HE OLELO HOAKAKA

OKEIA BUKE, he Buke Hoomana i kauohaia e ka Ekalesia o Kristo, i mea e pono ai ka hoomana ana. Pela no ka hana a ka Ekalesia mai kinohi mai, a no ka hoomana ana na mea a pau iloko o keia buke. O kana hana hoi, o ke ao aku i kanaka i ke ano o ka pule pololei ana i ke Akua; o ke kuhikuhi ana hoi i na oihana a pau i kauohaia e kona Ekalesia; ke ano o ka hana ana ia mau oihana me ia mau loina; ka wehewehe aku hoi i na manawa kapu a pau me na wa noa i malamaia e ka Ekalesia, a me ke ao aku hoi i na Kahuna o ke Akua i ka lakou mau hana e hana ponni ai, a e hana pu ai hoi me na kanaka imua o ke Akua; o ka hoohalikelike ana i na pule, na noi ana, me ka hana ana i na oihana i pili i ka hoomana, i pau ole ai ka hana ana'ku a kanaka i ko lakou wa e akoakoa'i e hoomana'ku i ko lakou Akua. Aole keia hoohalikelike ana he mea hou, aka, he mea kahiko loa, aole hoi i kue i ka olelo a ke Akua; no ka mea, nolaila mai no na kumu hoohalike o keia hana i hoopiliia'ku ai. E nana kakou ia Mose me Miriama, a me na kaikamahine o ka Iseraela; ia Aarona me kana mau keiki ia lakou i hoomaikai aku ai i kanaka, a me Debora hoi me Baraka; a nawai hoi e hoole ka haku maoli ia ana o na Halelu a Davida, i mau pule nana e pule helu aku ai ia Iehova kona Akua? O na oihana me na pule a ka poe Iseraela a hiki aku i ka wa o ka poe Iudaio, a loaa'ku ka hiki ana mai o Iesu Kristo, ua hakuia no lakou, aole i kapulu ia, aka, ua wae wale ia no ma na olelo me na manao kupono i ka hoomana; a o na oihana hoi imua o ke kuahu, iloko o ka luakini a iwaho, ua hana kanawai wale ia no. Aole i hoowahawaha ko kakou Haku i keia mau mea, i kona wa e noho ana ma ka honua nei, aka, i kona wa i ike ai ua haalele na Iudaio i kekahi mau mea o ke kanawai, ua kaumaha oia a "ua ao aku ia lakou." Aole hoi o ka hahai wale ana mainuli o keia mau hana, aka, ua hookumu maoli no oia i oihana ponoi nana. I ka wa i kokoke rnai ai o ka manawa e lilo ai oia maluna o ke kanawai, ua ao pololei aku oia i kana poe haumana, me ka ana, "A i pule oukou, e olelo oukou penei, 'E ko makou Makua iloko o ka lani,' " etc., a ua aneane like loa kana pule i ao aku ai me na pule o ia manawa. I kona wa hoi i lilo ai oia ke Poo o ka Ekalesia hou ana i kukulu iho ai, a ko ai hoi ka makemake o kona Makua -- i kona wa e hoonohonoho ana a e hooponopono ana i kona Ekalesia mamua o kona hoi ana i ka lani, ua kauoha ponoi aku oia i na luna ana e manao ana poe kahu no kona Ekalesia, mahope o ka haawiia ana'ku o ka mana hoopaa me ka hookuu ia lakou: "E kuka mua lakou a holo like i ka lakou mau mea e noi aku ai." Ua hoikeia mai kakou ma na wahi lehulehu o ka Olelo a ke Akua, i ka mau o ka hoomanaia ana o ke Akua ma keia ano, oia hoi ka hoonani like ana, ka himeni like ana, me ka haku mua ia o na pule i mea e like ai ka pule ana'ku. I ke aumoe ka pule ana o Paulo laua o Sila iloko o ka halepaahao, a ua lohe na koa e kiai ana. (Oih. xvi. 24.) A pehea ko lakou lohe ana ke ole i pule keia mau mea me ka leo nui? A pehea hoi i haunaele ole ai ka laua pule ana, ke ole i haku mua ia a paanaau, a ku like hoi ka laua pule me ka laua hoonani ana? Pela no hoi o Paulo i ao aku ai i ko Korineto ma na wahi he lehulehu. O ka Mokuna xiv. o kana Episetolo mua ia poe, ua piha i ke ao ana'ku i keia mau mea me ke kuhikuhi aku i ke ano kupono o ka hoomana ana a ua hoohuoi hoi oia i ka lehulehu me ka haulaoa o ka pule a na hoahanau; no ka mea, ua ninau aku oia, "Pehea la hoi, e na hoahanau, i ko oukou akoakoa ana, he himeni no ka kela mea keia mea, a he manao, a he olelo e, a he men i hoikein mai, a he mahele ano. E pono e hanaia na mea a pau ma ka mea e naauao ai." A ma ka hoopau ana o ia mokuna no, ua kauoha hou aku no oia, "E hana i na hana a pau me ka maikai, me ka hoonohonoho pono ia." Aole wale no o ka hoolea me ka hoonani ana i ke Akua ka i haku mua ia, aka, o ka pule maoli kekahi. Ua hookuuia'ku o Petero laua o Ioane (Oih. iv. 23) a hoi aku laua "i ko lakou poe, hai mai la i na mea a pau a ka poe Kahuna nui me ka poe kahiko i olelo mai ai ia laua," -- "a lohe mai la lakou (pauku 24), hookiekie lokahi ae Ia ko lakou leo i ke Akua, i aku la, E ka Haku, o oe no ke Akua nana i hana i ka lani, me ka honua, me ke kai, a me na mea a pau oloko," a pela no a holo pono keia pule. A pehea la e lokahi ai a e haunaele ole ai, ke ole i haku mua ia ka lakou mau pule? Aole paha e hiki ke kuhikuhiia, ma ka hana mana ka hiki ana, no ka mea, ma na hana wale no i hiki ole ke hanaia e kanaka, i hanaia'i na hana mana, a ina ua paa mua no ka lakou mau pule i ka haku, a e kau mau ana no ma ko lakou mau lehelehe, heaha ka mea e hanaia'i o na hana mana me ke kumu ole. Ua olioli nui ko Petero ma poe i ko laua hoi ana'ku iwaena o lakou, a "Ua hookiekie lokahi lakou i ko lakou leo," i ka pule ana'ku i ke Akua. Ua lokahi no ka paanaau; ua hookiekie i ko lakou leo, no ka maa i ka pule pela; a o keia poe e pule nei me ka lokahi, o ka poe mua lakou o ka Ekalesia o ka Haku. E akaka paha ma keia mau mea, aole kakou i nele i na kumu hoohalike he nui no keia mea; aole hoi paha e hoole ia ko kakou kauoba pinepineia ana e hoomana like, e hoonani like, a e lokahi hoi ka pule ana, i mea e "ku ai i ka naauao"; aka, aole o keia mau mea wale no ka mea i pono ai o ka hoonohonoho mua ia o ka kakou haipule ana; aka, no ka pololei me ke kupono maoli no o ia hana ana.

