fometimes it expreffeth the perfon, whether prieft or deacon, who officiateth under the rector or vicar, employed by him as his affiftant, or to fupply the place in his abfence; fometimes it denoteth the perfon officiating in general, whether he be rector, vicar, or affiftant curate, or whofoever performeth the fervice for that time: fometimes it denoteth exclufively (as in this place) the rector, vicar, or person beneficed, who hath curam animarum.

So far the office of a deacon is to be collected from the rubrick in the form of ordination, and from the form itself. And forafmuch as he is hereby permitted to baptize, to catechize, to preach, to affift in the adminiftration of the Lord's fupper; fo alfo by parity of reafon he hath used to folemnize matrimony, and to bury the dead. Wats.

c. 14.

And in general it feemeth, that he may perform all the other offices in the liturgy, which a prieft can do, except only confecrating the facrament of the Lord's fupper (as hath been faid), and except alfo the pronouncing of the abfolution.

Indeed it is not clear from the rubrick in the book of common prayer; whether, or how far, a deacon is prohibited thereby to pronounce the abfolution. For altho' it is there directed, that the fame shall be pronounced by the prieft alone; yet the word [alone] in that place feemeth only to intend, that the people fhall not pronounce the abfolution after the prieft, as they did the confeffion juft before: and the word priest, throughout the rubrick, doth not feem to be generally appropriated to a perfon in prieft's orders only; on the contrary, almoft immediately after it is directed, that the priest fhall fay the gloria patri, and then afterwards that the priest shall say the fuffrages after the Lord's prayer (which, by the way, in most of the occafional offices are called by miftake the fuffrages after the creed, or the fuffrages next after the creed), and it is not fuppofed that thefe expreffions are to be understood of the prieft alone, exclufive of a deacon who may happen to perform the fervice. And here alfo we may obferve the ambiguous fignification of the word priest, as before was obferved of the words minifter and curate: fometimes it is understood to fignify a perfon in prieft's orders only; at other times, and especially in the rubrick, it is used to fig nify the person officiating, whether he be in prieft's or only in deacon's orders: and in general, the words priest, minifter, and curate feem indifcriminately to be applied throughout the liturgy, to denote the clergyman who is officiating,

officiating, whether he be rector, vicar, affiftant curate, prieft, or deacon.

But the argument to evince that the priest only, and not a deacon, hath power to pronounce the absolution, feemeth most evidently to be deduced from the acts of ordination before mentioned. To the deacon, it is faid; "Take thou authority to read the gospel, and to preach :" To the priest, it is faid, "Receive the Holy Ghoft"Whole fins thou doft forgive, they are forgiven; and "whofe fins thou doft retain, they are retained.'

Moreover; until a perfon is admitted to the order of priesthood, he is not capable of any benefice or ecclefiaftical promotion. Gibf. 146. (1)

موع

And by the ftatute of the 13 14 C. 2. c. 4. No per fon fhall be capable to be admitted to any parfonage, vicarage, benefice, or other ecclefiaftical promotion or dignity, before he be ordained priest: on pain of 100/; half to the king, and half to be equally divided between the poor and the informer. . 14.

Neither is a perfon that is merely a layman, or that is only a deacon, capable of a donative: for although he who hath a donative may come into the fame by lay donation, and not by admiffion and inftitution; yet his function is fpiritual. Inft. 344.

So that he who is no more than a deacon, can only ufe his orders either as a chaplain to fome family, or as a curate to fome prieft, or as a lecturer without title: for the prebendaries of fome prebends in cathedral and colle giate churches, are to read lectures there, by the appointment of the founders thereof, and may from thence be called lecturers; but thefe places are of the number of

(1) Dr. Gibson refers to the 13 Eliz. c. 12. which enacts, that no person shall be admitted to any benefice unless he be of the age of three and twenty years, and a deacon at the leaft; and directs that every perfon admitted to a benefice with cure shall be admitted to minister the facraments within one year after his induction, if he be not fo admitted before, under pain of deprivation. See Deprivation, in not. But the 13 14 C. 2. c. 4. S. 14. extends the restriction by declaring, that no perfon fhall be capable to be admitted to any benefice, nor to adminifter the facrament, before fuch time as he fhall be ordained priest, according to the form prescribed by the book of common prayer, under the penalty of 100% and difability to be admitted into the order of priest for the fpace of one year next following. Wats. p. 142. ecclefiaftical

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ecclefiaftical promotions, to which the incumbents are admitted by collation or inftitution, of which a deacon as aforefaid is not therefore capable; yet the king's profeffor of the law within the univerfity of Oxford, may have and hold the prebend of Shipton within the cathedral church of Sarum, united and annexed to the place of the fame king's profeffor for the time being, although that the faid profeffor be but a layman. Waif. c. 14. 13 & 14 C. 2. 6. 4. f. 29.

XI. General office of priests.

موع

A prieft by his ordination receiveth authority to preach the word of God, and to confecrate and adminifter the holy communion, in the congregation where he shall be lawfully appointed thereunto.

Yet, notwithstanding, by Can. 36. he may not preach without a licence either of the archbishop, or of the bifhop of the diocefe where he is placed, under their hands and feals, or of one of the two univerfities under their feals like wife.

