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The Church of Ireland

(Protestant).

1. Doctrine.-The main doctrinal standards of the church the three creeds, known commonly as the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed (with the western fil:oque clause) and the Athanasian Creed. Of these the Apostles' Creed is said in the daily morning and evening services of the church, and assent to it is required of candidates for baptism and confirmation; the Nicene Creed is said publicly in the Eucharistic (Holy Communion) Service; the Athanasian Creed is not now (since 1870) said publicly in the services of the church, but, as stated in the preface to the Book of Common Prayer, "this church hath not withdrawn its witto the truth of the articles of the Christian Faith therein contained.' The Thirty-nine Articles (usually printed at the end of the Book of Common Prayer) form a subsidiary standard to which subscription is required of all clergy. These articles are the same as those drafted by the Church of England in 1562. They were "received and approved by the Archbishops and Bishops and the rest of the clergy of the Church of Ireland, in the Synod holden in Dublin A.D. 1634." And again "received and approved by the Archbishops and Bishops and the clergy and laity of the Church of Ireland in the Synod holden in Dublin A.D. 1870.”

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The Book of Common Prayer contains also in its services, and the prefaces and rubrics belonging to them, statements of doctrine to which the assent of all priests is required at the time of their ordination.

The Church believes that from "the Apostles' time there have been those Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church: Bishops, Priests, and Deacons," and declares that they are to be "continued, and reverently used and esteemed, in the Church of Ireland." (Preface to the Ordinal.)

The Church accepts two sacraments as ordained by Christ in the Gospel and as universally necessary to salvation, that is to say Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. Of the five others, "commonly called sacraments," she declares that they are not to be "counted for sacraments of the Gospel." (Act xxv. and Church Catechism.)

2. Position.-The Church claims to be a branch of the Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ; and to be the national Church of the kingdom of Ireland. She is, since disestablishment, entirely free of any external control, is governed solely by her own bishops and by her own Synods. She claims and exercises "power to decree Rites and Ceremonies and authority in contraversion of faith.”

3. Organisation.-The Church is divided into two provinces, Armagh and Dublin; and these into 34 dioceses, under thirteen bishops; of which 14 are in the province of Armagh and 20 are in the province of Dublin. Each diocese is divided into parishes served by an incumbent with or without the help of one or more curate assistants. The temporal affairs of the Church in each parish, finance, maintenance of buildings, provision of things necessary for divine service, etc., are managed by a body called the "Select Vestry," consisting of the clergy, the two church wardens, and not more than twelve other persons. These twelve and one of the church wardens are appointed annually by the General Vestry of the parish, a body consisting of every male adult of the church resident in the parish, or owning property in the parish, or habitually worshipping in the parish church. The second church warden is appointed by the incumbent. A diocese, or in some cases, a group of united dioceses, has its Synod, which meets once a year, manages the finances of the diocese, and makes bye-laws for the regulation of its own affairs. This Synod consists of the Bishop, ex-officio President, all the clergy of the diocese, and laymen appointed by the parochial vestries in the proportion of two to each clergyman. The General Synod, the supreme legislative body of the Church, meets annually in the Synod Hall of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. It consists of the Bishops and Archbishops, clerical representatives appointed by the Diocesan Synods, and lay representatives also appointed by the Diocesan Synods in the proportion of two to each

clerical representative. The bishops, clergy, and laity act and vote together; but, if so desired, each order may vote separately and no measure is considered pased unless it receives a majority, in some cases a two-third majority of each order. It is thus always possible for the bishops, the clergy, or the laity to prevent the passing of any measure.

4. Election and Appointments.-Bishops are elected by the Diocesan Synods. The votes of two-thirds of the clergy and two-thirds of the laity present is required to secure election. Failing this measure of agreement, right of appointment passes to the Bench of Bishops. The Primate, Archbishop of Armagh, is always appointed by the Bench of Bishops. The Deans and Canons of Cathedrals, the Archdeacons of dioceses, and other dignitaries are appointed, as a rule, by the Bishop of the Diocese. The incumbents of parishes are, in most cases, appointed by boards of patronage. These Boards consist of (1) the Bishop; (2) two clergymen and one layman elected for the purpose by the Diocesan Synod; (3) three laymen elected by the General Vestry of the parish.

It will be seen that the constitution of the Church is largely democratic, and that the laity have a very large share in the control both of the Church's finance and in the election of her bishops and parochial clergy.

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5. Finance.-The Church received at disestablishment a sum of money calculated to be the capitalised life interest of the existing clergy in their salaries. The Church undertook to continue the payment of salaries during the lives of the clergy entitled to them at the time of disestablishment. part of this capital sum remains in the hands of the Representative Body of the Church and forms a permanent endowment. It has been largely increased by the parochial contributions paid during the lifetime of the assistants of the old establishment. The incomes of the clergy are paid partly from the interest of this capital, partly from the contribution of the parishes; each parish being assessed at a certain fixed sum, proportionate to the income received by its clergy. The balance sheet of the Church is published annually by the R.C. B., and more detailed accounts are published by each diocese.

6. Membership.-The are, according to the last census, 581,089 members of the Church, of whom 204,773 are resident in the united diocese of Down, Connor, and Dromore, and 98,796 in the diocese of Dublin. There are 1,617 clergy (including non-parochial and retired clergy) belonging to the Church.

Detailed information on the various matters treated in this article can be obtained from The Book of Common Prayer according to the use of the Church of England (published by the A. P. C. K., 37 Dawson Street, Dublin), The Irish Church Directory and Year Book (published by the C. I. Printing and Publishing Co., Ltd., 61 Middle Abbey Street), the annual reports of the Representative Church Body, the weekly issues of The Church of Ireland Gazette.

Celtic Mythology.

It is only within recent years that time or thought has been given to the study of Celtic Mythology. Mr. Standish C'Grady and Professor H. D'Arbois de Jubainville made the discovery almost simultaneously, the one in Ireland, the other in France, that the Tuatha de Danaan in the legends represent the Irish Mythological Cycle. Since then, Irish, Welsh, and Continental scholars have been at work on the subject; the literature of Ireland and of Wales has been ransacked for allusions, epithets, and tales, and though in many instances definite conclusions have not yet been arrived at, material has been collected, evidence compared, and much work done.

The sources from which information can be drawn are: I. The Irish and Welsh MSS.; folk tales and tradition collected from Irish, Scotch, Welsh, and Breton sources.

II. Allusions by writers who lived at a time when the Celtic gods were worshipped.

III. Inscriptions, carved altars, and votive tablets erected to the gods, coins stamped with a name or image, and images in stone or bronze.

When the Romans conquered Gaul and Britain they roughly equated the Celtic gods with their own, and having bestowed on them the saving grace of a Roman name permitted them to be worshipped, and, it may be, even encouraged the erection of tablets and altars to them.

Caesar, who did not, however, devote much time or thought to the subject, was of opinion that the chief gods correspond to Mercury, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. In "De Bello Gallico," Book VI., chap. XVII., he says "Mercury is the god the Gauls worship most, and there are many statues of him. He is regarded as the inventor of the arts and the guide of the wayfarer and voyager; also the Gaelic attribute to him great influence on commerce and the getting of riches. After him come Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. These the Gauls regard as do other