primitive church, but it was only adopted in urgent cases, when
immersion might be dangerous to the catechumen, or when it was
expedient to baptize many at one time. In the ninth century baptism by
sprinkling had become customary, and it soon became the only method in
use.
[Illustration: Fig. 178.--Baptism of the Saxons conquered by
Charlemagne.--Miniature in Manuscript No. 9,066 in the Burgundian
Library, Brussels (Fifteenth Century).]
The dogmas of Christianity would have been a dead letter for most of
the neophytes, unless they had been accompanied by a rigorous and
constant discipline. The Church foresaw this, and showed its sternness,
though at the same time it held out indulgences to the penitent.
It established a kind of scale of punishments, whose severity were
proportionate to the gravity of the crimes committed. The privilege of
oblation was taken from the lesser culprits--that is to say, they were
neither allowed to place offerings on the altars nor to receive the
eucharist; the more hardened and rebellious sinners were excluded from
the communion of the faithful, and were not permitted to take part in
public worship; those who had been guilty of actual crime, or who had
shown themselves to be incorrigible, were expelled from the sanctuary,
and their names were expunged from the list of Christians.
These more rigorous measures, however, might be modified according to
the repentance of the offender or at the discretion of the bishop,
the sole and sovereign judge in all such matters. _Canonical
penance_ was usually only inflicted for great public crimes, such
as idolatry, adultery, and homicide; and, moreover, certain classes of
individuals--children, young girls, married women, old men, priests,
clerks, and monarchs--were only subject to it under the most careful
restrictions; while in every case it was necessary to give legal and
accurate proof of the alleged offence. When the period of canonical
penance was over, if the criminal showed signs of repentance, the
bishop, or even an ordinary priest in case of absolute necessity, was
empowered to reconcile him with the Church.
As public worship in the early Church was slow to exhibit itself as a
settled institution, so the more solemn and the more imposing it became
from the moment that it took its lofty position under the protectorate
of Constantine the Great. Then suddenly sprung up a number of Christian
places of worship and imposing churches, amongst which we may mention
the basilica of Tyre, restored and inaugurated in 315; that of St. John
of Lateran, constructed in Rome in 324, with the remains of the temples
once raised to the false gods of paganism; and other sanctuaries in the
same city, which were consecrated by the Pope St. Damasius. The rites
used at the consecrations of the early churches are unknown to us, but
each inauguration had its solemn anniversary.
The position, the form, and the arrangement of the early churches were
not left to the whims of their founders and architects, even when these
churches were small and hidden for the most part in the catacombs, in
forests, and in deserts. In the second book of the “Constitutions” of
Pope Clement (chaps. 55 and 61), we read the following directions: “Let
the church be of a long shape, like a ship, and facing the east.” Here,
therefore, in the first century of the church, is an authentic proof of
the orientation of the early Christian sacred edifices.
The method of construction of the primitive churches, however,
according to the liturgical regulations of the period, is still an
obscure question, and one surrounded with uncertainty. It has been
surmised, with much probability, that the subterranean chapels of the
catacombs of Rome were the models of the first churches; and such is
the opinion of the most learned archæologists. It was from the very
depths of these sepulchral caverns that Christian art, bursting forth
into open day after the long series of persecutions, built its crypts
and its churches after the types of its hidden shrines, at first in
the transmural cemeteries, and afterwards, towards the end of the
third century, in the midst of the Christianized populations and in
the very centre of their cities. In 303, the date of the decree of
Diocletian closing the Christian places of worship, there were already
forty churches and chapels in Rome. The shape of these primitive
sanctuaries is not well known; they were probably in general of one
uniform pattern, specially adapted to the liturgical ceremonies of the
day, though considerations of safety, the capabilities of the site,
and other imperious necessities, no doubt frequently obliged their
architects to depart from precedent and to vary the character of their
construction. It was not until the reign of Constantine that Christian
edifices began to assume the attributes of size, magnificence, and
majestic boldness of outline. It was then that the emperor erected
basilicas in the interior of his Lateran and Vatican palaces for the
first time, and consecrated to the worship of the true God those
immense edifices in which art was the humble handmaid of religion and
bathed itself in the ineffable splendours of the faith.
