,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,small capital text has been replaced with all capitals4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,rites ,,and ,,ritual2 ,a ,,plea ,,for ,,apostolic ,,doctrine ,,and ,,worship4 ,,by ,,philip ,,freeman1 ,m4,a41 ,,vicar ,,of ,,thorverton1 ,,devon2 ,,archdeacon ,,and ,,canon ,,of ,,exeter2 ,,author ,,of ,,the ,,principles ,,of ,,divine ,,service4 ,,with ,,an ,,appendix ,,containing ,,the ,,opinions1 ,,on ,,certain ,,points ,,of ,,doctrine1 ,,of ,,henry1 ,,lord ,,bishop ,,of ,,exeter4 ,o ,mother dear1 ,wilt thou forgive thy son one boding sigh8 ,forgive1 if round thy towers he walk in fear1 ,and tell thy jewels o'er with jealous eye8 ,,fourth ,,edition1 ,,revised4 ,,london3 ,,john ,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street4 #ahff4 ,,london3 ,,printed ,,by ,w4 ,,clowes ,,and ,,sons1 ,,stamford ,,street1 ,,and ,,charing ,,cross4 ,,preface4 ,the following pages had been prepared1 for the most part1 for publication1 before it was known that the question of ,ritual would be discussed in ,convocation1 or a ,committee of the ,lower ,house appointed1 by the direction of the ,upper ,house1 to report upon it4 ,but the suggestions here offered are of so general a character1 that it seemed to the writer that they might still without impropriety be put forth as a contribution1 of however humble a kind1 to the general ventilation of the subject4 ,it was the writer's hope1 as expressed in the original announcement of the ,pamphlet1 that his ,diocesan1 the venerable ,bishop of ,exeter1 would have been able to prefix1 in an ,introduction1 his opinion on the leading points1 whether of ,ritual or ,doctrine1 involved in the present controversy4 ,and1 although that hope has been in part frustrated1 he has still been privileged to embody1 in an ,appendix1 his ,lordship's deliberate judgment on some of the weightier matters of ,eucharistic ,doctrine2 and to receive an assurance of his warm interest in the subjects dwelt upon in these pages4 ,the writer has to apologise for having occasionally referred the reader to a larger work of his own4 ,he begs that this may be understood to be merely a guarantee1 that detailed proof is forthcoming on points which could only be cursorily treated of in the present publication4 ,,contents4 ,,rites4--,importance of them above ,ritual--,serious departure of the ,english ,church from primitive practice--,abeyance of ,weekly ,celebration--,proofs that ,weekly ,communion is part of the ,divine ,ordinance--,practical advantages of restoring it--,origin and history of the present unsound practice--,vigorous protest of the ,english ,church against it--,difficulties in the way of a reformation1 how to be met--,recent ,eucharistic excesses--,worship addressed to ,christ as enshrined in the ,elements--,proof that this was not the primitive doctrine or practice--,recent origin of it among ourselves--,non-communicating attendance unknown to antiquity4 ,,ritual4--,law of the ,english ,church about it1 how ascertainable-- ,vestments--,an alternative recognised--,the ,vestment ,rubric preserved--,the ,surplice permitted--,ritual advance at the present day--,choral ,festivals--,church ,decoration--,history and rationale of the ,eucharistic ,vestments1 and of the ordinary ones--,position of the ,celebrant--,two lights on the ,altar--,incense--,the ,mixed ,chalice--,the ,crucifix--,minute ceremonial disallowed by the ,english ,church--,suggestions as to the present controversy--,hopeful circumstances1 and grounds of union4 #a4--;,,appendix ,a4 ,opinions of the ,,bishop ,,of ,,exeter on certain points of ,doctrine ,page #aja #b4--;,,appendix ,b4 ,former judgment of the ,,bishop ,,of ,,exeter on ,vestments #ajc #c4--;,,appendix ,c4 ,on ,saying and ,singing1 by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,b4 ,,dykes4 #aje ,illustration3 cover ,illustration3 titlepage ,,rites ,,and ,,ritual1 ,,etc4 ,the position of affairs in the ,english ,church1 at the present moment1 is such as may well call forth from her children such counsel as their affection may prompt1 or their experience justify4 ,and1 whatever be the intrinsic value1 if any1 of the suggestions about to be offered here1 the writer can at least testify that1 though called forth by a particular conjuncture of circumstances1 they are not the hasty or immature thoughts of the moment1 but rather an outpouring of the anxious musing of years over the condition and prospects of a beloved and honoured ,mother4 ,it will be conjectured1 from what has now been said1 that the writer is not among the number of those who perceive1 in the present condition of the ,english ,church1 or in her rate of improvement of late years1 any grounds for satisfaction1 much less for complacency or congratulation4 ,on the contrary1 he very humbly conceives--and his reasons for that opinion shall be given presently--that to the spiritual eye1 used to rest either on what the ,church of ,god was intended to be1 or on what once1 for a few centuries1 she was1 there is1 in the practical condition of the ,english ,church one defect of so radical a character1 and which has eaten so extensively into her entire system1 that until this is1 at least in a very great measure1 remedied1 all else is little better than a palliative1 and little else than an illusion4 ,there is surely something deeply saddening in the spectacle 7if it indeed be so7 of a ,church busying herself with many things--making much show of practical activity1 of self-reparation1 of improvement in services and ministries1 of extension abroad1--when all the while the one thing1 namely1 soundness and perfectness in ,apostolic faith and practice1 is in any serious degree wanting to her4 ,if1 while she is manifesting a feverish anxiety about the more or less of ,,ritual1 there is in her ,,rites 7of which ,ritual is but the outward clothing7 that which demands repair and readjustment on an extensive scale2 then it is surely needful to press upon her1 in the first instance1 the redress of such essentials1 before proceeding to speak of the accessories4 ,and this is what the present writer1 with all humility1 undertakes to make good4 ,he is indeed far from denying that1 by the good ,hand of our ,god upon us1 great things1 of a certain kind1 have been accomplished in our day4 ,stately thy walls1 and holy are the prayers ,that day and night before thine altar rise4 ,our churches have grown to be1 to a great extent1 the perfection of earthly sanctuaries4 ,our ,services are nobler and heartier4 ,our church music is more worthy of the name4 ,better still than this1 and more to the present purpose1 our communicants have increased in numbers1 our ,communions in frequency4 ,our clergy1 as a rule1 are devoted1 beyond the example of former times1 to their duty1 according to their conception of it4 ,schools are diligently cared for1 and are fairly efficient2 foreign missions grow2 the home circle of charities is daily widened and rendered more effectual4 ,and this is progress1 or improvement1 undoubtedly4 ,and1 were the ,church a mere ,machine1 or a mere ,system1 it would be perfectly reasonable to point with satisfaction to such progress or improvement4 ,but the ,church is neither the one nor the other4 ,she is a ,divine ,body4 ,and what if1 while some operations of that ,body are being performed with a certain increase of vigour1 her very constitution1 as divinely organised by ,god ,himself1 is being suffered to fall into habitual and chronic unsoundness8 ,surely1 as it is the first duty of man to do right1 and only his second to do good2--as health is the highest of bodily blessings1 so that activity1 apart from it1 is but spurious and imperfect2--so is it the ,church's first duty to be sound1--primum valere1--and only her second to be1 if ,god enables her1 active and prosperous4 ,and the ,church being1 as ,i have said1 a ,divine ,body--the ,body of ,christ--it is plain that the first condition of her soundness is full as well as vital union with ,christ through the appointed medium1 the ,sacraments4 ,upon these are absolutely suspended her existence in the first instance1 and her preservation and growth afterwards4 ,what then1 ,i would ask1 can possibly be of more importance than that these sacred and wonderful ministries should be performed1 in all respects1 according to the ,ordinance of ,christ1 such as he delivered it to the apostles8 ,and if it be asked1 ,how are we to know what it was that ,christ delivered to the apostles on this subject1 seeing that ,holy ,scripture is confessedly brief and unsystematic in its teaching respecting it8 the answer manifestly is1 ,by looking at the universal practice of the ,church in the time of the apostles1 and during the earliest ages after them4 ,we know1 with sufficient accuracy1 what that practice was4 ,their customs as to the administration of ,baptism are known to us2 their ,liturgies or ,communion ,offices are in our hands4 ,and1 though diversities of practice1 outside of certain limits1 are found existing in those ages1 within certain limits there is none4 ,now1 among the points thus defined for us by universal early usage1 is the ordained frequency of celebration of both ,sacraments4 ,the law of ,holy ,baptism1 viz4 that it should be administered once only1 was universally received4 ,this is confessed on all hands4 ,and when we come to the ,holy ,eucharist1 here1 too1 the degree of frequency1 as a law and as a minimum1 of celebration1 is defined for us no less certainly4 ,that this was1 by universal consent and practice1 weekly1--namely1 on every ,lord's ,day or ,sunday--cannot be gainsaid4 ,that it was on occasion administered more frequently still2 that in some churches it became1 we will not define how early1 even daily2 that1 according to some1 the apostles1 at the very first1 used it daily1--is beside the present question4 ,the point before us is1 that there was no ,church throughout the world which failed1 for the first three or four hundred years1 to have everywhere a weekly celebration on the ,sunday1 and to expect the attendance of all ,christians at that ordinance4 ,of this1 ,i say1 there is no doubt4 ,the custom of apostolic days is perfectly clear from ,acts xx4 #g1 and other passages4 ,the testimony of ,pliny1 at the beginning of the second century1 is that the first ,christians met on a stated day for the ,eucharist2 while ,justin ,martyr 7an4 #aej7 makes it certain that that day was ,sunday4 ,and the testimony of various subsequent writers proves that the practice continued unbroken for three centuries4 ,the ,council of ,elvira1#a ,a4,d4 #cje1 first inflicted the penalty of suspension from church privileges on all who failed to be present for three successive ,sundays2 and we know from our own ,archbishop ,theodore of ,tarsus1 ,a4,d4 #ffh1 that in the ,east that rule was still adhered to1 though in the ,west the penalty had ceased to be inflicted4 #a ,can4 #ba4 ,it is referred to by ,hosius at the ,council of ,sardica1 ,a4,d4 #cdg4 ,now the ground which ,i venture to take up1 as absolutely irrefragable1 is that it must needs be of most dangerous consequence to depart from the apostolic and primitive eucharistic practice1 in any of those things which were ancient and universal1 and1 as such1 we cannot doubt1 ordained features of the ,ordinance4 ,thus1 we rightly view with the utmost repugnance1 and even sickness of heart1 the practice of the ,western ,church in later ages in respect of the ,elements2 viz4 her refusing to the laity1 and to all but the ,celebrant himself1 one half of the ,holy ,eucharist4 ,we pity or marvel at the flimsy pretences by which the fearful and cruel decree1 originating in the bestowal of exclusive privileges upon the higher clergy1#b is attempted to be justified1 and its effects to be explained away4 ,the ,western ,church1 we feel1 must answer for that to ,god as she can4 ,but what right have we1 ,i would ask1 to choose1 among the essentials of the mysterious ,ordinance1 one which1 as we conceive1 we may dispense with1 while we condemn others who select for themselves another8 ,and yet1 what do we8 what is our practice8 the practice so universally adopted throughout our ,church1 that the exceptions are few1 and but of yesterday2 so that those who contend for and practise the contrary are deemed visionary and righteous over much8 ,alas6 our practice may be stated in few and fatally condemnatory words4 ,the number of clergy in ,england may be roundly stated at #bj1jjj4 ,now1 it was lately affirmed in a ,church ,review of high standing1 that the number who celebrate the ,holy ,communion weekly in ,england is #bjj3 that is to say1 if this estimate be correct1 that one in a hundred of our clergy conforms to the apostolic and ecclesiastical law of the first centuries4 ,this statement1 it is true1 proves to be somewhat of an exaggeration4 ,but to what extent8 ,the real number of churches where there is ,holy ,communion every ,sunday is1 by recent returns1 about #dcj4c ,the number of churches in ,england is at least #ab1jjj4 ,that is to say1 that there are in ,england at this moment more than eleven thousand parishes which1 judged by the rule of the apostles1 are false to their ,lord's dying command in a particular from which ,he left no dispensation4 ,it will be said1 the ,holy ,eucharist is celebrated in these parishes from time to time1 only less frequently than of old4 ,but who has told us that we may safely celebrate it less frequently8 ,how can we possibly know but that such infrequency is direfully injurious8 ,take the analogy of the human body1 which ever serves to illustrate so well the nature of the ,church's life4 ,take pulsation1 take respiration1 or even food4 ,is not the frequency of every one of these mysterious conditions of life as certainly fixed1 as their necessity to life at all8 ,let pulsation or respiration be suspended for a few minutes1 or food for a few days1 and what follows but death1 or trance at the best8 ,and what know we1 ,i ask1 of the appointed intervals for the awful systole and diastole of the ,church's heart--of the appointed times of her inbreathing and expiration of the afflatus of the ,divine ,spirit--of the laws regulating the frequency of her mysterious nourishment8 ,what know we1 ,i say1 of these things1 but what we learn from the wondrous ,twelve1 who taught us all we know of the kingdom of ,god8 #b ,see ,mabillon1 referred to in ,introduction to vol4 ii4 of ',the ,principles of ,divine ,service4'--,p4 #gi1 note z4 #c ,see the ',churchman's ,diary' 7,masters74 ,another return makes the number only #cbh4 ,see the ',kalendar of the ,english ,church4' ,what may be the exact injury of such intermittent celebration of the ,divine ,mysteries--of such scanty and self-chosen measures of obedience to the commands of ,christ1--,i pretend not by these analogies to decide4 ,but surely it may well be that continuous and unbroken weekly ,eucharist is as a ring of magic power1 if ,i may use the comparison1 binding in and rendering safe the ,church's mysterious life2 and that any rupture in that continuity is exceedingly dangerous to her4 ,or if it be contended1 as not unnaturally it may1 that this particular circumstance of frequency1 and of weekly recurrence may1 notwithstanding the apostolic testimony to its importance1 be subject to variation1 then ,i would desire to put the matter from another point of view4 ,one way of judging of the degree of importance to be attached by us to any given religious element or feature1 is to observe what degree of divine care ,almighty ,god has bestowed in inculcating it upon the world4 ,thus1 the ,unity of ,god1 and again the necessity of sacrifice to atone for sin1 or procure admission to ,his favour1 were attested throughout the whole pre-evangelic history by special training1 imparted1 in the one instance1 to the ,jews1 in the other to all mankind4 ,but each of these instances of training is even surpassed by that which ,god was pleased to impart respecting the mysterious ,ordinance of the ,,week4 ,creation1 ,redemption1 ,sanctification--the three great phenomena of man's religious history--were all visibly based upon the ,week4 ,about the ,creation1 and its septenary commemoration as a religious ordinance1 there is no real doubt whatever4 ,in the ,jewish system the sabbath1 or week1 is the basis upon which the whole structure rests4#d ,and when the awful mystery of ,redemption itself was to be consummated1 it was once more within the limits of a single week that the mighty drama was wrought out4 ,from the early morning of ,palm ,sunday1 when our ,lord entered ,jerusalem as the ,lamb of ,god1 ,incarnate in order that ,he might suffer1 to the early morning of ,easter ,day1 when ,he rose from the dead1 a measured week1 rich in divine incident1 ran out4 ,seven weeks1 or a week of weeks1 again elapses1 and the ,spirit is sent down from on high for the completion of the ,church4 ,all this indicates some deep mystery of blessedness as attaching to the seven-days period in the matter of man's relations to ,god4 ,it cannot be alleged1 indeed1 as an absolute proof that the celebration of the ,eucharist was also meant to be of weekly recurrence1 or that such recurrence would be the proper and indefeasible law of its rightful administration4 ,but it surely renders that conclusion highly probable4 ,for what purpose else1 we may ask1 was all this training given8 ,why was the ,jewish nation1 who were to be the first to receive the ,gospel ordinances1 and to transmit them to mankind1 carefully habituated to a seventh-day rendering up of themselves to ,god8 ,as regards the general principle involved1 it was doubtless because it is good that man should keep with ,god these short reckonings1 which make long and eternal friends4 ,but besides this1 it was1 as the ancient ,jewish services testify1#e that they might keep in remembrance two very wonderful weeks of divine operation on their behalf1 the week of ,creation1 and the week of their own deliverance out of ,egypt4 ,what more likely than that a seventh-day observance was to be perpetuated still1 only with reference to that antitypical ,redemption1 which itself also was ordained to take place1 as if for this very purpose1 within the compass of a week8 #d ,see this admirably worked out in ,dr4 ,moberly's ,sermons on the ,decalogue4 #e ,see this proved at large in ',principles of ,divine ,service1' vol4 ii41 pp4 #bhd1 sqq4 ,in this point of view1 the ,christian ,eucharist is the gathering up of the memories of that wonderful week1 called of old the ,great ,week1 the ,week of ,weeks4 ,that such was its purpose might be gathered even from the accustomed ,day1 no doubt appointed by ,christ ,himself1 for its celebration4 ,this is not1 as might perhaps have been expected1 the ,thursday1 the day of the ,institution2 not a day in the middle of the week1 but at the close of one week and the beginning of another3 that so it may look back on the marvels of the ,great ,week1 ever renewed in memory1 and with deepest thankfulness commemorate them4 ,the original time of celebration in apostolic days was at first1 as it should seem1 on the evening of the old ,sabbath2 that is1 according to the then reckoning1 on the overnight commencement1 or eve1 of the ,sunday1 on which the whole mystery was consummated by the ,resurrection4 ,in the account of the celebration at ,troas1 we find it to have been1 from particular causes1 already past midnight when the celebration took place4 ,by the time of ,pliny1 in the first century1 it had passed on to the morning hour of ,sunday1 where it has continued ever since4 ,surely it is manifest that1 in the ,divine ,intention1 the ,church ought to pass week by week1 in solemn memory and mysterious sympathy1 through the great series of redeeming events1 and crown her contemplation of them by the great act of ,oblation and ,reception1 which ,christ himself ordained for high memorial of these events1 and to convey the graces and powers flowing out of them4 ,this is indeed to keep up a continual remembrance of the ,sacrifice of the death of ,christ1 and of the benefits which we receive thereby4 ,a weekly ,eucharist is really a continual ,eucharist1 because it makes our whole life to be nothing else than a living over again and again1 with perpetual application to our own practice1 of those events and memories which are the staple of the ,ordinance4 ,in this respect the ,sunday celebration of the ,eucharist1 viewed as crowning the week1 possesses a fitness1 because a close following in the steps of ,christ1 in his ,incarnation and ,passion1 his ,death and ,burial and ,resurrection1 which no other day can lay claim to4 ,this fitness1 of course1 reaches its height on ,easter-,day1 but is also realized in a very high degree on our ,easter ,day in every week4 ,nor are there wanting more positive and distinct intimations of the ,will of ,god in this matter1 over and above the general presumptions which have been adduced hitherto4 ,it is always a somewhat delicate task to gather from the provisions of the ,old ,law sure and certain conclusions as to the destined ones of the ,new2 because some of the former were1 as the event proved1 to be entirely abrogated1 or however absorbed1 while others were to abide to the end1 only with new powers4 ,thus1 the multitude of slain sacrifices was to disappear1 being absorbed and done away in the ,one ,slain ,sacrifice4 ,but the bread and wine of the ,elder ,economy were to survive1 with added powers1 in the ,new4 ,we cannot1 therefore1 assume with certainty that the seventh-day recurrence of any feast of the ,old ,law1 however close its resemblance to the ,eucharist in other