'With regard to the nature of the earliest churches, and more especially to the Hyperoon, Mede says, "For the first it is not to be imagined they were such goodly and stately struc tures as the church had after the empire became Christian, and we now, by God's blessing, enjoy ; but such as the state and condition of the times would permit, at the first some capable and convenient room within the walls or dwelling of some pious disciple, dedicated by the religious bounty of the owner to the use of the church, and that usually an Amlyeov, or Tirepwmv, an upper room,such as the Latins call arnuculum, being, to their manner of building, as the most large am capacious of any other. so likewise the most retired and freest front disturbance, and next to Ilea Vell, as having no room above it. For such uppermost places we find they were wont then to make choice of, even for private devotions, as may be gathered from what we read of St. Peter, (Acts x. 9,) that he went up to the housetop to pray ; for so othga signifies ex usu Hellenistarum, and is accordingly here rendered by the vulgar Latin, in superiora.
" Such an Hyperoon as we speak of, was that remembered by the name of Comaculum Sion, where, after our Saviour was ascended, the apostles and disciples assembled together daily in prayer and supplication, and where, being thus assembled, the I loly Ghost came down upon them in cloven tongues of fire at the feast of Pentecost. C(meerning which there bath been a tradition in the church, that this was the same room '.1 herein our blessed Saviour, the night bef'ore his passion, celebrated the Passover with his disciples, and insti tuted the mystical Supper of his Body and Blood for the sacred rite of the gospel ; the same place where, on the day of his resurrection, he came and stood in the midst of his disciples, the being shut, and, having showed them his hands and his feet, said • Peace be auto you,' &e; the place where, eight days, or the Sunday after, he appeared in the same manner again unto them, being together, to satisfy the incredulity of Thomas, who the first tune was not with the rest ; the place where James the brother of our Lord was created by the apostles, bishop of Jerusalem ; the place where the seven deacons were elected and ordained ; the place where the apostles and elders of the church at J erusalem held that council. and pattern of all councils, for decision of that question—whether the Gentiles which believed were to be circumcised or not ; and fin- certain, tho place of this Cumaeulum was afterwards enclosed with a goodly church, known by the name of the church of Sion, upon the top of which it stood ; insomuch that St. Jerome, in his Rpitaphio Paula:, made bold to apply that of the Psalm to it,'Iler founda tions are neon the holy hills ; the Lord loveth the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.' Ilow soon this erec
tion was made, I know not ; but I believe it was much more ancient than those other churches erected in other places of that city by and his mother, because neither Eusebins, Socrates, Theodoret, nor Sozomen, make any mention of the foundation thereof; as they do of the rest. It is called by S. Cyril, who was bishop of the place, the upper church V the apostles ; and says he, The Holy Ghost descended upon the apostles in the likeness of fiery tongues, here in Jerusalem, in the upper church of the apostles.' 11' this tradition be true, it should seem by it that this Ccenaculum, from the time our blessed Saviour first hallowed it by the celebration of his mystical Supper, was thenceforth devoted to he a place of prayer and holy assemblies. This is the more easy to be believed, if' the house were the posses sion of some disciple at least, if not kindred also to our Saviour according to the flesh, which both reason persuades, and tradition likewise confirmeth it to have been.
"And if' this were so, why may not I think that this Comaculum Sion, or upper room of Sion, was that obtog whereof we read, concerning the first Christian society at Jerusalem, that they continued daily in the Temple, and, breaking bread (say' oitcor) in the house, ate their meat with gladness and singleness of heart ?' the meaning being, that when they had performed their devotions daily in the temple at the accustomed tittles of prayer there, they used to resort immediately to the Coe/men/um, and there having celebrated the mystical banquet of the Holy Eucharist, afterwards took their ordinary and necessary repast with gladness and single ness of heart. For so 'car' oisoi' may be rendered ; for er oi5o, and not domatim or per dontos, house by house, as we translate it, and so both the Syriac and Arabic render it, and the New Testament elsewhere uses it." It would seem from this last passage, that Mede sees no difficulty in reconciling the attendance of the apostles on the public service of the Jewish Temple, with the supposition that they likewise celebrated a common worship in their own chapels or consecrated places ; and if' we look into the matter, this double service will not appear extraordinary, for as yet they adhered to their Master's practice of worshipping at the Temple, while at the same time there were many peculiar and distinctive services in their new religion, which they could not perform in the Temple. For instance, the celebra tion of the 'Holy Eucharist was an essential no less than a peculiar rite, which they would not have been allowed, even supposing them willing, to have celebrated in the Temple ; they were necessitated therefore to fulfil this command in their own places of worship. This seems to have formed a continuation and completion of the Temple service.