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172 whom, as well as to the pope, a second marriage is forbidden; so he took the daughter, whose dowry was the curacy, and pensioned off the rest of the relations when he entered upon his charge. This custom, sanctioned by the usage of centuries, was rendered unnecessary by the laws of 1864, but it still prevails, and is not likely to disappear until proper provision is made for the families of deceased popes.

The principle of heredity extended also to the subordinate offices of the parish church. After the priest and the deacon, who are received into holy orders, comes the great body of the minor white clergy, subdivided into many classes. In recent synodical reports the total number of popes is given as 37,300, of whom from 1400 to 1500 are proto-popes or arch-priests, the highest dignity to which a member of the white clergy may attain; they are the superiors in parishes having two priests; they are often appointed inspectors over the parish clergy, and are qualified for a seat in the Synod. Of deacons there are 11,500; they assist the pope at the altar, and may, at some ceremonies, as at funerals, replace him. The next, or third class, which is very numerous, nearly 600,000, comprises clerks, beadles, vergers, singers, sextons, bell-ringers, and all the minor officers; each of these subdivisions is separate from the others; its members intermarry, and its functions are practically hereditary. These three orders of popes, deacons, and the minor clergy are, and always remain, entirely distinct one from the other, and do not form successive grades in the parish hierarchy.

Educational institutions for the secular clergy are of three kinds—district or parish schools, seminaries, and academies. Graduates of the first-named, in which instruction is very elementary, are fitted only for the sub-