vinces. But this number of houses is
greatly diminished ; for, of Qo abbeys it
had in Italy, there is not one remaining at
present ; not to mention the loss of all
their monasteries in Sweden, Norway,
Denmark, England, Scotland, and Ireland.

These monks, vulgarly called White
Canons, came first into England in the year
1146, where their first monastery, called
New House, was built in Lincolnshire, by
Peter de Saulia, and dedicated to St.
Martialis. In the reign of Edward I.,
when that king granted his protection to
the monasteries, the Premonstratenses had
twentv-seven houses in this kingdom.

PR'EROGATIVE COURT. The Pre-
rogative Court of the archbishops of Can-
terbury and Armagh, is that court wherein
all testaments are proved, and all adminis-
trations granted, when a party dying within
the province has bona notabilia in some
other diocese than where he dies; and is
so called from having a preroycifive through-
out the whole province for the said pur-
poses. (See Canons 92, 93, &:c,)

PRE-SANCTIFIED. A word used by
the Greek Church, who have a liturgy
Culled that of the Pre-sanctijied, because
that upon those days they do not consecrate
the bread or wine, but receive the bread
which Mas consecrated the day before.
This service is observed all Lent long,
except Saturdays and Sundays, and the
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, wliich,
being festivals, are exempt from fasting ;
the Greeks being of opinion that the
whole communion service is not to be
celebrated on fasting days, and upon this
account charging the Latin Church with
breach of the canons, because they cele-
brate the eucharist in Lent time, as they



PRESBYTER.



()05



do tlie rest of the year, Good Friday
excepted ; for on tliat day tliis liturgy of
the Pre-sanctitied is oH'ered in the Latin
Church ; the priest then consecratin«j nei-
ther bread nor \vine, but niakinj^ use of
the bread â– svhich was consecrated the day
before, and communicatinf]^ only under
one kind ; for the wine he receives is only
for ablution, being unconsecrated. The
Greeks do the same thing, from whence
we may conclude that they communicate
only in one kind during Lent, the wine
that they then receive being not conse-
crated. The Communion of the Sick, as en-
joined by the First Book of King Fdward,
if administered on any day of pul^lic com-
munion, was a liturgy of the pre-sanctified ;
as the elements were not consecrated in the
private house, but previously in the church.

PPvESBYTER. (See Bishop, Ucacon,
Priest, Orders, Clergij.) The name Trpfcr-
ftvTfQOQ {elder) is a word borrowed from the
Greek translation of the Old Testament,
which commonly signifies a ruler or go-
vernor, being, as St. Jerome observes, a
name of office, not a mere indication of a
man's age ; for elders were chosen, not by
their age, but by their merits and wisdom.
So that, as a senator among the Romans,
and an alderman in our own language, sig-
nifies a person of such an order and station
without any regard to age, in like man-
ner a preshijter or elder in the Christian
Church is one who is ordained to a certain
office, and authorized by his quality, not
his age, to discharge the several duties of
that office and station in which he is placed.
In this large and extensive sense, bishops
were sometimes called presbi/ters in the
New Testament, for the apostles them-
selves did not refuse that title. On the
other hand, it is the opinion of many
learned men, both ancient and modern,
that presbyters were sometimes called
bishops, while bishops who were properly
such were distinguished by other titles, as
that of chief priests, apostles, &c. Bing-
ham shows, however, that those who main-
tained the identity of the names, did not
thence infer identity of offices, but always
esteemed bishops and presbyters to be
distinct officers.

We know not the exact period at which
the apostles first ordained presbyters. We
do not read of their existence before A. D.
4'i, when the disciples at Antioch sent
their collections to the presbyters of Judea.
About A. D. 56, St. Paul sent for "the
presbyters of the church " of Ephesus ;
and we afterwards read of Ijisliojjs or pres-
byters at Philippi : and the directions to
Timothy and Titus for their ordination in



every city ; the cxhortaticm of St. Peter to
"the preslnters;" and of St. James, "is
any one sick among you, let him send for
the pres1)yters of the church;" suffice to
prove the general ordination of i)resbyter8
by the ajjostles.

