middle of the second century. They
were originated by Colarbasus, a scholar of Valentine
(see Valentixians). They held that Christ sprang
from the thirty jEons (which see) ; that Jesus and
Christ were two distinct persons ; and that the life
and generations of all men, with all human affairs,
depended on the seven planets. Their views were,
therefore, a strange compound of Christianity, .Ju-
daism, and Paganism.

COLIAS, a surname of Aphrodite (which see),
derived from the Attic promontory of Colias, on
which the goddess had a statue.

COLLATINES, an order of monks in Italy,
called also Oblates, the members of which reside in
a monastery, but make no vows except a promise of
obedience. They can go abroad freely, inherit pro-
perty, and are placed under few restrictions. Some
abbeys of this description are said to be filled with
ladies of rank.

COLLATIOX, a term used where a bishop gives
a benefice, which either he had as patron, or which
came to him by lapse.

COLLATION, the name given in the Romish
church to the spare meal taken on days of abstinence,
consisting chiefly of bread, vegetables, or fruits, but
without animal food.

COLLECT, the name applied in the early Chris-
tian church to the invocation, which was called col-
lecta or collect, because it was a collection or repe-
tition of all the prayers of the people. Bingham
gives it as the form runs in the Constitutions, thus :

" 0 Lord Almighty and most High, thou that
dwollest in the highest, thou Holy One that restest

in thy saints, (or holy places,) that art without ori
ginal, the great Monarch of the world ; who by thy
Christ hast caused thy knowledge to be preached
unto us, to the acknowledgment of thy glory and
name, which he hath manifested to our understand-
ings : look down now by him upon this thy flock,
and deliver it from all ignorance and wicked works.
Grant that it may fear thee, and love thee, and
tremble before the face of thy glory. Be merciful
and propitious unto them, and hearken to their
prayers ; and keep them unchangeable, unblameable.
and without rebuke : that they may be holy both in
body and soul, not having spot or wrinkle or any
such thing ; but that they may be perfect, and non«
among them deficient or wanting in any respect. 0
thou their Defender, thou Almighty, that regardest
not persons, be thou the help of this thy people,
whom thou hast redeemed with the precious blood
of thy Christ. Be thou their defence and succour,
their refuge and keeper, their impregnable wall,
their bulwark and safety. For no one can pluck
them out of thy hand. There is no other God like
thee : in thee is our hope and strong consolation.
Sanctify them by thy truth ; for thy word is truth.
Thou that dost nothing out of partiality and favour
thou that canst not be deceived, deliver them from
sickness and infirmity, from sin, from all injury and
fraud, and from the fear of the enemy, from the ar-
row that flieth by day, and the danger that walketh
in darkness ; and vouchsafe to bring them to eternal
life, which is in Christ thy only begotten Son, our
God and Saviour ; by whom be glory and worship
unto thee in the Holy Ghost, now and for ever,
world without end. Amen."

The collects among the Latins then were the
same sort of prayers which the Greeks called invo-
cations and commendations, with which the bishop
concluded the prayers of the deacon and people in
each distinct part of Divine service. The custom cfi
repeating collects at the end of the service is of great
antiquity in the Church of England, being known to
have prevailed before the Norman Conquest, and the
very collects nOw in use formed part of the devo-
tional services of the church long before the Refor-
mation.

COLLEGE, a union of persons for a common pur-
pose, a community. Among the ancient Romans, a
college must, in order to be legal, consist at least oi
three persons, who were considered as forming a cor-
porate body, entitled to privileges somewhat similar to
corporations among ourselves, such as holding com-
mon property, having a common purse, and being
treated in law as a legal unity. A collegium was
sometimes called also a universitas. The phrase is
sometimes used, "a college of bishops," which is re-
garded in England as necessary to the consecration
of a new bishop, and the college must, as in Roman
law, consist of not less than three prelates.

COLLEGE OF AUGURS, the institution oJ „
soothsayers among the ancient heathens. It i-

COLLEGE DE PROPAGANDA FIDE— COLLEGIANTS.

5fil

traced as far back as the very commencement of the
Roman history. Romulus having appointed a college
of three, to which he afterwards added two. By the
Ogulnian law passed B. c. 300, the number of augurs
was increased to nine, of whom five were chosen by
the plebs. The dictator Sulla increased them to
fifteen, a number which continued till the time of
Augustus, when the power of electing augurs being
vested in the Emperor himself, the number of the
college was regulated solely by the imperial will.
The college of augurs possessed far greater power in
the earlier than in the later period of the Roman his-
tory. Thus, though the election of the college was
at first intrusted to the comitia curiata, or assembly
of the patricians, the augurs themselves were regu-
larly consulted before the election was considered
complete. At length, as their influence became
greater, they obtained the power of self-election,
which they continued to exercise until B. c. 103,
when, by the Domitian law, it was decreed that any
vacancy in the college of augurs should be filled up
by the votes of a minority of the tribes chosen by
lot. This law underwent various changes, having
oeen repealed by Sulla, and restored during the con-
sulship of Cicero, B. C. 63 ; repealed a second time
by Antony, and again revived at an after period.
The introduction of Christianity proved in the high-
est degree unfavourable to the art of divination, and
though the utmost efforts were made by the augurs
themselves to maintain their influence, the college
was finally abolished by the Emperor Theodosius.
See Auoubs.

COLLEGE DE PROPAGANDA FIDE, a col-
lege instituted at Rome by Pope Urban VIII. in
1627. In this seminary young men from all nations
are educated as Romish missionaries, with the view
of diffusing the doctrines of the Roman Church in
foreign nations. The college owed its institution to
John Baptist Viles, or as some allege, Vives, a Spa-
niard residing at Rome. He surrendered all his pos-
sessions and property, including his very elegant
mansion, into the hands of the pontiff, and by this
munificent gift he founded the College de Propa-
ganda Fide, establishing as the commencement of the
undertaking ten scholarships for youth from foreign
lands. Cardinal Barberini, the Pope's brother, in
1G37 and 1G38, added thirty-one more scholarships
for Georgians, Persians, Nestorians, Jacobites, Mel-
chites, Copts, Abyssinians, and Indians; and in de-
fect of these, for Armenians from Poland, Russia, and
■ Constantinople. The condition on which Barberini
gave this splendid endowment was, that the scholars
who should partake of his bounty, should pledge
themselves to become missionaries among their own
countrymen, or to go wherever the Congregation de
Propaganda Fide should order them. The College
was at first placed under the authority of three can-
ons of the three patriarchal churches at Rome, but
since the year 1641 it has been under the con-
trol to which we have just referred, and which had

been established by Gregory XV. See Congrega-
tion de Propaganda Fide.

COLLEGE OF THE SEVENTY See Sanhe-
drim.

COLLEGES OF PIETY, a name given to meet-
ings for the revival of religion in Germany, which
were set up by Philip James Spener at Frankfort in
1670, first in his own house, and afterwards also in the
church. The special object of these meetings was
to bring about more cordial friendship among those
who were seeking to edify their souls, and at the same
time to render the public preaching of God's word
more profitable, by explaining the sermons delivered
by catechising, by lectures on the Holy Scriptures,
with prayer and singing. The appellation Colleges
of Piety was derived from Holland, where there was
a party who, from their meetings for worship which
they called collegia, were denominated collegiants.
The Frankfort meetings, though originated from the
best of motives, and attended with benefit to many,
were not long in being imitated by others, who, want-
ing the prudence of Spener, conducted matters so
unwisely as to lead to great abuses. On some occa-
sions no minister was present to regulate the pro
ceedings, and, accordingly, the utmost irregularity
prevailed. At other times every one was allowed to
speak, and, as a natural consequence, heretical opi-
nions were often broached, and enthusiasm took the
place of sobriety and sincere devotion. In small vil-
lages the meetings were generally conducted with
great propriety, but in large towns, as in Hamburg
for example, there were frequent commotions. The
most unseemly disturbances also took place at Erfurth,
Dantzic, Wolfenbiittel, Gotha, and even at Halle in
Saxony. Finding that unexpected results had followed
from the institution of his Colleges of Piety, Spener
suppressed those which he himself had set up.
Others followed his example, but in some cases tho
meetings were continued, and people began to fre-
quent them to the entire neglect of public worship
and thus the good which Spener sought to do was
evil spoken of, and his benevolent attempts to intro-
duce a higher tone of piety among his countrymen
were perverted into means of injuring the holy causa
which he had so warmly at heart. See Pietistic

CoNTKOVEKSY.

COLLEGIANTS, a Christian sect which arose in
Holland in 1619. when the Arminian dispute was at
its height. It was originated by three brothers, John
James, Hadrian, and Gisbert Koddeus or Van der
Kodde, humble, but pious men, holding Arminian
principles. Joined by one Anthony Cornelius, the]
held meetings which they called collegia, and hence
the sect acquired the name of Collegiants. The
only test of admission to the society was a belief in
the Bible as inspired of God, and an earnest desire
:uid endeavour to live conformably to its precepts,
whatever might be their opinions on the various doc-
trines of the Christian religion. The brethren an
accustomed to assemble twice a-week, ou Sabbath
2o*

562

COLLEGIUM jESCULAPII et HYGEIjE— COLLOCATIO.

tnd Wednesday, for religious exercises. On these
occasions they commence the service with singing a
hymn and offering up a prayer, after which a pas-
sage of Scripture is read and explained, two persons
having been appointed to expound it, and then any
male person in the assembly is freely permitted to
offer his thoughts to the brethren. Thus a contro-
versy often arises at their meetings. They have
printed lists of the texts which are to be discussed at
their meetings, so that the brethren have it in th;ir
power to give their opinions after careful previous
preparation. At Rheinsberg they have large build-
ings destined for the education of orphan children,
and for the reception of strangers, and in that place
the brethren assemble twice a-year, spending four
days successively in meetings for mutual encourage-
ment and edification, as well as for the celebration
of the Lord's Supper. On these occasions, also, the
ordinance of baptism is administered to those who
wish it ; but the ceremony is invariably performed
by total immersion. The Collegiauts in Friesland
assemble once a-year at Leeuwarden for the same
purposes as their brethren who meet at Rheinsberg.
From the lax terms of admission among the Colle-
giauts, they are drawn from all sects, and consist of
men of the most widely opposite opinions. They
account no man a heretic on account of his opinions,
but solely on account of vicious and immoral con-
duct.

When the sect of Collegiants was first instituted
Arminianism was at a low ebb in Holland, having
been formally condemned by the synod of Dort, and
the ministers who held its tenets being prohibited
from promulgating them. The brothers Van der
Kodde, accordingly, opened private meetings or clubs
called collegia. The first was held at the village of
Warmand, where one of the brothers lived, and after
a short time the meetings were transferred to Rheins-
berg, a small village near Leyden, from which the
Collegiants received the name of Rheinsbergers. Si-
milar meetings were instituted at other places in Hol-
land, and the sect rapidly increased until it became
a large body. They professed to tolerate all opi-
nions, however extravagant and openly opposed
to the plainest declarations of Scripture. Yet,
notwithstanding the tolerant spirit by which they
were avowedly actuated, a controversy arose in
1672 in the sect of the Collegiants, which raged
with the utmost bitterness for a considerable time.
The parties were on the one side, John and Paul
Bredcnburg, merchants of Rotterdam, and on the
other side, Abraham Lcmmermann and Francis
Cuiper, merchants of Amsterdam. The brothers
Bredenburg openly taught the doctrine of Spiuosa,
and demonstrated its accordance with reason ma-
thematically. With strange inconsistency they
avowed their belief in Christianity as being of Di-
vine origin, recommending and defending it in the
meetings of the Collegiants. To reconcile such
opposite and contradictory systems as Spinosism and

Christianity, they maintained that reason is opposed
to religion, but that we ought, nevertheless, to be-
lieve in the religion contained in the New Testa-
ment Scriptures against the most evident and the
most conclusive mathematical demonstrations. It is
plain, then, that the brothers Bredenburg must have
held, that what is false in theology may be true in
philosophy, and vice versa, what is a religious truth
may be a philosophical error, and even a mathema-
tical absurdity. This strange, contradictory system
of opinion was opposed by Francis Cuiper, a book
seller of Amsterdam, in a work entitled ' Arcana
Atheismi Detecta,' or the Secrets of Atheism De-
tected. The controversy waxed warm on both sides ;
other minor contests arose about the same time ; and
the result of the whole was, that the Collegiants, in
1686, were divided into two opposing sects, which
held their assemblies in separate buildings at Rheins-
berg. In the beginning, however, of the eighteenth
century, when the heads of the opposing factions
had disappeared from the scene, the schism began
to heal, and the Collegiants returned to their former
harmony. They continue to this day to observe the
same modes of worship, and though far from being
so numerous as they once were, still hold their meet
ings without any fixed pastors, and practise bap-
tism by immersion.
COLLEGIATE See Copiat^j.
COLLEGIUM ^ESCULAPII et HYGEIiE.
The college of iEsculapius and of Hygeia was among
the ancient Romans a congregation of sixty persons,
who, at certain days in the year, met at an appointed
place to offer sacrifices in behalf of those who were
willing to implore the help of the god and goddess of
health.

COLLEGIUM DENDROPHORIUM, the col-
lege of the Dendrophori. It is difficult to ascertain
with certainty who these people were. The word is
derived from two Greek words, dendron, a tree, and
phero, to cany. Hence Salmasius thinks, that, by
the Dendrophori were meant those men who, in the
processions made in honour of the gods, carried
branches of trees. From the following passage in
the Theodosian code, however, it would appear that
they were a class of heathens : " It is just that
the places which the Dendrophori and other hea
thens have possessed, and were appointed for keep
ing of feasts and distribution of money, be applied to
the revenues of our house, having beforehand ban-
ished the error winch had first given birth to them."
COLLOCATIO, a custom which existed among
the ancient Greeks and Romans, on the death of any
individual, of laying out the corpse on a bed with a
pillow for supporting the head and back. It was
placed at onetime outside the house, hut afterwards
at the threshold, the design being, as Plato alleged,
to give ocular proof that the person was really dead,
or, as is more likely to have been the reason, to show
that the death had been natural, not caused by vio-
lence. By the side of the corpse was laid a honey-

COLLUTHIAXS— COLLYVA.

56.3

cake, which was said to be meant as a gift to Cerbe-
rus. Beside the bed were arranged painted earthen
vessels, which were buried with the corpse. The
collocatio continued for two days, and on the third
the bodv was carried out tor burial.

COLLUTIIIAX.S, a heretical sect which arose in
the fourth century, founded by Colluthus, a presby-
ter of Alexandria. He seems to have approached in
his opinions to the tenets of the Manicheans, hold-
ing that God did not create the wicked, and that he
was not the author of the evils that befall men. Col-
luthus was deposed by the council of Alexandria,
A. d. 324, and died before a. d. 340. The sect ex-
isted but for a short time.

COLLOB1U.M (Gr. kolobos, short), a garment
which some ancient authors affirm was worn by
bishops and presbyters in the primitive ages of the
Christian church. It was a short tunic or coat with-
out long sleeves, thus differing from the dalmatica,
which was the long coat with sleeves. Both these vest-
ments were used by the Romans, though the colhbhua
was the more common, ancient and honourable gar-
ment, which was afterwards permitted, by the laws
of Theodosius the Great, to be worn by senators
within the walls of Constantinople. It is probable,
therefore, that when a bishop or a presbyter is said
to wear a collobiuin, it means nothing more than
that he wore a common Roman garment.

COLLYRIDES (Gr. cakes), a species of cakes
of kneaded dough, which, from very ancient times,
were offered to the gods as sacred gifts from the no-
tion which the heathen in all ages have entertained,
that what was gratifying to the sons of men, must be
pleasing and acceptable to the gods. Besides, it has
been imagined, by the ignorant in every age, that the
inhabitants of heaven stood in need of food and drink
like those of earth. The Hebrews offered ca
the temple made with wheat or barley, kneaded with
nil, and sometimes with honey. The Egyptians
made offerings of cakes to their deities in behalf of
1 relatives. Cecrops directed cakes to be
offered to Zeus at Athens. Herodotus informs us,
that the Persians offered consecrated cakes to their
gods. The immolation or consecration of a victim
among the ancient Romans consisted partly in cast-
ing of corn and frankincense, together with the
taha mold made with bran or meal mixed with
salt, upon the head of the beast. Cakes were spe-
cially used in the worship of certain deities, as in
that of Apollo. They were either simple cakes of
dour, sometimes also of wax, or they were made in
the shape of some animal, and were then offered as
symbolical sacrifices in the place of real animals,
either because they could not easily be procured, or
were too expensive for the sacrifices. On the second
day of the festival called Thesmophoria, celebrated
in various parts of Greece in honour of Demeter, the
women sat on the ground around the statue of the
goddess, and took no other food than cakes made of
■sesame and honey. In Jer. vii. 17, we read of the

Israelites kneading their dough " to make <
the queen of heaven," which appears to have been
from early times an idolatrous practice. The Col-
lyrides of the Pagans having been transferred, in the
fourth century, to the worship of the Virgin Mary,
gave name to a small sect in Arabia. See next Ar-
ticle.

COLLYRIDIANS, a sect which arose towards
the end cf the fourth century, maintaining that the
Virgin Mary ought to be worshipped and appeased
with libations, sacrifices, and offerings of collyrides
or cakes. They appear to have been a sect of wo-
men, who came from Thrace and settled in Arabia,
looking upon themselves as priestesses of Mary. On
a set day, consecrated to her as a festival, they car-
ried about in chariots, similar to those which the
Pagans used in their religious processions, cakes or
wafers dedicated to Mary, which they first presented
to her as sacred offerings, and then ate them.
Xeander considers this ceremony to have been de-
rived from the Pagan worship of Ceres, and that the
customary bread-offerings at the Thesmophoria or
heathen feast of the harvest, in honour of Ceres, had
been changed for such offerings in honour of Mary.
Mosheim, also, supposes the Collyridians to have been
heathen converts, who, while they were mere Pagans,
had been accustomed to bake, and present to the god-
dess Venus or Astarte, certain cakes which were called
collyrides, and now that they had become Christians
they thought this honour might be best shown to
Mary. The CoUyridians were opposed by the An
tidicomarianites (which see), who, instead of re-
garding Mary as a goddess, held that she was not
always virgin, but had other children after the birth
of Jesus. See Marioi.atky.

COLLYVA, an oblation used in the Greek church
in commemoration of the resurrection oi thi
It forms a portion of the funeral solemnities of the
modern Greeks. The latest account of the Collyva
has been given by Mr. Henry M. Baird, an intelli-
gent traveller, in his recent work, entitled ' Modern
Greece.' We quote the passage. " In modern Gn BC8
several successive Fridays are set apart as especially
devoted to the dead. The bell of the little church of
St. Nicholas Bangaves, situated at the very base of
the Acropolis, attracted my attention on one of these
occasions. Upon entering the church — a small edi-
fice scarce exceeding in size an ordinary room — I
found a few persons waiting for the commencement
of the services ; the men and boys standing near tho
altar, while the women as usual remained Bomewhai
further off. Ever and anon some pi rson would come
iii carrying a small dish covered with a napkin, and,
after devoutly crossing himself, placed the dish upon
the floor in front of the screen of the hieron or holy
place. These plates contained a peculiar sort oi
cake, which is called Collyva. It is, in fact, an offer-
ing made to the manes of the dead, and can certainly
claim a Pagan rather than a Christian origin. It is
Carefully made, the principal ingredients being boiled

bGl

COLORITES— COMMENDATORY LETTERS.

wheat and currants. The surface of the top is or-
namented with various degrees of neatness, by means
sf the eatable red grains of the pomegranates or al-
monds, or anything of the kind. These cakes were
sent by the relatives of those who had died within a
year or two, and if handsome, were allowed to remain
before the chancel. If more commonly prepared,
the contents were thrown together into a basket. In
every plate a* collyva, and in every basket, were
stuck a number of little lighted waxen tapers, which
burned during the service. The notion of the com-
mon people respecting this usage, was expressed to
me by a person whom I asked to explain its pur-
port. ' The soul of the deceased,' said he, ' for
whom the collyva is offered, comes down during the
service, and eats a single grain of the wheat.'" This
observance of the Greeks is probably of Pagan ori-
gin. It is well known that among the ancient Ro-
mans there was a festival called Feralia, which was
held in the latter end of the month of February,
when food was wont to be carried to the sepulchres
for the use of the dead. The Inferiae and Parenta-
lia were of the same description, showing that among
the ancient heathens, as among several modern na
tions, the manes of the dead are thought to be able
to partake of the enjoyments of the living. The
Chinese (See Ancestors, Worship of), present
offerings to the dead, and hold imaginary intercourse
with them. See Funeral Rites.

COLORITES, a congregation of Augustinian
monks, founded in the sixteenth century by Bernard
of Rogliano in Calabria. The name of this order is
said to have been drawn from Colorito, a bill in the
Neapolitan territory on which there is a church de-
dicated to the holy Virgin. The order was not fully
established till 1591, and a few years after they
avowed submission to the general of the Augustin
hermits. Their habit consisted of a da; k-coloured
gown, and a mantle which reached only to their knees.

COLPIA, in the cosmogony of the ancient Phoe-
nicians, as explained by Sanchoniathon, the name of
the wind, from which, as well as from his wife,
Baau or Night, arose Life or ..Eon, and the First
Bera or creation. The meaning of this myth, ac-
cording to Rougemont, is, that the voice or Spirit of
God (Colpia), in moving over the formless and empty
earth (Baau), has given rise, in the first place, to life
in material things.

COMBADAXUS, a deity worshipped in Japan.
He was a bonze or priest, of whom the following
strange story is told. When he was about eighty
years old, he ordered a magnificent temple to be
built, and pretending to be weary of life, he gave out
that he would retire into a cavern and sleep for ten
thousand millions of years ; after which he would
come to life again. Accordingly, he went into the
cavern, the mouth of which was immediately sealed
up. The Japanese believe that he is still alive, and
therefore celebrate a festival in his honour, and in-
voke him as a god.

COMBAT (Judicial). See Battle (Trial by)

COMFORTED (The), one of the two classes, the
consolati or comforted, and t\i& fcederati or confederat-
ed, into which the Manichean congregations were an
ciently divided. The Albigenses (which see) clas-
sified their people in precisely the same way, and
the " comforted" in the Albigensian church led a life
of celibacy and of strict austerity.

COMMANDRIES, the name given to the houses
of the knights hospitallers, an order of ecclesiastical
knighthood which was instituted in the twelfth cen-
tury.

COMMATRES (Lat. con, together, and mater, a
mother), a term sometimes used in ancient writers to
denote sponsors in baptism.

COMMEMORATION OF THE DEAD. See
Anniversaries.

COMMEMORATIONS, a word used in the
church of Rome to denote the combination of the
service of some holyday of lesser note with the ser-
vice of some Sunday or greater holyday on which
the lesser holyday happens to fall. In all such cases
the Breviary enjoins that the hymns, verses, and
some other parts of the service of the lesser holyday
should be added to those of the greater. See Festi-
vals.

COMMENDAM, an ecclesiastical term used in
England to denote a living commended by the crown
to the care of a clergyman until a proper pastor has
been appointed to it. Such interim appointments
have for some time been seldom or never granted to
any but bishops, who, when their bishoprics were ot
small value, have, on some occasions, been allowed
by special dispensation to hold their benefices, which,
on their promotion, passed into the hands of the
sovereign.

COMMENDATIONS, one of the names given in
the Latin church to Collects (which see).

COMMENDATORY LETTERS. In the early
Christian church no Christian would venture to tra-
vel without taking with him letters of credence from
his own bishop, if he meant to communicate with
the Christian church in a foreign country. The let-
ters, which were called commendatory, were such as
were only granted to persons of quality, or else per-
sons whose reputation had been called in question, or
clergymen who had occasion to travel into foreign
countries. Persons travelling without these letters
might partake of the charity of the church in a foreign
country, but were refused permission to sit down at
the Lord's table. Dr. Sherlock says, in his treatise
on Church Unity, " The ancient discipline was very
severe in admitting strangers who were unknown to
them, to the communion, lest they should admit here-
tics or schismatics, or excommunicated persons ; and,
therefore, if any such came who could not produce
their recommendatory letters, but pretended to have
lost them by the way, they were neither admitted to
communion nor wholly refused, but, if occasion were,
maintained by the church till such letters could be

COMMENDATORY PRAYER— COMMON PRAYER.

565

procured from the church from whence they came,
which was called the communio peregrina." In the
apostolical canons it was expressly provided, that if
any strange bishops, presbyters, or deacons, travelled
without commendatory letters, they should neither
be allowed to preach uor be received to communion,
but only have what was necessary to answer their
present wants, that is, a charitable subsistence.

COMMENDATORY PRAYER, a name given to
the morning thanksgiving, as it is called in the con-
stitutions, which was offered by the bishop or pas-
tor in the early Christian church towards the close
of the morning service. The prayer, as given by
Bingham in his 'Christian Antiquities,' is as fol-
lows : " 0 God, the God of spirits and of all flesh,
with whom no one can compare, whom no one can
approach, tna' givest the sun to govern the day, and
the moon and stars to govern the night ; look down
upon us with the eyes of thy favour, and receive our
morning thanksgivings, and have mercy on us. For
we have not spread forth our hands to any strange
god. For there is not any new god among us, but
thou, our eternal and immortal God, who' hast given
us our being through Christ, and our well-being
through him also. Vouchsafe by him to bring us to
everlasting life ; with whom unto thee be glory,
honour, and adoration, in the Holy Ghost, world
without end. Amen." The African councils speak
of prayers used at the funerals of the dead, which
were also called commendatory prayers, being such
as were offered when the body was committed to the
ground.

COMMINATION, a public denunciation or threat-
ening of God's vengeance upon sinners. There is an
ancient office, called the Comminution, in the Church
of England, which is appointed to be read on the first
day of Lent or Ash-Wednesday, and at other times
as the ordinary shall appoint.

COMMINISTKI, the presbyters in the early
Christian church who assisted in the administration
of the sacraments. Subsequently they regularly
administered the ordinances themselves. See El-
ihxs (Christian).

COMMISSARY, an officer in the Church of Eng-
land who exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction in
places of the dioeese so far distant from the chief
city, that the chancellor cannot summon the people
to the bishop's principal consistory court without
great inconvenience to them.

COMMON PRAYER (Book of), the liturgy of
the Church of England, to the use of which in public
worship, every clergyman is bound by the Act of Uni-
formity to adhere; and, besides, he subscribes a de-
claration to the effect, "That be himself will use the
form in the said Book prescribed, in public prayer and
idministration of the sacraments, and none other."
Previous to the reign of Edward VI., when the Liturgy
was rirst performed in English, the ritual had con-
sisted of a collection of Latin prayers, made appartlj
of some ancient forms used in the primitive church,

and partly of some of a later original accommodated
to the Romish church. Compiled at Rome, where
the Latin tongue was spoken, the prayers had re-
mained untranslated, even though the Latin had be-
come a dead language. In 1547 the Convocation,
and afterwards the Parliament, took into their con-
sideration the subject of the communion, the Roman-
ists having withheld the cup from the laity ever
since the council of Constance in 1414, on pretence
that part of the transubstantiated wine was in danger
of being spilt. A change, however, on this point,
had come over the minds of Christian men in Eng-
land, and an authoritative act was passed, first by the
clergy, and then by the Legislature, enjoining all
persons to receive the sacrament in both kinds. The
reformation of the communion led immediately to
other improvements. Among these, one of the most
important was the appointment of a committee of
the clergy to prepare " an uniform order for the com-
munion according to the rules of Scripture, and the
use of the primitive church." This having been
accomplished to the satisfaction of the public gen-
erally, the same persons were empowered in 1548
by another commission to compose a new Liturgy,
which was completed in a few months, and included
the new office for the communion. The committee
to whom this task had been intrusted, was presided
over by Archbishop Cranmer, and included eleven of
the most eminent clergymen of the period, including
Ridley the martyr. Drawn up by a body of men so
highly qualified for the task, the Liturgy was ap-
proved, confirmed, and published by the King and
Parliament, and is called ' The First Book of Ed-
ward VI.'

In the course of three years after its preparation,
Cranmer proposed to revise the Liturgy, and having
called to his aid Martin Bucer and Peter Martyr, two
eminent Continental divines, he produced a new edi-
tion, with considerable alterations, consisting chiefly ot
the addition of the sentences, exhortation, confession
and absolution at the beginning of the morning and
evening services ; which in the first Common Prayer
Book began with the Lord's Prayer. The other
changes were the removing of some ceremonies con-
tained in the former book ; as the use of oil in bap-
tism ; the unction of the sick ; prayers for souls de-
parted ; omitting the order for mixing water with the
wine, and several others. The vestments also pre-
scribed by the former book were directed to be dis-
used, and the practice of kneeling at the sacrament
was explained. In this improved form the Liturgy
was again confirmed by Parliament in 1552, and thus
amended, it is frequently called ' The Second Book
of Edward VI.' In the following year both this and
the former act were repealed, Queen Mary, who had
now succeeded to the throne, being resolved to re-
store Romanism in England. This 6tate of matters,
however, was but of short duration, for in 1559, soon
after the accession of Elizabeth, a statute passed t lie
Legislature restoring the English service; and a

5tj(i

COMMUNION.

other committee of learned divines was appointed to
review King Edward's Liturgies, and to frame from
them a Book of Common Prayer for the use of the
Church of England. In the list of commissioners on
this important occasion, occurs the name of Matthew
Parker, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury ; but
the chief management of the undertaking is supposed
(o have devolved upon Mr. Edward Guest, a very
learned man, and subsequently almoner to the Queen
ind Bishop of Salisbury. At the outset the diffi-
culty arose, which of the two former Liturgies ought
to be received. This point occasioned considerable
discussion ; but at length King Edward's Second
Book was adopted, and its use was accordingly au-
thorized by Parliament ; with the addition of certain
Lessons to be read on every Sunday in the year, the
form of the Litany altered and revised, and two sen-
tences added in delivering the sacrament. The al-
teration in the Litany consisted in omitting the
words, " From the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome
and all his detestable enormities," which occurred in
both the books of King Edward : and the adding
these words to the first petition for the Queen,
" Strengthen in the true worshipping of thee in righ-
teousness and holiness of life." The sentences insert-
ed at the delivery of the sacrament consisted of " the
body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for
thee;" and "The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul
to everlasting life." These were adopted out of
King Edward's first book, and were the whole forms
then in use; though they were omitted in the second,
the form of which was also adopted. A few other
variations from this second book were also made.
Thus an alteration was introduced into the direction
concerning the chancels and proper places for read-
ing divine service ; the vestments ordered in the
first book were restored; two prayers for the Queen
and clergy were added to the end of the Litany ; and
a note at the end of the communion service explana-
tory of the presence was omitted. The design of
this last alteration was to promote uniformity, in ac-
cordance with the Queen's wishes, and, therefore, the
question as to the real presence of Christ in the sa-
crament was left as an indeterminate point. The
Book of Common Prayer thus completed, continued
in use until the first year of James I., when some
forms of thanksgiving were added, and the Cate-
chism was enlarged on the subject of the sacraments.
In the reign of Charles II., the Liturgy was again
slightly altered, and unanimously subscribed by both
Houses of Convocation of both provinces, on the
20th December, 1661. And in the same year, the
Parliament passed the Act of Uniformity in Public
Worship, which is binding upon all ministers of the
Church of England ; and although various proposals
have been made from time to time to revise the Book
of Common Prayer, it remains to this day in precisely
the same state in which it was left by the Second
Charles.

The strictest adherence to this prescribed formulary
of the Church of England is enjoined by the canons on
all the clergy. Thus it is expressly declared in the
fourth canon : " Whosoever shall affirm, that the form
of God's worship in the Church of England, establish-
ed by law, and contained in the Book of Common
Prayer and administration of the sacraments, is a
corrupt, superstitious, or unlawful worship of God, or
eontaineth any thing in it that is repugnant to the
Scriptures; let him be excommunicated ipno facto,
and not restored but by the bishop of the place, or
archbishop, after his repentance and public revoca-
tion of such his wicked errors." And again, " If any
minister, after he has subscribed to the Book of
Common Prayer, shall omit to use the form of
prayer, or any of the orders or ceremonies prescribed
in the Communion Book, let him be suspended ; and
if after a month he does not reform and submit him-
self, let him be excommunicated ; and then, if he
shall not submit himself within the space of another
month, let him be deposed from the ministry."

The Scotch Episcopal Church, since the days oi
Queen Anne, have adopted the Book of Common
Prayer, and use it not only in the Morning and
Evening services, but also in the occasional offices,
except when celebrating the eucharist, on which oc-
casion the Scotch communion office is generally
read.

The Protestant Episcopal Church of America
adopted in 1789 a somewhat modified form of the
Book of Common Prayer, differing in several parti-
culars from the service book of the Church of Eng-
land. 1. A shorter form of absolution is allowed to
be used instead of the English one, which, however,
is retained, and is most generally recited in divine
service. 2. The Athanasian Creed is omitted, while
the Nicene Creed is retained. 3. In the office of
baptism, the sign of the cross may be dispensed with
if requested. 4. The marriage service has been con
siderably abridged. 5. In the funeral service some
expressions in the English Prayer Book, which havt
been considered liable to misconstruction, are altered
or omitted. In addition to these alterations, a
change was of course introduced into the prayers for
rulers, in consequence of the peculiar form of gov-
ernment in the United States. There may be also a
few other verbal changes of minor importance whick
it is unnecessary to mention.

COMMUNION. This word in its strict accepta-
tion implies the sharing of something along with an-
other, and in a more general sense, agreement, fel-
lowship or friendly intercourse. Hence the word
communion is used by a very natural transition ta
denote the Lord's Supper, which is a fellowship oi
participation on the part of believers in the great
benefits accruing from the broken body and shed
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. In its wider and
more extended signification, communion is held by
the believer when at the Lord's table with the whole
body of Christ's people, who are all equally inter-

COMMUNION.

5fi7

ested in his death ; but in its narrower and more
restricted meaning, it denotes fellowslup with a par-
ticular congregation or community of Christians.
Accordingly the term communion is sometimes used
to signify any limited sect or denomination of Chris-
tians. So strong, however, was the impression of
the early Christians, that the Lord's Supper was a
feast of communion with the whole of Christ's peo-
ple, that they held it might be celebrated by the
absent as well as the present ; and, accordingly, they
were in the habit of sending by the hands of the
deacons portions of the sacred elements to their bre-
thren, who from sickness or imprisonment were un-
able to attend.

COMMUNION (Clerical), an expression which
sometimes occurs in early Christian writers, and is
intended in opposition to Lay Communion (see
Communion, Lay), to denote the full exercise of all
the duties of the clerical office. Hence, when a
clergyman was for any offence deprived of clerical
communion, he was excluded from those special
honours and privileges which belong to the sacred
function. This was called also ecclesiastical com-
munion. See Lord's Supper.

( !< iMMUNION (Free). The churches and Chris-
tian communities which adhere to the practice of
free, catholic, open or mixed communion, are such as
hold that the evidence of Christian character is the
only indispensable prerequisite to admission to the
Lord's Table. About forty years since, an earnest
discussion aiMse in England between the Baptists
and l'xdobaptists as to what are usually described
as the terms of communion, or the special conditions
of admission to the Lord's Supper. The controversy
chiefly turned upon the point whether or not bap-
tism was an essential prerequisite. The doctrine of
free communion was advocated by Mr. Robert Hall,
while Mr. Fuller entered the lists as the champion
of strict, close, primitive, or church communion.
The argument was conducted with great ability on
both sides. The positions which Mr. Hall maintained
in support of his view of the subject were briefly
these : " 1. The baptism of John was a separate insti-
tution from that appointed by Christ after his resur-
rection; from which it follows that the Lord's sup-
per was anterior to Christian baptism, and that the
original communicants consisted entirely of such as
had not received that ordinance. 2. Thai there is
no such connexion, either in the nature of things, or
by the divine institution, between baptism ami the
eucharist, as renders it, under all circumstances, in-
dispensable that the former should precede the lat-
ter. 3. That admitting this to be the prescribed
order, and to be sanctioned by the uniform practice
of the apostles, the case of pious Pn dobaptists is a
new case, calling for some peculiar treatment, in
which we ought to regard rather the spirit than the
letter of apostolic precedent. 4. That a schism in
the church, the mystical body of Christ, is deprecat-
ed in the New Testament as the greatest evil. 5.

That a reception to church fellowship of all such as
God has received, notwithstanding a diversity of
opinion and practice in matters not essential to'Bal-
vation, is expressly enjoined in the New Testament.
Rom. xiv. 1 — 5; xv. 1, 5 — 7. 6. That to withhold
the Lord's supper from those with whom we unite
in other acts of Christian worship, is a palpable in-
consistency. And lastly, That it is as impolitic as
it is illiberal ; being calculated to awaken a powerful
prejudice, and place beyond the reach of conviction
our Psedobaptist brethren, and to engender among
the Baptists themselves a narrow and sectarian feel-
ing, wholly opposed to the enlarged spirit of the pre-
sent age."

COMMUNION (Infant). The custom prevailed
for many ages in the Christian church of administer-
ing the communion to infants ; and as persons at so
early an age were incapable of eating the bread, the
practice was early adopted of dipping it in wine, and
pressing a drop or two into the mouth of the babe.
The reason which Cyprian assigned for this custom
was, " that the grace of God bestowed upon the sub-
jects of baptism was given without measure, and
without any limitation as to age." Augustine
strongly advocates this practice, and in its favour he
adduces John vi. 53, " Except ye eat the flesh of the
Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in
you," a passage which was afterwards quoted with
the same application by Paschasius Radbert in the
ninth century. From the period of the general in-
troduction of infant baptism, the Lord's Supper con-
tinued to be administered to all who had been bap-
tized, whether infants or adults. The custom of in-
fant communion prevailed for several centuries. It
is mentioned in the third council of Tours, A. D. 813,
and even the council of Trent, A. d. 1545, instead of
discountenancing it, only declared that it should not
be considered essential to salvation. It is still
scrupulously observed by the Greek church.

COMMUNION (Lay). It was accounted in the
primitive Christian church the highest privilege of a
layman to partake of the communion ; but it was a
severe rebuke for any one who held the clerical office
to be again degraded to the condition of a layman,
and to be required to communicate as a layman at
the table of the Lord. This was regarded as a kind
of mitigated excommunication. The man on whom
the church inflicted this punishment for any offence,
was excluded from the body of the clergy, and re-
duced to the condition of a layman, and his partak-
ing of the Lord's Supper was termed a lay commu-
nion. Bellarmine alleges, that such a communion
was only in one kind, such being the meaning at
present attached to the expression lay communion
in the Church of Rome. But this is taking for
granted that the practice of denying the cup to the
Lei-, existed in the early Christian church, while
there is not the slightest trace of it to be found in
ili> ancient writers. Other authors again limit the
meaning of lay communion to the punishment 01

5Ci8

COMMUNION.

being compelled to communicate among laymen
outside the rails of a chancel. Such a restriction of
its signification, however, is wholly unwarranted, and
the only adequate idea of what is involved in reduc-
ing a clergyman to lay communion, is the totally
degrading him, and depriving him of his orders, that
is, of his clerical office and function, and reducing
him to the simple condition of a layman. In this
case they were not only deprived of the order and
office, the power and authority, but even of the
name and title of clergymen. They were accord-
ingly, after such a sentence, reputed and treated as
private Christians, wholly divested of all their former
dignity and clerical powers and privileges. Very
few instances are on record of clergymen thus de-
graded beiug recalled to the clerical office again,
which indeed was never done but upon some great
emergency or very pressing reason.

COMMUNION SERVICE, the office in the
liturgy of the Church of England, for the adminis-
tration of the eucharist or sacrament of the Lord's
Supper. It was extracted out of several ancient lit
urgies, as those of St. Basil, St. Ambrose, and St.
Gregory, but considerably modified by Martin Bu-
cer, who was brought over from Germany to assist
in revising the Liturgy. At one time the commu-
nion service was used in a distinct form, and at a dif-
ferent time from the morning prayer, and Bishop
Overall attributes it to the negligence of the minis-
ters and carelessness of the people, that they have
been combined into one office. It is appointed by
the rubric to be read, in part at least, on every Sun-
day and holiday.

The communion office of the Scottish Episcopal
Church differs from the communion office of the
Prayer Book of the Church of England. It main-
tains the doctrine of the commemorative sacrifice of
the holy eucharist, and asserts that Christ is verily
and indeed present in the Lord's Supper, and taken
and received by the faithful. The Book of Common
Prayer has been universally adopted among the
Scotch Episcopalians since 1712, and has been uni-
formly used not only in the morning and evening
services, but also in all the occasional offices except-
ing the celebration of the eucharist, when the Scotch
communion office is generally adopted. This office,
the use of which is entirely limited to the body for
which it was composed, was authorized by Charles
I., and is formed on the model of the office in the
first Liturgy of Edward VI.

COMMUNION (Strict). The general opinion
and practice of all ages have gone to favour the prin-
ciple now held in almost all Christian churches, that
to entitle any person to admission to the Lord's table
something more is necessary than evidence of con-
version or Christian character, which is the only pre-
requisite according to the adherents of Free Commu-
nion. Hence the advocates of Strict Communion
have always maintained that not only baptism, but
*"»mdness in the faith, and a regular, consistent

walk and conversation were scriptural and indispen-
sable terms of communion. In the keen controversy
which took place a number of years ago in the Bap-
tist churches of England, the doctrine of Strict Com-
munion was ably supported by Mr. J. G. Fuller, in
his ' Conversations on Strict and Mixed Communion.'
The chief positions which he seeks to establish, in
conducting the argument against Mr. Hall, are
briefly these : " 1. That all the arguments which are
used to destroy the identity of baptism as practised
by John and the apostles before the death of Christ,
with that practised afterwards, amount only to prcot
of a circumstantial not an essential difference, and
cannot therefore warrant the inferences of Mr. Hall
in any one point. — 2. That the commission of our
Lord (Matth. xxviii. 19, 20), furnishes the same evi-
dence that baptism is an indispensable prerequisite
to external church fellowship, as that faith is an in-
dispensable prerequisite to baptism. — 3. That the
uniform example of the apostles is an inspired ex-
planation of the commission under which they acted,
and a pattern intended for the instruction of the
church in all succeeding ages. — 4. That strict confor-
mity to the commission of Christ, thus explained, is
not schism, but the only possible mode of restoring
and perpetuating Christian union. — 5. That the mu-
tual forbearance enjoined on Christians in the New
Testament related to matters of real indifference, not
involving the surrender of any positive institution of
Christ ; and is therefore inapplicable to the present
case. — 6. That to unite with Psedobaptist brethren in
all such acts of worship and benevolent effort as do
not imply an abandonment of the commission, is not
an inconsistency, but the dictate of Christian charity.
— And, lastly, That to whatever imputations a strict
adherence to the commission of Christ may subject
the Baptist churches, it is better to suffer them than
to sin ; and that a deviation in deference to modem
error, however conscientiously maintained, is neithei
charity nor Christian wisdom, since ' whatever is right
is wise.' Clu-istians may cordially unite in the evan-
gelization of the world, but they do not, nor can they
without a change of sentiments, unite in the consti-
tution of their churches."

COMMUNION (Terms of). Our Lord, hi in-
stituting the ordinance of the Supper, showed clearly
for whom it was intended by administering it to
his disciples. If we examine the corresponding
ordinance under the Old Testament, which is
well known to have been the Passover, we shall
find that its administration was limited to the Is-
raelites, and those who had joined themselves to
them by submitting to circumcision. Thus, in re-
gard to strangers, the law was explicit, Exod. xii.
48, " And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee,
and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his
males be circumcised, and then let him come near
and keep it ; and he shall be as one that is born in
the land : for no uncircumcised person shall eat
thereof." It is plain, therefore, that circumcision was

COMMUNION.

5G9

an indispensable qualification for partaking of the
passover, and from this it is argued by analogy that
baptism, which has come in the place of circumcision,
is equally necessary to entitle a person to sit down at
the table of the Lord. On this point, as to which, up to
within the last half century, there had never been a
doubt, a controversy raged for some time among the
English Baptists: the one party, headed by Mr. Hall,
contending for the duty of free communion, or
lite open admission of Psedobaptists to the commu-
nion with Baptists; the other party, headed by Mr.
Fuller, contending for the duty of strict commun-
ion, and, therefore, arguing in favour of baptism as
an indispensable qualification for partaking of the
Lord's Supper. The latter opinion is that which has
almost universally been maintained in Christian
churches, and, accordingly, in case of an unbaptized
person applying for admission to the eucharist, it is
the invariable practice to dispense the ordinance of
baptism previously to the individual being allowed
to take his place at the Lord's table. Baptism, how-
ever, is not the only term of communion. It is
generally demanded of candidates for the Lord's ta-
ble, in addition to the qualification of previous bap-
tism, that they show a competent measure of know-
ledge, profess their faith in Christ, and possess a
character in accordance with their profession. The
English Church Catechism, in reply to the question,
" What is required of them who come to the Lord's
Supper?" answers, " To examine themselves whether
they repent them truly of their former sins, stead-
fastly purposing to lead a new life; have a lively
faith in God's mercy through Christ, with a thank-
ful remembrance of his death; and be in charity
with all men." To the same effect, the 29th article
of the same church declares, " The wicked, and such
as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally
and visibly press with their teeth, as St. Augustine
saith, the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ,
yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ, but ra-
ther to their condemnation do eat and drink the
sign or sacrament of so great a thing." The West-
minster Confession of Faith, also, which is the sym-
bol or authoritative standard of the Presbyterian
churches, is equally explicit on this point, asserting
" AM ignorant and ungodly persons, as they are un-
fit to enjoy communion with him (Christ), so are
they unworthy of the Lord's table, and cannot, with-
out great sin against Christ, while they remain such,
partake of these holy mysteries, or be admitted
'thereunto." Such then are the individuals who, in
the judgment of the church, are entitled to admis-
sion to the table of the Lord. If it be asked,
however, who they are that, in the sight of God,
are qualified to partake of this holy ordinance, the
reply is, that believers alone have a right to this
privilege. Yet even believers themselves are not
always in a state of preparedness for the Lord's
Supper. Their graces may be in a very low state,
ind their consciences wounded by sin, and, therefore,

it is their duty to humble themselves in unfeigneo
repentance before engaging in this solemn ordinance.
Hence the necessity of the apostolic exhortation,
" Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat ol
this bread and drink of this cup." The duty to
which the apostle thus calls all who would partake
worthily of the Lord's Supper, involves a serious and
searching inquiry both as to their habitual character
and their present spiritual state.

COMMUNION OF STRANGERS. Travellers
and strangers, in the early ages of the Christian church,
unless they had testimonials certifying to their regidar
standing as recognized members of the church, were
treated as if they were under censure, not being al-
lowed the privileges of full communion, though per-
mitted to receive maintenance from the funds of the
church if they required it. Clergymen under cen-
sure were sometimes treated in this way. They
were placed in the same relation as strangers, which
was denoted by the Latin phrase comnainio perer/rina.
In these circumstances they could neither officiate
nor be present at the celebration of the Lord's Sup-
per until they had given the prescribed satisfaction.

COMMUNION TABLE, on which the elements
are laid in celebrating the Lord's Supper. It was
at first a plain moveable table made of wood, and
covered with a white cloth. Altars, as the com-
munion tables came to be called, were wrought
from stone in the time of Constantine, and in the
Western church were required by ecclesiastical au-
thority in the beginning of the sixth century. The
stone altars were no longer moveable, but fixed, anil
decorated with crimson cloth. This change in the
construction of the communion table, and the appli-
cation to it of the term altar, did not take place
before Christianity had been corrupted from its ori-
ginal simplicity, and men began to consider the
Lord's Supper in the light of a sacrifice. The cus-
tom of covering the table with white linen is of great
antiquity. It is first mentioned by Optatus. and
several other authors allude to the practice. There
is no doubt that, at its first institution, the eucharist
was celebrated by our Lord and his disciples seated
around a table, and the Apostle Paul contrasts " the
Lord's table" with "the table of devils." In regard
to the use of a table in this ordinance, there has long
been a difference of opinion botween the Presbyte-
rians and others. " In the Westminster Assembly,"
savs liaillie, "the Independents occupied them no
less than three weeks in debating the point of sit-
ting at a communion table. The unhappy Inde-
pendents would mangle that sacrament. No cate-
chizing nor preparation before; no thanksgiving after ;
no sacramental doctrine nor chapters in the day of
celebration; no coming up to any table, but a car-
rying of the elements to all in their seats athwart
the church." The distribution of the elements to
communicants not seated at a table, but in their ordi-
nary pews, has more recently been adopted both in
llritain ami America, by many Presbyterian as well
2 R

570

COMMUNICANT— COMFETEXTES.

as Congregationalist churches. Episcopalians of
every order avoid a table altogether, and partake
of the elements kneeling before the altar, while the
Romish church, believing in the transubstantiation of
the bread and wine into the body, blood, soul, and
divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, consider the mass,
as they term the eucharist, to be a sacrifice for the
quick and the dead.

COMMUNICANT, one who is admitted by a
Christian church to partake of the elements of bread
and wine at the Lord's table. For the principles
on which the admission proceeds, see Communion
(Teems of).

COMMUNICATIVE LIFE, that form of monas-
ticism in which the individual professing to be a
religious retains possession of his worldly property,
and uses the proceeds of it for the advantage of
the brethren. It is opposed to the Renunciative
Life which renounces the world.

COMMUNITY OF GOODS. It is asserted by
Luke concerning the first converts to Christianity,
Acts iv. 32, " And the multitude of them that be-
lieved were of one heart and of one soul : neither
said any of them that ought of the things which he
possessed was his own ; but they had all things com-
mon." The precise nature of this community of
property has given rise to no small dispute among
ecclesiastical writers. An opinion prevailed in an-
cient times, though not before the fourth century,
that in the church of Jerusalem, of which the sacred
historian is directly speaking, there was a similar
community of possessions to that which existed
among the ancient Essenes, and still professedly
exists among modem monks. This idea, however,
is altogether unwarranted by the whole tenor of the
sacred narrative. The apostle Peter is introduced
reproving Ananias for withholding a portion of his
property from the common fund, but in Acts v. 4,
he reminds the guilty man that it was in his own
power either to sell or to retain his property, and
that even after the sale he might contribute to the
common stock what he thought proper. The crime
lay, as is evident from the terms of the narrative,
in his falsehood. Proceeding a little farther on in
the history, we find, Acts vi., assistance given to the
widows, but by no means from a common store col-
lected for the support of the whole community.
Mosheim, accordingly, may be considered as having
put the matter on a proper footing when he asserts
that " the declaration of Luke should not be under-
stood as it generally has been of their possessing in
common, but only of their using in common." Their
minds were so completely pervaded by brotherly
love, that they were led to consider their property
to be at the service of their Christian brethren as
they might require it. Under the influence of this
spirit a common fund was established, which was at
first placed under the management of the apostles,
and out of which the common and necessary ex-
penses were defrayed, and the wants of the poorer

members supplied. In this view of the subject,
Heumann, Mosheim, and Neander fully agree.

COMMUTATION OF PENANCE. See Pen-
ance.

COMPASS. Father Le Comte, in describing the
superstitious practices of the Chinese, says, they paid
divine adoration to the compass, burnt little odorif-
erous balls to its honour, and offered meats and
sacrifices to it. They threw gilded paper punctually
twice a-day into the sea to attract its favour, and
win it to be propitious.

COMPASSIVITY, a term used in Romanist
writers to express the feelings of a saint on behold-
ing in a vision the sufferings of Christ, whereby his
soul is transpierced with the sword of a compassive
pain ; thus literally enduring the passion of Christ.
Such a vision is set before him, "that he may
be premonished that he is about to be transformed
entirely, not by the martyrdom of the flesh, but by
the burning of the soul into the express similitude of
Jesus Christ crucified."

COMPETENTES, the name given to an order of
catechumens in the early Christian church, denoting;
the immediate candidates of baptism, or such as
gave in their names, expressing their desire to be
baptized at the next approaching festival. In tl it-
act of petitioning for this favour, they received the
name of competentes. When their names were given
in, and their petition accepted, then both they
and their sponsors were registered in the books of
the church, or diptychs, as they were called. The
examination of the proficiency they had made in the
preceding stages of their course as catechumens,
followed immediately upon the enrolment of their
names. Those who, on examination, were approved,
received the name of electi or chosen. For twenty
days before baptism they were exorcised (see Exor-
cism), and required to practise abstinence and fast-
ing. According!}', the fourth council of Carthage
enjoins, " Let such as give in their names to be bap-
tized be exercised a long time with abstinence from
wine and flesh, and with imposition of hands, and
frequent examination, and so let them receive their
baptism." At this time also the competentes were
taught the words of the Creed, which they were
obliged to repeat at their la6t examination before
baptism. Along with the Creed, they were taught
how to make the proper responses as to their renun-
ciation of the devil, and their engagement to serve
Christ. They were required to go veiled, or with
their faces covered for some days before baptism,
that their minds might be fully at liberty to ponder
the responsibility of their position, and that their
solemn meditations might not be interrupted by the
wandering of the eyes. Ancient authors inform us,
that they were also subjected to the double cere-
mony of touching the ears, and anointing the eyes
with clay, implying the opening of the ears to receive
the truth, and of the eyes to behold it in its trui
spiritual meaning. See Catechumens.

COMPITALIA -CONCEPTION (Immaculate).

571

COMPITALES (Lares). See Lares.

COMPITALIA, a festival celebrated annually by
the ancient Romans, at the places where two ways
met, in honour of the Lares Cumpitales. This fes-
tival is said to have been first instituted by Tar-
quinius Priscus, and having fallen into disuse, it was
restored by Tarquinius Superbus. In the time of
Augustus it was again revived, after having been
lost sight of for a time. The compitalia were ob-
served generally in winter, in the month of Jan-
uary.

COMPLETOPJUM, the last of the seven can-
onical hours (which see), or fixed times of prayer
in the ancient Christian church. The completorium
was at bed-time, when the day was completed, aud
hence the name.

COMPLINE, another name for the last of the
canonical hours. See preceding article.

COMPLUTENSIAN VERSION, an edition of
the New Testament in the original Greek, which was
printed at Complutum or Alcala in Spain, in A. D.
1514, but was not published till some years after. It
was prepared and published under the patronage of
Cardinal Ximenes. Though the manuscripts which
the editors used are lost, they are generally believed
to have belonged to the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
fifteenth centuries, and, therefore, could not have
been of great value. In the preparation of this edi-
tion, some changes are generally believed to have
been introduced in conformity with the Vulgate.
See Bible.

COMPREHENSION BILL, a measure which
was introduced into the English Parliament in the
reign of King Charles II. in 1667. It was designed
by Sir Orlando Bridginan, to pave the way for the
admission of Protestant Dissenters into the commu-
nion of the Established church. With this view it
proposed to relax the rigid terms of the Act of Uni-
formity, and to dispense with the practice of kneel-
ing at the sacrament, and also with the practice of
making the sign of the cross in baptism. This Bill
passed the House of Lords, but was lost in the Com-
mons. Another attempt to accomplish the same
object was made by Tillotson and Stillingrleet in
1674, but although the terms proposed met the
wishes of the Nou conformists, the bishops refused
their assent to the measure, and thus it dropped.
The scheme was again revived after the Revolution
in 1G88, in accordance with the earnest wishes of
William and Mary, hut to no purpose, and the Act
of Toleration was obtained. The comprehension
scheme which these royal personages had so much at
heart, was extended to Scotland, where, through a
pliant General Assembly, t lie Episcopal clergy were
admitted in considerable numbers into the national
Presbyterian Church. "Their admission," to use
the language of Dr. Hethcrington, " was the most
fatal event which ever occurred in the strange event-
ful history of that church. It infused baneful poison
into her very heart, whence ere long flowed forth a

lethal stream, corrupting and paralyzing her whole
frame. It sowed the noxious seed, which gradually
sprung up and expanded into the deadly upas-free of
Moderatism, shedding a mortal blight over the whole
of her once fair and fruitful vineyard, till it withered
into a lifeless wilderness." In 1692, William, being
resolved to carry out his plans as far as he possibly
could, conveyed to the General Assembly his plea-
sure, that those of the Episcopalian persuasion who
were willing to sign the Confession of Faith should
not only retain their churches and benefices, but also
be admitted to sit and act in church judicatories;
and that the Commission of Assembly should be
composed one half of Presbyterians, and the other
half of these admitted prelatists. The church, how-
ever, firmly refused to accede to the wishes of the
king. Another act was passed on the 12th of June
of the following year, having the principle of " com-
prehension" as its object, with the proviso, that if
the General Assembly should refuse to admit to a
share in the government of the church those of the
prelatists who might apply for it, his Majesty would
not attempt to compel the Assembly to admit them,
but would secure to them the possession of their
churches, manses, and stipends. For a time this act
was not carried into actual operation, but in the
course of a series of years its consequences became
but too apparent, in the numbers of irrebgious and
unprincipled men who sought and found admission
into the church. The combination of the indulged
ministers and the prelatic incumbents, which was
brought about by the "comprehension scheme" ot
King William, maybe considered as the main source
of the calamities which have so frequently overtaken
the National Church of Scotland.

COMPROMISE (Election by), one of the
modes in which a Pope is elected. It sometimes
happens when the cardinals fail to agree as to one
particular individual, that they engage by mutual
compromise to refer the matter to some cardinals in
whom they have confidence, binding themselves to
nominate the person as Pope on whom the arbiters
shall fix. This mode of election seldom requires to
be resorted to. See POPE.

COMUS, in ancient Pagan mythology, the god ot
mirth and hilarity. Ho is represented as a young
man full of wine, and with every appearance of being
under its intoxicating influence.

CONCEPTION (IMMACULATE), a doctrine main-
tained both in the Romish and Greek churches, that
the Virgin Mary was conceived in the womb of her
mother without the slightest stain of sin, and in the
same state of purity in which Christ was conceived
in her womb. On this subject a public controversy
arose about A. D. 1140. Long before this, Mary had
hern considered as sinless, but not as conceived
without sin. It was reserved for the canons of
Lyons in France to project this doctrine, and to in-
stitute a festival in commemoration of it. The novel
tenet was no sooner propounded than it met with

572

CONCEPTION (Immaculate).

Btout resistance from St. Bernard, and other theolo-
gians of the twelfth century. The festival sought
to be introduced was pronounced an unwarranted inno-
vation, and while it gained ground in the thirteenth
century, it is not unworthy of notice, that whenever
the writers of that time speak of the feast, it is de-
scribed as the feast of the conception, not of the
immaculate conception. Thomas Aquinas attacked
the doctrine with so much logical acuteness and
power, that he had almost silenced its founders, when
Duns Scotus, opposing the Dominican on this as
well as on other points, entered the field in defence
of the original sinlessness of Mary. Thus the Im-
maculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, in the
course of the fourteenth century, was adopted as one
of the most prominent doctrines of the Franciscans,
in their keen and protracted disputes with the Domi-
nicans. For centuries they continued to argue upon
the conception of Mary as a favourite dogma, and to
perceive how far the opposing parties carried the bit-
terness of their hostility, we may simply notice the
well-known tragedy of Berne, in the beginning of the
sixteenth century, the details of which are as follows :
" A Dominican monk named Wigand Wirt, preach-
ing at Frankfort a. d. 1507, so violently assailed the
doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Virgin
Mary (the favourite doctrine of the Franciscans),
that he was summoned to Rome to answer for his
conduct. His brethren of the Dominican order in
their convention at Wimpfen formed a plan to aid
liim, and to convince the world that the Franciscan
doctrine of the immaculate conception was false.
Berne was selected for the scene of their operations.
The prior, sub-prior, preacher, and steward of the
Dominican cloister at Berne undertook to get up
miracles and revelations for the occasion. A simple
honest rustic, by the name of John Jetzer, who had
just entered upon his novitiate in the monastery,
was selected as their tool. The sub-prior appeared
to him one night dressed in white, and pretending to
be the ghost of a friar who had been a hundred and
sixty years in purgatory, he wailed and entreated
of Jetzer to afford him aid. Jetzer promised to do
it as far as he was able, and the next morning re-
ported his vision to his superiors. They encouraged
him to go on and to confer freely with the ghost if
he appeared again. A few nights after the ghost
made his appearance, attended by two devils, his
tormentors, and thanked Jetzer for the relaxation of
his sufferings, in consequence of Jetzer's prayers,
fasting, &c. He also instructed Jetzer respecting
the views entertained in the other world concerning
the immaculate conception, and the detention of
some pontiffs and others in purgatory for having per-
secuted the deniers of that doctrine ; and promised
Jetzer that St. Barbara should appear to him and
give him farther instruction. Accordingly the sub-
prior assumed a female garb on a succeeding night, and
appeared to Jetzer. She revealed to him some parts
of his secret history, which the preacher, his confes-

sor, had drawn from him at his confessions. Jetzer
was completely duped. St. Barbara promised that
the Virgin Mary should appear to him. She, on the
sub-prior personating her, did so ; and assured him
that she was not conceived free from original sin,
though she was delivered from it three hours aftei
her birth ; that it was a grievous thing to her to see
that erroneous opinion spread abroad. She blamed
the Franciscans much as being the chief cause of
this false belief. She also announced the destruction
of the city of Berne because the people did not ex-
pel the Franciscans, and cease from receiving a pen-
sion from the French king. She appeared repeat-
edly, gave Jetzer much instruction, and promised to
impress on him the five wounds of Christ, which she
declared were never impressed on St. Francis or any
other person. She accordingly seized his right hand
and thrust a nail through it. This so pained him
that he became restive under the operation, and she
promised to impress the other wounds without giv-
ing him pain. The conspirators now gave him
medicated drugs which stupified him, and then made
the other wounds upon him while senseless. Hitherto
the sub-prior had been the principal actor ; but now
the preacher undertook to personate St. Mary, and
Jetzer knew his voice, and from this time began to
suspect the whole to be an imposition. All attempt?
to hoodwink him became fruitless; he was com-
pletely undeceived. They next endeavoured to bring
him to join voluntarily in the plot. He was per-
suaded to do so. But they imposed upon him such
intolerable austerities, and were detected by him in
such impious and immoral conduct, that he wished
to leave the monastery. They would not let him
go, and were so fearful of his betraying their secret,
which was now drawing crowds to their monastery
and promising them great advantage, that they de-
termined to destroy him by poison. Jetzer, by listen-
ing at their door got knowledge of the fact, and was
so on his guard that they could not succeed, though
they used a consecrated host as the medium of the
poison. He eloped from the monastery and divulged
the whole transaction. The four conspirators were
apprehended, tried for blasphemy and profaning holy
ordinances, delivered over to the civil power, burned
at the stake in 1509, and their ashes cast into the
river near Berne."

The council of Trent, in its decree on original sin,
declared, that the conception of all men in a state of
sin does not include the Virgin Mary. The contro-
versy broke out anew in the university of Paris to-
wards the close of the sixteenth century. In 1708,
Clement XI. appointed a festival to be celebrated
throughout the church, in honour of the immacu-
late conception. From that period until recently,
the doctrine of Mary's original sinlessness was held
as an opinion, not as an article of faith. In 1854,
however, Pius IX., the present Pope, declared this
tenet to be henceforth an article of faith, binding
upon the consciences of all faithful Romanists, and

CONCEPTION OF ST. ANNE— CONCLAVE

573

which dare not be disbelieved or denied under pain
of final condemnation.

CONCEPTION OF ST. ANNE, a festival cele-
brated by the Greek church on the ninth day of
December. This is one of those festivals the ob-
servance of which is obligatory on none but the
monks, though it is understood to be in commemo-
ration of the immaculate conception of the Virgin
Mary. See preceding article.

CONCEPTION OF ST. JOHN THE BAP-
TIST, a festival held by the Greek church on the
23d of September.

CONCEPTION OF OUR LADY (The Order
OF the), a religious order founded in the fifteenth
century by Beatrix de Sylva in Spain. This lady
declared that the Virgin Mary had twice appeared
to her, inspiring her with the design of founding an
order in honour of the immaculate conception. The
order was constituted in 1484, and confirmed by
Pope Innocent VIII. in 1489, who granted them
permission to follow the rule of the Cistercians. The
habit of the nuns consisted of a white gown and
scapulary, with a blue mantle. On their scapulary
they wore the image of the blessed Virgin. After
the death of their foundress, Cardinal Ximenes put
them under the charge of the Franciscans, as being
the most zealous defenders of the doctrine of the im-
maculate conception. It was not until 1507 that
another convent of this order was formed in Spain,
and seven more speedily sprung up, one of them
being at Madrid. The order soon passed into Italy,
and got footing both at Milan and Rome. In the
reign of Louis XIV. of France, we find a convent of
the Clarisses embracing the order of the conception.
The nuns of this order are accustomed, besides the
grand oflice of the Franciscans, to recite on Sundays
and holidays an office of the conception of the Holy
Virgin.

CONCHULA BEMATIS. See Bf.ma.

CONCILIA (Lat. councils), a word which in an-
cient Christian writers often, or rather commonly,
signifies ecclesiastical synods. (See Councils.)
Sometimes, however, it denotes other assemblies, and
particularly the ordinary assemblies of the church
for Divine service, and from the assembly, the word
came also to be applied to the church or building in
which the assembly was convened.

CONCLAMATIO, the cry or lamentation which
the ancient Romans made over their dead. As soon
as the eyes were closed in death, the relatives of
the deceased who happened to be present, called
upon hira by name several times at intervals, re-
peating Ave, hail, or vale, Farewell. Hence when
any atl'air was desperate, the phrase was frequently
used in reference to this practice, conclanuitum est,
all is over. See Dead (Rites connected with
the).

CONCLAVE, the assembly of Cardinals (which
see) convened for the election of a pope. It was in
the fourteenth general council, held at Lyons in A. D.

1274, during the pontificate of Gregory X., that a
decree was passed relative to the election of. a new
pope, by which the cardinals were required to be
shut up in conclave during the election. The doors
were to be carefully watched and guarded, so as to
prevent all improper ingress or egress, and every
thing examined that was carried in, lest it should be
calculated to influence the election. If the election
should not be completed in three days, the cardinals
were to be allowed only one dish for dinner ; and if
protracted a fortnight longer, they were to be limited
to bread, wine, and water. A majority of two-thirds
of the cardinals was required to make a lawful elec-
tion. This celebrated decree, though with some
modifications, has been continued in force till the
present day.

The cardinals are obliged to enter the conclave
ten days after the death of the pope, but they pre-
viously assemble in the Gregorian chapel, where
they hear the mass of the Holy Ghost, after which
a bishop addresses them in a Latin discourse, exhort-
ing them to make choice of a person who is worthy
to fill the chair of the Prince of the Apostles. At
the close of the service the cardinals walk in pro-
cession to the conclave arranged according to their
rank, attended by soldiers, and a vast crowd of peo-
ple, the chorus all the while singing the Veni Creator.
The conclave is usually held in the Vatican, as be-
ing every way the most convenient for the purpose.
The conclave, for the name is applied to the place
in which the cardinals meet, as well as to the assem-
bly itself, is a row of small cells said to be only ten
feet square, made of wainscot, in which the cardinals
are shut up during the election of a pope. Every
cell has some small portion partitioned off for the
conclavists, and it is numbered and drawn for by lot.
The cells are all ranged in one line along the galler-
ies and the hall of the Vatican, but with a small in-
terval or space between them. Over each cell is
placed the arms of the cardinal to whom it belongs.
A long corridor runs between the cells and the win-
dows to admit the light, which shines into the cells
through small i;lass windows placed towards the cor-
ridor. The entrance to the Vatican is carefully
guarded by soldiers while the cardinals are in con-
clave, and neither they, nor those who are shut iq
along with them, can be spoken to, unless at partial
lar hours, and with a loud voice, either in the Ita
ban or the Latin language. The scrutiny is taken
twice every day, morning and afternoon, when each
cardinal passes from his cell to the chapel of the
scrutiny attended by his conclavists. In the chapel
each of the cardinals is dressed in a crimson cloak
with a long train. They are provided with printed
BChe lalea, folded beforehand in a particular manner,
with lilauks to be filled up by each cardinal with his
own name, and that of the person tor whom he votes
Ten small tables are prepared in the chapel, at which
they till up the blanks in the schedule in the pre-
sence of the rest, so that they each see the other*

574

CONCLAVISTS -^ ONCOMITANCE.

.vrite, but without seeing what they write. A de-
putation is sent to the cells of those who are unwell,
and who fill up the schedules in the presence of the
deputation. Each cardinal, on having completed,
folded, and sealed his schedule, carries it in view of all
the rest, and deposits it in a large chalice placed on
the altar of the chapel. As soon as all the schedules
are filled up and put into the chalice, three cardinals
are chosen by lot to act as scrutineers, who count the
schedules, in the first instance, to ascertain whether
the number exactly corresponds with that of the car-
dinals in the conclave. The schedules are then each
of them opened, and the names of the persons voted
for proclaimed aloud, after which the number of
votes for each is declared. If two-thirds of the votes
ace in favour of any particular individual, he is de-
clared to be duly elected ; but if not, the cardinals
proceed to a second vote by Accessus (which see).
The last part of the process is to bum the whole of
the schedules in the presence of the cardinals, and
the smoke made by burning is eagerly watched by
the populace outside, who, as soon as it is seen is-
suing from the chimney, disperse to their homes,
satisfied that the election is not yet completed. The
schedules are burned also when the pope is elected,
but in that case so much time is spent in verifying
the votes, and obtaining the consent of the newly
elected pope, that before the papers are burned, the
guns from the castle of St. Angelo have given notice
of the election.

The ceremony of conveying provisions to the car-
dinals in conclave is thus described by au eye-wit-
ness : " While the conclave sat, I went repeatedly to
see the dinners conveyed to the cardinals, which
takes place every day about noon. Each cardinal's
dinner is attended by eight or ten servants, and two
or three carriages. First come two servants bearing
maces, then two carrying the dinner in a wicker bas-
ket, suspended betwixt two poles, like a sedan chair.
The basket is covered with cloth, having the car-
dinal's arms emblazoned on it. Two or three ser-
vants sometimes follow on foot, and then come the
carriages containing the Dapiferus and his attendants,
with two or more servants behind each.

" Each party on arriving enters the court of the
palace, the Dapiferus and his attendants alight, and
the dinner is carried forward to a room prepared for
the purpose.

" Here is stationed a party of the guardians of the
conclave, both ecclesiastical and military. The room
on one side opens to the court of the palace, and on
the other communicates with the conclave by means
of the Ruote. The ' Ruota' is composed of two up-
right cylinders. The outer is fixed, and built into
the wall, forming part of it, having an opening to
each side. The inner revolves within it, nearly fill-
ing it, and has only one opening, extending from top
to bottom, perhaps one-eighth part of its circumfer-
ence in width, so that by placing anything on the
shelves of the inner cylinder, and turning it roimd,

it is conveyed to those on the other side of the wall,
without the possibility of either party seeing or hav-
ing any intercourse with the other.

" In the middle of the room is a long table, on
which the servants place the various dishes contained
in the baskets. The guardians of the conclave exa-
mine each dish separately, and finding in it nothing
but food, it is placed in one of the rude, which is
then turned round, and the dishes taken out by the
servants inside the conclave, and conveyed to their
respective owners.

" I was repeatedly present at this ceremony ; tha
examination is no farce, for every dish was carefully
inspected, though I never saw any actually cut in
pieces as is said to be sometimes done."

When the provisions are carried into the conclave,
one of the pope's footmen, who stands by in his pur-
ple robe, and with a silver mace in his hand, shuts
the door, when the assistant prelate takes care that
all is fast, and seals the lock with his coat-of-arms.
The masters of the ceremonies do the same within.

CONCLAVISTS, the attendants on cardinals
when met in conclave for the election of a Pope.
They are seldom more in number than two to each
cardinal, one of them being an ecclesiastic If the
cardinals be princes, or old or infirm, they are some-
times allowed to have three. They are shut up as
strictly as the cardinals themselves, and though the
situation of a conclavist is far from being comfortable,
it is much coveted. A conclavist may assign the
pensions which he has out of benefices for a parti-
cular sum, which is determined by the privilege
which the Pope elect grants to him who makes the
assignment. This office also gives a man the privi-
lege of being a citizen in any town within the eccle-
siastical jurisdiction ; besides which, he receives a
sum of money from the Pope after his election
Each conclavist, before entering upon his office,
takes an oath that he will not reveal the secrets ot
the conclave. These attendants on the cardinals are
sometimes the hired tools of foreign governments, to
procure the election of a particular individual to the
Papal chair. The author of the ' Idea of the Con-
clave,' a work published in 1676, thus describes the
special duties of a conclavist : " He must be shut up.
in a little corner of his master's cell, and do ever}
menial office for him. He must fetch him his vic-
tuals and drink, which that cardinal's officers give
him in from without, through an inlet that communi-
cates to all his quarter, — twice every day. He is to
wait on his master at table, to keep every thing very
clean, and when he has done, to serve himself; not
to mention the other inconveniences of a very severe
confinement, where no light is received but at win-
dows half walled up ; and where the air, when it is
hot weather, may at length break the strongest con-
stitutions."

CONCOMITANCE, a doctrine which was first
employed by the schoolmen of the thirteenth cen-
tury, in defence of the withdrawal of the cup from

CONCORD (Form of)— CONCORDAT.

575

the laity in the Lord's Supper — the doctrine that
under each species the whole of Christ was contain-
ed by concomitance, therefore, under the body, the
blood ; so that he who partook of but one species
lost nothing. See Chalice.

CONCORD (Form of), a famous document drawn
up in 1579, with a view to heal the divisions of the
Lutheran church, and as a preservative against the
opinions of the Reformed churches. This treatise
was prepared by Andreas, professor at Tubingen,
and his associates at Torgau, hence it is frequently
called the Book of Torgau. It was sent by the
Elector of Saxony to almost all the Lutheran princes,
that it might be approved by the doctors of the
church, and authoritatively enforced by the secular
power. So many objections, however, were started
against the book, that its compilers felt it to be
necessary to revise and amend it. Thus corrected,
it was submitted to a convocation of six divines, who
met at Berg, a Benedictine monastery near Magde-
burg, where was produced a work of no small note
in ecclesiastical history — the Form of Concord.
This document consists of two parts, the first con-
sisting of the dogmas propounded by Andreas and
his colleagues ; and the second ruthlessly excommu-
nicating all who should refuse to subscribe to these
dogmas, and declaring them to be heretics deserving
of the vengeance of the secular arm. The maimer
in which this document was received by the different
churches, both Lutheran and Reformed, is thus de-
scribed by Mr. Conder :

" The authority of the Elector secured the adop-
tion of this new Confession by the Saxon churches ;
and their example was slowly followed in other parts
of Germany. By several of the most eminent
churches of the Lutheran communion, it was, how-
ever, firmly and indignantly rejected; among others,
by those of Nuremberg, Brunswick, Hesse, Pomerania,
Silesia, Holstein, and Denmark. Frederic II. of Den-
mark, on receiving a copy of this formula, threw it
in the fire. A warm and affectionate veneration for
the memory of Melancthon contributed to produce
this general dissatisfaction with a document in which
his opinions were so rudely and intolerantly de-
nounced. Its uncharitable exclusion of the Calvin-
ists from the communion of the Lutheran church,
naturally excited still warmer indignation against its
authors on the part of the Reformed churches. The
Helvetic doctors, with Hospinian at their head, the
Belgic divines, those of the Palatinate, together with
the principalities of Anhalt and Baden, declared
open war against this misnamed Form of Concord.
Even in Saxony, many who were compelled to sub-
scribe to it, held it in aversion ; and on the death of
Augustus, the moderate Lutherans and secret Cal\ in-
ists, favoured by Crellius, the prime-minister of the
new Elector, resumed their courage and their influ-
ence. Their designs were, however, suddenly frus-
trated by the unexpected death of the Elector
Christian 1. in 1591, which was followed by tin- .lis

grace and imprisonment of the doctors who had beeD
concerned in the unsuccessful project of reform,
while Crellius, theirchief patron, suffered death in!601,
as the punishment of his temerity. The Bergensic
formula might with more propriety be denominated
the Form of Discord. It has never been universally
received by the Lutheran churches, although it is
still ranked by some among the standards of the or
thodox faith."

The doctrines to which this Confession wished to
bind the churches, respected chiefly the majesty
and omnipresence of Christ's body, and the real
manducation of his flesh and blood in the euchaiist
Another controversy on the subject of the Form ot
Concord arose in Switzerland in 1718, when the
magistrates of Berne published an edict enjoining the
adoption of this Confession as a rule of faith. A
keen dispute was carried on for some time arising
out of this edict, and the result was in the highest
degree injurious to the authority and influence of
the Book of Torgau.

CONCORDAT, a convention or treaty between
the Pope of Rome in his spiritual character as head
of the Roman Catholic Church, and any secular gov-
ernment with a view to arrange ecclesiastical rela-
tions. The term concordat is never applied to those
treaties into which the Pope enters as a temporal
sovereign. Among the earliest of those conventions
which are entitled to the name of concordats, may
be mentioned that which closed the long and bitter
controversy on the subject of investiture. The
treaty to which we now refer was brought about
after repeated negotiations in a. d. 1122, between
Pope Calixtus II. and the Emperor Henry V., which
being concluded at Worms, and confirmed at the
Lateran council in 1123, was designated by the title
of the Concordat of Worms. By the arrangement
thus effected, the conflict between church and state,
which had lasted for more than forty years, was
brought to an end ; the Pope conceding to the Em-
peror the right to bestow on bishops and abbots
chosen in his presence, without violence or simony,
the investiture with regalia. This concordat was
received with universal joy, and is held to this day
as regulating to a great extent the relations between
the See of Rome and the civil powers in Germany.
In the history of concordats it is found, that most of
them, especially those which tend even in the slight-
est degree to curtail the power of the clergy, hue
been reluctantly extorted from the Popes by the
sovereigns of different countries. In very many
cases, however, the Popes have contrived so to
frame concordats as to advance the interests of the
church at the expense of the civil power. One of
the most remarkable instances of this kind occurred
in 1516, when a concordat was formed between
Francis I. of France, and Pope Eeo N.. to abolish
the pragmatic sanction, which had existed for nearly
B I ' nlin-v, and whereby part of the clergy, without
consulting with the people or the archbishops, or

576

CONCORDIA— CONFARREATIO.

other bishops of provinces, chose their bishops, leav-
ing the king the privilege of consenting to and con-
firming the election if he chose. This arrangement
y no means met the views of Leo X., and, accord-
ingly, a concordat was framed, whereby it was re-
pealed, and the king was granted the power of
nominating such as he thought fit for bishops,
while the Pope had the power of accepting or
rejecting them at his pleasure. One of the most
celebrated of concordats was that which Buona-
parte, when first consul of the French republic,
concluded with Pope Pius VII. in 1801. By this
agreement the Roman Catholic church was re-estab-
lished in France, the government received the power
of appointing the clergy, the metropolitan and epis-
copal sees were reduced to sixty, the Pope resigned
the right of restoring the spiritual orders, but re-
tained the privilege of the canonical investiture of
bishops, and the revenues connected with it. In
1817, however, Louis XVIII. concluded with the
same Pope another concordat, abolishing that of
1801, and restoring the arrangements agreed upon
•n 1516, while the nation was subjected to an enor-
mous tax for the endowment of forty-two new me-
tropolitan and episcopal sees, with their chapters
and seminaries. This concordat was received with
so much disapprobation and discontent by the people
of France, that the ministry withdrew their proposi-
tion. In Naples, Bavaria, and recently in Austria,
the Romish church has obtained a firm footing by
means of concordats, and has succeeded in rendering
the ecclesiastical to a great extent independent of
the civil power in these countries.

CONCORDIA, an ancient Roman divinity, being
the personification of the virtue of concord or har-
mony. Several temples to this goddess were built
at Rome. She is generally represented as a matron
either sitting or standing, and holding in her left
hand a cornucopia, and in her right an olive branch
or a patera.

CONCUBINE, a word which is understood to
signify a woman who, although she may not have
been married to a man, yet lives with him as his
wife. Among the ancient Hebrews, however, the
word was applied to a secondary wife, or one of an
inferior grade. Such wives were customary in the
patriarchal and subsequent ages. They were re-
garded as real wives, the connection being sanctioned
by law, and the inferiority was marked by the absence
of certain solemnities and contracts of dowry. The
children of such wives were not entitled to inherit
the property of their father, which both by law and
usage belonged to the children of the principal wife
or wives. But the offspring of the secondary wives
were usually provided for during the father's life-
time. Thus we find Abraham providing for the
children of Hagar and Keturah. Matters are still
conducted in the East much in the same way, and
besides being sanctioned by long usage, they are
also legalized by Mohammedan law, which allows a

man four principal wives, and an unrestricted num
ber of slaves. Should a female slave become an in
ferior wife of her master, she still retains her condi
tion as a slave, just as Hagar continued to be a bond
woman after she had borne Ishmael to Abraham,
and she still recognized Sarah as her mistress.
This appears to have been the case also with the
ancient Greeks, a female slave acquiring no im
provement of her social position by being the con
cubine of her master. Among the Greeks the legality
of a marriage depended entirely on the circumstance,
whether or not a dowry had been given. If no
dowry had been given, the woman could lay no claim
to conjugal rights, and the child of such an union
was illegitimate.

CONDEMNATION. See Judgment (Gener-
al).

CONDIGNITY, a term used by the schoolmen in
the middle ages, to convey their views of human
merit. The followers of Thomas Aquinas, commonly
called the Thomists (which see), speak frequently
in their writings of the merit of condignity, by which
they mean that by the assistance of God, man is
capable of so living as to prove himself worthy (con
dignus) of eternal life in the sight of God, — a doctrine
completely opposed to the plainest statements of the
Word of God.

CONDITORIUM, a burial-place among the an-
cient Greeks and Romans, in which dead bodies
were deposited in their entire state, as distinguished
from those sepulchres which contained only the
bones and ashes. The word conditorium is also used
to denote the coffin in which a dead body was placed
when consigned to the tomb.

CONFALON, a confraternity of seculars in the
Church of Rome, called penitents, established first of
all by a body of Roman citizens. Henry III. com-
menced one at Paris in 1583, and assumed himself
the habit of a penitent at a religious procession.

CONFARREATIO, one of the modes in which a
legal marriage among the ancient Romans was ef-
fected. This, which was the most solemn form of
marriage, was accomplished when the parties were
joined in marriage by the Pontifex Maximus or Fla
men Dialis, in presence of at least ten witnesses, by
a set form of words, and by tasting a cake made of salt,
water, and flour, called Far or Panis Farreus ; which
was offered with a sheep in sacrifice to the gods. A
marriage effected in this way brought the woman
into the possession or power of her husband by the
sacred laws. She thus became partner of all his
substance and sacred rites, those of the jienates as
well as of the lares. If he died intestate and with-
out children, she inherited liis whole fortune. If he
died leaving children, she had an equal share with
them. If she committed any fault, the husband
judged of it along with her relations, and punished
her at pleasure. The children of this kind of mar-
riage were called patrimi and matrimi. Certain
priests were chosen only from among them ; as the

CONFERENCE.

577

Flameu of Jupiter and the Vestal virgins. If only
the father was alive, the children were called patri-
mi; if only the mother, matrimi. This mode of
celebrating marriage in later times fell much into
disuse. See Marriage.

CONFERENCE (Hampton Court, a confer-
ence appointed by James I. of England, to be held
in January 1604, between the Episcopalians and the
Puritans, with a view to settle their controversies.
The Episcopalians were represented by nine bishops,
and about as many deans of the church ; the Puri-
tans by four English divines, and one from Scotland,
all of whom were selected by the king himself. On
the first day of the conference the Episcopalians
alone were admitted into the presence of the sov-
ereign, who proposed several objections to the ritual
and discipline of the Church of England, some of
which the bishops attempted to defend, and others
they consented to modify. The Puritans were per-
mitted on the second day to have an audience of the
king, but they were treated in the harshest and most
uncivil manner. By this one-sided mode of con-
ducting the controversy, the Episcopalians were al-
lowed to triumph over their1 opponents, and Bishop
Bancroft, falling on Ins knees, said, " I protest my
heart melteth for joy that Almighty God of his sin-
gular mercy has given us such a king, as since
Christ's time has not been." On the third day the
bishops and deans were first called in, that an agree-
ment might be come to with the king as to the al-
terations which should be made in the regulations of
the church. After this the Puritans were admitted,
not to discuss the matters in dispute, but simply to
hear what arrangements had been made by the king
with the bishops. Thus ended this strange confer-
ence, which only showed the decided preference
which James entertained for the Episcopal Church,
now that he was seated on the throne of England.
The next month, accordingly, a proclamation was
issued, giving an account of the Conference, and
requiring conformity to the liturgy and ceremonies.
See Puritans.

CONFERENCE (Wesleyan Methodist), the
supreme ecclesiastical court of the Wesleyan Metho-
dist body. It was formally constituted by a Deed
of Declaration, dated the 28th of February 1784,
and enrolled in the Court of Chancery. This " Con-
ference of the people called Methodists," is therefore
a body duly recognized in law. It is generally held
in London, Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool,
and Sheffield in rotation, every year, about the latter
end of July. The constitution of this court, which
was devised by John Wesley, the founder of Mr
thodism, is of a peculiar kind, being purely minis-
terial, without the slightest infusion of the lay ele-
ment. By the original deed of appointment it
consists only of a hundred of the senior travelling
preachers. This is its distinct legal constitution,
which, however, has been so widely departed from,
'hat all ministers, in full connexion, may attend the

conference, take part in its deliberations, and even
tender their votes while the legal "hundred" con-
firm the decisions thus arrived at. The conference is
allowed to sit not less than rive days, nor more than
three weeks, and their deliberations involve such
points as are of the greatest importance to the in
terests of the body. Every preacher's character un-
dergoes on these occasions the strictest investiga-
tion, and if any thing injurious to his fair reputation
is proved against him, he is dealt with accordingly.
The conference appoints the stations which the
preachers are to occupy, reviews the proceedings of
the subordinate meetings, and takes into considera-
tion the state of the body generally. This being the
supreme court of the whole connexion, it is also the
court of ultimate resort, from whose decisions there
is no appeal. The discussions of the conference are
strictly and exclusively confined to the spiritual in-
terests of the body ; its financial and secular affairs
being managed by wholly different parties, over
whose actings the conference exercises no control.
Disputes have from time to time arisen, and seces-
sions have occurred, on the ground of the non-ad-
mission of laymen into the conference. This peculiar
constitution of the supreme court of the body, how-
ever, is vindicated by some of the leading ministers
as being on the whole the best adapted to exercise
strict discipline, and thus secure the purity of the
ministerial office. During the interval between one
meeting of conference and another, the president and
secretary remain in office, and the former possesses
to a great extent a discretionary power. He sup
plies any vacancies which may occur from the death
of preachers, by appointing individuals from a list of
reserve with which he is furnished by the confer-
ence. Any change of preachers, also, which it may
be necessary to make, he must sanction. He is em-
powered, if requested, to visit any district, and in-
quire into its religious condition, in so far as the in-
terest of Methodism is concerned, with a view to
devise such measures as may appear to him, on con-
sulting with the district committee, to be most likely
to advance the good cause. It rests chiefly with
the president to name the place where the next con-
ference is to be held, and during the sittings lie lias
the power and the privilege of two members in vir-
tue of his office.

The appointment of ministers to officiate in all
the chapels of the connexion, and to remove them, if
they see cause, is vested absolutely in the confer-
ence ; but the term of appointment can in no case
extend beyond three years successively. The ad-
mission of preachers into the body, and their expul-
sion from it, rests also with the conference, by abso-
lute and unqualified right. And yet the rights of an
accused party are defended with the utmost jealousy.
The charges preferred against him must be made
known to him verbally or in writing. These must
be carefully examined in a district meeting, and then
the case is heard and deliberately decided on in cuu

578

CONFERENCE.

ference. Should the accused, however, venture to
seek redress in a civil court for any injury which he
may imagine himself to have sustained by a district
meeting, or any inferior court, he forfeits all right of
"ppeal to the conference, and is regarded as having
violated the laws of the society, as well as the laws of
Christ. The strictest authority is maintained by the
conference over every minister of the Wesleyan con-
nexion, and an annual examination is instituted with
the utmost impartiality into the ministerial qualifi-
cations, character, and fidelity of all among them
who are invested with the sacred office.

The Wesleyan Methodist New Connexion, which
is the oldest of a number of independent Methodist
churches in England, is founded on the principle that
the conference ought to be composed partly of laymen.
The nature of the change which this body has intro-
duced is thus stated by Mr. Marsden, in his 'History of
the Christian Churches and Sects : ' " Their conference
is constituted upon the representative system. Each
circuit elects at the previous quarterly meeting one
preacher and one layman, its representatives ; or,
should the circuit be too poor to bear the expenses
of two representatives, then a preacher and a lay-
man alternately. Connexional office-bearers are
also members of conference ; namely, the treasurers
of the various funds, the secretary and treasurer of
the missions, and the steward and treasurer of the
book-room. The trustees of chapels are allowed a
representative when their legal rights are concerned.
From the representatives thus chosen the conference
appoints its guardian representatives ; of whom the
presence of six is necessary to render the constitu-
tion legally complete. Thus the conference consists
of ministers, lay representatives, and guardian re-
presentatives. The last conference, held at Sheffield
in 1855, consisted of sixty-nine representatives, lay
and clerical, five treasurers and secretaries, ten guar-
dian representatives, and two delegates from the
Irish conference."

In the United States of North America, where
the Methodists have become a very strong and in-
fluential body, the first general conference was held
in 1792. It is appointed to be held once in four
years, to be composed of all the travelling elders in
full connexion, to whom should be committed the
entire authority of making rules for the regulation
of the church. Methodism had first been transplanted
to America in 1766, and it was not till 1768 that
the small band of Wesley's followers were able to
build a meeting-house in New York. During the
revolutionary contest, the Methodist missionaries
were exposed to great persecution ; but, in 1784,
after the independence of the United States had been
achieved, Mr. Wesley, who had, from the beginning,
watched with the most tender and anxious care the
growth of the infant society in America, set himself
to remedy the grievances of the body in that remote
part of the world. Hitherto the Methodist preach-
ers had been considered merely as lay-preachers, and,

of course, without authority to administer the ordi-
nances. Accordingly, the members ?f the societiei
had been dependent upon other ministers for the or
dinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. This was
felt to be so serious an inconvenience, and so calcu-
lated to injure the Methodist cause, that some of the
preachers in the Southern States had actually or-
dained each other, and begun to form a party to
whom they administered the ordinances. Mr. Wes-
ley had always been unwilling to disturb the estab-
lished order of things in the Church of England, and,
therefore, had declined to ordain preachers over his
own societies ; but feeling that the Church of Eng-
land had now no jurisdiction in America, he thought
himself called upon to ordain persons, who might
lawfully administer the ordinances to the Transat-
lantic Methodists. This was accordingly done, and
Dr. Thomas Coke arrived in the United States as an
ordained presbyter in the Church of England, and a
superintendent of the Methodist societies, with au-
thority to form the whole into a separate and inde-
pendent church. Hence arose the Methodist Epis-
copal Church (which see) of America, which, as
has been already noticed, held its first general con-
ference in 1792. The body went on gradually in
creasing, and at length, such was the increase ol
members and preachers, that it was found quite in-
convenient for even all the elders to assemble in
general conference quadrennially ; and, therefore, in
1808, measures were adopted to form a delegated
general conference, to be composed of not less than
one for every seven of the members of the annual
conferences, nor more than one for every five, to be
chosen either by ballot or by seniority ; at the same
time, the power of this delegated conference was
limited by constitutional restrictions. The first de-
legated conference met in New York in the year
1812.

The following are the regulations and restrictions
under which the general conference of the Methodist
Episcopal church of North America is empowered tc
act : " The general conference assembles quadren-
nially, and is composed of a certain number of dele-
gates elected by the annual conferences. It has
power to revise any part of the Discipline, or to in-
troduce any new regulation, not prohibited by the
following limitations and restrictions :

" The general conference shall not revoke, alter,
or change our articles of religion, nor establish any
new standards or rules of doctrine contrary to out
present existing and established standards of doc-
trine.

" They shall not allow of more than one repre-
sentative for every fourteen members of the annual
conference, nor allow of a less number than one
for every thirty : provided, nevertheless, that when
there shall be in any annual conference a fraction of
two-thirds the number which shall be fixed for the
ratio of representation, such annual conference shall
be entitled to an additional delegate for such frac-

COXTEREXTIE PARTY.

579

tion : and provided also, that no annual conference
shall be denied the privilege of two delegates.

" They shall not change nor alter any part or
rule of our government, so as to do away episco-
pacy, or destroy the plan of our itinerant general
superintendency.

•• They shall not revoke or change the General
Rules of the United Societies.

" They shall not do away the privileges of our
ministers or preachers of trial by a committee, and
of an appeal ; neither shall they do away the privi-
leges of our members of trial before the society, or
by a committee, and of an appeal.

" They shall not appropriate the produce of the
Book Concern, nor of the Charter Fund, to any pur-
pose other than for the benefit of the travelling, su-
pernumerary, superannuated, and worn-out preachers,
their wives, widows, and children. Provided, never-
theless, that upon the concurrent recommendation
of three-fourths of all the members of the several
annual conferences, who shall be present and vote
on such recommendation, then a majority of two-
thirds of the general conference succeeding shall
suffice to alter any of the above restrictions, except
the first article ; and also, whenever such alteration
or alterations shall have been recommended by two-
thirds of the general conference, as soon as three-
fourths of the members of all the annual conferences
shall have concurred as aforesaid, such alteration or
alterations shall take place.

" Under these limitations, the general conference
lias full power to alter or modify any part of the dis-
cipline, or to introduce any new regulation which
the exigencies of the times may require ; to elect
the book-stewards, editors, corresponding secretary
or secretaries of the Missionary Society of the Me-
thodist Episcopal Church, and also the bishops ; to
hear and decide on appeals of preachers from the
decisions of annual conferences ; to review the acts
of those conferences generally ; to examine into the
general administration of the bishops for the four
preceding years ; and, if accused, to try, censure, ac-
quit, or condemn a bishop. The general conference
is the highest judicatory of the church."

A very important secession from the Methodist
Episcopal Church of America took place in 1830,
grounded on the two great principles of lay repre-
sentation and a parity in the ministry. These, ac-
cordingly, constitute the leading characteristics of
the seceding body under the name of the Methodist
Protestant Church. The general conference of this
section of the Wesleyan body assembles every
fourth year, and consists of an equal number of
ministers and laymen. The ratio of representation
from eacli annual conference district is one minister
and one layman for every thousand persons in full
communion. This body, when assembled, possesses
power under certain restrictions to make such rules
and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the
laws of Christ ; to fix the compensation and duties

of the itinerant ministers and preachers, and the al
lowance of their wives, widows, and children ; to
devise ways and means for raising funds, and to'de-
fine and regulate the boundaries of the respective
annual conference districts. Besides the general
quadrennial conference, there are annual and even
quarterly conferences.

Another secession from the Methodist Episco-
pal Church of America arose in 1814, founded on
an objection to the Episcopal mode of church gov-
ernment. Thus originated the Reformed Method-
ist Church, who have adopted a system of church
government essentially congregational in its cha-
racter, all power being in the churches, and de-
legated from time to time with a rigid accountabi-
lity to the bodies by whom it is conferred. Like
the other Methodist churches they have annual con-
ferences in the different districts. The general con-
ference is composed of delegates from the annual
conferences proportioned in numbers to the respec-
tive numbers of their church members. Its duties
are thus defined : " The general conference has power
to revise the Discipline under certain limitations.
It can pass no rule giving to preachers power over
the people, except such as belongs to them as min-
isters of the word. The alterations in Discipline
must, before they go into effect, first be recommended
by three-fourths of the annual conferences, or after
the general conference has passed upon them, receive
their ratification. General conferences are held at
the call of annual conferences, not periodically, and
the delegates to them are chosen at the session of
the annual conferences next preceding the general
conference."

Still another secession, styling itself the True Wes-
leyan Methodist Church, took place in 1828, from
the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. The
fundamental principles on which this body is consti-
tuted, are opposition to the Episcopal form of church
government as it exists in America among the Me-
thodists, a determined opposition to slavery as it
is found in America, and also to intemperance. In
1844, this church had six annual conferences, but no
general conference.

Conferences, however, are found in other branches
of the Christian Church in America besides the
Methodists. Thus, among others, the Mennonites
have regular annual conferences for the arrangement
of their ecclesiastical affairs.

It is a remarkable fact, that every secession which
has taken place from Wesleyan Methodism has or-
ganijed a system of lay representation in its confer-
ence. And this remark applies not less to the se-
cessions in Europe than to those in America.

C0N!T,UK\TI1C PARTY, an important party
in the Dutch Reformed Church in the United State*
of North America, in the early period of its history
in that country. The party arose out of the peculiar
circumstances of the time. It so happened that the
I Dutch West India Company were the first who car-

580

CONFERENTIE PARTY.

ried the ministers of the gospel from Holland to
America. The members of that company being
citizens of Amsterdam, the classis or presbytery of
that city chiefly undertook the duty of supplying
and ordaining ministers for the people belonging to
their communion who had settled in America. The
ministers thus provided were sent out by that classis
with the consent and approbation of the synod of
North Holland. In course of time the American
churches increased in number and importance, but
the classis and synod, to which we have now refer-
red, claimed the exclusive right of selecting, ordain-
ing, and sending ministers to these churches. They
went further, they claimed the exclusive power of
deciding all ecclesiastical controversies and difficul-
ties which might arise in all the Dutch churches in
the provinces. The Conferentie party, in the Ameri-
can churches, were the strong supporters of this
claim. Being themselves natives of Holland, they
were in favour of tins dependence on Holland, and
of the vassalage of the churches to the classis of
Amsterdam. These men carried their principles to
the must extravagant length, maintaining almost the
infallibility of the fathers in Amsterdam. Some of
them even ventured to maintain, that they were the
only legitimate source of ministerial power and au-
thority, and insinuated that no ordination was valid
unless it had been performed by the classis of Amster-
dam, or had at least its solemn approval and sanc-
tion. Such were the strong views of the Conferentie
party, and they were maintained by them in the face
of but a very feeble opposition till 1737. The op-
ponents of these sentiments, who afterwards received
the name of the Coetus party, advocated the neces-
sity of a home education, a home license, and a home
ordination, which they held were equally good for
them, and equally valid for every purpose as those
in fatherland. The quarrel which ensued is thus de-
scribed by Dr. Brownlee of the Dutch Reformed
Church in America :

" In 1737, the first movement was made by five pro-
minent ministers, Messrs. G. Dubois, Haeghoort, B.
Freeman, Van Santford, and Curtenius. They did
not venture to adopt the bold measure of renounc-
ing the abject dependence on the parent classis.
They merely proposed to form an assembly for
counsel and free internal intercourse, and any eccle-
siastical business, not inconsistent with this depen-
dence on Holland. This they called a ccetus. A
plan was adopted, and rules formed for its regula-
tion ; and it was sent down to the churches for their
concurrence. On the 27th of April, 1738, the day
appointed by the five ministers to receive the re-
ports from the churches, a convocation of ministers
and elders met in New York.

