The Church Handy Dictionary Part 13

Ministers and full members in the Australian Wesleyan Methodist "Church," and in the Methodist "Church" of Canada are under their respective Conferences, and consequently are not enumerated above.

Whitaker's Almanack for 1883 gives the following statistics for Wesleyan Methodism in Great Britain. It will be seen that its figures are slightly larger than those given above.

Ministers. 2,170 Lay Preachers. 15,450 Members. 418,229 On Probation. 40,653 Chapels. 6,978 Sunday Scholars. 829,666

The finance of Wesleyan Methodism for 1880 was nearly as follows:--

Missionary Fund L138,346 Home Mission Income 34,210 Education of Minister's Children 22,036 Chapel Building 292,599 Training Candidates for Ministry 12,130 Total L499,321

During the past four years the Wesleyan Methodists have raised a "Thanksgiving Fund" amounting to L303,600.

METHODIST a.s.sOCIATION. In 1834 a controversy arose among the Methodists as to the propriety of establishing a Wesleyan Theological Inst.i.tution; and a minister who disapproved of such a measure, and prepared and published some remarks against it, was expelled from the Connexion. Sympathizers with him were in like manner expelled. Hence the formation of the _Methodist a.s.sociation_, which differs from the parent Society in a few particulars of Church government. This Society is now joined with the _Wesleyan Reform a.s.sociation_, and with the Protestant Methodists, the union being effected in 1857. The amalgamation is known by the name of "_The United Methodist Free Churches_." They number--

Ministers. 377 Lay Preachers. 3,134 Members. 66,297 Sunday Scholars 8,599 On Probation. 1,233 Chapels. 186,254

METHODISTS, CALVINISTIC. Up to 1751, John Wesley and George Whitefield had worked in harmony, but then arose a difference of opinion between them on the doctrine of election, which resulted in their separation. Whitefield held the Calvinistic view, Wesley the Arminian.

After Whitefield's death, in 1769, his followers gradually settled into two separate religious bodies, one being the _Lady Huntingdon's Connexion_, or, as it is sometimes called, the _English Calvinistic Methodists_, and the other the _Welsh Calvinistic Methodists_.

Whitefield was chaplain to the Countess of Huntingdon, and it was by his advice she became the patroness of his followers, and founded a college for the education of Calvinistic preachers. The doctrines of this connexion are almost identical with those of the Church of England, interpreted, of course, in a Calvinistic sense, and her liturgy is generally employed. They have no general ecclesiastical government, and have become virtually Congregational Societies.

The _Welsh Calvinistic Methodists_ owe their origin in a great degree to a Mr. Harris, who did for Wales much what Wesley and Whitefield did for England. He inst.i.tuted "Private Societies"

in 1736, but it was not till 1811 that the connexion separated from the Church. Their Church government differs slightly from Wesleyanism, and their doctrines are said to be in accordance with the 39 Articles, interpreted in a Calvinistic sense.

Chapels 1,343 Ministers and Preachers 981 Deacons 4,317 Members 5,029 On probation 177,383 Sunday Scholars 119,358

During the year 1881-82, L163,875 was collected for various religious purposes.

METHODIST, NEW CONNEXION. This party, under a Mr. Kilham, split off from the Wesleyans in 1795, four years after the Wesleyans had left the Church of England. In doctrines, and in all essential and distinctive features, it remains the same as its parent society.

The grand distinction rests upon the different degrees of power allowed in each communion to the laity, the _Methodist New Connexion_ allowing them to partic.i.p.ate in Church government, whereas the Wesleyans leave Church government in the hands of the ministers.

Ministers 179 Lay Preachers 1,225 Members 418,229 On probation 442 Chapels 79,697 Sunday Scholars 4,277

METHODISTS, PRIMITIVE. The "Primitives," or "Ranters," as they are sometimes called, represent more truly the original genius of Wesleyan Methodism than any other of the various bodies into which the original secession from the Church of England has split up.

Some still kept to camp-meetings and the like, after the original connexion had given them up. This practice was condemned by the Conference of 1807, and the consequence was the birth of the _Primitive Methodist Connexion_ in 1810. Messrs. Hugh Bourne and William Clowes may be looked upon as the fathers of this body.

Their doctrines are precisely the same as those of the original connexion.

Ministers 1,152 Lay Preachers 15,728 Members 191,329 Chapels 4,397 Sunday Scholars 394,238

METHODIST REFORMERS. In 1849 certain points in Methodist procedure were attacked in anonymous pamphlets called "Fly Sheets," which resulted in the expulsion of many ministers from the original Society. They, with those sympathising with them, have set up a distinct machinery of methodism, although still regarding themselves as Wesleyan Methodists, illegally expelled.

METROPOLITAN. A Bishop who presides over a province is called a Metropolitan.

MICHAEL (St.) & ALL ANGELS. A festival observed on the 29th of September. St. Michael is described in the Old Testament as the guardian angel of the Jewish people; and in the New Testament he is the great archangel fighting for G.o.d and His Church against the devil. (See _Angel_.)

