altar" [Heb. xiii. 10], he seems to be using language which is associated with that Table of the Lord from which Christians received the Christian peace-offering, as the Jews had received their peace-offerings from the altar in the Temple; and not very long after St. Paul's time, St. Ignatius, who was the contemporary of some of the Apostles, wrote in his Epistle to the Philippians, "In every church there is one altar." The earliest detailed description of a Christian church is, however, contained in a sermon preached about the year 315 by Eusebius, the historian, at the dedication of the Cathedral of Tyre. Here he speaks of the architect having arranged seats around the semicircular end of the church for the use of the bishop and clergy, and having at last placed the holy altar in the midst [Euseb., Eccl. Hist., x., 4]. From that time, the word is the one most commonly found in use in Christian literature as the designation of the Lord's Table, the Greek term being thusiasterion, the Latin altare, and the languages of Europe all using some term derived directly from the latter.

In the earliest ages of the Church, altars appear to have been usually made of wood. One is enclosed within the stone altar of St. John Lateran, at Rome, which St. Peter is alleged to have used. Fragments of wood are preserved also at the Church of St. Pudentia, which are similarly said to be part of an altar of apostolic date. At Durham there is a small portable altar of wood, covered with silver, which was used by St. Cuthbert when visiting his diocese, in the seventh century; and many references are found to wooden altars in early Christian writers. They are generally used in the Eastern Church, and William of Malmesbury says that they were used in England down to the eleventh century, but that Wulstan, the then Bishop of Worcester [1062-1095], caused all in his diocese to be changed for altars of stone. It is probable that although altars were long made of wood, as part of the furniture of the church, it was found that they could be too easily destroyed in troubled times, and that thus altars of stone came to be introduced, often to be replaced by still more costly material, as in the silver altar of St. Ambrose, at Milan, which dates from

A.D. 835.

The altar of early Christian times appears to have been mostly, if not always, placed under a canopy, supported by columns, and called a ciborium, the name being Greek, and meaning a covering of cup-like form, a "cupola," or "dome." [BALDACHINO.] In England it was more common to surround the altar on three sides with hangings, leaving the front or west side only unenclosed. But from the Reformation until quite recent times, a form of the ancient cupola or dome was very commonly used in English churches, heavy pillars occupying the north and south ends

of the table, and an angular or dome-shaped pediment surmounting them. This addition to the altar served the purpose of adding to the dignity of its appearance, and giving it prominency in its position at the east end of the church, where it would otherwise be almost lost to sight in large churches. For the same reason, it was also placed upon an elevated platform, approached by several or many steps; and for the sake of protection from profanation, a low wall, or some similar form of enclosure, was placed at some distance in front of it, though this latter was not often used when there was a choir screen, it being considered that the whole chancel was then sufficiently enclosed for the purpose in view.

Altar Cloths. From very ancient times Christian altars have been covered with what were called "altar-palls," or rich cloths of some kind of tapestry, and also with linen cloths. The Emperor Constantine gave some rich tapestry for the altar of a church at Jerusalem, but whether for covering it or for curtains around it cannot be determined with certainty. St. Chrysostom speaks, however, in one of his homilies, of altar coverings of silk, often ornamented with gold, as if they were common in the fourth century. In the sixth century, a letter speaks of such an altar cloth at Apamea as being purple in colour; and in the following century many such cloths were destroyed by the iconoclasts because they were decorated with embroidered figures of saints and angels.

Fine linen cloths have also been used from the first in the celebration of the Holy Communion, and are spoken of in the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom, by St. Isidore, by Optatus, and by St. Gregory, in whose Sacramentary there is a prayer to be used at their benediction. It seems very probable that the primitive covering of the altar was a fine linen cloth, and that the ornamental cloths of silk or woollen material were originally used for covering and protecting the linen cloth when not in use.

