m I ' i ' ' 1 H : -' FROM-THE-LIBRARY-OF -KONRAD-SURDACH- SIDE-LIGHTS OF CHURCH HISTORY. THE LITURGY AND RITUAL OF THE ANTE-NICENE CHURCH BY F. E. WARREN, B.D., F.S.A., RECTOR OK BARDWELL, SUFFOLK ; HONORARY CANON OF EtY AND FORMERLY FELLOW OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD. PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OK THE TRACT COMMITTEE. LONDON: SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C. ; 43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.G. BRIGHTON : 129, NORTH STREET. NEW YORK : E. & J. B. YOUNG AND CO. 1897. o INTRODUCTION. IT has been attempted to put together in this volume all that is known about the Liturgy and Ritual of the Ante-Nicene Church, so far as such knowledge can be gathered (i) from Holy Scripture ; (2) from eccle- siastical writings prior to A.D. 325 ; (3) from scanty surviving liturgical remains ; and (4) from a few other sources, e.g. inscriptions, etc. A chapter has been added dealing with the interesting but difficult question as to how far the worship and ritual of the Christian Church are of Jewish origin, or are modified by Jewish or other non-Christian influence. It is hoped that from the material accumulated in the following pages, an answer may be found to the important question, * How far does the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England retain or reflect primitive usage, both absolutely as regards itself, and relatively, in comparison with the service- books of other parts of Christendom ? ' M53543 INTRODUCTION. We can at once lay our finger on many variations from primitive usage, e.g. the discontinuance of the Love-feast, and of Infant Confirmation, and of Infant Communion, and of the use of Unction, and of the Kiss of Peace, and of the rite of Exorcism, etc.; in alterations in the mode of singing, including the introduction of instrumental accompaniment, in the general non-separation of the sexes in church, in structural and verbal alterations in the Liturgy and other sacramental offices, etc. Some changes have been necessitated by altered circumstances ; some even by a difference of climate. All changes which involve no violation of any command in Holy Scripture are within the com- petence of the governing body of Christ's Church on earth. On many of these points the unchanging Eastern Church adheres more faithfully to primitive practice than either the Church of England or the Church of Rome, and, it is needless to add, than the many Christian bodies which have separated from the Catholic Church within the last three or four centuries. On the other hand, in the simplicity of her eucharistic, baptismal, confirmation, and ordination ritual, as well as in the use of the vernacular language, the Prayer-book retains and reflects the essential directions of Holy Scripture, and, in some INTRODUCTION. respects, the practice of the primitive church more faithfully, and with less loss or addition, than the corresponding services in any other part of Western Christendom. No liturgy is perfect, because no liturgy is in- spired. It is quite consistent with loyalty to the Anglican Church to wish to see a revival of what has long been discontinued, our Prayer-book itself expressing such a wish in connection with the ancient penitential system of the primitive Church ; or to sec this or that liturgical detail altered ; but while not reaching perfection any more than the Roman Missal and Breviary, or the Greek Euchologion, the Book of Common Prayer enshrines a form of service with which those who are privileged to have been enrolled as the sons and daughters of the English Church may be well content. F. E. W. BAR DWELL RECTORY, BURY ST. EDMUNDS, Lammas Day, 1897. CjONTENTS. CHAPTER PACK I. TRACES OF LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS ... ... ... i i. Ritual Allusions in the Old Testament ... ... I 2. Reliquice Liturgicse in the Old Testament ... 2 3. Jewish Liturgy and Ritual a Type of the Services of the Chistian Church... ... ... $ 4. The Position and Meaning of Ritual in the Chris- tian Church ... ... ... ... 7 5. Ritual Allusions in the New Testament ... 9 6. Baptism ... ... ... ... 9 7. Benediction... ... ... ... l6 8. Church furniture ... ... ... *7 9. Confirmation ... ... ... ' J 9 10. Unction at Baptism and Confirmation ... 20 ix. Sign of the Cross at Baptism and Confirmation ... 21 12. Creed 2 3 13. Excommunication ... ... ... ' 23 14. Holy Eucharist... ... ... ... 25 15. Hymns ... ... ... ... 33 16. Kiss of Peace ... ... ... ... 3 6 17. Laying on of Hands ... ... ... 37 18. Love-feast ... ... ... 37 19. Marriage ... ... ... ... ' 3$ 20. Offerings ... ... ... ... 39 21. Ordination... ... ... ... 39 22. Public Prayer ... ... ... ... 42 23. Sunday ... ... ... ... 45 24. Unction of the Sick ... ... ... 4" 25. Vestments ... ... ... ... 47 26. Washing of Feet ... ... ... 4$ Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. ANTE-NICENE RITUAL Introductory I. Absolution ... 2. Baptism 3. Choral Service 4. Church Furniture 5. Confession ... 6. Confirmation 7. Sign of the Cross 8. Exorcism 9. Fasting 10. The Eucharist ... II. Imposition of Hands 12. Incense 13. Kiss of Peace 14. The Love- feast (Agape} ... 15. Marriage ... 16. Ordination, Holy Orders 17. Prayer 1 8. Saints' Days ... 19. Sunday 20. Unction 21. Vestments ... 22. Vulgar Tongue, Use of the 23. Washing of Hands and Feet III. ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS i. A Prayer from the Epistle of St. Clement 2. Extract from the Epistle of St. Clement 3. Prayers from the Didachc 4. A Prayer of the Scillitan Martyrs ... 5. Prayers of Or igen 6. Forms of Creed ... 7. A Hymn to Christ 8. The Virgins' Song 9. An Evening Hymn ... 10. Prayers and Thanksgivings from the Canons Hippolytus ii. Anthems, etc., of Uncertain Date 12. Ancient Liturgies PAGE 50 50 56 58 74 75 82 87 98 101 101 105 129 129 131 'S3 137 ... 141 155 ... 157 159 ... 162 164 164, 165 167 ... 167 170 ... 172 174 175 177 ... 181 182 ... 191 of 192 195 195 CONTENTS. ix CHAPTER 1'AGE IV. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE LITURGY AND RITUAL OF THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN CHURCHES " 2OO i. Introductory ... ... ... ... 200 2. The Temple Services ... ... ... 202 3. The Synagogue Services ... ... ... 204 4. The Shema ... ... ... ... 209 -. 5. The Eighteen Benedictions ... ... ... 210 6. TheJvadish ... ... ... ... 214 7. The Kedusha ... ... ... ... 215 8. The Paschal Supper ... ... ... 216 9. Vitringa's Theory ... ... ... ... 217 10. Bickell's Theory ... ... ... 218 Detailed resemblances in II. Baptism ... ... ... ... ... 219 12. Bells ... ... ... ... ... 220 13. Benedictions ... ... ... ... 221 14. Colours ... ... ... ... 221 15. Confirmation ... ... ... ... 222 16. Churches, Name of ... ... ... 222 17. Silent Prayer ... ... ... ... 224 18. Bowing at the Sacred Name ... ... 224 19. Removal of Shoes ... ... ... ... 224 20. Bowing towards the Altar ... ... 225 21. Eastward Position ... ... ... ... 226 22. Ablutions ... ... ... ... 226 23. Standing at the Gospel ... ... ... 226 24. Procession of the Gospel ... ... ... 227 25. Separation of the Sexes ... ... ... 227 26. Mode of Singing ... ... ... 228 27. Dedication of Churches ... ... ... 228 28. Fasts and Festivals ... ... ... 229 29. Hebrew Language, Use of the ... ... 230 30. The Eucharist ... ... ... ... 231 31. Imposition of Hands ... ... ... 232 32. Holy Orders ... ... ... ... 233 33. Marriage 235 34. Prayer, Hours of ... ... ... 235 35. Prayer, Attitude at ... ... ... ... 237 36. Prayer for the Dead ... ... ... 237 37- Vestments ... ... ... ... ... 239 CONTENTS. 38. Jewish Origin of certain Christian Formulae of Devotion! ... ... ... ... 242 39. Gospel for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity ... 246 40. Heathen Worship suggested as the Source of some Christian Ritual ... ... 247 APPENDIX : From the Apostolic Constitutions... ... 255 I. Gloria in Excelsis ... ... ... 257 2. Triumphal Hymn ... ... ... ... 260 3. A Widow's Thanksgiving... ... ... 260 4. A Eucharistic Thanksgiving ... ... ... 261 5. A Post-Communion Thanksgiving ... ... 261 6. A Thanksgiving for the Holy Oil ... ... 262 7. A General Prayer ... ... ... 262 8. Baptismal Formula of Renunciation ... ... 272 9. Baptismal Creed ... ... ... ... 272 10. Consecration of the Water at Baptism ..., ... 273 11. Consecration of the Oil at Baptism ... 273 12. A Post-Baptismal Prayer ... ... ... 273 13. A Prayer at the Consecration of a Bishop ... 274 14. The Clementine Liturgy ... ... ... 275 15. Another Description of the Liturgy ... 306 16. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Presbyter ... 311 17. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Deacon ... 312 1 8. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Deaconess ... 312 19. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Sub- Deacon 313 20. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Reader ... 313 21. A Consecration of Water and Oil ... 314 22. An Evening Prayer ... *.. ... ... 314 23. A Morning Prayer ... ... ... 3 l6 24. A Thanksgiving at the Presentation of the First- fruits ... ... ... ... ... 3 r 7 25. A Prayer for the Faithful Departed , 318 INDICES : 1. Index of Biblical Quotations and References ... 321 2. Index of Greek Words ... ... ... 327 3. General Index 331 INDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS. LIST OF AUTHORITIES. N.B. This is not a complete index of ante-Nicene literature. With regard to Acta Sanctorum and Apocryphal writings, only those works are included of which use has been made in this volume. Heretical writings have been generally omitted, because they are chiefly known to us through extracts in the pages of orthodox writers, and as not containing references bearing on the subject-matter of this volume. Abercius, St., Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, 2nd cent., Epitaph of. See p. 122. Acts. See Ignatius ; Passion ; Poly carp. Acts of Apollonius. A senator, martyred at Rome A.D. 180-192. His Acts were published by the Melchitarists of Venice, 1874. They are quoted by Eusebius, Eccles. Hist., Bk. v.,cap. 21. Translated from the Armenian by F. C. Conybeare, in Monuments of Early Christianity (Lond., 1894), pp. 35-48. Acts of Eugenia, 3rd cent., in F. C. Conybeare's Monuments of Early Christianity (London, 1894). Acts of Fructuosus, Eulogius, and Augurius, 3rd cent., in Bollandist's Acta Sanctorum, Jan. 21, torn. ii. p. 340. Acts of Paul and Thecla. A religious romance, probably of the second century. Its composition is assigned to A.D. 170-190. Grabe, Spicilegium, i. 81, etc. Translated in A. C. L., vol. i., and from the Armenian by F. C. Conybeare in Monuments of Early Christianity (London, 1894), pp. 6 1-88. See Salmon (G.), Introduction to the Neiv Testament, 7th ed. (London, 1894), pp. 329~334- Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs. See p. 175. Acts of Thomas [the Apostle]. An early unhistorical Gnostic romance. Edition by Max Bonnet (Lipsiae, 1883). Acts of Xanthippe, Polyxena, and Rebecca. Recently printed for the first time from Paris, Bibl. Nat. MS. Cod. Grsec., 1458, by M. R. J xm&s, Apocrypha A necdota (Cambridge), vol. ii. No. 3, pp. 43-85 ; A. C. Z., vol. for 1897. It is a romance of Gnostic and Encratite tendency, abounding in the miraculous xii INDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS. element, grotesque and otherwise ; but not on that account to be assigned to a late date. It resembles in general tone the Acts of Paul and Thecla and the Acts of Thomas. Africanus, Julius. A writer early in the third century. Fragments only have been preserved by Eusebius. Apollinaris, Bishop of Hierapolis, in Phrygia, c. A.D. 171. A few fragments only of his writings have survived : Routh (J. M.), Reliquice Sacra, 2nd ed., i. 160. Apollonius. See Acts of. Apostolic Canons. These canons, eighty-four in number, are appended at the close of the Eighth Book of the Apostolic Constitutions. They have been sometimes referred to the ante-Nicene period ; but in their present form they are certainly later. Bishop Lightfoot thought that they might be as late as the sixth century : Apostolic Fathers (London, 1891), vol. i. p. 368. Their first appearance in the Latin language dates from that century : Hefele (C. J.), A History of the Christian Councils, 2nd ed. (Edinburgh, 1872), p. 449 ; but much earlier material is embedded in a large number of them. Mr. F. E. Brightman ascribes them, together with the Apostolic Constitutions, to the pseudo-Ignatius in the latter part of the fourth century : Liturgies Eastern and Western, vol. i. p. xxiv. References are to Ueltzen's edition (Suerini et Rostochii, 1853). Apostolic Constitutions. These Constitutions have been assigned to various dates, from the third to the sixth century A.D. ; but it may now be regarded as settled that in their present form they are not earlier than the second half of the fourth century, though they include a great deal of earlier material : Salmon (G.), Introduction to the New Testa- ment, yth ed., p. 553 ; and Brightman (F. E.), Littirgies Eastern and Western, vol. i. pp. xxiv.-xxix. References to pages, unless otherwise specified, are to Ueltzen's edition (Suerini et Rostochii, 1853). Aristides, Apologist. His Apology was written in the earlier years of the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161), and may have been presented to that emperor on the occasion of some unrecorded visit by him to Smyrna. Cambridge ed., 1891. A. C. L., vol. for 1897. Arnobius, Apologist, Presbyter of the Church in Africa. He wrote A.D. 303-313. Athenagoras, Apologist. He wrote an Apology, and a treatise on the resurrection of the dead, c, 176. Otho's ed. (Jena, 1857). INDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS, xiii Barnabas, Epistle of. Probably not the work of St. Barnabas the Apostle ; written between A.D. 70-150. Ed. Bp. Light- foot, The Apostolic Fatkers](London, 1891). Caius. A Roman ecclesiastic early in the third century, a few fragments of whose writings have been preserved by Eusebius. Canons of Hippolytus. It is not certain that these canons are the genuine work of Hippolytus (q.v.} } but they may be assigned to Rome, and to the first half of the third century. Sectional and paginal references are to Gebhardt und Harnack, Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Altchristlichen Literatur (Leipzig, 1891), Band vi. Heft 4, ss. 38-137, where the difficult questions of their date and genuineness are discussed at length. See also Brightman (F. E.), Liturgies Eastern and Western, vol. i. p. xxiii. Clement, St., of Alexandria, pupil and successor of Pantasntis as head of the catechetical school at Alexandria, died c. A.D. 220. Ed. Oxford, 1715, unless otherwise specified. Clement, St., of Rome. The first Epistle which bears his name is in reality an Epistle from the Roman Church to the Corinthian Church written in A.D. 95 or 96. The second Epistle of St. Clement, so-called, is really an ancient homily by an unknown author, written probably at Rome, and certainly between A.D. 1 10-140. Ed. Bp. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers (London, 1891); A. C. L., vol. for 1897. Clementine Homilies. An Ebionite romance, a somewhat later version of the Clementine Recognitions, c. A.D. 218. Clementine Liturgy. Contained in the Eighth Book of the Apostolic Constitutions. See Appendix, p. 275. Clementine Recognitions. An Ebionite romance, c. A.D. 200. Commodianus. A Christian poet, middle of third century, and probably an African bishop. Councils. A large number of Councils were held in various countries, Eastern and Western, before A.D. 325. The names of them will be found in the list of contents of the first volume of Mansfs Concilia. It is needless to repeat that list here. These early Councils were local in their, character, and some of them very thinly attended, e.g. only nineteen bishops were present at the third Roman Council in 313. They were occupied with the more or less local controversies of the day, and throw very little light upon the liturgical language and ritual of the first three centuries. In many cases only the name of the Council is known to xiv INDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS. us. In few cases have their acts been wholly (though sometimes partly) preserved. Cyprian, St., Bishop of Carthage, A.D. 200-258. Edition used Parisiis, 1726, unless otherwise specified. Didache, The; or, 'Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. 5 A document of the late first or early second century, most probably between A.D. 80-100. The history of its dis- covery, and reasons for assigning to it so early a date, are given by Bp. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers (London, 1891), pp. 215, 216. Dr. Salmon's remarks on it deserve careful study : Introdiiction to the New Testament, 7th ed. (London, 1894), pp. 551-566. Diognetus. See Epistle to. Dionysius of Alexandria. Bishop of that see, 248-265. Frag- ments preserved by Eusebius. Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, c. A.D. 171-198. Fragments pre- served by Eusebius. Dionysius, Pseudo-Areopagita. His works are printed in Migne's Patrologia Grceca, tomm. iii., iv., under the first century ; but they belong in fact to the latter part of the fifth century, and therefore have no proper place in a list of ante-Nicene authorities. Egyptian Church Order, The; forming Canons 31-62 of the Sahidic Ecclesiastical Canons, which as a collection date from the middle of the fourth century. This document is later than the Canons of Hippolytus, though largely identical with them, and earlier than the Apostolic Con- stitutions. Its exact date has not yet been ascertained. A German translation has been printed by Gebhardt und Harnack, Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Altchristlichen\Literatur (Leipzig, 1891), Band. vi. Heft 4, ss. 38-137. The Sahidic text was previously published by P. de Lagarde, jEgyptiaca, Gottingen, 1883 ; a Greek translation by C. C. J. Bunsen, Analecta Ante-Nicczna, vol. ii. pp. 451-477, forming the sixth volume of Christianity and Mankind (London, 1854). Epistle to Diognetus. Authorship unknown ; certainly ante- Nicene, and probably written before A.D. 150. Bp. Light- foot's ed. in The Apostolic Fathers (1891). It has been conjecturally assigned to Hippolytus by J. Quarry, Herma- thena, No. XXII., 1896, pp. 318-357. Eugenia. See Acts of. Firmilian, St., Bishop of >Ccesarea in Cappadocia, A.D, 233-272. INDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS, xv Some of his writing is preserved among the Epistles of St. Cyprian. Fructuosus, etc. See Acts of. Gregory, Thaumaturgus, St., Bishop of Neo-Ccesarea in Pontus, died c. 265. Hegesippus, Church historian, 2nd cent. Fragments only of his works have survived. They are collected in Routh's- Reliquia Sacrce, 2nd ed., torn. i. pp. 207-219. Hermas, The Shepherd of. Probably not later than A.D. 120 ; certainly not later than A.D. 1 50. The work consists of three parts : The Vision, The Commandments, The Similitudes. In Bp. Lightfoot's The Apostolic Fathers (London, 1891). Hippolytus, Bishop of Portus, near Rome, flourished A.D. 190-235. His collected works are in P. G. t torn. x. See also Bunsen (C. C. J.), Analecta Ante-Nicana, vol. i. pp. 343-414. See Canons of. Ignatius, St., Bishop of Antioch. Martyred at Rome, c. A.D. no. Writer of seven letters : (i) to the Ephesians, (2) to the Magnesians, (3) to the Trallians, (4) to the Romans, (5) to the Philadelphians, (6) to the Smyrnaeans, (7) to Polycarp. Bp. Lightfoot's ed. The Apostolic Fathers (London, 1891). Ignatius, Acts of the Martyrdom of. Not genuine, 4th or 5th cent. Bp. Jacobson's ed. of Patres Apostolici (Oxford, 1847), torn, ii. pp. 550-579- Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, 177-202. Ed. Benedictine (Paris, 1710). Justin Martyr, Apologist. He wrote about the middle of the second century, and his martyrdom took place most pro- bably in A.D. 163. P. G.j torn. vi. Translated in A. C. L., vol. ii. (Edinburgh, 1879). Lactantius. The nationality and the date of the birth of this apologist are subjects of dispute ; but he probably died c. A.D. 317, and his works are classed as ante-Nicene. Melito, Bishop of Sardis, c. A.D. 317, fragments of whose works have been preserved by Eusebius. Methodius, Bishop of Tyre. Martyred at Chalcis in Greece, c. A.D. 311. Minucius Felix, Apologist. Flourished in first half of the third century. Ed. C. Halm (Vindobonae, 1867). Origen, Presbyter of Alexandria (185-253). Benedictine Edition, ed. C. Delarue, vols. i.-iii. (Paris, 1733-1740), iv. 759)i unless otherwise specified. xvi INDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS. Papias (A.D. 60-70 130-140), Fragments of. Bp. Lightfoot's ed. in The Apostolic Fathers (1891). Passion of St. Perpetua. Martyred A.D. 202 or 203. Anonymous, but almost certainly written by Tertullian, and preserving the actual words of St. Perpetua. Cambridge, University Press, 1891. Ed. A. J. Robinson. Paul and Thecla, SS. See Acts of. Perpetua, St. See Passion . Peter, St., Gospel of. A second century fragment, edit. H. B. Swete, 1893. A. C. ., vol. for 1897. Peter, St., Archbishop of Alexandria, c. 300-311. Fourteen Canons and fragments of his writings have been preserved. Pliny, Governor of Bithynia, letter of, to the Emperor Trajan, c. A.D. 1 1 2. Poiycarp, St., Bishop'of Smyrna. Martyred in A.D. 155 or 156- Writer of a letter addressed to the Philippians. Poiycarp, St., The Martyrdom of. A very early, perhaps con- temporaneous, account in the form of a letter written by the Church of Smyrna to the Church of Philomelium. Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus, c. A.D. 180-202, a fragment of whose writings has been preserved by Eusebius. Sahidic Ecclesiastical Canons. See Egyptian Church Order. Sibylline Oracles, The. Partly of pre-Christian and partly of post-Christian date, containing very few liturgical allusions, and none of importance for the purpose of this volume. Tatian, Apologist, and author of the Diatessaron (c. 160), disciple of Justin Martyr, and, after his master's death, a leader of the sect of the Encratites. The date of his death is unknown. He died before 180. Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. See Didache'. Tertullian, Presbyter at Carthage, 160-220. Ed. Paris, 1842. Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, in Syria, 168-182. P. G., torn. vi. Xanthippe. See Acts of. Zosimus, Narrative of. Third century, but only known to us in late MSS. A. C. L., vol. for 1897, p. 219; Apocrypha Anecdota (Cambridge, 1893), vol. ii. No. 3, p. 96. ABBREVIATIONS. ' A.C.L.- Ante-Nicene Christian Library (Edin., 1867-1897). H. = Hammond (C. E.), Liturgies Eastern and Western (Oxford, 1878). P. G. Migne, Patrologice Grcecce Cursus Complettis. P. L. Migne, Patrologice Latince Cursus Completes. THE LITURGY AND RITUAL OF THE ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, CHAPTER I. TRACES OF LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. i. Ritual allusions in the Old Testament 2. Reliquiae Liturgioe in the Old Testament 3. Jewish Liturgy and Ritual a type of the services of the Christian Church 4. The position and meaning of ritual in the Christian Church 5. Ritual allusions in the New Testament 6. Baptism 7. Benediction 8. Church furniture 9. Confirmation 10. Unction at baptism and con- firmation ii. Sign of the Cross 12. Creed 13. Excom- munication 14. Holy 'Eucharist 15. Hymns 16. Kiss of peace 17. Laying on of hands 18. Love-feast 19. Mar- riage 20. Offerings 21. Ordination 22. Public prayer 23. Sunday 24. Unction of the sick 25. Vestments 26. Washing of feet. I. THE liturgical element in Jewish worship, and the ritual directions and allusions to the Jewish Scriptures, and more especially in the Pentateuch, are so plain and so generally known, that it is un- necessary here to do more than take their existence for granted. No school of mystical or allegorical B 2 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. or spiritualizing interpretation has, so far as we know, attempted to explain their literal character away. It may, however, be useful to point out that the liturgical and ritual character of Divine worship was not confined to the Levitical dispensation, but that it was in existence and acceptable to God from the very first age of the world. By liturgical worship we mean worship which involves material offering or sacrifice, and which expresses itself in audible words as well as in external ancd visible actions, as distinguished from in- audible, invisible, immaterial worship of the hear ( t .on?.y. In the Book of Genesis we find mention or traces of the following religious observances : The institution of the seventh day as the sabbath or holy day of rest. 1 The offering of the firstfruits of the land and of cattle in sacrifice to God by Cain and Abel. 2 The clean and unclean animals are distinguished by Noah, who builds an altar, and offers of the former in sacrifice to God. 3 Abraham, in obedience to Divine direction, offers animals and birds in sacrifice to God. 4 The rite of circumcision is ordained as the external sign of God's covenant with His people. 5 Solemn benedictions are bestowed, 6 accompanied by the imposition of hands. 7 1 Gen. ii. 3. 2 Gen. iv. 3-5. 3 Gen. vii. 2. ; viii. 20. 4 Gen. xv. 8-18. 5 Gen. xvii. 10-14. 6 Gen. xxvii. 27-29 ; xxviii. 1-4. 7 Gen. xlviii. 9-20. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 3 The sacred character of burial is recognized. 1 The head is bowed as an expression of worship. 2 An altar is built for the worship of God. 3 Ceremonial washing and change of dress precede prayer and sacrifice to God. 4 A pillar is set up, and dedicated by pouring oil upon it 3 Vows are solemnly taken in God's presence, and tithes are dedicated by vow to God. 6 In process of time the patriarchal order gave way to the Mosaic or Levitical dispensation, where, instead of occasional allusions in isolated texts, a complete liturgical system, with most elaborate ritual, is found to be provided for the Jewish nation by God Himself. We do not attempt here to describe that system, or even to recapitulate its leading features. As examples of minuteness of detail with which it was accompanied, readers may be referred to the special directions for the com- position of the holy oil 7 and of incense. 8 2. The only remains of Mosaic liturgical verbal forms are (i) the form of priestly benediction. ' And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee : The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee : 1 Gen. xxiii. 17-20; 1. 7-13. 2 Gen. xxiv. 26. 3 Gen. xxvi. 25. * Gen. xxxv. 2, 3. 5 Gen. xxviii. 18 ; xxxv. 14, 6 Gen. xxviii. 20-22. 7 Exod. xxx. 22-25. 8 Exod. xxx. 34-38. 4 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace,' * (2) The forms of words to be used on offering firstfruits to God. On presenting the firstfruits to the priest 'I profess this day unto the Lord thy God that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.' 2 After the priest has accepted the firstfruits, and is presenting them to the Lord * A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous : And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage : And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression : And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders : And He brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which Thou, O Lord, hast given me.' 8 (3) The form of words to be used on presenting the tithe. ' I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according 1 Numb, vi, 22-26. 2 Deut. xxvi. 3. 3 Deut. xxvi. 5-10. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 5 to all Thy commandments which Thou hast commanded me ; I have not transgressed Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them : I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead ; but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that Thou hast commanded me. Look down from Thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast given us, as Thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.' * 3. There is an interesting feature which we can only point to the existence of, without attempting to exhibit it in detail, namely, the number of ways in which the ritual, ordinances, and incidents of the Old Testament, and especially of the Levitical Church, were types of various Christian services, and especially of the Holy Eucharist. 2 It is important to note that the Divine care for ritual was not confined to, and did not cease with, the Levitical age. At the time when the Temple was to be built (B.C. 1015), David adds in his parting charge to his son and successor, after an elaborate description of the pattern of the proposed house and of its fittings * All this the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. ' ;5 1 Deut. xxvi. 13-15. 2 This is the subject of a volume by the Rev. W. E. Heygate, 7 fie Eucharist, its Types, etc. London, 1874. 3 I Chron. xxviii. 11-19. 6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. And during the actual progress of the work it is said ' Now these are the things wherein Solomon was in- structed for the building of the house of God.' l At its completion God's approbation is conveyed thus : 'I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before Me ; I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put My Name there for ever ; and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually.' 2 Within this magnificent temple not only were the ancient Levitical services, sacrifices, and ceremonial carried on, but additional splendour was imparted to Divine service by the introduction, and as time went on the increase and elaboration, of those songs of the sanctuary which are known to us under the title of ' The Psalms of David.' The choral element included both vocal and instrumental music. 8 We get some idea of the enormous size of the temple choir by the fact that the instrumentalists alone numbered four thousand persons. 4 Both male and female singers were included in the choir. 5 The whole of this chapter must be consulted for the number, order, and arrangement of musicians and singers. David's work in this connection has been summarized thus ' He set singers also before the altar, that by their voices 1 2 Chron. iii. 3. 2 I Kings ix. 3. 3 i Chron. xiii. 8 ; xv. 14-16, 28. 4 I Chron. xxiii. 5. 5 I Chron. xxv. 5, 6. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 7 they might make sweet melody, and daily sing praises in their songs* He beautified their feasts, and set in order the solemn times until the end, that they might praise His holy Namej and that the temple might sound from morning.' l Solomon confirmed and perpetuated the arrange- ments of his father David. 'He appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required.' 2 Yet the object of all this Divine forethought and kingly care was not a perpetual institution, but a transitory preparation for the world-embracing dis- pensation of Christianity, which God in the fulness of time intended to unfold. This fugitive character of the Jewish service and ritual was evident from the typical character of its ceremonial, and especially of its sacrifices and its priesthood. Such was seen to be the case by the Psalmist and prophets, who allude to the impossibility of their being acceptable in themselves, 3 and to the time coming when not among the Jews only, but throughout the whole world, incense and a pure offering should be presented to the Lord. 4 The law was the schoolmaster to educate the Jewish world for Christ, 5 and Christ being its end and object, 6 it was to disappear when He became incarnate. 4. Then the question arises whether at the 1 Ecclus. xlvii. 9, 10. 2 2 Chron. viii. 14. 3 Ps. xl. 8, 9. 4 Mai. i. ii. 5 Gal. iii. 24. 6 Rom. x. 4. s LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [i. Christian era all external worship, with all ritual and symbolism, were intended to be for ever swept away, and a purely spiritual worship substituted in its place, or whether another and a higher, though simpler, form of worship and ritual was ordained to supersede the Jewish, full of a deeper significance, and possessed of a more real value, because it was no longer the shadow of good things to come, 1 but the pledge and witness of their having arrived. This question cannot be answered by seizing on one text, such as, ' God is a Spirit : and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,' 2 and then, as some Christian sects do, treating a fixed Liturgy as incompatible with it, and putting a non-literal interpretation on any actions or directions given by our Lord and His Apostles, which seem, if taken literally, to conflict with the purely spiritual religion shadowed forth in the last-quoted text. The more reasonable course is to interpret literally those texts in the New Testament in which some Christian ordinance or usage is referred to or enjoined, and on which a literal interpretation has been placed by the universal, or almost universal, consent of Catholic Christendom ; only remembering that such a text as St. John iv. 24 demands of us something much deeper than external compliance with the command to use any rite or ordinance, and that without a spiritual grasp of the purposes for which a rite was ordained, or of the gifts of which it is intended to be the channel, the mere external 1 Heb. x. i. 2 St. John iv. 24. