| CHAPTER
XI.
OFFICES
OF NONJURORS. - COMMUNION
OFFICE. - DEACON'S LECTION.
- ITS DEPARTURES FROM THE
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
- DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SEPARATISTS
AND THE REGULAR BODY. -
REFLECTIONS. - NEGLECT OF CERTAIN
RUBRICS TRACED TO THE LATITUDINARIAN
SPIRIT AT THE REVOLUTION,
AND TO THE PRACTICES OF THE NONJURORS.
- RUBRICS CONSIDERED. -
OBEDIENCE IN GENERAL. -
LESSONS. - MUTILATIONS.
- OMISSIONS. - NEGLECTED RUBRICS.
- SURPLICE. - PRAYER FOR
CHURCH MILITANT. -
OFFERTORY. - CONDUCT OF THE OBJECTORS
TO THE RUBRTCS. - CONCLUSION.
OF
the principles on which the Nonjurors separated from the National Church
as well as of their internal divisions an account has been given in the
previous chapters: but some further particulars, relative to the Offices
used by the two sections, after the second separation in 1733, or 1734
are necessary to complete the history of the. From a preceding page, it
will be seen, that Hickes usually administered the Lord's Supper according
the Form in King Edward's first Liturgy: but this practice was by no means
common until the discussions arose respecting the Usages, the Nonjurors
previously adhering to the Book of Common Prayer in all its Offices, rejecting
only the name of the reigning Sovereign. This is particularly mentioned
by Bennet in 1716; so that the majority did not follow the example of
Hickes. After the new Commumunion Office had been adopted by one section
in 1718, the Book of Common Prayer was still used by the other: and even
those, who received the new Office, still adhered to the Liturgy of the
National Church in all other particulars. Subsequent to 1733, however,
a considerable change took place. All the Nonjurors, with the very few
exceptions previously specified, had then adopted the new Communion Office,
or at all events the Usages:
but in 1734 the parties, who separated from their brethren, and whom,
for the sake of precision, I have denominated
Separatists,
departed altogether from the Liturgy of the Church of England, and adopted
a new Book of Common Prayer. In Scotland, the English Book, with the exception
of the Office for the Communion, was received by the Nonjurors: and, when
they ceased to be a Nonjuring Church, the Prayer Book was retained as
a matter of course, and is continued at the present time. I proceed, therefore,
to give some account of the
Communion Office,
adopted by the regular body, and also of the Book which was introduced
into public worship among the
Separatists.
The new Communion Office is founded
on that of King Edward's
First
Book, A. D. 1549, in which the particular practices, comprehended under
the general term
Usages,
were retained. Not a few of our most eminent theologians, at various periods,
have expressed their preference of the Communion Office in the
First
Book of
Common Prayer, though they considered our present form as sufficient.
This circumstance, therefore, should certainly make us cautious, in condemning
the Nonjurors, or our Scottish brethren, for adopting that form, which,
though rejected by our own reformers at the revision of the Prayer Book
in 1551, was rejected in consequence of the scruples of some of the foreign
reformers, for the sake of preserving peace and union. The four particulars,
which have been specified in a previous chapter, and which are known as
the Usages, were as a matter of course retained in the New Book.
In the structure of the Office, the form of 1549 is followed, rather than
that in our present Liturgy, though even the former is not regarded in
every particular. The Usages were four, namely,
mixing water with the wine,a Prayer
for the Dead,b the Prayer for the descent
of the Holy Spirit upon the Elements,c
and the Oblatory Prayer.d They were
not however placed in precisely the same order in which they stood inKing
Edward's First Book. By this new form, therefore, the Holy Communion was
celebrated by Collier's party, after the year 1718, and by all the regular
body, subsequent to the union in 1733, until they became extinct.
Appended to the Office for the Communion were two others,
for Confirmation and the Visitation of the Sick. Both these
vary in some respects from our present Offices. The Chrism or Ointment
is retained in the Office for Confirmation, together with the sign
of the Cross. There is also a Form for Consecrating
the Chrism.e It is stated in one of the Rubrics,
that the matter of the Chrism is sweet oil of olives and precious Balsam,
commonly called Balm of Gilead. In the Office for the Visitation of
the Sick, the Priest is directed to place his hand on the head of
the sick person, while he pronounces the absolution. The anointing with
oil is also enjoined; and a form for administering the Holy Communion
to the sick per son is appended.f
These are the chief peculiarities of the new Communion
Office. But it is necessary to remark, that whenever I have spoken
of this Office, the forms for Confirmation and the Visitation
of the Sick are to be understood as comprehended in the Designation,
the name by which the Book is usually known.