" The several reports of the churches induced the
convention to adopt the plan without opposition ;
and it was sent to the classis of Amsterdam for their
ratification. This, they presumed they should
promptly obtain. For there was nothing in the

projected coetus which did, in fact, really curtail any
of the power of that classis. Yet it was not until
ten years after this that they received an answer, by
the Rev. Mr. Van Sinderin, from Holland ; for it was
in the month of May, 17-17, that the convention was
summoned to receive the answer of the classis, which,
though after a long delay, gave its entire approba-
tion and concurrence. On the appointed day only six
ministers were present. These having received the
act of the classis, did nothing more than issue then-
call of the first meeting of the coetus, on the second
Tuesday of September, 1747, in the city of New
York.

" On the day appointed the representatives of the
churches met in ccetus ; and, although the plan had
received the full approbation of the mother church,
still there was a most decided opposition to it. This
opposition was made by Dominie Boel, of the church
of New York, and by Mr. Mancius of Kingston, Mr
Freyenmoet, and Mr. Martselius. Mr. Frelinghuy-
sen could not prevail with his church to accede to
the ccetus ; but it received his own decided support
And it was soon ascertained that those who opposed
the whole of this narrow and inefficient scheme, were
correct ; whatever may have been their avowed mo-
tives. It effected no good purpose which could not
have been done without it. It was a meeting merely
for fraternal intercourse and advice. This could
have been attained without a formal coetus. It gave
the pastors no powers : they could not meet as
bishops, who had each their church ; they had no
power to ordain ministers ; they could try no cases
requiring. ecclesiastical investigation; they could not
even settle ecclesiastical disputes, without the usual
consent of the classis of Amsterdam. Its utter un-
fitness to promote the interests of the church be ame
apparent to all, except those in the slavish interests
of fatherland. Nothing but an independent classil
could do this. They must have power to ordain
they must have their own court to try cases. The
church was suffering exceedingly, said those who had
got a coetus, but wished a ccetus clothed with the
power of a classis. But this met with a renewed,
fierce opposition. ' Shall we throw off the care and
paternal supervision of the classis of Amsterdam ?
Shall we venture to ordain ministers ? Shall we set
up ourselves as judges? Where can we get such
learned ministers as those from Holland ? And can
any of us judge of their fitness, and learning, and
piety ? ' Such was the feeling and declamation of the
Conferentie party.

" On the contrary, the coetus party appealed to
their brethren on the necessity of having youth
trained here for the ministry. ' We must have aca-
demies and a college. The English language is ad-
vancing on us : we must have a ministry to preach
in English, or our youth will abandon us in a body.
And the expense of sending for ministers is becom-
ing oppressive ; not to speak of the great expense
and privation sustained by us who are parents, is

CONFERENTIE PARTY.

581

sending our sons to Holland to be educated, so as to
be able to preach in Dutch. And you all know,'
they added, ' how many years have sometimes elapsed
between the time of a call sent to fatherland, and
the coming of a pastor; and sometimes churches
have been disappointed entirely. None have re-
sponded to their call. And even, in certain cases,
some ministers have come out who were not only
unpopular, but absolutely disagreeable. Is it not
unendurable, that the churches should have no choice
of their pastor? Men, accustomed to a national
church and its high-handed measures, have come
among us, who have, of course, views and habits en-
tirely different from those of our fellow-citizens and
Christians in Holland. Need we remind you of the
distractions and divisions caused by these obstinate
men, who, instead of harmonizing with the people,
and winning their confidence, have imprudently op-
posed them, and rendered their ministry odious and
unsuccessful ? Besides, is it not humiliating and de-
grading to these churches, and to us all, that, we
should be deprived of the power of ordaining minis-
ters? And we must send abroad for ministers, as if
none here were fit to minister in holy tilings ! It
is an imputation on our sons ; it is an imputation on
us, in the ministry here ; as if they were unfit for the
holy work, and as if we had only half of the minis-
terial office ! We declare this bondage to be no
longer tolerable, and it ought no longer to be endured.

" Such was the bold language now used by the
ecetus party, both ministers and laymen. And as a
goodly number had, by the permission of the classis
of Amsterdam, been ordained, by special favour, all
these, to a man, took a bold stand against this de-
pendence on Holland. They never felt that attach-
ment to the classis, which bound down, in slavish
attachment, those whom it had sent out hither. They
had no prejudices ; they saw the painful grievances
under which their fathers smarted ; and they fi If the
power of the arguments and appeals, so urgently
pressed by all, to seek an independent ecclesiastical
jurisdiction of their own. They spoke out with
warmth on the subject. They even ventured to
charge the church of their forefathers with injustice
to the ministry here, and actual tyranny over them.
They withheld what Christ, the King of Zion, never
authorized them to withhold from the true ministry.
They demanded of her to do them and herself jus-
tice, by conveying to them all the powers of the
ministry, which she had received, as it respected
doctrine, and sacraments, and discipline.

" All these appeals made a most powerful impres-
sion on the people. Many churches came over to
their measures; and even a few of the European
ministers candidly acceded. And they no longer
concealed their fixed determination to commence a
system of measures to withdraw these American
churches from this abject subordination to the clas-
sis of Amsterdam and the synod of North Holland.

"This plan was matured in 1754. In the ecetus

of the preceding year a motion had been entertained
to amend the plan of the ecetus, by converting it
into a regular classis, with all its proper powers. A
plan was drafted for this purpose; adopted with
great unanimity by those present; and formally
transmitted to the churches for their concurrence.

" Upon this there commenced a scene of animo
sity, division, and actual violence, compared to which,
all the former wranglings were utterly nothing. It
was the beginning of a war waged for fifteen years
with unmitigated fury ! The Conferentie party met
and organized themselves into a firm body of oppo-
sition in 1755. They were the following : — Domi-
nies Ritzma and Deronde, of the church of New
York; Curtenius, Haeghoort, Vanderlinde, Van
Sinderin, Schuyler, Rubel, Kock, Kerr, Rysdyck, and
Frevenmoet. The Ccetus party embraced all the rest.
These formed two hostile bodies resolutely pitted
against each other, and apparently resolved never to
yield. The peace of neighbourhoods was disturbed ;
families were divided; churches torn by factions.
Houses of worship were locked up by one faction
against the other. Tumults and disgraceful scenes
frequently occurred on the holy Sabbath, and at the
doors of churches. Ministers were occasionally as-
saulted in the very pulpit ; and sometimes the sol-
emn worship of God was disturbed and actually
terminated by mob-violence. In these scenes the
Conferentie party were usually noted as the most
violent and outrageous. But, on both sides, a furious
zeal prompted many to shameful excesses, and a
most painful disgrace of the Clu-istian name."

The Conferentie party now sought the assistance
of the parent church in Holland. They addressed a
letter on the subject to the classis of Amsterdam in
1755, following it up by a similar communication in
each of the three immediately succeeding years.
The replies to these appeals were by no means cal-
culated to promote conciliation and concord. The
two parties were at this time nearly equal in num-
bers. The Ccetus party had formed the project of
establishing a seminary for the education of the
future ministry in America, so as to be independent
of the parent church. They had even communicated
their intention to the classis of Amsterdam. Dr.
Livingston, who was then studying at Holland,
directed his attention to the plan of an independent
ecclesiastical constitution for the church in America.
He returned home in 1770, and the following year
having summoned a convention, he procured the
appointment of a committee, before which he laid a
plan which he had brought with him from Holland.
The scheme embraced three important objects: 1.
The internal arrangements, church government, and
all the usual powers of a classis. 2. The measures
best calculated to heal all animosities and divisions.
3. The conducting of a correspondence with the pa-
rent church of Holland. The plan was cordially
accepted by the committee, and afterwards by the
convention. It was next submitted to the classis of

682

CONFEDERATED— CONFESSION (Auricular).

Amsterdam, which gave its most perfect approbation
of the union, and of all the measures adopted. The
convention having thus received the consent of the
parent church, adopted the plan, and it was signed
with the utmost cordiality by every member of the
meeting. Thus happily came to an end, one of those
melancholy contentions which are so often found to
disturb the peace of almost all the sections of the
church of Christ in this fallen world. See Dutch
Reformed Church in America.

CONFEDERATED, one of the two classes into
which the congregations of the Cathari (which
see) were divided. The confederated or associated,
as they were also called, except observing a few
rules, lived in the manner of other people ; but they
entered into a covenant (hence their name fcchrati
or confederated) by which they bound themselves,
that before they died, or at least in their last sick-
ness, they would enter farther into the church, and
receive the consolation which was their term for ini-
tiation. The congregations of the Manicheans
(which see) were divided in the same way.

CONFESSIO, a name sometimes applied in the
early ages of Christianity to a church which was
built over the grave of any martyr, or called by his
name, to preserve the memory of him.

CONFESSION (Augsburg). See Augsburg
Confession.

CONFESSION (Auricular), the practice of
private and secret confession of sin into the ear of
a priest, with the view of receiving absolution. This
is enforced by the Church of Rome as a solemn
duty, which every man ought to perform, and, ac-
cordingly, the council of Trent decreed on this point,
" Whosoever shall deny that sacramental confession
was instituted by Divine command, or that it is
necessary to salvation, or shall affirm that the prac-
tice of secretly confessing to the priest alone, as it
has been ever observed from the beginning by the
Catholic church, and is still observed, is foreign to
the institution and command of Christ, and is a hu-
man invention ; let him be accursed." The duty of
auricular confession is regarded by the Romish
church as so important, that it is ranked by Dr.
Butler, in his Roman Catholic Catechism, as one of
the six commandments of the church, binding upon
all her children, " To confess their sins at least once
a-year." The mode in which a Romish penitent
confesses is as follows : He must kneel down at the
side of his ghostly father, and make the sign of the
cross, saying, In the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. He then re-
peats the Confiteor (which see), embodying in the
heart of it his own special sins. After confession
the penitent is directed to say, " For these, and all
other my sins, which I cannot at this present call
to my remembrance, I am heartily sorry, purpose
amendment for the future, and most humbly ask
pardon of God, and penance and absolution of you,
my ghostly father."

The duty of confession is admitted both by Pro-
testants and Roman Catholics, but they differ widely
as to the party to whom confession ought to be
made ; Romanists confessing to the priest, while
Protestants confess to God. The latter support their
views by adducing numerous passages from both the
Old and New Testaments, in which confession of sin
is made to God only. Thus Josh. vii. 19, " And
Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee,
glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confes-
sion unto him ; and tell me now what thou hast
done; hide it not from me." Ezra x. 10, 11, "And
Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye
have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to
increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore
make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers,
and do his pleasure : and separate yourselves from the
people of the land, and from the strange wives." Ps.
xxxii. 5, " I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine
iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my
transgressions unto the Lord ; and thou forgavest
the iniquity of my sin." 1 John i. 8, 9, " If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faith-
ful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness." The passage which Ro-
manists adduce from Jam. v. 16, " Confess your
faults one to another," is explained by Protestants as
referring not to auricular confession, but to the mutual
confession of faults on the part of Christians. Two
other passages are sometimes quoted in vindication
of the practice of confession to a priest, viz. Mat. iii.
18, " They were baptized of him (John the Baptists
in Jordan, confessing their sins," and Acts xix. 18,
" Many that believed came and confessed their sins."
But these passages Protestants regard as referring
not to secret confession to a priest, an office which
was never held at all events by John the Baptist,
who was neither a Jewish nor a Christian priest, but
to an open and public acknowledgment of the sins of
then; past fives. In the writings of Roman Catholic
authors, it is often argued, that even although no
direct passage bearing upon the subject of auricular
confession may be found in the Bible, still the
doctrine must be regarded as founded on Scripture,
inasmuch as it is a natural and necessary accompa-
niment of the power of forgiving sins, which they
suppose to have been vested in the apostles, Mat.
xviii. 18 ; xvi. 19. John xx. 23.

Though Romish controversialists are accustomed
frequently to adduce the authority of the fathers in
favour of auricular confession, the more candid
among them readily acknowledge that the confession
of which the fathers speak, is to be made only to
God, and not by any means to man, whether the
whole church or individual ministers. It is true,
that at an early period, as we are informed by So-
crates and Sozomen, penitentiary presbyters, as they
were called, were appointed to hear confessions pre
paratory to public penance. The private or auricn

CONFESSION (Psalm of)— CONFIRMATION.

583

lar confession of later centuries, however, is quite
different from the confession made to those peniten-
tiary presbyters. Confession was not made to them
with a view of obtaining forgiveness from God, but
in order to procure restoration to the former privi-
leges of the offended church.

The regular establishment of the system of private
confession and absolution is usually ascribed to Leo
the Great. That pontiff, however, left the confes-
sion of sins to every man's private conscience, nor
was the priest declared to possess in himself the
power either inherent or delegated of forgiving sins.
Even long subsequent to the time of Leo, it was still
optional with every man either to make confession
to a priest or to God alone. Nor was it till the
thirteenth century that any definite law was laid
down by the church on the subject of private confes-
sion. In the year 1215, however, under the pontifi-
cate of Innocent III., the practice of auricular con-
fession was authoritatively enjoined by the fourth
council of Lateran, upon the faithful of both sexes,
at least once a-year. Fleury the Romish historian
says, " This is the first canon, so far as I know,
which imposes the general obligation of sacramental
confession." From that time down to the present
day, it has been considered a positive divine ordi
nance, that every one should enumerate and confess
his sins to a priest ; and few if any dogmas of the
Church of Rome have tended more to increase the
power and influence of the priesthood on the one
hand, and to injure the morality of the people on the
other. Confession is practised also in the Greek and
Coptic churches. The former church indeed pre-
scribes it to all her members four times a-year ; but
the laity commonly confess only once in the year, to
which in Russia they are obliged by the laws of the
land ; and it is usual in that country to confess in
the great fast before Easter.

CONFESSION (Psalm of), a name applied in
the ancient Christian church to the fifty-first psalm,
as being peculiarly appropriate to the case of an in-
dividual who is confessing his sins. This title is
given to it by Athanasius.

CONFESSION (Westminster). See West-
minster Assembly.

CONFESSIONAL, a seat or cell in Roman Ca-
tholic churches, in which the priest sits to hear con-
fessions. It is usually a small wooden erection
within the church, and divided into three cells or
niches, the centre one being for the priest, and the
eide ones for penitents. There is a small grated
aperture in each of the partitions, between the priest
and the side cells, through which the penitent makes
his confession to the priest or confessor.

CONFESSIONS OF FAITH. See Creed.

CONFESSOR, a priest in the Romish church,
who has power to hear the confession of penitents in
the sacrament of penance, and to give them absolu-
tion. The Rubric is very particular as to the duties
of the confessor. He is enjoined to regard himself

as occupying the position at once of a judge and a
physician. And, therefore, he ought to acquire as
great knowledge and prudence as possible, as well by
constant prayer to God, as from approved authors,
especially the Roman Catechism, that is, as we
understand it, the Catechism of the council of Trent.
In the exercise of his office, the confessor is bound to
be minute and circumstantial in his interrogatories.
Finally, the Rubric regards it as indispensable that
he keep the seal of secret confession under an exact
and perpetual silence; and, therefore, he shall never
say or do anything which may directly or indirectly
tend to reveal any sin or defect known to him by
confession alone. Every Romish priest is not a
confessor, but in addition to the power of orders, the
priest who confesses must have a spiritual jurisdic-
tion over the persons who apply to him in this
sacrament. The duty of confession, at least once
a-year, being binding, as we have already found
(see Confession), on every faithful Romanist, it is
incalculable what an extent of influence over her vo-
taries Rome thus acquires.

CONFITEOR (Lat. I confess), the form of con-
fession prescribed by the Romish church to be used
by every penitent at the confessional. It runs thus,
" I confess to Almighty God, to the blessed Mary
ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to
blessed John Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter and
Paul, to all the saints, and to you, father, that I have
sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed,
through my fault, through my fault, through my
most grievous fault. (At this point the person
specifies his several sins in their details, and thus
concludes.) Therefore, I beseech the blessed Mary
ever Virgin, the blessed Michael the Archangel,
blessed John Baptist, the holy apostles, Peter and
Paul, and all the saints ; and you, father, to pray to
our Lord God for me." When the confession is
made in this form, it is said to be under the seal of
confession, and must not be disclosed by the priest ;
but if made without this form, the priest is not bound
to keep it secret. Every Romanist, therefore, is
taught from his earliest days to repeat the confiteor,
and thus, as many suppose, they secure the perpetual
secrecy of their confession.

CONFIRMATION (Lat. confirmare, to strength-
en), a rite in Episcopal churches, whereby a young
person, when arrived at years of understanding, takes
upon himself the vows which had been taken for
him at his baptism by his godfather and godmother.
The Roman Catholic church regards it as one of the
seven sacraments which they hold. Among the
Oriental churches it is also a sacrament under the
name of Ciiuism (which see). A controversy has
been carried on between Romish and Protestant
writers as to the origin of confirmation, the point
in dispute being whether such a rite existed in
the time of the apostles, or whether it belongs
to a later date. The fact is admitted on both
sides, that imposition of hands was practised by

084

CONFIRMATION.

the apostles only upon baptized persons, as in the
case of the converted Samaritans, Acts viii. 12
— 17, and the disciples of Ephesus, Acts xix. 5 and
6. On examining these passages, however, it ap-
pears plain, that, by the laying on of hands, was
understood to be communicated the gifts of the
Holy Ghost. But various cases of baptism are
recorded in Scripture, such as the baptism of the
three thousand on the day of Pentecost, of Lydia,
of the jailor of Philippi and others, in not one of
which is there the slightest reference to the laying on
of hands. No authentic reference, besides, to the rite
of confirmation is to be found in the earliest ecclesias-
tical writers. Some of them, as for example, Euse-
bius, speak of "the seal of the Lord, "an expression,
however, which refers to baptism rather than to con-
firmation. The first who mentions the custom of
anointing with oil the newly baptized, is Tertullian,
and iu the time of Cyprian it appears already to
have constituted an essential part of the rite of bap-
tism. There is no doubt that at a still earlier period
the laying on of hands with prayer formed a part of
the baptismal ceremony.

The origin of the rite of confirmation in the an-
cient church, and the circumstances which led to its
introduction, are thus sketched by Neander : " The
sign of the imposition of hands was the common to-
ken of religious consecration, borrowed from the
Jews, and employed on various occasions, either to
denote consecration to the Christian calling in gen-
eral, or to the particular branches of it. The apos-
tles, or presiding officers of the church, laying their
hands on the head of the baptized individual, called
upon the Lord to bestow his blessing on the holy
transaction now completed, to cause to be fulfilled in
him whatever was implied in it, to consecrate him
with his Spirit for the Christian calling, and to pom-
out his Spirit upon him. This closing rite was in-
separably connected with the whole act of baptism.
All, indeed, had reference here to the same princi-
pal thing, without which no one could be a Chris-
tian,— the birth to a new life from God, the baptism
of the Spirit, which was symbolically represented by
tiie baptism of water. Tertullian still considers this
transaction and baptism as one whole, combined to-
gether ; although he distinguishes in it the two se-
parate moments, the negative and the positive, the
forgiveness of sin and cleansing from sin which was
mediated by baptism in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, and the importation of the Holy
Spirit following thereupon, upon the individual now
restored to the original state of innocence, to which
importation the imposition of hands refers.

" But now, since the idea had sprung up of a
spiritual character belonging exclusively to the
bishops, or successors of the apostles, and communi-
cated to them by ordination ; on which character
the propagation of the Holy Spirit in the church
was dependent ; it was considered as their preroga-
tive to seal, by this consecration of the imposition

of hands, the whole act of baptism ; (hence this rite
was called signaculum, a seal.) It was supposed
that a good and valid reason for this rite could be
drawn from the fact that the Samaritans, baptized
by a deacon, were first endowed with spiritual gifts
by the imposition of the hands of the apostles, which
was added afterwards (Acts xix.), as this passage was
then understood. So now the presbyters, and in case
of necessity, even the deacons, were empowered to
baptize, but the bishops only were authorised to con-
summate that second holy act. This notion had been
formed so early as the middle of the third century.
The bishops were under the necessity, therefore, ol
occasionally going through their dioceses, in order to
administer to those who had been baptized by their
subordinates, the country presbyters, the rite which
was afterwards denominated confirmation. In ordi-
nary cases, where the bishop himself administered
the baptism, both were still united together as one
whole, and thus constituted the complete act of bap-
tism." After the general introduction of infant bap-
tism, confirmation immediately succeeded the dis-
pensation of the ordinance. In the Oriental churches,
baptism, confirmation, and the Lord's Supper are
administered in immediate succession, and this, in
all probability, was the ancient custom. It was not
probably before the thirteenth century that confir-
mation came to be regarded as an entirely separate
ordinance from that of baptism. The council of
Trent pronounces a solemn anathema upon all who
deny confirmation to be " a true and proper sacra-
ment."

So much importance and solemnity were attached,
in the ancient Christian church, to the rite of confir-
mation, that the privilege of performing it was limited
to the bishop, on the ground, as both Chrysostom and
Augustine argue, that the Samaritan converts, though
baptized by Philip the evangelist, received the im-
position of hands from an apostle. Though, in the
ancient Christian church, as in the Greek and
African churches, confirmation immediately fol-
lowed baptism, seven years are allowed to pass after
infant baptism, before a party is confirmed in the
Western churches at present, and in the English
church young people are not usually confirmed until
they are fifteen or sixteen years old. Since 1660, it
has been customary for the English bishops to re-
quire at confirmation a renewal of the covenant made
in infant baptism.

Iu administering confirmation four principal ce-
remonies were employed in former times, imposition
of hands, unction with the chrism, the sign of the
cross, and prayer. Other formalities were the salu-
tation, "Peace be with you;" a slight blow upon
the cheek ; unbinding of the band upon the forehead ;
prayer and singing ; the benediction of the bishop,
together with a short exhortation from him. In the
Roman Pontifical the arrangements to be made, and
the ceremonies performed in the sacrament of confir-
mation, are thus minutely laid down : " The pontiff

CONFIRMATION.

fisj

nbout 1 5 confirm infants, children, or other baptized
persons, having put on his vestments, goes to a fald-
stool prepared for him in front of the altar, and sit-
ting thereon, with his pastoral stall' in his left hand,
and his mitre on, admonishes the people, who stand
up in his presence :

" That no one but a bishop only, is the ordinary
minister of confirmation.

" That no one that has been confirmed, ought to
be confirmed again.

" That no one that has not been confirmed can be
a sponsor in confirmation ; neither can a father, nor
mother, nor husband, nor wife.

" That no one that is excommunicate, or under an
interdict, or convicted of any of the more grievous
offences ; or not well instructed in the rudiments of
the Christian faith, thrust himself forward to receive
this sacrament, or to be sponsor for one about to be
confirmed.

" That adults are bound first to confess their sins ;
or at least to be grieved for the sins which they have
committed, and then to be confirmed.

" By this sacrament is contracted a spiritual kin-
ship, hindering the contracting of matrimony, and
breaking it off if already contracted; which kinship
takes place between the confirmer and the confirmed,
and between the father and mother, ind the sponsor
of the same, but goes no further.

" Let no sponsor present more than one or two.

" Those that are about to be confirmed must be
keeping fast.

" The forehead of every one that is confirmed
must be tied up, and remain so, until the chrism be
dried up, or wiped off.

" Wherefore let every one going to be confirmed
carry a clean linen fillet, wherewith to tie up his
head.

" Let infants be held by the sponsors on their
right arms, before the pontiff confirming them. But
adults and other more grown persons, must lay each
his foot on the right foot of lus sponsor, and there-
fore neither ought males to be god\thers to females,
nor females godmothers to males.

" All being arranged in order before him, the pon-
tiff still sitting, washes his hands ; then having put
off his mitre, he rises, and, with his face turned to
the persons to be confirmed, kneeling before him,
with their hands before their breast, he says :

" The Holy Ghost come down into you. and the
power of '.he Most High keep you from sin. K.
Amen.

" Then signing himself with the sign of the cross
from the forehead to the breast with his right hand,
he says ■ V. Our help is in the name of the Lord,
&c.

"And then, with his bands stretched out towards
'iose to be confirmed, he says :

'• Almighty and everlasting God, who didst vouch-
safe to regenerate these thy servants of water and
the Holy Ghost, and who hast given them the

l.

remission of all their sins ; send forth into them the
sevenfold Spirit thy holy paraclete from heaven. R.
Amen.

•• The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding. R.
Amen.

" The Spirit of counsel and of fortitude. R.
Amen.

" The Spirit of knowledge and of piety. R. Amen.

•' Fill them with the Spirit of thy fear and seal
them with the sign of the Cro+ss of Christ, being
made propitious (to them) unto life eternal. Through
the same our Lord, &c.

" Then the pontiff sitting on the aforesaid fald-
stool, or, if the multitude of those that are to be con-
firmed requires it, standing, with his mitre on, con-
firms them row after row. And he inquires the
name of each one individually, as the godfather or
godmother, on bended knees, presents each to him ;
and, having dipped the extremity of his right hand
thumb in the chrism, he says :

"N. I sign thee with the sign of the -f- cross. While
he says this he draws witli his thumb the sign of the
cross on the forehead of that one : and proceeds —

"And confirm thee witli the chrism of salvation.
In the name of the Fa+ther, and of the + Son, and
of the Holy + Ghost.

"Then he gives him a gentle slap (box) on t lie
cheek, saying, ' Peace be with thee.'

"All being confirmed, the pontiff wipes his thumb
and hand with a bit of bread, and washes them over
a basin. Which done, let the water of ablution be
poured into the piscina of the sacrarium.

" Afterwards, joining his hands, and all the con-
firmed devoutly kneeling, he says :

" 0 God, who didst give the Holy Ghost to thy
apostles, and didst will that by them and their sue
cessors the same should be delivered to the rest of
the faithful : look propitiously upon the service ol
our humility; and grant, that the same Holy Ghost,
coming down upon thuse whose foreheads we have
anointed with the sacred chrism, and signed with
the sign of the cross, may make the hearts of the
same a perfect temple of his own glory, by vouch-
safing to dwell therein. Who with the Father and
the same Holy Ghost, livest, &c.

" Next he says:

" Lo ! thus shall every one be blessed who feareth
the Lord.

"And turning to the confirmed, and making the
sign of the cross upon them, he says:

"The Lord bl+essyou out of Sion, that you may
see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your
life, and have eternal lite. R. Amen.

"The confirmation concluded, the pontiff, taking
his mitre, sits down, and admonishes the godfathers
and godmothers to instruct their children in good
manners, to eschew evil, and to do good, and to teach
them the Creed, tin /'.//,;• .W/<r, and the Ave Marin.
since to this they arc obliged."

The chrism of the Eastern church, which com-
2s*

586

CONFIRMATION— CONFUCIUS.

sponds to the confirmation of the Western, is prac-
tised as an appendix to baptism, following imme-
diately after it, and considered as forming, in one
sense, a part of it. The ceremony is performed with
sacred ointment or Chrism (which see), by which
the lorehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, breast,
hands, and feet are signed with the cross, the priest
saying each time, " The seal of the gift of the Holy
Ghost. " In the Constantinopolitan and Antiochian
form3, this is unaccompanied by any imposition of
hands. The entire ceremony is not complete till the
child is brought again, after the lapse of seven days,
to the priest, who, having washed it, cuts off some of
its hair crosswise, that is, in four places on the crown
of the head.

In Lutheran churches confirmation is universally
practised, though not considered as being an ordi-
nance of divine institution. It is not confined to the
bishops, but performed by every pastor of a congre-
gation, who, after instructing the young in the great
leading doctrines of Christianity, confirms them when
they have reached the age of fourteen or fifteen, by
the imposition of hands, after which they are admit-
ted to the Lord's Supper.

Many Protestant churches deny the practice of
confirmation to have any scriptural warrant, or to
have been at all known in apostolic times, and,
therefore, decline to observe it.

CONFIRMATION OF A BISHOP. On the
death, removal, or resignation of a bishop in the
Church of England, the dean and chapter of the ca-
thedral in which the vacant diocese is situated, make
application for the royal license to elect a successor.
The crown then issues a license, and along with it
sends letters-missive containing the name of the in-
dividual recommended to fill the vacant bishopric,
who is thereupon elected, and the crown issues let-
ters-patent to the archbishop of the province, re-
quiring him to proceed with the confirmation and
consecration. On the day being fixed for the confir-
mation, notice is publicly given, and all who object
to the election of the party proposed, are invited to
appear. One or more persons delegated by the dean
and chapter present the bishop-elect to the arch-
bishop, or to his representative, the vicar-general.
Proof is now given of the election of the bishop, and
of the royal assent ; after which the bishop takes
the usual oaths of allegiance, of supremacy, of si-
mony, and of obedience to the archbishop. Then
follows " The definitive sentence, or the act of confir-
mation, by which the judge commits to the bishop
elected the care, government, and administration of
the spiritual affairs of said bishopric, and then de-
crees him to be installed and enthronized."

CONFORMISTS, the name given to those per-
sons in England who conformed to the Liturgy or
Common Prayer-Book in the reign of Charles II.
On the 24th August 1662, all that did not conform
were deprived of all ecclesiastical benefices. The
consequence was, that nearly two thousand min-

isters of the Church of England were on that day
thrown into the ranks of dissent, the Act of Uni-
formity having come into operation. The terms of
conformity were, 1. Re-ordination, if they had not
been episcopally ordained, Presbyterian orders hav-
ing thus been declared invalid. 2. A declaration of
unfeigned assent and consent to all and everything
prescribed and contained in the Book of Common
Prayer and administration of the sacraments. 3.
The oath of canonical obedience. 4. Abjuration of
the Solemn League and Covenant. 5. Abjuration
of the lawfulness of taking arms against the king, or
any commissioned by him, on any pretence whatso-
ever. The term Conformists is still in use as applied
to those who adhere to the doctrine, worship, and
discipline of the Established Church of England, in
contrast to the Non-Conformists (which see), who
dissent from it. See Uniformity (Act of).

CONFORMITY (Declaration of). Every
clergyman belonging to the Church of England, on
being either licensed to a curacy, or instituted to a
benefice, signs what is termed the Declaration ot
Conformity, which is in these words, " I, A. B., do
declare, that I will conform to the Liturgy of the
United Church of England and Ireland, as it is now
by law established." This is subscribed in the pre-
sence of the bishop, or of some other person appointed
by the bishop as his commissary. See England
(Church of).

CONFUCIUS, an eminent Chinese philosopher
whose writings have exercised so powerful an influ-
ence over the minds of his countrymen, that his
religious, or rather moral system is adopted at this
day by the literary men of China. He was born
b. c. 551, in the principality of Loo, which is now
the province of Shan-tung. He was descended from
a very respectable family, which traced its pedigree
to the ancient emoerors. At a very early age he
lost his father, but through the kind indulgence of
his mother, he enjoyed every advantage in the at-
tainment of as liberal an education as the time could
command. Being naturally of a studious turn of
mind, he spent his days and nights in reading and
meditation, and formed to himself the high design
of accomplishing a reform in the opinions and man-
ners of his countrymen. Gradually he attracted
around him a goodly number of admiring disciples,
whom he carefully instructed in the art of good
government ; thus raising up virtuous, impartial, and
equitable rulers, who, recommending themselves by
their wisdom and efficiency to the Emperor, sue
ceeded in obtaining high offices in the state, which
they filled with honour to themselves, and the great-
est benefit to their country. Confucius himself
entertained the idea that he had discovered the in-
fallible mode of rendering a nation at once virtuous,
peaceful, and happy. Travelling from one part of
the vast Chinese empire to another, he endeavoured
to diffuse bis moral and political principles, obtaining
office for the sole purpose of exhibiting his theory in

CONFUCIANS.

5S7

practical operation. Throughout a long life he con-
tinued to wander from place to place, visiting courts
and palaces with a numerous train of disciples, until
disgusted with the small success which attended his
labours as a moral and political reformer, he retired
into private life, resolved to devote the remainder of
his days to the perfecting of his philosophical sys-
tem. He remodelled the book of rites— Le-ke, one
of the Woo-king or classics ; completed the Pa-kwa
or symbols of Tuh-he ; and thus produced the Yih-
king, a work which is said to have been composed
by the most celebrated philosophers of antiquity,
but finished by Confucius. His disciples, after his
death, prepared the Sze-shoo, four books on classics,
which Gutzlaff, the learned Chinese missionary, de-
clares to be " the most popular work in the world,
and read by greater numbers of people than any
other human production." The closing work of
Confucius was a history of his own times, in which
he descanted with the utmost freedom on the rulers
of his time, denouncing the oppression and injus-
tice of their government with so unsparing a
hand, that he made sycophants and tyrants tremble.
This was the last production of his powerful pen,
for shortly after its completion, his countrymen are
said to have discovered an unicorn in the woods,
which Confucius declared to be an indication that
his death was at hand, and wiping away the tears, he
exclaimed, " My teaching is at an end." His pre-
diction was too soon fulfilled, for almost immediately
after he expired, B. c. 479, in the seventy-third vear
of his age. Thus died one of those few illustrious
men who have left behind them traces of their exist-
ence, which, while the world lasts, can never be
effaced. Held in the highest admiration while he lived,
Confucius was venerated as a god after his death, and
at this day his principles are held as axioms by the
most intelligent and learned among the Chinese, not
in one district of the country only, but throughout
the whole empire. No philosopher of any nation,
not even Aristotle himself, has exercised for so long
a time a commanding influence over the opinions and
manners of such countless multitudes of men. Hue,
the Romish missionary, informs us that a tablet to
his memory is found in every school ; that both the
masters and the pupils prostrate themselves before
the venerated name of Confucius, at the beginning
and end of each class ; that his image is found in all
academies, places of literary resort, and examination
halls. All the towns have temples erected to his
honour, and more than 300,000,000 of men with one
voice proclaim him saint. The descendants of Con-
fucius, who still exist in great numbers, share in the
extraordinary honours which the whole Chinese na-
tion pays to their illustrious ancestor, for these con-
stitute the sole hereditary nobility of the empire,
and enjoy certain privileges which belong to them
alone. See next article.

COXFUCIANS.the followers of Confucius, whom
the Chinese regard as the most eminent of sages.

The sect venerate the memory of the man, and im-
plicitly adopt his opinions. His system was more
properly a theory of ethical and political philoso-
phy than a religion. The Confucians, accordingly,
are chiefly the learned men of China, who, in the
spirit of their master, seem to abjure all things
spiritual and divine. The political system of the
Chinese sage is of a very peculiar character, and
well fitted to uphold the despotic government of the
Celestial Empire. The law of the family is, accord-
ing to this theory, the universal law. Filial piety
is the root of all the virtues, and the source of all
instruction. This supremely important virtue is
divided into three vast spheres. (1.) The care and
respect due to parents. (2.) All that relates to the
service of prince and country. (3.) The acquisition
of the virtues, and of that which constitutes our per-
fection. The five cardinal virtues, according to this
school, are benevolence, righteousness, politeness or
propriety, wisdom, and truth, and at the foundation
of these lies filial piety. Not only in youth are pa-
rents to be reverenced, but even at the latest period
they are to be treated with honour, and after death
to be raised to the rank of gods. The relations of
father and son give the first idea of prince and sub-
ject. It is filial piety which inclines to obedience to
our superiors, and those who hold authority in the
state. But while Confucius thus inculcated rever-
ence to parents and obedience to rulers, he strangely
overlooked the subjection due to the Father of our
spirits. Not that he is altogether silent as to the
existence of a Supreme Being, but no such principle,
however obviously adapted to operate upon the hu-
man mind, is to be found pervading this extraordi-
nary system. On this theory of political govern-
ment, Mr. Gutzlaff remarks : " The endearing idea
of the father of a family, under which he represents
the sovereign of a country, has something very pleas-
ing in it. But the rights he allots to a father over
his child, are far greater than those which we should
be inclined to acknowledge as due. The theory,
however, is as excellent as the practice is difficult.
It is the most perfect despotism that has ever been
established. As it suited the interests of the rulers
to enforce these principles, and to honour their au-
thor, they have been upheld with a strong arm.
The works of Confucius have become the primers of
schools, and the text-books of academies during
many ages. The school-boy learns them by heart,
the literati make them the theme of their writings,
and the doctor seeks his highest glory in publishing
an elegant commentary on them. It is, therefore,
no wonder, that all the public institutions, and the
national spirit of the Chinese, are deeply tinged
with the Confucian doctrines. The stability of the
Chinese empire has thus been insured, and as long
as the government can maintain the same spiritual
control, its power will not be shaken. One despo-
tism may succeed another; but there will be no
change of measures, the country as well as the

588

CONFUCIANS.

people will remain stationary. To retain the people
in <\ state of civilization, equally remote from bar-
barism and enlightened principles, is the most im-
portant secret of Chinese despotism ; and no theory
like the Confucian is so well calculated to promote
this great end; it teaches the people then- duties,
but never mentions their rights."

The theory of Confucius, as to the origin of the
world, admits an universal chaos to have existed be-
fore the separation of the heaven from the earth ; and
that the two energies of nature were gradually distin-
guished, and the yin and yang, or the male and fe-
male principles, established. The purer influences
ascended and formed the heavens, while the grosser
particles subsided, constituting the subjacent earth.
The combination of these two gave origin to nature,
heaven being the father, and earth the mother of all
things. Mr. Medhurst, who, from Ins long resi-
dence in China, had ample opportunities of becoming
acquainted with this curious system of cosmogony,
thus describes it : " The principle of the Chinese
cosmogony seems to be founded on a sexual system
of the universe. That which Linnajus found to ex-
ist in plants, the Chinese conceive, pervades univer-
sal nature. Heaven and earth, being the grandest
objects cognizable to human senses, have been con-
sidered by them as the parents of all things, or the
superior and inferior principles of being. These
"hey trace to an extreme limit, which possessed in
itself the two powers combined. They say, that
one produced two, two begat four, and four increased
to eight ; and thus, by spontaneous multiplication,
the production of all things followed. To all these
existences, whether animate or inanimate, they at-
tach the idea of sex ; thus everything superior pre-
siding, luminous, hard, and unyielding, is of the mas-
culine ; while everything of an opposite quality is
ascribed to the feminine gender. Numerals are thus
divided, and every odd number is arranged under the
former, and every even number under the latter sex.
This theory of the sexes was adopted by the ancient
Egyptians, and appears in some of the fragments
ascribed to Orpheus ; while the doctrine of numbers
'aught by the Confucian school, resembles in some
degree the monad and duad of Pythagoras, of
which some have spoken as the archetype of the
world."

The Confucian cosmogony is intimately connected
with their scheme of diagrams. These diagrams
consist of a magic square, in which the figures are
so arranged that the sums of each row, both dia-
gonally and laterally, shall be equal. The form may
be thus represented: —

4

9

2

3

5

7

8

1

6

In this square every odd number represents hea-
ven or the superior principle, and every even num-
ber, earth or the inferior principle. The odd num-
bers, when summed up, amount to 25, and the even
numbers with the decade amount to 30, and by these
55 numbers the Confucians believe that all trans-
formations are perfected, and the spirits act.

Another portion of the Confucian theory of the
structure of the universe is equally curious. Hea-
ven, earth, and man are considered as the primary
agents, each of them being described by three lines,
some of which are entire, others broken, so that they
can form eight different combinations. This multi-
plied by itself gives 6-1; and increased to twenty-
four lines placed over each other, they make
16,777,216 changes. By these numbers they ima-
gine that the properties of every being, its motion,
rest, and reciprocal operation are described. Hence
the belief of the Confucians in "intelligible num-
bers" as the foundation of their cosmogony ; and the
use of these numbers by Chinese fortune-tellers to
calculate the destinies of men. The whole is evi-
dently a system of materialism, and its origin, as well
as its continued operation, is to be resolved in their
view into a principle of order. They believe in a
sort of material trinity, called heaven, earth, and
man ; by man in this case being meant the sages
only. Heaven and earth, they say, produced human
beings, and the sages, by giving instruction, assist
nature hi the management of the world. Of these
sages the most exalted is Confucius himself, who is
placed on a level with the powers of nature, and in
fact converted into a god. They even pay him
divine honours, there being upwards of 1,560 tem-
ples dedicated to his worship ; and at the spring and
autumnal sacrifices there are offered to him six bul-
locks, 27,000 pigs, 5,800 sheep, 2,800 deer, and
27,000 rabbits ; making a total of 62,606 animals,
immolated every year to the manes of Confucius,
besides 27,600 pieces of silk; all provided by the
government. This of course is exclusive of the nu-
merous offerings of private individuals.

The followers of Confucius in China believe in
demons and spirits, to each of which is assigned the
care and guardianship of some particular dynasty or
kingdom, some particular element or province of
nature ; while the four comers of the house, with the
shop, parlour, and kitchen, are thought to be under
the influence of some tutelary divinity. And in re-
ference to the doctrine of retribution, they hold thai
virtue meets with its reward, and vice with its pun-
ishment, only in the present world, and if not re-
ceived during life, the good or evil consequences will
result to a man's children or grandchildren. In this
way they evade altogether the necessity of a future
state of retribution. Two great elements are thus
found to be awanting in the moral system of the
Chinese sage, the existence of a God, and the doc-
trine of a future life beyond the grave.

The teaching of Confucius being thoroughly eartl Jy

C< )NGE DELIEE— CONGREGATION.

589

in its character, it was so framed as to attach the
highest importance to a series of external regula-
tions, which were deemed necessary to secure the
decorum and good order of society. To carry out
this object, Confucius composed or compiled the
Le-ke, a work on rites in six volumes. It is the
most extensive work he has bequeathed to posterity,
and points out etiquette, rites and ceremonies under
all circumstances, and for all stations of life. In so
high estimation was this production held, that forty-
three celebrated writers published commentaries and
explanatory treatises on the Le-ke; and that no rites
might be omitted, the Chow-le, another work on the
same subject, consisting of thirty volumes, was added.
" From all the books," says Gutzlaff, •' which treat
of rites, one might collect a very large library, and
thus acquire the invaluable knowledge of eating,
drinking, sleeping, mouming, standing, weeping, and
laughing, according to rule, and thus become a per-
fect Confucian automaton."

Shortly after its promulgation, the politico-moral
system of the Chinese philosopher, though warmly
supported by those who had embraced it, was pro-
ductive of so little benefit to the community, that it
was in danger of completely losing its credit. In the
course of two centuries, however, after the death of
its founder, Confucianism rose into renewed vigour
through the active exertions of Mang-tsze or Mencius,
who travelled from one end of the empire to the other,
preaching the doctrines of his revered master. Nor
was he without considerable success. He was followed
by a'numerous host of disciples, and though he added
little to the doctrines of Confucius, he placed them
in a new light, and explained and applied them with
ability and power. The system defective, though it
undoubtedly is in some most essential particulars,
whether viewed as a system of ethical or of political
philosophy, has kept its ground in China to this
day. Its adherents are generally regarded as mate-
rialists and atheists, yet the greater number of them
are found to conform to the popular idolatry.

CONGE D'ELIItE (Fr. leave to choose), the writ
or license given by the Sovereign in England to the
dean and chapter of the cathedral of a vacant dio-
■ese, authorizing them to elect a bishop. Along
with the conge d'elire are sent letters missive con-
taining the name of the individual recommended by
the Crown to rill the vacant office, and from the time
of Henry VIII. it has been the law, that the dean
and chapter are liable to the penalties of a 'pre-
munire if they refuse to elect the person nominated
by the Crown. See Bishop.

CONGO (Religion of). See Fetish- Wor-
ship.

CONGREGATION. This word, like the term
Church (which see), is sometimes used in a more
extended and at other times in a more restricted
sense. In its widest acceptation, it includes the
whole body of the Christian people. It is thus cm-
ployed by the Psalmist when he sajs, " Let the

congregation of saints praise Him." But the word
more frequently implies an association of professing
Christians, who regularly assemble for divine wor-
ship in one place under a stated pastor. In order to
constitute a congregation in this latter sense of the
term, among the Jews at least ten men are required,
who have passed the thirteenth year of then- age
In every place in which this number of Jews can
be statedly assembled, they procure a synagogue.
Among Christians, on the other hand, no such pre-
cise regulation is found, our Lord himself having
declared, " Wherever two or three are met together
in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Guided by such intimations of the will of Christ,
Christian sects of all kinds are in the habit of orga-
nising congregations though the number composing
them may be much smaller than that tixed by the
Jewish Rabbies.

CONGREGATIONS (Romish), assemblies of
cardinals appointed to arrange some one department
of the affairs of the Church of Rome. Each congre-
gation has its chief or president, and also its secre-
tary, who records the proceedings and conducts the
correspondence. The instruments which are de-
spatched, and the letters which are written in the
name of the congregation, must be signed by the
president, and have his seal stamped upon it.

CONGREGATION (Consistorial), instituted
by Pope Sixtus V., for the preparation of the more
difficult beneficiary matters which are afterwards to
be discussed in the CONSISTORY (which see), in tin
Pope's presence. The cardinal-deacon, when he re-
sides at Rome, is president of this congregation, and
in his absence the Pope may appoint any member of
the Apostolical College to act as interim president
This congregation is composed of several cardinals
and of some prelates and divines elected by the
Pope; and the affairs which usually come before
them, regard such matters as the erection of new
archbishoprics and cathedral churches, reunions, sup-
pressions, and resignations of bishoprics, coadjutor-
ships, and the taxes and annates of all benefices to
which the Pope collates.

CONGREGATION OF THE APOSTOLICAL
VISITATION. The pope, besides laying claim to
the office of universal bishop, is invested also with
the special office of archbishop of the city of Rome,
and in that quality is boimd to make the pastoral
visitation of six bishoprics, which are suffragans to
this metropolis of his patrimony. But in conse-
quence of his manifold engagements, this congrega-
tion has been instituted to relieve him from some of
his more special duties, by nominating commission
crs to visit churches ami monasteries both in eitv
and country, and report the state of matters to the
congregation. This congregation is composed of

the same cardinals and prelates which constitute the
ition for suppressing monasteries, but in ad-
dition to these, it contains also the Pope's vicar-
general and the cardinal vicegerent, whose consent

5!»0

CONGREGATION.

is indispensable to the appointment of commission-
ers for visiting either churches or monasteries.

CONGREGATION OP BISHOPS AND RE-
GULARS. Sixtus V., in the beginning of his pon-
tificate, united two congregations under this name.
It is, composed of a certain number of cardinals fixed
by the Pope, and of a prelate who acts as secretary,
and has six writers under him. This congregation
has authority to settle all disputes that may arise
among bishops and the regulars of all monastic or-
ders. The cardinals of this assembly are bound to
give their opinion when necessary to all bishops,
abbots, prelates, and superiors of churches or monas-
teries, who make application to them. The writers
and secretary of this congregation are maintained at
the expense of the apostolical chamber, the counsel
and opinion being afforded in all cases without fee.

CONGREGATION FOR THE EXAMINA-
TION OF BISHOPS, instituted by Gregory XIV.,
for the purpose of examining those churchmen who
were nominated to bishoprics. It is composed of
eight cardinals, six prelates, ten divines of different
orders, both secular and regular, some of whom must
be doctors of the canon law. These examiners are
chosen by the Pope, who assembles them in his pa-
lace when occasion requires. All Italian bishops
are obliged to submit to this examination before
they are consecrated, and for this purpose they pre-
sent themselves before his holiness kneeling on a
cushion at his feet, wliile the examiners stand round
proposing such questions as they think proper, on
theology and the canon law, to all of which the can-
lidates are expected to give suitable answers. If the
examination has pioved satisfactory, the Pope au-
thorises their names to be given in to the secretary,
who inserts them in a register, and an extract is
handed to each of the candidates that he may make
use of it in case of his translation to another see, or
his elevation to a higher dignity in the church, no
further examination being ever after required from
him. Such as are raised to the cardinalate before
they are created bishops, are exempted from this ex-
amination to qualify them for taking possession of a
bishop's see or patriarchate, or even to be raised to
the pontificate. All cardinal-nephews are likewise
exempt.

CONGREGATION ON THE MORALS OF
BISHOPS, instituted by Innocent XI. to secure that
churchmen, who are raised to the episcopal or any
Other dignity in the church, should be men of vir-
tuous and regular lives. This congregation is com-
posed of three cardinals, two bishops, four prelates,
and a secretary, who is the pope's auditor. Their
province is to examine very carefully the certificates
of the life and manners of every candidate for a
bishop's see, and to take care that his whole deport-
ment be without reproach.

CONGREGATION FOR THE RESIDENCE
OF BISHOPS. This congregation, of which the
Pope's vicar-general is president, is empowered to

take cognizance of all bishops and abbots in Italy
in the matter of residence, either compelling or dis
pensing with their residence in their several dioceses
or communities as circumstances may seem to re-
quire. In this congregation there are three car
dinals, three prelates, and a secretary. They as
semble at the palace of the vicar-general on the few
occasions on which meetings are necessary. Every
bishop or abbot, who wishes to obtain leave of ab-
sence for any cause whatever, must apply to this
congregation. If any bishop or abbot infringes theit
order he is deprived of all his benefices as long as
he absents himself ; and if he refuse to return on the
order of this congregation, they have it in their power
to suspend him from all his functions, when he can
only be restored by his holiness or vicar-general,
with the consent of the deputies of this congrega-
tion.

CONGREGATION FOR BUILDING OF
CHURCHES, instituted by Clement VIII., princi
pally to superintend the building of St. Peter's
church at Rome. They have often, however, em-
ployed themselves in building other churches in
Rome. This congregation consists of eight cardi-
nals and four prelates, assisted by the auditor and
treasurer of the apostolic chamber, an auditor of the
rota, a steward, a fiscal, a secretary, and some at-
torneys. Meetings are held twice every month at the
palace of the senior cardinal of the congregation.
Besides superintending repairs or improvements on
St. Peter's, they have the power of inquiring into
the wills of those who have bequeathed sums for
pious uses.

CONGREGATION OF THE HOLY OFFICE,
instituted by Pope Paul III. for the purpose of tak-
ing cognizance of heresies, and such new opinions
as might be contrary to the doctrines of the Romish
church ; as also of apostasy, witchcraft, magic, and
other kinds of incantation, the abuse of the sacra-
ments, and the condemnation of pernicious books.
Paul IV. enlarged the privileges of this congregation,
and Sixtus V. passed various statutes, which rendered
the holy office so powerful and formidable, that the
Italians of the time declared " Pope Sixtus would not
pardon Christ himself." This congregation consists ol
twelve or more cardinals, along with a considerable
number of prelates and divines of various orders, both
secular and regular, who are called consulters of the
holy office. There is, besides, a fiscal with his assessor,
whose business it is to make a report of the cases
which come before the congregation. A meeting is
held once, and sometimes twice a-week, the Pope
being generally present and presiding, while the
senior cardinal of the holy office acts as secretary,
and keeps the seal of the congregation in his cus-
tody. The whole proceedings of this body are con-
ducted in private, and a seal of secresy is imposed
on all its members. All persons accused or sus-
pected of heresy or other crimes of which this
tribunal takes cognizance, are imprisoned in tb«

CONGREGATION.

rm

palace of the holy office until the prosecution is
ended. If found not guilty, they are set at liberty,
but if proved to be guilty, they are delivered over to
the secular authorities to be punished accordingly.
See Inquisition.

CONGREGATION OF IMMUNITIES, insti-
tuted by Urban VIII., with the design of preventing
the disputes which frequently arose between the
civil and ecclesiastical powers in regard to the trial
of churchmen for delinquencies. This congregation
is composed of several cardinals nominated by the
Pope. They have also an auditor of the rota, a
clerk of the chamber, and several prelates, referenda-
ries, one of which is the secretary of the congrega-
tion. This court takes cognizance of all ecclesiasti-
cal immunities and exemptions. It is held at the
palace of the cardinal-dean once a-week. Before
Urban VIII. instituted this congregation, the cogni-
zance of ecclesiastical immunities belonged to the
Congregation of Bishops and Regulars (which
see).

CONGREGATION OF THE INDEX, insti-
tuted by Pope Pius V., for the purpose of examining
and prohibiting the perusal of all such books as con-
tain in their view pernicious doctrines. The council
of Trent, in tne pontificate of Pius IV., pronounced
anathema upon all who should read prohibited books,
or read them without leave asked and given. To
carry out this decree of the council, this congrega-
tion was formed, and their deputies have the power
to grant permission to read prohibited books to all
members of the Romish church in any part of the
world. Their power differs from that of the holy
office, which prohibits only books written against
the faith, whereas this congregation has power to
condemn any books which they may regard as ob-
jectionable, of whatever kind they may be. Hence
it frequently happens, that works which have not the
remotest bearing on religious doctrine or practice,
are to be found in the Index Prohibitum, to which
additions are made from time to time as the congre-
gation may see fit. In addition to the cardinals and
secretary which compose the congregation, there are
several divines attached to it under the name of
consulters, whose office it is to examine books and
report, while they have no voice in the meetings of
the congregation, which are only held as often as
occasion requires.

CONGREGATION OF INDULGENCES, in-
stituted for the purpose of dispensing indulgences in
the Pope's name to all whom the congregation, with
the full consent of his holiness, regard as worthy of
such favours. The number of the cardinals and
prelates, composing this congregation, is not fixed,
but dependent entirely on the pleasure of the Pope.
Bee Indulgence.

CONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA FI-
DE, instituted by Gregory XV. in 1G22, for the
support and propagation of the Romish religion in
all parts of the world. It consisted originally of

thirteen cardinals, two priests, and one monk, toge-
ther with a secretary. The number of cardinal"
which compose it was afterwards increased to eigh-
teen, to which were added a few other officers, in-
cluding one papal secretary, one apostolical protho-
notary, one referendary, and one of the assessors or
scribes of the holy office. This congregation meets
in the presence of the Pope, the first Monday ot
every month, besides holding several ordinaiy meet-
ings every week, for the purpose of consulting as to
the best modes of advancing the cause of Romanism
throughout the whole world. See College De
Propaganda Fide.

CONGREGATION OF RELICS, instituted for
the superintendence of relics of ancient martyrs,
which are frequently found in catacombs and other
subterraneous places in and around Rome. This
congregation is composed of six cardinals and four
prelates, among whom are the cardinal-vicar and the
prefect of the Pope's sacristy. There are certain
marks by which real are said to be distinguished
from spurious relics, and after careful deliberation on
all the circumstances of the case, the votes of the
congregation are taken, and if the marks of the re-
lics are, by a majority, declared to be genuine, the
president declares the relic in question to be worthy
of the veneration of the faithful, and gives it such a
name as he thinks right ; handing over the relic to
the vicar and the Pope's sacristan, who distributes
portions of the precious treasure to those of the
faithful who may wish to be possessed of them. See
Relics.

CONGREGATION OF RITES or CEREMO
NIES, instituted by Sixtus V., to regulate the ce
remonies and rites of the new offices of saints, which
are added from time to time to the Roman calendar.
This congregation has authority to explain the ru-
brics of the Mass-Book and Breviary when any diffi-
culties are started, or any one desires information on
such topics. It has also the power of pronouncing
sentence, from which there is no appeal, on all dis-
putes relating to the precedency of churches. It is
composed of eight cardinals and a secretary, who is
one of the college of the prelates referendaries.
Two masters of the ceremonies in the Pope's house-
hold are also admitted into the congregation. Its
meetings are held once amonth, or oftener as occa-
sion requires. When a saint is about to be canon-
ized, the three senior auditors of the rota are present
in this assembly as persons supposed to be versed
in the canon law, along with an assistant apostolical
prothonotary, and the proctor of the faith, who is
generally the fiscal advocate of the apostolical cham-
ber. Several consulters also are admitted, who are
divines and monks professed of different orders,
among whom is the master of the sacred palace, and
the prefect of the Pope's sacristy. All these judges
assistants, together with the deputies in ordinary o.
this congregation, examine the claims to eanoniza-
I tion. which are alleged in favour of an individual

592

CONGREGATION— CONGREGATIONALISTS.

These proofs are martyrdom, undisputed miracles,
testimonies of a virtuous life, aud heroic virtues.
See Beatification, Canonization.

COXGREGATION FOR SUPPRESSING MO-
NASTERIES, instituted by Innocent X. for the
purpose of inquiring into the state of monasteries,
and either suppressing altogether those which are
likely to prove burdensome to the public, or uniting
t'«>m to other monasteries which might happen to
have more wealth than they required. This con-
gregation is composed of eight cardinals and a num-
ber of friars belonging to all the orders. The re-
building, as well as the suppression, of monasteries
comes within the cognizance of this congregation.

CONGREGATION ON THE TRIDENTINE
DECREES. At the close of the proceedings of the
council of Trent in the sixteenth century, Pope Pius
IV. appointed certain cardinals, who had been pre-
sent and assisted in its deliberations, to superintend
the execution of its decrees, strictly enjoining that
these decrees should be observed in their literal
sense, and prohibiting all glosses by way of inter-
preting them. Sixtus V. established tliis congrega-
tion, empowering it to interpret all points of disci-
pline, but not of doctrine. It meets once a-week at
the palace of the senior cardinal, under the presi-
dency of a cardinal appointed by the Pope, and who
along with the office receives a large pension. To
be a member of this congregation is regarded as a
high honour, and therefore eagerly coveted.

CONGREGATIONALIST S, a large and flour-
ishing body of professing Christians in Britain and
America, whose great distinctive principle concerns
the scriptural constitution of a Christian church.
This denomination, also termed Independents, ob-
ject equally to the Episcopal and Presbyterian
forms of church government. In their view every
particular society of visible professors, who agree
to walk together in the faith and order of the gos-
pel, is a complete church, having the power of
government and discipline within itself, and inde-
pendent of all other congregations, being responsible
for all its actings only to the great Head of the
church. Another distinctive principle, which may
be considered as arising out of that which we have
just noticed, is, that the whole power of government
is vested in the assembly of the faithful. On these
two principles, if indeed they can be considered as
distinct from each other, rests the whole system of
Congregationalism or Independency. The terms
Church and Congregation, then, this body of Chris-
tians consider as synonymous. Accordingly, Church,
when used in Scripture, is regarded by Congrega-
tionalists as in no case applicable to an aggregate of
individual assemblies, but that whenever more than
one such assembly is referred to, the plural " churches"
is invariably employed. The church they believe
to be composed of true believers, hence the utmost
Etrictness is exercised in the admission of church
members, evidence being required sufficient to sa-

tisfy the church, not simply of a credible profession
of Christianity, as in Episcopal and Presbyterian
churches, but of a saving operation of Divine grace
in the soul. Every church thus constituted has the
power to choose its own office-bearers, to admit, re-
ject, or excommunicate its own members, and to
raise and administer its own funds. In all matters
which come under the consideration of the church,
every member has a voice, that is, every male mem
ber, although in some Congregationalist churches,
female members are regarded as on an equal footing
with males in this respect. All authority is vested
in the entire membership of the church, the office-
bearers and members being on an equality in right of
government ; and from the decision of each indivi-
dual church there is no appeal.

The Congregationalists maintain, that Scripture
wan-ants no more than two kinds of church office-
bearers, bishops or pastors, to care for the spiritual,
and deacons to manage the temporal affairs of the
church. It is left wholly to the discretion of each
church to elect one or more pastors, no fixed rule
being laid down, as they conceive, in the New Tes-
tament, to regulate the number of pastors. All that
is required, in their view, to constitute a valid call
to the ministry, is simply an invitation issued by any
individual church to take the pastorate over them,
and the mere acceptance of such an invitation gives
full authority to preach and administer the sacra-
ments. But after this election and invitation given
and accepted, an ordination of the newly chosen
pastor takes place, conducted by the ministers of the
neighbouring churches. The precise nature of this
service among the Congregationalists is thus laid
down in a tract issued by the Congregational Union
of England : " In the ordination Of a Congregational
pastor, there is no assumption of anything resem-
bling hierarchical authority. By this proceeding it
is not professed that office is conferred, character
imparted, gifts bestowed, or authority conveyed. It
is an affair of order and no more. It declares and
assures the due observance of godly order in all the
preceding steps by which the ordained pastor has
entered on his work. It completes and solemnizes
his actual entrance on all pastoral engagements. Or-
dination among Congregationalists stands in the same
relation to the sacred office that inaugural solemni-
ties hold in respect to civil offices. Coronation does
not make a king. It solemnizes the entrance on
kingly dignities and functions of him who is already
king, by laws and rights which coronation does not
impart, or even confirm, but only recognizes, cele-
brates, and publishes." From this statement, which
may be regarded as authoritative, it is plain that the
authority of a pastor flows exclusively from the elec-
tion by a church, and that election is not restricted
to any particular class of men ; any person being
eligible to the office of pastor whom the particular
church thinks fitted to edify them by his gifts and
qualifications. While such is the abstract theory of

CONGEEGATIOXALISTS.

593

Congregationalism, an educated ministry is viewed
by this body as of high importance, and, according-
ly, almost all their ministers have been trained at
the Theological Academies and Colleges which have
been founded specially for this purpose. And yet
while they believe in the scriptural authority of the
pastoral office, they maintain that not the pastors
only, but any others of the church-members, who
may be possessed of the requisite gifts, may, with
the utmost propriety, be allowed to exhort the
brethren.

From the very nature of the theory of Congrega-
tionalism, it is obvious that the existence of Estab-
lished churches is inconsistent with it, as interfering
with the self-government of churches, and supersed-
ing, by the endowments of the state, the spontaneous
exertions of Christians to maintain and propagate
the truth. On the members of each individual church
rests the responsibility not only ofsupportingordinan-
ceB among themselves, but of doing their uttermost
for the propagation of Christianity throughout the
world. At first sight it might appear likely that
the independency of the churches might prevent them
from co-operating with each other in the advance-
ment of the Redeemer's kingdom both at home
and abroad. Practically, however, it is far other-
wise. The power of self-control rests in each indi-
vidual church ; neither are the churches connected
together by subscription to any human creeds, articles,
or confessions, and yet the most pleasing uniformity
is observed among Congregationalist churches, both
in doctrine and practice. This may possibly have
arisen from the voluntary associations for brotherly
intercourse and advice, which are held among the
pastors of the churches usually of each county.
Such associations, synods, or assemblies, the Con-
gregationalists do not consider unlawful, if they be
not " intrusted, " to use the language of the Savoy
Conference, " with any church power properly so
called, or with any jurisdiction over the churches
themselves, to exercise any censures, or to impose
their determination on the churches or officers." Such
was the principle held by the Independents so far
back as 1658 ; and in the same spirit the Congrega-
tional Union of England and Wales was established
in 1831. Thus Christian sympathy and co-opera-
tion among the churches are secured, they believe,
without the evils and disadvantages arising from
a forced conformity. The following principles of
church order and discipline are maintained by the
Congregationalists of England and Wales, as set
forth in a ' Declaration of Faith, Order, and Disci-
pline' issued by the Congregational Union in 1833 :

" I. The Congregational churches hold it to be the
will of Christ that true believers should voluntarily
assemble together to observe religious ordinances, to
promote mutual edification and holiness, to perpe-
tuate and propagate the Gospel in the world, and to
advance the glory and worship of God through Je US
Christ; and that each society of believers, having

I.

these objects in view in its formation, is properly a
Christian church.

" II. They believe that the New Testament con-
tains, either in the form of express statute, or in
the example and practice of apostles and apostolic
churches, all the articles of faith necessary to be be-
lieved, and all the principles of order and discipline
requisite for constituting and governing Christian
societies; and that human traditions, fathers and
councils, canons and creeds, possess no authority over
the faith and practice of Christians.

" III. They acknowledge Christ as the only Head
of the church, and the officers of each church under
Him, as ordained to administer His laws impartially
to all ; and their only appeal, in all questions touch-
ing their religious faith and practice, is to the Sacred
Scriptures.

" IV. They believe that the New Testament autho-
rizes every Christian church to elect its own officers, to
manage all its own affairs, and to stand independent
of, and irresponsible to, all authority, saving that only
of the Supreme and Divine Head of the church, the
Lord Jesus Christ.

" V. They believe that the only officers placed by
the apostles over individual churches, are the bish-
ops or pastors, and the deacons ; the number of these
being dependent upon the numbers of the church ;
and that to these, as the officers of the church, is
committed respectively the administration of its spi-
ritual and temporal concerns, subject, however, to the
approbation of the church.

" VI. They believe that no persons should be re-
ceived as members of Christian churches, but such as
make a credible profession of Christianity, are living
according to its precepts, and attest a willingness to
be subject to its discipline ; and that none should be
excluded from the fellowship of the church, but such
as deny the faith of Christ, violate his laws, or re-
fuse to submit themselves to the discipline which the
word of God enforces.

" VII. The power of admission into any Christian
church, and rejection from it. they believe to be
vested in the church itself, and to be exercised only
through the medium of its own officers.

" VIII. They believe that Christian churches
should statedly meet for the celebration of public
worship, for the observance of the Lord's Supper,
and for the sanctification of the first day of the week.

" 1 S. They believe that the power of a Christian
church is purely spiritual, and should in no way be
corrupted by union with temporal or civil power.

" X. They believe that it is the duty of Christian
churches to hold communion with each other, to en-
tertain an enlarged affection for each other, as mem-
bers of the same body, and to co-operate for the pro-
motion of the Christian cause ; but that no church,
nor union of churches, has any right or power to in-
terfere with the faith or discipline of any other
church, further than to separate from such as, in
faith or practice, depart from the Gospel of Christ.
2 T *

594

CONGREGATIONALISTS.

" XL They believe that it is the privilege and
duty of every church to call forth such of its mem-
bers as may appear to be qualified, by the Holy
Spirit, to sustain the office of the ministry ; and that
Christian churches unitedly ought to consider the
maintenance of the Christian ministry in an adequate
degree of learning, as one of its especial cares ; that
the cause of the Gospel may be both honourably
sustained and constantly promoted.

" XII. They believe that church officers, whether
bishops or deacons, should be chosen by the free
voice of the church ; but that their dedication to the
duties of their office should take place with special
prayer, and by solemn designation, to which most of
tlte churches add the imposition of hands by those
already in office.

"XIII. They believe that the fellowship of every
Christian church should be so liberal as to admit to
communion in the Lord's Supper all whose faith and
godliness are, on the whole, undoubted, though con-
scientiously differing in points of minor importance ;
and that this outward sign of fraternity in Christ
should be co-extensive with the fraternity itself,
though without involving any compliances which
conscience would deem to be sinful."

The originator of the Congregationalist body is
generally said to be Robert Brown, the founder of
the sect of Brotvnists (which see), who organized
a church in England in 1583. It is not unlikely,
however, that at a still earlier period churches on the
Congregationalist principles existed in England, and
it is worthy of note.that in Cranmer's Bible, the word
ccclesia, which is now translated " church," is uni-
formly rendered "congregation." Brown, along with
the other Congregationalist principles winch he held,
denied the supremacy of the Queen over the church,
and declared the Establishment to be an unscriptural
church. With the view of propagating his opinions
the more extensively, he published a series of tracts
explanatory of his principles. These were scattered
far and wide to the great annoyance of the govern-
ment, who put to death several individuals, for what
was in their eyes an unpardonable crime, denying the
Queen's supremacy. Persecuted in England, a number
who held Independent principles took refuge in Hol-
land, where they planted Congregationalist churches
in Amsterdam, Leyden, and other cities, which con-
tinued to flourish for more than a hundred years.
Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1592, estimated the number of
Brownists in England at twenty thousand. In the
time of the Commonwealth they took the name of
Independents, probably from the peculiarity which
distinguished their churches from all Established
churches, that they were independent of all external
interference or control. The Assembly of Divines,
which met at Westminster in 1643, numbered five
leading Independent ministers among its members.
Though men of weight and influence in their own
body, these five " dissenting brethren," as they were
called, were unable to resist the overwhelming num-

bers of the Presbyterians, and were obliged, there-
fore, to content themselves with drawing up a protest
under the name of 'Apologetic Narration,' which
was presented to the House of Commons in 1644.
The tide of opinion ran strong against them, both in
the Assembly and in Parliament. The divine au-
thority of the Presbyterian form of church govern-
ment was maintained with such keenness and deter-
mination, that the Independents were contented to
plead for simple toleration and indulgence. It was
at this period that Milton produced his ' Areopagi-
tica,' which was principally instrumental in changing
the whole course of public opinion. The Presbyte-
rian party now rapidly declined in influence and fa-
vour. The plan which had been formed of estab-
lishing Presbytery all over England was defeated.
Through the influence of Cromwell, who favoured the
Independents, that party rose into favour with all
classes of the people, and with John Owen at their
head, they rapidly gained the confidence of the coun-
try, rising to the highest places in the government,
aud becoming a strong political faction.

Nor were the Independents less influential as a re-
ligious body in England. They were both numerous
and powerful, but, notwithstanding the advantages
which they now possessed, they felt their influence
over the community to be not a little diminished
in consequence of the indefinite character of their
doctrinal opinions. A regularly drawn up confes-
sion of faith seemed in these circumstances to be
imperatively called for, and in order to prepare and
publish such a document, a conference or synod o.
the body was held in 1658 at the Savoy, in the
Strand, London. This memorable assembly con-
sisted of ministers aud lay delegates, representing the
various Independent churches throughout England,
and after careful examination, they sent forth a
" Declaration of the Faith and Order owned and
practised in the Congregational Churches in Eng-
land," which was simply a republication of the
Westminster Confession, with the omission of such
passages as favoured Presbyterianism, and the addi-
tion of an entire chapter supporting Independency.

The decline of the Congregationalists in political
importance commenced with the Restoration in 1660,
and when the Act of Uniformity passed in 1662,
they, in common with other Non-conformists, were
subjected to much suffering. But amid all the per-
secution to which they were exposed, they increased
in numbers to such an extent, that they seem to have
actually outnumbered the Presbyterians. The pass-
ing of the Act of Toleration in 1689, brought relief
to the Independents as well as other Dissenters.
They now began to be more reconciled to the Pres-
byterians, and at length, in 1691, heads of agreement
were drawn up with a view to bring about an accom-
modation between the two parties. The great dis-
senting bodies now made common cause with one
another, and the Baptists, Presbyterians, and Inde-
pendents, first in 1696. and afterwards in 1730.

CONGREGATIONALISTS (American).

595

formed themselves into a united body under the
name of the Three Denominations, who still enjoy
the privilege of approaching the throne as one body,
and consult together from time to time for the gen-
eral interest of Dissenters. From the reign of Queen
Anne, in the first part of the eighteenth century,
Presbyterianism gradually lost footing in England,
while the Congregationalists were yearly growing in
numbers and importance. This progressive improve-
ment of the latter denomination has been sustained
down to the present day, when, of all the various
bodies of Dissenters in England, they are beyond
all doubt the most numerous and influential. A\ hat-
ever opinions may be entertained as to the scriptural
authority of the Congregational system, its success
in England cannot for a moment be questioned.
Some of the brightest names in theological literature,
such as Watts, and Henry, and Doddridge, adorn the
pages of its history. From its academies, under the
tutorship of such men as Pye Smith, Burder, and Har-
ris, have come forth a host of men of ability, piety,
scholarship, and zeal, such as would do honour to any
church in any country under heaven. The London
Missionary Society, which was mainly founded, and
continues to be mainly supported, by Congregation-
alist ministers and laymen, forms a standing evidence
of the Christian energy, and efficiency, and zeal of
this highly respected and respectable denomination
of English Dissenters. By the last census in 1851,
the number of Congregationalist churches in Eng-
land and Wales was reported as amounting to 3,244,
with accommodation for 1,063,136 persons.

CONGREGATIONALISTS (American). The
father of Congregationalism in America seems to
have been a worthy Non-conformist minister named
John Robinson. Little is known of the early his-
tory of this individual. We first hear of him as pas-
tor of a dissenting church in the north of England,
somewhere about the commencement of the seven-
teenth century. His congregation was formed in
troublous times, and both he and they were sub-
jected to so much annoyance in consequence of their
Non-conformist principles, that they formed the re-
solution of leaving England in a body, and taking
refuge in Holland, which at that period was the
asylum of the persecuted. It was not so easy to
accomplish their object, however, as they had at first
anticipated. Their first attempt to escape was de-
feated, and the whole company were lodged in pri-
son. A second attempt was more successful, for a
' part of the church reached Amsterdam in safety.
Mr. Robinson and the remainder of the church, in
the spring ot 1608, made another effort to escape
and join their friends in Holland. Their plans
were laid in the utmost secresy. The company
assembled on a ban-en heath in Lincolnshire, and
embarked on board a vessel under cloud of dark-
ness. The night was stormy, and while some of
the party were still waiting on the shore the re-
turn of a boat which had conveyed some of their

companions to the ship, a company of horsemen
appeared in pursuit, and apprehended a number
of the weeping women and children. After some
little delay, however, they were set at liberty, and
the whole company of emigrants, with Robinson at
their head, set sail for the shores of Holland. On
their arrival they joined the church at Amsterdam,
but in the course of a year, owing to the dissensions
which had broken out among its members, they re
moved to Leyden, where they founded a church on
Independent principles. Their numbers were speed-
ily increased by the arrival of additional immigrants
from England, and in a short time the church num-
bered three hundred communicants. For ten years
Mr. Robinson continued to labour in Leyden, where
his talents were so highly appreciated, that, at the
request of the Calvinistic professors in the university
of that place, he engaged in a public dispute with
Episcopius, the champion of the Arminians, whom
he signally vanquished. The principles of the
church at Leyden were of a strictly Congregational-
ist character, as appears from the following sum-
mary of them contained in Belknap's Life of
Robinson :

" 1. That no church ought to consist of more mem-
bers than can conveniently meet together for wor-
ship and discipline.

" 2. That any church of Christ is to consist only
of such as appear to believe in, and obey him.

" 3. That any competent number of such have a
right, when conscience obliges them, to form them-
selves into a distinct church.

" 4. That this incorporation is by some contract
or covenant, express or implied.

" 5. That, being thus incorporated, they have a
right to choose their own officers.

"6. That these officers are pastors or teaching
elders, ruling elders, and deacons.

" 7. That elders being chosen, and ordained, have
no power to rule the church, but by consent of the
brethren.

" 8. That all elders, and all churches, are equal in
respect of powers and privileges.

"9. With respect to ordinances, they hold that
baptism is to be administered to visible believers
and their infant children ; but they admitted only
the children of communicants to baptism. That the
Lord's Supper is to be received sitting at the table.
(Whilst they were in Holland they received it every
Lord's day.) That ecclesiastical censures were
wholly spiritual, and not to be accompanied with
temporal penalties.

" 10. They admitted no holy days but the Chris-
tian Sabbath, though they had occasionally days of
fasting and thanksgiving; and finally, they renounced
all right of human invention or imposition in reli-
gious matters."

hi the year 1617, Mr. Robinson and his church
began to think of emigrating to America, partly
from a wish that their children might be preserved

696

CONGREGATION ALISTS (American).

from the immorality and licentiousness which at that
time unhappily prevailed in Holland, and partly from
a desire to found on the far distant Transatlantic
shores a purely Christian colony. Having fully con-
sidered the matter, they fixed upon Virginia as the
place of their settlement, and having sent two of
their number to make all necessary arrangements,
they succeeded in 1619 in procuring a patent, and by
a contract with some merchants in London, they ob-
tained sufficient money to enable the entire church
to cross the Atlantic. The vessels provided, how-
ever, were found not to be large enough to contain the
whole company, and, accordingly, a portion set sail
headed by Elder Brewster, leaving Mr. Robinson
and the majority of the church still at Leyden. On
reaching America the exiles settled at Plymouth in
New England, where the first Congregationalist
church ever formed in America, was organized in
1620. For ten years it stood alone, the new settlers
being called to encounter many difficulties, and to
endure many privations, but persevering with un-
flinching courage in maintaining their principles,
amid all opposition. In 1629, a new settlement was
formed at Salem, consisting chiefly of Puritans, who
had emigrated from England, but the church was
organized on a strictly Congregational footing. For
several years Elder Brewster officiated as pastor of
the church at Plymouth, with the single exception of
administering the sacraments. In 1625, Mr. Robin-
son, who had remained at Leyden, died there, and
the church after his death was broken up, a part of
the members going to Amsterdam, and a part after-
wards joining their friends across the Atlantic.

Churches now began to be formed in various parts
of New England on the model of that at Plymouth.
It was not, however, till 1633, that, on the arrival of
Mr. Colton, some general plans were introduced em-
bracing all the churches which from that time took
the name of Congregational. As colonies were
planted by the pilgrims, churches were organized, but
religious and political institutions were strangely
blended in one confused mass. The principles of
enlightened toleration seem to have been as yet nei-
ther known nor recognized. Thus we find Roger
Williams banished beyond the jurisdiction of Mas-
sachusetts for asserting the principle of unlimited to-
leration of all distinctions and shades of religious
opinions.

In 1637 commenced the famous controversy re-
specting Antinomiauism. (See Antinomians.) The
facts were shortly these : " Mrs. Hutchinson, the
promulgator and chief defender of Antinomian tenets,
seems to have maintained, according to the summary
of her opinions in Neal, ' that believers in Christ are
personally united with the Spirit of God ; that com-
mands to work out salvation with fear and trembling
belong to none but such as are under the covenant
of works ; that sanctification is not sufficient evi-
dence of a good state ; and that immediate revela-
tions about future events are to be believed as equally

infallible with the Scriptures.' These opinions soon
became the absorbing topics of discussion, and di
vided the whole colony into two parties, such as
were for a covenant of works, and such as were for
a covenant of grace. As the quarrel continued to
rage with constantly increasing violence, a synod
was called, which met at Newtown. This was the
first synod convened in New England. It was com-
posed of the ministers and messengers or delegates o.
the several churches. There were also present certain
magistrates ' who were allowed not only to hear, but to
speak if they had a mind.' The synod unanimously
condemned Mrs. Hutchinson's opinions. But she
and her followers, not being satisfied with this deci-
sion, and continuing to promulgate, with new zeal,
their sentiments, recourse was had to the civil power,
and she was banished to Rhode Island. She subse-
quently retired to the territory of New Amsterdam,
where she perished by the hands of the Indians. Mr.
Wheelwright, a clergyman of Boston who had em-
braced her opinions, subsequently renounced them,
and her party, at least in name, became extinct."

The churches had now become numerous and
strong, and the importance of a native educated
ministry began to be felt. Harvard College was,
therefore, founded in 1638. Much attention began
to be directed to the education of the young, and, as
early as 1646, common schools were established by
law, and provision was made for their support in all
the towns within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts.
No public provision was made for schools in Ply-
mouth till some years after, but the children were
taught by teachers employed by the parents. Each
church being, according to the principles of Congre
gationalism, independent of every other, the question
arose, what were the duties which churches owed to
one another. The matter was discussed in a synod
held about this time for mutual consultation and ad-
vice, and the duties of churches to one another were
thus laid down in what was called the Cambridge
Platform, adopted in 1648, and again sanctioned in
the synod held at Boston in 1662 : —

1. Hearty care and prayer one for another. 2. By
way of relief in case of want, either temporal or
spiritual. 3. By giving an account one to another of
their public actions when it is orderly desired, and
in upholding each other, in inflicting censure and
other acts of church government. 4. Seeking and
giving help to each other in case of divisions, con-
tentions, difficult questions, errors and scandals, and
also in ordination, translation, and deposition of min-
isters. 5. Giving aid to another church in cases of
error, scandal, &c, even though they should so far
neglect their duty as not to seek such aid. 6. Ad-
monishing one another when there is need and cause
for it, and after due means with patience used, with-
drawing from a church or peccant party therein,
which obstinately persists in error or scandal. These
rules are carried into effect by means of either tem-
porary or standing councils of the churches.

COXGREGATIONALISTS (Scottish).

597

Previous to this synod the churches of New Eng-
land had never agreed upon any uniform scheme of
discipline. Soon after the dissolution of this synod,
the Anabaptists appeared in Massachusetts, followed
by the Quakers, but both were treated with the
utmost barbarity, many of them being banished be-
yond the bounds of the state, some whipped, some
fined and imprisoned, and a few even put to death.
About the same time a controversy arose among
the churches as to the proper subjects of baptism,
and, in particular, whether the grandchildren of
church members had a right to the ordinance. The
point was discussed in a council called in 1657, by
the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut con-
trary to the advice of the colony of New Haven.
By this council it was decided that those who, being
grown up to years of discretion, and who being of
blameless life, understanding the grounds of religion,
should own the covenant made with their parents,
by entering thereinto in their proper persons, should
have the ordinance of baptism administered to their
children. This decision was not regarded as sa-
tisfactory, and the controversy raged more keenly
than ever. Another council, therefore, was sum-
moned at Boston, and the decision was in substance
the same, that all baptized persons were to be con-
sidered members of the church, and if not openly
dissolute, admitted to all its privileges, except par-
taking of the Lord's Supper. This decision, which
went by the name of the Half-way Covenant, was
violently opposed by Increase Mather of Boston, and
several of the most distinguished ministers in the
colonies. The Half-way Covenant system contiuued
in operation for many years, and, as the natural con-
sequence, the churches came to consist, in many
places, of unregenerate persons, of those who re-
garded themselves, and were regarded by others, as
unregenerate. Finding that such' was the almost
invariable result of the system, it was laid aside after
some years' painful experience in all the orthodox
Congregational churches.

The Savoy Confession of Faith, which, as was
mentioned in the preceding article, was adopted in
1658 by the English Congregational churches, and
which was in effect the same as the Westminster
Confession of Faith, was approved by a synod con-
vened at Boston in 1680, and is to this day consi-
dered in America as a correct exposition of the opi-
nions of the Congregationalists. New articles of
discipline were adopted by the churches of Connec-
ticut at an assembly of ministers and delegates held
at Saybrook in 1708. The "Saybrook Platform,''
as it is generally called, was evidently a compromise
between the Presbyterian and the Congregational
principle. It differs from the " Cambridge Plat-
form" chiefly in the provision that it makes respect-
ing councils and associations.

In course of time, towards 1750, Unitarian prin-
ciples became extensively diffused in the Congre-
gational churches of the United States. Some

years elapsed, however, before an open separation
took place between the Trinitarian and Unitarian
churches. At length, in 1785, several churches in
Boston formally declared their renunciation of the
Confessions of Faith, and their example was fol-
lowed by many others, all of which, however, still
retained the Congregational form of church govern-
ment. Harvard College became decidedly Unitarian.

The American Revolution put an end to the con-
nection which existed between the Congregational
system of church polity and the civil power. In
none of the new constitutions was there any provi-
sion made for the support of a particular form of
worsliip by law. Though no longer supported, or even
countenanced, by the law, Congregationalism con-
tinued to make rapid progress in the United States.
In 1801, a plan of union was adopted between the
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church and
the General Association of Connecticut, with a view
to promote union and harmony in those new settle-
ments which were composed of inhabitants from
those bodies. By this plan a Congregational church,
if they settled a Presbyterian minister, might still
conduct their discipline according to Congregational
principles ; and, on the other hand, a Presbyterian
Church, with a Congregational minister, retained its
peculiar discipline. Under these regulations, many
new churches were formed, which, after a time, came
under the jurisdiction of the General Assembly. In
1837 this plan of union was abrogated by that body
as unconstitutional, and several synods, which had
been attached to it in consequence of the plan, were
declared to be out of the ecclesiastical connexion.
In the following year (1838) a General Assembly
was formed under the name of the Constitutional
Presbyterian Church, which recognizes this compro-
mise between the Presbyterian and Congregationalist
principles. " Congregationalism," Dr. Schaff tills
us, " is the ruling sect of the six North-eastern States,
and has exerted, and still exerts, a powerful influence
upon the religious, social, and political life of the
whole nation." By the most recent accounts, there
are 2,449 churches in the different States, consisting
of 207,608'membprs.

CONGREGATIONALISTS (Scottish). The
first appearance of Congregationalist principles in
Scotland is probably to be traced as far back as the
time of the Commonwealth. At that stirring period,
when Independency had obtained favour and influence
among multitudes of all classes in England, the soldiers
of Oliver Cromwell carried with them into Scotland
their peculiar religious opinions, and are said to have
formed a Congregationalist Church in the metropolis,
which, after their return to England, gradually dwin-
dled away, and in ashort timewas dissolved. Withthis
exception the sentiments of the Congregationalists,
though they had taken deep root south of the Tweed,
seem to have been altogether unrecognized in Scot-
land for a long period. At length, in 1729, Mr. John
Glas, a minister of the Church of Scotland, separated

598

CONGREGATIONALISTS (Scottish).

from the communion of that church, and published a
work entitled ' The Testimony of the King of Mar-
tyrs concerning his kingdom,' in which he openly
avowed opinions in common with the English Inde-
pendents, more especially as developed in the writ-
ings of Dr. John Owen. In consequence of his
numerous publications in explanation and defence of
his views, Mr. Glas succeeded in gaining over
many converts, and several churches were orga-
nized in different parts of Scotland on strictly
Independent principles, of which a few still exist
under the name of Glassites (which see). About
the year 1755, Mr. Robert Sandeman published
a series of letters addressed to Mr. Hervey on the
appearance of his ' Theron and Aspasio,' and in
the course of his animadversions, the author main-
tains the principles of Scottish Independency. In
consequence of the prominent part which Mr. San-
deman took in the diffusion of Congregationalist
views, iii connexion, however, with peculiar opinions
on the subject of saving faith, his followers received
the name of Sandemanians (which see). In ad-
dition to the Glassites and Sandemanians, various
Baptist churches were formed in different parts of
Scotland, all of them arranged on the footing of Con-
gregationalism. (See Baptists, Scottish). About
the same period, Mr. David Dale of New Lanark,
and his friends, zealous in the cause of Indepen-
dency, established several churches, which have been
often termed The Old Scots Independents. (See
Daleites.) These churches, though differing from
each other on various points, were all of them Con-
gregational.

It is from the end of last century, however, that
the denomination of Scottish Congregationalists pro-
perly takes its origin. Religion, as a spiritual, liv-
ing, energetic principle, had for many years been
palpably on the decline in Scotland. Coldness, indif-
ference, and even infidelity prevailed to a lamentable
extent. It pleased God, however, at length to raise
up a few godly men, who, not contented with sighing
and praying in secret over the darkness which cov-
ered the land, resolved to bestir themselves to active
exertion in arousing the careless, and turning some
at least from the bondage of Satan to the service of
the true God. " It was at this juncture," says Mr.
Ivinniburgh in his Historical Survey of Congrega-
tionalism in Scotland, " that village preaching and
extensive itinerancies were entered upon by Messrs.
James Haldane and John Aikman. Their first
attempt was made at the collier village of Gilmerton.
Mr. Rate, a preacher from Dr. Bogue's academy at
Gosport, at the request of Mr. John Campbell,
preached at the village for two Sabbath evenings ;
but he being obliged to leave Edinburgh for a time,
there was no one to supply Gilmerton on the third
Sabbath evening. In this dilemma Mr. James Hal-
dane urged Mr. Aikman to preach. At first he would
not consent. However, he was afterwards gained
over by Mr. Haldane telling him, that, if he would

officiate on the first Sabbath evening, Mr. Haldane
would engage to do so upon the following one. This
offer touched the right chord in Mr. Aikman 's warm
heart, and constrained him to comply. Mr. Haldane
accordingly preached on the Sabbath evening there-
after. They continued to supply the village regu-
larly in rotation for several Sabbath evenings, as well
as on a week-day evening ; and after the return of
Mr. Rate to town, the three took their regular turns
in preaching at the village. By and by Messrs. Hal-
dane and Aikman began to think of extending their
sphere of usefulness, and undertook a preaching tour
to the north. These brethren were laymen ; and
laymen preaching like ministers was a novel tiling
in those days. More marvellous still, they were
members of the Church of Scotland, visiting every
parish that lay in their way, and preaching in the
market-place or on the streets. The correctness of
their views of the plan of salvation, and the earnest-
ness of their addresses, gained for them attention,
and secured to them large audiences. They had
been taught by the religious discussions excited by
several publications, and particularly by the ' Mis-
sionary Magazine,' — then conducted by Mr. Ewing,
while a minister of the Church of Scotland, — the pro-
priety of engaging in itinerating labours, and preach-
ing the Gospel as they might have opportunity. In
that miscellany the opinion was ably maintained,
that it was the right, nay the duty, of every Chris-
tian man, who knew the Gospel and felt its power
and who could state it with perspicuity, to declare it
to his fellow sinners ; an assertion which, notwith-
standing the opposition it met with, has never yet
received a satisfactory confutation. The discussion
of this question created a very great sensation at the
time."

The labours of these godly men constituted a new
era in the religious history of Scotland. Symptoms
of revival began to manifest themselves in various
parts of the country ; a spirit of earnest inquiry de-
veloped itself in many minds ; dead souls were quick-
ened, and not a few, who had all their lives been
strangers to God and godliness, gladly heard the
word, and even received it in the love of it. In the
autumn of 1797, Messrs. James Haldane and Aik-
man set out on a preaching tour to the northern
counties, and travelling as far as the Orkney Islands,
they proclaimed their Master's message with such
simplicity and power, that it pleased God, by the
foolishness of preaching, to bring great numbers to
the saving knowledge of the truth. The report
which the brethren brought of the low state of re-
ligion in the Highlands and Islands, turned the
thoughts of many zealous Christians towards devising
plans for the supply of the religious destitution
which prevailed so extensively in the northern coun-
ties. Mr. Robert Haldane, in particular, who had
recently been converted to the faith of Christ, hav
ing been disappointed in his anxious wish to found
an establishment in the East Indies for propagating

CONGREGATIONALISTS (Scottish).

599

the gospel, turned his attention to the state of reli-
gion in his native land, and resolved to employ his
fortune, which was large, in diffusing the gospel
through the benighted districts ot Scotland. By
means of his zealous endeavours, and those of some
pious individuals, a society was formed, having for
its object the dissemination of religious knowledge
at home. To accomplish this truly benevolent de-
sign, pious young men were employed as catechists,
whose duty it was to plant and superintend evening
schools in villages, for the instruction of the young
in the elements of religious truth; while several
ministers of known character in England joined with
their like-minded Scottish brethren in itinerating
throughout the towns and villages, carrying the glad
news of salvation through the blood of the Lamb to
multitudes who, though in a professedly Christian
country, were, nevertheless, sitting in darkness, and
in the region of the shadow of death.

The centre point of this zealous Christian move-
ment was Edinburgh, and while pious men were thus
ilevising plans for the extension of the gospel in the
benighted portions of the land, they were iiot unmind-
ful of the religious destitution of the metropolis it-
self. It was resolved to open an additional place of
worship in the city, where preaching should be kept
up by a succession of devoted evangelical ministers
of all denominations. Accordingly, in the summer
of 1798, the Circus was opened by Mr. Rowland
Hill. The experiment was so successful, that it was
determined to erect a large place of worship, to be
called " The Tabernacle." A suitable site was ob-
tained at the head of Leith Walk, where a church
was built capable of containing upwards of three
thousand persons, which, for several years, was
nearly filled every Sabbath with a most attentive
congregation, and was very often densely crowded.
The whole expense of this large structure, all the
sittings of which were free, was defrayed by Mr.
Robert Haldane. Thus the utmost energy and ac-
tivity characterized the movements of these disinter-
ested Christian philanthropists, who, both in the
city and throughout the country, were unwearied
in their endeavours to win souls to Christ. It
was not to be expected, however, that their efforts
should pass without reproach on the part of such
as were unable to appreciate the pure and lofty
motives by which they were actuated. But how
painful was it for them to find, that not a few, both of
the Presbyterian Dissenters and Established clergy,
were loud in denouncing them. Nor was this oppo-
sition manifested by individuals alone, but even by
entire bodies of professing Christians. Thus the
Relief synod, at their meeting in 1798, passed a de-
cree to the effect, " That no minister belonging to
this body shall give or allow his pulpit to be given
to any person who has not attended a regular course
of philosophy and divinity in some of the universi-
ties of the nation ; and who has not been regularly
licensed to preach the gospel." This decree was

obviously levelled against the itinerant preachers,
and it is to be regretted, that, for a number of years,
this decision remained in force until, as Dr. Struthers
remarks, "this illiberal act was, in 1811, allowed to
drop out of their code of regulations as something of
which they were ashamed." In the same spirit the
General Associate or Antiburgher synod, "agreed
unanimously in declaring, that as lay preaching has
no warrant in the Word of God, and as the synod
has always considered it their duty to testify against
promiscuous communion, no person, under the in-
spection of the synod, can consistently with their
principles attend upon, or give countenance to, pub-
lic preaching by any who are not of our communion.
And if any do so, they ought to be dealt with by the
judicatories of the church, to bring them to a sense
of their offensive conduct." These violent denun-
ciations, on the part of the Dissenting bodies, were
even surpassed by those which were given forth by
the Established Church of Scotland, which, in the
famous Pastoral Admonition of the General Assem-
bly of 1799, accused the itinerant preachers of be-
ing "artful and designing men, disaffected to the
civil constitution of the country, holding secret
meetings, and abusing the name of liberty as a cover
for secret democracy and anarchy." Such unwar-
ranted attacks upon men who were undeniably zeal-
ously affected in a good cause, only aroused public
sympathy all the more in their favour. It was a
quaint but just remark which fell from Rowland Hill
at the time : " We will shine all the brighter for the
scrubbing we have got from the General Assembly."
In the midst of this desperate and determined
opposition, which on all hands assailed the promoters
of itinerant preaching, the first Congregational church
was formed, a small number of pious persons,
amounting to no more than twelve or fourteen, hav-
ing met in a private house in George Street, Edin-
burgh, in December 1798, and constituted themselves
into a church for Christian fellowship. This was
the commencement of the Circus church, of which
Mr. James Haldane was chosen the pastor. Mr.
Aikman, who was one of the small number present on
that occasion, gave the following account some years
afterwards of the principles on which that church
was founded: "The chief principle which influenced
the minds of the brethren, who I believe constituted
the majority of the small company first associated
for observing divine ordinances in the Circus, was
the indispensable necessity of the people of God
being separated in religious fellowship from all such
societies as pennittrd visible unbelievers to continue
in their communion. This was a yoke under which
we had long groaned; and we hailed with gratitude
to God, the arrival of that happy day when we first
enjoyed the so much wished for privilege of separat-
ing from an impure communion, and of uniting ex-
clusively witli those whom it was meet and fit that
we should judge to be all the children of God. Some
of our dearest brethren, however, did not unite with

GOO

CONGREGATIONALISTS (Scottish).

us on this principle. They were attached indeed to
the fellowship of the saints, and would by no means
consent to the admission of any amongst us who did
not appear to be such ; yet they were not then con-
vinced of the absolute unlawfulness of their continu-
ing in connexion with societies confessedly impure.
Our brethren were well aware of our decided differ-
ence of sentiment, not only respecting the great
inconsistency, but also unlawfulness of any persons
connected with us continuing to go back to the fel-
lowship of those societies from which they had pro-
fessed to separate, and they knew that our forbear-
ance did not imply any approbation of this conduct.
Persuaded, however, that they did not intend by this
to countenance any thing they judged to be contrary
to the mind of Christ, we deemed it our duty to for-
bear, in the hope that that Saviour whom we trusted
it was their supreme desire to serve and to please,
would grant us the happiness of being like minded
in this, as in our other views of promoting the honour
of his adored name."

The Circus church, thus constituted, observed the
Lord's Supper regularly once a-month, until the year
1802, when it adopted weekly communion. Churches
on the same footing were about that time formed in
Glasgow, Paisley, and Aberdeen. It is an interest-
ing fact, that a number of the Congregational churches
which arose in different parts of the country had
their origin in prayer and fellowship meetings ; while
others were chiefly composed of those who had been
brought to the knowledge of the truth by the labours
of itinerant preachers. Before the close of the year
1800, nine other churches had been formed in differ-
ent parts of the country, making in all fourteen.

The Society, from which under God all this
Christian activity and zeal had originated, continued
to prosecute its useful labours until 1807, wheu, hav-
ing accomplished to a large extent the object of its
formation, it dissolved. While it existed, this asso-
ciation was instrumental in doing much to promote
the cause of God in Scotland. No means were left
untried by which God might be glorified, and his
kingdom advanced. Village preaching was actively
prosecuted by the Society; those individuals in the
larger churches whose piety and gifts were likely to
render them useful, were encouraged to go on Sab-
bath evenings to the neighbouring villages and
preach the gospel to the people. Ministers were
sent out to itinerate in all directions, and there being
some difficulty in procuring a sufficient number of
labourers in this department, seminaries were estab-
lished for educating pious young men to do the work
of evangelists. It was in the early days of Congre-
gationalism that Sabbath evening schools began in
Scotland, and their most active and zealous promot-
ers were Congregationalists. Animated by the most
disinterested motives, and by an earnest love to the
souls of men, the labours of the itinerants were so
successful, that in the interval between 1798 and
1807, no fewer than eighty - five churches were

formed, and had pastors ordained over them. And
it was a pleasing feature in the character of these
churches, that from their very commencement they
appear to have been actuated by a missionary spirit,
not only seeking to advance the cause of Christ among
their own countrymen at home, but also among the
heathen abroad. This zeal, however, in behalf of
foreign missions, received a check in 1807, and from
that year till 1812 the exertions of the churches in
the same good cause were feeble, and since this lat-
ter period the Scottish Congregationalists have con-
fined their labours in this department to an active
support of Missionary Societies. For nine years
from the date of the first formation of a Congrega-
tionalist church in Scotland, the cause made the most
rapid and satisfactory progress. But in 1807, seeds
of dissension were unhappily sown in some of the
churches, which gave rise to the keenest controversy
on church principles, rights, and privileges. The
circumstance which thus led to a state of things so
much to be deplored, was the circulation among the
churches of Ballantyne's Treatise on the Elder's
Office. The churches, though still in their infancy,
were now embarrassed and weakened. " The new
order of things," says Mr. Kinniburgh, "recom-
mended for the adoption of the churches, spread
rapidly among them. Bitter contentions, strife of
words, jealousies, and divisions followed, of which
none but such as passed through the painful scenes
of those days can have an adequate idea. Inexpe-
rienced rashness adopted the new views. Anarchy
prevailed in the churches, and in some cases a beau-
teous fabric became a shattered ruin. The pious of
other bodies, who were inclined to favour our sys-
tem, shrank with sorrow and alarm, from what ap-
peared to them so disastrous an experiment of Con-
gregational principles. Thus many stumbling-blocks
were laid in the way, both of Christians and unbe
lievers."

The consequences of this unhappy commotion, at
so early a stage in the history of Scottish Congrega-
tionalism, could not fail seriously to damage the
cause. Many of the churches were poor, and had
no small difficulty in supporting their pastors, but
now that the members were divided in sentiment,
their pecuniary resources were thereby so much
diminished, that some of the pastors were under
the necessity of retiring from the work, while others
who remained were subjected to the most distress-
ing privations. The seminary which had been
established for the supply of preachers was broken
up. This loss, however, was in course of time
repaired, by the formation in 1811 of the Glas-
gow Theological Academy, which has done much to
advance the prosperity of the body to which it belongs.
To assist the churches in supporting their pastors,
the Congregational Union was formed in 1812,
which has sustained and invigorated to no small ex-
tent the energies of churches which might otherwisu
have dwindled and died away. The Congregational

CONGREGATIONAL UNION.

601

Uuion is in fact a Home Missionary Society. The
churches of the body have now increased to nearly
'wo hundred, but of these a large number require
tnd receive aid from the Union. The number of
sittings in the churches of the Congregationalist
body in Scotland, amount, according to the returns
of the last census in 1851, to 76,342, and the number
of churches to 192.

CONGREGATIONAL UNION, a delegated con-
ference of ministers and members of Congregational
churches in England and Wales, formed in 1831, which
meets twice a-year for consultation on the state and
prospects of the body, and for such measures of co-ope-
ration as can be safely adopted without violating the
principles of Independency. In its very constitu-
tion, indeed, provision is expressly made that the
Union " shall not in any case assume a legislative
authority, or become a court of appeal." The ob-
jects of this Union are fully set forth in its constitu-
tion, as revised by the twenty-second Annual As-
sembly 1852, and are described in these terms :

" 1. To promote evangelical religion in connexion
with the Congregational Denomination.

