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On the Duty of Parish Priests

St George Konissky and Parfeny, in Blackmore, 1845

3. Of Ministering about Mysteries, or Sacraments

What a Mystery, or mysterious Rite Divinely-ordained is, and how many Holy Mysteries [or Sacraments] the Apostolic Eastern Church reckons, and whether all Sacraments are of equal virtue or necessity, may be found set forth at length in the Catechetical books: while in what order and manner the same Sacraments are to be ministered, the Office-books of the Church, and for the holy Eucharist, more particularly, the Priest’s Service-books, sufficiently explain. Wherefore no more is left for us to do here, than to set down some propositions concerning those pre-requisites or conjoint conditions, without which Sacraments profit nothing the receiver, nay rather often become sin, either to the receiver, or to the giver, or to both. Such conditions are partly general, and refer equally to all Sacraments, partly special. and belong to each one of them, according to its particular character.

Propositions relating to all the Sacraments generally.

It is the Priest’s duty before he administers any Sacrament to teach him who desires to receive it, if he be ignorant what is the virtue of the same Sacrament; to what end it was instituted; and what is signified by its outward form or matter: for instance, in Baptism, what is signified by the water, which has of its own nature virtue only to wash away bodily defilement; in Unction with Chrism, what is signified by the Ointment of sweet odours; and so forth. For if he, to whom the Sacrament is administered, be left uninstructed of this, he will not know himself what he receives: consequently, neither can he have faith¹, which naturally follows only upon the knowledge of what is to be believed; and so he will not receive that grace of God, which is given in the Sacrament²: for our faith alone is the hand by which we receive all those gifts of God, which have been obtained for us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts x. 43. xv. 9. Rom. iii. 22. 25.

Since faith in the holy Sacraments is but one part or article dependent upon others, the Priest in explaining any Sacrament, should question him who desires to receive it, whether he knows those prior articles of the faith, which are necessary to salvation; as, of the Holy Trinity; of our Lord Jesus Christ; and so on through the Creed? and if not, then he must teach him those first; that so he may be the better able to understand the grace of that Sacrament, which he is to receive, and savingly to believe in it³.

From the above propositions it is plain that there neither can be faith without knowledge, nor knowledge without preaching and instruction; and that in such as have not faith Sacraments do not exhibit the divine virtue and grace. Consequently, until the ignorant shall have been taught the most necessary articles of faith, the Priest cannot savingly administer to them the Sacraments: since such persons, even though they be not reckoned among unbelievers, are clearly not far removed from them.

In like manner is it unlawful to administer to heretics, who receive not the doctrine of the Gospel, any Sacrament, in any way whatever, until they become converts to orthodoxy; according to that which is written; Give not holy things to dogs. Cast not your pearls before swine. Mat. vii. 6.

If at all times Priests are bound at their peril to take care that they be not in any grievous or deadly sin uncleansed by penitence, much more are they so bound at the time of ministering any Sacrament: for otherwise the Priest’s sin, though it prevent not the grace of God from flowing on him who worthily receives the Sacrament, yet is doubled upon the Priest himself, who in his impurity touches the Holy Thing and the Arks of the Holy Ghost, Who dwelleth in the Sacraments. Even the priests of the Old Testament, who had to enter into the tabernacle of witness, were commanded by God oft-times to wash their hands and their feet, lest they should die: (Exod. xxx. 19. 21. and xl. 31.) that so they might be led by the ablution of bodily impurity to the washing away of the spiritual filthiness of sin. Wherefore the Priests of the New Testament should ever bear in mind this command of the Apostle; Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Cor. vii. 1.

Much more still are Priests bound when ministering about Sacraments not to be in liquor. For if they have their mind darkened, and so perchance omit or change any thing in the outward form pertaining to the essence of the Sacrament, as for instance, in Baptism, if they should forget to pronounce the words necessary for the completion of this Sacrament, they would bring themselves under the severest condemnation both of God and of His Church.

Let the Priest for the above reasons be exceedingly careful in no way to omit or change those things, which pertain to the essence of any Sacrament, and which are called its matter and form: let him also take care to go through all the ritual accompaniments of the holy Sacraments, and all the other orders and forms of the Church, with faith: for without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb. xi. 5.) and again: Whatsoever is not of faith, is sin: (Rom. xiv. 23.) and with all attention to the instruction and edification of him, who is to receive the Sacrament; not hurriedly, nor drowsily, but remembering that awful denunciation; Cursed be every one that doeth the work of the Lord negligently. Jer. xlviii. 10.

Lastly, in the actual administration of the Sacraments, the Priest should remember this also, that if the selling of holy things is so utterly forbidden, that he, who on giving the Communion asks even a single farthing from the communicant, incurs degradation⁴, it necessarily follows that he ought to be rigidly careful to seek nothing in return for the ministration of Sacraments, according to that word of the Lord; Freely ye have received, freely give: (Mat. x. 8.) but content himself with voluntary offerings⁵; which should certainly be made; according to the word of the Lord in the same chapter; (ver. 10,) The workman is worthy of his hire. And the Apostle says; The Lord hath ordained, that they which preach the Gospel, should live of the Gospel. 1 Cor. ix. 14.

Propositions relating to each Sacrament in particular, and first to the Sacrament of holy Baptism.

