A church dictionary

by Walter Farquhar Hook

Then the bishop, or priest, shall say the Lord’s Prayer, with that which follows, all kneeling.

Let us pray.

Our Father, which art in heaven, &c.

O God of truth and love, we bless and magnify thy holy name for thy great mercy and goodness in bringing this thy servant into the communion of this Church: give him (or her) we beseech thee, stability and perseverance in that faith of which he (or she) hath in the presence of God and of this congregation witnessed a good confession. Suffer him (or her) not to be moved from it by any temptations of Satan, enticements of the world, the scoffs of irreligious men, or the revilings of those who are still in error; but guard him (or her) by thy grace against all these snares, and make him (or her) instrumental in turning others from the errors of their ways, to the saving of their souls from death, and the covering a multitude of sins. And in thy good time, O Lord, bring, we pray thee, into the way of truth all such as have erred and are deceived; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy flock, that there may be one fold under one Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ; to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

Then the bishop, or priest, standing up (if there be no communion at that time), shall turn himself to the person newly admitted, and say:

Dear brother, or sister,

Seeing that you have by the goodness of God proceeded thus far, I must put you in mind, that you take care to go on in that good way into which you are entered; and for your establishment and furtherance therein, that, if you have not been confirmed, you endeavour to be so the next opportunity, and receive the holy sacrament of the Lord’s supper. And may God’s Holy Spirit ever be with you. Amen.

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your heart and mind by Christ Jesus. Amen.—Cardwell’s Synodalia. Wilkins’s Concilia.

ABSOLUTION. (See Confession, Penance.) The power of absolution consists in removing the guilt and punishment of sin, and receiving the guilty person into favour, as if he were perfectly innocent. This is variously expressed in holy Scripture. It is sometimes made the same with justification, which is the acquitting a person from guilt, and looking upon him as perfectly righteous. It is opposed to condemnation, which is a laying of sin to his charge. This power is expressed by remitting or retaining of sin, which is the pardoning or punishing of it. It is called sometimes the power of opening and shutting the kingdom of heaven, which is by admitting into, or excluding out of, the Church; for none can be received into the kingdom of glory hereafter but such as are admitted into the church or kingdom of grace here: called therefore the power of the keys. It is called in St. Matthew the power of binding and loosing, (xvi. 19,) “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth,” &c. Sinners are said to be “tied and bound with the chain of their sins,” to be “holden with cords,” and to be “in the bond of iniquity.” Now to loosen this bond, to untie those cords, and so be freed from these chains, is done by what we call the power of absolution, or remission of sins: and so the words of St. Matthew are the same in effect with those of St. John, “Whose soever sins ye remit,” &c. This power of pardoning is annexed to some acts of religion, instituted by God for this purpose, and executed only by Christ’s ministers. As, 1. Baptism was ordained for the remission of sins; so St. Peter told his converts, (Acts ii. 38,) “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you,” &c. 2. The holy sacrament of the eucharist was instituted for this purpose: as we read, Matt. xxvi. 28, where Christ’s body is said to be broken, and “his blood shed for many for the remission of sins.” 3. The preaching the word is for the proclaiming of pardon, called therefore the ministry, or word, of reconciliation. (2 Cor. v. 18.) 4. The prayer of the elders over the sick hath joined to it the forgiveness of sins. (Jas. v. 14.) Now these ministerial acts for the “remission of sins,” are peculiar only to the “priest’s office:” neither is the virtue or effect of them to be imparted to any other; for to them it is said, and to no other, “whose sins ye remit,” &c.; and therefore a pardon pronounced by them must be of greater efficacy than by any ordinary person.—Hole.

The authority and power of conferring absolution on penitents, wherewith our gracious Saviour hath so clearly vested his ministerial successors, “whose soever sins ye remit,” &c., having been abused by the Church of Rome into a lucrative market of pardons and indulgences, it is no wonder that Luther, and all our first reformers, should have taken infinite offence at a practice so flagitious, and so directly contrary to the command of Christ, “freely ye have received, freely give.” This, however, should not have been a reason, as it was with too many, for rejecting all absolutions. The true doctrine is, and must be, this: For the consolation of his Church, and particularly of such as class with the penitent publican in the gospel, Christ hath left with his bishops and presbyters a power to pronounce absolution. This absolution is on condition of faith and repentance in the person or persons receiving it. On sufficient appearance of these, and on confession made with these appearances in particular persons, the bishop or presbyter, as the messenger of Christ, is to pronounce it. But he cannot search the heart; God only, who can, confirms it. The power of absolution is remarkably exercised by St. Paul, though absent, and depending on both report and the information of the Holy Spirit, in regard to the Corinthian excommunicated for incest. The apostle, speaking in the character of one to whom the authority of absolution had been committed, saith to the Church of Corinth, “to whom ye forgave anything, I forgive also.” (2 Cor. ii. 10.) Thus the penitent was pardoned and restored to communion by delegated authority, in the person of Christ, lest such an one should be swallowed up with over-much sorrow, and lest Satan should get an advantage over us. As these reasons for compassion still remain, it seems evident that the Church should still retain the same power of showing that compassion, as far as human understanding may direct its application.—Skelton.