J 1 I % ’ £ { / f lA-i; i f ■V3f Tf\ o^^ >m<, ^trffT i>s.„.^M.n>ii‘*^ EGYPTIIrC,^ JKW. CHRISTIAN. MAHOMKT. PAGaN. PERSIAN. RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS, OR THE FORMS OF WORSHIP PRACTISED BY THE SEVERAL NATIONS OF THE KNOWN WORLD, FROM THE EARLIEST RECORDS TO THE PRESENT TIME. ON THE BASIS OF THE CELEBRATED AND SPLENDID WORK OP BERNARD PICART. TO WHICH IS ADDED. A BRIEF VIEW OF MINOR SECTS, WHICH EXIST AT THE PRESENT DAY ; DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR THE USE OF FAMILIES J NOT ONLY AS ENTERTAINING AND INSTRUCTIVE, BUT OF GREAT IMPORTANCE AS A WORK OF REFERENCE. BY CHARLES A. GOODRICH. ACCOMPANIED WITH A LARGE MAP OF THE WORLD, AND EMBELLISHED WITH ELEGANT ENGRAVINGS. ^ HARTFORD: PUBLISHED BY HUTCHISON AND DWTER. 1834. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1834, by HUTCHISON & DWIER, in the Clerk’s office of the District Court of Connecticut. PREFACE. In the Prospectus of the present volume, it was announced that it would have for its basis a work published in Europe some time since, commonly known by the title of “ Picart’s Religious Ceremonies and Customs and so denominated from the circumstance, that this distinguished artist prepared embellishments for the work, consisting of more than five hundred copper-plate engravings, which, for elegance of design, and for felicity of execution, have rarely, if ever, been excelled. The work was originally composed in French, and was comprised in six volumes folio. Its celebrity obtained for it an English translation, in the same number of volumes ; and within a few years the whole has been abridged iri a large quarto volume, by Colin Mackenzie, Esq. This abridgement has been chiefly used by the Editor in preparing the present volume ; but the embellishments have been taken from the English folio translation, and the abridgement generally compared with it. Although the principal part of the volume has been derived from the foregoing work ; yet important additions and alter- ations have been made. These have resulted from a desire to conform the work to the present state of Nations and Tribes, in- respect to several of which our knowledge has been greatly enlarged and corrected, since the work of Picart 4 PREFACE. was compiled. It will be seen, that besides that portion of the volume, which is occupied by the Introduction and the History of the Jews, (for which articles the Editor is indebted to a distinguished literary friend, and which he thinks will be found greatly to enhance the interest and value of the Volume,) new articles have been prepared in respect to the Hindoos, and most of the Protestant Communities; while important corrections and additions have been made illustra- ting the ceremonies and customs of the Mahometans — Indian and African Tribes, &c. The brief article on the South Sea Islands is chiefly derived from the popular work, “ Polyne- sian Researches,” by Ellis. It was the original plan of the Editor to embrace within the volume proposed, an account of the religion of some nations and tribes, which he has felt himself obliged, in the sequel, to omit, that he might avoid a common and just ob- jection to abridgements, viz. that in the multiplicity of subjects treated of the interest of circumstance and detail is lost. To the student of anatomy, a skeleton may be an object of pleas- ant contemplation; but to secure the interests of the casual observer, it must have the usual accompaniments of the living man. The “ Dictionary of Minor Sects,” which it was in- tended should embrace a large number, has been necessarily confined to a “ Brief View” of such only as may be deemed most important. The belief is entertained that the volume will be found to be replete with interest and instruction, growing out of the subjects upon which it treats. The reader will have pre- sented to him a picture of the religious world. He will per- ceive upon that picture many dark, and distressing shades ; — he will see in what varied and unhallowed forms, mankind have worshipped the common Parent of all ; he will be led to contemplate the delusions practised upon millions, by the cunning and craft of imposture ; the unholy devotion de- PREFACE. 5 manded of other millions, by an intolerant hierarchy ; and the debasing superstitions and cruel abominations inculcated upon still more millions of the human family, by an earth- born system of idolatry. From the pain of dwelling upon these darker shades, he will find relief, by turning his eye upon some bright spots in the picture. There are, blessed be God, some such spots, the original darkness of which has been in a measure removed, by the shedding down of light from on high. And, although that heavenly light is in a degree obscured by the variety and contrariety of opinions, which still prevail among Christian communities ; yet the reader will find it pleasant to reflect that the difierences, which now divide them, are gradually diminishing. A day is coming, when, in respect to essential truths, and, perhaps, in respect to those which are less important, there will prevail a delightful harmony among the professed followers of a once crucified Redeemer. Nay, more than this, the voice of prophecy has predicted a still more glorious triumph of the Son of God. Into the dark corners of the earth, the light of the Gospel will ultimately penetrate, and the habitations of cruelty will become the dwelling places of righteousness. Even at this present time, the Christian Church is gathering in the first fruits of this golden age. The anti-christian systems and the idolatrous superstitions of the world are rapidly approaching their fall. What, if the Jew still clings to the dreams of a Messiah Ben David — what, if the Mussul- man still pays his devotions at the tomb of the prophet — what, if the Hindoo yet points to a future avatar of Vishnoo, the preserver, the tidings of a crucified Redeemer are spreading through every portion of the globe. “ Idolatry has been overthrown in the islands of the Pacific ; and in India, that massive, gorgeous, venerable superstition, which has with- stood not only the decay of time, but the sword of Mahomet, zealously protected, patronized, and endowed by a Christian 6 PREFACE. government, has been undermined, and a breach has been made in the outworks. The Bramin has been converted, and the still prouder Moslem, and the unimpassioned Chinese, the degraded negro, and the wild Caffer, and the brutish Hottentot.” These are antepasts of better days. Yet how much re- mains to be done before the warfare of Zion shall be accom- plished! — ^before that period shall arrive, when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of God I Let the reader in- quire, while he hails that day as certain in its advent, what he may do to accelerate its arrival. CONTENTS. Introduction. Page 9 PART I. History and Religious Ceremonies of the Jews. - 21 CHAPTER I. History OF THE Jews. - - - - . - - 21 CHAPTER II. Religious Customs and Ceremonies of the Jews. - 53 Sec. 1. Fundamental Doctrines. - - - - 53 Sec. 2. Customs and Laws of the Ancient Jews. - 59 Sec. 3. Religious Rites. ------ 72 Sec. 4. Ecclesiastical Discipline — Worship — Festi- vals, &c. 81 PART II. History and Religious Customs of the Mahometans. 97 CHAPTER I. Life of Mahomet. - -- -- --97 CHAPTEJl II. Religious Tenets, Ceremonies, and Customs of the Mahometans. 123 PART III. Religious Tenets, Ceremonies, and Customs of the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches. - - 159 CHAPTER I. Greek Church. 159 Sec. 1. Greek Church Proper. 159 Sec. 2. Religious Principles and Customs of the Russian Greek Church. - - - - 197 Sec. 3. Other Branches of the Greek Church. - - 220 Sec. 1. Georgian and Mingrelian Churches. - - 220 Sec. 2. Nestorian Churches. 224 Sec. 3. Christians of St. Thomas. - - - - 228 Sec. 4. Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Jacobites. 231 Sec. 5. Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Copts. - - - - - - - 233 Sec. 6. Doctrines and Customs of the Abyssinian or Ethiopians. - 235 Sec. 7. Religious Tenets and Customs of the Ar- minians. 241 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. Religious Tenets, Customs, Ceremonies, &c. of the Roman Catholic Church. _ _ _ _ 247 Sec. 1. Tenets, Customs, &c. - - _ . 247 Sec. 2. Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. 361 Sec. 3. Holy Orders of the Roman Catholic Church. 377 Sec. 4. Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. 391 PART IV. Religious Customs and Ceremonies of Protestant Communities. ------- 402 Sec. 1. Lutherans. - - 403 Sec. 2. Church of England. 416 Sec. 3. Kirk of Scotland. 429 Sec. 4. English and American Presbyterians. - 434 Sec. 5. Calvinists. ------- 436 Sec. 6. Arminians. - - 445 Sec. 7. Congregationalists. 448 Sec. 8. Baptists. 460 Sec. 9. Methodists. - 465 Sec. 10. Quakers. 476 PART V. Religious Ceremonies and Customs of Pagan Nations and Tribes. Sec. 1. Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Chinese. ------ 487 Sec. 2. Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Japanese. ------ 512 Sec. 3. Religious Tenets, Ceremonies, and Customs of the Thibetians and Tartars. - - 535 Sec. 4. Religious Doctrines, Ceremonies, and Cus- toms of the Hindoos. - 546 Sec. 5. Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Laplanders. 557 Sec. 6. Religious Ceremonies and Customs of Indian Tribes. ------- 560 Sec. 7. Religious Ceremonies and Customs of Afri- can Tribes. ------ 5Co Sec. 8. Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Polynesians. ------ 570 A Brief View of Minor Sects. - - - 573 INTRODUCTION. It is a fact which we learn from history, that religion of some kind has existed, in every period of time, and among all nations. It can be traced up to the infancy of the Reiio-ion of world, and among the fathers of the human race, some kind has The earliest account that has reached us, which always exist- is that of our sacred scriptures, informs us of its existence even before the origin of nations, while as yet the in- habitants of the globe were one entire community. Some few notices appear in that book, of the religious rites of the antediluvian world; as the offerings of Cain and Abel, the practice of prayer, or the profession of reli- gion; meii^tion is also made of the pious cha- “ rid',' racter of the descendants of Seth ; the brief, but touching, story of Enoch’s faith is given ; and the family of Noah is particularly introduced in connexion with the religion of this period. After the origin of nations, consequent on the dispersion at Babel, we learn something from the Bible, of the fate of divine institutions, among the separate portions of man- kind, so far as these are brought into view in the p-^ of^atlons' sacred narrative. In con firmation of the Bible, the earliest fabulous accounts, as they are called, all refer to some kind of religion promulgated by the founders of nations, and held and practised by the latter. Profane history abounds in representations of this nature, and we learn from its pages, how the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and other ancient nations, were committed to the observation of certain religious rites and ceremonies. Their notions and tenets also on this subject have been occasionally transmitted to us, and although these, in most instances, are extremely vague and absurd, they evidently betray a common origin. Thus the universality of religion of some sort, in the earliest ages, is a matter of his- tory: and the same impartial guide introduces Through us to an acquaintance with the varying creeds, every age forms,' and observances of nations since, whether since, in their rude or civilized condition. All seem to have obeyed 10 INTRODUCTION. that law of the human mind, which bids it to seek repose in some sort of religion. Our knowledge of the different communities of men at the present time, which, by means of improvements in navigation, and facilities in travelling, is nearly universal, p^senuime^^ confirms the same important truth. Scarcely a tribe, however unenlightened, is found, but that possesses a kind of religious faith. Perhaps, strictly speaking, no one is found without the notion of God, and an invisible or future world ; for although some two or three savage com- munities may have been reported by travellers to be thus des- titute, there is reason to believe that further inquiry would show the fact to be otherwise. On the whole, it may be safely asserted to be a condition of mankind, which is essentially universal. If the representations above made are correct, religion may be supposed to he, in some sense, natural to the human species. Hence reli- inference which must readily suggest gionisinsome itself to every reflecting mind. It could not ra- sense natural tionally be accounted for, that in every period of ro man. world, and among all nations and tribes of men, some notion of God and human accountableness, and certain modes of worship should prevail, without referring re- ligion to a settled law or principle of our common nature. A want surely exists in the human mind, which can be supplied only by some kind of religion. It is a confirmation of the This is con- taken, that a survey of man as a ra- firmed by a tional creature of God, must lead us to believe moral survey that, in some sense, religion is natural to him. of man. Whoever,” says a writer, “ seriously reflects on the powers and capacities of the human mind, regarding them as the work of him that doeth nothing in vain, and comparing them with those of the inferior creatures, will readily perceive that man alone was created to be religious. Of all the inha- bitants of this earth, none else are capable of attaining any knowledge of their Creator, or of rendering him any worship or praise. Man alone possesses the capacity of distinguishing between truth and falsehood ; between m.oral good and evil ; and of receiving instruction in social and relative duties, with the obligation under which he lies to perform them, and the advantages of doing it. He alone is capable of being governed by a law, and of being influenced bj^ the proposal of rewards and punishments ; of acting as under the eye of an invisible Observer, and with reference to the future season of retri- bution.” INTRODUCTION. 11 But although religion may be said to be thus natural to man, it does not follow that the right thing will always be chosen. The want before spoken of is a general want, and it may seem to be satisfied, though it should religion is not not be in reality, with any and with every form always cho- of religion. We say with every form of reli- gion ; for one people at least, viz. the Athenians, always im- ported the deities and superstitions of every nation with whom they became acquainted, and engrafted them on their own creed. The tendencies of nature to some system of faith and worship, are not a specific and unerring direction to any one system in particular. If they were such a direction, a perfect unifoinnity would have existed in the theology of all nations. But this we now have occasion to remark is not the case. Notwithstanding religion, in the above respect, is natural to man, a great diversity of religious opinions has ^ prevailed in the world, and different forms and great variety ceremonies have been and still are observed, of religions in The religious notions and practices of mankind die world, early diverged from one another — the sons of men were soon distinguished from the sons of God, the impious from the holy — and, notwithstanding the purgation of the world by a flood, and the subsequent re-establishment of one common faith, no sooner did the earth begin to be peopled again, than a diversity of religions took place, each nation and tribe em- bracing some peculiarity of its own. Such has been the fact, through all the intervening periods of history, to the present day. Each distinct portion of the human family, especially its larger divisions, has had its separate religious dogmas and practices, ranging from pure theism to the grossest idolatry. At the present time, there are at least four general forms, or de- partments of religious belief among mankind : viz. the Christian, the Jewish, the Mahometan, and the Pagan, which, for the most part, are subdivided into many others. In regard to Paganism, it may be remarked, that it is as various as the separate portions of people that constitute the Gentile world. The causes of this diversity cannot but form an interesting subject of inquiry. The inquisitive mind of man very natu- rally desires to know, how the same being, with interest the same essential wants, should have fallen upon ino- to know religions so unlike, and often, so opposed to one the causes of another. What is there in the circumstances ^his diversity, of human nature, that can afford a clue to this surprising 1. Does the variance spoken of arise merely from chance? 12 INTRODUCTION. We are not believers in this phantom, as furnishing a solution It does not any phenomenon. We do not think that it spring from is the cause of any thing in existence, much less chance. (|q suppose that it can account for the variety and difference in the religion of mankind. If accident ope- rated here, it might indeed give a diversity to this propensity of nature, or, it might give to it a uniformity. It were just as likely to effect the one as the other, only it would not be apt to produce a uniformity in variety. It would be infinitely un- apt to do this. Yet such seems to be literally the case in the religions of the human species. They uniformly differ from one another, and most of them essentially from the truth. It concerns those who believe in chance as the cause <©f any thing, or the cause of such a moral phenomenon, to make out the proof There seems to us to be something extremely absurd in referring to contingency merely, as the cause of an effect, when, by the nature of the word, it neither is, nor can be known as such a cause. 2. Does the above diversity arise from circumstances fo- reign or external to the mind, such as time, location, climate, Nor from ex- or country? It is not unnatural to suppose that ternal circum- such circumstances might modify, in a small de- stances. gree, the religions of mankind ; but they could not well produce such essential and irreconcilable differences as prevail. Religions exist in perfect diversity or contrariety in situations where we might suppose they would be the same, or nearly the same, so far as the operation of these extraneous causes is concerned. At the same period, in the same climate, under the same go vernment, among a people speaking the same language, there are found often the most dissimilar religions, creeds, and practices. W~hat one class esteems as divine, an- other abhors as sacrilegious. Where there is little diversity in other respects, such as the features of nature, the form of government, or the civil habits, there is often a wide differ- ence in religion. A Mahometan, whether in Asia or Africa, invokes the impostor, and his credulity flourishes equally well, on the table-lands of the one, as amid the deserts of the other. A Jew is found the same all the world over, and, in religion, owns no communion with his Christian neighbours. Creeds are believed and ceremonies are observed, both of the most opposite kinds, under the same physical and social cir- cumstances. 3. Does again the diversity spoken of, pro*ceed from any necessary tendencies of the human mind to difference or op- position ? It would be more than could be expected frorn INTRODUCTION. 13 human nature as we now find it, that mankind j^or from any should think and act exactly alike on this subject, necessity in On no subject, is there a perfect coincidence of the^ mind for views and practices. On this account, some dif- tfifierence. ferences are to be looked for, at least, as mankind are at pre- sent situated. But in most things, especially those of a prac- tical nature, those differences need not he essential. They are not so necessary as that mankind cannot act together, and realize the important ends of civil society. Certain advan- tages as to information, seem to bring most men into a reason- able measure of conformity to one another. It cannot be thought, therefore, that there is any more necessity in the mind itself for diversity in religion, than there is as to the other great interests of life. The mind is not changed in its attri- butes, when it acts in respect to religion. And the diversity is not, in fact, to be traced to such a source. There is no irreversible fate here. Besides, we can hardly suppose from the nature of the case itself, that there could be a necessary tendency in the mind to difierence or opposition in the affair of religion, or the intercourse of the soul with God. None could seriously maintain that in such a concern, he would have made mankind with any invincible tendency to difier- ence, or with so strong a tendency, as that it would be next to miraculous that they should agree. On so vital a subject, he certainly would be apt to give them freedom of choice, either to agree or disagree. He would be most unapt to bind them to the dire necessity only of disagreeing. 4. Does the diversity in question spring from the want of a divine revelation ? As believers in such a revelation, we must answer in the negative. Abundant proof could Nor from the be presented, were it necessary, that mankind want of a re- are in possession of a revelation from God. That velation. revelation is found in the Bible ; but we shall here take for granted the authenticity and divine authority of that sacred book. Its claims to be considered as containing the revealed will of God have been too often admitted, to be denied at this day — a day ’when its prophecies are so amply ful- filling, and its effects on the heart and life, wherever received, are so decidedly excellent. Varying human faiths are not then owing to the want of a divine revelation — a revelation di- recting all men how they should believe, feel, and act in re- spect to God and invisible realities. Such is the nature of the revelation which is given to us in the Bible. Its truths are clearly announced ; the object, mode, and obligations of reli- gious worship, are distinctly pointed out. The only true reli- 2 14 INTRODUCTION. gion, in its dilTerent dispensations, is communicated to us in full and satisfactory details. Had God left men without the light of his word, it might be expected that they would wander in darkness. If he had not informed them respecting the only divine system of religion, a reason might be found in that cir- cumstance, for the almost endless diversity which exists in creeds, and in the objects and modes of worship. But, now, this cannot be the cause of that diversity, since a divine revela- tion is possessed, given to mankind in the first ages of the world, continued for a long period by tradition, and at length commit- ted to writing, as its portions were completed from time to time. 5. Passing by the aforenamed, as inadequate causes of the variety of religious professions among men, is not the proper explanation to be found in the radical depravity fmm hiunan^ human heart ? Is not that the true cause ? depravity. seems to us that it can be resolved into no other. Of the depravity of the human heart we are not permitted to doubt, in view of the decisions of the Bi- ble, and the results of observation. But existing and reigning in all men by nature, it would readily dispose them to a diver- sity of religious views and practices, or rather to irreligion under various names. It would readily dispose them to de- part from the true belief, and to cast ofi' the restraints of the divine authority. They would be prone to invent many schemes and devices with a view to appease an upbraiding conscience, and to gratify that ceaseless love of novelty, which characterizes the human mind. Except in those in whom the efiects of depravity are counteracted by divine grace, there would exist a continual propensity to depart from God and his institutions — to lose sight of religious truth, and become in- volved in gross darkness and superstition. In such a state, the mind is prepared for every absurdity. “ Nations ignorant of God, contrive A wooden one.” Hence have arose the altars and demons of heathen arisen the abo- antiquity, their extravagant fictions, and abomi- minations of nable orgies. Plence we find among the Babylo- heathen wor- nians and Arabians, the adoration of the heavenly bodies, the earliest form of idolatry ; among the Canaanites and Syrians, the worship of Baal, Tammuz, Ma- gog and Astarte ; among the Phoenicians, the immolation of children to Moloch; among the Egyptians, divine honours be- stowed on animals, birds, insects, leeks, and onions ; among the Persians, religious reverence offered to fire ; and among INTRODUCTION. 15 the polished Greeks, the recognition in their system of faith, of thirty thousand gods. Hence, moreover, we find at the pre- sent time among most pagan tribes, the deadliest superstitions, the most cruel and bloody rites, and the most shocking licen- tiousness and vice practised under the name of religion. From the darkened views and evil feelings inspired by the depraved heart, proceed all those fatal mistakes about God, the way of acceptance with him, and the realities of the future world ; all those departures from a consistent belief and worship, which distinguish every nation, and every portion of the world, ex- cept where the Bible is strictly received as the rule of life. So obvious is it that the depravity of the heart has dictated the various false religions that prevail in the world, that even the infirmities remaining in pious persons have given rise to minor differences among the evan- gelical sects of Christians. Every wrong and g'ood men have perverted feeling of the heart is likely to engen- occasioned der a degree of deviation from the truth. Hence smaller differ- those unhappy, though not fatal separations which take place among persons who, on the whole, adhere to the same great fundamental principles. Christian integrity secures a substantial, though not literal, agreement in the truths and observances of religion. If that integrity were perfect in this world, or more nearly perfect than it now is, there might lite- rally be but one creed, and one mode of worship. An acquaintance with these differerit systems of religion, while it is calculated to furnish no small entertainment, will convey several highly important reflections to the reader. We should not, and cannot well contemplate such a scene, without learning some teachefsome useful lessons from it, especially as it is connect- important les- ed with glorious purposes, Avhich God evidently sons, intends to subserve. 1. A view of these religions, will present to us a melan- choly account of the apostacy of the human species. It will evince the nature and the effects of that apostacy, pj,gggj^^g ^ and thus confirm the scriptural narrative on the melancholy- subject. It will exemplify the great fact of hu- account of the man degeneracy in a form and manner calculated apostacy. to convince every candid reader, that original, deep, and wide spread corruption, in which the fail of man consists, appears in dark lines, in the history of the various religions which man- kind have embraced. Indeed, the most disgusting exhibitions of man’s apostacy are found in many of the religions which he has contrived, with a view to supersede the religion derived 10 INTRODUCTION. from heaven. The awful consequences of the apostacy will here be presented in a medium, in which they will appear in their undisguised, most hateful character. The lust, impu- rity, pride, ambition, revenge, malignity, rebellion, unbelief, selfishness, in which this primitive defection is manifested, con- stitute the leading features of those superstitions, to which millions in every age have bowed. 2. A view of these religions, so far as they are departures from the truth, will furnish a sad detail of the extent and power Shows the Satan’s empire in the world. Mankind having extent and apostatized from God, have, in every nation, and power of Sa- in every period of time, been successively brought tan s empire, under the dominion of Satan. They have been subject to his influence, obeyed his laws, and in their religious rites, often directly paid him homage. In fine, they have been his slaves, and he has claimed them as his property. The wickedness, in which he delights, they have, in innumerable instances, practised. We may form some idea of the extent and power of Satan’s empire, from the fact, that all the nations of antiquity, except the Israelites, were idolaters by profession, and even the latter were practically idolaters, at times. That system of religion was called Polytheism, as acknowledging a plurality of gods, who, according to the poet, were no other than the chiefs of the fallen spirits, that “durst fix Their seats long after, next the seat of God, Their altars by his altar, gods adored, Among the nations roimd.” All these nations worshipped divinities or devils by various representations, called idols. Forsaking the service of the only living and true God, they paid that homage which is due to him, to those beings that are infinitely unlike him in cha- racter. 3. A view of the absurd religions which mankind have embraced, shows the necessity of a divine revelation — that re- Evinces the ''^^^^tion with which the nations are favoured in necessity of a the Holy Scriptures. This exhibits to us the divine revela- true system of religion, and is the umpire to which appeal must ever be made on this subject. “ To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” The necessity of a divine revelation is apparent amidst diverse and opposing faiths, since nothing but such a revelation could ena- ble men to know the truth. They would be lost in an endless labyrinth of conjectures. Reason alone could not be appealed INTRODUCTION. 17 to With a view to determine what is right and what is wrong in human belief. But a revelation from God, properly au- thenticated, as it must be, would prove an unerring guide. It would direct mankind to itself, and throw a clear light over all the field of moral and religious truth. Without such a revelation, so far as man on earth is concerned, it would be to him an endless scene of darkness, doubt, and perplexity. 4. A knowledge of the opposing religious systems among mankind, will evince the necessity not only of a divine reve- lation, but also of the direct influences of the the Supreme Agent, in causing mankind to harmo- necessity of di- nize in their views. As it is apparent that their rect divine in- disagreement, on points so vital, proceeds from Alienee in or- depravity of heart ; it would seem that light alone harmony. is not sufficient to produce union, though it is important as an auxiliary or means to this result. That wrong state of the heart must be rectified — that depravity must be subdued, and this cannot be done except by the Spirit of God. He only can directly influence the spirit that is in man, and form it to truth and to rectitude. His operations, by removing the grounds of opposition and error, will restore harmony of views, as a natural consequence. Accordingly, divine influ- ences are promised, and have been imparted, in a degree, hi- therto to the children of men. Hence is found that measure of agreement, on all essential points, which characterizes all evangelical Christians, or those who submit to the Bible, in its plain and simple communications. A view, then, of the va- rious religions of the world, will show the necessity of direct divine operations, in producing a uniformity of opinions on the subject of religion. 5. An account of the clashing and absurd religions that have controlled such numbers of mankind, will impart an ex- alted idea of the mercy of God, in the promul- Manifests the gation of Christianity. As the only true reli- divine mercy gion — the great centre of divine communica- in the promul- tions — the point where all the rays of revelation . meet, (the Jewish system being only preparatory ^ nstiamty. to it, though very important in that view,) it will manifest God’s benevolent desire to guide and influence mankind aright, in respect both to their present and future welfare. When we learn the spirit and the requirements of Christianity ; when we become acquainted with its practical tendencies ; how it prepares men in the temper of their minds, not only for a bet- ter world, but to enjoy greater happiness in this; how it ele- vates their understanding and improves their social condition, 2 ^ 18 INTRODUCTION. we cannot but be impressed with a sense of the divine mercy, in the invaluable gift. Indeed, no finite mind can fully con- ceive the importance of the gospel, as the instrument in God’s hand of effecting the salvation of souls. But we might enter- tain something like an adequate conception, of the temporal blessings conferred by this system on a fallen race. There has been, however, even among those who have largely par- ticipated in these blessings, a remarkable failure duly to ap- preciate the benignant influence of Christianity in this world. Very incorrect ideas on this subject are entertained among the mass of mankind, in Christian lands. The error, however, is inexcusable. We believe the time is coming, when a very difTerent, and much higher, estimate of the gospel will be formed, in its effects not only on the spiritual, Wt on the tem- poral and social condition of man. It will be felt how much we are indebted to it, for all the real blessings we enjoy in this life. 6. A consideration of the kind we speak of, will furnish Christians with a powerful incentive to unite in diffusing a Affords a knowledge of Christianity. Judging from their strong incen- own experience of its power, they can but view live for uni- this religion as the only corrective of a false faith ting to spread ^nd a wicked practice, and such indeed is the fact. nstianity. which, by a moral influ- ence, can displace others. It acknowledges no true religion except its own, and never tolerates any other. Indeed, in its principles, it is hostile to every other religion, and makes a war of extermination against all superstition, idolatry, false worship, unbelief, and vice. In early times, it extinguished the religion of pagan Rome, because it would have no com- petitor, because it would own no associate. And it has since extended itself, only by displacing other religions, through a moral influence. The peaceful exertions of its friends and subjects, have been the means of its triumphs hitherto, and will doubtless continue so to be, if those triumphs are con- tinued. Christians reading the sad story of the debasing su- perstitions and idolatries that still spread fiver the world, must feel powerfully prompted to unite their energies in the wide and universal dissemination of their religion. And it is a pleasing reflection, constituting the great encouragement of their labours, that the divine light of Christianity will one day dispel all the deep moral darkness which still covers a large portion of the earth. That darkness will vanish, as fast as the Sun of righteousnes.s shall arise upon the world, with healing in his wings. INTRODUCTION. 19 Finally ; it is delightful to go forward in our contemplations to the time when there shall be one religion among men, and but one. That time is destined to arrive. The voice of prophecy has declared it. “ In the last Th^i’e will at days, the mountain ot the Lord s house shall be j-eli^-ion. established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.” And he who founded this religion, said in the days of his hu- manity, “ And other sheep I have which are not of this fold : them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.” After all the con- flicting views of mankind on the subject of religion ; after all the diversified forms of error, there shall come a period of blessed unanimity, and of the universal prevalence of the truth. There will be but one religion, and that one, the glo- rious gospel of our salvation. It is not, however, to be inferred that there may not be dif- ferent evangelical denominations of Christians ; since we are by no means permitted to believe, that there will ever be sin- less perfection on earth. The existence of these denomina- tions, all “ holding the head” — the same great distinguishing- principles, and exercising a mutual liberality of feeling in re- spect to the less important parts of the system, is not in- consistent with unanimity in the sense here understood. In this case, one religion may be said to prevail, and only one, throughout the earth, and among all nations. It will be one in its essential peculiar features, and one in the spirit and in the practices which will characterize the human family. In different sections, in different divisions, supposing that all are not to coalesce in one particular denomination, will the church universal move on, in her bright career, each harmonizing essentially with the other, and all conspiring to advance the common object of the believer’s high calling in Christ Jesus. PART I. HISTORY AND RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES OF THE JEWS. CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF THE JEWS. An account of the religion of the Jews, may, with great propriety, be preceded by a succinct history of that people. A recent interesting historian* has pronounced them, without reference to their religious belief, as “ among the most re- markable people in the annals of mankind.” Contemplated in connexion with their religion, and as a means of under- standing it more fully, their history claims our history- attention, more than that of any other nation. It of the Jews instructs us in a different manner from that of peculiarly in- any other, because it brings directly into view structive. the divine dealings with them. The Jews, in the early periods of their history, are known under the more general name of Hebrews or Israelites, who constituted a community of which the .Tews, as they were afterwards denominated, were only a name, part. The origin of their name, and the circumstances of their separation from the associated tribes, will appear in the course of our narrative. This distinguished race, commonly called the people of God, • was derived from Descended Abraham, lineally descended in the tenth gene- from Abra- ration from Shem, the eldest son of Noah. His calling of God, which took place 1921 years B. C. is a re- markable event in history, and deserves a brief notice. In obedience to the command of God, Abraham, who was a son of Terah, the head of a pastoral family, left Ur in Chal- dea, his native country, and dwelt with his father Abraham, in Haran. Ur was a district to the north east called out of of that region, which lies above the confluence Chaldea, of the Tigris and Euphrates, and became afterwards the seat of the great Babylonian monarchy. Haran was a city situ- ated in the north west part of Mesopotamia. The former place, from the signification of the name, was supposed to he particularly infected with idolatry, and hence the reason of ♦ Rev. II. H. Milmau. 22 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. the command, connected with the purpose of God to make Abraham the father of a great and peculiar nation. By the Into Canaan command, after Terah’s death, he went into the land of Canaan, which God promised to his posterity. They were to be included within the bounda- ries of that country. The divine design, in thus setting apart one family from the rest of mankind, was to preserve the true religion in the God’s desio-n the existence of which became endan- herein, was’^o gered by the prevalence of polytheism, and to preserve the prepare the way for the great work of redemp- uue religion, Jesus Christ. God promised to protect, bless, and multiply his posterity in an extraordi- nary manner, and made the significant and cheering declara- tion, applicable to the Saviour, who, according to the flesh, descended in the line of Abraham, that in his seed all the fa- milies of the earth should be blessed. Abraham having acquired a name by his wealth and piety, and having passed through various scenes of prosperity and Leaves Isaac trial, died at an advanced age, leaving behind him as the child of several sons, of whom only Isaac was the child promise. Qf promise. Ishmael, by Flagar, the maid of Abraham’s wife, became the progenitor of a distinct tribe or nation. The Arabs, to this day, claim to be descended from the son of Hagar. Two sons were the progeny of Isaac, viz. The sons of Esau and Jacob, the former of whom sold his Isaac are Esau birth-right to Jacob, who also, by artifice, obtain- and Jacob. eJ his father’s blessing. Esau was the ancestor of the Edomites or Idumeans. In the line of Jacob, whose The Israelites changed to Israel, were the Israelites descended in descended. His twelve sons gave the names to the line of Ja- the twelve tribes, of which the nation was corn- cob- posed. Jacob closed an eventful life, 1689 years B. C. in making a prophetic declaration of the future state of his descendants, and the period of the coming of the Messiah. He had previously been brought out of Canaan into Egypt, by means of his son Joseph, whom his brethren through envy and malice sold into that country. , The different occurrences by which Joseph became minis- ter to the king of Egypt, speak the immediate interposition of divine providence, which was preparing for the accomplish- ment of the promises made to the patriarch Abraham. Of these occurrences, which carry on the history of the Hebrews for a period, the following summary is given. Joseph, who was much loved by his father, and hated by his HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 23 brethren, upon a certain occasion, which was presented, fell into the power of the latter, who sought to slay him. This horrid design, however, being pro- . Occurrences videntially prevented, they availed themselves of ^ ^ the opportunity of selling him to a company of Ishmaelite slave merchants, who carried him into Egypt, where he was bought by Potiphar, an officer of the court. Here, at length, he was wrongfully thrown into prison, by a false accusation of Potiphar’s wife ; but being proved lo be an interpreter of dreams, he was released from his confinement, and introduced to the notice of Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, who, on a certain occasion, wanted his services in this capa- city. His success in interpreting the king’s dreams, and his subsequent conduct, procured for him the highest distinction ; and he became the administrator of the government. During the famine which he had predicted in interpreting those dreams, and which reached the land of Canaan, all his bre- thren, except Benjamin, came to him, to buy corn. Joseph knew them, although they did not know him ; and by an in- nocent contrivance, having brought them into Egypt the second time, Avith their brother Benjamin, he declared to them that he was Joseph, whom they had persecuted and sold. Their sur- prise, mortification, and terror, were at first overwhelming ; but their distressing apprehensions Avere, in due time, alleviated by his assurances of pardon and kindness ; and inviting his father and the Avhole family into Egypt, he allot- The family of ted them a portion of the territory. Here he Jacob or Israel protected them, and under his auspices they be- kivited into came flourishing and happy. ‘ Joseph continued to rule ov^er Egypt after the death of Jacob, who had sojourned in that country seA^enteen years. His own decease, which occurred 1635 years B. C., left the Israelites without a protector. In less than forty years from this event, they found a cruel tyrant and oppressor in rp. y . another king Avho knew not Joseph. This oppres^eT king perceiving that the HebreAvs had become Egypt, numerous and mighty, resoh^ed to enfeeble them ; and therefore condemned them to slavery, and ordered that every new-born son among them should be cast into the river. The object in view AA’-as defeated ; for the people in- creased in an unexampled manner. The history of the Israelites now assumed a A'ery marked character. Oppressed by the Egyptian monarch, they cried unto God for deliA^erance, and a divine deliverance they expe- rienced. Moses, a HebrcAV by birth, Avhose life Avas preserved 24 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. in an extraordinary manner, notwithstanding the edict of the king, was selected as the instrument of saving his country- men, Fie was in due time called to his work, and after a se- ries of miracles, which he performed by the divine assistance, he led the people out from before Pharaoh, into Delivered region bordering on the promised land. The l.ondao-e in consequence to many oi the Egyptians, Avas that laud. their destruction ; for Pharaoh and his army pur- suing the Israelites through the Red Sea, were overwhelmed with its waters. The people were no sooner deliA^ered from the Egyptians, than they murmured against Moses, on account of the want of food ; to satisfy them God sent first a great quan- mur Sler tlidr quails, and the next morning, manna, which deliverance. fell regularly every day except on Sabbath days, during the time in which they remained in the wilderness. Again, the people murmured for water, and Mo- ses, by the Lord’s command, caused a suppdy to issue from a rock. At this juncture the Amalekites attacked Israel, and were defeated by Joshua, avIio afteiuA^ards became their leader. They receive people soon after arrived at Mount Sinai, the law at Si- froul which God gave them his law. During, nai. however, the absence of Moses in the mount, they were guilty of an act of idolatry, in conse- quence of which three thousand of them Avere put to death In the course of the second year after the retreat from Egypt, Moses numbered the children of Israel, from tAventy years old and upAvards, and there AA'ere found nimibcred^^the hundred and three thousand five hundred 2d. year atier ^ud fifty men, able to go to Avar, besides the Le- their retreat. vites. About this time, tAA'ehm men Avere sent to spy the land of Canaan, who, Avith the ex- ception of Joshua and Caleb, reported unfavourably; a cir- cumstance Avhich caused the people to murmur. Upon this offence, God condemned all those Avho AA'ere twenty years and upAvards Avhen they came out of Egypt, to die in the AAulder- ness, except Joshua and Caleb. As a punishment for their murmin's, the Israelites began to travel in the dOyeLrhuhe '^ilcl^'^'uess, 1489 years B. C. At this juncture, wilderness. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, revolting against Moses, Avere swallowed by the earth with tAvo hundred and fifty of their associates. After AA'andering in the Avilderness forty years, and frequently rebelling against God, this people Avere conducted by the hand of Moses in sight of HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 25 Canaan, when he died, without entering it him- jy[yggs self. His death occurred on Mount Nebo, in the on mount Ne- land of Moab, after he had first taken a view of bo. the promised resting place of Israel. The successor of Moses was Joshua, who has the honour of having conducted the people at last into Canaan. Having led them to the hanks of the Jordan, whose gon- waters divided to afford them a passage, he clucted the Is- brought them . safely over it, into their fair inhe- raelites into ritance. He conquered thirty-one cities in the Canaan, course of six years. The people, though they had been highly favoured, Avere perpetually inclined to forsake the Avorship of Jehovah, and to pollute themseh'^es Avith the abominations of the heathen, who dwelt among and around them. For these sins, they Avere repeatedly brought into bondage and consequent distress. With a vieAv to their deliverance at such times, certain leaders, called Judges, Avere divinely ap- ^p^VofThem^^ pointed, who directed the people, Avith some in- termission, during the space of three hundred and fifty years. Occasions arose in Avhich these leaders performed the most meritorious services. They defeated the enemies of their country, and contributed much to establish the nation in its possessions. The people paid a high respect to these offi- cers, and also to the priests, but they acknoAvledged no other king than God. As this state of things, so long continued, became irksome to the Israelites, and they desired a king, so as to be like the nations around them, a king A\ms granted to them, but AAUth the expressed disapprobation of their great spiritual Ruler. Saul, the son of Kish, Avas the first king of Israel, commu Having been privately anointed by Samuel, he pity of the Is- AA^as after AAmrds publicly proclaimed, 1079 years raelites be- B. C. The nomination of Saul took place by comes a mo- divine instructipn, but may be admired on the plainest principles of human policy. He was Saul the first selected from a tribe Avhich could not well be an Israel, object of jealousy, like the great rival tribes of Judah and Ephraim, and he belonged to a part of the country which Avas most exposed to enemies, and which of course felt most interested in repelling them. Besides, nature had marked him out for no common man. He possessed a tall and stri- king person — an 'eminent distinction in the East — and he proved himself, at times, capable of lofty aims. His reign was pro.sperous at first; he gained important victories oati’ 26 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. his eneiriius, particularly the Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites ; but his evil propensities at length obtaining the mastery over him, he spent the last part of his life in a most unhapp3^ manner, and met with signal disasters and ill suc- cess in the management of his kingdom. He perished . miserably. Being at war with the Philistines, erab?y army was routed, three of his sons were slain, and he himself having received a wound, and fearing to fall into the hands of his enemies, took a sword and fell upon it. He was succeeded by David, who had been previously anointed king. This prince reigned at first only over the tribe of Judah; but after the death of Ishbo- ceeds'saul^^^' ^ Saul, who had assumed the government of the tribes, he reigned over the whole of Israel. He spent a very active and perilous life, and among the people whom he conquered were the Philis- tines, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Syrians. By his wise and vigorous administration he raised his people to the highest pitch of national prosperity and happiness. He had, towards the latter part of his reign, some domestic troubles, and was in danger from an insurrection of his subjects, a por- tion of whom had attached themselves to his ambitious son Absalom ; but he lived to see his enemies destroyed, and he left a rich and flourishing realm to his successor. ISC aiactei. though he greatly erred in one or twm instances, was a man of distinguished talents, bravery, and piety. As a composer of sacred poetry for the use of the church, he wall be remembered and admired to the end of the world. The wise and rich Solomon was his son and successor. From the accession of this prince to the throne of the Israel- Solomon king ites, a period of profound peace and prosperity of Israel. was enjoyed by that people throughout his reign. The most important undertaking of Solomon was the build- ing and dedication of the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem. This temple was completed in seven years. It was a most Builds the magnificent, sumptuous, and costly edifice. The temple. value of the materials, and the perfection of the workmanship, rank it among the most celebrated structures of antiquity. It was not very large, being little more than ninety feet in length, thirty in breadth, and forty-five in height ; but was finely proportioned, and, together with a grand porch, was splendidly ornamented. As soon as Solomon had finished this noble structure, he HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 27 employed his artificers upon three other buildings, two for himself, and a third for Pharaoh’s daughter. He was occupied a] mo-st thirteen years in erecting structures'^ them ; so that he finished three famous edifices, with all their costly furniture, utensils, and ornaments, within the space of twenty years. To supply all these, and his other vast expenses, he built a navy upon the coast of the Red sea, and put it under the care of some weaUh. expert Tyrian sailors, who, with his own men, w^ent with it to Ophir, which Avas probably situated on some part of the eastern coast of Africa, and in about three years brought back an immense weight of gold and silver, besides several' kinds of precious stones, spices, ebon}^ and other rarities. Besides these, there was the traffic of the Mediter- ranean, carried on through the Tyrian merchants, and the inland commerce of Egypt, Arabia, and Assyria, all of Avhich were highly important. From these various sources it was, that the precious metals, and all other valuable commodities, were in such abundance, that, in the figurative language of the sacred historian, “ silver was in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees as sycamores.” Besides the Avorks already mentioned, Solomon built some fortresses in Lebanon, probably to secure a free communica- tion betAA'een his kingdom and that of Syria. He built two cities, as stations, to protect his inland cities of Tod- commerce; these Avere Tadmor and Baalath, the mor and Baal- one the celebrated Palmyra, and the other Baal- bee. These, and many others, Avhich time forbid us to par- ticularize, Avmre the Avorks by Avhich his peaceful reign AA*as distinguished. No AAmrs occurred, except in the instance of bringing under his yoke the remainder of the Canaanites, and making them tributary. Solomon exceeded in AA'isdom all Avho Avent before him ; but in his old age he took many wives and concubines out of the idolatrous nations around him, Avho cor- tt- rupted his heart. The Lord, therefore, declared by the prophet Abijah, that he AAmuld divide the kingdom after his death, and gi\^e ten tribes to Jeroboam, one of his domestics. As an immediate punishment of his effeminacy and idolatry, the Lord stirred up certain adversaries against him; and though the principal evil threatened against Israel, Avas not to occur in his day, yet he had the mortification of knoAving that it umuld be inflicted under the administration of his son, and that his OAvn conduct AA*as the procuring cause. We cannot but think that he repented of his uAvful defection 28 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. from duty, though nothing is recorded in the Bible on this subject; and it is certain that all ought to be profited by the memorials which he has left of his wisdom, and by his sound religious maxims. He died after a reign of forty years, and with him expired the glory and the power of the Hebrew monarchy. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, began to reign over the Israelites 975 years B. C. Having refused to lighten the Rehoboam yoke his father had imposed on his subjects, ten succeeds Solo- tribes revolted, and followed Jeroboam, as had been denounced by the prophet. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin alone remained faithful to Rehoboam. The national Thus the national union was dissolved, and union dissolv- the Hebrew kingdom never recovered this fatal blow. From this time Judah and Israel are separate kingdoms. Although Relioboam, at first, thought of having recourse to arms to compel, if possible, the revolted portion of his people to submission, he thought better of the subject, and turned his attention wholly to the fortifying of his own dominions. The kingdom of the Ten Tribes, or the Israelites, was governed by a succession of vicious and idolatrous monarchs; Jeroboam king wars and feuds, treachery and murder, of the Ten marked their history in a shocking manner. Tribes. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, of the tribe oi Ephraim, was their first king. It is emphatically said of him in scripture, that he made Israel io sin. To prevent his sub- jects from going to Jerusalem to sacrifice, which place he feared, might become again the centre of the na- lo Sn^^^ tional union, he set up two golden calves, the one in Bethel and the other in Dan, which the people worshipped. Concerning these calves it has been observed, that they were not, strictly speaking, idols, but were speciously contrived as symbolical representations, probably preserving some resemblance to the cherubim, of which the ox was one of the four constituent parts. Still, they were set up in no less flagrant violation of the law, than if they had been the deities of Egypt, to which they bore a great likeness. For this conduct God declared that his whole house should Defeated in be cut off. In a conflict with Abijah, the king war by the of Judah, .Teroboam was totally defeated, with king of Judah. j^gg hundred thousand men. The disaster preyed on his mind, and he never after recovered his power or enterprise. He was succeeded by Nadab, his son who had for his HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 29 successors Baasha, Elali, and Zimri. The wickedness of these kings is the most remarkable circumstance in their reigns. Zimri enjoyed the crown only wicked kings seven days. The beautiful city Tirzah, in which succeed as Na- he was besieged by Omri, being taken, he burnt himself to death in his palace. Omri then occu- ’ pied the throne ;he built Samaria, or transferred the royal re- dence to that place, which thenceforth became the capital of his kingdom, and was so long the hated rival of Jerusalem. The apostacy of the ten tribes, and the Avickedness of their kings, did not reach their height till the accession of Ahab, the son of Omri, B. C. 919. This prince mar- Ahab king of ried Jezebel, the fierce and cruel daughter of the Israel, king of Sidon. Under her influence, the Sido- nian worship of Baal, the sun, was introduced ; EsUblishes his temples were openly built and consecrated; ^ ^ U- and this cruel and persecuting idolatry threatened to exter- minate the ancient religion. The prophets were put to death, one hundred only having escaped by lying concealed in a cave; yet these intrepid defenders of the God of^ The prophets their fathers still arose to remonstrate against remonsuate these impious'innovations ; till, at length, Elijah, against the the greatest of the ^vhole, took up the contest, 'wickedness of and defied and triumphed over the cruelty, both his wife!' of the king and his blood-thirsty consort. They ’ each perished miserably; their death happening by God’s avengingon them the blood of Naboth, whom they had killed, because he refused, as the law of Moses enjoined him, to sell them the fee of the inheritance of his father. Ahab was slain in battle by a random shot, as had been foretold by Micaiah the prophet; Jezebel perished at Jehu’s command, by being precipitated from a Avindow according to the prophecies of Elijah. Ahaziah, Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Jehoash, were the successors, in turn, of Ahab ; but they heard and saAV, uncon- cerned, the miracles of Elijah and Elisha, whom God made use of in endeavours to bring the Israelites to repentance. It is unnecessary to Jehomm' notice each of these kings in the separate acts of Jehu, &c. their reigns. Of Jehu it may be observed, that he kingsofasimi was a captain under Jehoram, was anointed king character, by the prophet Elisha ; and though a wicked man, was the in- strument of executing the Lord’s vengeance upon his impious contemporaries. He killed Jehoram and the seventy sons of Ahab ; and after having slain all the priests of Baal, he de- 3* 30 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. stroyed the images, and the house of their god. Concerning Jehoash it must be remarked, that he was successful as a war- rior. He defeated Benhadad, king of Syria, in three battles. In a war against Amaziah, king of Judah, he took him prison- er, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, plundered the temple and the king’s palace, and carried away the spoil to Samaria. The kingdom of Israel now began to recover its strength, after having been brought low, under its latter kings, by the Israel recovers power of Syria. Jeroboam II. an able prince, had its strength succeeded Jehoash, B. C. 822, and pursuing his under Jerobo- father’s successes, re-established the whole fron- tier, from Hamath to the Dead sea ; even Damas- cus, the Syrian capital, surrendered to his forces. But the kingdom which was to remain in the line of Jehu to the fourth generation, at the death of Jeroboam, fell into a archTfoHows' state of anarchy. At length, after eleven years of tumult, his son Zachariah obtained the sceptre, but was speedily put to death by Shallum ; Shallum, in his turn, by Menahem ; Menahem, a sangui- and othei" sue- reigned ten years during which ceed. the fatal power of the great Assyrian empire was rapidly advancing to universal conquest. Pul, the monarch who ruled at Nineveh, was now pushing his victories over Syria, and began to threaten the independ- ence of Israel. Menahem only delayed the final servitude, by submission and tribute, which he wrung from his people by heavy exactions. This prince was succeeded by his son, Pekahiah, who, in ten years after, was put to death by a new usurper, Pekah, the son of Remaliah. The dissensions between Israel and Judah, which had all along existed, now arose to a great height. Pe- Pekah, the ^^as the last able or powerful king of the oTlsmef tribes. In conjunction with Rezin, king of Syria, he made war against Judah. In one of ' the engagements, Judah lost one hundred and twenty thou- sand men, and many more were carried into captivity. These latter, however, were soon restored to their homes. The king- dom of Israel was now fast hastening to its end. Pekah was assassinated ; another period of anarchy lasted for several years, till at length the sceptre fell into the feeble hands of Hoshea, who had instigated the murder of Pekah. A new and still more ambitious monarch, Shalmaneser, now wielded the power of Assyria. Hoshea attempted to avert the final subjugation of his kingdom by the payment of a tribute, but being detected in a secret correspondence with the k ing of Egypt, HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 31 called So, the Assyrian marched into the king- The king- dom, besieged Samaria, which after an obstinate resistance of three years, surrendered, and thus Assyrian terminated for ever the independent kingdom of power and ex- Israel. ists no more. Pul and Tiglath Pileser had already swept away a great part of the population from Syria, and the Transjordanic tribes : and Shalmaneser, after the capture of Samaria, carried off vast numbers of the remaining tribes to a mountainous re- gion between Assyria and Media. From this period, history loses sight of the ten tribes as a distinct people. A few re- mained in their native country, and became intermixed with strano’ers. The descendants of these mingled , . i races were aiterwards known by the name ot became Samaritans. What became of those who were of the ten tribes carried away, is a matter of conjecture to this of whom the day. Some suppose that they were totally lost and absorbed in the nations among whom they away, settled. The learned Prideaux is of this opinion. Others find reason to believe that they still exist in some unknown and inaccessible regions, w^here they await the final restoration of the twelve tribes to their native land. Others even trace the Jewish features, language, and religion, in different tribes, such as the Afghans of India, or, wuth still more improbabi- lity, the aborigines of America. To return to the period when the nation of Israel was sepa- rated into two great communities, we have to observe, that Rehoboam, whose sceptre w^as confined to the Rehoboam tribes of Judah and Benjamin, had scarce conti- king of Judah nued three years in the service of the true God, fell into idola- before he fell into the idolatry of the border- ing nations. For this enormity, God stirred up a potent ad- versary against ^im, Shishak, king of Egypt, who took many of his fenced cities, and plundered the treasures of the tem- ple and palace of Solomon. Concerning the kings of Judah after this time, it may be re- marked in general, that several of them were good and pious men, and adhered to the worship of Jehovah. Others of them imitated the profligate kings of Israel. The people whom they governed, and Jews.' ^ who have survived to the present time, are called Jev)s, in distinction from Israelites, the name once applied to the whole twelve tribes. The successor of Rehoboam was Abijah, who assumed the government B. C. 958, and reigned three years. His reign 32 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. was signalized by his victory over Jeroboam, as su^e^or ^of i‘ dience to that command which God gave to Adam and Eve, as related in the 1st chapter of Genesis, “ Be fruitful, and multiply * and replenish the earth.” On the other hand, as a single man is often subject to commit fornication, they think it a duty in- cumbent on him to marry, and remove the temptation. There are several passages in the Old Testament which might be adduced to justify a plurality of wives ; and the Eastern Jews frequently practise it ; but the Germans do not allow it at all ; nor do the Italians approve, though they some- times comply with it, when after many years of cohabitation, they have had no issue by a first wife. — The laws of the greater part of Europe, are, however, quite averse to poly- gamy. % . . They are allowed to marry their nieces, that is, their bro- ther’s or sister’s daughters, and likewise their first cousins ; but a nephew must not intermarry with his aunt, that the law of nature may not be reversed ; for when the uncle marries his niece, the same person remains as the head, who was so before ; but when the nephew marries his aunt, he becomes, as it were, her head, and she must pay homage to him ; by which means the law is reversed. The other degrees of con- sanguinity which are forbidden, may be seen in the 18th chap- ter of Leviticus. Some are very cautious how they marry a woman who has buried two or more husbands ; branding her with the igno- minious title of a husband-killer : but this is not prohibited, and is less to be understood of a man, who may have had two or more wives. A widow, or a woman divorced from her husband, cannot marry again, till ninety days after the death of the one, or se- paration of the other, that it may thereby be certainly known whether the first husband is father of the child, which may afterw’ards be born. If a man dies, and leaves behind him an infant that sucks, the widow cannot marry again till the child be two years old; the rabbis having limited that time, for the better maintenance and education of the orphan. RELIGIOUS RITES. 73 The Jews often marry their children very young, though the marriage is not consummated till they are of a proper age; therefore, when a child who is under ten years of age, (whe- ther her father be alive or dead,) becomes a widow, and after- wards marries with the consent of her mother, or brothers, a man whom she does not approve of, she may have a divorce at any time, till she attains the age of twelve years and one day, at which period she is deemed a woman. If she declares, that she will not have such a man, it is sujflicient. And when she has taken two witnesses to set down her refusal in writing, she may obtain a divorce, and marry again with whom she pleases. When the Jews have settled the terms of accommodation, the marriage articles are signed by the husband, and the rela- tions of the wife; after which the former pays Betrothings a formal visit to the latter, and, before witnesses, and weddings takes her by the hand, saying, “ Be thou my syouseP In some countries the bridegroom presents the bride with a ring at the same time, and then marries her. But this is not the usual practice in England, Italy, or Germany. They are often so- lemnly engaged, for six or twelv# months, and sometimes two years, according to the convenience of the parties, or the agreement made between them ; during which time the young lover pays frequent visits to his mistress, and spends his time - in her company with the utmost familiarity, but with a strict regard to decency and good manners. In a part of the marriage articles, the bridegroom covenants to give his wife, by way of jointure, the sum of fifty crowns; all his effects, even to his cloak, being engaged for the due performance of this agreement. The sum is moderate, to render the marriage of poor maidens easy. — But the wife must deliver into her husband’s hands, all the effects which she may afterwards inherit. When the marriage-day is appointed, (which is usually at the time the moon changes, and in case the bride be a maid, on a Wednesday or Friday, but if a widow, on a Thursday,) the bride, if she be free from her terms, goes the first night into a bath, in the presence of other women, and there washes herself But if she be not free from her terms, all carnal con- versation with her is prohibited, till she can wash. How'- ever, the nuptial solemnities are seldom delayed upon that ac- count. The eight days which precede the marriage, are usually grand-days ; the betrothed couple and their friends giving a loose to pleasure, laugh, sing, dance, and cast away care. 74 RELIGIOUS RITES. Some insist that the young couple should fast on the wed- ding-day, till the blessing be over. On the wedding-day, the bride and bridegroom dress in all the grandeur and magnificence their circumstances will admit of, and the bride is conducted in pomp to the house intended for the celebration of the nuptials, by several married women and maidens, who are her friends and acquaintance. She is first bare-headed, and her hair all loose, and in disorder. After this, she is seated between two venerable matrons, and her friends flock round about her, comb her head, curl her hair, dress her, and put on her veil ; for virgin modesty forbids her to look her intended husband in the face. — In this she imitates the chaste Rebecca, w^ho covered her face when Isaac cast his eyes upon her. At Venice, the bride wears a sort of wig, or bundle of curls, called favourites, w^hich the Jews call Be- NETES ; in imitation of those which God himself, according to the rabbis, adorned Eve’s head with, when he married her to Adam. For the solemnization of the marriage, the lovers who are betrothed, meet at an hour appointed for that purpose, in a kind of state-room. The bi%:legroom is conducted thither by the bridemen, friends, &c. and the bride by her train ; — the whole company crying out, “ Blessed he the man that comethr They now sit on a nuptial throne, under a canopy, whilst a select band of music plays before them ; or whilst children, as is the custom in some places, move in solemn order round them, having torches in their hands, and singing some appro- priate epithalamium. All those v/ho are of their synagogue being assembled, (that is, ten men at least ; else the marriage is null and void,) a Taled is put upon the heads of the bride- groom and bride ; it has the tufts hanging dowm at the cor- ners, in imitation of Boaz, who threw the skirts of his robe over Ruth. In many cases, a velvet canopy, supported by four poles, is held over the bride and bridegroom. After this, the rabbis of the place, or the reader of the synagogue, or some near relation, takes a glass, or any other vessel filled with wine, and, having blessed God “/er the creation of man and woman, and the institution of matrimony f says as fol- lows : “ Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God ! king of the uni- verse, the creator of the fruit of the vine. Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God ! king of the universe, who hath sanctified us with his commandments, and hath forbid us fornication, and hath prohibited unto us the betrothed, but hath allowed unto us those that are married unto us, by the means of the canop3% and the wedding-ring : 1/lessed art thou, O Lord ! RELIGIOUS RITES. 75 the sanctifier of his people Israel, by the means of the canopy, and wedlock.’' Then the bridegroom and bride drink of the wine. The bride now walks three times round the bridegroom, and he does the same twice round her. This ceremony is said to be grounded on Jeremiah, chapter xxxi. verse 22, “ A woman shall compass a man,” &c. Then the bridegroom, putting a ring upon the finger of his bride, who stands on his right hand, before two or more credible witnesses, who are com- monly rabbis, says, “ Thou art my wife, according to the cere- monies of Moses and Israel.” In Germany, the guests throw some grains of corn at them, and say at the same time, “ In- crease and multiply.” — After this, the marriage articles are read, wherein the bridegroom acknowledges the receipt of the consideration money, the obligation he is under to make his wife a jointure, and to maintain, honour, and cherish her, and live peaceably with her all the days of his life. For the due performance of all the articles above-mentioned, he gives a duplicate to his wife’s relations. After this, more wine is brought in a new vessel, and having sung six more benedic- tions, the bride and bridegroom, drink a second time, and the residue of the wine is thrown upon the ground, as a declara- tion of their joy. Every thing being mystical with the Jews, it is to be observed, that if the bride be a maid, the glass is narrow ; but if she be a widow, a wide mouthed goblet is used. The glass or vessel being empty, the bridegroom throws it on the ground, and breaks it to pieces. This cere- mony is performed, they say, that their mirth may give them an idea of death, who dashes them to pieces like brittle glass, and teaches them not to be proud or self-conceited. Others say, that the breaking of the glass indicates the impossibility of the marriage ties being dissolved ; — the signification being, that when the atoms of the glass shall be re-united, the bride and bridegroom may separate ; but, not till then. In the mean time, all persons present cry out, Mazal tou. “ May it prove propitious , and then withdraw. In the evening they make a grand entertainment for their friends and relations ; and in some places, all the guests who were invited present the bride with a piece of plate ; some before, and some after supper is over. Then follow the seven benedictions before mentioned, and after this they all rise from table. Fowls of some kind are always a part of the wedding-sup- per. The first dish presented to the bride is a hen with an egg, and after she has been served, the guests help themselves 76 RELIGIOUS RITES. to the remainder. The hen is emblematical, and denotes the future fruitfulness of the bride. On the sabbath-day morning, after the consummation of their marriage, the bridegroom and the bride go to the syna- gogue together. The bride is attended by all the women that were present at the wedding. At the lessons of the Penta- teuch. the bridegroom is desired to read : he then promises to give liberally to the p'oor, and all who come with him fol- low his example. When prayers are over the men wait on the bridegroom home, and the women on the bride ; after which they part, with abundance of courtesy and complaisance. The bridegroom, in some places, lives, during the first week, with his wife’s relations, where he amuses himself, and entertains his friends and acquaintance. These are the general practices in all Jewish weddings, though there are some little variations observed, according to the various countries in which they live. If the wife dies, and has no issue, they are obliged to act according to the customs of the country they live in, which vary almost in every nation. Among the Jews, the father lies under an indispensable obligation to have his son circumcised on the eighth day, in Circumcision obedience to the command in the 17th chapter of Genesis, 10th- 14th verses. This cannot be done till the expiration of the eight days ; but in case the child be sick or infirm, it may be deferred till he is perfectly recovered. Anciently, by the fulfilment of this rite, it was consecrated to the service of God. This, no doubt, was then the principal end of circumcision, but there do not appear to have been want- ing other subsidiary objects. Were it necessary, we might demonstrate both by quotations from the ancients, and reasons drawn from the nature of the member on which circumcision is performed, that this operation is really conducive to cleanli- ness and health among those who practise it in southern cli- mates. It was a preventive of the disease called the anthrax or carbuncle. It has also been considered as having a benefi- cial tendency in increasing the population in such a climate as that of Palestine. The Jews look upon it as a very laudable action, and a bounden duty, to visit the sick, and to assist them in the time of their distress. When any one is apprehensive that his life is in danger, he sends for about ten persons, more or less, as he thinks conve- nient; one of whom, at least, must be a rabbi. Then, in a solemn manner, he repeats the general alphabetical confession, RELIGIOUS RITES. 77 and utters a prayer, in which he “ humbly begs of God, if it be his blessed will, to restore him to his former state of health or, if this may not be granted, he then recommends his soul to him, and prays that his death may be accepted as an expia- tion for his sins. If his conscience is overcharged with any sin, or if he has any secret which he would reveal, he declares it to the rabbi. After all this he begs pardon of God, and of all such as he has at any time offended, and forgives, likewise, all such as have offended him, and even his most inveterate enemies. In case he has any children, or domestics, he calls them to his bedside and gives them his benediction ; and if his own father or mother be present, he receives their bless- ing. If he has an inclination to make his will, and to dispose of his worldly estate, he has free liberty to execute it in such a manner as he thinks most convenient. There are some who take care to have a public prayer put up for them in the synagogue, and change their names, as an indication of their change of life ; and, as it is said, to cheat the devil. At such times, they promise and bestow their charity on the synagogues, as well as on the poor. When the person who is ill is in danger of death, or just expiring, they never leave him aloile, but watch with him day and night. They salute him, and take their last farewell, just at the moment when the soul is separating from the body. To be present at the separation of the soul from the body, especially if the person be a learned or pious man, in their opinion, is not only a laudable, but a meritorious action. The person who is present when the sick man gives up the ghost, according to ancient custom, tears some part of his own garments. This rent is generally made on the right side of the forepart of the clothes, and must be the eighth of a yard in length. When they mourn for a father or mother, all the clothes must be rent on the right side ; whereas the left side of the outward gar- ment, only, is torn, if it be for a distant relation. The rent is alwaj^s from top to bottom ; whereas that of the ancient priests was formerly from bottom to top. In Holland the Jews make ■ it on the top, near the buttons, and at the expiration of seven or eight days have it sewn up again. In some parts of Ger- many the Jewish women, who lose their husbands, usually tear their head-dress. It is said, that if the widow intends to marry again, she is only to pretend to do it; for if she actually tears them, it is a certain sign that she intends to remain a widow. There are some who, at such a time, will throw into the street all the water wdiich tliev have in the house, or can find 7.. rs RELIGIOUS RITES. in the neighbourhood. This, which is accounted an ancient custom, is intended to denote that somebody lies dead not far from the place. Funerals dead, his eyes and mouth are closed, his body is laid upon the ground in a sheet, his face is covered, and a lighted taper is set by his head. A pair of linen drawers is immediately provided, and some women are sent for to sew them ; who, for the most part, per- form this friendly office out of charity and good will. After this the corpse is thoroughly washed with Avarm water, in which camomile and dried roses have been boiled. In the next place, a shirt and drawers are put on, and over them some put a kind of surplice of fine linen, a taled, or square cloak, and a white cap on the head. They now bend his thumb close to the palm of the hand, and tie it with the strings of his Taled; for he goes to the other world with his veil on. The thumb thus bent, stands in the form of Shaddai, which is one of God’s attributes ; this is the reason which the JeAvs give for a custom, that secures the body from the devil’s clutches. The deceased, in all other respects, has his hand open as a testimony that he relinquishes all his worldly goods. The Avashing of the body is intended to denote that the deceased purified himself from the pollutions of this life by a sincere repentance, and AA'as ready and pre- pared to recewe a better from the hands of the Almighty. Buxtorf says, that they burn Avine, and put an egg in it, and thereAvith anoint the head of the corpse. Some perform this unction at their own houses, and others at the house of the living; that is, the HebreAv dialect, the church-yard. He adds, that after this ablution all the apertures of the body are stopped up. When dressed, he is laid on his back in a coffin made on purpose, Avith one linen cloth under, and another oA'er him. If the party deceased be a person of considerable note, his coffin is made in some places AAuth a pointed top ; and if a rabbi, a considerable number of books is laid upon it. Then the coffin is coA^ered AAdth black, and a small bag of earth is deposited under the head of the defunct. The coffin is now nailed up, and conveyed to a grave as near the place as possi- ble Avhere the family of the deceased are interred. All the people now croAvd round about it ; and since the attendance on a corpse, and the conA'eyance of it to the graA^e, is looked upon as a very meritorious action, they all carry it upon their shoulders by turns, some part of the Avay. In some RELIGIOUS RITES, 79 places the mourners follow the corpse with lighted flambeaux in their hands, singing some melancholy anthem as they march along. In others, this ceremony is omitted ; the rela- tions, however, who are in mourning, accompany the corpse in tears to the grave. In this solemn maimer, the dead are carried to the burial- place, which is most commonly a field set apart for that pur- pose, called Beth Hachaim, or “ House of the living the dead being looked upon as living, on account of their immor- tal souls. When the deceased is laid in his grave, if he has been a person of any extraordinary merit, there is generally a proper person present, who makes his funeral oration. As soon as this eulogium is over, they repeat the prayer called Ridduc Addin, “ the justice of the judgment^ which begins with these words of Deuteronomy, chapter xxxii. verse 4, “ He is the rock, his work is perfect ; for all his ways are judgment,” &c. In some countries, when a coffin is brought within a short space of the grave, or before it is taken out of the house, ten men go in a solemn manner seven times round it, repeating a prayer for his soul; this is the practice in Holland: but in other parts this ceremony is not observed. The nearest rela- tion now rends some part of his garments, and then the corpse is put into the grave, and covered with earth ; each friend throwing a handful or spadeful in, till the grave is filled up. The coffin must be so placed in the grave, as not to touch another coffin. The Jews account it a sin, either in man or woman, to tear their flesh, or their hair, on this melancholy occasion, either when they weep over the deceased, or at anytime afterwards; for, in Deuteronomy chapter xiv., it is written, “Ye shall not cut yourselves,” &c. But as soon as the coffin is conveyed out of the house for sepulture, a brick, or broken pot, is thrown out after it, to denote that all sorrow is driven away. Those who, during the life-time of the deceased, neglected to be re- conciled with him, must touch his great toe, and beg his par- don, in order that the deceased may not accuse them at God’s tribunal, on the day of the resurrection. At their departure from the grave, every one tears up two or three handfuls of grass, and throws it behind him, repeating, at the same time, these words of the 72d Psalm, verse 6, “ They of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth.” This they do by way of acknowledgment of the resurrection. Then they wash their hands, sit down, and rise again, nine times successively, repeating the 91st Psalm, “ He that dwell- 80 RELIGIOUS RITES. eth in the secret place of the Most High.” After this, they re- turn to their respective places of abode. When the nearest relations of the party deceased are returned home from the burial, be they father, mother, child, husband, wife, brother, or sister, they directly seat them- Mourning. selves on the ground; and having pulled off their shoes, refresh themselves with bread, wine, and hard eggs, which are placed before them ; according as it is written in the 31st chapter of Proverbs, verse 6. “ Give strong- drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that be heavy of heart,” &c. He whose usual place it is to crave a blessing on their meals, now introduces appropriate words of consolation. In the Levant, and in several other places, the friends of the deceased send in provisions for ten days suc- cessively, morning and night, to some of the nearest relatives, for the entertainment of such guests as they think proper to invite ; and on a day appointed, they themselves partake of the feast, and condole with them. When the dead body is conveyed from the house, his cover- let is folded double, his blankets are rolled up, and laid upon a mat ; afterwards, a lamp is lighted up at the bed’s head, which burns for a week without intermission. Such as are related to the deceased, reside in the house for ten days together, and during all that time sit and eat upon the ground, except on the sabbath day, on which they go with a select company of their friends and acquaintance to the syna- gogue, where they are more generally condoled with, than at any other place. Durinff these ten days, they are not allowed to do any manner of business : neither can the husband lie with his wife. Ten persons, at least, go every night and morning to pray with them under their confinement. Some add to their devotions on this solemn occasion, the 49th Psalm, “ Hear this all ye people,” &c., and afterwards pray for the soul of their deceased friend. The Jews dress themselves in such mourning as is the fashion of the country in which they live, there being no divine direc- tion relating thereunto. For full thirty days, the mourner is not permitted to bathe, perfume, or shave his beard. Indeed, tattered clothes, sprinkled with ashes, and a general slovenly appearance, point out the mourning Jew, during this period. After the expiration of the ten days, they leave the house, and go to the synagogue, where several of them order lamps to be lighted on each side of the Hechal, or Ark, procure prayers to be said, and offer charitable contributions for the sovl of the deceased. This ceremony is repeated at the close religious rites. 81 of each month, and likewise of the year : and if the person who is dead be a rabbi, or a man of worth and distinction, they make his Esped upon those days; that is, a funeral harangue in commendation of his virtues. A son goes daily to the synagogue, morning and night, and there repeats the prayer called Cadish, that is, Holy, for the soul of his mother or father, for eleven months succes- sively; in order to deliver him from purgatory; and some of them fast annually on the day of the death of their respective relatives. In some places, they set a monument over the grave, and carve the name of the deceased upon it; also the day, month, and year of his decease, and a line or two, by way of enco- mium. — Some Jews go, from time to time, to the tombs of their acquaintances and relatives, to say their pra^^ers. They seldom mourn for such as are suicides, or who die under excommunication. So far, indeed, are they from re- gretting the loss of them, that they set a stone over the coffin, to signify that they ought to be stoned to death, if they had had their deserts. SECT. IV. ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE WORSHIP FES- TIVALS, &C. The Sanhedrin, the supreme judicial authority formerly existing among the Jew's, was instituted in the time of the Maccabees, (some ascribe to it an earlier origin,) and was composed of seventy-two members. The feanhe- high priest generally sustained the office of pre- sident in this tribunal. The next officers in authority were the first and second vice-presidents. The members who w^ere admitted to a seat in the Sanhedrin w’ere as follows ; 1. Chief priests, who are often mentioned in the New Testament and in Josephus, as if they were many in number. They consist- ed partly of priests who had previously exercised the high- priesthood, and partly of the heads of the twenty-four classes of priests, who were called, in an honorary w'ay, high, or chief priests. 2. Elders, that is to say, the princes of the tribes, and the heads of family associations. 3. The Scribes, or learned men. Not all the scribes and elders were members, but only those wffio w^ere chosen or nominated by the proper authority. The Talmudists assert that this tribunal had secretaries and apparitors, and the very nature of the case forbids us to doubt the truth of the assertion. The place of their sitting, however, 82 ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. is a question on which there is more difTerence of opinion. The Talmudists state that it was in the temple, but Josephus mentions the place of assembling, and also the archives, as being not far from the temple, on Mount Zion. But in the trial of Jesus, it appears they were assembled, and that very hastily, in the palace of the high-priest. When they met, they took their seats in such a way as to form a semicircle, and the presidents and two vice-presidents occupied the centre. At each end was a secretary ; one re- gistered the votes of acquittal — the other of condemnation. The proper period of sitting was all the time between the morning and evening service. The Sanhedrin was the great court of judicature ; it judged of all capital offences against the law : it had the pow’er of in- flicting punishment by scourging and by death. Its power had been limited in the time of Christ, by the interference of the Romans, and the Consistory itself terminated its functions upon the destruction of Jerusalem. They were never able to re-establish themselves since, — nor is any thing related of them in the history of our own times, except the council which the Jews held in Flungary in the 17th century, and the con- vocation held at Paris, under the auspices of Napoleon in 1806. The worship of the synagogue, with its appendant school or law court, where lectures were given, and knotty points of the The worship law debated, became the great bond of national of the syna- union, and has continued, though the monarchical gogue. centre of unity in Tiberias disappeared in a few centuries, to hold together the scattered nation in the closest uniformity. The worship of the synagogue is extremely sim- ple. ' Wherever ten Jews were found, there a synagogue ought to be formed. The Divine Presence, the invisible She- chinah, descends not but where ten are met together ; if fewer, the Divine Visitant was supposed to say, “ Wherefore come I, and no one is here?” It was a custom, therefore, in some of the more numerous communities, to appoint ten “ men of lei- sure,” whose business it was to form a congregation.* The buildings were plain ; in their days of freedom it was thought right that the house of prayer to God, from its situation or its form, should overtop the common dwellings of man ; but in their days of humiliation, in strange countries, the lowly syna. gogue, the type of their condition, was content to lurk undis- ♦ Such seems to be the solution of a question on which learned volumes have been written. ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. 83 turbed in less conspicuous situations. Even in Palestine the synagogues must have been small, for Jerusalem was said to contain 460 or 480 ; the foreign Jews, from the different quar- ters of the world, seem each to have had their separate build- ing, where they communicated in prayer with their neighbours and kindred. Such were the synagogues of the Alexandri- ans, the Cyrenians, and others. Besides the regular syna- gogues, which were roofed, in some places they had chapels or oratories, open to the air, chiefly perhaps where their wor- ship was not so secure of protection from the authorities; these were usually in retired and picturesque situations, in groves, or on the sea shore. In the distribution of the syna- gogue, some remote resemblance to the fallen Temple was kept up. The entrance was from the east ; in the centre stood an elevated tribune or rostrum, in the place of the great altar, where they only permitted sacrifice, and if from an humble and contrite heart, doubtless most acceptable to their Almighty Father, prayer was constantly offered, and the book of the Law was read. At the west end stood a chest, in which the book was laid up, making the place, as it were, the humble Holy of Holies, though now no longer separated by a veil, nor protected by the Cherubim and Mercy Seat. Particular seats, usually galleries, were railed off for the women. The chief religious functionary in the synagogue was call- ed the angel, or bishop. He ascended the tribune, repeated or chanted the prayers, his head during the ceremony being co- vered with a veil. He called the reader from his place, opened the book before him, pointed out the passage, and over-looked him, that he read correctly. The readers, who were three in number on the ordinary days, seven on the morning of the sabbath, five on festivals, were selected from the body of the people. The Law of course was read, and the prayers like- wise repeated, in the Hebrew language. The days of public service in the synagogue were the Sabbath, the second and fifth days of the week, Monday and Thursday. There was an officer in the synagogues out of Palestine, and probably even within its borders, called an interpreter, who translated the Law into the vernacular tongue, usually Greek in the first case, or Syro-Chaldaic in the latter. Besides the bishop, there were three elders, or rulers of the synagogue, who likewise formed a court or consistory for the judgment of all offences. They had the power of inflicting punishment by scourging ; from Origen’s account, the Patriarch of Tiberias had assumed the power of life and death. But the great control over the public mind lay in the awful sentence of excommunication. 84 ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. The anathema of the synagogue cut off the offender from the Israel of God ; he became an outcast of society. At present, the Jews select for the site of their synagogues some eminences, in those cities where the exercise of Judaism is allowed. The fabric must be higher than the common houses, for they say, “ The house of our God must be magni- ficent.” The Jews are obliged religiously to observe the re- spect due to the synagogue, and to forbear talking of business there, or even thinking on any worldly advantages. They must likewise avoid sleeping there; and looking round about, &c. They must continue in a modest posture, and not suffer themselves to run into any indecency. The title or denomination of rabbi is very ancient ; for in the Jewish scriptures, both the words rabbi and rabboni Rabbis and are to be found, which are synonymous terms, doctors. The Pharisees of old assumed this title to them- selves, with abundance of pride and arrogance, pretending to be the sole masters and doctors of the people ; and they carried this pretension to such a pitch, as to make the law subject to their traditions. Jesus Christ very severely reprimanded them for this their insolent deportment. The rabbis, besides the privilege of preaching, and instruct- ing their pupils, have that of binding and loosing, that is, of determining whether a thing be forbidden or allowed. When this power is conferred upon them, they have the five books of Moses, and a key, put into their hands. They create new doctors, and ordain them by imposition of hands, as Moses, just before his death, laid his hands on Joshua, his successor, and gave him his benediction ; but they limit and restrain their power as they see most convenient : one being confined to in- terpret the law, or such questions only as relate thereunto ; and another to judge of controversies arising upon those questions. At present, according to Buxtorf, the rabbis are elected with very little ceremony. He who is to ordain the new rabbi, publishes aloud to all the congregation, either on the sabbath, or some other solemn festival, that such a one de- serves to be admitted amongst the rabbis, for his religious education, sound learning, and knowledge of the Oral Law; and exhorts the people to own and reverence him as such, de- nouncing excommunication against all those who neglect his admonitions. He then gives the candidate the certificate of his merit and ability, as a Doctor, or Hacham, ; and the cere- mony is often concluded with an elegant entertainment given to the old rabbis, and to the rest of his friends and acquaintance. The Hacham Rau, who are generally much respected, ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &,C. 85 termine all manner of debates ; settle what things are lawful, and unlawful; and pass judgment upon religious and civil affairs. These men perform all nuptial ceremonies, and issue out divorces. They preach the practice of virtue and integrity, they interpret the laws, when qualified, and are the principals of the academics. They have the uppermost seats in the sy* nagogues and assemblies ; and have a power to punish the dis- obedient, and to excommunicate them when they are obstinate, or perverse. The privileges of this office are, to be free from all taxes and impositions. If a rabbi has any goods, he has a right to sell them first, and before all others, that the time he spends in negotiating his affairs, may be no impediment to his studies ; his business is the first, likewise, to be despatched in all pro- ceedings at law; and he is allowed to sit upon the bench with the judges, &c. Some of these privileges, however, are abolished; the Jews having, at present, no sovereign au- thority. There is no festival which the Jew's have so great a vene- ration for, as the sabbath day ; because they say it was insti- tuted immediately after the creation of the world, and is mentioned in various places, and at sun- sabbath, dry times, in their sacred writings ; particularly in the deca- logue, wherein the performance of the least thing upon that day is forbidden, and a general rest from all labours is com- manded. They must not either kindle fire, nor extinguish it, upon this day, in compliance with what is written in the 35th chap- ter of Exodus, verse 3. “Ye shall kindle no fire through- out your habitations upon the sabbath day.” Nay, they are not allowed to touch it ; not even to stir it up. They are not suffered even to light up or extinguish a lamp ; they may em- ploy, however, any servant that is not a Jew, to kindle their fire ; if they do not, they either dispose it so that it lights of itself, or else they sit in the cold. — This the Jews do, even in Russia, or any other cold country. They dress no meat upon the sabbath ; neither are they al- lowed to taste any thing that has been dressed, or that grew, or was gathered on that day. They are not allowed to carry any burden on that day ; so that they wear no more clothes than what is absolutely neces- sary to cover them. Their exactness extends even to the garb of their women, children, and servants, and to the loading of their beasts. They are forbidden on tliis day to talk of any worldly af- 86 ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. fairs ; to make any bargain with respect to buying and selling; or, to give or take any thing by way of payment. Neither must they handle or touch any of the tools of their trade, or any other things, the use whereof is prohibited on the sabbath day. They are not allowed to walk above a mile, that is to say, two thousand cubits, out of any market town or village. But they can walk as long as they please on the sabbath day, provided they go not out of the suburbs of the town wherein they live. They always regard the suburbs as a part of the town ; and when they have a mind to go out of town upon this day, they invariably measure the distance allowed for walking, from the end of the suburb. They never engage in any work on the Friday, but what they can accomplish with ease before the evening; and what- ever is necessary lor the sabbath, is prepared beforehand. About an hour before sunset, they take the provision which is intended for the next day, and deposit it in a warm place ; af- ter which all manner of work is over. In some towns, a man is appointed on purpose, to give notice about half an hour be- fore the sabbath begins, that every one may cease from their labours in convenient and due time. The Jewish sabbath begins half an hour before sunset ; and, consequently, from that instant, all prohibitions are strict- ly observed. For this reason, the women, even the most ne- cessitous, are obliged, previously, to light up a lamp, which has seven lights, emblematical of the seven days of the week. This lamp burns the greatest part of the night. In order to begin the sabbath well, many of them put on clean linen, wash their hands and face, and go to the syna- gogue, where they say the 92d Psalm, “ It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord,” &c. with their common prayers. They also thank God, that by his separation of them from the rest of mankind, he has reserved and chosen their nation from all others, as his only favourites. To these prayers and thanksgivings, they add a commemoration of the sabbath, in these words, from the 2d of Genesis, “ Thus the heavens were finished, &c. — And God blessed the seventh day,” &c. They go directly home from the synagogue, and their usual salutation to each other afterwards, is, “ a good sabbath to you,” and not “ good night,” or “ good morrow.” Moreover, the fathers bless their children, and the doctors their pupils, on that day ; others add to these benedictions, several portions of thtur sacred writings, in commemoration of the sabbath; ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. 