CHAP. VI.

ON THE CEREMONIES USED IN THE CHURCH.

MOSHEIM, 'in the beginning of his Chapter on the Ceremonies of the Church in the second century, observes, that "in this century many unnecessary ceremonies were added to the Christian worship, the introduction of which was extremely offensive to wise and good men." In support of this statement, he refers to a passage in the Tract de Oratione; in which Tertullian complains that various forms and observances had been introduced into the Christian worship, of which some bore too close a resemblance to the customs and practices of the Gentiles. Of these observances he specifies several-2 the practice, for instance, of washing the hands, or even the whole body, before the commencement of prayer; which he calls a superstitious practice, originally suggested by the act of Pilate

1 Century II. Part II. Chap. IV.

2 De Oratione, c. 11.

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when he delivered up Christ to the Jews; and consequently unfit to be adopted by Christians :—3 and that of putting off the cloke before the commencement of prayer, which he disapproves because the heathens had a similar custom. He assigns the same reason for objecting to the practice of sitting down after the conclusion of the public prayers; though he supposes its introduction into the Church to have arisen from a misapprehension of a passage in the Shepherd of Hermas.

From the passage just alluded to and from other passages of Tertullian's works, it appears that, in the act of prayer, 1 the early Christians raised their hands to heaven, and expanded them in imitation of the mode in which our Saviour's arms were stretched upon the cross. They usually prayed in

4 Nos vero non attollimus tantum, sed etiam expandimus, a dominicâ passione modulantes. De Oratione, c. 11. sub fine. Apology, c. 30. manibus expansis. Ad Marcionem, L. i. c. 23. sub fine.

5 De Coronâ, c. 3. Ad Scapulam, c. 4. Quando non geniculationibus et jejunationibus nostris etiam siccitates sunt depulsæ? In the second Tract ad Uxorem, c. 9. we find the word volutari applied to the act of prayer. Simul orant, simul volutantur. Compare Pseudo-Justinus, Quæstiones ad Orthodoxos, c. 115.

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a kneeling posture; excepting on the Lord's day, and in the interval between Easter and Whitsunday they then prayed standing, in commemoration of the resurrection of our Lord from the dead. The men prayed with the head uncovered. With respect to the women, different customs appear to have prevailed in different Churches: in some even the virgins were unveiled; but in the Tract de Virginibus velandis, Tertullian inveighs vehemently against the indecency and irreverence of this practice. It was customary also, in the act of prayer, to turn the face towards the east; a practice borrowed, according to

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Mosheim, from the eastern nations, who conceived light to be the essence of the Supreme, and therefore worshipped the sun as the image of his glory. We 10 have seen that this practice gave rise to a very general persuasion among the Gentiles, that the Chris

6 Capite nudo. Apology, c. 30.

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c. 2. See de Coronâ, c. 4.

8 Apology, c. 16. Ad Nationes, L. i. c. 13.

9 Century II. Part II. Chap. IV. Sect. 7. There is in the Tract against the Valentinians, c. 3. the following remark: Amat figura Spiritûs Sancti (Columba) Orientem, Christi figuram, referring perhaps to Zechariah iii. 8. I will bring forth my servant the branch. The word corresponding to branch in the Septuagint is ἀνατολήν. 10 Chap. II. p. 124.

After the prayers

tians worshipped the sun. were concluded, the " persons present usually saluted each other with the kiss of peace; excepting on Good Friday, which was observed as a solemn fast by every member of the Church. Tertullian censures the affectation of those who, at other seasons, refused the kiss of peace, on the ground that they had kept a fast.

Having alluded to the Tract de Oratione, we will take this opportunity of mentioning that the greater part of it is occupied by 12 a Commentary on the Lord's Prayer. After some preliminary remarks on the injunctions to pray in secret and not to use long prayers, by which the Lord's Prayer is introduced in the Gospel, Tertullian observes that this form, concise as it is, contains an epitome of the whole Christian doctrine. In commenting upon the different clauses, our author displays an extensive knowledge of Scripture; but for the most part little judgement in the

11 Alia jam consuetudo invaluit; jejunantes, habitâ oratione cum fratribus, subtrahunt osculum pacis, quod est signaculum orationis. De Oratione, c. 14. Jam vero alicui fratrum ad osculum convenire. Ad Uxorem, L. ii. c. 4. From the latter quotation we might infer that the Christian mode of salutation was by a kiss.

12 There are also some remarks on the Lord's Prayer, in the fourth Book against Marcion, c. 26.

application. 13 He concludes with stating that,

although in our account omit this

devotions we must on no

prayer, yet we may add to it such petitions as are suitable to our

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particular circumstances; 1 remembering always that, in order to render our prayers acceptable to God, we must approach him in a right frame of mind—with hearts free from anger and every other evil passion. In addition to these remarks upon the spirit in which men ought to pray, 15 he offers some cautions against all extravagance of gesture in putting up our prayers to the throne of grace. Our gesture and countenance ought to bespeak humility and modesty. He says also, that we should be careful not to pray

15 c. 13. In Semler's Edition, the Tract de Oratione contains nine additional Chapters, which were published by Muratori; of these the first two relate to the question whether Virgins ought to wear veils in the Church, and are little else than an epitome of the Tract de Virginibus velandis; the third to the practice of kneeling in the act of prayer; the fourth to the place, the fifth to the hour of prayer; the sixth to the propriety of not allowing a Christian brother to quit the house without joining in prayer; the seventh to the custom of saying Halleluiah at the conclusion of our prayers; in the eighth, prayer is stated to be the spiritual sacrifice, by which the ancient sacrifices were superseded; the ninth relates to the efficacy of prayer. From the style and tone of these additional chapters, I should infer that they were not written by Tertullian.