“In the Confession of Augsburgh,” says Dr. Maclaine, the learned translator of Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History, “there are three sorts of articles; one sort, adopted equally by the Roman Catholics and Protestants; another, that consists of certain propositions, which the papal party considered as ambiguous and obscure; and a third, in which the doctrine of Luther was entirely opposite to that of Rome. This gave some reason to hope, that, by the means of certain qualifications and modifications, conducted mutually in a spirit ofcandour and charity, matters might be accommodated at last. For this purpose, select persons were appointed to carry on the salutary work; at first, seven from each party, consisting of princes, lawyers, and divines; which number was afterwards reduced to three. Luther’s obstinate, stubborn, and violent temper rendering him unfit for healing divisions, he was not employed in these conferences; but he was constantly consulted by the Protestant party.”
The Confession was read, at a full meeting of the diet, by the chancellor of the elector of Saxony. It was subscribed by that elector, and three other princes of the German empire, and then delivered to the emperor.—Butler’s Confessions of Faith.Robertson’s Sylloge Confessionum.
AUGUSTINES. A religious order in the Church of Rome, who followed St. Augustine’s pretended rule, ordered them by Pope Alexander IV., in 1256. It is divided into several branches, as hermits of St. Paul, the Jeronymitans, monks of St. Bridget, the Augustines called Chaussez, who go without stockings, begun in 1574, by a Portuguese, and confirmed in 1600 and 1602, by Pope Clement VIII. As for the pretended rules of St. Augustine, they are reduced to three classes, the first comprehending that the monks ought to possess nothing in particular, nor call anything their own; that the wealthy who became monks ought to sell what they had, and give the money to the poor; that those who sued for the religious habit ought to pass under trial before they were admitted; that the monks ought to subtract nothing from the monastery, nor receive anything whatsoever, without the leave of their superior, to whom they ought to communicate those points of doctrine which they had heard discoursed of without the monastery; that if any one was stubborn towards his superior, after the first and second correction in secret he should be publicly denounced as a rebel; if it happened in the time of persecution that the monks were forced to retire, they ought immediately to betake themselves to that place where their superior was withdrawn; and if for the same reason a monk had saved anything belonging to the monastery, he should give it up as soon as possible to his superior. The second class imported that they were to loveGodand their neighbour; how they were to recite the psalms, and the rest of their office; the first part of the morning they ought to employ in manual works, and the rest in reading, and to return in the afternoon to their work again until the evening; that they ought to possess nothing of their own, be obedient to their superior, keep silence in eating, have Saturday allowed to provide themselves with necessaries; and it was lawful for them to drink wine on Sundays; that when they went abroad they must always go two together; that they were never to eat out of the monastery; that they should be conscientious in what they sold, and faithful in what they bought; that they ought not to utter idle words, but work with silence; and, lastly, that whoever neglected the practice of these precepts ought to be corrected and beaten, and that the true observers of them must rejoice and be confident of their salvation. As for the third, after having enjoined them to loveGodand their neighbour, they ought to possess nothing but in common; the superior ought to distribute everything in the monastery, according to each man’s necessity, and they should not incline their hearts to temporal things; that they ought to honourGodin one another as being become his holy temples; they must attend prayers at canonical hours, and were not to be hindered at any other time; that they should pray with attention, and sing only what was really appointed to be sung; that they ought to apply themselves to fasting and abstinence with discretion; and that if any of them was not able to fast, he ought not to eat between meals unless he was sick; that they must mind what was read to them while they were at their meals; that none ought to be envious to see the sick better treated than the rest were, or that something more delicate was given to those of a weaker constitution; that those who were recovering ought to make use of comfortable things, and, when recovered, to return to the common usage; to be grave and modest in their habits; never to be far from their companion; to express modesty and stayedness in their outward behaviour; not to cast a lustful eye upon women, nor wish to be seen by them; nor when at church to harbour any thoughts of women; that when it was known a friar courted any woman, after having been forewarned several times, he ought to be corrected; and that if he would not submit to the correction, he should be turned out of the monastery; that all correction should be inflicted with charity; that they ought not to receive letters nor presents in secret; they ought to be contented with those habits that were given them; that all their works should be rendered in common; that if some of their relations sent them clothes, it should be inthe superior’s power to give them to whom he pleased; that he who concealed anything of his own should be proceeded against as guilty of robbery; they were to wash their own clothes, or have them washed by others, with the superior’s leave; those who were in any office should serve their brethren without grudging; that they ought to shun all lawsuits; that they ought to ask their brethren forgiveness for any injury done them; to forbear ill language one to another; the superior was to be obeyed, but not to be proud of his dignity; that the monks ought to observe these rules out of love, and not slavish fear; and that this rule ought to be read once a week in the presence of the monks.
The Augustine monks, (commonly called Black Canons,) according to Fuller, were established in England later than the Benedictines, that is, in 1105, though of older existence in Europe. They were next to the Benedictines in power and wealth. The members of these two orders and their branches were calledMonks, those of the Mendicant orders, as Dominicans and Franciscans, were calledFriars. (SeeMonastery.) ButCanonwas the title more usually assigned to the Augustinians. This order was more numerous and powerful in Ireland than the Benedictines, though inferior to them in England. The branches of this order were the Premonstrants, (or White Canons,) the Victorines, and the Gilbertines. The Arroasians were merely reformed Augustinians, not a separate branch of the order. The Augustinians possessed two mitred abbeys, Waltham and Cirencester; one cathedral priory, Carlisle; one abbey, afterwards converted into a cathedral by Henry VIII., Bristol.
AUGUSTINE, or AUSTIN, FRIARS. These are not to be confounded with the above, being one of the minor Mendicant orders, observing the rule of St. Augustine. Fuller says they first entered England in 1252: “and had (if not their first) their finest habitation at St. Peter’s the Poor, London, thence probably taking the denomination of poverty. They were good disputants; on which account they are remembered still at Oxford by an act performed by candidates for Mastership, calledKeeping of Augustines.” This exercise, with other ancient forms, was abolished by the University Statute towards the beginning of the present century.—Jebb.
AURICULAR CONFESSION. (SeeConfession,Absolution.) The confession of sins at the ear of the priest. The following is the chapter on confession in the Council of Trent which is obligatory on the Romish Church.
