Bishop Griswold's Pastoral Letter. We have lately seen a Pastoral Letter by the Bishop of the Eastern Diocess, and its perusal has produced the mingled emotions of pleasure and regret. The vigilance in the discharge of his duties which it manifests; the anxiety to promote the spiritual prosperity of his people which it evinces; the sober, but affectionate piety that it breathes, must yield delight to every member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Still the inconsistency and confusion of ideas upon the subject of baptism mar this delight and excite regret. The Letter is addressed more especially to sponsors. And the origin, the usefulness, and the obligations of sponsors are well marked out, and their du ties solemnly inculcated. The propriety of infant baptism is clearly evinced, as well by other arguments, as by the incontrovertible posi tion, that it is the initiatory sacrament of the Christian covenant, as circumcision was of the Abrahamic. Circumcision he designates" as a sacramental rite, a seal of covenanted blessings, temporal and spiritual," p. 12. "They who were circumcised in childhood, were the same as adults, debtors to the whole law, and entitled to all the privileges of the chosen race: the Lord was their God, and they his people, and they were bound as such to obey him. They became members of the Church of God." Now we admit this to be a clear and satisfactory account of circumcision. It possessed every character of a sacrament. There was an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace: and the inward and spiritual grace was their temporal and spiritual blessings included in their membership in the Church of God. "Baptism," he says, "is our sacramental birth into God's spiritual kingdom," p. 19. And he farther states,"It is not for us to assign limits to God's mercy-to prescribe bounds to the operations of his grace—to determine what only, and in full, are the benefits to children in being members of Christ, chil dren of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven." "Some benefits we easily perceive. By baptism, children become our brethren in Christ-members of his body the Church: they are united with him as branches are with a vine. They partake in the communion of saints. They are sacramentally made sons of God by adoption."" Baptized children are entitled to all the privileges of God's elect; they are in a visible state of salvation, and have a right to all the means of grace. They are included in God's covenant, and his seal is upon them: they have, with other members of the Church, a common interest in all its blessings." Now although this definition is too diffuse to give a clear and precise view of the subject, still there are some general expressions that might be construed to imply all the high privileges of the Christian covenant; and yet nothing is explicitly said about the Holy Spirit. And this would seem rather extraordinary, as at baptism, we are received in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. If we are made children of God, and receive pardon of sin through the blood of Christ, we are as surely invested with the gift of the Holy Ghost. And this was certainly the construction put upon the sacrament by St. Peter. Repent, said he to the converts on the day of Pentecost, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Nevertheless, while the Bishop maintained that "the spiritual advantages of the circumcised child under the law, are the blessed privilege of baptized children, and in a higher degree," we could not have charged him with any error on the subject. Still we feel astonished that while he explicitly declares that "baptism is the same evidence to children that it is to adults, that their sin is remitted," he did not add, and that they received the Holy Ghost. For on this, and on this only, could be founded a hope that children could be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Surely to expect to accomplish this without the Divine assistance of God's Holy Spirit, would be in vain, while we believe in the depravity of human nature. But although we perceive, that the good Bishop has neither been very precise nor very explicit with regard to the grace given at baptism, we should have perused his letter with considerable pleasure, had it not been for the following passage: Except any one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The birth of water is their entrance into the visible pate of God's kingdom here on earth. The birth of the Spirit is their sanctification-the renewing of the Holy Ghost, by which they are vitally united with the Saviour, and become spiritually and truly the chik dren of God. The one is the outward and visible sign, the other is the inward and spiritual grace given unto us. The former your children receive by the washing of regeneration; by the regular administration of baptism. The latter is the gift of God only; and so far as it is connected with means, and the fidelity of his people is obtained by their faith and prayers in administering the sacrament, and by watching over the souls of baptized children, and carefully instructing them in all the doctrines of the Gospel, and