87 some before meat, and some after, according to the custom of the place where they sojourn. When the whole family is seated at supper, the master of the house holds a glass of wine in his hand, and pronounces these words, out of the 2d of Genesis, “ Thus the heavens were finished,” &c. He then returns God thanks for having instituted and appointed the strict observance of the sabbath, and blesses the wine ; he now drinks some part of it himself, looking steadfastly on the sabbath lamps, and then gives a small quantity to such as sit at the table with him. After this, he repeats the 23d Psalm, “ The Lord is my shepherd,” &c. Then, he blesses the bread, holding it up on high with both his hands, whilst he pronounces the name of the Lord. He now distributes it all round, and the family eat and amuse themselves that evening and the next day as agreeably as they can. Supper being over, they wash their hands, and some Jews, after they have eaten, repeat the 104th Psalm, “ Bless the Lord, O my soul,” &c. They preach sometimes in the forenoon, and sometimes in the afternoon, in their synagogues, or other places appointed for divine Avorship, and take their text from the Pentateuch, out of the lessons for the day. They preach in the vulgar tongue, and in their sermons they recommend virtue, and dis- courage vice, illustrating their notions with passages from the Pentateuch, and from their most celebrated rabbis. These quotations are always delivered in the Hebrew language. In the evening they go to the synagogue again, and join the remembrance of the sabbath with their common prayers j and three persons read out of the Pentateuch the beginning of the section for the week following. — They have likewise a commemoration of the dead, and sometimes a prayer for them on the sabbath, after which, those who can afford it, are very charitable and beneficent to the poor. They usually make three meals in the twenty-four hours of the sabbath ; the first is on the Friday, after evening ser- vice ; the other two on the day following. The cloth is never removed during the whole time. As soon as night comes on, and they can discover three stars in the heavens, of any considerable magnitude, the sabbath is over, and they are allowed to go to work ; because the evening prayer, which they rather delay than hasten, is then begun. To the usual prayer, for the evening, they add a remem- brance of the sabbath, which is distinguished from the other days of the week; also the 91st Psalm, “ He that dwelleth in 98 ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. the secret place of the Most High,” &c. To this, several por- tions of their scripture, and several benedictions and good wishes, are likewise added. As before observed, they make the sabbath last as long as they can, by prolonging their hymns and prayers ; since it is a received opinion amongst them, that the souls of the damned, as well as those in purgatory, endure no torments upon that day. The new moon is a festival, because it is instituted and ap- pointed in the book of Numbers ; and because there was a new and grand sacrifice offered on that day. moon festival is sometimes part of two several days, that is, the end of one day, and the beginning of another. They are not debarred from working or trading upon this day ; the women, only, who are exempted from all labour during the festival, lay aside their work, and they all indulge themselves a little more than usual in the way of living. The Jews say that the new moon is in a peculiar manner the women’s festival, in commemoration of their liberality in parting with their most valuable jewels, to contribute to the magnificence of divine service. This action, so singular in a sex whose pride principally consists in dress and appearance, and to whom nothing is more dear, was performed on the new moon of the month of March. In their prayers they make mention of the first day of the month, and repeat from the 1 13th to the 1 18th Psalm, on that day. They bring out the Pentateuch, and four persons read it, to which is added, the prayer called Mussaf, or addition. They also read the institution of the sacrifice, which was formerly offered on this day. Some Jewish devotees fast on the vigil of this festival, and beg of God that the new moon may prove propitious to their wishes. Some few days after, the Jews, being assembled by night on a terrace, or in an open court, consecrate this planet by praising God, “who hath been pleased to renew the moon, and who will, in the same manner, renew the Jews, his elect people,” &c. — The prayer concludes with a blessing addressed to God, through the moon, the work of his hands. Three leaps, which are to be regarded as the transports of a holy joy, attend this benediction ; immediately after which, they say to the moon, “ May it be as impossible for my enemies to hurt me, as it is for me to touch thee.” — These words are succeeded by several imprecations against their enemies. They now ECJLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. SHIP, 89 join in a particular prayer to God, in which they style him the Creator of the planets, and the restorer of the new moon. Then, with their hands devoutly lifted up towards heaven, they beg of God to deliver them from all evil ; and having remembered King David, they salute each other, and depart. Eclipses of the sun and moon, are looked on, by some Jews, as ill omens. The Talmudists do not agree in fixing the time when the world began. Some insist that it was in the spring, that is, in the month Nisan, which is our March ; others, that it was in autumn, that is to say, in the New-year’s month Tisri, which answers to our Sej^tember. This last notion has so far prevailed, that they begin their year from that time. And notwithstanding it is written in the 12th chapter of Exodus, of the month Nisan, “ This month shall be unto you the beginning of months.” Yet after- wards they altered it, and began their year with the month Tisri, or September. From thence came the feast Rosch Hasan a, or New- Year'‘s Day, which is kept on the t^vo first days of Tisri ; for, in Leviticus, chapter xxiii. verse 24, it is written, “ In the seventh month, in the seventh day of the month, shall ye have a sab- bath,” &c. During this festival all manual operations and transactions in trade are entirely laid aside. They hold, from tradition, that on this day particularly God Almighty judges the actions of the year past, and orders all things that shall happen for the year to come. From the first day of the month Elul, or August, therefore, they begin their penance; which consists in plunging themselves into cold water, and in confessing themselves, scourging, and beat- ing their breasts with their fists, while in the water. In some places they wash themselves before it is day, say their prayers, and acknowledge their manifold sins and iniquities, and repeat some penitential psalms. There are many who give alms without ceasing until the day of absolution. This they con- tinue forty days, and sound a horn on the beginning of the month Elul. On New-Year’s-Eve they say all their prayers fasting. These religious ceremonies are generally observed a week, at least, before the feast; and on the eve thereof they generally employ their time in washing, and procuring, by way of dis- cipline, thirty-nine stripes to be given them ; as it is written in Deuteronomy, chapter xxv. “ Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed,” &c. This flagellation is called Maleuth, The ancient Jews formerly laid all their sins upon a he- 90 ECCLESIASTICAL DISCITLINE, &C. goat, which afterwards they drove into the desert; but the modern Jews, instead of a goat, now throw them upon the fish. After dinner they repair to the brink of a pond, or river, and shake their clothes over it with all their force. This prac- tice is taken from a passage of the prophet Micah, chapter vii. verse 19, “ He will have compassion on us ; he will subdue our iniquities, and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” After these two holy days are over, the Jews still continue to rise before day to say their prayers, fast, and do penance, until the 10th of the month Tisri, which is the expiation^^ fast, or day of expiation, and called Jom Hach- IPUR ; for they consider that the Supreme Being is employed in examining the actions of mankind during the first nine days, and that he pronounces sentence on the tenth. In the 23d chapter of Leviticus it is said, “ On the tenth of the seventh month, there shall be a day of atonement,” &c., and during that day all manner of work is laid aside, as on the sabbath. They observe this fast with such strict- ness, that they neither eat nor drink any thing ; thinking, by this abstinence, that their names will be enrolled in the Book of Life, and blotted out of the Book of Death, wherein they would assuredly be found without due repentance. They indulge themselves in eating on the eve of this fes- tival, because the next day is a fast. Many of them wash, and have thirty-nine stripes given them, called Maleuth ; and such as are possessed at that time of other people’s effects, are commanded to make restitution. They likewise ask pardon of such as they have injured, and forgive those that have injured them. Nay, they seek them out, and sue for peace and reconciliation ; and if this be refused, they protest against such an implacable spirit before three witnesses, and thrice return to the charge ; after which the penitent’s conscience is entirely discharged from all animosity and hatred. They likewise give alms, and show all the demonstrations of a sin- cere repentance. Two or three hours before the sun sets they go to prayers, and then to supper ; but all must be over before sun-set. They now dress themselves in new robes, or put on their funeral clothes, and thus attired, each with a taper in his hand, they go without their shoes to the synagogue, which, on this night, is splendidly illuminated with lamps and candles. There each man lights his taper, and repeats several prayers and confessions in a loud, but melancholy tone, as a demonstra- tion of the sincerity of his repentance. The confession of - : \ f} ■ - - *■, ' ■*- «f ■• ■*p Repast during the Feast of Tabernacles, p. 92. I 1. Sabbath Lamp. 2. Unleavened Bread. 3. Rams Horns, p. 86.94. Search for leaven, p. 94. ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, 01 each penitent is alphabetically digested, each sin having its proper letter, so as to be recollected with the greatest ease. The external signs of godly sorrow, at once conspicuous in a repentant Jew, who condemns himself before God, by a long account of his transgressions, is certainly very remarkable. I’hese signs are dirty tattered clothes, mourning, or shrouds; a melancholy and dejected countenance, a long beard ; down- cast eyes, made languid by penance, and disposed to weeping; a holy eagerness determining the penitent to press through the crowd of devotees, and be foremost in the synagogue; and so perfect a distraction as to deprive him of the use of his senses, whilst he is running over the alphabet of his sins. In short, he appears to have just strength enough to support his body during the meditation of the soul. This lasts three hours at least ; after which they go home to bed. Some, in- deed, stay all night long, and all the next day, in the syna- gogue, saying their prayers and repeating psalms. In the mean time, the women light up candles and lamps at home, and according as the light burns, prognosticate good or evil fortune. It ought to be remarked, that those who have led a scanda- lous and dissolute life, are not only admitted, but invited, into the congregation, on the first evening of the festival. Two Rabbis, who stand on each side of the chaunter, perform this solemn invitation, and declare to the congregation, “ That they are allowed to pray with the wicked.” — After which, the chaunter opens the Hechal, and sings a prayer of moderate length, which the congregation repeat after him, but not so loud as to be heard. This cancels all rash vows, oaths, and resolutions, of the preceding year, in case they were made voluntarily, without any compulsion. The next morning, such as went home, repair again by day-break to the synagogue, dressed as before, and there stay till night, standing all the time, saying their prayers without intermission, repeating psalms and confessions, and beseech- ing God to pardon all their transgressions. In the course of the service, various portions of scripture are read, particularly part of Leviticus, chapter xxvi.. Num- bers, chapter xxix., and Isaiah, chapter Ivii. They mention in their prayers the additional sacrifice of the day, and entreat God to build their sanctuary, to gather their dispersions among the Gentiles, and conduct them to Jerusalem, where they may offer the sacrifice of atonement, agreeably to the Mo- saic law. In the afternoon service, besides portions of the law and prophets, the greatest part of the book of Jonah is read. 92 ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. Some Jews prepare their tents for the Feast of Tabernacles, immediately after the Expiation. On the fifteenth day of the same month, Tisri, is the Feast of Tents, Tabernacles, or Booths ; which is called Succoth, The feast of commemoration of their encampment in the Tabernacles, wilderness, when they departed out of Egypt ; and under which they were preserved as a nation for forty years together, in the midst of frightful and barren deserts. In the 23d chapter of Leviticus, it is written, “ In the 15th day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days ; on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day .shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook ; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord, your God, seven days. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days ; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths : that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” Every one therefore makes a booth, or tent, in some place near his house, which he covers with leaves, and adorns in the best manner that he can. The rabbis have been very punctual as to the fashion and nature of these booths, as well as their dimensions. No tent must be more than twenty cubits high, nor less than ten spans. Such as are rich adorn them with tapestry, over which they hang boughs of trees laden with fruit, as oranges, lemons, and grapes. These tents must be neither set up under a house nor tree. They eat and drink in these tents, and some lie all night in them ; or at least spend in them so much time of the night and day, as they used to pass at home, during the eight days that the fes* tival lasts. It continues nine days in reality, although the law institu- ted and commanded seven ; but ancient custom has added one ; and another day was ordained over and above for the solemn assembly, in Numbers, chapter xxix. verse 35. The two first, and the two last days of this festival, like those of the Pass- over, are very solemn ; but the other five are not so strictly observed. This festival of Tents, or Tabernacles, begins at home, with some particular benedictions, and is succeeded by a supper. Private devotion now succeeds the public ; and the father of the family never begins to consecrate the festival, till he has been first at prayers in the synagogue till night. They leave ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &.C. 93 their tents at the end of the eighth day, as soon as night draws on. On the 14th of the month Adar, which is our March, or February, the feast of Purim is observed, in, commemoration of Esther, who upon that day, preserved the peo- pie of Israel from a total extirpation by the con- Chances." spiracy of Haman, who was hanged, with all his children. This feast was called Purim, because it was writ- ten in the 9th chapter of Esther, “ Therefore they called those days Purim,” &c. ; the word signifying Lots or Chances; for Haman, their enemy, had cast lots to destroy them on those two days. The first only, however, is strictly and solemnly observed. They fast on the eve, but during these two days they may traffic, or do any manner of work ; yet, on the first day, though under no obligation, they voluntarily abstain from both. On the first night, they go to the synagogue, where, after their ordinary prayers, they commemorate their happy deli- verance from that fatal conspiracy, and the Chazan reads and explains the whole book of Esther, which is written on vel- lum, and rolled up like the Pentateuch. They also call it Meghilla, or volume. The Chazan, or Reader, is allowed to sit at this lesson, whereas he must stand while he reads the law. After he has unrolled the volume, he pronounces three prayers, and returns thanks to Almighty God, for calling them together to share this ceremony; and for delivering them out of the merciless hands of Haman. He then reads the history of Haman and Esther. The Jews observe similar ceremonies in the service of the next morning, and read on this day out of the Pentateuch, the 17th chapter of Exodus, verse 8, “ Then came Amalek,” &c. They have, likewise, particular prayers and blessings for this happy occasion. On this feast they bestow public alms upon the poor, and all relations and friends visit, and send each other presents of such things as are good to eat. Scholars make presents to their tutors ; masters to their servants ; and persons of distinc- tion to their inferiors. In short, the whole day is spent in cheerfulness and gayety, as it is written in the 9th chapter of Esther, “ That they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor,” &c. When the year consists of two Adars, the Jews call the 14th day of the first Adar, the little Purim ; but it is merely nominal for none of the above ceremonies are observed thereon. 94 ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. The 15th day of the month Nisan, which of> the PaSfver answers to our April, is the first day of the Passover, which is called Pesach, or the pas- sage over, in commemoration of the departure of the Jews from Egypt. It continues a whole week ; but such as live out of Jerusalem, and its territories, make it hold eight days, accord- iug to the ancient custom, when the new moon, by the San- hedrin’s order, was proclaimed, without any computation. Tiiis festival is ordained in the 12th chapter of Exodus, and in several other parts of the Bible. The sabbath, ^vhich precedes the Passover, is called the Grand Sabbath ; on w'hich day the rabbis preach a sermon on the Paschal Lamb. The two first and two last days of the Passover, are solemn festivals, on which no person is permitted either to work, nor do any manner of business ; nay, they keep them as strictly as the sabbath; only that they make a fire, dress their meat, and carry what things they want from place to place. On the four middle days they are only obliged to refrain from work, but are permitted to touch money. During these eight days they must neither eat, nor have, any leavened bread, or any leaven in their houses, nor even in their custody; so that they eat none but unleavened bread all that time, according to Exodus, chapter xii. verses 15, 16, 17. This bread they call Azyma. In order to obey this precept as punctually as possible, the master takes a wax candle, and searches the house over with the utmost care, to clear it of every thing that is fermented, prying into every corner, and even into all the trunks and cupboards. He now beseeches God to make up the defects of his search, “ that all the leavened bread which is in the house, may become like the dust of the earth, and be reduced to nothing.” When the house is well scoured, they white- wash it, and supply it with new table and kitchen furniture, or with such as is reserved for the service of this day only. If they have been used before, and are of metal, they must be first heated in a forge, and newly polished before they can be used ; because nothing which has touched leavened bread may be made use of during those eight days. About eleven o’clock on the next day, they burn a bit of bread, to give notice, that the prohibition against leavened bread is then begun ; and this ceremony is attended with a particular declaration, that the head of the family has no leaven in his custody ; that if he has, it is unknown to him, and that he hath done to the utmost of his power to prevent it ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. 95 They go to prayers in the evening; and at their return home, the master, with his family and other domestics, after washing their hands, sit down to a table which is duly pre- pared for their entertainment in the da}r tim.e, and set off with all the elegance and grandeur that the circumstances of each person will admit of Instead of the ceremony which was formerly observed, in conformity to the 12th chapter of Exo- dus, viz. “ To eat the lamb with unleavened bread, and bitter herbs,” &c. they have some small pieces of lamb, or kid, dres- sed with unleavened bread. Sometimes they have a plate cover- ed, in which there are three mysterious cakes, one for the high priest, one for the Levites, and a third for the people ; also the blade-bone of a shoulder of lamb, or, at least, some part of it. The Portuguese Jews have the bone on the table during the whole eight days of the Passover. When the shoulder is served up whole, at this ceremony, they have a hard egg with it. To this they add a dish representing the bricks which their ancestors were formerly forced to make in Egypt. This meat is a thick paste, composed of apples, almonds, nuts, figs, &c. which they dress in wine, and season with cinnamon, broke only into pieces, to represent the straw that they made use of in the making of their bricks. In another dish, they have celery, lettuce, chervil, cresses, wild succory, and pars- ley. These are their bitter herbs. A cruet full of vinegar, and another of oil, are set on the table near the sallad. The Jews make a great difference between the ancient and modern way of celebrating the Passover. Formerly, they used to eat the lamb roasted whole; but ever since their sacri- fices have been abolished, which could be offered no where but at Jerusalem, they roast one part of it, and boil another ; nay, sometimes cut it in pieces, which is enough to prevent its being sacrificed. The want of their sacrifices, likewise, obli- ges them, at present, to suppress several hymns, which relate to the Paschal lamb ; and their dispersion obliges them, also, to beg of God to re-establish Jerusalem, the temple, and its sacrifices, and to deliver them at this day, as he formerly did their forefathers, from the tyranny of the Egyptians. The modern Jews ponclude their meal with the unleavened bread, but in former times they ended it with the lamb ; and they now omit girding their loins, taking a staff in their hands, and pull- ing off their shoes when they eat the lamb ; all which was practised under the ancient law : but they take care, however, to preserve that humility and attention which are due to this religious ceremony. They decline their heads all the time they are eating; and such Jews as are eminent for their piety, 96 ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, &C. put nothing into their mouths, without meditating on the se- veral mysteries with the utmost respect and veneration. From the day after the Passover to the thirty-third day fol- lowing, they spend their time in a kind of mourning ; they neither marry, nor dress themselves in any new clothes, nei- ther do they cut their hair, nor' show any demonstrations of public joy ; because, at that time, that is, from the day after the Passover until the thirty-third day after, there was once a great mortality amongst the pupils of Rabbi Hachiba, who was one of their most celebrated doctors. After the death of some thousands, the sickness ceased on the thirty-third day of the Homer. This day is therefore kept with general rejoicings, and puts an end to all appearance of sorrow or concern. The Jews call the fifty days which intervene between the Passover and the feast of Pentecost, Homer-days. On the Pentecost fiftieth day of the Homer, which is the sixth of SivAN, is celebrated the festival Shavuoth, or of Weeks ; which is so named, because it is kept at the end of the seven weeks, which they compute from the Passover. At present, it is observed for two days together. These two days are observed almost as strictly as the Passo- ver holidays ; for no work is allowed to be done upon them, neither can the Jews transact any business, nor, in short, do any thing more than on the sabbath : excepting that they are allowed to kindle their fire, dress their victuals, and carry whatever they want from place to place. At the feast of Pentecost, five persons read the sacrifice of the day, and likewise the history of Ruth, because frequent mention is made there of the harvest. At this time they re- gale themselves with all sorts of dainties made of milk, which, in their opinion, is a symbol of the law, both on account of its sweetness and its whiteness ; and as the Jews take a pride in having, as far as possible, the most express and lively images of the most remarkable circumstances that occurred at the birth of their religion, they never forget to serve up at table on this day, a cake made moderately thick, which they call the Cake of Sinai. This is to remind them of Mount Sinai, on which God gave them the law. The Jews formerly called Pentecost the feast of the Har- vest, and day of First Fruits, because the first of their corn and fruit was at that time oftered in the temple, which was the close of this solemnity : but this can never be in Europe, harvest falling always much later than Whitsuntide. It might, how- ever, bear this name in the land of Canaan, Arabia, and in the neighbourhood of the Red Sea. ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, 97 Upon this day, their tradition assures us, that the law was given on Mount Sinai ; for which reason they adorn their synagogues, the Hechal, or Ark, the reading desk ; also their lamps and candlesticks, and even their houses, with roses and other gay and odoriferous flowers and herbs, beautifully wreath- ed in the form of crowns and festoons. Of these decorations they are very profuse. Their prayers are adapted to the feast, and they read the account of the sacrifice made on that day, out of the Penta- teuch : also the Aftara, out of the prophets, and the bene- diction for their prince. In the afternoon there is a sermon preached, in commemoration of the law. When the second day of the feast is over, the ceremony of the Habdalla is performed in the evening, as at the close of the Passover, to denote that the feast is concluded. PART II. HISTORY AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE MAHOMETANS. CHAPTER I. LIFE OF MAHOMET. It is an often repeated, but just remark, that “ Great effects frequently proceed from little causes.” This is preeminently true when applied to Mahometanism; since there appears to be scarcely any ground of comparison ometa- between its author and the changes which his system has wrought in the world ; changes by far greater than any others introduced into the civilized world by a single cause, if we except those WTOught by Christianity. Mahometanism has now existed for more than twelve hun- dred years. It has spread its delusions over some of the fair- est portions of the globe. At the present time. Countries it may be found holding an almost undisputed where it exists, sway throughout the Turkish dominions in Europe, Asia, and Africa ; in the Barbarv states, in the interior of Africa ; 9 98 LIFE OF MAHOMET, the eastern coast of Africa, and the island of Madagascar ; in Arabia ; the Persian states ; the Russian states of Little Tar- tary, Astrachan, Kazan, Kirghis, Kazaks, &c. ; amongst the independent Tartars ; in a great part of Hindoostan ; many of the eastern islands, as Malay, Sumatra, Java, &c. &c. and may be traced in different parts even of the vast em.pire of China. Its blinded and deluded votaries are estimated at from one hundred, to one hundred and twenty millions. That Mahomet was a remarkable man in some respects must be admitted. He had doubtless native talents of a supe- rior order, and an ambition for power and autho- rity which scarcely knew any bounds ; but these are insufficient to account for the religious and political ascendency which he gained, or the wide diffusion and enduring permanence of that system of imposture which he palmed upon the world. The means employed by him were en- tirely disproportioned to the success which crowned his efforts. How then shall the problem of his success be resolved ? The state of the eastern world, where this imposture began, was indeed favourable to its spread. For several centuries following the apostolic age, the Chris- tian religion subsisted in a great degree in its original purity and simplicity. But a gradual de- cline of the spirit of Christianity took place. Ig- norance, superstition, and corruption prevailed to an alarming extent ; and by the commencement of the seventh century, the slate of the Christian world had become gloomy and appalling. In the eastern parts of the Roman empire, es- pecially Syria and the countries bordering upon Arabia, as well as in some parts of Arabia itself, these evils were aggra- vated by the numerous sects and heresies that prevailed, and , by the incessant controversial wars which they waged with each other. The church was torn to pieces by the furious disputes of the Arians, Sabellians, Nestorians, Eutychians, and Collyridians, by whom the great doctrines of Christianity were so confounded with metaphysical subtleties and the jar- gon of schools, that they ceased, in great measure, to be re- garded as a rule of life, or as pointing out the only way of salvation. The religion of the Gospel, the blessed source of peace, love, and unity among men, became, by the perverse- ness of sectaries, a firebrand of burning contention. Council after council was called — canon after canon was enacted — pre- lates were traversing the country in every direction in the prosecution of party purposes, resorting to every base art, The success of Mahometa- nism not to be attributed en- tirely to the genius of its author. Not to the state of the Chris- tian world, al- though that was favoura- ble. LIFE OF MAHOMET. 99 to obtain the authoritative establishment of their own peculiar tenets, and the condemnation and suppression of those of their adversaries. The contests also for the episcopal office ran so high, particularly in the West, that the opposing parties re- peatedly had recourse to violence, and, in one memorable in- stance, the interior of a Christian church was stained by the blood of a number of the adherents of the rival bishops, who fell victims to their fierce contentions. Y et it is little to be wondered at, that these places of preferment should have been so greedily sought after by men of corrupt minds, when we learn, that they opened the direct road to wealth, luxury, and priestly power. Ancient historians represent the bishops of that day, as enriched by the presents of the opulent, as riding abroad in pompous state in chariots and sedans, and surpass- ing in the extravagance of their feasts, the sumptuousness of princes ; while, at the same time, the most barbarous ignorance was fast overspreading the nations of Christendom, the eccle- siastical orders themselves not excepted. Among the bishops, the legitimate instructers and defenders of the church, num- bers were to be found incapable of composing the poor dis- courses which their office required them to deliver to the peo- ple, or of subscribing the decrees which they passed in their councils. The little learning in vogue was chiefly confined to the monks. But they, instead of cultivating science, or dif- fusing any kind of useful knowledge, squandered their time in the study of the fabulous legends of pretended saints and martyrs, or in composing histories equally fabulous. This woful corruption of doctrine and morals in the clergy was followed, as might be expected, by a very general depra- vity of the common people ; and though we cannot suppose that God left himself altogether without witnesses in this dark period, yet the number of the truly faithful had dwindled down to a mere remnant, and the wide-spreading defection seemed to call aloud for the judgments of heaven.* Although the state of the Christian world was thus favour- able to the spread of the Mahometan imposture, this is by no means sufficient to account for its mighty results, and especially for its continuance, through such moW- a lapse of time. We are forced, therefore, to denceofGod. look for a more adequate cause, and that cause can be nothing less than the special providence of God. In- deed, the appearance of the Arabian prophet in the world, and the rise, progress, and results of his imposture, are * Bush’s Life of Mahomet, 100 LIFE OF MAHOMET. clearly foretold in the sacred volume, as the The rise and reader may see, Daniel vii. 8 — 26. Revelation ix. progress of 1 — 19. All the reasons which the Infinite Mahornetan- ]\/[ind may have had in permitting- this arch- in the scrip- -tieresy to nnd a dwelling place on earth — to tures. spread its branches so widely — to take such deep root — to bear such deadly fruit for so long a period — all the moral ends in view may be unknown ; but the wisdom of God in this as well as every other dispensation of his providence, will ultimately stand forth as clearly as if the sun beams shone upon it, and the now inscrutable mys- tery will be justified by all his children. We shall conclude these introductory remarks with the fol- lowing quotation from Dr. Prideaux, on the moral ends of Providence, in suffering this desolating scourge The moral arise at that particular period of the world, "fd,ng;oD" birth. “At length” says he, Prideaux. “ having wearied the patience and long suffer- ing of God, he raised up the Saracens to be the instruments of his wrath to punish them for it ; who, taking advantage of the weakness of their power, and the distraction of counsels which their divisions had caused among them, overran, with a terrible devastation, all the eastern provinces of the Roman empire. And having fixed that tyranny over them which hath ever since afflicted those parts of the Avorld, turned every where their churches into mosques, and their worship into a horrid superstition ; and instead of that holy religion which they had abused, forced on them the abomina- ble imposture of Mahomet. Thus those once glorious and most ffourishing churches, for a punishment of their wicked- ness, being given up to the insult, ravage, and scorn of the worst of enemies, were on a sudden overwhelmed with so ter- rible a destruction as hath reduced them to that low and mi- serable condition under which they have ever since groaned; the all-wise providence of God seeming to continue them thus unto this day under the pride and persecution of Maho- metan tyranny, for no other end but to be an example and warning unto others against the wickedness of separation and division.” Mahomet, the founder of the Moslem^' or Mahometan reli- * The following list of names and titles, some of which it will be con- venient for us to use in the present article, and all of which frequently occur in accounts relating to the East, together with their etymological import, is taken from a highly celebrated work, “ Bush’s Life of Ma- homet,” LIFE OF MAHOMET. 101 gion, was born at Mecca, a city of Arabia, A. D. 569, or, ac- cording to others, A. D. 571. His parents were Birth of Ma- themselves poor, but his connexions were rich hornet, A. D- and respectable, belonging to the tribe of the Ko- reish, reckoned the most noble in all that part of Arabia. From Hamad; praised, highly celebrated^ illusLrious, glorious. All from the same root, Aslam; signifying to yield up^ dedicate, consecrate entirely to the service of religion. Mahomet, Mohammed, Ahmed. Moslem, Mussulman, Islam, ISLAMISM. Koran. — From Kara, to read ; the reading, legend, or that which ought to be read. Caliph. — A successor ; from the Hebrew Chalaph ; to be changed, to succeed, to pass round in a revolution. Sultan. — Originally from the Chaldaic Soltan ; signifying dominion, principality. Vizier. — An assistant. Hadj. — Pilgrimage ; Hadji ; one who makes the pilgrimage to Alecca. Saracen, — Etymology doubtful ; supposed to be from Sarak, to steal ; a ylunderer, a robber. Hejira, ) The Flight ; applied emphatically to Mahomet’s flight from Hejra S Mecca to Medina. Mufti. — The principal head of the Mahometan religion, and the re- solver of all doubtful points of the law. — An office of great dig- nity in the Turkish empire. Imam. — A kind of priest attached to the mosques, whose duty it is oc- casionally to expound a passage of the Koran. They, at the same time, usually follow some more lucrative employment, Moollah, — The Moollahs form what is called the Ulema, or body of doctors, in theology and jurisprudence, who are entrusted with the guardianship of the laws of the empire, and from whose number the Mufti is chosen, Emir. — Lineal descendants of the Prophet himself, distinguished by wearing turbans of deep sea-green, the colour peculiar to all the race of Mahomet, They have special immunities on the score of their descent, and one of them carries the green standard of the Prophet when the Grand Seignior appears in any public solemnity. Pasha. — The title given to the provincial governors. A Pasha is to a province or pashalic, what the Sultan is to the empire, except that the judicial power is in the hands of the cadis, the provin- cial magistrates. The tails of a Pasha are the standards which he is allowed to carry; one of three tails is one of three standards, which number gives the power of life and deatli. Reis Effendi. — This officer may be termed the High Chancellor of the Ottoman empire. He is at the head of a class of attorneys which at this time contains the best informed men of the nation. Seraglio. — This word is derived fron Serai, a term of Persian origin, signifying « palace. It is therefore improperly used as synony- mous with Harem, the apartments of the women. The Seraglio is, in strictness of speech, the place where the court of the Grand 9 ^ 102 LIFE OF MAHOMET. “ The Moslem writers,” says the author already quoted, “in order to represent the birth of their pretended prophet as Prodigies said equally marvellous with that of Moses or of to have attend- Christ, the ancient messengers of God who pre- ed this event, ceded him, have reported a tissue of astonishing prodigies said to have occurred in connexion with that event. If the reader will receive their statements with the same im- plicit faith with which they seem to be delivered, he must acknowledge, that at the moment when the favoured infant was ushered into the world, a flood of light burst forth with him and illuminated eveiy part of Syria; that the waters of the Lake Sawa were entirely dried up, so that a city was built upon its bottom ; that an earthquake threw down four- teen towers of the king of Persia’s palace ; that the sacred Are of the Persians was extinguished, and all the evil spirits which had inhabited the moon and stars were expelled together from their celestial abodes, nor could they ever after animate idols or deliver oracles on earth. The child also, if we may trust to the same authorities, discovered the most wonderful presa- ges. He was no sooner born than he fell prostrate, in a pos- ture of humble adoration, praying devoutly to his Creator, and saying, ‘ God is great ! There is no God but God, and I am his prophet!’ By these and many other supernatural signs, equally astounding, is the prophet’s nativity said to have been marked.” At the early age of two years, Mahomet lost his father, and four years after his mother. Being now a dependant orphan, Mahomet giv- he was received into the family of his grandfather, en in charge under whose guardianship he continued two to his uncle. years, when the venerable Abdol Motalleb him- self was called to give up the ghost. On his dying bed, he. summoned Abu Taleb, the eldest of his sons, whom he is said Seignior is held ; but it so happens that at Constantinople this building includes the imperial Harem within its walls. Crescent. — The national ensign of the Turks, surmounting the domes and minarets attached to their mosques, as the Cross does the churches of the Roman Catholics in Christian countries. This peculiar and universal use of the Crescent is said to have owed its origin to the fact, that at the time of Mahomet’s flight from Mecca to Medina the moon was neio. Hence the half moon is commemorative of that event. Sublime Porte. — This title, which is frequently applied to the coiirt,*'* cabinet, or executive department of the Ottoman empire, is de- rived, as the words impoi’t, from a lofty arched gateway of splendid construction, forming the principal entrance to the Se- raglio or palace. It is a phrase equivalent to “Court of St, James,” “ Court of St, Cloud,” &c. I.IFE OF MAHOMET. 103 to have addressed as follows : “ My dearest, best beloved son, to thy charge I leave Mahomet, the son of thine own brother, strictly recommended, whose natural father the Lord hath been pleased to take to himself, with the intent that this dear child should become ours by adoption ; and much dearer ought he to be unto us than merely an adopted son. Receive him, therefore, at my dying hands, with the same sincere love and tender bowels with which I deliver him to thy care. Honour, love, and cherish him as much, or even more, than if he had sprung from thine own loins ; for all the honour thou showest unto him shall be trebled unto thee. Be more than ordina- rily careful in thy treatment towards him, for it will be repaid thee with interest. Give him the preference before thine own children, for he exceedeth them and all mankind in excellency and perfection. Take notice, that whensoever he calleth upon thee, thou answer him not as an infant, as his tender age may require, but as thou vvouldst reply to the most aged and vene- rable person Avhen he asketh thee any question. Sit not down to thy repasts of any sort soever, either alone or in company, till thy worthy nephew Mahomet is seated at the table before thee ; neither do thou ever offer to taste of any kind of viands, or even to stretch forth thine hand towards the same, until he hath tasted thereof If thou observest these my injunctions, thy goods shall always increase, and in nowise be dimi- nished.”'* Abu Taleb having received the above solemn charge, took the young prophet under his care, and instructed him in the business of a merchant. When he was about twelve or thirteen years of age, in order to per- ^ nierdmm feet him in his employment, Abu Taleb took him with him into Syria, whither he found himself obliged to go on commercial affairs. Arriving at Bosra, an ancient city of Syria Damacena, he visited a monastery, where he found a Nestorian monk, named Felix, and surnamed Boheira, who treated them with great marks of distinction, and owned him as God’s apostle. Another monk, called by the Christians, Sergius, entered into a confederacy with Boheira to propa- gate the new fanaticism, and lent a helping hand in composing the Koran. On Mahomet’s first approach to Boheira, the monk observed, or said he observed, a sort of luminous or transparent cloud round his head, which preserved him from the heat of the solar rays ; also, that the dry trees under which he sat were every where instantly covered with green leaves, ♦ Morgan’s Mahometanism Explained, vol. i. p. 50. 104 LIFE OF MAHOMET, which served him for a shade — all certain signs that the pro phetic dignity resided in him. He likewise discovered the seal of prophecy impressed between his shoulders, whilst he kissed the hinder part of his garment. Turning one day to the uncle, Abu Taleb, he said, “ Depart with this child, and take great care that he does not fall into the hands of the Jews ; for your nephew will one day become a very extraor- dinary person ; he will perform great things by the appoint- ment of God.” Abu Taleb hereupon immediately returned to Mecca, and gave an account to the Koreish of the discove- ries that had been made. In the mean time, Mahomet, as he advanced towards the years of puberty, grew extremely popular. He was the most handsome and the best made man of all the Arabs of his time ; and he was not only famed for his beauty, but he like- wise surpassed all his contemporaries in sagacity and good sense, so much so, indeed, as to acquire the name of Al-Amm, or the Faithful. This is the favourable portrait given us of him, at the age of fourteen, by some of the Moslem historians. Mahomet made his first campaign when he was about twenty years of age, under his uncle Abu Taleb, who com- manded the Koreish against the tribes Kenan and Hawazan. Of the cause of this war no traditionary account is on record ; but, as it was carried on with great violence through the course of the four sacred months, it was termed the “ impious war.” During these months it was held unlawful to wage war ; the Arabs then taking off the heads of their spears, and ceasing from incursions and other hostilities. However, the Koreish were victorious in this war, which could not fail of rendering the people of their tribe still more devoted to Abu Taleb and the young Mahomet. Mahomet continued in the employment of his uncle until he had attained his twenty-fifth year. About that time died Enters the chief men of the city, leaving a widow service of Ca- of the name of Cadijah ; who, requiring a fac- dijah, whom tor to manage her stock, Mahomet entered he marries. service, and traded for her some years, to Damascus and other places. In this service Mahomet conducted himself with so much propriety, that he not only merited the respect, but actually won the affections of his mistress, who was twelve years older than himself, he being then only twenty-eight years of age. Cadijah having married him, he became suddenly exalted to an equality with some of the richest men of the city. Whether this unlocked for elevation had inspired Mahomet LIFE OF MAHOMET. 105 with an extraordinary ambition, or whatever other motive prompted him, he soon began to manifest symptoms of wish- ing to appear a man of no common character, and as one divinely commissioned to reform the world by the introduc- tion of a new system of religion, which should embrace whatever was excellent in the Pagan morality, and the Jewish and Christian dispensations. His commercial transactions in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, having brought him acquainted with the numerous Christians and Jews residing in those countries, he soon discovered that the task of creating a new religion would not be very difficult. He proceeded, how- ever, with much caution and care ; and it was not till he had attained his thirty-eighth year, that he retired Retires to from the business of the world, repairing daily to thecaveofHe- a certain cave in the vicinity of Mecca, called ra, where he the cave of Hera, for the ostensible purpose of ^natures his spending his time in fasting, prayer, and medi- f ‘ ' '* lation. Having, at length, matured his plan, he opened the subject of the supernatural visions, with which he had been favoured in the cave, to his wife Cadijah. At first she Discloses it treated his visions as the dreams of a disturbed to Cadijah imagination, or as the delusions of the devil. Ma- who becomes hornet, however, persisted in assuring her of the conveit. reality of these communications, and rising still higher in his demands upon her credulity, at length repeated a passage which he affirmed to he a part of a divine revelation, recently conveyed to him by the ministry of the angel Gahriel. The memorable night on which this visit was made by the hea- venly messenger is called the “ night of Al Kadr,” or the night of the divine decree, and is greatly celebrated, as it was the same night on which the entire Koran descended from the seventh to the lowest heaven, to be thence revealed by Ga- briel in successive portions as occasion might require. The Koran has a whole chapter devoted to the commemoration of this event, entitled Al Kadr. It is as follows : “ In the name of the most merciful God. Verily, we sent down the Koran in the night of Al Kadr. And what shall make thee understand how excellent the night of Al Kadr is? This night is better than a thousand months. Therein do the angels de- scend, and the spirit Gabriel also, by the permission of their Lord, with his decrees concerning every matter. It is peace until the rising of the morn.”* On this favoured night, be- * Koran, ch. xcvii. 106 LIFE OF MAHOMET. tween the 23d and 24th of Ramadan, according to the pro- phet, the angel appeared to him, in glorious form, to commu- nicate the happy tidings of his mission. The light issuing from his body, if the apostle-elect may be believed, was too dazzling for mortal eyes to behold; he fainted under the splen- dour ; nor was it till Gabriel had assumed a human form, that he could venture to approach or look upon him. The angel then cried aloud, “ O, Mahomet, thou art the apostle OF God, and I am the angel Gabriel!” “Read!” con- tinued the angel ; the prophet declared that he was unable to read. “ Read !” Gabriel again exclaimed, “ read, in the name of thy Lord, who hath created all things ; who hath created man of congealed blood. Read, by thy most beneficent Lord, who hath taught the use of the pen ; who teacheth man that which he knoweth not.”* The prophet, who professed hither- to to have been illiterate, then read the joyful tidings respect- ing his ministry on earth, when the angel, having accom- plished his mission, majestically ascended to heaven, and dis- appeared from his view. When the story of this surprising interview with a celestial visitant was related to Cadijah in connexion with the passage repeated, her unbelief, as tradition avers, was wholly overcome, and not only so, but she was wrought by it into a kind of ecstasy, declaring, “ By him in whose hands her soul was, that she trusted her husband would indeed one day become the prophet of his nation.” In the height of her joy, she immediately imparted what she had heard to one Waraka, her cousin, who is supposed by some to have been in the secret, and who, being a Christian, had learned to write in the Hebrew character, and was tolerably well ver- sed in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. He unhesitatingly assented to her opinion respecting the divine designation of her husband, and ev^en affirmed, that Mahomet was no other than the great prophet foretold by Moses, the son of Amram. This belief that both the prophet and his spurious religion were subjects of inspired prediction in the Old Testament scriptures, is studiously inculcated in the Koran. “ Thy Lord is the mighty, the merciful. This book is certainly a revela- tion from the Lord of all creatures, which the faithful spirit (Gabriel) hath caused to descend upon thy heart, that thou mightest be a preacher to thy people in the perspicuous A ra- bic tongue ; and it is borne witness to in the scriptures of for- mer ages. Was it not a sign unto them that the wise men among the children of Israel knew it ?”f ♦ Koran, ch. xcviii. t Ch. xxiii. LIFE OF MAHOMET. 107 Having made a convert of his wife, his next object was to gain other proselytes. Among the first, who Gains other gave in his adhesion to the prophet, was his ser- proselytes; but vant Zeid Ebn Hareth.whom he rewarded for his at first with belief and attachment, by granting him his free- difficulty, dom. Ali, the son of Abu Taleb, Mahomet’s cousin, was his next convert, but the impetuous youth, disregarding the other two as persons of comparatively little note, used to style him- self the first of believers. His fourth and most important con- vert was Abubeker, a powerful citizen of Mecca, by whose influence a number of persons possessed of rank and authori- ty were induced to profess the religion of Islam. These were Othman, Zobair, Saad, Abdorrahman, and Abu Obeidah, who afterwards became the principal leaders in his armies, and his main instruments in the establishment both of his imposture and of his empire. Four years were spent in the arduous task of winning over these nine individuals to the faith, some of whom were the principal men of the city, and who composed the whole party of his proselytes previously to his beginning to proclaim his mission in public. He was now forty-four years of age. Hitherto the efforts of Mahomet had been confined to the conversion of a few individuals; but now the time having come for spreading his doctrines abroad, he di- ^ . rected An to prepare a generous entertainment, doctrines to his to which the sons and descendants of Abdol Mo- family, friends, talleb were invited. These having assembled, and connex- the prophet arose and addressed them as fol- who turn lows : — “ 1 know no man in the whole peninsu- dicule. la of the Arabs who can propose any thing more excellent to his relations than what I now do to you ; I offer you happiness both in this life and in that which is to come ; God Almighty hath commanded me to call you unto him ; who therefore among you will be my vizier (assistant) and will be- come my brother and vicegerent?” General astonishment kept the assembly silent; none offered to accept the proffered office, till the fiery Ali burst forth, and declared that he would be the brother and assistant of the prophet. “ I,” said he, “ O prophet of God, will be thy vizier; I myself will beat out the teeth, pull out the eyes, rip open the bellies, and cut off the legs, of all those who shall dare to oppose thee.” The prophet caught the young proselyte in his arms, exclaiming, “ This is my brother, my deputy, my successor ; show yourselves obedient unto him.” At this apparently extravagant com- mand, the w’hole company burst into laughter, telling Abu 108 LIFE or MAHOMET. Taleb that he must now pay obedience and submission to his own son ! As words were multiplied, surprise began to give way to indignation, the serious pretensions of the prophet were seriously resented, and in the issue the assembly broke up in confusion, affording the ardent apostle but slender prospects of success among his kinsmen. Notwithstanding his above ill success with his tribe, he was so far from being discouraged, that he continued to preach to Preaches in people, who still heard him with some pa- public to the tience, till he came to upbraid them Avith the citizens of idolatry, obstinacy, and perv'erseness, not only Mecca. themselves, but of their fathers. This so highly provoked them, that they openly declared themselves his enemies, some few only excepted, who Avere converted to Mahometanism. Nor could he have escaped their resentment, had he not been protected by Abu Taleb, his uncle, Avho Avas A^ery active in his favour. However, the chief of the Koreish, and even many of his OAvn relations, AA^armly solicited him to desert his nephew; but all their endeavours proving ineffectual, they at length threatened Abu Taleb Avith an open rupture, if he did not prevail on Mahomet to desist. Abu Taleb Avas so far moA^ed at this threat, that he earnestly dissuaded his ne- phew from pursuing the affair any further ; representing the great danger he and his friends must otherwise run ; but Ma- homet Avas not to be intimidated, telling his uncle plainly, “ that if they set the sun against him on his right hand, and the moon on his left, he Avould not relinquish his enterprise.” Abu Taleb, therefore, finding him so firmly resolved to pro- ceed, used no further arguments, but promised to stand by him against all his enemies : so that notwithstanding the peo- ple of his tribe came to a determination to expel both him and his folloAvers, he found a powerful support in his uncle against all their machinations. In the eighth year of his pretended mission, his party growing formidable at Mecca, the city passed a decree, by Is obliged to re- which they forbade any more to join themselves tire from Mec- Avith him. This, however, did not much affect ca; but returns. while his uncle Abu Taleb lived to protect him: but he dying tAvo years after, and the government of the city then falling into the hands of his enemies, a fresh opposition was reneAved against him, and a stop soon put to the further progress of his designs at Mecca. Maho- met, therefore, seeing all his hopes in a manner crushed here, began to thing of settling elseAvhere; and as his uncle Abbas lived for the most part at Tayif, a tOAvn sixty miles dis- LIFE OF MAHOMET. 109 tant from Mecca, towards the east, and was a man of power and interest, he took a journey thither, under his protection, in order to propagate his imposture there. But, after a month’s stay, finding himself unable to gain even one proselyte, he retired to Mecca, with a resolution to wait for such further advantages as time and opportunity might offer. His wife Cadijah being noAv dead, after living with him two and twenty years, he took two other wives in her stead, Ayesha, the daughter of Abubeker, and Lewda, the daughter of Zama ; adding a while after to them a third, named Haphsa, the daughter of Omar ; and by thus making himself son-in-law to three of the principal men of his party, he strengthened his interest considerably. Ayesha is said to have been then only six years old ; on which account the completion of that marriage was deferred, though not for many years, the eastern women being very early marriageable. In the twelfth year of his mission is placed the mesra, that is, his famous night-journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven ; of which he tells us, in the Makes a fa- seventeenth chapter of the Koran : for the peo- mous night, pie calling on him for miracles to prove his mis- sion, and finding himself unable, or being un- g^iem in corn- willing, to feign any, to solve the matter, he pany with the invented this story of his journey to heaven, a^gel Gabriel, The story, as related in the Koran, and believed a by the Mahometants, is this : At night, as he lay ^ ora . ^ in his bed with his best beloved wife Ayesha, he heard a knocking at his door ; upon which, arising, he found there the angel Gabriel, with seventy pair of wings, expanded from his sides, whiter than snow, and clearer than crystal, and the beast Alborak standing by him; which, they say, is the beast on which the prophets used to ride, when they were carried from one place to another, upon the execution of any divine com- mand. Mahomet describes it to be a beast as white as milk, and of a mixed nature, between an ass and a mule, and also of a size between both ; but of such extraordinary swiftness as to equal even lightning itself. As soon as Mahomet appeared at the door, the angel Gabriel kindly embraced him, saluted him in the name of God, and told him, that he was sent to bring him unto God into heaven ; where he should see strange mysteries, which were not lawful to be seen by any other man. He prayed him then to get upon Alborak ; but the beast having lain idle and unemployed from the time of Christ to Mahomet, was grown so mettle- some and skittish, that he would not stand still for Mahomet 10 iiO LIFE OF MAHOMET, to mount him, till at length he was forced to bribe him to it, by promising him a place in Paradise. When he was firmly seated on him, the angel Gabriel led the way with the bridle of the beast in his hand, and carried the prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem in the twinkling of an eye. On his coming thither, all the departed prophets and saints appeared at the gate of the temple to salute him ; and thence attending him into the chief oratory, desired him to pray for them, and then withdrew. After this, Mahomet went out of the temple with the angel Gabriel, and found a ladder of light ready fixed for them, which they immediately ascended, leaving Alborak tied to a rock till their return. On their arrival at the first heaven, the angel knocked at the gate ; and informing the porter who he was, and that he had brought Mahomet, the friend of God, he was immediately admitted. This first heaven, he tells us, was all of pure sil- ver ; from whence he saw the stars hanging from it by chains of gold, each as big as mount Nolio, near Mecca, in Arabia. On his entrance he met a decrepid old man, who it seems was our first father Adam ; and, as he advanced, he saw a multi- tude of angels in all manner of shapes ; in the shape of birds, beasts, and men. We must not forget to observe, that Adam had the piety immediately to embrace the prophet, giving God thanks for so great a son ; and then recommended himself to his prayers. From this first heaven, he tells us, that he as- cended into the second, which was at the distance of five hun- dred years’ journey above it ; and this he makes to be the distance of every one of the seven heavens, each above the other. Here the gates being opened to him as before, at his entrance he met Noah, who, rejoicing much at the sight of him, recommended himself to his prayers. This heaven was all of pure gold, and there were twice as many angels in it as in the former ; for he tells us that the number of angels in every heaven increased as he advanced. From this second heaven he ascended into the third, which was made of precious stones, where he met Abraham, who also recommended him- self to his prayers ; Joseph, the son of Jacob, did the same in the fourth heaven, which was all of emerald; Moses in the fifth, which was all of adamant ; and John the Baptist in the sixth, which was all of carbuncle : whence he ascended into the seventh, which was all of divine light, and here he found Jesus Christ. 'However, it is observed, that here he alters his style ; for he does not say that Jesus Christ recommended himself to his prayers, but that he recommended himself to the prayers of Jesus Christ. LIFE OF MAHOMET. ni The angel Gabriel, having brought him thus far, told him that he was not permitted to attend him any further ; and therefore directed him to ascend the rest of the way to the throne of God by himself This he performed with great difficulty, passing through rough and dangerous places, till he came where he heard a voice, saying unto him, “ O Mahomet, salute thy Creator;” whence ascending higher, he came into a place where he saw a vast expansion of light, so exceed- ingly bright, that his eyes could not bear it. This, it seems, was the habitation of the Almighty, where his throne was placed ; on the right side of which, he says, God’s name and his own were written in these Arabic words : “ La ellah ellal- lah Mahomet reful ollah that is, “ There is no God but God, and Mahomet is his prophet,” which is at this day the creed of the Mahometans. Being approached to the di- vine presence, he tells us, that God entered into a familiar converse with him, revealed to him many hidden mysteries, made him understand the whole of his law, gave him many things in charge concerning his instructing men in the know- ledge of it ; and, in conclusion, bestowed on him several pri- vileges above the rest of mankind. He then returned, and found the angel Gabriel waiting for him in the place where he left him. The angel led him back along the seven hea- vens, through which he had brought him ; and set him again upon the beast Alborak, which stood tied to the rock near Je- rusalem. Then he conducted him back to Mecca, in the same manner as he brought him thence ; and all this within the space of the tenth part of one night. On his relating this story to the people the next morning after he pretended the thing to have happened, it was received by them with a general outcry ; and the impos- The story ture was never in a greater danger of being to- not credited by- tally blasted, than by this ridiculous fable. But, the^m^phTt^ how ridiculous soever the story may appear, religion ^ in Mahomet had a further design in it, than barely danger, telling such a miraculous adventure of himself to the people. Hitherto he had only given them the Koran, which was his written law ; and had pretended to be nothing more than bare- ly the messenger of God, in publishing it, as it was delivered to him by the angel Gabriel. But now, learning from his friend Abdallah, that the Jews, besides the written law dictated by God himself, had also another law, called the oral law, given with it, as they pretend, to Moses himself, while in the mount ; and understanding that this law, which had its whole foundation in the sayings and dictates of Moses, was in as 112 LIFE OF MAHOMET. great veneration with them as the other ; he had a mind for the future to advance his authority to the same pitch, and to make all his sayings and dictates pass for oracles among the Mussulmen, as those which were pretended to proceed from Moses did among the Jews ; and for this end chiefly it was, that he invented this story of his journey to heaven. The story, however, whatever advantages he might and did gain by it when his religion became more firmly established, was deemed at first so grossly ridiculous, that it occasioned the revolt of many of his disciples, and made his stay at Mecca no longer practica- ble. But what he lost at Mecca he gained at Medina, then called Yathreb, a city lying 270 miles north-west from Mec- ca ; which was inhabited, the one part by Jews, and the other by heretical Christians. These two parties did not agree at all ; and feuds and factions rose at length so high among them, that one party, exasperated against the other, went over to Mahomet. Thus we are told, that in the thirteenth year of his mission, there came to him from thence seventy-three men and two women. Twelve of these he retained awhile with him at Mecca, to instruct them in his new religion ; then sent them back to Yathreb, as his twelve apostles, there to propa- gate it in that town. In this they laboured abundantly, and with such success, that, in a short lime, they drew over the greatest part of the inhabitants ; of which Mahomet receiving an account, resolved to go thither immediately, finding it um safe to continue any longer at Mecca. On the 12th day of the month which the Arabs call the Former Rabia, that is, on the 24th of our September, he came ' The Hejira ^0 Yathreb, and was received with great acclama- or Era of tions by the party which called him thither. He lodged in the house of Chalid Abu Job, one of the chief men of the party, till he had built a house for himself. This he immediately undertook, and erected a mosque at the same time for the exercise of his re- ligion ; and having thus settled himself in this town, he con- tinued there ever after, to the time of his death. From this flight of Mahomet, the Hejira, which is the aera of the Ma- hometans, begins its computation : Hejira, in the Arabic lan- guage, signifying flight. It was first appointed by Omar, the third emperor of the Saracens, and takes its beginning from the 16th of July, in the year 622. Indeed the day that Ma- homet left Mecca was on the first of the Former Rabia ; and he came to Medina on the 12th of the same month, that is, on the 24th of our September; but the Hejira begins two months LIFE OF MAHOMET. 113 before, from the first of Moharram : for that being the first month of the Arabian year, Omar would make no alteration as to that, but anticipated the computation fifty-nine days, that he might commence his sera from the beginning of that year, in which the flight of the impostor happened, from which it took its name.* From the time Mahomet entered Medina, he found himself in reality a monarch, at the head of an army devoted to his person, obedient to his will, and blind believers in his holy office. Finding himself in a condi- of Be- tion not only to defend himself against the insults of his enemies, but even to attack them, he began to send out parties to make reprisals on the Koreish. One of these, con- sisting of no more than nine men, intercepted and plundered a caravan belonging to that tribe. This small advantage ani- mated the Moslems, and induced the Prophet to think he should gain as much reputation by his arms as by his revela- tions ; but ’what mostly established his affairs at this juncture, and was the foundation on which he built all his succeeding greatness, was the gaining of the battle of Beder, a well on the confines of Arabia, which was fought in the second year of the Hejira, and is so famous in the Mahometan history. This victory was an invincible proof to the Arabians of the truth of Mahometanism. Flaving been informed by his spies, that the Koreish had a large quantity of valuable merchandise, carried on the backs of 1003 camels, coming from Syria, and escorted only by thirty or forty men, he resolved to advance at the head of a small detachment of his troops, to intercept it. But Abu Sofian, the conductor of the caravan, having notice of his designs and motions, immediately despatched a courier to Mecca, requesting his countrymen to send him speedy suc- cours, upon which all the principal men of the city marched to defend the caravan with a body of 950 men. Mahomet had no sooner received advice of this, than he drew together all his forces, which amounted to no more than 313 men, with which he advanced against the enemy. In the mean time, he took care to leave a proper garrison in Medina, to defend it in case of any disaster. Before the beginning of the battle, feigning himself in a trance, he pretended that God had pro- mised him certain victory. After which, throwing a handful of dust towards the enemy, he said. May the faces of them be confou7ided ! and then, exhorting his men to behave valiantly, he commanded them to fall upon the Koreish. They charged * Nightingale’s " All Religions,” 10 * 114 LIFE OF MAHOMET. them with such bravery, that they soon put them to flight, having killed seventy of the principal of them on the spot, and taken as many prisoners, with the loss of only fourteen men. In imitation of Moses, Mahomet sat in a tent, and prayed for those that fought, for Gabriel would not permit him to engage. The Prophet pretends in the Koran, that not he, but God, by the ministry of his angel, threw the gravel towards the unbe- lievers ; that the Moslem troops seemed to the infidels to be twice as numerous as themselves, which greatly discouraged them; and that God had sent down to their assistance first 1000, and afterwards 3000 angels, led by Gabriel, mounted on his horse Haizum ; and, according to the Koran, these celes- tial auxiliaries did all the execution, though Mahomet’s troops could not perceive them. The battle was fought on a Friday, and on the 17th of the month Ramadan. At the commencement of the second year of the Hejira, Mahomet altered the Kebla for his disciples, or the part of the world to which the Mahometans are to turn ters the Kebk' prayer. At first, Mahomet declared it to be perfectly indifferent ; afterwards, when he fled to Medina, he directed his followers to turn towards the temple of Jerusalem, (probably, to ingratiate himself with the Jews,) which continued to be their Kebla, for seventeen or eighteen months ; but, either finding the Jews too intractable, or despairing otherwise to gain the Pagan Arabs, who could not forget their respect to the temple of Mecca, he ordered that prayers, for the future, should be towards the east ; that is, to- wards the Caaba, or temple of Mecca. This change occa- sioned many to fall from him, taking offence at his inconstancy. Again, he ordered that the Faithful should be called to pray- ers with a loud voice from the top of the Mosques, whereas before he was, out of policy, inclined to the Jewish horn, and had actually made use of rattles, as Christians did. He like- wise ordained the grand fast of Ramadan, in which month the Koran came from heaven, and made several regulations about alms, things lawful and unlawful, policy, &c. ; all which were either inspired or confirmed by miracles. It does not belong to the plan of this work to give an ac- count of the military expeditions, by which, in successive years, the prophet succeeded in establishing his religion in al- most every part of his own country. One or two expeditions, however, are too important in the Prophet’s history to be passed over without notice. In the sixth year of the Hejira, with fourteen hundred men, he undertook a pilgrimage to the holy temple of Mecca. But LIFE OF MAHOMET. 115 the inhabitants of that city, being jealous of his Concludes a intentions, despatched a messenger to the Pro- treaty with the phet, while he halted several days at Hodeibiya, Meccans fo? saying, that if he entered the city, it must be at years, the point of the sword. Upon this, the Prophet summoned his men to attack the city; but, before this could be effected, the Meccans sent an ambassador to him to confer upon terms of peace. Finding it to be for their mutual advantage to enter into a treaty, one was formed, which stipulated that the Pro- phet and his followers should have free access to the city and temple, after one year, whenever they pleased, during the space of ten years, provided they came unarmed, as befitted pilgrims, and remained not more than three days at a time. During the same year the Prophet led his army against Chaibar, a city inhabited by Arab Jews, who offering him a manly resistance, he laid siege to the place and Chai- carried it by storm. A great miracle is here bar, a city of said to have been performed by Ali, surnamed Arab Jews, “ The Lion of God.” A ponderous ?gate, which where he is eight men afterwards tried in vain to lift from • the ground, was torn by him from its hinges, and used as a buckler during the assault! Mahomet, on entering the town, took up his quarters at the house of Hareth, one of the princi- pal inhabitants, and here met with a reception which eventu- ally cost him his life. Zeinab, the daughter of Hareth, while preparing a meal for the conqueror and his attendants, in- serted a quantity of poison into a shoulder of mutton which was served up at the table. Bashar, a companion of Maho- met, had scarcely began to eat of it, before he was seized with convulsions, and died upon the spot. Mahomet, by spitting out the greatest part of what he had taken into his mouth, es- caped immediate death, but the effects of the fatal drug had entered his system, and, resisting every effort of medicine to expel or counteract it, in somewhat more than three years af- terward it brought him to his end. If, as the reporters of Mahomet’s miracles affirm, the shoulder of mutton informed the Prophet of its being poisoned, it is certain the intelligence came too late. The seeds of death were henceforth effectually sown in his constitution ; and his own decline ever after kept pace with his growing power. When Zeinab was asked, now she had dared to perpetrate a deed of such unparalleled enormity, she is said to have answered, “ that she was deter- mined to make trial of his powers as a Prophet: if he were a true Prophet,” said she, “ he would know that the meat was 116 LIFE OF MAHOMET. poisoned ; if not, it would be a favour to the world to rid it of such a tyrant.” It is not agreed among the Mahometan wri- ters what was the punishm.ent inflicted upon this second Jael, or whether she suffered any. Some affirm that she was par- doned ; others, that she was put to death.* In the seventh year of the Hejira, the year stipulated in the before-mentioned treaty, being elapsed, Mahomet and his followers made the Al-Kadha, or his visit of consummation or accomplishment, and pilgrimage of Mecca. At the dis- tance of six miles from that town, they all took an oath to per- form religiously all the ceremonies and rites prescribed in that visit. Being come nearer, they left their arms and bag- gage, and entered the holy city in triumph, devoutly kissed and embraced the black stone of the Caaba, and went seven times round the temple. They performed the three first rounds by running, jumping, and shaking their shoulders, to show their vigour after the fatigue of the journey ; the other four, by walking gravely, not to over-tire themselves, and this custom is kept up to this day. Then prayer was proclaimed, and the prophet, mounted on a camel, ran seven times between two hills, on which were to be seen, at that time, two idols of the Koreish. The Mussulmen were shocked at it ; but their scruples were quieted by a passage of the Koran sent from heaven, in which God declared that those two hills were a memorial of him, and that the pilgrims who should visit them ought not to be looked upon as guilty of any sin. This same custom is still in use amongst the Arabians, who pretend that it is as ancient as their patriarch Ishmael, and look upon it as part of the religious worship practised by Abraham. The whole concluded with a sacrifice of seventy camels, and the Mussulmen shaved themselves. The following year, Mahomet, accusing the Meccans of a violation of the treaty, summoned an army of ten thousand men, with a design to make himself master of the city. As he advanced towards it, he found all in consternation, increased his army with those who daily flocked to him ; and by force, threats, or persuasion, he brought over to his party many proselytes of note, who were likely to procure the conversion of others. Then he attacked the Koreish, not like an apostle, but as a conqueror, and gave the signal, saying, “ This is a day of slaughter, in which, if requisite, the most sacred place of refuge may be violated.” His orders were obeyed ; they entered Mecca sword in hand, and killed all the Koreishites * Bush’s Life of Mahomet. LIFE OF MAHOMET. 117 they could find ; but Mahomet pretended this barbarous exe- cution was made against his intentions. The apostle made his public entry next morning^ at sunrise^ repeating aloud, with an affected humility, the chapter of the Koran called Victory, which came down from heaven at Ho- daiba; he went directly to the Caaba, and without alighting from his camel, devoutly performed the seven rounds, and touched the black stone with his staff; then he dismounted, went in, and pulled down all the statues, amongst others, that of Ibrahim or Abraham, in the hands of which were the arrows or rods used by Arabian idolaters in their divinations by casting lots. On entering, he often repeated the words, God is great, &c. ; and turning to every side of the temple, he said prayers with various inclinations of the body, and fixed the Kehla ; the 3G0 idols which were round the Caaba, and that which was on the top, underwent, according to Arabian writer.s, the same fate in a wonderful manner ; Mahomet only touched them with his cane, saying. Truth is come, let false- hood disappear, lying is mere vanity, and doAvn they fell. He then went in and preached in a pulpit, made for that pur- pose, which the Khalifs, who succeeded him, used likewise. The seven rounds were now repeated, after which he went to the well of Zem-Zem, made a stop at Ibrahim’s footstep, drank large draughts of the sacred water, and washed himself ; the Mussulmen then followed his example. This Avell had been long reputed to have the virtues of restoring health, of strength- ening the memory, and of blotting out sin. ' Mahomet now made a speech to the inhabitants of Mecca, on the favour which God bestowed upon them, by his means,, in freeing them from idolatry ; he also let them know that they were become his slaves, but he restored to them that liberty, which by the right of conquest they had lost. Many wonders and heavenly oracles are said to have ac- companied this ceremony ; the apostle disposed of the several offices of the temple, renewed the oath to the believers, and they mutually took an oath to bind themselves to him. In the tenth year of the Hejira, Mahomet made his famous pilgrimage to Mecca, called the pilgrimage of Valediction. He was attended, on this occasion, by 90,000 men, or, as some say, 114,000, or, as others will ^ have it, a still greater number. Nor is this to ® be wondered at, when it is considered that the people came in vast crowds from all parts of Arabia, of which he was now absolute master, to accompany him in this peregrination. He took all his wives, enclosed in their pavilions on the backs of 118 LIFE OF MAHOMET. camels, with him ; together with an infinite number of camels, intended for victims, which were crowned with garlands and ribands. It is well known, that the pilgrimage to Mecca is looked upon by the Mussuhnen to be of such importance, that whoever is able to undertake it, and does not perform it once, at least, in his lifetime, is reputed an infidel. This custom was complied with long before Mahomet, and the Arabians say it is as an- cient as the patriarchial age. Mahomet had visited the Caaba twice before, as we have related, but in this year he vowed and performed it in a most magnificent manner. During the journey he often said prayers with the usual reverences. He entered the holy city at the same place as when he took it, and the religious ceremonies were the same, in respect to go- ing seven times round the Caaba and kissing the black stone twice. From a neighbouring hill he now pronounced this form of the profession of the unity of God; — God is great ; there is no God hut he only; he has no companion ; the poiver of governing belongs to him ; praise he given to him alone ; he is powerful above all ; he only is strong. The sun being nearly setting, he instructed the people, and taught them the rites to be observed in the pilgrimage, and stood till the close of the day. He then said vespers, or evening prayers, lay on the ground, slept till the break of day, and said morning prayers a few minutes before the rising of the sun. He now ran through the valley of Mohasser to that of Mina, in which are pebble stones ; he took up seven of them, and threw them one by one against Satan, repeating each time the said form of unity. At the place of sacrifice he made a discourse, to let the people know the ceremonies of it. Fie then killed with his own hands, and offered sixty-three camels ; that is, as many as he was years old. Ali killed thirty-seven to make up the hundred. Then these words, which are the ratification of the Koran, Avere heard from heaven: — Wo he this day to those who have denied your religion. I have this day brought it to its perfection, and have fulfilled my grace upon you. It is my good will and pleasure, that Islamism be henceforth your re- ligion. The Mussuhnen doctors say, that the word religion comprehends all the decisions, statutes, and precepts of the law^; and that, since that time, no positive nor negative com- mand has come down from heaven. This being completed, Mahomet shaved his head, the right side first, then the left, threw away the hair, of which Khaled, one of his officers, tied part to his turban, and w'as powerfully helped by this precious relic in nil the battles in which he was afterwards LIFE OF MAHOMET, 119 engaged. The whole concluded with a holy repast, in which they ate what remained of the sacrificed camels ; the prophet then said a prajmr, drank some Zem-Zem water, and once more made the seven rounds. Within a mile of Mecca is mount Araa, a place much respected by the Mussulmen ; be- cause, according to their tradition, Adam and Eve, after their sin, were condemned to a separation for one hundred and twenty years, which having ex])ired, they met by God’s ap- pointment on the top of this hill, and complied with the so long interrupted conjugal duty. In memory of which, the place is dedicated to penance and retirement ; of both which duties Mahomet acquitted himself, prayed for his own sins, and for those of his followers, and recommended the same acts of devotion in the Koran. We are now come to the last period of Mahomet’s life ; the last embassy he received was from the Arabians of Yemen, in the month of Moharram, the eleventh year of the Hejira; and the last expedition which he ordered, was in the following month of Safar. Two days after he fell into a sickness, accompanied by a most violent pain in the head ; these were occasioned by the poison which he had taken, three years before, at Chaibar ; and which poison, at certain intervals, had greatly disordered him, ever since the reduction of that place. Having now called his wives together, he entertained them, chiefly the mo.st beloved of them, and his daughter Fatima, with such dis- courses as showed his fanatical enthusiasm, or which were the result of the senseless fancies of a brain distempered by the violence of the fever. But to be able to speak more sensibly to his followers, he ordered seven large skins, or measures full of cold water, to be thrown upon him, in order to recall his wandering spirits. Then, being carried to the mosque and set in the pulpit, he recited aloud the before-mentioned form of unity ; begged God’s pardon ; proffered to make a public reparation for all the injuries he might have done to any body ; and actually paid to a particular person the princi- pal and interest of a small sum of money which he pretended was due to him ; saying at the same time. It is much more easy to bear shame in this icorld than in the next. He then said the prayers for noon ; and likewise prayed for the dead, according to the agreement and communion lohich subsist be- tween the living and the dead. These and other devout ac- tions he performed as long as he had any strength left. We shall only mention the Mahometan fables concerning Gabriel’s being often sent by God to inquire how the prophet did, his introduction of Azrael, the angel of death, to the 120 LIFE OF MAHOMET. apostle just before his dissolution, having first obtained his leave, and the pious discourses of all three. Gabriel assured him he could not take his life without his express permission : nay, he gave him, as they tell us, his option of life or death ; which the Moslem doctors look upon as one of the most sin- gular and illustrious prerogatives of the prophet. Whereupon Mahomet, continue these authors, having chosen death, and desired the aforesaid angel, Azrael, to execute his office, he was immediately thrown into agonies, that terminated with his life. Thus Mahomet died at noon, on a Monday, the twelfth of the month, called Rabbi the First, in the eleventh year of the Hejira ; being about sixty-three years old. His- torians take notice that he was born on a Monday ; began his apostolical functions on a Monday; fled from Mecca on a Mon- day ; made his entry into Medina on a Monday ; took Mecca on a Monday ; and at last died on a Monday. His death was thought so extraordinary, that it was called an assumption. Some said, He is not dead, he is only taken up into heaven, like Jesus in an ecstacy. Others said. He is gone to his Lord, as Moses, icho left his people for forty days and came again. I'heir disputes ran high respecting his death ; but Abu-Beker, who succeeded him, put an end to those quarrels by giving a final sentence, that Mahomet was dead, like all other apostles and prophets who had gone before him. This decision being unanimously received, his body was washed and perfumed, especially those parts which touched the ground at the adoration paid to God, viz. the feet, the hands, the knees, and the forehead. The ablution called Wodhu, was also per- formed on the face, the arms, the palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. Lastly, the whole body was embalmed by Ali, whom Mahomet had ordered to do it ; and those who helped him were hoodwinked, because the prophet had foretold that blindness would be the fate of any other person, who should see him naked. Strange wonders and sweet odours accompanied this ceremony ; at least so say the Mussulmen writers. Ali dipped some cloths in the water, with which he had been washed; they imbibed the virtues of it, and Ali, who kept them and wore them, became a partaker of those virtues. Prayers were now said for him and his family by all the faithful in order. Gagnier asserts, that his body was not hung up in an iron chest, as is generally reported. In relation to the place where the prophet’s remains were to be deposited, there happened some disputes among his follow- ers. The Mohajerins insisted upon his being buried at Mecca, the place of his nativity ; and the Ansars, at Medina, LIFE OF MAHOMET. 121 the place of his residence during the last ten years of his life. Others were for transporting him to Jerusalem, and erecting a monument for him there amongst the sepulchres of the pro- phets. But his successor, Abu-Beker, decided the whole affair at once, by declaring that a prophet ought to be interred in the place where he died ; and that he had heard Mahomet, in his lifetime, own himself to be of this opinion. Whereupon the body was buried in a grave dug under the bed on which he died, in the apartment of Ayesha, his best beloved wife, at Medina, where it remains to this day, in a magnificent build- ing, covered with a cupola, and adjoining to the east side of the great temple, which is built in the midst of the city. The sorrow and doleful complaints of the Mussulmen on this occasion were no doubt very great ; but we shall omit the enthusiastic description of them given by Arabian histo- rians, to give the true character of this prophet. As to his person and outward appearance, he was of a middle stature, neither endowed with extraordinary beauty, nor in any way deformed. The Arabians, indeed, assert, that the prophetic light, which descended lineally from Adam to him, made his face as bright as the sun. Nor must we omit what they say of his spittle, viz. that it was so sweet, and of so good a taste, that children might have been fed with it. A wen which he had between his shoulders, and which disappeared at his death, was, they say, the seal of yrojohecy ; to which they add, that flies and other insects were never troublesome to him, and that, consequently, his skin was always soft and shining. Those authors are likewise as extravagant in their description of his mind. We may easily believe, however, that he was far more ingenious than others of his countrymen, upon whom he prevailed by his subtle devices, natural eloquence, and re- markable affability: the latter quality was, however, some- times assumed, not without a mixture of severity. He affected likewise to be thought a great lover of justice and truth. He was so liberal to the poor as to be called their father, never refused to give alms to them, and maintained constantly forty at his own charge. It is said, too, that though he was master of an immense estate, yet he often had nothing left but what was absolutely necessary for the support of his family. He was very sparing in his diet, and ate only some dates, and drank nothing but water for several months of the year. The Arabians, likewise, say of him, that he took his meals stand- ing, or in an uneasy situation, with his servant; made his own shoes, his clothes ; swept the house, and even prepared the victuals for his men ! So far the austerity of his life seemed 11 122 LIFE OF MAHOMET. to imitate the severity of the anchorets and solitaries of Egypt, and the neighbourhood of Arabia. This mortification was no doubt practised in order to dazzle the common people, and inspire them with the highest opinion of, and veneration for, his sanctity. But with all these hardships, he indulged himself in a seraglio of twenty-one, and even twenty-five wives; women, it seems, to use his own expression, rejoiced his sight, and raised his fervour at his frayers. Five of his wives died before him ; from six he was divorced, and ten remained in a state of widowhood after the prophet’s death. Mahomet had four sons and four daughters by his first wife, and none by any of his other wives or concubines, except Mary, the Copt. All his sons died in their infancy. Such was the life, such the death, and such the character of Ma- homet. That the desire of satisfying his sensuality was one of the principal motives of his undertaking, seems indisputa- bly clear, from the great number of wives and concubines he maintained, as well as from the wicked and unjustifiable me- thods he was obliged to make use of, in order to obtain pos- session of some of them. Before the death of Mahomet, he had become master of all Arabia; had extended his conquest to the borders of the Greek and Persian empires ; had rendered his name formidable to those once mighty kingdoms; had tried his arms against the disciplined troops of the former, and defeated them in a desperate encounter at Muta. His throne was now firmly established ; and an im- pulse given to the Arabian nations, which induced them to invade, and enabled them to conquer, a large portion of the globe. India, Persia, the Greek empire, the whole of Asia Minor, Egypt, Barbary, and Spain, were eventually reduced by their victorious arms. Mahomet himself did not indeed live to see such mighty conquests achieved, but he commen- ced the train which resulted in this wide-spread dominion ; and before his death, had established over the whole of Ara- bia, and some parts of Asia, the religion which he had devised. Mahometan conquests. RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. 123 CHAPTER II. RELIGIOUS TENETS CEREMONIES, AND CUSTOMS OF THE MAHOMETANS. All Mussulmen look upon the pilgrimage to pilgrimage the tomb of Mahomet, as one of the chief duties to the tomb of of their religion. The Arabian doctors say that Mahomet. Mahomet enjoined it, and it is well known that superstition lays a great stress on such ceremonies. Whoever undertakes to perform it, must often, even upon the road, turn himself to- wards Medina to pray; as soon as he sees the tops of the trees about the town, he ought to renew his devotion, and re- peat without intermission the appointed form of prayers, to beg of God that this visit to the holy sanctuary of the yrophet may be acceptable, and may deliver him from hell. Before he en- ters the city, he is enjoined to wash himself, to use perfumes, put on his best apparel, and to give alms. Having entered, he says a prayer, and another when he comes into the mosque ; this latter is for Mahomet and his family. The pilgrim then goes towards the tomb, stays some time at the place where the Prophet prayed, and also at some other places, accordingly as his devotion suggests to him. Being at last arrived near the holy place, he first prostrates himself on the ground, pays his adoration to God, gives him thanks for having conducted him safely thither; then standing up, with his face turned towards Mecca, he prays for the prophet and his two successors, Abu- Beker and Omar ; he does not, whilst praying, even lean against the wall which encloses the monument, as that would be considered indecent, and a profanation. Gagnier says, that “ The pilgrim looks on the ground, and there fixing his eyes, salutes the Prophet, with the utmost veneration and re- spect ; at the same time withdrawing his thoughts and affec- tions from all worldly concerns, as becomes one who is in the presence of God and his apostle,” &c. On the Friday follow- ing, he goes to a burying-ground, called Al-Baki, where seve- ral of the companions of Mahomet lie interred, and visits the tombs of the chief ladies and others of his family, servants, and successors ; as well as of Fatima, his daughter, Ibrahim, his son, and the Mussulmen martyrs, &c. Then, he washes him- self in, and drinks some of the water of the well called Am, into which the prophet had spitten ; and performs several prostrations at other mosques, oratories, and wells in Medina^ \2i RELIGIOUS TEKETS, &Cs &c. Mahomet himself said, that one grayer in his own mosque is better than a thousand any where else ; and that he would intercede for all those who die at Medina. The Caaba is a stone edifice in the temple of Mecca, which has been revered with superior sanctity by the Arabians, The Caaba frowi the remotest antiquity ; and to which eve- or Temple of ry Mahometan is required by the Koran to di- Mecca. rect himself in prayer. Among the variety of fabulous traditions which have been propagated by the followers of Mahomet, concerning the origin of this building, we find it asserted, that its existence is coeval with our first parents, and that it was built by Adam, after his expulsion from Paradise, from a representation of the celestial temple, which the Almighty let down from heaven in curtains of light, and placed in Mecca, perpendicular under the ori- ginal. To this the patriarch was commanded to turn his face when he prayed, and to compass it by way of devotion, as the angels did the heavenly one. After the destruction of this temple by the deluge, it was rebuilt by Abraham and his son Ishmael on the same spot, and after the same model, accord- ing to directions, which they received by revelation ; and since that time, it has continued to be the object of veneration to Ish- mael’s descendants. Whatever discredit we may give to these, and other ravings of the Moslem impostor concerning the Caaba, its high antiquity cannot be disputed ; and the most probable account is, that it was built and used for religious purposes, by some of the early patriarchs ; and after the in- troduction of idols, it came to be appropriated to the reception of the Pagan divinities. Diodorus Siculus, in his description of the coast of the Red Sea, mentions this temple as being, in his time, held in great veneration by all the Arabians ; and Pocoke informs us, that the linen or silken veil, with which it is covered, was first offered by a pious king of the Hamyar- ites, seven hundred years before the time of Mahomet. It had been frequently repaired, and was rebuilt a few years after the birth of this prophet, by the tribe of Koreish, who had acquired the possession of it either by fraud or violence from the Khozaites. The Caaba then contained three hundred and sixty images of men, lions, eagles, &c., the objects of idolatrous worship, which were all destroyed by Mahomet, after the ta- king of Mecca, when it was purified and adorned, and conse- crated to the service of Islam. It received several reparations after his death, and was rebuilt by one of his successors, with some alterations, in the form in which it now stands. As no European is permitted to visit Mecca, the only OF THE MAHOMETANS. 125 knowledge we have of the present appearance of the Caaba, is derived from the description and draughts of the Mahometans, who indeed speak of it in terms of high admiration. It would appear, however, even from their designs, that it is an awk- ward and shapeless building. It consists of a sort of square tower, 24 cubits by 23, and 27 high, covered on the top with rich black damask, bordered with an embroidery of gold, which was formerly renewed every year by tlie Mahometan Caliphs, afterwards by the Sultans of Egypt, and which is now annually provided by the Ottoman Porte. The floor is raised six feet from the ground; and a door and window admit the light. Its double roof is supported by three octa- gonal pillars of aloes wood, between which are suspended several silver lamps ; and the gutters on the top are made of pure gold. At a small distance from this tower, on the east side, is the station of Abraham, where is a stone upon which the patriarch is supposed to have stood when he built the Caaba, and which, they pretend, still bears the traces of his footsteps. It is inclosed in an iron chest ; and here the sect of Al Shafei meet for religious purposes. On the north of the Caaba is the white stone within a semicircular enclosure, 50 cubits long, which is said to be the sepulchre of Ishmael, and which receives the rain-water that falls from the Caaba by a golden spout. This stone is of considerable antiquity, and was even held in great veneration by the Pagan Arabs. To- wards the southeast is the well Zem Zem, remarkable for the excellence and medicinal quality of its waters, as well as its miraculous origin. It is affirmed to be the same spring which, miraculously bursting out of the ground, supplied Ishmael and his mother Hagar, when overcome with thirst in the wilder- ness of Beersheba ; and is celebrated by the Mahometans not only for curing many bodily diseases, W also, if taken copi- ously, for healing all spiritual disorders, and procuring an ab- solute remission of sins. The well is protected by a dome or cupola, and its water is drank with much devotion by the pilgrims, and conveyed in bottles to the most distant quarters of the Mahometan dominions. But the most singular relic, and which is regarded with extreme veneration, is the famous black stone, which the Mahometans pretend was one of the J )recious stones of Paradise, and was brought down from leaven by the angel Gabriel. According to the received tra- dition, derived from Mahomet himself, it was originally of such a bright white colour as to dazzle the eyes at the dis- tance of four days journey, but that it wept so long and so abundantly for the sins of mankind, that it became at length 126 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. opaque, and at last absolutely black. When the Carmathians took Mecca, they pillaged the Caaba, and carried off the black stone in triumph to their capital. The Meccans made every effort to recover it, both by entreaties and the offer of 5000 pieces of g'old, but without effect. The Carmathians, however, after having kept it 22 years, sent it back of their own accord. It is now set in silver, and fixed in the south east corner of the Caaba, looking towards Basra, about three feet and a half from the ground. It is called by the Mahometans “ the right hand of God,” and is kissed by the pilgrims with great devotion. The Caaba is almost surrounded with a circular enclosure of pillars, connected at the top by bars of silver, and towards the bottom by a low balustrade. Without this enclosure, on the south, north, and west, are three oratories, where three of the Mahometan sects assemble to perform their devotion. The whole is enclosed at a considerable distance by a square colon- nade, or great piazza, covered with small cupolas, and consist- ing of 448 pillars, from which hang numerous lamps, and 38 gates; and from each corner rises a minaret or steeple, adorned with a gilded spire and crescent. This enclosure was built by the Caliph Omar, to prevent the court of the Caaba from being encroached upon by private buildings. It was at first merely a low wall, but has since been raised by the liberality of succeeding princes to its present magnificent state. The whole structure of the Caaba is in a peculiar manner styled Al Masjad A1 Haram, “ the sacred or inviolable place which appellation, however, is sometimes extended to the whole ter- ritory of Mecca. According to the command of Mahomet, every Mussulman must, once in his life, visit the Caaba, and perform the custo- mary acts of devotion in the sacred places. But could the prophet have foreseen into what distant regions his religion was to be introduced by the arms of his followers, he would soon have perceived the absurdity of such an injunction. Few in comparison with the immense numbers who have embraced the doctrines of Islam, can be supposed able to discharge this duty ; and we may presume, that it is only such as are more than ordinarily devout that are ever induced to visit the Caaba from religious motives. Many pilgrims, however, resort to the city of Mecca, but commercial ideas mingle with those of devotion, and the arcades of the temple are often filled with the richest merchandise from every quarter of the world. This duty may be discharged by proxy, but the pilgrim, in this character, can act only for one person at one time ; and to pre- OF THE MAHOMETANS. 127 vent all imposture, he must carry back with him a certificate from the Imam of Mecca, of his having actually performed all the devotional exercises or ceremonies appointed by the law, in the name of his principal.* In connexion with the foregoing account of the temple of Mecca, we shall here give an account of the pilgrimage to Mecca, which, as stated above, Mahomet enjoin- . ed upon all his foithful followers to perform at least once in his life. As soon as the devotees arrive at the consecrated district of Mecca, they perform a general ablution with water and sand ; repeat a prayer, after stripping off their garments ; and put on the sacred habit of colourless woollen cloth, with sandals, which only defend the soles of their feet. They are now devoted to spiritual medi- tation, and must not even remove any vermin from their bodies. After reaching the city of Mecca, they encircle the Caaba se- ven times, like their pagan predecessors ; repeat certain prayers ; drink copiously of the well Zem Zem; and kiss with all their ardour the sacred black stone. On the first and second of the three days, (the period for which the Caaba is open every six weeks,) the men and women offer their devotions alternately; and on the last day the sheriff of Mecca, the chiefs of the tribes, and the illustrious strangers present in the city, proceed to wash and sweep the temple. The foul water is caught and drunk by the multitude; the besoms of palm-leaves are trea- sured up as precious relics ; and the black cloth which sur- rounds the door and bottom of the building, is cut off and di- vided among the pilgrims. The next part of the duty is to visit the mountain of Arafal, for the offering up of various prayers at certain times and places ; and thence to Mina, where every individual must cast a few small stones (always an uneven number) at the devil’s house there, to show their detestation of the owner. A sacrifice is finally made of a goat, camel, or cow, in commemoration of Abraham’s willing- ness to offer up his son ; and after spending three days in this valley, the pilgrims return to Mecca previous to their depart- ure to their respective countries. As they are all allowed to trade on this pilgrimage, the holy city is crowded, on these occasions, with such merchandise of every country as is most easy of carriage, and best adapted for sale ; and, in former times, the fair of Mecca was accounted the greatest on the face of the earth. The word Koran comes from the Hebrew word cara^ to New Edinburgh Encyp, Art. Caaba. 128 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. read ; Al signifies the, and koran, reading ; so the Jews call ^ the Bible Micra. Other Arabian doctors say it Korun'^ derived from caara, to gather ; because having been given by portions, it was afterwards put into one. The Mahometans have as great a veneration for the Koran as Christians profess for the Bible. Both these words equally signify the Book, by way of preference to any other; that is, the Book of Books. One hundred and fourteen chapters, some longer, some shorter, make up the whole book ; these are called b)’’ the French surates, from the Arabic word sua, in the plural, sowar, which signifies order, or a series, or a file; and answers to what the Jews call seder, of which they reckon fifty-three in the Pentateuch. Each chapter of the Koran has a particular denomination, taken from the subject of which it treats, or from some person mentioned in it ; but more frequently from the first word, which those who have put it in order, have thought worthy of notice, though it occurs sometimes only toward the end of the chapter. The Koran is also divided into sixty equal parts, each of which is sub-divided into four, in imitation of the Jews. “ These sixty portions,” says Herbelot, “ are a kind of public service performed in the mosques, on various occasions, by persons hired for that purpose.” The Mussulmen know no bounds to the praises which they bestOAV upon this book : — it is written rvith the greatest elegance of style, in the purest Arabic dialect used by the Koreish, but intermixed now and then with other dialects. This was not an effect of neglect, nor of a lazy disposition, but in order to give the discourse a greater and more lively strength of ex- pression, or to make it more harmonious. Indeed, all those who are versed in the Arabic language, unanimously agree, that the Koran cannot be the production of an idle and lazy author. Although it be written in prose, the energy and har- mony of its style must have cost the writer greater labour and industry, and raises the work to the sublime character oi poetry; yet the difficulty of finding out certain witty turns, of- ten interrupts the thread of the discourse, and, consequently, renders it obscure, which has obliged Mahomet not to be con- cise and short, but to use frequent repetitions. His figures are bold in the oriental taste, his expression strong and pithy ; the turn of his phrases, in imitation of the prophets of the Old Testament, is full of interruptions ; and it appears throughout the whole, that all the art and eloquence of which Mahomet was master, have been employed in the most proper places. The OF THE MAHOMETANS. 129 mention of God, and the description of his attributes, are always lofty and majestic: oracles are pronounced with a raised and elevated style, proportioned to the dignity of the subject. In short, the Arabians are so charmed with the beau- ties of the Koran, that in all their writings they endeavour to copy this perfect original ; and without a competent knowledge of this one book, all others become unintelligible. It is a remark of Sir William Jones that the Koran shines with a borrowed light, since most of its beauties are taken from our Scriptures. Of the truth of this remark rpj^g Koran every reader would be satisfied who should com- greatly in- pare the two. He would find for example many debted to the of the historical details of the Christian scripture Christian in the Koran ; such as the creation of the world, ^ the fall of Adam, the deluge, the deliverance of Noah and his family in the ark, the call of Abraham, the stories of Isaac and Ishmael, &c. &c. At the same time he would find these subjects interspersed with extravagant fables, and mon- strous perversions of truth. He would also perceive that the Koran is indebted to the Scriptures for not a few of its senti- ments, but that their very imagery and phraseology have in hundreds of instances been adopted. The following may serve as an example of the correspondence to which we have alluded : — BIBLE. Take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Fa- ther which is in heaven. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders, and signs which God did by him. Thou shalt give life for life, tooth for tooth, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. But their minds were blind- ed: for until this day remain- eth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the KORAN. Make not your alms of none effect, by reproaching or mischief; as he that layeth out what he hath, to appear unto men to give alms. We gave unto Jesus, the son of Mary, manifest sign.s, and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. We have therein command- ed them that they should give life for life, and eye for eye, and nose for nose, and ear for ear, and tooth for tooth, and that wounds should be punish- ed by retaliation. There is of them who hearkeneth unto thee when thou readest the Koran ; but we have cast veils over their 130 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. BIBLE. KORAN. Old Testament. But even un- hearts, that they should not to this day when Moses is read, understand it, and deafness in the veil is upon their heart. their ears. They said therefore unto The infidels say, Unless him, What sign shewest thou some sign be sent down unto then, that we may see and be- him from his Lord, we will lieve thee ? not believe. In the beginning God crea- It is he who hath created ted the heaven and the earth, the heavens and the earth : And God said. Let there be And whenever he sayeth unto light, and there was light. a thing, Be, it is. And when he (Moses) was I have already dwelt among full forty years old, it came in- you to the age of forty years to his heart to visit his bre- before I received it (the Ko- thren, the children of Israel. ran.) Do ye therefore not understand ? And in the latter time of According to thy dream their kingdom, when the trails- shall thy Lord choose thee gressors are come to the full, a and teach thee the interpreta- king of fierce countenance, tion of dark sayings, and understanding dark sen- We taught him the inter- tences, shall stand up. pretation of dark sayings, but the greater part of men do not understand. I will open my mouth in pa- O Lord, thou hast given rabies ; I will utter things me a part of the kingdom, which have been kept secret and hast taught me the inter- from the foundationof the world, pretation of dark sayings. ' And the seventh angel And his will be the king- sounded ; and there were dom on the day whereon the great voices in heaven, saying, trumpet shall be sounded. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. For behold, I created new The day will come when heavens and a new earth. We the earth shall be changed in- look for new heavens and a to another earth, and the hea- new earth. I will cause you vens into other heavens ; and to come up out of your graves, men shall come forth from And every man shall receive their graves to appear before his own reward according to the only, the mighty God. his own labour. That God may reward every soul according to what it shall have deserved. OF THE MAHOMETANS. i31 As to the true origin of the Koran, a difference of opinion has existed among writers. The majority however have agreed in supposing that in the construction of ^ , the Koran, Mahomet was indebted to the assist- ° ^ ance of one or more accomplices. That this opinion prevailed in the time of the prophet is certain, since in the Koran it is said, “ We also know that they say, Verily a certain man teacheth him to compose the Koran.” “ And the unbelievers say, This Koran is no other than a forgery, which he hath contrived : and other people have assisted him therein: but they utter an unjust thing and a falsehood.” But notwithstanding this emphatic denial on the part of the prophet of assistance, writers have still believed that he had aid, especially from a Nestorian monk named Sergius, supposed to be the same person as the Boheira, with whom he became acquainted at an early period of his life at Bosra, in Syria. Still, however, it must be admitted, that there is no certain evidence in the case, and it will probably remain an unsolved problem to the end of time what was the precise ori- gin of this remarkable book, although in respect to its human and uninspired composition there exists not a doubt. The articles of faith which every good Mussulman is bound to believe and receive with Mfihometan an entire assurance are thirteen in number, of which the first and principal is as follows : To believe from the heart, to confess with the tongue, and with a voluntary and steadfast mind to affirm, that there is but one only God, Lord and Governor of the uni- verse, who produced all things from nothing, in ® exist- whom there is neither image nor resemblance, who never begot any person whatsoever, as he himself was begotten by none ; who, as he never was a son, so he never hath been a father. It is this Lord and Sovereign Arbiter of all things whom we Mussulmans are bound to serve and adore ; so that none among us may deviate from this article, but every one must imprint it deeply in his heart ; for it is unquestionable. We must believe from our hearts and confess with our mouths that the Most High God, after having revealed him- self to mankind by his ancient prophets, sent us at length his Elected, the blessed Mahomet, with Prophet Ma- the sacred and divine law, which through his Koifn grace he had created, the which is contained in the venerable Koran, that hath been from him remitted unto us. By this holy law it is that God hath abolished all the preceding ones, and hath withdrawn from their doubts and 132 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. errors all nations and people, in order to guide them to a firm and lasting state of happiness. Wherefore we are obliged -exactly to follow the precepts, rites, and ceremonies thereof, and to abandon every other sect or religion whatsoever, whe- ther instituted before or since this final revelation. By this article we are distinguished and separated from all sorts of idolatry, lying rhapsodies, and false prophecies, and from all those sects, societies, and religions different from ours, which are either erroneous, abrogated, or exaggerated, void of faiUi, and without truth. We must firmly believe and hold as a certainty, that, ex- cept God himself, who always was and always shall be, every thing shall one day be annihilated, and that the and ^^predesd- death shall take to himself the souls of nation. mortals destined to a total and universal extinc- tion,* by the command of God, our powerful Lord and Master, who was able and hath vouchsafed to pro- duce out of nothing, and in fine to set in form this universal world, with all things therein contained, both good and evil, sweet and bitter ; and hath been pleased to appoint two angels, the one on the right, and the other on the left, to register the actions of every one of us, as well the good as the bad, to the end that judicial cognizance may be taken thereof, and sen- tence pronounced thereupon, at the great day of judgment. It is therefore necessary to believe predestination : but it is not permitted to discourse thereof to any whomsoever, till after being perfectly well versed in the study of our written law, viz. the Koran, and of our Sonnah, which is our oral law. Seeing then all things are to have an end, let us do good works, and deport ourselves so that we may live for ever. We must truly and firmly believe and hold as certain and assured, the interrogation of the sepulchre, which will after The interro- death be administered to every one of us by two gation in the angels upon these four important questions ; — 1. Who was our Lord and our God ? 2. Who was our prophet ? 3. Which was our religion ? 4. On what side was our Keblah ?- He who shall be in a condition to make answer, that God was his only Lord, and Mahomet his prophet, shall find a great illumination in his tomb, and shall himself rest in glory. But he who shall not make a proper answer to these questions, shall be involved in darkness until the day of judgment. * Notwithstanding this annihilation, it is taught in the Koran that all intelligent creatures will be reproduced again at the resurrection. Inner Court of the Temple of Mecca, p. 124. OF THE MAHOMETANS. 133 We must heartily believe and hold as certain, that not only shall all things one day perish and be annihilated, viz. angels, men, and devils, hut likewise this shall come to future pass at the end of the world, when the angel dissolution.^^^ Israfil shall blow the trumpet in such sort, that except the sovereign God none of the universal creation shall remain alive immediately after the dreadful noise, which shall cause the mountains to tremble, the earth to sink, and the sea to be changed to the colour of blood. In this total extinction, the last who shall die will be Azarael, the angel of death 5 and the power of the Most Fligh God will be evidently mani- fested. We are obliged cordially to believe, and to hold for certain, that the first before all others whom God shall revive in hea- ven shall be the angel of death ; and that he -yi f • will at that time recall all the souls in general, j-esuri^ctioi^^^ and reunite them to the respective bodies to which each belonged; some of which shall be destined to glory, and others to torment. But, upon earth, the first v/hom God will raise shall be our blessed prophet Mahomet. As for the earth itself, it shall open on all sides, and shall be changed in a moment ; and by God’s command fire shall be kindled in every part thereof, which shall be extended to its utmost extremities. God will then prepare a vast plain, per- fectly level, and of sufficient extent to contain all creatures summoned to give an account of their past conduct. May this solemn, definite, and irrevocable judgment awaken us from our security; for to nothing that hath been created shall favour be showed. Every soul shall be judged there by the same rule, and without exception of persons. We must believe from our hearts, and hold for certain, that there shall be a day of judgment, whereon God shall ordain all nations to appear in a place appointed for this great trial, of sufficient vastness that His . Majesty may there be evident in splendour. It ^ is in this magnificent and spacious station that the universal assembly of all creatures shall be made, about the middle of the day, and in the brightness of noon ; and then it is, that accompanied by his prophet, (Mahomet,) and in the presence of all mankind, God shall with justice and equity judge all the nations of the earth in general, and every person in par- ticular. To this effect, every one of us shall have a book or catalogue of our actions delivered to us ; that of the good in such wise that it shall be received and held in the right hand; that of the wicked, so that it shall be received and held in the 12 134 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. left hand. As to the duration of that day, it shall be as long as the continuance of the present age. This shall be a day of sighs and griefs, a day of tribulation and anguish, when the cup of sorrow and misery must be drunk up, even the very dregs thereof. But this is what shall be particularly ex- perienced by the ungodly and the perverse ; every thing shall present to them ideas of sorrow and affliction. To them every thing shall become aloes and bitterness. They shall not obtain one moment of repose. They shall behold nothing that is agreeable, nor hear one voice that shall delight them i their eyes shall see nothing but the torments of hell ; their ears shall hear nothing but the cries and bowlings of devils; and their terrified imaginations shall represent unto them nothing but spectres and tortures. We are bound to believe, and hold as certain, that our venerable prophet Mahomet shall with success intercede for , his people at the great day of examination. This intercesTSn.^ intercession ; but at the second, God will be entirely relented, and all the faith- ful Mussulmans shall be transported into a state of glory, while not one excuse or supplication in behalf of other na- tions shall be accepted. As to the greatness of pain which those among us are to undergo, who have been offenders by transgressing the precepts of the Koran, it is known to God alone, as there is none but Him who exactly knoweth how long the same is to continue, whether its duration shall be more or less than that of the examination or judgment. But to us it belongeth to shorten its continuance by good works, by our charity, and by all the endeavours we are capable of We must sincerely believe, and hold as a certainty, that we must every one of us give up our accounts before God, con- The future cerning the good and evil we have transacted in compensation this world. All who have been followers of at the last Mahomet shall be before all others summoned judgment. examination, because they it will be who shall bear witness against all other strange nations. It shall come to pass on that day, that God will take away out of the balance of him who has slandered his brother some of the good works, and put them unto that of him who hath been slandered; and if the slanderer is found to have no good works, he will then deduct from the punishment of the slan- dered, to include them in the list of those of the slanderer, insomuch that his great justice will be fully manifest. At least, then, that we may not run the hazard of this terrible com- OF THE MAHOMETANS. las pensation, let us not think of wronging others, or of dimin- ishing their substance, their honour, or their good name. We must believe from the heart, and confess with the mouth, that all our actions, good and bad, shall one day be weighed in the balance, the one against the other, of the Ba- insomuch that those whose good works outweigh lance, and of their bad shall enter into Paradise ; and that, on Purgatory, the contrary, they whose bad works shall outweigh their good, shall be condemned to the flames of hell. And for those whose scales shall be equally poised, because the good they have done is equivalent to the evil, they shall be detained in a station situate in the middle, between paradise and hell, where consideration will be made both of their merits and of their demerits, since besides their being confined in that place, they shall have no punishment inflicted on them, nor shall they enjoy any part of the glory ordained for the beatified righteous. It is true, that all those among that number who are Mussul- mans shall be at length released from their captivity, and shall be introduced into Paradise at the second intercession of our blessed prophet Mahomet, whose great compassion will be signalized by his engaging, in order to our redemption, to supplicate the power and the mercy of the Most High, as well as his justice, already satisfied by the long captivity of the criminals. Wherefore, let us from henceforward weigh our good works, to the end that we may assiduously strive to increase their weight, and that they may have the advantage over the bad. We are obliged to believe from our hearts, and to hold as assured, that all mankind in the world must pass one day over the Sharp-edged Bridge, whose length shall be equal to that of this world, whose breadth shall edged Bridg^ not exceed that of one single thread of a spi- and the una der’s web, and whose height shall be proper- voidable pas- tionable to its extent. The righteous shall pass thereof, over it swifter than a flash of lightning ; but the impious and the ungodly shall not, in as much time as the present age shall endure, be able to surmount the difficulties thereof, and that through the want of good works. For which reason, they shall fall and precipitate themselves into hell-fire, in com- pany with the infidels and blasphemers, with those of little faith and bad conscience, who have done few deeds of charity, because they were void of virtue. There shall be some among the good, notwithstanding, whose passage shall be lighter and swifter than that of many others, who shall therein meet with temptations and obstructions from every precept 136 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. which they shall have ill-observed in this life. Good God ! how dreadful to our sight will this formidable bridge appear ! What virtue, what secret grace from the Most High, shall we not need to be enabled to pass over it? We are to believe, and to hold for a certainty, that God did create a Paradise, which he prepared for the blessed, from Paradise among the number of the faithful, by which aro meant the followers of the true religion, and of our holy prophet Mahomet ; where with him they shall be placed in perpetual light, and in the enjoyment of heavenly delights ; for ever beautiful in the vigour of their age, and brighter than the sun ; and where they shall be found worthy to contemplate and adore the face of the Most High God. As for those who shall be detained in the tortures of hell, to wit, the sinners and transgressors, who have nevertheless believed in one only God, they shall be released at the second inter- cession of the prophet, by whom they shall immediately be washed in the sacred laver, from whence being come forth whiter than snow, and more refulgent than the sun, they shall, with the rest of the blessed, behold themselves seated in para- dise, there to enjoy all the glory they can desire. This is what shall befall the body composed of clay ; and what then shall be the state of our souls ? To the which it shall be granted eternally to behold the light and brightness of the divine majesty. Let us then endeavour to do works of such a character, that we may have no cause to fear hell-fire. Let us, I say, chiefly apply ourselves to good works, let us not re- fuse to exert our utmost strength in the exact observation thereof, and of the fast of our venerable month of Ramadan, and of the prayers and cerem.onies which are ordained ; and let us not defraud the poor of a tenth of all our goods. We must sincerely believe, and hold for certain, that there is a hell prepared for the unrighteous, the refractory trans- Hell gressors of the divine law, accursed of God for their evil works, and for whom it would have been better had they never have been born, and to have never seen the light of day. It is for such as those that a place of torment is appointed, or rather a fire which burneth without touching them, a fire of ice and north winds, where there shall be nothing but snakes and serpents, with other venomous and ravenous creatures, which shall bite them without de- stroying them, and shall cause them to feel grievous pains. That place shall be the abode of the impious and of the devils, where these shall, with all sorts of cruelty and rage, inces- santly torture those ; and lest the sense of their pain should OF TUB MAHOMETANS. 137 cause them to relent, a new skin shall continually succeed in the stead of that which has been burned or mortified. It is for us Mussulmans to conceive and entertain a just horror of this detestable place ; such reflections are the duty of all God’s servants. As for those others who have declared war against our religion, they shall one day feel the torments of hell. Let us all dread this punishment and these frightful terrors. Let us confirm our faith by the sentiments of our hearts, and by the confession of our tongues, and let us engrave it in the bot- tom of our souls. It belongs to this place to give some account Mahometan of the Mahometan Liturgy. The following ab- Liturgy, stract is from the Turkish Catechism. The religion of the Ishlamites contains six chief princi- ples. The first is the confession of the true God, and consists in believing that there is but one true and eternal God, and that Mahomet is his apostle. The second is the regular practice of ablution and purifi- cation. The third is a regular observation of the prayers, as pre- scribed. The fourth is giving alms. The fifth is the fast of the month of Ramadan. The sixth is the pilgrimage of Mecca, from which no Mus- sulman can be dispensed, if able to perform it. As to the purifications which are prescribed, Ablutions, seven different sorts of water may be used in them : viz. rain-water, sea, river, well, spring, snow, and hail- water. There are three sorts of ablutions and purifications. The first, which is called Gasl, is a kind of immersion. The second, named Wodou, concerns particularly the hands and feet. The third is made with earth or gravel, instead of water. Three rules are to be observed in this ablution of the body. First, those who do it must resolve to please God. .... Secondly, all the dirt of the body must be washed ' off. Thirdly, the water must touch the whole skin, and all the hair of the body. The Sonna, which is the Oral Law of the Mahometans, re- quires five things more. First, that the usual form “ In the name of God,” &c. be recited. Second, that we should wash the palms of our hands before the jugs be emptied into the washing place. Third, that before the prayers, some expia- 12 * 138 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. tion lustration should be made with peculiar ceremonies. Fourth, that to take off all dirt, the skin should be rubbed with the hand. Fifth, that all this be continued to the end of the ablution. Purification Six things are to be considered in this kind of called Wo- purification. 1. It must be performed with an in- tention to please God. 2. The whole face is to be washed. 3. The hands and arms up to the elbow. 4. Some parts of the head are to he rubbed. 5. The feet and heels are to be made clean. 6. The ceremonies prescribed must be ex- actly complied with. Besides which, the ten institutions of the Sonna must be followed. 1. The form “ In the name of God,” &c, must be used. 2, The palms of the hands washed before the jugs be emptied into the washing place. 3. The face cleaned. 4. Some of the water drawn up the nostrils, 5. The whole head and ears rubbed. 6. Thick and long beards must he parted, to be better cleaned. 7. The toes washed one after the other, each singly. 8. The right hand and foot to be washed before the left. 9. All these things must be repeated thrice. iO. There must be no intermission in this performance. Purification Four rules are prescribed in this purification, with Earth or 1, It must be performed with an intention to Gravel. please God. 2. The face ought to be well rub- bed. 3. The same is to he done to the hands and arms, and elbows, and to the feet. 4. The said order must be exactly kept. Add to this the precepts of the Sonna. 1. The form in the name of God, &c. must be recited. 2. The right hand must be rubbed before the left, and so of the feet. 3. There must be no intermission in this rite. I. Thirteen rules are prescribed concerning prayers. 1. The intention, 2, The greatness of the names of God. 3. The Prayers form of the unity of God, God is great, <^'C. 4. The right, or straight position of the body ; which is, the feet are close together, the hands raised up to the head, or join- ed and laid upon the breast, or each apart upon the knees, bend- ing the body. The adoration is made with the face to the ground, sitting with their hands upon their thighs, they say, Lord accept of our standing, bending, adoring, and sitting. 5. Reading the first chapter of the Koran, which is as highly Talued by Mussulmen as the Lord’s prayer by Christians. 6. Bowing the body towards the earth. 7. Raising from that first bowing. 8. A second adoration or prostrating with the face to the ground. 9. Sitting down. 10. A second sitting down. 11. OF THE MAHOMETANS. m The second form about Mahomet, the first was about God himself. 12. The words of it, which are to be repeated. 13. The observing punctually each of these in their order. II. The Sonnoj requires four things more. 1. That the people be invited to prayers. 2. That this invitation be re- peated with a form not much different. 3. The first confession about God. 4. The words or form of prayer of that confession. III. Five dispositions are necessary for prayer. 1. The body must be entirely clean. 2. It must be decently clad. 3. In a clean place, so as to contract no uncleanness. 4. At the exact time appointed. 5. Not forgetting the Kebla, which is turned towards Mecca. IV; There are also five sorts of prayers to be said daily. 1. At noon with four inclinations of the body. 2. In the af- ternoon with four also. 3. I»the evening with three. 4. In the night with four. 5. In the morning with two only. In all seventeen for the whole day. Travellers may without sin reduce them to eleven. Some alms are left to the free choice of every individual, others are prescribed by the law. We shall now treat of the latter. I. Alms are given out of five sorts of goods: — 1. Of cattle, camels, oxen, sheep. 2. Of money. 3. Of corn. 4. Of other fruits of the earth. 5. Of goods in trade. II. Six conditions are required in the giver: — 1. He must be a Mussulman, that is, a true believer. 2. A freeman. 3. The lawful possessor of what he is to give away ; for it is an injustice, and not charily, to give what does not belong to us. 4. His patrimony must be increased. As riches increase, alms should increase at two and a half per cent. Those who have not twenty pieces of gold, nor two hundred in silver, nor five camels, nor thirty oxen, nor thirty sheep, are not obliged to give alms. 5. He must have been in possession about a year, at least eleven months, without pawning it. 6. He must not give his working cattle, but one of those which are at grass, b^ecause alms are to be given from that which is not necessary. HI. The same conditions are required for alms of money, corn, other fruits of the earth, &c. ; only about corn and fruits it is to be observed, 1. That they must growfrom our labour, as sowing, &c. 2. They must have been laid up in our store- rooms or barns. 3. There must be a convenient quantity left, so that the giver may not be reduced to want. IV. But we must chiefly take notice, that in the aforesaid alms given Iw those who are easy in their circumstances ; and 140 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &,C. Fasts, in other alms, (if that name can be given to a tax annually levied by a capitation at the end of the fast of Ramadan,) the first and best principle ought to be the intention of giving this or that alms as a debt which we are obliged to pay. The chief first of the Mahometans is that of Ramadan. Af- ter it, is kept the feast of the Great Beirara. The little Bei- ram is kept on the tenth of the month Dilhazja, in memory of Abraham’s sacrifice. I. Three things are required in the person who fasts, to make it acceptable to God. 1, He must be a Mussulman. 2. At an age of ripeness ; fourteen in men, twelve in women. 3. In their right senses. II. The conditions of the fast are five. 1. An intention of the heart to please God. 2. To eat nothing in the day, from sunrise to sunset. 3. To drinlc^othing of any sort. 4. To have no commerce with women, not even by kisses. 5. Not to throw up what has been eaten, which supposes both that the stomach is good, and that no excess is committed, or at least nothing taken which may give a disgust. In performing this devout ceremony, five things are com- manded by Divine institution. 1. The intention and religious . ^ vow of going to Mecca. 2. Spending a day on of Mount Arafat, which is done on the ninth day of the month. 3. Shaving the head in the Val- ley of Mina. They throw seven stones one after the other in the Valley of Mina, after which the men (not the women) of- fer sheep, goats, oxen, or camels, in sacrifice ; then shave and pare their nails. The hair and parings are buried in that valley. 4. To go seven times round the Caaba, 5. To run seven times between Safa and Merva, two holy places, one hundred and eighty cubits distant from each other. At first they walk slow, then run faster between two pillars ; then walk again, looking on all sides as if seeking something lost. This is to represent the anxiety of Hagar, when she endea- voured to find water in the desert for her son Ishmael. All these ceremonies were in use long before Mahomet, who made them an essential part of his religion, both in order to draw in the superstitious inhabitant's, and to make this law seem vene- rable for its antiquity. We shall now enter upon the manners and customs of civil life, or which have some relation to the religion of Mahomet. Precepts, Du- must in the first place take notice, that the ties &c. en- Koran contains some negative precepts, concern- joined by the i^g such things which become evil or scandalous Koran. abuse of them. Such as the forbid- OF THE MAHOMETANS, 141 ding of wine, and other intoxicating liquors, which seems en- forced in several passages of the Koran ; for instance, in the second chapter, in which Mahomet says expressly, “ that the sin committed by drinking wine, is much greater than the ad- vantage reaped from the use of it ; and in the fifth chapter, he reckons wine amongst the “ abominations which are the works of Satan.” Some have pretended that the excess only is for- bidden, but the general opinion is, that it is not lawful to drink any of those liquors, and that whoever drinks even the small- est quantity commits, a sin. Those who have performed the pilgrimage of Mecca are the most scrupulous in this point, and will neither drink any wine nor make it, buy nor sell it, nor the implements to make it, in order to live by the profits of such a traffic. Yet all the Mahometans are not so exact in observing this law ; and when reproached with the breach of it by Christians, they have recourse to recrimination, and up- braid us with our violation of the Gospel precepts. Some Mussulmen have doubted whether coffee be not com- prehended under the general denomination of intoxicating li- quors ; because, they say, it disturbs the imagination of those who use it. It is, however, undoubted, that coffee, though now universally allowed in Mahometan countries, has been here- tofore forbidden, and is now used by mere toleration, not by religious permission ; nevertheless, very few abstain from the use of it. The scrupulous Mahometans are still more averse from tobacco, both because it has the same effect as wine and brandy, and also on account of a pretended prophecy of Ma- homet, that “in the latter days some shall call themselves Mussulmen, without being really such, who will suck in through a pipe, and blow out the smoke of a plant called to- bacco.” This qualification of false brethren could not but render tobacco odious to scrupulous people; yet the constant practice is to introduce coffee and tobacco, without which no entertainment is thought completely polite in the east ; and the Persians in particular say, that tobacco is to coffee, what salt is to meat. The same rigorists condemn also the use of opium, or heng, or treacle, although nothing be more common. The Koran does not mention tobacco, nor opium, nor heng, but as they produce the same effects as wine, they are apt to cause quar- rels, neglect of duty, several irregularities, and shameful dis- orders ; all these reasons prove the necessity of abstaining from all such liquors or drugs. Upon the same account, the Jews, from whom, and from the ancient Arabians, the Magi, and the Christians, Mahomet has borrowed many of his reli- 142 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. gious precepts, did not allow the priests to drink wine wh«i they Avere to officiate in their turn. The second and fifth chapters of the Koran forbid also games of hazard, under the general denomination of Al Mai- Games of ’^^hich strictly means the art of divination by Hazard _for- arrows. We must observe that this kind of witch- bidden. craft is very like Rhahdomancy, that is, the art of divination by rods, and is mentioned in the Prophecy of Ezekiel, chap. 21, verse 26, which is an evident proof that both the Arabians and their neighbours undertook no affair of moment without consulting their arrows. Mahomet forbade all these customs, with an intent, as he said, to take away all superstition ; but others have been substituted for them. The Mahometans were likewise prohibited, under the name of superstition, to remove all occasions of quarrels and cheat- ing, which generally accompany games of hazard. However, in this instance, the civil law enforces the authority of Maho- met and of the Koran, insomuch that games of hazard are in disrepute, and the testimony of those who are addicted to them, is of no force in courts of justice; at least it is pretended, that such witnesses may be rejected. The majority of the Mahometan doctors allow the game of chess, as depending Avholly upon industry and skill ; but they forbid playing too long at it, or for money, or Chess al- laying wagers about it, or at the hours appointed owed. prayer. These restrictions are observed more exactly by the Turks, than by the Persians or Moguls. Some are of opinion, that Mahomet forbids chess under the name of images, because amongst the Arabians, as with us, most of the pieces represent men, elephants, horses, camels, &c. ; others think that Mahomet put that restraint only upon the pawns, which in Turkey are made quite plain. The Ma- hometans, however, generally abstain from gaming more easily than from wine, and chiefly in Persia, where drunken- ness prevails as much as in some European countries. This subject naturally leads us to give an account of the di- versions and exercises used by the Mahometans : but we shall Puppet-shows, only mention those which have some relation to Jugglers, &c. religion, according to the good or bad use made allowed. them, or which even are admitted as a part of their religious ceremonies. Amongst these are puppet-shows, with which the Turks entertain their guests in private after their meals, notwithstanding Mahomet’s prohibition of images. This diversion is publicly exhibited in the Ramadan when the hour of fasting is past; for then they allow themselves as OF THE MAHOMETANS. 143 much sensual pleasure as the Christians do in the Carnival, or the Heathens during the solemnity of their Saturnalia, the two last days of which were spent in puppet-shows. They have also jugglers, quacks, and public dancers of both sexes, called tchinguis ; and although the Turks, Per- sians, and Moguls, look upon dancers by profession as people of loose lives and morals, yet it must be owned, that those disorders are not always the consequence of dancing, and several nations have made use of it in their religious worship. Nothing, therefore, but the abuse has rendered dancing con- temptible amongst the Mahometans, who nevertheless admit it in their religion, as appears by the turnings of their der- vises, which the majority of travellers represent as a solemn act of worship performed every Tuesday and F riday. The superior of these dervises preaches a sermon on some text of the Koran, which is followed by some prayers out of the same book, sung by all of them together ; then, having made a low bow to the superior, they begin to dance, or turn about, whilst some play on the flute, or other instruments. This ceremony was invented by one Mewlana, whom the dervises honour as a great saint ; and we are assured by Ricault, that this man, whom he calls Mevelava, by a miracle, turned fourteen days together without resting or taking any nourishment, whilst another dervise, named Hamze, his companion, played on the flute ; after which he fell into an ecstasy, and received won- derful revelations, and was very instrumental in founding the order of dervises. The flute is, they think, a sacred instru- ment of music, sanctified by Jacob and other holy shepherds of the Old Testament, who made use of it ; yet the rigorists condemn both the dance and instruments of music, as contrary to religion. As to the distinction of meats, we shall only add, that the Koran in several places forbids blood, and the flesh of beasts, which have been either offered to idols, or which have died naturally ; and some Mussulmen are so cautious in that point, that unless the butcher pronounces the prayer BismiWah, or “ In the name of God,” &c. whilst he kills any beast, they do not think it lawful to eat of it. Usury is also condemned in the second chapter of the Koran, and ranked amongst the most enormous sins. Ma- homet does not allow it, as the Jews do, even to- wards infidels. Yet there are some Mussulmen, derrmed^ who are usurers and extortioners, and give what interpretation they think fit, in order to elude the pre- cepts of the Koran, as too many Christians do with respect to 141 RELfGIOUS TENETS, &C. the Gospel. The same chapter which forbids usury, enjoins mercy and forbearance with a debtor who is not able to pay, without depriving himself of the necessary means for the sub- sistence of himself and family ; in which case, Mahomet or- ders his followers not to begin any prosecutions for such debts, but to reckon them as an alms given to the debtor. He may have borrowed this from the law of Moses and of Christ, and the dictates of humanity may also have inspired him to make that law, both to avoid merciless and extortionate law- suits, and to prevent his subjects from being ruined. Thus we see the Romans, who lived before the Gospel, and were but little, if at all, acquainted with the law of Moses, had such an abhorrence of usury, that they obliged usurers to restore four times as much as they had thus unjustly gained ; whereas thieves were only condemned to pay double what they had stolen. Prudence and equity convinced them, that a usurer was more pernicious to society than a thief The same sentiments of humanity, and the common good of society, prompted Mahomet to abolish the barbarous custom of the Koreishites and other Arabians, of biir^dng girls alive; which they pretended was in order to prevent the shame which they might cause to their parents by an evil conduct, and the slavery and miseries to which they were exposed. Moreover, they had no regard for women, but upon account of propagation and pleasure, and looked on their birth as a misfortune, their death a happiness ; therefore, when a woman was in labour, she was led to a grave, and if delivered of a female child, it was thrown in and buried. The ceremony of marriage is in high esteem amongst the Mahometans ; yet it is not celebrated in the presence of the Marriao-c pi’i^sts, nor is it considered an act of religion, ccremonid. with the Jews and Christians, and formerly with the Romans and Grecians. The Cadi, or civil judge, gives it a sanction; “as to an act purely relating to society, which is not valid without his presence. The hus- band acknov/ledges that he has obliged himself to marry such a woman, to give her such a dowry, and to dispose of her at pleasure in case of divorce.” The woman is not present at this acknowledgment ; but the father, or some of the relations, assist at it ; which being done, the husband takes possession of his wife, who is brought to him veiled under a canopy, ac- companied by friends, relations, slaves, and music. Ricault says, that “ wives are not jealous of concubines, if they be not deprived of the right which they claim, and the law gives them, to be admitted once n week to their husbands’ Procession of a Turkish Wedding, p. 145. ■ % • OF THE MAHOMETANS. 145 beds. On failure of this, they may demand it on the Thurs- day night of the following week, and even go to law with their husbands if they do not grant it. If any be so bashbal as to neglect this public way of obtaining justice, they en- deavour to find out some other way of recompensing them- selves for their loss.” The majority of travellers affirm, that the Turks have a kind of half-marriage, called Cabin; wffiich consists in taking a wife for a time limited. This agreement is made before the judge, who, in the presence of the contracting parties, writes it down, and the stipulated sum of money is paid to the wo- man when the time is elapsed. The Mahometans are allowed to make use of their female slaves ; and here we must take notice, first, that Mussulmen may marry women of any religion, the tenets of which are written ; and secondly, that all the children, -whether by wives or slaves, equally inherit their father’s property, if by will or otherwise the father has declared them free; in default of which, the children of a slave still remain slaves to the eldest son of the family. Thevenot says, “ That the Turks never marry their rela- tions, unless they are more distant than eight generations, and that the Mahometan women study to embellish th emselves by all the arts in use amongst our European ladies ; false hair, paint, rich clothes, often to the ruin of their husbands and families. The Koran inveighs strongly against adultery, and orders that a husband, who accuses his wife of that crime, and does not prove it, shall be bastinadoed. When there are no proofs nor witnesses, the husband swears five times, that what he al- leges is true, and to the last oath adds a curse, wie-hinT he may be cursed by God and men if he lies : on the other side, the woman is believed, if she also swears five times, and adds to the last oath a prayer, desiring God to destroy her, if her husband speaks truth. However, if the adultery be fully proved, the husband has her life in his power, and if revenge- ful, puts her in a sack full of stones, and drowns her. iJut then, Tournefort adds, that “they arc so cautious in their amours, that few die in the water ; and if the husband spares their lives, they are happier than before, because she is obliged to marry her gallant, who, if a Christian, must em- brace Mahometanism or die.” As to the adulterer, he is often condemned to ride an ass, with his face towards the tail, v/hich he holds as a bridle. He is crowned with tripe and guts, and has a neckcloth of the same, and at last is bastinadoed uporx the reins and the soles of ins feet 13 146 RELIGIOUS TENETS, 6cC. We must not omit the curious particularities related by Ricault, when the princesses of the Ottoman empire are mar- ried to some great and powerful man ; this pretended honour is the effect of the jealousy which the emperors of Turkey conceive of their power, and is generally the forerunner of their ruin, “ When the Grand Seignior is apprehensive of the great power of a bashaw, he makes him marry one of his sisters, or relations, under pretence of conferring upon him a greater honour ; but instead of being greater, he becomes the most abject slave to the pride and tyranny of a woman, who treats him like a footman : yet he dares not refuse, nor seem to undervalue this token of his master’s favour : he must re- solve to devote himself wholly to her, and renounce all his other wives or slaves, who might lay claim to any part of his love : if he has already an amiable wife, and children by her, who engages his most tender affection, he is obliged to turn her out of his house, and also every other person, who might be displeasing to this Sultana, although unknown to him. If, before the wedding, she sends to ask of him money, jewels, or rich furs, he must send them to her with an expression of pleasure and thanks; this is called Aghirlic. He is moreover obliged to settle upon her what dowry the match-makers are pleased to appoint. This dowry or cabin being stipulated before a judge, he is led by a black eunuch to the Sultana’s chamber, to give her thanks. When he enters the room, she draws her dagger, and haughtily demands, who made him so bold as to approach her ? He answers with a profound re- spect, and shows to her the Emmery Padschah, or the Grand Seignior’s order for the wedding. She dien rises, receives him with mildness, and allows him to entertain her with more -familiarity ; then a eunuch takes his slippers, and places them at the door, as a token of his meeting with a kind reception. A fev/ minutes after, the Bashaw makes a low bow down to the ground, and drawing back, makes a speech, to testify how happy he thinks himself for the honour she intends to confer upon him. This being over, he stands silent in a humble posture, with his hands across his breast, till she orders him to bring her some water. He obeys readily, and kneeling, presents to her a water- cup prepared for that ceremony: she raises a red veil embroider- ed with gold and silver flowers, which covered her face, a.nd drinks : her wnmen immediately bring in a low table on which are set two roasted pigeons, and some candied sugar on a plate, or a plate of sweetmeats. The gallant desires her to eat, which she refuses till he has made her some rich present. This calms her anger, overcomes her modc'Sty ; she sits down OF THE MAHOMETANSi. 147 to the table, graciously receives from his hand the leg of a pigeon, and having eaten some, puts into his mouth a piece of sugar, then rises, and goes back to her place : all the com- pany withdraw, and leave the newly married couple alone for the space of an hour, that he may freely converse with her. Then his friends come with instruments of music playing ; they invite him to come to the ante-chamber, where he spends the night with them in drinking and diversion : the Sultana does the same in her room with her ladies. At last, the princess being tired, goes at break of day to lie down in a bed exqui- sitely rich, well perfumed, and every way fit for the ceremony. A eunuch gives notice to her husband by a sign, and intro- duces him without noise into the bed-chamber. He puts olT his upper garments, kneels for some time at the feet of the bed, then growing bolder, raises softly the covering, softly touches and kisses the feet of the princess, and slides into her arms. In the morning, his friends come again to conduct him to the bath, and his spouse presents him with all the linen requisite in that place. After this, they live more familiarly within doors ; but in public, she is more reserved, and shows her superiority. She wears a changiar or dagger by her side, and requires of him so many presents, that sooner or later she empties his coffers.” Mahomet, in order to hinder his followers from putting their wives away too often, expressly forbids the taking of them again, after a third repudiation, unless they have divorces, been married and repudiated by another man. This, they say, has had so good an effect, that very few Ma- hometans are divorced from their wives, and the number pf those who take them again is still less. The third divorce is called Ouch-talox; which Bespier ex- plains three, or the third separation ; of which the Turks have three different sorts made before the Cadi, and registered by him. By the first, the husband and wife are parted from bed and board ; she receiving from him a maintenance. The se- cond is a total separation of body and goods ; the husband must then give her the stipulated dowry ; after which, she has no claim to his person nor goods, and may marry another, three lunar months after the divorce, for fear she should be with child ; in which case, she cannot marry, and may even remain in her husband’s house, and be maintained at his cost till she be delivered. The Omh-talac is the most solemn divorce, but not practised by the Persians. < The women do not enjoy the sume privilege of parting with their husbands, unless for want of necessaries, as rice, cofTeo, RELIGIOUS TENETS, &ti ua wood, money to go to the bagnio, flax to spin their clothes, which the law supposes they are industrious enough to make. Children come next under our consideration, as being the fruits of matrimony. They become members of Mahomet- anism by circumcision, which they derive from the Ishmael- ites, who, as well as the Jews, are descended from Abraham, to whom God gave a particular command for the performance of it. The Turks do not circumcise their children till they are full seven years old, and when they are beyond that age, they do it when they think fit. Chardin assures us, that the Persians perform this ceremony when the boys are five or six years old ; but the Mahometan doctors say, it should be done accord- ing to the rules, at thirteen, because Ishmael was circumcised at that age ; or at nine, because children begin then to dis- cern good from evil. However, this is not performed in the same manner as by the Jews ; it is done by a surgeon, not by a priest : God ordained it as a sign or seal of the justice ob- tained by faith. The day of circumcision is a day of joy for all the relations of the child. He is carried on horseback, with kettle-drums and tabors sounding, dressed in his best attire, followed by his school companions, who pronounce aloud some passages of the Koran. Being brought home, he is directed to repeat the profession of faith, “ There is no other God but God,” &c., holding up one finger, and then he is circumcised. When a grown-up person embraces Mahometanism, he is led on horseback, carrying in his left hand a dart, with the point turned towards his heart, to testify that he will rather suffer himself to be pierced through the heart, than renounce his new religion ; but Tournefort says, they only make their new converts lift up a finger, probably out of contempt for those persons who leave the religion in which they were brought up. Boys have a name given them on the day of their circum- cision, but this custom is also subject to some variations. Tournefort says, the father gives what name he pleases to his child as soon as it is born, holding him in his arms, and lifting him up to offer it to God ; after which, he puts salt into his mouth, and gives him a name with a blessing. Superstition creeps in ; for in Persia, several names taken out of the Koran are huddled together, one of which, drawn by an infant, is given to the child. Some Mahometans do not look upon circumcision as an in- dispensable act of religion, nor is it necessary to salvation; OF THE MAHOMETAN^ 149 whilst others think that this ceremony confers inward faith, and that God will not hear the prayers of an uncircumcised man, Some Mussulmen are of opinion that the circumcision of the father has an influence on his children, and that it con- tributes to their salvation. We shall conclude this subject with a few remarks on tho birth and education of children. When the children of princes and great lords arc born, the moment of their birth is kept very secret, in order to avoid all charms and witchcraft, and to prevent astrologers from casting their nativity, and foretell- ing sinister events. The Mahometans, like other nations, ad- mit of adopted children ; and it is very common amongst tho Turks. The manner of doing it, is to make the adopted per- son put on, and go through the shirt of the person who adopts him. This adoption is called Akhrat. Next to the chief points of religion, beauty and strength of body arc in the greatest estimation with Mussulmen, who are persuaded a de- formed body can but cover a base soul. The Indians even pretend that such bodies are prisons, into which souls are cast for great crimes committed in a former life. The mourning for the dead begins with such loud cries and lamentations made by the women, that the death soon becomes published to the most distant neighbours. The custom of making loud cries and noisy lamenta- i-cmonfcT lions for departed friends, of rolling in the dust, or covering one’s self with ashes, &c. is very ancient in the east ; nor is it much altered amongst the modern inhabitants of those countries. Thevenot informs us, that these Turkish women give over crying when there are no witnesses of their tears, being hired for that purpose, which lasts several days, and is renewed at the end of the year. Previously to the burial, the corpse is washed and shaved, frankincense is burnt about it, to expel the devil and other evil spirits, which, as the Mahometans and several other nations believe, rove about the dead, no less than about the living. This ceremony being over, the body is put into a burial-dress without a seam, that it may, as they pretend, kneel with less difficulty, when it is to be examined in the grave. The coffin is covered with a pall, preceded by imans, who pray, and followed by the relations and friends of tho deceased, with the women who lament and shed tears. At the grave the corpse is taken out of the coffin, and put into the ground. The women stay there to cry. The diflerence betwixt the graves of the Turks and of the Christians in those countries, consists in a board, which tho 13 * 160 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. Turks put over the corpse slanting, so that one end of it touches the bottom of tlie grave, and the other leans against the top of the grave. But neither the Turks nor the Christians of the east bury their dead in coffins. Moreover, the Turks place a stone at the head of the corpse, for the convenience of the an- gels who are to examine the deceased. This civility which is paid to them will, as the Mahometans superstitiously be- lieve, make them more indulgent. The palls are different, and the tombs variously adorned, according to the condition and state of life of the deceased, sol- diers or churchmen, rich or poor. The burying-places of the Mahometans are by the high-road, “ in order,” as Thevenot says, “ to put travellers in mind to offer their prayers to God for the dead, and to obtain his blessing.” For which reason, those who build a bridge, or some other public fabric, from an act of charity, are likewise buried in or near them. The large stones which are erected in the church-yards are so numerous, that a town might be built with them. After the funeral, the relations and friends of the deceased come several days suc- cessively to pray on his tomb, beseeching God to rescue him from the torments inflicted by the black angels ; and calling the deceased by his name, they say to him. Fear not, but answer them bravely. On the Friday following, victuals and drink are brought to the grave, of which, whoever passes by may freely partake.” Iffie Persian Mahometans have a strange notion, that the angel who presides at the birth of children, mixes some earth with the matter of which they are made, and introduces it into the mother’s womb, at the instant of the conception ; whence they conclude, that every one must endeavour to die in the same place from which the angel took that earth. They have a more rational custom grounded on principles of humanity, which is, that whoever meets a funeral must accompany the corpse, and even help to carry it, if their help be wanted. The same Persians have retained in their mournings the old ceremony of tearing their clothes to testify their grief ; and what is much more commendable, they give alms during seven days. But, for the satisfaction of our readers, we shall present them with an abstract of the account, which Chardin gives of the customs of the Persian Mahometans, from the death of the sick person, to the end of the mourning for him. “ At the first signs of an approaching death, small lamps are lighted on the terrace or flat roof of the house ; this puts the neighbours and passengers in mind to pray for the sick person. Mollas, or priests, are sent for | they preach repent- OF THE MAHOMETANS. 151 ance to him, mentioning all the sins of which he may have been guilty. He answers tube, that is, I repent, to each sin that is mentioned ; and when he has lost his speech, the Ko- ran is read by his bed-side, till he gives up the ghost. This is soon notified to the whole neighbourhood by excessive out- cries and lamentations. The relations and other friends rend their clothes from the neck to the girdle, tear off their hair, scratch their faces, strike their breasts, and manifest every sign of sorrow and despair ; but the women exceed all bounds of moderation in their grief, not without a mixture of long complaints, tender and moving speeches, addressed to the de- ceased. “ The cazy or judge, is now acquainted with the death. They inform his porter. Such a one is dead ; he answers, May your head be sound; and then goes to the judge to get from him a sealed piece of paper, by which he gives permis- sion to have the body washed. The permission costs nothing, but the porter who delivers it has some perquisite, greater or smaller according to the rank and abilities of those who desire it. This paper is carried to the mordichour, or body-washer, which is an office, he alone, or those whom he appoints, can perform, in order that the number of the dead may be known, and the particular distemper of which they died. The said mordichour sends men to wash the corpses of men, and women to wash the corpses of women. Iffie washer takes off the clothes from the corpse, they being his perquisites, for no one can touch a dead person without being defiled, and he carries it to the washing-place. There are such places in every town, situated in a retired and covered part of it. Ispa- han, for instance, being divided into two parts, has two mordi- chours ; and amongst other washing-places, there is a very large one in a back court of the old Mosque, twenty steps un- der ground. This is done only to the poor, for the rich are washed at home in a basin covered with a tent, lest any one should see the corpse. When it is washed, all the openings are stopped up closely with cotton, to keep in the foul humours, which might defile it. “ This being over, the body is put into a new linen cloth, on which, those who can afford it, cause some passages of their holy books to be written. Some contain the Youchen, a book concerning the attributes of God, to the number of a thou- sand and one ; which odd reckoning is to show the infinite perfections of God, which are not to be comprehended by a thousand ideas, more than by one. The linen about the corpse of Saroutaky, a eunuch grand vizier, who was murdered in 152 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &G. the reign of Abas II., contained the whole Koran written with holy earth steeped in water and gum. They call holy earth, that of those places of Arabia which the Mahometans look upon as consecrated by the bodies of the saints Avho died there. “ In this condition, the corpse is placed in a remote part of the house, and if it is to bo carried to some distant burying- place, they put it in a wooden coffin, filled with salt, lime, and perfumes, to preserve it. No other embalming is used in the East. They do not take out the bowels, a practice apparently to them uncleanly and wicked. Persia being a hot, dry country, the bodies are soon put into their coffins, otherwise it would not be possible to accomplish it, because they swell immoderately in eight or ten hours. The funerals are not accompanied in the East with much pomp. A molla comes with the coffin of the next mosque, an ill-contrived, rough, un- hewn, and ill-jointed box, made up of three boards, with a cover which turns by a peg ; the corpse is put into it, and if the deceased were poor, carried off without any further cere- mony ; only the bearers go with it, very fast and almost run- ning, and pronouncing slowly the words Alla^ Alla! that is, God, God. “ At the funeral of a person of quality, or one who is rich, the ensigns or banners of the mosque are carried before the corpse : they are long pikes of different sorts ; some have at the end a hand of brass or copper, which is called the hand of Ali ; others a half-moon ; others the names of Mahomet, of his daughters, and of his twelve first lawful successors, done in cyphers; the latter are called Tcharde Massoum, that is, the fourteen pure and holy ones. More poles are still carried, at the top of wliich are put some brass or iron plates, three fingers broad, and three or four feet long, but so thin that the least motion makes them bend ; to them are tied long slips of taffety, which hang down to the ground. These banners are follow- ed by five or six led horses, with the arms and turban of the deceased : next to them comes the Sirpare, or the Koran, di- vided into thirty guisve or parts, written in large characters, each letter being an inch in size. The chief mosques have a similar one ; thirty talehclvic, or students, carry each one part, and read it, so that the whole is read over, before the body be put into the grave. At the burial of a woman, the tcharcha- dour, that is, a pall, supported on four long sticks, is placed over the coffin. This is the greatest funeral pomp, which the friends and relations cannot exceed, unless by an addition of each sort of standards, &c. “ The neighbours or servants of the deceased carry the OF THE MAHOMETANSi 153 corpse, no bearers being appointed to perform that last duty ; but the Mahometan law teaches its followers to grant their as- sistance, and carry the coiflin at least ten steps. Persons of note alight when they meet a funeral, comply with that pious custom, and then remount and proceed on their journey. Th-ey do not bury any one in their mosques, because though the corpse be purified, yet whatever it touches, or the place in which it is put, is looked upon as defiled. “ In small towns, the burying places are on the road-side, without the gates, as a moral instruction to the living : but in great towns, which are situate in a dry air, several church- yards are to be seen. The graves are smaller in Persia than m other countries, only two feet broad, six in length, and four in depth. On that side of them which is towards Mecca, they dig a slanting vault, Avhich is as long and broad as the first grave ; they thrust the corpse into it without a coffin, the face towards Mecca, and place two tiles to cover the head from the earth, when the grave is filled up. If the deceased were rich, or a warrior, his turban, sword, bow, and quiver full of arrows^ are set by him, and the vault is plastered up with tiles. The Sahieds, who pretend to be the descendants of Mahomet, have no earth thrown upon them, their grave is covered only with a stone or brick, or that sort of hard brown marble which is common in Persia. “ Stones are erected at the end of each tomb, with a turban, if it be a man’s grave ; but plain, if a woman’s. These tomb- stones ought not to exceed the height of four feet ; commonly they are Wt two feet high : the inscription on them does not declare the name nor praises of the deceased, it only contains some passages of the Koran. The common people begin to visit the grave at the end of eight or ten days ; the women particularly never fail: the church-yards are full of them, morning and evening, and on some particular festivals ; they bring their children with them, and lament the loss of their friends with tears and cries, beating their breasts, tearing their hair, scratching their faces, repeating the several dialogues and long discourses which they heretofore held with the de- ceased: every now and then saying, Rouh, Rouh, soul, spirit, whither are you gone ? Why do you not animate this body ? And you, corpse, what occasion had you to die 1 Did you want gold, silver, clothes, pleasures, or tender treatment ? They are then comforted, and led away by their friends: sometimes they leave behind them cakes, fruits, sweetmeats, as an offering to the angels, guardians of the grave^ to engage them to be favourable to the deceased. 154 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. “ People of quality generally order their corpse to be buried near some great saint of their sect. They are seldom carried to Mecca or Medina, they being at too great a distance; but oither to Negef, a town in the country, called Kerbela, where Aliv, the grand saint of Persia, lies interred ; or to Metched, near the grave of Imam Reza, or to Com near Fatime, (both were descendants of Ali,) or to Ardevil, near Cheik Sephy, at the distance of two or three month’s journey. Whilst they prepare themselves for this long voyage, the coffin is put in some great mosque, where vaults are made for that purpose, which are walled up to keep the body from being seen ; and they do not take it out, till every thing be ready to carry it offi The Persians fancy that corpses, under those circumstances, suffer no alteration ; for, they say, before they putrify, they must give an account to the angels, who stay at the grave to examine them. The funeral convoy never goes through a town ; this, as they think, would be a bad omen ; the dead must go out, but not come in, is a common saying amongst the Persians. “ The mourning lasts forty days at most ; it does not consisi in wearing black clothes, (that colour is looked upon in the cast as the devil’s colour, and a hellish dress,) but in loud cries and lamentations, in sitting without motion, half-clad with a brown gown or one of a pale colour ; in fasting for eight days, as if they were resolved to live no longer. Other friends send or come themselves to comfort the mourners. On the ninth day, the men go to the bagnio, have their head and beard shaved, put on new clothes, return their visits, and the mourn- ing ceases abroad ; but at home the cries are renewed now and then, twice or thrice a week, chiefly at the hour of the death. These cries diminish gradually till the fortieth day ; after which, no further mention is made of the deceased. The women are not so easily comforted, for the state of widowhood is generally for life in the east. “ The motives of consolation alleged in Persia on the death of friends and relations are rational, and grounded on solid philosophy. They compare this life to a caravan, or a com- pany of travellers ; all come at last to the caravansary or inn ; yet some arrive sooner, some later.” Friday is kept holy by Mahometans, as the Saturday is by the Jews, and Sunday by the Christians ; either upon account Festivals entry of Mahomet into Medina, or because God completed the creation on that day, or rather out of policy ; this being the day on which the ancient Ara- bians held their public and solemn meetings. Whatever may OF THE MAHOMETANS. 155 have been the cause of the sanctification of that day, it is cer- tain that Mahomet always kept it holy ; for, as Abulpharage observes, the real motive of establishing festivals was in order, by public assemblies, to render the people more united, and to have some rest from their labours. The Mahometans are, however, very profuse in their praises on that day, which they call the “ chief and most excellent of all days,” for on it, it is supposed, that the last judgment will take place. Their months are twelve, alternately of thirty and twenty- nine days, in all 354. According to which computation, their year is eleven days shorter than ours ; which inconvenience is remedied by adding a month at proper periods. We shall here observe, that by the most exact computation, the Maho- metan Hejira began July the 16th, in the year of Christ 622. The names of the months are, 1. Moharram. 2. Saphar. 3. Rabia the First. 4. A Second Rabia. 5. Sjumada the First. 6. A Second Sjumada. 7. Resjeb. 8. Siaban. 9. Rha- madan. 10. Sjewal. 11. Dulkadha. 12. Usulkassja, or Dulhaggia. Four of them, viz. Moharram, Resjeb, Dulkadha, and Dul- haggia, were looked upon as sacred by the ancient Arabians. No war nor hostility was lawful, if begun or carried on in these months ; and the majority of the Arabian tribes observed this law so punctually, that even the murderer of their father or brother was not to be punished, nor any violence offered to him at that time. Dulhaggia was sanctified by the Pilgrimage of Mecca, Dulkadha as a preparation to it, and Moharram as coming from it ; Resjeb was held still in greater veneration, being kept as a fast by the Arabian idolaters, who, on the con- trary, spent the month Rhamadan in debauchery and drunk- enness. Mahomet seems to approve of this institution of the sacred months in his Koran, in which he blames those Ara- bians who, being tired with living so long without robbing, deferred of their own authority, the sanctification of Moharram to the month following. To defeat the artful proceedings of these men, he enforces the keeping of the said three months, except in case of a war against infidels. The first Feast of which we shall take notice is the Moon, of the month Sjewal, because the Bairam celebrated in that month has some affinity with our new year, by the good wishes and congratulations then in use ^ with the Mahometans. This Bairam follows the Rhamadan fast, as Easter does that of Lent, and the Mus- sulmen begin it by a solemn and general reconciliation, as our Easter is remarkable by the Paschal Communion. They 156 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &.O. have two Bairams, the greater one, which we are now de« scribing, and the less, which takes place seventy days after- wards, viz. on the 10th of Dulhaggia. The latter is called the Feast of Sacrifices, on account of the victims offered during the pilgrimage of Mecca. The Bairam is published, at the first sight of the moon of Sjewal, or, if the weather be so cloudy that the moon cannot be seen, as expected, the feast begins on the following day ; for in that case, they suppose the moon is changed. Amongst the numerous diversions then in use, seats are set in the streets, and contrived in such a manner that those who sit in them may swing in the air, accordingly as they are pushed faster or slower. These seats are adorned with seve- ral festoons. They have also wheels, on which people are alternately at the top, middle, and bottom. The night betwixt the 4th and 5th day of Resjeb is solemnized, on account of the Rhamadan Fast, though it happens two whole months after- wards. The night from the 26th to the 27th of the second Rabia is sacred, because Mahomet went then to heaven upon the Borak, in the same manner as the birth of the Prophet has occasioned the keeping holy the night of the eleventh to the twelfth of Rabia the First. The Rhamadan is, according to travellers, a mixture of devotion and debauchery. It begins with a kind of carnival, which Thevenot, who was an eye- witness, describes in the following words: — “The 12th of June, 1657, was the Turk’s carnival, or beginning of their fast. It is called Laylet el Kouvat, that is, the Night of Pow- er, because the Mahometans believe that the Koran then came down from heaven. After sunset, lamps are lighted in all the streets, chiefly in that called Bazaar, a long, broad, and strait street, through which the procession marches. Ropes are hung every ten steps, to which are tied iron hoops and bas- kets, each holding several lamps, thirty at the least. All these being in a direct line, furnish a fine prospect, and give a great light. Besides these several figures, the towers or minarets of the mosques are likewise illuminated. An infinite number of people crowd the streets, and with the Santons, &c., who make part of the ceremony, repair to the Cadilesqucr, who in- forms them whether the Ramcsan is to be kept that evening. Being informed that the moon has been seen, and that this is the night appointed for the solemnity, about two hours in the night, the Santons on foot, and armed with clubs, begin the march, each of them holding a taper in his hand, accompani- ed with other men carrying creSvSet-lights. They dance, sing, bawl, and howl; in the midst of them Scheik-el-Arsat, that is, ‘the Prince of the ConiiUos,’ rides upon a mule; as he passes OF THE MAHOMETANS. 157 them, the people make loud acclamations. After him several men come upon camels, with drums, kettle-drums, &c., followed by others in masquerade-dress, on foot, carrying cresset-lights, or long poles, at the end of which are large iron hoops filled with squibs and fireworks, which are thrown amongst the mob. Next to these, the men of the beys proceed on horse- back with their hand-guns, &c., and the procession is closed by other Santons, who celebrate by their songs the beginning of Ramesan. The whole assembly is composed of scoundrels met together, yet it is on the whole comical and diverting.” Their fast continues the whole moon, and whilst it lasts, eat- ing, drinking, even smoking, and putting any thing into their mouths, is absolutely forbidden from sunrise to sunset ; but in recompense, they are allowed, during the whole of the night, to eat and drink whatever they please without any restraint, with the exception of wine. Formerly, the law punished those who were convicted of drinking wine, by pouring melted lead into their throats. The Persians have three feasts peculiar to themselves, viz. the next day after their Lent, the sacrifice of Abraham, and the martyrdom of the children of their great Persian prophet Ali. To these religious festivals, a fourth Feasts, must be added, which is a civil ceremony, at the beginning of the new year, and usually lasts three days; but at court it is kept eight days successively. On the first day of the month Zilaje, (Dulhaggia,) at the moment of the sun’s entering into Aries, this festival is proclaimed. It is called the Royal or Imperial New Year, to distinguish it from the real new year, which the Persians begin on the day of Ma- homet’s flight from Mecca. Chardin gives a full account of this feast, but we shall merely notice, that it had grown into disuse for many years, but was re-established from a principle of policy or superstition, or from the interested views of some astronomers, who were very powerful at court, and who pre- tended that the beginning of a solar year was a better omen than that of a lunar year, especially considering that the first ten days of it, and of the month Moharram, are days of mourn- ing, in memory of the martyrdom of Ali’s children. This last mentioned solemnity is better known by the name of Hussein, or Hossein’s Feast. Fie was son of Ali and of Fatima, daughter to Mahomet, and was killed in a battle, which he lost, disputing for the dignity „ Hussien’ of Khalif Hassein, his brother, lost his life . with him. The death of these Mahometan prophets, or heroes, is still mourned for, where some are seen half naked, and 14 158 RELIGIOUS TENETS, &C. daubed over with blood, in memory of their tragical end ; others black their faces and loll out their tongue, with convul- sive motions of the body and rolling their eyes, because these two brothers, as the Persian legend relates, suffered so much by drought that they became black, and their tongues came out of their mouths. In the intervals of those pious contortions, they call aloud with all their might, Hussein ! Hassein ! Ilassein ! Hussein ! The present state and extent of the Mahometan religion is most amply delineated by Mr. Mills, in the last chapter of his excellent book ; in which he traces it through the extensive regions of Tartary; the vast em- pire of China ; the various districts of Hindoos- tan ; from the southernmost point of which this religion is traced through the eastern islands; along the coasts of the Malayan peninsula, Sumatra, .Tava, Borneo, the Manillas, and the Celebezean islands. The little isle of Goram, one of the Spice islands, (between Ceram and Papua,) is the eastern boundary of the Mahometan world. The SAvord of the Mahometans has for ages ceased to alarm the world, and the fire of their fanaticism has been spent ; but their religion has suffered no visible diminution of followers; for although the Christians have triumphed over the Moors in Spain, and checked the advancement of Islamism in Siberia, yet, in the middle and lower Asia, and also in Africa, the pro- fessors of the Moslem’s creed have gradually increased. It is impossible to estimate, with any approach to accuracy, the number either of Mussulmen or of Christians ; but, consider- ing for a moment the subject of religion in a geographical sense, it may be generally remarked, that as Christianity has unlimited influence in Europe, so Islamism is the dominant religion in Asia ; and that, as the Christian faith has consider- able weight in America, Mahometanism has its proportionate sway in Africa. GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 159 PART III RELIGIOUS TENETS, CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE GREEK AND ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES. CHAPTER I.— GREEK CHURCH. SEC. I. GREEK CHURCH PROPER. The Greek Church may be considered, in regard to its an- tiquity, as coeval with the Roman or Latin church, and for the first eight centuries, the two churches were Q^eek church assimilated, not only in regard to the peculiar coeval with doctrines of their faith, but also to their acknow- Latin lodgment of the supremacy of the Roman pontiff. The schism of these two churches is a most memorable epoch in ecclesiastical history, as it forms the most distinguishing picture of the two religions at the present day. The mem- bers of the Greek or eastern church, as contra-distinguished to the Roman or western church, are to be found in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and are again subdivided into three distinct classes. 1st. Those who agree on all points of worship and doctrine, with the patriarch of Constantino- ple, and reject the supremacy of the Roman pontiff 2d. Those who adopt the doctrines and ceremonies of the Greek church, and are entirely independent of the patriarch of Con- stantinople ; and, 3d. those who are still subject to the see of Rome, though not conforming in all points to the worship of that church. The Greek church is considered as a separation from the Latin. In the middle of the ninth century, the controversy relating to the procession of the Holy Ghost (which had been started in the sixth century) be- Rise and se- came a point of great importance, on account of paration of. the jealousy and ambition which at that time were blended with it. Photius, the patriarch of Jerusalem, having been advanced to that see in the room of Ignatius, whom he procured to be deposed, was solemnly excommunicated by Pope Nicholas, in a council held at Rome, and his ordi- nation declared null and void. The Greek emperor resented IGO GREEK CHURCH PROPER. this conduct of the pope, who defended himself with great spirit and resolution. Photius, in his turn, convened what he called an oecumenical council, in which he pronounced sentence of excommunication and deposition against the pope, and got it subscribed by twenty-one bishops and others, amount- ing in number to a thousand. This occasioned a wide breach between the sees of Rome and Constantinople. However, the death of the Emperor Michael, and the deposition of Photius, subsequent thereupon, seem to have restored peace ; for the em- peror Basil held a council at Constantinople, in the year 869, in which entire satisfaction was given to pope Adrian ; but the schism was only smothered and suppressed for a while. The Greek church had several complaints against the Latin ; par- ticularly it was thought a great hardship for the Greeks to subscribe to the definition of a council according to the Roman form, prescribed by the pope, since it made the church of Con- stantinople dependant on that of Rome, and set the pope above an oecumenical council ; but, above all, the pride and haughti- ness of the Roman court gave the Greeks a great distaste ; and as their deportment seemed to insult his Imperial Majes- ty, it entirely alienated the affections of the Emperor Basil. Towards the middle of the eleventh century, Michael Ceru- larius, patriarch of Constantinople, opposed the Latins with respect to their making use of unleavened bread in the eucha- rist, their observation of the sabbath, and fasting on Saturdays, charging them with living in communion with the Jews. To this Pope Leo IX. replied ; and, in his apology for the Latins, declaimed very warmly against the false doctrine of the Greeks, and interposed, at the same time, the authority of his see. He likewise, by his legates, excommunicated the patri- arch in the church of Santa Sophia, Avhich gave the last shock to the reconciliation attempted a long time after, but to no purpose ; for from that time the hatred of the Greeks to the Latins, and of the Latins to the Greeks, became insuper- able, insomuch that they have continued ever since separated from each other’s communion.* As the numerous sects which are now subsisting in the Levant are of Greek origin, and as their principles and cere- State of the monies, except in some few particular points, are Greek church, nearly the same, it will be necessary to treat on the religion of the Greeks (properly so called) before we de- scend to the different branches that have issued from it. The Greek Church, which is now dependant on the patri- * Buck’s Theolog. Die. Art. Greek Church. GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 161 arch of Constantinople, was not formerly so extensive as it has been since the emperors of the East thought proper to lessen or reduce the other patriarchates, in order to aggrandize that of Constantinople ; a task which they accomplished with the greater ease, as they were much more powerful than the emperors of the West, and had little or no regard to the con- sent of the patriarchs in order to create new bishoprics, or to confer new titles and privileges. Whereas, in the western church, the popes, by slow degrees, made themselves the sole arbiters in all ecclesiastical concerns ; insomuch that princes themselves at length became obliged to have recourse to them, and were subservient to their directions on every momentous occasion. There are several catalogues or lists, now extant, of the churches which are dependant on that of Constantinople ; but as most of them ore very ancient, and do not sufficiently illus- trate the vast extent of which that church at present boasts, we shall not quote any of them in this place ; but merely state, that the number of metropolitans amounts to upwards of one hundred bishoprics. The Greek churches at present deserve not even the name of the shadow of what they were in their former flourishing state, when they were so remarkably distinguished for the learned and worthy pastors who presided over them ; but now nothing but wretchedness, ignorance, and poverty, are visible amongst them. “ I have seen churches,” says Ricaut, “ which were more like caverns or sepulchres than places set apart for divine worship ; the tops thereof being almost level with the ground. They are erected after this humble manner for fear they should be suspected, if they raised them any considerable height, of an evil intention to rival the Turkish mosques.” It is, indeed, very surprising, that in the abject state to which the Greeks at present are reduced, the Christian religion should maintain the least footing amongst them. Their no- tions of Christianity are principally confined to the traditions of their forefathers and their own received customs ; and, among other things, they are much addicted to external acts of piety and devotion, such as the observance of fasts, festi- vals, and penances ; they revere and dread the censures of their clergy ; and are bigoted slaves to their religious customs, which have been irrefutably proved to be absurd and ridicu- lous; and yet it must be acknowledged, that although these errors reflect a considerable degree of scandal and reproach upon the holy religion they profess, they nevertheless prevent it from being entirely lost and abolished amongst them. A fire 1G2 GREEK CHURCH PROPER, which lies for a time concealed under a heap of embers, may revive and burn again as bright as ever : and the same hope may be conceived of truth, when obscured by the dark clouds of ignorance and error. Tenets of the I. They rebaptize all those Latins who are ad- Greek church, mitted into their communion. II. They do not baptize their children till they are three, four, five, six, ten, and even sometimes eighteen years of age. III. They exclude Confirmation and Extreme Unction out of the Seven Sacraments. IV. They deny there is any such place as Purgatory, not- withstanding they pray for the dead. V. They do not absolutely acknowledge the Pope’s supre- macy, nor that of the Church of Rome, which they look upon as fallen from her supremacy, because, as a Greek schismatic historian expresses himself, she had abandoned the doctrines of her fathers. VI. They deny, by consequence, that the Church of Romo is the true Catholic mother Church. They even prefer their own to that of Rome, and on Holy Thursday excommunicate the Pope and all the Latin prelates as heretics and schisma- tics, praying that all those who offer up unleavened bread in the celebration of the Sacrament, may be covered with con- fusion. VII. They deny that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. VIII. They refuse to worship the Host consecrated by Latin priests with unleavened bread, according to the ancient custom of the Church of Rome, confirmed by the Council of Florence, They likewise wash the altars on which the Latins have celebrated mass; and will not sufffer a Latin priest to officiate at their altars, pretending that the sacrifice ought to be performed with leavened bread. IX. They assert, that the usual form of words, wherein the Consecration, according to the Latins, wholly consists, is not sufficient to change the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, without the use of some additional prayers and benedictions of the fathers. X. They insist that the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper ought to be administered in both kinds to infants, even before they arc capable of distinguishing this spiritual food from any other ; because it is a divine institution. For which rea- son they give the Sacrament to infants immediately after bap- tism, and look upon the Latins as heretics for not observing the same custom. GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 163 XI. They hold, that the laity are under an indispensable obligation, by the law of God, to receive the Communion in both kinds, and look on the Latins as heretics, who maintain the contrary. XII. They assert, that no members of the Church, when they have attained to years of discretion, ought to be compelled to receive the Communion every Easter ; but should have free liberty to act according to the dictates of their own conscience. XIII. They show no respect, no religious homage, nor veneration for the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, even at the celebrat: )n of their own priests ; and use no lighted tapers ■when they l Iminister it to the sick. Moreover, they keep it in a little bag or box, without any farther ceremony than fixing it to the wall, where they light up lamps before their images. XIV. They are of opinion that such Hosts as are conse- crated on Holy Thursday, are much more efficacious than those consecrated at other times. XV. They maintain that the Sacrament of Matrimony is a union which may be dissolved. For which reason, they charge the Church of Rome with being guilty of an error, in asserting that the bonds of marriage can never be broken, even in case of adultery, and that no person upon any provo- cation whatsoever can lawfully marry again. But the Greeks preach up a wholly different doctrine, and practise it daily. XVI. They condemn all fourth marriages. XVII. They refuse to celebrate the solemnities instituted by the church and the primitive Fathers, in honour of the Virgin Mary and the Apostles ; and, independently of their different manner of celebrating them, they wholly neglect and despise the observance of several Saints’-days which are of ancient institution. They reject likewise the religious use of graven images and statues, although they admit of pic- tures in their churches. XVIII. They insist that the canon of the mass of the La- tins ought to be abolished, as being full of errors. XIX. They deny that usury is a mortal sin. XX. They deny that the subdeaconry is at present a holy order. XXL Of all the general councils that have been held in the Catholic Church by the popes at different times, they pay no regard to any after the sixth, and reject not only the seventh, which was the second held at Nice, for the express purpose of condemning those who rejected the use of images in their divine worship, but all those which have succeeded it, by which they refuse to submit to any of their institutions. 164 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. XXII. They deny auricular confession to be a divine precept, and pretend it is only a positive injunction of the Church. XXIII. They insist that the confession of the laity ought to be free and voluntary ; for which reason they are not com- pelled to confess themselves annually, nor are they excommu- nicated for the neglect of it. XXIV. They insist that in confession there is no divine law which enjoins the acknowledgment of every individual sin, or a discovery of all the circumstances that attend it, which alter its nature and property. XXV. They administer the sacrament to their laity both in sickness and in health, though they have never applied themselves to their confessors ; and the reason of which is, that they are persuaded all confessions should be free and vo- luntary, and that a lively faith is all the preparation that is re- quisite for the worthy receiving of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. XXVI. They look down with an eye of disdain on the Latins for their observance of the vigils before the nativity of our Blessed Saviour, and the festivals of the Virgin Mary and the Apostles, as well as for their fasting in Ember-week. They even affect to eat meat more plentifully at those times than at any other, to testify their contempt of the Latin cus« toms. They prohibit likewise all fasting on Saturdays, that preceding Easter only excepted. XXVII. They condemn the Latins as heretics, for eating such things as have been strangled, and such other meats as are prohibited in the Old Testament. XXVIII. They deny that simple fornication is a mortal sin. XXIX. They insist that it is lawful to deceive an enemy, and that it is no sin to injure and oppress him. XXX. They are of opinion, that in order to be saved, there is no necessity to make restitution of such goods as have been stolen or fraudulently obtained. XXXI. To conclude : they hold that such as have been admitted into holy orders may become laymen at pleasure. From whence it plainly appears, that they do not allow the character of the priesthood to be indelible. To which it may be added, that they approve of the marriage of their priests, provided they enter into that state before their admission into holy orders, though they are never indulged in that respect after their ordination. The Patriarch of Constantinople assumes the honourable title of Universal or CEcumcnical Patriarch. As he pur- GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 165 chases his commission of the Grand Seignior, it p • k f may be easily supposed that he makes a tyran- ConSaiuino-^ nical and simoniacal use of a privilege which he pie. holds himself by simony. The Patriarch and bishops are always single men; but the priests are indulged in marriage before ordination ; and this custom, which is gene* rally practised all over the Levant, is very ancient. Should a priest happen to marry after ordination, he can officiate no longer as pris^ i. which is conformable to the injunctions of the council of Neocesarea; the marriage, however, is not looked upon as invalid ; whereas in the Latin Church, such marriages are pronounced void and of no effect, because the priesthood is looked upon as a lawful bar, or impediment. Their Pappas, or secular priests, not having any settled and competent livings, are obliged to subsist by simoniacal prac- tices. “ The clergy,” says Ricaut, “are almost compelled to sell those divine mysteries which are entrusted to their care. No one, therefore, can procure absolution, be admitted to cpnfession, have his children baptised, be married or divorced, or obtain an excom- munication against his adversary, or the communion in time of sickness, without first paying down a valuable considera- tion. The priests make the best market they can, and fix a price on their spiritual commodities in proportion to the devo- tion or abilities of their respective customers;” added to which, they are so avaricious and rigid with their parishioners, that they will scarcely part with a single drop of holy water with- out being paid for it beforehand. The Greek Church has no established fund for the mainte- nance of their clergy; they subsist therefore by the levying of some certain duties, and by the charity and benevolence of well-disposed Christians. Each parish is obliged to maintain its own curate. Every house is assessed at a certain annual sum, which must be paid in money or effects. Each diocese is likewise taxed for the more honourable support of its bishop, &c. ; but the avarice and illegal practices of the collectors countenance and encourage the petty shifts and evasions which are daily practised to elude them. Regarding the charity of the people, it is so very cold and languid, that it seems almost a sufficient plea for the simoniacal practices of the clergy. A monastic life is held in great veneration among Monastic the Greeks; and although there are monks of life held in different orders among them, yet all of them great venera- owe their origin to St. Basil, who was the sole founder of the monastic state. 1G6 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. The two principal are styled the Grand a?id Angelical Habit, and the Lesser Habit. Those belonging to the former p . . j are persons of worth and distinction, and who orclerk^^^" prefer to lead^a more righteous life than the rest. Monks of the Lesser Habit are inferior persons, •who do not pretend to lead such sanctified lives. The latter live uncontrolled, and are left to their own discretion ; for which reason, before they take up the habit, they deposite a certain sum of money for a cell, or small apartment, and other accommodations, belonging to the convent. The procurator or steward indeed supplies them with bread and wine, in the same manner as the rest, but in every other respect they pro- vide for themselves ; and being thus free from all the incum- brances of a convent, each one pursues his own particular affairs. There is a third order, who are known and distinguished by the name of Anchorets; and though they do not choose to - , , work, nor to perform the other duties of the con- vent, they are still very desirous of passing their lives in solitude and retirement. They purchase, therefore, a cell, or a little commodious apartment exterior to the convent, with a small spot of ground contiguous to it, sufficient to main- tain them; and they never attend the convent but on solemn festivals, on which days they assist at the celebration of divine service. As soon as their public devotions are over, they re- turn to their cells, and spend their time in the pursuit of their customary avocations, without being confined to any set time for their prayers, or other acts of private devotion. There are some of these anchorets, however, who retire altogether from the convent with the license and approbation of their abbot, in order to live still more retired, and to apply themselves more closely to prayer and contemplation. Having no grounds nor vineyards of their own to improve, the convent sends them, once at least, if not twice a month, a stated allowance. Those, however, who decline being dependant on, or pensioners to the abbot, rent some small vineyards situate near their cells, and maintain themselves out of the profits and product of them. Some live upon figs, some upon cherries, and others upon such wholesome fruits of a similar nature, which they can most commodiously procure. Some sow beans in their proper sea- son ; and others earn their bread by transcribing books or manuscripts. Besides these monks, there are likewise nuns, who form themselves into communities. They are confined in convents, and live subject to the rule of St. Basil. They Nuns. degree inferior to the monks, with GREEK CHURCH PRORER. 167 respect to their abstemious course of life, their penances, fasts, prayers, and other acts of devotion, which are in general prac- tised by recluses. These nuns in general wear the same habit, which is black, with a woollen gown of the same colour. Their arms and hands are covered to their very finger’s ends. Their heads are all shaved close; and each of them has a separate resi- dence, with a commodious room above and below. Those who are in good circumstances are allowed to keep a servant, and sometimes they entertain young ladies in their society, and train them up in the practice of piety. After the customary duties are over, their leisure hours are advantageously spent in all manner of curious needlework. The fasts of the Greeks are quite different from those of the Latins ; for those of the latter are festival days when com- pared with the former ; inasmuch as they not only abstain from eating the flesh of animals. Fasts, and their produce, such as butter and cheese; but they eat no manner of fish, and content themselves with fruits and herbs, to which they put a drop or two of oil ; allow- ing themselves but a very small quantity of wine. The monks are still more rigorous ; for they never taste a drop of wine nor oi], except on Saturdays and Sundays. The Greek monks, according to Angelas, are obliged to fast three days, that is, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in every week. On v/hich days, about two in the afternoon they go to prayers ; after that, they take some small refresh- ment, which principally consists of a few beans, with a little broth, without either oil or butter, or some other relished roots, with a small quantity of vinegar. In the evening, they re- sume their prayers ; when service is over, they seat themselves round about the church, and the procurator distributes to each man a slice of bread and a glass of water. This indulgence, however, is shown only to the junior monks ; the seniors have no share in this distribution. After a short interval they re- turn to their public devotions, which last about half an hour, and sometimes an hour. On going out of the church, they pass in review before their superior, or principal, who stands at the church-door, and ask his blessing, which he gives to each of them in the following terms, God he fropilious to thee, my son ! After this benediction, each retires to his own cell, without speaking a single word upon any occasion. By their rule they are enjoined, after this, to spend a whole hour on their knees in private prayer. This exercise of devotion is followed by a very short repose ; for about midnight, or soon 168 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. after, they rise again, and attend their public prayers, which are not over till break of day ; at which time every one with- draws to his particular avocations, till some short interval be- fore dinner ; which is spent again at church in public devo- tions. As soon as dinner is served, the monks beg their abbot or superior’s blessing, who stands at the upper end of the table. If any monk has had the misfortune to oversleep himself, and comes too late to church in the morning, as a penance for his indolence and neglect he is ordered to stand at the lower end of the table, and there repeat over and over with an audible voice, but with a humble and contrite heart, these words. Have com- passion, OLord, on thy unworthy servant, according to thy infi- nite goodness and mercy ! till the monks are risen from table, and are ready to go away. Then the penitent prostrates himself with his face to the very ground, imploring forgiveness in this humble posture, and crying out, Oh! holy fathers, pray for me, who am a. poor sinful sluggard ! whereupon they with one voice reply, God forgive you, my brother ! After which they all depart, except the poor penitent, who stays behind and dines by himself; none are exempted from this penance, from the highe.st to the lowest. The Moscovites, however, having neither wine nor oil, are indulged in eating flesh. They abstain from eating flesh, butter, and cheese, on Wednesdays and Fridays, but have the free use of flsh. The Greeks and other eastern nations cen- sure the Latins very severely for fasting on Saturdays ; since that day, in their opinion, is a festival, as well as Sunday ; and this they endeavour to prove from their ancient canons, and the practice of the primitive Christians. . In short, with re- spect to ceremonies, it may be said in general, that they ob- serve a much greater number than any other Christian coun- try whatsoever. The veneration which they pay to images is boundless and extravagant. Upon a solemn festival they plant the image of the saint to whom that day is devoted, in the centre of the church ; which statue, or picture, is always an historical representation of some remarkable transaction which they then commemorate : as for instance, the nativity, or resurrection of our Blessed Saviour : at which time every devotee then present salutes the image ; and this religious adoration is not performed by falling down on their knees, prostration, or any other particular gesticulations of the body; but by barely kissing the image. If it happens to be a repre- sentation of our Blessed Lord, they kiss his feet, if of the Vir- gin Mary, they salute her hands ; and if it be only the image GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 169 of some memorable saint, they approach him with more fami- liarity, and kiss his cheek. The supreme head of the 6reek church is the Patriarch of Constantinople, whom they style the 13th Apostle ; and whose usual title, when he subscribes any letter, or mis- sive, is “ by the mercy of God, Archbishop of Greelf churcl^ Constantinople, the New Rome and CEcumenical Patriarch.''' The right of electing him is vested in the twelve bishops who reside nearest that famous capital ; but the right of confirming the election, and of enabling the new chosen patriarch to exercise his spiritual functions, belongs only to the Turkish emperor. A patriarch of Constantinople formerly paid but ten thou- sand crowns for his instalment, but subsequently the price was advanced to twenty-five thousand. Even fifty and sixty thousand have been given by different patriarchs. Independ- ently of this charge, which is so exceedingly heav}’-, the minis- ters of state often exact other fees, so very enormous, that the patriarch becomes always encumbered with debts, and is forced to study incessantly new ways and means to satisfy the avarice of his creditors. If he once proves deficient in his pay- ments, he is presently deposed. And these may be considered as the genuine causes of those revolutions, which so frequently occur in the Greek Church, and which tend to support the tyrannical power of the Turks in the election of the clergy. The revenues of the Patriarch of Constantinople are very precarious, and increase or decrease in value according to the degree of oppression which he suffers from the pc Turks, or to the character which he himself bears, of being a virtuous or a dishonest man. The following are the sources from which his revenues arise. As soon as the patriarch is elected, he disposes of the vacant bishoprics and other benefices, to the best purchaser, and independently of the advan^^ge of these sales, each bishopric, benefice, living, and convent within his jurisdiction, is assessed at a certain annual sum. Every priest in Constantinople pays him, annu- ally, a crown. The bishops, following the laudable example of their patriarch, exact the utmost from those persons whom they admit into holy orders; and the priests, again, obtain a supply for their pecuniary necessities by the sale of the blessed Sacraments to the people. They likewise make them pay for their holy water, their consecrated bread, and the very seats in their churches. Several bishoprics are assessed after the rate of a thousand crowns per annum, and the convents in proportion. There are about one hundred and fifty bishops 170 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. and archbishops who are dependant on the patriarch, and he receives a fee from every one, whom he ordains in Constanti- nople, whether he be priest or ’deacon ; and those who are constituted bishops, or archbishops, make him a present in proportion to their quality. For every marriage that is so- lemnized in Constantinople, or within the jurisdiction thereof, he has a crown. This perquisite at one time amounted to a very considerable sum, on account of the vast number of Greeks who settled in Constantinople. The fee upon a se- cond marriage is doubled, and for the third and last, he re- ceives a triple gratuity, no fourth marriage being allowed, ac- cording to the tenets of the Greek church. One of the principal branches of the patriarch’s revenues arises from particular patrimonies, or estates of inheritance. In case a priest dies without issue, the patriarch has a just claim to all his effects, as the spiritual father and common heir of the clergy ; and those Greeks who die possessed of very large estates generally remember the patriarch in their wills, and leave him either lands, houses, or ready money. Once in three years he collects a penny per head of every parishioner in his patriarchate; to which are added the contributions raised for him during Lent in the churches of Constantino- ple and Galata. Finally, the Czar of Muscovy himself makes him a very handsome present as a mark of his peculiar friend- ship and respect ; and, on the other hand, the Greeks testify an extraordinary regard for the Russian nation, on account of some particular prophecies, which intimate that the Russians will one day deliver the Greeks from the tyranny and op- pression of the Turks. After the Patriarch of Constantinople, the richest is that of Jerusalem, on account of the large sums of money arising . from his profits by consecrated fires. The Pa- archs^^ triarch of Antioch is the poorest of them all. That of Alexandria is very powerful, with respect to the ecclesiastical government, and he makes himself formi- dable by the execution of his penal laws. He assumes the grand title of Judge of the whole World, as well as that of Pope. But what distinguishes him in a particular manner from the Patriarch of Constantinople is, the advantage which he enjoys of being less exposed to the avarice and resentments of the Turks. Ilis election is carried on without those arti- fices and intrigues, which are practised in that of the for- mer, and the votes of the electors are much more free. As to the revenues of the archbishops and bishops, they consist, in like manner, in the moneys arising from their re- GREEK CHURCH PROPER, 171 spective ordinations. They have a fee of a crown „ „ upon all marriages ; and every house in their particular diocess supplies them with a cer- gy. tain quantity of corn, fruits, wine, and oil. The priests live on the revenues of the churches, or on the voluntary bounty and benevolence of their parishioners, and their public collections on solemn festivals. Every time a priest says mass, either on a holyday or Sunday, each house pays him two-thirds of a farthing, and, as a grateful acknow- ledgment, the priest on his part is obliged, before the sacrifice is offered up, to say a prayer, and beg of God to bless each of his benefactors for this small gratuity. It is, however, a custom, amongst the Greeks to enjoy themselves, and to have an elegant entertainment on all solemn festivals, at which the priests always attend and give their blessing, as soon as the first course comes upon the table. This short religious ser- vice entitles them to some bread, meat, wine, and a small sum of money. As their whole maintenance, however, depends upon the good circumstances and liberality of their parish- ioners, their income is very uncertain and precarious, which naturally tends to make them avaricious and anxious in mind, abject and submissive in their behaviour, and lukewarm in their devotion. If any religious services be required of them, whether it be absolution, confession, baptism, marriage, di- vorce, excommunication, or administration of the sacraments to the sick, the price of each individual service must be first settled and adjusted. The priests make the best bargain they possibly can, always proportioning their fees to the zeal and circumstances of the devotees, with whom they hold this re- ligious commerce. The patriarch is elected by the archbishops and bishops, by a majority of votes; but this formality carries with it no weight nor importance, without the consent and ap- probation of the Grand Seignior. Before the .1 of election begins, it is customary to address the Grand Vizier for his license and permission to proceed upon it; and this minister summons the archbishops, and in- quires of them, whether they be fully determined to proceed to the election of a new patriarch. He repeats the ques- tion a second time, and grants his consent together with the baratz. His highness then presents the patriarch with a white horse, a black capuch, a crosier, and an embroidered caftan. In this ceremony, the Turk retains the ancient cus- tom of the Grecian emperors. After this, the patriarch, at- tended by a long train of Turkish officers, his own clergy, 172 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. and a great concourse of people, repairs to his patriarchal see with all imaginable pomp and solemnity. The principal archbishops, and the remainder of the clergy, with wax-tapers in their hands, receive him at the church-door ; and the bishop of Heraclea, as chief archbishop, having a right to consecrate him, being dressed in his pontifical robes, takes the patriarch by the hand, and conducts him to the throne. Previously to this ceremony, however, he makes a short harangue to the people, and informs them, that such a person has been elected patriarch by the general suffrage of the archbishops and bish- ops, according to the canons of the church, and then invites the patriarch to take possession of the ’important trust reposed in him, who with gravity professes to decline it, as not consider- ing himself worthy of so great an honour: however, as it is conferred upon him by the will of Heaven, he submits at last to the decisions of the clergy. This ceremony being accom- plished, he receives the cross, the mitre, and the other ponti- fical ornaments, from the hands of the archbishop of Heraclea. He seats himself on his throne; and the bishops, inferior cler- gy, and the populace, pay him the usual compliments, ex- claiming, Ad multos annos Domine. The celebration of the mass, with the usual ceremonies observed on solemn festivals, immediately succeed, and close the ceremony. According to ancient custom, the patriarch, bishops, and other dignified clergy, ought to have none but monks for Order of as- ministers, and no secular assistants. Before sistants. conquest of Constantinople they were eccle- siastics, but at present they are all seculars, four only excepted ; and this arrangement augments, on the one hand, the revenues of the patriarch ; and, on the other, grati- fies the ambition of the seculars. The following are the se- veral officers, ranged in their proper order, in regard to their respective functions, both ecclesiastical and civil. At the patriarch’s right hand stands his grand (economist, or high steward, whose peculiar province it is to collect the revenues, and discharge the necessary disbursements of the patriarchate. He delivers in his accounts twice a year, and assists at the patriarchal tribunal, whenever the court sits. When a bishop dies, he likewise superintends the affairs of the vacant see, and has the first vote in every new election. The grand sacellarius, or high-master of the chapel, assists the patriarch in the administration of all his judicial affairs, and in the regular performance of the several ceremonies en- joined by the Church. It is a part of his office, likewise, to present all candidates to be ordained, and not only the mo- GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 173 nasteries of the monks, but the convents of the nuns, are sub- ject to his inspection. The high treasurer, who is keeper of the sacred vessels and ponti&al ornaments belonging to the church, stands at the door of the vestry, in which they are always deposited, and not only delivers out the proper habiliments to the offi- ciating prelate, but takes care that every article be regularly placed upon the altar. When any bishopric is vacant, it is his province likewise to take care of the revenues belonging to it. The grand oficial takes cognizance of all affairs relating to bene&es, and the impediments which obstruct marriages : he likewise introduces all those priests who come to receive the Sacrament on solemn festivals. The grand logothetes, or high chancellor. He is the speaker, has the patriarch’s signet in his custody, and seals all his letters. The grand referendary despatches all the . patriarch’s or- ders, is his deputy to persons of distinction, and is one of the ecclesiastical judges. He was distinguished by the title of the palatine in the time of the Greek emperors. The grand frothonotary sits directly opposite to the Pa- triarch, to transcribe and deliver out all his briefs, manda- muses, orders and decrees. It is his province also to examine twice a year all the professors of the canon law. All contracts, and last wills or testaments are under his inspection. Finally, he attends the patriarch in the sanctuary, and brings him water to wash his hands during the celebration of divine ser- vice. All the above-named officers, as well as those who follow, though their office be inferior, still preserve their ancient dig- nity, and stand at the patriarch’s right hand at all public solemnities. The thuroferary, or incense-bearer, independently of the duty implied in his name, covers the consecrated vessels, or implements, with a veil, during the anthem to the sacred Tri- nity, and assists the celebrant in putting on his sacerdotal vestments. The next officer is employed in noting down the votes of the bishops, and receiving petitions and remonstrances. The ‘protecdice, or advocate, determines all petty causes, and his court is held in the church porch. The hieromneinon is in- trusted with the care of the ritual, which is called contacium, and other church books. It is his province likewise to con- secrate any new church in the bishop’s absence, and to ordain 174 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. the readers. There is another officer who takes care of the supergenual of the patriarch, and one who has the title of doctor. On the left hand of the patriarch attend the protopapas, or high priest, the deutereuon, or second visiter, the prefect of the churches, the ecdices, or lateral judges, the e. arch, the two domestics, the two laosynactes, the two deans, the proto- psaltes, or chief singer, the deputy, the grand archdeacon and the secondary deacon. The protopapas, whose dignity is en- tirely ecclesiastical, administers the Holy Sacrament to the patriarch at all high and solemn masses, and receives it from him. He is the head ecclesiastical dignitary, not only with respect to his peculiar privileges, hut to his right and title to precedence. The deutereuon, when the protopapas happens to be absent, officiates in his stead. The visiter, amongst several other prerogatives belonging to his office, enjoys the privilege of examining into all ecclesiastical de- bates, and all impediments in matrimonial cases. The sacred oil, and what the Greeks call the antimensium, which is a portable altar, are intrusted to the sole direction and manage- ment of the prefect, or superintendent. He has the honour to erect the cross on such spot of ground as is marked out, and set apart for a new church, when the patriarch cannot per- form this ceremony himself The exarch revises all causes in which sentence has been already passed. The domestics, as also the two deans, who sit above the deacons, are ranged on each side of the protopsaltes, or master of the choir, and sing with him. The laosynactes assemble the deacons and people together. The deputy introduces strangers into the presence of the patriarch, and clears the way to and from his audience. He may be styled with propriety the master of the ceremonies. Those who stand on the left hand of the pa- triarch are the catechist, who instructs and prepares all those persons for the Sacrament of Baptism, who renounce their heretical tenets, and desire to be admitted into the pale of the Church. The periodeutes goes likewise from one place to another, to instruct those that are intended to be baptized : the prefect, or master of the ceremonies, an office distinct from that of the deputy, assigns every person his proper place. The 'protosyncdlus is, properly speaking, inspector-general of the patriarch himself He has a right and title to an apart- ment in his palace, and resides there at night with several other syncelli, Avho are under his direction. His apartment joins the patriarch’s, and, in fine, he is not only the pa- triarch’s vicar and assistant, but his ghostly father. GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 175 The service of the Greeks consists of nine parts ; viz. the nocturns, or night service, the morning service, or matins, the laudes, prime, tierce, sexte, none, vespers, and ggj.yj(.e Li- complin. After the nocturnal, they sing the turgy, &c. trisagium, or Holy God, Holy and Omnipotent, ^ ’ Holy and Eternal ; and repeat the Gloria Patri three times successively, &c. ; and at all the hours perform the same ser- vice. The Greeks have four distinct liturgies ; the first is that of St. James, which has met with a universal reception through- out the Greek Church. As this particular service is very long, and requires five hours at least for the celebration of it, it is read but once a-year, that is, on the 23d of October, which is St. James’s Day. The second is that of St. Basil. This Father distinctly perceived, that the unmerciful length of St. James’s liturgy tired the people, and damped their devotion ; and therefore determined to abridge it. The liturgy of Basil, is read every Sunday in Lent, Palm Sunday excepted ; on Holy Saturday, on the vigils or eves of Christmas, the Epi- phany, and the festival of St. Basil. The third liturgy is that of St. Chrysostom ; who ascertained that the liturgy of St. Basil, though an abridgment, was still too tedious, and that he did not make sufficient allowance for the weakness and frailty of the faithful, who are unable to support a close atten- tion to the duties of religion for several consecutive hours, St. Chrysostom, therefore, made a new reduction of this litur- gy, or rather extracted the most essential parts from St. Basil’s abridgment, and inserted them in his own. This liturgy of St. Chrysostom is used during the whole year, except on the days above particularly specified. The fourth, which is that of St. Gregory, is called the preconsecrated liturgy, because it always follows that of St. Chrysostom or St. Basil. The last liturgy of St. Gregory is no more than a collection of prayers peculiarly adapted to inspire both the priest and the people with that ardent zeal and devotion which are requisite for the Lord’s Supper. During divine service the Greeks observe several distinct postures, which are considered as actually essential, and of the greatest moment in the performance of their religious du- ties ; in general, when they pray, they stand upright, and turn their faces to the east ; but they may lean, or even, sit down to rest themselves, when they find it convenient. The laity sit, whilst the priest reads his exhortation to them ; but stp,nd, when they pray to God or sing an anthem. On reaching their respective places they uncover their heads, and make 176 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. the sign of the cross, by joining the three first fingers of their right hand, by which it is implied, that there are three persons in the sacred Godhead. In this sign of the cross, the three fin- gers placed on the forehead denote, that the three persons in the sacred Godhead reside in the kingdom of heaven ; when brought below the breast, they point out four great mysteries at once, viz. Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, burial, and descent into hell. When placed on the right shoulder, they imply that Jesus Christ being risen, sits at the right hand of God. In short, as the left shoulder is a type, or figure of the reproba- tion of the wicked, the Greek devotee, % placing his three fingers there, begs of God, that he may not be reckoned amongst the number of those abandoned wretches ; but be de- livered from the power of the devil. The whole devotion of the Greeks is comprised in the sign of the cross, and the collection of prayers, commonly called the Horologium, which are much the same as the Hours of the Latins. By this Horologium, it is manifest that they pray to the saints and the Virgin Mary. The latter is therein called the mother of God, the Queen of the Universe, and the Glory of the Orthodox. In one particular prayer of the noc- turnal service they implore the Blessed Virgin to frustrate the counsels of the ungodly, to fight for their rightful sove- reign, and intercede for the peace and tranquillity of the whole world, &c. It is remarkable, that their women, in some certain cases, are not allowed to enter their churches ; but are obliged to stand at the door, as if their breath were infectious, and they never presume either to approach the communion table, or kiss their images. The Greeks celebrate mass, which consists of a round of ceremonies, somewhat similar to those of the Catholic mass. Mass clergy, however, among the Greeks, take the sacrament in both kinds, and receive from the hands of the priest the consecrated bread and wine in the same spoon, which the Greeks call Labis. The laity receive the sacrament standing at the door of the sanctuary; the men first, and then the women. Those who presume to partake of this holy banquet must stand in a modest and reverential posture ; their eyes must be fixed on the ground, their head bowed down, as persons in the act of adoration, and their arms must be laid across. The Greeks follow the example of the Catholics, carry the communion to the sick, but with less pomp or grandeur, it being contained in a little box, enclosed in a bag which the priest bears under GREEK CHURCH TROPER. irr his arm. This is a small parcel or portion of the blessed bread, which they also carry to those whose business confines them at home. The bishop of Vabres says, that they take a small portion of consecrated bread, about an inch square, cut in the form of a cross and sprinkled with a little blood, (that is, transubstantiated wine,) and administer it to the sick, after having moistened it with a little water, or a little wine, and this is their viaticum which they give to sick and dying persons. It is a custom amongst the Greeks, when the foundation of any church is to be laid, for the patriarch or bishop, dressed in all his pontifical robes, to repair to the place, churclies. and to bless it in the following manner. He thu- rifies or incenses every individual part of the whole founda- tion; during which ceremony, the clergy sing anthems in honour to the particular saint to whom the church is to be devoted. As soon as he arrives at the place appointed for the high altar, he says a prayer, in which he begs that the Lord would be pleased to bless and prosper the intended edifice. After that, the bishop who consecrates it takes a stone, makes a cross Avith it, and lays it on the foundation, saying, The Lord hath laid the foundation of this house ; it shall never be sha- ken. This office properly belongs to the bishop, or such other person as the patriarch shall think fit to nominate or appoint ; as well as another office which the Greeks call Stauropegium, i. e. the consecration or dedication of the church. A wooden cross is erected behind the communion-table, and in order the better to certify and assure the faithful, that this cross Avill be able to dispel and keep the infernal powers at a distance, a particular prayer is repeated, in Avhich the miraculous rod of Moses is said to be an antecedent type of that of our Lord Je- sus Christ ; as the cross at the consecration is its subsequent figure or representation. When the Greeks lay the foundation of any edifice, the priest blesses both the work and the workmen ; and as soon as the priest has retired, the following ceremony is observed: the labourers kill a cock or a sheep, and bury the blood of it under the foundation-stone, they being of opinion, that there is a kind of magic or charm in this ceremony, of singular service and importance to the building. This ceremony is called Thusia, that is, sacrifice. There is, however, a still more remarkable ceremony preva- lent amongst the Greeks, and which may be adduced as a strong proof of the gross superstition in AAffiich they are un- happily immersed. When they entertain any resentment 178 GREEK CHURCH PROPER, against a particular person, in order to satisfy their malice and revenge, they take an exact measure of the height and circum- ference of his body. This measure they carry to one of the workmen employed in laying the foundation of an edifice, who, for a small gratuity, buries it under one of the first stones. They flatter themselves, that their enemy will die soon after, or languish and fall away by degrees, in the same manner as this secret instrument of their revenge perishes and decays. The churches of Constantinople are generally built in the form of the Greek cross, that is, an equilateral square. The choir always fronts the east. Some ancient churches, which are still extant, have two naves, either sharp -roofed, or vaulted ; and their steeples, which are not of the least service, there being no bells in them, are erected in the middle of the two roofs. The Greeks are prohibited by the Turks from making use of bells, alleging, that the sound of them interrupts and disturbs the repose of departed souls. The Greeks have four solemn feasts, or Lents. The first commences on the 15th of November^ or forty days before Christmas. The second is our Lent, which irn- Fasts and mediately precedes Easter, which they keep estiva s. according to the old style, the Eastern Christians not having admitted the Gregorian Reformation of the Ca- lendar. Their third is distinguished by the title of the Fast of the Holy Ayostles, which they observe upon the suppo- sition, that the apostles then prepared themselves by prayer and fasting for the promulgation of the Gospel. This fast commences the week after Whit-Sunday, and continues till the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul. The number of days therefore comprised in this Lent is not settled nor determined; but consists of more or less, according as Whit-Sunday falls sooner or later. Their fourth fast commences the first of August, and lasts only until the 15th. It is by this fast, that they prepare themselves for the celebration of the festival, called, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. This fast is observed so strictly, that the Greek monks are not allowed to touch one drop of oil during the continuance of it ; and it is looked upon as a duty incumbent on all persons in general, except on the sixth of August, which is the festival of the Transfiguration, at which time they are indulged in the eat- ing both of oil and fish ; but on the following day they are obliged to observe the same rules of abstinence as were before prescribed to them. The Greeks testify a peculiar veneration for the Blessed Virgin; and the expressions which they make use of in the GREEK CIITTRCH PROPER. 179 prayers particularly addressed to her, are excessively extra- vagant, and border strongly upon the ridiculous. It is the custom of the most zealous devotees to dedicate to her after their meals a small piece of bread, which they cut in a triangular form, and, after thurification, elevate it to her honour. To these four general fasts must be added, that of the 28th of August, in commemoration of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. They prepare themselves by a fourteen days fast for the festival of the Exaltation of the Cross ; during which time the monks preach, and endeavour to affect the peo- ple with a long and pathetic history of our Saviour’s Passion : few, however, excepting the monks, observe the latter fast ; they being the persons who peculiarly devote themselves to ex- ercises of devotion, and the mortification of the flesh ; accord- ingly, they not only abstain from all flesh, butter, cheese, and milk ; but from all fish that have either shells, fins, or blood. They are allowed, however, to eat any kind of fish, during that Lent which begins the 15th of November ; as well as on their ordinary fast-days of Wednesdays and Fridays; which days are in general fast-days throughout the year, except a few particular ones, and amongst the rest, those in the eleventh week before Easter, which they call Artzeburst, which, in the Armenian language, signifies messenger ; and the cause of this exception is at once curious and entertaining. A fa- vourite dog, that served in the capacity of carrier or mes- senger to some particular heretics, having died, they imme- diately accused the orthodox with being the contrivers and promoters of his death ; and in commemoration of the good ser- vices of the dog, and as a public testimony of their unfeigned sorrow at his untimely end, the heretics set apart two days of this eleventh week to be observed as a fast. These two days were Wednesday and Friday, and the orthodox were absolved by the Greek church from fasting on those two days, lest they should act in conformity to an erroneous practice, esta- blished by the heretics. The Greeks likewise abstain from all kind of meats on Whitsun-Monday ; on which day the people repair to church early in the morning, in order to pray to God for that communication of the Holy Ghost, which he formerly conferred on the blessed apostles. On the 25th of March, which is the festival of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, they are allowed to eat what fish they please, notwithstanding this holyday falls in Lent. They are permitted likewise to eat meat from Christmas till the Epiphany, or Festival of the Three Kings, not excluding 180 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. Wednesdays and Fridays, which, amongst the Greeks, arc accounted fast days throughout the whole year. The Greeks select Wednesday, because Judas on that day took the nine pieces of silver to betray his Master ; and Friday, on account of Christ’s Passion. Lent with the Greeks commences on a Monday, and their strict observance of all their fasts can only be equalled by their superstition. They look upon those persons, who, with- out an absolute necessity, violate the laws of abstinence, and, consequently, the constitutions of their church, to be as infamous and as criminal, in all respects, as those who are guilty of theft or adultery. They entertain such an ex- alted and extravagant idea of these fasts, that they imagine Christianity cannot possibly subsist without them, and they hesitate not to suspect the sincerity of those professors who presume to neglect or infringe the strict observance of them. This partial and more than common regard for fasts, induces the Eastern nations to believe that the Protestant Churches are all heterodox, as they observe no days of penance ; to which may be added their total want of a profound veneration for the sign of the cross. The Greeks are so superstitious and extravagant in the observance of their fasts, that they will not admit of any cases of sufficient urgency to justify the grant of any dispensations ; and the patriarch himself, according to their ideas, cannot authorize nor empower any person to eat meat, when the church has enjoined tjie contrary. They think it their duty rather to let a sick man die, than restore him to health, if they could, by such an abominable prescription as a mess of broth ; it is true, nevertheless, that a father confessor will sometimes, when he entertains a particular love and respect for a person that is indisposed, order and advise him to eat meat, and pro- mise him his absolution from* the sin, upon his coming to confession. Upon a general couiputation, there are only about one hundred and thirty days in the year on which meat is allowed ; and neither old nor young, sick nor weak, are excused from the strict observance of all their fasts. In regard to their feasts, Easter is accounted by the Greek church the most solemn festival in the year. It is customary for them at this time, upon meeting with their friends, to greet them with this formal salutation, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead ; to which the person accosted replies, He is risen indeed ; at the same time, they kiss each other three times, once on each cheek, and once upon their lips, and then part. This ceremony is observed on Good Friday, Easter- GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 181 Sunday, and the three subsequent days ; and every week till Whitsuntide. According to some historians, two priests on Good Friday, in order to commemorate the sacred sepulchre, carry in procession at night upon their shoulders, the picture or re- presentation of a tomb, in which the crucified Jesus, painted on a board, is deposited. On Easter Sunday, this sepulchre is carried out of the church, and exposed to the public view ; when the priest begins to sing, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead ; he has triumphed over death, and given life to all such as were laid in their graves. After which, it is carried back to the church, and there thurified or incensed, and the service is continued. The priest and the congregation repeat almost every moment this form of words, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. In the next place, the celebrant, or officiating priest, makes three signs of the cross, kisses the Gospel, and the image of Jesus Christ. Then the picture is turned on the other side, on which Jesus Christ is represented as rising out of his sepulchre. The priest kisses it, and in a more elevated strain pronounces the same form, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. The whole congregation embrace and make their peace with each other, and in their transports of joy at the sight of this rough sketch of the resurrection, fire their pistols, which frequently singe the hair and beards of the reverend Pappas. The ceremony concludes with the benediction pro- nounced by the officiating priest. The women observe much the same ceremony amongst themselves, in that part of the church which is appropriated to their peculiar service, with the exception of the firing of the pistols. On Holy Thursday, some of the most zealous bishops wash the feet of twelve priests, and the following is a description of this solemnity. Twelve of the most venerable priests attend the archbishop to church, where he is dressed in a purple robe. As soon as one part of the service is concluded, he enters into the sanctuary, divests himself of his purple vestment, and puts on another of much greater pomp and splendour. The priests, who in this ceremony represent the twelve apostles, have each of them a robe of a different colour. The eldest and most venerable father is selected to personate St. Peter, and takes the first place on the right hand. One of them, who is obliged to have a red beard, in order to render the ceremony more lively and natural, has the misfortuneto supply the place of Judas. All these priests being thus regularly placed, the prelate goes out to change his habiliments, and returns with a napkin tied round his waist, and a basin of water in his hand to wash the feet of these twelve apostles. 182 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. He who personates St. Peter, refuses at first the honour in- tended him, saying, Master, thou shalt never loash my feet. But the prelate answers him, Urdess I wash thee, thou shalt have no yari in me. Upon which, the priest makes no further resistance, but permits him to wash his feet. When the prelate comes to the unhappy representative of Judas, he makes a kind of pause, as if to give him time to recollect himself, but at last washes his feet also ; and the ceremony closes with several anthems. On the 2d of September, the monks alone celebrate the fes- tival of St. John the Baptist, whom they have dignified with the character of temperate and abstemious, as setting the first glorious example of fasting. The 26th is consecrated in commemoration of St. John the Evangelist, of whom it is a received notion amongst the Greeks, that he was snatched up to heaven like Enoch and Elias. According to Christopher Angelas, there are six-and-thirty solemn festivals in the Greek calendar, twelve of which are devoted to the honour and service of the Lord Jesus, and the Blessed Virgin ; the remaining twenty-four are appropriated to St. John the Baptist, the Apostles, and the Holy Martyrs. The first sacrament of the Greek Church is that of bap- tism, and the Greeks take care to bring their children as soon . as they are eight days old, to the church door, ap ism. Tiiis religious custom is very ancient amongst them, and may be regarded as an imitation, or subsequent figure, of the presentation of Jesus Christ in the temple of Je- rusalem. If an infant, however, be in any apparent danger of death, he is baptized immediately, for fear he should die in darkness, or as they express it, out of the light. The priest goes to the church door, in order to receive the infant, and to give him his benediction, as St. Simon formerly did to our blessed Saviour. At the same time he marks him with the sign of the cross on his forehead, his mouth, and his breast. These are the preliminary ceremonies to the sacrament of Baptism^, and are styled, putting the seal upon an infant. The initial ceremony is followed by a prayer repeated by the priest ; after which he takes the infant and raises him in his arms, either before the church door, or the image of the bless- ed Virgin, making several signs of the cross upon him. This baptism is performed by a threefold immersion ; but before he administers this sacrament, the priest breathes three times on the infant, which is looked upon as an exorcism, and deliverance from the power and malice of the devil ; afterwards he plunges him three times all over in the baptismal font, and at each GRERK CHURCH PROPER. 183 immersion names one of the three personages of the sacred Trinity. The relations, who bring the child to be baptized, take care to have the baptismal water warmed, throwing into it a collection of the most odoriferous flowers ; and whilst the water is warming the priest sanctifies it by a prayer, breathes upon it, and then pours oil into it, and, with the same oil, anoints the infant in the form of a cross. The oil is a symbol or figure of man’s reconciliation with his Maker, and this unction is performed by the priest upon the child’s forehead and breast, all round about his ears, and upon his loins, du- ring which he pronounces the following forms of words, in anointing the forehead, The servant of the Lord is anointed ; in anointing his breast, For the cure of his soul and body; and at the unction of his ears he adds, that the faith may ba received by hearing. After the last prayer in the office of baptism, the infant is confirmed by the priest, who, on applying the chrism, in the form of a cross, to the forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet of the infant, says. Behold the seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Seven da}^s after baptism, the infant is brought to church in order to be washed. The priest, pronouncing the prayers directed in their ritual, not only washes the infant’s shirt, but cleans his body with a new sponge, or a linen cloth prepared for that purpose, and dismisses him with the following words, Thou art now baptised, surrounded vnth a celestial light, for- tified with the Sacrament of Confirmation, and sanctified and to ashed in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Excommunication excludes the offender from the pale of the Church ; deprives him of all communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; cuts him off from all communion „ with the three hundred and eighteen fathers of the first council of Nice, and with the saints; con- signs him over to the devil and the traitor Judas; and, in short, condemns his body to remain after death as hard as a flint or a piece of steel, unless he humbles himself, and makes atone- ment for his sins by a sincere repentance. The whole form of excommunication abounds with the most direful impreca- tions ; and if it does not absolutely deprive the delinquent of the enjoyment of the four elements, it calls down more curses on his head than are requisite to render that enjoyment insup- portable. It even prohibits his interment after his decease ‘j and the awful apprehension of such appalling misfortunes contributes very much, beyond all doubt, towards imprinting on 184 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. the minds of the Greeks a lively sense of their duty ; to which may be added, their belief respecting those excommunicated persons, who die in impenitence, that their bodies will never dissolve nor moulder away, until such excommunication be taken off The devil, according to a received notion amongst the Greeks, enters into their lifeless corses, and makes them subservient to his wayward will and pleasure. The particular ceremonies and preliminaries of the mar- riage rites of the Greeks are as singular and remarkable as . those of other countries, and we shall, in the first ^ ^ ‘ place, describe those which may, wdth propriety, be termed religious. In the office of matrimony there is a prayer for the bride, who is to be muffled up either in a veil, or a hood. Those who are inclined to be joined together in the bands of wedlock, make their applications to the priest as soon as mass is over for the solemnization of their nuptials. The bridegroom stands on the right hand, and the bride on the left. Two rings, one gold, the other silver, are deposited near to each other on the right side of the communion table, the latter pointing to the right hand, and the former to the left. The priest who performs the ceremony, makes several cros^ upon the bride and bridegroom; puts lighted wax-tapers m their hands, thurifies, or incenses them, in the form of a cross, and accompanies them to the temple. The choir and the deacon pray alternately that the bridegroom and the bride may pros- per in all their undertakings, and be blessed with a numerous, and hopeful issue. When these prayers are over, the priest gives the gold ring to the bridegroom, and the silver one to his spouse, saying three times successively, I join (or I tie) N. and N. these servants of the Almighty here present, in the Name of the Father, &c. Having pronounced this form of words, he makes the sign of the cross with the rings over their heads, before he puts them on the proper finger of the right hand. Then the paranymph, or brideman, exchanges these two rings, and the priest reads a long prayer, in which the virtue and dignity of the nuptial ring are typically compared to Joseph's ring, and that of Daniel, and of Thamar. While the bride and bridegroom are crowmed, the same priest accompanies the ceremony with several benedictions, and other emphatical prayers, which being completed, the bridegroom and his spouse enter the church with their wax- tapers lighted in their hands ; the priest marches in procession before them, with his incense-pot, singing, as he proceeds, the 128th Psalm, which consists of a promise to the faithful Jews of a prosperous and fruitful marriage. At the close of every GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 185 verso the congregation repeat the Doxology, or the Gloria, Pairi. The deacon, as soon as the psalms are over, resumes the prayers, and the choir makes the usual responses. These prayers being concluded, the priest places the crown on the bridegroom’s head, saying. This man, the servayit of the Lord, is crowned, in order to be married to this vwman, &c. After which, he crowns the bride, and repeats the same form, which is followed by a triple benediction, the proper lessons, and prayers. The priest, in the next place, presents the bridegroom and the bride with a goblet, or large glass, full of wine, ready blest for that purpose; after which, he takes off their crowns. Another prayer, accompanied with a proper benediction, and several compliments paid to the newly mar- ried couple, conclude the solemnity. The observance of the following particular customs is looked upon amongst the Greeks as an indispensable obliga- tion, and, in short, a fundamental article of their religion. If a priest, after the decease of his first wife, marries again, he forfeits his title to the priesthood, and is looked upon as a lay- man. If a layman marries a fourth wife, he is excluded from all communion with the Church. When a man has buried his third wife, there is no medium for him ; he must either continue a lay-widower, or enter himself a member of some convent. The general reason assigned for this severe pro- hibition, is, that fourth marriages are absolute polygamy. The Greeks do not entertain the same idea of three subsequent marriages, because, by a most refined subterfuge and evasion, which is scarcely intelligible, they insist that polygamy consists of two copulatives, and that three marriages consist but of one plurality, and a unity. A much better reason for it is, however, assigned by Ricaut, which is, that this custom of the modern Greeks is grounded on the rigour of the ancient church, which checked and censured (in all probability too austerely) all those who indulged themselves in any sensual enjoyments. Some of the primitive fathers were so strict, as not to make allowance for the natural constitution of man and the climate in which he lived, nor would they admit of any other circumstance, as a sufficient plea for indulgence. The following are some preliminary marriage-ceremonies, observed by the Greeks at Athens. The young virgins never stir out of their houses before their wedding-day, and their gallants make love by proxy, or a third person, who has free access to them, and is some relation or particular acquaintance, in whose fidelity and friendship they can properly confide. The lover does not therefore so much as see his intended bride 16 ^ 186 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. till the day appointed for the solemnization of their nuptials. On that day, the bride is handed about in public for a long time, moving in a very sIoav and solemn pace. The proces- sion between the church and the bridegroom’s house occupies at least two hours, and is preceded by a select band of haut- boys, tabors, and other musical instruments. During this ce- remony and the procession, the young virgins carry a large crown on their heads, composed of filigree work, decked with costly pearls, which is so cumbrous and troublesome, that they are obliged to walk as upright as an arrow. This public wedding would be looked upon with an eye of contempt if the parties were not painted, or rather daubed over in a very rude and inelegant manner. A striking difference exists between the Greeks and the Latins, in regard to the manner of administering the extreme unction, and there are several ceremonies which Extreme Unc- peculiarly to the two unctions of the Greeks. The archbishop, or, in his absence, the bishop, consecrates, on Wednesday in holy week, the oil of unction for the whole year ; and on Maundy-Thursday, the patriarch, or bishop, administers the unction publicly to all the faithful. The prelate is anointed first by the CEconomist, after which he himself anoints the whole congregation. The other circumstances relating to the unction and ex- treme unction of the Greeks, which are peculiar to themselves, are, that the priest, after he has dipped his cotton, which is fastened to the end of a stick, into the sacred oils, anoints the penitent, or the sick person, in the form of a cross, upon the forehead, chin, cheeks, the upper side, and palms of the hands. After which he pronounces a short prayer. The seven assisting priests anoint all the sick persons, one after another. The principal lays the gospel upon his head, whilst the others lay their hands upon him. The differences which have been observed between the unction of the Latins and that of the Greeks, consist in, that by the laws of the Latin Church one person alone may administer the Sacrament of extreme unciion ; whereas the administration of it, in the opinion of the Greeks, is irregular, unless three at least assist at the celebration of it. By the Latin ritual, the bishop only has authority to consecrate the oil ; but the Grecian priests, as well as their prelates, are invested with that power. Independently of the parts of the body of their sick, which are differently anointed, it is cus- tomary with the Greeks to anoint their houses also, and to imprint upon them at the same time several signs of the cross. GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 187 On the decease of any person, the whole family appear like so many actors at the representation of a deep tragedy; all are in tears, and at the same time utter forth the most dismal groans. The body of the deceased, lemnUieV whether male or female, is dressed in its best appa- rel, and afterwards extended upon a bier, with one wax taper at the head, and another at the feet. The wife, if the husband be the object of their sorrow, the children, servants, relations, and acquaintance, enter the apartment in which the deceased is thus laid out, with their clothes rent, tearing their hair, beat- ing their breast, and disfiguring their faces with their nails. When the body of the deceased is completely dressed, and decently extended on the bier, for the regular performance of his last obsequies, and the hour is arrived for his interment, the crucifix is carried in procession at the head of the funeral train. The priests and deacons who accompany them, reci- ting the prayers appointed by the church, burn incense, and implore the Divine Majesty to receive the soul of the deceased into his heavenly mansions. The wife follows his dear re- mains, drowned in a flood of tears, and so disconsolate that, if we might form a judgment from her tears, and the excess of her cries and lamentations, one would imagine she would in- stantly set her soul at liberty to fly after, and overtake her husband’s. There are some women, however, to be met with, who have no taste for these extravagant testimonies of their grief and anguish, and yet their mourning is not less solemn than that of their neighbours. It is rather singular that the Greeks have women vvho are mourners by profession, Avho weep in the widow’s stead for a certain sum ; and by frequent practice of their art, can represent to the life all the violent emotions and gesticulations that naturally result from the most pungent and unfeigned sorrow. As soon as the funeral service is over, they kiss the crucifix, and afterwards salute the mouth and forehead of the deceased. After that, each of them eats a small of bit of bread, and drinks a glass of wine in the church, wishing the soul of the deceased a good repose, and the afflicted family all the conso- lation they can wish for. A widow who has lost her hus- band, a child who has lost his father or mother, in short all persons who are in deep mourning, dress no victuals at their own houses. The friends and relations of the deceased send them in provisions for the first eight days ; at the end of which they pay the disconsolate family a charitable visit, in order to condole with, and comfort them under their unhappy loss, and to wait on them to the church, where prayers are read for the 188 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. repose of the soul of the deceased. The men again eat and drink in the church, whilst the women renew their cries and lamentations. But those who can afibrd to hire professed mourners, never undergo this second fatigue, but substitute proper persons in their stead, to weep over their husbands’ tombs three days after their interment; at which time prayers are always read for the repose of his soul. After the ninth day, masses and prayers are again read upon the same occa- sion, which are repeated at the expiration of forty days; as also, at the close of six months, and on the last day of the year. After the ceremony is concluded, they make their friends a present of some corn, boiled rice, wine, and some sweetmeats. This custom, which is generally called by the Greeks, Ta Sperna, is looked upon by them as very ancient. They renew it with increased solemnity and devotion, on the Friday immediately preceding their Lent, that before Christ- mas, on Good Friday, and the Friday before Whitsuntide ; which days the Greek Church have devoted to the service of the dead, not only of those who have departed this life ac- cording to the common course of nature, but those likewise who have unfortunately met with a sudden and untimely death. There is no mass said for the dead on the days of their in- terment ; but forty are said in every parish on the following day, at seven-pence per mass. As soon as they arrive in the church, the priests read aloud the service for the dead, whilst a young clerk repeats some particular Psalms of David at the foot of the bier. When the service is concluded, twelve loaves, and as many bottles of wine are, distributed amongst the poor at the church door. Every priest has ten gazettas, or Vene- tian pence, and the bishop who accompanies the corpse, three half crowns. The grand vicar, treasurer, and keeper of the archives, who are next to the prelate in point of dignity, have three crowns, or a double fee. After this distribution, one of the priests lays a large piece of broken pot upon the breast of the deceased, on which a cross, and the usual characters I. N. B. I., being the initials of four Greek words, signifying Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, are engraved with the point of a penknife, or some other tool or instrument proper for that occasion. After that they withdraw and take their leave of the deceased. The relations kiss the lips ; and this is looked upon as a duty so very imperative, that the neglect of it cannot be dispensed with, although the person died of the most infec- tious distemper. Nine days afterwards, the colyva is sent to church ; which, GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 189 according to the Greeks, is a large dish of boiled wheat, gar- nished with blanched almonds, raisins, pomegranates, sesame^, and strewed round with sweet basil, and other odoriferous herbs. The middle of the dish is raised in a pyramidical form, adorned at top with a large bunch of Venetian artificial flowers ; large lumps of sugar, or dried sweetmeats, are ranged, like Maltese crosses, all round the borders ; and this is what the Greeks call the oblation of the colyva, which is established amongst them, in order that the true believer may commemorate the resurrection of the dead, according to those words of our blessed Saviour, recorded in St. John. — Exceyt a grain oficheatfall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. It must be ac- knowledged that true piety and devotion have contributed very much towards the establishment of this kind of ceremony ; but it must be also allowed, that by a kind of fatality, which too frequently attends the most pious institutions, this, as well as other ceremonies of a similar nature, has degenerated into su- perstition. It is worthy of remark that this ceremony of the Grecian colyva, which is peculiar to their funeral solemnities, their ninth day’s devotion, their quarantains, their anniversa- ries, and the days appointed for the commemoration of their dead, is also observed on their most solemn festivals. The comfits, or sweetmeats, and other fruits, are added merely to render their boiled wheat a little more palatable. The sexton, or grave-digger, carries this dish of colyva upon his head, preceded by an attendant with two large flambeaux made of wood and gilt, embellished with several rows of large ribands,, and edged with lace, six inches deep. This grave-digger is followed by three other attendants, or waiters, one with two large bottles of wine in his hands, another loaded with two baskets full of fruits, and the third carrying a Turkish carpet, which is to be spread over the tomb of the deceased, and made use of as a table-cloth for their colyva, and their funeral enter- tainment. The priest reads the service of the dead, during the time that this customary oblation is carried to church, and he is af- terwards complimented with a large proportion of it : wine is abundantly served to every person of tolerable credit or re- pute, and the remainder is distributed amongst the poor. As soon as the oblation is carried out of doors, the hired mourn- ers repeat their hideous outcrys, the same as on the day of the interment, and the relations, friends, and acquaintance, like- wise express their sorrow by a thousand ridiculous grimaces. The whole recompense which the hired mourners receive for GREEK CHURCH PROPER, I GO their flood of tears, is five loaves, two quarts of wine, half a cheese, a quarter of mutton, and fifteen pence in money. The relations are obliged, consistently with the custom of some par- ticular places, to pay several visits to the tomb of the deceased, to weep over it, and, as an incontestable testimony of their un- feigned sorrow, they never change their clothes during the time of their mourning; the husbands never shave themselves, and the widows suffer themselves to be overrun with vermin. In some particular islands, the natives mourn constantly at home, and the widowers and widows never go to church, nor frequent the sacraments, whilst they are in mourning. The bishops and priests are sometimes obliged to compel them to attend church, under pain of excommunication, of which the Greeks have a more awful apprehension than of fire and sword. The idea which the Greeks entertain of purgatory, is very dark and confused, and in general they leave the decision of eternal salvation or condemnation to the day of judgment They are at a loss to fix and determine the place where the souls of the deceased reside till the final day of resurrection, and in this state of incertitude, they never omit to pray for them, hoping that God, of his infinite goodness, will incline his ear to their supplications. The first, or lowest order of their priesthood is the lecturer, whose peculiar province is to read the sacred scriptures to the Order and people on solemn festivals : from this station he Ordination of is gradually advanced, first to be a chorister or their Priests, chanter, then subdeacon, whose office it is at mas3 to sing the epistle ; and then he is ordained deacon, and sings the gospel. The last order is that of the priests, who are either seculars, or regulars. According to the orders in the pontifical, when a person is to be ordained a priest, t\vo deacons accompany him to the mcred doors, and there deliver him into the hands of the priests. The protopapas, and he who is next in dignity to him, lead him three times round the altar, singing the hymn of the mart 3 ws. The candidate for the priesthood then kneels down, and the ordinant makes three times over his head the sign of the cross, repeats the prayers adapted to that particular occasion, and lays his hands upon him. In one of the prayers in particular, the ordinant enumerates the principal functions of a priest ; viz. those of sacrificing, preaching the gospel, and administering the sacrament of baptism, &c. These prayers being concluded, he orders the new priest to rise., and puts the band of the horary, which hung down GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 191 behind, over his right shoulder. He then presents him with the epitrachelium, or the stole; and the 'phdonium, or the surplice; the choir singing during the whole of the time this ceremony is performing. A deacon afterwards pronounces the following exhortation, Let us love one another. Then the Patriarch kisses the altar; and each priest approaches the sacred table, in regular order, according to his rank and digni- ty, and not only kisses it, but also the patriarch’s hand, which lies upon it, and then his cheek. The priests salute each other, and the deacons follow their example. The priests wear a white woollen fillet behind their hats or caps, which hangs down upon their shoulders, and is called “ peristera,” that is to say, a clove ; and is looked upon as an emblem or figure of the innocence and purity of the priest- hood. The bishop moves this dove from any priest under his jurisdiction, who is proved guilty of any enormous offence ; and the majority of them are so notoriously vicious, that very few can boast of wearing this badge of innocence for any long period of time. At the ordination of a bishop, the priests deliver him into the hands of two prelates, who oblige him to make a formal procession round the altar, as in the preceding ordinations. After these preliminary ceremonies, the chartophylax, or archivist, delivers the contacium, which is a small collection of degrees, forms, &c. relating to the election of a bishop, to the patriarch, who takes it in his left hand, and lays his right on the candidate for the bishopric, in order to read the form of his election ; after this lesson, he opens the book of the gospels, and lays it on the head of the candidate, all the assist- ing bishops laying their hands on the book at the same time : all these ceremonies are accompanied with several prayers which are suitable to the solemn occasion. The prayers being over, the ordinant takes the book from the head of the bishop elect, and having deposited it on the altar, presents him with the pallium : this ceremony is ac- companied Avith singing and with holy kisses. The Greeks are, in general, an ignorant and superstitious people. Amongst their superstitious customs, the ^ following may be included as some of the most CuXafs.^ extraordinary ; — They attach a particular sanctity to some fountains, which they look upon as miraculous waters, especially w^hen they are devoted to the service of any celebrated saint. This su- perstitious notion appears to be a true copy of a pagan ori- ginal. 192 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. They think it a duty incumbent upon them to refrain from blood, and all meats that have been strangled ; but notwith- standing this scruple of conscience, they are not very nice in regard to the kind of provisions which are set before them. If they be strict, however, in the observance of this custom, they are in that respect very nearly allied to the Jews. They call the Nile the Monarch of the Floods; and are of opinion, that the overflowing of this river is a peculiar bless- ing, and an indulgence of the Almighty to Egypt, on account of our Saviour and the blessed Virgin having been sheltered and protected in that country from the persecutions of Herod. Their art of physic, which is generally practised by empi- rics and ignorant pretenders, is accompanied by innumerable superstitions. The following may be adduced as a striking instance of the extent of their medical knowledge. When their patients’ heads are so very much disordered as to cause delirium, they use the same means for their recovery as with a demoniac, or one possessed with the devil. The physician in this case ceases to prescribe for him ; but his friends make an immediate application to an exorcist ; that is, to one of their papas, who approaches the patient’s bed-side, and not only reads several prayers over him, but sprinkles him with holy water. He pours likewise a plentiful quantity of it into the bed in which the patient lies, and, in short, sprinkles the room all over. The exorcisms ensue, and the papas in the most solemn manner, expel the imaginary demons. Conceit effects a cure which was supposed to be beyond the skill of the most able physician. The Greeks are extremely fond of visiting their churches and chapels, especially such as are on precipices, and places very difficult of access ; and, indeed, the principal part of their devotion consists in voluntary fatigues, which is, in their eyes, a kind of mortification of the flesh. On their first arri- val at the church or chapel, they repeatedly cross themselves, and make a thousand genuflexions and profound bows. They kiss the image which is erected in it, and present it with three or four grains of the choicest frankincense ; recommending themselves to the protection of the blessed Virgin, or to the saint whom the image represents ; but in case the saint does not incline his ear, and hearken to their vows, they soon make him sensible of their resentment. One of the greatest frauds engendered by superstition, is the urn of Amorgos, which is looked upon as the oracle of the Archipelago. It has this in common with the ancient oracles of Greece, that it is indebted to the artifice and roguery of the GREEK CHURCH PROTER. 193 priests for the fame of its predictions. This urn, which stands near a chapel consecrated to St. George, fills and disembogues itself several times in the course of a day, and sometimes with- in so small a period as half an hour, which is looked upon as a miracle, and ascribed to the prevailing influence and power of St. George. This is the very same St. George, who, at Scyros, flies at and seizes upon those impious persons who neglect to perform their vows. His image, according to tra- ditionary report, lays violent hands on the delinquents, jumps upon their shoulders, and gives them many severe blows on the head and back, till they have discharged the duty incum- bent on them. They see him sailing in the air, and frisking about from one place to another, till at last he settles upon the back of a blind monk, who carries him he knows not whither. Those who consult the urn of Amorgos before they engage in any affair of the last importance, are sure to prove unsuccess- ful if, upon their first approach, they find the water lower than ordinary. Father Richard assures us, that the islanders annually, at Easter, consult this urn of Amorgos, which, from its fulness or emptiness, presages a plentiful or a bad harvest. There is a very particular custom observed in the island of Andros, the origin of which, however, has hitherto baffled the most rigid inquiry. At the procession on the festival of Cor- pus Christi, the bishop of the Romish Church, who carries the body of our blessed Saviour, tramples under foot all the Christians, of whatever sect they may be, who lie prostrate before him in the streets. The same custom is observed at Naxos, and the missionary who relates the story adds, that such as have any sick persons in their family, bring them out, in order to lie in the way of the blessed Sacrament ; and the more they are trodden, the nearer they approach to convales- cence. The inhabitants of some parts of the island of Chios, are of opinion that a corpse, which is not corrupted in forty days, is transformed into a familiar spirit, or hobgoblin, which is very troublesome and impertinent, knocks at people’s doors, and even calls them distinctly by their names. If any person presumes to answer to his call, they think he will most assu- redly die in two or three days at furthest. At Nicaria, near Samos, the inhabitants, who are all swim- mers, will not marry their daughters to any but such young fellows who can dive eight fathoms deep at least. They are obliged to produce a certificate of their diving ability, and when a papa, or some substantial islander, is determined to dispose of his daughter in marriage, he appoints a day, when 194 GREEK CHURCH PRORER. the best swimmer is to bear away the prize. As soon as the candidates are all stripped naked, the young lady makes her personal appearance, and in they jump. He who continues longest under water is the fortunate bridegroom. The Greeks of the Holy Land assert, and firmly believe it to be a real fact, that the birds which fly round about Jerusa- lem, never sing during passion week ; but stand motionless and confounded almost all the time, testifying a sympathetic sorrow and compassion for the sufierings of our Saviour. The sacred fire of the Greeks is a ceremony more super- stitious than religious, a whimsical, merry custom, which is very justly a stumbling' block and rock of oflence to several serious Mahometans, instilling into their minds a most con- temptible idea of the eastern Christians. In short, it is nothing but a piece of priestcraft, to cheat the too credulous pilgrims out of their money, by making them believe that, on Easter- eve, a fire descends from Heaven into the sacred sepulchre. The Turks arc no strangers to this pious fraud, but connive at it, because it is very advantageous to them ; and the patri- archs on their part declare that they could never pay their taxes, nor their tributes, if this stratagem, hovv'ever unbecoming the practice of a Christian, should be discovered and exposed. Thevenot has given us the following description of this religious farce. “About eight in the morning the Greeks extinguish all their lamps, and those in the sacred sepulchre. Then they run about staring like persons distracted, bawling and making a hide- ous howling, without any regard or reverence to the sacred place. Every time they passed the holy sepulchre, they cried out, Eleyson! that is, ‘Have mercy upon us!’ It was very di- verting to see them afterwards jump upon one another’s backs, kicking one another’s shins, and flogging each other on the shoulders with knotted cords. A whole crowd of them got together, and taking up some of their comrades in their arms, ran for some time with them round the sepulchre, until at last they threw them down in the dirt, and laughed till they hal- looed again at their own unlucky gambols. Those, on the other hand, who had thus been made the laughing stocks of the crowd, ran in their turn after the others, in order to be equally mischievous, and to revenge themselves for the affront which they had received ; in short, they all acted like a set of idle fools and merry-andrews. Every now and then they would lift up their eyes to Heaven, ana hold up their wax-ta- pers, with outstretched arms, as if they implored the Almighty to send down his celestial fire to light them. After this folly and extravagance had continued till about three o’clock in the CREEK CHURCH PROPER. 195 evening, two archbishops, and two Greek bishops, dressed in their patriarchal robes and coifs, marched out of the choir, attended by the clergy, and began their procession round the sepulchre : the Armenians likewise attended, with their clergy, followed by the Coptan bishop. After they had taken three solemn tours around the sepulchre, a Greek bishop came out of the Chapel of the Angel, which is at the entrance of the sepulchre, and informed the individual who personated the Patriarch of Jerusalem, that the sacred fire had descended from heaven. He then entered the Holy Sepulchre with a large bundle of wax-tapers in each hand, and after him the prelate, who represented the Armenian Pa- triarch, and the bishop of the Copti. Some short time after- wards, the Greek archbishop came out in a very whimsical posture, marching with his eyes cast upon the ground, and both his hands full of lighted wax-tapers. As soon as he ap- peared, the mob crowded upon one another’s shoulders, each pressed forwards, kicking one, and boxing another, to reach the prelate, for the purpose of lighting his taper by that which he held in his hand ; because that fire which comes imme- diately from his, is looked upon to be the purest and most holy. In the mean time the Janizaries, who were the guards of the sepulchre, dealt their blows indiscrimi- nately about them, to make room for the archbishop, who used his utmost endeavours to get clear of the crowd. At last he came to a stone altar, which stood before the door of the choir, and opposite that of the holy sepulchre. Im- mediately the populace flocked round about him for some of his sacred fire ; but those who had lighted their tapers, in their en- deavours to retreat, were overpowered by others, who very de- voutly struck them with their fists, and took away the fire that had cost them so much labour and fatigue to procure : in short the gravest of them all threw down and trampled their neighbours under foot, to get close to the prelate. At last, the Greek archbishop withdrew, and the Armenian bishop re- tired to the church of the Armenians, and the Coptan bishop to that of the Copti. In the mean time, the Turks, who kept the door of the holy sepulchre, permitted none to enter but those who paid for lighting their wax tapers at the lamps of that sanctuary, as those lamps are the first that are touched by the sacred fire. In a few minutes after, the church was illuminated with above two thousand branches of blazing torches, whilst the numerous congregation, hooting like madmen, began to repeat their former frolics. A man, with Q drum at his back, ran with all imaginable speed round 196 GREEK CHURCH PROPER, the sacred sepulchre, and another ran after him, and drummed upon it with two sticks ; when he was tired, a third supplied his place. Devotion, or rather custom, enjoins the Greeks not to eat nor drink that day, till they have received the sacred fire.” Some ascribe the origin of this superstition to a real mira- cle, which they pretend was formerly wrought in the presence of the whole congregation on Easter-eve, in the church be- longing to the holy sepulchre. The Almighty sent down celestial flame into this divine monument, which kindled or lighted again all the lamps, which by the orders of the Church are extinguished in passion week, and thereby indulged them with new fire. Every one was an eye-witness of the descent of this new flame from heaven, which darted from one place to another, and kindled every lamp and taper that was extin- guished. It is added also, that the Almighty, being provoked at the irregularities and disorders of the Christian Crusades, refused to work this miracle one Easter-eve, when they were assembled together in the most solemn manner, to be spectators of the descent of his celestial fire; but that at last, he vouchsafed to have mercy on them, and incline his ear to their fervent prayers, and repeated supplications. The descent of this holy fire continued for seven hundred and fifty y^ars after the time of St. Jerome ; but since that period, it has, owing to some reason not easily defined, been wholly discon- tinued : the most probable conjecture is, that the whole fraud was discovered, and an end was consequently put to the enact- ment of this religious farce. This ceremony of the sacred fire, which is so whimsical and extravagant, and so unbecoming the practice of a Christ- ian, has introduced another superstitious custom very conform- able to its romantic original. In this same church of the Holy Sepulchre, there are some men and women, who have several pieces of linen cloth lying before them, which they mark from one end to the other with a cross, made by the tapers kindled at the sacred fire. Thus marked, they serve for the shrouds or winding sheets of these good devotees, and are reserved for that solemn purpose, as. the most sacred relics. Amongst the superstitious customs of the Greeks, may be included the marks, which the pilgrims imprint upon their arms, and which they take care to produce as a certificate of their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. These marks are made with some particular wooden moulds, filled with charcoal-dust, and afterwards pressed hard upon the arm. As soon as the part is thus stamped, it is pricked with an instrument full of needles; it is then bound up, and a scurf or scab generally rises upon GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 197 the place, which falls off again in about two or three days ; but the blue impression remains ever after. There is a stone still to be seen not far from Bethlehem, which is perfectly white, and which colour we are told is owing to the extraordinary virtue of the Blessed Virgin’s milk. The Greeks assure us, that this stone will infallibly fill a woman’s breast with milk ; and even the Turks them- selves, and the Arabians, are so strongly rivetted to the same belief, that they oblige their wives, who have sucking infants nt their breasts, to take a little of the powder of this stone infused in water, in order that the above-mentioned desirable effect may be produced. Mount Sinai, Mount Horeb, the* ffontiers of the Holy Land, the Holy Land itself, m short, all the countries from the Red Sea to Jerusalem, are, as it were, so many sources which have immemorial ly supplied the Greeks with fictions, and their bigots with superstition. Upon Mount Horeb the Greeks pretend to show the place in which the prophet Jeremiah concealed the tables of the law, and a particular stone, on which are several Hebrew characters, carved by the prophet himself According to this idea, they pay to this stone a superstitious homage, which consists of a number of prayers and innumerable signs of the cross, per- formed with the utmost hurry and precipitation, and conse- quently with very little zeal or devotion. The Greeks ascribe to the waters of Jordan, and almost all the fountains of the Holy Land, the supernatural virtue of healing several distempers. The plant generally known by the name of the Rosa of Jericho, is in their opinion a sure defence against thunder and lightning, and a speedy relief for a woman in the time of her travail. A certain traveller, ?Jorison, assures us, with an extraordinary air of piety and devotion, that this last quality is owing to the Blessed Virgin, of whom that vegetable is the figure or rejiresentation. SEC. II. RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES AND CUSTOMS OF THF RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH, It is impossible perhaps to settle with any certainty at what period, or by whom, Christianity was first introduced into Russia. What we learn with most appearance Introduction of probability is, that the Grand Duchess Olga, of Christianity or, as her name is pronounced, Olha, grandmo- Russia, ther to Wladimir, was the first person of distinction converted to Christianity in Russia, about the jmar 955, and that she as- sumed the name of Ileleua, at her conversion ; under wdiich 17 ^ 198 RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. name she still stands as a saint in the Russian calendar. Me- thodius, and Cyril the philosopher, travelled from Greece into Moravia, about the year 900, to plant the gospel; where they translated the service of the church, or some parts of it, from the Greek into the Sclavonian language, thecommon language, at that time, of Moravia and Russia ; and thus it is thought that this princess imbibed the first principles of Christianity. And, being herself fully persuaded of its truth, she was very earnest with her son, the Grand Duke Sviatoslav, to embrace it also ; but this, from political motives, he declined to do. In the course, however, of a few years, Christianity is said to liave made considerable progress in that nation. It is fully ascertained that, about the end of the tenth century, the Christian religion was introduced into Russia, chiefly through their connexion with Greece ; and coming from this quarter, it was very natural that the doctrine and discipline of the church of Constantinople, should become at first the pat- tern of the church of Russia, which it still continues to follow in the greatest part of its offices. Hence likewise the patriarch of Constantinople formerly enjoyed the privilege of a spiritual supremacy over the Russians, to whom he sent a Metropoli- tan whenever a vacancy happened. Little occurred in the ecclesiastical history of Russia, except perhaps the rise of the sect of the Raskolniki, which excited considerable tumults and commotions in that kingdom, till Peter the Great ascended the throne of Russia; who, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, made some remarkable changes in the form and administration both of its civil and ecclesiastical government. This great prince m^ade no change in the articles of faith received among his countrymen, which contain the doctrine of the Greek church ; but he took the utmost pains to have this doctrine explained in a manner conformable to the dictates of right reason, and the spirit of the gospel ; and he used the most effectual methods to destroy, on the one hand, the influ- ence of that hideous superstition that sat brooding over the whole nation ; and, on the other, to dispel the ignorance of the clergy, which was incredible, and that of the people, which would have surpassed it, had that been possible. To crown these noble attempts, he extinguished the spirit of persecution, and renewed and confirmed to Christians, of all denominations, liberty of conscience, and the privilege of performing divine worship in the manner prescribed by their respective liturgies and institutions. This liberty, however, was modified in such a manner, as to restrain and defeat any RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 199 attempts that might be made by the Jesuits and other members of the church of Rome, to promote the interests of Popery in Russia, or to extend the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff be- yond the chapels of that communion that were tolerated by law; and particular charge was given to the council, to which belonged the cognizance of ecclesiastical affairs, to use their utmost care and vigilance to prevent the propagation of Romish tenets among the people. All this caution had, no doubt, arisen from the repeated efforts of the designing pontiffs of Rome and their missionaries to extend the papal empire over the Greek churches, under the pretence of uniting the two communions; and, with this view, a negotiation was entered into in 1580, under John BasUides, Grand Duke of Russia, who seems to have had political ends to answer in pretending to favour this union. But, although the professed object of this negotiation failed, the ministry of Possevin, the learned and artful Jesuit, who was charged with the mission on the part of the Roman pontiff, Avas not without fruit among the Russians, especially among those residing in the Polish dominions. Proposals for uniting the two communions have been made by different popes, as Honorius III., Gregory IX., Innocent IV., Gregory XIII., and last of all, by the Academy of Sor- bonne in 1718; but the Russian sovereigns and the nation have always remained firm and true to their religion : at the same time, all religions, without exception, are tolerated in Russia. In the year 1581, in the reign of CzdiX John Vasilievitz, Pope Gregory XIII., proposed to that sovereign that the Lutheran clergy should be banished from Russia; but he was answered, that in that country all nations have a free exercise of their religions ; and now in Russia there are Lutherans, Calvinists, Hernhutters, Armenians, Jews, Mahometans, Pagans, Hindoos, &c. &c. Roman Catholics are to be met with in almost every government, particularly in those conquered from the Polish dominions : their clergy are governed by their own rulers, and are totally independent of the Russian ecclesiastical juris- diction. Peter likewise introduced a considerable change into the manner of governing the church. The splendid dignity of patriarch, which approached too near the lustre and preroga- tives of majesty, not to be offensive to the emperor and burden- some to the people, was suppressed, in 1721, by this spirited monarch, who declared himself (and thus became, like the British monarch) head of the national church. The functions of this high and important office were entrust- 200 RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. eel with a council assembled at St. Petersburg, which was called the Holy Synod ; and one of the archbishops, the most distinguished by his integrity and prudence, was appointed as president of it. The otlier orders of the clergy continued in their respective rank and offices ; but both their revenues and their authority were considerably diminished. It was resolved at first, in this general reformation, to abolish all monasteries and convents, as prejudicial to the public, and unfriendly to population ; but this resolution was not put in execution ; on the contrary, the emperor himself erected a magnificent monaster}’’ in honour of Alexander Neiosky, whom the Russians place in the list of their heroes and saints.* In her doctrines, the Russian Church agrees with the Greek Church ; like her, she receives the seven sacraments or mys- Doctrines teries ; allows no statues or graven images, but admits pictures and invocation of saints. During the celebration of the mass, the laity, not excepting the prince himself, are obliged either to stand or to kneel, and be uncovered ; and to observe the same position during the performance of all the other parts of divine service. Bergius, in his Slate of the Russian Church, assures us, however, that “ The ancient Russians always pray either standing, or prostrate upon the ground ; carefully avoiding the posture of kneeling, for fear they should be thought to imitate those soldiers who mocked the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Grand Duke, who sat on the throne in the time of Olearius, always prostrated himself to the ground when he attended public worship. For tliis reason there are no stools nor benches made use of in the Russian churches, except when there happens to be a homily read, or a sermon preached. No dogs are suffered to enter the church door ; and every thing which has the least tendency to inter- rupt their devotions is prohibited. None but those who offi- ciate at the altar are admitted into the sanctuary. The Czar, however, is allowed to enter it at the ceremony of his corona- tion, and when he receives the communion ; some others of the laity, who are persons of distinction, are likewise admitted into it, provided they take care to keep at a great distance from the altar. The Russian mass is always performed in the ancient Scla- vonian language ; and a great part of it is said in a low voice. Like the Greeks, the Russians bow down before the host, and * All Religions. RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 201 adore it. From the preface of the mass to the communion, the doors of the sanctuary are shut, and a curtain is drawn before it, which covers the altar ; in Easter-week, however, the sanctuary doors are always open, even during mass. To the other ceremonies observed at the communion, in conformity with those of the Greeks, we must add, according to Olearius, that the Muscovites administer the sacrament to those who are deprived of their reason, by touching their lips only with the bread dipped in the wine ; that they are not allowed to give the communion to a woman who lies in, in the room where she was brought to bed ; — those who have taken a false oath before a court of judicature, or have been guilty of any noto- rious crime, cannot receive this sacrament of the Eucharist, till they are at the point of death ; and that it is customary to give those who are sick, some water or some brandy, in which seve- ral of their sacred relics have been first infused, before they give them the communion. Their Bible is translated into the Sclavonian language from the Greek Septuagint ; but they never suffer it to be carried into church, for fear of profaning it by the several immodest pas- sages that are to be met with in the Old Testament. It is the New Testament only, and some particular passages extracted from the Psalms and the Prophets, which are read in their churches ; they are, however, allowed to read the whole scrip- tures at home in private. In Father Le Brun’s Collection of Liturgies, we find the contents of a small Muscovite ritual, in which directions are laid down for the observance of the following customs : 1. Se- veral prayers to be read on the day that a woman is deli- vered of a male-infant. 2. On the eighth day after the birth of such infant, being the day on which he is to receive his name. 3. On the fortieth day after her lying-in. 4. For a woman that has miscarried. 5. At an exorcism. 6. At a reconcilia- tion in Church. 7. On a divorce. 8. When the communion is to be administered to the sick. 9. Prayers to Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Virgin, for a true believer at the point of death. 10. The order or method to be observed at the burial of such persons who die during the festival of Easter, or in Holy week. 11. For a priest after his decease. 12. For the burial of an infant. 13. Prayers for a blessing on the pro- visions made for Easter ; for their cheese and eggs ; for their first fruits, and those who offer them ; for the consecration of a house, and the entering into possession of it ; for sinking a well, and the purification of it when any filth has fallen into it. 14. Prayers for those who have eaten any unclean meats. 202 RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 15. Prayers for the purification of an unclean vessel. 16. For all sorts of grain ; for seed-time, &c. It is presumed that the foregoing will be sufficient to give the reader a tolerable idea of the several customs which are observed by the Russians on particular occasions, and the observance of which is especially enjoined by their ritual. One peculiar custom, however, we cannot omit ; viz. that when they take possession of a house, they consecrate it at the same time with salt. Cornelius le Brun, in his Travels to Muscovy, gives us the following account of the consecration of the Czar’s palace, in 1702. “ The floor was strewed all over with hay, and on the right hand a table was placed, garnished out with abundance of large and little loave.s ; over some of them was thrown a handful of salt, and a silver salt-cellar, full of salt, set upon others.” This custom of consecrating with salt, which is attended by all friends and relatives, is repeated for several days together, and is an emblem or token of that prosperity and success Avhich they wish may attend them, and of their friendly hope that they may never afterwards want any of the necessaries of life. When they quit their habita- tions, they leave some hay and bread upon the floor, which are symbols of those blessings which they wish may attend those who take the house after their departure. The constitution of the Russian monks, their fasts, and their profound ignorance, are much the same as those of the Greek monks. Peter the Great was the first who attempted to lay a duty, or tax, upon the convents ; he commanded that no persons should be admitted into them but those v4m were fifty years of age, or upwards, he having observed that a considerable num- ber of able young fellows were shut up in them, and thereby rendered useless to the state. The Russians have a peculiar regard for relics, images, and pictures of saints ; — for the invocation of saints, the cru- cifix, and the sign of the cross; for an infinite number of inclinations, genuflexions, and pros- trations, not only before those objects which are adorable, but those likewise which demand only a common reverence and esteem ; and also for numberless processions and pilgrimages. The cathedral church at Moscow is in possession of the garment of Jesus Christ, and a picture of the Blessed Virgin, drawn by St. Luke ! The Russians look upon this picture, as the palladium of their state. Other churches boast of being possessed of the bodies of several Russian saints ; and thirty-six gold and silver shrines, full of very valuable relics, are to be seen in the church of the RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 203 Annunciation. These shrines, or boxes, are said to contain, amongst other things, some of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ ; one of the hands of St. Mark, and some of the bones of the prophet Daniel, &c. Their images or })ictures, which are generally painted in oil upon wood, must be made by some Muscovite, and are sold, or, according to their prevaricating phraseology, ex- changed or bartered for a certain sum of money. To sell them is looked upon as a sin ; but in the time of Olearius, the patriarch would not suffer any foreigners to have them in their houses for fear they should profane them. This precaution was carried to so high a pitch, that a Dutchman having purchased a house that was built with stone, the Russian who sold it scraped the wall on which the picture of a saint had been painted, and carried the rubbish off the pre- mises. Every Russian, whether his condition be high or low, has his own titular saint, to whom he offers up his morning and evening prayers, and whom he neglects not to consult on all occasions of a doubtful or hazardous nature. In the shops at St. Petersburg, an image of this titular saint is always placed in a conspicuous position, and you cannot possibly pay a higher compliment to a Russian than in entering his shop to make your obeisance to his favourite saint. A Russian shop keeper is a notorious cheat, but if you have paid a becoming respect to his saint, it is supposed that you are immediately admitted into his good graces, and although the majority of the saints were themselves the most consummate cheats and impostors, yet it is believed that they do not sanction similar practices in others. For this reason, a familiar nod or a polite bow to a Russian image becomes, in many instances, a posi- tive act of good policy, for you thereby stand a good chance of escaping from the cheating and exorbitant demands of the Russian trader. The walls of their churches are all covered with pictures, which are not only representations of Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Virgin, but of St. Nicholas, and several other saints, whom the Russians have made choice of for their patrons and protectors. In all their houses, a picture of some favourite saint is hung near one of the windows, with a wax-taper be- fore it;^ several are likewise hung up in the streets, as objects of public devotion ; but the majority of the latter, according to Carlisle, are secured in glass-cases, and exposed to public view, either on the city gates or the church-doors; or they are suspended on some cross-road. If a Russian be in the greatest 9 204 RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. haste, he must pay his respects to the pictures of these saints : not in a transient, careless manner, but he must stop a minute or two, to put up a short ejaculation ; standing bare-headed, making half-a-dozen profound bows, and as many crosses. The first thing that must be done, when any one enters a Russian’s apartment, is to take notice of the picture of his saint, making the sign of the cross, at the same time repeating the Hospodi, {Lord have mercy upon us,) and bowing before it ; after that he pays his compliments to the master of the house. Amongst the poorer sort, with whom the pictures of their saints are generally situated in some dark hole or cor- ner, without any wax-taper, or the least outward appearance of distinction or respect ; the devout Russian, for fear he should be in any way deficient in the discharge of his duty, never fails to ask where the God is, that is to say, the picture of the saint. This religious respect is grounded on that divinity, which the Russians ascribe to their images, and on the num- berless miracles which they believe to have been wrought by them. However, this supernatural power does not hinder these images from falling to decay : and in such cases they inter them in their church-yards, or in their gardens ; some- times indeed they put them, with much care and reverence, into some rapid stream, that the current may carry them away ; for to throw them in would be looked upon as an act of disrespect. The invocation of saints constitutes a considerable part of the religious worship of the Russians ; but greater demonstra- tions of respect are shown to St. Nicholas than to any of the rest. It is customary, in Russia, to mention God and the Czar at the same time, when they have any affair of importance to transact ; thus, they frequently say, God is poiverful as well as the Czar. With God and the Czads permission. But they often substitute St. Nicholas in the room of Providence; as for instance, when any one asks them how long they in- tend to be on a journey, they will answer, as long as St. Nicholas shall think convenient. Their devotees go in pil- grimage, for the most part, to those places where their saints have especially distinguished themselves. The Czars them- selves are not excused or exempted from these religious pere- grinations ; at least they were performed by the predecessors of Peter the Great. A number of ceremonies and superstitious customs among the Russians, nearly equals that of the Romish Church. A Benediction these we shall notice ; and first we will of Waters. describe a singular festival which the Russians RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 205 call the Benediction of the Waters. This solemnity is cele- brated at the beginning- of the year at Petersburg, in the follow- ing manner : on the river Neva, upon the ice, which is then strong in that country, there is erected for this ceremony, a kind of temple of wood, usually of an octagonal figure, painted and richly gilt, having the inside decorated with various sacred pictures, representing the baptism of our Saviour, his transfigu- ration, and some other parts of his life, and on the top a picture of St. John the Baptist. This is called the Jordan, which name used to signify the baptistry or font, or any basin in which holy water is consecrated. There the attention of the spectators is drawn to a large emblem of the Holy Ghost, ap- pearing to descend from heaven, a decoration common to al- most all Greek churches, in which a peristerion, or dove, as a symbol of the Holy Ghost, is usually suspended from four small columns which support a canopy over the Holy Table. The Jordan is surrounded by a temporary hedge of the boughs of fir-trees ; and, in the middle of the sanctuary or chancel is a square space, where the broken ice leaves a communication with the water running below, and the rest is ornamented with rich tapestry. Around this temple a kind of gallery is erected, and a platform of boards, covered with red cloth, is laid for the procession to go upon, guarded also by a fence of boughs. The gallery communicates with one of the windows of the imperial palace, at which the emperor and his family come out to attend the ceremony, which begins as soon as the liturgy is finished in the chapel of the imperial palace, and the regi- ments of guards have taken post on the river. Then, at the sound of the bells, and of the artillery of the fortress, the clerks, the deacons, the priests, the archimandrites, and the bishops, dressed in their richest robes, carrying in their hands lighted tapers, the censer, the Gospel, and the sacred pictures and ban- ners, proceed from the chapel to the Jordan, singing the hymns appointed in the office, and followed by the emperor, the grand duke, the senators, and the whole court. When arrived at the place where the ice is broken, the arch- bishop of Moscow, or other officiating bishop, descends, by means of a ladder, to the side of the water. There he reads the prayers appointed in the office, — dips his cross three times, and ends the ceremony by an exhortation appropriate to it ; and the waters are then thought to be blessed. As soon as the service is finished, the artillery and soldiers fire ; after which the prelate sprinkles the water on the company around him, and on the colours of all the regiments that happen to be at Petersburg, which are planted round the Jordan. He 18 20G RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. then retires, when the people crowd towards the hole, and drink of the waters with a holy avidity. “ Notwithstanding the cold, the mothers plunge their infants, and the old men their heads into them. Every body makes it a duty to carry away some for the purification of their houses, and curing certain distempers, against which the good Russians pretend this holy water is a powerful specific.” No people observe Lent with more scrupulous and excessive rigour than the Russians. Travelling the road from Petersburg to Moscow, says Dr. Clarke, in his travels, if at any time, in poor cottages, where the peasants appear- ed starving, I offered them a part of our dinner, they would shudder at the sight of it, and cast it to the dogs ; dashing out of their children’s hands, as an abomination, any food given to them ; and removing every particle that might be left, en- tirely from their sight. In drinking tea with a Cossack, he not only refused to have milk in his cup, but would not use a spoon that had been in the tea offered him with milk, although wiped carefully in a napkin, until it had passed through scalding water. The same privation prev^ails among the higher ranks ; but, in proportion as this rigour has been observed, so much the more excessive is the degree of gluttony and relaxation, when the important intelligence that “ Christ is rise?b'’ has issued from the mouth of the archbishop. During Easter, they run into every kind of excess, rolling about drunk the whole week; as if rioting, debauchery, extrava- gance, gambling, drinking, and fornication, were as much a religious observance, as starving had been before; and that the same superstition which kept them fasting during licnt, had afterwards instigated them to the most beastly excesses. Even their religious customs are perfectly adapted to their climate and manners. Nothing can be contrived with more ingenious policy to suit the habits of the Russians. When Lent fasting begins, their stock of frozen provisions is either exhausted, or unfit for use; and the interval which takes place allows sufficient time for procuring, killing, and storing, the fresh provisions of the spring. The night before the famous ceremony of the resurrection, all the markets and shops of Moscoav, are seen filled noth flesh, butter, eggs, poultry, pigs, and every kind of viand. The crow'd of purchasers is immense. You hardly meet a foot-passenger who has not his hands, nay his arms, filled with provisions; or a single droski that is not ready to break down beneath their weight. The first ceremony which took place, previous to all this feasting, was that of the Paque jleuries, or Palm Sunday. On RUSSIAN GREEK CIIURCIL ^7 the eve of this day, all the inhabitants of Moscow resort, in carriages, on horseback, or on foot, to the Kremlin, for the purchase of palm-branches, to place before their boghs, and to decorate the sacred pictures in the streets, or elsewhere. It is one of the gayest promenades of the year. The governor, attended by the maitre cle j)olice,\he commandant, and a train of nobility, go in procession mounted on fine horses. The streets are lined by spectators ; and cavalry are stationed on each side, to preserve order. Arriving in the Kremlin, a vast assembly, bearing artificial bouquets and boughs, are seen moving here and there, forming the novel and striking specta- cle of a gay and moving forest. The boughs consist of arti- ficial flowers, with fruit. Beautiful representations of oranges and lemons in wax are sold for a few copeeks* each, and offer a proof of the surprising ingenuity of this people in the arts of imitation. Upon this occasion, ev^ery person who visits the Kremlin, and would be thought a true Christian, purchases one or more of the boughs, called Palm-branches; and in returning, the streets are crowded with droskis, and all kinds of vehicles, filled with devotees, holding in their hands one or more palm-branches, according to the degree of their piety, or the number of boghs in their houses. The description often given of the splendour of the equi- pages in Moscow, but ill agrees with their appearance during Lent. A stranger, who arrives, with his head full of notions of Asiatic pomp, and eastern magnificence, would be sur- prised to find narrow streets, execrably paved, covered by mud or dust ; wretched looking houses on each side .; car- riages, drawn it is true, by six horses, but such cattle ! blind, lame, old, out of condition, of all sizes and all colours, con- nected by rotten ropes and old cords, full of knots and splices: on the leaders and on the box, figures that seem to have escaped from the galleys; behind, a lousy, ragged lackey, or perhaps two, with countenances exciting more pity than deri- sion ; and the carriage itself like the worst of the night- coaches in London, But this external wretchedness, as far as it concerns the equipages of the nobles, admits of some explanation. The fact is, that a dirty, tattered livery, a rotten harness, bad horses, and a shabby vehicle, constitute one part of the privation of the season. On Easter Monday the most gaudy but fantastic buffoonery of splendour fills every street in the city. The emperor, it is true, in his high considera- tion for the welfare and happiness of his subjects, deemed it * The copeek equals in value an English halfpenny. 208 RUSSIAN GREEK CIIURCir, expedient to adapt the appearance to the reality of their wretchedness: and in restraining the excessive extravagance of the people of Moscow, evinced more wisdom, than the world have given him credit for possessing. The second grand ceremony of this season takes place on Thursday before Easter at noon, when the archbishop washes the feet of the apostles. This we also witnessed. The priests appeared in their most gorgeous apparel. Twelve monks, designed to represent the twelve apostles, were placed in a semicircle before the archbishop. The ceremony is performed in the cathedral, which is crowded with spectators. The archbishop, performing all and much more than is related of our Saviour in the thirteenth chapter of St. John, takes off his robes, girds up his loins with a towel, and proceeds to wash the feet of them all, until he comes to the representative of Peter, who rises ; and the same interlocution takes place be- tween him and the archbishop, which is said to have taken place between our Saviour and that apostle. The third, and most magnificent ceremony of all, is cele- brated two hours after midnight, in the morning of Easter Sunday. It is called the ceremony of the resurrection, and certainly exceeded every thing of the kind celebrated at Rome, or any where else. I have not seen so splendid a sight in any Roman Catholic country; not even that of the benediction by the pope during the holy w^eek. At midnight the great bell of the cathedral tolled. Its vibrations seemed the rolling of distant thunder; and they were instantly accompanied by the noise of all the bells in Moscow. Every inhabitant was stirring, and the rattling of carriages in the streets was greater than at noonday. The whole city w^as in a blaze ; for lights were seen in all the windows, and innumerable torches in the streets. The tower of the cathedral was illuminated from its foundation to its cross. The same ceremony lakes place in all the churches; and, what is truly surprising, considering their number, it is said they are all equally crowded. We hastened to the cathedral, which was filled with a prodigious assembly of all ranks and sexes, bearing lighted wax tapers, to be afterwards heaped as vows on the different shrines. The walls, ceilings, and every part of this building, is covered by the pictures of saints and martyrs. In the mo- ment of our arrival the doors were shut ; and on the outside appeared Plato, the archbishop, preceded by banners and torches and followed by all his train of priests with crucifixes and censers, who were making three times, in procession, UUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 209 the tour of the cathedral ; chaimting with loud voices, and glittering in sumptuous vestments, covered by gold, silver, and precious stones. The snow had not melted so rapidly in the Kremlin as in the streets of the city; and this magnificent procession was therefore constrained to move upon planks over the deep mud which surrounded the cathedral. After completing the third circuit, they all halted opposite the great doors, which were shut ; and the archbishop, with a censer, scattered incense against the doors, and over the priests. Suddenly those doors were opened, and the eflect was beyond description great. The immense throng of spectators within, bearing innumerable tapers, formed two lines, through which the archbishop entered, advancing with his train to a throne near the centre. The profusion of lights in all parts of the cathedral, and, among others, of the enormous chandalier which hung from the centre, the richness of the dresses, and the vastness of the assembly, filled us with astonishment. Having joined the suite of the archbishop, we accompanied the procession, and passed even to the throne, on which the police officers permitted us to stand, among the priests, near an embroidered stool of satin, placed for the archbishop. The loud chorus, which burst forth at the entrance to the church, continued as the procession moved towards the throne, and after the archbishop had taken his seat ; when my attention was, for a moment, called ofk by seeing one of the Russians earnestly crossing himself with his right hand, while his left was employed in picking my companion’s pocket of his handkerchief Soon after, the archbishop descended, and went all round the cathedral; first offering incense to the priests, and then to the people, as he passed along. When he had returned to his seat, the priests, two by two, performed the same ceremony ; beginning with the archbishop, who rose and made obeisance with a lighted taper in his hand. From the moment the church doors were opened, the spectators had continued bow- ing their heads, and crossing themselves ; insomuch that some of the people seemed really exhausted, by the constant motion of the head and hands. I had now leisure to examine the dresses and figures of the priests, which were certainly the most striking I ever saw. Their long dark hair, without powder, fell down in ringlets, or strait and thick, far over their rich robes and shoulders. Their dark thick beards also, entirely covered their breasts. On the heads of the archbishop and bishops were high caps, covered with gems, and adorned by miniature paintings set in 1 . 8 ^ 210 RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 'jewels, of the crucifixion, the virgin, and the saints. Their robes of various coloured satin, were of the most costly em- broidery, and even on these w^ere miniature pictures set wdth precious stones. Such, according to the consecrated legend of ancient daj’-s, was the appearance of the high-priests of old, Aaron and his sons, holy men standing by the temple of the congregation in fine raiments, the workmanship of “ Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.” It is said there is a convent in Moscow where the w^omen are entirely employed in working dresses for the priests. After two hours had been spent in various ceremonies, the archbishop advanced, holding forth a cross, which all the people crowded to embrace, squeezing each other nearly to suffocation. As soon, however, as their eagerness had been somew'hat satisfied, he retired to the sacristy; where putting on a plain purple robe, he again advanced, exclaiming three times, in a very loud voice: Christ is risen! The most remarkable part of the solemnity now^ followed. The archbishop, descending into the body of the church, con- cluded the w’hole ceremony by crawding round the pavement on his hands and knees, kissing the consecrated pictures, w'hether on the pillars, the wmlls, the altars, or the tombs ; the priests and all the people imitating his example. Sepul- chres were opened, and the mummied bodies of incorruptible saints exhibited, all of w^hich underw^ent the same general kissing. Thus was Easter proclaimed ; and riot and debauchery instantly broke loose. The inn in which we lodged became a pandemonium. Drinking, dancing, and singing, continued through the night and day. But, in the midst of all these excesses, quarrels hardly ever took place. The w'ild rude riot of a Russian populace is full of humanity. Few disputes are heard; no blows are given ; no lives endangered, but by drinking. No meetings take place of any kind, without repeating the expressions of peace and joy, Christos voscress! Christ is risen ! to wdiich the answer is always the same, Vo istiney voscress ! He is risen indeed ! On Easter Monday begins the presentation of the paschal eggs : lovers to their mistresses, relatives to each other, ser- vants to their masters, all bring ornamented eggs. Every offering, at this season, is called a paschal egg. The mean- c.st pauper in the street, presenting an egg, and repeating the words Christos voscress, may demand a salute, even of the empress. All business is laid aside: the upper ranks are RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 211 engaged in visiting, balls, dinners, suppers, and masquerades ; while boors fill the air with their songs, or roll drunk about the streets. Servants appear in new and tawdry liveries ; and carriages in the most sumptuous parade.* The form of baptism amongst the Russians is so singular that we must give a particular description of it. As soon as an infant comes into the world, the parents Baptism, send immediately for a priest to purify him. This purification extends to all those who are present at the ceremony. They baptise their infants, according to Olea- rius, as soon as they are born ; but according to other histo- rians, those who are in good circumstances are not so strict, but defer the ceremony for some time. The godfathers and godmothers of the first child must stand sureties for all the other children in that family, however great may be the number. After entering the church, these godfathers deliver nine wax tapers into the hands of the priest, who illu- mines them all, and sticks them in the form of a cross about the font or vessel in which the infant is to be baptized. The priest then thurifies the godfathers, and consecrates the water ; and after that he and the godfathers go thrice in procession round it. The clerk, who marches in the front, carries the picture of St. John. After this, they all arrange themselves in such a manner that their backs are turned towards the font, as a testimony, says Olearius, of their aversion to the three questions which the priest proposes to the godfathers ; that is to say, 1st, “ Whether the child renounces the devil? 2dly, Whether he abjures his angels ? and, 3dly, Whether he abhors and detests their impious works ?” — At each question, the godfathers answer and spit upon the ground. The exorcism follows, which is performed out of the church, lest the devil, as he comes out of the infant, should pollute or pro- fane it. After the exorcism is over, the priest cuts some hair off the child’s head in the form of a cross, and puts it into a book, or wraps it up in wax, and deposits it in some particular place belonging to the church appropriated for that purpose. The baptism which ensues is performed by a triple immersion, as we have before observed with respect to the Greeks. The priest having now put a grain of salt into the infant’s mouth, anoints him several times in the form of a cross, which may properly enough be called his confirmation ; and as he puts on nim a clean shirt, he says. Thou art now as clean as this shirt, * Clarke’s Travels. 