A church dictionary

by Walter Farquhar Hook

FRATERNITIES, in Roman Catholic countries, are societies for the, so-called, improvement of devotion. They are of several sorts and several denominations. Some take their name from certain famous instruments of piety. The more remarkable are,

1. The fraternity of the Rosary. This society owes its rise to Dominic, the founder of the Rosary. He appointed it, they say, by order of the Blessed Virgin, at the time when he was labouring on the conversion of the Albigenses. After the saint’s death, the devotion of the Rosary became neglected, but was revived by Alanus de Rupe, about the year 1460. This fraternity is divided into two branches, that of the Common Rosary, and that of the Perpetual Rosary. The former is obliged, every week, to say the fifteen divisions of ten beads each, and to confess, and communicate, every first Sunday in the month. The brethren of it are likewise obliged to appear at all processions of the fraternity. The latter are under very strong engagements, the principal of which is, to repeat the rosary perpetually; i. e. there is always some one of them, who is actually saluting the Blessed Virgin in the name of the whole fraternity. 2. The fraternity of the Scapulary, whom it is pretended, according to the Sabbatine bull of Pope John XXII., the Blessed Virgin has promised to deliver out of hell the first Sunday after their death. 3. The fraternity of St. Francis’s girdle are clothed with a sack of a grey colour, which they tie with a cord; and in processions walk barefooted, carrying in their hands a wooden cross. 4. That of St. Austin’s leathern girdle comprehends a great many devotees. Italy, Spain, and Portugal are the countries where are seen the greatest number of these fraternities, some of which assume the name of arch-fraternity. Pope Clement VII. instituted the arch-fraternity of charity, which distributes bread every Sunday among the poor, and gives portions to forty poor girls on the feast of St. Jerome, their patron. The fraternity of death buries such dead as are abandoned by their relations, and causes masses to be celebrated for them.—Broughton.

FRATRICELLI. Certain heretics of Italy, who had their rise in the marquisate of Ancona, about 1294. They were most of them apostate monks, under a superior, called Pongiloup. They drew women after them on pretence of devotion, and were accused of uncleanness with them in their nocturnal meetings. They were charged with maintaining a community of wives and goods, and denying magistracy. Abundance of libertines flocked after them, because they countenanced their licentious way of living.

FREEMASONS. An ancient guild of architects, to whom church architecture owes much, and to whom is to be attributed a great part of the beauty and uniformity of the ecclesiastical edifices of the several well-marked architectural æras of the middle ages.

The Freemasons at present arrogate to themselves a monstrous antiquity; it is certain, however, that they were in existence early in the tenth century, and that before the close of that century they had been formally incorporated by the pope, with many exclusive privileges, answering to those which are now involved in a patent. The society consisted of persons of all nations and of every rank; and being strictly an ecclesiastical society, the tone of the architecture to which they gave their study became distinctively theological and significant. The principal ecclesiastics of the day were ranked among its members, and probably many of its clerical brethren were actually and actively engaged in its practical operations. In the present day, if the clergy would pay a little more attention to ecclesiastical architecture, we might perhaps rather emulate than regret the higher character of the sacred edifices of the middle ages.

FREE WILL. Since the introduction of Calvinism many persons have been led into perplexity on this subject, by not sufficiently distinguishing between the free will of spontaneous mental preference, and the good will of freely preferring virtue to vice.

By the ancients, on the contrary, who were frequently called upon to oppose the mischievous impiety of fatalism, while yet they stood pledged to maintain the vital doctrine of Divine grace, this distinction was well known and carefully observed.

The Manicheans so denied free will, as to hold a fatal necessity of sinning, whether the choice of the individual did or did not go along with the action.

The Pelagians so held free will, as to deny the need of Divine grace to make that free will a good will.

By the Catholics, each of these systems was alike rejected. They held, that man possesses free will; for, otherwise, he could not be an accountable subject of God’s moral government. But they also held, that, in consequence of the fall, his free will was a bad will: whence, with a perfect conscious freedom of choice or preference, and without any violence put upon his inclination, he, perpetually, though quite spontaneously, prefers unholiness to holiness; and thus requires the aid of Divine grace to make his bad will a good will.