the duties of Christian life," p. 53. In the first place, it seems to be intimated here, that there are two births, one of water, and another of the Spirit. This then, to say the least of it, destroys the meaning of our Lord's declaration. It is said, that the birth of water is their entrance into the visible pale of God's Kingdom here on earth." God's visible kingdom is the Christian Church, and to be made a member of it, implies to be invested with all the privileges of the Christian covenant; which is the inward grace of the sacrament of bap tism, while the outward sign is barely water. "The birth of the Spirit," it is said, "is their sanctification--the renewing of the Holy Ghost, by which they are vitally united with the Saviour, and become spiritually and truly the children of God." "The one is the outward and visible sign." Now that our entrance into the visible Church of Christ can be an outward sign, is to us altogether unintelligible. The outward sign in the Abrahamic sacrament was circumcision. In baptism it is water, and in the Lord's Supper bread and wine. "The former your children receive by the washing of of regeneration by the regular administration of baptism"-that is, your children receive their entrance into the pale of God's visible kingdom here on earth. This we readily admit, but we deny that it is an outward sign. "The latter is the gift of God, and so far as it is connected with means," &c. That the inward grace of baptism is the gift of God, whatever it be, is not denied. But still it belongs to baptism, because God has so ordained. Yet the Bishop makes it to depend upon the faith and prayers of the people, and the education of the children. Now it was readily admitted that baptism was complete without prayers, and in that case, there would be no inward grace given, or it would be totally unconnected with means, Moreover, to say that the birth of the Spirit was to be obtained by the edu cation of children, a thing which must require considerable time, would be entirely inconsistent with the nature of the figure used. The venerable Bishop then has enveloped this subject in cone fusion. The language and the figures of Scripture are plain and apposite. The term regeneration, or new birth, is used in one case to designate our entrance into the kingdom of grace; in another, our entrance into the kingdom of glory after the resurrection of the dead. The one state is preparatory to the other, And all the benefits, and all the privileges of the former are to be applied to prepare us for the latter. The primitive fathers and the Eng lish reformers certainly maintained the scriptural view of this subjeet, and upon it was founded the service for baptism; as well as the Catechism of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Ats tempts, however, have been made of late to give a new meaning to our service; and to reconcile it with the extraordinary positions, that the thing signified does not always accompany the sign-that regeneration may take place before, at, or after baptism, ansi that regeneration and conversion are Of the Marriage Ceremonies of the [Extracted from the British Review.] THE nuptial ceremonies of the Montenegrins are nearly the same as those of the Greeks of Servia, Dalmatia, and the mouths of the Cattaro. When a young man wishes to marry a damsel who resides at a distant village, the affair is trensacted by the old men of their respective villages, often without the parties affianced ever seeing each other. The father, or some other near relative of the youth, repairs to the family with whom he is desirous of forming an alliance, attended by two other persons. All the daughters are presented to him, and he makes choice of one, without considering whether she will please his son or not. It is seldom, however, that the latter declines the person provided for him, for in this country the rank, situation, and fortune of the husband are disregarded: whence it often happens that an opulent Montenegrin gives his daughter in marriage to his farmer, and not unfrequently to his servant. As soon as the betrothed parties have seen each other, and express the slightest mutual desire to be united, the nuptial treaty is concluded. No written contract is necessary, as the bride rarely brings with her more than her paraphernalia or wearing apparel. As soon as the parents of the damsel have signified their consent to the union, the priest goes to her, and is closeted with her in the most retired part of the house. Here he receives her general confession, and gives her remission of all her sins, for which the parents are obliged to pay him ten paras (about two pence sterling), immediately on his quitting the apartment, and assuring them that she is capable of being absolved. And on the following day the intended wedding is formally published at church. During this publication the relations of the bride present the bridegroom's relatives with some ears of corn, a pot of milk, and a cake of maize on which are rudely figured a distaff, knitting needles and other suitable articles for women. This is a relic of a custom that obtained in ancient Greece, where the relations of the bridegroom