what I may call, the positive side of the Catechism, seeing that all concurred in the belief—that worthy Communicants received in whatever manner) the Body and Blood of Christ" with all Its benefits;" quite another thing for them to argue the negative side, especially as there had always been great divergency of opinion in the Church as to the way in which those who discerned not the Lord's Body in the Sacrament were to be accounted guilty of It.

But it never can be unfair to interpret the language of a writer by his known opinions, unless there is clear evidence that he meant to speak in a different sense; if, therefore, as is commonly supposed, the Catechetical Questions on the Sacraments are due to Bishop Overall, his own supposed statements elsewhere ought to be a satisfactory proof of his meaning in the Catechism: one (and the most pertinent) of these has been already given in full at p. 137: here, therefore, it may suffice to quote the words-"... the Body and Blood of Christ is really and substantially present, and so exhibited and given to all that receive it ; . . ."

In the extracts given from Mr. Goode at p. 286, he objects to any attempt to "affix to the words 'the faithful""

I say "supposed" because Mr. Goode (pp. 827-8) contends that the Notes in which these passages are contained “were neither written by Overall, nor claim the authority of being derived from his papers." And he adds, “By whom they were written cannot now probably be ascertained, but certainly it was not Bishop Cosin, who was Overall's chaplain, because his Notes, as we shall see presently, are of a very different kind."

But the learned Editor of Bishop Cosin's Notes (Ang. Cath. Lib.) carefully re-investigated this question of Authorship, and came to the conclusion that the whole three Series of Notes are Bishop Cosin's; and thus he more than supports Dr. Nicholl's original remark, which Mr. Goode deems insufficient, that they are supposed to be made from the Collections of Bishop Overall, by a friend or chaplain of his." Until, then, the result of this later enquiry is set aside by fresh evidence, the Notes may still be used as possessing the authority hitherto claimed for them.

As to Bishop Cosin's "Notes" being "of a very different kind:" the example which Mr. Goode gives (p. 855) will be found above, p. 138, where I have commented upon it: this Note is from the 2nd Series, contained in a Prayer Book of 1638, and supposed to have been written between 1638 and 1656: the Note cited in the text is from the 1st Series, which is believed to have been written between 1619 and 1638, and is found in a Prayer Book of 1619: the 3rd Series occurs in a MS. Book, and is considered to be mostly before 1640. But the very fact of the difference which Mr. Goode notices goes to shew that the earlier Note was, all the more probably, Overall's; especially if it be the case, as is thought, that Bishop Cosin did alter his opinions in some respects in the course of writing these Notes.

the signification of the Baptized or the Communicants: it becomes necessary, therefore, to inquire whether this is at all a new meaning or is not rather a return to the definite Theological and Ecclesiastical sense in which the term has always been employed. In order to trace this, it will be best to examine-I. The places in which it occurs in the New Testament. They are the following:

(a) Eph. i. 1. ".... to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus."

(b) Col. i. 2. "To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ

which are at Colosse."

(c) 1 Tim. iv. 10.

those that believe."

(d) 1 Tim. iv. 12.

".. be thou an example of the believers.." (e) 1 Tim. v. 16. " If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them ..

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(f) 1 Tim. vi. 2. "And they that have believing masters let them ... rather do them service because they are faithful...."

(g) 2 Tim. ii. 2.

men...."

(h) Titus i. 6.

".... the same commit thou to faithful

".... having faithful children

It will hardly be pretended, I suppose, that the first two passages, (a) and (b) do not refer to the entire body of the Christians, i.e,, the Baptized, in Ephesus and Colosse: nor is there anything to shew that the next three (c), (d) and (e) are to be taken in a more exclusive sense; or that the "masters" spoken of in the following passage (f) are the good "believing " believing" ones as distinguished from Christian masters in general: the succeeding passage (g) would naturally be taken primarily in the more limited sense of trustworthy, no less than well-instructed, Christians; though, if they afterwards proved to be unreliable in their conduct, the word "faithful" would still not be inapplicable in regard of their Church-membership: while, as to the last instance (h), it can scarcely be supposed that St. Paul meant to forbid Titus to "ordain " any as "elders" unless their children were all true and sincere Christians, as well as being professed members of the Church, i.e. "faithful."

II. Passages where it is found in the Ancient Liturgies.

1. LITURGY OF S. MARK.

(a.) ".. bless Thy faithful and orthodox people; increase them to myriads of myriads..."-Neale's Translation, p. 10.

(b.) "Bless Thy faithful and orthodox people, them that do Thy holy will, with a thousand thousand and ten thousand times ten thousand blessings."—p. 20.

2. LITURGY OF ST. JAMES.

(c.) "... Thou only art holy, Who sanctifiest, and art distributed to, Thy faithful people; . . ."-p. 32.

(d.)

the King of kings and Lord of lords, Christ our God, cometh forward to be sacrificed and to be given for food to the faithful; ..."-p. 40.

(e.) "The Lord shall bless us, and make us to receive with the pure tongs of our fingers the burning coal, and to place it in the mouths of the faithful, for the purification and renewal of their souls, and bodies, now and ever.

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"O taste and see that the Lord is good: He that is broken, and not divided, distributed to the faithful, and not consumed, for the remission of their sins and eternal life, now and ever, and to all ages."―p. 60.

3. LITURGY OF ST. CLEMENT.

(f.) " And let all THE FAITHFUL, as they will, pray for them [the Catechumens], saying, Lord have mercy."-p. 66.

