Not only bishops, but deans of many cathedrals, were confirmed by their diocesans; as at St. Paul’s in London, and St. Patrick’s in Dublin. SeeOughton Ordo Judiciumde ecclesici Cathedr. cxxvii., andMason’sHibernia, p. 219.
CONFORMITY, DECLARATION OF. A declaration is required of all persons who are to be licensed or instituted to an ecclesiastical charge in the Church of England, in the following words:—“I, A. B., do declare that I will conform to the liturgy of the Church of England, as it is now by law established.” This declaration is to be made and subscribed before the bishop or his commissary, and the making and subscription thereof is to be testified under the episcopal seal of the bishop, and under the hand of the bishop or his commissary. (See alsoReading in.)
CONGÉ D’ ÉLIRE. This is a French term, and signifiesleave to choose: and is the king’s writ or licence to the dean and chapter of the diocese to choose a bishop, in the time of vacancy of the see. Prior to the reign of Henry I., the kings of England used to invest bishops with the ring and staff, in virtue of their donative right. Henry I. so far ceded this right as to give acongé d’ élireto deans and chapters for the election of bishops. Henry VIII. added “letters missive,” nominating the person whom he required them to elect, under pain of præmunire; and Edward VI. (1 Edw. VI. c. 1, 2) abolished elections by writ ofcongé d’ élire, as being “indeed no elections,” and “seeming also derogatory and prejudicial to the king’s prerogative royal, to whom only appertaineth the collation and gift of all archbishoprics, and bishoprics, and suffragan bishops, within his Highness’s said realm.” The statute goes on to enact, “That noelection of any archbishop or bishop shall be made by the dean and chapter;” but that the king by his “letters patent, at all times when the archbishopric or bishopric be void, shall confer the same to any person whom the king shall think meet.” This statute was repealed by Queen Mary, and never afterwards revived. The law now rests upon the 25 Henry VIII. c. 20, which statute was revived by Queen Elizabeth.—Burn.(SeeJurisdiction.) But in Ireland, the act of 2 Eliz. c. 4, established the same manner of appointment by the sovereign, without election, as the English act of Edward, and so it has continued to this day.
CONGREGATION. In its largest sense, this word includes the whole body of Christian people, considered as assembled, not locally, but in some act of fellowship, as when it is said, “Let the congregation of saints praiseHim:” but the word is more commonly used for the worshippers, being members of the true Church assembled in a particular place; a sense in which the word is plainly used in the prayer for the Church militant, where an especial distinction is made betweenallGod’speople, or the congregation of the saints, and the particular congregation present when the prayer is used: “To allThypeople giveThyheavenly grace, and especially to this congregation here present.” The wordcongregationfollows therefore the use of the wordChurch; we use “TheChurch” for the whole body ofChrist’speople, and “aChurch,” or “thisChurch,” for a particular portion of them. And asaChurch is the immediate bond of union to each individual withtheChurch, so isacongregation the immediate company with which the individual joins, and the immediate sign of his adherence tothecongregation of saints. Thus, in the Order of Confirmation, the preface declares thatbefore the Churchchildren should ratify their baptismal vow, and they are consequently asked by the bishop whether they do this “in the presence ofGodandof this congregation.” Congregation and Church are considered by our translators convertible terms: e.g. Psal. xxii. 22, “In the midst of thecongregation” is rendered in Heb. ii. 12, “In the midst of theChurch.”
CONGREGATION IN THE PAPAL COURT, means a committee of cardinals met for the despatch of some particular business, and each congregation is denominated from the peculiar business it has to despatch.
I.The Pope’s Congregation, instituted by Sixtus V.—They are to prepare the most difficult beneficiary matters, which are afterwards to be debated in the consistory, in the presence of the pope. This congregation is composed of several cardinals, whose number is not fixed. The cardinal-deacon, or, in his absence, some other cardinal chosen by the popepro tempore, presides in this assembly. The affairs treated in it are, the erecting of new sees and cathedral churches; re-unions, suppressions, and resignations of bishoprics, coadjutorships, alienations of church revenues; and, lastly, the taxes and annates of all the benefices to which the pope collates.
II.The Congregation of the Holy Office, orInquisition.This congregation was instituted by Pope Paul III., at the desire of Cardinal Caraffa, who, being afterwards raised to the pontificate under the name of Paul IV., enlarged the privileges thereof, to which Sixtus V. added statutes, by which means this tribunal became so powerful and formidable, that the Italians at that time used to say, “Il sommo pontifice Sisto non la perdonarebb’ a Christo,” i. e. “Pope Sixtus would not pardon Christ himself.”
This congregation generally consists of twelve cardinals, and sometimes many more, as also of a considerable number of prelates and divines of different orders, both secular and regular, who are calledConsultersandQualificators of the Holy Office. This congregation takes cognizance of heresies, and all novel opinions; as also of apostasy, magic, witchcraft, the abuse of the sacraments, and the spreading of pernicious books. For this purpose, an assembly is held every Wednesday at the general of the Jacobins, and every Thursday before the pope, who is president thereof.
The palace of the Holy Office serves likewise by way of prison for such as are accused or suspected of the above-mentioned crimes; who, in case they are found guilty, are delivered over to the secular arm. But at present they seldom go further than punishing them with perpetual imprisonment. Nor is this tribunal as rigorous and severe as in Spain, Portugal, and other countries where the Inquisition is established. (SeeInquisition.)
III.The Congregation de Propagandâ Fide.—It was instituted by Gregory XV., and consists of eighteen cardinals, one of the secretaries of state, an apostolical prothonotary, a referendary, an assistant or lateral judge, and a secretary of the Holy Office. All these prelates and officers meet in the pope’s presence, as often as occasion requires, in order to examine whatever may be of advantage to religion, and to consult about missions, &c.
IV.The Congregation for explaining the Council of Trent.—At the breaking up of that council, Pius IV. deputed certain cardinals who had assisted in it, to put an end to all doubts which might arise concerning its decrees. Sixtus V. fixed this congregation, and empowered it to interpret all points both of discipline and faith. This congregation meets once a week at the palace of the senior cardinal, the whole assembly being composed of persons of that dignity. The president is chosen out of the body by the pope, and is paid twelve hundred crowns of gold yearly out of the apostolic chamber. The other cardinals have no salaries, but think it the highest honour to assist in explaining the most important matters relating to religion.
V.The Congregation of the Index.—The fathers of the so-called Council of Trent, considering the great number of pernicious and heretical books published since the invention of printing, deputed certain cardinals, and other divines, to examine into such books. These deputies drew up a list of them, divided into several classes; and the council gave orders for correcting, in a second impression, whatever these examiners had altered or expunged. Pope Pius V. confirmed the establishment of this congregation, and empowered it to examine all books written since the Council of Trent, and all such as shall be published hereafter. This congregation is composed of several cardinals, and a secretary of the order of St. Dominic; but it seldom assembles, except on affairs of the highest importance. (SeeIndexes.)
VI.The Congregation of Immunities, established by Pope Urban VIII., in order to obviate the difficulties and disputes which arose in the judgments of such suits as were carried on against churchmen for various matters, whether civil or criminal. This congregation is composed of several cardinals, nominated by his Holiness, and takes cognizance of all ecclesiastical immunities and exemptions. It is held in the palace of the senior cardinal every Tuesday.
VII.The Congregation of Bishops and Regulars.—Pope Sixtus V., in the beginning of his pontificate, united two congregations, under the name above-mentioned. It is composed of a certain number of cardinals at his Holiness’s pleasure, and of a prelate, who is the secretary thereof, and has six writers under him. This congregation has power to regulate all such disputes as arise between bishops and the monastic orders, and assembles every Friday for that purpose.