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 9 compliance is valueless, and worse than valueless ; worse than valueless, because it substitutes the means for the end, and reduces the Christian religion to the mechanical performance of certain actions like the religions of Thibet and Japan. 5. We will therefore put together- the passages in the New Testament which bear upon the subject in any way, arranging them under the headings of the particular liturgical forms or ceremonial actions to which they refer. The subjects are referred to in alphabetical order, as a matter of convenience, and in no way referring to their relative importance. It will be found that we not only have general directions forbidding idolatry, irreverence, disorder, neglect, or enjoining decency and order, 1 but that there is a very considerable body of explicit direc- tions with reference to the form and conduct of Christian worship. ABSOLUTION. See Excommunication, p. 23. AGAPE. See Love-feast, p. 37. ALTAR. See Church Furniture, p. 17. ANOINTING. See Unction, p. 46. 6. BAPTISM. Christian Baptism was alluded to by anticipation when our Lord said to Nicodemus ' Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' 2 But it was not instituted by Him until the im- mediate eve of His ascension, when He gave this commission to His Apostles 1 i Cor. xi. 34 ; xiv. 40. 2 St. John iii. 5. io LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. 'Go ye therefore, and teach [make disciples of] all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.' l Or in the words of another Evangelist * Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned.' 2 There is reason to believe that the baptismal powers thus entrusted to the Apostles were not exercised till after the Day of Pentecost. 3 Their previous baptismal acts, recorded in St. John's Gospel, 4 were connected with another baptismal rite, of which we read a good deal in the New Testament, but which must be carefully distinguished from Christian baptism, viz. the baptism of St. John the Baptist. This was called the baptism of repent- ance, 5 and is believed to have been administered in the name of the Messiah about to come. It was submitted to by our Lord Himself, though sinless, perhaps as the crowning act or seal of the Divine approval of the Baptist's office and ministry, and with surroundings which foreshadowed the mysterious doctrine of the Trinity, which was to be so intimately connected with the baptismal formula to be used hereafter for ever in the Christian Church. 1 St. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. 2 St. Mark xvi. 15, 16. 3 Acts i. 5, 8. * St. John iii. 22 ; iv. I, 2. 5 St. Mark i. 4 ; Acts xiii. 24 ; xviii. 25. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 11 The following are the instances of the administra- tion of baptism recorded in the New Testament : Recipients. Agents. Authority. About three thousand persons Many Samaritans Simon the sorcerer ... . ... The Ethiopian eunuch Saul St. Peter ... St. Philip ... St. Philip ... St. Philip ... Ananias Acts ii. 41 viii. 12 viii. 13 viii. 38 i\ 18 Cornelius and others ... Lydia and her household The jailor of Philippi and his family Many Coiinthians ... ... . .. Certain disciples at Ephesus Crispus and Gaius The household of Stephanas Not named St. Paul ... St. Paul ... Not named St. Paul ... St. Paul ... St. Paul ... x. 47, 48 xvi. 15 xvi. 33 xviii. 8 xix. 5 I Cor. i. 14 i. 16 An examination of the words of institution, of the recorded instances of administration, and of the language in which reference to baptism is made in various Epistles, establishes the following points : i. The formula of administration, in accordance with our Lord's explicit direction, was always 'in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' It has been suggested that side by side with this formula, there are traces of baptism administered ' in the name of Christ ' or * into the death of Christ.' This view is based on such texts as the following : ' For as yet He was fallen upon none of them ; only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.' l 1 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.' 2 1 Acts viii. 16. 2 Acts xix. 5. 12 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [[. * Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?' 1 One possible interpretation of St. Paul's extremely difficult words to the Corinthians may be connected with this subject * What shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?' 2 References to baptism are found in early Christian documents, which are evidently moulded on these passages of Scripture ; e.g. in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles we read 1 But let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist except those baptized in the name of the Lord, for regarding this also the Lord hath said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs.' 3 And in the Apostolic Constitutions ' Be it known unto you, beloved, that such as are bap- tized into the death of the Lord Jesus ought to sin no more.' 4 But these texts of Scripture and passages from early Christian writings are merely general expres- sions as to baptism and the effects of baptism, and we have no right to press them as indicating an alternative formula, or alternative formulae, under which baptism was sometimes, or might be, adminis- tered. There is no historical evidence for any formula being employed or approved in the Catholic Church 1 Rom. vi. 3. 2 I Cor. xv. 29. 3 Chap. ix. 5. 4 Book ii. chap. 7- I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 13 except the Trinitarian formula enjoined by our Lord Himself. 1 2. The element employed was always and only water. This is not only a natural inference from the word 'baptism,' but is plainly enjoined by Holy Scripture, as in our Lord's words to Nicodemus ' Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can- not enter into the kingdom of God.' 2 In the description of the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch ' And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.' 3 In the description of the Church by St, Paul * As Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it ; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.' 4 And of Christians by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews ' Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.' 5 Therefore such an attempt as that made in Ireland in the twelfth century to substitute milk for water in the case of the baptism of the children of the rich people made their baptism not only irregular but invalid. 6 3. Immersion, though not expressly ordered, and 1 For variations in bodies external to the Catholic Church, see Bingham, Antiquities of the Christian Church, Book xi. chap. 3. 2 St. John Hi. 5. 3 Acts viii. 38. 4 Eph. v. 25, 26. 5 Heb. x. 22. 6 Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic Church, p. 65. H LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. apparently impossible in the case of the three thousand people baptized on one day by St. Peter, 1 would be the ordinary practice in a hot Eastern climate, and is implied in the symbolism of such passages as these 1 Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in new- ness of life.' 2 And * Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.' 3 The total immersion of the whole body beneath the baptismal waters symbolizes more completely than any other mode of baptism the burial of our Lord's body in the grave. Although affusion or aspersion has been accepted by the Church as valid, for climatic or clinical reasons, yet neither of these substitutes for immersion carries out so well as immersion the idea of cleansing so frequently expressed in the New Testament by the word ' washing,' e.g. ' And now why tarriest thou ? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.' 4 ' And such were some of you : but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.' 5 * Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but 1 Acts ii. 41. 2 Rom. vi. 4. 3 Col. ii. 12. 4 Acts xxii. 16. 5 I Cor, vi. n. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 15 according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.' l 4. There are traces of the existence of forms of interrogation in use at baptism, and of a profession / of faith, like a short creed, being delivered to and accepted by the candidate. It is recorded that the Ethiopian eunuch called the attention of Philip to certain water and asked that he might be baptized. ' And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' 2 St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, said ' For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures : And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.' 3 Here the quotation introduced by 'that' (on) ends. It seems to be a portion of a confession of faith which St. Paul says that he received. From whom did he receive it? If he had received it, as he 1 Tit. iii. 5. 2 Acts viii.27. Although this verse is absent from all uncial MSS. except the Codex Laudianus (E.), yet it was known and quoted by many early writers, commencing with Irenseus in the second century. Both Dr. Scrivener and Dr. Jessopp agree in supposing that it contains the words of a very early Church Service-book, first written upon the margin, and thence creeping into the sacred text (Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, 2nd ed., p. 554; Expository No. LX. p. 403). 3 I Cor. xv. 3-5. 16 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. received the history of the institution of the Eucharist, directly from our Lord, he would surely, in this case as in that, 1 have lent greater dignity and importance to the statement by mentioning that fact. It is more probable that it was part of the faith which he solemnly received at his baptism, and that we have here the germ of what afterwards developed into the solemn ceremonial which preceded baptism called the Traditio Symboli, or 'The Delivery of the Creed.' The faith thus received was professed before many witnesses, to which fact there may be allusion in St. Paul's words to Timothy 4 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.' 2 The questions and answers in the baptismal service seem to have suggested the form of language in a difficult sentence of St. Peter connected with this same subject ' The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.' 3 7. BENEDICTION. Two ritual actions are re- corded to have been used by our Lord in connection with Benediction on different occasions. I. The imposition of hands. ' Then were there brought unto Him little children, that 1 i Cor. xi. 23. 2 i Tim. vi. 12. 3 i Pet. iii. 21. 1 I] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 17 He should put His hands on them, and pray. . . And He laid His hands on them, and departed thence.' 1 2. The elevation of hands. 4 And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them.' 2 Several formulae of Benediction occur in the later books of the New Testament, two of which have been incorporated into English Liturgies. 1. ' The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.' 3 This occurs at the commencement of the anaphora in the Clementine and other Eastern Liturgies, 4 and at the conclusion of Matins and Evensong in the Book of Common Prayer. 2. '/The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.' 5 This forms the first part of the concluding Bene- diction of the English Liturgy. CHALICE, or Cur. See p. 18. 8. CHURCH FURNITURE. As Christian places of worship did not .begin to be built within the period covered by the New Testament, we do not find, and we do not expect to find, any reference to the structure, arrangement, furniture, 1 St. Matt. xix. 13, 15. 2 St. Luke xxiv. 50. 3 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 4 See H,, pp. 12, 40, 69, 107, 151, 166, 272. It will be noticed that it is not found in the Alexandrian family of Liturgies, and that in the Armenian Liturgy (p. 272), as in our Prayer-book, the pronoun is changed from the second person to the first person plural. 3 Phil. iv. 7. iS LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. or ornaments of such buildings in its pages. It ought to be unnecessary to add that any attempts to argue against the lawfulness or expediency of Christian Churches, or of the accessories of public worship, from the absence of any mention of them or allusion to them -in the New Testament in- volves an anachronism. Any dispute over the law- fulness of the use of organs, surplices, etc., must be fought out, outside and not inside the four corners of the New Testament. There was, however, one exception. There were two Christian ordinances administered and observed by the disciples from the very first, even while they continued to frequent for ordinary devotional purposes the services of the Jewish Temple. The first of these, Baptism, was administered wherever there was water, and in its original simplicity, and before it came to be ad- ministered within a sacred building, it necessitated no external artificial aid for its due performance. The second of these, the Eucharist, celebrated for many years in some private chamber, needed certain accessories for its celebration or administration. Two of these accessories are mentioned in the New Testament. (a) The Eucharistic Chalice, or Cup. ' The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the com- munion of the blood of Christ ? ' l ' Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils.' 2 1 i Cor. x. 1 6. 2 i Cor. x. 21, See also 1 Cor, xi. 25-28. 1.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 19 (b) The Eucharistic Table or Altar. ' Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, 1 and of the table of devils.' 2 ' We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.' 3 9. CONFIRMATION, or 'Laying on of hands.' The practice of confirmation, or the laying on of hands, following upon the reception of baptism, is mentioned in the following passages : (a) In the case of the Samaritan converts baptized by Philip the Deacon, and afterwards confirmed by St. Peter and St. John 1 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Now, when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John : Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.' d (b) In the case of certain disciples at Ephesus, both baptized and confirmed by St. Paul ' When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 1 This does not necessarily mean the actual table or altar ; some early writers have interpreted it of the Sacramental feast. 2 I Cor. x, 2i; 3 Heb. xiii. 10. This is only one possible interpretation out of many possible interpretations of a difficult passage. 4 Acts viii. 12, 14, 15, 17, 20 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.' l There is also the well-known but difficult passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where the doctrine of ' laying on of hands ' is enumerated directly after the doctrine of * baptisms' as among the principles of the doctrine of Christ. * Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection ; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.' 2 10. UNCTION AT BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION. The following passages are sometimes quoted as scriptural evidence for the use of the rite of unction at baptism and confirmation ; * Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God.' 3 'But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.' 4 'But the anointing which ye have receive'd of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you : but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.' 6 It is argued that the use of the verb ' to anoint/ and of the substantive 'unction' or 'anointing' in 1 Acts xix. 5, 6, 2 Heb, vi, 1,2. * 2 Cor. i. 21. 4 i St. John ii. 20. 5 I St. John ii, 27. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 21 these passages, implies the existence of the practice of unction, and that the existence of such a practice made the choice of such language natural and intel- ligible. But this argument may be made to cut two ways. It may, with equal probability, be argued that the existence of these metaphorical terms in the. New Testament suggested, and rendered easy, the introduction of a literal rite of unction at a very early date in the history of the Church. The word, unction (xpta/ua) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in the two above-quoted passages of St. John. The word anoint (\piuv) occurs in four other passages (St. Luke iv. 18; Acts iv. 27, x. 38 ; Heb. i. 9), in 'all of which its use is metaphorical and not literal. ii. SIGN OF THE CROSS AT BAPTISM OR CON- FIRMATION. The following passages are sometimes quoted to prove the scriptural use of the sign of the cross, it being taken for granted that ' to seal ' is the same as to sign with the cross, in connection with baptism or confirmation. ' Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.' l 'In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.' 2 * And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye were (A.V. are) sealed unto the day of redemption.' 3 But the inference from these texts is equally precarious with the inference as to unction. 1 2 Cor. i. 22. 2 Eph. i. 13. 3 Eph. iv. 30. 22 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. If we examine the three passages in the New Testament (outside the Apocalypse) in which the word seal (ci*j 4 .. 3 .. .is a 3 1 C ^> i f s-lo rt H;s rt o5 rt rt b r5 ' I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 27 ingly in favour of the view that they are Christ's own words. As such they are interwoven, or were once interwoven, along with the words of institution, into the consecration prayer of the large majority of ancient Liturgies, as the following table will show : I. WESTERN LITURGIES. Inserted in Omitted in 1. The Mozarabic. 1 i. The Roman. 4 2. The Gallican. 2 2. The Anglican. 5 3. The Ambrosian. 3 II. EASTERN LITURGIES. (a) West Syrian. 1. The Clementine. 6 i. St. Chrysostom. 13 2. Greek St. James. 7 3. St. Basil.* 4. Syriac St. James. 5 ' 5. Lesser St. James. 10 6. St. Xystus. 11 7. St. Peter. 12 1 P. L., torn. Ixxxv. col. 117. 2 Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic Church, p. 237* This is a Gallican insertion into a Roman text, by the Irish scribe Moel Caich. In the older MSS. of the Gallican Liturgy the words of institution are not printed in full, but only indicated by two or more of the opening words, ' Qui pridie quam pateretur,' etc. 3 Ceriani's print of the oldest extant MS. Ambrosian text, loth cent., p. 171. This is an Ephesine survival in a Romanized Milanese text. It has dropped out of the Ambrosian Missals of the present day. 4 Both in its so-called Gelasian and Gregorian forms. 5 This Liturgy, together with its Scottish and American derivatives, owes this omission, together with certain other features, both for better and for worse, to its Roman descent. 6 H.,p. 17. 7 Ibid., p. 41. 8 Ibid., p. 112. 9 Ibid., p. 70. 10 Renaudot, Liturg. Orien. Coll., torn. ii. p. 127. 11 Ibid., p 136. 12 Ibid., p. 147. 13 H., p. 109. But St. Chrysostom himself held these words to 28 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. Inserted in Omitted in 8. St. Peter II. 1 9. St. John Evangelist. 2 10. The Twelve Apostles. 3 IT. St. Mark. 4 12. St. Clement. 5 13. St. Dionysius Areopagita. 14. St. Ignatius. 7 15. St. Julius. 8 1 6. St. Eustathius. 9 17. St. John Chrysostom I. 10 18. St. John Chrysostom II. 11 19. St. Marutas. 12 20. St. Cyril. 13 21. St. Dioscorus (Alexandrinus). 14 22. St. Philoxenus I. (Mabu- gensis). 15 23. St. Philoxenus II. (Hieropolitanus). 16 24. Severus Antiochenus. 17 25. St. James Baradatus. 15 26. St. Matthew the Shep- herd. 19 27. St. James of Botnan. 20 28. St. James of Edessa. 21 29. St. Thomas of Heraclea. 22 be our Lord's (Horn, in Eph. sect. 4). Were they in the Liturgy of Constantinople in his time ? They are not in the earliest extant MS. text (Barberini MS., early Qth cent.). 1 Renaudot, p. 156. - Ibid., p. 164. 3 Ibid., p. 171. 4 Ibid., p. 178. 5 Ibid., p. 189. (i Ibid., p. 205. 7 Ibid., p. 216. 8 Ibid., p. 228. 9 Ibid., p. 235. J0 Ibid., p. 244. Ibid., p. 256. 12 Ibii., p. 262. 13 Ibid., p. 277. '* Ibid., p. 288. 15 Ibid., p. 301. 1B Ibid., p. 311. 1; /to/., p. 323. 18 Ibid., p. 335. /*, p. 348. 20 /^., p. 359- 2l 1M., p. 373- 22 /^V/., p. 384. All (8-41) these are Syriac Liturgies. See Bright man (F. E.), Eastern liturgies, pp. Iviii, lix. I.j LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 29 Inserted in Omitted in 30. St. Moses Bar-Cephas. 1 2. The Armenian Liturgy. 13 31. St. Philoxemis III. (Bag- dadensis). 2 32. The Holy Doctors. 3 33. St. John Basorensis. 4 34. St. Michael of Antioch. 5 35. St. Dionysius Barsalibi. 36. St. Gregory (Catholicus.) 7 37. St. John the Patriarch. 8 38. St. Dioscorus of Cardou. 9 39. Ignatius the Patriarch. 10 40. Ignatius of Antioch. 11 41. St. Basil (ex Versione Andreae Masii). 12 (b) East Syrian. Nestorius. 14 Theodore the Interpreter. 15 (The Liturgy of SS. Adseus and Maris is omitted as un- certain, the words of institution being absent from the text as known to us, though they are used in practice.) 16 (c) Alexandrian. 1. St. Mark. 17 i. The Ethiopia Liturgy. 20 2. Coptic St. Basil. 18 3. St. Cyril 1 Renaudot, p. 392. 2 Ibid., p. 401. 3 Ibid., p. 411. 4 Ibid., p. 424. 5 Ibid., p. 440. e Ibid., p, 449. 7 Ibid., p. 459- 8 Ibid., p. 475. 9 Ibid., p. 493. 10 Ibid., p. 511. ll Ibid., p. 527. 12 Ibid., p. 548. 13 H., p. 153. 14 Renaudot, Liturg. Orien. Coll., torn. ii. p. 623. 15 Ibid., p. 613. 16 H., p. 274 ; Brightman (F. E.), Eastern Liturgies, pp. 246, 285. 17 H., p. 187. 18 Ibid., p. 211. 19 Ibid., p. 220. 20 Both in the Canon Universalis (H., ut supra, p. 258), and in the shorter Liturgy, forming part of the Ethiopia Apostolic Constitutions (Ibid., p. 235). 30 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. Inserted in . Omitted in 4. Coptic St. Gregory. 1 5. Greek St. Basil. 2 6. St. Gregory. 3 7. Ancient Fragment. 4 The following titles are given to this service : (a) * The breaking of bread.' ' And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in [the] breaking of bread, and in [the] prayers.' 5 (b) ' The Lord's Supper.' * When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.' 6 The title ' Communion/ or ' Holy Communion,' does not occur in the New Testament, but, no doubt, was suggested by St. Paul's words * The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the com- munion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ ? ' 7 The word 'Liturgy' (Aarou/oyi'a) occurs several times in the New Testament, but never in a technical sense with exclusive reference to this Christian service. 8 The word ' Eucharist ' (EUXCI/HOTKI) occurs frequently 1 Renaudot, Liturg. Orien. Coll., torn. i. p. 30. 2 Ibid., p. 67. 3 Ibid., p. 97. 4 Georgius (F. A. A.), Fragmentum Evangdii, etc. (Rome, 1789), P- SIS- 5 Acts ii. 42. See, also, ii. 46, and xx. 7. fl i Cor. xi. 20. 7 i Cor. x. 16. 8 The verb \fnovpyeiv occurs once in Acts xiii. 2. * As they ministered (\firovpyovvTuv) to the Lord, and fasted.' The word here may in* elude, but cannot be confined to, the celebration of the Christian Eucharist. 1.3 LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 31 in the New Testament ; but though there are one or two cases (e.g. i Cor. xiv. 16 ; i Tim. ii. i) in which it may include the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, it is evident that the word had not yet assumed exclusively a technical sense, as a title for that particular service. 1 It would be a natural inference from the language used in I Cor. xii. 26 whether we regard the words as spoken by Christ or composed by St. Paul that this service was intended to be celebrated frequently, not infrequently. We are, therefore, not surprised to find that the two practices for which there is directly scriptural authority, are daily and weekly reception of the Holy Communion. The former was the practice of the first Christians immediately after the Day of Pentecost. * And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house [or t at home '], did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.' 2 The latter was the practice at Troas, where the Eucharist apparently formed part of the Sunday as distinguished from the week-day worship. t And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.' 3 1 St. Augustine interprets the whole of i Tim. ii. I of the Holy Eucharist (Epist. ad Panlinum, 149, sect. 16). His words are so im- portant that they would be quoted here, were they not outside the limit, as to date, which has been imposed upon this volume. They are quoted in note I of J. H. Blunt's Diet, of Theology, p. 255. See P. L., torn., xxxiii. col. 636. 2 Acts ii. 46 ; but Dr. P. Gardner interprets this verse of the Agape (Tie Origin of the Lord's Supper^ p. 15 : London, 1893). 3 Acts xx. 7. 32 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l. Communion in both kinds was ordered by our Lord at the original institution, and the following texts prove (what, without them, could hardly have been doubted) that it was the practice of the Church in apostolic times : 'Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and, the cup of devils.' l * Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and - drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.' 3 There remain two points on which there has been much controversy and some diversity of practice in later Christendom, and about which no direction is explicitly laid down in Holy Scripture, viz. the use of leavened or unleavened bread, and the use of a mixed or unmixed cup. But though explicit direc- tions with reference to Christian Eucharistic usage are wanting, we know, with certainty, that the bread in use at the Paschal Supper was unleavened ; 4 and 1 i Cor. x. 21. 2 The truer reading is 'or,' but our translators only followed the reading of the older Vulgates, and of the older Roman Missals, in printing ' and ' [7 * This the hour already e VTTOV tyepOfjvai, to waken out of sleep, vvv yap eyyvrepoi/ for nearer now 9/xwv -Y] artoTTjpia is our salvation 7? ore eTTKJTevo-a/Acv than when we believed 1 Eph. v. 19. * Col. iii 16. 3 Blunt (]. H.), Annotated Prayer-book^ revised edition, p. 53. 4 Bp. Ch. Wordsworth's Commentary^ 3rd ed., on Eph. v. 19, p. 303. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 35 vv v Trpoe/coi/'ei', the night is far spent, rj Be fjjjicpa ^yyt/cei/. the day is nigh at hand.' l (2) Fragment of a Hymn on Penitence "Eyetpe 6 KaOevSw, ' Awake thou that sleepest, KOL dvda-Ta e/c rtov vc/cpujv, and arise from the dead, /cat eTTi^avcm T?7/> Trai/Twv dvflpwTrwj/, God, who is the Saviour of fji.aX.urTa Tricrrwv. all men, specially of those that believe.' J (6) "Ii/a povTiucri KaXcov * That they which have be- TrpotcTTacrOaL ol TrcTrto-Teu- lieved in God might be care- TW cw Tavra eVrt ra ful to maintain good works : Kat ax/^At/xa rots avOpu- these things are good and TTOIS. profitable unto men.' 2 There remain some other passages in the New Testament which may be quotations from early liturgical or other authorized formularies, but the case with regard to them is too uncertain for their insertion here. 3 1 6. THE Kiss OF PEACE. The use of the kiss as an emblem of Christian love and peace is frequently referred to in the apostolic writings, e.g. 4 Salute one another with an holy kiss.' 4 1 Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.' 5 * Greet one another with an holy kiss.' 6 1 I Tim. iv. 10. 2 Titus iii. 8. 3 On the whole subject see a paper by Dr. Jessopp, in the Expositor, No. LX., pp. 401-422. 4 Rom. xvi. 16. 8 I Cor. xvi. 20. 6 2 Cor, xiii. 12. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 37 * Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.' x ' Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity.' 2 It is true that there is no liturgical position assigned to this kiss, but the epithet ' holy ' always applied to it by St. Paul indicates that it was not merely the ordinary Eastern mode of salutation, but that it partook of a religious character, and we find it from the very earliest post-scriptural times associated with the approach to the Holy Eucharist. Its Eucharistic connection can hardly fail to have been suggested by these words of our Lord * Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee ; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.' 3 17. LAYING ON OF HANDS. See Benediction (p. 16) ; Confirmation (p. 19) ; Excommunication (p. 23) ; Ordination (p. 39). 1 8. LOVE-FEAST. The love-feast, or agape, was a common meal, at which the first Christians met together in token of love and brotherly kindness. It was partly of a religious, partly of a social, but not of sacramental character. It is evident from St. Paul's language in I Cor. xi., that it was closely associated with, and it is almost certain that in scriptural times it preceded, the Holy Eucharist. But the gross scandals which this close connection was liable to cause, and did cause in the Corinthian church, led to their very early severance. 1 i Thess. v. 26. 2 i Pet. v. 14. 3 St. Matt. v. 23, 24. 38 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. Some commentators have thought that the expression 'the Lord's supper,' in i Cor. xi. 20, refers to the love-feast and not to Holy Communion. Further allusions to this love-feast are found in the Epistle of St. Jude- * These are spots in your feasts of charity (ayaTrais), when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear.' l Possibly also in St. Peter's exhortation ' Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity ' (aya^s) 2 the kiss of charity being part of the ceremonial observed at the feast called the agape. And in another passage, where airarais may be a false reading for ajairatg ' Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings, [aTrarat?, but read 'ayaTrais,' in their love-feasts] while they feast with you.' 3 19. MARRIAGE. Our Lord's language with refer- ence to marriage, and the language employed by St. Paul in reference to the same subject, imply that marriage is a religious union ; but there is no reference to any special ceremony to be used in connection with the marriage service. Our Saviour says 4 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.' 4 St. Paul says ' The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth ' 3 but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will ; only in the Lord.' 5 1 St. Jude 12. - i Pet. v. 14. 3 2 Pet. ii. 13. 4 St. Mark x. 9. 5 i Cor. vii. 39. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 39 And the comparison of the union between husband and wife to the union between Christ and His Church might be also quoted. 1 20. OFFERINGS. The principle of a weekly Sunday collection, or offering, for charitable pur- poses is found in the direction given by St. Paul to the Churches of Corinth and Galatia ' Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia, even so do ye, Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.' 2 21. ORDINATION. Our Lord selected a human ministry for the purpose of preaching the gospel, founding the Christian Church, and carrying on through it, after His own departure, the work which He came on earth to do. He specially chose and empowered twelve of His followers in the first instance 1 And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. . . . And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils : freely ye have received, freely give. . . . He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me.' 3 1 Eph. v. 22-32. 2 I Cor. xvi. I, 2. 3 St. Matt. x. I, 7, 8, 40. 40 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. On another occasion He chose and sent forth seventy disciples 'After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come.' l Then follow commissions and instructions similar to those given to the twelve. A further commission and mission were given to the Apostles after our Lord's resurrection. It was on the evening of the same day on which He had risen from the grave, that our Saviour suddenly appeared in the midst of His ten Apostles gathered together in an upper chamber in Jerusalem, for fear of the Jews, and said to them * Peace be unto you : as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost : Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are re- tained.' 