Chapter XLIX: Act 46: , Parl. 3, Act 106, Parl. 7, Act 24, Parl. 11, King James VI., do (25)

In reason there must be in every sacrifice, as Cardinal Bellarmine grants, a destruction of the thing offered: and shall we say that they make their SAVIOUR to crucify him again? No; but to eat him: for, “consumptio seu manducatio, quæ fit à sacerdote,” &c.; “The consumption or manducation, which is done of the priest, is an essential part of this sacrifice,” saith the same author; “for, in the whole action of the mass, there is,” saith he, “no other real destruction but this.”

Suppose we, then, the true human flesh, blood, and bone of CHRIST, GOD and man, really and corporally made such by this transubstantiation, whether is more horrible, to crucify or to eat it?

By this rule, it is the priest’s teeth, and not his tongue, that makes CHRIST’S body a sacrifice.

By this rule it shall be _hostia_, “a host,” when it is not a sacrifice; and a reserved host is no sacrifice, howsoever consecrated. And what if a mouse, or other vermin, should eat the host, (it is a case put by themselves,) who then sacrificeth?

To stop all mouths, laics eat as well as the priest: there is no difference in their manducation: but laics sacrifice not. And, as Salmeron urges, the Scripture distinguisheth betwixt the sacrifice and the participation of it: “Are not they, which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar?” (1 Cor. x. 18.) And, in the very canon of the mass, “Ut quotquot,” &c., the prayer is, “That all we, which, in the participation of the altar, have taken the sacred body and blood of thy Son,” &c. “Wherein it is plain,” saith he, “that there is a distinction betwixt the host and the eating of the host.”

Lastly, sacrificing is an act done to GOD: if, then, eating be sacrificing, the priest eats his GOD to his GOD: “Quorum Deus venter.”

While they, in vain, study to reconcile this new-made sacrifice of CHRIST already in heaven, with “Jube hæc perferri,” &c. “Command these to be carried by the hands of thy holy angels to thy high altar in heaven, in the sight of thy Divine Majesty,” we conclude that this proper and propitiatory sacrifice of the mass, as a new, unholy, unreasonable sacrifice, is justly abhorred by us; and we, for abhorring it, unjustly ejected.—_Bp. Hall._

MASTER. The designation of all the heads of colleges at Cambridge, with the exception of two, and of some at Oxford. The heads of some ancient hospitals, as Sherburn, are so called. It is recognised by the 42nd and 43rd Canons, &c., as one of the names of governors of cathedral and collegiate churches.

MASTER OF ARTS. The highest degree in arts, signifying one who is competent to teach, answering to that of Doctor in other faculties; conferred in all universities, though in a few modern instances superseded by that of Doctor of Philosophy. In England, the Masters of Arts form the privileged body of the ancient universities there; and there are many offices in the Church to which none are eligible but those who have at least taken that degree. By Canon 128, surrogates must be M. A. at least; and by Canon 74, M. A., being beneficed, are enjoined to wear hoods or tippets of silk or sarcenet, and square caps.

MASTER OF THE CEREMONIES. An officer in many foreign cathedrals, whose business it is to see that all the ceremonies, vestments, &c., peculiar to each season and festival, are observed in the choir.—_Jebb._

MASTER OF THE FACULTIES. The principal officer of the Court of Faculties. (See _Faculties_.)

MASTERS OF THE SCHOOLS. Three Masters of Arts, in the university of Oxford, annually elected, who preside over certain exercises of under-graduates. Before the ancient disputations and determinations were abolished, their office was much more onerous than at present.

MASTER OF THE SENTENCES. The name commonly given to the celebrated Peter Lombard, bishop of Paris, one of the founders of scholastic divinity; so called from his great work of the _Sentences_, divided into four books, illustrative of doctrines of the Churches, in sentences, or passages taken from the Fathers.—_Dupin._

MASTER OF THE SONG. A name for the instructor of the choristers, or choir-master.

MASTER OF THE TEMPLE. The principal minister in the Temple Church, in London, styled also the _Custos_; who, since the time of Henry VIII., has been appointed by royal letters patent, without institution or induction. This is a post of great eminence, and has been held by many able divines, as Hooker, Bishop Sherlock, &c.

MATINS. The ancient name for early morning prayers, which usually began about day-break.

The hours of prayer in the Church of England, before the Reformation, were seven in number, viz. matins, the first or prime, the third, sixth, and ninth hours, vespers, and compline. The office of matins, or morning prayer, according to the Church of England, is a judicious abridgment of her ancient services for matins, lauds, and prime.

The office of matins, or morning prayer, according to the English ritual, may be divided into three principal parts. First, the introduction, which extends from the beginning of the office to the end of the LORD’S Prayer: secondly, the psalmody and reading, which extends to the end of the Apostles’ Creed: and, thirdly, the prayers and collects, which occupy the remainder of the service.—_Palmer._

MATRIMONY. The nuptial state.

The State in England has declared that marriage may be henceforth regarded merely as a civil contract; and, so far as the effects of the law are concerned, they who contract marriage by a merely civil ceremony, will undergo no disabilities, their children will not be illegitimate, and they will themselves be regarded, to all intents and purposes, as man and wife. Yet, although this be the case, the Church, (in this respect opposed to the State, or rather the State having placed itself in opposition to the Church,) at the very commencement of the Marriage Service, declares that so many as are coupled together otherwise than GOD’S word doth allow, are not joined together by GOD, neither is their matrimony lawful: it is not _lawful_, that is to say, in the eyes of GOD,—for its legality in the eyes of the State cannot be questioned. The case is actually this: the State says, if you choose to consider matrimony to be a _civil contract_, the law of the land will permit you to enter into the marriage state by a _civil ceremony_: but the Church has not as yet been silenced, and _she_ affirms, that though the State may permit this, the word of GOD instructs us _otherwise_, and marriage is a _religious_ contract; therefore do not avail yourselves of the permission given by the State.