“From the institution of the sacrament of repentance already set forth, the Church has always understood, that an entire confession of sins was also appointed by theLord; and that it is of Divine right necessary to all who have lapsed after baptism. Because ourLord Jesus Christ, when about to ascend from earth to heaven, left his priests, his vicars, to be, as it were, the presidents and judges, to whom all mortal sins, into whichChrist’sfaithful people should fall, should be brought; in order that by the power of the keys they might pronounce sentence of remission or retention. For it is plain that the priests cannot exercise this judgment, without knowledge of the cause, nor can they observe equity in enjoining penalties, if men declare their sins only generally, and not rather particularly and separately. From this it is inferred that it is right that the penitents should recount in confession all the deadly sins of which, upon examination, their conscience accuses them, even though they be most secret and only against the two last commandments, which not unfrequently grievously wound the soul, and are more dangerous than those which are openly practised; for as to venial sins, by which we are not excluded from the grace ofGod, and into which we more frequently fall, although they may be declared in confession, rightly, usefully, and without any presumption, as the usage of pious men declares, yet they may be passed over in silence without offence, and can be expiated by many other remedies. But since all mortal sins, even thoughts, make men the children of wrath and the enemies ofGod, it is necessary to seek fromGodthe pardon of all, with open and modest confession. When, therefore,Christ’sfaithful people desire to confess all the sins which occur to their memory, they expose them all beyond all doubt to the mercy ofGodto be pardoned. But they who do otherwise, and knowingly keep back any, propose nothing to the Divine mercy to be pardoned by the priest; for if a sick man is ashamed to uncover his wound to the physician, he cannot with medicine cure that of which he has no knowledge. It is, moreover, inferred that those circumstances should be explained in confession, which change the kind of the sin; because, without these, neither can the sins themselves be entirely disclosed by the penitents, nor known to the judges; nor can they rightly judge of the grievousness of the sin, nor impose upon the penitentsthe fitting punishments. Whence it is unreasonable to teach that these circumstances were sought out by idle men, or that only one circumstance should be confessed, namely, to have sinned against a brother. But it is impious to call this confession impossible, which is appointed to be performed in this manner, or to style it the torture of consciences: for it appears that nothing else is required of penitents in the Church, than that, after a man has diligently examined himself, and explored the recesses and hiding-places of his conscience, he should confess those sins by which he remembers that he has mortally offended hisLordandGod. But the other sins which do not occur to him when taking diligent thought, are understood to be included altogether in the same confession; and for these we faithfully say with the prophet, ‘Cleanse thou me, OLord, from my secret faults.’ But the difficulty of this sort of confession, and the shame of uncovering sins, would, indeed, appear grievous, if it were not lightened by the so many and great conveniences and consolations which are most assuredly conferred by absolution upon all who rightly approach this sacrament. But as regards the manner of secretly confessing to the priest alone, althoughChristhas not forbidden any man from publicly confessing his faults, in revenge for his sins, and humiliation of himself, both by way of example to others, and for the edification of the Church which he has offended; this is not, however, a Divine command, nor may it be advisedly enjoined by any human law, that sins, especially secret ones, should be disclosed by open confession. Wherefore, since that secret sacramental confession which the holy Church has used from the beginning, and still uses, has always been approved of by the holiest and most ancient fathers, with great consent and unanimity, the empty calumny is plainly refuted of those who are not ashamed to teach that it is contrary to the Divine command, and a human invention, which had its origin with the fathers who were assembled in the Lateran Council. For the Church did not order by the Lateran Council thatChrist’sfaithful people should confess, which she always had understood to be necessary, and appointed by Divine right, but that the command of confession should be complied with at least once in the year, by all and each who have come to years of discretion; whence now, in the universal Church, that wholesome custom of confessing in the sacred, and especially acceptable, time of Lent, is observed with great benefit to the souls of the faithful; which custom this holy synod highly approves, and receives as pious and worthy to be retained.”
Here an attempt is made to invest the Christian priesthood with the prerogative of the Most High, who is a searcher of the hearts, and a discerner of the thoughts; in forgetfulness of the very distinction whichGoddrew between himself and all men—“man looketh to the outward part, theLordtrieth the heart.” AsChristhas invested his ministers with no power to do this of themselves, the Tridentine Fathers have sought to supply what they must needs consider a grievous omission on his part, by enjoining all men to unlock the secrets of their hearts at the command of their priest, and persons of all ages and sexes to submit not only to general questions as to a state of sin or repentance, but to the most minute and searching questions as to their most inmost thoughts.
The extent to which the confessors have thought it right to carry these examinations on subjects concerning which the apostle recommends that they be not once named among Christians, and which may be seen either in “Dens’ Theology,” or “Burchard’s Decrees,” c. 19, Paris, 1549, affords a melancholy, painful, and sickening subject for contemplation; especially when it is considered that they were Christian clergy who did this, and that it was done in aid, as they supposed, of the Christian religion. The fearful effects of these examinations upon the priests themselves, we will do no more than allude to; he who may think it necessary to satisfy himself upon the point, may consult the cases contemplated and provided for (among others) by Cardinal Cajetan, in his Opuscula, Lugd. 1562, p. 114. In the Bull of Pius IV.,Contra solicitantes in confessione, dated Ap. 16, 1561, (Bullarium Magn.Luxemb. 1727, ii. p. 48,) and in a similar one of Gregory XV., dated Aug. 30, 1622, (Gregory XV. Constit. Rom.1622, p. 114,) there is laid open another fearful scene of danger to female confitents from wicked priests, “mulieres pœnitentes ad actus inhonestos dum earum audiunt confessiones alliciendo et provocando.” Against which flagrant dangers, and the preparatory steps of sapping and undermining the mental modesty of a young person by examinations of particular kinds, it is vain to think that the feeble bulls of the bishops of Rome can afford any security. These observations apply to the system of the Roman Church, peculiar to itself, ofcompellingthe disclosure of the most minute details of themost secret thoughts and actions. As toencouragingpersons whose minds areburthenedwith the remembrance of fearful sins, to ease themselves of the burthen by revealing it to one at whose hands they may seek guidance, and consolation, and prayer, it is a totally distinct question, and nothing but wilful art will attempt to confound them. On this point we see no reason to withdraw a regret which we have before expressed as to its disuse in the Church of England; for we cannot but believe that, were it more frequently had recourse to, many a mind would depart the world at peace with itself and withGod, which now sinks to the grave under a bond of doubt and fear, through want of confidence to make use of ghostly remedies.—Perceval.
In the sixth canon of the Council of Trent it runs thus:—“If any shall deny that sacramental confession was instituted and is necessary for salvation by Divine right, or shall say that the custom of confessing secretly to the priest alone, which the Catholic Church has always observed from the beginning, and continues to observe, is foreign to the institution and command ofChrist, and is of human invention, let him be accursed.”
Here sacramental confession is affirmed to be of Divine institution, and auricular confession likewise, and he is accursed who shall deny it. This is bravely said; yet the Tridentine Fathers might have recollected that, in the Latin Church as late as 813, it was matter of dispute whether there was need to confess to a priest at all, as appears from the thirty-third canon of the Council of Cabaillon, which is as follows: “Quidam Deo solummodo confiteri debere dicunt peccata, quidam vero sacerdotibus confitenda esse percensent: quod utrumque non sine magno fructu intra sanctam fit Ecclesiam. Ita dumtaxat ut et Deo, qui Remissor est peccatorum, confiteamur peccata nostra, et cum David dicamus,Delictum meum cognitum tibi feci, &c., et secundum institutionem apostoli, confiteamur alterutrum peccata nostra, et oremus pro invicem ut salvemur.Confessioitaque quæDeofit,purgat peccata, ea vero quæ sacerdoti fit, docet qualiter ipsa purgentur peccata,” &c. (Conc.vii. 1279.) Was Leo the Third asleep, that he could suffer such heresy to be broached and not denounced? But all the world knows, that, till 1215, no decree of pope or council can be adduced enjoining thenecessaryobservance of such a custom. Then, at the Council of Lateran, Innocent III. commanded it. As the Latin Church affords no sanction to the assertion of the Tridentine Fathers, so is it in vain to look for it among the Greeks, for there, as Socrates (Hist. Eccles.v. 19) and Sozomen (Hist. Eccles.vii. 16) inform us, the whole confessional was abolished by Nectarius, the archbishop of Constantinople, in the 4th century, by reason of an indecency which was committed on a female penitent, when pursuing her penance; which, sure, he would not have ventured to have done had he deemed it a Divine institution. Sozomen, in his account of the confessional, says, that the public confession in the presence of all the people, which formerly obtained, having been found grievous,φορτικὸν ὡς εἰκὸς, a wellbred,silent, and prudent presbyter was set in charge of it; thus plainly denoting the change from public to auricular confessions. It was this penitential presbyter whose office was abolished by Nectarius, who acted by the advice of Eudæmon,συγχωρῆσαι δὲ ἕκαστον, τῷ ἰδίῳ συνειδότι τῶν μυστηρίων μετέχειν. And the reason he assigned is one which the Church of Rome would have done well to bear in mind;οὕτω γὰρ μόνως ἔχειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τὸ ἀβλασφήμετον. (SeePerceval on Roman Schism, Hooker, Eccl. Pol.book vi.Bp. Taylor, Ductor Dubit.part ii. sect. 11.)
