RITUAL (Latin, ritualis, pertaining to rites), in ecclesiastical usage a manual con taining the forms to be used by the priest in administering the sacraments, namely, the coin munion (when given outside of the Mass), baptism, absolution, marriage and extreme unction; also in such rites as the churching of women, burial of the dead, blessing articles for religious uses, as water, candles, etc. The Ro man Ritual now in universal use in the Latin Church was drawn up by order of Paul V, who (1614) 'counseled' all prelates to conform to its prescriptions exactly. But though the Pope only counseled (horn: mute is the word he em ploys in the bull Apostolic. Sedi), a decree of the Congregation of Rites (1850) declares that the forms of the Rituals Romanum 'affect the universal church." Before the issuance of the bull of Paul V there were various ritual manuals authoritative in different countries or different episcopal jurisdictions. In the East
ern churches generally, as in the Greek Schis matical Church, the Ritual forms part of the general service book, the Euchologion, which corresponds to the Missal, the Pontifical and the Ritual of the Latin Church. The ritual of the Anglican Church is contained in the Prayer Book under the heads 'Ministration of Bap tism,* 'Order of Confirmation,' etc. In gen eral Ritual is a term applied to any form used in continually repeated ceremonials. There have been rituals in the religions of most peo ples; and these exist in many forms to-day among highly civilized and primitive races alike. Most of the Indian tribes of the North American continent had very rigid and com plicated religious rituals. The term ritual is also used in many secret societies for the cere monial forms used in receiving candidates into the various degrees of the order.