e to the
Ordinal: "It is evident unto all men diligently reading Holy
Scripture and ancient Authors, that from the Apostles' time there
have been these Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church,--Bishops,
Priests and Deacons." The Christian Church has not been left without
its records; its history is as well marked on the pages of history
as that of any other kingdom or organization. (See EPISCOPACY;
EPISCOPATE; BISHOP, also MINISTRY),

Apse.--An architectural term descriptive of the semicircular or
polygonal shape in which the Chancel is frequently built. From a
Greek word meaning a joining; also a bow, an arch, a vault.

Apsidal.--Pertaining or relating to an apse; like an apse, as
apsidal chancel.

Archbishop--A Bishop who presides over a province of Dioceses; an
official title, but not an Order.

Archdeacon.--A term introduced from the Church of England and
applied to a Priest who presides over an Archdeaconry or Convocation;
or to one who is the General Missionary of a Diocese, or of a
prescribed district in a Diocese of the American Church.

Articles of Religion, XXXIX--Certain statements of doctrine set
forth by the English Church in a time of great controversy to
define her position as differing {27} from Rome on the one hand
and from Protestantism on the other. They are called _Articles of
Religion_ as distinguished from the Articles of the Faith, which
are contained in the Creed and recited in the services of the
Church. The Thirty-nine Articles were set forth in the year 1562,
then revised as they now stand in 1571 and were adopted with the
exception of the Twenty-first Article, by the American Church in
1801. They are published as an appendix to the Prayer Book.

Ascension Day.--A Feast observed with great solemnity forty days
after Easter in commemoration of our Lord's Ascension into Heaven.
It is also called Holy Thursday. St. Augustine, A.D. 395, calls
this one of the Festivals which are supposed to have been instituted
by the Apostles themselves, so that it must have been generally
observed in his time. In the system of the Church, Ascension Day
is regarded as one of the very highest Festivals set apart in honor
of our Lord. Proper Psalms, Proper Lessons and Proper Preface in the
Communion service place it on the same footing as Christmas Day,
Easter and Whitsun Day. The services are usually brightened with
special music; the Altar is decked with flowers and white hangings
as symbolical of the joy