31 Bishops. Besides these, there are 4 Suffragan (which see) Bishops
(Dover, Bedford, Nottingham, and Colchester). There are also 22
retired Colonial Bishops in England. Four new Bishoprics have
recently been created, and two more are in course of formation.
As assistants to the Bishops there are 82 Archdeacons, and 613
Rural Deans. There about 13,500 benefices in England, and about
23,000 clergymen of every class. The Church sittings number about
6,200,000. It is somewhat difficult to arrive at the number of the
members of the Church of England, as Nonconformists have always
objected to a religious census being made. Taking the following
official returns, we find that, out of every 100,--
Chrchs. Dsntrs.
School returns give 72 28
Cemetery " " 70 30
Marriages " " 75 25
Army " " 63 37
(Of which 37 no fewer than 24 are Roman Catholics.)
Navy returns give 75 25
Workhouse " " 79 21
Giving an average of 72 per cent, to the Church, and 28 per cent,
to Dissenters.
The whole population in England and Wales in 1878 was 24,854,397
Church population at 72 percent. 17,995,159
Nonconformist population (including Roman Catholics) 6,859,238
With regard to Educational Matters, we find that
Scholars.
In Day Schools connected with the Church, there are 2,092,846
Ditto with Wesleyans 173,804
Ditto Roman Catholics 223,423
In British and Undenominational Schools 324,144
School Board Schools 1,197,927
We also find that on Hospital Sunday, 1881, the following
contributions were made:
Church of England L174,662
Methodists (the various sects together) L 9,012
For Missionary purposes the sums of money collected in 1881
were:
Church of England L460,395
Nonconformist Societies in England L313,177
_Statistics of the Anglican Communion_ _Bishops_. _Clergy_.
England and Wales (including 4 Suffragan,
and 4 Assistant, Bishops) 41 23,000
Ireland 12 1,700
Scotland 7 250
British Colonies, India, &c. 75 3,100
United States 69 3,600
Retired Bishops 22
--- ------
Total (in round numbers) 226 30,000
CHURCH, THE GREEK. This ancient branch of the Catholic Church is
the Church of the East. The great schism between the Eastern and
Western Churches took place in the eleventh century, though for
centuries before a separation had been imminent. One of the chief
causes of the separation of the Eastern from the Western Church
was that the latter holds the doctrine that the Holy Ghost proceeds
from the Son (_filioqe_) as well as from the Father, eternally; and
inserted the words "filioque" (and from the Son) in the Nicene
Creed. This the Eastern Church rejects; and also she errs in other
details both of faith and practice. Her orders are without doubt
Apostolical, and efforts have been made for her union with the
Anglican Church, but the "filioque" clause in the Creed has
hitherto hindered this from being accomplished.
CHURCH OF ROME. This is properly that branch of the great Church
Catholic over which the Bishop, or Pope, of Rome presides. It in no
way belongs to the object of this work to trace the history of this
Church from Apostolic times, nor yet to notice how by degrees it
claimed and assumed the supremacy over other churches. But since
we find amongst us certain congregations who worship according to
the Roman use, and who look up to the Pope of Rome as their head,
it will be well to see how Romanism was introduced into this land
after the Reformation. As has been before noticed (see _Church of
England_), it was not until about forty years after the Papal
usurpation had been suppressed in England that those who still
remained Roman at heart fell away from the ancient Church of
England, and constituted themselves into a distinct community or
sect. This was in the year 1570. This schismatic community was
first governed by the Jesuits. In 1623 a Bishop, called the Bishop
of Chalcedon, was consecrated, and sent from Rome to rule the Roman
sect in England. The Bishop of Chalcedon was banished in 1628, and
then the adherents of the Papacy in England were left without any
Bishops until the reign of James II. This King favoured the
Romanists, and would gladly have re-introduced the Roman Catholic
religion into the country. He filled many vacant Sees with members
of the Church of Rome; but all he did in favour of Popery was more
than reversed in the reign of his successor, William III., Prince
of Orange. In 1829 a Bill, called the Roman Catholic Emancipation
Bill, was passed, by which Roman Catholics were made eligible
to sit in Parliament, and restored to other rights of English
citizenship from which they had before been excluded. In the present
reign (1850) Dr. Wiseman, and a few other Roman Catholic priests,
led the Pope to trench upon the Royal prerogative by establishing a
Romish Hierarchy in this country. Cardinal Wiseman was made
Archbishop of Westminster; and twelve others, Bishops of territorial
Sees. A Bill, however, was brought into Parliament by the Government
to resist this Papal aggression, and forbidding the assumption of
English territorial titles. This Act has been repealed.