That such is the doctrine of the Church _now_, must at once be _admitted_; and equally admitted it will be, that it was so at the Reformation of the Church of England, and before the Reformation. But the question is, was it one of those dogmas introduced in the Middle Ages, such as transubstantiation, praying to the saints, worshipping images, and certain other superstitions which distinguish the Church of Rome from the Church of England? And we may answer at once in the negative, because we find allusion to the sacred nature of the marriage contract in the writings of the very earliest Christian authors. For instance, St. Ignatius, the disciple of St. John, (who was afterwards bishop of Ephesus, and died a blessed martyr,) waiting to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, says expressly: “It becomes those who marry, and those that are given in marriage, to take this yoke upon them with the consent or direction of the bishop, that their marriage may be according to the will of GOD, and not their own lusts.” Another early Father (Tertullian) exclaims, “How shall I sufficiently set forth the happiness of the marriage which the Church brings about by her procurement, which the eucharist confirms, which angels report when done, and the FATHER ratifies!”

In those days the members of the Church were in much the same situation as that in which we are ourselves _now_ placed. The law of the land regarded marriage as a civil contract, and the Church did not annul or disallow the legality of such marriages, or solemnize them again, on the parties becoming converts: it admitted the _validity_ of the _act_ when _done_, though it declared it to be done unlawfully, according to GOD’S law, and severely censured the members of the Church whenever they were married without the sacerdotal benediction. The practice for Christians to be married in the Church appears at first to have been universal, except when a Christian was unequally yoked with an unbeliever; he was then obliged to have recourse to the civil authorities, because the Church, censuring the alliance, absolutely refused to solemnize the marriage.

When the Church, in the time of Constantine, became allied with the State, and religion began to cool, (the laws of the empire still remaining the same,) some Christians began to fall off from the primitive practice, some for one reason and some for another, and to contract marriages according to the civil form. To correct which abuse Charles the Great enacted in the eighth century for the Western empire, and Leo Sapiens in the tenth century for the Eastern empire, that marriages should be celebrated in no other way, except with the sacerdotal blessing and prayers, to be succeeded by the reception of the eucharist or LORD’S supper. And this continued to be the practice in our own country until the usurpation of Cromwell, when marriage was declared to be a merely civil contract. At the Restoration of Charles II. marriage was again regarded as a religious ordinance, though the Church no longer _insisted_ that the parties married should receive the communion, (a regulation which had in practice been much disregarded,) but contented herself with remarking in the _rubric_ succeeding the ordinance, that “it is expedient that the new-married couple should receive the holy communion at the time of their marriage, or at the first opportunity after their marriage,” declaring the duty, but not absolutely compelling its observance; and thus things continued till the present time. Of course, all churchmen must now adhere to their principle, that marriage is a religious contract, and that those marriages only are lawful in the sight of GOD which are contracted in his name and by his ordinance.

And for thus acting we have the highest authority which earth and heaven can afford, that of our blessed LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST himself. When he was in the flesh, marriage was regarded by Jews and Gentiles as a mere civil contract, and that of no very binding nature. He did not on _this_ account declare the offspring of such marriages to be illegitimate; and yet, when appealed to, he assumed the fact as one which the Scriptures plainly declared, that marriage was of Divine institution. (Matt. xix. 4–9.) The Pharisees came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?” Now, this was a very natural question for those to ask who considered marriage as a mere civil contract. Wherever such is the case, one of two things in process of time is found to follow—polygamy, or the allowance of frequent divorce. Men soon came to reason _thus_: If marriage be merely a bargain between two parties for mutual convenience, why should not the bargain be dissolved when the convenience no longer exists? and why, if a man wishes for more wives than one, should he be prevented from _having_ them, provided the parties making the contract agree that the first wife shall have the pre-eminence, and her children be the heirs of the family property? It is all a matter of mere civil convenience and expediency. The Jews thus arguing _had_ permitted polygamy; they _did_ possess many wives, and now they entertained the question, whether these wives might not be dismissed for almost any cause whatever. The subject being much under discussion, they appealed to our LORD, and how did he meet them? By arguments against the _expediency_ of polygamy, or frequent divorce? No; but by assuming at once, that, according to Scripture, marriage is _not_ a mere civil, but a _religious_ contract. “Have ye not read,” he says, thus referring to Scripture, “that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What, therefore, GOD hath joined together let no man put asunder.” The permission of divorce is out of the jurisdiction of man, because the ordinance is of GOD. If the contract were merely a _civil_ contract, man might legislate with respect to it; but man may _not_ legislate for it, because it is an ordinance of GOD—a religious, and _not_ a mere civil, contract.

And all this is the more remarkable, because our LORD, in his reply to the Herodians, carefully distinguishes between the things of Cæsar and the things of GOD, and on several occasions disclaims all intention to interfere with those things which had reference merely to the civil authority; yet, observe, when the Pharisees appeal to him on a doubtful disputation, growing out of their allowance of divorce, he does _not_, as on another occasion, put the question aside by asking who made him a judge in such matters, but he instantly exercises his judicial authority without reservation; thereby, in that very fact, declaring that GOD, not Cæsar, or the State, is the supreme authority, to whose tribunal the decision with respect to matrimony belongs. He pronounces the vital principle of marriage to be the making twain one flesh, and expressly declares that it is by GOD’S joining them together that this blending of their nature takes effect, and that the contract, once made, is on this account inviolable; nay, he declares it to be an exempt jurisdiction reserved by GOD exclusively to himself, and not to be modified, or in any respect invaded, by human authority. _Man’s_ law indeed may couple male and female together; but as the Church declares, on the authority of our LORD, it is their being joined together by GOD, and as GOD’S law doth allow, that in his sight makes their matrimony lawful.