The crypts or chambers (_cubicula_) of the Catacombs were
reproduced in the full light of day in the early churches; they were
of a quadrilateral shape, with three arched naves, and three vaulted
recesses (_arcosolia_) which served at once as tombs for the holy
confessors and shrines for the celebration of the eucharist. These
sanctuaries were generally of greater length than breadth, after the
analogy of the ship or vessel (_navis_), this mysterious symbolism
finding favour with the early Christians.
[Illustration: Fig. 179.--Church of St. Antony, Padua, completed
in 1307; the seven cupolas were added in the Fifteenth Century.
The bronze equestrian statue which stands in front of the church
was executed in 1453 by Donatello, and represents the famous
captain, Gattemalata.]
[Illustration: Fig. 180.--Foot of a large Choir Candelabrum
in gilt bronze, with seven branches, nineteen feet high, and
known as the “Tree of the Virgin,” because one of its ornaments
represents the Infant Jesus adored by the Magi, in the arms of
the Virgin.--Work of the Thirteenth Century, in Milan Cathedral.]
[Illustration: Fig. 181.--Chandelier, called _Chandelier of
the Virgin_; the branches are of bronze, and the figure is of
carved wood. (Church in Kempen, Rhenish Prussia).--From Weerth’s
“Monuments of Christian Art.”]
_Crucial_ churches, that is to say, churches in the shape of a
cross, were, however, not uncommon, as well as round, pentagonal,
hexagonal, and octagonal buildings. But whatever their shape, they
differed essentially from the pagan temples, as much in their general
internal arrangement as in their size, which continued to increase
in proportion as Christianity waxed in magnitude and influence. The
basilicas were divided into three principal parts: the vestibule, or
portico (in Greek, _pronaon_), the central area (in Greek, _naos_--in
Latin, _navis_, whence the term nave), and the apse or choir (in Greek,
_ieratrion_), reserved for the officiating priests. The portico was
supported by two, five, or seven columns, and projected from the front
wall. An iron rod furnished with rings ran across the columns, and
from it were suspended curtains of cloth or hanging tapestries which
could be drawn or closed at will. Beneath this portico the penitents,
termed _strati_ (prostrated), were accustomed to kneel, and from that
position they could hear the psalmody and the sermon without actually
witnessing the ceremony. The larger basilicas had frequently three
porticos instead of one (Fig. 179), the central one facing the west,
and the two side ones the north and south. A large vessel (_malluvium_)
full of water was placed in the centre of the portico, in which each
member of the congregation before entering the church purified his face
and hands. The clergy alone entered by the middle entrance (_aula_);
the worshippers entered by the two side portals, the men by that to
the right and the women by that to the left; this division of the
sexes was maintained within the building also. The internal main area
was subdivided into three or five naves. The central nave was always
left open and free, but in the others, partitions six feet high
completely divided off the catechumens, the penitents, the virgins
consecrated to God, the monks, and the mass of the congregation. At
the end of the nave was the choir (in Greek _bêma_), in front of which
stood the _solea_ (the cellar or wine-press, in allusion to what was
called the vineyard of the Lord), surrounded by a chancel, an open-work
partition, in the centre of which one or more gates opened into the
interior. One or sometimes two stands (called _pulpitum_, pulpit),
intended for the public reading of the epistles, the Scriptures, and
the holy books, were erected in front of the gates of the choir. In
Rome, and probably in Constantinople, Milan, Trèves, and in all the
larger imperial cities, there was in front of the choir, between the
stalls of the secular clergy and those of the holy virgins and monks,
a space (_senatorium_) reserved for the dignitaries and the noble
families of the place. The _solea_ was occupied by the sub-deacons and
the minor clerks, whose duty it was to intone the psalmody. One or two
sacristies (_secretaria_) were placed at the sides of the _solea_. The
sanctuary (Figs. 180 and 181), in which the holy sacrifice took place,
was surrounded with iron or wooden railings, and communicated through
one or three doors with the naves. The farther end of the choir was
semicircular in shape, and is now called the apse (in Greek, _kongche_,
a muscle or cockle-shell; in Latin, _absida_; in French, _chevet_);
around it were placed seats, amongst them that of the bishop, which
was raised above the altar, and was visible to the whole congregation.
