...ecause he was a layman, to lay his hand upon his head during the ceremony. Both were deviations from the established practice of the early Congregational Churches. And he quotes the remark of Judge Sewall : It was, at first, ordered that Mr. Brattle should not preach. But many being troubled at it, 'twas afterward altered. Instead of deviating from the established custom, Mr. Brattle, in fact, c...