638 The Greek Church. [Dec. 



the bread and wine are carried round the church on the deacon's head» 

 before their being consecrated ; the priest then offers a prayer that the 

 transubstantiation may take place, first for tlie bread and cup separately, 

 then for both together ; he then pi-ays for the gift of the Holy Spirit — 

 then prays to our Lord to give the priest and people his immaculate 

 body. The ceremony is now complete, and the Eucharist is given, first 

 to the deacons, and then to the people. 



Yet the formidable objections which our senses make to this extrava- 

 gant doctrine, have produced among the Greeks some modifications of 

 the superstitious homage paid to the host by the uninquiring or awed 

 devotion of the Romish countries. The sacrament is carried to the sick ; 

 but it is not held up for public adoration on its way, nor is adoration 

 required for it, except in the immediate act of its administration; nor has 

 the Host any public festival nor procession. Slight differences as those 

 are, the Romanist would look upon them as serious heresy. And if man 

 can persuade himself to believe that what was a wafer of flour and water 

 in the fingers of the baker, becomes the eternal God of Earth and 

 Heaven in five minutes after in the fingers of the priest ; he may not only 

 believe any thing, but believe that feasts and processions, public homage 

 and private prostration, are the simple right of that wafer which he has 

 turned into Omnipotence. He has the equal right to declare the indi- 

 vidual who neglects this homage a scoffer and an atheist, and thus shut 

 the gates of Paradise as fast upon the Greek as upon the Protestant. 



Penance, as a sacrament, holds an important rank in this church, as it 

 will in all those corrupt churches where human sufferings are allowed to 

 atone for spiritual transgression. An ambitious priesthood will always 

 find its account in the substitution of penalties for virtues, and in the 

 consequent power of relaxing the penalties for money. A profligate people 

 will always prefer the mortification of the flesh to the discipline of the 

 passions. 



It thus invariably happens, that in the most immoral countries of Chris- 

 tendom, the fasts and sufferings are the most frequent, rigid, and least 

 disputed. The Italian highwayman observes his fast like a monk ; and 

 the most impure of the impure in the cities of his vicious land, have their 

 regular periods of confession and abstinence, from which they return, 

 without a sting of conscience, to the lowest corruption. 



The Greek fasts are frequent and rigid to a degree, directly hazardous 

 to health ; yet the penitent forgets the lesson within the hour, and cheats, 

 robs, or murders, with as little compunction as if he had never withdrawn 

 his lips from the soul-ensnaring luxuries of beef and wine. The imme- 

 diate instrument of evil in this doctrine is the Absolution, which here 

 extends as largely, is as productive of power to the priest, and as fatal to 

 the manners of the people, as, considering the circumstances of the 

 countries, it is in any popish land on earth. 



The ceremonial is peculiar ; it commences with a prayer to the Father, 

 as the " God of penitents :" this is followed by another to Christ, as the 

 giver of power to his ministers to " bind and loose*" then the priest, 

 turning to the penitent, declares, that " the Angel of the Lord stands by 

 to receive his confession froin his own mouth;" and he commands the peni- 

 tent " not to conceal any sin through shame, for the priest is a man and 

 a sinner like himself." The inquiry then proceeds through the ten 

 commandments, the penitent makes his answers to the priest on each, 

 and then receives the absolution. 



