>t t' -y ^ ♦ •i,i.--^ "#" ^. ^^'^. jl *'t IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) '-^ . •■ •*' ^S M» m J2.2 1^ . IL^ 6" . I I . » / // / ^^^ ^^V" ■-■-»&■- ■. » "^ ■ /■. '♦Vt HiQlOgiBphic ScMices OD . 23 WBT MAM STRiit WIISm,N.Y. 145M ( 71* ) •72-4303 •*»«k >t more especially to the cause of God/that I. yield, without loss of time, to the promptings of my heart and conscience, and lay before you, as best I can. ■ /■.•. ' . '-^ GIHM Microfiche Series (Monographs) ICMH Collection de micfofiches (mondgraphies) » .i \ .9^<.. ^ •/• Canadian Instituta for fliatorical Microraproductiont / Institut canadiap da microraproductiona hiatoriquaa . -- ■ ■ - . -'a ■*■ • ■ , v» • - ■ ■ ■ . ■ ' ^- . ft- ■ . ,1 r>^'' of life. To the mariner, inured to the peculiar hardships of the sea, it will be no cause of wonder that one tossed upon the bosom of its treacherous The Institute hai yttemptnl to obtain tht bttt original copy available fpr filming. Faaturei of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any ■ of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly char>ge the usual method of filming, are checked below. D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagte' Ad *DS Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pellicula Cover title ptissing/ •#-. titre de couverture manque □ Coloured maps/ Cartes girographi^ues an couleur □ Coloured ink (i.e. other tlian blue or black)/ Encrir de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) □ Coloured plates and/or illustrations? Planches et/ou illustrations en couKur Bound with other material/ Relie avec d'autres documents Tight bindirtg may causa shadows or distortion along Interior margin/ La reliure serrie peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsifn la long da la marge intfrieure a Blank leaves added during restoration may apftaar within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from fihning/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches' ajouttes tors d'une rastauration apparaistent dans la tcxte, mais. lorsque cela itait pqssible. ces pages n'ont ^pas M f ilmtes. ' ^ L'Institut a microfilm* le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a M possible de se procurer. Les dttails-de cet exemplaire qui sont peut4tre uniques du point de vue bibliographique. qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification V dans la mithode normale de filmage sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. "^ . " □ Coloured^ages/ Pages de couleur . □ Pages damaged/... Pages endommagiks D Pages restored and/q» laminated/ Pages restaurtes et/ou pellieultes yi Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ ' Pages dicolories. tacheties ou piquies □ Pages detached/ Pages diitachtes EShowthrough/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Qualite inigale de I'impression □ Continuous pagination/ Pagination continue □ Includes index(es)/ Comprend un (des) index Title on heaiJer taken'from:/ La titre de I'an-tlte provient: I I Title page of issue/ Page de titre lie la livraison Th« po« oft film Orifl b«gi •Son othfl first •ion or ill Tho •hall TINi whic Map diff* •ntir right roquJ mmtt\ I I Caption of issue/ Q Addittonal comments:/ ' Vrinkled pages suy fflai Commentairas supplimentaires: Titre de depart de la livraison D slightly, out of focus IMasthead/ Generique (periodiques) de la livraison This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est f ilmi au taux de rWuction indiqui ci-dessous. 10X . 14X \$X 12X 1SX * 20X 26 X XX J' • I k 24X 28X 32 X eculiar render herous Fathers, and of such as seemed to be based upon them in later times. At this periofl Moehler's Syfn- holism was put into my hand. I read it, examined '*•" "'■-^ ^ - .10. •*■■•- dH SmiMf lr« da QuebM j'il itt le vue ion fts n 32 X Th« imagM appf aring bmrm ara tha batt quality poaaibia conaidaring tha condMon and lagibility of tha original copy and in kMping with tho filming contract apacif Icqtionar Original copiaa in printpd papar eovara a^ fllmad baginning with tha front ci^9r an# andlng on fha laat paga with a printod or llluatratad Impraa- , aidn. or tha back covar whan appropriato. All othar original copiaa aro fllntad bogfhKling on tlia f irat paga with a printad or llluatratad ImprAa- aion. and anding on tha laat paga with a Mintad or llluatratad impraaaion. f ^^ /. r Tha laat racordad f rama on aach mierof icha ahall contain tha symbol — ^- (moaning "CON- TINUED"). oAha symbol ▼ (moaning "END"), whichavar appiias. Mapa. plataa. charts, ate, may ba fllmad at diffarant raduction ratioa. Thoaa too larga to bo , ontiroly includod in ono axpoaura aro fllmad btflinning in' tha uppar laft hand eomor. loft to right and top to bonom. aa many framas aa raquirad. Tha fpilowing diagrama ijlustrata tha mathod: •^ . f- 1 9 ' 2 3 ~. Socffta du NusM '\ ~- di| SiafiMlr* d« QuSImc- , ^^ ' ' ■'' " Las imagas suivantas ont iti raproduitas avtc la plus grand soin. cornpta tanu da la condition- st da la nmxi*x^ da I'axamplaira film*, at •x\ ' cdnformM avac las conditions du contrat ds filmaga. , Laa akamplairaa originaux dont la couvartur* sn papiar aat imprim4a sont filmis mn commancant par la p^miar plat at an tarminant'soit par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraasion ou d'illustration, aoit par la sacond I : Pl«t. aalon la caa. Tpua laa autraa axamplairas*^ originaux aont fllmia an commandant par la pramiAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion au d'llluatratiori at mn tarminant par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. ^ ,. Un daa aymboloa aiiivanta apparaftra sur \t^ ' ,' darnlAra imaga da chaqua microfiche, salon Is ' eas: la aymbola ^^ signifia "A SUIVRE". la aymbolo ▼ signiflo "FIN". cartaa. plarichaa. tabiaaux. ate. pauvant «tre film«a A das taux da reduction diffArants. Lorsquo lo document oat trap grahcJ pour Atra raproduit on un aoul clichA. il aat film* A partir da I'angia supAriaur gaucha. da spucha A droits. at da hayt an baa, an pranant la nombra d'imagaa nAcassaira. Laa diagrammas suivants illuitrant la mAthoda. --^^ ,oJ*»t^ A >•; ly 1 2 . 3 : 4' .' ■ 5 6 V) M i ^ I •V K*. /Sr ■ ! (a 6 ■ J / I THE TRIALS PF A MIND IN ITS PROGRESS TO. CATHOLICISM: ,lEmR TO HIS OLD PRIENDS; * »■ . ■ « ' , L. SILLIMANT IVES, LL D \>' '«tonEccIe.ian|CatJioUc«mtotuiapofc«p»terMlutom.'' '^ SL Jiuguttiiu, 'UblP«nio»,lbIEccIertfc"_at^rtriM. ■ „• j iWEimr-THmD thousand. a ^ NEW YORK: D. & J. SADLIER & CO., 164 William BOSTON: 128 Federal Stkeit. MONTREAL: . COBNBB or NOTHE DaMU AND St. FjUNCIS XavLb SiS. }.: r n ^( Entmd. aecording to Act of CongresB, in the year 1854, by / PATRICK DONAHOE, Ib the Clerk'i OfflM of the District Court of tbe District of M«iB«cliuMtlfc >■ • v.. - / / STEBEOTTTCD AT THB / BOSTON 8TBBB0TTJB FOUNDBTi / >•< HIS LATE BRETHREN OP THB •<- , It PROTESTANT EPISCOPATE AND CLjERGY/ TO TH08B 4M0N08T WHOM H, 80 LONO MINm/kmI,, * AND to AM, WHO PEAT TO BB •• LED INTO XHB WAT OP TBUTH," BJe foIlotDfna Dages ■\ ■ ■ . • \ , '^■^PMBI'T AND APPECTIONATBlT 1N«CWBBD> nr THB EAKNEST HOPE THAT THET MAT ONE DAT PIND BOTH TBUTH AND PEACE IN THB BOSOM . . OP THB ONE CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH. , ■"^ '(«) • / .-va-* v.^ >A. t-> / 4 - i' ■■'•1 I I *:; c ^ J- CONTENTS. ■v^ .-.,t,, i MCI 11 iNTRODUCnON. 1. 8«IMeftnce not the object of the letter.^a. Motive, which Imn... I to .1, examination of Catholic truth. -3 Th/..n ! f > 1 '^"•'* * • • • CHAPTER L ' 1 I^^'^'IT '"^ ''"""" "^ '^^°'" ^''^ ^"''"k God-, proinise and God'a provwion. -2 M«^a iL™ .h ""'J""""' . CHAPTER IL OOD'8 HBTWATIOX TO BE RECEIVED AND aUBMITTED TO WITIIOCT HESEHVE. -^fTED 1. The caae .tated. -a God'a levelation to bo received in all it. n.r, lh,m the .imple f.c, of it. havipg been made by S Ig pZ " ' teaching of God Himself in variou. example, ftim^.w r;t.e"w:S ■^'- CHAPTER m. " ^11 ^^^ °°" "** "OT SECURED TO US TM OUIDANCB OF THE HOLY OHOW IN 11^™ INO HIS WILL. iirtSr'TrT'"*""^"*'' **"««''■ SPWt mu« guide Into «oly Spirit?-a It mu.t be a way of univerwil applicability. -4 ft mu.t be . way .uited e.pecially to U.e condition of the poS -J. { ™u« be. way calculated to p,«mote "unity in theFair.'_ft i ^1 theM reapecl. (he way of Prote.tante fail. "•• o. U ■1' , ■ - w' 33 ^ 37 ^ppli li CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. OOD HAfl NOT HADK TnE Cllt'RCn TIIR MKDIDII OV IIIH OUIKANCK IN ANT MOUIFItU BKN8K. I. Kigli <'liMrrliin«n «iiiiuhlith«>f wliiiittiiiK ll in any in- ' (ilicNiioii of the pn>c«>|il " hear the Church," la inyielf, aa • leader, •nU Ihe eflect of diicuvarliig my iiiablliiy to (each ... 43 CIIAITER V. THE AUTIIORITT OP TUB ClinRCII TO TKJKrU PEHPEIj^ UAL, AND Wlir. r I. The nereimity nf Ihe Chiirrli'ii Kuldaiice a* Krlly or llii KnclUh Church not Ctlholi^. _ a. Th. coni«. qu.nc. h.r l«.ehii.|, not C.fU..llc. - 3. lUr own ..ln,i.«|„„,. _<. An ^ lnq.i ry »«,., Anglican in«,n.Ut«„cy. - a. Th. ultlu.t. Cwholie tri buaii or •tandard \r WUAT PERIOD th h« of 60 1. I'h* rvBiionabloneiia Ok aner the Kornrnm or under Rdwnnl VI 4. In iiha Uf b« ■peak! In oppoaliion 5. Tba neconsary coi^fualon WHAT WAS THta KNOLAND I OR SAND 1. On the principle thnt ^ 67 • CUAPTERX. OF HER AUTIIORITT II KWOLAMO TO BE tRUSTKDl thin que.tion. -9, la ,|,, to b« tniMed befora lion? — 3. Imhe tobalniMted under Henry VIII., , or under Mary, or under Elizabeth, or how?.-!! 1 aa Mhe ipeaka In her Prayer b TUB TKHPORAL' I'OWEIr I'KKPETUATED. X AcU of parliAHiant iftncluMive. —9. The changea of Queen Mary justlfled on every principle, and elftctod without a ttniggle. — 3. The changoa of Elizahetli^njevsry gnnind unlawful, and forced upon tha Church agninst the wlll^ of »vet>- Ui«hop, tlib cqnvwation, and tha two upivetiitieM. — 4. The new ayitom of tliinga paaaed through parlia- ment, not only agalnit the voia of every bi«hop, but aliio by meana of „• imprliouing two Uihopa, and creating Avb new.Peen . 143 CHAPTER XVI. • I'njB POSITJOW OF THE PRE8EKT CIIURCn OP ENO- - L****"*> ^^^ *^*" "''t nAUOIITKR IN AltlEUICA, '" '.'^.^ riXBl> BV THB PAKUAMKNT or ^LtZAfBTH. IctofWilliamlV.iufflcient.-a The ca»o of the American Prot- ytant Epiacopal Church shown to be the name as that of the Mother \England — 3.. The entire independence of tho American laity.— ^^.I J.^ -rt / f y > /" m 13S 143 a)XTENTS, Q „ UIUKA. - «. Th« •i>|)||rati,m i4 ||,« f.^t In myMlf im '* CHAPTER XVII. ■BASOIfll Wlir iEPARATIO!* raOM THB CnAlB Or ST WT.R MtlT »K FATAt TO T,,M A«OUCAK. AWD IIKXCK TO TIIR AMKRIOAH, ^,., .\^^ EPIIlCOPAt C>LAIMS. nM«l Hk.ly, by th. r..l<.. ..f c...„m„„ „„.,, ,„ ^ w.Wfeund.d/J n. rh.n.c««l,yof . |.e„,| ,„ „„ body c.m.WwJ. - 4. TU. f.tt „f I/r...;.'! .."T"' «"P-'»«'y ""'•"«"•''.-». Th. u..lmonyo( iMNlic. ,„ ,.,• Hupr.„,«:y, •iib.r dlfcily qy Indlwlly.-fl. A /wd- U.I r..w.h ,^ th. P.,,., p„w., „m ,.„.bll <^ 7. Th. Hcrl,.,„r., .,- S'r"j, h" f \;"»«'^'*«'' »••••'• - «• Th. choiic .„..;r...,.o. - ?..t » ^' '"" "•• **"• "'• '«• *''""«J«ntiy ....ulnod by ih. U if ,■; ^* •"♦''"""' "f ««• PeUrUH.chl«g ,h. P.i,h Ml fonh in 8t, John nr. 1*-I7, ■■ lni«rpr.i,a by ih. P«h.r«,-10. th. Saip«u«lw|ura.nH,)pll.dto,myi..ir . . . . ' tM ^ . • ■'. ' . CHAFfER XVin. TOB PniHACY or «T. PETER IHTERWOTitH \lf TIfS FAITH AND OISCIPLINB 0» TUB PRIlflTlVB ~ CATIIOLIO CIICRCII. / '. Th. prlrtJilve Chiirrh «(r.,r.lH J.i-t ..ich teailmony .0 th./lalmi of 8u ^ Pet«r « th/«irc..n..i«ncM c^Tor.^a. Th. Apo.toli/ 8e., accort- - iiifUMh. Fatbeni.iho cijrfro of Catholic «nhy,th/k.ep.r of Ih. , C«.lH.ljc raiihj and .h«Wn-« of Catholic .u.horilyX 3. Eitraonli- . nary aMertLjrt of Dr. Word-worth hi hi« book "TAeophilu. Anill- ^ canu..'. -4. Showp lo b. uu.rly withoi.i foundJ[lon.ln .v.ry par- " • . • • 17V CHAPTER XIX. -I, TUli: APPLICATION OF TUB FACTS- CEDING CHAPTERS TO- MVj IN THB TWO Pigt— ' >WK CA8B. I The extraordinary aatertton of Blarkitone fa. reference to the Anglo- SMon Churrli shown to b»fa1«e. _ 9. Tho Anglo-Saxon Church Cath- olic, and iiibmiHHive to the Holy See of /on.e.-a 'Th^caite of St. Auguptinecon«id*r!)d.-4. The d.Kiume^t which put»aap.eeh into the mouth of. Dinoth againxt tlie Siiproyiary BhoHu to be spurious. -fc. ^ 6. The application of the a,r(5uinent tl./he Supremacy. -~0. The sum of tite wliole matter. - 7, A>onfe»Ri/i and a wamiijj chuclusion 915 / t \ t '■ > \. '^ft'^ ^ ^ f I-, yt i-' 'J*»W!Kt,j -f- ^% ' ' ■■■-? ■ -n. ■K / '/ ^ ». 