Chapter 4
CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Christianity was introduced into Britain at the end of the first, or beginning of the second, century. Three British Bishops were present at a Council held at Arles, in Gaul, in 314. At the invasion of the heathen Anglo-Saxons the British Church retreated into Wales. In 597 Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, sent Augustine to this island, who was instrumental in reviving Christianity in the south-east of England. When he came he found seven Bishoprics existing, and two Archbishoprics, viz., London and York. Augustine was made the first Archbishop of Canterbury; this was the first appointment by Papal authority in England. The northern part of England was evangelized in the earlier portion of the following century, by Irish Missionaries from Iona, under Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne; and his successor, Finan, who lived to see Christianity everywhere established north of the Humber, and died in 662. "The planting, therefore, of the Gospel in the Anglo-Saxon provinces of Britain was the work of two rival Missionary bands (597 to 662); in the south, the _Roman_, aided by their converts, and some teachers out of Gaul; in the north, the _Irish_, whom the conduct of Augustine and his party had estranged from their communion. If we may judge from the area of their field of action, it is plain that the Irish were the larger body; but a host of conspiring causes gradually resulted in the spread and ascendancy of Roman modes of thought." (Hardwick.)
In the time of Archbishop Theodore (668--689) the fusion of the English Christians was completed, and the Pope began to assert (not without opposition) an usurped authority in the English Church (_c.f._, Hardwick).
What are called the "dark ages" were indeed dark in the Church, for then it was that she became erring in faith, doctrine, and practice, and almost a caricature of what she once was. This state of things continued until the 16th century, when the Reformation took place. The movement was popular in England, and nearly all, clergy and people, were glad to see the superstitions and corruptions which had crept into the Church swept away by Archbishop Cranmer and his colleagues. Still, there was a party which would take no share in this movement, but remained faithful to the Pope,--the representatives of what was falsely called the "old faith." Notwithstanding the differences of faith between these two parties, they both continued nominally members of the Church of England. It was not until 1569 that the Roman Catholic party seceded from the Church of England, and formed a distinct sect. It is most important for Churchmen to remember that the Church of England did not secede from that of Rome, but Romanists seceded from the Church of England. Just as Naaman the leper remained the same Naaman after he was cured of his leprosy as he was before, so the Church of England remained the same Church of England after the Reformation as she was before, composed of the same duly consecrated Bishops, of the same duly ordained Clergy, and of the same faithful people. The present Church of England is the old Catholic Church of England, reformed in the 16th century of certain superstitious errors, but still the same Church which came down from our British and Saxon ancestors, and as such it possesses its original endowments, which were never, as some suppose, taken from one Church and given to another. And thus, when Roman Catholics speak of our grand old Cathedrals and Parish Churches as being once theirs, they assert what is not historically true. These buildings always belonged, as they do now, to the Church of England, which Church has been continuous from British times to the present. (See _Endowment_.)
The Established Church in England is governed by 2 Archbishops and 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.