Chapter 1

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THE CHURCH HANDY DICTIONARY

TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD

CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, D.D.

LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN,

THIS LITTLE BOOK IS

(WITH HIS LORDSHIP'S KIND PERMISSION)

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY

THE AUTHOR.

THE CHURCH HANDY DICTIONARY

_Dedicated by permission_

TO THE RIGHT REV. THE LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN.

NEW YORK:

JAMES POTT & CO., 14 & 16, ASTOR PLACE.

1890

CHURCH HANDY DICTIONARY.

_Additions and Corrections_.

ALTAR CLOTH, p. 3 add-- This is the modern Roman sequence of colours, but there is another more truly belonging to the English Church, viz., the Sarum, in which only _Red_ and _White_ are used.

HERESY, p. 53, line, for "not taught" read "_formally condemned_."

MIRACLES, p. 69, at the end, dele. and add-- , which latter deals with certain specious arguments adduced by these writers against the _a priori_ possibility of a miracle taking place.

PRESENCE, REAL, p. 81, add,-- Bishop Harold Brown says, in his history of Art. 28, "The doctrine of a real, spiritual presence is the doctrine of the English Church," and quotes the following passage from Jer. Taylor: "The result of which doctrine is this: it is bread, and it is Christ's Body. It is bread in substance, Christ in the Sacrament; and Christ is as really given to all that are truly disposed, as the symbols are: each as they can; Christ as Christ can be given; the bread and the wine as they can; and to the same real purpose to which they were designed."

The Article referred to above states, "The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith."

Preface

From the nature of the case a little work such as this cannot lay claim to much originality, but must be, in the main, a compilation from various sources. Thus the articles on controverted subjects set forth the views of the best authorities to which the compiler has had access, but not necessarily his own, though his stand-point all along is, he trusts, distinctly that of the Church of England.

The idea of this book was suggested by Dean Hook's invaluable Church Dictionary, but, as will be seen on comparison, it is by no means a mere abridgement of that work, many other authors having been laid under contribution, and fresh articles having been added. Dean Hook's Dictionary is admirable for its comprehensiveness and general accuracy, but unfortunately the price puts it out of the reach of most of those for whose use the present "Handy Dictionary" is intended.

The compiler wishes to furnish not only the younger clergy, but also the laity of the Church of England, with a cheap and handy book of reference on all Church matters. He believes that Sunday School Teachers and Church Workers, Teachers in National Schools, the upper scholars in Church Schools of higher grade, both public and private; and, indeed, all engaged in the elementary study of the Prayer Book, or of Church History, will find this short "Handy Dictionary" full of useful information.

The compiler desires in this place to acknowledge gratefully his obligations to all the authors and books consulted, especially to those contained in the following list:--

Hook's Church Dictionary.

Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity.

Bishop Harold Browne on the Thirty-nine Articles.

Bishop Wordsworth's Greek Testament.

Bishop Wordsworth's Theophilus Anglicanus.

Hart's Ecclesiastical Record'.

Riddle's Christian Antiquities.

Smith's Bible Dictionary.

Sir R. Phillimore's Ecclesiastical Law.

The S.P.C.K. Teacher's Prayer Book.

Bishop Barry's Teacher's Prayer Book.

Procter on the Book of Common Prayer.

Palmer's Origines Liturgicae.

Wheatly on the Book of Common Prayer,

Pearson on the Creed.

Sanderson's Handbook of Theology.

Hardwick's and other Church Histories.

Blunt's Household Theology.

Encyclopedia Britannica.

Chamber's Encyclopedia

The Globe Encyclopedia.

The Official Year Book of the Church of England.

Whitaker's Almanack,

etc., etc.

ABLUTIONS. Small quantities of wine and water poured into the chalice, after a celebration, and consumed by the Priest. Some take two ablutions, the first of wine, the second of wine and water mixed. The object of this is to insure the entire consumption of the consecrated element.

ABSOLUTION. In the Anglican Church the authoritative declaration, by a Bishop or Priest, of God's pardon to the truly penitent. "All the office and power of man in it is only to minister the external form, but the internal power and grace of remission of sins is properly God's." (_Bingham_.)