VIII.The Congregation for the Examination of Bishops, instituted by Gregory XIV., to examine into the qualifications of all such churchmen as are nominated to bishoprics. It is composed of eight cardinals, six prelates, ten divines of different orders, both secular and regular, some of whom must be doctors of the canon law. These examiners are chosen by the pope, and assemble in his palace every Tuesday and Friday, when any affair is to be examined. All the Italian bishops are obliged to submit to this examination before they are consecrated; and for this purpose they present themselves upon their knees before his Holiness, who is seated in an easy chair, whilst the examiners, standing on each hand of him, interrogate them on such heads of divinity and the canon law as they think proper. Such as are raised to the cardinalate, before they are made bishops, are dispensed from this examination; as are all cardinal-nephews.
IX.The Congregation of the Morals of Bishops, instituted by Pope Innocent XI., to inquire into the morals of churchmen recommended to ecclesiastical dignities. It is composed of three cardinals, two bishops, four prelates, and a secretary, who is the pope’s auditor. It is held alternately in the palaces of the three cardinals, where they examine very strictly the certificates of the life and manners of the candidates. However, those who have led irregular lives, find several ways of eluding the examination of this tribunal.
X.The Congregation for the Residence of Bishops.—It has the power of enjoining, or dispensing with, the residence of the Italian bishops, and obliging all abbots to reside in their several communities. It consists of three cardinals, three prelates, and a secretary. But, having very little business, they assemble but seldom, and that only at the request of such bishops or abbots as desire to be absent from their churches, for reasons specified in their petitions.
XI.The Congregation for such Monasteries as are to be suppressed.—This congregation was instituted by Pope Innocent X., to inquire into the state of the Italian monasteries, and to suppress those whose temporalities were so far diminished, that the remainder was not sufficient for the maintenance of six religious. It is composed of eight cardinals and a certain number of monks, deputed by the provincials of orders to take care of their interests. This assembly regulates the pretensions of founders and benefactors, and their heirs, and disposes of the remains ofthe temporalities of abandoned and ruined houses: it likewise examines the petitions of such communities, or cities, as desire to rebuild, and found anew, any monastery, for which it despatches the proper instruments.
XII.The Congregation of the Apostolical Visitation.—It is composed of a certain number of cardinals and prelates, whose business it is to visit, in the name of the pope, as archbishop of Rome, the six bishoprics, suffragans to the metropolis of Rome.
XIII.The Congregation of Relics.—It is composed of six cardinals and four prelates and their business is to superintend the relics of ancient martyrs, that are said to be frequently found in catacombs and other subterraneous places in Rome, and to distinguish their bones, shrines, and tombs, from those of the heathens, who were buried undistinguished in those subterraneous caverns. After the congregation has pronounced sentence on the validity of any relics, they are consigned to the vicar and the pope’s sacristan, who distribute them to such as desire them.
XIV.The Congregation of Indulgences.—This congregation, the number of whose cardinals and prelates is not fixed, assembles in the palace of the senior cardinal, to examine into the causes and motives of those who sue for indulgences. The registrar of this congregation sends the minutes and conclusions of petitions to the secretary of the briefs, who despatches them under the fisherman’s seal.
XV.The Congregation of Rites.—Pope Sixtus V. founded this congregation to regulate the ceremonies and rites of the new offices of saints, which are added to the Romish calendar, when any person is canonized. It has authority to explain the rubrics of the mass-book and breviary, when any difficulties are started in relation thereto; and its power extends to pronounce sentence, from which there is no appeal, on all disputes relating to the precedency of churches. It is composed of eight cardinals and a secretary, who assemble once a month in the palace of the senior cardinal.
XVI.The Congregation for the Building of Churches.—Pope Clement VIII. founded this congregation, to superintend the building of St. Peter’s church, adjoining to the Vatican, and it is employed, to this day, in repairing and beautifying it. It consists of eight cardinals and four prelates, who assemble at the palace of the senior cardinal on the Monday or Saturday nearest to the beginning and middle of each month. This congregation has the peculiar privilege of altering the last wills and testaments of those who bequeath sums to be employed in pious uses, and to apply the money towards supporting the fabric of St. Peter’s.—Broughton.
CONGREGATION is also applied in England to one of the assemblies of the university of Oxford, consisting of Regents, who transact the ordinary business of the university.
CONGREGATIONALISTS are nearly the same as Independents. (SeeIndependents.) The chief point of difference is that the Congregationalists hold the principle of acommunionof Churches.
CONGRUITY. (SeeCondignity.)
CONSANGUINITY. Alliance by blood, asaffinityis alliance by marriage.
Certain degrees of consanguinity are among the impediments to marriage, both by the law of nature and by the revealed word ofGod. These degrees, as well as those of affinity, are defined by the Church, and are expressed in a table drawn up by Archbishop Parker, in 1563, and set forth by authority. This table is as follows:
A Table of Kindred and Affinity, wherein whosoever are related are forbidden in Scripture and our laws to marry together.
A Table of Kindred and Affinity, wherein whosoever are related are forbidden in Scripture and our laws to marry together.
A Table of Kindred and Affinity, wherein whosoever are related are forbidden in Scripture and our laws to marry together.
A man may not marry his1 GRANDMOTHER,2 Grandfather’s Wife,3 Wife’s Grandmother.4 Father’s Sister,5 Mother’s Sister,6 Father’s Brother’s Wife.7 Mother’s Brother’s Wife,8 Wife’s Father’s Sister,9 Wife’s Mother’s Sister.10 Mother,11 Step-Mother,12 Wife’s Mother.13 Daughter,14 Wife’s Daughter,15 Son’s Wife.16 Sister,17 Wife’s Sister,18 Brother’s Wife.19 Son’s Daughter,20 Daughter’s Daughter,21 Son’s Son’s Wife.22 Daughter’s Son’s Wife,23 Wife’s Son’s Daughter,24 Wife’s Daughter’s Daughter.25 Brother’s Daughter,26 Sister’s Daughter,27 Brother’s Son’s Wife.28 Sister’s Son’s Wife,29 Wife’s Brother’s Daughter,30 Wife’s Sister’s Daughter.A woman may not marry with her1 GRANDFATHER,2 Grandmother’s Husband,3 Husband’s Grandfather.4 Father’s Brother,5 Mother’s Brother,6 Father’s Sister’s Husband.7 Mother’s sister’s Husband,8 Husband’s Father’s Brother,9 Husband’s Mother’s Brother.10 Father,11 Step-Father,12 Husband’s Father.13 Son,14 Husband’s Son,15 Daughter’s Husband.16 Brother,17 Husband’s Brother,18 Sister’s Husband.19 Son’s Son,20 Daughter’s Son,21 Son’s Daughter’s Husband.22 Daughter’s Daughter’s Husband,23 Husband’s Son’s Son,24 Husband’s Daughter’s Son.25 Brother’s Son,26 Sister’s Son,27 Brother’s Daughter’s Husband.28 Sister’s Daughter’s Husband,29 Husband’s Brother’s Son,30 Husband’s Sister’s Son.
