The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

by William James Miller

Lord's Prayer, The.—The prayer which our Blessed Lord taught His disciples when He said, "After this manner, therefore, pray ye," or as given in another place, "When ye pray, say Our Father," etc. The Church has always taken these words literally, so that in all her services—Daily Prayer, Litany, Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Marriage, Visitation of the Sick, etc., the Lord's Prayer is always an integral part. In the Communion Office the Lord's Prayer occurs twice, but it is to be noted that the rubric directs the first to be said by the Priest alone, as a part of his private preparation. With regard to the second there is the following rubric: "Then shall the Minister say the Lord's Prayer, the people repeating after him every petition." {177} These last words (in italics) are omitted in the first rubric, thus indicating a difference of use.

Lord's Supper, The.—(See HOLY COMMUNION.) In regard to the use of the words "Lord's Supper" as a name for the Holy Communion, we reproduce the following from The Annotated Prayer Book, which is worth considering: "The term (the Lord's Supper) is borrowed from 1 Cor. 11:21, where St. Paul applies it to the Agape or love-feasts which then accompanied the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. How the singular and inexact use of it which is handed down in our Prayer Book arose, it is difficult to say; and it is a transference of a Scriptural term from one thing to another which cannot be wholly justified. The name thus given to the Holy Sacrament has led many to confuse the Lord's Last Supper with the institution of the Sacrament itself, which it is expressly said took place 'after supper' (St. Luke 22:20) and 'when He had supped'" (1 Cor. 11:25).

Lord's Table, The.—A Prayer Book name for the ALTAR (which see). In Scriptural usage the words "Altar" and "Table" are synonymous, that is, they are different names for the same thing in different aspects or as respects different uses of it. The word "Altar" is also used in the Prayer Book, in the Office of Institution for the inducting of a Priest to the charge of a Parish, in which he is described as "one who serves at the Altar"; is directed to be "received within the rails of the Altar," and again, to "kneel at the Altar to present his supplication for himself."

Low Celebration.—This is a term commonly used to describe a celebration of the Holy Eucharist on {178} ordinary week-days and in the early morning on Sundays and Feasts. At these the celebrant is unassisted except by a server and there is no choir. All parts of the Office are consequently said, not sung.

Low Sunday.—The first Sunday after Easter is the Octave of the Queen of Festivals and is commonly called "Low Sunday." It is so called from its contrast with the High Festival of Easter Day. The same note of holy joy is struck, but lower down on the scale.

Luke, Festival of Saint.—A Holy Day of the Church observed on October 18. Of the life of St. Luke the Evangelist very little is known, but uniting tradition and the references made to him in Holy Scripture we learn the following particulars: St. Luke was not one of the Apostles and was probably not converted until after the Ascension of our Lord, although one tradition has it that he was one of the two disciples with whom our Lord conversed on the road to Emmaus. St. Luke himself testifies that he was not from the beginning an eye-witness and minister of the Word. He appears to have studied medicine at Antioch, and St. Paul, in one of his Epistles, refers to him as "Luke, the beloved Physician." A late tradition represents him to have been a painter as well as a physician, and he is said to have painted a picture of the Blessed Virgin. He was undoubtedly a scholarly and accomplished man. To him we are indebted for two of the canonical books—the Gospel which bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles. St. Luke's Gospel gives more incidents in our Lord's Life than any of the others, and the beauty and {179} exceeding sweetness of his story of the Great Life are enriched with those Gospel hymns which have characterized the Church's worship ever since, viz.: Gloria in Excelsis, Benedictus, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. Our Lord appears in this Gospel as the Great High Priest, winning by His Sacrifice on the Cross, mercy and pardon for sinners. It is for this reason that in ecclesiastical art, St. Luke is represented by the winged Ox as setting forth Christ's Atonement through sacrifice.

Lych Gate.—The word "lych," derived from the Anglo-Saxon lie, or the German leiche, means a body, especially a dead body, a corpse. The term lych gate is the old name given to a churchyard gate with a porch or covering, under which a bier may be rested while the introductory portion of the Burial Service is being read. Such gates are quite frequently found in England, and occasionally in this country.

M

Magna Charta.—The great document exacted by Barons from King John of England at Runnymede, June 15th, 1215, by which was declared English liberty and English freedom in Church and State, and the ancient rights and privileges of the people were clearly defined and guaranteed. In this document is set forth the independence of England's Church, and from it we learn how untrue is the popular belief that the Church of England was founded by Henry VIII, {180} for among its opening words are these (in Latin): "The Church of England shall be free and her liberties unimpaired." We here see The CHURCH OF ENGLAND referred to as a body already existing, in a State document nearly two hundred years before Henry VIII was born, which is truly a suggestive fact to all thoughtful people.

Magnificat.—The Latin title, meaning "doth magnify," of the hymn sung after the First Lesson at Daily Evening Prayer. It is found in the Gospel of St. Luke I:46-56, and is the song of praise which the Blessed Virgin Mary gave utterance to "at the very season when the Divine overshadowing brought about the Incarnation of the Word." This beautiful hymn is used at the evening service as the daily commemoration of the Incarnation. This use of the Magnificat can be traced as far back as the Fifth Century and it has been used in the English Church at Vespers for over 800 years. For some reason the Magnificat was omitted from the first American Prayer Book set forth in 1789, but at the last revision in 1892 it was restored.