quired of them by the Divine law ; that
there is a meritorious value in this over-
plus ; that such value is transferable, and
that it is deposited in the spiritual treasury
of the Church, sulyect to the disposal of
the pope, to be, on certain conditions, aj)-
plied to the benefit of those whose defi-
ciencies stand in need of such a compensa-
tion. A distinction is then drawn between
the temporal and the eternal punishment
of sin ; the former of which not only em-
braces penances, and all satisfactions for
sin in the present life, but also the pains of
purgatory in the next. These are sup-
posed to be within the control and juris-
diction of the Church ; and, in the case of
any individual, may be ameliorated or
terminated by the imputation of so much
of the overabundant merits of the saints,
&c., as may be necessary to balance the
deficiencies of the sufferer.

The privilege of selling pardons, it is
well known, was frequently granted by the
pope to monastic bodies in every part of
the Church ; and the scandals and disor-
ders consequent upon them, was one of the
first moving causes of the Reformation.
Against these most pernicious and soul-
destroying errors, the Church of England
protests in her twenty-second Article :
"The Romisli doctrine concerning ])urga-
tory, jxu'dons, wor.shi})})ing, and atloration,
as well of images as of relics, and also of
invocation of saints, is a fond thing, vainly
invented, and grounded ujjon no warranty
of Scri])ture, but rather repugnant to the
word of God."

In treating this subject we will first show
what the Romish doctrine is, and then how
repugnant it is to Scripture.



PARDONS.



5G5



As for the first, what their doctrine con-
cerning i)ardons is, it is difficult to deter-
mine ; they have had so manv crotchetj*
about it, that one can scarce tell where to
find them. Wc sliall endeavour to explain
it in these following projjositions : —

First, They assert, as JJellarmine saith,
tliat ''many holy men have suffered more
for God and righteousness' sake tl»:in the
guilt of the temjjoral punishment, ^\h^ch
tliey were obnoxious to for faults com-
mitted by them, could exact."

Secondly, Hence they say, as Johannes
de Turrccremata, " That one can satisfy for
another, or one can acceptably jjeribrni
satisfactory ])unishn)ent for another," viz.
because they suffer more than is due to
their own sins ; and seeing all sufferings
are satisfactory, what they undergo more
than is due to their own is satisfactory' for
other men's sins."

Thirdly, " Seeing they who thus undergo
satisfiictory punishments for others do not
appoint the fruit of this their satisfaction
to any ])articular persons, it therefore," as
Roflensis saitli, " becomes profitable to tlie
whole Church in connnon, so that it is now
called the common treasury of the Church,
to wit, tliat from thence may be fetched
Mhatsoever any others lack of due satis-
faction."

Fourthly, " This common treasure," saith
Bellarmine, "is the foundation of jiardons."
So that, as he saith, " the Church hath
power to apply this treasure of satisfaction,
and by this to grant our ])ardons."

By this, therefore, we may have some
sight into this great mystery, and perceive
what they mean by pardons. For as Lay-
manus the Jesuit saith, " A i)ardon or in-
dulgence is the remission of a temporal
piniishment due to God without the sacra-
ment, by the application of the satisfaction
of Christ and the saints." Or, as Grego-
rius de Valentia saith, " An ecclesiastical
pardon or indulgence is a relaxation of a
temporal punishment by God's judgment
due to actual sins, after tiie remission of
the fault made without the sacrament (of
jjcnance), by the apjjlication of the super-
abundant satisfaction of CllHisr and the
saints, by him who hath lawful authority
to do it." But let us hear what a nojje
himself saith concerning these pardons.
Leo X., in his decretal, ann. lolH, saith,
" The po])e of Rome may, for reasonable
causes, grant to the same saints of ClIUl.sT
who, charity uniting them, are members
of CiiKisT, whether they be in tliis life or
in purgatory, pardons out of the supera-
l)undancy of the merit.s of ClIUIsT and the
saints ; and that be used, for the living as



566



PARDONS.



PARISH.



well as for the dead, by his apostolic power
of granting pardons, to dispense or dis-
tribute the treasm-e of the merits of Christ
and the saints, to confer the indulgence
itself, after the manner of an absolution,
or transfer it after the manner of a suf-
frage." So that, as Durandus saith, "The
Church can communicate from this treasure
to any one, or several, for their sins, in
part or in Avholc, according as it pleases
the Church to communicate more or less
from the treasure." And hence it is that
we find it said in the book of indulgences
or pardons, that " Pope Sylvester and Gre-
gory, that consecrated the Lateran Church,
gave so many pardons, that none could
number them but GoD; Boniface being
witness, who said, * if men knew the par-
dons of the Lateran Church, they would
not need to go by sea to the holy sepul-
chre. In the chapel of the saints are
twenty-eight stairs that stood before the
house of Pilate in Jerusalem, Whosoever
shall ascend those stairs with devotion
hath, for every sin, nine years of pardons ;
but he that ascends them kneeling, he shall
free one soul out of purgatory.' " So that
it seems the pope can not only give me a
pardon for sins past, but to come ; yea,
and not only give me a pardon for my own
sins, but power to pardon other men's sins,
else I could not redeem a soul from pur-
gatory.