1 - ■i 1 3%^ VI It* <• i: 1 '-*W1»,j •it- / • • ■A INTItODUCTION. . ) i Dear Brethren and Friends, . It is due both to you and'^y^elf, as- it is more especially to the cause of God, that I yield, . without loss of time, to the promptings of my heart and conscience, and lay -before you, as best I can, the reasons which have constrained me to take so ^ serious, and to many dear ones, as well as to my- self, ^o trying a step as that of abandomng the position -in which I had acted as % Minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church for more than thirty years, and as a Bishop of the same for more than twenty years, and of seeking, at my time of life, admission, as a mere layman, into " the Holy Cath'- olic Church," and with no prospect before me but simply peace of conscience, and the salvation of my soul. That for many years I have been nlore or less doubtful ofimy position as a. Protestant, and feel- ing about me for some surer ground on which to stapd in view of a judgment to come, is a matter too much interwoven in the history of the last few ' * ' (11) V u INTRODUCTION. years of my Episcepate to be, in any important . respect, new to you. ^hat, in this state of baffling uncertainty, and under the trying circumstances it brought with it, I always acted wisely, or with perfect consistency, is more than I dare either af- firm or believe. Bather would I turn from the too generally worse than useless task of self-de- fence, and humbly seek refuge in the compassion of Himy* Who hath borne our infirmities," and in the forbearance of those who have themselves felt the weight of these infirrnities, in a doubtful, but earnest struggle to find and keep the narrow way • of life. To the mariner, inured to the peculiar hardships of the sea, it will be no cause of wonder that one tossed upon the bosom of its treacherous waves, now toiling amid conflicting elements, and then distracted and deceived by shifting mists, should, in making his way to the shore, describe a somewhat devious track. Should any of my old friends and companions require of me still further explanatio^ of seeming inconsistencies, they will find it m a too gre^t effort on my part to remain a Protestant. Here, commending -myself to Him who wiU one day " make the justice of the op- pr^ed clear as th^ Ijght,"^ take 'fi^al leave of the subject of self-apology, and invite you at once to a consideration of the^history oi^n^ mind in its progress to Catholicism. , ' And if, in giving it, I should seem to any to make too much* reference to myself, my plea will be found in the natui-e of the undertaking ; viz., to & -\it I . >!f INTRODUCTION, 13 V present the train of thoughts and reasonings through which my own mind has passed in its progress to a certain faith. . • In the outset, let me recall the fact, that for , years a mysterious influence, which I could neither fully comprehend nor entirely throw off, viSted my mind, unsettling its peace, ^nd filling it with yearnings for something in religion more real than I had hitherto experienced.* Under such impulses, my thoughts were natu- rally led beyond the narrow limits of mere Protes- tant theology to the teachings of -eai-ly Catholic Fathers, and of such as seemed to be based upon them in later times. At this periofl M^ehler's Syhi' holism was put into my hand. I read it, examined its statements with care, and laid it down with an increased desire to know more fully the system of which it had given me, in a spirit of sucU fairness and love, so beautiful an outline. * Now it was, however, that the progress of my * I have here thought it not right to omit a circimstance to which I can distinctly trace some of my earliest foars, that something might be wrong in respect to wiyit I had received as the /a«fc» of Protestantism -or the real history of the Catholic Faith. Being invited by th^ University of NorUteaAKT lina, in the year 1844, to deliver the introductory Lecture befote the Histori- cal Society of the Institution recently formed^ I took for my subject the Principles vhieh mu«t govern iw t» arriving at the facts of Hiatory. This led me, by way of illustration, to apply these principles to some of the com- monly-receiv64theories of the English Ueftirmation - particularlv in regard to the real motive of the movement under -Henry VIIL, and to the real char, acter of the events under the subsequent Catholic reign of Mar>- — and to my surprise I found in the course of examination, that my own viejvs became seriously changed, especially as regarded the lattw ; and from U«r circum- stance, felt bound at t lie time to nam my auditory against the common no-, tion J and ever after, to guard my ovvu mind iti (he study of iii.nory agalnat orersided party repteoentati>,i)s. ■SiiA u IXTllOD U€1?iO N. inquiry reeeived a sudden check. Prostrating sickness came, and with it a succession of distract- ing and embarrassing oppositions to my discovered, tendency towards Catholicism. And here I must be allowed in all honesty, and,. I trust, with no violation of charity, to say, that these oppositions, which were designed, and at first seemed likely to arrest this tendency, operated, in the end, -greatly to increase it, by increasing my distrust in the system under which I was acting, as. they tended to opei^ 9}^ eyes more widely to what I felt to he its unreasonableness. • (1.) In the fifst place, I observed that eveiy atr tempt to understand and rightly appreciate Catholic truth was viewed by Protestants with jealousy, and treated with harness. That, whUe they prided themselves upon^the untrammelled exercise of rea- son in matters of faith, the fiist effort on the part of any of their adherents to apply this reason in good earnest to an examination of Catholic doctrine, or Catholic institutions, was instarW;ly met by a cry of alarm. "This practice is highly dangerous. Depend upon it, it will unsettle your faith, wean you from your own Church, and give you a lean- ing towards Catholici/m. TJiere is something in this so insidious and ca^jijivadng, that, if you once allow it to get the least hold of your mind and heart, it is sure to bring you underwits dominion." And if the practice was not fortlnvith relinquished, they would seek to. interpose an effectual bar by loading it with suspicion, and exciting against it .'■.*■ I mTRODVCTJfyS. 15 ,<*■ the populai- indignation ; thus often foiy:ing per- sons who might not have the ner Je, for the sake of truth and peace, to ilice desertiJnf ignominy, and perhaps starvation, to stijle their |convictiop3, com- promise their consciences, and cdnsent, foi- a time at least, to stumble on amidst the obscuiities and miseries of an uncertain faith. tThis struck me as being so inconsistent with the Pj^<)testant principle, that a free and thorough apphcat^on of ,each mind to the great question, « What ia truth ? " is essen- tial to its solution, as to lead nie to suspect more reaspnableness and force in Catl^olic teaching than my education and position had ihitherto permitted me to see. For I could not \|ell conceive how, on such a vital question as thafi between Catholica and Protestants, any practice 4hich might con- tribute to the fullest .irfvestigaticjn should be "dan- gerous" to any thing but errorf If the mind be capable of the investigation ai all, it must be, I thought, to the fullest extent. At any rate, that it would be exceedingly unfair to obhge it; to come to a conclusion, or to abide in one, jvithout being allowed an opportunity to ex^ine both sides of the question, the considerati^Jof/ which might be necessaiy to render that condubfe'safe-^Hence 1 began seriously to fear that "[the dangpy '♦^pre- hended from a thoj^ugh kncfWledge- oT Catholic teaching was not so much d^ger to the truth of Qod, as to the system of Protjhstantism. (2.) But'tljis fear was strengthened by my being called to fax;e. another kind • stead of arresting ijiquiry, it tended rather to sup- ply an additional stimulus to it; as it tended tg^ weaken my confidence in a system that could resort to arguments so illogical iii the^^elves — so un^ christian in their spirit-^nd so unbecoming the persons in whose mouths th^y^ere found. It was really a matter of grief to me to be seen in apparent fellowship with so unmanly, so imgenerons an as- sault. One betokening so little sympathy with that " chaiity which suffereth long and is kind," and appearing so nearly alive to that spirit which 8&ith, " Stand by thyself, I am holier than thou ! " I was compelled to view this charge in connec- tion with another : viz., that of dishonesty, or some- thing as base, uniformly uttered against converts to Rome — men who had equally gained for them- selves the reputation of unsullied sanctity^ while Protestants, and had "left all," for conscience* sake, in becoming Catholics. In a word, all this outcry about the corrupt tendency of Catholic K>% •C ',1 .>^- **K'^1P-''' . ; >f©sA|*# V. INTAODUCTION. 19 * prinriples might seem very true and very Jterriblo to some minds, but I confess 1 saw in it only another mark of the identity of the Cathohc Ciurch with the slandered and suffering Church of Christ; and another proof of the want among Prothtants or that divine cAar%, th^ absence of w$ch I had long bemoaned as the most fatal sympjom in any communion, of separation from Christ, the celestial fountain of peace \nd love. Where, I asked my- self, excei)t in the weekly repetition of the Apostle?* Creed, is the manifestation among us of that bles^ed.^. "communion of saints," which,' under Ihe'resist- less power of Christ's love, binds all heaits to Hinl^ blending them together m one heavenly fellowship — filling them wltfe one spirit j— concen- trating them upon one interest-^ and' animating them with common joys, and pursuits, and hopes ; thus excluding "all bitterness, and wrath, and malice, and evil, speaking " — and making aU feel as « one body in Christ a|d every one members toe of another, — that if one member suffers, alUhe members must suffer with it?" This question brought conscious shame, and self-reproach, and a heavier weight of heartfelt distrust. . And here anotheif burden ifras added to this ^ weight. "The poor," saith our Lord, "ye have always with you." If you are my people you wiU ; show it in expreTsions of divine sj-mpathy for the wretched of every sort. They will be taken to ■ your hearts and fed from your hands, and led on r gently by your side. Your churches and houses, i ?. r '*»*i 20 *lNTKOUUGTl65f. .1^ r tl l and sympathies and charities, will be thrown widely open 'to them. They will " be 'always with you." I cast my eyes around jne, and saw indeed here and there an institution, the fruit of individual zeal, designed for the destitute. But when I looked ' into the system of Protestantism, I could see noth- ing which marfted^^ as the hope sind th^ home of the wretched ; nothing which proclaimed its pe- y^culiar fellowship with "the poor." Its places of „worghip»-whfiffi».a&-TCas--toa--generally^.the-.catey-tb»- pew system prevailed, were virtually closed against them. If nominal provision Vas made, it only ex- pressed the more significantly the pride of wealth, and the utter want of communion with poverty. The very arrangement, said aloud to the rich, " Sit thou here in a good place ; " and ta the poor, ** Stand thou the^Ci or sit herie under my footstool." In short, I could discover no general and essential and abiding characteristic that identified the Com- munion to which I belonged with that divine broth- erhood, whose gloty it was that "the poor were always with them." Indeed, my own feeble, and perhaps misdirected, efforts, in this behalf, met with s^ich signal discouragement and rebuke as to beget in me a strong suspicion of the utter incom- patibility of the system in Vhich I acted with . Christ's jnission tcmhe poor. * , , But the circumstance which at this period" shook my confidence tnost of all,- was the absence, in my view, of any instituted' method among Protestants for the remission of post-baptismal sin. Sins bcr. f" -i'* INTRODUCTION. n fore baptism were expressly forgiven in that sacra- ment. But for the remission of those committed after, however deadly, I could see in Protestantism no provision. That Christ left power in Hia Church to remit these I had no doubt. ' And for 1 a time, after my mind had become alive to the im- portance of the exercise of this power, I believed that.it existed and niight be lawfully exercised in the communion of whjch I was a bishop._ But upon stricter exiaminationHa'^'m^ mature thought, I became convinced that if the existence of such power was not actually denied, its exercise, except in a very modified sense and within very restricted limits, was virtually prohibited. The discovery filled me with dread, which daily observation in- creased, till finally it passed into absolute conster- nation. No one, who has not been in my state, cah fully appreciate my sensations, when I opened my eyes to thie fact that multitudes around me in- • trusted to my care, were goaded by a conviction of • • mortal sin and demanding relief, and I was not al- lowed by my Church to administer that relief in the only way which seemed to me to be directed by God's word as understood by His early Church. The question now forced itself upon me. Can that be an institution of God which thus locks up the gifts (supposing it to have received them) which Ho commands His priesthood to dispense to the needy and perishing souls for whom Christ died?