Dominical Letter.--Meaning Sunday Letter is one of the first seven
letters of the alphabet used in the Calendar to mark the Sundays
throughout the year. The first seven days of the year being marked
by A. B. C. D. E. F. G., the following seven days are similarly
marked, and so throughout the year. The letter which stands against
the Sundays in any given year is called the Dominical or Sunday
letter. For example, the year 1901 began on Tuesday and the first
week of that year with the first seven letters of the alphabet
would give us the following table:
Jan. 1. Tuesday A.
" 2. Wednesday B.
" 3. Thursday C.
" 4. Friday D.
" 5. Saturday E.
" 6. Sunday F.
" 7. Monday G. {88}
From this table we learn that the Dominical letter for 1901 is F.,
for that letter falls opposite the first Sunday in that year. The
Dominical letters were first introduced into the Calendar by the
early Christians. They are of use in finding on what day of the
week any day of the month falls in a given year, and especially in
finding the day on which Easter falls. (See TABLES IN THE PRAYER
BOOK.)
Dossal. Hangings of silk or other material placed at the back of
the Altar as a decoration and to hide the bare wall. The dossal is
used where there is no reredos and usually is of the Church color
for the Festival or Season. Derived from the Latin word _dorsum_,
meaning back.
Doxology.--Any form or verse in which glory is ascribed to God or
the Blessed Trinity, for example, the _Gloria in Excelsis_, which
is called the greater Doxology, and the _Gloria Patri_, the lesser
Doxology. The concluding words of the Lord's Prayer beginning, "For
Thine is the kingdom," etc., is also called the Doxology. Derived
from the Greek word _Doxologia_, from _doxa_, praise and _logos_,
meaning word.
Duly.--In the prayer of Thanksgiving in the Holy Communion, the
acknowledgment is made, "We heartily thank Thee, for that Thou dost
vouchsafe to feed us who have _duly_ received." The word _duly_ as
here used is the English word for the Latin _rite_, which means
according to proper form and ordinance, _i.e._, as prescribed
by and universally used in the Church Catholic; without which
there can be no proper Sacrament. The word also occurs in the
definition of the Church in the {89} XIX Article of Religion and has
there the same interpretation.
E
Eagle.--The figure of an eagle is often used in the Church as an
emblem to symbolize the flight of the Gospel message over the world.
To this end the lectern from which the Holy Scriptures are read is
generally constructed in the form of an eagle with outstretched
wings on which the Bible rests. It is usually made of polished
brass, but sometimes carved in wood. The eagle is also used as an
emblem of the Evangelist St. John, who more than any other of the
Apostles, was granted a clearer insight into things heavenly, as
may be seen from the Gospel, Epistles and the Revelation which he
was inspired to write.
Early Communion.--From the very earliest ages of the Church it has
been the custom to begin the devotions of the Lord's Day with the
Holy Communion celebrated at an early hour. Through the influence
of the Puritans in England this beautiful and helpful custom fell
into abeyance for a while, but through the growing devotion of the
revived Church both in England and America it has been restored.
To-day there are very few parishes where the early Communion is
not to be had, and the practice is growing and spreading as the
result of increased knowledge of the Church's devotional system.
The motive of the early Communion, especially on the Lord's Day,
may be said to be twofold: First, the recognition of the Holy {90}
Communion as the distinctive act of worship for each Lord's Day,
without taking part in which no primitive Christian would have been
considered to have properly kept Sunday, and secondly, the reverent
desire to receive fasting, or as Bishop Jeremy Taylor has said, "to
do this honor to the Blessed Sacrament, that It be the first food
we eat and the first beverage we drink on that day." (See HOLY
COMMUNION, also FREQUENT COMMUNION.)
East, Turning to the.--By this expression is meant turning to the
Altar in saying the Creed and Glorias and in celebrating the Holy
Communion, this last being called the _Eastward position_. This
practice arose from a custom in the early Church. When converts to
Christianity were baptized, which was usually in the early morning,
they first turning to the west where the night was fast receding,
renounced the world and the powers of darkness, then turning to
the east where the sun was rising as the source of all light, they
confessed their belief in Christ who, in Holy Scripture is Himself
called the EAST, "the Dayspring from on high." For this reason
they prayed facing the east, and when they came to build their
churches they built them running east and west; the Chancel, in
which the Altar is placed, being in the east and towards it they
made their prayers and confessed their belief. Thus it came about
that the Altar in our churches is always regarded architecturally
and ecclesiastically as the east whether it is so in reality or
not.
