The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia Part 9

The Examination for Deacon's Orders is on the Books of Holy Scripture, and on the Book of Common Prayer.

Excommunication.--An ancient discipline of the Church whereby a person for cause was cut off from all the privileges of the Church.

This discipline has practically fallen into abeyance, people for the most part excommunicate themselves. In the English Prayer Book is an Office called "A Commination, or Denouncing of G.o.d's Anger and Judgments against Sinners, with certain Prayers, to be used on the First Day of Lent," which was set forth until the ancient Discipline may be restored.

Exhortation.--The name given to the short addresses in the Prayer Book, beginning, "Dearly Beloved Brethren." The Exhortation was introduced into the Daily Offices in 1552 and 1661. Formerly Morning and Evening Prayer began with the Lord's Prayer, but the Revisers thinking this too abrupt a beginning they introduced the Sentences, Exhortation, Confession and Absolution as a more fitting preparation for the worship that follows. It has been pointed out that {105} this Exhortation was probably inserted under the impression that the people at large were extremely ignorant of the true nature of worship at the time. Five princ.i.p.al parts of worship are mentioned in it: (1) Confession of Sin, (2) Absolution, (3) Thanksgiving and Praise, (4) Hearing G.o.d's Word, and (5) Prayer for spiritual and bodily benefits. The Exhortations in the Communion Office were originally set forth in 1548, revised in 1552 and 1661. They were introduced at a time when the laity of the Church of England were in danger of two extremes: First, a total neglect of the Holy Communion which had sprung up during the Middle Ages, and secondly, that fearful irreverence towards the Holy Communion which arose from the dreadful principles held respecting it by the Puritans. In the face of these dangers, these Exhortations were placed where they are, for the instruction of the people as well as for hortatory purposes.

Expectation Sunday.--The Sunday following Ascension Day is so called. Being the only Lord's Day which intervenes between the Ascension of our Lord and the Descent of the Holy Ghost, it represents that period during which the Apostles were obeying the command of their Master when "He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father."

They remained therefore, in the city _expecting_ the Gift of the Comforter which was bestowed on the Feast of Pentecost.

Expectation Week.--The week preceding Whitsun Day is so called.

(See EXPECTATION SUNDAY.) {106}

F

Fair Linen Cloth, Fair White Linen Cloth.--In the Communion Office there are two rubrics, the first of which reads as follows: "The Table, at the Communion time having a _fair white linen cloth_ upon it," etc. By this is meant the long linen cloth the breadth of the top of the Altar and falling over the ends eighteen or twenty inches. The other rubric reads, "When all have communicated, the Minister shall return to the Lord's Table, and reverently place upon it what remaineth of the consecrated Elements, covering the same with a _fair linen cloth_." By this is meant the lawn chalice veil. It is to be noted that when this rubric was made, the word "fair" meant _beautiful_. The white linen cloth can be made "fair," _i.e._, beautiful by means of embroidery, and this is done by embroidering upon it five crosses to symbolize the five wounds of our Blessed Lord on the Cross, and by having the ends finished with a heavy linen fringe. Also, the lawn chalice veil is made "fair" by being similarly beautified with embroidery, a cross being worked near the edge.

Faith.--"Divine, or as it is called, Catholic Faith is a gift of G.o.d and a light of the soul; illuminated by which, a man a.s.sents fully and unreservedly to all which Almighty G.o.d has revealed and which He proposes to us by His Church to be believed, whether written or unwritten. It is also a belief in the whole Gospel, as distinguished from a reception of some portion of it only; and it is a faith so full of the love of G.o.d as that it leads us to act differently from what we {107} should if we did not believe and marks us out as a peculiar people among men."--From Manual of Instruction.

From the above definition we learn that Faith has a twofold meaning, (1) the act of believing, and (2) the thing believed, or the deposit of Faith or Doctrine which all members of Christ are bound to receive. This Deposit of Faith is embodied in the Holy Scriptures but is summarized for us in the Articles of the Creed which are grouped around the Name into which we are baptized,--the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost. In the American Church two forms of the Creed are used, viz. the APOSTLES' and the NICENE (which see). These embody "the Faith once delivered to the Saints."

Faithful, The.--The New Testament and Prayer Book name for all the Baptized, who, being admitted into the Household of Faith, are the people of the Faith--_fideles_, that is, _believers_.

Faldstool.--Literally, a portable folding seat, similar to a camp stool, and formerly used by a Bishop when officiating in any church other than his Cathedral. The name now is generally applied to the LITANY DESK (which see).

Fasting.--Going without food of any kind as a religious discipline and as a help to the spiritual life, especially on the great Fasts of the Church. The Homily on Fasting says: "Fasting is found to be of two sorts; the one outward, pertaining to the body; the other inward, in the heart and mind. The outward fast is an abstinence from meat, drink and all natural food, for the determined time of fasting; yea, from all {108} delicacies, pleasures and delectations worldly. The inward fast consists in that G.o.dly sorrow which leads us to bewail and detest our sins and to abstain from committing them."

Fasting Communion.--(See EARLY COMMUNION.)