Indeed, the Scriptures from first to last envelope this union with a sacred and mysterious solemnity. The first marriage, that of Adam and Eve, GOD himself solemnized, even GOD, who, by that very act, instituted the ordinance, and stamped it as Divine, and not a mere human contract. The whole proceeding, with respect to the marriage of Adam and Eve, is related under circumstances calculated to awaken the most solemn attention. As to the other creatures of his hand, they were produced by a fiat of the ALMIGHTY will, (male and female of every species,) a corporeal and instinctive adaptation to herd together being the bounds of their perfection. But in the case of the human species, a very different course was observed. Man is first formed, a splendidly gifted creature, who soon is made to feel his social wants, (by a survey of all GOD’S creatures _mated_ except himself,) and to express, by a plaintive reference to his own comparative destitution, how desolate he was even in Paradise, being alone in the garden of delights; and how hopeless was the search for a helpmeet for him throughout the whole compass of hitherto animated nature. Then it is that GOD puts his last finish to the visible universe by his own wonderful counsel for supplying the deficiency. He takes from man’s own substance the material from which his second self is to be formed; as the term employed by Moses imports, he works upon it with the skill of a profound artificer; and having framed and modelled out of it, after man’s own image, softened and refined, but still retaining its Divine similitude, the grace of social life, he himself brings her to him to be his bosom counsellor and partner of his joys, (for cares and sorrows he, as yet, had none,) knitting them together, and pouring on them the most precious benedictions. Thus was the marriage first solemnized by the great GOD himself. And even so do his ambassadors now; _they_, as an ancient writer observes, they, as the representatives of GOD, come forth to the persons who are to be joined together, to confirm this their sacred covenant by the offering up of holy prayers.

By Canon 62, it is enjoined that no minister shall join persons in marriage in any private place, but either in the churches or chapels where one of them dwelleth, and likewise in time of Divine service. (See _Banns_.)

An uniformity of principle prevails throughout the sacred Scriptures, and to the sacredness of the marriage contract frequent allusions are made. Thus Israel is said to have been _married_ to the LORD; and idolatry (that is, the following of the gods of the heathens) is represented as adultery, a breach of the covenant between GOD and Israel. GOD’S reproofs to them for their infidelity are sharpened by the recollection of their marriage relation with him. The state of believers in this world is compared by the apostle Paul to the time that used to elapse between the betrothing and the actual marriage among the Jews; nay, St. Paul goes further, he alludes to this sacred contract as a type or representation of the mysterious love of JESUS to his Church. For our LORD forsook his heavenly FATHER, and did cleave unto our nature, becoming one flesh with us, giving to the Church his SPIRIT for a dowry, and heaven for a jointure, feeding her at his table, adorning her by his grace, and protecting her by his power; and from this love of CHRIST to his spouse, the Church, are many converts begotten unto GOD through the gospel, and (born again of water and the HOLY GHOST) they become heirs of glory. Thus honoured is the marriage contract, by being made an emblem of so Divine and mysterious a mercy. It was indeed to hallow the rite by this application that St. Paul wrote, since in the passage referred to he was arguing against certain seducers who would have disfigured Christianity by imputing to it the forbidding of its disciples to marry. He shows, on the contrary, that marriage, so far from having any discredit cast upon it by the gospel, is advanced in honour. He describes, indeed, the ministerial office to consist in espousing the Church to CHRIST; and St. John, in the Apocalypse, depicts the consummation of all things as the marriage of the LAMB and his wife, the beatific union between CHRIST and his redeemed ones, between GOD and the Church, when the Church has been cleansed and sanctified, and become a glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.

MATTHEW, ST., THE EVANGELIST’S DAY. A festival of the Christian Church, observed on the 21st of September.

St. Matthew, the son of Alpheus, was also called Levi. He was of Jewish original, as both his names discover, and probably a Galilean. Before his call to the apostolate, he was a publican or tollgatherer to the Romans; an office of bad repute among the Jews, on account of the covetousness and exaction of those who managed it. St. Matthew’s office particularly consisted in gathering the customs of all merchandise that came by the sea of Galilee, and the tribute that passengers were to pay who went by water. And here it was that Matthew sat at the “receipt of custom,” when our Saviour called him to be a disciple. It is probable, that, living at Capernaum, the place of Christ’s usual residence, he might have some knowledge of him before he was called.

Matthew immediately expressed his satisfaction, in being called to this high dignity, by entertaining our Saviour and his disciples at a great dinner at his own house, whither he invited all his friends, especially those of his own profession, hoping, probably, that they might be influenced by the company and conversation of Christ.

St. Matthew continued with the rest of the apostles till after our LORD’S ascension. For the first eight years afterwards he preached in Judea. Then he betook himself to propagating the gospel among the Gentiles, and chose Ethiopia as the scene of his apostolical ministry; where it is said he suffered martyrdom, but by what kind of death is altogether uncertain. It is pretended, but without any foundation, that Hyrtacus, king of Ethiopia, desiring to marry Iphigenia, the daughter of his brother and predecessor Æglippus, and the apostle having represented to him that he could not lawfully do it, the enraged prince ordered his head immediately to be cut off.

MATTHEW’S, ST., GOSPEL. A canonical book of the New Testament. (See the preceding article.)