* • One eoniidentioh moi», deeply ooneerned in my rabminion to tii* . CatboUc Cburcli, ought, perhapi, to be mentioned. I lefer to M« dote wkitk .-.'H ..-i) 9 ti INTRODUCTION. m ' Thw State of doutU'and fear awakened in my mind the inquiry, why I should not more thoroughly ex- amine the ground on which I stood, and on which were ba«ed my hopes of etctiial salvation 7 ' ' When I seriously approached this question, how- ever. It was terrible ta me. No man can well con-^ ceivo the horrori^ith which I first contemplated the possibility of a conviction against my own claims as. the result f My claims as. a bishop, «^ minister, ft Christian in any safe sense ; and hence of .my being compelled as an honest mah to give ^p my position. A horror enhanced by th^ self. .humiliation with which I saw such a step i^ust ve, Mdoiedienee, fi^ tki mtment ttf mp — I ■ttnAIII . of Ch tt«e ehureh had to jmf' faith, and haptum. J r:,tr,r'""r''"" ""- •"-=-! :r» prt.dpl. of d.„ „d „fc^ „ „,„„ „^ . ^„j.^ ^^ •m, ot „ n, ma,r, CM, .tboijl I bid depaiud, iM ,„„, S^l,l ° , !"'r" " "»■*"!«"» ■» Am.,le.».5<«, «>it .o « °"imB, 01 wiiicu I was made a member at mv bantum i Hi^.te.rn»«fr a«,eep from Wb n«ive -hore'on Bome wreck .o a de«er, hland! Ifa.manh«d, after long objection to want and hardship, bji ,!l* Q, how- bU con-/ V ^plated I -jfii ly own ^^^Ijl^^ shop, «; V- [ hencQ ^ogive ■;■■ .# ■e^ selfV . ■ * :^M- • inust ^. INTRODU( 83 m ,)rf cover mo\thc absolute deprivation 6^1 mere tem- poral Biipjiprt wtich it .must occasion, not only to y|jlfjBbut^o one whpin I was bound " to love and J"*^^ »mti\ death." The heartrending distress fication in which it must involve, without ent, a\largiB circle of the dearest relatives friends, the ytter annihilation of all that confi- dtncc and hope ^hich under common' struggles * atld common suffeHngs, for what we deemed the truth, had been repose^ in me as a sincere and trustworthy bishop. VBut I forbear, i^ough that the prospect, heightened in its repulsiveriess by the sad fprebodings around t^e at the renewed symptoms of my wav6rihg)was so Unfounding, as actually to ma*e me debate, whethdV it were not better, and my duty, to stay and risk the salvation of^my soul,' — as to make me suppUc§ite in agony to be spared so bitter a chalice, to make mk seize, with the eager- ness of a drowning man, upoto every possible pre- text for relinquishing the iiyjuiry. Could I not be sincere where I was ? Wotk. with a quiet con- science where Providence had placed m%? "VVeriT not the fathers of the Reformat^n, in case of niy ^ing in error, to be held responsible ? Would it not be presumption in me, a single bishop, to re- consider other pointa long considerted settled by a national Church? These and morelike questions would force themselves daily upon mjr mind to de- ter my advance ; and under their influence I actually went so far as to commit myself publicly to Protes- tantism, to make such advance the more difficult. / i' .J if m :x f^Ma. i.^ «.#■'/ laks. ''fM-'^ o ^;^, rf.-' ««! 0)g '^.., . % ^•'"^"■f^' _u If '■;■ » n if - •■ *-. ^: :'■). M: 'r \i -^■-k U INTRODUCTION. I'^utGo^ was. merciful, and all this did not satisfy vme. 1^1 thought I saw in it clearly the temptatioiii of Safean, an effort of my overburdened heart tj escape self-sacrifice. I felt that if for such reasonl^ I could be excused, so might Saul of Tarsus have been. His example of self-negation for Chri^ came frequently before me. His words, as thfe Apostle of Christ, sounded often in my ears. "If any man thinketh that he hath whereof height trust in the flesh, / more — circumcised the eighth da,y, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjah min, an Hebrew of the Hebrews, according to the Law a Pharisee — concerning zeal persecuting the Church. Touching the justice which is in the lai- blameless. But what thmgs were gain to m6, the same I counted loss for Christ. Yea, further- more, / count all things but loss for the excellent ^ knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord! For whom ^ I have suffered the "loss of all things, and do tount them but dung that I may win Christ. . . i. .T^6 are fools for Christ's sake. . . And if any nmn among ycu seemeth to be tvise in this world, let him be- come a fool that he may be wise We are made a spectaide to the world — are weak and V despised — are' naked and buffeted, and have no • certain dwelling-place -i labor, working with our hands — are .reviled, and persecuted, and defamed ; yea, are made as the filth of the world u^to this [ day." These words often sounded in my ears, mth those encouraging ones too: "I reckon that ^^^ sufferings of this present time are not worthy % 1*% *^3 i - INTRODUCTION. ^ m to be compared with the glory that shall be re- vealed. For if we suffer with Christ we shall also reign with Him. We suffer with Him, that we may be glorified together." And I felt warmed and strengthened from above, to let nothing below turn me from a faithful search into the iHll of God. Other and still more solemn words, too, would come to deepen and fix this impression — words from the lips, the bosom, of Eternal Charity : " He that would be my disciple, must de^y himself, take up his cross and follow me. He tfiat forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my disciple. He that saveth his Ufe shall lose it; but he that loseth his life for my sake shall keep it unto life eternal." Yea, and i^me awful words, too, which; in the mouth of the holy Ignati^, changed the proiid and self-indulgent thoughts of the youthful noblemen into the penitential sighs and angelic aspirations of the self-denying and wonder-working St. Francis : — "What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Now it was that I cast myself, body and soul, powers, honors, and emoluments, all that I wafi, all that/ I had, before the cross of Christ, entre^r ing Him to take all, and lead me to the Wuth, lead me to/ Himself, vowing, in the depth of my soul, that if. He would in mercy show me the way, and uphold my footsteps, I would follow Hm whither- • soever He would lead me ! ' I will not attempt to say what it cost me to make this 'surrender. But one thing I will say, 9^ ~\ HI n «$ INTRODUCTION. the Racrifice h^ been' repaid ten thousandfold in the blessings of present peace, and in tht certain hopes of eternal life. And another thing I will record] by w^ of caution to my dear friends, that if any of the#have one doubt, or think they ought to have one doubt of their present safety,— (and who will not think this, after the solemn admoni- tion to^ cmsider and reconsider, <^y en in the de- parture of so many of the best and wisest AngU- cans to the Catholic Church; for who would refuse, or think there was no cause to exan^ne his title deeds, while grave doubts concerning them were abroad, and the wisest members of his' family were bestirring themselves to make good the ten- ure of their estates ?) — if any of my dear fbiendsi then, have one doubt or suspicion of their safety as Protestants, let them at once commit themselves to the guidance of God's Spirit. Nothing else can save them. Nothing else give them courage to fece the trials, to baffle self-delusion, and advance to the altar of self-sacrifice. Let them waive all investigation, then, till they have humbled them- selves before the cross, and sought, in a spirit of childlike dociUty, for the guidance of the Holy Ghost — till they have cast themselves upon this guidance, and poured forth the fervent desires of their hearts in some such thoughts as these : "God of aU goodness. Father of mercies, and Savior of mankind, I implore Thee, by Thy boundless wis- dom and love, to enhghten my mind, and touch »y heart, that by means of true 'faith, hope, and Pharity,^ I may live and die in the true religion of INTRODUCTIOlf. 27 nd fold in he" certain ing I will lends, that ;hey ought y,— (and 1 admoni- n the de- JSt^AngU- lio would an^ne his ng them lis' family I the ten- r &iendsj ■ safety as iselves to else can •urage to advance w^aive all d them- spirit of le Holy pon this 2sires of : "God avior of ess wis- d touch »pe, and gion of 'i^ Jesus Christ. I confidently believe that, as there is but one God, there can be but one faith, one . religion, one only path to salvation, and tliat eveiy other path opposed thereto can lead but to dcstruc- ^ tion. This, path, O my God, I tiilxiously seek after, that I may follow it, and be saved. There- .fore I protest before Thy Divine Majesty that I will follow the religion whi^h Thou shalt reveal to me asUhe true one, and will abandon, at whatever cost, tliat wherein I shall. have discovered errors and falsehoods. I confess that I do not deserve this favor for the greatness^ of my sins, for Tvtich I am truly penitent, seeing they offend a God who is so good, so holy, so worthy of love. But what I deserve not I hope to obtain from Thine infinite mercy; and^I beseech Thee to grant it unto me through the merits of that precious blood ^hich was shed for us sinners by Thine only Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord," &c. You will perceive that this prayer presupposes two conditions as indispensable to a proper.investi- gation of religious truth, h That the salvation of the soul throughout eternity be regarded as infi. nitely more desirable than any good in time; and ' hence, as demanding our attention^d pursuit nt the sacrifice, if need be, of all else besides. 2. That, to save the soul, God's will be taken as the only sure guide ; and as demanding our cheer- ' ful submission at the sacrifice, if need be," of every other will, and in resistance of every other claim, or influehce. It may be very difficult effectuaUy to brace up the mind to these considerations, — so / ^8 INTRODUCTION. to put. aside the powers of "the world, the flesh, -and the devil," and so to humble out pride, ks to: make time yield in. all things to eternity, and our wills to the will of God; ftu^ it must be done, or we can never proijaise ourselves any sure advance in the pursuit of truth. Strive,' then, first of all, my dear friends, (if you will allow- me once, more to exhort you in the truest love,) to realize the immense value of the soul, the utter worthlessness, comparatively, of all e^thly things, the dreadful idea of Its loss, and the unspeakable wisdom of ever ' holding one's self ready to sacrifice all other 'things for Its salvation! When you have done this, en- deavor to fix before and within, and all around your minds, the awful, but certain truth, that the salvation of your souls can be attained only in sub- mission to the will of God. And further, as you have always been taught, that "there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.". ^ From a living, controlling sense ot these things. It was (and I say it with humble thjfokfulness to God, for how Uttle did I deserve the grace !) that 1 started forward anew, resolved, by the help of Divme light, to find a Certain answer to the ques-' tion, " What is God's will as the way of man's sal- vation ? " And no'^ I entreat my dear friends to pray for Buch light, and follow me in the search. The result may be matter for deep and joyful thanks giving to God throughout eternity. . , . ^ ■■k -X- ■ .