The Liturgy and Ritual of the Ante-Nicene Church (Warren)
The Liturgy and Ritual of the Ante-Nicene Church (Warren)
Frederick E. Warren
Worship of the 2nd–4th century
Frederick Warren’s survey of the worship of the first three centuries. It gathers, rite by rite, what the Fathers say about baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, ordination, prayer, fasting and the rest, prints the surviving prayers and hymns of the period, compares the Jewish and Christian services, and gives the liturgical prayers of the Apostolic Constitutions in an appendix.
Chapter I: Traces of Liturgical Worship in the Old and New Testaments
1 § 1. 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 unnecessary here to do more than take their existence for granted. No school of mystical or allegorical 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 and visible actions, as distinguished from inaudible, invisible, immaterial worship of the heart only. In the Book of Genesis we find mention or traces of the following religious observances :—
2 The institution of the seventh day as the sabbath or holy day of rest. The offering of the firstfruits of the land and of cattle in sacrifice to God by Cain and Abel. The clean and unclean animals are distinguished by Noah, who builds an altar, and offers of the former in sacrifice to God. Abraham, in obedience to Divine direction, offers animals and birds in sacrifice to God. The rite of circumcision is ordained as the external sign of God's covenant with His people. Solemn benedictions are bestowed, accompanied by the imposition of hands. The sacred character of burial is recognized. The head is bowed as an expression of worship. An altar is built for the worship of God. Ceremonial washing and change of dress precede prayer and sacrifice to God. A pillar is set up, and dedicated by pouring oil upon it. Vows are solemnly taken in God's presence, and tithes are dedicated by vow to God.
3 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 composition of the holy oil and of incense. § 2. The only remains of Mosaic liturgical verbal forms are (1) the form of priestly benediction. 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.'
4 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.'
5 (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 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. 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—
6 'All this the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.' And during the actual progress of the work it is said— 'Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God.' 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.' 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. We get some idea of the enormous size of the temple choir by the fact that the instrumentalists alone numbered four thousand persons. Both male and female singers were included in the choir. 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—
7 'He set singers also before the altar, that by their voices 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 Name, and that the temple might sound from morning.' Solomon confirmed and perpetuated the arrangements 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.' Yet the object of all this Divine forethought and kingly care was not a perpetual institution, but a transitory preparation for the world-embracing dispensation 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, 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. The law was the schoolmaster to educate the Jewish world for Christ, and Christ being its end and object, it was to disappear when He became incarnate.
8 § 4. Then the question arises whether at the 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, 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,' 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 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.
9 § 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, but that there is a very considerable body of explicit directions 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.'
10 But it was not instituted by Him until the immediate eve of His ascension, when He gave this commission to His Apostles— 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.' 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.' There is reason to believe that the baptismal powers thus entrusted to the Apostles were not exercised till after the Day of Pentecost. Their previous baptismal acts, recorded in St. John's Gospel, 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 repentance, 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.
11 The following are the instances of the administration of baptism recorded in the New Testament :— (Recipients — Agents — Authority) About three thousand persons — St. Peter — Acts ii. 41; Many Samaritans — St. Philip — viii. 12; Simon the sorcerer — St. Philip — viii. 13; The Ethiopian eunuch — St. Philip — viii. 38; Saul — Ananias — ix. 18; Cornelius and others — Not named — x. 47, 48; Lydia and her household — St. Paul — xvi. 15; The jailor of Philippi and his family — St. Paul — xvi. 33; Many Corinthians — Not named — xviii. 8; Certain disciples at Ephesus — St. Paul — xix. 5; Crispus and Gaius — St. Paul — 1 Cor. i. 14; The household of Stephanas — St. Paul — i. 16. 12 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 :— 1. 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.' 'When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.' Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?'
13 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?' 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— '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.' And in the Apostolic Constitutions— 'Be it known unto you, beloved, that such as are baptized into the death of the Lord Jesus ought to sin no more.' But these texts of Scripture and passages from early Christian writings are merely general expressions as to baptism and the effects of baptism, and we have no right to press them as indicating an alternative formula, or alternative formulæ, under which baptism was sometimes, or might be, administered. There is no historical evidence for any formula being employed or approved in the Catholic Church except the Trinitarian formula enjoined by our Lord Himself.
14 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 cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' 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.' 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.' 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.'
15 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. 3. Immersion, though not expressly ordered, and apparently impossible in the case of the three thousand people baptized on one day by St. Peter, would be the ordinary practice in a hot Eastern climate, and is implied in the symbolism of such passages as these— '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 newness of life.' 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.' 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.
16 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.' '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.' 'Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.' 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.