In baptizing children, it is the Priest’s duty to see that the godfather or godmother be an orthodox believer, and know those articles of the faith which are necessary to salvation: inasmuch as the sponsor here stands in place of the infant baptized, and makes answers for him to God; (1 Pet. iii. 21.) repeating the Creed; and so is bound, when his spiritual son, whom he receives from the font, begins to grow up, and has no other instructors, to teach him the faith and God’s law, and do his best to put him in mind of his vows made at Baptism, and of the virtue of that Sacrament; so that the child himself may solidly learn and understand the same⁶: all which cannot be done by any, who are either ignorant themselves, or aliens from the faith⁷.

As for persons of riper years, who from Judaism, Mahommedanism, or Idolatry, come to Baptism, the Priest must first teach such the articles of the Christian faith⁸, refuting at the same time thoroughly the soul-destroying error, in which they have formerly been held: after which he should explain to them the grace and power of Baptism; and so, with permission of his Bishop, baptize them according to the Order set forth in the Office-book. Notwithstanding, if any such person, so turning from false religion to the service of Christ, chance to be in sickness, in such case it will be right for the Priest, even after a very slight instruction concerning the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ, to baptize him; leaving to a future time, in case of recovery, the duty of instructing him more thoroughly⁹.

There are some ignorant men among the clergy who would rebaptize Romans, as well as Lutherans and Calvinists, when they come over to the Eastern Church; while the schismatics among ourselves are not ashamed even to rebaptize those of their people who fall away from the Church, in order to go over to their errors. But the seventh canon of the second Œcumenical Council sufficiently refutes both the ignorance of the first, and the blindness of the last: for that holy Council in the canon cited forbids to rebaptize not only such as the Romans, Lutherans, and Calvinists, (who all clearly confess the Holy Trinity, and admit the work of our salvation accomplished by the Incarnation of the Son of God,) but even the Arians themselves, and the Macedonians, or Pneumatomachi, with other heretics named in the same canon; and orders that they should only be made to renounce and anathematize both their own, and all other heresies, and so be received by Unction with the Holy Chrism. In order to know what heretics ought to be baptized, any one may consult the eighth canon of the same Council¹⁰.

The place of baptism ought to be in the Church, by canon lix. of the sixth Œcumenical Council: notwithstanding, in case of necessity, as for instance, when the child is weak, or the weather very severe, and the Church at some distance, baptism may be performed in private houses.

In the case of a child being dangerously weak or sickly, if no Priest be at hand, a lay person may baptize, that is, plunge the child in water, pronouncing the necessary form, The servant of God N. is baptized in the Name of the Father, &c.: Wherefore, the Priest should teach his parishioners, and not men only, but even women, who may be present at births, how to act in such circumstances: at the same time he should instruct them always in such cases to give him immediate notice. Any person, by whose negligence a child dies unbaptized, is by can. lxviii. of the Nomocanon to be withheld from the Communion for three years, and must do penance by two hundred prostrations daily, and fast the monday, wednesday, and friday in every week. However, every baptism so performed by a lay person should, if the child live, be filled up by the Priest with prayers and other ceremonies, according to the ritual.

Children still-born are not to be baptized; but the mother who miscarries should be examined by her Confessor, whether she has not been herself the cause of her own miscarriage by negligence; or even, it may be, wilfully: and if it appear to be so, then the Priest should impose penance on the woman, as for an involuntary homicide; or, if it has been wilful, as for murder; according to the injunctions of the holy Canons¹¹.

Foundlings, unless there be some sufficient testimony whether they be baptized or no, even though a paper be found with them declaring them to be baptized, such paper having no name attached to it, nor naming the Priest who has performed the baptism, are without any question to be baptized; according to canons lxxiii. Counc. Carth. and lxxxv. of the sixth Œcumenical¹².

We have said above of the duty of God-parents, that they ought to do their best to teach children after baptism the faith and law of God, as soon as they begin to grow up; and we added, if there be no other instructor: for this duty belongs specially to the Priest. Wherefore he will be only doing his duty, if every Sunday and holy-day he calls the young people together to the church or school some time in the afternoon, and there instructs them.

This instruction should consist in the explanation of the Catechism: in which the first and chief thing is to put them in mind of their baptism, and what they promised or vowed therein; whom they renounced; to Whom they joined themselves; that they then received from their heavenly Father, for the merits of Jesus Christ, remission of their sins; that they bound themselves to devote their lives to a holy obedience to God; that they put on the new man; that is, received new inclinations and powers by grace implanting in the understanding an enlightened knowledge of God, of virtue, and of the true happiness of man, and in the heart love and zeal towards God, and trust in the exceeding love of their heavenly Father; that the white robe given them at their baptism signified the innocence, with which they were then endued; the lighted candle, the lighting of their heart with love to God; and so forth. All this should be diligently instilled into them in their tender years; so that no occasion be given to evil propensities to gather strength in them, but rather they may be continually stirred up to the love of virtue and godly living: for childhood, like a vessel of earthen-ware, with whatever it be filled, whether good or bad, will give out an odour afterwards accordingly. And thus, while children are young, it is the duty of their Godparents to teach them at home, and of the Priest still more to teach them in the church, as has been said.

