name for the husk of a bean, as Suicerus 69 notes out of Hesychius, and thence used by the Greeks to signify a large cup or bowl, broad at the bottom and narrow at the top, and from that resemblance perhaps it came also to be the name of this turret or spiral structure about the altar. 20. From the fore-mentioned canon of the Council of Tours When first the figure the altar. it is plain, that in the French churches the figure of the cross of the cross was another part of the ornament of the altar, since the eu- set upon charist, or sacramental body of Christ is ordered to be laid under it. But when crosses came first to be set up in churches is not so easy to be determined. That they were not in use for the three first ages, seems evident enough from the silence of all the writers of those times, and from Eusebius, who has frequent occasion to describe minutely the churches of Constantine and others, but never once mentions a cross erected in them, though he speaks frequently of crosses set up in other public places, as a learned writer 70 has judiciously observed out of him, who thinks they began not to be set up in churches till after the year 340. Chrysostom 71 speaks of the sign of the cross as used at the Lord's table, in the consecration of priests, and celebration of the eucharist; but that seems to be meant of the transient sign made in the forehead, (which St. Austin 72 and the author of the Constitutions 73 speak of like 69 Thes. Eccles. voce Kiẞopiov. (t. I. p. 100.) Kiẞópia sunt loculi fabarum. Ab eorum similitudine KBopiov Græcis poculi genus, scypho simile, quod ab inferiore parte in angustum contrahatur, ut cibo rium fabæ Ægyptia. Hesychius diserte, Κιβώριον· Αἰγύπτιον ὄνομα, ἐπὶ ποτηρίου. 70 Dallæus de Cult. Relig. 1. 5. c. 8. (p. 773.) Eusebii tam pertinax de erectis crucis signis silentium, in quibuscumque locis de ecclesiarum structura loquitur, evincit, nulla adhuc istis temporibus, (id est, ad annum usque Domini 336,) affigi solita ecclesiis signa crucis. Argumento per se valido vis præterea inde accedit, quod idem scriptor posita, sed in aliis locis communibus et profanis scilicet, a Constantino crucis symbola non tacuit, ut Romæ: In urbe media, loco cele bri ac multum a populo frequen- 71 Demonstrat. quod Christus sit 72 Hom. 118. in Joan. [al. in Joan. c. 19. Tractat. 118. n. 5.] (t. 3. part. 2. p. 801 e.) Postremo quid est. signum Christi, nisi crux Christi? Quod signum nisi adhibeatur sive frontibus credentium, sive ipsi aquæ, ex qua regenerantur, sive oleo, quo chrismate unguuntur, sive sacrificio, quo aluntur; nihil eorum rite perficitur. 73 L. 8. c. 12. (Cotel. v. 1. p. 399.) Εὐξάμενος οὖν καθ ̓ ἑαυτὸν ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς ἅμα τοῖς ἱερεῦσι, καὶ λαμπρὰν ἐσθῆτα μετενδὺς, καὶ στὰς πρὸς τῷ Of some other orna utensils of the altar. wise,) and not of any material cross set upon the altar. But Sozomen74 speaks of material crosses lying upon the altar; though not in the time of Constantine, (as Gretser 75 mistakes, whose error is justly corrected by Valesius,) but in his own. time. And, after him, Evagrius 76 speaks of silver crosses, given by Chosroes to one of the churches of Constantinople, to be fixed upon the altar. So that the original of this custom is not to be deduced from Constantine, as many suppose, but from the following ages of the Church. 