212 RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. and 'purified from the stain of original sin. To conclude this ceremony, a little gold or silver cross, or one of inferior value, according as the circumstances of the parent will best admit of, is hung about the infant’s nec*k, which is the badge or token of his baptism. He must wear this not only as long as he lives, but carry it with him to his grave. To this cross must be added some saint, appointed by the priest to be his guardian and protector, the picture of 'vvhom he delivers into the god- fathers’ hands, and in express terms charges them to instruct the child in what manner he may pay a peculiar respect and veneration to his patron saint. After the baptism is over, the priest salutes the infant and his sponsors. It is to be observed, that all matrimonial alliances between godfathers and the children for whom they are thus solemnly engaged, are prohibited amongst the Russians ; also, that the water in the font or cistern is changed every new baptism ; because they are of opinion that it is defiled or tainted with the original sin of those who were previously baptized in it. Those who become proselytes to the Russian religion, are baptized in some rapid stream, or some adjacent river, in which they are plunged three times successively ; and if it happens in the winter-season, there is a hole broken in the ice for the performance of that ordinance. If, however, the person should be of too weak a constitution to undergo such a violent initiation, a barrel full of water is poured over his head three times successively. After the baptism is over, the priest takes the infant newly baptized, and with his head makes a cross upon the church- door, at which he knocks three times with a hammer ; each stroke must be so loud that those who were eye witnesses of the baptism shall hear the sound of it, for otherwise they do not look upon the infant as duly baptized. In the evening of their wedding-day, the bridegroom, ac- companied by a numerous train of his nearest relations and Marria^-e acquaintance, proceeds to wait on his mistress ; ° ‘ the priest who is to solemnize their nuptials riding on horseback before them. After the congratulations, and other compliments, customary on such joyful occasions in all countries, the company sit down to table. “ But notwithstand- ing there are three elegant dishes instantly served up,” says Olearius, “ no one takes the freedom to taste of them.” At the upper end of the table is a vacant seat intended for the bride- groom. Whilst he is in earnest discourse with the bride’s relations, some young gentleman takes possession of his chair, and does not resign it without some valuable consideration. RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 213 As soon as the bridegroom has thus redeemed his seat, the bride is introduced into the room, dressed as gaily as possible, but covered with a veil. A curtain of crimson taffeta, sup- ported by two young gentlemen, now parts the lovers, and prevents them from stealing any amorous glances from each others’ eyes. In the next place, the bride’s Suacha, or agent, wreathes her hair, and after she has turned up her tresses, puts a crown upon her head, which is either of gold or silver gilt, and lined with silk, and of greater or less value, in pro- portion to the quality or circumstances of the person for whom it is intended. The other Suacha is employed in setting the bridegroom off to the best advantage. During this interval, some women that are present, sing a number of little merry catches to divert them ; whilst the bridemaids strew hops up- on the heads of the company. Two lads, after this, bring in a large cheese, and several rolls or little loaves, in a hand- basket, with curious sable tassels to it. Two of the bride’s attendants bring in another cheese, and the same quantity of bread, upon her particular account. All these provisions, after the priest has blessed them, are carried to the churchy At last, there is a large silver basin set upon the table, full of small remnants of satin and taffeta, with several small square pieces qf silver, hops, barley, and oats, all mingled together. The Suacha, after she has put the bride’s veil over her face again, takes several handfuls of this medley out of the basin, and strews it over the heads of all the company. The next ceremony is the exchange of their re- spective rings, which is performed by the parents of the new married couple. The Suacha now conducts the bride to church, and the bridegroom follows with the priest, who, for the most part, indulges himself in drinking to that excess, that he is obliged to have two attendants to support him, not only whilst he rides on horseback to the church, but all the time he is there performing the matrimonial service. One part of the pavement of the church, where the ceremony is performed, is covered with crimson taffeta, and another piece of the same silk is spread over it, where the bride and bride- groom are appointed to stand. The priest, before he enters upon his office, demands their oblations, which consist in fish, pastry, &c. Then he gives them his benediction, and holds over their heads the pictures of those saints, who were made choice of to be their patrons. After which, taking the right hand of the bridegroom and the left of the bride within his own hands, he asks them three times, “ Whether they sincere- ly consent to, and approve of their marriage, and whether they 214 RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. will love each other for the future as is their bounden duty so to do?” When they have answered Yes, all the company in general take hands, and join in a solemn dance, whilst the priest sings the 128 th Psalm (according to the Hebrew com- putation) in which almost all the blessings that attend the married state are enumerated. The priest, as soon as the Psalm is finished, puts a garland of rue upon their heads ; but if the man be a widower, or the woman a widow, then he lays it upon their shoulders. The blessing attendant on this cere- mony begins with these words, Increase and multiply ; and concludes with that other solemn direction, ’which the Russians never understand in a rigorous sense, Whom God hath joined, let no man put asunder. As soon as this form of words is pronounced, all the company light their wax tapers, and one of them presents the priest with a glass of wine, which he drinks, and the newly-married couple pledge him. This is done thrice, and then the bride and bridegroom dash their glasses down upon the floor, and tread the pieces under their feet, denouncing several maledictions on all those, who shall hereafter endeavour to set them at variance. At the same time several women strew linseed and hemp-seed upon their heads. After this ceremony is over, the usual congratulations are repeated, with such other demonstrations of gayety and re- joicing as generally accompany the nuptial rites in other countries. We must not omit one circumstance, however, which is merry and innocent enough: the women before- mentioned take fast hold of the bride’s gown, in order to com- pel her, as it were, to forsake her husband ; but the bride usually maintains so strong a hold of him, that all their en- deavours prove ineffectual. Their nuptial ceremonies thus far concluded, the bride goes home in a Russian car or sledge, attended by six flambeaux, and the bridegroom on horseback. The company come after them. As soon as they are all within doors, the bridegroom sits down at the table with bis friends ; but the women conduct the bride to her bed-chamber, and put her to bed. Afterwards some young gentlemen wait on the bridegroom wuth their wax tapers in their hands, and conduct him to his lady’s apart- ment. As soon as they are within the chamber, they deposit their lights upon the hogsheads that surround the nuptial bed. The bride, wrapped up in her nightgown, now jumps out of bed, approaches her husband with much respect, and makes him a very submissive and respectful obeisance. This is the first moment, according to Olearius, that the husband has any RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 215 opportunity of seeing- his wife unveiled. They then sit down to table, and sup together. Amongst other dishes, there is a roast fowl set before them, which the husband tears to pieces, throwing that part which he holds in his hands, whether it be the leg or the wing, over his shoulder, and eating the remain- der. Here the ceremony ends. The spectators now withdraw, and the newly-married couple go to bed, after crossing themselves, and addressing a short prayer to the pictures of their patron saints. An old domestic servant stands sentinel at the chamber-door, whilst some of the company who are more superstitious than the rest, spend the interval in using enchantments for a happy consummation of this love adventure. The following days are spent in all imaginable demonstrations of joy and rejoicing. The men in- dulge themselves in drinking to excess, whilst the husband carouses with his friends, and drowns his senses in intoxica- ting liquors. The Russian funeral solemnities are as remarkable in all respects as their nuptial ceremonies. As soon as a sick person has expired, they send for the relations and friends of the deceased, who place themselves about the corpse, and weep over it if they can. There are ^ ^ women likewise who attend as mourners, and ask the de- ceased “ What was the cause of his death ? Were his cir- cumstances narrow and perplexed ? Did he want either the necessaries or conveniences of life V' &c. The relatives of the deceased now make the priest a present of some strong beer, brandy, and metheglin, that he may pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased. In the next place, the corpse is well washed, dressed in clean linen, or wrapped in a shroud, and shod with Russia leather, and put into a coffin, the arms being laid ever the stomach, in the form of a cross. The Russians make their coffins of the trunks of hollowed trees, and cover them with cloth, or at least with the great coat of the deceased. The corpse is not carried, however, to church, till it has been kept eight or ten days at home, if the season or circumstances of the deceased will admit of such a delay ; for it is a received opinion, that the longer they stay in this world, the better reception they will meet with in the next. The priest thurifies the corpse, and sprinkles it with holy water, till the very day of its interment. The funeral procession is ranged or disposed in the fol- lowing manner. A priest marches in the front, carrying the image of the particular saint who was made choice of as pa- tron of the deceased at the time he was baptized. Four young 216 RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. virgins, who are the nearest relations to the deceased, and the chief mourners, follow him ; or, for want of such female friends, the same number of women are hired to attend, and to perform that melancholy office. After them comes the corpse, carried on the shoulders of six hearers. If the party deceased be a monk or a nun, the brothers or sisters of the convent to which they belonged perform this last friendly office for them. Seve- ral friends march on either side of the corpse, thurifying it, and singing as they go along, to drive away the evil spirits, and to prevent them from hovering round about it. The relations and friends bring up the rear, each having a wax taper in his hand. As soon as they are arrived at the grave, the coffin is uncovered, and the image of the deceased’s favourite saint is laid over him, whilst the priest repeats some prayers suitable to the solemn occasion, or reads some particular passages out of the liturgy. After that, the relations and friends bid their last sad adieu, either by saluting the deceased himself, or the coffin in which he is interred. The priest, in the next place, comes close to his side, and puts \\\s 'passport or certificate in- to his hand, which is signed by the archbishop, and likewise by his father confessor, who sell it at a dearer or cheaper rate, according to the circumstances or quality of those who pur- chase it. This billet is a testimonial of the virtue and good actions of the deceased, or at least, of his sincere repentance of all his sins. When a person at the point of expiring is so happy as to have the benediction of his priest, and after his de- cease, his passport in his hand, his immediate reception into heaven is, in their opinion, infallibly secured. The priest always recommends the deceased to the favour and protection of St. Nicholas. To conclude, the coffin is nailed up and let down into the grave, the face of the deceased being turned to- wards the east. The friends and relations now take their last farewell in unfeigned tears, or at least, in seeming sorrow and concern, which are expressed by mourners who are hired for that purpose. The Russians frequently distribute money and provisions amongst the poor who hover round the grave ; but it is a very common custom amongst them, according to Olearius, “ to drown their sorrow and afiiiction in methegiin, and in bran- dy and it too often happens that they get drunk on those occasions, in commemoration of their deceased friends. During their mourning, which continues forty days, they make three funeral entertainments, that is to say, on the third, the ninth, and the twentieth day after the interment. A priest, who is contracted with for that purpose, must spend some time RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 217 in prayer for the consolation and repose of the soul of the de- ceased every night and morning, for forty days successively in a tent, which is erected on that occasion over the grave of the deceased. They commemorate their dead likewise once a year ; this ceremony consists principally in mourning over their tombs, and in taking care that they be duly performed with incense by some of their mercenary priests, who, besides the fee or gratuity which they receive for their incense, (or more properly the small quantity of wax with which they thurify the tombs,) make an advantage likewise of the various provisions which are frequently brought to such places, or of the alms which are left there, and intended by the donors for the relief and maintenance of the poor ; for the Russian no- bility and gentry hope to atone, by their charitable, donations, for their manifold and inhuman acts of oppression. We shall add in this place an interesting account of the burial of Prince Galitzin, in Moscow, taken from Dr. Clarke’s Travels, who was an eye witness of the ceremony. Burial of This ceremony was performed in a small church Prince Galit- near the Mareschal bridge. The body was laid ^in. in a superb crimson coffin, richly embossed with silver, and placed beneath the dome of the church. On a throne, raised at the head of the coffin, stood the archbishop, who read the service. On each side were ranged the inferior clergy, clothed, as usual, in the most costly robes, bearing in their hands wax tapers, and burning incense. The ceremony began at ten in the morning. Having obtained admission to the church, we placed ourselves among the spectators, immediately behind his grace. The chanting had a solemn and sublime effect. It seemed as if choristers were placed in the upper part of the dome, which, perhaps, was really the case. The words uttered were only a constant repetition of “ Lord have mercy upon usL or, in Russian, “ Ghospodi pomilui P’’ AVlien the archbishop turned to give his benediction to all the people, he observed us, and added in Latin, “ Pas vobiscum !” to the astonishment of the Russians ; who not comprehending the new words introduced into the service, muttered among them- selves. Incense was then offered to the pictures and to the people ; and that ceremony ended, the archbishop read aloud a declaration, purporting that the deceased died in the true faith ; that he had repented of his errors, and that his sins were absolved. Then turning to us, as the paper was placed in the coffin, he said again in Latin : “ This is what all you foreigners call the passport ; and you relate, in books of travels, that we believe no soul can go to heaven without it, 19 218 RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. Now I wish you to understand what it really is ; and to ex- plain to your countrymen upon my authority, that it is nothing more than a declaration, or certificate, concerning the death of the deceased.” Then laughing, he added, “ I suppose you commit all this to paper ; and one day I shall see an engrav- ing of this ceremony, with an old archbishop giving a pass- port to St. Peter.” The lid of the coffin being now removed, the body of the prince was exposed to view ; and all the relatives, servants, slaves, and other attendants, began their loud lamentations, as is the custom among the Russians ; and each person, walking round the corpse, made prostration before it, and kissed the lips of the deceased. The venerable figure of an old slave presented a most affecting spectacle. He threw himself flat on the pavement, with a degree of violence which might have cost him his life, and quite stunned by the blow, remained a few seconds insensible ; afterwards, his loud sobs were heard; and we saw him tearing off and scattering his white hairs. He had, according to the custom of the country, received his liberty upon the death of the prince ; but choosing rather to consign himself for the remainder of his days to a convent, he retired for ever from the world, saying: “ Since his dear old master was dead, there was no one living who cared for him.” A plate was handed about, containing boiled rice and raisins; a ceremony I am unable to explain. The face of the deceased was- covered by linen, and the archbishop poured consecrated oil, and threw a white powder, probably lime, several times upon it, pronouncing some words in the Russian language ; which, supposing us not to understand, he repeated aloud in Latin : “ Dust thou art ; and unto dust thou art returned /” The lid of the coffin was then replaced; and, after a requiem, “sweet as from blest voices,” a procession began from the church to a convent in the vicinity of the city, where the body was to be interred. There was nothing solemn in this part of the ceremony. It began by the slaves of the deceased on foot, all of whom were in mourning. Next went the priests, bearing tapers ; then came the body on a common droski ; the whip of the driver being bound with crape ; and afterwards a line of carriages, of the miserable description before observed. But, instead of that slow movement usually characteristic of funeral processions, the priests and the people ran as fast as they could ; and the body was jolted along in an uncouth man- ner. Far behind the last rumbling vehicle were seen persons following, out of breath, unable to keep up with their compa- nions. RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 219 Sect of Raskolniki, or Ibraniki. — This is the only sect that has separated from the established church in Russia. They are supposed to amount to about one million. The date of their separation was about the year 1G66. They pretend to be ardent lovers of the Holy Scriptures, and distinguished for their piety. Its members assume the name of Ibraniki, that is, the multitude of the elect ; or, according to others, Straoivertsi, that is, believers in the ancient faith : but the name given them by their adversaries, and that by which they are generally known, is Raskolniki, that is, schismatics, or the seditious faction. In defence of their separation, they allege the corruptions, in both doctrine and discipline, that have been introduced into the Russian church. They profess a rigorous zeal for the letter of the holy scripture, which they do not understand ; and the transposition of a single word in a new edition of the Russian Bible, though this transposition was intended to correct an uncouth phrase in the translation commonly received, threw them into the greatest tumult. They will not allow a priest to administer baptism after ha- ving tasted spirituous liquors ; and in this, perhaps, they act rightly, since it is said, “ that the Russian priests seldom touch the flask without drinking deep.” They hold, that there is no subordination of rank, no superior or inferior among the faithful ; that a Christian may kill himself for the love of Christ ; that Hallelujah must be only twice pronounced, that it is a great sin to repeat it thrice; and that a priest must ne- ver give a blessing except with three Angers. They are re- gular, even to austerity, in their manners ; but as they have always refused to admit Christians of other denominations into their religious assemblies, they have been suspected of com- mitting in them various abominations, but this ought not to be believed without the strongest demonstrative proof They have suffered much persecution ; and various means have been used to bring them back into the bosom of the church, but in vain ; and arguments, promises, threatenings, dragoon- ings, the authority of synods and councils, seconded by racks and gibbets, in a word, all the methods that artifice or barba- rity could suggest, have been practised ; but these, instead of lessening, have increased their numbers, and, instead of clo- sing, have widened the breach. Some wealthy merchants and great lords are attached to this sect ; and it is widely diffused among the peasants. It ought to be added, that the members of this sect consider the worship of images as gross idolatry; and, perhaps, this practice, real or supposed, in the Russian church, was one reason of their separating from if 220 OTHER BRANCHES OF SEC. III. OTHER BRANCHES OF THE GREEK CHURCH. Besides the Greek Church Proper, of which the Russian Church may be considered an independent branch, there are several other branches of the same church, which are scattered over a great extent of country in the east, embracing an un- known, but large number of members. Those which we shall briefly notice are, the Georgian and Mingrelian Greek Churches, the Nestorians, Christians of St. Thomas, Jacobites, Copts, Abyssinians and Armenians. It may be remarked, however, of these several communions, that they are in a mi- serable state of ignorance, superstition, and wretchedness. The Holy Scriptures are but little known among them ; but the British and Foreign Bible Society has, within a few years, directed considerable attention to their necessities ; and has circulated nearly two hundred thousand copies of the Bible, for their use, in their several languages. Sec. 1 . — Georgian and Mingrelian Churches. Georgia and Mingrelia are two countries of Asia. The former of which lies between the Black and Caspian seas ; Situation of and the latter between Circassia on the nortli, Georgia and and Guriel on the south. The former was the an- Mingrclia. ceint Iberia, the latter in part the ancient Colchis. The inhabitants of both these countries are sunk in poverty, ignorance, and semi-barbarism. Yet an interest attaches to them on account of their religion, which was once more flourishing than at present. They are a branch of the Greek Church. These two people are said to profess the same faith, with this difference, however, that the Mingrelians residing in the mountains and Avoods are more vicious and depraved in morals than the Georgians. Each of these nations has a pontiff at their head, whom they call Catholicos, or the Catholic — who is obliged to pay ‘ Their Pon- ^ certain tribute to the Patriarch of Constanti- tiffs. nople — but is, in every other respect, inde- pendent of any foreign jurisdiction. They have bishops and priests, who are not only ignorant, but exceedingly dissolute and corrupt. Some of their bishops are able neither to read or write, and in order to discharge their duty learn to say mass by heart ; which, however, they are never inclined to do without being very well paid for their trouble. The priests are allowed not only to marry, according to the custom of the Greek Church, before ordination, but many THE GREEK CHURCH. 221 enter into second marriages at the expense only of a dispensation from the bishop, which Priests, amounts to about a pistole. In short, they may marry a third or fourth time upon paying double fees for every new indul- gence. The patriarch, likewise, never ordains a bishop without being first paid the sum of five hundred crowns. When any person is very much indisposed amongst them, he sends for a priest, who attends him rather in the capacity of a physician, than as a father-confessor; for he never mentions one word of confession to his patient. Turning over the leaves of a particular book, which he carries about him for that purpose, with an extraordinary display of fictitious gravity and circumspection, he pretends to find therein the real cause of the distemper, which he usually ascribes to the high displeasure of some of their images ; for it is a received notion amongst them, that their images are capable of gratifying their resentments on those who have offended them. The cause of the disorder being thus decidedly ascertained, the priestly physician enjoins his patient to make atonement for his sins by some acceptable oblation to the incensed image; that is to say, some valuable present in money or effects, which he always takes care to apply to his own private advantage. In regard to their baptismal ceremonies, as soon as an infant is born, the papas, or priest, makes the sign of the cross on his forehead, and eight days afterwards „ . , anoints him with the Myrone, that is, their con- ceremonies, secrated oil ; but he never baptizes him till two years after; and the following form is observed. The child is brought to the church, and presented to the papas, who imme- diately asks his name, and lights a little wax taper ; after which he reads a long lesson, and repeats several prayers suitable to the occasion. After that, the godfather undresses the infant, and plunges him naked into a kind of font or bathing vessel, full of lukewarm water, mixed with walnut-oil, and washes his body all over, the papas taking no share in this part of the ceremony, nor pronouncing a single syllable during the whole of the time. After this general ablution, however, he advances towards the water-vessel, and gives the Myrone to the godfather, to anoint the infant. The god- fb.ther accordingly anoints his forehead, nose, eyes, ears, breast, navel, knees, soles of the feet, heels, hams, loins, shoulders, and the crown of his head. After this ceremony is over, he plunges him again into the font, or water- vessel, and offers luma bit of blessed bread to eat, and a small portion of sacred wine to drink. If the child swallows them, it is lc»oked upoq 19 ^ 222 OTHER DRANCHES OF as a happy omen. In conclusion, the godfather returns the infant to its mother, saying three times, “ You delivered him into my hands a Jew, and I return him to you a Christian^ We shall now proceed to the nuptial ceremonies of the Georgians, which arc, in fact, nothing more than a mere con- , tract, by way of bargain and sale. The parents rcmo^nici bring their daughters to market, and agree with the purchasers for a particular sum, Avhich is greater or smaller, according to the value of the living com- modities. A female who has never been married commands a much higher price than a widow, and a virgin in her bloom more than an antiquated maid. As soon as the purchase- money is raised and ready, the father of the bridegroom gives an entertainment, at which the son, atteiida with his cash in hand, and deposits it on' the table before he offers to sit down: at the same time, the relations*. of the bride provide an equiva- lent, which is generally as near the value of his money as possible, consisting of all manner of necessary household goods, cattle, clothes, slaves, &c. This custom appears to be very ancient, and after the entertainment is over, the bride re- pairs to the bridegroom’s house, attended by her relations, friends, and acquaintance. The procession is enlivened by a concert of instrumental music ; the contractors going before, to inform the family, that the newly-married couple will arrive soon at home. These messengers, on their first arrival, are presented with bread, wine, and meat; without offering to enter the house, hoAvever, they take the flagon of wine, and pour it lavishly round about it. This libation is consecrated by their hearty wishes for the health, prosperity, and peace of the newly-married couple. After this, they return to the bride, and conduct her home to her husband’s apartment, in which the other relations and friends are all assembled. In the middle of the room a carpet is spread upon the floor ; and a pitcher of wine, with a kettle full of dough, called Gom, which they make their bread with, are set upon it. Soon after her entrance, the bride kicks down the pitcher, and scatters the paste with both her hands all over the room. We are at a loss to determine the mystical design of this practice, unless it be emblematical of the plenty and fruitfulness of the mar- riage-state. The ceremony is attended with the usual pastimes and demonstrations of joy, wdiich are customary on such pub- lic occasions. The essential part of the nuptial mystery, however, is not solemnized here, but in a private apartment, for fear the sor- cerers should cast a spell upon the newly married couple. THE GREEK CHURCH. 223 The bridegToom and his bride stand with their godfather be- fore a priest, who reads over the marriage words by the light of a wax taper; and two garlands of flowers, either natural or artificial, are set close to each other on an adjoining table, with tufts of various colours ; atavaiole, that is, a veil ; a glass of wine, a piece of bread, and a needle and thread. The god- father now throws a veil over the bridegroom’s head, and, whilst the priest is reading the ceremony, sews the garments of the bride and bridegroom together. This godfather like- wise puts crowns upon their heads, and changes them three or four times successively, according to the tenor of the prayers repeated on the occasion. After this, he takes the glass and the pieces of bread into his hands, and gives the bridegroom one bit, and the bride another ; this he repeats three times, and then eats the seventh himself, Fie now gives them the glass three times a-piece, and then drinks the remainder, which concludes the ceremony. The veil made use of on this occasion, is the emblem or image of the nuptial bed, and the thread, with which the bride- groom and bride are sewed together, the symbol of the con- jugal knot ; but as the Georgians and Mingrelians are addict- ed to divorce and to discard their wives, and as they are fre- quently guilty of fornication and polygamy, the fragility of the thread is looked upon as a lively representation of the pre- carious and uncertain duration of this happy union. The bread and wine denote their community, or having things in common together. The godfather eats and drinks the re- mains, to intimate that he has contracted a kind of relation- ship with them, and that he ought to be an impartial judge, or to be the arbitrator, in any controversies that may afterwards arise between them. The mourning of the Mingrelians, according to the accounts of several travellers, is like that of persons in the very depth of despair, and consists not only in weeping, or rather howling, in honour of their dead, but also in shaving their beards and eyebrows. More- over, when a wife loses her husband, or some other near rela- tion, she rends her clothes, strips herself naked to the waist, tears her hair, scarifies her body, and scratches her face all over. The men likewise behave nearly in the same manner, and are more or less violent, as necessity, inclination, or the circum- stances of their mourning prompt them. This continues forty days, with a gradual diminution of their sorrow, as that term draws near to its expiration. On the ten first days, the relations and intimate friends and 224 OTHER BRANCHES OF acquaintance meet constantly to weep over the deceased. Their cries and bowlings, their transports of sorrow, and their silence and serenity of mind, alternately succeed each other. On the last day they inter the corpse, on which occasion the catholicos puts upon the breasts of those who die in the faith, a letter cr petition, in which he humbly beseeches St. Peter to open the gate of heaven for them, and to admit of their en- trance. This ceremony is sometimes performed even before they put them in their shrouds. On the fortieth day of their mourning, the Georgians have a funeral entertainment for the relations, friends, and acquaintance of the deceased, at which the men sit at one table, and the women at another. The bishop now reads a mass for the dead, and takes, for his fee or gratuity, every thing that was allotted to the service of the de- ceased. Sec. 2. — Nestorian Churches. There are several sects of Christians in the Levant, who are known and distinguished by the name of Chaldeans or Syrians: but the most considerable part of them are those who pass under the denomination of Nestorians, and in reality revere Nestorius, who was Patri- arch of Constantinople in the beginning of the fifth century, by invoking him in their prayers. The occasion of the fatal controversy in which Nestorius involved the church, was furnished by Anastasius, who was honoured with his friendship. This presbyter, in a public discourse, delivered in 424, de- claimed warmly against the title of Mother of God, which was then frequently attributed to the Virgin Mary in the contro- versy with the Arians, giving it as his opinion, that the Holy Virgin was rather to be called Mother of Christ, since the Deity can neither be born nor die, and, of consequence, the son of man alone could derive his birth from an earthly parent. Nestorius applauded these sentiments, and explained and de- fended them in several discourses. In opposition to him, Eutyches, an abbot at Constantinople, declared that these natures were so united in Christ, as to form but one nature, that of the Incarnate word. It was an age when men were fast losing sight of the Gospel, and con- tending about modes and forms; and these opposite opinions threw the whole eastern world into bitter contention, and gave rise to that great division, which continues to this day among the miserable remnant of the Eastern churches. The follow- THE GREEK CHURCH. 225 ers of the former, are called Nestorians; the latter, Monophy- sites. The Nestorians early became the chief propagators of the Gospel in the East. They enjoyed the patronage of the Per- sian monarch Pherazes, by whom their opponents were ex- pelled from his kingdom, and their patriarch was established at Seleucia. They established a school at Nisibis under Bar- sumas, a disciple of Nestorius, from whence proceeded, in the fifth and sixth centuries, a band of missionaries, who spread abroad their tenets, through Egypt, Syria, Arabia, India, Tar- tary and China, In the twelfth century, they won over to their faith the prince of Tartary, who was baptized John ; and be- cause he exercised the office of presbyter, was, with his suc- cessors, called Prester John. They made converts also of the Christians on the coast of Malabar, who, it is supposed, re- ceived the Christian faith from the Syrian Mar Thomas, in the fourth or fifth century. They formed, at one time, an immense body; but dwindled aAvay before the Saracen power, and the exasperated heathen priests and jealous Chinese emperors. They acknowledged but one patriarch until 15.51, who resided first at Bagdad, and afterwards at Mousul. But at this period, the Papists suc- ceeded in dividing them, and a new patriarch was consecra- ted by Pope Julius III. and established over the adherents to the pope, in the city of Ormus. The great patriarch at Mousul, called Elias, has continued, however, to be acknowledged to this day, by the greater part of the Nestorians, who are scat- tered over Asia. Throughout this long period, they have maintained consi- derable purity of doctrine and worship, and kept free from tho ridiculous ceremonies of the Greek and Latin churches. Of their present number, and religious character, we know but little. Probably they are very ignorant, debased, and cor- rupt,* We shall now proceed to such religious customs among the Nestorians, as may be more properly thought an essential part of this history. Before the sixth century, ^ rti •• the patriarch of the Nestorians was dignified clergy.^ and distinguished by the title of Catholic, which he has retained ever since. His clergy, as well as those of the Greeks in Constantinople, consist of married and monastic priests. The latter, in Syria and Mesopotamia, are dressed in black, with a capuche, or hood, Avhich covers the crown of + Marsh’s Ecc. History. 226 OTHER BRANCHES OF their head like a calot, and hangs down upon the shoulders like a veil. Over this they wear a turban, the cap and the linen cloth of which are of a deep blue. The patriarch and the bishops are not distinguished from the priests by any particu- lar dress, but by their pastoral staff and a cross, which they carry in their hands, and hold out for the devotees to kiss. The head of the former is made either like a crutch, or a croiser. The vestments of their married priests are all black likewise, or at least dark gray ; but instead of wearing a ca- puche upon their heads, they have a round cap with a large button upon the top of it. Besides the regular monastic priests, there are several con- vents in Mesopotamia, the monks of which are not priests, but style themselves monks of the order of St. Anthony. The habit of these Nestorian monks is an open black cassock, which is girt round them with a leathern surcingle, and a gown over it, the sleeves of which are very large. They wear no capuche, but a purple turban instead of it. At mid- night, morning, and evening, they repeat the church service, but spend the remainder of the day in tilling their grounds. The churches belonging to the Nestorians are divided by balustrades, or rails ; and one part of them is always allotted for the peculiar service of the women. The font Churches. ejected on the south side. When they say their prayers, and pay their adoration to the Supreme Being, they always turn their faces towards the east. Before the en- trance into these churches, there is, generally, a large court, with a very small door. This court was originally the place appointed for the reception of penitents, and was made use of as a bar to the profane, in order to prevent them hearing and seeing the different proceedings and ceremonies of the Christ- ian assemblies. Independently of the fasts, which are generally observed by the Chri.stians of the Greek Church, the Nestorians keep one in particular, which continues three days; it is evelf^ ° Fast of Nineveh, because they therein imitate the repenting Ninevites, who did penance for their sins for three days after the preaching of the prophet Jonas. This fast is the introduction to their Lent. The Christians of Syria and Mesopotamia have added to their calendar one festival in commemoration of the penitent thief, which is not observed by the Roman Catholic Church ; it is called by them Lass-al-jf.min, that is, the Thief on the right hand. This falls upon the octave of Easter. The bathing of the Syrian Christians in the river Jordan THE GREEK CHURCH. 227 must be reckoned amongst their religious customs, but the ceremony itself is very idle and ridiculous. j^e]i„.jous These people, however, practise it as an act of devotion, and Christians of all denominations, as ^ Greeks, Nestorians, Copts, &c. wash themselves naked in the river, with great solemnity, in commemoration of Jesus Christ and his baptism. In this instance, they concern themselves as little in regard to the difference of the sexes, as of the sects ; for men and women jump promiscuously into the river, and plunge down to the bottom. Some of the most zealous devotees dip their handkerchiefs in the sacred stream ; others carry a quantity of the water away with them in bottles ; and the very dirt, sand, and grass that grows upon the banks, are all looked upon as sacred relics. The nuptial ceremonies of the Syrians are very singular and remarkable. The bridegroom is conducted to the house of the bride on horseback, between two drawn swords, which are carried by two men, one before 11 1 il*ll* r "X 1 * r* * 1 Ct /1 CllHJllIt/o# and the other behind him. The relations, friends, and acquaintance of the bride receive him with their flambeaux lighted, and music preceding them, accompanied with songs, acclamations, and other testimonies of general joy. On the wedding-night the bridegroom gives his spouse an uncourteous kick, and commands her to pull off his shoes, as a token of her submission and obedience. When a Christian dies at Bagdad, the neighbours assemble, in order to perform his funeral obsequies. At their return from the place of interment, a handsome colla- tion is always prepared for their refreshment at obsequies, the house of the deceased, where every one is welcome without distinction, inasmuch, that sometimes a hun- dred and fifty, or more, appear at these funeral entertainments. The next day, the company meet in order to pray together over the grave of the deceased, which is likewise repeated on the third day; when there is another public entertainment pro- vided for them, and in general the same welcome is given to all as before. These ceremonies are repeated on the seventh day, the fifteenth, the thirtieth, and the fortieth, after the de- cease. At Damas, the Christian women sing and weep over their dead. Thevenot saw a company of these female mourners, accompanied by two men with lighted candies in their hands, howling over the dead, and beating their breasts to express their sorrow. Every now and then they made a halt ; then fell into a ring, and snapping their fingers, as if they were play- 228 OTHER BRANCHES OF ing with castanets, danced and sung to the sound, whilst others kept time in hideous howlings. The ceremony concluded with mutual testimonies of respect ; after which they departed, dancing and snapping their fingers as before. Nearly the same ceremonies are observed at Rama on similar occasions. Father Le Brun says, “ that they weep for about half an hour over the grave of their deceased friends ; then rise and fall into a ring, as if they w'ere going to dance to the hrawhy — Two of them after this quit the ring, and planting themselves in the middle, there make a thousand grimaces, howling and clapping their hands. After this frightful noise, they sit dowm to drown their sorrow in tears, xlll the female mourners that Le Brun saw, relieved each other. Those who had finished went home, and others supplied their place. When these women stood up, in order to form themselves into a ring, they covered their heads with a black veil. Sec. 3 . — Christians of St. Thomas. With regard to the origin of the Christians of St. Thomas, w'ho inhabit the coast of Malabar and Travancore, there exists Orio-in difference of opinion. The Portuguese, ■ who first opened the navigation of India, in the fifteenth century, and found them seated there for ages, assert that St. Thomas, the apostle, preached the gospel in India; and that these are the descendants of his proselytes. The Christians of St. Thomas declare themselves descend- ants of one Mar Thomas or Thomas Cana, an Armenian merchant, who settled at Congranor. Mar Opinion of Thomas married two wives, and had issue by ofSt.Thomas. ^^ch. The children by the former were heirs to all his effects and lands, which were situate in the southern part of the kingdom of Congranor ; and those of the latter, who was a negro-slave converted to the Christian faith, inherited the settlement of which their father died pos- sessed in the North. In process of time, his descendants be- came very numerous, and constituted two considerable branches, which were never united nor allied to each other. The issue of his first wife, from whom the nobility are descended, look down with disdain on the Christians of the other branch, and carry their aversion to so high a pitch, as to separate them- selves from their communion, and to contemn the ministry of their priests. Mar Thomas, whom these Christians look upon as their common parent, flourished, according to the ge- neral notion, in the tenth century ; but M. la Croza thinks THE GREEK CHURCH. 229 that he lived in the sixth. These Christians enjoyed so many valuable privileges under the sovereigns of the country, and grew so powerful, that they at length elected kings out of their own nation and religion. They continued in this state of in- dependence till the death of one of their sovereigns, who leav- ing no heir to the throne, they adopted a young idolatrous Prince who was his neighbour, and appointed him to be his successor. The Rev. Dr. Buchanan, vice-provost of the college of Fort- William, who visited these Christians in 1806, and counts fifty-five churches in Malayala* denies that they nre Nestorians, and observes that Bu- their doctrines “ are contained in a very few arti- cles, and are not at variance in essentials with the doctrines of the church of England. They are usually denominated Jacobitce^j but they difier in ceremonial from the church of that name in Syria, and indeed from any exist- ing chnrch in the world. Their proper designation, and that which is sanctioned by their own use, is Syrian Chrislians or TA(3 Syrian Church of MalayalaP Yet the Doctor re- marks, that they acknowledge “ the Patriarch of Antioch,” and that they are connected with certain churches in Mesopo- tamia and Syria, 215 in number, and labouring under circum- stances of discouragement and distress : but he does not say whether it is to the Greek or the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch that they are subject. J In respect to their religious ceremonies they observe at Easter a kind of public collation, which bears some affinity with the Agapee of the primitive Christians. This feast or entertainment consists generally of no- thing but a few herbs, fruits, and rice ; and is made in the fore-court before the church-porch. The priests at those times have a double, and the bishop a triple portion of what is provided. To these Agapee, we must add another ceremony, called by the Christians of St. Thomas, their Cas- TURE, which is said to be an emblem, or symbol, of brotherly love. During the time they are in the church, they take hold * Malayala comprehends the mountains and the whole region with- in them, from Cape Cormorin to Cape Illi. Whereas the province of Malabar commonly so called, contains only the northern districts, not in- clud ing the country of Travancore. t Their Liturgy, Dr, B, tells us, is derived from that of the early church of Antioch, called “ lAturgia Jacobi Apostoli.” — And, according to Mr. Gibbon, “ the Jacobites themselves had rather deduce their name and pedigree from St. James the Apostle.” t All Religions. 20 230 OTHER BRANCHES OF of the hands of one of their most ancient Cacanares, or priests, and in that posture receive his benediction. These Christians have holy water placed at their church- doors, with which they make the sign of the cross, repeating at the same time a prayer in commemoration of Nestorius. It is merely a little common water, mixed with a small quantity of mould, taken out of the road through which St. Thomas had travelled. In case they have no such mould, they throw a few grains of franldncense into it. We have before ob- served, that they have not only crosses, but pictures or repre- sentations of them, hung up in their churches ; and the priests likewise carry a crucifix in procession, obliging the devotees who assist to salute it. This act of devotion has been em- braced even by the Pagans. There are also crosses erected not only in their streets and high roads, but in the most soli- tary places. They are erected on a pedestal, in which there is a hole or cavity, large enough to contain a burning lamp; and the Indians frequently contribute towards the oil that is spent to support these lamps. The use of bells is prohibited amongst those Chaldeans who live under the authority and jurisdiction of the Indians; because the sound of those instruments, in their opinion, is of- fensive and incommodious to their idols : the ancient pagans were no strangers to this idle notion. It is a common practice among the Indian Christians, out of devotion, to lie all night in their churches ; and the same custom was frequently observed by the ancient idolaters. The posture of these Indians, when they say their prayers, is pros- tration with their faces to the ground. A description of their dances may be properly enough intro- duced in this place. The men dance by themselves, and the maidens and married women also by themselves, with all imaginable modesty and decorum. Before they begin, they not only make the sign of the cross, but sing the Lord’s Prayer, with a hymn in commemoration of St. Thomas. The In- dians, likewise, amongst whom these Christians live, make dancing a part of their divine worship ; and it is well known that it was a principal ornament, and an essential act of devo- tion, at the festivals of the ancient pagans. With regard to their songs, the subject of them is always either the virtues of their saints, or the heroic actions of their ancestors. THE GREEK CHURCH. 231 Sec. 4. — Religious Ceremonies and, Customs of the Jacobites. General ac- count. Were we to include under the denomination of Jacobites, all the Monophysites of the Levant, that is, all those who are charged with the heresy of acknowledging but one nature in Jesus Christ, it must be ac- knowledged that their sect would be very exten- sive ; for then we must reckon the Armenians, Cophti, and the Abyssinians, amongst the number. But there are very few who can strictly and justly be termed Jacobites, and they, for the most part, reside in Syria and Mesopotamia. There are not above 40 or 45,000 families of their persuasion ; and even they themselves are divided in point of principle ; some of them being reconciled to the Church of Rome, and others con- tinuing in a state of separation. The latter have two patri- archs, who generally act in direct opposition to each other : one of them resides at Caremit, and the other at Derzapha- ram ; independently of whom, there is another patriarch at- tached to the Church of Rome, who resides at Aleppo, and is dependant on, and absolutely under the jurisdiction of the court of Rome. As to the articles of their belief, the Monophysites, in gene- ral, (whether Armenians, Cophti, or Abyssinians,) maintain the doctrine of Dioscorus, with respect to the unity oi the nature and person of Jesus Christ, rines. and to that degree of exactness, that, in order the more clearly to express their belief, they make the sign of the cross, accord- ing to Brerewood, with one finger only, whereas the other Easterns make use of two ; for this reason, they are looked upon and treated as heretics, though in reality there is no other difference but in point of terms between them and the divines of the Latin Church. This is readily acknowledged by the most learned men amongst them at this very day ; and is evi- dent from the conferences which Father Christopher Roderic, the pope’s legate in Egypt, had with the Cophti, on the sub- ject of reconciliation between the two churches. They in- genuously confessed, that the only reason of their making use of such terms, was purely to testify their abhorrence and de- testation of the Nestorians ; for that, in reality, they were of the same opinion with the Latin Church, and freely owned the two natures of Jesus Christ. They further insisted that the mystery of the Incarnation was more clearly explained by their asserting the unity of Christ's nature ; because there is 232 OTHER BRANCHES OF but one Jesus Christ, who is both God and man. On the contrary, the Latins speak of these two natures as if they were severed from one another, and did not constitute one real whole. It is in this sense, likewise, that Dioscorus, who softened some of the harsh terms which were made use of by Euty- ches, declared his opinion that Jesus Christ was a com- pound of two natures ; although he was not in himself two distinct natures, “ which,” says Father Simon, “ appears an orthodox notion for they will not acknowledge that there were two distinct natures in Jesus Christ, for fear of estab- lishing two Christs. The whole of this mighty disagree- ment arises, however, from the different construction which ■each party puts on those two terms, nature and person. To which may be added, the ambition of not swerving in the least from a position once laid down, and which was the principal reason why Eutyches maintained his opinion with so much obstinacy : from which it appears, that the terms he uses ought not to be understood in their most strict and rigorous sense ; but be construed and restrained to that idea, uTiich he enter- tained of admitting but one Christ, and consequently but one nature, after the union of the two natures, the divine and hu- man, in such a manner as is incomprehensible to our weak understandings. In regard to all other points, relating either to the faith or ceremonies of the Jacobites, the accounts which Brerewood Ceremonies given us of them are not always strictly just. For instance, they neither deny a state of purgatory, nor reject prayers for the dead, as he perempto- rily asserts upon the authority of Thomas the Jesuit ; but their notions, in those particulars, are the same as those of the Greeks, and other oriental nations. Neither is it true that they consecrate the sacrament with unleavened bread ; the Ar- menians, and, according to Alvares, the Ethiopians, only ex- cepted; for the true Jacobites, of whom we are speaking, make use of leavened bread. Gregory XIII. who purposed to found a college at Rome for the Jacobites, there being one antece- dently erected for the encouragement of the Maronites, would no doubt have indulged them, as well as the Greeks, with the administration of the sacrament with leavened bread ; but in regard to confession, the assertion that it is not practised amongst them is likewise a gross mistake ; for as it is not looked upon by them as of divine institution, it is consequently very much neglected. Brerewood says that they confess their sins to God alone> and not to a priest, except upon some ex- THE GREEK CHURCH. 233 traordinary occasion. His assertion, however, about circum- cision, must be false, unless he means to refer to a few amongst the Cophti and the Abyssinians ; and even they look on it rather as an ancient custom than a religious ceremony. A great distinction ought however to be made between the Jacobites, when the Cophti, Abyssinians, and Armenians, are included under that denomination, and those who are strictly and properly so called ; for though they are all followers of that Si. James, from whom they derive their title ; yet they do not all observe the same ceremonies. James was the disciple of Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, in the sixth century. He is revered as a saint by the Jacobites, as well as Dioscorus, who was his contemporary. Abrahamus Ecchellensis insists that the Jacobites, as well as the Latins, acknowledge that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son ; but Father Si- mon says that “ he is very much mistaken in this particular, as well as in several others relating to the customs and tenets of the Eastern Christians.” Before baptism the Jacobites imprint the sign of the cross, not only on the arm, but on the face of the infant to be bapti- zed. It is likewise a received notion amongst them, that the souls of the righteous reside on earth till the day of judgment, waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ; also, that the angels consist of two substances, fire and light. The Jacobites, who are scattered throughout Syria and the parts adjacent, are computed to amount to more than fifty thousand families. There is a quotation in Brerewood, in which the number was then said to be advanced to a hundred and sixty thousand. Sec. 5 . — Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Copts. The Copts, according to Scaliger and Father Simon, derive their name from Coptos, once a celebrated town of Egypt, and the metropolis of Thebaid ; but Volney and others are of opinion, that the name Copts is only an abbreviation of the Greek word Ai- gouptios, an Egyptian. The Copts have a patriarch, whose jurisdiction extends over both Egypts, Nubia, and Abyssinia, who resides at Cairo, but who takes his title from Alexan- dria. He has under him eleven or twelve bishops, besides the abuna, or bishop of the Abyssinians, whom he appoints and consecrates. The rest of the clergy, whether secular or regular, are composed of the orders of St. Anthony, St. Paul, 234 OTHER BRANCHES OF and St, Macarins, who have each their monasteries. Their arch-priests are next in degree to bishops, and their deacons are said to he numerous; and they often confer the order of deacon even on children. Next to the patriarch is the bishop or titular patriarch of Jerusalem, who also resides at Cairo, because there are only few Copts at Jerusalem ; he is, in re- ality, little more than bishop of Cairo, except that he goes to Jerusalem every Easter, and visits some other places in Pa- lestine, within his own jurisdiction. To him belongs the go- vernment of the Coptic church, during the vacancy of tho patriarchal see. The ecclesiastics are said to be in general of the lowest rank of the people ; and hence that great degree of ignorance which prevails among them. They have seven sacraments ; baptism, the eucharist, con- firmation, ordination, faith, fasting, and prayer. They admit only three oecumenical councils ; those of Nice, Cewmonies^'^ Constantinople, and Ephesus. They observe four Lents, as do the Greeks and most Eastern Christians; but it is said, by Brerewood and Ross, that they do not keep the Lord’s day. There are three Coptic liturgies ; one attributed to St. Basil, another to St. Gregory, and the third to St. Cyril. These are translated into Arabic for the use of the clergy and the people. The Copts are fond of rites and ceremonies. During the time of service, they are always in motion. In particular, the officiating priest is in continual motion, incensing the saints, pictures, books, &c. every mo- ment. They have many monasteries, in which the monks bury themselves from society in remote solitudes. Their nun- neries are properly hospitals; and few enter them, except wi- dows reduced to beggary. During the first three ages of the church, no country exhibited more sincere or greater Christ- ian piety than Egypt, and the north of Africa in general. At present, however, little more than the mere shadow of Christi- anity can be seen in Egypt ; and, in point of numbers, not more than fifty thousand Christians in all can he found in this country. There are not more than three Christian churches at Cairo. In respect to this people, we shall only add a brief account of their nuptial ceremonies, which, however, do not essentially differ from those practised by the Greeks. Af- remomeT midnight service, or, as the Romans would express it, after matins, the bridegroom in the first place, and then the bride, were conducted from their own apartments to church, accompanied by a long train of attend- ants with wax-tapers, and otheT lights. During the proces- THE GREEK CHURCH. 235 sion several hymns were sung in the Coptic language, and the performers beat time, or accompanied the vocal with in- strumental music, by striking little wooden hammers upon small ebony rulers. • The bridegroom was conducted into the inner choir of the church, and the bride to the place appointed for the women. Then the priests and the people began seve- ral prayers, interspersed with hymns, within the choir. This ceremony was very long. At the conclusion, the priest who solemnized the nuptials went up to the bridegroom, and read three or four prayers, making the sign of the cross both at the beginning and at the conclusion of each pra}^er. After that, he made him sit down upon the ground, with his face towards the Heikel. The priest who stood behind him held a silver cross over his head, and in that posture continued praying. Whilst this ceremony was performing in the inner choir, the sacristan had placed a form or bench at the door of the outer choir, for the bride to sit on with one of her relations. The priest having finished in the inner choir what the Copts call the Prayer of the Conjugal Knot, the other priest, who solemnized the nuptials, dressed the bridegroom in an alb, tied it with a surcingle about his waist, and threw a white napkin over his head. The bridegroom thus equipped was conducted to his spouse. The priest then made him sit down by her side, and laid the napkin, which before covered the bride- groom’s head, over them both. After this, he anointed each of them on the forehead, and above the wrist. To conclude the ceremony, he read over to them, after their hands were joined, an exhortation, which principally turned on the duties incumbent on all those who enter into the holy state of matri- mony. Then followed sundry prayers ; and after them the mass, at which the bridegroom and the bride received the blessed sacrament, and then departed. Sec. 6 . — Doctrines and Customs of the Abyssinians or Ethiopians. Having treated of the religion of the Copts, and as there is little or no difference between them and the Abyssinians, in point of principle, we shall say Gre^ieral ac- but little on that topic. ' The country known to the ancients by the name of Ethiopia, is now called Abyssinia, and the natives thereof are distin- guished by the name of Abyssinians. They are subservient only to the power and authority of one bishop, who is the me- tropolitan, or archbishop of all Ethiopia, and is dignified and 236 OTHER RRANCHES OF distinguished by the title of Ahuna, that is to say, Our Father. This bishop is sent by the Patriarch of Alexandria to preside ever them, and his place of residence is at Cairo ; so that they resemble the Copts in all their ecclesiastical concerns, except in some few ceremonies which are peculiar to themselves. They have likewise a language of their own, which they call the Chaldaic, because they are of opinion that it was originally spoken in Chaldea, though very different from the vulgar Chaldaic. For this reason, it is likewise called the Ethiopic tongue, and they always make use of it in their liturgies, and other religious offices. Such as are versed in the Hebrew language may easil}?- attain a competent knowledge of the Ethiopic, because there are many words which are the same in both languages : they have characters, however, peculiar to themselves ; and in the Hebrew language the points which supply the place of vowels, are never joined to the consonants; whilst on the other hand, in the Ethiopic language, there is no consonant, but what at the same time includes its own vowel. The Abyssinians are dependent on the Patriarch of Alex- andria, who makes choice of, constitutes, and appoints that Patriarch of Metropolitan of Abyssinia whom he Abyssinia. thinks most able to fill the office, which ability is generally estimated according to the extent of the douceur which he is enabled to give. It is for this reason, that the Abyssinian priests mention in their prayers the Patri- arch of Alexandria before their own metropolitan ; who, after his election, is always accountable to that patriarch for his conduct, and the due administration of his office. This metro- politan must not be a native of Abyssinia, neither has he power to constitute or establish any other metropolitans ; so that, although he has the honour to be called their patriarch, he has neither the authority nor the power belonging to that august character. He alone, however, issues out dispensa- tions, and is possessed of very considerable revenues, which pay very little, if any, duty or contribution to the government. There are both canons or prebendaries, and monks, in Abyssinia, and amongst the latter there are two sorts of hermits. The canons are allowed to marry, and their canonships frequently descend to their children : this custom is the more remarkable, for there is no other religion, except that of the Jews, which can produce any instances of hereditary succession to any ecclesiastical dignities. The homos, or hegumene, is reputed the first dignitary, or principal person in the order of priest- THE GREEK CHURCH. 237 hood, after the archbishops and bishops, both by the Copts and the Abyssinians. Their monks never marry. Of these there are two kinds ; one, that have a General, and form a regular body; the other, who live under one common rule, but their convents are independent of each other. These monks are men of credit and reputation, and are frequently intrusted with the most important affairs of state. None but the priests and deacons have any right to enter into the sanctuary where the altar stands ; the emperor himself is denied that privilege, unless he has been before admitted into holy orders ; for this reason their monarchs are frequently ordained, and take either deacon’s or priest’s orders on the day of their corona- tion. ' • The Ethiopian princes insist, that they are descendants of Solomon by the Queen of Sheba ; and this royal extraction, whether true or false, is supported by several Oridn historical testimonies, interspersed with a thou- sand extravagant fictions. But if this really be so, it readily accounts for that Judaism which is so universally blended with the Christianity of this empire, and which seems to be originally derived from this royal race of the Abyssinian monarchs. Indeed the Abyssinians are so confirmed, beyond all contradiction, in this belief, that their monarchs assume the title of Kings of Israel. The people are divided into tribes, as were the ancient Hebrews, and they preserve many Jewish names ; indeed, their very singers boast that they are descend- ants from the ancient Scribes. We shall next notice some of their rites and ceremonies; and first, in respect to baptism : the mother, being dressed with great neatness and decency, attends with her . infant in her arms at the church-door. There •* , , , - Ccrciiioiiics* the priest who officiates, pronounces several long prayers for a blessing on them both, beginning with those peculiarly appropriated to the mother. Afterwards, he conducts them into the church, and anoints the infant six several times with the oil consecrated for their exorcisms. These first unctions are accompanied with thirty-six others, administered with galilaeum, each on a distinct part of the infant’s body. After this, he blesses the font, pouring con- secrated oil into it twice, and making, each time, three differ- ent signs of the cross with meiron, all which ceremonies are accompanied with several long prayers. As soon as the benediction of the font is over, he plunges the infant into it three times successively. At the first, he dips one third part of the infant’s body into the water, saying, I ba'ptize thee in the 238 OTHER BRANCHES OF name, of the Father; he then dips him lower, about cwo thirds, adding, / baptize thee in the name of the Son ; at the third operation, he plunges him all over, saying, I baptize thee in the name of the Holy Ghost. The Sacraments of Confirmation, and of the Blessed Eucharist, are administered after this Baptism, which is solemnized before mass ; and the Communion is administered to the infant towards the end. The confirmation of the Copts consists in several long prayers, and repeating the unctions on the infant, the same as ^ - . after baptism. The priests among the Abyssini- C/onnrmation. ^ ans, perform their unction Avith chrism, m the form of a crosa, upon the forehead of the baptized infant, saying, M.ay this be the unction of the grace of'iheHoly Ghost; Amen. When he anoints the infant’s nose and lips, he says, Fhis is the pledge of the kingdom of heaven. At the application of the ointment to his ears, he uses this form, The sacred unction of our Lord Jesus Christ : in anointing the arms, knees, and legs, I anoint thee, says he, with this sacred unction, in the name of the Father, ^c. To conclude, the priest repeats a prayer over the infants that have been baptized, and afterwards confirmed, in the form of a benediction, puts crowns upon their heads, and then gives them the commu- nion. When the Abyssinians celebrate the eucharist, the sacra- mental bread is prepared in a convenient place, contiguous to p, 1 ,• f the church, but no woman is permitted to touch uc ans . which it is made. The bread is brought from the vestry to the altar by proper officers, who go in solemn procession before it, with crosses, censers, and little bells. During the celebration of mass, a curtain is drawn, to conceal what is done at the altar from the eyes of the congre- gation. They administer the communion in both kinds ; but with these restrictions, according to Father le Brun ; — that in the Ethiopian, as well as in all other Eastern churches, the cele- brant gives the blood, or wine, in the chalice to none but the priests ; he administers it to the deacons in a small spoon ; and the laity receive only some particles of the body, dipped in the blood ; the king excepted, who receives the communion in both kinds. The Abyssinian churches arc all situated directly from west to east, that the people when they pray may turn their faces Churches eastward. The altar stands by itself, within the sanctuary, under a kind of dome, supported by four pilasters; and is called by the Ethiopians-, their ark; THE GREEK CHURCH. 239 the form or figure of it being, according to their tradition, the same as that of the Jews ; which they pretend is actually in existence, and is to bo seen at this very time in the Church of Axuma. There are two curtains before the sanctuary, with little bells at the bottom of them, on which account nobody can go in nor come out, without making them ring. As the con- gregation always stand during the performance of divine ser- vice, they have no seats in their churches ; they are allowed, however, to rest themselves upon supporters or crutches, a great number of which are provided for that purpose, and de- posited on the outside of the churches. The people always go into the church barefooted ; and for that reason the pave- ment is covered with tapestry. No person presumes to talk, blow his nose, nor so much as to turn his head aside, whilst at church. The men are separated from the women, and the latter are placed as far distant as possible from the sanctuary. They have lamps burning in their churches even in the day- time, and they frequently illumine a great number of wax- tapers. They are very strict and severe in the observance of their fasts. During their Lent, they eat but once a day, and that after sunset. On Wednesdays and Frida}^s they p.^g^g sit down to table at three o’clock ; and, in order not to be in the least mistaken in point of time, they measure their shadows, which, when they are just seven feet in length is the critical minute. The Abyssinian priests are so precise, that they defer the celebration of the mass till the evening, upon a fast-day, for fear of transgressing the injunction of fasting, by receiving even the elements. They do not think themselves obliged, however, to fast, till they have children of a marriageable age ; but as the heat of the climate soon brings the natives to maturity, there are but very few at twenty-five who are exempt from that penance. Among the Abyssinians, the particular person for whose spiritual comfort this benediction of the lamp is pronounced, is obliged, according to the direction of the Benedicti ritual, if his strength will permit him, to draw of the^LamlT*^ near to the celebrant, who places him in a con- venient seat, with his face towards the east. The priests then holds the Book of the Gospels and a cross over his head, and lay their hands upon him. The senior priest then reads the prayers appointed for that particular occasion ; after which they raise the sick person up, give him a blessing with the Book of the Gospels, and rehearse the Lord’s prayer, the Creed, &c. Then they raise the cross above his heai and at 240 OTHER BRANCHES OF the same time pronounce the general absolution over him which is inserted in their liturgy. If time will permit, there are several other prayers added, and a formal procession is made all round the church, with the sacred lamp, and several lighted wax tapers, to beg of God that he would graciously vouchsafe to heal the person for whom their prayers are desired. If the patient happens to be so far indisposed as to be incapable of approaching the altar himself, some friend is substituted in his room. When the procession is over, the priests perform the usual unctions upon the sick person, and afterwards a single unction upon one another. A writer gives the following description of one of their weddings, at which he was personally present. The bride- . groom and the bride attended at the church- monSs!^ door, where a kind of nuptial-bed, or couch, was erected for that purpose. The ahuna, or patriarch seated them both upon it, and then went in pro- cession round them with the cross and censer. After that he laid his hands upon their heads, and said. As ye this day become one flesh, ye must be both of one heart and one will. After a short harangue, suitable to the foregoing words, he pro- ceeded to the celebration of the mass. The newly-married couple attended, and, after it was over, he pronounced the nuptial benediction. Gaia has furnished us with some other ceremonies observed by them in their nuptials, amongst which the following are the most remarkable. “ The celebrant, after he has cut a lock of hair from the heads of the bridegroom and the bride, and dipped them into wine mingled with honey, exchanges the locks, and places that which belonged to the former on the head of the latter, and so vice versa, in the very same place from whence they were taken, sprinkling them at the same time with holy water. After this ceremony is over, the newly-married couple, attended by their friends, go home, and never stir abroad for a month. When the bride goes out, she wears a black veil over her face, which she never turns up till after the expiration of six months, except she proves with child.” We have before taken particular notice of the nup- tial crowns, amongst the ceremonies of the Greeks ; and among the Abyssinians, these crowns are put upon the heads of the newly-married couple, and they wear them for the first eight days; after which, the priest who put them on, takes them ofT again, with much formality, and pronounces several prayers. Each monastery has two churches, one for the men and the THE GREEK CHURCH. 241 Other for the women. Their musical instruments are little drums, which they hang about their necks, and beat with both hands. The gravest ecclesiastic amongst them looks upon this drum as an ornament, and always wears one. They have likewise pilgrim’s staffs, which they strike upon the ground, and regulate the motion of their bodies to the cadence. They always begin with a beat of the foot, and then piny gently on these drums : after which, they Jay them aside in order to clap hands, jump, dance, and bawl as loud as their power will permit them. These acclamations are intended as an act of devotion, the merit of which is grounded on a passage in the Psalms of David, in which he invites all nations to cry aloud, and clap their hands for joy ! To conclude, the Abyssinians commemorate their deceased friends, and have proper prayers for them. The collection of canons which they make use of, enjoins them to offer the sacri- fice of the mass, and to pray for the dead, on the third and seventh day, at the month’s end, and at the conclusion of the year. They have prayers, likewise, for the invocation of the saints,as well as legends, relics, and miracles without number. Sec. 7. — Religious Tenets and Customs of the Armenians. The Armenians, from Armenia, a province of Asia, con- sisting of the modern Turcomania and part of Persia, were formerly a branch of the Greek Church. They professed the same faith, and acknowledged the count, same subjection to the see of Constantinople, till nearly the middle of the sixth centur}^, when the supposed he- resy of the Monophysites spread through Africa, and Asia, and comprehended the Armenians among its votaries. But, though the members of this church still agree with the other Monophysites in the principal doctrine of that sect, respecting the unity of the divine and human nature in Christ, they differ from them in so many points of faith, worship, and discipline, that they hold no communion with that branch of the Mono- physites who are Jacobites in the more limited sense of that term, nor with the Copts or the Abyssinians. The Armenians allow and accept* the articles of faith ac- cording to the council of Nice, and use the Apostle’s Creed. With respect to the Trinity, they agree with the Greeks in acknowledging three persons in one Tenets, divine nature, and that the Holy Ghost proceeds only from the Father. They believe that Christ descended into hell, and liberated thence all the souls of the damned, bv the o^race 21 242 OTHER BRANCHES OF and favour of liis glorious presence ; that this liberation was not for ever, nor by a plenary pardon or remission, but only till the end of the world, when the souls of the damned shall again be returned into eternal flames. The Armenians believe, that neither the souls nor the bo- dies of any saints or prophets departed this life, are in heaven, except the blessed Virgin, and the prophet Elias. Yet, not- withstanding their opinion that the saints shall not be admitted into hea ven till the day of judgment, by a certain imitation of the Greek and Latin churches, they invoke those saints with prayers, reverence and adore their pictures and images, and burn to them lamps and candles. The saints commonly in- voked by them, are all the prophets and apostles ; and also St. Silvester, St. Savorich, &c. They worship after the Eastern manner, by prostrating their bodies, and kissing the ground three times. When they first enter the church, they uncover their heads, Worship. cross themselves three times; but afterwards they cover their heads, and sit cross-legged on carpets. The greatest part of their public divine service is performed in the morning, before it is light. They are very devout on vigils to feasts, and on Saturday evenings, when they all go to church, and, after their return home, perfume their houses with in- cense, and adorn their little pictures with lamps. In their monasteries, the whole Psalter of David is read over every twenty-four hours ; but in the cities and parochial churches, the Psalter is divided into eight portions, and each portion into eight parts, at the end of each of which is said the Gloria Patri, &c. The rites and ceremonies of the Armenian church greatly resemble those of the Greeks. Their liturgies also are essen- tially the same, or at least ascribed to the same authors. The fasts, which they observe annu- ally, are not only more numerous, but kept with greater rigour and mortification than is usual in any other Christian community. They mingle the whole course of the year with fasting; and there is not a single day, which is not appointed either for a fast or a festival. They commemorate our Lord’s nativity on the 6th of January, and thus celebrate in one festival his birth, epiphany, and baptism. The Armenians practise the trine immersion, which they consider as essential to baptism. After baptism, they apply the enyrop or chrism, and anoint the forehead, eyes, ears, breast, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet, with conse- crated oil, in the form of a cross. Then they administer to Rites and ceremonies. THE GREEK CHURCH, 243 the child the eucharist, with which they only rub its lips. The eucharist is celebrated only on Sundays and festivals. They do not mix the wane with w^ater, nor put leaven into their bread, as do the Greeks. They steep the bread in the wine, and thus the communicant receives both kinds together, — a form different from that of the Latin, Greek, and reformed churches. They differ from the Greeks in administering bread unleaven- ed, made like a w'afer ; and, from the Romans, in giving both kinds to the laity. Before any persons, whether men or women, presume to enter their churches, they pull their shoes off at the church- door, where there are chests to lock them up in, during the time of divine service. On entering, they cross themselves three times, but after the same form, according to Father le Brun, as is observed in the Latin Church, The men are all uncovered. The clergy themselves are without shoes in the choir; but those Avho officiate in the sanctuary put on black slippers. During the celebration of the mass and other parts of divine service, all the communicants either stand or sit up- on the ground, the men cross-legged, and the women upon their heels. Many of the people stay a long time in the church, and are often there by break of day. Father Monier relates, that he w^as very much affected with the modest de- portment observed in the exercise of their de\mtion ; and, Ri- caut says, his heart Avas melted Avith the AA^armth and ardency of their piety, which is considerably augmented at certain sea- sons, particularly in the Holy Week. In their fasts they are much more rigorous than the Greeks, and no dispensation is alloAved on any account. During the forty days of their Lent, which precedes their Easter, they must eat nothing but herbs, roots, beans, peas, and the like, and no greater quantity of them than is just sufficient to support nature. The Armenians, howeA^er, according to Tournefort, are alloAA^ed to eat fish on Sundays. To these acts of self-denial, Ave must add another, Avhich is the natural result of an habitual practice of such long and se- vere fasts, viz. — their abstinence from VAmmen. Their most rigid devotees look upon a breach of this mode of mortifica- tion, as a crime of the most enormous nature. They have an established custom of having no mass on fast-days and during their Lent; but on Sundays only, there is a kind of spiritual humiliation. This mass is celebrated at noon, and is called low-mass ; because there is a curtain drawn before the altar, and the priest, Avho is unseen, pronounces nothing Avith an audible voice, but the gospel and the creed. All their 244 OTHER BRANCHES OF fasts in general are observed with the same strictness and aus- terity as their grand Lent. Their churches have the front towards the east, in order that the priest, who celebrates mass, and the whole congrega- Churchcs Stand with their faces directly to that quarter. The church is divided generally into four parts, that is to say, the sanctuary, the choir, the space peculiarly allotted for the lay-men, and that appropriated to the service of the women ; which is always the nearest to the door. The choir is divided from the place allotted for the men by rails about six feet high. The sanctuary is five or six steps higher than the choir. In the centre of the sanc- tuary stands the altar, which is small and insulated, in order that the priest may thurify and go round it. The majority of the churches have a dome with several windows in it, to give light to the sanctuary. There are no seats in that part of the church, because both the celebrant and his assistants are obliged to stand all the time of divine service in that holy place. According to the directions, however, in their liturgy, the priest is ordered to sit down during the lesson out of the prophets, and the epistle, and then, in case the celebrant should be a bishop, or a priest well stricken in years, he is indulged with a chair. Generally, there are small rails between the two stair-cases leading from the sanctuary to the choir; and those who serve at the altar are allowed to lean against or rest themselves upon them. The vestry stands on the left side of the sanctuary on entering the church ; and on the right side opposite to it, there is, in all great churches, another ves- try, which is made use of as a treasury. There is but one al- tar generally in each church. The choir is the place peculiarly appropriated to the service of the clergy ; and the laity are never admitted into that division. There is no seat but the bishop’s, which is erected on the left-hand side of the door; but when there are several bishops present, there are stools brought for them, and set on each side of the episcopal chair : — the others either stand all the time of divine service, or sit cross-legged on the ground, according to the custom of the country. The choristers have neither stool nor desk, but when the lessons are to be read there is a folding desk brought out, and set in the centre, which is covered with an embroi- dered veil. Neither is there any fixed pulpit erected for the preacher ; but when there is a sermon, a moveable pulpit is generally placed at the door of the choir: the patriarch, how- ever, preaches in the sanctuary. As to the third and fourth divisions of the church, there is nothing worthy of notice in THE GREEK CHURCH. 245 either of them. Such churches as are poor have their pave- ments covered with matting, but those which are rich wuth fine carpets ; and to prevent the people from soiling them, a sufficient number of spitting-pots are provided. A similar reason may be assigned for pulling off their shoes at the church-door. In those cities where the Armenian merchants carry on a great trade, the churches are embellished with beautiful pic- tures and rich tapestry; particularly the sanctuary, which, at all times when there is no celebration of the mass, is conceal- ed by a fine curtain. The sacred vessels and vestments are equally grand and magnificent ; and whilst the Greeks have only two insignificant lights, scarcely sufficient to enable the priest to read mass, the Armenian churches are surrounded with illuminations in great abundance. The altar is uncovered at all times when there is no divine service; but always covered during the celebration of their mass. The altars are but small and without relics ; formerly the cross, and the book of the gospels only, were placed upon them. The Armenians, in imitation of the Latins, have for many years past placed their candlesticks there, and very frequently a great number of them ; and fill up the steps with crosses. A number of lamps are always burning during the celebration of mass ; and one particularly in the centre of the sanctuary, which is never extinguished. The faithful offer wax-tapers to be burnt in mass-time. According to Father Monier, twm masses are very seldom said in one day at the same church, or if there should, there is but one at each altar. Nothing but high mass is celebrated amongst them, and that at break of day, except on the vigil of the Epiphany and Eas- ter-eve, when it is celebrated in the evening. Children generally leave the choice of the person whom they are to marry, as well as the settlement of the mar- riage articles, to their parents or nearest relations. Their marriages, according to Tournefort, are C^r- the result of the mother’s choice, who very seldom advises with any persons upon the subject except her husband; and even that deference is paid with no small reluctance. After the terms of accommodation are settled and adjusted, the mother of the young man pays a visit to the young lady, accompanied by a priest and two venerable matrons, and presents her with a ring, as the first tacit pro- mise of her intended husband. He generally makes his ap- pearance at the same time, with all the seriousness he is able to assume, or perhaps with all the perplexity of one who has 24G OTHER BRANCHES OF not the liberty to make his own choice. Tournefort assures us, that this serious deportment is carried to such a pitch, that at the first interview even a smile would be looked upon as indecent, and even the young virgin at that time conceals either her charms or defects, under an impenetrable veil. The priest who attends on this occasion, is always treated with a glass of good liquor. The Armenians never publish the bans of matrimony, as is customary with other Christian churches. The evening before the wedding, the bridegroom and the bride send each other some presents. On the wedding-day, there is a procession on horseback, and the bridegroom rides in the front, from his mistress’s house, having on his head a gold or silver network, or a flesh-coloured gauze veil, according to his •quality. This network hangs down to his waist. In his right hand he holds one end of a girdle, whilst the bride, who fol- lows him on horseback, covered with a white veil, Avhich reaches down to her horse’s legs, has hold of the other. Two attendants walk on each side of her horse, and hold the reins. The bride is sometimes conducted to church between two matrons, and the bridegroom walks on foot accompanied by a friend, who carries his sabre. The relations and friends, (generally young men and maids,) either on horseback or on foot, accompany them to church with great order and decorum in the procession, having wax- tapers in their hands, and a band of music marching before them. They alight at the church-door, and the bridegroom and bride walk up to the very steps of the sanctuary, still hold- ing the ends of the girdle in their hands. They there stand side by side, and the priest having put the Bible upon their heads, pronounces the sacramental form ; he then performs the ceremony of the ring, and says mass. The nuptial benedic- tion is expressed in the following terms. Bless, O Lord! this marriage with thy everlasting benediction ; grant that this man and this woman may live in the constant practice of faith, hope, and charity ; endow them with sobriety ; inspire them with holy thoughts, and secure their bed from all manner of pollution, iSfC. When an infant dies under nine years of age, the father, or his nearest relation, provides prayers to Almighty God, eight days successively, for the soul of the de- Funeral cer- ceased; and during all that time pays the ex- penses of the priest to whose care that act oi de- votion is intrusted. On the ninth day the solemn service for the soul is performed. Those who are pious and in goodcir- f'umstances have a particular day set apart for the commemc THE GREEK CHURCH. 247 ration of their relations, and for the due celebration of all the requisite offices. Father Monier assures us also, that it is a received custom amongst them to visit the monuments of the dead upon Easter Monday; at which time the men sigh and groan, hut the vvomen actually howl ; and this they call the visible testimonies of their sorrow and concern. These sighs and groans of the men, and these bowlings of the women, however, are soon over ; and a more agreeable scene imme- diately succeeds ; they all withdraw under the refreshing shade of some luxuriant tree, where an elegant entertainment erases the idea of affliction : sorrow is now drowned in li- quors, and the diversions of the afternoon are altogether as extravagant and excessive as their morning lamentations. CHAPTER II. RELIGIOUS TENETS, CUSTOMS, CEREMONIES, &c. OP THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. SEC. I. TENETS, CUSTOMS, &C. The Roman Catholics hold all the fundamental tenets of the Christian religion. They worship one God in three persons ; viz. the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost : and they maintain that they are to put their, confidence in God alone^ through the merits of his incarnate Son, who was crucified and rose from the dead for our justification. They receive with the same certainty, all the other articles of the Apostles’ creed. The Protestants do not differ with them in relation to the fundamentals of this belief ; but affirm that the Catholics have made a great num- ber of additions, some of which are repugnant to the Apostles’ creed, and tend very much to weaken the fundamental tenets. They further affirm that the Roman Catholics are too indul- gent in their toleration of an infinite number of customs, which deviate from the spirit of Christianity. The following is a summary of the tenets held by the Ro- man Catholic church, according to Mr. Bos- Tenets of the suet’s Exposition of the Catholic Catechism, Roman Catho- and which on good authority is alleged to be conformable to the decrees of the famous council of Trent. 248 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Adoration of the Blessed Virgin. “ To begin,” says he, “ with the adoration which is due to God, the Catholic Church teaches, that it principally consists in believing that he is the Creator and Lord of all of God^ things ; and that it is the duly of Catholics to ad- here to him with all the faculties of their souls, through faith, hope, and charity, as being the sole object that can make them happy by the communication of that sove- reign good, which is himself. “ This internal adoration which they render unto God in spirit and in truth, is attended with its external signs, of which sacrifice is the principal, and can be offered to God alone ; because sacrifice was ordained to make a public and solemn acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty over us, and of our absolute dependance upon him. “ The same Church teaches, that all religious worship ought to terminate in God, as its necessary end ; and that if the veneration which is paid to the Blessed Virgin and the saints may be termed religious, it is because it relates of neces- sity to God. “ The Catholic Church, in telling us that it is beneficial to pray to the saints, teaches us to pray to them in that spirit of charity, and according to that order of brotherly of Saints^^^°” love, which inclines us to request the assistance of our brethren living upon earth ; and the cate- chism of the Council of Trent concludes from this doctrine, that if the quality of Mediator, which the Holy Scriptures at- tribute to Jesus Christ, received the least prejudice from the in- tercession of the saints who dwell with God, it would receive no less an injury from the mediation of the faithful, who live •with us upon earth, “ This catechism demonstrates the great difference there is between the manner of imploring God’s aid and assistance, and that of the saints : for it expressly declares, that the Ca- tholics 'pray to God either to bestow on them some blessing, or to deliver them from some misfort'iine ; but since the saints are more acceptable in his sight than they are, they beg of them to be their advocates only, and to procure for them such things as they want. For which reason, the Catholics make use of two forms of prayer widely different from each other, for v)hen they make their applications to God himself they say, ‘ Have mercy on us, hear us !’ But when they ad- dress themselves to the saints, they only say, ‘ Pray for us !’ By which we are to understand, that in whatever terms those prayers which are directed to the saints are conceived, the in- ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 249 tention of the Church and of her faithful servants always re- duces them to that form.” Considering, however, that this honour, which the Catho- lic Church pays to the saints, principally appears before their images and sacred relics, it will be proper to ex- Reverence plain the belief of the Church in both these par- for images and ticulars. Sacred Relics. In regard to images, the Catholics are expressly forbidden by the Council of Trent, to believe there is any virtue in them of so heavenly a nature as to prove an inducement to pay di- vine adoration to them : and they are enjoined to o.sk no fa- vours of them, to put no trust nor confidence in them, but to reverence them only in honour of the originals which they re- present. The respect which is paid to relics, in imitation of the primi- tive Church, must be understood in the same manner. They look upon the bodies of the saints as having been victims of- fered up to God by martyrdom or penance, Avithout in any way diminishing that duty and respect which they owe to God himself, &c. As to the point of justification, they believe That their sins are freely remitted by the divine mercy, for the sake of Jesus Christ; and that they are freely justified, be- cause neither faith nor good works, which pre- cede their justification, can merit that favour . As to the merit of good works, the Catholic Church, teaches, that eternal life ought to be proposed to the children of God, both as a grace mercifully promised them by the Sanctifying- means and mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ, grace opposed and as a reicard faithfully bestowed on them for their good works and merits, in consequence of that promise. These are the express terms of the Council of Trent But that the pride of mankind should not flatter itself with the idea of a presumptuous merit, the same Council teaches, that the whole worth and value of Christian works arise from a sanctifying grace, Avhich is freely granted us in the name of Jesus Christ; and is the result of that constant influence which this divine Head has upon his members. The Catholics openly declare, that they cannot be accepta- ble to God, but in and through Jesus Christ; nor do they apprehend how any other sense can be imputed salvation to their belief They place all the hopes of their through Jesus salvation so perfectly in him alone, that they dai- Christ only, ly direct the following petition to God in the sacrifice: Vouchsafe, O God! to grant unto us sinners, thy 250 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. servants, who trust in the multitude of thy mercies, some share and society with thy blessed apostles and martyrs, into the number of whom we beseech thee to receive us, having no re- gard to our own merit ; but pardoning us through thy grace in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The Catholics, without exception, teach that Jesus Christ only, who was both God and man, was able, by the infinite dignity of his person, to offer up a sufficient satis- Nature of the faction to God for our sins ; but having made a one en . abundant recompense for them, he had power to apply that infinite satisfaction to us in two several ways ; either by an absolute remission, without the least reserve of any penalty ; or by exchanging a greater for a less, that is to say, an eternal for a temporal punishment. As the first is the most perfect and conformable to his divine goodness, he makes use of that, first of all, in the sacrament of baptism ; and they believe, that he uses the second in the forgiveness which he grants to those who, after baptism, relapse into sin, he being in some measure compelled thereto, through the in- gratitude of those who have abused his first favours; for which reason they are to suffer some temporal punishment, though the eternal be taken off In order to satisfy the duties imposed upon them by their religion, the Catholics are subject to certain penances, which ought to be performed on their parts with repent- indul^^nces^^ humiliation ; and it is the necessity of ° ' these works of expiation, which obliged the pri- mitive Church to inflict those punishments upon penitents, that are termed canonical. When the Church, therefore, imposes those painful and la- borious penances upon sinners, and they undergo them with patience and humility, it is called satisfaction ; and when the Church shows any regard either to the ardent devotion of the penitents, or to other good works which she prescribes, and remits any part of the punishment due to them, it is termed indulgence. The Council of Trent proposes nothing more relating to indulgences, than that the Church had the power of granting them from Jesus Christ, and that the practice of them is vjholesome ; which custom, that Council adds, ought still be preserved, though with moderation, lest ecclesiastical disci- pline should be weahened by too great a toleration: from whence it is manifest, that the articles of indulgences only re- gard discipline. It is the belief of the Catholics, that those who depart this ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 251 life in peace and charity, and are, notwithstanding, subject to those temporal punishments which divine jus- tice has reserved for them, must suffer them in ^ the other wmrld; and for that reason the whole Christian Church in the earliest ages, offered up both prayers, alms, and sacrifices for the faithful who have died in peace, and in the communion of the Church, wdth a lively hope and expectation of their being relieved by those acts of devotion. This is what the Council of Trent proposes that the Catholics should believe with respect to souls confined in purgatory, without determining either the nature of their punishments, or several other things of the like kind; in regard to which that holy Council exacts considerable precaution, and particularly con- demns those who say any thing that is uncertain and preca- rious. The sacraments of the New Testament are not only sacred tokens of grace, or seals by which it is confirmed to them, but they are also instruments of the Holy Ghost, which apply and confer it on them by virtue of Sacraments, the words pronounced, and the outward action performed, on their behalf, provided they do not prevent the effects of it by their own evil dispositions. When God annexes so high a prerogative to external signs, which in their nature bear no proportion to such excellent ef- fects, he plainly signifies that, independently of all that the Catholics can do inwardly through their good inclinations, a special operation of the Holy Ghost, and a particular applica- tion of the merits of our blessed Saviour, represented to us by the sacraments, must still intervene to sanctify them. This doctrine, therefore, cannot be rejected without offering an in- dignity to the merit of Jesus Christ ; and to the influence of the divine power in their regeneration. They acknowledge seven signs or sacraments, ordained by Jesus Christ as the ordinary means by which the new man is sanctified and made perfect. Their divine institution ap- pears from the sacred Scriptures, either by the express words of Jesus Christ himself, or by grace, which is accordingly annexed to them, and necessarily denotes an order from God. As infants cannot supply the defects of baptism, by acts of faith, hope, and charity, or by any vow hereafter to receive that sacrament, the Catholics believe, that if they Baptism, do not actually receive it, they are in no wise partakers of the grace of redemption ; and so dying in the guilt of Adam, have no share at all in Jesus Christ. The Catholics say that imposition of hands, practised by ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. i52 the blessed apostles for the confirmation of the faithful against Confinnaiion. persecutions, having its chief effect in the inter- nal descent of the Holy Ghost, and the infusion of his gracious gifts, ought not to have been rejected by their adversaries on pretence that the Holy Ghost does not at present descend visibly upon them. Indeed, all Christian Churches, from the time of the apostles, have religiously pre- served that practice, making use likewise of the sacred oint- ment in baptism, to show the virtue of that sacrament by a more express representation of the unction of the Holy Ghost. They believe that it was the will of Jesus Christ, that those who have submitted themselves to the authority of the Confession Church by baptism, and have afterwards viola- and absolu- ted the laws of the Gospel, shall be subject to the decision of the same Church in the tribunal of penance, at which it exercises the full power granted to it of absolution and remission of sins. The terms of the commission which is given to the ministers of the Church to forgive sins, are so general, that it would be presumptuous to reduce it only to public sins ; and as, when they pronounce absolution in the name of Jesus Christ, they only observe the express terms of that commission, so the sen- tence is looked upon as passed by Jesus Christ himself, in whose name they are appointed judges. He is the invisible high priest, who absolves the penitent inwardly, whilst the priest performs the same office externally. The Holy Ghost having annexed to extreme unction, an express promise of remission of sins, and the relief of the sick, Extreme more can be required to make this sa- unction. cred ceremony a real sacrament. It is to be ob- served, however, that the sick person, according to the doctrine of the Council of Trent, receives more conso- lation and relief in soul than in body ; and as spiritual benefit is ever the principal object of the new law, it is that which the Catholics chiefly expect from this holy unction, in case they are duly prepared for it ; whereas corporeal relief in sickness is only granted unto them with respect to their eternal salva- tion, according to the secret designs of Divine Providence, and the different degrees of preparation and faith, which arc to be met with in the faithful. Upon considering that Jesus Christ has given a new turn to the holy state of marriage, {see Matthew, chap. xix. v. 5,) Matr'monv reducing it to the constant and indissoluble ‘ ^ union of two persons only ; and likewise refleet- Pope’s Chapel, p. 268. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 253 ing that this inseparable union is a mark or token of his eternal union with his church, it will be very easy to compre- liend that the marriage of the faithful is attended by the Holy Ghost and the grace of God. The imposition of hands, which the Catholic spiritual minis- ters receive at their ordination, being attended, according to their belief, with so immediate an influence from the Holy Ghost, {see 1 Timothy, chap. iv. and 2 ^ Tim. chap, i.) and with so perfect an infusion of grace, ought to be reckoned also among the number of sacra- ments. The real presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist, is firmly established by the words of the institution, which the Catholics un- Eucha- derstand in the literal sense ; for they maintain j-ist. that there is not any thing in the words which Jesus Christ makes use of in the institution of this mystery, that induces them to take them figuratively ; and this reason is sufficient, in their opinion, to determine them in favour of the former. The ceremony of the Eucharist may be considered as one of the fundamental pillars of the Catholic religion, and we shall therefore give the exposition of it, as laid down by the Romish ritual. “ It is evident,” say the Catholics, “that these words of our Saviour, Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you, show us, that as the ancient Jews were not only united in spirit at the sacrifice of the victims which were offered up for them, but were also partakers of the flesh which was sacrificed, and which was also a sign to them of the share they had in that oblation ; so Jesus Christ having offered up himself a sacrifice for us, it was his pleasure that we should in reality partake of the flesh of that adorable victim ; in order that the actual communication of it might be a lasting testi- mony to each of us in particular, that he had not only assumed his body, but made a sacrifice of it for us.” “ Thus the eating of the body, and drinking the blood of the Son of God, is as real at the holy communion, as grace, expiation of sins, and participation of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, is actual and effectual under the new covenant. “As he was willing, however, to try our faith in this mys- tery, and free us at the same time from the horror of eating nis flesh, and drinking his blood, under their proper species, it was necessary for him to give them to us disguised under a species of another nature ; and if these considerations induced him to let us eat the flesh of our sacrifice, in a manner differ- 22 254 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. ent from the Jews, yet he was not for that reason obliged to subtract any thing from its reality and substance. “ It appears, therefore, that for the accomplishment of the ancient types, and in order to put us in the actual possession of the sacrifice that was offered up for our sins, it was the in- tention of Jesus Christ to give us in reality his body and blood, and this does not admit of any denial. We can never agree that those words should be received only in a figurative sense, because the Son of God, who was so careful to explain every thing to his apostles which he taught them under parables and figures, said nothing of that kind to explain this matter ; and it is thence evident that he left these words in their natural signification. It is as easy for the Son of God to cause his body to be in the Eucharist, by saying. This is niy body, as to cure a woman of her disease by saying. Woman, be thou free fro7ii thine infirmity ; or to preserve a young man’s life by saying to his father. Thy son livcth ; or, in short, to pardon the*sins of him who was sick of the palsy, by saying to him. Thy sms are forgiven theeP Having thus laid down the tenets of the Church relating to these words of Jesus Christ, This is my body, the following is the opinion of the Catholics concerning those which he add- ed to them. This do in remeinbrance of 7iie. “ It is evident,” they say, “ that it was the design of the Son of God to oblige us thereby to commemorate the death which he suffered for our salvation ; and St. Paul concludes from this passage, that we exhibit the death of the Lord in that mystery. Now we must not persuade ourselves that this commemoration of our Lord’s death excludes the real presence of his body ; on the contrary, if we reflect on what we have just explained, it will evidently appear, that this remembrance is grounded upon the real presence ; for as the Jews, at the eating of their peace- offerings, remembered they had been sacrificed for them ; so like wise, when we eat the flesh of Jesus Christ, our victim, we ought to remember that he died for us. It is the same flesh, therefore, eaten by the faithful, which not only revives in us the memory of his being offered up for us, but confirms us in the truth of it ; and from being able to say that this solemn confirmation which Jesus Christ enjoins us to make, excludes the real presence of his flesh, we find, on the contrary, that this affectionate remembrance of him, required of us at the holy table, as being offered up for us, is grounded upon that same flesh being really taken there ; since, in reality, we can- not possibly forget that he gave his body as a sacrifice for us, when we see that he still gives us daily the same to eat.’ ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 255 On this head the Catholics say, “ As it was not meet and proper that our senses should perceive any thing in this mys- tery of faith, so neither was it convenient that any thing should be changed, with regard to them, ^ in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. Upon which account, as we perceive the same species, and feel the same effects as before, in that sacrament, we ought not to be in any w^ay surprised, if sometimes, and in some sense, it should go under the same denomination. Yet our faith acknow- ledges no other substances on this occasion, than that which is meant by those very words ; that is to say, the very body and blood of Christ, into which the bread and wine are changed ; and this is what we call Transubstantiation.^^ “ It is to be observed, that there are two actions in this mys- terious sacrament, really distinct, though relative to each other. The one is the consecration of the bread and wine, which are thereby changed into the body and blood ; and the other is the manducation, whereby we are made partakers of that heaven- ly food.” “ Thus, the Son of God is set on the sacred table, by virtue of those words, clothed in the signs which represent his death ; and this is wrought by the consecration. This religious ac- tion, moreover, carries with it an acknowledgment of the di- vine sovereignty, inasmuch as Jesus Christ, who is actually present, renews and perpetuates the memory of his obedience, even to his dying on the cross ; for which reason nothing can be wanting to make it a true sacrifice.” “When we consider what Jesus Christ performs in this mystery, and that we see him, through faith, actually present on the holy table under these signs of death, Ave unite our- selves to him in this condition ; we present him to God as our only oblation, and our only propitiator through his blood, pro- testing that we have nothing to offer up to him, but Jesus Christ and the infinite merit of his death. We consecrate all our prayers through that divine sacrifice, and when we offer up Jesus Christ to God, we are at the same time instructed to offer up ourselves as living sacrifices to the Divine Majes- ty, in and through him.” “ The Church being instituted by God to be the guardian of the scriptures and of tradition, from her it is Authority of that Ave receive the canonical AATitings. the Church, “ Being thus inseparably united to the sacred authority of the Church by means of the scriptures, which we receive from her ; so from her likeAvise we do receive our tradition, and by means thereof are taught the true sense of the scriptures. 250 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Whence it comes to pass, that the Church professes to teach nothing as coming from herself, nor to invent any new doc- trine, but only follows and declares divine Revelation by the inward direction of the Holy Ghost, graciously given to her for her guide and instructer. “ The dissension which arose, relating to the ceremonies of the law, in the Apostle’s time, demonstrates that the Holy Ghost makes the Church his interpreter ; and their acts have taught all ages to come, by the manner of deciding that con- troversy, the authority by which all dissensions of that kind are to be concluded. So that, whenever there shall arise any disputes, which may create a division among the faithful, the Church shall always interpose her authority ; and her bishops being assembled, shall say after the Apostles, It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, andj to us ; and when she hath once spoken, her children shall be taught not to make new inquiries into the articles she hath resolved, but humbly to submit to her de- cisions. In complying herewith, we shall imitate St. Paul and Silas, who delivered that first decree of the Apostles to the faithful, and who, far from suffering them to re-examine what had been determined went from town to town, and charged them to keep the institutions of the Apostles. “ This is the manner in which the children of God sub- mit to the decision of the Church, believing they hear the oracles of the Holy Ghost from her mouth ; for which reason in the creed, after we have repeated, I believe in the Holy Ghost, we immediately after add, the holy Catholic Church. By which article we oblige ourselves to acknowledge a perpetual and infallible truth in the universal Church, since that very Church, in Avhich we believe at all times, would cease so to be, should she cease to teach that truth which God was pleased to reveal. Whoever, therefore, suspects that the Church makes an ill use of her authority, to establish the spirit of untruth, has no faith in him by whom the Church is governed.” According to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church is one, visible, holy, and catholic, or universal, established by the hand of God, on a ofthe^o^e^^^ solid basis, who has bestowed on it the power . * of opening the gates of heaven to all true be- lievers, and shutting them to all heretics and infidels. It likewise has the power of pardoning and absolving sins, and excommunicating all those who are disobedient. This church is both triumphant and militant. The former portion is the illustrious society of those blessed spirits and saints, who, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, 257 having triumphed ove r the world, the flesh, and the devil, en^ joy everlasting happiness in peace and security. The latter is the congregation of all true believers upon earth, who are constantly obliged, during their whole lives, to resist the world, the flesh, and the devil. Jesus Christ is the immediate governor of that part of the church which is triumphant in the heavens ; but, as the church militant required a visible head or director, he has substituted one in his room, who is ac- counted by all Catholics, as the sole and sovereign depositary of the faith, and perpetual director of the belief of all true Christians. This visible head is called the pope ; but the Catholics are divided in their notions with regard to his power : some con- sidering him to be inferior to a general council. „ The pope takes place of all Christian princes, him^fy Em- as the vicar of Jesus Christ here upon earth, perors. The emperors, who, in former times, were the first princes in the Christian world, went to Rome to receive the imperial diadem from the hands of his holiness, and there solemnly promised and bound themselves by the Trinity, by the wood of the cross, and by the relics of the saints, to exalt and support the church and its head to the utmost of their power. The emperors, before their entrance into the city or Rome, took the oath ; the form of which the ceremonial of the Roman church has preserved and transmitted to us. At length, after the church and its head had perfectly secured their own rights and privileges, the emperor was admitted ; upon which occasion the clergy went out to meet him in their ceremonial habits, and tendered him the cross to kiss. His holiness, sitting on a throne, received him before the first por- tico of the Church of the Apostles. There his imperial majesty uncovered himself, and knelt down as soon as he saw the pope, who styled himself the Vicar of Jesus Christ. After- wards he approached him gradually, with one knee always upon the ground ; and, lastly, he kissed the feet of his holiness in a very devout manner, as a testimony of his respect to the Saviour of the World. But before his imperial majesty could be crowned, he was obliged to take a new oath, in which no- thing was omitted that could establish the pope’s prerogative, and the security of the church’s domains. After the corona- tion there was a solemn procession, in which his imperial ma- jesty appeared, for the first time, with his crown on his head, his sceptre in one hand, and a globe in the other ; but as he went out of the basilica, he put all his regalia into the hands of one of his officers, in order to hold the stirrup, whilst the 22 * ‘^58 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. pope moimled bis horse; he even took the bridle, and for some time led the horse of the servant of the servants e/ J esus Christ ; who, to testify his humility, pretended he could not admit of so extraordinary a submission ; nor did he consent till after several ’compliments on both sides, to receive, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the honour which his imperial majesty conferred upon him. We may here observe, that after the emperor had taken the oath to his holiness, he was usually clothed in the amice and surplice. The canons of St. Peter did him the honour to admit liirn as a brother, and to look on him as a subject of the pope, to whom all preferments belonging- to the hierarchy of the church are subject. Whenever it pleased his holiness to be carried on his servant’s shoulders, the emperor was to be one of the assistants ; he was to pour out water to wash the hands of his holiness before he sat down to table, and to give him his first plate, &c. The Holy Father, being, in the opinion of the Roman Ca- tholics, far above all kings, is accounted the vicegerent of Accounted regent of the universe. Under this the vicegerent denomination he divided the newMvorld between God. Spain and Portugal ; he has a right to St. Paul’s sword, and with it to give apostolical chastise- ment to those who despise or disregard his decisions relating to the Christian faith. He never rises from his pontifical throne, nor uncovers himself to any person Avhomsoever; nor does he ever condescend to honour any one with a .salute, by the least inclination of his head. To his imperial majesty, indeed, he rises a little on his admittance to the kiss of peace, after he has paid his respects to the pope’s feet. Plis holiness, liow'ever, sometimes salutes those princes who have the honour of an audience of him, with a slight inclination of his head ; but then he is not in his pontifical robes ; and, although he may condescend to be courteous and complaisant, yet he is under no obligation to adopt that mode of conduct. The ))ope’s nuncio and legates take place of the ambassadors of all crowned heads. An (Ecumenical council is an assembly which represents the whole body of the universal church. The name of coun- CFcumeni given likewise to provincial and national cal council. assemblies of the clergy, who, at such times, however, represent only a part of the church. (Ecumenical councils are composed of ecclesiastical deputies from the sovereign powers of Christendom, who represent their respective nations, and also of other prelates, doctors, u.c. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 259 of particular churches, all assembled in a free place, where, without constraint, they may apply themselves to the reform- ation not only of manners and of doctrine, hut also to the re- gulation and establishment of church discipline, &c. Thus assembled, they have authority to censure bishops, cardinals, and even his holiness himself, if his conduct be blame-worthy; they also possess power to depose any of them, when the good of religion requires it. In short, they form an assembly, which, by its superiority, being able to check the unjust pro- ceedings of popes, by subjecting them to the church in points of faith, and declaring them schismatics and heretics whenever they deviate from it, has more than once proved fatal to the See of Rome. The assemblies of Pisa, of Constance, and Bale, are incontestable instances of the truth of this assertion. In regard to the ceremonies observed at the calling of a council, as there has not been one since that of Trent, we shall describe them as they are found in Father Ceremonies Paul’s History of that council, who assures us, observed at that there was not less debate nor less embarrass- the calling of ment in settling the rank and precedency of the ^ council, bishops, than if they had been convened to arrange affairs of the last importance to the state, &c. The fathers of the coun- cil also insisted upon having the assembly-room hung with tapestry, without which, they were apprehensive that the council might be deemed a body of tradesmen and mechanics. Pope Paul III. issued out one bull for calling the council, and a second for opening it ; both of which were read and regis- tered the first session. After a fast of three days, the legates and bishops, dressed in their pontifical robes, accompanied by their divines, the clergy of Trent, and all the people, went in solemn procession to the cathedral, where the first legate sung the mass of the Holy Ghost. Then the legates, in the pope’s name, made an harangue, in which, after speaking of the occa- sion of that august assembly, they exhorted the fathers to lay aside all passion and prejudice, to judge righteously, to have no other view but the glory of God, and the good of the Church. After this exhortation they all knelt down, prayed awhile to themselves, and then the president recited the prayer which begins with Adsumus Domine, Sancte Spiritus. By this comprehensive and devout prayer, immediate aid is askeS of the Holy Ghost, that he would please to guide and direct the council, to inspire the fathers with just judgments, to ba- nish the spirit of disorder and discord far from them, and not to suffer them through ignorance to fall into error, or to be biassed by bribes, or to be surprised by outward appearances. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 2eo The litanies were now sungf, the deacon then read the gospel, Si peccaverit frater tuus ; and after this the Veni Creator was likewise sung, and then the fathers seated themselves ac- cording to their respective ranks. The president having read the decree with an audible voice, and asked them if it was their pleasure to order and direct that the General and Holy Council of Trent should be opened to the glory of God, &c. each of the fathers, in his turn, answered Placet ; the legates first, then the bishops, and the rest of the fathers ; of the whole of which the notaries drew up a public act. Lastly, the Te Deum was sung, and the legates returned home after the first session, the cross being carried before them, and attended by the fathers, who had laid aside their pontifical habits. The ceremonies were almost the same at all the other sessions. In case the pope appears in person at the council, he and the fa- thers of the council, with the clergy of the city, go in proces- sion to the hall of the assembly in their pontifical robes. The pope, at the opening of the first session, sings the mass of the Holy Ghost ; after Avhich the cardinals, and the fathers of the council, clothed in their robes of ceremony, salute his holi- ness in their turns. High mass is seldom sung at the other sessions. His holiness for the most part hears a private mass, and afterwards goes to the council in his scarlet cope, and with the mitre on his head ; where, before the altar, he makes an harangue to the assembly, and then goes to his throne ; the cardinals after that put on his sandals, and quam dilecta, a verse of one of the psalms is recited. The pope’s throne must be erected at the upper end of the assembly-room, and due care must be taken that there be two seats on the right and left side of the throne for the deacon’s assistants. If the emperor appears in person at the council, he is to be seated next the pope, and at his right hand, but to be so situated as to acknowledge the superiority of his holi- ness ; for the emperor’s seat reaches no higher than the pope’s footstool, and even this honour is reserved only for his imperial majesty, for there is but very little difference between the seats of kings and those of cardinals. In this hall, or as- sembly-room, there must be an altar for mass, with a cross upon it, also the Eucharist, and the relics of the saints. The Roman ceremonial exhibits the order and rank of those who have a deliberative vote in council : — 1. The pope, Order and Christian Church. 2. The col- rank of mem- lege of cardinals. 3. The patriarchs. 4. The bcrsofacoun- primates. 5. The archbishops. 6. The bishops. 7. The abbots. 8. The generals of religious ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 261 orders. These, properly speahlng-, compose the council : the doctors, divines, &c. making their appearance only to assist or direct the fathers by their learning and their advice. Four cardinals of several orders, who are the dean, or first cardinal-bishop, the first cardinal-priest, the first cardinal-dea- con, and the cardinal camerlengo, or chamber- Ceremonies lain, conjointly share the administration of affairs observed at tbc during the vacancy of the Holy See and the election of a holding of the conclave. The three former are P°pe* intrusted with the administration of justice, and all affairs re- lating to civil government. The latter breaks the seal of the church, called the fisherman’s ring, in the presence of three cardinals; and the vice-chancellor breaks open the seal of the chancery, in the presence of the chief officers who belong to that court. The impression of the fisherman’s ring is St. Peter holding a line with a bait to it in the water, and is made use of for those briefs which are sealed with red wax. The seal for bulls has the figure of St. Peter and St. Paul, with a cross on one side, and a bust with the name of the reigning pope on the other: when a pope dies, the bust and name are defaced, without damaging the rest of the seal ; this last is only used for bulls sealed with lead. The camerlengo now orders money to be coined in his own name, with the device of the vacant see, which is that of two keys in the form of a cross, under the flag of the church ; with this motto, Sede va- cant e. Policy exerts all her arts, and sets every spring in motion, at the election of a pope; nor do the electors always wait for the death of the present chief or head of the Church, to begin those cabals and intrigues which are proper for advancing him whom they esteem a fit person to succeed to the pontifical throne ; and although the college invariably and unanimously invoke the assistance and aid of the Holy Ghost, to direct them in the choice of a Vicar of Jesus Christ, yet their emi- nences use all the precautions imaginable to prevent him from being in any way concerned in the election. The cardinals are obliged to enter the conclave ten days after the death of the pope; but before that time they hear the Mass of the Holy Ghost in the Gregorian Chapel, and some bishop makes a Latin harangue, exhorting them to make choice of a person who is worthy to fill the chair of the prince of the apostles. After this, their eminences march in procession to the con- clave, two by two, according to their rank, attended by the Swiss Guards and a vast crowd of people, the chorus all the while singing the “ Veni Creator , Being arrived at the con- 262 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. c.’ave, they take possession of their cells by lot, after which they all go to the Paulin Chapel, where the bulls for the elec- tion of the pope are read, and the dean of the sacred college exhorts the assembly to act in conformity to them. When this is over, the cardinals are allowed to go home to dine, but must return to the conclave before three at night ; at which time the master of the ceremonies acquaints them that they ought not to shut themselves up, unless they are determined to continue there as long as the conclave shall last, consistently with the order and direction of the bulls, in which it is regulated that those who go out shall not be permitted to return. The go- vernor and marshal of the conclave now post their soldiers in such order and in such places as they judge most requisite for the safety of the election. The ambassadors of princes, and all those who have any interest in the election of a future pope, are allowed to continue in the conclave for the first twenty- four hours. When the clock strikes three the master of the ceremonies rings a bell, after which all, except the electors, retire: the doors are then shut, the conclave is walled up, and guards are posted at all the avenues. The cardinal-dean, and cardinal-camerlengo, now visit the conclave, to see if it be well shut, and an act thereof is drawn up by an apostolical notary. None but the cardinals, and two conclavists for each, (one an ecclesiastic, and the other a soldier,) remain in the conclave. Those cardinals who are princes, or who are old, or infirm, are- sometimes allowed three. The other persons appointed for the service of the conclave are the sacristan, the under-sa- cristan, a secretary, an under-secretary, a confessor, who is always a Jesuit, two physicians, a surgeon, two barbers, an apothecary, and their apprentices, five masters of the ceremo- nies, a bricklayer, a carpenter, and sixteen porters or valets, for hard labour. Though the office of a conclavist be incommodious and un- easy, yet on account of its privileges it is very much sought after ; for a conclavist is sometimes the secret agent of the ministers of crowned heads. Every officer, however, of the conclave, takes an oath not to reveal any of its secrets. He must be shut up in a little corner of his master’s cell, and do every menial office for him. He must fetch his victuals and drink, which the cardinal’s officers give him from with- out twice every day, through an inlet that communicates to his cell ; he waits on his master at table ; keeps every thing very clean ; and when he has done, serves himself According to the order of Innocent HI., there are three .several methods of electing a pope, viz. by scrutiny^ comyro- ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 263 misA^ and mspiration. The election by scru- tiny^ which is the only way that has been used Ditrercnt for a long while, contains all the formality that appears most essential for making the election canonical. Still it is no more than a mere ceremony, as the several factions of the cardinals have united beforehand in the choice of the person. This harmony is brought about by the most refined and delicate strokes of policy, and for the most part comes on after their eminences have found out, by seve- ral scrutinies, the disposition of the sacred college. Then, if the votes for any of the candidates come near the number re- quired, it is a very common practice for the other factions to fall off and coalesce with the others, and thereby contribute to the pope’s election, fearing to draw on them his hatred by a fruitless and unseasonable opposition. The scrutiny consists in collecting and examining votes, given in by printed billets, which the cardinals put into a chalice that stands on the altar of the chapel, at which they have met to choose the pope. These Election by billets are prepared by the masters of the cere- scrutiny, monies, who put them into two golden basins, placed at each end of a long table, which stands on the side of the high altar. Each of these billets is a span or palm long, and half a span broad, and are divided into eight equal parts, by parallel lines taking up the whole length of each billet, as well on the inside as the out; that is, the reverse of the billet when rolled up. On the first space, rolled inward, these two words, “ Ugo Cardinalis^^ stand at a small distance from each other to make room for the proper name. The second is a blank, in which the cardinal writes his surname and titles. The third has two O’s at each end, for the cardi- nal’s seal, which is generally made on purpose; for he never uses his coat of arms on this occasion. The fourth is filled up with “ Eligo'^ &c. The fifth is for the surname and titles of the cardinal proposed to be pope. The sixth is as the third.^ The seventh continues a blank, and the eighth is filled up with a motto, w^hich the cardinal, whose name the billet bears, makes choice of out of the sacred scriptures. The reverse of each billet is divided likewise into eight equal parts, and almost all of them are filled up with flourishes, that the writing on the other side may not appear through. Before the scrutiny begins, little bills, having the names of all the cardinals on them, are put into a bag, with an intent to draw thence three scrutineers, three overseers of the sick, and three re visors. 264 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. The cardinals use all the art imaginable to disguise their hands. They write what we have just mentioned on the scru- tiny billets; or, if they have not skill enough to ^conceal their hands, they make use of an unknown hand, that it may not be known for whom they vote. These billets are wrapped up with all possible dexterity and address, that it may be a secret to whom they belong ; after which they close them in their ‘hands and take their places; and then the scrutiny be- gins in the following manner. Each cardinal takes the billet, thus written and folded up, between the thumb and the fore- finger of his right hand, and holding it up to the view of the other members of the sacred college, carries it to the high altar, kneeling down upon the first step, where he repeats an ejacu- latory prayer. He then goes up to the altar, and takes the oath aloud ; after which he puts his billet upon the patten which covers the chalice, and from thence slides it into the chalice ; he then returns to his place. This office is perform- ed by the overseers of the sick for those cardinals who are in- disposed. They present the scrutiny billets to such cardinals, together with a box in the form of an urn, with a very small hole in it, at which the sick man puts in his billet. The bil- let cannot be got out again but b}^ opening the box, which is carried to the chapel, opened before all the cardinals present, and then the billet is put into the chalice in the manner already described. Before the scrutiny begins, the sacristan, who is always an Augustine friar, says the mass of the Holy Ghost. The scruti- neers then stand near tlie great altar, to mix and open the billets in the chalice, and to see that the scrutiny proceeds in due form. The last scrutineer takes tliesc billets one after another, and first showing them to the cardinals, puts them into another chalice. If there be a greater or less number of billets than there are cardinals, the scrutineer burns all he finds in the two chalices, and each cardinal makes a new one, till the scrutiny comes right. When the billets are equal to the num- ber of cardinals, the scrutiny is published in the following manner. The heads of the three orders of cardinals go up to the high altar, take the chalice in which the billets are put, carry it to the table before-mentioned, and then retire, and the three scrutineers come and seat themselves at the table, with their faces towards the cardinals. The first scrutineer turns the chalice upside down upon the table, opens each billet in the place where the vote is written, and looks upon the name of the cardinal who is therein voted for; and still, as he opens tliem, he puts them into the hands of the second Benediction of Bells, p. 292. Consecration of an image, p. 293 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 265 scrutineer, who looks likewise on the name, and gives it to the third, who reads the name aloud. Meanwhile, the cardi- nals mark each name upon a sheet of paper, on which all their names are printed. Those who are named set down also the votes given them, to see if they have a sufficient number to be elected. This number must he at least hco thirds. The last scrutineer files all these billets, that none of them may be lost, and the file is kept in view till he has put it into a chalice set apart for that purpose. When the scrutiny is over, the billets are again told over, and three revisors exa- mine them. They are burned when the election has been approved as canonical. If the votes do not rise to a sufficient number, billets are taken in order to choose the pope by way of accessus ; and there is scarcely ever a scrutiny with- out this accessus. The accessus is intended to correct the scrutiny. In this, they give their votes by other billets, on which is written, “ Accedo Domino, &c. when they join their vote to another’s ; or, “ Accedo Nemini,'^ when they adhere to their first vote. The accessus is performed in the same m.an- ner as the scrutiny, only they do not take the oath again. The scrutineers examine the billets of the accessus, as they did those of the scrutiny, and the cardinals, after the same manner, set down the votes which are gained thereby to any of the candidates. After the revisors have very accurately examined the votes of the accessus, and find the election to be perfectly canonical, t^iey send for three apostolical notaries into the chapel where the election was made, who, upon inspecting the billets and other pieces which the scrutineers and revisors lay before them, draw up a memorandum of the election. All the cardi- nals who have assisted at the conclave, sign and seal this record; after which, the scrutineers burn all the billets, both of the scrutiny and the accessus, in presence of all the cardinals. The pope is elected by compromise, when the cardinals, disagreeing in their choice, engage by mutual compromise to refer the election to some particular cardinals of probity, and to acknowledge him whom they ^ Election by shall nominate as duly elected, by virtue of the power given to them for that purpose. The election by way of inspiration is in some measure riotous and tumultuary. A select number of cardinals of different factions, who have determined to put every thing to the last push, begin to cry out, “ such a one is pope,” as it were by 23 266 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. inspiration. Adoration is the same as ins'piratlon, which is, when two thirds of the conclave, being- agreed in the person, go in a body and adore and acknowledge the pope they ap- prove of, as head of the church. The elections by way of compromise, inspiration, and adoration, but seldom happen. The scrutiny and accessus are the methods generally ob- served. As soon as the pope is elected, it is customary for his domestics and the populace to plunder his cell in the con- clave, and the palace in which he resided. As soon as the pope is elected, the cardinals who are the heads of their respective orders, ask the consent of his holi- ness, and the name which he is determined to alteration of his state. This al- elect. ^ teration of his name is perhaps the most singular act which takes place in the election of the su- preme pontiff Sergius the Fourth, who was before called “ Os Porci,^' that is, Swinds face, was the first pope who thought proper to change his name on his exaltation to the pontificate ; and this custom has been invariably followed by his successors. The elected pontiff’s new appellation being made known, the fisherman’s ring is immediately given him. After which, the masters of the ceremonies draw up a formal instrument of his declaration, and deliver in a duplicate of it to the college. The two first cardinal-deacons then conduct the new pope behind the altar, where, with the assistance of the masters of the ceremonies and the sacristan, (who is always an Augustine monk,) they take off his cardinal’s habit to piit on the pontifical, which is a white tafleta cassoc ; a linen rochet; a camail, and a cap, both of red satin ; with shoes made of red cloth embroidered with gold, and a golden cross on the upper part. Thus pompously dressed, the pope is carried on his chair before the altar of the chapel appointed for the election, and there the cardinal-dean, first, and after him, the remainder of the cardinals, adore his holiness upon their knees, kissing his foot, and his right hand ; after which the holy father takes them up, and gives them the salute of peace on the right cheek. After this, the first cardinal-deacon, preceded by the master of the ceremonies, who carries the cross, and by a choir of musicians who sing the anthem, Ecce sacerdos magnus, 6pc. — Behold the high priest so acceptable to God, and so just — • goes to the great lodge of St. Peter, where the master mason takes care to have the door opened, that the cardinal may pass into the balcony, to acquaint the people with the pope’s elec- tion, crying with an audible voice, Annuntio vobis gaudium ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 267 magnum, habemus gapam, (Spc . — / bring you glad tidings, we have a pope, <^c. Then one of the large culverins of St, Peter’s is discharged, to give the governor of the castle of St, Angelo notice to discharge all his artillery: all the bells of the city begin to ring at the same time, and the air resounds with the cheerful sound of drums, trumpets, and kettle drums. During the roar of the artillery, the sound of the bells, and the melody both of vocal and instrumental music, the Romans incessantly break out into solemn vows and loud acclama- tions for the new pope. The same day, about two hours be- fore night, the pope, having his cope and his mitre on, is carried and set upon the altar of Sixtus’s chapel, where the cardinals, in their purple copes, come, and a second time adore the new pontiff, who is seated upon the relics of the altar stone. This adoration is celebrated in the same manner as the former, the musicians all the time singing anthems suitable to the solemn occasion. In the meantime, the inclosures of the conclave are broken, or taken down, and the cardinals, preceded by music, descend into the middle of St. Peter’s church. The pope follows them, carried in his pontifical chair under a red canopy embellished with gold fringe. His bearers now seat him on the great altar of St. Peter, where the cardinals pay their adoration to him a third time, and the foreign ambassadors after them, before a prodigious number of spectators, with whom this spacious church is generally crowded to the utmost extent of the very porch. Te Deum is then sung, and the cardinal-dean, who is on the epistle side, reads the verses and prayers, appointed for that purpose in the Roman ceremonial. After this, his holi- ness is set down on the highest step of the altar. A cardinal- dean takes off his mitre, and then he solemnly blesses the peo- ple. His pontificalia arc then taken off and twelve chair- men, in long scarlet cloaks hangingdown to the ground, place him in his chair, and convey him on their shoulders into his apartment. Stephen II. is said to be the first pope who was carried on men’s shoulders after his election: but, as we know that the illustrious men of Rome were carried on litters by their slaves, we may conclude that this custom is merely a remnant of the habits of the ancient Romans. In regard to the kissing of the feet of his holiness, it is doubtless a very ancient custom. Baronius gives an instance of it in the year 204, and it appears that after that time, the Emperor Justin I., Pepin, king of France, Frederic Barbarossa, and others, all kissed the pope’s feet. The time> however, 2C8 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. when this custom became constantly practised is not exactly known ; although we may justly suspect, that it was only the same mark of respect which was formerly paid to the ancient Roman emperors, who were, at the same time, the supreme pontiffs of the religion of the Romans, and the sovereigns of the state. Though this ceremony be considered, in the opinion of the vulgar, as an instance of the veneration and esteem which Christians entertain for the pope, it will appear upon the whole, that it is to Jesus Christ alone. For we are to observe, that the pope’s slipper has a cross upon it, which is the emblem of Christ crucified. The successors of St. Peter have invariably ordered that their sandals should have this cross on the upper-leathers: so that it is not the feet of his holiness, but the cross of Jesus Christ crucified, that is kiss- ed. Faithful Catholics affirm that the pontiff’s feet ought to be kissed after the same manner, and with the same respect, as the cross and other holy images are kissed. The pope being the head of the Catholic or universal Church, wears the kej^s as a sign of the power with which he Tlie Po e’s ^vested, to open the gates of heaven to all true Coronation. ^ believers ; and the triple crown to instruct and inform the Christian world, that he is both high- priest, emperor, and king. The preparations for his coronation are in no degree in- ferior to those of the most august princes of the universe. If he be a deacon only, the cardinal-dean, after his election, con- stitutes him both priest and bishop in Sextus’s chapel, to which, on the day of his coronation, he repairs in his car- dinal’s habit ; that is, the white cassoc, the rochet, the short mantle, or cope of red satin, and the red capuch, supported by two prelates, who are the gentlemen of his bed-chamber and his cup-bearer, who are dressed in a red cope, with a capuch lined with red taffeta. The pages of the privy chamber, and the pages of honour, also the chaplain’s to the pope, who walk with his holiness, are preceded by those who are called the pages extra muros, (that is, without the walls,) and the squires of the deceased pope. The ambassadors, the general of the church, the princes of the throne, the governor of Rome, the captains of the light horse, of the Swiss, and the ancepe- sados, all make their appearance, and assist at this ceremony, as well as the cardinals, who are clothed in red, that is, in their cassocs, rochets, their copes of red satin, which the Romms call mozetle, and their red calottes on their heads. The procession having arrived at Sextus’s chapel, the cardi- nals, at the entrance, put on their red cope.s. Two cardinal- The adoration of the Pope before the grand altar of St. Peter, p. 2C7. The Communion, p. 253. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 2G9 deacons now give the pope his pontificalia ; the ceremony of which is as follows; — the first master of the ceremonies girds on ihefalda of taffeta under the rochet, and puts upon his head the red satin berrelta. His holiness then goes into the chapel; where the cardinals rise up, and at his first appearance make him a most profound bow, the holy father receiving the submission of his spiritual children like an indulgent parent. The gentlemen who attend on their eminences, are at this time on their knees, and his holiness stands with his back against the altar. Afterwards, one of the two cardinal-deacons takes off his berretta, and his companion puts on another of white taffeta: they likewise take off his red moztiie, and dress him in the amict, the alb^ the girdle, the stole, and the red chasuble, embroidered all over with gold. The first cardinal-deacon now puts the mitre upon his head, whilst the master of the ceremonies sings the extra with an audible voice After this, one of the apostolic sub-deacons takes up the cross that is car- ried before the pope; and the cardinals pull off their berrettas in honour of the sacred wood. The cross is carried in the following order : the pope’s gentlemen go before it two by two, followed by the courtiers of the new successor of St. Peter, dressed in their ceremonial habits. The pages extra muros march next, and after them the consistorial advocates, the gentlemen of the privy chamber, the referendary prelates, the bishops, archbishops, and pa- triarchs, and then the pope’s chaplains, who carry the triple crown and the mitre. The cross comes after these chaplains, and is followed by the cardinal-deacons two and two a-breast and they are followed by the cardinals, priests, and bishops, in the same order. Their eminences are followed by the Roman conservators, the caporions, &c. The holy father is carried to church on a chair in the midst of this solemn procession, surrounded by his guards, and an infinite number of people. The knights of St. Peter and St. Paul support the canopy under which his holiness is carried ; and in this order, the procession proceeds to St. Peter’s church. Under the portico of St. Peter, near the holy gate, a throne is erected for the pope, where he sits under a canopy ; around which benches are railed in for the cardinals. The canons, and all those who enjoy any benefice in St. Peter’s, with their cardinal high-priest at the head of them, now come and kiss the feet of the holy father. After which, he is carried to the foot of the high altar, attended by a number of people making loud acclamations: he then kneels down and prays bareheaded before the holy sacrament ; and is immediately 270 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. carried from thence to the Gregorian chapel. There he seats himself on a throne, surrounded by the foreign ambassadors, the princes of the throne, and other persons of rank and dis- tinction. The cardinals in their red copes, the prelates, &c, then pay their homage to him ; the former kissing his hand, and the others his knee. His holiness then gives the people his benediction; and they return him their thanks by extra* ordinary acclamations, and other testimonies of general joy. This ceremony being concluded, the cardinals, bishops, and other prelates, put on their white robes, whilst the canons of St. Peter sing an anthem in the choir. The pope washes hia hands four times. The first time, the water is presented him by the first Roman conservator; the second in time of mass, by the general of the Church; the third by the ambassador of the most Christian king ; and the last, by the ambassador of his Imperial Majesty. They are, if present at the solem niiy, indispensably obliged to the performance of this religious duty, as a proof of their submission to the holy See. The holy father in the next place is undressed, in order to put on other robes, the colour of which is a type or symbol of his purity and innocence. The acolytes present these new vestments to the cardinal-deacon, who clothes his holiness in a white garment; in order that, according to the language of scripture, he may be fitted to preside in the temple of the Lord. The dress of his holiness now consists of the cassco, amict, albe, girdle, dalrnatica, stole, gloves, and mitre, em- broidered with gold, and set with jewels. The procession is then resumed, during which, the first master of the ceremo- nies carries a lighted wax taper in one hand, and a basin in the other, in which the pomps and vanities of this world are exhibited to the holy father, under the representation of castles and palaces made of flax, to which the master of the ceremonies sets fire three successive times, saying to his holi- ness each time. Pater Sancte, sic transit gloria mundil Behold, holy father, how the glory of this world passes away ! — This ceremony seems to owe its birth to that which was practised at the coronation of the Greek emperors ; for, in the midst of all the pomp and splendour of their coronation, they were on one hand presented with a vase filled with ashes and dead men’s bones, and on the other with flax, which was set on fire ; by this double emblem reminding them of their mortality, and of the fate of their Avorldly honours. The whole procession having arrived at the foot of the altar, on which stand seven large silver gilt candlesticks with large lighted wax-tapors in them, similar to those which ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 271 are carried by the seven acolytes before the cross, the pope makes a short prayer on a desk, and then rising, begins the Introibo of the mass, having the cardinal-dean on his right hand, as assistant-bishop in his cope ; and the cardinal-deacon of the gospel on his left, and behind him two cardinal-deacons assistants. After his holiness has made the solemn confession, the dean of the rota, who holds his mitre, gives it to the two cardi- nal-deacons assistants, to set it upon his head. His holiness, In the next place, sits down on his throne, before which each of the three first cardinal priests reads a prayer for his coro- nation. After which, the holy father descends from tlie throne, his mitre is taken off, and the first cardinal-deacon, assisted by the second, dresses him in the pallium, saying to him. Receive the 'pallium v^hich represents to 'you the duties and perfections of the pontifical function : may you discharge it to the glory of God, and of his most Holy Mother the blessed Virgin Mary ; of the blessed apostles St. Peter and St. Paul ; and of the holy Roma'n Church. The cardinal-deacon of the gospel having put three dia- mond buttons on the three crosses of the pallium, the holy father ascends the altar, with the pallium on his shoulders, but without his mitre, kisses the book of the holy evangelist, puts incense into the thurible, and thurifies or perfumes the altar. After this, the mitre is again set on his holiness s head, and the first cardinal-deacon thurifies him three times successively. The ceremony closes with a salute, which that cardinal gives him on his left cheek and his stomach, which ceremony is also performed by the other two cardinals. This ceremony being over, the pope returns to his throne, whither all the cardinals repair, and after taking off their mitres, pay him their adorations. All the clergy come like- wise, and adore him, each according to his quality, and all in their ceremonial habits. The patriarchs, archbishops, and bi- shops, kiss his foot and his knee ; the abbots and penitenti- aries of St. Peter, his knee only. Afterwards, the pope rises, lays down his mitre, ascends the altar, sings or reads the Introite and the Kyrie, ^c. sings the Gloria in Excelsis with an audible voice, and, as soon as the prayer of mass is said, resumes his place. Then the first cardinal-deacon descends into the confessional of St. Peter, which is a place under the altar, where the relics of the mar- tyrs lie, attended by the apostolical sub-deacons, the auditors of the rota, the consistorial advocates, &c. who walk in two ranks, with their white copes, and their purple amices over 272 ROMx\N CATHOLIC CHURCH. them. The cardinal-deacon sings there with a low voice, the Exaudi Christe! (Hear, O Christ!) to Avhich the clergy who follow him answer, Domhio nostro a Deo decreio sumnio Pontifici el Paper, cfc. (Oar lord, the Pope, sovereign Pontiff, instituted and ordained by God, -ences secure the attainment of Paradise. The origin ° of indulgences is hinted at in a passage of St. Cyprian ; but the release from torments was not known by the name of indul- gence, till a long time after. It was common enough howe- ver, in the seventh and eighth centuries. Pope Sergius, in the year 884, gave three indulgences of forty days each, to those who should visit the church of St. Martin on the Hills, on the festival peculiarly devoted to the service of that saint. Indulgences were originally no more than the softening of pains, imposed upon sinners condemned to penance, which in the primitive ages of Christianity were very severe. The Church had regard to the infirmities of penitents, who could not undergo the rigour of them ; but they were at the same time to discover a real contrition, and with a perfect sincerity endeavor to purify themselves from their crimes, according to their strength. A relaxation from ecclesiastical pains gradu- ally introduced into devotion certain practices, seemingly difficult, but yet much easier than spiritual worship; and nothing gave a greater scope to the abuse of indulgences than the commutation of pains into pecuniary fines, which were greatly advantageous to the priests, and showed them the way of selling the remission of sins. St. Bernard, whilst preach- ing up the indulgences of Pope Eugenius III., at once in- flamed the hearts of the believers of his age, with a spirit of war and contrition, and showed them that the atonement of their crimes, and the remission of their torments, were annexed to those crosses and swords, wherewith he persuaded them to arm themselves against the infidels. St. Bridget declares, in her Revelations, that in a vision which she had of the Lord Jesus Christ, he informed her, “ That the most infallible way to atone for all her sins, was io •procure indulgences ; that, with respect to himself, whenever he was inclined to treat any soul with tenderness and affection, he would advise it to reside constantly at Rome, there being no place in the world where so many indulgences could be procured. Indeed, there is no city more commodious than Rome, for devotees who would turn their piety towards this object ; for its basilicas have indulgences for every day in the year ; and on festivals they are redoubled. Indulgences were at one time granted for all kinds of sins 316 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. and crimes, the prices of which were rated, and the remission often set up to auction. A malefactor in Italy might, for ninety limes, compound for a crime, for which, on the other side of the Alps, he would be hanged or burnt. The applica- tion for indulgences was either by the payment of ready money, or by saying, or causing to be said, certain masses ; by assisting at certain offices, and certain processions ; by con- fessing and receiving the Eucharist ; by alms-giving, or wear- ing particular habits, crosses, chaplets, crowns, beads, &c. Pope Leo X. having undertaking to complete the magnifi- cent edifice of the Basilica of St. Peter, according to the example of Pope Julius, had recourse to indulgences, which he every where published ; and all those who should contri- bute what was demanded of them towards the erection of St. Peter’s, were permitted to eat eggs and cheese in Lent, and to make choice of their own confessor. In order to come into possession of ready money, the sums arising from these indul- gences, were farmed out to the highest bidders, who, not only for the purpose of reimbursing, but likewise of enriching themselves, chose such preachers of indulgences, and collect- ors, as they thought most proper. These were well paid to induce the people, in order to procure pardon, to contribute whatever such covetous and sacrilegious wretches insisted upon. Some of these preachers of indulgences raised the price and value of them to such an exorbitant pitch, as to induce the people to imagine that they were secure of salvation, and of delivering souls out of purgatory, as soon as they had paid the money demanded for the letters, testifying they had pro- cured the indulgence. The clerks of the farmers, likewise, who had purchased the profits of these indulgences, were seen daily in the taverns and brothels, carousing, and spend- ing part of that money in all manner of licentiousness, which the poor insisted was barbarously extorted from them. We shall now treat of beads, chaplets, rosaries, and other accessaries to devotion. The historians of the Crusade wars say that Peter the Hermit first taught the soldiers Various In- (.Qunt their prayers by the chaplet; the use of which soon grew very common. But ba- ther Giry gives some instances of prayers being said by tale or computation, long before the invention of the chaplet ; and Ryckle, in his life of Gertrude, gives us an ac- count of a rosary which this saint made use of at her devo- tions, in the seventh century. Saint Dominic, the founder of the order which bears his name, and of the holy office of the Inquisition, greatly advanced the credit of this instrument of ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 317 devotion, by declaring, that the blessed Virgin had brought him one from heaven, after a miraculous manner, composed of a certain number of beads, which he called the rosary. It is still looked upon as one of the most valuable exercises of devotion by a great number of Catholics ; with regard to the chaplet, it is not to be questioned but that it came from the Mahometans. Peter the Hermit borrowed it from them, in favour of those soldiers of the Holy Wars, who were not able to read, nor to make use of a prayer-book. These and other instruments, or assistants to devotion, were the foundation of four considerable societies. That of the ro- sary owes its birth to the rosary of St. Dominic. ^ The rosary is a large chaplet, consisting of one hundred and fifty beads, which make so many Aves. Every ten beads, divided by one something larger, make a Pater. The fifteen large beads are the symbols of fifteen mysteries, which are so many lively images, as it were, in which are to be discerned the intentions of “ the Eternal Father in the temporal birth of his son, the casualities that befel him in his infancy, and not only in the private and unknown part of his life ; but also in the glorious and immortal part of it.” The common chaplets contain only fift}^ Ave Marias and five Pa- ternosters. Before the person begins to repeat his rosary, he must take it, and cross himself He must in the next place repeat the apostles’ creed, to put himself into a proper disposi- tion for prayer ; after which, he must say a Pater and three Aves, on account of the three relations which the Blessed Vir- gin bears to the three Persons in the sacred Trinity. After these preliminaries, he passes on to the fifteen large beads, containing ten courses. The Christian devotee must observe to admit himself into the mysteries of each ten courses, by a prayer, which is to be found in those books which treat of the method of devotion with the rosary. The fifteen mys- teries are divided into three classes : the first includes the five mysteries oi joy ; the five next are those of sorrow, as turning upon our Saviour’s Passion ; and the five last, those of glory, as being destined to his resurrection, ascension, &c. After the rosary, the brethren who have the honour to bear the name of it, must say the litanies and pra}mrs for those who are afflicted in mind, body, or estate, &c. They must lift up their hearts to the Virgin, who is the Queen of the Rosary, Evi- press of Heaven and Earth, High Treasurer of the Spiritual Finances and Celestial Riches : and as the true believers ought not only to pray for each other, but likewise for an in- crease of the worship of which they make profession ; the 318 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. brethren and sisters of the rosary must never omit this last ar- ticle, but use their utmost endeavours to make proselytes to the faith of St. Dominic. The legendaries of the order of St. Dominic, and several others, assure us, that the society was appointed by an order from the Blessed Virgin, when St. Dominic was labouring to reduce the Albigenses, and extirpate heretics. After the saint’s decease, the devotion of the rosary was totally neglected ; but Alanus de Rape, in 1460, or thereabouts, revived it with great improvements, and for fifteen years together, used his utmost endeavours to procure devotees to it. The society is divided into two branches, one of the common, and the other of the perpetual rosary : the former are obliged every week, to say the fifteen divisions of ten beads each, to confess, and receive the Sacrament every first Sunday in the month ; and moreover, to appear at all the processions of the society. The faithful of the latter are under very strong obligations. The first duty incumbent on them is, to repeat the rosary Avithout intermission ; that is, there is always some one of them who is actually saluting the Blessed Virgin in the name of the whole society. The solemnity of the rosary is celebrated on the first Sun- day in October. This festival is owing to the piety of Pope Gregory XIII. Several popes have confirmed the way of praying with the rosary by their bulls, and granted to those who shall devoutly repeat it, all suitable indulgences, not only plenary, but particular. The devotion of the scapulary is, in every respect, as exact as that which we have already described. After divers pray- ers, and pious solicitations, the Blessed Virgin capuaiy. scapulary to Simon Stoch, comman- der of the Carmelites, in the same century, and much about the same time that she gave the rosary to St. Dominic. She assured the devotee of her protection, promised to be propi- tious to all those who should join in the devotion of the sca- pulary, and to look upon them as her children. She also engaged to save all those, who at the hour of death should be found provided with so precious a badge. The scapulary of the Carmelites is a small woollen garment, of a dark brown, or tawny colour, which goes over the sto- mach, back, and shoulders. It consists likewise of two small pieces of cloth, three or four inches square, tied together with two ribands. This is what the brethren of the Order of the Scapulary wear. The devotees of the scapulary celebrate the sixteenth of Ju- ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, 3B ly as their festival, which day is likewise devoted to the service of Our Lady of Mount CarmeL There is nothing which flatters the heart of man more than what is called good works, since they are looked on by him as a formal contract, or, as it were, a truce between i- • his passions and the duties of his religion. A poundaUons. certain satirist has observed, “ That a devotee re- fuses to pay his debts, though he says his prayers ; that he plunders his neighbour, though he gives the tenth to the poor ; that he ruins honest families, whilst he is building hos- pitals ; in short, that religion, with the devotee, is the counter- poise of justice.” The clergy have always taken advantage of this vanity and self-love, under the specious pretence of showing Christians the road to heaven ; but, above all, they have attempted to pave the way to it by foundations, which began in the fourth or fifth century, but the mode of which was not entirely established till the sixth. Nothing was at that time to be seen, but people of all ages, sexes, and condi- tions, renouncing their worldly possessions for the endowment of churches and convents. New practices of humility sprang up on all sides; for the devotees grew dissatisfied with vigils, which to them appeared too weak. The priests and monks had visions, which enabled them to enter into an immediate correspondence with the saints of Paradise. Measures of a more strong and strenuous kind were taken against the devil, who then began to grow formidable. Several crosses were dug up, and relics were found, which till that time had neither been known nor heard of ; even some of the mouths of hell, and two or three of the doors of purgatory, were likewise dis - covered. The maps of the monks precisely pointed out their height and depth. Nor was this discovery the least valuable and important of the age; a prodigious number of souls got out of purgatory, and some of the damned escaped out of hell. Those who had any regard for their relations immediately took care of them, and new methods were in consequence in- vented, for alleviating the sorrows of those deceased persons who had their friends to appear for them. Masses were multiplied, and one sacrifice being now insuf- ficient, a necessity arose not only for ten, twenty, or thirty, but sometimes for thirty thousand. The sovereigns of the Church created new patrons. Altars and churches were founded without number. Swarms of monks and friars over- spread the face of the whole earth ; and this, they asserted, was all the work of God. Habitations were assigned, and revenues appointed them, which were very largely augmented 320 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Ly the benefactions of pious individuals. We may easily con- ceive, that convents increased with devotion, and that those who had devoted their patrimonies to the service of the Church, found no other refuge than that of the cassoc or the veil; in short, a strong persuasion at that time prevailed, that God could not be served with decorum and propriety but by priests and friars ; and nothing, indeed, was to be seen but cassocs, cowls, tqnsures, crowms, vows of continence and chastity; voluntary divorces between husband and wife, upon a m.otive of piety, and with the intent to retire from the world, that they might pray to God at their ease in the society of monks and hermits. Independently of the foundations of churches, convents, and masses, others were instituted for exposing or carrying the holy sacrament in procession, on those days which are not set apart by the Church for such a purpose ; also, for making some particular day more famous than it originally was, ac- cording to the institution of the Church. Such is \he founda- tion on which the holy sacrament is exposed on the festival of the patron of a parish, or on the festival-day of the saint whose name any person bears, or for whom he has a peculiar re- spect and veneration. There are likewise other foundations, for offices and prayers in honour of the saints, at such times as their devotees have received any extraordinary mercies and favours from them. The faithful, throughout all the ages of the Church, have paid great veneration to the relics of saints, and are said fre- quently to have received great advantages from saints them. Ignorant devotees imagine that they need only to be devout to some particular relics, to carry them about with them, or to frequent places where they are deposited, in order to die free from sin. The antiquity of the respect for relics has been attempted to be proved from, the translation of Joseph’s bones, when the Jews went out of Egypt. It is certain that under the Old Testament, it was thought, as it is now, that whatever has touched the body of a saint acquires extraordinary virtues. This was the opinion of the primitive Christians, and in- stances of it are to be met with in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles ; from whence we may infer, that the real body of any saint is capable of producing much more miracu- lous effects. In process of time the consequences of this notion of virtue and holiness were carried to a greater extent. Some pretended, that it was necessary to collect ail those things which had been made use of by the saints, to dig up ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, 321 their bodies, and to search after their bones and ashes. Then, temples, chapels, and altars, were devoted to their service. The very angels concerned themselves in this important affair, for they are said to have collected the bones of St. Catharine, and buried them upon Mount Sinai. Translations of the relics from one place to another, began to be made in the fourth century with extraordinary solemnity, and the use of shrines for relics began at the same time. The church always took care to have the shrines in which relics were deposited, solemnly blessed. The purport of the prayer was, that God would grant his protection to those who reverenced the merits of the saints, and embraced their relics with humility, in order that these faithful supplicants might be guarded from the power of Satan, from thunder, plague, infectious air, wild beasts, and the malicious devices of wicked men. Oaths were often taken on the relics of the saints ; and the oath of the king of the Romans on the blood of St. Stephen at Aix-la-Chapelle, upon his coronation-day, is an instance of this religious custom. The faithful, who visit relics out of devotion, must touch the sacred limbs of the saints with more than common faith. There is a stated time for the public exposition of them to the devout. The relics of the church of Notre Dame at Aix-la- Chapelle, are exposed once in seven years with proclamations, one of which we shall here transcribe, that the reader may have a more adequate idea of the ceremony. It is as follows ; — “ The head and right arm of St. Cornelius are to be ex- posed; by whose mediation may the Lord Jesus preserve you from the falling-sickness, and after this life bestow on you the kingdom of Heaven. Amen. Paternoster. Ave Maria. Credo:^ The blood of martyrs is preserved in various parts of Christ- endom, Italy and Rome, in particular, are grown famous for the vast quantity that is found in them ; nor is this to be wondered at, considering the perse- cutions of the primitive Christians under the Roman emperors. The earth at Rome is said to be stained with the blood of the faithful. His holiness makes presents of some of this sacred earth to foreigners, thereby endeavour- ing to gratify those good Christians, who come to Rome upon a religious motive, and are unwilling to return home without some salutary testimonial of their travels. As to the miraculous manner in which the blood of mar- 322 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. tyrs, according to report, has been seen to melt and run, the devout flatter themselves that God has been pleased to give this satisfaction to all pious persons for theii’ consolation, and as a reward of their virtue. There are now at the present day, several liquefactions of this nature, particularly in Italy. On the festival of St. Eustace, that saint’s blood is seen to boil at Rome. The blood of St. John the Baptist does as much, if not more, at Naples ; and extends to three different churches. It puts itself in this violent ferment in honour of Jesus Christ, and seemingly endeavours once more to proclaim the coming of our blessed Saviour. At Naples too, St. Bartholomew’s blood is in as great a heat as that of St. John the Baptist ; and so likewise is the blood of St. Stephen, which never fails run- ning on the day on which the finding of his body is com- memorated. On the eighteenth of September is celebrated the ceremony of exposing the head and blood of St. Januarius, patron of the city of Naples, to public view. A solemn procession is made likewise in honour of the Saint, at which the Martyr’s head and blood are carried in all imaginable pomp and grand- eur. It is so contrived, that these two relics meet together, and as soon as they are within reach of each other, the blood is seen to liquefy, to boil, and to rise to the very rim of the glass, in which it is kept. This miracle is wrought every year, never deceiving the expectations of the people, who are always ready to attest the truth of it. The liquefaction of St. Vitus’s blood, is to be seen in one of the abbies of the diocese of Tarentum ; and that of the blood of St. Pantaleon, St. Ursula, St. Laurence, and others, in the several monasteries and churches throughout Italy. In 1672, Rome raised a recruit of relics from the catacombs of four hundred and twenty-eight saints, most of them anony- mous and unknown ; which, however, afibrded abundance of new relics. Other recruits of the same sort had been made before that time. In regard to the manner of distinguishing the relics dug out of the catacombs to be genuine, — the apostolic chamber hires diggers to work in the catacombs or subterraneous places, in which sacred bodies, as they are called at Rome, are com- monly found. This holy employment is carried on in spring and winter. As soon as the sepulchres are opened, an apos- tolic commissary examines the marks whereby the bodies of martyrs are to be known. If there be only the name of Christ (thus ►f*) over these sepulchres, or a single cross, a dove, a crown, an olive branch, without a palm-branch, or ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 823 without a vase of wood, or other vessel, in which the blood of the martyrs was usually put, they are looked upon merely as so many Christian sepulchres, and in such a case are never opened. The vessel for holding blood is, in a particular manner, an evident sign of martyrdom, and consequently of holiness. When the necessary tokens here mentioned, have been observed, they proceed to open the tombs with all the precaution which so religious an operation requires. As the bones are dug up, they are put into little cases, which are afterwards corded up, and sealed with the grand vicar’s seal ; and then the diggers carry them into the cham- bers appropriated for relics. The bones are laid upon tables at some distance one from the other, in order that, as they dry, the air may restore them in some measure to their primi- tive hardness. After this, the cardinal-vicar and the chief sa- cristan of his holiness, expose these relics to the veneration of the faithful, distributing them as they see proper, and arming them with the necessary attestations : relics of the larger size are bestowed on none but crowned heads, and persons of the first distinction in the church. The custom of wearing holy relics by way of devotion, or in order to be preserved against casualties, diseases, calamities, &c. is very ancient in the church ; since St. Gregory Nys- sens takes particular notice of a small piece of wood of the true cross, which his sister wore on her finger in a ring. It is to St. Helena, however, that relics owe the beginning of their high reputation ; and yet the cross was at that time the only relic really in fashion. That devout princess fore- seeing, that the finding of the cross would inflame the devo- tion of all Christians, took but a part of it away with her, and left the remainder at Jerusalem to be an object of the pilgrim’s devotion. This sacred wood would, by degrees, have been all lost, on account of the constant distributions which were made of it to devotees ; but St. Paulinus assures us, that in his time it remained in the same condition : that the faithful were ta- king away some of it without intermission, but yet they always found it whole and entire. In process of time, relics of all sorts were worn, but more particularly about the neck and on the breast. St. Charles Borromeo wore about his neck a tooth of St. Satina. Gregory XII. wore one of St. Catharine of Sienna. Some ages before that, St. Dunstan having broke his cane upon the devil, who appeared to him in the form of a bear, had another made much stronger, in which he set a tooth of the apostle St. Andrew. 324 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Relics were formerly carried in military expedition.s, and this was an established custom in the time of Theodosius the Great. The knight-templars, and soldiers in the crusades, carried them a long time after in their expeditions against the enemy of the Christian name. Christian kings, when they went to war, armed themselves with St. Martin’s cope, and caused the shrines of saints to be carried at the head of their armies. Du Val de Cernay, the monk, assures us, that, on a dangerous expedition, a body of priests and friars, having the cross before them, and being supported by relics, after singing the Yeni Creator, which was their signal, advanced against the Albigenses; and that, at the third repetition of a particular verse of the hymn, the rebels of the church fled from the field of battle! Nor did the Bishop of Cominges show less bravery and resolution ; for, notwithstanding the small number of the faithful who were facing above one hun- dred thousand Albigenses, he armed himself with the wood of the cross, and, gettingupon an eminence therewith, blessed the soldiers of the Catholic army, who becoming thereby enliven- ed and inspired, defeated the king of Arragon and his whole army. Catholic devotion ordains that recourse shall be had to holy relics in case of any public calamity. The blood of St. Ja- nuarius, set before the flames of Mount Vesuvius, has never failed to extinguish them. The miracles wrought by St. Ge- nevieve, whenever it has been thought proper to carry her in procession, are well known at Paris; and if we may credit the devotees at Rheims, St. Remi’s handkerchief has had no less virtue, at those times when it has been found requisite to pro- duce it, in order to allay or remove public calamities. At Venice, a leg of St. Laurence extinguishes fires. In a church of that city, holy water, of great virtue, is made with the bone of St. Liberalis. In Sicily, St. Agatha’s veil, carried in procession by the clergy of Catanea, puts a stop to the de- luges of fire of Mount Gibel ; and a piece of cotton rubbed against this veil, has the same effect. The Carthusians at Cologne have the hem of Christ’s gar- ment, which the woman afflicted with the loss of blood touched, in order to be cured. The ladies of that place send wine to the Carthusians, to have the relic steeped in it, and drink of it upon any emergent occasion. Festivals are holidays, or are certain days which the Ca- tholic Church has set apart for the peculiar service of God, in Festivals commemoration of some mystery, or in honour ^ ’ of some saint. Procession of the Holy Oils. p. 3-17. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 325 In the Catholic Church there are moveable feasts, double feasts, half-double, and single: but the chief difference between the several classes, is the greater or less solemnity which is used in them. The churches are embellished, and the altars adorned, according to the solemnity of the day ; and to the rank which each saint holds in the church. On solemn double feasts, the bishop, and even the pope himself, performs divine service in the cathedral; and the abbot, the prior, or dean of the chapter, in collegiate churches. According to the rituals of Italy, the churches, on these high festivals, must be hung with tapestry, and adorned with beautiful and holy images of those whom the church acknowledges as saints. The doors of the churches must be adorned with festoons ; and the image of the saint whose feast is solemnized, must be decorated with flowers, and the church strewed with them. The church must, likewise, be open to all during the sacred days; wax-tapers must burn on the altar; the ornaments of the officiating priest must be as rich as possible ; and the ta- pers which stand on the high altar must be thicker than the rest. In short, each parish displays its zeal, in proportion to its riches. Whenever the feast of the titular saint, or patron, is cele- brated, his standard and image must be fixed on the top of the church spire, and the bells set a ringing to his honour. In some places it is customary to have illuminations on the eve and feast of the saint, as a testimony of the love and reverence of the priests and people. All the high festivals have an ocAave. This custom was first borrowed from the Jewish religion ; for it was usual for the ancient Jews to allow eight days to their solemn festivals, in which they are imitated by the moderns to this day. The octave therefore consists of the feast itself, and the seven days which succeed it, though the name of octave is particularly given to the last day of those eight, which answers to the so- lemn day of the feast. The rituals say, that when two octaves meet, the most distinguished of them shall have the prefer- ence, not forgetting at the same time to commemorate the saint, whose octave gave way to the other. In this manner the octave of St. John the Baptist, gives precedence to that of the holy sacrament, whenever they happen to meet : but if the octave of a saint who is patron of a place, should fall out at the same time with that of another saint, who had been either a •bishop, an archbishop, or cardinal, the patron would be obliged to yield to the prelate. Our limits forbid us attempting any thing like a detailed 28 326 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. account of the festivals prescribed by Tke Roman Calendar of Feasts and Stations throughout the year. According to this calendar, it may be perceived that the Holy City has not left even one day throughout the whole year unconsecrated either by festivals or stations ; indeed, that many days are there held sacred to the memory of more than half a dozen saints ; that the inexhaustible treasure of indulgences, is always open to the faithful, and furnishes them continually with ma- terials to repair the breaches, which Satan may have made in their virtue ; and that the clergy of Rome are always in readi- ness to countermine his works. We shall select a few days which are sacred to distinguish- ed saints, or on which remarkable festivals are observed ; and these will serve as examples of numerous others, which might be mentioned. This day is sacred for several saints, among whom is St. Macarius, who died A. D. 394. Macarius was a confectioner of Alexandria, but spent upwards of sixty years Jan. 2. St. the deserts in labour, penance, and contempla- Macarius. u saint,” says Butler, “ happened one day inadvertently to kill a gnat, that was biting him in his cell ; reflecting that he had lost the opportunity of sufTering that mortification, he hastened from his cell to the marshes of Scete, which abound with great flies, whose stings pierce even wild boars. There he continued six months, exposed to those ravaging insects ; and to such a degree was his whole body disfigured by them, v/ith sores and swellings, that when he returned he was only to bo known by his voice.” The Golden Legend relates of him, that he took a dead Pa- gan out of his sepulchre, and put him under his head for a pillow; wdiereupon certain devils came to affright the saint, and called the dead Pagan to go with them ; but the body un- der the saint said he could not, because a pilgrim lay upon him, so that he could not move ; then Macarius, nothing afraid, beat the body with his fist, and told him to go if he would, which caused the devils to declare that Macarius had vanquished them. Another time the devil came wdth a great scythe on his shoulder, to smite the saint, but he could not prevail against him, on account of his virtues. Macarius, at another time, being tempted, filled a sack with stovies, and bore it many journeys through the desert. Seeing a devil before him in the shape of a man, dressed like “ a he- rawde,” with his clothing full of holes, and in every hole a vial, he demar\ded of this devil whither he went, and why he had so many vials'? The devil answered, to give drink to ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 327 the hermits ; and that the vials contained a variety of liquors, that they might have a choice, and so fall into temptation. On the devil’s return, the saint inquired how he had sped; and the devil answered, “ Very ill, for they were so holy that only one, Theodistus, would drink.” On this information, Maca- rius found Theodistus under the influence of the vial, and recovered him. Macarius found the head of a Pagan, and asked “ where the soul of its body was ?” “ In hell,” said the head. He asked the head “ if hell w^as deep ?” the head said, “ Deeper than from heaven to earth.” He demanded again, “ If any were there low^er than his own soul?” the head said, “the Jew’s w^ere lower than he w’as.” The saint inquired, “ if there w^ere any lower than the Jews?” the head answ’ered, “that false Christian-men w’ere lower than the Jews, and more tor- mented.” Macarius seems, by the Golden Legend, to have been much annoyed by the devil. In a nine days’ journey through a de- sert, at the end of every mile he set up a reed in the earth, to mark his track against he returned ; but the devil pulled them all up, made a bundle of them, and placed them at Macarius’s head, w’hile he lay asleep ; so that the saint wdth great diffi- culty found his w’ay home again. This Macarius is the identical saint wTiO so opportunely as- sisted St. Helena in the discovery of the genuine cross, and for that one act he certainly deserves to be ranked amongst the most renowned Avorthies of the Roman Calendar. This day is devoted in Paris to the feast of St. Genevieve, virgin patroness of that city. The legendary waiters inform us, that Ave cannot pay too great homage to this saint, for the Avonders she has performed for up- St Genevieve Avards of tAvelve centuries ; indeed, the angels returned thanks to heaven for the birth of this blessed virgin. Father Giry, in the Lives of the Saints, assures us, that the blessed spirits kept “an extraordinary festival at her birth, and that all heaven w’as filled Avith joy.” St. Germanus of Auxerre asserted the same to the inhabitants of Nanterre, the first time he saw St. Genevieve, Avho Avas born in their city. In the height of her piety, she AA^as seized with so violent a fit of sick- ness that she Avas thought to be dead, but in the midst of the torments Avhich her body suffered, “ she Avas ravished in spirit among the angels, where she saAV unutterable glories.” The Golden Legend relates, that by the Holy Ghost she showed many people their secret thoughts, and that from fif- teen years to fifty she tasted every day except Sunday and 328 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Thursday, when she ate beans, and barley bread of three weeks old. A woman once stole St. Genevieve’s shoes, but as soon as she got home she lost her sight for the theft, and remained blind, till, having restored the shoes, St. Genevieve restored the woman’s sight. Desiring the liberation of certain prisoners condemned to death at Paris, she went thither and found the city gates were shut against her, but they opened without any other key than her own presence. She prayed over twelve men in that city possessed with devils, till the men were suspended in the air, and the devils were expelled. A child of four years old fell into a pit and was killed ; St. Genevieve only covered her with her mantle, and prayed over her, and the child came to life, and was baptized at Easter. On a voyage to Spain, she arrived at a port “ where, as of custom, ships were wont to perish.” Her own vessel was likely to strike on a tree in the water, which seems to have caused the wrecks ; she commanded the tree to be cut down, and began to pray ; when lo ! just as the tree began to fall, “ two wild heads, gray and horrible, issued thereout, which stank so sore, that the people that were there were envenomed by the space of two hours, and never after perished ship there ; thanks be to God and this holy saint.” At Meaux, a master not forgiving his servant his faults, though St. Genevieve prayed him, she prayed against him. He was immediately seized with a hot ague ; “on the morrow he came to the holy virgin, running with open mouth like a German bear, his tongue hanging out like a boar, and requi- ring pardon.” She then blessed him, the fever left him, and the servant was pardoned. A girl going by with a bottle, St. Genevieve called to her, and asked what she carried ? she answered, oil, which she had bought; but St. Genevieve see- ing the devil sitting on the bottle, blew upon it, and the bottle broke, but the saint blessed the oil, and caused her to bear it home safely notwithstanding. The Golden hegend says, that the people who saw this, marvelled that the saint could see the devil, and were greatly edified. Her holiness now shone with greater lustre than ever in the eyes of the Parisians. “ She penetrated into the most inward recesses of their con- sciences, spent all her time in prayer, and shed so great an abundance of tears, that the floor of her chamber was quite wet with them. Though she had led a life of extraordinary penance, she nevertheless lived to a very advanced age. A great number of miracles were wrought at her tomb, and would undoubtedly have been wrought to the end of the world, had her relics been still there ; now they are wrought only at ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 329 her shrine. Her shrine of g-old and silver, covered with pre- cious stones, the presents of kings and queens, and with a clus- ter of diamonds on the top, presented by the intriguing Mary de Medicis, was, on calamitous occasions, carried about Paris in procession, accompanied by shrines equally miraculous, and by the canons of St, Genevieve, walking barefoot. This day is sacred to the memory of St. Simeon Stylites, who astonished all Christendom by his personal mortifica- tions, Simeon went into the monastery of He- liodorus, where the monks ate but once a day ; but our saint carried this abstinence to such a gtylites. pitch, as to eat only once a week. Heliodorus required Simeon to be more private in his mortifications : with this view, judging the rough rope of the well, made of twisted palm-tree leaves, a proper instrument of penance, Simeon tied it close about his naked body, where it remained unknown both to the community and his superior, till such time as it having ate into his flesh, what he had privately done was dis- covered by the effluvia proceeding from the wound. It took three days to disengage the saint’s clothes, and the incisions of the physician, to cut the cord out of his body, were attended with such anguish and pain, that he lay for some time as dead. After this he determined to pass the whole forty days of Lent in total abstinence, and retired to a hermitage for that purpose. Bassus, an abbot, left with him ten loaves and water, and coining to visit him at the end of the forty days, found both loaves and water untouched, and the saint stretch- ed on the ground without signs of life. Bassus dipped a sponge in water, moistened his lips, gave him the Eucharist, and Simeon, by degrees, swallowed a few lettuce-leaves and other herbs. He passed twenty-six Lents in the same manner. In the first part of a Lent, he prayed standing; growing weaker, he prayed sitting; and towards the end, being almost exhausted, he prayed lying on the ground. At the end of three years he left his hermitage for the top of a mountain, made an inclosure of loose stones, wdthout a roof, and having resolved to live exposed to the inclemencies of the weather, he fixed his resolution by fastening his right leg to a rock with a great iron chain. Multitudes thronged to the mountain to receive his benediction, and many of the sick recovered their health; but as some were not satisfied unless they touched him in his inclosure, and Simeon desired retirement from the daily concourse, he projected a new and unprecedented manner of life. He erected a pillar six cubits high, (each cubit being 28 * 330 HOMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. eighteen inches,) and dwelt on it four years ; on a second, of twelve cubits high, he lived three years ; on a third, of twenty- two cubits high, ten years ; and, on a fourth, of forty cubits, or sixty feet high, which the people built for him, he spent the last twenty years of his life. He was imitated in this folly by several other fanatics ; but none of them had the perseverance, or hardness of constitution, to earn any degree of immortality to be compared with that of Simeon. This, how’ever, occa- sioned them to bo called slylites, from the Greek Avord stylos, a pillar. Simeon’s pillar did not exceed three feet in diameter at the top, so that he could not lie extended on it ; he had no seat with him ; he only stooped or leaned to take a little rest, and bowed his body in prayer so often, that a certain person Avho counted these positions, found that he made one thousand two hundred and forty-four reverences in one day ; which, if he began at four o’clock in the morning, and finished at eight o’clock at night, gives a bow to every three quarters of a mi- nute ; besides AA^hich he exhorted the people twice a-day. His garments Avere the skins of beasts, he Avore an iron collar round his neck, and had a horrible ulcer in his foot. During his forty days’ abstinence throughout Lent, he tied himself to a pole. He treated himself as the outcast of the world, and the worst of sinners ; worked miracles ; delivered prophecies ; had the sacrament delivered to him on the pillar, and died boAving upon it, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, after having lived upon pillars for seve/n and thirty years I — His corpse AA^as carried to Antioch, attended by the bishops and the Avhole country, and A\mrked miracles on its Avay. Without mentioning several of the miracles in the Golden Legend, Avhich are not fit to be related, it may be observed that it is there said of him, that after his residence on the pil- lars, one of his thighs rotted a Avhole year, during which time he stood on one leg only ! Near Simeon’s pillar was the dAvelling of a dragon, so very venomous that nothing grew near his cave. This dragon met with an accident ; he had a stake in his eye, and coming all blind to the saint’s pillar, and placing his eye upon it for three days, Avithout doing harm to any one, Simeon ordered earth and AA^ater to be placed on the dragon’s eye, AA^hich being done, out came the stake, a cubit in length ; Avhen the people saAV this miracle, they glorified God, and ran aAvay for fear of the dragon, which arose and adored for two hours, and returned to his caAm ! A woman SAA^alloAved a little serpent, which tormented her for many years, till she came to Simeon, Avho causing earth and Avater to be laid on her mouth, the little serpent came out ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 331 four feet and a half long. It is affirmed, that when Simeon died, Anthony smelt a precious odour proceeding from his body ; that birds, men, and beasts cried ; that an angel came down in a cloud ; that the Patriarch of Antioch taking Si- meon’s beard to put among his relics, his hand withered, and remained so until a multitude of prayers were said for him, and it was healed ; and that more miracles were worked at and after Simeon’s sepulture, than he had wrought during the whole of his life ! On the day of the feast of this saint, the pope, cardinals, princes, and even private gentlemen, send their horses and their mules to be blessed by him ; the saddles January 17 th. and harnesses of these beasts are also carried St. Anthony to him. They bless and sprinkle the beasts the Patriarch and their equipage, in the name, and for the sake of the saint, upon consideration for a certain sum, viz. two paoli for each beast. Another ceremony in which St. Anthony is applied to, is that of exorcising, conjuring, and delivering up to the devil, mice, locusts, or grasshoppers, and all other noxious animals. According to St. Athanasius, Anthony was born in 251, at Coma, near Heraclea in Egypt, and in that neighbourhood commenced the life of a hermit : he was continually assailed by the devil. His only food was bread with a little salt, he drank nothing but water, never ate before sun-set, sometimes only once in two or four days, and lay on a rush mat or on the bare floor. For further solitude he left Coma, and hid himself in an old sepulchre, till, in 285, he withdrew into the deserts of the mountains, from whence, in 305, he descended and founded his first monastery. His under garment was sackloth, with a white sheepskin coat and girdle. He was taught to apply himself to manual labour by an angel, who appeared, platting mats of palm-tree leaves. Athanasius in- forms us that Anthony always prayed whilst he was at work ; and that he detested the Arians; that he would not speak to a heretic unless to exhort him to the true faith ; and that he drove all such from his mountain, calling them venomous ser- pents. He was very anxious that after his decease, he should not be embalmed, and being one hundred and fifty years old, he died in 356, having bequeathed one of his sheepkins, with the coat in which he lay, to his biographer. St. Athanasius is very particular in his account of St. An- thony’s warfare with the infernal powers. He says that hostilities commenced when the saint first determined on hermitizing ; “ in short, the devil raised a great deal of dust 332 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. in liis thoughts, so that by bemudding and disordering his intellects, he might make St. Anthony let go his design.” In his first conflict with the devil he was victorious, although Satan appeared to him in an alluring shape. — Next he came in the form of a black boy, and was again defeated. After that, Anthony got into a tomb, and shut down the top, but the devil found him out, and with a great company of other devils, so beat and bruised him, that in the morning he was discovered, by the person who brought his bread, lying like a dead man on the ground; whereupon he took him up and carried him to the town church, where many of his friends sat by him until midnight. Anthony then coming to himself, and seeing all asleep, caused the person who brought him thither to carry him back privately, and again got into the tomb, shutting down the tomb-top as before. Upon this, the devils being very much exasperated, one night made a noise so dreadful, that the walls shook. They transformed them- selves into the shapes of all sorts of beasts, lions, bears, leop- ards, bulls, serpents, asps, scorpions and wolves ; every one of which moved and acted agreeably to the creatures which they represented ; the lion roaring and seeming to make towards him, the bull to butt, the serpent to creep, and the wolf to run at him, and so in short all the rest ; so that Anthony was tor- tured and mangled by them so grievously that his bodily pain was greater than before. But he taunted them, and the devils gnashed their teeth. This continued till the roof of his cell opened, a beam of light shot down, the devils became speech- less, Anthony’s pain ceased, and the roof closed again. At one time, the devil laid the semblance of a large piece of plate in his way, but Anthony, perceiving the devil in the dish, chid it, and the plate disappeared. At another time he saw a quantity of real gold on the ground, and to show the devil “ that he did not value money, he leaped over it as a man in a fright over a fire.” Having secluded himself in an empty castle, some of his acquaintance came often to see him, but in vain ; be would not let them enter, and they remained whole days and nights listening to a tumultuous rout of devils bawling and wailing within. He lived in that state for twenty years, never seeing or being seen by any one, till his friends broke open the door, and the spectators were in amazement to see his body, that had been so belaboured by devils, in the same shape in which it was before his retirement. By way of a caution to others, he related the practices of the devils, and how they appeared. He said that, “to scare us, they will represent themselves so ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 333 tall as to touch the ceiling, and proportionably broad ; they often pretend to sing psalms and cite the scriptures, and some- times while we are reading they echo what we read ; some- times they stamp, sometimes they laugh, and sometimes they hiss ; but when one regards them not, then they Aveep and lament as vanquished. Once, when they came threatening and surrounding me like soldiers, accoutred and horsed, and again when they filled the place Avith Avild beasts and creeping things, I sung Psalm xix. 8, and they AA-ere presently routed. Another time, Avhen they appeared Avith a light in the dark, and said, “We are come, Anthony, to lend thee our light,” I prayed, shutting my eyes, because I disdained to behold their light, and presently their light Avas put out. After this they came and hissed and danced; but as I prayed, and lay along singing, they presently began to AA^ail and AATep as though they were spent. Once there came a deAul very tall in appearance, that dared to say, “What Avouldst thou haA’-e me bestoAV upon thee?” but I spat upon him and endeavoured to beat him, and, great as he Avas, he disappeared Avith the rest of the devils. Once one of them knocked at the door of my cell, and Avhen I opened it I saAV a tall figure, and when I asked him, “Who art thou?” he answered, “ I am Satan ; Why do the monks blame and curse me ? I have no longer a place or a city, and noAv the de- sert is filled with monks ; let them not curse one to no purpose.” I said to him, “ Thou art a liar,” &c. and he disappeared. Much more than this he is related to have said by his biographer, Avho affirms that “ having been prevailed upon to go into a vessel and pray with the monks, he, and he only, perceived a Avretched and terrible stink ; the company said there was some salt fish in the vessel, but he perceived ano- ther kind of scent, and while he AA^as speaking, a young man that had a devil, and Avho had entered before them and hid himself, cried out, and the devil Avas rebuked by St. Anthony and came out of him, and then they all kneAv that it Avas the devil that stunk.” — “Wonderful as these things are, there are stranger beings yet ; for once as he Avas going to pray, he AAms in a rapture, and (Avhich is a paradox) as soon as he stood up, he saw himself Avithout himself, as it were in the air, and some bitter and terrible beings standing by him in the air too, but the angels, his guardians, Avithstood them.” “ He had also another particular favour, for as he Avas sit- ting on the mount in a praying posture, and perhaps gravelled Avith some doubt relating to himself, in the night-time, one called to him, and said, ‘ Anthony, arise, go forth and look 1’ 334 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. SO he went out and saw a certain terrible deformed personage, standing and reaching to the clouds, and winged creatures, and him stretching out his hands; and some of them he saw were stopped by him, and others were flying beyond him; whereupon the tall one gnashed his teeth, and Anthony per- ceived that it was the enemy of souls, who seizes on those who are accountable to him, but cannot reach those who are not persuadable by him.” — His biographer declares that the devils fled at his word, as fast as from a whip. The Rev. Alban Butler says, “ there is extant a sermon of St. Anthony’s, wherein he extols the efficacy of the sign of the cross for chasing the devil, and lays down rules for the discernment of spirits.” There is reason to believe that he could not read ; St. Austin thinks that he did not know the alphabet. He wore his habit to his dying day, neither wash- ing the dirt off his body, nor so much as his feet, unless they were wet by chance when he waded through water on a journey. The Jesuit Ribadeneria affirms, that “all the world relented and bemoaned his death, for afterwards there fell no rain from heaven for three years.” Though two centuries elapsed before Anthony’s bones were looked for, his grave was not only discovered, but his body was found in the customary preservation. It was brought to Europe through a miracle. One Joceline, who had neglected a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was, therefore, sorely wounded in battle, and carried for dead into a chapel dedicated to St. Anthony. When he began to revive, a multitude of devils appeared to drag him to hell, and one devil cast a halter about his neck to strangle him, wherefore St. Anthony appear- ed ; the devils flew from him of course, and he commanded Joceline to perform his pilgrimage, and to convey his body from the East; whereupon Joceline obeyed and carried it to France. The saint’s beard afterwards was shown at Cologne, with a part of his hand, and another piece of him was shown at Tournay ; two of his relics were at Antwerp ; a church dedicated to him at Rome was famous for his sackcloth, and part of his palm coat; the other part of it was exhibited at Vienna, and the rest of his body was multiplied about, that there were limb-bones enough for the remains of half a dozen uncanonized persons. St. Anthony’s fire is an inflammatory disease, which, in the eleventh century, raged violently in various parts. According to the legend, the intercession of St. Anthony was prayed for, when it miraculously ceased ; and therefore, from that time, the complaint has been called St. Anthony’s fire. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 335 St. David, or in Welsh, Dewid, the patron of Wales, was son of Xantus, prince of Cardiganshire, and his birth was pro- phesied thirty years before it happened ; he was ^ 3 ^ brought up a priest, became an ascetic in the David ^ * Isle of Wight, afterwards preached to the Bri- tons, founded twelve monasteries, ate only bread and vegeta- bles, and drank milk and water. A synod being called at Brevy, in Cardiganshire, A. D. 519, in order to suppress the heresy of Pelagius, “ St. David confuted and silenced the in- fernal monster by his learning, eloquence, and miracles.” After the synod, St. Dubritius, archbishop of Caerleon, re- signed his see to St. David, which see is now called St. Da- vid’s. lie died in 544, St. Kentigern saw his soul borne by angels to heaven ; his body was in the church of St. Andrew. In 962, his relics were translated to Glastonbury. One of the miracles alleged of St. David, by Cressy, is, that at the anti-Pelagian synod he restored a child to life, ordered it to spread a napkin under his feet, and made an oration ; that a snow-white dove descended from heaven and sat on his shoulders ; and that the ground whereon he stood, rose under him till it became a hill, “ on the top of which hill a church was afterwards built, which remains to this day.” He assem- bled a provincial synod to confirm the decrees of Brevy ; and wrote the proceedings of both synods for preservation in his own church, and to be sent to other churches of the province ; but they were lost by age, negligence, and incursions of pi- rates, who almost every summer came in long boats from the Orkneys, and wasted the coast of Cambria. He invited St. Kined to this synod, who answered that he had grown crooked, distorted, and too weak for the journey ; whereupon ensued “ a double miracle,” for “ St. Kined having been restored to health and straightness by the prayers of St. David, by his own prayers he was reduced again to his former infirmity and crookedness.” After this synod, he journeyed to the monas- tery of Glastonbury, which he had built and consecrated, with intent to repair it, and consecrated it again ; whereupon our Lord appearing to him in his sleep, and forbidding him to profane the sacred ceremony before performed, he, in testimo- ny, with his linger pierced a hole in the bishop’s hand, which remained open to the view of all men till the end of the next day’s mass.” Before his death “ the angel of the Lord ap- peared to him, and said to him, prepare thyself” Again; “ When the hour of his departure was come, our Lord Jesus Christ vouchsafed his presence, to the infinite consolation of our holy father, who at the sight of him exulted.” More to 336 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. the same purpose is alleged by the Catholic writers respecting him, — such as, that at his death, “ being associated to a troop of angels, he with them mounted up to heaven,” and that the event Avas known “ by an angel divulging it.” According to Porter, St. David Avas uncle to the famous prince Arthur, or, strictly speaking, half uncle, if St. David’s illegitimacy be authentic. The same author relates of him, that on his AA'ay from building the church of Glastonbury he went to Bath, cured an infection of the Avaters, and by his prayers and bendiction gave them the perpetual heat they still retain. On the same authority, St. David’s posthumous virtue, in the reign of King Stephen, occasioned the brook above the church- yard of St. David’s church to run wine, by miracle : the Avell near it, called PisteldexAy or the Conduit of David, sent forth milk instead of Avater. Also, a boy, that endeavoured to take pigeons from a nest in St. David’s church at Lhannons, had his fingers miraculously fastened to the stone, till by his friends’ AA^atching, fasting, and praying before the altar three da}'s and nights, the stone fell from his hand. “ Manie thou- sands of other miracles have been AVTOught by the meritts of this holy man, which for breAutie’s sake Ave omitt. I only desire all true hearted Welshmen allwaiesto honour this their great patrone and protector, and supplicate the Di\dne Good- ness to reduce his sometime beloved countrey out of the blind- ness of Protesta7icie, groA^eling in AA^hich it languisheth. Not only in Wales, but all England over, is most famous in the memorie of St. DaAod. But in these our unhappie daies the greatest part of his solemnitie consisteth in Avearingofa greene leeke, and it is a sufficient theme for a zealous Welshman to ground a quarrell against him, that dceth not honour his capp Avith the like ornament that day.” The feast of this saint is celebrated in the church of Miner- March 7ih. where the cardinals assist solemnly at mass ; St. Thomas and in St, Barbara’s feast of the booksellers, Avho Aquinas. haA^e taken St. Thomas Aquinas for their patron. It is related in the Golden Legend, that a man Avho AV'as thought to be starved to death, and by a rope cast about his neck, Avas draAvn to the top of a toAver, and thrown doAvn from thence, Avhen he came to the ground rose up upon his feet, and gave the folloAAung account to those Avho Avondered at his being alive, since he had continued so long Avithout suste- nance, and hoAV it Avas possible for him to be preserved in his fall ; he assured them, that St. Barbara preserved him in all his dangers, and in his fall from the tow'er sustained him with her holy hands. Scupulary and Rosary, p. 317. 