We of the Reformed Church hold that many doctrines and practices of
the Church of Rome are erroneous and unscriptural, the most
important of which are the following:--The doctrine of Original Sin,
and Justification, as defined by the Council of Trent; Propitiatory
Sacrifice of the Mass; Transubstantiation; Communicating in one kind
only; the Seven Sacraments; Purgatory; the Worship, Invocation, and
Intercession of the Blessed Virgin, Saints, and Angels; Veneration
of Relics; Worship of Images; Universal Supremacy of the Roman
Church; the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; and the
Infallibility of the Pope. These two last were not imposed upon the
Roman Church as articles of faith, necessary to be believed, until
1854 and 1870. With the exception of the last two, the above is a
summary of the errors of Rome, drawn up by Dr. Barrow, and quoted
by Bishop Harold Browne in his book on the 39 articles.
In England the Roman Church has two Cardinals, one of whom
(Cardinal Manning) is also Archbishop, 17 Bishops, 2,112 other
Clergy. The number of Roman Catholic Archbishops and Bishops now
holding office in the British Empire is 131.
CHURCH MUSIC. Certain parts of our Service are directed to be "said
or sung," the former possibly describing the parochial, the latter
the Cathedral, manner of performing Divine Service. The use of
musical instruments in the singing of praise to God is very ancient.
The first Psalm in the Bible--viz., that which Moses and Miriam sang
after the passage of the Red Sea--was then accompanied by timbrels.
Afterwards, when the Temple was built, musical instruments were
constantly used at public worship. In the 150th Psalm the writer
especially calls upon the people to prepare the different kinds of
instruments wherewith to praise the Lord. And this has been the
constant practice of the Church in all ages. It is not clearly known
when organs were first brought into use, but we find that as early
as the year 766 the Emperor of the East sent an organ as a present
to Pippin, King of France. It is certain that the use of them has
been very common now for several hundreds of years.
The custom of dividing the choir into two parts, stationed on either
side of the chancel, in order that they may say, or sing, alternate
verses, dates from the primitive Church. Thus Miriam sang. (Ex.
xv.20.) Thus the angels in heaven sing. (Isaiah vi.3)
The Psalms and Canticles are generally sung to a chant. These are
of two kinds--_Gregorian_ and _Anglican_. Gregorian chants are very
ancient; a collection of them was compiled by Gregory, Bishop of
Rome, about A.D. 600. They are sung in unison. Anglican chants,
which are of much more recent invention, are sung in harmony. Nearly
all our Church music is based on the Gregorian chant. A _single_
chant is an air consisting of two phrases, corresponding to the two
parts into which every verse of the Psalms and Canticles is divided
in our Prayer Book by a colon. A double chant consists of four
parts. Sometimes the Canticles are sung to what is called a
_Service_, which is a musical arrangement similar to the Anthem.
_Hymn_, a metrical song of praise. Hymns are nowhere formally
authorised in our Church, with one exception, viz., the _Veni
Creator_ in the Ordination Service. Still, metrical hymns have
been sung in the Church from Apostolic times, the words of some of
which are extant. The "hymn" sung by our Lord and his disciples at
the Last Supper was probably the "Hallel," Psalms cvii.--cxviii.
_Anthem_, as the term is usually understood in England, consists of
passages from Holy Scripture set to music; such also are _Introits_.
Anthems are almost peculiar to our Church, but have been in constant
use in it since the Reformation.
Other parts of the Service, such as the Prayers, the Versicles, the
Litany, are frequently read either on one note (_monotoned_), or on
one note occasionally varied at the end by a cadence (_intoned_).
This is objected to by some as being unnatural; but it is not so.
A child naturally _intones_ or _monotones_ if set to read or recite.
And where a congregation have to repeat the same words together, it
is absolutely necessary that they should do it on some given note,
or the result would be Babel. Children in school, of their own
accord, say their lessons together in a monotone. The practice of
doing so in the Church dates from the very earliest times.