"2. To cultivate brotherly affection and sincere
co-operation in everything relating to the interests
of the associated Churches.

"3. To establish fraternal correspondence with
Congregational Churches, and other bodies of Chris-
tians, throughout the world.

" 4. To address, as occasion may require, a letter
to the associated Churches, accompanied with such
information as may be deemed necessary.

" 5. To obtain accurate statistical information re-
lative to the Congregational churches throughout
the kingdom, and the world at large.

" 6. To inquire into the present methods of col-
lecting funds for the erection of places of worship,
and to consider the practicability of introducing any
improved plan.

" 7. To assist in maintaining and enlarging the
civil rights of Protestant Dissenters."

Among the Scottish Congrcgationalists, a Union
was formed so far back as 1812, which directs its efforts
chiefly to the support of weak churches, aiding them
with its funds, as well as encouraging with its advice
when required. But in Scotland, as in England, the
Union conducts its operations in such a way as to in-
fringe in no respect on the principle of Independency,
which forms the characteristic feature of the Congre-
gationalist body. All such Unions, both in Britain
and America, are merely advisory bodies, composed
of delegates from the various churches within certain
local limits. As an American writer remarks,
" They are, so to speak, a kind of congress, where
the representatives of independent churches meet to
consult with each other respecting matters of gen-
eral interest. Hut they become parties to no arti-
cles of union which make the decisions of their
representatives thus convened of binding authority.
Kaeb church is at liberty to accept or reject their
I

decisions. As the judgments of impartial, wise, and
good men, they will deservedly have great influence
with all who are unprejudiced ; but they are merely
recommendations, not laws." Among the Congre
gational churches in the United States, councils ars
of different kinds, sometimes mutual, sometimes ex
parte, and sometimes standing or permanent. A
mutual council, as the term denotes, is one called by
the consent of both parties, while an ex parte council
is one which either party in the dispute ma\ call with
out the concurrence of the other. These councils are
usually composed of the pastor, and a lay delegate
from each of the neighbouring churches; the (lis
pitting parties, by letters missive, designating the
churches whose counsel they desire, and each of the
churches thus addressed electing its own delegate.
Standing or permanent councils are almost entirely
confined to Connecticut. By the " Saybrook Plat-
form," agreed to in 1708, all the churches are conso-
ciated for mutual assistance in their ecclesiastical
concerns. The pastors and churches of a county
usually meet in an association ; and all cases requir-
ing counsel and advice are brought before this body.
Though a question has sometimes been started as to
the finality of the decisions of these associations oi
unions, the American churches practically regard
them as such. If a church should refuse to follow
the advice of a council thus convened, and the state
of the church should be such as to warrant it, the
other churches would withdraw their fellowship from
it. A step so strong, however, is only taken when
the offences of a church are so aggravated as to
prevent it from being any longer recognized as a
Christian church. So recently as 1854, a Congrega-
tional Union for the whole body of Congregational-
ist churches in the United States of America has
been formed, which is rapidly acquiring the confi-
dence of the churches, and is likely greatly to ad-
vance the interests of Congregationalism in the land
of the Pilgrim Fathers.

The Evangelical churches of France, which are
formed on independent and voluntary principles,
formed a Synod or Union in 1849, which con-
sists already of twenty - five associated churches,
consisting of upwards of 1,800 members. It is a
fundamental article of their constitution, that no
church shall be received into the Union that receives
State pay or control. The objects of the Union are
to promote mutual encouragement and co-operation
in all matters relating to the interests of their
churches, the promotion of religious liberty, and the
extension of religion throughout the empire. The
Union raises funds for assisting the poorer churches
to support their pastors, and has besides a specific
Committee of Evangelization for the purpose of dis-
seminating the gospel in districts where ministers
cannot be sustained. In all, there are believed to
be about one hundred churches in France, with as
many pastors that repudiate in principle or in prac-
tice all dependence on the State, and hence are
'2 u

602

CONGRUITY— CONSISTORIES.

called Independent churches. The Union of the
Evangelical Churches of France resembles more
nearly in principle and object the Congregational
Union of Scotland than that of England and Wales.

CONGRUITY, a term used to express the opinion
of the Scotists (which see), or followers of Duns
Scotus, one of the most eminent of the schoolmen,
on the subject of human merit. They held that it is
possible for man in his natural state so to live as to
deserve the grace of God, by which he may be ena-
bled to obtain salvation ; this natural fitness for grace,
or congruity, as they were wont to term it, being such
as to oblige the Deity to grant it. Thus the Scotists
were wont to speak of the merit of congruity in op-
position to the Thomists, who spoke of the merit of
Condignity (which see).

CONISALUS, an ancient Pagan deity adored by
the Athenians. He seems to have been of an infe-
rior order of demons in the train of Priapus, with
which god he is sometimes confounded.

CONIUS, a surname of Zeus, as the god who
raises dust, under which name he had an uncovered
temple in the citadel of Megara.

CONONITES, a Christian sect of the sixth cen-
tury, deriving its name from its leader, Conon,
bishop of Tarsus. It was properly an offshoot from
the sect of the Philoponists (which see), with
which it agreed in regard to the constitution of the
Godhead, but differed from it respecting the expla-
nation of the doctrine concerning the resurrection of
the body. The Cononites on this latter point held
that the matter only, and not the form, of bodies was
corruptible, and to be resuscitated.

CONSECRATION, the act of solemnly dedicat-
ing or setting apart any person or thing for a reli-
gious purpose.

CONSECRATION OF A BISHOP. See Bish-
op.

CONSECRATION OF CHURCHES. See De-
dication of Churches.

CONSECRATION OF CHURCHYARDS. See
Cemetery.

CONSECRATION OF CHRISM. See Chrism.

CONSECRATION OF ELEMENTS. See
Lord's Supper.

CONSECRATION OF JEWISH HIGH
PRIEST. See High Priest.

CONSECRATION OF PAGAN PONTIFEX
MAXIMUS. See Pontifex Maximus.

CONSECRATION OF THE TABERNACLE.
See Tabernacle.

CONSECRATION OF THE TEMPLE. See
Temple.

CONSENSUS OF SANDOMIR, a union of the
three great Protestant bodies in Poland in the six-
teenth century. Many both of the nobles and com-
mon people wishing to remove the scandal caused
by the dissensions among the Protestants, which
were very injurious to their cause, proposed a meet-
ing of the principal churches, the Bohemian Bre-

thren, the Lutherans, and the Swiss. The town of
Sandomir was chosen for the assembly of a synod,
destined to accomplish the great work of the union
it met accordingly in 1570. This synod was composed
of several influential noblemen belonging to the dif-
ferent Protestant confessions, and the leading ministers
of those confessions. After much debate, the union was
finally concluded and signed on the 14th April 1570.
The terms of the confederation were comprehended
in a confession, which is usually called the Agree-
ment of Sandomir. This compromise, which was
expressed in intentionally vague language, was not
long after opposed by many of the Lutherans, and
in the next century was entirely abrogated.

CONSENTES DII, the twelve Etruscan divini-
ties, who were said to form the council of Jupiter.
Six of them were male, and six female. The Etrus-
can mythology recognized them as governing the
world and time, but destined only to be of temporary
duration. They received also the name of Complices,
and were called Consentientes, because they had the
privilege of giving their consent to the deliberations
of the gods. They were regarded as presiding each
of them over a separate month of the year. It is
not likely that these deities were identical with the
twelve Dii Majores, or great gods of the ancient
Romans.

CONSESSUS CLERI, a name given by Cyprian
to the altar-part of the ancient Christian churches
within the rails, where none but the clergy were al-
lowed to enter. See Bema.

CONSESSUS PRESBYTERORUM, the seats of
the presbyters in the ancient Christian churches,
which were ranged in a semicircle on either side of
the bishop. See Churches.

CONSISTENTES (Lat. co-standers), an order of
penitents in the early Christian church, who derived
their name from being allowed to stay and hear the
prayers of the church after the catechumens and
other penitents were dismissed, but they were not
allowed to make their oblations, nor partake of the
eucharist with them. It is uncertain whether they
were permitted to remain as spectators of the sacra-
mental service. Penitents remained in this class for
the space of two years. See Penitents.

CONSISTORIES, civil courts of judicature among
the ancient Jews, inferior to the Sanhedrim (which
see). There was a consistory of twenty-three judges
appointed in almost every city of any note, who sat
in judgment upon the lives and fortunes of the peo-
ple, and decided causes of nearly all kinds. There
were two of these lesser courts in Jerusalem, the one
in the gate of Shushan, and the other in the gate of
Nicanor. A consistory of twenty-three was ap-
pointed wherever there were a hundred and twenty
men in the city qualified to bear office. The mem-
bers of the sanhedrim were taken from these inferior
courts. These consistories always sat in the gates
of the cities. Their sessions began after morning
prayers, and continued till tl'° »nd of the sixth hour, '

CONSISTORY— CONSUBSTANTIAL.

GU3

that is, till twelve o'clock of our time. The authority

of these courts was exerted in many towns of Pales-
tine after Jerusalem was destroyed. Joscphus
speaks of a court of judicature in every city, con-
sisting of seven judges, each of whom had two of
the trihe of Levi to assist him ; who, with a presi-
dent and deputy, made up the number of twenty-
three. There was a still lower consistory, consisting
of three judges, set up in small villages which did
not contain a hundred and twenty householders.
Their office was to determine about matters which
concerned money, rights of inheritance, and division
of lands, borrowing, stealing, damages, restitution,
Mid other matters of lesser importance. They had
no authority in capital cases, but they had the power
of scourging, and indicting other penalties as the
case required. All Jews were under the jurisdic-
tion of these courts, and the proselytes of righteous-
ness had the privilege of being judged by them.

CONSISTORY, an ecclesiastical court in many
Protestant churches, identical with a Kirk-Scutum,
a court comprising the minister or ministers and
elders, in some cases also ,the deacon's. It has
the charge of all that relates to public worship,
Christian instruction, and the superintendence of the
members of the congregation. In the Lutheran
churches in Germany, there is a court called a con-
sistory, which consists of the general superintendent
or inspecting clergyman, several other clergymen,
and one or more laymen. One of the laymen usually
presides, who represents the sovereign, and who is
versed in the knowledge both of civil aud ecclesias-
tical law, as appointed by the statutes of the realm
to govern and direct the affairs of the church. If
the district be so large that one consistory is not
sufficient for the direction of its ecclesiastical affairs,
there are several established in different parts of the
country, either immediately under the control of the
sovereign, or dependent on the supreme consistory
of the capital. All important decrees of every con-
sistory must be communicated to the sovereign, to
be ratified by him, and to be issued under his name.
In Sweden there are twelve regular diocesan consis-
tories, a court consistory, a consistory for each of the
two universities, and another, which is a privilege
of the city of Holm. In the Reformed church of
Geneva, the consistory is composed of all the
of the republic and twelve laymen. The pastors are
perpetual members of this court, but the laymen are
chosen only for six years. In the Church of Kiil;-
land every bishop has his consistory court, which is
held before his chancellor or commissary in bis cathe-
dral church, or other convenient place in his diocese
for ecclesiastical causes. The bishop's chancellor is
the judge of this court, supposed to be skilled in the
civil and canon law; and in places of the diocese
far remote from the bishop's consistory, the bishop
appoints a commissary to judge in all causes within
a certain district, and a register to i Bter his decrees,
&c. Consistory at Rome, denotes the college of

cardinals, or the pope's senate and council, before
whom judiciary causes are pleaded, and all political
affairs of importance, the election of bishops, arch
bishops, &c. are transacted. There is the ordinary
consistory, which the pope assembles every week in
the papal palace, and the extraordinary, or secret con-
sistories, called together on special and important
occasions.

CONSOLAMENTUM, a term used by the Ca-
tiiakists (which see) in the twelfth century, to
designate the spiritual baptism by which a believer
entned into fellowship with the Spirit. This bap-
tism of the Spirit, or true baptism, they held should
be performed by the imposition of hands in connec-
tion with prayer. The consolamentum appears to
have been twofold, (1.) The rite of initiation, by
which an individual was received into the commu-
nion of the sect, and adopted into the number of be-
lievers. (2.) The rite by which he was received into
the circle of the fully initiated. The term consola-
mentum was also applied to the rite among the
Catharists, by which a man wdio had hitherto be-
longed to the believers, was on his death-bed re-
ceived into the more limited circle of the sect, so as
to be prepared to enter at death into the heavenly
world. The consolamentum is said by Neander to
have been performed in the following manner :
" They assembled in a room dark and closed on all
sides, but illuminated by a large number of lights
affixed to the walls. Then the new candidate was
placed in the centre, where the presiding officer of
the sect laid a book, probably the Gospel of St.
John, on his head, and gave him the imposition of
hands, at the same time reciting the Lord's Prayer."
They ascribed a magical efficacy to the consolamen-
tum, and viewed it as absolutely indispensable to a
due preparation for the fellowship of heaven.

CONSOLATI, a name applied among the Cnllmri,
in the twelfth century, to those who had received
the Consoi.ajientum (which see), and wdio, being
admitted among the fully initiated, were considered
as perfect.

CONSTANTINE (Festival of St.), held by the
Greek church in honour of Constantine the Great
and the Empress Helena, on the '20th May.

CONSTITUTION, a decree of the Pope in mat-
ters of doctrine. In France this name has been ap-
plied by way of eminence to the famous BullUni
OENiTUS (which Bee .

CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATE PRESBY-
TIA I ;Y. See Oi:1c;in M. A N I 'ii'.l Kc: it Kits.

ci INSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON. Sea
Ci lbendon (Constj rtmoNB of).

C0NS1 BSTANTIAL (Lat. con, together, and
ia, substance . a word denoting of the same
essence or substance with another. It answers to
the Greek word Hon ution, which was bo fre-
quently used in the Aiiati controversy, and which so

long and so keenly agitated the christian church in

the fourth century. The word, both in its Greek

604

CONSUBSTANTIATION.

and Latin form, was employed to signify that the So::
was of the same substance or essence with the Fa-
ther. See Arians, Homoousion.
CONSUBSTANTIATION, a term used to sig-

ify the doctrine held by the Lutheran church, that
ihe substance of the body and blood of Christ is
present in, with, or under the substance of the ele-
ments in the Lord's Supper. It differs widely from
the doctrine of the Church of Rome, known by the
name of transubstantiation. Romanists allege that
when the officiating priest utters the words, " This
is my body," at that moment the substance of the
bread and wine is annihilated, and only the acci-
dents remain. Lutherans, on the other hand, declare
that the nature of the elements remains unchanged,
but that in some mysterious way the human nature
of Christ is conjoined with them. In first pro-
pounding this doctrine, Luther endeavoured to sup-
port it by referring to the Scriptural statement, that
Christ is at the right hand of God, and he argued
that the right hand of God being everywhere, the
human nature of Christ might readily be believed to
be present in and with the consecrated elements in
the eucharist. This argument the Reformer after-
wards abandoned as untenable. Some of Luther's
followers, however, maintained the ubiquity of the
human nature of Christ, supporting it by an appeal
to the Almighty power of God, which, as it could
accomplish anything, could of course impart omni-
presence to the body of the Redeemer. But the an-
iwer to such an appeal is obvious. It is no deroga-
tion from the fulness and completeness of the Divine
power to say that it cannot do what is in itself a con-
tradiction. It is of the very nature of body to
occupy a definite limited space, and if God therefore
were to make the body of Christ omnipresent, its
very essential nature would be destroyed ; it would
cease to be a body. Some of the Lutherans feeling
that this objection to their doctrine is insuperable,
endeavour to escape from the difficulty by assigning
to the body of Christ a double presence, the one cir-
cumscribed and local, the other heavenly, superna-
tural, and divine. But no such distinction is war-
ranted by the Word of God, and has been obviously
devised merely to serve a purpose. If the human
nature of Christ have a local presence, it cannot be
ubiquitous, and if it have ubiquity, it cannot be con-
fined to a place. The two are contradictory and
mutually destructive. The doctrine which Scrip-
ture teaches on this mysterious subject obviously is,
that the two natures of Christ, though hypostatically
united, continue distinct ; that each of the natures
retaius its peculiar qualities or attributes ; that om-
nipresence, as well as omnipotence and omniscience,
belong to him only as God, and are attributes of his
Divine nature exclusively, no Divine attributes
being predicable of the human nature, without con-
founding the Creator with the creature, God with
man.

On this distinctive tenet of the Lutheran church,

Dr. Dick, in his Theological Lectures, remarks .
" Consubstantiation is liable to many of the same
objections which may be advanced against transub-
stantiation. It supposes the body of Christ to be at
the same time in heaven and on earth, in Europe
and in America ; it supposes it to be in a state of
glory, and in a state of humiliation ; it supposes it to
be present, and yet to be imperceptible to any of
our senses, and therefore to be present after the
manner of a spirit ; it supposes it to be taken into
the mouths of the communicants, and chewed, and
swallowed, and digested ; it supposes that at the
last supper, Christ sat at table with his disciples, and
was at the same time in the bread; that he held
himself in his hand, and then transferred himself
from his own hand into the hands of the Apostles ;
and that while they saw him at some distance from
them, he was in their mouths. How strong is the
power of prejudice, which can make any man believe,
or imagine that he believes such absurdities ! After
this, there is nothing so monstrous and incredible
which he might not be prevailed upon to acknow-
ledge, if he were first persuaded that it is taught in
the Scriptures.

" That consubstantiation is not taught in the
Scriptures, might be proved by all the arguments
which have been adduced to show, that the literal
interpretation of the words, ' This is my body,'
' This is my blood,' is false. It deserves attention,
that the interpretation of the Lutheran church is
more forced and unnatural than that of the Romish
church. The Papist, suspecting no figure in the
case, with childish simplicity takes the words as they
stand, 'this bread is my body,' and believes that the
one is miraculously changed into the other. The Lu-
theran employs some thought, and exercises a little
ingenuity, and finds that the words signify, not ' This
bread is my body,' but ' This bread contains my
body.' By what law does he deviate from the strict
interpretation ? Where does he find, that the verb
of existence is, signifies in, with, or under t Not in
any of the canons of criticism, but in the necessity ol
lus system, which cannot be supported without this
explanation. Hence it is evident, that the Papist
has the advantage of the Lutheran ; and that, if the
words are to be literally understood, they favour
transubstantiation, and consubstantiation is founded
on a perversion of them. Both doctrines are con-
trary to Scripture, as well as to reason and common
sense ; but that of Lutherans offers more direct vio-
lence to the words of inspiration."

The doctrine of consubstantiation was held bj
some diviues long before the time of Luther. Thus
in the eleventh century, it seems to have been main
tained by Berengarius and his followers (see Beren-
garians). But when Luther assailed the corrup
tions of the Romish church in the sixteenth century
while he had no hesitation in declaring the doctrine
of transubstantiation to be unscriptural and absurd,
he could not r'd himself altogether of the idea of a

CONSUS— CONTRACTS.

1505

-eal bodily presence in the euchari~t. The tenth
vticle of the Augsburg Confession, accordingly,
which was adopted as a standard of faith by the
whole body of Lutheran Protestants, was made to
run in these terms : " That the real body and blood
of Christ are truly present in the eucharist, under
the elements of the bread and wine, and are distri-
buted and received." These words mildly, yet expli-
citly, declared the doctrine of consubstantiation, and
accordingly, the Zuinglians or Reformed found them-
selves unable to subscribe the Augsburg Confession.
Hence the imperial cities of Strasburg, Constance,
Lindau, and Memmingen, substituted for it a sepa-
rate confession, known by the name of the Confessio
Tetrapolitana, or Confession of the Four Cities,
which differed from the Augsburg Confession only
on the point of the presence of Christ in the sacra-
ment, which they maintained to be spiritual, not
corporeal. This confession of the Four Cities was
drawn up by Martin Bucer, but the adherence to it
was only temporary, for the Four Cities, after a time,
subscribed the Augsburg Confession, and became a
part of the Lutheran church,

CONSUS, an ancient Roman deity, often alleged
to belong to the infernal gods. Romulus is said to
have found an altar of Consus buried in the earth,
and in his anxiety to obtain wives for his subjects,
to have vowed that he would establish a festival in
honour of this unknown divinity, and that he would
offer sacrifices to him if he should succeed in obtain-
ing wives. Hence the consualia (see next article)
was established.

CONSUALIA, a festival with games, celebrated
by the ancient Romans, in honour of Conrus, the
god of secret deliberations. It was observed an-
nually, and on the occasion a symbolical ceremony
was gone through in the circus, in which an altar
buried in the earth, was uncovered. The festival of
the consualia was kept on the 21st April, with horse
and chariot races, and libations poured into the flames
which consumed the sacrifices. It was during the
first celebration of this festival that the Sabine
women are said to have been carried off. Virgil
alleges that this event took place during the Circen-
sian games, which may possibly have superseded the
ancient consualia.

CONSULTER "WITH FAMILIAR SPIRITS,
a kind of soothsayers among the ancient Hebrews.
It is rendered by the Septuagint one who speaks out
of his belly, or as it is termed in modern times, a ven-
triloquist. Such a person was imagined to have
immediate and direct communication with the devil.
The word used in the original Hebrew signifies a
bottle, or hollow vessel, sorcerers and wizards being
accustomed to speak as if from within a hollow
space. So the witch of Endor is called literally in
I Sam. xxviii. 7, the mistress of the bottle. In one
passage indeed, the Septuagint translate the word by
the phrase " speaking out of the earth," still refer-
ring to the hollow sound. This practice seems to

have prevailed for a long period, as we find a Pytho-
ness spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles.

CONTAC1UM, a name given to the ritual of the
Greek church.

CONTINENTE8, equivalent to Ascetics (which
see).

CONTRACTS. The mode of ratifying bargains
and contracts differs among different nations.
Among the ancient Hebrews the simple form was
followed of joining hands. Thus the prophet Eze-
kiel, xvii. 18, speaking of Pharaoh king of Egypt,
says, " Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the
covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath
done all these things, he shall not escape." A simi-
lar custom still prevails in some parts of the East.
Thus the Hindus confirm an engagement by one
person laying his right hand upon that of the other.
In the Old Testament, we find it recorded, that in
early times a contract was established by erecting a
heap of stones, to which a particular name was given.
Sometimes this was done, as in the case of the cove-
nant between Abraham and Abimelech, king of
Gerar, by the oath of both parties. On the same
occasion also a gift was presented by Abraham to the
king, and a name was given to the well which had
occasioned the transaction. We are informed besides
that Isaac and Abimelech celebrated festivities on
concluding their covenant. A practice of this kind
appears to have been followed in some heathen na-
tions. The Scythians are said to have first poured
wine into an earthen vessel, and then the contracting
parties cutting their arms with a knife, let some of
the blood run into the wine, with which they stained
their armour; after which the parties, along with the
other persons present, drank of the mixture, uttering
the most dreadful curses upon the person who should
violate the treaty. Another mode of ratifying a
contract is referred to in 1 Sam. xviii. 4, " And Jona-
than stripped himself of the robe that was upon him,
and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his
sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle." In Num.
xviii. 19, a covenant or engagement is mentioned by
the name of a " covenant of salt." Now salt being a
symbol of perpetuity, the expression obviously de
notes an enduring, a perpetual covenant, being bor-
rowed from the practice of ratifying federal engage-
ments by salt. It is well known, that at this day,
the Asiatics consider eating together as a symbol of
perpetual friendship, and salt being a common article
with them at all meals, it is not improbable that from
this circumstance may be derived the expression " a
covenant of salt," the contracting parties, by eating
in company, being thus bound together in a league of
solemn and indissoluble friendship.

From very ancient times contracts have been
usually made, and all bargains of importance effected.
at the gate of the city, as the chief place of public
concourse, and in some mercantile transactions it
was customary to pluck off the shoe at the gate (A
the city, in the presence of the elders and other win

606

CONTRITION— CONVENTUAL BRETHREN.

nesses, and to hand it over to the purchaser. A
case of the disposal and transfer of property in re-
mote antiquity occurs in Jer. xxxii. 10 — 15, " And I
subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took wit-
nesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that
which was sealed according to the law and custom,
and that which was open : and I gave the evidence
of the purchase unto Barucli the son of Neriah, the
son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine
uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that
subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the
Jews that sat in the court of the prison. And I
charged Baruch before them, saying, Thus saitli
the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Take these
evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both
which is sealed, and this evidence which is open ;
and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may
continue many days. For thus saith the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel ; Houses aud fields and
vineyards shall be possessed again in this land."
From these words it is evident that the documents
were buried in an earthen vessel, that they might be
kept in safe preservation, to be produced at any fu-
ture time as an evidence of purchase. We have no
precise information as to the manner in which writ-
ten engagements were cancelled. It has sometimes
been alleged, that this was effected by blotting them
out, or by drawing a line across them, or by striking
them through with a nail.
CONTRA -REMONSTRANTS. See Calvin-

ISTS.

CONTRITION, a necessary part of true repen-
tance. It consists of a deep conviction of, and hu-
miliation for, sin, a pungent sorrow for sin, an inge-
nuous confession of it, and earnest prayer for
deliverance from it. Among the Roman Catholics
it constitutes one of the three parts of Penance
(which see) in the matter of the sacrament.

CONVENT. See Abbey, Monastery.

CONVENTICLE, a private assembly or meeting
for religious purposes. It is used by some ancient
Christian writers, for example, Lactantius and Arno-
bius, to signify a church. It was first applied as a
term of reproach to the assemblies held by the fol-
lowers of Wycliffe in England, and afterwards to the
meetings of the Non-conformists generally.

CONVENTICLE ACT, an act which passed the
Parliament of England in 1663, according to which
any meeting for religious worship in a private house,
at which five persons beside the family were present,
was declared & conventicle, and every person above
sixteen years of age who was present, was pro-
nounced liable to a fine of five pounds, or three
months' imprisonment for the first offence ; six
months, or twenty pounds for the second : and for
the third, transportation for life to any plantation
except New England, or to pay a hundred pounds.
The same act was also carried through the Scottish
Parliament by a large majority. This act, which was

followed by another of the same kind in 1670, led t«
severe persecution of the Non-conformists in both
ends of the island.

CONVENTION (General), an assembly ol
clerical and lay deputies belonging to the Protestant
Episcopal Church of America, which meets regularly
for the discussion of its ecclesiastical concerns. The
first meeting of this body was held in Philadelphia
in 1785. It met in the following year, but after that
triennially. In 1789, the convention was distributed
into two houses, the house of bishops, and the house
of clerical and lay deputies, who were to vote by
orders when required. It was at this meeting that
the constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church
was arranged. Besides the general convention,
every state or diocese has a convention of its own to
regulate its local concerns. The house of bishops
has a right to originate measures for the concurrence
of the house of delegates, composed of clergy and
laity ; and when any proposed act passes the house
of delegates, it is transmitted to the house of bishops,
who have a negative on the same. The church is
governed by canons framed by this assembly, regu-
lating the election of bishops, declaring the qualifi-
cations necessary for obtaining the orders of deacon
or priest, appointing the studies to be previously
pursued, the examinations which are to be made, and
the age which it is necessary for candidates to attain
before they can be admitted to the three grades of
the ministry, bishops, priests, and deacons. The
triennial meetings of the general convention are held
in one of the larger cities of the Union, for the most
part in New York and Philadelphia, alternately .
The house of bishops numbers rather more than
thirty. It sits with closed doors, and is presided
over by the senior bishop. The house of clerical
and lay deputies is composed of an equal number of
presbyters and lay delegates from all the dioceses,
none being allowed to send more than four of each
order. This house holds its deliberations in open
church, the public being freely admitted. The con-
currence of both houses is necessary to the enact-
ment of a law. The vote is counted by dioceses, and
the house of bishops has a veto upon the acts of
the lower house. See Episcopal (Protestant)
Church of America.

CONVENTUAL BRETHREN, one of the two
large divisions into which the Franciscan order of the
Romish church was split in the fourteenth century.
It includes those who have deviated most from the
literal sense of the rule of the founder, and who adopt
the interpretation of it by the pontiffs. Clement
XIV., in his bidl for suppressing the order of Je-
suits, mentions the congregation of the Reformed
Conventual Brethren, which Sixtus V. approved,
but which Urban VIII. abolished in 1626, because
" they did not yield spiritual fruits to the church of
God." Constant quarrels had arisen between the
Reformed and the Unreformed Conventual Bre-
thren ; and the Pope allowed them to go over to the

CONVOCATION.

607

Capuchin Brethren of St. Francis, or to the Obser-
vant Franciscans.

CONVERTED BRETHREN. See Grandi-
montans (Order of).

CONVOCATION, an assembly of the bishops
and clergy of the Church of England, to consult
upon matters ecclesiastical. It consists of two se-
parate houses, the upper house composed of the
archbishops and bishops, and the lower house in
which all the other clergy are represented by their
deputies. At the meeting of Parliament the Crown
issues a writ summoning the convocation to assemble
in the provinces of Canterbury and York. The
clergymen composing the lower house, who are
usually called proctors, are chosen by the votes of
the parochial clergy, to represent them in the deli-
berations of this ecclesiastical parliament. The pro-
ceedings of convocation are opened by the archbishop
of the province, after which a prolocutor is chosen
to act as president. The convocation in the province
of York assembles in York cathedral, while that of
the province of Canterbury meets in St. Paul's ca-
thedral, or in the Jerusalem chamber adjoining West-
minster Abbey. The two convocations are quite
independent of one another, though they have some-
times been found to act in concert. Since the Re-
formation, the most important ecclesiastical matters
have been left in the hands of the convocation of
Canterbury, while that of York has very rarely ori-
ginated any measure of importance.

The mode of electing the proctors of the clergy to
attend the meetings of convocation varies in different
places throughout England. Only rectors, vicars,
and perpetual curates are allowed to vote for them.
A few of the varieties which prevail in the election
of these representatives of the clergy, are thus no-
ticed by Mr. Marsden : " In the diocese of London,
each archdeaconry chooses two, and from the whole
number so chosen, the bishop selects two to attend
the convocation. In Sarum, the three archdeacons
choose six, and the six make a selection of two of
their own number ; and the same method is adopted
in the diocese of Lichfield and Coventry. In Bath
and Wells, all the incumbents choose their proctors
ointly. In Lincoln, the clergy of the six archdeacon-
ries send commissioners to Stamford, who make the
necessary choice of two persons. In Norwich, the
two archdeaconries of Norwich and Norfolk meet
and choose one, and the archdeaconries of Suftblk
and Sudbury choose the other. The same is the
case in Chichester. In ancient times the clergy were
represented in convocation by the archdeacons. Such
is the mode of choosing proctors in the province of
Canterbury. In the province of York two proctors
are returned by each archdeaconry. Were it not so,
the numbers would be too small for the transaction
of business."

The royal license is indispensable to the mi
of convocation. Were the archbishop to summon an
assembly without the command of the sovereign, he

would be liable to a praemunire, and the proceeding?
of the assembly thus illegally summoned would be
completely void. An enactment to this effect, com-
monly called the Act of Submission, was passed in
the reign of Henry VIII. It runs in these terms :
"Whereas the king's humble and obedient subjects,
the clergy of this realm of England, have not only
acknowledged according to the truth, that the convo-
cation of the same clergy is, always hath been, and
ought to be assembled only by the king's writ ; but
also submitting themselves to the king's majeBty,
have promised in verbo sacerdotii that they will never
from henceforth presume to attempt, allege, claim, or
put in use, enact, promulge, or execute any new
canons, constitutions, ordinances, provincial, or other,
or by whatsoever name they shall be called, in the
convocation, unless the king's most royal assent
and license may to them be had, to make, pro-
mulge, and execute the same, and that his majesty
do give his most royal assent and authority in
that behalf: it is therefore enacted, according to
the said submission, that they, nor any of them,
shall presume to attempt, allege, claim, or put in
use any constitutions or ordinances provincial, by
whatsoever name or names they may be called, in
their convocations in time coming (which shall always
be assembled by authority of the king's writ) ; unless
the same clergy may have the king's most royal as-
sent and license, to make, promulge, and execute
such canons, constitutions and ordinances provincial
or synodal; upon pain of every one of the said
clergy doing contrary to this act, and being thereof
convict, to suffer imprisonment, and make fine at the
king's will."

Upon this statute various regulations followed,
which were designed to restrict the operations of
convocation within certain limits. These, as stated
by Dr. Hook, were as follows : " 1. That a convoca-
tion cannot assemble at their convocation, without
the assent of the king. 2. That after their assembly
they cannot confer, to constitute any canons without
licence of the king. 3. When they upon conference
conclude any canons, yet they cannot execute any of
their canons without the royal assent. 4. That they
cannot execute any after the royal assent, but with
these four limitations : — (1.) that they be not against
the prerogative of the king; nor (2.) against the
common law; nor (3.) against the statute law; nor
(4.) against any custom of the realm."

The powers of convocation are extensive. They
may correct and depose offenders; examine and cen-
sure heretical works ; and with the royal license
they can make and publish canons, alter the liturgy,
and in short, their powers extend to all ecclesiastical
matters whatever. While convocation is sitting its
members are protected from arrest. This clerical
assembly has ceased since 1717 to possess the poweri
of a synod, in consequence of the royal license
being withheld. Though an ecclesiastical court, it
is so completely under the control of the sovereiioi

608

CONVULSIONISTS— COPTIC CHURCH.

that it cannot hold its meetings without a writ from
the crown, it cannot decree canons without a license
from the crown, nor publish them until they receive
the royal confirmation. The writ is regularly issued
along with the writ for the summoning of parlia-
ment, but the royal license not being given, the
meetings of convocation are little more than an
empty form. But while it cannot pass canons with-
out the license of the sovereign, it has the power of
refusing its assent to measures proposed by the
crown. The Act of Submission passed in the reign
of Henry VIII., was repealed in the reign of Philip
and Mary, and restored by the parliament of Eliza-
beth, since which time it has continued in force down
to the present day. While, therefore, the convocation
assembles in both provinces regularly at the same
time with the meeting of parliament, its business is
limited to the voting an address to the crown, with-
out having the power of passing a single act, how-
ever beneficial to the church which it represents.
Nay, so completely fettered is this ecclesiastical as-
sembly, that they have not even the power of ad-
journment, so that should their deliberations be
protracted beyond the first day, the archbishop not
being able to adjourn the meeting, prorogues it.
The question has even been started, whether the
law sanctions the archbishop in proroguing the con-
vocation, or whether such an authority does not be-
long legally to the bishops of the province. But
whatever doubts some may entertain upon the sub-
ject, the archbishops continue to claim and exercise
the right on receiving a writ from the crown, which
is regularly issued at the prorogation of parliament ;
and during its deliberations, the archbishop, by his
own authority, prorogues the convocation from time
to time, until the address to the crown has been
adopted by both houses. Motions may be made,
committees may be appointed for the consideration
of special points, but all such steps are of no force
so long as the Crown withholds its license. The
High Church party of the Church of England have
for some time past been earnest in their endeavours to
procure from the Crown the restoration of the power
of synodical action to the convocation, but it appears
highly probable that this power will remain in
abeyance for a long time to come. If ever restored,
the introduction of the lay element will be absolutely
necessary, and even the clerical franchise, if we may
60 speak, must be extended, that the proctors may
represent the whole body of the clergy. But even
with these amendments in the constitution of the
convocation, the danger of reviving its dormant
powers would be, that in the course of legislation
occasional collisions of a very serious kind with the
civil government of the country would be almost in-
evitable, leading to results the most disastrous both
to the church and to the commonwealth. See Eng-
land (Church of).

CONVULSIONISTS, a party of fanatics belong-
ing to the Romish church in France, who professed

to be thrown into convulsive fits, from which, st>
they alleged, they were miraculously cured at the
tomb of the Abbe Paris, a celebrated zealot among
the Jansenists in the early part of the eighteenth
century. The name came to be applied to those
who among the French Romanists wrought them-
selves up to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, their
bodies becoming agitated and convidsed, throwing
themselves into the most violent contortions of body
rolling about on the ground, and at length falling
into a swoon, during which they received visions
and revelations of the most wonderful kind. Such
scenes occasionally present themselves at this day in
the rural districts of France, where they are too
often rendered subservient to the interests of a blind
superstition.

COPE, a clerical vestment. It was at first a
common dress, being a coat without sleeves, but was
afterwards used as an ecclesiastical habit. It reaches
from the neck nearly to the feet, and is open in
front, except at the top where it is united by a band
or clasp. According to the canons of the Church of
England, the clergy ought to wear this garment at
the communion service or other great solemnities,
but it has gradually fallen into disuse, being scarcely
ever worn unless on very special occasions. The
Greeks pretend it was first used in memory of the
mock robe put upon our Saviour.

COPIATjE, inferior officers of the ancient Chris
tian church, who performed the duties of undertakers,
grave-diggers, sextons. These were intrusted with
the care of funerals, and the burial of the dead. They
are said to have been first instituted at Constanti-
nople by Constantine the Great, and to have been
further organized and established by the Emperor
Anastasius. They have sometimes been termed
fossarii, from digging of graves, and in Justinian's
Novels they are called Lectkarii, from carrying the
corpse or bier at funerals. They are frequently
mentioned by ancient authors as ecclesiastical office-
bearers. When Constantine first instituted the
office, he incorporated a body of men to the number
of eleven hundred in Constantinople, to whom he
gave the name of Copiatm, and who, besides seeing
that all persons had a decent and honourable inter-
ment, were especially required gratuitously to per-
form this last office to the poor. This class of offi-
cers was partly supported out of the common stock
of the church.

COPINISTS, a sect of Universalists (which
see) who denied the resurrection of the body.

COPTIC CHURCH, the ancient Christian church
of Egypt. They hold the Monophysite doctrine,
that Christ was not possessed of two distinct natures,
but of only one, the human nature being amalga-
mated with, and absorbed in, the Divine. A contro-
versy on this subject violently distracted the Chris-
tian church in Egypt during the fifth and sixth
centuries, and at that period the Eutychian or
Monophysite tenets, which were condemned by tl"»

COPTIC CHURCH.

60!)

general council of Clmlcedon, were embraced by the
whole Coptic nation, a? well as by the Abyseiniana
and Nubians, the sect receiving the general appel-
lation of Jacobites. So keen was the enmity which
arose between those who adhered to the Monophy-
site tenets, and the Christians of the Greek ortho-
dox church, that they never intermarried, and to rid
themselves of their opponents, the Copts favoured
the invasion of Egypt by the Moslem Arabs, and
united with them in expelling the Greeks. The
change of rulers, however, far from delivering them
from persecution, only brought upon them still more
severe and protracted troubles. Worn out with
harassing oppressions of various kinds, they rose at
length against their Moslem tyrants, but were speed-
ily subdued, and many of them slain. For many
successive centuries the Copts were treated with the
utmost cruelty, and subjected to the most painful de-
gradation. In the ninth century, they were com-
pelled to wear garments and turbans of a deep colour,
and to carry a wooden cross of the weight of live
pounds suspended from the neck. In the thirteenth
century, another severe persecution took place, in
which all their principal churches throughout Egypt
were destroyed, and they were ordered to wear a
blue turban, as they generally do at present. Ground
to the dust by cruel oppression, many of them apos-
tatized from the Christian faith, and embraced the
religion of the Koran, their churches being converted
into mosques. The consequence is, that the num-
bers of the Copts are now greatly reduced, for while
the Arabic historian Makrizis estimates their num-
ber at about two millions at the time of the invasion
of Egypt by the Arabs. Dr. Bowring mentions that
a few years ago the Patriarch informed him. that he
calculated the number of the Copts at 150,000, and
although this is probably below the mark, they can-
not be said to amount to more than 200,000. That
they were at one period much more numerous than
they are at present, is evident from the fact, that a
vast number of ruined Coptic churches and convents
are still to be found in various parts of the country.
Ever since the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, the
Coptic language has been gradually falling into dis-
use, until it has almost become a dead language,
understood by very few. It is not, however, entirely
lost, being still used in their liturgy, and several of
their religious books; and as the litany and liturgy
are repeated without a book, many even of the priests
can neither read, write, speak, inr understand it,
while few or none of the hearers are able to compre-
hend a single word of the service. Accordingly, to
use the language of Dr. Duff, "In all heathenism
there is not a form more absolutely profitless and
meaningless. Of all real life it is as destitute as any
of the mouldering mummies of the catacombs.'' To
Buch a melancholy state of degradation is the once
flourishing and far-famed ohurch of Alexandria and
Egypt reduced.
The present religions syrtem of the Coptic church

is a heterogeneous mass of false doctrines, idolatrous

rites, and superstitious ceremonies. They practise
both circumcision and baptism ; they believe in bap-
tismal regeneration, La justification by the observance
of the eucharist and other pious deeds, especially
fastings and pilgrimages, in transubstantiation, con-
fession to a priest, absolution, the invocation of
saints, extreme unction, and prayers for the dead.
Besides the Bible, which they still regard as the
standard of faith and practice, they hold in high esti-
mation ' The Sayings of the Fathers,' ' The Liturgy
of Basil,' ' The Liturgy of Gregory,' ' The Liturgy of
Cyril,' and ' The Apostolical Constitutions.' All
these liturgies are found in the Coptic language.
The Copts hold seven sacraments, baptism, the eu-
charist, confirmation, confession, ordination, matri-
mony, and extreme unction. Their clergy are sup-
ported by voluntary contributions and presents,
besides fees on the occasion of births, marriages, and
deaths. The ordinance of baptism is dispensed to
boys at the age of forty days, and to girls at the age
of eighty days, unless in case of dangerous sickness,
when it may be administered sooner. This rite is
performed by dipping the body three times in water,
to which the sacred oil has been added, and over
which the sign of the cross has been made. Confir-
mation follows immediately after baptism, and is
performed with meinin or the holy oil. The sacra-
ment of confession is followed immediately by abso-
lution, and sometimes penance is prescribed. Ex
treme unction is administered not only to the sick
and dying, but also to the healthy after the commis-
sion of great sins. Circumcision, as we have already
mentioned, is practised, but Dr. "Wilson mentions
that he was informed by the patriarch, it was more
a civil than a religious custom. It is done privately,
without any fixed age for its performance. The
religious fasts of the Copts are numerous and severe,
and the patriarch, in particular, is remarkable for the
austerities which he practises. It is said that he is
awaked from his sleep every quarter of an hour
during the night that he may call on the name of
God. Dr. Wilson, in his ' Lands of the Bible,' gives
a minute and very interesting account of a visit
which he paid while in Cairo to a Coptic church,
and of the various ceremonies which he witnessed on
that occasion. The lively picture which the Doctor
gives of the public worship of the Copt6 cannot fail
to interest the reader:

" It commenced as soon as it was light on the
Lord's-day morning ; and it was well attended both
by young and old, who, on account of the smallness
of the church, — the largest, however, belonging tc
the Copts of the place, — were much crowded together,
to their great discomfort, increased by the want of
ventilation, and the burning of numerous candles.
The construction of the church much resembled a
.Jewish synagogue. It was divided into four com-
partments. The heilrl, or chancel, forms the chief
compartment at the eastern end; and it is separated

610

COPTIC CHURCH.

from the rest of the church by wooden panel-work.
Before it is suspended a curtain with a large cross
wrought upon it, having a door in the centre as an
entrance. The compartment adjoining to this, sepa-
rated by a fence of lattice-work from the other parts
of the church, was occupied by the officiating priests
and their assistants, by the patriarch, who was sit-
ting on an antique seat called the chair of St. Mark,
and by the more respectable portions of the congre-
gation. Into this compartment we were allowed to
enter. The inferior members of the congregation
occupied the next apartment ; and the most remote
was appropriated to the women, who were nearly
completely screened from our view by another parti-
tion of lattice-work. I observed no images ; but a
few glaring pictures were here and there suspended
from the walls. The worshipper, on entering the
church, laid aside his shoes, but agreeably to the
universal custom of the Eastern Churches, kept on
his turban. His first act of devotion was that of
prostrating himself before the chancel immediately in
front of the suspended cross, kissing the hem of the
curtain, and then before the patriarch, who extended
to him his blessing on his rising, and lastly before
some of the pictures of the saints. The entrance of
great numbers after the service had begun, who went
through these ceremonies, added much to the con-
fusion, which was now and then increased by the
tinkling of bells and cymbals, and some of the priests
moving up and down and waving censers with in-
cense rising from them, and making demands on the
patriarch for a new supply of combustibles when their
stock was exhausted. Many of the older men were
leaning on crutches, about four or five feet high,
during most of the time of the service, evidently ob-
taining some relief from the use of them, in the lack
of all pews, during the three or four lengthened hours
of their meeting. They were frequently talking to
one another and exchanging jokes. Some of the
priests were hunting after the boys, who were seek-
ing their amusement, evidently anxious to improve
their behaviour in our presence. Their prayers
were almost all in the dead Coptic, and, of course,
were perfectly unintelligible by the people, who
seemed to take little interest in them, though, led by
others, they gave the responses. The reading of the
gospels and epistles was in Arabic ; but it was per-
formed in a most irreverent and unimpressive man-
ner by mere boys, who seemed to be highly amused
with their occupation. The bread and wine used in
the Lord's Supper were particularly inspected by
the patriarch and priests before their consecration.
The bread was in the form of small round cakes,
with the figure of the cross, I believe, stamped upon
them ; and the wine was contained in a small glass
vessel. The bread was dipped in the wine before it
was given to the people, only a small portion of
whom partook of it ; and the priests alone drunk of
the cup. The patriarch concluded the service by
reading some exhortations in Arabic, and pronounc-

ing benedictions. Except in so far as his part of the
business was concerned, the whole seemed rather a
mockery of sacred things, than the worship of the
omnipresent and omniscient God."

The Copts believe St. Mark to be the apostle of
Egypt and the founder of their church, while the
patriarch of Alexandria, whom they recognize as
their supreme head, invested with the power of an
absolute Pope, is regarded by them as Mark's lineal
successor. Not that they attach much importance
to the idea of apostolical succession, but they be-
lieve that apostolic gifts and graces are conveyed
through the meirun or holy oil, which, as they al-
lege, was blessed by St. Mark, still preserves the
properties imparted to it, a new stock of oil being
always added to the old before it is exhausted. A
patriarch is sometimes chosen by his predecessor,
but generally appointed by lot, and always from
among the monks of the convent of St. Anthony.
Under the patriarch are the bishops titular and real,
the presbyters who administer the mass to the peo-
ple, but never preach, the archdeacons, deacons, sub-
deacons, lectors, cantors, and exorcists, who are mere
boyish assistants in church ceremonies. The mode
of electing both priests and patriarch is thus noticed
by Dr. Duff: " When a priest is to be chosen (one
of whose indispensable qualifications always is, that
he be not unmarried), some of the former occupants
of the sacred office fix on a friend, without asking
his consent. He may be, and usually is, some illi-
terate artizan. 'Voluntary humility' having now
become the established rule and hereditary custom,
he is expected, and therefore must, in the first in-
stance, decline the intended honour, and expatiate on
his utter unworthiness. To the entreaties of his
friends he must continue deaf as an adder; and
must, in consequence, resist, till, after being dragged
by main force into the presence of the patriarch, his
benediction has been pronounced, amid protesta-
tions and remonstrances. The doom of the reclaim-
ing and intruded man is now sealed. He is then
hurried away from the patriarchal presence into a
church, for a month or two, to be initiated into the
ceremonial part of the priestly functions ; and to
learn, by rote, those portions of the litany which he
may have publicly to recite. Such is usually the
entire course of scholastic and theological training
that is deemed requisite for a Coptic priest ! From
the body of the priesthood the bishops are chosen.
Their attainments, except in the addition of years
to their span of life, generally do not rise higher
than the dead flat mass whence they have been se-
vered. Nor need the qualifications of the patriarch
himself be of a much higher order. Contrary to the
essential prerequisite for the ordinary priesthood and
episcopate, he must be an unmarried man. For this
end, the bishops and priests apply to the most an-
cient of all convents (that founded by the famous St.
Anthony, in the desert of the Red Sea) for a genuine
monk to rill the patriarchal chair. The superior'p

COPTIC CHURCH

Gil

duty then is, to Dominate nine or ten of the brother-
hood of celibacy. Of these, one is chosen by lot,
to occupy a see which is believed to have been
founded by St. Mark, transmitted by Athanasius
and other eminent fathers, and perpetuated in un-
broken succession to the present occupant. The
patriarch-elect is always expected, like the ordinary
priest, to express an unconquerable reluctancy to as-
sume an office of such dignity and responsibility.
The usual remedy is, to apply to the acting gover-
nor of Egypt, even though a Turk, to coerce the re-
cusant into compliance by the strong arm of civil
and military authority. The present patriarch, who
exults in being accounted the lineal successor of St.
Mark, as much as the present Pope in being re-
garded the lineal successor of St. Peter, was actually
conveyed from the convent to the chair of the evan-
gelist by the 6oldiery of Mohammed Ali ! "

When the eucharist is administered, each man
comes to receive it at the door of the chancel ; the
bread, which is in the form of small cakes, is mois-
tened with the wine, the priests alone being permit-
ted to drink the wine. The priests administer the
eucharist separately to the women in their compart-
ment of the church. The chancel is in general bril-
liantly lighted by lamps during the performance of
Divine worship. There is seldom any preaching ex-
cept during Lent. The people are enjoined by their
church to pray in private seven times in the twenty-
four hours. They recite in their prayers portions of
the Psalms in Arabic, and of a chapter of one of the
gospels; after which they say in Coptic or Arabic,
" 0 my Lord, have mercy," forty-one times, some
using a string of forty-one beads, others counting
by their lingers. At the close they add a short
prayer in Coptic, or repeat the Lord's Prayer. But
while the Coptic church thus enjoins the faithful
performance of private devotion, many of the people
may be seen repeating their prayers when walking,
riding, or engaged in their ordinary business, mut-
tering them rapidly over without the slightest ap-
pearance of inward feeling. Some of the stricter
classes wash their hands and feet before public wor-
ship, and pray with their faces to the east.

The following rapid sketch of some of the most
important manners and customs of the Copts is ex-
tracted from the ' Journal of a Deputation to the
East:' "They fast every Wednesday and Friday,
eating only fish, vegetables, and oil. They keep
also four long and strict fasts in the year ; one of
which, at Easter, lasts fifty-five days. They abstain
during these fasts from every kind of animal food,
such as flesh, meat, eggs, milk, butter, and cheese.
Each fast is followed by a festival, and the festivals
exceed the fasts by three. Besides attending church
services on these occasions, they feast and give alms.
They abstain from eating swine's llesh, on ai
they say, of the tilthiness of the animal. The Copts
consider a pilgrimage to Jerusalem incumbent upon
*11. They join in large caravans for the journey,

keep the Passion Week at Jerusalem, and then pro-
ceed to bathe in the Jordan. Circumcision is very
generally practised at the ages of two, seven, or
eight years, and sometimes twenty or more; it is
considered rather a civil than a religious custom.

" The Copt women, as well as those of the other
Christian sects, veil their faces in public, in imita-
tion of the Moslem women ; and they never uncover
their faces in the house in the presence of men, ex-
cepting that of their near relations. The Copts
pursue, also, the. same course as the Moslems in con-
tracting marriages: viz. women we employed :i-
professional match-makers, who bring a description
of the personal appearance of each party to the
other, and negotiate all the private conditions of the
union, the man having scarcely ever obtained a
sight of the face of his intended wife, until after the
wedding. The choice is sometimes made by the fe-
male relatives. Girls marry as young as twelve or
thirteen, sometimes even at ten, and few remain un-
married after sixteen years of age ; they are often
betrothed much younger. The marriage festivities,
among the middle and higher classes, usually last
seven or eight days. On the evening of the last
day, the bride is accompanied by her relations and
friends in a procession, followed by musicians and
persons carrying lights, to the house of the bride-
groom. They proceed from thence to church, in
two separate parties, and return after the cere-
mony, to partake of a concluding festivity. Tin
following part of the marriage ceremony, adopt-
ed also by some of the other oriental Christian
Churches, is deserving of notice. After having
blessed and returned the wedding rings, the priest
places a crown of gold upon the heads of the bride
and bridegroom, and a sash over the shoulder of the
latter, wliich ceremony is called the crowning ; the
crowns belong to the church, and are taken otf when
the parties leave, but the bridegroom wears the sash
until his return home, where it is taken off by the
priest. The bestowal of a ' crown of life,' ' of right-
eousness,' and ' of glory' upon the believer, is lie
quently alluded to in the Scriptures, as forming a
part of the final completion in heaven of the spirit-
ual union or espousal of his soul with his Saviour at
the marriage supper of the Lamb. New-married
couples among the Jews wore crowns upon their
wedding-day, and in Cantic. iii. 11, the spouse in-
vites her companions to see King Solomon with the
crown wherewith his mother crowned him on the
day of his espousals.

"The funeral ceremonies of the Copts have like-
wise much resemblance to those it the Moslems,
The corpse is carried in a coffin, followed by wail-
men; and these are hired for three (lavs, to
continue their lamentations in the house of the de-
ceased. The Copts of both sexes visit the tombs of
their relatives three times a-year. They pass tin
night in houses in the burying-ground, the women
in the upper, ami the men in the lower rooms ; and

612

COPTIC MONKS— CORD.

in the morning, they kill a buffalo or a sheep, and
give its flesh with bread to the poor. This has all
the appearance of an expiatory sacrifice, perpetuated,
probably, from heathen times ; but they do not dis-
tinctly admit this interpretation of the ceremony."

The Abyssinian Church (which see) is a branch
of the ancient Coptic church in Egypt, their Abuna
(which see) or patriarch being consecrated by the
patriarch of Alexandria, and in a certain sense sub-
ject to him.

COPTIC MONKS. Monasticism had its origin in
Egypt, and it continues to be held in estimation in
that country. The Copts who follow this mode of life
practise great austerities, living in deserts, sleeping in
their clothes on the ground, and every evening pros-
trating themselves one hundred and fifty times with
their face and breast on the earth. These monks
are sprung from the lowest class of the people, and
live on alms. The regular convents are reduced to
seven ; two, those of St. Anthony and St. Paul, in
the eastern desert near the Red Sea ; four, including
that of St. Macarius, in the Natron valley ; and one
at Jebel Koskam in Upper Egypt. In these insti-
tutions a rigid system of discipline is in force. The
Copts have also a number of secondary monasteries,
into which, the priests being seculars, women are
admitted as well as men. From among the monks
residing at one or other of these convents, the pa-
triarch or Batrik, as he is called, is uniformly cho-
sen. A period of severe probation is required of
all persons applying for admission into the monastic
order. Besides making a vow of celibacy, they
must perform, in some sequestered convent in the
desert, such menial services as fetching wood and
water, sweeping the rooms, or waiting upon the
monks. The number of monks and nuns is consi-
derable. They subsist chiefly on lentils, and eat
meat only on feast-days. They are in general very
poor, superstitious, and ignorant.

COPTIC VERSION, a very ancient version of
the New Testament in the Coptic, which is said to
be a mixture of the Old Egyptian and the Greek.
This version was used from time immemorial by the
Egyptians, and though, since the conquest of Egypt
by the Saracens, the Arabic has been generally spo-
ken, and the Coptic little understood, yet this ver-
sion is still read among the Copts, in the public ser-
vice, in connexion with an Arabic translation.

CORBAN, a gift or oblation among the ancient
Hebrews, something devoted to God. Whatever
became the subject of this vow, whether money,
lands, or houses, became the property of the taber-
nacle or temple. The Pharisees, who had the
charge of the sacred treasury, were wont to inculcate
upon the people, that as soon as any person had
pronounced to his father or mother this form of con-
secration, " Be it Corban, whatever of mine shall
profit thee;" from that moment all that he had spo-
ken of in his vow became consecrated to God, and
could not be given to his parents even to save them

from starvation. Our Lord, accordingly. Mark vil
9 ; x. 13, reproaches them with setting at nought
the Divine law by their traditions. The express
form of the Corban is to be found in the Talmud.
See Pharisees.

CORD (Investiture with the). In the se
venth or ninth year of his age a Hindu Brahman is
introduced into the sacred caste by a special cere-
mony, which is usually termed his investiture with
the cord. Before this time he is regarded as no
better than a Sudra ; he has no privilege, no rank.
By the laws of Menu, a Brahman is to be distin-
guished from individuals of the secular classes by a
cord, termed in Bengali paita, which is worn hang-
ing from the left shoulder, and resting on the right
side, below the loins. It consists of three thick
twists of cotton, each formed of numerous smaller
threads. These three separate twists, which on mar
riage are increased to three times three, are consi-
dered as emblematical of the three Persons in the
Hindu Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The
cotton from which the cord is made must be gathered
from the plant by the hands of Brahmans only, and
the thread must be spun and twisted by persons of the
same caste. When the cord has been properly manu-
factured, the father of the young candidate for sacred
honours endeavours to discover by the rules of astro-
logy, the month, the week, the day, the hour, the
minute which will be most favourable for his son's
investiture with the cord. The ceremony and the
entertainment occupy four days, and at the close of
each, the guests are presented with numerous gifts.
The sacred ceremonies observed on the occasion are
thus described, chiefly founded on the narrative of
Dubois, in an interesting work published some years
ago under the title of ' The Hindoos:' "The guest
first invited is the Purohita, or priest. On the day
appointed he comes, bringing along with him the
paita, or cord, with a quantity of mango leaves, the
sacred herb darbha, or k-itsa, and an antelope's skin
to sit upon. The guests being all assembled, the
Purohita begins by invoking the household god ; the
house itself having been previously purified, by the
floor and interior of the walls being rubbed with
cow-dung diluted with water, while the exterior is
decorated, like the old houses of France and Italy,
with broad perpendicular stripes in red earth. Most
of the rites are performed under a temporary shed,
erected with many ceremonies in the court before
the house. While the priest is chaunting his man-
tras, or prayers, the statue of Vighneswara, the
' God of Obstacles,' is placed under the shed. In-
stead of the image they in many cases merely set up
a small cone of cow-dung, or mud, which the charms
of the priest are supposed to transform into a god.
To propitiate this deity, whose wrath is peculiarly
dreaded, a sacrifice of incense, burning lamps, and
grains of rice tinged with red, is then offered up be-
fore the statue or cone.

" Next all the married women present, widovrf

CORD (Investiture with the).

CI3

being excluded from all scenes of this kind, as their
presence would be ominous of misfortune, remove
from the assembly, and purify themselves with bath-
ing. Some then proceed to prepare the feast, while
others return to the pandal, where, having caused the
young Brahmachari to sit down on a small stool, and
anointed him with oil, they bathe and dress him in
a new garment. They next adorn him with several
trinkets, put round his neck a string of coral beads,
and bracelets of the same material on his arms.
Lastly, they stain the edges of his eyelids with
black.

" The novice's father and mother now cause him
to sit down between them, in the midst of the assem-
bly, and the women perform on him the ceremony
of the Arati (which see). They then chaunt in
chorus the praises of the gods, with prayers for the
young man's happiness. A sacrifice, consisting of
betel, rice, and other kinds of food, is next offered up
to the household god. The feast now commences.
All the guests being seated in several rows, the
women apart, and with their backs turned towards
the men, the ladies of the .house wait themselves
upon the guests, and witli their delicate fingers,
spoons and forks being unknown, serve out the rice
and other dishes. The plates are nothing but leaves
of the banana or other trees, sewed together, and
never used a second time.

" Next day the invitations are renewed, and the
company assembles as before. The father of the
youth waits in person on each of his guests, bearing
in his hand a cup filled with akshata, or stained rice,
of which they take up a few of the grains, and stick
them on their foreheads as an ornament. ' The assem-
bly being formed, the Brahmachari with his father
and mother all ascend the pile of earth thrown up
beneath the shed, and seat themselves on three little
stools. In the mean time the young man is bathed
in the same manner as on the former day ; they deck
his brows with sandal and akshata, and gird his loins
with a pure cloth, that is to say a cloth not handled
since it was washed. All these ceremonies are ac-
companied with the songs of the women, the same as
on the preceding day.'

"These ceremonies concluded, the priest enters,
bearing fire in an earthen vase, which he places upon
the pile. Several mantras are then recited. After
which the father of the novice advances, and offers
up a sacrifice to Fire and the Nine Planets. The
former, which is called the homa, the Brahmins alone
have the privilege of performing. It is simply a
fire, kindled with a kind of consecrated wood, into
the flames of which they cast a little boiled rice,
sprinkled witli melted butter. 'The fire, thus con-
secrated, is afterwards carried into a particular
apartment of the house, and kept up day and night
with great care until the ceremony is ended. It
would be considered a very inauspicious event, if
for want of attention, or by any accident, it should
happen tr go out.'

" The women now come again upon the scene : —
' Having procured a large copper vessel, well whit-
ened over with lime, they go with it to draw water,
accompanied with instruments of music. Having
filled the vessel, they place in it perpendicularly
some leaves of mango, and fasten a new cloth round
the whole, made yellow with saffron water. On the
neck of the vessel, which is narrow, they put a cocoa-
nut stained with the same colour as the cloth. In
this trim they carnT it into the interior of the house,
and set it on the floor upon a little heap of rice.
There it is still farther ornamented with women's
trinkets, after which the necessary ceremonies are
performed to invite the god, and to fix him there.
This perhaps is not the same as the god of th6
house, or rather it is the apotheosis of the vessel
itself that is made in this case, for it actually be-
comes a divinity, receiving offerings of incense,
flowers, betel, and other articles used in the sacrifices
of the Brahmins. Upon this occasion only, women
act and perform the deification ; and it appears that
the divinity resident in the vessel is female. But
however this may be, the mother of the Brahmachari,
taking up in her hands this new divinity, goes out
of the house, accompanied by the other Brahmin
women, visits the festival, preceded by musical in-
struments, and makes the circuit of the village,
walking under a sort of canopy which is supported
over the head. Upon returning home she sets the
vessel god, which she has in her hands, where it was
formerly stationed under the shed, and with the as-
sistance of some of the other women, she fixes in
honour of the god two new cloths on the pillars of
the alcove near which it is placed.'

" Having accomplished this ceremony, the women,
who are fully employed and highly amused on those
occasions, once more leave the house in search of
mould from a nest of karias, or 'white ants.' With
this they fill five small earthen vases, in which they
sow nine sorts of grain, and moisten the whole with
milk and water. These five vases are then converted
by the mantras of the Brahmins into so many gods.
The Pantheon being thus enriched with five new
divinities, sacrifices of incense, rice, and betel are
made to them, and the whole assembly bow down
before the vases in adoration. The manes of their
ancestors are then invoked to be present at the feast.
Then turning to the Brahmachari, they bind on his
arm a piece of bastard saffron with a yellow cord,
the barber shaves his head, lie is bathed, his brows
are crowned with a wreath of sandal leaves, and his
loins are girt with a pure cloth.

" A feast is now given to the young Brahmins,
which is immediately succeeded by the most impos-
in ' ceremony which takes place during the investi-
ture. 'The father of the new Brahmin, having made
the company retire to some distance, whilst he and
his son are concealed behind a curtain, sits dowc
upon the ground with his face turned towards the
west, and making his son sit down beside him wit}

614

CORDACA— CORPUS CHRISTI

nis face towards the east, he whispers a deep secret
in his ear, out of the mantras, and gives him other
instructions analogous to his present situation. The
tvhole is in a style which probably is little compre-
hended by the listener. Among other precepts, I
am informed the father on one occasion delivered the
following : ' Be mindful, my son, that there is one
God only, the master, sovereign, and origin of all
things. Him ought eveiy Brahmin in secret to
adore. But remember also, that this is one of the
truths that must never be revealed to the vulgar
herd. If thou dost reveal it, great evil will befall
thee.' "

" In the evening, the sacred fire which had been
kindled on the first day, and preserved with super-
stitious care, is brought forth from the house, and
placed beside the youth under the pandal, with
songs and rejoicing. Mantras are recited, the women
chaunt new songs, and the discordant sound of
various instruments rends the air. Betel and pre-
sents are then distributed, and the rites are con-
cluded, though the entertainments usually continue
during two days more."

CORDACA, a surname of Artemis (which see)
in Elis, derived from an indecent dance, called cor-
dax, which the companions of Pelops are said to
have performed in honour of the goddess after a vic-
tory which they had gained.

CORDELIERS, monks of the order of St. Fran-
cis. They wear a coarse grey cloak, with a lit-
tle cowl, and a rope girdle with three knots. It is
from this girdle that they derive their name. They
are identical with the Minorites.

CORDICOLES (Lat. cor, the heart, and colo, to
worship), a sect of Romish devotees which arose in
France about the middle of the eighteenth century.
They professed to worship the sacred heart of Jesus
and the heart of Mary his virgin mother. Various
works appeared on the subject in French and Ita-
lian, and the sect spread rapidly in Naples, Sardinia,
and Spain. Hymns were composed in honour of
the sacred heart of Jesus, and Cordicoles abound in
all Roman Catholic countries.

CORNARISTS, the followers of Theodore Coorn-
hart, an enthusiastic secretary of the states of Hol-
land, in the end of the sixteenth and beginning of
the seventeenth centuries, who wrote at the same
time against Romanists, Lutherans, and Calvinists.
lie published a number of tracts in Dutch, in which
lie assailed the doctrine of absolute decrees. Ar-
minius (which see), while a minister in Amsterdam,
being directed by the consistory to refute the writ-
ings of Coornhart, was converted to his doctrines by
the perusal of his writings, and, accordingly, de-
fended them against the reformed. Coornhart had
some strange views, more especially in regard to the
different sects into which Christians were divided.
He held that they were all of them deeply defective,
and that no one had a right to reform them unless
lie could attest the authority of his mission by mira-

cles. He maintained, also, that a man might be f
good Christian without attaching himself to any sect
whatever.

CORNELIANS, a name given to the ancient or
thodox Christians by the Novatian party, because
they held communion with Cornelius, bishop of
Rome, rather than with Novatian his antagonist.
See Novatians.

CORONA CLERICALIS, the clerical crown, a
name given to the ancient tonsure, which was made
in a circular figure, by cutting away the hair a little
from the crown of the head, and leaving a round or
circle hanging downwards. This practice, from
which the clergy were sometimes called coronati or
crowned, was strongly condemned by many of the
Fathers as being forbidden in the law of God, and
a heathenish ceremony derived from the Egyptian
priests of Isis and Serapis. The corona was first
adopted by the Donatists and other heretics,
from whom it gradually passed into the Christian
Church, like several other profane and heathenish
usages. Isidore, who died A. d. 636, says, that
" all clerks wore the tonsure, and had the crown of
their head all shaved, having only a little circle of
hair round about the crown." Hence the name corona
This was one of the points of contention between
Austin and the old British clergy who refused to
wear the tonsure. Bingham supposes that the term
coronati may have been applied to the clergy in an
cient times, not from the tonsure, but from respect
to their office and character, the word being often
used to denote honour and dignity in a figurative
sense. See Crown.

CORONIS, a heathen goddess mentioned by Pau-
sanias as having been worshipped at Sicyouia. She
had no temple erected to her, but sacrifices were of-
fered to her in the temple of Athena (which see).

CORPORAL, a fair linen cloth appointed by the
canons of the Church of England to be thrown over
the consecrated elements at the celebration of the
eucharist. In the Greek church it is a square veil,
which the celebrant spreads over the elements, after
the reading of the gospel. On this corporal the Greeki
lay not only the sacred elements, but also the relics
of their saints.

CORPUS CHRISTI (Lat. body of Christ), Fes-
tival of, a feast held in the Romish church on the
Thursday after Trinity-Sunday, in which the conse-
crated wafer is carried about in procession in all
popish countries, for the adoration of the multitude.
This festival was established in A. D. 1264, by Pope
Urban IV., and afterwards confirmed in A. D. 1311,
by Clement V. The cause of its first establishment
is thus stated by Mr. Dowling, in his ' History of
Romanism:' "A certain fanatical woman named Ju-
liana, declared that as often as she addressed herselt
to God, or to the saints in prayer, she saw the full
moon with a small defect or breach in it ; and that,
having long studied to find out the signification ol
this strange appearance, she was inwardly informed

CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN.

G15

oy the Spirit, that the moon signified the church, and
that the defect or breach was the want of an annual
festival in honour of the holy sacrament. Few gave
attention or credit to this pretended vision, whose
circumstances were extremely equivocal and absurd,
and which would have come to nothing, had it not
been supported by Robert, bishop of Liege, who, in
the year 1246, published an order for the celebration
of this festival throughout the whole province, not-
withstanding the opposition he knew would be made
to a proposal founded only on an idle dream. After
the death of Juliana, one of her friends and com-
panions, whose name was Eve, took up her name
with uncommon zeal, and had credit enough with
Urban IV. to engage him to publish, in the year
1267, a solemn edict, by which the festival in ques-
tion was imposed upon all the Christian churches,
without exception. Diestemus, a prior of the Bene-
dictine monks, relates a miracle, as one cause of the
establishment of this senseless, idolatrous festival.
He tells us tliat a certain priest having some doubts
of the real presence of Christ in the sacrament,
blood flowed from the consecrated 'wafer into
the cup or chalice, and also upon the corporal or
linen cloth upon which the host and the chalice are
placed. The corporal, having been brought, all
bloody as it was, to Urban, the prior tells us that
the Pope was convinced of the miracle, and there-
upon appointed the solemnity of Corpus Christi, to
be annually celebrated."

This well-known festival is observed with great
solemnity and pomp in all Roman Catholic coun-
tries. An American gentleman thus describes the
procession as he himself witnessed it at Rome : " I
was a stranger in Rome, and recovering from the
debility of a slight fever ; I was walking for air and
gentle exercise in the Corso, on the day of the cele-
bration of the Corpus Domini. From the houses on
each side of the street were hung rich tapestries and
gold-embroidered damasks, and toward me slowly
advanced a long procession, decked out with all the
heathenish paraphernalia of this self-styled church.
In a part of the procession a lofty baldichino, or
canopy, borne by men, was held above the idol, the
host, before which, as it passed, all heads were un-
covered, and every knee bent but mine. Ignorant
of the customs of heathenism, I turned my back to
the procession, and close to the side of the houses in
the crowd (as I supposed unobserved), I was noting
in my tablets the order of the assemblage. I was
suddenly aroused from my occupation, and staggered
by a blow upon the head from the gun and bayonet
of a soldier, which struck off my hat far into the
crowd. Upon recovering from the shock, the soldier,
with the expression of a demon, and Iris mouth pour-
uil; forth a torrent of Italian oaths, in which il dia-
tolo had a prominent place, stood with his bayonet
ugainst my breast. I could make no resistance; I
could only ask him why he struck me, and receive
in answer his fresh volley of unintelligible impreca-

tions, which having delivered, he resumed his place
in the guard o/hoimur, by the side of the officiating
cardinal." See Host (Adoration of the).

CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN, a ceremony
performed annually at Rome, in which the Pope
himself takes a conspicuous part. An image of the
Virgin Mary is arrayed in velvet or satin, adorned
with silver and gold, and trimmed with the most
costly lace. It is gorgeously decked with necklaces
and earrings, and bracelets of precious stones. Tins
image is placed at an appointed time on the altar, in
a church hung round with tapestry, and brilliantly
lighted up with hundreds of candles. Immense crowds
flock to witness the ceremony, when a service is per-
formed, after which the priests approach the image
and crown it. In the course of these ceremonies the
priests burn incense before the image, bow down
before it, and mutter prayers to the Virgin. Mr.
Seymour, in his ' Pilgrimage to Rome,' translates the
following account of this ceremony from an Italian
work published a few years ago.

" Clement VIII. gave a crown of gems to the
miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which
they venerate in the church and patriarchal Basilica
of S. Mary the greater, (Maria Maggiore) that is, in
the sumptuous chapel Borghese. But the crown
with which Clement VIII. crowned the fore-men-
tioned image, and also the crowns with which it was
afterwards crowned by other Popes, have been lost
through the wickedness of the times, and since then
two crowns of silver adorn her image and that of her
divine child.

" The present Pope Gregory XVI. grateful for the
powerful patronage of the Blessed Virgin expe-
rienced in 1837, during the destructive Asiatic dis-
ease called the cholera, resolved to present with his
own hands a gemmed crown of gold to the Most
Holy Virgin, and also her divine infant, on that day
on which paradise beheld her crowned the queen of
angels and of saints. To this purpose he directed
that, wholly at Iris expence, two crowns should be
executed in gold rich with gems, in order to ofl'er
them on the morning of the feast of the Assumption,
Aug. 15, at the accustomed papal chapel.

" The pontifical altar of the said free Patriarchal
Basilica was prepared with pomp for so sacred an
office. The sacred picture taken from the Pauline
or Borghese chapel, was placed on high under the
tribune. Two flights of steps handsomely adorned,
rendered on both sides the approach to the upper
platform commodious, when the august ceremony
was to be performed. Not only the whole tribune
itself, but also the apsis and a portion of the princi-
pal nave of the church, was resplendent with lights
arranged in beautiful symmetry. The chief Pontiff,
about the hour of 8, a.m. went with his usual train
to the church, and celebrated privately the first
mass, and with his own hand distributed the eucha-
ristic bread to the faithful, among whom were found
persons of the highest rank. After mass he went to

Mi.

CORRESPONDENCES (Doctrine of)— CORSNED-BREAD

the apartment of Cardinal Odesealchi, arch-priest,
and gathering together the sacred college and the
various colleges of prelates in the Society, the Holy
Father assumed the pontifical robes, and directed the
Sedia Gestatoria with the usual procession to the
chapel of St. Catherine, where he adored the most
holy sacrament exposed there. From thence he
went before the high altar, and after kneeling and
venerating the sacred picture, ascends the throne and
is seated. Then, taking off the mitre, he rises and
blesses with the prescribed rite the two crowns,
which two salvers support, borne by two clergymen
of the chamber, saying,

" Under thy protection we fly, &c.

" Pope — Our help is in the name of the Lord.

" Response — Who made heaven and earth.

" Pope — The Lord be with you.

" Response — And with thy Spirit.
' Let us pray.

" ' Omnipotent and eternal God, by whose most
beneficent arrangement all things were created of
nothing, we suppliants pray thy Majesty to deign to
bless, + and to sanctify + these crowns, made to
adorn the sacred pictures of thy only-begotten Son
our Lord Jesus Christ, and his Mother the Most
Blessed Virgin Mary, through the same Christ, &c.
Amen.'

;l Then the Pope turned to his seat, placed the in-
cense in the censer, and after blessing it, arose,
sprinkled the crowns with holy water and incensed
them. Afterwards he descends from the throne and
kneels before the altar at the kneeling-stool, chant-
ing the Antifona, 'Queen of Heaven 1' which the
singers follow out with modulated voices. The
chant being ended, the crowns were committed to
the Prelates Pentini and Macioti, canons of the
church, robed in the cotta and rochetta, and acting
as deacon and subdeacon to the Pope. Then the
Pontiff, rising, took his mitre, and preceded by the
two canons, and accompanied by two cardinal dea-
cons assisting in Cappe rosse, and by two auditors
of the Rota, also in Cappa, ascends by the stairs at
the Epistle side to the upper level where the sacred
picture was placed. They remove the mitre, and
then the Pope taking the crown which was designed
for the head of the picture of Jesus, said in the act
of placing it there —

" ' As by our hands Thou art crowned on earth, so
may we deserve to be crowned by Thee with glory
and honour in the heavens.'

" Having then taken the other crown, he placed it
on the head of the picture of the Blessed Virgin,
and said —

" ' As by our hands Thou art crowned on earth,
so may we deserve to be crowned through Thee, by
Jesus Christ thy Son, with glory and honour in the
heavens.'

" After the solemn crowning of the sacred images,
amidst the rejoicing and universal commotion of the
immense assemblage, the Pope descends the other

stairs at the side of the gospel, lays aside the mitre,
blesses the incense, places it in the censer, and in-
censing three times the sacred pictures, said,

Pope — " A golden crown upon her head.

Response — " The express sign of sanctity, the
glory of honour, and the work of might.

Pope — " Thou hast crowned her, 0 Lord.

Response — " And made her have dominion over
the works of thine hands."

" Let us pray.

" Grant, 0 merciful Lord, by the crowning of the
mother, &c."

This detail cannot fail to remind the classical read-
er of the ceremonies followed by the ancient Romans
when crowning the images of their heathen gods
See Mariolatry.

CORRESPONDENCES (Doctrine of), one of
the important points which Emanuel Swedenborg
believed himself commissioned to reveal, namely,
that there are certain links of harmony and corre-
spondence between the seen and the unseen worlds,
so that every object ought to suggest to the mind oi
man its own appropriate divine truth. The grand
idea which this imaginative enthusiast appeared to
regard as the fundamental truth of his system was,
that matter and spirit are associated together, and
connected by an eternal law. Wherever an analogy
seemed to present itself, it was converted in the mind
of Swedenborg into a predetermined correspondence.
Thus, Mr. Vaughan, in his ' Hours with the Mystics,
well describes this doctrine : " The Divine Humanity
is at once the Lord and pattern of all creation. The
innumerable worlds of space are arranged after the
human form. The universe is a kind of constella-
tion Homo. Every spirit belongs to some province
in Swedenborg's ' Grand Man,' and affects the cor-
respondent part of the human body. A spirit dwell-
ing in those parts of the universe which answer to
the heart or the liver, makes his influx felt in the
cardiac or hepatic regions of Swedenborg's frame
before he becomes visible to the eye. Evil spirits,
again, produced their correspondent maladies on his
system, during the time of his intercourse with them.
Hypocrites gave him a pain in the teeth, because
hypocrisy is spiritual toothache. The inhabitants
of Mercury correspond to a province of memory in
the ' grand man : ' the Lunarians to the ensiform car-
tilage at the bottom of the breast-bone. With Swe-
denborg likeness is proximity : space and time art
states of love and thought. Hence his journeys
from world to world ; — passing through states being
equivalent to travelling over spaces. Thus it took
him ten hours to reach one planet, while at another
he arrived in two, because a longer time was re-
quired to approximate the state of Ids mind to that
of the inhabitants of the former."

CORRUPTICOL.E. See Aphthartodocites,
Agnoet.-e.

CORSNED-BREAD, or morsel of execration, a
species of ordeal among the Saxons. It consisted of

CORYBANTES— COUNCIL.

(U7

a piece of bread weighing about an ounce, being
given to the accused person, after a form of exe-
cration to this effect, " We beseech thee, 0 Lord,
that whoever is guilty of this theft, when the exe-
crated bread is offered to him, in order to discover
the truth, his jaws may be shut, his throat so nar-
row that he cannot swallow, and that he may cast it
out of his mouth, and not eat it." It is supposed
that this ceremony was invented in the early ages of
Christianity, from a presumptuous use of the con-
secrated elements of communion, and that the Saxon
corsned was actually the sacramental bread. This
species of ordeal has been asserted to be specially
limited to the clergy ; but the sudden and fatal ap-
peal to it by Godwin, Earl of Kent, in A. D. 1053,
when accused of the murder of yElfred, the brother
of Edward the Confessor, is well known as one of
the most remarkable traditions of English history.
" This custom," says Sir 'William Blackstone, " has
been long since gradually abolished, though the re-
membrance of it still exists in certain phrases of ab-
juration retained among the humbler classes of
society, such as ' I will take the sacrament upon it.'
' May this morsel be my last.'" See Ordeal.

CORYBANTES, priests of the goddess Cybele
(which see) who danced at the sacrifices and beat
time on cymbals. They had their residence on
Mount Ida in the island of Crete, where they nour-
ished the infant Zeus. Some think that the Cory-
bantes were the sons of Chkonos (which see), others
that they were the sons of Zeus and Calliope, that
they went to Samothrace, where they are said 10
have dwelt, and to have been the same beings as
were there called Cabeiri (which see). TheCory-
bautes are alleged by some to have been nine in
number.

CORYBANTICA, a festival and mysteries cele-
brated anciently at Cnossus in Crete in commemora-
tion, as some say,of one Corybas, who brought up Zeus,
Concealing him from his father Chronos, who wished
to kill him. Others suppose that this festival was
held in honour of the Corybantes (see preceding
article), who performed the same friendly offices to
Zeus. When any one was to be initiated into
the mysteries, he was placed upon a throne, and
those who engaged in the ceremony formed a circle
and danced around him.

CORYDUS, a surname of Apollo (which see),
under which he was worshipped at Corone, where
there was a temple erected in his honour.

CORYPHjEA, a surname of Artemis (which
see), as the goddess who inhabited the tops of the
mountains. Under this name she was worshipped
on Mount Coryphaeon, near Epidaurus in Greece.
Zeus sometimes receives the epithet of Cory-
phseus.

CORYPHASIA, a surname of Athena (whihc
see), under which she was worshipped, and had a
.cin|il(> at Coryphflsion.

CORYT11ALLA, a surname of Artemis (which

see), at Sparta, where a festival in her honour was
held.

COSMOGONY. See Creation.

COSMUS. See Anargyres.

COTBAT, the discourse with which the Imam
among the Saracens was wont to commence the pub-
lic prayers on Friday. It consisted of expressions
of praise to God and to Mohammed. In ancient
times the caliph, dressed in white, used to pronounce
the Cotbat in person, a ceremony which was con-
sidered as a mark of sovereignty. This ceremony,
which was generally concluded with a prayer for
the caliph, fell into disuse on the extinction of the
caliphate. Mohammed was the first who introduced
the custom of delivering the Cotbat.

COTYS, or Cotytto, a Thracian goddess who
presided over all wantonness and indecency. She
was worshipped first among the Greeks, and after-
wards among the Romans. (See next article.)

COTYTTIA, a festival celebrated originally in
Thrace in honour of Cotys or Cotytto, the goddess
of wantonness. Prom Thrace it passed to Corinth
and Athens, as well as other cities of Greece. It
was celebrated during the night amid dissoluteness
and debauchery of the most revolting description.
A festival bearing the same name was celebrated in
Sicily, but there is no evidence that it was disgraced
by the observance of the licentious practices which
prevailed in the Thracian festival. The priests of
the goddess who presided at the festival were an-
ciently called Baptje (which Bee).

COUNCIL, a term used in several passages of the
New Testament, for example, Matt. v. 22 ; Luke
xxii. 66 ; Acts vi. 12, to denote the Sanhedrim
(which see), or supreme civil court over which the
high priest presided, and which took cognizance ot
all offences which were of a somewhat important and
aggravated description. Besides the Sanhedrim, the
Tahnudists assert, that there were two other smaller
councils, each consisting of twenty-three persons, to
hear and determine in the case of minor offences.
These petty courts were established in every town
or village where there were one hundred and twenty
inhabitants ; and if the population was smaller, a
tribunal was set up of three judges, one chosen by
the accuser, another by the accused, and a third by
both parties.

COUNCIL (Ecclesiastical), an assembly of ec-
clesiastical persons met for the purpose of consulta-
tion on ecclesiastical matters. The first council of
this kind is supposed by many writers, Protestant as
well as Romanist, to have been that which was com-
I I i if the apostles and elders of Jerusalem, anil of
which we have an account in Acts xv. Prom such
a narrative being contained in Scripture, it has been
sometimes argued that councils, according to this
model, are of Divine authority. Hence arose the
Romish idea of infallible councils, who according!)
adopted the prefatory language of the decree of the
council of Jerusalem, " It seemed good to the Holy

6L8

COUNCILS.

Ghost and to us." But such pretensions were alto-
gether unwarranted, and only tended to foster the
pride and arrogance of an ambitious priesthood.
Such an extravagant idea as that of the divine au-
thority of the ecclesiastical councils, which have
from time to time met and issued decrees which
claimed obedience from the whole Christian world,
is opposed alike by the testimony of antiquity and
the opinions of the earliest writers who refer to the
councils of the church. Tertullian speaks of the
ecclesiastical assemblies of the Greeks as purely a
human institution ; and Firmilian, bishop of C«sa-
rea, in a letter to Cyprian, written about the middle
of the third century, refers to such assemblies as
nothing more than a convenient arrangement. Ec-
clesiastical councils had their origin among the
Greeks, who had been accustomed from the very na-
ture of their civil government to attach the utmost
importance to public assemblies in matters of legis-
lation in the state; and it was natural for them,
when the circumstances of the church required it, to
resort to such assemblies for legislation in matters
which concerned the church. The first ecclesiasti-
cal councils were held against the Montanists
(which see), towards the middle of the second century,
in Asia Minor and Thrace.

COUNCILS (Consistorial), meetings of the
presbyters or elders in consistory with the bishop,
thus forming a court for ecclesiastical purposes
corresponding to the Kirk-Session, as it is termed
in Scotland. These courts belonged to individu-
al churches. Thus when Synesius, bishop of Pto-
lemais, proceeded against Andronicus, the impious
and blaspheming prefect of Pentapolis, he summoned
a meeting of the consistory of his own church, which
solemnly excommunicated Andronicus, and in his
account of the matter, Synesius says, " The church
of Ptolemais gave notice of this excommunication
to all her sister churches throughout the world, re-
quiring them to hold Andronicus excommunicated,
and not to despise her act as being only that of a
poor church in a small city."

COUNCILS (General), or (Ecumenical, as-
semblies which have been supposed to represent the
whole body of the Christian church. " Men being
accustomed already," says Neander, " to regard the
provincial synods as the highest legislative and judi-
cial tribunals for the churches of the several pro-
vinces, it was natural, when disputes arose which
occupied the largest portion of the Christendom of
the Koman empire, that the thought should occur of
forming, after some analogous manner, a like tribu-
nal for the Christendom of the whole Roman em-
pire ; and this was soon transferred, generally, to
the entire church universal. The provincial synods
then being customarily regarded as organs of the
Holy Spirit for the guidance of the churches of a
certain district, this idea was applied to the rela-
tion of universal councils to the whole church.
These universal councils had a two-fold aim ; to de-

cide disputes concerning doctrines, and to determine
the constitution, the forms of worship and the disci-
pline of the church ; to which latter, the canons of
these assemblies had reference."

The number of general or oecumenical councils is
reckoned variously by different churches. The or-
thodox Greek church enumerates only seven, and
refuses to acknowledge the authority of those which
followed. The first seven now referred to are as fol-
lows : The first council of Nice, A. D. 325. The first
council of Constantinople, A. D. 381. The council
of Ephesus, A. D. 431. The council of Chalcedon
A. D. 451. The second council of Constantinople.
A. D. 553. The third council of Constantinople, A. n
680. The second council of Nice, a. d. 787.

Most of the writers of the church of Rome hold that
there have been eighteen oecumenical and infallible
councils, but they diner among themselves as to what
particular councils are entitled to this character.
Sixtus V. caused a list of the eighteen generally re-
cognized councils to be put up in the Vatican.
These, in addition to the first seven already enumer-
ated, consist of the following : The fourth council of
Constantinople, A. D. 869. The first Lateran coun-
cil, A. D. 1122. The second Lateran council, A. D.
1139. The third Lateran council, A. d. 1179. The
fourth Lateran council, A. D. 1215. The first coun-
cil of Lyons, A. D. 1245. The second council of
Lyons, A. D. 1274. The council of Vienne, A. D.
1311. The council of Florence, A. D. 1439. The
fifth Lateran council, A. D. 1512. The council of
Trent, a. d. 1545

The French divines in general maintain that the
councils of Pisa A. D. 1400, Constance A. D. 1414,
and Basle A. D. 1431, were also oecumenical, while
the Italian clergy deny this, and ascribe, instead of
these, infallibility to the councils of Lyons, Flor-
ence, and the fifth Lateran. The Popes have
never given any formal decision on this disputed
point ; so that it is still doubtful whether the
Church of Rome acknowledges the eighteen in-
fallible councils according to the French or the Ita-
lian list. The Protestant churches are unanimous in
rejecting the authority of all these councils, and the
twenty-first article of the Church of England declares
that such councils may err, and sometimes have
erred, and that things ordained by them as necessary
to salvation, " have neither strength nor authority
unless it may be declared that they be taken out of
Holy Scripture."

The eighteen general or oecumenical councils may
be divided into two classes, the Eastern and the
Western, the former consisting of eight, all of which
were called by the Emperors, and the latter consist-
ing of ten, all of which were called by the Popes.
The history of the whole of these councils, both
Eastern and Western, reveals scenes of carnal strife
and party passion, which have too often been unfa-
vourable, rather than otherwise, to the cause of true
Christianity. Gregory Nazianzen expresses hiin-

COUNCILS— COURT OF HIGH COMMISSION.

619

self with great plainness in speaking of his own ex-
perience of all such councils. " I am so constituted,"
lie says, " that, to speak the truth, I dread every as-
sembly of bishops ; for I have never yet seen a good
end of any one, — never been at a synod which did
more for the suppression than it did for the increase
of evils ; for an indescribable thirst for contention
and for rule prevails in them, and a man will be far
more likely to draw upon himself the reproach of
wishing to set himself up as a judge of other men's
wickedness, than he will be to succeed in any at-
tempts of his to remove it." Some of them, accord-
ing to the testimony of eye-witnesses, resembled a
disorderly rabble, more than an assembly of grave
and learned divines. At best they were a collection
of frail, fallible mortals, whose passions were often
stronger than their judgment, and therefore their
decisions must be received with the utmost caution,
and only adopted in so far as they are in accordance
with the Word of God, which by every enlightened
Protestant is regarded as the only infallible rule of
faith and obedience. See Infallibility (Doc-
trine of).

COUNCILS (Occasional), ecclesiastical assem-
blies convened for special purposes in a particular
locality or district, but making no pretensions to re-
present the whole Christian church. Such councils
have been very numerous. A few of the most impor-
tant may be noticed. At Aix-la-Chapelle, a. d. 81 G, a
council was held for regulating the canons of cathe-
dral churches. The council of Savonnieries, in 859,
was the tirst which gave the title of Most Christian
King to the king of France ; but it did not become
the peculiar appellation of that sovereign till 1469.
The council of Troyes, in 887, decides the disputes
about the imperial dignity. The second council of
Troyes, 1107, restrains the clergy from marrying.
The council of Clermont, in 1095. The first cru-
sade was determined in this council. The bishops
had yet the precedency of cardinals. In this assem-
bly the name of Pope was for the first time given to
the head of the church, exclusively of the bishops,
who used to assume that title. Here, also, Hugh,
archbishop of Lyons, obtained of the Pope a confir-
mation of the primacy of his see over that of Sens.
The council of Rheims, summoned by Eugenius III.
in 1148, in which patrons of churches are prohibited
from taking more than ancient fees, upon pain of de-
privation and ecclesiastical burial. Bishops, deacons,
sub-deacons, monks, and nuns, are restrained from
marrying. In this council the doctrine of the Tri-
nity was decided ; but upon separation the Pope
called a congregation, in which the cardinals pre-
tended they had no right to judge of doctrinal points ;

that this waa the privilege peculiar to tin- Pope. The
council of Sutrium, in 104G, wherein three Popes
who had assumed the chair were deposed. The
council of Clarendon in England, against Becket,
held in 1 104. The conncil of Lombez, in the coun-
try of Albigeois, in 1200, occasioned by some distur-

bances on account of the Albigenses ; a crusade was
formed on this account, and an army sent to extir-
pate them. Innocent III. spirited up this barbarous
war. Dominic was the apostle, the count of Tou-
louse the victim, and Simon, count of Montfort, the
conductor or chief. The council of Paris in 1210, in
which Aristotle's metaphysics was condemned to
the Hames, lest the refinements of that philosopher
should have a bad tendency on men's minds, by ap-
plying those subjects to religion. The council of
Pisa, begun March the 2d, 1409, in which Benedict
XIII. and Gregory XII. were deposed. Another
council, sometimes called general, held at Pisa, in
1505. Louis XII. of France, assembled a national
council at Tours (being highly disgusted with the
Pope,) 1510, where was present the cardinal De
Gurce, deputed by the emperor; and it was then
agreed to convene a general council at Pisa.

COUNCILS (Provincial), assemblies of the
bishops and presbyters of all the churches in a pro-
vince, corresponding to the Presbytery (which
see) of modern times. Several Romish writers deny
that presbyters were allowed a seat in these councils.
Bellarmine only goes so far as to deny them a deci-
sive voice in such assemblies. But all unprejudiced
writers, both Protestant and Romish, agree, that even
from the first origin of such councils presbyters had
liberty to sit and deliberate with bishops in all ec-
clesiastical matters referring to the province.

COUNSELS (Evangelical). See Evangeli-
cal Counsels.

COUNTRY BISHOPS. See Ciiorepiscopi.

COURSES OF PRIESTS. See Priest.

COURT OF THE TABERNACLE. See Ta-
bernacle.

COURTS OF THE TEMPLE. See Temple.

COURTS (Romish). See Congregations
(Romish).

COURT OF HIGH COMMISSION. This court
took its rise from a remarkable clause in the Art of
Supremacy, passed in 1558-59, by which Queen
Elizabeth and her successors were "empowered to
choose persons to exercise under her all manner of
jurisdiction, privileges, and pre-eminences, touching
any spiritual or ecclesiastical jurisdiction within the
null i is of England and Ireland; as also to visit, reform,
redress, order, correct, and amend all errors, hen sies,
schisms, abuses, contempts, offences, enormities,
whatsoever; provided, that they have no power to
determine anything to be heresy but what has been
adjudged to be so by the authority of the canonical
Scripture, or by the first four general councils,
or any of them, or by any other general council,
wherein the same was declared heresy by the ex-
press and plain words of canonical Scripture, or such
as shall hereafter be declared to be heresy by the
High Court of Parliament, with the assent of the
in convocation." In conformity with this
clause, the Queen appointed a certain number oi
I commissioners for ecclesiastical causes. The court

G520

COURTS (Church).

thus formed was called the High Commission Court,
because it claimed a more extensive jurisdiction and
higher powers than the ordinary Courts of the
Bishops. Its jurisdiction, in fact, reached over the
whole kingdom. These commissioners were em-
powered to make inquiry, not only by the legal me-
thods of juries and witnesses, but by all other ways
and means which they could devise, that is, by rack,
torture, inquisition, and imprisonment. They were
vested with a right to examine such persons as they
suspected, by administering to them an oath, by
which they were obliged to answer all questions, and
thereby might be obliged to accuse themselves or
their most intimate friends. The fines they imposed
were merely discretionary; the imprisonment to
which they condemned was limited by no rule but
their own pleasure ; they imposed when they thought
proper new articles of faith on the clergy, and prac-
tised all the iniquities and cruelties of a real inqui-
sition. This court suspended and deprived minis-
ters of their livings, by the canon law, on the solemn
determination of three commissioners.

The appointment of Courts of High Commission
was not limited to the reign of Elizabeth ; we find
James instituting such courts in Scotland when he
was endeavouring to introduce Prelacy into that part
of his kingdom. In 1610 a commission was given
under the great seal to the two archbishops of St.
Andrews and Glasgow, to hold two Courts of High
Commission, which were afterwards united in 1615.
Dr. Hetherington, in his History of the Church of
Scotland, thus describes the nature of courts of this
kind : " Never was a more tyrannical court instituted
than that of High Commission. It was regulated
by no fixed laws or forms of justice, and was armed
with the united terrors of civil and ecclesiastical
despotism. It had the power of receiving appeals
from any ecclesiastical judicatory; of calling before
it all persons accused of immorality, heresy, sedition,
or any imaginary offence ; of finding them guilty
upon evidence which no court of justice would have
sustained ; and of inflicting any punishment, either
civil or ecclesiastical, or both, which it thought pro-
per. ' As it exalted the bishops far above any pre-
late that ever was in Scotland, so it put the King in
possession of what he had long desired, namely, the
royal prerogative and absolute power to use the
bodies and goods of his subjects at his pleasure,
without form or process of law : so that our bishops
were fit instruments of the overthrow of the freedom
and liberty both of the Church and realm of Scot-
land.' "

A High Commission Court was re-erected in Scot-
land on the 16th January 1664, and was, if possible,
more arbitrary in its proceedings than its predecessor
had been. This court consisted of nine prelates and
thirty-five laymen, five being a quorum, of which one
must be a prelate. They were empowered to summon
before them, and to punish, all the deposed ministers
who presumed to preach, all who attended conventi-

cles, all who kept meetings at fasts, and the sacra-
ment of the Lord's Supper, and all who write, speak,
preach or print against Prelacy. They were em-
powered to indict censures of suspension and depo-
sition; to levy fines and imprison; to employ magis-
trates and military force for the apprehension of then
victims ; and finally, to do and execute what they
shall find necessary and convenient for his Majesty's
service. " The proceedings of the Court of High
Commission," says Dr. Hetherington, " were such as
were to be expected from its spirit and construction.
It at once assumed the power of both the swords,
and acted equally as an ecclesiastical and as a civil
court. Holding the most intimate intercourse with
the curates, who formed an organized espionage co-
extensive with the nation, the Court of High Com-
mission obtained information respecting every sincere
Presbyterian throughout the kingdom, summoned
every one whom it was their pleasure to oppress,
and, without the formalities of citing witnesses and
hearing evidence, either passed sentence upon the
bare accusation, or required the oath of supremacy
to be taken, and, upon its being refused, inflicted
whatever sentence they thought proper, short of
death. Some were reduced to utter poverty by
fines ; some were imprisoned till they contracted fatal
diseases ; some were banished to the remotest and
most unhealthy and inhospitable parts of the king-
dom ; and some were actually sold for slaves. Of
the great numbers summoned to appear before this
terrible court of inquisition, not one is recorded to
have escaped without suffering punishment, and often
to an extreme degree of severity."

COURTS (Church), a term used in Presbyterian
churches to denote the various ecclesiastical courts
composed of ministers and elders, in which all mat-
ters affecting the doctrines, government, and disci
pline of the church are duly considered. These
courts consist of kirk-sessions, presbyteries, synods,
and the General Assembly, which form a regular
gradation from the inferior up to the supreme court,
where all matters purely ecclesiastical take end.
The lowest court or kirk-session takes cognizance of
persons and matters within its bounds ; but there is
a right of appeal from its decision to the next higher
court, the presbytery, then to the synod, and last of
all to the General Assembly, from whose decisions,
unless affecting temporal interests, there is no ap-
peal. The Church of Scotland, in common with all
Presbyterian churches, claims the right of meeting in
all its courts, by its own appointment ; but it also
recognizes the right of the supreme magistrate to
call synods, and to be present at them. This latter
right is denied by those Presbyterian bodies who
hold the Voluntary principle. Only two instances
are on record in which the Lord High Commissioner,
in opposition to the mind of the judicatory, dissolved
the Assembly without fixing a time for the meeting
of another ; and on both these occasions the Assem-
bly continued its sittings, and by its own intrinsic

C.OURTS— COVENANTS.

G21

power appointed the day when the next Assembly
should be held.

COURTS (SpirituaO, those courts belonging
to the Church of England to which the considera-
tion of ecclesiastical matters belongs. For a long
period the court for ecclesiastical and temporal mat-
ters was one and the same. It was called the county
court, where the bishop and the carl, or, in his ab-
sence, the sheriffs or their representatives, sat jointly
for the administration of justice — the first in matters
ecclesiastical by the laws of the church — the Becond
in matters temporal by the laws of the state. In
the days of William the Conqueror, however, a se-
paration took place between the temporal and the
spiritual jurisdictions, and ecclesiastical courts were
set up, to which all ecclesiastical matters were re-
ferred. These courts have continued down to the
present day, and are six in number, namely, the
Archdeacon's Court, the Consistory courts, the Pre-
rogative and the ArcJies Court ; the Court of Pecu-
liars, and the Court of Delegates. For an account of
the different courts, see articles under the words
here marked in italics. But though still in exis-
tence, these courts are far from having the ex-
tent of authority which they could formerly claim,
the law of Henry VII. for the punishment of
priests having been superseded by an " Act for bet-
ter enforcing church discipline," passed in the reign
of the present Queen.