Easter Day.--A festival in honor of our Lord's Resurrection has
been observed from the very {91} foundation of Christianity. This is
evident from the early disputes had concerning it, not as to whether
such a day should be kept, but as to the _particular time when_ the
Festival should be observed. The eastern Christians wished to
celebrate the Feast on the third day after the Jewish Passover, on
whatever day of the week this fell. The western Christians contended
that the Feast of the Resurrection ought always to be observed on a
Sunday. This controversy was finally settled by the Council of
Nicea, A.D. 325, which decreed that everywhere the great Feast of
Easter should be observed upon one and the same day and that a
Sunday. In accordance with this decision Easter Day is always the
first Sunday after the full moon, which happens upon or next after,
the 21st of March; and if the full moon happens upon a Sunday,
Easter Day is the Sunday after. By this rule Easter will always
fall between the 22d of March, the earliest date, and the 25th of
April, the latest day on which it can possibly fall.
The original name of the Festival was _Pascha_, derived from the
Hebrew word for Passover. The more familiar name of _Easter_ is
traceable as far back as the time of the Venerable Bede, A.D.
700. The derivation of the word is uncertain. Some think that it
is derived from a Saxon term meaning "rising"; others think the
word _Eost_ or _East_ refers to the tempestuous character of the
weather at that season of the year and find its root in the
Anglo-Saxon YST, meaning a storm. Again others derive the word
from the old Teutonic _urstan_, to rise. It is worthy of note
that "the idea of sunrise is self-evident in the English {92} name
of the Festival on which the Sun of Righteousness arose from the
darkness of the grave."
Easter was always accounted the Queen of Festivals the highest of
all Holy Days, and celebrated with the greatest solemnity, and the
Prayer Book provisions are in keeping with this fact. Churches are
decorated with flowers and plants as symbolical of the Resurrection.
White hangings for the Altar and White vestments have always been
used at Easter in reference to the angel who brought the tidings
of the Resurrection, who appeared in "garments white as snow" and
"his countenance was as lightning." In the early Church Christians
were wont to greet one another on this day with the joyous
salutation, "Christ is Risen," to which the response was made,
"Christ is risen indeed." This custom is still retained in the
Greek Church. This joyous salutation seems to be retained in our
services, for instead of the _Venite_ we have as the Invitatory,
the Easter anthem, in which we call upon one another to "keep the
Feast," for that "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us," and
is also "Risen from the dead; and become the first-fruits of them
that slept."
Easter Even.--The day between Good Friday and Easter Day is so called
and commemorates the Descent of our Blessed Lord's soul into Hell
(the place of departed spirits), while His Body rested in the grave.
"There has ever been something of festive gladness in the celebration
of Easter Even which sets it apart from Lent, notwithstanding the
Fast still continues. To the disciples it was a day of mourning
after an absent Master, but the Church of {93} the Resurrection sees
already the triumph of the Lord over Satan and Death." Baptism is
wont to be administered on Easter Even, because this was one of
the two great times for baptizing converts in the Primitive Church,
the other being Pentecost or Whitsun Day.
Easter Monday and Tuesday.--It was a very ancient custom of the
Church to prolong the observance of Easter, as the "Queen of
Festivals." At first the Festival was observed through seven days,
and the Code of Theodosius directed a cessation of labor during
the whole week. Afterwards the special services became limited
to three days, the Council of Constance, A.D. 1094, having enjoined
that Pentecost and Easter should both be celebrated with three
festival days. This is now the custom of the Anglican Communion,
which provides Collect, Epistle and Gospel not only for Easter Day,
but also for Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday.
Easter Tide.--The weeks following Easter Day and reaching to
Ascension Day are so called. They commemorate the forty days our
Lord spent on earth after His Resurrection, commonly called THE
GREAT FORTY DAYS (which see).
Eastern Church.--The collective term by which is designated the
Churches which formerly made part of the Eastern Empire of Rome.
The Greek, Russian, Coptic, Armenian, Syrian and other eastern
churches are those usually included in this Communion. But in
strictness, the term "Eastern" or "Oriental Church" is applied only
to the Graeco-Russian Church in communion with the Patriarch of {94}
Constantinople. The great Schism whereby the communion between the
East and the West was broken took place, A.D. 1054.