St. Matthew wrote his Gospel in Judea, at the request of those he had converted. It is thought he began this work about the year 41, eight years after our SAVIOUR’S resurrection. Irenæus thinks he wrote it whilst St. Peter and St. Paul were preaching at Rome. It was written (according to the testimony of all the ancients) in the Hebrew or Syriac language, which was then common in Judea.

The true Hebrew Gospel of St. Matthew is no longer in being anywhere, as far as can be discovered. Those printed by Sebastian Munster, and du Tillet, are modern, and translated into Hebrew from the Latin or Greek.

The Greek version of St. Matthew’s Gospel, and which at this day passes for the original, is as old as the apostolical times. The author is unknown. Some ascribe it to St. Matthew himself; others, to St. James the less, bishop of Jerusalem; others, to St. John the evangelist, or to St. Paul, or to St. Luke, or to St. Barnabas.

MATTHIAS’S, ST., DAY. A festival of the Christian Church, observed on the 24th of February.

St. Matthias was an apostle of JESUS CHRIST, but not of the number of the twelve, chosen by CHRIST himself. He obtained this high honour upon a vacancy, made in the college of the apostles by the treason and death of Judas Iscariot. The choice fell on Matthias by lot; his competitor being Joseph called Barsabas, and surnamed Justus.

Matthias was qualified for the apostleship, by having been a constant attendant upon our SAVIOUR all the time of his ministry. He was, probably, one of the seventy disciples. After our LORD’S resurrection, he preached the gospel first in Judea. Afterwards it is probable he travelled eastward, his residence being principally near the irruption of the river Apsarus and the haven Hyssus. The barbarous people treated him with great rudeness and inhumanity; and, after many labours and sufferings in converting great numbers to Christianity, he obtained the crown of martyrdom; but by what kind of death is uncertain.

The observance of this festival among us has been attended with some confusion. The Common Prayer Book of Queen Elizabeth directs, that, in Leap-years, an intercalary or additional day shall be added between the 23rd and 24th days of February. Hence St. Matthias’s day, which, in common years, was observed on the 24th of February, was, in Leap-years, observed on the 25th. But, in the review of our liturgy, it was thought more proper to add a 29th day to February. So that now, there being no variation of the days, this festival must always keep to the 24th day. But, notwithstanding the case is so clear, some almanack-makers continued to follow the old custom, which occasioned the day to be variously observed. Archbishop Sancroft decided the matter by an injunction, Feb. 5, 1683, requiring “all vicars and curates to take notice, that the feast of St. Matthias is to be celebrated, not upon the 25th of February, (as the common almanack-makers boldly and erroneously set it,) but upon the 24th of February for ever, whether it be Leap-year or not, as the calendar in the liturgy, confirmed by act of uniformity, appoints and enjoins.”

MAUNDY THURSDAY. The Thursday before Easter, being the day on which our Lord instituted the holy sacrament of his body and blood. The name of Maundy, Maunday, or Mandate, (_Dies Mandati_,) is said to have allusion to the _mandate_ or new commandment which, on this day, CHRIST gave to his disciples, that they should love one another, as he had loved them. It has also been supposed by others, that the name arose from the _maunds_, or baskets of gifts, which, at this time, it was an ancient custom for Christians to present one to another, in token of that mutual affection which our LORD so tenderly urged, at this period of his sufferings, and as a remembrancer of that “inestimable gift” of CHRIST, to be our spiritual food in the sacrament of his body and blood. Says a writer of the age of Wickliff, “CHRIST made his _maundy_ and said, Take, eat,” &c.

On this day it was customary for bishops, sovereigns, and nobles, to wash the feet of the poor, a ceremony still observed in many places abroad. In the Hierurgice Anglicana (p. 282, 283) is given an account of the ceremonial observed by Queen Elizabeth. King James II. is said to have been the last of our sovereigns who performed it. It is still the custom on Maundy Thursday for the Lord Almoner to distribute certain royal donations to the poor in the Royal Chapel at Whitehall. This service consists of appropriate psalms, lessons, anthems, and special prayers. It is performed with great solemnity. For the full particulars see Stephens’s edition of the Common Prayer Book.

MAY, TWENTY-NINTH OF. (See _Forms of Prayer_.)

MEANS OF GRACE. (See _Ordinances_ and _Sacraments_.) The sacraments and other ordinances of the Church, through which grace is conveyed to souls prepared by faith and penitence to receive it.

MEDIATOR. (See _Jesus_, _Lord_, _Christ_, _Messiah_.) A person who intervenes between two parties at variance. Thus our blessed LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST is the Mediator between GOD and man.

This appears from 1 Tim. ii. 5, “For there is one GOD, and one Mediator between GOD and men, the man CHRIST JESUS.” When we call him a Mediator, we call him so, not only as he is our Redeemer, but also as he is our Intercessor. “For, if any man sin, we have an advocate with the FATHER, JESUS CHRIST the righteous.” (1 John ii. 1.)—_Archdeacon Welchman._ It is to be remembered, however, that by a mediator here the Church means, not barely an intercessor or transactor of business between two parties, in which sense Moses was a mediator between GOD and the Israelites with respect to the ceremonial law; but such a mediator, intercessor, and transactor, as can plead the merit of his own blood, offered up in man’s stead, to reconcile an offended GOD to sinful man. In this sense CHRIST is the only mediator between GOD and man, being both GOD and man.—_Dr. Bennet._

It has been already proved that CHRIST partook both of the Divine and human nature: and St. Paul expressly says, “There is one mediator,” &c. CHRIST is represented, both in the Old and New Testament, as the only redeemer of mankind, as the only sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. His merits will extend to all who lived before and after the promulgation of the gospel. “As in Adam all die, so in CHRIST shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. xv. 22.) “He is the LAMB which was slain from the foundation of the world.” (Rev. xiii. 8.)—_Bp. Tomline._

MELCHITES. The name which is given to the Syriac, Egyptian, and other Christians of the Levant; who, though not Greeks, follow the doctrines and ceremonies of the Greek Church, and submit to the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. The term _Melchites_ is borrowed from the Hebrew or Syriac word _Melec_, which signifies _king_. So that Melchites is as much as to say Royalists, and is a term of reproach, given to the orthodox by the Eutychians, or Jacobites, on account of their implicit submission to the edicts of the emperors, for the publication and reception of the above-mentioned council.

