The ceremony of giving the Bible to the newly ordained bishop, is derived from the ancient practice of the English church. Martene says that the delivery of the gospels to deacons, appears to have been originated by our church, for some of our manuscripts written 900 years ago, are probably the oldest writings in which it appears; and it seems to have been adopted by other western churches after us f. According to the fourth council of Carthage, the gospels were laid on the head of the prelate elect while he was ordained, and this rite has been much used both in the eastern and western churches, but there is no certainty that it has been generally prevalent from the most primitive ages. Alcuin and Amalarius say that neither the tradition of the church, nor the authority of the canons, can be produced for it, and some of the old ordines published by Mabillon do not contain ith; nor do the ordinations of the Syrians and Maronites; and therefore the church of England has long been accustomed to present the Bible to the prelate ordained, instead of laying it upon his shoulders.

The rest of the office contains nothing remarkable: the offertory and the remainder of the communionservice follows, in the same manner as is prescribed by all the ancient rituals of the church of England, and the rest of the western and eastern churches; and the newly ordained bishop communicates with the archbishop and others.

f Martene, tom. ii. p. 314. g Alcuinus de Divinis Officiis. Amalar. de Off. lib. ii. c. 14.

h Mabillon, Museum Itali

cum, tom. ii. ordines 8 and 9. See also Morinus de Sacris Ordinibus pars iii. exercit. ii. c. I.

SECTION VII.

ORDINATIONS OF PRIESTS AND DEACONS.

The remarks which I shall make on the ordinations of priests and deacons will not be many. The rites used in the earliest ages were very simple. In later times, especially in the western churches, they received very considerable additions, but these have been almost entirely removed from our ordinal. The writings of Bingham, Burnet i, Morinus, Thomassink, and Martene, contain much information relative to the election or nomination of priests and deacons in the primitive church, and those matters which were essential to the validity of their ordinations.

The beginning of our office for the ordination of priests, which very much resembles that for deacons, has been used for a great length of time in the English and other western churches, as we find it in manuscripts written more than a thousand years

The next portion of this service is of still greater antiquity, as it occurs not only in the Pontifical of Egbert, archbishop of York, written 1000 years ago, but in the Sacramentary of Gelasius, A. D. 494.

-shall, with the clergy and people present, sing or say the Litany―

That it may please thee to bless these thy servants now to be admitted to the order of priests, and to pour thy grace upon them; that they may duly execute their office, to the edifying of thy church, and the glory of thy holy name.

Et post modicum intervallum mox incipiunt omnes Kyrie eleison, cum Litania.

Ὑπὲρ τοῦ δούλου τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ δεῖνος, τοῦ νυνὶ προχειριζομένου πρεσβυτέρου, καὶ τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτοῦ, τοῦ Κυρίου δεηθῶμεν Ρ.

The office of the holy communion then commences, and after a proper collect, epistle, and gospel, the bishop addresses the candidates for the priesthood in a discourse of some length, in which he reminds them of the great importance and responsibility of the office to which they are called, and explains some of the principal duties which are incumbent upon them. This address, in the most ancient times, seems to have been delivered to the candidates at their nomination, and before ordination; in fact, it was made when the ecclesiastical canons were read to the candidates for orders, which, according to the third council of Carthage, A. D. 397, took place some time before their ordination; but in later ages we find some traces of it in the ordination service itself. A manuscript pontifical, cited by Martene, and written more than six hundred years ago, contains a short formulary of the kind, which is placed, as ours is, in immediate connexion with some questions addressed to the candidates for ordination, and directly before the most

o Pontificale Egberti, and Sacramentar. Gelasii, ut supra. P Goar, Rit. Græc. p. 293.

q Martene, tom. ii. p. 304. r See Bingham's Antiquities, book iv. ch. 6.

solemn part of the offices. The questions which follow the address in our ordinal seem to be in some degree peculiar to it. Probably no church requires from her priests such solemn vows as our own. They seem to have been modelled, in a great degree, after the parallel formularies used in the ordination of bishops; and might perhaps have been introduced here, (independently of their importance,) to preserve greater uniformity in the offices. The last question is probably the most ancient of them all, and is found in manuscript ordinals written eight hundred years ago, where it is placed in exactly the position which it holds in our service, before ordination begins, and not at the end of the communion, as in the Roman pontifical.

The Bishop.

Will you reverently obey your ordinary, and other chief ministers, unto whom is committed the charge and government over you; following with a glad mind and will their godly admonitions, and submitting yourselves to their godly judgments?

Answer. I will do so, the Lord being my helper.

The Bishop. Almighty God, who hath given you this will to do all these things, grant also unto you strength and power to perform the same, &c.

S Pontificale Cameracens. annorum 600, Martene, tom. ii. p. 448.

Interrogat EpiscopusVis episcopo tuo, ad cujus parochiam ordinandus es, obediens esse secundum justitiam et ministerium tuum?

Respons. Volo.

Voluntatem tuam bonam et rectam ad perfectionem sibi beneplacitam Deus perducere digneturt.

t Pontificale Salisburgens. Martene, tom. ii. p. 401.