The Church Handy Dictionary Part 5

CHAPEL. Any consecrated building other than a Parish Church or Cathedral. The word is also now applied to the Meeting Houses of the various dissenting bodies. Lately, some of these bodies have taken to calling their places of wors.h.i.+p _churches_.

CHAPLAIN. A person authorized to officiate in places other than the Parish Church, such as the private chapels of n.o.blemen, and the chapels attached to Asylums, Workhouses, Hospitals, and the like.

A statute of Henry VIII. restricts the number of chaplains which may be appointed by personages of various ranks as follows:--an Archbishop, eight; a Duke or Bishop, six; Marquis or Earl, five; Viscount, four; Baron, Knight of the Garter, or Lord Chancellor, three; a d.u.c.h.ess, Marchioness, Countess, Baroness, the Treasurer or Comptroller of the King's household, the Clerk of the Closet, the King's Secretary, the Dean of the Chapel, Almoner, and Master of the Rolls, each of them two chaplains. The Queen has forty-eight chaplains, called Chaplains in Ordinary.

CHAPTER. The governing body of a Cathedral or Collegiate Church, consisting of the Dean, the Canons, Prebendaries, &c. (See _Dean and Chapter_.)

CHAPTER HOUSE. A building attached to a Cathedral, in which the Dean and Chapter meet for the transaction of business.

CHARGE. The address delivered by a Bishop or Archdeacon at their respective Visitations of the Clergy.

CHASIBLE, or CHASUBLE, _see_ Vestment.

CHERUB, _see_ Angel.

CHIMERE, _see_ Vestments

CHOIR, or QUIRE. That part of a church which is called the chancel, is generally called the _choir_ in a Cathedral. The word is also applied to the singing men and boys, who lead the musical part of the service. (See _Church Music_.)

CHORISTER. A member of the choir, and more properly one of the boys of the choir.

CHRIST. _The Anointed One_. The Greek form of the Hebrew _Messiah_.

One of the t.i.tles of our Blessed Lord. Acts x.38. (See _Trinity_, _The Holy_.)

CHRISTEN, TO. The same as to Baptize. (See _Baptism_.)

CHRISTIAN. A t.i.tle given, in ridicule possibly in the first instance, to the believers in Christ by the people of Antioch.

(Acts. xi.26.)

CHRISTIAN NAME. The name given us when we were made Christians, viz., at our baptism.

CHRISTMAS DAY. Dec. 25th. The day kept as the anniversary of our Saviour's birth. This is believed to be the true day and month.

W. H. Mill says that the objections against it are "for the most part weak and groundless." This high Festival has been kept at least since the IVth century. There are special Psalms and Lessons appointed, and a "proper preface" in the Communion Service. It is one of those "three times" at which all professing members of the Church are expected to communicate every year.

CHURCH, THE. Our Prayer Book supplies us with a definition in Art.

xix. The three chief branches of the Church Catholic are--(1) the Eastern, or Greek Church; (2) the Western, or Roman Church; and (3) the Anglican Church, of which the Episcopal Churches of England, Scotland, Ireland, America, and the Colonies form part. Although, unhappily, there are grave differences in both faith and ceremony among these great branches of the Church, yet we can still profess our belief in "one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church," inasmuch as we are all one by unity of faith in Christ, by Apostolical foundation, and succession of Orders. It seems well here to give a brief sketch of the English, Greek, and Roman Churches.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Christianity was introduced into Britain at the end of the first, or beginning of the second, century. Three British Bishops were present at a Council held at Arles, in Gaul, in 314.

At the invasion of the heathen Anglo-Saxons the British Church retreated into Wales. In 597 Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, sent Augustine to this island, who was instrumental in reviving Christianity in the south-east of England. When he came he found seven Bishoprics existing, and two Archbishoprics, viz., London and York. Augustine was made the first Archbishop of Canterbury; this was the first appointment by Papal authority in England. The northern part of England was evangelized in the earlier portion of the following century, by Irish Missionaries from Iona, under Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne; and his successor, Finan, who lived to see Christianity everywhere established north of the Humber, and died in 662. "The planting, therefore, of the Gospel in the Anglo-Saxon provinces of Britain was the work of two rival Missionary bands (597 to 662); in the south, the _Roman_, aided by their converts, and some teachers out of Gaul; in the north, the _Irish_, whom the conduct of Augustine and his party had estranged from their communion. If we may judge from the area of their field of action, it is plain that the Irish were the larger body; but a host of conspiring causes gradually resulted in the spread and ascendancy of Roman modes of thought." (Hardwick.)

In the time of Archbishop Theodore (668--689) the fusion of the English Christians was completed, and the Pope began to a.s.sert (not without opposition) an usurped authority in the English Church (_c.f._, Hardwick).