The office of presbyters, like that of
bishops, consisted in "feeding the Church
of (ioi)," and overseeing it ; exhorting
and convincing the gainsayers by sound
doctrine. Being invested with the power
of teaching, they also possessed authority
in controversies.' The Ciiurch of Antioch
sent to Jerusalem to consult the apostles
and " presbyters " on the question of cir-
cumcision ; and we find afterwards that
heretics were sometimes condemned by the
judgment of j)resbyters, as well as by bishops
in council^. They possessed in their de-
gree the ])Ower of remitting or retaining
sins by absolution, and by spiritual cen-
sures. They must, even at the beginning,
have had the power of ])apti/ing and cele-
brating the eucharist, of ])erforming other
rites, and offering up public prayers in the
absence of the apostles, or by their per-
mission ; and the institution of bishops in
every Church by the apostles only restrain-
ed the ordinary exercise of these powers.
We know in particular from St. James,
that ])resbyters had authority to visit tiie
sick and offer prayers, anointing them with
oil for the recovery of their health. From
the time of the apostles, the office of pub-
lic teaching in the Church, and of ad-
ministering the sacraments, was always
performed by the bishop, unless in cases
of great necessity. The ])ower of s])iritual
jurisdiction in each Church, of regulating
its affairs generally, and especially its dis-
cipline, was shared by the bishoj) with the
presbyters, who also instnicted and ad-
monished the people in ])rivate. The ])res-
byters sat on seats or thrones at the cast
end of the church, and the bishop on a
higher throne in the midst of them. In
some churches they laid their hands with
the bishops on the head of those who were
ordained presl)yters, and in others admin-
istered confirmation.

The wealth and temporal power of bi-
shops during the middle ages may have
induced some of the ignorant to su])pose
that presbyters were exceedingly inferior
to bishops ; but the Catholic Church,
which sees with the eye of faith, as she
acknowledges the same sacred dignity of
the priesthood in cvcn»' bishop, whether
oppressed with extreme i)overty. or whe-
ther invested with princely dignity and
wealth, also views the greatness and the
sanctity of the office of presbyter as little



PRESBYTERIANS.



PRESBYTERIUM.



inferior to those even of the chief pastors
â– vvho succeeded the apostles ; and the Churcli
has never flourished more, nor has the
episcopate ever been held in truer rever-
ence, than under the guidance of those
apostolical ])relates ^vho, like St. Cyprian,
resolved to do nothinji^ without the consent
of the cler<2:y, and who have sedidously
avoided eveii the appearance of "being
lords over God's heritage."' The spirit of
a genuine Christianity will lead the^ pres-
byters to reverence and obey the bishops
as their fathers ; and will induce bishops
to esteem the presbyters as fellow-workers
together with them, and brethren in Jesus
Christ. — Bingham. Palmer, ylm/nsti.

The word preshi/ter is substituted for
priest in the Scotch liturgy, compiled in
the reign of King Charles I.

PKESBYTEKIAXS. A Protestant
sect, which maintains that there is no
order in the Church superior to presbyters,
and on that account has separated from
the Catholic Church. This sect is estab-
lished by law in Scotland, Avhere there
nevertheless exists a national branch of
the Catholic Church, under canonical
bishops. The establishment of a sect
cannot, of course, convert that sect into a
Church : for instance, if the Socinian sect
were established in England, it would not
be a whit more a Church than it is at
present. (See Church in Scotland.)

The Presbyterians had many endowed
chapels in England, but the trustees and
ministers having become Socinians, these
endowed chapels, upwards of 170 in num-
ber, are the strongholds of Socinianism
and Rationalism in this country. In Eng-
land, Socinian and Presbyterian have thus
become synonymous terms. These ob-
servations do not, however, apply to the
meeting-houses in England of the Scotch
Presbyterians.

The following statement is taken from
the Registrar's return :

" The Scottish Kirk adopts theConfession,
Catechism, and Directory prepared by the
Westminster Assembly as its standards of
belief and worship. Its discipline is ad-
ministered by a series of four courts or
assemblies. (1.) The Kirk Session is the
lowest court, and is composed of the min-
ister of a parish and a variable number of
lay elders, appointed from time to time bv
the session itself. (2.) The Preshytery
consists of representatives from a certain
number of contiguous parishes, associated
together in one district. The representa-
tives are the ministers of all such parishes
and one lay elder from each. This as-
sembly has the power of ordaining minis-



ters and licensing probationers to preach,
before their ordination : it also investi-
gates charges respecting the conduct of
members, approves of new communicants,
and pronounces excommunication against
offenders. An appeal, however, lies to the
next superior court ; viz. (3.) The Pro-
vincial Synod, which comprises several
presbyteries, and is constituted by the
ministers and elders by whom these pres-
byteries themselves were last composed.
(4.) The General Asscmhly is the highest
court, and is composed of representatives
(ministers and elders) from the presby-
teries, royal burghs, and universities of
Scotland, to the number (at present) of
363 ; of which number rather more than
two-fifths are laymen.

