The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-08-22

| OnrlSCldn cnurcn as one OF JnOSe per-
sistent survivals of an ancient form
of religion, which time alone can er-
adicate.
There is we'll known legend that
the body of Christ was placed in
tomb with the head towards the
west, thus looking eastward; and fol-
lowing this idea, the universal GUS
tom prevailed during the medieval
ages of burying the dead in like
manner, which still is practiced in
certain localities by professed Chris
tians. More than this; the early
Christian churches were generally
built according to the same rule. The
author of "Apostolical Constitutions"
gave directions for building churches
towards the east, just the same as
Vitruvius had laid down the rule as
to the temples of the gods. The
same applied to the ordinance of
baptism. The subject was placed
with his face towards the west, where
he renounced Satan; then turning
round to the east he took up his alle-
glance to Christ, his new master.
This ceremony and its significance
have thus been clearly set forth by
Jerome:
In the mysteries of baptism 1--WE
first renounce him who is in the west,
and dies to us with our sins; and SO,
turning to the east, we made a cove
nant with the Sun of Righteousness,
promising to be his servants" This
perfect double right of east and west
is still retained in the baptismal GER
emony of the Greek Church, and may
be seen even to this day, in Russia.
Savage tribes bury their dead in
accordance with their ideas of the fu-
ture life. Thus the Yumanas bury
their dead bent double with the face
looking towards the heavenly region
of sunrise, where resides their great
good deity; the Guaragos bury the
corpse with the head turned towards
the east, the locality of the happy
hunting grounds where the dead will
meet again. On the other hand, the
Winnebagos bury their dead facing
the west, for in that direction their
happy hunting grounds are located.
Barbaric Asia, which may be rep
resented by the Amos of Yesso, bu-
ries its dead with the head to the
east, because that is where the sun
rises" Even the cultivated Greeks
preserved the line of east and west.
All of the higher American races
worshipped the sun, and traces of it
may be found among all the savage
tribes. The Comanches, preparing
for war, first expose their weapons on
the east side of the lodge in order
that they may receive the suns rays;
the remnant of old solar rites crops
out among the christianized Pueblo
Indians by turning to the sun at its
rising; among the ancient Mexicans
men knelt in prayer toward the east,
whilst the doors of their sanctuaries
looked mostly westward; in Peru the
villages were always built on slopes
facing the east, that the people
might see and greet the national
deity at his rising. The splendid
golden disc, in the temple of the sun
at Cuzco, on the western wall, looked
out through the eastern door SO that
as he rose the first beams fell upon if,
and thus the reflected rays lighted
up the sanctuary.
1t is not necessary here to present
this form of worship among the an
cient races of Europe, the higher
classes of Africa and Asia, which ul-
timately found its elimination in the
religion of the Parsees.
There is trace of sun worship run
ming throughout the Bible; but as
have not studied it carefully, l hesi-
tate to present it. That this worship
entered more into the true Christian
church than l have presented, may
be instanced in the following quota
tion taken from Gen. Forlong's mast
erly work: "Near the oracle of Bells
or Belz, clearly Belus, the Christian
missionaries are said to have expelled
serpent worshippers, though they re.
tanned much of their faith and prac-
tice, for, says the Rev. Mr.. Deane,
with his usual innocent frankness,
they sacrificed the consistency and
simplicity of the Christi an religion,
and hence we set the serpent, the
emblem of conservation, carved upon
the exterior of churches, as that of
Laudevan, Divau and others; hence
also the introduction of the sun and
the serpent into ecclesiastical process
sions. ''-Rivers of Life, rol. II, %.
293.