and fourth are directed against the practice obtaining in the Roman
Catholic Church of solitary masses. The fifth is stated by
Archbishop Parker and Bishop Cosin not to forbid the use of
wafer-bread, but merely to legalize the use of ordinary bread. The
rubric in the Scottish Liturgy expresses this more clearly,--"Though
it be lawful to have wafer-bread, it shall suffice that the bread
be such as is usual." The sixth rubric exhibits the Church's
careful and reverent treatment of the remains of the consecrated
elements; but its main office was to forbid the reservation of the
Blessed Sacrament for the use of invalids and others. This was
allowed in the primitive Church, and is now by the Scottish
Episcopal Church; but the superstitions which grew up around the
custom seemed to make the present rule necessary. The next rubric
has been required since offerings in kind were discontinued.
In the next rubric the Lateran Council (1215) enjoined one communion
yearly, at Easter-tide only; but the present rule is more in
accordance with the custom of the ancient Church, and encourages
lay communions.
The last rubric only provides for the distribution of alms when
there is an offertory, _i.e._ the reading of the offertory
sentences. Other collections are in the hands of the incumbent
only. The Ordinary is the Bishop.
The "declaration" is a protest against certain low and gross
notions of a carnal presence, as taught in the Roman Church. The
"_kneeling_" here, and the "_meekly kneeling_" in the rubric after
the Consecration Prayer, exclude prostration, which is not kneeling.
(3) _The Service_. As was said in the paragraph on the _History_ of
the Communion Service, it is chiefly taken from the "Sarum Use."
When there is no celebration, the Service concludes with a Collect
and the Benediction, said immediately after the Prayer for the
Church Militant; and this is called the Ante-Communion Office. The
Lord's Prayer is said by the Priest alone, notwithstanding the
general rubric to the contrary; that, and the Collect following,
being taken from an Office which was repeated by the Priest alone,
in preparation for Mass. The Decalogue was inserted in 1552 (see
_Commandments_.) In the Collects following, the Mediaeval Offices
coupled the Pope, King, and Bishop of Diocese together.
It is an ancient custom to sit during the reading of the Epistle,
and to stand during the reading of the Gospel, out of reverence for
the repetition of the words or acts of Christ. The Doxology "Glory
be to Thee, O Lord" has, from a very early period, followed the
announcement of the Gospel; but the "Thanks be to Thee, O Lord,"
afterwards, is a comparatively late custom. For the Nicene Creed,
see _Creed_. In the Prayer Book of 1662, the Banns of Marriage were
ordered to be published after the Nicene Creed. For the Sermon see
article _Sermon_. The sentences following are called the "Offertory
Sentences;" formerly a verse was sung before the oblation of the
elements. The next prayer, called the _Prayer for the Church
Militant_, has, in some form or other, formed part of every known
Liturgy. It is divided into three main parts--(1) The Oblation; (2)
Commemoration of the living; (3) Commemoration of the faithful
departed. The oblation is twofold, firstly of the alms which have
been collected, and, secondly, of the elements, the bread and wine
for Holy Communion. The Exhortations, here and elsewhere in the
Prayer Book, are sixteenth century compositions. The first is from
Hermann's "Consultation" (which see); the close of this exhortation
is important as shewing that in certain cases the Reformers allowed
auricular confession. The parts of this Service following the
Exhortations are respectively called the Invitation, Confession,
Absolution, and the "Comfortable Words," and are very characteristic
of the Anglican Liturgy. After the "Comfortable Words" begins the
most solemn part of the Office, anciently called the Canon. The
versicles, called, after the Latin for the first, the "Sarsum
Corda," are found in all Liturgies; and the "Holy, Holy, Holy,"--the
Ter-sanctus,--is probably from Apostolic times. The "Proper
Prefaces" are five out of the ten found in English and Roman
Missals; the first is an old form, re-modelled in 1549; the second
remains as it was in 494; the third dates from 590; the fourth seems
to be a new composition in 1549; the fifth, like the second, dates
from 494. Next follows a very beautiful prayer, called the "Prayer
of Humble Access," which is peculiar to the Anglican Liturgy. After
this comes the "Prayer of Consecration." The recital of the words
and actions used by our blessed Lord at the Institution of this Holy
Feast has always formed an essential feature in every Liturgy. The
form of words to be used at the Reception has varied. Originally,
the words used were, "The Body of Christ," "The Blood of Christ."
