The reader is referred to the sermon on Miracles in Archbishop Thomson's "Life in the Light of God's Word," "The Reign of Law," by the Duke of Argyll, and Sir Edmund Beckett's "Review of Hume and Huxley on Miracles."

MISSION. A sending forth. The power or commission to preach the Gospel. Thus our blessed Lord gave His disciples and their successors their mission, when He said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature."

MISSION. An effort to awaken or increase spiritual life in a Parish by means of special Services and Sermons.

MISSIONARY SOCIETIES, see Societies.

MORAVIANS, or UNITED BRETHREN. A sect generally said to have arisen under Nicholas Lewis, a German nobleman of the last century, and thus called because among the first converts were some Moravian families. They themselves claim to have sprung from the Greek Church in the ninth century. Hook says, "It is sometimes supposed that because the Moravians have Bishops they are less to be blamed than other dissenting sects. But, to say nothing of the doubt that exists with respect to the validity of their orders, an Episcopal Church may be, as the English Moravians and Romanists in this country are, in a state of schism. And the very fact that the difference between them and the Church is not great, if this be so, makes the sin of their schism, in not conforming, yet greater." In England the Moravians number 5,000 members, 6,000 scholars, and have 32 chapels and preaching stations.

MORMONISTS, or LATTER DAY SAINTS. The founder of this sect was Joseph Smith, born in 1805, of poor parents, in the State of Vermont, U.S. At the age of 15 he declared himself to have seen a vision of "two personages," who informed him that all existing Christian sects were erroneous. According to his own account, this vision was repeated three years afterwards, when he was informed that the American Indians were a remnant of the Israelites, and that certain prophetical writings of the Jews were buried in a spot from which he was destined to rescue them. The absurd story goes on to say that Joseph Smith accordingly found in a stone box, just covered with earth, in Ontario, the "Record," consisting of gold plates engraven with "Reformed Egyptian" characters. Although discovered in 1823, the angel would not allow Smith to remove them until 1827. Luckily he also discovered the Urim and Thummim in the same box with the golden plates, and by its aid he was able to translate a portion of the revelation, which, when complete, composed a large volume. This volume he called the "Book of Mormon," "Mormon" meaning, as he explained, more good, from "mor," a contraction for more, and "mon," the Egyptian for good. Mormon, too, was the name of a supposed prophet living in the fourth or fifth century. The golden plates, said to have been discovered in the above extraordinary manner, were never publicly produced, but three witnesses were found to testify that they had actually seen the plates, an angel having exhibited them. These three witnesses were the two brothers and the father of Smith. Four other witnesses of the name of Whitmer also testified the same. The "Book of Mormon" was succeeded by a "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," being a collection of special revelations made to Smith and his associates. Followers soon began to flock around the new "prophet," as Smith called himself. But at the same time much hostility was shown to the sect. They were expelled from different States, until at last they settled in Illinois. An altercation between the "Saints" and the county resulted in the imprisonment of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum; but in 1844 a mob broke into the prison and the brothers were shot. Brigham Young succeeded to the post of "prophet." Fresh troubles with the State caused another migration of the "Saints" in 1846, who, after much suffering, settled in the valley of the Great Salt Lake. There they have prospered, and the settlement itself, by the name of Utah, has been admitted to the United States Confederacy. They send missionary agents to all parts of the world to make fresh converts. The practice of polygamy they justify by their doctrine concerning "spiritual wives." They have published a "Creed," in which they profess their belief in the Holy Trinity, in Salvation through Christ, in the necessity of the Sacraments and the ordinary means of grace. They further believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit continue. They believe in the word of God recorded in the Bible, and in the Book of Mormon. They look for the restoration of the Jews, and expect a millennium. They have 82 congregations in England.

MORNING PRAYER The construction of the Morning and Evening Services is so similar that they will both be considered under this heading. It will be noticed that the Services recognise distinctly what may be called God's part and man's part in the communion of worship. They open by the message of God to His people, calling for penitence and promising forgiveness, which is met by the response of the Confession. Next pardon is pronounced in God's Name, which naturally awakens in the pardoned soul the outburst of Praise and Thanksgiving in the Lord's Prayer, the Psalms and the Canticles. Then the voice of God is again heard in the Lessons, and His revelation is accepted by the response of faith in the Creed. Lastly, in the sense of His grace and the knowledge of His will, we turn to Prayer for ourselves and for others, and end with the commendation of all to His blessing.

Many parts of the Morning and Evening Service are considered under their own particular names, but the history of the rest is given here.

The Introductory Sentences, from the Psalms, the Prophets, and New Testament, are taken from old Lent Services. The Exhortation, 1552, was composed partly from the preceding sentences, and partly from ancient forms. The Confession, 1552, is derived from old forms.

The Absolution, like the previous part of the service, was added in 1552. In the Rubric, the words "Remission of sins" were added by the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, to meet the objection that the word Absolution was popish. In 1661 the word Priest was substituted for "Minister," showing that a deacon may not read the Absolution.

With the Lord's Prayer the old Latin Service begins. The Rubric directs it to be said with an "audible voice," because formerly it was said inaudibly, to keep it from the ears of the unbaptized. The direction that the people are to say it with the Minister was added in 1661. The Versicles date from the 6th century. The answer, "The Lord's Name be praised," was added in 1661. For the Canticles and Creed see different articles.

The Salutation, "The Lord be with you," is apostolic. Next comes the Lesser Litany. The Versicles following are said by the Priest "standing up," in accordance with mediaeval custom. Morning Prayer ended with the Collect for Grace until 1661, when the five final prayers were added. The Second Collect dates from 5th century, the third from 6th century. The prayers for the Queen, and for the Clergy and People, stood in the Litany in 1559, and the Prayer of St. Chrysostom (John, the Golden Mouthed) was in the Litany in 1545, and dates from the 4th century. The Prayer for the Royal Family was composed in 1604.

MUSIC, see Church Music.

NAVE. From the Latin navis, a ship, because the nave, or body, of a church somewhat resembles the hull of a ship turned upside down. The nave formerly was always separated from the chancel (which see) by a screen.

NICENE CREED, see Creed.

NON-CONFORMISTS. The name now given to all those who do not conform to the practice of the Established Church. Originally, however, it was restricted to the Puritan section within the Church, dissidents from the Church being called Separatists, which is still their correct title. In Elizabeth's reign many of the clergy refused to conform to the Act of Uniformity; the use of the surplice, and many things in the Book of Common Prayer, being objectionable to them. The Non-Conformists afterwards assumed the name of Puritan, which had previously been used of a heresy of the 3rd century. They formally separated from the Church in 1572. (See Puritan.)

NORTH SIDE, see Eastward Position.

NUNC DIMITTIS, or the SONG OF SIMEON. (Luke ii. 29.) The sweetest and most solemn of all the Canticles—the thanksgiving of the aged saint for the sight of the Saviour. It is appropriately sung by us after the revelation of Christ in the Lessons for the day. It is, and has been, used by the whole Catholic Church from the earliest times.

OBLATION. An offering to God. In the Office for the Holy Communion we pray God to "accept our alms and oblations." The word oblations was added to this prayer at the same time that the rubric which directs the priest to "place upon the table so much bread and wine as he shall think sufficient," was inserted, 1662. From this, many—Wheatly, Palmer, Bishop Patrick, &c.—conclude that the oblation consists in the offering of the bread and wine. Others would consider it merely synonymous with "alms."

OCTAVE. The octave is the eighth day after any principal festival of the Church. In ancient times it was customary to observe these days with much devotion, including the whole period also from the festival to the octave. In our Prayer Book we observe the octaves of Christmas, Easter, Ascension, and Whit-Sunday, by using the special preface appointed in the Communion Service at every celebration during the octave. The Whit-Sunday preface, however, is only used six days, because Trinity Sunday falls on the octave.

OECUMENICAL. (Belonging to the whole inhabited world.) A term applied to General Councils of the Church, to distinguish them from councils of less importance. It is also a title of the Patriarch of Constantinople.

OFFERTORY. In an ecclesiastical sense, the anthem said or sung while the offerings are being made; it is now frequently used to denote the alms collected. Oblations in money or kind have always been made from apostolic times (1 Cor. xvi. 2). Out of these offerings in kind were taken the bread and wine used in the celebration of the Holy Communion. (See Alms, Communion.)

ORDERS, HOLY. Three Orders have always been recognised in the Church of Christ—Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. The preface to the Ordinal in our Prayer Book affirms this very strongly. To these were added, but on a distinctly different footing, what are called the Minor Orders—Sub-Deacon, Acolyte, Exorcist, Singer, Reader, Door-keeper; these are of merely ecclesiastical institution, and are not generally retained in the Church of England, although the office of Reader may be said to be in part revived, and the revival of Sub-Deacon is recommended. The Church of Rome has seven Orders. Articles xxiii., xxxvi. and xxxvii., as well as the preface referred to above, should be carefully read on this matter. (See also Apostolical Succession and Ordinal.)

Bishop. From a Greek word (episcopos) meaning an "Overseer." It is the title now given to the highest Order in the Christian Ministry, to which appertains the function of ordination. Of this Order were Titus and Timothy, the one being Bishop of Crete, the other Bishop of Ephesus. In the English Church a Bishop must not be less than 30 years old, a Priest 24, and a Deacon 23, unless dispensed by a faculty from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Priest. The second Order in the Christian Ministry. The word is a corruption of Presbyter (which see). In common with Bishops, Priests have the power to absolve, to consecrate, and to bless, but not to ordain. The difference between a Priest and a Deacon is far greater than that between a Deacon and a layman.

