Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub

ἡμῶν.

true Bread and Wine; and in the Prayer of Propofition, they pray God to is, is bless this propofing (of them) and to receive it up to his Heavenly Altar, Goar. p. 63. and to remember those who Offered, and thofe for whom they Offered. Euchol. p. 36. What then becomes of thefe Gifts and Offerings, are they fubftantially and really taken up to Heaven, and leave only their bare Accidents behind them? If they be annihilated, quite deftroy'd, how are they accepted? And how can they fay, that Chrift's Body and Blood (which they now would juggle into their place) are the People's Gifts and Offerings? For they offer'd only Bread and Wine, and Prayers: The firft, it seems, are Loft and Gone; the others prove Ineffectual and not heard; and if Chrift's very Body and Blood are now there, they are his own Offerings; and yet that feem now as ftrange, for He, (as I can find) never offer'd himself but on the Cross once for all. Lastly after all these Prayers for the precious Gifts, the Table is called a spiritual Table, and the Bread, again and again, only the Holy Bread ftill, as it was at first; and by the Holy Gifts is plainly meant the Bread and Wine, or Holy Cup in what presently follows, and the remainder of them after the Communion is over, which are carried back to the Prothefis are ftill called, Gifts, and Holy Gifts, in one of Goar's Copies.

of G.

Lord who fenteft down] In this Euchologion only the beginning or part these three Suffrages are fet down, but I have tranflated them entire, as the Priest and Deacon repeat them to themfelves; and they are indeed but the beginning of that Prayer which you have put altogether above.

P. 98.

[ocr errors]

p. 23.

P. 51.

P. 23. L.

The Holy Bread] Here by the Holy Bread and the Holy Cup, and by the 1. p. 23. Holy Gifts, are plainly meant the fame Things; and the first Compofers of this part of their Liturgy counted them ftill but true Bread and Wine; and all the Variations that Goar pretends to have been made by the Greeks in this Place, (be they earlier or later) prove that then at least they thought the fame thing. Make the Bread] I have touch'd above Bellarmines folution, which Arcu- L. p. 23. dius and others cannot most folid. That the Bread is made Chrift's Body at the pronouncing of Chrift's words, and that here they only pray that it may be Spiritually made fo to the Receivers. If this was the Sense of the old Greeks, they would not have said, make this Bread, but make this real Body of thine, thy spiritual Body to the Receivers, and thy real Blood now in this Cup, thy Spiritual Blood to them. But calling it ftill plain Bread, they could mean nothing else but this, make this (plain, true, natural) Bread, the Bread of the Eucharift, that is, Bleft with thefe divine Effects which follow. Again they who first compofed this form, make this Bread, meant all the Loaves upon the Table, and they little thought that all the Bread to be used at the Sacrament, would afterwards be brought into only a little, Pugil, or heap of Crumbs and Mites; no Man of common Senfe can be fo grofs and dull as to think that this was the Practice in the Apoftles days, or in the Primitive times immediately following; And this I take to be another inftance of the following Greeks blundering and inadvertency; after they had fancifully brought in thefe, Megides, Portions or Crumbs, they still keep the old Form, make this Bread, not at all confidering whether it would well fuit with their new Invention; and it is remarkable that the Greeks themfelves quarrel about this Matter; G. Philadelph. and Simon Theffal. fay that only Chrift's Portion offer'd to his Memory, is made His Body, and that the other Portions or Mites, queтabárλorta, are not Changed. And Simon adds à pretty 183. remark to my purpose, that in this Liturgy the Priest says make this Bread, or Loaf,) and in the Prafanctified (where there are more than one Loaf) make thefe Loaves, not make thefe Portions or Mites. And fuitably to this I take Notice, that in pronouncing thefe Words, the Priest does not take either the Bread or Particles into his Hands (as of old the whole Loaf was taken) but standing up (after the Deacon hath fhewn them with his Horarium) he only makes a Cross over them, (as many common Bleffing) which is cer tainly contrary to the Primitive practice. But now if the Portions (the Crumbs

Arcad. 1. 3.

c. 11. p. 182.

and

and Mites) are not Confecrated (as these Men affert,) or Tranfubftantiated; the People, who only partake of them (with a few Crumbs of Chrift's Portion p. 74. L. put into the Cup and mixt with them) are in a bad, or at beft, in a worse cafe then the Priests, who partake of Chrift's Portion by it felf; yet they are betthen in the Latin Church, where they have no Wine at all.

