The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-04-23

| 'DeCause, says UuranuuS, ''Jne Olu CreauOu
ended in seven days, wherefore the next mum
Der may be taken as symbolical Of the new"
There is no example of a seven-sided font any
where in churches which understand their
own laws, seven in the language of eeclesi-
astical symbolism meaning perfection, which
baptism is not. The piscicuh or little fishes
so often found sculptured on 1the sides, are
meant to represent young Christians, in allu-
sion to the monogram of Ichthys, by which
the early Greek believers expressed the name
| or title of the Saviour (esous Christos
! Theou Uios Softer; Jesus Christ the Son of
| God, the Saviour). This afterwards came to
be fish simply; and thus o fish became a
sacred symbol in the Christian Church, as il
had already been in the Olympian Pantheon.
! A salamander on a font signifies the baptism of
| both fire and water-an example of which
may be seen at BrdeSirk.
The tretoil and the triangle are alike enble1ns
Of the Holy Trinity; quatrefoil sets forth the
four Evangelists-also is it the proper figure
In which to represent the four Evangests
with our Lord in the centre; or the five wounds
are to be so emblemized, the centre standing
for the heart; while the cnquefol represents
more especially the mysteries of the Rosary,
which are five everywhere-fve joyful five
dolorous, and five glorious. The five Joyful
are, l. The Annunciation; 2, The Saluta-
ton; g. The Birth at Bethlehem; H. The
Adoratlon OF the Wise Men; 5. The Pre-
sentation in the Temple. The five
fGlorgps F5So5oiion are !; r The Agony, & e., The
a. The Bearing of the Cross; 5. The Crucifxion.
And the five glorious are, l. The Resurrection;
z. The ascension; 3. The Descent of the Holy
Spirit; 4. The Assumption of the Blessed Vir-
gin; D. The Coronation of our Lady.
The string of beads by which the faithful
tell their prayers is called rosary, perhaps
from the practice of carving roses on the larger
beads coming between the smaller; and the
whole of the mysteries are sometimes repre-
sented in one large rose. In some curiously
wrought rosaries, the small beads are carved
with roses and birds, while the large beads
are three-sided-on every side one of
the mysteries cut in a trefoil. A hexagon
signifies the attributes of God-bessng,
honor, glory, power, wisdom. majesty;
and a septfoil is used for representa-
ton Of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are
seven-fold-tor the seven sacraments of the
Church, and for the creation of the world; and
for all other things of which seven is the natu-
raj figure. A circle means eternity; hence it
is used for the alteration of the Lamb, or the
rotation of the seasons-subects often found
in the great wheel-windows of pointed
churches, sometimes also called marigold
windows-the flower of many foils or leaves
and sometimes Catherine windows, the wheel
emblemizing that saint.
In numbers, as in geometrical figures, the
symbolist finds rich occasion for secret repre-
sentation. Thus, one represents the Unity of
Deity; two, the human and divine attributes
of our Lord three, the Holy Trinity; four, the
EvangeliSts; FIVE, the five wounds; six, the
attributes of God; seven, the seven-fold graces
of the Holy Spirit; eight, Regeneration; Of
nine, ten, and eleven l have found no ex-
| planation, they are not, it seems, ecclesiasti-
cal numbers; but twelve shows forth the
| Apostles and the whole Church proceed
| ing. Again, the Holy Trinity is sym
| bolized by the nave and two aisles of Saxon
| churches; also by the triple division into
nave, chancel, and sanctum sanctorum, into
which the length of church is parted; also
| in the triple order of moulding, and the altar
| steps, which are generally three, or a multiple
| of three. The great western door is taken to
mean Christ-the door by which all enter into
| the Holy of Holes; the serpent handle, so
common to old churches, is an allusiOn to
the text, "They shall lay their hands upon
serpents;' and the two lights usually placed
over it are typical of his double nature, the
| human and Divine. Sometimes there are
western triplets instead of double ones, which
mean the more comprehensive Triad.
The whole church has it's own specia
meaning, both in ground plan and in super
| structure. In original idea a church was
meant to shadow forth a ship-the ark that
| is to save us from the stormy world and the
| deluge of sin and wrath. Indeed, this ide;
was so dominant that in the Church of SIS
! VincenZoe Anastatio at Rome, near S. Paolo allie
Ire Fontane, built by Honorius /, A. D. $50, tn
walls are carved like the ribs of ship. Blu
if the original idea of church was that of
ship, or ark, its disposition was that of tn
cross-the most complex cathedral resolvin
itself into the form of a cross when seen iron
height, or when the ground plan is trace
on paper. Indeed, in early churches a eros
was marked ON the pavement, the upper par
coming into the chancel, the arms going int
the transepts, and the body lengthening dow
the nave.
2 But this was given up after the anathenl
= pronounced by the second QGcumenical Cour
Q Gil on all who should tread on the holy syn
e Dol. England has fewer cross churches tina
r any other country, the number being only 9
d one to ten; but still the ship or ark, and til
d cross, remain as the original idea of all Chr
IS tian churches in early days.
There is yet more symbolism of parts I'll
le first enclosure is the churchyard answering
Of the Jewish Court of the Gentiies. a plot ,
=, outer court surrounded by wall to intima
y the separation of the church from the worl
$ but coming into no privileges. The north sic
ar OF the churchyard is in some countries appr
- priated to those commanded to be buried o1
A. of sanctuary-such as suicides, the unbaptize
ne and the excommunicates. Qn some localit
le in Devonshire, particular part of the churcI
le yard is devoted to the unbaptized, and callC
as the chrisomer. 1t will be remembered th
lie chriSome is the name of the linen cloth fun
II, over the face of the newly baptized.O With
ill this outer court, but still without the prop
m sanctuary or church, stands the baptistery
I'LL II