AUMBRIE. A little closet or locker. (SeeChurch.)
AURORA. The title of a Latin metrical version of several parts of the Bible, by Petrus de Riga, canon of Rheims, in the 12th century.
AUTOCEPHALI.Αὐτοκεφαλοι,selfheaded, orindependent. A name originally given to all metropolitans, as having no ecclesiastical superior, and being amenable only to the judgment of a synod. After the division of the Church into patriarchates, it was given to such metropolitans as preserved their independence, and were not subject to any patriarch—as the bishop of Constantia, or Salamis, in Cyprus. Bingham, book ii. chap. 18, specifies three kinds of autocephali. 1. All metropolitans, before patriarchates were established. 2. Certain metropolitans after the establishment of patriarchates, as those of Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Iberia: and the Churches of Britain before the coming of St. Augustin. To which may be added the Church of Ireland, before its submission to Rome in the 12th century. 3. Bishops immediately subject to the patriarch of the diocese, who was to them as a metropolitan. There were twenty-five such subject to the bishop of Jerusalem. The immediate suffragans of Rome are of the same class. Bingham considers a fourthclass mentioned by Valesius on Euseb. lib. v. c. 23, as very doubtful; viz. bishops wholly independent of all others.
AUTO DA FE (Spanish);an Act of Faith. In the Spanish Church a solemn day is held by the Inquisition for the punishment of heretics, and the absolution of the innocent accused. They usually contrive theAutoto fall on some great festival, that the execution may pass with the more awe; and it is always on a Sunday. TheAuto da Femay be called the last act of the inquisitorial tragedy; it is a kind of gaol delivery, appointed as often as a competent number of prisoners in the Inquisition are convicted of heresy, either by their own voluntary or extorted confession, or on the evidence of certain witnesses. The process is this; in the morning they are brought into a great hall, where they have certain habits put on, which they are to wear in the procession, and by which they know their doom. The procession is led up by Dominican friars, after which come the penitents, being all in black coats without sleeves, and barefooted, with a wax candle in their hands. These are followed by the penitents who have narrowly escaped being burnt, who over their black coats have flames painted, with their points turned downwards. Next come the negative and relapsed, who are to be burnt, having flames on their habits pointing upwards. After these come such as profess doctrines contrary to the faith of Rome, who, besides flames pointing upwards, have their picture painted on their breasts, with dogs, serpents, and devils, all open-mouthed, about it. Each prisoner is attended by a familiar of the Inquisition; and those to be burnt have also a Jesuit on each hand, who are continually preaching to them to abjure. After the prisoners comes a troop of familiars on horseback; and after them the inquisitors, and other officers of the court, on mules; last of all the inquisitor-general on a white horse led by two men with black hats and green hatbands. A scaffold is erected large enough for two or three thousand people; at one end of which are the prisoners, at the other the inquisitors. After a sermon made up of encomiums of the Inquisition, and invectives against heretics, a priest ascends a desk near the scaffold, and, having taken the abjuration of the penitents, recites the final sentence of those who are to be put to death, and delivers them to the secular arm, earnestly beseeching at the same time the secular powernot to touch their blood, or put their lives in danger. The prisoners, being thus in the hands of the civil magistrate, are presently loaded with chains, and carried first to the secular gaol, and from thence, in an hour or two, brought before the civil judge, who, after asking in what religion they intend to die, pronounces sentence on such as declare they die in the communion of the Church of Rome, that they shall be first strangled, and then burnt to ashes; on such as die in any other faith, that they be burnt alive. Both are immediately carried to the Ribera, the place of execution, where there are as many stakes set up as there are prisoners to be burnt, with a quantity of dry furze about them. The stakes of the professed, that is, such as persist in the heresy, are about four yards high, having a small board towards the top for the prisoner to be seated on. The negative and relapsed being first strangled and burnt, the professed mount their stakes by a ladder, and the Jesuits, after several repeated exhortations to be reconciled to the Church, part with them, telling them that they leave them to the devil, who is standing at their elbow to receive their souls, and carry them with him to the flames of hell. On this a great shout is raised, and the cry is, “Let the dogs’ beards be made,” which is done by thrusting flaming furzes, fastened to long poles, against their faces, till their faces are burnt to a coal, which is accompanied with the loudest acclamations of joy. At last fire is set to the furze at the bottom of the stake, over which the professed are chained so high, that the top of the flame seldom reaches higher than the seat they sit on, so that they rather seem roasted than burnt. The same diabolical ceremony was observed in Portugal.
AVE MARIA. A form of devotion used in the Church of Rome, comprising the salutation addressed by the angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Luke i. 28.) The words “Ave Maria” are the first two, in Latin, of the form as it appears in the manuals of the Romish Church, thus: “Hail Mary, (Ave Maria,) full of grace, theLordis with thee,” &c. To which is appended the following petition: “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen.” Here we find, first, a misapplication of the words of Scripture, and then an addition to them. It was not used before the Hours, until the 16th century, in the Romish offices. It was then introduced into the Breviary by Cardinal Quignon. Cardinal Bona admits that it is modern.
“I cannot but observe,” says Bingham, “that among all the short prayers used bythe ancients before their sermons, there is never any mention made of an Ave Mary, now so common in the practice of the Romish Church. Their addresses were all toGod; and the invocation of the Holy Virgin for grace and assistance before sermons was a thing not thought of. They who are most concerned prove its use can derive its original no higher than the beginning of the fifteenth century.” But Mosheim (Eccl. Hist. Cant. xiv. Part ii. ch. iv.) says that Pope John XXII. [1316–33] ordered Christians to add to their prayers those words with which the angel Gabriel saluted the Virgin Mary.
AVOIDANCE. Avoidance is where there is a want of a lawful incumbent on a benefice, during which vacancy the Church isquasi riduata, and the possessions belonging to it are in abeyance. There are many ways by which avoidance may happen; by death; by cession, or acceptance of a benefice incompatible; by resignation; by consecration; for when a clerk is promoted to a bishopric, all his other preferments are void the instant he is consecrated, and the right of presentation belongs to the Crown, unless he has a dispensation from the Crown to hold them incommendam: by deprivation, either first by sentence declaratory in the ecclesiastical court for fit and sufficient causes allowed by the common law, such as attainder of treason or felony, or conviction of other infamous crimes in the king’s courts; for heresy, infidelity, gross immorality, and the like; or secondly, in pursuance of divers penal statutes, which declare the benefice void, for some nonfeasance or neglect, or else some malfeasance or crime; as for simony; for maintaining any doctrine in derogation of the king’s supremacy, or of the Thirty-nine Articles, orof the Book of Common Prayer: for neglecting after institution to read the liturgy and articles in the church, or make the declarations against Popery, or take the abjuration oath;for using any other form of prayer than the liturgy of the Church of England: or for absenting himself sixty days in one year from a benefice belonging to a Popish patron, to which the clerk was presented by either of the universities; in all which, and similar cases, the benefice isipso factovoid, without any formal sentence of deprivation. No person can take any dignity or benefice in Ireland until he has resigned all his preferments in England; and by such resignation the king is deprived of the presentation.—Stephens on the Laws relating to the Clergy, p. 91.