There are three forms of absolution in our Prayer Book, viz., in the Order for Morning and Evening Prayer; in the Communion Service, and in the Office for the Visitation of the Sick. It is to be noticed in each case that Confession precedes Absolution. The Scriptural authority for Absolution is found in Matt. xvi.19; xviii.18; John xx.23; 1 Cor. v.3-5; 2 Cor. ii.10.

St. Jerome compares the office of the Christian Priest in Absolution, with that of the Jewish Priest in cases of cleansing from leprosy.

ABSTINENCE, _see_ Fasting.

ACOLYTE. One of the minor Orders of the Church of Rome. An Acolyte's duties are to wait upon the Priests and Deacons, carrying the bread and wine, &c. In some of our churches a layman, called a "Server," performs these duties.

ADULT BAPTISM, _see_ Baptism.

ADVENT. _Latin_, Coming. Four Advent Sundays immediately precede Christmas. They are so called because they are designed to prepare us to commemorate the _advent_, or _coming_, of Christ in the flesh at Christmas, and also to prepare for His second coming to judge the world. The Ecclesiastical, or Church Year, begins with Advent Sunday. The season of Advent is spoken of in a homily written as far back as the year A.D. 450.

ADVOWSON. The right in perpetuity of patronage to a church, or any ecclesiastical benefice.

AFFINITY, _see_ Kindred.

AGAPAE. Love feasts. After a celebration of Holy Communion the early Christians frequently partook of a social and friendly repast known by this name. This custom was discontinued in the Vth. century on account of abuses. It has been partially revived by some dissenting sects of our own day, who partake of a frugal meal and narrate their spiritual "experiences."

AGNUS DEI. Two Latin words, meaning "Lamb of God." It is an anthem sung in some places by the choir during the Communion of the Priest. The choir sing thrice, "O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world," adding twice, "Have mercy upon us," and the third time, "Grant us Thy peace." The anthem is found in Edward VI.'s First Prayer Book.

AGNOSTICISM. A school of thought which denies that we can know anything of God, or of a future state. It does not say that there is no God, but simply that it is impossible for us to know anything of God. It would do away with all revelation and theology, and make us think of God as the great Unknown and Unknowable.

AISLE. From a Latin word, meaning a _wing_. The lateral division of the choir, nave, or transept of a church.

ALB, _see_ Vestments.

ALLELUIA or HALLELUJAH. A Hebrew word, meaning _Praise ye the Lord_.

ALL SAINTS' DAY. Nov. 1st. On this day the Church commemorates all the known and unknown departed Christian worthies, and the communion of the Church triumphant with the Church as yet militant on earth. It is called also All Hallows Day.

ALMONER. One who has the distribution of alms to the needy. In monasteries it was the officer who had charge of the Almonry, or room where alms were distributed. The Lord High Almoner is a Prelate who has the disposing of the alms of the sovereign.

ALMS. Relief given out of pity to the poor. In ecclesiastical language, the money collected during the Offertory. Alms should be collected every Sunday, whether there is a communion or not, as the rubric directs. The disposal of the alms rests with the clergyman and churchwardens, when there is an offertory, _i.e._, when the offertory sentences are read (see Rubric). Collections made at other times seem to be at the Clergyman's sole disposal.

ALTAR; LORD'S TABLE; HOLY TABLE; COMMUNION TABLE. Disputes have frequently arisen as to whether the Holy Table was to be called the _Communion Table_ or the _Altar_. Bingham writes--"The ancient writers used both names indifferently; some calling it Altar, others the Lord's Table, the Holy Table, the Mystical Table, the Tremendous Table, &c., and sometimes both Table and Altar in the same sentence. Ignatius, Irenaeus, Origan, and Tertullian all call it Altar. It is certain that they did not mean by Altar what the Jews and heathen meant: either an altar dressed up with images, or an altar for bloody sacrifices. In the first sense they rejected altars, both name and thing. But for their own mystical, unbloody sacrifice, as they called the Eucharist, they always owned they had an altar."

In our Prayer Book it is styled the _Table_, the _Holy Table_, and the _Lord's Table_. The phrase _Communion Table_ occurs in the Canons only. The word _Altar_ is used in the Coronation Service.