Fasts, Table of.--The Reformers of the English Church retained and enjoined _one hundred and twenty-three_ days in each year, to be sanctified wholly or in part as Fasts and days of abstinence. These, with the exception of the Table of Vigils, have been retained in the American Prayer Book and are the following:

ABSOLUTE FASTS,

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

OTHER DAYS OF FASTING,

_on which the Church requires such a measure of abstinence as is more especially suited to extraordinary acts and exercises of devotion, namely_:

I. The Forty Days of Lent.

II. The Ember Days at the four seasons.

III. The Three Rogation Days.

IV. All Fridays in the year, except Christmas Day.

These Fasting Days must always be announced to the congregation in Church, the rubric in the Communion Office requiring that "Then the Minister shall declare unto the People what Holy Days or Fasting Days are in the week following to be observed."

Fathers, The.--The name used to designate the ancient writers of the Church. Their writings are of the greatest value as bearing witness to the N. T. Scriptures and their interpretation, and also as {109} showing forth the belief and usage of the Church in the earliest years of its history. (See TRADITIONS, also UNDIVIDED CHURCH.) The term "Fathers" is generally confined to the writers of the first five or six hundred years of the Christian Era. They are usually grouped together according to the period in which they lived, _e.g._, The _Apostolic Fathers_ are those who lived nearest to the time, and to some extent contemporary with the Apostles, viz.

St. Barnabas, St. Clement, St. Ignatius, Hermas and St. Polycarp.

Another cla.s.s is called the _Ante Nicene Fathers_, or those who lived between the date of St. Polycarp, A.D. 167, and the date of the Nicene Council, A.D. 325, such as Justin Martyr, St. Irenseus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Tertullian, Origen, St. Cyprian. A third cla.s.s dates from the Nicene Council, such as St. Athanasius; Eusebius, the Church Historian; St. Cyril of Jerusalem; St. Hilary of Poicters; St. Basil, the Great; St. Gregory of Nyssa; St. Gregory n.a.z.ianzen; St. Chrysostom, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Leo, who is commonly regarded as the last of the Fathers, although St.

Gregory of Rome is placed in the List as well as a few later writers. The above is not a complete list, only a few of the princ.i.p.al Fathers having been mentioned. It is pointed out in Milman's "Latin Christianity" that "The Eastern and the Western Church have each four authors of note, whom they recognize as Fathers _par excellence_. Those of the Eastern Church are St.

Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Chrysostom and St. Gregory {110} n.a.z.ianzen. Those of the Western Church are St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine and St. Gregory of Rome,--the Fathers respectively of her monastic system, of her sacerdotal authority, of her scientific Theology and of her popular religion."

Feasts or Festivals.--Days set apart for the celebration of some great event connected with our Blessed Lord or His Saints, also called Holy Days. The rubric in the Communion Office requires that each Feast shall be announced to the congregation on the Sunday preceding the day on which it occurs. They are set forth in a Table to be found in the introductory portion of the Prayer Book as follows:

A TABLE OF FEASTS.

_To be observed in this Church throughout the Year_.

All Sundays in the year. St. Bartholomew the Apostle.

The Circ.u.mcision of our Lord. St. Matthew the Apostle.

The Epiphany. St. Michael and All Angels.

The Conversion of St. Paul. St. Luke the Evangelist.

The Purification of the Blessed St. Simon and St. Jude the Virgin. Apostles.

St. Matthias the Apostle. All Saints, The Annunciation of the Blessed St. Andrew the Apostle.

Virgin Mary. St. Thomas the Apostle.

St. Mark the Evangelist. The Nativity of our Lord.

St. Philip and St. James the St. Stephen the Martyr.

Apostles. St. John the Evangelist.

The Ascension of our Lord. The Holy Innocents.

St. Barnabas the Apostle. Monday and Tuesday in Easter The Nativity of St. John Baptist. Week.

St. Peter the Apostle. Monday and Tuesday in Whitsun St. James the Apostle. Week.

The Transfiguration of our Lord.

Feria.--A term derived from the Latin and used to designate days which are neither Feasts nor Fasts. {111}

Filioque.--The Latin for the words "and the Son" which occur in our form of the Nicene Creed. They are not found in the original Creed as used in the Greek Church, but were added by the Third Council of Toledo, A.D. 589. This addition to the Creed by the Western Church was the subject of a long controversy between the East and the West, which with other complications finally led to their entire separation in A.D. 1054. (See PROCESSION OF THE HOLY GHOST.)

Fish.--The figure of a fish has been used from the very earliest days as a symbol in the Christian Church. Among the early Christians it was used as a secret sign by which they knew one another in the days of persecution. The significance of the fish as a Christian symbol is set forth under EMBLEMS (which see).

Flagon.--One of the Eucharistic vessels. A large pitcher-shaped vessel made of precious metal and used to hold the wine before its consecration in the chalice. It is sometimes used in the consecration.

Font.--The vessel which contains the water for the purpose of Baptism, usually of stone and vase-shaped, _i.e._, a large bowl on a pedestal, being sometimes circular and sometimes octagonal.

