A church dictionary

by Walter Farquhar Hook

Although the doctrine of purgatory be a comparatively modern doctrine, yet prayers for the justified dead, for the increase of their happiness, and for our reunion with them, were introduced early into the Church. But it can be proved:

First. That, the prayers of the primitive Church for the dead, being especially for those who were accounted saints par excellence, and including even the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Apostles, prayer to the departed saints, whoever they may be, as it is practised by the churches under the Roman obedience, must be contrary in theory, as it is in fact, to the primitive practice; since it were impossible to pray to and for the same persons.

Secondly. That it was not for the release of the spirit of the departed from purgatory that the Church supplicated Almighty God. For this also were incompatible with prayer for the Blessed Virgin, and other eminent saints, of which there was never any doubt but that they were already in Abraham’s bosom, or even, as in the case of martyrs, in heaven itself.

Thirdly. That works of supererogation formed no part of the system of primitive theology; since all were prayed for as requiring the mercy of God, though it was not declared to what particular end.

Fourthly. That the use of hired masses for the dead, who may have been persons of exceeding criminality, and have died in mortal sin, is utterly at variance with the practice of the Church of old.—See Archbishop Usher and Bingham.

DEADLY SIN. We pray in the Litany to be delivered from “all deadly sin.” In the strict sense of the word every sin is deadly, and would cause eternal death if it were not for the intervention of our blessed Saviour. Even what are called infirmities and frailties, are in this sense deadly. But persons under grace have for these offences “an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John ii. 2.) Their infirmities and frailties, therefore, if they are trying to overcome them, are not deadly to persons under grace, or baptized persons justified by faith, although, if persevered in, and uncorrected, they may terminate in deadly sin; and they consequently require continual repentance, lest they should grow into such a fearful burden. But even to persons under grace we learn, from 1 John v. 16, 17, that there are “sins unto death,”—which must mean sins that put us out of a state of grace, and this is done by any wilful sin persevered in. By deadly sin in a Christian is meant wilful sin, persevered in, which deprives us of all Christian privileges. (See Sin.)

DEAN. Of deans there are two sorts; 1st, the dean of a cathedral, who is an ecclesiastical magistrate, next in degree to the bishop. He is chief of the chapter, and it is supposed is called a dean, (Decanus,) from a similar title in ancient monasteries, of an officer who presided over ten monks.

The dean represents the Archpresbyter, or Protopapas, who all the world over, from the most ancient times, was found under one denomination or another in the principal church of the diocese, to which a body of clergy was uniformly attached. Notre Dame at Paris had a dean as early as 991 at least. There was a dean of Bangor in 603; of Llandaff in 612; at Canterbury from 825 to 1080, then the name of Prior was substituted. Salisbury had its dean in 1072; Lincoln, 1092. In conventual cathedrals, the head was generally prior, the bishop being virtually abbot. The dean was the first dignitary of the cathedral; the head of the corporation; and, in subordination to the bishop, has, according to the statutes of more ancient cathedrals, the cure of souls over the members of the cathedral, and the administration of the corrective discipline of the Church. He has also duties in the choir and the chapter in common with all the chapter. He is by our law a sole corporation, that is, he represents a whole succession, and is capable of taking an estate as dean, and conveying it to his successors. 2nd, Rural deans, whose office is of ancient date in the Church of England, long prior to the Reformation, as it has been throughout Europe, and which many of the bishops are now reviving. Their chief duty is to visit a certain number of parishes, and to report their condition to the bishop. (See Rural Dean.) The dean was not always head of the chapter abroad; the provost being sometimes the superior. But he had always the administration of the discipline in spirituals, [curam animarum, as it is expressly called in statutes both of home and foreign Churches,] the provosts often concerning themselves merely in temporals, and he had the superintendence of the choir, or cathedral body. (See Dictionnaire de Droit Canonique, Lyons, 1787, voce Doyen.) They were, in fact, very much like the deans in our colleges, though more strictly limited ad sacra. The Dean of Faculty, in most ancient and some modern universities, presided over the meetings of their respective faculties, and maintained the academical discipline.

DEAN AND CHAPTER. This is the style and title of the governing body of a cathedral. A chapter consists of the dean, with a certain number of canons, or prebendaries, heads of the church—capita ecclesiæ. The origin of this institution is to be traced to a remote antiquity. A missionary bishop, when converting our ancestors, would take his position in some central town, with his attendant priests: these, as opportunity offered, would go to the neighbouring villages to preach the gospel, and administer the other offices of the Church. But they resided with the bishop, and were supported out of his revenues. By degrees parochial settlements were made; but still the bishop required the attendance of certain of the clergy at his cathedral, to be his council; (for the bishops never thought of acting without consulting their clergy;) and also to officiate in his principal church or cathedral. These persons, to qualify themselves for their office, gave themselves up to study, and to the maintenance and decoration of their sanctuary; the services of which were to be a model to all the lesser churches of the diocese. Forming, in the course of time, a corporation, they obtained property, and ceased to be dependent upon the bishop for a maintenance. And being considered the representatives of the clergy, upon them devolved the government of the diocese when vacant; and they obtained the privilege, doubtless on the same principle, of choosing the bishop, which originally belonged to the whole clergy of the diocese, in conjunction with the bishops of the province. In this privilege they were supported by the kings of the country, who perceived that they were more likely to intimidate a chapter into the election of the royal nominee, than the whole of the clergy of a diocese. But still the deans and chapters sometimes acting independently, an act was passed under Henry VIII., by which a dean and chapter refusing to elect the king’s nominee to the bishopric become individually outlawed, lose all their property, and are to be imprisoned during pleasure. Since that time these corporations have always succumbed to the royal will and pleasure. The great object of the institution, it will be perceived, is, 1st, To provide the bishop with a council; 2nd, To make provision for a learned body of divines, who, disengaged from parochial cares, may benefit the cause of religion by their writings; 3rd, To make provision, also, that in the cathedral church of each diocese the services shall be performed with rubrical strictness, and with all the solemnity and grandeur of which our services are capable.

It is not to be denied, that, during the last century, this institution was greatly abused. Patrons made use of it to enrich their own families or political partisans; and the cathedral clergy, instead of giving themselves up to learned labours, dwelt chiefly on their livings, coming merely for a short time to their cathedrals: as their estates advanced in value, they expended the income on themselves, instead of increasing the cathedral libraries, and rendering the choirs more efficient, by raising the salaries of the choristers, and doubling or trebling their number: finally, being forgetful of the command of the Church, that, “in cathedral and collegiate churches and colleges, where there are many priests and deacons, they shall all receive the communion with the priest, every Sunday at the least,” many deans and chapters have, most unjustifiably, discontinued the weekly communion. Whether individual members of chapters consider these observances superstitious or not, it is on these conditions they enjoy their property; and if they cannot conscientiously keep the conditions, they ought conscientiously to resign their places. These things required reform; and forecasting men, seeing no symptoms of improvement, expected that the arm of the Lord would be made bare for vengeance; and the Lord made use of the secular government of England as his instrument of chastisement. The British legislature, acting on the precedent of Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII., has seized a large portion of the property belonging to the deans and chapters, and has reduced the number of canons. May this be a warning to the deans and chapters as they now exist! May patrons make the cathedral close the abode of men of learning, and may the members of chapters sacrifice even their private property to render their cathedral choirs what they ought to be! May they have strength of mind to sacrifice all they have in the world, rather than elect as a bishop an unworthy nominee of the Crown, if, peradventure, the Crown nominate a Sabellian, or an Arian, or a Socinian heretic. (See Chapters, Canons, and Prebendaries.)