ruption of this ancient custom. ter be a cor- speak more properly when he says, their lustral water rather succeeded in its room. For the washing of the Ancients had nothing of expiation in it, but was only an indifferent ceremony of corporal decency; or, at most, but an admonishing emblem of that purity of soul with which men ought to enter the courts of the most holy God. And therefore any one that compares these matters nicely together, must conclude, that the latter custom is but a fond imitation, or mere corruption, of the former; if it owe not rather its original to a worse fountain, the epippavτýpia, or sprinkling with holy water, so often spoken of among the Heathen. The things are so like one another, that some modern transcribers of Sozomen have mistaken them for one another. For, whereas, Sozomen 65, speaking of Julian's going into a temple to sacrifice, in Gaul, with Valentinian to attend him, says, the priest sprinkled them with water as they went in, according to the heathen custom.' Valesius 69 has observed, that in some copies it is read, according to ecclesiastical custom, instead of heathen custom, which he imputes to some modern transcribers, who were minded to make church-holy-water of it; whom he ingenuously chastises for their ignorance or impudence in corrupting good authors, as they justly deserved. The atrium, ante-tem 8. But to return to the business of the ancient churches. Whilst we are speaking of the ante-temple it will not be and porticoes in the improper to observe, that for many years after buryingple, only places were allowed in cities, they were still kept out of made use of that which was strictly and properly called the church, and for burying the dead. only allowed in those parts of the ante-temple, the atrium and porticoes which we have been describing; as appears from a canon of the Council of Nantes 7o, anno 658, which successere, præsertim apud Latinos, 68 L. 6. c. 6. (v. 2. p. 226. 16.)... 69 [In loc. supr. citat. (ibid. n. 1.) Quod idcirca hic retuli, non quod scripturam eam probem, sed ut studiosus lector perspiciat, quam peri culosum sit conjecturæ suæ indulgere. Etenim antiquarius, qui codicem illum descripsit, cum aspersionis aquæ mentionem fieri videret hoc loco, id more ecclesiastico factum esse credidit. Quasi non et Pagani hujusmodi aspersionibus aquæ lustralis usi fuerint diu ante Christianiæ religionis exordium. Nota sunt veterum Græcorum Teрippavrýpia. Grischov.] 70 C. 6. (t. 9. p. 470 a.) Ut in ec prohibits any to be buried in the church, but allows of it in the atrium, or porticus, or exedræ, of the church. Which I note, only to shew what use these parts of the ante-temple were put to. But of this more when we come to treat of cemetries and the funeral rites of the ancient Church. CHAP. IV. Of the interior narthex, and the parts and uses of it. before the 1. HAVING taken a view of the exterior narthex, or outward Of the lesser πρόante-temple, we are next led by Eusebius into the interior narπυλα, οι thex, or ante-temple within the church. For in such stately porches structures as that of Paulinus was, the narthex, or прováоs, doors of which I English ante-temple, was a name common to more the church. parts than one. And in some of the most magnificent churches, as that of Sancta Sophia, as Du Fresne has observed, out of Procopius and Paulus Silentiarius, there were no less than four distinct nartheces. The entrance into the interior narthex, in the church of Paulinus, was out of the porticoes, or cloisters, before the church, by three inner porches, (rà ¿vdotáτw πρóTuλa, Eusebius calls them,) and as many gates, opening out of them, the middle one being the greatest and highest of the three, as we commonly see in our modern cathedrals, only with this difference, that those fronted to the east, and ours to the west. It had also porticoes adjoining on the north and south71, and as many porches and doors to enter out of them. These porches, in such churches as had no other ante-temple, served to receive the first class of penitents, called the mourners, which otherwise were remitted to the atrium and porticus before the church, as I have shewed already 72, in the temple of Paulinus. And these things are accurately to be observed by those who would not mistake the Ancients, when they seem to speak differently of the place of mourners. Du Fresne has also clesia nullatenus sepeliantur, sed Jerusalem. (v. 1. p. 598. 30.) 'Aμpi νοντο. 72 See ch.3. s. 5. n. 57, preceding. Of the narthex, πρόναος, οι ferula. observed, out of Paulinus Nolanus 72, that these porches and gates are sometimes called arcus, from the manner of their structure, which was arch-work; and apsides for the same reason, for apsis denotes any thing that is framed in the figure of an arch or a convex, as the heavens; and therefore he thinks the thirty-second canon of the third Council of Carthage 73 is to be understood of this place, when it says, that such penitents as had committed very notorious and scandalous crimes, known to the whole Church, should have imposition of hands before the apsis;' that is, before the porch or doors of the church. Here it was also that the poor of the Church placed themselves, both before and after divine service, to ask alms of such as came from the altar. Which custom is mentioned by Gregory Nazianzen 74 and St. Chrysostom 75, who elegantly, after his manner, upon this account styles the poor and aged, and the lame and the blind, the guards of the royal palace,' meaning the church. 