MILITANT, THE CHURCH. The name given to the Church on earth in the Prayer following the Offertory. _Militant_ means _fighting_, and is used of the Church on earth in contra-distinction to the Church Triumphant, the Church above.

MILLENNIUM. Latin, _a thousand years_. Certain people look for a return of Christ to the earth before the end of the world, and hold that there will be a first or particular resurrection limited to the good, and a reign of Christ with all the saints upon the earth for a thousand years, or _millennium_. This doctrine is chiefly based upon a most literal interpretation of part of the book of Revelation (chap, xx.), which is confessedly the most figurative and mystical book in the Bible.

MINOR CANONS. Priests in Collegiate Churches next in rank to the Canons and Prebendaries, but not of the Chapter. They are responsible for the performance of daily service, and should be well skilled in Church music.

MINISTER. _One who serves_. A term applied generally to the clergy about the time of the Great Rebellion. It is equivalent to the Greek word rendered _Deacon_. An effort was unsuccessfully made in 1689 to subst.i.tute _minister_ for _priest_ throughout the Prayer Book wherever the latter word occurred.

MIRACLE. Latin, _A Wonder_. The general notion of miracles, viz., that they are necessary proofs or credentials of our Saviour's commission from G.o.d, can scarcely be maintained on Scriptural grounds. (Matt. vii. 28.) A better definition of miracles is given by Archbishop Thomson: "The miracles of the Gospel are works done by Christ in the course of His divine mission of mercy, which could not have proceeded from ordinary causes then in operation, and therefore proved the presence of a superhuman power, and which, by their nature and drift, showed that this power was being exerted in the direction of love and compa.s.sion for the salvation of mankind."

If the miraculous works of Christ were disproved and done away with, two miracles would still remain which are una.s.sailable, viz., the character of Christ, and the message of Christ. Therefore the question is not whether miracles by themselves are probable, but whether the Lord from heaven, who lived on this earth--for none could have invented the story of His life; who left a message on earth--for none could have invented that message; added to his utterances certain marvels of love and compa.s.sion to draw men's eyes towards Him for their good. This may be called the _historic_ consideration of miracles; the _scientific_ is briefly as follows:--We are told that the phenomena of nature are so many links in a chain of causes and effects, and to suppose that G.o.d breaks through this chain, is to make G.o.d contradict Himself. To this it may be answered that apart from any question of miracles, there are already flaws in this chain of causation, or rather, powers from without that can shake it, as, for instance, the outbreak of a war rendering a country, which should have been fertile, barren and wasted. Holy Scripture is not responsible for the phrase, "suspension of the laws of nature." Theologians do not dogmatise about the nature of miracles, and it would be well if science were less zealous for the inviolability of laws, the outside limits of which she cannot now ascertain. Miracles are but a part of the Gospel, and we judge them by the setting in which they are placed. Those who received them at first were not made Christians by them. (Mark ix. 23, 24.) To us they are not even the beginning of faith, for Christ was our Teacher and Friend before our infant minds could conceive what miracles meant.

He, the sinless Lord, is our first miracle; His teaching is our second miracle; and a third may be added, viz., the transforming power of the Gospel in human hearts.

The reader is referred to the sermon on _Miracles_ in Archbishop Thomson's "Life in the Light of G.o.d's Word," "The Reign of Law," by the Duke of Argyll, and Sir Edmund Beckett's "Review of Hume and Huxley on Miracles."

MISSION. _A sending forth_. The power or commission to preach the Gospel. Thus our blessed Lord gave His disciples and their successors their mission, when He said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature."

MISSION. An effort to awaken or increase spiritual life in a Parish by means of special Services and Sermons.

MISSIONARY SOCIETIES, _see_ Societies.

MORAVIANS, or UNITED BRETHREN. A sect generally said to have arisen under Nicholas Lewis, a German n.o.bleman of the last century, and thus called because among the first converts were some Moravian families. They themselves claim to have sprung from the Greek Church in the ninth century. Hook says, "It is sometimes supposed that because the Moravians have Bishops they are less to be blamed than other dissenting sects. But, to say nothing of the doubt that exists with respect to the validity of their orders, an Episcopal Church may be, as the English Moravians and Romanists in this country are, in a state of schism. And the very fact that the difference between them and the Church is not great, if this be so, makes the sin of their schism, in not conforming, yet greater."

In England the _Moravians_ number 5,000 members, 6,000 scholars, and have 32 chapels and preaching stations.

MORMONISTS, or LATTER DAY SAINTS. The founder of this sect was Joseph Smith, born in 1805, of poor parents, in the State of Vermont, U.S. At the age of 15 he declared himself to have seen a vision of "two personages," who informed him that all existing Christian sects were erroneous. According to his own account, this vision was repeated three years afterwards, when he was informed that the American Indians were a remnant of the Israelites, and that certain prophetical writings of the Jews were buried in a spot from which he was destined to rescue them. The absurd story goes on to say that Joseph Smith accordingly found in a stone box, just covered with earth, in Ontario, the "Record," consisting of gold plates engraven with "Reformed Egyptian" characters. Although discovered in 1823, the angel would not allow Smith to remove them until 1827. Luckily he also discovered the Urim and Thummim in the same box with the golden plates, and by its aid he was able to translate a portion of the revelation, which, when complete, composed a large volume. This volume he called the "Book of Mormon,"

"Mormon" meaning, as he explained, _more good_, from "mor," a contraction for _more_, and "mon," the Egyptian for _good_.