Deacon. The lowest Order in the English Church. The word is derived from the Greek, and means a minister. He is the assistant of the Priest, and may only perform certain spiritual duties—e. g., the rubrics of our Prayer Book direct certain parts of the Service to be taken by the "Priest," while the rest is left to the "Minister," Priest or Deacon as he may happen to be, unless from the nature of the office, we know that the term "Minister" refers only to "Priest." (See Minister.)

ORDERS, QUALIFICATIONS FOR. Although the preface to the Ordinal and Canon 39 lay down generally what is necessary from Candidates for Holy Orders, yet any one intending to be ordained had better write to the Secretary of the Bishop into whose diocese he thinks of going for further particulars as to the subjects for examination, &c. The papers generally necessary for Deacon's orders are the following—(1) Certificate of Baptism, or a declaration by some competent witness that the candidate has completed his 23rd year and has been baptized. (2) Graduates of Cambridge must have passed either the Special Theological, or the Preliminary Examination for Holy Orders; Graduates of Oxford must produce Certificates that they have attended two courses of Lectures by Divinity Professors. Durham men must be either B.A. or L.Th. Dublin men must be B.A., and hold also the Divinity Testimonial. (3) College Testimonials. (4) The "Si quis," a notice read in the Church of the place where the candidate resides, to give opportunity for raising objections, something like the asking of Banns. (5) Letters Testimonial for three years, or for the time elapsed since the Candidate left College. This Testimonial must be subscribed by three beneficed clergymen. (6) A Title, or nomination to a Curacy. For Priest's Orders, the Candidate requires 4, 5, and 6, as above. When a Candidate is accepted by the Bishop, he has then to pass an Examination, which slightly differs in the various dioceses, but generally comprehends the following subjects, viz.—The Bible; the New Testament in Greek, and a minute acquaintance with some specified portion of it; The Prayer-Book; The 39 Articles; Church History; Latin; some theological authors, such as Pearson, Hooker, Butler, Paley, &c.; a Hebrew Paper is set for those who care to take up Hebrew.

ORDINAL. "The form and manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating Bishops, Priests, and Deacons." Various forms of Service for Ordination have existed from the earliest times. Although differing in many ways, each kept the essentials of Ordination, viz., Imposition of hands, with Prayer and Benediction, as used by the Apostles themselves. The first Reformed Service was taken as usual partly from the ancient ordinals in use. It was revised in 1552, and again in 1662, when some changes, tending to greater solemnity, were introduced.

The Preface insists upon the necessity of Episcopal Ordination. It determines the age at which men may be ordained, viz.. Deacon at 23, Priest at 24, Bishop at 30, and speaks of the qualifications of candidates for the ministry. Canon 34 of 1604 mentions further qualifications necessary (see Orders, Qualifications for). The times for Ordination appointed by the Canon are, of course, the four Ember Seasons, which have been so set apart from the 5th century.

The Form and Manner of making of Deacons. After Morning Prayer, including the Sermon, is ended, the Candidates for Deacon's Orders, dressed either in surplice or gown, are presented by the Archdeacon to the Bishop, who is sitting in his chair in the Sanctuary. The Bishop's address to the people is of much the same nature as the Si quis already read. The Litany is made specially appropriate by the insertion of the suffrage, "That it may please Thee to bless these Thy servants, now to be admitted to the Order of Deacons (or Priests), and to pour Thy grace upon them; that they may duly execute their office, to the edifying of Thy Church, and the glory of Thy Holy Name." Then follows a special Collect and Epistle. Before the Gospel the Bishop proceeds with the Ordination Service. Until 1865 the Oath of the Queen's Supremacy was administered here, but now it is taken before the Service. Sitting in his chair, the Bishop puts certain searching questions to those he is about to ordain. The first is of the "Inward Call" of the Holy Ghost. This perhaps is sometimes misunderstood, but several high authorities unite with Calvin in explaining it to be "the good testimony of our own heart, that we have taken this office neither from ambition, covetousness, nor any evil design, but out of a true fear of God, and a desire to edify the Church." (See Call to the Ministry.) The next question is of the "Outward Call," and implies a willingness to accept all the regulations under which the Ministry is to be exercised in the Church of England. The third and fourth questions demand a belief in the Bible, and a desire to read (and perhaps expound it) in the Church.

The next question explains the duties of the Diaconate, and marks very distinctly the great difference between that Order and the Priesthood. The answer expresses the candidate's intention to be faithful in the public ministration of his office, and the answer to the next question his desire to be an example in his private life. The last question concerns canonical obedience. Next follows the Ordination itself, which is notable for its extreme simplicity in comparison with the great solemnity of the Ordination of Priests. The Gospel is usually read by the Deacon who passes first in the Examination.

The Communion Service is then proceeded with, one final prayer being added in behalf of those who have just become Deacons in the Church.

The Form and Manner of Ordering of Priests. The ground-plan of this Service is the same as that of the preceding. The Deacons are ordained before the Gospel, the Priests after. The Bishop's exhortation before putting the question brings out in a striking manner a picture of the whole pastoral duty and life. The first question dwells on the outward call to the Priesthood; the second, third, and fourth, on the rule of faith and practice; the fifth and sixth on the individual life; the seventh and eighth on the submission to order and peace. Then follows a call to the congregation present to engage in silent prayer on behalf of those about to be ordained to the Priesthood. After which the hymn Veni Creator is sung, as it always has been sung since the 11th century on this occasion; and after another prayer the special act of Ordination is proceeded with. It is to be noticed that Priests present are to join with the Bishop in the laying on of hands in obedience to 1 Tim. iv. 14. The Charge given in this Ordination is threefold, (a) The Dispensation of the Word; (b) The Dispensation of the Sacraments; (c) the "Power and Commandment" of Absolution, John xx. 23, and compare Matt, xvi. 19; xviii. 18. The Service of the Holy Communion is then proceeded with, the final collect being a twofold prayer for the newly-ordained and for the people. The concluding rubric is a direction for the order of the Service if Priests and Deacons are to be ordained on the same occasion.

The form of Ordaining and Consecrating of an Archbishop or Bishop. This form of Service differs from the other services in beginning with the Communion Service, placing the Sermon in its usual place in that Service, and then inserting the Litany after the Gospel and before the Consecration. The Service is to be conducted by the Archbishop, or some Bishop appointed by him. The presence of other Bishops is implied throughout, according to the old rule, which prescribed, as a matter of church order, though not of absolute necessity, that three Bishops at least should concur in the Consecration. The Candidate, vested in a Rochet, is presented by two Bishops, in accordance with a custom of great antiquity. The Queen's mandate is then read, and the oath of canonical obedience taken. The Litany contains a special suffrage and prayer. The questions which follow are substantially the same as in the Ordination of Priests; except that (a) in the sixth the duty of enforcing discipline is insisted upon; and (b)the seventh requires a promise to be faithful in ordaining others; and (c) the eighth lays stress on the duty of gentleness and charity. After this the Bishop elect is to put on the rest of the episcopal habit. The form of consecration itself corresponds to the Ordination of Priests, save that in place of conferring the power of absolution, we have St. Paul's exhortation to Timothy (2 Tim. i. 6, 7), to stir up the gift of Consecration in "power, love, and soberness." The charge at the delivery of the Bible takes the form of an earnest exhortation. The Holy Communion is then proceeded with.

ORDINARY. Where used in the Prayer Book this word almost always means the Bishop of the Diocese. The word properly signifies any judge authorized to take cognizance of causes in his own proper right.

ORGAN, see Church Music.

ORIGINAL SIN, see Sin.

ORNAMENTS OF THE CHURCH, and MINISTERS THEREOF. This Rubric is well known as the "Ornaments Rubric." It will be considered under two heads, (1) the Vestments of the Minister, (2) the Ornaments of the Church.

(1.) This Rubric had no existence in 1549; but a direction in the Communion Service says that the Priest is to wear "a white albe plain, with a Vestment or Cope," and the assisting Priests or Deacons, "Albes with tunicles," or Dalmatics. At other Services in Parish Churches the ministers were to use a surplice and, in Cathedrals and Colleges, the hood of their degree. At a celebration a Bishop was to wear a Surplice or Albe, and a Cope or Vestment. In 1552 the Ornaments Rubric ran thus:—"The Minister, at the time of the Communion, and at all other times of his ministration, shall use neither Albe, Vestment, nor Cope; but, being Archbishop or Bishop, he shall have and wear a Rochet, and being Priest or Deacon, a Surplice only." In 1559 this Rubric was altered thus:—"The Minister....shall use such ornaments in the Church as were in use by authority of Parliament in the second year of Edward VI., according to the Act of Parliament set forth in the beginning of this book." This Act spoke of authorizing the Queen to ordain other ceremonies; but whether she did so or not, according to this Act, has been a matter of controversy. But in the "advertisements" of Archbishop Parker (1566), no other vestment than the Cope and Surplice is named. In 1662 the Rubric was altered into its present form.

As a matter of history, it seems unquestionable that, with a few exceptions, all vestments except the Surplice and Hood in Parish Churches, and Copes in some Cathedrals, were disused after 1564. Within the last 25 years, the use of the old vestments ordered in the first Prayer Book, and authorized by Parliament, has been revived on the authority of the Rubric of 1662. The Privy Council, however, has, rightly or wrongly, pronounced against the legality of the revival of the vestments named in the Rubric. (See Vestments.) (2.) The ornaments of the Church are discussed under the headings of Altar, Altar Lights, &c. In Canons 80 to 84 among the things pertaining to the Church are enumerated (1) a great Bible and Prayer Book, (2) a Font of stone, (3) a "decent Communion Table covered in time of Divine Service with a carpet of silk or other decent stuff," (4) the "Ten Commandments to be set up" and "other chosen sentences written," (5) a Pulpit, (6) an Alms Chest.

