The Church Handy Dictionary — Inside the Classic

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In Category - Theology

Authors: Anonymous Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2010 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Theology -- Dictionaries; Church of England -- Dictionaries Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 53,126

Reading time 231 min

Text sections 5

This digital edition of The Church Handy Dictionary — Inside the Classic is described by source-level measurements including 53,126 words, 3 hr 51 min estimated reading time, and 5 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 17.3 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Theology -- Dictionaries,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #31165

An 1890 reference work compiled for clergy and laity of the Church of England, covering doctrines, feasts, and controversies with a distinctly Anglican viewpoint, as seen in entries on Real Presence, Jesuits, and the Sarum use.

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Book was immediately followed by Injunctions (1549), condemning sundry popish ceremonies, and among them forbidding to set 'any lights upon the Lord's board at any time.'" This was especially mentioned because the Injunctions of 1547 had forbidden candles before pictures or images, but allowed "only two lights upon the high altar, before the Sacrament, for the signification that Christ is the very true light of the world." Although these Injunctions (1549) have not the authority of Parliament, yet they were undoubtedly issued with the intention of promoting that uniformity in all parts of Public Worship which had been enjoined by statute, and under the large notions of the royal supremacy which then prevailed. They may fairly be considered as affording evidence of the contemporary practice, and of the intention of the authors of the Prayer Book in matters of rites and ceremonies. Persons who yield the amount of authority to these Injunctions (which never became law) which is readily given to others (which were law), consider that candles upon the Communion Table are ornaments which were forbidden in the second year of Edward VI., and therefore are not authorized by our present Rubric. On the other hand, we may conclude from the terms of Elizabeth's Act of Uniformity, and from the Rubric of her Prayer Book, that it was her intention to distinguish between the customs of 1549, represented by Edward's Injunctions of that year, and those which, not being mentioned and forbidden in the statute, might be considered as authorized by the Parliament of 1549. And she certainly gave this practical interpretation to her own law, since in the royal chapel "the cross stood on the altar, and two candlesticks, and two tapers burning." Hook, in his Church Dictionary, says,--"From the time of Edward there never seems to have been a time when the lights were not retained in Cathedral churches, and wherever we might look for an authoritative interpretation of the Law. And to the present day the candles are to be seen on the Altars of almost all Cathedrals. In Collegiate churches, also, they are usually found; and so also in the Chapels Royal, and in the Chapels of several Colleges in Oxford and Cambridge."

ALTAR LINEN. The rubric at the beginning of the Communion Service provides that "The Table, at the Communion-time," is to have a "fair white linen cloth upon it." And a further rubric declares that "What remaineth of the consecrated Elements" is to be covered with "a fair linen cloth." This latter cloth is called a _corporal_, although some understand a cloth laid on the altar by that name. Other things used in some churches at the time of the celebration are--(1) a _chalice-veil_, which is a square of silk embroidered and fringed, varying in colour, according to the season, or of transparent material edged with lace. It is used for covering the chalice. (2) The _pall_, a small square of card-board, with linen on either side, is sometimes used to cover the chalice till after the people have communicated. (3) The _burse_ is a kind of purse or pocket in which the corporal and pall are kept.

ALTAR RAILS. Archbishop Laud, 1640, ordered that the Holy Table should be placed at the east end of the chancel, and protected from rude approach by rails. They do not appear to have been in general use in the Western Church before the Reformation; although it is probable their use in the side chapels of Cathedrals is early. It is hard to say whether by the Latin word _cancelli_ is meant the chancel-screen or the altar-rails, in some cases probably the latter. The use of altar-rails is ancient in the Eastern Church. The space within the rails, where the altar stands, is called the sanctuary.

ALTAR SCREEN. A screen behind the altar.

ALTAR VESSELS. Flagon, Chalice or Cup, and Paten. To these may be added the _cyborium_, a covered vessel, placed upon the altar of Roman Catholic churches, and holding the consecrated host. Altar vessels from very ancient times have usually been made of the most costly materials which the congregation using them could afford. The flagon appears to be the vessel in which the wine is placed before consecration. The chalice, or cup, that in which it is consecrated, and administered to the people. The paten is the plate on which the bread is consecrated, and from which it is dispensed to the people. A second plate is used for the unconsecrated bread, and is placed, with the flagon, on the Credence Table.

ALTRUISM, _see_ Comtism.

AMBULATORY, or PROCESSIONARY. The continuance of the aisles round the east end of a church, behind the altar.

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The preface of The Church Handy Dictionary immediately establishes its practical purpose: to provide a cheap, portable reference for younger clergy, Sunday school teachers, and lay workers who cannot afford Dean Hook's comprehensive but expensive Church Dictionary. The compiler acknowledges that the work is largely a compilation, yet asserts a consistent Anglican standpoint throughout. The dedication to the Lord Bishop of Lincoln, Christopher Wordsworth, signals the book's ecclesiastical alignment.

