"the y rule or custom of the Church." The other says, ustom only prevailed at Cæsarea in Cappadocia, where St. Basil lived, and at Cyprus." St. Basil preached some of This Homilies upon the Hexameron at evening prayer.' But he thinks Socrates confines the custom to those places, The because he speaks of it as a peculiar usage of those places to have sermons made by bishops and presbyters on Satur1 days and Sundays at candle-light in the evening. Bishop Wettenhal was of a different judgment: he thinks that in cities and greater churches, it was usual" for the pastors to preach on Sundays both morning and afternoon.' And he supports his opinion from several testimonies of Chrysostom, who entitles one of his Homilies," An exhortation to those, who were ashamed to come to sermon after dinner." And in another, he inveighs against them, who condemned his usage of preaching after dinner, as a new and strange custom, telling them, "he had much more reason to condemn that wicked custom then prevailing among some, to rise from table to sleep." In another place he defends his practice from our Saviour's long sermon to his disciples after his last supper, and in another homily, preached to the people of Antioch," he highly commends them for coming to Church in the afternoon in a full audience. All these are cited by Wettenhal, to which may be added what he says in his Homily of Satan's Temptations, that the bishop attended his sermons, which he preached both morning and afternoon. For that sermon was preached in the afternoon the same day, that he had preached his twenty-first sermon to the newly baptised, as he there expressly tells us. So again it appears that the fifteenth and nineteenth Homilies to the people of Antioch against oaths, were preached on the same day. And his Homily of bearing Reproof patiently 1 Vide Basil. in Hexameron. Hom. 2, 7, 9. vi. cap. 21. 2 Socrat. lib. 8 Wettenhal Duty of Preaching, chap. iii. p. 779. 5 Hom. i. de Lazaro. 4 Chrys. Hom. x. in Genes. p. 132. 319. Hom. x. ad Pop. Antioch. 8 Hom. xxv. de Diabolo Tentatore. tom. i. p. 318, and 9 Chrys. Hom, xv. ad Pop. Antioch, tom. i. p. 198. VOL. V. H was an evening sermon. For there he thus addresses him For all our discourse is in defence of Paul, that Paul, who taught his disciples three years night and day." In his Homily, upon Elias and the widow, he says, "One of his Lent discourses was broken off by the evening coming upon them." And in one of his Homilies upon Genesis, he as plainly intimates, that he was then preaching an evening sermon. For he makes this apostrophe to the people: "I am expounding the Scriptures, and ye all turn your eyes from me to the lamps, and him that is lighting the lamps. What negligence is this, so to forsake me and set your minds on him? For I am lighting a fire from the holy Scriptures, and in my tongue is a burning lamp of doctrine. This is a greater and a better light than that. For we do not set up a light like that moistened with oil, but we inflame souls, that are watered with piety, with a desire of hearing." The whole allusion and similitude shews, that he was preaching an evening sermon, when candles were lighting, which gave him the hint to draw the comparison between the material light of the lamps, and the spiritual light of the Scriptures. And in his third Homily of Repentance, to name no more, he says," he would continue his discourse to the evening,ἕως ἑσπέρας,—that he might finish the subject he was then handling." From all which it is apparent, this was no occasional usage in St. Chrysostom's Church, but his constant and ordinary practice. And in the Latin Church we sometimes meet with examples of this kind, though not so frequent. St. Austin not only preached every day, but sometimes twice on the same day. As is evident from the two sermons on the lxxxviiith Psalm, in the latter of which he says, " he had preached before in the morning and remained in their debt for the afternoon." Gaudentius 'Hom. xiii. de Ferendis Reprehen. tom. v. p. 194. Heliam et Viduam. tom. v. p. 722. 902. 2 Hom. liv. in Hom. iv. in Gen. tom. ii. p. * Chrys. Hom. iii. de Pœnit. tom. iv. p. 559. Aug. Serm. ii. in Psal. 88. Ad reliqua psalmi, de quo in matutino locuti sumus animum intendite, et pium debitum exigite. also, bishop of Brixia,' speaks of his having preached twice on the vigil before Easter. And it is probable, the same solemnity was observed in like manner in other places. For at this solemnity especially they made a distinction in their sermons, preaching one to the catechumens, and another to the neophytes, or persons newly baptised. As Gaudentius says in the same place, that his second sermon was preached to the neophytes. The like is said by St. Ambrose, and Theodoret, and St. Austin, as I have had occasion to shew in another place in speaking of the distinction that was made between the catechumens and the faithful:5 to the former they preached only uponmoral subjects, to the latter upon mystical points of religion, and abstruser articles of faith. Therefore St. Austin says in another place, there were some points which required more intent auditors, and therefore the preacher was not to hasten them, but defer them to another opportunity. And in another Homily? upon Easter day, he excuses the shortness of it," because he was to preach again to the infants," as they then called all persons newly baptised. Cyril's Mystical Catechisms were of this kind. And probably those Mystical Homilies of Origen, whereof he wrote two books, mentioned by Ruffin and St. Jerom, were of the same nature. However we have seen sufficient evidence otherwise for more sermons than one upon the same day upon many occasions, Gaudent. Tract. iv. Carnalem Judaicæ Pascha observantiam, spiritualibus typis refertam, trino jam tractatu docuimus; semel hesterno die, et bis in vigiliis. It Tract. v. Oportebat in illâ nocte vigiliarum secundo tractatu congrua neophytis explanari. Ambros. de iis qui mysteriis initiantur. cap. i. Num. p. 845. 