The altar, which was draped and surmounted with the _ciborium_ (a
canopy of a cupola shape--Italian, _baldacchino_), was always placed
in the centre of the apse (Figs. 182 and 183). Such, was the material
framework, the normal arrangement of the Greek and Latin liturgy
towards the end of the sixth century.
[Illustration: Fig. 182.--Altar-piece at Mareuil-en-Brie.]
[Illustration: Fig. 183.--Altar-piece of the Church of
Mareuil-en-Brie (Marne).--Latter half of the Thirteenth Century.]
No pope was more capable than Gregory the Great (590–604) of uniting
the different and scattered elements of which the liturgy was
composed. To him is due the merit of having been the first to put
forth a revised issue of the books of religious service, and who
impressed the stamp of his genius on the Roman Catholic ceremonial.
Before him, however, Pope Gelasius had collected the prayers used
in the administration of the sacraments, and had prepared the first
missal or book of masses. The latter was remodelled and corrected by
Gregory. The same pope gave a more orthodox and popular form to the
Antiphonary (_Antiphonarium_), sometimes called _Cantatorium_
and _Graduale_, a collection of anthems for every mass in the
year; he amended and remodelled in the most skilful and learned manner
the anthems that were badly selected and ill scored--endeavouring,
after the example set by Solomon, to impart a harmonious and dignified
character to sacred music which it did not previously possess. It is
tolerably certain that the church chant dates from this period, and
that notation by _neumes_, a method the present age does not
understand, of marking the rhythm and the modulations of the voice,
cannot be traced farther back than the pontificate of Gregory the
Great. John Diacre, who has written the life of this illustrious pope,
says that he has seen the school of choristers, founded at Rome by St.
Gregory, officiating in full splendour. The founder of this famous
school continued to give lessons to the pupils in spite of his old
age, his attacks of gout, and his other infirmities, even when he was
no longer able to stand or sit upright. Reclining on a narrow and very
hard bed, he infused emulation into the minds of the idle and reproved
the disobedient.
Since the fifth century, the holy duties and the canonical prayers to
which the liturgy consecrated the different hours of the day have been
known under the name of _offices_, or _canonical hours_ (Fig. 184),
and of _breviaries_. In Tertullian we already meet with the words
_Tierce_, _Sexte_, and _None_. St. Cyprian, St. Clement of Alexandria,
St. Jerome, and many other fathers of the Church, assigned certain
hours at which to recite the different offices, in such a manner that
before the close of the fourth century psalmody seems to have been
already regulated in the principal churches of the East. The practice
of the Western churches differed, it is true, from that of the churches
of the East; many differences even were to be found in the dioceses of
the same country. But, during the earlier centuries, it was everywhere
customary to perform the principal offices at night, which was divided
into four watches of three hours each: these hours were measured by a
water-clock, termed clepsydra. The first watch commenced at sunset
(_ad vesperas_), the second at midnight, the third at cockcrow, the
fourth at dawn. Towards the fifth century the piety of the early
Christians having somewhat abated, it soon became customary not to go
to church till the fourth watch, when the whole psalmody, that is to
say, the twelve psalms, as there were three psalms in each watch, was
got through at one repetition. Hence the name of matins (_matutinæ_).
It would seem that the monks themselves, who were more conservative of
ancient rites than the secular priests, commenced about this period to
chant the _Nocturn_ and the _Laud_ at the morning hours. Rome alone
rigorously preserved the distinction between the offices of the day and
those of night.
[Illustration: Fig. 184.--Ancient Legend of Christmas, with the
words of the old French plaint. The engravings represent the
Sibyl prophesying the Birth of Christ; Jesus in the Stable at
Bethlehem; one of the Magi; and John the Baptist announcing that
Christ was born.--Fac-simile from a book of _hours_, printed
with illuminations at Paris by Anthoine Vérard, towards the close
of the Fifteenth Century.]