2 The act of breathing was sacramental. It was the outward visible sign accompanying the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, to give them strength for the work of the Apostleship, to which they were then sent forth. The act seems to betoken that He who so breathed was the source, and not only the channel of sacramental grace. Possibly for this reason it was not repeated or retained, for at 1 St. Luke x. i. 2 St. John xx. 21-23. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 41 all the ordinations of which we have any record, or to which there is any allusion in the New Testament, we find that the imposition or laying on of hands takes its place As at the ordination of the seven deacons 4 Whom they set before the Apostles : and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.' l At the ordination of Barnabas and Saul 'And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.' 2 At the ordination of Timothy ' Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.' 3 1 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.' 4 At the ordination of those whom Timothy was to ordain 1 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins.' 5 Fasting was a practice closely connected with ordination, as may be seen in the passage quoted above from Acts xiii. 5, and from the following account of ordinations held by SS. Barnabas and Paul- 'And when they had ordained them elders in every 1 Acts vi. 6. 2 Acts xiii. 3. a I Tim. iv. 14. 4 2 Tim. i. 6. 5 I Tim. v. 22. For another interpretation of this passage, see p. 25. 42 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.' l The following is a list of the various ministerial titles or descriptions used in the New Testament : Greek word. Meaning. Where used. English word. 'EiriffKOTTOS ... One sent An overseer Freqttently Acts xx. 28 Apostle Bishop *Ayye\os ... A messenger Rev. ii. I Angel Tlparfifapos... An elder Acts xv. 23 | Presbyter, \ or Priest Atci/coco? ... A servant I Tim. iii. 12 Deacon AtiTovpyds ... ("One who performs! \ a public duty / Rom. xv. 1 6 Minister Euayy\iffT-f)s ( A bearer of good "1 \ news / 2 Tim. iv. 5 Evangelist 'Hyov/uci/os ... A ruler Heb. xiii. 17 Ruler Kr?pu A herald i Tim. ii. 7 Preacher Olitov6p.os Manager of house I Cor. iv. I, 2 Steward npo*W ... /One who declares) \ God's will / I Cor. xiv. 29 Prophet AtScfo-waAos ... A teacher I Cor. xii. 29 Teacher nomV A shepherd Eph. iv. ii Pastor UpriMtKm Presiding I Thess. v. 12 President The titles of 'lepevs (= Priest) and 'Apxifp*vs (= High Priest or Arch-Priest) are given to our Lord only (Heb. iv. 14 ; x. 2i). a But all Christians are called Priests (i Pet. ii. 5, 9 ; Rev. i. 6 ; v. 10), and all Jews (Exod. xix. 6). 22. PUBLIC PRAYER. During our Lord's lifetime on earth, He and His Apostles frequented the services of the Jewish temple at Jerusalem and of the syna- gogues in country places, 3 and this continued to be the practice of the Apostles and first Christian converts after the Ascension and after the Day of Pentecost. 1 Acts xiv. 23. 2 The verb t'epoupyeTi/, 'to minister as a priest,' or 'about sacred things,' is once used by St. Paul of his own work in connection with the gospel (Rom. xv. 16). 3 St. Matt. xxi. 12, 13 ; St. Mark xi. 15 ; xiv. 49 ; St. Luke iv. 16, 33 ; vi. 6 ; xix. 45 ; St. John ii. 13-16, etc. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 43 After the Ascension, the Apostles 1 Returned to Jerusalem with great joy : And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.' l After the Day of Pentecost, we find it still recorded that * Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.' 2 St, Paul says of himself ' It came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance.' 3 This custom of frequenting the temple services prevailed throughout the period covered by the New Testament ; but, from the very first, there was one addition or exception necessarily made. The dis- tinctively Christian ordinance of the Eucharist could not be celebrated in any Jewish place of worship. Christian places of worship did not begin to be built till long afterwards. The difficulty was met by celebrating the Eucharist in private houses or at home ' And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, 4 did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.' 5 . Round these home Eucharists there would naturally gather the elements of teaching, exhortation, praise, and prayer. 1 St. Luke xxiv. 52, 53. 2 Acts iii. I. 3 Acts xxii. 17. 4 Kar' olKov, better translated, as in the R.V., 'at home.' 5 Acts ii. 46. 44 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. These elements are implied when we are told that the first converts ' Continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers/ l And that ' Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.' 2 In Palestine, after the destruction of Jerusalem } and in Gentile countries where there were neither synagogue nor temple before that time, these elements of Christian worship grew, were regulated, were ultimately systematized into settled forms of worship. Very few directions as to the arrangement and external forms of such worship are to be found in the New Testament. St. Paul delivered certain ordinances or traditions to the Corinthians, and praised them for keeping them ; 3 but we do not know what these ordinances were. They included The uncovering of men's heads in prayer. 4 The covering or veiling of women in prayer. 5 The use of a language understood by the people. 6 The prohibition of women from speaking in church. 7 Weekly collection of alms for charitable purposes. 8 1 Acts ii. 42. 2 Acts xx. 7. 3 I Cor. xi. 2. 4 i Cor. xi. 4. 5 I Cor. xi. 5. 6 I Cor. xiv. 19. 7 I Cor. xiv. 34, 35. Compare I Tim. ii. II, 12. 8 I Cor. xvi. 2. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 45 And, generally speaking, decency and order. 1 The Jewish name of ' synagogue ' was used at first to denote the place of Christian assembly. St. James said * If there come unto your assembly (o-waycoy^V) a man with a gold ring,' etc. 2 He had made use of the same word previously in a strictly Jewish sense and connection in his speech at the Council of Jerusalem. 3 The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of the duty of public Christian worship, says 1 Not forsaking the assembling (eTrtcrwaywyriv) of ourselves together, as the manner of some is.' 4 The expression * synagogue of Satan ' is twice used in the Book of Revelation to denote the gathering together of wicked worshippers. 5 23. SUNDAY. There are distinct traces, from the very earliest times, of the first day of the week taking the place of the seventh day of the week as the Christian day of rest and worship, although there is no Divine or apostolic command authorizing the change of day. It may have been among the unrecorded directions given by our Saviour to His disciples during the forty days before His ascen- sion. 6 Thus we find how at Troas 1 I Cor. xiv. 40. 2 St. Jas. ii. 2. 3 Acts xv. 21. 4 Heb. x, 25. * Rev. ii. 9 J "i- 9 c Acts i. 3. 46 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. ' Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.' l St. Paul recommends systematic almsgiving upon the same day ' Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.' 2 As the day on which our Lord had risen from the dead, it was pre-eminently the Lord's day, and as such it became known, and is believed to be referred to in the passage in which St. John says ' I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.' 3 TABLE OF THE LORD. See p. 19. 24. UNCTION OF THE SICK. Unction of the sick is plainly mentioned in two passages. Firstly, as the practice of the Apostles in our Lord's life- time 4 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.' 4 Secondly, as recommended by St. James, to be used in the case of sick people ' Is any sick among you ? let him call for the elders of the Church ; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up ; and if he have committed sins, . they shall be forgiven him.' 5 For Unction at Baptism or Confirmation, see p. 20. 1 Acts xx. 7. * I Cor. xvi. 2. 3 Rev. i. 10. It is doubtful whether ' the Lord's day ' Jlttfpa) in this passage means ' Sunday ' or * the Day of Judgment.' 4 St. Mark vi. 13. * St. Jas. v. 14, 15. I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 47 25. VESTMENTS. There is no allusion in the New Testament to any distinctive dress as worn either by the Apostles or by persons of any grade in the Christian ministry, either while engaged in Divine service or in everyday life. There is, indeed, one passage which has sometimes been referred to, especially in recent times, 1 as possibly referring to an article of ecclesiastical dress ; but there is no ground whatever for such an in- terpretation 1 The cloke (^atXoV^s) that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.' z St. Chrysostom knew nothing of a chasuble theory. He interpreted the cloke to mean the ordinary article of attire which now goes by that name. It is in his first homily on the Philippians, where he is replying to the objections of some mean persons who excused themselves from providing a suitable maintenance for their clergy on the ground of such texts as St. Matt. x. 9, 10 : ' Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes/ etc. * What ? ' he says, * had not Peter a girdle, and a cloke, and shoes? (Acts xii. 8). And Paul too, when he writes 1 Rock (D), ffierurgia, 2nd ed. (London, 1851), p. 438 j Neale (J. M,), Essays on Liturgiology> p. 414. Cardinal Bona was doubtful whether this cloke was a sacerdotal vestment or not (Rer. Liturg. t lib. i. cap. 34, torn. ii. p. 235 : Turin, 1749). Sala appends a long note (*) in favour of the chasuble theory (Jbid. t p. 237). * 2 Tim, iv, 13. 48 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I. to Timothy : " Do thy diligence to come before winter," and then gives him instructions: "The cloke which I left at Troas," etc. There now ! he says, the cloke ; and no one would pretend to say that he had not a second, namely, the one he was wearing. For if he was not in the habit of wearing one, it would be superfluous for him to bid Timothy bring this one ; but if he did wear one, and could not help wearing one, it is clear that he had another besides.' * Tertullian's reference to the same passage (2 Tim. iv. is), 2 makes it evident that he understood 'the cloke ' in the same sense as St. Chrysostom. 26. THE WASHING OF FEET. After our Lord had washed the feet of His Apostles in the upper chamber on the evening of Maundy Thursday, He used these words ' Ye call Me Master and Lord : and ye say well ; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet ; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.' 3 It has generally been believed that our Lord's words and actions are metaphorical and symbolical, and that it was not His design to institute a ceremony to be observed hereafter in the Church. But a literal interpretation has caused the washing of the feet of 1 Quoted in Field (F.), Otium Norvicense, pars tertia, 1881, P- 133. * De Oratione, cap. xvi. ; P. Z., torn. i. col. 1171. 3 St. John xiii. 13-15. I ] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 49 catechumens, or of poor men, to form part of the ceremonial of Maundy Thursday ; and the washing of the feet of the newly baptized has also formed an integral part of certain ancient baptismal offices. 1 1 E.g. The ancient Galilean (Neale and Forbes' -edition, pp, 97, 189, 267) ; the ancient Irish (F. E. Warren, Lit. and Rit. of the Celtic Church, p. 217) ; the ancient Spanish (Mansi, Concil, torn. ii. P- 14)- So LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. CHAPTER II. ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. Introductory I. Absolution 2. Baptism 3. Choral Service 4. Church furniture. 5. Confession 6. Confirmation 7. Sign of the Cross 8. Exorcism 9. Fasting 10, The Eucharist II. Imposition of hands 12. Incense 13. Kiss of peace 14. The Love-feast (Agape) 15. Marriage 16. Ordination, Holy Orders 17. Prayer 18. Saints' Days 19. Sunday 20. Unction 21. Vestments 22. Use of the vulgar tongue 23. Washing of hands and feet. WE pass from the evidence which is yielded by Holy Scripture as to the character of the worship and ritual of the Apostolic Church, to describe the liturgy and ritual of the ante-Nicene Church, so far as they can be gathered from the writings of the ante-Nicene Fathers or from other genuine documents which may bear upon the subject of a date prior to A.D. 325. But before going into details, we will quote at length some passages of a general character, either describing the worship of the early Christian Church or explaining or defending certain broad features which it possessed. The following description of Christian worship was given by Pliny, Governor of Bithynia, writing JI.J ANTE-N1CENE RITUAL. 51 to the Emperor Trajan, A.D. 112. Pliny said that he had obtained his information from certain apostates from the Christian faith whom he had examined. 1 They asserted that this was the sum and substance of their fault or their error; namely, that they were in the habit of meeting before dawn on a stated day, and singing alternately a hymn to Christ as to a god, and that they bound themselves by an oath x not to the .commission of any wicked deed, but that they would abstain from theft, and robbery, and adultery ; that they would not break their word ; and that they would not withhold a deposit when reclaimed. This done, it was their practice, so they said, to separate, and then to meet together again for a meal, which, however, was of the ordinary kind, and quite harm- less. But even from this they had desisted after my edict ; in which, in pursuance of your commands, I had forbidden the existence of clubs.' 2 The following description of the Eucharistic Service is given by Justin Martyr, in his First Apology, most probably written and addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius in A.D. 148 : . Z., torn, i. col. 1201. 56 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [[I. time with the gorgeousness of idolatrous ceremonial. One must allow that after the elaboration of Christian ritual in later ages, this argument lost some of its force ; but one must insist, likewise, on the fact that Christian worship in Tertullian's time, with its unctions, its frequent use of the sign of the cross, its prolonged vigils, its midnight Easter celebration of the Eucharist, etc., was elaborateness itself compared with some modern forms of Christian worship. Variety in ritual and in ecclesiastical usage began to be in evidence at a very early date. It was defended by St. Firmilian writing to St. Cyprian, c. 255, He pointed out that those who lived at Rome did not observe in all points their original traditions ; that it was useless for the Church of Rome to claim apostolic authority for all its practices, as, for instance, on the question of the proper day for the celebration of Easter ; also with regard to many unspecified points of liturgical arrangements, one way prevailed at Jerusalem, another at Rome. In most provinces there were diversities caused by the varieties of locality and of human nature ; but the peace and unity of the Catholic Church were never imperilled by this fact. 1 We now pass on from general descriptions to review in detail the particular usages of the primitive Church. i. ABSOLUTION. Imposition of hands was the outward sign which accompanied the formal bestowal of absolution, or the public reconciliation to the 1 Inter Cypriani Epistolas, No. 75, p. 145. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 57 Church of one who had lapsed into schism or heresy, or who for some other cause was excommunicate. St. Cyprian says ' In the case of baptized members of the Church lapsing into heresy, and afterwards recognizing their sin, renouncing their error, and returning to the truth and to their mother, it will be sufficient to use imposition of hands, 1 as a token of the reception of the penitent, that so the shepherd may receive back into the fold, to which it once belonged, the alienated and wandering sheep.' 2 Stephen L, Bishop of Rome, held that in the case of a convert coming over from heresy, re-baptism was unnecessary, and that he need only be received with imposition of hands as a token of penitence. 3 The following passage describes the penitential system of the African Church : * In the case of lesser faults, sinners [ordinarily] do penance for a proper period, and then, according to the order of discipline, come to [public] confession, 4 and by the imposition of the hands of bishop and clergy receive the right of communion ; but now, in this rough time, with persecution still prevalent, and peace not yet restored to the Church, people are admitted to communion, and the Eucharist is given to them, with no penance yet performed, no confession yet made, and the hands of bishop and clergy not yet laid upon them.' 5 1 ' Imponere manurn.' It is almost always ' manum,' not ' mantis,' in Latin writers. 3 Ep. 71 ; P. Z., torn. iv. col. 423. 3 The words of St. Stephen are quoted by St. Cyprian, and combated by him in Ep. 74 ; but the Roman view and practice on this point finally prevailed throughout the whole Church. 4 Exomologesis. 5 Ep. ix. p. 18. See also p. 19, et passim, for allusions to this use of the laying on of hands. 58 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. The imposition of hands is mentioned in the Apostolic Constitutions (but not in the Canons of Hippolytus, xi. 65 ; xiv. 74 ; xv. 79), as used in the restoration of an excommunicate person to Church membership. 1 See 5, p. 82. 2. BAPTISM. We will first quote some general descriptions of the administration of baptism before producing evidence in detail on particular points of interest connected with it. The baptism of Xanthippe, in answer to her request to St. Paul, * Even now hasten to seal me,' is thus described 1 He led her by the hand into the house, and baptized her in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Then taking the bread of the Eucharist, he gave it to her, saying, " Let this be to thee for the remission of sins, and for the renewing of thy soul." Then the blessed Xanthippe, having received the Divine gift of holy baptism, returned to her own home, rejoicing and praising God.' 2 Afterwards the baptism of her husband, Probus, is thus told ' Rising early in the morning, he went to Paul, and found him baptizing many in the Name of the life- originating Trinity, 3 and said, If I am worthy, my master, to receive baptism, lo ! the hour is come. Paul replied to 1 Lib. ii. cap. 18. Bp. Jeremy Taylor's interpretation of I Tim. v. 22 has been already referred to (p. 25). Compare the following words of Bp. Andrevves : ' By the Holy Ghost we are regenerate first in baptism ; by Him after confirmed in the imposition of hands ; by Him after renewed to repentance when we fall away by a second imposition of hands' (Sermons, 1865, vol. iii. p. 194). 2 Page 78. 3 Els rb rys fyapxutris rpfaSos II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 59 him, My son, behold, the water is ready for the cleansing of those who approach to Christ. Forthwith, then, eagerly stripping off his clothes, Paul holding his hand, he leaped into the water, saying, Jesus Christ, Son of God, and God eternal, may all my sins be done away by this water. And Paul said, We baptize thee in the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; and then he made him partake of the Eucharist of Christ.' l Later on, Polyxena and Rebecca are described as baptized by the same Trinitarian formula, the former having thus made her request, * Seal me, as Paul sealeth people, through the laver of re- generation.' 2 In these passages the scriptural titles given to baptism, its administration where water could be found, the administration at once of the Eucharist to the newly baptized, without the mention of any intervening rite corresponding in any way to con- firmation, 3 are to be remarked as noteworthy in themselves, and as pointing to an early date for the composition of the story. Baptism by any other formula than in the Name of the Trinity, and especially baptism into the death of the Lord, was forbidden by the Apostolic Canons XLIX., L. These canons are post-Nicene, but they point to some irregular forms of the administra- tion of baptism having sprung up at a very early date. 4 The following account of baptism is given by Justin Martyr in his first Apology : 1 Page 73. 2 Page 78. 3 See p. 87, 6. 4 See chap. i. p. II. 60 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. 'As many as are persuaded and believe that these things which are taught and said by us are true, and promise that they are able to live thus, are taught to pray and ask God, with fasting, for the forgiveness of their former sins, while we pray and fast with them. Then they are led by us where there is water, and are regenerated after the same manner of regeneration with which we ourselves were regenerated. For they then make their bath in the water, in the Name of God the Father, and Lord of all, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost. For Christ said, Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 1 Now, it is manifest to all that it is impossible for those who have once been born to enter again into their mothers' wombs. But Esaias the prophet has declared how those who have sinned and repent shall escape from their sins, saying thus : "Wash you, make you clean," etc. . . . 2 We have learned from the Apostles the following reasons for this [rite of baptism]. Since we have received our first birth without our knowledge or consent . . . and have fallen into vicious customs and evil modes of education ; therefore, in order that we may not remain children of necessity or of ignorance, but of free-will and understanding, and may obtain forgiveness of sins formerly committed, the Name of God the Father and Lord of all is named in the water over him who chooses to be regenerated and repents for his sins, no other description [of God] being given by him who leads the man to be washed to the laver. This laver is called " illumination," 3 because those who learn these things have their minds illuminated. I should add that the person illuminated washes also in the Name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate; and in 1 St. John iii. 3. 2 Isa. i. 16. 3 , illuminatio, 'enlightenment.' II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 61 the Name of the Holy Ghost, who, through the prophet, proclaimed beforehand all things concerning Jesus.' l Then, after three chapters which are devoted to show how Christian baptism was counterfeited by demoniacal agency, Justin Martyr proceeds in the sixty - fifth chapter, which has been printed on page 51 4 But we, after we have thus washed the man who has been convinced and has given his consent [to our teaching], lead him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, etc. . . . Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. . . .' 2 Here Justin Martyr passes on to a description of the Eucharist in words already quoted. 3 It is diffi- cult to decide whether the kiss of peace just referred to is the last baptismal or the first Eucharistic action. The kiss of peace occurs at the commencement of the Clementine Liturgy, before the expulsion of the catechumens and others, as well as just before the offertory. 4 Baptism bore many titles. Justin Martyr calls it the ' water of life,' 5 and * the illumination.' 6 In the Acts of Paid and Thecla it is called ' the seal of Christ ; ' 7 and in The Shepherd of Hermas, ' the seal of the Son of God.' 8 Tertullian calls it ' the seal of 1 Cap. 61 ; P. G. t torn. vi. col. 421. 2 Cap. 65 ; P. G., vi. col. 427. 3 Page 52. 4 H., pp. 3, 10. 5 "TScap fays, Dial., cap. 14; P. G*., torn. vi. col. 504. 6 $caTi., torn. i. col. 1197. 3 ' Dei census,' Ibid., cap. xvi. ; P. L., torn. i. col. 1218. 4 C H o-Qpayls rov \ovrpov, Acts of Thomas ^ ed. M. Bonnet, Leipzig, 1883, cap. 26, p. 19. 5 Canons of Hippolytus, xxix. 251, p. 135. 6 * Quis dives salvetur,' cap. xlii. ; P. G. t torn. ix. col. 647. 7 Lib. ii. cap. 14, p. 22. 3 Xa/H pp. 97-99. The whole Epistle should be read. It is written by St. Cyprian in his own name and in the names of sixty-five bishops assembled in council. 2 Pffdagog.y lib, iii. cap. ii.; P. G. t torn. viii. col. 633. 3 Lib. vi. cap. 15. 4 Horn, viii., In Levit., torn. ii. p. 230. 5 St. John iii. 5 \ Horn. xiv. In Luc.', P. G., torn. xiii. col. 1831, II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 65 Elsewhere he calls baptism 'a second circum- cision.' l Again, after pointing out that according to the Jewish law an offering had to be made for the new- born infant, 2 and after referring to David's assertion, ' Behold, I was shapen in wickedness ; and in sin hath my mother conceived me,' 3 Origen proceeds to state that 'For this reason too the Church has received it as a tradition from the Apostles to administer baptism even to infants.' 4 (b) Profession of faith and renunciations. A pro- fession of faith, which at a very early time assumed the form of a definite creed, was made by candidates for baptism. Justin Martyr says that before men are regenerated they must both profess to believe the truth of those things which they had been taught, and also promise to live answerably to their knowledge. 5 Tertullian uses language which implies that articles relating to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the Church, were part of the interrogations at baptism. 6 For the interrogative form of creed provided in the Canons of Hippolytus, see chap. iii. 6, p. 181. 1 Mom. v., In Lib.Jesu Nave, 6, torn. ii. pp. 408, 409. 2 Lev. xii. 6-8. Ps. li. 5. 4 Comment, in Ep. ad. Rom., lib. v. 9 ; P. G., torn. xiv. col. 1047. 5 Apol. ii. p. 93, as quoted at length by Bingham, Antiqq. of the Christian Church (London, 1865), vol. i. p. 520. 6 De BaptismO) cap. 6 ; P. L., torn. i. col. 1206. 66 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. Irenaeus speaks of the ' canon of truth which every one received at his baptism/ 1 One of the questions in the African Baptismal Service of the third century was ' Dost thou believe in eternal life, and remission of sins through the holy Church ? ' This was naturally pressed by St. Cyprian with great force against the validity of heretical baptism. 2 Tertullian also mentions the solemn and triple renunciation of the devil, his pomp, and his angels, as made twice firstly, on a person's admission to be a catechumen, and, secondly, at his actual baptism. 3 (c) Sponsors, who are necessarily introduced if questions are used at the baptism of infants, are mentioned by Tertullian, who refers to the danger that there was of sponsors failing to fulfil their promises, either by their own death, or through the evil dispositions which might be developed in the person for whom they have acted as sponsors. 4 Throughout this chapter, Tertullian is arguing against the baptism of infants, which was evidently the established church practice at this time. In the Academy of February 15, 1896, Mr. Whitley Stokes turns the argument the 1 Quoted without a reference in Smith's Dictionary of Christian Antiqq.) i. 489. 2 Ep. Ixx. (ed. Antwerp, 1568), p. 172; Routh(J. M.), Reliqiiitz Sacra , 2nd ed. vol. iii. p. 108. 3 De Spectaculis, cap. iv.; De Corona, cap. iii.; De cullu feminarum, cap. ii. 4 De Baptismo, cap. 18 ; P. L., torn. i. col. 1221. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 67 other way, and takes the fact that Tertullian argued against it to be a proof that the practice of infant baptism was then a novel introduction, and suggests that it was derived from imitation of the lustral ceremony performed over infants in heathen rites, with which Christianity was now fast coming into contact. This is a most unlikely suggestion, for heathenism was the deadly enemy of Christianity, and its abominations and puerilities had been and were the constant theme of Christian apologists ; and in the attitude and temper then existing it is morally impossible that the Christian Church should have adopted a rite from the religion of their persecutors. 1 Sponsors are mentioned in the Canons of Hip- polytus. 2 (d) Milk and honey. Tertullian mentions that on leaving the font the newly baptized tasted a mixture of milk and honey, 3 a piece of symbolism probably suggested by the Old Testament description of the promised land as a land flowing with milk and honey, into which the Israelites entered through the waters of the river Jordan ; but the explanation given in the Canons of Hippolytus, where the rite is also enjoined, is that the newly baptized may remember that they have become as little children, whose natural food is milk and honey. 4 1 See chap. iii. 40, p. 247. 2 ' Qui pro infantibus parvis respondent,' Canon xix. 113, p. 94. 3 De Corona, cap. iii. ; Adv. Marcionem, lib. I, cap. xiv. ; P. L. t torn. ii. col. 79 ; torn. ii. col. 262. 4 Canon xix. 144, but 148 explains it of the future life, and the sweetness of its blessings. 63 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. St. Clement of Alexandria refers to the same custom in these words 'As soon as we are born we are nourished with milk, which is the nutriment of the Lord. And when we are born again we are honoured with the hope of rest by the promise of Jerusalem which is above, where it is said to rain milk and honey. For by these material things we are assured of that sacred food.' x (e) Sign of the cross and Unction. The sign of the cross, which was in such general use in the earliest days of Christianity, would naturally be in- cluded in the ceremonial of baptism. Tertullian says 'The flesh is washed that the soul may be rid of its stains ; the flesh is anointed that the soul may be con- secrated ; the flesh is sealed (i.e. signed with the cross) that the soul also may be protected; the flesh is ovei- shadowed by the imposition of hands, that the soul may be illuminated by the Spirit; the flesh is fed with the Body and Blood of Christ, that the soul may be made fat from God.' 2 Elsewhere he says ' Then when we come out of the bath [of baptism] we are anointed with the holy unction, according to the ancient practice by which men were wont to be anointed for the priesthood with oil poured out of a horn.' 3 How far the anointing and sealing in these passages belong to the Baptismal Service, and how far they belong to the Confirmation Service it is not 1 Pcedagog., lib. i. cap. 6 ; P. G., torn. viit. col. 504. 2 De Resiirrectione carnis, cap. viii. ; P. L.> torn. it. col. 806. 3 De Bafrtismo, cap. vii. j P. Z., torn. i..col. 1206. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 69 easy to say. The two rites of baptism and con- firmation were administered in close succession, and formed almost one complex rite throughout the ante-Nicene period ; in fact, for the first thousand years and more of the Church's existence. It is perhaps with special reference to this use of the sign of the cross that baptism is called * the seal ' or ' the seal of Christ,' as where Thecla is represented as saying to St. Paul * Grant me only the seal of Christ, and no temptation shall affect me.' l And in the words of Polyxena previously quoted from the Acts of Xanthippe. 2 (/) Immersion. Baptism by immersion was both the custom and the rule, but the validity of baptism by affusion or aspersion, in the case of sick people, is defended at length by St. Cyprian, who quotes in support of it Num. viii. 7 ; xix. 18 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 25, and concludes that a person so baptized is to be reckoned as a legitimate Christian. 3 Cornelius, Bishop of Rome (251-2), records that Novatian had been baptized on a sick-bed by affusion. He does not dispute the validity of such baptism, but he objects to Novatian as not having afterwards complied with Church regulation as to the reception of confirmation from the hands of a bishop. This he calls being signed by the bishop, 1 Cap. vi. 14; Hone (W.), Apocryphal Ncio Test., 1820, p. 105. For further information about unction, see sub-sect, (g). 2 Page 59. See 7, adfmem, p. 101. 3 Ep. 76, 12 ; P. Z., torn. iii. coll. 1194-1196. 70 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. apparently alluding to the sign of the cross which was made by the bishop on the forehead of each person confirmed. 1 Baptism by affusion had been recognized in the Didacht, in which it was laid down ' But if thou hast not either, pour water thrice upon the head in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' 2 When St. Fructuosus baptized Rogatianus in prison, immersion must have been an impossibility. 3 Baptismal immersion is specially stated by Ter- tullian to have been triple. He says ' We dip not once but three times, at the mention of each of the three Persons of the Trinity.' 