Holy Catholic Church, the "congregation of faithfid men dispersed throughout the whole world." Some persons speak of this Church as if it were a visi- ble community, comprising all Christians as its mem- bers, as having existed from the earliest days, and as retaining the same authority which it formerly had to frame and promulgate decrees. The opponents of such ^aews maintain that no proof can be offered " that there is or ever was any one commimity on earth recognised, or having any claim to be recognised as the universal Chiurch, bearing rule over and comprehending all partic- ular churches. They further allege that no accredited organ exists empowered to pronounce its decrees, nor any registry of those decrees. They consider, therefore, that the Catholic Church is an invisible commmiity
HOLY CITY
305
HOLY GHOST
(because its Head is so) in itself and regarded as a whole, though visible iu its several parts to those of its members who constitute each separate part. — Eden. See Chuuch.
Holy City. See Jerusalem.
Holy Coat of Treves, a relic preserved with great reverence in the cathedral of Treves, in the southern part of France, and esteemed as one of the greatest treas- ures of that city. The priests claim that it was the seamless coat of our Saviour, and that it was discovered in the 4th century by the empress Helena on her visit to Palestine, and by her deposited at Treves. The Treves
The '•Holy Coat" of Treves, relics were concealed from the Nonnans in the 9tli cen- tury in crypts, but the holy coat was rediscovered in 1196. It was solemnly exhibited again to the public in 1512. Multitudes flocked to see and venerate it, and Leo X appointed an exhibition of it every seven years. The Reformation and wars prevented the regular ob- servance of this great religious festival, but it was cel- ebrated in 1810. and was attended by a concoiu-se of more than 225,000 persons, and in 1844 by still greater multitudes. JMiracidous cures Avere confidently asserted to be performed by the precious relic. The exhibition of the holy coat in 184-1 is otherwise memorable for the reaction which it produced, leading to the secession of Eonge and the German Catholics from the Church of Eome. See Gildemeister and Sybel, Der kcil. Hock zu Trie/- (1845). — Chambers, Cyclopcedia, s. v.
Holy Cross. See Cross.
Holy-Cross-Day. See Cross, Exaltation of THE, vol. ii, p. 581.
HOLY CROSS, Order of. See Cross, Holy, Or- der of.
Holy Day, a day set apart by certain churches for the commemoration of some saint or some remarkable particular in the life of Christ. It has been a question agi- tated hy divines wliether it be proper to appoint or keep any holy days (the Saliliath excepted). The advocates for holy days suppose that they have a tendency to im- press the minds of the people with a greater sense of religion ; that if the ac(iuisitions and victories of men be celebrated with the highest joy, how much more those events which relate to the salvation of man, such as the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, etc. On the other side, it is observed that, if holv days had been IV.— U
necessary under the present dispensation, Jesus Christ would have .said something resjiecting them, whereas he was silent about them ; that it is bringing us again into that bondage to ceremonial laws fromwhich ciirist freed us; that it is a tacit reflection on the Head of the Church in not appointing them ; that such days, on the whole, are more pernicious than useful to society, as they open a door for indolence and profanoness; yea, that Scripture speaks against such days (Gal. iv,'9-ll).— Buck. See Feasts ; Festivals.
Holy Family is the general title, in the language of art, of the various representations of the domestic life of the Virgin IMary and the infant Jesus and his at- tendants. " In the early part of the INIiddle Ages, when the object in view was to excite devotion, the Virgin and Child were usually the only persons represented. At a later period, Joseph, Elizabeth, St. Anna (the mother of the Virgin), and John the Baptist were included. Some of the old Gei-man painters have added the twelve apos- tles as children and playfellows of the infant Christ, as well as their mothers, as stated in the legends. The Italian school, with its fine feeling for composition, was the first to recognise how many figures the group must comprise if the interest is to remain undivided and be concentrated on one figure, whether that figure be the jNIadonna or the Child. Two masters are pre-emi- nent in this species of representation — Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael" (Chambers). Mrs. Jameson {Ler/emJs of ihe Ifadonna, p. 252 sq.) also insists on drawing a distinc- tion between the domestic and the devotional treatment. The latter, she says, is a group in which the sacred per- sonages are placed in direct relation to the worshippers, and their supernatural character is paramount to every other. The former, a group of the Holy Family so called, in which the personages are placed in direct relation to each other by some link of action or sentiment which expresses the family connection between them, or by some action which has a dramatic rather than a religious significance.