The Melchites, excepting some few points of little or no importance, which relate only to their ceremonies and ecclesiastical discipline, are in every respect professed Greeks. They have translations, in the Arabian language, of the Greek rituals; but their versions are for the most part very incorrect. In general, the Christians of the Levant are so far from being just and correct in their translations of the Greek authors, that they imagine they have a right to make them speak according to their own sentiments. This is evident in the Arabic canons of the Council of Nice, in which the Melchites find sufficient arguments to justify their notions against those of the Jacobites; and the Jacobites, on the other hand, by the very same canons, vindicate their tenets against those of the Melchites.

The Melchites are governed by a particular patriarch, who resides at Damascus, and assumes the title of Patriarch of Antioch. The great difficulty they meet with in finding such ministers as can read Greek, is said to be the true reason why they celebrate mass in the Arabian language: and even those who are acquainted with the Greek tongue, yet read the Epistle and Gospel in Arabic.

The monks among the Melchites follow the rule of St. Basil, the common rule of all the Greek monks. They have four fine convents, distant about a day’s journey from Damascus. They never go out of the cloister.

MELETIANS. There were in the fourth century two schisms called _Meletian_.

1. The Meletians of Egypt had their name from Meletius, a bishop of Lycopolis, the second of the Egyptian sees in dignity. It has been most commonly supposed that Meletius sacrificed to the heathen gods in a persecution about the year 301, or perhaps in the last general persecution a few years later. But there seems to be reason for supposing that the occasion of his schism was of an opposite kind—that he objected to the lenity with which Peter, bishop of Alexandria, treated those who had lapsed in the persecution; and this explanation agrees better with the character of the sect, who rejected all from their communion, who in time of persecution fell from CHRIST, though they afterwards repented. Meletius proceeded to ordain bishops, and at one time had nearly thirty of these in his communion. He was prohibited for ever to ordain by the Council of Nice, but his followers were admitted to communion without re-ordination. He submitted to this at first, but afterwards resumed his practice of schismatical ordinations. The Arians attempted to draw the Meletians into a connexion with them, on the ground of their common enmity to the orthodox bishops of Alexandria; and thus the schismatics whose original difference with the Church had been limited to questions of discipline, became infected with heresy.

2. The Meletians of Antioch were so called from Meletius, who in 360 was appointed to the bishopric of that city. Although he owed his appointment to the Arians, he soon showed that he was orthodox; whereupon he was deposed and banished. He afterwards recovered his see, but the adherents of Eustathius, who had been deposed by the Arians many years before, refused to communicate with him; and Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, by ordaining Paulinus in opposition to him, contributed to exasperate the differences of the orthodox. The schism of Antioch was not finally healed until the year 415.

MENAION. The name which the Greeks give to the twelve volumes of their Church Service. These volumes answer to the twelve months in the year, each volume taking in a month. In this book is contained the offices for the saints of every day, methodically digested.

From the Menaion is drawn the _Menologium_, (Menology,) or Greek calendar, in which the lives of the saints in short, or their names only, are cited. The Menaion, therefore, of the Greek answers to the Breviary of the Latins, and the Menology to the Martyrology. (See _Breviary_ and _Martyrology_.)

MENDICANTS, or BEGGING FRIARS. There are several orders of monks or friars, in Popish countries, who, having no income or revenues, are supported by the charitable contributions of others. These, from their manner of life, are called Mendicants.

This sort of friars began in the thirteenth century, when Dominic de Guzman, with nine more of his companions, founded the order of _Preaching Friars_, called from their founder _Dominicans_. The other three _Mendicant_ orders are, the _Franciscans_, _Augustines_, and _Carmelites_.

These monks gave great disturbance to the secular clergy, by pretending to a right of taking confessions and granting absolution, without asking leave of the parochial priests, or even the bishops themselves. Pope Innocent IV. restrained this licence, and prohibited the Mendicants to confess the faithful without leave of the curé. Alexander IV. restored this privilege to them. And Martin IV., to accommodate the dispute, granted them a permission to receive confessions, upon condition that the penitents, who applied to them, should confess once a year to their proper pastor. However, this expedient falling short of full satisfaction, Boniface VIII. ordered that the superiors of religious houses should make application to the bishops, for their permission to such friars as should be commissioned by their respective abbots to administer the sacrament of penance. And upon the foot of this constitution the matter now rests.

MENGRELIANS. Christians of the Greek religion, converted by Cyrillus and Methodius. They baptize not their children till the eighth year, and enter not into the Church (the men especially) till the sixtieth (others say the fortieth) year, but hear Divine service standing without the temple.