The _Petites Heures_ were known as _Tierce_, _Sexte_, and _None_;
_Prime_, the first of the canonical hours, was not instituted till
the twelfth century, but the other three appear to date from the
earliest institution of Christianity. St. Cyprian, who lived in the
third century, says that prayers were said at _Tierce_ in honour of the
descent of the Holy Ghost, at _Sexte_ in memory of the Crucifixion,
and at _None_ to commemorate the death of Christ. Half a century
earlier Tertullian wrote that, independently of the mystic traditions
consecrated by prayer, the Church, in establishing the canonical hours,
wished to conform to the secular division of the day.
Vespers (_Vespera_), so called from the star _Vesper_, which
rises as the sun is setting, also dates from the origin of the liturgy.
The hour of vespers was called _lucernarium_, because it was
necessary to light the lamps at the performance of that service. A hymn
exists entitled “_Ad incensum lucernæ_,” that is, “To the lighting
of the lamp.” The Latins as well as the Greeks, until the eighth
century, celebrated vespers after sunset; but since that period the
usage of Rome, where vespers were said immediately after _Nones_,
prevailed and became universal. Milan, however, still adhered to the
primitive form of the rite; vespers were commenced as soon as the
evening star appeared above the horizon, and terminated by torchlight.
Until the fifth century vespers were the last prayers of the day,
and included the psalms, which were said separately in the following
century, as a last service, termed _Compline_, and which at first
only contained three psalms--it was not till the ninth century that the
thirtieth psalm was added.
The principal libraries of Europe possess several large manuscript
volumes written on vellum, as remarkable for their illuminations (Fig.
185) as for the beauty of their calligraphy; they are termed the
_Evangeliarium_, the _Lectionarium_, and the _Liber Benedictionis_,
and were frequently bound with great magnificence. They belonged to
different churches and dioceses which, while generally following the
rules of the dogmatic liturgy established by the councils, used several
modifications of their own invention. Some of these modifications
were important ones, and were due either to local feeling and the
peculiarities of the congregation, or arose during the anniversaries,
the commemorative festivals of the diocesan ritual. The use of the
_Evangeliarium_ dates from St. Jerome. Before him each of the four
Gospels formed a separate book, and the four were of different
liturgical importance. St. Jerome collected them, arranged them in
their proper order, and added marginal notes of the daily offices.
[Illustration: Fig. 185.--The Mystic Fountain, from an
_Evangeliarium_ of Charlemagne (Eighth Century), in the
National Library of Paris. The jet of water represents the
Church, the source of truth; the inner birds the souls of the
elect; while those outside seem to personify souls attracted
to baptism by divine grace.--From the large work of Count de
Bastard.]
A hierarchical order with defined powers and privileges existed from
the date of the first establishment of Christianity. In his sixth
epistle to the Magnesians, St. Ignatius, who had been a disciple of
St. Peter, says, “I exhort you to behave, in all things, with that
spirit of concord which comes from God; and to look upon the bishop
as the representative of God himself in your midst, upon the priests
as forming the august senate of the apostles, and upon the deacons as
those to whom is intrusted the ministry of Jesus Christ.” The faithful
bowed the head to none but the bishop, to ask his blessing; and in the
church the bishop occupied a seat raised above that of the priests. The
bishops wore a tunic and _pallium_, or long mantle, a chasuble or
dalmatic, and a circlet of gold or polished metal upon the head. The
latter was subsequently replaced by the mitre, which for some time was
made of cloth, and was a circular pointed cap split at the top (Fig.
186). The primitive insignia of office worn by the bishops were the
episcopal ring and the pastoral staff, made of wood, ivory, or metal.
They are mentioned as wearing sandals for the first time in the ninth
century, and gloves in the twelfth. The bishop of Rome, the first among
his brethren (_primus inter pares_), wielded over the whole Church
a supremacy formally enunciated by St. Irenæus, a disciple of St.
