Sacrament is reserved for the sick in the (
Greek characters),
(or (Greek characters)) under both kinds more or less, that
is to say it has been dipped into the chalice and al-
lowed to dry. It is given to the sick with a spoon and
with the usual form (see above under Holy Liturgy).
They have no tradition of reverence for the reserved
Eucharist. Penance ((Greek characters)) is administered rare-
ly, usually on the same occasions as Holy Communion.
They have no confessionals. The ghostly father ((Greek characters)) sits before the ikonostasis under the picture of Our Lord, the penitent kneels before him (one
of the rare cases of kneeling is in this rite), and several
prayers are said, to which the choir answers "Kyrie
eleison". The "choir" is always the penitent himself. Then the ghostly father is directed to say "in a
cheerful voice: Brother, be not ashamed that you
come before God and before me, for you do not confess
to me but to God who is present here." He asks the
penitent his sins, says that only God can forgive him,
but that Christ gave this power to his Apostles saying:
"Whose sins ye shall forgive", etc., and absolves him
with a deprecatory form in a long prayer in which occur the words: "May this same God, through me a
sinner, forgive you all now and for ever." (Euch.,
pp. 221-223.) Holy Order ((Greek characters) ) is given by
laying on the right hand only. The form is (for deacons): "The grace of God, that always strengthens
the weak and fills the empty, appoints the most religious sub-deacon N. to be deacon. Let us then pray
for him that the grace of the Holy Ghost may come to
him.' Long prayers follow, with allusions to St. Stephen and the diaconate; the bishop vests the new deacon, giving him an orarion and a ripidion. For priests
and bishops there is the same form, with the obvious
variants, "the most religious deacon N. to be priest",
or "the most religious elect N. to be Metropolitan of
the holy Metropolian." (nearly all their bishops have
the title Metropolitan), and the subjects receive their
vestments and instruments. Priests and bishops con-
celebrate at once with the ordainer (Euch., 160-181).
The Orthodox believe that the grace of Holy orders
may perish through heresy or schism, so they generally reordain converts (the Russian Church has officially refused to do this, Fortescue, op. cit., 423–424).
Matrimony ((Greek characters)) is often called the "crowning
((Greek characters)) from the practice of crowning the spouses
(Euch., 238-252). They wear these crowns for a
week, and have a special service for taking them off
again (Euch.. 252). The Anointing of the Sick ((Greek characters)) is administered (when possible) by seven
priests. The oil contains as a rule wine, in memory of
the Good Samaritan. It is blessed by a priest just be-
fore it is used. They use a very long form invoking
the all-holy Theotokos, the "moneyless physicians"
Sts. Cosmas and Damian, and other saints. They
anoint the forehead, chin, cheeks, hands, nostrils, and
breast with a brush. Each priest present does the
same (Euch., 260-288). The service is, as usual, very
long. They anoint people who are only slightly ill,
(they very much resent our name: Extreme Unction),
and in Russia on Maundy Thursday the Metropolitans
of Moscow and Novgorod anoint everyone who pre-
sents himself, as a preparation for Holy Communion
(Echos d'Orient, II, 193–203).
There are many Sacramentals. People are sometimes anointed with the oil taken from a lamp that
burns before a holy icon (occasionally with the form
for confirmation: "The seal of the gift of the Holy
Ghost"). They have besides the antidoron another
kind of blessed bread-the kolyba (x6λußa) eaten in
honour of some saint or in memory of the dead. On
the Epiphany ("The Holy Lights"—(Greek characters))
there is a solemn blessing of the waters. They have a
great number of exorcisms, very stern laws of fasting
(involving abstinence from many things besides flesh
meat), and blessings for all manner of things. These
are to be found in the Euchologion. Preaching was
till lately almost a lost art in the Orthodox Church;
now a revival of it has begun (Gelzer, Geistliches u.
Weltliches, etc., 76–82). There is a long funeral service (Euch., ed. cit., 393-470). For all these rites
(except the Liturgy) a priest does not wear all his
vestments but (over his cassock) the epitrachelion and
phainolion. The high black hat without a brim
(kaλŋµaúkiov) worn by all priests of this rite is well
known. It is worn with vestments as well as in ordinary life. Bishops and dignitaries have a black veil
over it. All clerks wear long hair and a beard. For a
more detailed account of all these rites see "Orth.
Eastern Church", pp. 418–428.