MENNONITES. A sect of Anabaptists in Holland, so denominated from one Mennon Simonis of Frisia, who lived in the sixteenth century. The Protestants, as well as the Romanists, confuted them. Mr. Stoupp explains their doctrine thus: Mennon is not the first of the Anabaptists; but having rejected the enthusiasms and revelations of the first Anabaptists and their opinions, concerning the new kingdom of JESUS CHRIST, he set up other tenets, which his followers hold to this time. They believe that the New Testament is the only rule of our faith; that the terms _Person_ and _Trinity_ are not to be used in speaking of the FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST; that the first men were not created just; that there is no original sin; that JESUS CHRIST had not his flesh from the substance of his mother Mary, but from the essence of his FATHER; that it is not lawful for Christians to swear, or exercise any office of magistracy, nor use the sword to punish evil-doers, nor to wage war upon any terms; that a Christian may attain to the height of perfection in this life; that the ministers of the gospel ought not to receive any salary; that children are not to be baptized; that the souls of men after death rest in an unknown place.

In the mean time these Mennonites broke into several divisions, for very inconsiderable reasons; many among them embraced the opinions of the Socinians, or rather of the Arians, touching the Deity of CHRIST; and they were all for moderation in religion, not thinking that they might lawfully debar from their assemblies any man leading a pious life, and that owned the Scriptures for the word of GOD. These were called Galenites, and borrowed their name from a physician of Amsterdam, called Galen. Some of them in Holland are called Collegiates, because they meet privately, and every one in their assembly hath the liberty to speak, to expound the Scriptures, to pray, and to sing: they that are truly Collegiates are Trinitarians: they never receive the communion in their college, but they meet twice a year, from all parts of Holland, at Rhinsburg, a village about two leagues from Leyden; there they receive the sacrament. The first that sits at table may distribute it to the rest; and all sects are admitted, even the Roman Catholics, if they would come.

MESSALIANS, or MASSALIANS. So called from a Chaldee word, which signifies _to pray_, as does the Greek εὐχομαι, from which these sectaries had also the name of _Euchites_, because they prayed continually, and held nothing necessary to salvation but prayer: they rejected preaching and the sacraments: they held that the supreme GOD was visible; and that Satan was to be worshipped that he might do no hurt: they pretended to cast out devils; and rejected almsgiving. This heresy prevailed under Valentinian and Valens, about A. D. 370.

MESSIAH signifies the anointed. (See _Christ_, _Jesus_, and _Lord_.) It is the title given by way of eminence to our blessed SAVIOUR, meaning in Hebrew the same as CHRIST in Greek, and it alludes to the authority he possesses to assume the characters of prophet, priest, and king, and so of the SAVIOUR of the world.

CHRIST the Messiah (“anointed”) was promised by GOD, (Gen. iii. 15; xxi. 12,) and foretold by the prophets, (Gen. xlix. 10; 1 Sam. ii. 10 and 35; Ps. ii. 2; xlv. 7; Micah v. 2, with John vii. 42; Mal. iii. 1,) as the “redeemer” of Israel, (Job xix. 25; Isa. lix. 20; Luke xxiv. 21,) and “the desire of all nations” (Haggai ii. 7). He who was born in the days of Herod, of a pure virgin, and called “JESUS,” according to prophecy, (Luke i. 31,) is that “Messiah,” “the CHRIST,” (John i. 41; Acts ii. 36,) as he declares himself to be, (John x. 24, 25,) whose coming was then expected (Matt. ii. 1, 2; John iv. 25, 29, 42). Who was “anointed,” not with any material and typifying “oil,” as were those who preceded him—his types—but with “the Spirit of GOD,” (Matt. iii. 16; John i. 32, 33,) “the Spirit of the LORD,” as promised, (Isa. xi. 2; xlii. 1; Matt. xii. 18,) a spiritual unction—“the oil of gladness, above his fellows” (Ps. xlv. 7); and thus was he consecrated to the three offices, divided in others, being the great Prophet predicted, (Deut. xviii. 15, 18,) and acknowledged, (John vi. 14; vii. 40,) the eternal High Priest, (Ps. cx. 4; Heb. viii. 1; x. 12, 14,) and universal King (Gen. xlix. 10; Num. xxiv. 17; Ps. ii. 6; Dan. vii. 14; Zech. xiv. 9; Matt. xxv. 34; Rev. xi. 15). And this Spirit he received as the head, (Heb. i. 9,) and conveys to the members of his body (2 Cor. i. 21; 1 John ii. 20).

MESSIANIC. A term invented by modern critics, to signify those Psalms or other portions of Scripture which specially relate to or personify the Messiah.

METHODISTS, POPISH. Polemical doctors, who arose in France about the middle of the seventeenth century, in opposition to the Huguenots, or French Protestants.

METHODISTS. This is the distinctive appellation of the followers of the late Mr. John Wesley, who was born in 1703, and died in 1791.

Under the general term of “Methodists” are comprehended two principal and several subordinate sections, having totally distinct ecclesiastical organizations. The two grand sections differ from each other upon points of _doctrine_; one professing Arminian, and the other Calvinistic, sentiments. The former are the followers of John Wesley, and from him are called “Wesleyan Methodists;”—the latter were originated by the labours of George Whitfield, but their founder’s name is not perpetuated in their title, which is generally that of “Calvinistic Methodists.” Each of the two grand sections is divided into several smaller sections, differing from each other upon points of _Church government_ and discipline: the _Wesleyan Methodists_ comprise the “Original Connexion,” the “New Connexion,” the “Primitive Methodists,” and the “Wesleyan Association”—the _Calvinistic Methodists_ comprise the body bearing that specific name, and also the churches belonging to what is known as “The Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion.”

THE ORIGINAL CONNEXION.

As at present settled, the form of Church government somewhat resembles that of the Scottish Presbyterian Churches in the order of the courts, in the relation they bear to each other, and in their respective constitutions and functions. The difference is in the greater degree of authority in spiritual matters exercised by the Wesleyan ministers, who preside in their courts not as mere chairmen or moderators, but as pastors. This is said by them to secure an equitable balance of power between the two parties, lay and clerical, in these courts, and thus to provide against abuse on either side. How far this is the case will be more clearly seen by a description of these various courts, tracing them upwards from the lowest to the highest,—from the Class to the Conference.