AZYMITES. A name given to the Latins, by those of the Greek Church, because they consecrate the holy eucharist in unleavened bread (έν άζυμοις). The more ancient custom was to consecrate a portion of the oblations of the faithful, and therefore of course in leavened bread. The wafer, or unleavened bread, is still retained in the Church of Rome, although the catechism of the Council of Trent admits that the eucharist may also be consecrated in common bread. In the Church of England unleavened bread was prescribed by Queen Elizabeth’s injunctions, and was generally used throughout her reign. At Westminster, it was retained until 1642, nor has it since been forbidden; but the use of leavened bread is now universal, as in the primitive Church.
BACHELOR. In the universities of the Church, bachelors are persons who have attained to the baccalaureate, or taken the first degree in arts, divinity, law, or physic. This degree in some universities has no existence, in some theCandidatusanswers to it. It was first introduced in the thirteenth century, by Pope Gregory IX., though it is still unknown in Italy. Bachelors of Arts are not admitted to that degree at Oxford and Dublin till after having studied four years at those universities. At Cambridge, the regular period of matriculation is in the October term; and an undergraduate who proceeds regularly will be admitted to his B. A. in three years from the following January. Bachelors of Divinity, before they can acquire that degree either at Oxford or Cambridge, must be of fourteen years’ standing in the university. Bachelors of Laws, to acquire the degree in Oxford or Cambridge, must have previously studied the law six years. Bachelors of Canon Law are admitted after two years’ study, and sustaining an act according to the forms. Bachelors of Medicine must have studied two years in medicine, after having been four years M. A. in the university, and must have passed an examination; after which they are invested with the fur in order to be licensed. Bachelors of Music in the English and Irish universities must have studied music for a certain number of years, and are admitted to the degree after the composition and performance of a musical exercise. Anciently the grade of Bachelor, at least in arts, was hardly considered as a degree, but merely a step towards the Doctorate or Mastership. In fact, Bachelors in any faculty, as such, have no voice in the university convocations or senates. Bachelorsin Divinity have, because they must necessarily have been Masters of Art previously. But Bachelors of Law and Medicine have no votes, unless they happen to be Masters of Arts also. In the French, as in the Scotch universities, the degree of Bachelor of Arts was taken while the student was still instatu pupillari, and in fact corresponded very much to the Sophisters in our universities, the A. M. in these places practically correspond to our degree of A. B.
BAMPTON LECTURES. A course of eight sermons preached annually at the university of Oxford, set on foot by the Reverend John Bampton, canon of Salisbury. According to the directions in his will, they are to be preached upon any of the following subjects:—To confirm and establish the Christian faith, and to confute all heretics and schismatics; upon the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures; upon the authority of the writings of the primitive fathers, as to the faith and practice of the primitive Church; upon the Divinity of ourLordandSaviour Jesus Christ; upon the Divinity of theHoly Ghost; upon the articles of the Christian faith, as comprehended in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. For the support of this lecture he bequeathed his lands and estates to the chancellor, masters, and scholars of the university of Oxford for ever, upon trust that the vice-chancellor, for the time being, take and receive all the rents and profits thereof; and, after all taxes, reparations, and necessary deductions made, to pay all the remainder to the endowment of these divinity lecture sermons. He also directs in his will, that no person shall be qualified to preach these lectures, unless he have taken the degree of Master of Arts, at least, in one of the two universities of Oxford or Cambridge, and that the same person shall never preach the same sermon twice. A number of excellent sermons preached at this lecture are now before the public.
BAND. This part of the clerical dress, which is too well known to need description, is the only remaining relic of the ancientamice. (SeeAmice.) When the beard was worn, and when ruffs came in, this ancient part of clerical dress fell into disuse, but it was generally resumed after the Restoration. The band is not, however, an exclusively clerical vestment, being part of the full dress of the bar and of the universities, and of other bodies in which a more ancient habit is retained, as in some schools of old foundation. Formerly it was worn by graduates, and even under-graduates, at the universities; nor was the custom altogether extinct within memory. It is still worn by the scholars at Winchester, &c., and was anciently worn with the surplice by lay vicars, singing men, and sometimes by parish clerks.
BANGORIAN CONTROVERSY. This was a celebrated controversy within the Church of England in the reign of George I., and received its name from Hoadly, who, although bishop of Bangor, was little else than a Socinian heretic. Hoadly published “A Preservative against the Principles and Practice of the Nonjurors,” and soon after, a sermon, which the king had ordered to be printed, entitled, “The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ.” This discourse is a very confused production; nor, except in the bitterness of its spirit, is it easy, amidst the author’s “periods of a mile,” to discover his precise aim. To the perplexed arguments of Bishop Hoadly, Dr. Snape and Dr. Sherlock wrote replies; and a committee of convocation passed a censure upon the discourse. An order from government arrested the proceedings of the convocation. Snape and Sherlock were removed from their office of chaplains to the king; and the convocation has never yet been again permitted to assemble for the transaction of business. But the exertion of power on the part of the government was unable to silence those who were determined, at any sacrifice, to maintainGod’struth. This controversy continued to employ the press for many years, until those who held Low Church views were entirely silenced by the force of argument. Of the works produced by the Bangorian Controversy, perhaps the most important isLaw’s Letters to Hoadly, which were reprinted in “The Scholar Armed,” and have since been republished.Law’s Lettershave never been answered, and may indeed be regarded as unanswerable.
BANNER. In the chapels of orders of knighthood, as in St. George’s chapel, Windsor, the chapel of the order of the Garter; in Henry VII.’s chapel, at Westminster, the chapel of the order of the Bath; and in St. Patrick’s cathedral, the chapel of the order of St. Patrick; the banner of each knight, i. e. a little square flag bearing his arms, is suspended, at his installation, over his appropriate stall. The installation of a knight is areligious ceremony; hence the propriety of this act. The same decorations formerly existed in the chapel of Holyrood House, the chapel of the order of the Thistle.
Also it is not uncommon to see banners taken in battle suspended over the tombs of victorious generals. This is a beautiful way of expressing thankfulness toGodfor that victory which he alone can give; and it were much to be wished that a spirit of pride and vain-glory should never mingle with the religious feeling.
Banners were formerly a part of the accustomed ornaments of the altar, and were suspended over it, “that in the church the triumph ofChristmay evermore be held in mind, by which we also hope to triumph over our enemy.”—Durandus.
BANNS OF MARRIAGE. “Bann” comes from a barbarous Latin word which signifies to put out an edict or proclamation. “Matrimonial banns” are such proclamations as are solemnly made in the church, or in some other lawful congregation of men, in order to the solemnization of matrimony.
Before any can be canonically married, except by a licence from the bishop’s court, banns are directed to be published in the church; and this proclamation should be made onthreeseveral solemn days, in all the churches of that place where the parties, willing to contract marriage, dwell. This rule is principally to be observed when the said parties are of different parishes; for the care of the Church to prevent clandestine marriages is as old as Christianity itself: and the design of the Church is, to be satisfied whether there be any “just cause or impediment,” why the persons so asked “should not be joined together in holy matrimony.”