A man may not marry his1 GRANDMOTHER,2 Grandfather’s Wife,3 Wife’s Grandmother.4 Father’s Sister,5 Mother’s Sister,6 Father’s Brother’s Wife.7 Mother’s Brother’s Wife,8 Wife’s Father’s Sister,9 Wife’s Mother’s Sister.10 Mother,11 Step-Mother,12 Wife’s Mother.13 Daughter,14 Wife’s Daughter,15 Son’s Wife.16 Sister,17 Wife’s Sister,18 Brother’s Wife.19 Son’s Daughter,20 Daughter’s Daughter,21 Son’s Son’s Wife.22 Daughter’s Son’s Wife,23 Wife’s Son’s Daughter,24 Wife’s Daughter’s Daughter.25 Brother’s Daughter,26 Sister’s Daughter,27 Brother’s Son’s Wife.28 Sister’s Son’s Wife,29 Wife’s Brother’s Daughter,30 Wife’s Sister’s Daughter.A woman may not marry with her1 GRANDFATHER,2 Grandmother’s Husband,3 Husband’s Grandfather.4 Father’s Brother,5 Mother’s Brother,6 Father’s Sister’s Husband.7 Mother’s sister’s Husband,8 Husband’s Father’s Brother,9 Husband’s Mother’s Brother.10 Father,11 Step-Father,12 Husband’s Father.13 Son,14 Husband’s Son,15 Daughter’s Husband.16 Brother,17 Husband’s Brother,18 Sister’s Husband.19 Son’s Son,20 Daughter’s Son,21 Son’s Daughter’s Husband.22 Daughter’s Daughter’s Husband,23 Husband’s Son’s Son,24 Husband’s Daughter’s Son.25 Brother’s Son,26 Sister’s Son,27 Brother’s Daughter’s Husband.28 Sister’s Daughter’s Husband,29 Husband’s Brother’s Son,30 Husband’s Sister’s Son.
A man may not marry his
A man may not marry his
1 GRANDMOTHER,2 Grandfather’s Wife,3 Wife’s Grandmother.
1 GRANDMOTHER,
2 Grandfather’s Wife,
3 Wife’s Grandmother.
4 Father’s Sister,5 Mother’s Sister,6 Father’s Brother’s Wife.
4 Father’s Sister,
5 Mother’s Sister,
6 Father’s Brother’s Wife.
7 Mother’s Brother’s Wife,8 Wife’s Father’s Sister,9 Wife’s Mother’s Sister.
7 Mother’s Brother’s Wife,
8 Wife’s Father’s Sister,
9 Wife’s Mother’s Sister.
10 Mother,11 Step-Mother,12 Wife’s Mother.
10 Mother,
11 Step-Mother,
12 Wife’s Mother.
13 Daughter,14 Wife’s Daughter,15 Son’s Wife.
13 Daughter,
14 Wife’s Daughter,
15 Son’s Wife.
16 Sister,17 Wife’s Sister,18 Brother’s Wife.
16 Sister,
17 Wife’s Sister,
18 Brother’s Wife.
19 Son’s Daughter,20 Daughter’s Daughter,21 Son’s Son’s Wife.
19 Son’s Daughter,
20 Daughter’s Daughter,
21 Son’s Son’s Wife.
22 Daughter’s Son’s Wife,23 Wife’s Son’s Daughter,24 Wife’s Daughter’s Daughter.
22 Daughter’s Son’s Wife,
23 Wife’s Son’s Daughter,
24 Wife’s Daughter’s Daughter.
25 Brother’s Daughter,26 Sister’s Daughter,27 Brother’s Son’s Wife.
25 Brother’s Daughter,
26 Sister’s Daughter,
27 Brother’s Son’s Wife.
28 Sister’s Son’s Wife,29 Wife’s Brother’s Daughter,30 Wife’s Sister’s Daughter.
28 Sister’s Son’s Wife,
29 Wife’s Brother’s Daughter,
30 Wife’s Sister’s Daughter.
A woman may not marry with her
A woman may not marry with her
1 GRANDFATHER,2 Grandmother’s Husband,3 Husband’s Grandfather.
1 GRANDFATHER,
2 Grandmother’s Husband,
3 Husband’s Grandfather.
4 Father’s Brother,5 Mother’s Brother,6 Father’s Sister’s Husband.
4 Father’s Brother,
5 Mother’s Brother,
6 Father’s Sister’s Husband.
7 Mother’s sister’s Husband,8 Husband’s Father’s Brother,9 Husband’s Mother’s Brother.
7 Mother’s sister’s Husband,
8 Husband’s Father’s Brother,
9 Husband’s Mother’s Brother.
10 Father,11 Step-Father,12 Husband’s Father.
10 Father,
11 Step-Father,
12 Husband’s Father.
13 Son,14 Husband’s Son,15 Daughter’s Husband.
13 Son,
14 Husband’s Son,
15 Daughter’s Husband.
16 Brother,17 Husband’s Brother,18 Sister’s Husband.
16 Brother,
17 Husband’s Brother,
18 Sister’s Husband.
19 Son’s Son,20 Daughter’s Son,21 Son’s Daughter’s Husband.
19 Son’s Son,
20 Daughter’s Son,
21 Son’s Daughter’s Husband.
22 Daughter’s Daughter’s Husband,23 Husband’s Son’s Son,24 Husband’s Daughter’s Son.
22 Daughter’s Daughter’s Husband,
23 Husband’s Son’s Son,
24 Husband’s Daughter’s Son.
25 Brother’s Son,26 Sister’s Son,27 Brother’s Daughter’s Husband.
25 Brother’s Son,
26 Sister’s Son,
27 Brother’s Daughter’s Husband.
28 Sister’s Daughter’s Husband,29 Husband’s Brother’s Son,30 Husband’s Sister’s Son.
28 Sister’s Daughter’s Husband,
29 Husband’s Brother’s Son,
30 Husband’s Sister’s Son.
CONSECRATION. The solemn act of dedicating anything or person to a Divine service and use.
CONSECRATION OF A BISHOP. By this we mean the separating of a person for the holy office of a bishop, by imposition of hands and prayer. According to a canon of the first Nicene Council, there must be four, or at least three, bishops present at the consecration of a bishop. The form used in the Church of England may be found in the Book of Common Prayer. And it is stated in the preface thereto, that “no one shall be accounted or taken to be a bishop, or suffered to execute the same function, unless he be called, tried, and admitted thereunto according to that form, orhath had formerly episcopal consecration.” The concluding portion of this sentence recognises the validity of consecrations given in foreign churches by any other form adopted by those Churches. Thus a French, or an Italian, or a Greek bishop, conforming to the rules of the Church of England, requires no fresh consecration, but is at liberty to officiate among us.
By the eighth canon, “Whoever shall affirm or teach, that the form and manner of making and consecrating bishops, priests, and deacons, containeth anything in it that is repugnant to the word ofGod; or that they who are made bishops, priests, or deacons in that form are not lawfully made, nor ought to be accounted, either by themselves or others, to be truly either bishops, priests, or deacons, until they have some other calling to those Divine offices; let him be excommunicatedipso facto, not to be restored until he repent, and publicly revoke such his wicked errors.”
And by the thirty-sixth of the Thirty-nine Articles, “the book of consecration of archbishops and bishops, and ordering of priests and deacons, lately set forth in the time of Edward VI., and confirmed at the same time by authority of parliament, doth contain all things necessary to such consecrating and ordering; neither hath it anything that of itself is superstitious and ungodly. And therefore whosoever are consecrated or ordered according to the rites of that book, since the second year of the forenamed King Edward unto this time, or hereafter shall be consecrated or ordered according to the same rites, we decree all such to be rightly, orderly, and lawfully consecrated and ordered.” And by the Act of Uniformity in the 13th and 14th Charles II., all subscriptions to be made unto the Thirty-nine Articles shall be construed to extend (touching the said thirty-sixth article) to the book containing the form and manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating of bishops, priests, and deacons, in this said act mentioned, as the same did heretofore extend unto the book set forth in the time of King Edward VI. (13 & 14 Charles II. c. 4, s. 30, 31.)
Here we may allude to the Nag’s Head story, one of the most flimsy, as well as wicked, inventions of the Romanists, to invalidate the orders of the Church of England. It refers to the consecration of Archbishop Parker, on which depends the validity of orders in the English Church: for if Archbishop Parker’s consecration was not good, all those who were consecrated by him were not bishops, because he could not confer that character upon others which he had not himself.
The Papists assert that his consecrationwas irregular, both as to the place where it was performed, which they say was at the Nag’s Head Tavern, Cheapside, and as to the manner of doing it, which they say was by one of the bishops then present, who laid the Bible on Dr. Parker’s head, and then pronounced the words, “Take thou authority,” &c. It is further objected, that three of the four bishops then present were only bishops elect, and had no sees; and that the other was a suffragan.