21. But it is more certain that the altars were always coments and vered with some decent cloth, used for ornament, not for mystery, as in after-ages. Optatus, pleading against the Donatists that the altars could not be polluted by the Catholics' touching them, as the Donatists vainly pretended, uses this argument to confute them 77: That if any thing was polluted, it must be the coverings, and not the tables; for every one knew that the tables were covered with a linen cloth in time of divine service; so that while the sacrament was administering, the covering might be touched, but not the table.' And for this reason they pretended to wash the palls, as he calls them in another place78, in order to give them an expiation. Victor Uticensis 79 makes a like complaint of one Proculus, an agent of King Geisericus, who, having plundered the Catholic churches in Zeugitana, made himself a shirt and breeches of the palls of the altar. Isidore of Pelusium so takes notice also of the sindon, or θυσιαστηρίῳ, τὸ τρόπαιον τοῦ σταυροῦ 74 L. 2. c. 3. (v. 2. p. 49. 18.) He 75 De Cruce, 1. 2. c. 13. (ap. Oper. t. I. p. 200 f.) In altaribus cruces fuisse positas, patet ex S. Chrysostomo, qui ait In mensa sacra crux. Idem testatur Sozomenus et ex hoc Nicephorus, ubi ait de templo a Constantino Magno ædificato, &c. 76 L. 6. c. 21. (v. 3. p. 469. 32.) Παρ ̓ αὐτὰ οὖν ἔπεμψα τὸν αὐτὸν σταυρὸν, καὶ τὴν τούτου τιμὴν ἐν τῷ πανσέπτῳ σου οἴκῳ, κελεύσας ἐκ τῆς τούτου τιμῆς δίσκον ἕνα καὶ ποτήριον ἓν γενέσθαι, εἰς λόγον τῶν θείων μυ στηρίων· ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ σταυρὸν γενέσθαι, καὶ πηχθῆναι ὀφείλοντα ἐπὶ τῆς τιμίας τραπέζης, καὶ θυμιατήριον, τὰ Távта Xpvσâ. 77 L. 6. p. 95. (p. 113.) Quis fidelium nescit in peragendis mysteriis ipsa ligna linteamine cooperiri? Inter ipsa sacramenta velamen potuit tangi, non lignum. 78 Ibid. p. 98. (p. 118.) Lavistis procul dubio pallas, &c. 79 De Persecut. Vandal. 1. 1. p. 593. ap. Bibl. Magn. t. 7. p. 593. (ap. Bibl. Max. t. 8. p. 678 f. 6.)... De pallis altaris, proh nefas! camisias sibi et femoralia faciebat. Qui tamen Proculus, frustatim sibi comedens linguam, in brevi turpissima consumptus est morte. 80 L. i. Ep. 123. (p. 44 b.) 'H κa 6 fine linen, upon which the body of Christ was consecrated. But sometimes they were of richer materials and more sumptuous. Palladius si speaks of some of the Roman ladies, who, renouncing the world, bequeathed their silks to make coverings for the altar. And Theodorets2 says of Constantine, that among other gifts which he bestowed upon his new-built church of Jerusalem, he gave βασιλικὰ παραπετάσματα, a royal pall, or piece of rich tapestry for the altar.' But that may signify the curtains or hangings of the ciborium, as well as the covering of the altar; and so every utensil or ornament about the altar may be supposed to be rich and splendid in such churches as were of a royal foundation. The holy vessels, which they made use of to administer the eucharist in, were another part of the ornament of the altar. But the richness of these was not always estimated from the materials they were made of, but from the use they were put to; for the materials were sometimes no better than plain glass or wood. Irenaeus s3 and Epiphanius 4 after him, speaking of Marcus the father of the Marcosian heretics, say, he used a glass cup in the celebration of the eucharist: which is not noted as any singular thing in him ; for both Baronius 55 and Bona 86 θαρὰ σινδών, ἡ ὑφαπλουμένη τῇ τῶν θείων δώρων διακονία, ἡ τοῦ ̓Αριμαθέως, ἐστὶν Ἰωσὴφ λειτουργία· ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνος, τὸ τοῦ Κυρίου σῶμα σινδόνι ἐνειλήσας, τῷ τάφῳ παρέπεμψε, δι ̓ οὗ ἅπαν τὸ γένος ἡμῶν τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἐκαρπώσατο· οὕτως ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ σινδόνος τὸν ἄρτον τῆς προθέσεως ἁγιάζοντες σῶμα Χριστοῦ ἀδιστάκτως εὑρίσκομεν, ἐκείνην ἡμῖν πηγάζον τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν, ἣν ὁ παρὰ Ἰωσὴφ μὲν κηδευθεὶς, ἐκ νεκρῶν δὲ ἀναστὰς Ἰησοῦς ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐχαρίσατο. 