The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia Part 7

t.i.tLE III.--Of the Organized Bodies and Officers of the Church, Nine Canons. {81}

t.i.tLE IV.--Miscellaneous Provisions, Four Canons.

There is also an appendix of Standing Resolutions.

Dimissory Letter.--A letter given to a clergyman removing from one Diocese to another. The General Canons provide that "before a clergyman shall be permitted to settle in any Church or Parish, or be received into union with any Diocese of this Church as a Minister thereof, he shall produce to the Bishop, or if there be no Bishop, to the Standing Committee thereof, a letter of dismission from under the hand and seal of the Bishop with whose Diocese he has been last connected . . . which shall be delivered within six months from the date thereof; and when such clergyman shall have been so received he shall be considered as having pa.s.sed entirely from the jurisdiction of the Bishop from whom the letter of dismission was brought, to the full jurisdiction of the Bishop or other Ecclesiastical Authority by whom it shall be accepted and become thereby subject to all the canonical provisions of this Church."

The effect of this law is that in the Episcopal Church there can be no strolling, irresponsible evangelists or preachers, and thus the people are protected from imposture, and may know, when the proper steps are taken, that their ministers come to them fully accredited and duly authorized to minister to them in Christ's Name.

Diocese.--The territorial limits of a Bishop's Jurisdiction.

Properly speaking the Diocese is the real unit of Church life.

Originally the Bishop went first in the establis.h.i.+ng of the Church in any nation or country; out of this Jurisdiction grew the parishes or local congregation, being ministered to by the Priests {82} under the Bishop. In the American Church, through force of circ.u.mstances, the reverse of this has been the case. But notwithstanding, the fact remains here as elsewhere that the Diocese with the Bishop at its head is the real unit of Church life and organization, and the Parish a dependency of it and from which it gets its corporate existence as a Parish. In the phraseology of the Canons, a missionary Bishop presides over a "Missionary Jurisdiction" which it is expected will develop into a Diocese, but according to the true theory of the Church his _Missionary Jurisdiction_ is really a Diocese. (See CATHEDRAL.)

Diocesan.--The name given to a Bishop who presides over a Diocese.

The word also means relating or pertaining to a Diocese.

Diocesan Convention.--The annual gathering of the Bishop, Clergy and people of a Diocese. The Bishop and Clergy represent their own Order and the people are represented by delegates elected by the Vestries of the various parishes. The purpose of the Convention is to review the work of the past year; make provision for the work of the year following, and by legislative acts provide such laws as may further the purpose for which the Diocese exists. For cause special conventions may be called, a month's notice at least being given to the clergy, and to the parishes within the Diocese. (See CONVENTION.)

Diocesan Missions.--Church work done in a Diocese outside of its Parishes and having for its object the extension of the Church within the territorial limits of the Diocese, is called _Diocesan Missions_. This work is prompted by those words of our Lord {83} when He said, "Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also; for therefore came I forth." The Diocese embraces all the people within its limits and for them all it has a message and a blessing. For the deliverance of this message and the bestowal of this blessing all, both Clergy and Laity, have responsibilities and therefore the Church turns to them for the means whereby this work can be carried on. The support of Diocesan Missions is as obligatory on all members of the Church as the support of the Bishop or their own Parish, and to this all will contribute annually if they love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and truth. (See CONVOCATION.)

Diptychs.--In the early ages of the Church it was customary to recite in holy commemoration the names of eminent Bishops, of Saints and Martyrs; the names of those who had lived righteously and had attained the perfection of a virtuous life. For this purpose the Church possessed certain books, called _diptychs_, from their being _folded together_, and in which the names of such persons "departed in the true faith," were written that the Deacon might rehea.r.s.e them at the time when the memorial of the departed was made at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. This was done to excite and lead the living to the same happy state by following their good example; and also to celebrate the memory of them as still living, according to the principles of our Religion, and not properly dead, but only translated by death to a more Divine Life.

To this custom is to be traced the origin of the Christian CALENDAR (which see). In many parishes at the present time a similar {84} custom obtains, of reciting at the Holy Communion on All Saints'

Day the names of paris.h.i.+oners who, during the year, have departed in the true faith of G.o.d's Holy Name.

