Feasts or Festivals.—Days set apart for the celebration of some great event connected with our Blessed Lord or His Saints, also called Holy Days. The rubric in the Communion Office requires that each Feast shall be announced to the congregation on the Sunday preceding the day on which it occurs. They are set forth in a Table to be found in the introductory portion of the Prayer Book as follows:
A TABLE OF FEASTS.
To be observed in this Church throughout the Year.
All Sundays in the year. St. Bartholomew the Apostle.
The Circumcision of our Lord. St. Matthew the Apostle.
The Epiphany. St. Michael and All Angels.
The Conversion of St. Paul. St. Luke the Evangelist.
The Purification of the Blessed St. Simon and St. Jude the
Virgin. Apostles.
St. Matthias the Apostle. All Saints,
The Annunciation of the Blessed St. Andrew the Apostle.
Virgin Mary. St. Thomas the Apostle.
St. Mark the Evangelist. The Nativity of our Lord.
St. Philip and St. James the St. Stephen the Martyr.
Apostles. St. John the Evangelist.
The Ascension of our Lord. The Holy Innocents.
St. Barnabas the Apostle. Monday and Tuesday in Easter
The Nativity of St. John Baptist. Week.
St. Peter the Apostle. Monday and Tuesday in Whitsun
St. James the Apostle. Week.
The Transfiguration of our Lord.
Feria.—A term derived from the Latin and used to designate days which are neither Feasts nor Fasts. {111}
Filioque.—The Latin for the words "and the Son" which occur in
our form of the Nicene Creed. They are not found in the original
Creed as used in the Greek Church, but were added by the Third
Council of Toledo, A.D. 589. This addition to the Creed by the
Western Church was the subject of a long controversy between the
East and the West, which with other complications finally led to
their entire separation in A.D. 1054. (See PROCESSION OF THE HOLY
GHOST.)
Fish.—The figure of a fish has been used from the very earliest days as a symbol in the Christian Church. Among the early Christians it was used as a secret sign by which they knew one another in the days of persecution. The significance of the fish as a Christian symbol is set forth under EMBLEMS (which see).
Flagon.—One of the Eucharistic vessels. A large pitcher-shaped vessel made of precious metal and used to hold the wine before its consecration in the chalice. It is sometimes used in the consecration.
Font.—The vessel which contains the water for the purpose of Baptism, usually of stone and vase-shaped, i.e., a large bowl on a pedestal, being sometimes circular and sometimes octagonal. The position of the Font in primitive times was at or near the Church door to signify that Baptism is the entrance into the Church Mystical. This position is still retained in some churches at the present time, but in most churches it is placed near the chancel for convenience, or because no place at the door was provided by the architect. Fonts were formerly required to be covered and locked; originally their covers were simple flat {112} movable lids, but they were subsequently very highly ornamented, assuming the form of spires and enriched with various decorations in carved wood or polished brass. The Font is so called from the Latin word Fons, genitive Fontis, meaning a fountain or spring, referring to Baptism as a Laver of Regeneration, the source of new and spiritual life.
Foreign Missions.—(See DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.)