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Church Qajb
Lectures
THE CHURCH'S
MINISTRY OF GRACE
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THE CHURCH'S
MINISTRY OF GRACE
lectures
DELIVERED IN 1892 UNDER THE AUSPICES OF V THE
CHURCH CLUB OF NEW YORK
WITH APPENDICES
NEW YORK
E. & J. B. YOUNG & CO.
COOPER UNION, FOURTH AVENUE
1893
141146
ASTOR. LFNTX AND
TILL - I IONS.
Copyrighted, 1892,
By E. & J. B. Young cV Co.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
LECTURE I.
BAPTISM 3
By the Rev. IV. Clark, M.A., LL.B., Professor of
Mental and Moral Philosophy, in Trinity College,
Toronto, Canada.
LECTURE II.
THE LORD'S SUPPER 1^ . . 39
By the Rev. George McClellan Fiske, D.D., Rector of
St. Stephen's Church, Providence, R.I.
LECTURE III.
CONFIRMATION 131
By the Very Rev. Wilford L. Robbins, D.D., Dean of
All Saints' Cathedral, Albany, N. Y.
LECTURE IV.
HOLY ORDERS 161
By the Rt. Rev. Alex. Chas. Garrett, D.D., LL.D.,
Bishop of Northern Texas.
LECTURE V.
UNCTION, MATRIMONY, AND PENANCE 205
By the Rt. Rev. Chas. C. Grafton, S. T.I)., Bishop of
Fond du Lac.
INTRODUCTION.
THE lectures contained in this volume
are in continuation of those of 1891,
which dealt with the fundamental truths of
revealed religion as distinguished from those
of natural religion, and were suggested by
the last lecture in that course on " Grace
and the Sacramental System ; " in truth these
lectures are but an amplification of it, and it
may be regarded as introductory to them.
The subjects treated in this volume
under the general title of " The Church's
Ministry of Grace," are Baptism, The Holy
Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Holy
Matrimony, Penance, and Unction, that is to
say, those two Sacraments which are stated
in the Catechism to be generally necessary
to salvation — Sacraments of the Gospel,
vi INTRODUCTION.
Greater Sacraments as they are sometimes
called — and five Sacramental rites, or as they
have been described, the ecclesiastical Sacra-
ments, or sometimes also the five lesser
Sacraments.
Whether they be called rites or Sacra-
ments would seem to be a mere contention
about words ; as it cannot be denied that
they are ordinances of God for the convey-
ance of spiritual grace, and that in the service
for, or the administration of, each, an outward
sign or form is prescribed or used and an
inward grace spoken of.
If Saint Augustine's description of a Sac-
rament, referred to in the Homilies, be ac-
cepted, as comprising " a visible sign of an
invisible grace," * the five rites may properly
be called Sacraments ; but if the outward
sign must have been ordained by Christ
Himself and expressly commanded in the
New Testament, then only Baptism and the
Eucharist are Sacraments.
* Homily on Common Prayer and Sacraments, p. 374.
IN TROD UC TION. VI l
The XXV Article of Religion, following
very ancient authority, accords special honor
and pre-eminence to those two Sacraments
which according to the Fathers flowed from
the riven side of Christ, but does not deny
that the other five, " commonly called Sacra-
ments," are in some sense Sacraments, but
only that they are Sacraments of the Gospel.
The Article says of the five that they "have
not the like nature of Sacraments with Bap-
tism and the Lord's Supper for that they
have not any visible sign or ceremony or-
dained by God." The difference between
them and the two greater Sacraments, as laid
down in the Article, does not relate to the
inward grace but to the outward form. The
Homilies, speaking of Absolution, point out
the same distinction. We read in the H omily
on Common Prayer and Sacraments, " For
although Absolution hath the promise of for-
giveness of sin, yet by the express word of
the New Testament it hath not this promise
annexed and tied to the visible sign, which is
VU1 IN TR OD UC TION.
imposition of hands. For this visible sign, I
mean, laying on of hands, is not expressly
commanded in the New Testament to be
used in Absolution, as the visible signs in
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are ; and
therefore Absolution is no such Sacrament
as Baptism and the Communion are." *
In the Homily against Swearing and Per-
jury, we read that " the Sacrament of Matri-
mony knitteth man and wife in perpetual
love,"f and in that on Common Prayer and
Sacraments, referring to Ordination, that
" neither it nor any other Sacrament else be
such Sacraments as Baptism and the Com-
munion are. But in a general acception the
name of a Sacrament may be attributed to
anything whereby an holy thing is signified." J
Whether they be described as Sacra-
ments or as Sacramental rites then, is a mat-
ter of definition and is immaterial, as they
*IIomily on Common Prayer and Sacraments, p. 376.