The story, which has long since been abundantly refuted, and which is now given up by the best authorities among the Romanists, was as follows: The queen issued forth her warrant, directed to the bishop of Llandaff; to Dr. Scory, elect of Hereford; Dr. Barlow, elect of Chichester; Dr. Coverdale, elect of Exeter; and Dr. Hodgkins, suffragan of Bedford. All these persons met at the Nag’s Head Tavern, where it had been usual for the dean of the Arches and the civilians to refresh themselves, after any confirmation of a bishop; and there one Neale, who was Bonner’s chaplain, peeped through a hole in the door, and saw all the other bishops very importunate with Llandaff, who had been dissuaded by Bonner to assist in this consecration, which he obstinately refusing, Dr. Scory bid the rest kneel, and he laid the Bible on each of their shoulders or heads and pronounced these words, “Take thou authority,” &c., and so they stood up all bishops. This story was certainly invented after the queen’s reign; for if it had been true, it is so remarkable, that some of the writers of that time would undoubtedly have taken notice of it. But Bishop Burnet has discovered the falsity of it, from an original manuscript of the consecration of this very archbishop, which was done in the chapel at Lambeth, on Sunday, the 17th of December, in the first year of the queen’s reign, where Dr. Parker came a little after five in the morning in a scarlet gown and hood, attended by the said four bishops, and lighted by four torches; and there, after prayers, Dr. Scory preached; and then the other bishops presented the archbishop to him, and the mandate for his consecration being read by a doctor of the civil law, and he having taken the oaths of supremacy, and some prayers being said, according to the form of consecration then lately published, all the four bishops laid their hands on the archbishop’s head, and said, “Receive theHoly Ghost,” &c. And this was done in the presence of several other clergy. See Archbishop Bramhall’s “Consecration and Succession of Protestant Bishops Justified,” with the additions in vol. iii. of his works, Oxford, 1844.
CONSECRATION OF CHURCHES. The law recognises no place as a church until it has been consecrated by the bishop.
In the Church of England the bishop is left to his own discretion as to the form he will use in the consecration of a church; but in the 21 Henry VIII. c. 13, which limits the number of chaplains that each person may have, one reason assigned why a bishop may retain six chaplains is because he must occupy that number in the consecration of churches.
The custom of solemnly setting apart, from ordinary and secular use, whatever is appropriated to the service of AlmightyGod, has the highest possible sanction; for many are the instances of it recorded in the Holy Scriptures. True it is that there is no record of any such ceremonial having been used among Christians in reference to churches, before the fourth century, though some ritualists are of opinion that a form of dedication was common much earlier. No sooner, however, was the sword of persecution sheathed, andGodpermitted his Church to serve him in all godly quietness, than such solemnities became general. Then, as Eusebius tells us, “there was an incessant joy, and there sprung up for all a certain celestial gladness, seeing every place, which but a short time before had been desolated by the impieties of the tyrants, reviving again, and recovering from a long and deadly distemper; temples again rising from the soil to a lofty height, and receiving a splendour far exceeding those which had been formerly destroyed.” And again: “after this the sight was afforded us, so eagerly desired and prayed for by all,—the festivals of dedications, and consecrations of the newly-erected houses of prayer throughout the cities. After this, the convention of bishops, the concourse of foreigners from abroad, the benevolence of people to people, the unity of the members ofChristconcurring in one harmonious body. Then was it according to the prophetic declaration, mystically indicating what would take place, ‘bone was brought to bone, and joint to joint,’ and whatsoever other matters the Divine word faithfully intimated before. There was, also, one energy of the Divine Spirit pervading all the members, and one soul among all, one and the same ardour of faith, one song of praise to the Deity; yea now, indeed, complete and perfect solemnities of the prelates and heads of the Church, sacredperformances of sacred rites, and solemn rituals of the Church. Here you might hear the singing of psalms; there, the performance of divine and sacred mysteries. The mystic symbols of ourSaviour’spassion were celebrated; and, at the same time, each sex of every age, male and female, with the power of the mind, and with a mind and whole heart rejoicing in prayer and thanksgiving, gave glory toGod, the author of all good. Every one of the prelates present also delivered panegyrical discourses, desirous of adding lustre to the assembly, according to the ability of each.” One such discourse, pronounced by Eusebius himself, still remains.
In his Life of Constantine, Eusebius gives an instance of the ceremonial thus described in the consecration, amid a full synod of bishops of the church of Jerusalem, which Constantine had built over ourSaviour’ssepulchre,A. D.335. Socrates records a similar consecration of the famous church of Antioch, calledDominicum Aureum, which was begun by Constantine and finished by Constantius,A. D.341. Testimony to the prevalency of this custom is also borne by St. Athanasius, who defends himself in his apology to Constantius, (c. 14–18,) when charged with having used a building for public worship, before it was dedicated by the emperor, and consecrated by himself, on the ground of necessity; for since during Lent the congregations in the ordinary churches had been so crowded as to prove injurious to the persons present, and anticipating still more crowded assemblies at Easter, he thought himself justified, under such circumstances, to use an edifice which was unconsecrated. St. Gregory Nazianzen likewise speaks of this ceremonial as an ancient customπαλαιὸς νόμος.
Such then were the offices connected with the consecration of churches in primitive times. Bishops, from distant provinces, with a vast concourse of clergy and laity, were present; an appropriate sermon or sermons were preached; the holy eucharist wasalwaysadministered; in the course of which prayers suitable to the occasion were offered. Of these prayers one is still preserved in the writings of St. Ambrose.
On this model it was that the consecration services of the Church Catholic were formed, each church, at first, varying in non-essentials, as circumstances may have required.
In the English Church, various records of very early date exist relating to the consecration of churches. Geoffrey of Monmouth, who professes to follow Gildas, says that in the time of King Lucius (A. D.162) pagan temples were consecrated in Britain to the honour of the trueGod. And we find from Bede, that the passage just quoted from Eusebius was applicable to our own island. It is known that Bertha, wife of Ethelbert, king of Kent, repaired or rebuilt a church, first built by the Romans, and had it dedicated to the honour of St. Martin of Tours, an eminent saint among the Christians of her native country. This was the church granted by Ethelbert to Augustine, on his landing in the isle of Thanet,A. D.596. Some time after his arrival, Gregory the Great sent Augustine particular instructions about the dedication of the temples of the Anglo-Saxons; and when the bishop had his episcopal see assigned him in the royal city, he recovered therein a church, which he was informed had been built by the ancient Roman Christians, and consecrated it in the name of our holySaviour,GodandLord,Jesus Christ. From the same historian we learn, that Laurentius, Augustine’s successor in the primacy, consecrated a church to St. Peter and St. Paul, afterwards called St. Augustine’s, in honour of Augustine, who had commenced building it. Mellitus, who succeeded Laurentius, consecrated the church of the Holy Mother ofGod, built by King Eadbald,A. D.622. There is a detailed account of the consecration of the church of Ripon, by Wilfrid, archbishop of York,A. D.665, given in the Life of that prelate, written by Eddius and Fridegode. Numerous subsequent canons are found, bearing on the same subject. For instance, one of Archbishop Ecgbriht’s “Excerptions,”A. D.740, relates to the consecration of churches. In Archbishop Wilfrid’s canons,A. D.816, it is ordered:
“When a church is built, let it be consecrated by the bishop of its own diocese, according to the ministerial book.”
Again, in the canons of Archbishop Corboyl,A. D.1126, in the canons at Westminster,A. D.1138, and in Archbishop Richard’s canons,A. D.1175, similar injunctions are given.
