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in both kinds. The same custom formerly prevailed all through the western churches', but in later times the laity were in most places entirely deprived of the sacrament of Christ's blood; in order to obviate inconveniences which some persons thought might follow from an obedience to Christ's commands, and the practice of the catholic church.

It was not remembered that God could prevent his sacraments from real profanation; and that proper instruction might suffice, as it had done in primitive times, to teach the people their duty. It became necessary in after-times to defend this practice, and then it was heard for the first time that the sacrament of Christ's body or flesh was also the sacrament of his blood.

The church of England does not prohibit the laity from coming to the chancel, or bema, and receiving at the rails of the holy table. In different churches different rules have been adopted, as to the place of lay-communion. According to the eastern canons, the people may not approach the tables. The same rule was made by the fourth council of Toledo in Spaint. In the church of Gaul, as now in England, the laity, both men and women, were allowed to approach the holy table, and receive the sacrament in their hands".

It was the custom of the primitive church to fill up the time during which the people communicated

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by singing a psalm. We find from Cyril, Chrysostom, and Jerome, that in the churches of Antioch and Jerusalem, "O taste and see," &c. was sung during the communion in the fourth century. In the west we find numerous traces of the same custom. Augustine expressly mentions it, and it appears to have prevailed in Gaul and Italy. In aftertimes it was generally adopted in the west, and the anthem was called communiow. With regard to any words used at the delivery of the elements, we know not when they began to be used. Our Lord made use of expressions in the delivery of the sacrament which the apostles commemorated in their thanksgiving and consecration; but there is not the slightest reason to think that these expressions were ever in any way used at the delivery of the elements in the primitive church. However, in the second and third centuries it appears that a certain form was used in many, if not all, churches. The minis

ter, in presenting the bread to every communicant, said, "The body of Christ," and the communicant, to signify his faith, said, "Amen." It appears that in the time of Gregory the Great, the ancient form of delivery had been changed into a prayer. "The body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy soul;" to which the party receiving answered, "Amen y;" but this was not the original design of the form.

V

Augustin. Retract. lib. ii. c. II. quoted in vol. i. p. 136. note d

W

w Bingham's Antiquities, b. xv. ch. 5. §. 10. Antiphonarius Gregorii Pamel. Liturg. tom. ii. p. 62, 63, &c. Miss. Sarisb. fol. II.

x Cornel. Roman. apud Eusebii Hist. Eccl. lib. vi. c. 43. p. 245. ed. Valesii; Apost. Const. lib. viii. c. 13. p. 405. edit. Clerici; Cyril Hierosol. Cat. Mystag. 5, No. 18.

y Johannes Diaconus in Vita Gregorii lib. ii.

During all the primitive ages, the whole body of the faithful communicated at each celebration of the liturgy, and the sacrament was never distributed to those who were in health, except at this time1. But as charity grew chill the number of communicants became less, until there were scarcely any. In order to preserve a semblance of the communion, bread was blessed by the priest and distributed to the people at the close of the liturgy. However, in after-times even the custom of giving " eulogiæ," or blessed bread, as a substitute for the sacrament became extinct; and now in a large part of the west the people never receive the communion, or even a semblance of it, at the celebration of the liturgy a.

SECTION XXI.

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

The Lord's Prayer cannot be inappropriate in any part of the liturgy. It must be acknowledged, however, that we have no certain instance in the liturgies of the primitive church of its use in this place, immediately after communion. The Ethiopic liturgy, indeed, appears either to prescribe the prayer itself,

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post communionem a sacerdote dicuntur, pro ipsis communicantibus sunt.' Rer. Liturg. lib. ii. cap. 14. §. 5. P. 457. Would that they who communicate with the Roman church were not too timid or too lukewarm to return to the practice of the primitive church in this and many other respects.

With regard to the custom of giving eulogiæ, see Bingham, Antiquities, book xv. c. 4. §. 3. Bona, Rer. Liturg. lib. ii. c. 19. §. 7.

or a part of it, after communionb; but no such thing appears in the Alexandrian, the Oriental, Roman, Italian, Gallican, or Spanish liturgies. Nor do we find any traces of such a custom amongst the writings of the Fathers. The use of the Lord's Prayer therefore in this place cannot be traced to any very great antiquity, though certainly in the fifth century it was a general custom to use it before communion, and in some churches it may have been used there even from the apostolic age. When the Lord's Prayer was repeated before communion, it was repeated by all the people, as well in the Gallican church, as in all the churches of the east. At Rome it was only repeated by the priest, according to Gregory the Greatd.

SECTION XXII.

THE POST-COMMUNION THANKSGIVING.

In all churches it was anciently customary to return thanks to God after receiving the sacrament, and to implore his grace for the future. The second form, which the church of England has appointed for this occasion, (though it would be presumptuous to say that it is more appropriate than the first,) may be fairly said to accord most with the thanksgivings which the primitive church used at this place. Let us, then, regard the second form of thanksgiving and prayer prescribed in this place by the English liturgy, and trace its analogy with ancient liturgies.

b Liturg. Ethiop. Renaudot. Liturg. Oriental. tom. i. p. 521. c Mabillon, Liturgia Gallic. lib. i. c. 5. No. 22. p. 49.

d" Sed et Dominica oratio

apud Græcos ab omni populo dicitur apud nos vero a solo sacerdote." Gregor. Mag. lib. vii. Epist. 64.

ENGLAND. Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee, for that thou dost vouchsafe to feed us, who have duly received these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical Body of thy Son, which is the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs through hope of thy everlasting kingdom, by the merits of the most precious death and passion of thy dear Son. And we most humbly beseech thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

CESAREA. Εὐχαριστοῦμέν σοι, κύριε ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ἐπὶ τῇ μεταλήψει τῶν ἁγίων, ἀχράντων, ἀθανάτων, καὶ ἐπουρανίων σου μυστηρίων, ἃ ἔδωκας ἡμῖν ἐπ ̓ εὐεργεσίᾳ καὶ ἁγιασμῷ, καὶ ἰάσει τῶν ψυχῶν καὶ τῶν σωμάτων ἡμῶν. αὐτὸς δέσποτα τῶν ἁπάντων, δὸς γενέσθαι ἡμῖν τὴν κοινωνίαν τοῦ ἁγίου σώματος καὶ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ σου, εἰς πίστιν ἀκαταίσχυντον, εἰς ἀγάπην ἀνυποκρίτον, εἰς πλησμονὴν σοφίας, εἰς ἰάσιν ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος, εἰς ἀποτροπὴν παντὸς ἐναντίου, εἰς περιποίησιν τῶν ἐντο λῶν σου, εἰς ἀπολογίαν εὐπρόσδεκτον τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ φοβεροῦ βήματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ σου.

Similar forms occur in all the ancient liturgies; amongst which that of Antioch, and the beautiful form of the Alexandrian liturgy of Basil, are particularly deserving of noticef.

It would be useless to cite the prayers in the ancient Gallican, Roman, and Italic sacramentaries, which correspond to this form, because they do not resemble it more than the oriental forms already

e Liturgia Basilii, Goar, Rit. Græc. p. 175.

f Liturgia Jacobi Syr. Re

naudot, tom. ii. p. 42. Basilii Copt. tom. i. p. 24.

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