He mea i kauohaia mai, ka pule ana ma ke anaina, a ina i akoakoa kakou, me ka ohi wale aku o ka pule, he himeni ka kekahi, a he haiolelo ka kekahi, a he wanana ka kekahi, ua like loa kakou me ka poe Korineto, a Paulo Hemolele i nuku aku ai. Aka hoi, ina i akoakoa kakou me ka waiho aku i hookahi mea nana e pule mai, heaha ka kakou akoakoa ana? I hele mai kakou e himeni hoolea aku i ke Akua, a ina na ka poe himeni wale no e hoolea'ku, heaha ka kakou? I hele mai hoi e hoonani aku i ke Akua, ina na ke Kahuna wale no e hoonani a e pule aku, heaha ka kakou? Ua ikeia no he olelo kekahi poe, e hana i keia mau mea a pau ma ka naau. Aole nae pela ka olelo mai a ka poe mua iloko o ka Ekalesia, aole no hoi pela ke ao ana a ka naauao. Ua hele akoakoa kakou i ka luakini e hoomana a e pule i ke Akua. Aole e pono ana ka pule a kekahi, ina ma ka naau oia e hahai aku ai i ka pule a ke Kahuna. O kona naau ka i hahai aku i na huaolelo i haule mai mai ka waha o ke Kahuna, aole nae i pule aku kona naau ia mau huaolelo i ke Akua; no ka mea, ke hoomaka oia e pule oiaio ia mau olelo, o ka haule no ia o kekahi mau manao o ka pule a ke Kahuna, a wikiwiki aku hoi e loaa koke, poina ke Akua, a hoi hou ka naau i ke Akua, ua "Amene" ke Kahuna. Ina ua pule kekahi ma kona naau me ka hahai i ke Kahuna, a ua like ole ka pole a ke Kahuna me kana i manao ai he pono, pehea la oia? Ua hiki anei ia ia ke olelo iho ma kona naau, Amene, oia hoi, E hooko in pela, me ke kue o kona naau i ka pole a ke Kahuna? Auwe keia hoahanau i pole ole i ke Akua, no kona ike mua ole i ka ke Kahuna mau mea e pule ana! no ka mea, aole o kona naau kahi me ka ke Kahuna e pule ana; no ka mea, aole he mau pule kekahi i hoonohonoho mua ia, e ka poe ike, e ka poe kahiko o ka Ekalesia; no ka mea hoi, aole he mau pole i ikeia a i aoia e na mea a pau i hiki ole ai hoi ke hoole ka manao o kekahi. Ina ua hoomakaukau mua ia na pole, na halelu, na himeni, na oihana me na loina o ka hoomana ana, alaila, e hoomana auanei kakou me ka naauao; alaila, aole e noi hopo kekahi i ka mea kupono ole; aka, e lokahi auanei ka kakou hana ana. Aole wale no hoi no ka hoomana ana ma ke anaina ka pono o keia mau mea, aka, ua pono no i na wa a pau; i ka pule mehameha, a me ka pole ohana; i ke oni ana no na pomaikai o keia an, a me ko ke ao e hiki mai ana; ka hoopakeleia mai na poino, mai na pahele, na koko, me na pilikia o ke kino, me ka noi ana'ku hoi i ke kala ia ana o na hewa. Aole no i haalele mai ka Ekalesia ia kakou e hele poeleele aku imua o ko kakou Akua, aka, ua hoomakaukau ia no na pule no na mea a pau i kupono i ke kanaka ke noi ma ke akea, a me kahi mehameha hoi.