17 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.' 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.' Here the quotation introduced by 'that' (บ้า) 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 received the history of the institution of the Eucharist, directly from our Lord, he would surely, in this case as in that, 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.'
18 The faith thus received was professed before many witnesses, to which fact there may be allusion in St. Paul's words to Timothy— '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.' 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.' § 7. BENEDICTION.—Two ritual actions are recorded to have been used by our Lord in connection with Benediction on different occasions. 1. The imposition of hands. 'Then were there brought unto Him little children, that He should put His hands on them, and pray. . . . And He laid His hands on them, and departed thence.'
19 2. The elevation of hands. 'And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them.' Several formulæ 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.' This occurs at the commencement of the anaphora in the Clementine and other Eastern Liturgies, 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.' This forms the first part of the concluding Benediction of the English Liturgy. CHALICE, or CUP. See p. 18. 20 § 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, 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 involves an anachronism. Any dispute over the lawfulness 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 administered 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.
21 (a) The Eucharistic Chalice, or Cup. 'The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?' 'Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils.' (b) The Eucharistic Table or Altar. 'Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.' 'We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.' § 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— '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 :
22 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.' (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. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.' 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,
23 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.' § 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.' 'But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.' 'But the anointing which ye have received 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.' It is argued that the use of the verb 'to anoint,' and of the substantive 'unction' or 'anointing' in 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 intelligible. 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 occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in the two above-quoted passages of St. John. The word anoint 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.
24 § II. SIGN OF THE CROSS AT BAPTISM OR CONFIRMATION.—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.' 'In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.' 'And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye were (A.V. are) sealed unto the day of redemption.' But the inference from these texts is equally precarious with the inference as to unction. If we examine the three passages in the New Testament (outside the Apocalypse) in which the word seal occurs, we shall see that it is used once of circumcision, and in the other two passages distinctly and necessarily in a metaphorical, and not in a literal sense.
25 Its use as a description of circumcision, strongly suggests that in the above-quoted passages, St. Paul is referring to its Christian counterpart, Holy Baptism. 'And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised.' 'For the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.' 'Having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.' If we examine the passages in the New Testament (outside the Apocalypse) in which the verb 'to seal' occurs, in addition to the three passages, above quoted, we shall find that they are four in number. In one passage it is used literally, but certainly with no allusion to the sign of the cross; in the other three passages its use is plainly metaphorical. 'Sealing the stone, and setting a watch.' 'He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.'
26 'For Him hath God the Father sealed.' 'When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.' We conclude, therefore, that the use of the sign of the cross as a ritual act, though found, as will be seen afterwards, in the most primitive time of Christianity, is not referred to in Holy Scripture. § 12. CREED.—We have already (p. 16) called attention to what are believed to be fragments of an early baptismal creed. In addition to the passages there quoted, the following texts may be adduced as containing allusions to the existence of a settled form of words of sound doctrine in the shape of a received creed. 'Ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.' 'Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.'
27 'Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.' 'Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.' 'It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.' § 13. EXCOMMUNICATION.—The power of excommunication from, and the correlative power of re-admitting to the visible Church of Christ on earth, was given by our Lord on one occasion to St. Peter singly, and afterwards with equal fulness to all the Apostles. He said to St. Peter alone— 'And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'
28 And afterwards with equal fulness to all the Apostles— 'Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' The same power was once again committed to the Apostles, if possible, in yet more solemn action and language. It was after His resurrection that— 'Then said Jesus to them again, 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 retained.' Instances of its exercise are found in the case of the incestuous Corinthian, whose excommunication is recorded in 1 Cor. v. 3-5, and his absolution in 2 Cor. ii. 6-11 ; also in the case of Hymenæus and Alexander.
29 The absolution, or reception back into the visible fold of the excommunicate person, was, in primitive times, accompanied by the outward sign of the laying on of hands. There is one passage in the New Testament which possibly refers to this imposition of hands, though most commentators interpret it of ordination rather than of absolution. 'Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins.' § 14. HOLY EUCHARIST.—We have preserved for us, in the New Testament, four records of the institution of this, the most distinctive rite of the Christian dispensation. (See table, p. 26.) It has been doubted whether 1 Cor. xi. 26 contains St. Paul's own words, or words spoken by our Saviour at the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Most commentators take the former view for granted. It seems a natural inference from the change from the first to the third person, and from the reference to Christ as the Lord. But it is not a necessary inference. Christ uses the third person of Himself when He asks—
30 'When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?' And the title of Lord is sometimes used by Christ Himself, as where He says— 'If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.' And again— 'The Lord hath need of them.' 31 ST. MATT. xxvi. 26-28: And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. ST. MARK xiv. 22-24: And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. ST. LUKE xxii. 19, 20: And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me. Likewise also the cup after supper. I COR. xi. 23-26: The Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped. ST. MATT. xxvi. 26-28: And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. And He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
32 And He said unto them, This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. | saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you. | saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come. | 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.