But a licence by the bishop of any diocefe is fufficient, altho' it be only to preach within his diocese; the ftatute not requiring any licence by the bishop of the diocese where the church is. Watf. c. 14.

Dr. Watfon fays, that if a perfon, who is a mere layman, be admitted and inftituted to a benefice with cure, and doth adminifter the facrament, marry, and the like; thefe, and all other fpiritual acts performed by him during the time he continues parfon in fact, are good; fo that the perfons baptized by him` are not to be rebaptized, nor perfons married by him to be married again, to fatisfy the law. Watf. c. 14. Cro. El. 775

XII. Exhibiting letters of orders.

1. Can. 137. Every parfon, vicar, and curate, fhall at the bishop's firft vifitation, or at the next vifitation, after his admiffion, fhew and exhibit unto him his letters of orders, to be by him either allowed, or (if there be just caufe) difallowed and rejected; and being by him approved, to be figned by the regifter; the whole fees for which, to be paid but once in the whole time of every bishop, and afterwards but half the faid fees.

2. Arund. No curate fhall be admitted to officiate in another diocese, unless he bring with him his letters of orders. Lindw. 48.

3. Can'

3. Can. 39. No bishop shall inftitute any to a benefice, who hath been ordained by any other bishop, except he firft fhew unto him his letters of orders.

4. By the 4 H. 7. c. 13. If any perfon, at the fecond time of afking his clergy, because he is within orders, hath not there ready his letters of orders, or a certificate of his ordinary witneffing the fame; the juftices afore whom he is arraigned, fhall give him a day to bring in his faid letters or certificate; and if he fail in fo doing, he fhall lofe the benefit of his clergy, as he shall do that is without orders.

XIII. Archbishop Wake's directions to the bishops of his province in relation to orders.

It is judged proper here to fubjoin archbishop Wake's letter to the bifhops of the province of Canterbury, dated June 5, 1716, which, although it concerneth other matters befides thofe of ordination, yet fince the due conferring of orders appeareth to be the principal regard thereof it feemeth beft to infert the fame intire in this place; and to refer to it here at large from thofe other titles, unto which it hath fome relation.

As to its authority, it is certain (as hath been obferved before) that in itself it hath not the force of law, nor is it fo intended, or to be of any binding obligation to the church, further than the archbishops and bishops from time to time thall judge expedient; I mean, as to those parts of it which only concern matters that the law hath left indefinite, and difcretionary in the archbishops and bishops. Other parts thereof are only inforcements of what was the law of the church before; and thofe, without doubt, are of perpetual obligation: not by the authority of thefe injunctions, but by virtue of the laws upon which they are founded.

My very good lord,

Being by the providence of God called to the metropo litical fee of this province, I thought it incumbent upon me to confult as many of my brethren, the bishops of the fame province, as were here met together during this feffion of parliament, in what manner we might beft employ that authority which the ecclefiaftical laws now in force, and the cuftom and laws of this realm, have vested in us, for the honour of God, and for the edification of his church, committed to our charge: And upon ferious confideration of this matter, we all of us agreed in the fame opinion

that

that we should, by the bleffing of God upon our honeft endeavours, in fome measure promote thefe good ends, by taking care (as much as in us lieth) that no unworthy perfons might hereafter be admitted into the facred miniftry of the church: nor any be allowed to ferve as curates, but fuch as fhould appear to be duly qualified for fuch an em ploy; and that all who officiated in the room of any absent minifters, should refide upon the cures which they undertook to fupply; and be afcertained of a fuitable recom pence for their labours.

In pursuance of thofe refolutions, to which we unanimously agreed, I do now very earnestly recommend to you;

(I) That you require of every person who defires to be admitted to holy orders, that he fignify to you his name and place of abode, and tranfmit to you his teftimonial, and a certificate of his age duly attested, with the title upon which he is to be erdained at leaf twenty days before the time of ordination; and that be appear on Wednesday, or at farthest on Thursday in ember week, in order to his examination.

(II) That if you shall reject any person, who applies for holy orders, upon the account if immorality proved against him, you fignify the name of the perfon fo rejected, with the reafon of your rejecting him, to me, within one month; that fo I may acquaint the rest of my fuffragans with the cafe of such rejected person before the next ordination.

(III) That you admit not any person to holy orders, who having refided any confiderable time out of the univerfity, does not fend to you, with his teftimonial, a certificate figned by the minifter, and other credible inhabitants of the parish where he fo refided, expreffing, that notice was given in the church, in time of divine fervice, on fome funday, at least a month before the day of ordination, of his intention to offer himself to be ordained at fuch a time; to the end that any perfon who knows, any impediment, or notable crime, for which he ought not to be ordained, may have opportunity to make his objections against bim.

(IV) That you admit not letters teftimonial, on any occafion whatsoever, unless it be therein expreffed, for what particular end and defign fuch letters are granted; nor unless it be declared by those who shall sign them, that they have perfonally known the life and behaviour of the perfon for the time by them certi fied and do believe in their confcience, that he is qualified for that order, office, or employment, to which be defires to be admited. (V) That

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