With respect to the Sacrament of Unction with Chrism

For Unction with Chrism, as it is administered conjointly with Baptism, nearly the same remarks are proper as for Baptism itself: that is to say; I. The grace and intent of the Unction should be explained beforehand to the recipient, if his age admit of it; or, in the case of children, when they are old enough to understand. II. The Priest must be provided with the proper Chrism, or Ointment of sweet odour, consecrated by the Bishop; and must be able to pronounce without hesitation the form of words at Anointing; and know what parts of the body are to be anointed. III. The church is the place for the application of the holy Chrism, unless necessity require otherwise. IV. In case of doubt whether any one has been already Anointed or no, he is to be Anointed without hesitation. V. No lay person can minister this Sacrament, even though there be danger of death. VI. With regard to heretics or schismatics, who come over to the true faith, in order to know which of them are to be Anointed, and which are to be received without Unction, upon merely abjuring heresy and schism, the Priest should consult the larger Office-book, and the Order for Uniting Aliens in Faith to the Orthodox Eastern Church: folio lxix. over the leaf.

With respect to the Sacrament of Penitence.

The Sacrament of Penitence exceeds all the other sacramental ministrations, which the Priest has to perform, in difficulty and responsibility: for it requires a peculiar kind of skill, and very great discretion and diligence; and that for this cause, that here the Priest is a spiritual physician, whose office is with sick people, and those too sick of many and divers diseases. Often in one and the same soul there are many old and putrifying wounds, which have corrupted all the parts of its substance, and all its vital powers: and further, it is the unhappiness of people labouring under such diseases, that they either feel no weight from them; or conceal them from their physician; or lastly, after putting themselves into his hands, do not endure the necessary remedies. Wherefore also it will be fitting for us to give our instructions on this Sacrament more at length, noting what it is the Priest’s duty to do, I. Before hearing any confession: II. At the time itself of confession, when also this Sacrament is completed by Absolution: III. After confession.

Before confession.

As confession is usually made with us during the four Fasts, the Priest should every day at these seasons teach his parishioners in what acts true penitence consists; that is, should shew them what the penitent must do: I. He must get a knowledge of his sins, and recall to mind, so far as ever he can, all that he has done amiss by deed, word, and thought: and first, whatever he has committed knowingly, and wilfully, for which his conscience pricks him, or pricked him at the time: II. Having such knowledge of his sins, he must repent, and be sorry for their commission, for having so angered the Lord, and subjected himself to His righteous judgment: III. He must confess them before God in prayer continually, and before the Priest also, as having the power of absolution, at convenient season: IV. When he asks mercy of God¹³, he must have before his eyes Jesus Christ crucified, and trust only to His merits for the remission of sin: V. He must firmly resolve not to relapse into sin, but to begin a new life, according to God’s commandments, to be led in bringing forth worthy fruits of repentance.

By the law is the knowledge of sin: (Rom. iii. 20. and vii. 7.) and therefore he, who would know his own faults, should look into the mirror of the Ten Commandments: (James i. 25.) and it is very necessary that the Priest should explain the Commandments before those of his parishioners, who are preparing for confession; and, after each, bid every one to examine himself, whether he hath done that which this commandment requires, or neglected it and left it undone; and whether he hath not done that which this commandment forbids; the injunctions and prohibitions of the commandment in its widest sense being such, as he explains. And not only must the sins themselves be known, but also their fruits, the wrath of God, the punishments laid up for the sinner, and that fearful curse both in this world, and in the world to come, (Deut. xxvii. 26.) to deliver us from which, the Son of God drained His most bitter cup of suffering. Gal. iii. 13.

Repentance, if it be unfeigned, cannot be without a loathing and aversion for sin: and true penitents will not only hate the sinful acts themselves, but will also hate and avoid the places, instruments, persons, and all other circumstances, which may lead to sin. Besides which, the penitent sinner, if he have a lively sense of God’s wrath against him, cannot but feel much confusion and terror of soul, oftentimes even to the wasting of his body and the impairing of its strength, (Ps. xxxvii. 3, 4, 11.) but always in the true penitent producing heartfelt sadness, and tears: for tears are as it were the blood from the wounded soul; and where they are not, it is a sign that the soul thinks there is either no wound at all, or but a slight one. The same feelings will further suggest bodily mortifications, fastings, and coarse living: (Ps. ci. 5. 10.) for the man that is afflicted turns away from all that is sweet and pleasant: and such a fast is in the spirit of the Church, and well-pleasing to God.

A true confession should represent the exact state of the soul, as it were in a mirror: and therefore he, who confesses himself before the Priest, ought not to conceal either any thing of his sins themselves, or of those circumstances, which add to or diminish their weight, and for which his conscience troubles him: so likewise neither should he excuse himself, nor extenuate his sins by any feigned pretexts, as of his weakness, necessity, or ignorance: much less should he lay his sin to the charge of any other. (Gen. iii. 12, 13.) And though he may have had partners in his sin, still neither should the Priest seek to know nor the penitent reveal their names: otherwise it will not be the confession of a sinner, but the self-justification of the Pharisee, and an accusation of other men’s sins; sins, perchance, of which the humble publican has already been justified. (Luke xviii. 11. 14.) Such a good confession not only is the natural fruit of sincere and hearty contrition, and true faith in Christ, but it is also clearly grounded on the word of God, (Num. v. 7. Prov. xxviii. 131. John i. 9.) and illustrated by examples in the same. Nehem. ix. 2. Ps. xxi. 5. Mat. iii. 6. Acts xix. 18.

