THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Iiord's Supper.
ship, as distinct from the Roman, are the threefold immersion in baptism, with the repudiation of any other mode as essentially invalid; the simultaneous performance of the act of confirmation and the act of baptism which in the West have been separated; the anointing with oil in cases of dangerous illness, which Rome has changed into extreme unction of the dying; infant communion, which the Latin Church has not only abandoned, but forbidden; the communion in two kinds; the use of leavened bread in the Eucharist; the standing and eastward posture in prayer; the stricter separation of the sexes; the use of the screen or veil before the altar; and the withdrawal of the performance of the mysteries (sacraments) from the eyes of the people.
The form which the Greek Church developed for the celebration of the Lord's Supper is entirely different from that developed 5. Liturg-y by tne Roman Catholic Church. It is of the symbolical throughout. Not only does one of the antiphonal choirs which perform during the act represent in some mystical way the cherubim, but the whole act is, in its every feature, a symbolical representation of the passion. Five loaves are laid on the altar, each stamped with the sign of the cross and the inscription, " Jesus Christ conquers." The officiating priest selects one of them for the sacrificial lamb; and with a symbolical reference to the soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with a spear, so that blood and water flowed from the wound, he cuts the loaf, by thrusting the holy lance — a knife in the form of a lance — into it, while at the same time the deacon pours the wine and the water into the cup. Under somber . dirges the elements are then carried in a solemn procession, headed with many lighted candles and much incense-burning, through the whole church, and back again to the altar, where they are deposited, like the body of Christ in the tomb. A curtain is lowered before the altar; and, unseen by the congregation, the elements are consecrated while the choir is chanting the Lord's Prayer. When the curtain is drawn, the altar represents the tomb from which Christ has risen; and, while the choir sings a hymn of praise, the elements are presented to the communicants without any special formula of distribution. The consecrated bread is broken into the consecrated wine and both elements are given together in a spoon. Greek writers on liturgy claim that this custom (known as intinction) dates back to the time of Chrysostom. It never gained foothold in the Western Church, and was forbidden as unscriptural by Pope Julius I. (337-352).
The worship of saints, relics, flat images, and
the cross is carried as far as, or even farther than,
in the Roman Church; but statues,
6. Saints, bas-reliefs, and crucifixes are forbidden.
Relics, and in Rugg^ especially the veneration
mag-es. for pictures Qf tne virgin Mary and
oi the saints is carried to the utmost
"Worship, extent, and takes the place of the
Protestant veneration for the Bible.
The holy picture (icon) with the lamp burning
before it is found and worshiped in the corner (the
sacred place) of every room, in the street, over gateways, in offices, taverns, steamers, railway and telegraph stations, and is carried in the knapsack of every soldier, not as a work of art, but as an emblem, a means of instruction, an aid to devotion. The vernacular languages are used in worship— the Greek in Turkey and Greece, the Slavonic in Russia; but they have to a considerable extent become unintelligible to the people. The old Slavonic differs from the modern Russian about as much as Chaucer's English from our English. The Oriental sects hold to their native dialects — the Syriac, Armenian, etc. The old Greek calendar, which is thirteen days behind the new style introduced by Gregory XIII., is still retained.
Christian life has the same general features as in
the Roman Catholic Church. The mass of the
people are contented with an ordinary
7. Monks moraiity, while the monks aim at a Cle & higher degree of ascetic piety. The
monastic system has not developed into great orders, as in the West. There are three classes of monks, the cenobites (KoivofSianoi), who live together in a monastery ruled by an archimandrite who is often a bishop (apxifiavtipiTix, yyov/xevog); the anchorets (avaxupvTai), who live in a cell apart from the other monks, or among the laity; and the ascetes (acKTirai), or hermits. The monks usually follow the rule of St. Basil; some, the rule of St. Anthony. The bishops are taken from the monks. Important monasteries are at Jerusalem, Mount Athos (q.v.), Mount Sinai (where the celebrated Sinaitic manuscript of the Bible was kept for centuries), and Mar Saba near the Dead Sea. The Greek monks as a rule are more ignorant and superstitious than the Roman Catholic, and the same may be said of the clergy, many of whom are merely mechanical functionaries.
Religious life is supposed to originate in baptismal
regeneration, and to be nourished chiefly by the
sacraments. Prayer, fasting, and char-
8. Eelig-- itable deeds are the principal maniious Life, testations of piety. The observance
of the Ten Commamdments is strictly enjoined in all the catechisms. The Greeks and Russians are very religious in outward observances and devotions, but know little of what Protestants mean by subjective experiential piety, and personal direct communion of the soul with the Savior. The Greek Christians surpass their Mohammedan neighbors in chastity, but are behind them in honesty. What St. Paul says of the Cretans (Titus i. 12) is still characteristic of the race, of course with honorable exceptions. In Russia there is the same divorce between religion and morality. The towns are adorned with churches and convents. Every public event is celebrated by the building of a church. Every house has an altar and sacred pictures; every child his guardian angel and baptismal cross. A Russian fasts every Wednesday and Friday, prays early and late, regularly attends mass, confesses his sins, pays devout respect to sacred places and things, makes pilgrimages to the tombs and shrines of saints, and has the phrase Slava Boga ! (" Glory to God! ' ) continually on his lips.