Discretion, Years of.--In the Prayer Book the Rite of Confirmation is described as "The Laying on of Hands on those who are Baptized and come to years of Discretion." The phrase "years of discretion"

is defined in the Rubric at the end of The Catechism, as follows, "So soon as children are come to a competent age _and can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, and can answer the other questions of this Short Catechism, they shall be brought to the Bishop_." According to the modern capacity of children, they are able to learn what is required by the time they are from _twelve_ to _fourteen_ years old; but if they are quick and intelligent children, they will probably be ready to "be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him" at an even earlier age. From immemorial usage this is evidently the intention of the Church.

Dispensation.--A formal license, granted by ecclesiastical authority, to do something which is not ordinarily permitted by the canons, or to leave undone something that may be prescribed. In the American Canons, dispensation has special reference to an official act by the Bishop whereby he may excuse candidates for Holy Orders from pursuing certain studies required by canon.

Divine Liturgy.--(See HOLY COMMUNION, also LITURGY.)

Divine Service.--In the old rubrical usage of the {85} Church, "Divine Service" always meant the Holy Communion, which was also called the _Divine Liturgy_. The central point of all Divine Wors.h.i.+p, towards which all other services gravitate, and around which they revolve, like planets around the sun, is the great sacrificial act of the Church, the offering of the Blessed Sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood.

Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society.--This society is the largest and most influential working organization in the American Church. By means of it the Church shows how aggressive she is, for it has enabled her to place Bishops and Missionaries in many of the States and in all the Territories in the Union and also in foreign lands. This society is the Church's established agency, under the authority and direction of the General Convention, for the prosecution of missions among the negroes of the South, the Indians in the North, the people in the New States and Territories in the West and in some of the older Dioceses; in all the Society maintains work in forty-three Dioceses and seventeen Missionary Jurisdictions in this country. It also conducts missions among the nations in Africa, China, j.a.pan, Haiti, Mexico, Porto Rico and the Philippines.

It pays the salary and expenses of twenty-three Missionary Bishops and the Bishop of Haiti, and provides entire or partial support for sixteen hundred and thirty (1,630) other missionaries, besides maintaining many schools, orphanages and hospitals. For the prosecution of this work the Society expends about $700,000 a year, which amount it expects to receive from the devotions of the faithful. The Society should be {86} remembered in making wills, and its constant needs should never be forgotten since it must regularly each and every year provide for so great a work.

The legal t.i.tle of this important society is, "_The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America_." The Society was organized by the General Convention in 1821 and incorporated by the State of New York, May 13th, 1846, and is organized as follows:

MEMBERS.--The Society is considered as comprehending all persons who are members of this Church.

BOARD OF MISSIONS.--Composed of all the Bishops of the Church in the United States and the members for the time being of the House of Deputies of the General Convention (including the Delegates from the Missionary Jurisdictions), the members of the Board of Managers and the Secretary and Treasurer of the Board.

THE MISSIONARY COUNCIL.--Comprises all Bishops of the Church, all members of the Board of Managers, and such other clergymen and laymen as may be elected by the General Convention, and in addition thereto, one Presbyter and one layman from each Diocese and Missionary Jurisdiction to be chosen by the Convention, Council or Convocation of such Diocese or Jurisdiction. The Missionary Council meets annually except in the General Convention years, and is competent to take all necessary action in regard to the missionary work of the Church consistent with the general policy of the Board of Missions.

BOARD OF MANAGERS.--Comprises the Presiding Bishop, fifteen other Bishops, fifteen Presbyters and {87} fifteen Laymen selected from the Missionary Council. The Board of Managers, thus composed, has the management of the general missions of the Church, and when the Board of Missions is not in session, exercises all the corporate powers of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society.

THE HEADQUARTERS of the Society are in the CHURCH MISSIONS HOUSE (which see) at 281 Fourth Avenue, New York City.

THE PUBLICATIONS of the Society by which its work is made known are "The Spirit of Missions," published monthly; "The Quarterly Message," and "The Young Christian Soldier," published weekly and monthly.