COVENANTS, a term which in ordinary lan-
guage is identical with Contracts (which see), and
which have been wont to be ratified in a variety of
different ways. The word occurs very frequently in
Sacred Scripture, both in the Old and New Testa-
ments. Dr. Russell, in his able work on the 'Old
and New Covenants,' makes some judicious remarks
on the original meaning of the term : " The word,
which in the Old Testament Scriptures is rendered
covenant, is accordingly derived from a root, which
signifies to purify, and hence it is sometimes used to
signify soap, Jer. ii. 22 ; Mai. iii. 2. The word it-
self, which is rendered covenant, signifies a purifier,
a purification, or a purification sacrifice ; and the
phrase for making a covenant, literally signifies to
cut a purifier, or to cut off a purifying victim. The
ancient manner of confirming a covenant, was by
(lie slaying of an animal in sacrifice, and then di-
viding it into pieces, between which the party mak-
ing the engagement or promise, solemnly passed.
After Abraham had divided certain victims, Qod,
under the symbol of a burning lamp, passed between
the pieces; and thus, ' In that same day, the Lord
made a covenant with Abraham, saying, unto thy
seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt
unto the great river, the river Euphrates.' Gen. xv.
7 — 18. This was by no means a covenant of mutual
stipulation, but oi free promise on the part of the
Almighty alone; and, therefore, the Divine glory
alone passed between the pieces. It deserves our
'iltention. tint though many of the promises to Abra-

ham are recorded in the xii. and xiii. chapters of the
book of Genesis, they are not termed a covenant, till
an account is given in chap. xv. of their being rati-
fied by sacrifices. This solemn mode of confirmation
prefigured the great sacrifice of the Son of God. in
right of whom Abraham and his seed were to inherit
the blessing. It is easy to see how promises made
in behalf of sinful and polluted men, came to be con-
firmed by means of a sacrifice ; for as it is by means of
an atonement that guilt is purged away, and that
sinners, as thus purified from it, have access into
the presence and family of God ; so it was proper,
that whatever promises of blessing were made to
such, should be ratified in a way which should ex-
hibit the great means by which purification from sin
and reconciliation to God should be effected. To
this mode of confirming the covenant there is a re-
ference in Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19, where God denounces
a curse on the different classes in Judah and Jeru-
salem ; who, on a particular occasion, had made a
covenant before him, in regard to their servants, by
cutting a calf in twain, and passing between the
parts of it, as a ratification of the promised liberty of
their enslaved brethren. In allusion to this charac-
ter of our Lord as a purifier, the redeemed are re-
presented as arrayed in robes made white in the
blood of the Lamb, Rev. vii. 14. Now, garments
cannot literally be made white by being washed in
blood; but sins being represented as the pollution
of the soul, and bo excluding men as spiritually de-
filed from the presence of God, it is easy to see how
that state of acceptance into which men are brought,
through the application of the atonement of Christ,
is signified by their appearing in robes made white
by being washed in his blood.

" When men saw that God confirmed his promise
by a sacrifice, they learned to confirm their own
engagements by the same means, though not with
the same views. The custom appears to have arisen
from regard to the great sacrifice, which was to re-
deem mankind ; and those who in this way symboli-
cally confirmed their engagements, would be consi-
dered as having staked their hope of salvation,
through the great sacrifice, on their faithful fulfil-
ment. Now, as the engagements of men were gen-
erally mutual stipulations between the parties con-
cerned, the word covenant came to denote a mutual
compact so ratified, and, at last, whether thus rati
lied or not. Hut when applied to God, it denotes
nothing of this kind, but, as has just been stated,
his own free and gracious promises in behalf of the
guilty and unworthy, ratified by a sacrifice ; or else
a gracious constitution of things, or an institution,
or a system of institutions, founded upon and illus-
trative of bis promises."

In accordance with this extensive view of the word
covenant, it may be applied to all the various dispen-
sations under which, in the course of ages, God was
pli'iisi (1 to reveal to men his plan of mercy through
a Redeemer. In this view we can with propriety

6-2-2

COVENANT.

jpeak of the covenant as revealed to our first parents, |
ind then to Noah ; of the covenant established with
Abraham, and afterwards with Israel at Sinai ; last
of all we can speak of the covenant ratified by
Christ. But the Bible sets before us two primary
covenants or dispensations, which it terms the first
and the second, or the Old and the New. The one
had a reference to the Jewish nation only ; the other
to believers of all ages and nations. The one was
a typical, the other an antitypical covenant. The
one was temporary, the other eternal. The one
could only secure an earthly, the other a heavenly
inheritance.

Systematic divines are accustomed to speak of
two covenants as referred to in the Word of God,
the covenant of works and the covenant of grace.
The former denotes the federal transaction between
God and Adam, in which he promised eternal life
to our first parents upon the condition of obedience,
not only to the moral law written on their heart, but
to the positive precept respecting the tree of
knowledge. This agreement is also termed the
covenant of nature, because it was entered into with
man while he was in his natural state of innocence ;
and also the covenant of life, because life was pro-
mised as the reward of obedience. The covenant of
grace, on the other hand, which is fitly so termed,
as bestowing its reward not upon him who works,
but upon him who believes, denotes the agreement
relative to the salvation of sinners into which God
the Father entered with Christ the Son, from all
eternity, in behalf of his elect people. The condi-
tions of the covenant were fulfilled by Christ, and
all the promises and blessings of the covenant are
imparted in the first instance to Christ, and then to
his people in Him.

The covenant of grace has been administered by
Christ imder two distinct economies, the one before,
and the other after, the coining of Christ. The great
design in both cases is to impart its benefits to those
for whom they were intended ; and this design is ac-
complished by the preaching of the gospel, in which
salvation is offered to sinners ; and by the power of the
Spirit, who works faith in the hearts of those who were
chosen in Christ to eternal life. It is only by faith
that we can obtain an interest in the covenant, and
hence the solemn declaration, " He that believeth
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be
damned." All that were descended from Adam are
involved in the covenant made with him ; and all
who are born in Christ are involved in the covenant
made with Him.

COVENANT (The First), subscribed at Edin-
burgh on the 3d of December 1557, by the ad-
herents of the Reformation in Scotland, binding
them to mutual support of each other and of the
gospel. This covenant, which we give in its entire
form, runs in these words : " ' We, perceiving how-
Satan, in his members the anticlirists of our time,
cruelly doth rage, seeking to downthrow and destroy

the evangel of Christ and his congregation, ought
according to our bounden duty, to strive in our Mas-
ter's cause, even unto the death, being certain of the
victory in Him : the which, our duty being well con-
sidered, we do promise before the Majesty of God
and his congregation, That we, by his grace, shall
with all diligence continually apply our whole power,
substance, and our very lives, to maintain, set for-
ward, and establish the most blessed Word of God,
and his congregation ; and shall labour at our possi-
bility to have faithful ministers, purely and truly to
minister Christ's evangel and sacraments to his peo-
ple. We shall maintain them, nourish them, and
defend them, the whole congregation of Christ, and
every member thereof, at our whole powers and
waiting [expending] of our lives against Satan and
all wicked power that does intend tyranny and trou-
ble against the foresaid congregation. Unto the
which holy word and congregation we do join us ;
and also do renounce and forsake the congregation
of Satan, with all the superstitions, abominations,
and idolatry thereof. And moreover shall declare
ourselves manifestly enemies thereto, by this our
faithful promise before God, testified to his congre-
gation, by our subscription at these presents. At
Edinburgh the third day of December 1557 years.
God called to witness. ' " This bond or covenant
w-as solemnly sworn to and subscribed by the lords
and chief gentry who were devoted to the reformed
interests, and who, from the frequent recurrence of
the word congregation in the document, received the
name of the Lords of the Congregation, and their
followers were called the Congregation.

COVENANT (The Second), another bond sub-
scribed by the Lords of the Congregation in Scot-
land a short time after the above. It was sub-
scribed on the 31st of May 1559, in the name of the
whole congregation, pledging them to mutual sup-
port and defence in the cause of religion, or any
cause dependent thereupon, by whatsoever pretext it
might be concealed.

COVENANT (The First National, of Scot-
land), the name given to a Confession of Faith
drawn up by John Craig, one of the ministers of
Edinburgh at the Reformation. It forms the first
part of every subsequent national covenant entered
into by the Church and people of Scotland. The
occasion of its being framed and subscribed at this
time, was the jealousy entertained by the nation of
the Duke of Lennox and other nobles, who either
openly avowed their adherence to the Church of
Rome, or were suspected of attachment to the Rom-
ish creed. This covenant was subscribed by the
king himself, his household, and the greater part of
the nobility and gentry throughout the kingdom. It
was ratified by the General Assembly, and the sign-
ing of it zealously promoted by the ministers in
every part of the country. The National Covenant
was renewed in 1638, with an addition drawn up by
Johnston of Warriston, which contained the Acts of

COVENANT (The Solemn League and).

62.1

Parliament condemning Popery, and continuing and
ratifying the acts of the General Assembly. The
latter part of the document, which was the produc-
tion of Henderson, contained a special application of
the whole to present circumstances. From the
subscription of this covenant arose the name of Cove-
nanters.

The following graphic account of the subscrib-
ing of this covenant is given by Dr. Hethering-
ton in his Historv of the Church of Scotland : " At
length the important day, the 28th of February,
dawned, in which Scotland was to resume her solemn
covenant union with her God. All were fully aware,
that on the great transaction of this day, and on the
blessing of God upon it, would depend the welfare or
the wo of the Church and kingdom for generations
to come. By daybreak all the commissioners were
met ; and the Covenant being now written out, it
was read over, and its leading propositions deliber-
ately examined, all being invited to express their
opinions freely, and every objection patiently heard
and answered. From time to time there appeared
some slightly-doubtful symptoms, indicative of pos-
sible disunion ; but these gradually gave way before the
rising tide of sacred emotion with which almost every
heart was heaving. Finally, it was agreed that all
the commissioners who were in town, with as many
of their friends as could attend, should meet at the
Greyfriars Church in the afternoon, to sign the bond
of union with each other, and of covenant with God.

" As the hour drew near, people from all quarters
liocked to the spot ; and before the commissioners
appeared, the church and churchyard were densely
tilled with the gravest, the wisest, and the best of
Scotland's pious sons and daughters. With the hour
approached the men : Rothes, Loudon, Henderson,
Dickson, and Johnston appeared, bearing a copy of
the Covenant ready for signature. The meeting was
then constituted by Henderson, in a prayer of very
remarkable power, earnestness, and spirituality of
tone and feeling. The dense multitude listened with
breathless reverence and awe, as if each man felt
himself alone in the presence of the Hearer of prayer.
When he concluded, the Earl of Loudon stood forth,
sddressed the meeting, and stated, explained, and
vindicated the object for which they were assembled.
He very judiciously directed their attention to the
covenants of other days, when their venerated fathers
had publicly joined themselves to the Lord, and had
obtained support under their trials, and deliverance
from every danger; pointed out the similarity of
their position, and the consequent propriety and duty
of fleeing to the same high tower of Almighty
strength ; and concluded by an appeal to the Searcher
Df hearts, that nothing disloyal or treasonable was
meant. Johnston then unrolled the vast sheet of
parchment, and in a clear and steady voice read the
Covenant aloud. He finished, and stood silent. A
solemn stillness followed, deep, unbroken, sacred.
Men felt the near presence of that dread Majesty to

whom they were about to vow allegiance ; and
bowed their souls before Him, in the breathless awe
of silent spiritual adoration.

" Rothes at length, with subdued tone, broke the
silence, stating, that if any had still objections to
offer, they should repair, if from the south or west
parts of the kingdom to the west door of the church,
where their doubts would be heard and resolved by
Loudon and Dickson ; if from the north and east, to
the east door, where the same would be done by
Henderson and himself. ' Few came, proposed but
few doubts, and these were soon resolved.' Again a
deep and solemn pause ensued ; not the pause of ir-
resolution, but of modest diffidence, each thinking
every other more worthy than himself to place the
first name upon this sacred bond. An aged noble-
man, the venerable Earl of Sutherland, at last step-
ped slowly and reverentially forward, and with
throbbing heart and trembling hand subscribed Scot-
land's Covenant with God. All hesitation in a mo-
ment disappeared. Name followed name in swift
succession, till all within the Church had given their
signatures. It was then removed into the church-
yard, and spread out on a level grave-stone, to obtain
the subscription of the assembled multitude. Here
the scene became, if possible, still more impressive.
The intense emotions of many became irrepressible.
Some wept aloud ; some burst into a shout of exulta-
tion ; some after their names added the words till
death; and some, opening a vein, subscribed with
their own warm blood. As the space became filled,
they wrote their names in a contracted form, limit-
ing them at last to the initial letters, till not a spot
remained on which another letter could be inscribed.
There was another pause. The nation had framed a
Covenant in former days, and had violated its en-
gagements : hence the calamities in which it had
been and was involved. If they too should break
this sacred bond, how deep would be their guilt !
Such seem to have been their thoughts during this
period of silent communing with their own hearts;
for, as if moved by one spirit, — and doubtless they
were moved by the One Eternal Spirit, — with low
heart-wrung groans, and faces bathed in tears, they
lifted up their right hands to heaven, avowing, by
this sublime appeal, that they had now 'joined them-
selves to the Lord in an everlasting Covenant, that
shall not be forgotten.' " This covenant was re-
newed by the Covenanters (which see) at Lanark
in 16ii6."

COVENANT (The Solemn League and), one
of the most important documents connected with the
religious history of Scotland. It was framed as a
bond of union between England, Ireland, and Scot-
land. The first intention of some of the English at
least was to form a civil league between the two
kingdoms of England and Scotland, but after due
consideration it was resolved that there should lie
also a religious union between the three kingdoms,
cemented by their entering into a Solemn League

624

COVENANT (The Solemn League and).

and Covenant. A draught of the document was
drawn up by Alexander Henderson, one of the most
eminent ministers of the time, which, after a few
unimportant amendments, was adopted by all parties
concerned, at a meeting in the Scottish capital. On
the 25th of September 1643, both Houses of Parlia-
ment, with the Assembly of Divines, and the Scot-
tish Commissioners, assembled in St. Margaret's
Church, Westminster, to take this important Cove-
nant into serious consideration. Divine service
having been performed, the Solemn League was read,
article by article, from a parchment roll, the whole
assembly standing uncovered, and swearing to it with
their hands lifted up to heaven. The document
being thus adopted by the English Parliament, was
retransmitted to Scotland, with orders that it should
be subscribed throughout the kingdom.

The Solemn League and Covenant was framed
with the view of accomplishing several most import-
ant objects affecting deeply the interests of the
church and the nation. These objects are thus
briefly summed up by Dr. M'Crie : " In this
Covenant our fathers bound themselves and their
posterity, first, To endeavour the preservation of the
Reformed religion in the Church of Scotland, the
reformation of religion in England and Ireland, ' ac-
cording to the Word of God and the example of the
best. Reformed Churches,' and the bringing of the
three Churches to the nearest possible conjunction
and uniformity in religion ; secondly, To the extirpa-
tion of Popeiy and Prelacy ; thirdly, To the preser-
vation of the rights of Parliament, of the liberties of
the kingdoms, and of his majesty's person and au-
thority ; and, lastly, they pledge themselves to per-
sonal reformation, and a holy life."

The great body of the people of all ranks entered
with their whole heart into this solemn pledge, and
thus the three kingdoms bound themselves to main-
tain the holy cause of the Reformation against all
who might oppose it : " There can be no doubt," says
Dr. Hetherington, " in the mind of any intelligent
and thoughtful man, that on it mainly rests under
Providence the noble structure of the British Con-
stitution. But for it, so far as man may judge, these
kingdoms would have been placed beneath the dead-
ening bondage of absolute despotism ; and in the fate
of Britain the liberty and civilization of the world
would have sustained a fatal paralyzing shock."
Whatever may be thought of this strong view of the
subject, there can be little diversity of opinion as to
the peculiar importance and suitableness of such a
transaction at the critical period in which it took
place. Great principles were embodied in the Sol-
emn League and Covenant, which no nation nor
even a single individual could subscribe without in-
volving himself in very solemn responsibilities. But
it is a question on which serious doubts are enter-
tained by many sincere Christians, whether in any
human transaction the generation existing at any
period of a nation's hi«tory can possibly involve their

posterity in obligations of a moral character addi
tional to those which God hath imposed upon ah
Christians of all ages and nations. Dr. M'Crie,
however, who seems to hold the perpetual obliga-
tion of the covenants, alleges, in opposition to such
scruples as we have now referred to, that " the Sol-
emn League, as well as the National Covenant oi
Scotland, were properly national and public deeds,
binding, indeed, to the external support of a certain
profession of religion, but not necessarily implying
spiritual qualifications in those who entered into
them. Vowing is, in its own nature, not a religious
but a moral duty, competent to nations as well as in-
dividuals ; and our covenants may be vindicated on
the same principle as the oaths which Britain still
considers herself entitled to exact from those who
hold the highest official stations in the country."
To all this it is usually replied, that the vows or
covenants into which nations may enter, are quite
competent, for them in the existing circumstances, but
no possible state of circumstances can be of so uni-
versal a character as to require a covenant which
would be of universal obligation. Should the cove-
nant be of so general a nature as to apply to the na-
tion in every succeeding age, and under eveiy variety
of circumstances, even then its obligation does not
arise from the fact of its being the covenant of this
nation, but because it embodies principles which are
binding upon all nations and in all circumstances.

Charles I. was earnestly pressed by the Scottish
commissioners to subscribe the Solemn League, but
to all their entreaties, even on their bended knees,
he lent a deaf ear, alleging that he was bound by his
coronation oath to defend the prelacy and the cere-
monies of the English church, and that rather than
wrong his conscience by violating that oath, he
would forfeit his crown and his life. In 1650, how-
ever, Charles II. declared his approbation both of
this and the National Covenant by a solemn oath ;
and in the course of the same year he made a fur-
ther declaration to the same purpose at Dunferm-
line, renewing it in the following year at Scone.
Throughout the whole of these transactions Charles
was wholly hypocritical and insincere, being actuated
by no other motive than a desire to secure at all
hazards the support of the Scottish Presbyterians.
Accordingly, before this unprincipled monarch landed
from Holland, he agreed to swear and subscribe the
Covenant, and yet the discovery was afterwards
made that while on the Continent he had embraced
Popery, the only religion in which he could be said
to have continued till his death. Profligate and
faithless, he had no regard for obligations of any
kind, but much less those which were connected
with sacred things. When he had succeeded in
1662 in thrusting Episcopacy upon the Scottish peo
pie, the Parliament of Scotland passed a declaration
which was ordered to be subscribed by all persons in
public trust, and which was to the following effect ■
" I do sincerely affirm and declare that I judge it

COVENANTERS.

G25

mlawftil for subjects, under pretext of reformation,
or any other pretext whatsoever, to enter into
Leagues and Covenants, or to take up arms against
the king, or those commissioned by him, and all those
gatherings, petitions, &c, that were used in the be-
ginning, and carrying on of the late troubles, were
unlawful and seditious. And particularly, that these
oaths, whereof the one was commonly called the
National Covenant (as it was sworn and subscribed
in the year 1038, and thereafter), and the other en-
titled a Solemn League and Covenant, were and are
in themselves unlawful oaths, and that there lieth no
obligation upon me, or any of the subjects, from the
said oaths, to endeavour any alteration of the gov-
ernment in Church or State, as it is now established
by the laws of the kingdom.' " Not only were the
Covenants thus required to be formally renounced,
Dut they were torn in pieces at the Cross of Edin-
burgh by the public hangman. Some other provin-
cial towns exceeded the capital in showing indignity
to these sacred bonds. Thus in the town of Linlith-
gow, on the 29th May 1662, being the anniversary
of the king's restoration, and ordered to be kept as
a public holiday, the following event occurred which
we narrate in the graphic language of the younger
M'Crie : " After divine service the streets were tilled
with bonfires, and the fountain in the centre of the
town was made to flow with wine. At the Cross
was erected an arch upon four pillars, on one side of
which appeared the figure of an old hag witli the
Covenant in her hand, and the inscription, ' A glori-
ous Reformation.' On the top was another figure
representing the devil, with this label in his mouth,
— ' Stand to the cause.' On the king's health being
drunk, fire was applied to the frame, and the whole
was reduced to ashes, amidst the shouts of a mob
inflamed with liquor. This solemn burning of the
Covenants was got up by the provost and minister
of the place, both of whom had been Covenanters.
By the more respectable class of the inhabitants it
was witnessed with grief and horror, as a profane
and daring affront offered to the God of heaven."

COVENANTERS, a term used to describe those
who adhered to the National Covenant of Scotland,
which was framed in 1581. This solemn deed was
an abjuration of Popery, and a solemn engagement
to support the Protestant religion. It originated in
a very general, and not altogether unfounded impres-
sion which prevailed at the time, and for a consi-
derable period afterwards, that Popery might be again
introduced into the country. Attempts were well
known to have been made to persuade the then
reigning monarch, James VI., to embrace the Roman
Catholic faith. This was an object which the Pope
had all the more warmly at heart, as the young king
was nearest heir to the throne of England. It was
at the suggestion of the king, therefore, that John
Craig drew up the National Covenant, which James
and his household were the first to swear and sub-
scribe on the 28th January 1581, and which at Brit

received the name of " the King's Confession."
Having thus been signed by the king, it was cheer-
fully and extensively subscribed by persons of all
ranks throughout the kingdom. Those who ap-
pended their subscriptions to this important deed
swore to adhere to and defend the Reformed doc-
trine and discipline of the Reformed Church of Scot-
land.

In consequence of a visible and lamentable declen-
sion of piety in the church and country, it was
agreed to in the General Assembly, that there should
be a public renewal of the National Covenant. This
accordingly took place at Edinburgh, on Tuesday,
30th March, 1596. The transaction is thus briefly
described by Dr. M'Crie : " On this solemn occasion
Davidson, who was chosen to preside, preached so
much to the conviction of his hearers, and, in their
name, offered up a confession of their sins to heaven
with such sincere and fervent emotion, that the
whole assembled ministers melted into tears before
him ; and rising from their seats at his desire, and
lifting up their right hands, they renewed their cove-
nant with God, ' protesting to walk more warily in
their ways, and to be more diligent in their charges.'
This scene, which continued during three hours, was
deeply affecting beyond any thing that the oldest
person present had ever witnessed. As the greater
part of the ministers were not present to join in the
sacred action, the Assembly ordained that it should
be repeated in the different synods and presbyteries,
and afterwards extended to congregations ; and the
ordinance was obeyed with an alacrity and fervour
which spread from presbytery to presbytery, and
from parish to parish, till all Scotland, like Judah of
old, ' rejoiced at the oath.' "

It was quite plain, that, however plausibly the
king had acted for some time, his principles were
widely opposed to those of the conscientious Presby-
terians of Scotland. At heart he was a warm Epis-
copalian, and resolved to embrace the earliest oppor-
tunity of supplanting Presbytery by Prelacy. And
yet strenuously though he aimed at the accomplish-
ment of his favourite design, his plans were for a
long time incessantly thwarted. At length having
succeeded to the throne of England, on the death of
Elizabeth in 1603, he set himself with redoubled
ardour to the task of reducing the Church of Scot-
land to the model of the English church. Before
leaving his northern dominions, he had succeeded in
establishing bishops, but he had found a dilliculty
in reconciling the church to these dignitaries, and he
had not even procured a recognition of them by the
Supreme Ecclesiastical Court. Enraged at the con-
stant opposition to his royal will, he had prorogued
and altered the time of Assemblies at his pleasure,
and waxing more confident in consequence of his
elevation to the English throne, he caused the As-
sembly, which should have met at Aberdeen in 1005,
to be prorogued without fixing any time for its next
meeting. This was felt to be an arbitrary and high

326

COVENANTERS

handed attempt to interfere with the ecclesiastical
liberties of the Presbyterian church. It was resolved,
accordingly, to assert and maintain the right of the
church to convene and constitute her own assem-
blies. A few faithful and zealous ministers therefore
assembled at Aberdeen, determined at least to con-
stitute the Assembly, and appoint another meet-
ing. The king, meanwhile, had received early intel-
ligence of the project, and had given orders to
Straiton of Laurieston, the royal commissioner, to
dissolve the meeting, simply because it had not been
called by royal authority. The brethren met on the
day agreed upon, and having been constituted, the
king's letter was in course of being read, when a
messenger-at-arms arrived, and in the king's name
commanded them to dissolve on pain of rebellion.
The Assembly expressed their willingness to dis-
solve, provided the royal commissioner would, in the
regular way, appoint a time and place for the next
meeting. This proposal was rejected by the com-
missioner, whereupon the Moderator, at the request
of the brethren, appointed the Assembly to meet at
the same place, on the last Tuesday of September,
and dissolved the meeting.

The ministers who composed the Assembly at
Aberdeen were forthwith put on trial for high trea-
son, and banished from the kingdom. Shortly be-
fore, a few of the more zealous brethren had been
invited to London on pretence of holding consulta-
tion with the king, and once there they were pre-
vented from returning to Scotland. The king now
finding himself in more favourable circumstances,
proceeded to carry forward his design of establish-
ing prelacy in his native country. With this view
he took another step in advance, by appointing the
bishops to be constant moderators, or, in other
words, that they should have power, in virtue of
their office, constantly to preside in all meetings of
Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assemblies.
This act of royal aggression on the liberties of the
church met with violent resistance on the part of
the church courts, giving rise to many unseemly
and disgraceful scenes. But the king was not to be
deterred from the attainment of his favourite object.
In an Assembly held at Glasgow in 1610, he suc-
ceeded, by bribery and intimidation, in obtaining the
consent of the church to receive the bishops as mo-
derators of diocesan synods, and to confer on them
" the power of excommunicating and absolving of-
fenders, of ordaining and deposing ministers, and
visiting the churches within their respective dio-
ceses." The Assembly which thus sanctioned Epis-
copacy in a Presbyterian church and country, has
been uniformly regarded by Scottish ecclesiastical
historians as neither a free nor legal Assembly, and
hence all its acts were pronounced by the Assembly
of 1638 to be null and void. A number of the
ministers who voted in favour of the bishops being
constant moderators did so unwittingly, and with-
out being fully aware of the real design of the pro-

posal. The king, however, was delighted with the
success of his schemes ; and the Scottish bishops,
quite cognizant of the royal purposes, hastened to
avail themselves of the advantage they had gained.
Three of them immediately set out for London, and
having obtained episcopal ordination, returned to
confer consecration upon the rest, without obtain-
ing, or even asking, the sanction of Presbytery,
Synod, or Assembly. This, in their view, was
enough to give them full and independent authority
over their brethren. Without hesitation they took
the chair at all meetings of church courts, and pre
tended to exercise the uncontrolled power of dio-
cesan bishops. The people, however, treated the
king's bishops with the utmost contempt, and the
ministers preached from the pulpit against them as
intruders, while they refused to acknowledge their
usurped authority. The king, finding that his pre-
lates were held in little estimation, endeavoured to
give them a factitious importance by constituting
High Commission Courts, which were designed to
enable them to rule independently altogether of the
regular Presbyterian ecclesiastical courts. But the
bishops, knowing the temper of the people among
whom they dwelt, forbore from exercising the au-
thority which it was the royal pleasure they should
assume. Thus matters went on quietly for a time,
and, notwithstanding the existence of prelates in the
Scottish church, its usual presbyterial machinery
continued in undisturbed operation.

The apparent calmness and contentment which
prevailed throughout Scotland deceived King James
as to the real state of popular feeling towards the
bishops. Persuading himself that the ministers and
their people were quite submissive to his wishes on
the point of church order, he resolved to try still
further whether they would submit with equal
readiness to the ceiemonies of the English church.
The innovations, however, which he introduced met
with the most determined resistance from all classes.
But the king succeeded in overcoming opposition so
far as to get a majority of the General Assembly to
agree to the five articles of conformity to the Eng-
lish church, well known by the name of the Five
Articles of Perth (which see). These obnoxious
ceremonies which James sought to thrust upon his
Scottish subjects had no sooner passed the Assem-
bly, which was packed for the purpose, than they
were ratified by the privy council, and in July 1621
they received the sanction of Parliament. But
though the new rites had become the law of the
land, they were far from being generally adopted by
the Scottish Presbyterians. During the remainder
of his reign, James took no further steps to inter-
fere with the church and people of Scotland. He
had effected what he had long wished, the establish-
ment of prelacy. But the bishops were detested by
the people, and their churches were almost wholly
deserted. Vital godliness, however, was not yet
utterly a stranger in the land. Many faithf il min

COVENANTERS.

627

isters, notwithstanding the discouragement which
they received from the bishops, continued to preach
the g09pel with earnestness and power. Nor were
they left without visible tokens of the approval of
their heavenly Master ; for amid the spiritual dark-
ness which so extensively covered the land, the
hearts of God's people were cheered by the occur-
rence of two remarkable revivals of religion, the one
at Stewart on in 1625, and the other at the Kirk of
Shotts in 1630.

Meanwhile James had been succeeded by his son
Charles I., who. naturally of a haughty and impe-
rious temper, and strongly attached to prelacy, and
even popery, set himself from the commencement of
his reign to enforce the observance in Scotland of
the whole ritual and ceremonies of the English
church. Though more than one attempt had been
made to introduce the English liturgy into use among
the Presbyterians north of the Tweed, it had hitherto
been rejected. Now, however, Laud, the semi-po-
pish Archbishop of Canterbury, had drawn up a
liturgy of his own, which nearly resembled the Ro-
mish breviary, and, particularly in the communion
service, was wholly founded on the mass-book. This
most objectionable service-book Charles commanded
to be used in all the Scottish churches. Every min-
ister was enjoined to procure two copies under pain
of deprivation, and an order was issued by the king
in council that it should be read in all the churches.
The day on which this Anglo-popish liturgy was
first to be brought into use was the 23d July 1637,
a day long to be remembered as the first outbreak of
a religious commotion which agitated Scotland for a
long period. The scene which took place in Edin-
burgh on that fatal day is thus described by Dr.
M'Crie : " On the morning of this Sabbath, one
Henderson, a reader in the High Church of St.
Giles, who was a great favourite with the people,
read the usual prayers about eight o'clock ; and
when he had ended, he said, with tears in his eyes,
' Adieu, good people, for 1 think this is the last time
of my reading prayers in this place.' The dean of
Edinburgh was appointed to perform the service,
after the form of the obnoxious liturgy. An im-
mense crowd, attracted by curiosity, had assembled.
At the stated hour, the dean was seen issuing out of
the vestry, clad in his surplice, and passed through
the crowd to the reading-desk, the people gazing as
they would at a show. No sooner, however, had
he begun to read, than his voice was drowned in a
tumultuous shout, chiefly from persons of the lower
classes, denouncing the innovation. An old wo-
man, named Janet Geddes, who kept a green-stall
in the High Street, no longer able to conceal her in-
dignation, cried out ' Villain, dost thou say mass at
my lug!' and, with these words, launched at the
dean'B head the stool on which she had been sitting.
Others followed her example, and the confusion soon
became universal. The service was interrupted, and
the women, whose zeal on this occasion was most

conspicuous, rushed to the desk in wild disorder.
The dean threw ort' his surplice and fled, to avoid
being torn in pieces. The bishop of Edinburgh
then ascended the pulpit, and endeavoured to allay
the ferment ; but his address only inflamed them
the more. He was answered by a volley of sticks,
stones, and other missiles, with cries of ' A Pope ! a
Pope ! — Antichrist ! — pull him down ! — stono htm !'
and on returning in his coach, had he not been pro
tected by the magistrates, he might have fallen a
victim to the fury of the mob — a martyr to the new
liturgy !"

Alarmed at the critical aspect which affairs had
assumed, not only in the metropolis, but throughout
the whole of Scotland, a number of noblemen and
gentlemen hastily forwarded an earnest supplication
to the king for the suppression of the service-book.
This, however, he positively refused, and issued a
new proclamation commanding implicit submission
to the canons, and immediate reception of the ser-
vice-book. The suppliants, as they called them-
selves, finding that all their entreaties and remon-
strances were treated with disdain, proceeded in a
body to Stirling, and there lodged a solemn protest
against the royal proclamation, with the Scottish
privy council, which met at Stirling. The utmost
distraction prevailed, and it was extensively felt that
in the present state of the church and country, the
time was peculiarly appropriate for a renewal of the
National Covenant, with such additions and modifi-
cations as the circumstances seemed to require. The
solemn transaction, accordingly, took place in the
Greyfriars' church at Edinburgh, on the 1st of March
1638. Charles and his Scottish subjects were now
completely at variance. The Covenant became the
watchword. Men of all classes applied for permis-
sion to subscribe their names to the holy bond, and
though threats and intimidations were used in many
cases to deter the people from signing, some wrote
their names to the document with their own blood.
Some of the most eminent of the Scottish nobles en-
thusiastically espoused the cause of the Covenant,
and the Covenanters, as they came to be called, be-
came a powerful body, animated with holy zeal in
defence of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of
Scotland. Charles now saw that he had roused a
spirit which it would be difficult for him to lay. At
first he craftily assumed an apparently conciliator*'
aspect, sending the .Marquis of Hamilton as his Com-
missioner to Scotland, with Btrict injunctions, by
kindness and courtesy, to endeavour to prevail upon
the Scots to renounce the Covenant which they had
so solemnly sworn. Such measures were of course
utterly fruitless. But with that duplicity which
formed a prominent feature of his character, Charles
was in the meantime secretly planning and making
preparations for an invasion of Scotland. Finding
thai Hamilton, though aided by the bishops, could
neither weaken nor divide the film phalanx 01
the Covenanters, the king saw that it was abso-

328

COVENANTERS.

lutely necessary to make some concessions to the
wishes of the Scottish people. He summoned, ac-
cordingly, a free General Assembly, to meet at
Glasgow, and appointed the Marquis of Hamilton to
attend as the royal commissioner. This remarkable
Assembly met on the 21st November 1638, with
Alexander Henderson in the Moderator's chair. The
instructions of the king to his commissioner were,
that he should use all his endeavours to excite jea-
lousy between the clerical and lay members, and fail-
ing in this, he was to protest against the whole pro-
ceedings, and by no means to allow the bishops to
be censured. The conduct of this memorable As-
sembly was characterized by the utmost decorum
and dignity. Hamilton exerted himself to accom-
plish the royal will, and to prevent the censure of
the bishops. All his efforts were unavailing, and
perceiving that the members were determined to
proceed to the business for which they had met, he
rose, and in the name of the king, as the head of the
church, dissolved the Assembly. Such an event
as this had been anticipated, and a solemn protesta-
tion had been previously drawn up, which was read as
the commissioner was in the act of retiring, and after
a suitable address from the Moderator, followed by
similar addresses from some of the other members,
the Assembly proceeded to business. Their first act
was to declare null and void the six so-called Assem-
blies, which had been held from the time that James
ascended the throne of England, including the As-
semblies from 1606 to 1618. This part of the pro-
ceedings was followed by another equally important,
the censure of the Scottish bishops, whom they
charged with various delinquencies. On that occa-
sion the Moderator, in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, pronounced sentence of excommunication
upon two archbishops and six bishops, of deposition
upon four, and of suspension upon two. Thus was
Episcopacy abolished in Scotland, and the national
Presbyterian Church once more set free from the
thraldom in which for many years it had been held.
Well may the Assembly of 1638 be regarded, to use
the language of Dr. M'Crie, " as one of the noblest
efforts ever made by the church to assert her intrin-
sic independence, and the sole headship of our Lord
Jesus Christ."

The determination with which the Glasgow As-
sembly had acted, roused the indignation of Charles,
and sensitively jealous of the royal prerogative, he
resolved to commence hostilities without delay.
Scotland rose as one man, and preparations were
immediately made to encounter the king's army,
which was on its way to attempt the subjugation of
the rebellious Scots. A large force was levied,
which was put under the command of General Leslie,
and all the fortified places in Scotland were occupied
by the Covenanters, who, to show that this war was
forced upon them, and not engaged in from choice,
published a vindication of their conduct in taking up

The threatened invasion at length took place.
A fleet of twenty-eight ships of war, carrying from
five to six thousand English troops, made its appear-
ance in the Firth of Forth. Not a soldier, how-
ever, was allowed to land, but Hamilton, who ac-
companied the fleet, judged it most expedient that
it should retire as quickly as possible. Part of
the English forces had been routed at Kelso,
with the loss of three hundred men. Baillie, who
was with the Scots army when encamped at Dunse
Law, gives the following lively description of a re-
giment of the Covenanters : " Our regiment lay
on the sides of the hill almost round about.
Every company had, fleeing at the captain's tent
door, a brave new colour, stamped with the Scottish
arms, and this motto, For Christ's Crown and Cove-
nant, in golden letters. Our soldiers were all lusty
and full of courage ; the most of them stout young
plowmen ; great cheerfulness in the face of all. They
were clothed in olive or grey plaiden, with bonnets
having knots of blue ribands. The captains, who
were barons or country gentlemen, were distinguished
by blue ribands worn scarf-wise across the body.
None of our gentlemen were any thing the worse of
lying some weeks together in their cloaks and boots
on the ground. Our meanest soldiers were always
served in wheat bread, and a groat would have got
them a lamb-leg, which was a dainty world to the
most of them. We were much obliged to the town
of Edinburgh for money : Mr. Harry Pollok, by hie
sermons, moved them to shake out their purses.
Every one encouraged another. The sight of the
nobles and their beloved pastors daily raised their
hearts. The good sermons and prayers, morning
and evening, under the roof of heaven, to which their
drums did call them instead of bells, also Leslie's
skill, prudence, and fortune, made them as resolute
for battle as could be wished. We feared that emu-
lation among our nobles might have done harm ;
but such was the wisdom and authority of that old
little crooked soldier (General Leslie), that all, witli
an incredible submission, gave over themselves to be
guided by him, as if he had been the great Solyman.
Had you lent your ear in the morning, and especially
at even, and heard in the tents the sound of some
singing psalms, some praying, and some reading the
Scripture, ye would have been refreshed. True,
there was swearing and cursing and brawling in some
quarters, whereat we were grieved ; but we hoped,
if our camp had been a little settled, to have gotten
some way for these misorders. For myself I never
found myself in better temper than I was all that
time till my head was again homeward ; for I was as
a man who had taken my leave from the world, and
was resolved to die in that service, without return."

Though Charles was at great pains to represent
the Covenanters as a set of lawless rebels, they felt
and constantly proclaimed that the war in which they
were engaged was essentially a religious war. Ani-
mated by a noble zeal in behalf of the rights oi

COVENANTERS.

6'."J

»nscience and of truth, they made a determined
stand against the English invaders, and Charles,
discouraged by the ill success of his own forces, was
compelled to propose a negotiation for peace,
whereupon a treaty was signed on both sides, though
somewhat general and vague in its nature. The
fact seemed to be that the king had no intention at
heart to abide by his engagements. Some suspicion
of this kind seems to have been entertained by the
Covenanters, who, while they disbanded their soldiers,
still kept their officers in pay, and ready for actual
service. Carrying on his crafty schemes. Charles
sanctioned a meeting of the General Assembly to be
held at Edinburgh in August 1639. The Earl of
Traquair was appointed to attend as King's Commis-
sioner, and in obedience to his master's instructions,
he endeavoured to prevail upon the members to de-
clare all that was done against the bishops at the
Glasgow Assembly null and void. Finding that
the Assembly remained firm, he changed his tactics,
and professed to concede all the demands of the
Covenanters, assuring them that he would do his
utmost to get the parliament, to ratify the abolition
of Episcopacy in Scotland, and of all the innovations
which had been condemned by the Glasgow Assem-
bly. The artifice was but too successful. The Cove-
nanters imagined in their simplicity that the king
had relented, and was now about to restore peace to
their troubled church and people. Still further to
quiet the suspicions of the Presbyterians, both the
Commissioner and the Scottish privy council gave
their sanction with apparent readiness to the Na-
tional Covenant, in the form in which it had been
signed the preceding year, and on this understand-
ing it was ordered to be subscribed by all classes
throughout the land.

Charles professed to feel indignant at the conduct
of his Commissioner, who, he alleged, had exceeded
his instructions in agreeing to the abolition of Pre-
lacy, and the renewal of the Covenant. The expec-
tations of the Covenanters were accordingly doomed
to bitter disappointment, and when the Scottish
Parliament met to ratify the acts of the recent As-
sembly, it was prorogued by royal mandate, till June
of the following year. And when the members of
parliament sent the Earl of Loudoun, with other de-
puties, to London, to remonstrate with the king on
such an arbitrary proceeding, Loudoun was sent to
the Tower, accused of high treason, and it is said,
would have been privately murdered had not the
Marquis of Hamilton pointed out the danger of such
a step. The infatuated monarch, undeterred by the
misfortunes which had attended his former attempted
invasion of Scodand, planned another expedition of
a similar kind. The Covenanters, however, no sooner
received intelligence of the royal design, than, with
out waiting for the approach of the English army,
they crossed the borders, and entered England, en-
countering and defeating the enemy in a decisive
engagement. The success which they had once

more gained led to the formation of another
treaty.

A civil war now broke out in England. Charles
having quarrelled with the parliament. The Scots
used every effort to reconcile the two contending
parties to each other, but all their attempts having
proved ineffectual, they joined the parliament in de-
fending the liberties of the country against a rash
and hot-headed monarch. In 1C43 the Solemn
League and Covenant was formed, uniting in a bond
of peace and amity the three kingdoms of England,
Scotland, and Ireland. (See Covenant, Solemn
League and). The same year was convened the
famous Westminster Assembly (which see), in
which, after a debate of thirty days, the divine right
of Presbytery was carried by an overwhelming ma-
jority. Several commissioners from Scotland at-
tended, and took an active part in the deliberations
of this body. To the labours of the Westminster
Assembly are due the Confession of Faith, and the
Larger and Shorter Catechisms, which form the re-
cognized standards of all the Presbyterian Churches,
both in Britain and America. From the sitting of
that body, indeed, onward until the Restoration,
Presbyterv was the established form of religion, not
only in Scotland, but also in England and Ireland.
In the course of the civil war, sects of different kinds,
and bearing a variety of names, arose in England,
and the whole country was distracted with religious
contentions in a thousand different forms. But amid
all this endless variety of sentiment, it was only with
the Papists and the Prelatists that the Scots Pres-
byterians were called to contend. The sectaries,
however, joined with the Independents in opposing
the Presbyterians, chiefly on the question of tolera-
tion, and ultimately the covenanted cause was en-
tirely overthrown in England.

One of the most violent opponents of the Cove-
nanters in Scotland was Montrose, who, though at
an earlier period one of the keenest supporters of the
Covenant, deserted the standard of the Scottish Pres-
byterians, and became an active and enthusiastic
leader of the Royalist army. Taking advantage of
the absence of the main body of the Covenanters'
forces, which were engaged in England under Gen-
eral Leslie, Montrose attacked a detachment in the
neighbourhood of Perth, and gained an easy vic-
tory, lie now advanced northward, taking pos-
session first of Perth, then of Aberdeen, giving up
the inhabitants to cruelty, rapine, and the sword.
He now penetrated into Argyleshire, carrying de-
struction and devastation before him, burning the
houses and the corn, killing the cattle, and massa-
cring in cold blood all the males that were lit to
bear arms.

Scotland was at this period in a most miserable
condition. To war were added its frequent attend-
ants, famine and pestilence. The whole country was
in a state of alarm, almost bordering on despair. The
Covenanters gave themselves to prayer and fasting.

630

COVENANTERS.

»nd their hearts were speedily released from painful
anxiety, by the welcome intelligence that the king's
forces had been defeated by General Leslie and his
troops at Naseby in England. The regular body of
the Covenanters' army being now set free, returned
to Scotland, and succeeded in routing the Marquis of
Montrose at Philiphaugh, near Selkirk.

In the spring of 1646, an event occurred which
perplexed the Covenanters not a little. They had
taken part with the English Parliament against
Charles, but to their astonishment the king, after his
defeat by Cromwell, made his appearance in the
midst of the Scots army, throwing himself upon their
sympathy and protection. They were thrown into
complete embarrassment. They treated the mo-
narch with the respect which was due to his rank,
and readily engaged to support him, provided he would
dismiss his evil counsellors, and sign the Solemn
League. These conditions they implored him to ac-
cept, but in vain. The king declared that he would
rather die than break his coronation oath, which, as
he alleged, bound him to support the English Church
and all its ceremonies. He professed his willingness
to consent to the establishment of Presbytery in
Scotland, but the Scots knew well that he was se-
cretly bent on destroying the cause of the Reforma-
tion in England. What then was to be done with
Charles now that he was in the hands of the Cove-
nanters ? Were they to give him up unconditionally
into the hands of the Parliament party, as the Eng-
lish wished, or were they to stipulate as the condi-
tion of his being surrendered, that he should be
allowed to return to some one of Ins royal palaces
with honour, safety, and freedom ? Months were
spent in negotiations on the subject, and at length
the person of the king was confided to the hands of
the English, on the express understanding that there
should be " no harm, prejudice, injury, or violence
done to his royal person." Yet in three years from
the date of his surrender he was tried, condemned,
and beheaded.

On the day after the execution of Charles I. was
known at Edinburgh, his son, Charles II., was pro-
claimed king at the public Cross by the Committee
of Estates, with this proviso, however, that " before
being admitted to the exercise of his royal power, he
shall give satisfaction to this kingdom in the
things that concern the security of religion, accord-
ing to the National Covenant, and the Solemn League
and Covenant." This stipulation was laid before
Charles at the Hague. But at first he refused to
accede to it. In the following year, however, the
Covenanters were more successful, and setting
sail along with the commissioners, he reached the
shores of Scotland on the 23d of June 1650. Be-
fore landing, he consented to subscribe the Cove-
nant, and accordingly the test was administered. On
the August following, this profligate monarch re-
peated an engagement to support the Covenant.
All the while he was secretly plotting the subver-

sion not only of the Presbyterian, but even of the
Protestant faith and worship.

The arrival of the new monarch was hailed by all
classes of the Scottish people, but their joy was
suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Cromwell
with a large army, who defeated the Covenanters at
Dunbar, when no fewer than three thousand of the
Scots fell on the tield of battle. Charles, who at
heart hated the adherents of the Covenant, was by
no means dissatisfied with the defeat which they had
sustained. In the midst of the distractions which
agitated the country, the monarch was crowned at
Scone on the 1st January 1651, and at the close of
Divine service the National Covenant and the So-
lemn League and Covenant were produced and read,
and the king solemnly swore them. He also took
oath to support and defend the Church of Scotland.
The imposing ceremonial, however, did not succeed
in removing the suspicion which many of the Cove-
nanters entertained, that Charles was simply acting
a part to deceive his Scottish subjects. One of his
first steps, and one which showed his insincerity,
was to get himself surrounded in his court by the
enemies of the Reformation. By their advice he
took an expedition into England, and his army be-
ing defeated at Worcester, he left his kingdom to
the mercy of Cromwell, and took refuge in France.

The restoration of Charles to his throne, which
took place in 1660, was a calamitous event for the
Scottish Covenanters. No sooner did he find him-
self once more in the seat of government than he
directed his efforts towards the subversion of the
civil and religious liberties of Scotland. To accom-
plish this object his first step was to get the Parliament
to pass an act recognizing the royal supremacy in
all matters temporal and spiritual, a principle which
he caused to be formally embodied in the Oath ol
Allegiance. This act was opposed to the conscientious
views of a large body of the ministers and members
of the Church of Scotland, who had always contended
for the sole headship of Christ. " At last,"
says Dr. M'Crie, " tired of annulling acts of Parlia
ment passed during the previous period of refor-
mation, the Scottish counsellors of Charles, in the
same year, passed a sweeping measure, annulling
the Parliaments themselves. By this measure, which
was called the Act Rescissory, all the proceed-
ings for reformation between 1638 and 1650 were
declared rebellious and treasonable ; the National
Covenant and Solemn League were condemned as
unlawful oaths ; the Glasgow Assembly of 1638 de-
nounced as an unlawful and seditious meeting; and
the ordering of the government of the church was
declared to be an inherent right of the Crown. In
short, all that had been done for the reformation of
the church, during the second reforming period, was
by this act completely annulled."

Not contented with procuring legal enactments
hostile to the cause of God and the Covenants,
Charles entered upon the work of persecution, put-

COVENANTERS.

631

tin? to death some of the leading noblemen who had
ast in their lot with the Covenanters. The first vic-
tim was the Marquis of Argyle, one of the most dis-
tinguished Christian and patriotic noblemen of whom
Scotland can boast. He had long taken a leading part
in supporting the cause of the Covenants ; and by
the sagacity of his counsels, as well as by the purity of
his principles and the ardour of his zeal, he was one
of the most effective agents in carrying forward the
work of the second Reformation. Argyle was fol-
lowed to the scaffold by James Guthrie of Stirling,
one of the most active high-principled and devoted
ministers of his time. These acts of cruelty, which
were perpetrated with the royal sanction, were de-
signed to intimidate the friends of the Covenants,
and thus to facilitate the re- establishment of Epis-
copacy in Scotland. This was forthwith done on
the simple fiat of Charles. A royal proclamation
was issued restoring the bishops, prohibiting all
meetings of synods and assemblies, and forbidding
the ministers to preach against the change on pain
of imprisonment. To this despotic act of the kin?
the country submitted with far more readiness than
was anticipated. Prelacy was re-introduced into the
Scottish church ; diocesan courts were established,
in which the bishops ruled with a high hand ; the
covenants were declared to be illegal, and not only
renounced by many, but in some places publicly
burnt. Nay, to secure the authority of the bishops,
which not a few of the ministers were disposed to
disown, an act of Parliament was passed depriving all
those ministers of their charges who had been admitted
since 1649, when patronage was abolished, unless
they obtained a presentation from the lawful patron
and collation from the bishop of the diocese before the
1st of November. The consequence was, that nearly
four hundred ministers chose rather to be ejected
from their parishes than to comply with the severe
requirements of the act. Thus, in one day, were
almost the whole of the west, and a great part of
the south, of Scotland, deprived of their pastors.
This measure was one of the most effectual which
could have been devised to rouse the indignation of
the people against the bishops, and excite a rooted
hatred of prelacy. Nor were these feelings abated,
but, on the contrary, they were rendered much more
intense by the careless manner in which the vacant
charges were tilled, the new ministers being weak
and worthless.

The iron heel of the oppressor was now fairly
planted upon the neck of enslaved and degraded Scot-
land. Darkness covered the land, and the hearts of
the godly began to fail and be discouraged, licit
still there were some faithful men who boldly lifted
their voices against the defections of the tim
the tyranny of the ruling powers. Persecution was
again cnmmriiced against these friends of the co-
venant. Many of the ministers were thrown into
prison, and others could only find safety in flight.
In 1663 the people commenced holding tield-meet-

tings or conventicles, as they were called by their
enemies, at which, in some solitary sequestered spot,
they secretly but eagerly received the Word of Life
from the mouths of their beloved pastors. On these
occasions multitudes assembled from all quarters to
worship God as their consciences dictated, while
the churches of the curates were almost wholly de-
serted. This enraged the bishops, who forthwith
procured an act declaring that all who preached
without their permission should be punished as se-
ditious persons, and at the same time enforcing the
attendance of the people on their parish churches
under heavy penalties. This was the commence-
ment of a series of oppressive measures which set
all Scotland once more in a flame. The military
were employed in hunting down the Covenanters
with the most tierce and unrelenting cruelty. The
soldiers scoured the country, particularly in the
west and south, subjecting the unoffending peasantry
to the most intolerable oppressions. Long and pa-
tiently was this cruel treatment endured. At length
however, the Covenanters rose in the west, and re-
newing the covenant, solemnly pledged themselves
to its defence. Now commenced a bloody and pro
tracted war, in which the followers of Cargill fought
manfully in defence of their country's civil and re-
ligious liberties. Few in number though they were,
and feeble in physical power compared with their ene-
mies, they fought and fell in the cause of truth and
righteousness. The firmness and unflinching deter-
mination of the persecuted remnant exasperated
their enemies beyond all measure ; and while the
emissaries of Charles inflicted cruel tortures on the
most obscure individuals who were bold enough to
avow their attachment to the covenant, nobles even
of the highest rank did not escape their resentment.
Severity seemed to have no effect in diminishing
the zeal of the Covenanters. The king perceiving
this, tried conciliatory measures, issuing in 1669 an
Act of Indulgence granting relief on certain condi-
tions to those who could not conscientiously conform
to Episcopacy. This had the effect of dividing the
ranks of the Presbyterian ministers, some being per-
suaded to avail themselves of this opportunity of
resuming their pastoral labours, a step which only led
to a more bitter persecution of those brethren who re-
fused to accept of the Indulgence. Attempts were
also made, in which Archbishop Lcighton took an
active part, to unite the Presbyterians and Episco-
palians, but these were wholly unsuccessful. The
field meetings were now more numerously attended
than ever, and the Lord's Supper was often adminis-
tered in the open air. Mr. Iilackader mentions that
on one occasion of this kind there were sixteen table*
in all, so that about 3,200 communicated that day.
These field-meetings the enemy were anxious to put
down, and to oppress still more those who attended
them, all such persons were not only subjected to
severe penalties, but a heavy tax, called the cess,
was imposed upon them expressly for the pnrpOH

332

COVENANTERS.

of maintaining the army which was employed in
hunting them down. Yet the greater part of the
Covenanters submitted to pay, contenting them-
selves with protesting against the use to which the
money was put. Such oppressive exactions only
increased the number of those who attended the
tield-conventicles. Charles and the enemies of the
covenants became all the more enraged. Claver-
house and his dragoons were despatched to the west
of Scotland, and the battles of Drumclog and Both-
well Bridge showed the courage and unflinching de-
termination which the Covenanters maintained
against those whom they conscientiously regarded
as the enemies of Christ and his cause in Scotland.

One party of the Covenanters, headed by Cargill
and Cameron, adopted extreme opinions, which se-
parated them from their brethren. They main-
tained that Charles had forfeited all right to the
civil obedience of his subjects by violating the oath
which he had taken at his coronation ; and that all
the friends of true religion, and the supporters of
the covenanted work of reformation, were fully war-
ranted in taking up arms against a royal traitor and
persecutor. These principles were openly avowed
by the Society people or Cameronians, as they were
called after Richard Cameron, one of their leaders,
i and the profession of such sentiments roused the
government to acts of greater cruelty and oppres-
sion. Though the great mass of the Covenanters
vindicated their appearance in arms on very differ-
ent grounds, and entertained no design to overturn
the throne, but only to reduce its prerogatives with-
in reasonable limits, yet their determined resistance
to the Erastian interference of the king with the
sole Headship of Christ over his church, brought
down upon them the merciless vengeance of a ty-
rannical government. Many of the best and bravest
of the Covenanters were persecuted even to the
death, calmly yielding their lives in the cause of
Christ and the covenants.

At length, in the beginning of the year 1685,
Charles II. died, and the Covenanters might now have
expected to enjoy a respite from the fierce persecu-
tions with which for a long time they had been
visited. A few months, however, had only elapsed,
when James VII., who succeeded his brother
Charles, declared it to be his determination to extir-
pate Presbyterianism from the land. Against this
popish and arbitrary monarch, the extreme or Ca-
meronian party issued a solemn declaration. A few
days before the publication of this document, the
Earl of Argyle, with the consent of a number of
exiled noblemen, set sail for Scotland with an expe-
dition, intending, if possible, to overturn the govern-
ment of James. It was fully expected by the earl
and his adherents, that their enterprise would be
gladly hailed by the Covenanters. In this, how-
ever, they were disappointed. Mr. Renwick, in the
name of the party, declined all interference, chiefly
on the ground that the expedition •' was not con-

certed according to the ancient plea of the Scottish
Covenanters, in defence of our reformation expressly
according to our Covenants, National and Solemn
League." The persecuted remnant in Scotland still
continued to maintain their ground on their own
principles, and in their own way. Instead of di-
minishing, they were every day on the increase ; and
it soon became apparent to the Council, that unless
decisive steps were taken, they would become a very
powerful body. The most strenuous efforts, accord-
ingly, were made to crush the good cause, and, as
one of the most effectual means of doing so, the
military not merely dragged to prison, or cruelly
murdered, all the Covenanters who fell in their way,
but they redoubled their exertions to secure the per-
son of Mr. Renwick, whom they considered as the
leader of the party. Still he and his followers as-
sembled, as often as they conveniently could, for
the worship of the God of their fathers. And
not only so, but they held stated meetings to con-
cert measures for their own defence. At one of
these meetings a paper was drawn up, entitled the
' Informatory Vindication,' which having been re-
vised by Mr. Renwick, was printed in Holland, and
circulated throughout the kingdom. In that paper
they avowed it to be their determination to main-
tain and contend for the principles of the Reforma-
tion. A declaration of this nature only enraged
the government the more against them. James,
accordingly, under the mask of tolerating " moder-
ate" Presbyterians, issued three different proclama-
tions, threatening vengeance against the more reso-
lute of the party. Some individuals, not being
aware of the hidden purpose which the crafty mon-
arch had in view, to support Popery, accepted the
indulgence held out to them. Mr. Renwick and his
adherents, however, decidedly refused to avail them-
selves of the offer made, declaring that " nothing can
be more vile than when the true religion is tolerated
under the notion of a crime, and when the exercise
of it is allowed only under heavy restrictions." At
the early age of twenty-six, this faithful servant of
God, one of the most upright and consistent min-
isters of the period, was apprehended, tried for
treason, and sentenced to be executed in the
Grassmarket, Edinburgh. " I am this day to lay
down my life," he said at the place of execution,
" for these three things : First, For disowning the
usurpation and tyranny of James, Duke of York.
Second, For preaching that it was unlawful to pay
the cess expressly exacted for bearing down the
gospel. Third, For teaching that it was lawful for
people to carry amis in defence of their meetings
for their persecuted gospel ordinances. I think a
testimony for these is worth many lives ; and if I had
ten thousand I would think it little enough to lay
them all down for the same." Renwick met death at
the hands of his persecutors with a heroism and un-
flinching fortitude worthy of the last of that noble
band of martyrs who sealed with their blood their

COW WORSHIP— CREATICOLjE.

fi3l

devoted attachment to the covenanted work of Re-
formation in Scotland.

The reign of James was destined to be short.
He had been an ill-concealed papist from the com-
mencement of his reign, and all his efforts had
been secretly directed to the establishment of po-
pery in the land. For a time his object was not
apparent, but at length the eyes of the clergy of
England were opened, and the alarm was given
from a thousand pulpits, that if immediate steps
were not taken to avert the threatened danger,
popery would ere long become the established re-
ligion of England. In vain did James endeavour to
intimidate the clergy by imprisoning some of the
bishops in the Tower. This only hastened matters
to a crisis. The infatuated monarch was driven
from his throne, and compelled to seek a refuge on
a foreign shore. William, Prince of Orange, at the
invitation of the people of England, ascended the
throne, and after having patiently endured the most
intolerable oppression and sufferings for twenty-
eight long years, the Covenanters found in the peace-
ful Revolution of 1688, the sword of persecution
finally sheathed, Presbytery 'restored to their long-
tried but beloved church, and both their civil and re-
ligious privileges secured on a firm and satisfactory
hasis. See Scotland (Church of).

COW (Sacrifice of). See Heifer (Sacrifice
of).

COW- WORSHIP. The vast utility of the cow,
as affording valuable nourishment to man, has made
that animal be accounted among many heathen nations
as a tit emblem of the earth. In Egypt, in Syria, and
in Greece, Isis, the Egyptian goddess, is represented
as bearing the head of a cow ; Astarte, the Syrian
goddess, as wearing the horns of the cow ; and the
Grecian Juno as having a cow's eyes. Venus is
sometimes figured as a cow giving milk to her calf.
lo changed into a cow is also an emblem of the earth.
The cow of Minos, which on each day was white,
red, and black, has been explained as referring to
the three different aspects which the earth presents
in the bright blaze of noon, in the purple tinge of the
evening or morning, and in the dark shades of night.
In the fables of Brahmanisra, the earth takes the
form of a cow named Eamadhouka, which gives its
worshippers all that they desire. In the festival
which is observed in China in honour of the cul-
tivation of the soil, (see Agriculture, Festival
OF,) a cow is marched in procession through the
streets of Pckin, to denote the fertility of the
earth. Among the Adighe, a race of Circassians,
a cow is offered in sacrifice to Achin (which
see), the god of horned cattle. According to the
cosmogony of the Scandinavian Edda, before the
heavens and the earth were created, the cow Aud-
humbla was produced in the place where the southern
fires of the Muspelheim melted the ice of the Nif-
Iheim. This cow denotes tho cosmogonic earth, the
earth without form and void. The represetitation of

a cow giving suck to its calf, is seen in the Egyptian
monuments, in the Assyrian sculptures taken from
the ruins of Nineveh, in the Lycian bas-reliefs, and
on an Etrurian vase. There is a remarkable symbo-
lical representation among the Hindus, consisting of
a serpent with a lion's head and a bull's horns, and
in its open throat is a cow from which a large clus-
ter of bees are issuing. Midler thus explains the
symbol. The serpent signifies the Eternal, who has
made light, indicated by the lion ; while by his pro-
ductive power, denoted by the bull, he has given ori-
gin to the earth, figured as usual by a cow ; and the
earth has undergone a destruction, and a re-construc-
tion, indicated by the bees. Ksempfer tells us, that
in Japan there is seen in a cavern an idol which is
called by the Japanese the great representation of
the sun, and which is seated upon a cow denoting
the earth. In the Hindu Rig-Vedas, clouds are
sometimes symbolized by cows. One of the Asou-
ras is said to have stolen the heavenly cows. It
was Pani the merchant, or among the Greeks Hermes,
who took away the cows of the sun. This robbery
of the cow-clouds is one of the favourite myths of
the Greeks. It is found in the history of the son of
Mercury, Autolycus, of Bias and Melampus, of Piri-
thous and Theseus, and in the story of Cacus. In
the Rig- Veda, the serpent Ahi has stolen the cows
or clouds of Indra. and shut them up in a cavern.
Mercury, the god of the harmonies of the world, dis-
covers and delivers these cows. The cow-cloud is
the wife, or at least the concubine of Indra, and in
this capacity Indra is called Vrichabha, which sig-
nifies, " he who gives rain," and also " the bull."
When Ahi then, or the serpent, causes the clouds to
disappear from the sky, he has stolen from the great
god Indra, his spouse, and the cows were pregnant
by Ahi, when the lord of thunder delivered them.
Among the Hindus the cow is held in the greatest
veneration, but particularly the species called the
Brahman or sacred cow, and by many families a cow
is kept for the mere purpose of worshipping it. See
Animal-Worship.

COWL, a kind of monkish habit worn by the
Bernardines and Benedictines. Some have distin-
guished two forms of cowls, the one a gown reach-
ing to the feet, having sleeves and a capuche used
in ceremonies ; the other a kind of hood to work in,
called also a scapular, because it only covers the
head and shoulders.

CRANvEA, a surname of Artemis (which see),
supposed to have been derived from a temple on the
summit of a hill ID 1'hocis, in which young men offi
ciated as priests, who enjoyed the office for the space
of five years.

CRATOS (Gr. strength), the son of Uranus and
Ge, one of the ancient Pagan deities of an inferior
order.

CBEATICOL-E (Eat. creature worshippers), a
Christian sect which arose in the sixth century,
headed by Suverus of Antioch, who maintained that
■J. Y ♦

834

CREATION.

the body of Christ was corruptible, but in conse-
quence of the Godhead dwelling in it was never cor-
rupted. The controversy in reference to the body
of Christ was keenly agitated in the reign of Justi-
nian, who favoured the party of the Aphtharto-
docites (which see).

CREATION. The systems of cosmogony or
theories in reference to the creatiou of the world
nave been numerous and varied. It may be inter-
esting, and not uninstructive to describe some of the
most important views which have been entertained
on this subject.

In ancient times, the opinion was held by some
philosophers in Greece, that the world is eternal both
in form and duration. Among the most eminent of
the advocates of this theory, Aristotle may be ranked.
He taught that the universe having been the offspring
of an eternal cause, must have been itself eternal. It
was not so much in his view a creation, as an ema-
nation of the Deity. The universe, according to
Plato, is the eternal representation of the unchange-
able idea which was from eternity united with
changeable matter. The Neo-Platonists of Alexan-
dria in the sixth century, maintained that God and
the universe were co-eternal. Xenophanes, Parme-
nides, and some other philosophers of ancient Greece,
held that God and the universe was the same. This
Pantheistic system has been revived in Germany in
modern times.

The greater number of the ancient Pagan philoso-
phers, however, taught that the matter or substance
of the universe was eternal, while in its present form
it had its origin in time. The materia prima, or
original condition of the universe, was a state of
chaos. The chaos of Hesiod was the parent of Ere-
bus and Night, and from the union of these sprung
Air and Day. The Epicurean system of creation
was an atomic theory, according to which a fortuitous
concourse of atoms gave rise to the present organi-
zation of bodies. In the opinion of the Stoics there
were two original principles, God and Matter, — the
first active, and the second passive, — and from the
operation of the one upon the other the universe
was created.

The Scripture doctrine of creation is to be found
in the book of Genesis, from which it appears that
God created all things out of nothing, by the word
of his power. " He spake, and it was done ; he com-
manded, and it stood fast." The universe was not
constructed out of an elementary matter, which ex-
isted previously to the work of creation, but matter
itself was created or called into existence by the fiat
of the Almighty. To assure us of this important
truth, Moses expressly tells us, Gen. ii. 3, that
" God rested from all his works which he created
and made," or as it is in the original, " created to
make." The materials from which the heavens and
the earth were made, were in a state of chaotic con-
fusion, or as it is expressed in the Mosaic record,
were " without form and void." The first element

separated from chaos was light, not in its present
form, concentrated in a common receptacle, but dif
fused throughout the universe. The next event in
this great work of creation was the formation of the
firmament, and a division of the chaotic mass into
two great parts, one beneath, and one above the
firmament. This was followed by the separation of
the land from the waters ; then by the creation of
grass and herbs, of shrubs and trees ; after which
were formed the lights of heaven, particularly the
sun and moon, in the former of which the light
hitherto diffused was collected into a receptacle.
The earth being thus prepared to be the habita-
tion of living creatures, God said, " Let the waters
bring forth abundantly the moving creature that
hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth
in the open firmament of heaven." The earth
was next replenished with fourfooted beasts and
creeping things. Last of all man was created, and
the language in which this crowning act of creating
power is described, shows that the highest import-
ance was attached to it by the Deity himself:
" And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness : and let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image
of God created he him ; male and female created he
them." Man, the highest in the scale of created
being, appears last, and it is not a little remarkable
that no species or family of existences is created
after him. On this subject the late lamented Mr.
Hugh Miller forcibly remarks : " With the intro-
duction of man into the scene of existence, crea-
tion seems to have ceased. What is it that now
takes its place, and performs its work? During
the previous dynasties, all elevation in the scale
was an effect simply of creation. Nature lay dead
in a waste theatre of rock, vapour, and sea, in
which the insensate laws, chemical, mechanical,
and electric, carried on their blind, unintelligent
processes : the creative fiat went forth ; and, amid
waters that straightway teemed with life in its
lower forms, vegetable and animal, the dynasty of
the fish was introduced. Many ages passed, during
which there took place no farther elevation : on the
contrary, in not a few of the newly introduced spe-
cies of the reigning class there occurred for the first
time examples of an asymmetrical misplacement of
parts, and, in at least one family of fishes, instances
of defect of parts : there was the manifestation of a
downward tendency towards the degradation of mon-
strosity, when the elevatory fiat again went forth,
and, thruugh an act of ci'eation, the dynasty of the
reptile began. Again many ages passed by, marked,
apparently, by the introduction of a warm-blooded
oviparous animal, the bird, and of a few marsupial
quadrupeds, but in which the prevailing class reigned
undeposed, though at least unelevated. Yet again

CREATION.

63E

however, the elevatory fiat went forth, and through
an act of creation the dynasty of the mammifcroits
quadruped began. And after the further lapse of
ages, the elevatory fiat went forth yet once more in
an act of creation; and with the human, heaven-
aspiring dynasty, the moral government of God, in
its connection with at least the world which we in-
habit, ' took beginning.' And then creation ceased.
Why ? Simply because God's moral government
had begun, — because in necessary conformity with
the institution of that government, there was to be a
thorough identity maintained between the glorified
and immortal beings of the terminal dynasty, and the
dying magnates of the dynasty which now is ; and
because, in consequence of the maintenance of this
identity as an essential condition of this moral gov-
ernment, mere acts of creation could no longer carry
on the elevatory process. The work analogous in
its end and object to those acts of creation which
gave to our planet its successive dynasties of higher
and yet higher existences, is the work of Redemp-
tion. It is the elevatory process of the present
time, — the only possible provision for that final act
of recreation 'to everlasting life,' which shall usher
in the terminal dynasty."

The doctrine, that all things were created by God
out of nothing, was a stone of stumbling to the
Gnostics in the early Christian church, and to all
who still cleaved to the cosmoplastic theories of an-
tiquity. Accordingly we find Hermogenes, who
lived near the close of the second and the beginning
of the third century, reviving the doctrine of the
Greek philosophy concerning the Hyle, and he ac-
counted for the existence of the imperfection and
evil which arc found in the world, by maintaining
that " God's creation is conditioned by an inorganic
matter which has existed from eternity." Origen, on
the other hand, denied the doctrine of a pre-existent
matter, and declared his belief in the existing world
as having had a specific beginning, but lie maintained
the idea, to use the language of Neander, " of a con-
tinual becoming of this spiritual creation — a relation
of cause and effect without temporal beginning — the
Platonic idea of an endless becoming, symbolizing
the eternity of the divine existence."

Among the modem .lews, there has been a consi-
derable diversity of opinion regarding the creation of
the world. Some of them, entertaining the idea that
every world must continue seven thousand years,
corresponding to the seven days of the week, believe
and maintain that there was a world previous to the
creation of the present. Others suppose that the
world existed from all eternity, and others still, that
all creation is an emanation from God. In the
twelfth century a dispute arose concerning the anti-
quity of the universe, and it was argued by a Jewish
writer, that "God never existed without matter, as
matter never existed without God," an absurd idea,
which was ably refuted by Maimonides, who framed
the modem Jewish Confession of Faith. A Jew of

the name of Sarza was actually burnt alive through
the influence of the Rabhies of Spain, for no other
crime than maintaining that the world was not pro-
duced out of nothing, but that it was created by a
successive generation of several days. The doctrine
was maintained by a celebrated Rabbi, that God
created seven things before the universe, — the throne
of God — the sanctuary — the name of the Messiah-
paradise — hell — the law — and repentance. Without
these he alleged the world could not be supported.
He also taught that the heavens were created by the
light of the garment of God, as it is written in Scrip-
ture, " He covereth himself with light as with a gar-
ment, and stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain."
The same writer broached the strange idea that the
earth was formed out of the snow which was under
the throne of the glory of God. On the subject oi
creation a dispute arose between two celebrated
Jewish schools, which is thus noticed by a writer on
the history of the Modem Jews : " The one con-
tended that the heavens were created before the
earth, because it was necessary that the throne
should be made before the footstool. These sup-
ported their opinion by these words, ' The heaven
is his throne and the earth is his footstool.' The
other maintained that the earth was first created,
because ' The floor must be laid before the roof can
be put on.' In addition to these opinions, the learn-
ed Maimonides, the great oracle of the modem Jews,
taught that ' All things were created at once, and
were afterwards successively separated and arranged
in the order related by Moses.' lie illustrates his
meaning, by comparing the process of creation to
that of a husbandman who sows various seeds into
the ground at once : some of which are to spring out
of the soil in one day, others after two, and others
not until three or more days. Thus God made all
things in a moment; but in the space of six days
formed and arranged them in order."

The doctrine of the .Jewish Cabbala in regard to
creation is, that the whole universe is an emanation
from God, and thus that the universe is God mani-
fested, or an evolution and expansion of the Deity,
who is concealed in his own essence, but revealed
and visible in the universe. According to the near-
ness of the different worlds to the Great First ( 'a use,

is I lie dour I' splend ' w itli « hieli the revelal ion

of Divinity takes place. The last and remotest pro
duction of emanative energy is matter, which is rather
a privation of perfection than a distinct essence.
The tint emanation, called in the Cabbalistic philoso-
phy Adam ELadmon (which see), was a great foun-
tain or channel through which all other emanations
might be produced. From this firstborn of the in-
fiuite went forth ten luminous streams termed Sq '
roth. "Through these luminous channels," say- Mi.
Allen in his 'Modern Judaism,' "all things have
proceeded from the first emanation of Deity;- things
celestial and immanent in emanation : spiritual, and
produced without pre-existent matter; angelic, and

636

CREATION.

created in substance and subject; and material,
which depend on matter for their being, subsistence,
powers, and operations. — These constitute four
worlds. Aziluth, or the world of emanation ; pro-
ceeding from the primordial light, through the me-
dium of the firstborn of Infinity ; and comprehend-
ing all the excellencies of the inferior worlds, without
any of their imperfections. Bria, or the woild of
creation ; containing those spiritual beings which
derive their existence immediately from the Azilu-
thic world. Jetsira, or the formative world ; con-
taining those spiritual substances winch derive their
immediate origin from the Briatic world. Ashia, or
the material and visible world ; including all those
substances which are capable of composition, mo-
tion, division, generation, and corruption: this world
consists of the very dregs of emanation, and is the
residence of evil spirits."

The theory of the creation, as laid down by the
ancient Egyptians, was, that an illimitable darkness,
called Athor or mother-night, and regarded as the
primeval element of mundane existence, covered
the abyss ; while water and a subtile spirit resided
through divine power in chaos. A holy light now
shone, the elements condensed, or were precipitated
beneath the sand from the humid parts of rudimentary
creation, and nature thus fecundated, the gods dif-
fused through space all the objects animated and
inanimate which are found in the universe.

According to the cosmogony of the Hindus, as
given by M. Polier, in his ' Mythologie des Indous,'
we learn that " In the primordial state of the crea-
tion, the nidimental universe submerged in water
reposed in the bosom of the Eternal. Brahm, the
architect of the world, poised on a lotus-leaf floated
upon the waters, and all that he was able to discern
was water and darkness." Such was the original
condition of things when Brahm resolved to pro-
duce a huge seed or egg which should contain within
itself the elementary principles of universal nature.
This is the mundane egg of the Hindus, thus de-
scribed by Dr. Duff: " The producing of such an egg
implies a new exercise of divine power. But even
divine power, according to the mythologist, cannot
be immediately exercised — directly manifested — by
pure immaterial spirit. For action, corporeal form
is absolutely indispensable. Hence it is that, for
the production of the intended egg, Brahm is repre-
sented as having assumed a new and peculiar form ;
and, in that form, is usually named Purush or the
•primeval male. His divine energy, already separated
from his essence, is also supposed to be personified
under a female form, Prakriti or Nature. On Pu-
rush and Prakriti was devolved the task of giving
existence to the celebrated Mundane egg. Having
once finished their task, these peculiar and specific
manifestations of Brahm and his energy seem to
have evanished from the stage of action, to give way
afterwards to other distinct manifestations for the
accomplishment of purposes alike specific.

" All the primary atoms, qualities, and principles
— the seeds of future worlds — that had been evolved
from the substance of Brahm, were now collected
together, and deposited in the newly produced egg.
And into it, along with them, entered the self-ex-
istent himself, under the assumed form of Brahma ;
and there sat, vivifying, expanding, and combining
the elements, a whole year of the creation — a thou-
sand yugs — or four thousand three hundred millions
of solar years ! During this amazing period, the
wondrous egg floated ' like a bubble on an abvss'
of primeval waters — rather, perhaps, chaos of the
grosser elements, in a state of fusion and commix-
ion, — increasing in size, and blazing refulgent as a
thousand suns. At length, the Supreme, who dwelt
therein, burst the shell of the stupendous egg, and
issued forth under a new form, with a thousand
heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand arms !

" Along with him there sprang forth another form,
huge and measureless ! What could that be ? All
the elementary principles having now been matured,
and disposed into an endless variety of orderly collo-
cations, and combined into one harmonious whole,
they darted into visible manifestation, under the
form of the present glorious universe ; — a universe
now finished and ready made, with its entire apparatus
of earth, sun, moon, and stars ! What, then, is this
multiform universe ? It is but an harmoniously
arranged expansion of primordial principles and
qualities. And whence are these? — Educed or
evolved from the divine substance of Brahm. Hence
it is, that the universe is so constantly spoken of,
even by the mythologists, as a manifested form of
Brahm himself, the supreme invisible spirit. Hence,
too, under the notion that it is the manifestation of a
being who may assume every variety of corporeal
form, is the universe often personified ; or described
as if its different parts were only the different mem-
bers of a person of prodigious magnitude, in human
form. In reference to this more than gigantic be-
ing, viewed as a personification of the universe, it is
declared that the hairs of his body are the plants
and trees of the forest ; of his head, the clouds ; of
his beard, the lightning ; — that his breath is the cir-
cling atmosphere ; his voice, the thunder ; his eyes,
the sun and moon ; his veins, the rivers ; his nails,
the rocks ; his bones, the lofty mountains !"

In the ancient Scandinavian poem, ' The Vbluspa
or Song of the Prophetess,' the primeval state of the
material creation is described as having been a vast
void abyss, called Ginnunga- Gap, the cup or gulf ot
delusion. The northern nebulous and dark region
of this abyss was called Nilfheim or Mist-Home, a
dismal place of night, and mist, and ice, where is
situated Huergelmir or the spring of hot water,
from which issue twelve rivers. The southern part
of the abyss was illuminated by rays emanating
from the sphere or abode of light, named Muspel-
heim. From this torrid zone of the infant universe
blew a scorching wind which melted the frozen wa-

CREDENCE TABLE— CRKED.

637

ters of the Elivagar, from which was produced the
giant Ymir in the likeness of man. At the same
time was created the cow Audhumblu, from whose
capacious ^dder flowed four streams of milk which
gave healthful nourishment to Ymir. By licking the
stones which were covered with salt and hoar-frost,
she produced in three days a superior being called
Bur or Buri, in the shape of a man. Bor, the son
of Buri, married a Joten or giant-woman, from which
union sprang the three gods, Odin, Vili, and Ve,
who combined in killing Ymir, and dragging his
remains into the midst of Ginnunga-Gap. At this
point begins the work of creation. " Of the flesh of
Ymir," as we are told, " they made the earth ; of his
blood, the ocean and the rivers ; of his huge bones,
the mountains ; of his teeth, his jaw-bones, and the
splinters of some of his broken bones, the rocks and
the cliffs ; of his hair, the trees ; of his brain, the
clouds ; and of his eye-brows, Midgard — the abode
of man. Besides, of his ample skull, they constructed
the vault of heaven, and poised it upon the four re-
motest pillars of the earth, placing under each pillar
a dwarf, the name of each respectively correspond-
ing to one of the cardinal points of the horizon.
The sparks and cinders, which were wafted into the
abyss from the tropical region of Muspelheim, they
fixed in the centre of the celestial concave, above
and below Ginnunga-Gap, to supply it and the earth
with light and heat." The Scandinavian account of
the creation of man, as given in the ' Voluspa,1 is
curious. Three mighty and beneficent Aesir or
gods, while walking on the sea-shore, found two
trees, or, as some assert, two sticks, floating upon
the water, powerless and without destiny. Odin
gave them breath and life ; Hbnir, souls and motion ;
and Ludur, speech, beauty, sight, and hearing. They
named the man Askr, the ash, and the woman, Em-
bla, the alder ; and from this first pair have sprung
mankind destined to reside in Midgard, the habitable
globe.

According to the doctrine of the early Persian or
[ranite Magi, the first living being was the ox Abu-
dad, which was slain by Ahriman ; but Ormuzd
formed from its body the different species of beasts,
birds, fishes, trees, plants, and other productions.
When the ox died, a being called Kajomorz sprang
from its right leg, and this being having been killed
by the Devs, the elementary particles which entered
into the composition of his body were purified by
being exposed to the light of the sun during forty
years, and became the germ of the Ribas tree, out of
%vhich Ormuzd made the first man and woman,
Me-ihia and Meshiana, infusing into them the breath
of life. He thus completed the work of creation in
Bix periods, holding the festival Gahanbar at the end
of each of them.

Thus have we endeavoured to exhibit some of
the most important traditions which have prevailed
in heathen nations on the subject of the creation of
the world, and in taking a review of the whole, we

cannot fail to be struck with the distinct traces which
are to be found in them of the Mosaic narrative
having been the original foundation of the whole.
Tradition, in this as in almost every other case, is
truth perverted from its original purity, and so dis-
torted in the course of generations as to bear only
a faint resemblance to the statements of the ancient
inspired record. See Chaos, Egg (Mundane).

CREDENCE TABLE, a table near the altar on
which, in some churches, the bread and wine to be
used in the eucharist are placed before being con-
secrated. In various Episcopalian churches in Eng-
land, such tables are found, though not perhaps
sanctioned by the ecclesiastical canons.

CREED, a condensed view of Christian doctrine
adopted by many churches as the subordinate stand-
ard or test by which the right of admission into
their communion is tried. The main standard of all
Protestant churches is the Word of God, but the
great majority of them have adopted, besides the
Sacred Scriptures, what have been called subordi-
nate standards — creeds, articles, and confessions. It
has sometimes been argued by those churches, for
example, the Congregationalist, which disown all
subordinate standards, that creeds and confessions of
all kinds, being mere human compositions, are un-
warrantable additions to the Divine Word, and pro
ceed upon a virtual denial of the perfection and per-
manent authority of that Word The usual reply,
however, to such objections is, that the creeds used
by the churches of Christendom, but especially the
Protestant churches, profess to contain only Scrip-
tural doctrines, not the opinions of men. But if so,
it may be said, what is the necessity for creeds at all,
.-ince all the truths which they contain are already
to be found in the Bible? To this objection the
reply is obvious. It may sometimes be necessary to
set forth particular scriptural truths, with special
prominence, in consequence of heresies and errors
which have arisen in the Christian church. Both
the heretic and the orthodox profess high respect for
the Bible, and both alike appeal to it in support of
their respective opinions, which may be even diame-
trically opposed to each other. To distinguish,
therefore, the orthodox from the heretic, a test must
be applied, and what other test is called for in the
circumstances, but the plain statement in human
language of the disputed doctrine, expressed so as
to exclude the opposite error. Hence the origin of
creeds and confessions. They are found to be spe-
cially called for, in consequence of a diversity of
opinion existing among Christians in reference to
some doctrine or statement of the Divine Word.

The churches who use creeds do not allege that
these creeds have any authority in themselves, or
that they ought to be considered as in the least de-
gree infringing upon the supreme authority ot the
Bible; but all that such churches affirm is, that
creeds contain in a simple and condensed form what
they believe to be the teaching of the Bible on cur-

638

CRES— CRITHOMANCY.

tain points which happen to oe disputed. In this
way harmony and uniformity are obtained, not only
in the public ministrations of the clergy, but in the
general belief of the private members of the church.
Accordingly, such symbols were introduced at an
early period of the church, when her orthodoxy,
peace, and unity were seriously threatened to be
disturbed by the propagation of heresy and error.
Hence the Apostles' Creed (which see), as it
is termed ; the Nicene Creed (which see) ; the
Athanasian Creed (which see) ; the Jewish
Creed ; and among Roman Catholics, the Creed
of Pope Pius IV. (see Pius IV. Creed of Pope).
In the same way, and for similar reasons, mo-
dern churches have given fuller and more expand-
ed views of their belief in the form of Confessions.
Hence we have the Augsburg Confession
(which see), and the Westminster Confession
in addition to several others which have been
adopted in virtue of the dogmatic power which the
church claims as the depositary of the Scriptures,
and appointed to interpret them. But if creeds and
confessions are to be maintained, it is of the utmost
importance that the precise position which they occu-
py be fully understood. Their whole authority, it must
never be forgotten, is derived solely from the Bible.
To that test every individual member of the church
has a right to bring them, and they are binding upon
the conscience of no man, except in so far as it can
be shown that their statements are in conformity
with Bible truth. If not agreeable to the supreme
standard, the Word of God, they ought to be re-
jected without the slightest hesitation or reserve. The
Bible, and the Bible alone, as Chillingworth re-
marks, is the religion of Protestants.

CRES, a son of Zeus, born to him by a nymph of
Mount Ida. From Cres is believed to have been de-
rived the name of the island of Crete.

CRESCENT, the sign of the Mohammedans, by
which they distinguish themselves from Christians
or followers of the cross. Some Mohammedan doc-
tors allege that the crescent was adopted as a dis-
tinctive mark by the Moslems, in consequence of the
Hegira, or flight of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina
having taken place at the time of the new moon, when
it appears in the form of a crescent. Other writers,
however, allege that the use of the crescent arose
from the circumstance, that the ancient Arabians
worshipped the moon.

CRESIUS, a surname of Dionysus (which see),
under which he was worshipped at Argos.

CRESSELLE, a wooden instrument used instead
of bells among the Romanists, in various parts, to
summon the people to Divine service during Passion
week. Such a mode of summoning to worship is
said to have been derived from the primitive Chris-
tians, who are by some writers said to have used
an instrument of this kind before bells were in-
vented, to call the brethren secretly to prayer in
times of persecution. The Cresselle is supposed to

represent Christ praying upon the cross, and invit-
ing all nations to embrace his doctrine. Wooden
instruments of the same kind are still in use both
among the orthodox and heretics in the Turkish
dominions, in consequence of the strong prejudices
which the Turks entertain against the sound of bells.

CREUSA, a Naiad among the ancient Greeks, the
daughter of Oceanus and Ge.

CRINITI FRATRES (Lat. Long-haired Breth-
ren), a name under which Augustine censures the
Mesopotamian monks for wearing long hair against
the rule of the Roman Catholic church.

CRISPITES, the followers of Dr. Tobias Crisp,
who taught a species of Antinomian doctrine in the
seventeenth century in England. Messrs. Bogue
and Bennett, in their ' History of Dissenters,' call
him " one of the first patrons of Calvinism run mad."
The writings of Crisp were ably answered by Dr.
Daniel Williams, in a work entitled ' Gospel Truth
Stated and Vindicated,' who plainly shows that his
views, on some of the most important and peculiar doc-
trines of Christianity, were extreme and erroneous in
their character. Thus, for instance, he taught that the
sins of the elect were so imputed to Christ as to be
actually his ; and the righteousness of Christ was so
imputed to them as that they are no longer sinners,
but righteous as Christ was righteous. According
to the scheme of the Crispites, God sees no sin ir
believers, nor does he punish them because of sin.
He is not displeased with the believer on account 01
liis sin, nor pleased with him on account of his obe-
dience, so that the child of God is neither the worse
for his sins, nor the better for his obedience. Sin
does the believer no hurt, and righteousness doe<
him no good, nor must he pursue it to this end. Re-
pentance and confession of sin, in the view of Dr.
Crisp, are not necessary to forgiveness, but a be-
liever may certainly conclude before confession, yea,
as soon as he hath committed sin, his interest in
Christ, and the love of Christ embracing him. In
regard to the time of justification, Dr. Crisp says,
" He did it from eternity in respect of obligation ; but
in respect of execution, he did it when Christ was
on the cross ; and, in respect of application, he doth it
while children are yet unborn." Crisp was the
great Antinomian opponent of Baxter, Bates, and
Howe, and when his works were reprinted in 1692,
such was the ability and power with which they
were exposed by Bishop Bull and Dr. Williams,
that the Antinomians were reduced in England to a
very small number. The controversy, howeve:,
was again revived by Dr. Gill, who republished Dr.
Crisp's sermons in 1745, with notes, in which he
justified some of his peculiar expressions, and apo-
logized for others. The Antinomian doctrines then
promulgated were diffused to a great extent among
the Particular Baptists in England. See Antino-
mians.

CRITHOMANCY (Gr. criUios, barley, and man-
tcia, divination), a species of divination, founded od

CRIUS— CROCOTA.

639

the appearance which the dough of the barley-
meal cakes, which were used in sacrifice, assumed,
when it was kneaded into cakes.

CRIUS, one of the Titans of the ancient Greeks,
a son of Uranus and Ge, and the father of Astrseus,
Pallas and Perses.

CROCEATAS, a surname of Zeus, derived from
Crocea? in Laconia.

CROCEFISSO SANTISSIMO (Ital. most holy
crucifix), a wooden crucifix at Naples, which is re-
markable for having thanked Thomas Aquinas for
his beautiful and salutary writings. It belonged to
the church of St. Dominic the Great.

CROCE, SANTA DI GERUSALEMME (Ital.
the holy cross of Jerusalem), one of the seven great
Basilicas of Rome. It is particularly remarkable
for the immense number of relics which it contains,
all of which are exhibited on a particular day
for the reverence and adoration of the devotees
of the Romish church. The fourth Sunday in Lent
is the most remarkable day in the vear at the Basi
lica of Santa Croce di Gerusalemme. All who attend
the services at that church on that day are entitled
to certain indulgences ; and all who have share in the
masses celebrated are entitled to the release of one
soul from purgatory. The great attraction of the
festival is the exhibition of the relics of this church,
which are noted among the wonders of Rome. The
scene is thus described by Mr. Seymour, who was
himself an eye-witness of it. "At one end of the
church there is a small gallery, capable of holding
three or four persons. In this appeared the bishop
in full canonicals, with mitre and alb. On either
hand stood a priest ; on these three every eye in the
vast assembly was fixed ; one priest rung a bell, then
the other handed one of the relics to the bishop;
and he, reverently receiving it, exhibited it to the
led multitude, the priest announcing with a
loud voice —

"'The finger of St. Thomas, the Apostle and
.Martyr of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

" The bishop then presented the relic, said to be
the very finger with which the unbelieving Thomas
touched our Lord's side ! He held it, according to
the invariable custom in exhibiting relics, right before
him, then turning it to those on the right, then to
those on the left, then again to those immediati K
before him. He then kissed the glass ease which
contained the finger, and returned it to the priest.

'• Another relic was then produced and placed in
the hands of the bishop, and the priest as before an-
nounced—

" • Two thorns from the crown of thorns of our
Lord Jesus Christ.'

" The bishop exhibited this as before, and it was
easy to sec in the glass case the two thorns set and
standing erect, each thorn being about three inches
iong. He then ki.-scd the case and returned it to
the priest.

" A third reiic was next produced, it was presented

reverently by the priest, and was received as rever-
ently by the bishop, the priest announcing —

" ' The tablet with the inscription over the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

" The bishop exhibited this relic as the others ;
the characters in Greek and Hebrew and Latin,
though very dark and large, were very far from
being easily legible, aud the tablet itself seemed
rather small for the occasion. It was about nine or
ten inches in length, and about five in depth ; — the
bishop also kissed this relic and returned it to the
priest.

" A fourth relic was next placed in the hands ot
the bishop, and as he exhibited it, the priest ex-
claimed—

'• ' One of the nails that fastened to the cross out
Lord Jesus Christ.'

" This relic was a very shewy affair, being enclosed
in a very pretty glass and gold case. In the centre
was a black thing said to be the nail, with two
angels made of gold, kneeling and worshipping it !
It was exhibited, kissed, and then returned to the
priest.

" Another relic was produced — the fifth and last.
As the priest presented it to the bishop, the bishop
seemed to start under a sense of awe, and to gaze
on it with devout wonder. Before he would touch
the holy thing he must uncover. His mitre, which
had been worn while exhibiting the other relics, was
immediately removed. He could not with covered
head look upon the sacred thing, he bowed pro-
foundly to it, and then taking a large glass cross
from the priest, the priest announced —

" ' Three pieces of the most holy wood of the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

" In an instant the whole assembly as if by magic
was prostrate, even the monks removed their little
skull-caps, and every individual present except the
few English there, prostrated himself as in the act of
the highest adoration, in precisely the same way as
when adoring at the elevation of the host. The
silence was deep and profound throughout that vast
assembly : some seemed to hold their breath im-
pressed with awe; some seemed in deep devotion to
breathe prayer in secret ; some gazed intently on the
relic, and moved their lips as if addressing it, while
the bishop held it before them. It was a cross of
>;lass. set at the ends in rich chased gold; it was
hollow, and there appeared within it three small
pieces of wood; they varied from two to four inches
in length, and were about half or three quarters of
an inch in breadth. After the bishop had duly ex-
hibited this — after the people had worshipped it —
after he had returned it to the priest, the bishop and
priest retired, and the congregation dispersed."

CROCIARY. See Ckoss-Bearer.

CROCOTA, a dress worn by women among the
ancient Greeks and Romans. It was more espe-
cially worn at the festival of the Diunysia, and also
by the priestesses of Cybde.

640

CROMCRUACH— CROSIER

CROMCRUACH, the principal god of the ancient
f rish. The image was carved of gold and silver, and
surrounded by twelve other smaller images, all of
brass. According to a legend, on the arrival of St.
Patrick, the idol Cromcruach fell to the ground, like
Dagon of old before the ark, and the lesser brazen
images sunk into the ground, up to the neck.

CROMLECH (Celt, crom, crooked or bent, and
leach, a stone), an ancient Druidical altar, of which
there are many specimens still found in different
parts of Britain and Ireland. The cromlechs are
formed of rude stones, set in different forms and
situations, supposed to have been dedicated to par-
ticular deities. The most usual form is that of an
immense mass of stone of an oblong shape, with one
end resting on the ground, and the other extremity
supported by two large upright stones. Sometimes
smaller cromlechs are seen of a triangular shape, and
like the larger supported by two upright stones in
an inclined position. It is supposed that the lesser
may have been used for the purposes of ordinary
sacrifice, while the greater may have been reserved
for occasions of extraordinary solemnity. The in-
cumbent stone or slab of the cromlechs is sustained
in some cases by rows of upright pillars ; in other
instances the table is supported by two or more large
cone-shaped rocks, but on none of the stones used
in the construction of these altars can the mark of
any tool be discovered. A variety of opinion exists
as to the origin of the name cromlech. Some sup-
pose the term to have been applied to these rude
altars from their inclining position ; others from the
respect paid by the Druidical worshippers to these
stones by bowing before them ; while by others still
the idea has been broached, that they derived their
name from being the stones on which sacrifices were
ofl'ered to a god called Crom. An ingenious conjec-
ture lias been advanced, that they were placed in an
inclined position to allow the blood of the victims
slain upon them to run off freely.

CRONIA, a festival celebrated among the ancient
Greeks at Athens, in honour of Chronos (which
see), whom Cecrops had introduced as an object of
worship into Attica. The name Uremia is given by
the Greek writers to the Roman Saturnalia. A festi-
val in honour of Chronos was also observed among
the people of Rhodes, at which human sacrifices are
said to have been offered.

CRONUS. See Chronos, Saturn.

CROSIER, the pastoral staff, so called from its
likeness to a cross, which the archbishops formerly
bore as the common ensign of their office. When
on archbishop was invested with the episcopal dig-
oity, he was formally installed by the delivery of a
crosier into his hands. Sometimes a straight staff
was presented instead of a crosier or crook. The
staff of the archbishop had usually a single, and that
of the patriarch a double cross piece. According to
Montfaucon, the Staff of the Greek archbishop had
a cross-piece resembling the letter T. According to

Goari, it was curved upwards in this form T. Dr.
Murdoch alleges that the crosier or bishop's star)
was exactly of the form of the lituus, the chief en-
sign of the ancient Augurs. The crosier of an arch-
bishop is to be distinguished from the pastoral statf
of a bishop, the former always terminating in a cross,
while the latter terminated in an ornamented crook.
CROSS. Our blessed Lord having suffered cruci-
fixion, the figure of the cross, as being the instrument of
the Redeemer's death, came to be held in high respect
at a very early period in the history of the Christian
church. Nay, it even came to be regarded as the
mark of a Christian, the sign of the cross being used
in baptism. Towards the middle of the fourth cen-
tury, however, veneration for the cross was carried
still farther. During the reign of Coustantiue the
Great, his mother Helena having set out on a pil-
grimage to the Holy Land, pretended that she had
found there the real cross on which our Lord was
suspended. On her return Coustantiue, who pro-
fessed a warm attachment to the Christian cause,
caused the figure of the cross to be stamped upon
his coins, displayed upon his standards, and painted
on his shields, helmets, and crown. Cliristians
seem to have soon after begun to wear the cross as
an official badge or token of their adherence to the
faith. It was specially worn by Christian bishops
or pastors on the neck or breast, and carried in pub-
lic processions. The cross worn upon the person
was made of wood or gold, or some sacred relic,
which was called by the Greeks periamma, and was
regarded as an amulet or phylactery. The cross
was used not only in the Greek, but in the Latin
church. The cross which was carried before the
bishops in processions, received the name of crux
gestatoria or carrying cross. For a long time the
bishops of Rome claimed the right of having tlio
cross earned before them as exclusively their own.
In the twelfth century it was granted to metropoli-
tans and patriarchs, and in the time of Gregor}' IX.
to archbishops. The patriarchs of the Greek church
did not so frequently carry the cross, but instead of
it they substituted lamps and lighted candles. To-
wards the end of the seventh century, the council of
Constantinople decreed that Jesus Christ should be
painted in a human form, hanging upon the cross,
that Cliristians might bear in mind their obligations
to the sufferings and death of Christ. In the sixth
century, a festival was instituted by Pope Gregory
the Great in commemoration of the Empress Helena
having found what was alleged to be the true cross.
This festival is observed in all Roman Catholic coun-
tries on the 3d of May. Another festival in honour
of the cross is observed by the Romish church on
the 14th of September. The circumstances which
led to the institution of this latter festival, are briefly
these, as stated by Hurd in his History of Religious
Rites and Ceremonies : "In the reign of Heraclitus
the Greek emperor, Chosroes, king of Persia, plun-
dered Jerusalem, and took away that part of the

CROSS (Adoration op the)— CROSS-ALPHABETS.

641

cross which Helena had left there, but which Hera-
clitus having recovered, it was earned by him in
great solemnity to Mount Calvary, whence it had
been taken. Many miracles were said to have been
wrought on tins occasion ; and the festival in me-
mory of it is called the Exaltation of the Cross."
Both in the Greek and Roman churches, crosses are
used both in public and in private, as the insignia in
their view of the Christian faith. Among the Greeks
the cross is equi-limbed, but among the Romanists it
is elongated. A Romish prelate wears a single cross,
a patriarch a double cross, and the Pope a triple
cross on his arms.

CROSS (Adoration of the), a ceremony of the
Romish church observed on Good Friday. It is
termed the Unveiling and Adoration of the Cross,
and is conducted with great pomp. Mr. Seymour,
in his Pilgrimage to Rome, describes it from actual
observation: "A cross made of wood stands upon
the altar. It is enveloped in a black veil. The
deacon hands it to the officiating cardinal. He, stand ■
ing with his back to the altar and his face to the
people, holds the cross before ,the eyes of the con-
gregation. Then loosening the black veil which en-
velopes it, he uncovers one arm of the cross — pauses
—holds it conspicuously before the congregation,
and exclaims with a loud voice —

" ' Behold the wood of the cross !'

" And the response bursts from the choir —

" ' Come, let us adore it !'

" And immediately the Pope, the cardinals, and
all present kneel and adore it, and then resume their
seats.

" Again the officiating cardinal uncovers the sec-
ond arm of the cross — pauses — exclaims as before —

" ' Behold the wood of the cross !'

