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of divine service the Lord Jesus shall be mentioned, due and lowly reverence shall be done by all persons present." Let not our Separatists charge us with idolatry in this, for we follow the express words of scripture, which directs that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and our church gives this very excellent reason for it; "Because we testify by this outward ceremony and gesture, our due acknowledgment that the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and only Son of God, is the only Saviour of the world; in whom alone all the mercies, graces and promises of God to mankind for this life, and the life to come, are fully comprised."

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The three short sentences that follow the Apostles Creed, are addressed to the Three Persons in the Holy Trinity; and for that reason let the clerk of the congregation by no means repeat a second time, Lord, have mercy upon us,' which is in effect to make the Trinity consist of four persons. The second verse only is to be answered by the people, the first and last belonging to the minister.

The custom of repeating the Prayers after the minister is too common in our congregations, and is a very great disservice to the worshipper, as well as disorder to the worship; but it is abundantly more preposterous to repeat the prayers, and to say Amen to them: this is inexcusable ignorance in the people, who by this means are guilty of vain repetitions, and with great imprudence make answer to themselves.

The Blessing that is pronounced at the end of the service by the Priest or the Bishop, was so highly valued in the primitive times of our religion, that none durst go ont of the church till they had received it: the congre gation always received the blessing upon their knees, or with their heads bowing down; and I wish that all who profess any regard for our communion would copy after this devout practice of antiquity, and prevent, if possible, that hurry and disturbance that generally are in our churches after the conclusion of the sermon. The Priest has authority from Heaven to bless the people, and upon the sons of peace shall his blessing rest; but from such as prevent it by their sins or infidelity, shall his blessing return to him again.

And here I cannot forbear wondering at the amazing boldness of those Sectarists, who have the assurance to asperse our excellent Liturgy, not considering how they

provoke

provoke authority in a very outrageous manner, and very openly expose themselves to the notice of the laws; for the Act of Uniformity, which established the Common Prayer, and which is still (and may it ever be) unrepealed, has laid such profane persons under the severe penalties of fines and imprisonments, who presume to preach, declare, or speak any thing in derogation, depraving, or despising the said book, or any thing therein contained, or any part thereof.

FORM OF BAPTISM AMONG THE GREEKS.

[From a very scarce book, entituled “An Account of the Greek Church, by Thomas Smith, B. D. and Fellow of St. Mary Magdalen College, Oxford. London, printed by Miles Fletcher, for Richard Davis. 1680. Svo.]

LTHOUGH there be no time prescribed for the baptism of infants, yet they seldom either defer it beyond the eighth or tenth day, or hasten it before, unless in case of violent sickness, and for fear of sudden death. For they believe such an absolute necessity of this Sacrament, which they ground on those words of our Saviour, St. John iii. 5. " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," as that they entertain hard and cruel thoughts of the state of infants, which by some misfortune and casualty are deprived of it. To prevent which mischief, and secure their fears, where there is a real and certain danger of imminent death, in the absence of a priest, who is at all other times the only lawful minister of this sacred rite, it is allowed to lay-persons of either sex, as it is expressly laid down in their public Confession of Faith, written in the vulgar Greek, and printed in the year 1662. "It is not lawful and proper for any one to baptize, but a lawful priest, except in time of necessity: and then a secular person, whether man or woman, may do it."

At all other times the infant, if well, is to be brought to church in the entrance of which toward the Narther is the font, usually large, and about a foot and a half deep, which they call by several names, as Arng, or the laver, Βαπλιτήριον, Φωλιςήριον, and Κολυμβήθρα οι pool, (alluding to that in Jerusalem mentioned in the 5th chapter of St. John, whose waters had a miraculous virtue in them of healing divers diseases; or to that other in Si

Vol. VII. Churchm. Mag. Aug. 1804. S loam,

loam, St. John ix. 7. where the blind man by the command of Christ washt, and received his sight; the waters of baptism having the same effect upon the mind by virtue of our blessed Saviour's institution, as they had upon the body.)

The water made use of is usually consecrated for this purpose on the Feast of the Theophania, or Baptism of our Saviour, and that with great solemnity, after the celebration of the other blessed sacrament: for which there is a peculiar office. This they call ¿ μéyaç ayaopès, or the great sanctification. But because a sufficient quantity of water for the whole year may not be blessed at that time, and (besides) what is reserved may be apt to putrefy, and so be unfit to be used, every month, or sooner, in great cities, they furnish themselves with more.

