symbol of a lamb, and ordered it only to be drawn in the effigies of a man. I presume, by this time the worship of images was begun, Anno 692; and it was now thought indecent to pay their devotions to the picture of a lamb, and therefore they would no longer endure it to be seen in the church.

I have been the more particular in recounting and explaining these things distinctly, that the reader might have in one short view the rise and progress of that grand superstition, which has so overspread the Church and defaced its worship in the matter of images, which were introduced at first only for historical use, to be lay-men's books, and a sort of ornaments for the church, though, as the event proved, the most dangerous of any other.

SECT. 12.-Of adorning the Church with Flowers and Branches.

There was one way more of adorning churches, which I should not have thought worth mentioning, but for its innocency and natural simplicity; that is, the custom of garnishing and decking them with flowers and branches: which was not done at any certain times for any pretended mystery, but only to make them more decent and fit for a body of men to meet in. St. Austin' takes notice of the custom, speaking of one who carried away with him some flowers from off the altar; and Paulinus in his poetical way refers to it likewise. But St. Jerom does it the greatest honour, to give it a place in his panegyric upon his friend Nepotian, making it a part of his commendable character; "that he took care to have every thing neat and clean about the church, the altar bright, the walls whited, the pavement swept, the gates veiled, the vestry clean, and the vessels

1 Aug. de Civ. Dei. lib. xxii. c. 8. Abscedens aliquid de altari florum, quod occurrit, tulit, &c. Paulin. Natal. 3. Felicis, p. 541. Ferte Deo pueri laudem, pia solvite vota: Spargite flore solum, prætexite limina sertis. 3 Hieron. Ep. 3. Epitaph. Nepotian. Erat sollicitus si niteret altare, si parietes absque fuligine, si pavimenta tersa, si janitor creber in portis, vela semper in ostiis, si sacrarium mundum, si vasa luculenta, et in omnes ceremonias pia sollicitudo disposita.-Basilicas ecclesiæ et martyrum conciliabula diversis floribus, et arborum comis, vitiumque pampinis adumbravit.

VOL. II.

shining; and so far did his pious solicitude about these matters extend, that he made flowers, and leaves, and branches of trees contribute to the beauty and ornament of the churches." These were but small things in themselves, St. Jerom says, but a pious mind devoted to Christ is intent upon things great and small, and neglects nothing that may deserve the name of the very meanest office in the Church. And it is plain St. Jerom had a greater value for such sort of natural beauty and comeliness in churches, than for rich ornaments of costly pictures and paintings, and silver, and gold, and precious stones: and therefore, as I observed before,' he rather advised his rich friends to lay out their wealth upon the living temples of God, the backs and bellies of the poor, and commended the rich lady, Paula, for so doing, rather than for hanging up needless and superfluous gifts, as others did, upon the pillars of the temple. And it is no wonder then he should commend Nepotian's frugal care, who had divested himself of all his estate to relieve the poor, and left himself no ability to adorn the Church any other way, but that which was most to St. Jerom's liking and approbation.

CHAP. IX.

Of the Consecration of Churches.

SECT. 1.-What the Ancients meant by the Consecration of Churches. ANCIENTLY when churches were finished and adorned, it was then usual to proceed to a dedication or consecration of them; which was a thing that was sometimes performed with a great deal of pious solemnity, and therefore it will be proper in the next place to make a little inquiry into the nature and circumstances of it. Now I must observe first of all, that by the consecration of a church, the Ancients always mean the devoting or setting it apart peculiarly for

1 See before sect. 5.

Hieron. Ep. 27. Epitaph. Paulæ. Nolebat in his lapidibus pecuniam effundere, qui cum terrâ et sæculo transituri sunt: sed in vivis lapidibus, qui volvuntur super terram.

divine service; but the manner and ceremony of doing this was not always exactly one and the same: therefore we are chiefly to regard the substance of the thing, which was the separation of any building from common use to a religious service. Whatever ceremony this was performed with, the first act of initiating and appropriating it to a divine use was its consecration; and therefore in allusion to this the first beginning of any thing is many times called its dedication. As when Cyprian, speaking of Aurelius, the confessor, whom he had ordained a reader, says," he dedicated his reading," he means no more but that he performed the first act of his office in the church, which in his phrase was its dedication. Whether churches had any other ceremony besides this in their dedication for the three first ages, is not certain; though it is highly probable they might have a solemn thanksgiving and prayer for a sanctified use of them also, over and besides the usual liturgy of the Church, because this was in use among the Jews; who thus dedicated not only their Temple, 1 Kings, viii., but also their private houses and walls of their cities, when they were finished, as appears from the title of the 30th Psalm, which is inscribed, "A Psalm or Song at the Dedication of the House of David ;" and from the account which is given by Nehemiah, xii. 27., of the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. It is further probable from the constant practice of Christians in consecrating their ordinary meat by thanksgiving and prayer, before they begin to use it; and from the manner of consecrating churches in the following ages, after the time of Constantine: all which makes it highly probable, that the Christians of the three first ages used the same ceremony of particular prayers and thanksgiving to God in the dedication of their churches. But having no express testimonies for this I will not pretend positively to assert it. Durantus and Bona are indeed very confident it was always so from the time of the Apostles; but they build upon no better foundation than the feigned Epistles

'Cyprian. Ep. 33. al. 38. ad Cler. Carthag. Dominico legit interim nobis, id est, auspicatus est pacem, dum dedicat lectionem. ? Durant. de Ritib. Eccles. lib. i. c. 24. n. 1.

