Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/365

 EITUALISM 349 therefore, that they are willing to do any and everything lawful to approximate toward the continental churches, from which the Anglican communion is now severed. The third funda- mental principle of ritualism is found in the ornaments rubric, which has stood in the Eng- lish prayer book, almost unaltered, from the beginning of the English reformation: "The chancels shall remain as they have done in times past. And here it is to be noted, that such ornaments of the church and of the min- isters thereof, at all times of their ministration, shall be retained and be in use as were in this church of England, by the authority of parlia- ment, in the second year of the reign of King Edward the Sixth." By this law, it is thought, the chancels as well as the vestments and " or- naments of the church and of the ministers thereof" should be precisely the same now as they were before the reformation, no change in them having been made in the second year of Edward. In the case of Liddell. Wester- ton, the judicial committee of the privy coun- cil interpreted the law to refer to the rubrics of Edward the Sixth's first book, which did not come into use till Whitsunday in the third year of his reign. That rubric, in the "Or- der for administering the Supper of the Lord and the Holy Communion, commonly called the Mass," reads as follows: "Upon the day and at the time appointed for the ministration of the holy communion, the priest that shall execute the holy ministry shall put upon him the vesture appointed for that ministration, that is to say, a white albe plain, with a vest- ment or cope. And where there be many priests or deacons, there so many shall be ready to help the priest in the ministration as shall be requisite ; and shall have upon them like- wise the vestures appointed for their ministry, that is to say, albes with tunicles." A further rubric of the same book orders : " Whensoever the bishop shall celebrate the holy communion, or execute any other public office, he shall have upon him, besides his rochet, an albe and cope or vestment, and also his pastoral staff in his hand, or else borne by his chaplain." As, in the opinion of ritualists, the three leading principles of the so-called catholic revival thus bind together the present church of England with the primitive, the mediaeval, and the con- tinental churches, they profess to give promi- nence to everything which helps to make this union real, without violating their clear ob- ligations as members of the church of Eng- land. There are six chief points depending more or less closely on the principles laid down : 1, the eastward position of the celebrant in the sacrament of the holy communion, with his back to the people; 2, the eucharistic vest- ments ; 3, lights burning at the time of the celebration ; 4, incense ; 5, the mixed chal- ice, a little water being added to the wine ; 6, unleavened (or wafer) bread. The opponents of these usages have attempted to proscribe them through prosecutions in the English ec- clesiastical courts. In the case of Liddell c. Westerton (1867), it was decided "that the same dresses and the same utensils, or articles, which were used under the first prayer book of Edward the Sixth, may still be used ;" which left the ritualists in possession of the field. Suits were subsequently instituted against Mr. Mac- konochie (1868) and Mr. Purchas (1870), the latter of which was not defended. All the six above mentioned usages and some others were condemned by the highest court of appeal. The advocates of ritualism protested against the decision, which in their view impaired the authority of the court, and parliament has since provided for the establishing of a differ- ent tribunal for the hearing of ecclesiastical appeals. One decision, condemning the east- ward position, was protested against in writing by about 5,000 of the clergy of the established church. Of more importance than these cases was that of the Eev. W. J. E. Bennett, vicar of Frome, who published a sermon in which he taught " the real and actual presence of our Lord, under the form of bread and wine, upon the altars of our churches." He stated "the three great doctrines on which the Catholic church has to take her stand " to be : "1, the real objective presence of our blessed Lord in the eucharist; 2, the sacrifice offered by the priest ; 3, the adoration due to the presence of our blessed Lord therein;" adding: "I am one of those who burn lighted candles at the altar in the .daytime ; who use incense at the holy sacrifice ; who use the eucharistic vestments ; who elevate the blessed sacrament; who my- self adore, and teach the people to adore, Christ present in the sacrament, under the form of bread and wine ; believing that under their veil is the sacred body and blood of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." The court of arch- es, through Sir Robert Phillimore (who said that if he pronounced otherwise he "should be passing sentence, in his opinion, upon a long roll of illustrious divines"), having de- cided in Mr. Bennett's favor, his prosecutors appealed to the judicial committee of the privy council (1872), which, although manifesting a strong animus against Mr. Bennett and Sir Kobert Phillimore, dismissed the appeal. En- couraged by this doctrinal victory, the Eng- lish ritualists have announced their determi- nation to persevere 'until they have recover- ed what they consider their rightful heritage as a true branch of the Catholic church, in accordance with the professed principles, can- ons, and rubrics of the reformed church of England, as illustrated by the facts of her his- tory. While devoting close study to holy writ, they have investigated the questions of litur- gies and ritual in all ages of the church, espe- cially the reformation era, have taken the lead in hymnology, and have produced many manu- als and catechisms for the promotion of per- sonal devotion. They have encouraged the revival of religious orders, mainly for works of charity ; and there are many communities