4 (g) Unction. The rite of unction in immediate connection with baptism is mentioned both by Tertullian and St. Cyprian. The former, after describing the actual baptism with water, proceeds thus-^- ' Then on stepping forth from the font we are anointed with consecrated oil, a custom derived from the old dis- pensation, in which men used to be anointed priests with oil out of a horn, since the time when Aaron was anointed by Moses ; 5 from which he is called " a christ " from the chrism, that is, the unction employed. And this unction 1 *S,$pa.yiffQrivcu vir'b TOV eTricnctirOv, Routh (J. M.), Reliquia Sacne, iii. 25. Dr. Routh argues that to sign (consignare, afypayi&iv) and to lay on hands (manum imponere] are the same thing (ibid., p. 69), but the argument is not convincing. 2 Cap. vii. 3. 3 Fructuosi, etc., Ada, p. 340. 4 ' Ter mergitamur,' De Corona, cap. iii. ; P. L., torn. ii. col. 79. 6 Exod. xl. 15. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 71 gave his name to our Lord, being spiritually performed ; because He was anointed with the Spirit by God the Father, as it is said in the Acts : " For of a truth they were gathered together in that state against thy Holy Child whom thou hast anointed." * Thus too in our case, though the unction takes place in the flesh, yet it benefits us spiritually ; just as in the act of baptism itself the immersion in water is a carnal transaction, but the effect is a spiritual one, namely, the deliverance from our sins.' 2 A reference to this unction is to be found in another passage of Tertullian, quoted previously. 3 Elsewhere he mentions after the baptismal washing, 'the oil with which God anoints His people.' 4 St. Cyprian speaks thus of the same unction 'The man who has been baptized needs also to be anointed, in order that in receiving the chrism, that is, the unction, he may be one of God's anointed ones, and have within himself the grace of Christ. And the oil, moreover, wherewith the baptized are anointed is con- secrated upon the altars by the Eucharist ; but those who have neither altar nor church could not consecrate the creature of oil. Wherefore, there can be no spiritual unction among heretics, as it is evidently impossible for there to be any consecration of oil or any celebration of the Eucharist among them.' 5 This is not the only unction mentioned in connec- tion with the baptism in the ante-Nicene period. A twofold unction, one before and one after baptism, is 1 Acts iv. 27. 2 De BaptismO) cap. vii. ; P. Z., torn. i. col. 1206. 3 Page 68. 4 Adv. Mardonem, lib. i. cap. 14; P. Z., torn. ii. col. 262. 5 Ep. Ixx. p. 125. 72 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. prescribed in the Canons of Hippolytus, 1 as well as in the Apostolic Constitutions. 2 (h) Fasting. Fasting is mentioned in connection with preparation for baptism from the earliest times. In the Didach? there is this direction given ' Before baptism let him that baptizeth fast, and any others who are able, and thou shalt order him that is baptized to fast a day or two before.' 3 The Canons of Hippolytus order the candidate to fast on the Friday preceding his baptism. 4 This pre-baptismal fast is enforced at great length in the Apostolic Constitutions, where it is somewhat awkwardly connected with, while it is distinguished from, the post-baptismal fast of our Lord. 5 There are frequent allusions to the fast before baptism both in the Clementine Recognitions 6 and in the Clementine Homilies. 7 A reference of Justin Martyr to the same subject has been already quoted. 8 Tertullian states that candidates for baptism should prepare themselves by prayer, fasting, and confession of sin. 9 (z) Time for Baptism. Tertullian, while allowing that every Lord's day in fact, every day and every hour is suitable for the administration of baptism, points out that the festivals, firstly, of Easter, and 1 Canon xix., 116-135. - Lib. vii. capp. 42-44. See p. 68, sub-sect. ( lib. iv. cap. 8 ; P. G., torn. vii. col. 995. 3 Lib. de Exhortatione Castitatis, cap. vii. ; P. Z., torn. ii. col. 922. 4 Dial, cum Try phone, 116 ; P. G. t torn. vi. col. 746. 5 Horn. ix. in Levit., I, torn. ii. p. 236. See also 9 of the same Homily, where he refers to the unction which all Christians have received as conferring on them their priesthood. 6 Horn. vi. in Levit., 2, torn. ii. p. 216, left col., lines 8-14. For a later but similar passage, see Ambrose, De Mysterns, cap. ix. 59, ad finem. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 75 from the musical instincts of human nature, as well as from the precedent of the Jewish temple services in the Old Testament, and from the allusions to singing in the New Testament, that the choral element would enter into primitive Christian worship. The analogy of chorus singing in the Greek theatre, as well as of the psalmody in the Jewish temple, would likewise suggest that the singing would be antiphonal in its character. According to a tradition first found in the pages of the historian Socrates, the antiphonal mode of singing originated with St. Ignatius the Martyr, who ' saw a vision of angels, praising the Holy Trinity in antiphonal hymns, and left the fashion of his vision as a custom to the Church in Antioch, whence this custom spread like- wise through all the churches.' l Yet, as Pliny in his letter to the emperor Trajan describes the Christians of Bithynia as in the habit of singing hymns to Christ as God ' alternately,' 2 it may be inferred that antiphonal singing was already a custom in the Christian Church in the earlier part of the second century, though there is later evidence for the early prevalence of a re- sponsorial mode of chanting or singing as well. Instrumental music was not employed in Divine service, 3 and, as is well known, the conservative Eastern Church has never departed from primitive practice in this respect up to the present day. 4. CHURCH FURNITURE. During a great part 1 Hist. Eccles., vi. 8. Socrates wrote in the fifth century. 2 /#/., lib. x. No. 97. See p. 51. 3 Clemens Alex., Pcedagog., lib. ii. cap. 4 ; P. (7., torn. vii. col. 443. J 76 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [H. of the period with which we are concerned, Christians possessed no churches, but met for worship in the privacy of their chambers, or in dens and caves of the earth. Throughout the Roman empire Christianity was for a long time a proscribed re- ligion, and though the penal laws against it were left at times to slumber, they were liable at any time to be evoked and put in force. 1 Hence it was the Christians' object to worship God as un- obtrusively as possible, and we are not surprised to find that as, for the most part, there were no Christian churches, so there are but scanty references to Church furniture, or to the ordinary accessories of Divine worship in writers of the first three centuries. Minucius Felix mentions it as a charge made against Christians that they had no churches or altars. It was a cruel charge to be brought against Christianity by its heathen opponents, because, though it was true, yet, so far as it was true, it was due to the persecutions of heathenism, and the necessity of avoiding publicity. However, Minucius Felix defends the non-existence among Christians of churches and altars on other grounds, and in a passage of such spiritual beauty, that we quote it at length ' But do you think that we conceal what we worship if we have not temples and altars ? And yet what image of 1 Christianity was first made a religio licita under Gallienus in 261, but it did not obtain complete recognition and toleration till after the conversion of Constantine the Great in 313. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 77 God shall I make, since, if you think rightly, man himself is the image of God ? What temple shall I build to Him, when the whole world, fashioned by His work, cannot receive Him ? And when I, a man, dwell far and wide shall I shut up the might of so great majesty within one little building? Were it not better that He should be dedicated in our minds, consecrated in our inmost heart? Shall I offer victims and sacrifices to the Lord, such as He has produced for my use, that I should throw back to Him His own gifts? Is it ungrateful when the victim fit for sacrifice is a good disposition, and a pure mind, and* a good conscience ? Therefore, he who cultivates innocence sup- plicates God; he who cultivates justice makes offerings to God ; he who abstains from fraudulent practices propitiates God; he who snatches men from danger slaughters the most acceptable victim. These are our sacrifices; these are our rites of God's worship ; thus, among us, he who is the more just is the more religious.' ] The same charge against Christians is referred to, and is met in a similar manner, in the writings of Arnobius. 2 Yet some buildings set apart for Divine worship must have existed in the third century, when we find St. Cyprian reproaching a rich woman for coming into the Lord's house without a sacrifice. 3 Churches are also mentioned by Tertullian 4 and Origen 5 under the names of 'ecclesia' and 'domus Dei/ Both Eusebius 6 and Optatus 7 refer to the 1 Octavius, capp. xxvi., xxxii. ; P. L., torn. iii. col. 339. 2 Disputationes adv. Gentes, bks. vi., viii. 3 * Quse in dominicum sine sacrificio venis,' Lib. de opere et elecmosynis, cap. xv. ; P. L., torn. iv. col. 613. 4 De fdololairia, cap. vii. ; P. L., torn. i. col. 699. 5 Horn. x. in Librum Jesn Nave^ 3 ; P. G., torn. xii. col. 881. 6 Hist. Recks., lib. x. capp. ii., iii., etc. 7 Optatus mentions the existence of forty churches at Rome at this 78 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. w existence of many churches at Rome and elsewhere at the beginning of the fourth century ; and Constantine, in his letter to Eusebius on the subject of building Christian churches, refers to the small size and the ruin of previously existing sacred buildings. 1 We now pass to the consideration of certain pas- sages in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, in which the word ' altar ' (OvviaaTvpiov) occurs, and which are sometimes quoted in connection with this subject to prove that Christians had altars in the second century. St. Ignatius, writing to the Ephesians, says (a) ' Let no man be deceived. If any one be not within [the precincts of] the altar, he lacketh the bread of God.' 2 Writing to the Magnesians, he says () ' Hasten to come together all of you as to one temple, even God ; as to one altar, even to one Jesus Christ, who came forth from one Father, and is with One, and departeth unto One.' 3 Writing to the Trallians, he says (c) ' He that is within [the precincts of] the altar is clean ; he that doeth aught without the bishop, the presbytery, and the deacon, this man is not clean in his conscience.' 4 (d) Writing to the Romans, he says 1 Grant me nothing more than that I may be poured out a libation to God, while there is still an altar ready.' 5 time (De Schismate Donatistantm t lib. ii. cap. 4 ; P. Z., torn. xi. col. 951). 1 Theodoret, Hist. Eccles., lib. i. cap. 14 ; P. G., torn. Ixxii., col. 951, 2 'Evrbs TOV 0u(na torn. i. cols. 953, 956. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 95 In the synodical letter sent by St. Cyprian and his colleagues from Carthage in the same year, addressed to St. Stephen, Bishop of Rome, they inform him that they have decided that, in the case of converts from heresy, it was not sufficient to receive them by the imposition of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, but that it was neces- sary that they should receive the baptism of the Church as well. 1 But, as has been already stated, the Roman view and practice prevailed against the practice of the Church of Africa ; e.g. we find the Synod of Aries in Gaul, A.D. 314, laying down in its eighth canon that in the case of converts from heresy, if it be proved that they have been baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, they should be received into the Church with the imposition of hands only, that they may receive the Holy Ghost. 2 Origen refers twice to this subject, but both times historically to the practice as recorded in the New Testament. These passages prove that the laying on of hands was sometimes spoken of as part of baptism, sometimes as following after baptism. They do not prove, but they go some way to imply, that the laying on of hands was practised in Egypt in Origen's day ; at least, if it had dropped into desue- tude, we might have expected some reference to the 1 Ep. Ixxii. inter Cypriani Opera, p. 128. Hefele (C. J.), A History of the Christian Councils, 2nd ed. (Edinburgh, 1872), p. 188. 96 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. fact, if not some explanation of the reason. He says * In the Acts of the Apostles, through the laying on of the apostolic hands, the Holy Ghost was given in baptism.' l And again * Lastly, it is for this reason that the grace and revelation of the Holy Ghost were delivered through the laying on of the hands of the Apostles after baptism.' 2 We obtain information, incidentally, through Clement of Alexandria, that imposition of hands was practised by the Gnostics, in connection with baptism, in the middle of the second century. Theodotus, the Valentinian, giving a fanciful inter- pretation of i Cor. xv. 29, mentions that the formula which accompanied the imposition of hands in his sect included the phrase * into angelic redemption.' 8 In the Apostolic Constitutions confirmation is still spoken of under the title of ' the laying on of hands.' 4 We will for once travel beyond our proper time limit to say that the latest Eastern Father who is quoted as testifying to this practice of laying on of hands is St. Athanasius (ob. 373), who says ' Likewise also all the saints having received the Holy Spirit in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 1 De Principiis, lib. i. cap. iii, 2 ; P. G., xi. 147. - Ibid., 7; ibid., 153. 3 Atb KalfV r rr)X ei PO f(r fy^*'Y OV(ri1 ' ^^ T&.OVS* Els Xvrpuffiv o/yyeAi/CTjj', roDr' Inter Opera, Clem. Alex,, p. 974. * XfipoQ., i. 1296. 4 Ep. Ivi. p. 93. fl /-:/>. ixxiii. p. 132. ioo LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. along with bellying sails; we see it when the ship glides forward with outstretched oars, and when the yard is hoisted ; we see it when a pure-hearted man worships God with extended arms.' l Origen thought that the shape of the letter tau 1 bore a resemblance to the figure of the cross, and that therein was contained a prophecy of the sign which is made by Christians upon the foreheads, for all the faithful make this sign in commencing any undertaking, and espe- cially at the commencement of prayer or of reading Holy Scripture.' 2 In early Acts of the Saints reference is made to the use of this sign in offering prayer ; 3 it was made by Thecla on leaving her mother's home. 4 A two-fold symbolism is ascribed to it in the Canons of Hippolytus firstly, as a sign of conquest over Satan ; secondly, as a sign of glorying in our faith. 5 The sign of the cross was, as we have seen, 6 con- nected with baptism. St. Cyprian speaks of 'those persons who have been regenerated, and signed with the sign of Christ,' 7 and says, ' Let thy brow be fortified [with the cross] that the sign of God [i.e. once imprinted at baptism] may be preserved intact.' 8 1 Octavius, cap. 29, ed. 1672, p. 287. - Select, in Ezek., cap. ix. torn. iii. p. 424. 3 Acts of Xanthippe, p. 62. 4 Acts of Paul and Thecla, \. 10; Grabe, Specilcgitttn (Oxford, 1714), p. 116. 3 Canon xxix. 247, p. 134. See also 245. 6 Page 68. " Lib. ad Demetrianum, cap. xxii. ; P. L., iv. 580. 8 Ep. Iviii. [ah Ivi.] ; P. L. t iv. 367. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL, lot It is referred to in the Apostolic C Origen represents the devil at the Day of Judg- ment claiming a man as his own in these words 1 Lo ! this man was called a Christian, and was signed on the forehead with the sign of Christ; but he bore my will and my mark in his heart. Behold a man who renounced me and my works at his baptism, but again occupied himself in my works, and obeyed my laws ! ' 2 8. EXORCISM. No external action is mentioned in the New Testament in connection with the act of exorcising or casting out evil spirits (St. Matt, xii. 27 ; Acts xix. 13); but the practice of the im- position of hands in connection with it evidently obtained at a very early date. Origen speaks of the imposition of the hands of the exorcists which unclean spirits found heavy upon them. 3 Vincentius of Thibaris mentions the imposition of hands in exorcism as the first rite to be received by a man on his way to become a full Christian. 4 From this we gather that the imposition of hands in exorcism was practised in Africa in the third century. All extant offices of exorcism mention and provide for it ; but none of these offices, as we know them, are ante-Nicene. 9. FASTING. Fasting on Wednesday and 1 'H payis avrl rov (TTavpov, lib. iii. cap. xvii. p. 88. 2 Select, in Psalmos t Fs. xxxviii. ; Horn. ii. 5, torn. ii. p. 698. 3 Horn, in Jesu Fil. A T ave, xxiv. cap. I ; P. G., xii. 940. 4 'Inter Sententias Episcoporum Ixxxvii.,' ' De Hsereticis Bapti- zandis,' Cypriani Opera, p. 334. ib2 LTTURtiY'OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. Friday is xecogmzed and ordered in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles ' But let not your fasts be together with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and fifth days of the week ; but fast ye on the fourth day [Wednesday], and on the preparation day [Friday].' * The same injunction occurs in the Apostolic Con- stitutions, with a very practical definition of the object of fasting appended to it 'We enjoin you to fast every fourth day of the week [Wednesday], and every day of the preparation [Friday], and bestow the surplusage of your fast upon the needy.' 3 The custom is mentioned by Tertullian, 3 by St. Clement of Alexandria, 4 and by Origen. 5 In The Shepherd of Hermas the reason for fasting is set forth at greater length ' This fasting,' saith he, ' if the commandments of the Lord are kept, is very good. This, then, is the way that thou shalt keep the fast. First of all, keep thyself from every evil word and every evil device, and purify thy heart from all the vanities of this world. If thou keep these things, thy fast shall be perfect for thee. And thus shalt thou do. Having fulfilled what is written, on that day on which thou fastest, thou shalt taste nothing but 1 Didachc, cap. viii. I. 2 Bk. v. cap. 20. In the same place fasting upon the Lord's day and at certain other times is forbidden. 3 Lib. de Oratione, cap. 19, where he argues that the reception of the Eucharist on these days (stationum dielnts] does not break the fast ; P. Z., i. 1181. 4 Stromata, lib. vii. cap. 12; P. G., ix. 504. The whole chapter as to the true meaning of the observance of Feast-days and Fast-days is a beautiful one. 5 Horn. x. in Levit., torn. ii. p. 246. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 103 bread and water ; and from thy meals which thou wouldest have eaten, thou shalt reckon up the amount of that day's expenditure, which thou wouldest have incurred, and shalt give it to a widow, or an orphan, or to one in want, and so shalt thou humble thy soul, that he that received from thy humiliation may satisfy his own soul, and may pray for thee to the Lord. If then thou shalt so accomplish this fast, as I have commanded thee, thy sacrifice shall be acceptable in the sight of God, and this fasting shall be recorded; and the service so performed is beautiful and joyous, and acceptable to the Lord.' 1 The Apology of Aristides contains this passage, among others, which describe the life of the early Christians 1 If there is among them a man that is poor and needy, and they have not an abundance of necessaries, they fast two or more days, that they may supply the needy with their necessary food.' 2 An early reference to the strict view of the binding character of the Wednesday and Friday fast, irre- spective of eleemosynary considerations or other such purposes, occurs in the Acts of St. Fructuosus. When that saint was on the way to martyrdom, he refused to touch a cup of wine offered him by his friends, because it was only 10 a.m. on a Wednesday, and he would not break the fast which on Wednesday and Friday was protracted till 3 p.m. 3 St. Peter of Alexandria explains the origin of 1 Similitude, No. 5, 3. 2 Cap. xv. p. 49. This chapter contains a beautiful description of the simple, pure, self-denying life of the early Christians. 3 Frucluosi Acta t p. 340. 104 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. these two fast-days, saying that it was usual to fast on Wednesday 'because of the Jews taking counsel for the betrayal of our Lord/ and on Friday, ' because He then suffered for our sake.' 1 Origen says . * We have the forty days of Lent (Quadragesima dies) consecrated to fasting ; we have the fourth and sixth days of the week (Wednesday and Friday) on which to keep our solemn fasts.' 2 Lent and Wednesdays and Fridays are mentioned as times of fasting by Tertullian, 3 in the Canons of Hippolytus, 4 and, it may be added, in the later Apos- tolic Canons, where they are ordered to be observed, both by clergy and laity, under severe penalties. 5 In the second century there was variety of custom with regard to the duration of Lent, some observing it for one day (i.e. Good Friday), some for two days (i.e. Good Friday and Easter Even), some for more days than these two, some for forty days. 6 There are traces of a strict and continuous fast being observed on Good Friday and Easter Even. This was supposed to be literally carrying out our Lord's words, 'But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then 1 Routh (M. J.), Reliqua: Sacra, 2nd ed. p. 45. 2 Horn. x. in Levit.^ torn. i. p. 246. 3 Lib. de Jejunus, cap. xiv. ; P. Z., ii. 973. 4 Canon xx. 154. 5 Canon 69. 6 Irenoeus, Gr. Fragm. iii., ed. W. W. Harvey (Cambridge, 1857), torn. ii. p. 475. Irenoeus goes on to remark that diversity of practice in this matter caused no break of friendship between the Eastern Polycarp, the disciple of St. John, and the Western Anicetus, Bishop of Rome, though neither could win the other over to his practice. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 105 shall they fast.' 1 It was a prolonged preparation for the midnight celebration of the Eucharist on Easter Morning. Lactantius speaks of the night of Holy Saturday being passed in watchfulness on account of the Saviour's body coming to life again, and on account of the second coming of our Lord and King. 2 Tertullian refers to the difficulty which would be experienced by a Christian wife in absent- ing herself all night from her heathen husband on account of the paschal solemnities. 3 The all-night watch on Easter Even is specially mentioned in the Canons of Hippolytus. 4 Zosimus narrates that the feast of the resurrection of the Lord is performed with much watching, for we continue watching for three days and three nights. 5 For fasting as a preparation for the reception of baptism, see p. 72 ; of the Holy Eucharist, see p. 127. 10. THE EUCHARIST. We do not propose to discuss fully the much-debated and difficult question as to the time when the Liturgy of the Christian Church was first committed to writing. But it should be stated that there is not sufficient evidence to prove the existence of any written liturgical books before A.D. 325, and that there are certain facts and state- ments which tend to disprove, without amounting to positive disproof of their existence. The facts referred to are these 1 St. Matt. ix. 15. 2 Div. Inslitt., lib. vii. ; De Vita Beata, cap. xix. ; P. L., vi. 797. 3 Ad Uxorem, lib. ii. cap. iv. ; P. Z., i. 1294. * Canon xxxviii. 255, p. 136. 5 Narrative of 'Zosimut, cap. xii. ; A. C. Z., vol. for 1897, p. 222. io6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. There is no allusion to the surrender, or to any demand for the surrender, of liturgical books during the early persecutions, though the surrender, or the demand for the surrender, of copies of Holy Scripture is frequently mentioned. No appeal fs made to the authority of a settled liturgical text during the controversies of the first three centuries. Some phrases used in early descriptions of Christian worship point to the extempore character of the prayers used, e.g. in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles it is said 'Suffer the prophets to give thanks as much as they will} * Justin Martyr, describing the Eucharistic Service, tells us that 1 Bread and a cup of wine mingled with water are then brought to the president of the brethren ; and he, taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe through the Name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at his hands.' 2 And in another description he says 4 When we have finished the prayer, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers ajid thanksgivings with all his might' '' We have put in italics the phrases which seem to 1 "Ova 6e\ovffiv. This seems to mean 'in what words they will.' EvxapiffTia and fuxapiffrely, having a general sense connected with thanksgiving, as well as a technical sense connected with the Eucharist, are the cause of much ambiguity and difficulty of interpretation. 2 First Apology^ cap. Ixv. See p. 52. 3 Ibid., cap. Ixvii. "Oo-r) Svva/j.is avry has also been translated 'according to his ability.' See p. 53. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 107 imply, if they do not prove, the use of extempore devotional language. In the Acts of Thomas there is an extremely in- teresting account of the communion of the newly baptized, the Eucharist being celebrated for that purpose by the Apostle, who is represented as em- ploying words of consecration which are evidently extempore. 1 We append one more passage from a later writer, which has been taken to mean, and which, as far as language goes, may mean, but which does not necessarily mean, that the Liturgy had not yet been written down in the fourth century. St. Basil of Cacsarea (ob. 379) says ' Which of the saints has left us in writing the words of invocation at the consecration of the bread of the Eucharist, and of the cup of blessing ? For we are not content with those mentioned by the Apostle or the Gospel, but we also say some words before them and after them, as being of great force for the purpose of the sacrament, which we have received from unwritten tradition.' 2 1 Language may, however, have become fixed before it was written. We can trace the ( Sursum corda,' as an integral portion of the Eucharistic Service, as far back as the time of St. Cyprian, who says 1 Capp. 46, 47, pp. 35, 36. 2 De Spiritu Sancto^ cap. xxvii. 66; P. G., xxxii. 188. The passage is quoted in full by W. Maskell, Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England^ 3rd ed. p. xxvii. He seems to agree with Renaudot in think- ing that it may only mean that the words of Eucharistic consecration are not found in Holy Scripture. Probst (F.) argues that Liturgies were written at a very early date, at least as early as the Didache. Die aellesten roemischen Sacramenlaritn, Minister, i. W. 1892, pp. 1-12. loS LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. 'The priest, in the preface which is said before the Prayer [of Consecration], prepares the minds of the brethren by saying, Lift up your hearts, that when the people answer, We lift them up unto the Lord, they may be warned that they ought to think of nothing but the Lord.' l And more fully still in the Canons of Hippolytus * And let the bishop say : The Lord be with you all.* Let the people reply : And with thy spirit. Let him say : Lift up your hearts.* Let the people reply : We lift them up unto the Lord.* The bishop : Let us give thanks unto the Lord.* Let the people reply : It is meet and right so to do.' * 2 The formulae of administration mentioned in the same canons are these 1 De Oratione Dominica, p. 213. 2 Canon iii. 21-26, pp. 48-50. The sentences marked with an asterisk are given in the Greek language, a proof of the early nature of this document. Other Greek words, written in Greek characters, which occur in these Canons, are eo[w\6yr] (xxiv. 22O), \VXVIKOS (xxv. 237). II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. log 1 This is the body of Christ, ty. Amen. This is the blood of Christ, ty. Amen.' x In the Egyptian Church Order the formula has become slightly enlarged ' This is the bread of heaven, the body of Jesus Christ. iy. Amen. This is the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. R;. Amen.' 2 Titles of the Service. (a) The Breaking of Bread. The earliest and scriptural title of this service, ' the breaking of bread,' occurs in a passage of the Epistle of St. Ignatius to the Ephesians, in which he bids them ' Assemble yourselves together in common, every one of you severally, . . . breaking one bread, which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote that we. should not die, but live for ever in Jesus Christ.' 3 And in the following passage in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles 1 And on the Lord's day come together, and break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.' 4 In the Acts of Paul and Thecla St. Paul is de- scribed, on his arrival at the house of Onesiphorus, as offering prayer, breaking bread, and preaching the word of God. 5 In the Acts of Thomas we find the expression * breaking the eucharistic bread.' 1 Canon xix. 146,147, pp. loo, 101. There are similar, not identical, short formulce in the Clementine Liturgy (H., p. 21). See p. 304. 2 Canons of Hippolytus, pp. 101, IO2. 3 Cap. 20. 4 Cap. 14. 5 Cap. 2 ; Gallandius, Bib. Vet. Pat., torn, i, p. 178. K\acros Herov Trjs evxapiffrias, cap. 27, p. 2O j cap. 29, p. 22. i io LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. (b] The Eucharist. The word ' Eucharist ' is first found as a distinct title of ' Holy Communion ' in the writings of St. Ignatius. He says to the Phila- delphians 1 Be ye careful, therefore, to observe one Eucharist (for there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup unto union in His blood; there is one altar, as there is one bishop, together with the presbytery, and the deacons, my fellow-servants), that whatsoever ye do, ye may do it after God.' * He thus describes, among other ways, certain heretics in his Epistle to the Smyrnseans ' They abstain from Eucharist and prayer, because they allow not that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which flesh suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up.' 2 In the same Epistle he adds ' Let that be held a valid Eucharist which is under the bishop, or one to whom he shall have given a commission. ... It is not lawful, apart from the bishop, either to baptize or to hold a love-feast.' 3 A few years afterwards the use of the word ' Eucharist ' as a title is definitely fixed by Justin Martyr. After describing the partaking of the con- secrated bread and wine and water, he goes on to say 'And this food we call the Eucharist, which nobody may partake of, except,' etc. 4 1 Cap. 4. a Cap. 6. 3 Cap. 8. The expression love-feast (aydirr)) probably includes the Eucharist. See Bp. Lightfoot's note, in loco. 4 ApoL i. 65 ; also in Dialogns cum Tryphont\ cap. xli., etc. ; /'. G. t vi. 563. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. in St. Irenaeus, reproving Victor, Bishop of Rome, who had broken off communion with the bishops of Asia Minor because they kept Easter always on the fourteenth day of the month, whether it was a Sunday or not, claiming to follow the practice of the Apostle St. John, tells him that his predecessors ' sent the Eucharist to the Asiatic bishops/ in accord- ance with a custom of that time, as a mark of inter- communion between the two Churches. 1 In the same letter he perhaps uses the word ' Eucharist ' to denote the whole service, telling Victor that his pre- decessor, Anicetus, conceded the Eucharist to Poly- carp, i.e. permitted Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist at Rome. 2 Elsewhere Irenseus says ' For as the bread from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist,' etc. 3 In the Clementine Homilies the curious expression ' to break the Eucharist ' is found. 4 St. Clement of Alexandria says that Melchisedech gave consecrated bread and wine for a type of the Eucharist. 5 Origen says that the symbol of gratitude towards God is that bread which is called the Eucharist. 1 Epist. ad Victorem apud Eusebii, Hist. Ecctes., lib. v. cap. 24. 2 Ibid. 3 Contra Hcercs, iv. 1 8. 5. 4 Lib. xi. cap. 36 : Evxapiffriav K\dffeis, ' Eucharistiam fregit.' 5 Stromata t lib. iv. cap. 25 j P. G., viii. 1371 ; also Fccdagog, lib. li. cap. 2 ; Ibid.) 411. Contra Celsum t lib, viii. cap, 57 ; also Horn, ii. in Ps. xxxvii. 6, H2 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. Tertulliaii 1 and Cyprian 2 both use the word ' Eucharistia.' Tertullian also uses ' gratiarum actio,' or 'giving of thanks/ as its Latin equivalent. 