The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-18
THE CASSoCK AND SURPLICE.
REV. J. l.. sCULLY's SERMON on THE
SYMBOLISM OF THE CHURCH.

mcnts of the Priest Explained and
Their Meanings and symbOIicaI
Ideas Made CIear-The Altar Itself
Is the Great white Throne De-
scribed by st. John and the Cam
dies TyDify the Fact That Christ
Is the Light of the WorId-SymbOI-
ism "a Real and Useful Part of the
Ritual of the Church.
Rev. j. L. scully preached at st. Paul
Church last night the third of his series
Of advent sermons. His subject was Sym
bolism of Furnishings and Vestments,"
and il is probable that his congregation
gained through TIE sermon an insight into
the meaning of these symbolic elements Of
worship that they had never had before.
THE world" said Rev. Mr.. Scully, "is
fun of symbols, but to the s.n-blinded eye
Of man their meaning is net perceptible.
Some Of them, with their meanings and de-
sign, are reVeafed in the scriptures and
are preserved IN The furnish ngs Of the
church and Inc vestments OF h r priests.
II is TO convey 10 you some conception of
this symbolism, that shall address my.
self tonight"
IF the houses of the church were in
tended for preaching houses, it must be
confessed that i'm design and execution
they are fiat failures. The beautiful ar
chitecture of our cathedrals would be at
an end, if it was merely intended that
they should be places where a man should
preach TO the people. 1t Is not so. In the
construction of our churches the whole
idea has been to build a house for the wor-
ship of the Most High and the construct
ion is symbolical of the natural church in
TO which Moses led the children of Israel
IL. al
when he went up to receive from God
the tables of the law. If we had merely
intended to construct a place TO preach
the church architects are outdone by the
moderns who build a big room with an in
cline towards the rear, with row after row
of comfortable chairs, a still more COM
Portable chair and table and a glass of
water for him who is to do the talking"
mo. Our churches are not built with
any such end in view. The preaching is
but an incident The body of the church
is the valley where the Israelites rested
the steps of the altar the ascending ter
races the altar itself the great viii e
throne that was seen by ST. John in his
vision. The altar represents the ever
present Christ and therefore it is that the
well-instructed never pass it without
reverence. The candles by which it is
fianked symbolic the fact that Christ is
the light of the world. The Choir sters
twenty-four elders and the four seats on
the altar the four beasts of the vision of
st. John, the divine"
The method followed in the construction
of one of the churches of his denomination
to-day, with its altar and its furnishings,
followed so closely that seen by st. John
that Mr.. Scully related that the well-in
formed on the subject of the early church
believed that if the saint came 10 earth
and entered one of the churches he would
be able to conduct the services. Mr.. Soul
ly said that this statement would surprise
his congregation, and it did.
The ritual of The church, said Mr.. Soul
Iy, was Oh avn from the scriptures and
followed the commandments of God to h
priests The Vestments that the church
commanded her priests to wear were
part of the ritual and were d. signed in
obedience to the expressed will of the
Deity not according to the concept ons of
pr priety or right of ignorant, fool sh and
untut0red men. The farb of The priests of
the church symbol zed Christ's pre- sence
on earth and his ministry. They partook
in part of the na,ue of the garb actually
worn by Christ on earth and in part Of
that of the high priest. This latter be-
cause Christ came 90 be the high priest
of men, and 50 the garb of the priest To-
day CONNIE morales His stay On earth and
His mission through air eternity.
Mr.. Scully then entered into detailed
description of the separate parts of the
vestments of a priest of the church. The
black cassock is the customary garb Of
the Eastern peoples such a garment as
Christ himself wore. When he pre- est pu!s
IL on it signifies that he renJunces him
self and the world and that he consecrates
himself to the wo. k of God and The church.
He puts on next the while surplice, the
emblem of purity. This is worn at the
choral services, such as the morning and
evening prayer.
For the most holy sacrament of the
church. the communion, the priest wears
other vestments, symbohcal of the nature
of the office and of the sad feast it is de-
signed to commemorate. The amce,
symbolical of the bound eyes of Christ
when he was led to crucifxion, is first
tied around the neck of the priest, A
garment like the surplice but with tight
sleeves, and called the abe, is worn over
the cassock. The tight sleeves are for
convenience in the administration of the
sacrament. The girdle, worm about the
waist of the priest signifies that he girds
up his loins in the service of the church
and follows the Master. The stole, cross
ed, typifies the yoke, which the faithful
must bear in this world.
The hands of the priest are bound with
| the maniple, signifying that his hands are
bound 10 the service of the church. The
| chasuble, hood with a cross IMPLYING
the mission of the priest and the suffer-
! ing Christ is slipped over his head.
1T may be-" said Mr.. Scully that the
| priest is a bad man or poor speaker. 1t
! may be that it is impossible for him to
/ make himself ineligible and comprehen-
| dible to his auditors, but if they are in
structed and will take to themselves the
| Significance of his Vestments their eyes
will catch what their ears have failed to
take in. Symbolism has place in the
church by the commandment of the d.
vine, and a rightful place. The ignorant
may sheer, but il is because they have
never devoted five minutes to an investi-
cation of the subject. No one, who knows
whereof he speaks. will dare to question
| either its divine origin or its real useful