The following are the regulations under which the Church of England now acts on this subject:—
No minister shall be obliged to publish the banns of matrimony between any persons whatsoever, unless they shall, seven days at least before the time required for the first publication, deliver or cause to be delivered to him a notice in writing of their true Christian and surnames, and of the houses of their respective abodes within such parish, chapelry, or extra-parochial place, where the banns are to be published, and of the time during which they have inhabited or lodged in such houses respectively. (26 George II. c. 33, s. 2.) And all banns of matrimony shall be published in the parish church, or in some public chapel wherein banns of matrimony have been usually published, (i. e. before the 25th of March, 1754,) of the parish or chapelry wherein the persons to be married shall dwell. (26 George II. c. 33, s. 1.) And where the persons to be married shall dwell in divers parishes or chapelries, the banns shall be published in the church or chapel belonging to such parish or chapelry wherein each of the said persons shall dwell. And where both or either of the persons to be married shall dwell in any extra-parochial place, (having no church or chapel wherein banns have been usually published,) then the banns shall be published in the parish church or chapel belonging to some parish or chapelry adjoining to such extra-parochial place. And the said banns shall be published upon three Sundays preceding the solemnization of marriage during the time of morning service, or of the evening service, if there be no morning service in such church or chapel on any of those Sundays,immediately after the second lesson. (26 George II. c. 33, s. 1.)
While the marriage is contracting, the minister shall inquire of the people by three public banns, concerning the freedom of the parties from all lawful impediments. And if any minister shall do otherwise, he shall be suspended for three years.
Rubric. And the curate shall say after the accustomed manner:—“I publish the banns of marriage between M. of ——, and N. of ——. If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony, ye are to declare it. This is the first (second, or third) time of asking.”
And in case the parents or guardians, or one of them, of either of the parties, who shall be under the age of twenty-one years, shall openly and publicly declare, or cause to be declared, in the church or chapel where the banns shall be so published, at the time of such publication, his dissent to such marriage, such publication of banns shall be void. (26 George II. c. 3, s. 3.)
Rubric. And where the parties dwell in divers parishes, the curate of one parish shall not solemnize marriage between them, without a certificate of the banns being thrice asked, from the curate of the other parish.
Formerly the rubric enjoined that the banns should be published after the Nicene Creed; but the lamentable deficiency of publicity of which this arrangement was the cause, and the delay hence arising in consequence of some parishes being without any morning service on some Sundays, induced the legislature to make the provisions above cited. (26 George II. c. 33, s. 1.)
It is to be feared that much laxity prevails among parties to whom the inquiries as to parochial limits are intrusted; and that recent enactments have rather augmented than reformed such laxity. The constitutions and canons of 1603 guard cautiously against clandestine marriages. Canon 62 is as follows:—
Ministers not to marry any persons without banns or licence.—No minister, upon pain of suspensionper triennium ipso facto, shall celebrate matrimony between any persons, without a faculty or licence granted by some of the persons in these our constitutions expressed, except the banns of matrimony have been first published three several Sundays, or holidays, in the time of Divine service, in the parish churches and chapels where the said parties dwell, according to the Book of Common Prayer. Neither shall any minister, upon the like pain, under any pretence whatsoever, join any persons so licensed in marriage at any unseasonable times, but only between the hours of eight and twelve in the forenoon; nor in any private place, but either in the said churches or chapels where one of them dwelleth, and likewise in time of Divine service; nor when banns are thrice asked, and no licence in that respect necessary, before the parents or governors of the parties to be married, being under the age of twenty and one years, shall either personally, or by sufficient testimony, signify to them their consents given to the said marriage.
Canon 63.Ministers of exempt churches not to marry without banns or license.—Every minister, who shall hereafter celebrate marriage between any persons contrary to our said constitutions, or any part of them, under colour of any peculiar liberty or privilege claimed to appertain to certain churches and chapels, shall be suspendedper trienniumby the ordinary of the place where the offence shall be committed. And if any such minister shall afterwards remove from the place where he hath committed that fault, before he be suspended, as is aforesaid, then shall the bishop of the diocese, or ordinary of the place where he remaineth, upon certificate under the hand and seal of the other ordinary, from whose jurisdiction he removed, execute that censure upon him.
See also canon 70. By the statute 6 & 7 W. IV. c. 85, sec. 1, it is enacted, that where, by any law or canon in force before the passing of this act, it is provided that any “marriage may be solemnized after publication of banns, such marriage may be solemnized, in like manner,on production of the registrar’s certificate as hereinafter provided:” so that marriages may now be solemnized in the Church of England, without banns or licence, on production of the superintendent registrar’s certificate.
BAPTISM. (Βάπτειν, to wash.) Baptism is one of the two sacraments, which, according to the Catechism, “are generally necessary to salvation.” Our blessedSavioursays that “except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John iii. 3); and in explanation of his meaning he adds, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of theSpirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom ofGod” (ver. 5). Upon this the Church remarks: “Beloved, ye hear in this Gospel the express words of ourSaviour Christ, that, except a man be born of water and of theSpirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom ofGod: whereby ye may perceive the great necessity of this sacrament where it may be had. Likewise immediately before his ascension into heaven, as we read in the last chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel, he gave command to his disciples, saying, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.’ Which also showeth unto us the great benefit we reap thereby. For which cause, St. Peter the apostle, when, upon his first preaching of this gospel, many were pricked at the heart, and said unto him and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ replied and said unto them, ‘Repent, and bebaptizedevery one of you for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of theHoly Ghost.’ The same apostle testifieth in another place, ‘even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towardsGod, by the resurrection ofJesus Christ.’”—Office of Adult Baptism.The Church also states in the Catechism, that a sacrament, as baptism is, hath two parts, the outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace: that the outward visible sign or form in baptism is water, wherein the person is baptized in the name of theFather, and of theSon, and of theHoly Ghost; and that the inward and spiritual grace, which through the means of baptism we receive, is a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness; for being by nature born in sin and the children of wrath, we are hereby, i. e. by baptism, made children of grace. Therefore the Church, assoon as ever a child is baptized, directs the minister to say, “Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren, that this child isregenerateand grafted into the body ofChrist’sChurch, let us give thanks unto AlmightyGodfor these benefits, and with one accord make our prayers unto him, that this child may lead the rest of his life according to this beginning.” The Church here first declares that grace has been given, even the grace of regeneration, and then implies that the grace, if not used, may be lost. On this subject more will be said in the article onRegeneration. See alsoInfant Baptism.