\ TfilALS p 'fA. MIND IN ITS PftOGRESriii ciTHOLICISM. , CHAPTliR I, CEBTAINTY IN THE PAltH TO ^B SOUGHT AND EXPECTEIX The question withnie was, (and I am not ashamed, even at mV time, of life; and with my pe- culiar advantages aj a Pjjotestant, to acknowledge it,) "What must I do to be saved V or. What i$ God's will as the Jay ofmarCs salvation? To this question /l felt the answer must be posi- tive and ccr how to save his soul, and then leave hiin to n^atke a single surmise, allow him even to point his own finger in the way, or put in a word of direction how to follow it — utterly absurd and impious that God should: he supposed to depend, in any degree, upbn the helpless being whom He designed to rescue from his state of absolute help- lessness — to borrow light in any way or measme from the daik mind, which, in pity. He conde- scended to illumine and to guide. I felt, there- fore, that I might justly, demand exactness and • infallibility in the answer to my inquiry for GodTSf* - exact will, as it was to be an answer from God, that His word to me should require no additional clearness from the dictates of my own perplexed reason, — that His truth should be rendered suspi- cious by- no human alloy; the bright page of His revealed will be dimmed by no uncerjairity of man's r^son ; that man's reason be employed only as the active receiver of the pure mind of God. Not only my own wants urged this claim, and the very nature as well as promise of God, who, ia -Sk—— TO BE/ SOUGHT AND EKPBCTED. SI fljercy, undertook to meet them, Justified it; but also the reverence due to His perfections, and tlw gratitude due to His loye would allow' no other. 1 felt that He had invited me to come and learn of Him, promising rest to my soul ; and that, had I come thus at His own invitation, for an answer less than infallible, it would have been an insult to His infinite wisdom and power; that had I ex- pected less, when He condescended to supply, it . would have been a return of base ingratitude and distrust for the marvellous provisions of His^ con- descension and love. I said to myself, God declares to me that He I has contrived and reiialed the way of my salva- tion, and^ desiring that I should come to a knowl- edge of it, has, in fulfilment of His promise to *^lead me into all truth," secured its'^xact ^d thorough inculcation by positive and fixe4 mealls, —•can I be satisfied with any thing short of cer-;^ tainty in this knowledge, and stand guiltiest b^ore Him ?, be satisfied with any thing short of certainiy and claim to be a Christian in truth ? How cmi I knpw that I am a Christian apy further than"^ Jmow that I am following Christ ? And can I con- ^ tent myself with an imperfect or doubtful knowl- edge of so solemn and urgent a fact ? What would such a listless careless spirit tell of my earnestness to be sav^d, or of my estimation of God's way of salvation? What of that loving spirit' which Jcnows the voice of the Good Shepherd, and that Good Shepherd Himself? What of that childlike •iv> S2 CERTAINTY IN THE FAITH, &C. dependence on the Father of mercies, which bows to every intimation, and treasures every hint that can lead to the most exact obedience of His wiU ? that fills the soul with intense desires f '':i f.. :»■ ¥ gob's EETOLAMON to be KECEIVED .'">--, „ My first cancera, therefore, seemed toi,e with this last-named opinion. And surely when I sen- puSly reflected upon it, I cou^^J hardly persuade myself that any intelligent Chiistian coidd W so lost to every iust conception of a revelation from OrOD to man ;i^ to be guilty of entertaining i£. For the moment i am certain that God speaks to me' as a man mheiy, my spirit shrinks in awe and submission before every word that He utters. But^ when I know that I stand guilty and condemned LlT.^r.""*^''"^^'^'"^*^"* "P«^ His mercy, He, through marveUous unmerited love, conde- scends to reveal this^wiU as the ground of my sal _^tion, I feel bound to know it all andm/W and to obey it all and perfectly. Forto^eltis enough to feel assured that whatever God has re! veded /or us IS required 0/ us. Besides, I put it to 3iy reason to say whether, if God has enjoined ^r^'^XhS^TG^^d^r^^-^^^^^^^ ^tieularsi^^i^rti:^^^;^ can proi^ounce whether any of these parti uT^s can be safely omitted or safely left doubtfJi ol •^^Wild "' \ ^°'' '" ^'^ ^tl^oJlo depth of as wisdom, has proposed to our beUef certain incomprehensible verities onr fovu 7 ^^^ withheld fill ^®"^»es, our faith may be safely scunty, stnpped them of mystery, and presented ^ «««^y, the necemt^ of unqualified submission to ■ •■■ si / AND SUBMITTED TO WITHOUT BESEBVE. 35 whatever God has revealed, however mysterious, or however apparently insigniiicant, — a necessity wrought out and set before my eyes, by God's providence, in His Written Word; arid in such repeated instances, scattered along the whole his- tory of man's strange perverseness, as not only to proclaim in the clearest manner God*s demands upon us, but also to exhibit in the most instructive light'oUr own blind propensity to resist them. I see our first parents shut^ out from the bless- ings of Paradise, and groaning beneath the toil and misery of an earth cursed for their sakes ; and as the cause, "I perceive that, misled by the pride t>f reason, they thpught it scattered little whether they acted up to the strict sense of God's* word, or followed the free and most agreeable interpretation of Satan. I see Cain, wandering forth from the presence of God, bearing God's curse upon his brow and an intolerable weight of misery in his soul; and as the first cause, I learn that he has been found guilty of judging it a small thing to vary from the mere outward institution of God, and offer the first firuits of the ground instead of the ' firstlings of the fiock. I see Cora, Dathan, and Abiron, with all their company, sinking, under the judgments of Almighty God, from the sight of meii^ into the bowels of the earth ; and I find the cause i to consist in a low estimate of priestly authority, and an unlawful and arrogant assumption of its prerogatives. I see Moses, the servant of God, though raised to the headship of his people, ex- ,^,/ ';/ *■■«. 86 %,' .. ; GOD'S REVELAtW to BE . EECEIYBD /' .'I eluded from the land of cause he could not discern the. rein wW he waters of Jordan, though appointed by <^^ should have an efficacy superior to that oflf;' nvers of hrs own country. I see many of the fol Wers of our tord, who had actually wi« asm^acHtuniingbackandabando^nrC , X^rbo?yTt''ifi^r'"''°-™'"^ »u ii^i- , ^' ^ ® '***' eateth me. even }i«» shall live bv mp • »'^ a«;» *i. ^ ^ murpH ». u V ^ *^^''' ^^^^"^6 they mur- mured at so hard a saying, He refused to do more tiieir implicit faith and obedience -^"^ otW tr *^'"f ''' ^ ^^" ^^ ^^ ^ "^^titude of - other instances, I could not fail t^ ^ . - ■ God's hand had written the letl':«rr::;f:a ' PWess, that human reasoh runs the most «' . «•- fj ;-r'» V '■ . :a "9' AND SUBMITTED TO WiTHoiiT VeSERVR 37 risk, in attempting to treat as non-essential ' any truth, no matter how apparently insignificant, or to modtjy and abate the Uteral Jopie, of any truth, no matter how deeply incomprehensible, provided only God has revealed it. • \ CHAPTER III. ' \ -*> ■\ \ IN WHAT WAT OOD HAS NOT SECURED TO US THE QUIDANC. ' OF THE UOI,y 0H08T m IJIAWnNO HIS ^ To my mind it was settled, therefore, that I had a right U> demaavd not only a certain mfallihU answer to the question, ^cncra% "-^T^hat is God^s ' wtllV* but ^so particularlyrttxBt is, in respect to each truth, however small, however niysteriou#, which Go(J has proposed to my faith or enjoined upon my practice. - '* ■ ■ /^^^ - Under this view, I entered upon thte iiiauiry, how, or by what means are we to come to aii "exact • knowledge of God's will as conlained in Holy . Scnpture ? So that we may have an absolute cei"- tamty that it teaches this or that particular truth — ' teaches this much of truth, and no more ? It was clear to me already that God alone eould *• helpme — that He, who is the sole fountain qf ■ revelation, must also be its sole intei-preter. I^ this idea, too, I was happy to beHeve all Christians ' ' more or less acquiesced r that no denominati^aV^^ claims the ability of itself to understand the Scrip- \ ■^' '- ■ • ■• ■* ■ ■''"--' " ■■- n--- \ .Js. i - ^ ,.5J r '' ■ \ ' /I . \ ' * ' ' t- 1 Vt f ^ «. ., >' 1 ^^ % « A ■Qr- "■ X ' ■' » \ ' " ^ 1 ,?» •- •/ - • 6-- • 1 ' «" M 0. 7 "^ 1 J- • IV ■y • »<*- ''N^ la" ^ 1 ■ V » ; * * 1> h " ". i ' l' « ft.-' ■ ^^ < •^ "**" , ■' "g V u ' C ' . - ^ T ' ■ ■ ^^^ ■i » ^ ' 1 ' , ^ '■ It n " - ' ' i _ ■■* i{ ' ' u !^- 38 IN WHAT WAY GOD HAS NOT SECURED TO US tures, but that the theory of all is, that mah must go out of himself, must cast himself upon God as the only sure dependence ; that His Spirit must • SJn some way " guide us into all truth," or we shall Tiever know it. In what way, then, (this being the form which the question finally assumed) has God secured to us the infallible guidance of the Holy Spirit as our interpreter of His will! Here I hardly need say that any way which God may appoint must be a perfect way. That it would be highly derogatory to His in^nite wisdom and power to suppose- it possible that He should essay to provide man with the means of guidance to His ■will, and that means be not, in every respect and in ^ every sense, sufficient to secure unerring knowledge. I first examined the means suggested by a large majority of ProtestMits : viz., that through prayer, God would enlighten each man's mind to under- stand, after diligent study," ,the true sense of the Bible. The result of my examinatiou forced upon me the conviction that this could not be the means of God's appointment, for the following amon^ other reasons. *^ 1. First, any means of help coming from God to ' mankind, must, to commend itself to their reason- , able acceptance, be of universal application to ^ them, and adapted to all their various states and ? capacities. But this means proposed by Protes- tants, I perceived to be, to. say the least of it, T o ry partial upplicatieB^— f i-f:. m Sft THE GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY GHOST. 30 f cumstances of a very smaU portion of those for whose instruction in the .way of life the Bible was' intended. * For, observe, the mere possession of a certain amount of paper and ink, and binding, called the Bible, even were it in every man's hand, and he a man of prayer, could go but a very little way to- ; wards a real knowledge of the will of God. For when this book pomes to hand, the man must be able to read it — to read it criticftlh — to know when he teads it, that it is verily tjie lJ)ok in which the Holy Spirit deposited the mink of God — ihsx in substance at least, it came WJthfe inspired Apostles, and has been transmitted to himself with- out serious change of any kind. B^t how many, I asked myself, of those who are commanded to know the Bible and are to be judged jby the Bible, have even such abiUty to attam its rfeal meaning ? or can assure themselves beyond ddubt, that the book they have in their hand contaiijs God's will? For no one, I presume, maintains' tlW the Holy Ghost is to assist individuals to a knowledge of mere facts; such, for example, as pertain to 'the iiispiration and authenticity and genuineness of the Scriptures ; or that we are to look to His illumina- tion for ability to translate them ourselves, or judge of the translations of others. Yet aU these things, it will be perceived, must be attained before we can even enter upon the task, the fearful task, of Scrip- tur4 interpret a tioB. „ Sure^,. I said -to^ myself, a = method of arriving at God's will so vei^ partial in •f - 4p IN WHAT WAY GOP HAS NOT SECURED TO X7S r . its applicability to the necessities of the helpless . creatures whom it profes^^s to aid, cannot have God for its author. The idea is too unreasonable for the acceptance of man, too imworthy of the perfections of God. 2. This app6ar©di too, from another considera- tion. If there be one intention of OfWc Lord more manifest in His life among men than another, it is that of providing especially for the spiritual wants of the poor ; of that class of persons who had hitherto been so shamefully neglected by their fel- low-men. Among the multitude of things which He did and said in their behalf, and for their especial encouragement. He proclaimed, as a gi^at funda- mental provision secured by His coming, as one which by its realization in Himself, established His divine claims: "To the poor is the Gospel preached." The Gospel preached. Not a mere sound uttered in their hearing; but a "certain sound," — a sound of " glad tidings " — a distinct proclamation ,of a way of eternal life opened to them as condemned by their sins to eternal death. "To the poor is the Gpspet preached;** — the Gospel preached — not communicated by means of a book, which they (each for hiriiself) are to read and criticize, and understand — but preached by a clear, unerring, living voice. How reason- able, how admirable, how fu^f love, of gracious consideration for the poor, I exclaimed withm my- self, is this, our Lord's instituted method of im- t^ tingtothem r THE GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY GHOST. 