However this may have been, it is well known that such ornamental cloths have been in use as the visible covering of English altar sheives both before and since the Reformation, under the names of frontal and super-frontal, and that they have been of different colours at different seasons according as the latter were of a festival or penitential character. For detailed information as to colours, see the article on COLOURS.

Altar Lights. [LIGHTS, ECCLESIASTICAL USE OF.]

Altar Tomb.-A monument built in the form of a stone altar, and sometimes surmounted by a canopy. Such a tomb commemorates Chaucer, the poet, in Westminster

Abbey; one, which covers the grave of the Duchess of Northumberland, mother of Lord

CHAUCER'S ALTAR TOMB.

Guildford Dudley, is also to be seen in old Chelsea church; and a fine one, in memory of Sir George Clerke, is in St. Mary's Church, Thame.

Altruism.-A fanciful term originating with Comte the founder of Positivism [PosiTIVISTS], and adopted by Herbert Spencer, to indicate a moral principle opposed to egoism, that it is a duty to live for others (altrui), denying ourselves and bestowing all our love upon others. [BENEVOLENCE, BENEFICENCE.]

A.M. (1) An abbreviation used in chronology for "Anno Mundi," the year of the world.

A.M.-(2) The abbreviation used for the Latin words "Artium Magister," more commonly known in English as "Master of Arts."

Ama. [AMPULLA.]

Amalricians.-Those who adopted the opinions of Amalric of Bena (Amaury of Bené) a mediæ val teacher of Pantheistic doctrine, who was expelled from the University of Paris in the year 1204. He appealed to Pope Innocent III., but his sentence was confirmed and he was ordered to return to Paris and recant his heresies. Amalric died, it is said of grief, in 1209; and soon afterwards his remains were burned and the ashes scattered to the wind by order of a council of Paris. By order of another council ten of his followers were burned as heretics. Among other strange doctrines which the Amalricians held in opposition to Christianity was one that the Father became incarnate in Abraham, the Son in the Blessed Virgin, and the Holy Ghost in ourselves.

Ambon.-This is the Greek name of a large desk, or "pulpit of the readers," placed at the west end of the choir, from which the Lessons, Epistle, and Gospel used anciently to be said or sung. Fine early specimens exist in the churches of St. Clement, St. Lawrence, and St. Mary in Cosmedin at

Rome, and in that of St. Apollinaris at Ravenna.

Ambrose, ST. [A.D. 340-397].-One of the Latin fathers, who was Bishop of Milan for twenty-three years [A.D. 374-397], and, on account of his great learning, accounted one of the four "Doctors" or principal theological teachers of the Western Church, the others being St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and St. Gregory. St. Ambrose was the son of a father of the same name, who held very high office in the Roman Empire, being Prætorian Prefect or Governor-General of the province of Gaul, which included Spain and Britain, and was one of the four most important governments of the Empire. He was born three years after the death of the Emperor Constantine, the place of his birth being probably Treves, though Arles and Lyons both also claim him. In a "Life" which was written by his secretary Paulinus, two anecdotes of his early days are given which were probably told to Paulinus by Marcellina, a sister of St. Ambrose, and which were regarded as prophetic of his career. In his infancy a swarm of bees settled near to him as he lay asleep in his cradle in the open court of his father's palace, and some of them flew in and out of his mouth without doing him any injury; an incident which was considered by his father as an omen foreshadowing (as in the case of Plato) future eloquence. Later on, when he was a boy, living at Rome with his widowed mother and his sister, observing that they kissed the hands of bishops, he held out his own hand to them, telling them that he also should one day be a bishop. For some years, however, he practised at the Roman bar, where he attained a position, and from which he was advanced in A.D. 369, to be consular magistrate of the provinces of Liguria and Emilia, a district which contained his future diocese of Milan, Liguria, Turin, Genoa, and Bologna. When the prefect, Anicius Probus, was dismissing Ambrose to his government, he is said to have used the far-seeing, or the unconsciously prophetic, words, "Go then, and conduct yourself rather as a bishop than a judge." The young consular made Milan his residence, and so won the high respect of those whom he governed that the words of his friend and patron soon received an unexpected fulfilment. The bishop of Milan, Auxentius, who had been elected under Arian influences, died in the year 374, and the Catholic party endeavoured to obtain an orthodox prelate for his successor. Something approaching to a riot occurred in the keen struggle which attended the election, and the governor Ambrose visited the church in which the election was taking place, to suppress the disturbance by his official presence. As he was speaking to those who were assembled there, a voice was heard to exclaim, "Ambrose for

