The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1910-01-25
REV. CAR ER
ON CHURCH
HISTORY

The third Of the series OF Sunday
evening sermons upon the History
and Development OF tine Church Insti.
'udons," was given Sunday evening in
the First Presbyterian church, the
theme being. The Origin OF The Use
OF Separate Church Buildings and the
Rise OF the Clergy as n Separate
Class"
Tho music was furnished by Mrs
Poulter and Misses Wilcox, Hamll
md Biddle and was a most worthy
feature OF the evening. each one of the
artists ooing worthy OF SPECIAL men
tioD. Rev Carver said In part
The hrat meeting OF Christians, af
ter tho ascension OF Christ was a
prophecy Of the many meetings which
were to be held by the Christian be.
lievers In the next three centuries
IT WAS a meeting in the home Of one
o. the Jerusalem Christians Follow
Ing this there are many meetings in
private homes noted in the book OF
the Acts and Epistles. and by the
time Paul writes his letters several
groups OF believers have been gath
cred In various centers As these
groups are mentioned they are spoken
OF as the church In the house of some
leading or hrst-bellever who had
home large enough to make It suitable
to become permanent meeting place
for the resident Christians. The FIRST
churches were churches that were
centered both In sentiment and fact
about some home. This continued
during the first two centuries, and
Ic hn % ba
fourth that We find definite public
church buildings In any great mum.
bers. These had their beginnings in
an odd dccadence OF time-honored
custom From the days of Homer and
Ruth the entrance TO the city or TO
the rulers palace had been the place
Of common gathering for deliberations
Of justice or affairs of state This
custom caused the rise OF large build
ings erected at the rulers palace,
known as Basilicas" (from the Greek
word meaning king. These buildings
were spacious enough for large as
semblieS of people and were in shape
and construction much like the larg
er European churches and cathedrals.
In fact. the latter were patterned
very largely after them Now when
the Roman empire became a Christian
one, these basilicas became the regu-
lar meeting places for Christian ser
vice. For this end they were adapted
In an excellent manner They had
at one end platform formerly used
for the ruler or judge. but now for
the pulpit and the large audience
room divided by tho nave into three
great aisles formerly used. the one
side for the women, the other for the
men. while the center was often oc-
cupied by merchants displaying their
wares even during judicial and state
proceedings. but now all alike used
for the sitting places of the congrega-
tion
Strange 10 say. many a country
church today still retains the old Ro-
man court custom of dividing the wo,
men on one side and the men on an
other When in later centuries the
great and costly cathedrals and
churches were buildcd they retained
the nave and general contour Of the
old Basllica or kings palace court
used 80 many centuries ago for polit
ical and legal assemblies, and indeed
they wcro not only vast improve
mcnt over the synagogues Of the Jews
and circular tomb audltorIums, or
home courts, OF the Christians. but
were so nearly perfect that recent
progress has added little TO them
The first ministers were the COM
mon working people Of the day. They
usually retained their secular labor in
connection with their religious duty
II was a day when separate callings
had made little progress In any avo-
cation. They wore their ordinary
garments when busied with the Sun
day duties Of worship. But by and
by the styles OF mems apparel chang
cd Then commenced the rise OF sep
arate yestments for religious work
for they still used the garments Of
their ancestors in religious service.
Dean Stanley in his History OF
Church Institutions" tolls us that the
priestly robes of today conform very
nearly TO the daily apparel Of the peo-
pie OF the time Of Christ. He tells
us also that t1e custom OF protestant
ministers wearing frock coat arose