41 ^9- But how unreasonable, because in every way wn? suitable, this method insisted on by Protestants. 1 Ba.y unsuitable. For, to send the poor and ignorant to learn the way to save their souls from the Bible merely, seemed to me as obviously preposterous, as it would be to send them to learn how to get their daily bread, to the Principia of Newton, or the. Agricultural Chemistry of Lieblg. Besides, I had seen with my own eyes, in a long ministry to the poor, the fearful working among them of this Protestant method of learning God's will. The stupid ignorance — the horrid misconceptions — the frightful perversions — the saul-sickening debase- ments, which it wrought in niy oum field of labor, had been pain and grief to me for more than thirty years. How could I believe, with these sad lessons gathered from my own observaitioni that a God of wisdom could justify His own avowed designs of special mercy to the poor and helpless, by leaving them a prey to this m^ciles* scheme of attaining a knowledge of His -vnll through- their individual minds and judgments ? An idea so revolting even to my reason, was at once dismissed as offensive to Almighty God. 3. Another manifest difficulty attended the Prot- estant scheme. It failed to secure to mankind what God required them to maintain, — " unity in the faith." Where there is "one Lord,** reason, as well as revelation, demands " one faith." Where^ there is •• one God aad Father oi us all," reasaoT as welF" * f rU- '■ ■ ■ ■ ---> ,i'- W irf'' 4^ /n what WitY god has not secured h ^ revelation, demands that we kll, as *^G( /children," be of - one mind, '^nd one he; / mg together for the faith of/ the gospel/*' I was not surprised, therefore, to find Christ/our great l^rophfet, declaring Himself to be « tU light ; » and . the plan of salvation instituted in Himself as " the way, ^Ae truth, and ^A« life." And His people as those who hear «fl^, voice,". His one voice,- ^^ and follow Him." Neither did I wonder, as I listened to the earnestness of the apostolic entreaties, that We all speak the ,«me Mm^*, and be j7er/ec% 3omed together, not only in' the same heart, but also m the same judgment » , Nor at the terrible threatenmgs against such " ^ came division,;:* ■ nor at the pressing admonitions to the faithful to "^Void them," and to adhere to thein own pastors, ' who are sent for "the edifying of the body of Christ, to the end "that we may all come in the umty of the faith; and the knowledge of the Son oAGod, unto a perfect man - unto the fulness of the stature of CW" But in looking at the prin- cipk,of private fitigment in matters of Christian , taith, common sense, as well as common observa- ? tion, taught me that its result among self-willed "' .men could be no other than endless discord. I say com&on observation. For the result" was actually v before me. And 1 was not surprised to find, un- " der this system, no error too absurd, not to have ' been broached. JTo find among the hundreds of sects produced by its operation, eveiy fundamenta doctrine of the bles sed Gospel denied, and .v.r, ■\ t ''k i N. THE GUIDAI^CE OF THE UOJ^X GHOS)!^. 43 form and shade of anathematized error maintained, / ahd all cui;sed with, the uncertainty o^ perpetual change. As well, thought i, might t% harmony ' of society be preserved by /intrusting the interpret ^ tation of law to e^ch individud litigant, as the " unity of faith," by committing the discovery and meaning of God's word to the search of each indi- vidual naind. Here, therefore, I felt that I might leave the question as sufficiently settled, so far as re- ' gards the instrumentality of mere private judgment CHAPTER IV. OOIX HAS NOT HADE THE CHXTRCH THE BIEOIUM Or HIS GUIDANCE |N ANT MODIFIED SENSE. Here, however, I was met by a more plausible theory. "With the admission that, in a certain sense, and to a certain degree, the Church of Christ had authority tb }udge in' matters of faith, had been made by God the interpreter of His will to men. This theory I well understood, as I had held it, and acted u^pon it, in common with the party in England and America called " High Churchmen," duiing the whole of my ministerial life. We main- tained that va. the commission of Christ to His Apostles, " Go teach all nations, baptizing them," &c., and in the communication of priestly prerog- ative, "Eepeive ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever Bins j^e ivinit, they are remitted uhto them ; and i^ 111 S' *'t\ m A u eOD HAS KOT MADE THE CHURCH THE MEDITTH wiiosesoever sins ye retain, Ihey are retained," God had constituted His Chinch the authoritative teacher of His will to" mankind, and the authorized ^s- „.- penser among them of His holy discipline. V That all .were bound to « hear th§ Church," and that, if *J any obstinately refused, they were to be treated as "heathens and publicans." That the Church ., founded "upon a rock," was f the pillar and ground of .the truth," full able -to resist " the gates of hell." That " God had set in the Church some Apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministiy, for the edifymg of the body of Chiist, till we«all come in the unity of the faith ' ♦ and of the knowledge of the S6n of God, unto a perfect man, &c. That we be no more children tossed to ahd fro with every wind of doctrme by" the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness wheteby they lie in -v^t to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him jprall things which is the Head." That a divine necessity was laid upon the faithful, to "obeytjhose that have the rule over them and «tt6mtV themselves, because they watch for their souls, and have to give account of them." " To remember those who have spoken to them the \^ord of God — to follow their faith, considering the end of their conversation." That this necessity was ehforced by the awful sayings, « He that heareth you, heareth me ; and he that despiseth t^ou, despiseth nte.** And again, " We are of ^ ^■i ■'■**■; :.i OF HIS OUIDANCE IN ANY MODIFIED SENS?;. ^45 ' '.''■'''.. ♦ . To give and maintain the true meaning of this ' Scripture, we appealed cong.tantly and confidently to «the early Fathers of the Church. The most strik- ing passages from these /athers touching church authority, were like household words among us. Thus St. Clement of Eome* -writes as fdllows: "Do ye who-laid the foundation of this sedition submit yaursehes, to the priests,f and be instructed i|nto repentance, . Bending the knees of your hearts, learn to be subject, laying aside all proud and arrogant hoisting of your tongues; for it is better for you to be found in the sheepfold of Christ, little and approved, than, thinking your- selves above others, to be cast out of hope." Ep. i.({d Cor. n. 54,- fyc. And St. Ignatius oC An- tioch :t "It becomes you to concur in the mind of your Bishop For whomsoever the master of the house sendeth to his own household, we ought so to receive as we would Him that sent him. It is plain that we dught to look to the Bishop as to the Lord himself. § Obeying th» Bishop and -presbytery with an entire fnind^'—Ep. ad Ephes. " Neither attempt ye any thing that seems good to ' your own 'judgipent, || but let there be in thesame place, one prayer, one supplication, one mind^oUe ./ ■ •■ ■'.• "'''K-'- ■::■-:■■■ ■■-->.,!' -J * The BiBhop of tfiai See, honored by the dear friendship of St Peter, and writing about fifty ys^rs after Christ > . ■ t 'Y^iiTiyrite TtRfitfteaPpTipots. . . X The BUhop of that See and the di^iple of 'St John, writing aboat 105-107, and sufifering martyrdom in 107." ^ TdK 6lv JmBKonov ilj Uv gri w t girdv riy rfpioi/ JtX n paafiUwfiu. 1 w ... ^L _....> ^^ --■■'■■ J! m }^Ot according to Cotelerius, " (Jt aliquid vobU seorsim rationi conaeata. neum videatur." I>*,- N ^ 46 aOD HAS NOT MADE THE CirURCH THB'WeIITDM hope, in love, in joy undefiled."— iJp. ad Magnes ' " Guard against such men |heretics,] and guarded ye will be, if ye are not puffed up, nor separated from the Lord Jesus Chiist, and from^e Bishop, and from the regulations of the Apostles."— =• Ep. ad Trail. " My soul f<4r the soul of those who are in subjection to the Bishop, and presbyters, and deacons, and my portion be with them in the Lord.** rr- I^' ad Polyc. And St." Polycarp * declared, ** Wherefore, it is • necessary, that ye be subject to the presbyters and deacons as unto God and Christ." — Ep. ad Philip. And St. Theophilus f was heard to say, " As in the sea there are inhabited and well-watere4 ishuids, with ports and harbors, that they who are tempest tossed may find shelter in them ; so to the world, agitated and tossed by sins, God hath given holy churbhes, in which are the doctrines of truth, J and unto which they who wish to be saved fly.** — Ad Autohf. - And St. Lrenseus, Bishop of Lyons, § as hp ^- fiirmed : " There being such proofs to look to, wcf ought not still to seek among others for J;ruth vrhich , it is easy to receive from the Qhurch, seeidg that the Apostles most fully committ^ unto this Church, * Biihop of Smyrna, instnicted by St. John, and lived on tenns of intimacf with many who had smn our Lord ; he wrote thia epistle about 107. t Bishop of Antioch, highly commended by the Fathers, and wrote aboa 180. . L.t Th e di i w i ple ol 8t Poly c arp ; he wrot e ab o ut 185, aad-wanaaitygB4- IniiOS. ..'■SM.'. ■- -^■.^■ OP HIS qil^ANCE IN AXY MODIFIED SENSE. *■■ ■ . • ' ■ ''\..\ ^../ • t;. ■■ , ■ / ■ . as unto a rich repository, ««trAa^c«erM of truth* that every one 4at willeth may diaw-out of jt the drink of iSe^i. ..... .Therefore yve o%ht to cling with thp Inmost cjare to whatever is of thfe tlhurch,t and to hold last t<^ the traditiim of trutk; i . . .But what if the Apostlbs ^d not left writings : i^buld it not have been needful tq follow 'the order p^ that tradition which they delivered to those to wkom - they committed the Qhurcies? "An ordinaiice'tp J^^hich many of thfe barbarolis nations who b^lie4\ in Christ assent, having salVation written, without^i paper and ink, by the.Spint in their hearts^ and sedulously guarding the old tradition:* ^ Adv Hares. 1. 3. Again : " In the Church God hath placed Apos- tles, prophets, doctors, and every other ooperation of the Spirit, of which those axej^ot partakers who db' not hasten to tkeCj^MOfe^. .For where the Church is there is^^t^pirit of God, and where flie Spirit of God is there is the CEui^ch and,every grace.; but the Spirit is truth. § / Wherefore, they w^o do not partake of it, are /neither noilrished unto life by the breast of a i^other, ior see the most clear spring which flows fiom Christ's body, but dig unto themselves broken cisterns out of earthy trenches, and out of the filth drink foul •Oumn apoMout qaasi in depMitorium dive*, ^enisrimt U earn umMerint wWvV yw40 9Vm% vv^icim^^ t au« autem bM ecctoslB, cHin ■ummk dillgentla dlllgera. t Ci jju, non guftt paitlcipe. omneg qui non cu rrunt id iM^rleriim. -romnmlm ec*tos«, ifii et Bpiritu. Dei, et ubi Bpiritua Dri, lUto eeel^ at omnisgrattej/Bpirituiautem Veritas. »«„.», / '7j. I 48 GOD HAS NOT MADE THE CHURCH THE MEDIUM water, fleeing from the faith iof the Church,** — Md. 1. 3. And again : " The preaching of the Church, in which one and the same way of salvation is set forth throughout the whole world, is firm and true.* Fqr to this Church has been intrusted the light of God, and on tfiis accdunt is the wisdom of God, through which He saves all men, proclaimed in the* gates J in the streets she acts confidently. For, every where the Church preacheth the truth j and this is the lamp with seven tranches, which bears the light of Christ.