and Albert Prince of Wales. The date of
a Prayer Book is sometimes omitted from a title page, but may be learnt
from these petitions more accurately than from the Table of Moveable
Feasts. It is, I believe, left to the Sovereign to say who is to be
mentioned, and by what titles.

15. _Bishops_: successors of the Apostles as Overseers of the Churches
(1 Tim. i. 3; 2 Tim. ii. 2; Tit. i. 5, ii. 15). The word _epirkopos_(=
overseer) is contracted into Bishop in many languages, with slight
differences, e.g. Old English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Cornish. In
Spanish it becomes Obispo; in Italian, Vescovo; in French, Eveque.

_Priests_: successors of the Elders, or Presbyters, who ministered in
congregations (Acts xx. 17). As the Bishop has the Oversight of many
congregations with their Priests and Deacons, so the Priest {166} has
the Oversight of one congregation, or Parish. In this sense he might
be called Overseer, or Bishop, of that Parish, and S. Paul's use of
this word in 1 Tim. iii. has suggested that, while the Apostles lived,
the word Bishop was used as much in this sense as in the other. When
the word Bishop was required for the Apostolic office, the word Priest
remained for the second Order of the ministry. Priest is contracted
from Presbyter, and appears with slight variations in many languages.

_Deacons_. The Seven appointed in Acts vi. are not there called
deacons, but they are assumed to be the first who were appointed to
that office, or order of the Ministry. In some ancient churches they
retained the practice of having seven deacons.

The word means Minister, and has come from the Greek into many
languages with slight variations. Like the word Bishop, it is used in
the N.T. of other orders of the Ministry (S. Paul, 1 Cor. iii. 5; 2
Cor. iii. 6; Eph. iii. 7, &c.: Epaphras, Col. i. 7: Tychicus, Eph. vi.
21: Timothy, 1 Tim. iv. 6: Archippus, Col. iv. 17). Although in 1 Tim.
iv. 6 the word is used of Timothy, who was receiving commandment as
overseer of all the Clergy at Ephesus, we find in 1 Tim. iii. 8-10 that
Deacons were already Church Ministers, with official duties (1 Tim.
iii. 10)[6].

{167}

shew it _accordingly_: i.e. shew it in accordance with their preaching.
The "teaching" and "living" must agree together.

16. The Council of the King of England had, from of old, the duty of
making, or approving, the choice of the King, and advising him on
matters of state, and of law. Many of its d