The position of the Font in primitive times was at or near the Church door to signify that Baptism is the entrance into the Church Mystical. This position is still retained in some churches at the present time, but in most churches it is placed near the chancel for convenience, or because no place at the door was provided by the architect. Fonts were formerly required to be covered and locked; originally their covers were simple flat {112} movable lids, but they were subsequently very highly ornamented, a.s.suming the form of spires and enriched with various decorations in carved wood or polished bra.s.s. The Font is so called from the Latin word _Fons_, genitive _Fontis_, meaning a _fountain_ or spring, referring to Baptism as a Laver of Regeneration, the source of new and spiritual life.

Foreign Missions.--(See DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.)

Forms.--One great objection brought against the Episcopal Church by many persons not members of it is what they call _forms and ceremonies_. They say what they want is "spiritual religion," and this objection seems to be so final with them there is evidently nothing more to be said. It is not the purpose of this article to go into a vindication of forms, but rather to point out how unreasonable this objection is. If it were real, it would do away with all social forms and all forms in business as well as in religion. But they who make this objection do not adhere to it in their own religion. They cannot come together, even in a "Prayer Meeting" without some method or form which must be gone through with. Even the Quakers who, above all others, lay the greatest stress on "spiritual religion," must have their _form_--of silence, speech, dress and of even the architecture of their meeting-place, and which form is peculiar to them. This being the case the question, therefore, is not "Shall we have forms?" but, "_What_ form shall we have in our Public Worship?" for we have learned that we _must_ have some kind of FORM. The Episcopal Church simply clings to that which was from the {113} beginning, because the experience of centuries demonstrates that this is best, more consonant to reason and more expressive of the religious wants of man. Hence she values her Book of Common Prayer which is the outgrowth of the devotions of the ages and she cherishes the usages and traditions that have grown up around it. The Episcopal Church does not insist on forms merely for the sake of forms, but she values them for their helpfulness, for what they convey to the soul faithfully using them, and also, because they enable us to worship G.o.d as did His faithful people in all the ages past.

Forty Days, The Great.--Easter Tide which commemorates the period of Forty Days our Lord spent on earth after His Resurrection with His Apostles "and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of G.o.d" (Acts 1:2 and 3). From many of our Lord's Parables as well as from other utterances by Him in His Teaching we learn that the words "Kingdom of G.o.d" mean _His Church_. So, then, during this mysterious time of His Resurrection Life our Lord was giving His final instructions concerning His Church, and to this instruction is to be traced many of the Church's usages and practices set forth in the Acts of the Apostles which otherwise are inexplicable--for example--the choice of St. Matthias in the place of the traitor Judas--thus indicating the perpetuity of the Apostolate; the observance of the first day of the week instead of the seventh; the ordaining of Deacons thus indicating "divers orders" in His Church; the Rite of Confirmation; Frequent Communion, Infant Baptism and many other things to be noted in the {114} Acts of the Apostles, which have become inherent features of the Church; how else are they to be accounted for and explained but as being among "the things pertaining to the Kingdom of G.o.d" of which the Master spake during these Great Forty Days? If not, then how came about their universal acceptance and continuance even unto this present day?

Fourth Sunday in Lent.--The Sundays in Lent are numbered. First, Second, Third, etc., through the six Sundays. But the last three Sundays are so striking in their teaching that additional names are given to them in order to emphasize that special teaching. Thus the 6th Sunday is called Palm Sunday; the 5th, Pa.s.sion Sunday. So, also, the Fourth Sunday in Lent has its special name or names. Thus it is called _Mid Lent Sunday_ because the middle of Lent has been reached. It is also called _Refreshment Sunday_ from the Gospel for the Day which gives the account of our Lord feeding the mult.i.tude in the wilderness, and thereby indicating a more joyous note in the service for this day than belongs to the other Sundays in Lent. An old English name for this Sunday is _Mothering Sunday_. Mid Lent was considered somewhat of a holiday on which servants and children absent from home were permitted by their employers to visit their mothers. The name, doubtless, had its origin from the ancient custom of making pilgrimages to the Mother Church or Cathedral of the Diocese. (See LENT, SUNDAYS IN.)

Fraction.--The name given to the manual act of breaking the Bread by the Priest during the Consecration in the Holy Communion, according to the {115} rubric which directs, "And here to break the Bread." (See MANUAL ACTS.)

Free and Open Churches.--These words express the idea embodied in a movement in the American Church that has been making for many years to make the House of Prayer what it was originally, viz. _free_ for all people, no reserved or rented pews, but every seat free and unreserved, so that high and low, rich and poor alike shall be equal in the Father's House; and open not simply when there is a service, but open all the time for private prayer as well as public. This movement is growing rapidly so that to-day more than half of our churches are thus free, and a great many of them are kept open all day long every day in the week. It is found that many earnest and devout souls, homeless perhaps, or dwellers in hotels or boarding-houses where there is little or no privacy, as well as others, gladly avail themselves of this privilege of the _Open Church_ and find comfort in it. A society for the promotion of Free and Open Churches has been organized for many years with headquarters in Philadelphia.