I Homily against Swearing and Perjury, p. 74.
\ Homily on Common Prayer and Sacraments, p. 377.
IN TROD UC TION. IX
are grace-conveying ordinances by whatever
term they may be called. To quote the lan-
guage of the late Bishop Forbes, of Brechin,
" It cannot be denied that seven ordinances
have inclosed the whole Christian life in
blessed bonds, not all necessary for all, nay,
in the highest form of Christian life there
is no room for matrimony ; and in the first
fervor of Christian love they were the ex-
ception who needed to be restored by the
Sacrament of Penitence, but conveying ac-
cording to men's needs the grace of which
they are channels. They have ever been
regarded to have a mystical significance of
their own and separately from the beginning
have existed as practices in the Church." *
Accordingly the Church's Ministry of
Grace was selected as the title to this course
of lectures, without the intention of affirming-
that there are no other instruments of grace
known to the Church, or of denying that
such practices as prayer and fasting are such
* Explanation of the Thirty-nine Articles, p. 453.
x IN TROD UC TION.
instruments, but only that the latter, unlike
the subjects treated in this volume, are not
distinguished by any visible sign and there-
fore do not conform to the description of
Saint Augustine.
Within the meaning of that description
not only have the two Sacraments of the
Gospel their visible signs, but the other five
also have their own respective signs and im-
part grace effective to their several ends.
In Holy Baptism the form in the Angli-
can and the Roman communions is the
same, " I baptize thee," etc. In the Greek
Church the form is, " Be the servant of God
baptized," etc. In the Anglican commun-
ion, Baptism is administered by immersion
or pouring. In the Latin Church sprink-
ling is also allowed, while in the East im-
mersion is the rule. The inward and in-
visible gift is regeneration. The matter is
invariably water.
Baptism, like Confirmation and Orders,
IN TROD UC TION. x l
can never be repeated, for the reason that it
confers on the soul what is called character,
meaning- an ineffaceable mark. With the
Holy Eucharist it is a Sacrament of necessity.
In the Holy Eucharist the matter is the
bread and wine, and the form, in the Latin
and English Churches at least, the words of
institution. According to the doctrine of
the Eastern Church, however, until a com-
paratively recent date, the change of the
elements into the Body and Blood of Christ
is effected not by the recitation of the words
of institution, but by the Invocation of the
Holy Ghost only.* Such, however, is not
* " We now come to the Invocation of the Holy Ghost, by
which according to the doctrine of the Eastern Church and not by
the words of institution, the bread and wine are ' changed,' 'trans-
muted,' ' transelemented,' 'transubstantiated' into our Lord's Body
and Blood. This has always been a point of contention between
the two churches — the time at which the change takes place.
Originally, there is no doubt that the Invocation of the Holy
Ghost formed a part of all liturgies. The Petrine has entirely
lost it; the Ephesine (Gallican and Mozarabic) more or less retains
it; as do also those mixtures of the Ephesine and Petrine, the Am-
brosian and Patriarchine or Aquileian. To use the words of the
authorized Russian Catechism : ' Why is this [the Invocation] so
x i i IN TROD UC TTON.
the teaching of the West. The invocation
probably never formed a part of the Petrine
Liturgy and has disappeared from the canon
in the present English use, although it has
been restored in the Scottish and American
rites.
All are agreed, however, that the conse-
cration or change of the elements into the
Body and Blood of Christ, is effected by the
operation of the Holy Spirit ; all sacerdotal
power being derived from Him, the differ-
ence of opinion being as to whether it is
necessary that the prayer to the Holy Ghost
to bring about the change should be ex-
pressed, or whether it is sufficiently implied
in reciting the words of institution.
essential ? Because at the moment of this act, the bread and the
wine arc changed or transubstantiated into the very Body of Christ,
and into the very Blood of Christ. How are we to understand
the word transubstantiation ? In the exposition of the faith by
the Eastern Patriarchs, it is said that the word is not to be taken
fine the manner in which the bread and wine are changed
into the Body and Blood of our Lord ; for that none can under-
stand but God; but only this much is signified, that the bread,
truly, really, and substantially becomes the very true ' Body of the
Lord,' and the wine the very ' Llood of the Lord.' " Translations
of tin- Primitive Liturgies. Neale and Littledale, p. 23, note.