33 Inserted in 1. The Mozarabic.1 2. The Gallican.2 3. The Ambrosian.3 Omitted in 1. The Roman.4 2. The Anglican.5
Ii. Eastern Liturgies.
34 (a) West Syrian. 1. The Clementine.6 1. St. Chrysostom.13 2. Greek St. James.7 3. St. Basil. 4. Syriac St. James.9 5. Lesser St. James.10 6. St. Xystus.11 7. St. Peter.12 Inserted in Omitted in 8. St. Peter II.1 9. St. John Evangelist.2 10. The Twelve Apostles.3 11. St. Mark.4 12. St. Clement.5 13. St. Dionysius Areopagita.6 14. St. Ignatius.7 15. St. Julius. 16. 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.18 26. St. Matthew the Shepherd.19 27. St. James of Botnan.20 28. St. James of Edessa.21 29. St. Thomas of Heraclea.22 be our Lord's (Hom. 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 9th cent.).
35 Inserted in Omitted in 30. St. Moses Bar-Cephas. 2. The Armenian Liturgy. 31. St. Philoxenus III. (Bagdadensis). 32. The Holy Doctors. 33. St. John Basorensis. 34. St. Michael of Antioch. 35. St. Dionysius Barsalibi. 36. St. Gregory (Catholicus.) 37. St. John the Patriarch. 38. St. Dioscorus of Cardou. 39. Ignatius the Patriarch. 40. Ignatius of Antioch. 41. St. Basil (ex Versione Andreæ Masii). (b) East Syrian. Nestorius. Theodore the Interpreter. (The Liturgy of SS. Adæus and Maris is omitted as uncertain, the words of institution being absent from the text as known to us, though they are used in practice.) (c) Alexandrian. 1. St. Mark. 1. The Ethiopic Liturgy. 2. Coptic St. Basil. 3. " St. Cyril. 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.'
36 (b) 'The Lord's Supper.' 'When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.' 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 communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?' The word 'Liturgy' occurs several times in the New Testament, but never in a technical sense with exclusive reference to this Christian service. The word 'Eucharist' occurs frequently in the New Testament; but though there are one or two cases (e.g. 1 Cor. xiv. 16; 1 Tim. ii. 1) 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.
37 It would be a natural inference from the language used in 1 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 at home'], did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.' The latter was the practice at Troas, where the Eucharist apparently formed part of the Sunday as distinguished from the week-day worship. 'And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.' 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 :—
38 'Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils.' '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.' 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 directions with reference to Christian Eucharistic usage are wanting, we know, with certainty, that the bread in use at the Paschal Supper was unleavened; and we know, with something approaching to certainty, that the cup contained wine mingled with water.
39 § 15. HYMNS.—The word 'hymn', and the verb to sing 'hymns', occur several times in the New Testament. In the case of the hymn recorded to have been sung by our Saviour and His disciples after the institution and reception of the first Christian Eucharist it is generally supposed to have been Pss. cxv.-cxviii., which formed the second part of the Hallel, and were sung by every Jewish family or company at the conclusion of the Paschal Supper. But this does not seem to be necessary or certain though most probable. When Paul and Silas were imprisoned at Philippi, it is recorded that 'about midnight they were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them.' It is not known, and there are no means of knowing, what psalms or hymns were sung then. In a well-known Latin hymn attributed to St. Gregory the Great, but probably composed in the seventh or eighth century, and assigned, in most Breviaries, both secular and monastic, to be sung at Matins on Wednesday, these midnight devotions of Paul [and Silas] are somewhat fancifully referred to as authority or the institution of the midnight service of nocturns.
40 There are two passages in the Epistles in which hymns are enumerated as something distinct from psalms— 'Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.' 'Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.' It has been suggested that the three Persons in the blessed Trinity are referred to as addressed in the three different kinds of sacred song, and from the words 'to yourselves' that they were antistrophically arranged and rendered; but these are merely conjectures. There are good grounds for believing that there exist embedded in the text of the New Testament actual fragments of some of the earliest Christian hymns as distinguished from the recognized and inspired Psalms and Canticles of Holy Scripture. The metrical ring is so much more obvious in the Greek than in the English language, that we offer no apology for printing the Greek original and an English line for line version side by side.