ORTHODOX. Sound in doctrine according to the consentient testimony of Scripture and the Church. The opposite is heterodox.

PALM SUNDAY. The Sunday next before Easter, so called from palm branches being strewed on the road by the multitude, when our Saviour made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

PANTHEISM. From two Greek words meaning "all" and "God." It is a subtle kind of Atheism, which makes God and the universe the same, and so denies the existence and sovereignty of any God over the universe. What may be called Natural Religion partakes largely of Pantheism.

PAPISTS. Roman Catholics. The term is derived from Papa, a title restricted in the West to the Pope. In the Greek Church it is the title of all parish priests.

PARABLE. In the New Testament a figurative discourse, or a story with a typical meaning. In the Old Testament it sometimes signifies a mere discourse, as Job's parable, Job xxvi-xxxi. inclusive. The Parable, in the New Testament sense, was and is a common mode of expression in the East.

PARISH. "That circuit of ground which is committed to the charge of one parson or vicar, or other minister." Some think England was divided into parishes by Archbishop Honorius, about the year 630. There are instances of Parish Churches in England as early as the year 700. The cause of the great difference in the extent of different parishes is explained by the fact that churches were most of them built by lords of the manor for their tenants, and so the parish was the size of the lord's manor. In 1520 the number of Parish Churches was between 9,500 and 10,000. There are now about 13,500 Benefices; and many more District and Mission Churches, and Chapels of Ease.

PARSON. The Rector or Incumbent of a Parish, when the income of the living is derived from land. It represents two Latin words, 'Persona Ecclesiae,' the ecclesiastical person of a place.

PASSING BELL. A bell tolled now after the death of a person. The 67th canon orders "When any one is passing out of this life, a bell shall be tolled, and their minister shall not then be slack to do his last duty." Thus the beautiful idea of calling for the prayers of the Church, by the tolling of a bell, for the dying person is altogether lost sight of by our modern custom.

PASSION WEEK, see Holy Week.

PASTOR. Literally, a shepherd: hence one who shepherds souls.

PASTORAL STAFF. A Staff shaped like a crook, which a Bishop shall either bear "in his hand" or else have "borne or holden by his chaplain." This is the direction of a rubric in the Prayer Book of 1549, and which is still the law of the Church according to the present Ornaments Rubric.

PATEN, see Altar Vessels.

PATRON. The person who has a right to present to a benefice.

PAUL (St.), THE CONVERSION OF, January 25. The festival of St. Paul is not, as usual, of the day of his martyrdom, but of his miraculous conversion, and it is upon this, rather than on his wonderful character and work, that the services lay stress.

PECULIARS. Parishes exempt from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of the Diocese in which they lie. They were for the most part abolished in the reign of William IV.

PENANCE. In the law of England penance is an open ecclesiastical punishment for sin. This discipline of the Church has fallen into disuse, a fact deplored in the opening exhortation of the Commination Service. Absolution after penance has been exalted into a Sacrament in the Church of Rome.

PENITENTIAL PSALMS. Seven psalms, from their internal character, are thus called, viz., 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143. These are appointed to be read on Ash-Wednesday.

PENTECOST. A solemn festival of the Jews, so called because it is celebrated fifty days after the Passover. It corresponds to the Christian Whitsuntide, which is sometimes called by the same name.

PERPETUAL CURATE. The incumbent of a church, chapel, or district, within the boundaries of a rectory or vicarage. His position is in every respect that of a Vicar.

PESSIMISM. A philosophy which acknowledges the evils that are in the world, but instead of looking for a "new heaven and a new earth" it looks for release in unconsciousness. It is the religion of doubt, and hopelessness, and despair. It makes the worst of everything.

PETER'S (St.) DAY. June 29. This festival, originally a festival of both St. Peter and St. Paul, on the traditional anniversary of their common martyrdom, is of great antiquity, certainly known from the 4th century, and kept both in the East and West on this day. The institution of the festival of the Conversion of St. Paul has now transferred the commemoration of that Apostle to another day, January 25th.

PEWS. Enclosed seats in churches. They did not come into use until the middle of the 17th century, and almost belong to the past now. But long before pews there were appropriated seats. The first mention of a "reading pew," or desk, in the body of the church, for the minister, is in 1596: previous to that time his place was in the chancel.

PHILIP (St.) AND St. JAMES'S DAY. May 1. There seems to be no adequate reason for the coupling together of these two Apostles. In the Greek Church their festivals are observed separately. Of St. Philip we have notices only in St. John, and early tradition speaks of his preaching in Pamphylia. Of St. James the Apostle, the son of Alphaeus, sometimes supposed to be the same as "James the Less," or the Little, of Mark xv. 40, we know nothing except his name in the Apostolic catalogue. In the Epistle for this day he is identified with James, the brother of the Lord, surnamed the Just, and author of the Epistle bearing his name. But this identification is very uncertain.

PISCINA. A drain for water, usually accompanied with decorative features, near the altar on the south side. It was formerly used to pour away the water in which any sacred vessel had been washed. In many churches the Piscina is the only remaining trace of where an altar has been.

PLYMOUTH BRETHREN. The name is a misnomer. They call themselves merely "Brethren," and instead of originating in Plymouth, their principal source was near Dublin. They date from 1827, and their existence is a protest against all sectarianism, they holding that there should be a visible unity among Christians. They decline to be looked upon as one of the many sects into which Christianity is divided, and refuse to be identified with any.

They hold in great esteem the primitive constitution of the Church, and trust largely to the power of prayer for the supply of their temporal necessities. They have no recognised ministry, but any one believing himself to be inspired of the Spirit may address their meetings.

POLITY, ECCLESIASTICAL. The constitution and government of the Christian Church, considered as a society. The great book on this subject is Hooker's immortal work.

POPE. From Papa, Father, a title anciently given to all Christian Bishops; but at the end of the 11th century it was assumed exclusively by Gregory VII., Bishop of Rome, whose successors' peculiar title it has ever since continued. (See Papists.) There are but few instances of the exercise of the papal power in England before the Norman Conquest, nor has the Church of England ever wholly submitted to papal rule. (See Church of England.)

POSITIVISM, see Comtism.

PRAYER-BOOK, see Liturgy.

PREACHING. Proclaiming the truths of religion. The term is not necessarily to be limited to what are called sermons, as we see by Acts xv. 21, "Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." Hooker, in his fifth book, cleverly argues against the exaltation of sermons as being the means of grace to the detriment of other parts of public worship, a custom prevalent in his time among the Puritans, and now among most of the dissenting sects.

PREBENDARY. A clergyman attached to a Cathedral Church, who anciently enjoyed a prebend, or stipend, arising from some part of the Cathedral property, in return for his officiating at stated times in the Cathedral. The appointment is now often honorary. (See Canon.)

PRECENTOR. The leader of a choir. In almost all Cathedrals of old foundation in England, and very generally on the Continent, the precentor was the first dignitary in the chapter, ranking next to the dean. He superintended the choral service and the choristers. In all new foundations the precentor is a minor canon, holding a rank totally different from, and inferior to that of his namesake of the older foundation. (See Minor Canon.)

PREDESTINATION, see Election. The 17th Article treats of Predestination, but in such a way as to make it very difficult to comprehend what it teaches with regard to this most controverted subject. It seems designedly drawn up, in guarded and general terms, on purpose to embrace all persons of tolerably moderate views. (See Arminianism, Calvinism, Antinomianism.)

PRELATE. Generally a Bishop, but strictly an ecclesiastic having jurisdiction over other ecclesiastics.

PRESBYTER. A Greek word signifying an Elder. In the Christian Church a presbyter or elder is one who is ordained to a certain office, and authorized by his quality, not his age, to discharge the several duties of that office and station in which he is placed. In this large and extended sense, Bishops were sometimes called presbyters in the New Testament, for the apostles themselves did not refuse the title. Priests are in an ordinary sense the presbyters of the Church, and in the Scotch Liturgy, compiled in the reign of Charles I, the word presbyter is substituted for that of priest. (See Orders.)

PRESBYTERIANS. A Protestant sect which maintains that there is no order in the Church superior to presbyters, and on that account has separated from the Catholic Church. This sect is established by law in Scotland, where there nevertheless exists a national branch of the Catholic Church, under canonical Bishops. Of course the establishment or disestablishment of a sect in no way alters its position as being, or not being, a branch of the Catholic Church. From time to time considerable secessions have occurred in Scotland from the Established Church, the principal being the "United Presbyterian Church," and the "Free Church of Scotland." English Presbyterians are not to be confounded with Scotch Presbyterians, the former being the main supporters of Socinianism and Rationalism in this country.

The "Presbyterian Church of England" has 10 presbyteries, 275 congregations, 56,099 communicants.

PRESENCE, REAL, see Communion, Holy, part iv. The Homily on the Sacrament asserts, "Thus much we must be sure to hold, that in the Supper of the Lord there is no vain ceremony or bare sign, no untrue figure of a thing absent; but the communion of the body and blood of our Lord in a marvellous incorporation, which, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, is, through faith, wrought in the souls of the faithful."

PRESENTATION. The offering of a clerk to the Bishop by the patron of a benefice, for institution.

PRIEST, see Presbyter, & Orders, Holy.

PRIMATE. A "Primate" is the highest in rank in a National Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury is Primate of all England, but is without power in the province of York. The Archbishop of York is Primate of England.

PROCESSION OF THE HOLY GHOST. The doctrine that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. It is an incomprehensible mystery, and in thinking of it we shall do well to remember the words of Gregory Nazianzen to an objector; "Do you tell me how the Father is unbegotten, and I will then attempt to tell you how the Son is begotten, and the Spirit proceeds." The Eastern or Greek Church (which see) split from the Western on this question of the procession of the Holy Ghost, believing that the eternal procession is from the Father alone, and not from the Son.