CHURCH PARTIES. There always have been, and probably always will be,
in every religious community different schools of thought. Truth is
many-sided, and while men may agree in prescribing a certain limit,
outside which is error, yet within the boundary there may be room
for many different views of central truths. In the Church of England
the views held by different parties are generally reckoned under
three heads,--(1) _High Church_, a section of which party are
Ritualists; (2) _Low Church_, or _Evangelicals_; (3) _Broad Church_.
Roughly speaking their influence may be thus described: The High
Church party has deepened the sense of the Church's corporate life
and work, and added to the reverence, the order, the beauty of holy
worship. The Low Church party has done much to awaken a spirit of
vital personal religion. The Broad Church party has done much to
co-ordinate the truths of religion with the certain results
of science. The members of this party hold views more or less
latitudinarian. The teaching of these three parties will best be
seen by an enumeration of the names most favoured by each; thus
High Churchmen appeal to Laud, Hammond, Sancroft, Hooker, Andrewes,
Cosin, Pearson, Ken, Wilson, Robert Nelson, George Herbert, John
Keble, and Pusey. Low Churchmen delight in Melanchthon, Zwingli,
Cranmer, Hooper, Ridley, Jewel, Bunyan, Whitfield, Cowper, Scott,
Cecil, John Newton, Romaine, Venn, Wilberforce, Simeon, and Henry
Martyn. The Broad Church School contains such names as Bacon,
Milton, Hales, Jeremy Taylor, Tillotson, Locke, Isaac Newton,
Coleridge, Arnold, Maurice, Hare, Robertson, Kingsley, Thirlwall,
and Stanley.
CHURCH RATE. A rate which the Churchwardens and Vestry had the
right to levy on ratepayers for the repairs of the Church, and for
the expenses connected with Divine Service. Ina, king of Wessex,
drew up a code of Ecclesiastical Laws, which were accepted in a
National Council in A.D. 690. Among these laws was that--"The
_Church Scot_ (or Rate) for the repair of Churches, and supply of
all things necessary for Divine Worship, was to be paid by every
house before Martinmas, according to a valuation made at Christmas."
This right of the Church to levy compulsory Church Rates was only
taken from her by an Act passed in the present reign, in consequence
of the opposition raised by Dissenters.
CHURCH WARDENS. The Office of Church Warden dates from very early
times in England, but we have no clear account of its origin. The
Church Wardens, of whom there are two in most Parishes, are
appointed at a meeting of parishioners held at Easter. The
Incumbent has the power of appointing one, the other is elected by
the vote of the parishioners. The Church Wardens were originally
mere ecclesiastical officers; the State then added various civil
functions to the office, such as levying rates, &c., but a good
deal of this civil power has now been withdrawn. Their business has
become in substance that of assisting in the finances, repairs,
warming, &c., of the Church. It is also their duty to complain to
the Bishop or Archdeacon if the Incumbent be neglectful or irregular
in the conduct of Divine Service.
When Church Wardens have been chosen, they are admitted to their
office by the Archdeacon. The office is of one year's duration only.
In many larger parishes they are assisted by Synodmen, or Sidesmen.
A Church Warden should be a resident rate-payer; but non-residence
is not always a disqualification. The following are certainly
disqualified to hold office,--all aliens born, as well as aliens
naturalized; all Jews; all children under 10 years of age; all
persons convicted of felony; all idiots and insane persons.
CHURCH YARD. The ground adjoining the Church, in which the dead are
buried. It is the freehold of the parson, but inasmuch as it was
the common burial place, it was fenced and cared for at the charge
of the parishioners, who could be rated for it. Recent _Burial Acts_
(which see) have lately given power to laymen to conduct funeral
services even in the consecrated Churchyard. Rates have also been
done away with, and thus we find the parson burdened with the charge
of a Churchyard in which any man, woman, or child, may hold funeral
services. The Church of England is the only religious body in
England which may not have a distinct burial ground for her dead!
CHURCHING OF WOMEN. From the earliest times it has been usual for a
woman after child-birth to come to God's house to offer thanks. It
was so among the Jews, although with them the idea of purification
is involved as well as of thanksgiving, as it is in the Eastern
Church at the present day. In some country places there is an idea
that a woman can be "_Churched_" at home, which is a contradiction
in terms.
CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST. A feast dating from before the 6th century,
when a special service was already in use for it. The collect--a
translation from an ancient Latin one--sums up well the teaching
of the day.
CLERGY. A general name for ecclesiastics of all orders (see
_Orders_), as distinguished from the laity. The word is from a
Greek one, meaning a _portion_.
CLERK. The legal designation of a clergyman is "_Clerk in Holy
Orders_." The _Parish Clerk_ was formerly a person in Holy Orders,
but his office, as defined in our Prayer Book, is usually discharged
by a layman. The appointment of a Parish Clerk is in the hands of
the incumbent, by whom also he may be dismissed; but in some
parishes the office is a freehold. The almost universal use of
choirs in churches has nearly done away with that strange mode of
public worship which consisted of a duet between the parson and
clerk. The clerk has certain stated fees for his assistance at
marriages and funerals.
CLOISTER. A covered walk attached to monastic and collegiate
buildings and Cathedrals.
COLLATION. The appointment to a benefice by a Bishop is called a
_collation_.
COLLECT. A short concentrated prayer. The derivation of the word
is doubtful. The greater part of our Collects are found in the
Sacramentaries of St. Leo (A.D. 420), Gelasius (A.D. 494), and
Gregory the Great (A.D. 590.) Fifty-seven out of tie existing
eighty-two Prayer Book Collects are thus translations from the
Latin. The later Collects may sometimes be distinguished from these
ancient ones by their lack of terseness, and by their greater use
of scriptural language.
COLLEGE. A corporation or community. The Colleges of our Universities
are independent societies, governed by their own statutes and
officers. Still, they are connected in certain ways with the greater
Corporation, called the _University_ (which see.)
COLLEGIATE CHURCHES. Churches with a _College_, or body of Canons or
Prebendaries attached, such as Westminster Abbey, and St. George's,
Windsor. The only others remaining now are Wolverhampton, Middleham,
and Brecon.
COMMANDMENTS, The TEN. The recital of the Decalogue is peculiar to
our English Communion Service. It was ordered in 1552, possibly to
counteract the growth of Antinomianism (which see.) While other
parts of the Levitical Law relating to _ceremonies_ and the like
are not binding on Christians, the Commandments are so, because they
embody the _Moral_ Law, which is for all time and all people.
For the sense in which the Commandments are to be understood, see
the explanation of them in the Catechism. The reason of their being
placed in the Communion Service is to remind us of the duty of
self-examination before we "presume to eat of that bread and drink
of that cup," and to give us a standard whereby we may measure
ourselves. For the alteration from the _seventh_ day to the _first_,
see _Sunday_.
COMMENDATORY PRAYER. One of the four extra prayers added to the
Office for the Visitation of the Sick in 1662. It is a most
beautiful commendation of a "sick person at the point of departure"
to God's gracious mercy.
COMMINATION. The word means a _threat_, or _denunciation of
vengeance_. The Service, so-called in our Prayer Book, took its
present shape in 1549. It is, as the first exhortation states, an
imperfect substitute for the primitive practice of open penance.
Notice that in using this Service we do not invoke the wrath of God
on sinners, but merely declare that a curse must rest on sin. The
Service is used on Ash Wednesday, although, if ordered, it may be
used at other times. The first seven sentences are from Deut.
xxvii.15-26; the eighth is from Jer. xvii.5; the ninth is an
agglomeration of sins condemned in Scripture. The _Amen_ here means
not _So be it_, but _So it is_. The exhortation which follows is a
succession of quotations from Scripture. The Rubric mentions the
"place where they are accustomed to say the Litany," which place
is neither the _pulpit_ nor _reading pew_ mentioned in the first
Rubric in the Office, but is a desk placed "in the midst of the
church" (Injunctions of 1549). Following the Lord's Prayer,
Versicles, and Collects, comes a most forcible confession couched
in the words of Scripture, but less comprehensive than those of
the Morning and Communion Services. The Blessing, added in 1662,
is a shortened form of the old Jewish Blessing (Num. vi.24-26), but
here it is precatory not declaratory.
COMMITTAL PRAYER. That prayer in the Burial Service in which the
minister _commits_ the body to the ground, "earth to earth, ashes
to ashes, dust to dust." (See _Burial Service_.)
COMMON PRAYER, _see_ Liturgy.
