Distinction between Rites and Ceremonies. Preface to the 66 "law (as much of Moses' law was), but it is a religion to serve God, not in bondage of the figure or shadow, but "in the freedom of the spirit; being content only with "those ceremonies which do serve to a decent order and "godly discipline, and such as be apt to stir up the dull "mind of man to the remembrance of his duty to God, by some notable and special signification, whereby he "might be edified. Furthermore, the most weighty "cause of the abolishment of certain ceremonies, was "that they were so far abused, partly by the superstitious "blindness of the rude and unlearned, and partly by the "unsatiable avarice of such as sought more their own "lucre, than the glory of God, that the abuses could not "well be taken away, the thing remaining still." 66 "But now as concerning those persons, which perad"venture will be offended, for that some of the old cere"monies are retained still: if they consider that without some ceremonies it is not possible to keep any order, or quiet discipline in the church, they shall easily perceive "just cause to reform their judgments. And if they "think much, that any of the old do remain, and would "rather have all devised anew: then such men granting 66 some ceremonies convenient to be had, surely where the "old may be well used, there they cannot reasonably "reprove the old only for their age, without bewraying of "their own folly. For in such a case they ought rather "to have reverence unto them for their antiquity, if they "will declare themselves to be more studious of unity and "concord, than of innovations and new fangleness, which (as much as may be with true setting forth of Christ's religion) is always to be eschewed. Furthermore, such "shall have no just cause with the ceremonies reserved to "be offended. For as those be taken away which were "most abused, and did burden men's consciences without 66 66 66 any cause: so the other that remain, are retained for a "discipline and order, which (upon just causes) may be "altered and changed, and therefore are not to be "esteemed equal with God's law. And, moreover, they "be neither dark nor dumb ceremonies, but are so set "forth, that every man may understand what they do 66 mean, and to what use they do serve. So that it is not "like that they in time to come should be abused as other "have been. And in these our doings we condemn no "other nations, nor prescribe anything but to our own people only for we think it convenient that every "country should use such ceremonies as they shall think 66 : best to the setting forth of God's honour and glory, and to the reducing of the people to a most perfect and godly living, without error or superstition; and that they should put away other things, which from time to time they perceive to be most abused, as in men's ordinances it often chanceth diversely in divers countries." Perhaps it would be difficult to deduce from this anguage any certain conclusion as to the precise sense in which the terms rites and ceremonies are used. In the Prayer Book of 2 Edw. 6, at the close of the dissertation, which is at the end of the services, " Of Cere"monies, why some be abolished and some retained," are "certain notes for the more explication and decent minis"tration of things contained in this book;" one "note" " is as touching kneeling, crossing, holding up of hands, knocking upon the breast, and other gestures, they may "be used or left as every man's devotion serveth without "blame." 66 This note does not appear in the subsequent Prayer Books: but, nevertheless, at the Hampton Court conference in the year 1603, the Bishop of Winchester, replying to the objections made by the Puritans to the use of the cross in baptisms and ceremonies generally, said, 66 "In prayer, the kneeling on the ground, the lifting up "of our hands, the knocking of our breasts, are ceremonies significant: the first, of our humility coming before the mighty God; the second, of our confidence and hope; "the other, of our sorrow and detestation of our sins; and "these are and may lawfully be used." 66 66 "M. Dean of the Chapel remembred the practice of "the Jews, who, unto the institution of the Passeover, prescribed unto them by Moses, had, as the rabbins wit"nesse, added both signes and words, eating soure herbs, "and drinking wine, with these words to both, Take, and "eat these in remembrance,' &c.; Drink this in remembrance,' &c. Upon which addition and tradition of "theirs, our Saviour instituted the sacrament of his Last Supper, in celebrating it with the same words and after "the same manner; thereby approving that fact of theirs "in particular, and generally, that a church may in"stitute and retain a signe significant," which, says the reporter of the conference, satisfied his majesty exceeding well (i). 66 (i) Cardwell, Conferences on the Book of Common Prayer, 3rd ed. p. 197. Distinction These gestures appear to have been considered as cere between Rites monies, wisely left to every man's discretion. and Ceremonies. In the first "Order of the Communion" which preceded the first Prayer Book, the rubric says, "The time of the "communion shall be immediately after that the priest "himself hath received the sacrament, without the varying "of any other rite or ceremony in the mass (until other "order shall be provided), but, as heretofore, usually the "the priest has done with the sacrament of the Body,” &c. Here, again, rite and ceremony seem to be used for elements or portions of a service. Let us consider the construction put upon the Latin terms (from which, of course, the English terms are borrowed) ritus and cæremonia by high Latin authorities. Bona (k) writing, De Disciplina psallendi, § III., says, 66 Cæremoniæ quid