• He 12® wetrnytipii ictti iicxXr;a-iei wparrerijutf is not to the point as an instance of a distinctively Christian usage of ixxArriK. It is plain from the connexion with xattiyjfiu that ixxXr,e,a is used here in a quite general meaning, ' assembly,' without refer- eDC« to it« technical Christian significance.
i. The Public Worship.
This subject divides itself into two branches : (11 Occasional ceremonies. The.se were the rites of baptism and ordination. We hear nothing of special forms of service in connexion with marriage or burial. (2) Ordinary services. These were also of two kinds : (a) a public {i.e. not confined to Chris- tians) service, which was of a didactic (' edification,' 1 Co 14'-*) and missionary character ; ib) the ' breaking of the bread,' a private (i.e. confined to Christians) act of worship.
(1) Occasional Ceremonies. — (a) Baptism was the ite by wliich the convert was formally admitted as a member of the Church (Ac 2*1- «). It was therefore (Mt 28") to be administered to every Christian without exception. St. Paul always takes it for granted that his hearers have been baptized {e.g. Ac 198, r, gs^ Coj 211. H). U is indeed regarded as necessary for salvation that a man should have undergone this ceremony (Jn 3'), which saves the Christian as the ark saved Noah (1 P 320. 31) ^t the same time, it is never regarded as a merely mechanical means of salvation, but is contrasted with circumcision by its spiritual significance (Col 2"' 12), and the subjective element {i.e. faith and a good conscience) is insisted upon as the necessary accompaniment of the ceremonial act, if the receiver would obtain its advantages (1 P 3*'). The ritual of baptism consisted of an immersion of the baptized person in water (Mt 3i8, Mk l'^ Ac 888). Tije baptizer accompanied the act with the formula 'in tne name of Jesus Christ' (Ac 288 gia 1048 195^ cf. ja 2'), or more fully ' in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost' (Mt28'', Didache 1). No limitations are expressly mentioned in NT which forbid us to suppose that the right to baptize did not belong to every Christian, but as a matter of fact we find no instances of persons baptizing except those with some sort of recognized position of authority. Our Lord (Jn 4') and the apostles (Ac I0«, I Co 1") generally avoided baptizing in person, and relegated the duty to helpers and assistants. See BAPTISM.
(6) Ordination. — Every Christian had a charisma ( = gift, talent), the nature and degree of which determined his position and duties in the com- munity. But while the charisma in most cases is considered as coming direct from the Holy Ghost to the individual at the time of or after his baptism, without any further human agency, in some instances a charisma was bestowed through tlie 'laying on of hands.' The 'laying on of hands' in OT was the symbolic act of conveying a gift (as in blessing Gn 48", appointing to othce Nu 2728) or a curse (as the scapegoat Lv 16-'). In the case of our Lord the ' laying on of liands ' was especially attached to the miracles of healing {e.g. Mt Q'', Mk 5-" etc.), and He left to His disciples the uower of healing through the same act (Mk 16"*). In tlie apostolic age it is also found in connexion with healing (Ac 9'*- " 28'). It thus had the significance of a miraculous power. In tie passages where it is mentioned as an accompanying or supplementary ceremony to baptism, the miraculous gift of the Holy Ghost attends its employment (cf. Ac 8" Sid, i.e. the ' laying on of hands' is the instrument by which the Holy Ghost was given in this instance), and is contrasted with the ordinary gift of the Holy Ghost through baptism. So, too, when a man was to be 'set apart' for a particular work, lie receives a special ' gift ' for its performance through the ' laying on of hands.' This is especially mentioned of the Seven (.Ac 6'), the mission of B.arnabas and Saul (Ac 13'), and the work of Timothy at Ephesus (1 Ti 4", 2 Ti 1«), and it appears in the Pastoral Epp. as the regular form of ordain- ing a bisliop or deacon (ITiS--). It was accom-
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pauiea by piajer (Ac 6' 13') and fastiii'' (13»). We nod the ■ layiiij; on of hands ' jiui toniiud by ajiostles (Ac 6" 8" I'J", 2Ti I"), by an ordinaiy disciple at the i-omniand of the lloly Gliost (Ac D'-- "), by tlie prophcta and teachers at Autioch under similar circumstances (id. 13^), by the presbytery at Ephesu8(lTi4'«).
(2) The Regular Worship. — We turn now to tlie regular services of the early Christian Church. At the first the community met fo: the purpose of worship daily (Ac 1" 2^"), and we find no intimation or allusion that any day was marked with more solemnity than the others. But at a later period the ' first day of the week ' is singled out from the rest and observed with especial honour. The first occasion on which we meet with this is in 1 Co 16^ ' upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store' his contribution to the collec- tion. Then Ac 20' we notice the disciples of Troas fathered together on the first day of the week to reak bread. By themselves these two instances could not be pressed. But in Ilev 1'° there is a mention of ' tlie Lord's day,' tJ KvpiaK^ Vl^Pf< which apjiears as Aripioirf) nvplov in the Didache 14', and as Kvpi.aK-fi simply in Ignatius (ad Mag. ix. 1). These all hang together with the fact recorded by all the evangelists that on the first day of the week Christ rose from the dead (Mt 28', Mk 16^ Lk 24', Jn 20'). The resurrection of Christ was the foundation of Christian hope (1 Co 15""'"), and therefore the day of the resurrection was par excellence the Lord's day (see Ignatius, loc. cit., Ep. Barn. 15), and when it became im|)racticable for the ' breaking of the brea<l ' to be celebrated daily, it was cele- brated with careful regularity on this day {Did. 14' ; I'liny, Eiip. x. 96, ' stato die convenire '). To what precise date this practice goes back in Christian nistory we cannot say. St. Paul (Uo 14°) speaks of those who esteem one day above another, and those who esteem every day alike, but he is here