THE CHURCH QUARTERLY REVIEW. NO XXXIII. OCTOBER 1883. ART. I.—PELLICCIA'S POLITY OF THE 1. Alexii Aurelii Pelliccia de Christianæ Ecclesia Prima, Media, et Novissima Etatis Politia Libri Sex. Nova Editio. Tomus I. Curâ JOSEPHI IGNATII RITTERI, SS. T. D. et P. (Coloniæ ad Rhenum et Vindobonæ, 1829.) Tomus II., in quo Mantissæ quædam et Dissertationes septem exhibentur. Curâ JOANN. WILH. JOSEPHI BRAUNII, SS. T. D. et P. (Coloniæ ad Rhenum et Vindobonæ, 1838.) 2. The Polity of the Christian Church in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times. By A. A. PELLICCIA. Translated from the Latin by the Rev. J. C. BELLETT. (London, 1883.) 3. Manual of the Antiquities of the Church. By H. E. F. GUERICKE, Phil. et Theolog. Doct., Professor of Theology at Halle. Translated from the first edition, and adapted to the use of the English Church, by the Rev. A. J. W. MORRISON, B.A. (London, 1851.) 4. Compendiosa Bibliotheca Liturgica, in quâ notiones omnes ad Sacros Ritus spectantes continentur; opus posthumum, jam digestum et adornatum, a R. PATRE ALOYSIO MA. A. CARPO, Ordinis Minorum de Observantiâ. (Bononiæ, ex officinâ pontificiâ, 1878.) THE works named at the head of this article (all distinguished for research and ability) may be taken to represent four different views of Christian Archæology: that of Pelliccia, unquestionably the most complete, of the sentiments of tolerant members of the Latin Church; that of Carpo, those of the modern ultra and advanced section of the same; that of Guericke, as summarizing the Lutheran version of ancient Church economy; whilst Mr. Bellett's translation of Pelliccia, and his notes, present to us very fairly the Anglican, yet Catholic, standpoint as to the same matters. They are all, it must be observed, composed principally for the use of students, and relate to first principles and original authorities, but they are not for that reason the less important and instructive. Ecclesiastical antiquity occupies a large share in the religious literature of the day: and to obtain from competent and tolerably unbiassed persons faithful compendiums of undisputed historical facts must be anyhow a great gain. The first of all these books, both in point of time and of importance, is that of Pelliccia, and upon this in truth the remainder are in a great degree founded. He was a Christian archæologian and ecclesiologist of the moderate and liberal school of which Lingard and Dr. Rock (we may add Alban Butler) were afterwards eminent examples. In his whole work (even where treating of the Papal Supremacy) he is substantially accurate and impartial, although Guericke complains (p. 13) that he viewed the ancient Church only from a Catholic standpoint.' This, be it observed, is merely what he was bound to do; but it is untrue that he regarded it merely from the standpoint of Rome, like Father Gams, the Benedictine, who in his Series Episcoporum Ecclesia Catholica quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro, published at Ratisbon in 1873, quietly ignores the whole of the Eastern and African Episcopate. On the contrary, Pelliccia constantly makes reference to the Oriental Churches, their constitution and government and practice, pari passu with the Western, and not seldom admits that the Latins have departed from primitive usages, whilst the Orientals have retained them. His sympathies are in fact with the whole Church, not with the Western only. Moreover, the plan of the Ancient Christian Temple which he gives at the end, and the nomenclature of the several parts (pp. 129, 133), are adopted from Goar's Euchologion with only a very slight variation. It somewhat resembles in arrangement the plans of the Coptic Churches in Egypt engraved in Lord Bute's translation of The Coptic Morning Service and Liturgy. Alexius Aurelius Pelliccia himself was born at Naples, in the year 1744, and first distinguished himself by publishing in his twenty-first year, while still a student at that University, a translation into Italian of Tillemont's Life of our Saviour, enriched with his own notes. Two years afterwards he was promoted to the office of Liturgical Professor in the Congregation of Presbyters, then called the Conferenza. He could not, however, have been then, if he was ever, in priest's orders, being only twenty-three years of age. The compiler of the French Biographie Générale states that he embraced l'état ecclésiastique, and that under the rule of Murat he was appointed Vicar-General, and also Professor of Diplomacy, for the same city; but these Vicars-General were often