Domestic Missions.--(See DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.)

Dominical Letter.--Meaning Sunday Letter is one of the first seven letters of the alphabet used in the Calendar to mark the Sundays throughout the year. The first seven days of the year being marked by A. B. C. D. E. F. G., the following seven days are similarly marked, and so throughout the year. The letter which stands against the Sundays in any given year is called the Dominical or Sunday letter. For example, the year 1901 began on Tuesday and the first week of that year with the first seven letters of the alphabet would give us the following table:

Jan. 1. Tuesday A.

" 2. Wednesday B.

" 3. Thursday C.

" 4. Friday D.

" 5. Sat.u.r.day E.

" 6. Sunday F.

" 7. Monday G. {88}

From this table we learn that the Dominical letter for 1901 is F., for that letter falls opposite the first Sunday in that year. The Dominical letters were first introduced into the Calendar by the early Christians. They are of use in finding on what day of the week any day of the month falls in a given year, and especially in finding the day on which Easter falls. (See TABLES IN THE PRAYER BOOK.)

Dossal. Hangings of silk or other material placed at the back of the Altar as a decoration and to hide the bare wall. The dossal is used where there is no reredos and usually is of the Church color for the Festival or Season. Derived from the Latin word _dorsum_, meaning back.

Doxology.--Any form or verse in which glory is ascribed to G.o.d or the Blessed Trinity, for example, the _Gloria in Excelsis_, which is called the greater Doxology, and the _Gloria Patri_, the lesser Doxology. The concluding words of the Lord's Prayer beginning, "For Thine is the kingdom," etc., is also called the Doxology. Derived from the Greek word _Doxologia_, from _doxa_, praise and _logos_, meaning word.

Duly.--In the prayer of Thanksgiving in the Holy Communion, the acknowledgment is made, "We heartily thank Thee, for that Thou dost vouchsafe to feed us who have _duly_ received." The word _duly_ as here used is the English word for the Latin _rite_, which means according to proper form and ordinance, _i.e._, as prescribed by and universally used in the Church Catholic; without which there can be no proper Sacrament. The word also occurs in the definition of the Church in the {89} XIX Article of Religion and has there the same interpretation.

E

Eagle.--The figure of an eagle is often used in the Church as an emblem to symbolize the flight of the Gospel message over the world.

To this end the lectern from which the Holy Scriptures are read is generally constructed in the form of an eagle with outstretched wings on which the Bible rests. It is usually made of polished bra.s.s, but sometimes carved in wood. The eagle is also used as an emblem of the Evangelist St. John, who more than any other of the Apostles, was granted a clearer insight into things heavenly, as may be seen from the Gospel, Epistles and the Revelation which he was inspired to write.

Early Communion.--From the very earliest ages of the Church it has been the custom to begin the devotions of the Lord's Day with the Holy Communion celebrated at an early hour. Through the influence of the Puritans in England this beautiful and helpful custom fell into abeyance for a while, but through the growing devotion of the revived Church both in England and America it has been restored.

To-day there are very few parishes where the early Communion is not to be had, and the practice is growing and spreading as the result of increased knowledge of the Church's devotional system.

The motive of the early Communion, especially on the Lord's Day, may be said to be twofold: First, the recognition of the Holy {90} Communion as the distinctive act of wors.h.i.+p for each Lord's Day, without taking part in which no primitive Christian would have been considered to have properly kept Sunday, and secondly, the reverent desire to receive fasting, or as Bishop Jeremy Taylor has said, "to do this honor to the Blessed Sacrament, that It be the first food we eat and the first beverage we drink on that day." (See HOLY COMMUNION, also FREQUENT COMMUNION.)