3 In the Acts of Thomas it is called ' the Eucharist of Christ.' 4 It is this widespread and preponderating use of the term * Eucharistia ' in ante-Nicene literature, which has caused us to select the title of ' the Eucharist' as the heading for this section of the second chapter. Among other titles which were given to this sacrament there should be mentioned the following : (c] Sacrifice, either absolutely by itself, 5 or with some epithet attached to it, e.g. ' the pure sacrifice,' 6 'the pure and spiritual oblation/ 7 'the Lord's sacrifice.' 8 At the trial of Apollonius 1 the prefect said to the Christian martyr, " Come and sacrifice to Apollo, and to the other gods, and to the emperor's image." Apollonius replied, " As to my change of mind, and as to the oath, I have given thee answer ; but as to sacrifices, I and all Christians offer a bloodless sacrifice to God, Lord of heaven and earth," ' etc. 9 Not that the title of ' sacrifice ' was confined to 1 De Pr a script adv. Hceret.^ cap. 36 ; P. L., ii. 50. 2 Ep. liv. p. 77. 3 Adv. Marcion, lib. i. cap. 23 ; P. /.., ii. 274. 4 Cap. 27, p. 2O. 5 Qva-ia, Didache, cap. xiv. u Iremeus, Contra Hares> lib. iv. cap. 18 ; P. 6*., vii. 1024. 7 Pfaffian fragment, Irenaei Opp. , ed. W. W. Harvey, Fragm. 36, torn. ii. p. 502. 8 Cyprian, Ep. 63, 5 ; P. L., iv. 389. 9 Acts of Apollonius, ed. F. C. Conybeare, p. 39. II.] ANTE.NICENE RITUAL. 113 the Eucharist. St. Clement of Alexandria, contrast- ing the sumptuous sacrifices offered by the heathen to their gods with the sacrifice offered by Christians, identifies the Christian sacrifice with prayer generally ; no doubt, not excluding, yet not specially naming, the Eucharistic sacrifice. He says ' For the sacrifice of the Church is prayer which is offered by holy souls, when the whole mind is opened and offered in sacrifice to God,' etc. 1 (d) The Lord's Feast? (e) The Spiritual and Heavenly Sacrament? The title of 'E cap. 19; P. Z., i. 1181. 4 De Corona Militis, cap. iii. ; De Idololatria^ cap. xiv. ; De Jejuniis, cap. xiv. ; P. L., ii. 80 ; i. 682 ; ii. 973. 5 Canon xxxiii. 169, p. 106. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. n? more than those in which the body of our Lord receives offence?' 1 He gives a Eucharistic as well as a literal interpre- tation of the clause in the Lord's Prayer, 'Give us this day our daily bread.' 2 St. Cyprian and other African bishops say in the Synodical Epistle of the Second Council of Carthage in 252 ' As priests who daily celebrate the sacrifices of God, let us prepare [men to become by martyrdom] offerings and victims to God.' 3 St. Cyprian also says 1 A more serious and a more fierce contest awaits them, for which the soldiers of Christ ought to prepare themselves with unsullied faith and stout valour, considering that for this reason they daily drink the chalice of the blood of Christ, that they may have power themselves to shed their blood for Christ.' 4 Commenting on the Lord's Prayer, he says * But we pray that this bread may be given to us daily, lest we who are in Christ, and receive the Eucharist daily as the food of salvation, should, while we are kept away and prevented from receiving the heavenly bread through the intervention of some very grave fault, be separated from the body of Christ.' 5 Communion in both kinds. It is unnecessary to produce evidence to prove the undisputed fact that 1 De Idololatrid) cap. vii. ; P. L., i. 669. - De Oratione t cap. vi. ; P. L., i. 1160. 3 Ep. liv., p. 78. * Ep. Ivi., p. 90. 5 Lib. de Oratione Dominica, p. 209. n8 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. ordinarily the Eucharistic elements were administered to the communicants in both kinds ; but an argument which is based exclusively on the administration of the cup, and which would have to be abandoned or altered in that part of Christendom where the cup is now withheld from all save the celebrant, deserves to be quoted and remembered. In the synodical Epistle addressed to Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, after the second Council of Carthage in 252, St. Cyprian and his colleagues say * How do we teach or encourage men to shed their blood in the confession of His Name, if as they are about to start on their warfare we deny to them the blood of Christ ? Or how do we fit them to drink the cup of martyrdom if we do not first admit them with the right of communicants, to drink the cup of the Lord in church ? ' l The Prayer of Consecration. The text of no ante- Nicene Liturgy having come down to us, we do not, and cannot, know with precision the exact formula of consecration, but we can infer something of its character from the titles by which it is described. In the first place, it was a prayer, that is to say, it was not merely a recital of the words of institution, or of any other words in the shape of a formula, incantation, or charm. Origen says ' Let Celsus, then, as an agnostic, tender his thanks to demons ; while we, giving thanks to the Maker of the universe, eat also, with prayer and thanksgiving for blessings 1 Ep. 54, p. 78. See also St. Cyprian's words just previously quoted on p. 117. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 119 received, our oblations of bread, which, through the prayer [of consecration, 8ia rty ctr^i/], becomes a certain holy body, which makes those holy^who partake of it with right dispositions.' l The nature of this prayer is further defined in a difficult passage which occurs in the earlier writings of Justin Martyr, who says that * As Jesus Christ our Saviour was incarnate by the Word of God, and assumed flesh and blood for our salvation, so we have been taught that the food, from which our 'flesh and blood derive nourishment by assimilation, having been blessed [or made the Eucharist] by prayer of the word which is from Him, 2 is both the flesh and blood of that same Jesus who was made flesh.' 3 The expression 'prayer of the word which is from Him ' is difficult to interpret. It has by some been taken to refer to the words of institution, by others to mean the Lord's Prayer, 4 by others to mean the invocation of the Holy Ghost. 5 It must remain sufficient here to have pointed out the chief varieties of interpretation, without discussing them at length, or attempting to decide between them. The Latin equivalent of &v\i'i is ' prex ' or * prex Domini,' as in the following passage from St. Cyprian, where * prex Domini ' evidently denotes the Eucharistic consecration prayer, though ' prex ' 1 Contra Celsitm, lib. viii. p. 33, torn. i. p. 766. 2 EvxapHTT'nde'ioav i' eix^s \6yov TOV Trap' avrov. 3 ApoL, i. cap. 66. See p. 52 for a slightly varying translation. 4 Wordsworth, J. (Bp. of Salisbury), 7 he Holy Communion (Oxford, 1891), p. 62. 5 Ffoulkes (E. S.), Primitive Consecration, p. 54. 120 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll. is elsewhere used by St. Cyprian of prayer in a general sense : * How does he think that his hand can be transferred to the sacrifice and to the prayer of the Lord, which has been held in captivity to sacrilege and crime ? ' x Another expression for the consecrating formula is ' the Word of God.' Irenaeus says 'When therefore the mixed cup and the natural bread receive the word of God (rbv \6yov TOV eo9) it becomes the Eucharist of the blood and body of Christ.' ' 2 A more frequent phrase is ' the word of invocation/ or the invocation of God (tTnVAr/me GtoG). Irenaeus says again * As the bread which is from the earth, after receiving the invocation of God upon it, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two things, an earthly and a heavenly, so our bodies after partaking of the Eucharist are no longer destructible, having hope of the resurrection that is for ever.' 3 Describing the proceedings of a certain heretical Marcus, he reports how ' Pretending to consecrate the Eucharist with a chalice of wine and water mixed, and making the word [or address, rov Adyoi/ rf/s eTriKA^o-ews] of the invocation unusually long, he contrived that they should appear purple and red, as though the grace which is from the powers on high dropped its own blood into those chalices at his invocation.' 4 1 Ep. Ixiv. p. in. 2 Contra Hares, lib. v. cap. 2 ; P. G., vii. 1125. 3 Ibid., lib. x. cap. 18 ; P. G., vii. 1028. * // i. 657. 122 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. Bishop of Rjme, describes how the schismatic Novatian, in administering the Eucharist, compelled the communicants to substitute a formula of alle- giance to himself for the ' Amen ' wont to be said immediately after reception. 1 The Mixed Chalice. The mixed cup of wine and water is mentioned in Justin Martyr's description of the Eucharistic Service. 2 Irenseus mentions and con- demns the Ebionites for rejecting the mixed chalice, and employing water only in the Eucharist, 3 and says that when the mixed cup and broken (MS. o ytyovwc, factus) bread receive the word of God, they become the Eucharist of the blood and body of Christ. 4 The mixed cup is mentioned in the epitaph of Abercius (Avircius Marcellus), a supposed successor of Papias in the see of Hierapolis in Phrygia, c. A.D. l6o. 5 This epitaph is so important, as well as interesting, and at the same time is so little known, that we do not hesitate to print it in full, appending brief, but not always certain, explanations of difficult phrases in the footnotes. 6 1 Routh (J. M.), Rdiquia .Sam?, 2nd ed. vol. iii. p. 27. - ApoL i. cap. Ixv. See p. 52. 3 Contra Hares, lib. v. cap. i. Later on St. Augustine mentions the Aquarii, a sect who adopted the same practice (De Hares, cap. 64 ; CEhler, Corpus Harcsiologicum, torn. i. p. 215). 4 Contra Hares, lib. v. cap. 2 ; P. G., vii. 1125. 5 But see p. 123, note 10. 6 The translation and notes are mainly those of Bp. Lightfoot. The original Greek is printed by De Rossi, Inscriptiones Christiana tirbis Roma, vol. ii. pt. i., Introd. pp. xii.-xxiv., and by Bp. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers (London, 1885), pt. ii. vol. i. pp. 476-485. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 123 ' The citizen of an elect * city, I made this [tomb] in my lifetime, that in due season I might have a resting-place for my body. Abercius by name, I am a disciple of the pure Shepherd, who feedeth His flocks of sheep on mountains and plains, who hath great eyes looking on all sides ; for He taught me the faithful writings [of life]. He also sent me to royal Rome to behold it, and to see the golden- robed, golden-sandalled Queen. 2 And there I saw a people bearing the splendid seal, 3 and I saw the plain of Syria, and all the cities, even Nisibis, crossing over the Euphrates. And everywhere I had associates. 4 In company with Paul, 5 I followed, and everywhere Faith led the way, and set before me the Fish 6 from the fountain, mighty and stainless, whom a pure Virgin 7 clasped, and gave this to friends to eat always, having good wine, and giving the mixture 8 with bread. These words I, Abercius, standing by, ordered to be inscribed. In sooth, I was in the course of my seventy-second year. Let every one who considers my meaning and thinks with me pray for Abercius. 9 But no man shall place another tomb above mine. If otherwise, then he shall pay two thousand pieces of gold to the treasury of the Romans, and a thousand pieces of gold to my good fatherland, Hieropolis.' 10 St. Cyprian is positive and vehement on the subject of the mixed chalice. He calls it a tradition from i.e. Christian. Either the Empress Faustina or the Church. Probably the sign of the cross, especially as impressed at baptism and confirmation. ^.^.fellow-Christians. Having St. Paul's writings with him, or being a traveller like St. Paul. The well-known emblem of our Lord found in the earliest paintings in the Catacombs. 7 The B. V. M., or allegorically of the Church. 8 Kfpaa-fjLa, the mixed chalice. 9 Early testimony to the practice of prayer for the departed. 10 Near Symnada, not Hierapolis on the Masander. 124 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. our Lord (Dominica traditio), and urges that we ought to do nothing else than that which in the first instance our Lord did for us, viz. that the cup which is offered in commemoration of Him should be a mixed one. 1 He quotes, in support of it, the text, ' Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the cup which I have mingled.' 2 He then goes on, after adducing an extremely fanciful interpretation of the reason of the mixed chalice, to assert that it is necessary for the validity of the Eucharist, neither water alone nor wine alone being sufficient. He says 1 We see that people are to be understood by the water, and that the blood of Christ is exhibited in the wine. When water is mixed with wine in the chalice, the people is united to Christ and the multitude of believers is coupled and joined to Him in Whom they have believed; while coupling and joining of water and wine is thus made in the cup of the Lord as an inseparable commixture. . . . Thus, in consecrating the chalice of the Lord, water alone cannot be offered, just as wine alone cannot be offered. For if any one offer wine only, the blood of Christ begins to be in existence without us. If, however, there be water only, the people begin to be in existence without Christ. But when both are mixed and joined in mutually confused union, then the spiritual and heavenly sacrament is per- fected.' 3 This curious and inconclusive argument occurs in a letter intended to confute a practice introduced by some persons of consecrating water only for the Eucharist. So far as the invalidity of the use of 1 Ep> 63, p. 104. 2 Prov. ix. 5 ; />. 63, p. 105. 3 Ep. 63, p. 1 08. * II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 125 water only is concerned, St. Cyprian has been supported by the voice of the universal Church ; so far as the invalidity of the use of wine only is concerned, he has been overruled. Origen stands alone among the Fathers in asserting that our Lord used pure unmixed wine at the Paschal Supper. 1 Mr. F. C. Conybeare thinks that he has got proof that in the primitive Eucharist water only was used ; but the passages which he prints and adduces in support of such a view from the Acts of Paul and Thecla, and from the Acts of Callistratus, appear to contain no reference whatever to the Eucharist. 2 One fact may be mentioned with reference to the chalice in early times. Tertullian informs us that it sometimes had the figure of the Good Shepherd painted on it. 3 Reservation. We find traces of this custom for at least three purposes (a) For sending to the absent, or for the communion of the sick. Justin Martyr, in his account of the Eucharistic service, describes how, after those present had been communicated, the deacons bore away from the church portions of the consecrated elements for those who were absent. 4 1 Injeremiam, Horn. xii. 2, torn. iii. 194. The fact seems to be stated to enable a far-fetched allegorical interpretation to be worked out consistently. 2 Monuments of Early Christianity (London, 1894), pp. 75, 292. See also p. 275. 3 De Pudicitia, vol. ii. p. 645. 4 Apol. i. cap. 65 ; see p. 52. For evidence of this practice in the fourth century, see St. Basil, Ep. 93 ; P. G., xxxii. 485. 126 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. (b) For private use. St. Cyprian, writing against the custom of some Christians to frequent heathen games and shows, in spite of the immoralities and indecencies connected with them, denounces the pro- fanity of the Christian worshipper, fresh dismissed from church, hastening at once to the play, and still carrying along with him, in accordance with custom, the Eucharist. 1 It was carried in a small basket or box (area). St. Cyprian tells a story of a woman who tried to open her box which contained the holy gift of the Lord (sanctum Domini), but who desisted, being terrified by the fire which rose from the box. 2 Tertullian advised scrupulous persons who would not receive at the three p.m. celebration of the Holy Eucharist on fast days, for fear of breaking their fast thereby, to attend the service, but to reserve their portion of the consecrated elements for reception at home in the evening, i.e. till the conclusion of the fast. 3 He dissuades people from mixed marriages, because the heathen husband will get to know what is the food which the Christian wife tastes secretly before any other food, 4 referring evidently to the consecrated portion reserved for consumption at home. (c) For despatch to strangers as a token of amity. We have already referred to the letter from Irena^us to Victor, Bishop of Rome, in which the former tells the latter that his predecessors in the Roman see sent the Eucharist to other bishops who disagreed 1 De Spectaculis, p. 381. 2 De Lapsis, p. 189. 3 Ad Uxorem, lib. ii. cap. 5. 4 Ibid., cap. 4. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 127 with them as to the proper day for the observance of Easter ; and how Bishop Anicetus and Polycarp, on the occasion of the visit of the latter to Rome, agreed to differ on this point without any breach of intercommunion. 1 Origen, in one passage, lays stress on the fact that at the institution of the Eucharist the bread was given to the disciples for immediate consumption, and not to be reserved for the morrow ; but the context shows that he is arguing, not against the reservation of the material elements, but, metaphori- cally, against anything like staleness in offering the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. 2 Mode of Reception. Many details have not come down to us, but there is trace of a custom at Alex- andria a custom not universally followed even there of permitting the communicants to approach the holy table, and to take, each for themselves, a portion of the consecrated Eucharist. 3 The same custom seems to be referred to in a letter from Dionysius of Alexandria to Xystus II., Bishop of Rome, preserved by Eusebius. 4 Fasting Reception. The fasting reception of the Eucharist by the newly baptized is ordered in the Canons of Hippolytus, 5 and also more generally for all the faithful ; but in language which half suggests that fasting reception was not then the universal and 1 See p. in. 2 Horn. v. in\Levit. 8 ; P. G., xii. 453, 454. 3 Stromata, lib. i. cap. i. ; P. G., viii. 691. 4 See p. 81. 5 Canon xix. 150-153, pp. 101, 102. These passages are bracketed by the editors as probably an interpolation, but not as a later addition. J28 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [U, compulsory rule at all times, but that it was rigidly enforced on Good Friday. ' Let not any of the faithful taste anything before he has partaken of the mysteries, especially on the day of the holy fast.' l We must again call attention to the passage in which Tertullian warns the Christian wife of a heathen husband that one of the difficulties of her situation will be that her husband will not know, and if he knows will not understand, what it is that she cats secretly before all other food. 2 These are the only references which we have found in ante-Nicene writings to this subject. This is the more remarkable, because there is plentiful evidence for the fasting reception of the other great sacrament of the gospel. 3 Infant Communion. This is necessarily involved in the fact that infants were baptized, and that baptism was always immediately followed, if possible, by confirmation and first communion. St. Cyprian incidentally refers to the custom in his story about a child, who, unknown to its Christian mother, had been permitted by its nurse to taste food offered to idols, and who afterwards in church frantically refused to taste the contents of the consecrated 1 Canon xxviii. 205, p. 119. The same direction appears in the somewhat later Egyptian Church Order, with the enlargement that no deadly gift shall be able to injure the faithful recipient of the Eucharist (ibid.). This is evidently an allusion to St. Mark xvi. 17. 2 See p. 1 14. For a curious translation and interpretation of ' ante omnem cibum ' (i.e. before every meal), see F. T. Kingdon, Fasting Communion (London, 1875), p. 203. 3 See p. 72. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 129 chalice, and vomited when forced to do so. 1 On the other hand, a passage may be quoted from Origen to prove that infants were not communicants. 2 The reconciliation of the two passages lies in this : infants received the Eucharistic elements, probably, once in close connection with their baptism, but did not become regular communicants till they were more advanced in years. HOLY DAYS. See SAINTS' DAYS. ii. IMPOSITION OF HANDS. We find reference to a fourfold usage and meaning of the ceremony of imposition of hands (a) In Absolution. See p. 56. (b) In Confirmation. See p. 91. (c) In Ordination. See p. 139. (d) In Benediction. Several instances of this occur in the Acts of Thomas, 8 and probably else- where. Directions are given in the Apostolic Con- stitutions. 4 12. INCENSE. There is no evidence for the use of incense in Christian worship during the first three centuries. 5 The offering of incense was so intimately associated with the worship of idols, and with the early persecutions of the Christian religion, that we 1 Lib. de Lapsis, cap. xxv. p. 189. 2 ' Antequam panis caslestis consequamur annonam, et carnibus agni immaculati satiemur, antequam verse vitis quse ascendit de radice David sanguine inebriemur, donee parvuli sumus et lacte alimur,' etc. (In Lib. Judicuniy Horn. vi. 2). 3 Cap. 10, adfatem, p. 10 ; cap. 29, p. 22 ; cap 46, p. 35. 4 Lib. viii. cap. 37. See also cap. 38. 5 A passage in Origen (Horn, iii., In Lib. Judiciim, 2), where he uses the words ' de altari Domini quod deberet incensi suavitate fragrare,' is plainly metaphorical. K 130 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. may well conjecture, though we have no proof, that it was the association of incense with idolatry, and with suffering for the truth, which accounts for its non-use in the earlier days of Christianity. The famous prophecy of Malachi l was frequently commented upon in early Christian literature ; but though its Eucharistic reference is nearly always maintained, the allusion to incense is either passed over in silence or explained as referring to prayer in connection with Rev. v. 8. 2 The following words, used by Tertullian, may be evidence that incense was not used in Christian worship in his time. He says that ' as a Christian, he offers to God the rich and better offering which he himself has commanded, namely, prayer proceeding from a chaste body and an innocent mind, inspired by the Holy Spirit ; not grains of incense of the value of one as, not the exudations of an Arabian shrub, not two drops of wine,' etc. 8 It is possible that this, being a rhetorical passage, should not be pressed to prove the non-use of incense any more than it can be pressed to prove the non-use of Eucharistic wine. Arnobius speaks of idol-worship and of the use of incense in terms which make it morally certain that he had no knowledge of any custom of using incense in Christian worship. 4 1 Mai. i. ii. 2 Didache^ cap. xiv. ; Justin Martyr, Dialogus cum Tryphone, capp. 28, 41, 116, 117; Irenseus, Contra Hares, lib. iv. capp. 17, 18; Tertullian, Adv.Judceos, cap. 5 ; Adv. Marcionem, lib. iii. cap. 22. 3 ApoL, cap. xxx. ; P. L., i. 444. 4 Adversus Gentes, lib. vii. caps. 26-28 ; P. L. t v. 1135-1145. II.] ANTE'NICENE RITUAL. 131 Lactantius, in a very fine passage on 'the true worship and sacrifice due to God/ speaks of the uselessness of external offerings of victims, vestments, gold, silver, incense, etc., in language which seems to imply, though it does not directly state, that none of those things formed part of Christian worship in his time. 1 Incense is first ordered for use in the Apostolic Canons, 2 and in the writings of Dionysius the Areo- pagite, 3 both post-Nicene authorities. See List of Authorities, pp. xii, xiv. 13. KlSS OF PEACE. The kiss of peace (Osculant > Pax) was a recognized Christian custom throughout the period with which we are dealing. In the Passion or Acts of St. Perpetua we are told how the martyrs first kissed each other that they might complete their martyrdom with the solemnity of the kiss. 4 It formed part of the ritual of every Eucharistic cele- bration, its position being after the dismissal of the Catechumens and before or at the commencement of the Anaphora, or Mass of the Faithful. This is plain from the account of the service given by Justin Martyr, 5 and from the Canons of Hippolytus, 6 as well as from its position in the Clementine Liturgy. 7 Tertullian refers with disapproval to a custom of omitting ' the kiss ' on fast-days generally, though 1 Epitome Div, Institt.^ cap. Iviii. ; P. Z., v. 1135-1145. Origen has a fine passage to the same effect (Contra Cehum> lib. viii. capp. 17-19). 2 Canon 3. 3 De Eccles. Hierarchy cap. iii. 2 ; P. G., iii. 426. 4 Cap. xxi. 5 Apol. i. cap. 65. See p. 52. Canon iii. 19, p. 48. 7 H., p. 11. See p. 289. 132 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. he would retain its omission on the greatest of all fast-days, Good Friday. 1 Origen, in his Commentary on the Song of Solomon, refers to that kiss which we give to each other in church at the time of the Mysteries, 2 and in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, said that it was a traditional custom in the Church for brethren to salute each other with the kiss of peace after prayers. 8 But the kiss was not only Eucharistic in its associa- tion. It was given at baptism to the newly baptized. Some people shrank from kissing an infant only a few days old, as an impure thing, but St. Cyprian thus argues with them in favour of the baptismal kiss ' No one ought to shudder at that which God hath con- descended to make. For although the infant is still fresh from its birth, yet it is not just that any one should shudder at kissing it, in giving grace and making peace ; since in kissing the infant, every one of us ought, for his very religion's sake, to bethink him of the hands of God them- selves, still fresh, which in some sort we are kissing in the man lately formed and freshly born, when embracing that which God hath made.' 4 A kiss of peace, which may be described as partly baptismal, partly Eucharistic, is mentioned in the Canons of Hippolytus, where, as the priest gives .the kiss to the newly baptized, he says, 'The Lord 1 De Oratione, cap. xviii. ; P. Z., i. 1176. 2 Lib. i. torn. iii. p. 37. 3 Lib. x. 33 j r. G., xiv. 1282, 4 Ef. 59, p. 98. II.] ANTE'NICENE RITUAL. 133 be with you/ and then the administration of the Holy Eucharist to them forthwith follows. 1 As to the Ordination Service, the Canons of Hippolytus direct that the newly consecrated bishop shall receive the kiss of peace from all. 2 In later times it was ordered that the newly ordained presbyter should receive the kiss from the bishop and the rest of the clergy. 3 Tertullian mentions the kiss at marriage as an old heathen custom, but he does not expressly say whether it was retained or not in the Christian mar- riage ceremonial of his day. 4 14. THE LOVE-FEAST, OR AGAPE. The agape" was a feast or meal, of which in the earliest times all the members of the Christian Church partook in common as a token of brotherhood. It was an ordinary meal of a quasi-religious character. In St. Paul's time, A.D. 57-8, the Eucharist and the agape were closely connected, the latter ap- parently preceding the former. This is an inference from Acts xx. 7 ; and still more from the profane and scandalous behaviour condemned by St. Paul in i Cor. xi. 17-34. The title ' The Lord's Supper/ in I Cor. xi. 20, was originally applied to the combined' agape and Eucharist, and after the two had become dissociated, and after the former had become obsolete, 1 Canon xix. 139, p. 99. Fuller details are found in the Apostolic Constitutions, lib. viii. cap. 5. Canon iii. 19, p. 48. 3 Dionysius Pseudo-Areop., De Eccles. Hierarchy cap. 5, 7 ; P G., iii. 510. * De Velandis Virginibus, cap. xi. : P. L., 904, 905. 134 LITURGY OF ANTE- NICE NE CHURCH. [II. was retained as a title for the Eucharist only. We do not know the exact date at which the dissociation took place. Probably it was very soon after St. Paul's time, and in order to avoid the possibility of such scandals as that which the Apostle had to condemn at Corinth. It is a fair inference, from the language of Pliny's letter to Trajan, 1 that in Bithynia, in A.D. 112, the severance had already taken place, and that the Eucharist was then celebrated by itself at an early hour in the morning. The laws of 'imperial Rome were very strict against anything in the nature of a sodalitas- or guild for social or other non-religious purposes, which involved a number of people meeting together. In order to avoid falling under this law, the agapre were abandoned in the province of Bithynia-Pontus, ruled over by Pliny, and probably elsewhere as well. 2 It is also inferred that in Justin Martyr's time at Rome (c. A.D. 140) the Eucharist was celebrated by itself at an early hour in the morning. 3 On the other hand, there is an expression in the Epistle of St. Ignatius to the Smyrnseans which has been taken to imply that the dissociation had not taken place at Antioch or at Smyrna c. A.D. no. Ignatius tells the Smyrneeans that it is not lawful to baptize or to celebrate the agape apart from the bishop. 4 There would be incongruity in this 1 Page 51. 2 Ramsay (W. M.), The Church in the Roman Empire before A.D. 170, pp. 206, 215, 219, 358. 3 ApoL i. capp. 65, 67, pp. 51-53. 4 Ad Smyrnaos, cap. viii. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 135 juxtaposition unless the other great sacrament was intended or included ; and it seems impossible to resist the inference that the Eucharist and love- feast were still so closely united together, that the expression 'to celebrate the agape' denoted or connoted to celebrate the Eucharist as well. 1 This close connection between the love-feast and the Eucharist makes it sometimes difficult to decide whether passages and expressions in the earliest writings refer to the love-feast separately, or to the Eucharist separately, or to both conjointly. This difficulty arises with regard to the interpretation of the ninth and tenth chapters of the Didacht, which will be quoted at length and described hereafter. 2 The following passage from Tertullian gives a graphic description of the love-feast in the earlier part of the third century : 'Yet about the modest supper-room of the Christians alone a great ado is made. Our feast explains itself by its name. The Greeks call it love \Agap\. Whatever it costs our outlay in the name of piety is gain, since with the good things of the feast we benefit the needy. Parasites do not, as with you, aspire to the glory of satisfying their licentious propensities, selling themselves for a belly feast to all dis- graceful treatment ; but, as it is with God Himself, a peculiar respect is shown to the lowly. If the object of our feast be good, in the light of that consider its further regulations. As it is an act of religious service, it permits no vileness or immodesty. The participants, before 1 This is Bp. Lightfoot's conclusion. See his note in Apostolic Fathers (London, 1885), pt. ii. vol. ii. sect. i. p. 312. 2 Chap. iii. 3. See p. 172. 136 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. reclining, taste first of prayer to God. As much is eaten as satisfies the cravings of hunger ; as much is drunk as befits the chaste. They say it is enough, as those who remember that even during the night they have to worship God ; they talk as those who know that the Lord is one of their auditors. After manual ablution, and the bringing in of lights, each is asked to stand forth and sing, as he can, a hymn to God, either one from the Holy Scriptures or one of his own composing. This is a proof of the measure of our drinking. As the feast commenced with prayer, so it is closed with prayer. We go from it, not like troops of mischief-doers, nor bands of roamers, nor to break out into licentious acts, but to have as much care of our modesty and chastity as if we had been to a school of virtue rather than a banquet. Give the meeting of Christians its due, and hold it unlawful if it is like as- semblies of the illicit sort, by all means let it be condemned if any complaint can be validly laid against it, such as is laid against secret factions. But who has ever suffered harm from our assemblies ? We are in our meetings just what we are when we are separated from each other ; we are as a community what we are as individuals ; we injure nobody ; we trouble nobody. When the upright, when the virtuous meet together, when the pious, when the pure assemble in congregation, you ought not to call that "a faction," but "a curia" that is, "a sacred meeting."' l St. Clement of Alexandria alludes to the love- feast, warning his readers that the love-feast itself is not charity, but that it is a sign of that social benevolence which willingly imparts to others of its own abundance. 