318. Manner of carrying the Host when the Pope travels, p. 357 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 837 It is also related, that St. Barbara’s father, who was a hea- then, and had shut her up in a tower for fear of being seduced, she being a very great beauty, perceiving by her discourses that she was a Christian, drew out his sword in great indig- nation, with design to kill her ; but upon her prayers to God, a great stone opening itself, received her into its cavity, and rolled with her to a mountain full of caves, where she thought to have hid herself, but was discovered by a shepherd, who was punished for it in a miraculous manner ; he himself being changed into a marble statue, and all his sheep into locusts, others say beetles ; which, as a perpetual accusation of the crime, continually hover about her grave. It is recorded by Surius, that in 1448, at a town called Gor- cum in Holland, one Henry Knoch, by an accident of the candle’s falling into the straw, had his house set on fire in the night, and he himself hardly escaped in his shirt, which began to burn in two places; but remembering he had left some money in the house, he resolved to return to it, in order to save it ; but before he could come to the place where it lay, the house fell upon his naked body ; when apprehending present death, he was more tormented, because he had not been prepared against the terrors of death by the sacraments of the church, and in this distress he betook himself to St. Barbara for the remedy of his soul, by addressing himself to her in prayer. The saint, being thus invoked, immediately presented herself before him, under such a shape as she is usually represented in churches. With her garments she quickly quenched the globes of fire, and with her white hand brought him through the straw-roof, and setting him in a safe place, told him that his life would be prolonged till the next morning, &c., saying which, she vanished away. All was performed as she had said, though Henry was so burnt, that scarcely any flesh was left on his bones unconsumed, and what remained of him was as black as a negro, his eyes, heart, and tongue excepted, which remained untouched. This day is sacred, likewise, to the memory of St. Paul the Anchorite. — He was a man of profound ignorance. «Butler says he was named “ the simple.” He journeyed eight days into the desert to become a disciple of St. Anthony, who told him he was too old, and bade him return home, mind his busi- ness, and say his prayers ; he shut the door upon him. Paul fasted and prayed before the door till Anthony opened it, and out of compassion made a monk of him. One day after he had diligently worked at making mats and hurdles, and prayed without intermission, St. Anthony bid him undo his work, and 29 338 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. do it all over agfain, which he did, without asking for a morsel of bread, though he had been seven days without eating; this was to try Paul’s obedience. Another day when some monks came to Anthony for advice, he bid Paul spill a vessel of honey and gather it up without any dust ; this was another trial of his obedience. At other times he ordered him to draw water a whole day and pour it out again ; to make baskets and pull them to pieces ; to sew and unsew garments, and the like: these were other trials of his obedience. When An- thony had thus exercised him, he placed him in a cell three miles from his own, proposed him as a model of obedience to his disciples, sent sick persons to him, and others possessed with the devil, whom he could not cure himself The feast of St. Gregory, surnamed the Great, is held in St. Peter’s, where his body is deposited. He was praetor of March 12th. Rome in 574, under the Emperor Justin; ne:\t St. Gregory year he became a monk, and by fasting and study the Pope. became so weak, that he swooned if he did not frequently eat. What gave him the greatest affliction was, his not being able to fast on Easter-eve; a day on Vv Inch, says St. John the Deacon, every one, not even excepting little child- ren, are used to fast; whereupon, by praying that he might be enabled to fast, he not only fasted, but quite forgot his ill- ness. He determined to proceed to Britain to propagate the faith ; but the whole city rose in an uproar to prevent his de- parture, and the pope constrained him to remain. Pope Pelagius 11. afterwards sent him as nuncio to Con- stantinople, where Eutychius fell into an error, importing that, after the resurrection, glorified bodies tcould not be 'palpable, but of a more subtile texture tlian air. St. Gregory clearly demonstrated that such bodies would be the same which they had on earth, and Eutychius retracted his error. On his return to Rome, he took with him an arm of St. An- drew, and the head of St. Luke. Pelagius made him his sec- retary, after whose death, he was elected pope himself To escape from the danger of this elevation, Gregory got himseif carried out of Rome in a wicker basket, and lay con- cealed in the woods and caverns for three days. He was af- terwards consecrated with great pomp, and on that occasion sent a synodal epistle to the other patriarchs, wherein he de- clared that “ he received the four councils as the four gospels,” Butler says, he extended his charity to the heretics, and “to the very Jews;” yet he afterwards adds, that in Africa, “he extirpated the Donatists.” He subscribed himself in his let- ters, Servant of the Servants of God. He sent to the Empress ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 339 CoHstantina a veil which had touched the relics of the apos- tles, and assured her that miracles had been wrought by such relics, and promised her some dust-filings of the chains of St. Paul. He likewise sent to St. Austin and other monks to convert the English. He died on the 25th of January, 604. His devotion to the church was constant ; he was learned, enterprising, sincere, and credulous ; and, for the times wherein he lived, charitable and merciful. He was the author of the church-singing, called the Gregorian chant. Many miracles are related of St. Gregory ; as, that going to bless a church in honour of St. Agnes, which had been used by the Arians, he caused the relics to be placed on the altar, whereon a hog went grunting out of the church with a fear- ful noise ; whence it was averred, that the devil, who had been served in it by the heretic Arians, was driven out by the re- lics. Sometimes the lamps were miraculously lighted. One day a bright cloud descended on the altar, with a heavenly odour, so that from reverence no one dared to enter the church. At another time, when Gregory was transubstantiating the wafers, a woman laughed; he asked her why she laughed? to which at length she answered, “because you call the bread which I made with my own hands the body of our Lord whereupon he prayed, and the consecrated bread appeared flesh to every one present ; and the woman w'as converted, and the rest were confirmed. At another time, some ambassadors coming to Rome for re- lics, Gregory took a linen cloth Avhich had been applied to the body of a saint, and inclosing it in a box, gave it to them. While on their journey home, they were curious to see the contents of the box; and finding nothing within it but the cloth, returned to St. Gregory complaining that he had de- ceived them. On this, he took the cloth, laid it on the altar, prayed, pricked it with a knife, the cloth shed blood, and the astonished ambassadors reverently took back the box. Another time, one who had been excommunicated by St. Gregory for having put away his law^ful wife, bargained with certain sorcerers and witches for revenge; w^ho, vvdien the holy pope rode through the city, sent the devil into his horse, and made him caper, so that he could not be held ; then, with the sign of the cross, the pope cast out the devil; and the witches, by miracle becoming blind, were converted, and St. Gregory baptized them ; yet he would not restore their sight, lest they should read their magical books again ; but he main- tained them out of the church-rents. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 340 After his death there was a famine in Rome, and the peo- ple being falsely persuaded that St. Gregory had wasted the church property, gathered his writings to burn them; where- fore Peter the Deacon, who had been intimate with Gregory, affirmed, that he had often seen the Holy Ghost in form of a dove upon St. Gregory’s head whilst he w’as writing, and that it would be an insufferable affront to burn those hooks, which had been written by his inspiration ; and to assure them of this, he offered to confirm it by oath, but stipulated, that if he died immediately after he had taken the oath, that they should be- lieve that he had told them the truth : this being assented to, he took the oath, and thereupon died, and the people believed ; and “hence,” says Rabadineira, “the painters came to repre- sent St. Gregory with a dove at his ear, to signify that the Holy Ghost inspired and dictated what he wrote.” It is also related of St. Gregory, that, when he fled from Rome to avoid the dignity of popedom, and lay hidden, a bright pil- lar of fire descending from heaven, glittered above his head, and angels appeared descending and ascending by the same fiery pillar upon him; wherefore, he was miraculously be- trayed. Lent is said to be an imitation of the fasting of Jesus Christ. It must be of great antiquity, since it is cited by several ancient fathers. In the primitive church the Christians Eraber\ve^ks always fast during the precise term ot forty days; for we have examples of Lent-seasons that were of shorter continuance, and of others that lasted longer. It was sometimes usual to begin Lent at Septuagesi- ma, other times at Sexagesima, and often at Huinquagesima. With some, it held six weeks, with others seven, and some again began it but three weeks before Easter. It was kept very strictly, for they used to abstain not only from wine, flesn, meats, and all kinds of luxury, but to fast till the evening. Lastly, all persons were prohibited from marrying during Lent, which custom is observed to this day. The fast of the ember weeks was borrowed originally from the Jews ; for they bear a relation to four fasts which the Jews denominated from the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months. The ember weeks are observed in March, June, September, and December. The humiliation of the ember weeks con- sists in three days strict fasting in each season of the year. By this fast, the faithful are taught that the four parts of the year are to be equally consecrated to God. Some pretend that these fasts were established as early as the first century of the church, but that they were not absolutely bindings, on ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 341 the contrary, that a person might transgress them without scan- dal or offence. It is even said, that this coldness and indiffer- ence were not suppressed but in process of time by councils. Others say, that the ember weeks were not instituted till the }'car 460, by Pope St. Leo. Moreover, that Pope Gelasius commanded that priests and deacons should be ordained in tliose seasons. As it was customary in the apostolic age, for fisting and public prayer to precede their ordinations, it was but reasonable that the present ember weeks should be dis- tinguished by the same pious exercises, and that the faithful s'iould employ fasting and prayer “ to implore such officers of God as might be Avorthy to serve his church.” The ceremony of giving ashes is one of the ancient methods of expressing sorrow, of which mention is often made in the Old Testament. It is also a type of the public penance used among Christians anciently, during ° which the penitent was cut off from all commu- Ashes, nication with the rest of the faithful, and stood at the church-door, covered Avith sackcloth and ashes. The ashes that are made use of on Ash- Wednesday must be made from the branches of olive, or some other trees that liaA^e been blessed the foregoing year on Palm Sunday. 'I'lie sacristan, or vestry-keeper, gets these ashes ready and lays them in a small vessel on the altar, on the epistle-side; after Avhich the officiating priest blesses them, for Avhich purpose the AA’ax-tapers on the altar are lighted. I'he officiating priest, his clerks, and his acolytes, put on ornaments suitable to the solemnity of the ceremony ; during AAffiich the choir chant non e, or the ninth hour ; after Avhich, the officiating priest, preceded by the incense-bearer, and other assistants, goes up to the altar, kisses it, and says a prayer Avith his face a little turned tOAvads the ashes. He afterwards makes the sign of the cross upon the ashes, and incenses them. The incensing being ended, the priest, having on one side of him the deacon carrying the ashes, and his sub-deacon on the other, goes forAA^ard toAA'ards the middle of the altar, and turns round to the congregation. Then the chief of the clergy in Avhose church the ceremony of giving the ashes is performed, goes up to the altar, and lays the ashes on the head of the officiating priest in the form of a cross, repeating these Avords, Memento homo quia pulvis es, <^c.; i. e. Remember man that thou art dust, Spc. After the priest has received the ashes, he giA^es them to his assistants, to all the clergy then present, and at last to the Avhole congregation. The AAmmen as w'ell as the men, receive the ashes on their fore- heads. 20' 342 - ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. A bishop, with his mitre off, receives the ashes sitting, from the officiating canon ; after which the prelate, putting on his mitre, and having a white cloth before him, gives the ashes to the officiating canon, who stoops before him. It is the bishop’s province to give the ashes to a churchman of superior dignity, such as an archbishop or patriarch. Princes, ambassadors, and other persons of distinction, receive the ashes after the canons. The canons and the superior clergy incline their bodies when they receive them, but all the inferior clergy and the laity take them kneeling. The pope receives them from the officiating cardinal, who does not repeat the Memento, cfc. to him ; but the cardinal stoops a little when he takes them from the pope. If an emperor were to assist at this ceremony of humiliation, he must take them after all the cardinals ; for the princes of the church are superior to all temporal ones. Pope Urban V. sent, on the fourth Sunday in Lent of the year 1366, a golden rose, to Joan, queen of Sicily, and made Blessing the ^ decree, by Avhich it was ordained, that the Golden Rose! popes should consecrate one at that season every year. This golden rose is enriched with pre- cious stones, and is often sent by the pope to princesses, or to some church, as a mark of his peculiar affection. His holi- ness blesses the rose in the room in which the ornaments are kept, immediately before he goes to hear mass in his own chapel. This blessing is performed with frankincense, holy water, balm, and musk' mixed together. The benediction being ended, the pope goes out of the room, and one of his privy chamberlains carries the rose before him, and lays it on a candlestick. Then a cardinal-deacon presents it to his holiness, who, taking it in his left hand, walks on to the cha- pel, and with his right hand blesses the faithful who line the way. After this, the rose is returned to the cardinal-deacon, and he gives it to a clerk of the chamber, Avho lays it on the altar. Mass being ended, his holiness gives the rose to whom- soever he thinks proper. We must not omit that the Sunday of the golden rose is called Lceiare, from a lesson which is read on that day, beginning at verse 10, of the 66th chapter of Isaiah, and that the sacred college come into the chapel clothed in cassocks of the colour of dried roses. The rose is remarkable for three qualities, which are to be applied to the faithful of the Church, viz. for its colour, its fra- grance, and taste. The substance of the golden rose, the musk and the balm with which it is blessed, are so many emblems of the divine, the spiritual, and human nature of Jesus Christ. On Palm-Sunday, palms are prepared at the Pope’s Chapel ; ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 343 and when these cannot he procured, olive-branches are some- times used, adorned with the leaves of the palm- Ceremonies tree, tied up neatly in the shape of a cross: these p^|,^ f )alm, or olive-branches, are about five feet in day. ength. The Pope then goes in procession to the chapel ; and when the prayers and ceremonies which are used in all other benedictions are ended, his holiness sprinkles and incenses the branches. After their conse- cration, the chief cardinal-bishop presents two of the largest of them to his holiness, who gives them to two persons of dis- tinction, who, according to the Roman ceremonial, must stand on each side of the pope, with the branches in their hands. The above-mentioned cardinal then presents him a third branch, less than the former; this the pope gives to a cham- berlain, and presents the rest to the cardinals, prelates, ambas- sadors, and noblemen, who assist at the ceremony. The branches, which the cardinal-bishop offers to his holi- ness, are beautifully adorned with flowers, and must be kissed by those to whom they are presented. When the chief cardi- nal-bishop receives them, he has the honour to kiss the hand and knee of his holiness ; the rest of the cardinals also kiss his knee, but the clergy of an infeTior order only kiss his foot. The ceremony concludes with distributing the branches among the people; and during the service of the Passion, all the con- gregation hold their branches in their hands. On Palm-Sunday, the altars, likewise, are adorned with palm or olive-branches. The branches, designed to be dis- tributed, are laid upon a table near the altar, and remain there covered with a white cloth, till the time of blessing them. One remarkable custom practised on Palm-Sunday, and which is still observed in several parts of Christendom, is the setting a prisoner at liberty ; upon which occasion the bishop and clergy go in procession : the ceremony of this delivery is considered % the Catholics as a type of their spiritual free- dom. This ceremony is borrowed from the Jews, who used anciently to set a prisoner at liberty on the day of their pass- over, in commemoration of their deliverance from the Egyp- tian bondage. After the palms are distributed, the procession begins by the deacon presenting the officiating priest with one of the branches, which he kisses, as also the priest’s hand : this being done, the sub-deacon takes the cross, and takes his station be- tween the two incense-bearers, at the entrance of the sanctua- ry or chancel. Immediately after, the deacon, having knelt down, and turned himself towards the people, repeals to them, 341 ROMAN CATHOLIC CTIl RCH. Procedamus in pace, i. o. Let us go hi peace ; and the pro- cession is tlien performed round the church. Wlien it is ended, mass is said. During' the singing of the passion, the several members of the congregation hold their branches in their hands, not excepting the officiating priest and the ministers of the altar ; none being excepted but the deacons, who repeat the service of the passions, and the acolytes, and their attend- ants. After mass is ended, every member of the congregation carries home his branch which has been blessed; and, accord- ing to the rituals, a branch thus blessed, is a preservative from several diseases, and an instrument of innumerable blessings. After various preliminary ceremonies, the procession sets out, each person with his taper in his hand, in such order TheProccs- youngest walks first, and the oldest last, sion of the The superior clergy walk immediately after the Host to the Se- priest, who marches under a canopy, and car- pulchrc. Being come to the sepulchre, the youngest place themselves near the cross, which is set opposite to the grave, and the oldest place themselves be- hind them : this being done, they all fall down on their knees, the incense and cross-bearers excepted ; and the choir sings and repeats the anthem Tamtum ergo sacr amentum, till the conclusion of the ceremony. The priest now incenses the host, and a deacon takes it up and holds it in his hands, till such time as the priest kneels down before it. This being done, the deacon puts it again in the tabernacle, where the priest incenses it thrice; after which, the deacon locks up the tabernacle, and gives the key of it to the master of the cere- monies. At the return of the procession, all the tapers are |)ut out, with the exception of those of the acolytes, who walk before the cross-bearers. The officiating priest now puts off his white vestments, and puts on purple ones, in order to say the office of the vespers ; his attendants do the same ; and after the vespers are ended' they uncover the altars in the following manner : — The officiating priest takes from the high altar its cover- ings, its Pallia, and other ornaments ; but does not take off the cross and its lights. They even take away the little ta- ble, on which the church plate, the carpets, and flowers, usual- ly stand ; and they likewise uncover the pulpit and the church- \valls; the covering of which the sacristan carries into the vestry. The cross is now covered with a black or purple- coloured veil ; the tabernacle is veiled in the same manner, and is left open, being the house of the living God, who has absented himself from it for some time. The cross must now ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 345 be placed before the tabernacle. In order to solemnize the passion of our Saviour, a black canopy is then set over the high altar, and the walls of the church are hung with the same colour. The whole of this mournful ceremony is ush- ered in by certain anthems. It is stated that the uncovering of the altars represents the ignominious manner in which Jesus Christ was stripped of his garments. After the ceremonies above-mentioned are ended, the pope is carried to the gallery, where the bull in Co^na Domini is read ; by which his holiness excommunicates, in a solemn manner, all heretics and unrepenting sinners ; after which he gives his blessing to all the people there assembled. During the publication of the hull in Ccena Domini, which is given out from the gallery of the blessing, the pope is then clothed in a red chasuble, and a stole of the same colour; and stands in a kind of high pulpit, the better to be seen by the people. The sub-deacon, who stands at the left hand of his holiness, reads the bull, which is in Latin ; and the deacon, who stands at his right, reads the same to them in Italian. In the mean time the candles are lighted, and each of them takes one in his hand. When the excommunication is pronounced, the pope and cardinals put out their candles, and throw them among the crowd, after which the black cloth that covered the pulpit is taken away. Two cardinal-deacons’ assistants now publish the plenary indulgence, one in Latin, the other in Italian. After this his holiness washes the feet of twelve priests In the ducal hall, and entertains them at dinner in another apart- ment, himself waiting upon them ; and presents to each of them two medals, the one of gold, the other of silver, as also an apostolical garment, made of white serge. This ceremony is considered typical of Jesus Ceremony Christ washing the feet of his disciples, and is of washing the held in high veneration by the rigid Roman Cath- feet of the olic. A modern writer thus describes the cere- inony : — The pope and cardinals having come into the ducal hall, the cardinal-deacons assistants clothe his holiness with his pur- ple stole, his red cope, and plain mitre. Their eminences are clothed in purple copes. His holiness having put three spoon- fulls of odoriferous spices into the thurible, gives his blessing to the cardinal-deacon, who is to sing the gospel, which be- gins Ante diem festum PaschcE ; after this, one of the aposto- lical sub-deacons gives the pope a lx)ok of the New Testament 34G ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. to kiss; and the cardinal deacon incenses him thrice; imme- diately after which, a chorus of musicians sing the 34th verse of the 13th chapter of St. John, in which are these words, Manclcblum novum do vobis : “ A new commandment I give unto you.” As soon as the pope hears these wmrds sung, he takes ofl' his cope, and putting on a white apron, washes the feet of thir- teen poor priests, being strangers, wdio sit on a high form or bench, clothed in white camelot, with a kind of capouch or cape, that reaches down to the middle of their arms. This, at the pope’s court, is called an apostolical garment. The afore-rnentioned priests have their right legs hare, and these are well washed over with soap and water, before they are present- ed to the pope to wash. When he. has done, the treasurer, by his order, gives to each of them two medals, one of gold, the other of silver, weighing an ounce each. The major-do- mo now presents a napkin to the dean of the cardinal college, or one of the most ancient bishops of the apostolic college, who dries their feet. Afterwards, the pope returns to his seat, takes off his apron, washes his hands in water, which a lay- man of the highest quality, then present, pours out to him, and afterwards wipes them with a napkin, which is presented to him by the chief cardinal bishop. This being done, the pope again puts on his cope and mitre, and sings the Lord’s prayer, and several others in Latin ; after which he goes into the vestry, w'here he leaves his pontifical vestments, and with- draws to his apartment, accompanied by the cardinals. The above ceremony is performed nearly after the same manner in the rest of the churches in Rome, as well as in other places, by the bishops and curates of parishes. The place where the ceremony is performed, must be adorned and perfumed with flowers and odoriferous herbs ; and there must be at least one table in form of an altar, neatly covered. The cross must be veiled with white, to denote that purity of which the ceremony of washing the feet is a type ; and as every thing must have an allusion to that ceremony, the rituals observe, that the candles which are lighted at this solemn act must be made of the whitest wax. The credence tables, and the ba- sins into Avhich the water is poured, must also be adorned with flowers. The thirteen priests, whose feet have been washed by the pope, and Avho are on that day called apostles, arc an hour af- terwards carried into a beautiful apartment in the Vatican, in which the thirteen priests are entertained with a most splendid dinner. They arc no sooner seated, than the pope corner in, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 347 and presents to each of them the first dish, and afterwards pours out to each the first glass of wine ; during which he discourses to them with great familiarity, and grants them se- veral privileges. When the pope has withdrawn, his preacher in ordinary be- gins a sermon in the above-mentioned apartment, while the thirteen priests are sitting at dinner, in lieu of the spiritual lec- ture usual at meals in all ecclesiastical societies. The preach- er who officiates on this occasion, is the same that generally preaches once a week before the pope in his chamber during Lent and Advent. On this occasion the pope sits in a gallery, unseen by any person, and the cardinals sit round it, clothed in purple copes, as in the consistory. The ceremony ends with a sumptuous entertainment, which his holiness gives to the cardinals ; and the whole is heightened with a fine con- cert of music. It is thus that Rome beholds annually renew- ed the image of the Lord’s Supper with his apostles. At Rome, the Holy Oils are blessed on holy Thursday, at which time those of the preceding ^mar are burnt. The cere- mony is performed with great solemnity, after j>iess'm'^ of having first reconciled the penitents to the Church, pjg ^ After nones, or the ninth hour, the officiating priest clothes himself in white, and puts on his sandals, &c. The canons, the several ministers of the altar, seven deacons, seven sub-deacons, and twelve priests, are likewise clothed in white, and all walk in procession to the altar. Omitting the various genufiexions, prayers, and anthems, which follow the procession, we shall only observe, that the officiating priest blesses, consecrates, and exorcises, three sorts of oil. He first performs the ceremony on that of the infirm, or on that which is used in extreme unction, exorcisms, &c. ; afterwards on that of the chrism; and, lastly, on that of the catechumens; and the whole is closed with a salutation, which the officiating priest and the ministers who assist at the consecration make to these sanctified oils, saying, Ave sanxtum oleum, — Hail, holy oil, S^c. After this, the new-made oils are carried in procession into the sacristy, where the officiating priest washes nis hands, then sings mass, and gives the blessing. Good Friday is distinguished in various pla- P^.-_ ces by ceremonies of great splendour, of which day. the following may serve as examples ; At Courtray, there is a commemorative procession, on Good-Friday, of our Saviour to Mount Calvary. The city magistrates give live and twenty livres to a poor man, who re- presents the suffering Saviour ; and the monks assure him of 348 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. certain salvation, in case he happen to die under the blows that are given him in this ceremony. The procession first assembles in the parish-church, and the mock saviour is brought into the sacristy, where he is clothed with a purple robe, his loins girded with a thick rope, and his head crowned with thorns ; after which he is made to walk hare-foot, with a kind of pack-saddle bound around his neck. On each side of this collar, six ropes are put, which are to be fastened to a wooden cross of great weight, which the voluntary martyr has now laid upon his shoulders : and thus equipped, he rambles up and down the whole city. Six Capuchins, who walk at his right hand, draw the six ropes which are fixed on that side of the pack-saddle; and the other six are drawn by as many Recollets, or Franciscans ; so that the poor fellow is so dragged and hauled by the twelve friars, that he is continually stum- bling, and is almost pulled to pieces. This poor mock saviour would have a terrible ordeal to go through, were it not for a sham Simon the Cyrenian, who, very luckily, comes just in time to free him from his torments. The poor wretch, before he gets into the church is half killed: however, notwithstand- ing the kicks and buffetings which the people and the mimic Jews bestow upon him, he is so thoroughly persuaded of the merits of his sufferings, and that they will procure him an eternity of bliss, that he bears all his torments without the least murmur or complaint. The procession at Brussels, in which the crucifixion of our Saviour is represented, is no less extraordinary in its circum- Procession Both the cit}'' and the court endeavour at Brussels. honour to this solemnity ; and it is perform- ed in the church of the Austin-friars, at the foot of the altar. The persons who form the procession assemble in St. Gudila’s, the cathedral church, by eight in the morning, and the brotherhood of Mercy come thither in their proper habits, bare-footed, and their faces masked; some walking with drums covered with black cloth. After the brotherhood, a great number of prisoners come forward, each of whom drags after him an iron cannon ball, chained to his foot ; next come several Austin friars, dressed in Jewish habits, in the midst of whom is a man, who is always a criminal, (but par- doned for the part he then acts,) bound and fettered, crowned with thorns, and dressed in a purple robe. Then several trumpets come forward, and after them the prebends, the priests, and a multitude of people. In this equipage they all crowd into the church, where the concourse is generally so great, that the multitudes are obliged to stand without. Extreme unction, p. 370, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 849 In the church a large scafTold is erected, and a cross, twenty feet in height, is set upon it: the person who repre- sents the crucified Saviour, ascends this scaffold, and is follow- ed by those who represent the Jews, with hammers, nails, and ropes in their hands. The Brotherhood of Mercy crowd round the scafibld, and the ladies have high seats prepared for them ; the common people standing below in the pit. The mock Jews now strip the pretended Christ of his ornaments, lay him along the scaffold, and cast dice for his garments ; which being done, they strip him to his shirt. Lastly, he is fixed on the cross, by tying his hands and feet with leathern thongs which are nailed to the cross ; and the better to imi- tate our Saviour’s sufferings, they put little bladders, filled with blood, under the thongs, which being pierced by the nails, the blood is seen to trickle from his hands and feet ! This is the very pathos of this pious farce ; for at the sight of the blood, the hearts of the people are moved, and the most devout beat their breasts, while the monks sing anthems suit- able to the occasion. At Venice, on Good-Friday, the holy sacrament is carried in procession, about nine or ten at night, with the utmost solemnity ; It is laid in a coffin, covered with black velvet, and Venice in this manner is carried round the square of St. Mark. St. Didier informs us, “ That there cannot be a finer sight than this square then affords. Two large flambeaux of white wax are set at each window of the palace Della Procuratia, which goes round the square. This double range of flambeaux, and those which are set over the church gate, are to light the several processions of the fraternities, and the neighbouring parishes, who go into the square. Here the penitents appear in masquerade, and beat themselves till the blood follows the blows. For this purpose they have scourges made of a great number of little sharp cords, which they hold with both their hands, and dipped in a pot filled with vinegar. They strike themselves on the back with so much order, and in such ex- act cadence, that they must necessarily have studied the art very much, to be so very expert in it. Here follows the order which is observed in this procession. There are three or four hundred men, all of them holding thick torches of white wax, six feet long, and weighing at least twelve or fifteen pounds each. These walk two and two, with a like number of persons, each holding a lantern, and walking between the torches in such a manner, that the spectator sees alternately a flambeau and a lantern. They are all clothed in black or white serge, according to their fraternities, having 30 35a ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. a large cowl, two feet in length, and terminating in a point, which hangs down on their backs. Their lanterns are- very large, and are fixed to the end of sticks ; each has several ta- pers in it, which gives a. great light, the lanterns being made of very clear glass. As there are a great number of glass houses in and about Venice, some of them are made in a very odd shape, and are so heavy, that one man is hardly able to carry them. Some are made in the shape of stars, or like suns, with a great number of rays darting from them, and are six feet in diameter. The glasses are fixed in with pieces of iron and lead, gilt : others are made in the shape of roses, full and half moons, comets, pyramids, crosses, globes, eagles with extended wings, &c. In the midst of these flambeaux and lanterns the standard is placed, and afterwards the cross, with a crucifix four feet high, covered with crape ; and a nosegay at the foot of it, as broad as a half bushel. The several fra- ternities strive to rival each other in the singularity and beauty of their flowers, as well as in the form they give to their nose- gays. The BoAtuti walk before the cross, scourging them- selves by starts, and walking backwards, having their eyes always fixed on the crucified Saviour. After the cross the re- lics follow, carried on litters covered with flowers and tapers. On both sides of the cross, several persons walk with long flambeaux in their hands, and large silver candlesticks, with several candles in them, fixed on a long pole. Afterwards, a chorus of voices is heard, and the clergy follow ; then come the guardian, the deputy-guardian, and all the brethren of the fraternity, each having a torch in his hand. The ceremony of the adoration of the cross is also perform- ed on Good-Friday. After nones, the officiating priest goes Adoration altar, preceded by the acolytes, without of the^Cross and the rest of the ministers of the altar: they first kneel before it, and bow to the cross, a duty at all times necessary, but particularly on this day. Im- mediately after the officiating priest and his ministers have repeated on their knees certain prayers in a low tone, the acolytes cover the table of the altar, and lay the mass-book on a black cushion, on the epistle-side. This done, the master of the ceremonies makes a signal to the officiating priest and his ministers to rise up; then the acolytes take avvmy the cushions that were knelt upon, and the black, cloth, while the choir and the congregation say their prayers upon their knees. The minister who is to officiate now goes up to the altar, kisses it as usual, and afterwards either repeats, or sings with a low voice, the several lessons of the day, which his mims- ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 351 ters repeat after him. Prayers being ended, the officiating priest goes to the epistle-side, the deacon takes the cross, which is veiled, from the altar, and presents it to the officiating priest, who after he has uncovered the top of the cross, elevates it with both hands, at the same time singing these words, — Ecce lignum crucis, — Behold the wood of the cross. Then all the congregation rise up with their heads bare, and the ministers of the altar sing as follows : In quo salus mundi fependit , — On which the Saviour of the world was extended. The choir answers ; Venite et adoremus, — Let us come and adore. Here, every one falls upon his knees, the officiating priest excepted. A moment after, they all rise up ; the officia- ting priest uncovers the right arm of the crucifix, and the head of Jesus ; shows it, elevates it, and says, Ecce lignum, <^c. but louder than before. Lastly, he goes up towards the middle of the altar, turns towards the congregation, and with a very loud voice repeats the same words, at the same time elevating the crucifix, and showing it quite uncovered. The acolytes now spread a purple piece of cloth, or carpet, in the midst of the chancel, and before the steps of the altar. A purple cushion, and a silken veil embroidered with gold, are laid upon the altar. The officiating priest carries the cross thither, and kneeling down, lays it on the cushion, and bows to it. Preceded by his ministers, who attend upon him at this august ceremony, he now returns to his place, where he puts off his sandals and his mitre. He afterwards advances to- wards the cross, in the midst of his ministers, who are like- wise without shoes or sandals ; kneels down thrice, repeats thrice a short prayer, and at last kisses the holy wood, which the ministers do likewise. After this, having bowed to the cross, they all return and put on their sandals. The rest of the dignitaries of the church, each in his rank, now perform the same ceremony, and also the people. In those countries Avhere the women do not sit with the men, a priest having a black stole over his surplice, goes and pre- sents them the crucifix to kiss and adore. The same ceremonies are performed at the pope’s chapel. After his holiness has kissed the crucifix, he makes an offer- ing of twenty-five ducats of gold at least, which he puts into a vessel of the same metal, laid near the left arm of the cru- cifix. After the cardinals, emperors, and kings go and wor- ship the cross. The ceremony of the adoration being ended, the deacon sa- lutes the cross, elevates it, and in this posture carries it to the altar, where he places it, observing to bow the knee before it. 352 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. As he walks along, the officiating priest stands up while rt passes before him ; but the rest of the ministers of the altar remain upon their knees. The ceremonies on Easter eve are at St. John’s de Lateran ; where, after the blessing of the fire and water, the catechu- Easter Eve who are of age, are baptized in the Bap- tisterium of Constantine ; the Pope assists so- lemnly at the office in the Apostolical chapel, and a cardinal priest sings mass. On Easter-eve, the ornaments of the churches and altars are changed ; the black, with which the latter were covered, is taken off, and white put on ; the tabernacle is also uncover- ed, and covered with white, but so, that the purple still ap- pears on the outward side, till the Litanies are ended. In like manner, after that part of the service has been celebrated, a carpet, or some rich covering, is laid on the steps of the altar, and the images are unveiled. Then six large tapers are got ready for solemn mass, and likewise all the lights which are to burn before the altar. On the gospel-side of the altar, a great candlestick is placed, wdiich must be made in the shape of an angel, if possible, and very neatly wrought. In this candlestick, the paschal candle is fixed : it must be made of the w'hitest wax, and w'eigh about eight or ten pounds ; five holes are made in it, in the shape of a cross, to be filled with five grains of frankincense, gilt over, and made in the shape of a pine-apple. To conclude, some edifying subject is painted on the taper, such as the patron of the place, or any other saint. As every thing must correspond with the solemnity of the day, the ritual ordains, that the reed with which the tapers are lighted, shall also be gilt and adorn- ed with flowers. The three small candles which are fixed to the top of the reed, represent the Trinity in Unity, and must therefore join together at the basis, i. e. at the end w’hich touches the reed. It is ordained by the rituals, that baptism is not to be admin- istered for a week before Easter-eve, unless a child’s life be in danger. On this eve is likewise performed the ceremony of blessing the new fire. The church being strewed wfith flowers, at the ninth hour the old fire is put out, and at the same time an acolyte must light the new one on the outside of the church. The officiating priest, dressed in his sacerdotal vestments, and attended by the ministers of the altar and the clergy, now walks out of the church in procession, and goes to the place where the blessing of the fire is to be performed. The holy ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 353 watcr-pot is carried thither in great pomp, as also the frankin- cense, the sub-deacon’s purple maniple, and the mass-book. The sub-deacon walks singly with the cross, and is followed by the clergy. When every one has taken his place, the officiating priest uncovers himself, and pronounces these words: Dominus vobiscum , — The Lord be with you, a certificate signed by the rector, to prove that solution, he has fulfilled it ; after which they proceed to his reconciliation with the Church. This reconciliation was formerly performed on holy Thursday. But whether it hap- pen on this or any other day of public worship, the penitent must come to the church-door, on the day appointed him for receiving absolution. The Roman pontifical enjoins, that he shall be there upon his knees, with an unlighted taper in his hand. He must likewise be in a plain and ordinary dress, without his weapons, if he be a soldier, and bare-headed ; in an humble and contrite manner, and with a dejected countenance : women must be veiled. Immediately before the parochial mass, the priest, clothed in his albe, or surplice, and the pur- ple stole, shall give the people notice that the penitent or peni- tents, are going to be reconciled to the Church. He then shall exhort the congregation to pray for them ; shall fall prostrate before the altar, and pronounce some prayers, which are an- swered by the congregation. These prayers are composed of passages from the scriptures, and selected by the church. The prayers being ended, the priest goes to the church-door, and makes a pretty long exhortation to the penitents; which being done, he takes them by the hand and leads them into the church. But in case they have been excommunicated, he then, before he re-unitgs them to the body of the faithful, sits down, puts on his cap, and repeats the Miserere ; the penitent being at his feet, the congregation upon their knee.s, and the clergy standing. At every verse of the Miserere, the priest strikes 370 Ro:^AN catholic church. the excommunicated penitent on the shoulder, with a little stick, or whip made of chords. The Roman ritual and the pontifical ordain, that the penitent who is absolved in this man- ner shall be stripped to his shirt, as low as his shoulders. The priest then asks the penitent the occasion of his coming hither, and after that says to him. Receive the sign of the cross of Christ and Christianity^ which thou hadst home before^ hut renounced by the error into which thou didst unhayfily fall. This ceremony, as all the preceding, must be followed by some prayers ; and afterwards the litanies are to be sung, the people being upon their knees. The rituals define extreme unction to be a sacrament that gives all such Christians as are afflicted with any dangerous fit of sickness, a final remission of their remaining Uncdorf*^^ sins, inspires them with grace to suffer with pa- tience the pains and troubles of their infirmity, endues them with strength sufficient to die the death of the righteous, and restores them to health, provided it be for the good of their souls. Thus the Catholic Church makes ex- treme unction a sacrament, the indispensable necessity of which is apparent in the above definition. The form of the sacrament of extreme unction consists in these words ; “ May God by his holy anointing, and his most pious mercy, grant you the pardon of all the sins you may have committed.” The priest pronounces this form of words while he is anointing those parts of the body which are proper for it, because they have been the occasion, or served as so many instruments for sin, whereof to use the words of Alet’s Ritual, this sacrament purges the dregs, i. e. those sins which we have not been careful enough to repent of This sacrament therefore, compensates for the defects of past repentance. The priest is the only minister of this sacrament, which is administered to none but those who are afflicted with some mortal disease, or those who have arrived at a very advanced age, and are likewise extremely infirm. But extreme unction is not administered to criminals condemned to die ; and the reason given for this is, that the criminal is not in a state of death, either by disease or any other infirmity. Extreme unction is likewise rehised to those who are impenitent, and in case a sick person dies while he is anointing, the cere- mony must immediately be discontinued. As the dissolution of the sick person approaches^ the priest must get ready seven balls of cotton, to wipe those parts which are to be anointed with the holy oil, some crumbs of bread to rub his fingers with, water to wash them, a napkin to wipe ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 371 them, and a taper to light him during the ceremony. Before he goes to the sick person, he must sanctify himself by prayer: after which he must wash his hands, put on a surplice, and the purple stole ; he must take the vessel in which the holy olfs are contained, covered with a purple veil, or shut up in a bag of the same colour, and carry it in such a manner as not to let the oil run out. If he go a great distance oft^ he need not put on his surplice and his stole till he come to the door of the sick person, and in that case, he must carry the vessel of oils in a purse, and hang it about his neck, in the same man- ner as the viaticum is sometimes carried to the sick. The priest must be attended by the clerk, who must carry the cross without a staff, the vessel of holy water, the sprinkler, and the ritual. They must not ring the little bell by the way, but the priest must offer up some prayers, with a low voice, in favour of the sick. On entering into the sick person’s apartment, he repeats the ordinary form of words. Pax huic domui, et omnibus hahitanti- bus in ea, — i. e. Peace be to this house, cfc. After having ta- ken off his cap, and set the vessels of the holy oils upon the table, he gives the sick person, the cross to kiss; afterwards takes the sprinkler, sprinkles the sick person, the apartment, and the assistants, with holy water in form of a cross, at the same time repeating the anthem, Asperges me, cfc. He tells the sick person, by way of exhortation, that he would commit the utmost sacrilege, in case he presumed to receive extreme unction with- out having first settled his conscience ; but in case he is speech- less, and is not sensible, the priest exhorts him to the best of his power : which exhortation must certainly have a wonder- ful efficacy after the sick person has lost his senses. If the sick person discovers any tokens of contrition, the priest shall pronounce absolution, which must be followed by an exhort- ation, and that, by a prayer. But before absolution, the sick person must either repeat the Confiteor himself, or, in case he be not able to do it, the clerk must pronounce it for him. The priest must then add for the sick person the Miser eatur tui, i. e. May the Lord have pity on thee, S^c. Before he be- gins to perform the ceremony of extreme unction, all the per- sons present must fall down upon their knees, and whilst the anointing is performed, they must repeat the penitential psalms and litanies for the sake of his soul. The anointing is performed in this manner : the priest dips he thumb of his right hand into the oils of the infirm ; he moints in the form of a cross, and pronounces some words suitable to the anointing of each part ; whilst the clerk lights lim with a consecrated taper, and holds a basin in a dish, in 372 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. which the pieces of cotton are laid. The priest begins by anointing the right eye, observing that the eye-lid is shut ; he next anoints the left-eye, and in the mean while repeats these words : May God by this holy anointing, and by his most pi- ous mercy, pardon you the sins you have committed by the eyes. If the priest be accompanied by a clergyman who is in holy orders, he must wipe the part which has been anointed, other- wise the priest must wipe it himself. The eyes being anoint- ed ho proceeds to the ears, observing to repeat the proper form of words. After the ears, he anoints the nostrils, but not the tip of the nose. He afterwards proceeds to the mouth and anoints the lips, the mouth being shut. He anoints the hands in the manner above-mentioned; then he proceeds to the soles of the feet, and afterwards advances upwards to the reins, but this for men only ; nor are they anointed in this part, but when they can be easily turned in their beds, or be laid down in them without danger. The anointing being ended, the priest rubs those fingers which have touched the oil, and afterwards wash- es his hands. The crumbs of bread with which he rubbed his fingers, and the water with which he washed them, must be thrown into the fire. The pieces of cotton that have been em- ployed in anointing, are carried into the church, where they are burnt, and the ashes are thrown into the sacrarium. The anointing being ended, the priest repeats some prayers, which are followed by an exhortation to the sick ; after which the priest goes away, leaving a crucifix with the sick person, in order that the representation of his dying Saviour may ad- minister seme consolation to him. When the sick person has expired, the priest, standing un- covered, says a response, in which the saints and angels are invoked to assist the soul of the deceased : he afterwards repeats a prayer. At the same time Funerals. orders are sent to toll the bell, to give notice of the sick person’s death, by which every one is reminded to pray for his soul. Then the priest withdraws ; and the corpse is thus put in order. They wash some parts of it, close its eyes and mouth, according to the ancient practice; and, wrapping it in a shroud, or leaving it with the clothes on, as in Italy, they lay it in a decent place, observing to put a little crucifix in its hands, which must lie upon its breast ; sometimes the hands are laid cross-wise. A vessel full of holy water, and a sprinkler, must be placed at its feet, in order that those, who come to pay him their last respects, may sprinkle both themselves and the corpse with holy water. In the meantime some clergyman Reconciliatioa of a heretic, p. 369. ’"xcommunication with unlighted tapers, p. 368. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 373 must stay by the corpse, and pray for the deceased, till such time as he is laid in the earth. If the deceased was a priest, or of any other order in the Church, he must have the tonsure according to his order, and his square cap with a little cross on his breast. It was anciently the custom, as soon as any person died, to send for some clergyman, who always spent the night with the relations of the deceased, and discoursed with them about the word of God, for their instruction. They used to sing- psalms by anthems or verses, the one answering the other. They also recommended the soul of the deceased to God, and besought him to preserve it from hell, &c. Priests and ecclesiastics, after their decease, are all clothed in habits suitable to their respective ranks ; and the corpse of a clergym^Pis carried to the grave by the clergy only, in the same manner as that of a layman is carried by the laity. Ec- clesiastics do not put on mourning for their relations, nor ac- company them to the grave in the same order with lay-rela- tions, but walk with the rest of the clergy in their sacerdotal vestments. Church-yards being the places generally used for the in- terment of the dead, the bishop blesses them solemnly in the manner following. The eve before the day on which the blessing is to be performed, a wooden cross, of the height of a man, must be set up in ciuu-ch yards, the middle of the church-yard, and four smaller ones are to be set up at the corners. Before the cross a piece of wood must be placed, about sixteen inches high, on which wood three tapers are placed, when the blessing is performed. The next morning, before the ceremony begins, a carpet must be spread in the church-yard near the cross ; and the several things necessary for the blessing of the place must be got ready ; viz. holy water, the thuribles, tapers, &c. Then, the priest •being clothed in his sacerdotal vestments, comes out of the sa- cristy in procession, attended by an exorcist, or acolyte, carry- ing the holy water ; another with the thurible ; two clerks, carrying the ritual, and three tapers, made of white wax ; and the whole choir, walking two and two, with the officiating priest in the rear. Having arrived at the church-)mrd, they range themselves round the cross, or crosses, and the officiating priest makes a short discourse to the assistants, on the holiness, the privileges, and immunities of church-yards. After this, three tapers are lighted up before the cross which stands in the middle ; and if there be one at each angle of the church-yard, three are 374 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. lighted up before these also. The oiliciating priest now rises, repeats a prayer, which is followed by the chanting of the litanies ; and at the repeating of these words, We beseech thee to purify and bless this church-yard, he makes the sign of the cross. He does the same a second time, when he repeats them for the sanctification of the church-yard ; and a third, in repeating them for the consecration. The litanies being end- ed, the officiating priest sprinkles the middle cross with holy water ; and whilst an anthem and the Miserere are sung, he goes round the church- yard, and sprinkles it with holy water. He afterwards takes one of the lighted tapers, which stood at the foot of the cross, and sets it on the top of it, and then takes the other two, and sets them on the two arms of the cross. At last, the whole ceremony ends with incensing aiffi sprinkling the crosses thrice with holy water. The common custom among Roman Catholics, is to keep a corpse four and twenty hours above ground ; but in some countries, it is kept five or six days, particularly emonks ^ Holland, where it is often kept seven. The ceremonies ordained by the rituals to those who are allowed Christian burial, vary in certain circumstances; but in general, when the time is come for the corpse to be carried to church, notice thereof must be given by the tolling of a bell to the priests, and other clergymen, whose province it is to assist at the funeral, to assemble in proper order, clothed in their sacerdotal vestments, in the church where they are to pray. After this, the rector puts his black stole and chasuble over his surplice, and they all set out to the house where the corpse lies; the exorcist carrying the holy water, walks first ; next the cross-bearer ; afterwards the rest of the clergy ; and last of all the officiating priest. The corpse of the deceased must be either laid out at the street- door, or in some apartment near it, with his feet turned towards the street ; the coffin being surrounded with four or six lighted tapers of yellow wax, in as many large candlesticks. When the clergy are come to the house where the corpse lies, the cross-bearer plants himself, if possible, at the head of it; the officiating priest over-against him, at the feet; the person who carries the holy water, a little behind the offici- ating priest, at his right hand, and the other persons of the choir range themselves on each side, observing to stand nearer or farther off from the officiating priest, in proportion to their rank or superiority in the Church. Every thing must be ordered in this manner, provided there be room for it ; for it often happens, that the cross stands at the door, on that side ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 375 where the funeral is to go, and that the choir are obliged to range themselves on each side, in order to leave room for the officiating priest in the middle. During this interval, the tapers and torches of yellow wax are lighted, and given to those who are appointed to carry them. The officiating priest, now standing before the cross, with his face turned towards the body, the assistant who carries the holy Avater, presents him with the sprinkler, with which the priest sprinkles the corpse thrice, without saying a word. Then follow certain other ceremonies, after which the corpse is carried to the church where the service for the dead is read, and also mass, if the time will permit. Prayers now follow, the corpse is again sprinkled, after which it is carried to the grave in the same manner in which it was carried to the church. Being come to the grave, the whole company pull off their hats, and draw up in much the same order as at church. The bearers lay the corpse near the grave, with its feet turned towards the east, it being affirmed that Jesus Christ was buried in that manner. If the corpse be buried in the church, its feet must be turned towards the altar ; but those of priests must have their heads turned in a contrary direction. After the body has been laid on the brink of the grave, the officiating priest blesses it by a prayer, in which he makes the general commemoration of the dead who have been interred therein. The prayer being ended, he again sprinkles and incenses the body, and also the graA^e thrice. He afterwards begins this anthem. Ego sum Resurrectio, &c. I am the resur- rection and the life, &c., and concludes with the Requiem. Then the officiating priest performs a third time the triple sprinkling of the corpse with holy water, but does not incense it; which is followed by another prayer, with the anthem. Si iniquitates, and the De profundis. The body being laid in the grave, the relations and friends of the deceased come, be- fore the earth is thrown into it, and sprinkle it with holy water, in their turns. When the grave has been filled up, the company condole with the relations of the deceased, and they all return to the church, where, after the mass for the deceased is ended, the funeral-sermon is preached. Sometimes the funeral happens in a season when mass can- not be said ; in Avhich case, the ceremony is performed Avith much greater simplicity ; for then the corpse is only sprinkled and incensed by a priest clothed in his black chasuble, and accompanied with two clerks, the one carrying the cross, and the other the sprinkler and the thurible. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 370 Independently of the age requisite for marriage, the liberty of contracting so solemn an engagement, and the publication .of the bans, the rituals require further, “ That of Marria^r^ the persons to be joined together in matrimony, shall be sufficiently instructed in the Christian doctrine ; that they should know the nature of the sacrament of marriage, its ends, and obligations ; and that they should first confess themselves, and receive the sacrament, before they join themselves together for ever.” W hen the priest in his proper vestments goes to the altar, he is preceded by one or two clerks in their surplices, carry- ing the holy water-pot, the sprinkler, the ritual, and a little basin, in which to put the ring when it is to be blessed. Afler he has said the usual prayer for the couple, he advances to- wards them on the last step of the altar; the man standing on the epistle and the woman on the gospel side, so that the man stands at the woman’s right hand. The relations and wit- nesses stand behind them. Then the priest asks the couple their names and surnames ; which is only a formality, their names being already known to him, by the publication of the bans, and by a certificate confirming the same, which the couple are obliged to produce at the time. He afterwards addresses himself to the man and woman separately, in their mother tongue, calling them both by their proper names, and asks the man whether he will have such a one for his wife? and the woman whether she will have such a one for her husband? Reciprocal consent is absolutely requisite in this case, and without it the marriage would be null. After mu- tual consent has been given, by expressly answering “ Yes,” the priest, who before was covered, uncovers himself, takes the couple by the hand, and making them join hands, says. Ego jungo VOS in matrimonium, <^c. that is, I join you together in marriage, in the name of the Father, At the same time he makes the sign of the cross upon them, and then sprinkles them with holy water. This being done, he blesses the wed- ding-ring, and sprinkles it also with holy water, in the form of a cross ; after which he gives it to the man, who puts it on the wedding-finger of the woman’s left hand. This ring is the pledge of the conjugal chastity and fidelity wliich the wife owes the husband. To all this the priest adds some prayers; after which follows an exhortation to the married couple and to the assembly, and afterwards mass. The married couple are blessed in the following manner, when the woman is a virgin, and has always had the reputa- tion of chastity. The priest, after the ofienory, goes to the Blessing of the Nuptial Bed. p. 277 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 377 foot of the altar, and the married couple make what oblation they think proper ; the husband first, and the wife afterwards. The priest likewise repeats some prayers, and the ceremony 'mds with an exhortation to the married couple. The subject t)f this exhortation is on the duties of the conjugal life, the end and design of marriage, reciprocal love, &c. ; after which he sprinkles them with holy water. Young people are not to inhabit under the same roof, or be in company together, ex- cept in the presence of their parents, or relations, till such time as they have received the blessing of the church ; but when this is over, the}?" are at liberty to consummate the mar- riage, which would be criminal, if done without the formalities established by the church. The married couple must now desire the priest to bless the marriage-bed ; and among th^ other blessings, which are asked by the mediation of the priest when he blesses the mar- riage-bed, one is, that those who are to lie in it, may increase and multiply. The holy water completes the sanctification of the nuptial-bed. SEC. III. — HOLY ORDERS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. There are seven orders in the Catholic TheSevenor- Church, viz. the sacristan or door-keeper, the ders in the Ca- reader, the exorcist, the acolyte^ the sub-deacon, tholic Church, the deacon, and the 'priest. The employment of the door-keeper, called sacristan, is to open and shut the church-doors, and also to take care that the bells be rung in due time ; that of the reader, to read aloud the lessons and prophecies which are sung at matins and mass ; that of the exorcist, to cast out devils from the bodies of persons pos- sessed ; that of the acolyte, to bring in the tapers to light them, to take care to put fire into the thurible, and frankincense into the navicula, to prepare the wine and water for the sacrifice, and to attend upon the sub-deacon, the deacon, and the priest! The duty of the priest is to offer up the sacrifice of the mass, to administer the sacraments, (those of confirmation and orders excepted,) to preach the word of God, to bless the people, and to watch over the souls committed to his charge. Church-benefices or liv^gs, being the appurtenances of holy orders and the ecclesiastical state, can belong to those only who have been ordained, or who have received p .r the tonsure. Ecclesiastical dignities are of much more ancient date than benefices, the latter takino- the^ Churcli. their rise from the latter ages of the Church. 32 * 378 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. A person must be full fourteen years of age before he can be entitled to possess a benefice, and must have received the tonsure beforehand. All incumbents, especially those who have a cure of souls, are obliged to I'esidence ; but they fre- quently leave that duty to their curates. However, by the laws of the Church they are forbidden to receive any of the fruits of their benefices, during the time they may have been absent from them. Bishops are considered as the fathers and pastors of tho faithful, and the successors of the Apostles ; by virtue of which superiority they are allowed the chief places in amfelectioTof choir, in chapters, and processions. As suc- Bishops, cessors to the Apostles, they claim respect and homage from the laity ; and as fathers and pas- tors, they are obliged to preach God’s holy word to the faith- ful. This was the custom in the primitive Church ; and there can be no prescription on this head, since, in the consecration of bishops, they are commanded to preach the Gospel to those over whom they are appointed pastors. The ceremonial enjoins that bishops shall be clothed in purple, though the regular bishops may continue to wear tho habit of their order. During Lent and Advent they must bo in black, and always clothed in their sutane ; but they are al- lowed to wear short clothes when on a journey. The pope only has the right of electing bishops. This is a prerogative, which the partisans of the Court of Rome carry to a very great height, and to the prejudice of kings and other sovereign princes. Nevertheless, some of these have reserved to themselves the right of nominating to bishoprics; after which, the pope sends his approbation and the bulls to the new bishop. When a person hears that the pope has raised him to the episcopal dignity, he must enlarge his shaven crown, and dress himself in purple. If he be in Rome, he must go and salute his holiness, and receive the rochet from him. Three months after being confirmed in his election, he is consecrated in a solemn manner. The archbishops are superior to bishops, and are distin- guished by the 'pallium or pall, which the pope sends them. Anciently some bishops were honoured with the Archbishops, probably because of their high quality. The bishop of Bamberg in Germany, and those of Lucca and Pavia in Italy, enjoy the same privilege at this time. If the person nominated to an archbishop’s see be at Rome, the chief cardinal-deacon performs the ceremony of putting ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 379 the pall on his shoulders, although it was formerly done by the pope. After mass, the officiating prelate, clothed in his pontifical vestments, receives the oath of the archbishop elect ; who is clothed in similar pomp, the gloves and mitre except- ed. The officiating prelate then rises up, and putting the pall upon the shoulders of the archbishop elect, says these words to him ; “ To the glory of God, of the Blessed Virgin, of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, of our Lord the Pope, and of the holy Church of Rome, &c. receive this pall, which is ta- ken from the body of St. Peter, and in which the plenitude or perfection of the function of pontiffi or patriarch, or archbishop, is found ; make use of it on certain days, noted in the privi- leges which are granted to you by the holy Apostolic See, in the name of the Father,” &c. The archbishop is to wear the pall in the solemnities of the mass, and on high festivals, at the consecration of a church, at ordinations, at the consecra- tion of a bishop, and at giving the veil to nuns. The pope alone has the privilege of always wearing the pall. After the archbishop has received the pall, he goes up to the altar, and blesses the people. The pall consists of certain pieces of white woollen stuffi three fingers in breadth, and is embroidered with red crosses. Before it be given to the arch- bishop, either at Rome or elsewhere, by proxy, it must be left for one whole night on the altar of St. Peter and St. Paul. The use of the pall is rather ancient in the church, and some footsteps of that ornament are to be found among the Romans. The officers, who served at feasts and sacrifices, used to wear on the left-shoulder a pretty broad piece of woollen-stuffi with plaits or folds hanging down from it. This was the badge of their ministerial function ; and after it had been consecrated to the use of the Christian Church, it received an additional sacred character by being anointed. The pall being made of wool, and worn on the bishop’s shoulders, is said to be the emblem of the lost sheep, which the shepherd lays on his shoulders, and brings back into the sheepfold. Every particular pall serves for the use of that archbishop only, to whom it was first given ; neither can he make any use of it, in case he be translated from one archbishopric to another, nor leave it to his successors. When an archbishop dies, his pall is buried \yith him, and if he be buried in his own diocese, it is laid upon his shoulders ; but if out of it, un- der his head. An archbishop, who has been translated to several sees, has all his palls buried with him ; that of his last archiepiscopal see being laid upon his shoulders, and the rest under his head. 380 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. The principal functions of the master of the ceremonies are to take care that all those who have lately taken orders, - , observe the ceremonies and practices of the CeriZnies Clmrch, and that every thing be done in the choir conformably to discipline. He must like- wise regulate the order and march in all processions, assist at all pontifical ceremonies, such as solemn masses, the entry and consecration of bishops, synods, the visitation of a diocese, &c. The master of the ceremonies must be in holy orders, and his vestments are of a purple colour ; but he must be clothed in a surplice when in the choir, and at the divine offices of the church. On high festivals, he carries a wand, which is generally of a purple colour. The prebends, or canons, are considered the senators of the Church. When a person is promoted to a prebend, he must be presented in a very ceremonious manner 0^1^0113 chapter, who assemble in the cathedral to receive him. He is presented by a deputy of the chapter, accompanied by the bishop’s notary and some witnesses. This deputy conducts the person elected to the altar, which the latter kisses thrice; after which, he goes and takes his seat in the choir, and stays there some time, during which the deputy gives the chapter an account of his promotion ; and afterwards he goes and takes him into the choir, and presenting him to the chapter, desires them to re- ceive him as one of their brethren. The prebend elect then makes his confession of faith aloud, and swears to observe the ordinances of the Church, and of our Holy Father the Pope. Being thus solemnly installed, he is empowered to assist at the chapter, and to chant the office in the choir, &c. The arch-deacon is superior to deacons and sub-deacons ; his office is to examine the candidates for holy orders, and to Arch deacon them to the bishop ; and by virtue of this ^ ‘ ' office, the arch-deacon is superior to a priest, notwithstanding that the order itself is inferior to that of the priesthood. The arch-priest is superior to other priests. In the absence of his bishop, he celebrates the solemn masses. It is he who, on Ash-Wednesday, leads the penitents out of Arch Priest, church, puts ashes on their heads, and pre- sents them to the bishop on Holy Thursday. Pescara assures us, that the office of Prothonotary was instituted by Saint Clement, and that at that time, under the Popes, St. Anthems and St, Ju- " ' lius I. their office was to write the acts of the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 381 martyrs, and to look after the church-registers, &c. This office being of so great antiquity, greatly heightens the prerogatives of the pope. Prothonotaries are dignified with the title of prelates at Rome, and are empowered to create doctors, and to make bastards legitimate. The word Abbot, which is originally Hebrew, or Syriac, signifies father. An abbot is a prelate inferior to a bishop : he is the Lord’s vicar over his monks, their fa- ther, and the mystical spouse of his convent; ^ which is said to be an epitome of the church of God. But it must be observed, that we are here speaking of regular abbots. When an abbess elect is to be blessed, she first takes the oath of fidelity to her ordinary, and to the church over which she presides ; then the prelate who receives her, gives her his blessing. After having laid both his hands on her head, he gives her the rule ; and if she be not already a nun, blesses the white veil, and puts it on her head, in such a manner as to let it hang down over her breast and shoulders. The rest of the ceremony has nothing parti- cular in it; it consists only of kissing the pix, and introdu- cing the newly elected abbess among the nuns. Nuns or abbesses never receive the veil but on solemn days, such as Sundays or high festivals. In general, young women ought not to be allowed to take the veil till five-and- twenty, nor till after they have passed the strictest examina- tion, and particularly till it has been strongly inculcated to 1 them, that they must live in a state of virginity, during the re- ■ mainder of their days ; a vow that may indeed be sincere in the warmth of devotion, or from the effect of pique ; but the execution thereof depending upon innumerable circumstances, it is exposed to many dreadful temptations, even in the most strict retirement. At the profession of a nun, the habit, the veil, and the ring of the candidate, are all carried to the altar, and she herself, dressed in magnificent apparel, and accompanied by her near- est relations, is conducted to the bishop. Two venerable ma- trons are her bride-women, when the bishop says mass. After the gradual is over, the candidate or candidates for the veil, attended by the same persons as before, and with their faces covered, enter the church, and present themselves before the bishop ; but before this be done, the arch-priest chants an an- them, the subject of which is, Thai they ought to have their lamps lighted, because the bridegroom is coming to meet them ; ind while he is singing, they light their lamps. The arch- priest now presents them to the bishop, who calls them thrice 382 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. in a kind of chanting tone ; and they answer him in the same manner. The first time they advance to the entrance of the choir, the second to the middle, and the third to the chancel of the altar ; they kneel down before the bishop, with their faces to the ground, and afterwards rise up, singing this verse. Re- ceive me, O Lord ! according to thy holy word. Being come before the prelate, and on their knees, they attend to the ex- hortation he makes them concerning the duties of a religious life. After this, they kiss his hand, and then lie prostrate be- fore him while the choir chants the litanies. Then the bishop, having the crosier in his left hand, completes the benediction. After they have risen, he blesses the 'new habits, which denote the contempt of the world, and the humility of their hearts. A sprinkle of holy water concludes the consecration, and then the candidates go and put on their religious habits. The veil, the ring, and the crowns, are blessed after the same manner. All these benedictions being ended, they pre- sent themselves in the habit of nuns before the bishop, and sing the following words on their knees, Ancilla Chris ti sum, &c. i. e. / am the handmaid or servant of Christ, &c. “ In this posture they receive the veil, and afterwards the ring ; on de- livering which the bishop declares he marries them to Jesus Christ. And lastly, the crown of virginity is given, to which they are called by the chanting of the anthem, Veni sponsa Christi, &c. “Come, O spouse of Christ, and receive the crown.” In the first ages of the Church, it was usual to set a crown on the heads of those who died virgins, which custom is still observed in several parts of Christendom. Being thus crowned, an anathema is denounced against all who shall at- tempt to turn them from God, by endeavouring to make them break their vow in what manner soever, or on those who shall seize upon any part of their wealth. After the offertory, they present lighted tapers to the bishop, Avho afterwards gives them the communion ; and as it is the custom in several convents for the nuns to read the office and canonical hours, the bishop gives the breviary to those who are taken into such convents. These ceremonies being ended, the prelate gives them up to the conduct of the abbess, saying to her. Take care to preserve, ])urc and spotless, these young women, whom God has conse- crated to himself, &c. The custom of giving the veil to nuns is of great antiquity, and was practised before the age of St. Ambrose and Pope Liberius, as is manifest from the writers of the second and third century. The cardinals are senators of the Church, and counsellors ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 383 of the successors of St. Peter. Tlierc are now three orders of cardinals, viz. bishops, priests, and deacons ; six Cardinals of these are bishops, fifty are priests, and four- teen deacons. Sixtus V. fixed the number of cardinals to seventy, in order to imitate the ancient Sanhedrim of the Jews, which was composed of seventy elders, and it is this as- sembly which is now called the Sacred College. When his holiness makes a promotion of cardinals, he gives them the title of priest, or deacon, as he thinks proper, they afterwards arrive at episcopacy by right of superiority, or by assuming the title of those who die ; and because all cardinals are equal by their dignity, they take place according to the date of their promotion, and the quality of their title. As cardinals, Vvdth regard to spirituals, govern the Church of Rome in all parts of the Christian world, subjects of the dif- ferent nations of it are allowed to -aspire to this dignity, ac- cording to the decisions of the Council of Trent. For this reason the popes often create those persons cardinals, who are nominated by crowned heads ; who, it is presumed, propose the most eminent among their subjects for that purpose. For- merly the pope, in promoting cardinals, used to advise with :he ancient ones ; but now he creates them without consulting any person. Those cardinals who are in greatest credit with the reign- ing pope, have certain kingdoms, states, republics, and reli- gious orders, under their protection. They have the privilege of conferring the four orders called of Cmxlfnair^ minor, viz. that of door-keei)cr, reader, exorcist, and acolyte, on their domestics, and on other persons. They are exempt from the reversion of their church-lands and affects to the Apostolical Chamber, as is customary in Ital}^ and may bequeath ecclesiastical wealth in the same man- laer as patrimonial. They have likewise some other very considerable privileges ; such as a power of resigning their pensions, by particular grants from popes; to be exempt Tom the examination of bishops, when they are put into 5ees ; to be believed in a court of justice upon their bare *vords, without being obliged to take an oath ; and their single testimony is equal to that of two witnesses. They are sonsidered as citizens of whatever city the pope resides in, nid do not pay any taxes. They grant a hundred days in- lulgence to whomsoever they please, and acknowledge no me but the pope for their judge or superior, particularly in -iiminal matters; for as to civil causes, they are always heard oefore the auditors of the Apostolic Chamber. 384 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. They have several other prerogatives ; such as that of wear- ing purple habits, a mantle royal with a train six ells long, a red hat, and an episcopal mitre, though they be no more than priests, deacons, or clerks. Cardinals wore only the common vestment of priests, which was like a monastic habit, till the time of Innocent IV. The red hat was given them in 1243, in the Council of Lyons. Innocent IV. was desirous of gain- ing their friendship by this honourable badge, and to win them over to his interest, on account of the dilFerence he had with the Emperor. Under Boniface IX. they were clothed in scarlet, and even in purple, and their robes were the same then as at present. According to other writers, they were not clothed in scarlet till the pontificate of Paul II. Others pre- tend that their robes were of that colour as early as Innocent III. and others again, that they wore the purple under Stephen IV. Paul II. distinguished them by the embroidered silk mitre, and the red cope and cap, red housings for their mules, and gilt stirrups. Gregory XIV. granted the red cap to the regulars, but ordered that their vestments should be of the colour of their order, and that they should have no rochet, nor wear a cloth cassoc. Urban VIII. in order to add fresh splen- dour to the cardinalate, ordered that the title of Eminence should be given to them. When a cardinal goes to Pome to receive his hat from the pope, a variety of ceremonies are performed, which our limits will not allow us to notice. When the pope, by special favour, is pleased to send the hat to an absent cardinal, the following ceremonies are ob- Ceremonies served ; — In the first place it is to be observed, observed atthe that whenever any person out of Italy is created creation of a cardinal, he is not permitted to put on the scarlet Cardinal. vestments until his holiness has sent him his hat : but he is nevertheless allowed to assume the title of cardinal. The hat is carried by an honorary chamberlain, together with a brief directed to the nuncio, or to the sovereign, or bishop, of the place where the cardinal elect resides. As soon as the latter hears of the approach of the chamberlain who brings the hat, he sends his household to meet him, with as many of his friends as he can collect together for that purpose, lo do him the greater honour ; and they all make their entry to- gether in cavalcade, if allowed by the custom of the place In this procession, the pope’s chamberlain holds the red hat aloft on the mace, in order that it may be seen by all the spectators. The pope’s envoy, and the prelate who is to perform the Crowning the Nuns. p. 382. Anathema against false Nuns. p. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 385 ceremony, afterwards meet on a Sunday, or on sonic high festi- val, at the newly-elected cardinal’s house, with their domestics, and as many friends as they can collect, and go in cavalcade to the principal church of the place in the following order. The march is opened by drums and trumpets ; then come the livery servants. The soldiers upon guard, in case there be any, or the inhabitants of the town under arms, march be- fore the gentlemen, and afterwards the pope’s chamberlain appears in a purple habit, holding the red hat aloft, and unco- vered. Immediately after follows the newly-elected cardinal, with his cope on, his capuche on his head, and over all a black hat. On the right hand the prelate marches who is to perform the ceremony, and on his left some other person of quality ; such as the king, prince, or chief nobleman of the place ; and behind him the coaches of the cardinal, and of all such persons as are proud of doing him honour, with a great train. When [his ceremony is performed in any place where a king or prince resides, their guards always attend on the newdy-elected :ardinal. When the cavalcade is come to the church, mass is sung in t, and it is usual for the king or prince of the place, and like- vise the chief lords and ladies of the court, to be present it it. Mass being ended, the prelate who is to perform the ;eremony puts on his cope and mitre ; then, being seated on a •iort of throne, which stands on the steps of the altar, with hs back turned to it, the person who brought the hat lays it )n the altar, and presents the pope’s brief to the prelate, who qives it to his secretary, and the latter reads it with an audible ‘mice, so as to be heard by the wdiole congregation. Imme- diately after, the prelate makes an oration in praise of the iiewly-elected cardinal, and at the conclusion declares, that he s ready to deliver the hat to him, according to the order of lis holiness. Then the cardinal-elect advances towards the altar, and meeling down, takes the same oath before the prelate which he newly- created cardinals take at Rome before the pope. Then the prelate arises from his seat, and taking off his mitre, ;ays some prayers over the new cardinal, whose head is co- mred with the capuche; after which the prelate puts his hat )n, and at the same time repeats a prayer out of the Roman Pontifical. He afterwards gives him the kiss of peace, upon vhich the Te Deu?)i and some prayers are sung, which con- dude the ceremony. The newly-created cardinal returns in cavalcade, with the red hat on his head. The newly-elected cardinal is obliged to make the legate, 33 386 ROMAN CATHOLIC CIIITRCH, or messenger, a present of one hundred ducats at l^st ; this being the fixed sum ; but it amounts frequently to oro, three, five thousand, and sometimes more ducats. The hat is usually handed to the officiating prelate by the pope’s nuncio ; but in case there be no such personage present, this office is perform- ed by the emperor, king, archbishop, duke, or other highest person in authority. When a cardinal dies, he is immediately embalmed, and tho following night is carried into the church where his obsequies are to be solemnized. One of the largest churches of Ca™na”L generally made use of for this purpose, in order that the greater concourse of people may assem- ble in it. The inside is hung throughout with black velvet, and adorned with escutcheons, on which the arms of the deceased are represented ; and a great number of white tapers are lighted up on both sides of the nave. In the middle of the church a very high and large bed of state is set, covered with black brocade, with two pillows of the same colour, both which being put one above other, are laid under the head of the deceased cardinal, whose corpse lies in the middle of the bed, in such a manner that his feet point towards the great gate, and his head towards the high altar. The corpse of the deceased cardinal is clothed in pontifical vestments, viz. the mitre ; the cope, if he were a bishop ; the chasuble, if a priest ; and the tunic, if a deacon. The six mas- ters of the ceremonies assist in this church, clothed in cassocs of purple serge, and all the pope’s couriers in long robes of the same colour, with silver maces in their hands. There are likewise two of the deceased’s tall lacqueys, each holding a wand, on which are fixed purple talTety streamers with the arms of the deceased cardinal; with these they continually fan his face, in order to keep off’ the flies. On the morrow, after vespers, the religious mendicants meet together in a chapel of the same church, where they sing the matins of the dead, each order repeating alternately a Nactur 7ium, and the pope’s music the Lauds. In the mean time tlu cardinals arrive clothed in purple, and at their coming inU the church they put on a cope of the same colour. They thci advance towards the high altar, where the host is kej.t, am there ofier up their prayers, and adore it upon their knees They afterwards go, one after another, to the feet of the dt ceased, and repeat the Pater Nusler, to which they ad* certain verses out of the Scripture, and the prayer. Absolve, from the office of the dead. They then make the usual sprinkling with holy water, an ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 387 jro and seat themselves in the choir, where they hear the office of the dead sung by several monks and priests with great so- lemnity. Others repeat it to themselves, not stirring out of their places till it be ended ; the cardinals, priests, and bishops, being on the epistle side, and the rest of the clergy in the lowest seats, which stand round the choir. The cardinals are always seated on the highest chairs or benches. This being done, the congregation return to their respective homes, without any farther ceremony. At night, the corpse is stripped, and laid in a leaden coffin, which is put in another of cypress-wood covered with black cloth. The corpse is then carried in a coach, accompanied by the rector of the parish and the chaplains of the deceased, who go by torch-light to the church, where he is to be interred. The majority of the cardinals who die in Rome are buried in the church of their title ; unless they were Romans of ex- alted condition, and had desired to be interred in the vaults of their ancestors ; or in the case of some foreign cardinal, who chooses to be buried in the church in Rome belonging to the clergy of his nation. Four of the cardinals are buried with greater pomp and magnificence than the rest, viz. the dean of the Apostolic Col- lege, the grand penitentiary, the vice-chancellor, and the ca- merlingo. The Romish rituals enjoin that his holiness, finding him- self on his death-bed, must recollect himself, examine his con- science, make his confession, desire his confessor interment of to give him a plenary indulgence, make some ^ Pope, reparation to those whom he has offended in his lifetime ; afterwards receive the viaticum, assemble the sacred college, make a profession of faith before them, and beseech his eminences to forgive him for all those things, in which he may have offended any of them during his pontificate. The Roman ceremonial, among other particulars, enjoins his holi- ness, when he finds his last hour approaching, to recommend to the cardinals the choice of a pastor worthy to be his suc- cessor. When the pope is at the last gasp, his nephews and domes- tics strip the palace of all its furniture; for immediately after his holiness has expired, the officers of the Apostolic Chamber come to seize the goods ; but the pope’s relations usually take care that they find nothing but bare walls, and the corpse lying on a straw bed with an old wooden candlestick, in which there is only the snuff of a taper burning. At the same time, the cardinal camerlingo comes, in purple 388 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. vestments, accompanied by the clerks of the chamber in mourning-, to inspect the pope’s corpse. He calls him thrice by his Christian name; and finding he gives no answer, nor dis- covers the least sign of life, he causes an instrument of his death to be drawn up by the apostolical prothonotaries. He then takes from the master of the pope’s chamber the fisherman’s ring, which is the pope’s seal, (made of solid gold, and worth a hundred crowns,) and breaks it to pieces; giving them to the masters of the ceremonies, whose perquisite they are. The datary and secretaries, who have the rest of the seals of the deceased pope, are obliged to carry them to the cardinal ca- merlin go, who causes them to be broken in presence of the auditor of the chamber, the treasurer, and the apostolic clerks. After this, the cardinal-patron and the pope’s nephews are obliged to leave the palace in which he died, which is gene- rally the Vatican, or Monte Cavallo, unless he happens to die suddenly. The cardinal camerlingo takes possession of these palaces in the name of the apostolic chamber ; and after having entered it v/ith the formality above-mentioned, he takes a short inventory of the remaining moveables ; but, as before ob- served, there is seldom any thing left. In the mean time, the penitentiaries of St. Peter, and the almoner of the deceased pope, after having caused the corpse to be shaved and washed, have it immediately embalmed. The dead pontiff is then clothed in his pontifical vestments, having his mitre on his head, and the chalice in his hand The camerlingo, in the mean time, sends a body of guards to secure the gates of the city, the castle of St. Angelo, and other posts. The caporioni, or captains of the districts, likewise, patrole night and day with their guards, to prevent those who are caballing for the election of a new pope, from raising any sedition. After the camerlingo has thus provided for the security of Rome, he comes out of the apostolical palace, and goes round the city in his coach, accompanied by the Swiss guards, and the captain of the guards, who usually attended upon the de- ceased pope. When this march begins, the great bell of the capitol is rung, which is never heard but at the death of the pontiff to give notice of it to the citizens. At this signal, the rota and all the tribunals of justice arc shut up, as likewise the datary, pursuant to the bull of Pius V. in eligendis. No more bulls are now given out ; the ordinary congregations are likewise suspended, insomuch that none but the cardinal camerlingo, and the cardinal grand penitentiary, continue in their employments. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 389 As the popes have made choice of St. Peter’s church for the place of their interment, when they die at Mount Cluirinal (now Monte Cavallo) or in some other of their palaces ; they are carried to the Vatican in a large open litter, in the middle of which is a bed of state, on which the corpse of the pope is laid, clothed in his pontifical vestments. The litter is preceded by a van-guard of horsemen and trumpeters, who make a mournful sound, their instruments being furled with purple and black crape : these trumpeters march at the headofthe first troop, mounted on dapple horses, the housings of which are of the same colour with the stream- ers fixed to the trumpets ; but those of the van-guard are black velvet, with gold and silver fringe. These horsemen have their lances reversed ; each squadron has a standard before it, surrounded with kettle-drums, muffled, which are beaten in a mournful manner. Several battalions of the Swiss guards advance next ; one half having muskets, and the other halberds, reversed. These are followed by twenty-four groom.s, each leading a horse covered with sable housings that trail upon the ground. Several of the deceased pope’s tall lacqueys walk without order, between the led horses, with lighted torches of yellow wax in their hands. Then the twelve penitentiaries of St. Peter’s advance, with each a flambeau in his hand, and surrounded with Swiss guards armed with backswords and halberds, and having the pope’s litter in the midst of them. Immediately before the litter comes the cross-bearer mounted on a tall horse, with a caparison of wire all in net work, like a horse prepared for battle. Behind the bed of state, on which the pope’s body lies, is seen the chief groom on a black horse, whose ears arc cropped, and whose harness consists only of several stripes of linen cloth, a piece of white satin, and a grand plume of feathers, in three ranges, one above the other, on his head, and some gaudy tinsel. Afterwards, twenty-four more grooms come forward, leading black mules with white housings, and twelve tall lacqueys with white horses covered with black velvet. After these, a troop of light horse advance, the men being all clothed in purple. Then come a troop of cuirassiers, and lastly the re- mainder of the Swiss guards, whose march is closed by a troop of carabineers, who guard a few pieces of brass cannon gilt, drawn on their carriages I In the event of the pope dying in the Vatican, his body i.s immr'diately carried, by the back stairs, into Sixtus V ’s 33 ^ 300 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Chapel. After it has lain there twenty-four hours, it is embalmed, and on the same day is carried to St. Peter’s Church, attended only by the penitentiaries, the almoners, and other ecclesiastics, who follow the pontiff’s corpse as far as the portico of the great church. The canons of the church come and receive it, singing the usual prayers appointed for the dead ; and afterwards carry it into the chapel of the Blessed Trinity, where it is exposed for three days, on a bed of state raised pretty high, to the sight of the people, who crowd to kiss the feet of his holiness through an iron rail, by which this chapel is enclosed. Three days after, the corpse being again embalmed with fresh perfumes, is laid in a leaden coffin, at the bottom of which the cardinals, whom he had promoted, lay gold and silver medals, on one side of which is the head of the de- ceased pope, their benefactor, and on the reverse, his most remarkable actions. This coffin is afterwards enclosed in another made of cypress wood, and is deposited within the wall of some chapel, till such time as a mausoleum can be erected to his honour in St. Peter’s, or any other church, in case he himself had not given any orders for the erecting of one during his lifetime ; which is frequently the case. But when his holiness declares by his last will, or by word of mouth, that he chooses not to be buried in St. Peter’s, but in some other church which he names, then his body must not be translated till after he has lain a whole year in some of the chapels of that church ; and in this case the corpse cannot be removed till a large sum of money has been paid to the chapter of St. Peter; it sometimes costs upwards of a million of livres, in case the pope, \vhose corpse they are desirous of removing, was famous for his piety, and that any grounds exist to presume that he will one day be canonized. The Apostolic Chamber defray’s the expenses of the pope’s burial, which are fixed at one hundred and fifty thousand livres : in which sum, not only the expenses of the funeral are included, but also those to be paid for the erection of a mausoleum in St. Peter’s, and illuminating a chapel of state, where a mass of Requiem is to be sung every morning for a week together, in presence of the sacred college, for the repose of the soul of the deceased pontiff The funeral obsequies end the ninth day by another solemn mass, which is sung by a cardinal bishop, assisted at the altar by four other cardinals with their mitres on, who, together with the officiating priest, at the conclusion of the office, incense the representation of the coffin, and sprinkle it in the manner enjoined in the ritual. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 391 in presence of four other cardinals, and all the prelates and officers of the late pope’s court, who immediately retire as soon as the last Requiescat in Pace is pronounced, to ivhich they answer. Amen. After the pope’s decease, the office of the mass is said ac- cording to the circumstances of the times ; and one of the lessons is applied to the sacred college. On the first and last day of the nine days’ devotion, two hundred masses are said for the soul of the deceased pontiffi the solemn mass is sung by a cardinal-bishop, and a hundred masses are sung on the other days. SEC. IV. — HIERARCHY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. The pope, considered as a bishop, has a diocese subordi- nate to him. In this quality he appoints for his vicar-general a bishop, who, ever since Pius IV., is always a cardinal. The office of vicar-general is for life. Fie is, ex oficio, the proper judge of ecclesiastics both secular and regular of both sexes, and also of the Jews and courtezans at Rome, and in its dependencies. He confirms and confers all sacred orders. He is empowered to inspect and visit all churches, monasteries, hospitals, and other pious houses, those of foreign nations excepted, which are all exempt. He has a vicegerent, who is always a bishop, to assist him in his episcopal functions. He has likewise a lieutenant, who is a prelate, but under the rank ef bishop ; a referendary of both signatures, who takes cognizance of all civil causes at his court ; and a judge criminal who is a lay- man to judge all crimes committed by clerks and regulars. But that which makes the post of grand-vicar very considera- ble and profitable, is the power he has of deciding all differ- ences that arise relating to matrimony. The Apostolic Chamber pays him provisionally, exclusive of the profits arising from his courts, twelve hundred crowns of gold annually. Fie has, besides the above-mentioned offi- cers, four notaries, or registrars, a provost, and a company of bailiffs and sergeants. The chancellor wrote formerly, in the poj^e’s name, all the rescripts, doubts, and scruples with respect to faith, which bi- shops and others proposed to him; insomuch Pope’.^ that he executes the office of secretary of state, Chancellor of the briefs, and that of chancellor. This dig- Vice- nity is purchased, and costs a hundred thousand Chancellor, crowns ; it yields about twelve thousand crowns per annum to 392 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. the incumbent, and is for life. The j\irisdiction of the cardi- nal vice-chancellor extends to the issuing out all apostolical letters and bulls, and also to all petitions signed by the pope. The regent of the apostolic chancery is established by the vice-chancellor’s patent, by which he is empowered to commit Rg^cnt and appeals to the referendaries and auditors of Rcc:is1rars of the rota ; and these he distributes to them by or- tlic Pope’s der, that each of them may be employed, and get Chancery, money in their turns. There are twelve referen- daries, who are all prelates, and are called registrars of the high court ; they arc clothed in long purple robes. These employments are purchased, and the vice-chancellor has the nomination of six, the others being in the gift of the pope. The post of regent is purchased at 30,000 crowns, and the annual produce amounts to 3,000. The posts of the prelates referendaries, of both signatures, who are registrars of the high court, sell for 13,000 crowns, and produce each 1200 crowns annually. These thirteen prelates have their seats when the pope assists solemnly at the office, but the regent never appears there in that quality, to prevent any disputes about precedency. The registrars of the high court draw up the minutes of all bulls, from the petitions signed by the pope, and collate them after they are written on parchment ; they afterwards send them to the registrars of the lower court, who, with the regis- trars or apostolical writers, tax them. All these employments would not be worth so much, nor produce ten per cent, profit, were the bulls which collate to rich benefices issued out gra- tis ; but nothing is ever purchased from the apostolical chan- cery, without paying sums proportionately to the value of the benefices, or other grants. The cardinal-nephew, if the pope have any, or another car- dinal, is always the pope’s principal secretai’y of state; for this post is never given to any person under the dig - 1 tai^^of slate cardinal. There are ten other sccreta- j aiy o a c. ^ state, between whom, the provinces of the J ecclesiastical state are divided; but they are in such subordi-’ nation to him, that they do nothing without his participation; so that, properly speaking, they are no more liian under-sec- retaries of state. The cardinal-secretary signs, by the po}>e’s order, all letters directed to princes, nuncios, vice-legates, governors, and j)rc- fi:cts; and the patents of all those who are njipointcd for the government and administration of justice, in the whole terri- tory of the ecclesiastical state. But the provisions or patents ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 303 of governors of cities, and large towns surrounded with walls; those of legates, vice-legates, and presidents, are drawn up by brief, under the fisherman’s ring or seal; and all those who are raised to these employments, cardinals excepted, take an oath before the cardinal camerlingo, in the presence of a no- tary of the chamber, and swear on their own briefs. The ab- sent do the same by proxy. All the ambassadors of princes, after having had audience of the pope, come and visit the cardinal-secretary before they wait upon any of the magistrates of Rome; because the post of superintendent of the ecclesiastical state is annexed to this particular office. These two posts are for life, and the pope generally bestows them gratis; but sometimes, in case he be in urgent necessity for money, he sells them ; they produce 15,000 crowns annually. The under-secretaries of state are, by their office, obliged to draw up all the minutes which the cardinal-secretary may require, and to make a fair copy of all the letters and patents which he is to sign. The prefect of the briefs is always a cardinal, whose post is purchased, and is for life : it costs 20,000 crowns ; and pro- duces annually 2500 crowns, exclusive of the ex- traordinary perquisites, which he receives from Briefs, all those whose briefs he despatches. By his office he is obliged to review all the minutes, and sign all the copies of assessed briefs ; but he is neither empowered nor commissioned to view the secret briefs. He is generally de- puted by his holiness, with other prelates, to assist at the sig- nature of grants, which is made in the pontifical palace. His post is very honourable and profitable, for he has a seat in the pope’s palace near the datary, and when he revises the briefs, he may add or cut off any clauses : on which account, the secretaries, who all in their several turns assess these briefs, rate them either higher or lower, accordingly as they are de- sirous of favouring those who are to have them despatched ; for which reason, all who come on these occasions, pay their court assiduously to this prefect, and endeavour to bribe him to their interest by some present, proportionable to the advan- tages granted by those briefs. ^ The office of 'prefect of the ngnature of favour is never given to any person under the dignity of cardinal, who re^ ceives from the apostolical chamber a yearly pension of 1200 crowns, so long as, by the pope’s favour, he enjoys this post, who removes naturcL him whenever he pleases. The chief employ- 394 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. merit of the cardinal-prefect is to preside over all those pre- lates, Avho assist at the signature of favour, made every Tues- day before the pope. He likewise signs all the petitions which are presented to this assembly, in which twelve cardi- nals, at least, always meet by the order of his holiness, one of whom is generally the cardinal-prefect of the signature of justice. There are likewise in this assembly twelve prelates referendaries, who have each their vote in the signature of justice. The jurisdiction of the prefect of the signature of justice extends to judge the causes of those persons who think them- selves injured by any sentence given by the ordinary judges. Every Thursday twelve prelates assemble at his house, and these are the most ancient referendaries of the signature, and have an active voice. The college of the prelates referendaries is not limited as to the number, and the employments are not purchased, but are only titles of honour, which the pope bestows R^eretSa^^^ persons of high birth and learning, as a step towards the most considerable employments of the Court of Rome. A person, before he can bo thus promoted, must first have the nomination of the cardi- nal-patron, and the pope’s consent. 