Of the form in use now, the first clause only was ordered in 1549,
the second only in 1552, and both were combined in 1559. The Lord's
Prayer, following, formerly was part of the Consecration Prayer; and
the next prayer, called the "Oblation," was the conclusion of the
Consecration Prayer in 1549. After the alternate prayer, composed
in 1549, comes the ancient hymn known as the "Gloria in Excelsis,"
or "Angelic Hymn," or the "Great Doxology." It is of Eastern origin,
and in the time of Athanasius was said, together with certain
Psalms, at dawn. The "Benediction" is a Scriptural composition
of the Reformed Church, the latter part being from Hermann's
Consultation. Of the collects concluding the service, the first,
second, and fourth are from ancient Offices, the others being
composed in 1549.
(4) _Views_, _or Doctrine_. In nothing does the belief of men so
differ as in this matter of Holy Communion. There may be said to be
three views existing among members of the Church of England relative
to that which all allow to be the greatest ordinance of religion.
This difference of belief in this matter is the real foundation of
party spirit in the Church.
(_a_) The _Symbolic_: viz., that consecration simply implies a
setting apart for a holy use of certain elements by a Minister
authorised to do so; that the Bread and Wine thus set apart are
symbols of Christ's Body, which was broken, and of His blood, which
was shed; and that the participation of them is, on the one hand,
a sign of the fellowship of love binding all true hearts together;
and, on the other, a sign of the nourishment and growth of the soul,
as fed by Christ Himself. This is the doctrine of Zuinglius, the
Swiss Reformer. It is adverse to the doctrine of the whole primitive
Church, which, says Bishop H. Browne, "unquestionably believed in
a _presence_ of Christ in the Eucharist." (Art. xxviii. Sec. I.)
(_b_) The _Receptionist_; viz., that after consecration the elements
become in such a sense changed that they become the channels through
which the Body and Blood of Christ are subsequently conveyed to
those who receive them with certain dispositions of mind. The
Presence of Christ in the elements is potential, not actual; that
is, the elements have the power of conveying the Presence of Christ
to only a properly qualified receiver.
(_c_) The _Objective_; viz., that after the consecration the
elements receive not potentially, but actually, the Present Body
and Blood of Christ, and that therefore, the Presence does not
depend, as in the view above, upon faithful participation, but upon
the act of consecration.
More briefly, the Holy Communion is considered as (1) a memorial
feast of love; (2) the actual Presence of Christ in the heart of
the faithful recipient; this might also be called the Subjective
view of the Real Presence; and (3) the Real Presence of Christ in
the consecrated elements themselves, or the Objective view.
There is also the _Sacrificial_ view of the Eucharist, which is
held, in a greater or less degree, by all schools of thought.
Sadler, in "Church Doctrine,--Bible Truth," thus states what he
believes to be the Church of England view--"The Eucharist is the
solemn ecclesiastical memorial of the Sacrifice of the Death of
Christ. It is the Saviour's own ordained means of showing forth
before God, men, and angels. His love in His Death. Just as the Old
Law sacrifices were anticipatory showings forth of the One Atoning
Death which was to be, so this Communion is a memorial, or
commemorative showing forth, of the One Atoning Death which has
been."
COMMUNION OF THE SICK. This Office differs from the ordinary
Communion Service in its introduction, a special Collect, Epistle,
and Gospel being appointed. After this is concluded, the Priest
continues with the ordinary Office, beginning "Ye that do truly,"
&c. Up to 1552 it was allowed to carry the consecrated elements
from the church to the sick person; and even later than this we
find the rubric allowing of reservation inserted at large in Queen
Elizabeth's Latin Prayer Book. This Prayer Book was drawn up for
the use of the Universities and the Colleges of Winchester and Eton.
The third rubric in the Service is for the prevention of infection.
The direction in the fourth rubric with regard to what is called
"Spiritual Communion" is from the ancient Office of Extreme Unction.
The last rubric does not allow mere infection to be a sufficient
excuse for a clergyman's not giving Holy Communion.
COMMUNION OF SAINTS. An article of our Faith. The faithful have (1)
an external fellowship, or communion, in the Word and Sacraments;
(2) an intimate union as the living members of Christ. Nor is this
communion, or fellowship, broken by the death of any, for in Christ
all are knit together in one uninterrupted bond.
