Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/188

* BITTER. 168 RITUALISM. of Church of St. Lawrence" (1874) ; the "Schone JSrminen" (1880); "Entry of Procession with the Crown Jewels into Nuremberg in 1424" (1883, Citv Hall, Niireiiil)erg) ; "Entry of Gus- tavus Ailolphus in 1632" (1880); "Emperor JIatthias Leaving the Kaiserburg in 1612" (1890) ; and "Monument of Saint Sebaldus." In 1888 the title of royal professor was conferred on him. His brother I.orexz (1832 — ), born at Xu- reniberg. pupil of HcidelofT, also painted (cliiefly in water color.s) and etclied numerous architec- tural views in liis native city and some subjects from North Italy. RITTERSHATJS, rit'tfrs-hous, Emil (1834- 97). A German lyrist, born at Barmen. His poetry, marked by simple feeling, fine diction, and original matter, won great popularity. The best known of his works are: Oedichte (1850; 8th ed. 1891) ; Am Rhein iind heim Wein (1884; 3d ed. 1893); Btich der Leidenschaft (1880); and In llnidcrUebe und Bruderlreue (1893). RITUAL (Lat. ritualin, relating to rites, from rilus, rite; connected with Skt. rlti, course, cus- tom, from rl, to flow). The name of one of the service books of the Roman Church, in which are contained the prayers and order of ceremonial employed by priests in the administration of cer- tain of the sacraments and other offices of the Church. Substantially in its present form it dates from the Council of Trent, which directed a revision of all the different rituals then in ex- istence. RITUALISM. A term popularly applied to the remarkable development of Church ceremonial which grew out of the Oxford Movement (q.v. ) and gathered about the service of the Holy Com- munion, in the Church of England. The ritualistic movement may be said to date from 1863, or even earlier. There were Church riots in East Lon- don springing from this cause in 1859. The as- sertion of the doctrine of the Real Presence (see Lord's Supper) and its concomitant, the Euchar- istic Sacrifice, resulted in a marked development of ceremonial. It is no exaggeration to say that a present-day 'high celebration' of the Holy Eucharist in an 'advanced' church is character- ized by a detailed and elaborate ceremonial with which the earlier Tractarians had no acquaint- ance. The chief warrant for the new ritual is found in what is known as the "Ornaments Rubric" (q.v.) in the English Prayer Book. But the ritualistic, so called, find additional sanction for their ceremonial in the language of Canon XXX. of 1603, which, they assert, establishes the unity of the Church of England with other 'branches' of the Catholic Church and gives them the right to use all ceremonies which are primi- tive and catholic. They further contend that in the 36th article, on "The Consecration of Bisliops and Ministers," it is expressly declared that the old Latin ordination services of the time of Edward VI. contain nothing 'superstitious or un- godly,' that a celebration of the Holy Commun- ion, according to the liturgy of 1549, formed an integral part of these ordination services, and that such a celebration involved the use of all sorts of pre-Reformation rites and ceremonies — ■ all, in fact, that are contended for by the ad- vanced school at the present day. They also cite in support of their practices the numerous lists of ornaments found in the ancient records of parish churches in Edward VI.'s time and the inventories taken liy a commissioner appointed in 1552, wiiich "specify a number of apjiliances and usages over and above those mentioned in the first Prayer Book of Edward VI." They contend, in fact, that every vestment, ornament, and mov- able tiling used in the Church services before the Reformation and every ceremony involved in its use are now perfectly legal, unless expressly for- bidden or by implication done away with by rvibrical or other proper authority. The resrdt is the complete transformation of the Churcli's worship as it was celebrated in the middle of the last century. The 'six points' of ritual are insisted upon. These are the Eucharistic vest- ments (see Costume, Ecclesiastical) ; the east- ward position for the celebrant at the altar; the use of unleavened or wafer bread; the mixed chalice; incense; and altar lights. In England several attempts have been made to suppress these ritualistic practices. In 1807 the Government appointed a commission "to in- quire into the rubrics, orders, and directions for the regulation of the conduct of public worship."' In 1874 the Public Worship Regulation Act was passed. Its object, as expressly declared by the Prime Minister. Disraeli, was to "put down Rit- ualism," and its most significant provision was the appointment of a State-made judge before wliom ritual cases might be brought. In 1890, before Archbishop Benson and his episcopal as- sessors. Bishop King of Lincoln was tried for unlawful practices in the celebration of Holy Communion. The specifications were allowing two lighted candles on the altar, mixing water with the wine, assuming the eastward ]iosition, permitting the Agnus Dei to be sung, making the sign of the cross at the benediction, and taking part in a ceremonial ablution of the sacred vessels. On strict legal grounds, all of these except the sign of the cross were upheld, at least with qualifications. An appeal was made to the Privy Council, which sustained the Archbishop. In 1899 the legality of the ceremonial use of lights and incense and the reservation of the Sacrament was argued before the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the decision was ad- verse to the ancient practices. But legislation has practically failed of its ob- ject. Several English clergj' went to prison rather than obey the mandates of a secular court in things spiritual. The interference of the State in the teaching and practice of the Church was resented and firmly resisted. Even the arch- bishops' decisions were held to be but 'opinions,' and any weight attaching to them was deemed moral rather than legal. The movement, as rep- resented by the English Churcli Union, under the leadership of Lord Halifax, has gone steadily on. The advanced school has been recognized by the Government in the selection of a certain number of bishops from its ranks. The com- prehensiveness of the national Church has been admitted. Most of the practices in debate have been either explicitly or tacitly recognized. The onus of the solution of the diflicult problem of ritual rests largely upon the bishops, and their fatherly counsels generally result in the suppres- sion of extreme practices. In the American Church the absence of any connection with the State has made the history altogether different. But the advance in ritual on the one side and the opposition to it by eccle- siastical means on the other have run a similar I I