Grotius (Annot. adMatt. iii. 6) is of opinion, that the rite of baptism had its original from the time of the deluge; immediately after which he thinks it was instituted, in memory of the world having been purged by water. Some learned men think (W. Schickard, de Jur. Reg.cap. 5) it was added to circumcision, soon after the Samaritan schism, as a mark of distinction to the orthodox Jews. Spencer, who is fond of deriving the rites of the Jewish religion from the ceremonies of the Pagan, lays it down as a probable supposition, that the Jews received the baptism of proselytes from the neighbouring nations, who were wont to prepare candidates for the more sacred functions of their religion by a solemn ablution; that, by this affinity of sacred rites, they might draw the Gentiles to embrace their religion, and the proselytes (in gaining of whom they were extremely diligent, Matt. xxiii. 15) might the more easily comply with the transition from Gentilism to Judaism. In confirmation of this opinion, he observes, first, that there is no Divine precept for the baptism of proselytes, God having enjoined only the rite of circumcision, (Exod. xii. 48,) for the admission of strangers into the Jewish religion; secondly, that, among foreign nations, the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and others, it was customary that those who were to be initiated into their mysteries or sacred rites, should be first purified by dipping their whole body in water. Grotius, on Matt. xxvi. 27, adds, as a further confirmation of his opinion, that the “cup of blessing” likewise, added to the Paschal supper, seems plainly to have been derived from a Pagan original: for the Greeks, at their feasts, had one cup, calledποτήριον ἀγαθοῦ δαίμονος, the cup of the good demon or god, which they drank at the conclusion of their entertainment, when the table was removed. Since, then, a rite of Gentile original was added to one of the Jewish sacraments, viz. the Passover, there can be no absurdity in supposing, that baptism, which was added to the other sacrament, namely, circumcision, might be derived from the same source. In the last place, he observes, that Christ, in the institution of his sacraments, paid a peculiar regard to those rites which were borrowed from the Gentiles; for, rejecting circumcision and the Paschal supper, he adopted into his religion baptism and the sacred cup; thus preparing the way for the conversion and reception of the Gentiles into his Church.
It is to be observed, under this head of Jewish baptism, that the proselyte was not to be baptized till the wound of circumcision was perfectly healed; that then the ceremony was performed by plunging him into some large, natural receptacle of water; and that baptism was never after repeated in the same person, or in any of his posterity, who derived their legal purity from the baptism of their ancestor.—Selden, de Jur. Nat. et Gent.lib. ii. cap. 1.
In the primitive Christian Church, (Tertull. de Baptismo,) the office of baptizing was vested principally in the bishops and priests, or pastors of the respective parishes; but, with the consent of the bishop, it was allowed to the deacons, and in cases of necessity even to laymen, to baptize; but never, under any necessity whatever, was it permitted to women to perform this office. Nor was it enough that baptism was conferred by a person called to the ministry, unless he was also orthodox in the faith. This became matter of great excitement in the Church; and hence arose the famous controversy between Cyprian and Stephen, bishop of Rome, concerning the rebaptizing those who had been baptized by heretics, Cyprian asserting that they ought to be rebaptized, and Stephen maintaining the contrary opinion.
The persons baptized were either infants or adults. To prove that infants were admitted to the sacrament of baptism, we need only use this argument. None were admitted to the eucharist till they had received baptism: but in the primitive Church children received the sacrament of theLord’ssupper, as appears from what Cyprian relates concerning a sucking child, who so violently refused to taste the sacramental wine, that the deacon was obliged forcibly to open her lips and pour it down her throat. Origen writes, that children are baptized, “for the purging away of the natural filth and original impurity inherent in them.” We might add the testimonies of Irenæus and Cyprian; but it will be sufficient to mention the determination of an African synod, heldA. D.254, at which were present sixty-six bishops. The occasion of it was this. A certain bishop, called Fidus, had some scruples concerning the time of baptizing infants, whether it ought to be done on the second or third day after their birth, or not before the eighth day, as was observed with respect to circumcision under the Jewish dispensation. His scruples were proposed to this synod, who unanimously decreed, that the baptism of children was not to be deferred so long, but that the grace of God, or baptism, should be given to all, and most especially unto infants.—Justin Martyr, Second Apology;De Lapsis, § 20;In Lucam, Hom. xiv.Apud Cyprian. Epist. lix. § 2–4.Tertull. de Baptismo, c. 19.
As for thetime, or season, at which baptism was usually administered, we find it to have been restrained to the two solemn festivals of the year, Easter and Whitsuntide: at Easter, in memory of Christ’s death and resurrection, correspondent to which are the two parts of the Christian life, represented and shadowed out in baptism,dyingunto sin, andrisingagain unto newness of life; and at Whitsuntide, in memory of the Holy Ghost’s being shed upon the apostles, the same, in some measure, being represented and conveyed in baptism. It is to be observed, that these stated returns of the time of baptism related only to persons in health: in other cases, such as sickness, or any pressing necessity, the time of baptism was regulated by occasion and opportunity.
Theplaceof baptism was at first unlimited; being some pond or lake, some spring or river, but always as near as possible to the place of public worship. Afterwards they had theirbaptisteries, or (as we call them)fonts, built at first near the church, then in the church-porch, and at last in the church itself. There were many in those days who were desirous to be baptized in the river Jordan, out of reverence to the place where our Saviour himself had been baptized.
The person to be baptized, if an adult, was first examined by the bishop, or officiating priest, who put some questions to him; as, first, whether he abjured the devil and all his works; secondly, whether he gave a firm assent to all the articles of the Christian faith: to both which he answered in the affirmative. Concerning these baptismal questions, Dionysius Alexandrinus, in his letter to Xistus, bishop of Rome, speaks of a certain scrupulous person in his church, who, being present at baptism, was exceedingly troubled, when he heard the questions and answers of those who were baptized. If the person to be baptized was an infant, these interrogatories were answered by his sponsores, or godfathers. Whether the use ofsponsoreswas as old as the apostles’ days, is uncertain: perhaps it was not, since Justin Martyr, speaking of the method and form of baptism, says not a word of them.—Tertull. de Coron. Milit. Cyprian, Epist.vii. § 5.Justin Martyr, Apolog.2.Apud Euseb.lib. vii. c. 9;Apolog.2.
After the questions and answers, followedexorcism, the manner and end of which was this. The minister laid his hands on the person’s head, and breathed in his face, implying thereby the driving away, or expelling, of the devil from him, and preparing him for baptism, by which the good and holy Spirit was to be conferred upon him.
After exorcism, followedbaptismitself: and first the minister, by prayer, consecrated the water for that use. Tertullian says, “any waters may be applied to that use; but then God must be first invocated, and then the Holy Ghost presently comes down from heaven, and moves upon them, and sanctifies them.” The water being consecrated, the person was baptized “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;” by which “dedication of him to the blessed Trinity, the person” (says Clemens Alexandrinus) “is delivered from the corrupt trinity, the devil, the world, and the flesh.”—Tertull. de Baptismo. Justin Martyr, Apolog.2.
In performing the ceremony of baptism, the usual custom was to immerse and dip the whole body. Thus St. Barnabas, describing a baptized person, says, “We go down into the water full of sin and filth, but we ascend bearing fruit in our hearts.” And that all occasions of scandal and immodesty might be prevented in so sacred an action, the men and women were baptized in distinct apartments; the women having deaconesses to undress and dress them. Then followed the unction, by which (says St. Cyril) was signified, that they were now cut off from the wild olive, and were ingrafted into Christ, the true olive-tree; or else to show, that they were now to be champions for the gospel, and were anointed thereto, as the old Athletæ were against their solemn games. With this anointing was joined the sign of the cross, made upon the forehead of the person baptized; which being done, he had a white garment given him, to denote his being washed from the defilements of sin, orin allusion to the words of the apostle, “as many as are baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” From this custom the feast of Pentecost, which was one of the annual seasons of baptism, came to be called Whitsunday, i. e. Whitesunday. This garment was afterwards laid up in the church, that it might be an evidence against such persons as violated or denied that faith which they had owned in baptism. Of this we have a remarkable instance under the Arian persecution in Africa. Elpidophorus, a citizen of Carthage, had lived a long time in the communion of the Church, but, apostatizing afterwards to the Arians, became a most bitter and implacable persecutor of the orthodox. Among several whom he sentenced to the rack, was one Miritas, a venerable old deacon, who, being ready to be put upon the rack, pulled out the white garment with which Elpidophorus had been clothed at his baptism, and, with tears in his eyes, thus addressed him before all the people. “These, Elpidophorus, thou minister of error, these are the garments that shall accuse thee, when thou shalt appear before the majesty of the Great Judge; these are they which girt thee, when thou camest pure out of the holy font; and these are they which shall bitterly pursue thee, when thou shalt be cast into the place of flames; because thou hast clothed thyself with cursing as with a garment, and hast cast off the sacred obligation of thy baptism.”—Epist. Cathol.§ 9.Cave’s Primitive Christianity, p. i. c. 10.Epiph. Hæres.79.Ambrose de Sacr.lib. i. c. 21. Gal. iii. 27.Victor. Utic. de Persecut. Vandal.lib. iii.