respects1 enforces of necessity a like seventh-day recurrence of the ,christian ,ordinance4 ,but thus much may be observed1 as a law pervading the transference of the old ways of service to the new system1 that there was to be no going back1 or falling short1 in this point of frequency1 but an equality at the lowest1 and even some advance in that respect4 ,thus1 the great ,continual ,sacrifice of the ,tabernacle and ,temple1 consisting in the renewal1 morning and evening1 of a lamb as a burnt offering1 has passed on into the really continual1 and not merely renewed1 ,offering and ,presentation in ,heaven of the true ,lamb once for all slain4 ,the eucharistic or peace-offerings1 again1 personal or congregational1 which bear so close an analogy to the ,holy ,eucharist1 were only offered and partaken of1 as an absolute rule1 three times in the year1 though they might be1 and were1 offered and eaten more frequently4 ,so that the frequency of the ,christian ,eucharist1 once a week as a minimum1 was a clear advance upon this4--,but there was another ,ordinance very closely resembling the ,eucharist4 ,this was the ,shewbread4 ,the materials of it were bread and wine2 it was offered and eaten as a memorial of the one continual sacrifice1 and as a means of presenting before ,god the ,church of that day1 the twelve tribes of ,israel4 ,the analogy1 therefore1 is perfect2 especially in that no part of the offering was consumed by fire1 but the whole of that which was offered was also eaten1 exactly as in the ,eucharist4 ,that this particular ,ordinance was to survive1 accordingly1 with the least possible amount of transformation1 in the ,gospel economy1 was foretold1 apparently1 by ,malachi4 ,for to this we may most safely refer his prediction1 that in every place incense should be offered1 and a pure offering2 the terms pure offering1 and incense1 being especially applied to this rite2 and the subject treated of being the negligence of the priests1 to whom this ordinance was confined4 ,how often1 then1 was this offering presented and partaken of8 weekly--neither more nor less2 namely1 on the ,sabbath morning2 it having been placed on the ,table of ,shewbread the ,sabbath before1 and being now consecrated1 or offered1 by burning1 upon the altar of incense1 the frankincense which had been placed on the top of the loaves for that purpose4 ,this ,weekly ,celebration and ,communion1 then1 as it may rightly be called1 certifies to us1 on the principle above laid down1 that the ,christian ,eucharist1 its very counterpart or continuation1 was to be weekly as a minimum4 ,the same analogy would suggest1 what we know to have been the case from very early times1 that the ,christian rite was not1 like the ,jewish1 to be limited to a weekly performance4 ,in this respect1 as well as in the extension of the rite to all ,christians1 now become ,priests unto ,god1 the antitype was to rise1 on occasion at least1 above the type2 even to the degree1 at high seasons1 or under special circumstances1 of a daily celebration4 ,and the fact that the bread and wine offered on each ,sabbath had already lain there a week1 gives much countenance to the view advocated above1 that the ,christian rite is1 on the ,lord's ,day1 retrospective1 inclusive of the memories of the preceding week4 ,for the idea manifestly was that1 in the twelve loaves1 the twelve tribes lay in a mystery all the week long1 with all their actions1 before the ,divine ,majesty4 ,but we may1 with much probability1 go one step further1 and say that ,our ,lord himself1 in the very words of the ,institution1 gave no obscure intimation that the law of recurrence of the ,ordinance was to be that which is here contended for4 ,among those words there is one1 though but one1 which bears upon the question of frequency4 ,it is1 ,do this1 as oft as ye drink1 for ,my memorial 74 ,what is the allusion here8 ,had the ,jews any custom at that time of drinking wine in solemn religious memorial of national mercies2 for which this greater ,memorial1 of world-wide meaning1 was henceforth to be substituted8 and if so1 how often did that rite recur1 and what law would thus be suggested or prescribed for the ,new ,memorial8 ,now1 that they had such a rite#f at that time1 is rendered infinitely probable by the fact that they have such a one at this day2 and of such a structure1 and involving such reference to the ancient system of sacrifice1 as though actually going on1 that it is inconceivable but that it must have existed before the destruction of the temple1 and abolition of the law4 ,it consisted of offering and consecrating1 at the ,synagogue ,service1 on the eve of every ,sabbath1 a cup of wine1 which was then drunk of1 first by the consecrator1 and then by the orphan children there present3--a touching rite1 signifying 7as appears by the prayers accompanying it7 the fatherless condition of the nation when in ,egypt1 and ,god's mercy in bringing them out of it1 to drink of the fruit of the vine in their own land4 ,there were also prayers for the acceptance of the great continual sacrifice of the nation1 then lying on the altar in the temple2 for peace2 for grace to keep the commandments4 ,in all respects1 therefore1 this rite bore a very close resemblance1 in its own sphere1 to that which our ,lord was instituting3 ,he1 too1 having offered a cup of wine1 presenting thereby the ,sacrifice of ,his ,blood1 and enjoined that it should be then and ever after drunk of in thankful memorial and all-powerful pleading of that sacrificial deliverance4 ,and there was yet another ,sabbath-eve rite1 nearly akin to this one1 only that it was a domestic rite1 and performed at supper1 and with bread as well as wine2 features which1 of course1 assimilated this latter form of the rite still more closely to what our ,lord was doing4 #f ,see ',principles of ,divine ,service1' vol4 ii41 pp4 #bhd-bih4 ,let it be supposed then1--and it seems to be incontestable1 if the existence of the rites at that time may be safely assumed1--that to these rites our ,lord alluded1 both generally in the whole ,institution 7though of course he referred to many other and greater rites too71 and specially in the words--,as oft as ye drink4 ,we then have from ,himself a plain intimation as to the degree of frequency of ,celebration4 ,such an intimation would1 apart from subsequent instructions during the ,forty ,days1 account for the ,first day of the week being mentioned for celebration1 as if a fixed habit1 in the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,these things considered then2--the deep mystery for good attaching1 from the very ,creation downwards1 to the seventh-day recurrence of religious ordinances2 the special fitness of such a law of recurrence in the case of the ,holy ,eucharist1 because it is the summing up of a ,divine ,week's ,work of ,redemption and ,salvation2 the sharply defined presignification1 by means of the ,law and the ,prophets1 the shewbread and ,malachi1 of a seventh-day rite of universal obligation1 and blessedness yet to come2 lastly1 and chief of all1 the brief but pregnant command of ,our ,,lord ,himself1 gathered with the utmost probability from the very words of the ,institution2 and all this1 not left to our inference1 but actually countersigned by the unvarying practice of the ,church throughout the world for three hundred years3--all this considered1 ,i conceive that we have very strong grounds indeed for affirming the proper obligation of this law of recurrence1 and for earnestly desiring that it might please the ,great ,head of the ,church to put it into the mind of this branch of it to return1 with all her heart1 to the discharge of this most bounden duty4 ,i have preferred1 in what has been said1 to place this duty on the lofty ground of zeal for the integrity of the great ,mystery of our religion1 and of reverence for the commands of ,christ1 and the practice of ,his ,apostles1 rather than on the lower ones of expediency and advantage4 ,and in this light ,i would earnestly desire that it may be primarily regarded4 ,the only question for any branch of ,god's ,church ought to be1 ,what is commanded8 ,what did ,god ,almighty intend1 and types foreshadow1 and ,christ enjoin1 and the ,apostles practise8 ,whatever that was1 it must be right for us to aim at1 and to strive for it with all our hearts4 ,yet ,i would not have it supposed but that there is every reason to hope for the largest measures of blessing1 and of spiritual results1 from a return to this practice4 ,i will mention one very great scandal1 the very canker and weakness of our whole parochial system1 which has a fair likelihood of being removed by this means4 ,next to the infrequency of our ,communions1 the fewness of our communicants1--that is1 in fact1 of our bon fide members of the ,church1--is our greatest and most inveterate evil4 ,when this fewness is allowed its due significance1 we must see and confess that the nominally ,christian condition of this country is but an illusion and an untruth after all4 ,judged by our own ,church's rule 7which is the rule of ,christ ,himself71 our communicants1 and they only1 are our people4 ,the rest may call themselves what they will2 or we may for euphony call them our flocks1 or ,god's people4 ,but one thing is certain1 that in those apostolic or early days to which we ever appeal1 and rightly1 as our standard1 they would have been held to be reprobates1 and no faithful members of ,christ's body at all4 ,such then is our condition3--a miserable handful1 even among those who are nominally members of the ,church1 having any claim to the title in reality4 ,now1 how are these wanderers to be brought back8 these abortive or moribund ,christians to be induced to accept the gift of life1 through the indispensable ,sacrament8 ,surely1 for the most part1 even in the same way as converts are brought in1 one by one1 in heathen lands4 ,public ministrations1 sermons1 services1 will not do it4 ,it is a personal effort1 a personal rendering up of self1 that is needed2 and it is only by seizing and pressing1 in private intercourse1 the chance occasions of speech1 the day of sorrow1 or of conviction of sin1 that we can induce men to make this effort4 ,but1 unhappily1 when they are prepared to make it1 in the vast majority of our parishes1 the ,communion ,sunday is too often a far-off event3 and before it arrives the favourable impression and disposition has passed away4 ,while1 on the other hand1 the ever-ready rite secures the communicant4 ,in saying this1 ,i am not merely theorizing1 but describing what ,i have found to take place within my own experience4 ,it has been found that in this way nearly one-third of the entire population of a parish may be brought in a few years to ,holy ,communion4 ,surely some may be induced to try the effect1 were it with this view only1 of the restoration of ,weekly ,celebration4 ,i am well aware1 indeed1 of the difficulties which1 in many cases1 stand in the way of such a restoration1 and on these ,i would venture to say a few words4 ,in the first place1 then1 the state of things which prevails among us1 and of which ,i have above ventured to speak in such strong language of deprecation1 is one which we of this generation have not made1 but inherited4 ,it is not we1 ,god be thanked1 that have diminished1 but rather1 in almost all cases1 increased1 the frequency of our celebrations4 ,the guilt of this evil custom is shared by the whole ,church of fifteen hundred years past2 and therefore we must not be surprised if very great difficulties are found in correcting it4 ,the history of the desuetude1 which we behold and deplore1 is simply this4 ,for nearly three centuries1 scarcely any breach was made in the ,church's ,eucharistic practice4 ,not only was there universal weekly celebration1 but universal weekly reception also2 with only such abatement1 doubtless1 as either discipline or unavoidable hindrance entailed4 ,but the ninth of the so-called ,apostolic canons1 belonging probably to the third century1 speaks of some who came in to hear the ,scriptures1 but did not remain for the prayer 7i4e4 the ,communion service7 and holy reception4 ,all such were to be suspended from ,communion1 as bringing disorder into the ,church1 i4e4 apparently 7with reference to #b ,thess4 iii4 #f71 as walking disorderly1 and not after the tradition received from the ,apostles4 ,by about ,a4,d4 #cje1 the ,council of ,elvira1 as cited above1 orders suspension after absence from the ,church three successive ,sundays3 a curious indication of monthly ,communions having been an early1 as it continues to this day a favourite1 form of declension from primitive practice4 ,but by ,st4 ,chrysostom's time 7c4 #djj7 so rapidly had the evil increased1 that he speaks of some who received but twice a year2 and even of there being on occasion none at all to communicate4 ,but this seems to have been but local1 since we find the ,council of ,antioch1 ,a4,d4 #cda1 reiterating the ,apostolic canon3 and even three centuries later1 the old rule of suspension for three absences was still in force in the ,east2 as ,theodore of ,tarsus1 ,archbishop of ,canterbury in #ffh1 testifies of the ,greek ,church1 from which he came4 ,but even in the ,east the decline was rapid4 ,the ,apostolical usage1 confirmed by the ninth canon1 was admitted to be binding2 but obedience to it was given up as hopeless4 ,nay1 even the laxer rule of ,elvira was stretched by ,canonists1#g so as to recognise attendance without reception as sufficient4 ,in the ,west the habit was all along laxer still than in the ,east4 ,at ,rome1 as ,theodore tells us1 no penalty was inflicted for failing to communicate for three ,sundays2 but the more devout still received every ,sunday and ,saint's-day in the time of ,st4 ,bede2 whereas in ,england1 as ,st4 ,bede tells us1 even the more religious laity did not presume to communicate--so utterly had the ,apostolic idea of ,communion perished--except at ,christmas1 ,epiphany1 and ,easter4 ,some attempt was made in ,spain and ,france#h in the sixth century to revive the pure ,apostolic rule4 ,but meanwhile the ,council of ,agde1 held in #ejf1 discloses the actual state of things by prescribing1 as the condition of ,church membership1 three receptions in the year--at ,christmas1 ,easter1 and ,pentecost4#i ,the recognition of this miserable pittance of grace1 as sufficient for membership in ,christ1 was rapidly propagated through ,east and ,west2 and remains1 unhappily1 as the litera scripta of two out of the three great branches of the ,church--the ,eastern and the ,english--to this day4 ,in the ,roman ,church1 ever since the ,fourth ,lateran ,council in #abad1 but one reception a year is enjoined under penalty2 viz4 at ,easter4 ,the ,english ,church1 however1 never accepted the ,lateran decree2 but by ,canons of ,salisbury 7about #abgj71 and of ,lambeth 7#acgh71 re-affirmed the thrice-a-year rule4 ,by the time of the ,reformation1 however1 as is evident from the rubric attached to the ,communion ,office in ,edward ,,vi4's ,first ,book1 reception once a year had become the recognised minimum in this country also4 ,meanwhile the miserable practice grew up1 as a result of the lack of communicants1 of the priest celebrating a so-called ,communion1 on occasion at least1 alone4 ,it is probable that in the earlier days1 as e4 g4 of ,st4 ,chrysostom1 there were always clergy to receive2 the parochial system of that time being to congregate several clergy at one cure4 ,but in the ninth century1 solitary celebrations existed extensively1 and were forbidden1#aj in the ,west4 ,not1 however1 to much purpose4 ,it soon became the rule1 rather than the exception1 for the priest to celebrate alone2 and thus it continued until the ,reformation4 ,the ,council of ,trent contented itself with feebly wishing things were otherwise2 and justified the abuse on the ground of vicarious celebration and spiritual communion4 #g ,so ,balsamon1 in the twelfth century3 ,though some desire by means of this ,canon to oblige those who come to ,church to receive the ,sacraments against their will1 yet we do not2 for we decide that the faithful are to stay to the end of the ,divine ,sacrifice2 but we do not force them to communicate4--,see ,scudamore1 ',communion of the ,faithful1' p4 #eh4 ,yet later writers acknowledged the true meaning of the ,canon1 though they thus condemned the existing practice of the ,church4--,ibid4 #h ,council of ,lugo1 ,a4,d4 #egb2 of ,maon1 ,a4,d4 #ehe4 #i ,sculares qui natale ,domini1 pascha et pentecosten non communicaverint1 catholici non credantur nec inter catholicos habeantur4--,concil4 ,agath41 c4 #ah4 #aj ,council of ,paris 7#hbi74 ,it was in her gallant and noble protest1 single-handed1 against this vast and desolating perversion of the ,ordinance of ,christ1 that the ,english ,church1 far from her own desire1 and only borne down by the accumulated abuse of ages1 lapsed into that unhappy desuetude of the ,weekly ,celebration1 which prevails so widely to this hour4 ,in her ,first ,revised ,communion ,office she provided that1 in order that the receiving of the ,sacrament may be most agreeable to the ,institution thereof1 and to the usage of the ,primitive ,church1 some one1 at the least1 of that house in every parish1 to whom it appertaineth to offer at the ,offertory for the charges of the ,communion1 or some other whom they shall provide1 shall receive the ,communion with the ,priest4#aa ,it is added1 that on week-days he shall forbear to celebrate except he have some that will communicate with him4 ,another rubric provided1 that on ,wednesdays and ,fridays 7which had traditionally#ab been the great week-days for celebration in this country71 though there might be none to communicate with the priest1 yet on those days 7after the ,litany ended7 he should put on a plain albe or surplice1 with a cope1 and say all things at the altar appointed to be said at the celebration1 until after the ,offertory4 ,and this rule was extended to all other days1 meaning apparently customary high holydays1 occurring in the week1 whensoever the people were customably assembled to pray in the church1 and none disposed to communicate with the priest4 #aa ,rubric at the end of the ,communion ,service1 #aedi4 #ab ,thus1 in the ,sarum ,use1 separate ,epistles and ,gospels are provided for those days throughout ,advent1 ,epiphany1 and ,easter1 till ,whitsuntide2 for ,wednesdays only throughout the ,trinity period4 ,thus was a solemn protest made1 and not in word only1 as in other parts of the ,church1 but by outward deed1 against the unpardonable and fatal neglect of the people to avail themselves of the ordinance of ,christ4 ,on ,sundays only 7so the rubric seems to mean7 a peculiar provision was made1 so that there should1 without fail1 be attendants at the celebration4 ,but on week-days1 on which there was no such ,divine obligation to celebrate1 the ,church would carry her protest still further4 ,while vesting her ministers1 as if ready1 for their parts1 for the rite1 she would refuse to volunteer a mode of celebration1 for which there was no precedent in the early and pure days of ,christianity4 ,such appears to have been the intention of the ,first ,book of ,edward ,,vi4 ,the expedient of performing the ,communion ,service up to a certain point only1 on ,wednesdays and ,fridays1 was manifestly adopted from the ancient ,church of ,alexandria1 where1 as ,socrates has recorded1 exactly this usage prevailed on those days4 ,in the ,second ,book of ,edward ,,vi4 7revised1 be it remembered1 in part by members of the same ,committee of ,divines as the ,first was1 and professing the same doctrine71#ac the provision for the compulsory attendance of each household in turn was laid aside1 probably as being found impracticable4 ,and now at length the step was taken1 to which sound principles of action had in reality pointed all along2 and it was ordained that1 if the people1 appealed to as they had been1 and would continue still to be1 persisted on any given ,sunday in excommunicating themselves1 they should even be permitted to do so4 ,the great unreality of a ,communion1 which was no ,communion according to the ,ordinance of ,christ1 should be done away4 ,the minister should still be ready on all ,sundays and holydays at the altar2 but it would be left1 awfully left1 for the people to say whether ,christ's ordinance should have place1 or whether its continuity should be violated1 and its benefits so far forfeited4 #ac ,see ',principles of ,divine ,service1' ,introd4 to ,part ,,ii41 p4 #abc-abi4 ,mr4 ,perry 7',declaration on ,kneeling'7 arrives at the same conclusion4 ,and who will deny that such a course was1 though a choice of evils1 the right one8 ,what had the other practice done1 but lull the ,church of ,god into a fatal satisfaction with a state of things as widely different from primitive ,eucharist and primitive ,christianity1 as any one thing can well be from another8 ,and if those other sad results have followed1 which we behold before our eyes1 let not the blame be laid on the age which has inherited1 but on the ages which had accumulated and transmitted1 such an inveterate habit of neglect to receive the ,holy ,communion4 ,be it remembered1 too1 that 7as has been well pointed out of late7 the period of the ,great ,rebellion caused an entire suspension of the ,church's proper rites4 ,the ,sacrament was laid aside1 in those distracting times1 in many parishes in the kingdom1 for near twenty years4 7,bishop ,patrick47 ,this solemn part of religion was almost quite forgotten2 the ,remembrance of ,christ's ,death was soon lost among ,christians4 7,archbishop ,tillotson47 ,the ,sacrament was laid aside1 in ,cromwell's days1 in most parishes in the nation4 ,in many churches there was no speaking of the ,sacrament for fifteen or sixteen years2 till it was feared the ,lord's ,supper would come to be ranked among those superstitious ceremonies that must be abolished4 7,dr4 ,durell47 ,these testimonies considered1 the real wonder would be if there had not been found very great difficulty in bringing back1 at the time of the ,restoration1 the primitive habit of ,weekly ,celebration4 ,and now that we have added two hundred years more of neglect1 we have to face the mighty difficulty of awakening a whole nation1 of clergy and laity alike1 to a due sense of our very grievous departure from that ,apostolic model1 to which professedly we appeal as our standard of duty4 ,and the task would seem to be hopeless1 were it not1 #ast1 that a great and powerful movement tending to this result has already for many years been going forward2 and1 #bnd1 that there is reason for believing that vast numbers of the clergy are really anxious to restore the primitive practice1 and are only held back by difficulties1 either real or imagined4 ,of this latter fact it is in my power to speak with some confidence2 since ,i have been frequently urged1 by no inconsiderable number of my brethren1 to set forth1 as ,i have now very imperfectly endeavoured to do1 the grounds for such a restoration4 ,what then1 supposing the clergy to be really anxious for it1 are the difficulties in the way8 ,the first and most obvious is that of finding a sufficient number of ,communicants4 ,this is to be overcome in a great measure by careful heed to that pregnant charge given to the clergy at their ,ordination1 ,so to sanctify the lives of them and theirs1 and to fashion them after the ,rule and ,doctrine of ,christ1 that they 7that is the clergy and their households7 may be godly examples and patterns for the people to follow4 ,and again they are charged to frame the manners of them that specially pertain to them4 ,these injunctions suggest1 that in the families and dependences of the parochial clergy ought to be found a nucleus and centre of all ,christian living4 ,frequent ,communion1 at the least--weekly1 if possible--should be the normal condition of the ,clergyman's household1 and of all who are allowed any special part in1 or connexion with1 the ,services of the ,church4 ,care being taken of this1 it may well be hoped that at least a gradual reform might be made3 the stereotyped monthly ,communions being exchanged for a fortnightly1 and finally for the full orbed round of ,weekly ,celebration4 ,but there is also a vis inerti to be overcome1 among the middle classes more especially1 in the form of an objection to frequent ,celebration at all4 ,this1 being founded in misapprehension1 and a vague general distrust of the object of such changes1 must be removed1 in part by full and earnest setting forth of the grounds for them2 but still more by extending to those classes a fuller measure of education1 including1 as it cannot fail to do1 a juster conception of the ,church's duty and claims4 ,another difficulty is the increased amount of labour which a weekly ,communion1 if largely attended1 as it ought to be1 would entail upon the clergy4 ,this may in part be compensated for by keeping the eucharistic sermon within more moderate limits4 ,even so1 however1 the service is to the full long and laborious for a priest single-handed2 while the great majority of benefices are unable to maintain a second clergyman1 even in ,deacon's ,orders4 ,and the true remedy for this1 and for the kindred difficulty of maintaining the ,daily ,service1 would seem to lie in that revival of the ,order of ,subdeacons which has of late been so much urged1 and which seems likely to be countenanced by our ecclesiastical authorities4#ad ,the duties of a ,subdeacon might1 it is thought1 include the reading of the daily ,office 7excepting1 of course1 the ,absolution71 of the ,epistle1 and some other subordinate portions of the ,communion ,service4 ,and it may be worth considering 7though ,i offer the suggestion with much diffidence71 seeing that the ,diaconate1 as used among us1 trenches so largely upon the duties of old assigned to the priest 7such as preaching71 whether it would not be proportionate that the ,subdeacon should be advanced1 in some cases1 to a restrained ,diaconate1 and administer the ,cup also4 ,such a provision would diminish by one-half the time and labour of administration4 #ad ,see ',the ,revival of the ,subdiaconate1' a pamphlet2 and the ,suggestions of the ,archdeacon of ,london1 put forth in his ,charge of #ahej1 and lately revised at a meeting of his ,clergy of his ,archdeaconry1 not without the full knowledge and sanction of the ,archbishops and of the ,bishop of ,london4 ,on the whole1 ,i cannot but hope that1 if our ,right ,reverend ,fathers in ,god1 the ,bishops1 should think fit to press upon their clergy1 and they upon their flocks1 the duty of ,weekly ,celebration as alone fulfilling the commandment of ,christ1 a great deal might be done towards rolling away this heavy reproach from us4 ,and let it be borne in mind1 as an encouragement1 that this is the only point absolutely wanting to complete our agreement1 in every particular1 with the apostolic practice4 ,such of our churches as have already1 week by week1 a fairly attended ,celebration1 to which all the faithful are heartily invited and urged to come1--such churches exhibit a spectacle of really ,apostolical ,eucharistic ,service1 such as the whole world beside cannot produce4 ,neither in ,east or ,west1 but in the ,english ,church only1 is weekly ,communion1 as the bounden duty of all ,christians1 so much as dreamt of2 so utterly has the apostolic model1 throughout ,christendom1 faded from the memory of the ,church of ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i turn now to another form of eucharistic error which has obtained some footing among us4 ,in what has been said above1 the mind and practice of the first ages have been appealed to as the absolute standard of eucharistic duty4 ,and on this point we cannot1 surely1 be too solicitous1 or too firm in resisting any departure from it4 ,such is1 at any rate1 the mind of the ,english ,church4 ,before all things we must be sure that this ,sacrament be ministered in such wise as our ,saviour did1 and the good fathers in the primitive ,church frequented it4 ,the position amounts to this1--that whatever was then held to be true1 and was acted upon1 must be true1 and ought to be acted upon still4 ,and the converse position is no less important1--that whatever was demonstrably not held nor was acted upon then1 cannot be true at all1 and ought not to be acted upon now4 ,but this position has now1 for some few years past1 been1 in practice1 abandoned by some who have interested themselves in the eucharistic condition of the ,english ,church4 ,doctrines have been maintained1 and practices founded upon them1 about which1 whatever defence may be set up for them1 thus much at least is certain1 and can be proved to demonstration1 that they find no recognition in the ritual of the primitive ages4 ,i speak more especially of the tenet1 that one purpose1 and a very principal one to say the least1 of the ,holy ,eucharist1 is to provide the ,church with an object of ,divine ,worship1 actually enshrined in the ,elements--namely1 our ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 and that the ,church ought accordingly to pay towards that supposed personal ,presence of ,christ on the altar1 and towards the ,elements as containing ,him1 that worship1 which at other times she directs to ,him as seated at the ,right ,hand of ,god4 ,such is the position laid down and acted upon4 ,now1 it might be shewn that there are infinite objections to this tenet1 and that it involves vast difficulties and perplexities4 ,but the one answer which is instar omnium1 and must be held to be absolutely decisive against it1 is that it was evidently unknown to the mind1 because unrecognised by the ,ritual1 of the first ages4 ,the altar1 we are told1 is1 for the time being1 the ,majestic ,throne of ,christ2 ,his ,presence there 7,i cite the language of the upholders of this view7 is of such a nature as to demand at our hands the same worship as we commonly pay to the ,holy ,trinity in ,heaven4 ,now1 if this be really so1 it necessitates1 as a matter of course1 acts of ,service1 of ,worship1 of ,prayer1 of ,invocation1 addressed to ,christ so present and so enthroned4 ,let1 then1 the upholders of it produce a single instance from the ,ancient ,communion ,offices of a prayer1 or even an invocation1 so addressed4 ,it cannot be done4 ,or if there be found such an one lurking in some remote corner of a ,liturgy1 its manifest departure from the whole tone and bearing of the rest of the ,office stamps it at once as late and unauthoritative4 ,and this is the leading consideration1--that the entire drift and structure of the ,eucharistic ,service is against such a view4 ,its keynote is ,sursum corda4 ,this we are now called upon to give up1 and to turn our worship1 and the direction of our hearts1 to an object enshrined on earth4--,but besides this1 the ,liturgies throughout speak of that which is consecrated1 and lies upon the altar1 as ,things1 and not as a person4 ,but if it be indeed ,christ ,himself that lies there1 is it reverent to speak of ,,him as ,things1 ,offerings1 or even as ,mysteries8 ,yet what is the language of the ancient ,liturgies1 after the consecration8 ,bestow on us benefit from these ,offerings 7,lit4 ,s4 ,chrys474 ,that we may become worthy partakers of ,thy holy ,mysteries 7,syr4 ,lit4 ,s4 ,james74 ,holy ,things for holy persons3 or 7as it is otherwise rendered7 ,the ,holy ,things to the ,holy ,places2 or in the ,western uses1 ,desire these ,things 7hc7 to be carried up by the hands of ,thy ,holy ,angel unto thy sublime altar1 into the ,presence of ,thy ,majesty4 ,it is intelligible1 that for the divine and mysterious ,things1 the ,body and ,blood of ,christ1 we should desire contact with the mysterious heavenly altar1 on which the ,lamb that was slain personally presents ,himself2 but that we should desire this for ,christ ,himself would be incomprehensible1 if not irreverent4 ,and let these words of ,s4 ,chrysostom's ,liturgy be especially pondered3 ,hear us1 ,o ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 out of ,thy ,holy ,dwelling-place1 and from the ,throne of the glory of ,thy kingdom2 ,thou that sittest above with the ,father1 and here art invisibly present with us3 and by thy mighty ,hand give us to partake of ,thy spotless ,body and ,thy precious ,blood4 ,is it not perfectly certain from hence1 that1 in the conception of antiquity1 ,our ,blessed ,lord was not lying personally upon the altar8 that1 personally1 ,he was1 as regards ,his ,majestic ,presence1 on ,his ,throne in ,heaven8 and as regards ,his ,mysterious ,presence on earth1 it was to be sought1 not in or under the ,elements1 but 7according to the proper law of it7 in and among the faithful1 the ,church of ,god there present8 ,for ,he is invited to come1 by an especial efflux or measure of that ,presence1 and to give the mysterious ,things1 ,his ,body and ,blood4 ,the same conclusion follows from the language of the ,fathers1 taken in its full range4 ,let any one examine ,dr4 ,pusey's exhaustive catena of passages from the ,fathers1 concerning the ,real ,presence1 and he will find that1 for one instance in which ,that which is on the ,altar is spoken of as if it were ,christ ,himself1 it is called a hundred times by the title1 ,his ,body and ,blood4 ,the latter is manifestly the exact truth2 the former the warm and affectionate metonymy1 which gives to the mysterious ,parts1 the ,body and ,blood1 the titles due only properly to the ,divine and ,personal ,whole4 ,vain then1 and necessarily erroneous1 because utterly devoid of countenance from the ancient ,apostolic ,rites1 are the inferences by which this belief is supported4 ,though1 indeed1 the fallacy of the inferences themselves is sufficiently apparent4 ,it is said that ,christ's ,body1 wherever it is1 and under whatsoever conditions existing1 must demand and draw ,divine ,worship towards it4 ,is it so indeed8 ,then why1 ,i would ask1 do we not pay ,divine ,worship to the ,,church8 for the ,church certainly is ,his ,body1 ,his ,flesh1 and ,his ,bones4 ,nay1 why do we not worship the individual communicant8 for he1 certainly1 has received not only ,christ's ,body1 but ,christ's very ,self1 to dwell within him4 ,the truth is1 that inferences1 in matters of this mysterious nature1 are perfectly untrustworthy1 unless supported and countersigned by apostolic practice4 ,i am aware that this doctrine has been embraced1 of late years1 by some of the most devout and eminent of our divines4 ,but the history of their adoption of it is such1 that we may allege themselves1 in the exercise of their own earlier and unbiassed judgment1 against their present opinions4 ,the names of those divines are named with reverence and affection1 and justly so1 wherever the ,english language is spoken4 ,but the works1 on which that estimate was first founded1 upheld1 explicitly or tacitly1 the opposite of that to which they now lend the high sanction of their adhesion4 ,a sermon on the ,catholic doctrine of the ,holy ,eucharist was called forth from one of them by a sentence of suspension from preaching in the ,university pulpit at ,oxford4 ,but this full exposition of his eucharistic views at that time is absolutely devoid of any claim for ,divine ,adoration as due to the ,body and ,blood of ,christ1 or to ,christ ,himself as present under the ,eucharistic ,elements4 ,again1 in a well-known stanza of the ',christian ,year1' another honoured divine has said1-- ,o come to our ,communion ,feast2 ,there present in the heart1 ,not in the hands1 th' eternal ,priest ,will ,his true self impart4#ae #ae ,it is true that another part of the same exquisite volume speaks of-- ,the dear feast of ,,jesus dying1 ,upon that altar ever lying1 ,where souls1 with sacred hunger sighing1 ,are called to sit and eat1 while angels prostrate fall4 ,but this is exactly an instance of the warm metonymy above spoken of1 and cannot be pressed against the distinct disallowance1 contained in the passage quoted in the text1 of there being a personal ,presence of ,christ in the ,elements4 ,and it is believed that the first appearance in a modern days of the former doctrine1 viz4 that worship is due to the ,body and ,blood of ,christ1 was in the year #ahef1 in the case of ,ditcher v4 ,denison4#af ,it was through a chivalrous desire to uphold a cause1 with the main aspects of which they naturally felt a deep sympathy1 that the writers referred to were drawn into countenancing a doctrine1 then new to their theology1 but of the truth of which1 on examination1 they seem to have satisfied themselves4 ,surely we may believe that it was not without misgiving that they thus abandoned the doctrines which they once taught us4 ,they cannot have felt altogether satisfied thus to break with the ,church of the ,first ,ages in a matter so momentous as that of the ,object of worship1 and of the nature and purpose of the ,holy ,eucharist4 #af ,see note at the end4 ,closely connected with this doctrine1 is a practice not merely defended of late1 but strongly urged as being of the very essence of exalted ,eucharistic duty3--that of being present at the ,rite without receiving2 for the purpose1 it is alleged1 of adoring ,christ as present under the ,elements4 ,but here again the ,early ,church furnishes thorough condemnation of the practice4 ,in an exhaustive treatise1#ag it has been shown that1 except as a deeply penitential act1 she knew of no such practice2 making no account whatever of attendance on the rite apart from reception3 rightly viewing it as a ,sacrifice indeed1 but a ,sacrifice of that class or kind in which partaking was an essential and indispensable feature4 ,and the ,english ,church1 it is almost unnecessary to add1 though a faint endeavour has been made to disprove it1 has given no more countenance than the ,church of old to this practice4 ,contenting herself1 at first1 at the ,reformation1 with forbidding non-communicants to remain in the choir1 she afterwards so effectually discouraged and disallowed their presence at all1 that it became unmeaning to retain the prohibition any longer4#ah #ag ,rev4 ,w4 ,scudamore's ',communion of the ,faithful4' #ah ,this is fully proved by ,scudamore1 ',communion of the ,faithful1' pp4 #ajg-abj4 ,and in truth it is1 as might be expected1 to the later and corrupt ages of the ,church that we owe both of these positions which it is now attempted to revive among us3 viz4 that in the language of the decrees of ,trent1#ai our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 ,god and ,man1 is truly1 really1 and substantially contained in the ,sacrament of the ,eucharist1 i4 e4 in the ,elements1 and is to be adored as contained therein3 and again1 that the faithful may be present merely to adore1 and may communicate spiritually1#bj though1 as has been well said1 they purposely neglect the only mode of doing so ordained by ,christ4 #ai ,council of ,trent1 ,session #ac1 c4 #a4 ,see ',principles of ,divine ,service1' ,introd4 to vol4 ii41 pp4 #aeh-ahg4 #bj ,session #bb1 c4 #f4 ,the latter position--respecting non-communicating attendance--has been lately discountenanced#ba by one of those eminent divines who are generally claimed as sanctioning the entire system to which it belongs4 ,and though the number of those among the clergy who have embraced these views is not inconsiderable1 while their piety and devotedness are unquestionable1 yet ,i cannot doubt that at least an equal number1 in no way their inferiors in learning or devotion1 deeply deplore these departures from the primitive faith4 ,and it is not too much to hope1 that1 as the ,english ,church has witnessed a school of postmedival or unsacramental divinity1 which1 notwithstanding its piety and earnestness1 has ceased to exercise much influence among us1 even so it may be with the medival and ultra-sacramental school which has lately risen up4 ,defend their views how they will1 what they are seeking to introduce is a new cultus1 and a new religion1 as purely the device of the middle ages1 as non-sacramentalism was the device of ,calvin and ,zwingle4 ,and the one doctrine as distinctly demands a new ,prayer-book as the other does4 ,what the ,english ,church1 on her very front1 professes1 is neither postmedivalism nor medivalism1 but apostolicity4 ,since choose she must1 7for the two are utterly irreconcilable7 between symbolising with the medivalising ,churches of the ,west1 and symbolising with the ,church of the first ages1 she has taken her part1 and her deliberate mind is ,sit ,anima ,mea cum ,apostolis4 #ba ,see ,mr4 ,keble's letter in the ',guardian1' ,jan4 #bd1 #ahff4 99 99 99 99 99 ,from ,,rites1 ,i turn to ,,ritual1 which claims at this moment the larger share of attention4 ,how1 then1 are the ,services of the ,english ,church to be performed1 so as to be in accordance with her mind and principles8 ,it will be answered1 that the ,services ought to be conducted according to the ,book of ,common ,prayer and ,administration of the ,sacraments1 according to the use of the ,church of ,england4#bb ,but this1 though at first sight the true and sufficient answer1 is not1 in reality1 either true or sufficient4 ,the duty in question1 that of conducting the ,services of the ,church1 is laid upon particular persons3 and it is by recurring to the exact terms of the obligation laid on those persons1 when they are solemnly commissioned to their office1 that we must seek for an answer4 ,now the engagement exacted by the ,bishop from candidates for the priesthood1 at their ,ordination1 is1 in exact terms1 this3 ,will you give your faithful diligence always so to minister the ,doctrine and ,sacraments1 and the ,discipline of ,christ1 as the ,lord hath commanded1 and as this ,church and ,realm hath received the same8 ,the italicised words contain the gist of the whole matter4 ,by the interpretation we put upon them must our standard of ,ritual be determined4 #bb ,preface concerning the ,service of the ,church4 ,what then hath this ,church and ,realm received1 at the present moment1 in the matter of ,ritual8 ,not the ,prayer-book standing absolutely1 and alone1 without any comment or addition whatsoever3 but that ,book1 as interpreted and modified1 in certain respects1 by subsequent enactments1 which have in various ways obtained1 practically1 the ,church's recognition4 ,the truth is1 that this country has taken a certain line1 and the same line1 in her ecclesiastical and in her civil polity4 ,in civil matters1 ,magna ,charta is the broad basis and general draught of her free constitution4 ,but the particulars of that constitution have been from time to time regulated and modified1 not by interlining the original document1 but by separate statutes4 ,and the ,prayer-book1 in like manner1 is the ecclesiastical ,magna ,charta of the ,church and ,realm4 ,for upwards of two centuries--since #affb--;it has received no authoritative interlineation whatever2 and but few and slight ones 7subsequently to its first settlement in #aedi-aeei7 for another century before that4 ,the differences which are found at the present moment in any two copies of the ,prayer-book are purely unauthorised4 ,they are merely editions for convenience4 ,the ,sealed ,book1 settled in #affb--that1 and no other--is the ,english ,prayer-book4 ,for