IN TR OD UC TION xili
Speaking of the Liturgy of the Church of
England Canon Luckock says : " We may
have a full conviction that the agency of
the Holy Spirit is instrumental in produc-
ing the Sacramental change, and yet not
deem the omission to express this convic-
tion in the office fatal to its validity." *
In the East, "since what is known as
'the Moscow Controversy/ the principle has
been accepted that consecration is effected
by the combined use of both," so writes the
same author, f
The inward and invisible gift is the Body
and Blood of Christ.
The outward sign in Confirmation, in the
Anglican Communion at least, is the imposi-
tion of hands and the words uttered by the
Bishop as he lays his hands on the head of
each candidate ; and the inward grace is the
gift of the Holy Ghost which is communicated
to the recipients of the rite to confirm and
* The Divine Liturgy, p. 299, 2d ed. \ Ibid., p. 298.
xiv INTRODUCTION.
strengthen them in faith and holy living.
Confirmation confers both grace and char-
acter. As in Holy Orders the Holy Ghost
gives special grace for the work of the minis-
try, so in Confirmation, grace for the ordinary
work of the Christian life is given, in fact it
has been described as a sort of ordination of
the laity. In the East it still retains the
primitive name of the Seal of the gift of the
Holy Ghost.
In the Greek and in the Roman Church
Confirmation is given with Unction, and in
the former can be and is administered by
Priests using the sacred chrism, or oil and
balsam, that has been consecrated by the
Bishop. Originally, in the very beginning,
it would appear that it was given with the
imposition of hands alone, but at a very ear-
ly date the use of chrism was added, some
say in the times of the Apostles them-
selves.
In the East, Confirmation is still admin-
istered immediately after Baptism, and was
IN TRODUC TION. x v
not separated from it in the West until the
seventh century.
Although the Anglican and the Roman
Churches to-day consider the administration
of this Sacrament inexpedient until children
shall have reached the use of reason, they
do not deny that Confirmation would in a
spiritual sense edify infants as it did in the
days of the Apostles.
It seems strange that there is no men-
tion of Confirmation in the Catechism, but
neither does it contain any instruction about
the Bible, the Church, the Ministry, and other
important and fundamental matters. The
explanation is that the Catechism as we have
it to-day even is an incomplete composition.
It was begun under Edward VI. and was
gradually enlarged and improved ; the Com-
mandments were inserted in 1552; and the
section on the two greater Sacraments was
added in 1604 and revised in 1662. And it
is for this reason doubtless, that the Church
in her Baptismal office instructs the Sponsors
xvi INTRODUCTION.
to provide that the newly baptized learn not
only the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the
Ten Commandments, and be instructed in
the other parts of the Church Catechism,
but also that he be taught "all other things
which a Christian ought to know and believe
to his soul's health, "
The outward sign in Holy Orders is the
laying on of the Bishop's hands and the
words spoken by the Bishop at the imposi-
tion of his hands. The inward grace is au-
thority to execute the office of deacon, the
Holy Ghost* for the office and work of a
â– All sacerdotal power is derived from the Holy Ghost ; the
Church therefore holds that the reception of the Holy Ghost is
necessary to constitute a Christian Priest, and that this gift can
be conferred only through the hands of a Bishop. The priest-
hood is a grace of the I [oly Spirit. . . . All the efficacy that there
is in the administration of any ecclesiastical office depends wholly
upon the co-operation of the Holy Ghost. ' Whether we preach,
pray, baptize, communicate, condemn, give absolution, or whatso-
ever, as dispensers of God's mysteries, all words, judgments,
acts, and deeds are not ours, but the Holy Ghost's ' (Hooker's
Eccl. Pol. b.V.c. lxxvii. 5, 8); and the gift is the spirit of power,
of love and soberness, the spirit of confirmation, and of ghostly
strength." The Annotated Book of Common Prayer. Blunt.
Revised and enlarged edition. Note, page 690.
IN TR OD UC TION. x vn
Priest or of a Bishop in the Church of God,
as the case may be. Holy Orders confer
character as well as grace. Both the outward
sign and the inward grace of this Sacrament
are spoken of in the Bible. " Stir up the gift
of God which is in thee by the putting on of
my hands," * so writes Saint Paul to Saint
Timothy. " It is evident unto all men dili-
gently reading the Holy Scripture and ancient
authors, that from the Apostles' time there
have been three orders of ministers in Christ's
Church: Bishops, Priests, and Deacons," f
and that to the first order alone, that is to
the Bishops, as successors of the Apostles,
belongs the power of ordination, and of per-
petuating their own succession. With this
ministry Our Lord has promised to be " even
unto the end of the world." %
In the office of Institution of Ministers
we pray in these words: "O Holy Jesus,
who hast purchased to Thyself an universal
* 2 Timothy i. 6. f Preface to the Ordinal.