East, Turning to the.--By this expression is meant turning to the Altar in saying the Creed and Glorias and in celebrating the Holy Communion, this last being called the _Eastward position_. This practice arose from a custom in the early Church. When converts to Christianity were baptized, which was usually in the early morning, they first turning to the west where the night was fast receding, renounced the world and the powers of darkness, then turning to the east where the sun was rising as the source of all light, they confessed their belief in Christ who, in Holy Scripture is Himself called the EAST, "the Dayspring from on high." For this reason they prayed facing the east, and when they came to build their churches they built them running east and west; the Chancel, in which the Altar is placed, being in the east and towards it they made their prayers and confessed their belief. Thus it came about that the Altar in our churches is always regarded architecturally and ecclesiastically as the east whether it is so in reality or not.

Easter Day.--A festival in honor of our Lord's Resurrection has been observed from the very {91} foundation of Christianity. This is evident from the early disputes had concerning it, not as to whether such a day should be kept, but as to the _particular time when_ the Festival should be observed. The eastern Christians wished to celebrate the Feast on the third day after the Jewish Pa.s.sover, on whatever day of the week this fell. The western Christians contended that the Feast of the Resurrection ought always to be observed on a Sunday. This controversy was finally settled by the Council of Nicea, A.D. 325, which decreed that everywhere the great Feast of Easter should be observed upon one and the same day and that a Sunday. In accordance with this decision Easter Day is always the first Sunday after the full moon, which happens upon or next after, the 21st of March; and if the full moon happens upon a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday after. By this rule Easter will always fall between the 22d of March, the earliest date, and the 25th of April, the latest day on which it can possibly fall.

The original name of the Festival was _Pascha_, derived from the Hebrew word for Pa.s.sover. The more familiar name of _Easter_ is traceable as far back as the time of the Venerable Bede, A.D.

700. The derivation of the word is uncertain. Some think that it is derived from a Saxon term meaning "rising"; others think the word _Eost_ or _East_ refers to the tempestuous character of the weather at that season of the year and find its root in the Anglo-Saxon YST, meaning a storm. Again others derive the word from the old Teutonic _urstan_, to rise. It is worthy of note that "the idea of sunrise is self-evident in the English {92} name of the Festival on which the Sun of Righteousness arose from the darkness of the grave."

Easter was always accounted the Queen of Festivals the highest of all Holy Days, and celebrated with the greatest solemnity, and the Prayer Book provisions are in keeping with this fact. Churches are decorated with flowers and plants as symbolical of the Resurrection.

White hangings for the Altar and White vestments have always been used at Easter in reference to the angel who brought the tidings of the Resurrection, who appeared in "garments white as snow" and "his countenance was as lightning." In the early Church Christians were wont to greet one another on this day with the joyous salutation, "Christ is Risen," to which the response was made, "Christ is risen indeed." This custom is still retained in the Greek Church. This joyous salutation seems to be retained in our services, for instead of the _Venite_ we have as the Invitatory, the Easter anthem, in which we call upon one another to "keep the Feast," for that "Christ our Pa.s.sover is sacrificed for us," and is also "Risen from the dead; and become the first-fruits of them that slept."

Easter Even.--The day between Good Friday and Easter Day is so called and commemorates the Descent of our Blessed Lord's soul into h.e.l.l (the place of departed spirits), while His Body rested in the grave.

"There has ever been something of festive gladness in the celebration of Easter Even which sets it apart from Lent, notwithstanding the Fast still continues. To the disciples it was a day of mourning after an absent Master, but the Church of {93} the Resurrection sees already the triumph of the Lord over Satan and Death." Baptism is wont to be administered on Easter Even, because this was one of the two great times for baptizing converts in the Primitive Church, the other being Pentecost or Whitsun Day.

Easter Monday and Tuesday.--It was a very ancient custom of the Church to prolong the observance of Easter, as the "Queen of Festivals." At first the Festival was observed through seven days, and the Code of Theodosius directed a cessation of labor during the whole week. Afterwards the special services became limited to three days, the Council of Constance, A.D. 1094, having enjoined that Pentecost and Easter should both be celebrated with three festival days. This is now the custom of the Anglican Communion, which provides Collect, Epistle and Gospel not only for Easter Day, but also for Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday.

Easter Tide.--The weeks following Easter Day and reaching to Ascension Day are so called. They commemorate the forty days our Lord spent on earth after His Resurrection, commonly called THE GREAT FORTY DAYS (which see).