326 



ORDINANCE OF THE MARINE ORDINATION. 



pope with Naples, France, and Bavaria, contained 

 stipulations in favour of the religious orders. In 

 Bavaria, where the monasteries were abolished, some 

 have been restored. The period of religious orders, 

 however, is past, both in France and Germany; for 

 in these countries the advancing spirit of the age 

 renders all monastic institutions unnecessary ; and 

 such establishments, almost everywhere, want money 

 and popular favour. The latest order (established by 

 Leo XII. in 1826,) is the. congregation of the Blessed 

 Virgin Mary ; and its regulations, besides the three 

 regular vows, prescribe a fourth, viz., continuance in 

 the connexion. See Histoire des Ordres monastiques 

 et militaires, by Heyc* (Paris, 1714, 8 vols. 4to ; 

 nouvelle edition revue et currigee, ornte de 812 figures, 

 1792, 8 vols., 4to ;) Pragmat Geschichte der Vor- 

 nehrmsten Monchsorden, with a preface by Walch 

 (Leipsic, 1774 83, 10 vols.,) by Crome, rector of 

 Eimbeck. 



ORDINANCE OF THE MARINE. See Com- 

 mercial Law. 



ORDINANCES OF BILBAO is a code of com- 

 mercial laws, which, for more than three centuries, 

 was generally adopted by all the commercial tribu- 

 nals of the monarchy of Spain, until it became the 

 law of the land, and was, as such, incorporated in 

 the compilations (recopilaciones) of laws. This long 

 career of authority was terminated, however, May 

 30, 1829, by the promulgation of a new and far more 

 extensive code of commercial laws, which has been 

 put in operation in all the territories, acknowledging 

 the government of the court of Madrid. The ancient 

 code is therefore confined to the Spanish American 

 republics, which have been, as yet, contented with 

 the general laws of the mother country up to the 

 time of their separation, in so far as they have not 

 been modified by their independent legislatures. It 

 may be expected, however, that the new Spanish code 

 will be received before long by the new republics. 

 The ordinances of Bilbao were originally compiled 

 by the corporation of merchants of the city of Bur- 

 gos. It is not apparent that any foreign code of laws 

 was used on its formation, but, on the contrary, its 

 features are so truly Spanish, so grave, circumstan- 

 tial, and cautious, that we may be permitted to con- 

 jecture, in the absence of any historical proof to the 

 contrary, that its enactments are mostly founded on 

 the experience and commercial knowledge of that 

 distinguished body of merchants, which received the 

 sanction of Ferdinand and Isabella, by a royal re- 

 script of July 21, 1494. The city of Bilbao was 

 afterwards allowed on its own solicitation, to have 

 the benefit of its provisions, by a decree of queen 

 Juana, dated Seville, in the year 1511, which allowed 

 the corporation of that town to exercise jurisdiction 

 in commercial affairs by means of a tribunal estab- 

 lished by itself. The ordinances are divided into 

 twenty-nine chapters, of which the first eight, in- 

 cluding the royal charter of queen Juana, treat ex- 

 clusively of the organization of the corporation and 

 the commercial tribunal, its internal regulation and 

 duties : the following sixteen relate to the qualifica- 

 tions of merchants, their various relations as part- 

 ners, commission merchants, and general dealers, the 

 laws of exchange, bonds and letters of credit, the 

 laws of bankruptcy, the duties of brokers, supercar- 

 goes, the chartering of vessels, ship's papers, ship- 

 wrecks, and salvage, average, insurance, and the 

 allegations of captains and mariners : the last five, 

 from the 25th to the 29th, relate chiefly to the duties 

 of pilots, lightermen, shipbuilders, and carpenters, 

 with some local regulations of great minuteness. 



ORDINARIUS. For the professores ordinarii in 

 German universities, see the article Universities. 



ORDINARY, in the commou and canon law; one 



who has ordinary or immediate jurisdiction in eccle- 

 siastical matters. In England, the bishop of the dio- 

 cese is commonly the ordinary. The ordinary of 

 assizes and sessions was formerly a deputy of the 

 bishop, appointed to give malefactors the neck-verse 

 (i. e. the verse which was read by a party to entitle 

 him to the benefit of clergy. ) The ordinary of New- 

 gate is one who attends on condemned culprits, to 

 prepare them for death. The establishment of per- 

 sons employed by government to take charge of ships 

 of war laid up in harbours, is called the ordinary ; 

 hence a ship laid up under the care of the master 

 attendant, is said to be in ordinary. A physician or 

 chaplain statedly attending in actual service, is called 

 a physician or chaplain in ordinary. For the profes- 

 sores ordinarii in the German universities, see Uni- 

 versities. 



ORDINATE. See Parabola. 



ORDINATION; the consecration of a Christian 

 minister or priest for his office, his admission into the 

 number of the clergy. With many Protestant sects, 

 ordination is merely a solemn act, by which the per- 

 son to be ordained is publicly declared by the ordain- 

 ers fit for preaching, and to be henceforward one of 

 the clergy or ministry of their sect ; the ordainers 

 accompanying the act by prayers, and by expound- 

 ing to the candidate for ordination the sacred duties 

 which he undertakes. The English church considers 

 ordination as a real consecration, the power of com- 

 municating which has descended from Christ through 

 the apostles and bishops ; and the American episco- 

 pal church therefore sent to England, after the revo- 

 lution, to obtain the consecration of bishops, through 

 whom the power of ordination is descended to the 

 episcopal clergy of the United States. (See ^Eng- 

 land, Church of; close of the article.) For ordina- 

 tion in the English church, subscription to the thirty- 

 nine articles, acknowledgment of the temporal and 

 spiritual supremacy of the king, and the declaration 

 that the Book of Common Prayer contains nothing 

 contrary to Scripture, are requisite. The ceremony 

 of ordination is performed by the bishop by the impo- 

 sition of hands on the person to be ordained. In the 

 English church, and in most Protestant countries, 

 where the church is connected with the state, ordina- 

 tion is a requisite to preaching ; but in some sects 

 ordination is not necessary for that purpose, although 

 it is considered proper, previous to the administration 

 of the sacraments by the preacher. The Catholic 

 church, both Roman and Greek, has distinguished, 

 ever since the third century, eight orders (ordines,) 

 each of which is conferred with peculiar solemnities. 

 The lower or petty orders of the ancient church were 

 the ostiarii, or door-keepers ; the sacristan (sexton,) 

 who tolled the bell, opened the church, &c. ; the 

 lectores, or readers, who read passages of the Bible 

 to the people ; the exorcists, whose office it was to 

 drive out evil spirits, and to assist in the ceremony 

 of baptism, by reading the formula of exorcism ; and 

 the acolythi (q. v.). These four minor orders are 

 generally conferred on the same day by the bishop. 

 They are not consecrations, do not confer a spiritual 

 dignity, nor require celibacy ; but it is necessary to 

 have passed through them in order to obtain the 

 others. The higher orders require celibacy, autho- 

 rize the wearing of the oacred vestments and the 

 tonsure, and stamp the individual with an indelible 

 character (character in'delibilis.} The lowest of these 

 is the subdeaconship, the duties of which are the care 

 of the sacred vessels, the decoration of the altar, &c. , 

 and the chanting of the epistle to the society. The 

 deacons are one degree higher, who serve during 

 mass (distribute the wafers,) administer baptism, 

 preach, chant the gospel to the people, and are dis- 

 tinguished from the subdeacons by wearing the ttola 



