Page:The age of Justinian and Theodora (Volume 1).djvu/136

 portion of the Bible. Finally the Eucharist is administered to the whole congregation, a spoon being used to give a portion of wine to each person. Ladies, to attend public worship, bedeck themselves with all their jewels and finery, whence female thieves, mingling amongst them, often take the opportunity to reap their harvest. Men, in the most obvious manner, betray their admiration for the women placed within their range of vision. The general behaviour of the audience is more suggestive of a place of amusement than of a holy temple; chattering and laughter go on continually, especially among the females; and, as a popular preacher makes his points, dealing didactically or reprehensively with topics of the day, the whole congregation is from time to time agitated with polemical murmurs, shaken with laughter, or bursts into uproarious applause. Contiguous to each church is a small building called the Baptistery, for the performance of the ceremonial entailed on those who wish to be received among the Christian elect. The practice of the period is to subject the body to complete immersion in pure water, but separate chambers or times are set apart for the convenience of the two sexes. Here on certain occasions nude females of all ages and ranks descend by steps into the baptismal font, whilst the ecclesiastics coldly pronounce the formulas of the