(g.) "And let the Deacons say: Pass forward, ye Energumens. And after this let him exclaim: Pray, ye that are illuminated. Let us, the faithful, all pray earnestly for them, that the Lord may count them worthy, having been initiated into the death of Christ Thou that.... didst through Christ give them the law of spiritual regeneration,-do Thou Thyself now look upon the baptized, and bless them and hallow them, and prepare them so as to be worthy of Thy spiritual gift, and the true adoption of Thy spiritual mysteries, the gathering together with them that are saved, through Christ our Saviour."-p. 70.

(h.) "And let the Deacon say: Depart, ye that are in penitence. And let him add: Let none of those that are not able to pray with us, pass forward let as many as are faithful kneel with us."-p. 76. (i.) "And let the Deacon stand at the doors of the men, and the SubDeacons at those of the women, that no one may go out, and that the door may not be opened, even though it be by one of THE FAITHFUL, during the time of the anaphora."-p. 76.

4. LITURGY OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM.

(k.) "Deacon. Let all the Catechumens depart; of the Catechumens-; let all the faithful;

....

let not any

—p. 105.

Compare this and 2 c. with the following: "The Lamb of God is broken and distributed; He that is broken and not divided in sunder; ever eaten and

(1.) "The first prayer of THE FAITHFUL, after the unfolding of the Corporal."-p. 105.

(m.) "The second prayer of THE FAITHFUL."-p. 106.

5. LITURGY OF MALABAR.

(n.) ".... Pray, bearing in memory.... all the faithful who have departed from the living and are dead in the true faith."p. 141.

It can hardly be questioned, I think, that in all these places (except 5 (n.) which refers to those who died in Church communion; and, perhaps, I. (a.) and (b.), which possibly include THE BAPTIZED in general) the word "faithful" means strictly THE COMMUNICANTS; i.e. not only those who at any given Celebration actually communicated, but also all who were not prevented from communicating by any rule of Discipline. The expression "the Communicants," in the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom, which is plainly the synonym of " Thy faithful people" and "the faithful" in the Liturgy of St. James, seems to me to prove this: while that (unless in the instances I have excepted) the term "the faithful" has this limitation, appears, also, to be shewn by the exhortation to them, in the Liturgy of St. Clement, to "pray earnestly" for "the illuminated," i.e. "the baptized," as the context shews.

III. The testimony of Ecclesiastical Writers or Historians. And here it will be quite sufficient to quote Bingham, as his words do but profess to sum up the testimony of authorities whom he names. Thus he says, " in all which accounts' it is "proper to be remarked:"—

"That the name believers, Пorol, and Fideles, is here taken, in a more strict sense, only for one order of Christians,-the believing or baptized laity, in contradistinction to the clergy and the Catechumens, the two other orders of men in the Church. And in this sense, the words Пrol and Fideles are commonly used in the ancient Liturgies, and Canons, to distinguish those THAT WERE BAPTIZED, AND ALLOWED TO PARTAKE OF THE HOLY MYSTERIES,

never consumed, but sanctifying THE COMMUNICANTS."-Lit. of S. Chrysostom, p. 121. It is worth while to notice also this sentence as illustrative of the following passage in a Rubric at the end of the Communion Office in the Prayer Book of 1549:-"... every one [i.e., of the Wafer Breads] shall be divided in two pieces, at the least, or more, by the discretion of the minister, and so distributed. And men must not think less to be received in part than in the whole, but in each of them the whole body of our Saviour Jesu Christ."

from the Catechumens, whence came that ancient distinction of the service of the Church into the Missa Catechumenorum, and Missa Fidelium; . . ."-Eccl. Antiq., Bk. I., c. 3, § 3.

"The ПTol, or Fideles, being such as were baptized, and thereby made complete and perfect Christians, were, upon that account, dignified with several titles of honour and marks of distinction above the Catechumens:" viz., pwróμeros, The Illuminate; O. Meμmuiros, The Initiated; Tíλso, The Perfect ;-1b. c. 4, § § 1, 2, 3.

"All these names (and many others might be added, which are obvious to every reader, such as Saints, and Sons of God, &c.) were peculiar titles of honour and respect, given only to those who were Пloro, or Believers.”—1b. § 4.

"And hence it was that, correspondent to these names, the Fideles had their peculiar privileges in the Church above the Catechumens. For first, it was their sole prerogative to partake of the Lord's Table, and communicate with one another in the symbols of Christ's body and blood at the altar. . . . .”—Ib. § 5.

"Another of their prerogatives above Catechumens was, to stay and join with the minister in all the prayers of the Church, which the Catechumens were not allowed to do; ... .”—1b. § 6.

“More particularly the use of the Lord's prayer was the sole prerogative of the Пorol, or Believers; for then it was no crime, or argument of weakness, or want of the spirit, to use it; but an honour and privilege of the most consummate and perfect Christians. . .”16. $7,

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Lastly, They were admitted to be auditors of all discourses made in the Church, even those that treated of the most abstruse points and profound mysteries of the Christian religion; which the Catechumens were strictly prohibited from hearing. . . . . when the Catechumens were dismissed, then they discoursed more openly of their mysteries before the Fideles . . . . . and in these, and the like privileges, consisted their prerogative above the Catechumens."Ib. § 8.

No one can deny that the baptized have as full privileges in the Modern, as they had in the Ancient Church.

It must be borne in mind, too, that this Greek word Пaтì (of which Fideles is the Latin equivalent) is the Original in all the places cited from the New Testament and from the Ancient Liturgies.

IV. The places in which the term has been or is employed in the English Prayer Book.

These will be most readily seen and compared in the following Tabular collection of them from all the Editions, to gether with the Latin translation in Queen Elizabeth's Book of 1560.