only in minor orders, and not unfrequently laymen (see p. 65 of this work). In 1813 he published Institutes of the Diplomatic Science. From the foregoing it appears to be most probable that he never proceeded to the priesthood, perhaps not even to the diaconate. He was moreover liberally inclined, and became a member of the Constitutional Parliament in 1820. In his twenty-seventh year Pelliccia was elected public teacher of ethics and archæology in the University of Naples, and in fulfilling the duties of that office soon won a great reputation. In his twenty-eighth year he published in the Italian language a dissertation to show that it had been the invariable custom of the Church to pray, both publicly and privately, for the welfare of princes. This treatise won for him the especial favour of the Empress Maria Theresa, and at her request, for the sake of her German and Hungarian subjects, was by the author himself translated into and published in Latin. At length, in 1777, he edited at Naples, his publisher being Michael Morelli, his dissertation on Christian Polity, in six books, with two appendices: two volumes of which is that portion of his works comprised in Mr. Bellett's translation. Five years afterwards, however, he published a third volume, containing certain supplements (mantissa), and seven excellent and exhaustive dissertations on cognate antiquarian ecclesiastical subjects, which, to use his own words, 'seemed to require going over a second time.' In all these he abstained, for brevity's sake, from quoting his authorities at length, but merely gave the references, retaining however in the text as far as possible the words of the writers. Moreover, he tells us that he has retained 'certain ecclesiastical modes of expression for the sake of clearness of style, instead of studying excessive elegance of composition,' which circumstance he points out 'to certain morose and squeamish (molliculi palati) readers who are better pleased with words than facts.' The next edition of 'this most excellent work,' as it is denominated by Braun, was published at Vercelli in 1778, with some additional notes by J. A. Renzi. This was followed by a new and complete edition published at Venice in 1782, and again subsequently by another issue published in the same city. From these later editions, which had become scarce, is taken that which stands first at the head of this article. Mr. Bellett is entitled to the thanks of all ordinary as well as erudite English Christian archæologists for the translation of the former and principal part of this last publication which he has presented to them. This work of Pelliccia is in truth of a peculiar and most comprehensive character. It passes under review the entirety of ecclesiastical lore, the organization and ritual of the Church Catholic, Western and Eastern, as well as the incidents in the life of each individual Christian in connection therewith, from the day of his birth until after his decease, in each age of the Church, from the earliest times down to the epoch of the author himself. As Guericke remarks (p. 13), it is the first and almost the only work which comprehends archæology in its entire scientific compass, and not that portion only which belongs to the ancient Church.' Other and former treatises had dealt with early and medieval times only. The author was a most diligent and intelligent inquirer, and had necessarily a great advantage over former writers, for he had the opportunity, which he used exhaustively and ably, of consulting the whole body of antecedent ecclesiastical and archæological authorities. This becomes apparent when we peruse the work of Binterim, The Most Eminent Memorials of Christ's Catholic Church from the First, Middle, and Last Ages: with special regard to Germany (Mainz, 1825-30, 6 parts), which is but a recast of the work of Pelliccia. Being intended as a manual or text-book of instruction and reference for students and candidates for holy orders (as, indeed, are the works of Guericke and Carpo in their respective spheres), no similar book being then in existence, it is meant to be mainly elementary, composed as a terse and pregnant summary and compendium of a vast number of undoubted historical facts, with a series of conclusions and results deduced by the author himself therefrom for the information of his readers. He makes few or no quotations verbatim, but contents himself with numerous references. Here Mr. Bellett in his volume has done excellent though laborious service, by verifying and correcting those references |