What are called the "dark ages" were indeed dark in the Church, for then it was that she became erring in faith, doctrine, and practice, and almost a caricature of what she once was. This state of things continued until the 16th century, when the Reformation took place.

The movement was popular in England, and nearly all, clergy and people, were glad to see the superst.i.tions and corruptions which had crept into the Church swept away by Archbishop Cranmer and his colleagues. Still, there was a party which would take no share in this movement, but remained faithful to the Pope,--the representatives of what was falsely called the "old faith."

Notwithstanding the differences of faith between these two parties, they both continued nominally members of the Church of England. It was not until 1569 that the Roman Catholic party seceded from the Church of England, and formed a distinct sect. It is most important for Churchmen to remember that the Church of England did not secede from that of Rome, but Romanists seceded from the Church of England.

Just as Naaman the leper remained the same Naaman after he was cured of his leprosy as he was before, so the Church of England remained the same Church of England after the Reformation as she was before, composed of the same duly consecrated Bishops, of the same duly ordained Clergy, and of the same faithful people. The present Church of England is the old Catholic Church of England, reformed in the 16th century of certain superst.i.tious errors, but still the same Church which came down from our British and Saxon ancestors, and as such it possesses its original endowments, which were never, as some suppose, taken from one Church and given to another. And thus, when Roman Catholics speak of our grand old Cathedrals and Parish Churches as being once theirs, they a.s.sert what is not historically true. These buildings always belonged, as they do now, to the Church of England, which Church has been continuous from British times to the present. (See _Endowment_.)

The Established Church in England is governed by 2 Archbishops and 31 Bishops. Besides these, there are 4 Suffragan (which see) Bishops (Dover, Bedford, Nottingham, and Colchester). There are also 22 retired Colonial Bishops in England. Four new Bishoprics have recently been created, and two more are in course of formation.

As a.s.sistants to the Bishops there are 82 Archdeacons, and 613 Rural Deans. There about 13,500 benefices in England, and about 23,000 clergymen of every cla.s.s. The Church sittings number about 6,200,000. It is somewhat difficult to arrive at the number of the members of the Church of England, as Nonconformists have always objected to a religious census being made. Taking the following official returns, we find that, out of every 100,--

Chrchs. Dsntrs.

School returns give 72 28 Cemetery " " 70 30 Marriages " " 75 25 Army " " 63 37 (Of which 37 no fewer than 24 are Roman Catholics.) Navy returns give 75 25 Workhouse " " 79 21 Giving an average of 72 per cent, to the Church, and 28 per cent, to Dissenters.

The whole population in England and Wales in 1878 was 24,854,397 Church population at 72 percent. 17,995,159 Nonconformist population (including Roman Catholics) 6,859,238

With regard to Educational Matters, we find that

Scholars.

In Day Schools connected with the Church, there are 2,092,846 Ditto with Wesleyans 173,804 Ditto Roman Catholics 223,423 In British and Undenominational Schools 324,144 School Board Schools 1,197,927

We also find that on Hospital Sunday, 1881, the following contributions were made:

Church of England L174,662 Methodists (the various sects together) L 9,012

For Missionary purposes the sums of money collected in 1881 were:

Church of England L460,395 Nonconformist Societies in England L313,177

_Statistics of the Anglican Communion_ _Bishops_. _Clergy_.

England and Wales (including 4 Suffragan, and 4 a.s.sistant, Bishops) 41 23,000 Ireland 12 1,700 Scotland 7 250 British Colonies, India, &c. 75 3,100 United States 69 3,600 Retired Bishops 22 --- ------ Total (in round numbers) 226 30,000

CHURCH, THE GREEK. This ancient branch of the Catholic Church is the Church of the East. The great schism between the Eastern and Western Churches took place in the eleventh century, though for centuries before a separation had been imminent. One of the chief causes of the separation of the Eastern from the Western Church was that the latter holds the doctrine that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son (_filioqe_) as well as from the Father, eternally; and inserted the words "filioque" (and from the Son) in the Nicene Creed. This the Eastern Church rejects; and also she errs in other details both of faith and practice. Her orders are without doubt Apostolical, and efforts have been made for her union with the Anglican Church, but the "filioque" clause in the Creed has. .h.i.therto hindered this from being accomplished.