Bishop Sparrow, one of the reviewers of the Prayer Book in 1662, writes thus:--"That no man take offence at the word _Altar_, let him know, that anciently both these names, _Altar_, or _Holy Table_ were used for the same thing; though most frequently the Fathers and Councils use the name _Altar_. And both are fit names for that holy thing. Por the Holy Eucharist being considered as a sacrifice, in the representation of the breaking of the bread, and the pouring forth of the cup, doing that to the holy symbols which was done to Christ's body and blood, and so showing forth and commemorating the Lord's death, and offering upon it the same sacrifice that was offered upon the cross, or rather the commemoration of that sacrifice, it may fitly be called an _Altar_; which again is as fitly called an _Holy Table_, the Eucharist being considered as a Sacrament, which is nothing else but a distribution and application of the sacrifice to the several receivers."

ALTAR CLOTH. The 82nd Canon provides that the Altar be covered with a carpet of silk, or some other decent stuff; also with a fair linen cloth at the time of the ministration. It is usual in many churches to vest the Altar in different colours to mark the various seasons of the Church. Thus at Christmas, Easter, and festivals, other than the feasts of Martyrs, _White_ is used. For Whit Sunday and feasts of Martyrs, _Red_ is used. For Trinity Sunday _White_ is used, but for the Sundays after Trinity, _Green_. _Violet_ is the colour for Advent, Lent, Rogation Days, and Vigils.

ALTAR LIGHTS, CANDLES. On this subject, Proctor in his book on the Prayer Book says, "No direction was given upon the subject of the Ornaments of the Church in Edward VI.'s First Prayer Book, or in the Act of Uniformity which sanctioned it: but the publication of the Book was immediately followed by Injunctions (1549), condemning sundry popish ceremonies, and among them forbidding to set 'any lights upon the Lord's board at any time.'" This was especially mentioned because the Injunctions of 1547 had forbidden candles before pictures or images, but allowed "only two lights upon the high altar, before the Sacrament, for the signification that Christ is the very true light of the world." Although these Injunctions (1549) have not the authority of Parliament, yet they were undoubtedly issued with the intention of promoting that uniformity in all parts of Public Worship which had been enjoined by statute, and under the large notions of the royal supremacy which then prevailed. They may fairly be considered as affording evidence of the contemporary practice, and of the intention of the authors of the Prayer Book in matters of rites and ceremonies. Persons who yield the amount of authority to these Injunctions (which never became law) which is readily given to others (which were law), consider that candles upon the Communion Table are ornaments which were forbidden in the second year of Edward VI., and therefore are not authorized by our present Rubric. On the other hand, we may conclude from the terms of Elizabeth's Act of Uniformity, and from the Rubric of her Prayer Book, that it was her intention to distinguish between the customs of 1549, represented by Edward's Injunctions of that year, and those which, not being mentioned and forbidden in the statute, might be considered as authorized by the Parliament of 1549. And she certainly gave this practical interpretation to her own law, since in the royal chapel "the cross stood on the altar, and two candlesticks, and two tapers burning." Hook, in his Church Dictionary, says,--"From the time of Edward there never seems to have been a time when the lights were not retained in Cathedral churches, and wherever we might look for an authoritative interpretation of the Law. And to the present day the candles are to be seen on the Altars of almost all Cathedrals. In Collegiate churches, also, they are usually found; and so also in the Chapels Royal, and in the Chapels of several Colleges in Oxford and Cambridge."

ALTAR LINEN. The rubric at the beginning of the Communion Service provides that "The Table, at the Communion-time," is to have a "fair white linen cloth upon it." And a further rubric declares that "What remaineth of the consecrated Elements" is to be covered with "a fair linen cloth." This latter cloth is called a _corporal_, although some understand a cloth laid on the altar by that name. Other things used in some churches at the time of the celebration are--(1) a _chalice-veil_, which is a square of silk embroidered and fringed, varying in colour, according to the season, or of transparent material edged with lace. It is used for covering the chalice. (2) The _pall_, a small square of card-board, with linen on either side, is sometimes used to cover the chalice till after the people have communicated. (3) The _burse_ is a kind of purse or pocket in which the corporal and pall are kept.

