to the district in which the chapel is situate wherein the marriage is to take place, and only provides that the bans shall be published in the chapel where the marriage is intended to be solemnized, as well as in the chapel licensed for the district in which one of the parties is resident, which seems to imply that the chapel in which the marriage is to be solemnized may possibly be in a district wherein neither party is resident: but here no reference whatever is made to marriages which are to be solemnized upon the authority of the registrar's certificate, without the publication of bans. The latter only orders that the minister shall solemnize such marriage upon authority of the registrar's certificate, provided the chapel be within the district of the superintendent registrar by whom the certificate has been issued; but it does not say whether or not the minister has permission to solemnize or refuse to solemnize the marriage, should the chapel not be within such district.

In the "Act for Marriages," the only clauses which bear upon the point in question are, the 4th, 26th, 30th, and 34th:-The 4th orders that the church or other licensed building in which the marriage is to be solemnized shall be named in the notice to the Board of Guardians, but without limiting it to the district within which one or both the parties resides. The 26th alludes only to chapels licensed by bishops, and therefore necessarily excludes other places of worship or licensed buildings unconnected with the church of England. My only motive for adducing this clause is to shew that the word chapel in the 30th clause has the same exclusive meaning. The 30th therefore, in enacting that all provisions which shall from time to time be in force relative to marriages in any parish church shall extend to any chapel in which the solemnization of marriages shall be authorized as aforesaid, refers only to chapels belonging to the church of England; but the 34th orders the registrar of the district to transmit to the registrar general a list of all chapels belonging to the church of England wherein marriages may be lawfully solemnized according to the rites and ceremonies of the church of England, . . . . and also of all places of public worship registered under the provisions of this act, or registered buildings; thus pointedly distinguishing between the two; whereas the others, as I have observed, excepting the single particular in the 4th, refer only to church-of-England places of worship. It would appear therefore from this, that the ministers of the latter are restricted in their privileges, and compelled to a certain course; while the ministers of the other licensed buildings are left at liberty, there being no clause either to compel them to officiate upon production of the registrar's certificate, should they be within the district, or to restrict them from officiating at their own option should they not be within the district, of that registrar who gives the certificate. Such at least I apprehend is the practical interpretation of the act; but whether it be the true or intended intrepretation is a matter which should be placed beyond a doubt, as much inconvenience may arise from want of a proper understanding upon this point.

I beg to apologise for so long a trespass upon your time or space, and to subscribe myself, very truly yours. E. J.

ON THE VARIATIONS IN THE ORDER FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE HOLY COMMUNION.

SIR,-Having occasion lately to consider the variations which have taken place in our liturgy since the Reformation, I was much struck with the importance of the alterations which were made in the communion service at the last review in 1662; and as many of your readers may, like myself, not have sufficiently attended to this subject, I have thought that a short notice of it might not be without its use, particularly at this time, when the merits of our present office have been made the subject of much discussion.

In order the better to understand the object and importance of the alterations which I have mentioned, it will be necessary to take a short review of all the variations in the communion service since the time of the Reformation.

The first step towards reform in the administration of the holy communion was a bill, passed December 1547, restoring the cup to the laity, and putting an end to the practice of the priest receiving the sacrament alone.

In March, 1548, was published "The Order of the Communion," copies of which were sent to all the bishops of England, to be forwarded by them to every parish, and to come into use at the following Easter. This order consisted of some exhortations and prayers, which were incorporated into the subsequent books, with an injunction that the time of the communion should be immediately after the priest himself had received the sacrament, without varying of any other rite or ceremony in the mass until other order should be provided."

In the beginning of 1549 was published what is commonly called the First Book of Edward VI. which was to come into general use at the following Whitsunday. Many particulars in this book, and especially in the office for the communion, were objected to by various persons, and particularly by the foreign divines then in England, and who had considerable influence with Cranmer. A revision of the book was consequently determined upon, which took place in 1551; and in the spring of 1552 was published what is commonly called the Second Book of Edward VI., which was to be used throughout the kingdom from the feast of All Saints following. In this book, although the greater part of the substance of the prayers and exhortations in the communion service of the First Book was retained, yet many particulars were omitted, and the whole order and arrangement of the service was materially changed. The alterations were perhaps some for the better and some for the worse, but the old form was certainly the most agreeable to primitive practice; and if it may seem not to have carried the reform sufficiently far in some things, it must be confessed that the Second Book carried it too far, not only removing what might be considered objectionable or inexpedient, and rejecting other things to which no reasonable objection could be made, but also omitting various particulars, which seem almost necessary to

the due administration of the sacrament. alterations were as follows:

The principal of these

1. The omission of the introit, or proper psalm appointed for each Sunday or holiday, and which, from its being said or sung when the priest first made his entrance within the rail of the altar, was called introitus, or introit.

2. The discontinuance of the oblation of the bread and wine by the priest, who was directed in the First Book to place them himself upon the altar, which order was omitted in the Second Book.

3. The discontinuance of the mixed cup.

4. The omission of the thanksgiving for the example of the saints in the prayer for the whole state of Christ's church.

5. The limiting of that prayer to the living by the addition of the words "militant here in earth," and by the omission of the latter part of the prayer, in which those "who are departed from us with the sign of faith, and now rest in the sleep of peace," were commended to God.

6. The omission of the petition in the consecration prayer, that God would bless and sanctify with his Holy Spirit and word these his creatures of bread and wine; the discontinuance of the crossing in that prayer, and the omission of the direction to the priest to take the bread and cup into his hands.

7. The omission of the commemoration of the death of Christ, which followed the consecration of the elements.

8. The forming the petition for the acceptance of this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, the oblation of ourselves, and the petition for the worthy receiving of the communion which followed this commemoration, into a separate prayer, and placing it in the post communion service, as it stands at present.

