One part of the pavement of the church, where the ceremony is performed, is covered with crimson taffeta, and another piece of the same silk is spread over it, where the bride and bridegroom are appointed to stand. The priest, before he enters upon his office, demands their oblations, which consist of fish, pastry, etc. Then he gives them his benediction, and holds over their heads the pictures of those saints who were made choice of to be their patrons. After which, taking the right hand of the bridegroom and the left of the bride within his own hands, he asks them three times, whether they sincerely consent to and approve of their marriage, and whether they will love each other for the future as is their bounden duty so to do. When they have answered "Yes," all the company in general take hands and join in a solemn dance, while the priest sings the 128th Psalm (ac- • cording to the Hebrew computation), in which almost all the blessings that attend the married state are enumerated. The priest, as soon as the psalm is finished, puts a garland of rue upon their heads; but if the man be a widower, or the woman a widow, then he lays it upon their shoulders. The blessing attendant on this ceremony begins with these words, "Increase and multiply"; and concludes with that other solemn direction, which is contained in so many marriage ceremonies, "Whom God hath joined, let no man put asunder.” As soon as this is pronounced, all the company light their waxtapers, and one of them presents the priest with a glass of wine, which he drinks, and the newly-married couple pledge him. This is done thrice, and then the bride and bridegroom dash their glasses down upon the floor, and tread the pieces under their feet, denouncing several maledictions on all those who shall hereafter endeavor to set them at variance. At the same time, several women strew linseed and hempseed upon their heads, After this ceremony is over, the usual congratulations are repeated, with such other demonstrations of gayety and rejoicing as generally accompany the nuptial rites in other countries. FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 363 FUNERAL CEREMONIES. The Russian funeral solemnities are as remarkable in all respects as their nuptial ceremonies. As soon as a sick person has expired, they send for the relations and friends of the deceased, who place themselves about the corpse. There are women likewise who attend as mourners, and ask the deceased, "What was the cause of his death? Were his circumstances narrow and perplexed? Did he want either the necessaries or conveniences of life?" In the next place, the corpse is well washed, dressed in clean linen, or wrapped in a shroud, and shod with Russia leather, and put into a coffin, the arms being laid over the stomach, in the form of a cross. The corpse is not carried, however, to church, till it has been kept eight or ten days at home, if the season or circumstances of the deceased will admit of such a delay; for it is a received opinion, that the longer they stay in this world, the better reception they will meet with in the next. The priest thurifies the corpse, and sprinkles it with holy water, till the very day of its interment. The funeral procession is arranged in the following manner: A priest marches in the front, carrying the image of the particular saint who was made choice of as patron of the deceased at the time he was baptized. Four young virgins, who are the nearest relations to the deceased, and the chief mourners, follow him; or, for want of such female friends, the same number of women are hired to attend, and to perform that melancholy office. After them comes the corpse, carried on the shoulders of six bearers. If the party deceased be a monk or a nun, the brothers or sisters of the convent to which he or she belonged perform this last friendly office. The relations and friends bring up the rear, each having a wax-taper in his hand. As soon as they are arrived at the grave, the coffin is uncovered, and the image of the deceased's favorite saint is laid over him, while the priest repeats some prayers suitable to the solemn occasion, or reads some particular passages out of the liturgy. After that, the relations and friends bid their last sad adieu, either by saluting the deceased himself, or the coffin in which he is interred. The priest, in the next place, comes close to his side, and puts his certificate into his hand, which is signed by the archbishop, and likewise by his father confessor. This is a testimonial of the virtue and good actions of the deceased, or, at least, of his sincere repentance of all his sins. When a person at the point of expiring is so happy as to have the benediction of his priest, and after his decease his certificate in his hand, his immediate reception into heaven is, in their opinion, infallibly secured. The priest always recommends the deceased to the favor and protection of St. Nicholas. To conclude, the coffin is nailed up and let down into the grave, the face of the deceased being turned towards the east. The friends and relations now take their last farewell. During their mourning, which continues forty days, they make three funeral entertainments, that is to say, on the third, the ninth, and the twentieth day after the interment. A priest must spend some time in prayer for the consolation and repose of the soul of the deceased every night and morning, for forty days successively in a tent, which is erected on that occasion over the grave. They commemorate their dead, likewise, once a year. This ceremony consists, principally, in mourning over their tombs, and in taking care that they be duly perfumed with incense by some priest. THE SECT OF RASKOLNIKI. This is the only sect that has separated from the established church in Russia. The date of the separation was about the year 1666. They profess to be ardent lovers of the Holy Scriptures, and distinguished for their piety. Its members assume the name of Ibraniki, that is, the multitude of the elect; or, according to others, Straoivertsi, that is, believers in the ancient faith; but the name given them by their opponents, and that by which they are generally known, is Raskolniki, that is, schismatics. In defence of their separation, they allege the corruptions, in both doctrine and discipline, that had been introduced into the Russian THE SECT OF RASKOLNIKI. 365 Church. They profess a rigorous zeal for the letter of the Holy Scripture; and the transposition of a single word in a new edition of the Russian Bible, though this transposition was intended to correct an uncouth phrase in the translation commonly received, threw them into the greatest tumult. They hold that there is no subordination of rank, no superior or inferior among the faithful; that a Christian may kill himself for the love of Christ; that "Hallelujah" must be only twice pronounced, that it is a great sin to repeat it thrice; and that a priest must never give a blessing except with three fingers. They are regular, even to austerity, in their manners. They have suffered much persecution; and various means have been used to lead them back into the bosom of the church, but in vain. Some wealthy merchants and great lords are attached to this sect; and it is widely diffused among the peasants. CHAPTER XXIV. THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The Church of England-The Thirty-nine Articles-The Hierarchy of the Church-Ceremony of Ordinations-Sacrament of the Lord's Supper-The Sacrament of Baptism-Confirmation-Marriage Ceremonies. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. T is asserted by some authorities that the Gospel was in and to Joseph of Arimathea, among others, the honor of its introduction has been accorded, and St. Paul is said to have preached there in A.D. 66. The British Church is often mentioned by writers of the second and third centuries; and British martyrs suffered under the edicts against the Christians issued by Diocletian in 303. British bishops were present at the councils of Arles, in 314, and of Nicæa, the first general council, in 325. About 597 Gregory I. sent Augustine and a band of monks to endeavor to bring the British Church into subjection to Rome. Ethelbert, king of Kent, was converted, and a struggle between the early British Church and Gregory's representatives at once began. At the Reformation the entire system, which had at length been established by Rome, was overthrown, and the British Church restored to that state of independence in which it had originally existed throughout the islands. Many laws for the regulation of the Church were made by the AngloSaxon kings. Its right of sanctuary was rigidly enforced. Attempts at encroachment by the Roman Church were fre |