We have been the larger in the opening
of this great llomish mystery, because we
need do no more than open it ; for, being
thus opened, it shows itself to be a ridicu-
lous and impious doctrine, utterly repug-
nant to the Scriptures. For this doctrine,
thus explained, is grounded upon M'orks
of supererogation ; for it is from the trea-
sury of these good works that the Romish
Church fetches all her pardons. Now this
is but a bad foundation, contrary to Scrip-
ture, reason, and Fathers ; as we have seen
in the fourteenth Article. And if the
foundation be rotten, the superstructure
cannot be sound. Again, this doctrine
supposes one man may and doth satisfy
for another ; whereas the Scriptures hold
forth ''Christ [as] our propitiation," (1
John ii. 2,) "Who trode the wine-press
of his Father's Avrath alone" (Isaiah
Ixiii. 8). Lastly, this doctrine supposes
that a pope, a priest, a finite creature, can
pardon sins ; whereas the Scripture holds
forth this as the prerogative only of the
true God. For " who is a God like unto
thee," saith the prophet Micah, "that par-
doneth iniquities?" (Mic. vii. 18.) And
therefore the scribes and Pharisees, when
they said, " Who can forgive sins but GoD



alone?" (Luke v. 21,) what they said,
though wickedly said by them, not ac-
knowledging Christ to be God, and so
not to have that power, yet it was truly
said in itself: for, had not Christ been
God, he wovdd have had no more power
to forgive sins than the pope.

And whatsoever the doctors of the Ro-
mish Church now hold, we are sure the
Fathers of old constantly affirmed that it
was God only could forgive sin. So Chry-
sostom saith, " For none can pardon sins
but only GoD." Euthymius, " None can
truly pardon sins, but he alone who be-
holds the thoughts of men." Gregory,
" Thou who alone sparest, who alone for-
givest sins. For who can forgive sins but
God alone ? " Ambrose, " For this cannot
be common to any man with Christ to
forgive sins. This is his gift only who took
away the sins of the world." Certainly
the Fathers never thought of the pope's
pardons, when they let such and the like
sentences slip from them. Nay, and
Athanasius was so confident that it was
God only could pardon sin, that he brings
this as an argument against the Arians, to
prove that Christ was God, because he
could pardon sin. " But hoAv," saith he,
" if the Word was a creature, could he
loose the sentence of God, and pardon sin ? "
It being written by the prophets that this
belongs to GoD; for "who is a God like
to thee, pardoning sins, and passing by
transgressions ? " For GoD said, " Thou
art earth, and unto earth thou shalt re-
turn." So that men are mortal: and how
then was it possible that sin should be
pardoned or loosed by creatures ? Yet
Christ loosed and pardoned them. Cer-
tainly had the pope's pardons been heard
of in that age, this would have been but a
weak argument. For Arius might easily
have answered, " It doth not follow, that,
because Christ could pardon sin, he was
therefore God ; for the pope is not God,
and yet he can pardon sin." But thus we
see the Fathers confidently avemng, it is
God only can pardon sins, and therefore
that the pope cannot pardon them by any
means whatsoever, unless he be GoDj,
which as yet they do not assert. And so
that the Romish "doctrine concerning par-
dons is a fond thing, repugnant to the
Scriptures. — Beveridge.

PARISH. A parish is that circuit o.^
ground which is committed to the charge
of one parson or vicar, or other ministe '
having cure of souls therein. A reputed
parish is where there is a parochial chape],
with all parochial rites entirely indepeno-
entof the mother-church, as to sacrament'',



PARISH.



567



niaiTiages, biu-ials, repau's, &'C. (See Cha-

The word parish is from the Greek
word irapoiKia, (jxiroic/iia,) which signifies
sojoiirnim/, or living as a strant/cr or in-
mate ; for so it is used among the classical
Greek writers. The Se])tuagint translate
the Hebrew word 1:1, {(h'r,) jwref/n'ints, by
TrapoiKog, (Gen. xv. 13, ^:c.,) and the word
nviD, {JLu/or,) j^ercyrinatio, by TrapotKi'a.
(Ps. cxix. 54.)