" The National Church of Scotland has
three presbyteries in England ; that of
Lo7idon, containing five congregations, —
that of Liverpool and 3Ianchester, contain-
ing three congregations, — and that of the
North of jEny{a7id, containing eight con-
gregations.

" Various considerable secessions have
from time to time occurred in Scotland
from the National Church, of bodies which,
while holding Presbyterian sentiments,
dissent from the particular mode in which
they are developed by the Established
Kirk, especially protesting against the
mode in which Church patronage is ad-
ministered, and against the undue inter-
ference of the civil power. The principal
of these seceding bodies are, — the ' United
Presbyterian Church,' and the 'FreeChiirch
of ScotUmd : ' the former being an amal-
gamation (effected in 1847) of the 'Se-
cession Church ' (Avhich separated in 1 732)
with the * Relief Synod ' (which seceded
in 1752) ; and the latter having been con-
stituted in 1843.

"The ' United Preshyterian Church' has
five presbyteries in England, containing
seventy-six congregations ; of which, how-
ever, fourteen are locally in Scotland, leav-
ing the number locally "in England 62.

" The * Free Church of Scotland' has no
ramifications, under that name, in Eng-
land ; but various Presbyterian congrega-
tions which accord in all respects with that
community, and which, before the disrup-
tion of 1843, were in union with the Estab-
lished Kirk, compose a separate Presby-
terian body under the appellation of the
' Preshyterian Church in England,' having,
in this portion of Cn-eat Britain, seven
presbvteries and eighty-three congrega-
tions.''

PRESBYTERIUM, or PRESBY-
TERY, the space in collegiate and large



PRESENCE.

churches between the easternmost stalls of
the choir and the altar ; answering to the
solea of the ancient basilicas.

PRESENCE. (Sec Roal Presence.)

PRESENTATION, (see Patron and
Benefice,) is the oft'erinj:^ of a clerk to the
bishop by the ])atr()n of a benefice. It
differs from nomination in this, that while
presentation si<=^nities the olferin«2: a clerk
to the bishop for institution, noniination
sip:niiies offerinj^- a clerk to the patron in
order that he may be i)resented.

PRIEST. (See Orders, Ordinafion,
Preshi/(er, Sacrijice, and Absolution.) "Who
can deny that our word priest is corrupted
of presbyter i Our ancestors, the Saxons,
first used preoster : whence, by further
contraction, came presto and 2)riest. The
High and Low Dutch have ^^vVs^cr ,• the
French, prestre [now contracted into prc-
tre'] ; the Italian, prefe ; but the S])aniard
only speaks full, presbj/tero. — Joseph Mede.

The Greek and Latin words, (Itpt/'c, ^f-
cerdos,) which we translate ^^ priest," are
derived from words that signify holy : and
so the word priest, according to the ety-
mology, signifies him whose mere charge
and function is about holy things ; and
therefore seems to be a most proper word
to him who is set apart to the holy public
service and worship of GoD, especially
when he is in the actual ministration of
holy things. If it be objected that, ac-
cording to the usual acceptation of the
word, it signifies him that offers up a sa-
crijice, and therefore cannot be allowed to
a minister of the gospel, who hath no sa-
crifice to ofter, it is answered, that the
ministers of the gospel have sacrifices to
offer, (1 Pet. ii. o,) "Ye are built up a
spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer
up spiritual sacrifices" of prayer, praises,
thanksgiving, &:c. In respect of these, the
ministers of the gospel may safely, in a
metaphorical sense, be called priests ; and
in a more eminent manner than other
Christians, because they are taken from
among men to offer up these sacrifices for
others. But besides these spiritual sacri-
fices mentioned, the ministers of the gos-
pel have another sacrifice to offer, viz. the
" unbloody sacrifice," as it was anciently
called, the commemorative sacrifice of the
blood of CinilsT, which does as really and
truly show forth the death of Ciiiust, as
those sacrifices under the law did ; and in
respect of this sacrifice of the eucharist,
the ancients have usually called those that
offer it up, priests. — Flndi/er's Comm.

That it might not be doubted by whom
the form of absolution may be jjronounced,
the rubric expressly informs us, that it is



ruiEsr.