bishop," and the cry, which was afterwards said (with little probability on such an occasion) to have come from a child, was at once taken up by the multitude, "Ambrose for bishop." It was with very great reluctance that he gave up his high civil office, and when a messenger was despatched to obtain the sanction of Valentinian, the Emperor, he concealed himself in the house of a friend named Leontius. The Emperor's reply was an entire approval of the popular election, and when a proclamation was issued by the vice-prefect, Ambrose was discovered, and at length yielded to the wishes of the Milanese. He was then baptised (for though brought up as a Christian, his baptism had been delayed), ordained deacon and priest, and a week afterwards, on Dec. 7th, 374, he was consecrated bishop.

The earlier life of St. Ambrose as a civil magistrate and a lawyer seems to have proved an admirable training for him as a bishop. His intellect was of that high order which enables a man to take a quick and firm grasp of principles, and it had been educated by his experiences as a conscientious advocate, judge, and ruler, into a prudent and wise application of those principles in the practical work of his later office. He lived for the duties of that office, and, as he himself says, taught himself, that he might teach others. He kept a firm hold upon those who had learned to respect him as a layman by his constant and untiring ministrations, by his unswerving adherence to the received and authoritatively expressed doctrine of the Church, by his self-denying and holy life, and by his bold maintenance of high Christian principle, even when it obliged him to assert it in the face of an emperor. A conspicuous illustration of the last feature in his character, which was illustrated on other occasions also, is found in the discipline which he exercised in the case of the Emperor Theodosius. In A.D. 390 the people of Thessalonica had, in one of those popular tumults for which they were evidently notorious even in the days of St. Paul, put to death some officers of the Roman garrison, and, in a hasty fit of vengeance, the Emperor had put down the insurrection with so severe a hand that as many as seven thousand of the people were slain. St. Ambrose at once wrote a letter to the Emperor, rebuking him for the inhuman character of this Imperial act, exhorting him to penitence for it, and declaring that he would not celebrate the Eucharist in his presence or administer it to him until the Emperor had given proof of his repentance. The end was that the Emperor came to the church, and, putting off his royal robes, performed some act of penance in the sight of the congregation, and asked for pardon from God and man. Such brave Christian conduct as this won for the Bishop of Milan the highest reverence of rulers and people.

He was often employed by the Emperors in political matters, but always apparently for the purpose of putting an end to variance and bringing about peace and quietness. In a similar manner the people constantly appealed to him in matters of law; and his knowledge of law was always employed to end differences and prevent lawsuits. So dear did he become to the Emperor Theodosius that when the latter died the name of Ambrose was the last word on his lips, and there is a well-known saying of his, "I have known no bishop except Ambrose."

In the latter part of his life [A.D. 383-387] there were some years of friendship between St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, their intercourse being that of a spiritual father and his "son in the Lord," such as may have been that between St. Paul and Timothy. It was, indeed, under the teaching of St. Ambrose that the doubting Augustine was fully converted to Christianity, and by him that the convert was baptised. A memorial of their spiritual association has come down from at least as far back as the eighth century, in the form of a tradition, which attributes the composition of the "Te Deum" to the two conjointly. This beautiful hymn is probably older than the time of St. Ambrose, but as the earliest liturgical references to it are connected with his name, so, at a more recent date, and more than a thousand years ago, it was sometimes entitled "The Hymn which St. Ambrose and St. Augustine composed between them." Many other hymns are also, and with the highest probability, attributed to St. Ambrose. [HYMNS.]