PROCTOR A name given to the clergy elected by their brethren to represent them in convocation. The same name is given to those officers of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge whose duty it is to guard the morals, and preserve the quiet of the university.

PROFESSOR. A public teacher in a university.

PROTESTANT. The term is now used of all who protest against Popery. It was originally given to those who protested against a certain decree issued by the Diet of Spires in 1529.

PROVINCE. The limit of an Archbishop's jurisdiction, as a diocese is the limit of the jurisdiction of a Bishop. (See Archbishop and Diocese.)

PSALTER. The word Psalter is often used by ancient writers for the book of the Psalms, considered as a separate book of Holy Scripture; but the term is generally used now of the book in which the Psalms are arranged for the public service of the Church. The Roman Psalter, for instance, does not follow the course of the Psalms as in the Bible, but arranges them for the different services. The division of the Psalms into daily portions, as given in our Prayer Books, has been done with a view to convenience. The Psalter, properly speaking, is a separate book from that of Common Prayer. The English Psalter does not follow the last translation of the Bible (which is the authorized one), but that of Coverdale's Bible, corrected, which had become familiar to the people from constant use.

PUBLIC WORSHIP. The united Service of the Congregation. A Christian duty very much neglected by the laity, notwithstanding the Apostolic direction not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together." (Heb. x. 25.) Formerly the law of the land compelled every parishioner to attend public worship, unless excommunicate. There is a special blessing promised to the assembly of believers for common prayer and praise. "Where two or three are gathered together there am I in the midst of them." (Matt, xviii. 20.) "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob" (Ps. lxxxvii. 2.) Both in the Old Testament and New Testament this duty holds a prominent place.

PUBLIC WORSHIP REGULATION ACT. An Act of Parliament, passed in 1874, for the better administration of the Laws respecting the regulation of Public Worship. Under this Act any three aggrieved Parishioners, calling themselves members of the Church of England, though not necessarily Communicants, may report to the Bishop anything their clergyman does which they believe to be unlawful. The Bishop may use his discretion whether proceedings are to be taken against the clergyman on the representation of his parishioners. If the litigious parties prefer it, the case may be taken out of the Bishop's hands and brought before a Judge appointed under this Act—at present Lord Penzance.

The workings of the Act have been far from satisfactory to any, and in many cases have given rise to grave scandal.

PULPIT. A raised desk. Sermons were formerly delivered from the steps of the Altar. By Canon 83, a raised desk, called a pulpit, is ordered in every church, from which the preacher is to address his flock.

PURGATORY. A place in which souls are, by the Romanists, supposed to be purged from carnal impurities, before they are received into heaven. The Council of Florence, 1439, first gave an authoritative decree concerning Purgatory,—"If any who truly repent depart from this life before that by worthy fruits of repentance they have made satisfaction for their sins of commission and omission, their souls are purified after death, and to relieving these pains, the suffrages of the faithful who are alive, to wit, the sacrifice of masses, prayers, alms, and other pious works, are profitable. But whether purgatory is a fire, or a mist, or a whirlwind, or anything else, we do not dispute."

The idea of Purgatory was very early broached by individuals. St. Augustine, 398, speaks of it as a thing which "possibly may be found so, and possibly never;" the Venerable Bede says it is "not altogether incredible." Origen, in the 3rd century, is by some thought to have been the first to teach distinctly the doctrine of Purgatory, but his view differs altogether from the Roman. Article xxii. gives the view of the Church of England on this subject. "Purgatory... is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word of God." However, in the celebrated "Essays and Reviews" case, the point arose in respect of a doctrine, scarcely discernible from that of Purgatory, being taught by Mr. H. B. Wilson, and the Privy Council decided that there is no condemnation of it in the Anglican formularies. The teaching of Article xxii. is borne out by the following: Luke xxiii, 43; Phil. i 23; 2 Cor. v. 8; Rev. xiv. 13; and many other passages.

PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. February 2nd. The alternative title (the "Presentation of Christ in the Temple,") suggests the lesson to be drawn from all the services of the day. The name "Candle-mas Day" is derived from the custom of a procession with torches, superseding (it is thought) the heathen festival of torches to Ceres in the early part of February, with a reference to the true "light to lighten the Gentiles." Exodus xiii. 1-17 (the proper lesson for the day) gives the Mosaic law of the dedication of the first-born.

PURITANS. A name assumed by the ultra-Protestants in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I. The following chapter of history is often much misrepresented by the enemies of the Church:—In the time of the great Rebellion seven thousand English clergymen, having refused to take the covenant, were ejected from their livings, their places being supplied by dissenting teachers. At the Restoration it was required that all those persons who had thus become possessed of the property of the English Church should either conform to the regulations of the Church, or resign. Of all the Puritan clergy then in possession only fifteen hundred refused to conform. These fifteen hundred were ejected, and from what? From their rights? No; from what they had usurped. More than five thousand conformed and still retained possession of their benefices, so that but few of the loyal English clergy who had been ejected regained their rights even at the Restoration.

QUAKERS. A sect owing their origin to George Fox, a cattle-drover, in 1624. They are also called the "Society of Friends." The first assembly for public worship was held in Leicestershire in 1644. The Society is diminishing in numbers in the United Kingdom. The body is much more numerous in America. Three gradations of meetings or synods—monthly, quarterly, and yearly—administer the affairs of the Society. Fit persons are chosen by monthly meetings as Elders, to watch over the religious duties of the members. They make provision for their poor, none of whom are ever known to require parochial relief. At the monthly meetings also marriages are sanctioned. Monthly meetings being limited to a certain circuit, several monthly meetings compose a quarterly meeting, at which general reports are given and appeals heard. The yearly meeting has the general superintendence of the Society. In case of disputes among Friends the matter is submitted, not to law, but to arbitration. Their solemn affirmations are accepted in lieu of oaths. The chief rule of their faith is that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so guides and teaches them that the Bible and all else is subordinate to this inward monition of the Spirit. Their ministers may be either male or female, the only qualification necessary being the immediate inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They decline to define in any way the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. They deny the necessity of any outward sign accompanying Baptism, it being a wholly spiritual matter. Also they affirm that taking or receiving the Eucharist is not of perpetual obligation. And they condemn all war, even in self-defence, as unlawful for Christians.

The Society of Friends consists of about 12,000 members, 254 recorded ministers, and about 400 unrecorded; and in England and Wales they have 317 places of worship. As a rule their moral character is excellent, and they are very valuable members of society.

QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. The fiftieth day before Easter, reckoning in whole numbers.

QUESTMEN. The same as Synod's men, or Sidesmen. (See Churchwardens.)

RATIONALISM. There are two ways by which the human mind can attain to a knowledge of the truth; first by receiving a divine revelation of it, and secondly by means of observation and reasoning. The name of Rationalism is given to that school of thought which believes that the latter of these two ways is of itself fully sufficient for the attainment of all truth.

READING DESK, see Desk.

READING IN. Every incumbent upon entering his living is obliged to read the Thirty-nine Articles, and to give his assent thereto publicly, in Church, on some Sunday nearly following his appointment. He must also read the Morning and Evening Prayer, and declare his assent to the Prayer Book. A certificate to that effect has to be signed by the Churchwardens. The whole ceremony is known as that of "reading in."

REAL PRESENCE, see Presence, Real.

RECTOR. A clergyman who has charge of a parish, and who possesses all the tithes. The distinction between a Rector and Vicar is that the former has the whole right to all the ecclesiastical dues within his parish, whereas the latter is entitled only to a certain portion of those profits, the best part of which are often absorbed by the impropriator.

REFORMATION. The great revolt in Europe in the 16th century against the Papacy. The rescue of our Church from the usurped dominion of the Pope, and its restoration from the corruptions of Popery to primitive purity was then effected. (See Church of England.)

REFRESHMENT SUNDAY The fourth Sunday in Lent is so called probably because the Gospel for the day relates the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. It is also frequently called Mid-Lent Sunday. In several parts of England it is known by the name of Mothering Sunday, from an ancient practice of making a pilgrimage to the Mother Church, usually the Cathedral, of the neighbourhood on this day. The comparatively modern and local custom of young men and women going home to visit their parents on this day is probably a survival of the older practice.

REGENERATION. A Latin word meaning new birth, or being born again. The catechism teaches us that the grace of Baptism is "a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness..." So, in perfect consistency with the catechism, the minister, immediately after the administration of Holy Baptism to a child, addresses the congregation thus: "Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren, that this child is regenerate;" and he returns thanks to God that it hath pleased Him "to regenerate this infant with Thy Holy Spirit." The same connexion between regeneration and baptism is expressed in the Office for Private Baptism and in the Office for the Baptism of Adults. There has been much confusion and misunderstanding caused by using the word regeneration as though it meant conversion. Both the Bible—Tit. iii. 5; John iii. 3-5—and the Fathers use regeneration as the new birth of baptism, but never as meaning anything else, unless figuratively as Matt. xix. 28. (See Conversion, Baptism.)

REGISTER. A parochial record of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials. The keeping of a church book for registering the age of those that should be born and christened in the parish began in the thirtieth year of Henry VIII. Canon 70 gives directions for the safe keeping of parish registers wherein baptisms, weddings, and burials were entered. Duplicate registers of weddings are now kept by order of recent legislation, and also copies are made quarterly and given to the registrar of the district. There is a small fee payable by those who wish to search the parish registers; and for a copy of an entry 2s. 6d. is the legal charge.

RENOVATION. This action of the Holy Spirit upon the heart of man differs from Regeneration (which see) in that it is progressive, and may often be repeated or totally lost. Whereas Regeneration comes only once, in or through Baptism, and can never be repeated nor ever totally lost.

