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ceeding Ages; that so they may be able, in their Sermons and otherwise, to instruct the people under their Charge, in the truly Catholic principles of that pure and primitive Church. For their farther assistance in discharge of their duty, by means of mutual communication with each other in the way of personal conference, the Clergy of each Diocese are to attend such Meetings as their Bishop may think proper to appoint, either for the purpose of hearing a charge delivered by him, or for discussing any particular Diocesan Business. But the Clergy of one Diocese must not interfere in the concerns of another, nor take any directions for their conduct, but from their own immediate Ecclesiastical Superior; it being always understood, that they still retain the right of appealing from any sentence of their own Bishop by which they may think themselves aggrieved, to the Primus, and other com-provincial Bishops in Synod canonically assembled.

CANON XIV.

REGULATING THE TIMES, AND PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES, FOR DIVINE SERVICE.

THE Members of this Church, being duly

taught and admonished, not to "forsake "the assembling of themselves together," for the public Worship of God, particularly on the Lord's Day, commonly called Sunday; and also on such other Holydays as have been usually observed by the Episcopal Church in this part of the United Kingdom, it is therefore hereby ordered, that the Clergy do reverently and devoutly attend on these sacred Solemnities, to the regular Celebration of Divine Service in their several Congregations; that so the people, being accustomed to see every thing, according to the Apostle's rule," done de"cently, and in order," may be ready and well disposed as Christians to bear their part in that form of Worship which is so well calculated to impress on their minds a just sense of what they are taught to believe, as an Article of their Creed, the COMMUNION of SAINTS.

CANON XV.

RESPECTING THE COMMUNION SERVICE, AS THE MOST SOLEMN PART OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP.

WHEREAS it is acknowledged by the Twen

tieth and Thirty-fourth of the Thirtynine Articles of the Church of England, that not only the Church in general, but "every "particular or national Church, hath authority.

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to ordain, change, and abolish Ceremonies, or Rites of the Church, ordained only by "man's authority, so that all things be done to

edifying," the Episcopal Church in Scotland, availing herself of this inherent Right, hath long adopted and very generally used, a Form for the celebration of the Holy Communion, known by the name of the Scotch Communion Office; which Form has been justly considered, and is hereby considered as the authorised Service of the Episcopal Church in the Administration of that Sacrament: And as, in order to promote an Union among all those who profess to be of the Episcopal persuasion in Scotland, permission was lately granted by the Bishops to retain the use of the English Office in all Congregations where the said Office had been previously in use, the same permission is now ratified and confirmed: And it is also enacted, that

in the use either of the Scotch or English Office, no Alteration nor Interpolation whatever shall take place, nor shall any change from the one to the other be admitted, unless it be agreeable to the Minister and his Congregation, and approved of by the Bishop. In respect, however, to the authority which sanctioned the Scotch Liturgy, and for other good and sufficient reasons, it is hereby enacted, that the Scotch Communion Office shall be used in all Consecrations of Bishops; and that every Bishop, when consecrated, shall give his full assent to it, as being sound in itself, and of primary authority in Scotland; and therefore shall not permit its being laid aside, where now used, but by the authority of the College of Bishops.

CANON

CANON XVI.

POINTING OUT WHAT UNIFORMITY IS TO BE USED IN THE ORDINARY PARTS OF THE MORNING AND EVENING SERVICE.

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name of Jesus in the Creed; and when the Minister mentions the Gospel for the day, the people rising up shall devoutly say, (where the custom has so been), " Glory be to thee, "O God;" and when the Minister declares the

AS in all the ordinary parts of Divine Service, Holy Gospel to be ended, they shall answer,

it is necessary to fix by authority the precise Form, from which no Presbyter or Deacon shall be at liberty to depart, by his own alte rations or insertions, lest such liberty should produce consequences destructive of Decency and Order, It is hereby enacted, that, in future, every Presbyter, or Deacon in this Church, shall adhere strictly to the words of the English Liturgy in the Morning and Evening Service, unless where for obvious reasons, resulting from the difference between a legal Establishment and Toleration, his Bishop shall authorise any deviations.

