Stones of the Temple Part 15

"Well, I will think about that. You have studied these matters much more deeply than I have, and you always have the best of the argument. But I have something more to say. I should like to have your opinion as to the proper arrangement and furniture of the whole of the chancel[139], for ours has not yet been completed, and I have undertaken to finish it."

"I will gladly give you my opinion on the subject. Of course, the altar should be the central and princ.i.p.al object in the church. For this reason, the east of the chancel should be the highest part, but for evident reasons the whole of the chancel should be higher than the nave[140]. There should be a marked difference between the chancel--or choir, and the sanctuary--or s.p.a.ce immediately surrounding the altar; a difference which had its type in the 'Holy Place' and the 'Holy of Holies' of the Jewish temple. The _lectern_--or desk, from which the lessons are read, and the _faldstool_--or Litany desk, may be either just without or within the chancel screen. The _sedilia_[141]--a stone recess for the seats of the officiating clergy, with the _piscina_[142]--should be on the south side, and the _credence[143]

table_ may be on the north or south side of the altar. The _reredos_[144], at the east end of the chancel, should be the most costly and elaborate part of the church, as it is connected with the most dignified portion of the building. Its most prominent feature should be the symbol of our salvation, and whatever adornment is employed, it should have distinct reference to the 'sacrifice of the death of Christ.' _Empty niches_ should here and every where be carefully avoided; for they have little beauty and no meaning. Without their tenants, they are ridiculous forms of ornamentation, for the corbel--or bracket, has no meaning unless it is intended to support a figure, nor its canopy, unless intended to shelter and protect one. I have seen slabs containing epitaphs and the armorial bearings of private persons, as well as the royal shield, subst.i.tuted for a proper reredos, but this is a sad profanation[145]. There is one thing worse; and that is engraving armorial bearings on the sacred vessels. The _prayer desk_[146] should form part of the choir stalls, and look in the same direction; this desk should not face the congregation, as the priest does not preach the prayers _to_ the congregation, but says the prayers _with_ them. When the Absolution is said, the case is different, and the propriety of the change of posture and position is evident. This is directly addressed _to_ the congregation, and to be 'p.r.o.nounced by the priest _standing_.' So in the Communion Office the Priest is directed to _stand up, and, turning himself to the people, p.r.o.nounce the Absolution_."

"I quite acknowledge the justness of what you say on these points, and shall gladly avail myself of your further counsel; specially I shall be grateful for your advice respecting the construction of the _altar_, and providing its proper furniture: but I have now already trespa.s.sed so long on your time, that I must only ask you to explain one thing more, and that is the meaning of the two little hollow square places in the north wall of our chancel."

"They formerly were closets, and had doors, no doubt, of carved oak.

They are commonly called _almeries_, and are to be found in all old churches, their use in the chancel being to hold the sacred vessels used at the altar; even where they can no longer be utilized, they ought to be preserved as objects of interest[147]."

Ill.u.s.tration: Llanfaenor Church

_CHAPTER XXIV_

THE ALTAR

"We have an altar."

Heb. xiii. 10.

"Whene'er I seek the holy altar's rail, And kneel to take the grace there offer'd me, It is no time to task my reason frail, To try Christ's words, and search how they may be.

Enough, I eat His flesh, and drink His blood; More is not told--to ask it is not good.

"I will not say with these, that bread and wine Have vanish'd at the consecration prayer; Far less, with those, deny that aught Divine, And of immortal seed, is hidden there.

Hence, disputants! The din which ye admire Keeps but ill measure with the church's choir."

_Lyra Apostolica._

Ill.u.s.tration: St. Alban's Church, Holborn

THE ALTAR

It was late in the evening before the other guests had left the Hall, and our four friends sat down together in the library, without fear of interruption, to continue the conversation of the afternoon.

"I should like you to tell me, Mr. Ambrose," said Sir John, "whether you consider that the word _altar_ is properly applied to a table made of wood."