REPENTANCE or CONTRITION, A sincere sorrow for all past sins, an unfeigned disposition of mind to perform the will of God better for the future, and an actual avoiding and resisting of those temptations to sin under which we have before fallen.

REREDOS. A screen behind an altar, necessary in cathedrals, and some large churches, because the altar is not against the East wall. The name is commonly given to all carved or decorated work immediately behind the altar.

RESIDENTIARY CANONS. These Cathedral officers have to reside in the Cathedral Close for three months in the year, in their respective turns, and take their part in the services of the Cathedral. (See Canon.)

RESPONSE. In the Church Service an answer made by the people speaking alternately with the minister. This has always been a fundamental feature in every liturgy. The practice has been handed down from the Jewish Church.

RESURRECTION. Both the resurrection of our Lord and our own future resurrection are articles of the Christian faith. What the resurrection body will be like we do not know, but we believe that our mortal, corruptible body, which is laid in the grave, will rise again immortal and incorruptible. The principal passages of Scripture bearing on the resurrection are—1 Thess. iv. 14-16; 1 Cor. xv. 20-52; Rev. xx. 13; Phil. iii. 21; Rom. viii. 11.

RING. see Matrimony, Solemnization of.

RITES. Religious observances prescribed by competent authority. This "competent authority" is described to be the Church in that portion of the preface of the Prayer Book which treats of "Ceremonies;" and the claim of this right for the Church accords with Art. xxxiv., which says: "Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish ceremonies or rites of the Church ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying."

RITUAL. The name given before the Reformation to that book or manual (sometimes it was so called) which comprised all those occasional offices of the Church which a Presbyter could administer. The word is now often used of the mode or manner in which Divine Service is conducted.

RITUALIST. (1) A writer on the rites of Churches. (2) A name given of late to the school which has revived disused ceremonial in the Church of England. (See Church Parties.)

ROCHET, see Vestments.

ROOD SCREEN. A screen separating the chancel from the nave, on which the rood (i.e., the figure of our Lord on the Cross) was placed, and on either side the Blessed Virgin and St. John. The place of the rood, where the screen was sufficiently substantial, as in cathedrals, has been almost universally converted into an organ loft.

RUBRICS. Rules for the ordering of Divine Service. They were formerly written or printed in a red character, and therefore called Rubrics, from a Latin word signifying red.

The most controverted rubric in the Church of England is the well-known "Ornaments Rubric" (which see.) The Rubrics dealing with the position of the Priest at Holy Communion are examined in the articles on Communion and Eastward Position.

RURAL DEAN. As each Province is divided into Dioceses, and each Diocese into Archdeaconries, so each Archdeaconry is divided into Rural Deaneries, consisting of a certain number of Parishes. Over this Rural Deanery some beneficed clergyman, usually appointed by the Bishop, presides. In the Diocese of Exeter the clergy elect their own Rural Deans. His duties are to call together the clergy in his Deanery at certain times for the discussion of ecclesiastical matters. These meetings are called Ruri-decanal Chapters. It is also the duty of the Rural Dean to see that the churches in his Deanery are in fit order for public worship, and supplied with those things by law required. He is to report any immorality or crime among the clergy of his Deanery.

The office of Rural Dean is an ancient office of the Church, and is mentioned as early as the time of Edward the Confessor.

SABAOTH. A Hebrew word meaning hosts or armies. Jehovah Sabaoth is the Lord of Hosts. "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth."

SABBATH. Rest. The seventh day of the week, commanded in the Decalogue to be kept holy, and still observed by the Jews. The Christian Sabbath is kept on the first day of the week. (See Sunday and Lord's Day.)

SACERDOTALISM. The spirit or character of the priestly class or priesthood; devotion to priestly interests. From Latin Sacerdos, one given to sacred things.

SACRAMENT. Latin, sacramentum, an oath or promise ratified by a sacred or religious ceremony; thus the oath taken by soldiers in classical times was called sacramentum. In the early Church the word "sacrament" was used to express the promises made by Christians in Holy Baptism. Then it came to be used of the ceremony itself, and thence to signify any religious ordinance. In this extended sense the Church of England acknowledges other rites to be sacraments beside Baptism and the Eucharist; thus in the Homily on Swearing we find, "By the like holy promise the sacrament of matrimony knitteth man and wife in perpetual love," &c. So the catechism does not limit the number of sacraments to two, but says, "Two only, as generally necessary to salvation." Thus in the Church of England we distinguish Baptism and the Eucharist from all other ordinances, because they are, what the others are not, necessary for salvation to all men, wherever they can be had. Other ordinances may confer grace, but Baptism and the Eucharist alone unite with Christ Himself. Thus we may say that in the strict definition of the word there are only two sacraments. Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there are seven sacraments, but this can hardly be borne out; for if the word be taken in the larger sense as meaning any religious ordinance, then there are more than seven, but if in a limited sense, there are only two. For the Roman view of sacraments see Article xxv. The Church Catechism defines a sacrament in the strict sense as follows:—It is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ Himself as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof."

SACRIFICE. An offering made to God. In strictness of speech there has been but one great sacrifice—once offered, and never to be repeated—the sacrifice of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered "death upon the Cross for our redemption; Who made there (by His one oblation of Himself once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world." But, figuratively speaking, all Divine worship was anciently called a sacrifice, a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; but more especially this term has been applied to the Eucharist. Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, both Fathers of the 2nd century, speak of the Eucharist as a sacrifice. Tertullian, of the 3rd century, does the same. (See Altar, and Communion, The Holy.)

SACRILEGE. The desecration of objects sacred to God. Thus the robbing of churches or of graves, the abuse of sacred vessels and jars, by employing them for unhallowed purposes, the plundering and misappropriation of alms and donations, &c., are acts of sacrilege which, in the ancient Church, were punished very severely.

SACRISTAN. The person to whose charge the sacred vestments, &c., in a Church are committed. The word is now corrupted to sexton (which see.)

SACRISTY. The place in which sacred vestments, &c., are kept, answering to the modern vestry.

SAINT. Holy. The Apostles in their Epistles use this word simply for baptized believers, that is, for all Christians. (See Communion of Saints.)

SAINTS' DAYS. The Church of Rome commemorates an enormous number of holy men and women who have lived and died following in the footsteps of Christ. But at the Reformation it was decided to celebrate in the Church of England only the festivals of the principal saints mentioned in the New Testament. If the line was not drawn there, it was difficult to say where it should be drawn. When two Holy-Days occur (i.e., fall on the same day), the service appointed for the superior day should be used, but in certain cases the Collect for the inferior day should be used after the Collect for the superior day. As a general rule, a Saint's Day, or Holy-Day, takes precedence before an ordinary Sunday.

SALVATION ARMY, THE, was commenced as a Christian Mission in 1865, by its present "General," then known as the "Rev." W. Booth, formerly a minister of the Methodist New Connexion. In 1878 the name "Salvation Army" was assumed. In 1880 the Army was established in the United States and in France, and a weekly newspaper called the "War Cry" was issued, which has now (1883) reached the sale of 400,000 copies. In 1882 the "Army" had in Great Britain 420 stations, or corps; 980 officers (as the missionaries, male and female, entirely engaged in the work, are called); and held 7,500 services weekly in the streets, and in buildings bought, built, or hired for the purpose.

"Every member or soldier of the Army is expected to wear an 'S,' meaning Salvation, on the collar, and those who can, provide themselves with a complete uniform of dark blue cloth thus marked."

The grotesqueness, not to say irreverence, of many of their proceedings, and much of their language; the noise, excitement, and display which always accompany their work; the silly affectation of constantly using a quasi-military phraseology, and some other features of the movement, do not commend it to sober-minded Christians; while the unauthorised celebration of the (so-called) Sacrament of the Lord's Supper condemns it in the eyes of the Church.

SANCTIFICATION. Holiness; the effect of the Holy Spirit's work upon the heart of man, (See Justification.)

SANCTUARY. The place within the Septum, or rails, where the altar stands in the Christian church. The term is also used of the privilege of criminals, who, having fled to a sacred place, are free from arrest so long as they remain there. This custom of "Sanctuary," which is now almost wholly done away with everywhere, arose from Deut. xix. 11, 12, and Joshua xx.

SARUM, THE USE OF. In the early Church in England every Bishop was allowed to ordain rites and ceremonies, and prayers for use in his own diocese. The exercise of this power, in process of time, caused a considerable variety in the manner of performing Divine Service; and the custom of a diocese in its ceremonial, mode of chanting, &c., became a distinct Use, and was known by the name of that diocese. Thus gradually the Uses, or customs, of York, Sarum (or Salisbury), Hereford, Exeter, Lincoln, Bangor, and doubtless others of which the records have perished, were recognised as defined and established varieties of the Ritual of the English Church.

The most remarkable of these was the Use of Sarum. It was drawn up about 1085 by Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England. He re-built his cathedral, collected together clergy distinguished for learning, and skill in chanting, and took much pains to regulate the ecclesiastical offices; so that his church became a model for others, and his "Custom-book" was wholly or partially followed in various parts of the kingdom, more especially in the South of England.

We may look upon this Use as being the foundation of our present Prayer Book.

SATAN. An adversary, an enemy, an accuser. Sometimes the word Satan is put for the Devil, as in Job i. 6, 7; Ps. cix. 6.; Zech. iii. 1, 2. In the New Testament it almost always means the Devil, but in Matt. xvi. 23, it simply means an adversary. "Be gone, O mine adversary, you that withstand what I most desire," &c.