His works are very voluminous, most of them having been originally composed as discourses to be preached in his cathedral, or as epistles to his friends. As to the former class, they have shared the fate of all good popular sermons; and, while it is certain that they were exceedingly attractive and influential, and regarded as possessing the highest qualities of eloquence among his contemporaries, they have not ranked with the highest class of Patristic writings among students of later ages. They are also deficient in originality: for, like many other eloquent preachers, St. Ambrose had in a high degree the gift of assimilating the thoughts of others, and giving them stronger point or greater beauty by making them his own.

St. Ambrose died, immediately after receiving the Communion of the Sick, on April 4th, 397, which was Good Friday in that year. He was buried in the Cathedral of Milan, where he lies under the high altar, a costly structure of gold and silver, dating from A.D. 835; the great Basilica, which has ever since borne his name, being filled with a crowd of his own flock, mourning his loss but reverencing his memory. The same day on which he died, April 4th, is that on which he is commemorated in the Church

of England; but in the Roman and Eastern Churches his festival is December 7th, the day of his consecration as bishop.

Ambrosian.-This occasionally occurs in ancient service books as the name of the Te Deum, and also still more rarely as the name of hymns in general. So they were said by St. Isidore to have been called in the 7th century.

Ambrosian Chant.-The term "Cantus Ambrosianus" indicates the mode of church singing introduced into the Western Church by St. Ambrose, and not any particular melody or melodies, as in the case of the Gregorian Chants, although it is indeed connected with a well-known ancient melody, which has been used for the Te Deum almost from his time, the "Ambrosian Te Deum." It is still uncertain what was the peculiar form of church singing which was thus called the "Cantus Ambrosianus." St. Augustine says in his Confessions that the Eastern mode of singing was introduced into the Church of Milan, and that from thence it spread throughout the churches of all Europe; and it has been conjectured that by this he meant the antiphonal mode of singing from side to side, the origin of which was attributed to St. Ignatius, in the Church of Antioch. A better opinion is that Ambrosian chanting was a modification of a more simple mode, nearly approaching monotone, which had previously been used, and which itself was further developed into the more elaborate Gregorian system of two hundred years later.

Ambrosian Rite. [LITURGIES.]

Ambrosians.-The followers of a French fanatic of the name of Ambrose, who professed to have received revelations of much higher value than the Holy Scriptures. He lived in the middle of the 16th century.

Ambrosiaster. The name given for literary and critical purposes to the unknown author of a Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul, which was formerly believed to be one of the works of St. Ambrose, but which is now known to have been written some years before he was baptised, between A.D. 366 and A.D. 384. It is a work of high value as an early interpretation of St. Paul's writings, and also as containing many quotations from the ancient Vulgate, a Latin version of the Scriptures earlier than that of St. Jerome.

Ambulatory.- Literally, a place to walk in, from the Latin word ambulare. It is used ecclesiastically to designate a covered cloister outside of a church, or the aisles within, principally the aisle around the choir in cathedrals and other large churches, which was used as a "procession path."