But confession without faith in Christ, which in the strictest and most proper sense means trust in Christ’s merits, is no less dead, than a body without a soul; as the single example of Judas shews clearly and convincingly enough. He betrayed Christ, and repented, and confessed his sin, not merely in the ear of one other, but publicly before all, and returned the pieces of silver; but because he would not seek God’s mercy, with trust, after the example of St. Peter, in the Son of God, who had suffered Himself to be betrayed for that very end, his confession did him no manner of good; and was followed not by absolution, but by despair and the halter. How indeed should not this faith be necessary to repentance, when it has such virtue, that of itself it brings peace to the troubled sinner, and frees him entirely from condemnation to torment? Rom. v. 1. and viii. 1.¹⁴

Lastly, the Priest must teach his penitent the necessity of forming a firm resolution not to return again to sin, as the dog to his vomit, (2 Pet. ii. 22.) but to lead a new and virtuous life, according to God’s commandment¹⁵. With regard to sins that have become confirmed by habit, the man who is held by them must without fail be required to use himself to that virtue, which is contrary to his habitual sin, and so, if not eradicate his sinful habit, which cannot in any short time be made sure of, yet at least in some degree weaken and reduce it: and withal, it is indispensably necessary that he shew that he is really fighting against that his ruling sin, and that he is in earnest in the war between the dominant lusts and the captive mind; and that for this reason, that the man who is enslaved by any sinful habit, unless he thus contend against it, cannot be received as truly penitent, and so neither is fit for absolution, not having yet begun to free himself from the bands of sin. Rom. vi. 16.

Besides such explanations of the nature of confession, the Priest should admonish his parishioners that every one, who has any quarrel with another, be reconciled; that is, if he have done any wrong to any one, to repair it, so far as possible. (Mat. v. 23, 24.¹⁶) Otherwise, if he can make amends, and does not, he is not truly penitent; and, consequently, even though the Priest were to absolve him, he would remain unabsolved with God. This is specially applicable to the sin of stealing, of which it is said, There is no absolution for the sin, unless the thing stolen be restored. But if a man has himself been wronged by any other, then it is his duty to forgive the injury, as the debt of one penny from his fellow servant, that he may obtain himself forgiveness of his sins from God, as of a debt immeasurably greater, not of pence but of heavy talents, and so not suffer what befel the debtor in the Gospel. Mat. xviii. 35.

Especially should the Priest, if he see any careless about repentance, alarm such by the threatenings of God’s wrath day by day accumulating, and impending over their heads: (Rom. ii. 4, 5. Is. lxv. 11, &c.) and with his warnings he should let them know that repentance deferred very seldom finds opportunity at all, partly by reason that such people are often through God’s just judgment cut off suddenly, and partly because when they come to die, even though the death itself be not sudden, there are many things, as the severity of sickness, the terror of death, and the lamentations of their surrounding friends, which scarcely leave it possible for them to make those reflections, or form those dispositions, which are necessary for producing a true repentance, especially faith and trust in Christ: and besides, it may well happen that the very thought of the negligence of their past lives should incline such rather to despair, than to hope. Lastly, he should teach them that repentance under the pressure of pain and fear, even though apparently genuine, is not counted to suffice; because in such cases, it is not that we leave our sins, but that our sins leave us. Wherefore repentance is on no account to be put off; but so soon as ever a man feels himself to have sinned, so soon should he have recourse to it¹⁷.

At the time of confession.

The Priest should be cautious not to receive to this Sacrament strangers from other parishes, who seek to avoid their own pastor from shame, that they have not left off some habitual sin, but remain still in spite of many admonitions unreformed. Wherefore, unless there seem some lawful reason for receiving them to confession, he should admonish them, and send them back to their own Spiritual Director.

Nothing can be more careless and shameless than the practice of some Priests, who receive to confession in a body not only little children, boys and girls, under ten years of age, but also together with them many others, young people of both sexes, who have already passed their fifteenth year; and so, without questioning them of sins which they perchance may have committed, and from ignorance not even reckon to be sins, read over them all together and indiscriminately the prayer of absolution. And if as a reason for any such disorderly practice, it be pretended that the number of people to confess is too great for the Priest to get through in one day before the Communion, as the custom is; the answer is, that there is nothing to prevent him from confessing those who are preparing to communicate two or three days, or even a whole week, beforehand; only in that case he should admonish such as confess first, that if their conscience still accuse them of any thing, or if they fall into any fresh sin before Communion, they come and confess a second time: and this we may trust would occur but seldom.

In questioning the penitent of his sins the Priest should be cautious how he enumerates the different kinds and distinctions of sins, especially sins of the flesh; that so he make not the penitent acquainted with any sin, of which in past time he was ignorant. The safe way is to question only in general terms, putting the penitent in mind of the heads of the Ten Commandments, and what is contrary to them. In like manner also as regards the details and circumstances of any sin which is confessed, so far as they tend not to make it greater in kind, the Priest should be very careful to ask no unnecessary questions: but rather let him search and enquire diligently after the causes which led to the sin, that so he may be able to apply a remedy suitable to the wound; that is, to teach the penitent in future to mortify the sin in its very bud, and to give it no opportunity for further growth, but rather, if he desire to be safe from that deadly plant, to pluck it up by the roots: also, that he may himself so be the better able to impose on his penitent a penance suitable to the nature and causes of the sin.