" And the response again bursts from the choir —

" ' Come, let us adore it 1 '

" And as before, the Pope, the cardinals, and ail
present kneel and adore it, and then resume their
scats.

"Again, the officiating cardinal uncovers the.
whole cross — pauses — and exclaims as before —

" ' Behold the wood of the cross ! '

" And the response again bursts from the choir —

" ' Come, let us adore it 1'

" And immediately the Pope, the cardinals, and
all present kneel and adore it a third time.

" All this was painful enough to me, yet it proved
only ' the beginning of sorrows.' There was a solem-
nity— a silence, a stillness in all, which, combined
with the appearance of the chapel, made it very im-
pressive; and this very impressiveness it was that
made all so painful.

"The cardinal with his assistants left the altar,
and placed the cross on a cushion, on the floor of
the chapel, a few paces from the steps of the altar,
and retired.

" And here the ceremony commenced indeed.
Two or three cardinals approached tho Pope, they

stripped off his splendid robes, they removed his
glittering mitre, they took off his embroidered shoes,
they laid aside his spangled gloves, till he stood be-
fore his throne without one emblem of his royal or
papal office. There stood the old man, bareheaded
and barefooted, and stripped till he seemea to retain
little else than a loose white dressing-gown, the
dress of a monk of Camaldoli. There he stood, not
alone, as if the act were a voluntary humiliation,
but in the hands of the cardinals, who, intending to
help him and uphold him, seemed to be his guards
to force and compel him. There the old man, no
longer looking like a Pope, descended from the
throne and seemed like one led away to be punished,
or to do penance. I could not help thinking that
the old man was, in a great measure, an unwill-
ing actor in this scene ; there was much uneasiness
in liis manner; there was dissatisfaction in his face;
and his whole appearance was that of a man who
was obliged to act against his conscience, in comply-
ing wdth a custom of the church.

" Having conducted the Pope to the end of the
chapel, they turned and faced the cross, which lay
on the floor near the step of the altar. There they
made him kneel and adore it. They raised him, and
conducting him some two or three paces nearer, they
again made him kneel a second time and adore the
cross. Then again they raised him, and leading him
nearer still, they again the third time made him kneel
and adore the cross. Here at the cross they raised
him, and then again he knelt, then rose again and then
knelt again. Prostrate before it — on knees and
hands, he kissed it, and, according to custom, left an
hundred scudi of gold as an offering beside it. He
was afterwards conducted to his throne and robed,
while the most exquisite music from the choir ac
companied the whole ceremony.

" When this is completed by the Pope, the same
act is performed by each of the cardinals, all with-
out shoes, adoring and kissing the cross. These are
followed by the bishops, heads of orders, ftc, all
adoring it in like manner, and all making to it an
oiler of money.

" The deacons then spread the cloth on the altar,
light the candles, and reverently place the cross, no
longer on the floor, but on the altar amidst the can-
dlesticks.

" Such is — the adoration of the cross : — An act of
worship that moved me intensely, infinitely more
than anything I had witnessed at Koine. It was an
act the most solemn and impressive, that bore every
characteristic of idolatry." The doctrine of the
church of Rome is, that the cross is to be worshipped
with the same supreme adoration (Latria) as that
which is due to Christ himself.

CROSS-ALPHABETS. In the ceremony ob-
served in the Romish church in the DEDICATION
of Churches (which sec), according to the arrange-
ments laid down in tin; Roman Pontifical, a pot of
ashes is provided, which, in the course of the ecru
2z

642

CROSS-BEARER— CROSS (Sign of the).

mony, is 6trewed in two broad lines in the form of a
cross, transversely from angle to angle of the church ;
each line about a span in breadth. While the Bene-
dichis is being chanted, the Pontiff scores with the
point of his pastoral staff on one of the broad lines
ut ashes, the Greek alphabet, and then on the other,
the Latin alphabet. These are called Cross-Alpha-
bets.

CROSS-BEARER, an officer in the Roman Ca-
tholic church, who bears a cross before an archbishop
or primate in processions or special solemnities.
This office is usually conferred upon the chaplain of
the dignitary. The Pope has the cross borne before
him everywhere ; a patriarch anywhere out of Rome ;
and primates, metropolitans, and archbishops through-
out their respective jurisdictions. Gregory XI. for-
bade all patriarchs and prelates to have the cross
before them in the presence of cardinals.

CROSS (Incensing the). All crosses intended
to be erected in Roman Catholic countries, in the
public places, high roads, and cross-ways, as well as
on the tops of Romish chapels, undergo the process
of consecrating by incense, which is conducted with
much ceremony. Candles are first lighted at the
foot of the cross, after which the celebrant, having
dressed himself in his pontifical robes, sits down be-
fore the cross and delivers a discourse to the people
upon its manifold virtues and excellences. Then he
sprinkles the cross with holy water, and afterwards
with incense, and at the close of this ceremony can-
dles are set upon the top of each arm of the cross.

CROSS (Okdeal of the), a mode of trial which
was practised among the Anglo-Saxons, probably the
most ancient, and the soonest laid aside. The form
of it was intimately connected with the wager of
law ; for the accused person having brought eleven
compurgators to swear to his innocence, chose one
of two pieces of covered wood, on one of which the
cross was delineated : when, if he selected that which
had the emblem upon it, he was acquitted, and if
otherwise, condemned. This species of ordeal was
abolished by the Emperor Louis the Devout, about
A. D. 820, as too commonly exposing the sacred sym-
bol.

CROSS (Sign of the), a practice which arose in
the early ages of the Christian church from the
lively faith of Christians in the great doctrine of
salvation through the cross of Christ. Nowhere in
the Sacred Writings do we find the slightest allu-
sion to such a custom, but the most ancient of the
fathers speak of it as having been a venerable prac-
tice in their days, and, indeed, the frequent use of
the sign of the cross is declared to have been a
characteristic feature of the manners of the primitive
Christians. On this subject Dr. Jamieson gives
some valuable information : " The cross was used by
the primitive Christians as an epitome of all that is
interesting and important in their faith ; and its
sign, where the word could not be conveniently nor
tafely uttered, represented their reliance on that

event which is at once the most ignominious and the
most glorious part of Christianity. It was used by
them at all times, and to consecrate the most com-
mon actions of life — when rising out of bed, or re
tiring to rest — when sitting at table, lighting a lamp,
or dressing themselves — on every occasion, as they
wished the influence of religion to pervade the whole
course of their life, they made the sign of the cross
the visible emblem of their faith. The mode in
which this was done was various : the most common
was by drawing the hand rapidly across the fore-
head, or by merely tracing the sign in air ; in some
cases, it was worn close to the bosom, in gold, silver,
or bronze medals, suspended by a concealed chain
from the neck ; in others, it was engraven on the
arms or some other part of the body by a coloured
drawing, made by pricking the skin with a needle,
and borne as a perpetual memorial of the love of
Christ. In times of persecution, it served as the
watchword of the Christian party. Hastily described
by the finger, it was the secret but well-known sig-
nal by which Christians recognized each other in the
presence of their heathen enemies ; by which the
persecuted sought an asylum, or strangers threw
themselves on the hospitality of their brethren ; and
nothing appeared to the Pagan observer more strange
and inexplicable, than the ready and open-hearted
manner in which, by this concerted means, foreign
Christians were received by those whom they had
never previously seen or heard of, — were welcomed
into their homes, and. entertained with the kindness
usually bestowed only on relations and friends.
Moreover, to the sacred form of the cross were
ascribed peculiar powers of protecting from evil ;
and hence it was frequently resorted to as a secret
talisman, to disarm the vengeance of a frowning
magistrate, or counteract the odious presence and
example of an offerer of sacrifice. It was the only
outward means of defending themselves, which the
martyrs were wont to employ, when summoned to
the Roman tribunals on account of their faith. It
was by signing himself with the cross, that Origen,
when compelled to stand at the threshold of the tem-
ple of Serapis, and give palm-branches, as the Egypt-
ian priests were in the habit of doing, to them that
went to perform the sacred rites of the idol, fortified
his courage, and stood uncontaminated amid the
concourse of profane idolaters. But, perhaps, the
most remarkable instance on record of the use of
this sign by the primitive Christians, and of the
sense they entertained of its potent virtues, occurs
in the reign of Diocletian, when that timorous and
superstitious prince, in his anxiety to ascertain the
events of his Eastern campaign, slew a number of
victims, that, from their livers, the augurs might
prognosticate the fortunes of the war. During the
course of the sacrifice, some Christian officers, who
were officially present, put the immortal sign on their
foreheads, and forthwith, as the historian relates, the
rites were disturbed. The priests, ignorant of the

CROUCHED FRIARS- CROWN (Natal).

C4.-J

cause, searched in vain for the usual marks on the
entrails of the beasts. Once and again the sacrifice
was repeated with a similar result, when, at length,
the chief of the soothsayers observing a Christian
signing himself with the cross, exclaimed, ' It is the
presence of profane persons that has interrupted the
rites.' Thus common was the use, and thus high
the reputed efficacy of this sign among the primitive
Christians. But it was not in the outward form, but
solely in the divine qualities of Him whose name and
merits it symbolized, that the believers of the first
ages conceived its charm and its virtues to reside.
It was used by them ' merely as a mode of express-
iiiLr. by means perceptible to the senses, the purely
Christian idea, that all the actions of Christians, as
well as the whole course of their life, must be sancti-
fied by faith in the crucified Redeemer, and by de-
pendence upon him, and that this faith is the most
powerful means of conquering all evil, and preserv-
ing oneself against it. It was not till after times,
that men began to confound the idea and the token
which represented it, and that they attributed the
effects of faith in the crucified Redeemer, to the out-
ward signs to which they ascribed a supernatural and
preservative power.'"

To make the sign of the cross is regarded in Ro-
mish countries as a charm against evil spirits or evil
influences of any kind. The bishops, archbishops,
abbots, and abbesses of the Roman Catholic church
wear a small golden cross. When a benediction is
pronounced upon anything whatever, it is done by
making the sign of the cross over it. Among the
adherents of the Greek church, it not only forms a
frequently repeated practice in the course of the ser-
vices of the church, but it occurs almost constantly
in the ordinary transactions of life. The servant
asking directions from her mistress, or the beggar
humbly asking alms, devoutly makes the sign of the
cross, and that too in the truly orthodox manner,
with the thumb, first and middle fingers bent to-
gether, first on the forehead, then on the breast,
then on the right shoulder, and then on the left.
In Russia the population are in the habit of using
the sign of the cross on occasions of almost every
kind.

CROUCHED FRIARS, an order of religious,
called also Cromers or Cross-Bearers, founded in
honour of the invention or discovery of the cross
by the Empress Helena, in the fourth century.
Matthew Paris says this order came into England
a. I>. 1244, and that they carried in their hand a
staff, on the top of which was a cross. Dugdale
mentions two of their monasteries, one in London,
and the other at Ryegate. They had likewise a
monastery at Oxford, where they were received in-
A. r>. 1349. This order was dispersed throughout
various countries of Europe.

CROUCHED-MAS-DAY, the festival in the
Greek church in honour of the erection of the cross.
From this feast, which occurred on the 14th Sep-

tember, the Eastern church commenced to calculate
its ecclesiastical year.

CROWN, an ornament frequently mentioned in
Sacred Scripture, and commonly used among the
Hebrews. We find the holy crown in Exod. xxix.
6, directed to be put upon the mitre of the high-
priest. The word in the Hebrew is neser, separa-
tion, probably because it was a badge of the wearer
being separated from his brethren. It is difficult,
however, to say what was the precise nature of the
crown. Perhaps, as Professor Jalm thinks, it was
simply a fillet two inches broad, bound round the
head, so as to press the forehead and temples, and
tied behind. The crown was not improbably worn
even by private priests, for we learn that the pro-
phet Ezekiel (xxiv. 17, 23) was commanded by God
not to take off his crown, nor to assume the marks
of mourning. Newly married couples from early
times were accustomed to wear crowns. (See
Crowns, Nuptial). Crowns of flowers were often
worn also on festive occasions. The crown was
given among ancient nations as a token of victory
or triumph. Thus, in the Grecian games, chaplets
or crowns of olive, myrtle, parsley, and similar ma-
terials, were wreathed round the brow of the suc-
cessful competitors. Crowns of different kinds were
bestowed upon gods, kings, and princes, as ensigns
of dignity and authority. Pausanias says that the
Magi wore a species of tiara when they entered into
a temple. Among the Romans crowns were often
given as rewards, and the highest honour which a
soldier could receive was the civic crown composed
of oak leaves, which was conferred upon any one
who had saved the life of a Roman citizen in battle.
When a Roman army was shut up within a besieged
city, the general who succeeded in raising the siege
received from the liberated Boldiers a crown of hon-
our, which was composed of grass or weeds or wild
flowers. It was customary among the Romans to
present a golden crown to any soldier who had spe-
cially distinguished himself on the field of battle.
The same practice prevailed also among the ancient
Greeks.

CROWN (Funeral), a crown of leaves and flow-
ers, and among the Greeks generally, of parsley,
which was usually wreathed around the head of a
dead person before interment. Floral wreaths were
often placed upon the bier, or scattered on the road
along vMch the funeral procession was to pass, or
twisted round the urn in which the ashes were con-
tained, or the tomb in which the remains were laid.

CROWN (Mural), a golden crown, adorned with
turrets, which was ancientlv bestowed by the Ro-
mans on the Boldier who first succeeded in sealing
the «.ill of a besieged city. The goddess Cl BI I E
(which see) is always represented with a mural crown
upon her head.

CROWN (Natal"-. It was customary in ancient
times, both at Athens and at Rome, to suspend a
crown at the threshold of a house in which a child

644

CROWN (Nuptial)— CRUCIFIX.

was born. The natal crown used at Athens when
the child was a boy, was composed of olive ; when a
girl, of wool. Crowns of laurel, ivy, or parsley were
used on such occasions at Rome.

CROWN (Nuptial). Newly married persons of
Doth sexes among theHebrews wore crowns upon their
wedding-day, Cant. iii. 11, and it is probably in allu-
sion to this custom that God is said, when he entered
into a covenant with the Jewish nation, to have put
a beautiful crown upon their head, Ezek. xvi. 12.
Among the Greeks, also, bridal wreaths were worn
made of flowers plucked by the bride herself; but the
crowns of Roman brides were made of verbena. The
bridegroom also wore a chaplet, and on the occasion
of a marriage, the entrance to the house, as well as
the nuptial couch, was ornamented with wreaths of
flowers. Among the early Christians the act of
crowning the parties was the commencing part of
the marriage ceremony. After the 128th Psalm had
been sung, with the responses and doxologies, and an
appropriate discourse had been delivered, and after
some preliminary rites, the priest lifted the nuptial
crowns which had been laid upon the altar, and plac-
ing one upon the head of the bridegroom, and the
other upon the head of the bride, he pronounced these
words, " This servant of the Lord hereby crowns
this handmaid of the Lord in the name of the Fa-
ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, world
without end. Amen." This ceremony was followed
by prayers, doxologies, and the reading of the Scrip-
tures, particularly Eph. v. 20 — 33, and John ii.l — 11,
at the close of which the Assembly repeated the
Lord's Prayer, with the customary responses, and
the usual form of benediction. On the eighth day the
married pair presented themselves again in the
church, when the minister, after an appropriate
prayer, took off the nuptial crown, and dismissed them
with his solemn benediction. This ceremony, how-
ever, was not uniformly observed. The ceremonies of
coronation and dissolving of the crowns, are still ob-
served in the Greek church. The crowns used in
Greece are of olive branches twined with white and
purple ribbon. In Russia they are of gold and sil-
ver, or in country places, of tin, and are preserved as
the property of the church. At this part of the ser-
vice the couple are made to join hands, and to drink
wine out of a common cup. The ceremony of dis-
solving the crowns takes place, as among the primi-
tive Christians, on the eighth day, after which the
bride is conducted to the bridegroom's house, and
enters upon the duties of the household.

The custom of nuptial coronation continued among
the Jews for many centuries, and, indeed, we learn
from the Mishna, that it was not until the commence-
ment of the war under Vespasian that the practice
of crowning the bridegroom was abolished, and that
it was not until Jerusalem was besieged by Titus
that the practice of crowning the bride was discon-
tinued. Crowns of roses, myrtle, and ivy are still
Used in Jewish marriages in many places.

CROWN (Radiated), a crown made with rays
apparently emanating from it. A crown of this kind
was put by the ancient Romans upon the images ol
gods or deified heroes.

CROWN (Sacerdotal), worn by the priests or
Sacerdotes among the ancient Romans when engaged
in offering sacrifice. Neither the high-priest nor his
attendant, however, bore this ornament. It was
formed of different materials, sometimes of olive, and
at other times of gold. The most ancient sacrificial
garland used by the Romans was made of ears of
corn. The victim was also wont to be adorned
with a fillet or wreath of flowers when it was led to
the altar.

CROWN (Sutile), a crown made of any kind of
flowers sewed together, and used by the Salii (which
see) at their festivals.

CROWNS, a name, in Hebrew Thar/in, given to
points or horns with which certain letters in the
manuscripts used in the Jewish synagogues are de
corated. and which distinguish them from the manu-
scripts in ordinary use. The Rabbins affirm that
God gave them to Moses on Mount Sinai, and that
he taught liim how to make them. In the Talmud
mysteries are alleged to be attached to these marks.

CRUCIFIX, a figure of the cross with a carved
image of Christ fastened upon it. It is much used
in the devotions of Roman Catholics, both in public
and in private. The origin of crucifixes is generally
traced to the council held at Constantinople towards
the close of the seventh century, which decreed that
Jesus Christ should be painted in a human form upon
the cross; in order to represent, in the most lively man-
ner, the death and sufferings of our blessed Saviour.
From that period down to the present day crucifixes
form an essential part of Romish worship. On all sa-
cred solemnities the Pope has a crucifix carried before
him, a practice which some Romish writers allege
was introduced by Clement, Bishop of Rome, about
seventy years after the time of the Apostle Peter.
The most probable opinion, however, which has been
stated, as to the origin of this custom, is, that it com-
menced at the period when the Popes became ambi-
tious to display their supreme authority, and that it
was meant to be a mark of pontifical dignity, as the
Roman fasces carried before consuls or magistrates
of any kind showed their power and authority. An
old Italian writer, Father Bonanni, thus describes
the custom ; " The cross is carried on the end of a
pike about ten palms or spans long. The image of
our Saviour is turned towards the Pope, and the
chaplain who carries it walks bareheaded when his
Holiness goes in public, or is carried on men's
shoulders ; but when he goes in a coach or a chair
the chairman carries the crucifix on horseback, bare-
headed, with a glove on his right hand, and with the
left he manages his horse. In all solemn and reli-
gious ceremonies at which the Pope assists in his
sacred robes, an auditor of the Rota carries the cru-
cifix at the solemn procession on horseback, dressed

CRUSADE.

645

in a rochet or capuclie, purple-coloured ; but there
ire three days in Passion-week on which he and the
Sacred College go to chapel in mourning without the
cross being borne before him."

The ceremony of kissing the crucifix is observed at
Rome on the Thursday of Passion-week, usually called
Maundy Thursday. It is thus described by an eye-
witness : " On the evening a wooden crucifix of about
two feet and a half in length was placed upon the steps
of the altar. This devout people immediately began
to welcome it by kissing its feet and forehead. The
next day, Good Friday, a crucifix of four feet was
offered to the fervency of the multitude, and the
kisses were redoubled. But the day after there was
a crucifix of nearly six feet ; then the pious frenzy
of the women was carried to its greatest height ;
from every part of this immense church, they rushed
towards this image, rudely carved and more rudely
painted ; they threw themselves on this piece of
wood, as though they would have devoured it ; they
kissed it with the most furious ardour from head to
foot. They succeeded each other four at a time in
this pious exercise : those who were- waiting for
their turn showed as much impatience as a pack of
hungry hounds would, if they were withheld from
the prey in their sight. There was near the crucifix
a small porringer to receive the offerings. The
greater part of them preferred giving kisses to money;
but those who left their mite thought they had a just
claim to redouble their caresses. Although I re-
mained more than an hour in the church, I did not
see the end of this fantastical exhibition, and I left
these devout kissers in full activity."

CRUSADE, a holy war, or an expedition against
infidels and heretics; but more particularly ap-
plied to the holy wars of the eleventh and twelfth
Centuries. The Crusades were eight in number.
The feelings which actuated the first originators
of these expeditions were a superstitious venera-
tion for those places which were the scene of
our Lord's ministry while on earth, and an earnest
desire to rescue them from the infidel Mohamme-
dans, into whose hand- they had fallen. Multitudes
(if pilgrims had been accustomed to Mock to Jerusa-
lem, and account it their highest privilege to per-
form their devotions at the Holy Sepulchre. But
ever since Jerusalem had been taken, and Palestine
conquered by the Saracen Omar, the Christian pil-
grims had been prevented from the accomplishment
of what they considered a pion- -1. i n. unless they
purchased the privilege by paying a small tribute to
the Saracen caliphs. In A. i>. 1064 the Turks took
Jerusalem from the Saracens, and from that time
pilgrims were exposed to persecution, and while th )
had begun largely to increase in numbers, the ill-
treatment which they experienced al the hands of
the Turks roused a spirit of indignation throughout
the Christian world. One man in particular, Peter
the Hermit, fired with fanatical zeal for the exter-
mination of the infidel Turks, travelled through Eu-

rope, bareheaded and baiefooted, for the purpose of
exhorting princes to join in a holy war against the
Mohammedan possessors of the sacred places. Yield-
ing-to the persuasions of this wild enthusiast, Pope
Urban II. summoned two councils in A. D. 1095,
the one at Placentia, and the other at Clermont, and
laid before them the magnificent project of arming
all Christendom in one holy war against the infi-
dels. This was a design which the Popes had long
entertained, and now that they had obtained a suita-
ble instrument for its accomplishment in Peter the
Hermit, an immense army was raised, and headed by
this remarkable monk. They set out on their march
towards the East, but having been met, in the plain
of Nicea, by Solyman the Turkish Sultan of Iconium,
the army of the Hermit was cut to pieces. A new
host in the meantime appeared, led by several dis-
tinguished Christian princes and nobles, and amount-
ing, as it did, to hundreds of thousands, the Turks
were twice defeated. The crusaders now advanced
to Jerusalem, and after a siege of six weeks made
themselves masters of the holy city, putting to death
without mercy the whole of its Mohammedan and
Jewish inhabitants. Godfrey of Bouillon, one of
the commanders of the crusading army, was pro-
claimed king of Jerusalem, but soon afterwards he
was obliged to surrender his authority into the hands
of the Pope's legate. Syria and Palestine being
now won from the infidels, were divided by the cru-
saders into four states, a step far from conducive to
the strengthening of their power.

Soon after the successful termination of the first
crusade, the Turks began to rally and recover some-
what of their former vigour. The Asiatic Chris-
tians, accordingly, found it necessary to apply to the
princes of Europe tor assistance, and the second cru
sade was commenced in A. D. 114G, with an army of
'200,000 men, composed chiefly of French, Germans,
and Italians. This enormous host, led by Hugh.
brother of Philip I. of France, was equally unsuc-
cessful with the army of Peter the Hermit, having
either been destroyed by the enemy, or perished by
the treachery of the Greek emperor. The garrison
of Jerusalem, though held by the Christians, was so
feebly defended that it !>• came necessary to institute
tin' Knights Templars and Hospitallers as an en-
rolled military corps to protect the Holy City. The
crusading army having been almost wholly cut off, the
Pope. Eugenius EH., chiefly through the exertions ol
St. Bernard, raised another arniy of 300,000 men,

which, however, was totally defeated and dispersed
by the Turks, while its commanders, Louis VII. of
France and Conrad III. of Germany, were compelled
to return home humbled and disgraced. Not con-
tented with these successes, the infidels were re-
solved to retake Jerusalem from the christians, and
Saladin, nephew of the Sultan of Egypt, pushing
forward his army to the walls of the Holy City, be
sieged it and took its monarch prisoner.

The conquest of Jerusalem by the infidels excited

646

CRUSADE.

the strongest indignation and alarm throughout all
Christendom. A third crusade was planned by Pope
Clement III., and armies marched towards the East
in A. D. 1188, from France, England, and Ger-
many, headed by the sovereigns of these countries.
The German forces which Frederick Barbarossa
commanded, were defeated in several engagements,
and still more discouraged by the death of their
leader, gradually melted away. The other two ar-
mies, the English and French, besieged and took
Ptolemais, but the two sovereigns having quarrelled,
Philip Augustus returned to his country, leaving the
English monarch to carry on the war. Richard,
though left alone, prosecuted the contest with the
utmost energy. Nor was he unsuccessful, having
defeated Saladin near Ascalon. But his army, re-
duced by famine and fatigue, was unable to follow
up the success they had gained, and accordingly,
having concluded a peace, he was glad to retire from
Palestine, though with only a single ship. A few
years subsequent to this somewhat unfortunate cru-
sade, Saladin died in A. D. 1195.

The fourth crusade, which had in view, not so
much the deliverance of the Holy Land from the
dominion of the infidels, as the destruction of the
empire of the East, was fitted out by the Emperor
Henry VI. the same year on which Saladin died.
This expedition was attended with considerable suc-
cess, several battles having been gained by the cru-
saders, and a number of towns having been taken.
In the midst of these successes, however, the Em-
peror died, and the army was under the necessity of
quitting Palestine, and returning to Germany.

The fifth crusade commenced in A. d. 1198, only
three years after the preceding. It was planned by
Pope Innocent III., and although several years were
spent in unsuccessful attempts to wrest the Holy
Land out of the hands of the infidels, a new impulse
was given to the crusading army by the formation
of an additional force in A. D. 1202, under Baldwin,
Count of Flanders. This new expedition, which was
directed against the Mohammedans, was crowned
with remarkable success, the crusading army hav-
ing taken possession of Constantinople, and put their
chief, Baldwin, upon the throne — a position, how-
ever, which he had only occupied a few months,
when he was dethroned and murdered. The impe-
rial dominions were now shared among the crusad-
ing leaders, and at this time Alexius Comnenus
founded a new empire in Asia, that of Trebizond.

Another crusade, the sixth, was proclaimed in
A. D. 1228, when the Christians succeeded in taking
the town of Damietta, which, however, they were
unable to retain. Peace was concluded with the
Sultan of Egypt, and by treaty the Holy City was
given over to the emperor Frederick. About this
time a great revolution took place in Asia. The
Tartars, under Zinghis-Khan, had poured down from
the north jnto the countries of Persia and Syria, and
ruthlessly massacred Turks, Jews, and Christians.

These hordes of powerful barbarians overran Judea,
and compelled the Cliristians to surrender Jerusalem
into their hands.

The two last crusades, the seventh and eighth,
were headed by Louis XL, King of France, who is
commonly known by the name of St. Louis. This
enthusiastic prince believed that he was summoned
by heaven to undertake the recovery of the Holy
Land. After four years' preparation, accordingly,
he set out on this expedition in 1249, accompanied
by his queen, his three brothers, and all the knights
of France. He commenced the enterprize by an
attack on Egypt, and took Damietta, but after a
few more successes was at length defeated, and along
with two of his brothers fell into the hands of the
enemy. He purchased his liberty at a large ran-
som, and having obtained a truce for ten years, hs
returned to France. For many years Louis con-
tinued to be haunted with the idea that it was still
his duty to make another effort for the fulfilment of
the great mission with which he believed himself to
have been intrusted by heaven. At length, in A. d.
1270, he entered upon the eighth crusade against
the Moors in Africa. But no sooner had he landed
his army, and encamped in the neighbourhood of
Carthage, than his army was almost wholly destroy-
ed by a pestilence, and he himself fell a victim to
the same disease in the fifty-fifth year of his age.
Not many years after this the Christians were driven
entirely out of Syria, and these holy wars, in which
no fewer than two millions of Europeans perished,
came to a final termination. " This," as has been well
remarked, "the only common enterprise in which
the European nations ever engaged, and which they
all imdertook with equal ardour, remains a singula!
monument of human folly."

The feeling in which these crusades had their
origin, was, as we have said, a superstitious ven-
eration for the sacred places in the East, com-
bined, no doubt, with a bitter hatred of the Mo-
hammedans, and a high admiration for that spirit
of chivalry which prevailed so extensively in the
tenth and eleventh centuries. But the wars which
originated in these causes were afterwards en-
couraged by the Popes, who found by experience
the advantages which attended them. The Popes
claimed the privilege of disposing of kingdoms, and
exempted both the persons and the estates of the
crusaders from all civil jurisdiction. By the solo
authority of the Holy See, money was raised foi
carrying on these holy wars, tenths were exacted
from the clergy, kings were commanded to take up
the cross, and thus the foundation was laid for that
unlimited power which the Popes afterwards exer-
cised over the princes of Europe.

But whatever may have been the evils which ac-
crued from the holy wars, it is undeniable that these
were to a great extent counterbalanced by numerous
advantages. By means of the crusades a pathway
of commerce and correspondence was opened be-

CRYPTS— CULDEE3.

647

tween the countries of the East and those of the
West ; arts and manufactures were transplanted into
Europe, as well as comforts and conveniences un-
known there before. The Europeans, on the other
hand, taught the Asiatics their industry and com-
merce, though it must be confessed, that along with
these were communicated many of their vices and
cruelties. " It was not possible," says Dr. Robert-
son, " for the crusaders to travel through so
many countries, and to behold their various cus-
toms and institutions, without acquiring information
and improvement. Their views enlarged ; their pre-
judices wore ofl"; new ideas crowded into their
minds ; and they must have been sensible, on many
occasions, of the rusticity of their own manners,
when compared with those of a more polished peo-
ple. These impressions were not so slight as to be
effaced upon their return to their native countries.
A close intercourse subsisted between the East and
West during two centuries; new armies were con-
tinually marching from Europe to Asia, while former
adventurers returned home and imported many of
the customs to which they had been familiarized by
a long residence abroad. Accordingly, we discover,
soon after the commencement of the crusades,
greater splendour in the courts of princes, greater
pomp in public ceremonies, a more refined taste in
pleasure and amusements, together with a more ro-
mantic spirit of enterprise spreading gradually over
Europe ; and to these wild expeditions, the effect of
superstition or folly, we owe the first gleams of light
which tended to dispel barbarism and ignorance."
Hut however strong the opinion which the learned
historian had formed of the advantages arising from
the crusades, authors since the time of Dr. Robert-
eon have been much divided in sentiment on the
subject. And yet those who have made the most
careful and minute investigations on the point, have
been the most ready to admit that the liberty, civi-
lization, and literature of Europe are not a little in-
debted to the influence of the crusades.

CRYPTO-CALVIXISTS. See Aoiaimiorists.

CRYPTS, the vaults under cathedrals and some
churches, and which are commonly used as places
of burial. See Catacomrs, Cemeteries.

CRYSTALLOMANCY (Gr. cnjstallon, a mirror,
and mantcia, divination), a species of divination
practised among the Greeks, which was performed
by means of a mirror or enchanted glass, in which
future events were said to be represented or signified
by certain marks and figures.

CUBA, one of the Roman genii, worshipped as
the protectors of infants sleeping in their cradles.
Libations of milk were offered to them. See Cuni-

NA.

CUBICULA, small chambers connected with the
Christian churches in early times, into which people
were wont to retire when they wished to spend a
short season in reading, meditation, or private prayer.
Seo Churches.

CUCULLE, or Couculle, r long robe with
sleeves worn by Greek monks.

CUCULLUS, a cowl worn in ancient times by
Roman shepherds. It was a sort of cape or hood
connected with the dress, and has both in ancient
and modem times formed a portion of the habit of
monks. See Cowl.

CUCUMELLUM, a flagon or bowl, according to
Bingham, which was used in the early Christian
churches, probably for containing the communion
wine.

CULDEES, the members of a very ancient reli-
gious fraternity in Scotland, whose principal seat
was Iona, one of the Western Islands. Some pro
fess to trace back the Culdee system to the primitive
ages of Christianity, while others ascribe its insti-
tution to Columba, about the middle of the sixth
century. The truth appears to be, that, while indi-
viduals were no doubt found who preserved the
apostolic doctrine uncontaminated amid prevailing
ignorance and superstition, there was no distinct
body, associated together as one society, holding
doctrines, and adhering to the simple worship and
practices of the Culdces, before the time of Colum-
ba. The origin of the Culdee fraternity, therefore,
is in all probability due to this eminent Christian
missionary, who had come over from Ireland for the
purpose of proclaiming the pure doctrines of the
gospel in Scotland. The religion of Rome, with all
its gross superstition and idolatrous rites, had ob-
tained at this period a firm footing in almost all the
countries of Europe, but its ascendency in Scotland
was for a long time checked by the firm intrepidity
of the Culdees. The followers of Columba, accord-
ingly, were exposed to the hatred and persecution of
the emissaries of Rome.

Before Columba, the " Apostle of the Highlands,"
as he has been termed, first landed on the western
shores of Scotland, only a few faint and feeble efforts
had been made to disseminate the truth of Christian-
ity among the inhabitants of that bleak northern
Country, plunged in heathen darkness and idolatry.
The spot on which the devoted Irish missionary first
set his foot, was the island of Iona, on the west of
Mull, midway between the territories of the l'icts
and the Caledonians. On this small sequestered
islet, Columba planted his religious establishment of
Culdees or Colida, worshippers of God, as the name
is sometimes explained; and from this highly fa-
voured spot, the missionaries of a pure gospel issued
forth to convey living spiritual religion throughout
the whole of the northern districts of Scotland. The
enterprise in which Columba was engaged was beset
with difficulties. The rulers, the priests, and the
people were alike opposed to Christianity, and the
wild savage character of the country was not more
unfavourable to the progress of the missionary from
district to district, than were the fierce, barbarous
manners of the people unfavourable to the reception
of the message which he brought. Undiscouraged

648

CULDEES.

by the difficulties, however, and undismayed by the
dangers of his noble undertaking, the devoted ser-
vant of Christ went forward in faith, praying that, if
it were his Master's will, he might be permitted to
live and labour for thirty years in this apparently
barren and unpropitious part of the vineyard.

And not only was Columba faithful and zealous in
his missionary life, but the singular purity of his
Christian character formed a most impressive com-
mentary upon the doctrines which he preached. He
not only taught, but he lived Christianity, and thus
was the truth commended to the hearts and the con-
sciences of many, whom mere oral teaching would
have failed to convince. Besides, having acquired
some knowledge of the medical art, he succeeded
in effecting cures in the most simple and unos-
tentatious way, thus earning among the ignorant
people a reputation for working miracles, which led
them to regard him with superstitious veneration.
His sagacity also in foreseeing what was likely to
happen, clothed him in their eyes with the garb of a
prophet. In short, the vast superiority which this
man possessed, both in intellectual power and in
moral purity, when compared with all around him,
impressed the people with feelings of awe and venera-
tion, as if in the presence of some supernatural being.
Thus it was that the labours of Columba were, by
the blessing of God, attended with the most marked
success. His sermons were listened to by the hea-
then with profound respect, and came home to their
hearts and consciences with the most thrilling effect.
The consequence was, that this eminent apostle of
(he truth had not laboured long in Scotland before
Paganism began to give way, and multitudes both of
the Picts and Caledonians openly embraced the reli-
gion of Christ, while monasteries founded on the
Culdee system were established by him throughout
almost eveiy district of the country.

If Columba was not himself the founder of the
Culdee establishments, he must be considered at all
events as having matured both their doctrine and
discipline. The first and parent institution of the
Culdees was at Iona, and on it as a model were
founded the religious establishments which were
formed at Dunkeld, Abernethy, St. Andrews, Aber-
corn, Govan, and other places, both on the mainland
and the Western Islands of Scotland. Over all the
monasteries, numerous and widely scattered, which
Columba had erected, amounting, it is said, to no
fewer than three hundred, he maintained order and
discipline, extending to each of them the most
anxious and careful superintendence. These insti-
tutions partook more of the character of religious
seminaries than of monastic foundations. The edu-
cation of the young, and their careful training, were
objects which this worthy missionary of the cross
kept mainly in view, and more especially was he
strict in examining into the character and habits, the
talents and acquirements of those who looked for-
ward to the sacred profession. " lie would even

inquire," we are told, " if the mother who had the
first moulding of the soul in the cradle was herself
religious and holy." Such a statement is of iteell
enough to show how earnest this man was, that only
holy men should minister in holy thing6.

The prayer of Columba, to wdvich we have already
referred, was granted ; he was privileged to labour
in Scotland for upwards of thirty years, and the fruit
of his prayerful and painstaking exertions in the
cause of Christ was seen after his death, in the rising
up of a band of faithful and holy men, who main-
tained the truth of God in purity amid all the cor-
ruptions in doctrine and practice of the Church of
Rome. The Culdees were the lights of Scotland in
a dark and superstitious age. They held fast by
the Word of God as the only infallible directory and
guide. Even Bede, the monkish historian, in can-
dour admits that " Columba and his disciples would
receive those things only which are contained in the
writings of the prophets, evangelists, and apostles ;
diligently observing the works of piety and virtue."
The false unscriptural doctrines of Rome they openly
rejected, refusing to acknowledge such innovations
as the doctrine of the real presence, the idolatrous
worship of saints, prayers for flie dead, the doctrine
of the merit of good works as opposed to gratuitous
justification by faith, the infallibility of the Pope,
and other Romish tenets. And not only did the
Culdees differ with Rome in doctrinal points, but
also in matters of discipline. The supremacy of the
Pope they spumed from them as a groundless and
absurd pretension. They were united in one com-
mon brotherhood, not however for the purpose of
yielding obedience to a monastic rule, and selfishly
confining their regards within the walls of a monas-
tery, but that they might go forth proclaiming the
gospel of Christ, animated by one common spirit, and
prompted by one common aim. Theirs were mis-
sionary rather than monastic institutions, making
no vows but to serve God and advance his cause in
the world.

The question has often been discussed, what precise
mode of ecclesiastical government prevailed among
the Culdees. Both the Episcopalians and the Pres-
byterians alike claim them as supporting their re-
spective systems. It cannot be denied that the
term bishoj> is often applied to the heads of the Cul-
dee colleges, but that they were not diocesan bishops,
limited in their jurisdiction to a particular district, is
manifest from the circumstance that the head of the
college of Iona was always a presbyter-abbot, who
exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all the Cul-
dee churches throughout Scotland, and even the Cul-
dee colleges in England acknowledged the autho-
rity of the parent institution in Iona, receiving
their directions, not however from the Presbyter-
Abbot as an individual head, but as representing the
whole council of the college, consisting of the pres
byters, with the abbot as their president. '.The right
of ordination, also, was vested not in the Presbyter-

CULTER— CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS.

649

Abbot alone, but in the council, and, accordingly, we
find one of their number stating, that the principles
wnich he held were " received from his elders, who
eent him thither as a bishop."

For centuries the Culdees continued to maintain
their ground in Scotland, notwithstanding all the
efforts put forth by the Church of Rome to crush,
and if possible exterminate them. Monasteries un-
der their direction were built in every part of the
country, and not contented with diffusing the light
Df the gospel throughout their own land, we find
them, in the beginning of the seventh century, de-
spatching a mission into England. About this time
the celebrated abbey of Lindisfarne was first estab
lished under the auspices of Oswald, king of North-
umbria, who had been himself educated by the Cul-
dees, and, therefore, applied for, and obtained, for his
new monastery, a superior from the establishment at
Iona. From that time Lindisfarne became a valua-
ble training institution for the purpose of rearing
missionaries for the Christianization of England.
The marked success, however, of the Culdees in
England was not long in attracting the notice and
awakening the jealousy of the Romish church.
Every effort was now put forth to bring the native
clergy under subjection to the see of Rome, but with
the most inflexible determination the Culdees re-
sisted the encroachments of Papal supremacy. Ra-
ther than surrender their independence, almost all
the Culdee clergy in England resigned their livings
and returned to Scotland. Some of them were after-
wards excommunicated by the Papal power, and
some even committed to the flames.

Not contented with banishing the Culdees from
England, the Romish church pursued them with its
bitter hatred even into Scotland. At first an attempt
was made to seduce some of them from the primitive
faith. In this, however, they were only very par-
tially successful, the only conspicuous instance of
perversion from the Culdee church being that of
Adomna, who was at one time abbot of Iona, but
who, having paid a visit to England A. D. 702, was
won over to the faith of Runic. This ecclesiastic,
on his return to Iona, used all his influence with his
brethren to induce them to follow his example, but
without success. A few rare cases afterwards oc-
curred of leading Culdee ecclesiastics who joined the
Church of Rome, but such was the rooted attach-
ment of the native clergy to the pure faith of the
gospel, that David I., who was a keen support, r of
the Papacy, found it necessary to fill up the
benefices with foreigners. The leading object of
David, indeed, from the day that he ascended the
throne of Scotland, was to abolish the Culdee form
of worship, and to substitute Romanism as the reli-
gion of the country. To accomplish this cherished
design, he favoured the Popish ecclesiastics in every
possible way, and enriched the Popish monasteries
with immense tracts of land in the most fertile dis-
tricts ; he gradually dislodged the Culdee abbots

from their monasteries, putting in their place eccle-
siastics favourable to Rome. To such an extent,
indeed, was this policy pursued, that great numbers
of the Culdee clergy not only resigned their charges,
but retired altogether from the clerical profession.

But although the efforts of the Papacy to acquire
ascendency in Scotland were earnest and persevering,
the Culdees, for a long period, had influence enough
to prevent the authority of Rome being acknow-
ledged, or her interference being asked, even where
disputes arose among the clergy themselves. No
instance, indeed, of an appeal from the clergy of
Scotland to the see of Rome seems to have occurred
until the question arose as to the claim of the Arch-
bishop of York to be metropolitan of Scotland.
Even then it was with the greatest reluctance that
the Pope was selected as arbiter. But from that
time appeals to Rome became more frequent, and at
length the Culdees themselves are found referring
the settlement of a dispute to the same quarter.
This, however, in the case of the Culdees, was only
too sure a symptom of approaching dissolution.
Weakened in energies, and diminished in numbers,
they gradually lost their own spiritual life and
their salutary influence on those around them.

Their struggles against the oppression, and their
protest against the errors of Rome, daily became
more and more feeble, until, about the close of the
thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth cen-
turies, they entirely disappear from the scene. But
though the Culdees as a body cease to be mentioned
in the page of history, there were, doubtless, a
goodly number of faithful men in Scotland, even
then, who professed the doctrines of the Culdees with-
out their name, and who were ready, when occasion
offered, to testify publicly against the corruptions of
Romanism. Accordingly, when, after a short pe-
riod, the Reformation came, and its light began
to (lawn on the land of the Culdees, the spirit which
had animated these early missionaries of the faith
revived in all its strength, and a noble band of
heroes and martyrs arose, avowing the same scrip-
tural principles which Columba and his disciples had
held, and protesting like them against the errors and
abominations of the apostate Church of Rome.

CULTER. a knife used by the ancient Pagans in
slaughtering victims at the altars of the gods. It
was usually provided with one edge, a sharp point
and a curved back.

CULTRARIl'S from Lat. cufier, a knife), the
person wdio killed the victims which were sacrificed
to the gods by the heathens of ancient times, The

priest who presided at a sacrifice never slan
the victim with his own hand, but appointed one of
his ministers or attendants to perform that duty in-
stead of him.

( i MBERLAND PBESBYTEBIANS, a deno-
mination of Christians which arose near the end of
the last century in the western pari of the United
States of North America. It sprung out of a re-

650

CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS.

rival of religion which took place in Kentucky in
1797 in Gaspar River congregation, under the minis-
try of the Rev. James M'Gready. Soon after the
commencement of his pastoral labours in that part of
the country, he was deeply impressed with the low
state of vital religion among his people, and being
anxious that the work of God should prosper among
them, he set before them a preamble and covenant,
in which they bound themselves to observe the third
Saturday of each month for a year as a day of fasting
and prayer for the conversion of sinners in Logan
county and throughout the world. They pledged
themselves also to spend half an hour every Satur-
day evening, and half an hour every Sabbath morn-
ing at the rising of the sun, in pleading with God to
revive his work.

This document was signed, accordingly, by the
pastor and the chief members of his congregation,
and having engaged in this solemn transaction, they
gave themselves to earnest prayer that the Lord
would revive his work in the midst of them. Their
prayers were heard, for in a few months symp-
toms of a revival began to manifest themselves.
In the following year the work went forward with
increasing interest and power, and extending itself
throughout the surrounding neighbourhood, it ap-
peared in 1800, in what was then called the Cum-
berland country, particularly in Shiloh congregation,
under the pastoral care of the Rev. William Hodge.
So ardently desirous were the people now to hear
the Word preached, that large meetings were held
in different parts of the district. On these occa-
sions multitudes attended who had come from great
distances, and for greater convenience, families, in
many cases, came in waggons bringing provisions
with them, and encamped on the spot where the ser-
vices were conducted. This, it is generally supposed,
was the origin of camp meetings, which are so fre-
quently mentioned in the accounts of American re-
vivals.

The revival of religion which had thus taken place
in Kentucky and Tennessee had originated with, and
been chiefly fostered by, Presbyterians, and the in-
creased thirst for ordinances which had arisen led to
a demand for a greater number of Presbyterian min-
isters. The calls for ministerial labour were con-
stant and multiplying, far beyond, indeed, what
could be met by a supply of regularly ordained pas-
tors. In these circumstances it was suggested that
men of piety and promise might be selected from the
lay members of the congregations, who might be en-
couraged to prepare for immediate ministerial work,
without passing through a lengthened college curri-
culum. Three men, accordingly, who were regarded
as well fitted to be invested without delay with
the pastoral office, were requested to prepare writ-
ten discourses, and to read them before the next
meeting of presbytery. The individuals thus in-
vited came forward, but strong opposition was
made to the proposal, in present circumstances, to

ordain them. They were authorized, however, ta
catechize and exhort meanwhile in the vacant con-
gregations. At a subsequent meeting one was ad-
mitted as a candidate for the ministry, and the other
two were, for the present, rejected, but continued in
the office of catechists and exhorters. In the fall of
1802 they were all licensed as probationers for the
holy ministry, declaring their adherence to all the
doctrines of the Confession of the Presbyterian
Church of America, with the exception of the doc-
trines of election and reprobation.

The Kentucky synod, which met in October 1802,
agreed to a division of the Transylvania presbytery
and the formation of the Cumberland presbytery,
including the Green river and Cumberland countries.
It was this latter presbytery which was considered
as having chiefly violated the rules of Presbyterian
Church order, by admitting laymen without a regu
lar education into the office of the holy ministry.
A complaint against them on this ground was laid
before the Kentucky synod in 1804. No action was
taken in the matter until the following year, when it
was resolved " that the commission of synod do pro-
ceed to examine those persons irregularly licensed, and
those irregularly ordained by the Cumberland Pres-
bytery, and judge of their qualifications for the
gospel ministry." To this decision the presbytery
refused to submit, alleging, " that they had the ex-
clusive right to examine and license their own can
didates, and that the synod had no right to take
them out of their hands." In vain did the synod
assert their authority and jurisdiction as a superior
court over all the doings of the inferior judicatory ;
the members of presbytery still refused to yield.
The young men, also, whom the synod proposed to
examine, declined to submit to a re-examination,
laying before them as their reasons for such a step,
" That they considered the Cumberland Presbytery
a regular church judicatory, and competent to judge
of the faith and ability of its candidates ; that they
themselves had not been charged with heresy or im-
morality, and if they had, the presbytery would have
been the proper judicature to call them to account."
Finding that the young men thus joined with the
presbytery in resisting their authority, the synod
passed a resolution prohibiting them from exercising
any of the functions of the ministry until they sub-
mitted to the jurisdiction of the commission of synod,
and underwent the requisite examination. This re-
solution was considered unconstitutional, and there-
fore null and void.

The members of the Cumberland Presbytery still
continued to discharge all their pastoral duties as
formerly, and held occasional meetings for confer-
ence, but transacted no presbyterial business. Yeai
after year proposals were made in the synod tf com-
promise the matter, but in vain. At length in 1810,
three ministers, who had always been favourable to
the revival, and to the so-called irregular steps which
had followed upon it, formed themselves into a pres-

CUNTXA— CUP (EuciiAKigTici.

001

bytery, under the designation of the Cumberland
I'resbytery, from which has gradually grown the
large and increasing denomination now known in
the United States, as the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church. The record of their constitution was in
these terms: "In Dickson county, state of Tennes-
see, at the Rev. 3amuel M'Adam's, this 4th da)' of
February, 1810:

■■ We, Samuel M'Adam, Finis Ewing, and Samuel
King, regularly ordained ministers of the Presbytl rian
Church, against whom no charge either of immorality
or heresy has ever been exhibited before any judica-
\ure of the church, having waited in vain more than
four years, in the meantime petitioning the General
Assembly, for a redress of grievances, and a restora-
tion of our violated rights, have and do hereby agree
and determine, to constitute ourselves into a presby-
tery, known by the name of the Cumberland Pres-
bytery, on the following conditions :

" All candidates for the ministry, who may here-
after be licensed by this presbytery, and all the
licentiates or probationers who may hereafter be or-
dained by this presbytery, shall be required, before
►uch licensure and ordination, to receive and accept
the Confession of Faith and Discipline of the Pres-
byterian Church, except the idea of fatality that
leems to be taught under the mysterious doctrine of
predestination. It is to be understood, however, that
Btich as can clearly receive the Confession of Faith
without an exception, will not be required to make
liny. Moreover, all licentiates, before they are set
apart to the whole work of the ministry, or ordained,
shall be required to undergo an examination in Eng-
lish Grammar, Gcographv, Astronomy, Natural and
Moral Philosophy, and Church History. It will not
be understood that examinations in Experimental
Religion and Theology will be omitted. The pn
bytery may also require an examination on any part,
or all, of the above branches of knowledge before
licensure, if they deem it expedient."

In the course of three years from the date of its
first constitution, the number of the ministers and
congregations of this church had increased to such an
extent, that it was necessary to divide the body into
three presbyteries, and a synod was formed which
held its first meeting in October 1813. At this first
meeting of the Cumberland Synod, a committee was
appointed to prepare a Confession of Faith, Cate-
chism, and Form of church government. The Con-
fession of Faith is a modification of the Westminsti r
Confession. Dr. Beard, the president of Cumber-
land College, Princeton, Kentucky, gives the follow-
ing summary of the doctrines of this denomination of
Christians : " That the scriptures are the only infalli-
ble rule of faith and practice; that God is an infi-
nite, eternal, and unchangeable Spirit, existing mys-
teriously in three persons, the three being equal in
power and glory ; that God is the Creator and Pre-
server of all things ; that the decrees of God extend
only to what is for his glory ; that he has not de-

creed the existence of sin, because it is neither for
his glory nor the good of his creatures ; that mar
was created upright, in the image of God ; but, that
by the transgression of the federal head, he has be-
come totally depraved, so much so that he can do no
good thing without the aid of Divine grace. That
Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God and man ;
and that he is botli God and man in one person ;
that he obeyed the law perfectly, and died on the
cross to make satisfaction for sin ; and that, in the
expressive language of the apostle, he tasted death for
every man. That the Holy Spirit is the efficient
agent in our conviction, regeneration, and sanctifiea-
tion ; that repentance and faith are necessary in
order to acceptance, and that both are inseparable
from a change of heart; that justification is by faith
alone ; that sanctification is a progressive work, and
not completed till death ; that those who believe in
Christ, and are regenerated by his Spirit, will never
fall away and be lost ; that there will be a general
resurrection and judgment ; and that the righteous
will be received to everlasting happiness, and the
wicked consigned to everlasting misery."

This church admits of infant baptism, and admin-
isters the ordinance by affusion, and, when preferred,
by immersion. The form of church government is
strictly Presbyterian, including kirk-sessions, pres-
byteries, synods, and since 1829 a General Assem-
bly. At the annual meeting of the Assembly in
1853, a resolution was formed to establish two For-
eign Missions. The people attached to this denomi-
nation are, a large number of them at least, wealthy ;
a new Theological Seminary has been instituted, and
they have six colleges in active operation. The
body has grown much of late, and, according to the
most recent accounts, consists of about 900 ministers,
1,250 churches, and nearly 100.000 members.

CUNIXA (Lat. ciince, a cradle), one of the three
genii of the ancient Romans, who presided over in-
fant children sleeping in their cradles. See CUBA.

CUP (EUCHARISTIC), the vessel which is handed
round to communicants in the distribution of the ele-
ments in the Lord's Supper. No description is given
in the New Testament of the cup which our blessed
Lord used at the institution of the ordinance, but in
all probability it was simply the ordinary ciqi used
by the Jews on festive occasions. Among the pri-
mitive Christians, the encharistic cup was of no uni-
form shape or material. It was made of wood, horn,
glass or marble, according to circumstances. In
course of time, as external show and splendour canm
to be prized in the church, the ciqi which was in-
tended to contain the sacramental wine, was wrought

with the greatest care, and Of costly materials, sueli
as silver and gold, set with precious stones, and
sometimes adorned with inscriptions and pictoria.
n presentations. In the seventh century, it was laid
down as imperative upon each church to have at
least one cup and plate of silver. Two cups with
handles came at length to be in general use ; one fo»

652

CUP OP BLESSING— CURE.

the clergy alone ; and the other, larger in size, for the
laity. When the doctrine of the real presence came
to be believed, a superstitious dread began to be felt
lest a single drop of the wine should be spilt, and in
consequence the cups were made in some cases with
a pipe attached to them, like the spout of a tea-pot,
and the wine was drawn from the cup not by drink-
ing, but by suction. Some Lutheran churches still
retain cups of this description. In England, as
Bingham informs us, the synod of Calcuth, A. D. 787,
forbade the use of horn cups in the celebration of the
eucharist, — a decree which shows that such vessels
had been commonly employed before that time.

CUP (Denial of, to the Laity). See Cha-
lice.

CUP OF BLESSING, a cup which was blessed
among the Jews in entertainments of ceremony, or
on solemn occasions. The expression is employed
by the apostle Paul, 1 Cor. x. 16, to describe the
wine used in the Lord's Supper.

CUP OF SALVATION. In 2 Mace. vi. 27, we
are informed that the Jews of Egypt, in their festi-
vals for deliverance, offered cups of salvation. Some
think that the " cup of salvation" was a libation of
wine poured on the victim sacrificed on thanksgiv-
ing occasions, according to the law of Moses. The
modem Jews have cups of thanksgiving, which are
blessed on the occasion of marriage feasts, and feasts
which are held at the circumcision of children.

CUPELLOMANCY, divination by cups. The
use of cups seems to have been resorted to in verv
early times for purposes of divination or soothsaying.
Thus we find the question asked in regard to the
cup of Joseph which he bad commanded to be put
in the mouth of Benjamin's sack, Gen. xliv. 5, "Is
not this it in which my lord drinketh, and wherebv
indeed he divineth ? ye have done evil in so doing."
It is not at all probable that Joseph made the least
pretence to divination, but this imputation is ignor-
antly put upon him by the Egyptian steward, per-
haps on account of his superior wisdom. At all
events, it is clear, that the custom of divining by cups
is of great antiquity in the East, and accordingly, in
early Persian authors, we find mention made of the
cup of Jemshid (which see), which was believed to
display all that happened on the face of the globe.
Jamblichus also, in his work on Egyptian mysteries,
speaks of the practice of divining by cups. That
this superstitious custom is still known in Egypt, is
evident from a remarkable passage in Norden's Tra-
vels. When the author with his companions had
arrived at the most remote extremity of Egypt, where
they were exposed to great danger in consequence of
their being taken for spies, they sent one of their
company to a malicious and powerful Arab, to
threaten him if he should attempt to do them injury.
He answered them in these words, " I know what
sort of people you are. I have consulted my cup,
and found in it thai you are from a people of whom
one of our prophets has said : There will come

Franks under every kind of pretence to spy out the
land. They will bring hither with them a great mul-
titude of their countrymen to conquer the country
and destroy the people." This mode of divination
is still in use even in this country. In the rural dis-
tricts, both of England and Scotland, the humbler
classes are not unfrequently found to follow the su-
perstitious practice of "reading cups," pretending
thereby to foretell what is to happen. Instead of
eupellomancy, another mode of divination has been
sometimes practised, in which, after certain cere-
monies, the required information was obtained by
inspecting a consecrated beryl. This is termed
beryllomancy. A similar mode of predicting the
future is still occasionally in use in the north of
England. See Divination.

CUPID, the god of love among the ancient Ro-
mans, corresponding to the Eros (which see) of the
Greeks.

CURATES, the name given to unbeneficed
clergymen in the Church of England, who are en
gaged by the rector or vicar of a parish, or by the
incumbent of a church or chapel, either to assist him
in his duties if too laborious for him, or to undertake
the charge of the parish in case of his absence. A
cm-ate then has no permanent charge, in which case
he is called a stipendiary curate, and is liable to lose
his curacy when his services are no longer needed.
By law, however, he has it in his power to demand
six months' notice before being dismissed, while he,
on the other hand, must give tliree months' notice to
the bishop before he can leave a curacy to which he
has been licensed. All curates in England are not
in this uncertain and insecure position, there being a
number of what are called perpetual curates, who
cannot be dismissed at the pleasure of the patron,
but are as much incumbents as any other beneficed
clergymen. This occurs where there is in a parish
neither rector nor vicar, but a clergyman is employed
to officiate there by the impropriator, who is bound
to maintain him. By the canons of the church, " no
curate can be permitted to serve in any place with-
out examination and admission of the bishop of the
diocese, or ordinary of the place, having episcopal
jurisdiction, under his hand and seal." A curate
who has not received a license can be removed at
pleasure, but should he be licensed, the consent of
the bishop is necessary to his removal. Bishops
may either refuse or withdraw a license from a
curate at their own pleasure.

CURCHUS, a false god worshipped among the
ancient Prussians, as presiding over eating and
drinking. The people offered to him the first-fruits
of their harvest. They also kept a fire continually
burning in honour of him, and built a new statue to
him every year, breaking the former one in pieces.

CURE (Lat. cura, care), the care of souls, a term
used in the Church of England to denote the spiri-
tual charge of a parish, and sometimes used for the
parish itself. The cure is given to a presentee on

CUREOTIS— CUTTINGS IN THE FLESH.

653

oeing instituted by the bishop, when he says, " I in-
ntitute or appoint thee rector of sach a church with
the cure of souls." He is not, however, complete
incumbent of the benelice until he has been inducted,
or has received what the canon law terms " corporal
possession," on which he is entitled to the tithes and
other ecclesiastical profits arising within that parish,
and has the cure of souls living and residing there.

CUREOTIS, the third day of the festival Apa-
TURIA (which see), celebrated at Athens. On this
day the children of both sexes were admitted into
their phratriae or tribes. The ceremony consisted
in offering the sacrifice of a sheep or goat for each
child, and if any one opposed the reception of the
child into the phratria, he stated the case, and at
the same time led away the victim from the altar.
If no objections were offered, the father or guardian
was bound to show on oath that the child was the
offspring of free-born parents, who were themselves
citizens of Athens. The reception or rejection of
the child was decided by the votes of the phratores.
[f the result was favourable, the names of both the
father and the child were entered in the register of
the phratria. At the close of the ceremony the
wine and the flesh of the victim were distributed,
every phrator receiving his share.

CURETES, priests of Rhea (which see). They
are connected with the story of the birth and con-
cealment of the infant Zeus (which see), who was
intrusted to their care. They are sometimes consid-
ered as identical with the Coryrantes (which see).

CURIA (Romish), a collective appellation of all
the authorities in Rome which exercise the rights
and privileges enjoyed by the Pope as first bishop,
superintendent, and pastor of the Roman Catholic
church. See Congregations (Romish).

CURIjE. In the early ages of the history of
Rome, it would appear that the citizens proper were
divided into three tribes, each of which consisted of
ten curias or wards, thus rendering the whole num-
ber of the curiae thirty. Each of these curiae had a
president allied a Curio, whose office it was to offi-
ciate as a priest. The thirty curiones or priests were
presided over by a Curio Afnj-imus or chief priest.

CURSE. See A\ lthem \.

CURSORES ECCLESIvE (Lat. couriers of the
church), messengers, as Baronius supposes, employed
in the early Christian church, to give private notice
to every member, when and where meetings for
• Divine worship were to be held. Ignatius uses the
term, but in a very different meaning, to denote
messengers sent from one country to another upon
the important affairs of the church.

CURSUS (Lat. courses), the original name of the
Breviary (which see) in the Romish church, and
the same term was used to denote the Gallican Li-
turgy, which was used in the British churches for a
ong period, until the Roman Liturgy came to be
employed.

CUSTODES ARCH1VORUM (Lat. keepers of

the records), identical with the Ceijieuarciis
(which see).

CUSTOS ECCLESL-E (Lat. keeper of the
church), a name sometimes given in the fourth and
fifth centuries to the Ostiarii (which see), or
doorkeepers in Christian churches.

CUTHEANS. See Samaritans.

CUTTINGS IN THE FLESH, a mode of ex-
pressing intense sorrow for the loss by death of dear
relatives, which obviously must have been frequently
practised in very ancient times. Hence we find
distinct prohibition of such a custom in the law of
Moses. Thus Lev. xix. 28, " Ye shall not make
any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any
marks upon you." The very existence of such a
command is an irrefragable proof that this practice,
absurd and revolting though it be, must have been
known among the Israelites, and in all probability,
therefore, among the Egyptians also, with whom
they had so long dwelt. It was customary among
ancient idolaters to inflict such cuttings upon their
own bodies. Thus it is said of the priests of Baal,
1 Kings xviii. 28, " And they cried aloud, and cut
themselves after their manner with knives and lan-
cets, till the blood gushed out upon them." The
prophet Jeremiah also refers to the same custom,
xlviii. ,'J7, " For every head shall be bald, and every
beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings,
and upon the loins sackcloth;" and xvi. 6, "Both
the great and the small shall die in this land : they
shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for
them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald
for them." Among the ancient Romans these cut-
tings appear to have been practised. Thus, as Plu-
tarch informs us, the Bellonakii (which see) offered
sacrifices to the goddess of war, mingling them with
their own blood. Nor is the barbarous custom yet
abolished, for we find idolatrous nations, for exam-
ple, the Hindus, inflicting voluntary self-mutilations,
imagining thereby to appease their bloodthirsty
deities. Morier, in his travels in Persia, tells us,
that when the anniversary of the death of Hossein
is celebrated, the most violent of the followers of
Ali, the father of Hossein, walk about the streets
almost naked, with only their loins covered, and their
bodies Streaming with blood, by the voluntary cuts
which they have given themselves, either as acts of
love, anguish, or mortification. Mrs. Meer Hassan
Ali, in her description of Mohammedanism in India,
referring to the same fast of the Mohurrnni, says, « I
have even witnessed blood issuing from the breasts
of sturdy men, who beat themselves simultaneously
as ilnv ejaculated the names ' Hassan 1' ' Hossein 1'
for ten minutes, and occasionally for a longer period
in that part of the service called Mortem."

The same barbarous custom is found anion" the
aborigines of Australia. A correspondent of the
Melbourne Ai n> thus describes a scene of this kind
which he himself reci mly witnessed in the case of «
dying man: " His wife, the bereaved one, gave evi

054

CYAMITES— CYREXAICS

dence of uncontrollable and maddening grief. With
her nails she tore the skin off her cheeks from the
eyes downwards. This action she continued on the
lacerated flesh until it became horrible to witness.
Anon she would seize a tomahawk and dash it with
both hands against her legs. At last she threw her-
self forward as if to catch the last breath of her dy-
ing husband. The frantic excitement of every one
increases; the self-inflicted wounds are redoubled.
The man is dead. The body is stretched out before
the fire. Instantaneously each man ran to where he
had been placed, and began stabbing himself in the
legs. The bowlings, the yellings, and waitings of
Agonizing grief, which accompanied this display,
tunned certainly the most imposing death-dirge that
fancy could ever have imagined. Throughout the
whole of tlu-ee nights the entire bush resounded with
their wailings." See Mourning.

CYAMITES, a mysterious being mentioned by
Pausanias, who was considered by the ancient Greeks
as the hero of beans, and was worshipped in a small
temple on the road between Athens and Eleusis.

CYANE, a nymph of Sicily in ancient times, who
was believed to have been changed through grief into
a well, and on the spot an annual festival was held by
the Syracusans, in the course of which a bull was
sunk into the well as a sacrifice.

CYBELE. See Rhea.

CYCLOPES (Gr. cyclos, a circle, and ops, an eye),
fabulous in ancient Greek mythology. They were
three in number, Arges, Steropes, and Brontes, each
of them having only one eye in his forehead. They
were sons of Uranus and Ge, and were ranked among
the Titans who were cast down into Tartarus by
their father Zeus, in his war with Cronus, and the
Titans delivered the Cyclopes from Tartarus, who,
in return for his kindness, became the ministers
of Zeus, ana supplied him with thunderbolts and
lightning, but were afterwards killed by Apollo.
The Cyclopes, as mentioned in the Odyssey of Ho-
mer, were shepherds of gigantic stature, and of can-
nibal propensities, who inhabited caves in Sicily,
the chief of them being Polyphemus, who had only
one eye situated on his forehead. According to the
later writers, the Cyclopes were assistants of Hephaes-
tus or Vulcan, who dwelt under Mount iEtna in
Sicily, where they employed themselves in busily
forging armour for gods and heroes. Some accounts
treat them as skilful architects, and accordingly, we
find Cyclopean walls spoken of to describe various
gigantic mural structures, which are still found in
several parts of Greece and Italy. It is difficult to
ascertain what is the precise mythical meaning of
the Cyclopes. Plato regards them as intended to
represent men in their savage uncultivated state, but
it is far more likely that they were types of certain
powers or energies of nature, indicated by volcanoes
md earthquakes.

CYCNUS, a son of Apollo by Thyria, who was
ulong with hi* mother changed into a swan. An-

other mythical personage of this name is mentioned
in the ancient classical writers, as having been thf
son of Poseidon or Neptune, and a third a/s the son
of Ares or Mars, and Pelopia.

CYDONIA, a surname of Athena, under which
she was worshipped at Phrixa in Elis.

CYLLEXIUS, a surname of Hermes, derived from
Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, where he was worshipped
and had a temple.

CYNICS, a school of ancient philosophy among
the Greeks. It was founded by Antisthenes about the
year n. c. 380. The characteristic principle held by
the Cynics was, that virtue consisted of a proud in
dependence of all outward things. Diogenes was a
fit representative of this principle. Worldly plea-
sures and honours of every kind were utterly de-
spised, and even the ordinary civilities of life were
set at nought. Hence, probably, the name Cynics,
from the Greek cijon, cynos, a dog, as their rude, un-
civil deportment was fitted to remind one of the
snarling of a dog. The views inculcated by this
school were a caricature of the ethical opinions of So-
crates, who taught that the end of man was to live vir-
tuously, while the Cynics, carrying out the principle
to the most absurd extravagance, wished that man
should set nothing else before him but naked virtue,
trampling under foot all the subordinate feelings and
proprieties which go to form the essential drapery, if
not the essence, of virtue.

CYNOCEPHALUS (Gr. cyan, a dog, and ccplia-
los, a head), a name sometimes given to the ancient
Egyptian deity Anubis (which see), as being repre
sented in the shape of a man with a dog's bead.

CYNOSURA, a nymph of Mount Ida, and one ol
the nurses of the infant Zeus, who afterwards re-
warded her services by placing her among the stars.

CYNTHIA, a surname of Artemis, derived from
Mount Cynthus, in the island of Delos, where she
was born.

CYNTHIUS, a surname of Apollo, from Cyn-
thus in Delos, which was his birth-place.

CYRENAICS, one of the schools of ancient Greek
philosophy. It was founded by Aristippus of Cy-
rene, who flourished about B. C. 380. The Socratic
doctrine, which formed the starting point of this
school, was, that all philosophy is of a practical
character, and has as its ultimate object the happi-
ness of man. It rejected all idea of duty, or what
ought to be done from its abstract lightness, and re-
garded virtue as enjoyment, or what ought to be
done because it contributes to our immediate satis-
faction or happiness. Virtue, therefore, was to be
valued, in the estimation of Aristippus and his school,
as being productive of pleasure, which was the chiet
object at which man ought to aim. Happiness is with
him not different from pleasure, but is merely the
sum of pleasures, past, present, and future. Every
thing was to be prized according to the amount of
enjoyment which it gives. The basest pleasures,
therefore, were, in the view of the Cyrenaics, on »

CYRENE— DADU PANT'HIS.

G5E

footing with the most honourable, provided they im-
parted an equal amount of enjoyment. Sucli doc-
trines were felt even among Pagans to be dangerous.
One of the most noted teachers of this school, He-
gesias, was prohibited from lecturing, lest imbibing
nis sentiments they should put an end to their ex-
istence by their own hands, in order to escape from
the pleasures of a life so greatly overbalanced by
pains.

CYREXE, a mythical person beloved by Apollo,
who carried her from Mount Pelion to Libya, where
she gave name to Cyrcne.

CYKIL (St., Liturgy of), one of the twelve Li-
turgies contained in the Missal of the Maronites
(which see), printed at Rome in 1592.

CYRILLIANS, a name applied by the Nksto-
BIANS (which see\ in the fifth century, to the ortho-
dox Christians, in consequence of Cyril, bishop of
Alexandria, being the cliief opponent of the doc-
trines of Xestorius.

CYTHERA, a surname of Aphrodite, derived from
the town of Cythera in Crete, or from the island of
Cythera in the -Kgean Sea, where she had a cele-
brated temple.

D

DABA1BA, an idol formerly worshipped at Pan-
ama in South America, to which slaves were sac-
rificed. This goddess was considered as having at
one time been a native of earth, who, on account of
her virtues, was exalted to heaven at her death, and
received the name of the mother of God. Thunder
and lightning were regarded as an expression of her
anger.

DABIS, a deity among the Japanese, of whom
•here is an immense statue, made of brass, to
whom they offer licentious and indecent worship once
every month. He is thought to be the same with
DaJBOTH (which see).

DACTYLI IDjEI, fabulous beings who dwelt
on Mount Ida in Phrygia, who were concerned in
the worship of Rhea. Sometimes they are confounded
with the Cabeiri, Curete-i, and Corybante.i. They
were believed to have discovered iron and the art of
tvorking it. The utmost difference of opinion ex-
isted as to their number, some reckoning them three,
others live, ten, and even as high as a hundred.
Their name is supposed by some to have been de-
rived from daktuloa, a finger, there being ten of them,
corresponding to the number of fingers on the hand.
Their habitation is placed by some writers on Ida in
Crete, and they are even regarded as the earliest in-
habitants of that island, where they discovered iron
on Mount Berecynthus. The Dactyls seem, indeed,
to be mythical representatives of the first discoverers
jf iron, and of the art of smelting it by means of fire.

DACTYLOMAXCY (Gr. dartulon, a ring, and
manteia, divination), a kind of divination which had
its origin among the ancient Greeks, and was after
wards adopted by the Romans. It was performed
ry suspending a ring from a line thread over a round
table, on the edge of which were marked the letters
of the alphabet. When the vibration of the ring
had ceased, the letters over which the ring happened

to hang, when joined together, gave the answer. We
read also in ancient story of Gyges, whose enchanted
ring, when he turned it towards the palm of his
hand, possessed the power of rendering him invisi-
ble. See Divination.

DADU PAXT'HIS, one of the Vaishnava sects
in Hindustan. It had its origin from Dadu, a cot-
ton-cleaner by profession, who, having been admon-
ished by a voice from heaven to devote himself to a
religious life, retired with that view to Baherana
mountain, where, after some time, he disappeared,
and no traces of him could be found. His followers
believed him to have been absorbed into the Deity.
He is supposed to have flourished about A. n. 1600.
The followers of Dadu wear no peculiar mark on
the forehead, but carry a rosary, and are further
distinguished by a round white cap according to
some, but, according to others, one with four cor-
ners, and a flap hanging down behind. This cap each
man is required to manufacture for himself.

The Dadu Pant'his are divided into three classes :
1. the Viraktas, religious characters who go bare-
headed, and have but one garment and one water-
pot. 2. The Ncigas, wdio carry arms, which they are
ready to use for hire ; and amongst the Hindu
princes they have been considered as good soldiers.
.'!. The Bitter Dharb, win, follow the usual occupa-
tions of ordinary life. This last class is further sub-
divided, and the chief branches form fifty-two divi-
sions, the peculiarities of which have not been ascer-
tained. The Dado Pant'his are accustomed to burn
their '1' ad at early dawn, but in some cases the bo-
dies arc exposed in an open field or desert place, to
be devoured by beasts and birds of prey, lest insect
lit'e might be destroyed, 'which is liable to happen
when the body is laid on a funeral pile. This sect,
in its three above-noted classes, is said to be very
numerous in Marwar and Ajmeer. Their chic

656

DADUCHI— DAEIRA.

place of worship is at Naraiva, where the be'l of
Dadu and the collection of the texts of the sec! are
preserved and worshipped, while a small building
on the hill Baherana marks the place of his disap-
pearance. A mela or fair is held annually from
the day of new moon to that of full moon, in Feb-
ruary and March, at Naraina. The sect maintain a
friendly intercourse with the Kabir Pant'his (which
see), and are frequent visitors at the Chaura at Be-
nares.

DADUCHI, the torch-bearers in the Eleiisi-
nian mysteries, whose duty it was, in conjunction
with the Hierophant, to offer prayers and sing hymns
to Ceres and Proserpine. They wore diadems, and
are considered generally to represent mythically the
sun. They passed the lighted torch from hand to
hand, in commemoration of Ceres searching for her
daughter Proserpine by the light of a torch, which
she had kindled at the fires of -Etna.

D^EDALA, two festivals in honour of Hera, ce-
lebrated in Bceotia. Pausanias describes their ori-
gin as having been derived from the following cir-
cumstances. A quarrel having arisen between Zeus
and Hera, the latter fled to Euboea, whence she could
not be persuaded to return, until her husband adopted
the expedient of procuring a wooden statue, which
he dressed and placed in a chariot, pretending that
it was a young virgin whom he was about to marry.
The scheme was successful, for Hera's jealousy be-
ing excited, she hastily found her way to the home
of her husband, and on learning the nature and de-
sign of the device, she became reconciled to Zeus.
The Platseans, accordingly, instituted a greater and
a lesser festival, both of which were called Dsedala,
a name given in ancient times to statues and other
works of human ingenuity and skill. The lesser
festival was celebrated by the Platseans alone at Alal-
comene, the largest oak-grove in Bceotia. In this
forest they exposed to the air pieces of boiled meat,
which attracted crows, and the people watching on
what trees the birds perched, these were forthwith
cut down, and converted into wooden statues or dce-
dala. The greater festival, on the other hand, which
was by far the more important of the two, and
brought together a larger number of people, was
celebrated every sixty years. The ceremony was
not observed by the inhabitants of Platasa alone, or
even of Bceotia, but by people drawn from all the
cities of Greece. On this occasion, also, the festi-
val was of a peculiarly popular description. The
ceremony commenced with the erection of an altar
on Mount Cithasron, constructed of square pieces of
wood. A statue of a female, designed to represent
Hera, was then mounted on a chariot, and led for-
ward in procession, a young woman leading the way,
who was attired like a bride, and the Boeotians follow-
ing in an order regulated by lot. On their arrival at
the sacred spot, a quantity of wood was piled upon
the altar, and each city, as well as wealthy indivi-
duals, offered a heifer to Hera, and a bull to Zeus.

The people of more limited means contented them
selves with sacrificing sheep. Wine and incense it
great abundance were placed upon the altar along
with the victims, and twelve wooden statues were,
at the same time, laid upon the smoking pile, which
was allowed to burn until both victims and altar were
wholly consumed. It is difficult to give a satisfac-
tory explanation of these Grecian festivals, but Plu-
tarch, who wrote a work upon the subject, considers
the whole ceremonies as a mythical representation of
physical disturbances in the elements to which Bceo-
tia had at one time been subject, although, in course
of time, it had been delivered from them.

D-EDALUS, a mythical person among the an-
cient Greeks, said by some to be of Athenian, by
others of Cretan, origin. He seems to have excelled in
sculpture, and his sister's son, Perdix, to whom he
had given lessons in the art, having risen to higher
reputation than himself, he killed him through envy.
For this crime Daedalus was sentenced to death by
the Areiopagus, and to escape punishment he fled to
Crete. Here he soon acquired great fame as a sculp-
tor, having constructed a wooden cow for Pasiphae,
and the labyrinth at Cnossus in which the Minotaur
was kept. Minos, the king of Crete, being displeased
with the conduct of Daedalus, imprisoned him ; but
he was set at liberty by Pasiphae, and finding no
other means of escaping from Crete, he procured
wings for himself and his son Icarus, which were
fastened on their bodies with wax. By this means
Dredalus succeeded in crossing the ^Egean Sea, but
Icarus, having taken a loftier flight than his father,
went so near the sun that the wax melted, and he
fell into that part of the .lEgean which, from this cir-
cumstance, received the name of the Icarian Sea.
Meanwhile Daedalus took refuge in Sicily, where,
under the protection of Cocalus, king of the Sicani,
he prosecuted his favourite art with remarkable suc-
cess. He seems afterwards to have resided in Sar-
dinia, and Diodorus Siculus mentions him as having
executed works in Egypt, and acquired so great re-
nown that he was worshipped in that country as a
god. The mythical meaning of this strange story is
probably to be found in the invention and progress
of the fine arts, particularly the arts of sculpture and
architecture, and the order in which they passed from
one country to another. The material of which
Dsedalus wrought the greater part, if not the whole,
of his works, was not stone but wood. It is some-
what remarkable, that the earliest works of art which
were attributed to the gods, received the name of
dccdala, and it is probable that the earliest carved
images would be of wood wrought into some shape
or other designed to represent a god.

DAEIRA (Gr. the knowing), a female divinity
connected with the Eleusinian Mysteries (which
see). She is described by Pausanias as the daugh-
ter of Oceanus, and mother of Eleusis. Some have
regarded her as identical with Aphrodite, Deiwier, 01
Hera.

DA' GOB A.

657

DAEMONS. See Demons.

DA'GOBA, a conical erection surmounting re-
lics among the Budhists. The name is said by Mr.
Hardy to be derived from da\ datu, or dbittti, an osse-
ous relic, and gebaor garbha, the womb. Those build-
ings are sometimes of immense height, of circular
form, and composed of stone or brick, faced with
stone or stucco. They are built upon a platform,
which again rests upon a natural or artificial eleva-
tion, which is usually reached by a flight of steps.
The utmost respect is felt for dagobas among the
Budhists, chiefly because they contain relics of differ-
ent kinds. Professor Wilson, in his ' Ariana Anti-
qua,' thus describes the ordinary contentsof a dagoba :
•• The most conspicuous objects are, in general, ves-
sels of stone or metal ; they are of various shapes
and sizes ; some of them have been fabricated on a
lathe. They commonly contain a silver box or cas-
ket, and within that, or sometimes by itself, a casket
of gold. This is sometimes curiously wrought. One
found by Mr. Masson at Deh Bimaran is chased with
a double series of four figures, representing Gautama
in the act of preaching ; a mendicant is on 'his right,
a lay-follower on his left, and behind the latter a
female disciple ; they stand under arched niches rest-
ing on pillars, and between the arches is a bird ; a
row of rubies is set round the upper and lower edge
of the vessel, and the bottom is also chased with the
'eaves of the lotus : the vase had no cover. Within
these vessels, or sometimes in the cell in which they
are. ] placed, are found small pearls, gold buttons, gold
ornaments and rings, beads, pieces of white and col-
oured glass and crystal, pieces of clay or stone with
impressions of figures, bits of bone, and teeth of ani-
mals of the ass and goat species, pieces of cloth, and
folds of the Tuz or Bhurj leaf, or rather the bark of
a kind of birch on which the Hindus formerly wrote ;
and these pieces bear sometimes characters which
may be termed Bactrian ; but they are in too fragile
and decayed a state to admit of being unfolded or
read. Similar characters are also found superficially
scratched upon the stone, or dotted upon the metal
vessels. In one instance they were found traced
upon the stone with ink. Within some of the ves-
sels was also found a liquid, which upon exposure
rapidly evaporated, leaving a brown sediment, which
was analysed by Mr. 1'rinsep, and offered some traces
of animal and vegetable matters."

The principal dagobas in Ceylon, as we learn from
. Mr. Hardy, are at Anunidhapura, and it would ap-
pear that it was accounted a ceremony of gnat im-
portance among the ancient ascetics to walk round
one of these sacred structures. It is regarded by
'he Hindu Brahmans as a most meritorious walk to
circumambulate a temple, raising the person who
performs this pious act to a place in the heaven of
the god or goddess to whom the temple belongs. The
Nepaulese also account it one of the most devout
employments in which a Budhist can be engaged to
inarch round a dagoba, repeating mental prayers, and

holding in his right hand a small cylinder fixed upon
the upper end of a short staff or handle, which ha
keeps in perpetual revolution. The reverence in
which these structures are held is thus noticed by
Mr. Hardy, in his deeply interesting and valuable
work, entitled ' Eastern Monachism : ' " Any mark
of disrespect to the da'goba is regarded as being highly
criminal, whilst a contrary course is equally deserv-
ing of reward. When Elaro, one of the Malabar
sovereigns, who reigned in Ceylon b. c. 205, was one
day riding in his chariot, the yoke-bar accidentally
struck one of these edifices, and displaced some ot
the stones. The priests in attendance reproached
him for the act ; but the monarch immediately de-
scended to the ground, and prostrating himself in the
street, said that they might take off his head with
the wheel of his carriage. But the priests replied,
' Great king ! our divine teacher delights not in tor-
ture ; repair the dagoba.' For the purpose of re-
placing the fifteen stones that had been dislodged,
Elaro bestowed 15,000 of the silver coins called ka
hapana. Two women who had worked for hire at
the erection of the great da'goba by Dutugamini were
for this meritorious act born in Tawutisa. The le-
gend informs us that on a subsequent occasion they
went to worship at the same place, when the radiance
emanating from their persons was so great that it
filled the whole of Ceylon."

The ground on which a dagoba is held in so high
estimation is simply because it contains relics which
have from remote times been worshipped by the
Budhists. As far back as the fourth century, Fa
Hian, a Chinese traveller, mentions such a practice
as then prevailing. " The bones of Gotama, the
garments he used, the utensils he used, and the lad-
der by which he visited heaven, were worshipped by
numbers of devout pilgrims ; and happy did the
country consider itself that retained one of these
precious remains." The most celebrated relic which
is still to be found among the worshippers of Gotama
Budha is the Dalada' (which see). To make a
present or offering to a dagoba is viewed as an act
of the highest virtue, which will be rewarded both
in this world and the next, and will lead to the at-
tainment of Nirwana or annihilation. Budha himself
declared while on earth, " Though neither flowers
nor anything else should be offered, yet if any one
will look with a pleasant mind at a dagoba or the
court of the b<5-tree, ho will undoubtedly be born in
a Dk'wa-i.oka (which see); it is unnecessary to say
that he who sweeps these sacred places, or makes
offerings to them, will have an equal reward ; fur-
thermore, should any one die on his way to make an
offering to a dagoba, he also will receive the blessed-
ness of the Dewa-lokas." Some diigobas are alleged
to have the power of working miracles, but this prih i
lege is almost exclusively confined to those which
have been built in honour of the r<i/in!.i, or beings who
are free from all evil desire, and possess supernatural
powers.

3 A *

658

D AGON— DAHOMEY (Religion of).

DAGON, a great god of the Philistines mention-
ed in the Eible. He is represented in 1 Sam. v. 4,
as having the face and arms of a man, and the body
of a fish. The temple of Dagon at Gaza is described
in Judg. xvi. 27, as having been so magnificent and
large that on the roof of it stood about 3,000 men and
women. This deity must have had worship offered
him till a late period, as we find a Reth-Dagon, or
temple of Dagon, mentioned in the First Rook of
Maccabees. Sanehoniathon interprets the word to
mean bread-corn, and alleges him to have been the
son of Uranus, and the inventor of bread-corn and
the plough. Some regard Noah, who was a husband-
man, as represented by Dagon. Great difference of
opinion has existed among authors as to the god, or,
the word being also feminine, the goddess indicated
by the Philistine idol. Sometimes it received the
name of Derceto, and at other times of Atergatis.
Herodotus compares Dagon to the goddess Venus.
It is not unlikely that the Jews, from their vicinity
to the country of the Philistines, may have fallen
into the worship of this idol. Selden conjectures
that the god Oannes worshipped by the Babylonians
was identical with the Dagon of the Phoenicians.
Rerosus, quoted by Eusebius, says, that this Oannes
had the body of a fish, and below the head placed
upon the body, another head of a man which came
out from under the head of the fish. He had like-
wise a man's feet coming from under the tail of the
fish, and a human voice. This monster, the same
ancient author says, came every morning out of the
sea, went to Rabylon, and taught men arts and
sciences, returning every evening to its ocean-home.
It has been supposed that Dagon was a male god
at Ashdod, but a female at Ascalon, where she had a
magnificent temple, and was called Derceto or Dirce,
being identical also with Atergatis the Syrian goddess.
The Jewish writers generally agree in deriving the
word Dagon from dag, the Hebrew word for a fish,
and that, like the Tritons, the idol was half man,
half fish. Abarbanel and Jarchi, however, seem to
hint that the whole statue of Dagon was the figure
of a fish, except his hands and feet, which had a
human shape. It is remarkable that Lsiyard, in his
recent researches in the ruins of Nineveh, discovered
in the course of his excavations a statue evidently of
a deity, the upper portion being in human shape,
and the lower in the shape of a fish, thus confirming
the idea that the same gods were worshipped among
the Assyrians and Chaldeans as among the Phceni-
uians. Jurieu, in his ingenious and learned ' His-
tory of the Doctrines and Worships of the Church,'
endeavours to prove that Dagon was no other than
the Phoenician Neptune. The arguments in support
of this opinion he thus briefly states : "His shape
of a fish is a demonstration of it ; for I see no reason
why they should give the figure of a fish to a celes-
tial god. The name of Dagon, that signifies a fish,
is another proof of it ; for fishes are the chief sub-
jects of Neptune, and his borrowing his name from

them is no wonder. In short, as it is rational to
presume that the Phoenicians had a Neptime, as well
as a Saturn, Jupiter, and Pluto, so we can find him
by no other name than that of Dagon. It is true,
there were other marine gods, which might be re-
presented in the same manner. Rut this Dagon
seems to be the king of them all ; for we find by the
history of Samson, that he was looked upon by the
Philistines as the great god, who had delivered up
Samson unto them. Accordingly, in the history of
the ark and Dagon, he is absolutely called the god
of the Philistines, ' Dagon our god.' Had he been of
the inferior gods, it is not like they would have done
so much homage to him." Rochart supposes Dagon
to have been Japhet, the son of Noah, and that the
government of the sea was bestowed upon him, be
cause his allotment and that of his posterity was in
the islands, peninsulas, and lands beyond the sea,
that is, in Europe.

DAHOMEY (Religion of). The country whose
religion falls to be sketched in this article, forms a
kingdom of considerable extent in the interior of
Western Africa, behind the Slave Coast. One grand
point which may be regarded as the centre of the
whole religious, and indeed political system of the
people of Dahomey is superstitious veneration for
the person of their monarch, whom they look upon
as a superior being, nay, almost a divinity. So much
is this idolatrous feeling encouraged by the govern-
ment, that it is accounted criminal to believe that
the king of Dahomey eats, chinks, and sleeps like
ordinary mortals. His meals are always taken to a
secret place, and any man that has the misfortune or
the temerity to cast his eyes upon him in the act, is
put to death. If the king drinks in public, which is
done on some extraordinary occasions, his person is
concealed by having a curtain held up before him,
during which time the people prostrate themselves,
and afterwards shout and cheer at the very top of
their voices. The consequence is, that the orders of
the sovereign, however tyrannical and unjust, are
obeyed with the most implicit submission, no one
daring to resist the will of a ruler whom they believe
to be invested with almost Divine attributes.

In this, as in all the other parts of Western Africa,
Fetish Worship (which see) prevails, the fetish or
imaginary god of Dahomey being the leopard, which
is accounted so sacred, that if any person should kill
one of these animals, he is instantly offered up in sacri-
fice to the offended deity. The leopard is regarded as
representing the Supreme, invisible god " Seh," and
worshipped with great reverence by the people.
Another object of worship is "Soh," the deity of
thunder and lightning. Sacrifices are offered of dif
ferent kinds. The ceremonies practised in the sacri-
fice of a bullock, are thus detailed by Mr. Forbes in
his ' Dahomey and the Dahomans : ' " The priests
and priestesses (the highest of the land, for the Da-
homan proverb has it that the poor are never priests)
assemble within a ring, in a public square ; a band

DAHOMEY (Religion of).

659

of discordant music attends ; and after arranging the
emblems of their religion, and the articles earned in
religious processions, such as banners, spears, tripods,
and vessels holding bones, skulls, congealed blood,
and other barbarous trophies, they dance, sing, and
drink until sufficiently excited The animals are
next produced, and decapitated by the male priests,
with large chopper-knives. The altars are washed
with the blood caught in basins ; the rest is taken
round by the priests and priestesses, who, as Moses
commanded the elders of Israel (B. C. 1491), ' strike
the lintel and two side posts' of all the houses of the
devotees, ' with the blood that is in the basin.' The
turkey buzzards swarm in the neighbourhood, and
with the familiarity of their nature gorge on the
mangled carcase as it is cut in pieces. The meat is
next cooked, and distributed among the priests ; por-
tions being set aside to feed the spirits of the de-
parted and the fetishes. After the sacrifice the
priesthood again commence dancing, singing, and
drinking ; men, women, and children, grovelling in
the dirt, every now and then receiving the touch and
blessing of these enthusiasts." ,

As appears from this quotation, the Dahoman
priesthood is taken chiefly from the higher classes,
and indeed in the sacred order are to be found some
of the royal wives and children. To reveal the sa-
cred mysteries and incantations, the knowledge of
which is limited to the priestly office, is visited with
capital punishment. Private sacrifices of fowls,
ducks, and even goats, are common, and are per-
formed with ceremonies similar to those observed in
the public sacrifices. In cases of sickness, for in-
stance, it is customary to endeavour to propitiate the
gods with sacrifices of different kinds, commencing
with the simple offering of palm-oil food, and if this
fail, owls, ducks, goats, and bullocks are sacrificed.
Should the sick man be wealthy or of high rank, ho
nsks the king to allow him to sacrifice one or more
slaves, for each of whom he pays a certain sum into
the royal treasury. If he recovers from his sick-
ness, he expresses his gratitude by liberating one or
more slaves, bullocks, gouts, fowls, or other objects
which had been destined for sacrifice, but which are
now given up to the fetish, and therefore eared for
by the fetishmen. If, on the other hand, he dies,
the latest and most earnest request of the dying man
is that his principal wives should consent to accom-
pany him into the next world — a request which is
almost invariably granted. At the burial, accord-
ingly, of a Dahoman chief, a number of his wives and
favourite slaves are sacrificed on the tomb, as has
been already noticed in the case of another of the
tribes of Western Africa. Nay, even it is not un-
common for his wives to fall upon each other with
knives, and lacerate themselves in the most cruel
and baibarous manner; and this work of butchery
is continued until they are forcibly restrained.

"There is no place," says Mr. Leighton Wilson
in his ' Western Africa,' " where there is more in-

tense heathenism ; and to mention no other feature
in their superstitious practices, the worship of snakes
at this place fully illustrates this remark. A house
in the middle of the town is provided for the exclu-
sive use of these reptiles, and they may be seen here
at any time in very great numbers. They are fed,
and more care is taken of them than of the human
inhabitants of the place. If they are seen straying
away they must be brought back ; and at the sight
of them the people prostrate themselves on the
ground, and do them all possible reverence. To kill
or injure one of them is to incur the penalty of death.
On certain occasions they are taken out by the
priests or doctors, and paraded about the streets, the
bearers allowing them to coil themselves around their
arms, necks, and bodies. They are also employed
to detect persons who have been guilty of witch-
craft. If in the hands of the priest they bite the
suspected person, it is sure evidence of his guilt, and
no doubt the serpent is trained to do the will of his
keeper in all such cases. Images, usually called
yreegrees, of the most uncouth shape and form, may
be seen in all parts of the town, and are worshipped
by all classes of persons. Perhaps there is no place
where idolatry is more openly practised, or where
the people have sunk into deeper pagan darkness.
See Asiiantees (Religion of the).

Circumcision is practised among the natives 01
Dahomey, as among many other tribes throughout the
whole African continent, with the exception of those
on the Grain Coast, and the neglect of this ceremony
exposes a man to the heaviest reproach and ridicule.
Nor is this the only case in which the Dahomans
have adopted Jewish practices. The door-posts, for
example, of their houses are sprinkled with the
blood of animals offered in sacrifice ; they have also
their stated oblations and purifications, and as an ex-
pression of mourning they shave their heads, and
dress themselves in the meanest and most abject
garments. But far more nearly does this supersti-
tious people approach in their religious rites to the
idolatry of Paganism. They venerate all large ani-
mals, such as the elephant, and hold them in a spe-
cies of religious awe. Should a lion be killed, the
skull and bones are a welcome offering to the fetish,
and gain lor the donor some special privileges. So
highly do they venerate their own fetish, the leo-
pard, that should a man fall a victim to this sai n d
animal, he is gone in the belief of the Dahoman to
the land of good spirits; and instead of revenging
his death by the murder of his devourer, his rela-
tions will even feed the animal. The temples in
Dahomey are very numerous, and in each of them
there is an altar of clay. No worship, however,
seems to be conducted in these temples, but small

Offerings are daily given by the devotees, and re
moved by the priests. There is no recognition ol
the Divine Being by any stated form of worship.
The only approach to it is that which is offered to the

spirits of the dead, and usually denominated DEMON

660

DAI-BOTIT.

Worship (which see). The presence of some spi-
rits is courted eagerlv, while that of others is much
dreaded. Demoniacal possession is thought to be
not unfrequent among the people of Dahomey, and
certain ceremonies are gone through by the priests
to effect the expulsion of the demons.

The " customs," as they are called, in honour
of the dead, are observed at Dahomey, as well as
at Ashantee. Human beings are sacrificed on
these occasions to the manes of the dead, under
an idea that those who have passed away from
this world are still capable of being gratified by a
large train of slaves and attendants, such as af-
forded them pleasure when on earth. At these
customs for the dead, not only are human beings
offered up in sacrifice, but music, dancing, and mirth
of every kind accompany the horrid rites. Twice
every year these " customs" are repeated, receiving
the name of the great and little customs. Mr. Forbes
was present on one of these occasions, on the last
day of May 1849, when the king of Dahomey ottered
human sacrifices as gifts to his people. The de-
scription is painfully interesting : " In the centre of
the marketplace, a platform was erected twelve feet
in height, enclosed by a parapet breast high. The
whole was covered with cloths of all colours, and
surmounted by tents, gaudy umbrellas, and banners
of varied hues and devices, among which, as usual,
were several union jacks. On the west front of the
Ah-toh, which must have been at least 100 feet
square, was a barrier of the prickly acacia, and within
this the victims for the day's sacrifice lashed in bas-
kets and canoes. A dense naked mob occupied the
area, whilst a guard of soldiers prevented them from
bearing down the barrier. Beyond in all directions
were groups of people collected round the banners
and umbrellas of the different ministers and caboo-
ceers. The king insisted on our viewing the place of
sacrifice. Immediately under the royal stand, within
the brake of acacia bushes, stood seven or eight
tell ruffians, some armed with clubs, others with
scimitars, grinning horribly. As we approached
the mob yelled fearfully, and called upon the king
to ' feed them, they were hungry.' The victims
were held high above the heads of their bearers,
and the naked ruffians thus acknowledged the
munificence of their prince. Silence again ruled,
and the king made a speech, stating that of his
prisoners he gave a portion to his soldiers, as his
father and grandfather had done before. Having
called their names, the one nearest was divested of
his clothes, the foot of the basket placed on the
parapet, when the king gave the upper part an im-
petus, and the victim fell at once into the pit be-
neath. A fall of upwards of twelve feet might Uive
<tunned him, and before sense coidd return the head
was cut off, and the body thrown to the mob, who,
now armed with clubs and branches, brutally muti-
lated, and dragged it to a distant pit, where it was
left as food fcr the beasts and birds of prey. After

the third victim had thus been sacrificed, the king
retired, and the chiefs and slave-dealers completed
the deed which the monarch blushed to finish.
As we descended the ladder, we came on anothei
scene of this tragedy. Each in the basket in
which the victim had sat a few moments before, lay
the grizzly bleeding heads, five on one side, six on
the other." How impressively may such a narrative
show, that " the dark places of the earth are full of
the habitations of horrid cruelty." With the excep-
tion of a short visit of a Wesleyan Missionary to the
country, the natives have never had till recently an
opportunity of listening to the Word of Life. A
mission station, however, has been established by
the Wesleyans at Badagry, and there is a prospect
of two more being commenced, one at Whydah, and
another at Abomey, the capital of Dahomey, but the
population of that kingdom, amounting to 200,000
souls, are at this hour sitting in darkness and in the
region of the shadow of death.

DAIBOTH, one of the principal deities of Ja-
pan. The word is said to mean the Great God, and
therefore it is not improbable that he may be the
same with Amidas (which see), considered under
some of his peculiar attributes, or rather it may be
the Great Budha himself. But whether this be
the case or not, a splendid temple exists at Miaco,
which is dedicated to the worship of Dai-Both. A
lively description of this temple is given by an old
Dutch writer: "Before you come to the temple it-
self," says he, " you pass through a kind of a gate, on
each side whereof are erected two monstrous figures,
with several arms, fraught with arrows, swords,
and other offensive weapons. These two monsters
stand in a posture of defence, and seem prepared to
combat each other. From this gate you proceed to
a large quadrangle, with galleries on each side of it,
which are supported by pillars of freestone. After
you have crossed this square, you come to another
gate, embellished with two large lions made of stone,
and then you go directly into the pagod, in the cen-
tre whereof the idol Dai-Both is seated, after the
Oriental fashion, on an altar-table, which is raised
some small matter above the ground. This idol, not-
withstanding you see him seated like the great Jove
of old, is of a monstrous height ; for his head touches
the very roof of his temple. The attitude of Jupiter
was justified by the symbolical intention of it, which
intimated, says a celebrated ancient author, that the
power of the deity was firm and unalterable. The
Japanese and Indians, in all probability, entertain
the very same idea. The colossus of Dai-Both,
though composed of wood, is plastered and covered
over that with gilded brass. This idol has the breast
and face of a woman ; his black locks are woolly, and
curled like a negro's. One may form some idea of
the prodigious bulk of this colossus by his hands,
which are bigger than the whole body of any man of
a moderate stature. He is encircled on all sides
with gilded rays, in which there are placed abun-

DAIKOKU— DAIRI.

CC1

dance of images, representing some of the ('amis
(which see) and demi-gods of Japan. There are
several others in a standing posture, both on his
right hand and on his left, all crowned with rays,
like our Christian saints. The table of the altar,
whereon the idol is sitting, is furnished with a large
quantity of lighted lamps."

Kaempfer declares the temple of Dai-Both to be
the most magnificent building in the whole kingdom
of Japan, and much more lofty than any other edifice
in Miaco. The idol itself, which is seated in the
heart of flowers, is gilt all over. Its ears are very
large, and its hair is curled. There is a crown upon
its head, and a large speck or stain upon its forehead.
The arms and breast are naked. The right hand is
extended, and points to the hollow of the left, which
rests upon the bellv. A circle of rays is placed be-
hind the idol, and is so large that it takes up the
circumference of four pillars. The pillars are at a
considerable distance from one another, and the sta-
tue of Dai-Both, which is of great size, touches only
two of them with its shoulders. Within the oval
which contains the statue, and all round it, are small
idols in human forms, and seated on flowers. See
Japan (Religion of).