\ S. Matthew xxviii. 20.
xviii INTRODUCTION.
Church and hast promised to be with the
ministers of Apostolic Succession to the end
of the world ; Be graciously pleased to bless
the ministry and service of him who is now
appointed to offer the sacrifice of prayer and
praise to Thee in this house, which is called
by Thy Name. May the words of his mouth
and the meditation of his heart be always
acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord our strength
and our Redeemer. Amen."
The Church has most carefully guarded
against the possibility of a break in this suc-
cession, and in very early times provided that
there should be at least three Bishops to
consecrate another to that office. *
Her practice, as well as her express en-
actments, show how essential the Church
regards Episcopal Ordination to be. In the
case of ministers of other religious bodies
applying for admission to the Church's Min-
istry, the crucial question is whether they
* Canon iv. of Niccesa. Index Canomim. Fulton, p. 123,
3d edition.
IN TR OD UC TION. xix
have been Episcopally ordained or not. It
is not sufficient that they have been ordained
by a man calling himself a Bishop, but their
orders must have been conferred by a member
of the Historic Episcopate or in other words
by a Bishop having the Apostolic succes-
sion;* Roman and Greek Catholics so ap-
plying are not re-ordained, but are simply
received upon giving satisfactory proof of
their loyalty to our standards, f whereas a
Presbyterian Minister, a Methodist Bishop,
or an Irvingite Angel are received simply as
laymen, and after a certain probation regu-
lated by Canon are admitted to the lowest
order of the Church's Ministry, J
The outward sign § in Matrimony is the
* "And therefore to the intent that these orders may be con-
tinued, and reverently used and esteemed in this Church, no man
shall be accounted or taken to be a lawful Bishop, Priest, or Dea-
con in this Church, or suffered to execute any of the said functions
except he be called, tried, examined, and admitted thereunto,
according to the form hereafter following, or hath had Episcopal
Consecration or Ordination." Preface to the Ordinal.
\Vide Title i., Canons n and 12.
%Vide Title i., Canon 2, §vii.
§ Vide Dictionary of Doctrinal and Historical Theology.
Blunt, p. 444, 2d edition.
xx IXTRODUCTION.
consenting together of the man and the
woman in holy wedlock, exhibited by giving
and pledging their troth each to the other,
and declared and illustrated, in the ritual of
the Church, by giving and receiving a Ring,
and by joining hands. The inward gift is
grace to live faithfully together according to
God's laws, and surely perform and keep
the vow and covenant betwixt them made.
" The Sacrament of Matrimony knitteth man
and wife in perpetual love," * says the Church
in her Homily on Swearing. The ancient
view of Matrimony was that the holy bond
could not be dissolved save by death. Saint
Augustine even predicates of it an indelible
character and frequently refers to it as a
sacrament, as does also Saint Ambrose.
Speaking of Marriage, Dr. Blunt writes : "It
is not, however, only as a religious contract,
but also as a Sacrament, that marriage is
regarded by the Church of Christ ; the Eng-
lish Church numbering it among the five
;: " Homily against Swearing and Perjury, p. 74.
IN TROD UC TION. XXI
lesser Sacraments, which are necessary to
particular states of life to which they refer,
though not necessary for persons in gen-
eral."* The Christian marriage in its mys-
terious union of two persons in body, soul,
and spirit, symbolizes to us the mystical union
that is between Christ and His Church. f
The modern and popular view of mar-
riage is a lax one. It is neither a Sacrament
nor a holy thing at all to the world, and is
entered into lightly perhaps for the reason
that its bond can be shaken off so easily.
Is it too much to hope that in the future,
perhaps far off, the instinct of self-preserva-
tion, if no higher motive, will constrain society
to return again to the old teaching on this
most momentous subject and uphold the
sanctity of marriage on her statute-books ?
Death alone terminates marriage. Adultery
violates it,
Penance is variously called Confession,
* Dictionary of Doctrinal and Historical Theology, 2cl edi-
tion, p. 444. f Book of Common Prayer, Marriage Service.
xxn INTRODUCTION.
Absolution, the second Baptism, and tne sec-
ond Repentance. The outward sign is the
words of the Priest when he absolves, and
when the words of the Homily* in regard
to the matter are observed, the laying on of
hands, and the inward grace is the forgive-
ness of sins. This is promised in the most
absolute terms by our Lord Himself. " Re-
ceive ye the Holy Ghost ; whosesoever sins
ye remit they are remitted unto them and
whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained."f
This power was given in the same way as
the commission to preach the Gospel, the
authority to baptize, to celebrate the Euchar-
ist, and to teach.
The right of pronouncing absolution is by
the Church strictly confined to an Episco-
pally ordained priesthood. The power to
forgive sins is from above ; the dispenser of
pardon is God, through His Son Jesus Christ,
* Homily on Common Prayer and Sacraments, p. 377.
fS. John xx. 22, 23. Vide Form and Manner of Ordering
Priests.
INTRODUCTION. xxm
our great High Priest, but He chooses to
impart it to His children through human
agents, the Christian Priesthood, but no
absolution of theirs is effectual without a
true repentance and a firm resolve on the
part of the penitent to lead a new life. God
acts here as in so many other ordinances
through human agents and material channels.
This is the essence of sacerdotalism, namely
that it is God's rule to work by the use of
means. The Church's system is sacerdotal
as well as sacramental. The relation be-
tween pastor and flock is, in the letter of in-
stitutions in the office of Institution of a
Minister in the Prayer Book, declared to be
of a sacerdotal character.
In the early Church Penance was admin-
istered publicly. The XXXIII Article of
Religion prescribes Penance as the mode
of reconciling an excommunicated person to
the Church.
With us confession of sins to a Priest is
not compulsory and is not a prerequisite to
XXIV IXTRODUCTION.
the reception of the Holy Communion, but
it is a privilege which the Church extends
to those of her children who seek it, and it
is their right who desire it. The Church al-
lows a wide liberty in this matter, and in the
first Prayer Book of Edward VI. inserted
these words in one of the Exhortations in
the Communion office, " requiring such as
shall be satisfied with a general confession,
not to be offended with them that do use,
to their further satisfying, the auricular and
secret confession to the Priest ; nor those
also which think needful or convenient for
the quietness of their own consciences par-
ticularly to open their sins to the Priest, to
be offended with them that are satisfied
with their humble confession to God and
the general confession to the Church. But
in all things to follow and keep the rule of
charity, and every man to be satisfied with
his own conscience, not judging other men's
minds or consciences, when as he hath no
warrant of God's word to the same."
INTRODUCTION. xxv
The outward siom in Unction is oil and
the words used by the Priest when he anoints
the sick person, and the inward grace is the
forgiveness of sins and the raising of the
sick man to health, if not of the body at least
of soul.
Unction has been called the lost pleiad
of the Anglican firmament. Its administra-
tion was provided for in the first English
Prayer Book. The rubric in the office for
the Visitation of the Sick directed the Priest,
if the sick person desired it, to " Anoint him
upon the forehead or breast only, making
the sign of the cross," using these words, " As
with this visible oil thy body outwardly is
anointed, so our heavenly father, Almighty
God, grant of His infinite goodness, that thy
soul inwardly may be anointed with the Holy
Ghost, who is the Spirit of all strength, com-
fort, relief, and gladness ; and vouchsafe for
His great mercy (if it be His blessed will)
to restore unto thee thy bodily health and
strength, to serve Him; and send thee release
xxvi INTRODUCTION.
of all thy pains, troubles, and diseases, both
in body and mind. And howsoever His
goodness (by His divine and unsearchable
providence) shall dispose of thee, we, His un-
worthy ministers and servants, humbly be-
seech the eternal majesty to do with thee
according to the multitude of His innumera-
ble mercies, and to pardon thee all thy sins
and offences, committed by all thy bodily
senses, passions, and carnal affections ; who
also vouchsafe mercifully to grant unto thee
ghostly strength, by his Holy Spirit, to with-
stand and overcome all temptations and
assaults of thine adversaries, that in no wise
he prevail against thee, but that thou mayest
have perfect victory and triumph against the
devil, sin, and death through Christ our Lord;
Who by His death hath overcome the prince
of death, and with the Father and the Holy
Ghost evermore liveth and reigneth God,
world without end. Amen." But all this
was removed in the second book, and al-
though everything in the earlier book was
INTRODUCTION. xxvn
commended by the compilers of the later,
the service for the anointing of the sick has
never been restored to its place in the
Prayer Book. The rite is in use among the
Nestorians and Armenians and all the
Orientals as well as among the Orthodox
Greeks and the Latins, although among