In hearing any confession if the Priest perceive that the sinner is still hard and cold of heart, let him endeavour to alarm him by the axe of God’s wrath laid at the root of the barren tree; (Mat. iii. 10.) by the cursing, and cutting down of the fig-tree; (Mark xi. 14, 21. Luke xiii. 7.) by the judgment to come, which shall be terrible even to the righteous; (1 Pet. iv. 17, 18.) by the loss of the joys of heaven, by the fierceness, and also by the eternity of the torments of hell; by the gnashing of teeth; by the outer darkness; by the worm that never dieth; by the sighing and weeping without end; by the fire everlasting, and unquenchable. (Mat. xxv.) Further, let him terrify the sinner by the example of the condemned angels, who kept not their sinless state; by the flood that drowned the whole world; by the fire that burned up Sodom and Gomorrah; (2 Pet. ii. 4, 5, 6.) by the divers plagues and deaths, with which the disobedient and murmuring Israelites were visited in the wilderness, for their unbelief; saying with the Apostle, All these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, that we should not lust after evil things. (1 Cor. x. 5. 11.) Lastly, he should set before the eyes of him, whose confession he is hearing, the tremendous example given in Jesus Christ Himself, the pledge of our salvation, Who was delivered up, and died upon the cross, for sins not his own but ours; and so shew him, as in a clear glass, what the just and intolerable wrath of God will inflict upon the sinner, who is impenitent.

But if he perceives any to be either doubtful or despairing of God’s mercy, the Priest should comfort such, and strengthen them by the thought of God’s infinite mercy; (Sirach i. 23. ii. 11.) by the sure promises given us, even with an oath¹⁸, that God willeth not the death of the sinner. (Ezech. xxxiii. 11.) but to save sinners sent His Son into the world; (John iii. 16. Mat. ix. 13.) by the infinite merit of Christ’s Blood shed for all; (1 John i. 7. and ii. 2.) in which we have redemption and forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of the grace of God. (Eph. i. 7. Col. i. 14.) Further, he should comfort such by the example of sinners who found mercy in old time; as David, after his adultery and murder; as Manasseh, after his idolatry and other wickednesses; as Peter, after his apostacy; as Paul, after he had been a persecutor; as the publican; as the woman taken in adultery; as the thief on the cross; and others without number¹⁹.

As the Priests of the Old Testament were commanded carefully to distinguish between one kind of leprosy and another, (Levit. xiii.) so also under the Gospel should Priests very carefully distinguish between sin and sin; how dangerous is this particular spiritual leprosy; whether or no it has gone deep into the inward substance of the soul; whether it has spread widely among its powers and senses; whether it has changed that image of Christ, which must be in every true Christian; (Gal. iv. 19.) whether it has deprived it of the sap of life, that is, of the grace of the Holy Ghost, which is the life of the soul: for some sins are greater, others less; some venial, which deprive not of the grace of the Spirit, (1 John i. 8. Rom. viii. 1.) others deadly²⁰. (Rom. viii. 13. 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. Gal. v. 19, 20, 21.) To the first class belong such as are committed ignorantly and involuntarily; to the other such as are done willingly, knowingly; and of set purpose, and as it were with a high hand against God; (Numb. xv. 30.) which, if they be not eradicated by true repentance, but left from day to day to go on increasing, grow up at length into that fearful sin against the Holy Ghost, which is unpardonable both in this world, and in the world to come. (Mat. xii. 31, 32. Heb. vi. 4. x. 26, 29. 1 John v. 16.) Moreover some sins are dominant, and actually tyrannize over the sinner; (Rom. vi. 12, 16.) among which the first place belongs to sins of habit; others are not dominant; that is, if a man be not yet rooted in them; and these are to be reckoned more or less among the venial sins. Rom. vii. 14, &c.

This examination is indispensable for the Priest, in order that he may know what to do with the sinner, and how to treat him. As the Priests of the Old Testament by God’s commandment, after inspection made of those who had sores, pronounced some, whose sore was not dangerous, and had not infected all the body, to be clean, and let them go freely; while others, in whom the mischief seemed doubtful, they shut up in a separate place, and inspected again at intervals of seven days; and declared a third class, who were infected with real leprosy, to be unclean, and expelled them without the camp; so, precisely, do our Priests in the New Dispensation: those sinners, whose sins either are of the lesser kind, that is, involuntary and of ignorance, or, though grievous and deadly, have begun to be healed by true repentance, they absolve, and declare fit to communicate in the holy Mysteries; while in the case of those, whose sins are greater, and further deeply rooted in the soul by habit, and whose repentance is doubtful, it is proper to defer absolution, that they may the more fear, and come to be in earnest about repentance; or, if absolution be given, they should still by all means be kept back from the most holy Mysteries²¹, and examined frequently at intervals, to ascertain whether by the help of God’s grace they have been resisting their evil habit, and have freed themselves from its yoke. Lastly, where there is grievous sin, and no doubt that repentance, if pretended, is only feigned²², such persons, as being incurably diseased, are not to be absolved²³; but the Priest has only to alarm them by God’s fearful judgments, (of which see above under Section XXXII.) and represent to them, that if they do not truly and regularly repent, and submit to penance, they will be cast out by excommunication from Christian communion, even as lepers of old were cast out from the camp of Israel.

