File:A dictionary of religious knowledge (electronic resource)- for popular and professional use, comprising full information on Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical subjects (1875) (14793643903).jpg

Identifier: 07244119.1178.emory.edu
Title: A dictionary of religious knowledge (electronic resource): for popular and professional use, comprising full information on Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical subjects
Year: 1875 (1870s)
Authors: Abbott, Lyman, 1835-1922 Conant, Thomas Jefferson, 1802-1891
Subjects: Theology Religion
Publisher: New York : Harper
Contributing Library: Emory University, Pitts Theology Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Emory University, Pitts Theology Library

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nAmerica; and the musical parts of the serv-ice are as important a portion of the serv-ice as the prayers or the sermon. To thoseignorant of the meaning of the elaborateritualisms of the Church service, it appearsoften not only useless but senseless; in fact,while it is sometimes called an unmeaningceremony, every feature in the service, ev-ery color and figure in the priestly vestments,has a symbolic signification; though how farthey do in fact carry any meaning to the or-dinary worshipers is very doubtful. To en-ter in detail into a description of the compli-cated ritual of the Church would carry usbeyond the limits of this article; for illus-trations of it the reader is referred to the ar-ticles Baptism and Mass. History. — The Roman Catholic Churchclaims to be as old as Christianity; to be theecclesiastical institution organized and ap-pointed by Christ for the redemption of the1 For a picture of a Eoman Catholic altar, see Altar. ROMAN CATHOLTC CHITROH PI4 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
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Carrying the Holy Sacrament. world, from which all other sects have comeout, and, in the coming, have put themselvesin antagonism to the will of God, and to theprinciples of his government. It deniesthe possibility of progress in religions truth;and as it claims for itself infallibility, so itis unable to concede that it has ever erred,or ever lacked any necessary measure of di-vine truth. Impartial history does not sus-tain this claim. On the contrary, it showsvery clearly that Romanism, both as a hie-rarchy and as a theology, both, i. €., as aChinch organization and as a system of doc-trine, is a growth. New elements have beenadded from time to time to its priesthood, new ceremonies to its ritual, and new doc-trines to its creed. It is in vain one looksin the New Testament for any indicationsof the exercise by Peter of that, supremepower which Pius IX. claims to exercise overall the faithful, or for any parallel to themodern Mass, with its magnificent musicand its costly vestments

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