Rensselaer, Van. See Tan Rensselaer.
Renunciantes (renouncers), a name applied to monks, from their formal renunciation of the world and all secular employments. Many of them kept their es- tates in their own hands, but had no more use of them than if they had been transferred to others.
Renunciation, a form which constitutes a charac- teristic portion of the baptismal ceremonial. The per- son about to be baptized (or his sponsors, if an infant) renounces the works of the devil and of darkness, espe- cially idolatry and the vices and follies of the world. This renunciation is of very great antiquity, and it was probably of apostolic origin. In the Roman Catholic Church the question is, "Hast thou renounced Satan, and all his works and all his pomps?"' The candidate is expected to answer in the affirmative, turning to YIII.-U u D
j the west as the place of darkness. In the baptismal service of the Church of England and of the Methodist Episcopal Church the question is asked. " Dost thou re- nounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same and the carnal desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow nor be led by them:'" The answer is, "I re- nounce them all."
Renunciatores. See Apotactic i. Renwick, James, a noted Nonconformist divine, was born at Dumfriesshire, Scotland, Feb. 15, 1662. He was an uncompromising Covenanter, and was executed Feb. 17, 16^8. for •' denying, the king's authority, owning the covenants," etc. He wrote, with Alexander Shields, An Informatory Vindication of the Covenanters I Edinb. 1744, small 8voj : — A CI* I of Prefaces, Lect-
ures, and Sermons, etc. (Glasgow, 1777. -
Reordination, the repetition of the sacramental ordinance of ordination, has ever been held to be con- trary to the true theory of sacraments, and has been forbidden by the Church under pain of severe penalties. The ground of this prohibition is well expressed by Me- rinos, quoting the Council of Trent (Seas, xxiii. c. 4j : "In the sacrament of orders, as in baptism and confirma- tion, a character is conferred which cannot be effaced or taken away.*' The historical evidence as to both the doctrine and practice of the Church is full and complete. The 68th apostolical canon condemned it, and pro- nounced sentence of deposition on the ordainer and the ordained. The third Council of Carthage (canon 52)
' forbade it along with rebaptism. "Whether the ordina- tions of heretics and schismatics are to be held valid, and whether those who have received them are on their reconciliation to be received in their several orders, is a question in respect to which the practice of the Church has varied considerably. The Council of Nice decreed that those who had been ordained by Meletius should be admitted to serve the Church by reordination. The 68th apostolical canon, while condemning the reordi- nation of those once ordained in the Church, allows that of those who had only received heretical ordina- tion. The second Council of Saragossa (A.D. 592) rati- fies the baptism of the Arians, but condemns their ordi- nations. In later times the practice of the Roman Cath- olic Church has al.-o been very contradictory. Thus the ordinations of Formosus were declared null by Stephen VI, considered valid by John IX. and again declared invalid by Sergius III. The modern Roman practice of reordaining those ordained in the Church of England
! is not based on any decree of the Church, and has not been invariable. The custom of the Church of England forbids reordination in the case of those ordained within the Church, and asserts the indelibility of the ordina-
, tion character. See Aquinas, Summ. pars iii.qu.xxxviii, art. ii ; Augustine, Cont. Parmen. lib. ii. c. 13 : Ep. 50 ad Bomfac. ii. 661 < ed. Bened.) ; Bingham, Christian Antiq. bk. iv, cb.7; Courayer, Valid. Angl. Ord. (Oxf. 1844) ;
j Palmer, On the Church, pt. vi, ch. vi; Blunt, Diet, of
I Doct. s. v. See Ordination.
Repairs of Churches. Canon 85 of the Church
i of England enacts, "The church-wardens or questman shall take care and provide that the churches be well and sufficiently repaired, and so from time to time kept and maintained," etc., specifying the work upon win-
l dows, floor, churchyard, walls, and fences. They are also to "see that at even- meeting of the congregation peace be well kept, and that all persons excommuni- cated, and so denounced, be kept out of the church." Canon 86 adds, " Even- dean, dean and chapter, arch- deacon, and others which have authority to hold ec- clesiastical visitations by composition, law, or prescrip- tion, shall sun-ey the churches of his or their jurisdic- tion once in every three years in his own person, or cause the same to be done," etc. Usually the repair of the church belongs to the rector, and that of the nave to the parishioners.
REPENTANCE
1042 REPETITIONS IN THE LITURGY
The repairing of the Established churches in Scot- land belongs to the heritors, « ho, if they resolve to build a new church, must build ii so large as to accommodate two thirds of the examinable permanent population, or persons above twelve years of age. The presbytery can ordain the heritors to make the necessary repairs, can appoint a visitation i" a decayed church, receive the re- port of the tradesmen, and come in a decision. Un- endowed congregations build and repair their own [daces of worship.