The word Devil is from the Greek for an accuser, or calumniator. The Devil, or Satan, is a wicked spirit, who with many others, his angels or under-agents, is fighting against God. He has a limited dominion over all the sons of Adam, except the regenerate, in his kingdom of this world.

SCARF or STOLE, see Vestments.

SCEPTICS. From a Greek word meaning to look about, to deliberate. Anciently the term was applied to a sect of philosophers founded by Pyrrho. In modern times the word has been applied to Deists, or those who doubt of the truth and authenticity of the sacred Scriptures.

SCHISM. Greek, a fissure, or rent. In an ecclesiastical sense it means a breaking off from communion with the Church, on account of some disagreement in matters of faith or discipline. Those who do so are called Schismatics. To separate wilfully from the Church of God is a sin; (1 Cor. i. 10; iii. 3; xi. 18;) and we are directed to avoid those who cause divisions. (Rom. xvi. 17.) In the Litany we pray, "From heresy and schism, good Lord deliver us."

History brings before our notice many considerable schisms, in which whole bodies of men separated from the communion of the Catholic Church. Such were, in the fourth century, the schisms of the Donatists, and of the numerous heretics which sprung up in the Church, as the Arians, Photinians, Apollinarians, &c., the schism in the Church of Antioch; in the fifth century, the schism in the Church of Rome, between Laurentius and Symmachus; the schism of the rival popes at Rome and Avignon, in the fourteenth century.

In England the chief schisms have been by the Romanists, the Independents, and the Wesleyans.

SCHOOLMEN. The title given to a class of learned theologians who flourished in the middle ages. They derive their name from the schools attached to the cathedrals or universities in which they lectured. The chief Schoolmen were, Albertus Magnus, a Dominican friar, died 1280, Bonaventure, surnamed the Seraphic Doctor, born 1221, and died a cardinal. Thomas Aquinas, surnamed the Angelical Doctor, born 1224, was a pupil of Albertus Magnus. John Duns Scotus, surnamed the Subtle Doctor, was a Scotchman by birth, but educated in Paris. William Ocham, surnamed the Singular Doctor, was born in Surrey, in England. He, too, like Scotus, was educated at the University of Paris, about the year 1300. Raymond Lully, born in Majorca, 1236. Durandus, surnamed the Most resolving Doctor, Bishop of Meaux, 1318.

SCREEN. Any separation of one part of a church from another. The screens separating side chapels from the chancel, nave, or transept, are usually called parcloses. (See Rood Screen, &c.)

SCRIPTURE, HOLY, see Bible.

SEALED BOOKS. By an Act of Charles II. it was ordered that the Dean and Chapter of every Cathedral and Collegiate Church should obtain under the great seal of England a true and perfect printed copy of the Prayer Book, as revised in his reign (1662), to be kept by them in safety for ever, and to be produced in any Court of Record when required. These copies are called "Sealed Books."

SEATS, see Pew.

SEDILIA. Seats near an altar almost always on the south side, for the ministers officiating at the Holy Eucharist.

SEE. Latin, sedes, a seat. The scat of episcopal dignity and jurisdiction, where the Bishop has his throne, or cathedra.

SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. The Sunday which is, in round numbers, seventy days before Easter.

SEPTUAGINT. The Greek Version of the Old Testament which was in general use in the time of our Lord. The word Septuagint means seventy, and this name was given this Version from the tradition that it was the work of seventy translators. According to the common account, Ptolemy Philadelphus procured seventy-two learned Jews (six from each tribe) to translate their sacred books into the Greek language. The translators, it is said, were placed in houses on the island of Pharos, at the mouth of the Nile, where they completed their work in seventy-two days. The whole Greek Version of the Hebrew Scriptures was completed before B.C. 130. The Gospels quote from this version.

SEPTUM. The enclosure of the holy table, made by the altar rails.

SEPULCHRE or TOMB. A niche figuring our Lord's tomb, generally at the north side of the altar, and used in the scenic representations of our Saviour's burial and resurrection. Before the Reformation these sacred plays were common on Good Friday and at Easter. Perhaps the most beautiful Sepulchre now in England is in Lincoln Cathedral.

SEQUESTRATION. "The process by which the creditor of a clergyman of the Church of England in possession of a living, sues out execution on his judgment, and obtains payment of the debt." "The Bishop puts in force the law, and appoints sequestrators to take possession of the benefice and draw the emoluments, and pay them over to the creditor, first making due provision for the proper celebration of Divine Worship."

SERAPHIM, see ANGELS.

SERMONS. Orations or discourses, delivered by the clergy of the Christian Church in their religious assemblies. In the ancient Church it was one of the chief offices of a Bishop to preach, and it was only in the lesser churches of the city and country that the office of preaching devolved upon presbyters. Deacons were never allowed to preach, and they are only permitted to do so now by special licence of the Bishop (see Ordination Service.) St. Augustine has laid down excellent rules for the practice of Christian eloquence. The subject is to be weighty, the style answering to the subject. It was no part of the ancient oratory to raise the affections of the congregation, either by gesticulations, or the use of external shows. Scarcely any of their sermons would last an hour, and many not half the time. Many of St. Augustine's might be preached in eight minutes. They always concluded their sermons, as we do now, with a doxology to the Holy Trinity. The preacher usually sat, and the people stood.

The sermon in the Church of England is enjoined after the Nicene Creed, according to ancient custom; but nowhere else. (See Preaching.)

SERVICE. In technical language those stated parts of the Liturgy which are set to music; but the term is also used of the whole of Public Worship.

SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. That Sunday which is, in round numbers, sixty days before Easter.

SEXTON. From Sacristan. The name is now generally given to the person who digs the graves, &c.

SHAKERS. A party of enthusiasts who left England for America in 1774. They affected to consider themselves as forming the only true Church, and their preachers as possessed of the Apostolic gift. They disowned Baptism and the Eucharist.

Their leader was Anna Lees, whom they believed to be the woman mentioned in the Apocalypse (Rev. xii. 1, 2).

SHROVE TUESDAY. The day before Ash Wednesday, so called in the Church of England from the old Saxon word shrive, shrif, shrove, which means to confess; it being our duty to confess our sins to God on that day in order to receive the Holy Communion, and thereby qualify ourselves for a more holy observance of Lent. Before the Reformation Auricular Confession was compulsorily made to a priest, and Absolution was sought.

SICK, COMMUNION OF, see Communion of Sick.

SICK, VISITATION OF. A duty entailed upon the Christian minister by Canon 76, and by the rubric before the Office for the Visitation of the Sick. This Office, with the exception of the Exhortations, is chiefly taken from the Sarum Use (which see). The Service has little changed since 1549, except by the addition in 1662 of the final Commendation, and of the four beautiful collects appended to the service. The Salutation is in obedience to our Lord's command (Luke x. 5). The Versicles are the same as those in the Marriage Service, except the prayer for deliverance from the enemy, which is taken from Ps. lxxxix. 22, 23. After two Collects come two very beautiful and practical exhortations, which are followed by an examination in the faith of the sick person. Next comes the provision for Confession and Absolution, which is similar to that in the first exhortation at Holy Communion, as to private confession and special Absolution. Till 1662 the initiative was left wholly to the sick person, "Then shall the sick man," &c., but now the minister is to "move him" to confession. The Absolution is only to be given if the sick person "humbly and heartily desire it." The latter part of the Absolution is taken from the ancient Office, and is declaratory, the first clause being precatory. The phrase, "I absolve thee," has been much discussed; this form has been used ever since the 12th century. A rubric in 1549 provided this Absolution for use in all cases of private confession, and thus it is probably the Absolution referred to in the Exhortation at Holy Communion. (See Absolution.) The next Collect is the original Absolution, or reconciliation of a dying penitent, in the Sacramentary of Gelasius, a 5th century compilation. After the Psalm comes a beautiful specimen of the ancient antiphon. The Benediction was composed in 1549, and the Commendation was added in 1662. (Num. vi. 24-26.) The four beautiful final prayers were added in 1662.

SIDESMEN or SYNODSMEN, see Churchwardens.

SIMON (St.) AND JUDE'S (St.) DAY. October 28th. These two Apostles are found together in all the Apostolic catalogues immediately after "James the son of Alphaeus," and in the list of the "brethren of our Lord" we have "James, Judas, and Simon;" thus it has been usual to identify the two lists. However, the weight of evidence seems against this identification.

St. Simon is surnamed the Canaanite (it ought to be Cananite) and Zelotes, which two names are really the same; the one being Hebrew and the other Greek. The "Zealots" were an enthusiastic sect in Judaea about the time of our Lord.

St. Jude had two surnames, viz., Thaddeus and Lebbeus.

Of neither Apostle have we any special notice in Scripture, or trustworthy tradition.

SIMONY. The conferring of Holy Orders, or the presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical benefice for money, gift, or reward. Canon 40 calls it "the detestable sin of simony," and every person on being instituted to a benefice has to swear that he is not guilty of it. It is so called from the sin of Simon Magus (Acts viii. 19), though Paley states that the resemblance is an imaginary one.

SIN. The subject Sin may be considered under various heads; 1. Original Sin; 2. Actual Sin; 3. Deadly Sin; 4. Sin against the Holy Ghost.

(1.) Original Sin. This is "the fault and corruption of our nature, which infects all men." (See Article ix.) We inherit it from Adam, our first parent. It is the dread consequence of the Fall. Scripture proofs: Gen. viii. 21; Job xiv. 4; Ps. li. 5; Rom. viii. 18; Ep. iv. 22; Ep. ii. 3; Gal. iii. 22; 1 Cor. xv. 22; Rom. v. 12, 15, 17, 18, 19. The Church of England teaches that although all taint of original sin is not done away in baptism, yet it holds that its condemnation is remitted.

(2.) Actual Sin. Sin which we ourselves commit.