2 In the Canons of Hippolytus it is implied that 1 ApoL, cap. xxxix. ; P. Z., i. 468. 2 Pizdagog., lib. ii. p. 166. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 137 the regular love-feast will take place on Sunday evening at the time of the lighting of the lamps. 1 Some of the glass cups and plates found in the Roman catacombs, decorated with sacred figures and memorial inscriptions, may be dated back as far as the third century, and were probably in use at agapae. 2 The love-feast was celebrated by the Christians of the Thebaid on the sabbath (Saturday) as late as the time of Socrates. 3 15. MARRIAGE. From the earliest days marriage has been regarded as a religious act, and solemnized with religious ceremonial. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote ' It is fitting for men and women who marry to form this union with the approval of the bishop, that their union may be according to the will of God, and not according to the dictates of concupiscence.' 4 We have seen from Tertullian that the marriage itself was accompanied by a celebration of the Eucharist. 5 A marriage so entered upon was regarded as indissoluble, except by death. Even in the case of a wife's unfaithfulness, though the innocent party might obtain a divorce, he might not marry again while his divorced wife was alive. ' What then, sir, say I, shall the husband do, if the wife continue in this case ? Let him divorce her, saith he, and let the husband abide alone ; but, if after divorcing his wife, 1 Canons xxxii. 164 ; xxxiii. 172. There are other interesting details about the agape in these Canons. Smith and Cheetham, Diet, of Christian Antiqq.^ \. 734. 3 i.e. in the fifth century (Hist. Eecles., v. 22 ; P. G., Ixvii. 635). 4 Epist. ad Polycarpum, cap. 5. 5 Page 115. 138 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II. he shall marry another, he likewise committeth adultery. If then, sir, say I, after the wife is divorced she repent and desire to return to her own husband, shall she not be received? Certainly, saith he. If the husband receiveth her not, he sinneth and bringeth great sin upon himself; nay, one who hath sinned and repented must be received, yet not often; for there is but one repentance for the servants of God. For the sake of her repentance, there- fore, the husband ought not to marry. This is the manner of acting enjoined on husband and wife.' l As to ceremonial details, we gather that the bride was usually dressed in white and veiled, 2 and that joining of hands and the kiss of peace were part of the Marriage Service. 3 The use of the ring at espousals was a part both of heathen and of Jewish nuptial ceremonial. It is alluded to more than once by Tertullian, who does not, however, expressly state that Christians used it. But St. Clement of Alexandria speaks of its Christian use in his time, saying that the ring is given to the woman, not as an ornament, but as a seal to signify the woman's duty in preserving the goods of her husband, because the care of the house belongs to her. 4 The bride and bridegroom were not crowned. 5 1 Shepherd of Hernias, Mandate iv. i. See Tertullian, Adv. Marcioneni) lib. iv. cap. 34; P. /., ii. 441 ; Clem. Alex., Stromata, lib. iii. cap. 23 ; P. G., viii. 1096. 2 Hermas, Vision iv. i ; Clem. Alex., Padagog., lib. iii. cap. n ; P. G., viii. 627, 657. 3 Tertullian, De Virginibus Velandis, cap. xi. ; P. Z., ii. 904. 4 Pczdagog., lib. iii. cap. II ; P. 6*., viii. 632. 5 Ibid., lib. ii. cap. 8. Crowns were forbidden at first as a heathen custom (Justin Martyr, Apol. t i. 89 ; P. G., vi. 339 ; Tertullian, .t cap. 42 ; P. L.,\. 492). Their introduction is post-Nicene. II.J ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 139 The marriage of the clergy of all grades was recognized throughout the primitive Church. The Apostolic Constitutions ordained that bishops, priests, and deacons should be only married once. 1 16. ORDINATION, HOLY ORDERS. No extant office for the ordination or consecration of bishops, priests, or deacons is ante-Nicene in date ; but we find allusions to the imposition of hands as forming the essential external act of ordination in primitive times. Cornelius, Bishop of Rome (A.D. 251-2), writing to Fabian, Bishop of Antioch, describes the consecra- tion of the schismatic Novatian to the episcopate, as performed by three Italian bishops by the im- position of hands. 2 That was evidently regarded as the essential outward sign. Had any other ceremony been regarded as essential we may be sure that Novatian would not have weakened his position by disregarding it, and that its use would have been recorded. In this same letter Cornelius in- cidentally mentions the number of the Roman clergy in his time. They were 46 presbyters, 7 deacons, 7 sub-deacons, 42 acolytes, 52 exorcists, readers, and doorkeepers; and there were 1500 widows and dis- tressed persons supported by the Church. In the Canons of Hippolytus the imposition of hands is prescribed at the ordination of bishops, priests, and deacons, without further ceremonial. 3 1 Lib. vi. cap. 17. 2 XeipfiriBea-la, Routh (J. M.), Reliquue Sacrce, 2nd ed. vol. iii. p. 23. 3 Canons iii., iv., v., JO, 30, 38. The imposition of hands is the only ceremony mentioned in the Egyptian Church Order and in the Apostolic Constitutions. 140 LITURGY OF ANT-E-NICENE CHURCH. [II. The following titles are found of persons in various grades of holy orders : Degree. Bishop Priest Title. 'EiriffKOTTOS Episcopus Antistes Praepositus Pontifex Sacerdos Princeps sacer- dotum Summussacerdos 'lepevs ... Authority. Patres Apostolici, passim, etc. ; Clemen- tine Homilies, lib. iii. cap. 67, etc. Clementine Homilies, lib. iii. cap. 72. Clement of Rome, Ep. to Cor., cap. xxi. ; Shepherd of Hermas, Vision iii. 9- Origen, C. Celsum, lib. iii. cap. 30, torn. i. p. 466. Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., cap. xl. Canons of Hippolytus, xxxvi. 186, p. 112, etc.; Tertullian, De Prescript. Haret., cap. xvi., etc. ; Cyprian, Ep. 68, etc. Cyprian. See P. Z., torn. iv. index. Firmilian, Ep. ad Cyprianum ; Cyprian, Opera ; P. L., iii. 1158. Origen, in Levit., Horn. iv. 6. Cyprian most frequently uses this word for episcopus, but sometimes for ' pres- byter ; ' Canons of Hippolytus, xxxvi. 186-188, p. II2. 2 Canons of Hippolytus, xxiv. 200, p. 117. Tertullian, De Bapt., cap. xvii. 3 Justin Martyr, Apol., i. cap. 67. Comp. 1 Tim. v. 17. Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., capp. xxi., xlvii., etc. ; Clementine Homilies, lib. iii. cap. 67, etc. Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., cap. xl. ; Ig- natius, Ad Philadelph., cap. ix. p. 126 ; 4 Canons of Hippolytus, xxxvii. 201, 1 But possibly the reference in this word is to Christ. 2 It is not quite clear whether the sacerdos in this passage is the same as the episcopus or different. 3 We may add that in the oldest Roman Sacramentary (Sacramen- tarium Leonianum), in seven masses for St. Xystus, ii. (Aug. 6), he is seven times entitled sacerdos (including once pr&cipuus sacerdos and once sedis apostolicce sacerdos}, once prasul apostolicus, once pontifex. 4 The context renders it uncertain whether this word is applied to the Jewish or the Christian priesthood. II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 141 Degree. Title. Authoritj'. p. 118, etc.; Polycrates, in Euseb. Hist. Eccles., lib. v. cap. 24.* Priest 'ETTtV/COTTOS ... Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., cap. xlii. ; Didactic 1 , cap. xv. tl Presbyter Tertullian, De Prescript. Hceret., cap. xli., etc. ; Cyprian, Ep., 36, etc. ; Origen, In Lib. Jesu Nave, Horn. xvi. T )> Senior Tertullian, Apol., cap. 39 ; Firmilian, Ep. ad Cyprianum ; Origen, In Lib. Jesu Nave, Horn. xvi. I. M Sacerdos Cyprian, Ep. 68, etc. ; Origen, in Ge- nesim, Horn. xvi. 5 ; Origen, in Levit., Horn. v. 12, etc. Deacon Ata/cofos Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., cap. xlii. ; Didache, cap. xv. ; Patres Apostolici, passim. 5J Diaconus Tertullian, De Prescript. H torn. ii. 476. The whole prayer is proof that Origen did not interpret the command as to the * Pedilavium ' literally. 2 Select, in Psalmos, in Ps. xxxvii., Horn. ii. 9, torn. ii. p. 689. 3 The Apology of Aristides, edited by J. R. Harris, with an appendix by J. A. Robinson, being vol. i. of Texts and Studies (Cambridge, 1891), p. 25. N i;8 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill. (b) From the Apology of Athenagoras, presented to the emperors Aurelius and Commodus, c. A.D. 177 'We acknowledge one uncreated, and eternal, and in- visible, and impassible, and incomprehensible, and illimi- table God. ... By whom, through His word, the universe has been created and adorned, and is preserved. We acknowledge the Son of God. . . . The Son of God is the Word of the Father, in form and efficacy ; for according to Him, and by Him, have all things been made, since the Father and the Son are one/ x etc. (c] From the writings of St. Irenaeus, A.D. 170-1 80 * We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Who made heaven, and earth, and the seas, and all that in them is. And in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who was made flesh for our salvation. And in the Holy Ghost, Who preached through the prophets. And the birth [of Jesus Christ] of a Virgin, And. His passion, And His resurrection from the dead, And the ascension into heaven in the flesh, of the beloved Christ Jesus our Lord, And His coming from heaven in the glory of the Father, to gather up again all things unto Himself, And to raise up all flesh of the human race.' 2 1 Supplicatio [see Legatio\ pro Christianis, cap. x. ; P. G. t torn. vi. col. 908. 2 Irenaeus, Adv. Hares.> lib. i. cap. x. I ; P. G., torn. vii. col. 549 ; Heurtley (C. A.), A History of Earlier Formularies of the Faith (Oxford, 1893), P- 20- III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 179 (d) From the writings of Tertullian ' [I believe in] one God Almighty, the Creator of the world : And in His Son, Jesus Christ, Born of the Virgin Mary, Crucified under Pontius Pilate ; On the third day He rose from the dead, He was received into heaven, He is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come to judge the quick and the dead, Through the resurrection also of the flesh.' l (e) From the writings of St. Cyprian 1 1 believe in God the Father, In Christ the Son, In the Holy Spirit : I believe in the remission of sins, And life eternal, Through the Holy Church.' 2 (/) The Confessio fidei of Hippolytus, printed by Bunsen, is rather a treatise than a creed. 3 (g) The Creed of Novatian, c. 260, the ringleader of a schism at Rome which hinged on a point not of doctrine but of discipline, was similar to the above, as may be gathered from St. Cyprian's allusions to Novatian and his teaching in his Epistle to Magnus. 4 (h) Creed of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, produced between A.D. 260-265. 1 Liber de Virginibiis Velandis, cap. i. ; P. L., torn. ii. col. 889; Heurtley (C. A.), ut supra, p. 22. 2 This is put together from S. Cypriani, Ep. Ixxvi. (al. 69), ad Magnum (Opera omnia^ ed. Baluz, Paris, 1726, p. 154), and Ep. Ixx. ad Januarium et ceteros episcopos Numidas (ed. nt supra, p. 125). 3 Analecta ante-Nic * n Acts xvi. 13, 1 6, as 'a house of prayer' is untenable. 2 Christian Life and Practice in the Early Chtircli (London, 1877), p. 299. 3 Streane (A. W.), Jesus Christ in the Talmud, etc. (Cambridge, 1893), pp. 21*, 27*. 206 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. in the first century A.D. were a comparatively modern institution, and had no hereditary claim on the reverence or affection of either Jews or Christians. The contrary has sometimes been inferred from the statement of St. James, in Acts xv. 21, but the words used there might mean anything from one thousand to one hundred years. As a matter of fact, the meaning must be near the latter and not the former limit. There is no reference to synagogues in the Old Testament. Ps. Ixxiv. 8 is generally admitted to be a mistranslation ; 1 nor can 3 Mace. vii. 20 be relied upon, although it is usually supposed to refer to the building of a synagogue at Alexandria, c. 217-215 B.C. There is really no evidence for the generally accepted theory and often-repeated state- ment that the foundation or re-foundation of syna- gogues took place in the days of Nehemiah or Ezra. 2 Synagogues were village institutes and police courts as well as halls of worship. Within their precincts cases were tried, prisoners were sentenced, and the sentences were carried out. Our Lord said ' They shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My Name's sake.' 3 1 If it is not a mistranslation, this Psalm is assigned to the period of the Maccabees in consequence of this verse (S. R. Driver, Intro- duction to the Literature of the Old Testament, 3rd ed. p. 364). 2 The fact is doubtfully accepted in Smith's Dictionary of the vol. iii' p- 1398- 3 St. Luke xxi. 12. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 207 'Beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues.' l St. Paul tells how 'I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed. ... I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.' 2 In later times St. Paul was himself five times sentenced by his fellow-countrymen to undergo the penalty of the lash, 3 and the place where these scourgings were inflicted must have been the syna- gogue. Surely, with such painful and degrading associations and recollections, the synagogue would not have been the quarter to which the first Christians would have turned to find a model, either for their proceedings or their services. 4 Their thoughts would more naturally centre round the temple, which our Saviour, and His Apostles after Him, regularly fre- quented, and which was, par excellence, the house of God. Yet -some further information about the arrange- ments of the synagogue may be acceptable. The building faced so that the worshippers might look towards the Holy City. The door for the entrance of the congregation was at one end of the building. At the further end which we will call 1 St. Matt. x. 17 ; xxiii. 3, 4; St. Luke xii. II. 2 Acts xxii. 19; xxvi. n. 3 2 Cor. xi. 24. 4 See King (R.), The Ruling Elder (Armagh, 1892 not published), capp. xxxii.-xxxiv. 2o8 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. the east end elevated on steps, was an ark, or closet, over which a canopy was spread. This ark always contained the scrolls of the law, and some- times the official garments of the officers of the community. The desk for the leader of Divine worship was placed in front of the ark. The rostrum, or bema, an elevated pulpit or plat- form, from which the lessons of the law were read and discourses were delivered, usually stood in the centre of the building. In front of the ark there were armchairs, in which the elders of the synagogue and doctors of the law sat, facing the congregation. A light was kept perpetually burning, in evident imitation of the temple light. 1 Trombones were kept, to be blown on the first day of the year, and trumpets, to be blown on feast days. The usual hours of daily worship in the synagogue were nine a.m., when the morning sacrifice was being offered in the temple, and three p.m., when the evening sacrifice was being offered in the temple, or rather, while the sacrifice in the temple was being burned, which was interpreted to mean any hour between dark and dawn. It is not known with precision what the Jewish service was in the time of our Lord. Dr. Ginsburg says 'That the Jews in the time of Christ had a liturgical 1 Exod. xxvii. 2O. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 209 service is certain ; but it is equally certain that the present Liturgy of the synagogue embodies a large admixture of prayers which were compiled after the destruction of the second temple.' l Dr. Schiirer says ' As the Shema undoubtedly belongs to the time of Christ, it is evident that certain established prayers were then already customary in public worship. It can, how- ever, hardly be ascertained how much of the somewhat copiously developed Liturgy of post-Talmudic Judaism reaches back to that period.' ' 2 It is of no use, therefore or rather, it is worse than useless, because it would be misleading to take up a Jewish Prayer-book of the present day, and, with that as an authority, to institute a comparison between the liturgical language and ritual of the Jewish and Christian Churches. We will now quote those portions of the Jewish Liturgy, which, apart from, and in addition to, lections from Holy Scripture, are believed to be as old or older than Christianity, and to have been in use in the time of our Lord. 4. THE SHEMA. Two introductory benedictions, called the Shevia, or Keriath Shema. i. 'Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who Greatest light and formest darkness, who makest peace and Greatest all things. He in mercy causes the light to shine upon the earth and the inhabitants 1 Article ' Synagogue,' in Kitto's Cyclopedia of Biblical lAtcratnre, iii. 905. - A History of the Jewish People, div. ii. vol. ii. p. 77. P 210 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. thereof, and in goodness ^renews every day the work of creation. Blessed art Thou, the Creator of light. 2. With great love hast Thou loved us, O Lord our God. Thou hast shown us great and abundant mercy, O our Father and King, for the sake of our forefathers who trusted in Thee. Thou who didst teach them the love of life, have mercy upon us, and teach us also ... to praise and acknowledge Thy unity in love. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who in love hast chosen Thy people.' [Recitation of the ten commandments. The Shema consisting of Deut. vi. 4-9 ; xi. 13-21 ; Numb. xv. 37-41.] 3. Concluding benediction ' It is true and firmly established that Thou art the Lord our God, and the God of our forefathers ; there is no God besides Thee. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the Redeemer of Israel.' It is to be noticed that, in the conversation between our Saviour and the lawyer who inquired, ' Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' the lawyer recited a verse of the Shema (Deut. vi. 4, 5 ; St. Luke x. 26, 27). 5. THE EIGHTEEN BENEDICTIONS, OR THE PRAYER ' SHEMONAH ESRAH.' These were recited in the temple daily ; three of them were pronounced upon the people by the priests every day in the temple court The sixteenth and seventeenth were used by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. i. ' Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, the God of our Fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, great, omnipotent, fearful, and most high God, who bountifully shewest mercy, IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 211 who art the possessor of all things, who rememberest the pious deeds of our fathers, and sendest the Redeemer to their children's children, for His mercy's sake in love, O our King, Defender, Saviour, and Shield. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the Shield of Abraham ! 2. Thou art powerful, O Lord, world without end. Thou bringest the dead to life in great compassion, Thou holdest up the falling, healest the sick, loosest the chained, and shewest Thy faithfulness to those that sleep in the dust. Who is like unto Thee, Lord of might ? and who resembles Thee ? a Sovereign killing and bringing to life again, and causing salvation to flourish, and Thou art sure to raise the dead. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who raisest the dead. 3. Thou art Holy, and Thy Name is Holy, and the holy ones praise Thee every day continually. Blessed art Thou, O Lord the holy God. 4. Thou mercifully bestowest knowledge upon men, and teachest the mortal prudence. Mercifully bestow upon us from Thyself, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who mercifully bestowest knowledge. 5. Our Father, lead us back to Thy law. Bring us very near, O King, to Thy service, and cause us to return in sincere penitence into Thy presence. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who delightest in repentence. 6. Our Father, forgive us, for we have sinned ; our King pardon us, for we have trangressed ; for Thou art forgiving and pardoning. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, merciful and plenteous in forgiveness. 7. Look at our misery, contend our cause, and deliver us speedily, for Thy Name's sake, for Thou art a mighty deliverer. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the Deliverer of Israel. 8. Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed ; save us, 212 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. and we shall be saved, for Thou art our boast ; grant us a perfect cure for all our wounds, for Thou, O Lord our King, art a faithful and merciful physician. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who healest the sick of Thy people Israel. 9. Bless to us, O Lord our God, for good this year, and all its kinds of produce. Send Thy blessing upon the face of the earth, satisfy us with Thy goodness, and bless this year as the years bygone. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who blessest the seasons. 10. Cause the great trumpet to proclaim our liberty, raise the standard for the gathering of our captives, and bring us together from the four corners of the earth. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who gatherest together the dispersed of Israel. 11. Reinstate our judges as of old, and our councillors as of yore ; remove from us sorrow and sighing, and do Thou alone, O Lord, reign over us in mercy and love, and judge us in righteousness and justice. Blessed art Thou, O Lord the King, who lovest righteousness and justice. 12. Let the apostates have no hope, and let those who perpetrate wickedness speedily perish ; let them all be suddenly cut off; let the proud speedily be uprooted, broken, crushed, and humbled speedily in our days. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who breakest down the enemy, and humblest the proud. 13. On the righteous, on the pious, on the elders of Thy people, the House of Israel, on the remnant of the Scribes, on the pious proselytes, and on us bestow, O Lord our God, Thy mercy; give ample reward to all who trust in Thy name in sincerity, make our portion with them for ever, and let us not be ashamed, for we trust in Thee. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the Support and Refuge of the righteous. 140. To Jerusalem, Thy city, in mercy return, and dwell in it according to Thy promise ; make it speedily in our day an everlasting building, and soon establish therein IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 213 the throne of David. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who buildest Jerusalem. 14^. The branch of David Thy servant speedily cause to flourish, and exalt his horn with Thy help, for we look to Thy help all day. Blessed art Thou, who causest to flourish the horn of David. 15. Hear our voice, O Lord our God, have pity and compassion on us, and receive with mercy and acceptance our prayers, for Thou art a God hearing prayer and suppli- cation, our King ; do not send us empty away from Thy presence, for Thou hearest the prayers of Thy people Israel in mercy. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who hearest prayer. 1 6. Be favourable, O Lord our God, to Thy people Israel, and to their prayer; restore the worship to Thy sanctuary ; receive lovingly the burnt sacrifice of Israel and their prayer, and let the service of Israel Thy people be always well-pleasing to Thee. May our eyes see Thee return to Israel in love. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who restorest Thy Shechinah to Zion. 17. We thankfully confess before Thee that Thou art the Lord our God, and the God of our fathers, world without end, and that Thou art the Shepherd of our life, and the Rock of our salvation, from generation to generation ; we render thanks unto Thee, and celebrate Thy praises. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, whose Name is goodness, and whom it becomes to praise. 1 8. Bestow peace, happiness, blessing, grace, mercy, and compassion upon us, and upon the whole of Israel Thy people. Our Father, bless us all unitedly with the light of Thy countenance, for in the light of Thy countenance didst Thou give to us, O Lord our God, the law of life, loving-kindness, justice, blessing, compassion, life, and peace. May it please Thee to bless Thy people Israel at all times, and in every moment with peace. Blessed 214 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. art Thou, O Lord, who blessest Thy people Israel with peace.' l It will be evident from 14*2 and 16 that in this form, the earliest form known to us, the eighteen Benedictions are more recent than the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 70. They may be dated A.D. 70 to A.D. 100, but their groundwork is more ancient, and we have printed them as containing, for the most part, material as ancient or more ancient than the time of Christ. 6. THE KADISH. The Kadish was part of the morning service of the synagogue. It was in these words, the legate of the congregation speaking, the congregation taking up the responses 1. ' Exalted and hallowed be His great Name in the world which He created according to His will; let His kingdom come in your lifetime, and in the lifetime of the whole House of Israel, very speedily. I\J. Amen. Blessed be His great Name, world with- out end. 2. Blessed and praised, celebrated and exalted, extolled and adored, magnified and worshipped be Thy holy Name. Blessed be He far above all benedictions, hymns, thanks, praises, and consolations, which have been uttered in the world. IV. Amen. 3. May the prayers and supplications of all Israel be graciously received before their Father in heaven. ty. Amen. 4. May perfect peace descend from heaven, and life upon us and all Israel. iy. Amen. 1 Kitto, Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, vol. iii. p 907. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 215 5. May He who makes peace in His heaven confer peace upon us and all Israel, ty. Amen.' 1 Two petitions in the Lord's Prayer, as taught by our Saviour, seem to be based upon the first section of this Kadish. 7. THE KEDUSHA. The following is the word- ing of the Kedusha, which was substituted in public worship for the third of the eighteen Benedictions. It is said in the same way as the KadisJi. ' Hallowed be Thy Name on earth as it is hallowed in heaven above, as it is written by the prophet, And one calls to the other, and says B;. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of Sabaoth ; the whole earth is filled with His glory. Those who are opposite them respond IV. Blessed be the glory of the eternal, each one in his station. And in Thy Holy Word it is written, thus saying I\r. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever, Thy God, O Zion, from generation to generation. Hallelujah. From generation to generation we will disclose Thy great- ness, and for ever and ever celebrate Thy holiness, and Thy praise shall not cease in our mouth, world without end ; for Thou, O Lord, art a great and holy King. Blessed art Thou, holy God and King.' 2 It will be seen that the Triumphal Hymn, or Tersanctus, which is now part of the Christian Liturgy, had a position previously in the Kedusha of the Jewish Church. The first section of it is also suggestive of a petition in the Lord's Prayer. 1 Kitto, ut supra. " Kitto, nt supra, p. 908^ 2 r6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. 8. THE PASCHAL SUPPER. We proceed next to describe the order and ceremonial of the Paschal Supper, 'The company having assembled, after the lamps were lighted, arranged themselves in due order on couches, round the tables, reclining on their left sides. A cup of red wine mingled with water, was filled for every one, and drunk, after a benediction by the head man of the group. A basin of water was then brought in, that each might wash his hands, and then another blessing was pronounced. A table was then carried into the open space between the couches, and bitter herbs and unleavened bread, with a dish, made of dates, raisins, and other fruits mixed with vinegar to the consistency of lime, in commemoration of the mortar with which their fathers worked in Egypt, set on it, along with the paschal lamb. The head man then took some of the herbs, dipped them in the dish, and after giving thanks to God for creating the fruits of the earth, ate a small piece, and gave one to each of the company. A second cup of wine and water was then poured out, and the son of the house, or- the youngest boy present, was asked the meaning of the feast. The questions to be put had been minutely fixed by the rabbis, and were as formally and minutely answered in appointed words, the whole story of deliverance from Egypt being thus repeated year after year, at each Passover table, in the same terms throughout all Israel.' The first part of the great ' Hallel ' or ' Hallelujah ' (Psalms cxiii., cxiv.) was now chanted, introduced by the formula ' Therefore it is our bounden duty to thank, praise, exalt, glorify, praise and celebrate Him who has done all these things for our fathers, and for us. He has led us out of bondage to freedom, out of misery to joy, out of mourning IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 217 to rejoicing, out of darkness to great light, out of slavery to liberty. Therefore let us sing before Him a new song, Hallelujah.' The resemblance of these words to the Preface in the Christian Eucharistic Service will be noticed at once. Then followed a prayer, beginning * Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the uni- verse, who hast redeemed us and our forefathers from Egypt.' Upon which the blessing and the drinking of the second cup followed. This was followed by a second washing of hands. A third cup was now poured out, and then came the grace after meals. A fourth and last cup followed, and then Psalms cxv.-cxviii., which formed the rest of the ' Hallelujah ; ' and another prayer closed the feast. Ps. cxxxvi. was sung at the conclusion of the Hallel, and was itself called the Great Hallel. 1 9. VITRINGA'S THEORY. The Dutch Protestant theologian, Vitringa, 2 whose voluminous writings on the subject have been conveniently translated by the Rev. J. L. Bernard, 3 maintained that the order, discipline, and ritual of the Christian Church were directly derived not from the Jewish temple, but from the Jewish synagogue. Whether the Christian Liturgy itself was derived from the same source, he 1 The above account is mainly taken from Geikie (C.), Life of Christ, vol. i. p. 216. - Vitringa, De Syna^oga Vetcre (Francquerze, 1696). 3 The Synagogue and the Church (London, 1842). 218 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. held it to be impossible to decide in the absence of primitive Christian service books ; but he illustrated his point by references, especially, to synagogical laws and practices in the matter of excommunication, 1 ordination, 2 preaching, 3 lections of Holy Scripture, 4 the use of lights, 5 of a pulpit, desk, etc., 6 the pro- hibition of women from speaking in public, 7 the attitude of prayer, 8 etc. He says 1 In a word, if we attentively consider the laws made in the early ages respecting the Church and its furniture, the reverence and respect due to it, there is hardly a law to be found that is not derived from the canons of the syna- gogue.' 9 We do not think that Vitringa established his point. Some of the above arrangements are based upon the ordinary requirements of convenience ; a great part, and the more distinctive part, of the regu- lations which he adduces, were common to both the synagogue and the temple. 10 10. BICKELL'S THEORY. Dr. G. Bickell, 11 fol- lowed by Dr. W. F. Skene, 12 has laboured to prove that the earlier part the pre-anaphoral part of the Christian Liturgy is based upon the Jewish Sabbath I Bernard, tit supra, p. 6l. " Ibid., pp. 83, 145. 3 Ibid., p. 93. 4 Ibid., p. 124. r> Ibid., p. 46. c Ibid., p. 141. 7 Ibid., p. 206. 8 Ibid., p. 203. 9 Ibid., p. 144. 10 But Vitringa has been largely followed. See Bingham, Christian Antiqq.,>k. viii. cap. vi. IO. Bingham mentions, without endorsing, the theory that the structural arrangements of the early Christian Churches were borrowed from the synagogue. In Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, under the article 'Synagogue,' Vitringa's position is sub- stantially adopted. II Messe und Pascha (Mainz, 1872). 