** — Bid. 1. v. Thus, too, Clement of Alexandria,! who says : ** The Apostle, writing to tha Ephesians, has very clearly manifested what we are seeking after, say- ing thus, 'Until we all meet in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ,' &c. ; saying these things unto the building up of the body of Christ. . .the alone perfect in righteousness ; but are children, avoiding the winds of hej-esy, which puff up to swelling pride, and not believing those who teach otherwise than the Fathers, % are then perfected, when we are a Church, having received Christ the Head." Thus also Tertullian, § where he declares : " It is not lawful to indulge, any thing of our own choibe. ^ • EcclMia quidem pnedicatio vera etjirma. *''' ''■' t A celebrated priest of the Church there, and master of the .catechetiei4 <~«choolB, writing about 900. t Mi) KaTairiirrs6o»Tts roTf i\\uf igiTy uav6trntfiff i irurfpat . f Contemporaiy with Irenaus, living at Carthage, and writing about 100. -^ •» • « " OP HIS GUIDANCE IN 'ANY MODIFIED 8ENSK 49 as neither to choose that which any one may have introduced of his own choice.* We fiave for our aiathoA the Apostles of the Lord, who did not even themselves choose any thing to be introduced of their own will,t but faithfully • delivered dver to the nations the religion which they received from r^'* ^°^ ^^a* *l^e Apostles preaciied, that IS, what Christ revealed unto them. . .must be proved m no other way than by the same Churches which the Apostles themselves founded.^ Them- selves preaching to them, as well viva voce, as men say, as afterwards by epistles. If these things be 80, It becomes Vanifest that all doctrine which agrees with these apostolic Churches, the wombs and originals of the faith^ust be accounted true, as without doubt containing that which Churches Mve received from the Apostles, the Apostles from Christ, Christ from God; but that every doctrine must be judged at once to be false, which savoreth things contrary to the trtUji of the Churches.** ^^ De Pras. Har. - And Origen, || who says : « Let there be preserved- the ecclesiastical teaching, which, transmitted by the order of succession from the Apostles, remains even 1 'l . 1 ]ff 'i * Nobis Vim niliil ez nostro arbitrio indulgen liceCsed nee eligere qnod Wlqiiis de arbitrio buo induxerit. t Ex 8U0 arbitrio. t Non aliter probari debere, nisi per eaadem ecclesiaa quae ipsi apoatoU eonsiderunt. $ ConstatpnnicmJortnjnamjiiaLcuinJULsjccIesiw^^ matricibaa ^pi•^er^glnalibu8 fldei conspiret, verltati deputandam .. . . Omnem vero doctri- "~tJej — "" ■ . .. - awn, de mendacio Rrejq d icjmdam, gu a .flapiAtiaintra Teritatan-wcleriMinBr II An Egyptian writer of great celebrity, ab6i^ 830. m W ^ > / 60 GOD HAS WOT MADE Tnk CHimCH TIIE MEDIUM to the present day in the Churches ; that alone is to be believed to be truth which in nothing differs from the ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition."* DePrin. T. 1. "He, Christ, is the light of the world, who also with His light enlightens the Church. For as the moon is said to derive light from the sun, that b^ it even the night may be illumined, ^o also the'Chtfrch, having received the light of Christ, gives light to all who live in the night .of igi^orance."— T. ii. Horn. i. in Gen. "They who teach the word accordinjg to the Church (qui eccledastice \docent) are the prophets of God."— T.iii. Coot, m Af««. And St. Cyprian,f whose praise is in all the Churches: "«He that heareth you heareth me,', ftc. There being tjfese numerous ^d weighty, and many other such examples as precedents, whereby Grod hath condescended to confirm the sacerdotal authority and power, what kind of men, thinkest thou, are they who, enemies of the Priest- hood, and xebels against the Catholic Church, are neither scared by the Lord's forewarning threats, nor by the vengeance of a future judgment ? For nfeither have heresies spiiing up, nor schisms been engendered, from other source than this, — that obedience is not paid to the priest of God. . .who for , the time is judge in Christ's stead, whom, if the * ^'o*i^^4 ^ould according to tjie divine com- i>^lT^S^" ~' '•"•"• •"" " """•* '" ecclesiastic. ,t ap«,t«Uc t Biiihnp nf fl i rth > g « , mute aUout mt-lM, mmyt sSTSSr ■ff OP HIS OtJIDANCE IN ANY MODIFIED SBNSE. 61 mmds obey,* no t>ne would stir in opposition to the college of Priests." — E>. V. ad Cornel And the ApostoUc Constitutions : " Let the lay- man honor the good shepherd. For he who hears him, hears Christ, and he who despises him despises Christ... For He has said,. He that heareth you- heareth Me ; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me ; and he tl^at despiseth Me despiseth Him that «erit.Me."— 7/6. ii. cxx. And St. ^ffiphilius t declares : « That alone is to be received and beUeyed' as truth/which in nothing is opposed to the apostolic and ecclesiasti- cs, dogmas.** ^:published in the works of Gallan- Lactaiitius, the famed rhetorician of Nicomddia, affirmed, about a.d. 300: "The Catholic Church ' IS the only one which retains the true worship. This is the source of tluth ; this is the dwelling- place of faith; this the temple of tJod, which who- soever enters not, or from which whosoever de- parts, he is an alien from the hope of life and , -eternal salvation.** ■^ ; Eusebius writes : « The Church of God, journey- ing straight4in the right and royal road, has con- demned aH the rest as by-paths (r«? (lev aUag nag.x- TQondig dnedoxiftaae.) and she transmits tocher votaries ♦ . . . .Ad tempus judex vice Christi cogitatur, cai si seeundum ma^^ria divina obtemperaret fratemitas. . * _ f^ t Priest and many r of Palestine about 295.fS* , „-L!?!! ?"''°"''* ■'"'"'I'* *'^'' ''"'^ ■•enim'^ultum retinet Hie wt fona T e r i t a tm , knr . rfnmic i h wM j U e i , 4tw<» ertpriynou Intniverl t , Vbl a quo iTquM" eziverit, a spe vitffi ac salutis storasB alionuB est. / ■ ■ . 4 62 GOD HAS NOT MADE THE CHURCH THE MEDIUM the knowledge of divine grace." — See Eccles, Theoh 1. i. c. 8. - St. Hilary : * « He (our Lord) signifies that they who are placed without the Church cannot attain to any understanding of the divine words.' V Com. in St. Matt. c. xiii. , And thejgreat St. Athanasius : f. " Let us see the tradition which iS from the beginning, and the doctrine and fiuth of the Catholic Church, which the Lord indeed communicated, but the apostles proclaimed and the fathers guarded ; for on this has the Church been founded, and he who falls "kway fror#this, would not he, nor would he even J)e called y a Christian." J — Ep. i. ad. Serap. St. Cyril of Jerusalem § exhorts : " T?ie thou hold, as a learner and in profession, that faith "only which is now delivered thee by the Church, and is fenced round out of all holy scripture." || Cat V. n. 12. St. Gregory of NyssalF affirms: "Whoso look- eth unto the Church, looketh at once unto Christ.'***— .In XIantT.i. " And St. BasiL-^e Great ft says: "We stand • Bishop of Poictiers, about 355 t Assistant of the Patriarch of Alexandria M the first Council of Nicsa : and afterwards occupant of that Patriarchal See. * ^t" '■»'''■'' r»P 4 UKXn»ia reOentXiioTat, koI b rofirw licirtKruv, ovr,Av i(n,oiT ivlri XeyoiToXptariavts ■ ■ $ Bishop of Jerusalem) 345. ji. JinMnv.. i mpnoov fiovhv Thy itro rrft iHKkndat vvvX ool MpaSaoniytiv, ■ riiWeK ir^aijs ypaipllt ioxvpwuii/riv. IT Bisiop of that See 371. ** 'O \rpdf riiv enKhiatat ffXinuv. naof rUft t . OP HIS GUIDANCE IN ANY MODIFIED SENSE. 53 in special need of assistance from you (Western Bishops), to the end that they who profess the ApostoUc Faitli, having done away with the schisms which they have invented, may henceforward be .subjected t6 the authority of the Church,* and see our own ^hurche^ also recover their pristine glory of orthodJky." -- T. iu. p. i. Ep. xcii. ad Ital Sfc. ' And St. Epiphaniusf declares: "There i? a king's highway, and that is the Church W God and the pathway of Truth. J But each W the heresies have left the king's highway ..... .Wd is dragged forward into error ; and the shameleWss of error knows no limits in every heresy. Oome, then, ye servants of God and children of the l^oly Church, ye who are acquainted with the safe ruie,§ and are walking in the way of truth, and are not ^ dragged from side 'to ^de by wprds, the summons of each false sect, for slippeiy are their ways."— T. i. Adv. Rares. ^ Thus also the Council of Atles,I| which asserted its right to condemn heretics, on the ground that the Church is God's Judge in matters of faith: " Whom (the heretics) both the present authority of God and the tradition and rule of Truth have in such wise repudiated wherefore God, and our mother the Church being judge, she who both *'^^»Taril»atT8vXetirovrlldv9t^tttfltiititXti g fe^\n yinimcoviits. mt H Held 314. vr?- .:»■ # 64 GOD HAS NOT MADE THE CHURCH THE kEDIUM ■ • ■ . . ■■.,■! ■ ■' ■■ ■■;■'. knows and approves her o\na,* they were either condemned or repulsed."— i^. Syri. Silvestro eU al. fyc. - And St. Ambr6se,t when the says : « Thou art in the sight of the world; letl^Ae Church point out ihet^aytothee"i And St. Jerome, § when he exhorts: "Goya not out; believe not that the Son of Man is either in the desert of the Gentiles or in the secret cham bers of the heretics ; but that /row the east even to the west.liia faith shiiies in the Catholic Churches.'* — T. vii. I. 4, Com. in St. Matt. St Chrysostom II affirms: "Hfe (Christ in the passage, Lo, I am with you, fyc.) addresses Himself to believers as one body. For tell me not, says he; of the difficulty of these things, for I am with yoii, making all things' easy." ^,- And St. Augustine: If "For my part, I would n^t believe the Gospel unless the authority of the Catholic Church moved me to it."** T. viii contr. Manich. And Vincentius of Lerins ff says : « Discern tie truth^f CathoUc Faith from the falsenesss of heretfcal pravity .in two ways, (1) by the . J. ^T "* "** "'*'*'' prasena auctoritas, et traditio ac regula reritati judice Deo et matre ecclesia, quie snos novil et comprobat. ^ t Made Bishop against his will 374. * ^ t Monstret tibi ecclosia viain. . > $ Wrote about 300. II Made Bishop of Constantinople 398.. -^ .. -~1 . , ' . IT Made Coadjutor Bishop of Hippo 395. . '^ •• Ego vero evangelio non crederem, ni.HAS NOT JwtADE THE CHURCH THJE MEDIUM Bive. Thapher powQr was^ ^spensed to her ]from above* to qualify her to be ^ guide to the blind, and "a light to them/ that si(i in darkness." But I was a professed teacher a;nd overset in t£e Church; and, as such, on my owii pnnciples, must be invested with a, portion of the Church*^ power to teach and to guide. This thought, when brought seriously to the test, filled me with alarm. I deked .^ myself, witii, what kind of au|J>ority I could pro- claim/the truth of God? Whether I -really felt . X^yseif in ar condition to speak positively y that is,; '^'^hf^t shadow of ' doubt, to t\ie inquiring sinner, .declare to one dem9,nding certainty (and who should not?) on vital questions pf fai of the . creatjures to whoin the- apostles were thiiS sent, he desired and demanded to be eij^licitly ipy'-S formed what precise henefit he, as a sinner, could, claim Under ^is commission, and what exact line . • of duty he must pursue to secure it? ^hait, con- vinced 'T)y the NoiCUcstamcnt ot being iinder a _ _#olemn and weighty obligation " tp keep the ^Oiity* :., .. of the spirit in the bond bf p6ace^ to*i|trive' tb- ♦.;■ gether for the faith of the Gospel, to oDey those "^ % ,"; f^ i if •»/' i vh u ui u eomiut twto n e d t o watch for 80tt l » /* he n aked" .. ^. ''I .-.-.Jk. V..S T 58 GOD ilAS.NOT MADE THE.CHUECH THE MEDIUM. ' " 'I to be instructed in tfife^reat ^uty, for a knowledge of its nature and exte^ and.how he was to decide and to act amid^ conflicting" claims and diverse - teachings of thas age of strife and apostasy from tlfe Faith ? And furthermore, he read in thel N^F^^ Testament, that "when Christians were sick, tll9^ ^ were commanded to send for the elders (or priests) ! of the Church, to pray over them, and anoint them with oil in the jjame of the Lord,** in virtue of which great blessings were to be expected. And now as he contemplated that last fearful scene of his life, when approaching death was to put an end ' to his obedience and the use of God'^ grace on earth, he demanded, from the depths of a trem- bling soul, to know infallibly y^haJt he must do in . \ respect to this command, which, if not settled now, , must address itself to him with distracting forcetm his death bed! Suppose, thought I, all this and much more of the like kind should be-addressed to my awakened and oppressed mind, whaty m the name of God, could I answer 1 What could I dare dam, or what evim^e, of that authority implied in a com- mission to stand before sinners in " Christ'? stead,** and speak to them with unerring certainty, the will of Christ in God 1 The thought was confounding ! And I. turned from myself to those with whom I was in visible communion, and I asked, in respect to the above questions, if / have not this authority ^ to answer in my own person, perhaps I may in ^ conjunction with my fellow-bishops and churchmen. In ouy haada tho fiooV nf Comm o n Tm^uf w ua ';■**"•> . (;■» 01* HIS GinDANCE IN ANY MODIFIED SENSE. 