The jn-imitive Christians received a great
part of their customs, and also their phrase-
ology from the Jews ; who, when they
travelled abroad, and many of tliem were
settled in any town, either built them a
synagogue, or else j)rocured a large room,
where they performed tlieir public wor-
ship ; and all that were strangers in that
place met there at the times of public de-
votion. This brotherhood of Jews, which
was mixed with the inhabitants of the
place, they called the TtaQoiKia, or the so-
ciety of the sojourners. At the beginning
of Christianity, the Christians were in the
same condition with the Jews, they being
themselves either Jews, or Jewish prose-
lytes, or living in a retired condition, se-
questered from the world, and little mix-
ing with affairs. Upon which account St.
Peter addresses them wg irapoiKovg, (kc, as
stranyers and j)ilyri)ns. (1 Pet. ii. 11.)
This number of strangers in the heathen
cities was called the -irapoiKia, over which
there was set, by apostolical authority, a
bishop, a rrposffribg, a cazan, (an inspector,)
or a rhosh cohel (a head of the congrega-
tion) ; all which names denoted the episco-
pal authority, and which in little time
centred in the one most usual name, of
tTTtaKOTTog, or bishop, as is plainly seen by
the Ignatian epistles. So that the tTriaKOTrog
and TtapoiKia became relative terms; he
that had the sui)erintendency of the con-
gregation, whether one or more, was called
the bishop, and the congregation under his
care was called the TrapoiKia. Hence, in
the most early time of the Greek Church,
the word TrapoiKia was used to signify,
what we now call a diocese ; and thus, in
the apostolic canons, a bishop that leaves
his diocese {-TrapoiKiav) for another is to be
reduced to lay-communion. Hence it is
said, " The bisho]) of the diocese {-n-apoiKiag)
of Alexandria de])arted this life." And
again, " the glory {TrapoiKiag) of tlie diocese
of Ciesarea." The Latins took up tiie
same way of expression, from the Greek,
denoting a diocese by the word i)aruchia,
which mode of exjjression lasted till after
the time of Charlemagne.

But it is to be observed, that when the



word parochin signified a diocese, the word
dioccsis signiliecl a parisli. So in the
Council of Agatha, prrshytcr dnm diowsin
tenet, " whilst the ])resbyter is in possession
of his living." And iii the third Council
of Orleans, diocesis is the same with ba-
silica, a ])arish church. IJut in the seventh
or eiglith century, wlieii ])arish churches
began frequently to l)e founded in villages,
the old names shifted, aiul dioccsis was
used to denote the extent of the bishoj)'s
jurisdiction ; nudjnirochia, the jjlace where
the presbyter's care was limited.

Tliat the word irapoiKia was not exclu-
sively a])])lied to a parish, and that a
bishop's diocese was not anciently confined
to a siny/c parish, as it has been asserted
by the advocates for Presl)yterianism, see
lyiaurice's " Defence of Diocesan Kpisco-
]n\cy," and Scater's " Original Draught of
the ]*rimitive Church."

llow ancient the division of parishes is,
may at present be diflicult to ascertain ;
for it seems to be agreed on all hands,
that, in the early ages of Christianity in
this island, parishes were unknown, or at
least signified the same that a diocese does
now. There was then no api)ro])riation
of ecclesiastical dues to any particular
Church ; but every man was at liberty
to contribute his tithes to whatever priest
or church he pleased, provided only that
he did it to some ; or if he made no
special appointment or appropriation
thereof, they were paid into the hands
of the bishop, whose duty it was to dis-
tribute them among the clergy, and for
other pious purposes, according to his own
discretion. Mr. Camden says, England
was divided into parishes by Archbishop
Honorius, about the year G30. Sir Henry
Hobart lays it down, that parishes were
first erected by the Council of Lateran,
which was held A. D. 1179. Each widely
differing from the other, and both of them
perhaps from the truth; which will i)ro-
bably be found in the medium between
the two extremes: for Mr. Selden has
clearly shown, that the clergy lived in
common without any division of iiarishes,
long after the time mentioned by Camden;
and it appears from the Saxon laws, that
parishes were in being long l)efore tiie date
of that Council of Lateran, to which they
are ascribed 1)y Hobart.

Many i)arisii churches were founded in
great towns and villages in Italy, Spain,
and P'rance, during the fourth, fifth, and
sixth centuries, under the cathedral church
of the bishop • and though they were later
in England, yet there are some instances as
early as the year 700 : for about that time



568



PARSON.



PASSION WEEK.