O keia ke ano noi o keia Buke Hoomana e waihoia aku nei imua o ka lahuikanaka o Hawaii nei. A i ninauia mai, no hea mai keia buke, a no hea mai kona mana? ke haiia'ko nei, no ka Ekalesia mai, no ka Ekalesia mai o Iesu Kristo, ko kakou Haku, ke Keiki kamakahi a ka Makua, a oia hoi ke Poo hookahi o kona Ekalesia hookahi; a o keia paha ka manawa kopono e hoakaka pokole ia'i ke ano o ka Ekalesia.

O ka Ekalesia, oia ka Ahahui i kukuluia a hoonohoia ma ke ao nei e ko kakou Haku i hoopomaikaiia, a nolaila i kapaia'i keia Ahahui, o ka Ekalesia o Kristo, a o ka poe a pau i komo iloko o keia anaina, ua kapa ia lakou iho i ka inoa hanohano nui, he poe Kristiano. Ua hooholo pono ia mai ka hoonohonoho ana o ka Ekalesia, e na Aposetolo ma ke alakai a ka Uhane Hemolele, a ua lilo ka Ekalesia, oia ka waihona hookahi o ko ke Akoa oiaio; a mai ia ia hookahi wale no e loaa mai ai ko ke Akua aloha. No keia Hookahi i kapaia'i ka Ekalesia o ka Hako, o ka Ekalesia Katolika, (oia hoi, hookahi a puni ka honua.) I okoa ke aluka kanaka mai ka ahaanaina maluhia, ma ka haunaele, me ka haulaoa o kekahi, a ma ka noho maluhia ana, malalo o ke Poo hookahi, me na luna i hoonoho pono ia o kekahi, a ma na oihana hoi i pono ai ka hana, na hoailona i ikeia'i ka poe o ia aha, na pomaikai i pili ia lakou, me ka lakou mao hana i loaa'i keia mau mea; na rola hoi e hooko ia mamua o ke komo ana'ku iloko o ia aha.