12 The Lord's Slipper and the Paschal Ritual (Edinburgh, 1891). IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 219 Morning Prayer ; and that the latter part of it the anaphora, or canon is based upon the language and ritual used in the Paschal Supper. The supposed similarity is exhibited in parallel columns, 1 the Clementine Liturgy being used as a basis, supple- mented from other quarters, especially from the Syriac Liturgy of St. James. If any one will read through these parallel columns, he will probably come to the same conclusion as the present writer, viz. that the resemblance, though sometimes evident, is gene- rally slight, in some cases fanciful, in other cases undiscernible, and that there is not, on the whole, sufficient similarity to establish or to disestablish the theory which has been built upon it. There are, however, a considerable number of the ordinances of the Christian Church, and of points of order, ritual, and language, which find a counter- part in the worship and ceremonial of the Jewish Church. We will enumerate and describe them, after which we shall be in a better position to decide whether the resemblances are the result of relationship or of chance. ii. BAPTISM. Baptism was used by the Jews for the admission of proselytes . into the Jewish Church, in addition, no doubt, to certain other 1 Messe und Pascha, pp. 100-104, 116-122. Bickell's view has been adopted and popularized in a series of interesting articles in the Dawn of Day (S.P.C.K., 1895-96). They are entitled, ' The Passover and the Holy Communion,' by E. M. 220 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. ceremonies which it would be beside our purpose to mention or describe here. 1 Bathing, or washing with water, was also the appointed rite for the removal of certain Levitical defilements, and before the execution of priestly offices, such as entering the Holy Place, offering sacrifice, etc. 2 It is quite possible that our Lord followed Jewish precedent in selecting and ordaining baptism as the rite of initiation into the Christian Church, the age at which it was administered being derived from the Jewish law and practice with regard to circumcision with which Christian baptism is expressly associated by St. Paul. 3 At least this seems more probable than that pagan rites for the purification of infants should have been copied, as has been suggested by one of the most eminent writers of the present day. 4 The unction which accompanied baptism is ex- pressly stated by Tertullian to have been borrowed from the practice of the Old Testament dispensa- tion, and likewise the imposition of hands. 5 12. BELLS. Bells form part of the ministration robes of priests in the Greek Church, and were occasionally found attached to sacerdotal vestments in the Western Church, 6 just as they formed part 1 For proof of this statement, which has been sometimes doubted, see Schurer, The Jewish People, etc., Div. ii. vol. ii. pp. 319-324. - Exod. xxix. 4; Levit. xvi. 4, etc. 3 Col. ii. ii, 12. 4 Mr. Whitley .Stokes. See correspondence in the Academy of Feb. 15 and Feb. 22, 1896. 5 His words have been quoted in chap. ii. 6, p. 90. " Scudamore (W. E.), Notitia Encharistica, 2nd ed. p. 89. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 221 of the dress of the Jewish high priest as described in the Book of Exodus. 1 13. BENEDICTIONS AT LECTIONS. Benedictions were pronounced before and after each of the lessons read out of the Old Testament in the Jewish sabbath morning prayers/ 2 These apparently correspond to the benedictions and responsories connected with the lessons in Western Breviaries. 14. COLOURS. Various sequences of colours have grown up in course of time to be in use in the Christian Church. They were simple at first, but grew more complex as time went on. The following curious attempt to associate them with a Levitical origin is taken from a medieval Irish tract preserved in the Lebar Brecc : ' Query, by whom were your various colours first brought into the robe of offering ? Not hard to say : Moses, son of Amram, brought them into the robe of offering of Aaron, son of Amram, his o\vn brother. He was the first priest in the law of Moses. It is worth knowing how many colours were set by Moses in Aaron's robe. Not hard to say : eight, to wit, yellow, blue, white, green, brown, red, black, purple. That, then, is the number of colours which every robe of offering is bound to have in it from that time to this. It is worth knowing why that diversity was brought into the robe of offering, instead of its being one colour. Not hard to say : through mystery and figure. It is not fitting for any priest to approach Christ's body 1 Chap, xxviii. 33-35. 2 Skene (W. F.), The Lord's Supper and the Paschal Ritual, p. 146. 222 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. towards the offering, without a robe of shining satin around him, with the various colours therein,' 1 etc. 15. CONFIRMATION. There is something, at first sight, analogous to confirmation, at least as administered now in the Western Church, and especially in the Church of England, in the way in which a Jewish lad, when twelve years of age, was presented in the temple or the synagogue, and formally taking upon himself the obligations of the Jewish Church, was solemnly admitted into full membership. Yet the resemblance must be acci- dental. Confirmation was originally closely con- nected with baptism, and its ceremonial finds no counterpart in the Jewish reception of the twelve- year-old lad. 2 1 6. CHURCHES, NAME OF. There are a consider- able number of points connected with the structure and arrangement of churches, with their dedication, their decoration, and the reverence shown for them, on which comparisons might be drawn out at considerable length between Jewish and Christian customs ; but the connection between them is of too unsubstantial and unproven a character to make it worth while to pursue the matter in detail. Probably similar com- parisons might be. worked out between the temples 1 This document, with the original Irish, is printed by Mr. Whitley Stokes in his Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, Rolls Series (London, 1887), pt. i. p. clxxxvii. 2 St. Luke ii. 42. See Norton (J. G.), Worship in Heaven and on Earth (London, not dated), pp. 477-479, where there is an interesting description of the Jewish ceremony. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 223 and worship of the Christian and the Buddhist or almost any other religion. There is, however, one trace of a Jewish influence or connection to which attention may be drawn, namely, the use of the word 'synagogue/ as a kind of loan word to describe a Christian place of worship. We have already seen that it occurs in that sense in the New Testament. 1 St. Ignatius, in his Epistle to Polycarp, says * Let Church assemblies (synagogae) be held frequently.' 2 In The Shepherd of Hermas we read * When a man having the Divine spirit comes into a synagogue of just men.' 3 Theophilus of Antioch speaks of ' The synagogues yet called the holy churches.' 4 Theodotus (the Valentinian) calls 1 The Church, which is Christ's Body, the blessed syna- gogue.' 5 The word is used by Firrnilian of Caesarea in his Epistle to St. Cyprian, in which he says ' We do not share the same synagogue with heretics.' G A Greek inscription over a Marcionite church on Mount Hermon, A.D. 308 or 318, runs thus Page 45. 2 Cap. iv. Mand, xi. 9, p. 335, ^wayuyti is used more than once in this chapter. Ad. AutoL ii. 14. Inter Opera Clem. Alex., ed. 1715, p. 971. E P' 75 > Cypriani Opera omnia, ed, 1716, p. 147, 224 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. Xpiyo-rov Tr/aoi/oia IlavAov 7rpecr/3[vT/oov] rou These are all instances of the perpetuation in Christian usage of a Jewish word. The following modes or marks of Jewish reverence or devotion seem to correspond to similar character- istics in Christian worship : 17. SILENT PRAYER. The silent prayer which accompanied the offering of incense 2 may have suggested the silent prayer in Eastern Liturgies, 3 and the oratio secreta said super oblata, as well as the canon now said secreto in the Roman rite. 1 8. BOWING AT THE SACRED NAME. When the name of Jehovah was mentioned, Jewish wor- shippers bowed down or prostrated themselves to the ground. 4 This is akin to the Christian custom of bowing at the ascription of praise to God or to the Holy Trinity, or at the mention of the Name of Jesus, though the latter is more likely to have arisen out of a misunderstanding of Phil. ii. 10. 19. REMOVAL OF SHOES. Jewish worshippers removed their shoes from their feet when they entered the temple, a custom connected with Exod. iii. 5 and Josh. v. 15. Sandals were worn 1 Inscriptions de la Syrie, No. 2558 ; Smith and Wace, Dictionary of Christian Biography, iii. 819. 2 Dr. Edersheim, The Temple, etc., p. 138. 3 Brightman (F. E.), Eastern Liturgies (Oxford, 1896), p. 83, etc. Twy iriffT&v reel's eu^at Ttpdrtiv Sto 7rf)s, Concil. Laod., Canon 19. 4 Norton (T G.), Worship in Heaven, and on Earth t pp. 430, 447~448- IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 225 by Jewish priests in the temple, but they were barefooted while actually engaged in any minis- tration. 1 It is interesting to find traces of a similar custom in certain parts of the Christian Church. Irish ecclesiastics appear to have taken off their sandals at the chancel rail when they went to celebrate or to pray at the altar, and to have put them on again when they returned thence. This custom is implied in a story told of St. Columba and his attendant Scannlan in the Book of Lismore? It is also an Eastern practice. Mr. Butler tells us that in the Coptic Church it is a rule for all who enter the haikal (= sanctuary) to put off their shoes at the door, and this applies even to the celebrant. This practice does not prevail in the Nestorian and Armenian Churches, though in the latter the priests wear special sandals or slippers. 3 Cassian tells us of the Egyptian monks that they always wore sandals instead of shoes, and that they always put off their sandals when they went to celebrate or to receive the holy mysteries. 4 20. BOWING TOWARDS THE ALTAR. On en- tering the temple all the congregation reverently bowed their heads. On leaving the vicinity of the altar both the priests and the worshippers were required to walk backward as far as the Gate of Nicanor, and there to stand, with their heads reverently bowed 1 Dr. Edersheim, The Temple, etc., p. 117. 2 Lives of the Saints^ from the Book of Lismore, ed. by W. Stokes, 'P. 313. 3 Butler (A. J.), Ancient Coptic Churches, vol. ii. p. 233. 4 Institt.) lib. i. cap. 10. Q 226 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. towards the altar before withdrawing. 1 The mediaeval and modern Christian custom of bowing towards the altar is an act of reverence of the same kind, but it is impossible to establish directly the derivation of the Christian from the Jewish custom, especially in the absence of any allusion to the practice in ante-Nicene times. Bingham follows Mede in thinking that it is highly probable that the Christian act of reverence is derived from the Jewish, though proof is wanting. 2 21. EASTWARD POSITION. The Jewish wor- shipper always turned his face towards the Holy of Holies, i.e. towards Jerusalem. This would always involve, in European congregations, the orientation of synagogues, and the eastward position in prayer, which have prevailed so generally, though not universally, in Christendom. 3 22. ABLUTIONS. The numerous ceremonial washings of hands or feet or body, prescribed to the Jewish priests m the Levitical code, bear a certain resemblance to the ceremonial ablution of the hands, known as the lavabo, which, either at the offertory or at some other point, forms a feature of most, if not all, Christian Liturgies, and also to the ceremonial washing of the feet, known as the pedilavium, on Maundy Thursday and at baptism. 4 23. STANDING AT THE GOSPEL. The standing 1 Norton (J. G.), ut supra, p. 432. 2 Antiqq. of the Christian Church, Bk. viii. chap. x. 7. 3 Vitringa, De Synagoga Vetere, lib. i. pars. i. cap. 8, p. 178 ; lib. i. pars. iii. p. 457. 4 See pp. 164-166. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 227 up of the congregation in the synagogue at the reading of the law is analogous to the widely spread Christian custom of standing, as an act of reverence, during the reading of the liturgical gospel. 1 24. PROCESSION OF THE GOSPEL. The solemn procession of the roll of the law to the reader's desk in the synagogue, resembles the ceremonial procession of the Holy Gospels in Eastern Liturgies, known as ' The Little,' or ' The Lesser Entrance.' 2 25. SEPARATION OF THE SEXES. The separa- tion of the sexes in the Jewish Church, the men occupying the body of the synagogue and the women the galleries, or the congregation being divided upon the ground floor, was adopted in the early Christian Church, and is, to some extent, retained still. It might seem to be in the Christian Church merely the outcome of general Oriental sentiment as to the separation of the sexes, but a specially Jewish origin for it has been generally maintained. 8 The separation of men and women in church was ordered in the Canons of Hippolytus, 4 which also directed that women were to be carefully veiled. 5 In no case was a woman allowed to preach, except in certain heretical communities. 6 1 Norton (J. G.), tit supra, p. 458. - Neale (J. M.), Liturgies of St. Mark, etc. (London, 1859), p. xii. 3 Prideaux, Connection, etc., Pt. ii. Bk. v. p. 504; Schiirer (E.), The Jewish People, etc. (Edinburgh, 1890), Div. ii. vol. ii. p. 75 ; Bingham, Antiquities, etc., Bk. viii. chap. v. 6. 4 Canon 97, p. 88. 5 Canon 98, p. 88. Tertullian, De Prascriptionibus, cap. xli. ; P. L., torn. ii. col. 56 ; De Virginibns Velandis, Ibid,, col. 901 ; Apostolic Constitutions, lib. ii. cap. 57, p, 67, 228 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. 26. MODE OF SINGING. The mode of singing in the Jewish Divine service partly responsorial, partly antiphonal, and possibly the actual chants used are believed by some persons to have passed on into the service of the Christian sanctuary. In a letter attributed to St. Germanus Parisiensis (sixth century, but probably of somewhat later date), the use of antiphons and of antiphonal singing is derived from King Solomon, and the use of responsorial chanting from Miriam. 1 According to a modern authority, Jewish melodic recitation may be the basis of the mode of chanting the service in the Christian Church. 2 27. DEDICATION OF CHURCHES. The solemn dedication of places of worship was observed through- out Jewish history, as in the case of the dedication of the tabernacle, 3 of Solomon's temple, 4 of the. temple rebuilt under Zerubbabel, 5 of the building of the temple and rebuilding of the altar when Judas Mac- cabeus had driven out the Syrians, 6 of the temple as restored under Herod. 7 This practice of dedication passed on into the Christian Church. The rubrics in the earlier Latin Pontificals and Sacramentaries, which, however, do not date from further back than the eighth century, seem purposely to borrow their language from the Old Testament, and to copy details in the Levitical ritual. The expression, ' the 1 German! Parisiensis, Ep. ii. ; P. L. t torn. Ixxii. col. 97. - Nauman (E.), History of Music (London, not dated), vol. i. p. 84. 3 Exod. xl. i -i i. * i Kings viii. 5 Ezra vi. 16, 17. 6 i Mace. iv. ; 2 Mace. x. 7 Josephus, Antiqq. of th tjeivs, Bk. xv. cap. xi. vi. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 229 horn/ or 'the horns of the altar,' is used to denote the corner or the corners of the altar. 1 This ex- pression is evidently borrowed from Exod. xxvii. 2 'And' thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same : and thou shalt overlay it with brass.' The directions to employ hyssop for sprinkling, and the sevenfold perambulation round the altar, 2 seem to be based upon Exod. xxii. 22, etc., and Levit. iv. 17, etc. Any sprinkling water which remained was directed to be poured out at the base of the aitar, 3 an expression drawn from Exod. xii. 29 and Levit. iv. 25, etc. 28. FASTS AND FESTIVALS. Dec. 25 (25th of Chislev) was the Jewish Feast of the Dedication. 4 It was adopted at a very early date by the Christian Church as the Feast of the Nativity of our Saviour, or Christmas-Day ; but there is no proof that the identity of date is more than a coincidence, or that there was any connection between the Jewish and the Christian festival. The four fasts observed annually by the Jews, and referred to in Zech. viii. 19, are stated to have suggested the institution of the four Ember seasons. The connection, as to number, is maintained in a 1 Sacramentarium Gelasianum, Muratori's ed. col. 610 ; Ordo Ro in anus, ii., Ibid., 1027. 2 Both ordered in rubrics in the Order for Consecrating a Church in the Pontifical of Egbert and in that of Robert of Jumieges : Martene, De Antiq. Eccks. Rit. (Bassani, 1788), lib. ii. cap. xiii. Ordines i. Ad basim altaris,' Ibid. 4 St. John x. 22. 230 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH* [IV. passage in a treatise, apxiepti) are given certain functions, and to the priests (rots te/oeZW) their proper place is assigned, and to the Levites (Anurous) appertain their proper ministries, and the laymen (o e Auucds ai/fyxmros) are con- fined within the bounds of what is commanded to laymen.' 3 Later on St. Jerome said * What Aaron, and his sons, and the Levites were in the temple, the same bishops, priests, and deacons are in the Church.' 4 The comparison is drawn out in still greater detail in the Apostolic Constitutions, where it is said that 'The Jewish sacrifices are the Christian prayers and 1 Dr, Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus, 2nd ed. ii. 382. 2 Apostolic Canons, i. ; Apostolic Constitutions, viii. 4, 27, etc. 3 Ep. ad Cor. cap. xl. It has been considered by some to be uncer- tain whether St. Clement refers here to the Jewish or Christian ministry. 4 Ep. xlvi. ; P. L. t torn. xxii. col. 1195. 234 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. supplications and Eucharist. Jewish firstfruits and tithes, and offerings, and gifts, are the oblations offered by the holy bishops to the Lord God through Jesus Christ, who died for them. For the bishops are your high priests, and the presbyters are your priests, and the deacons of to-day are your Levites, and so on with your readers, and singers, and ostiarii, and with your deaconesses, and widows, and virgins, and orphans ; and the bishop, who is above all these, is the high priest.' l In its earliest form, in apostolic times, the three- fold ministry of the Christian Church was differently constituted. It consisted of, firstly, Apostles ; secondly, presbyters or bishops ; thirdly, deacons. These gradations, according to a modern liturgical writer of eminence, had also their Jewish counterparts. The Apostles corresponded to ethnarchs ; the pres- byters to rulers of the synagogue ; the deacons to the inrijoerai. 8 Mons. de Pressense maintained that the two Christian orders of bishops, or elders, and deacons (the Apostles representing the first order, divinely appointed, and not intended to be perpetuated) were borrowed not from the temple worship, but from the synagogue, which had nothing priestly about it, and the very simple organization of which singularly adapted it to the needs of the new community. 3 These connections and correspondences may be deemed unproven or even fanciful, but they are 1 Apostolic Constitutions, lib. ii. cap. 25. 2 Duchesne (L.), Origines du Cttlte Chretien (Paris, 1889), p. 10. 3 Christian Life and Practice in the Early Church (London, 1877), P. 39- IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 235 infinitely more probable than the theory put forward now in certain quarters that the Christian Church borrowed or adapted its ministerial organization from paganism. 33. MARRIAGE. Some of the ceremonies con- nected with the Christian marriage service were probably taken over from Judaism, though, as in the case of the ring and of the white dress, they may have prevailed far and wide outside and beyond the Jewish community. The ring was recognized in the Old Testament, and used as a token of fidelity, and of reception into a family. 1 The distinctive attire of the bride, including the white dress, 2 if she were not a widow, and the veil, 3 and the crown or chaplet, 4 were also Jewish usages to which reference is made in Holy Scripture. They have all been adopted into Christian marriage ritual ; the crown especially in the Greek Church, where both bride and bridegroom are crowned, and where the whole service is known as ' the Service of the Coronation.' 5 34. PRAYER, HOURS OF. In connection with Jewish devotion, we find in Holy Scripture references to various hours of prayer both by day and night, e.g. 1 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God, one fourth part of the 1 Gen. xli. 42 ; St. Luke xv. 22. 2 Rev. xix. 8. 3 Gen. xxiv. 65. 4 Cant. iii. n. 5 'AK0Aou0ia TOV 'Srecpai'w/xaTOS, Euchologlon. 236 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. day, and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God/ l 'In the evening, and morning, and at noon-day will I pray, and that instantly : and He shall hear my voice.' 2 * At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee, because of Thy righteous judgments.' 3 1 Seven times a day do I praise Thee, because of Thy righteous judgments.' 4 ' Arise, cry out in the night : in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord.' 5 1 He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did afore- time.' 6 ' For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.' " * Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.' 8 ' Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour.' 9 \ There can be little doubt that the sevenfold division of the day services of the Christian Church into Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline, and the lengthy night services called 'Nocturns' or 'vigiliae nocturnae,' owe their existence to the indications of Jewish customs contained in the 1 Neh. ix. 3. The Vulgate text runs, ' Et consurrexerunt ad standum ; et legerunt in volumine legis Domini Dei sui, quater in die, et quater confitebantur, et adorabant Dominum Deum suum (II. Lib. Esdrse ix. 3). 2 Ps. Iv. 18. 3 Ps. cxix. 62. 4 Ps. cxix. 164. 5 Lam. ii. 19. ' Consurge, lauda in nocte in principle vigiliarum,' etc. (Vulgate). 6 Dan. vi. 10. * 7 Acts ii. 15. 8 Acts iii. I. See also x. 3. 9 Acts x. 9. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 237 above verses. We do not mean that the arrange- ment was taken over at once from the Jewish temple, because we do not know that such a multiform arrangement of services ever existed there ; but, that when, in the course of centuries, the Christian scheme of services was developed, it was very largely influenced by scriptural, that is, by Jewish, considerations. 35. PRAYER, ATTITUDE AT. The ordinary attitude in prayer among the Jews was standing, 1 though kneeling and prostration were also practised. We have described at length early Christian practice in this matter, 2 which, deliberately or otherwise, followed very closely upon Jewish precedent. 36. PRAYER FOR THE DEAD. There is no plain direction to pray for the departed either in the Old or the New Testament, nor is there any instance of such a prayer, if we except St. Paul's pious aspiration with regard to the probably deceased Onesiphorus 1 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.' 3 But there can be no doubt that such prayer was in use among the Jews before the time that our Lord was upon earth. A statement with reference to Judas Maccabaeus, in the Second Book of Mac- cabees, puts this fact beyond all question 1 For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should have risen again, it had been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead. 1 Deut. x. 8 ; Neh. ix. 2-4 j St. Matt. vi. 5. 2 Chap. ii. 17, p. 141. 3 2 Tim.i, 18. 238 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. And also in that he perceived that there was great favour laid up for those that died godly, it was an holy and good thought. Whereupon he made a reconciliation for the dead, that they might be delivered from sin.' l Accordingly we are not surprised to find that the following prayer has formed part of the Jewish Liturgy. It was said in some congregations on each sabbath morning, in others on certain of the highest festivals, in others only on the Day of Atonement. We have not been able to ascertain the date of its composition, nor whether it existed in the time of our Lord. Neither this prayer, nor any other form of prayer for the dead, is found in the Authorized Daily Prayer-book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire (London, 1892). A Prayer. ' May God remember the souls of my father and mother, my grandfather and grandmother, my uncles and aunts, my brothers and sisters, my relatives on the father's and mother's side, who have passed into their eternity. For the sake of the alms which I commend for them, may their souls be included in the bundle of life with the souls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, and the other righteous men and women in Paradise ; and let us say, Amen.' 2 The evidence of early Jewish tombstones is in favour of the custom of prayer for the dead, but the date of these mortuary inscriptions has not been 1 2 Mace. xii. 44, 45. Bickell (G.), Messc und Pascha (Mainz, 1872), p. 69; Luckock (II. M.), After Death> 8th ed. (London, 1890), p. 58. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 239 ascertained with sufficient certainty for any conclusive argument to be based upon them. 1 We have already produced evidence as to the widespread practice of prayer for the departed in the early Christian Church. 2 In the silence of Holy Scripture on the subject, one naturally asks, ' Whence was the practice derived ? ' It may be a deep-seated instinct or craving in our spiritual and intellectual nature finding outward expression for itself in formal prayer. But, more probably, the practice was taken over from the Jewish Church, a transfer made more easy by the absence of any condemnation of it, on the part of our Lord or His Apostles, in the pages of the New Testament. On the other hand, in the absence of certain proofs that prayer for the dead formed part of the Jewish Liturgy in our Lord's time, some modern writers have held that it was a later importation from Chris- tianity into Judaism. 3 But, considering the conser- vatism of the Jews, and their hostility to the Christian Church, this seems to be improbable. M. Israel Levi is conscious of this difficulty, but does not do much to meet it. 4 37. VESTMENTS. We have seen that there is little proof of the existence of any distinctive dress of the Christian clergy during the first three cen- turies. 5 The first reference to a vestment is in the 1 Luckock, ut supra, pp. 61-64. ~ Chap. ii. 17, p. 146. 3 Article by M. Israel Levi, The Revue des Etudes Jnives, July- Sept. (Paris, 1894), torn. xxix. pp. 43-60. 4 Ibid., p. 59. 5 Chap. ii. 20. 240 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. Canons of Hippolytus (p. 163). The next is early in the fourth century, when the emperor Constantine gave to Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, a rich vestment embroidered in gold, to wear when administering baptism. 1 After that time varied and splendid vest- ments began to be worn by officiating clergy bishops, priests, and deacons, having each their distinctive dress and the common theory of the mediaeval ritualists, in which they are largely followed by writers of the present day, is that these vestments were copied from those of the Levitical priesthood ; e.g. Rabanus Maurus, in the ninth century, asserts this of vestments in general, and of the amice, or superhumeral, in particular. 2 Durandus, writing in the thirteenth century, makes the same assertion, but in qualified terms, as to vestments generally. 3 The Levitical theory is incorporated in a rubric of a ninth-century Service Book of English Use, which runs thus 'Incipiunt orationes ad vestimenta sacerdotalia sen levitica.' 4 The Chasuble and Rationale are both described as of Jewish origin in a letter attributed to S. Germanus Parisiensis (A.D. 555-576), but probably of somewhat later date. 5 1 Theodoret, Hist. Eccles., lib. ii. cap. 23 ; P. G., torn. Ixxxii. col. 1065. - De Institution* Clericorum, lib. i. capp. 14, 15. 3 Rationale LHvinorum Offi-dorum, lib. iii. cap. i, 2. 4 Liber Pontificalis Gemmeticensis^ MS. 362 in the public library at Rouen, as quoted by Martene, De Antiq. Ecdes. Ritibus, lib. ii. cap. x. ordo. iii. (ed. 1788), p. 252. 5 Ep. ii. ; P. L., torn. Ixxii. col. 97, IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 241 Bishop Young, writing in the present day, says ' If any one will compare the engravings of the vestments of the Jewish high priest, priest, and levite, as given by Calmet, with those now in use by the bishops, priests, and deacons of the Oriental Church, he will be struck with the resemblance between them, and the presumptive proof which the comparison affords that the latter were derived from the former.' l But can this theory as to the origin of vestments be true ? We think not ; because considering the state of alienation and antipathy, which existed between Jews and Christians during the early and middle ages, it is an unlikely, though not an impos- sible, supposition that the latter should have directly borrowed their ministerial dress from the former ; and there is a simpler theory of the origin of vest- ments, which has philological support, viz. that the Christian ministerial dress is a survival of the ordi- nary lay dress of the opening centuries of the Christian era. We repeat 2 that there is slight trace of special dress in use before the reign of Constantine ; then if we examine the names which the clerical vestments now bear, and have borne from the first, we find that they denote ordinary articles of lay attire once in everyday use. Such names are Alba, the white undergarment, tunic, or shirt. Capa, the cope, a late Latin word, denoting an article of dress corresponding to the toga, the ordinary outer garment of a Roman citizen. Another name for the 1 Young (J. F.), Papers on Liturgical Enrichment (New York, 1883), p. 17- 9 Chap. ii. 21, p. 162. 242 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. cope was * pluviale,' literally, that which protects a man's body from the rain. Casula, the chasuble, a little hut, covering the whole body, corresponding to the 'paenula,' an outer garment or cloak. Cingulum, the cincture or girdle with which the tunic was fastened. Manipulus, the maniple, literally a handful, i.e. the hand- kerchief in the hand. Stola, the stole. This word did not come into use to designate an article of ecclesiastical dress till the ninth century, and it probably has no connection with the classical stola. The earlier name for stole was 'orarium' or handkerchief. A somewhat similar process has been going on in England, in another department of clerical dress, in recent times. The levee dress, in which clergy have to appear at court in 1897, including buckle- shoes, silk stockings, knee-breeches, and three-cornered hat, is the everyday dress of the clergy of two centuries ago, petrified for a particular purpose, and perpetuated in state ceremonial. 38. JEWISH ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN FORMULAE OF DEVOTION. It may be asked, Have any por- tions of Jewish liturgical language been transferred into the services of the Christian Church ? and if so, to what extent ? It is not easy to give a com- plete answer to these questions, but the answer must undoubtedly be, To a considerable extent. It is no matter of surprise that such a borrowing should have taken place in the case of New Testament Canticles, which were the devout outpourings of the minds of persons familiar with the devotions of the Jewish IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 243 Temple and synagogues from their childhood ; but similarity of thought and language extends and" is found beyond them, as may be seer} by aid of the following parallel tables : St. Luke i. 49 52 54 55 68 69 72 73 Magnificat. He that is mighty hath done to me great things. He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath holpen His ser- vant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. Benedictus* \ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; for He hath visited and redeemed His people. And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David. That we should be saved) from our enemies, and from > the hand of all that hate us ; ) To perform the mercy} promised to our fathers and I to remember His holy cove-1 nant ; The oath which he sware | to our father Abraham, J The Eighteen Benedictions. 2. Thou art mighty, O Lord, world without end. . . . Who is like unto thee, Lord of might ? 