Not. in Gabr. Philadelph. p. 113. b.

N. p. 23. P. 43. 46.

p. 58 59.

Edit. Moret.

1560. p. 26.

Next I observe that not only here after Chrift's words, but after the Greeks Prayer also it is often called plainly Bread. To folve this Difficulty I find that the Learned R. Simon gave it this turn, mentioning an objection against Tranfubftantiation taken from the Malabar Chriftians, with whom thele words are ufed in the Confecration, Accipite & comedite ex hoc Pane omnes, take and Eat all of you of this Bread, and from the Ethiopians, where are these words, Hic Panis eft Corpus meum, This Bread is my Body, his Anfwer is, That, Theologi, Divines with one Mouth do confess that the Bread after it is confecrated may well be called Bread ftill. If he inftances in any of the old Fathers, I should think it plainly makes against the Dogma; if in your Modern Authors either Greek or Latin that hold the Dogma, to me it argues their Carelessness and Inadvertency, to embrace that novel Doctrine, and yet retain the old Word which by no means fuits with it. And his Reason, which he gives for these Divines ftill calling it Bread, will not do here, As long. faith he, as the Species of Bread remain with the fame kind of Accidents, fo long the Name of Bread may be retained. Then the meaning of circov † E apTor, make thefe Species and Accidents of Bread (for the real Bread is annihilated) thy precious Body of thy Chrift; or make this real Body of Chrift (which is only like Bread, but verily no fuch thing) the Body of thy Chrift. This I must confefs do not fatisfy me, and the fame Interpretation feems altogether as harsh in all the other Places following, where we meet with the plain word Bread.

may

Changing by thy Holy Spirit] To make this plain Sense, you must add Them, and that is, Both the Holy's, as is clear by the words of the Deacon just before, bless the Holy Bread, blefs the Holy Cup, bless them Both; Then furely they were thus far thought to want a Bleffing; and according to the late Subfcribing Greeks, till this word μeraband is faid, the Gifts or Elements remain unchanged. But this Change now pray'd for here by the primitive. Greeks, I fay, was not intended by them to be made in the Subftance of the Gifts, but only in their spiritualized Effects upon us, as appears plainly by the following Words, That they may be to all who receive them to Soberness, &c. for it is manifeft that this Phrafe, we reve, that they may be, or be made, cannot be refer'd to any thing but to the word Changing going before; for fhould you break off at Changing by thy Holy Spirit, you leave the Sentence imperfect. Changing, What? The Bread and Wine. Changing. How? That they may be made to Soberness, &c. But this is plainly a Spiritual or Intellectual Change, only as to their Effects upon the Receivers. And that there may not fuch a Strefs be laid upon the word Changing here, it very remarkable, that as in Bafil's Liturgy above noted, fo in that attributed to James and others, there is no, ebanor, Changing; But the Prayer stands thus continued, Send down, O Lord, thy very all holy Spirit upon us, and upon thefe Holy Gifts propofed, that having come upon (us and them) by its holy, and good, and glorious Prefence, it may fanctify and make this Bread the Holy Body of thy Chrift, and this Cup the precious Blood of thy Christ, (wa Yemτa) that it may be to all who partake of them to Remiffion of Sins. and to Life Eternal, to the Sanctification of Souls and Bodies, &c. And it is remarkable, that μerabanov, changing, is in no other Greek Liturgy, or in the Syrian, or Egyptian; which were all framed from the Greeks; and therefore we may well fufpect that it was not in the Copy of Chryfoftom which they first made use of. And fince it is generally allowed by all, that all the Oriental Liturgies were derived and drawn, or compofed from the Greeks, or made in Imitation of Them, and fince it is confefs'd that Chryfoftom's and