Pela keia mea o ka Ekalesia Katolika a Kristo. O ka Hako o Kristo kona poo, a nana hoi i kukolo--o na Rola e hookoia'i i komo iloko ona, o ka Bapekikoia'na, o kona hoailona mao, o ka Sakarema Hemolele, o ka Ahaaina a ka Haku. O na hana e hanaia, o ka Mihi, ka Manaoio, me ka Hoolohe; o na pomaikai hoi e loaa mai ana, o ka launa me ke Akua ma o Kristo la ke Poo o ka Ekalesia, a malaila hoi ke kala ia ana o na hala, ke aloha ia mai ma keia ao, a me ka nani mao loa ma ke ao e hiki mai ana. O kona mau luna, he mau Bihopa me na Kahuna, i kokoaia e na Diakona. Aole hoi i hai ka mookahuna o keia poe mai ka wa o na Aposetoho mai, a o lakou hoi na luna mua i ke kukuluia ana o ka Ekalesia.

O kona mao kanawai, o ka Baibala no ia; o na kumu hoohalike, o na mooolelo a na Luna Kahiko i hoopaaia e ka Ekalesia, i mea e akaka ai na mea hoopaapaa. Ma keia mau kanawai me na oihana o ka Ekalesia, i hooko pono ia e na luna i koho pono ia e ke Akua, i hoohuiia'i a  launa pu ai hoi kakou me ka Hoola ike ole ia; ma kona kino ike maka ia hoi kakou e kamailio pu ai me ka Uhane ike ole ia; a e like me ka olelo a ka Aposetolo ma Epeso, Mokuna iv., "Hookahi no Kino, hookahi hoi Uhane, e like me ko oukou koho ia ana i ka manaolana hookahi o ko oukou kohoia ana ;" pela no hoi ma Kor. 1., Mok. x., p. 17; "No ka mea, o kakou he lehuleho, ua herena hookahi no, a hookahi no kino." A ma ka inokuna mua o Kolosa, ua hai aku keia Aposetolo no ua kino hookahi nei, oia no ka Ekalesia. No keia mau mea, ina he poe Kristiano kakou mahope o ka Olelo Hemolele, aole e hiki ke hoole i ka manaoio ana i ka oiaio o ka Ekalesia Katolika Hookahi a Kristo Iesu ka Haku i kukulo ai ma ka honua nei.

Ua lehulehu na lala o keia Ekalesia ma na aina a pau. O ka mooolelo o kona iho ana mai mai na Aposetolo a hiki mai i keia manawa, aole ia he mea ike ole ia e ka lehuleho. Nolaila, ua makehewa paha ka hai ana'ku i ke kukulu mua ia ana ona, ma na wahi a pau. Aia no ia ma Amerika, ma Asia, ma Europa, ma Aferika, a me na mokupuni hoi o ka moana, a ke ike nei kakou ua hiki mai nei i keia manawa ma keia mau pae ama.

O kona kukulo ia ana, ma Hawaii nei, ka kakou e noonoo ai. Ua luheleleiia na akua kii, ua ai noa, ua hoohioloia na heiau, ua pau ka mana o na kapu, a ua nele na kahuna i ka hana o ka lakou oihana, no ka mea, aole lakou. O keia mau mea, no ka paipai ann no ia a ka Uhane Hemolele. Ua kokua ia keia mau hana ana e kekahi poe nana i lawe mai, a i unuhi i ka Olelo Hemolele a ke Akua; a ke ike nei kakou i ka hooko hoa ia ana o na mea i kauoha ia iloko ona,  ma ke kukulu ia ana o ko Kristo Ekalesia me kona mau oihana a pau. Ua kukulu ia ma Hawaii nei ka Ekalesia mamuli o ka paipai ana a ka  Uhane, a mamuli o ka hana a na `lii. Ua kauoha  ia aku o Vanekopa e hoouna mai i ke Akua Oiaio; ua kii aku o Iolani i ka ama e, e lawe in mai, a i keia manawa ke ike nei kakou ua hiki inai  ka Ekalesia, a ua kukuluia ma Hawaii nei, mahope o ke kali ana no na manawa loihi. He oiaio, ua hiki mai no na hoomana he lehulehu, a ua nui ko lakou hoopaapaa ana me ka hoole ana'ku o kekahi i kekahi. Ke hoihoi nei ka manao; ke hoopaa ia nei hoi ko kakou manaolana ma ka nana ana iho; ua kukulu oiaio ia mai ka Ekalesia o ka Haku iwaena o kakou. Iloko o keia buke e ike ai kakou i na mea a pau ana i kauoha ai,  e ike ai kakou i na rula me na kanawai i pili ia ia, na mea kupono e hana ia ai, a e hoomanao ia  ihoko ona, a ma keia kumu alakai a hooko pono am kakou i na mea a pau i kauoha ia mai e ko kakou Haku, ke POO HOOKAHI o ka EKALESIA HOOKAHI a kakou e ike maka nei i keia wa. Ua lala mai keia EKALESIA HOOKAHI mai ka lala i  hookumu ia ma Enelani, a i kapa ia hoi o ka Ekalesia Katolika Anglicana, oia hoi ka lala o ka EKALESIA APOSETOLO HOOKAHI, a oia no hoi ka EKALESIA KATOLIKA HEMOLELE i kukulu ma e ko kakou HAKU O IESU KRISTO, a nona hoi ka nani, ka mana, me ka hoomaikai in, a mao loa'ku. Amene.