ALTAR RAILS. Archbishop Laud, 1640, ordered that the Holy Table should be placed at the east end of the chancel, and protected from rude approach by rails. They do not appear to have been in general use in the Western Church before the Reformation; although it is probable their use in the side chapels of Cathedrals is early. It is hard to say whether by the Latin word _cancelli_ is meant the chancel-screen or the altar-rails, in some cases probably the latter. The use of altar-rails is ancient in the Eastern Church. The space within the rails, where the altar stands, is called the sanctuary.

ALTAR SCREEN. A screen behind the altar.

ALTAR VESSELS. Flagon, Chalice or Cup, and Paten. To these may be added the _cyborium_, a covered vessel, placed upon the altar of Roman Catholic churches, and holding the consecrated host. Altar vessels from very ancient times have usually been made of the most costly materials which the congregation using them could afford. The flagon appears to be the vessel in which the wine is placed before consecration. The chalice, or cup, that in which it is consecrated, and administered to the people. The paten is the plate on which the bread is consecrated, and from which it is dispensed to the people. A second plate is used for the unconsecrated bread, and is placed, with the flagon, on the Credence Table.

ALTRUISM, _see_ Comtism.

AMBULATORY, or PROCESSIONARY. The continuance of the aisles round the east end of a church, behind the altar.

AMEN. A Hebrew word meaning "So be it," and thus it is explained in the Catechism. The same word in the Greek is rendered the "Verily, verily" of our Lord's parables. It should be said aloud by every member of the congregation, as testifying his assent to the prayer or praise offered, who thus makes it his own. St. Jerome says the primitive Christians at their public offices "echoed out the Amen like a thunderclap."

When printed in the Roman character in our Prayer Book it is for the minister to say alone; when in Italics, it is for the people to say, and not for the minister.

AMICE, _see_ Vestments.

ANABAPTISTS, _see_ Baptists.

ANDREW'S (St.) DAY. Nov. 30th. St. Andrew appears to have been a disciple of the Baptist before he became a follower of our Lord. He was the means of bringing his brother Simon, afterwards called Peter, to Jesus. After the Ascension he is supposed to have laboured in Scythia, and finally to have suffered death by crucifixion. The form of the cross on which he was martyred is called after him the St. Andrew's Cross.

ANGEL. A Greek word, meaning a _messenger_, and as such it is applied sometimes to God's ministers on earth; _e.g._, the Bishops of the seven Churches of Asia are called "Angels" in Rev. i. and ii. The word is more generally used of those bright beings who wait around the throne of God to do His will. They are the ministers of His good Providence to us.

Angels are of a different order of creation from man. It is a mistake to believe that "the dead in Christ" become angels.

There are different orders among the angels; the Prayer Book speaks of "Archangels," of "Cherubim and Seraphim." The Bible tells us that the name of one of the Archangels is Michael; Gabriel is also probably of this order, and Raphael. The Cherubim (the derivation of this word is uncertain) are frequently spoken of in the Bible: Gen. iii.24; Exodus xxv.19, 20; Ezekiel i.10; Rev. iv.6. The Seraphim, (plural of _Seraph_, a Hebrew word, meaning _fiery_, or _burning_) are possibly referred to in Psalm civ.4, "He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flaming fire."

The Holy Angels are the objects of worship in the Church of Rome, in a degree which many think idolatrous, although Romanists deny this.

ANGLO-CATHOLIC CHURCH, _see_ Church of England.

ANNATES, _see_ Bounty, Queen Anne's.

ANNUNCIATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. March 25th. At the time of the Reformation the Church held seven festivals in honour of the Virgin. Our Reformers have appointed a Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, for only those two which have a foundation in the Gospel, viz: the Annunciation and the Purification. Two more, however, are retained in the Calendar, viz: the Visitation of the B. V. M., July 2nd, and the Nativity of the B. V. M., September 8th. The two principal festivals were probably observed as early as the 5th century. It is to be noticed how the collects for both these festivals bring forward their bearing on our Lord's life, rather than the incidents they commemorate in the life of the Blessed Virgin.

ANTHEM, _see_ Church. Music.