Deacon's
book was adopted by the Separatists:
and an examination
of its various Offices will shew how widely this party differed from their
Nonjuring brethren, as well as from the Anglican Church. Deacon, though
a man of considerable learning, was evidently fond of novelties. As the
leader of the party he published in 1734, a collection of Devotions, to
be used in their religious services. From this
Book, the singular title of which was given in a previous chapter, the
prayers used at the execution of the author's son, after the Rebellion
in 1745, were taken. It was called their Book of Common Prayer.g
Besides this book, he published another very singular work, of which I
have already given some account,
A Full, True, and Comprehensive View of Christianity:
and to these two works we must refer for an illustration of the differences
between his party and the rest of the Nonjurors. Certain practices are
enjoined in
The Devotions,
which are explained
and
defended in the other work: and the two together furnish a distinct view
of the points at issue between these two parties. The
one work bears upon
the
other in a singular manner, since the practices prescribed in the
Prayer
Book
are explained in
The Comprehensive
View.h
It is true,
that on the question of the Oaths, both parties were agreed: but the principles
of the
Separatists,
in many important particulars, were different from those of the other
body.
Deacon's
new Service Book contained an Order for Morning Prayer,
and an
Order for Evening Prayer,
altogether different in structure from the Book of Common Prayer, to which
the regular Nonjurors adhered. These Offices are so unlike the Services
in the Anglican Book, that the original leaders of the Nonjuring separation
could not possibly have sanctioned them. They were consequently rejected
by all, except by Deacon's own party. After the
Order for Morning and Evening Prayer
there are
Prayers for the Catechumens, the Energumens, the candidates for Baptism,
and
the Penitents.
The
Energumens
were persons supposed to be possessed by evil spirits:
and certain Prayers are appointed to be used by the Priest with special
reference to such an opinion.
The next form is called the Penitential
Office,
and was appointed to be used on
Wednesdays and Fridays,
and on other specified occasions : and it is ordered, that none should
be present, except the Faithful and the Penitents. Next
in order stands
The Communion Office,
which not only differs from our own, but also from the Book of 1718.i
The designation even of the Office is peculiar, differing from that of
the Nonjurors, as well as from our own: and by a special Rubric none but
the Faithful were permitted to be present at the administration. In addition
to the mixture of water with the wine, the Priest is directed to sign
his forehead with the sign of the cross-to administer the elements to
the Deaconesses,
and also to
Infants,
saying simply
"The Body of Christ,
and The
Blood of Christ, the cup of Life."
Deacon,
it seems, was
as much dissatisfied with the Book, which had been arranged by Collier
and Brett, as with the Office in the Book of Common Prayer; and therefore,
he put forth a new Form, to be used by those congregations in which his
authority was recognized.k
In "
The Order of Confirmation"
and "
The Order for
the Visitation of the Sick," Deacon differs from
the Church of England, and also from the other Nonjurors. The Chrism
is adopted, as in the Book of 1718, and the rite is ordered to be administered
to infants.l
The remaining Public Offices in this collection are
"The Ministration of Public Baptism ;" " The Miinistration of
Private Baptism ;" " The Churching of Women :" " The Order
for the Burial of the Dead," " The Communion at the Burial of the
Dead;" and " The Form of Consecrations;" all of which differ
very widely from our own.
Public Baptism is only allowed between
Easter and Pentecost. The sign of the Cross, a Form of Exorcism, the anointing
with oil, and the Trine Immersion are enjoined. A portion of consecrated
milk and honey, and white garments, as an emblem of innocency, were given
to each child.m In the case of adults, the
Priest was to retire, while the candidates were placed in the water, the
males by the Deacons, the females by the Deaconesses. A Form for consecrating
the milk and honey is appended to the office.n
In Private Baptism, which was to be administered only in cases of necessity,
the water was to be poured on the infant. As Deacon maintained the doctrine
of Infant Communion, the Eucharist was ordered to be administered to the
sick child.
