The Church Handy Dictionary Part 15

PESSIMISM. A philosophy which acknowledges the evils that are in the world, but instead of looking for a "new heaven and a new earth"

it looks for release in unconsciousness. It is the religion of doubt, and hopelessness, and despair. It makes _the worst_ of everything.

PETER'S (St.) DAY. June 29. This festival, originally a festival of both St. Peter and St. Paul, on the traditional anniversary of their common martyrdom, is of great antiquity, certainly known from the 4th century, and kept both in the East and West on this day. The inst.i.tution of the festival of the Conversion of St. Paul has now transferred the commemoration of that Apostle to another day, January 25th.

PEWS. Enclosed seats in churches. They did not come into use until the middle of the 17th century, and almost belong to the past now.

But long before pews there were appropriated seats. The first mention of a "reading pew," or desk, in the body of the church, for the minister, is in 1596: previous to that time his place was in the chancel.

PHILIP (St.) AND St. JAMES'S DAY. May 1. There seems to be no adequate reason for the coupling together of these two Apostles.

In the Greek Church their festivals are observed separately. Of St.

Philip we have notices only in St. John, and early tradition speaks of his preaching in Pamphylia. Of St. James the Apostle, the son of Alphaeus, sometimes supposed to be the same as "James the Less," or the Little, of Mark xv. 40, we know nothing except his name in the Apostolic catalogue. In the Epistle for this day he is identified with James, the brother of the Lord, surnamed the Just, and author of the Epistle bearing his name. But this identification is very uncertain.

PISCINA. A drain for water, usually accompanied with decorative features, near the altar on the south side. It was formerly used to pour away the water in which any sacred vessel had been washed.

In many churches the Piscina is the only remaining trace of where an altar has been.

PLYMOUTH BRETHREN. The name is a misnomer. They call themselves merely "Brethren," and instead of originating in Plymouth, their princ.i.p.al source was near Dublin. They date from 1827, and their existence is a protest against all sectarianism, they holding that there should be a _visible_ unity among Christians. They decline to be looked upon as one of the many sects into which Christianity is divided, and refuse to be identified with any.

They hold in great esteem the primitive const.i.tution of the Church, and trust largely to the power of prayer for the supply of their temporal necessities. They have no recognised ministry, but any one believing himself to be inspired of the Spirit may address their meetings.

POLITY, ECCLESIASTICAL. The const.i.tution and government of the Christian Church, considered as a society. The great book on this subject is Hooker's immortal work.

POPE. From _Papa_, Father, a t.i.tle anciently given to all Christian Bishops; but at the end of the 11th century it was a.s.sumed exclusively by Gregory VII., Bishop of Rome, whose successors'

peculiar t.i.tle it has ever since continued. (See _Papists_.) There are but few instances of the exercise of the papal power in England before the Norman Conquest, nor has the Church of England ever wholly submitted to papal rule. (See _Church of England_.)

POSITIVISM, _see_ Comtism.

PRAYER-BOOK, _see_ Liturgy.

PREACHING. Proclaiming the truths of religion. The term is not necessarily to be limited to what are called sermons, as we see by Acts xv. 21, "Moses of old time hath in every city them that _preach_ him, being _read_ in the synagogues every Sabbath day."

Hooker, in his fifth book, cleverly argues against the exaltation of sermons as being _the_ means of grace to the detriment of other parts of public wors.h.i.+p, a custom prevalent in his time among the Puritans, and now among most of the dissenting sects.

PREBENDARY. A clergyman attached to a Cathedral Church, who anciently enjoyed a _prebend_, or stipend, arising from some part of the Cathedral property, in return for his officiating at stated times in the Cathedral. The appointment is now often honorary. (See _Canon_.)

PRECENTOR. The leader of a choir. In almost all Cathedrals of old foundation in England, and very generally on the Continent, the precentor was the first dignitary in the chapter, ranking next to the dean. He superintended the choral service and the choristers.

In all new foundations the precentor is a minor canon, holding a rank totally different from, and inferior to that of his namesake of the older foundation. (See Minor Canon.)

PREDESTINATION, _see_ Election. The 17th Article treats of Predestination, but in such a way as to make it very difficult to comprehend what it teaches with regard to this most controverted subject. It seems designedly drawn up, in guarded and general terms, on purpose to embrace all persons of tolerably moderate views. (See _Arminianism_, _Calvinism_, _Antinomianism_.)

PRELATE. Generally a Bishop, but strictly an ecclesiastic having jurisdiction over other ecclesiastics.

PRESBYTER. A Greek word signifying an _Elder_. In the Christian Church a _presbyter_ or _elder_ is one who is ordained to a certain office, and authorized by his _quality_, not his _age_, to discharge the several duties of that office and station in which he is placed.