007



the jn-iest who officiates. Jiy priest, m
Church language, is understood a person
who is advanced in the; ecclesiastical orders
to the dignity of a presbyter; and no
person, in any age of the Church, who was
under this degree, did ever jjretend, as
of right, to jjronounce absolution. The
penitentiaries, in the ancient and more
modern ages of the Church, were always
of this degree. It was adopted into an
axiom in the canon law, " ejus est absolrcre
cujus est !i(/tire." No one could pronounce
absolution but he who had j)ower to ex-
communicate. In the body of that law,
al)solutions of all kinds are reserved either
to ])resbyters <)rbish()])s; and in our pro-
vincial constitutions it is strictly enjoined,
" do p(vnitenti(i j)rfC('ipinius <pi<>d t/iueoni
pa'nitentias dure uon prcsu))uud,'' unless the
])riest be away when a man is dying. —
Li/ndu'ood. ()ur Church, in the last review
of the liturgy, has chosen to put in the
word priest instead of 7nitiister. (which was
in King Edward YI.'s Second IJook, and in
Queen Elizabeth's,) to the end that no one
might ])retend to ])ronounce this l)ut one
in ])riest's orders ; being sensil)le that some
bold innovations have hcvn made herein,
by reason of some persons misunderstand-
ing or misajiplying the word minister.
But the first compilers of the Common
Prayer understood the same by minister as
we do now by priest, that being the ge-
neral acceptation of the word at that time.
The compilers of the Second Book of Ed-
ward VI. (in which the Confession and
Absolution were first inserted) ])ut into
the rubric, " to be ])ronounced by the
minister " (or priest) " <done," to avoid the
imputation which the Papists had charged
some of the reformed witii, for jiermitting
absolution to be pronounced by persons not
of this order. For in the ])rovincial Council
of Sens, A. D. 1528, which was before that
of Trent, and twenty years before the com-
piling our Common Prayer, we find the
Protestants found fault with for affirming,
that laics and women among them might
in-onounce absolution ; which indeed was
Luther's opinion, l)ut only so (as Chem-
nitius explains it) that in case of extreme
necessity they might use it; which doc-
trine he had from the Papists themselves.
—Xirhnlls.- and see his long note on the
subject, if necessary, in his "Commen-
tary on the Common Prayer," Evening
Service.

In the diocese of Alexandria, tiic privi-
lege of giving absolution to great criminals
and scandalous offenders was rcser\e(l to
the patriarch ; as aiii)ears in the case of
Lamponianus, an excommunicated prcs-



608



PRIEST.



PRIMATES.



byter. " Thous^h," says he, "he expressed
his repentance with tears, and the people
interceded for him, yet I refused to ab-
solve him ; only assurinj:^ this, that if he
should be in manifest danger of death, any
]n-esbyter should receive" him into com-
munion by mv order." And in ji^cneral,
in the primitive Church, the granting ab-
solution to reconcile penitents, was the
bishop's sole prerogative, and rarely com-
mitted to presbyters ; but never to deacons,
except in cases' of extreme necessity, Mhen
neither bishop nor presbyter was at hand.
— Bint/hniu.

The privilege was also allowed in times
of persecution, to martyrs and confessors
in prison ; but then they always signified
what they had done to the bishop. — See
Care'*- Prim. Ch.

At the last review of the Common
Prayer Book, a. D. 1661, the Presbyterian
divines requested that " as the word
viinister, and not priest or curate, is used
in the Absolution, and in divers other
places, it may throughout the whole book
be so used, instead of those two words."
To which the E})iscopalian commissioners
replied, that " it is not reasonable the word
minister should be only used in the li-
turgy. For since some parts of the liturgy
may be performed by a deacon, and others,
such as absolution and consecration, by
none under the order of a priest, it is fit
that some such word as priest should be
used for those offices, and not viinister,
which signifies at large every one that
ministers in that holy office, of what order
soever he be." Accordingly the word
** priest,'' in its exclusive sense, and in con-
tradistinction to the word deacon, was
inserted, and the sense of the Church of
England on this subject, ascertained
thi'ough the abjection made by the Pres-
byterian divines, was adopted and ratified
by the act of parliament.