CHURCH OF ROME. This is properly that branch of the great Church Catholic over which the Bishop, or Pope, of Rome presides. It in no way belongs to the object of this work to trace the history of this Church from Apostolic times, nor yet to notice how by degrees it claimed and a.s.sumed the supremacy over other churches. But since we find amongst us certain congregations who wors.h.i.+p according to the Roman use, and who look up to the Pope of Rome as their head, it will be well to see how Romanism was introduced into this land after the Reformation. As has been before noticed (see _Church of England_), it was not until about forty years after the Papal usurpation had been suppressed in England that those who still remained Roman at heart fell away from the ancient Church of England, and const.i.tuted themselves into a distinct community or sect. This was in the year 1570. This schismatic community was first governed by the Jesuits. In 1623 a Bishop, called the Bishop of Chalcedon, was consecrated, and sent from Rome to rule the Roman sect in England. The Bishop of Chalcedon was banished in 1628, and then the adherents of the Papacy in England were left without any Bishops until the reign of James II. This King favoured the Romanists, and would gladly have re-introduced the Roman Catholic religion into the country. He filled many vacant Sees with members of the Church of Rome; but all he did in favour of Popery was more than reversed in the reign of his successor, William III., Prince of Orange. In 1829 a Bill, called the Roman Catholic Emanc.i.p.ation Bill, was pa.s.sed, by which Roman Catholics were made eligible to sit in Parliament, and restored to other rights of English citizens.h.i.+p from which they had before been excluded. In the present reign (1850) Dr. Wiseman, and a few other Roman Catholic priests, led the Pope to trench upon the Royal prerogative by establis.h.i.+ng a Romish Hierarchy in this country. Cardinal Wiseman was made Archbishop of Westminster; and twelve others, Bishops of territorial Sees. A Bill, however, was brought into Parliament by the Government to resist this Papal aggression, and forbidding the a.s.sumption of English territorial t.i.tles. This Act has been repealed.

We of the Reformed Church hold that many doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome are erroneous and unscriptural, the most important of which are the following:--The doctrine of Original Sin, and Justification, as defined by the Council of Trent; Propitiatory Sacrifice of the Ma.s.s; Transubstantiation; Communicating in one kind only; the Seven Sacraments; Purgatory; the Wors.h.i.+p, Invocation, and Intercession of the Blessed Virgin, Saints, and Angels; Veneration of Relics; Wors.h.i.+p of Images; Universal Supremacy of the Roman Church; the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; and the Infallibility of the Pope. These two last were not imposed upon the Roman Church as articles of faith, necessary to be believed, until 1854 and 1870. With the exception of the last two, the above is a summary of the errors of Rome, drawn up by Dr. Barrow, and quoted by Bishop Harold Browne in his book on the 39 articles.

In England the Roman Church has two Cardinals, one of whom (Cardinal Manning) is also Archbishop, 17 Bishops, 2,112 other Clergy. The number of Roman Catholic Archbishops and Bishops now holding office in the British Empire is 131.

CHURCH MUSIC. Certain parts of our Service are directed to be "said or sung," the former possibly describing the parochial, the latter the Cathedral, manner of performing Divine Service. The use of musical instruments in the singing of praise to G.o.d is very ancient.

The first Psalm in the Bible--viz., that which Moses and Miriam sang after the pa.s.sage of the Red Sea--was then accompanied by timbrels.

Afterwards, when the Temple was built, musical instruments were constantly used at public wors.h.i.+p. In the 150th Psalm the writer especially calls upon the people to prepare the different kinds of instruments wherewith to praise the Lord. And this has been the constant practice of the Church in all ages. It is not clearly known when organs were first brought into use, but we find that as early as the year 766 the Emperor of the East sent an organ as a present to Pippin, King of France. It is certain that the use of them has been very common now for several hundreds of years.

The custom of dividing the choir into two parts, stationed on either side of the chancel, in order that they may say, or sing, alternate verses, dates from the primitive Church. Thus Miriam sang. (Ex.

xv.20.) Thus the angels in heaven sing. (Isaiah vi.3)

The Psalms and Canticles are generally sung to a chant. These are of two kinds--_Gregorian_ and _Anglican_. Gregorian chants are very ancient; a collection of them was compiled by Gregory, Bishop of Rome, about A.D. 600. They are sung in unison. Anglican chants, which are of much more recent invention, are sung in harmony. Nearly all our Church music is based on the Gregorian chant. A _single_ chant is an air consisting of two phrases, corresponding to the two parts into which every verse of the Psalms and Canticles is divided in our Prayer Book by a colon. A double chant consists of four parts. Sometimes the Canticles are sung to what is called a _Service_, which is a musical arrangement similar to the Anthem.

_Hymn_, a metrical song of praise. Hymns are nowhere formally authorised in our Church, with one exception, viz., the _Veni Creator_ in the Ordination Service. Still, metrical hymns have been sung in the Church from Apostolic times, the words of some of which are extant. The "hymn" sung by our Lord and his disciples at the Last Supper was probably the "Hallel," Psalms cvii.--cxviii.

_Anthem_, as the term is usually understood in England, consists of pa.s.sages from Holy Scripture set to music; such also are _Introits_.

Anthems are almost peculiar to our Church, but have been in constant use in it since the Reformation.

Other parts of the Service, such as the Prayers, the Versicles, the Litany, are frequently read either on one note (_monotoned_), or on one note occasionally varied at the end by a cadence (_intoned_).

This is objected to by some as being unnatural; but it is not so.