In this large and extended sense, Bishops were sometimes called _presbyters_ in the New Testament, for the apostles themselves did not refuse the t.i.tle. Priests are in an ordinary sense the presbyters of the Church, and in the Scotch Liturgy, compiled in the reign of Charles I, the word _presbyter_ is subst.i.tuted for that of _priest_. (See _Orders_.)

PRESBYTERIANS. A Protestant sect which maintains that there is no order in the Church superior to presbyters, and on that account has separated from the Catholic Church. This sect is established by law in Scotland, where there nevertheless exists a national branch of the Catholic Church, under canonical Bishops. Of course the establishment or disestablishment of a sect in no way alters its position as being, or not being, a branch of the Catholic Church. From time to time considerable secessions have occurred in Scotland from the Established Church, the princ.i.p.al being the "_United Presbyterian Church_," and the "_Free Church of Scotland_."

English Presbyterians are not to be confounded with Scotch Presbyterians, the former being the main supporters of Socinianism and Rationalism in this country.

The "_Presbyterian Church of England_" has 10 presbyteries, 275 congregations, 56,099 communicants.

PRESENCE, REAL, _see_ Communion, Holy, part iv. The Homily on the Sacrament a.s.serts, "Thus much we must be sure to hold, that in the Supper of the Lord there is no vain ceremony or bare sign, _no untrue figure of a thing absent_; but the communion of the body and blood of our Lord in a marvellous incorporation, which, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, is, through faith, wrought in the souls of the faithful."

PRESENTATION. The offering of a clerk to the Bishop by the patron of a benefice, for inst.i.tution.

PRIEST, _see_ Presbyter, & Orders, Holy.

PRIMATE. A "Primate" is the highest in rank in a National Church.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is Primate of all England, but is without power in the province of York. The Archbishop of York is Primate of England.

PROCESSION OF THE HOLY GHOST. The doctrine that the Holy Ghost _proceeds_ from the Father and the Son. It is an incomprehensible mystery, and in thinking of it we shall do well to remember the words of Gregory n.a.z.ianzen to an objector; "Do you tell me how the Father is unbegotten, and I will then attempt to tell you how the Son is begotten, and the Spirit proceeds." The Eastern or Greek Church (which see) split from the Western on this question of the procession of the Holy Ghost, believing that the eternal procession is from the Father alone, and not from the Son.

PROCTOR A name given to the clergy elected by their brethren to represent them in convocation. The same name is given to those officers of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge whose duty it is to guard the morals, and preserve the quiet of the university.

PROFESSOR. A public teacher in a university.

PROTESTANT. The term is now used of all who _protest_ against Popery. It was originally given to those who _protested_ against a certain decree issued by the Diet of Spires in 1529.

PROVINCE. The limit of an Archbishop's jurisdiction, as a diocese is the limit of the jurisdiction of a Bishop. (See _Archbishop_ and _Diocese_.)

PSALTER. The word _Psalter_ is often used by ancient writers for the book of the Psalms, considered as a separate book of Holy Scripture; but the term is generally used now of the book in which the Psalms are arranged for the public service of the Church. The Roman Psalter, for instance, does not follow the course of the Psalms as in the Bible, but arranges them for the different services. The division of the Psalms into daily portions, as given in our Prayer Books, has been done with a view to convenience.

The _Psalter_, properly speaking, is a separate book from that of Common Prayer. The English Psalter does not follow the last translation of the Bible (which is the authorized one), but that of Coverdale's Bible, corrected, which had become familiar to the people from constant use.

PUBLIC WORs.h.i.+P. The united Service of the Congregation. A Christian duty very much neglected by the laity, notwithstanding the Apostolic direction not to forsake "the a.s.sembling of ourselves together."

(Heb. x. 25.) Formerly the law of the land compelled every paris.h.i.+oner to attend public wors.h.i.+p, unless excommunicate. There is a special blessing promised to the a.s.sembly of believers for common prayer and praise. "Where two or three are gathered together there am I in the midst of them." (Matt, xviii. 20.) "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob"

(Ps. lx.x.xvii. 2.) Both in the Old Testament and New Testament this duty holds a prominent place.

PUBLIC WORs.h.i.+P REGULATION ACT. An Act of Parliament, pa.s.sed in 1874, for the better administration of the Laws respecting the regulation of Public Wors.h.i.+p. Under this Act any three aggrieved Paris.h.i.+oners, calling themselves members of the Church of England, though not necessarily Communicants, may report to the Bishop anything their clergyman does which they believe to be unlawful.