81 Hist. Lausiac. c. 119. (ap. Bibl. Patr. Gr.-Lat. t. 2. p. 1036 a. 2.) Inμαμένη οὖν δεκατριῶν ἐτῶν, καὶ συζήσασα τῷ ἀνδρὶ ἑπτὰ ἔτη, τῷ εἰκοστῷ ἔτει ἀπετάξατο· καὶ πρῶτον μὲν πάντα αὐτῆς τὰ σηρικὰ ἡμιφόρια καλύμματα τοῖς θυσιαστηρίοις ἐδωρήσατο· τοῦτο δὲ πεποίηκεν καὶ ἡ σεβασμωτάτη λυμπιάς. 82 L. I. c. 31. (V. 3. p. 64. 13.) Alεκοσμεῖτο δὲ καὶ τὸ θεῖον θυσιαστής ριον βασιλικοῖς τε παραπετάσμασι καὶ κειμηλίοις λιθοκολλήτοις χρυσοῖς. 83 L. I. c. 9. (p. 57. 1.) Ποτήρια οἴνω κεκραμένα, κ.τ.λ. [The passage cited speaks of cups, but does not distinguish them as made of glass. ED.] 84 Hær. 34. Marcos. n. I. (t. I. p. 233 a.) Φασὶ τρία ποτήρια λευκῆς ὑάλου παρ ̓ αὐτοῖς ἑτοιμάζεσθαι, κεκραμένα λευκῷ οἴνῳ· καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐπιτελουμένῃ παρ ̓ αὐτοῦ ἐπῳδῇ τῇ νομιζομένῃ εὐχαριστίᾳ, μεταβάλλεσθαι εὐθὺς, τὸ μὲν ἐρυθρὸν ὡς αἷμα, τὸ δὲ πορφύρεον, τὸ δὲ κυάνεον. 85 An. 216. n. 13. (t. 2. p. 323 d.) Ego ejus pastoris scripturam haurio, qua non potest frangi plane significans ea allusione, calices illos fuisse vitreos; sed et patenas quoque ministeriales fuisse vitreas, ejusdem Zephyrini pontifcis decretum ostendit. At de antiquo et diu perseverante calicis vitrei usu, plura diximus in notationibus ad Romanum Martyrologium. 86 Rer. Liturg.1.1.c.25.n.1.(p.257.) Ex qua vero materia primis ecclesiæ think it was then the common custom of the Church. And it is evident it continued in some places to the time of St. Jerom; for he, speaking of Exuperius, bishop of Toulouse, and commending his frugality, tells us 7, that he ministered the body of Christ in a basket of osiers, and the blood in a glass cup.' Baronius and Bona will furnish the reader with a great many other instances to the same purpose. I shall only add, that in one of our own synods here in England, the Synod of Calcuth, anno 787, there is a canon 88 which forbids the use of horn-cups in the celebration of the eucharist; which seems to imply that they were in use before. But yet I must note, that it was commonly necessity that drove the Church to use vessels of such ordinary materials; either when she laboured under extreme poverty, or thought fit to dispose of her silver and gold plate, for the redemption of captives, or the relief of the poor, of which I have given a great many instances in another place 59, which shew that the Church had her vessels of silver and gold, else she could not have melted them down for such pious uses. Nay, even in times of persecution, when there was some danger of being plundered and despoiled, the wealthier Churches had their sacred vessels of silver and gold. This is evident from what Prudentius observes in the Roman Church in the time of Laurentius, the martyr, who suffered in the persecution of Valerian. It was part of his crime, that he would not deliver up the golden plate 90, in which they were used to celebrate their sacred mys sæculis fabricari soleret [calix], hic primo loco investigandum est. In Concilio Triburiensi sub Formoso, c. 18., celebre apophthegma refertur