4 8 Theod. Quæst. 15. in Aug. Serm. i. ad Neophytos. in Append. tom. x. 5 Book i. chap. iv. sect. 8. Aug. Tract. 62. in Joan. Intentior flagitatur auditor: et ideò eum præcipitare non debet, sed differre potius disputator. Aug. Hom. lxxxii. de Diversis. Satis sint vobis pauca ista, quoniam et post laboraturi sumus, et de sacramentis altaris hodiè infantibus disputandum est. 8 Ruffin. Invect. ii. cont. Hieron. cited by Valesius Not. in Euseb. lib. vi. cap. 21. ཙནཱ SECT. 9.-Not so frequent in Country Villages. 1 But this is chiefly to be understood of cities and large churches. For in the country parishes there was not such frequent preaching. St. Chrysostom says, "they that lived in the city enjoyed continual teaching: but they, that dwelt in the country, had not such plenty: therefore God compensated this want of teachers with a greater abundance of martyrs, and so ordered it, that more martyrs lay buried in the country, than in the city: where, though they could not hear the tongues of their teachers continually, yet they always heard the voice of the martyrs speaking to them from their graves, and that with greater force of eloquence and persuasion, than living teachers could do," as he there goes on after his manner to describe it. There were some 2 times great assemblies held at these monuments of the martyrs for on their anniversary festivals the whole city went forth to celebrate their memorials in the churches where they lay buried; as Chrysostom tells us both here and in other places: but at other times their chief resort for preaching was to the city churches. It was not till the beginning of the sixth century, that preaching was generally set up throughout the country parishes in the French Church but about that time an order was made in the Council of Vaison, Anno 529," that for the edification of all the Churches, and the greater benefit of the whole body of the people, presbyters should have power to preach not only in the cities, but in all the country parishes: and if the presbyter was infirm, a deacon should read one of the homilies of the holy Fathers." So that in this respect the state of the present Church may be reckoned happier than that of the ancient Church; since there is scarce a country parish among us but has a sermon preached every Lord's day, throughout the year by a presbyter or deacon. 2 Chrys. Hom. 8 Con. Vasens. ii. can. 2. 1 Chrys. Hom. Ixv. de Martyribus. tom. v. p. 973. Ixvii. de S. Droside. tom. v. p. 989. et 990. Hoc etiam pro ædificatione omnium ecclesiarum, et pro utilitate totius populi nobis placuit, ut non solum in civitatibus, sed etiam in omnibus parochiis, verbum faciendi daremus piesbyteris potestatem, &c. SECT. 10. Of their different Ways of Preaching. The next thing to be observed, is, their different sorts of sermons, and different ways of preaching. I have already noted' some difference to have been made between sermons to the catechumens, and sermons to the faithful; but that was chiefly in the matter and subject of them. What I observe here, relates more to the manner and method of preaching, in which respect they were distinguished into four kinds. 1. Expositions of Scripture. 2. Panegyrical discourses upon the saints and martyrs. 3. Sermons upon particular times, occasions, and festivals. 4. Sermons upon particular doctrines, and moral subjects, to illustrate the truth against heresy, and recommend the practice of virtue in opposition to immorality and ungodliness. There are examples of all these kinds in St. Chrysostom's and St. Austin's Homilies, the two great standards and patterns of preaching in the Greek and Latin Church. St. Austin has some Homilies upon whole books of Scripture, as those upon the Psalms, and St. John's Gospel. He has others, styled, De Sanctis, which are panegyrics upon the saints and martyrs: others, styled, De Tempore, which are upon the festivals and great solemnities of the Church, such as the Nativity, Epiphany, Lent, Passion, Easter, Pentecost, and the Lord's days throughout the year; others, styled De Diversis, which are a miscellany upon doctrinal points and moral subjects. So likewise in Chrysostom, we have his Homilies by way of exposition on the whole book of Genesis, the Psalms, the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John, and all St. Paul's Epistles. Then again, his panegyrics upon the saints and martyrs; his homilies upon the noted festivals, Easter, Pentecost, &c. and lastly, his moral and doctrinal discourses upon various subjects, repentance, faith, charity, humility, the truth of the Christian religion, the Divinity of Christ, and such important subjects, as the occasion of the times, and the opposition of Jews, Gentiles, and See before, sect. 8. |