is

Bafil's

Bafil's Liturgies were in the most Antient and Conftant Ufe of the Greek T. p. 71. Church; I think we ought moft carefully to confider and examine Them; and fee how much of the Substantial parts of them are exactly ufed in the Oriental one. For I never yet obferved any of them herein fully to agree with thefe, or with themselves. So (whether the Orientals were taken from written Copies, or made only or compofed from Memory) whether they can in most Paffages (of the greatest Concern) be of any fufficient Authority is with me very Questionable. For all Patriarchs and Metropolites, and other Prime Governours, commonly added and inferted their own Conceits in fuch Tranfcripts, either out of fome fuperftitious Customs, or out of fome private blind Devotion, or otherwise, as I have elsewhere noted. Therefore, I hope the Reader will in fome measure excuse my present Marks and Reflections on thefe Liturgies as they are in Goar; p. 76 they being merely my own Private Thoughts, and I offer them as only

fuch.

Note again, the Deacon defires the Priest, to bless the Holy's, and the Priest accordingly is faid to Bless them; How? By defiring God to change them fo as they may be to the Receivers to Soberness of Mind &c. This Interpretation is most Natural and Familiar; As when we daily fay Grace at Meat, Blefs O God, these thy good Creatures to our Ufe, and us to thy Service, that they may nourish us, and we in the strength of them may ferve Thee. What is the Blessing here defired, but that gracious Effect in the Creatures, that they may nourish &c.

That to all that receive] As they Pray'd for the Defcent of the Holy O. p. 23. Ghost upon themfelves before, fo here they Pray for all the Communicants, P. p. 23. that the Holy Gifts might be fo Spiritually Changed, as to work in them all thefe good Effects following. So that all other expofitions of this whole Prayer, from the beginning to the end, appears wonderfully forced and unintelligible, whilst this is very obvious and familiar.

To Sobernefs of Mind] In the Euchologia Printed at Venice, and in that fer out by Goar it is, es m, to Soberness or Sobriety of Mind; But in the Council of Florence, it is es view, for washing, that is, purifying of the Soul. The vulgar Greeks pronounce, and e, alike, and from thence is this Various Reading, though the Senfe is much the fame.

Rational Service] See Not. B. p. 43. and here the Prayer.

[ocr errors]

: Q. p. 23.

For our Forefathers] Here is a Summary naming of all the Holy Persons, R. p. 23. and Fathers, and Friends, Living and Dead, whofe Portions were before af fign'd on the Prothefis, not as a Remedy, or as Prayers for them, faith Goar, p. 143. 140. but that God may be Glorified in their name, for the Gifts exhibited to them from Heaven. But I lay it is to exprefs their Communion with us, as hath been before hinted, and fhall be more largely infifted on in another place.

The Diptychs] These are two folding Tables, like a pair of playing Tables; A. p. 24. (I once faw a very old Pair, three fquare, perhaps in a Mysterious reference to the Trinity) In one of thefe Tables are fet the Names of the Living, in the other the Names of the Dead; That is, of fome most Eminent Perfons, as Chryfoftom, Bafil, Nazianzen, Athanafius, &c. amongst the Dead; fo the five Patriarchs (The Pope, Conftantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Hierufalem,) the Emperor and Favourite Princes &c. amongst the Living. Upon Quarrels between the two great Churches, the Popes name was often struck out of the Diptychs, and upon any reunion put in again; It hath been left out ever fince Conftantinople was taken, if not foon after Joh. Palæologus his return from the Council of Florence. As for these Tables now, they are quite left off, and not any kept of late date that I ever faw in Churches; fo that what names are now remembered, are recited either by heart, or out of the common Catalogues above mention'd; of Quick and Dead.

Where they behold] Here I fufpect a great Blunder, and, to me, no small inftance of their jumbling things together indifcreetly or without confideration.