The Orthodox Service-books in Greek are published at their
official press ((Greek characters)) at Venice (various dates: the Euchologion quoted here, 1898); the Uniat ones at Rome (Propaganda).
There is also an Athenian edition; and the Churches that use
translations have published their versions. Provost Alexios
Maltzew (of the Russian Embassy church at Berlin) has edited
all the books in Old Slavonic with a parallel German translation
and notes (Berlin, 1892); RENAUDOT, Liturgiarum orientalium
collecto (2d ed., 2 vols., Frankfort, 1847); NEALE, The Liturgies
of St. Mark, St. James, St. Clement, St. Chrysostom, St. Basil
(London, 1875, in Greek); another volume contains The Trans-
lations of the Primitive Liturgies of St. Mark, etc.; ROBERTSON,
The Divine Liturgies of Our Fathers among the Saints John
Chrysostom, Basil the Great and that of the Presanctified (Greek
and English, London, 1894); DE MEESTER, La divine liturgie
de S. Jean Chrysostome (Greek and French, Paris, 1907);
Η θεία λειτουργία, περιέχουσα τὸν ἑσπερινον, κ. τ. λ. (Athens,
1904; STORFF, Die griechischen Liturgien, XLI of THALHOFER,
1894); CHARON, Les saintes et divines Liturgies, etc. (Beirut,
Bibliothek der Kirchenvater (Kempten, 1877); Kitāb al-lītūrgiat
al-ilahiyych (Melchite Use in Arabic, Beirut, 1899); GOAR,
Euchologion, sive Rituale Græcorum (2nd ed., Venice, 1720);
PROBST, Liturgie der drei ersten christlichen Jahrhunderte (Tü-
bingen, 18701; ANON., Liturgie des vierten Jahrhunderts und
deren Reform (Munster, 1893); KATTENBUSCH, Lehrbuch der ver-
gleichenden Konfessionskunde: Die orthodoxe anatolische Kirche
(Freiburg im Br., 1892); NILLES, Kalendarium manuale utrius-
que ecclesia (2nd ed., Innsbruck, 1896-97); PRINCE MAX OF
SAXONY, Praelectiones de Liturgis orientalibus (Freiburg im Br.
Apostolic (Græco-Russian) Church (Boston and New York
1908), I; HAPGOOD, Service-Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholi
1906); ALLATIUS, De libris et rebus eccl. Græcorum (Cologne
1646); CLUGNET, Dictionnaire grec-français des noms liturgique
en usage dans l'église grecque (Paris, 1895); ARCHATZIKAKI
Etudes sur les principales Files chrétiennes dans l'ancienne Eglis d'Orient (Geneva, 1904); DE MEESTER, Officio dell' inno acatist (Greek and Italian, Rome, 1903); GELZER, Geistliches und Welt
liches aus dem turkisch-griechischen Orient (Leipzig, 1900); GAIS
SER, Le système musical de l'Eglise grecque (Maredsous, 1901
REBOURS, Traité de psaltique. Theorie et pratique du chant dan
l'Eglise grecque (Paris, 1906); FORTESCUE, The Orthodox Easter
Church (London, 1907).
ADRIAN FORTESCUE.
Constitutionists. See JANSENISTS.
Constitutions, ECCLESIASTICAL.—The term constitution denotes, in general, the make-up of a body either physical or moral. Used in reference to civ or religious societies, the word, in the singular, sign fies the fundamental law determining their governin legislative, and executive organism; in the plural denotes the enactments, ordinances, and laws issue by the supreme authority to further the object of th society. In legal language the term constitution denotes only church ordinances, civil ordinances beir termed leges, laws. The constitutiones ecclesiasti have in common with the leges civiles the bindin power derived from the authority of their framers, b they differ from them as the Church differs from ci society, viz. in their origin, object, and sanctic Civil laws are enactments of a power directly hum and only Divine in its first cause; their primary obje is the furtherance of temporal welfare; and their sar tion, temporal penalties. Ecclesiastical constitution on the other hand, emanate from an authority direct of Divine institution; their ultimate object is to pr mote the salvation of souls in the Kingdom of God earth; their sanction consists in spiritual penalties. In the total complex of laws bearing on matt spiritual, ecclesiastical constitutions stand midw between the Divine and the natural law. The Div law is contained in the Scriptures interpreted by L ing, authoritative tradition, e. g. the Ten Comniar ments, the constitutions of the Church, the admin