DAIKOKU, a Japanese deity, to whom the in-
habitants of that island consider themselves as in-
debted for all the riches they enjoy. This idol,
which is in fact the Pluhts of Japan, is represented
fitting on a bale or sack of rice, and with an up-
lifted hammer, which he is wielding above his head
ready to strike any object, and wherever the stroke
falls it carries with it universal plenty. A bag of
rice is, in the estimation of this singular people, an
emblem of wealth.

DAIRI, tin! spiritual head or supreme pontiff of
the religion of the SlNTOs (which see), the native
religion of Japan. At one time he combined in his
own person the offices of secular and ecclesiastical
ruler of the country. His temporal, however, was
separated from his spiritual, power about the mid-
dle of the twelfth century, but it was not until 1585
that the Cubo or temporal sovereign of the island be-
gan to ride with an unlimited authority. The Dairi
is thus considerably restricted in both wealth and
influence, but he is recognized as the pope, or high-
est spiritual governor to whom all veneration and
respect is due. He resides at Miaco, and appro-
priates to himself the whole revenue of that city and
its rich adjoining territory. To enable him to main-
tain suitable rank a liberal allowance is due to him
out of the public treasury, besides large sums which
he receives from the privilege he enjoys of confer-
ring titles of honour. The grant which ought to
be paid out of the imperial funds fur the support of
the Dairi is far from being regularly paid, the Cubo
for one excuse or another frequently withholding it.
In consequence of this, the attendants of the pontiff
are many of them obliged to work for their own
maintenance, and he finds it difficult to sustain the

dignity and splendour which he regards as befitting
his office. The descendants of the royal family, who
now amount to a large number, all of them belong
to the court of the Dairi, and the sacred treasury be-
ing quite inadequate to the support of so many de-
pendents, they are compelled to employ themselves
in the most humble occupations to keep up their out-
ward dignity. The utmost exertions are put forth
by all connected with the Dairi to enable the court
to present the most imposing aspect of magnificence.
The supreme pontiff himself is raised, in the estima
tion of the Sintos, above all mortal imperfection, be-
ing viewed as invested with almost superhuman at-
tributes. His foot is never to be profaned by touch-
ing the ground, and he is never to be moved from
one place to another unless upon men's shoulders.
It is considered unlawful for him to cut his hair or
nails ; and such processes, accordingly, being some-
times necessary, are performed when he is asleep.
On his death the next heir succeeds, whether male
or female, at whatever age. In fact, he is regarded
as a god on earth who never dies, but who, from time
to time, renovates his soul. An illustration of this
truth has recently occurred. On the 1st July 185G,
the Dairi was taken ill ; on the 3d he became worse,
and immediately the priests spread abroad the re-
port, that the Dairi had placed himself in communi-
cation with the great god of heaven, and was about
to renew his soul in the bosom of Ten-Sio Dai-Tsin,
the highest of all their divinities. The crowd has-
tened to the palace, where the Dairi was lying on an
immense bed of state with his robes on, and the
gauze veil covering his face. The priests remained
praying in turns in the midst of burning perfumes
and performing various ceremonies of their religion.
On the 5th July the Dairi expired, and immediately
after the supreme pontiff had breathed his last, tin-
chief priest announced that the soul had gone to pay
a vi-it to the gods, and would speedily return. A
dead silence followed this announcement, and in the
s] ace of about ten minutes the chief priest, surround-
ed by the wdiole sacred college, threw a large linen
cloth over the dead body, and the moment after,
withdrawing the cloth, discovered to the eyes of the
wondering multitude another form altogether similar
to that of the late Dairi, but lull of life and health.
This new head of the church at once sat up in bed,
then rose altogether, proceeded to an altar placed at
one side of the apartment, ascended it, and gave his
benediction to the multitude, at the close of which
shouts of joy hailed the appearance of the new 1 (ail i.
The explanation of this transaction is not difficult to
discover. By a stratagem easily managed, the priests
had substituted for the deceased Dairi the person if
his son, his natural heir. A trap-door had let down

the dead body, and raised the living, without the
people being able to precvive tlu deception practised
upon them, amid the numberless prostrations and

other ceremonies called for by their peculiar form ot
worship.

662

DAJAL.

Formerly, when the Dairi, along with his spiritual
office, combined that of Emperor of Japan, he was
accustomed to present himself every morning to
public view for hours together. On these occasions
lie appeared seated upon his throne, with his crown
upon his head, arid his whole body remaining fixed
and immoveable like a statue. The slightest mo-
tion, the least cast of his eye to the right hand or to
the left, portended some fatal disaster, and if he
looked steadily on one particular side, it infallibly
prognosticated war, fire, or famine. But ever since
be was divested of his temporal authority, the Dairi
has been entirely exempted from passing through so
painful a ceremony. lie is uniformly treated with
the most superstitious veneration. Every dish or
vessel presented to his table must be new, and no
sooner has it been once used by his Holiness than it is
forthwith destroyed, lest some unhappy person mak-
ing use of it, should be visited with sickness in pun-
ishment of his sacrilege. The Dairi has twelve
wives. She who is the mother of the heir apparent
is regarded as superior to all the rest.

The Dairi is distinguished both from his own
court and from the rest, of the community, by the pe-
culiar dress which he wears, being usually attired in
a black tunic under a scarlet robe, with a large veil
over it, the fringes of which are made to fall over
his hands. Upon his head he wears a cap embel-
lished with various tufts and tassels. The whole
sacred order may be known by their dress from the
laity, and differing as they do among themselves in
rank and office, this difference is chiefly marked by
the fashion of their cap, some wearing it with a
crape band either twisted or hanging loosely down ;
others with a piece of silk, which hangs over their
eyes. They likewise wear a scarf over their shoulders,
which is either longer or shorter according to their
rank.

All titles of honour are conferred by the Dairi.
Of these there are six classes or degrees, the most
honourable of which conveys a more than common
sanctity and grandeur. The soul of the man who
has received this high distinction, whenever it takes
its flight, is infallibly transformed, in the opinion of
the Japanese, into some illustrious Cami (which see).
A title corresponding to the expression " celestial
people," is conferred upon the chief persons of the
ecclesiastical body ; and the emperor, with the con-
sent of the Dairi, bestows titles of honour on the
princes and ministers of his court.

It is the special province of the Dairi to canonize
the saints, or, in other words, to raise persons who
have distinguished themselves on earth to the enjoy-
ment of divine honours after death. He himself is
considered to be of such exalted spiritual rank in
virtue of his sacred office, that it is a received opin-
ion among the Japanese that all the gods conde-
scend to pay him a formal visit once a-year, namely.
in their tenth month, which, as the whole divine
hierarchy are supposed to be absent from their celes-

tial abodes, is called " the month without a god ;"
and, accordingly, no one thinks it necessary to adora
them. There are certain qualifications necessary for
obtaining canonization, such as the power of working
miracles, the enjoyment of a communication with
the saints above, and even of familiar intercourse
with the gods themselves. The strange idea is
entertained that there are some souls which occa-
sionally return from the other world, and this re-
turn secures their investiture with divine rank. Al.
the honours due to their exalted position are by de-
grees paid to them. First of all, an illustrious title
is conferred upon them by the Dairi ; then a mia or
temple is built in honour of them by the voluntary
contributions of their devotees, and this being accom-
plished, supplications, prayers, and vows are made
to them, ff any of his worshippers should happen
to meet with sudden good fortune, or to escape from
some impending calamity, the reputation of the new
saint is immediately established, crowds of additional
devotees flock to him from all quarters, and new
temples are built for his worship. Before an act of
canonization, however, can be valid, even though
formally passed by the Dairi, it must be confirmed
by the Cubo or secular monarch ; and till this takes
place, no one can freely or safely pay the new saint
an act of worship.

So sacred is the person of the Dairi, in the esti
mation of the Japanese, that the gods are supposed
to keep watch around his bed by night, and if his
sleep happen from any cause to be disturbed, an
idol is subjected to the bastinado for neglect of duty,
and it is banished from the court for a hundred days.
The very water in which the Dairi washes his feet
is looked upon as sacred. It is stored up with the
utmost care, and no person is allowed to profane it
by using it for any purpose whatever.

DAJAL, the name which Mohammed gave to the
Antichrist or false Christ, whose appearance he re-
garded as one of the ten signs which should precede
the resurrection. The Arabian prophet thus de-
scribes the personal appearance of Dajal : " Verily,
he is of low stature, although bulky ; and lias splay
feet, and is blind, with his flesh even on one side of
his face, without the mark of an eye, and his other
eye is neither full nor sunk into his head. Then,
if you should have a doubt about Dajal, know that
your cherisher (God) is not blind." The manner in
which the Antichrist will conduct himself after his
appearance is also explained by Mohammed. " Da-
jal," says he, " will come to a tribe, and call them to
him, and they will believe in him ; and Dajal will
order the sky, and rain will fall ; and he will order
the earth, and it will produce verdure ; and in the
evening their cattle will come to them with highei
lumps upon their backs than they went out in tha
morning, and their udders will be large, and their
flanks shall be full. After that Dajal will go to anpther
tribe, and call them, and they will refuse, 'and he
will withhold rain from their verdure and cultiva

DAKSIIIXAS-DALAI-LAMA.

603

tion ; and they will Buffer a famine, and possess no-
thing And whilst Dajal will be about

these things, on a sudden God will send Jesus, son
of Mary, and lie will come down on a white tower, on
the east of Damascus ; clothed in robes coloured with
red flowers, resting the palms of his hands upon the
wings of two angels; and every infidel will die, who
shall be breathed upon by the Messiah, and the
breath of Jesus will reach as far as eye can see.
And Jesus will seek for Dajal until he finds him at a
door in a village called Liid (in Palestine), and will
kill him. Then a tribe will come to Jesus whom
God shall have preserved from the evils of Dajal,
and lie will comfort them, and will inform them of
the degrees of eminence they will meet with in Para-
dise."

DAKSIIINAS, or right hand form of worship
among the Hindus, that is, when the worship of any
goddess is performed in a public manner, and agree-
ably to the Vedas or Paranas. The only ceremony
which can be supposed to form an exception to the
general character of this mode is the Bali, an offer-
ing of blood, in which rite a number of animals,
usually kids, are annually decapitated. In some
cases life is offered without shedding blood, when
the more barbarous practice is adopted of pum-
melling the poor animal to death with the fists;
at other times, blood only is offered without injury
to life. These practices, however, are not considered
as orthodox. Animal victims are also offered to
J), 17, in her terrific forms only as Kali or Durga.
The worship is almost confined to a few districts,
and perhaps is carried to no great extent.

DAT-ADA, the left canine tooth of Budha, the
most highly venerated relic among the Budhists, par-
ticularly in Ceylon. To preserve this, the only por-
tion which remains of the body of the holy sage, a
temple lias been erected, in wdiich it is deposited, be-
ing placed in a small chamber, enshrined in six
rases, the largest of them being upwards of live feet
in height and formed Of silver. All the eases are

constructed in the conical shape of a dagoha, and
two of them are inlaid with rubies and precious
stones. The outer case is ornamented with gold and
jewels, which have been offered by devotees. Mr.
Hardy describes the relic itself as "a piece of dis-
coloured ivory or bone, slightly curved, nearly two
inches in length, and one in diameter at the base ;
and from thence to the other extremity, which is
, rounded and blunt, it considerably decreases in size."
The wihara or temple wdiich contains the sanctuary
of this relic, is attached to the palace of the former
kings of Kandy. From a work composed on the
subject ofBudha's tooth, dating as far back as a. d.
310, it is said that one of the disciples of the sa [8
procured his left canine tooth when his relics were

distributed. This much valued treasure he conveyed

to Dautapura, the chief city of Kalinga, where it

il for sun years. Its subsequent history we

quotn from Mr. Hardy's' Eastern Itonacbism :' "The

Brahmans informed Pandu, the lord paramount ol
India, who resided at Pittaliputra, that his \assal,
Guhasiwa worshipped a piece of bone. The monarch,
enraged at this intelligence, sent an army to arrest
the king of Kalinga, and secure the bone he wor-
shipped. This commission was executed, but the
general ami all his army were converted to the faith
of Budhism. Pandu commanded the relic to be
thrown into a furnace of burning charcoal, but a lotus
arose from the tlanie, and the tooth appeared on the
surface of the dower. An attempt was then made to
crush it upon an anvil, but it remained embedded in
the iron, resisting all the means employed to take it
therefrom, until Subaddha, a Budhist, succeeded in
its extraction. It was next thrown into the common
sewer ; but in an instant this receptacle of filth be-
came sweet as a celestial garden, and was mantled
with flowers. Other wonders were performed, by
wdiich Pandu also became a convert to Budhism.
The relic was returned to Dantapura ; but an attemp*
being made by the princes of Sewet to take it away
by force, it was brought to Ceylon, and deposited in
the city of Anuradhapura. In the fourteenth cen-
tury it was again taken to the continent, bu} was
rescued by Priikrania Balm IV. The Portuguese
say that it was captured by Constantine de Bra-
ganza, in 15G0, and destroyed ; but the native autho-
rities assert that it was concealed at this time at a
village in Saffragam. In 1815, it came into the pos-
session of the British government; and although
surreptitiously taken away in the rebellion of 1818,
it was subsequently found in the possession of a
priest, and restored to its former sanctuary. From
this time the keys of the shrine in which it was de-
posited were kept in the custody of the British
agent for the Kandian provinces, and at night a sol-
dier belonging to the Ceylon Rifle Regiment mount-
ed guard in the temple, there being from time to time
public exhibitions of the pretended tooth, under the
sanction of the British authorities, by which the

cause of heathenism was greatly strengthened and

the minds of sincere Christians were much grieved ;
hut ill IS.'!'.) a pamphlet was published, entitled,
'The British Government ami Idolatry,' in which
these untoward proceedings were exposed, and the
relic has since been returned to the native chiefs and
priests, by a decree from the Secretary of State for
the colonies."

The llalad.i is worshipped with great reverence
by all Budhists, but the inhabitants of Kandy more
especially attach the highest importance to the pos-
session of this sacred relic, re aiding it as in fact
tic very glory and security of their country.

DALAI-LAMA, the great high-priest of the in-
habitants of Tai'laiy and Thibet. He is venerated

as immaculate, immortal, and omnipresent, the vice-
gerent of Gtod u | earth, and the mediator betWI I D

mortals and the Supreme Being, lie resides at I. ha
Ssa, or the land of spirits, and presides over the

whole Lama* or priests, wdio amount to an immense

604

DALEITES.

number. He is supposed to be wholly absorbed in
spiritual matters, and to take no concern in temporal
affairs, unless to employ himself in deeds of charity
and benevolence. He is the head not only of the
Lamas, but of the whole gradations of the priesthood,
including the gylongs, tobha, and tuppa; and he is
also the source and the centre of all civil power. He
very seldom goes abroad, but is closely confined to a
temple, where he is waited upon with the most pro-
found veneration by a large number of Lamas. All
possible means are adopted to impress the minds of
the people with solemn awe and reverence for the
person of this Supreme Pontiff. He is believed to
be incapable of suffering death like ordinary mor-
tals, and accordingly, whenever he is overtaken by
death, the priesthood substitute another Lama with-
out delay, taking care to select one who shall re-
semble the former Grand Lama as much as possible.
To find access to the presence of the Dalai-Lama is
eagerly courted by devotees, who crowd accordingly
to the Great Lamasery that they may receive his
benediction, and be permitted to pay their adorations
to him. He is supposed to have descended by trans-
migration from Budha himself. All the eastern re-
gions of Tartary acknowledge the supremacy of the
Grand Lama, and hold the doctrines of Shamanism
(which see), or in other words, a modified species of
BuAhism. The worshippers of the Grand Lama are
divided into two sects, which though formerly enter-
taining the utmost hatred of one another, now live,
according to the testimony of M. Hue, in perfect
harmony. The priests of the one sect are dressed
in long yellow robes, with high conical caps, which
are also yellow. The priests of the other sect are
dressed in red ; and the tribes are known as belong-
ing to the red or the yellow cap. The latter is the
more orthodox and influential, numbering among its
votaries the Emperor of China. The Dalai-Lama is
called by M. Hue, in his ' Travels in Tartary, Thibet,
and China,' by the name of Tale1- Lama, and he thus
describes the residence of that august personage a6
he himself had seen it . " The palace of the Tale'-
Lama merits, in every respect, the celebrity which
it enjoys throughout the world. North of the town,
at the distance of about a mile, there rises a rugged
mountain, of slight elevation and of conical form,
which, amid the plain, resembles an islet on the bo-
som of a lake. This mountain is entitled Buddha-
La (mountain of Buddha, divine mountain), and upon
this grand pedestal, the work of nature, the adorers
of the Tale-Lama have raised the magnificent palace
wherein their Living Divinity resides in the flesh.
This palace is an aggregation of several temples, of
various size and decoration ; that which occupies the
centre is four stories high, and overlooks all the rest ;
it terminates in a dome, entirely covered with plates
of gold, and surrounded with a peristyle, the columns
of which are, in like manner, all covered with gold.
It is here that the TaliS-Lama has set up his abode.
From the summit of this lofty sanctuary he can con-

template, at the great solemnities, his innumerabU
adorers advancing along the plain or prostrate at the
foot of the divine mountain. The secondary palaces,
grouped round the great temple, serve as residences
for numerous Lamas, of every order, whose continual
occupation it is to serve and do honour to the Living
Buddha. Two fine avenues of magnificent trees lead
from Lha-Ssa to the Buddha-La, and there you al-
ways find crowds of foreign pilgrims, telling the
beads of their long Buddhist chaplets, and Lamas of
the court, attired in rich costume, and mounted or
horses splendidly caparisoned. Around the Buddha-
La there is constant motion ; but there is, at the
same time, almost uninterrupted silence, religious
meditations appearing to occupy all men's minds."

The Dalai-Lama is the religious and political
sovereign of the Thibetians, and also their visible
deity. As a token of the high respect in which he
is held, they call him Kian-Ngan-Remboutchi, which
in their language denotes the expressive designation
of " sovereign treasure."

DALEITES, a small Christian sect which arose
in Scotland last century, deriving its name from its
founder, Mr. David Dale, an excellent and devout
man, who, while he followed the occupation of a
manufacturer, was also pastor of a Congregationalist
church in Glasgow. Born of pious parents, he had
been carefully trained in the fear of the Lord, and his
character throughout life was that of a godly, consis-
tent man. For a time he continued to worship in the
communion of the Established Church, but happen-
ing to peruse the treatise written by Mr. Glas 01
Tealing, entitled, ' The Testimony of the King 01
Martyrs,' he was so convinced by the reasonings ol
the author, that he resolved to leave the Establish-
ment, and to join the recently formed body of the
Glasites. His connection with that sect, however,
was but of very short duration, if it was ever fully
formed ; as his views on some points differed
slightly from those of Mr. Glas and his adherents.
Mr. Dale therefore worshipped along with a few
friends of kindred sentiments, who formed them-
selves after a short time into a congregation undel
his pastoral superintendence. Small churches hold-
ing the same principles were soon formed in different
parts of the country, particularly at Edinburgh,
Perth, and Kirkcaldy.

In their general opinions on doctrinal points the
Daleites differed little from the Glasites (which
see). Both in preaching and prayer, while the doc-
trines of free grace were prominently held forth by
both sects, they were generally regarded as being
exhibited in a more limited aspect among the Dale-
ites, the members of the church being addressed and
prayed for as believers who had already passed from
death unto life, and not as still to be invited to enter
within the fold of Christ. In some of their practices
also the two sects differed from each otlier. The
Daleites did not consider a plurality of elders essen-
tial to the right dispensation of the Lord's Supper as

DALMATIC A -DANCERS.

666

the Glasites did. Mr. Dale and his followers held
that the apostolic expression, " the husband of one
wife," was to be understood as simply prohibiting the
having of two wives at one time ; whereas Mr. Glas
and those who adhered to him, maintained that the
doctrine which the apostle meant to teacli was, that
if an elder married a second time, even although his
first wife was dead, he thereby became disqualified
for office. The Daleites did not refuse to hold ordi-
nary social intercourse with excommunicated per-
sons by sitting with them at meat. The Glassites
considered such conduct as inconsistent with true
Christian character and conduct.

The sect of the Daleites has long since disappear-
ed, not a single congregation of the body being
known to exist in Scotland. See Ingiiamitis.
(il. L8FTEB, SaNDEMANIANS.

DALMATICA, a long coat with sleeves down to
the hands, which was occasionally, though but sel-
dom, worn by the ancient Romans. It has been some-
times alleged that this piece of dress was worn in the
early Christian church, both by bishops and deacons,
but the evidence on which such a statement rests is
by no means conclusive. The dalmatica was worn
formerly by the deacon in the Church of England in
the administration of the eucharist. It is a robe
reaching down to the knees, and open on each side.
In the Roman Catholic church the dalmatica is
marked on the back with two narrow stripes. This
garment is called in the Greek church COLLOBTDM
(which see), and is covered with a multitude of small
crosses. The name dalmatica is derived from its
being the royal vest of Dalmatia. Pope Sylvester
is said to have been the first who ordered it to be
worn by deacons. Pope Eutychianus decreed that
the bodies of the martyrs should be wrapped up in
this robe.

DAMASCENUS (St. John), Festival of, a
festival celebrated by both the Greek and Roman
churches in memory of John of Damascus, a distin-
guished theological writer in the first half of the
eighth century. The Greek church holds the festi-
val on the 4th of December, and the Latin church
on the 6th of May.

DAMIAXISTS, a sect of Christians which arose
in the sixth century, deriving their name from Da-
mianus, the Monophysite patriarch of Alexandria.
The Damianists rejected the idea of a mere specific
unity in God, and not a numerical unity. Approach-
ing the views of the SabeUians, they maintained
that the Three Persons in the Trinity had a common
nature in the same sense that any two human beings
may be said to have a common nature. Thus this
sect tried to discriminate between the Divine essence
and the Three Persons of the Godhead. They de-
nied that each Person by himself and in nature was
God, but maintained that the Three Persons had a
common Godhead or divinity by an undivided par-
ticipation of which each one was God. The Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, they called Hypostases or Per-

I.

sons, and what was common to them they called God,
substance or nature. It is not improbable that by
such a mode of explanation they intended to reject
the Athanasian doctrines of the eternal generation of
the Son, and the procession of the Holy Ghost.
Their opinions, indeed, somewhat resembled those
of the Angelites (which see).

DAMIANUS. See Anargyres.

DAMIEN (St.), Hermits of. See Celestines.

DANA, a gift, the term used by the Budhists of
Ceylon to denote alms. They attach great import-
ance to the duty of almsgiving, which is, according
to their system of belief, highly meritorious. But to
the right performance of this cardinal virtue they
regard it as absolutely indispensable that the inten-
tion of the giver be pure, that he be perfectly will-
ing to part with the gift before bestowing it, and
that he have no feeling of regret after it has been
bestowed. Alms given to priests are restricted to
four articles only — robes, food, a pallet to lie upon,
and medicine or sick diet. Almsgiving is the first
of virtues among the Budhists, and superior to the
observance of all the precepts. It brings a greatly
increased reward in a future birth, including, if the
duty be properly discharged, both wealth and at-
tendants.

DANACE, a name given to the obolos or coin
which the ancient Greeks were wont to place in the
mouth of the dead to pay Charon, for carrying them
in his boat across the Styx to Hades. It seems to
have received the name of danace, either from being
given tois danois, to the dead, or from danos, a price.

DANAIDES, the fifty daughters ofDanaus, who
were betrothed to the fifty sons of JEgyptus, whom
they killed by the persuasion of their father, and
having committed the dead bodies to the tomb, were
purified from the guilt of their bloody deed by
Hermes and Athena, with the sanction of Zeus.
Ovid, Horace, however, and other later poets, state
tha* the Danaides were punished for their crime in
Hades by being doomed to pour water eternally into
a vessel full of holes. Hypermnestra was the only
one of the Danaides who is said to have saved her
husband Lynceus alive, and hence Pausanias says,
that he saw at Delphi three statues dedicated to
Danaus, Hypermnestra, and Lynceus.

DANCERS, a sect which arose in the Low Coun-
tries in the fourteenth century. They originated ic
A.n. 1373 at Aix-la-Chapelle, from which they
spread through other parts of Belgium, They were
accustomed, both in public and in their private
houses, all of a sudden to fall a-dancing; and hold-
ing each other by the hand, they continued in this,
which they considered a sacred exercise, until, being
almost worn out with the extraordinary violence of
their employment, they fell down breathless and ex-
hausted. During these intervals of vehement agita-
tion, they alleged that they were favoured with won-
derful visions. Like the Flagellants, they roved
from place to place, begging their victuals, holding
3 a

666

DANCING (Religious)— DANDIS.

their secret assemblies, and treating the priesthood
and worship of the church with the utmost con-
tempt. The ignorant priests of that age believed
these enthusiasts to be possessed with the devil ; and
they went so far as to pretend to cast him out by
the singing of hymns, and the application of fumiga-
tions of incense.

DANCING (Religious). From an early period
the custom of dancing as a part of religious worship
seems to have existed. The dance seems to have
formed a part of the most ancient popular rites of
the Egyptians. Herodotus accordingly, in describ-
ing their annual journey to Bubastis, says, " Through-
out the whole journey, some of the women strike the
cymbal, whilst men play the flute, and the rest of the
women and men sing and clap their hands ; and
when in their journey they come near a town, they
bring the boat near the shore, and conduct them-
selves thus : some of the women do as I have already
described, and some dance." In the Egyptian mo-
numents also there are frequent representations of
choral dances and festal processions. In all proba-
bility, therefore, the Israelites had brought from Egypt
the custom of religious dances, such as that whicli
formed a part of the worship of the golden calf) in the
account of which Moses tells us in Exod. xxxii. 19,
that " he saw the calf and the dancing." These sa-
cred dances among the Hebrews were accompanied
with instrumental music. Tims David says, Ps. cl.
4, " Praise Him with the timbrel and dance." The
Hebrew word used to denote this dance means pro-
perly a circular dance, whicli would seem to indicate
the form or figure in which it was conducted. Botli
men and women appear to have joined in these re-
ligious festivals, for we fold in Ps. lxviii. 25, a dis-
tinct reference to this fact : " The singers went be-
fore, the players on instruments followed after ;
among them were the damsels playing with timbrels."
Men of rank did not count it beneath their dignity
to engage in religious dancing. Hence David,
though a king, is not ashamed to express his feelings
of holy gratitude and joy in a sacred dance; and
while Michal his wife reproaches him for it, the
ground of her ridicule is to be found not in his actu-
ally employing himself in the sacred exercise, but
in his dancing in company with the rest of the peo-
ple, thus putting himself on a level with the meanest
of his subjects.

The sacred circular dance was not confined to the
worshippers of the true God, but was practised also
by the lieathen, as in the case of the Amalekites
after they had spoiled Ziklag, as recorded in 1 Sam.
xxx. 16. When the heathen worship the demon
gods, they dance in circles round the sacrifices, and
throw themselves into the most violent contor-
tions, so that the arms, hands, and legs appear as if
they were in convulsions. They throw themselves
suddenly on the ground, then jump up, and again join
in the circular dance. The dithyramb or old Bac-
chic song of the ancient Greeks, was danc»d round a

blazing altar, by a chorus of fifty men or boys. Cir
cular dances were performed by the Druids in the
oak-groves and forests of the ancient Gauls and
Britons, in honour of the sacred oak and its indwell-
ing deity. To this day, in almost all heathen na-
tions, instrumental music and the dance are consi-
dered necessary parts of religious worship.

In ancient Rome the priests of Mars received
their name of Salii (Lat. salio, to leap), from the
leaping dance whicli they performed, as they carried
the sacred shields in joyful procession through the
city. In such respect did the ancient heathens hold
this sacred employment, that not only did they dance
round the statues and the altars of their gods, but
their poets have no hesitation ill making the gods
themselves sometimes engage in the dance. Pan, in
particular, excels all the gods in dancing. And among
modern heathens, the principal part of divine wor-
ship, particularly in savage tribes, consists in dances.
Among the Mohammedans there is a special class of
monks, who, from the peculiarity of their mode of
worship, as consisting in rapid circular motions, are
called Dancing Dervishes. Among the North Amer-
ican Indians there is a sacred exercise which is
called the Calumet Dance. See Calumet.

All promiscuous and immodest dancing of men
and women together was forbidden among the early
Christians. The council of Laodicea expressly pro-
hibits it, having in view, as is generally believed,
wanton dancing at marriage feasts, against whicli
there are several other canons of the ancient coun
cils, and severe invectives of the Fathers. Chrysos-
torn declaims against promiscuous dancing as one of
those pomps of Satan which men renounced in their
baptism. Among some modern sects of Christians,
all dancing of men and women in company, even
though neither immodest nor lascivious in its char-
acter, is declared to be improper and unbecoming the
gravity and decorum which ought to belong to the
true Christian.

DANDIS, one of the Vaishnava sects among the
Hindus, and a legitimate representative of the fourth
Asrama or mendicant life, into which the Hindu is
believed to enter after passing through the previous
stages of student, householder, and hermit. A Brah
man, however, does not require to pass through the
previous stages, but is allowed to enter at once into
the fourth order. The Dandi is distinguished by
carrying a small dand or wand, with several projec-
tions from it, and a piece of cloth dyed with red
ochre, in which the Brahmanical cord is supposed to
be enshrined, attached to it ; he shaves his hair and
beard, wears only a cloth around the loins, and sub-
sists upon food obtained ready-dressed from the
houses of the Brahmans once a-day only, which he
deposits in the small clay pot that he always carries
with hini. He should live alone, and near to, but
not within a city ; but this rule is rarely observed,
and, in general, the Dandis are found in cities, col-
lected like other mendicants in Mall*. The Dan'V

DANIEL— DASA-BALA.

6C7

lias no particular time or mode of worship, but em-
ploys himself chiefly in meditation and in the study
of the Vedanta works. He reverences S/dva and his
incarnations in preference to the other members of
the Hindu Triad, and hence the Dandis are reck-
oned among the Vakknavas. They bear the Shiva
mark upon the forehead, smearing it with the Tri-
pundra, that is, a triple transverse line formed with
the ashes of fire made with burnt cow-dung. This
mark, beginning between the eye-brows and carry-
ing it to their extremity, is made with the thumb
reverted between the middle and third fingers. The
genuiue Dandi, however, is not necessarily of the
Shiva or any other sect, and in their establishments
tlicy are usually found to adore Nirguna or Niran-
iana, the deity devoid of attribute or passion. The
Dandis have usually great influence and authority
among the Shiva Bralimans of the North of India,
and they are the Sanyasisor monastic portion of the
Smartal sect of Brahmans in the South.

It is not so much the speculative as the practical
Dandis that are worshippers of Shiva, and the form
in which they adore him is that of Bhaikav (which
see), or Lord of terror. In the case of those who
thus worship Shiva, part of tho ceremony of initia-
tion consists in inflicting a small incision on the
inner part of the knee, and drawing the blood of the
novice as an acceptable offering to the god. The
Dandis of every description differ from the great
mass of Hindus in their treatment of the dead, as
they put them into coffins and bury them, or when
practicable east them into Borne sacred stream. Hin-
dus of all castes are occasionally found assuming the
life and emblems of the order of Dandis. There are
even Brahmans who, without connecting themselves
with any community, take upon them the character
of this class of mendicants. There is, however, a
sect of Dandis termed Dasnamis (which see), which
admit none but Brahmans into their order.

DANIEL (Festival of), a festival celebrated
by the Greek church on the 17th December, in me-
mory of the prophet Daniel, and tho three young
Hebrews who were cast into the fiery furnace.

DAOLO, the god worshipped by the natives of
Toiiijuin, as being the guardian of travellers.

DAPHXiEA, a surname of Aktemis (which
see), derived from Gr. daphne, a laurel, perhaps be-
cause her statue was made of laurel-wood.

DAPHNiEUS, a surname of Apollo (which
see), because the laurel was sacred to this god.

DAPHNE, said by Pausanias to have been an an-
cient priestess of the Delphic oracle, to which office
she had been appointed by Ge. There is an ancient
tradition that having been remarkably beautiful,
Daphne was loved by Apollo, who pursued after her,
and when she attempted to llee from him, the god
changed her into a laurel-tree, which accordingly
was called by ber name.

DAPHNEPHOBIA, a festival celebrated at
Thebes in honour of Apollo, which seems to have de-

rived its name from the circumstance, that laurel
branches were carried in the procession. The festival
was kept every ninth year. The mode of observance
was as follows: A piece of olive-wood was ornamented
with garlands of laurel and other flowers, and on its
top was a globe of brass representing the sun, with an-
other globe under it which denoted the moon, with
smaller globes hanging from it indicating the stars.
The middle part of the wood was festooned with pur-
ple garlands, while the lower part was surrounded with
a crocus-coloured covering. The whole number of the
garlands was three hundred and sixty-five, being the
number of days in the year. The olive-bough thus
adorned, was carried in procession by a youth of
great beauty and of noble descent, splendidly dressed,
with his hair dishevelled, and on his head a crown of
gold. He was invested with the office of a priest, and
bore the title of Dapiinephoros (which see), or
laurel-bearer. Before him walked one of his near-
est relations carrying a rod festooned with gar-
lands, and immediately after him followed a train of
virgins with branches in their hands. In this order
they marched to the temple of Apollo, surnamed
Ismenius or Galaxius, where they sang supplicatory
hymns to the god.

The Delphians also observed a solemnity of a
similar kind, in which they sent every ninth year a
sacred youtli to Tempe, who, going along the sacred
road, returned home as laurel-bearer amid songs and
rejoicings. This ceremony is said to have been in-
tended to commemorate the purification of Apollo
at the altar in Tempe, to which he had tied on kill-
ing the Python. A festival of somewhat the same
description was celebrated by the Athenians, who
dedicated every seventh day to the worship of Apollo,
earn in,; laurel-boughs in their hands, adorning the
sacred basket with garlands, and singing hymns in
honour of the god.

DAPIIXKPIIOPiOS, a priest of Apollo, who, ac-
cording to Pausanias, was chosen to the office every
year. He required to be young, handsome, and vi-
gorous. This priest was taken from one of the most
distinguished families of Thebes. The same name
Daphnephoros was given to the laurel-bearer in a
similar rite observed by the inhabitants of Del-
phi.

I'AUAXIAXS, a heretical sect among the Mo-
hammedans, who derived their name from Darani
their founder. This impostor, who had come from
Persia into Egypt, endeavoured to persuade the pen
pie that Hasem, the wise, in whose caliphate hfl

lived, was God ; but although Daranj was a favourite
with the caliph, the people, indignant at his blas-
phemy, put him to death. Tliis sect prevailed much
on the sea-coast of Syria, and in the district of Le-
banon.

DASA-BALA, ten powers or modes of wisdom
possessed by Bi dba (which see). Mr. E
Hardy, to whose excellent works we are indebted
for our information on the principles and rites of the

668

DASA-DANDU— DATTA.

Budhists (which see), thus enumerates the Dasa- |
Bala, in his ' Manual of Budhism :' " 1. The wisdom
that understands what knowledge is necessary for
the right fulfilment of any particular duty, in what-
soever situation. 2. That which knows the result
or consequences of karma, or moral action. 2. That
which knows the way to the attainment of nirwana
or annihilation. 4. That which sees the various sak-
walas or systems of worlds. 5. That which knows
the thoughts of other beings. 6. That which knows
that the organs of sense are not the self. 7. That
which knows the purity produced by the exercise of
the dhyanas or abstract meditation. 8. That which
knows where any one was born in all his former
births. 9. That which knows where any one will be
born in all future births. 10. That which knows
now the results proceeding from karma, or moral
action, may be overcome."

DASA-DANDU, ten prohibitions which are en-
joined upon the Budhist monks to be studied during
their noviciate. Mr. Hardy, in his ' Eastern Mona-
chism,' thus describes them : " 1. The eating of food
after mid-day. 2. The seeing of dances or the hear-
ing of music or singing. 3. The use of ornaments or
perfumes. 4. The use of a seat or couch more than
a cubit high. 5. The receiving of gold, silver, or
money. 6. Practising some deception to prevent
another priest from receiving that to which he
is entitled. 7. Practising some deception to in-
jure another priest, or bring him into danger. 8.
Practising some deception in order to cause another
priest to be expelled from the community. 9. Speak-
ing evil of another priest. 10. Uttering slanders, in
order to excite dissension among the priests of the
same community. The first five of these crimes may
be forgiven, if the priest bring sand and sprinkle it
in the court-yard of the wihara, and the second five
may be forgiven after temporary expulsion."

DASAHARA. See Durga Pujah.

DASA-SIL, ten obligations which must be repeat-
ed and meditated upon by the Budhist priest in his
noviciate for three hours every day. They are as
follows : " 1. I will observe the precept, or ordinance,
that forbids the taking of life. 2. I will observe the
precept, or ordinance, that forbids the taking of that
which has not been given. 3. I will observe the
precept, or ordinance, that forbids sexual intercourse.
4. I will observe the precept, or ordinance, that for-
bids the saying of that which is not true. 5. I will
observe the precept, or ordinance, that forbids the
use of intoxicating drinks, that leads to indifference
towards religion. 6. I will observe the precept, or
ordinance, that forbids the eating of food after mid-
day. 7. I will observe the precept, or ordinance,
that forbids attendance upon dancing, singing, music,
and masks. 8. I will observe the precept, or ordi-
nance, that forbids the adorning the body with flowers,
and the use of perfumes and unguents. 9. I will
observe the pirecept, or ordinance, that forbids the
'ise of hish or honourable seats or couches. 10. I

will observe the precept, or ordinance, that forbidi
the receiving of gold or silver."

DASNAMI DANDIS, the primitive members
of the order of Dandis (which see). They are said
to refer their origin to Sankara Acha'rya, a re-
markable individual who acted a conspicuous part in
the religious history of Hindustan. The word Das
nami means ten-named, there being ten classes ot
mendicants descended from this remarkable man,
only three of them, however, having so far retained
their purity as to entitle them to be called Sankara's
Dandis. These are numerous, especially in and
about Benares. The chief Vedanti writers belong
to this sect. The most sturdy beggars, as we learn
from Professor Horace Wilson, are members of this
order, although their contributions are levied parti-
cularly upon the Brahmanical class, as whenever a
feast is given to the Brahmans, the Dandis of this de-
scription present themselves, though unbidden guests,
and can only be got rid of by bestowing upon them
a share of the viands. Many of them practise the
YOGA (which see), and profess to work miracles.
The author of the ' Dabistan' speaks of one who
could keep his breath suspended for three hours,
bring milk from his veins, cut bones with hair, and
put eggs into a narrow-mouthed bottle without break-
ing them.

The remaining members of the Dasnami class,
though they have degenerated from the purity
of the practice necessary to the original Dandis,
are still religious characters, only they have given
up the staff' or wand, the use of clothes, money, and
ornaments ; they prepare their own food, and admit
members from any order of Hindus. These Atits,
as they are often called, are frequently collected in
Maths, as well as the Dandis, but they mix freely
in the business of the world ; they carry on trade,
and often accumulate property, and some of them
even enter into the married state, when they receive
the name of Samyogi.

DATARY, an officer in the courts of the Pope,
whose duty it is to receive petitions presented to
him in regard to the provision of benefices. He is
always a prelate, and sometimes a cardinal. In vir-
tue of his office, the Datary, without consulting his
Holiness, may grant at pleasure all benefices which
do not yield more than twenty-four ducats of yearly
income. When the benefices are of more value, the
written approbation and signature of the Pope must
be obtained. The salary attached to the office is
two thousand crowns, exclusive of perquisites ; and
he has a sub-datary to assist him in his duties, who
receives a yearly allowance of a thousand crowns.
The Pope's bull granting a benefice is despatched by
the datary, and passes through the officials of fifteen
different offices, who have all of them their stated
fees.

DATTA, or Dattatreya, an incarnation of a
portion of Vishnu, and therefore venerated by the
Vaishnavas. He was also eminent for his practice

DAUGHTER OF THE VOICE-DEACONS.

6G3

of the Yoga, and hence he is held in high estima-
tion bv the Yogis (which see.)

DAUGHTER OF THE VOICE. See Batii-
Kol.

DAVIDISTS, a name given to the Amalricians
(which see), from David of Dinanto, who was a pu-
pil of Amalric of Bena, and afterwards an able ex-
positor of his system.

DAY, a regular portion of time equal to twenty-
four hours. There have been different computations of
their days among different nations. The Hebrews
reckoned their day from evening to evening, and in
the Mosaic account of the creation, the evening is
mentioned as preceding the morning. Tacitus says,
that the ancient Germans counted their times not
by the number of days, but of nights. Such was also
the mode of calculation adopted by the ancient Gauls,
and there are still remnants of the same mode in
some of the expressions still in use in our own coun-
try, such as " a fortnight ago." The ancient Baby-
lonians commenced the day at sunrise.

The ancient Hebrews, as well as the Greeks, di-
vided the day into morning, noon, and night. These
are the only parts of a day mentioned in the Old
Testament. They began their day at sunset, and
ended it at the same time on the following day. When
the Jews came under the dominion of the Romans,
they learned from their conquerors a new mode of
calculating. The day was thenceforth divided into
four parts, thus, from six o'clock till nine in the
morning, which was the hour of the morning sacri-
fice ; from nine till twelve ; from twelve till three,
and from three o'clock, which was the time of the
evening sacrifice, till six, which concluded the one
Say, and commenced another.

The Hebrews, besides their natural day, had also
an artificial day, consisting of twelve hours, which
began in the morning at sun-rising, and ended at
sun-setting. Still another kind of day existed among
them, called prophetical, because it is only men-
tioned by the prophets. This kind of day is taken
for a year in the Scriptures. They had likewise pro-
phetical weeks, which consisted of seven years ; pro-
phetical months, which make thirty years ; and
prophetical years, which they reckoned for throe
hundred and sixty years.

A curious account of day and night is given in
the Prose Edda of the ancient Scandinavians:
"A giant called Njlirvi, who dwelt in Jiituiiheiin,
had a daughter called Night (Nott) who, like all
her race, was of a dark and swarthy complexion.
She was first wedded to a man called Naglfari,
and had by him a son named And, and afterwards
to another man called Aimar, by whom she had a
daughter railed Kartli (Jord). She then esp
Delling, of the A-Wiv race, and their son was Day
(Dagr) a child light and beauteous like his father.
Then took All-father, Night, and Day, her son, and
gave tin in two horses and two cars, and set them up
in the heavens that they might drive successive!}

one after the other, each in twelve hours' time round
the world. Night rides first on her horse called
Hrimfaxi, that every morn, as he ends his course,
bedews the earth with the foam that falls from his
bit. The horse made use of by Day is named Skin-
faxi, from whose mane is shed light over the earth
and the heavens."

DAY OF ATONEMENT. See Atonement,
(Day of).

DAYS (Holy). See Festivals.

DAYS (Lucky and Unlucky). The ancient
heathens entertained the idea that there were parti-
cular days which were fortunate, and others unfor-
tunate ; that, according to their astrological notions,
some davs were certainly connected with success, while
others were attended with an almost sure fatality.
This superstitious notion may be traced as far back as
the poet Hesiod. Neither was it confined to the ig-
norant multitude. Suetonius tells us, that the Em-
pen n- Augustus Caesar never went abroad upon the
day after the Nundinse, nor began any serious un-
dertaking on the Nones. St. Ambrose says that
the first converts from heathenism to Christianity
were much addicted to such superstitious ideas
and practices. Lucian gives a minute account of
an unlucky day. " On which," says he, " neither
do the magistrates meet to consult about public
affairs, neither are lawsuits decided in the hall, nor
sacrifices offered, nor, in fine, any sort of business
undertaken wherein a man would wish himself for-
tunate. Such sorts of days as he goes on have been
instituted by different nations ondift'erent accounts."
And in another place the same author informs us,
that Lycurgus, the Lacedemonian lawgiver, had
made it a fundamental institution of government
never to enter upon any warlike expedition but when
the moon was at the full. It is probably to the no-
tion of luckv and unlucky days, that Moses alludes
in the prohibition laid upon the ancient Hebrews in
Lev. xix. 26, against observing times. Manasseh is
also accused of being an observer of times. The
Hebrew word is Lconenu, which seems to be de-
rived from oiiali, denoting time.

Throughout modern heathendom, the notion of
luckyand unlucky days extensively prevails. Thus
Kampfer Bays, in his ' Account of the Japanese cus-
toms,' " It may not be amiss to observe, that it is
not an indifferent matter to travellers in this country
what dav they sot out on their journey ; for they
must choose for their departure a fortunate day, for
which purpose they make use of a particular table
printed in all their road-books, which they say hath
been observed to hold true by a continued experience
of manv ages, and wherein tire set down all the Un-
fortunate days of every month."

DEACONS, a class of office-bearers in the Chris-
tian church. That there existed officers bearing.
this name from the earliest period in the history of

the New Testament church is admitted universally

They are explicitly mentioned in various passages of

870

DEACONS.

the epistles of Paul, and in the writings of the Chris-
tian Fathers. They are frequently associated in
Scripture with other recognized office-bearers of the
church. Thus PhiL i. 1, "Paul and Timotheus, the
servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ
Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and
deacons." The character and qualifications of a
deacon are plainly laid down in 1 Tim. iii. 8 — 13,
" Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-
tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of
filthy lucre ; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure
conscience. And let these also first be proved ; then
let them use the office of a deacon, being found
blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not
slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the dea-
cons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their chil-
dren and their own houses well. For they that have
used the office of a deacon well purchase to them-
selves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith
which is in Jesus Christ."

But while the existence of this class of office-
oearers is denied by no portion of the Christian
Church, considerable diversity of opinion exists as
to the precise duties which belonged to their office.
The Greek word dialconos, a deacon, and its corre-
sponding verb, have an extensive general application,
denoting every kind of service. But in its more re-
stricted signification, as relating to an office in the
church, the word deacon implies one whose duty it
is to receive the charities of the church, and to dis-
tribute their alms. In this view of the meaning of
the name, the origin of the office is by many sup-
posed to be described in Acts vi. 1 — 6, " And in
those days, when the number of the disciples was
multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Gre-
cians against the Hebrews, because their widows
were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the
twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto
them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave
the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore,
brethren, look ye out among you seven men of hon-
est report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom
we may appoint over this business. But we will
give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the min-
istry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole
multitude : and they chose Stephen, a man full of
faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Pro-
chorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and
Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch : whom they set be-
fore the apostles ; and when they had prayed, they
laid their hands on them." This passage, however,
is by no means universally believed to refer to the
deacons of whom Paul speaks, but some suppose that
the office which Luke describes, in the passage now
quoted, was of a local and temporary character, aris-
ing out of a peculiar emergency which had arisen in
the church of Jerusalem. But besides that the pas-
sage is so expressed as rather to point to a perma-
nent than a mere temporary office, the whole early
•rhurch is unanimous in believing that the seven

mentioned by Luke were deacons, holding ar. office
identical with that referred to by Paul. And the num-
ber of writers who assert the contrary form a small
minority of those who have discussed the subject.
On this point Dr. Miller, in his work on the ' Office ol
the Ruling Elder,' observes, "The current opinion
of all the most learned and judicious Christian di-
vines of all denominations, for several centuries past,
is decisively in favour of considering the passage in
Acts vi. as recording the first appointment of the
New Testament deacons. Among all classes of
theologians, Catholic and Protestant, Lutheran and
Calvinistic, Presbyterian and Episcopal, this con-
currence of opinion approaches so near to unanimity,
that we may, without injustice to any other opinion,
consider it as the deliberate and harmonious judg-
ment of the Christian church."

The Church of Rome and the Church of England
agree in regarding the deaconship as the lowest or-
der in the priesthood, while some of the Congrega-
tionalists consider the term deacon as synonymous
with presbyter ; and, therefore, so far spiritual in its
nature. Presbyterians, on the other hand, view the
office of a deacon as exclusively connected with the
ecclesiastico-secular interestsof the Christian church
In England deacons are permitted to baptize, to read
in the church, and to assist in the celebration of the
eucharist ; but their duty in this matter is limited
to the administration of the wine. They are not
eligible to ecclesiastical promotion, but they may be
chaplains to families, curates to beneficed clergymen,
or lecturers to parish churches. The oversight of the
poor is no longer committed to them, but to church-
wardens chosen by the vestry for that purpose
every year. Besides deacons, the Church of England
has Archdeacons (which see), and Sub-deacons
(which see). In the German Protestant churches
the assistant ministers are generally called deacons.
Among Roman Catholics, the deacons are removed as
far as possible from the original design of their in-
stitution. The deacon with them is an officer whose
duty it is to perfume with incense the officiating
clergyman and the choir; to lay the corporal or
white, cloth on the altar ; to transfer the patten or
cup from the sub-deacon to the officiating prelate ;
and the pix from the officiating prelate to the sub-
deacon; and to perform various other duties of a
similar kind. In the Church of Scotland, at one
time, deacons were recognized as standing office-
bearers in the church, but for many years they have
fallen into abeyance. The Second Book of Disci-
pline, however, declares the office of deacon to be
" an ordinary and perpetual function in the Kirk of
Christ." The Free Church of Scotland has revived
this order of office-bearers, probably in consequence
of the peculiar position of that church as no longer
endowed by the State, and deriving its whole emolu-
ments from the voluntary contributions of the people
In almost every other Presbyterian church, whether
in Britain or America, deacons are dispensed with,

DEACONS' COURTS.

G71

»nd their office merged in that of elders. Congrega-
tion.ilist churches have deacons, but their duties
are both of a temporal and spiritual character. Ac-
cordingly, Dr. Henderson, when speaking of these offi-
cers, says that " the deacons, besides attending to the
temporal concerns of the church, assist the minister
with their advice ; take the lead at prayer-meetings
when he is absent ; and preach occasionally to small
congregations in the contiguous villages."

Thus has the office of deacon been either modified
01 h>st si'_;ht of in almost all sections of the church
of Christ. The most ancient authorities, indeed,
speak of them as assisting the bishops and presby-
ters in their religious services and other official
duties. Thus the Apostolical Constitutions say,
" Let the deacon be the ear, the eye, the mouth,
the heart, the soul of the bishop." It devolved on
this class of office-bearers to recite the prayers of
the church, and to give the signal for the com-
mencement of each of the different portions of di-
vine service. In the Western churches, the gos-
pels, as containing the words spoken more imme-
diately by our Lord himself, were appointed to be
read, not like the other portions of Scripture bv
the prelector, but by the deacon. For a time it
was thought necessary that the number of deacons
in any single church should be seven, in order to
correspond with the number belonging to the church
of Jerusalem, as mentioned in the Acts of the Apos-
tles. At a later period the original number was
greatly exceeded, and in the sixth century the prin-
cipal church in Constantinople bad no fewer than a
hundred deacons.

From their intimate connection with the bishops
as their assistants and confidential agents, the deacons
ie in gradually to assume an authority in the church
to which their office did not entitle them. Arrogat-
ing to themselves a superiority to the presbyters, it
became necessary for the synod to admonish them
:m this subject. Thus the council of Nice enjoins,
" Let the deacons observe their proper place, know-
ing that they are indeed the assistants of the bishops,
but that they are inferior to the presbyters." The
presumption, which was in such plain terms corrected
by the councils, was particularly chargeable upon
the archdeacons, who stood at the head of the order,
and from their position obtained a predominating
influence which in some cases they abused.

In the Romish church, deacons are often called
Levites, a name which in some of the councils of the
Western church is applied to presbyters and dea-
cons indiscriminately. Minute directions are given
in the Roman Pontifical for the ordination of this
class of ecclesiastical office-bearers, and in token of
investiture with their office, they receive the book of
the Gospels, which they touch with their right hand,
while the officiating Pontiff says, " Receive ye power
to read the gospel in God's church, as well for the
living as for the dead." The ordination address,
which compares their office to that of Levi of old, is

thus given in the Pontifical: '• Dearly beloved sons,
about to be promoted to the order of Levites, think
seriously to how great a degree you ascend. For it
behoveth a deacon to minister at the altar; to bap-
tize ; to preach. Now in the old law, of the twelve
tribes one was chosen ; that of Levi, that by special
consecration it might serve perpetually the taber-
nacle, and its sacrifices ; and of so great a dignity
was it, that none could rise to that divine ministry
and office, but of that stock. Insomuch that by a
certain high prerogative of heritage, it deserved both
to be, and to be called, the tribe of the Lord. Of
these you, my dearly beloved sons, hold this day the
name and the office, because you are set apart in the
Levitical office for the service of the tabernacle of
testimony, that is, the church of God : the which
ever with her armour on, fights against her enemies
in incessant combat. Hence, says the apostle : ' We
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against prin-
cipalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places.' This church of God you ought to
bear, as they did the tabernacle, and fortify with a
holy garniture, with divine preaching, and a perfect
example. For Levi signifies, added or adopted: and
you, dearly beloved sons, who receive your name
from the paternal inheritance, be ye adopted from
carnal desires, from earthly concupiscences which
war against the soul ; be ye comely, clean, pure,
chaste, as becomes the ministers of Christ, and the
stewards of the mysteries of God. And, because
you are the co-ministers and co-makers of the Lord's
body and blood, be ye strangers to all allurements
of the flesh, as Scripture saith : ' Be ye clean who
carry the vessels of the Lord.' Think of blessed
Stephen elected to this office by the apostles for the
merit of his pre-eminent chastity. — Take care that
to whom you announce the gospel with the mouth,
you expound it to the same by your living works,
that of you it may be said : ' Blessed are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace, that bring
glad tidings of good.' Have your feet shod with
the examples of the saints in the preparation of the
gospel of peace. The which the Lord grant you
through his grace."

There was another class of persons which arose in
the ancient church under the name of SUBDEAOOHS
(which see). These officers are still continued in
the Roman Catholic church, and after serving for a
time in this subordinate capacity, they are promoted
to the more honourable degree of deacons.

DEACONS' COURTS, courts instituted by the
i'lec Church of Scotland for the management of the
ecclesiastical funds and temporal concerns generally
of each congregation. Each deacons' court consists
of the elders and deacons of the congri gation, pre-
sided over by the pastor, and meets generally once
a month, or as often as occasion requires. In
most of the other Scottish dissenting churches
secular matters are under the charge of the elders

672

DEACONESSES— DEAD (Beating the)

and a Becular body chosen by the members of the
congregation under the name of managers.

DEACONESSES, a class of female officebearers
in the early Christian church, who were helpers and
assistants in the performance of various services,
particularly in reference to the female portion of the
communities. The term deaconess does not occur in
the Sacred Scriptures, but the office appears to be dis-
tinctly referred to in Rom. xvi. 1, "I commend unto
you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the
church which is at Cenchrea." The precise origin
of this class of ecclesiastical persons has never been
satisfactorily explained, but their existence is men-
tioned both by the ancient Fathers, and by several
Pagan writers, particularly Pliny, Lucian of Samo-
sata, and Libanius. Grotius thinks that, as in Ju-
dea, the deacons could administer freely to the fe-
male sex, the office of a deaconess must have been
unknown to the Jews. He therefore supposes that
deaconesses were first appointed in the churches
of the Gentile Christians. From the second to
the fourth century, the office was known in many
churches in various countries, though it was never
universally adopted. By means of deaconesses
the gospel could be introduced into the bosom of
families where, owing to the customs of the East,
no man could find admittance. They were also
bound, as Christian wives and mothers of tried ex-
perience in all the relations of their sex, to assist
the younger women of the communities with their
sounsel and encouragements, besides fulfilling the
office of private catechists to female catechumens.

It has been argued by some that those females
were deaconesses of whom Paul speaks in 1 Tim. v.
3 — 10, as having been maintained by the church.
This opinion is objected to by Neander, and with no
small reason, when we take into account the ad-
vanced age, sixty years and upwards, on which the
apostle fixes as the proper time of entering into the
number of approved Christian widows — an age alto-
gether incompatible with the active duties which be-
longed to the office of deaconesses. Some ancient
Fathers, however, believed that the apostle had dea-
conesses in view. According to some councils, the
age at which females were eligible to this office was
forty, and even some were chosen at the early age of
twenty. Their age probably varied, as Coleman
thinks, with the particular duties to which they were
appointed, matrons venerable for age and piety
being selected for religious teachers, and young
women for almsgiving, the care of the sick and other
similar duties. Widows were generally preferred
for deaconesses, and Tertullian directs that each |
should be the widow of one man, having children.

The mode of ordaining deaconesses was, as in the
case of other church officers, by prayer and imposi-
tion of hands. This is plainly asserted in the Apos-
tolical Constitutions, and the ordinary prayer of the
bishop on such occasions is declared to run thus :
" Eternal God. Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Creator of man and of woman ; thou who didst fill
with thy Spirit, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, ana
Huldah ; thou who didst vouchsafe to a woman the
birth of thy only begotten Son ; thou who didst in
the tabernacle and the temple place female keepers
of thy holy gates ; — look down now also upon this
thy handmaid, and bestow on her the Holy Ghost,
that she may worthily perform the work committed
to her, to thy honour, and to the glory of Christ."
The Nicene council seems to have recognized and
approved the employment of deaconesses in the usual
manner. "But when exaggerated notions," says
Neander, "about the magical effects of ordination
and the dignity of the clerical order became conti-
nually more predominant, men began to conceive
something offensive in the practice of ordaining dea-
conesses, and associating them with the elei-us — which
practice was, perhaps, already forbidden by the
council of Laodicea in their eleventh canon. The
Western church, in particular, declared very strongly
against this custom. Western synods of the fifth
and sixth centuries forbade generally the appoint-
ment of deaconesses. Where ordained deaconesses
were still to be found, it was ordered that they should
receive in future the blessing of the bishop along
with the laity; — another proof that before this they
were reckoned as belonging to the clergy. Those
prohibitions came, however, only from French syn-
ods ; and it cannot be inferred from them that the
appointment of deaconesses in the Western church
ceased at once, and in all the districts alike. In the
East, the deaconesses maintained a certain kind of
authority for a longer period. We find among them
widows possessed of property, who devoted their sub-
stance to pious works and institutions, like Olympias,
known on account of her connection with Chrysostom.
They there had it in charge also, by private instruc-
tion, to prepare the women in the country for bap-
tism, and to be present at their baptism. It was
considered the privilege of the wives of bishops,
who, by common understanding, separated from their
husbands after the latter had bound themselves to a
life of celibacy, that, if found worthy, they might be
consecrated as deaconesses ; and thus the female
church-office continued to be preserved in the East
down into the twelfth century."

DEAD (Absolution of the). See Absolu-
tion.

DEAD (Anniversaries of the). See Anni-
versaries.

DEAD (Beating the). The modern Jews be
lieve that when one of their number is buried, an
angel immediately comes and knocks upon the cof-
fin, saying in Hebrew, Wicked ! wicked ! what is thy
Pasuk? This question refers to a custom which
prevails of naming every Jew after a fanciful allu-
sion to some passage of Scripture ; such as, if a child
is named Abraham, his Pasuk is, " Thou art the
Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and bro light-
est him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavesj

DEAD (Bdeninq of the)— DEAD (Driving the Devil feoii the).

673

him the name of Abraham." This Pnsuk, in He-
brew, is taught the child as soon as he can speak,
and he is to repeat it every morning and evening,
that he may be able to answer the angel when he
comes to the grave. If he is not able to repeat his
Paauk after his burial, the angel, it is said, beats him
with a hot iron until he breaks his bones. See

ClIIBBUT HaKKEFER.

DEAD (Burial of the). See Funeral Rites.

DEAD (Burning of the). Though the burial
of the dead is in all probability the most ancient
practice, it caunot be denied that the custom of
burning the dead can be traced back to a remote an-
tiquity. Lucian tells us, that the Greeks bunied,
and the Persians buried their dead, but this state-
ment in reference to the Greeks is by no means borne
out by the records of antiquity, which seem rather
to show that both burning and burial were practised
among that people. In the former case the body
was placed on the top of a pile of wood, and fire
being applied, it was consumed to ashes. From
Homer it would appear that animals, and even cap-
tives or slaves, were buried along with -their dead
bodies in some instances, where honour was designed
to be shown to the deceased. When the pile was
burnt down, the fire was quenched by throwing wine
upon it, after which the bones were carefully col-
lected by the relatives, washed with wine and oil,
and deposited in ums, which were sometimes made
of gold, but most generally of marble, alabaster, or
baked clay. Among the Romans it was customary
to burn the bodies of the dead before burying them.
When the place appointed for burning the body
happened to be very near the place of burial, it was
called Bustuji (which see). The bustum of the
family of Augustus was discovered last century at
Rome, bearing the inscription lac crematus est, here
he was burned. If the body was burnt at a distance
from the place of interment, it was called ustrinum.
When a general or emperor's body was burnt, the
soldiers marched three times round the funeral pile.
The practice of burning does not appear to bave bi en
adopted generally among the Romans, until the later
times of the republic, but under the empire it was
the universal mode of disposing of the dead. The
introduction of Christianity led to its speedy disap-
pearance, so that in the fourth century it had fallen
into complete disuse.

In ancient Scandinavia, Odin is said to have in-
troduced the custom of burning the dead, but who-
ever was the first to propose it, we know with cer-
tainty that burning the dead on funeral piles seems
to have prevailed in the North at a very early period,
and to have been superseded by burial, which may
perhaps have been but the revival of a former cus-
tom. Be this as it may, when the body was burnt,
the ashes were generally collected in an urn or small
stone chest, over which a low mound not above a
yard high was raised. The Ynglinga Saga, on which.
however, antiquarians place no great confidence,

makes a distinction between the age of bunting and
the age of burial.

In mudein times the practice of burning the bodies
of the dead is still found in various heathen countries.
In India, the Hindu sects generally prefer burning
to burial, and until lately the widows were allowed,
and even encouraged, to undergo voluntary crema-
tions on the funeral piles of their husbands. The
wives of Brahmans were compelled formerly by
Hindu law to give themselves up to be burned alive
along with the dead bodies of their husbands. This
practice, called the Suttee (which see), has been
prohibited by the British government, and if cases
of the kind still occur, the utmost privacy is main
tained. It is one peculiarity indeed which distin
guishes the later Hindu or Aryan races from the
earlier or non- Aryan races, that the former burn
their dead, while the latter bury them. Among the
Budhists also in different countries, the cremation of
their dead is frequently preferred.

DEAD (Burnings for the). It was a custom
among the ancient Hebrews to make burnings for
their kings on the occasion of their death; kindling
a large fire in winch were collected all kinds of aro-
matics, along with the clothes, armour, and other
things which belonged to the deceased. Thus it is
said of king Asa, whose dead body they laid in his
own sepulchre, that, 2 Chron. xvi. 14, they made a
very great burning for him. At the funeral of Zede-
kiah, as we find in Jer. xxxiv. 5, spices were burnt
over him. The Rabbis allege that a custom was
handed down to them from their ancestors, of burn-
ing the beds and other articles of furniture belong
ing to the dead.

DEAD (Driving the Devil from the). Among
some heathen nations the notion is entertained that
the dead bodies of their relatives are liable to fall
into the hands of the Devil, and various ceremonies
are gone through with the view of expelling the evil
spirits. A very interesting instance of this has been
furnished to us in a private letter from a correspond-
ent in Nepaul, who was himself an eye-witness ot
the ceremony he describes, which is practised by the
Hill-men of that country, who seem to be part-
ly Budhists, partly Hindus. The communication,
which is dateil 10th June 1856, we insert entire:
" Figure to yourself a large hill, about 8,000 feet
above the level of the sea, and on its Milium: a few
houses similar to our own cottages. On a small plot
outside one of them, and immediately behind an
abrupt rise in the ground, some matting was erected
on poles, within which the friends and priest were to
sit. Exactly in front of them was placed B Stage,
which struck me as exactly resembling a perambu-
lating Punch's opera. Inside of these well
some, trifles made of pastry, and a brass image of
Budha — the sides of the stage being likewise coven d
with paintings of Budha-Demons, &e. Beneath, ami
nu the ground, was a flooring of sand, on the top of
which a few clippers were placed. The performers

674

DEAD (Examination of the).

were a priest and his two sons. The old man had a
heavy, stolid, yet not unpleasant face; the two young
men had high cheek-bones, and flat Mongolian fea-
tures. They were all clad in white cloth gowns tied
at the waist.

" The performances commenced by the old priest
sitting down in front of the stage, with some books
before him. These books had all separate leaves con-
fined by two loose wooden boards, and painted by
hand in the Sanscrit character. He then blew a shrill
blast from a trumpet, made of — what ? why, a man's
thigh-bone, and called by them the trumpet bone ;
they cut off the head of the bone by the trochanter,
and perforate the condyles.

" A little boy also beside him commenced blowing
Into a huge shell with a hole in it. The two sons
then commenced operations, the one playing on a
pair of cymbals, the other on a tambourine. The lat-
ter also put on a head-dress of Chinese paper, with
hieroglyphics upon it. He then commenced dancing
round the stage very gracefully, always whirling
round about, giving a hop and thumping his drum
which he carried in his hand, the drumstick being made
of a piece of bamboo twisted in this manner, S. After
a while the old man took up his book, and recited a
verse or two, then the three went to the front of the
stage, singing each in parts most beautifully, and
bowing occasionally to the image. The dancing again
commenced as before. At last the crowning scene
approached, two baskets were brought containing the
clothes of the deceased and his kukrie, a kind of
dagger worn by every body here. Two little faded
flags were put in each basket. The ceremony now
consisted, it was said, in driving the devil away.
The three now sat down before the baskets, the old
fellow blowing away on his trumpet and another on
the shell. They then commenced a very sweet and
plaintive melody, one of the sons having a bell, and
a piece of brass consisting of two crowns joined to-
gether, and called a thunderbolt. This he kept mov-
ing to and fro over his left shoulder, while with his
other hand he kept ringing the bell. The old man
then took the deceased's kukrie, and danced several
times round the stage, flourishing it about. Now
sounds of wailing are heard at a distance, and two
females presently appear sobbing bitterly, and each
carrying in her hand a bowl of spirits made from
rice. They then seat themselves before the clothes
of the deceased. One was an old crone, the step-
mother of the deceased, the other a girl of fifteen,
his daughter.

" The singing recommences, and the two baskets
are attached to each other by the priest's beads, and
carried roimd the stage, the women following the
priest. Here I left the motley group. I assure you,
seen by torchlight, it was a most impressive scene.
The singing after we left went on at intervals during
the night, and in the morning we discovered the
priest and sons singing before the stage by the book,
and looking very seedy. They had killed a kid dur-

ing the night, tor its head and hind quarters were
lying before the stage. The ceremonies last for 24
hours. The priest gets for his work the clothes ot
the deceased, and a coin worth lOd. After it was
over, I was told that a lad had gone up to the priest
to ask him to worship me, as it was likely I could
raise the dead!"

DEAD (Examination op the). When a dead
body is laid in the grave, the Mohammedans believe
that an angel gives notice of it to the two examiners,
Monker and Nakir, terrific angels of livid and gloomy
appearance, whose duty it is to inquire into the life
and actions of the deceased. They order the dead
person to sit upright, and if he obeys not instantly,
they drag him up with an iron hook ; and as these
examiners are not supposed to be very patient, the
Mohammedans have their graves made hollow, that
they may be able to sit up without difficulty. The
angels rigidly question the dead person respecting
his faith ; if he answers satisfactorily, they suffer
him to be refreshed with the breezes of Farad se :
but if not, they beat him on the temples with maces
of iron, and pull him about with the iron hook or
scythe, until he roars so loud as to be heard by the
whole universe, except men and genii. They then
thrust him back into the grave, giving him as com-
panions ninety-nine dragons, with seven heads each,
who gnaw his carcase until the day of judgment.

Mr. Lane, in his ' Manners and Customs of the
Modem Egyptians,' thus notices this singular arti-
cle of faith : " It is a part of the Moslems' creed,
that the soul remains with the body the first night
after the burial, and that two angels are sent by God to
visit and examine it, and perhaps torture the body ;
a Faekee is consequently hired to sit before the
tomb, and perform the office of instructor of the
dead ; he repeats generally such sentences as follow :
' Answer the angels, God is my Lord in truth ; '
' Mohammed is the apostle of God with veracity ; '
' El-Isla'm is my religion ;' ' The Koran is my book
of direction, and the Moslems are my brothers,' &c.
He concludes by saying, ' Sleep, 0 servant of God,
in the protection of God.' A buffalo is sometimes
slaughtered, and the flesh given to the poor ; this is
supposed to expiate some of the minor sins, but not
the great sins. At the end of the first night aftet
the burial, the soul is believed to depart either to
the place of residence allotted to good souls until
the last day, or to the prison appointed for wicked
souls."

The Examination of the Dead, which may havu
been a notion derived from John xx. 12, is not
directly mentioned in the Koran, and therefore re-
jected by those Mohammedans who strictly adhere
to the text, but as the doctrine is distinctly alluded
to, it is received by the majority of Mussulmans.
The idea is probably borrowed from the religion of
the ancient Fersians, where the examination of the
dead is taught, though it is believed to ■ take place
at a later period ; and the examiners, Mithra and

DEAD (Prayers for the).

67b

Rashnee'-rast, wait until the souls present themselves
nn the bridge (see Al-Sirat) that separates earth
from heaven.

In the ' Book of Traditions concerning the Ac-
tions and Sayings of Mohammed,' Abu-Horeira, a
companion (if .he prophet, reports on the subject of
the examination of the dead : " The prophet said,
Verily, a dead body sits up in its grave without fear
or noise, after which it is asked its religion in the
world; it will reply, ' I was in Isltfm.' — 'And what
dost thou say concerning Mohammed ?' It will say,
1 He is the messenger of God, who brought wonders
to us from God, and I consider him a teller of truth.'
— ' And didst thou see God?' — It will say, ' It is not
possible for any man to see God.' Then an open-
ing will be made for it towards hell, to see some
tearing others to pieces in flames ; then it will be
told, ' Look towards that from which God hath
guarded thee : ' after which an opening will be made
for it towards Paradise, and it will see its beauties
mid pleasures, and it will be told, ' This is the place
nf thy abode, because thou livedst in the. truth, and
died i in it, and God will raise1 thee up in it !' And
a bad man will sit in his grave in lamentation and
wailing. Then he will be asked, ' What he did?'
lie will say, ' I know not.' — ' But what dost thou say
concerning Mohammed ? ' — He will say, ' I heard
something about him.' For him then will be opened
a crevice towards Paradise, and he will look at its
beauties, and will be told, ' Look at those things
which are withheld from thee;' then a hole will be
opened for him towards hell, and he will see its wail-
ing and gnashing of teeth, and will be told, ' This is
iliv abode, because thou livedst in doubt, and will be
raised up in doubt, God willing.'" The Egyptians
had a similar custom of examining the dead, particu-
larly their kings. It was not, however, believed to be
done by angels, but actually done by the living. As
soon as a man was dead he was brought to trial.
The public accuser was heard ; if he proved that the
deceased had led a bad life, his memory was con-
demned, and he was deprived of the honours of se-
pulture ; but if his life had been honourable and use-
ful, he was buried with great solemnity and respect.

DEAD (Praters for the). The practice of
praying for the dead, which is maintained by the
Church of Rome, meets with no countenance from
the Word of God. Neither do the early Fathers of
the Christian Church ever hint at the existence of
such a custom. Teriullian, who died A. n. 220, is
the first who speaks of prayer fur the dead, as a
Custom of the church in his day. " We make
anniversary oblations for the dead," ho says, " for
their birthdays," which was the usual term em-
ployed to indicate the days of their death. Both
Origen and Cyprian, who also flourished in the third
Century, affirm that prayers were wont to be offered by
the church m behalf nf its depai'lcd members. Ar-
nobius, in his ' Treatise against the Heathens,' writ-
ten probably in the beginning of the fourth century,

mentions that after the consecration of the elements
in the Lord's Supper, Christians prayed for pardon
and peace on behalf of the living and the dead. Cy-
ril of Jerusalem, who lived in the same century, re-
cords one of these prayers, which was to this effect:
" We offer this sacrifice in memory of all those who
have fallen asleep before us ; first, patriarchs, pro-
phets, apostles, and martyrs, that God, by their
prayers and intercessions, may receive our supplica-
tions ; and then we pray for our holy fathers and
bishops, and all that have fallen asleep before us, be
lieving that it is a great advantage to their souls to
be prayed for whilst the holy and tremendous sacri-
fice lies upon the altar." It is impossible to trace
the practice farther back than the end of the second
century. About that time we find that immediately
before the communion was celebrated, which was
done on every occasion of public worship, a roll or
catalogue, usually called the Diptychs, was read, con-
taining the names of all the worthies who had bo-
longed to the church. Then prayers were offered
in behalf of the departed, after which the commu-
nion was dispensed. If any thing was proved incon-
sistent with Christian faith or practice, in the char-
acter of an individual thus registered and prayed for,
his name was forthwith erased.

The first person who publicly protested against
the practice of praying for the dead appears to
have been Aerius, who denied that such prayers
could be of any advantage to those who were the
subjects of them. This objection was eagerly com-
bated by Epiphanius, who argued the usefulness of
the practice as testifying the faith and hope of
the living, inasmuch as it showed their belief thai
the departed were still in being, and living with the
Lord. Thus it was that the erroneous opinion crept
into the church, that prayers and oblations ought to
be made for the dead, while it was still a question on
which Christians differed in opinion, whether the dea I
received any profit from such prayers. The Romish
church perpetuated the practice by stamping it with
the official authority of the Council of Trent, which,
in its decree respecting the mass, declares it to be a
propitiatory sacrifice "properly offered not onlv for
the sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other neces-
sities of living believers, but also for the dead in
Christ, who are not yet thoroughly purified." And
the third canon of the same council denounces any
one who denies this doctrine in reference to the mass
as accursed. Accordingly, a solemn office for the
dead forms part of the service of that church, and is
usually recited once a-month, and in Lent once a
week. On the Festival of All Souls' day Bxtraordi
nary masses are said for the relief of departed souls
The Romish church appeal, in support of this doc-
ii me, chiefly to a passage in the Second Book ol
Maccabees, which runs thus, xii. 46, ''It is therefore

a holy and wholesome then lit t,. pray for the dead,
that they may be loosed from sins." This citatum
from the Apocrypha is the only express warrant

670

DEAD (Rites of tiie).

which Romanism can discover for a practice, which,
in connection with the doctrine of purgatory, has
been a source of ample revenue to the clergy of that
system. Other passages from the canonical Scrip-
tures are no doubt pressed into the service, such as
1 Cor. xv. 29 ; 1 John v. 1G ; Matth. v. 26 ; xii. 32.
But these portions of the Sacred Writings, when
carefully examined, will be found, in no sense, to
support the custom of praying for the dead. No
explicit instance of the practice is to be found in
the Scripture. On the contrary, the doctrine of
the Bible evidently is, that at death the doom of
every man is irrevocably fixed, either for weal or woe.
Thus Rev. xiv. 13, " And I heard a voice from hea-
ven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead
which die in the Lord from thenceforth : Yea, saith
the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ;
and their works do follow them." John v. 24,
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hear-
eth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into con-
demnation ; but is passed from death unto life."
2 Cor. v. 1, " For we know that if our earthly house
of tills tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building
of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens." Phil. i. 21, " For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain."

It is a curious circumstance that, although in the
canonical books of the Old Testament not the slight-
est reference is made to praying for the dead, as
having been practised by the ancient Hebrews, the
modem Jews observe the custom. Thus, among
the Jews in some countries, it is customary, after the
coffin has been nailed up, for ten men to walk in so-
lemn procession round it seven times, repeating, at
the same time, prayers for the soul of the deceased.
Such a ceremony, however, is by no means universal.
But it is a prevailing custom, that after the funeral of
an Israelite ten Jews, who have passed the age of
thirteen, repeat prayers for the dead, morning and
evening ; and at the close of these prayers, the
sons of the deceased, or his nearest male relatives,
repeat the Kodesii (which see), a prayer which is
considered of sufficient efficacy to deliver the de-
ceased from hell.

The Greek church determines nothing dogma-
tically about the state of the departed, and yet inter-
cessions are made for them that they may have
enjoyment in the state into which they have pass-
ed, a joyful resurrection, and a final acquittal at
the day of judgment, but not a word is uttered
about purgatory. In the Russian church, services
are performed over the graves in behalf of the de-
parted on the third, ninth, and fortieth days after
burial. The dead are also commemorated in the
eucharist, but no money is paid for masses as in the
Romish church to effect the deliverance of their
souls. In the Armenian Church (which see), the
doctrine of purgatory is not acknowledged by name,
but prayers and masses are said continually for the

dead. The daily service is full of such prayers
which are frequently repeated, and incense burned
over the graves of the deceased, particularly on
Saturday evening, which is the special season for
remembering the dead in prayers and alms. Mass
is said for the souls of the departed on the day of
burial, on the seventh, the fifteenth, and the fortieth
day, and at the end of the first year after death
Alms are also given by the surviving relatives to the
poor in the name of the deceased, under the idea
that the merit of these deeds of charity will procure
pardon for both the living and the dead.

DEAD (Prayers to the). See Ancestor- Wor-
ship. Saint-Worship.

DEAD (Rites op the). Among the ancient
Hebrews nearly the same rites were practised in the
case of the dead, which are found at this day to pre-
vail in the East. No sooner had the breath de-
parted than the nearest relative hastened to close
the eyes of the deceased, and to salute the lifeless
body with a parting kiss. The corpse was then
washed with water, and if not interred immediately,
was laid out in an upper chamber. They then wrap-
ped the body round with many folds of linen, and
placed the head in a napkin. Sometimes after wash-
ing, the Hebrews proceeded to embalm the body
(See Embalming).

The modern Jews, however, have departed widely
from the customs of their fathers in their treatment
of the dead. On this subject the following account
will be found interesting: "Under the conviction
that as the soul was about to leave the body, she be-
came more elevated, and experienced a degree of
inspiration, the children and relatives of the dying
person surrounded his bed, in order to listen to his
parting instructions, and to receive his dying bless-
ing. The practice among the modern Jews, is to
send a Rabbi with ten men, to receive his confession,
his sins being arranged in the order of the alphabet.
But the more intelligent act in the same manner as
a Christian upon such an occasion. He prays that
God would either restore him to health, or take care
of his soul, and particularly that the pain of dying
may prove the expiation of his guilt. Meanwhile
his friends repair to the synagogue, and pray for him
under another name, to indicate his repentance and
change of conduct.

" But some with devout and solemn attention re-
main in the chamber to see him depart, and to re-
ceive his last embrace, which they denominate ' the
soul of the dying.' Similar to the Greeks and the
Romans, the nearest relation of the deceased closed
his eyes. Then they rent their clothes, or beat their
breasts, or tore their hair, or threw dust or ashes upon
their heads; but in modern times, they content them-
selves with rending any small part of their garments.
It is related that there was another custom that ob-
tained, even that of throwing out into the street al]
the water that was found in the house of neighbour
hood, that so the information of his death miglj

DEAD (Rites of the).

677

speedily be conveyed, and the general lamentation
commence. It was one of the direful punishments
threatened upon King Jehoiakim, that none should
mourn or lament over him, Baying, ' Ah, my brother,
ah, Lord, or ah, his glory, he shall be buried with
the burial of an ass.'

" The corpse was then placed upon a cloth on the
ground, and the face covered, it being no longer law-
ful to behold the human countenance. Moved with
a superstitious principle, they also bend the thumb
into the hand, and bind it with the strings of the
Thaled, assigning as a reason that the thumb having
the figure of the name of God, the devil dares not
approach it. The remainder of the hand remains
open to indicate that the deceased has abandoned all
the concerns of this world, as children come into the
world closehanded, to indicate that God has put all
the riches of the earth into their hands. The body
was then bathed with water, say some, that it might
appear clean before God ; but others, with greater
rationality, that the ointments and perfumes might
more easily enter into the pores, which were opened
with warm water.

" It was sometimes also customary to burn wood
and sweet spices over the corpse. Of Asa, king of
Judah, it is said, ' they laid him on a bed, which was
ailed with sweet odours, and divers kinds of spices
prepared by the apothecaries' art, and they made a
Very great burning for him.' It is probable that this
tras originally intended to remove the offensive
smell of the dead bodies, but the vanity of particular
persons earned this far beyond what was necessary.
In the East, where perfumes are plenty, this prac-
tice is still continued; but in Italy, the Jews only
mingle the water with which they wash the corpse,
with dried roses and chamomile.

" When the body is washed it is shrouded, but in
many places they only put on a pair of drawers and
a white shift. Others say that it was usual to dress
the dead in so sumptuous a manner, that the ex-
penses exceeded all due bounds, and that Gamalii 1
the old corrected this abuse, by enjoining his disci-
ples, without distinction of rank, to cover the dead
body with a linen cloth. It was also deemed an act
of devotion to bury a person in the clothes he was
accustomed to wear. Some add a kind of rocket,
over which they place the Kaled, and cover the
head with a white cap.

"The body was exposed for some time previous to
its interment, and a lighted candle was placed at the
head. Some assort that this light was intended t.>
enlighten the soul, and to facilitate her entrance,
when she returns to visit the body; but the Jews
reject this opinion, and say that this ancient custom
was established only to ridicule the sorcerers, who
maintained that the lighting of a wax candle near
the dead body, was sufficient to occasion violent pain
to the separate spirit."

Among the ancient Romans some peculiar cus-
toms existed in their treat n cut of the dead.

When the last breath was about to depart, the
nearest relative endeavoured to catch it with hit
mouth. The ring was then taken from the hand ol
the lifeless corpse, and the eyes and mouth were
closed by the nearest of kin, who called upon the
deceased by name, exclaiming vale, farewell. The
corpse was then washed and anointed with perfumes
and oil by slaves. When the body was thus pre-
pared, a small coin was placed in the mouth to pay
Charon for conducting the deceased to Hades. The
corpse was now dressed in the best garment usually
worn by the deceased when alive ; and having been
stretched on a couch, was laid at the threshold of the
house with the feet towards the door, at the en
trance of which hung a branch of cypress, while the
couch on which the body was placed was sometimes
covered with leaves and flowers. The object of this
exposure of the corpse, which was practised also by
the ancient Greeks, from whom it had probably been
borrowed, was, that the evidence of real death might
be complete. In some points the Greeks differed from
the Romans in this exposure of the dead. Thus, be-
side the bed on which the corpse lay, were placed
painted earthen vessels, which were buried along
with the deceased. A honey-cake was also placed
near the body, which is thought to have been in-
tended to soothe Cerberus, the guardian of the infer-
nal regions. At the door of the house was placed a
vessel of water that those who entered might purify
themselves by sprinkling water on their persons.
The relatives surrounded the bed on which the dead
lay, uttering loud lamentations, the females rending
their garments and tearing their hair. No persons
were permitted to be present on these occasions who
were under sixty years of age.

Among the Mohammedans considerable importance
is attached to the bodies of their dead. As soon as
a pious Moslem feels that his end is drawing near,
he hastens, as far as strength permits, to perform the
ordinary ablutions, that he may die in a state of
bodily purification. When going on a protracted jour-
ney, it is not unusual for Mohammedans to carry
their grave-clothes with them ; and cases have been
known of persons who, when taken ill in the desert,
have made a trench in the loose sand, and laid them-
selves down to die, after putting on their grave-
clothes, leaving only the face uncovered. When a
Moslem is at the point of death, one of the family or
attendants turns round the body to place the brad in
the direction of Mecca, and then closes the eyes of
the expiring man, on which the male attendants ex-
cl.-iiiM, "Allah! there is no strength nor power hut
in God! to God we belong, and to him we must re-
turn ; God have mercy on him !" The corpse is al
ways buried the same day, or about twelve hours
after death : it is carefully washed, wrapped in grave-
clothes, and placed in a bier covered over with a
shawl, but it is not buried in a coffin.

The ancient Egyptians, entertaining a firm belief
in the transmigration of souls (see TKANSMIG RATH >n) ,

678

DEAD (Rites op the).

and that after the soul had performed a certain cycle
in the animal kingdom, it would re-enter and re-ani-
nate its own original body, if preserved free from
corruption and entire, naturally sought to preserve
the bodies in an entire state, by embalming them,
and by depositing them in well-constructed cata-
combs, tumuli, and mausoleums. (See Embalm-
ment). This desire to preserve the bodies of their
dead was not confined to the Egyptians, but ex-
tended also to the Hebrews, and has even been found
among some heathen nations. Some savages, particu-
larly North American Indians, deck the bodies of the
dead in the richest dresses, and paint their faces and
bodies with different colours. Nay, they even set
apart provisions for them after death, imagining that
they are able to eat and drink as during life. An
old traveller gives a curious account of the manner
in which some of the aboriginal Americans preserved
the bodies of their sovereigns. " The Virginians
preserve religiously the bodies of their kings and of
their chiefs in the following manner. They first cut
the skin all down the back, and take it off whole, if
possible : they afterwards take the flesh from the
bones, without hurting the nerves, to prevent the
joints from disuniting : they then dry the bones in
the sun, which they afterwards set again in the skin,
having first taken care to moisten it with oil or fat,
which keeps it from rotting. After the bones are
fixed in the skin in their proper places, they fill up
the hollows very dexterously with very fine sand,
and sew it up in such a manner, that the body ap-
pears as entire as if they had not taken the flesh
from it. After the corpse has been prepared in this
manner, they carry it into a place made for that pur-
pose, and lay it upon a great piece of wood matted
over, that is raised a little from the ground, which
they cover over with a mat to keep it from the dust.
They expose the flesh which they have taken from
the body to the sun, by laying it on a hurdle ; and
when it is thoroughly dried, they put it up into a
basket sewed up very close, and set it at the feet of
the corpse. They place an idol of Kiwasa in these
sepulchres, which they say looks after those bodies."

Among the ancient Mexicans, as soon as an em-
peror died, guards were set round the body during
the first four nights after his death. The attendants
then washed the corpse, r.nd a tuft of hair was taken
from the head, which was carefully preserved as a
relic, that tuft, as they imagined, representing the
soul. They put an emerald into the dead emperor's
mouth, wrapped him in seventeen mourning mantles
very richly wrought, on the outermost one of which
was painted an image of the idol which the deceased
chiefly worshipped. They then covered his face
with a mask, and carried him into the temple of
his favourite idol, where, after a few preliminary
ceremonies, they burned the body, and afterwards
buried the ashes.

The Chinese, among whom Ancestor- Worship
fwhicli see), extensively prevails, are accustomed,

when a relative dies, to enclose the remains in air-tight
coffins, and to retain them for seven days in the house,
every fourth day being devoted to special rites for
the dead. Food is presented before the coffin, the
essence of which the dead are supposed to eat, and
prayers are offered by Budhist and Tauist priests, for
the happiness of their spirits. The Laplanders to
this day provide their dead with a flint and every-
thing necessary for lighting them along the dark pas-
sage they have to traverse after death. But while
the same general idea of pleasing the spirits of the
departed may be observed in many of the customs
which prevail both in Asiatic and African nations,
there are cases, as in South Africa, in which as much
horror is felt at touching the dead body even of the
nearest relative as would have been felt by an an-
cient Jew through dread of ceremonial pollution.
A curious custom is related by Mr. Moffat in refer-
ence to the dying. When they see any indications
of approaching dissolution, in fainting fits or convul-
sive throes, they throw a net over the body, and hold
it in a sitting posture with the knees brought in con-
tact with the chin till life is extinct. Sometimes the
Rain-Makers (which see), give orders that none of
the dead are to be buried, but dragged at a distance
from the town to be devoured by the hyenas and
jackals.

The present mode of treating the dead among tha
Chinese is curious, as stated by the Abbe Hue in his
recent work, ' The Chinese Empire :' " It is the cus-
tom in China to keep the dead a very long time in
the house, sometimes even to the anniversary of
then- decease. In the meanwhile the body is placed
in a coffin of extraordinary thickness, and covered
with quick-lime, so that it does not occasion any in-
convenience in the house. The object of this prac
tice is to do honour to the dead, and give time for
preparation for the funeral. His burial is the most
important affair, one may say, in the life of a Chinese,
the object of his most anxious solicitude. Death is
a mere trifle ; no one troubles himself much about
that, but the quality of the coffin, the ceremonies of
the funeral, the choice of a burial-place, and the spot
where the grave is to be dug, all that is matter of
serious consideration. When the death takes place
these cares of course are left as a legacy to his rcla
tions. Vanity and ostentation certainly have much
to do with these things ; every one wishes to per-
form the ceremony in grand style, so as to create a
sensation in the country, and outdo his neighbours.
To obtain the funds necessary for such a display
some management is often necessary, but people are
not alarmed at the most extravagant expenses ; they
do not shrink from the most enormous sacrifices,
they will even sell their property, and occasionally
ruin the family outright, rather than not have a fine
funeral. Confucius did not enjoin all these foolish
excesses, in the fulfilment of an imaginary, duty of
filial piety, but he did advise people to devote as
much as the half of their worldly property to the in

DEAD (Sacrifices for the) — DEAD ("Worship of the).

679

tenaent of their parents. The reigning dynasty has
endeavoured to check these exorbitant and useless
expenses, but the laws made concerning them ap-
pear to affect only the Mantchoos ; the Chinese con-
\inue to follow their ancient customs.

" After the body has been placed in the coffin, the
relations and friends assemble at certain appointed
hours, to weep together, and express their sorrow.
We have often been present at these funeral cere-
monies, in which the Chinese display with marvel-
lous facility their really astonishing talents for dissi-
mulation. The men and women assemble in separate
apartments, and until the time comes at which it is
settled they are to grieve, they smoke, drink tea,
gossip, laugh, all with such an air of careless enjoyment
that you can hardly persuade yourself that they are
really supposed to be a company of mourners. But
when the ceremony is about to begin, the nearest re-
lation informs the assembly that the time has come,
and they go and place themselves in a circle round
the coffin. On this signal the noisy conversation
that has been going on suddenly ceases, the lamenta-
tions begin, and the faces but .now so gay and good-
humoured instantly assume the most doleful and
lugubrious expression.

" The most pathetic speeches are addressed to the
dead ; every one speaks his own monologue on the
subject, interrupted by groans and sobs, and, what is
most extraordinary, inconceivable indeed, by tears,
—yes, actually real true tears, and plenty of them.

" One would suppose they were inconsolable in
their grief — and yet they are nothing more than skil-
*ul actors — and all this sorrow and lamentation is
only a display of histrionic talent. At a given sig-
nal the whole scene changes abruptly, the tears dry
up, the performers do not even stop to finish a sob
or a groan, but they take their pipes, and lo, there
are again these incomparable Chinese, laughing, gos-
sipping, and drinking tea. Certainly no one could
guess that, instead of drinking hot tea, they had but
a moment before been shedding hot tears.

" When the time comes for the women to range
themselves round the coffin, the dramatic piece is, if
possible, played with still greater perfection. The
grief has such an appearance of sincerity, the sighs
are so agonising, the tears so abundant, the voice so
broken by sobs, that actually, in spite of your cer-
tainty that the whole affair is a purely fictitious re-
presentation, you can hardly help being affected
at it." See Funeral Kites.

DEAD (Sacrifices for the). Among the an-
cient Greeks a sacrifice was offered for the dead or.
the second day after the funeral, but the principal
sacrifice of this kind was offered on the ninth day.
But among some modern Pagans the practice pre-
vails of sacrificing for the dead, not irrational animals.
but reasonable beings. This practice of sacrificing
men to the dead is more common in Ashantee and
Dahomey than anywhere else. The victims offered
at the death of any member of the royal family, or of

any great personage, and which are repeated at stated
periods afterwards, are intended to be servants or
escorts to such persons in another world. They
suppose that their deceased friends have all the
bodily wants which they had in this world, and that
they are gratified by the same kind of attentions
which pleased them while on earth. The only in-
stance of this practice which is to be found, as far
as we can ascertain, in professedly Christian commu-
nities, occurs among the Armenians, who offer in
connection with the dead an animal of one kind or
another. The nature and origin of this peculiar ce-
remony are thus detailed by the American mission-
aries, Messrs. Smith and Dwight : " The priests,
having brought it to the door of the church, and
placed salt before the altar, read the Scripture les-
sons for such occasions, and pray, mentioning the
name of the person deceased, and entreating the for-
giveness of his sins. Then they give the salt to the
animal, and slay it. A portion belongs to the priest ;
other portions are distributed to the poor; and of
the remainder, a feast is made for the friends. None
may remain till the morrow. These sacrifices are
not regarded as propitiator}-, like those of the Jews,
(for the Armenians hold that they were abolished by
the death of Christ,) but as a meritorious charity to
the needy. They have always, at least in modern
times, a special reference to the dead, and are gener-
ally, though not necessarily, made on the day that a
mass is said for the same object. The other most
common occasions are the great festivals of the
saints, aud what are called the Lord's festivals. -\i
Easter especially, one or more is always sacrificed,
the whole congregation frequently contributing to
the expense, and then dividing the victim or victims
among them. But even this is in memory of the
dead. Its origin, we are told, on the authority of
the Catholicos Isaac the Great, was as follows.
When the nation embraced Christianity under the
preaching of St. Gregory Loosavorich, the converted
pagan priests came to him, and begged that he would
provide for them some means of support, as the
sacrifices on which they formerly lived were now
abolished. He accordingly ordered, that a tenth of
the produce of the fields should be theirs, and that
the people, instead of their former offerings to idols,
should now make sacrifices to God in the name of
the dead as a charity to the hungry."

DEAD (Worship of the), one of the early
forms of idolatry. When men distinguished them-
selves during their lives by deeds of heroism or of
usefulness, not only were they respected while on
earth, but their memories were held in honour after
their death. To such an extent was this feeling
sometimes carried, that great aud good men were in-
a itli divine attributes, and came to be wor
shipped as goda. The Arabian writers, as Dr. Po
informs us. trace the idolatry of their own
nation to this origin. Diodorus Biculoe says 0
the Egyptians, that " besides the celestial gods, they

680

DEAN— DEANS (Rural).

gay there are others which are terrestrial, who were
begotten by them, and were originally mortal men,
but by reason of their wisdom and beneficence have
obtained immortality, of whom some have been kings
of Egypt." Cicero and Pliny assure us, that deifica-
tion was the ancient manner of rewarding those who
had deserved well of their country and their kind,
and Lactantius actually informs us, that Cicero lived
to see divine honours paid to his own daughter Tul-
liola. No wonder that this eminent man declared in
the beginning of his Tusculan Questions, " Those who
are initiated must know that they worship the souls
of men departed from their bodies, and that the Dii
Majorum Gentium were such." Maximus Tyrius
says the same thing of the Greeks. Herodotus
actually charges Hesiod and Homer with having been
the first who introduced a Theogony among the
Greeks. He tells us plainly that these two early
writers invented the genealogy of the gods ; " im-
posed names upon each; assigned them functions
and honours, and clothed them in their several
forms," whereas " before that time," he adds, " they
sacrificed and prayed to the gods in general without
attributing either name or surname to any deity,
which in those days they had never heard of." And
in regard to the Theogony of Egypt, Syncellus reck-
ons seven of the gods, and nine of the demi-gods,
who reigned in Egypt, and assigns to every one of
them a certain number of years for his reign. The
Egyptians, however, were by no means willing to
admit their gods to be of human origin. Their laws
inflicted death upon any one who should say Serapis
had once been a man.

That the deification of eminent men was one of the
sources of polytheistic idolatry, is clearly laid down
by Bishop Warburton in his 'Divine Legation of
Moses.' " Gratitude and admiration," says he, " the
warmest and most active affections of our nature, con-
curred to enlarge the object of religious worship, and
to make man regard the inventors of arts and the
founders of society as having in them more than a
common ray of the divinity. So that godlike benefits
bespeaking, as it were, a godlike mind, the deceased
parent of a people was easily advanced into the rank
of a demon. When the religious bias was in so good
a train, natural affection would have its share in pro-
moting this new mode of adoration. Piety to parents
would naturally take the lead, as it was supported
by gratitude and admiration, the primum mobile of the
whole system ; and in those early ages the natural fa-
ther of the tribe often happened to be the political fa-
ther of the people, and the founder of the state. Fond-
ness for the offspring would next have its turn ; and
a disconsolate father at the head of a people, would
contrive to soothe his grief for the untimely death
of a favourite child, and to gratifv his pride under the
want of succession, by paying divine honours to its
memory." The theory thus advanced by Warbur-
ton, as to the origin and progress of the worship of
the dead, was in substance brought forward at a very

remote period by Sanchoniathon, in a fragment quoted
by Eusebius. Not only, however, did the souls of
the departed come to take their place among the
gods, but the principle, once introduced, was carried
still further, for in process of time they were exalted to
a higher rank in the scale of the celestial deities. As
time rolled on, and the true authentic history of the
heroes thus honoured began to be lost, it was no dif-
ficult matter to persuade the great mass of the peo
pie, that he whom they had long worshipped was in
reality possessed of divine attributes. Thus it was,
that not only in Egypt, but in Greece and Rome, in
Persia, in India, and in Scandinavia, much of their
idolatry may be traced to the deification of departed
heroes, and the worship of the dead.

DEAN (Lat. decanus, the ruler of a body of ten
men), an ecclesiastical officer in the Church of Eng-
land, not known, as is supposed, before the eleventh
or twelfth century. The office was given originally to
a presbyter, thereby investing him with authority over
ten other presbyters, connected with a cathedral or
collegiate church. He was, and still is, a dignitary of
some importance, receiving the title of Very Rever-
end, and presiding over the whole Chapter (which
see), or governing body of the cathedral, which re
ceives the name of dean and chapter. This office
ranks next to that of a bishop, and he receives his
appointment by letters patent from the crown. His
duty, generally speaking, is to superintend the whole
establishment of the cathedral church. It has been
proposed of late to unite the offices of bishop and dean
in some cases at least. This, however, has been keenly
resisted by the chief dignitaries, chiefly on the ground
that the bishops are already overburdened with many
and various duties, which engross all their time, and
besides, it is alleged to be absolutely necessary that
the cathedral chapter have a head constantly resi-
dent. Before the act of 1840 there was no dean
either at St. David's or Llandaff. In the former
case the precentor, and in the latter the bishop, exer-
cised the functions of dean. Although the dean
now receives his appointment direct from the crown,
it was not always so ; for at the period between the
Norman Conquest and the Reformation, the dean
was elected by the chapter summoned for that pur-
pose. In some cases also a sub-dean was chosen to
act in his absence. By the enactments of late
years, the residence of a dean is fixed at eight
months, and he is restricted from holding a benefice
except in the cathedral city, and not above £500 per
annum in value. No person can be appointed dean
until he shall have been six years complete in priest's
orders, except in case of professorships. By the law
of England a dean is a sole corporation, that is, he
represents a whole succession, and is capable of tak-
ing an estate as dean, and conveying it to his suc-
cessors.
DEAN AND CHAPTER. See Chapter.
DEANS (Rural), inferior officers in the Church
of England, who existed long before the Reforms

DEASUIL— DECRETISTS.

681

tion, acting as itinerant visitors of churches, subject
to the authority of the Archdeacon (which see).
Besides their own parochial labours, they have the
inspection of a certain number of parishes, the name
being probably derived from the circumstance that
ten parishes, and these chiefly rural, were usually
assigned to their superintendence. The proper office
of a rural dean was the inspection of the lives and
manners of the clergy and people within their dis-
trict, in order to be reported to the bishop. Of late,
accordingly, several bishops have been very anxious
to revive the office, as affording in their view a bet-
ter security for the efficiency of the clergy.

