The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

by William James Miller

D

Daily Prayer, The.—By the appointment of Daily Morning and Evening Prayer set forth in the Prayer Book the Church designs that services should be held every day in the church throughout the year. This is usually regarded as being impracticable and therefore the Daily Prayer does not prevail in our churches. It has been pointed out, however, that "Churches {74} without such an offering of Morning and Evening Prayer are clearly alien to the system and principles of the Book of Common Prayer, and to make the offering in the total absence of worshippers seems scarcely less so. But as every church receives blessings from God in proportion as it renders to Him the honor due unto His Name, so it is much to be wished that increased knowledge of devotional principles may lead on to such increase of devotional practice as may make the omission of the Daily Offices rare in the Churches of our land."

Dalmatic.—A robe of silk or other rich material with wide but short sleeves, and richly embroidered, worn by the Deacon or Gospeller at the Holy Eucharist. Not usually worn, although its use is being restored.

Daughters of the King.—An organization of the young women of the Church, organized in 1885. A careful distinction should be made between the Daughters of the King and "The King's Daughters." This organization came into existence some time before The King's Daughters was organized, and it is to be noted that the Daughters of the King is more of an order than a Society and is distinctively a Church organization. The purpose of the Order is "for the Spread of Christ's Kingdom among young women," and "the active support of the plans of the Rector in whose parish the particular chapter may be located." Its badge is a cross of silver, a Greek cross fleury and its mottoes are, "Magnanimeter Crucem Sustine" and "For His Sake." Its colors are white and blue. The Order of the Daughters of the King is very similar to {75} the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, and is designed to do for young women what the Brotherhood does for young men.

Days of Obligation.—These are days on which Communicants are bound
by the Faith they profess to be present at the celebration of the
Holy Communion and to rest as much as possible from servile work.
Such Days of Obligation are the following:

All Sundays in the year, not 12 but 52.
Christmas Day 25th December.
Feast of the Circumcision 1st January.
Feast of the Epiphany 6th January.
Annunciation Day 25th March.
Easter Day Movable.
Ascension Day Movable.
Whitsun Day Movable.
All Saints' day 1st November.

Deacon.—One who has been ordained to the lowest order of the Ministry. The account of the institution of the order of Deacons is found in the Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7. We here learn that the first Deacons were ordained to attend especially to the benevolent work of the Church in caring for the poor, but they were also preachers of the Word. The Office of Deacon is still retained in the Church as an order of the Ministry, for "it is evident unto all men reading Holy Scripture and ancient Authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been these Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church,—Bishops, Priests and Deacons." A Deacon may assist the Priest at the Altar and administer the cup. He may baptize, say all choir offices, and if he is learned and {76} is licensed thereto by the Bishop, he may preach, but he cannot administer the Holy Communion, or pronounce the Absolution and the Benediction. He wears his stole over the left shoulder and fastened under his right arm. If a Candidate for Priest's Orders and can pass the required examination, he may after a year's service as a Deacon be advanced to the Priesthood.

Deaconess.—In the Apostles' time there were holy women set apart for the work of the Church, for example Phoebe, the servant or deaconess, who was commended by St. Paul. This order of Deaconesses continued until about the seventh century, when the changed conditions of the Church interfered with its usefulness. In many places the order has of late years been revived and is demonstrating its original usefulness. The American Church has recognized the need of such an order of women in its work, and in the general canons provision is made for establishing the order and for its continuance and regulation. According to these, a woman to be admitted to the office of Deaconess must be at least twenty-five years of age, a communicant of the Church, and fit and capable to discharge the duties of the office. Before she can act as a Deaconess she must be set apart for that office by an appropriate religious service. When thus set apart she shall be under the direct oversight of the Bishop of the Diocese, to whom she may resign her office at any time, but having once resigned her office she is not privileged to be reappointed thereto unless the Bishop shall see "weighty cause for such reappointment." {77}

Training Schools for Deaconesses have been established in various parts of the country where candidates for this office receive special instruction and are trained for their work.

Dean.—An Ecclesiastical title; the presiding officer of a Cathedral. The word is derived from the Latin decanus, meaning one presiding over ten. In England the Dean is a Church dignitary and ranks next to the Bishop. The word is used in the American Church, but with a considerable modification of its original meaning. The Cathedral in the American Church not having become fully developed, the duties and rights of the Dean as the presiding officer of the Cathedral have not been fully determined, or at all events not made a reality. So that for the most part the title as used in this country is simply honorary.