used to send to those of the bride the keys of her husband's house, together with a distaff and spindle, But, with the Montenegrins, every part of this ceremony has a significant meaning. The ears of corn signify the plenty, which the wife is expected to afford, by her frugal housekeeping; the milk denotes the gentleness and candor, which she will exhibit in all her actions; and the cake intimates the industry, which will qualify her to be at the head of a family:-eloquent emblems these, which speak loudly and impressively, In return, the parents of the young man present those of the bride with a cake of pure wheaten flour, some raisins (or if they be not in season, with some wine) and several implements of agriculture, to signify that he will be indefatigably industrious, and will follow the example of his ancestors, whose memory he will honour by making good use of those implements, which in their hands have procured all of them a happy and comfortable subsistence. When the wedding-day actually arrives, all the relations on either side are invited to assemble at the bride's house; whence she proceeds, amid a numerous attendance, to her husband's dwelling, where she is feasted with every possible demonstration of joy. Thither she is immediately followed by her mother, carrying a large white veil or handkerchief, with which she covers her daughter's head and bosom, to remind her that modesty, candour, and implicit obedíence to her husband's will, are henceforth to characterize her conduct, and preserve her morals unblemished. After receiving her father's blessing, the bride, thus veiled, is conducted to church between her father-in-law and the nearest relative of her husband, who are sponsors to the wedding; and at the moment, when all the members of the two families and their friends are assembled together in front of the house, discharges of musketry commence, which. are repeated after the ceremony is performed, and are continued for the three following days. During the nuptial festival, which frequently lasts for several days, the priest officiates, of right, as master of the ceremonies; he announces all the toasts, chants impromptu epithalamiums, and leads off the choruses of the nuptial songs sung by others. New life and vigour inspire the guests, and the meeting becomes sufficiently noisy, without degenerating into drunken or gies or quarrels. At the same time, the newly married couple, accompanied by their relatives and friends, daily perambulate the streets and roads, which lead to the hamlets depending on the principal village or town; this custom does not appear to have originated in ostentation, but is rather an act of notoriety, which fully proves the authenticity of the nuptial contract. Divorces are of rare occurrence, and are never occasioned by those circumstances which produce them in more civilized life; though sometimes a bitter enmity between the more remote relations of the married couple causes painful, and indeed cruel separations. The wife can in no case demand a divorce. The husband purchases the right of causing it to be pronounced by the curate, who convenes the nearest relations of both parties; and, after enumerating at great length the grievances which the husband pretends to allege against the wife, decides on the necessity and justice of the divorce without the intervention of any other tribunal. The whole ceremony of dissolving a marriage, that has subsisted perhaps for many years, consists in presenting a bottle of wine to the woman's relations, each of whom drinks out of it: on offering it to the husband, he refuses to put it to his lips, and thus shows that he perseveres in his intention. The priest drinks the rest of the wine; and, immediately laying hold of the woman's apron, (who is usually dissolved in tears,) he puts one end of it into the hands of her father, or other near relative, and the other into those of the husband's father. He then cuts it in two, with a kind of knife that is kept exclusively for this purpose, and with a loud voice thus proclaims the dissolution of the marriage-Heaven has disunited you! The preceding ceremonies take place, when all the parties concerned give their consent to the wedding. Sometimes, however, it happens that the father, or the damsel herself, rejects the young man who is intended for her husband. In such case the latter, attended by some of his friends, almost always goes to her residence, whence they take her whether willing or unwilling, and conduct her before a priest, who, for a certain fee, unites them together, regardless of all demands to the contrary. But, where the espousals have been concluded, or a wedding ring has been given as a preliminary present (which is usually done), and from some cause or other the nuptials are not cele Of the Act of Reconciliation among brated, the parties affianced are not at liberty to form any new connexion, so long as the ring is not delivered up. If the damsel finds a new claimant for her hand, she must restore the ring; and if her former lover refuses to accept it, she is obliged to remain in statu quo. On the other hand, if the man is desirous of marrying another woman, he must demand