In the jn-imitive Church, the deacons
were ranked among the " sacred orders ; "
and though their office has not always
been so accurately defined as that of the
presbyters, or priests, yet in the Church
of England they are to most purposes
considered as an inferior degree of " the
priesthood.'" Their duties are laid down
in the office of " the Form and Manner of
making Deacons ;" and, " for the resolution
of all doubts," the preface to the Book of
Common Prayer has wisely directed, that
" the parties that so doubt, or diversely
take anything, shall always resort to the
bishop of the diocese, who by his discretion
shall take order for the quieting and ap-
peasing of the same; so that the same



order be not contrary to anything con-
tained in this book,"

It has generally been customary for dea-
cons to substitute a prayer taken from the
liturgy, which has been usually one of
the collects in the conclusion of the C'om-
munion Service ; and a pious commentator
(Mr. Waldo) countenances this by saying,
" a deacon, when he officiates, is never to
use it, but is to offer up some short prayer
in its stead." But this is improperly said.
For if a deacon, an officiating minister
of the lowest order, may be considered at
liberty to make this alteration in breach
of the act for uniformity, Avhere is the
point at which he shall stop ? What in
this case he should do seems settled by
the authorities referred to by Shepherd.

" If a deacon is neither to read the Ab-
solution, nor to substitute a prayer in its
room, what is he to do ? The rule is plain,
and leaves him no alternative. After the
confession, he is to remain kneeling, and
to proceed to the Lord's Prayer. This
always appeared to me to be the necessary
and only conclusion to be drawn from the
premises. Susj^ecting, however, the valid-
ity of my own arguments, I requested the
opinion of a respectable divine, for whose
modesty I have such regard, that I dare
describe him only as having been, for
many years, the confidential and intimate
friend of Bishop Lowth. By his judgment,
the opiiiion already given was sanctioned
and confirmed. In consequence of further
inquiry, I have since learned, that the
heads of a cathedral church lately recom-
mended the same practice. It is the
business of priest vicars, I understand,
in some cathedrals, to read morning and
evening prayer ; and it once happened,
that a deacon was appointed a priest vicar.
When it came to his turn to officiate, he
was directed to omit the Absolution, and
after the confession to say the Lord's
Prayer." — Sh epherd.

PRIEST'S INTENTION. (See In-
tention.)

PRIMATES, or METROPOLITANS.
In the Christian hierarchy, or scheme of
Church government, are such bishops of a
province, as preside over the rest.

Some derive the original of primates or
metropolitans from apostolical constitution.
— Bingliam, Oriy. Eccles. b. ii. c. 16. But
it may be doubted, whether the apostles
made any such general settlement in every
province ; and the records of the original
of most churches being lost, it can never
be proved that they did. It is most proba-
ble, that this order of bishops commenced
not long after the apostolic age, when



PRIMATES, OR METROI'OLITANS.



GOO



sects and schisms began to break in apace,
and controversies multiplyinf}: between
particular bishops, it Mas found necessary
to pitch upon one in every province, to
whom the decision of cases miolit be re-
ferred, and by whom all common and ])ub-
lic affairs might be directed. Or, it might
take its rise from that common respect
and deference, which was usually ])aid by
the rest of the bishops to the bishoj) of
the metropolis, or capital city, of each j)ro-
vince : which advancing into a custom,
was afterwards settled by a canon of the
Council of Nice. — Cone. jMc. c. 6.

As to the offices and ])rivileges of jiri-
mates or metropolitans, they were as fol-
lows. First, they were to regulate the
elections of all their provincial l)isho])s,
and either ordain, or authorize the ordin-
ation of them : and no election or ordin-
ation of bishops was valid without their
approbation. Nor was this power at all
infringed by setting up the patriarchs
above them. For, though the metropo-
litans were to be ordained by the patri-
archs, yet still the right of ordaining their
own suffragans was preserved to them. It
is to be observed, that this power Avas not
arbitrary : for the primates had no nega-
tive voice in the matter, but were to be
determined and concluded by the major
part of a provincial sjiiod. — Cone. Chaleed.
Act. 16.

Their next office was, to preside over
the provincial bishops, and, if any contro-
versies arose among them, to interpose
their authority to end and decide them :
also to hear the accusations of others, who
complained of injury done to them by
their own bishops, from whom there was
always liberty of appeal to the metropolitan.
But still there lay an appeal from the me-
tropolitan to a provincial synod, of which
he was only the president or moderator.

A third office of the metropolitans or
primates was, to call provincial synods,
and preside in them. To this end, their
circular letters, called Sj/noc/iccp and Trac-
torifS, were a legal summons, which no
bishop of the province might disobey un-
der pain of suspension, or other canonical
censure, at the discretion of the metro-
politan and council.

Fourthly, it belonged to the primates to
publish and disperse such imperial laws
and canons, as were made either by the
emperors or the councils, for the common
good of the Church. This gave them a