Decalogue.—The name given to the Ten Commandments and derived from the Greek word, dekalogos, meaning the Ten Words or discourses. They are divided into two tables; the first four commandments set forth our duty towards God, and the last six our duty towards man. The reading of the Ten Commandments in the Communion Office is peculiar to our Liturgy and were added in the year 1552, together with the response after each commandment, "Lord, have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this law." While the commandments were originally introduced to our Liturgy as a warning and safeguard against the lawlessness of extreme Puritans, they are, nevertheless, helpful to all as a preparation for the right reception of the Holy Communion; leading the congregation to an examination of their "lives and {78} conversation by the rule of God's commandments." The translation of the Decalogue used in the Communion Office is not that of the present Authorized version, but that of the "Great Bible" of 1539-40, which was retained because the people had grown familiar with it. To the Commandments is added our Lord's Summary of the Law, which may be read at the discretion of the Minister.

Decani.—A term used to designate the south side of the choir, (the right side as we face the Altar) that being the side where the Dean sits.

Dedication, Feast of.—The annual commemoration of the consecration of a Church building is so called. From ancient authors we learn that when Christianity became prosperous and flourishing, churches were everywhere erected and were solemnly consecrated, the dedications being celebrated with great festivities and rejoicing. The rites and ceremonies used upon these occasions were a great gathering of Bishops and others from all parts, the celebration of divine offices, singing of hymns and psalms, reading the Holy Scriptures, sermons and orations, receiving the Blessed Sacrament, prayers and thanksgivings, liberal alms bestowed on the poor, gifts to the Church; and, in short, mighty expressions of mutual love and kindness and universal rejoicing with one another. These dedications from that time forward were always commemorated once a year and were solemnized with great pomp and much gathering of the people, the solemnity usually lasting eight days.

The Feast of the Dedication is frequently kept in many parishes now and its observance has been found {79} to be most helpful to both Priest and People, recalling to mind the joy and gladness of the day of the Consecration of their Church and being the time for the revival of old faiths and pledges, and consequently of renewed interest in the Church, its work and its worship.

Deposition.—The name used in the general Canons for degradation from the office of the Ministry, as the penalty for offenses therein enumerated. Deposition can only be performed by a Bishop after sufficient evidence. When a Bishop thus deposes any one, he is required to send "notice of such deposition from the Ministry to the Ecclesiastical Authority of every Diocese and Missionary Jurisdiction of this Church, in the form in which the same is recorded." The object of this is to prevent any one thus deposed from officiating anywhere in the Church. He has been cut off from all office in the Church and from all rights of exercising that office.

Deprecations.—The name given to certain petitions in the LITANY (which see).

Descent into Hell.—An article of the Creed in which we confess our belief that our Lord while His Body lay in the grave, descended into the place of departed spirits. The word "Hell" as here used is the English translation of the Greek word Hades, which means not the place of torment, (for which another Greek word is used, viz., Gehenna) but that covered, hidden place where the soul awaits the General Resurrection. The Rubric before the Creed gives this interpretation of the word, and permission is given to churches to use instead of it, the words "place of departed spirits," "which are considered as words of {80} the same meaning in the Creed." (See INTERMEDIATE STATE.)

Diaconate.—The office of a Deacon, or the order of Deacons collectively.

Dies Irae.—The first two words of a Latin hymn, meaning "Day of Wrath," being the 36th of the Hymnal. It is supposed to have been written in the Twelfth Century by Thomas of Celano. The translation of this hymn used in the Hymnal was made by the Rev. W. J. Irons, in 1869. It seems to be a poetic and devotional embodiment of the words to be found in Hebrews 10:27, "a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation," and is much used during Advent. The music to which it is usually sung was written by the Rev. John B. Dykes in 1861, and is a most beautiful rendering of this ancient and sublime hymn.

Digest of the Canons.—The name given to the collection of the laws or canons of the American Church enacted and set forth by the General Convention. The word "Digest" is derived from the Latin word digestus, meaning carried apart, resolved, digested, and is applied to a body of laws arranged under their proper heads or titles. The Canons set forth by the General Convention as thus arranged come under four titles, viz.:

TITLE I.—Of the Orders of the Ministry and of the Doctrine and
Worship of this Church. Under this head there are Twenty-six Canons.

TITLE II.—Of Discipline, Thirteen Canons.

TITLE III.—Of the Organized Bodies and Officers of the Church,
Nine Canons. {81}

TITLE IV.—Miscellaneous Provisions, Four Canons.

There is also an appendix of Standing Resolutions.