From the constitutions of Otho,A. D.1237, it would appear—so unfounded is the boast of the Romanists, that the time when Popery was dominant in England was a period of reverence and devotion never since known to her Church—that this solemnity was then much neglected. This is evident from the first of these canons, which, after observing that thededication of royal temples is known to have taken its beginning from the Old Testament, and was observed by the holy fathers in the New Testament, under which it ought to be done with the greater care and dignity, &c., goes on to enact,
“Thatbecause we have ourselves seen, and heard by many, that so wholesome a mystery is despised, at least neglected, by some, (for we have found many churches, and some cathedrals, not consecrated with holy oil though built of old,) we, therefore, being desirous to obviate so great a neglect, do ordain and give in charge, that all cathedrals, conventual and parochial churches, which are ready built, and their walls perfected, be consecrated by the diocesan bishops, to whom they belong, or others authorized by them, within two years: and let it so be done in a like time in all churches hereafter to be built; and lest so wholesome a statute grow into contempt, if such like places be not dedicated within two years from the time of their being finished, we decree them to remain interdicted from the solemnization of masses until they be consecrated, unless they be excused for some reasonable cause.”
In the constitutions of Othobon,A. D.1268, there is a similar canon.
From these canons it is plain, that the office of consecration had contracted many of those Romish superstitions which were retained until the Reformation. Not that our reformers, when reforming the other services of the Church, extended their labours to that of consecration. Indeed, as that was a period, to use the words of Bishop Short, when more churches were destroyed than built, there was no immediate use for the service in question. This task was reserved for Bishop Andrews, whose service was compiled, as were all the offices of the English Church, from the formularies in use before the Reformation.
Unanswerable as was Hooker’s defence of the consecration of churches, it was insufficient to protect Laud from the clamour of his implacable enemies, when he consecrated St. Catherine Cree church, as bishop of London, in 1630. And in the well-known London petition, presented to the Long Parliament, by the notorious Alderman Pennington, about ten years later, the consecration of churches was not forgotten to be included “among the manifold evils, pressures, and grievances, caused, practised, and occasioned by the prelates and their dependants.”
At the Restoration the custom revived, and the subject was again discussed; but as there was no authorized office, (Laud, having been prevented from drawing up a form, as he intended, in the convocation of 1640,) the preparation of one was committed to Bishop Cosin in the convocation of 1661. When prepared it was presented to the house, and referred to a committee of four bishops for revision, but nothing seems ultimately to have been done about it. Since that period each bishop has adopted any form he thought best, though perhaps the form of consecrating churches, chapels, and churchyards, or places of burial, which was sent down by the bishops to the lower houses of convocation, (1712,) and altered by a committee of the whole house, is the one, not that it is enjoined by any competent authority, now most generally used.—Teale.
Different rites were prepared by Barlow, bishop of Lincoln, Patrick, bishop of Ely, and King, bishop of London.—Palmer; Supplement. (SeeHarrington, on the Consecration of Churches.)
CONSECRATION OF THE ELEMENTS. The following is the rubric with reference to the consecration of the elements in theLord’ssupper: “When the priest, standing before the table, hath so ordered the bread and wine, that he may with the more readiness and decency break the bread before the people, and take the cup into his hands, he shall say the prayer of consecration.” If it be asked, whether the priest is to say this prayer standing before the table, or at the north end of it, I answer, at the north end of it; for, according to the rules of grammar, the participle “standing” must refer to the verb “ordered,” and not to the verb “say.” So that, whilst the priest is “ordering the bread and wine,” he is to stand before the table; but when he says the prayer, he is to stand so as “that he may with the more readiness and decency break the bread before the people,” which must be on the north side. For if he stood “before” the table, his body would hinder the people from seeing; so that he must not stand there, and consequently he must stand on the north side; there being, in our present rubric, no other place mentioned for performing any part of this office. In the Romish Church indeed they always stand “before” the altar during the time of consecration, in order to prevent the people from being eye-witnesses of their operation in working their pretended miracle; and in the Greek Church they shut the chancel door, or at least draw a veil or curtain before it, I suppose, upon the same account. But our Church, that pretends no such miracle, enjoins, we see,the direct contrary to this, by ordering the priest so “to order the bread and wine, that he may with the more readiness and decency break the bread and take the cup into his hands before the people.” And with this view it is probable the Scotch liturgy ordered, that, “during the time of consecration, the presbyter should stand at such a part of the holy table, where he may with the more ease and decency use both his hands.”—Wheatly.
The consecration of the elements being always esteemed an act of authority, and standing being therefore a more proper posture, as well as a more commodious one, for this purpose, the priest is here directed to stand.—Collis.
We do not eat our common food without first praying for a blessing on it; which pious custom is so universal, that it is certainly a piece of natural religion; how much more then are we obliged, before we eat and drink this bread and wine, whichChristdesigned to set forth the mystery of his death, to consecrate it and set it apart by a solemn prayer; especially sinceChristhimself in the institution of this sacred ordinance, while he was teaching his apostles how to celebrate it, did use a form of blessing over it (Matt. xxvi. 26); which St. Paul calls “giving thanks.” (1 Cor. xi. 24.) Wherefore all churches in the world, from the apostles’ days, have used such a form, the ancient and essential part of which is the words of ourSaviour’sinstitution; for, since he makes this sacramental charge, it hath been thought fit by all churches to keep his own words, which being pronounced by a lawful priest, do properly make the consecration; wherefore our Church has cut off all the later superstitious additions, by which the Roman Church hath corrupted this form, and given us a prayer of consecration, consisting only of the words of ourSaviour’sinstitution, and a proper prayer to introduce it. The first part is a prayer directed to “AlmightyGodour heavenlyFather,” commemorating his mercy in giving hisSonto die for us, and the all-sufficient merit of his death, together with his command for our remembering it in this sacrament; and on these grounds desiring that, since we obey him in thus celebrating it, we may therein receiveChrist’sbody and blood. The second part is the repetition of the words and actions of ourLordat the institution, concerning both the time and the manner of its institution.—Dean Comber.
If it be here demanded, to what words the consecration of the elements ought to be ascribed, I answer, to the prayer of the faithful offered by the priest, and to the words of institution repeated by him. This was the sense of the ancient Church ofChrist, which used them both in their eucharistical offices; and never held, that the elements were changed from their common to a more sublime use and efficacy by the bare repeating of the words, “This is my body,” and “This is my blood,” as the Papists absurdly hold. To bring about this change must be the work of theHoly Ghost; and thereupon it is requisite, that we should pray toGod, to endue the elements with this life-giving virtue. Now the words of institution can by no means be called a prayer: they were addressed by ourSaviourto his disciples, and not toGod: to them he said, “Take and eat.” When we use them, they are historical, recounting what ourLordsaid and did, when he ordained this sacrament. And though when he said, “This is my body, this is my blood,” these words effectually made them so, showing that it was his will and pleasure that they should be taken as his sacramental body and blood; though the virtue of those words, once spoken byChrist, doth still operate towards making the bread and wine his body and blood; yet, as now used and spoken by the priest, they do not contain in them any such power, unless they be joined with prayer toGod.
OurLordhimself did, besides pronouncing them, give thanks and bless the elements. Thus our Church uses prayer, as well as the words of institution; and doth not attribute the consecration to the one without the other. “If the consecrated bread or wine be all spent, before all have communicated, the priest,” it is true, is ordered by the rubric to “consecrate more,” by repeating only the words of institution. But the virtue of the prayer, which the Church hath last made, is to be understood as concurring therewith; and this is only a particular application to these particular elements. Hence comes the propriety of saying “Amen” at the end of those words; which would not be so properly added, unless it referred back to the preceding petitions. And that this is the sense of the Church of England is further plain, in that she in her rubric calls this “the prayer of consecration,” in which the words of institution are contained; and it is addressed to AlmightyGod, &c., whereas the words ofChristwere not supplicatory toGod, but declaratory to his disciples.