In the Office for Churching of Women, there is not
any material variation from our own Form: while in the Burial Service,
the alterations consist chiefly of additions of prayers for the departed.
The Form for " the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist at the Burial
of the Dead" differs in several particulars from that in the First
Prayer Book of King Edward.
The last of the Public Offices, the Service of Ordinations
and Consecrations, is peculiar, especially as one part relates to Deaconesses.
The sign of the cross is retained; the kiss of peace is also enjoined
to be given by Bishops to the new Bishop, by the Bishop and Presbyters
to a Priest, and by the Deacons to a Deacon. The service
for Deaconesses is nearly similar to that for Deacons.o
The second part of the collection consists of Private
Devotions. There are Devotions for the Morning: the Evening: for the ancient
Hours of Prayer: to be used in the Church and at the Altar. There are
also Offices for daily Private Communion, and for the Commemoration of
the Dead. The Office for Private Communion contains a Form for a sick
person to administer the sacrament to himself, the elements being reserved
from the public administration.p
By the adoption of this book
of Offices, Deacon's party, even apart from their irregular consecrations,
was altogether at variance with the other, in the mode of celebrating
Divine Service. But Deacon was not satisfied even with this new collection:
for in the year 1746, he published, though without his name, another small
volume, consisting of several special Forms, in which he departed still
further from the other Nonjurors.q
The Form for admitting converts is much stronger in
its expressions and requirements, than that which had been drawn up by
Kettlewell, and which had been always used by the other party. The Chrism
and the sign of the cross were enjoined in such cases. The Litany was
to be used on certain specified occasions. This account of the Offices
adopted by the Separatists is sufficient to mark the striking differences
between them and the Nonjurors of the regular body, who adhered strictly,
with the exception of the Book of 1718, to the worship of the Anglican
Church.
[the
author then goes on, as may be seen in the outline at the beginning of
this chapter, to discuss several points not pertinent to the liturgies
of the Nonjurors.]
|
|
a
The Rubric in the New Office orders: " And putting into the Chalice,
or else into some fair and convenient cup, &c, putting thereto in the
view of the people a little pure and clean water."
Return
to text
b The Prayer
is restored as follows : " We commend unto thy mercy, O Lord, all thy
servants, who are departed with the sign of faith, and now do rest in
the sleep of peace: Grant unto them, we beseech thee, thy mercy and
everlasting peace: and that at the day of the general resurrection,
we and all they, who are of the mystical body of thy Son, may all together
be set on his right hand."
Return
to text
c The restored
Prayer stands thus: "And send down thine Holy Spirit, the witness of
the passion of our Lord Jesus, upon this Sacrifice, that he may make
this bread the body of thy Son, and this cup the blood of thy Son."
Return
to text
d in the New
Office there are two passages, which though not precisely similar to
the clauses which Collier and his supporters wished to be restored from
King Edward's First Book, are the same in effect. One in the name of
the Ministers is as follows: "That we may be worthy to offer unto thee
this reasonable and unbloody sacrifice for our sins and the sins of
the people. Receive it, O God, as a sweet smelling savour, &c. And as
thou didst accept this worship and service from thy Holy Apostles: so
of thy goodness, O Lord, vouchsafe to receive these offerings from the
hands of us sinners, &c." The prayer from which this is taken is called
A Prayer of Acceptance, and is abridged from the Liturgy of St.
Basil. The other stands thus: " We offer to thee, accord ing to his
Holy institution, this bread and this cup, &c. and we beseech thee to
look favourably on these thy gifts, which are here set before thee,
O thou self-sufficient God : and do thou accept them to the honour of
thy Christ."
Return
to text
e "He shall
anoint every one, &c. with the Chrism or ointment, making the sign of
the cross upon their forehead, and saying:
N. I sign thee with the sign of the cross, I anoint
thee with Holy Ointment."
In the Rubric for the consecration of the
Chrism, the Bishop is directed to "take some Chrism or Ointment: and
putting it into a decent vessel, he shall stand and consecrate it in
manner and form following."
Return
to text
f "Then shall
the Priest anoint the sick person upon the fore head, making the sign
of the cross and saying."
Return
to text
g
Campbell
was
doubtless the nominal leader of
this
section,
until his death, which took place in 1744: but as Deacon was the most
active of the party, I am justified in speaking of him
as
the real leader even before Campbell's death.