COMTISM, or POSITIVISM. A philosophy taught by one Auguste Comte, a
Frenchman, who was born in 1798, and died 1857. He denied the
Deity, and introduced the worship of Humanity. In his religion,
which must not be confounded with his philosophy, there are many
festivals, a calendar of saints, nine sacraments, and a caricature
of the Holy Trinity. His _philosophical_ system is based on
altruism, a word meaning much the same as the Biblical command,
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." This philosophy has
many adherents.
CONCEPTION, THE IMMACULATE, OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. A doctrine
of the Roman Church, invented about the middle of the ninth century.
It teaches that the Blessed Virgin herself was conceived and born
without sin. Although this dates from so far back, yet it was not
imposed by the Church of Rome upon her members as a definite article
of faith until the year A.D. 1854.
CONFESSION. The verbal admission of sin. The Prayer Book provides
three forms of public confession--one in Morning Prayer, one in the
Communion Service, and one in the Commination Service. Besides this
the Church of England allows private confession to a priest in
exceptional cases, as in the latter part of the first exhortation
in the Communion Service, and in the rubric immediately preceding
the Absolution in the Office for the Visitation of the Sick.
Private, or _Auricular_, Confession forms a prominent feature in
the Church of Rome, and it is that which gives to the Roman Priest
his great authority over his flock. The practice is, to some extent,
founded upon S. James v. 16, which, however, is not necessarily to
be understood as speaking of confession to a priest.
CONFIRMATION, RITE OF. The practice of confirming those who have
been baptized is spoken of in Acts viii.12-17; xix.4-6. In the early
Church it was administered by Bishops alone, and followed as
immediately as possible after Baptism. Such is the custom of the
Greek Church at the present day, but there the Office is not
restricted to Bishops, as in the Western Church, confirmation being
administered with chrism, an unguent consecrated by a Bishop. In
the Western Church the Rite became gradually dissociated from
Baptism, although it has never lost its primary signification as a
_confirming_, or strengthening, by the Holy Ghost of those who have
been baptized. It is now administered, as the rubric directs, to
those who have arrived at "years of discretion," that is to say, to
those who are old enough to understand the leading doctrines of the
Christian Faith. The age at which Bishops of the Anglican Church
will confirm children varies a little in the different dioceses,
but 13 or 14 is the general age. The Rite of Confirmation forms one
of the seven Sacraments of the Churches of Greece and Rome.
The Preface to the Service, inserted in 1661, is, in substance, the
rubric of 1549. The Vow, at all times implied, was not explicitly
inserted until 1661. The Versicles and Prayer are from ancient
Offices. The form of words accompanying the Imposition of Hands
dates from 1552. The Lord's Prayer was inserted in 1661, and the
Collect following was composed in 1549. The second Collect is from
the Communion Office. The concluding rubric, although making it a
point of Church order that people should be confirmed before coming
to Holy Communion, allows that in certain cases the privilege
conferred by the Rite may be anticipated.
CONFIRMATION of a BISHOP. When a Bishop dies, or is translated, the
sovereign grants a license, called a _conge d'elire_, to the Dean
and Chapter of the vacant see to elect the person, whom by his
letters missive he has appointed. The Dean and Chapter, having made
their election, certify it to the sovereign, and to the Archbishop
of the province, and to the Bishop elected; then the sovereign
gives his royal assent under the great seal, directed to the
Archbishop, commanding him to _confirm_ and consecrate the Bishop
thus elected. The Archbishop subscribes this "_fiat confirmatio_."
After this, a long and formal process is gone through, and at
length the Bishop elect takes the oaths of office, and the election
is ratified and decreed to be good. The matter is in no way of a
spiritual nature.
CONGREGATION. In an ordinary sense, an assemblage of people for
public worship. In the Bible our translators consider _Congregation_
and _Church_ convertible terms. Psalm xxii.22; Heb. ii.12.
CONGREGATIONALISTS. The newer name of the _Independents_. (which
see.)
CONGRUITY. A term used in the 13th Art. The "School authors"
mentioned are the theologians of the middle ages as compared with
the "Fathers" of the early times. Bishop Harold Browne says, "The
school-authors thought that some degree of goodness was attributable
to unassisted efforts on the part of man towards the attainment of
holiness: and, though they did not hold, that such efforts did, of
their own merit, deserve grace, yet they taught that in some degree
they were such as to call down the grace of God upon them, it being
not indeed obligatory on the justice of God to reward such efforts
by giving His grace, but it being agreeable to His nature and
goodness to bestow grace on those who make such efforts." (Art. X.)