59 professfedly the symbol of our .Faith and the au- ^ thorized guide in our teaching. But a moment's thought convinced me, that on the solemn ques- ' tions.proposed to me ^ above, this Book, whatever might be its merits, could give no certainty. For . a moment's thought only was needful to let in upon my mind the sorrowful fact of its utter inefficiency to produce agreement among the only persons as- sociated with me and around me, who claimed au- thority to t^ach; — inefficiency, Vot only to pro- duce fl^e^Tucn^, but also to restrain from mutual .charges of teaching /a/«cZy-- teaching '^another .^Gospel." Under the torturing ^influence of a thought which thus came* home to my conscience, I could hear myself appealed to from thefirst age of the Church : « Thou, who art seeking, why dost thou look to thosawho are themselves seeking? If the doubtful are led by the doubtful, the unas- sured by the unassure4, with Catholics on the subject of my doubts ; and, furthermore, that I com- '.1 , IHUnicatnd thn above iact-to-^ mw rtWr ' fl ii leaving my diocese, as he, if called upon, wiU'testl^i rtwAnt ~^- 60 THE AUTHOBITY OF THE CHURCH CHAPTER V. TUB AUTDOaiTY OF THE CHUBCH TO TEACH, VKSPSJVAU AKD WUYF » It was nov said to me, by wa/of kind aiid anxious expostulation, and by a very dear friend," that at this time, of peculiar trial to the Church, we must be willing to take part in the suffering, must try to be thankful for the blessings which are still granted us, be satisfied with a near approxi- mation to the truth. That the certainty of the first age of the Church is not our inheritance. But my yearning, desolafe he^ demanded " why ? '* denianded Mc .^00/ that Christ's commaad to " hear the Church ** was n6t meant for our day; and that tlie Church is not now, as well* as at any former time,' commissioned and expected to give ^he in- quirer, a distinct and certain answer ; tOerfea4y to return to those asking « a reason of the hope that is in her," an answer thatxan neither be tom- taTcen nor gainsaid. Yes, out of the abundance of my own pressing needs I demanded the proof, that the necessity is not now as great as it was in th6 days of the apostles, for certainty in the feith. That the wants of mankind are not as urgent in their demands now as they were then for the bless- ||pg of an infalUhle guide. That the moral facul- ties are less bUnded, — the natural reason less un- certa i n, — the na^is e s of 1 , / > TO TEACH, PEEPETUAL, AND WHY? 61 mg, — the wiles of Satan less artful andensnarinff ---demanded some proof or intimation from God's Word that the promise of Christ's presence with Ills Church, which by its very terms extends itself _ to the end of the worU, could, by any human sldll or safety, be limited to the age of the apostles. Ihat "the gates of heU, which were never to prevail against her," could rightly be supposed so to crip- pie and muzzle her, that she could not hold herself erect, and speak as a guide to the erring. That . her diving powers Wto be worn out by time • were to growjfe^WTand insufficient after the prim' itive day8.^hat "the pilW and ground of the truth, 80 Iflorious and trustworthy at first, was in the end to become so worn and shattered as not to ^ be a mre foundation and defence; * foundation updn Which to stand without wavering, a deflnce that could be trusted in every assault. My heart, yea, my whole soul, now alive to the value of truth, demandedrirom Gad's Word, Snd not from • mere yrotestant trt^ition^sc^T^^^tm^ig^oof that_ " the church of the.^ living Gpd » was t^^H^ lail m her living, abiding, in^Uble power to teach. Fo^ I had been led to a thorough inyesttgation into the nature of that power itself, int6 the ques- tion how fur it is hufrilm and how far divine ; and I had perceived the unreasonableness of the protestant objection to the infallibility of the Church, grounded on the universal falHbility of human judgment ; inasmuch as that infn11i])ility was not made to "stanc^ in the wisdom of men, but 6 m - ? I 'I 'I I 11 ~i-'--Tr'-- t ^tSfi ^^^ ' y V 6S THE AUTHORITY OP THE CHURCH in the power of God.** Inasmuch tis the divine word did not call upon men to « hear the church," because of the superior talent or learning . or worldly wisdom of her priesthood, ("the wisdom of this world " being actually accounted " foolish- ness with God,") but because Christ is in the Church by His wisdom, and power, and authority, — because, as saith St. Ignatius, *f Where Chris i?, there is the Catholic Church," ♦ or because, Origen saith, ** she hath received the light oj Christ as the moon receives light from the sun," — \ oi because, as Christ saith, Ae Holy Ghost was sent to abide with the Church, and to lead her into all truth, — or as St. Irenseus interprets, "where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God.**f Because, that no matter how exalted in^ point of natural or acquired ability might be her chief bishop, or any of her bishops or priests, they never rest in the discharge of then: functions upon their personal qualities or attainments, but solely and explicitly upon the gifts of the Holy Ghost dispensed to them for their office and work, re- spectively, in the Church of God. And that, Joo, because they were instructed by God„to expect these gifts, and place their sole dependence upon th(^* Hence it seemed to me not less unreason- able to object \o the Church's inability because of the human element in her, than it would be to assail the infallibility of our blessed Lord pu the ( ybi ^ niin o wl og tet tbl ct S p i rihia D b L =^ pound of his being «very man." Meed I at the ume of the Apostles, which ^ve the Church that the Apostle, as ™e», were not exempt from the common infirmities, in both body and „Sld J control (m their authoritative teaching) of a hi^hpr power with which they were lmled.tl!sSfe r*''»» ^-M !« placed in their decWor„r : instructions in the faith. The truth J, iT^ , a Him wio tX .^^itini'T' 1 unitedHimselftoherinh^l-^rbetdt^^ ■ Wis ^ the womb of the ever-blessed vS Hence he Chu«:h is declared by St. Paul, fo^ - «• «"%• "The Church, .oiiel i, Ifi, 'Zy^, .The body of which God made flesh isThe hL ■ C ^'.''^' *^<»"8'* I. « the Church's secu^tV C. ^terror. Het« is the source of her u^I^f Wledge the ground of her unerring j Jgm^ She consult, and q»aks by her DiwLe He a, w»dom preside, in her councils. IBs Wee M hejffd in her decisions. Her union ,riS £ constitute, her ritalitv Tl,« T^ T^ ™i^ ■ . ™^^- "0 very nature of 4;, anion n»ure, her indeficmiily no les, >.■.„ I T yc/uft^. A. ..the ^Z of 4rist," I ythe / / Jr 64 THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHUBCH words of the holy Cyprian, "cannot become aduU - tp'ate*^ (Adulterari non potest spo'nsa Christi) either can she cease to exercise her powers. For i^\Him "she lives, and mov.es, and has her being." Her very life is "hid with Christ in God" — is placed beyond the reach of harm from Satan or the Hvolrld; and' must abide in safety so long as Clmst her ever-living Head abides true to His own nature, and faithful to His .promise, "Lo I am .with you all days" and must ever continue to speak infallible truth, so long as the everlasting God shall continue to make good His imperishable words, "My Spirit that is upon thee and my words which I have put into thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed henceforth and forever." " When the Spirit of truth is come I^ shall guide you into all truth. For He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." That my views here were not hasty", and my confidence not misplaced, I felt certain, if that can be considered maturey which was thei settled beUef of the Fathers ; and well /ownrfed, which had been their reliance amid the distractipxis of heresy, and the horrors of persecution. / **For this cause," says St/Ignatius on his way to martyrdom, "did our Lbrd take ointment on His head, that He might breathe incorruptidn upon the Church.** "Ifa nritj ■t'^ ixxXjjala iqtOaQOlaP. / "The public teaching ^^f the Church,'* says St. t' '^^p^ \^ TEACH, PERPETUAI^ AND WHf ? 65 renoGus, "is e#ry wliere uniform and equally ^ndunng.'^ And he gives the reason, vi^.; that our fuith IS ever kept by the Spirit of God in mouthful freshness . . .making the vase (Or Church) jWjierein It is, seem newly formed."* A i" ^^t ^^"^""^ '' ^'"P^e^^aAji^ays Clement of^ (Alexandria, because "it is thjRSLiviU onearfh ( as It IS m heaven." — ( Stroml^^Skinr ^«.f • iperishds not Hke human rfo?S|^Jfedes away like a feeble gift, for " :thi8 r^^jP^. gift of God 18 powerless, but endure^, in^ble of being put down, though prophesied of that it should be per- secuted unttf the end." '~^K , '^ ; ' ; "No one can be with Christ," exclaims St. Cyprian, ''who is not with Christ's *poM*c," and for the reason, that "Christ and His Church are united with indissoluble bonds."~(jE;» xhx ad . Corn.) "The Church is one,". says he, v^which having obtained the grace of eternal life, lives for- ever, and gives life to the people of God," (Ep. ad ^mn.) because, "nothing can separate the Churgl from Christ."- (i;^. CaciL) "She it is that "alolS holds and possesses the whole power of her spouse andLord."^(^.lxxiii «rfj-u6atcn.) Thus "the spouse of qhrist is undefiled and chaste, and can- not become an adulteress. "—(Dc Unitate.) "The Church which is Catholic and one, is not rent nor .^^^^^^^^<^ is indeed connected together and knit * . . auam pereeptam ab ecclesia custodimus, et qun trnprn- a Amili B.; iM t M l i pw i m VBI in n un i i u t m« ii »h hi. .- ■■■ ' J'"''"»«'»" vaa u> qua w t . - .^b. itms. lib. 6 '.Ub.Ul.cSi4. m /- - *f/ -J '] 66 THE. AUTHORITY O^ THE CiHURCH ■tJV by the cement of priests, cleaving to each other." * , And as the reason, — " Consider," ^says he, M« the * majesty' of God\ who ordains priests . . . and h^Vc respect to Christ> who, by His will and fiat, and His own pijesence, governs both the prelates them- selves and tUe.^hm;cii With the prelates." — (1^. '^ Ixix. dd P^ian.) " Which J^great and everlasting , temple (the Church)," declares Lactantius, « because ' Christ is the builder, must have therein an everlasting priest- hood."— -(Umn. /w*^7i6. iv.) - "Christ foretold," says Busebius, " that the (Church, which, dming the years of His sojourning . among men, was not seen nor estkbUshed, should ' be invincible, incapable of overthrow, 'u4^TtijTov' xa» axaTa/iuxtjjop htreadta. For the reason, that "tf^e God-word dwells in the midst of His Church," &c. 'Ev fteaa yag T»}ff ixxXijaiag rov Qeov Xoyov xaxaaxrjvovf &c.fl)em. Evang. lib. v.) "The Church of Christ,", says St. Athanasius, "shall be refulgent, and enlighten all under heaven, and be as abiding as the sun and the moon. For this passage says so — *and His throve as the sun before m^ and as the moon perfect forever, and a faithful witness in heaven? " For ■^' the thi'one, « here," he continues, " is Christ's throne, the, Church, for in it He rests." — (Expos, in Ps. Ixxxviii.) " Thou hast built a Church on earth," says St. ■-■-*■:-•'■■ • Quando ecctesia, quas Catliolica et una est, scissa non sit noqiie divisa.fled • ■butiqiw Gonneza et cotuerenUum si^i in vicem sacerdotum glutino copulata. » ,«■ V a n t] .•^ % Mi .'V ., ,1 ■ > • V •^f — ._^_ i ♦ ft * ^: * TO TEACH PERPETUAL, AND ^HY ? 67 Ephr^,* " Which resembks the Church m heaven ; Its foundations /ore impelletf Thee to lay/ while grace presided at its cotiiplet^ :iThou hast also taken, it as Thy spousfe and made it Thine by the price of Thy bldodl; Therefo^ O Lord, Thou - yrilt guard,it uhOer Thy p^tectioa that the gates ot hell prevail tiot against it."