DEASUIL (Celt, deas, the south, and suil, a way),
a Druidical ceremony which consisted in pacing
thrice round an earthen walk, which externally en-
compassed the temple, and which is still visible at
Stonehenge. The route represented the course of
the sun, being from the east southward to the west ;
and a contrary progress was called cartua-suil, pro-
bably from the Celtic car, a turn, and tualhal, the
left hand, which constituted a most bitter impreca-
tion. This custom as a religious rite is of great an-
tiquity, and most extensive ; and it has been sup-
posed to be an imitation of the Jewish ceremony of
blessing the altar of burnt-offering, or of the march
of the Israelites round the walls of Jericho. The
benediction of the Deasuil was long used in Ireland,
Wales, and the Scottish Highlands ; and even »t
present it is said not to be entirely extinct. Sec
Druids.

DEATH (The Brothers of), a name usually
given to the religious of the order of St. Paul the
hermit of Thebais. They are said to have received
this strange designation from the practice which
they followed of keeping the figure of a death's head
always before them, that they might never lose sight
of tluir latter end. This order was probably sup-
pressed by Pope Urban VIII.

DECANI, or Deans, an order of men instituted
in the French church in the ninth century, to assist
the bishops in the inspection of their dioceses. Se-
ven of the most enlightened men in each congrega-
tion were appointed under the name of decani to
take special charge of the rest. When the bishop
arrived in any part of his diocese to hold his spiritual
court, which he was bound to do once every year, he
commenced with receiving the oath of the Deans,
who thereby solemnly promised not to allow them-
selves to be actuated by any respect of persons, so
as to conceal any offence against the Divine Law,
4 lie then questioned them," says Neandcr, " parti-
cularly and distinctly in reference to the observance
of heathen customs, and whether every father taught
his children the creed and the Lord's prayer. He
also made enquiry as to the continued practice of
those crimes which had been prevalent among the
people in former times, and the enormity of which
was then altogether disregarded. The appointed
punishments, some of which were corporal, were

i.

then duly inflicted, a-id that there might be no diffi-
culty in this administration of punishment, the offi-
cers of government were bound, in case of necessity,
to assist the bishops with their authority."

The officers appointed in the fourth century to
undertake the conduct of funerals (see Copiat.i.\
were sometimes called Decani, but for what reason
does not appear. In the arrangement of monasteries
also, those monks who presided over ten religious
were called Decant.

DECANICA, places of custody or restraint con-
nected with ancient Christian churches, in which ec-
clesiastical delinquents were wont to be shut up.
Such places of confinement are expressly referred to
in Justinian's Novels.

DECEMVIRI SACRORUM (Lat. the ten men
of sacred things), the members of a college of priests
appointed among the ancient Romans to take charge
of the Sibylline books, and to inspect them when re-
quired by the senate. It was about b. c. 365 that
the college was appointed to consist of ten priests,
one half of the number being chosen from the patri
cians, and one half from the plebeians. The same
number appears to have continued for a long time to
form the college, as we find them existing in the
time of Cicero. Their office was for life, and it seems
to have been their duty to act as priests of Apollo
in celebrating his games, and each of them kept a
bronze tripod dedicated to that god in his house.

DECATEPHORUS (Gr. decate, the tenth, and
phero, to carry), the surname of Ajmllo at Megara,
its being the god to whom the tenth part of the spoils
was dedicated.

DECENNALIA (Lat. decern, ten, and annus, a
year), festivals which were celebrated by the Roman
emperors every tenth year of their reigns. They
were first instituted by Augustus Csesar to impress
the people with a high respect and veneration for the
imperial authority. On these occasions games were
held, sacrifices offered, gifts distributed among the
people, and prayers offered in behalf of the emperor
and the prosperity of the empire.

DECLMA (Lat. the tenth), a name given among
the ancient Romans to Laciiesis (which see), one of
the Fates, from the practice of decimation in the
Roman army, when for any offence committed by
any number, lots were drawn, which out of every
tenth man should be put to death. The word is,
accordingly, used to denote the fortune or lot of man.

DECIM/E, the tenth of the spoils taken from the
enemy, which both by the Greeks and Romans was
dedicated to the gods. The Jews were also wonl to
devote to the Lord a portion of the booty obtained
in war.

DB( 'REES OF COUNCILS. See Canons Ec-
clesiastical.

I IECRETALS. See Bull, Canons Ecclesias-
tical.

DECRETISTS, one of the two panics into which
the students of Canon Law in the twelfth century
3o *

682

DECURSIO— DEDICATION (Feast op).

came to be divided in consequence of the general re-
cognition at that period of the supreme authority of
the Pope. The origin of the rise of the Legists and
Decretists is thus clearly stated by Neander. "The
change which had taken place in the supreme go-
vernment of the church, necessarily brought along
with it a change also in many things connected with
legislation, in all parts of the church ; and hence, the
old collections of ecclesiastical laws no longer met the
existing wants. Ever sim e the pseudo-Isidorian de-
cretals began to be received as valid, men would
already come to be sensible of this. The collision
between the old and the new church legislation would
occasion considerable embarrassment. Since the
establishment of the validity of those decretals, sev-
eral new collections of ecclesiastical laws had, it is
true, been formed ; as, for example, that of Regiuo,
abbot of Priim, in the tenth, and that of Burkhard,
bishop of Worms, and that of Yves, bishop of Char-
tres, in the eleventh century ; but still, these collec-
tions did not prove adequate to do away that con-
trariety. Add to this, that the new papal church
system needed some counterpoise against a tendency
which threatened to become dangerous to it. In the
twelfth century great enthusiasm was excited for
the renewed study of the Roman law, by the fa-
mous Irncrius (Guarnerius), at the university of
Bologna ; and this study led to investigations and
doctrines which were quite unfavourable to the in-
terests of the papacy. Even Irnerius stood forth as
an ally of the imperial power, in the contest with
the papacy, and it was, in fact, the famous teachers
of law at that university, who were employed by the
emperor Frederic the First, to investigate and de-
fend his rights at the diet of Roncala. The more
eager, therefore, would be the hierarchical party to
oppose that hostile tendency, by setting up another,
in defence of their own interests and principles,
through the study of ecclesiastical law, from an op-
posite point of view. Thus it came about that — at
the famous seat itself of the study of the Roman law
— at Bologna, about the year 1151, a Benedictine,
or according to another account, a Camaldulensian
monk, Gratian, arranged a new collection of eccle-
siastical laws, better suited to the wants of the
church, and to the scientific taste of these times.
A.s the title itself indicates, ' Concordia discorcUm-
tium canonum,' the Harmony of discordant canons,
old and new ecclesiastical laws were here brought
together, their differences discussed, and their recon-
ciliation attempted, — a method similar to that em-
ployed by Peter Lombard in handling the doctrines
of faith. This logical arrangement and method of
reconciliation supplied a welcome nutriment to the
prevailing scientific spirit. From that time the
study also of canon law was pursued with great zeal,
and the two parties called the Legists and the De-
cretists arose, — Gratian's collections of laws being
denominated simply the ' Decrctam Gratiani.' The
seal with which the study of civil and ecclesiastical

law was pursued had, however, this injurious effect
that the clergy were thereby drawn away from the
study of the Bible, and from the higher, directly
theological, interest, and their whole life devoted
solely to these pursuits."

DECURSIO, a ceremony performed by the Greeks
and Romans at the funeral of generals and emperors,
in which the soldiers and the whole company present
made a solemn procession three times round the
funeral pile as soon as it was lighted, in token of
respect for the deceased. On this occasion the pro-
cession moved to the left to indicate sorrow, mo-
tion to the right being the usual expression of joy.
Homer alludes to this ceremony, which went by the
name of Peridrome among the Greeks.

DEDICATION, the devotion or Consecration
(which see) of any person or thing to the Lord, or to
sacred purposes. See Anathemata.

DEDICATION (Feast of), a Jewish feast in-
stituted by Judas Maccaba?us, in remembrance of the
cleansing of the second temple and altar, after they had
been profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes. It began
on the 25th of the month Chisleu, corresponding
to our December, and lasted during eight days. The
Jews on this occasion illuminated their houses as an
expression of their joy and gladness. Hence it was
also called the Feast of Lights, and is termed by
Josephus phota, lights. As long as the festival
lasted, hymns were sung, and sacrifices offered. This
festival is minutely described in 1 Mac. iv. 52 — 59,
in these words, " Now, on the live and twentieth day
of the ninth month, which is called the month Cas-
leu, in" the hundred forty and eighth year, they rose
up betimes in the morning, and offered sacrifice, ac-
cording to the law, upon the new altar of burnt-
offerings which they had made. Look at what time,
and what day, the heathen had profaned it, even in
that was it dedicated with songs, and citherns, and
harps, and cymbals. Then all the people fell upon
then- faces, worshipping and praising the God of
heaven, who had given them good success. And so
they kept the dedication of the altar eight days, and
offered burnt-offerings with gladness, and sacrificed
the sacrifice of deliverance and praise. They decked
also the forefront of the temple with crowns of gold,
and with shields ; and the gates and the chambers
they renewed, and hanged doors upon them. Thus
was there very great gladness among the people, for
that the reproach of the heathen was put away.
Moreover, Judas and his brethren, with the whole
congregation of Israel, ordained that the days of the
dedication of the altar should be kept in their season
from year to year, by the space of eight days, from
the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, with
mirth and gladness." The same feast is generally
supposed to be alluded to in John x. 22, "And it
was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it
was winter." The reason why it is celebrated with
lighted lamps is curiously explained bythe Rabbies
They say that when the sanctuary had been cleansed

DEDICATION OF CHURCHES— DEFENDER OF THE FAITH.

683

and dedicated in the time of the Maccabees, and the
priests came to light the lamp which was to burn
continually before the Lord, there was no more oil
found than what would burn for one night, all the
rest being polluted; and seven days' purification be-
ing necessary, with an additional day to gather olives
and express the oil, eight days would be required be-
fore they could procure a fresh supply. But they
tell us that the Almighty wrought so great a mira-
cle that that small portion of oil burned eight days
and nights, till they had time to obtain more. On
this legendary story they found the present mode of
celebrating the feast, which is essentially a feast of
lights. On the first night they light one light in the
synagogue ; on the second night, two ; on the third
night, three ; adding one every night, until the last,
when they light up eight. These lamps ought to be
lighted with oil of olive, but when that species of
oil cannot be obtained, they use wax. Labour is
not required to be suspended during this festival,
but besides the lighting of lamps, and some addi-
tions being made to the ordinary prayers and lessons
of the synagogue, the whole time is spent in mirth
and feasting.

DEDICATION OF ALTARS. See Altar.

DEDICATION OF CHURCHES. It does not
appear that, in the earliest ages of Christianity, any
special ceremony was observed in consecrating or
dedicating churches as buildings set apart for sacred
purposes. There may possibly, on such occasions,
have been solemn prayer and thanksgiving to God,
but no evidence can be found on the subject, in so
far as the three first centuries are concerned. In
the reign of Constantine the Great, however, when
numerous churches were built throughout the whole
Roman Empire, it was customary to dedicate them
with great solemnity, an appropriate sermon being de-
livered by one of the large body of bishops who were
usually present. Eusebiufl informs us, that when
Constantine built the church of Jerusalem over our
Saviour's sepulchre, the dedication was attended by
a full synod of all the bishops of the East, some of
whom, says the historian, made speeches by way of
panegyric upon the emperor and the magnificence of
his building ; others handled a common place in divi-
nity suited to the occasion ; while others discoursed
upon the lessons of Scripture that were read, ex-
pounding the mystical sense of them. At the close
of these numerous addresses, the assembly partook
of the Lord's Supper, when prayers were offered for
the peace of the world, the prosperity of the church,
and a blessing upon the emperor and his children. In
the course of the service a special dedication prayer
seems to have been offered, a specimen of which is
given by Ambrose in these words : " 1 beseech thee
now, 0 Lord, let thine eye be continually upon this
house, upon this altar, which is now dedicated unto
thee, upon these spiritual Btones, in every one of which
a sensible temple is consecrated unto thee : let the
prayers of thy servants, which are poured out in

this place, be always accepted of thy Divine mercy
Let every sacrifice that is offered in this temple with
a pure faith and a pious zeal, be unto thee a sweet-
smelling savour of sanctification. And when thou
lookest upon that sacrifice of salvation, which taketh
away the sins of the world, have respect to these
oblations of chastity, and defend them by thy con-
tinual help, that they may be sweet and acceptable
offerings unto thee, and pleasing unto Christ the
Lord : vouchsafe to keep their whole spirit, soul, and
body, without blame, unto the day of thy Son Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen."

It was the exclusive province of a bishop in these
times to preside in the service of dedication, presby-
ters being prohibited from the performance of this
solemn act. Thus the first council of Bracara, A. D.
503, declares any presbyter to be liable to depriva-
tion who shall consecrate an altar or a church, and
refers to former canons as having also forbidden any
such act on the part of a presbyter. By the laws of
Justinian the building of no church could be com-
menced before the bishop had first made a solemn
prayer, and fixed the sign of the cross in the place
where the building was to be erected. The day of
dedication of a church was usually kept as one of
the anniversary festivals to which the name of
Encaenia (which see) was given, and which are still
observed in some parts of England under the name
of Vigils or Wakes.

The ceremony to be observed in dedicating a Ro-
mish church is laid down with great minuteness in
the Romish Pontifical.

DEDICATION OF PAGAN TEMPLES. See
Temples (Pagan).

DEDICATION OF THE TABERNACLE. See
Tabernacle.

DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE. See Teh-

PLE.

DEFENDER OF THE FAITH (Lat. Fidei
Defensor), a peculiar title which is claimed by the
sovereign of England. It was first conferred in 1521
by Pope Leo on King Henry VIII. in approval of
his treatise, entitled ' A Vindication of the Seven
Sacraments,' written against Martin Luther. " The
Pope, to whom it was presented," says Robertson
the historian, "with the greatest formality in full
consistory, spoke of the treatise in such terms as if
it had been dictated by immediate inspiration; and
as a testimony of the gratitude of the church for his
extraordinary zeal, conferred on him the title of D
fender of the Faith, an appellation which Henry Boon
forfeited in the opinion of those from whom he de-
rived it, and which is still retained by his successors,
though the avowed enemies of those opinion?,, by
contending for which he merited that honourable
distinction." This production of Henry, which was
written in Latin, was dedicated to the Pope, and re-
ceived by his Holiness with such satisfaction that
Dtedan indulgence toeverj person who should
peruse the book. The proposal to confer the title o'

.184

DEFENSORS OP THE CHURCH— DEGRADATION.

Defender of the Faith upon the royal controversialist
did not meet with immediate assent from the con-
sistory, for Roscoe, in his ' Lite of Leo X.' lets us
a little farther into the secret of the matter. " This
proposition," he informs us, " gave rise to more de-
liberation, and occasioned greater difficulty in the
sacred college than perhaps the Pope had foreseen.
Several of the cardinals suggested other titles, and it
was for a long time debated whether, instead of the
appellation of the Defender of the Faith, the sove-
reigns of England should not in all future times be
denominated the Apostolic, tlie Orthodox, the Faithful,
or, the Angelic. The proposition of the Pope, who had
been previously informed of the sentiments of Wol-
sey on this subject, at length, however, prevailed,
and a bull was accordingly issued, conferring this
title on Henry and his posterity : a title retained by
his successors till the present day, notwithstanding
their separation from the Roman church ; which has
given occasion to some orthodox writers to remark,
that the kings of this country should either maintain
that course of conduct in reward for which the dis-
tinction was conferred, or relinquish the title." The
title, which Leo had thus conferred upon Henry,
was afterwards confirmed by Clement VII. ; but
when Henry vigorously espoused the cause of the
Reformation, and authorized the suppression of re-
ligious houses in England, the title of Defender of
the Faith was withdrawn by the Pope, and Henry
was excommunicated and deposed. The Parliament
of England, however, in virtue of its own authority,
confirmed the title which Henry had received, and,
accordingly, the title Defender of the Faith has been
used by Henry's successors on the English throne
down to the present time. It is well worth notice,
that although Leo X. is generally regarded by his-
torians as originating the title in question, he is far
from having any valid claim to such an honour. The
fact is, that long before that Pope's pretended gift of
the title to Henry VIII., we find Richard II., in all his
acts against the Lollards, uniformly taking the title of
Defender of the Faith. It appears, therefore, to have
been an ancient right of the sovereigns of England,
and in further proof of this, Chamberlayne appeals to
several charters granted at different periods long an-
terior to the time of Henry VIII.

DEFENSORS OF THE CHURCH (Lat. Dc-
fensores Ecclesim), officers employed in the early ages
of Christianity to plead the cause of the church, or
any single ecclesiastic who happened to have been
injured or oppressed, and had occasion for redress in
a civil court ; or if remedy was not found there, they
were to address the emperors themselves in the name
of the church, to procure a particular precept in her
favour. It was the business of this important class
of public functionaries to see that the rights of the
church settled by law were maintained ; and if any
encroachments were made upon these rights, they
were bound to prosecute the aggressors before the
magistrates, and, even if necessary, to appeal to the

Emperor. From the laws of Justinian it appears
that the defensors were appointed to exercise a kind
of superintendence over the Copiat-jE (winch see).
They were likewise expected to make inquiry whe-
ther every clerk belonging to the church carefully
attended the celebration of morning and evening ser-
vice in the church, and to inform the bishop of those
who neglected their duty in this respect, that they
might be subjected to ecclesiastical censures. Au-
thors are by no means agreed whether these officers
were clergymen or laymen, but although it is not un-
likely that at first they might be taken from the
clerical order, it was afterwards found more suitable
to have advocates possessed of legal qualifications.
This change was made in the case of the African
churches, about a. d. 407, by a decree issued by the
emperor Honorius. From this time the office was
frequently, though by no means universally, intrusted
into the hands of laymen. The officers whom the
Latins called Defensores, the Greeks called Ecdici or
Ecclesiecdici. Justinian decreed that to avoid clan-
destine marriages, parties of middle rank should be
married in presence of the Defensor of the church.

DEFENSORS OF THE POOR (Lat. Defensores
Pauperum), officers in the early Christian church
whose business it was, if any of the poor, or virgins,
or widows belonging to the church were injured or
oppressed by the rich, to take steps without delay
for maintaining their rights by all legal means. Ac-
cordingly, by a decree passed by the fifth council of
Carthage, A. d. 401, which is also inserted in the
African code, it was enacted, that " foi'asmuch as the
church was incessantly wearied with the complaints
and afflictions of the poor, it was unanimously agreed
upon by them in council, that the emperors should
be petitioned to allow defensors to be chosen for
them by the procurement and approbation of the
bishops, that they might defend them from the power
and tyranny of the rich."

DEGRADATION, a punishment inflicted upon
clergymen in the ancient Christian church. It con-
sisted, as its name implies, in removing the offender
from a higher, to a lower grade of office. The sen-
tence of degradation appears to have been final and
irrevocable. Bishops were in this way sometimes
transferred from a larger to a smaller or less im-
portant charge. Presbyters were often thus degraded
to the order of deacons, and deacons to that of sub-
deacons. This species of punishment was also in-
flicted upon bishops in Africa, by superseding them
in their expected succession to the office of arch-
bishop or metropolitan. In its full meaning, how-
ever, the term degradation implied deprivation of
orders, and reduction to the state and condition of a
layman. Thus, in the third council of Orleans there
is a canon which appoints, that if any clergyman was
convicted of theft or fraud, because these were capi-
tal crimes, he should be degraded from his order, and
only allowed lay communion. (See Commdnion,
Lay.) If after the infliction of such a sentence

DEIMA— DEISTS.

b'85

he persisted in exercising clerical functions, he re-
ceived in addition a formf.1 excommunication, and
was denied even the communion of laymen. See
Censures (Ecclesiastical), Deposition.

DEIMA, the personification of fear among the
ancient Greeks.

DEISTS, a name given to those who believe in
the existence of a Supreme Being, but deny the
divine authority and inspiration of the Bible. Such
persons are generally strenuous advocates for a
natural, as opposed to a revealed religion. They
are termed Deist-:, from the Latin word Dcus, God,
a belief in God being the chief article of their
creed. The word Tin ists would seem at first sight
to bear the same meaning, being derived from the
Greek word Theos, God. But the appellations
Deists and Theists belong to two essentially differ-
ent classes of people ; the former being used to
denote those who believe in God, in a future state
of rewards and punishments, and in all those doc-
trines contained in what is usually called the reli-
gion of Nature, but refuse to acknowledge any writ-
ton revelation of the will of God; the litter being
cniplnyed to denote those who believe in the exist-
ence of God, in opposition to Atheists who deny his
existence altogether. Deists, from their unbelief in
Divine revelation, sometimes receive the name of
Infidels or Unbelievers. The name Deists, as ap-
plied in its present signification, is said to have been
first assumed about the middle of the sixteenth cen-
tury, by some persons on the continent, who, while
tlirv rejected the Bible as an inspired book, were
nevertheless most unwilling to be regarded as athe-
ists. They therefore adopted an appellation, which
set forth as their distinguishing character their belief
in the existence of a God. Peter Viret, a French
reformed divine of the period, is said to have been
the first who mentions Deists as a separate clastt,
Lord Herbert of Cherbury, however, was the first
English writer who reduced Deism to a Bystem ;
declaring the sufficiency of reason and natural reli-
gion to guide man to a knowledge of the Divine
will, and rejecting the Bible as superfluous and un-
necessary. His creed may be expressed in five arti-
cles, 1. That there is a God; 2. That he ought to
be worshipped ; 3. That piety and moral virtue are
the chief parts of worship; 4. That God will pardon
our faults on repentance; and 6. That there is a fu-
tniv state of rewards and punishments.

That there is a close and intimate connection be-
tween Deism and Umtariamsm in its modern form
it is impossible to deny. At numerous points they
unite and coalesce into one harmonious system. (In
this subject Mr. Robert Hall offers some valuable
remarks by way of instituting a comparison betwei n

the two: "Deism, as distinguished from atheism,"
he says, "embraces almost every thing which the
Unitarians profess to believe. The Deist pi
fo believe in a future state of rewards and punish-
ments,— the Unitarian does no more. The chief

difference is, that the Deist drrives his conviction on
the subject from the principles of natural religion ; tht>
Unitarian from the fact of Christ's resurrection. Both
arrive at the same point, though they reach it by
different routes. Both maintain the same creed,
though on different grounds : so that, allowing the
Deist to be fully settled and confirmed in his persua-
sion of a future world, it is not easy to perceive what
advantage the Unitarian possesses over him. If the
proofs of a future state, upon Christian principles, be
acknowledged more clear and convincing than is
attainable merely by the light of nature, yet as the
operation of opinion is measured by the strength ot
the persuasion with which it is embraced, and not
by the intrinsic force of evidence, the Deist, who
cherishes a firm expectation of a life to come, has
the same motives for resisting temptation, and pa-
tiently continuing in well doing, as the Unitarian
He has learned the same lesson, though under a
different master, and is substantially of the same re-
ligiou.

" The points in which they coincide are much
more numerous, and more important, than those in
which they differ. In their ideas of human nature,
as being what it always was, in opposition to tl e
doctrine of the fall ; in their rejection of the Trinity,
and of all supernatural mysteries ; in their belief ot
the intrinsic efficacy of repentance, and the super-
fluity of an atonement ; in their denial of spiritual
aids, or internal grace, in their notions of the person
of Christ; and finally, in that lofty confidence in the
sufficiency of reason as a guide in the affairs of reli-
gion, and its authority to reject doctrines on the
ground of antecedent improbability ; — in all these
momentous articles they concur. If the Deist boldly
rejects the claims of revelation in toto, the Unitarian,
by denying its plenary inspiration, by assuming the
fallibility of the apostles, and even of Christ himself,
and by resolving its most sublime and mysterious
truths into metaphors and allegory, treads close in
his steps. It is the same soul which animates the
two systems though residing indifferent bodies; it is
the same metal transfused into distinct moulds."

Dr. Samuel Clarke, in his Evidence of Natural
and Revealed Religion, ranges Deists under four
different classes, 1. "Those who would he thought
to be Deists because they pretend to believe in the
existence of an eternal, infinite, independent, intel-
ligent Being, and to avoid the name of Epicurean
Atheists, teach also that this Supreme Being made
ill'' world, though at the same time they agree with

the Epicureans in this, that the\ fancy (J oil does
not concern himself in the government of the world,
nor has any regard to, or care of, what is done

therein.

•_'. "Some others there are that call themselves

i in-, ause thej believe not only the bi ing, bi I

the providence of God; thai is, that every natural

thing that is d in the world is produced by the

power, appointed by the wisdom, and directed by flu

RR6

DEISTS.

government of God ; though not allowing any differ-
ence between moral good and evil, they suppose that
God takes no notice of the morally good or evil ac-
tions of men ; these things depending, as they ima-
gine, merely on the arbitrary constitution of human
laws."

The opinions of these two sorts of Deists, Dr.
Clarke believes, can terminate consistently in nothing
but downright atheism, and their practice and beha-
viour, he asserts, is exactly agreeable to that of the
most openly professed Atheists. They not only op-
pose the revelation of Christianity, and reject all the
mural obligations of natural religion as such ; but
generally they despise also the wisdom of all human
constitutions made for the order and benefit of man-
kind, and are as much contemners of common de-
cency as they are of religion.

3. " Another sort of Deists there are, who having
right apprehensions concerning the natural attri-
butes of God, and his all-governing providence ;
seem also to have some notion of his moral perfec-
tions also : that is, as they believe him to be a being
infinitely knowing, powerful and wise ; so they be-
lieve him to be also in some sense a being of infinite
justice, goodness and truth ; and that he governs the
universe by these perfections, and expects suitable
obedience from all his rational creatures. But then,
having a prejudice against the notion of the immor-
tality of human souls, they believe that men perish
entirely at death, and that one generation shall per-
petually succeed another, without any thing remain-
ing of men after their departure out of this life, and
without any future restoration or renovation of things.
And imagining that justice and goodness in God are
not the same as in the ideas we frame of these per-
fections when we consider them in men, or when we
reason about them abstractly in themselves; but
that in the Supreme Governor of the world they are
something transcendent, and of which we cannot
make any true judgment, nor argue with any cer-
tainty about them ; they fancy, though there does
not indeed seem to us to be any equity or propor-
tion in the distribution of rewards and punishments
in this present life, yet that we are not sufficient
judges concerning the attributes of God, to argue
from thence with any assurance for the certainty of a
future state. But neither does this opinion stand on
any consistent principles. For if justice and good-
ness be not the same in God, as in our ideas ; then
we mean nothing, when we say that God is necessa-
rily just and good; and for the same reason it may
as well be said, that we know not what we mean,
when we affirm that he is an intelligent and wise
being ; and there will be no foundation at all left, on
which we can fix any thing. Thus the moral attri
butes of God, however they be acknowledged in
words, yet in reality they are by these men entirely
taken away ; and, upon the same grounds, the na-
tural attributes may also be denied. And, so upon
the whole, this opinkn likewise, if we argue

upon it consistently, must finally recur to absolute
atheism.

4. "The last sort of Deists are those who, if they
did indeed believe what they pretend, have just and
right notions of God, and of all the Divine attributes
in every respect ; who declare they believe that there
is one, eternal, infinite, intelligent, all-powerful and
wise Being ; the creator, preserver, and governor of
all things ; that this supreme cause is a Being of
infinite justice, goodness, and truth, and all other
moral as well as natural perfections; that he made
the world for the manifestation of his power and
wisdom, and to communicate his goodness and hap-
piness to his creatures ; that he preserves it by his
continual all-wise providence, and governs it accord-
ing to the eternal rules of infinite justice, equity,
goodness, mercy and truth ; that all created rational
beings, depending continually upon him, are bound
to adore, worship and obey him ; to praise him for
all things they enjoy, and to pray to him for every
thing they want ; that they are all obliged to pro-
mote, in their proportion, and according to the ex-
tent of their several powers and abilities, the general
good and welfare of those parts of the world wherein
they are placed; in like manner as the divine good-
ness is continually promoting the universal benefit
of the whole ; that men in particular, are every one
obliged to make it their business, by an universal
benevolence, to promote the happiness of all others ;
that in order to this, every man is bound always to
behave himself so towards others, as in reason he
would desire they should in like circumstances deal
with him ; that therefore, he is obliged to obey and
submit to his superiors in all just and right things,
for the preservation of society, and the peace and
benefit of the public; to be just and honest, equi-
table and sincere, in all his dealings with his equals,
for the keeping inviolable the everlasting rule of
righteousness, and maintaining an universal trust and
confidence, friendship and affection amongst men ;
and, towards his inferiors, to be gentle and kind,
easy and affable, charitable and willing to assist as
many as stand in need of his help, for the preserva-
tion of universal love and benevolence amongst
mankind, and in imitation of the goodness of God,
who preserves and does good to all creatures, which
depend entirely upon him for their very being and
all that they enjoy ; that, in respect of himself, every
man is bound to preserve, as much as in him lies, his
own being and the right use of all his faculties, so
long as it shall please God, who appointed him his
station in this world, to continue him therein ; that
therefore he is bound to have an exact government
of his passions, and carefully to abstain from all de-
baucheries and abuses of himself, which tend either
to the destruction of his own being, or to the disor-
dering his faculties, and disabling him from perform-
ing his duty, or hurrying him into the practice ol
unreasonable and unjust things; lastly, that accord-
ingly as men regard or neglect these obligations, sn

DELEGATES (Court of)— DELPHI (Oracle or).

C87

they are proportionably acceptable or displeasing
unto God ; who being supreme governor of the world,
cannot but testify his favour or displeasure at some
time or other; and consequently, since this is not
done in the present state, therefore there must be a
future state of rewards and punishments in a life to
come. But all this, the men we are now speaking
of, pretend to belie ve only so far as it is discover-
able by the light of nature alone ; without believing
any Divine revelation. These, I say, are the only
true Deists ; and indeed the only persons who ought
in reason to be argued with, in order to convince
them of the reasonableness, truth, and certainty of
the Christian revelation."

Deism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centu-
ries prevailed to a great extent in England, being
openly avowed by several men of note, both in the
political and literary world. Gibbon, Hume, Priest-
ley, Bolingbroke, Shaftesbury, and Hobbes, com-
manded no small share of attention and even respect
from their fellow-countrymen, and leading the way
in the rejection of revealed rebgion, they were fol-
lowed by no inconsiderable number of hasty superfi-
cial thinkers, such as are found invariably to follow
in the wake of those who are superior to them
whether in rank or talent. It was for the express
purpose of opposing the English Deists that Robert
Boyle founded those celebrated Lectures which bear
his name, and which have done so much to uphold
the theological reputation of England. For a time
indeed the advocates of a Natural, as opposed to a
Revealed religion, occupied no mean place in the
ranks of British literature, and their writings were
read by a large and not uninterested public. The
Deists have had their day, and they are now scarcely
to be found except among the lowest and hast
influential classes of the community; and even
among these classes Deism has passed by an easy
course into infidelity and atheism. Whether in the
form of Socialists or Secularists, the Deists of the
present day can no longer claim the standing and
reputation of their predecessors of the last century.
They are at once inferior in intellect, in position, and
in influence.

The form which Deism assumed in France during
: century, was not that of Naturalism as in
England, but a gross and sensuous Materialism as
set forth in the writings of Condillar, Diderot, Ilcl-
vetius, Voltaire, and those of the so-called Encyclo-
pedists. But while Deists assumed a powerful front.
' both in France and England, they were not long in
making their appearance in Germany also. During
the second half of the last century the mo I |

fill attacks upon positive Christianity were made by
the anonymous author of the Wolfenbuttel Frag-
ments, which gave rise to a series of controversies in

n gard to the position which ought to he as-;

reason in matters of faith. It is Bomewhal .

able that even some of the German in\ sties adopted
d'istic principles. The mind of the age, iullucuced

as it was by Frederic the Great, King of Prussia,
also contributed to the spread of deistical tendencies,
especially among the higher classes. The works ol
Wieland had no small etlect in diffusing these mis-
chievous principles. Some attempts were also made
to form societies on the basis of Deism, such as the
Illuminators founded by Weishaupt in 1777, and the
Fr/'i ads of Enlightenment at Berlin in 1783. Several
theological writers, from whom better things might
have been expected, contributed to the spread of
deistic principles. The most conspicuous of these
professed theologians was Bahrdt, who, though he set
out apparently on the side of orthodoxy, yet in his
writings composed in the latter part of his life, en
deavoured to undermine all positive religion.

DEIFICATION. See Apotheosis

DEITY. See God.

DELEGATES (Court of), a court in Eng-
land, deriving its name from these delegates being
appointed by the royal commission, under the great
seal, and issuing out of Chancery, to represent the
sovereign, and all appeals in three causes: 1. "When
a sentence is given in any ecclesiastical cause by the
archbishop or his official. 2. When any sentence is
given in any ecclesiastical cause, hi places exempt.
3. When a sentence is given in the admiralty
courts, in suits civil or marine, by the civil law.

DELIA, a surname of Artemis (which see), De
los having been supposed to be her birth-place. The
same name is also applied sometimes to Demeter,
Aphrodite, and the Nymphs.

DELIA, ancient Pagan festivals and games cele
brated in the island of Delos, in honour of Apollo
and Artemis. They were observed every fifth yeai
with games, choruses, and dances, but ill process 01
time they were suspended. The Athenians, how-
ever, revived the festival, adding to it horse-races.
Besides these greater games, there were also lessei
Delia, which were held every year in nonour of De-
liail Apollo, when the Athenians sent to Delos the
sacred vessel, which the priest of Apollo adorned
with laurel branches. Theseus is said to have been
the founder of the lesser Delia, but they are alleged
by some authors to have been of much greater anti-
quity.

DKLIUS, a surname of Apollo which see) aris-
ing from his having been born at Delos, an island in
the yEgcan sea.

DELIVERERS, a Christian sect mentioned by
Augustine as having arisen about A. D. 260, and who
derived their name from the doctrine which they
maintained that upon Christ's di sccnl into lull, infi-
dels believi d. ami all were delivered from thoncc.

DELIVERING TO SATAN. See Excommu-
nication.
DELPHI (Oracle of), the most celebrated of

all the oracles of Apollo. The ancient name of the

Pytho, and hence Apollo was sometimes

known by the surname of Pythius, and the priestess

who pronounced the oracular responses received the

688

DELPHINIUS— DELUGE.

name of Pythia or Pythonessa. Delphi being one
of the places at which Apollo was particularly wor-
shipped, there was a temple dedicated to him in
that town, in the innermost sanctuary of which his
statue was placed, while before it stood an altar on
which burned a perpetual fire, fed only with fir-
wood. The inner roof of the temple was wreathed
with laurel garlands, and on the altar, laurel was
burnt as incense. Fumes of vapour incessantly as-
cended from the crevices of a profound cavern within
the temple, over which the priestess sat on a three-
legged stool known as the tripod. These vapours
powerfully affected the brain of the Pytliia, and were
deemed to be the sure and hallowed media of divine
inspiration. Dr. Gillies, the historian of ancient
Greece, speaking of the Delphian oracle, which was
honoured by the protection and superintendence of
the Amphictyonic council, says, " The inhabitants
of Delphi, who, if we may use the expression, were
the original proprietors of the oracle, always con-
tinued to direct the religious ceremonies, and to con-
duct the important business of prophecy. It was
their province alone to determine at what time and
on what occasion, the Pythia should mount the sa-
cred tripod, to receive the prophetic steams, by
which she communicated with Apollo. When over-
flowing with the heavenly inspiration, she uttered
the confused words, or rather frantic sounds, irregu-
larly suggested by the impulse of the god ; the Del-
phians collected these sounds, reduced them into
order, animated them with sense, and adorned them
with harmony."

At first oracles were only given forth once every
seventh year on the birth-day of Apollo ; but as the
fame of the Delphian oracle spread throughout
Greece, it became necessary to set apart several days
every month for the purpose. Those who came to
consult the oracle were admitted by lot, unless when
the magistrates of Delphi assigned to any one a
right of preference. A fee was demanded from thi ise
who availed themselves of the oracle. Before the
Pythia mounted the tripod, she spent three days in
previous preparation, which consisted in fasting and
bathing in the Castalian well. She is also said to
have burnt laurel leaves and flour of barley upon the
altar of the god. The consulters of the oracle, be-
fore they could approach the shrine, must previously
sacrifice an ox, a sheep, or a goat, in honour of
Apollo. Five priests were attached to the temple,
all of whom were chosen from families descended
from Deucalion (which see), and held ottue for
life.

The oracles of Greece were usually delivered in
hexameter verse, and as the origin of this poetic
measure was ascribed to the Delphian Apollo, it was
also called the Pythian metre. At the later periods
of Grecian history, however, when the oracle ceased
to be consulted on great occasions, the oracular an-
swers were given in prose. It is an undoubted fact,
that the oracles exercised a highly important in-

fluence upon Greece, especially in the earlier period.'
of its civilization, often guiding public opinion, and
urging on the spirit of national enterprise. But
above all the other oracles, that of Delphi en-
joyed a world-wide renown. Its responses revealed
many a tyrant, and foretold his fate. Through its
means many an unhappy being was saved from
destruction, and many a perplexed mortal guided
in the right way. It encouraged useful institu
tions, and promoted the progress of useful dis-
coveries. Its moral influence was on the side ot
■virtue, and its political influence in favour of the
advancement of civil liberty. The time at length
came, however, when the fame of the Delphian ora-
cle began to diminish. Protracted struggles between
Athens and Sparta for domination in Greece tended
more than anything else to diminish the estimatior
in which the oracle was held. Its prestige was
almost entirely gone in the days of Cicero and Plu-
tarch, but it was still occasionally consulted down to
the time of the Roman Emperor Julian, and only
finally prohibited by Theodosius. See Oracles.

DELPHINIUS, a surname of Apollo, derived
from Delphi, one of the chief seats of his worship.

DELPHINIA, a festival celebrated in various
towns of Greece in honour of Apollo, on which oc-
casion a procession of boys and girls took place, each
carrying an olive branch bound with white wool.
This at least was the customary mode of observance
at Athens, but in some other places, as at iEgina, it
was celebrated with contests.

DELUBRUM. See Temples (Pagan).

DELUGE (Traditions of the). It does not he
within the scope of the present work to consider the
actual facts connected with the Deluge, as they are
detailed in the Scriptures, or to examine the much
disputed question, whether the inundation on that
occasion was universal or partial in its extent ; but
we confine ourselves to the exhibition of a few of the
most important traditions on the subject which are
to be found in almost all the nations of the earth,
and which present throughout so remarkable a uni-
formity of aspect as to afford a striking evidence of
the truth of the Mosaic narrative. " These ancient
traditions of the human race," says Humboldt, "which
we find dispersed over the surface of the globe, like
the fragments of a vast shipwreck, present among all
nations a resemblance that fills us with astonishment ;
there are so many languages belonging to branches
which appear to have no connection with each other,
which all transmit to us the same fact. The sub-
stance of the traditions respecting the destroyed
races and the renovation of nature is almost every-
where the same, although each nation gives it a local
colouring. On the great continents, as on the small
islands of the Pacific, it is always on the highest and
nearest mountains that the remains of the human
race were saved."

Bryant, in his ' System of Ancient Mythology,
followed more recently by Faber, enters into an ela-

DELUGE (Traditions op the).

689

borate and erudite argument to prove, that Noali was
worshipped in conjunction with the sun, and the ark
in conjunction with the moon, and that these were
the principal deities among the ancient heathens.
He labours to prove, with an extent of erudition sel-
dom surpassed, that the primitive Egyptian gods
were eight in number, that they represented the eight
persons saved in the ark, and that almost all the hea-
then deities had a reference in some way to Noah and
the deluge.

Both in the East and West, traditions in reference
to the world having been destroyed by a great flood
of waters have been found mingled with the beliefs
of almost every country. Among the ancient Baby-
lonians, such an event was related as having occurred
in the time of Xisuthrus, the tenth of their line of
kin_rs, counting from the first created man, just as
Noah was the tenth from Adam. The account of
Rerosus is interesting from its remarkable coinci-
dence in many points with the narrative of the de-
luge given by Moses. " Warned in a dream by
Chronus and Saturn of the approaching calamity, he
was commanded to build an immense ship, and em-
bark in it with his wife, his children, and his friends ;
having first furnished it with provisions, and put into
it a number both of birds and four-footed animals.
As soon as these preparations were completed, the
flood commenced, and the whole world perished be-
neath its waters. After it began to abate, Xisuthrus
sent out some of the birds, which, finding neither
food nor resting-place, returned immediately to the
ship. In the course of a few days he again let out
the birds, but they came back to him, having their
feet covered with mud. The third time of his send-
ing them, tl ey returned no more. Concluding from
this that tl e flood was decreasing, and the earth
again appea ing, he made an aperture in the side of
the vessel, itnd perceived that it was approaching a
mountain, on which it soon after rested, when he de-
scended with his family, adored the earth, built an
altar, and sacrificed to the gods. Xisuthrus having
suddenly disappeared, his family heard a voice in the
air which informed them that the country was Ar-
menia, and directed them to return to Babylon."

On the subji ct of the deluge the Hindu traditions
also correspond in a remarkable degree with the
principal facts of revelation. The popular view as
given in the Puranas, amid all its Oriental luxuriance
and exaggeration, approaches at many points to the
Mosaic narrative. "The lord of the universe, lov-
ing the pious man who thus implored him, and in-
tending to preserve him from the sea of destruction
caused by the depravity of the age, thus told him
how he was to act. ' In seven days from the pre-
sent time, O thou tamer of enemies, the three worlds
will be plunged in an ocean of death ; but, in the
midst ot the destroying waters, a large vessel, sent
by me for thy use, shall stand before thee. Then
shall thou take all medicinal herbs, all the variety of
seeds; and, accompanied by seven saints, encircled

by pairs of all brute animals, thou shalt enter the
spacious ark, and continue in it, secure from the
flood, on one immense ocean, without light, except
the radiance of thy holy companions. When the
ship shall be agitated by an impetuous wind, thou
shalt fasten it with a large sea-serpent on my horn;
for I will be near thee : drawing the vessel with
thee and thy attendants, I will remain on the ocean,
() chief of men, until a night of Brahma1 shall be
completely ended. Thou shalt then know my true
greatness, rightly named the supreme godhead. By
my favour all thy questions shall be answered, and
thy mind abundantly instructed.' llari, having thus
directed the monarch, disappeared ; and Satyavrata
humbly waited for the time, which the ruler of our
senses had appointed. The pious king, having scat-
tered towards the east the pointed blades of the grass
darbha, and turning his face towards the north, sat
meditating on the feet of the god who had borne
the form of a fish. The sea, overwhelming its
shores, deluged the whole earth ; and it was soon
perceived to be augmented by showers from immense
clouds. He, still meditating on the command of
Bhagavat, saw the vessel advancing, and entered it
with the chiefs of Bramans, having carried into it
the medicinal creepers and conformed to the direc-
tions of Hari. The saints thus addressed him : ' O
king, meditate on K^s ava ; wdio will surely deliver
us from this danger, and grant us prosperity.' The
god, being invoked by the monarch, appeared again
distinctly on the vast ocean in the form of a fish,
blazing like gold, extending a million of leagues, with
one stupendous horn : on which the king, as he had
been before commanded by Hari, tied, the ship with
a cable made of a vast serpent, and happy in his
preservation, stood praising the destroyer of Madhu.
When the monarch had finished his hymn, the prime-
val male, Bhagavat, who watched for his nafety on
the great expanse of water, spoke aloud to his own
divine essence, pronouncing a wiad Parana, which
contained the rules of the Sankhya philosophy : but
it was an infinite mystery to be concealed within the
breast of Satyavrata ; wdio, sitting in the vessel with
the saints, heard the principle of the soul, the Eternal
Being, proclaimed by the preserving power. Then
Hari, rising together with Brahma from the destruc-
tive deluge wdiich was abated, slew the demon Hay-
agriva, and recovered the sacred books. Satyavrata,
instructed in all divine and human knowledge, was
appointed in the present Kalpa, by the favour of
Vishnu, the seventh Mauu, surnamed Vaivaswata :
but the appearance of a honied fish to the religious
monarch was .Maya or delusion; and he, who shall
devoutly hear this important allegorical narrative,
will be delivered from the bondage of sin."

Thus plainly in the closing sentence of this ex-
tract do the l'uranas admit that the description here
given of the deluge is an allegory A different ver
sion of the legend is found in the Mahabharata,
which Professor Wilson thinks is mine ancient than
3D

6>0

DELUGE (Traditions op the).

that of the Puranas, but still in their main features
there is a close resemblance, so close indeed as to
show plainly that both are derived from the same
original source. Another version of the same Hindu
legend has been recently brought to light by the
publication of the Yajur-Veda, to which there is ap-
pended the Satapat'ha-Brahmana, containing an ac-

■ count of the deluge much simpler than that which
has been already given from the Puranas. We quote

I from Mr. Charles Hardwick's able work, at present
in course of publication, entitled ' Christ and other
Masters,' a work which is likely to throw much light
on the points of coincidence, as well as of divergence
between Christianity and other systems of religion.
'• One morning the servants of Manu brought him
water for ablutions, as the custom is to bring it in our
day when men's hands have to be washed. As he pro-
ceeded to wash himself he found a rish in the water,
which spoke to him, saying, ' Protect me and I will
be thy Saviour.' ' From what wilt thou save me ? '
' A deluge will ere long destroy all living creatures,
but I can save thee from it.' ' What protection,
then, dost thou ask of me ?' 'So long as we are lit-
tle,' replied the Fish, ' a great danger threatens us,
for one fish will not scruple to devour another. At
first, then, thou canst protect me by keeping me in a
vase. When I grow bigger, and the vase will no
longer hold me, dig a pond, and protect me by keep-

J ing me in it ; and when I shall have become too large
for the pond, then throw me into the sea ; for hence-
forward I shall be strong enough to protect myself
against all evils.' The Fish ere long became enor-
mous (jhasha), for it grew very fast, and one day it
said to Manu, ' In such a year will come the deluge ;
call to mind the counsel I have given thee ; build a
ship, and when the deluge comes, embark on the
vessel thou hast built, and I will preserve thee.'
Manu after feeding and watching the Fish, at last
threw it into the sea, and in the very year the Fish
had indicated, he prepared a ship and had recourse
[in spirit] to his benefactor. When the flood came,
Manu went on board the ship. The Fish then re-
appeared and swam up to him, and Manu passed the
cable of his vessel round its horn, by means of which
he was transferred across yon Northern Mountain.
' I have saved thee, said the Fish, ' now lash thy
vessel to a tree, else the water may still carry thee
away, though thy vessel be moored upon the moun-
tain. When the water has receded, then also may est
thou disembark.' Manu implicitly obeyed the order,
and hence that northern mountain still bears the
name of ' Mann's descent.' The deluge swept away
all living creatures ; Manu alone survived it. His
life was then devoted to prayer and fasting in order
to obtain posterity. He made the Paka-saerifice ;
he offered to the Waters the clarified butter, cream,
whey, and curdled milk. His ofi'erings were con-
tinued, and at the end of a year be thereby fashioned
for himself a wife : she came dripping out of the but-
**r; it trickled on her footsteps. Mitra and Varan' a

approached her and asked 'Who art thou?' She
answered, ' The daughter of Manu.' ' Wilt thou be
our daughter ?' ' No :' the answer was, ' My owner
is the author of my being.' Their solicitations were
all vain ; for she moved directly onward till she came
to Manu. On seeing her, he also asked her, ' Who
art thou?' Ad she answered, 'Thine own daugh-
ter.' ' How so, beloved, art thou really my daugh-
ter?' 'Yes; the offerings thou hast made to the
Waters, the clarified butter, the cream, the whey,
and the curdled milk have brought me into being.
I am the completion of thy vows. Approach me
during the sacrifice. If so, thou shalt be rich in
posterity and in flocks. The desire which thou art
cherishing shall be entirely accomplished.' Thus
was Manu wedded to her in the midst of the sacri-
fice, that is, between the ceremonies that denote the
opening and the close of it. With her he lived in
prayer and fasting, ever-anxious to obtain posterity ■
and she became the mother of the present race of
men which even now is called the race of Manu.
The vows which he had breathed in concert with
her were all perfectly accomplished."

Quitting the East, and proceeding to the WesteiT
nations, our attention is naturally called to the well-
known legend of Deucalion's flood, as found in the
writers of ancient Greece. The details are simply
these. Deucalion, the hero of the legend, was a
king in Phthia, whose wife was Pyrrha. Zeus hav
ing resolved, in consequence of the treatment be had
received from Lycaon, to destroy the whole race of
men from the face of the earth, Deucalion, following
the advice of his father Prometheus, built a ship,
which he stored with all manner of provisions, and in
this vessel, when Zeus sent a flood all over Hellas,
Deucalion and Pyrrha were alone saved. Their ship
floated on the waters for nine days, at the end of
which it rested on a mountain which was generally
reputed to have been Mount Parnassus. When the
waters had subsided, Deucalion offered up a sacrifice
to Zeus Phyxius, who, in return for this pious act,
sent his messenger Hermes to offer Deucalion what-
ever he should wish. Thereupon Deucalion implor-
ed of the god that mankind should be restored. It
has sometimes been said that he and his wife repaired
together to the shrine of Themis, and prayed for this
boon. At all events their prayer was granted, and
they were told to cover their heads, and throw the
bones of their mother behind them as they walked
from the temple. The rescued pair had some diffi-
culty as to the meaning of the command, but at
length coming to the conclusion that the bones of
their mother could only mean the stones of the earth,
they proceeded to execute the order of the deity
by throwing stones behind them, when from those
thrown by Deucalion sprung men, and from those
thrown by Pyrrha sprung women. Thus was the
earth once more peopled.

A curious tradition of the deluge is mentioned by
Dr. Richardson, who accompanied Franklin in one

DELUGE (Traditions of the).

691

of !>i6 A rctic Voyages : " The Crees," he says, " spoke
of a universal deluge, caused by an attempt of the

lish to drown Woesachoolehacht, a kind of demigod,
with whom they had quarrelled. Having constructed
a raft, he embarked with his family, and all kinds of
birds and beasts. After the flood had continued
some time, he ordained several waterfowls to dive to
the bottom ; they were all drowned ; but a musk rat
having been dispatched on the same errand was more
successful, and returned with a mouthful of mud."

In the article Ark-Worship, we have noticed
various customs existing in ancient Egypt and other
countries, which seem plainly to have originated in
traditions of the universal deluge. None of these
traditional practices indeed is more remarkable than
that of carrying in their religious processions, as in
Egypt and elsewhere, the figure of an ark. And it
is remarkable that in examining the traditions of
different nations, the farther back we go even into
the most remote antiquity, the clearer become the
traces which present themselves of the great cata-
clysm. Some writers have even made the Egyp-
tians worship Noah and his three sons, but the re-
cent researches of Wilkinson, Lepsius, and Buusen
have satisfactorily disproved this idea, and pointed
out a still deeper source of such deities, as Osiris,
Thoth, Isis, and other Egyptian gods, as being em-
bodiments of certain cosmological notions and reli-
gious conceptions, having no reference whatever to
the deluge. In the literature of China are to be
found several notices of this awful catastrophe. In
a history of China, said to be written by Confucius,
the country is said to be still under the effect of the
waters. The opposite sect of the Tauists make
mention also of the deluge, as having taken place
under Niu boa whom they consider as a female. On
that occasion they allege, the seasons were changed,
day and night were confounded, the world was over-
whelmed with a flood, and men were reduced to the
state of fishes. The same event is noticed by other
Chinese writers.

Mohammed has preserved the traditions of the old
Arabians in reference to the deluge, and recorded
them in several chapters of the Koran. Several
of the African tribes are found also to maintain the
memory of a deluge. Both in North and South
America traces have been discovered of the same
tradition, which are thus sketched by Sharon Tur-
ner in 'The Sacred History of the World:' "The
. ancient inhabitants of Chili, the Araucanians. make
the flood a part of their historical remembrances.
The Cholulans, who were in the equinoctial regions
of New Spain before the Mexicans arrived there,
preserved the idea of it in a fantastic form in their
hieroglyphical pictures. The Indians of Chiapa, a
region in those parts, had a simpler narrative about
it. The Mexicans, m their peculiar paintings, which
constituted their books and written literature, had an
expressive representation of the catastrophe. The
nations contiguous to them, or connected with them,

had similar records of it, and depict the mountain on
which the navigating pair who escaped were saved.
It is still more interesting to us to find, that the na
tives of the province of Mechoacan had their own
distinct account of it, which contained the incident
of the birds that were let out from the ark, to enable
Noah to judge of the habitable condition of the earth.
These people had also applied another name to the
preserved individual, Tezpi, which implies a different
source of information from what they narrated. The
belief of a flood has also been found to exist in the
province of Guatimala. It was also in Peru and
Brazil.

" We leam from Humboldt, to whom we owe so
much knowledge of all sorts, of the natives of South
America, that the belief prevailed among all the
tribes of the Upper Oroonoko, that at the time of
what they call ' the Great Waters,' their fathers
were forced to have recourse to their boats to escape
the general inundation. The Tamanaiks add to their
notions of this period, their peculiar ideas of the
manner in which the earth was re-peopled. Upon
the rocks of Encaramada figures of stars, of the sun,
of tigers, and of crocodiles, are traced, which the
natives connected with the period of this deluge.
Humboldt appropriately remarks, that similar tradi-
tions exist among all the nations of the earth, and,
like the relics of a vast shipwreck, are highly inter-
esting in the philosophical study of our species.

" Ideas of the same sort existed in the Island oi
Cuba, and Kotzebue found them among the rude
Pagans of Kamschatka, at the extremity of the
Asian continent. The Peruvians preserved the me-
mory of a general destruction, as far as their own
country was concerned, which their neighbours, the
Guancas and others, also entertained. In Brazil,
there were also various traditions of the diluvian
catastrophe, which, though agreeing in fact, differed
in the circumstances attending it. In Terra Firma
it was also floating in the popular memory, and
equally so among the Iroquois in Canada, and at the
mouth of St. Lawrence.

"The Arrawak Indians near the Essequibo and
Mazaworry rivers, have preserved still traditions
both of the separate creation of the first male and
female, and also of the deluge ; and describe it as
caused by the demoralization of mankind.

"In North America we find in the various Indian
tribes of nations, who spread over it, some memorial
intimations of this great event. Captain Beechey
found that the natives of California had a tradition
of the deluge. The Koliouges, on the north-west
roast of America, have also peculiar notions upon it.
Sir Alexander Mackenzie heard it from the Chippe-
wyams. The idea prevailed, but with fantastic ad-
ditions, among the C'ree Indians. Mr. West heard
a similar account from the natives who attended his
school on the Bed River. In Western or Xew Cale-
donia, which was an unexplored country beyond the
rocky mountains in these parts, till Mr. Harmor

W2

DEMETRIA— DEMIURGE.

visited them, he found a vague and wild tradition of
the same catastrophe, with the singular tradition of
a fiery destruction."

Humboldt, when among the Red Indians of the
Orinoco, was surprised and delighted at the glowing
descriptions of the deluge given by this people in
connection with the most absurd legends regarding
the origin and distribution of mankind. Ellis, in his
' Polynesian Researches,' takes notice of a similar
tradition among the barbarous tribes of the islands
in the Pacific.

In short, among nations the most remote from one
another in space, and in periods the most remote
from one another in time, traditions of the deluge
have been discovered, which agree in so many parti-
culars with the simple narrative of the Sacred pen-
man, that it is impossible for a moment to believe
that they are anything more than accounts more or
less distorted of the same great fact.

DEMETER, one of the principal divinities of an-
cient Greece, the daughter of Chronus and Rhea.
By her brother Zeus, she was the mother of Perse-
phone or Proserpine, who was carried off by Pluto
into the infernal regions. Demeter forthwith set out
in search of her daughter, and on the tenth day she
met with Hecate, who went along with her to Helios,
from whom they learned that Pluto had stolen Per-
sephone with the consent of Zeus. Enraged at the
tidings she had heard, Demeter refused to return to
Olympus, but remained upon earth visiting it with
the curse of barrenness. Zeus, unwilling that the
human race should perish, sent Iris to prevail upon
Demeter to return to the abode of the gods. Iris,
however, was unsuccessful in her errand, and though
all the gods in a body endeavoured to persuade De-
meter to revisit Olympus, she remained inexorable,
declaring her determined resolution to remain on
earth until she had seen her daughter again. Hermes
accordingly was despatched by Zeus to the realms of
Pluto, i.o demand back Persephone, and having ob-
tained her, he carried her to Eleusis, and restored
her to the arms of her mother Demeter. Here Per-
sephone was joined by Hecate, who from that time
became her constant attendant and companion. Zeus
now sent Rhea to prevail upon Demeter to return to
Olympus, and allowed Persephone to spend the win-
ter of every year in the shades below, and the rest of
the year on earth in the company of her mother.
Demeter was now won over, and consented to re-
sume her place in the celestial abodes, but before
quitting earth she gave instructions as to her wor-
ship and mysteries.

Demeter was the goddess of the earth and of agri-
culture. She presided also over marriage, and was
worshipped especially by women. The myth of
Demeter and her daughter seems to have been de-
signed to represent the fertility of the earth as con-
cealed during winter, reviving in spring, and en-
'oying the light and heat of the sun during a portion
of the yaar. Some have explained the myth by a

reference to the mortality of the body, and the im-
mortality of the soul. The worship of Demeter ivas
carried on in Crete, Delos, Argolis, Attica, the
western coast of Asia, and in Sicily and Italy. The
principal festivals in honour of this goddess were th<*
Thesmophoria and the Eleusinian mysteries. Swine
were sacrificed to Demeter, and also bulls, cows, and
various species of fruits. Her temples were known
by the name of Megara, and were chiefly built in
groves near towns.

The Romans, who worshipped Demeter under the
name of Ceres, instituted a festival with games in her
honour, called Cerealia, which were uniformly con-
ducted by a Greek priestess, who, on receiving office,
was invested with the privileges of a Roman citizen.
The worship of Ceres held a high place in the esti-
mation of the Romans, and the forfeited property of
traitors was given over to her temple, in which
were deposited the decrees of the senate, and it was
the special business of the asdiles to superintend
this sacred place. See Ceres.

DEMETRIA, a yearly festival instituted at Athens
b. c. 307, in honour of Demetrius Poliorcetes, who,
along with his father Antigonus, were consecrated
as saviour gods. A procession was held, and sacri-
fices and games were celebrated, while the name of
the festival of the Dionysia was changed into that of
Demetria.

DEMIURGE, the world-former of the early
Gnostics of the Christian church, a being of a kin-
dred nature with the universe, formed and governed
by him, and far inferior to the higher world of ema-
nation, and the Father of it. But at this point arose
a difference among the various Gnostic sects. They
all admitted the subordination of the Demiurge to
the Supreme God, but they did not agree as to the
particular mode of the subordination. The varieties
of opinion are well detailed by Neander. " Some
taking their departure from ideas which had long
prevailed among certain Jews of Alexandria (as ap-
pears from comparing the Alexandrian version of tin
Old Testament, and from Philo), supposed that the
Supreme God created and governed the world by
ministering spirits, by the angels. At the head ot
these angels stood one, who had the direction and
control of all; hence called the opificerand governor
of the world. This Demiurge they compared with
the plastic, animating, mundane spirit of Plato and
the Platonicians, which, too, according to the Timseus
of Plato, strives to represent the ideas of the Divine
Reason, in that which is becoming and temporal.
This angel is a representative of the Supreme God
on this lower stage of existence. He acts not inde-
pendently, but merely according to the ideas inspired
in him by the Supreme God ; just as the plastic,
mundane soul of the Platonists creates all things
after the pattern of the ideas communicated by the
Supreme Reason. But these ideas transcend the
powers of his own limited nature ; he cannot under
stand them ; he is merely their unconscious organ,

DEMON-WORSHIP.

693

and hence is unable himself to comprehend the whole
scope and meaning of the work which he performs.
As an organ under the guidance of a higher inspira-
tion, he reveals what exceeds his own power of con-
ception. And here also they fall in with the cur-
rent ideas of the Jew6, in supposing that the Supreme
God had revealed himself to their Fathers through
the angels, who served as ministers of his will. From
them proceeded the giving of the law by Moses. In
the following respect, also, they considered the De-
miurge to be a representative of the Supreme God ;
as the other nations of the earth are portioned out
under the guidance of the other angels, so the Jew-
ish people, considered as the peculiar people of God,
are committed to the especial care of the Demiurge,
as his representative. He revealed also among them,
in their religious polity, as in the creation of the
world, those higher ideas, which himself could not
understand in their true signiricancy. The Old Tes-
tament, like the whole creation, was the. veiled symbol
of a higher mundane system, the veiled type of Chris-
ti'initi/.

" The other party of the Gnostics consisted mainly
of such as, before their coming over to Christianity,
had not been followers of the Mosaic religion, but
had already, at an earlier period, framed to them-
selves an Oriental Gnosis, opposed as well to Judaism
is to all popular religions, like that of which we tind
the remains in the books of the Sabseans, and of
which examples may still be found in the East,
among the Persians and the Hindoos. They re-
garded the Demiurge with his angels, not simply
like the former class, as a subordinate, limited be-
in::, but as one absolutely hostile to the Supreme
God. The Demiurge and his angels are for estab-
lishing their independence within their limited sphere.
They would tolerate no foreign dominion within
their province. Whatever higher existence has de-
scended into their kingdom, they seek to hold im-
prisoned there, so that it may not ascend again above
their narrow precincts. Probably, in this system,
the kingdom of the world-forming angels coincided,
for the most part, with the kingdom of the deceitful
star-spirits, who seek to rob man of his freedom, to
beguile liim by various arts of deception, — and who
exercise a tyrannical sway over the things of this
world. The Demiurge is a limited and limiting be-
ing; proud, jealous, revengeful; and this his charac-
ter expresses itself in the Old Testament, which pro-
ceeded from him."

The difference which thus existed between the
Gnostic systems, in regard to the Demiurge, was one
of no small importance. The one class, who held
the Demiurge to be the organ and representative of
the Supreme God, could see a divine manifesta-
tion in nature, and the earth itself pervaded by
an influence which would tend to purify and ex-
alt it. But the other class, which believed the I '>
miurge, or Creator of the world, to be essentially
opposed to the Supreme God and his higher system,

were naturally led to look upon the world, not with
lence. but with bitter hatred. The Gnostics
of this last class, either encouraged celibacy, or pro-
claimed open hostility to marriage as an impure and
profane connection. Regarding all that was human
as necessarily unholy, they denied the humanity of
Christ ; and all that belonged to Christ's human ap-
pearance they represented as not a reality, but a
mere vision. The opinions which were held, indeed,
by the different classes of Gnostics in regard to the
Demiurge, may be regarded as a characteristic mark
of distinction between the two great classes.

DEMONS. See Angels (Evil).

DEMON- WORSHIP. In all ages and in all
countries there has existed in the popular mind a
dread of spiritual beings, and an inclination to some
extent to pay them homage. Among the ancient
Greeks the Genii of the Romans were called demons,
and every individual was supposed to have a good
and an evil genius, the one prompting him to the
practice of virtue and piety, the other to the practice
of vice and wickedness. But it is in less cultivated
tribes of men that the necessity of propitiating spi-
rits by offering worship is more especially felt. Thus
in Southern Guinea a firm belief is entertained that
there are demons or spirits who control the affairs of
men, and who are themselves possessed of great
diversity of character. Some of them are viewed as
good spirits, and their kind offices are eagerly sought.
Houses are built for their accommodation, and fre-
quent offerings are made to them of food, drink,
clothing, and furniture. Native priests pretend to
hold intercourse with them, and to act as channels of
communication between mankind and these demons.
There are other spirits, however, whose presence is
feared, and all kinds of means are employed to expel
them from their houses and villages: "On the Gold
Coast," Mr. Wilson informs us, "there are stated
occasions, when the people turn out era masse (gener-
ally at night) with clubs and torches, to drive away
the evil spirits from their towns. At a given signal,
the whole community start up, commence a most
hideous howling, beat about in every nook and cor-
ner of their dwellings, then rush into the streets, with
their torches and clubs, like so many frantic maniacs,
beat the air, and scream at the top of their voices,
until some one announces the departure of the spirits
through some gate of the town, when they are pur-
sued several miles into the woods, and warned not to
come back. After this the people breathe easier,
sleep more quietly, have better health, and the town
is once more cheered by an abundance of food."

These spirits are also supposed tc take up their
abodes in certain animals, which on that account are
regarded as sacred. Thus monkeys found near a
grave-yard are supposed to be animated by the spi-
rits of the dead. On some parts of the Gold Coast
the crocodile is sacred ; a certain class of snakes on
the Slave Coast, and the shark at Bonny, are all re-
garded as sacred, and are worshipped not on their

tiyi

DEMONIANISTS.

own account, but because they are regarded as the
temples or dwelling-places of spirits. In Western
Africa also the practice of offering human sacrifices
to appease the anger of evil spirits is common, but
nowhere more frequent or on a larger scale than in
the kingdoms of Ashantee and Dahomey, and on the
Bonny river. A striking illustration of the dread of
evil spirits as likely to prove injurious even to the
dead, may be seen in the article Dead (Driving
away the Devil from the).

Even the ancient Jews are alleged by some to
have offered sacrifice to demons of a particular kind,
which appeared especially in desert places in the form
of goats, which in Scripture are called set rim, a word
properly signifying goats. It appears more likely,
however, that the Hebrews worshipped the demons
adored by the ancient Tsabians, who appeared in the
shape of goats. It is a fact well known to all who
have carefully studied the mythology of antiquity,
that the Chaldeans, Egyptians, and all the nations of
the East, who believed in a superintending provi-
dence, were of opinion that the government of the
world was committed by the heavenly intelligences
to an intermediate class of beings called demons,
who acted as subordinate ministers to fulfil the de-
signs of the higher powers to whom it properly be-
longed to govern the universe. The noblest enjoy-
ment which the Oriental mind could conceive to be
experienced by the Supreme Being, was a state of en-
tire and undisturbed repose ; and accordingly the idea
came naturally to arise, that the cares and anxieties of
the active management of the universe were devolved
upon inferior deputies or ministers, who received the
name of demons. Plato arranged these beings into
.hree classes, all of which were possessed of both a
body and a soul, the latter being an emanation from
the Divine essence, and the former being composed
of the particular element in which the particular
class of demons had its residence. " Those of the
first and highest order," he tells us, " are composed
of pure ether ; those of the second order consist of
grosser air ; and demons of the third or lowest rank
have vehicles extracted from the element of water.
Demons of the first and second order are invisible
to mankind. The aquatic demons being invested
with vehicles of grosser materials, are sometimes
visible, and sometimes invisible. When they do ap-
pear, though faintly observable by the human eye,
they strike the beholder with terror and astonish-
ment." Demons wrere supposed to be possessed
with similar affections and feelings to those which
actuate the human family, and therefore, while they
rilled the universe, they occupied each his own spe-
cial locality. Every individual object in the visible
creation had thus its presiding genius or demon ; and
in this way the religion of the heathen in its more
primitive form was rather Pantheistic than Poly-
theistic. Hence Mallet, in his ' Northern Antiqui-
ties,' remarks, " Each element was, according to the
faith of primeval man, under the guidance of some

being peculiar to it. The earth, the water, the fire,
the air, the sun, moon, and stars, had each their re-
spective divinity. The trees, forests, rivers, inoun
tains, rocks, winds, thunder, and tempests, had the
same ; and merited on that score a religious worship,
which at first could not be directed to the visible
object, but to the intelligence with which it was ani-
mated."

Plutarch's doctrine in reference to demons was,
that they were half related to the gods and half to
men. But he supposed that among these interme-
diate beings there was a graduated subordination
according to the predominance of the divine or the
sensuous element. When the latter prevailed the
demons were malicious, revengeful, and cruel, re-
quiring in order to conciliate them the offering up in
many instances of even human sacrifices. Into this
idea Porphyry entered, representing these demons as
impure beings related to matter, from which the
Platonists derived all evil. Such explanations af-
forded the Christians a powerful weapon for assail-
ing Paganism.

DEMONIANISTS, those who believe in the
reality of demoniacal possession. The question has
often been keenly agitated among learned men,
whether or not the demoniacs of the New Testa-
ment were actually possessed by the Devil, and in
fluenced by him both mentally and corporeally. The
neological school of theologians contend that the
demoniacs of Scripture were either madmen or per-
sons afflicted with epilepsy or some other cerebral
disease ; and in support of this opinion they adduce
medical cases in which similar symptoms have been
exhibited. But the great mass of theological writers
entertain very different and much sounder views of
the subject, alleging that from the statements of the
Evangelical historians, as well as from the whole
facts of the cases brought forward, the demoniacs
must have been clearly possessed by an evil spirit.
The Demonianists, who hold firmly the doctrine of
devil-possession, support their opinion by various
arguments of a very conclusive character.

1. They refer to the whole sayings and doings of the
demoniacs of Scripture, which are plainly inconsistent
with the supposition that they were merely labour-
ing under bodily disease. Thus in Mat. viii. 29,
"They cried out, saying, What have we to do witli
thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither
to torment us before the time?" The evil spirits are
said on one occasion to have left the demoniac and
jiassed into a herd of swine. Such a transition can-
not possibly be reconciled with any species of in-
sanity, and can only be explained by admitting that
the persons were really possessed by devils, which
by Divine permission entered into the swine and
drove them headlong into the sea.

2. Various cases of demoniacs occur in the New
Testament, in which not the slightest symptoms ol
mental derangement could be discerned. 'Thus in
the dumb demoniac mentioned in Mat. ix. 32, and

DEMONIAXJSTS.

6'Ji

Luke xi. 14, ami in (he dumb and blind demoniac
referred to in Mat. xii. 22, we have no evidence that
the intellect was in the least degree impaired or
affected.

3. It is well worthy of being noticed as confirm-
ing the reality of the demon-possession, that even in
those cases, as in Mat. xvii. 15, where the symp-
toms might be regarded as allied to those of epilepsj .
an express statement is made attributing the morbid
influences and effects to the agency ot" the devil.

4. The art of divination, the exercise of which
requires no small ingenuity and skill, and which could
only he practised by persons in sound possession of
their mental powers, is alleged in Acts xvi. 16, to
have been practised by a demoniac damsel at Phi-
lippi.

5. Testimony from various quarters can be ad-
duced in proof of the demoniacs of Scripture being
actually possessed by the devil. Thus we have the
plain statement of the Evangelists in various passages,
but nmre especially in Mat. iv. 24, in which it is ex-
pressly declared concerning Jesus, " And his fame
went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him
all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and
t ormei its. and those which were possessed with devils,
and those which were hmatick, and those that had
the palsy; and he healed them." We have the tes-
timony of the very enemies of Christ, who would
have willingly denied the reality of such possession
if they could possibly have done it, but they are
compelled, however unwillingly, to admit his power
over unclean spirits, Mat. ix. 34, ''Rut the Pharisees
said. He casteth out devils through the prince of the
devils." And last and greatest of all, we have the
testimony of our blessed Lord himself, as in Mark
ix. 25, " When Jesus saw that the people came run-
ning together, he rebuked the foul spirit, Baying unto
him, Thou dumb anil deaf spirit, I charge thee, come
out of him, and enter no more into him ;" and Luke
xi. 19, "And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by
whom do your sons cast them out ? therefore shall
they be your judges."

6. That demoniacs were not persons labouring
under disease, is plain from the circumstance that
the sacred writers make an express distinction be-
tween demoniacs and diseased persons; and likewise
between the casting out of demons and the healing
of the sick. Thus Mark i. 32, " Ami at even, when
the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were
diseased, and them that were possessed with di-wl-."
Luke vi. 17, 18, "And he came down with them,
and stood in the plain, and the company of his dis-
ciples, and a great multitude of people out of all .In
dea and Jerusalem, and from the sea-coast of Tyre
and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be heal ft
of their diseases; and they that were vexed with
unclean spirits : and they were healed;" Luke \iii.
32, "And be said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox,
Behold, I east nut devils, and I do cures to-day and
to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. "

7. An additional argument in favour of the reality
of the devil-possessions of Scripture, may be drawn
from the fact, that wherever circumstances' are
brought forward in reference to the demoniacs, they
are generally such as serve to show that then' was
something extraordinary and preternatural in their
case; for we find them doing homage to Christ and
bis apostles, and wdiat is peculiarly striking, they
all knew him, and united in confessing his divinity.
Thus Mark i. 23, 24, "And there was in their syna-
gogue a man with an unclean spirit ; and he cried
nut, saving, Let us alone; wdiat have we to do with
thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to de-
stroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy
One of God;" Luke iv. 41, "And devils also came
out of many, crying out, and saying. Thou art
Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them, suf-
fered them not to speak: for they knew that lie was
Christ."

Nor is the opinion of the Demonianists a modem
theory, unrecognized by the ancient Christian church
On the contrary, the Fathers of the church are una
nimous in maintaining that the persons of whom we
have been speaking were really possessed with de-
mons, and the church itself, in accordance with this
opinion, instituted a separate order of persons called
Exorcists (which see), whose office it was to cast
out evil spirits.

The doctrine of spiritual influence on the minds of
men has been held in all ages and among almost all
nations. The gods who watched over the heroes of
the Iliad, the demon who assiduously tracked the
steps of Socrates, the genii of the Eastern mythology,
the fairies and witches of the Northern nations, the
dreaded phantoms which are supposed to rule over
th. Southern In misphere, proclaim the universal be-
lief in an invisible spiritual agency, exerted for good
or for evil, wherever the human race has been found.
" At the present day," as Roberts informs us, " The
universal opinion in the East is, that devils have the
power to enter into and take possession of men, in
the same sense as we understand it to have been the
case, as described by the sacred writers. I have
often seen the poor objects who were believed to be
Under demoniacal influence, and certainly, in BODie
instances, 1 found it no easy matter to account for
their conduct on natural principles; 1 have seen
tlnm writhe and tear themselves in the must frantic
manlier; they burst asunder the cords with which
they were bound, and fell on the ground as if dead.
At one time they are silent, and again most voci-
ferous; they dash with fury a Dg the people, and

loudly pronounce their imprecations. Rut no sooner
does the exorcist come forward, than the victim be-
niiiii's the subject of new emotions; In- stares, talks
incoherently, sighs and falls on the ground ; and in
the course of an hour, is as calm as any who nit)
around him. Those nun who profess to eject devils
are frightful-Iookiii-j creatures, and arc Beldom asso-
ciated with, except in tin- discharge of their official

696

DENDRITES— DENMARK (Church of).

duties. It is a fact, that they affect to eject the evil
spirits by their prince of devils. Females are much
more subject to these affections than men ; and Fri-
day is the day of all others on which they are most
liable to be attacked. I am fully of opinion that
nearly all their possessions would be removed by
medicine, or by arguments of a more tangible nature.
Not long ago a young female was said to be under
the influence of an evil spirit, but the father, being
an unbeliever, took a large broom and began to beat
Ills daughter in the most unmerciful manner. After
some time the spirit cried aloud, ' Do not beat me !
do not beat me!' and took its departure. There is
a fiend called Poothani, which is said to take great
delight in entering little children ; but the herb called
pa-maruta is then administered with great success."

In Western Africa supposed demoniacal posses-
sions are very common, and the appearances which
these cases exhibit, somewhat resemble those de-
scribed in the Sacred Scriptures. Frantic ges-
tures, convulsions, foaming at the mouth, feats of
supernatural strength, furious ravings, lacerations of
the body, gnashing of the teeth, and other affections
of a similar kind, characterize those who are believed
to be under the influence of the Evil One. In some
of these cases, Mr. Wilson says, that the symptoms
exhibited were, as he discovered, the effects of the
exhibition of powerful narcotics, and in others they
appeared to him to be plainly the result of an excited
state of the nerves. On the Pongo coast there are
four or five classes of spirits which, it is believed, may
enter into a man, and when any one is supposed to
be possessed, he passes through the hands of the
priests of these different orders, till some one declares
it to be a case with which he is acquainted, and
which he can cure. A temporary house is built,
dancing commences, various ceremonies are per-
formed, medicines are administered, and after a fort-
night spent in this way, night and day, during which
the performers are amply supplied with food and
rum, the cure is pronounced complete. A house is
then built near the residence of the cured demoniac,
which is intended to accommodate the ejected devil,
who is henceforth to become his tutelar god, to
whom he must pay all due respect, and whose com-
mands he must implicitly obey, if he would not in-
cur the penalty of a return of the demoniacal pos-
session.

DENDRITES (Gr. dendron, a tree), the god of a
tree, a surname of Dionysus (which see).

DENDRITES, a name given to those Greek
monks in the twelfth century who passed their lives
on high trees.

DENDR1TIS, the goddess of the tree, a sur-
name of Helena, under which she had a sanctuary
built to her at Rhodes.

DENDROPHORI. See Collegium Dendro-

PHORIUM.

DENMARK (Church of). The early history of
the Danes, as well as of the other Scandinavian

tribes, is involved in mystery and legendary dark-
ness. It is not improbable that Denmark was ori-
ginally peopled by a colony of Scythians, from the
north of the Euxine sea, and who, bearing the name
of Cimmerians, gave rise to the appellation Cimbri,
which this people bore so long before theyassumed the
name of Danes. Little is known of this early colony,
except that they formed a portion of the barbarians
from the North who overran the Roman Empire
rather more than a century before the birth of Christ.
Their own historical monuments, however, go no
farther back than the arrival of Odin, which is usually
dated R. c. 70. Saxo Grammatieus, who wrote about
the middle of the twelfth century, supposes that the
Danish monarchy was founded by a person of the
name of Dan, from whom the country was called Den
mark ; that he lived in the year of the world 2910, and
that the country has ever since been governed by his
posterity. Sweno, a contemporary of Saxo, who
also wrote a history of Denmark, traces the founda-
tion of the monarchy to Skjold, the son of Odin,
thus following the statements of the Icelandic
chronicles.

The existence of a powerful sovereign in the north
of Europe, called Odin, is not merely borne out by
the traditions prevalent throughout the Scandinavian
territories, but by the ancient poems and chronicles,
as well as by the institutions and customs of these
northern nations. From the various records which
profess to detail the history of this remarkable per-
sonage, we leant that lie commanded the iEsir, a
people inhabiting the country situated between the
Euxine and the Caspian seas. The principal city
was named Asgard. Having collected a numerous
army, Odin marched towards the north and west of
Europe, subduing all the nations through which he
passed, and giving them to one or other of his sons
for subjects. From these princes various noble fa-
milies of the North claim their descent. Having
distributed the new governments among his sons, he
proceeded towards Scandinavia, where Denmark
having submitted to his arms, he appointed his son
Skjold king over that country, the first who is al-
leged to have borne that title.

It is not easy to determine what was the precise
nature of the religion anciently professed in the north
of Europe. As far as it can be ascertained from
Latin and Greek authors who have written on the
subject, it consisted of various elementary principles,
which are thus sketched by Mallet in his ' Northern
Antiquities:' "It taught the being of a 'supreme
God, master of the universe, to whom all things were
submissive and obedient.' Such, according to Taci-
tus, was the supreme God of tlie Germans. The
ancient Icelandic mythology calls him ' the authoi
of every thing that existeth ; the eternal, the an-
cient, the living and awful Being, the searcher into
concealed things, the Being that never changeth.
This religion attributed to the Supreme Deity ' at
infinite power, a boundless knowledge, an ineorrup-

DENMARK (Church of).

697

iiblo justice,' anil forbade its followers to represent
him under any corporeal form. They were not even
to think of confining him within the enclosure of
walls, but were taught that it was only within woods
and consecrated forests that they could serve him
properly. There he seemed to reign in silence, and
to make himself felt by the respect which he inspired.
It was an injurious extravagance to attribute to this
deity a human figure, to erect statues to him, to
suppose him of any sex, or to represent him by
images. From this supreme God were sprung (as it
were emanations of his divinity) an infinite number of
subaltern deities and genii, of which every part of the
visible world was the seat and temple. These intel-
ligences did not barely reside in each part of nature;
they directed its operations, it was the organ or in-
strument of their love or liberality to mankind.
Each element was under the guidance of some being
peculiar to it. The earth, the water, the fire, the
air, the sun, moon, and stars had each their respec-
tive divinity. The trees, forests, rivers, mountains,
rocks, winds, thunder and tempests had the same ;
and merited on that score a religious worship, which,
at first, could not be directed to the visible object,
but to the intelligence with which it was animated.
The motive of this worship was the fear of a deity
irritated by the sins of men, but who, at the same
time, was merciful, and capable of being appeased by
prayer and repentance. They looked up to him as
to the active principle, which, by uniting with the
earth or passive principle, had produced men, ani-
mals, plants, and all visible beings; they even be-
lieved that he was the only agent in nature, who
preserves the several beings, and disposes of all
events. To serve this divinity with sacrifices and
prayers, to do no wrong to others, and to be brave
and intrepid in themselves, were all the moral con-
sequences they derived from these doctrines. Lastly,
the belief of a future state cemented and completed
the whole building. Cruel tortures were there re-
served for such as despised these three fundamental
precepts of morality, and joys without number and
without end awaited every religious, just, and valiant
man."

This primitive religion of the Northern nations
lost much of its original purity, and underwent re-
markable changes in the course of the seven or eight
centuries which intervened between the time of
I (din and the conversion of Denmark to the Chris-
tian faith. The most striking alteration which took
place during that period was in the number of the
gods who were to be worshipped. The Supreme
lieinir, instead of presiding over and regulating uni-
versal nature, came to be restricted to one province,
and passed among the great mass of the people for
the God of War. The Danes seem to have paid the
highest honours to Odin. The prose Edda reckons
up twelve gods, and as many goddesses, to whom
divine honours were due, and wdio. thoiurh they had
T.I1 a certain power, were nevertheless obliged to

obey Odin, the most ancient of the gods, and the
great principle of all things. Traces of the worship
of these Scandinavian gods are to be found at this
day in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. In the
middle of a plain, or upon some little hill, are to be
seen altars around which the people were wont to
assemble for sacrifice. These altars generally con-
sist of three long pieces of rock set upright, which
serve for a basis to a great flat stone forming the
table of the altar. There is commonly found a large
cavity underneath the altar, which might be intended
to receive the blood of the victims, and stones fur
striking fire are almost invariably found scattered
around it. At length, as the Scandinavians formed
connections with other countries of Europe, temples
began to be built, and idols introduced. The parti-
cular details of the ancient worship of these northern
countries will be found in another article. (See
Scandinavians, Religion of the Ancient.)

The first efforts to Christianize Denmark were
made by Anglo-Saxon missionaries in the seventh
century. An English presbyter named Willibrord,
wdio in A. D. 69G was consecrated archbishop of the
Frisias, passed into Jutland. His mission to that
region failed, but lie purchased thirty children of
the natives, whom he instructed in the knowledge of
Christianity, and when he landed on Heligoland, the
island dedicated to the old German idol Fosite, he
wished to establish his abode there in order to bap-
tize them. But to disturb anything dedicated on
the holy island to the Deity was regarded as a heavy
offence. When Willibrord, therefore, ventured to
baptize the children in the sacred fountain, and bis
companions slew some of the consecrated animals,
the rage of the people was so violently excited, that
they made the intruders east lots which of them
should be slain as an offering to the idols. The
individual on whom the lot fell was sacrificed ac-
cordingly, and the rest of the party were dismissed
into the Prankish territory.

It was only, however, in the ninth century, that
Christianity can be said to have found a footing in
Denmark. The circumstances which in the course
of Providence led to this important event, are thus
stated by Neander : "In Denmark certain feuds had
arisen, touching the right of succession to the
crown ; and, on this occasion, the interference of
Lewis the l'ious, Emperor of Germany, was solicited
by one of the princes, llarald Krag, who ruled in
Jutland. In answer to this application, he sent, in
H22. an ambassador to Denmark; and, with tin ne
gotiations which ensued, was introduced a pn
tion for the establishment, or at least to prepare the
way for the establishment, of a mission among the
Danes. The primate of France, Ebbo, archbishop
of Kheinis, a man educated at the imperial court, and
for a time the emperor's favourite minister, was se-
lected by him for the management of this business,
Ebbo, who at the court of his sovereign had often
flbassadors from the pagan Danes, had for a

698

DENMARK (Church of).

.ong time before felt desirous of consecrating himself

to the work of converting that people. Practised in
the affairs of the world, and ardently devoted to the
spread of Christianity, as well as confident of its
triumphant progress, he was peculiarly qualified to
unite the office of ambassador with that of a teacher
among the heathen. Halitgar, bishop of Cambrav,
author of the Liber Pcenitentialis, was for a while
associated with him; and the emperor made him the
grant of a place called Welanao or Welna, probably
the present Munsterdorf, near Itzehoe, as a secure
retreat, as well as a means of support during his la-
bours in the north. He succeeded in gaining over
king Harald himself, and those immediately about his
person, to Christianity ; though political reasons may
no doubt have contributed somewhat to this success.
In the year 826, the king, with his wife and a nu-
merous train of followers, made a visit to the em-
peror at Ingelheim, where the rite of baptism was
with great solemnity administered to him and to
several others. The emperor himself stood god-
father to the king, and the empress Judith, god-mo-
ther to the queen."

When king Harald proposed to return to his
country, a monk of great zeal and piety, named
Anschar or Ansgar, was selected to accompany him,
with the view of endeavouring to convert the Danes
from Paganism to Christianity. On reaching the
scene of his missionary labours, Anschar commenced
his work by purchasing native boys, whom, with
others presented to him by the king, he took under
his own care to educate and train as teachers for
their countrymen. This missionary institution com-
menced with twelve pupils. The unsettled condition
of the country prevented him from doing more.
The king had alienated his people from him by em-
bracing Christianity, and forming connections with
the Franks, and in A. r>. 828 he was driven from the
country and compelled to seek refuge in a Prankish
feof, which he had received as a present from the
emperor. In consequence of the flight of Harald,
Anschar was discouraged, and feeling that it was
unsafe and inexpedient to continue his labours in
Denmark, he availed himself of an invitation to pass
over to Sweden, where some seeds of Christianity
had already been scattered.

After the departure of Anschar, the Danish mis-
sion passed into the hands of a monk called Gislema,
who, however, felt himself not a little crippled in his
exertions by the determined opposition of Horick,
king of Jutland, hitherto a violent enemy to Chris-
tianity. Anschar, in the course of a short time, hav-
ing been compelled to quit his missionary sphere in
Sweden, was elevated by the emperor of Germany to
the rank of an archbishop, and taking advantage of
his improved position, he entered into correspon-
dence with Horick, and so won his confidence, that
he was permitted to lay the foundation of a Chris-
tian church, and to establish Christian worship
wherever he chose, as well as to instruct and bap-

tize all who desired it. Having selected Schleswig
a town situated on the borders of the two kingdoms,
he planted a church there, which was instrumenta
in turning many from the worship of idols to the
adoption of the Christian faith.

The prospects of the mission in Denmark were in
a short time clouded by the death of Horick, who
was killed in battle, and the succession of Horick II.,
who was unfavourable to the Christian cause. The
doors of the Christian church at Schleswig were
closed, Christian worship was forbidden, and the priest
obliged to flee. The check, however, was only tem
porary. Anschar w?.s invited to send back the priest,
the church at Schleswig was re-opened, and what the
Pagans would not suffer through fear of enchant-
ment, it was provided with a bell. Liberty was also
given to form a second church at Ripen in Jutland.
Anschar was unwearied in his efforts to carry forward
the good work, and even on his dying bed the sal-
vation of the Danes and Swedes occupied his mind.
In a letter written during his last illness, he recom-
mended to the German bishops and to King Lewis
to use all their exertions for the continuance of these
missions.

Rimbert, the successor of Anschar, strove to fol-
low in his steps. He made several journeys, not with-
out great danger, to Denmark and Sweden. But the
circumstances of the times were far from favourable
to the progress of Christianity among the Scandina
vian tribes, engaged as they were in predatory and
piratical incursions into Germany, England, and
France. Yet the Danes, by their settlements in
England, were brought more nearly within the range
of Christian influences. During the first, half of the
tenth century, a violent persecution of the Chris-
tians in Denmark took place under the authority of
King Gurm, who had usurped the throne of that
country. At length, however, the German emperor,
Henry I., in A. D. 934, interposed, and compelled the
Danish sovereign not only to sheathe the sword oi
persecution, but to surrender the province of Schles-
wig to the German empire. This province afforded
for the first time a stable and secure seat for
the Christian church. It was now occupied by a
colony of Christians, thus affording a convenient
point from which Christianity might bear upon Den-
mark. The archbishop Unni taking advantage of
this happy change, again made a missionary tour to
the North. The king Gurra was as bitterly opposed
as ever to the Christian faith ; but it was otherwise
with his son Harald, who had been trained up in a
knowledge of Christianity by his mother Thyra, a
daughter of the first Christian prince Harald. The
young prince had not been baptized, but he openly
avowed his favou-t for the Christians, and through
the whole period of his reign of fifty years, he en-
couraged as far as possible the spread of Christianity
in his dominions. A war between this prince and the
emperor Otho I. terminated in a.d. 972 by a treaty
of peace, which tended ir. no small degree to bring

DENMARK (Church of).

f>99

about the first establishment of the Christian church
in I Denmark. Harald, with his wife Gunild, received
baptism in the presence of the emperor, and the
latter stood god-father at the baptism of the young
Prince Sueno. It was in the reign of Harald that
Adaldag, archbishop of Hamburg and Bremen, was
enabled to conceive and carry out the plan of conse-
crating several bishops for Denmark.

A keen contest now ensued between the Pagan
and Christian parties among the Danes, the former
being aided and abetted by Sueno, the king's son.
In A. D. 991, Harald perished in battle, and Sueno,
on mounting the throne, banished the Christian
priests, and re-established the old religion. It was
under this monarch that the Danes conquered Eng-
land, and on establishing himself in a Christian land,
Sueno gave up his opposition to Christianity, and even
professed anew to embrace it. His son, Canute the
Great, was won over to Christianity by the influence
of the Christian Church in England, and on succeed-
ing to the government, he applied himself with great
zeal to the work of giving a firm foundation to the
Christian church in Denmark- To reclaim the Pa-
gans, who were still very numerous, churches were
built and Anglo-Saxon missionaries appointed.

In the eleventh century, the church in Denmark
tvas treated with much favour by Sweyn II. This
monarch erected and liberally endowed a number of
places of worship, besides founding four new bish-
oprics, two in Scania, and two in Jutland. But
though thus zealous in advancing the spiritual good
of his subjects, his own private character was more
than questionable. By bis licentious conduct he ex-
posed himself to ecclesiastical censures. The fol-
lowing incident, showing the stem authority which
the church could exercise even over a royal delin-
quent, is related by Dr. Dunham, in his ' History of
Scandinavia:' "Sweyn was a man of strong pas-
sions, and of irritable temperament. In a festival
which he gave to his chief nobles in thecityof Roskild,
some of the guests, heated by wine, indulged them-
selves in imprudent, though perhaps true, remarks
I on his conduct. The following morning, some offi-
cious tale-bearers acquainted him with the circum-
stance; and in the rage of the moment he onl. red
them to be put to death, though they were thru al
mass in the cathedral — that very cathedral which had
been the scene of his own father's murder. When,
on the day following this tragical event, he proceeded
to the church, he was met by the bishop, who, ele-
vating the crosier, commanded him to retire, and not
to pollute by his presence the house of Cod —that
house which he had already desecrated by blood.
His attendants drew their swords, but he forbade
them to exercise any degree of violence towards a
man who, in the discharge of his duty, detied even
kings. Retiring mournfully to his palace, he as-
sumed the garb of penance, wept and prayed, and
lamented his crime during three days. lie then pre-
sented himself, in the same mean apparel, before the

ga'.es of the cathedral. The bishop was in the midst
of the service ; the Kyrie Eleison had been chaupted,
and the Gloria about to commence, when he was in
formed that the royal penitent was outside the gates
Leaving the altar, he repaired to the spot, raised the
suppliant monarch, and greeted him with the kiss of
peace. Bringing him into the church, he heard his
confession, removed the excommunication, and al-
lowed him to join in the service. Soon afterwards,
in the same cathedral, the king made a public con-
fession of his crime, asked pardon alike of God and
man, was allowed to resume his royal apparel, and
solemnly absolved. But he had yet to make satis-
faction to the kindred of the deceased in conformity
with the law ; and to mitigate the canonical penance,
he presented one of his domains to the church. The
name of this prelate (no unworthy rival of St. Am-
brose) should be embalmed in history. He was an
Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastic, William, whom the arch-
bishop of Bremen had nominated to that dignity,
and who had previously been the secretary of Canute
the Great. During the long period that he had
governed the diocese of Roskild, he had won the
esteem of all men alike by his talents and his vir-
tues. For the latter he had the reputation of a saint
(and he deserved the distinction better than nine-
tenths of the semi-deities whose names disgrace the
calendar), and for the former, that of a wizard. It
is no disparagement to the honour of this apostolic
churchman, that he had previously been the intimate
friend of the monarch ; nor any to that of Sweyn,
that after this event he honoured this bishop more
than he had done before."

From this time till his death Sweyn continued an
obedient son of the Roman Catholic church. He
spent large sums in supporting missions in Sweden,
Norway, and the isles. In his reign the Pagans of
Bernholm were converted to Christianity, destroying
with contempt the idol Frigga, which they had so
long been accustomed to worship. Towards the end
of the eleventh century, the church in Denmark re-
ceived considerable increase of power through the
favour of Canute IV. surnamed the saint. He ex-
empted ecclesiastics from all dependence on the
secular authority ; he raised bishops to a level with
dukes and princes; he brought the clergy into his
council, and endeavoured to give them a voice in the
assembly of the states. A line of proceeding so un-
popular with all parties, except churchmen them-
selves, could not fail to be followed with unhappy
consequences. The people rose in revolt, and Ca
nute fell a victim to the indignation of the mob
The unfortunate king was succeeded by his brothei
Eric III., surnamed the Good, one of the besl
princes that ever occupied the Danish throne. To
check the extravagant power of the archbishop of
Bremen, whose jurisdiction extended over the whole
North, this wary prince prevailed upon the Pope to

Iditional archbishopric al I. mid. lie made

a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and visited Rome IX

700

DENMARK (Church of).

person, that he might secure the favour and support
of the Pontitf. He made large donations to the
church in his own dominions, and gave a settlement
to the Cistercian order among his people, besides
founding at Lucca a cloister for the accommodation
of Danish palmers. In short, such was his devotion
to the interests of mother church, that he is styled a
saint by more than one writer of his times.

Denmark was now to a great extent a professedly
Cliristian country, but the population on the coasts
were much molested by the incursions of Pagan
pirates. At length Valdemar I., surnamed the Great,
resolved to destroy the strongholds of these lawless
rovers, to cut their gods in pieces, and convert them
to Christianity. With these intentions he led an
armament against the isle of Rugen, which was in-
habited by a race of fierce and cruel idolaters. The
account of the expedition is interesting, as given by
Dunham : " To their gigantic idol, Svantovit, they
offered human sacrifices, and believed a Christian to
be the most acceptable of all. The high-priest had
unbounded power over them. He was the inter-
preter of the idol's will ; he was the great augur ; he
prophesied ; nobody but him could approach the
deity. The treasures laid at the idol's feet from most
parts of the Slavonic world were immense. Then
there was a fine white horse, which the high-priest
only could approach ; and in it the spirit of the deity
often resided. The animal was believed to under-
take immense journeys every night, while sleep op-
pressed mortals. Three hundred chosen warriors
formed a guard of honour to the idol ; they too
brought all which they took in war to the sanctuary.
There was a prestige connected with the temple ; it
was regarded as the palladium not of the island
merely, but of Slavonic freedom ; and all approach to
it was carefully guarded. Valdemar was not dis-
mayed. He pushed with vigour the siege of Ar-
eona ; and was about to carry it by assault, when his
two military churchmen, Absalom, bishop of Ros-
kild, and Eskil, archbishop of Lund, advised him to
spare the idolaters upon the following conditions :
that they would deliver him their idol with all the
treasure ; that they would release, without ransom,
all their Christian slaves ; that all would embrace,
and with constancy, the gospel of Christ ; that the
lands now belonging to their priests should be trans-
ferred to the support of Christian churches ; that,
whenever required, they would serve in the armies
of the king ; and that they would pay him an annual
tribute. Hostages being given for the performance
of these stipulations, the invaders entered the tem-
ple, and proceeded to destroy Svantovit, under the
eyes of a multitude of Pagans, who expected every
moment to see a dreadful miracle. The idol was so
large, that they could not at once hurl it to the
ground, lest it should fall on some one, and the Pa-
gans be enabled to boast of its having revenged
itself. They broke it in pieces ; and the wood was
;ut up into logs for the fires of the camp. Great

was the amazement of the spectators to witness thi>
tameness on the part of so potent a god ; and they
could only account for it by inferring that Christ was
still more powerful. The temple was next burnt j
and so were three others, all with idols. The numer-
ous garrisons of the island were made to capitulate ;
the victors returned to Denmark in triumph ; and
missionaries were sent to instruct the inhabitants in
the doctrines and duties of Christianity. At the in-
stance of Bishop Absalom, the island was annexed
to the diocese of Roskild. This was a glorious and it
was an enduring conquest ; a tierce people were con-
verted into harmonised subjects, and piracy lost its
great support."

But while Valdemar was thus zealous in attacking
the idolaters on the coast of the Baltic, he yielded
so much to the influence of the clergy of his own
kingdom, that he was persuaded to collect the tithes
even by the sword. The impost was unpopular,
more especially among the Scanians, who were also
unfriendly to bishops, and still more to clerical celi-
bacy. Neither mild nor severe measures were effec-
tual in inducing them to pay the obnoxious tax, and
at length Valdemar, dreading greater evils, suspended
the collection until the people should be more acces-
sible to reason. In the thirteenth century, so un-
bounded had the power of the Danish clergy become,
that Christopher I., in consequence of a supposed
encroachment on the privileges of the church, was
excommunicated, and his kingdom put under an in-
terdict. This bold step roused the resentment of the
king and his nobles, and in revenge a royal decree
was issued revoking the concessions of privileges,
immunities, and even domains made by his ancestors
to the cathedral of Lund. A contest thus commenced
between the king and the church, which must have
led to the most disastrous results to the kingdom at
large, had it not been abruptly terminated by tha
sudden death of the monarch ; but the interdict con-
tinued for a number of years, until, by a general
council held at Lyons A. D. 1274, it was removed,
and the following year, the king, Eric VII. was recon-
ciled to the church, though even after that time he
frequently seized the church tithes, and applied to
his own use the produce arising from the monastic
domains. Nor was his son and successor, Eric VIII.,
less involved in quarrels with the church. Again
was the kingdom placed under interdict on account
of indignities offered to the archbishop of Lund ; the
king was condemned by the Pope and a commission
of cardinals to pay a large fine, and in default of pay-
ment, not only was the kingdom to remain under in-
terdict, but the royal offender was to be excoiumuni.
cated along with his brother Christopher, who had
been the main instrument in arresting the archbishop
Matters, however, were compromised, the fine was
reduced to a comparatively small sum, and the quar-
rel came to an end. From this time onward till the
Reformation in the sixteenth century,' the church
continued to maintain its authority and power

DENMARK (Cnuncu of).