Bede relates, that the bishop of Hexham
consecrated a parish church in the manor
of one Pach, a Saxon carl, and not lon<]^
after for one Addi. Nay, before this he
relates of Birinus, first bishop of the AYest
Saxons, that he built and dedicated seve-
ral churches in his diocese of Dorchester.
"When Egbert, archbishop of York, made
his constitutions, about the year 160, they
seem to be growing up apace. By that
canon, " Unusquisque sacerdos ecclesiam
suam cum ovini diluientia cedijicet." — Spel-
man. And he forbids that the tithes for-
merly ])aid to the mother-church should
be paid to the new-built oratories. By
the time of Edward the Confessor these
parishes -were grown so numerous, that
complaint was made that the clergy were
impoverished thereby. After which time
the division of parishes was not much
altered; for the survey of England in
Doomsday Book is not very difierent from
our later ones. — KichoUs.

Before the establishment of parishes in
England, the bishops sent out their clergy
(who lived Avith them) to preach to the
people as occasion required ; but as Chris-
tianity extended, and the number of con-
verts increased, this method became in-
convenient, and a resident clergy was
found expedient. Parishes were then
formed, and churches were built, and en-
dowed by lords of manors and others ;
and hence arose the patronage of laymen.

The cause of the great dilierence in the
extent of different parishes is this : that
churches were most of them built by lords
of the manor for their tenants ; and so the
parish was of the size of the lord's manor.

In 1520, according to a book made out
by Cardinal AYolsey, the number of parish
churches is reckoned 9407, but Chamber-
lain makes them 9913. Camden reckons
9284. The number of charity briefs issued
was according to an account in Burns'
"Ecclesiastical Law," 10,489. Formerly
Archdeacon Plymley, in his charge to the
clergy of Salop, 1793, says that, from the
"Liber Regis," there were in England and
Wales 5098 rectories, 3687 vicarages, and
2970 churches, neither rectorial nor vicari-
al ; in all 11,755 churches in the 10,000
parishes. It is scarcely necessary to add,
that both churches and parishes have much
increased since that period.

As to divisions and consolidations of
parishes, sec 58 Geo. III. c. 45 ; 59 Geo.
HI. c. 134 ; 8 & 9 Vic. c. 70. See also 3
& 4 Vic. c. 60, sec. 6.

PARSON. [Fersona ecclesics.) Parson
properly signifies the rector of a parish
church, because, during the time of his



incumbency, he represents the Church,
and in the eye of the law sustains the
2)erson thereof, as well in suing as in being
sued, in any action touching the same.
Parson imparsonee {persona imperso7iata)
is he that, as lawful incumbent, is in actual
possession of a parish church, and with
whom the church is full, whether it be
presentative or impropriate. The word
persona is however applied in ancient
documents to others besides parochial in-
cumbents, that is, to ecclesiastical olncers
who had a personal responsibihty for the
services and duties proper to their churches.
(See Persona.)

PARSONAGE. The parson's residence.
It is applicable both to rectories and to vicar-
ages, and indeed to the official residences of
all incumbents of parishes, parochial dis-
tricts, or chapelries. As to giving of lands
for parsonages, see oo Geo. III. c. 147.

PAR VISE. A chamber over a church
porch. The parvise was most likely always
a Idnd of domus inclnsa for some officer of
the church, as, for instance, the sacristan ;
and from the frequent occurrence of an
altar in the east window, we may presume
that it was sometimes a temporary lodging
for a priest.

PASCH. The festival of Easter.

PASCHAL. Pertaining to the Passover.
The lamb offered in this JeAvish festival
being a prominent type of Christ, the
terms jjasckal and paschal lamb are often
used in application to the Redeemer. An
example occurs in the proper preface for
Easter Day, in the Communion Office, thus :
" Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, for he
is the very Paschal LiSimb, which was offered
ior us, and hath taken away the sin of the
world," &c.

PASSALORYNCHITES, or PATTA-
LORYNCHIANS. Certain heretics, the
followers of j\lontanus, who made profes-
sion of never speaking, and for that pur-
pose always held their fingers upon their
mouths, grounding it upon certain words
of the 140th Psalm. They began to ap-
pear in the second age ; and St. Jerome
testifies, that even in his time he found
some of them in Galatia, as he travelled to
Ancyra.

PASSING BELL. By the sixth canon
it is enjoined, "When any is passing out
of this life, a bell shall be tolled, and the
minister shall not then slaclc to do his last
duty. And after the party's death (if so
it fall out) there shall be' rung no more
but one short peal, and one other before
the burial, and one other after the burial."

PASSION WEEK. So we denominate
the week immediately preceding the fcs-



PASSION WEEK.