more than three centuries1 then1 we may say that a policy of non-interlineation1 so to call it--that is1 of leaving intact the original document--has been very markedly adhered to4 ,such alterations or modifications as have1 practically1 been made and accepted by the ,church and ,realm1 have been effected by enactments external to the ,prayer-book4 ,injunctions1 canons1 statutes1 judicial decisions1 have from time to time been allowed1 nemine contradicente1 to interpret or even contravene particular provisions of the ,book4 ,and1 not least of all1 custom itself has1 in not a few particulars1 acquired the force of law1 and though not as yet engrossed in any legal document1 has long been1 in practice1 part and parcel of our ecclesiastical polity4 ,instances in point are1--#a4 ,of an injunction practically recognised as law1 that of ,queen ,elizabeth1 permitting the use of a hymn or such like song in the beginning or in the end of the ,common ,prayers2 whereas the ,prayer-book recognises no such feature or element4 ,it is on this injunction1 and on that alone1 that the practice1 now universal1 is based4 ,other instances1 again1 of royal injunctions1 constantly acted upon1 are those by which the names of the sovereign and royal family1 pro re nat1 are inserted and altered2 a power given indeed1 by implication1 in the ,prayer-book itself1 because necessary by the nature of the case2 but not expressly there1#bc and a departure1 speaking literally1 from the ,sealed ,book4 ,such1 again1 is the use of prayers or thanksgivings enjoined on special occasions by royal authority4 ,these it has so long been customary to accept and use1 that no serious question is now made of their legality4 #bc ,it is provided for1 as is well known1 by the ,act of ,uniformity1 #ac #ad ,car4 ,,ii4 #b4 ,an instance of a canon obtaining recognition by common consent1 though irreconcilable with the rubric of the ,prayer-book1 is that of the #ehth of #afjd1 which orders any minister1 when ministering the sacraments1 to wear a surplice2 whereas the rubric recognises for the ,holy ,communion far other ,ornaments of the ,church1 and of the ministers thereof4 #c4 ,a case of statute law being allowed to supplement rubrical provision1 by adding an alternative1 is that which orders ,banns of ,marriage to be asked after the ,second ,lesson at ,evening ,service1 if there be no ,morning ,service4 ,such too1 as the ,dean of ,westminster lately pointed out in ,convocation1 was the ,act of ,toleration2 as is also the ,act empowering bishops to require a second sermon on ,sundays4 #d4 ,judicial decisions1 once more1 are from time to time unavoidable4 ,by these a certain interpretation is put upon the rubrics of the ,prayer-book2 and unless protested against1 as sometimes they are1 in some weighty and well-grounded manner1 they are practically embodied in the standing law of the ,church4 #e4 ,and lastly1 apart from any legal prescription whatever1 various usages and practices1 especially in matters not expressly provided for in the ,prayer-book1 have obtained so generally1 as to be a part of what may be called the common law of the ,church1 though liable to revision by the proper authority4 ,such is the alternate recitation1 in ,churches where it obtains1 of the psalms1 between the ,minister and the people4 ,such too is1 in reality1 the use of any other mode of saying the ,service than that of reciting it on a musical note2 for none other was intended by the ,church1 nor is recognised in the ,prayer-book4#bd ,such1 once more1 is the having any sermon beyond the rubrical one4 #bd ,see1 in proof of this1 the admirable letter1 which1 by the kind permission of the ,rev4 ,j4 ,b4 ,dyke1 late ,precentor of ,durham1 ,i have placed in the ,appendix4 ,on the whole1 it cannot be gainsaid1 that what this ,church and realm hath received1 and what her ,ministers1 therefore1 undertake to carry out in their ministrations1 is not the ,book of ,common ,prayer1 pure and simple1 but that ,book as their main guide and ,magna ,charta1 yet interpreted and modified here and there1 and in some few but not unimportant points1 by provisions or considerations external to it4 ,when1 therefore1 the candidate for ,holy ,orders1 or for admission to a benefice1 undertakes1 by signing the ,thirty-sixth ,canon1 that he will use the form in the said ,book prescribed in ,public ,prayer and ,administration of the ,sacraments1 and none other1 it cannot be understood that the directions of that ,book are1 without note1 comment1 or addition1 his guide in every particular4 ,for he is about1 if a candidate for ,ordination1 to promise solemnly before the ,church that he will minister as this ,church and ,realm hath received2 a formula1 as has been shown1 of much wider range than the letter of the ,prayer-book4 ,and in like manner1 if a candidate for a benefice1 he has already1 at his ,ordination1 made that larger undertaking1 and cannot be understood to narrow it now by subscribing to the ,canon4 ,and if it be asked1 ,why were the terms of the ,thirty-sixth ,canon made so stringent originally by the addition of the words and none other2 or why should these words be retained now8 the answer is1 that originally1 as a matter of historical fact1 the ,canon was directed against wilful depravers and evaders of the ,book and its rules2 not against such interpretations1 or even variations and additions1 as had all along obtained on various grounds1 and are in fact unavoidable by the nature of things4 ,no one1 says the late ,bishop ,blomfield1 who reads the history of those times with attention can doubt that the object of the ,legislature1 who imposed upon the clergy a subscription to the above ,declaration1 was the substitution of the ,book of ,common ,prayer 7subject1 even then1 to ,injunctions1 ,canons1 and customs already modifying it here and there7 for the ,missal of the ,roman ,catholics1 or the ,directory of the ,puritans4 ,and the present retention of the wording of the ,canon stands on the same grounds4 ,it is necessary that a promise1 and that of a stringent kind1 should be exacted of the clergy of a ,church1 or licence would be unbounded4 ,but on the other hand1 it is perfectly intelligible1 and has the advantage of practicability1 that the words should be understood to speak of the ,book as modified in the way in which it has all along1 by universal consent1 been held to be modified4 ,if it be replied that this1 too1 opens a door to endless licence1 ,i answer1 ,no4 ,the modifications are1 for the most part1 as definite as the document itself1 and are in number few1 though they cover1 on occasion1 a considerable range of actions4 ,the ,prayer-book1 in short1 is not unlike a monarch1 nominally absolute1 and for the most part really such2 but on whom a certain degree of pressure has from time to time been brought to bear1 and may be brought to bear again4 ,but its actual status is at any given time fairly ascertainable4 ,it might be well1 indeed1 that all this occasional legislation should be digested by the only proper authority1 viz4 the conjoint spiritualty and temporalty of the realm1 into one harmonious and duly authorised whole4 ,but for the time being the position of things is sufficiently intelligible4 ,and now to apply this view of ,prayer-book law1 so to call it1 to the matter which especially engages attention at this moment1--that of the manner of administering the ,holy ,communion2 and first to the vestments of the clergy4 #a4 ,now1 if there be any one point in which the ,english ,church is1 what she has most untruly been asserted to be in other points1 namely1 broad and alternative in her provisions1 it is this one of the ornaments or dress of her clergy4 ,while1 in the matter of doctrine1 ,heaven forfend that she should have two minds1 and give her children their choice which they should embrace--seeing that so would she forfeit the name and being of a ,church altogether2--certain it is1 that1 from peculiar causes1 she does1 in this matter of officiating vestments1 give1 by her present and already ancient provisions1 a choice and an alternative4 ,with her eyes open1 and at periods when she was most carefully scanning1 for general adoption1 those provisions1 has she deliberately left on her statute-book 7meaning thereby her entire range of rules71 and admitted into her practical system1 two diverse rules or practices4 ,we may confine our attention for the moment to the period of the latest revision of the ,prayer-book in #affb4 ,on that occasion the ,fifty-eighth ,canon of #afjc1--;derived from certain ,advertisements of ,elizabeth1 and probably supported by the universal custom of the realm1--was allowed to stand unaltered4 ,this ,canon provides1 as has been above mentioned1 that ,every minister1 saying the public prayers1 or ministering the sacraments1 or other rites of the ,church1 shall wear a decent and comely surplice with sleeves2 only with a special exception1 recognised in another ,canon1 in the case of ,cathedrals4 ,and yet on the same occasion was retained the rubric of ,elizabeth 7#aeei71 about the ornaments of the ,church1 and of the ministers thereof1 with only such variation as fully proves that it was not an oversight1 but a deliberate perpetuation of the law concerning vestments more especially4 ,for the previous form of it1--dating from #afjc1 and but slightly altered from that of ,elizabeth1--was1 that the minister at the time of the ,communion1 and at all other times in his ministrations1 shall use such ornaments in the ,church as were in use by authority of ,parliament in the second year of the reign of ,king ,edward ,,vi41 according to the ,act of ,parliament set in the beginning of this ,book4 ,but the altered form was1 ,such ornaments of the ,church1 and of the ministers thereof1 at all times of their ministrations1 shall be retained1 and be in use1 as were in this ,church of ,england in the second year1 c42 omitting only the mention of the ,act of ,parliament4 ,it will be observed1 that in lieu of ornaments of the ,church1 which might have seemed to be irrespective of vestments1 was now substituted ornaments of the ,church1 and of the ministers thereof4 ,and again1 compare the words shall be retained1 and be in use with shall use4 ,in truth1 the new rubric is a citation from the ,act of ,elizabeth1 only omitting the limitation until such time1 c41 and it cannot be taken as expressing less than a real desire and earnest hope1 on the part of our latest revisers1 that the original ,edwardian ornaments might really be used2 that they should--gradually1 perhaps1 but really--supersede1 in the case of the ,communion ,service1 the prevalent surplice4 ,if it be asked1 how it came to pass that the surplice had superseded the proper eucharistic vestments prescribed by ,elizabeth's rubric8 we can only answer1 that the prevailing tendency during her reign was decidedly in favour of simpler ways in the matter of ritual2 and that1 the ,second ,book of ,edward ,,vi4 7#aeeb71 having distinctly forbidden those vestments by the words1 the minister at the time of the ,communion1 and at all other times of his ministration1 shall use neither alb1 vestment1 nor cope1 but1 being a bishop1 a rochet2 and being a priest or deacon1 he shall have and wear a surplice only3 the ,elizabethan clergy would1 owing to the reaction after ,queen ,mary's reign1 be inclined to recur to that position rather than to retain the other vestments4 ,some1 indeed1 did retain them1 as appears by allusions to them as in use in the beginning of ,elizabeth's reign2#be but1 as a general rule1 their use was discouraged1 and apparently put down4 ,for the disuse of these ornaments we may thank them that came from ,geneva1 and1 in the beginning of ,queen ,elizabeth's reign1 being set in places of government1 suffered every negligent priest to do as he listed4 7,bishop ,overall47#bf #be ,see note ,m1 p4 #di1 of ,mr4 ,skinner's recent ',plea for the threatened ,ritual of the ,church of ,england4' #bf ,skinner1 p4 #dh4 ,archbishop ,grindal1 and ,bishop ,sandys 7#aega-gf7 urged their destruction4 ,on the other hand1 one form of the ,edwardian ,ornaments had survived1 even through ,elizabeth's reign2 viz4 the cope 7of course with the alb71 chiefly in cathedrals4 ,for so it is recognised in the #bdth canon of #afjc4 ,in all cathedrals and collegiate churches the ,holy ,communion shall be administered upon principal feast-days by the ,bishop1 the ,dean1 or a ,canon or ,prebendary1 the principal minister i4 e4 celebrant using a decent cope4 ,this was in accordance1 as far as it went1 with the original rubric of ,edward ,,vi4's ,first ,book4 ,the priest that shall execute the holy ministry shall put upon him 444 a vestment1 or cope4 ,but during the ,elizabethan period two limitations had1 practically1 been introduced2 the cope1 only1 was used2 and chiefly1 though not exclusively1 in cathedral churches only4#bg ,however1 the fact that to this extent the rubric of ,edward ,,vi4 was still acted upon1 might well encourage the revisers of #affb to contemplate a general return to its provisions4#bh ,it was but a hundred years ago that they had fallen into desuetude2 and the devout zeal of ,bishop ,cosin1 and others among the revisers1 on behalf of the ,eucharist1 would lead them to desire the restoration of whatever1 in their judgment1 would tend to its higher honour and more becoming celebration4 ,cosin himself was accustomed1 as a ,prebendary of ,durham ,cathedral1 to wear the cope1 and to see it worn by others2 and not by the celebrant only1 but by the attendant clergy4 ,for in his answer to the articles of impeachment sent to the ,house of ,lords against him in #afdj1 he says ,that the copes used in that ,church were brought in thither long before his time4 ,one there was that had the story of the ,passion embroidered upon it2 but the cope that he used to wear1 when at any time he attended the ,communion ,service1 was of plain white satin only1 without any embroidery upon it at all4#bi ,the canon of #afjc must not1 therefore1 be understood as confining the use of the cope to the celebrant1 but only as providing that the celebrant1 at least1 must1 in cathedrals1 be so apparelled4 ,it may be added1 that the copes still preserved in ,durham ,cathedral1 and only disused#cj within a century1 are a proof that1 in this point at any rate1 it is but very recently that the ,edwardian ornaments ceased to be used in the ,english ,church in our cathedrals2 while1 in a solitary instance1 that of the ,coronation ,service1 the use of copes by the ,archbishop1 the attendant ,bishops1 and by the ,dean and ,canons of ,westminster1 survives to the present day4 #bg #afcf4 ,must other churches have copes1 because such is the guise of cathedrals8 ,st4 ,giles' in the ,fields and ,st4 ,leonard's1 ,shoreditch1 are named in #afdj4 ,an ,act of #afdd orders copes to be sold in parish churches4--7,hierurgia ,anglicana1 p4 #afd47 #bh ,it is very remarkable1 on the other hand1 that1 as was pointed out in the recent debate in ,convocation1 ,cosin1 and others of the revisers1 especially ,archbishop ,sheldon1 still made inquiry in their ,visitations1 not as to the other vestments1 but the surplice only4 ,the only solution would seem to be1 that1 personally1 they wished the vestments restored1 but1 finding no response to their wishes1 fell into the usual track of ,visitation ,articles4 #bi ,life of ,cosin1 prefixed to his ,works1 in the ,anglo-,catholic ,library4 #cj ,by ,bishop ,warburton1 it is said1 circ41 #aggj4 ,the bearing of these facts upon our subject is1 that they prove that it was in no merely antiquarian spirit that our latest revisers retained the far-famed rubric of ,edward ,,vi4 ,it was as having been accustomed to see a due access of honour and dignity accruing to the ,holy ,rite1 that they wished1 not merely to retain what had survived1 in practice1 of that rubric1 but to restore the parts of it which had fallen into disuse2 to bring back1 everywhere1 with the less correct cope1 that which in the rubric enjoyed a preference--the vestment or chasuble1--and whatever else the rubric involved4 ,they hoped that the day was come1 or that it would come ere long1 when the surplice would1 in respect of the ,communion ,service1 yield to the proper vestment its ancient usual place4#ca #ca ,it is remarkable that the ,canons which are contrariant to the ,rubric have no existence in the ,irish ,canons passed in their ,convocation in #afcd4 ,the #gth ,canon is ,all ministers shall use and observe the orders1 rites1 ornaments1 and ceremonies prescribed in the ,book of ,common ,prayer1 and in the ,act of ,uniformity printed therewith1 as well in saying of ,prayers as in administration of the ,sacrament4 7,see ,mr4 ,baker's letter to the ',church ,review1' ,march #ag1 #ahff74 ,the same canon enforces the surplice and hood for deans1 canons1 c41 for ,prayers1 without mentioning the ,holy ,communion4 ,and the reason why they did not at the same time procure the formal abolition of the ,canon of #afjc1 which recognises the surplice for parish churches1 is1 we can hardly doubt1 that they wished to leave the practical working out of the change to time1 and to the voluntary action of the parochial clergy4 ,there had existed ever since the year #aeei a diversity in practice2 and1 ever since ,elizabeth's ,advertisements1 an actual alternative in the ,church's orders about vestments4 ,that alternative they did not care to remove4 ,it was by desuetude that the irregular habit had first come in1 until it obtained recognition by the ,canon of #afjd3 it was to desuetude that they trusted for the removal of it4 ,meanwhile1 those who chose to plead usage and the canon on the one hand1 and those who preferred to plead the statute law of the ,rubric on the other1 were both alike in a fairly defensible position4 ,two modes1 in short1 of vesting the clergy for the ,holy ,communion were practically recognised at the latest settlement of our ,offices2 and1 until some new enactment should supersede the one or the other1 must continue to be recognised still4 ,such1 ,i say1 appears to be the position of the law1 and of clerical duty or obligation1 at the present moment4 ,beyond all question1 this ,church and ,realm hath received and recognised1 practically1 an alternative in this matter4 ,she has not bound her sons absolutely1 and without choice1 either to the older or the later practice4 ,her position1 as defined by the action of some of the wisest and best of her sons on the last occasion--two hundred years ago--of reconsidering her constitution1 has been one of observation and of hope2 of waiting to see which way1 in a matter non-essential1 though far from unimportant1 the mind of her sons would carry her4 ,and now a time has arrived when the question1 after slumbering for two centuries1 has awakened1 and1 in a practical form1 demands an answer4 ,hitherto1--that is1 from the time of ,elizabeth 7#aeei7 until now1--no marked desire has been manifested by the parochial clergy to carry out the original provisions of the ,prayer-book in this matter4 ,but now that step has--whether by more or fewer of them ,i stop not now to inquire--been taken4 ,there are churches in this land where the long-disused ,ornaments have been assumed4 ,that which the ,first ,book of ,edward handed on from the past2 that which the ,book of ,elizabeth restored after its repeal1 taking for granted that it would be operative1 though the event proved otherwise2 that which the ,revisers of #afjc did not disturb1 though the ,canon of the same year authorised a departure from it2 that which ,cosin and his fellow-labourers1 in #affb1 in language of increased strength1 directed the restoration of3 this has at length come forth among us1 not in word only1 but in act and visible form4 ,and the question is1 how is the ,church to deal with this fact1 and this phenomenon8 ,it is obvious and easy to say on the one hand--,there is no doubt about the matter4 ,the rubric is statute law1 and therefore overrides the canon1 which is not4 ,and it is equally obvious and easy to say1 on the other hand--,there is no doubt about the matter3 the usage1 with certain exceptions1 of two hundred1 or even three hundred years1 can be pleaded for the use of the surplice at the ,holy ,communion4 ,a rubric which has been in abeyance for that period is and ought to be considered obsolete4 ,a great deal may be said on behalf of both these positions2 and it is very unlikely that1 debating the matter from this point of view--i4e4 from mere consideration of the comparative weight of statute on the one hand1 and custom on the other1--we should ever arrive at a conclusion which would satisfy the diversely constituted minds with which these two considerations carry weight respectively4 ,we must1 therefore1 it is submitted1 take a wider view of the question1 and see whether there be not other considerations besides these1 which may lead us to a just and wise decision about it4 ,and one very weighty and relevant consideration1 though by no means decisive of the whole matter1 is1 ,how far would the restoration of these vestments--,i will suppose it wisely1 judiciously1 and charitably brought about--accord with the tone and feeling1 either present or growing up1 of the existing ,english ,church8 ,now1 it must1 ,i think1 be admitted1 that the experience of the last few years is such1 as to modify very considerably the answer to be given to this question4 ,the ,church has within that period succeeded in making certain ritual features attractive to the people at large1 to a degree entirely unknown to her hitherto4 ,she has developed1 by care and training1 their capacities for the enjoyment of