These endeavours on the part of man to attain to godliness were by
the schoolmen said to deserve grace _de congnio_, _of congruity_.
CONSANGUINITY, _see_ Kindred.
CONSECRATION of BISHOPS, _see_ Ordinal.
CONSECRATION of CHURCHES, CHURCH YARDS, and CEMETERIES. A Christian
custom dating, at latest, from the 4th century. Nor does the law of
England recognise any place as a church until it has been consecrated
by a Bishop. Nothing more, however, is implied, than that the
building or place consecrated is set apart for holy uses.
CONSECRATION of ELEMENTS, _see_ Communion, Holy.
CONSUBSTANTIATION. A doctrine of the Lutheran Church with regard
to the Real Presence in Holy Communion. "It differs from
Transubstantiation, in that it does not imply a change in the
substance of the elements. Those who hold this doctrine, teach
that the bread remains bread, and the wine remains wine; but that
with, and by means of the consecrated elements, the true, natural
Body and Blood of Christ are communicated to the recipients." (Bp.
Harold Browne.)
CONSULTATION, HERMANN'S. A book frequently referred to in the
articles on the different parts of the Prayer Book. Hermann was
Archbishop of Cologne at the time of the Reformation, and adopted
Protestantism. He employed Melanchthon and Bucer, two celebrated
Reformers, to draw up a book of formularies, doctrine, and the
like, which was called the _Consultation_. Much of our Prayer Book
is derived from it.
CONTRITION, _see_ Repentance.
CONVERSION. Literally, _turning round_. By this is generally
meant a sudden and sensible action of the Blessed Spirit upon a
newly-awakened sinner. A certain party in the Church, and nearly
all dissenting bodies, declare the absolute necessity of _conversion_
before a person can be saved. This view is based upon a mistaken
interpretation of our Lord's intercourse with Nicodemus, S. John
iii., and confuses _conversion_ with _regeneration_ (which see). To
the heathen, and infidel, _conversion_--a change of heart and
life--is absolutely and always necessary to salvation; but the
baptized Christian may, by God's grace, so continue in that state
of salvation (see _Church Catechism_) in which he was placed in
baptism, that _conversion_, in the above sense, is not necessary
to him; but inasmuch as all fall into sin day by day, he will need
_renewal_, or _renovation_--the quiet and continuous work of the
Holy Spirit upon his heart. There is not a single reference to
sudden conversion in any of the formularies of the Church of
England.
CONVOCATION. An assembly of Bishops and Clergy to consult on matters
ecclesiastical. Each Province (Canterbury and York) has its own
convocation, consisting of two Houses--an Upper, in which the
Bishops of the Province sit, and a Lower, in which the Deans,
Archdeacons, and chosen members of the clergy sit. These chosen
clergy are called proctors, and are elected by the votes of the
beneficed clergy. It was, and is, the custom of convocation to sit
at the same time as parliament; but in the sixteenth century a
great deal of the power and authority of convocation was lost, and
it became no longer able to legislate for the Church without the
consent of parliament.
COPE, _see_ Vestment.
CORONATION. The solemn religious rite by which a sovereign prince
is consecrated to his high office. The Coronation Service is
substantially the same as that used in the times of the Heptarchy,
and is very valuable as recording certain high religious and
political principles prevailing in those early times, and still to
be cherished.
CORPORAL, _see_ Altar Linen.
COUNCILS. GENERAL or OECUMENICAL COUNCILS, or SYNODS. Assemblies of
Bishops from all parts of the world, to determine some weighty
matter of faith or discipline. Of such Councils there have been six
received by the whole Catholic Church, but the Roman Church
acknowledges several others. Of these six Councils the first four
are the most important:--(1) Council of Nice, A.D. 325, summoned
by the Emperor Constantine, against the Arian heresy. (2) Council
of Constantinople, A.D. 381, summoned by the Emperor Theodosius,
against the heresy of Macedonius. (3) Council of Ephesus, A.D. 431,
summoned by the Emperor Theodosius the younger, against the Nestorian
heresy. (4) Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 451, summoned by the Emperor
Marcianus, against the heresy of the Eutychians. The other two
generally received Councils are the Second and Third Councils of
Constantinople. (See _OEcumenical_.)
