921.73 W589w.pdf - Mesa FamilySearch Library

74 _emoir of
trary. It seemed to be a settled purpose of the
clergy, that every thing connected with public
worship should be as far as possible unlike that
with which they had been familiar. The observance
of Christmas was prohibited by law.
Marriage, which in England had been regarded
as a religious rite, was here reduced to a mere
civil contract, and could not be lawfully solem-
nized by ministers until i676. *
In the service of the Anglican Church, the
sermon was a subordinate performance; here
it was the chief and most important exercise.
Conducting public worship, the minister, while
praying, stood erect. He made no change of
vestments, and avoided most of the ceremonies
to which he had been accustomed. Here were
no chimes of bells, no organs, no chants. The
meeting-houses had no architectural beauty.
The boldest strains of eloquence uttered since
the days of Saint Paul were re-echoed by plain
walls, which were relieved by no picture, tablet,
or ornamental window. The public worship of
the colonists was a perpetual protest against
• i tIutchinson, 393.