After the same manner, in the “Office of Public Baptism,” in imitation of the custom of the ancient Christians, who dedicatedthe baptismal water to the holy and spiritual use for which it was designed, our Church not only repeats the words of institution of that other sacrament, but likewise adds a solemn prayer, thatGodwould “sanctify the water to the mystical washing away of sin.” And, as in that sacrament she joins the prayer of the faithful to the words ofChrist, so in the sacrament of the altar she thinks them both necessary to complete the consecration.—Archdeacon Yardley.
A prayer of consecration, or setting apart the bread and wine to the sacred purpose in which they are about to be employed, hath been used for that end at least 1600 years. And the mention which ours makes of the institution of theLord’ssupper, from the words, “who in the same night that he was betrayed,” to the conclusion, is in every old liturgy in the world. The Romanists have put into their prayer of consecration names of saints, and commemorations of the dead which we have thrown out. And indeed we have left nothing that so much as needs explaining, unless it may be useful to observe, that ourSaviour’s“one oblation of himself” is opposed to the various kinds of oblations under the law; and, “once offered,” to the continual repetition of them: though probably a further view was to intimate, that he is not, as the Papists pretend, really sacrificed anew in this holy ordinance.—Abp. Secker.
The death ofChrist, if we regard the persons for whom it was undergone, is a “sacrifice;” if we regard him who offered it, it is a free “oblation;” if we consider him to whom it was offered, it is a “satisfaction;” and, in every one of these respects, it is “full, perfect, and sufficient:” or, particularly, it is a “full satisfaction,” a “perfect oblation,” and a “sufficient sacrifice;” not, like the legal offerings, for the sins of one kind, or the offences of one nation or of one person, but for the sins of all the world. Let none therefore mistake, or imagine we are about to sacrificeChristagain, as the Roman Church falsely teacheth; for that is not only needless and impossible, but a plain contradiction to St. Paul, who affirms, thatJesuswas offered only “once” (Heb. ix. 26; x. 10, 12); and by that “one oblation he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (ver. 14); so that there needs “no more offering for sin” (ver. 18).—Dean Comber.
From these passages of the Epistle to the Hebrews it is plain, to use Bishop Overall’s words, that “Christcan be no more offered, as the doctors and priests of the Roman party fancy it to be, and vainly think that, every time they say mass, they offer up and sacrificeChristanew, as properly and truly as he offered up himself in his sacrifice upon the cross. And this is one of the points of doctrine, and the chief one, whereof the Popish mass consisteth; abrogated and reformed here by the Church of England, according to the express word ofGod.”
CONSERVATORIES. Public schools of music in Italy, so called because they are intended to preserve the purity of the science and practice of music. TheConservatoriosare pious foundations, kept up at the expense of rich citizens, in which orphans, foundlings, and the children of poor parents are boarded, lodged, and taught gratuitously. There are separate foundations for pupils of each sex. These institutions, which ought to provide the churches of Italy with well-instructed choristers, and to limit their attention to this object, do in fact supply the theatre, as well as the Church, with the most admired performers. SeeDr. Burney’sPresent State of Music in France and Italy, for an account of these conservatorios.
CONSISTENTES. (English,Co-standers.) The last order of penitents in the primitive Church, so called from their having the liberty, after other penitents, energumens, and catechumens were dismissed, to stand with the faithful at the altar, and join in the common prayers, and see the oblation offered; but yet they might neither make their own oblations, nor partake of the eucharist with them.—Bingham.
CONSISTORY. A word used to denote the Court Christian, or Spiritual Court. Every bishop has his consistory court held before his chancellor or commissary, in his cathedral church, or other convenient place of his diocese, for ecclesiastical causes. In the Church of England, before the Norman Conquest, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction was not separated from the civil; for the earl and bishop sat in one court, that is, in the ancient county court.
CONSTANCE, COUNCIL OF. This council assembled in 1414, by the combined authority of the emperor and the pope. It was attended by thirty cardinals, three patriarchs, twenty archbishops, one hundred and fifty bishops, besides an immense number of the inferior clergy. It included sovereign princes, electors of Germany, as well as representatives from every country in communion with Rome. Its objects were, to put an end to theschism, to reform the Church, and to put down the so-called heresy of Bohemia.
During a period of nearly forty years rival popes had claimed the see of Rome; and the whole of Christendom had been scandalized by their intrigues, their falsehoods, and their mutual anathemas. Each side had the support of universities and of learned divines. Each pleaded a Divine revelation, which was said to have been communicated on behalf of the one to St. Bridget, and of the other to St. Catherine of Sienna.
The council not only removed the two popes whose title had been previously disallowed, but also deposed the third, who had been legitimately appointed, and had forfeited his right by many and great crimes. The wickedness of John XXIII. seems to have been almost without parallel. Some charges against him were indeed suppressed, because it was thought that the papacy itself would be endangered by their publication; but enough was proved on unquestionable testimony to insure unanimous consent to his deposition.
In the mean while the necessity of reformation was urged on all sides. In the council itself, cardinals and bishops, as well as other divines, declaimed against the ignorance and vicious lives of the clergy, which bore testimony to the ill effects resulting from the lengthened schism; while the German people presented a memorial demanding reformation of the evils by which they affirmed the Church to be overrun, and that it should take place of all other business. A vehement contest on this subject ensued between the secular and ecclesiastical authorities, somewhat similar to that which afterwards occurred at Trent; but in the end the urgent duty was postponed until the election of the pope had taken place, and then it was successfully evaded.
John Huss, who was a learned and eloquent man, of blameless life, and of great influence, arrived at Constance soon after the meeting of the council. He had embraced the opinions of Wickliff, and had been especially earnest in denouncing the avarice and immoralities of the priests, as well as the frauds practised upon the people by pretended miracles. He was accused and thrown into prison. The emperor at first expressed great indignation at his arrest, but having been influenced by members of the council, he not only withdrew his protection, but deputed the elector palatine, as vicar of the empire, to place him in the hands of the secular magistrate. The pleas on which this breach of faith have been defended by Roman writers are inconsistent and self-contradictory. Some endeavour to maintain that Huss did not possess the safe-conduct until after his arrest; some, that he broke the conditions on which it was granted; and some, that no engagement of the emperor could limit the authority of the council. All impartial judges have long been agreed in condemning the act as a deep and indelible disgrace to the Roman Church. The letters of the martyr himself, as well as the language of his defence, describe in touching and Christianly terms, the harshness and injustice with which he was treated. Having resisted all efforts to procure his recantation, whether by threats or persuasion, he was condemned, and met his death with wonderful calmness and heroism, on the 7th July, 1415. The immediate effect of his condemnation, and that of Jerome of Prague, which speedily followed, was to kindle the flames of civil war in Bohemia, during which the names of Wickliff and Huss formed the watchword on the one side, and that of the pope on the other. It is said that the descendant of Sigismund, in the fourth generation, believed himself to be suffering under the wrath of God on account of his ancestor’s sin.
In the fourth and fifth sessions, the absolute superiority of a general council over the pope was expressed in the form of an exact decree. It was declared that the council holds its authority directly from Christ; and that all persons, including those of papal dignity, are amenable to its jurisdiction, and are liable to punishment for disobedience. No language could be more precise than that which was employed. The same doctrine had been previously asserted in the Council of Pisa; and was afterwards confirmed in the Council of Basle. It was the judgment of the constitutional party which had gradually become strong in the Roman Church; and it was now embodied in the solemn act by which three popes were set aside, and Martin V. substituted in their place; in the validity of whose appointment the papal succession is inseparably bound up. The decision of the council was gravely and deliberately adopted; and it had the fullest support of the learned divines who were present, such as Cardinal P. d’ Ailli, who had been chancellor of the university of Paris, and his still more illustrious pupil and successor John Gerson, who, beyond all other theologians, influenced and represented the mind of thatage. It has always furnished an insurmountable difficulty to controversialists of the ultramontane school. They cannot reject its authority without giving up the legitimacy of every pope since Martin V.; while, on the other hand, it is plainly at variance with the decrees of the Council of Florence.