ANTINOMIANISM. (literally "_against law_") The doctrine or opinion that the _Elect_ (see _Calvinism_) are freed from obligation to keep the Law of God. A power or privilege is asserted for the elect to do what they please without prejudice to their sanctity; it being maintained that to them nothing is sinful, and this is represented as the perfection of Christian Liberty. History shows, as was to be expected, that this doctrine has borne the most disastrous fruits among those who have embraced it.

ANTIPHON, ANTIPHONALLY, _see_ Church Music.

ANTI-TYPE, _see_ Type.

APOSTASY. A renouncing of our religion either formally, or virtually by our actions.

APOSTLE. From a Greek word, meaning "one sent." A designation of those twelve who were our Lord's companions on earth, and who, afterwards, were _sent_ into "all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature." After the treachery and death of Judas Iscariot, Matthias was chosen to fill his place, St. Paul, by virtue of his heavenly commission, is also termed an Apostle.

APOSTLES' CREED, _see_ Creed.

APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION. "The line in which the ministry of the Church is handed on from age to age by the laying on of hands by Bishops; the _corporate_ lineage of the Christian clergy, just as in the Jewish Church there was a _family_ lineage. The Church of England maintains the Apostolical Succession in the preface to her Ordination Service. Those are said to be in Apostolical Succession who have been sent to labour in the Lord's vineyard by Bishops, who were consecrated by other Bishops, who, in their turn, were consecrated by others, until the derived authority is traced to the Apostles, and through them to the great Head of the Church. The Apostolical Succession of the Ministry is essential to the right administration of the Sacraments. The clergy of the Church of England can trace their connexion with the Apostles by links in the long chain, not one of which is wanting, from the times of St. Paul and St. Peter to our own." (_Hook's Church Dictionary_.)

APPROPRIATION. In pre-Reformation times. Monasteries, and other spiritual corporations, frequently annexed to themselves benefices, placing in them some clergyman, who was called a Vicar, to do the work of the place, for which they allowed him a certain sum out of the income they had appropriated. At the Reformation, the Monasteries, and religious houses were put down, and their property distributed among the favourites of Henry VIII., and so the patronage and major part of the income of these appropriated benefices came into the hands of laymen. Thus, at the present day, a great number of our nobility and landed gentry are drawing large incomes from land, which is, in all right, the property of the Church, while the clergy who do the work of the Church receive a miserable pittance out of what was once their own. Laymen drawing these incomes, "great-tithes," as they are called, are named Lay-Rectors. A benefice in the hands of a layman is termed, not an Appropriation, but an _Impropriation_.

APSE or APSIS. A semi-circular, or polyhedral termination of the chancel. This style of Church building, although common in the East, has not been in use since the 13th century in England until quite the last few years. Mr. Street, the Architect of the Law Courts, built many churches in this style. In churches of this kind the altar should not be placed against the East wall, but upon the chord of the arc, as in the ancient Basilicas.

ARCHBISHOP. An Archbishop does not differ from a Bishop in _order_, but only in _degree_. Like a Bishop he has his own diocese, but besides that he is the chief of the clergy of a whole province. This, however, is not always the case in the Roman and Eastern churches. To him all appeals are made from inferior jurisdictions within his province. He also, upon the King's writ, calls the Bishops and clergy within his province to meet in Convocation.

ARCHDEACON. As each province is divided into dioceses, severally presided over by a Bishop, so each diocese is divided into archdeaconries, consisting of a certain number of parishes. Over each archdeaconry one of the clergy, a priest, sometimes a bishop, is appointed to preside in subordination to the Bishop of the diocese. The office dates back to very early times. In England the dioceses were divided into archdeaconries about the time of the Norman Conquest.

ARCHES, COURT OF. An ancient court of appeal, belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The judge of it is called the Dean of _Arches_, because he anciently held his court in the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow (Sancta Maria de Arcubus). (See _Ecclesiastical Courts_.)

ARCHITECTURE. The principal styles of English Architecture are:

Norman, 1066 to 1154. Round-headed doorways, windows and arches, heavy pillars and zig-zag ornaments. The Nave of Rochester Cathedral is a good example. From 1154 to 1189 this style underwent a _Transition_, the rounded arches becoming pointed, as in the choir of Canterbury Cathedral.