_Mormon_, too, was the name of a supposed prophet living in the fourth or fifth century. The golden plates, said to have been discovered in the above extraordinary manner, were never publicly produced, but three witnesses were found to testify that they had actually seen the plates, an angel having exhibited them. These three witnesses were the two brothers and the father of Smith.

Four other witnesses of the name of Whitmer also testified the same. The "Book of Mormon" was succeeded by a "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," being a collection of special revelations made to Smith and his a.s.sociates. Followers soon began to flock around the new "prophet," as Smith called himself. But at the same time much hostility was shown to the sect. They were expelled from different States, until at last they settled in Illinois. An altercation between the "Saints" and the county resulted in the imprisonment of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum; but in 1844 a mob broke into the prison and the brothers were shot. Brigham Young succeeded to the post of "prophet." Fresh troubles with the State caused another migration of the "Saints" in 1846, who, after much suffering, settled in the valley of the Great Salt Lake. There they have prospered, and the settlement itself, by the name of Utah, has been admitted to the United States Confederacy. They send missionary agents to all parts of the world to make fresh converts. The practice of polygamy they justify by their doctrine concerning "spiritual wives." They have published a "Creed," in which they profess their belief in the Holy Trinity, in Salvation through Christ, in the necessity of the Sacraments and the ordinary means of grace. They further believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit continue. They believe in the word of G.o.d recorded in the Bible, and in the Book of Mormon. They look for the restoration of the Jews, and expect a millennium. They have 82 congregations in England.

MORNING PRAYER The _construction_ of the Morning and Evening Services is so similar that they will both be considered under this heading. It will be noticed that the Services recognise distinctly what may be called G.o.d's part and man's part in the communion of worship. They open by the message of G.o.d to His people, calling for penitence and promising forgiveness, which is met by the response of the Confession. Next pardon is p.r.o.nounced in G.o.d's Name, which naturally awakens in the pardoned soul the outburst of Praise and Thanksgiving in the Lord's Prayer, the Psalms and the Canticles. Then the voice of G.o.d is again heard in the Lessons, and His revelation is accepted by the response of faith in the Creed. Lastly, in the sense of His grace and the knowledge of His will, we turn to Prayer for ourselves and for others, and end with the commendation of all to His blessing.

Many parts of the Morning and Evening Service are considered under their own particular names, but the history of the rest is given here.

The _Introductory Sentences_, from the Psalms, the Prophets, and New Testament, are taken from old Lent Services. The _Exhortation_, 1552, was composed partly from the preceding sentences, and partly from ancient forms. The _Confession_, 1552, is derived from old forms.

The _Absolution_, like the previous part of the service, was added in 1552. In the Rubric, the words "Remission of sins" were added by the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, to meet the objection that the word _Absolution_ was popish. In 1661 the word _Priest_ was subst.i.tuted for "Minister," showing that a deacon may not read the Absolution.

With the _Lord's Prayer_ the old Latin Service begins. The Rubric directs it to be said with an "audible voice," because formerly it was said inaudibly, to keep it from the ears of the unbaptized.

The direction that the people are to say it with the Minister was added in 1661. The _Versicles_ date from the 6th century. The answer, "The Lord's Name be praised," was added in 1661. For the _Canticles_ and _Creed_ see different articles.

The _Salutation_, "The Lord be with you," is apostolic. Next comes the _Lesser Litany_. The _Versicles_ following are said by the Priest "standing up," in accordance with mediaeval custom. Morning Prayer ended with the Collect for Grace until 1661, when the five final prayers were added. The _Second Collect_ dates from 5th century, the _third_ from 6th century. The prayers for the _Queen_, and for the _Clergy and People_, stood in the Litany in 1559, and the _Prayer of St. Chrysostom_ (John, the Golden Mouthed) was in the Litany in 1545, and dates from the 4th century. The Prayer for the _Royal Family_ was composed in 1604.

MUSIC, _see_ Church Music.

NAVE. From the Latin _navis_, a ship, because the _nave_, or body, of a church somewhat resembles the hull of a ship turned upside down. The nave formerly was always separated from the chancel (which see) by a screen.

NICENE CREED, _see_ Creed.

NON-CONFORMISTS. The name now given to all those who do not conform to the practice of the Established Church. Originally, however, it was restricted to the Puritan section _within_ the Church, dissidents from the Church being called _Separatists_, which is still their correct t.i.tle. In Elizabeth's reign many of the clergy refused to conform to the Act of Uniformity; the use of the surplice, and many things in the Book of Common Prayer, being objectionable to them. The Non-Conformists afterwards a.s.sumed the name of Puritan, which had previously been used of a heresy of the 3rd century. They formally separated from the Church in 1572.

(See _Puritan_.)

NORTH SIDE, _see_ Eastward Position.