"Oh, most certainly it is. The term is equally applicable, whether the altar be made of wood or stone. No doubt stone was the material first used[148], yet at so early a period as the building of the tabernacle, we read that G.o.d commanded Moses to make an altar of _wood_[149]. In the earliest days of the Christian Church the altars were, probably without exception, made of wood; but afterwards it became the practice to erect them of stone, and from the sixth[150] to the sixteenth century this rule was all but universal."

"How is the change to be accounted for?"

"During the persecutions of the early Christians under the heathen Emperors of Rome, they resorted, as you are aware, to the subterranean catacombs there, as the only places where they could, in comparative safety, hold their religious services. Here the stone altar-tombs of those who had suffered martyrdom offered the most convenient and fitting altars for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. In after times, when the Church was prosperous and at peace, the remembrance of these altar-tombs not only suggested the material for the Christian altar, but also the custom of erecting it over the relics of saints and martyrs.

This custom of building the altar over the bones of martyrs (which is still continued in the Roman Church, but which has for many years ceased to be the practice in our own), is, moreover, supposed to have reference to that mysterious vision in the Revelation of St. John, which you will remember he thus describes: 'When the Lamb had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of G.o.d, and for the testimony which they held[151].'

"The use of stone instead of wood was, no doubt, adopted also for other reasons than the one I have stated. Stone altars were less liable to desecration; they possess, too, a symbolism of their own, representing both the _incarnation_ and _entombment_ of our Blessed Lord[152]. The scriptural symbol of a Rock[153], as representing our Lord, might appear to be more evidently connected with the stone than the wooden altar, but this symbol must always be a.s.sociated with the idea of altar, of whatever material it is made. The wooden altar, on the other hand, may seem to refer more directly to the _inst.i.tution_ of the _Lord's Supper_; and the altar candlesticks have, of course, a peculiar and very manifest appropriateness when the altar is so considered."

"But surely, my friend, the word _table_ seems to be here exactly applicable."

"Yes, so it is; but you must not try to separate things which are inseparable. Every altar is a table, though every table is not an altar.

Both terms are correct, but the one must not be supposed to exclude the other; and it would be strange indeed if, having a _priest_ and an _oblation_[154], the church should be without an _altar_. The top slab of the altar is the table[155], whether it is made of wood or stone.

Where this slab is of stone, it has from early times been considered to represent the stone rolled to the mouth of the sepulchre of our Lord. In the Greek Church the _seal_ that was set on the stone[156] is represented by the consecrated wafer; in the Roman Church this seal is represented by the small square stone let into the centre of the altar table[157]. In the primitive Church there was but one altar in each church, but afterwards it became a custom to erect many others, dedicated to as many saints and martyrs. This was the custom in our own Church--just as it is still in the Roman Church--before Queen Elizabeth ordered all altars to be removed in every church, except the _high altar_, which is the only one we now retain; and, for my part, I certainly wish for no other. But at the same time _all stone altars_ were ordered to be removed, and then altars of wood were once more placed in almost every church. I am sorry to say the old stone altars were broken up and desecrated. Some few, however, of them escaped[158], and many more have since that time been erected. There are probably hundreds of stone altars to be found in our cathedrals, college chapels, and parish churches, and I don't suppose (though some seem to do so) that people attach more superst.i.tious meaning to them than to the most modern oaken Communion table. But, as I said before, to my mind it is indifferent whether the altar be of wood or stone."

"I should like your opinion about the proper furniture for the altar."

"First, with regard to its _covering_: the canon directs that the altar shall be covered with 'a carpet of silk, or other decent stuff' on ordinary occasions, and with 'a fair linen cloth' at the time of the celebration of Holy Communion. This order allows considerable liberty as to colour and pattern; but it appears to imply that it should be as rich as the circ.u.mstances of each case will allow[159]. Where cloths of more than one colour are used, these five--in accordance with very ancient practice--are commonly employed as specially adapted to the different seasons of the Christian year: _white_, at Christmas and certain other festivals, as emblematical of purity; _red_, as representing the blood of martyrs, and at Pentecost, as emblematic of the fiery tongues; _green_, for general use, as the prevailing colour of nature, and a sort of middle colour between the rest in use; _violet_ and _black_ as colours of mourning."