K

In

B. p .24.

T. p. 72.
P. 78.

In Goar's Liturgy here, there is a Prayer or Suffrage to be faid for every particular Perfon amongst the Dead, whom the Priest Commemorates by name, and it is thus in the fingular number, for the Reft and Forgiveness of the Sout of thy Servant. N.N. in a light fome place, from which Grief and Lamentation are abfent, κ ἀνάπαυσον αυτὴν ὕπε Ἐπισκοπεῖ τὸ φῶς τὸ προσώπε σε, ἀνάπαυσον άUTAν o Oeds nμcov, give it reft O God, and give it (the Soul,) reft where it beholds the Light of thy Countenance. In this Copy, (and that Printed at г. 11. A. 32. Ven. 1672, and several others, as likewife in my two MSS.) the first part of this Suffrage is left out, and this latter part is attackt to the former Prayer as you here have it; where though they have put in, aures, Them, (referring to all Saints before mention'd) inftead of aur, it, (referring to the Soul in the other part, yet they have retain'd, 'onore, it Beholds, and made a falfe Concord, instead of imoxonun, they Behold. 'Tis true that we find the fame in Bafil's Liturgy and the MSS. of it, àváπavcov áutes Une énonce yet ftill it feems unnatural to me to render it, where the Light of thy Countenance behold or feeth; and in my MS. of Chryfoftom's Liturgy is in red Letters à d Tavoor autò, evda émono and in Bafil's Liturgy, in Latin, fet out by Cochlaus, is refrigera eos ubi vifitat lux vultus tui, and in the Margin for vifitat, is vifitur. I confefs many amongst their Priefts are ignorant enough of the old School Greek, yet I fhould rather attribute this mistake to their meer careleffnefs and Inadvertency. I have taken notice above of μ and pav often promifcuoufly ufed; take notice alfo here of that, which is often ufed, (especially Goar p. 67. at the Proceffion or carrying of the Gofpel to the Holy Table) it is in MSS. abbreviated, but in all Printed Copies which I have feen, thus, pla g. Wif dom, Right, in the plural Number and mafculine Gender. To me (as it feems undoubtedly to have been at firft,) oopía ögŷn, Right or true Wifdom, and fo Cabafilas expounds it, out of St. Paul; and fo the Copy Printed by Moretius part 2d. yet he allows gol Habertus in his Pontifical and Horinus. But fince thofe days, this wrong way of fpelling hath prevailed through the vulgar Pronuntiation, (where a, and, both found as, e,) and Opol have been conftantly in their Books. See what stuff Gear brings to explain this reading, though he takes notice of the other; I wonder he did not as wifely justify the 77. P. 128. old Monkish Mumpfimus inftead of Sumptimus; for Senfe or Nonfenfe, all 88. p. 129.99. must be made Good, as he find it now, whatever it be.

C. 26.

p. 83. 85. 1 Cor. 2. 7,8.

P. 54.
P. 97.

P. 189. 65.

Vid. 39. 8. p. 125.

D. p. 24. G. p. 24.

P. 15.

The Arch-Bishop the Metropolite] See Not. 7. p. 33.

[ocr errors]

Intellectual Altar for a smell of Spiritual ] From this and many other places, as is faid, the whole Service was plainly meant by the first Greeks, as only a Spiritual Sacrifice of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving. So in the Prayer of Offering, the Sacrifice of Praife, the Prayer of Sinners. Gifts and Spiritual Sacrifices for Sins, that there may be brought to his Holy Altar. Euch. 37. 1. 2. So in the Prayer of Propofition, as is above noted, Bless the Propofing, and Goar 63. receive it up to thy Heavenly Altar. (This is in the very beginning of the whole Service, and the first Prayer of Bafil's Liturgy,) thefe and the like Phrafes can never be stretcht to any Bodily Sacrifice, neither can it be meant that any fuch Bodily Sacrifice fhould be litterally and Bodily received, and laid upon P. 16. N.B. the Altar in Heaven, any more then the Infenfe, but there and here, that the whole Spiritual Service fhould be received as a Savour or Smell of Spiritual Sweetness; That is, that all our whole Performance in this folemn Commemoration of Christ's Death and Paffion with Prayers, and Praifes, and Thankfgivings, and breaking of Holy Bread, might be accepted by God in Heaven, and there Graciously received by Him as a Spiritual Sacrifice well pleafing unto Him, this is the Savour of Spiritual Sweetness; And therefore in the next Prayer the Table is called, a Sacred' and Spiritual Table. And though the Gifts are not Sanctified here, (nor any where elfe) in Cabafilas and Arcudius's Senfe, that is, Transubstantiated; yet they are again farther Bleffed, (as is above faid) by being again and again recommended to God's Holy, Superceleftial, and Intellectual Altar. And this Cabafilas himself allows upon

a like occafion. For if they take this whole Sacrifice, as I do, in a Spiritual T. p. 73. Senfe, they may repeat their Prayers for God's acceptance of them again and again, and for the continuing of the affiftance of the Holy Spirit, by various Petitions throughout the whole Performance; as we again and again pray for John 14, 27. the peace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, though he gave it us as his Legacy before his Death; and the like.