In the winter, that the tender body of the infant may not suffer by cold, they for the most part warm the water (perfumed with sweet herbs) upon which the priest breathes, and makes a cross, and then poureth oil upon it in the form of a cross three times; with which having anointed the child, and holding him upright with both his hands, and his face turned toward the east, he performs the mystical rite with this form of words: "The servant of God, such a one, is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, now and for ever. Amen." At the mention of each person of the Trinity the priest dips the child under water: at which time the godfather, if it be a male child, who is here always single, answers, Amen, in all thrice. Which three-fold immersion they for the most part rigidly retain, according to the custom and practice of the first ages; though they do not scruple to vary from it upon occasion, being content sometimes to pour water upon the face of the infant three times, in acknowledgment of the mystery of the Holy Trinity, in whose name the infant is chris tened. But whether the sacramental rite be either by immersion or by affusion, the effect of the sacrament is the same, that is, the washing away of original sin derived from the first parent of mankind, (which they call · τὸ ἁμάρτημα προπατορικόν,) and an undoubted seal of eternal life, the baptized persons being regenerated and made members of the body of Christ.

The form of baptism is always pronounced passively in the way of declaration: "The servant of God, such a one, he or she, is baptized," &c. not actively," I baptize

thee."

thee." For which Gabriel, archbishop of Philadelphia, assigns these two poor reasons, or shifts rather: the one, that although our blessed Saviour, at the institution of this sacrament, used the active voice, when he said, "Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name, &c." yet it is read passively in St. Mark, chap. xvi. 16. " He that believes and is baptized shall be saved:" the other, that this way of expression savours more of modesty and humility; which he pretends to fetch from St. Chrysostom. Whereas there is but little difference in the forms, and none in the sense: "Such a one is baptized," that is, he adds by way of explication, en de se "by me," being indeed the very same with, I baptize such an one. The zealous men of both communions are certainly to blame, while they are so eager and fierce in defence of their own form, and use bitter and severe invectives one against another for a matter of so small moment, as this variety of expression seems to be. But as to the latter words, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," in which both agree, the Greeks universally hold them so necessary and essential to the sacrament, that unless they are entirely and distinctly pronounced, they think that it is not so much the sacrament of baptism which is celebrated, as a ludicrous imitation, or heretical and profane abuse of it.

They never use the same water a second time: but if two or three infants are to be baptized at the same time, so often they empty and fill the laver. But the water which has been made use of for this or the like sacred purpose, is not thrown away into the street, like other common water, but poured into a hollow place, which they call Jaracoidior, or xwvetov, under the altar, where it is soaked into the earth, or finds a passage.

Soon after, a prayer or two being interposed, the priest proceeds to anoint the newly-baptized infant, lately covered with its mantle and swaddling-cloaths: for in the Greek church Chrismation is inseparable from Baptism, and though reckoned as a distinct mystery, as indeed it is, is in a manner a necessary appendage and complement of it; according to the 48th canon of Laodicea, which orders τῳ ἐπερανίῳ χρίσθαι μύρῳ τὲς φωτιζομένες, the baptized persons to be anointed with the heavenly Chrism." Which Chrism," as Matthæus Blastares explains it out of Zonaras and Balsamon, whose words for the most part he retains, "being sanctified by prayer

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and the invocation of the holy Spirit, sanctifies the persons anointed with it, and makes them partakers of the heavenly kingdom of Christ; unless impenitence and impiety of life afterwards alienate and render them un, worthy of it,

REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Case respecting the Maintenance of the London Clergy, briefly stated and supported by Reference to authentic Documents. By J. Moore, LL. B. Rector of St. Michael's, Bassishaw, and Minor Canon of St. Paul's. Rivingtons. 8vo. pp. 54,

R. MOORE thus states his reasons for printing his

Mpamphlet:

"Upwards of a twelvemonth has elapsed since I announced my intention of re-editing Bishop Walton's Treatise concerning the Payment of Tithes in London, with Notes and a Continuation. And, had the work been now ready for publication, it would have been peculiarly seasonable at this time, when a number of the Clergy have it in contemplation to apply to Parliament for an amendment of the Act by which their incomes were regulated in the reign of Charles the Second. But, though several persons, and among them some of the highest respectability, have done me the honour of their names, the encouragement I have met with is by no means such as could warrant my undertaking an impression which would be attended with no inconsiderable expence.

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Unwilling however that the cause, in which I have a common interest, should suffer for want of any information I am in possession of, I have determined to compress the substance of Bishop Walton's Treatise and of the collections I have made myself, and to draw up a short statement of the case; that my brethren of the Clergy may know the ground on which they stand, and the inhabitants of London may be apprized of the just expectations of their ministers. Sensible at the same time that misrepresentation would only defeat my purpose, and injure the cause I wish to promote, I pledge myself that this statement shall be a fair one; nor shall any thing material be advanced without being supported by reference to authentic documents and unquestionable authorities."

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