All National Fasts and Thanksgivings enjoined by the Civil Authority, shall in this Church be religiously observed; and every Bishop shall give directions to his Clergy what Form of Prayer they are to use on such particular occasions.

CANON XVII.

ENJOINING ALL DUE REVERENCE AND ATTENTION IN TIME OF DIVINE SERVICE.

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T is hereby ordered that all proper care be taken of the Chapels, or Places of Worship in this Church, and every endeavour used to have them decent and commodious, and kept in good repair. In the time of Divine Service, the most devout attention shall be given by the people to what is read, preached, or ministered; and that they may glorify God in body, as well as in spirit, agreeably to what an Apostle enjoins, they shall humbly kneel upon their knees, when the General Confession, the Litany, and other Prayers are read, making the appointed Responses with an audible voice, in a grave and serious manner, and shall reverently stand up at the repetition of the Creed -at the reading or singing of the Psalms, Hymns, or Anthems, bowing devoutly at the

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"Thanks be to Thee, O Lord, for this thy glo"rious Gospel." During the time of Divine Service, no Person shall depart out of the place of worship without some urgent or reasonable

cause.

CANON XVIII.

REQUIRING DUE INTIMATION, AND PREPARATION, TO BE MADE FOR THE HOLY COMMUNION.

IN every Congregation of this Church, the

Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper shall be administered by the Bishop, Pastor, or Minister, so often, and at such times, as that every Member of the Congregation come to a proper time of life for discharging that duty, may communicate at least thrice in the year, whereof the Feast of Easter, or of Pentecost, to be one solemn season set apart for that purpose. Of this due warning shall be publicly given to the Congregation, during Divine Service, on the Sunday before each Holy Communion, that the People may the better prepare themselves for the participation of that venerable Sacrament. For this purpose, every Clergyman shall pay attention to the spirit and design of the Rubrics prefixed to the Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, in the Book of Common Prayer; and shall be diligent in enforcing the duties there prescribed, on all those who are committed to his Pastoral Charge; instructing them carefully in the nature and design of that Holy Sacrament, and warning them of the danger of receiving the same unworthily: And because strangers, or those who have but lately joined his Congregation, with the intention of remaining therein, cannot always be so well known to him, as to enable him to judge whether they be meet to be partakers of those Holy Mysteries: Such persons, if required by

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him, shall produce from the Clergyman, to whose Congregation they formerly belonged, or from some respectable Member of this Church, an Attestation, that they are regular Members of this Church, or of the United Church of England and Ireland.

In most of the Congregations of this Church, it is customary to have public Prayers on some day immediately before, and after the Administration of the Lord's Supper, and to have a Collect suited to the purpose for which the people are assembled on each of these Days; in which case every Bishop shall prescribe what he judges proper to be used within his own Diocese.

and to unite themselves to the Episcopal Communion, it becomes a matter of serious importance to furnish a rule to the Clergy, by which they may be directed in such cases; it is therefore enacted, that in all instances where the Applicants shall express a doubt of the validity of the Baptism which they may have received fom the Minister, or pretended Minister, of the sect to which they formerly belonged, the Clergyman of the Scotch Episcopal Church, to whom the application shall be made, shall baptize the Person in the form of words prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer, by the Church of England, in similar cases of doubt; " IF

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THOU ART NOT ALREADY BAPTIZED, N. I bap"tize thee in the Name of the Father, and of "the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

CANON XIX,

RESPECTING THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRA

MENT OF BAPTISM.

N the present situation of the Episcopal IN Church in Scotland, various causes combine in rendering it hardly possible to persuade the Members of this Church to bring their Children to be baptized in a Chapel, or place of Pub. lic Worship; and it would be found equally improper to press upon them the necessity, or even the expediency, of procuring any other Sponsor, under the name of Godfather or Godmother, than the Father or Mother of the Child, if no impediment lies against their being received as such: Therefore, Baptism being thus almost constantly administered in private houses, without the possibility of obtaining any solemn recognition of it before a Congregation, or in a place of Public Worship, the officiating Clergyman may select from the Office for Public Baptism in the Book of Common Prayer, such parts of that Office as are essentially necessary to the due Administration of that Sacrament; provided that such selection be approved of by his Bishop, and do not tend to excite any doubt as to the validity of the Baptism so administered: And whereas from the unhappy multiplicity of religious sects in this country, cases frequently occur in which Persons, from conscientious motives, express a desire to separate themselves from such sects,

CANON XX.

