PEWS. Enclosed seats in churches. They did not come into use until the middle of the 17th century, and almost belong to the past now. But long before pews there were appropriated seats. The first mention of a "reading pew," or desk, in the body of the church, for the minister, is in 1596: previous to that time his place was in the chancel.
PHILIP (St.) AND St. JAMES'S DAY. May 1. There seems to be no adequate reason for the coupling together of these two Apostles. In the Greek Church their festivals are observed separately. Of St. Philip we have notices only in St. John, and early tradition speaks of his preaching in Pamphylia. Of St. James the Apostle, the son of Alphaeus, sometimes supposed to be the same as "James the Less," or the Little, of Mark xv. 40, we know nothing except his name in the Apostolic catalogue. In the Epistle for this day he is identified with James, the brother of the Lord, surnamed the Just, and author of the Epistle bearing his name. But this identification is very uncertain.
PISCINA. A drain for water, usually accompanied with decorative features, near the altar on the south side. It was formerly used to pour away the water in which any sacred vessel had been washed. In many churches the Piscina is the only remaining trace of where an altar has been.
PLYMOUTH BRETHREN. The name is a misnomer. They call themselves merely "Brethren," and instead of originating in Plymouth, their principal source was near Dublin. They date from 1827, and their existence is a protest against all sectarianism, they holding that there should be a visible unity among Christians. They decline to be looked upon as one of the many sects into which Christianity is divided, and refuse to be identified with any.
They hold in great esteem the primitive constitution of the Church, and trust largely to the power of prayer for the supply of their temporal necessities. They have no recognised ministry, but any one believing himself to be inspired of the Spirit may address their meetings.
POLITY, ECCLESIASTICAL. The constitution and government of the Christian Church, considered as a society. The great book on this subject is Hooker's immortal work.
POPE. From Papa, Father, a title anciently given to all Christian Bishops; but at the end of the 11th century it was assumed exclusively by Gregory VII., Bishop of Rome, whose successors' peculiar title it has ever since continued. (See Papists.) There are but few instances of the exercise of the papal power in England before the Norman Conquest, nor has the Church of England ever wholly submitted to papal rule. (See Church of England.)
POSITIVISM, see Comtism.
PRAYER-BOOK, see Liturgy.
PREACHING. Proclaiming the truths of religion. The term is not necessarily to be limited to what are called sermons, as we see by Acts xv. 21, "Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." Hooker, in his fifth book, cleverly argues against the exaltation of sermons as being the means of grace to the detriment of other parts of public worship, a custom prevalent in his time among the Puritans, and now among most of the dissenting sects.