The decrees of their fourth and fifth sessions have been strenuously maintained by the Gallican Church, especially by Bossuet, and the very learned men who shared his opinions in the seventeenth century; as well as by the universities of Paris, Louvain, and Cologne.
Materials for the history of the Council of Constance are provided abundantly by the invaluable collection of documents made by H. Von der Hardt.
CONSUBSTANTIAL. Co-essential; of the same substance with another. Thus we say of our blessedLord, that he isconsubstantialwith theFather, being “of one substance with theFather.” The term (ὁμοούσιος) was first adopted by the fathers in the Council of Nice,A. D.325, to express more precisely the orthodox doctrine, and to serve as a precaution against the subtleties of the Arians, who admitted every thingexceptthe consubstantiality, using a word similar in sound, but very different in meaning,ὁμοιούσιος. This word is still the distinguishing criterion between the catholic or orthodox Christian and the Arian heretic.
CONSUBSTANTIATION. The Romish divines fell into the error of endeavouring to explain themannerin which our blessedLordis present in the eucharist. (SeeTransubstantiation.) Luther and his followers, while opposing the Romanists, fell into a similar error, only insisting on a different manner of explaining the inexplicable mystery. Luther and his followers maintained, that, after the consecration of the elements, the body and blood of ourSaviourare substantially present together with the bread and wine. This doctrine is calledconsubstantiation. They believe that the real body and blood of ourLordare united in a mysterious manner, through the consecration, with the bread and wine, and are received with and under them in the sacrament of theLord’ssupper.
CONTRITION. (SeeAttrition.) Romanists define contrition to be a sorrow for sin, with a sincere resolution of reforming. The word is derived from the Latinconterere, to break or bruise. The Psalmist says, “A broken and acontriteheart, OGod, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm li. 17.)—Conc. Trident.§ 14, c. 4.
CONVENT. A religious house; a monastery; more usually used to signify a nunnery. For its architectural arrangements, seeMonastery.
CONVENTICLE. A diminutive of convent, denoting properly a cabal, or secret assembly of a part of the monks of a convent, to make a party in the election of an abbot. It is now the legal term to denote any place of worship used by those who depart from the Church of England.
By the 73rd canon it is thus ordained: “Forasmuch as allconventiclesand secret meetings of priests and ministers have ever been justly accounted very hateful to the state of the Church wherein they live, we do ordain that no priests or ministers of the Word ofGod, nor any other persons, shall meet together in any private house, or elsewhere, to consult upon any matter or course to be taken by them, or upon their motion or direction by any other, which may any way tend to the impeaching or depraving of the doctrine of the Church of England, or the Book of Common Prayer, or any part of the government or discipline now established in the Church of England, under pain of excommunicationipso facto.”
CONVERSION. A change of heart and life from sin to holiness. This change, when it takes place in a heathen or an infidel, comprises a reception and confession of the truths of Christianity: when it takes place in a person already baptized and a Christian in profession, it implies a saving and influential impression on his heart, of those truths which are already received by the mind and acknowledged with the lips. To the heathen and infidel conversion is absolutely and always necessary to salvation. The baptized Christian may byGod’sgrace so continue in that state of salvation in which he was placed in baptism, (seeChurch Catechism,) that conversion, in this sense, is not necessary to him: still even he, day by day, will fall into sins of infirmity, and he will need renewal or renovation: and all these—the daily renewal of the pious Christian, the conversion of the nominal Christian, and the conversion of the infidel or heathen—are the work of the Holy Spirit ofGodon the hearts of men.
Some persons have confusedconversionwithregeneration, and have taught that all men—the baptized, and therefore in fact regenerate—must be regenerated afterwards, or they cannot be saved. Now this is in many ways false; for regeneration,which theLord Jesus Christhimself has connected with holy baptism, cannot be repeated: moreover, not all men (though indeed most men do) fall into such sin after baptism, that conversion, or, as they term it, regeneration, is necessary to their salvation; and if a regeneration were necessary to them, it could only be obtained through a repetition of baptism, which were an act of sacrilege. Those who speak of this supposed regeneration, uncharitably represent the orthodox as denying the necessity both of regeneration and of conversion; because they themselves call these by wrong names, and the orthodox only proclaim their necessity in their true sense.
They who object to the expressionBaptismal Regeneration, by regeneration mean, for the most part, the first influx of irresistible and indefectible grace; grace that cannot be repelled by its subject, and which must issue in his final salvation. Now, of such grace our Church knows nothing, and of course, therefore, means not by regeneration at baptism the first influx of such grace. That the sins, original and actual, of the faithful recipient of baptism, are washed away, she doth indeed believe; and also that grace is given to him by the immediate agency of theHoly Spirit; yet so that the conscience thus cleansed may be again defiled, and that the baptized person may, and often does, by his own fault, fall again into sin, in which if he die he shall without doubt perish everlastingly; his condemnation not being avoided, but rather increased, by his baptismal privilege. So that, in fact, we say not that any one is regenerated at baptism, according to the meaning of these words in the lips of our opponents. And if they will not admit that baptism is the Divinely appointed medium of regeneration in our sense of that term, what grace can they imagine so trifling as to comport with their views of that sacrament, and at the same time so lofty and essential, as to be contemplated byChristin the solemn institution of a sacrament; and in his declarations concerning the efficacy and necessity of that sacrament; and by the apostles, and the whole Church, in their sense of the same matter, and their consequent practice? What approaches most nearly to that grace of their own imagining, which they call regeneration, is the repentance not to be repented of, and followed by fruits of righteousness to the glory ofGod’sgrace, and to the salvation of the Christian, which we callconversionor renewal, and attribute to the sameSpiritfrom whom we receive our new life at baptism; and which we hold to be as necessary to the salvation of one who has fallen from his baptismal purity, (and who has not so fallen?) as we holdbaptismalregeneration to be, and as they hold theirsupposedregeneration. Except in words, then, we and our opponents are more nearly agreed than is at first sight apparent; and if the choice of terms be the chief point at issue, we have this to say for the expressions which we use, that they are consentient, and even identical, with those which are used in the Scriptures; and that they are the same which the whole Church employed, until the days of certain founders of sects, called after their own names at the continental Reformation; so that they rest on the highest possible grounds of Scripture and authority.—Poole.(SeeRegeneration.)
CONVOCATION (seeSynod.) is an assembly of the bishops and other clergy of each of the provinces of the Church of England to consult on matters ecclesiastical. As much is in these days said of convocation, and as many seem to think that a convocation must be holden to settle the disputes now unhappily prevailing among the clergy, it may be interesting if we extend this article, that we may supply our readers with a history of convocations. It will be abridged from the account given by Dr. Burn.
That the bishop of every diocese in England, as in all other Christian countries, had power to convene the clergy of his diocese, and, in a common synod or council, with them to transact such affairs as specially related to the order and government of the churches under his jurisdiction, is not to be questioned. These assemblies of the clergy were as old almost as the first settlement of Christianity amongst us, and, amidst all other revolutions, continued to be held till the time of King Henry VIII.
What the bishop of every diocese did within his own district, the archbishop of each province, after the kingdom was divided into provinces, did within his proper province. They called together first the bishops, afterwards the other prelates, of their provinces; and by degrees added to these such of their inferior clergy as they thought needful. In these two assemblies of the clergy (the diocesan synods and provincial councils) only the spiritual affairs of the Church were wont for a long time to be transacted: so that, in this respect, there was no difference between the bishops and clergy of our own and of other Christian churches. Our metropolitansand their suffragans acted by the same rules here as they did in all other countries. They held these assemblies by the same power, convened the same persons, and did the same things in them. When the papal authority had prevailed here, as in most other kingdoms and countries in Europe, by the leave of our kings, and at the command of the legates sent from Rome, another and yet larger sort of councils was introduced amongst us, of the bishops and prelates of the whole realm. These were properly national Church councils, and were wont to be held for some special designs, which either the pope, the king, or both, had to promote by them.