REQUIRING A REGULAR COURSE OF CATECHIZING IN ALL CONGREGATIONS..

THE "HE Christian Church having ever maintained the necessity of early and sound Instruction in the first Principles of her holy Faith, it is therefore hereby enacted, that constant attention be shewn to this important duty; for which purpose, either some part of the season of Lent, or other convenient time, on Sundays or Holydays, shall be set apart for examining and instructing the young Members of every Congregation, first in the Catechism. contained in the Book of Common Prayer, and afterwards in such an enlarged Form of Explanation of the several parts of that Catechism, as every Bishop shall prescribe, or recommend to the Clergy of his Diocese: And these Clergy shall make it their business earnestly to exhort, and admonish their people respecting the great usefulness of this mode of Instruction, and point out to Parents, and others who may have the charge of young persons, the necessity of bringing them regularly up to be catechized, at the times which their Pastors shall judge most convenient to appoint for that pur

pose.

CANON

CANON XXI.

APPOINTING CONFIRMATION TO BE ADMINISTERED IN EVERY DIOCESE ONCE IN THREE YEARS, AND THE CARE TO BE TAKEN THAT DUE PREPARATION BE MADE FOR THAT SOLEMN SERVICE.

of this Church to use any more of the Form of Matrimony contained in the Book of Common Prayer, than what tends to secure the formal consent of the parties; and that they solemnly promise before God, and the Witnesses present, to live together as Husband and Wife,

WHEREAS it has been a sacred, and so- according to God's Holy Ordinance; and all

lemn Appointment in the Christian Church, continued from the times of the Apostles, that all Bishops should, in their several Districts, regularly administer the holy Rite of Confirmation, by laying their hands upon persons who have been baptized, and duly instructed in the principles of Christ's Religion, praying over them, and blessing them with the Gift of the Holy Spirit; therefore, it is hereby enacted, that every Bishop of this Church shall visit his Diocese, if he be able to do it, once in three years, and administer this sacred Ordinance in every Congregation within the same, where it may be most convenient to bring the people who are to receive the benefit of it: And every Pastor or Minister, on receiving intimation from the Bishop of the time of his triennial Visitation, shall use his best endeavour to get those properly prepared for it, whom he is to present to the Bishop to be confirmed by him; giving him a List of their Names, and being ready to answer any questions he may put respecting their age and qualifications.

CANON XXII.

RESPECTING THE SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY,

THE

HE Civil Law having required the Publication of Banns before Marriage, no Clergyman of this Church shall take upon him to solemnize Matrimony, without having previously received a sufficient attestation, that the Law in this respect has been duly complied with. He shall not join persons in Matrimony who are within the forbidden Degrees, nor under the Age of Twenty-one Years, unless with the consent of their parents or guardians: And as the legal Provisions respecting Marriage differ very much in this country, from what the Law appoints to be done in the Church of England, therefore it is unnecessary for the Clergy

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this accompanied with suitable Prayers for the Blessing of God's Grace and Assistance, to enable them so to live together in this life, that in the world to come they may have life everlasting. It is recommended to every Clergyman of this Church to keep a correct Register, or List, both of his Baptisms and Marriages, which, if required, he shall shew to the Bishop at the time of his Visitation; and also take care that such List, or a copy of it, may be given to the Person who succeeds him in his pastoral Charge.

CANON XXIII.

RESPECTING THE VISITATION OF THE SICK, AND THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD.