The Bishop may use his discretion whether proceedings are to be taken against the clergyman on the representation of his paris.h.i.+oners. If the litigious parties prefer it, the case may be taken out of the Bishop's hands and brought before a Judge appointed under this Act--at present Lord Penzance.

The workings of the Act have been far from satisfactory to any, and in many cases have given rise to grave scandal.

PULPIT. A raised desk. Sermons were formerly delivered from the steps of the Altar. By Canon 83, a raised desk, called a pulpit, is ordered in every church, from which the preacher is to address his flock.

PURGATORY. A place in which souls are, by the Romanists, supposed to be purged from carnal impurities, before they are received into heaven. The Council of Florence, 1439, first gave an authoritative decree concerning Purgatory,--"If any who truly repent depart from this life before that by worthy fruits of repentance they have made satisfaction for their sins of commission and omission, their souls are purified after death, and to relieving these pains, the suffrages of the faithful who are alive, to wit, the sacrifice of ma.s.ses, prayers, alms, and other pious works, are profitable. But whether purgatory is a fire, or a mist, or a whirlwind, or anything else, we do not dispute."

The idea of Purgatory was very early broached by individuals. St.

Augustine, 398, speaks of it as a thing which "possibly may be found so, and possibly never;" the Venerable Bede says it is "not altogether incredible." Origen, in the 3rd century, is by some thought to have been the first to teach distinctly the doctrine of Purgatory, but his view differs altogether from the Roman.

Article xxii. gives the view of the Church of England on this subject. "Purgatory... is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word of G.o.d." However, in the celebrated "Essays and Reviews"

case, the point arose in respect of a doctrine, scarcely discernible from that of Purgatory, being taught by Mr. H. B. Wilson, and the Privy Council decided that there is no condemnation of it in the Anglican formularies. The teaching of Article xxii. is borne out by the following: Luke xxiii, 43; Phil. i 23; 2 Cor. v. 8; Rev.

xiv. 13; and many other pa.s.sages.

PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. February 2nd. The alternative t.i.tle (the "Presentation of Christ in the Temple,") suggests the lesson to be drawn from all the services of the day.

The name "Candle-mas Day" is derived from the custom of a procession with torches, superseding (it is thought) the heathen festival of torches to Ceres in the early part of February, with a reference to the true "light to lighten the Gentiles." Exodus xiii. 1-17 (the proper lesson for the day) gives the Mosaic law of the dedication of the first-born.

PURITANS. A name a.s.sumed by the ultra-Protestants in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I. The following chapter of history is often much misrepresented by the enemies of the Church:--In the time of the great Rebellion seven thousand English clergymen, having refused to take the covenant, were ejected from their livings, their places being supplied by dissenting teachers. At the Restoration it was required that all those persons who had thus become possessed of the property of the English Church should either conform to the regulations of the Church, or resign. Of all the Puritan clergy then in possession only fifteen hundred refused to conform. These fifteen hundred were ejected, and from what? From their rights? No; from what they had usurped. More than five thousand conformed and still retained possession of their benefices, so that but few of the loyal English clergy who had been ejected regained their rights even at the Restoration.

QUAKERS. A sect owing their origin to George Fox, a cattle-drover, in 1624. They are also called the "Society of Friends." The first a.s.sembly for public wors.h.i.+p was held in Leicesters.h.i.+re in 1644. The Society is diminis.h.i.+ng in numbers in the United Kingdom. The body is much more numerous in America. Three gradations of meetings or synods--monthly, quarterly, and yearly--administer the affairs of the Society. Fit persons are chosen by monthly meetings as _Elders_, to watch over the religious duties of the members. They make provision for their poor, none of whom are ever known to require parochial relief. At the monthly meetings also marriages are sanctioned. Monthly meetings being limited to a certain circuit, several monthly meetings compose a quarterly meeting, at which general reports are given and appeals heard. The yearly meeting has the general superintendence of the Society. In case of disputes among Friends the matter is submitted, not to law, but to arbitration.

Their solemn affirmations are accepted in lieu of oaths. The chief rule of their faith is that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so guides and teaches them that the Bible and all else is subordinate to this inward monition of the Spirit. Their ministers may be either male or female, the only qualification necessary being the immediate inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They decline to define in any way the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. They deny the necessity of any outward sign accompanying Baptism, it being a wholly spiritual matter. Also they affirm that taking or receiving the Eucharist is not of perpetual obligation. And they condemn all war, even in self-defence, as unlawful for Christians.

The _Society of Friends_ consists of about 12,000 members, 254 recorded ministers, and about 400 unrecorded; and in England and Wales they have 317 places of wors.h.i.+p. As a rule their moral character is excellent, and they are very valuable members of society.