At the time of absolution are to be enjoined penances, consisting in some particular good works, as prayer, fasting, alms; not that they may make satisfaction to God for sin; for Christ by one offering of Himself in sacrifice to God the Father hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified; (Heb. x. 14.) but that through the said penances we may shew forth worthy fruits of repentance; (Mat. iii. 8.) and lay the foundations of a virtuous life; and, more especially, that we may take all possible means to kill the remaining roots of the sin which we have confessed; that is, those incentives, which generate the sin, and above all, the habit, if it have become habitual. Wherefore also such penances should be enjoined, as suit best this end: that is, the Confessor should require for penance acts of such virtues, as may be most contrary to that sin, for which the penance is imposed; for instance, from the covetous he should require alms; from the sensual fasting; from the weak in faith and hope prayer: and the like in other cases²⁴. However, in doing this it will be necessary also to have some consideration for the station of them that receive penance, lest we enjoin what is impossible; as, for instance, on a common soldier to give alms; on an officer of the customs, or a shopkeeper, or any other, whose business requires constant attention, long prayers, which he cannot perform. And on this point we have an example set us by the great preacher of repentance, St. John the Baptist. Luke iii. 11, 14.²⁵

For them, whose sins have been secret, the penance imposed should be secret likewise: otherwise, if the penance were open, it would make the sin public²⁶. But open sinners, as common harlots, adulterers, sorcerers, drunkards, usurers, and the like, whose wickedness is notorious to all, or to many, if they were to be admitted to the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ with other Christians, without any open penance, would cause thereby a new scandal, beside that caused already by the publicity of their sins; since, in that case, there would be no distinction between the open sinner and him, who has never been convicted by any one of sin, or who has always lived a good Christian. Wherefore such, on account of the open scandal that they have caused, should be put to some open penance, which is with strict propriety called a satisfaction to the Church, which they have scandalized, that is, to the community of Christian people²⁷.

Further, the penance enjoined is to be either greater or less, harsher or more lenient, according to the measure of the sin, its cause and circumstances; and according to the age of the penitent; and, still more, according to the kind of repentance manifested by him, whether warm and hearty, or cold: for where the heart is warm, even a long penance enjoined by the canon may be shortened; while, on the contrary, if it be cold, even a short one should be lengthened²⁸. And since the penance is not strictly a satisfaction to God, as has been said above, a penitent may be absolved even without any penance, if he heartily and with tears promise never to return to his sin²⁹. So John the Baptist imposed no penance on the publicans who repented, beyond enjoining them to act fairly, according to the laws prescribed for their office. Luke iii. 13.

After confession.

The following rules are to be observed. 1. The Priest is never to disclose to any body a sin confessed to him, nor even allude to it in general terms, or in any other way, but keep it to himself, as a thing simply sealed up, and consigned to silence for ever: otherwise he subjects himself to a heavy sentence³⁰. (The exceptions to this rule may be found in the Spiritual Regulation, in the Appendix, under the Nos. xi. xii.) II. The Priest ought not to use a high tone with him that confesses sin, but remember that he is not the judge of the penitent, but only the witness of his repentance, and a servant appointed expressly to minister to the salvation of men; (2 Cor. iv. 5.) and that the man who sinneth sinneth to God only; (Ps. li. 5.) and he who repenteth from God only receiveth pardon: (Mark ii. 7.) but the Priest is merely the intermediate instrument, through which God works. III. As regards his authority, let him understand that it is spiritual, not temporal; (John xviii. 36.) consisting not in lordship, but in service: (Mat. xx. 25, 26, 27.) and therefore he ought to exercise it with all humility, and with tears, (Acts xx. 19.) with all gentleness, (2 Tim. ii. 24, 25.) to edification, and not to destruction. (2 Cor. xiii. 10.) IV. It follows therefore that the Priest should not carry himself haughtily, but pray to the Lord for them that confess to him, and travail in heart day and night, until Christ be formed in them, (Gal. iv. 9.) and dwell by faith in their hearts. (Ephes. iii. 17.) And to this end he must use all his powers and means, testifying to them both by word and deed repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; that they return not into their former sins³¹, but be henceforth as vessels sanctified to honour, and meet for the Master’s use, prepared unto every good work. (2 Tim. ii. 21.) From these reflections every one must clearly see how very ill those Priests act, who from anger against any of their parishioners, for whatever reason, deprive them of communion in the holy Mysteries³², or suffer them not to kiss the Cross in the church, when all the rest freely approach to do so, or give not the Antidoron, when they come up expecting it, or when they exclude any particular persons from any Church ceremony, in which all the rest participate. Such Priests sin grievously; because by all such acts the Name of God is dishonoured, and holy things delivered to us as pledges or signs of His grace are turned into instruments of malice, or of vile covetousness.

As regards persons in sickness, whether of his own parish or strangers, if their own Priest be not at hand, any Priest, who may happen to be within reach of the sick, may freely hear their confessions, and give them absolution for all manner of sins; and that, even though they be under formal excommunication, if they are in imminent danger of death, and truly penitent; and may give them the Holy Communion: with this proviso however, that any person so absolved, if he die not, must on his recovery perform the penance appointed him, and after having performed it present himself again to his former Confessor, according to the tenor of the canons³³.

With respect to the Sacrament of the holy Communion.

Before giving the communion of the most holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Priest should duly instruct them that wish to communicate, that This, the Body and Blood of Christ, is not only in name what it is called, but also verily and indeed is His Body, and His Blood, under the forms of bread and wine: for that, which consummates this Sacrament, is the operation of the Holy Ghost, to Whom nothing is impossible: and our Saviour Christ instituted this Communion before His Passion, at His last supper, expressly to this end, that faithful Christians partaking of this Sacrament might be made partakers of Christ Himself, and so be worthy sons by adoption of the Father in heaven, and true members of Christ’s Body and Church; that they might commemorate the saving sufferings and death of Christ; and give Him hearty thanks as their Redeemer: (Luke xxii. 19. 1 Cor. xi. 24, 25, 26.) for which last reason this Communion is called also the Eucharist; that is, the Service of Thanksgiving.