sint, et quæ hujus nominis origo. Earum efficacia, et utilitas ad divinum cultum. Vera a falsis, et superstitiosis discernendæ. Exteriores cæremonias sine interno spiritu parum prodesse. Sunt autem cæremoniæ, si propriè loqui velimus, ritus sancti in sacrificiis, et divinis officiis ad Dei cultum adhibiti; sed migravit vocabulum in usus etiam profanos; nam cum homines instituissent sibi invicem inclinare, genua flectere, manus osculari: hæ et aliæ honoris exhibitiones, cum proprio nomine carerent, cœptæ sunt etiam cæremoniæ dici." Van Espen (1), speaking of the celebration of the Eucharist, says: "Certum tamen est ipsum apostolis suis, totique "ecclesiæ, in eorum personâ, potestatem auctoritatemque "dedisse ea omnia in augustissimi hujus mysterii ritibus seu cæremoniis addendi, demendi, immutandi quæ illius dignitati et populorum devotioni pro temporum et loco"rum diversitate magis congruere judicarent." 66 66 Here, ritus and cæremonia are not separate services, but certain ingredients or accompaniments of one service, that of the Eucharist. Gavanto (m), a great Roman ritualist, says, that Bona and Saurez both define cæremonia as "actio religiosa ad "cultum et decentiam sacrificii ab ecclesiâ instituta." (k) Opera Omnia, p. 562. p. 410, de celebratione Mis sarum. (m) Vol. i. p. 3, ed. 1823, Venice. e quotes Quarti's opinion as follows: Procedit Quarti ad dividendas cæremonias in eas, quæ nt intrinsecæ ipsi missæ, et partes ejusdem, et consisnt, dicit ipse, tum in verbis, tum in gestibus celeantis, de quibus late Suarez, disp. 83 et 84, et in eas, æ sunt circumstantiæ extrinsecæ ejusdem sacrificii, ut Dcus, tempus, vasa, et vestimenta sacra, &c. Dicit ræterea, quod illæ cæremoniæ, quæ consistunt in gestibus, quædam inductæ sunt propter decentiam opeandi, nec habent aliam significationem, ex. gr. quod sacerdos dum signat seipsum, ponit sinistram sub pecet aliæ inducta sunt propter significationem moralem, vel mysticam, verb. grat. mixtio aquæ cum vino" (observe these words), "digitorum ablutio, crucis signa, de quibus Divus Thomas 3 part. quæst. 83, artic. 4, § 5. 6 "Verum, pace tanti viri, ego distinguerem cæremoniam sacram a ritu, dicendo, ritus sacros consistere in illis precibus, epistola, evangelio, &c., quæ juxta ecclesiæ dispositionem recitari debent in missâ; cæremoniam autem consistere in solis gestibus, quibus prædictæ preces juxta ejusdem ecclesiæ præscriptum peragi debent ad majorem ornatum, et decentiam sacrificii, quod celebratur; et revera Cæremonialia, seu libros cæremoniarum vocamus "illos, qui non orationes et preces dicendas præscribunt, "sed modum, quo illæ dicendæ sunt; e contra Rituales nuncupamus illos, qui continent preces, seu alias ora"tiones, quas recitandas præscribunt. 366 "Ritus, quoniam in verbis regulariter consistunt, vel "sunt partes missæ ordinariæ, quia scilicet semper ingre"diuntur ejus compositionem; vel sunt extraordinariæ, "sive mobiles, quia non semper ejus compositionem ingre"diuntur, sed ad majorem quandoque adduntur solemni"tatem, atque ornatum” (n). The Council of Trent (o) speaks as follows: 66 Quumque natura hominum ea sit, ut non facile queat "sine adminiculis exterioribus ad rerum divinarum medi"tationem sustolli, propterea pia mater ecclesia ritus quos"dam ut scilicet quædam submissa voce alia vero elatiore "in missâ pronuncierentur, instituit, ceremonias item ad"hibuit; ut" (these are the instances of ceremonies)" mys"ticas benedictiones, lumina, thymiamata, vestes, aliaque (n) Gavanto, Thesaurus Sacrorum Rituum, vol. i. p. 4. Pars i., in Rubricâ Generali. (2) Sess. 22, c. 5, De Missæ Ceremoniis et Ritibus. Distinction be id genus multa ex apostolicâ disciplinâ et traditione, quo tweer Rites and Ceremonies. "et majestas tanti sacrificii commenderetur, et mentes "fidelium per hæc visibilia religionis et pietatis signa ad "rerum altissimarum, quæ in hoc sacrificio latent, contem66 plationem excitarentur." On the whole the result of this examination of authorities led me, as judge of the Court of Arches, to the conclusion that there was a legal distinction between a Rite and a Ceremony; the former consisting in services expressed in words, the latter in gestures or acts preceding, accompanying, or following, the utterance of these words, and including the use of lights, incense and vestments. Legal sources of ritual in England. Construction of rubrics generally. SECT. 2.-Sources of the Law of the English Church as to Ritual. The ritual of the Church of England, both as it relates to the ornament of the church and the dresses and posture of the minister, are derived from the following sources: custom and usage, canons of the church, and statutes of the realm. The proposition that in case of conflict the latter source was the one recognized by the law, used to be deemed a sound legal position. It has, however, apparently been somewhat impaired by the decision of the Privy Council in the recent case of Mr. Purchas (p), in which it would seem that the positive words of the statute or rubric of Charles the Second were controled and limited in their plain meaning by the language of the canons of 1603. With respect to the more stringent categories of rubrics, namely, those which relate to things lawful and ordered, and things unlawful and prohibited, there is a question in limine which must be considered. Is there a common law of the church unwritten, living by usage, though partly expressed, perhaps, by judicial decisions; but still more, to use a common expression, taken for granted by all authorities in church and state-filling up the void of positive provision in statute or formulary-a necessary part of an organized religious system and establishment, rendering (p) Bullock's Special Report, published by Butterworths, 1871; 19 W. R. 898. |