The entries themselves reveal a work shaped by late-19th-century Anglican controversies. The article on Real Presence, for instance, cites Bishop Harold Browne and Jeremy Taylor to affirm a “real, spiritual presence” while quoting Article XXVIII. The entry on Jesuits, by contrast, adopts a sharply critical tone, describing their “blind, implicit, and unlimited obedience” and the maxim that “the end will justify the means.” These entries, placed side by side, illustrate the dictionary's role as both a factual reference and a partisan tool in the theological debates of its era.

A Compilation with a Purpose

The preface is unusually candid about the book's derivative nature. The compiler states that the work “cannot lay claim to much originality, but must be, in the main, a compilation from various sources.” This honesty extends to the treatment of controverted subjects: the articles “set forth the views of the best authorities to which the compiler has had access, but not necessarily his own.” Yet the compiler also declares his standpoint “distinctly that of the Church of England.” This tension between objectivity and advocacy runs through the dictionary. The entry on Jesuits, for example, offers historical facts—founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1491, active in education and politics—but then asserts that their “great principle of action is not so much the advance of Christianity, as the extension of the Papal power.” Such language goes beyond neutral description. Readers should note how the dictionary balances its stated aim of utility with a clear confessional identity.

Doctrinal Entries and the Anglican Via Media

The dictionary's treatment of doctrine reflects the via media of the Church of England. The entry on Justification defines it as being “accounted just or righteous in the sight of God, not for any merit in ourselves, but solely for the sake of Christ, and by our faith in Him.” It then distinguishes justification from sanctification, noting that the former is “a work wrought exterior to ourselves” while the latter is “the work of the Holy Spirit in the individual heart.” This distinction echoes Reformation debates. The article on Real Presence is more expansive, quoting Bishop Harold Browne that “the doctrine of a real, spiritual presence is the doctrine of the English Church” and citing Jeremy Taylor's paradoxical formulation: “it is bread, and it is Christ's Body.” The entry then reproduces Article XXVIII's statement that Christ's body is “given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner.” These entries show the compiler navigating between Roman Catholic and Protestant positions, offering a distinctly Anglican resolution.

Liturgical and Calendar Entries

The dictionary includes numerous entries on feast days and liturgical practices. The entry for St. John the Evangelist's Day (December 27) notes its place in the Christmas season alongside St. Stephen and the Holy Innocents, and explains that the eagle is “emblematic of St. John.” The entry for St. James's Day (July 25) briefly recounts that James was “the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom” (Acts xii. 2). The Jubilate Deo entry explains that Psalm 100 is sung instead of the Benedictus when the latter appears in the Gospel for St. John Baptist or the day's lesson. A notable addition in the corrections section discusses the Sarum use of liturgical colors, which used only red and white, contrasting with the modern Roman sequence. These entries reveal the dictionary's attention to the practical details of Anglican worship and its historical roots in pre-Reformation English practice.

Controversial Groups and the Dictionary's Tone

The dictionary's entries on religious movements outside the Church of England are often pointed. The article on Irvingites (the Catholic Apostolic Church) describes their belief in prophecy, miraculous gifts, and the power to raise the dead, and notes their ornate ritual and daily Communion. While the entry is largely factual, the phrasing “peculiar notions about the millennium” carries a dismissive tone. The entry on Jesuits is even more critical, accusing the order of seeking “the extension of the Papal power” and employing the maxim “the end will justify the means.” These entries contrast with the measured language used for Anglican doctrines. Readers should consider how the dictionary's tone shifts depending on the subject, and how this reflects the compiler's aim to defend Anglican orthodoxy against perceived threats from both Roman Catholicism and enthusiastic Protestant sects.

As a first-time reader, approach The Church Handy Dictionary not as a neutral reference but as a document of its time—a late-Victorian Anglican handbook shaped by the controversies and commitments of its compiler. The entries on Real Presence, Justification, and the Jesuits are particularly revealing of the dictionary's theological stance. Pay attention to the sources cited: the preface mentions Dean Hook's Church Dictionary as a model, but the entries draw on a wider range of authorities, from Jeremy Taylor to Bishop Harold Browne. The corrections and additions at the front of the book also hint at the evolving nature of the text. Use the dictionary to understand how one Anglican compiler sought to educate and arm his readers in the religious debates of the 1890s.

Sometimes a book stays with you not for its grand arguments, but for the quiet way it reshapes familiar words. That old 1890 handbook’s careful, unhurried explanations felt like that. And I keep circling back to Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech, John — Text and Context, which does something similar—gentle clarity instead of force, leaving a different kind of lingering.