Coloff.

10. in

To make Bold] The reason why the Greeks in this place ufe fuch an humble A. p. 25. Preface to the Lord's Prayer, I conceive to be this; the Catechumens of old, (or fuch as were not yet Baptized,) were never permitted to use this Prayer of our Lord; it feeming a very high Presumption for any to call God their Father, before they were adopted by Baptifm. And therefore this Prayer was called by Chryfoftom, and others, eux man the Prayer of Believers. And ac- Hom. cording to this Primitive Reverence for it, it is here prayed, that they may be counted worthy to fay it, and permitted, with humble affurance, to call him Father without Rebuke. Yet there is a Phrafe in what I have above cited out of St. Jerom, which may a little illuftrate this expreffion here. He faith, Chrift taught his Apoftles, at the Celebration of the Eucharift, ut Audeant loqui Pater Nofter, that they should make bold to fay Our Father. An humble Christian (as St. Jerom adds a little after) pavore tractilitatis humane confcientiam fuam formidantis, out of fear of human Frailty, which brinks at the touch of his Confcience, might be afraid thus confidently to call God, Father; had Chrift himself thus encouraged him to cry Abba Father. And accordingly the Author of this Suffrage perhaps hath made his humble addrefs here only from that account.

P. 8.

For thine is the Kingdom] In the Greek Church the People always fay B. p. 25. the Lord's Prayer, and only the Prieft adds, for thine is the Kingdom &c. which hath given occafion for many to think, that that Doxology was at first no part of the Prayer, but was added fome Centuries after out of the Greek Liturgy; as it is well known not to be in the vulgar Latin, the Arabick, Coptick Tranflations, and fome very old Greek Copies. It is likewise not in of the first Latin Fathers. And Lucian, (or the Author of Philopatri A Capite iri many in him, feems jeftingly to hint that the Doxology (which was in his time) Mat. 6. 13. was only a short Ode or Verficle, which had been added to Chrift's Original Prayer by a latter hand. If that Dialogue was written (as fome think) in Trajan's time, then it was used in the fecond Century; but if it was written, (as feems more probable) in Conftantius his time, (when fuch flaughters were made between him, and Sapores in the Eaft; and him, and Magneutius in the Zonaras 15. b. Weft; when Sapores loft 20000 Men at Nifibis, and between Conftantius and Magneutius about 5cooo on both fides were flain) I fay if it was used in his time, the addition must be of later date, in the fourth Century.

P. 1128.

17. ს.

Bow'd down their Heads] This expreffion refers plainly to the words of C. p. 25. the Deacon foregoing, where by, bow your Heads unto the Lord, is clearly meant to God the Father, to whom only this Prayer is made, as appears by what the Priest adds to it, Aloud; and therefore the next words have not bow'd to Flesh and Blood, plainly excludes here their Worship of, or Bowing down to, the Flesh and Blood of Chrift pretended now to lie on the Altar.

Thou who fittest above] This I think a most plain Evidence against Trań. E. p. 25. fubftantiation, and a further Inftance of the latter Greeks rafhnefs and inadvertency, who embraced that Doctrine, and yet ftill retained this Prayer; where the Compofers of it manifeftly own'd Chrift's Body to be now in Heaven, and pray'd to Him as oynahue, fitting there above with the Father, and as here only Invisibly prefent, according to that, where two or three are gather- Mat. 18. 20. ed together in my Name, there am I in the midst of them; and this invisible Prefence is both Pray'd for and expounded only in a Spiritual Sense, come to Sanctify us, and by thy Powerful Hand make us Partakers of thy Body and Blood. If they had thought that he was now Bodily on the Altar, they would

K 2

« PoprzedniaDalej »