"But, surely, this variety is _unnecessary_?"

"Most a.s.suredly. Nevertheless, where they can conveniently be had, they are _appropriate_, and teach their own lesson. It was not _necessary_ to put a cloth of black on the altar at Droneworth when your father died two years since; and I am doubtful whether Mr. Beeland was quite right in doing so. But surely if you thought it was right for him to do this at the funeral of a mere mortal man, you cannot say that it is wrong to use a black altar-cloth on _Good Friday_; and, of course, the same argument applies to all the rest. With regard to the custom in some places of covering half the church with black for a month, because some rich man has died in the parish--I say plainly that I regard that as next to impiety and profanation."

"I see the justness of your words. What do you say to _cushions_ on the altar?"

"Say! _they ought never to be there_. I can imagine nothing more out of place. I have often wondered for what purpose they could originally have been put there. They are certainly not required, nor yet convenient as a rest for the Altar Service Book. It is too shocking to suppose they were intended to enable the priest to rest his arms and head softly on G.o.d's altar! I have sometimes fancied I see their origin in an old custom observed in the Roman Church of placing the two lambs, whose wool was used for making the palls[160] with which the Bishop of Rome invests his archbishops with their archiepiscopal authority, on _two richly embroidered cushions, one of which was placed on the north, the other on the south side of the altar_; but I know not. A _desk_ of bra.s.s or oak is convenient to support the office-book, and _two candles_ are ordered to be placed on the altar."

"But, my dear sir, I am told that is a very _Romish_ custom."

"Well, Sir John, and so it is a very Romish custom to say the Lord's Prayer, and it is a very Hindoo custom for a wife to love her husband with a special devotion; but we shall not, for either reason, be disposed to blame either custom. The thing with us, like every thing else, is either right or wrong _in itself_, independent of the use of any other Church. But it so happens that this is the very reverse to a Romish custom, for these two candles were ordered to be placed on the altar in direct opposition to the custom of the Roman Catholic Church[161]. Nothing can be more expressive, and utterly un.o.bjectionable, than the symbolism of these _two_ candles (of course, it is not _necessary_ that they should be _lighted_ in order to preserve their emblematic meaning), and I should be very sorry to see this simple symbolism broken into by the introduction of more than two lights upon the altar[162]. I have not by any means mentioned all that is required for the service of the altar; I have only spoken of its ordinary furniture. That which is specially required for the Eucharistic services is, doubtless, already provided in your church."

"Before we say good-night," said Mr. Acres, "let me ask you one question indirectly connected with this subject. I notice that many of my neighbours receive the consecrated bread _on the palm of the hand_, some holding both hands in the form of a cross. I suppose this is in accordance with your instruction: I should like to know the reason for it. Where there are high altar-rails--which I much object to, and which, of course, are altogether unnecessary when the chancel screen is properly arranged, as with us--this custom would be very inconvenient."

"The short rail, north and south, for the use of the aged and infirm, is certainly all that is required. As regards the manner of receiving the sacred element, to which you refer, I certainly have recommended it, and for these reasons: it is much more convenient both for the priest and the communicant; it avoids all danger of any portion of the bread falling on the floor; and it is most in accordance with the rubric, which directs that the minister shall deliver the communion _into_ the hands of the recipients."

"Thank you. I consider your reasons as amply sufficient, and I see no possible objection to the custom."

_CHAPTER XXV_

THE ORGAN-CHAMBER

"Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod."

1 Sam. ii. 18.

"But let my due feet never fail To walk the studious cloisters pale, And love the high embowed roof, With antique pillars, ma.s.sy proof, And storied windows, richly dight, Casting a dim religious light.

There let the pealing organ blow, To the full-voiced quire below, In service high, and anthems clear, As may with sweetness, through mine ear, Dissolve me into ecstasies, And bring all Heaven before mine eyes."