Likewise he should teach them that this Communion is to them, that receive it worthily, unto life eternal: (John vi. 51, 53, 54.) that Christ Himself is communicated to such, and lives in them; (ver. 56.) and promises even after their deaths to raise them up again, as precious vessels, and dwellings pleasant unto Himself, at the last day. On the contrary, they, who receive unworthily, receive it to themselves unto condemnation; and with sin like that of the Jews, who mangled the Body of Christ, and shed His Blood; and subject themselves to God’s judgment, to punishments both temporal and eternal: (1 Cor. xi. 27, 30³⁴. John xiii. 27.) And with such people it often happens that the last state is worse than the first. Mat. xii. 45.

And therefore, when the Priest purposes to celebrate this so great and tremendous Sacrament, he ought both to prepare himself with all purity, and minister at it with reverence and godly fear³⁵; and also without fail teach those of his people, who may be preparing themselves for the Communion, that they also approach it with purity and reverence³⁶; and that every one diligently try and examine himself in his own conscience; (1 Cor. xi. 28.) that is, whether he have truly repented, and still repent; whether he heartily hate the sins which he hath committed, together with which Christ can in no wise abide in the heart of man; (2 Cor. vi. 14, 15.) whether he hath begun to live to Christ; whether he perceives in himself the fruits of justification obtained by Christ’s Blood; that is, peace with God, and joy at his heart in the Holy Ghost: (Rom. xiv. 17. and xv. 13.) for all these effects are wrought in a man by that lively and saving faith, by which it is requisite for every man to try himself, who would communicate worthily; as the Apostle teaches. 2 Cor. xiii. 5.

They, who by the rule given above under the head of Penitence ought not to be absolved, or who, though absolved, have been enjoined by their Confessor to abstain from the Divine Communion, till they overcome their evil habit, and shew fruits worthy of repentance, are of course not to be admitted to partake of the Mysteries. Likewise neither should persons out of their mind be received; seeing that such cannot try and examine themselves, which is absolutely required by the Apostle. (1 Cor. xi. 28.) Further, the Priest must take care that in giving the Communion of the holy Mysteries to his people he give not any of the particles offered in commemoration of the Saints, for the health of the living, and for the rest of the dead, but only the one oblation of the Lamb, which he has broken: for none of those other particles are the Body of Christ. In like manner neither should he communicate any with the water, with which the Chalice is rinsed after Communion; still less with the ἁγιάσμα, or holy water blessed on the Epiphany; which some ignorant wretches doing, introduce thus a new Sacrament of their own; while others, either of ignorance, or carelessness, or through other circumstances, have dared to do the like, not considering that thereby they sin mortally.

With regard to the sick, the Priest is bound to take unremitting care that they depart not to the other world without the Communion of the Holy Mysteries, which is their most necessary and salutary viaticum: and to that end he should admonish his parishioners that whenever they have any one sick in their houses, they give him notice immediately: and he, upon receiving such notice, is to leave everything else, and hasten to the sick person; that he may have time, while the mind is still clear, to bring him to true repentance; and after hearing his confession, give him the Communion not unworthily; and so, with that provision for the way, let him depart in hope of the resurrection, and of everlasting life³⁷. In the contrary case, if from any negligence a sick man die without having received the Communion, the Priest is to be subjected to a severe inquiry, or even, under certain circumstances, to be deprived³⁸; while they, who may have neglected to give notice, are excluded from the Divine Mysteries.

With respect to the Sacrament of Orders.

The ministry of this Sacrament, that is, the Laying on of Hands for the Priesthood, is the work of the High-priest or Bishop; and the clerk ordained receives from him that instruction, which is necessary for his Order. As regards him, who comes to be ordained Priest, what should be his character, and how he should come, the first of these two points has been handled at length in Ch. II. Part ii. where we have shewn what should be the Priest’s character from the Apostle’s teaching; while the second has been also briefly mentioned in Ch. I. Section vi.

With respect to the Sacrament of Matrimony.

They, who are about to enter into matrimony, should be told by the Priest to what end it was ordained, and taught from thence their duties to one another: as, that God ordained marriage for the increase of mankind; (Gen. i. 28.) and not merely so; for the mere increase of kind is common to beasts; but for the increase of mankind to glorify their Creator: for to this end also it was, that man was created in the image of God, and after His likeness. (ver. 27.) Therefore they, that marry, should consider the end and object of their union to be the procreation of children to be brought up in the fear of God, in His true religion, and in all manner of virtue.

And whereas God ordained matrimony for mutual help, (Gen. ii. 18.) the Priest should likewise teach them, that marry, that they owe each to each fidelity and help, and, as the source of all this, love unfeigned, both in prosperity and in adversity, in health and in sickness, however disagreeable or tedious the sickness may be, or whatsoever else may befall: and he should teach that the wife must be subject unto her husband, as to the head³⁹, and give him reverence and worship; while the husband must love the wife, even as his own body; even as himself; not treating her as a slave, but living with her according to knowledge, giving her honour, as to the weaker vessel. 1 Pet. iii. 7.

Further, whereas marriage, since man fell into sin, and his carnal appetites ran wild, became a preventive remedy against fornication, it follows, that it is the duty of married persons even in matrimony itself to avoid fornication; that is, not only adultery with other persons, but also every kind of excess⁴⁰: (1 Cor. vii. 5. 29. 1 Thess. iv. 3 . . 7.) that their marriage may be not in word only, but also in deed honourable, and the bed undefiled. Heb. xiii. 4. Ephes. v. 32.⁴¹

The Priest should further strictly charge them that their marriage be celebrated decently; in Christian, not in heathen fashion; without lewd and scandalous songs; without dances and cries⁴², which betoken rather a Sodomitish, than a Christian wedding: also, that there be no divinations, nor any kind of superstitious practices: for such practices are suggested by the evil spirit: and as is the seed sown, so also are the fruits, that come of it: as is the spirit, in which any marriage is first celebrated, so probably will be also the future life of the new-married couple.