7''he cardinal-prefect of the signature of justice afterwards orders one of his officers to institute the proper inquiries, pursuant to the constitution of Sixtus V., by which it is enacted, that every candidate must prove he is doctor of both laws, that he has been an inhabitant of Rome for two years, that he is twenty-five years of age, and that he has wealth sufficient to support the prelature with honour. , The pope’s datary and the chancery courts were formerly one and the same thing, but the multitude of affairs to bo transacted therein, obliged his holiness to divide DTar^ it into two tribunals, which arc so nearly related ^ to one another, that the chancery does no more than despatch all that has passed through the datary court. The officer called datary is a prelate, and sometimes a cardinal deputed by his holiness to receive all such petitions as are presented to him, touching the provisions for benefices. By this post, the datary is empowered to grant all benefices that do not produce upwards of twenty-four ducats annually, without acquainting his holiness therewith; but for those which amount to more, he is obliged to cause the provisions thereof to be signed by the pope, who admits him to an audi- ence every day. In case there be several candidates for the ROMAN catholic CHURCH. 895 same benefice, he is at liberty to bestow it on whomsoever of hem he thinks proper, provided he has the requisite qualifica- ions. The datary has a yearly salary of two^ thousand Howns, exclusive of the immense perquisites which he re* icives from those who address him for any benefice. A Dominican friar, of the order commonly called the Preaching Brothers, is always Master of the Pope's Palace, 3 vcr since the founder, who was canonized by he name of St. Dominie, was raised to that The Major iignitybyHonoriusIII in 1216 He preaches ance a month in the public chapel oi the palace, of Pope’s ar appoints one of his brethren to perform the household, service for him. He has a seat in the pope’s chapel, next to the deacon, or most ancient auditor of the rota. He has no fixed salary, because, by the statutes of his order, he is not allowed to have any money which he can call his awn ; but he is allowed a table at court with his companions and servants, and a coach is kept for him. He is the judge in ordinary of all printers, engravers, and booksellers, who are not permitted to publish or sell any work without his permission being first obtained. All books tliat :ome to Rome are examined by him, or his officers, who con- fiscate all that are prohibited by the index of the Council of Trent. The other chief officers that reside in the pontifical palace, iind near the person of his holiness, are the major-domo, or .master of the household, which officers, in the courts of other princes, are called high-stewards. I’he pope’s master of the household superintends all the domestics of the apostolical palace ; but his holiness employs the chief steward of the hospital of the Literate Orphans, to furnish him with provi- sions, and the hospital has proper fees allowed to it. There are always two gentlemen near the pope’s person, who have the title of masters of the chamber. The chief zap-hearer, who is called coppeiro, presents the glass to his holiness, with a salver which he holds before him, and kneels on both knees, when the pope drinks. The officer whose business it is to see the dishes brought in order to the pope’s able, is called in Italian scalco. The carver, who cius up ■he meat before the sovereign pontitf, the chief harbinger who regulates the apartments of tiic pope’s household, and all -he other officers above-mentioned, are prelates, who wear purple vestments, and have each two deputies to officiate in their absence. There are hkewise several privp chamberlains, ail prelates, G06 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. who arc clothed in long purple cassocs with sleeves trailing 10 the ground, but have no cloak. Among these, eight are declared 'pariakers, and divide among themselves whatever presents arc made them ; and of these the pope chooses one to be his privy-treasurer, whose business it is to distribute such alms as his holiness bestows privately. Another of these privy-chamberlains is appointed master of the tvardrohe. He is entrusted with all the plate, whether of gold or silver ; all the jewels and shrines for relics, as also the Ag7ius Deis, which he distributes daily to pilgrims and strangers at a certain hour. The popds physician in ordinary is also a privy chamberlain, but not the other twm, who arc physicians of his household. The fixed pension of each privy-chamberlain amounts to a thousand crowns annually ; and the partakers have at least double that sum arising from the presents made at the crea- tion and death of every cardinal. The chamberlain who dis- tributes the Agnus Deis receives more than all the rest, par- ticularly when any extraordinary solemnity induces foreigners to visit Rome ; such as the years of the jubilee, an embassy>a lioly canonization that makes a great noise, or any famous miracle. In such cases he has several thousand crowns given him for the little consecrated images of wax. The pope’s privy chaylams have the same salary as the chamberlains. They assist in saying the office of the brevia- ry, and wait upon him at mass, when he celebrates it in pri- vate. One of these carries the cross before his holiness when he goes abroad, and in case he goes on foot another of them GU])ports his train. When the pope assists at solemn mass, and in processions, his chaplains carry the mitres and triple crowns enriched with precious stones, which they display in a very pompous man- ner, holding them aloft with both their hands to show them to the people as his holiness walks along. There are also chap- lains belonging to the guards and grooms, who say mass every morning in the guard-room, &c. these are called common chaplains; their yearly salary amounts to no more than fifty crowns, but then they are paid besides for whatever masses they celebrate. I'he pope’s assistants and valets de chamhre have five hun- dred crowns a year, and several other very considerable pro- fits ; not to mention that as they have a more free access to his holiness than the rest of ills domestics, they never fail of beni- fices. Ther" are likewise honorary chamberlains, who are pre- Obsequies of ibe deceased pope. p. S87. Pope’s corpse exposed in 8t. Peter’s Church, p. 390. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. S97 lies of the first quality, among whom the pope generally lakes choice of a Frenchman, a German, and a Spaniard, "he chamberlains of the Boussole, are so many ushers, be* ause they always keep a guard at his holiness’s chamber- oor. The chamberlains without the avails are so called, be- ause they follow the pope without the Vatican, and attend pon him in all his public cavalcades, with the chamberlain’s squires, clothed in red cloth, and covered with a large cope f the same colour furred with ermine. Each of these do duty 1 the apostolical palace, and have their distinct office; but the onorary chamberlains never mount guard, nor appear in the ope’s ante-chamber but when they please. These arc gene- ally employed by the pope to carry the red cap or hat, to any ewly-elected cardinals, who are not in Rome at the time of iieir being raised to that dignity. The pope has a master of the household and scalco, in the /"atican as well as on Monte Cavallo ; and another carver, /hose office it is to prepare the banquet, which he gives to the ardinals on certain extraordinary occasions, and on solemn 3stivals ; another scalco and carver for the ambassadors, and ther distinguished foreigners, whom the pope entertains in a plendid manner ; and another, who prepares the dinner given ) the thirteen poor pilgrims, serves up the first dish at their ible, and treats them in a magnificent manner every day, in nitation of Pope Clement VIII., who restored this custom, irst introduced by Gregory the Great. These officers are lothed in purple. The pope always makes choice of a native of Rome for the aaster of his stables. This officer bears the name of cavila- izzo. The harbingers above-mentioned, assign the apartments to be pope’s household, and have deputy harbingers and their ssistants, who are entrusted with the hangings, ornaments, nd other furniture of the pontifical palace. They are like- wise employed to adorn the apartments when either consistory, ignature of favour, or congregation is held. There are likewise footmen, called grooms, who keep guard n the halls of the pope’s palace, and are very numerous, be- ause the pope bestows this place on all those who were his , rooms when he was cardinal ; and moreover, he likewise , fives those places to all the chiefs of the grooms that are in he service of the cardinals and ambassadors, who are present it Rome at the time of his creation. Their clothing is a red, lowered satin ; and whenever they go out, they have a blue doth cloak and a sword, the hilt of which is of silver gilt 34 398 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. The pope has twelve officers, who have each a red wand, and twelve others, who carry silver maces, and walk before him in a ceremonial habit, every time he appears in public with his mitre and cope on. When the consistory is held, they guard the door, and wait upon his holiness when he is enter- ing or departing. These twenty-four posts are all purchased for six hundred crowns each, and produce about fifty annually. The pope’s sacristan, who takes the title of prefect, is al- ways a friar of the order of the hermits of St. Austin. This Prefect of entrusted with all the ornaments, gold the Pope’s Sa- silver vessels, crosses, cups, thuribles, shrines cristy. for enclosing relics, and other valuable things be- longing to his holiness’s sacristy. It is he that prepares the host, and inspects the bread and wine, when the pope celebrates mass pontifically, or in private. Whenever his holiness assists solemnly at mass, his sacristan places himself among the assisting bishops, above the dean, or the senior auditors of the rota ; and observes to take off or put on the pope’s mitre, as often as he is required by the rubric of the Roman Pontifical. He distributes the relics, and signs the memorials of those indulgences, which pilgrims desire for themselves and rela- tions. We shall make two remarks on this head; — First, that indulgences are never granted to any pilgrims but to those who are actually upon a journey, and appear personally before the pope’s sacristan. Secondly, with regard to those indulgences which persona who go to Rome desire for their relations, they are not to be granted to them but when they are in their expiring moments; i. e. the pope grants by briefs, addressed to certain persons, for whose names blanks are left, a power of making choice of what confessor they shall think proper, when at the point of death ; and to be absolved by him from all sins in general, and all reserved cases, of what nature soever ; with a full power to this confessor, of remitting to the person to whom this brief is given, all the punishments which God might otherwise have inflicted on him for his sins, whether in this life or after his death, in hell or in purgatory. Formerly, the chancellor superintended the pope’s library; but in latter ages it is an office apart, yielding twelve hun- , dred crowns in gold annually, to the possessor, brarian ^ never bestows it on any person under the dignity of a cardinal, who assumes the title of librarian of the. Vatican. He has two sub-librarians, the first of whom is generally one of the pope’s domestic prelates, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 399 ind has six hundred crowns a year, with an allow’ance of >read and wine for the whole year. The second has four hun- Ired crowns, and the same provision as the former. These three places are always filled by persons of great earning, who, to the knowledge of other tongues, add the )riental languages in particular. The librarian has the di- ection of a noble printing-house, where nothing is printed (without his permission. It abounds with types of all the mown tongues in which the learned are conversant. His holiness has six masters of the ceremonies, two of whom re called assistants, and the other four supernumeraries, rhe two assistants receive of every newly-cre- Master of the ted cardinal 224 crowns of gold, and of the Ceremonies, leirs of those who die, 100 crowns ; which sums aey equally share. Their employments bring them in alto- ether about 1000 crowns yearly, besides a table in the Vati- an. All the chamberlains have an equal authority to regu- ite pontifical functions, to acquaint the cardinals with their uty, and to issue orders to all persons belonging to the court. They all have admission into the conclave, and likewise in le congregation of rites, but one only goes to the ceremonial ongregation. Whenever the pope sends any cardinal a la- zre out of Rome, he deputes one of the supernumerary mas- k’s of the ceremonies to attend upon him. They are clothed 1 purple cassocs, with black buttons and facings, and sleeves •ailing on the ground ; in the papal chapel they wear a red assoc as the rest of the cardinals, and rochets like the prelates. The Ruota is one of the most august tribunals of Rome, nd is composed of twelve prelates, one of whom must be a lerman, another a Frenchman, and two Span- irds. Each of the sovereigns of these three na- ons names a prelate, who bears the name of is crown. The other eight are Italians, three of whom must e Romans, one Bolognese, a Ferraran, a Milanese, a Vene- an, and a Tuscan. Each auditor has four notaries or regis- •ars, and the senior auditor performs the function of presi- ent. They meet in the apostolical palace every Monday and Fri- ay, except during vacations; but when the pope resides 1 the palace of Mount Gluirinal, the assemblies are held in le chancery. They take cognizance of all such suits in the territory of le church as are brought in by way of appeal, and also of latters beneficiary and patrimonial. This tribunal does not ^dge a cause at once, but pronounces as many sentences. 400 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. called decisions, as there are points contested in a suit. After these sentences are given, the party may get his cause revised again by the pope himself, at the signature of favour, which is a kind of civil petition. The place of these auditors produces but 1000 crowns yearly to each, and they receive no fees; but then they are generally created cardinals by way of reward for the pains they have taken. This council has the direction of all the pope’s deme-snes, the finances of which consist in what is called the revenues The A os Apostolic Chamber. It consists of the tolic Chamber" cardinal great chamberlain, who is at the head of it ; of the governor of the ruota, who is the vice-chamberlain ; of a treasurer-general, an auditor, a presi- dent, an advocate-general, a solicitor-general, a commissary, and twelve clerks of the chamber ; of whom four are, first the prefect of the plenty of grain ; a second the prefect of provi- sions, and such like commodities ; the third the prefect of the prisons ; and the fourth the prefect of the streets. The re- maining eight are deputed to take cognizance of various causes, each privately in his chamber. Formerly the pope used to depute six clerks of his house- hold for the direction of his revenues, from which those who have the management of them receive their names. Sixtus V. ordered that their employments should be purchased, and increased their number to twelve. They meet every Monday and Friday in the pope’s palace, and their jurisdiction extends to all things relating to the pope’s demesnes. Each clerk of the chamber takes immediate cognizance of all causes that are sent up from the Apostolical Chamber by appeal. None of the places of clerk of the chamber are pur- chased for less than 80,000 crowns, nor yield less than 8000 crowns annually. The posts of treasurer-general, and audi- tor of the Apostolical Chamber, are purchased for similar sums, and produce similar revenues. The temporal dominions of the pope are at present confined to a territory south of the river Po, in Italy, containing not Present state than fifteen thousand square miles, and two of the Roman millions and five hundred thousand inhabitants. Catholic The ecclesiastical subjects of the pope are vari- Church. ously estimated from eighty to one hundred and twenty millions, who are scattered over the whole world. The countries which are considered entirely papal, are the pope’s dominions in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and South Ame- rica ; France, Austria, Poland, Belgium, Ireland, and Canada, almost entirely. Switzerland has seven hundred thousand ; ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 401 ngland more than half a million. Others are found in Rus- a, Sweden, Denmark, the West India Islands, and the United ,ates. As a temporal prince, the political power of the pope is now ‘garded with absolute contempt by all the European go* u'nments ; but it is still supported by them as a matter of )licy. France, more particularly, appears almost ready to throw r entirely the trammels of the papal yoke ; for, as the Ca- lolic priesthood has been found uniformly to give its' support I an arbitrary form of government, and to neglect the instruc- Qn of the people, the Bourbon dynasty has been overthrown y the revolution of 1830, and the Romish Church cut off om being the established religion, and free toleration granted, till, as the Roman Catholic is the professed religion of the lajority in the French nation, its clergy at present continue ) receive their usual salaries from the new government. So rossly have the French been deluded with the popish cere- lonies and superstitions, that the more intelligent have be* Dme infidels. Such, indeed, is the case throughout the Ro- lan Catholic countries, and especially in Italy; the people lerefore are ill-prepared, at present, to embrace the pure ■hristianity of the New Testament, of which, indeed, they are .most universally ignorant. Nevertheless, the vigorous ef- rts of some devoted servants of Christ at Paris, with several ^ents from the Methodist, Continental, London, and Baptist lissionary Societies in England, and especially with the re- ival of religion among the Protestants of the south of France, II contributing to the circulation of the scriptures, and the iffusion of divine knowledge, will, we trust, be blessed of God, > produce an evangelical reformation in that great country. Education being vigorously promoted through many parts f Germany, and the holy scriptures being extensively circu- ited, popery will not be able much longer to retain its hold a the millions in Austria and Hungary. Even the Italian ates, and Rome itself, have received many copies of the lessed word of God; and it is believed, that not a few Catho- cs, and some of the priests, are sincerely studying the scrip- ires of truth for their internal salvation. Knowledge, by the Iritish system of education, is increasing in South America ; nd, with it, the holy scriptures are circulated among the su- erstitious Catholics. In British India and the east, the Roman Catholic Church as an establishment of three archbishops and seventeen bish- ps, with many priests, besides Romish missionaries ; but 34* 402 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. scriptural knowledge, as we have seen is advancing in those populous regions of the earth. Canada has the Roman Catholic system for the established religion; and efforts are being made to extend the influence of popery in the United States of America, particularly in the wonderous valley of the Mississippi ; but its antidote is provi* ded in the Bible. Ireland is chiefly popish ; and in that injured, degraded, and distracted country, there are nearly five thousand Roman Ca- tholic priests. But scriptural light and knoAvledge are ad- vancing among the people, notwithstanding their prejudices against the Protestants. England, at the commencement of this century, it is said, had not quite fifty Roman Catholic chapels ; now it has about four hundred and fifty : but this cannot be matter of wonder, when we consider the amazing increase of its population ; the influx of Irish; and the ignorance of multitudes of the lower classes concerning the essentials of religion as taught in the New Testament. But a scriptural education of the people with the diligent and faithful preaching of the Gospel, will be the effectual means of subverting every false system of reli- gion, and of converting the ignorant millions of mankind to the saving knowledge of God in Christ Jesus. PART IV RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES OF PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. Under the head of Protestant Communities it is proposed, for the sake of convenience, to treat of the principal denomi- nations which, whether strict or lax, orthodox, or otherwise, deny the supremacy of the Pope of Rome, and the discipline of that church ; adopting, for their profession of faith, articles in their estimation more scriptural, and ceremonies and modes of worship, varying according to their views of the require- ments of the gospel. LUTHERANS. 403 SEC. I. LUTHERANS. The Lutherans derive their name from Martin Luther, a celebrated reformer, who, in the beginning- of the sixteenth century, opposed the church of Rome ^ with great zeal and success. The system of faith embraced by the Lutherans, was drawn up by Luther and Melancthon, and presented to the Emperor Charles V., in 1530, at the diet of Au- g gusta, or Augsburg, and hence called the Augus- paith! ^ ^ tan or Augsburg Confession. It is divided into two parts, of which (he former, containing twenty-one articles, was designed to represent, with truth and perspicuity, the religious opinions of the reformers ; and the latter, containing seven articles, is employed in pointing out and confuting the seven capital errors which occasioned their separation from the church of Rome : these were, communion in one kind, the forced celibacy of the clergy, private masses, auricular confes- sion, legendary traditions, monastic vows, and the excessive power of the church. From the time of Luther to the pre- sent day, no change has been introduced into the doctrine and discipline received in this church. The method, however, of illustrating, enforcing, and defending the doctrines of Chris- tianity, has undergone several changes in the Lutheran church ; and, though the confessions continue the same, yet some of the doctrines which were w^armly maintained by Luther, have been of late wholly abandoned by his followers. The Lutherans are far from allowing that good works are in any wise meritorious with regard to salvation. They ac- knowledge, generally, that Christ died for all who were par- takers of Adam’s transgression ; but that those only who should believe in him, and persevere in that faith to their lives end, should be saved. The foreknowledge of God from all eternity of this faith is made by them the basis, or foundation, of the election or predestination of the faithful. They view election in the very same light as they do justification. If the instrumental cause of the latter be faith, God’s foreknow- ledge of that faith of the faithful is their election. As to free- will, the Lutherans deny its power before the conversion of a sinner, and maintain, that none are converted but by the pre- vailing efficacy of grace alone. The Lutherans acknowledge but two sacraments, that is to say, baptism, and the Lord’s supper. They deny transubstantiation, the mass, the eleva- tion and adoration of the host, the ceremonies, and all that ex- 404 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. ternal worship, which the church of Rome observes, with respect to the body and blood of Jesus Christ : but they be- lieve, that the real presence of the humanity of Jesus Christ is with, in, and under the elements of bread and wine in the holy communion, and maintain in vindication of their ubiqui- ty, that all the perfections of Christ’s divinity were communi- cated to his humanity. They reject the adoration of saints and relics. Although it be our bounden duty, they say, to imitate the saints, and set them before our eyes, as great ex- amples, yet we ought not to invoke them, nor imagine that there are any latent virtues in their relics, &c. They con- demn all acts of penance and human expiations, such as solemn vows, pilgrimages, nine days’ devotions, macerations, and other works of supererogation, that is to say, such morti- fications, as, by the laws of Christianity, are no ways imposed upon us, &c. They reject all distinction of meats, and the observance of Lent, all monastic vows and convents, the celi- bacy of the clergy, and the performance of divine service in an unknown tongue; and, in short, all the ceremonies prac- tised in the Romish church. Their pastors, with their several congregations, either meet at the parsonage, or at some convenient place near the church intended to be consecrated, and afterwards march tion of'^tSr procession two and two, once at least, and churches. sometimes thrice, all round it, singing certain di- vine hymns or canticles all the way. As soon as this previous act of devotion is over, they enter the church, where the service is opened with singing again ; after which some portion of the sacred scriptures is read to them, and a sermon preached on the solemnity of the day. If the income or revenue of the church will admit of it, or the congregation are able and willing to defray the expense, the superintendent of their metropolis is requested to assist at the ceremony, to give his benediction to the church, and consecrate it with some proper discourse of his own composing, which favour is ac- knowledged, not only by a handsome gratuity, but an elegant entertainment. Two divines are generally appointed for the purpose of or- dination, who not only inquire into the real merit, and natural Their min candidates, such for instance, isters. ' ^ proper Stature, a musical voice, health, and strength, but also into their knowledge of the learned languages, their abilities to argue, on both sides, all controversial questions. They inquire likewise into the reli- gious principles, and particular tenets, of the respective candi- LUTHERANS. 405 dates. It is highly requisite and just that they should be sound and orthodox, that is to say, be in all respects conformable to the doctrines which they are intended to maintain and teach, and which the church they are to serve professes ; and that they should be fixed and unalterable during their establish- ment in that sacred function. After such due inquiries having been made, the candidate is ordered to preach before his exa- miners on some particular text of their own choosing. Upon the report of his being duly qualified, a church may be offered him; however, according to the Saxon discipline, he is obliged, before he is absolutely declared minister of any congregation, to preach several times before them, and the opinion of the people must afterwards be consulted, and their approbation and consent procured. The day of ordination being fixed, the candidate repairs to the church, where he is to be ordained in the presence of se- veral ministers, ecclesiastical judges, and a nu- merous congregation of the faithful. He there Ordination makes a confession of his faith, either before, or ministers, some time during the sermon. In the prayer after the sermon, the candidate is particularly taken notice of, and prayed for by name. As soon as the minister withdraws from the pulpit, the veni spiritus sancte is immediately sung, and during the performance the superintendent, who is pri- mate of the Lutheran clergy, repairs to the altar, accompanied by six colleagues, or coadjutors, and followed by the candidate, who falls down on his knees before him. Here the superin- i tendent, addressing himself to his six colleagues, having first communicated the candidate’s request, invites them to join with him in prayer on his behalf ; in the next place he reads the formulary of election, which is accompanied with an- other prayer ; and after that, directs his discourse to his six coadjutors, saying, “ Dearly beloved brethren in our Lord Je- sus, I exhort you to lay your hands on this candidate, who presents himself here before us in order to be admitted a mi- nister of the church of God, according to the ancient apostoli- cal institution, and to concur with me in investing him with that sacred office.” After this formal address, he lays his hands directly on the head of the candidate, and says to him, Sis w.aneasque consecratus Deo, which literally construed is, Be thou, and so remain io be, devoted to the service of God. The six colleagues repeat, after the superintendents, the ce- remony of imposition of hands, and make use of the same form of words ; after which, the superintendent addresses him- self to the person thus ordained, in the terms following: “Being 40G PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. Mode of wor- ship. assembled here with the aid and assistance of the Holy Ghost, we have made our humble supplications to God for you, and hope that he will vouchsafe to hear our prayers. Wherefore, I ordain, confirm, and establish you, in the name of the Lord, pastor and spiritual instructor of the saints belonging to the church, &c. ; govern it in the fear of the Lord, and have a watchful eye over it, as a faithful shepherd over his flock," &c. These words are, properly speaking, the very essence of ordination. The superintendent, after he has pronounced this exhortation, withdraws from the altar, and the stated min- ister of the place approaches it, dressed in his sacerdotal vest- ments, to read the communion service, and to consecrate the bread and wine, which he administers to the new pastor, who receives it upon his knees. Some few hymns, or canticles, and the usual benediction, conclude the ceremony. At their first entrance into the church, both men and women put up an ejaculatory prayer, the former holding their hats and the latter their fans before their faces. The same ceremony is observed as soon as divine service is over. The prayer generally made use of on these occasions, is the Lord’s Prayer. When the con- gregation of the faithful are met in order to apply themselves to any exercise of devotion, whether it be preaching, or read- ing the scriptures only, or praying, it is always introduced by the singing of some psalms or spiritual hymns suitable to the occasion. They have two sermons at least every Sunday, especially if it be a solemn festival, that is to say, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. There is a catechetical lecture besides, at which their probationers are always examined. Their burials are frequently put off likewise till Sunday, for the benefit of a prayer, or at least a funeral sermon, which the Lutherans always preach upon the decease of any of their members, whether young or old, rich or poor. Their texts are very seldom taken out of those books which the Lu- therans and the Protestants call apocryphal. The last thing which we shall take notice of in relation to their sermons, is, that of their circular predications, which is the term they make use of to distinguish those sermons, which their pastors are obliged to preach at particular times in the metropolitan church in presence of the superintendent, in order that he liimself may form a just judgment of their method, and the progress they make in the ministerial office ; also that he may examine their principles, and prevent them deviating from the orthodox faith. LUTHERANS. 407 After the sermon, the service concludes with some select prayers or supplications to Almrghty God, thanksgivings, and publications. In the first, all sick persons, all women labouring of child, or in child-bed, all that travel by land or by water, all persons any way afflicted or distressed in mind, body, or estate, are recommended to God as proper objects of his suc- cour, comfort, and assistance. In Denmark, all those who are dra wing near to the time appointed for the consummation of their marriage, are likewise recommended to God in the prayers of the church. In their thanksgivings, those parti- cular persons who had received great mercies, desire to return their grateful acknowledgments to Almighty God for the same. In their publications, timely notice was given of such matters as particularly related to the church ; that is to say, of some extraordinary acts of devotion, such as the observance of an ensuing solemn festival, or fast, or the like, &c. In some places, the public orders of the civil magistrate are read in the pulpit. The Lutherans retain the use of the altar for the celebration of the Holy Communion. They likewise make use of lighted tapers in their churches, of incense, and a crucifix on the altar, of the sign of the cross, and of images, &c. Several of their doctors acknowledge, that such materials add a lustre and ma- jesty to divine worship, and fix at the same time the attention of the people. The Lutherans retain the observance of several solemn festivals after their reformation. They keep three solemn days of festivity at Christmas. In some Lu- Festivals theran countries, the people go to church on the night of the nativity of our Messed Saviour with lighted can- dles, or wax tapers in their hands, and the faithful, who meet in the church, spend the whole night there in singing, and saying their prayers, by the light of them. Sometimes they burn such a large quantity of incense, that the smoke of it ascends in the form of a whirlwind, and their devotees may properly enough be said to be wrapt up in it. It is customary likewise in Germany to give entertainments at such times to friends and relations, and to send presents to each other, espe- cially to the young people, whom they amuse with very' idle and romantic stories, telling them, that our blessed Saviour descends from heaven on the night of his nativity, and brings with him all kind of playthings. They have three holidays at Easter, and three at Whitsun- tide, as well as those before mentioned at Christmas. These festivals have nothing peculiar in them, wdth respect to the 408 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. ceremonies observed at those times ; but with regard to some particular superstitions, they'are remarkable enough ; as for instance, that of the Paschal water, which is looked on as a sovereign remedy for sore eyes, and very serviceable in uniting broken limbs. This Paschal water is nothing more than common river water, taken up on Easter-day before th.e rising of the sun. They have another superstitious notion with re- spect to their horses : they imagine, that the swimming them in the river on Easter-day before the sun rises, preserves them from lameness. The other festivals observed by the Lutherans, are New- Year’s day, or the Circumcision, a festival not near so ancient as the four above-mentioned ; the festival of the Three Kings, or otherwise, the Epiphany ; the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, or Candlemas, and Lady-day, or the Annunciation. There is no public work, nor service devoted to the Blessed Virgin, nor are there any processions, or other ceremonies, which are observed b)^ the Roman Catholics on the two latter festivals. The festival of the Sacred Trinity is solemnized on the Sunday after Whit-Sunday ; that of St. John Baptist on the 24th of June, and that of the Visitation of the Blessed Vir- gin on the 2d of July, as it is by the Roman Catholics. To conclude, the festival of St. Michael the Archangel, or rather the ceremonies observed by the Lutherans on that day, are the remains only of an ancient custom, which has been preserved amongst them, although somewhat extraordinary, as the mem- bers of their communion retain no manner of veneration for angels. In 1523, Luther drew up a formulary of the mass and com- munion. for the particular service of the church of Wirtem- Liturgy. burg. Without attempting to particularize the various parts of it, it may be observed, that all the churches where Lutheranism prevailed, were obliged en- ' tirely to conform to it. However, those orders were never punctually obeyed. Some Lutheran countries have one ritual and some another; there is a difference, likewise, in their liturgies; though as to the fundamental articles, they all agree. On the Sunday Avhen the communion is to be administered, the minister, immediately after the sermon, prays to Almighty God for all those in particular who purpose to Communion. communion. There is no form of prayer, however, for that purpose, but the minister is at free liberty to say what he thinks most suitable to that solemn oc casion. After the sermon likewise they sing a psalm, or some short hymn or hymns adapted to that particular act of devo LUTHERANS. 409 lion. Whilst they are singing, those of the congregation who are duly prepared for the receiving of the sacrament, advance towards the altar, and fall down on their knees ; at least so many of them as can with convenience approach it at once. As soon as the hymn is over, the minister says. Let us pray ; and sings at the same time the Lord’s Prayer : and when the congregation have said Amen, he sings the words of the insti- tution of the Lord’s Supper. In some places the whole con- gregation sing, with an audible voice, both the prayer and the words of the institution along with the minister, which is a manifest error, since the voice of the whole church, in general, drowns that of the celebrant, or officiating pastor. They have another custom, which is not, however, looked on as absolutely essential, and that is, to make the sign of the cross on the host, at the time of pronouncing these words, This is my body, and another on the cup, when those other words are repeated, viz. This is my blood, Spc. Though these signs, after all, are only made in commemoration of the cross of Christ, which neither add nor diminish, yet, it has been observed, that should the minister neglect those signs, some feeble-minded persons Avould be offended at such omission, and imagine that the sacrament would thereby lose its sacred force and virtue. It is not only this sign of the cross made on the elements of bread and wine, that the populace lay such a stress upon as a fundamental arti- cle; but they very seldom cut a loaf, which has not the sign of a cross first made upon it with a knife. I In several parts of Saxony, and indeed in some of their ! principal cities, when the minister consecrates the elements, he \ rings a little bell twice, in a very solemn manner ; and in I most Lutheran churches, the pastor, before he administers the sacrament, puts on his surplice, and over that a vestment with several crosses fastened on it, which, however, ought not to be confounded with the stole, worn by the Roman Catholic priests, as there is no manner of resemblance between them. In some places, the pastor, after he has read the gospel at the altar, throws the vestment before-mentioned over his head, and lays it on the table. After the creed is sung, he goes into the pul- pit, and preaches in his surplice. After the sermon is over, he returns to the altar, and resumes his vestment. We shall reckon amongst the number of the ceremonies still preserved amongst them, that of making use of wafers instead of bread at the communion, on each of which there is the figure or impression of a crucifix. When the communi- cant has received, he falls down on his knees before the altar in order to return God thanks for his spiritual refreshment ; in 410 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. several places it is customary to congratulate each other on that joyful occasion. Two clerks, or two young choristers, who attend at the altar, generally hold a white linen napkin before the communicants, lest either through the carelessness of the pastor, who administers the communion, or the communi- cant himself, some part of the host should accidently fall upon the ground, or any part of the wine be spilt. As soon as the communion is over, the pastor sings a verse or two of some psalm suitable to the occasion, with an Hallelujah, to which the choir answers with another. The pastor afterwards continues to read some general thanksgivings, and the congregation, joining with the choir, answer. Amen. The Lutherans never administer the sacrament to infants; but it is customary amongst them to carry it to those who are sick, or on a death bed ; and this is the method Communion observed by them on those particular occasions, to the Sick. some places they make a kind of altar of the table which stands in the sick person’s room, that is to say, they cover it with a piece of tapestry, or clean linen cloth, and set two lighted candles, or wax-tapers, upon it, and a crucifix between them with a paten and chalice, or utensils, or vessels appropriated to the like service. According to the discipline of the Lutherans, the communion ought to be ad- ministered in the presence of some of the party’s relations and domestics ; but if the communicant should happen to have no such friends nor servants near him, then some neighbours ought to be invited to be witnesses to the celebration of it. The relations or friends of the sick person, are permitted, if they think proper, to partake with him of that holy ordinance, and for that purpose, they must have notice on the previous night, or some few hours at least, that they may be duly pre- pared to join in that solemn act of devotion ; the Lutherans do not only carry this their private communion to those who are sick or dying, but to those persons likewise who are far advanced in years, and incapable of attending the public wor- ship. To these persons, the minister, who gives the com- munion to them, makes a serious exhortation, which may with propriety be called a domestic sermon, adapted to such private or domestic communion. Confession is looked on as highly necessary and expedient in all places where Lutheranism prevails. And in the short Lutheran catechism, there are several forms of Confession, confession for the peculiar assistance and direction of those who have not capacity sufficient of themselves to reflect and contemplate as they ought on the nature of their sins ; such, LUTHERANS. 411 for example, are those forms of confession principally intended for the spiritual improvement of masters and servants. In the in- troduction to these formularies, there is a discourse by way of dialogue between the penitent and the minister who takes his confession, beginning with the following address: Reverendand dear Sir, I humbly beseech you to take my confession, and for the love of God to pronounce the pardon and remission of my sins. If the penitent be not conscious to himself of his being guilty of any of the sins particularly specified in the formularies, he must mention such others as his conscience shall at that time accuse him of If he can think of none, which is morally im- possible, let him, says the catechism, mention no one in par- ticular, but receive the pardon and remission of his sins, on ma- king a general confession only. The same catechism informs us, that the confessor asks the penitent the following question, which beyond all doubt is introduced between the confession and the absolution : Do not you firmly believe, that this abso- lution pronounced by me is an absolution from God himself? After the penitent has answered in the affirmative, the minister adds. Amen, or. So be it. In Denmark and Sweden, their form of excommunication is accompanied with very severe penance. The Danish ritual informs us, that the party excommunicated, when he first appears at church, is turned out with disgrace by the clerk oi the parish, in the pre- tion. sence of the whole congregation. However, if the excommunication be of any long continuance, he is not ex- cluded from the privilege of attending public worship, and joining with the congregation in their sermons, and other acts of devotion ; but he is obliged to sit in a place appointed, and at some distance from them : and when the minister comes down from the pulpit, the clerk before-mentioned, who admits him, conveys him out of the church again. In regard to the Swedes, their form of excommunication is equally rigid and severe. Their discipline disclaims, in the same manner as that of all the other states in which Lutheranism prevails, every thing which has the least appearance of civil punish- ment. For according to the doctrine of the Lutherans in general, no minister ought to confound ecclesiastical penalties, that is to say, the exclusion of any of their members out of the congregation, and their prohibition, or withholding from them the holy communion, with those punishments, which none but the civil magistrates ought to inflict. The Lutherans baptize their children within a day or two after their birth. In case the infant should prove too weak to 412 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. Baptism carried to church, they baptize him at home, ^ ' at which ceremony one or two godfathers must always attend. The exorcism is a ceremony still practised in some countries. Where the infant is in apparent danger of death, a layman and a midwife together may baptize it. By the ecclesiastical law of Saxony, a midwife is not permitted to baptize a dying child, till after she has found out some man to assist her. Infants who are illegitimate, are not baptized in Denmark at the same time as those who are born in wedlock. When a bastard is baptized, there is no oblation made on the altar. As to foundlings, their birth being only precarious and uncertain, they are baptized at church as other children ; and although, when they are taken up, there be a billet, or note, to in- timate that they have been baptized, yet, they are always bapti- zed again, because a testimony of that nature is deemed at best but dubious. Where the infant is not in apparent danger of death, they never baptize it till it be entirely weaned from the mother’s breast. To conclude, they never baptize adult fools, nor lunatics, at least, till they are restored to the free exercise of their rational faculties, and are capable of being instructed in the principles of the Christian religion. In Sweden, a fa- ther is under no obligation to attend at the baptism of his child, at least, he is not always required to be present. All le- gitimate children are baptized before divine service begins, but bastards after it is over. There are baptismal fonts in some of the Lutheran church- es, but not in all of them in general. In several of the Saxon churches, an angel, with a basin in his hand, descends from the ceiling by a private pulley, or some other secret spring, and presents the basin to the minister who is to baptize the child. In other places, a table is brought out of the vestry, and placed before the altar with a basin upon it. After the preliminary questions, which are merely formal, the minister makes a discourse, by way of exhortation. After which, he exorcises the devil in the form following ; Get thee hence, thou unclean spirit, and make room for the Holy Ghost. The minister, at the same time, makes the sign of the cross upon the infant, saying unto him. Receive the sign of the cross, &c. and laying his hand upon him, reads the praj^ers, and repeats the exorcism. At the very instant the child is baptized, the minister asks the sureties for him. If he re- nounces the devil and all his works, and if he believes in God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, &c. After that, he baptizes him by a triple aspersion, in honour of the Sacred Trinity. The whole Ceremony concludes with a prayer of LUTHERANS. 413 thanksgiving, a benediction on the child, and an exhortation to the sureties. As to the form of confirmation observed by the Lutherans, a virgin of twelve years of age, or a youth of fourteen, is deemed duly qualified to receive the Lord’s Sup- p. ^ per, provided they have had a liberal education. The first time of their admission to the holy communion is either at Easter or Michaelmas. Their pious intention is published three weeks before from the pulpit, and they are ac- cordingly instructed, and examined twice a week during that interval, by way of preparation. Their ministers explain to them the duties incumbent on a communicant, and the spiritual benefits and advantages arising from the participation of that blessed sacrament. In short, they make their confession on Easter-Monday, and receive the communion the day following, sometimes in private, and sometimes in public, with the whole congregation. Such young communicants range themselves in the form of a semi-circle, by degrees, as they rise from the altar. After that act of devotion, the minister reads a prayer, and then addressing himself to the whole congregation, ac- quaints them, that those youths are ready, with an audible voice, to render a satisfactory account of the grounds and principles of the religion which they profess. He examines them accordingly ; and after they have fully answered all his queries, he spends some time in a suitable exhortation : the congregation sing a hymn, and then the ceremony concludes with a proper collect, and the general benediction. The Lutheran discipline, wdth respect to matrimony, is ex- ceedingly uniform and regular. Luther composed a formu- lary at first for that ordinance, from w’hich there ce has been afterw^ards no very material deviation. remoniLf It begins with their bans, and in order to the consummation of a marriage, where there is no lawful impe- diment, the parties present themselves at church before their pastor, who asks the bridegroom whether they be mutually agreed to enter that holy state, and thereupon they join their right hands, and make an exchange of their respective rings. Then the pastor proceeds in the words, or to the purport fol- lowing. A and B being desirous to enter into the holy state of matrimony before all this congregation here present, I do hereby declare them man and wife, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, &c. After that, he reads, or pronounces extempore at the altar, several texts of scripture, which are serious exhortations to those who are married, and the whole ceremony concludes with a prayer for the blessing 3T)^ 414 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. of God on their future endeavours. This is the form, accord- ing to Luther’s direction, and which is still observed to this day, so far as relates to the jurisdiction of the church in that particular. In Saxony, the mechanics, and those who maybe called the inferior tradesmen, go to church to be married, attended by a long train of their friends and acquaintance, with a band of musicians before them. The same custom is observed, more or less, in several other places ; and a great degree of caprice and extravagance is every where blended with their nuptial ceremonies. In some of the northern provinces, as soon as the proper inquiries hai^e been made with respect to the bride- groom, the father brings his daughter Avith an air of gravity to her suitor, saying to him at the same time, “ I give you my daughter, that she may reverence and obey you, that she may be your Avedded Avife, that she may lie Avith you, be the keeper of your keys, and be put into possession of one third of your money and effects.” In several states of Germany, notAvith- standing it is customary for the parents of the new-married couple to defray the whole charges of their nuptials, yet all the guests AA^ho are invited thereto make presents to the bride, Avhich for the most part are so valuable that the bride’s rela- tions are so far from being at any expense, that they are con- siderable gainers in the end. Whenever the married couple have lived in that state for twenty-five years together, their nuptials (at least as to the ex- ternal form) are revived; Avhich second marriage is called their silver nuptials. If the parties have cohabited for fifty years, they then solemnize their golden nuptials. In the ce- lebration both of the one and the other, the same gayety and amusements are observed as those at their first marriage. Persons of distinction, and those Avho are very rich, giv^e me- dals to their friends at the celebration of the silver and golden nuptials. Their burials are ahvays attended Avith singular testimo- nies of true piety and devotion ; and sometimes likeAvise with extraordinary pomp and magnificence. More- mon?e^s^^ over, it is customary amongst them to make a funeral oration over the deceased Avithout dis- tinction, be the party rich or poor, of the highest or the mean- est extraction. After the sermon is over an abstract of the life of the deceased is read in public. High encomiums are given of all those Avho have distinguished themselves by their exem- plary piety ; and if any of them have led loose and profligate liA’-es, they never fail to publish the misdemeanors of the dead, LUTHERANS. 415 for the benefit and amendment of their surviving friends and relations. It is customary, likewise, to make funeral proces- sions, and accompany the corpse to the grave singing all the time some select hymns, or dirges, suitable to the solemn oc- casion. In some places, the principal magistrates, and other persons of respectability in the city, are invited to those pro- cessions, especially if the deceased were a person of distinc- tion ; and those who accompany the corpse to the grave, re- ceive an acknowledgment in proportion to their quality and degree. On the day appointed for the interment of the corpse, the relations, friends, and acquaintance of the deceased, meet at his house. One or more Lutheran pastors resort likewise to the same place attended by a train of young scholars, sometimes greater and sometimes less, with their masters at the head of them. These youth, in the first place, sing two or three hymns or dirges before the door of the deceased ; after which they march in the front of the procession ; having a large crucifix, or at least a cross carried before them. An inferior clerk, or some young scholar appointed for that purpose, marches close by the side of the corpse with a small cross, which is afterwards fixed in that part of the church-yard, where the body was interred. The relations and friends of the deceased follow the corpse; the men first and the women after them. During the procession, the bells are generally tolled, out of respect and complaisance to the deceased, and se- veral hymns and other dirges are sung as they march along. It is customary likewise, to open the coffin at the grave, and to take a last farewell, a last melancholy view of their depart- ed friend, and afterwards to nail his coffin up, singing at the same time a short hymn suitable to the occasion. After which the minister reads a proper collect, and pronounces the bene- diction. In the next place, the procession enters the church, where there is generally a funeral sermon, either out of re- spect to the deceased, at the request of his friends, or by his own immediate direction. As soon as the corpse is let down into the grave, the minis- ter throws a small quantity of earth upon it three times suc- cessively : at the first he says. Of the dust of the ground wast thou born ; at the second. To dust shaft thou return : and at the third. Out of the dust shalt thou rise again. After that, the bearers fill up the grave. The funeral oration is pronounced immediately after the interment, if the relations be willing to defray the expense of it, or if the deceased have left any le- gacy or devise in his will for that purpose, 41G PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. SEC. II. CHURCH OF ENGLAND.* The church of England dates its origin from the time of the Reformation, when Henry VIII. shook off the pope’s authority, and took upon himself the title of Origin. u Head of the Churchf as he had been pre- viously dignified by his holiness with that of “ Defender of the Faithy The last of these titles, which are hereditary in the Crown of England, was obtained as a reward for a book the king had written on the Seven Sacraments against Luther’s book, “ Of the Captivity of Babylon.” The first title was an assumed one ; but soon obtained legal sanction by the consent of the nation at large ; taken up because the pope refused to sanction Henry’s divorce from Queen Catherine, his affections having been transferred to Anne Boleyn. The Archbishop of Canterbury, who took upon himselfto annul the former marriage, was solemnly condemned by the pope ; and Henry, out of revenge, annulled his connexion with, and threw off his obedience to, the papal see. He became supreme head of the church himself, and he may be said to have been the founder of the church of England. Its principles, how- ever, are grounded on those of the Reformation, having, in many respects, a resemblance to the Lutheran tenets and practice. The religious tenets or doctrines of this church are to be found in the book of Homilies, consisting of short moral and ^ . doctrinal discourses, and in the Thirty-Nine Ar- oc rmes. which, with the three Creeds and Cate- chism, are inserted in the Book of Common Prayer. Con- cerning some of the doctrines professed by the church of England, her members are not agreed : a very great majority of the clergy insisting upon it that the church is not cal- vinistic, in regard to the doctrine of predestination, irre- sistible grace, and the final perseverance of the saints ; whilst a very respectable and increasing portion of the clergy and laity maintain, with great confidence, that the 17th article roundly and plainly asserts the great and important doctrine of predestination, as taught by Calvin and the first reformers. The warm, not to say acrimonious, disputes which this difference of construction put upon the articles has occa- sioned, have tended to increase the number of dissenters. * For a brief notice of the Episcopal Church in the United States, see the conclusion of this section. CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 417 Two archbishops are at the head of the English hierarchy, those of Canterbury and of Y ork both style themselves primates ; and in order to reconcile the difference, it was decided, that the archbishop of Canterbury should be called r . u- •primate of all England, and the archbishop of York only primate of England. The oath of su- premacy is taken by the king as head of the church, and as such on the day of his coronation, he puts on a surplice, a stole, and a dalmatic. When a bishopric becomes vacant, the canons of the cathedral give notice of it to the king, and desire his leave to choose another. His majesty, at the same time that he sends the conge d’elire, recommends the indivi- dual whom it is his will they should elect ; and then the dean and chapter choose the person so named. The bishop so chosen is consecrated, installed, renders homage to the king, takes the oath, and pays the first fruits. The other preroga- tives which the king enjoys, as head of the church, are, to make ordinances respecting ceremonies and exterior rites, with the advice of the ecclesiastical commissioners, or of the metropolitan ; to call or prorogue the convocation ; and to enact the decrees of synods into laws. But all this still leaves him in the state and condition of a lay head, and the profes- sion of faith says, that the supreme governing of all the states of the kingdom, whether ecclesiastical or spiritual, in all causes whatever, belongs to him, yet so that he is not invested with a power to preach the word of God, or administer the sacra- ments. The bishop is superior to a priest, and a priest to a deacon. The essential office of a deacon is to see that the wants of the poor be supplied, to assist the priest (or minister) Ordination of at the communion service, to bless those who Deacons, present themselves to be married, to baptize, to bury the dead, to preach, and to read to the people the holy scriptures, or the homilies. Their ordination consists first in a sermon or exhortation preached to them, which being con- cluded, the archdeacon, or whoever officiates in his stead, pre- sents them to the bishop, who inquires of the said archdeacon, whether he has examined them and found them deserving ; he then directs his speech to the congregation present, both to know if there be any existing impediment to the election, and to recommend the candidates to the prayers of the congrega- tion. After some prayers and litanies, the third chapter of St. Paul’s first epistle to Timothy, from v. 8 to the end of that chapter, is read to the deacons, or chapter vi. of the Acts of the Apostles, from v. 2 to 8. Then they take the oath of supre- 418 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. macy, and amongst several questions put to tliem, the bishop asks them, whether they have in them an interior call from the Holy Ghost to take upon them the office of a deacon. The answer to this question being made in the affirmative, the bishop puts the New Testament into their hands, and gives them authority to read and preach the word of God to the faithful. He receives the communion himself, and gives it to all whom he has ordained. The whole ceremony is concluded with a prayer suitable to the occasion, and the blessing. The ordination of priests consists of prayers, exhortations, and imposition of hands. By the constitutions of the year 1603, ^ . the time appointed for giving orders is on those PriestT ^ Sundays which follow the Ember weeks during the service, in the cathedral or parochial churches where the bishops reside, in the presence of the archdeacon, the dean, and two prebendaries, or at least of four grave per- sons, who must be masters of arts, and have lawful power to preach. They are only as witnesses to the ordination, which belongs solely to the bishop; he alone has authority to say to those who are ordained, “ receive the Holy Ghost the other four only pray with the bishops, and lay their hands upon the ordained, with this difference, that, amongst the English, as with the Catholics, the imposition of the bishop’s hands denotes his power and authority to ordain, whereas that of the wit- nesses is only a mark of their approbation and consent to their being admitted to the brotherhood, if that expression may be used. To become a priest, it is necessary to be made first a deacon ; but both orders may be received on one and the same day. After the examen, and the exhortation which is imme- diately before the communion service, the epistle is read. Acts, chap. XX, from v. 17 to 36, and if both orders be given on the same day, the 3d chap, of'the first epistle to Timothy is added. The reading of the gospel follows, out of the last chapter of St. Matthew, from v. 1 1 to the end of that chapter ; or out of St, John chap. xx. from v. 10 to 24. Then the veni creator is sung or read. The rest differs but little from the deacon’s or- dination. The congregation is desired to join in mental prayer for the happy success of this ceremony; silence is maintained for some short time; then the bishop prays aloud, and imme- diately lays his hands, and the priests then present lay theirs upon those who are ordained, and who are kneeling. The bishop uses at the same time this form, so much found fault with by the puritans or dissenters: “Receive the Holy Ghost, Sins shall be forgiven to all those to whom you forgive them, &c. Be faithful dispensers of the word of God and of the sa- CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 419 craments,” &c. This being said, he puts the Bible into their hands. The bishop is, under Christ, according to the doctrine of the church of England, the first pastor of the church. In- ferior ministers are only his deputies ; when he is absent, the priest may bless the people, but whenever he is present at the divine service, it Archbishops, belongs to him to pronounce the blessing. There are two archbishops, and twenty-four bishops in England ; they enjoy the dignity of barons, and take place before those of the laity ; so the bishop of London, being the first bishop, is likewise the first baron ; all are peers of the realm, and sit in the House of Lords, except the bishop of the Isle of Man, who is named by and holds of a subject. The archbishops are called Your Grace, which title is also be- stowed on dukes. The bishops are styled right reverend fathers in God. At the consecration of bishops, or archbishops, the 3d chap, of St. Paul’s first epistle to Timothy, from v. 1 to 8, is read ; then some verses out of chap. x. or xxi. of St. John’s Gospel ; the creed is said ; the bishop elected is presented by twm other bishops to the archbishop of the province, or to another bishop officiating for him. Right reverend father in Christ, they say, we present to you this pious and learned man, to be con- secrated bishop. The king’s order for his consecration is produced and read openly. The bishop elect takes the oath of supremacy, and that of obedience to his metropolitan, which last is omitted at the consecration of an archbishop. The consecrator moves the congregation to pray, saying to them, — Brethren, it is wTitten in the gospel of St. Luke, that our Sa- viour Christ continued the whole night in prayer, before he did choose and send forth his twelve apostles. It is written also in the Acts of the Apostles, that the disciples did fast and pray before they laid hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them forth. Let us, therefore, following the example of our Saviour Christ and his apostles, first fall to prayer, &c. Then the litany is said ; and after this passage. That it may please thee to illuminate all bishops, &c. the following prayer is in- serted : That it may please thee to bless this our brother elect- ed, and to send thy grace upon him, that he may duly execute the office whereunto he is called, to the edifying of thy church, &c. The people answer, We beseech thee to hear us, &c. The litany ends with a prayer, after which the archbishop, sitting in his chair, says to him that is to be consecrated, “ Brother, forasmuch as the holy scripture and the ancient 420 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. canons command, that we should not be hasty in laying on hands, and admitting any person to government in the church of Christ, which he has purchased with no less price than the effusion of his own blood ; before I admit you to this adminis- tration, I will examine you,” &c. The question ends with a prayer, which is followed by the hymn of the Holy Ghost, or the veni creator, said or sung, at the end of which, the arch- bishop says another long prayer. Then the archbishop and bishops present, lay their hands upon the head of the elected bishop, the archbishop saying: Receive the Holy Ghost; and remember that thou stir up the grace of God which is given thee by this imposition of our hands, &c. Still keep- ing one hand on the head of the bishop elect, with the other he delivers him the Bible, saying. Give heed unto reading, exhortation, and doctrine, think upon the things contained in this book, &c. Be to the flock of Christ a shepherd, not a wmlf; hold up the weak; be so merciful ; so minister disci- pline, &c. Then the archbishop and the new bishops, with others, receive the communion : and the whole ceremony con- cludes with a prayer by way of collect to desire Almighty God to pour down his blessing on the new bishop. English bishops have their own vicars, and officials, in each diocess ; but the officials are more known in England by the name of chancellors. These are the true and chief officials, but there are some commissioners who are often mis- taken for them. Their archdeacons, who in ancient times were only the first among deacons, are now in the English church above priests. Bishops are called reverend, arch- bishops most reverend, archdeacons venerable: common priests have no title bestowed upon them. The archdeacon’s chief function is to visit the diocess by procuration in default of the bishop or vicar, at least once in three years. The chief ornament, by which churchmen are distinguished from the laity, is the surplice : the minsters of the church of England are to put it on whenever they administer any sacra- ment, and on several other occasions, the particulars of which we need not mention. Bishops, deans, canons in cathedral churches, w'ear a cope besides the surplice, and are to put it on at the communion service, administration of sacraments, or any other religious function, which is to be performed with solemnity. No one can be made a deacon before twenty-three, nor a priest before twenty-four, nor a bishop before thirty. Some pastors, either priests or ministers, have the title of rectors, as belonging to such churches, which at the Reformation, were CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 421 independent of any monastery. Others are only vicars, but for life. Lastly, some are barely curates, without any bene- fice, and receive their scanty salary from the rectors or bishops. The convocation of the clergy is a kind of parliament, the archbishops and bishops are the upper house; the lower is composed of the inferior clergy, viz. twenty-six deans, sixty archdeacons, five hundred and seventy-six canons, besides curates and deacons. They meet upon the concerns of the church, tithes, raising taxes, ecclesiastical laws, which must afterwards be approved by the king and parliament. They hold likewise national synods, wdiich keep an exact correspon- dence in all their deliberations, and make no absolute defini- tion, but with a unanimous consent. • The customs established in the performance of divine ser- vice, and appointed by the English liturgy, are ; that all priests and deacons are required to say daily the morn- . c? ing and evening prayers. 1 he order ot both ^ice. is the same. They begin with several passa- ges of scripture, which the minister says aloud. These passages are followed by an exhortation to prepare for the general confession of sins, which is said kneeling, by the mi- nister and the whole congregation : this ceremony is as ancient as St. Basil, and was not then peculiar to his diocess, but uni- versally practised in the whole church. The absolution is pro- nounced by the priest standing, the people still kneeling ; for receiving forgiveness requires a humble posture, but forgiving shows authority. The church of England uses three different forms of absolution, one in the morning and evening prayer, another at the visitation of the sick, and a third at the com- munion service. After the absolution, the priest and congre- gation, all kneeling, say the Lord’s prayer, which is followed by some responses, a psalm, some lessons out of the Old Tes- tament, as set down in the calendar at the beginning of the liturgy, the singing or reciting the Te Deum or Benedicite omnia ; another lesson out of the New Testament, a hymn, or a psalm ; the creed said or sung, to which the people stand ; the Lord’s prayer a second time; several responses, three col- lects, a prayer for the king and queen, another for the royal family, a third for the clergy, St. Chrysostom’s prayer, and the blessing. The rubric says, that the minister must stand when he reads the lessons, and turn himself towards the con- gregation, that he may be heard the better : this is very ra- tional, for those lessons, the decalogue, &c. are an instruction to the people : but when he addresses himself to God by 36 422 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. prayer, by saying or singing a psalm, or by confession, he must then turn from the people and look towards the upper and of the chancel, which is the chief and most reverential part of the church. Hymns and psalms are sung or said in a standing posture, as an evident token that the hearts of the people are raised to God with joy : the same situation is kept at the singing or saying the creed, to show how ready they are to make an open profession of their faith, to give an ac- count of it, to justify and defend it. Betwixt the creed and the Lord’s prayer repeated a second time, the priest says. The Lord be with you. The people answer. And with your spirit. We shall not trouble our readers with the various expositions of the oremus, the short litany, and the responses : but we cannot omit, that ihe collects are said to be so named because the priest said them when the w'hole assembly was met, or because the devotion of all the faithful was collected or joined to offer that prayer to God, or because the priest unites several petitions into one, or lastly, because it is a collection of several short sentences of scripture. The prayers, collects, and lessons, often vary, on some days, as Christmas, Epiphany, &c. The Athanasian creed is said or sung instead of that of the apostles or of Nice. Sunday morn- ing, Wednesday, and Friday, the long litany is said or sung. Particular prayers are said likewise on special occasions, as for rain, for fair weather, for a time of famine, or great dearth, for success in war, against popular commotions, epidemic or contagious distempers ; every day also in ember weeks, for those who are to be ordained, for the parliament whilst it sits ; which prayers are all either to obtain mercy from God, or to give him thanks for favours received. Sunday is a day which all Christians keep with great solemnity ; but none more than the English ; the gravity, de- cency, regularity, and outward devotion, which are apparent throughout the kingdom on that day, are worthy of commend- ation. The communion is one of the principal sacraments of the church of England, for which purpose the altar, for this name is often given by the members of the church of Administra- England to the communion table, ought to have ments^ a clean white linen cloth upon it, and to stand in the body of the church, or in the chancel, where morning and evening prayers.iire appointed to be said. At all other times the said table is covered with a silk carpet, and set m a decent place altat-wise. The priest, standing atr the north side of the table, says the Lord’s prayer, wnth a collect, CHURCH OF ENGLANa 423 then rehearses distinctly the ten commandments, after each, the people kneeling, say, “ Lord have mercy on us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.” This is followed by a collect for the king, which the priest says standing ; the collect of the day, the epistle, and gospel, at which last the people stand, as they do likewise at the singing or reciting the Nicene or Constantinopolitan creed, which is done immediately after the gospel. Then the curate declares unto the people what ho- lydays and fasting days are in the week following to he observed ; and, if occasion he, publishes the bans of matri- mony, reads briefs, citations, and excommunications, and nothing is proclaimed or published in the church during the time of divine service but by the minister; nor by him, any thing hut what is prescribed in the rules, or enjoined by the king, or by the ordinary of the place. • Then follows the sermon, which being ended, alms are taken for the poor, or other purposes ; this is followed by prayers and exhortations, after which the priest stands up before the table, and having so ordered the bread and wine that he may with the more readiness and decency break the bread before the people, and take the cup into his hands, says the prayer of consecration, which begins the third part of the communion service; the wording of it is very remarkable, and runs thus : “Hear us, O merciful Father, and grant that we, receiving these thy creatures of bread and wine, according to Jesus Christ’s holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed body and blood, who in the same night that he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, take, eat, this is my body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me. Likewise after supper, he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying. Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, for the remission of sins. Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me.” The priest first receives the communion in both kinds himself, then proceeds to deliver the same to the bishops, priests, and deacons (if any be present;) and after that, to the people also in order into their hands, all meekly kneeling. They receive it in their hands, because the custom of re- ceiving it in their mouths from the priest’s hand, savours too much of transubstantiation. The priest says a prayer when he gives the bread, and another when the cup is given to any one. If the conse- 424 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. crated bread or wine be exhausted before all have commu- nicated, the priest is to consecrate more. If, on the contrary, there remains any when all have communicated, the minister returns to the Lord’s table, and reverently places upon it what remains of the consecrated elements, covering the same with a clean linen cloth. Here begins the fourth and last part of the communion service. The Lord’s prayer is said by the minister, the people repeating after him every petition ; then follows another form of thanksgiving, after which, “ Glory to be to God on high,” a hymn to which antiquity has given the r;‘^.:jy,appellation of angelical. The whole service is concluded, #> by the priest, (or bishop, if he be present,) dismissing the con- gregation with a blessing. The rubric says, that it is most convenient baptism should not be administered, but upon Sundays, and other holydays, jy . when the greatest number of people are assem- ^ ' ‘ bled ; as well for that the congregation there present may testify the receiving of them that be newly bap- tized into the number of Christ’s church ; as also because in the baptism of infants, every man present may be put in remem- brance of his own profession made to God in his baptism, or that made for them by their godfathers or godmothers. Neverthe- less (if necessity so require) children may be baptized on any other day. Every male child must have two godfathers and one godmother ; and every female one godfather and two god- mothers ; who, with the children, must be ready at the font immediately after the last lesson of the morning, or evening prayer. The priest coming to the font, which is then to be filled with pure water, and standing there, asks the usual question, exhorts the people to pray, says two prayers for the child, reads a gospel, (Mark x. 13, and following,) explains it, gives God thanks, tells the godfathers and godmothers their duty, receives their renouncing the devil, and repeats with them the profession of faith ; after which, and a few more prayers, he takes the child into his hands, desires the god- fathers and godmothers to name the child ; and then naming it after them, he sprinkles it with the water, saying, N. I bap- tize thee, &c. The ceremony ends with the minister’s signing the child with the cross, saying the Lord’s prayer, giving thanks to God, and a second charge to the godfathers and godmothers. As to the ministration of baptism to those wdio are of riper years, and able to answer for themselves ; first, they are ex- amined whether they be sufhciently instructed in the princi- ples of the Christian religion ; then, they are exhorted to pre- CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 425 pare themselves with prayers and fastings for the receiving of this holy sacrament. If they be found fit, the godfathers and godmothers present them at the font on the day, and at the time appointed. The godfathers and godmothers are not to answer, as they did in infant baptism, for the persons christ- ened, in quality of their spiritual fathers or mothers ; they rather are present as witnesses only. The priest directs his discourse and exhortations to the persons baptized, prays for them, and with them ; they themselves renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of this world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh. They make their profession of faith ; after which, and some few prayers said by the minister, he takes each person to be baptized by the right hand, and placing him conveniently by the font, he dips him in the water, or pours water upon him, saying, N. I baptize thee, &c. Then he receives them into the church, signs them with the cross, gives thanks to God, and ends with a short exhortation, first to the godfathers and godmothers, then to the person baptized ; recommending it to him to be confirmed by the bishop so soon after his bap- tism as conveniently may be, that so he may be admitted to the holy communion. In the church of England, as amongst Catholics, the bishops are sole ministers of the religious ceremony of confirmation. The short catechism, which every person is to ^ « w, r learn before he is brought to be confirmed by ^ the bishop, is to be seen in the book of common prayer. The church of England orders, that, for the instruction of the faithful beginners, “ The curate of every parish shall diligently upon Sundays and holydays, after the second les- son at evening prayer, openly in the church instruct and ex- amine so many children of his parish sent unto him, in the catechism. All fathers, mothers, masters, or mistresses, shall cause their children, servants, and apprentices, who have not learned their catechism, to come to the church at the time appointed, and obediently to hear, and be ordered by the curate, until such time as they have learned all that is ap- pointed for them to learn. The children who are sufficiently instructed, shall be brought to the bishop, and every one shall have a godfather or a godmother, as a witness of their con- firmation. All being placed and standing in order before the bishop, he or some other minister appointed by him shall read what is called, the preface of Confirmation, which briefly ex- plains the nature and end of it ; then he makes them renew and confirm the promises w hich w’ere made for them by their 36 ^ 42G PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. godfathers and godmothers at baptism, and prays for them, that they may receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost ; then all of them kneeling in order before the bishop, he lays his hand upon the head of every one severally, says another prayer, the Ijord's })rayer, and two collects, and dismisses them by giving his blessing. According to the ritual of the church of England, the bans of all those who are to be married, must be published in the Mar iao-e church three several Sundays or holydays, in the arriage. service, immediately before the sentence of the offertory. The form of asking is too well known to require being set down. If the persons who are to be married dwell in divers parishes, the bans must be asked in both parishes ; and the curate of the one parish shall not solemnize matrimony, without a certificate of the bans being thrice asked from the curate of the other parish. At the day and time appointed for the solemnization of matrimony, the persons to be married shall come into the body of the church, w'ith their friends and neighbours, and there standing together, the man on the right hand, and the woman on. the left, the priest reads an exhortation on the duty, condition, and chastity of a married state ; then another particularly directed to the persons who are to be married. At which day of marriage, if any man do allege or declare any impediment, why they may not be coupled together in matrimony, by God’s law, or the laws of the realm, and will be bound* and sufficient sureties with him, to the parties, or else put in a caution (to the full value of such charges, as the persons to be married do hereby sustain) to prove his allegation ; then the solemnization must be deferred until such time as the truth be tried. If no impe- diment be alleged, then the curate asks their mutual consent ; which being declared, they give their troth to each other, taking alternately each other by the right hand, and saying, “ I, N. take thee N. to be my wedded wife, (or husband,) to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish (the Avife sa5?-s to love, cherish, and obey) till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I plight thee my troth.” Then they again loose their hands, and the man shall gh'e unto the woman a ring, laying the same upon the book, with the accustomed dues to the priest and clerk. And the priest taking the ring, shall deliver it unto the man to put upon the fourth finger of the woman’s left hand, and the man, taught by the prie.st, shall say, “ With this ring I thee Aved, Avith my body I thee worship,” &c. Both ChurcJi of England Marriage, p. 4’26. Church of England Funeral p. -A"/*' it.* CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 427 kneel down, the minister says a prayer, joins their hands to- gether, and adds a blessing ; then going to the Lord’s table, say or sing a psalm, w^hich being ended, the man and the woman kneeling before the Lord’s table, the priest standing at the table, says a litany, followed by some prayers, and an instruction concerning the duties of man and w'ife, and so con- cludes. Only the rubric adds, that it is convenient the new-mar- ried persons should receive the holy communion at the time of their marriage, or at the first opportunity after their marriage. The last religious ceremony of the English liturgy is the burial of the dead. In the order for that service, it is noted, first, “ That it is not for any that die unbaptized, or excommunicated, or have laid violent hands upon themselves.” The priest and clerk, meet- ing the corpse at the entrance of the church-yard, and going before it either into the church or towards the grave, say, “ I am the resurrection and the life,” &c. (John, chap. xi. ver. 25,) with some other sentences of scripture. In the church some suitable psalms are read or sung, with a lesson adapted to that ceremony. When they are come to the grave, and are pre- paring every thing to put the body into the earth, the priest and his clerk say or sing, “ Man that is born of a woman,” &c. Earth is then cast upon the body, and some prayers are said, in one of which God is desired to grant “that Ave, with all those that are departed in the true faith, may haAm our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in glory.” As soon as any one has breathed his last, the minister of the parish, and those who haA^e in charge to Ausit dead bodies, must haA'e notice giA^en them ; this Avas ordered to be done immediately after the great plague Avhich raged in London in the year 1665, that it might be found out if any distemper proved contagious, and proper precau- tions taken to prevent its spreading. This visit is commonly performed by tVA’o AAmmen ; the clerk of the parish recewes their attestation, and an abstract of it is printed e\"ery Aveek, by Avhich the public are informed hoAV many died in the Aveek, of Avhat distemper, or by Avhat accident. An act of parlia- ment, made for the encouragement of the Avoollen manufac- tory, ordains that all corpses shall be buried in flannel, Avithout any alloAvance for linen, but the flannel maybe as fine as they think fit. Those shrouds are either bespoken or bought ready made, and most linen drapers have some by them of all sizes and prices. The corpse being Avmshed very clean, and shaved if it be that of a man, they put on it a flannel shirt, the slee\TS of AA^hich are ruffled and plaited, Avith another tufted piece of 42S PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES, the same stuff which covers the opening of the shirt upon the breast. The shirt must be above half a foot longer than the corpse when extended at full length, that the feet of the decea- sed ma}?" be put into it as in a bag*, which when performed it is tied with woollen, so as to look like a tuft. They add to this a cap, with a large chin-cloth tied to the cap, a cravat and gloves, all woollen. Some put a large quantity of bran at the bottom of the coffin. Instead of a cap the women have head-clothes with a forehead-cloth. Some coffins are exceedingly fine. When the corpse is in it, they make a second visit, to see whether it be all in flannel, and no linen or even thread, except woollen, employ- ed about it. The body lies so three or four days, and all that time is allowed to provide mourning and prepare for the funeral. The palls are provided by the undertakers ; some of black velvet, some of black cloth, bordered either with white satin, or linen, or taffety, about a foot long. It is so large, that it covers not only the coffin, but likewise the men who carry it upon their shoulders, and still hangs low enough to be supported by the pall-bearers, either men or women, according to the sex of the person who is to be buried, and they have gloves, hat-bands, and sometimes scarfs, black or white, given them. When every thing is ready, two men, called mutes, go first, and they are immediately followed by the corpse and pall-bearers ; the chief mourners and other persons invited, two and two, close the procession. Generally they go into the church, in the middle of which, the body being placed upon two tressel.s, the service for the dead appointed for that occasion is said. If the body be not buried in the church, they carry it to the church-yard belonging to it, and put it into the ground before the whole com- pany, who seldom depart till the earth be again thrown in. In respect to the Episcopal Church in the United States, it may be briefly stated in this place, that in her rites and ceremo- nies she copies those of the mother church in Episcopal England, with those necessary variations, which Stated ^ different form of civil government, under which its members live, &c. The Eng- lish common prayer book is adopted, with the omission of the Athanasian creed, and some other alterations, to conform it to the peculiar state of the church. Subscription to the ar- ticles is not required by candidates for holy orders. The num- ber of bishops is fifteen ; the number of their clergymen is esti- mated at five thousand and ninety-six ; and their churches at nine hundred and twenty-two. The episcopal establishment in the United States has no archbishops, nor lord bishops, archdea- cons, deans, prebends, canons, nor vicars. The bishops are eleep KIRK OF SCOTLAND. 429 ed by the convention of the diocess. Their bishops have no episcopal palaces, but dwell in their own hired houses ; nor episcopal revenues, being pastors of congregations, as are the other clergy, and, like them, supported by the contributions of those who enjoy their instructions. When they travel through their diocess, the churches they visit pay their expenses. The bishops have no patronage, nor can they, by individual au- thority, appoint or remove any minister. No person has the gift of “ parish” or “ living it depends on the choice of the people. Some churches leave the appointment of the minister to the vestrymen, who are annually selected by the pew hold- ers ; others select him by the ballot of the whole congregation. It is entirely left to the clergymen who shall be admitted to the ordinances : but their discipline varies in the different states. This church is governed by a general convention, which sits once in three years, divided into an upper and lower house ; the former is composed of the bishops of the different states, and the latter of a portion of the clergy and laity from the several diocesses. All motions may originate in either house ; although the concurrence of the majority of both must be ob- tained before they pass into a law. SEC. III. KIRK OF SCOTLAND.* The conversion of the Scots to the Christian faith began through the ministry of Paladius, about the year 430, and from the first establishment of Christianity in that country till the Reformation in the reign of Mary, jncidents'^^ mother of James I. and of Mary I. of England, their church government was episcopacy; but the Presbyte- rian discipline was not finally established in Scotland until the reign of King William and Mary, A. D. 1689, when episcopacy was totally abolished. The Westminster Confes- sion of Faith was then received as the standard of the national creed ; which all ministers, and principals and professors in universities, are obliged to subscribe as the confession of their faith, before receiving induction into office. The church of Scotland is remarkable for its uncommon simplicity of worship ; it possesses no liturgy, no altar, no in- strumental music, no surplice, no fixed canon- Worship.— ical vestment of any kind. It condemns the Ministerial worship paid to saints, and it observes no fes- parity, &c. * The word Kirk is of Saxon origin, and signifies Church ; or, ac- cording to others, it is a contraction of the Greek word, meaning the Honse of God. 430 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. tival days. Its ministers enjoy a parity of rank and of authority ; it enforces that all ministers, being ambassadors of Christ, are equal in commission ; that there is no order in the church as established by the Saviour, superior to presbyters ; and that bishop and presbyter, though different words, are of the same import. It acknowledges no earthly head ; its judicatories are quite distinct from, and independent of, any civil judicatory ; insomuch, indeed, that the decisions of the one are often con- trary to those of the other, yet both remain unaffected and un- altered. When, for example, a clergyman has been present- ed to a parish by a patron, and induction and ordination have followed on that presentation, if afterwards it be found that the patron, who had given the presentation, has not that right, and that it belongs to another, the clergyman may be ejected as to all the temporalities of the office ; but quoad sacra, he may continue minister of the parish, and exercise all the sacred functions : and though a new presentee may obtain a right to the civil endowments of the benefice, he can perform none of the sacred duties, while the other chooses to avail himself of this privilege. There are four ecclesiastical judicatories, — namely, the Kirk Session, the Presbytery, the Synod, and the General Assembly, from each of which there is a power of appeal Indicatories. other ; but the decision of the General As- sembly is supreme. The lowest court is the Kirk Session, which is composed of the minister of the parish, who is the moderator or president . of it, and a number of the most grave and re- ir£ Session, spe^table laymen, members of the congregation. Their number varies in different parishes, five or six being about the average number; and their services are entirely gratuitous. They are something like church wardens in Eng- land, only they have a spiritual jurisdiction, as it is a part of their duty to visit the sick, &c. The Kirk Session takes cog- nizance of cases of scandal, such as fornication, sabbath break- ing, profane swearing. It also manages the funds of the poor, a duty in which it formerly was assisted by deacons, a class of men inferior to elders, as they had no spiritual jurisdiction, but not being found necessary, they are consequently disused. The Presbytery, which is the court next in dignity, is com- posed of the ministers of a certain district, with an elder from p . each parish. The number of presbyteries is ^ ^ seventy-eight. Their chief duty consists in the management of such matters as concern the church within their respective bounds. But they may originate any matter, KIRK OF SCOTLAND. 431 and bring it under the view of the Synod or General Assem- bly. They have also the superintendence of education, within their bounds, such as the induction of teachers, and the examh nation of schools. The Synod is the next intermediate court. There are fifteen synods, each consisting of the clergymen of a certain num- ber of presbyteries, with elders, as in presby- teries. Presbyteries meet generally once a-month ; Synod, synods twice a-year, though some remote synods, such as that of Argyle, only once. The General Assembly is the last and supreme court, and meets yearly in the month of May, in Edinburgh, and con- tinues its sitting for twelve days. The king •111*^ • 1*1 ^ Grenor'il A«? presides by his representative, who is always a • nobleman, and is denominated the Lord High Commissioner. The General Assembly is a representative court, consisting of 200 members, representing presbyteries, and 156 elders representing burghs or presbyteries, and five ministers or elders representing universities, — making alto- gether 36 1 members. They choose a moderator or president, out of their own number, distinct from the Royal Commis- sioner, the duty of the latter consisting merely in convening and dissolving the court, and in forming the medium of com- munication between it and the throne. The moderator is now always a clergyman, though previously to 1688 laymen sometimes held that office. The duties of the Scotch clergy are numerous and labo- rious. They officiate regularly in the public worship of God; and, in general, they must go through this duty ^ . twice every Sunday, (exclusively of other occa- Clergy sional appearances,) delivering every Sunday a lecture, and a sermon, with prayers. It is also expected, throughout Scotland, that the prayers and discourses shall be of the minister’s own composition; and the prayers, in all cases, and the discourses in most instances, are delivered \vith- out the use of papers. They are expected to perform the al- ternate duties of examining their people from the scriptures and catechisms of the church, and of visiting them from house to house, with prayers and exhortations. This is done com- monly once in the year, being omitted only in those cases in which the ministers deem it impracticable, or not acceptable, or at least not necessary. — The charge of the poor devolves, in a very particular manner, on the clergy, and in them also is vested the superintendence of all schools within their hounds. Baptism in this church is practised by none but ministers, 432 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. per . who do it by sprinkling; and whether performed aptism. private or in public, it is almost always pre- ceded by a sermon. The Lord’s Supper is not administered so frequently in Scotland as in some other places. Some time before this takes place, it is announced from the pulpit. The week ^ or s up- sessions meets, and draws up a list of all the communicants in the parish, ac- cording to the minister’s examination-book, and the testimony of the elders and deacons. According to this list, tickets are delivered to each communicant, if desired, and the ministers and elders also give tickets to strangers who bring sufficient testimonials. None are allowed to communicate without such tickets, which are produced at the table. Those who never received, are instructed by the minister, and by themselves, in the nature of the sacraments, and taught what is the proper preparation thereunto. The Wednesday or Thursday before there is a solemn fast, and on the Saturday there are two pre- paratory sermons. On Sunday morning, after singing and prayer as usual, the minister of the parish preaches a suitable sermon ; and when the ordinary worship is ended, he in the name of Jesus Christ forbids the unworthy to approach, and invites the penitent to come and receive the sacrament. Then he goes into the body of the church, where one or two tables, according to its width, are placed, reaching from one end to the other, covered with a white linen cloth, and seats on both sides for the communicants. The minister places himself at the end or middle of the table. After a short discourse, he reads the institution, and blesses the elements ; then he breaks the bread, and distributes it and the wine to those that are next him, who transmit them to their neighbours ; the elders and deacons attending to serve, and see that the whole is perform- ed with decency and order. Whilst these communicate, the minister discourses on the nature of the sacrament; and the whole is concluded with singing and prayer. The minis- ter then returns to the pulpit, and preaches a sermon. The morning-service ended, the congregation are dismissed for an hour ; after which the usual afternoon worship is performed. On the Monday morning, there is public worship with two sermons ; and these, properly speaking, close the communion- service. No private communions are allowed in Scotland. Marriage is solemnized nearly after the manner of the church of England, with the exception of the ring, which is Marriao-c deemed a great relic of “ popery.’^ By the laws of Scotland, the marriage-knot may be tied with- KIRK OF SCOTLAND. 433 out any ceremony of a religious nature : a simple promise in the presence of witnesses, or a known previous co-habitation, being sufficient to bind the obligation. That most ridiculous, often immoral, and almost always injurious practice, of mar- rying at Gretna-Green, is still in use, Avhere a blacksmith performs the ceremony according to the rites of the church ! The Funeral ceremony is performed in total silence. The corpse is carried to the grave and there interred without a word being spoken on the occasion. Dr. Evans, in his usual liberal strain, gives the following account of the Seceders, “ Dissenters from the kirk, or church of Scotland, call them- selves Seceders ; for, as the term Dissenter comes from the Latin word dAsseyiiio, to differ, so the appellation Seceder is derived from another Latin word, sece- do, to separate or to withdraw from any body of men with which we may have been united. The secession arose from various circumstances, which were conceived to be great de- fections from the established church of Scotland. The Sece- ders are rigid Calvinists, rather austere in their manners, and severe in their discipline. Through a difference as to civil matters, they are broken down into Burghers and Anti- burghers. Of these two classes the latter are the most con- fined in their sentiments, and associate therefore the least with any other body of Christians. The Seceders originated under two brothers, Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, of Sterling, about the year 1730, It is worthy of observation, that the Rev. George Whitefield, in one of his visits to Scotland, was solemnly reprobated by the Seceders, because he refused to confine his itinerant labours wholly to them. The reason assigned for this monopolization was, that they were exclusively God’s people! Mr. Whitefield smartly replied, that they had, there- fore, the less need of his services, for his aim was to turn sin- ners from the error and wickedness of their wa}^s, by preach- ing among them glad tidings of great joy ! “The Burgess’ oath, concerning which the Seceders differed, is administered in several of the royal boroughs of Scotland, and runs thus ; ‘ I protest before God and your lordships, that I profess and allow with my heart the true religion presently professed within this realm, and authorized by the laws there- of; I shall abide thereat and defend the same to my life’s end, renouncing the Roman religion called papistry.’ The Messrs, Erskine and others maintained there was no inconsistency in Seceders taking this oath, because the established religion was still the true religion, in spite of the faults attaching to it, and 37 434 PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. hence were called Burghers. Messrs. Moncriefi', and others, thought the swearing to the religion as professed and autho- rized was approving the corruptions, therefore the oath was inconsistent and not to he taken ; hence anti-burghers. The kirk of Scotland, both parties say, still perseveres in a course of defection from her professed principles, and there- fore the secession continues, and is increasing to the present day. (See an Historical account of the Rise and Progress of the Secession, by the late Rev. John Brown, of Haddington.) The Seceders are strict Presbyterians, having their respective associate synods, and are to be found not only in Scotland, but also in Ireland and in the United States of America. Both classes have had amongst them ministers of considerable learn- ing and piety. “ There is also a species of Dissenters from the church of Scotland called Relief, Avhose only difference from the Kirk is, the choosing of their own pastors. They arose in 1752, and are respectable as to numbers and ability. (See a Com- pendious View of the Religious System maintained by the Synod of Relief, by P. Hutchinson ; and also Historical Sketches of the Relief Church, &c. by J. Smith.) The Relief are Calvinists as well as Presbyterians, but liberal in their viows, admitting to their communion pious Christians of every denomination. They revere the union of faith and charity.”* SEC. IV. ENGLISH AND AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS. The appellation Presbyterian is in England appropriated to a large denomination of dissenters, who have no attachment Distino- isli Scotch mode of church government, any ing ^dianlcter- than to episcopacy amongst us, and there- istics of the fore to this body of Christians the term Preshy- English Pres- terian in its original sense is improperly applied, byterians. This misapplication has occasioned many wrong notions, and should be rectified. English Presbyterians, as they are called, adopt nearly the same mode of church govern- ment with the Independents. Their chief difference from the Independents is, that they are less attached to Calvinism, and consequently admit a greater latitude of religious sentiment. It may be added, that their mode of admitting members into communion differs from that commonly practised among the Presbyterians. Dr. Doddridge in his “ Lectures” has this paragraph on the * See Dr. Evans’s Sketches. PRESBYTERIANS. 435 subject: “ Those who hold every pastor to be as a bishop or overseer of his own congregation, so that no other person or body of men have by divine institution a power to exercise any superior or pastoral office in it, may, properly speaking, be called (so far at least) congregational ; and it is by a vulgar mistake that any such are called Presbyterians : for the Pres- byterian discipline is exercised by synods and assemblies, sub- ordinate to each other, and all of them subject to the authority of what is commonly called a General Assembly^ The Presbyterian Church in the United States was origi- nally made up of emigrants from Scotland and the north of Ireland. They settled principally in Pennsylva- ^j^erican nia. West Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. In Presbyterians 1704, the first Presbyterian judicatory in the United States was constituted under the name of the “ Presby- tery of Philadelphia.” In 1716 the members of this commu- nity had so much increased, chiefly, however, by emigration from Europe, that they distributed themselves into four Pres- byteries, bearing the names of Philadelphia, Newcastle, Snow Hill, and Long Island, and erected a synod under the name of the “Synod of Philadelphia.” But the body was far from proving harmonious, by reason of the different views enter- tained on the subject of the discipline of the churches. The controversies in this connexion continued to increase until 1758, when all difficulties were healed, from wffiich time har- mony, with some few exceptions, has prevailed, and their cause rapidly gains strength. In 1789, the first General Assembly, which is now the high- est judicatory of the Presbyterian church in the United States, .vas convened at Philadelphia, which has con- tinned to be the place of its annual meeting to gemblv'^^ the present time. Great prosperity has attended the cause of Presbyterianism in the United States. Within a few years, however, differences have, to some extent, prevailed among the ministers of this connexion ; but as among so able and pious a body of men, the prin