HONOLULU, Ione, 1863.

THE TEACHING EXPLAINED

THIS BOOK is a Book of Prayer, sanctioned by the Church of Christ as an assistant to devotion. Thus has the Church done from the earliest days, and what this book contains has reference to worship only. Its purpose is to teach men the way to pray truly to God; to point out all the rites sanctioned by His Church; the way in which those  rites and the sacramental offices are to be observed and performed; to explain the fasts and holydays ordained by the Church, and to teach the priests of God their own particular functions and those things which they have together with the congregation to perform in the sight of God; to make one voice of prayer and supplication common to all, and so to establish the method and the words even of adoration that men need not only then worship in common when they worship in one congregation. This unison in adoration is no new thing, indeed it is very old; nor does it conflict in any way with the Word of God, because therein lie the prototypes of what this Church system is. Let us look to Moses and Miriam and the daughters of Israel; to Aaron with his sons, when they blessed the people; to Deborah also and to Barak; and who will deny the purposed composition of the Psalms of David as so many prayers and songs of praise to be offered, in reading or from memory, to Jehovah his God? The thanksgivings and the prayers of the Israelites down to the time of the Jews in Jerusalem, and even to the advent of our Saviour Jesus Christ, were designedly composed, not left to the inspiration of the occasion; the sentiment and the words in which the sentiment was conveyed were prepared beforehand and selected as being most seeming to the effort made by man to pay homage to his Maker; and the ceremonials before the altar, as well as those others outside of the temple and within,were all performed according to a preordained rule and understanding. Our Lord Himself was not indifferent to these things while sojourning here on earth, but rather when He saw that the Jews neglected to observe some of these ancient rites He was troubled and "rebuked them." Yet He, the Teacher Divine, from whom we date as from a new beginning of the world, did not merely follow the mode of worship as established before His day of humiliation here on earth; He, on the other hand, Himself ordained a new form of worship to be used in the place of the old, and which recognized Him. At that time, when He was finally about to soar higher than the law which He came to fulfil and to supplant, He taught His disciples saying, "When ye pray, say, 'Our Father which is in Heaven,' &c. The prayer which He taught was very similar to the prayer then in use among the Jews -- a prayer that was rather modified than originated at that time. At the time, also, when He proclaimed Himself the Head of the New Church of which He also was the foundation-stone -- while He was establishing and organizing it, the Church, before His return to Heaven whence He came, He ordained the Apostles selected to be the guardians of that Church, and after they had received from Him the power to bind and to loose; He told them "to agree beforehand" as to what they should ask. (Matt. xviii. 19.) In many places in the Word of God we are shown how established a thing it is that the Lord is to be worshipped in this way, that is to say, by offering our praise in one voice, by singing hymns in common, by saying prayers already prepared that all may pray in concert. At midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang Psalms unto God within the prison, and the prisoners heard them. (Acts xvi. 25.) And how should they have heard had those two not prayed together and in an audible voice? And how could their prayer have been otherwise than confused had it not been prepared beforehand and got by heart, so that their prayers and their praises were as one? This also coincides with what the Apostle Paul taught the Corinthians in more places than a few in his Epistles to them. The fourteenth chapter of his first Epistle to that people is full of his teachings on this particular subject and of the way in which worship ought to be offered, and how he was astounded at the multiplicity of their prayers and confusion of their worship: "How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a Psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying." Furthermore at the end of the chapter he gives this particular injunction: "Let all things be done decently and in order." Not only are praises and thanksgivings to God to be dutifully prepared beforehand, but prayers also. SS. John and Peter were let go (Acts iv. 23, 24.) and "went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord, and said, Lord, Thou are God, which hast made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is," and so they proceeded together until their outpouring of praise and prayer was finished. But how could they have prayed in such sweet sympathy, and how could discordance of voice and matter have been prevented, had not the prayer they used been one already familiar to them? It can hardly be asserted that this concordance was miraculous, because miracles only came in to illustrate a superior Power when the limits of the power of man bad been reached; and if the prayer of that assembly could have been previously arranged and could have been ready, at any moment, on their lips, why should a miracle have been forthcoming on that occasion? Their friends were greatly rejoiced when Peter and his brother Apostle re- turned to them, and "they lifted up their voice to God with one accord" in prayer. The prayer they had by heart; they raised their voices in concert because they were accustomed so to do; and these people here praying together and with the same aspirations, expressed in the same words, were the first-folded of the Christian flock. It will be evident perhaps from the instances here given that we are not without many precedents in this matter; nor is it likely to be denied that we are often commanded to worship with one mind, to offer up our praises with one mind, and to pray in concert, that "all things may be done unto edifying." However, these are not the only reasons which recommend a form of worship previously arranged; the intrinsic correctness and propriety of the method in question must also be considered.