Besides these _General_ Councils, there are National, Provincial,
and Diocesan Councils,
COVENANT. A mutual agreement between two or more parties. In the
Bible, God is spoken of as entering into covenant with man, as in
Gen. xv.8-18; xxviii.20-22; and elsewhere. In an historical sense
it denotes a contract or convention agreed to by the Scots in 1630
for maintaining the Presbyterian religion free from innovation.
This was called the National Covenant. The "Solemn League and
Covenant," a modification of the above, guaranteed the preservation
of the Scottish Reformed Church, and was adopted by Parliament in
1643.
CREDENCE TABLE. A table or shelf near the altar, on which the bread
and wine to be used in Holy Communion are placed previously to
consecration. The word seems to be derived from the Italian
_credenzare_, a buffet, or sideboard, at which meats were tasted
in early times before being presented to the guests, as a precaution
against poison. It is used for the more convenient observance of
the rubric following the offertory sentences, "And when there is a
Communion, the priest shall _then_ place upon the Table so much
bread and wine as he shall think sufficient."
CREED. There are three Creeds recognised in the Catholic Church--the
_Apostles' Creed_, the _Nicene Creed_, and the _Athanasian Creed_.
The name _Creed_ is derived from the Latin _Credo_, "I believe."
The _Apostles' Creed_, rehearsed in the Morning and Evening Service
of our Church, is the most ancient of all creeds, and can be traced
back, with few variations, almost to Apostolic times; some indeed
allege that it, in its earliest form, is referred to in Rom. vi.17,
and 2 Tim. i.13. It is in no way controversial, but is a simple and
plain statement of the fundamental truths of Christianity, and being
such, a profession of faith in it is demanded of all candidates for
Baptism.
The _Nicene Creed_, which has a place in the Communion Service, is
so called from its being drawn up at the Council of Nicaea (A.D.
325). A more distinct enunciation of belief was made necessary by
the growth of the Arian and other heresies which denied the Godhead
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The latter portion, from "I believe
in the Holy Ghost," was added later, viz., at the Council of
Constantinople, A.D. 381. Other heresies led to the introduction
of the "_filioque clause_"--"Who proceedeth from the Father _and
the Son_"--at a still later date. This is one cause of the great
schism between the Eastern and Western Churches.
The _Athanasian Creed_, recited on certain Festivals instead of the
Apostles' Creed, is not so ancient as the other two, nor does it
rest on the same authority. It is not known for certain by whom it
was composed, but at any rate it was not by Athanasius. It has been
regularly used in the Western Church since the year 800, and is
regarded as a most valuable exposition of Scriptural Truth. So much
objection is taken to the "damnatory clauses," as they are called,
that it may be well to quote the declaration of the Convocation of
Canterbury (1879):--"For the removal of doubts, and to prevent
disquietude in the use of the Creed, commonly called the Creed of
St. Athanasius, it is hereby solemnly declared--
"(I.) That the Confession of our Christian Faith, commonly called
the Creed of St. Athanasius, doth not make any addition to the
faith as contained in Holy Scripture, but warneth against errors,
which from time to time have arisen in the Church of Christ.
"(II.) That as Holy Scripture in divers places doth promise life
to them that believe, and declares the condemnation of them that
believe not, so doth the Church in this Confession declare the
necessity for all who would be in a state of Salvation, of holding
fast the Catholic Faith, and the great peril of rejecting the same.
Wherefore the warnings in this Confession of Faith are not to be
understood otherwise than like warnings of Holy Scripture; for we
must receive God's threatenings, even as His promises, in such wise
as they are generally set forth in Holy Writ. Moreover, the Church
doth not herein pronounce judgment on any particular person or
persons, God alone being the Judge of all."
CROSIER. In Skeat's Etymological Dictionary _Crosier_ is derived
from _Crook_; thus a pastoral staff terminating in a crook. The use
of a pastoral staff is ordered in the Prayer Book of the second year
of Edward VI. The pastoral staff of an Archbishop is distinguished
from the pastoral staff of a Bishop by terminating in a cross
instead of in a crook.
CROSS. The instrument of death to our Blessed Lord, and as such it
has been considered in all ages by the Church as the most appropriate
emblem, or symbol, of our Christian profession. The sign of the
cross was formerly used in nearly every part of the Church Service,
but owing to the superstitious use of it by Roman Catholics it is
retained in our Church in the baptismal office only.