S. Bonifacii, episcopi Moguntini: Vasa quibus sacrosancta conficiantur mysteria, calices sunt et patena, de quibus Bonifacius martyr et episcopus interrogatus, si liceret in VASCULIS LIGNEIS sacramenta con ficere? respondit : Quondam sacerdotes aurei LIGNEIS CALICIBUS utebantur, nunc e contra lignei sacerdotes aureis utuntur calicibus. ... Fuisse in aliqua ecclesia calicem ligne um, vel propter rerum penuriam vel propter incuriam sacerdotum, non inficior.... Fuerunt et calices vitrei, qui procul dubio mundiores et decentiores erant, et ideo antiquior et frequentior eorum usus. 87 Ep. 4. [al. 125.] ad Rustic. (t. 1. p. 941 e.) Nihil illo ditius, qui corpus Domini canistro vimineo, sanguinem portat in vitro. 88 C. 10. ap. Spelman. CC. Britann. (t. 1. p. 295.) Vetuimus etiam, ne de cornu bovis calix aut patina fieret ad sacrificandum, quod de sanguine sunt. 89 B. 5. ch. 6. s. 6. v. 2. p. 187. Hunc esse vestris orgiis teries. And that we may not think he spake only with a poetical flourish, we may see the same thing observed by Optatus 91 of the Church of Carthage, in the Diocletian persecution. For when Mensurius, the bishop, was forced to go to Rome, to have his trial there, he was at some loss what to do with the plate and other silver and gold ornaments of the church, which he could neither hide in the earth nor carry with him. At last he comes to this resolution, to leave them with the elders of the church, first taking an inventory of them, which he gave to a deaconess, with these instructions, that if he never returned, she should, when times of peace returned, give it to the person whom she found seated on the bishop's throne. Which she did as soon as Cæcilian was chosen bishop; who calling upon the elders to deliver up their trust, they, having embezzled the things, denied that ever they had received them; and to be revenged of Cæcilian, they joined with his antagonists, Botrus and Celeusius, who were competitors with Cæcilian for the bishopric, and the first authors of the schism of the Donatists. What this inventory contained we may judge by another about the same time given up to the persecutors by Paul, bishop of Cirta, who was one of those called traditors upon that account. There 92 we find two gold cups, six silver cups, six silver water-pots, a silver cucumellum, (which I take to be a flagon or bowl,) seven silver lamps, &c.,' all which were vessels or utensils belonging to the service of the church and the altar. For as they had vessels for the wine so they had vessels also for the water, which in those days was always mingled with the wine, and was used also for washing their hands in the time of the oblation of which customs it will be more proper to speak Libent ut auro antistites. Fumare sacrum sanguinem, &c. 92 Gest. Purgat. Cæcilian. ad calc. Optat. p. 266. (p. 92 c.) Calices duo aurei: item calices sex argentei: urceola sex argentea cucumellum argenteum: lucerna argenteæ septem: cereofala duo, &c. [Vid. Du Fresne, Glossar. Latinitat. (Francof. ad Mon. 1681. t. 1. col. 1289.) Cucumellum, diminutivum a cucuma, inter sacra ministeria vulgo reponitur. Indiculus rerum, quas Paulus, Cirtensis episcopus, tradidit Felici, Flaminii curatori, ap. Baron. an. 303. n. 12. (Lucæ, 1738. t. 3. p. 340.) Calices 2 aurei, argenteum, &c., ut supra. The cereofala or cereophala were candelabra fitted with wax candles: quæ posterior ætas, says Du Fresne, (ibid. col. 933.) fara et phara vocavit, quod instar phari lumine ædem perfunderent. ED.] |