2. Being entered by these gates into the church, the first place that occurs to our view is the póvaos, or ante-temple, within the walls. This in the modern Greek Rituals is always called the narthex, and is peculiarly allotted to the monks or women, and used to perform the offices of rogations, and sup 72 Ep. 12. ad Sever. (p. 152.) Alma domus triplici patet ingredientibus arcu. [See Du Fresne himself, Comment. in Paul. Silent. p. 537. (ap. Byzant. Hist. Scriptor. t. 13. p. 204.) Cum in Synodo 111 Carthaginensi, c. 32, cavetur, ut iis, quorum crimina publica sunt, ante absidem manus imponatur, id videtur intelligendum de abside narthecis, ubi consistebant pœnitentes, non vero de absida, seu concha altaris.It would seem from this that, according to Du Fresne, absis and absida are not exactly synonymous, as Suicer seems to imply, where he states that the Latin fathers always used one or other of those forms. See Thes. Eccles. voce 'Αψίς. (t. I. p. 612. n. 2.)—See also the Author's remarks on the same subject in another place, b. rg. ch. 2. s. 3., together with the notes thereon. ED.] 73 C. 32. (t. 2. p. 1171 e.) Cujus plications, and night-watches in. Here also they placed dead corpses, whilst their funeral rites are performing, as Suicerus 76 shews at large out of their Triodion Pentecostarium and Typicum, and other authors. Morinus 77 thinks the ancient churches for above five hundred years had no narthex, but were divided only into two parts, the sanctuarium and aula laicorum, the place of the clergy and the place of the laymen, and that the narthex was first introduced by the Eastern monks in the sixth century. But in this he is evidently mistaken, for though the name, perhaps, be not very ancient, yet the thing itself is; for this was always a distinct and separate part of the church, as any one will easily imagine that considers the ancient use of it. it for the 3. For the Church, ever since she first divided her catechu- The use of mens and penitents into distinct orders and classes, had also catechudistinct places in the church for them. And this lower part of mens and penitents the church was the place of the energumens, and such of the of the secatechumens and penitents as were commonly called aκpowμe- cond order. vol, or audientes, that is, hearers; because they were allowed to stand here to hear the Psalms and Scriptures read, and the sermon made by the preacher, after which they were dismissed without any prayers or solemn benediction; as may be seen in the author of the Constitutions 78, and the Canons of St. Basil 79, Gregory Nyssen so, and several others. 76 Thes. Eccles. voce Nápong. (t. 2. p.391.) Nápong est locus in ecclesia, etsi alii extra ecclesiam ponant: cujus frequens mentio in libris ecclesiasticis Græcorum. Triodion in Sabbato sancto : Ἡ δὲ πρώτη ὥρα ψάλλεται ἐν τῷ νάρθηκι ὁμοίως, καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ λιταὶ ψάλλονται ὁμοίως ἐν To váрOŋki. Pentecostarium in Dominica resurrectionis: Kai epxóμεθα ἅπαντες ἐν τῷ νάρθηκι διὰ τοῦ βορείου μέρους, κρατοῦντες καὶ τὰ κηρία ἡμμένα. Τypicum, c. 25. Καὶ ποιοῦμεν ἐν τῷ νάρθηκι παννυχίδα εἰς τοὺς κοιμηθέντας. 77 De Penitent. 1. 6. c. I. s. IO. (p. 357 a. 3.) Secundum [est] nusquam apud antiquos auctores narthecis mentionem feri. Antiqui enim Græci, ut et Latini, ecclesias in duas tantum partes distinxerunt, in au lam sive atrium laicorum, et sanctu- 78 L. 8. c. 5. (Cotel. v. 1. p. 392.) Also for Jews, heathens, he schismatics : 4. Hither also both Jews and heathens, and heretics and schismatics were sometimes allowed to come, to hear the retics, and Scriptures read, and the sermon preached, because this part to hear in. of the service was for their edification and instruction. The Council of Laodicea 81, indeed, prohibits heretics to come within the church. But in Afric and other places it was allowed for in the fourth Council of Carthage 82 there is a canon express to this purpose, that the bishop shall not prohibit any, whether Heathen, Heretic, or Jew, to come into the church, and stay there to hear the word of God, till the time of the dismission of the catechumens.' And it appears further from several, both of St. Chrysostom's and St. Austin's Homilies, that this was the common practice. Now then it is reasonable to suppose, that all these had their station together in the lower part of the church, called the narthex, or whatever other name it went by. This not 5. Dr. Beveridge and some others seem here also to place the place of the font, or baptistery, as in our modern churches. But there baptistery, is nothing more certain than that, for many ages, the bap the font, or τῆς διδασκαλίας λόγον . . . . ἀναστάν- 79 C. 75. [Oper. Basil. Ep. 217. καρποὺς τῆς μετανοίας ἀξίους ἐπιδεί ξηται, τῷ δεκάτῳ ἔτει εἰς τὴν τῶν πιο στῶν εὐχὴν δεχθήτω, χωρὶς προσφορᾶς· καὶ δύο ἔτη συστὰς εἰς τὴν εὐχὴν τοῖς πιστοῖς, οὕτω λοιπὸν καταξιούσθω τῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ κοινωνίας. 80 Ep. ad Letoium, c. 5. (t. 2. p. 120 b.) Τρισεννέα γάρ εἰσιν ἐνιαυτοὶ, καθ ̓ ἕκαστον βαθμὸν τῆς ἐννάδος τῶν ἐτῶν ὁρισθείσης, ὥστε ἐν μὲν τῷ παντελεῖ ἀφορισμῷ ἐνναετῆ χρόνον διαγενέσθαι ἀπειργόμενον τῆς ἐκκλησίας" ἄλλα δὲ τοσαῦτα ἔτη ἐν τῇ ἀκροάσει παραμεῖναι, μόνης τῶν διδασκάλων καὶ τῆς τῶν γραφῶν ἀκροάσεως, καὶ μετὰ τῆς τοῦ λαοῦ συστάσεως ἀξιούμενον, κ.τ.λ. 81 C. 6. (t. I. p. 1497 a.) Περὶ τοῦ, μὴ συγχωρεῖν τοῖς αἱρετικοῖς εἰσιέναι εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐπιμένοντας τῇ αἱρέσει. 82 C. 84. (t. 2. p. 1203 d.) Ut episcopus nullum prohibeat ingredi ecclesiam, et audire Verbum Dei, sive Gentilem, sive Hæreticum, sive Judæum, usque ad Missam Catechu menorum. |