The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia by William James Miller (free novel 24 .txt) 📖

therefore, are called "Sundays IN Lent, not of Lent; they are in the midst of it, but do not form part of it; on these Sundays we continue without interruption to celebrate our Saviour's Resurrection." The Sundays in Lent are named in the Prayer Book First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth; the last Sunday being set forth as "The Sunday next before Easter." Popular usage, however, has assigned other names to the closing Sundays in Lent, for example, the Fourth Sunday is usually called Mid Lent Sunday, for the reason that the Lenten Fast is half over. It is also called Refreshment Sunday, from the Gospel for the Day which gives the account of our Lord {169} miraculously feeding the five thousand in the wilderness; another name is Mothering Sunday (which see). The Fifth Sunday is called Passion Sunday, from the fact that on that day the Church begins the solemn recital of our Lord's sufferings. The Sixth Sunday is known as Palm Sunday as it was on this day our Lord made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, when the people hailed Him as King and strewed palm branches in His way, crying "Hosanna to the Son of David."

Lesser Litany, The.—That portion of the Litany beginning, "O
Christ, hear us," and ending with the prayer, "We humbly beseech
Thee, O Father," is so called. It is often used as a penitential
ending to week-day services during Lent.

Lessons, The.—The word "Lesson" is derived from the Latin lectio, meaning a reading, and signifies a portion of Scripture appointed to be read during Divine service; applied especially to those Scriptures read in the Daily Services. Two Lessons are to be read at each service in accordance with the custom of the early Christians, one from the Old Testament and one from the New. The principle upon which the Lessons are thus selected is set forth by Justin Martyr, who lived A.D. 103-164, as follows: "The Apostles have taught, as they learned themselves, first the Law and then the Gospel; for what is the Law but the Gospel foreshadowed; or what is the Gospel but the Law fulfilled." (See CALENDAR, LECTIONARY, and also SCRIPTURES IN PRAYER BOOK.)

Letter Dimissory.—(See DIMISSORY LETTER.)

Letter of Orders.—The name given to the certificate of Ordination to the Sacred Ministry, with the {170} Bishop's seal, and given by him to each Priest or Deacon whom he ordains. The form of this certificate varies in the use of different Bishops.

Letter of Transfer.—Canon 12, Section I, Title 2 of the Digest provides that, "A communicant removing from one parish to another shall procure from the Rector (if any) of the parish of his last residence, or if there be no Rector, from one of the Wardens, a certificate stating that he or she is a communicant in good standing; and the Rector of the Parish or Congregation to which he or she removes shall not be required to receive him or her as a communicant until such letter be produced."

Lights on the Altar.—(See ALTAR LIGHTS.) In addition to what is set forth in the article to which the reader is referred, we reproduce from Wheatley on the Prayer Book the following: "Among other ornaments of the Church were two lights enjoined by the Injunctions of King Edward VI to be set upon the Altar as a significant ceremony to represent the Light which Christ's Gospel brought into the world. And this, too, was ordered by the very same Injunction which prohibited all other lights and tapers that used to be superstitiously set before images or shrines. And these lights, used time out of mind in the Church, are still continued in most, if not all, Cathedral and Collegiate churches and chapels, . . . and ought also by this rubric, to be used in all parish churches and chapels."

Linen Cloth.—(See FAIR LINEN CLOTH.)

Litany, The.—The word "Litany" is of Greek origin, from litancia, derived from lite, meaning a {171} "prayer." In the early Church Litany included all supplications and prayers whether public or private. Afterwards it came to mean a special supplication, offered with intense earnestness, and this will explain the title of the Litany in the Prayer Book, viz.: "The Litany, or General Supplication." The Litany as now used is substantially the same as that compiled by Gregory the Great at the end of the sixth century. It is a separate and distinct service, but is commonly used as a matter of convenience after Morning Prayer, and may be used after the Evening Prayer. It is appointed to be read on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and like all other prayers is said kneeling. An examination of the Litany shows it to be divided into six divisions as follows: I. The Invocations being earnest appeals for mercy to each Person in the Godhead, first separately and then collectively. II. The Deprecations, being those petitions having as their response, "Good Lord, deliver us." III. The Obsecrations, being the last three petitions having as their response, "Good Lord, deliver us," beginning with the petition, "By the mystery," etc. IV. The Intercessions, including all the petitions to which the people respond, "We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord." V. The Supplications, beginning, "O Christ hear us," down to VI. The Prayers with which the Litany closes. By reason of its responsive character the Litany is a very soul stirring and heart searching supplication, is designed to keep the attention constantly on the alert and to enliven devotion by calling upon the congregation to make their petitions for those deliverances and blessings recited by the minister. {172}

Litany Desk.—A kneeling desk, sometimes called a faldstool, from which the Litany is read. Its customary place in the Church is on the floor of the nave in front of the chancel in accordance with the Injunction issued during the reigns of Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth. The significance of this position may be seen by reference to the words of the prophet Joel read on Ash Wednesday as the Epistle, "Let the Priests, the Ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the Altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord."

Liturgical Colors.—(See CHURCH COLORS.)

Liturgy.—The word "Liturgy" is derived from the Greek leitourgia, meaning a public work or duty, whether civil or religious. It then became generally used with reference to sacred offices, whence arose its ecclesiastical use to signify the solemnization of the rites of the Christian Church. Afterwards, it came to be especially applied to the office for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and as such the term is technically used in Church History. The Liturgy being the Office of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, it has for its nucleus our Lord's words of Institution. These with their accompanying Divine acts form the centre around which all subsequent prayers, praises and ritual customs gathered, and the history of these is the history of Liturgies. Liturgies have been used in the Christian Church from the beginning as the ancient Liturgies demonstrate. Of these there are many still extant in MSS. some of them fully as old as the oldest MSS. of the Bible. While they vary in arrangement and phraseology, yet the leading and essential {173}

                     TABLE SHOWING THE DESCENT OF PRINCIPAL LITURGIES
                     ————————————————————————

                          OUR LORD'S WORDS OF INSTITUTION
                                       |
                          APOSTOLIC NUCLEUS OF A LITURGY
                                       |
            ———————————————————————————————
            | | | |
  Liturgy of St. James, Liturgy of St. Mark, Liturgy of Liturgy of St. John,
  Antioch, or Jerusalem or Alexandria St. Peter, St. Paul, or Ephesus
            | | or Rome |
     ——————- | | |
     | | Present Liturgy | Liturgy of Lyons
  Liturgy of Syriac of Egypt | |
  St. Basil Liturgy of | ——————————-
     | St. James | | | |
  Liturgy of | | Mozarabic Liturgy Liturgy
  St. Chrysostom Monophysite | or Spanish of Britain of Tours
     | Liturgies | Liturgy | |
  Present Liturgy ——————— ——————-
  of Oriental or | | |
  Russian Church Ambrosian Sacramentary Augustine's Revised
                                       Liturgy of St. Leo Liturgy of Britain
                                           | | |
                                       Present Sacramentary Salisbury, York and
                                       Liturgy of St. Gelasius other English Liturgies
                                       of Milan | |
                                                   Sacramentary Present Liturgy of the
                                                   of St. Gregory Church of England
                                                         | |
                                                   Present Liturgy ——————————
                                                   of Rome