Return
to text
h
This work indeed is a regular commentary on the Book of Devotions, just
as Wheatley's or Nichols's volumes are comments on the Book of Common
Prayer. A reason is assigned for the various ceremonies contained in
the Collection of Devotions.
i The title
is as follows: "The Holy Liturgy: or, the Form of Offering the Sacrifice,
and of Administering the Sacrifice of the Eucharist."
Return
to text
k
A most laboured defence of the practice of infant communion
may
be seen in
The Comprehensive View.
He contends, that
among
the heathen, infants partook of the idolatrous feasts
after
the sacrifices. He proceeds :
"
The Eucharist is a feast upon a sacrifice, and it is designed to distinguish
those who beIonged to Christ, as the others were to distinguish those
who belonged
to the
false gods of the heathen." He asks:
"
Had the Devil his meat and his cup to betoken those, who had communion
with him, and has Christ his meat and his cup to betoken those, who
are in communion with him? and is it reasonable to suppose, that he
intended these should be as generally received by his family, as the
others were
by that of the Devil?"
He further argues at
considerable
length in favour of the practice, from the fact, that the Old
Testament Sacraments, as
he terms them, were allowed to
infants.
He contends, that the
Jewish children partook of
the Feasts, and of the Passover: that the arguments for infant communion
are
as strong as those for infant baptism: and
that it was practised in
the early
Church, pp. 366, 393.
Return
to text
l
At the commencement of the Service is the following
Rubric: "At the time appointed, all that are to be then confirmed, being
placed, the adults and the sponsors with the children in their
arms
standing in order before the Bishop, he shall begin the offie."
In his
Comprehensive View,
Deacon contends, that infants are
capable
of receiving spiritual benefits, and that therefore Confirmation
is to be administered to them, p.
238.
m "This
dipping does very significantly express the three great effects of Baptism:
for as immersion necessarily implies three several states or conditions;
the descent into the water, the being totally covered with it, and the
rising out of it again: so by these are represented Christ's death,
burial, and resurrection: and in conformity thereto our dying unto sin,
the destruction of its power, and our resurrection to a new course of
life. By the person's descending into the water, is livelily represented
his going down to the grave, and dying to sin: by his being totally
covered with it, which is a kind of burial in the water, is denoted
his being absolutely in the power of death, &c. and then by his emersion
or rising up out of the water, is signified his entering upon a new
course of life." He explains the trine immersion to represent the Trinity,
and the three days burial of Christ, and his resurrection on the third
day. Deacon's Comprehensive View, p. 231. He explains the white garments
to signify" his having put off the lusts of the flesh." Ibid. 232.
Return
to text
n
Deacon thus explains the milk and honey. " After the
kiss of peace he receives a taste of consecrated milk and honey, in
token of his spiritual infancy, that, now he is a child adopted into
God's family, for sweet milk is the nourishment of new born babes."
Ibid. 232.
Return
to text
o
Alluding to the Deaconesses, Deacon says that their
office "is to assist at the baptism of women, that the ceremony may
be performed with all possible decency: to instruct (in private) children
and women who are preparing for baptism: to visit and attend women that
are sick and in distress: to overlook the women in the Church: and to
introduce any woman who wants to make application to a Deacon, Presbyter,
or Bishop." He states that the order was always received in the Ancient
Church. Comprehesive View, p. 429. Elsewhere he says "that all occasion
of scandal and immodesty may be prevented in so sacred a mystery as
baptism, men and women are baptized apart: and the latter have Deaconesses
to attend them, to undress, and dress them, &c." Ibid. 231.
Return
to text
p
It may be remarked that the Chrism, the Milk
and Honey, the Balsam, the Kiss of Peace, with the
other ceremonies in the Collection of Devotions, are all explained in
the Comprehensive View.
Return
to text
q
The Form of admitting a Convert into the Communion of
the Church. London, Printed in the year 1746. The volume conains also
A Litany for the Use of those who mourn for the Iniquities of the
Present Times. Prayers to be used upon the Death of Members of
the Church: and, An Office for the Use of those who by unavoidable
necessity are deprived of the advantage of joining in offering the Sacrifice,
and of receiving the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist!
Return
to text
|
|