his ring; and if it be refused, the wedding is suspended. No priest will officiate, unless the very ring be produced, and its identity well ascertained; while they will without any hesitation pronounce the nuptial blessing in the case of forcible abduc tion. the Montenegrins. e.] [From the same. One of the most interesting of the institutions which exist among the Montenegrins, is the act of reconciliation between two enemies. It is thus described by Sommieres, whose prolix account we have somewhat abridged: "When two families are desirous of putting an end to their long protracted resentments, whether for the purpose of uniting against a common enemy, or because time or their mutual interest has blunted the rage of pursuit, or from any other motive, they implore the convocation of a Kmeti, a special tribunal composed of twenty-four old men, twelve of whom are chosen by each family. Of this special commission, the curate of the village, where the person last aggrieved or slain resided, or some other highly respected individual, is appointed president: and in case the members of the court are equally divided, he has a casting vote. This, however, rarely occurs, as the several interests of the partics concerned are previously discussed, so that the result of the meeting is almost certain. "On the day appointed for holding this commission, a solemn mass is cele brated. Flags are displayed upon the church, and in every avenue approaching to it, and the bells ring incessantly: it is, however, worthy of remark, that, on this occasion, they do not discharge a single musket until the affair is completely terminated, and all parties are on the point of separating. All the members of the Kmeti are fasting; and the company present, whether men or women, vie with each other in the brilliancy of their apparel on this day. "The Kmeti assembles one hour before the celebration of mass, to make a calculation of the blood that has been shed. A wound,which they call a blood, is valued at ten sequins, (about 4/l. 10s. sterling.) The death of a man, which they term a head, is equivalent to ten wounds: consequently on paying one hundred sequins (about 457. sterling), a Montenegrin may rid himself of any one who has either displeased or offended him. The head of a priest, as well as of the chief man of a commune, is fixed at seven times the value of every other person.. This kind of valuation has been established from time immemorial: but at present it is varied according to certain circumstances that may induce the Kmeti to lessen it; though sometimes the prices are fixed, by mutual consent, through the intervention of a third person." Out of the money thus cellected, the Kmeti is empowered to deduct forty sequins for the stipends of its members; but it is always given to the guilty person immediately after the act of reconciliation has taken place. The balance being ascertained, the Kmeti communieates the result of its proceedings to the parties themselves, who fix the moment VOL. VI. when the ceremony is to be performed. Their neighbours and private friends are immediately apprised of it, in order that they may make preparations for the most brilliant appearance in their power; and also that they may avoid a painful humiliation by the failure of the reconciliation. The next business is to appoint the day, hour, and place, when the sentence is to receive the sanction of the public. The authority of the Wladika, or principal bishop, and of the governor, is always necessary, and is never withheld. These distinguished magistrates cause the whole country to be informed of the intended ceremony, and they themselves frequently assist at it, attended by a considerable retinue. Early in the morning of the day fixed for the act of reconciliation, and consequently for payment of the money, the registrar sends twelve infants at the breast, (who are carried by their nurses), to the house of the party aggrieved, each of whom carries a small handkerchief, made of common linen cloth. They knock at the door, and, on account of their innocence, it is supposed that they will soften the injured party; who, after resisting their cries and prayers for some time, at length opens his door and receives the handkerchiefs. On the same day a solemn mass is celebrated; a feast is kept, the flags are hung out, and the bells are rung, as before: on the conclusion of the mass, the four and twenty arbitrators meet at the appointed place. This is usually within ́ the enclosure of a convent, or near the village church to which the injured person belongs, who repairs thither, attended by all his relations, as well as by the chieftains and old men of the place, preceded by the pope or priest. At the extremity of the enclosure they form a large semicircle, separate from the multitude, within which the members of the Kmeti are placed. "The aggressor, escorted by his nearest friends and relatives, makes his appearance immediately after, upon his knees, having the murderous instru ment of his last assassination suspendedfrom his neck: and in this humble posture he advances, dragging himself on his hands and knees, until he comes in front of the Kmeti. The pope then 4 |