The CLASSES were the very first of the arrangements introduced by Mr. Wesley. They consist, in general, of about 12 persons; each class having its appointed “leader,” (an experienced Christian layman, nominated by the superintendent of a circuit, and appointed by a leaders’ meeting,) whose duty is to meet his class once every week—converse with each class member, hear from him a statement of his spiritual condition, and give appropriate counsel. Every member of a class, except in cases of extreme poverty, is expected to contribute at least a penny per week towards the funds of the society. Out of the proceeds of this contribution, assisted by other funds, the stipends of the ministers are paid. The system of class meetings is justly considered the very life of Methodism.

The public worship of these societies is conducted in each circuit by two descriptions of preachers, one clerical, the other lay. The clerics are separated entirely to the work of the ministry—are members of, or in connexion with, or received as probationers by, the Conference—and are supported by funds raised for that purpose in the classes and congregations. From one to four of these, called “itinerant preachers,” are appointed annually for not exceeding three years in immediate succession to the same circuit. Their ministry is not confined to any particular chapel in the circuit, but they act interchangeably from place to place, seldom preaching in the same place more than one Sunday without a change, which is effected according to a plan generally re-made every quarter. Of itinerant preachers there are at present about 915 in Great Britain. The lay, or “local” preachers, as they are denominated, follow secular callings, like other of their fellow subjects, and preach on the sabbaths at the places appointed for them in the above-mentioned plan; as great an interval being observed between their appointments to the same place as can be conveniently arranged.

The public services of Methodists present a combination of the forms of the Church of England with the usual practice of Dissenting Churches. In the larger chapels, the Church Liturgy is used; and, in all, the sacrament is administered according to the Church of England rubric. Independently of sabbath worship, love feasts are occasionally celebrated; and a midnight meeting, on the last day of each year, is held as a solemn “watch night,” for the purpose of impressing on the mind a sense of the brevity and rapid flight of time.

At present there are 428 circuits in Great Britain. Besides preaching in the various chapels in their respective circuits, the itinerant preachers administer the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper. One or other of them, according to an arrangement amongst themselves, meets every class in his circuit once in every quarter, personally converses with every member, and distributes to all such as have throughout the past three months walked orderly a _ticket_, which authenticates their membership. One of the ministers in every circuit is called the “superintendent,” whose duties, in addition to his ordinary labours as a travelling preacher, are, to see that the Methodist discipline is properly maintained,—to admit candidates into membership, (subject to a veto by a leaders’ meeting,)—and to expel from the society any member whom a leaders’ meeting shall pronounce guilty of any particular offence. Appeal, however, lies from his decision to a District meeting, and ultimately to the Conference. There is also a “circuit steward,” whose duty is to receive from the society stewards the contributions of class members, and to superintend their application for the purposes of the circuit.

The CONFERENCE, the highest Wesleyan court, is composed exclusively of ministers. It derives its authority from a deed of declaration, executed by Mr. Wesley in 1784, by which it was provided that, after the decease of himself and his brother Charles, 100 persons, named in the deed, “being preachers and expounders of God’s holy word, under the care and in connexion with the said John Wesley,” should exercise the authority which Wesley himself possessed, to appoint preachers to the various chapels. Vacancies in the “hundred” were to be filled up by the remainder at an annual Conference. In pursuance of this deed, a Conference of 100 ministers meets yearly in July, with the addition of the representatives selected by the district meetings, and such other ministers as are appointed or permitted to attend by the district committees. The custom is, for all these ministers to share in the proceedings and to vote; though all the decisions thus arrived at must be sanctioned by the legal “hundred,” ere they can have binding force. The Conference must sit for at least five days, but not beyond three weeks. Its principal transactions are, to examine the moral and ministerial character of every preacher—to receive candidates on trial—to admit ministers into the connexion—and to appoint ministers to particular circuits or stations. Independently of its functions under this deed poll, the Conference exercises a general superintendence over the various institutions of the body; including the appointment of various committees, as, (1.) The Committee of Privileges for guarding the interests of the Wesleyan Connexion; (2.) The Committee for the management of Missions; (3.) The Committee for the management of Schools for educating the children of Wesleyan ministers; (4.) The General Book Committee (for superintending the publication and sale of Wesleyan works); (5.) The Chapel Building Committee (without whose previous consent in writing no chapel, whether large or small, is to be erected, purchased, or enlarged); (6.) The Chapel Relief Committee; (7.) The Contingent Fund Committee; (8.) The Committee of the Auxiliary Fund for worn-out ministers and ministers’ widows; and the committees for the various schools, theological institutions, &c.

The Conference has also assumed to itself the power of making new laws for the government of the Connexion: provided that, if any circuit meeting disapprove such law, it is not to be enforced in that circuit for the space of one year. Any circuit has the power of memorializing Conference on behalf of any change considered desirable, provided the June quarterly meeting should so determine.

The doctrines held by the Wesleyans are substantially accordant with the Articles of the Established Church, interpreted in their Arminian sense. In this they follow Mr. Wesley rather than Arminius; for although the writings of the latter are received with high respect, the first four volumes of Wesley’s Sermons, and his Notes on the New Testament, (which they hold to be “neither Calvinistic on the one hand nor Pelagian on the other,”) are referred to as the standard of their orthodoxy. The continued influence of their founder is manifested by the general adherence of the body to his opinions on the subject of attainment to Christian perfection in the present life—on the possibility of final ruin after the reception of Divine grace—and on the experience by every convert of a clear _assurance_ of his acceptance with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Census Accounts show 6579 chapels in England and Wales, belonging to this Connexion in March 1851; containing (allowance being made for defective returns) accommodation for 1,447,580 persons. The number of _attendants_ on the Census Sunday was: Morning, 492,714; Afternoon, 383,964; Evening, 667,850: including an estimate for 133 chapels, for which the number of attendants was not stated.

