Canterbury.] It did not receive the royal assent, and therefore is not legally binding. This office. (which will be found in Phill. Eccl. Law, p. 1763), directs that the church is "to be pewed," and is to be furnished with a "pulpit and cushion." In other details it seems very appropriate, and in fact it is now closely followed in many dioceses, if not in all. This service directs that the Bishop's seat shall be at the north side of the altar, from which it would seem that "north side" was then a term well understood. The · legal fees on consecration of a church, burial-ground, or cemetery, were fixed under authority of stat. 30 & 31 Vict. cap. 135. For a church and churchyard they amount to twelve guineas; for a cemetery or burialground to ten guineas.

Re-consecration of a church is not allowable; but if the church be wholly destroyed and rebuilt, reconsecration should be applied for. To remove doubts as to the validity of marriages in a church rebuilt but not re-consecrated, sec. 12 of stat. 30 & 31 Vict. cap. 133, was passed.

Consistory: Vide CHANCELLOR, DIOCESAN.

Constitutions: Vide CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL.

Convocation.

"Sacred

Can. 139 declares the Convocation, or Synod," to be the Church of England by representation, although the cathedral and beneficed clergy alone, and not curates or the laity, are represented therein. The canons, or laws made by Convocation with the royal assent, are not legally binding on the laity. (1 P. W. 32; 2 Atk. 650.) Convocation has no power to try a clergyman for heresy or any other offence; but it may express its opinion. This was done in the case of the volume of Essays and Reviews,' and again lately on the intrusion of Bishop Beckles into a Scottish dio

·

cese. The Prolocutor or Speaker of the Lower House of Canterbury is first mentioned in 1415. In Ireland Convocation has completely died out, the General Synod convened annually by the Primate, and in which the laity are represented, being the legislative assembly of the Irish Church. In this assembly the Bishops sit; but although they usually sit on the platform and take part in the debates of the synod, they legally form a separate house, and as such have a veto on every measure.

Cope.

A circular cloak, or vestment, for the celebrant in the Holy Communion. Can. 24 directs that in cathedral and collegiate churches the principal minister [or celebrant] shall wear a cope, according to the Advertisements published in the 7th year of Queen Eliz. Copes were in use at the celebrations at Durham and Westminster up to the middle of the last century, and have been used always at coronations. (Dr. Stephens on the Prayer Book 1, 367.) That the cope is the lawful vestment for the celebrant in cathedrals and collegiate churches cannot be doubted, as Can. 24 was held to be in full force in Mr. Ridsdale's Case.

Credence-Table.

The minister being directed by the rubric "to place upon the table," at a certain point in the service, the elements for Communion, it seemed to follow that there must be another table from which they might be so removed. This is the credence-table, now generally a slab of stone or marble fixed or built into the sidewall of the chancel. In the case of Mr. Liddell this was by the Judicial Committee on appeal, and reversing the Court below, held to be a legal "ornament of the Church. It has since been expressly decided that the celebrant, on receiving the alms from those who have collected them, must present and place

them on the Holy Table, and not on a credence-table (Cases of Mr. Purchas and Mr. Simp

or elsewhere.

son.)

Cross.

Crucifix.

This may be represented in sculpture, or by means of a stained glass window; but represented as a part of the architectural decoration only.* In other words, if admitted at all, it must be in such manner that it is not likely to give rise to ceremonial observances, or to receive adoration. In the Folkestone Case a crucifix, for which no faculty had been obtained, surmounted the chancel screen. The Court of Arches directed its removal and on appeal this was affirmed by the Judicial Committee P. C., for the reasons given by the Court below. In the present state of the law a crucifix, or any substantive resemblance of one, could not safely be introduced into a church without a faculty, which would probably be refused. A cross has been otherwise regarded: in Mr. Liddell's Case a moveable cross of wood behind the altar was allowed to remain. This point came before the Judicial Committee again in the recent case of Durst v. Masters (1 P. Div. 373), when the Supreme Court held that though the cross as an emblem may find place in the decorations of a church, it is not to be placed on the Holy Table; and in that case a cross not having been sanctioned by the Bishop it was held to have been unlawfully placed. On the whole, therefore (notwithstanding the judgment in Mr. Liddell's Case), it is safer to display this emblem on the window, or on the wall as part of the reredos, rather than as a substantive object on the Holy Table.