We are commanded to join in public worship, and should we meet, each one of us to choose his own particular prayer, or some to sing Psalms, some to declare a doctrine, and some to prophesy, we should be very like those Corinthians satirized by Saint Paul. But again, if we meet together and leave it to one person to shape a prayer for us, what becomes of the simultaneous prayer? If we come together to praise God by singing Psalms to His glory, and the choir only, or the people set apart for the purpose only sing, what is our part in the service, and for what do we make a portion of the congregation? We meet to praise our God, but if the priest alone praises God and prays to Him, what have we to do there? It is well understood that some people say all these offerings can be made in silence and without a premeditated form of expression. But not so did those who first belonged to the Church teach us; nor does our own intelligence teach us so today. In a body we go to church to worship and to pray to God. No man's prayer can avail much, while his attention is bent on following the line taken by the person praying. His thoughts digest the words which fall from the mouth of the minister, but his heart does not offer up those same words in supplication to God; no sooner has he made them his own and is about to discharge his heart of them understandingly, than, following all the time the voice of him who prays aloud, some new thought enters his mind; or otherwise absorbed with what his mind has taken hold of, he misses the thread of the spoken prayer, and hurrying to find it again, he forgets God for the moment, and by the time his thoughts have once more settled upon Him, he hears the "Amen." And suppose some one to have been able to pray understandingly while following the minister till the minister's supplication failed to awake an echo in his heart, in what position does he find himself? Can he from his heart and in good conscience say "Amen," which means, "May it be so, my God," knowing at the same time that the prayer just offered did not recommend itself to his conscience -- did not, it may be said, suit his views? Alas for this would-be supplicant who could not pray to God, because he did not know what turn the prayer would take! because his heart was not as the minister's heart, and his needs were not those which the man put up to pray expressed; because no use was made of prayers prepared beforehand by those who knew of old the common wants of man -- of prayers bequeathed to us by those we rightly call the Fathers of the Church; and because prayers which satisfy every mind and find at every repetition a new birth in every heart were unemployed. The prayers having been prepared of old, the Psalms ordered, the hymns sanctioned, the rites and offices authoritatively established, then, indeed, we can worship with all our mind, and all our heart, and all our strength; none can get up and offer crude supplications for things of no common interest; but on the contrary, we go to church knowing what the prayers will be and that they will convey to Heaven all our desires, yet nothing more. But it must be remembered that what this book contains is not intended solely for the purposes of public worship. This is a book for every day and every hour of the day. It is for the solitary one and for the family group; it asks for blessings in this world as well as in the world to come; that we may be guarded from all manner of harm, from all kinds of temptations, from the power of lust, from bodily suffering, and also that we may find forgiveness of our sins. The Church has not left us to go by one step from darkness into the awful presence and brightness of God, but it has prepared for our use prayers to meet the necessities of every soul, whether they be used in public or in private.

Such is the general character of this Book of Common Prayer now offered to the people of Hawaii. And lest it should be asked, Whence comes this book? and whence its authority? it is here declared that it comes of the Church, of the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord, the First-born of His Father, the One Head of His One Church. And here, perhaps, it may be well to state in a few words what that Church is.