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As in all the days of their spiritual war

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"fare, from their Baptism to their Burial," Christians have the benefit of assistance from the Ministry of the Clergy, so qught they more especially to apply for this spiritual aid, in the time of their sickness, when, their need of it being more urgent, they ought to remenber, and observe the Apostle's injunction, " Is

any man sick among you, let him call for "the Elders," or Presbyters, "of the Church "and let them pray over him;" therefore, it is hereby enacted, that when any Presbyter or Clergyman, of this Church, is called to visit any sick Member of his Congregation, he shall not neglect to perform his duty; but, repairing to the sick person's house, shall be there ready to administer all suitable comfort and instruction, either according to the Order for the Visitation of the Sick, as laid down in the Book of Common Prayer, or in any other way, as he shall think most needful and conve"nient." For his assistance in discharging this pious and charitable office, he shall have recourse to such Books of Devotion, as have been ap

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proved, and recommended by some of the best, and soundest Divines of the Church, and be willing to take the advice, or direction of his own Bishop, in any case, which may particularly call for it. When the Prayers of the Congregation are desired in behalf of any sick Member of it, the Clergyman is at liberty to use the Collect appointed for the Communion of the Sick, inserting after the words,-" visited with "thine hand,"-the words, "for whom our "prayers are now desired," or any of the other prayers in the "Order for the Visita"tion of the Sick," as the case may require; and he shall also be ready to do the last duty, when called to read the "Order for the Bu"rial of the Dead," which he shall use as prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer, as far as circumstances will permit that Order to be observed by the Clergy of this Church.

to execute the Office of a Deacon, declares himself to be "inwardly moved by the Holy "Ghost to take upon himself this Office and "Ministration, to serve God for the promotion "of his glory, and the edifying of his people;" therefore, in order that he may be warned of the danger of dissembling with the Spirit of Truth, it is hereby declared, that if any Person exercising his ministry in this Church, shall afterwards give up the exercise of his ministerial functions, and betake himself wholly to any worldly business, merely for the sake of the emoluments of any such secular employment, he shall be incapable of ever resuming the exercise of any ministerial Office in the Church, whose sacred service he has thus shamefully abandoned.

CANON XXIV. XXIV.

NOTORIOUS OFFENDERS NOT TO BE ADMITTED TO THE COMMUNION.

CANON XXVI.

DECLARING WHAT CENSURE, OR SPIRITUAL PENALTY, IS TO BE INCURRED BY A BREACH OF THESE CANONS.

IF

F it shall be ascertained, by clear and sufficient evidence, that any Bishop of this

NO Minister of this Church shall in anywise Church has neglected any of the duties, or

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admit to the receiving of the Holy Communion any Member of his Congregation, who is openly known to live in sin notorious, without repentance, such as "Blasphemers of God, "Hinderers, or Slanderers of his Word, Adul"terers, or those that be in malice, or envy, or any other grievous crime:" Provided, that. every Minister, so repelling any, shall, upon complaint, or being required by the Bishop, or Ordinary, signify the cause thereof unto him, and therein obey his Order, and Direction. See 26th and 27th Canons of the Church of England.

CANON XXV.

REQUIRING THE CLERGY OF THIS CHURCH TO CONTINUE IN THEIR SACRED PROFESSION.

As
S every Clergyman of this Church, as well
as of the United Church of England and
Ireland, at the time of his receiving authority

acted contrary to any of the Regulations prescribed to him by this Code of Canons, he shall be censured, or dealt with by the other Bishops, as they may reasonably judge that his Neglect or Transgression requires: And in all cases of complaint, whether they refer to Bishop, Priest, or Deacon, the sentence of the Bishops, their number, shall be final and conclusive. that is, of the whole, or of the majority of

And as, in the peculiar situation of this Church, many inconveniences would necessarily arise from laying any of its Clergy under a sentence of temporary suspension, therefore, it is hereby enacted, that for the first breach of obedience, in a Presbyter or Deacon, to any of the preceding Canons, the Offender shall be privately rebuked and admonished by the Bishop of the Diocese in which the offence has been committed, and before two other Clergymen called to witness this necessary act of Discipline. If after such reproof and exhortation, enforced by just threatening of severer censure

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