The Thanksgiving. Exhortation to the validity of the sacrament of baptism; but recommended to us by the general consent of antiquity, and to be retained as a lawful outward ceremony and outward badge, whereby the infant is dedicated to the service of him who died upon the cross;' and though greatly abused by the Church of Rome, not on that account to be abandoned; for the abuse of a thing doth not take away the lawful use of it.' The thanksgiving which follows may be compared with similar prayers in the ancient liturgies, e. g. with that in the Greek ritual: Εὐλογητὸς εἶ, Κύριε, ὁ Θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ, ἡ πηγὴ τῶν ἀγαθῶν,... ὁ καὶ νῦν εὐδοκήσας ἀναγεννῆσαι τὸν δοῦλόν σου τὸν νεοφώτιστον δι ̓ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος. The manual of Sarum contained an exhorsponsors. tation to the sponsors, similar to that in the Prayer Book, but imposing upon them a more onerous charge; for it required them to take care that the child was protected by his parents (or if not, by themselves) from fire and water, and all other mischief, till his seventh year; to teach him the Lord's Prayer, the Ave Maria, and the Creed; to bring back the chrisome-cloth to the church; and to take the child to be confirmed, as soon as the bishop should come within a distance of seven miles. the end of The rubric at the end of this office, affirm- Rubric at ing the salvation of 'children that are bap- the office. tized, dying before they commit actual sin,' was not intended to imply any opinion adverse to the salvation of infants dying unbaptized. This rubric appears to be taken from a popular work of instruction, entitled 'The Institution of a Christian man,' published in 1537, which, after stating that by this sacrament we are made very sons of God, adds, 'In so much that infants and children, dying in their infancy, shall undoubtedly be saved thereby, and else not.' The omission of the last clause shews that our reformers had given up that position; and the insertion of the clause, 'It is certain from God's word,' shews that they were unwilling to lay down any thing beyond that which is written'. The office for the Private Baptism of Infants The Private Baptism of is taken from the manual of Sarum, and from Infants. the Consultation of Hermann; it does not seem to require any particular explanation in this place. tism of At the time of the Reformation, when the The BapPrayer Book was first published, the possibi- Adults. lity of adults presenting themselves for baptism 1 Laurence, Bampton Lectures, p. 177. The Catechism. does not appear to have been contemplated. But the rise of such sects as the Anabaptists, who objected to infant baptism, occasioned the necessity for the present office, which was added at the last revision in 1662. Here the candidate makes the renunciations and promises in his own person, and the sponsors act only as his witnesses, and are charged to remind him of his solemn professions. The Gospel is part of our Lord's discourse with Nicodemus. With these exceptions the office closely resembles that for the baptism of infants. The Catechism, as has already been stated, was drawn up by Dean Nowell, in the reign of Edward VI., and was originally included in the order of confirmation, which was headed 'Confirmation, wherein is included a catechism for children.' It was intended to be a summary of all those cardinal points of faith and duty, which a child ought to know, before he comes to be confirmed. At its first publication it contained an exposition of the baptismal vow, the creed, the ten commandments, and the Lord's prayer. The latter part, relating to the sacraments, was added in the reign of James I. and was the composition of Bishop Overal, at that time dean of St Paul's. The word catechism is from the Greek Kaτηxéw, to sound in the ear, to resound, κατηχέω, which does not occur in classical authors, and is probably Alexandrine in its origin. It occurs in the New Testament, Acts xviii. 25, οὗτος ἦν κατηχημένος τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Κυρίου, “ he had been instructed;' (Gal. vi. 6, &c.); and in this sense it was used by ecclesiastical writers, and applied especially to the instruction given to candidates for baptism, who from thence took the name catechumens, κατηχούμενοι. In all the principal cities catechetical schools were established, the most famous of which was that of Alexandria. An example of the instruction given in these schools is preserved in the eighteen catechetical lectures of St Cyril of Jerusalem. Origin of this rite. SECTION II. CONFIRMATION. HE rite of Confirmation is derived from THE the practice of the Apostles, who, as we learn from the book of the Acts1, laid their hands on newly-baptized persons, that they might receive the Holy Ghost. The miraculous powers which the Apostles conferred in this way were soon withdrawn from the Church; yet the rite has been continued, in the belief that the grace of the Holy Spirit, though unseen and unfelt, is still attendant upon it. In the ancient Church, confirmation followed immediately upon baptism, if the bishop were present to administer it; and this was the case whether the neophyte were an adult or an infant. The bishop anointed him with an unguent of oil and balsam, in token of the Holy Spirit, and laid his hands upon him after the example of the Apostles. If the bishop were not present, the rite was deferred, and the baptized child or adult at once received the Eucharist. The unction or chrism is as old as the second or third century. In the Eastern Church, it has been the custom from 1 Acts viii. 14; xix. 5, 6; Heb. vi. 3. |