The Church is in fact an association or guild, founded and established on earth by our blessed Lord Himself, and therefore this society is called the Church of Christ, and all who enter and belong to this goodly company are called by the high and honourable name of Christians. The Church was first organized by the Apostles, the Holy Spirit leading them, and she is the one only repository of God's truth, and through her only may we look for the fulness of God's love. And because she is one and alone, the Church of our Lord is called the Catholic Church (which means one and universal). How different is an unorganized mass of people from an assembly amenable to regulations; in the one there is nothing but disorder and confusion, the other does every thing "decently and in order," under the control of one Head and of subordinate officers carefully selected and duly instructed. It has its rites and observances auxiliary to the purpose proposed, badges by which its members may be known, the privileges attaching to their position understood, and the duties they have undertaken declared; and it has its preliminary rules to be observed before the aspirant can be admitted.

Such is Christ's Holy Catholic Church. The Lord Christ is her Head and He was her founder -- the rules that must be complied with by those who would enter and be of her, are the reception of Baptism -- that invariable sign of admittance -- and the partaking of the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. What she demands of us, her children, are repentance, faith, obedience. The blessings in store for us are reconciliation with God through Christ the Head of the Church. and pardon of our sins, the love of God in this world and beatitudes everlasting in the world to come. Her officers are bishops, priests, and deacons. The chain of ordination has never been broken from the time of the Apostles to this day, which Apostles were the first when the Church was newly established to exercise those holy functions which by succession from them devolve upon the bishops and clergy of our own time.

Her Law Book is the Bible itself; her precedents are found in the writings of the Fathers, preserved by the Church for the solution of questions and controversies. Under these laws, and while not neglecting the appointed offices and observances of the Church administered by a priesthood chosen of God, we are incorporated and we dwell in peace with our unseen Redeemer, through whose mysterious body as we receive it believingly we converse with the Spirit which eye never saw. As the Apostle says in his Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter iv. verse 4, " There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;" and as he says also to the Corinthians in his first Epistle, chapter x. verse 17, "We being many are one bread and one body." In the first chapter of his Epistle to the Colossians the same Apostle tells us concerning this body, that it is the Church. Wherefore, if we are Christians according to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures we cannot withhold our belief in the Holy Catholic Church established on earth by Christ Jesus our Lord.

There are branches of this Church in every land. How the Church has come down from the times of the Apostles to these days in which we live is not a matter about which the generality of men are ignorant. It were useless perhaps to set forth how she has taken root sooner or later all over the world. She is planted in America, in Asia, in Europe, in Africa, in the islands which stud the ocean, and now, behold! she is here with us in these islands of our own.

Let us see how she felt her way and reached us at last. Our ancient idols had been dethroned, the sexes ate together, and the prohibition upon certain articles of food was held in derision by the females to whom it had been a law; the temples were demolished, the kapu had become no more than a memory of something that was hateful before, and the priests had no longer any rites to perform -- indeed, there were no priests, for their office had died out. These changes came no doubt by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, acting through blind, unsuspecting agents. These revolutions were greatly furthered and helped along by those devout and devoted men who first brought here and translated into our mother-tongue God's Holy Word: and we, whilst these lines are being written, see the complete fulfilment of what the Bible enjoins in the establishment here of Christ's Church complete mana o na kapu, a ua nele na kahuna i ka hana in all her functions. The Church is established here in Hawaii through the breathings of the Holy Spirit and by the agency of the chiefs. Vancouver, long ago, was requested to send us the True God; Iolani [Liholiho, the king who, as Kamehameha II died in London in 1824] then your King, went to a distant and a powerful country to hasten the advent of that which our eyes now see and the spirit within us acknowledges, the very Church, here planted in Hawaii -- but how long we had waited! It is true that the representatives of various forms of worship had come here, and there had been many controversies, one side generally denying what some other sect laid most stress on. Now we have grounds to rejoice, and now we may hold fast to the hope that the true Church of God has verily taken root here. In this Book of Prayer we see all that she prescribes: we see what she rules and enforces; what her offices, her creeds, her system, her support in life, her promises in death; what things we ought to do and what to leave undone; which things being constantly before our eyes and dutifully followed, we may humbly hope to be indeed her children, and be strengthened to fulfil all the commandments of our blessed Lord, the One Head of the One Church, which now we gladly behold and gratefully acknowledge. This our Church is an off-shoot of that branch of the One true Church, established in Great Britain and called the Anglican Catholic Church, which is itself a branch of the One Apostolic and Holy Catholic Church founded for evermore by our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be all praise, power, glory and dominion for ever and ever.

Amen.
 

HONOLULU,
June, 1863.