But though immersion was the usual practice, yet sprinkling was in some cases allowed, as in clinic baptism, or the baptism of such persons as lay sick in bed. It is true, this kind of baptism was not esteemed so perfect and effectual as that by immersion or dipping; for which reason, in some Churches, none were advanced to the order of the priesthood, who had been so baptized; an instance of which we have in Novatian, whose ordination was opposed by all the clergy upon that account; though afterward, at the entreaties of the bishop, they consented to it. Notwithstanding which general opinion, Cyprian, in a set discourse on this subject, declares that he thought this baptism to be as perfect and valid as that performed more solemnly by immersion.—Epist. Cornel. ad Fabium Antioch. apud Euseb.lib. vi. cap. 43. Epist. lxxvi. § 9.Apolog.2.
When baptism was performed, the person baptized, according to Justin Martyr, “was received into the number of the faithful, who then sent up their public prayers to God, for all men, for themselves, and for those who had been baptized.”
As the Church granted baptism to all persons duly qualified to receive it, so there were some whom she debarred from the benefits of this holy rite. The author of theApostolical Constitutionsmentions several.Bingham, Orig. Eccles.b. xi. cap. 5, § 6, &c.Const. Apost.lib. viii. cap. 32. Such were panders, or procurers; whores; makers of images or idols; actors and stage-players; gladiators, charioteers, and gamesters; magicians, enchanters, astrologers, diviners, and wandering beggars. Concerning stage-players, the Church seems to have considered them in the very same light as the ancient heathens themselves did: for Tertullian (Tertull. de Spectac.cap. 22) observes that they who professed those arts were branded with infamy, degraded, and denied many privileges, driven from the court, from pleading, from the order of knighthood, and all other honours in the Roman city and commonwealth. It has been a question, whether themilitary lifedisqualified a man for baptism: but the contrary appears from theConstitutions, lib. viii. cap. 32, which admitsoldiersto the baptism of the Church, on the same terms that St. John Baptist admitted them to his; namely, that they should do violence to no man, accuse no one falsely, and be content with their wages, Luke iii. 14. The state ofconcubinageis another case which has been matter of doubt. The rule in theConstitutions, lib. viii. c. 32, concerning the matter is this: a concubine, that is, a slave to an infidel, if she keep herself only to him, may be received to baptism; but, if she commit fornication with others, she shall be rejected. The Council of Toledo (Conc. Tolet.1, can. 17) distinguishes between a man’s having a wife and a concubine at the same time, and keeping a concubine only: the latter case it considers as no disqualification for the sacraments, and only insists that a man be content to be joined to one woman only, whether wife or concubine, as he pleases.
Though baptism was esteemed by the Church as a Divine and heavenly institution, yet there wanted not sects, in the earliest ages, who either rejected it in whole or in part, or greatly corrupted it. The Ascodrutæ wholly rejected it, because they would admit of no external or corporeal symbols whatever. The Archontics, who imagined that the world was not createdby the supreme God, but by certainἄρχοντες, or powers, the chief of whom they called Sabaoth, rejected this whole rite, as a foreign institution, given by Sabaoth, the God of the Jews, whom they distinguished from the supreme God. The Seleucians and Hermians rejected baptism by water, on pretence that it was not the baptism instituted by Christ; because St. John Baptist, comparing his own baptism with that of Christ, says, “I baptize you with water, but he that cometh after me shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire,” Matt. iii. 11. They thought that the souls of men consisted of fire and spirit, and therefore that a baptism by fire was more suitable to their nature. Another sect which rejected water-baptism, were the Manichees, who looked upon it as of no efficacy towards salvation: but whether they admitted any other kind of baptism, we are not told. The Paulicians, a branch of this heresy, maintained that the word of the gospel is baptism, because our Lord said, “I am the living water.”—Bingham Orig. Eccles.b. x. cap. 2, § 1.Epiph. Hæres.40.Theod. Hær. Fab.l. i. cap. 11.August. de Hæres.cap. 59.Philastr. de Hæres. Prædestinat. Hæres.40.Euthym. Panoplia, Par. ii. tit. 21.
Though the ancient Church considered baptism as indispensably necessary to salvation, it was always with this restriction, provided it could be had: in extraordinary cases, wherein baptism could not be had, though men were desirous of it, they made several exceptions in behalf of other things, which in such circumstances were thought sufficient to supply the want of it. (Bingham, § 19, 20.) The chief of these excepted cases was martyrdom, which usually goes by the name of second baptism, or baptism in men’s own blood, in the writings of the ancients. (Cyprian. Ep. lxiii.ad Julian.) This baptism, they suppose, our Lord spoke of, when he said, “I have another baptism to be baptized with,” alluding to his own future martyrdom on the cross. In theActs of the Martyrdom of Perpetua, there is mention of one Saturus, a catechumen, who, being thrown to a leopard, was, by the first bite of the wild beast, so bathed in blood, that the people, in derision of the Christian doctrine of martyrdom, cried outsalvum lotum, salvum lotum, baptized and saved, baptized and saved. (Bingham, § 24.) But these exceptions and allowances were with respect to adult persons only, who could make some compensation, by acts of faith and repentance, for the want of the external ceremony of baptism. But, as to infants who died without baptism, the case was thought more difficult, because they were destitute both of “the outward visible sign and the inward spiritual grace of baptism.” Upon which account they who spoke the most favourably of their case, would only venture to assign them a middle state, neither in heaven nor hell.—Greg. Naz.Orat. 40.Sever. Catena in Johan.iii.
For the rest, the rite of baptism was esteemed as the most universal absolution and grand indulgence of the ministry of the Church; as conveying a general pardon of sin to every true member of Christ; and as the key of the sacraments, that opens the gate of the kingdom of heaven.Bingham, b. xix, c. i. § 9.
Baptism is defined by the Church of Rome (Alet’s Ritual) to be “a sacrament, instituted by ourSaviour, to wash away original sin, and all those we may have committed; to communicate to mankind the spiritual regeneration, and the grace ofChrist Jesus; and to unite them to him, as the living members to the head.”