41 (I) Fragment of an Advent Hymn— , · , . the night is far spent, the day is nigh at hand.' (2) Fragment of a Hymn on Penitence— ' , , . 'Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.' (3) Fragment of a Hymn or Antiphonal Composition on Christ—ᵒOs , , , , , . 'Who was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.' (4) Another fragment on Christ— · , - · , - · , - · , - · . 'It is a faithful saying: If we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us; if we believe not, yet He abideth faithful;
42 He cannot deny Himself.' We append two more quotations apparently from early Christian formularies, yet of a didactic, rather than a liturgical character; they are both introduced by St. Paul as faithful sayings, the first as worthy of all acceptation, and the second as incumbent upon Titus to affirm constantly. (5) , , , . (6) · . 'For, therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.' 'That they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works: these things are good and profitable unto men.' 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. § 16. 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.—
43 'Salute one another with an holy kiss.' 'Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.' 'Greet one another with an holy kiss.' Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.' 'Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity.' 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.'
44 § 17. LAYING ON OF HANDS.—See Benediction (p. 16); Confirmation (p. 19); Excommunication (p. 23); Ordination (p. 39). § 18. LOVE-FEAST.—The love-feast, or agapé, 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 1 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. Some commentators have thought that the expression 'the Lord's supper,' in 1 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—
45 'These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear.' Possibly also in St. Peter's exhortation— 'Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity'—the kiss of charity being part of the ceremonial observed at the feast called the agapé. And in another passage, where may be a false reading for — 'Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings, [, but read ',' in their love-feasts] while they feast with you.' § 19. MARRIAGE.—Our Lord's language with reference 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— 'What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.' St. Paul says— 'The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.' And the comparison of the union between husband and wife to the union between Christ and His Church might be also quoted.
46 § 20. OFFERINGS.—The principle of a weekly Sunday collection, or offering, for charitable purposes 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.' § 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— '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. . . .
47 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.' 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.' 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—
48 '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 retained.' 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 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—
49 As at the ordination of the seven deacons— 'Whom they set before the Apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.' At the ordination of Barnabas and Saul— 'And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.' 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.' '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.' At the ordination of those whom Timothy was to ordain— 'Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins.' Fasting was a practice closely connected with ordination, as may be seen in the passage quoted above from Acts xiii. 3, and from the following account of ordinations held by SS. Barnabas and Paul—
50 'And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. The following is a list of the various ministerial titles or descriptions used in the New Testament:— (Greek word — Meaning — Where used — English word) One sent — Frequently — Apostle; An overseer — Acts xx. 28 — Bishop; A messenger — Rev. ii. 1 — Angel; An elder — Acts xv. 23 — {Presbyter, or Priest; A servant — 1 Tim. iii. 12 — Deacon; {One who performs a public duty} — Rom. xv. 16 — Minister; {A bearer of good news} — 2 Tim. iv. 5 — Evangelist; A ruler — Heb. xiii. 17 — Ruler; A herald — 1 Tim. ii. 7 — Preacher; Manager of house — 1 Cor. iv. 1, 2 — Steward; {One who declares God's will} — 1 Cor. xiv. 29 — Prophet; A teacher — 1 Cor. xii. 29 — Teacher; A shepherd — Eph. iv. 11 — Pastor; Presiding — 1 Thess. v. 12 — President.
51 The titles of ' (= Priest) and ' (= High Priest or Arch-Priest) are given to our Lord only (Heb. iv. 14; x. 21). But all Christians are called Priests (1 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 synagogues in country places, and this continued to be the practice of the Apostles and first Christian converts after the Ascension and after the Day of Pentecost. After the Ascension, the Apostles— 'Returned to Jerusalem with great joy : And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.' 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.' St. Paul says of himself—
52 'It came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance.' 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 distinctively 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, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.' Round these home Eucharists there would naturally gather the elements of teaching, exhortation, praise, and prayer. These elements are implied when we are told that the first converts—
53 'Continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.' And that— 'Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.' 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; but we do not know what these ordinances were. They included— The uncovering of men's heads in prayer. The covering or veiling of women in prayer. The use of a language understood by the people. The prohibition of women from speaking in church.
54 Weekly collection of alms for charitable purposes. And, generally speaking, decency and order. 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 a man with a gold ring,' etc. He had made use of the same word previously in a strictly Jewish sense and connection in his speech at the Council of Jerusalem. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of the duty of public Christian worship, says— 'Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is.' The expression 'synagogue of Satan' is twice used in the Book of Revelation to denote the gathering together of wicked worshippers. § 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 ascension.
55 Thus we find how at Troas— Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.' 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.' 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.' 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 lifetime— 'And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.'
56 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.' For Unction at Baptism or Confirmation, see p. 20. § 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, as possibly referring to an article of ecclesiastical dress; but there is no ground whatever for such an interpretation—
57 'The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.' 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 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.'
58 Tertullian's reference to the same passage (2 Tim. iv. 13), 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.' 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 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.