9. The omission of the petition at the conclusion of this prayer, that God would command our prayers and supplications to be brought up into his holy tabernacle by the ministry of his holy angels.

10. The substitution of the last half of our present form at the delivery of the elements for the first half.

11. The omission of a rubric at the end of the service, directing that the bread to be used in the communion should be unleavened, and made in a particular form.

12. The omission of another rubric, directing that the people should receive the bread in their mouths from the priest's hands, and the restoration of the primitive practice of delivering it into their hands.

Whatever difference of opinion there may be as to the propriety of some of these alterations, it can hardly be denied that the effect of them altogether was to lower the holy communion into little more than a merely commemorative rite, with no proper oblation or consecration of the elements, and with a novel form at the delivery of them, introduced apparently with the intention of doing away with the opinion that there is in the communion a real participation of the body and blood of Christ.

Upon the accession of Mary, both the acts of 1548 and 1552 were repealed, and the use of the English liturgy abolished.

On the accession of Elizabeth, a committee of divines was appointed to review the two books of Edward VI., and to frame from them both a liturgy for the use of the church. After some debate it was decided to establish the Second Book, with some few alterations. The only alterations of any consequence in the communion service were, the uniting of the two forms of the First and Second Books, at the delivery of the elements, into one, as it stands at present; and the omission of the explanation at the end of the Second Book, respecting the kneeling at the receiving of the communion.

No alteration, that I am aware of, was made in the communion service at the review of the liturgy in James the First's time; but either at this or in that of Elizabeth the word "minister" was generally substituted for "priest."

Immediately after the Restoration, a commission was appointed, empowering twelve bishops and twelve presbyterian divines, including Reynolds, Bishop of Norwich, with nine assistants on each side, to revise the liturgy. These commissioners met at the Bishop of London's (Sheldon) lodgings in the Savoy; but not being able to agree, the conference broke up without any result. Some alterations were proposed by the episcopal divines, which the May following were considered and agreed to by the convocation. The alterations which were made at this review in the communion service tended greatly to restore the primitive doctrine and practice respecting that sacrament. The principal of them are the following:

1. The order, that when there is a communion the priest should himself place upon the Lord's table (after presenting and placing upon it the alms which had been collected) so much bread and wine as he should think sufficient for the communicants, was restored; and the word "oblations" inserted after "alms," in the prayer for the whole state of Christ's church. By this alteration the oblation of the elements, which had been for so many years omitted, was restored and enjoined and it becomes those of the clergy who are in the habit of neglecting this injunction, and of allowing the bread and wine to be placed upon the Lord's table before the beginning of the service by the clerk, or other official, to consider well what excuse they can make for omitting this important part of the service, or (if unhappily they do not themselves attach importance to the oblation of the elements) for refusing to comply with a rubric which has, in itself, nothing difficult or inexpedient, and to which it is plain our church attaches considerable importance.

2. The commemoration of the faithful dead was restored in a general form at the end of the prayer for Christ's church; the words, "and we also bless thy holy name for all thy servants," &c., being then added to the foregoing petitions.

3. The two exhortations which, up to that time, had been used on the days of celebration of the communion, were altered, and appointed to be used on the Sunday, or some holiday, immediately preceding the day of celebration; the practice which these exhortations, in their former state, adverted to, of persons not intending to communicate remaining in the church during the celebration of the communion,

which had grown up in Roman-catholic times, having then probably ceased.

4. In the exhortation, "ye that do truly and earnestly repent," &c., the words "with faith" were added to the invitation to "draw near and take this holy sacrament;" and the people were exhorted simply to make their humble confession to Almighty God, the words "before this congregation gathered together in his holy name," which occurred in the old form, and which seemed to sanction the presence of noncommunicants, being omitted.

5. The general confession was directed to be made, in the name of all those that are minded to receive the holy communion, by "one of the ministers," instead of, as before, " either by one of them" (i. e., of the communicants), "or else by the minister himself"-a permission for the introduction of which into the First Book of Edward VI., and its continuance through all the previous reviews of the liturgy, it is impossible to account.

6. The rubric before the prayer of consecration, "When the priest, standing before the table," &c., was added. In the former book it was only "then the minister standing up shall say as followeth."

7. The directions in the First Book of Edward VI., about taking the bread and the cup into the priest's hands, were restored, with the addition of those of his breaking the bread, and the laying of his hands upon the bread, and upon every vessel in which there is any wine to be consecrated. The rubric also, after the communion for the consecrating of more bread and wine, in case that which had been consecrated should be all spent before all have communicated, was added. By these alterations we have now a perfectly valid and sufficient consecration of the elements, so that how much soever any persons might prefer the form in the First Book of Edward VI., they may nevertheless be satisfied that they have in the present form all that is absolutely essential.

8. The rubric, "when all have communicated, the minister shall return to the Lord's table," &c., was inserted; and an addition was made to the rubric at the end of the service, which directed that the curate should have what remained of the bread and wine for his own use, for the purpose of shewing further reverence to the consecrated elements. In the former book this rubric was only, "if any of the bread and wine remain, the curate shall have it to his own use." This was altered to, "if any of the bread and wine remain unconsecrated," &c., and the latter part, "but if any remain of that which was consecrated," &c., was added. By this addition, the consecration of the elements, and the consequent impropriety of putting them to any common use, which had been permitted by the former rubric, was acknowledged and enforced.

9. The explanation respecting kneeling, which occurred at the end. of the Second Book of Edward VI., and which had been omitted by Elizabeth, probably with a view to conciliate the Roman catholics, who were offended by the declaration which it contained against the adoration of the Host, was restored; but the expression "real and VOL. XIV.-Dec. 1838.

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