When a child is to be baptized in that Church, the persons who bring it wait for the priest at the door of the Church, who comes thither in his surplice and purple stole, attended by his clerks. He begins with questioning the godfathers, whether they promise, in the child’s name, to live and die in the true Catholic and Apostolic faith, and what name they would give the child. Then follows an exhortation to the sponsors; after which the priest, calling the child by its name, asks it as follows: “What dost thou demand of the Church?” The godfather answers, “Eternal life.” The priest goes on; “If you are desirous of obtaining eternal life, keep God’s commandments, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” &c. After which he breathes three times in the child’s face, saying, “Come out of this child, thou evil spirit, and make room for the Holy Ghost.” This said, he makes the sign of the cross on the child’s forehead and breast, saying, “Receive the sign of the cross on thy forehead, and in thy heart.” Then, taking off his cap, he repeats a short prayer, and, laying his hand gently on the child’s head, repeats a second prayer: which ended, he blesses some salt, and, putting a little of it into the child’s mouth, pronounces these words: “Receive the salt of wisdom.” All this is performed at the church door.
The priest, with the godfathers and godmothers, coming into the church, and advancing towards the font, repeat the Apostles’ Creed and theLord’sPrayer.Being come to the font, the priest exorcises the evil spirit again, and, taking a little of his own spittle, with the thumb of his right hand, rubs it on the child’s ears and nostrils, repeating, as he touches the right ear, the same word (Ephatha, “be thou opened”) which our Saviour made use of to the man born deaf and dumb. Lastly, they pull off its swaddling-clothes, or strip it below the shoulders, during which the priest prepares the oils, &c.
The sponsors then hold the child directly over the font, observing to turn it due east and west; whereupon the priest asks the child, “whether he renounces the devil and all his works,” and, the godfather having answered in the affirmative, the priest anoints the child between the shoulders in the form of a cross. Then, taking some of the consecrated water, he pours part of it thrice on the child’s head, at each perfusion calling on one of the persons of the holy Trinity. The priest concludes the ceremony of baptism with an exhortation.
It is to be observed, that, in the naming the child, all profane names, such as those of the heathens and their gods, are never admitted; and that a priest is authorized to change the name of a child (though it be a Scripture name) who has been baptized by a Protestant minister. Benserade, we are told, had like to have had his Christian name, which was Isaac, changed, when the bishop confirmed him, had he not prevented it by a jest: for, when they would have changed his name, and given him another, he asked them, “What they gave him into the bargain;” which so pleased the bishop, that he permitted him to retain his former name.
The Romish Church allows midwives, in cases of danger, to baptize a child before it is come entirely out of its mother’s womb: where it is to be observed, that some part of the body of the child must appear before it can be baptized, and that it is baptized on the part which first appears: if it be the head it is not necessary to rebaptize the child; but if only a foot or hand appears, it is necessary to repeat baptism. A still-born child, thus baptized, may be buried in consecrated ground. A monster, or creature that has not the human form, must not be baptized: if it be doubtful whether it be a human creature or not, it is baptized conditionally thus, “If thou art a man, I baptize thee,” &c.
The Greek Church differs from the Romish, as to the rite of baptism, chiefly, in performing it by immersion, or plunging the infant all over in the water, which the relations of the child take care to have warmed, and throw into it a collection of the most odoriferous flowers.—Rycaut’s State of the Greek Church.
The Church of England (Article xxvii.) defines baptism to be, “not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened; but it is also a sign of regeneration, or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly are grafted into the Church: the promises of the forgiveness of sin, of our adoption to be the sons of God, by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed, faith is confirmed, and grace increased, by virtue of prayer to God.” It is added, “that the baptism of young children is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ.”
In the rubrics of her liturgy, (see Office for Ministration of Public Baptism,) the Church prescribes, that baptism be administered only on Sundays and holy days, except in cases of necessity. She requires sponsors for infants; for every male child two godfathers and one godmother; and for every female two godmothers and one godfather. We find this provision made by a constitution of Edmond, archbishop of Canterbury,A. D.1236; and in a synod held at Worcester,A. D.1240. By the 29th canon of our Church, no parent is to be admitted to answer as godfather to his own child.—Bp. Gibson’s Codex, vol. i. p. 439.
The form of administering baptism is too well known to require a particular account to be given of it. We shall only observe some of the more material differences between the form, as it stood in the first liturgy of King Edward, and that in our Common Prayer Book at present. First, in that of King Edward, we meet with a form of exorcism, founded upon the like practice of the primitive Church, which our reformers left out, when they took a review of the liturgy in the 5th and 6th of that king. It is as follows.
“Then let the priest, looking upon the children, say;
“I command thee, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that thou come out, and depart from these infants, whom our Lord Jesus Christ hath vouchsafed to call to his holy baptism, to be made members of his body, and of his holy congregation. Therefore, thou cursed spirit, remember thy sentence, remember thy judgment, remember the day to be at hand, whereinthou shalt burn in fire everlasting, prepared for thee and thy angels. And presume not hereafter to exercise any tyranny towards these infants, whom Christ hath bought with his precious blood, and by this his holy baptism calleth to be of his flock.”
The form of consecrating the water did not make a part of the office in King Edward’s liturgy, as it does in the present, because the water in the font was changed and consecrated but once a month. The form likewise itself was something different from that we now use, and was introduced with a short prayer, that “Jesus Christ, upon whom (when he was baptized) the Holy Ghost came down in the likeness of a dove, would send down the same Holy Spirit, to sanctify the fountain of baptism; which prayer was afterwards left out, at the second review.
By King Edward’s First Book, the minister is to “dip the child in the water thrice; first dipping the right side; secondly the left; the third time dipping the face toward the font.” This trine immersion was a very ancient practice in the Christian Church, and used in honour of the Holy Trinity: though some later writers say, it was done to represent the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, together with his three days’ continuance in the grave. Afterwards, the Arians making an ill use of it, by persuading the people that it was used to denote that the three persons in the Trinity were three distinct substances, the orthodox left it off, and used only one single immersion.—Tertull. adv. Prax.c. 26.Greg. Nyss. de Bapt. Christi. Cyril, Catech. Mystag.
By the first Common Prayer of King Edward, after the child was baptized, the godfathers and godmothers were to lay their hands upon it, and the minister was to put on him the white vestment commonly called the Chrysome, and to say: “Take this white vesture, as a token of the innocency which, by God’s grace, in this holy sacrament of baptism, is given unto thee; and for a sign, whereby thou art admonished, so long as thou livest, to give thyself to innocence of living, that, after this transitory life, thou mayest be partaker of the life everlasting. Amen.” As soon as he had pronounced these words, he was to anoint the infant on the head, saying, “Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath regenerated thee by water and the Holy Ghost, and hath given unto thee remission of all thy sins; vouchsafe to anoint thee with the unction of his Holy Spirit, and bring thee to the inheritance of everlasting life. Amen.” This was manifestly done in imitation of the practice of the primitive Church.
The custom of sprinkling children, instead of dipping them in the font, which at first was allowed in case of the weakness or sickness of the infant, has so far prevailed, that immersion is at length almost excluded. What principally tended to confirm the practice of affusion or sprinkling, was, that several of our English divines, flying into Germany and Switzerland, during the bloody reign of Queen Mary, and returning home when Queen Elizabeth came to the crown, brought back with them a great zeal for the Protestant Churches beyond sea where they had been sheltered and received; and, having observed that at Geneva (Calvin, Instit.lib. iv. c. 15) and some other places baptism was administered by sprinkling, they thought they could not do the Church of England a greater piece of service than by introducing a practice dictated by so great an oracle as Calvin. This, together with the coldness of our northern climate, was what contributed to banish entirely the practice of dipping infants in the font.