a well-conceived ritual4 ,and she has exhibited to them phases and modes of ,service to which they and their fathers for centuries had been strangers4 ,i refer especially to the great movement lately made for the improvement of parochial music throughout the land4 ,indirectly and accidentally1 this movement carried with it many results of a ritual kind4 ,it accustomed the eyes of the generality to ,services on a scale of magnitude and dignity unknown to them before4 ,instead of the single parson and clerk1 or ,minister and handful of untrained singers1 they beheld1 at the ,festivals1 choral worship1 conducted by a multitude of clergy1 and by hundreds or thousands of choristers4 ,and they were delighted with it4 ,the grandeur of such a service1 its correspondence to the glimpses of heavenly worship disclosed to us by ,holy ,scripture1#cb forcibly impressed the imagination1 and enlisted the feelings4 ,these occasions also raised the question of how large bodies of persons1 meeting for a united act of musical worship1 should be attired1 how marshalled and occupied1 while moving into their assigned places in the ,sanctuary4 ,hence the surplice1 the processional hymn1 the banner to distinguish the several choirs1 became familiar things4 ,they were felt to be the natural accompaniments of such occasions4 ,and thus was brought to light what had hitherto been1 and with great appearance of reason1 denied1 viz4 that this nation differs not in its mental constitution from other nations2 that its antipathy 7doubtless existing7 to these things1 had been founded simply on their being unusual1 and on their supposed connection with unsound doctrine4 ,once the meaning of them was seen--,englishmen like to know the meaning of things--the dislike and the prejudice were overcome4 #cb ,st4 ,luke ii4 #ac1 ,rev4 vii4 #i1 xiv4 #c4 ,compare #b ,chron4 v4 #ab4 ,and the larger gatherings at which these things were done have reacted upon the more limited and ordinary parochial services4 ,their proper object was so to react in respect of musical proficiency only2 but they have influenced1 at the same time1 the whole outward form and order of things4 ,as one main result1 they have in many instances brought back the proper threefold action so clearly recognised in the ,prayer-book1 and so long utterly lost sight of1 except in cathedral and collegiate churches1 of minister1 clerks1 and people4 ,the appointed medium for sustaining the clergy on the one hand1 and the congregation on the other1 in the discharge of their several parts in the service1--viz4 the trained lay-clerks1 the men and boys of the practised choir1--has reappeared and taken its due place among us4 ,the presence of trained persons so employed1--securing and leading1 as in the ,lord's ,prayer1 ,creed1 and ,versicles1 the due responsive action of the people2 conducting1 as in the ,psalms1 ,canticles1 and hymns1 the saying or singing2 supporting1 as in the processional ,psalm of the ,marriage ,service1 or in the solemn anthems at the ,burial of the ,dead1 the voice of the minister2 or1 lastly1 in the anthem1 in quires and places where they sing1 lifting priest and people alike by music of a higher strain than those unskilled in music can attain to2--such ministry is assumed by the ,prayer-book to have place in every parish church in the land4 ,and the reducing of this theory to practice is in reality an important step in ritual4 ,it has enlisted the sympathies of the laity in behalf of a fuller and richer aspect of ,service than they had heretofore been accustomed to4 ,in another point1 too1 the mental habit of this country has undergone a change2 viz4 as regards the festive use and decoration of churches4 ,our harvest thanksgivings1 and similar occasions1 conducted as they have been1 have taught those1 to whom the lesson was perfectly new1 to find in the ,services of the ,sanctuary1 in worship1 and attendance at the ,holy ,communion1 a vent and expression for their sense of thankfulness4 ,at such times the flower-wreath and the banner1 the richly vested and decked altar1 the ,choral ,service1 the processional hymn1 have been felt to be in place4 ,and thus familiarised with them1 our people come even to look for them as the natural attendants on high days of festival4 ,now it is a question at least worth asking1 whether we have not here indications of a greater disposition than we have commonly given our people credit for1 to be moved by such things--by sacred song--by fair vestments--by processional movement--by festal decoration8 whether we have not been foregoing hitherto1 to our great loss1 certain effective ways of influencing our people for good8 whether there must not1 after all1 be less truth than has been commonly supposed in the received maxim1 that ,englishmen care nothing about these things1 nor can be brought to care for them2 that they have not in them1 in short1 the faculty of being affected by externals in religious matters2 that the sober ,saxon spirit loves1 above all things1 a simple and unadorned worship1 and the like8 ,the writer is not ashamed to confess that he has in time past shared in this estimate of his countrymen2 but that experience has greatly shaken his confidence in the correctness of it4 ,and he may1 therefore1 be accepted1 perhaps1 as a somewhat unprejudiced witness1 when he testifies to so much as has come under his own notice as to the effect of the ritual developments1 so to call them1 of which he has above spoken4 ,he can bear witness1 then1 that with these accompaniments1 the ,services of the ,sanctuary have become to many1 manifestly1 a pleasure and a delight2 that these influences are found to touch and move1 even to tears1 those harder and more rugged natures which are accessible to scarce anything else2 breaking even through the crust of formality or indifference which grows so commonly over the heart of middle age4 ,is it irreverent to think and believe that what these simple souls witness to1 as their own experience in presence of a kind of ritual new to them1 though familiar of old to their fathers1 and to the ,church throughout the world1 is but an anticipation of what our great poet1 ,puritan though he was1 has described as among the consolations of the blessed8 ,that which our poor peasants gratefully find provided for them on the ,church's days of festival1 is no other1 in its degree1 than what1 to the poet's thought1 awaited his ,lycidas in the blest kingdoms meek of joy and love3-- ,there entertain him all the saints above1 ,in solemn troops and sweet societies1 ,that sing1 and1 singing1 in their glory move1 ,and wipe the tears for ever from his eyes4 ,it will be understood that the writer is not now engaged in advocating these particular practices as binding upon us1 or even as capable of being introduced everywhere2 but only pointing out that1 in the acceptance and welcome with which this whole side of ritual action has been received1 even in unlikely quarters1 we have some indication of the probable effect on the general mind of other well-considered ritual restorations4 ,and if it be still contended that the more usual condition of the ,english mind is that which has been above described1 viz4 of preferring a religion which reaches them mainly through the ear1 and appeals but little to the eye1 ,i venture to suggest that--7granting this to be so7--if a given nation is wanting in one particular religious sense1 that is the very reason why that sense should be carefully educated4 ,if the ,italian is over-sensuous1 as it would probably be agreed that he is1 in his religious constitution1 he is the very person that needs for his improvement intellectual development4 ,and just so1 if the ,englishman is1 in religious matters1 unsusceptible1 comparatively1 of sthetic influences1 the inference is1 not that these should be carefully kept from him1 but that he should1 as he is able to bear1 be subjected to them4 ,the bearing of what has now been said upon the restoration of the vestments and the like1 is this4 ,the most obvious objection to it is1 that the rubric in question has been in abeyance for long years1 or even centuries2 and that this proves that it does not suit the genius of the ,english nation4 ,i have shown1 indeed1 that1 as appears from the history of the period in question1--and other evidence might be adduced1--the rubric has not been altogether dormant in times past4 ,still1 the case for desuetude is a very strong one1 no doubt2 and there is but one thing that could possibly invalidate it1 and that is1 the existence of unmistakable indications that the revival would1 notwithstanding the long abeyance of the rubric1 meet some rising need or aspiration of the hour4 ,if it does that1 then the negative argument1 that there is no place or call for the restoration1--that it is the mere galvanization of a dead thing1 or1 at best1 the summoning of it back to a life which must be fugitive and evanescent1 because there is not atmosphere for it to breathe1--is at once done away with4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but let us now briefly inquire what are the positive recommendations1 if any1 of the eucharistic vestments which it is proposed to restore4 ,in the first place1 then1 it is alleged1 that to provide for the ,holy ,eucharist special vestures of any kind1 not only harmonizes with the transcendent superiority of the rite itself above all other kinds of worship1 but is the proper correlative of much that has been doing of late years in the ,english ,church4 ,is it consistent1 it is asked1 to give to chancel1 and sacrarium1 and altar1 all the chastened richness and beauty of which they are capable1 and yet to deny to the celebrant at the holy ,rite all adornment beyond surplice and stole8 ,even if we had never possessed any distinct eucharistic vestments1 we might well1 it is said1 as a matter of consistency1 introduce them4 ,but next1 let us ask1 do these particular vestments possess any claim upon us1 beyond the fact of their being different from the ordinary surplice1 and of their being prescribed in the rubric8 ,and here1 certainly 7when we come to inquire into their history7 their wonderful antiquity1 universality1 and probable rationale1 cannot but make a deep impression upon us4 ,they have been so fully described in recent publications1#cc to which the reader can refer1 that there is the less need to enter into particulars about them here4 ,the most interesting circumstance hitherto brought to light respecting them1 is this2 that there is no reason for doubting that they are1 as to their form1 no other than the every-day garments of the ancient world in ,east and ,west1 such as they existed at the time of ,our ,lord1 and for many ages before4 ,mr4 ,skinner has proved this to demonstration4 ,there was1 #ast1 the long and close coat1 tunic1 or vesture1 called from its colour 7as a ministerial garment71 the alb2 #bnd1 the broad border of this coat1 often of the richest materials1 which developed1 ecclesiastically1 into the orarium 7probably from ora1 a border7 or stole2 #crd1 the girdle1 combining easily with the stole2 #dth1 the garment or robe 7ecclesiastically the casula or chasuble71 covering the tunic down to the knees1 and so allowing the ends of the border 7or stole7 to appear4 ,such1 says ,mr4 ,skinner1 were the ordinary vestments in daily common use in ,east and ,west4#cd ,these would be1 naturally1 the garments in which1 like our ,lord himself1 the ,apostles and others would officiate at the ,holy ,eucharist1 and then reverence would preserve them in subsequent ages4 ,no other supposition can account for their universality1 as ministering garments1 throughout the world4 ,and how wonderful the interest attaching to them1 even were this all6 ,how fitting that the ,celebrant1 the representative1 however unworthily1 of our ,lord himself1 in ,his most solemn ,action1 should be clad even as ,he was6 #cc ,see ,palmer's ',origines ,liturgic1' vol4 ii41 ,appendix2 the ',directorium ,anglicanum2' ,lee ',on ,eucharistic ,vestments2' and the ,rev4 ,jas4 ,skinner's ',plea for the ,ritual' 7,masters73 but especially the last-named writer's most able dissertations in the ',guardian' of ,jan4 #ag and ,jan4 #bd1 #ahff2 and the ,dean of ,westminster's speech in ,convocation1 ,feb4 #i1 #ahff4 #cd ,compare the well-known passages1 ,if any man will take away thy cloke 7outer robe71 let him have thy coat 7or tunic7 also4 ,ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely4--,micah ii4 #h4 ,his garments 444 and also his coat 444 without seam1 woven from the top throughout4 ,the cloke that ,i left at ,troas 444 bring with thee4 ,but this is not all4 ,there are circumstances which this rationale of the vestments1 though correct as far as it goes1 does not account for4 ,first1 in the vestment-customs both of ,east and ,west there is recognition1 though in different ways1 of some covering for the head4 ,in ,east and ,west a bonnet or mitre is worn by ,bishops4 ,in celebrating1 in the ,west1 a small garment called the amice1 of fine white linen1 with a very rich edge or fillet1 is first placed on the head of the ,celebrant1 and then removed to his shoulders1 so that the rich edge rests at first on the forehead1 and then appears from under the alb and chasuble4#ce ,now the prayer1 with which this singular appendage is put on 7,place on my head1 ,o ,lord1 the helmet of salvation71 proves that it represents a bonnet or head-covering4 #ce ',directorium ,anglicanum1' pp4 #af1 #ba4 ,the amice is an oblong square of fine white linen1 and is put on upon the cassock or priest's canonical dress4 ,it is embroidered or 'apparelled' upon one edge4 ,in vesting1 it is placed for a moment1 like a veil1 upon the crown of the head1 and then spread upon the shoulders4 ,the apparel of the amice cannot be too rich in its ornamentation4 ,amice is the ,latin amictus--the covering1 referring to ,psalm cxl4 #g1 ,thou hast covered my head in the day of battle4 ,again1 the fact that the stole is not a mere border1 but detached1 both in ,east and ,west1 from the tunic or alb1 and in the ,west1 rests on the shoulders1 is singular4 ,in the ,east it is a broad double stripe of costly silk1 richly embroidered1 hanging down in front of the wearer2 and often#cf adorned with gems and gold2 while in the ,west it is crossed#cg on the breast in celebrating3 and throughout the ,east and ,west extraordinary importance has from early times attached to it1 it being worn in every sacred function4#ch #cf ,see ,neale1 ,introduction to ',history of ,eastern ,church1' vol4 i4 p4 #cjh4 #cg ,the very ancient ,syriac ,liturgy of ,st4 ,james has the loose stole1 as in the ,west1 and crossed too upon the breast4--,renaud4 p4 #ae4 #ch ,in all prayers1 even in those recited at home preparatory to the public ,office1 the ,epitrachelion 7i4e4 stole7 is worn4--,neale1 ',eastern ,church1' p4 #cac4 ,and ,st4 ,dunstan's ,canons1 ,a4,d4 #igi1 order ,that no priest ever come within the church door1 or into his stall1 without a stole4--,hook's ',lives of the ,archbishops of ,canterbury1' vol4 i4 p4 #dhh4 ,now there is but one way of accounting for these curious arrangements4 ,it is1 that1 at a very early period1 the course was adopted of assimilating the ministering vestments of the clergy--especially in celebrating--to those of the ,jewish ,high ,priest4 ,this could with great facility be done1 because these vestments themselves were only the usual ,eastern dress1 glorified and enriched1 with some especial additions4 ,there was 7,exod4 xxviii471 besides the ephod1 which was a rich under-garment--#a4 ,the long embroidered coat or tunic of fine linen 7v4 #ci74 #b4 ,the curious girdle of the ephod1 which appears to have girded in both ephod and tunic4 #c4 ,the singular combination of the shoulder-pieces and breastplate1 which together formed one whole1 and were among the richest and most peculiar insignia of the ,high ,priesthood3 the names of the ,twelve ,tribes being engraven1 in the costliest gems1 both on the shoulder-pieces and breastplate1 as a means of making memorial of the people1 with especial power1 before ,god 7vv4 #i-cj74 #d4 ,the outer garment or robe of the ephod 7v4 #ca71 all of blue1 of circular form1 with a hole in the top of it1 in the midst thereof1 to pass it over the head of the wearer2 whereas the ordinary outer garments were square1 and thrown loosely on4 ,on the hem were pomegranates and golden bells alternating4 #e4 ,and lastly1 the mitre of fine linen 7v4 #ci71 and upon it1 on the forehead1 the plate of pure gold 771 in virtue of which ,aaron bore1 or did away with1 through his ministerial sanctity1 the imperfections of the people's offerings 7v4 #ch74 ,now here1 at length1 we have a full account of the rationale of the ,eucharistic vestments1 and specially of those parts of them which differed from the ordinary clothing of early days4 ,we see that the border of the ordinary tunic was therefore detached from it1 beautified with embroidery1 and enriched with gems1 because the ,aaronic shoulder-pieces and breastplate were thus detached1 and were so adorned4 ,the ,greek name for the stole is still1 for priests1 the neck-garment1 for bishops1 the shoulder-piece 7omophorion74 ,again1 the bonnet or mitre1 or its substitute1 the amice1 is therefore of fine linen1 and has a peculiarly rich fillet1 and must be placed upon the head for a symbol1 so as to bring the fillet upon the forehead1 because of the wondrous power and significance of the ,aaronic plate of gold1 similarly placed4 ,we cannot1 in short1 resist the conclusion that the ,church did1 at some very early period 7as the universality of these things proves71 assimilate the old simple vestments1 of set purpose1 to the richer and more significant ,aaronic ones4 ,and if we ask how early this was done1 the answer is1 that the first beginnings of it were made even in the lifetime of the ,apostles4 ,for ,eusebius cites ,polycrates1 ,bishop of ,ephesus 7,a4,d4 #aih71 as testifying of ,st4 ,john at ,ephesus1 that as a priest he wore the 1 or plate of gold4#ci ,and ,epiphanius#dj says the same of ,st4 ,james1 ,bishop of ,jerusalem4 ,later 7c4 #cbj71 ,eusebius addresses the priests as wearing the long garment1 the crown1 and the priestly robe4#da ,the plate of gold1 on a bonnet or mitre1 is still used at celebration by the ,patriarch of ,alexandria4#db ,and the ,armenian ,church1 whose traditions1 where they differ from those of the rest of the world1 are generally of immense antiquity1 actually has the breastplate1#dc only with the names of the ,twelve ,apostles1 instead of those of the ,twelve ,tribes4 #ci ,hist4 ,eccl4 iii41 #ca3 4 #dj ',de ,hresi1' #gh4 ,the very ancient ,clementine ,liturgy has exchanging his vestment for a gorgeous one2 4 #da 1 1 4 #db ,neale1 ',eastern ,church1' ,introd41 p4 #cac4 #dc ,ibid41 p4 #cjg4 ,we now see1 then1 how it came to pass that the stole is what it is in ,east and ,west2 why it is so highly symbolical of ministerial power2 why made so rich2 why crossed on the breast in celebrating2 why1 with all its richness1 put under the chasuble3 scil4 because1 like the ,aaronic breastplate1 it was a memorial before ,god of the preciousness of ,god's people1 whom the priest bore1 as he should bear still1 on his shoulder and on his heart1 in his ministry of labour and of love4 ,we see1 again1 why the apparel of the amice is so rich1 because anciently of gold2 why placed on the forehead1 the seat of thought1 scil4 that the priest may be mindful of his ministry of reconciliation2 and why accompanied with a prayer for the helmet of salvation4 ,and even the ordinary vestments1 the surplice1 and stole1 and hood1 derive a clear rationale and fitness from the same source4 ,the surplice 7superpellicium71 as ,mr4 ,skinner teaches us1#dd is only the close tunic or alb1 so enlarged as conveniently to cover the pellicium1 or coat of fur or skin which the clergy wore in the choir4 ,the stole1 crossed at celebration1 loses its resemblance to the breastplate1 and its allusion to the ,cross1 at the lower ministry of the ,ordinary ,office1 being worn pendent4 ,the hood is the amice in simpler and less significant form1 intended originally to be actually worn on the head1 and still capable of being so2 its varying form and colour only indicating the particular sodality to which the wearer belongs4 #dd ,letter to the ',guardian1' ,jan4 #bd1 #ahff4 ,of the cope it is needless to say more than that it is properly processional1 though recognised in the ,english ,church 7as in the ,armenian7 for celebration1 and for the clergy in the choir on high festivals4 ,it may be added that the ,english vestments differ sufficiently from those of foreign ,churches to have a national character4 ,it thus appears that the ,eucharistic vestments1 and even our ordinary ones through them1 are a link of a marvellously interesting kind between us and antiquity1 even ,apostolic antiquity2 and between us and the whole ,christian world4 ,nay1 our vestments1 like our ,services1 connect us with the old ,mosaic ,ordinances4 ,they ought to be grave reasons indeed1 which should induce us to raze them from our statute-book1 whatever became of the question of their restoration to general use4 ,of other usages now under debate1 ,i would mention briefly--#a4 ,the position of the celebrant during the office2 #b4 ,the two lights on the altar2 #c4 ,incense2 #d4 ,the mixed chalice2 #e4 ,the crucifix4 #a4 ,there is no real doubt whatever as to the intention of the ,english ,church about the position of the celebrant in administering the ,holy ,communion4 ,in order to make the matter plain1 it is to be observed1 that the slab or surface of the ,altar1 or ,holy ,table--there is a wonderful equableness in the use of the two terms by antiquity#de--was always conceived of as divided into three portions of about equal size4 ,the central one1 called the media pars1 was exclusively used for actual celebration1 and often had a slab of stone#df let into it1 called mensa consecratoria4 ,the other portions were called the latus sinistrum and dextrum1 or ,septentrionale et ,australe4#dg ,these would be in ,english the midst of the ,altar1 the left or north side1 and the right or south side3 the term side being used with reference to the middle portion4 ,the most solemn parts of the rite1 then1 were performed at the middle of the ,table2 the subordinate parts at the northern or southern portions4 ,in all cases1 at certainly meant with the face turned eastwards4 ,now1 in the ,first ,book of ,edward ,,vi41 it was ordered that the very beginning of the ,service should be said afore the midst of the altar2 i4e4 before the media pars4 ,as to the rest of the ,service1 it was doubtless to be said in the ancient customary places3 the old rule being1 that all after the preparatory prayer to the end of the ,epistle was said at the south side4 ,in the ,second ,book the order was1 the ,priest standing at the ,north-side of the ,table shall say the ,lord's ,prayer1 c4 ,this could not possibly1 in those days1 be understood to mean anything else than facing the left-hand1 or northern portion of the ,table4 ,the reason of the change to the north-side probably was1 #a4 ,that permission was now given to stop short on occasion of celebration2 in which case it would hardly be seemly to stand at the centre or consecrating portion of the ,table2 and perhaps1 #b4 ,to avoid a change of position beyond the two specified4 ,but it was doubtless intended that the centre should still be used for actual consecration1 even as it was in the ,first ,book1 though no order was given in either case1 to that effect4 ,the order for the north-side was only put in because it was a new arrangement4 ,and it will be observed that the term used is the ,north-side3 apparently indicating that a special and well-known part of the ,table is meant4 ,the present most incorrect practice1 of standing at the north end1 probably arose from two causes1--first1 the infrequency of celebrations1 which caused the habit to be formed of standing somewhat northwards2 while the old distinct conception of the position had passed away3 secondly1 from the practice--probably in use#dh of old in our ,church--of placing the vessels and unconsecrated elements1 if there was no credence-table1 on the non-consecrating part of the altar1 where it was found convenient to keep them still when consecrating4 ,it may be questioned whether it be not still correct1 or allowable however1 thus to make use of the less important parts of the ,table to serve as a ,credence1 if none other is provided4 ,but the consecration should always take place at the middle of the ,holy ,table4 #de ,the ,fathers generally prefer ',altar1' the ,liturgies ',holy ,table4' #df ,syriac ,liturgy of ,st4 ,james1 pars altaris in qu tabula defixa est2 pars media mens vit4 #dg ,syriac ,liturgy of ,st4 ,james1 ,renaudot2 the ',ancient ,english and ,communion ,offices' 7,maskell71 where cornu is used4 ,the ,roman ',ritus celebrandi ,missam1' #d4 #d2 ,thurificat aliud latus altaris4 #dh ,the ,rubrics in the ,syriac ,liturgy of ,st4 ,james seem plainly to contemplate that the vessels1 c41 should be placed on the north or south side until consecration1 since they are to be carried from the altar round the chancel1 and then placed on the media pars 7,renaudot1 p4 #fj1 who imagines a credence74 ,and both in ,england and abroad1 ancient credence-tables are very rare4 ,the position thus prescribed1 by unbroken ancient rule1 for consecration1 is by no means unimportant4 ,by it is signified and expressed the solemn oblation and sacrificial presentation made by the celebrant1 after the example of ,christ1--leading the people1 and carrying them with him in the action4 ,for the primitive view of the institution1 recognised in every ancient ,communion ,service1 is1 that when ,our ,blessed ,lord took bread1 and blessed1 and brake it1 ,he thereby1 in a deep mystery1 presented before ,god1 through the medium of the element which ,he had chosen1 the ,sacrifice of ,his ,body4 ,that ,sacrifice was to be consummated1 indeed1 on the morrow2 or by ,jewish reckoning1 at any rate1 at a later hour on the same day4 ,but it was already1 in a mystery1 and by the yielding up ,his ,will1 begun1 and in operation4 ,this is implied by the exact and expressive language of the ,institution--,this is my ,body which is being given 77 or broken 772 my ,blood which is being shed1 for you4 ,hence1 too1 it was that ,he could say of the ,bread and ,wine--,this is my ,body1 my ,blood2 because these had1 as being the medium through which they were offered1 been mysteriously1 as regards virtue or power1 identified therewith4#di ,and what the celebrant does1 at any celebration1 is to imitate1 in his humble measure1 and as ,christ ordained1 the action of ,christ4 ,in order to this it is important1 and has ever been the custom of the ,church1 that he should stand at the midst of the ,holy ,table as one leading a common action for all4 ,in the ,east he stands eastward of the ,table1 facing the people2 in the ,west1 westward of the ,table1 and looking away from them3 in both cases alike he is in the midst1 offering for and with them4 #di ,see on this subject1 in ,appendix ,a1 a valuable comment of the ,bishop of ,exeter on #a ,cor4 xi4 #bd1 and ,st4 ,luke xxii4 #ai4 ,in some cathedrals1 as ,exeter1 and at ,westminster ,abbey1 the remains of the ancient practice are to be seen2 the vessels being placed1 the offerings of the clergy made1 and the ,confession said1 at the middle of the ,table4 #b4 ,the question of the legal position of the two lights on the altar is a somewhat complicated one4 ,but in its general aspect the usage derives a sanction and an interest from the fact that oil for the light is among the things recognised in the #crd ,apostolical ,canon2 and further1 that the two lights are used in the ,syriac ,liturgy of ,st4 ,james#ej 7from which we may have derived them through ,theodore of ,tarsus73 whereas all the ,west1 except ourselves1 has seven lights4 ,in point of effect1 not much can be said for them2 but the symbolism is beautiful and interesting4 ,the ,eastern ,church1 in particular1 has always associated artificial light--viewed as dispelling natural darkness--with our ,lord's coming to the world1 as its supernatural and heavenly ,light4 ,it is well to remember1 too1 that the only accompaniment of the shewbread1 of which so much has been said above1 was1 together with incense1 artificial light2 and even in the blaze of heavenly ritual there were seven lamps burning4#ea ,these considerations1 joined to the well-known ,injunction of ,edward ,,vi41 for the retention of two lights1 certainly give the usage a good position1 when we are considering what is the mind1 fairly and liberally estimated1 of the ,english ,church4 #ej ,renaudot1 ,liturgiar4 ,oriental4 ,collectio4 #ea ,rev4 iv4 #e4 ,on the symbolism of candles1 lit or unlit1 see ,dr4 ,jebb's valuable pamphlet ',ritual ,law and ,custom' 7,rivingtons74 ,notes ,f4 ,h4 ,nor is it unimportant to observe1 that even the candlesticks themselves1 if in any case it is not thought well to light the candles1 possess a symbolism of their own3 just as e4 g4 the maniple of the ,western ,church1 now disused but still worn1 is a memento of that for which 7it is said7 it was intended1 viz4 to be used as a sudarium in the labours of the priesthood4 ,it may be remarked1 too1 that in ,st4 ,john's vision1 what he saw was golden candlesticks 772 not burning candles or lamps 7 or 7 7,st4 ,john v4 #ce2 ,rev4 v4 #h1 viii4 #c74 #c4 ,incense1 it may be observed1 has precisely the same degree of recommendation from antiquity as the two lights4 ,it was used with the shewbread and the peace-offerings2 it has a beautiful symbolism2 it is recognised as on a par with oil for the lamp in the ,apostolic ,canon2 and it finds a place in the heavenly ritual 7,rev4 viii4 #c74 ,its historical position with us is weaker2 but if used1 it would certainly be in accordance with the mind of the ,english ,church to use it in a very simple manner4#eb ,its proper purpose is twofold--#a4 ,to purify by its sweetness2 and #b4 ,to symbolise both the purity of acceptable offering1 and its power of ascending1 through ,christ's mediation1 to heaven4 #eb ,the suspension of the censer by chains1 and waving it1 is undoubtedly modern 7,skinner's ',plea for the ,ritual'74 ,incense was used in ,queen ,elizabeth's ,chapel1 and by ,bishop ,andrewes1 and in many parish ,churches from #aeeh to #afcj at least1 and in royal chapels till #afhd1 and at ,george ,,iii's coronation 7,hierurgia ,anglicana73 also at the altar in ,ely ,cathedral1 at the greater festivals1 till about #aggj 7,coles' ,,mss4 #ehgc f47 #d4 ,the question of the mixed chalice1 or of the mingling of water with the wine in the ,holy ,eucharist1 cannot be called one of high importance4 ,it has been maintained that it is one of those things which1 as having been universal throughout the ,church from an early period1 must be apostolic2#ec but the assertion is unfounded4 ,there is a very large and important branch of the ,church which does not at this day1 and which1 we may safely affirm1 never did1 mix water with the wine1 viz4 the ,armenian4 ,the ,armenian ,church is remarkable for the tenacity with which it has1 from very early times1 in respect of things indifferent1 adhered to old traditions1 when the whole of the rest of the ,church have departed from them4 ,the introduction of the observance of ,christmas-,day1 for example1 took place in the ,east in ,st4 ,chrysostom's time1 being borrowed1 as he informs us1 from the ,west4 ,this the ,armenian ,church declined to adopt4 ,their vestment-traditions1 again1 as we have seen1 are peculiar2 and they positively assert their immense antiquity4#ed ,hence it might even be1 that the ,armenian ,church had alone preserved the apostolic usage in this matter1 and that all the other ,churches had departed therefrom4 ,however1 as the term mixture is applied by ,justin ,martyr to the cup1 and as the matter is incapable of proof one way or the other1 it is best to suppose that there were two traditions or habits in the matter2 and this is quite sufficient to justify the ,english ,church in having1 as far as her rubric is concerned1 laid the usage aside in the ,second ,book of ,edward4 ,at the same time1 as the custom certainly survived#ee in the ,english ,church after the ,revision1 and is all but universal1 and has interesting symbolical meanings#ef attached to it1 it may well be tolerated1 should a policy of toleration be adopted at this juncture by the ,english ,church4 #ec ,see ,dr4 ,littledale's ',mixed ,chalice1' with reference to its having been discountenanced by the ,bishop of ,exeter4 #ed ,see ,neale1 ,gen4 ,introduction1 p4 #cjg4 #ee ,e4g41 under ,bishop ,andrewes4 #ef ,these vary much with different ,churches1--an indication perhaps of the indifference of the rite4 ,they are chiefly1--#a4 the union in ,christ of the ,humanity with the ,divinity2 #b4 the pouring forth from ,his side of ,blood and ,water4 ,in either sense the act may have been a devout afterthought2 and on the whole ,i think it improbable that our ,lord mixed the cup4 ,that the ,jews drank their wine mixed is not much to the purpose4 #e4 ,i come to speak1 in the next place1 of the crucifix1 which is among the ornaments of the ,church attempted to be restored at the present day4 ,it is difficult1 however1 to conceive any two things standing on more widely different ground than this1 and any one of those ornaments or usages before-mentioned4 ,they1 in every case1 whether vestments1 position of the celebrant1 altar-lights1 incense1 or the mixed chalice1 can plead immense antiquity1 and all but universality at the present day2 neither are they connected of necessity with superstitious usages4 ,but with the crucifix1 the reverse of all this is the case4 ,it was utterly unknown to the ,church of early days2 it is unknown1 strictly speaking1 to the ,eastern ,church2 and it has given occasion in time past1 as it does at this day1 to the grossest superstitions4 ,the use of it1 as experience has proved1 is in reality the merest tampering with the principles of our nature2 ever ready 7as the length and vehemence of the ,second ,commandment sufficiently testifies7 to save ourselves the trouble of seeing ,him who is invisible1 and to fasten our faith on some outward object instead4 ,and there is this especial objection to associating the crucifix with the ,holy ,communion more especially1 that 7as was recently well observed by the ,bishop of ,exeter7 there are provided thereby1 in dangerous rivalry1 two representations or shewings forth1 of the ,body of ,christ1 and of the ,death of ,christ2 the one ordained by ,christ himself1 as a means whereby we receive the same2 the other1 that which our own fingers have made1 and moreover1 a fond thing vainly invented1 and grounded upon no warranty of ,scripture1 or of the ancient ,church4 ,can it be well1 even supposing the usage not to result 7though full surely it will7 in idolatrous veneration--can it be well to divide the mind1 in such an hour1 between the appointed mode of contemplating1 with deepest awe and love1 the ,mystery of our ,redemption1 and another mode1 which1 were it never so defensible otherwise1 may not dare to lift itself into any comparison with that far more touching exhibition of ,his ,dying ,love which ,christ ,himself1 at every ,communion1 sets forth among us8 ,i know by experience1 in particular instances1 that this danger is by no means imaginary3 and ,i confess to having the deepest conviction of the rashness and folly of attempting to reintroduce1 even among sober ,englishmen and ,englishwomen--especially in connection with the ,holy ,eucharist--this snare of medival ,christendom4 ,if it be objected that the ,cross is open to the same objection1 ,i answer1 ,no4 ,the ,cross1 as experience proves1 while it reminds us of the ,death of ,christ1 does not draw out that warm feeling1 which is at once so delightful and so dangerous to some classes of minds4 ,and the same may be said of pictorial or sculptured representations of the entire ,crucifixion1 where the larger treatment of the subject makes all the difference4 ,it is the concentration of thought and devotion upon the natural resemblance or representation of ,christ ,himself1 that renders the crucifix so dangerous1 and infallibly draws on its votaries to a breach of the ,second ,commandment4 ,other observances must be spoken of more in the mass1 as it would be impossible to detail them severally4 ,suffice it to say1 that an attempt is now being made to introduce1 in conjunction with the vestments and other ornaments above mentioned1 a minutely elaborated ceremonial1 applying to every part of the eucharistic rite4 ,the ground taken up for this is1 #ast1 that ornaments cannot always be very clearly distinguished from usages1 and therefore include them4 ,but surely it is much to be remarked that the rubric does specify ornaments1 so that1 although1 accidentally1 usages arising out of these ornaments are involved1--as1 e4g4 the candlesticks and candles involve or suggest the lighting of the candles1--yet the rubric cannot be taken to include usages which stand unconnected with ornaments1 such as making the sign of the cross1 or the like4 ,but it is contended1 further1 that not only are usages1 as well as ornaments1 covered 7as no doubt they are to some extent7 by the rubric1 but that it actually legalizes everything1 whether ornament or usage1 which was in use in the twenty-fifth year of ,henry ,,viii4 ,the ground for this startling assertion1--which has been made the basis of a vast and elaborate system of ritual1#eg--;is that the second year of ,edward ,,vi4 7which is named in the rubric7 includes a considerable period preceding the passing of the ,prayer-book ,act4 ,that year1 it is contended1 commenced on ,january #bhth1 #aedh1 and extended to ,january #bhth1 #aedi2 so that the ,prayer-book 7which was not established until ,january #aeth1 #aedi1 by #b and #c ,edward ,,vi41 c4 #a7 is only a part of what the rubric refers to1 and merely supplemental to the old canons and constitutions4#eh ,we must accept1 we are told1 all that was in use by the authority of ,parliament in #aedh-di4 ,now1 the latest enactment of ,parliament on the subject1 previous to that year1 was the #be ,henry ,,viii41 c4 #ai1 which legalizes everything then in use4 ,so that1 in short1 we are1 by the rubric1 thrown back upon part of the pre-,reformation period4 #eg ,see ',directorium ,anglicanum1' passim4 ,mr4 ,perry's elaborate work ',lawful ,church ,ornaments1' 7who1 however1 only lays down certain things as permissible71 and ,rev4 ,j4 ,skinner's ',plea for our ,threatened ,ritual1' discuss the subject at large4 #eh ',directorium ,anglicanum1' p4 xiv4 ,the truer view would seem to be that what is implied in the ,book1 or named in it1 is permissible4 ,certainly the ,prayer-book is elsewhere in legal documents 7as my friend ,mr4 ,shaw has shown#ei7 exclusively meant when the second year of ,edward ,,vi4 is spoken of4 ,it may be added1 that the most recent judicial decision bearing on the point 7re ,westerton v4 ,liddell7 expressly lays down that the ,prayer-book1 and the ,prayer-book alone1 is what the rubric refers to4 #ei ,see an able article in the ',contemporary ,review1' ,no4 #a1 ,jan4 #ahff4 ,but1 in truth1 there are other considerations which take away all justification whatever from nine-tenths of the ceremonies which are now being introduced among us4 ,in the first place1 a great many of them1 perhaps the greater number1 are not old ,english ceremonies at all1 but foreign ones1 derived from the existing practice--not always of very great antiquity--of the ,church of ,rome4 ,now1 without going so far as to say that those who have introduced them have thereby incurred the pains and penalties of a prmunire1 as having brought in the fashions of the ,bishop of ,rome1 his ways and customs1 it must be plain that it is impossible to justify such practices upon1 the ground alleged4 ,plainly1 you cannot base foreign customs on an ,english rubric4 ,the rubric legalises such ornaments 444 as were in this ,,church ,,of ,,england1 by the authority of ,parliament1 in the second year of ,king ,edward the ,sixth4 ,and this1 we are told1 includes usages1 and all usages known to the latter part of ,henry ,,viii4's reign4 ,be it so1 however vast the concession4 ,but will that justify a single usage which was not in this ,church of ,england1 ever since it was a ,church at all8 ,is it not plain that1 so far forth as the ceremonies now introduced never were ,english ceremonies1 they break the very rubric to which they appeal8 ,now it is notorious that a great part of these ceremonies are brought in on the authority of a work frequently referred to in these pages1 called ',directorium ,anglicanum4' ,and in that work the modern ,roman usages1 to the disregard of the ancient ,english1 and often in direct contravention of them1 are to a very great extent recommended4 ,i will take but a single instance1--the very first direction in the book as to the ,order of ,administration1 p4 #bc4 ,it concerns the colours for the vestments2--not a matter of the first importance1 it may be4 ,but so it is1 that the ,roman colours are prescribed in the text1 and the ,english ones merely mentioned in a note4 ,and this is but one instance1 out of a vast number1 of the entire untrustworthiness of that work as a guide to the ancient ,english usages4 ,under the delusive title of ',directorium ,anglicanum1' it has presented to the unwary student of ritual1 mixed up with our own usages of old time1 the most recent ,roman ones4 ,it may be hoped that this fact1 when pointed out to such of our brethren as have been misled by that learned but most unjustifiable publication1 will induce them to modify their present practice4 ,but1 it will be contended1 surely we may claim to reintroduce all ancient ,english ceremonies2 such as elevating the ,elements after consecration2 making the sign of the cross in consecrating1 and again over the head of each communicant before administering2--or such1 again1 as frequent bowing and genuflection2--various regulated movements to and fro1--as at the saying of the ,creed2--swinging of censers again and again in various directions2 with many other ceremonies4 ,to all this1 however1 there is an answer which1 ,i humbly conceive1 is unanswerable4 ,it is this1--that the ,english ,church1 to whose laws they appeal1 has expressly abolished some of these ceremonies1 and laid her prohibition upon the use of more than a very moderate number of any kind4 ,i refer1 first1 to the fact that she withdrew from her ,service-book certain orders previously embodied in it for the performance of some of these actions4 ,under this head comes the elevation of the ,elements after consecration4 ,this is confessedly1 even by the admission of ,roman writers1 a modern ceremony1 not older than the twelfth century4#fj ,however1 in the old ,english ,service-books the order was1 ,after the words1 ',for this is my ,body1' the priest shall bend himself towards the ,host1 and afterwards lift it above his forehead1 that it may be seen by the people4 ,but in the ,communion ,office of #aedi1 this was forbidden by rubric1 ,these words are to be said without any elevation1 