Polycarp, a contemporary of the apostles. Originally, however, he wore
no distinguishing mark of his pre-eminent rank; but towards the fifth
century, the term “pope” began to be exclusively applied to him.
After the reformation of his clerks (_clerici_) by the famous
Bishop of Hippona, the former were called _canonici_, whence the
term chanoines, because they led a life in conformity with the canons
of the Church. In Africa, in Spain, and in Gaul these canonical clerks
lived together and boarded with the bishop, and devoted themselves
to science, literature, art, music, and especially to calligraphy.
They thus formed a sort of religious school, whence their title of
scholastics (_scholastici_)--a title which they well deserved
during the reign of Charlemagne, but which they had ceased to merit
at the time of Charles the Bold. The priests attached to each
church constituted what was termed the assembly of the presbytery
(_presbyterium_), or the ecclesiastical senate of the bishop of
the diocese (_senatus ecclesiæ episcopi_). It was permissible for
the clerks at an early age to enter the minor degrees of their calling,
such as those of porter, exorcist, reader, and acolyte; but they were
not allowed to assume the higher grades until they had reached a ripe
age. The minimum age for the diaconate was thirty years; for the
priesthood, thirty-five; ordination, from the fourth century upwards,
took place four times a year. We learn from St. Cyprian, who lived
in the third century, that from that date it was decreed that this
ceremony should only take place in the churches, publicly, at mass.
[Illustration: Fig. 186.--Chasuble, Mitre, and Stole of St. Thomas
à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (1117–1170); preserved in the
Cathedral of Sens.--Cloth and Embroidery of the Twelfth Century.]
Before choristers were regularly introduced many churches had
_psalmists_, who constituted a distinct minor order. These
psalmists were succeeded by chanting clerks. In the reign of the
Emperor Justinian, the metropolitan church of Constantinople possessed
twenty-six choristers and a hundred and ten readers. In the fifteenth
canon of the Council of Laodicea we read that “none but the canonical
choristers are allowed to sing in the church.” The congregation,
however, still kept to the custom of joining their voices to those of
the choristers.
At first there no doubt existed a special dress worn during the hours
of service, but it is supposed that it was only in its colour, which
was white, that this dress differed from that worn by the deacons and
the priests in everyday life. The maniple (_manipulum_) and the
stole (_stola_), accessories to the alb, which was the original
vestment worn by the priest, were not adopted and consecrated by the
liturgy till the third or fourth centuries. The deacons only wore the
stole during the sacrament, but the priests wore it continuously,
as a mark of their sacerdotal dignity. The use of the chasuble was
subsequent to that of the stole, the alb, and the dalmatic. The
chasuble is first mentioned in the twenty-seventh canon of the Fourth
Council of Toledo (in 527 A.D.).
Prior to the fifth century, the clergy were obliged to wear no
distinctive dress in private life. As in the days of the Apostles,
the bishops, the priests, the clerks, the deacons, and the choristers
wore tunics and sandals, as prescribed by the Saviour in the Gospel
of St. Mark (vi. 9). They covered themselves with a square piece of
black or brown cloth, which was draped around the figure, and was
fastened by neither hook nor tie; beneath it was a plain tunic of a
dark colour. In the fifth century Pope Celestinus disapproved of this
costume, which caused the followers of Christ to be confounded with
the Stoic philosophers. In the sixth century the laity had abandoned
the Roman style of costume, and wore short dresses, copied from
those of the barbarians who had become the rulers of Gaul; but the
Church, careful of the dignity of its ministers, refused to adopt this
expensive alteration. Henceforward a broad distinction was established
between the dress of the clergy and that of the laity. The Council of
Agde (506 A.D.) ordered all clerks to wear clothes and shoes
of a peculiar cut, in conformity with their religious profession.
Two later councils forbade them the use of the Roman military cloak
(_sagum_) and of purple-coloured stuffs. Gregory the Great
forbade his household to wear any dress but the long toga, as the one
essentially appropriate to the people of the Church. This costume, with
scarcely any modification, was worn by all orthodox ecclesiastics,
through all the changes of the Middle Ages, until the seventeenth
century.