Bona, Rer. Liturg. lib. i. c. 20. n. 3.

of Clemens Romanus, Evaristus, and Hyginus, and the Acts of St. Cæcilia in Simeon Metaphrastes, which are writings of no authority, when the question is about matters of fact in the first and apostolical ages.

SECT. 2.-The first authentic Accounts of this to be fetched from the fourth Century.

Therefore leaving this matter, for want of better evidence, as a thing only probable, but not certain, I proceed to consider it as practised in the next age, when in the peaceable reign of Constantine, churches were rebuilt over all the world, and dedicated with great solemnity. "Then it was a desirable sight," as Eusebius' words it, "to behold how the consecrations of the new-built churches and the feasts of the dedications were solemnized in every city." That which made these solemnities the more august and venerable was, that commonly a whole synod of the neighbouring or provincial bishops met at the dedication. The church of Jerusalem, which Constantine built over our Saviour's sepulchre, was consecrated in a full synod of all the bishops of the East, whom Constantine called first to Tyre and then to Jerusalem, Anno 335, for this very purpose, as Eusebius* and all the other historians inform us. In like manner Socrates observes, that the council of Antioch, Anno 341, was summoned on purpose to dedicate the famous church there, called Dominicum Aureum, which was begun by Constantine and finished by Constantius. And there are many examples of the like nature to be met with in ancient history. Now the solemnity was usually begun with a panegyrical oration or sermon, consisting chiefly of praise and thanksgiving to God, and sometimes expatiating upon the commendation of the founder, or the glory of the newbuilt church. Such as that oration in Eusebius* made at the dedication of the church of Paulinus at Tyre, and

Euseb. lib. x. c. 3. Τὸ πᾶσιν εὐκταῖον - - - θέαμα, ἐγκαινίων ἑορτὰ κατὰ πόλεις, κ, τῶν ἄρτι νεοπαγῶν προσευκτηρίων ἀφιερώσεις. Vid. Euseb. de Laud. Constant. c. 17. Euseb. lib. iv. de Vit. Const. c. 43. Socrat. Sozom. lib. ii. c. 26. Theodor. lib. i. c. 30. 8 Socrat. + Euseb. lib. x. c. 4.

lib. i. c. 28. lib. ii. c. 8.

others1 in Gaudentius and St. Ambrose upon the like occasion. Sometimes they had more than one discourse upon it; for Eusebius, speaking of the dedication of churches in the time of Constantine, says, "every bishop that was present made a speech in praise of the convention;" so that the panegyric, which he there records, was but one of many that were spoken. In another place, describing the dedication of the church of Jerusalem, he says, "some made speeches by way of penegyric upon the Emperor and the magnificence of his building; others handled a common place in divinity adapted to the present occasion; and others discoursed upon the lessons of Scripture that were read, expounding the mystical sense of them;" and he bore a part in each of these himself, being present at that solemnity. When this part of the ceremony was over, they then proceeded to the mystical service, or the offering of the unbloody sacrifice, as he there terms it, to God; praying for the peace of the world, the prosperity of the Church, and a blessing upon the Emperor and his children. Among these prayers they seem to have had a particular prayer for the church then dedicated, as some understand St. Ambrose, who is thought to have a form upon such an occasion; which, because we have not many such in the writings of the Ancients, I will here insert in his own words: "I beseech Thee now, O Lord, let thine eye be continually upon this house, upon this altar, which is now dedicated unto Thee, upon these spiritual stones, in every one of which a sensible temple is consecrated unto Thee. Let the prayers

? Eu

1 Gaudent. Serm. 17. in Dedicat. Basilicæ. Ambros. Serm. 89. seb. lib. x. c. 3. $ Euseb. de Vit. Const. lib. iv. c. 45. * Ambros. Exhort. ad Virgines, in fine. Te nunc, Domine, precor, ut supra hanc domum tuam, supra hæc altaria quæ hodiè dedicantur, supra hos lapides spirituales, quibus sensibile tibi in singulis templum sacratur, quotidianus præsul intendas, orationesque servorum tuorum, quæ in hoc loco funduntur, divinâ tuâ suscipias misericordiâ. Fiat tibi in odorem sanctificationis omne sacrificium, quod in hoc templo, fide integrâ, piâ sedulitate offertur. Et cùm ad illam respicis hostiam salutarem, per quam peccatum mundi hujus aboletur, respicias etiam ad has piæ hostias castitatis, et diuturno eas tuearis auxilio, ut fiant tibi in odorem suavitatis hostiæ acceptabiles, Christo Domino placentes, et integrum spiritum eorum, animam et corpus, sine querelæ loco usque in diem Domini Jesu Christi, Filii tui, servare digneris. Amen.