THE REV. R. BINGHAM, JUN., M.A.

FORMERLY OF MAGDALEN HALL, OXFORD,

AND

FOR MANY YEARS CURate of triNITY CHURCH, GOSPORT.

A NEW EDITION IN TEN VOLUMES.

VOL. V.

OXFORD:

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

M. DCCC. LV.

4-3-47

CONTENTS

OF THE

FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH BOOKS

OF

THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

BOOK XIV.

OF THAT PART OF DIVINE SERVICE WHICH THE ANCIENTS COMPRISED

UNDER THE GENERAL NAME OF MISSA CATECHUMENORUM, THE

SERVICE OF THE CATECHUMENS, OR ANTE-COMMUNION SERVICE,

ON THE LORD'S-DAY.

CHAPTER I.

Of the Psalmody of the ancient Church.

SECT. I. That the service of the ancient Church on the Lord's-day usually

began with psalmody, 1.-II. The psalms intermixed with lessons and

prayers in some Churches, 3.-III. These psalms called by a peculiar

name, psalmi responsorii, 5.—IV. Some psalms appropriated to particular

services, 6.-V. Others sung in the ordinary course as they lay in order,

without being appropriated to any time or day, 7.-VI. And some

appointed occasionally, at the discretion of the bishop or precentor, 8.-

VII. Prayers in some places between every psalm, instead of a lesson,

10.-VIII. The Gloria Patri added at the end of every psalm in the

Western Church, but not in the Greek or Oriental Church, 10.-IX.

The psalms sometimes sung by one person only, 11.-X. Sometimes by

the whole assembly joining all together, 11.-XI. Sometimes alternately

by the congregation divided into two parts, and answering verse for

verse to one another, 12.-)
-XII. Sometimes by a single precentor,

repeating the first part of the verse, and the people all joining with him

in the close. This was called inηxeîν and úжакоvew. What meant by

diapsalms, acroteleutics, and acrostics in psalmody, 15.-XIII. An

answer to a Popish objection against the people's bearing a part in

psalmody, 18.-XIV. Psalmody always performed in the standing

posture, 19.-XV. Of the use of plain song, and its commendation

among the Ancients, 20.-XVI. Artificial and melodious tuning of the

voice allowed in singing, when managed with sobriety and discretion,

21.-XVII. No objection made against psalms or hymns of human

composition, barely as such, 21.-XVIII. But two corruptions severely

inveighed against. First, over great niceness and curiosity in singing,

in imitation of the modes and music of the theatre, 23.-XIX. And,

secondly, pleasing the ear without raising the affections of the soul, 23.

CHAPTER II.

A particular account of some of the most noted Hymns used in the service

of the ancient Church.

SECT. I. Of the lesser doxology, or hymn, "Glory be to the Father, &c.,"

25.-II. Of the great doxology, "Glory be to God on high, &c.," 31.—

III. Of the Trisagion, or cherubical hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy, &c.,"

33.-IV. Of the Hallelujah, and halleluiatic psalms, 35.-V. Of the

Hosanna, and the evening hymn, and "Nunc Dimittis," or Song of

Simeon, 40.-VI. Of the “Benedicite,” or Song of the Three Children,

41.-VII. Of the "Magnificat," or Song of the Holy Virgin, 42.—

VIII. When first the Creed began to be sung as an hymn in the Church,

42.-IX. Of the author and original of the hymn,
"Te Deum," 43.-

X. Of the hymns of St. Ambrose, 46.-XI. Of the hymns of St. Hilary,

Claudianus, Mamercus, and others, 47-

CHAPTER III.

Of the manner of reading the Scriptures in the public service of the

Church.

SECT. I. Lessons of the Scriptures sometimes mixed with psalms and

hymns, and sometimes read after them, 49.-II. Lessons read both

out of the Old and New Testament, except in the Church of Rome,

where only Epistle and Gospel were read, 50.-III. Proper lessons for

certain times and festivals, 54.-IV. By whom the Scriptures were

anciently read in the church, 62.-V. Whether the Epistle and Gospel

were read twice, first to the catechumens, and then to the faithful at

the altar, 63.-VI. The solemnity and ceremony of reading the lessons.

Where first of the salutation, " Pax vobis," before reading, 64.-VII.

This salutation sometimes used by the bishop immediately before the

reader began to read, 65.—VIII. The deacon enjoined silence before

the reader began, and required attention: as the reader also did before

every lesson, saying, "Thus saith the Lord," 66.-IX. At the naming

of the Prophet or Epistle the people in some places said, "Deo Gratias,"

and "Amen" at the end of it, 67.-X. At the reading of the Gospel

all stood up, and said, "Glory be to thee, O Lord," 68.-XI. Lights

carried before the Gospel in the Eastern Churches, 70.-XII. Three or

four lessons read out of the Gospels sometimes on the same day, 71.-

XIII. Of longer and shorter lessons, and their distinct use, according

to Durantus, 72.-XIV. What might or might not be read by way of

lessons in the church, 73.-XV. Those which we now call apocryphal

books were anciently read in some Churches, but not in all, 77.—XVI.

And in some Churches under the title of canonical Scripture, taking

that word in a larger sense, 79.-XVII. A short account of the transla-

tions of Scripture used in the ancient Church, 83.

CHAPTER IV.

Of preaching, and the usages relating to it in the ancient Church.

SECT. I. All sermons anciently called homilies, disputations, allocutions,

tractatus, &c., 89.-II. Preaching the proper office of bishops and

presbyters, in ordinary cases, and not of deacons, 92.-III. The sin-

gular practice of the Church of Rome, in having no sermons for several

ages, noted out of Sozomen, and Cassiodore, and Valesius, 101.-IV.

Whether laymen were ever allowed to preach in the ancient Church,

104.-V. Women never allowed to preach, 107.-VI. Two or three

sermons sometimes in the same assembly, 110.-VII. Sermons every

day in some times and places, 112.-VIII. Sermons twice a day in

many places, 114.-IX. Not so frequent in country villages, 119.—

X. Of their different ways of preaching. A character of St. Chrysostom

and some other preachers, 120.-XI. Extempore discourses frequent

among the Ancients, 126. - XII. What meant by preaching by the

Spirit, 131.-XIII. What sort of prayers they used before, and in, and

after sermons, 132.-XIV. The Salutation, "Pax vobis, The Lord be

with you," commonly used before sermons, 138.-XV. But the use of

Ave Maries before sermons unknown to the Ancients, 141.—XVI.

Sometimes their sermons were prefaced with a benediction, 142.—-

XVII. Sometimes preached without any text, and sometimes upon

more texts than one, 143.-XVIII. Their sermons always upon im-

portant subjects. Compared with some of those in the Church of Rome,

144.-XIX. Delivered in a way most affecting and suitable to the

capacities of their hearers, with perspicuity, pleasure, and force of

argument. This is largely demonstrated out of St. Austin's rules about

preaching, 148.-XX. That it was no part of the ancient oratory to

move the passions by gesticulations and vain images of things, so

common in the Church of Rome, 157.-XXI. Of the length of their

sermons, 158.-XXII. Whether every man was obliged to preach his

own compositions, or might preach homilies and sermons composed by

others, 160.-XXIII. Their sermons commonly concluded with a doxo-

logy to the Holy Trinity, 162.-XXIV. Their sermons, for the most

part, delivered by the preacher sitting, 162.-XXV. And heard by the

auditors standing in most Churches, but not in all, 166.-XXVI. A

peculiar custom in the African Church, that when the preacher cited

any remarkable text, the people repeated it with him, to show that they

were attentive, and read, and remembered the Scriptures, 168.-XXVII.