or shewing to the people4 ,and the ,articles of #aefb-aega confirm this1 saying1 that the sacrament was not by ,christ's ordinance lifted up or worshipped 7,art4 #bh74 ,so1 again1 the sign of the cross was1 according to the ,first ,book of ,edward1 to be used at consecration2 but in the ,second it was withdrawn4 ,nor1 ,i believe1 can any rehabilitation of these practices be alleged 7as can be done in the case of lights or incense7 from subsequent injunctions1 canons1 or customs4 ,it is in vain to say that there was anything accidental in the omission of the cross at consecration1 since it was carefully retained at baptism1 and defended subsequently in the canons of #afjc2 or that the elevation or lifting up1 and worshipping1 was restored by the omission of the prohibition in #aedi1 since by #aefb 7,articles7 it was expressly disallowed4 ,those who plead1 as a support to the rubric1 the better mind of the ,church1 as manifested in the wishes of her great men--her ,andreweses and ,cosins--and even in her canons of #afjc--must accept the fact1 that by that better mind and those canons these usages are never advocated4 #fj ,see ,mabillon1 ,iter4 ,ital41 p4 xlix41 and ',principles of ,divine ,service1' ,introd4 vol4 ii4 p4 #hg4 ,a slight raising of the ,elements at the words ',he blessed1' as if making an offering1 is ancient and probably universal4 ,again1 as to the number of ceremonies4 ,the ,preface entitled ',ceremonies2 why some be abolished1 and some retained1' prefixed to the ,first ,book of ,edward1 distinctly announces a new state of things in this respect4 ,the excessive multitude of them is complained of2 and it is clearly implied that those which remain are few and simple4 ,the only question1 in short1 is1 how many were left4 ,the allegation that none are abolished is simply and utterly untenable4 ,and we have this general principle laid down by that ,preface for our guidance1 that excess of ceremonies1 or any great multiplying of them1 such as now recommended1 is absolutely irreconcilable with the mind of our ,church4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on the whole1 then1 to conclude this part of my subject1 there ought to be no real difficulty among us as to what is fairly permissible1 and answers to the mind of the ,english ,church--taking a wide and liberal view of that mind--in the matter of ritual4 ,two leading conceptions1 ,,nobleness with ,,simplicity1 sum up her general desires on this subject4 ,in the due observance of these1 it is her deliberate judgment1 7as represented by her wisest sons1--as ,ridley1 ,andrewes1 ,overall1 ,cosin71 will be found the best security for worthy worship on the one hand1 and for devout worship on the other4 ,and when we come to the carrying out of these conceptions there are yet other two principles by which she is guided1 viz4 regard for primitive usage2 and yet1 again1 forbearance from pressing even such usage in particular instances where it is likely to do more harm than good4 ,and all along she supremely tenders that purity of ,apostolic doctrine1 which is dearer to her than life itself1 and by its bearing upon which every rite or ceremony must ultimately be tried4 ,from antiquity accordingly1 as has been shown above1 she has derived1 together with her pure doctrine1 her beautiful garments3 alike her surplice1 stole1 and hood1 and her chasuble1 alb1 and amice4 ,yet1 as regards the obligatory adoption of these1 she has1 with a grand charity1 more beautiful than the richest of the garments themselves1 forborne1 for #cjj years1 to press upon an imperfectly trained people those which1 in the judgment of her most learned and primitively-minded sons1 best beseemed that high ,ordinance4 ,and even now1 albeit she has done much towards training this nation in loftier conceptions of what is seemly in the matter of ritual2 although she has reawakened the appreciation of music and architecture1 of colour and carving1 of festival decoration and choral worship2 though she has1 especially by the superior costliness and beauty lavished on the sacrarium and the altar1 by increased care and reverence in administration of the ,holy ,eucharist1 lifted that ordinance into something more of its due pre-eminence over all other ,service2 though many subordinate considerations point in the way of analogy and proportion1 in the same directions2 though every step by which she has enriched her ordinary worship1--such as the bringing back1 within a very few years1 of stole and hood for the clergy1 and of surplices for the lay members of the choir--though this all but demands some different vestments1 at the least1 for the celebrant and assistants at the ,holy ,communion3 nevertheless1 she will not1 if she is well-advised1 withdraw or disallow that wise alternative which has practically existed all along in this matter1 but still let surplice and vestment stand side by side for the option of the clergy and people4 ,nor yet again1 on the other hand1 strong as is the simpler surplice in its prescription--not1 however1 unvarying--of #cjj years1 as a eucharistic vestment in the ,english ,church--in its purity of appearance and gracefulness of form--and in the associations and affections of this generation2--simpler and easier as it is to side with the greater number1 and to acquiesce in the less excellent way for the sake of peace3--the ,church will not1 if well-advised1 yield to these considerations either4 ,she will still leave on her statute-book that ancient direction concerning vestments which has been her primary law through the vicissitudes of #cjj years2 which connects her1 even in its abeyance1 with the ,apostolic ,church of old1 and with the ,church universal now2 and which may1 if wisely and charitably administered1 effectively co-operate in bringing back to the ,church of ,god her lost jewel--nowhere now to be found on earth--of full and thorough conformity1 in doctrine and worship1 with the ,apostolic and ,primitive ,church4 ,and as regards other ceremonies1 while she expects not1 nor desires1 a rigid uniformity in minor actions1 nor has laid down any such code for the observance of her ministers2 she will on the one hand seek to realise a higher standard1 in point of care and reverence1 than has hitherto1 perhaps1 prevailed among us3 but1 on the other1 she will continue her #cjj years' protest against multitudinous and operose ceremonies1 as being full surely destructive1 in the long run1 of the life of devotion4 ,i have now accomplished1 though in a very imperfect manner1 my self-imposed task3 dwelling1 in all humility and anxiety1 on our shortcomings and excesses1 as well in the matter of ,rites and ,doctrine1 as in that of ,ritual4 ,and if it be asked1 in conclusion1 ,what then is to be done8 what action does a view of the whole circumstances prompt8 or how are we to win our way back1 under ,god1 to a more perfect model8 my answer and my humble counsel would be as follows3-- ,let me first be permitted to remind the reader of the present aspect of our ,church1 such as it was presented to view in an earlier page4 ,let it be remembered and taken home as an anxious and alarming truth1 that were an ,apostle1 or a ,christian of early days1 to pass through the land and behold our devotions1 on our high day of ,service1 during three-fourths of the year1 he could arrive at no other conclusion1 from what he saw with his eyes1 than that he was not in a ,christian land at all4 ,for he would miss1 ,sunday after ,sunday1 in more than eleven thousand of our churches1 the one badge1 and symbol1 and bond of membership in ,christ1 the ,holy ,eucharist4 ,such a one could not possibly understand our ,christianity2 the land would be in his eyes an absolute desolation4 ,and if among these thousands of altars without a sacrifice1 and of ,christian congregations failing to offer the one supremely ordained ,christian worship1 he chanced here and there to light upon a happy exception1 how would his eyes still be grieved1 and his heart pained at the fewness of communicants6 ,he could only conclude that ,christianity had very recently been established here1 and that the number of the unbaptized and catechumens was still tenfold that of the faithful4 ,but there would be yet one other novel sight that would here and there present itself to him4 ,he would perceive with astonishment that1 in some instances1 the eucharistic worship was offered not to ,our ,father which is in ,heaven1 or to ,christ1 as seated with ,his ,father on ,his ,throne of ,glory2 but as contained in the ,elements4 ,but his astonishment would reach its height when he observed1 further1 that not much account was made1 at this ,service1 of the reception of the life-giving ,sacrament1 as the crowning and supreme circumstance of the offering2 but that it was rather discouraged1 in proportion as the ,service was designed to be of a loftier strain1 and a superior acceptableness4 ,is it too much to say that1 on view of these things--these vast deflections on the right hand and on the left1 in defect and in excess1 from ,apostolic ways--it would not much grieve or move such an one as ,i am supposing1 whether the vestment in which the ,service was offered was merely of fine linen1 pure and white1 or a vesture of gold1 wrought about with divers colours2 and that all other ritual arrangements1 in like manner1 would be as nothing in his eyes1 in comparison of the truths obscured or imperilled1 and of the errors involved1 on either hand8 ,and what therefore ,i would earnestly desire that the ,church of ,god in this land might draw forth from the present excitement and anxiety about ritual is1 a faithful comparison of herself1 in point of doctrine and practice1 with the ,apostolic and ,primitive model4 ,there are greater things than these2 ,the life is more than meat1 and the body than raiment4 ,and while we are anxiously discussing whether the life of eucharistic devotion is best fed through the eye or the ear1 or how its outward form should be arrayed1 it is only too sadly true1 that that life and that body are a prey to divers diseases1 and need medicine and restoratives1 ere they are likely to exhibit much real vigour1 nourish and clothe them as we will4 ,for the second time within our memory1 a vestment or ritual controversy has arisen among us4 ,the last time it was about the surplice in preaching1 as against the gown2 and the ,prayer for the ,church ,militant1 as against the disuse of it4 ,this time it is about the more distinctive eucharistic vestments1 as against the surplice2 and about a fuller ritual as against a scantier one4 ,now the last contest was simply a miserable one4 ,i venture to call it so1 #ast1 because1 handled as it was1 there was no sort of principle at stake in it1 beyond that of assigning to the sermon more nearly its due position and estimate in the rite2 and that of adding one more prayer--a touching and valuable one1 it is true--to the ordinary ,office2--and next1 because it utterly misconceived and missed the ,church's real mind1 in allowing such a thing at all as prayers1 or a service at the ,altar or ,holy ,table1 when there was to be no ,offering and no ,communion4 ,to restore the ,prayer for the ,church ,militant1 and be content with that1 was indeed to keep the word of promise to her ear1 and break it to her hopes4 ,only as a protest1 only as a badge of her rejection--ay1 and of ,,christ',s rejection by the world--had she ever condescended to such a ,lord's ,day ,service as that at all4 ,what was the result and upshot1 as might have been expected1 of that contest8 ,in the case of some parishes1 and almost whole dioceses1 successful rebellion against even the letter of the rubric2 and in places where the result was different1 a contented acquiescence ever since 7for the most part7 in the victory achieved4 ,is it not evident that it was not worth achieving8 ,and why8 ,because all the while the ,church's real desire and aim was ignored2 she was not one whit nearer to the ,apostolic rule1 but only proclaimed more distinctly her departure from it4 ,and now that another vestment and ritual controversy has arisen1 the great anxiety1 and the only deep anxiety1 of the ,church should be1 that it too pass not over us barren of all results of value4 ,it will do so1 if it only leaves us with a better ascertained law as to the relative obligation of this or that vestment1 the lawfulness of this or that mode of ritual4 ,it will have been in vain1 unless it brings up our long-standing neglect on the one hand1 and brings back our more novel excesses on the other1 to the true standard of ,god's own providing4 ,but on the other hand1 if haply1 while we are searching for a rule1 we shall have found a principle1 and begun to act upon it then the present excitement will have done a great work for us4 ,and happily1 it is by thus lifting the existing controversy into a higher sphere1 we shall have the best chance of reconciling and harmonising positions now ranged over against each other1 and even of solving this ritual and vestment difficulty4 ,for let us suppose1 on the one side--what it is not too much to hope for--that the close sifting1 both of doctrine and ritual1 which such a period as this gives rise to1 joined to the fatherly counsel of the ,bishops1 and to considerations of ,christian wisdom and charity1 should avail to remove such peculiarities of ritual as are plainly either indefensible or inexpedient4 ,and let us suppose1 on the other side--what surely we may no less hope for--an earnest effort now made by the clergy1 encouraged by their bishops1 to return to the ,apostolic usage of ,weekly ,celebration1 and in other ways to give due honour and observance to the ,holy ,eucharist4 ,suppose this done on either side3 and there would at once result a great and essential rapprochement between those who now have the appearance of raising opposite cries1 and wearing rival badges4 ,nor only so1 but those badges themselves would lose1 to a great extent1 their distinctive hues4 ,it is astonishing1 when we come to look into the matter1 how much the two rival camps1 so to call them1 have in common2 and how many middle terms there are on which they are agreed4 ,the truth is that1 as has appeared above1 there is between the vestments 7for example71 now opposed to each other1 an entire solidarity or community of interests1 arising out of their common origin1 and their close relation to each other4 ,the use of the surplice1 its existence at all as a ministerial vestment1 and its real significance1 can only be traced in the eucharistic vestments4 ,it results from removing the chasuble and expanding the alb4 ,the surplice is in fact1 an alb4 ,it is an adaptation of the inner eucharistic vestment to the exigencies of the ordinary ,office4 ,it was thought good1 when it was used as an outer garment1 to give it that fulness and comeliness of form1 for which the ,english surplice1 more especially1 is so justly commended4 ,but its real value1 as a memento of the inward purity which it typifies1 can only be apprehended by bearing in mind that it is properly an inner garment4--,in like manner the stole1 taken by itself1 is a mere band of ribbon of no particular appropriateness4 ,but let it symbolise1 as it certainly was meant to do1 the yoke of loving labour laid on the neck of the minister of ,christ2 or1 more exactly1 after the ,aaronic pattern1 the ministerial toil of heart and hand for ,christ's people1 and the mindful bearing of them before ,god for acceptance through the ,one ,sacrifice2 and we at once see that this simple vestment is indeed worth preserving4--,and let the hood1 or amice1 be no longer worn as a mere badge of academical degree1 but as a token of the dedication of the powers of the head or intellect1 and of the need of ,god's protection against vain1 perverse1 and unbecoming thoughts2#fa and this1 too1 acquires a fitness otherwise difficult to recognise4 ,now1 if we thus owe to the full eucharistic vestments the interpretation of our ordinary ones1 it is plain that the relations between the two are of the most friendly character4 #fa ,oratio dicenda ante ,divinum ,officium4 ,portiforium ,sarisb4 ,the stole1 it may be added1 rests solely on the rubric of #affb3 so that1 whereas it is commonly imagined that the vestments of ,edward ,,vi4 have now begun for the first time to be re-introduced1 and that by a very few2 the truth is that the vast majority of the ,english clergy have now for many years1 though unconsciously1 been acting upon the rubric which enjoins them1 and tacitly appealing to it4 ,so1 again1 the introduction of colour into our vestments is only one step added to what has been already carried out1 to a great extent1 by all of us1 in the rest of our sacred accessories1 whether in the way of stained glass1 altar-cloths1 hangings1 or even of books4 ,and whereas1 on the other hand1 the pure whiteness of the surplice is not among the least of its attractions and sacred associations in ,english eyes2 who1 it may be asked1 have done more to extend the use of the surplice among us1 than those who have advanced farthest in the ritual direction8 ,who eliminated the black gown from the eucharistic rite8 ,who else have flooded our choirs and aisles1 on festal occasions especially1 with the white robes of choristers and clergy8 ,nay1 for the ,holy ,communion itself1 for the highest festivals--,christmas1 ,easter1 ,whitsuntide--the white chasuble is1 by the ancient rule of ,england1 added to the white alb4 ,surely here1 again1 there is a community of sentiment between ritual schools thought to be opposed to each other4 ,it may be added1 that though the strict ,english rule1 or rather its full carrying out1 would necessitate colour--red for the most part--for the chief eucharistic vestment1 this is not by any means of necessity4 ,white1 it is admitted on all hands1 is permissible all the year round1#fb and some ,eastern churches never use any other colour4 #fb ',directorium ,anglicanum1' p4 #ag3 ,it is perfectly unobjectionable to have the sacred vestments of fair white linen1 so long as the shape of them be correct4 ,and do we not seem to see1 in these considerations1 joined to others alleged above1 a ground for harmonious though diverse action among those of differing minds8 ,we have1 as the first and leading fact1 that 7if the view taken above be correct7 none is compelled in foro conscienti1 by the existing state of the law to which he has bound himself 7viz4 what this ,church and ,realm hath received7 to adopt the ancient vestments4 ,this gives room for the exercise of that prudent consideration in the matter1 which would be out of place if the law gave no alternative4 ,we have next the fact that there are degrees1 even where it is desired to return to the ancient system4 ,the form is1 as it should seem1 the great matter1 both as regards symbolism1 and as making a distinct difference between the ordinary and the eucharistic dress3 the material and colour are secondary4 ,hence arises a simple and unobtrusive mode of resuming the old distinction1 without risk of provoking serious objection3 eucharistic vestments of fine linen being not very strikingly different in appearance from the surplice2 more especially if1 as some hold1 surplices in place of tunics be allowable for the assistant clergy4 ,and if many still entertain a distinct preference for the surplice1 none can say that1 after #cjj years of recognition1 it is other than a seemly and honourable vestment1 as an ad interim1 even for the ,holy ,communion4 ,in one case only can it be said to be a dishonour1 and a badge of servitude under the world's rejection1--viz41 whenever there is no celebration4 ,it can then only be compared to the linen garment in which the ,jewish ,high ,priest was clothed of old on the one day of ,atonement3--the one day in the year on which ,israel mourned over suspended privileges and a desolated ,altar4#fc ,it is when the surplice ministers to so dreary a ,service as that3--when1 as a fit accompaniment to it1 the position of the wearer1 at the north end of the ,holy ,table1 indicates at least a forgetfulness of his priestly functions3--it is then only that it can be otherwise than honourable among us4 #fc ,leviticus xvi4 #d4 ,nor in like manner1 as has appeared above from the venerable1 because primitive and apostolic descent of the eucharistic vestments1 can any tinge of superstition or unsound doctrine be properly ascribed to them1 unless it be through the fault of any in whose persons they minister to eucharistic doctrines and practices1 which were unknown to ,apostolic and primitive days4 ,and there is yet one other hopeful feature in the present aspect of things as regards ,ritual4 ,it is that1 taking the long tract of years1 the desire for an improvement1 and for our acting up to the theory and ideal of our ,church in this matter1 has begun1 as it ought1 with the ,episcopate3 so that all present endeavours in that direction1 7whether in all respects wisely or faithfully made ,i have given some reasons for doubting71 are intended at least to be a carrying out of their fatherly counsels and admonitions4 ,it is now a quarter of a century since two of the ablest and most influential ,prelates that ever sat on an episcopal throne in ,england1 the late ,bishop of ,london and the present ,bishop of ,exeter1 invited the ,clergy of their ,dioceses to carry out the rubrics1 with especial reference to a particular rubric bearing upon the dress of the ,clergy in one part of their ministrations4 ,it was found impossible at the time1 owing to a strong feeling on the part of the laity 7which time has for the most part removed71 to carry out those injunctions4 ,but