(3.) Deadly Sin. (See Article xvi.) The Church of Rome divides sin into two classes: mortal sin, that sin which is in its nature gross, and is committed knowingly, wilfully, deliberately; and venial sin, sins of ignorance, and negligence, and the like. We also make a distinction between sins of greater or less enormity; we admit that there is a difference of degree, but the Romanists make a difference in their nature and kind, a distinction we cannot admit. According to the Romans, no amount of venial sins would ever make a mortal sin. We consider every sin to be in its nature mortal or deadly, and deserving of God's wrath and condemnation (James ii. 10, 11), and only hope to be saved through the intercession of our "Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins."

(4.) Sin against the Holy Ghost. (See Article xvi.) What is the nature of this terrible sin which "shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come?" (Matt. xii. 31, 32.)

The Church clearly teaches in Article xvi. that wilful sin after baptism is not, as some have taught, the unforgivable sin, but it seems rather to be "obstinate, resolute, and wilful impenitence, after all the means of grace and with all the strivings of the Spirit, under the Christian dispensation as distinguished from the Jewish, and amid all the blessings and privileges of the Church of Christ." (Harold Browne on the Thirty-nine Articles.) This, in effect, is the teaching of St. Augustine, that the sin against the Holy Ghost is a final and obdurate continuance in wickedness, despite the calls of God to repentance, joined with a desperation of the mercy of God. In Matt. xii. 31, 32, it would seem that the unpardonable sin was committed by those who ascribed our Lord's miracles to the power of Beelzebub.

SOCIETIES, CHURCH. It will be possible to mention a few only of the chief societies, &c., connected with the Church, in a work like the present. They will be described under the headings (1) Charitable, (2) Educational, (3) Missionary, (4) Building, (5) General.

1. Charitable. Each diocese has charities of its own in addition to those which are not of limited area,—

The Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy. Founded 1655. Registrar, W. P. Bowman, Esq. Office, 2, Bloomsbury Place, London. Objects, assistance to necessitous clergymen, their widows and maiden daughters; education of children of poor clergymen, and the starting of them in life.

The Friend of the Clergy Corporation, 1849. Secretary, Rev. H. Jona, 4, St. Martin's Place, Trafalgar Square, London. Objects much the same as above.

The Poor Clergy Relief Corporation, 1856. Secretary, Dr. Robert Turtle Pigott, 36, Southampton Street, Strand. Objects, immediate relief, both in money and clothing, to poor clergymen, their widows and orphans, in sickness and other temporary distress.

The Cholmondeley Charities. Treasurer, John Hanby, Esq., 1, Middle Scotland Yard, Whitehall, S.W. Class I., Augmentation of certain stipends. Class II., Much the same as above Societies. Class III., Exhibitions to sons of clergymen to the Universities. Class IV., Allowance for starting the children of clergymen in life.

2. Educational Societies. Each diocese has societies of its own in addition to the following:—

Church of England Sunday School Institute. Founded 1843. Sec., J. Palmer, Esq., Serjeant's Inn, Fleet Street, E.C. Objects, to provide educational appliances (Books, Lessons, &c.) both for teachers and scholars, and to assist teachers in the work of teaching by means of lectures, &c.

Incorporated National Society. Secretary, Rev. J. Duncan, National Society Office, Sanctuary, Westminster. Object, to help forward the education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church by making grants to Church Schools and the like, and by training teachers.

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (see Part V. of this article).

3. Missionary Societies, (a) Home, (b) Foreign.

(a) The Missions to Seamen Society. Office, 11, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C. Object, to make provision for the spiritual needs of British Merchant Sailors when afloat.

The Navvy Mission Society. Office, Palace Chambers, Bridge Street, Westminster, S.W. Object, to promote the spiritual welfare of navvies working on railways, docks, &c.

Church Pastoral Aid Society, 1836. Office, Falcon Court, 32, Fleet Street, London, E.C. Object, to give grants to "Evangelical" Clergyman towards the incomes of additional curates and lay helpers in populous parishes. The Committee interferes in the appointments.

Additional Curates' Society, 1837. Office, 7, Whitehall, London, S.W. Object, to assist in the payment of additional Curates, irrespective of party views. This Society does not interfere in the appointments, but very properly leaves them to the Bishop and the Incumbent.

(b) Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Incorporated 1701. 19, Delahay Street, Westminster, S.W. Object, the spiritual care of our Colonists and the evangelizing of the heathen in British Dominions abroad on thorough Church of England principles.

Church Missionary Society, 1799. Salisbury Square, London, E.C. Object, the preaching of the Gospel of Christ among the heathen, in strict accordance with the doctrines and discipline of the Church of England.

Colonial Bishoprics Fund, 19, Delahay Street, Westminster, S.W. Object, to help endow Colonial Sees.

There is also a Mission to the Jews, 16, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.

4. Building Societies. There are many Diocesan, as well as General Church Building Societies.

Queen Anne's Bounty. (See Bounty, Queen Anne's.) Dean's Yard, Westminster, S.W. Object, the building of Parsonage Houses, &c.

Incorporated Church Building Society. 7, Whitehall, London. Object, the Enlargement, Building and Repairing of Churches and Chapels in England and Wales.

5. General Societies. These all have local branches.

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Address, The Secretaries, S.P.C.K., Northumberland Avenue, London, W.C. Objects, to provide good and cheap Bibles and Prayer Books in various languages; to circulate general literature of a high character in thorough keeping with the principles of the Church of England, and suitable to all classes; to help forward Church Education, Home Mission Work, The Building of Churches and Chapels abroad, and the Training of a Native Ministry abroad.

The Religious Tract Society, 6, Paternoster Row, London. Object, the production and circulation of religious books, treatises, tracts and pure literature, in various languages, throughout the British Dominions, and in Foreign Countries, of a Protestant and Evangelical description.

The British and Foreign Bible Society, 146, Queen Victoria St., London, E.C. Object, the circulation of the Holy Scriptures in various languages without note or comment, both at home and abroad.

Church Penitentiary Association, 14, York Buildings, Adelphi, London. Object, the establishment and maintenance of Penitentiaries and Houses of Refuge throughout the country for the lessening of vice, and furthering efforts for the recovery of the fallen.

Church of England Temperance Society. Object, the Promotion of the Habits of Temperance; the Reformation of the Intemperate; and the removal of the Causes which lead to Intemperance.

The Church Defence Association. St. Stephen's Palace Chambers, 9, Bridge Street, Westminster. Object, to resist all attempts to destroy or weaken the union between Church and State, or to injure the temporal interests of the Church.

English Church Union, 35, Wellington Street, Strand, London, W.C. Object, to unite Clergy and Laity in loyal Defence of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England and the Rights and Liberties of her faithful children.

The Church Association, 14, Buckingham Street, Strand. Object, to uphold the doctrines of the Evangelical Party in the Church of England. This Society is notorious as the prosecutor of Mr. Mackonochie and other clergy of the same school. The Free and Open Church Association, 33, Southampton Street, Strand. Objects, (1) The throwing open of our Churches for the free and equal use of all classes; (2) The adoption of the Weekly Offertory instead of Pew Rents; (3) The opening of Churches throughout the day for private prayer.

Tithe Redemption Trust. (See Tithes.)

SOCINIANISM. The doctrine of Faustus Socinus, an Italian, born 1539. He taught that the eternal Father was the one only God, and that Jesus was God no otherwise than by His superiority over all creatures. That Jesus Christ was not a mediator between God and man, but only a pattern to men. That the punishment of Hell will last only for a time, after which both body and soul will be destroyed. That it is not lawful for princes to make war. Many of the Anabaptists are Socinian in doctrine. (See Unitarianism.)

SON OF GOD, see Trinity, the Holy.

SPIKE. The high pyramidical capping or roof of a tower. This is sometimes confounded with the word Steeple, which latter really means the tower, with all its appendages.

SPONSORS. In the administration of Baptism, Sponsors have from time immemorial held an important place. They are called Sponsors, because they respond or answer for the baptized. They are also called Sureties, in virtue of the security given by them to the Church, that the baptized shall be "virtuously brought up to lead a Godly and a Christian life." They are also called Godparents because of the spiritual affinity created in Baptism when they undertake a responsibility almost parental in the future training of the baptized. In the Church of Rome Godparents may not intermarry. Anciently only one Sponsor was required. Their action at the font may be likened to that of those who brought the man sick of the palsy to our Lord. (Mark ii.)

Although it is not necessary to have Sponsors for the validity of Baptism, still the rule of the Church of England requires that "There shall be for every male child to be baptized two Godfathers and one Godmother; and for every female, one Godfather and two Godmothers." (Rubric.) And Canon 29, "No person shall be urged to be present, nor be admitted to answer as Godfather for his own child; nor any Godfather or Godmother shall be suffered to make any other answer or speech, than by the Book of Common Prayer is prescribed in that behalf. Neither shall any person be admitted Godfather or Godmother to any child at Christening or Confirmation, before the said person so undertaking hath received the Holy Communion." Parents are now allowed to act as sponsors for their children.

STALLS. Seats in the choir, or chancel.

STEEPLE, see Spire.

STEPHEN'S (St.) DAY. Dec. 26th. A festival in honour of the proto- (first) martyr, St. Stephen. He was one of the seven deacons, and all we know of him is told us in Acts vii. and viii.

STOLE, see Vestments.

SUCCENTOR. The precentor's deputy in Cathedral Churches. At York he is a dignitary, and is called Succentor Canonicorum to distinguish him from the other subchanter, who is a vicar-choral.

SUCCESSION, APOSTOLICAL. see Apostolical Succession and Orders, Holy.