The following table shows the principal societies and institutions for religious objects supported by the Wesleyan Original Connexion. Others, in part supported by Wesleyans, are mentioned in the General List at page cxvii. of the Report.

────────────────────────────────────┬───────────┬───────
NAME OF SOCIETY OR INSTITUTION. │ DATE OF │ANNUAL
│FOUNDATION.│INCOME.
────────────────────────────────────┼───────────┼───────
│ A.D. │ £
Contingent Fund │ 1756 │ 10,065
Auxiliary Fund │ 1813 │ 7,163
The Children’s Fund │ 1818 │ 3,280
Wesleyan Theological Institution │ 1834 │ 4,688
General Chapel Fund │ 1818 │ 3,984
Wesleyan Seamen’s Mission │ 1843 │ 160
Wesleyan Missionary Society │ 1817 │105,370
────────────────────────────────────┼───────────┼───────
Kingswood and Woodhouse Grove School│ 1748 │ 8,048
│ 1811 │
────────────────────────────────────┼───────────┼───────
Education Fund │ 1837 │ 2,800
────────────────────────────────────┴───────────┴───────

In 1839 was celebrated the Centenary of the existence of Wesleyan Methodism; and the gratitude of the people towards the system under which they had derived so much advantage was displayed by contributions to the large amount of £216,000, which sum was appropriated to the establishment of theological institutions in Yorkshire and at Richmond—the purchase of the “Centenary Hall and Mission House” in Bishopsgate Street—the provision of a missionary ship—the discharge of chapel debts—and the augmentation of the incomes of the Methodist religious societies.

Of late years a considerable agitation (to be more particularly mentioned when describing “Wesleyan Reformers”) has diminished to a great extent the number of the members in connexion. It is stated that by this division the Original Connexion has sustained a loss of 100,000 members.

THE METHODIST NEW CONNEXION.

For some time after Mr. Wesley’s death in 1791, considerable agitation was observable throughout the numerous societies which, under his control, had rapidly sprung up in every part of England. The more immediate subjects of dispute had reference to, (1.) “the right of the people to hold their public religious worship at such hours as were most convenient, without being restricted to the mere intervals of the hours appointed for service in the Established Church;” and, (2.) “the right of the people to receive the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s supper from the hands of their own ministers, and in their own places of worship;” but the principal and fundamental question in dispute concerned the right of the laity to participate in the spiritual and secular government of the body. Wesley himself had, in his lifetime, always exercised an absolute authority; and after his decease the travelling preachers claimed the same extent of power. A vigorous opposition was, however, soon originated, which continued during several years; the Conference attempting various unsuccessful measures for restoring harmony. A “Plan of Pacification” was adopted by the Conference in 1795, and was received with general satisfaction so far as the ordinances were concerned; but the question of lay influence remained untouched till 1797, when the Conference conceded that the leaders’ meetings should have the right to exercise an absolute _veto_ upon the _admission_ of new members to the Society, and that no member should be _expelled_ for immorality, “until such immorality had been proved at a leaders’ meeting.” Certain lesser rights were at the same time conceded to the quarterly meetings, in which the laity were represented by the presence of their stewards and class leaders. But this was the extent of the concessions made by the preachers; and all propositions for lay delegation to the Conference and the district meetings were conclusively rejected.

Foremost amongst many who remained unsatisfied by these concessions was the Rev. Alexander Kilham, who, singularly enough, was born at Epworth in Lincolnshire, the birth-place of the Wesleys. Mr. Kilham, first acquiring prominence as an assertor of the right of Methodists to meet for worship in church hours, and to receive the sacraments from their own ministers, was gradually led to take an active part in advocacy of the principle of lay participation in the government of the Connexion.

Originated by a movement for a certain and specific alteration in the _constitution_ of Wesleyan Methodism, the New Connexion differs from the parent body only with respect to those ecclesiastical arrangements which were then the subjects of dispute. In doctrines, and in all the essential and distinctive features of Wesleyan Methodism, there is no divergence: the Arminian tenets are as firmly held by the New as by the Old Connexion; and the outline of ecclesiastical machinery—comprising classes, circuits, districts, and the Conference—is in both the same. The grand distinction rests upon the different degrees of power allowed in each communion to the laity. It has been shown that, in the “Original Connexion,” all authority is virtually vested in the preachers: they alone compose the Conference—their influence is paramount in the inferior courts—and even when, as in financial matters, laymen are appointed to committees, such appointments are entirely in the hands of Conference. The “New Connexion,” on the contrary, admits, in all its courts, the principle of lay participation in Church government: candidates for membership must be admitted by the voice of the existing members, not by the minister alone; offending members cannot be expelled but with the concurrence of a leaders’ meeting; officers of the body, whether leaders, ministers, or stewards, are elected by the Church and ministers conjointly; and in district meetings and the annual Conference lay delegates (as many in number as the ministers) are present, freely chosen by the members of the Churches.

The progress of the New Connexion since its origin has been as follows, in the aggregate, comprising England, Ireland, and the colonies:

Year. Members.
1797 5,000
1803 5,280
1813 8,067
1823 10,794
1833 14,784
1840 21,836
1846 20,002
1853 21,384

At present (1853) the state of the Connexion, _In England and Wales_, is reported to be as follows: