for tin isecration of churches and church} aid- there
i- no office appointed by Sufficient authority. See Bible and Missal, p. 217; Coleman, Primitivt Ck. (Index). See ( nx-i ( ration "l < Ihurches.
Pontificalia, properly the ensigns of a pontiff's or bishop's office, is a term loost ly used for any ecclesiasti-
PONTIFICATE
397
PONTUS
cal vestment or other ornament, wherein either of these functionaries performs divine service.
Pontificate means the state or dignity of a pontiff, or high-priest; but is more particularly applied in mod- ern times to the reign of a pope.
Pontinus, Council of. See Post-yon.
Pontius, a deacon of the African Church, the tried friend and constant companion of Cyprian, drew up a narrative of the life and sufferings of the martyred bishop, which is styled an excellent production (egre- f/ium volumen) by Jerome. If the piece extant under the name of Pontius, entitled Be Vita el Passione S. Cypriani, be genuine, it certainly does not merit such high commendation, since it is composed in an ambi- tious declamatory style, full of affectation and rhetor- ical ornaments. Perhaps the original work may have formed the basis of what we now possess, which lias probably been built up into its present form by the labor of various hands. It will be found attached to all the most important editions of Cyprian, and is contained also in the Acta Primorum Martyrum of Kuinart (Paris, 1690, 4to ; Amsterd. 1713, fol.). The A da Pon- tii are preserved in the Miscellanea of Baluze (Paris, 1678, 8vo), ii, 124, and in the Acta Sanctorum under March 8, the day marked as his festival in the Roman Martyrologies. See Jerome, Be Viris III. p. 68; Schb- nemann. Bibl. Patrum Lat. vol. i, c. iii, § 6. — Smith, Diet, of Class. Biog. s. v.
Pontius, Paul, a celebrated Belgian engraver, was born at Antwerp in 1506, according to some accounts, according to others in 1603. He was the pupil of Yors- termann, and is chiefly distinguished for his excellent prints after Rubens, which he executed under that great painter's inspection. He engraved also a celebrated set of portraits after Vandyck, including those of many of the most distinguished Flemish painters. He appears to have adapted himself wonderfully to whatever artist he copied. The date of his death appears not to be known. The Slaughter of t lie Innocents, after Kubens, one of his principal works, is dated 1653.
Pontius ( Pilate). See Pilate.
Pontoppidan, Erik Erik?en, also called Pont- oppidan the Elder, a Norwegian prelate, was born in 1616 at Broby (town-bridge —po?is oppidanus~), in Fiih- nen, in Denmark, from which he took his Latin name. He was for many years minister in Kjbge, but after- wards became bishop of the Trondhjem diocese in Nor- way. For his many Latin poems he had the honor of being crowned poet by the old Westhof, who had himself been crowned poet in Germany. Pontoppidan 's funeral sermons are very famous. But what especially entitles him to an honorable name in history is his Bmiish Grammar, which was published in 1668, while he was still minister at Kjoge. It was the first Danish grammar ever published. He died in 1678. See Bar- fod, FortaUinger, p. 542. (R. B. A.)
Pontoppidan, Erik L., son of the nephew of the foregoing, also called Pontoppidan the Younger, was born Aug. 24, 1698, in Aarhus, in Denmark, where his father was dean. He became a student in 1716 at Fre- dericia, and afterwards at Copenhagen ; after this he was tutor in the house of general Liitzow, in Norway ; trav- elled in foreign lands with a son of Iver Ilvitfeldt, and then became tutor in the family of the last duke of Hol- stein-Plon. In 1723 he was appointed chaplain of the palace chapel at Nordborg; in 1734 chaplain of the palace chapel at Fredericksborg ; and in 1735 he became court-chaplain in Copenhagen. In 1738 he was elected professor of theology in the Copenhagen University: was appointed bishop of Bergen in 1747; received the degree of doctor of theology in 1749; and in 1755 became chancellor of the Copenhagen L'niversity. He died Dec. 20, 1764. As a theologian he was semi-pietistic, but not at all fanatical. He was cheerful, and disap- proved the severe pietistic laws that were enforced by the Danish government in his time. During the reign
of Christian VI he had the courage to write, <; God never permits the laws of nature to be violated for the sake of advancing the cause of the Church. When the Church of Christ consisted exclusively of volunteers, it had liv- ing members." Some fault has been found with him, and perhaps justly, in his direction of the affairs of the university; but at the same time he did much to ad- vance the cause of science, and he was ever on the alert to see that the several professors did not neglect any portion of their duty to the university. As a German, Danish, and Latin author he exercised a great influence, especially in theology, history, natural history, and po- litical economy. Of his numerous works, the following are the ones most known: An Explanation of Luther's Catechism (1737), a book that was for a long time the text-book in Denmark and Norway in the religious ed- ucation of the. children, and is as such used very widely yet : — Marmora Laniea ( 1739-4 1 . 2 vols, fol.), in which he copies a number of inscriptions of various ages which elucidate the history of his country: — Gesta et Vestigia Danorum extra Bantam (1740-41, 3 vols.) : — Annates Eccleske Banue (1741-52, 4 vols.), in German; a good history of the Danish Church: — Menoza, an Asiatic Prince, who Travelled around tl, World in Search of Christians (1742-43, 3 vols.). This is a philosophical work, written in Danish, and has been translated into Dutch, German, and other languages; it has recently been republished in Denmark by V. Birkeda: — The Power of Tmth hi Conquering Infidelity (1758):— Col- legium Pastorale Prceticum (1757): — Origines Hafnien- ses (1760) -.—Banish Atlas (1703-1781, 4 vols.). The fourth volume wras completed by his brother-in-law, Hans de Hofman. He also published a Hymn-book, and wrote several short treatises. His Natural History of Norway (1752-54) was translated into English and German. He published Economical Balance in 1759, and a Magazine of Political Economy, from 1757 to 1764. See Barfod, Fortcellinger. p. 542 ; Nordisk Concersations- Lexikon,s.v. (R.B.A.)