But besides these synods common to us with all other Christian Churches, and which were in their nature and end, as well as constitution, properly and purely ecclesiastical, two other assemblies there were of the clergy of this realm,peculiar to our own state and country; in which the clergy were convened, not for the spiritual affairs of the Church, but for the good and benefit of the realm, and to act as members of the one as well as of the other. Now the occasion of these was this: when the faith ofChristwas thoroughly planted here, and the piety of our ancestors had liberally endowed the bishops and clergy of the Church with temporal lands and possessions, not only the opinion which the political government had of their prudence and piety prompted it to take the most eminent of them into the public councils, but the interest which they had by that means in the state made it expedient so to do, and to commit the direction and management of offices and affairs to them. Hence our bishops first, and then some of our other prelates, (as abbots and priors,) were very early brought into the great councils of the realm, or parliament, and there consulted and acted together with the laity. And in process of time, our princes began to have a further occasion for them. For being increased both in number and in wealth, not only our kings, but the people began to think it reasonable, that the clergy should bear a part in the public burdens, as well as enjoy their share of the public treasure. Hence our Saxon ancestors, under whom the Church was the most free, yet subjected the lands of the clergy to the threefold necessity of castles, bridges, and expeditions. And the granting of aids in these cases brought on assemblies of the clergy, which were afterwards distinguished by the name of convocations.
In the Saxon times, the lords spiritual (as well as the other clergy) held by frankalmoigne, but yet made great part (as was said) of the grand council of the nation; being the most learned persons that, in those times of ignorance, met to make laws and regulations. But William the Conqueror turned the frankalmoigne tenures of the bishops and some of the great abbots into baronies; and from thenceforwards they were obliged to send persons to the wars, or were assessed to the escuage, (which was a fine or payment in money instead thereof,) and were obliged to attend in parliament. But the body of the clergy had no baronies, and holding by frankalmoigne, were in a great measure exempt from the charges which were assessed upon the laity, and were therefore by some other way to be brought under the same obligation. In order hereunto several measures were taken, till at last they settled into that method which finally obtained, and set aside the necessity of any other way. First, the pope laid a tax upon the Church for the use of the king; and both their powers uniting, the clergy were forced to submit to it. Next, the bishops were prevailed with, upon some extraordinary occasions, to oblige their clergy to grant a subsidy to the king, in the way of a benevolence; and for this, letters of security were granted back by the king to them, to insure them that what they had done should not be drawn into example or consequence. And these concessions were sometimes made by the bishops in the name of their clergy; but the common way was, that every bishop held a meeting of the clergy of his diocese. Then they agreed what they would do; and empowered first the bishops, afterwards their archdeacons, and finally proctors of their own, chosen for that end, to make the concession for them.
Thus stood this matter till the time of Edward the First, who, not willing to continue at such a precarious rate with his clergy, took another method; and, after several other experiments, fixed at last upon an establishment, which has, to a certain extent, continued ever since, viz. that the earls and barons should be called to parliament as formerly, and embodied in one house; and that the tenants in burgage should also send their representatives; and that the tenants by knight’s service, and other soccage tenants in the counties, should send their representatives; and these were embodied in the other house. He designed to have the clergy as a third estate; and as the bishops were to sitper baroniamin the temporal parliament,so they were to sit with the inferior clergy in convocation. And the project and design of the king was, that, as the two temporal estates charged the temporalities, and made laws to bind all temporal things within this realm; so this other body should have given taxes to charge the spiritual possessions, and have made canons to the ecclesiastical body: to this end was thepræmunientesclause (so called from the first word thereof) in the summons to the archbishops and bishops, by which he required them to summon such of their inferior clergy to come with them to parliament, as he then specified and thought sufficient to act for the whole body of the clergy. This altered the convocation of the Church of England from the foreign synods; for these were totally composed of the bishops, who were pastors of the Church; and therefore the bishops only were collected to compose such foreign synods, to declare what was the doctrine, or should be the discipline, of the Church.
Edward I. projected making the clergy a third estate, dependent on himself; and, therefore, not only called the bishops, whom as barons he had a right to summon, but the rest of the clergy, that he might have their consent to the taxes and assessments made on that body. But the clergy, foreseeing they were likely to be taxed, alleged that they could not meet under a temporal authority, to make any laws or canons to govern the Church. And this dispute was maintained by the archbishops and bishops, who were very loath the clergy should be taxed, or that they should have any interest in making ecclesiastical canons, which formerly were made by the sole authority of the bishops; for even if those canons had been made at Rome, yet, if they were not made in a general council, they did not think them binding here, unless they were received by some provincial constitution of the bishops. The whole body of the Church being thus dissatisfied, the archbishops and bishops threatened to excommunicate the king: but he and the temporal estate took it so ill that the clergy would not bear any part of the public charge, that they were beforehand with them, and the clergy were all outlawed, and their possessions seised into the king’s hands. This so humbled the clergy that they at last consented to meet. And to take away all pretence, there was a summons, besides thepræmunientesclause, to the archbishop, that he should summon the bishops, deans, archdeacons, colleges, and whole clergy of his province. From hence, therefore, the bishops, deans, archdeacons, colleges, and clergy, met by virtue of the archbishop’s summons; to which, being an ecclesiastical authority, they could not object. And so the bishops and clergy came to convocation by virtue of the archbishop’s summons; they esteeming it to be in his power, whether he would obey the king’s writ or not: but when he had issued his summons, they could not pretend it was not their duty to come. But thepræmunienteswrit was not disused; because it directed the manner in which the clergy were to attend, to wit, the deans and archdeacons in person, the chapter by one, and the clergy by two proctors. So that the clergy were doubly summoned; first, by the bishop, to attend the parliament; and, secondly, by the archbishop, to appear in convocation. And that the archbishop might not appear to summon them solely in pursuance of the king’s writ, he for the most part varied in his summons from the king’s writ, both as to the time and place of their meeting. And lest it might be thought still (of which they were very jealous) that their power was derived from temporal authority, they sometimes met on the archbishop’s summons without the king’s writ; and in such convocation the king demanded supplies, and by such request owned the episcopal authority of convening. So that the king’s writ was reckoned by the clergy no more than one motive for their convening. From henceforward, instead of making one state of the kingdom, as the king designed, the clergy composed two ecclesiastical synods, i. e. of Canterbury and York, under the summons of each of the archbishops; and being forced into those two synods before mentioned, they sat and made canons, by which each respective province was bound, and gave aids and taxes to the king. But the archbishop of Canterbury’s clergy, and that of York, assembled each in their own province; and the king gratified the archbishops, by suffering this new body of convocation to be formed in the nature of a parliament. The archbishop sat as king; his suffragans sat in the upper house as his peers; the deans, archdeacons, and the proctor for the chapter represented the burghers; and the two proctors for the clergy, the knights of the shire. And so this body, instead of being one of the estates as the king designed, became an ecclesiastical parliament, to make laws, and to tax the possessions of the Church.
But although they thus sat as a parliament, and made laws for the Church, yetthey did not make a part of the parliament properly so called. Sometimes indeed the lords, and sometimes the commons, were wont to send to the convocation for some of their body to give them advice in spiritual matters: but still this was only by way of advice; for the parliament have always insisted that their laws, by their own natural force, bind the clergy; as the laws of all Christian princes did in the first ages of the Church. And even the convocation tax always passed both houses of parliament, since it could not bind as a law till it had the consent of the legislature.