12. Let the proud speedily be uprooted, broken, crushed and humbled speedily in our days. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who breakest down the enemy, and humblest the proud. I. Blessed art Thou who rememberest the pious deeds of our fathers, and sendest the Redeemer to their chil- dren's children. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the Shield of Abraham. The Eighteen Benedictions. I. Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who rememberest . . . and sendest the Re- deemer to their children's children. i4/>. The branch of David Thy servant speedily cause to flourish, and exalt his horn with Thy help. . . . Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who causest to flourish the horn of David. See St. Luke {.51,52; Ben. 12. See St. Luke i. 54 ; Ben. I, 244 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. St. Luke i. 77 79 St. Luke | ii. To give knowledge of sal- | vation unto His people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God. To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Gloria in Excelsis. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. A T unc Dimittis. Lord, now lettest Thou Thy .servant depart in peace ; For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. 4. Thou mercifully be- slowest knowledge upon men, and teachest the mortal pru- dence. Mercifully bestow upon us from Thyself, know- ledge, wisdom, and under- standing. 6. Our Father, forgive us, for we have sinned ; our King, pardon us, for we have transgressed, for Thou art forgiving and pardoning. 13. On us bestow, O Lord our God, Thy mercy. 1 8. Bestow . . . mercy, compassion upon us, and upon the whole of Israel Thy people. 18. Bless us all unitedly with the light of Thy counte- nance ; for in the light of Thy countenance didst Thou give to us the law of life, etc. May it please Thee to bless Thy people Israel at all times and in every moment with peace. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who blessest Thy people Israel with peace. 1 The Kadish. Blessed and praised, cele- brated and exalted, . . . may perfect peace descend from heaven, and life upon us and all Israel. 2 The Eighteen Benedictions. 2. Thou loosest the chained, and shewest Thy faithfulness to those that sleep in the dust. 16. May our eyes see Thee return to Israel in love. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who restorest Thy Shechinah to Zion. 3 1 The contents of these parallel columns are borrowed largely from JF. H. Chase, The Lord's Prayer in the Early Church (Cambridge, 1891), pp. I47-I49- * Page 214. 3 Pages 211, 213. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 245 The Lord's Prayer. Hallowed be Thy Name. The Triumphal Hymn. Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of His glory. Blessed be He fof ever. Amen. 2 The Eucharistic Preface. It is verily meet and right, holy and becoming, and advantageous, to our souls, Jehovah, Lord God, Father Al might v, to worship Thee, to hymn Thee, to give thanks to Thee, to return Thee praise, etc. 4 The Kedusha. Hallowed be Thy Name on earth, as it is hallowed in heaven above. 1 The Kedusha. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Sabaoth ; the whole earth is filled with His glory. 3 At the Paschal Supper. Therefore it is our bound en duty to thank, praise, exalt, glorify, praise, and celebrate Him, etc. 5 The ' Kyrie Eleyson,' preserved in its Greek form in Latin Liturgies, was probably in its origin a Greek- Jewish liturgical formula, derived from such Old Testament passages as the following : Kvpts, t ?7/uac, KvjWC, tXtrjaov 6 There is a curious addition to the, text of 'Gloria in Excelsis ' in several ancient Irish versions, con- sisting of the words ' et omnes dicimus Amen' ('and we all say, Amen '). It has also been found in the Armenian version of the Vespers evening hymn, ' Hail, gladdening light,' etc, There can be little doubt that this is an importation of the phrase ;pN npaoi (= 'and say we, Amen') which occurs so 1 Page 215. 2 From the Clementine Liturgy, p. 297. 3 Page 215. 4 From the Liturgy of St. Mark. 5 Page 216. 6 Isa. xxxiii. 2. 7 Ps. cxxxii. 3. 8 Ps. vi. 3. 246 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. frequently in the Kadish and in other parts of the Jewish Morning Service. 1 For a list of Hebrew words surviving in use in the Christian Liturgy, see 29, p. 230. Dr. J. F. Young, Bishop of Florida, has printed in parallel columns portions of the Jewish Sabbath Morning Service and of the Greek Liturgy of St. Basil ; and also the Jewish supplications used during the Ten Days of Penitence (the Sabbath excepted) at the morning service and the Greek Ektene. In each case there is a general resemblance, but that resemblance seems to be too vague to justify the conclusion that the Christian formula of devotion has been borrowed from the Jewish, or that there is any direct connection between them. 2 The Rev. J. E. Field has written many pages to prove the Jewish origin of the Christian Liturgy, but his proof of such origin is made up mainly of slender coincidences of diction or similarities of subject-matter, in the case of single sentences or even of single words, and does not carry conviction. 8 39. GOSPEL FOR THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. The selection of the passage from St. Luke xix. 41-48, in which our Lord's prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem occurs, as the Gospel for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity is said to have been 1 The author is indebted to the Rev. Duncan MacGregor for this suggestion. See Antiphonary of Bangor, Part ii. (London, 1895), pp. 75-77, and p. 257 of this book. 2 Papers on Liturgical Enrichment (New York, 1883), p. 17. 3 The Apostolic Liturgy and the Epistle to the Hebreios (London, 1882), Appendix v. p. 622. IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 247 determined by its near coincidence with one of the days of prayer and fasting (the ninth of Ab), on which the Jews bewail the fall of their capital and the destruction of the temple. 1 A review of the facts accumulated in this chapter will, we think, bring most readers to the conclusion that on some points there has been deliberate imita- tion of Jewish usage on the part of the Christian Church ; while on other points an unintentional resemblance exists, a resemblance based on an instinct of reverence, which, whether in the Jewish or the Christian, or indeed in any non-Jewish and non-Christian religion, would naturally show itself in the same or in a similar way. 40. HEATHEN WORSHIP SUGGESTED AS THE SOURCE OF CHRISTIAN RITUAL. In connection with the subject-matter of this chapter, it is desirable to mention the fact that a totally different theory of the origin and development of Christian ritual, and of the growth of Christian terminology in con- nection with the sacramental ordinances of the Church, has been recently put forward both in this country and abroad. Take up the Hibbert Lectures for 1888. Their author, Dr. Hatch, selects for his title, The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian Church. In chapter x. he maintains that 1 Kingsbury (T. L.), The Holy Tears of Jesus (London, 1892), p. 12. This passage forms the Gospel for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost in the Leofric Missal, and for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost in the present Roman use. 248 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. the sacramental ritual and terms of the Christian Church, as developed from the second to the fifth centuries of the Christian era, were borrowed from the Eleusinian mysteries. He dwells especially upon (a) Eleusinian baptism, with its various titles, with the preparation of its recipients, and the ritual of its administration. (b) The processions with lights. (c) The offerings of worshippers laid upon a holy table. (d) The common or communion feast which followed. (e) The secrecy, resembling that of Freemasons, with which the Eleusinian rites were conducted. (/) The exclusion of the unworthy from initiation into and participation in the mysteries. (g) The formula or password only told to the initiated. (ft) The mystic crown worn by them. These and other Eleusinian observances are com- pared to the ritual, nomenclature, and practices of the Christian Church as commencing to be developed directly after the Apostolic age, and as fully de- veloped in the fifth and sixth centuries ; and the latter are concluded to be derived from the former. We cannot do justice to Dr. Hatch's argument in a short summary. It is thoughtfully worked out, and finished with the following eloquent passage : ' In the splendid ceremonial of Eastern and Western worship, in the blaze of lights, in the separation of the IV] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 249 central point of the rite from common view, in the proces- sion of torch-bearers, chanting their sacred hymns, there is the survival, and in some cases the galvanized survival, of what I cannot find it in my heart to call a pagan cere- monial ; because though it was the expression of a less enlightened faith, yet it was offered to God from a heart that was not less earnest in its search after God, and in its effort after holiness, than our own.' l Although a primd facie case is made out by Dr. Hatch in a chapter which deserves to be read through carefully by every person interested in the subject, yet we are convinced that on further con- sideration the whole theory will break down on the following grounds : i. It seems to be a moral impossibility that a religion like Christianity, the raison d'etre of which was a protest against heathen theology and heathen morality, which threw unmeasured ridicule and con- tempt upon the heathen gods, especially in the pages of its earlier apologists, Aristides, Minucius Felix, etc., should have borrowed its ritual practices and terminology from a heathen source. This remark applies to the Church in the ante-Nicene period. No doubt in later days, when Christianity came more widely in contact with heathenism, and when heathenism had lost the power, if not the will, to persecute, there may have been some adaptation of heathen ritual observances. 2 1 Hatch (E.), Hibbert Lectures for 1888. The theory of an Eleusinian origin of the Eucharist is persuasively and ingeniously supported by Dr. P. Gardner, The Origin of the Lord's Supper (London, 1893). 2 As has been shown by Mr. Bass Mullinger, in his article on 250 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV. 2. The cause why the earliest Christian rites were performed with secrecy, both as to manner and time and place, was the danger of persecution and martyrdom which always attended or was liable to attend the profession and practice of Christianity until it became a religio licita. This characteristic of secrecy lingered on as against the heathen and catechumens long after the dangers in which it origi- nated had passed away. 3. Such words as ^>wrtav, 0om K t^ < 2 O s fills-Ill^ i g|'jf 1|J &,3-l'-s.3! >y :lj!,3.S ^olo||j3o|l O (fol ry). AKD 5th >> X *HJO O L il TIO . ST 7, ff "^ C3 TJ OJ o c 2^ o O 258 APPENDIX. i sisf K*"> r- rt o> *3 ^a 3 CJ (U O +*JS ; .=J-8.| 8'^O & ?o o 2 J3 s 0> O-5 It o.S C! - (2 o O ^ ^ S3 5|.e ^ "So " ** i : rt -o -5- -5 *- I! =-,! X C ,_ " ^ o ^ ^ j . a ti > ^ 00 " ' 'U 2 m 260 APPENDIX. 2. TRIUMPHAL HYMN. The 'Triumphal Hymn/ or ' Tersanctus,' or ' Sanctus/ is a constituent portion of all Liturgies. From its being found in the Apostolic Constitutions, where it forms part of the Clementine Liturgy, we know that it is as old as the fourth century. It is probably older still, perhaps almost as ancient as Christianity. It will be found printed on p. 297 in a shape nearly resembling that in our present English Liturgy. It must be distinguished from the * Trisa- gion,' which occurs in most Eastern Liturgies, but in a different position, and which is also found among the Reproaches on Good Friday in the Roman Missal. Its words are * Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy upon us.' This Trisagion is not found in the Clementine Liturgy, and the date of its composition is unknown. The following formulae of devotion are also con- tained in the Apostolic Constitutions : 3. A WIDOW'S THANKSGIVING. ' Blessed art Thou, O God, who hast refreshed my fellow widow. Bless, O Lord, and glorify him that ministered unto her, and let his good work ascend in truth before Thee, and remember him for good in the day of his visitation. Add glory to my bishop who hath well fulfilled his ministry before Thee, and hath directed a seasonable alms to be given to my fellow widow in her destitution ; grant unto him a crown of rejoicing in the day of the revelation of Thy visitation.' l 1 Lib. iii. cap. 13, p. 102. THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 261 4. A EUCHARISTIC THANKSGIVING. ' We thank Thee, O our Father, for that life which Thou hast made known to us, through Thy Son Jesus, through whom also Thou makest all things, and takest thought for the whole world; whom too Thou didst send to become man for our salvation, and didst permit Him to suffer and to die, whom Thou didst also raise up and wast pleased to glorify, and hast seated Him on Thy right hand, through whom also Thou hast promised unto us the resurrection of the dead. Do Thou, O Lord Almighty, eternal God, as this grain was once scattered, and afterwards gathered together so as to form one loaf, so gather Thy Church together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom. Furthermore, we thank Thee, O our Father, for the precious blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for us, and for His precious body whereof we celebrate the antitype, He Him- self having commanded us to show forth His death; for through Him glory is to be given to Thee for ever. Amen.' x 5. A POST-COMMUNION THANKSGIVING. 'We give thanks to Thee, O God and Father of Jesus our Saviour, for that holy thing which Thou hast made, to tabernacle within us, and for the knowledge, and faith; and love, and immortality, which Thou hast given to us through Thy Son Jesus. Thou, O Almighty God, the God of the universe, didst create the world, and the things which are therein, through Him, and didst implant a law in our souls, and didst prepare things beforehand for their reception by men. O God of our holy and blameless fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Thy faithful servants, Thou art powerful, and faithful, and true, and without deceit 1 Lib. vii. cap. 25. A shorter form of this prayer is given in the Didache (see p. 173). Its use, as here expanded, is necessarily Eucharistic. 262 APPENDIX. in Thy promises. Thou didst send upon earth Jesus, Thy Christ, to converse among men as man, and to take away error by the roots, being Himself both God the Word and man. Do Thou, even now, through Him, remember this holy Church, which Thou hast purchased with the precious blood of Thy Christ, and deliver it from all evil, and perfect it in Thy love and Thy truth, and gather us all together into Thy kingdom which Thou hast prepared. Maranatha. Hosanna to the Son of David ; blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord. God is the Lord who was manifested to us in the flesh. " If any one be holy, let him approach ; if any one be not holy, let him become so by repentance." Permit also to your presbyters to offer thanks- giving.' l 6. A THANKSGIVING FOR THE HOLY OiL. 2 { We give thanks to Thee, O Lord, the Creator of all things, both for the fragrancy of the oil, and for the im- mortality which Thou hast made known unto us through Thy Son Jesus.' 3 7. A GENERAL PRAYER. It is plain from chap. xxx. that it was intended for Sunday use, and it is probable, from expressions in the prayer itself, that it was intended to be used on the sabbath, or seventh day of the week. Chap. xxx. is short, and is worthy of being given in full ' On the day of the resurrection of the Lord, which we call the Lord's day, assemble yourselves together, uninter- mittingly giving thanks to God, and confessing the benefits 1 Lib. vii. cap. 26, p. 170. This is an enlargement and an alteration of the form of prayer, and of the directions contained in the Didache, cap. x. (see p. 173). Some of the alterations are of much interest, and betoken a later date. - Mvpov. 3 Lib. vii. cap. 27, p. 171. THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 263 which God hath conferred upon us through Christ, having delivered us from ignorance, from error, and from bondage, so that your sacrifice may be unblamable and acceptable to God, who has said concerning His ecumenical Church, " In every place shall incense be offered unto Me and a pure offering ; for I am a great King, saith the Lord Almighty, and My Name is dreadful among the heathen." ' l Then after two chapters devoted to the character- istics of true bishops, presbyters, and deacons, and of those false prophets who will arise in the latter days, the following lengthy form of prayer is provided for general use in chapters xxxiii.-xxxviii. : [CAP. XXXIII.] ' O our eternal Saviour, King of gods, who alone art Almighty and Lord, the God of all things that exist, the God of our holy and blameless fathers, and of those that were before us, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who art merciful and compassionate, long-suffering and of great pity, to whom all hearts are open and all secret desires are known, the souls of the righteous call upon Thee, and the hopes of holy men are fixed on Thee, Thou Father of the blameless, who hearest those that call on Thee in righteousness, who knowest the supplications which are not uttered, for Thy forethought reacheth to the innermost recesses of human hearts, and by Thy knowledge Thou searchest the hearts of each man, and in every region of the world the incense of prayer and supplication is sent up to Thee. O Thou who has appointed this present world as the place where men should run the race of righteousness, and hast opened the gate of mercy unto all, and hast demon- strated unto every man, by implanted knowledge and natural judgment, and from the exhortation of the law, that the possession of wealth is not everlasting, that the ornament of beauty is not perpetual, that the force of power is easily 1 Mai. i. ii. 264 APPENDIX. dissolved, that everything is smoke and vanity, and that only the good conscience of faith passes without guile through the midst of heaven, and returning with truth seizes the right hand of future nourishment, 1 and before the promise of the regeneration is fulfilled, the soul itself exults in hope and rejoices. For from the beginning of the truth which was in our forefather Abraham, when he changed his laborious journey, Thou didst guide him with a vision, and didst teach him what kind of a world this wor]4 is, and knowledge preceded his faith, and faith succeeded his know- ledge, and the covenant was the consequence of his faith. For Thou saidst, " I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore." - Moreover, when Thou hadst given him Isaac, and knewest him to be like Abraham in his way of life, then wast Thou also called his God, saying, " I will be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." 3 And when our father Jacob was sent into Mesopotamia, Thou shewedst him Christ, and spakedst by him, saying, " Behold, I am with thee, and I will increase and multiply thee exceedingly." 4 And thus Thou spakedst unto Moses, Thy faithful and holy servant in the vision of the bush, saying, " I AM THAT I AM : this is My Name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all genera- tions." 5 Champion of the seed of Abraham, blessed art Thou for ever. [CAP. XXXIV.] Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the King of reons, 6 who by Christ has made the whole world, and by Him at the beginning didst reduce into order the disordered parts ; who dividedst the waters from the waters by the firmament, and didst infuse into them the spirit of life ; who didst fix the earth, and extend the heavens, and dispose each creature by an accurate constitution. For at Thy desire, O Lord, the world was beautified, and the heavens, 1 It is impossible to make any sense of this sentence, and it has been suggested to read rpvQijs (enjoyment), for rpo^Tjs (nourishment). 2 Gen. xxii. 17. 3 Gen. xvii. 7. 4 Gen. xlviii. 4. 5 Exod. iii. 14, 15. For ' aeons,' see p. 292, note I. THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 265 fixed as an arch, were decorated with stars for our comfort in darkness ; and the light and the sun were created for the demarcation of days, and for the production of fruits ; and the waxing and waning moon for the revolving seasons ; and the one was called " night," and the other was entitled " day." And the firmament was exhibited in the midst of the abyss, and Thou commandedst the waters to be gathered together and the dry land to appear. As for the sea itself, how can any one describe it ? which comes in furiously from the ocean, and retreats from the sand, where it is stayed at Thy com- mand, for Thou hast said that on it shall its waves be broken. 1 And Thou didst make it a highway for little and for great living creatures, and for ships. Then the earth became green, picked out with all kinds of flowers, and with a variety of different trees ; and the glittering luminaries, the nourishers of these plants, preserve their unchangeable path, in nothing departing from Thy command. Where Thou biddest them, there do they rise and set, for signs of seasons and years, regulating by alternation the labours of men. Afterwards the different kinds of animals were created, inhabiting the dry land, or the water, or the air, or amphibious ; and the cunning wisdom of Thy providence imparts a corresponding providence to each of them. For as He was not unable to produce different kinds of animals, so neither did He dis- dain to exercise a different providence towards each one. And as the conclusion of creation, Thou gavest direction unto Thy Wisdom, and createdst a rational living creature, the citizen of the world, saying, " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," 2 exhibiting him as the ornament of the world, 3 fashioning a body for him out of the four elements, the primary substances, and furnishing it with a soul created out of nothing, and endowing it with the five senses, and setting the mind over the senses as the charioteer 1 Job xxxviii. n. 2 Gen. i. 26. 3 It is impossible to preserve the play in the original words, K^KT^QV Ko(r/j.ot>. They occur again^in the Clementine Liturgy, p. 285, note I, and p. 293, note 2. 266 APPENDIX. of the soul. And in addition to all these things, O Lord God, who shall worthily describe the course of clouds big with rain, the shining of lightning, the noise of thunder, providing an appropriate supply of food, and an all-harmo- nizing temperature of the air? And when man was dis- obedient Thou didst deprive him of the reward of life ; yet didst Thou not totally destroy him, but laidest him to sleep for a little time, and then didst summon him with an oath to a resurrection, having loosed the bond of death, O Thou quickener of the dead, through Jesus Christ, our hope. [CAP. XXXV.] Great art Thou, O Lord Almighty, and great is Thy power, and of Thy understanding there is no count. Creator, Saviour, rich in graces, long-suffering and full of pity, who dost not take away salvation from Thy creatures ; for Thou art good by nature, and sparest sinners, and invitest them to repentance, and Thy admonition is pitiful. For how should we abide if we were required to come to judgment immediately, when after so much long- suffering we hardly get clear of our own weakness ? The heavens declare Thy power, and the quivering earth, sus- pended upon nothing, Thy; security. The wave-tossed sea, feeding the myriad host of living creatures, is bound with sand, standing in awe of Thy command, and compels all men to cry, " O Lord, how manifold are Thy works ! in wisdom hast Thou made them all : the earth is full of Thy riches." L And the flaming host of angels, and the intellectual spirits say to Palmoni, 2 " One is holy," and the holy seraphin, together with the six-winged cherubin, sing to Thee the triumphal hymn, and cry with voice unceasing, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts ; heaven and earth are full of Thy glory." 3 And the other multitudes of the orders, angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, powers, cry aloud and say, " Blessed be the 1 Ps. civ. 24. - Dan. viii. 13. ' Unto that certain saint which spake ' (A. V.) in LXX., Tcj> ^cA/touvl. The meaning is not known. a Isa. vi. 3. THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 267 glory of the Lord from His place." l But Israel, Thy Church on earth, taken out of the Gentiles, emulating the heavenly powers night and day, with a full heart and a willing soul, sings, " The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels : and the Lord is among them, as in the holy place of Sinai." 2 The heaven knows Him who fixed it in the form of an arch as a cube of stone upon nothing, who united land and water to one another, and poured the vitalizing air abroad, and conjoined fire there- with, for warmth and for comfort under darkness. The choir of the stars strikes us with admiration, declaring Him that numbered them, and showing forth Him that named them, as living creatures declare Him that breathed life into them, and trees Him that made them grow; all of which having come into existence by Thy word, show forth the might of Thy power. Wherefore every man ought to send up to Thee through Christ, the hymn of thanksgiving for all these benefits, as he has power over them all by Thine appointment. For Thou art kind in Thy benefits, and beneficent in Thy compassions, who alone art Almighty ; for Thy eternal power both quenches flame, and stops the mouths of lions, and tames the monsters of the deep, and raises the sick, and overturns powers, and overthrows the army of the enemy, and the people numbered in pride. 3 Thou art He that is in heaven, upon the earth, in the sea, in all finite things, Thyself confined by nothing, for there is no limit to Thy greatness. This is not our saying, O Lord ; it is the oracle of Thy servant, which saith, " And thou shalt know in thy heart and consider, that the Lord thy God is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath : there is none else beside Him." 4 For there is no God beside Thee alone ; there is none holy beside Thee, O Lord God of knowledge, God of saints, holy above all holy beings, for they are sanctified under Thy hands. 5 1 Ezek. iii. 12. - Ps. Ixviii. 17. 3 See 2 Sam. xxiv. 1-17. 4 Deut. iv. 39. 5 See Dent, xxxiii. 3. 268 APPENDIX. Thou art glorious and highly exalted, invisible by nature, unsearchable in Thy judgments. Thy life is without want, Thy duration neither alters nor fails, Thy operation is without toil, Thy greatness is unbounded, Thy excellency is perpetual, Thy habitation is unapproachable, Thy dwelling-place is unchangeable, Thy knowledge is without beginning, Thy truth is immutable, Thy work is unassisted, Thy might is unassailable, Thy monarchy is without suc- cession, Thy kingdom is without end, Thy strength is irresistible, Thy host is very numerous. Thou art the Father of wisdom, the Creator of the world by a Mediator as the original Cause, the Bestower of providence, the Giver of laws, the Fulfiller of want, the Punisher of the ungodly, the Rewarder of the just, the God and Father of Christ, and the Lord of them that reverence Him ; whose promise is infallible, whose judgment is not open to bribes, whose decision is incapable of change, whose piety is incessant, and His thanksgiving is everlasting ; through whom adora- tion is worthily due to Thee from every rational and holy nature. [CAP. XXXVI.] O Lord Almighty, Thou didst create the Christ, and didst ordain the sabbath day in memory of this fact that, on it Thou didst rest from Thy works, in order to meditate upon Thy laws. Thou hast also appointed festivals for the rejoicing of our souls, that we might come to remember that Wisdom which was created by Thee how for our sakes He condescended to be born of woman, and appeared in life, and manifested Himself at His baptism, as one who appeared as both God and man ; He suffered by Thy permission on our behalf, and died, and rose again by Thy power. Wherefore we solemnly celebrate the feast of the resurrection on the Lord's day, and rejoice over Him that conquered death, and brought life and immortality to light. For through Him Thou hast brought the Gentiles to Thyself for a peculiar people, the true Israel, beloved of God and seeing Him. 1 For Thou, O Lord, didst bring 1 See p. 306, note 2. THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 269 our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and didst deliver them out of the iron furnace, and from the clay and brickmaking. Thou didst ransom them from the hand of Pharaoh and his subordinates, and didst lead them through the sea as through dry land, and didst bear with their manners in the wilderness, supplying them with all good things. Thou didst give them the law or the decalogue which was spoken by Thy voice and written down with Thy hand. Thou didst enjoin the observation of the sabbath, not as affording to them an occasion for idleness, but an opportunity of piety, for increasing the knowledge of Thy power and the hindrance of evils, having limited them, as it were, within a holy circuit, for the sake of instruction, and for a rejoicing every seven days. On this account there was appointed one week, and seven weeks, and the seventh month, and the seventh year, and the revolution of this year in the jubilee, which is the fiftieth year for remission; so that they might have no excuse for pretending ignorance. On this account He permitted men to rest on every sabbath, so that no man might be willing to send forth an angry word out of his mouth on the sabbath day. For the sabbath is the ceasing from creation, the completion of the world, the seeking after laws, and praise and thanks- giving unto God for the gifts which He hath bestowed upon men. The Lord's day surpasses all these, as it exhibits the Mediator Himself, the Provider, the Law-giver, the Cause of the resurrection, the First-born of every creature, 1 God the word, and man, born of the Virgin Mary alone without a man, who lived a holy life, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose again from the dead. Thus, the Lord's day, O Lord, commands us to offer unto Thee thanksgiving for all things. For this is the grace afforded by Thee, which by its greatness has obscured all other blessings. 1 Col. i. 15. Yet much of the preceding language in this long prayer seems to set forth inadequately the co-equal divinity of God the Son. 270 APPENDIX. [CAP. XXXVII.] Thou who hast fulfilled the promises made by the prophets, and hast had mercy upon Sion and compassion upon Jerusalem, by exalting the throne of David Thy servant in the midst of her, by the birth of Christ who was born of his seed, according to the flesh, of a virgin alone, do Thou now, O Lord God, accept the prayers which proceed from the lips of Thy people, which are of the Gentiles, which call upon Thee in truth ; as Thou didst accept the gifts of righteous men in their generations. In the first place, Thou didst favourably regard and accept the sacrifice of Abel ; of Noah on his coming out of the ark of Abraham after his leaving the land of the Chaldees ; of Isaac at the well of the oath ; of Jacob in Bethel ; of Moses in the desert ; of Aaron betwixt the quick and dead ; of Jesus the son of Nave in Gilgal ; of Gideon at the rock and the fleeces before his sin ; of Manoah and his wife in the field ; of Samson in his thirst before his transgression ; of Jephthah in the war before his rash vow ; of Barak and Deborah in the time of Sisera ; of Samuel at Mizpeh ; of David at the threshing-floor of Oman the Jebusite ; of Solomon at Gibeon and at Jerusalem ; of Elias at Mount Carmel ; of Elisaeus at the barren spring ; of Jehoshaphat in war ; of Ezekias in sickness and in the time of Sennacherib ; of Manasses in the land of the Chaldeans after his trans- gression ; of Josias in Phassa ; x of Esdras at the return from the captivity ; of Daniel in the lions' den ; of Jonas in the whale's belly ; of the three children in the fiery furnace ; of Anna in the tabernacle before the ark ; of Neemias at the rebuilding of the walls, and of Zerubbabel ; of Mattathias and his sons in their zeal for Thee ; of Jael in blessings ; now, therefore, also receive the prayers of Thy people which are offered unto Thee with knowledge through Christ in the spirit. [CAP. XXXVIII.] We give thanks to Thee for all things, O Lord Almighty, because Thou hast not taken away Thy 1 The reference is not known. It has been conjectured that #a