Dimissory Letter.—A letter given to a clergyman removing from one Diocese to another. The General Canons provide that "before a clergyman shall be permitted to settle in any Church or Parish, or be received into union with any Diocese of this Church as a Minister thereof, he shall produce to the Bishop, or if there be no Bishop, to the Standing Committee thereof, a letter of dismission from under the hand and seal of the Bishop with whose Diocese he has been last connected . . . which shall be delivered within six months from the date thereof; and when such clergyman shall have been so received he shall be considered as having passed entirely from the jurisdiction of the Bishop from whom the letter of dismission was brought, to the full jurisdiction of the Bishop or other Ecclesiastical Authority by whom it shall be accepted and become thereby subject to all the canonical provisions of this Church." The effect of this law is that in the Episcopal Church there can be no strolling, irresponsible evangelists or preachers, and thus the people are protected from imposture, and may know, when the proper steps are taken, that their ministers come to them fully accredited and duly authorized to minister to them in Christ's Name.

Diocese.—The territorial limits of a Bishop's Jurisdiction. Properly speaking the Diocese is the real unit of Church life. Originally the Bishop went first in the establishing of the Church in any nation or country; out of this Jurisdiction grew the parishes or local congregation, being ministered to by the Priests {82} under the Bishop. In the American Church, through force of circumstances, the reverse of this has been the case. But notwithstanding, the fact remains here as elsewhere that the Diocese with the Bishop at its head is the real unit of Church life and organization, and the Parish a dependency of it and from which it gets its corporate existence as a Parish. In the phraseology of the Canons, a missionary Bishop presides over a "Missionary Jurisdiction" which it is expected will develop into a Diocese, but according to the true theory of the Church his Missionary Jurisdiction is really a Diocese. (See CATHEDRAL.)

Diocesan.—The name given to a Bishop who presides over a Diocese.
The word also means relating or pertaining to a Diocese.

Diocesan Convention.—The annual gathering of the Bishop, Clergy and people of a Diocese. The Bishop and Clergy represent their own Order and the people are represented by delegates elected by the Vestries of the various parishes. The purpose of the Convention is to review the work of the past year; make provision for the work of the year following, and by legislative acts provide such laws as may further the purpose for which the Diocese exists. For cause special conventions may be called, a month's notice at least being given to the clergy, and to the parishes within the Diocese. (See CONVENTION.)

Diocesan Missions.—Church work done in a Diocese outside of its Parishes and having for its object the extension of the Church within the territorial limits of the Diocese, is called Diocesan Missions. This work is prompted by those words of our Lord {83} when He said, "Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also; for therefore came I forth." The Diocese embraces all the people within its limits and for them all it has a message and a blessing. For the deliverance of this message and the bestowal of this blessing all, both Clergy and Laity, have responsibilities and therefore the Church turns to them for the means whereby this work can be carried on. The support of Diocesan Missions is as obligatory on all members of the Church as the support of the Bishop or their own Parish, and to this all will contribute annually if they love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and truth. (See CONVOCATION.)

Diptychs.—In the early ages of the Church it was customary to recite in holy commemoration the names of eminent Bishops, of Saints and Martyrs; the names of those who had lived righteously and had attained the perfection of a virtuous life. For this purpose the Church possessed certain books, called diptychs, from their being folded together, and in which the names of such persons "departed in the true faith," were written that the Deacon might rehearse them at the time when the memorial of the departed was made at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. This was done to excite and lead the living to the same happy state by following their good example; and also to celebrate the memory of them as still living, according to the principles of our Religion, and not properly dead, but only translated by death to a more Divine Life. To this custom is to be traced the origin of the Christian CALENDAR (which see). In many parishes at the present time a similar {84} custom obtains, of reciting at the Holy Communion on All Saints' Day the names of parishioners who, during the year, have departed in the true faith of God's Holy Name.

Discretion, Years of.—In the Prayer Book the Rite of Confirmation is described as "The Laying on of Hands on those who are Baptized and come to years of Discretion." The phrase "years of discretion" is defined in the Rubric at the end of The Catechism, as follows, "So soon as children are come to a competent age and can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, and can answer the other questions of this Short Catechism, they shall be brought to the Bishop." According to the modern capacity of children, they are able to learn what is required by the time they are from twelve to fourteen years old; but if they are quick and intelligent children, they will probably be ready to "be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him" at an even earlier age. From immemorial usage this is evidently the intention of the Church.

Dispensation.—A formal license, granted by ecclesiastical authority, to do something which is not ordinarily permitted by the canons, or to leave undone something that may be prescribed. In the American Canons, dispensation has special reference to an official act by the Bishop whereby he may excuse candidates for Holy Orders from pursuing certain studies required by canon.

Divine Liturgy.—(See HOLY COMMUNION, also LITURGY.)

Divine Service.—In the old rubrical usage of the {85} Church, "Divine Service" always meant the Holy Communion, which was also called the Divine Liturgy. The central point of all Divine Worship, towards which all other services gravitate, and around which they revolve, like planets around the sun, is the great sacrificial act of the Church, the offering of the Blessed Sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood.

Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society.—This society is the largest and most influential working organization in the American Church. By means of it the Church shows how aggressive she is, for it has enabled her to place Bishops and Missionaries in many of the States and in all the Territories in the Union and also in foreign lands. This society is the Church's established agency, under the authority and direction of the General Convention, for the prosecution of missions among the negroes of the South, the Indians in the North, the people in the New States and Territories in the West and in some of the older Dioceses; in all the Society maintains work in forty-three Dioceses and seventeen Missionary Jurisdictions in this country. It also conducts missions among the nations in Africa, China, Japan, Haiti, Mexico, Porto Rico and the Philippines. It pays the salary and expenses of twenty-three Missionary Bishops and the Bishop of Haiti, and provides entire or partial support for sixteen hundred and thirty (1,630) other missionaries, besides maintaining many schools, orphanages and hospitals. For the prosecution of this work the Society expends about $700,000 a year, which amount it expects to receive from the devotions of the faithful. The Society should be {86} remembered in making wills, and its constant needs should never be forgotten since it must regularly each and every year provide for so great a work.

The legal title of this important society is, "The Domestic and
Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
the United States of America." The Society was organized by the
General Convention in 1821 and incorporated by the State of New
York, May 13th, 1846, and is organized as follows:

MEMBERS.—The Society is considered as comprehending all persons who are members of this Church.

BOARD OF MISSIONS.—Composed of all the Bishops of the Church in the United States and the members for the time being of the House of Deputies of the General Convention (including the Delegates from the Missionary Jurisdictions), the members of the Board of Managers and the Secretary and Treasurer of the Board.

THE MISSIONARY COUNCIL.—Comprises all Bishops of the Church, all members of the Board of Managers, and such other clergymen and laymen as may be elected by the General Convention, and in addition thereto, one Presbyter and one layman from each Diocese and Missionary Jurisdiction to be chosen by the Convention, Council or Convocation of such Diocese or Jurisdiction. The Missionary Council meets annually except in the General Convention years, and is competent to take all necessary action in regard to the missionary work of the Church consistent with the general policy of the Board of Missions.

BOARD OF MANAGERS.—Comprises the Presiding Bishop, fifteen other Bishops, fifteen Presbyters and {87} fifteen Laymen selected from the Missionary Council. The Board of Managers, thus composed, has the management of the general missions of the Church, and when the Board of Missions is not in session, exercises all the corporate powers of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society.

THE HEADQUARTERS of the Society are in the CHURCH MISSIONS HOUSE (which see) at 281 Fourth Avenue, New York City.

THE PUBLICATIONS of the Society by which its work is made known are "The Spirit of Missions," published monthly; "The Quarterly Message," and "The Young Christian Soldier," published weekly and monthly.

Domestic Missions.—(See DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.)

Dominical Letter.—Meaning Sunday Letter is one of the first seven letters of the alphabet used in the Calendar to mark the Sundays throughout the year. The first seven days of the year being marked by A. B. C. D. E. F. G., the following seven days are similarly marked, and so throughout the year. The letter which stands against the Sundays in any given year is called the Dominical or Sunday letter. For example, the year 1901 began on Tuesday and the first week of that year with the first seven letters of the alphabet would give us the following table:

Jan. 1. Tuesday A. " 2. Wednesday B. " 3. Thursday C. " 4. Friday D. " 5. Saturday E. " 6. Sunday F. " 7. Monday G. {88}

From this table we learn that the Dominical letter for 1901 is F., for that letter falls opposite the first Sunday in that year. The Dominical letters were first introduced into the Calendar by the early Christians. They are of use in finding on what day of the week any day of the month falls in a given year, and especially in finding the day on which Easter falls. (See TABLES IN THE PRAYER BOOK.)

Dossal. Hangings of silk or other material placed at the back of the Altar as a decoration and to hide the bare wall. The dossal is used where there is no reredos and usually is of the Church color for the Festival or Season. Derived from the Latin word dorsum, meaning back.

Doxology.—Any form or verse in which glory is ascribed to God or the Blessed Trinity, for example, the Gloria in Excelsis, which is called the greater Doxology, and the Gloria Patri, the lesser Doxology. The concluding words of the Lord's Prayer beginning, "For Thine is the kingdom," etc., is also called the Doxology. Derived from the Greek word Doxologia, from doxa, praise and logos, meaning word.

Duly.—In the prayer of Thanksgiving in the Holy Communion, the acknowledgment is made, "We heartily thank Thee, for that Thou dost vouchsafe to feed us who have duly received." The word duly as here used is the English word for the Latin rite, which means according to proper form and ordinance, i.e., as prescribed by and universally used in the Church Catholic; without which there can be no proper Sacrament. The word also occurs in the definition of the Church in the {89} XIX Article of Religion and has there the same interpretation.