PASSOVER.



569



tival of Easter, because in that week our
Saviour's passion and death hapjiened.

The primitive Christians called it Heb-
domas Maf/na, or the Great U'eek. No
one can better describe it to us than St.
Chrysostom, -who says, " It was called the
Great Week, not because it consisted of
lonp:er days, or more in number, than other
weeks, but because at this time p:reat thin<:;s
were wrought for us by our Lord. For
in this week the ancient tyranny of. the
devil vras dissolved, death was extinct, the
strong man was bound, his goods were
spoiled, sin was abolished, the curse was
destroyed, paradise was opened, heaven
became accessible, men and angels were
joined together, the middle wall of parti-
tion was broken down, the barriers were
taken out of the Avay, the God of peace
made peace between things in heaven and
things in earth ; therefore it is called the
Great Week. And as this is the head of
all other weeks, so the Great Sahhath is the
head of this week. Therefore, in this week,
many increase their labours ; some adding
to their fastings, others to their watchings ;
others give more liberal alms, testifying the
greatness of the Divine goodness by their
care of good works, and more intense piety
and holy living. As the Jews went forth to
meet Christ, v.hen he had raised Lazarus
from the dead, so now not only one city,
but all the world, go forth to meet him,
not with palm branches in their hands, but
with alms-deeds, humanity, virtue, fastings,
tears, prayers, watchings, and all kinds of
piety, which they oft'er to Christ their
Lord. And not only we, but the em-
perors of the Avorld, honour this week,
making it a time of vacation from all civil
business. The imperial letters are sent
abroad at this time, commanding all pri-
soners to be set at liberty from their chains.
For, as our Lord, when he descended into
hell, set free those that were detained by
death ; so the servants, according to their
power, imitating the kindness of their
Lord, loose men from their corporal bonds,
when they have no power to relax the
spiritual."

It is plain from hence, that the ancient
Christians paid an extraordinary regard to
this Holy Week, and that this consisted
in additional exercises of devotion, longer
fastings, more liberal alms, vacation from
all civil business, and a general release of
prisoners, some particular cases of criminals
only excepted.

The Thursday in this week, which was
the day on which Christ was betrayed,
was observed with some jiecuHar customs.
In some churches, the communion was ad-



ministered in the evening after sup])or, in
imitation of the communion of tlie apostles
at our Lord's last sujjjjer. On this day
the Competcntes, or candidates of baptism,
publicly rehearsed the creed before the
bishops or presbyters in the church. And
on this day it was customary for servants
to receive the communion. The modern
ritualists call this day Maundy Thursday.
(See Maundy Thursday.)

The Friday was called Good Friday, or
Pasch of the Cross, in oj)position to I'Mster,
or the Paseh of tlic Itesurrection. On this
day, not only ])enitents were absolved, but
a general absolution and indulgence was
proclaimed to all the people, observing the
day with fasting, i)rayers, and contrition.

The Saturday of this week was known
by the name of the Great Sahhuth. It had
many peculiarities belonging to it. For
this was the only Sabbath throughout the
year that the Greek chiu'clies, and some
of the Western, kept as a fast ; all other
Saturdays, or Sabbaths, being observed as
festivals. On this day they continued to
fast, not only till evening, but till cock-
crowing in the morning, which was the
supposed time of our Saviour's resur-
rection. And the preceding time of the
night was spent in Divine service, praying,
preaching, and baptizingsuch of the "cate-
chumens as presented themselves. A rem-
nant of which custom seems still to be
kept up in the Latin offices, which pre-
scribe the reading of numerous chapters
from the Holy Scriptures, called prophe-
cies, with prayers, 8cc. interspersed. Eusebi-
us tells us that, in the time of Constantine,
this vigil was kept with great pomp. For
that emperor set up lofty pillars of wax, to
burn as torches all over the city, so that
the night seemed to outshine the sun at
noonday. The fifth Sunday in Lent is
called in the Iloman office. Passion Sun-
day, that name being applied to it in refer-
ence to our Lord's prediction on that day
of his approaching passion. And some
persons call the week, of which Passion
Sunday is the first day, Passion Week;
and the real Passion A\'eek they call Holy
Week. This is, however, a piece of pe-
dantry, founded on a mistake.

PASSOYEll. {Pesach, Heb., which sig-
nifies a leap, a passcye.) {Pascha, in the
LXX.) The Passover was a solemn fes-
tival of the Jews, instituted in commemor-
ation of their coming out of Egypt, be-
cause the night before their departure the
destroying angel, that slew the first-born
of the Egyptians, passed over the houses