their tones have vibrated ever since in the hearts of the ,english ,clergy4 ,it was felt at the time1 as it must ever be felt1 that our aim1 at least1 should be to carry out the ,church's best and deepest mind1 and not to acquiesce for generations in a low standard1 merely because it is the existing one4 ,and it is my humble belief that1 had the present attempt to return1 in fuller measure1 to her deep and wise rules for eucharistic celebration been made with more of moderation and considerateness1 it would have carried with it1 7and may carry with it yet1 if these conditions be fulfilled71 the assent of our ,right ,reverend ,fathers#fd in ,god on the one hand1 and of our congregations on the other4 ,so managed1 the present might well become a grand and harmonious movement of ,bishops1 ,clergy1 and people towards a noble result1--the setting up1 namely1 in its due place1 of the highest ordinance of the ,gospel3 with variations1 indeed1 in many respects1 as to the mode and fashion of administration2 but with one happy feature at any rate1--a nearer approximation1 both in ,rites and ,ritual1 to ,apostolic ,doctrine and ,worship4 #fd ,see the ,bishop of ,oxford's opinion1 delivered in ,convocation4 ,,note ,,to ,,the ,,fourth ,,edition4 ,in revising the above pages for a ,fourth ,edition1 ,i have corrected the statement made by me in page #dj1 as to the doctrine maintained by ,archdeacon ,denison2 and ,i desire to repeat here the expression of regret1 which ,i have already made public through another channel1 at having misrepresented his view4 ,a correspondence between us1 since published by him 7,rivington's71 will explain more fully the state of the case4 ,it may suffice to repeat here1 that the exact position taken up by him in #ahef1 as regards the points under discussion1 is expressed in the two following propositions3 ,proposition ,,iii4-- ,that ,the ,body and ,blood of ,christ1 being present naturally in ,heaven1 are1 supernaturally and invisibly1 but ,really1 ,present in the ,lord's ,supper1 through the elements1 by virtue of the act of consecration4 ,proposition ,,viii4-- ,that worship is due to ,the ,body and ,blood of ,christ1 supernaturally and invisibly1 but ,really ,present in the ,lord's ,supper1 'under the form of ,bread and ,wine1'#fe by reason of that ,godhead with which they are personally united4 ,but that the elements through which ',the ,body and ,blood of ,christ' are given and received may not be worshipped4 #fe ,end of the #ast ,book of ,homilies4 ,with respect to the presence of non-communicants at the ,holy ,eucharist1 ,i had of course seen such publications as have appeared in defence of the practice4 ,but they fail altogether in the essential point1 which is1 to show that antiquity viewed the presence of such in any other light than either--#a4 ,as an utter carelessness and irreverence2 or #b4 as befitting penitents1 and them only4 ,the medival doctrine and practice1 now being revived by some1 is that it is a good and laudable habit for ,christian persons in a state of grace to come to the ,holy ,communion1 and to decline receiving it4 ,i have to acknowledge many communications on various points2 of which ,i have to some extent availed myself in this edition4 ,,appendix ,a4 ,,opinions ,,of ,,the ,,bishop ,,of ,,exeter ,,on ,,certain ,,points ,,of ,,doctrine4 ,having had occasion to receive from the ,bishop of ,exeter an expression of his views on the subjects discussed in pp4 #ca-cg1 ,i asked and obtained permission to embody it in an ,appendix1 as his latest and most matured judgment on the matter to which it relates4 ,the ,bishop says3--,i regard the ,grace of the ,eucharist as the ,communion of the ,death and ,sufferings of our ,lord4 ,st4 ,paul 7#a ,cor4 xi4 #bd71 in his statement of the ,revelation made to him from ,christ1 sitting at the ,right ,hand of ,,god the ,father1 seems to me distinctly to affirm this ,truth4 ,his words 7they should be rendered which is being broken71 in their literal and plain signification1 show that the ,lord's ,death is one continuous ,fact1 which lasts and will last till he comes and lays down ,his ,mediatorial ,kingdom1 subjecting it1 and ,himself1 its ,king1 to the ,father4 ,i hold that it is1 in short1 a ,sacrament of that continuous ,act of our ,lord's ,suffering once for us on the ,cross--the punishment appointed for sin during the days of ,his ,mediation--that our ,lord is1 in some ineffable manner1 present in the ,sacrament of ,his ,sufferings1 thus communicated to us1 by which ,he pays for us the penalty imposed on our guilt4 ,in such a ,presence ,i do not recognise anything material or local1 though ,i most thankfully rejoice in it as real4 ,next as to the point dwelt upon in pp4 #ff-gj1 as seeming to prescribe1 and to render important1 the position of the ,celebrant at the ,holy ,communion3 viz4 that our ,lord's having given or presented in a mystery1 through the ,elements1 the ,sacrifice of ,his ,body and ,blood1 is the whole secret of their consecration to be that which they represent3 and that we1 too1 must give1 present1 or offer1 the ,elements with the same intention1 if we would effectually plead the ,sacrifice1 and receive the ,sacrament3-- ,the ,bishop of ,exeter1 still commenting on #a ,cor4 xi4 #bd1 compared with ,st4 ,luke xxii4 #ai1 speaks as follows3-- ,the use of the present participle in these cases1 seems to me to show1 that the words ought to be rendered 'which is being given1' and 'which is being broken1' and must be referred to the ,act of ,crucifixion4 ,the words1 thus understood1 seem to me to illustrate and to be illustrated by ,gal4 ii4 #bj4 ',i am crucified with ,christ lit41 ,i have been1 and continue to be1 crucified with ,him--1 and the life which ,i now live1 ,i live by the faith of the ,son of ,god1 who loved me1 and gave ,himself for me4' ,comp4 ',this is my ,body which is being given for you4' ,and again1 ,gal4 iii4 #a1 ',before whose eyes ,jesus ,christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you4' ,i know not where it is said or implied that we are crucified together with ,christ1 unless in thus feeding on1 and receiving1 and partaking of the ,dying of ,christ1 and the showing forth of ,his ,death1 as oft as we eat and drink the ,body being broken and the ,blood being shed4 ,again the ,bishop1 as regards the ,roman ,doctrines of ,transubstantiation and ,concomitancy1 quotes1 as in entire accordance with his own1 the following sentiments of the ,rev4 ,c4 ,smith1 ,rector of ,newton1 ,suffolk1 and author of the valuable work1 ',an ,enquiry into ,catholick ,truths1 hidden under certain ,articles of the ,creed of the ,church of ,rome3'--,this is a great mystery2 but we must not forget that it is the ,lord2 and1 instead of pretending to explain how it is our ,lord feeds us on this most real ,sacrifice1 and how ,he can give us1 now he is glorified1 ,his own ,body and ,blood separately1 let us rejoice that he nourishes and cherishes ,his purchased ,church by the 'still unconsumed sacrifice 7as ,st4 ,chrysostom calls it7 of ,himself4' ,how mean and impertinent are ,transubstantiation and ,concomitancy1 and the ,impanation and ,invination of ,rome and her followers6 ,,appendix ,b4 ,,judgment ,,of ,,the ,,bishop ,,of ,,exeter ,,as ,,to ,,vestments4 ,the following well-known opinion was delivered by the ,bishop of ,exeter many years since4 ,as such it is simply recorded here1 not as involving its author in the present controversy on this subject4 ,the rubric1 at the commencement of ',the ,order for ,morning and ,evening ,prayer1' says ',that such ornaments of the church1 and of the ministers thereof1 at all times of their ministration1 shall be retained1 and be in use1 as were in this ,church of ,england by the authority of ,parliament1 in the second year of the reign of ,king ,edward ,,vi4'--in other words1 a white alb plain1 with a vestment or cope4 ,these were forbidden in ,king ,edward ,,vi4's ,second ,book4 ,this was a triumph of the party most opposed to the ,church of ,rome1 and most anxious to carry reformation to the very farthest point4 ,but their triumph was brief--within a few months ,mary restored ,popery2 and when the accession of ,queen ,elizabeth brought back the ,reformation1 she1 and the ,convocation1 and the ,parliament1 deliberately rejected the simpler direction of ,edward's ,second ,book1 and revived the ornaments of the ,first4 ,this decision was followed again by the ,crown1 ,convocation1 and ,parliament1 at the restoration of ,charles ,,ii41 when the existing ,act of ,uniformity established the ,book of ,common ,prayer1 with its rubrics1 in the form in which they now stand4 ,strange indeed is it that in the very teeth of this plain and evident intention of the ,reformers and ,revisers of the ,prayer-book1 there should be ,english ,churchmen and ,clergy1 so forgetful of the duty they owe the ,church1 that they are trying with all their power to provoke ,parliament to do an unjust and unconstitutional act1 by attempting to set aside this law of the ,church1 which has the sanction of the three ,estates of the ,realm3 and can only be altered by their concurrence4 ,from this statement it will be seen1 that the surplice may be objected to with some reason2 but then it must be because the law requires 'the alb1 and the vestment1 or the cope4' ,why have these been disused8 ,because the parishioners--that is1 the churchwardens1 who represent the parishioners--have neglected their duty to provide them2 for such is the duty of the parishioners by the plain and express canon law of ,england 7,gibson #bjj74 ,true1 it would be a very costly duty1 and for that reason most probably1 churchwardens have neglected it1 and archdeacons have connived at the neglect4 ,i have no wish that it should be otherwise4 ,but1 be this as it may1 if the churchwardens of ,helston shall perform this duty1 at the charge of the parish1 providing an alb1 a vestment1 and a cope1 as they might in strictness be required to do 7,gibson1 #bja71 ,i shall enjoin the minister1 be he who he may1 to use them4 ,but until these ornaments are provided by the parishioners1 it is the duty of the minister to use the garment actually provided by them for him1 which is the surplice4 ,the parishioners never provide a gown1 nor1 if they did1 would he have a right to wear it in any part of his ministrations4 ,for the gown is nowhere mentioned nor alluded to in any of the rubrics4 ,neither is it included1 as the alb1 the cope1 and three surplices expressly are1 among 'the furniture and ornaments proper for ,divine ,service1' to be provided by the parishioners of every parish4 ,the #ehth canon of #afjd 7which however cannot control the ,act of ,uniformity of #affb7 enjoins that 'every minister1 saying the public prayers1 or ministering the sacraments or other rites of the ,church1 shall wear a decent and comely surplice with sleeves1 c41 to be provided at the charge of the parish4' ,for the things required for the common prayer of the parish were and are to be provided by the parish4 ,if a gown were required1 it would have to be provided by the parish4 ,,appendix ,c4 ,,on ,,saying ,,and ,,singing4 ,,my ,,dear ,,archdeacon1 ,with regard to the question which you ask respecting the mode of performing ,divine ,service1 it appears to me evident that it never entered into the heads of those who undertook1 in the #afth century1 the great work of remodelling1 translating1 simplifying1 congregationalising 7to use a barbarous word7 the old ,sarum ,offices1 and recasting them into the abbreviated form of our ,matins and ,evensong1 to interfere with the universally received method of reciting those ,offices4 ,it is quite certain that they never dreamed of so great an innovation in immemorial usage4 ,their object was merely to simplify the old ,ritual music4 ,it had become so tedious and ornate1 that it was impossible for the people to join in their part2 and the priest's part was rendered unintelligible by means of the wearisome neumas and flourishes1 which had little by little crept in1 to the utter ruin of the staid solemnity of the ancient ,plain ,song4 ,so the great business was to make the priest's part devout and intelligible1 and the people's simple and congregational4 ,the first part of our ,prayer-book which came out was the ,litany4 ,but it came out with its beautiful and simple ,ritual ,music4 ,it was thus originally intended to be sung2 but to music so plain and straightforward that a child may join in it4 7,it is the same melody as is still generally used for the ,litany47 ,only the melody was published at first2 no harmony3 therefore it would be sung in unison4 ,but a month afterwards a harmonised edition was published for the benefit of those choirs which were more skilled in music4 ,it was set in five-part harmony1 according to the notes used in the ,kynge's ,chapel4 ,tallis's more elaborate version was published twenty years afterwards4 ,but this ,english ,litany was harmonised over and over again in different ways1 by different composers2 the very variety of setting incidentally proving how very general its musical use had become4 ,it was in the following year 7#aede7 that ,cranmer wrote his well-known letter to ,henry respecting the ,processions and ,litany ,services1 which it was in contemplation to set forth in ,english for festival days2 requesting that some devout and solemn note be made thereto1 similar to that of the published ,litany3 that it may the better excitate and stir the hearts of all men to devotion and godliness3 the ,archbishop adding that1 in his opinion1 the song made thereto should not be full of notes1 but as near as may be for every syllable a note4 ,four years after came out ,edward's ,first ,prayer-book1 and almost simultaneously with it 7at least within the year7 the musical notation of the book1 published cum ,privilegio1 and edited by ,john ,merbecke4 ,there seems no doubt in the world that this book was edited under ,cranmer's supervision2 and was intended as a quasi-authoritative interpretation of the musical rubrics4 ,the old ritual words1 legere1 dicere1 cantare1 continue in the reformed1 just as of old in the unreformed rubrics4 ,they had a definite meaning in the ,latin ,service ,books4 ,there is not a vestige of a hint that they are to have any other than their old meaning in the vernacular and remodelled ,offices4 ,they are often loosely used as almost convertible expressions4 ,dicere rather expresses the simpler2 cantare1 the more ornate mode of musical reading4 ,the word legere simply denoted recitation from a book1 without any reference to the particular mode of the recitation4 ,applied to the ,gospel in the old rubrics1 it would simply express that the ,gospel was to be here recited1 according to the accustomed ,cantus ,evangelii4 ,the same with other parts of the service4 ,as legere did not signify non-musical recitation in the old rubrics1 so neither does it in the revised4 ,in fact1 in two or three instances1 it is used avowedly as synonymous with say or sing1--e4 g4 in the cases both of the ,venite and the ,athanasian ,creed4 ,these of course are definitely ordered to be said or sung1--i4 e4 said on the monotone1 or sung to the regular chant4 ,but yet in two rubrics which merely deal with the position where1 on certain particular occasions1 they are to be recited 7the rubrics not adverting to the mode of their recitation71 the general term read is applied to them--,the ,venite shall be read here4 ,now1 as the rubrical directions respecting the performance of the ,services are virtually the same in the old and the new ,office1 so is the music itself as given in ,merbecke4 ,his book is nothing more than an adaptation1 in a very simplified form1 of the old ,latin ,ritual ,song to our ,english ,service4 ,cranmer's ,rule is rigidly followed--as near as may be1 for every syllable a note4 ,the ,priest's part throughout is very little inflected4 ,even the ',sursum ,corda' and ',proper ,preface' in the ,communion ,offices are plain monotone2 as well 7of course7 as all the ,prayers4 ,but the ,introit1 ,offertory ,sentences1 ,post ,communion1 ,pater-noster1 ,sanctus1 ,agnus-,dei1 ,credo1 ',gloria in ,excelsis1' in most of which the people would be expected to join1 are all inflected1 though the music is plain and simple4 ,that there was not even the remotest intention of doing away with the immemorial practice of the ,church of ,god 7alike in ,jewish as in ,christian times71 of employing some mode of solemn ,musical ,recitation for the saying of the ,divine ,offices1 is further evident by the rubric relating to the ,lessons4 ,of course1 if1 in any part of the ,services1 the ordinary colloquial tone of voice should be employed1 it plainly ought to be in the ,lessons4 ,but not even here was such an innovation contemplated4 ,the ancient ,capitula were much inflected4 ,the ,cantus ,evangelii and ,epistolarum admitted likewise of a great and wearisome licence of inflection4 ,now it would have been absurd to inflect a long ,english lesson4 ,the ,rubric1 therefore1 ordered that the ,lessons should be said to uninflected song4 ,in such places where they do sing1 then shall the ,lesson be sung in a plain tune after the manner of distinct reading 7i4e4 recitation72 in other words1 the ,lessons1 ,epistle1 and ,gospel1 were to be all alike said in monotone4 ,you are aware1 of course1 that it was not till the last ,revision in #affb that this rubric was removed4 ,the ,divines at the ,savoy ,conference at first objected1 and1 in their published answer1 stated that the reasons urged by the ,puritan party for its removal were groundless4 ,however1 the rubric disappeared2 and1 ,i think1 happily and providentially4 ,for certainly 7except the reader chances to have a very beautiful voice7 it would be painful to hear a ,lesson--perhaps a chapter of fifty or sixty verses--said all in monotone4 ,moreover1 while in solemn addresses 7whether of ,prayer or ,praise to ,,god71 the solemn musical ,recitation seems most fitting and reverential1 in lections or addresses delivered primarily for the edification of man1 a freer mode of utterance appears desirable and rational4 ,merbecke's book 7,i should have added7 does not contain the music for the ,litany--as that had been already published--nor for the whole ,psalter4 ,it simply gives a few specimens of adaptation of the old ,chants to ,english ,psalms or ,canticles1 and leaves it to individual choirs to adapt and select for themselves4 ,the intention of the ,english ,church to retain a musical service is further confirmed by the often quoted injunction of ,queen ,elizabeth1 #aeei 7c4 #di71 which gives licence for an anthem4 ,it first orders that there shall be a modest and distinct song1 7i4e4 the ordinary plain song7 used in all parts of the ,common ,prayers of the ,church2 while1 for the comfort of such as delight in music1 it permits1 at the beginning or end of the services1 a hymn or song in the best melody and music that can be devised1 having respect to the sense of the words4 ,the utmost that can be said of our rubrics is1 that in cases of musical incapacity1 or where no choir can be got1 where priest or people cannot perform their part properly1 then they may perform it improperly4 ,but1 unquestionably1 whenever the services can be correctly performed1 when the priest can monotone his part1 and the people sing theirs1 then the services ought to be so performed4 ,it is a matter of simple obedience to ,church rule4 ,the single word ,evensong is a standing protest against the dull conversational services of modern times4 ,in reference to the popular objection1 that the musical rubrics refer merely to cathedrals and collegiate churches1 ,lord ,stowell observed1 in his judgment in the case of ,hutchins v4 ,denziloe 7see ,cripps1 p4 #fdd1 #crd ed471 that if this be the meaning of the rubrics and canons which refer to this subject1 then they are strangely worded1 and of disputable meaning1 for they express nothing of the kind4 ,the rubrics1 he says1 rule that certain portions of the service be sung or said by the minister and people2 not by the prebendaries1 canons1 and a band of regular choristers1 as in a cathedral2 but plainly referring to the services of a parish church4 ,it is very difficult to say when the use of the monotone generally dropped and gave place to our modern careless unecclesiastical polytone4 ,the change1 ,i suppose1 took place gradually2 first in one district1 then in another4 ,the ,church's mode of reciting her ,offices would involve more care and skill than the clergy much cared to give4 ,so1 little by little1--first in one locality1 then in another1--they fell into the modern1 loose1 irregular way of talking or pronouncing instead of saying and singing4 ,yours ever1 ,,john ,b4 ,,dykes4 ,,st4 ,,oswald',s ,,vicarage1 ,,durham1 ,january #bj1 #ahff4 ,,london3 ,w4 ,,clowes ,,and ,,sons1 ,,duke ,,street1 ,,stamford ,,street1 ,,and ,,charing ,,cross4 ,by the same ,author4 #a4--,,the ,,principles ,,of ,,divine ,,service4 ,an ,inquiry concerning the ,order for ,morning and ,evening ,prayer1 and for ,administration of the ,holy ,communion1 in the ,english ,church4 ,two vols41 cloth1 #a #fs4 ,or the vols1 may be had separately4 #b4--,,plain ,,directions for understanding the ,order for ,morning and ,evening ,prayer1 #c;d4 #c4--,,sunday4 ,a ,poem1 #d;d4 ,masters4 ,j4 ,h4 ,,parker1 ,,oxford ,,and ,,london4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,minor typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected without note4 ,irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed4 ,mismatched quotes are not fixed if it's not sufficiently clear where the missing quote should be placed4