Archdeacon.--A term introduced from the Church of England and applied to a Priest who presides over an Archdeaconry or Convocation; or to one who is the General Missionary of a Diocese, or of a prescribed district in a Diocese of the American Church. Articles of Religion, XXXIX--Certain statements of doctrine set forth by the English Church in a time of great controversy to define her position as differing {27} from Rome on the one hand and from Protestantism on the other. They are called _Articles of Religion_ as distinguished from the Articles of the Faith, which are contained in the Creed and recited in the services of the Church. The Thirty-nine Articles were set forth in the year 1562, then revised as they now stand in 1571 and were adopted with the exception of the Twenty-first Article, by the American Church in 1801. They are published as an appendix to the Prayer Book. Ascension Day.--A Feast observed with great solemnity forty days after Easter in commemoration of our Lord's Ascension into Heaven. It is also called Holy Thursday. St. Augustine, A.D. 395, calls this one of the Festivals which are supposed to have been instituted by the Apostles themselves, so that it must have been generally observed in his time. In the system of the Church, Ascension Day is regarded as one of the very highest Festivals set apart in honor of our Lord. Proper Psalms, Proper Lessons and Proper Preface in the Communion service place it on the same footing as Christmas Day, Easter and Whitsun Day. The services are usually brightened with special music; the Altar is decked with flowers and white hangings as symbolical of the joy which characterizes the Celebration. Ascension Day is preceded by the ROGATION DAYS (which see), as days of preparation for its due observance; it is also one of the Days OF OBLIGATION (which see). Ascription--The words used at the end of a sermon, beginning, "And now to God the Father," etc. During the Ascription the people stand and at the end respond, Amen. {28}