COMMUNION, THE HOLY. Variously called the _Lord's Supper_ and the
_Eucharist_. This Service, formerly exclusively called the _Liturgy_
is the highest act of Christian worship. We will consider it under
four heads,--(1) History; (2) Rubrics; (3) Service; (4) Views.
(1) _History_. The two Sacraments--Holy Communion, and Holy
Baptism--differ from all other Christian observances in that they
are the only two expressly ordained by our Lord. We have four
records of the institution of the Lord's Supper in the New
Testament, viz., Matt, xxvi.26-28; Mark xiv.22-24; Luke xxii.19-20;
1 Cor. xi.23-25. In obedience to our Lord's command, "This do in
remembrance of Me," we find the Apostles constantly celebrated the
Holy Communion; Acts ii.46; xx.7; &c. This was always accompanied
by a set form of prayer, traces of which we may even find in the
New Testament--Acts ii.42; 1 Cor. x.16; 1 Cor. xiv.16. Justin
Martyr, who wrote A.D. 140, gives an account of a Sunday Service.
Almsgiving usually, if not always, accompanied a celebration of the
Holy Communion. As the number of Christians increased, the various
Churches throughout Europe compiled for their own use forms of
prayer for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist; the form most
used in England was known by the name of the "Sarum, or Salisbury,
Use." The Communion Service in our Prayer Book is based upon, and
translated from, this "Sarum Use," with considerable modifications
and adaptations. The first reformed Office appeared in 1548; the
first full English Office was put forth in 1549; the present Office
is substantially that in the second Prayer Book of Edward VI., 1552.
A great deal of it is from Hermann's "Consultation," a Liturgy drawn
up in 1543 by Melanchthon and Bucer.
(2) _Rubrics_. The first, inserted in 1661, has become virtually
obsolete. The "Ordinary," mentioned in the third, is the Bishop,
and the "Canon" referred to is the 109th. For first part of fourth
rubric, see _Altar_. For the latter part of this rubric, see
_Eastward Position_. This rubric was added in 1552.
The rubric before the Commandments was inserted in 1552, but the
words "turning to the people," were added in 1661. The next was
inserted in 1549. In the next rubric, the alternate form of giving
out the Epistle is for use when the passage selected as the Epistle
is not really from the Epistles, but is some other "portion of
Scripture;" the "sung or said" refers, possibly, to the Cathedral
and Parochial modes of conducting Service. (See _Church Music_.)
Three rubrics follow the Nicene Creed; in the first, 1662, the word
"Curate," there and elsewhere in the Prayer Book, means the minister
in charge of the parish, having "cure of souls," not the assistant
minister generally so denominated now. The direction that notice of
Holy Communion is to be given at this part of the service is quite
contradictory to the rubric following the Prayer for the Church
Militant, which should be altered. The word "Homily," in the second
of these rubrics, means "a plain sermon." Two books of Homilies
have been put forth, one in 1547, by Archbp. Cranmer and others,
and the second in 1562, by Bishop Jewel. There is no authority in
this, or any other rubric, for changing the surplice for a black
gown, neither is there any direction for a prayer before the
sermon, although a form is given in the 55th Canon. (See _Bidding
Prayer_.)
For the next rubric see _Offertory_.
The first rubric after the Offertory Sentences was inserted in 1661;
in 1552 the alms were to be put in the poor box, and not presented.
The next rubric orders the bread and wine to be placed on the Holy
Table, thus implying the existence of some shelf or table, called
the Credence Table, on which they had been previously placed. This
rubric was omitted from 1552 to 1661, which perhaps accounts for
the custom existing in some churches of not placing the elements on
the altar till the time of consecration. The rubrics before the two
exhortations giving notice of Holy Communion, were inserted in
1661, but now they have fallen into disuse. The next rubric,
inserted in 1552, refers to the custom, almost obsolete now, of
intending communicants taking places in the chancel for the rest
of the service.
The rubric before the Confession is ambiguous in language, and may
mean that the Confession is to be said by the minister alone. The
next rubric, directing the Bishop, if present, to pronounce the
Absolution, is from the Scottish Office, and was introduced here
in 1661. For the rubric before the Consecration prayer, see
_Eastward Position_. The "fair linen cloth," ordered to be thrown
over what remains of the consecrated elements, is by some thought
to represent the linen clothes in which the Saviour's body was
wrapped when placed in the tomb.