A week or more before celebrating any marriage, the Priest on some Sunday or holy-day, must give notice of it to the congregation in the Church, (as is prescribed both by the Nomocanon⁴³, and by divers imperial edicts⁴⁴), that all unlawful marriages may be prevented; asking if any one knows of any affinity or other lawful cause or impediment to the union of the parties in matrimony; and if so, bidding him to declare it. Meanwhile, it is the Priest’s duty to question the man and the woman, whether they know the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments: for it were shameful and sinful to enter upon matrimony, and seek to become the father and mother of children, without knowing that, which it will be their bounden duty to teach their children. Further, the Priest must be sure to know himself accurately the degrees of consanguinity and affinity, within which the canons of the Church forbid marriage: and if in any case he be in doubt, he should have recourse to his Bishop, as may be found laid down in the Spiritual Regulation: fol. lxxvi. sect. xi.

The Priest is required to solemnize all marriages in the church, and in presence of others, as witnesses necessary in such a matter: and when the contract is to be made, he must ask both parties severally, whether they wish of their own free will to contract together; and without an answer to this question he must proceed no further: and should any person, especially the young woman, avow or shew by weeping that she does not consent, and that compulsion has been used, the Priest should immediately break off the ceremony, and withal admonish the parties attempting compulsion, that they do not so by any manner of means⁴⁵; as in such case the marriage is not good; and he, who has used the compulsion, will be liable to be held guilty and punished, just as if he had been guilty of a forcible abduction: regarding which see below, in the following section.

Notwithstanding, though both the man and the woman shew that they mutually consent to marry, still if it be without the consent of their parents, or if only one of the parties has obtained such consent, and the other not, the Priest is on no account to crown (or marry) any such couple: least of all, if the young woman has been carried off by force, and brought to be married under compulsion: for such marriages are no marriages at all, but mere lawless outrages. The daughter, who without the consent of her parents, and the maid-servant who without the consent of her lord presumes to marry, subjects herself to ecclesiastical penance⁴⁶: and the like is to be understood of sons also, and of men-serfs, if still under authority⁴⁷. But they who forcibly abduct a maiden, to marry her, incur an anathema, together with all who aid or abet them; while the ministers of the Church are to be utterly degraded⁴⁸.

Young people of the male sex under fifteen, and of the female under thirteen years of age, are not to be married; nor even though a youth have completed his fifteenth year, if the other party, to whom he is to be married, be much older. In like manner neither are very old people, or such as are mutilated, or unfit for the duties of marriage, nor any out of their minds, or intoxicated, (until they are sober,) nor any, who know not the Ten Commandments and the essential articles of the faith, until they have learnt them. Neither is the Priest to marry vagabond people, or new comers, until they shew some satisfactory certificate, if women, that they have not left a husband, if men, that they have not left a wife any where else behind them: but in such cases he should defer solemnizing the marriage, till he has some credible assurance on these points: and if he learn that their demand is improper, and that the marriage would be unlawful, he must refuse; and on no account proceed to the celebration⁴⁹. Otherwise, the Priest who marries any such couple, is held by the canons to become a party to the offence of those, who contract together unlawfully, and subjects himself to degradation.

Here it is proper for us to mention that the Priest must on no account presume of himself, without knowledge and consent of his Bishop, to marry any orthodox person to an alien of another faith, notwithstanding that such alien may be a Christian.

On the subject of mixed marriages between orthodox persons and aliens in faith, sufficient instructions for all necessary purposes have been composed by the Most Holy Governing Synod, and printed and published August xviii. mdccxxiv.

With respect to the Sacrament of the Unction of the sick with oil.

In this, in like manner as in other Sacramental ministrations, the Priest should teach the person who needs the Sacrament, that the Unction with Holy Oil, if received with faith and sure trust in Christ Jesus, procures the healing of bodily disease, and the forgiveness of sin, that may have been committed, according to the word of the Apostle James. (ch. v. 14, 15.) However, since forgiveness of sins and a lively and saving faith in Christ Jesus require and imply true repentance, the sick person must by all means, before being Anointed, prepare himself by true repentance, and confess his sins, and receive absolution.

And the Priest should withal exhort the sick, that he place his life in the Lord’s hands, and think of what is to come; how he must appear before God, the judge of all men: and here let him never take his mind’s eye off from Jesus Christ, our Mediator with God, and our Surety; Who alone is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world: (1 John ii. 1, 2.) Who was delivered to death for our sins, and rose again for our justification: (Rom. iv. 25.) and to Him alone let him cling with all his heart; and hold Him, like the Patriarch Jacob of old, saying, I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me; (Gen. xxxii. 26.) until Thou shalt have defended me from all them that speak against my soul, and brought me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy dwelling.

Indeed it is the Priest’s duty at all times during sickness, and not only when the Unction is administered, but most especially on the approach of death, to keep up the fainting heart of the sick, and comfort his troubled soul, by visiting him expressly for that end, and giving him from God’s word such instruction and consolation, as may best strengthen him, and furnish him forth for his journey; that he may pass from this temporal life to the life eternal in hope of salvation. The last hours of a man’s life and the moments of his mortal agony especially demand this⁵⁰.

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