work. A deep and true symbolism was carried out in the plan and construction of their churches. Thus Christian churches at an early day came to be built in the form of a cross. This was not only the most ornamental form of structure; it was much more: it made the very fabric of the church the symbol of our faith in Christ crucified. Some chancels of old churches were even built with a slight deflection from the line of direction of the nave, thus representing the inclination of our Saviour's head upon the Cross. It made also the gathering together of each congregation of His Church—which is His mystical Body—the symbol of that body itself: that part in the nave representing His body, that in the transepts His outstretched arms, that in the choir His head. And so, also, "the united prayers and praises of the congregation make, as it were, in their very sound the sign of the Cross."

This plan of constructive symbolism affects not only the fabric of the church as a whole, but each separate part of the church has its religious character and meaning.

Let us linger for a moment on the outside. The spire points upward and teaches its lesson of aspiration. "Lift up your hearts," it seems to say, and holds up the Cross as that by which alone we are to be "exalted unto everlasting life." Whenever we lift up our eyes to it, it ought to repeat for us that lesson—rebuke downward thoughts and desires, and point up to spiritual and heavenly things.

In the tower are the bells, and what the spire with its uplifted Cross says to us in silent eloquence these say in sound and music.

The office of the bell in calling to prayer and holy worship was regarded in olden time with much reverence. The use of bells for the purpose of gathering people together in large numbers appears to be of Christian origin. "Large bells hung in a tower seem to have been unknown before A.D. 500. They were first made in Campania in Italy, whence the Italian name campana, a bell, and campanile, a bell-tower. Bells were anciently supposed to have considerable powers, especially against evil spirits. Their use for religious purposes probably originated this belief. The hand-bells of the British apostles, St. Patrick, St. Columba, St. David, etc., are said to have been long preserved, if not existing even now. They are four-sided bronze bells, sometimes of several plates fused into one. St. Patrick is said by an old legend to have dispersed a host of demons, who were too bold to be scared by the mere ringing of the bell, by flinging it into the midst of them.

"Bells in the middle ages were sometimes dedicated to saints. They were christened with all the usual ceremonies and with much pomp; sponsors were provided, the bell was sprinkled at the font, anointed with oil, and robed in a chrisom. Superstitious as these customs would seem now, there is something fine in the simple faith which thus, in those more poetic days, consecrated to God's service the voices which should proclaim Him far and wide over the land." In simpler form, the custom is still frequently observed of setting apart by solemn prayer and benediction the bells which are to call men to prayer or to ring out the praises of God.

Church bells are frequently marked by appropriate inscriptions. The following, for instance, was very common in the middle ages, all these powers being attributed to bells:

"Funera plango, Fulgura trango, Sabbata pango,
Excito lentos, Dissipo ventos, Paco cruentos."

"I mourn the dead, I break the lightning, I announce the Sabbath,
I excite the slothful, I disperse the winds, I appease the cruel."

As instances of modern inscriptions we have the following: "Bethlehem, Calvary, Bethany." "We welcome the infant to the Font. We invite the youth to Confirmation. We invoke the faithful to the Holy Communion." "Joyful our peal for the bridal; mournful our plaint for the dead."

Let us turn now to the inside of the church and inquire as to the spiritual significance which has become associated with its several parts.

The church is divided into two main portions—the body of the church and the chancel. This represents the whole Catholic Church, divided into those on earth and those who have passed into Paradise. The body of the church, representing those on earth, is divided again into two parts—the nave and transepts. And these have each their special religious associations and suggestiveness.

The Nave.—The nave is that part which extends from the door to the choir. It is the place where the congregation is gathered, in the fellowship of Christ's religion, for the purpose of worship. It is most probably called the nave from the Latin navis, signifying a ship, the same word from which we get our English "navy" and "naval." The ship was the favorite symbol of the Church in primitive times. We have the idea preserved for us in the first prayer in the Offices for Holy Baptism: "Received into the ark of Christ's Church ... may so pass the waves of this troublesome world" as finally to "come to the land of everlasting life." The thought was so much in mind that some old churches were built with the timbers of the roof modeled like the ribs of a ship, and in some cases the walls were made irregular to represent the sides of the ship beaten and pressed upon by the waves. The nave, then, as representing the Church into which God in His love gathers us together in order to bring us in safety through the storms of life to the "land of everlasting life," stands for the idea of fellowship in Christ.

We may come to that same idea in connection with the main body of the church in other ways. Notice how it is made up of several parts, divided, in many churches, by pillars and arches. There is the central part, what is called, strictly speaking, the nave, and the two side parts, called the aisles. Now this threefold division of the main body of the church into nave and aisles may speak to us of the same thing—fellowship. These divisions do not make up three separate churches, but unite in the one church.

So, again, the idea of fellowship may come to us in another way. The special service of the nave is the Litany. This solemn service has been said from very early times from the Litany-desk, placed at the head of the nave, before the entrance to the chancel. "Its position there refers to a Litany, and a place for it to be said, of God's own appointing. 'Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord.' Our Litany, retaining the same words of supplication, is said, in allusion to this, in the midst of the church," the priest taking his place with the people, and, in fellowship of sinfulness and need, leading their supplications.

This truth of fellowship in Christ which the nave suggests, we confess our belief in when we say, "I believe in the holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints." The pictures of the saints of the Old and the New Testament, of the angels who worship Christ our Saviour, and of the men blessed by Him when on earth, which shine for us in the windows, may help to give it reality in our thought. The four main walls of the church, which are supposed to represent the four Evangelists, and the pillars, "which, as the chief supports of the fabric, are said to represent the Apostles, prophets, and martyrs," may remind us also of the holy and glorious fellowship into which we have been brought.

This fellowship in Christ is one of the means which God's love uses for helping and saving men. We are helped by it. We must by it help others. Let us