701

cnreaisted by the people and unopposed by the
state.

From the contiguity of Denmark to the Protest-
ant states of Germany the new opinions found their
way into that country almost immediately after their
promulgation by Luther. Christian, the heir of the
thrones of Denmark and Norway, so far favoured the
Protestant cause, that lie sent for missionaries to
preach it openly; but in a short time he withdrew
his countenance from the movement, and even dis-
avowed what he had previously sanctioned. Fre-
deric I., the then reigning sovereign, not only toler-
ated the new doctrines, but secretly encouraged their
diffusion. At the diet of Odensay in 1527, he went
much farther, and exhorted the bishops to enforce,
in their respective dioceses, the preaching of the
pure word of God, divested of the corruptions
which had been associated with it. The leaning to
the Lutheran doctrines, which the king evidently
showed, liad its effect notwithstanding the opposition
| of the bishops. The assembled states decreed that
there should be perfect liberty of conscience ; that
priests, monks, and nuns miglft lawfully marry ; that
the pallium should no longer be solicited from the
Pope ; that bishops should be elected by the chap-
ters, and confirmed by the crown without Papal
bulls. These were decided steps towards the intro-
duction of the reformed principles into Denmark.
The improvement went forward. Many of the reli-
gious establishments were forsaken by their inmates,
and their revenues were seized by the crown, some of
the domains being given up to the secular nobles.
No bishop was now elected without the recommen-
dation of the crown. Lutheran missionaries began
everywhere to make their appearance, exciting a
great sensation among the people by their zeal and
the novelty of their manner. In the cities where
intelligence more abounded, the new doctrines ra-
pidly spread, and even in the rural districts not a
few were found holding keenly Protestant views.
The ancient church at this time received a blow from
which it could not afterwards recover. The Romish
clergy had now lost their hold of the people, and
their system was plainly destined to fall. One of
the last acts of Frederic L, who had been mainly
instrumental in bringing about this important change,
was to receive the Confession of Augsburg, which
he imposed on his Protestant subjects, leaving those
who still adhered to Romanism to follow their own
conscientious convictions.

An interregnum followed the death of Frederic,
and, taking advantage of the unsettled state of the
country, the Romish clergy made great efforts to re-
cover the privileges which they had lost during the
late reign. Nor were they altogether unsuccessful.
At a meeting of the states-general, held in A. D.
1533, a decree was passed that bishops alone should
have the power of conferring holy orders ; that the
tithes should be duly paid, and whoever Bhould not
pay should have no protection from the civil

power ; that bequests to the church might be law
fully made and peacefully enjoyed ; that the church
should be supported in l.er actual rights and pos-
sessions. These concessions, however, were all of
them withdrawn by Christian III. on his accession
to the throne. His first step was to exclude the
bishops from the senate, and to interdict them from
all authority in temporal concerns. Having accom-
plished this object, he called a private meeting ol
his senators, at which a resolution was passed, to
confiscate the revenues of the bishops for the use of
the state, to destroy their jurisdiction in the church,
as well as in the state, and not to restore them it
even a general council should decree their restora-
tion, unless the king, the senate, and the states ol
the realm should revoke the present resolution. It
was also agreed to adhere in future to the Protestant
religion, and to defend and advance its interests. An
act, embodying these resolutions, was signed by each
member, who promised to keep them secret. Hav-
ing thus secured the support of his senators, Chris-
tian proceeded to take some bold steps for the ac-
complishment of his design. All the bishops of tho
kingdom were seized and put in close custody. To
justify this extraordinary step in the eyes of the na-
tion and of Europe, Christian assembled the states
at Copenhagen, when, after a violent denunciation
of the Romish clergy by the king, their domina-
tion was formally declared at an end, and the Ro-
man Catholic worship abolished. The church
revenues were adjudged to state purposes, to the
support of the Protestant ministers, to the mainte-
nance of the poor, to the foundation of hospitals, and
to the sustentation of the university and the schools.

Thus was the Protestant Church established in
Denmark on the firm and solid footing on which it
has rested down to the present day. It was not, how-
ever, till the reign of Christian V. that the consti-
tution of the Danish Lutheran Church was fully
settled, when, in 1G83, the code of Danish laws,
civil and ecclesiastical, which are still in force, was
drawn up, confirmed, and sanctioned by the king.
In this code, the religion of the Danish dominions is
restricted to the faith of the Lutheran Church. The
Danish ritual was first prepared, sanctioned, and
published in 1685, and a Latin translation of it was
published in 170G.

In Denmark, as well as in Sweden and Norway,
no person is permitted to till any office, civil or mili
tary, unless he belongs to the Lutheran church.
Hence the great importance attached in these, and
indeed in all Lutheran countries, to the rite of con-
firmation by the bishop or dean. "It is not only
considered," says Mr. Samuel Laing, " as a religious,
but also as a civil act, and one of the greatest import-
ance to the individual in every station, from the
highest to the lowest. It is the proof of bavin at-
tained majority in years, and competency for offices,
duties, and legal acts. The certificate of confirma-
tion is required in all engagement.-, as regularly as

702

DENMARK (Church of).

a certificate of character from the last employer."
The maimer in wliich an individual is trained before
the administration of this important ceremony is
thus detailed by the same shrewd and intelligent
writer : " There is a long previous educational pre-
paration, often of six or even twelve months, in
which each individual is instructed by the parish
minister. He is answerable, and his professional
character is at stake, that each individual whom he
presents for examination to the bishop or dean can
read, understands the Scriptures, the catechism, the
prayer-book, according to the means and opportuni-
ties of the parents to give, and the capacity of the
young person to receive, education. The examina-
tion by the bishop, or dean, is strict; and to be
turned back from ignorance would be a serious loss
of character, affecting the material interests both of
the clergyman who had brought forward the young
person unprepared, and of the parents of the young
person, whose state of minority is prolonged, and
who, unless he is confirmed, can find no employer.
In those purely Lutheran countries there is very
little dissent from the established Church, in conse-
quence, perhaps, of the educational preparation given
to each individual for this rite, and of the importance
attached to it ; and the few dissenters, Mennonites
or Herrenhuters, or Moravians, live together, in gen-
eral, in distinct colonies, or towns, and are not scat-
tered through the population. The individual not
passing through the education preparatory to con-
firmation would stand alone in his neighbourhood,
without employment or countenance from any other
body of his own persuasion. One evil attends this
strict examination preparatory to receiving confirma-
tion. It unquestionably promotes, or rather enforces
indirectly, the education of the youth by the interests
of the parents, the youth himself, and the minister,
and by the immediate advantage it presents of en-
abling the young person to enter into his future trade
or profession as a man who has attained majority ;
but it is too liable to be considered as taking a final
degree in religion and religious knowledge. Taking a
degree in medical, legal, or theological science is very
often the ultimate effort of the students, that at
which they stand still all their lives. This is ob-
servable in the state of religion, in Lutheran coun-
tries. The mind may be saturated too early with
the knowledge required for attaining a certain end,
and the end being attained, the knowledge is thrown
aside, or perhaps only remembered and referred to
with disgust."

Confirmation in the case of the young, and confes-
sion in all cases, must in the Church of Denmark
precede admission to the Lord's Supper, and the lat-
ter ordinance must have been received by both par-
ties before marriage. In dispensing baptism, exorcism
is practised, and the trine aspersion with the sign of
the cross on the head and breast, accompanied with
the imposition of hands. Lay baptism, even though
perl" irmed by females, is in some cases considered as

valid. Five sponsors or witnesses, of both sexes, are
usually present at the administration of baptism, but
they bear no responsibility in regard to the child
during the fife of the parents. The Lord's Suppei
is celebrated in towns weekly, but in rural parishes
monthly, or even more rarely. On these occasions
wafers are used instead of bread, one of them being
put into the mouth of each communicant by the offi-
ciating clergyman. In placing the wafer in the
mouth, the minister says, Hoc est verum Jesu corpus,
This is the true body of Jesus; and in giving the
cup, he adds, Hie est vents Jem sanguis, This is the
true blood of Jesus. Sometimes the organ plays
during the whole administration of the ordinance.
Lighted wax candles are usually, in Denmark at
least, though not hi Sweden, nor in many of the
Lutheran churches of Germany, placed upon the
altar during the dispensation of the eucharist. Even
in administering the ordinance to the sick, one or
two lighted candles are enjoined by the ritual to be
used. In receiving the sacrament the communicants
kneel, the males on the right side of the altar, and
the females on the left. In this point also the Lu-
theran church of Denmark differs from the Lutheran
church in Germany, where in general the communi-
cants do not kneel, but approach the altar singly,
and after receiving the bread and wine retire. In
the Danish church the minister neither kneels during
any part of the service, nor does he partake of the
elements himself, but is required by the ritual to
communicate outside the altar rails, as the congrega-
tion do, using the ministry of another.

The three great festivals of Christmas, Easter, and
Pentecost, are celebrated each of them for two suc-
cessive days, three services being prescribed for each
day, and the communion being appointed to be ob-
served on the first morning of each festival, at the
first of the three services. Lent is the only fast ob-
served in this church. Various other festivals are
celebrated in the course of the year, besides the
three already mentioned.

The funeral ceremony in Denmark is simple, but
exceedingly impressive, consisting merely in the re-
petition by the clergyman of these three sentences
in Danish, " From the earth thou didst spring ;" " To
the earth thou shalt return ; " " From the earth thou
shalt rise again ; " and at the repetition of each of
these sentences, the minister throws a quantity of
earth on the body when it is let down into the
grave. Occasionally a funeral oration is delivered.

In Denmark, as indeed in all the Scandinavian
countries, there is a peculiarity in reference to mar-
riage, which recalls the Oriental customs — that the
parties before being united by the marriage tie, have
generally for some time been betrothed to each other.
No small importance is attached to the latter cere-
mony, as we learn from the description of Mr. Laing
in his ' Denmark and the Duchies :' " The betrothal
is a solemn act much more imposing and binding than
our simple engagement to marry. The betrothal if

DENMARK (Church of).

703

regularly a ceremonial in which rings are exchanged,
ami mutual acceptance before witnesses of the family
friends of both parties, takes place, although the
actual marriage is postponed for one, and even for
several years. 1 have heard of parties having been
betrothed above twenty years before they could af-
ford to marry. In real life, there is both evil and
good in this custom. Boys and girls engage them-
selves, exchange rings and love tokens, and conceive
themselves bound together for life before they know
their own minds, or circumstances, and, at a maturer
age, inclination, as well as prudence, may forbid the
banns. But they arc betrothed ; and although it
may have been privately, and clandestinely, the be-
Irotbal is, in their own minds, as sacred as marriage.
The betrothal is in Denmark, from the custom of
the country, a kind of public solemn act, has a kind
of sanctity attached to it, more than the simple pri-
vate engagement, understanding, or promise, between
the parties. People may be engaged to be betrothed,
although the betrothal itself is only an engagement
to be married. It always precedes the marriage by
R few weeks, or months, even, where there is no rea-
son to delay the ceremony, and the betrothed lady
has her status in society, different from that of the
bride whose marriage day is fixed, or from that of the
woman already married, but it is conventionally ac-
knowledged. Parties may and do recede from it by
mutual agreement, from prudential or other causes,
without the censure, and eclat, of a dissolution of a
marriage. They renounce their mutual obligations,
return their rings, and quietly cease those exclusive
attentions which showed they were betrothed. It is
to the effect of betrothal, that the actual dissolution
of the marriage tie is so much less frequent than we
might expect from the facility with which, in most
Lutheran countries, a divorce may be obtained. In-
compatibility of temper, confirmed disease, insanity,
conviction of crime, extravagance, habits of drunken
ness, of gaming, of neglect, and even a mm u.il agree-
ment to be divorced persevered in after an interval
of two years from the formal notice by the parties to
the Consistory of the district, are grounds upon which
divorce will be pronounced in the ecclesiastical court
of the district, and the parties released altogether
from the marriage tie, and set free to marry again.
The opportunity, which the betrothal affords, of par-
ties knowing each other, and of getting rid of each
other before marriage, if any such anises as would
have led to dissolution of the marriage are discovered
in either party, render divorces more rare, and the
great facility of divorce less nocuous in society than
we might suppose."

The oldest churches in Denmark arc built in the
form of a cross. In some of the churches crucifixes
ure placed upon the altar, anil paintings may be seen
upon the walls, but not painted glass. The ceilings
or roofs are occasionally ornamented with gilded
stars, and the ceiling of the chancel with represen-
tations of the sun and i n. The attendance on

Divine worship is by no means so general among
the Danes as among the Norwegians. The service
is usually commenced, as well as closed, by a short
prayer offered up by the catechist, standing on the
steps leading up to the chancel with his face towards
the congregation. A great part of the service con
sists of praise or rather chanting, for the passages
selected from the Prayer- Book to be sung are not
in metre but in prose. Though the churches are
almost all of them provided with excellent organs,
the people join in praise with scarcely a single
exception. That the congregation may be fully
aware what passages are to be sung, they are
marked on boards which are hung up in different
parts of the church. The collect and the epistle
are read at the altar, or chanted at the pleasure of
the officiating minister, and while so engaged he
wears a surplice above his gown, and before com
mencing to read, he puts on, in the presence of the
congregation, a humerale, that is, a cloak of crimson
velvet hanging down before and behind, rounded at
the bottom, and shorter than the surplice, edged all
round with gold lace, with a large cross, also of gold
Lev, on the back. In the pulpit a black gown of a
peculiar make is worn with a ruff round the neck
and without a band. Before commencing the ser-
mon an extempore prayer is offered. During almost
the whole service the people sit, being only required
by the rubric to stand when the Epistle and Gospel
are read, and when the blessing, which is always
AaBON's BLESSING (which see), is pronounced.
AVhile the sermon is being delivered, it is customary
to carry the collecting boxes round the congregation
that they may have an opportunity of contributing
for the poor. This practice is enjoined by the
ritual.

The government of the Church of Denmark is
episcopal, there being in the whole country, includ-
ing Iceland and its dependencies, nine bishops and
one superintendent-general, wdio arc all appointed by
the king. The metropolitan is the bishop of Zea-
land, who resides in Copenhagen. By him all the
other bishops are consecrated, while he himself is
consecrated by the bishop of Fyhn, as the bishop
who •■ residence is nearest to Copenhagen. The
metropolitan anoints the king on his accession to the
throne. He wears the insignia of the highest order
of knighthood, and is consulted in all matters eccle-
siastical. The clergy are to some extent civil as
well as ecclesiastical officers, being employed by the
government in collecting certain taxes within their
respective parishes. Their salaries are very limited,
and even the bishops and dignitaries of the church
are far from being overpaid. Only one-third of the
tithes has since the Reformation been appropriated
to ecclesiastical purposes, the other two-thirds hav-
ome the property of the king and the nobles,
The church patronage is mostly in the bauds of th«
sovereign, who nominates the bishops, and while the
feudal proprietors have the privilege' of nominating

704

DEODAND— DENOMINATIONS (The Three).

three candidates for church livings on their own
estates, it belongs to the king to choose one of the
three who receives the appointment. No minister
can be ordained until he has reached the age of
*wenty-five, though he is permitted to preach as soon
as he has passed the regular theological examination,
and may wear a peculiar short gown, but cannot ap-
pear in full canonical dress until he has been or-
dained. The bishops are bound to send an annual
report to the king of the state of the churches and
schools of their dioceses, and the condition of affairs
spiritual and ecclesiastical among the people. The
Synod of Zealand meets twice a-year ; but the other
diocesan synods meet only once, namely, during the
eight days which follow St. John the Baptist's day.
On these occasions the bishop and chief civil func-
tionary of the district preside, and the ecclesiastical
affairs of the diocese are carefully considered, and
any new royal rescripts which may have been issued
are read.

In the Danish German provinces the church gov-
ernment approaches more to that of the German
Lutherans. They have no bishops, but one super-
intendent-general, who alone has the right to ordain,
and twenty-one provosts.

DEODAND (Lat. Deo, to God, dandus, to be
given), a thing given or forfeited to God in conse-
quence of its having caused the death of a human
being. Thus, if a man, when driving a cart, acciden-
tally falls, and one of the cart-wheels crushes him to
death, the cart becomes a deodand, or given to God,
that is, it becomes the property of the sovereign to
be distributed to the poor by the royal almoner, by
way of expiation or atonement for the death which it
has caused. The origin of this custom is probably
to be found in Exod. xxi. 28, " If an ox gore a man
or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be
surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten ; but
the owner of the ox shall be quit."

DEPOSITION, a term used in Presbyterian
churches to indicate the sentence of a church court,
whereby a minister is denuded of the office of the
holy ministry, and solemnly prohibited from exercis-
ing any of its functions. The act of deposing is al-
ways preceded by prayer. The church of the de-
posed minister is declared vacant from the day and
date of the sentence of deposition, and the usual
steps upon occasion of a vacancy are taken. In the
Church of Scotland the sentence of deposition cannot
be pronounced by a presbytery in absence of the
minister to be deposed, unless by authority of the
General Assembly. A minister deposed for immo
rality cannot be restored to his former charge under
tiny circumstances whatsoever, without the special
authority of the General Assembly appointing it.

DENOMINATIONS (The Three), an appella-
tion given to an association of Dissenting ministers
in and about London, belonging to the Presbyterian,
Congregationalist, and Baptist denominations, and
bearing the formal title of ' The General Body of

Protestant Dissenting ministers of London and West
minster.' The Thre'1 Denominations sprung from
the original Nonconformists to the prelatical gov
eminent of the Church of England, as established
by Queen Elizabeth and the Stuart dynasty. It was
in their behalf that the Toleration Act was originally
passed, and the association thus formed among tht
principal bodies of English Dissenters in and near
London, enjoys the privilege, along with the Estab-
lished clergy of London and the two Universities,
of approaching the sovereign on the throne. The
ministers of the several dissenting denominations in
London addressed the throne in the reign of William
and Mary as separate bodies. We learn from Dr.
Calamy, that in 1702 " they made an address to her
Majesty (Queen Anne), in a large body made up of
the three denominations of Presbyterians, Indepen-
dents, and Antipoedobaptists ; and this being the
first time of their joining together in an address at
court, it was much taken notice of, and several were
surprised and commended their prudence." From the
passing of the Toleration Act in 1688, the Presbyte-
rians and Independents had been gradually approach-
ing nearer to each other, laying aside somewhat of
then- natural prejudices, and from their common hos
tility to Prelacy, becoming every day more prepared
to coalesce. In 1691, accordingly, these two deno-
minations of Dissenters agreed to merge their mutual
differences, and " to reduce," as they themselves ex-
pressed it, " all distinguishing names to that of
United Brethren." This union led to the drawing
up of a declaration of faith in the same year, entitled
" Heads of Agreement assented to by the United
Ministers in and about London, formerly called
Presbyterians and Congregational." When this
document was printed, it had been subscribed by
above eighty ministers. Similar associations were
formed in all parts of the country, and throughout
both denominations the union was very generally
recognized. Two years thereafter a theological con-
troversy having arisen on the subject of the mode
and terms of justification, in consequence of the re-
publication of the Works of Dr. Tobias Crisp (see
Crispites), the United Ministers of London pub-
lished a tract entitled, ' The Agreement in Doctrine
among the Dissenting Ministers in London, sub-
scribed Dec. 16, 1692.' The propositions contained
in this tract were arranged under nine distinct heads,
directed chiefly against the Arminian, Antinomian,
Soeinian, and Popish errors. Similar declarations
were given forth by the United Ministers in the
course of the Antinomian controversy, which raged
in England between 1691 and 1699. And Dr.
Calamy informs us, in his ' Brief but true Account
of the Protestant Dissenters in England,' published
in 1717, that "they generally agree in the doctrinal
articles of the Church of England, which they sub-
scribe, the Confession of Faith, and Larger and
Smaller Catechisms compiled by the Assembly oi
Divines at Westminster, and the judgment of the

DEPR I VATION— DERVISHES.

705

British Divines at tie Synod of Dort, about the
Quimpiarticular controversy." The united body
termed " The Three Denominations," was organized
in 1727, and so harmonious was the association, that
for some time they were able to join together in acts
of Christian worship. At length, Socinianism hav-
ing been embraced and openly taught by some of the
Presbyterian and of the General Baptist ministers,
it was found necessary to limit the proceedings of
the united body to general points, connected with
the political rights and privileges of Dissenters. The
Unitarian ministers, however, have seceded from the
general body of the Three Denominations, so that
their proceedings are now conducted with greater
harmony of deliberation and unity of purpose. See
Deputies (Dissenting).

DEPRIVATION', a term used in England to de-
note an ecclesiastical censure, whereby a minister
for some competent reason is deprived of his living.
The sentence of deprivation, according to the canons
of the Church of England, must be pronounced by
the bishop only, with the assistance of his chan-
cellor and dean, and some of the prebendaries, if the
court be kept near the cathedral church, or of the
archdeacon if he may be had conveniently, and two
other at least grave ministers and preachers to be
called by the bishop when the court is kept in other
places.

DEPUTATI. See Ceroferarii.

DEPUTIES (Dissenting), a committee of gen-
tlemen chosen annually by the congregations belong-
ing to the Three Denominations which see) of
London and its vicinity, for the purpose of watching
over and defending the rights and privileges of Pro-
testant Dissenters in England. A few years after
the union of the three bodies had been effected in
1727, the system of deputies was adopted. Each
congregation belonging to the Three Denominations
of Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists, in and
within twelve miles of London, appoints two depu-
ties annually to represent them at the General Com-
mittee. The election has taken place regularly since
1737, and the Committee thus formed watch over
any bills which may be introduced into Parliament
affecting the interests of Dissenters, as well as the
cause of religious liberty generally.

1 I 1 iRCETO. See Atergatis, Dagon.

Di:i;i:iIIATIS, a surname of Artemis (which
see), derived from Derrhion, a town on the road
from Sparta to Arcadia.

DERVISHES, Mohammedan monks who belong
to the Schiite or Persian sect of Moslems, and who
lav claim to special revelations from heaven, and to
immediate supernatural intercourse with the Deity.
The name is said to be derived from the Persian
word der, " the threshold of the house," and meta-
phorically " humility." In Persia they obtained also
the name of Sou's from Sof, which signilies a coarse
woollen dress worn by devotees. The orders of
these Dervishes are numerous. D'Ohsson enumer-

i.

ates no fewer than thirty-two, while Von Hammei
estimates them at thirty-six. It is remarkable wdiat
a powerful influence they exercise upon the social
condition of the whole Turkish empire. They are
said to have existed in Persia long before the pro-
mulgation of Islamism, and indeed their system of
doctrine may be traced back to the remotest periods.
in the history of all the regions of Central Asia.
Mohammed, endeavouring to accommodate his sys-
tem of religious belief to the peculiarities of the
Oriental character, rendered Islamism so sensual and
materialistic in its representations of God, that it
suited the Pantheistic Sofis or Dervishes, who be-
lieved every man to be an incarnation of Deity.
This class of religious fanatics soon came to combine
with their belief of the Koran much of the contem-
plative mysticism of the Hindu Fakirs. Some of
them, as for example, the Nachshbendiea, without
quitting the world for a monastic seclusion, bind
themselves to the strict observance of certain forms
of devotion. Other orders of Dervishes arc still more
rigid. Most of them impose a noviciate, the length
of which is made to correspond with the progress
which the candidate has already made. He is taught
to repeat the list of the Divine attributes, seven of
them only being communicated at a time. He is
bound to tell all his dreams to his superior, who pre-
tends thereby to be able to discover the advancement
which the candidate is making in Divine knowledge.
Some of the orders approach nearer to, and others are
farther removed from, the doctrines of the Koran.
Twelve of the orders are alleged by Von Hammer to
have existed before the foundation of the Ottoman
Empire, while the rest were formed between the
fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. In Persia, how-
ever, the Dervishes have always been most flourish-
ing, and they have even ranked among their number
some of the most celebrated Persian poets. Such
was the popularity indeed of the Dervishes at one
time in Persia, that one of them actually reached the
throne, and founded the dynasty of the Sophia. In
Turkey again, when the Janissaries were first orga-
nised in 1328, the Sultan prevailed upon a noted
Dervish, named Bactasch, and the founder of the Bac-
taschites (which see), to bless them formally in
order to inspire them with religious zeal. This the
Dervish did by holding the sleeve of his robe over
the head of each of the officers. In commemoration
of this the Janissaries ever after wore

a piece of cloth hanging down from behind the
turban.

The Dervisher make no open opposition to the
Koran, but they pretend to he delivered by special
Divine inspiration from the necessity of submitting
to any law human or divine. This doctrine liny

never openly avow even to candidates seel '

i into their society. They craftily teach the

initiated that the Koran contains only an allegory

of precepts and maxims purely political: anil that as

soon as habits of mental devotion have been acquired,

3e*

701)

DERVISHES.

the worship of God becomes a purely spiritual act,
which entirely supersedes all outward forms and
ceremonies, and all human interpretation of the
written word. In this way outward authority and
law are made to yield to inward impulses. They
insist also upon implicit submission to the sheikh of
their order. " Whatever you do, whatever you
think, let your sheikh be ever present to your mind,"
is the mental ejaculation of every Dervish.

This class of superstitious devotees has succeeded
in acquiring a strong hoid over the minds and hearts
of the lower class of Moslems. This influence they
strive by all means to maintain and increase. They
persuade the people that the descent of the Der-
vishes is to be traced to Ali, and even to Abubekr,
the first of the four immediate successors of Moham-
med. They profess to work miracles, and have re-
course to all kinds of juggleries and impositions, with
the view of exalting themselves in popular estima-
tion. Though some of them are far from being
correct in their moral conduct, yet the ignorant and
superstitious among the people actually believe that
the souls of these pretended saints are already puri-
fied and united with God, and therefore are in no
way contaminated by the deeds of the body. The
Sultans and Ulemas have more than once had occa-
sion to dread the dangerous power of the Dervishes
over the common people, which has actually led on
some occasions to open rebellion against the rulers
of the country. The Ulemas, who belong to the
Somite sect of the Mohammedans, have always been
at enmity with the Dervishes, and striving in every
way to lessen their power, but hitherto with little
success. One order, the Bactascl/ites, was aroused
to fury in consequence of the destruction of the
Janissaries by order of Sultan Mahmoud, and were
the chief instruments in raising revolts in various
quarters ; but the Sultan, with the advice of the
Grand Mufti and chief Ulemas, had the three chiefs
of the order publicly executed, banishing most of its
members.

Most of the orders of Dervishes have convents.
Only one order, that of the Bactaschites, can properly
be called mendicant ; many of these profess to live
on alms alone, after the example of their founder.
They are not very importunate beggars, rarely ad-
dressing private individuals, but for the most part
they are found in crowded streets, crying, " Relief
for the iove of God." Others of this order become
hermits, and profess to support themselves by manual
labour. Though Dervishes are quite at liberty to quit
their order and return to the world, should they feel so
disposed, very few cases of the kind have been ever
known to occur. They generally live and die in
connection with the order they have joined. " Were
the Dervishes of Turkey," says Dr. Taylor, " to lay
aside their distinctive dress, they would still be re-
cognized by their modest gait and submissive coun-
tenance." Wherever a Dervish appears he is warmly
welcomed. Many wealthy persons keep a Dervish

in their house, like the confessor in rich Rcmaii
Catholic families ; believing that his presence will
bring down upon them the blessing of heaven. The
Dervish is consulted on all occasions as one believed
to be possessed of supernatural wisdom.

The mode in which the Dervishes in Turkey con-
duct religious services will be best described by
quoting the statement of an eye-witness of one of
their festivals : " The ceremony commenced by a
procession, consisting of the Sheikh, Imams, Der-
vises, and people, along the street, many of them
carrying long poles, having several lamps attached
at the upper end, or else wooden lanterns. After
they had entered the mosque, the Dervises, about
fifteen in number, sat down cross-legged on matting,
in an elliptic circle, and the people stood or sat
closely round them. At one end of the mosque
were the Sheikh, Imam, and moon-'shids (or singers
of poetry), and near the circle sat a player on a kind
of small flute.

" The service commenced by the recital of a
prayer called ' El-Fa'thhah,' in a slow, solemn chant,
in which the whole assembly joined. After a few
minutes' silence the Dervises began their special
exercises, termed the Zikr, by chanting, in a slow
measure and very low tone, the words, ' La' ila'ha,
il'la-llah' (there is no deity but God), bowing the
head and body twice in each repetition of the words ;
after continuing this for about a quarter of an hour,
they repeated the same words to the same air for
about an equal space of time, but in a quicker mea-
sure and with corresponding quickened motions ;
during this the moon-'shids and Imam sometimes
sung to a variation of the same air portions of
an ode in praise generally of the Prophet ; — the
effect of the soft melody of this ode, contrasted with
the hoarser voices of the Dervises, was at times
pleasing.

" The Dervises then repeated the same words to
a different air, beginning, as before, in a slow whis-
per, raised gradually to louder tones, with very rapid
motions of the head and body. They next rose on
then- feet in a circle, repeating the same words in
very hoarse tones, laying the emphasis chiefly upon
the word ' La' ' and the first syllable of ' Allah,'
which were uttered with great vehemence ; each
turned his head alternately to the right and to thu
left, bending also the body at the repetition of these
syllables. The rapidity of their motions and ejacu-
lations was gradually increased until they became
apparently frantic with excitement, several of them
jumping and throwing about their bodies in all direc-
tions; others, overcome with their intense exertions,
were panting and gasping for breath, uttering the
most unearthly and horrible sounds, and sinking
down from exhaustion, bathed in perspiration. The
quickness of their motions and vehemence of their
ejaculations seemed to be regulated in some measure
by the chant of the moon-'shids and- Imam, who
lowered then- voices when the Dervises began to

DESIGNATOR— DEUTERO-CANONICAL.

707

appear exhausted, and urged them on again by rais-
ing their notes after they were somewhat rested.

" During these performances, one of the spectators
who had joined the circle became highly excited,
throwing about his arms and body, looking very
wildly upwards, and ejaculating the words, ' Allah !
AJ'lah ! la' la' la' lab ! ' with extreme vehemence. In
a short time his voice became extinct, his sti
exhausted, and he sank down on the floor violently
convulsed and foaming at the mouth; it was a fit of
epilepsy, and he was considered by the assembly to
be possessed, or melboo's, like the demoniacs men-
tioned in the New Testament. Such occurrences
are very frequent during these services.

" When these performances had lasted about two
hours, they were completely suspended for some
time, the actors taking coffee, and smoking ; and the
suddenness with which they subsided from the high-
est pitch of excitement into their ordinary dignified
gravitv of manner was very remarkable. After a
short rest they resumed the Zikr, and continued the
same frantic performances till day-break. . They are
enabled by habit to persevere in these exc.
surprising length of time without intermission. "We
were kept sitting up nearly all night, for it was im-
possible to sleep in the hearing of their wild groan-
in.'s and bowlings."

There is an extraordinary order of Dervishes call-
ed Mt:vu:vi (which see), or dancing Dervishes,
whose religious ceremonies are of a truly singular
kind, consisting of a series of rotatory motions, which
are said to symbolize the eternal existence of the
Divine Being. The members of this order belong
chiefly to the higher class of Turks. Another class
of Dervishes, called Rufidies, practise ceremonies of
the most surprising kind, in the course of whicl
lick red-hot swords, cut and wound themselves with
knives, and lacerate their bodies until they sink ex-
1. There is a degraded class of Dervishes,
called Kalenders, or wandering Dervishes, who are
recognized only by the lowest ranks of society, and
disowned by the members of the regular confrater-
nities.

DESIGNATOR, the master of ceremonies at
funerals among the ancient Romans, whore
the order of procession, and made all proper a
ments. He was considered as the minister of the
goddess who presided over fun

DESK, the name usually given to the pulpit in
which morning and evening prayers are read in the
Church of England. Formerly this part of the ser-
vice was performed in the upper part of the choir or
;hancel near the altar, and it does not ap]
have been till the reign of James I. that the convo-
cation ordered a desk to be provided in every church,
in which the minister might read the si I

DESPERATI I.at. desperate men), a name given

to the early Clm3tians by their enemies, as a term of

I ;h. This name they rejected a- a calumny,

throwing it back upon their enemies, who more justly

1 it. Lactantius says, "Those who set a

value upon their faith, and will not deny their God,
they first torment, and butcher them with all their
might, ami then call them desperadoes, because they
will not spare their own bodies ; as it' any thing could
be more desperate than to torture and tear in pieces
'.horn vou cannot but know to be innocent."

DESPCENA, a surname of Aphrodite, Demeler,
and Persephone.

DESTINIES (The Three), female divinities
among the ancient Scandinavians, bearing the I
respectively of Vrd, the Past, Verdaudi, the Pre-
sent, and Skidd, the Future. They are represented
as three virgins, who are continually drawing from
a spring precious water, with which they water the
Ash-Tree, so celebrated in Northern Mythology un-
der the name of Yggdrasil which see). This wa-
ter preserves the beauty of the ash-tree's foliage, and
after having refreshed its leaves falls back again to
the earth, where it forms the dew of which the bees
make their honey. These three virgins always re-
main under the ash ; and it is the}7 who dispense the
days and ages of men. Every man has a destiny
appropriated to himself, who determines the dura-
tion and events of his life. In the prose Edda the
Destinies are termed Norns.

DESTRUC'TIONISTS. See Anxiiiilationists.

DEUCALION, a son of Prometheus and Cly-
mene. He was king in Phthia, and in his days a
flood is said to have happened, which destroyed the
whole human race except himself and his wife
Pyrrha. Ovid _-ives a detailed account of this uni-
versal deluge, alleging it to have been a manifesta-
tion of the wrath of Jupiter on account of the wick-
edness of man. Deucalion ami his wife, embarking
in a small vessel, were saved, and when the flood
abated, they landed on Mount Parnassus, and in obe-
dience to the orders of the oracle of Themis they
threw Stones behind their backs; those which were
by Deucalion being changed into men, and
those which were thrown by Pyrrha becoming wo-
men. In this way the earth is said to have been
once more peopled. See Delugk (TRADITIONS of

Till. ,

DEI'TEREUOS, one of the assistants to the
Patriarch which see of the Greek church.

DEUTERO-CANONICAL Gr.deuteros, second,
and canonical, canonical), an epithet applied to cer-
tain books of Sacred Scripture, which were added to
the canon after the rest, either because they were not
written till after the compilation of the canon, or be-
cause of some doubt whether they were canonical 01
not. The deuiero-canom'cal books in the modern
canon are, the book of Esther, either the whole, or
at least the seven last chapters: the epistle to the
■■■■■; that of James, and that of Jude; the
second epistle of Peter ; the second and third cpis-

.li.lui. and the Hook ..i \

pans of books bj e, tin I \\ ran of tin
Three Children; the prayer oi Azariah; the his-

708

DEUTEROPOTMI— DEVIL-WORSHIP.

tones of Susannah, of Bel and the Dragon ; the last
chapter of Mark ; the narrative of the hloody sweat ;
the appearance of the angel in Luke xxii., and the
history of the adulterous woman in John viii. See
Bible.

DEUTEROPOTMI, a name given by the Athe-
nians to such as had been thought dead, but reco-
vered after the funeral rites. These persons were
not allowed to enter the temple of the Eumenides,
or any sacred place, until they had been emblema-
tically born again.
DEUTEROSIS. See Mishna.
DE'VAS, the generic name for gods among the
Hindus. Tliroughout theVaidic period they were
mere shapeless and colourless abstractions. Human
properties, it is true, were frequently ascribed to
them ; it was believed that even gods are ultimately
mortal, and can only purchase an exemption from
the common lot by drinking of the potent amrita,
the draught of immortality, that is, the soma or
milky juice of the moon-plant, the asckpias acida of
botanists. But in the later period, when Brahman-
ism had been introduced, the Devas became more
completely humanised, assumed a definite shape in
the imagination of the worshipper, and exhibited all
the ordinary signs of individuality. But while they
were acknowledged and worshipped as gods, the
DiSvas are regarded, hi the ancient Hindu sacred
books, as inferior to the One Great Spirit, who is the
primal source of being, and of whom the DeVas wor-
shipped by the undisccrning multitude are no more
than scintillations of his majesty ; they emanate
from him who, when the worlds were brought into
existence, had proceeded to create the " guardians of
the worlds." Accordingly, in the Isa-Upauishad, a
kind of pendant to the second Ve"da, it is said, " This
primal mover the Devas even cannot overtake."
But DeVas are worshipped, though inferior to Brahm,
the Supreme Being, in order, as a Hindu writer al-
leges, that men's minds may be composed and con-
ducted by degrees to the essential Unity. The
Murtti, or one person, is distributed in three D6vas,
or, in other words, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
The Devas have their dwelling place in Meru, the
local heaven of the Hindus. They are of different
degrees of rank, some of them being superior, and
others inferior. The Vedas themselves distinguish
between the great gods and the less, between the
young gods and the old. Devas or Dewas are also
the deities of the Budliists, whether denoting the
divine persons on the earth, or in the celestial re-
gions above. There are numberless dwellings of the
Dewas in the Micas or spheres above the earth. The
following account of the Budhist Dewas is given by
Mr. Hardy in his 'Manual of Budhisra:' "The
deVas of Budhism do not inhabit the de"wa-ldkas ex-
clusively, as in the world of men there are also dewas
of trees, rocks, and the elements. They resemble
the saints of the Romanists, or the kindred (lit mi-
■WV3 of a more ancient faith, as they are beings who

were once men but are now reaping the reward of
their prowess or virtue. They reside in a place uf
happiness ; L .it do not possess the higher attributes
of divinity. They receive birth by the apparitional
form, are subject to various passions, and in size are
more than colossal. Their number must be incal-
culable by the numeration of mortals ; as many
myriads of myriads are represented as being present
when Gotama delivered the discourse called Maha Sa-
maya, in the hall of Kiitagara, near his native city of
Kapilawastu. When the acquisition of merit in pre-
vious births has been small, the ddwas become
subject to fear as they approach the period in which
they are to pass into some other mode of existence.
Thus Sekra himself, the ruler of Tawutis£, previous
to the occasion upon which lie heard the sacred bana
from the lips of Gotama (by which he received merit,
and thereby a prolongation of the period of his
reign), became greatly sorrowful when he reflected
that he was about to leave the pleasures he had so
long enjoyed. But the dewas who possess a greater
share of merit are free from fear, as they know that
when they are re-born it will be in some superior
state of existence.

" The functions of the dewas are of varied charac-
ter, and in some instances inconsistent with the
powers attributed to 'the three gems.' They endea
vour to prevent the acquirement of merit by those
who they fear will supplant them in the possession
of the various pleasures and dignities they respec-
tively enjoy. They take cognizance of the actions
of men, as we learn from the legend of the guardian
deities. They sympathize with those who act aright,
as in the case of the nobleman Wisakha ; and punish
those by whom they themselves are injured, or those
who insult and persecute the faithful." See Dewa-
Lokas.

DEVATAS, gods worshipped by ordinary Hin-
dus, such as Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Kali, and others.
DEVERRA, one of the three female divinities
whose interposition was believed by the ancient Ro-
mans to defend the mother, at the birth of a child,
from Sylvanus, the goddess of forests and fields, who
was thought on such occasions to be ever meditating
injury. The ceremonies observed in honour of De-
verra were curious. The night after a child was
born, three men walked round the house ; the first
struck the threshold with an axe, the second gave it
a blow with a pestle, and the third swept it with a
broom. The other two goddesses concerned in pro-
tecting women against Sylvanus were Pilumnus and
Intercidona.
DEVIL. See Angels (Evil).
DEVIL-WORSHIP. In addition to what has
been already said on this species of idolatry under
article Demon-Worship, it may be remarked, that
the ancient Hebrews are distinctly charged witli this
sin in Deut. xxxii. 17, " They sacrificed unto devils,
not to God." In later times they spoke of all fa1 se
gods as devils, in consequence of tne'hatred w hich

DEVIL-WORSHIP.

70S

tliey bore to all kinds of idolatry, and we find them
sailing the chief deity of the Phoenicians Beelze-
itUB (which see), the Prince of Devils.

Among the aboriginal races of Hindustan, rem-
nants of which are still to be found in what are
called the Hill-Tribes inhabiting the forests and
mountain-fastnesses, Devil- Worship has always been
widely prevalent. The evil spirits among these
people are propitiated by means of bloody sacrifices
and frantic dances. In Ceylon this kind of wor-
ship is mixed up with Budhism. It is a curious fact,
and showBhow wide-spread this kind of superstition
has once been, that it is found to characterize the
Shamanism (which see) which prevails among the
Ugrian races of Siberia, and the Hill Tribes on the
south-western frontier of China, the chief objects of
Shamanite worship being demons, which are sup-
posed to be cruel, revengeful, and capricious, and are
worshipped by bloody sacrifices and wild dances.
The officiating magician or priest excites himself to
frenzy, and then pretends, or supposes himself, to be
-ed by the demon to which worship is being
offered ; and after the rites are concluded, he com-
municates to those who consult him the informa-
tion he has received. The dembnolatry practised
in India, by the more primitive DraVidian tribes,
is not only similar to this hut the same. Nothing
strikes the Christian mind more deeply in surveying
the superstitions of India than the worship so gen-
erally, and on the coast of Malabar, universally paid
by all the lower castes of Hindus, to evil spirits.
The following affecting description of the state of
matters in this respect in Southern India is from the
pen of an intelligent gentleman long resident in that
quarter : " In the district of Canara, on the coast of
Malabar, these evil spirits are worshipped by all
classes of Hindoos except the Brahmins. Some of
the Soodras make offerings also to the temples of
the Hindoo gods, but their worship is chiefly directed
to the evil spirits, those called Suktis, which are to
be found in every village, nay, almost in every field.
To the caste of slaves, which, in the estimation of
their countrymen, is the lowest and most degi
all castes, is attributed the power of causing an evil
spirit to enter into a man, or, as it is expressed in
the language of the country, to ' let loose an evil
spirit' upon him. On the occurrence of any misfor-
tune, they frequently attribute it to this, and sup-
pose that it has been at the instigation of some ene-
my that the evil spirit has visited them, to pn serve
their houses and persons from which, charms are in
general use. Petitions are frequently lodged before
the magistrates, soliciting them to issue orders forthe
withdrawing of these evil spirits, and to punish the
persons charged with having instigated and pi
their visitation. The ordinary method used to re-
move the active cause of their calamities, is to em-
ploy an exorcist, who also generally belongs to tin-
slave caste. The exorcist having come to the house
from which he is employed to expel the evil spirit.

accompanied by musicians beating tom-toms, or na
tive drums, commences his operations with groans,
Bighs, and mntterings, followed by low moanings.
He gradually raises his voice, and utters with rapi
dity, and in a peculiar unearthly tone of voice, cer-
tain charms, trembling violently all the while, and
moving his body backwards and forwards. The
drum-beaters act in harmony with the motions of the
exorcist, beating more loudly and rapidly as his ex-
citement increases. In consequence of the supposed
power of sorcery in the slaves, they frequently in-
spire the superior castes with terror ; and it is a sin-
gular retribution, that these degraded beings thus
enthral, by the terrors of superstition, those who hold
their persons in bondage. A ca.se of great atrocity
occurred a few years ago in the district of Malabar,
in which some Nairs, who are the landowners and
gentry of that country, conspired and murdered a
number of slaves, whom they suspected of sorcery.
After much laborious investigation, the crime was
brought home to them, and they were tried and con-
victed.

" The evil spirits are worshipped under the form
of, and the idols represent, sometimes the simple
figure of a man or woman clothed in coloured gar-
ments ; at others, under the horrible looking form of
a man, from whose mouth issue two large tusks,
whose head is covered with snakes instead of hair,
and who holds a sword in his hand ; at others, under
the form of a hog or a bullock, or a man with a bul-
lock's head.

"Such are the demons to whom, in that unhapp)
country, is given the worship and honour due to the
Eternal. The district of Malabar was ceded to the
British government by Tippoo Sultan in 1792. Since
then many years have passed, and no attempt
has yet been made to dispel the moral darkness in
which it is involved. A generation of men born
since that time, under a Christian government and
dominion, have already advanced far on the road to
eternity, and yet no voice is to be heard proclaiming
to them the glad tidings of great joy, and calling
them to repentance. In every place the cry of
'Rama, Kama!' ' Nairain. Nairain !' is openly and
loudly repeated ; but no where is to be heard the
glorious name of Jesus, the only name given unto
men whereby we must be saved.

■■'['In' offerings made by the people to the evil
spirits, consist of boiled rice, plantains and cocoa
nuts. The management of the devil temples is gen-
erally vested in the head of the principal Soodra
family in the village. The jewels of the idol are
his possession, and he arranges and directs
the performance of the feasts, which are hi Id on stated

us. The temple is considered village pro-
perly; each family claims an interest iii it, and tive

of the chief families have a hereditary right in
superintending its concerns.

"On the feast days cocoa-nuts, biUl-nut, and
taken from before the idol, and which an

710

DEVOUT— DHARMMA.

therefore considered to be consecrated, are presented
by the officiating priest to the heads of those fami-
lies in succession, according to their rank, and on
these occasions their family pride is exhibited in a
remarkable manner, by the frequent disputes that
>ccur regarding their rank. Actions of damage are
often filed in the courts of law on account of alleged
injuries on this head. There is a hereditary office
of priest attached to these temples, the holder of
which is supposed to be possessed by the evil spirit
on the day of the feast. On these occasions he holds
in his hand a drawn sword, which he waves about in
all directions ; his hair is long and loose ; he be-
comes convulsed, trembles and shakes, and jumps
about, and at times is held by the bystanders by a
rope like an infuriated wild beast.

" The temples generally consist of an inclosed
room in which the idol is placed, surrounded on three
sides by verandahs, the walls of which are made of
planks of wood, with open spaces between the
planks; the whole is covered with a thatched or
tiled pent-roof, and sometimes surrounded by an
outer wall inclosing a piece of ground round the
temple. Attached to some of the larger temples is
a painted wooden figure of the demon, riding on a
horse, or on a royal tiger, mounted on a platform
cart with wheels, which is drawn a short distance by
the villagers on the principal feast days. These are
honoured as the chiefs of evil spirits, and are repre-
sented with a higher royal tiara on their head, and
a sword in their hand.

" Around the temples there are generally some
old spreading banian trees, which, to the natural eye,
gives a pleasing and picturesque appearance to the
spot, but, in beholding them a contemplative Chris-
tian mind is pained by the reflection, that their ap-
pearance, which denotes their antiquity, declares, at
the same time, the length of time Jehovah has been
dishonoured, and the firm hold idolatry has over
those who practise it there. The evil spirits are
frequently worshipped on the top of hills and in
dense groves, the trees in which are so high and so
closely planted together as to cause a darkness and
deep gloom, which creates in the beholder a feeling
of awe. There are in the district of Canara alto-
gether four thousand and forty-one temples dedicated
to evil spirits, and three thousand six hundred and
eighty-two other places of Hindoo worship."

The Yezidi (which see), a people which are found
in the countries lying between Persia and the north
of Syria, as well as throughout various parts of Sy-
ria, have been accused by some writers of adoring
the devil. This, however, is denied by others ; but
one thing is certain, that they cannot bear to speak
of Satan, nor even to hear his name mentioned.

DEVOTED THINGS. See Anathemata,

CORBAN.

DEVOUT, a name given by the Jews to Pkose-
LYTES (which see) of the Gate. Under this desig-
nation they are mentioned in Acts x. 2 and xvii. 14.

DEWALAS, the name given to temples in Cey
Ion in which the Brahmanical deities are worshipped.
The officiating priests in the Dewalas are called
Kapuwas, who wear no particular costume, and are
permitted to marry. They use the Sanskrit lan-
guage in their service, though they themselves do
not understand the meaning of the words, but repeat
them from memory. Entrance to the Dewalas is
forbidden to Europeans. Mr. Hardy says, " that in
the sanctum are the armlets or foot-rings of Patting,
or the weapons of the other deities, with a painted
screen before them; but there are no images, or
none that are permanently placed; in some of the
ceremonies temporary images are made of rice, or of
some other material equally perishable."

DEWA-LOKAS, the six celestial worlds which
the Budhists believe to be situated between the earth
and the Brahma-Lokas. In these worlds, where
there are numberless mansions inhabited by the
Devas (which see), perfect happiness is enjoyed.
The Hindu Paranas teach that there are seven Lokus
or spheres above the earth.

DEWI, the female of a Budhist Deva (which
see).

DHARMA, virtue in the ancient Vedanta sys-
tem of the Sanskrit philosophy. The Purva Mi-
mansa, or first division of the Vedanta, is strong in
praise of dharma.

DHARMMA, the teachings of Gotama Budha,
or the system of truth among the Budhists. It is one
of the three gems or great treasures which they prize
above all other objects. Mr. Spence Hardy, in his
' Eastern Monachism,' thus describes the Dharmma,
" The different portions of the Dharmma, when
collected together, were divided into two principal
classes, called Suttani and Abhidhammani. These
two classes are again divided into three collections,
called respectively in Singhalese : — 1. Winaya,
or discipline. 2. Sutra, or discourses. 3. Abhid-
harmma, or pre-eminent truths. The three collec-
tions are called in Pali, Pitakattayan, from pitakan,
a chest or basket, and tityo, three ; or in Singhalese,
Tunpitaka. A Glossary and a Commentary on the
whole of the Pitakas were written by Budhagosha,
about the year A. d. 420. They are called in Pali
Atthakathi, or in Singhalese, Atuwawa. The Rev.
D. J. Gogerly has in his possession a copy of the
whole of the sacred text, 'and the principal of the
ancient comments, which, however, form but a small
portion of the comments that may exist.' As this
gentleman resided in 1835, and some subsequent
years, at Dondra, near which place the most learned
of the priests in the maritime provinces in Ceylon
are found, he had admirable facilities for securing a
correct copy of the Pitakas. Mr. Tumour states
that the Pali version of the three Pitakas consists or
about 4,500 leaves, which would constitute seven or
eight volumes of the ordinary size, though the various
sections are bound up in different forms for the con
venience of reference." The Dharmma is literalU

DHYAXA— DIAXA

711

worshipped, and the books are usually kept wrapped
np with the utmost care in cloth. Whenever the
Budliists speak of these sacred books, they add an
epithet of honour. Sometimes they are placed upon
a kind of rude altar by the road-side, that those who
pass by may put money upon it in order to obtain
merit. The Dharmma is considered as perfect, hav-
ing nothing superfluous and nothing wantii:-
Bana.

DIIYAXA. a state of abstract meditation incul-
cated upon Budhist ascetics, and which they believe
leads to the entire destruction of all cleaving to
nee.

DIABATHEBIA, a sacrifice which the kings of
Sparta offered to Zeus and Athena, when they had
led their army beyond the frontiers of Lacedemon.
[f the victims were unfavourable, they disbanded the
army and returned home.

DIAC-EXISMUS Gr. Dia. through, and Kainos,
new , a mime formerly given by the Greek church
to the week after Easter, as being the Renovation or
first week of the festival of our Saviour's resurrec-
tion or restoration to life. On the fifth day of that
week, the patriarch of Constantinople, along with
the bishops and principal clergy, were wont to re-
pair to the palace, where the Emperor received them
seated on his throne. The Patriarch commenced
the ceremony of the day by perfuming the Emperor
with incense, then blessed him, and saluted him with
a kiss on the mouth. The bishops and other eccle-
1 the Emperor's hand and cheek.
is long since been discontinued.

DIACONATE Gr." Diaconos, a deacon), the of-
fice or order of a Deacon [which see).

DIAl'1 'XI Or. ministi rs . the teachers or priests
among the Catharists (which see) of the I
century. All of them were held in great veneration.

DIACON1 REGIONARH Lat. district deacons\
The cardinals, who now compose the ecclesiastical
Bynod at Rome, were originally nothing more than
deacons to whom the care of distributing alms to the
poor of the several districts of Rome was intrusted.
Hence the name of Di 'inarii. which was

afterwards exchanged for that of Cardinals [which

DIACONICON, the sanctuary or Bema (which
see), of Christian churches in early th.
DIACON1CDM MAGNUM. See Ceimeliar-

CII1UM.

DIACOXICUM MIXES, the inner vestry of
'early Christian churches, to which the deacons
brought the vestments and utensils belonging to the
altar, out of the Diaconicum Magnum, to \>
for Divine service. Here the priests put on their
robes in which they used to officiate, and to this
apartment they returned when the public
was ended, that they might engage in private devo-
tion. The charge of this place was committed to
the deacons. It received also the name of S
rm'LACiUM.

DIACI iNIS&ffi. See Deaconesses.

DIACOXOFTSCHIXS. a sect of Raskolmks
(which see), or Dissenters from the Russo-Gredt
Church. They derived their name from the diaconut
or deacon Alexander their founder. He bt
to the church at Veska, but separated from it in
1700. in consequence of a dispute which had arisen
relative to some ecclesiastical ceremonies.

DIADEM. SeeCBOWN.

DLAH, the law of retaliation among the Moham-
medans. When a murder has been committed, the
nearest relative of the murdered person may claim
the price of blood from the murderer — an evident
imitation of the law of Moses. The words of the
Koran on the subject of DiaJt are these : " Retalia-
tion is commanded you in eases of murder, a freeman
for a freeman, a slave for a slave, and a woman for a
woman. But he who shall pardon a murderer shall
obtain mercy from God : and when a man shall have
pardoned a murderer, he shall no longer have it in
his power to exact retaliation from him."

DIAMAST1GOSIS (Gr. dia, through, and ma»-
t'x. a scourge', a solemnity anciently observed at
Sparta during the festival held in honour of .1
Ortida. On this occasion Spartan youths were
scourged at the altar of the goddess, until the blood
gushed from the wounds made by the scourge and
covered the altar. Pausanias explains the origin of
this custom to have been that Artemis demanded
human sacrifices in expiation of the pollution which
her altar had sustained by the shedding of blood in
her temple, and that Lycurgus afterwards substi-
tuted the diamastigosis for human sacrifices, with the
additional design of training the Spartan youth to
the habit of patiently enduring pain and suffering
It was accor rded as a highly honourable

death to fall under the lash at the festival of ArU-
mis.

DIAXA. an ancient Italian goddess, identical with
tTElOS which see) of the Greeks, and re-
garded as representing the moon. She was the
daughter of Jupiter and Latona. and the sister of
Apollo. Her birth-place was the island of 1 1
the -Egean sea; hence she received the name of
Delia. She was called Diana on earth, Luna in
heaven, and Hecate in the infernal r< . ! OS, 11 -'
however, describes these as three distinct go'
The Roman goddess Diana seems to have been first
worshipped on the Aventine hill, in the time
vine Tullius, and as she was the guardian of slaves.
the day on which the temple was dedicated was held
.ves of both sexes, and was usually
termed the day of the slaves. Diana seems to have
been worshipped at Rome chiefly by the lower class
of the community, who were wont to assembl i I
year on the Aventine, and offer sacrifices in her
honour. According to Varro, she was originally a
Sabine goddess. The goddess bearing the name of
Diana, who was worshipped at Ephesus, differed
from the goddess who was worshipped at Koine, ana

712

DIAPSALMA— DIGAMY

corresponded rather to the Cybele than to the Arte-
mis of the Greeks. She is generally represented
with a great number of breasts, thus evidently sym-
bolizing the principle of fertility, the fruitful mother
of all things. The Ephesian temple of Diana was
one of the wonders of the world, but its great glory
was the image which fell down from Jupiter, as we
tind noticed in Acts xix. 35. This image, which is
supposed to have been a black conical stone, pro-
bably of meteoric origin, was worshipped by the in-
habitants of Ephesus. The following description
will give some idea of the magnificent Ephesian
temple.

" The temple of Diana at Ephesus was, as has
been already remarked, considered one of the seven
wonders of the world. This magnificent edifice, of
which accounts have been handed down to us in the
writings of Pliny and Vitruvius, occupied 220 years
in building. It was erected on the site of that which
had been destroyed by Eratosthenes on the day of
Alexander's birth, and surpassed its predecessor in
splendour ; the cost of the work was defrayed by the
contributions of all the Asiatic states, aud so im-
mense was the quantity of stone used in the build-
ing, that the quarries of the country are said to have
been nearly exhausted by it. It was of the Ionic
order, and surrounded by a double range of columns
sixty feet high, thirty-six of which were adorned
with sculpture, by Scopas, one of the most eminent
artists of antiquity. The architect of the first tem-
ple was Ctesiphon ; of the second, Deiiocrates or
Cheremocrates. Twenty -seven kings contributed
sculptured pillars to this magnificent edifice, and the
altar was one of the master-pieces of Praxiteles.
The length of this temple was 425 feet, and its
breadth 220 feet ; so that there are many cathedrals
in England superior in dimensions to this famous
building. Till the time of Tiberius it had enjoyed
the privilege of an asylum, which had gradually in-
creased till it took in the greater part of the city,
but that prince finding the privilege abused rescinded
it, and declared that even the altar should not serve
as a sanctuary to criminals.

" The priests of the Ephesian Diana were held in
great esteem, but their condition was far from envi-
able, for they were not only mutilated in honour of
their goddess, (another proof identifying the Artemis
of Ephesus with Cybele,) but they were restricted to
a severe diet and prohibited from entering any pri-
vate house ; they were called Estiatores, and must
have been a wealthy body, for they sent a statue of
gold to Artemidorus, who pleaded their cause at
Rome, and rescued their property out of the hands
of the farmers of the public revenues, who had seized
upon them. Once in the year was there a public
festival held in honour of the goddess in the city of
Ephesus, and to this festival all the Ionians who
could do so, made a point of repafring with their
wives and children, bringing with thein not only
costly offerings to Diana, but also rich presents fur

the Estiatores." In Acts xix. 24, silvet shrines fci
Diana are spoken of. These are said by Chrysos-
tom to have been small boxes or chests wrought into
the form of models of the temple, with an image of
the goddess within. This explanation is shown to
be correct by the representations on the Ephesian
coins.

DIAPSALMA, a mode of singing adopted occa-
sionally in the Christian churches in early times.
The priests according to this practice led the psal-
mody, and the people sung responses.

DIASIA, a festival in honour of Zeus, surnamed
Meilichius, celebrated at Athens outside the city.
It was observed by all classes, the wealthy sacrific-
ing animals, while the poor offered such gifts as
their means allowed. This festival, which was ob-
served with feastings and rejoicings, was held in the
latter half of the month Anthesterion.

DIATAXEIS (Gr. ordinances), the word used by
the author of the Apostolical Constitutions
(which see), to denote the forms and orders of wor-
ship in the early Christian church.

DICAIOPHYLAX (Gr. dicaios, just, and phyla*,
a keeper), an officer in the Greek church who takes
care of the church's title and her charters.

DICE (Gr. justice), a goddess among the ancient
Greeks, the daughter of Zeus and Themis. She was
regarded as one of the Hor^e (which see) ; and He-
siod represented her as approaching the throne of
Zeus with tears and lamentations whenever a jud_e
was guilty of injustice.

DIC1VEUS, a surname of Zeus, derived from
Moimt Dicte in Crete, where he had a temple.

DICTATES OF HILDEBRAXD. See Rome
(Church of).

DICTYNNA (Gr. dictyon, a net), a surname of
Artemis, as being the goddess of hunting.

DICTYNNIA, a festival celebrated in honour of
Artcmia at Cydonia in Crete. Little is known con-
cerning it, except that it was accompanied with sa-
crifices.

DIDYMiEUS, a surname of Apollo, from the
double fight which he imparted to mankind ; the one
directly and immediately from himself, considered as
the sun, the other by reflection, as the moon.
DIESPITER. See Jupiter.
DIFFAREATIO (Lat. dis, asunder, and far,
wheat), a rebgious ceremony among the ancient Ro-
mans, by which alone a marriage could be dissolved
which had been contracted by Confarreatio
(which see), the most solemn marriage ceremony in
the earlier periods of the Roman history. See Dl

VORCE.

DIGAMY (Gr. dis, twice, and gameo, to marry)
The point was much disputed in the ancient Chris-
tian church, whether second marriages were lawful
or otherwise, particularly in consequence of the
strong opinions held by the Novations and, Monta-
nists, who denounced such marriages as unlawful.
This opinion was also maintained by several councils.

DIGGERS— DINA CHARTVAWA.

713

The laity were afterwards permitted to contract sec-
ond marriages, while the prohibition still rested upon
the clergy. The introduction of the law of celibacy,
however, rendered this restriction, in so far as the
clergy were concerned, altogether useless.

DIGGERS, a term of reproach applied to the
WALDENSEa (which see) because in consequence of
the severe persecution to which they were exposed,
they were under the necessity of digging for them-
selves caverns in which they might safely worship
God.

DIGNITARY, a term used in England to denote
one who holds cathedral or other preferment to which
jurisdiction is annexed.

1)11 Lat. gods). See Mythology.

DIII'OLEIA, a festival of great antiquity, cele-
brated annually in honour of Zeus on the Acropolis
of Athens. An ox was sacrificed on this occasion,
but in a peculiar manner. Barley mixed with wheat
was laid upon the altar of Zeus, and the ox which
was destined to be sacrificed was allowed to eat a
portion of it ; but while the animal was -thus en-
gaged, one of the priests, who received the title of
Bouphonos, or ox-murderer, seized an axe, killed the
ox, and ran away. The other priests, pretending to
be ignorant who had committed the fatal act, sum-
moned the axe with which the deed had been done,
and declared it guilty of murder. This strange cere-
mony is said to have arisen from an ox having on
one occasion devoured the cakes offered at the cele-
bration of the DlONYSIA (which see), thus carrying
us back for the origin of the Diipoleia to a time
when the fruits of the ground were offered instead
of animal sacrifices. Porphyry informs us, that
three Athenian families claimed the privilege of tak-
ing a part in this ancient festival, one by leading the
ox to the altar, a second by knocking it down, ami a
third by killing it, all of which functions were reck-
oned peculiarly honourable.

DIMESSES, an order of nuns, consisting of young
maids and widows, founded in the state of Venice in
the sixteenth century. The originator of this order
was Dejanata Valmarana, the wife of a civilian of
Verona; and the rules for their direction were laid
down in 1584 by Anthony Pagani, a Franciscan.
Three years' probation was required before entrance
could be obtained into the order. The habit which
the nuns wore was either of black or brown woollen,
as they chose.

• DIM1XUTOS, a name used to denote those per-
sons whose confessions before the Inquisition were
defective and imperfect. There are three kinds of
Dimiiiulos, who as such were condemned to die.
(1.) Those who having accused themselves after
being imprisoned, or at least before sentence of
condemnation had passed upon them, had conse-
quently sufficient time to examine themselves and
make a complete declaration. (2.) Those who did
not confess till after sentence of condemnation
had passed upon them. These were put to the

torture in order thereby to force them to complete
their confessions, and thereby save their lives. This
second kind of diminutos were allowed time to an-
swer what was required of them till the Friday im-
mediately preceding the Auto da Fe. (3.) Those
who did not make a confession until they were given
up to the confessors. These were never afterwards
put to the torture, and could only be delivered from
death by naming all their accomplices without a
single exception. See Inquisition.

DIMISSORY LETTERS, also caUed Canonical
Letters (which see). In the Church of England
Dimissory Letters are those which are given by a
bishop to a candidate for holy orders, having a title
in his diocese, directed to some other bishop, and
authorizing the bearer to be ordained by him.
Winn a person produces letters of ordination con
fcrred by any other than his own diocesan, he must
at the same time produce the letters dimissory given
bv his own bishop.
" DIMOERITES. See Apollinarians.

DIN (Arab, practice), the second of the two parts
into which Islamism or the Mohammedan system is
divided, faith and practice. The dm or practice
consists of, 1. Prayers and purifications. 2. Alms.
3. Fasting; and 4. The Pilgrimage to Mecca.

DIXA'CHARIYAWA, a manual of Daily Ob-
servances to be attended to by the Budhist priests in
Ceylon. Mr. Hardy, in his ' Eastern Monaehism,'
gives a translation of this production, and to give
the reader an idea of its contents, we extract a pas-
sage containing the principal duties incumbent upon
the priest : " He who, with a firm faith, believes n
the religion of truth, rising before day-light, shall clean
his teeth, and shall then sweep all the places that
are proper to be swept, such as the court-yard, the
platform near the bo'-tree, and the approaches to the
wihara ; after which he shall fetch the water that is
required for drinking, filter it, and place it ready for
use. When this is done he shall retire to a solitary
place, and for the space of three hours (there are
- i x t y hours in one day) meditate on the obligations,
considering whether he has kept them or not. The
hell will then ring, and he must retlect that greater
than the gift of 100 elephants, 100 horses, and 100
chariots, is the reward of him who takes one step
towards the place where worship is offered. Thus
reflecting he shall approach the dagoba (a conical
erection under which some relic is placed) or the I ii
tree, and perform that which is appointed ; he shall
oiler flowers, just as if Budha were present in per-
son, if flowers can be procured; meditate on the
nine virtues of I'.udha, with a fixed and determined
mind ; and having worshipped, seek absolution for
his ne'IiL'eiiees and faults, just as if the sacred things

before which he worships) had life. Having risen
from this act of reverence, he shall proceed to the
other places where worship is offered, and spread-
ing the cloth or skin that he is accustomed to place
under him, he shall again worship (with his forehead
3 F*

714

DIOCESE— DIOCESAN SYNODS.

to the ground, and touching the ground with his
knees and toes). The next act that he is required
to perform is to look at his lita, or calendar, in order
that he may learn the awach'hawa (the length of the
shadow, by which according to rules regularly laid
down, varying with the time of the year, the hour of
the day may be known), the age of the moon, and
the years that have elapsed since the death of Bud-
ha ; and then meditate on the advantages to be de-
rived from the keeping of the obligations, carrying
the alms-bowl, and putting on the yellow robe. It
will now be time for him to take the alms-bowl, and
when going his round, he is to bear in mind the four
karmasthanas, not to go too near, nor to keep at too
great a distance from, his up^dya or preceptor ; at a
convenient distance from the village, having swept a
small place clean, he is properly to adjust his robe.
If going with his upildya or preceptor, he is to give
the bowl into his hands, and accompany him to the
village, carefully avoiding the sight of women, men,
elephants, horses, chariots or soldiers. According
to the rules contained in the Sekhiya1, he is to pro-
ceed along the road ; and after the alms have been
received he is to retire from the village in the manner
previously declared. Taking the bowl and outer robe
of his superior, he shall then proceed to the wihara.
If there be a place appointed for the robe, he shall
put it there after folding it ; then place a seat, wash
his feet, enquire if he is thirsty, place before him
the tooth-cleaner, and bring the alms-bowl, or if
this be refused, a small portion of rice. The stanzas
must be repeated that are appointed to be said be-
fore eating, after eating, and when the things are
received that may be used as sick diet ; and the food
is to be eaten in the manner laid down in the St'k-
hiy£. Then taking the bowl of his superior he shall
wash it, put it in the sunshine to dry, and deposit it
afterwards in its proper place. This being done he
is to wash his own face, and putting on his robe, he
is first to worship his superior, and then Budha.
The next act is to go again to some solitary place,
and there repeat the appointed stanzas, considering
whether he has omitted the practice of any obliga-
tion, or in any way acted contrary to them, after
wluch he must exercise maitri-bhdwanil, or the me-
ditation of kindness and affection. About an hour
afterwards, when his weariness is gone, he is to read
one of the sacred books, or write out a portion of
one ; and if he has anything to ask from his precep-
tor, or to tell him, this is the time at which it should
be done. In some convenient place the bana, is to
be read ; and when this is concluded, if there be
time before the setting of the sun, he is again to
sweep the court-yard, &c. as before."

DIOCESE (Gr. dioikesis, administration), the dis-
trict of country over which, according to ecclesiasti-
cal arrangement, the jurisdiction of a bishop extends.
The division of a country into dioceses probably
commenced in the time of Constantine, when the
church first became connected with the state. The

term is used in Lutheran churches to denote all the
parishes, usually from twenty to thirty, that are
under the inspection of one superintendent. In
Russia, the dioceses are called Eparchies (which
see), and are thir'y-six in number. In England and
Wales there are twenty-eight dioceses or bishoprics,
namely, Canterbury, York, London, Durham, Win-
chester, Bangor, Bath and Wells, Carlisle, Chester,
Chichester, Ely, Exeter, Gloucester and Bristol,
Hereford, Lichfield, Lincoln, Llandafl', Manchester,
Norwich, Oxford, Peterborough, Ripon, Rochester,
Salisbury, St. Asaph, St. David's, Worcester, Sodor
and Man. It is the duty of the Bishop (which see)
to exercise a careful oversight of all the members of
his diocese, both clerical and lay, in regard to spiri-
tual and ecclesiastical matters. In matters of disci-
pline an appeal is open from the clergy to the bishop
of the diocese.

The average population in March 1851, when the
last census was taken of each diocese in England
and Wales, was 645,383. This appears to be a
higher average than is to be found in any other
country of Europe. From a Report of a recent
Commission in France, on the subject of Episcopal
Sees, we learn the following facts as to the average
population of each diocese in various Roman Catho-
lic and other countries in Europe. France reckons
a bishop or archbishop for about 400,000 souls of
Roman Catholic population. Bavaria has eight dio-
ceses for 3,000,000 souls, or in other words, the
average amount of a single diocese is 375,000.
Austria has seventy-eight bishops or archbishops for
28,000,000 sotds, 'that is, one diocese for 358,000.
Ireland has twenty-nine dioceses for 6,500,000 Ro-
man Catholics, which makes about 224,000 in each
diocese. Spain has fifty -nine dioceses for 12,000,000
souls, that is, a diocese for 203,000 souls. The dio-
ceses in Spain have recently undergone a slight re-
duction to fifty-six. Portugal has twenty-two epis-
copal or metropolitan dioceses for 2,500,000 souls,
that is, a diocese for 113,000 souls. The two Sici-
lies have eighty dioceses for 8,500,000 souls, oi
one diocese for 106,000 souls. Sweden, with about
3,000,000 souls, has thirteen dioceses. Greece, with
a population of less that 1,000,000, has twenty-four
Episcopal dioceses. The Protestant Episcopal
Church in the United States of America lias about
1,800 clergy, and thirty-two Episcopal dioceses.

DIOCESAN, a word frequently used to denote a
bishop in relation to his diocese.

DIOCESAN CHURCH, a term anciently used
for a parish church. Thus the council of Tarraco
decreed that bishops must visit their dioceses once
a-year, and see that no diocesan church was out oi
repair.

DIOCESAN EPISCOPACY. See Episco

PACY.

DIOCESAN SYNODS, ecclesiastical conventions
which the patriarchs of the ancient Christian church
had the privilege of summoning whenever occasion

DI0CLE1A-DI0SCURIA.

7K

required. These synods consisted of the metropoli-
tans and all the provincial bishops.

DIOCLEIA, a festival celebrated at Megara in
ancient Greece, in honour of Diodes, an Athenian,
who, when banished from his native city, fled to
Megara, and there having formed an attachment to

youth, fell in battle while protecting liis favourite
with his shield. The Megarians, in admiration of
this hero, instituted the diocleia, at which the young
men engaged in gymnastic and other exercises.

DIOMEDES, the name of one of the inferior dei-
ties of the ancient Greeks. It is not improbable
that he may have been a Pelasgian deity who came
afterwards to be confounded with Diomedes, who
next to Achilles was the most distinguished of the
heroes of Greece.

DIONJ5A, a surname of Aphrodite (which
see).

DIONYSIA, festivals celebrated in ancient times
in different parts of Greece, in honour of Dionysus
(which see). They were known under a variety of
different names, but were uniformly marked by one
feature, that of enthusiastic merriment and joviality,
such as were likely to characterize festivals sacred to
the god of wine. The Attic festivals of Dionysus
were four in number ; the rural Dionysia, the Le-
noea, the Anthesteria, and the city Dionysia. On
all these occasions processions took place, in which
both men and women joined, bearing the thyrsus in
their hands, and singing dithyrambic odes and
hymns in honour of the god. The phallus, the sym-
bol of fertility, was also carried in these processions,
and this was followed by men disguised as women.
In some places it was counted as a dishonour done
to the god to appear at the Dionysia without being
intoxicated. The Greeks both in Asia and in Eu-
rope observed these festivals, but in Boeotia with
more unrestrained joviality than anywhere else. In
very early times, however, human sacrifices were
offered on these occasions. When introduced among
the Romans, the Dionysia received the name of
Bacchanalia (which see).

DIONYSUS, the god of wine among the ancient
Greeks, worshipped also among the Romans under
the name of Bacchus (which see). He is usually
described as the son of Zeus and Semele, but a tra-
dition is given by Diodorus, that he was a son of
Ammon and Amaltheia. Great difference of opinion
exists as to the birthplace of the god, which is gen-
erally said to be Thebes, while others allege it to
have been India, Libya, and other places. Tradi-
tions are so various as to the parentage, birthplace,
and other circumstances connected with this god,
that Cicero distinguishes five Dionysi, and Diodorus
Siculus speaks of three.

The education of Dionysus is said to have been
intrusted by Zeus to the nymphs of Mount Nisa in
Thrace, and when he had reached the age of man-
hood, he travelled throughout many countries of the
earth displaying his divine power, after which he led

his mother Semele out of Hades, and ascended with
her to Olympus. As the cultivation erf the vine
came to be more extensively cultivated in Greece,
the worship of Dionysus was more widely diffused.
This god was the mythical representative of some
power of nature, which leads man away from his oa
tural mode of living. He was considered as reveal-
ing future events, and was even said to be as inti-
mately connected with the oracle at Delphi as Apollr.
himself. He had oracles of his own in different
parts, particularly in Thrace and in Phocis. In the
former province his worship was first accompanied
with Bacchanalian orgies. In the earliest times
human sacrifices were offered to him, but this bar-
barous custom was afterwards discontinued, and ani-
mals were sacrificed in place of men. The ram was
the animal which was most frequently offered to
Dionysus. The plants sacred to this god were the
vine, the ivy, the laurel, and the asphodel, while
among living creatures the magpie and the panther
illustrated his divinity.

DIOSCURI, the name given to Castor and Pol-
lux, sons of Zeus and Leda, who were ranked among
the deities of ancient Greece. Homer, in the Odys-
sey, makes them sons of Leda and Tyndareus,
king of Laceda;mon, and hence they are often called
Tyndaridas. Each of the brothers was famed for his
skill in a particular accomplishment, Castor in man-
aging horses, and Pollux in boxing. Various fabu-
lous stories are related concerning these famed
brothers. Thus they are said to have received divine
honours from the Athenians, in consequence of the
valour which they displayed in an expedition under-
taken against Athens, in order to rescue their sister
Helen who had been carried off from Sparta. Thev
are also alleged to have had a part in the Argonautie
expedition, and to have distinguished themselves in
a battle with the sons of Aphareus. Zeus, in token
of his approbation, gave the brothers a place among
the stars, under the name of Gemini, the Twins.
Miiller considers the worship of the Dioscuri to have
had its origin in some ancient Peloponnesian gods,
who were in course of time confounded with the
human Tyndaridse, who had performed such exploits
as to raise them to divine honours. Their worship
spread from Peloponnesus, where it seems to have
commenced, over Greece, Sicily, and Italy. Tlu-v
were considered as exercising a watchful care over
all travellers, but more especially travellers by sea.
Statues of the Dioscuri were placed at the end of the
race-course at Sparta. The worship of Castor and
Pollux was early introduced among the Romans,
and a temple in their honour stood in the Forum at
Rome. Two other temples dedicated to the Castores
were afterwards built in the city, one in the Circus
Maximus, and the other in the Circus Flaminius.
From that time the Castores were regarded as the
patrons of the Roman equites, who held a grand pro-
ci Bsion in their honour even

DIOSCURIA, festivals celebrated annually iti

/16

DIPAVALI— DIRECTORY.

undent Greece in honour of the Dioscuri (which
see). Different ceremonies were observed on these
nccasious in different places. At Sparta sacrifices
and rejoicings took place. The festival at Athens
was called Anacea (which see). Throughout many
parts of Greece the worship of the Dioscuri prevail-
ed, and their festivals were held.

DIPAVALI, a Hindu festival in honour of
Vishnu (which see), the second person of the Hindu
Triad or Trimurtti. It was instituted in memory of
an exploit which the god performed in the form of
Krishna (which see). A certain Ratjasja had taken
captive sixteen thousand virgins, but Krishna slew
him, and set the maidens at liberty. Hence origi-
nated the Dipaeali, when the Hindu holds a festival
during the day, and the houses are illuminated at
night. The children also go up and down the
streets with lighted candles.

DIPPERS. SeeDuNKERS.

DIPTYCHS, two writing tablets among the an-
cient Greeks which could be folded together. This
name was also given to the registers kept in the
early Christian churches, in which were recorded the
names of those who offered and presented themselves
for baptism. They had several sorts of diptyehs,
some for the dead, and some for the living. It was
usual in the ancient church, before making oblation
for the dead, that the deacon read aloud the names
of those eminent bishops, or saints, or martyrs, who
were particularly to be mentioned in this part of the
service. The diptyehs seem to have been read before
the consecration prayer, immediately after the kiss
of peace. Cardinal Bona mentions three sorts of
diptyehs, which are thus described by Bingham :
" One, wherein the names of bishops only were
written, and more particularly such bishops as had
been governors of that particular church : a second,
wherein the names of the living were written, who
were eminent and conspicuous either for any office
and dignity, or some benefaction and good work,
whereby they had deserved well of the church ; in
this rank were the patriarchs and bishops of great
sees, and the bishop and clergy of that particular
church ; together with the emperors and magistrates,
and others most conspicuous', among the people : the
third was, the book containing the names of such as
were deceased in catholic communion." The diptyehs
were read from the Ambo (which see), or reading-
desk. To erase any person's name from these eccle-
siastical registers, was to declare them anathema-
tized, and cast out of the communion of the church.
When any one who had been excommunicated was
restored, his name was inserted anew in the diptyehs.
When this was done, the penitent was absolved, and
he was once more admitted to the communion and
fellowship of the faithful. See Censures (Eccle-
siastical).

DIRjE. See Eumenides.

DIRECTORY, regulations for the performance of
public worship, drawn up by the Assembly of Di-

vines at Westminster in 1644. It was by expresi
order from both Houses of Parliament that the Di-
rectory was composed, and with a view to supply the
place of the Liturgy or Book of Common Prayer
which had been abolished. Dr. Hetherington, in his
'History of the Westminster Assembly,' gives the
following brief account of the proceedings of the
Assembly on the subject of the Directory : " On the
21st of May 1644, Mr. Rutherford moved for the
speeding of the directory for public worship, to
which no attention had hitherto been paid. In con-
sequence of this motion, Mr. Palmer, chairman of
the committee appointed for that purpose, gave in a
report on the 24th, which brought the subject fairly
before the Assembly. Some little difference of opi-
nion arose, whether any other person, except the
minister, might read the Scriptures in the time of
public worship, which terminated in the occasional
permission of probationers. But when the subject
of the dispensation of the Lord's Supper came under
discussion, it gave rise to a sharp and protracted de-
bate, chiefly between the Independents and the Scot-
tish Commissioners. The Independents opposed the
arrangement of the communicants, as seated at the
communion table, it being the custom among them
for the people to remain in their pews ; while the
Scottish members urgently defended the proposed
method of seating themselves at the same table.
Another disputed point was, with regard to the power
of the minister to exclude ignorant or scandalous
persons from communion. The debates on these
points occupied the Assembly from the 10th of June
to the 10th of July. The directory for the sacra-
ment of baptism was also the subject of considerable
debate, continued from the 11th of July to the 8th
of August. The directory for the sanctification of
the Sabbath was readily received ; and a committee
was appointed to prepare a preface for the completed
directory for public worship. This committee con-
sisted of Messrs. Goodwin, Nye, Bridge, Burgess,
Reynolds, Vines, Marshall, and Dr. Temple, toge-
ther with the Scottish ministers. The appointment
of so many of the Independents was for the purpose
of avoiding any renewal of the protracted conten-
tions in which they had so long held the Assembly,
as we learn from Baillie. This part of the Assem-
bly's labours received the ratification of Parliament
on the 22d of November 1644; with the exception
of the directions for marriage and burial, which were
finished on the 27th of the same month, and soon
afterwards the whole received the full ratification of
Parliament."

Among other directions in reference to the mode
of conducting public worship, the use of the Lord's
Prayer is enjoined as the most perfect model o/
devotion. Private or lay persons are forbidden to
dispense the ordinance of baptism, and injunctions
are given to baptize publicly in face of the congre-
gation. Anything in the shape of a burial service
for the dead is forbidden. In the observance of tin

DIS— DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.

717

Lord's Supper, the communion table is ordered to be
bo placed that the communicants may sit about it.
The use of the Directory having been enforced by
an ordinance of the Parliament, which was repeated
on 3d August 1645, King Charles II., in opposition
to this injunction, issued a proclamation at Oxford
on the 13th November of the same year, restoring
the use of the Book of Common Prayer, which had
been discontinued. The Directory was adopted by
<he General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and
published under their sanction.

DIS, a name given to Pluto (which see), and,
therefore, sometimes applied to the infernal regions
over which that god reigned.

DISCALCEATI (Lat. barefooted), a brotherhood
of monks in Spain, connected with the Franciscan
order. They received the privileges of a separate
association in A. d. 1532, by authority of Clement
VII. They differed from others by adhering more
strictly to the rules of St. Francis. They receive
the name of Recolkts in France, and Eeformati in
Italv.

DISCIPLE (Lat. discipulu-<;, a scholar), the fol-
lower of any leader of a sect, or head of a school of
religion or philosophy.

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST, a Christian denomi-
nation in the United States of America, which,
though known by a variety of names, such as " Bap-
tists," "Reformed Baptists,1' " Reformers," or "Camp-
bellites," have themselves chosen the unsectarian
appellation which heads the present article. The
originator of the sect, as has already been noticed in
the article Baptists (American), was Mr. Thomas
Campbell, who was long a minister of the Secession
oranch of the Presbyterian Church of the North of
Ireland, and who, having emigrated to America, set-
tled in Washington county, Pennsylvania. Being
soon after joined by his son Alexander, who had
studied under Greville Ewmg in Glasgow, they be-
gan to entertain and promulgate the idea, that a
public effort should be made to restore the original
unity of the church of Christ. With this view they
urged it as a grand fundamental point, in order to
Christian unity, that all human creeds, confessions of
faith, and formularies of doctrine and church govern-
ment, should lie laid aside, and Ae Bible alone should

be taken as the authorized bond of union and the in-
fallible rule of faith and practice. A considerable
number of individuals responded to this appeal, ami
a congregation was immediately organized npon
Brush Run in Washington county, on the 7th of
September 1810, where a place of worship was
erected, and over this congregation Thomas Camp-
bell and his son Alexander presided as joint pastors.
Each applicant for admission to this body of Chiis-
tiar.s was required to give satisfactory evidence that
he fully understood the relation he assumed, and
the true scriptural ground of salvation. Accord-
ingly, he was requested to give an answer to the
question, " What is the meritorious cause of the

sinner's acceptance with God?" and upon express
ing an entire reliance upon the merits of Christ alone
for justification, and evincing a conduct becoming
the Christian profession, he was received into the
fellowship of the church.

This infant community enjoyed for a time the ut-
most harmony and peace. Most of the members
being poor, they were unable to finish the interioi
of the church which they had built for the worship
of God, and they were accordingly accustomed to
assemble in the unfinished building without fire even
in the depth of winter. They were also in the habit
of visiting often at each other's houses, and spend-
ing whole nights in social prayer; searching the Scrip-
tures, asking and answering questions, and singing
hymns. The sunshine of peace which rested upon
this small body of Christian disciples was ere long
destined to be overclouded. A controversy arose on
the much-disputed point of infant baptism, which
distracted the minds both of pastors and people.
The question was agitated with much keenness by
parties on both sides, and at length, on the 12th
June 1812, Thomas Campbell, his son Alexander,
and the whole family, along with several members of
the church, were immersed in the waters of adult
baptism on a simple profession of their faith. This
event, of course, affected, in no small degree, the
church which had been formed. Those who adhered
to the doctrines of the Psedobaptists left the commu-
nity, while those who remained were, iu consequence
of the change in their views, brought into immediate
connection with the Baptists. Accordingly, in the
fall of 1813, they were received into the Redstone
Baptist Association, stipulating, however, expressly
in writing, that " no terms of union or commu-
nion other than the Holy Scriptures should be re-
quired "

The views which Alexander Campbell urged upon
the Baptist churches, with which he and his father
had now become connected, excited no small stir in
that body, some entering readily into the new opi-
ninns, while others as firmly and resolutely opposed
them. At length the church of Brush Run and its
pastors came to be looked upon with jealousy and
distrust by the other churches of the Redstone As-
siieiatinn, and it became necessary, after a consider-
able time spent in the most unpleasant contentions,
that about thirty of the members of Brush Run, in-
cluding Alexander Campbell, should leave the church.
This small body, accordingly, emigrated to Wells-
burg, Virginia, where tiny were constituted as a
new church, and admitted into the Mahoning Asso-
ciation of Ohio. Here they found a much more
ready adoption of their sentiments, and so rapidly
did they succeed in promulgating their peculiar opi-
nions, that in 1828 the Mahoning Association re
jected all human formularies of religion, and relin
qoished all claim to jurisdiction over the churches ,

resolving itself into a simple annual meeting fur the

purpose ni' receiving reports of the progress of the

718

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

churches, and for worship and mutual co-operation
in the spread of the gospel. The bold step thus
taken by so large a number of churches, embrac-
ing a considerable portion of the Western Reserve,
excited the utmost alarm throughout the Baptist
churches generally. The adjoining churches con-
nected with the Beaver Association proceeded with-
out delay to denounce as heretical, and to exclude
from their communion, all who had adopted the views
of the Disciples, as the followers of Campbell were
termed. The schism thus commenced extended to
Kentucky, to Eastern Virginia, and, in short, to all
the Baptist churches and associations into which the
new views had been introduced.

The Disciples, finding themselves thus cut off from
communion with the Baptist churches, formed them-
selves everywhere into distinct churches on Congre-
gationalist or Independent principles, co-operating
together, as Thomas Campbell himself expressed it,
for " the restoration of pure primitive apostolic
Christianity in letter and spirit ; in principle and
practice." No sooner had the separation of the Dis-
ciples from the Baptist body been effected than their
number rapidly increased. They were joined by
many Baptists who had been led to embrace their
principles. The prejudices which had been for-
merly entertained against them gradually disappeared,
and the most friendly feelings arose between the
Disciples and the Baptists. The very points, in-
deed, for which the Disciples contended, the rejec-
tion of creeds and baptism for the remission of sins,
have been adopted by some of the most able minis-
ters of the Baptist body. Many have come over to
them from almost all the leading denominations in
the States, and what is more pleasing, they have
been successful in gaining numerous converts from
the ranks of indifference and infidelity. The prin-
ciples of the Disciples have found their way into Eng-
land and Wales, by the diffusion of the writings of Mr.
Campbell and his fellow-labourers, and the census
of 1851 contains a return of three congregations or
churches calling themselves by the name of Disci-
ples of Christ. In the United States they are most
numerous in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mis-
souri, and Virginia. There are a few churches hold-
ing the principles of the Discipks in the British
Provinces of North America.

The doctrines of this large and rapidly extending
body of American Christians will be best stated in
the language of Mr. Campbell himself as communi-
cated to the ' Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge :'
" They regard all the sects and parties of the Chris-
tian world as having, in greater or less degrees,
departed from the simplicity of faith and manners of
the first Christians, and as forming what the apostle
Paul calls ' the apostacy.' This defection they attri-
bute to the great varieties of speculation and meta-
physical dogmatism of the countless creeds, formu-
laries, liturgies, and books of discipline adopted and
inculcated as bonds of union and platforms of com-

munion in all the parties which have sprung from
the Lutheran reformation. The effects of these By
nodical covenants, conventional articles of belief, and
rules of ecclesiastical polity, has been the introduc-
tion of a new nomenclature, a human vocabulary 01
religious words, phrases and technicalities, which has
displaced the style of the living oracles, and affixed
to the sacred diction ideas wholly unknown to thp
apostles of Christ.

" To remedy and obviate these aberrations, they
propose to ascertain from the holy Scriptures, accord-
ing to the commonly-received and well-established
rules of interpretation, the ideas attached to the
leading terms and sentences found in the holy Scrip-
tures, and then to use the words of the Holy Spirit
in the apostolic acceptation of them.

" By thus expressing the ideas communicated by
the Holy Spirit in the terms and phrases learned
from the apostles, and by avoiding the artificial and
technical language of scholastic theology, they propose
to restore a pure speech to the household of faith ;
and by accustoming the family of God to use the lan-
guage and dialect of the heavenly Father, they ex •
pect to promote the sanctification of one anothei
through the truth, and to terminate those discords
and debates which have always originated from the
words which man's wisdom teaches, and from a re-
verential regard and esteem for the style of the great
masters of polemic divinity ; believing that speak-
ing the same things in the same style, is the only
certain way to thinking the same things.

" They make a very marked difference between
faith and opinion ; between the testimony of God
and the reasonings of men ; the words of the Spirit
and human inferences. Faith in the testimony ol
God and obedience to the commandments of Jesus
are their bond of union ; and not an agreement in
any abstract views or opinions upon what is writ-
ten or spoken by divine authority. Hence all the
speculations, questions, debates of words, and ab-
stract reasonings found in human creeds, have no
place in their religious fellowship. Regarding Cal-
vinism and Arminianism, Trinitariauisin and Unita-
rianism, and all the opposing theories of religious
sectaries, as extremes begotten by each other, they
cautiously avoid them, as equi-distant from the sim-
plicity and practical tendency of the promises and
precepts, of the doctrine and facts, of the exhorta-
tions and precedents of the Christian institution.

" They look for unity of spirit and the bonds of
peace in the practical acknowledgment of one faith,
one Lord, one immersion, one hope, one body, one
Spirit, one God and Father of all ; not in unity of
opinions, nor in unity of forms, ceremonies, or modes
of worship.

" The holy Scriptures of both Testaments they re
gard as containing revelations from God, and as all
necessary to make the man of God perfect, and ac-
complished for every good word and work ; the New
Testament, or the living oracles of Jesus Christ, they

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.

719

understand as containing the Christian religion ; the
testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they
view as illustrating and proving the great proposi-
tion on which our religion rests, viz. that Jesus of
Nazareth is the Messiah, the only-begotten and icell-
beloved Son of God, and the only Saviour of the
world ; the Acts of the Apostles, as a divinely au-
thorized narrative of the beginning and progress of
the reign or kingdom of Jesus Christ, recording the
full development of the gospel by the Holy Spirit
sent down from heaven, and the procedure of the
apostles in setting up the church of Christ on earth ;
the Epistles as carrying out and applying the doc-
trine of the apostles to the practice of individuals
and congregations, and as developing the tendencies
of the gospel in the behaviour of its professors ; and
all as forming a complete standard of Christian faith
and morals, adapted to the interval between the
ascension of Christ and his return with the kingdom
which he has received from God ; the Apocalypse,
or Revelation of Jesus Christ to John in Patmos, as
a figurative and prospective view of all the fortunes
of Christianity, from its date to the return of the
Saviour.

" Every one who sincerely believes the testimony
which God gave of Jesus of Nazareth, saying, ' This
is my Son, the beloved, in whom I delight? or, in other
words, believes what the evangelists and apostles
have testified concerning him, from his conception to
his coronation in heaven as Lord of all, and who is
willing to obey him in everything, they regard as a
proper subject of immersion, and no one else. They
consider immersion into the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, after a public, sincere, and in-
telligent confession of the faith in Jesus, as neces-
sary to admission to the privileges of the kingdom
of the Messiah, and as a solemn pledge on the part
of heaven, of the actual remission of all past sins and
of adoption into the family of God.

" The Holy Spirit is promised only to those who
believe and obey the Saviour. No one is taught to
expect the reception of that heavenly Monitor and
Comforter as a resident in his heart till he obeys the
gospel.

" Thus while they proclaim faith and repentance,
or faith and a change of heart, as preparatory to im-
mersion, remission, and the Holy Spirit, they say to
all penitents, or all those who believe and repent of
their sins, as Peter said to the first audience ad-
dressed after the Holy Spirit was bestowed after the
glorification of Jesus, ' Be immersed every one of
you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, for the remis-
sion of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.' They teach sinners that God com-
mands all men everywhere to reform or to turn to
God, that the Holy Spirit strives with them bo to
do by the apostles and prophets, that God beseeches
them to be reconciled through Jesus Christ, and that
it is the duty of all men to believe the gospel and to
turn to God.

" The immersed believers are congregated into so
cieties according to their propinquity to each other,
and taught to meet every first day of the week in
honour and commemoration of the resurrection ot
Jesus, and to break the loaf which commemorates
the death of the Son of God, to read and hear the
living oracles, to teach and admonish one another,
to unite in all prayer and praise, to contribute to the
necessities of saints, and to perfect holiness in the
fear of the Lord.

" Every congregation chooses its own overseers
and deacons, who preside over and administer the
affairs of the congregations ; and every church,
either from itself or in co-operation with others, sends
out, as opportunity offers, one or more evangelists,
or proclaimers of the word, to preach the word and
to immerse those who believe, to gather congrega-
tions, and to extend the knowledge of salvation where
it is necessary, as far as their means extend. But
every church regards these evangelists as its ser-
vants, and therefore they have no control over any
congregation, each congregation being subject to its
own choice of presidents or elders whom they have
appointed. Perseverance in all the work of faith,
labour of love, and patience of hope, is inculcated by
all the disciples as essential to admission into the
heavenly kingdom.

" Such are the prominent outlines of the faith and
practices of those who wish to be known as the Dis-
ciples of Christ : but no society among them would
agree to make the preceding items either a confes-
sion of faith or a standard of practice ; but, fur the
information of those who wish an acquaintance with
them, are willing to give at any time a reason for
then- faith, hope, and practice."

It is somewhat remarkable that in this statement
of doctrine and discipline, drawn up by one of the
originators of the sect of Disciples of Christ, one of
then- leading doctrines, that of baptismal regenera-
tion, is scarcely made to occupy its due prominence.
The Rev. R. Richardson of Virginia, however, him-
self a minister in connection with the body, is more
explicit on the subject: "It was the unity of the
church which first struck the attention : the subse-
quent submission to immersion is only one example,
among others, of that progression which consistency
with their own principles required. Thus, it was not
until about ten years after this, that the dejiniti olju-t
of immersion was fully understood, when it was recog-
nised as the remitting ordinance of the gospel, or the
appointed means through which the penitent sinner
obtained an assurance of that pardon, or remission of
sins, procured for him by the sufferings and death
of Christ. Nor was it until a still later period, thai
this doctrine was practically applied, in calling upon
believing penitents to be baptized fur the purposo
specified. This view of baptism gave gnat impor-
tance to the institution, and has become one of the
prominent features of this reformation." Dr. S. bail
also in his ' America ; Social. Political, and Reli

UQ

DISCIPLINE (Ecclesiastical).

eious,' when speaking of this sect, says of them, that
" they identify baptism, that is immersion, with
regeneration." Dr. Baird, who seems to entertain
strong prejudices against this sect, says, that " Evan-
gelical Christians in America, Baptists, as well as
Pisdobaptists. have many fears about Mr. Campbell
and his followers." But the Disciples are gathering
strength every day, and becoming a numerous and
energetic body.

DISCIPLINA ARCANE See Arcani Disci-
puna

DISCIPLINANTS. See Flagellants.

DISCIPLINE (Ecclesiastical), the exercise of
a judicial power which is claimed by the Christian
church over her own members, in virtue of which
she inflicts censures of various kinds and degrees on
those of them who have transgressed the laws of
Christ. For the nature of these censures, and the
principles on which they rest, see Censures (Ec-
clesiastical). The right of the church to exer-
cise discipline, or to exclude any from her commu-
nion, was keenly controverted by Erastus and his
followers, on the ground that it belongs to the civil
magistrate alone to punish the guilty. Such a view
was in complete consistency with the principles of
Erastus, who confounded the provinces of the church
and the state with each other. The two, however,
are essentially distinct and separate. The chief
points of difference are thus briefly noticed by Dr.
James Buchanan : " They differ in then- origin — the
civil governor holding primarily of God, as the uni-
versal sovereign ; the church holding of Christ as
mediator; and this difference is of some importance,
notwithstanding the great truth which is clearly
affirmed in Scripture, viz., that both are now placed
under Christ, who is not only 'the Head of the
church,' but ' Head over all things to the church.'
They differ in their extent ; civil government being
an ordinance of God in all nations, the church being
limited to those countries where the gospel is preach-
ed. They differ in respect to some of their ends ;
certain secidar purposes being served by the state,
which are not directly contemplated by the church
as a spiritual body, however much she may be fitted
to aid in their attainment ; and certain spiritual pur-
poses, again, being served by the church, which the
state, considered as such, cannot effect. They differ
in respect to some of the means by which these ends
are to be promoted; the civil magistrate having the
power of the sword, which is withheld from the
church, and the prerogative of making war on just
and needful occasions, which is not competent to a
spiritual kingdom ; while the church again has war-
rant to use the sword of ecclesiastical discipline with
which the magistrate may not interfere. They differ
in respect to their officers, the civil magistrate hav-
ing no power, as such, to preach or to administer the
sacraments of religion ; and the officers of the church,
as such, having no power to exercise any function
of the magistracy ; so that, even were there a na-

tion in which every subject of the state was also a
member of the church, that nation would still be
governed by two distinct sets of office-bearers, the
one belonging to the church, the other to the com-
monwealth."

It is impossible to peruse the New Testament
even in the most cursory manner, without being con-
vinced that the primitive church asserted for itselt
the right of exercising discipline over its members.
The case of the incestuous man is a case completely
in point. This man had been guilty of a flagrant
violation of the Divine law, and had brought serious
discredit upon the Christian profession. Paul there-
fore enjoins the church of Corinth, to which this per
son had belonged, " in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spi
rit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to de
liver such an one unto Satan for the destruction ot
the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day 01
the Lord Jesus." The discipline to be exercised
upon a heretic the apostle lays down in Titus iii. 10,
" A man that is an heretick, after the first and sec-
ond admonition reject ;" and in regard to an immoral
person he says, in 2 Thes. iii. 6, " Now we command
you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that
walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which
he received of us." Some of the seven churches of
Asia Minor are reproved for their neglect of the ex
ercise of discipline in various cases, and for in this
way permitting unworthy persons to remain within
the Christian church.

The discipline of the Christian church is in its na-
ture strictly spiritual and moral, not civil. It is a
gross perversion of its design, therefore, to connect it
with civil pains, confiscation of goods, imprison-
ment, bodily torture, banishment or death. Neither
is it consistent with the true character of the church
of Christ, to deliver up an excommunicated person, as
the Church of Rome does, to the secular arm, to endure
civil penalties, or even death. The church has re-
ceived power, not for destruction, but for edification
and all her censures, therefore, ought to have as their
ultimate design the reformation and restoration oi
the offenders.

The theory of ecclesiastical discipline in the
Church of England is to be found in the canons
adopted by convocation in 1603, which having been
authorized by the King's Commission, are held to be
binding on the clergy ; but not having been confirmed
by Parliament, they are not binding on the laity
except where they are explanatory of the ancient
canon law. The principles on which discipline ought
to proceed according to the constitution and canons
of the church are thus laid down by Mr. Conder in
his ' View of All Religions : ' " According to the
theory of the church, every parish is committed to
the government of the minister, with the assistance
of the churchwardens, (generally two,) who are
chosen annually, in Easter week, from the body of

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