SUFFRAGANS. Properly all provincial Bishops who are under a Primate or Metropolitan; but the word now is applied especially to assistant Bishops, such as the Bishop of Bedford, the Bishop of Nottingham, &c.

SUNDAY. The first day of the week, so called by the Saxons, because it was dedicated to the worship of the Sun.

Among Christians it is kept "holy" instead of the Jewish Sabbath, because on that day our Lord rose from the dead, and for that reason it is called by St. John "the Lord's Day." (Rev. i. 10.) When the Sunday began to be kept instead of the Sabbath we are not quite sure, but we find that the Apostles kept the first day of the week as a festival. Our Lord Himself sanctioned it by His repeated appearance among His disciples on that day. The Holy Spirit, too, poured down His miraculous gifts on that day. The early Christians observed the Sunday.

By many it is believed that it is one of the things in which our Lord instructed His Apostles before His Ascension, while "speaking of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." (Acts 1,3.) The phrase "kingdom of God" is always used of the Church. In keeping the Sunday "holy," Christians comply with the spirit of the fourth Commandment, which orders a seventh part of our time to be consecrated to God.

SUPER-ALTAR, or RE-TABLE. A shelf or step behind the altar, on which the vases, candlesticks, and cross are placed. Properly the Super-Altar is a small portable slab of stone which is placed on wooden altars.

SUPEREROGATION. The 14th Article gives the teaching of the Church of England. Romanists teach that there are certain good deeds which have been performed by saints over and above those necessary for their own salvation. From this fund of good works, technically known as the Treasury of Merits, the Pope claims to have the power to draw and apply the good deeds of others to the benefit of those who are deficient in them themselves.

SUPREMACY. The Church of England regards the Sovereign as being over all persons, and all causes, ecclesiastical as well as civil, supreme in this realm. (See Article xxxvii.) This does not teach in any way that the Clergy derive their authority and mission from the State, as some misunderstand. (See Apostolical Succession.)

SURPLICE, see Vestments.

SURROGATE. One appointed in place of another. Thus to avoid the necessity of journeying to the Bishop, he grants to other clergymen living in the principal towns, the power of giving licenses for marriage instead of publishing banns, of granting probates of wills, &c. These clergymen acting in place of the Bishop are called Surrogates.

SWEDENBORGIANS. The followers of Emanuel, Baron Swedenborg, who was born in Stockholm in 1688, and died in London, 1772. He believed himself to be the subject of inspiration, and taught that the Scriptures have two senses, natural and spiritual. The natural sense is that held by the Christian Church, but the spiritual is that which is concealed within the natural sense of the same words. He taught that the second advent had been realized in the establishment of his New Church, the "New Jerusalem" of the Apocalypse.

They do not receive the usual doctrine of the Trinity, and reject the doctrine of justification by faith alone. They administer the Sacraments. They still profess to believe themselves visited by super-natural beings, by the Apostles and other saints. It is not generally known that the heaven of the Swedenborgian bears a close resemblance to the Mahometan's idea of heaven,—a place of sensual delights; and one of their books which is as hard to obtain as the others are easy, named "Conjugal Love," is not particularly moral in its teaching!

The Swedenborgians number 64 Societies, with 4,987 registered members.

SYNOD. A meeting duly summoned and constituted of ecclesiastical persons for the discussion of religious matters. Synods are of less authority than general or OEcumenical Councils.

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS. A canticle of Morning Prayer, which has been sung for 1,500 years throughout the Western Church. Its origin is not known. The tradition which ascribes it to St. Ambrose, or to St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, conjointly, rests on very slight foundation. An able article in the Church Quarterly Review (April, 1884), comes to the conclusion that the Te Deum very probably originated from the monastery of St. Honoratus, at Lerins, about the middle of the 5th century. It is the great triumphant hymn of praise of the Western Church as the Gloria in Excelsis is of the Eastern. Verses 1 to 13, are praise; vv. 14-19 are a Creed in our Lord Jesus Christ; vv. 20-29 are prayer to our Lord broken by another burst of praise. There is a musical setting of the Te Deum, called the Ambrosian, dating from the 5th century.

TESTAMENT, OLD AND NEW, see Bible.

TESTIMONIAL LETTERS, see Orders, Qualifications for,

THANKSGIVING, THE GENERAL. Composed by Bishop Reynolds, and inserted in 1662. The custom obtaining in some churches of the congregation repeating this Thanksgiving after the minister, was certainly not originally intended, and perhaps has been based on a mistaken idea of the meaning of the word "general," as applied to this Thanksgiving: we understand it to mean that the terms and subjects of the prayer are general.

THEISM. The recognition of a principle apart from nature, independent of nature, yet moulding, regulating, and sustaining nature. The idea of Personality is essential to Theism. A-theism, literally, is the denial of Theism.

THEOLOGY. The science which treats of the Deity. It is too often forgotten that theology is a science as much as medicine or mathematics, or we should not find the laity so confident of their knowledge, and so ready to give the law on questions of systematic Divinity.

THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES. Colleges specially established for the training of candidates for Holy Orders, in theology. They seem to answer to the assemblies of "sons of the prophets," spoken of in 2 Kings ii. 3, 5, 7, &c. These colleges have not the power of conferring degrees.

THOMAS'S (St.) DAY. Dec. 21st. The name Thomas (Hebrew), and Didymus (Greek), means a "twin brother." Some think St. Matthew to have been his brother. The only incidents of his life with which we are acquainted, are told us by St. John, (xi. 16; xiv. 5; xx. 28.) Tradition says that he laboured in Persia, and finally suffered martyrdom in India.

THRONE. The Bishop's seat in his Cathedral. Anciently it stood behind the altar in churches which terminated in an apse.

TIPPET, see Hood.

TITHES. A certain portion, or allotment, for the maintenance of the priesthood, being the tenth part of the produce of land, cattle, or other branches of wealth. It is an income, or revenue, common both to the Jewish and Christian priesthood. (Gen. xiv. 20; Lev. xxvii. 30-33; &c.) The origin of tithes, in the Christian Church, was something of this kind: When a benefactor was not able or not willing to part with an estate out and out, he settled on the Church which he was endowing a certain portion of the income arising out of the estate. The ratio which this portion bore to the whole amount varied enormously, and so one man gave a tithe of corn only, another a tithe of wood, another a tithe of meadow land, another a tithe of stock, another tithes of all these together. There is a very common mistake made that tithes are a kind of tax, levied on the whole country by Act of Parliament. They are nothing of the kind, being simply a certain portion of the income arising out of lands settled by the former owners of those lands for the maintenance of the parson of the parish. They date back to the 4th century.

Although the Church is disestablished in Ireland, tithes are still paid, not to the clergy, but to the Government. Disestablishment, therefore, is small gain to the farmer.

Tithe Redemption Trust. In the year 1846 a very excellent Society was formed, called "The Tithe Redemption Trust," the object of which is the very opposite of that at which the Liberation Society aims. It has been quietly at work for some years, endeavouring, with some success, to get back, either by redemption or by voluntary donation, the tithes which have been alienated by appropriation or impropriation. What portion of Church property has been long enjoyed by private families, or by Corporations, has, of course, become inalienable; but it would be a reasonable and a righteous thing (and all the more blessed for being voluntary) that every person who receives tithes, or possesses glebe land in a parish, for which no spiritual service is rendered, should give in some way or other to the Church a very liberal percentage of what was never meant to be raised for the purpose of private emolument, but for the fitting discharge of ecclesiastical duties. (Webb's "England's Inheritance in her Church.")

TITLE, see Orders, Qualifications for.

TRACTARIANISM. The Anglican movement which began with the publication of the celebrated "Tracts for the Times" in 1833. The principal results of this movement are (1) the complete reintegration of the original theory of the Church of England; of that "ancient religion which, in 1830, had well-nigh faded out of the land;" (2) the improvement which has taken place in the lives of the clergy, in the performance of the Services, and in the condition of our churches; and the marked revival in the Corporate life of the Church herself.

The great names of this movement are Pusey, Newman, Marriott, Oakley, Manning, Robert Wilberforce, Keble, and Palmer. For some few the movement led to disastrous issues; and they fell at last into Roman errors, and joined that erring Church.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION. The name given to the philosophical theory whereby the Church of Rome has endeavoured to explain and define the doctrine of the Real Presence. In it they allege that the bread and wine in the Eucharist is miraculously converted or changed into the very body and blood of our Lord, by the consecration of the priest. This false doctrine is condemned in Article xxviii.

TRENT, COUNCIL OF. An important Council of the Roman Church which met in 1545, and was dissolved in 1563. The city of Trent is in the Tyrol. It was at this Council that the Creed of the Roman Church was last defined, and all who differed from it were anathematised. Neither the Greek Church nor the English Church was represented there, so it has no claim to the title of oecumenical, or general, as asserted by Romanists.

TRINITY, THE HOLY. The Athanasian Creed and Article i. give the teaching of our Church on the Holy Trinity. There we learn that in the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons; that is, though there be but one living and true God, yet there be three Persons, who are that one living and true God. Though the true God be but one in substance, yet He is three in subsistence, so as still to be but one substance. And these three Persons, every one of which is God, and yet all three but one God, are really related to one another; as they are termed in Scripture, one is the Father, the other the Son, the other the Holy Ghost.

The Father is the first Person in the Deity; not begotten, nor proceeding, but begetting; the Son, the second, not begetting nor proceeding, but begotten; the Holy Ghost, the third, not begotten, nor begetting, but proceeding. The first is called the Father, because He begot the second; the second is called the Son, because He is begotten of the Father; the third is called the Holy Ghost, because breathed both from the Father and the Son.

This is a great mystery to us, which, however, we are not called upon to understand, but only to believe on the plain statement of Scripture.