* Hughes v. Edwards (The Denbigh Case), 2 P. Div. 361.

Curate

signified formerly any clerk having cure or care of souls, and the term is so used in the ante-Communion rubric. Curate now usually signifies assistant or deputy to the rector or incumbent.

(1.) A perpetual curate has long enjoyed most of the rights of a vicar, and he attends visitations. As a minister within the meaning of Can. 89 he nominates one of the churchwardens. (Reg. v. White, 21 W. R. 190.) After receiving an augmentation from Q. A. Bounty a perpetual curacy is hardly distinguishable from another benefice. (2 & 3 Vict. cap. 49, sec. 2.) The term "perpetual curate" is now becoming superseded by "vicar" under stat. 31 & 32 Vict. cap. I 17, and the glebe is styled his vicarage.

(2.) A stipendary curate must receive the approval and hold the licence of the Bishop (Can. 48), under whose control he is to a very large extent. Under the amended Can. 36 he must declare his assent to the Articles and the Book of C. P. The form of declaration by the incumbent and curate under the Clerical Subscription Act, 1865, after being signed must be presented to the Bishop before the licence. is obtained. The Bishop may revoke the licence; but the curate has an appeal to the Archbishop, who (as was decided in Mr. Poole's Case) must hear the appeal, while having uncontrolled discretion as to its result. Stipendiary curates having no vote in the election of proctors in Convocation are there unrepresented. Three months notice must be given by a curate before quitting;-sect. 97 of 1 & 2 Vict. cap. 106, which statute must be referred to for the stipend to be allowed, and other particulars.* In ordinary cases, with the Bishop's consent in writing, the incumbent may dispossess a curate on six months notice; but if a new incumbent enters he may within six *The law will also be found in the text-books by Mr. Cripps, Mr. Blunt, and Sir R. Phillimore.

months after his admission or institution, dispossess the curate on giving only six weeks' notice (sect. 95). The Bishop may in his discretion require an incumbent to appoint a curate, or an additional curate, for the purpose of more frequent services. (58 Geo. 3, cap. 45, sec. 65.) In the absence of the incumbent the curate attends a vestry meeting, takes the chair, and nominates one of the churchwardens.

(3.) A curate locum tenens during the sequestration of a benefice or the suspension of an incumbent has some special privilege. An ample stipend is secured to the curate by the Sequestration Act, 1871, the appointment itself in such cases being regulated by sec. 99 of stat. 1 & 2 Vict. cap. 99. During the suspension of the incumbent, the curate to a great extent has the privilege as well as the responsibility of that position. Thus he may fill up the appointment of parish clerk on a vacancy. (Pender v. Barr, 4 Ell. & B. 105.)

(4.) "Lecturers' are, to a certain extent, in the position of curates. The Bishop may require a lecturer appointed after the passing of that Act to perform the duties of an assistant curate, by stat. 7 & 8 Vict. cap. 59. It may here be observed that an incumbent is responsible for all that his curate, or any other clergyman, may do in his church with his sanction or permission. (Parnell v. Roughton, L. Rep. 6 P. C. 46.)

Dilapidations

or want of repair of the glebe house and buildings on a benefice. The statutes are-Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act, 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. cap. 43), and the amending Act, 35 & 36 Vict. cap. 96. The Archdeacon or Rural Dean, on observing any want of repair in the buildings, may notify the same to the Bishop, on which the matter is referred to the local surveyor, appointed for each diocese by the Arch