Page:The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII.djvu/405



ANGLICAN ORDERS. 399

And here it is important to observe that although Gordon himself, whose case it was, and some of the con- suitors had adduced, amongst the reasons which went to prove the invaUdity, the Ordination of Parker, accord- ing to their owti ideas about it, in the deUvery of the decision this reason was altogether set aside, as docu- ments of incontestable authenticity prove. Nor, in pronouncing the decision, was weight given to any other reason than the ^'deject of form and intention"; and in order that the judgment concerning this form might be more certain and complete, precaution was taken that a copy of the Anglican Ordinal should be submitted to examination, and that ndth it should be collated the Ordination forms gathered together from the various Eastern and Western rites. Then Clement XI. himself, wdth the unanimous vote of the Cardinals concerned on the "Feria V.," ^ April 17, 1704:, decreed: "John Clement Gordon shall be ordained from the beginning and uncon- ditionally to all the Orders, even Sacred Orders, and chiefly of priesthood, and in case he has not been con- firmed he shall first receive the Sacrament of Confirma- tion." It is important to bear in mind that this judg- ment was in no wise determined by the omission of the tradition of instruments, or in such a case, according to the estabUshed custom, the direction would have been to repeat the ordination conditionally ; and still more important it is to note that the judgment of the Pontiff applies universally to all Anglican Ordinations, because, although it refers to a particular case, it is not based upon any reason special to that case, but upon the defect of

' [The term " Feria V." here used has a technical value. Ordi- nary' meetings of the Supreme Council for t'he ratification of de- crees usually take place on the Wednesdays, and are marked ' 'Feria IV." But the special and solemn sessions which, in matters of graver import, are held in the presence and under the presidency of the Pope himself, who thus in a special way makes the decisions his own, take place on Thursdays, and are marked "Feria V." â€” Translators' Note.]