Amen.-A Hebrew liturgical word, the use of which was ordained in the Law given to the Jews at Sinai, and which has passed into the services of the Christian Church, sometimes in a translated form, as in the Greek "Alethōs," the Latin " Fiat," and the English "So be it," but mostly in its untranslated form "Amen." Its liturgical use among the Jews is illustrated by the response assigned to the woman in the trial by the water of jealousy [Numb. v. 22], by that of the people in the great Commination at Mount Ebal [Deut. xxvii. 15-26, comp. Neh. v. 13], and after the Psalm of Thanksgiving given by David to Asaph at the placing of the Ark on Zion [1 Chron. xvi. 36, comp. Neh. viii. 6], and by its occurrence in the doxologies, with which the first four books of the Psalms end [Pss. xli. 13, lxxii. 18, lxxxix. 52, cvi. 48]. Its liturgical use in the Apostolic age is attested by St. Paul when arguing against the use of non-vernacular languages in Divine Service: "Else when thou shalt bless with the Spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? [1 Cor. xiv. 16.] St. Chrysostom says that the layman, or "unlearned," cannot say Amen at the celebration of the Holy Communion, because he does not know when the concluding words of the consecration prayers, "world without end," which should be followed by a general" Amen," are spoken. But far earlier than this the use of Amen in this place is referred to by Justin Martyr, and it occurs here in all ancient liturgies. The liturgical use of it may indeed be inferred to have direct Divine sanction, since our Lord Himself enjoined it on the Apostles when He gave them the Lord's Prayer [Matt. vi. 13].

In liturgical use the word "Amen" has always borne two senses: that of emphatic assent, as at the end of the Creeds, where it means "So it is," or "So I believe," and that of ratification, "So be it," as when it is said after prayers that have been spoken in our name. "The rules for its use in the Prayer Book appear to be these: [1] When it is used after acts of worship in which the minister alone has spoken, as in Absolutions, Benedictions, and other prayers,' it is to be taken as a ratification by the people of what the minister has said, and is to be said by the people only, in which case the word is printed in italics; [2] When it is used at the end of formularies which the people say with the minister, as in Confessions, the Lord's Prayer, Doxologies, and Creeds, it is to be said by both minister and people as part of the formularies, and is then printed in Koman type; [3] In the Lord's Prayer at the beginning of the Communion Service, in the formula of Baptism, and in the reception of the baptised into Christian fellowship, it is a ratification by the speaker himself, and

to that of a B.A. hood, the furred portion being drawn over the head. The Grey Friars' Chronicle, written early in the reign of Edward the Sixth, notices that late in 1548 the canons of St. Paul's Cathedral " left off wearing their grey amisses with the calober." [Grey F. Chron., Camd. Soc. ed. page 59.]

Amice [Lat., Amictus], also called the Humerale and Super-humerale.-An oblong piece of fine linen, tied round the neck by two strings. It is worn over the cassock and

Amphibalum, or AMPHIBALUS.-A name used in the Gallican Church for the vestment worn by the celebrant at the Holy Communion. It was the same vestment as that known to later ages by the name of "chasuble."

Amphibalus, ST.-This is the name given by tradition to the priest by whom St. Alban was instructed in Christianity, and for whom he suffered death. [ALBAN, ST.] From the identity of the name with that of the vestment mentioned in the preceding article, it is thought by some that the word used to designate the priest's cloak which St. Alban put on came to be taken by mistake for the name of the priest himself. Yet a modern clergyman who wore a cope might also be named Cope and caracallà, not amphibalus, appears to be the word used for this cloak in the original story. It is certain that there was a shrine of St. Amphibalus as well as a shrine of St. Alban in St. Alban's Abbey, and that St. Amphibalus was commemorated as a martyr on June 23rd, the day following the feast of St. Alban. In popular language the name was corrupted into Saint Affabel.

Ampulla. A flask or cruet of precious metal for holding the consecrated oil or chrism used in ceremonies of unction. The name is in use in the English Coronation Service. The same name was also given to the cruets for holding the wine and water used at the Holy Communion. Ampullas of very early date exist, one at Monza belonging to the 7th century. Similar vessels were also called by the name of Ama, and some of these of a still earlier date are preserved in the Vatican Museum.

Amsdorfians.-Those who held the opinions of Nicolas Amsdorf, a Lutheran bishop of Nuremberg, in A.D. 1552. In the course of a vigorous controversy with George Major, a Lutheran divine of Wittenberg, Amsdorf maintained an exaggerated form of the doctrine of Luther respecting the inefficacy of good works to salvation, declar