_(T {^ ^yr ^ ^She » (the Church), says St AmWose, "may be^ overcast with clouds," but fail she cam J. (Obumbrari potest, dejflcere non potest.) . The jnoon, in her monthly changes, seems to quench her hght that she may borrow from the sun. While others are shipwrecked, she^ looks on, her- self free and exempt from danger (ipsa immunis et exori penculi). Always prepared to have Christ's light Ame upon her, and to derive gladness from ■ It." — (T.i. JDe^ir, /;6. ii.) " We may undprstand," sayp St. Jerome, « that even to the end of the worH the Church may indeed be shaken by persecutions, but never can be overthrown. , Because the Lord God Ahni-hty IS the Lord God of the Church, who hath promised to Op this ; and His promise is nature's law." (Cujus promissio lex natuiae est.) "Nothing,", reiterates St. €hrysostom; time after time, « nothing is equal to the Church. Tell me not of walls and arms ; for walls grow 6ld, but the Church never grows old, ^ inxX^iala SI ovdinore j^pa, walls barbarians destroy, the Church not even kA^ P"!,'',' "" '""'"'■ " '",""''' ^y "'• g"". "d Pntteed for hi, eicellency ■^' I twwte alwu ra^ it ' ■ '■ .'v.,- ^/ 'i 68 THB ATJTHORITY OP THE CHURCH, &C. ft. ■ .r. li - ,' •*<^ ^ -& ilemons can overcome. JVoJfAtng- is stronger than the 'Church. Oddtp yuQ exxXrjdlag laxv{ioiet>oi'. If thoU war against the Church, it is impossible for thee to conquer, Nixtjom ae iifii^x"*'ov. Why ? for God is stronger than all men. God hath rooted her, who „. will attempt to shake her ? For tliis cause, the Scripture ^showing her firmness and immovable- ness, calls her a mountain — her incorruptibility calls her a virgin, T6 a(pdogov,uite> xuXei nagOepop, her mag- nificence calls her a queen — that connection which she has with God calls her a daughter," &c. (T. iii. p. 391.) "Do I confide in my own strength? I „ , have His (Christ's) pledge — I hold His written Word. That is my staff — that my *ccMnVy. What are these words ? * I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world.' . . There mci0 is the pilot, but here (in the Church) it is Chrisi Therefore the vessel, though tossed By the tempest, is not overwhelmed." — (T. vi. in Is. c. ii.) With such ground upon which to stand, I felt that my confidence was neither unreasonable nor likely to fail. Was not Unreasonable, because, irt yielding to the Church as infallible, I was not called upon to bow to man but to God. Nor likely to fail, for the same reason — viz., that I was cast for guidance, not upon any human wisdom in the Church, but solely upon the wisdom of her divine Head, Upon the God-Man, who had so ]oved the '"Church as to purchase her with His blood — take her to Himself as His spouse — and promise her His presence and protection to the end of the ' — ■■■■ — I I. I I t i :^ VH- ( \ % -f -A- ^. ', '"^ '* .' '^ •\. : ,™«yisTANTI8M NOT KECO»caAI,T.K, &0. flO s^of bemgyet led by a clear light and W mous voice mto the way of life and peace. — 'Wr ^' CHAPTER VL .. Another feature, howeve^.m (he same plea estaats of which I comphined, mm be regarded ^ «.« ^uh the promise of Christ's presence wuh His Church ; inasmuch as this state of thing, had been foretold in the New Testament, as the oliaractcnstic and trial of the Church's Uer C lu directing my thoughts to this plea, it became at once obvious, that while the finger of prolecy pointed to a kind of confusion in L. bosp^TZ Church. It was not such as I.reaUzed in the Co*. d^order as would confound the Church iudf^ of 11* W "'l'*''^ "^ "^""^ -0 *« ™- ot truth _bu such as would throw off from her body some of her unriily sons.feaving them ran- " klingwith .iegaJl of bitterness, and bewildered by a confusion of tongues. That the prediction I , ! was hencff --act- aesigned, not to foreshadowloS eyes _^,..^,:.^_,., i * Al f •, ">.'■'.' "1^ sjf » r. -..^ 70 t' 7 :. PKOTESTANTISM NOT ' RECONCILABLE ■a ; ■ - ■ of the faithfula disheartening picture of a: divided Church : — p^ to hold up, as a beacon to the self- -willed and the turbulent, the awful cur^e which must follo^i^r a separation friema tl^ " one body of Christ.'* Certainly, St. C34>rian viewcid the ^natter ; in this light: j/lt ought. not to mote any Mhful person," sajs he, "who remembe^ the injunMons of the Apostle, ^ow he forewar^us that in th^blast times certain proud persons/ .bo^^ cbntumaefous. and enemies to the priests 91 God, eithet withdraw from the Church or act against the Ghurdh, when both the Eflrd and His ^Apostles have foretold that ' . such should now be. . . They, therefore, who have deplarted ^r' may depart from/ the Church perisl^ by their own fault, but the (2fhurch herself who believes in Christ, never departs from Him at all ^Bmd they are the Church who persevere in the house of God — (Nunquam abyeo omn^o discedere, et eos esse ecclesiam, qui in domo Dei permanent.) But they are not the Mant planted by pod ^. the Father, who we see/are not rooted with the firmness of wheat, but arte blown about like chaff. . <^ of whom also St. Jo^^says, 'They went out from us, but they were fiot of U8...or they would have remained with us.' Also St. Paul admonishes us not' to be moved when the wicked perish from the Church, and that faith is not lessened by the with- drawal of the faithless. ' For what,' says he, * if some of them have fallen frbm the faith? Has their unbeUef made the faith of God without effect ? God forbid. For God ia tiu^ but evory man ci r..-:*:: » V a^-^-.-^y- _X...^,J ' '^:<0 '^H *E PROl^rECIEg. ■.-•V' ^ X y laere itaast be heresies, that ther who are an-' !;^7h^ *^^''°™''' *"' ■«>■« &i«"«s detected • mTritt «"« "ghteous are seWted from the And, St. Jerome yWed the matter in fl,« same light : ^^We may understand," ^fhe "tit even to thn end of the world the ChLh^^^^^^^^ ; indeed shaken by persecution, but never ^n be overthrown."— CT vi lib Hi \ wru shall Tinf r. -I T ^- "*•) ^e gates of heU snail not prevail against. it. I consider fl,^ . Ch^h »*■ ^"'c'^'- "^' P"« goW, so also the Church says he, »- ^■•. ' •.I%' # :.-...V ... -. ,t. ■J^ . w ■ BKOTESTANTISM RECONCaLABEE ;•■ Stretches out itselfuntp SI,' future. ge|,eratmis, as •redoes t^ p'rececmig prc^pmdy also.*.«"5jS^, fo]n|JiPm, ' iithe day tbaf il^was spoKfen' * " " " " of , the world,' has it power ( isuml 3. P'T V i to inedi t&ose who have Eve lose -nf&qi ^hall h^ i^ili ^^ greatest advantages -^^ ^ ice unspeakable aid*;, o .^^ < ^^*|'*'^ theirs and theirs agcf^, ^'• .yj|^^p;.^^^^^,^^j^gy beliold' the contem .«xcibtfii]^g;■. « ' J^I^Mm^^'^ ^^^^^S^^^^T^i^vation.'' — (T. i. Cont. Jud. "^ I * ■ ^ ^f^T^ ^^ St. Augustine : 'T'Th^e arp some," saf^s he, / '', , fffwho sa3r,.8he that was the phureb,ofall nations is ,, already no, more.; she ,h&s perished. This they ^i*say^/(i}hQ arf not in her. » The impudent assertion ! > V* j/she no.more because ^ApM art notin her ? Look *^a.T . > ifc lest 'th6U, for that cause, be no, more. For \€ inW be though thou be not. (O impudei;teih vocem ! Ilia nop est, quid tu in ilia non es 7 Ilia erit, etsi tu non sis.) This assertion— full of pre sumption and falsehood, upheld by no truth, wit •out one spark of wisdom. ..., the Spirit of foresaw, and as ,JHfel*"®> struck at such ' annotince^tJNiT Therefore, even to of the wo4d i s t he X!h ur u^' in all n at ions. T. ||fe in Ps. c. i.) m^- :^. ■J^-^ » • V. E t c 1: C( . P U] ' th hi CO th . en \^i I, crc .phi *to j ■ clci t" / WITH THE Prophecies. «And'Theodoret exclaiii« « Tiru . , ^e3 'JT'h*' iT' ■"" *^ "^-f-J con chred by that word unto k «,rf."_(T. ;. .-fc p,. •: CerteMythew Father^ with tho wh* blessed ' company of^artyrs ,nd eUsso», underst "rthf , prophecies relating ts the " latter days," as I had that such glowing and confident Anticipation based upon the abides .i,^e and promise !t God thul --^ 1 That faith, and ho^ and charity thus inspired to pray, and suiTer, and toil, and endure unto the end, could in the end be rew;rded *ith disareomtment? That Ife who said, "and ' ^uld find thapltarAeff ^^ reached. tL «27^t^W^the gates ri^eSst betr/um- #ant! 1% "He who^o loved 'th<» Oh^k ai to give Himself for it that He might "sa&y ai*' cleaB,e it, and maie'itf ffimself W. gWiJn, ■\ '»>«' ' * flnalljr be driven to ^l^onfesj^ ': -1^, f * ./•■; • ■..At r •Jl*!" * 8. '"^ ^^ J- ;t ' 1. <'■■•■.«. 'T6 pUNI URCH. ' fearful altern^ip^Afli that prayer failed! And^ that that supmiant is not to "see of the travail pf His soul iMi. be satisfied ? " . If so, thought I, how blinded must have been St. Jgp|pifl|| %ge I \ " Hav0*WB hot one God, and "'one Christ;, ancPone "^ L^_ Spirit j<^f%race poured out upon us,%nd ow? calling • in CW^tl Do we raise a sedition against our oit • ^- » • TV ,14^' ■■:^ '■ '*' UNITY OF THE CHURCH. -^Y And When He calls wine, whkh is m^de out of Z^^:''T;\'\^'^^''^--^'^^-^^or^ov.tei!i into o« , H. i/oo./. He signifies one flocl joined to- gather by the admixture of a tbited Altitude. Be^des, because Christ's people .cannot be rent,. „tl/-T:,?T "^^ '°"j°^^^*^ throughout, u,«, ^ notd^.^ded by those to whoin it fell. Individual, con^ii^d co-entwined, it sh#s the coherent con:, ^rd of the people who have put on Christ. In ' %e sacrament ahd sign of His garment He has declared the unity of His Church ... The Lord says. Land the Pather are one ;> and again, of th^ T^athe^ the Son and the Holy Ghost, it is written, Usejhree are one. And does any one believe ^this ^mty, thus proceeding from the divine * Plr ^^* (^^^ unitatem de divina firmitate vdEeltem^and eohering in heavenly Sacraments, f r^ '^?^^ ^^ *^^ C^^^<^1^^ and be split by the force oran%onist wills? He who holds not THIS rNITf,HOLD^ NOT THE LAW OF G0I>, HOLDS NOT THE FAITI^ OF THE FatHEU AND THE SoN, HOLDS NOT LIFE AND SALVATION ! (Hkc tinitatcm qui non TvK.' ^^^^"^ non tenet, >n tenet Patris et ±iiu hdem, vitam et salutem non tenet.) There is ont God and one Christ, and His Churct is me, and Ae fei^ one, and the people me, joined into theumty of^^neMy by the cement of concord, (l-lebs una jn solidam corporis unitatem cohcordi® glutmo copulata.) Unity cannot be sundered, nor the one body be separated by the dislocation of its ioxiilu, (GLiudi uuitas non potest, nee corpus unum *7 |i .#^-->-' ■»■■ rs UNITY OF THE CHURCH. discidio compaginis separari,) nor torn in pieces by the rending apart of its vitals, (Divulsis lacera- tione visceribus in fitusta discerpi j) whatever is parted from the womb cannot live and breathe in a state of separation; it loses the principle of its subsistence. (Substantiam salutis amittit.)" Ho^ blinded must have been the blessed Leo ! " In linity of faith and baptism is our fellowship undiyided. Unless faith be one it is no faith. For St. Paul says, *0«e Lord, one faith, one bap- tism.*" (Ser. xidv. in Nat. Dom,) If blinded in respect to the nature of Church unity, equally so must they have been as regards its universality. If that unity be consistent with national divisions and national "independence" in r^gaid to the faith; what means St. Irenaeus when Ue declares, "that the Church, though spread het the whole world, (xae6i.?jg x^g oixofjiPT/g) hav- ing received the faith. . .guards it sedulously, as /though dwelling in one house ? (Jig hva ehov oixou aa.) And these truths she uniformly holds as having but one soul, and one and the same heart, and these she proclaims, and teaches, and hands down uniformly, as though she had but one mouth For though, throughout the world the languages are various, still the force of the tradition is one and the same. ('// Sivafug xr^g TiaQuduaeug /tta xul VJ o^r»J.) As God's handiwork the sun is one and the i same throughout the universe, so the preaching of the truth shines every where, and enlightens all men that wish to come to a knowledge of the truth UNITY OP THE CHURCH. 79 ...The Whole Church has one «„rf the tame faith hroughout the whole world/' (^,, if, J^f* lorth mto the whole world and protaulgated the- _ «me doctnne of the same faith to the 'atbl * Thenceforward other Churche, borrowed the tra dU-on of 4e fcith and the seed, of doctrine T^ Sna. wr"' r ' "^ '^'-^ -^^ *^ onginal. Whence these Churches, so many and «o great are but that one pHmiliv. CAur/from ' the Apostk. Thus aU are the primitive, and aS apostohc, while all being one prove nnity.-Tm, liTcielnt^!^' "T '"•'''' ^-^- MxTX ■ , ""cellence of the Church, ^iJ \ P""«'P>« of every thing concrete, is « «n.„„ but out of «« nations, o„e;,eopfc; and. '■ flierefoie. did Moses, as the highest honor, desigl nate hem as not a nation, but-if tbe expression ' be allowable _ « nation of all mtim,." ,T. iy. lib. vm.) ; ^ What, too, St. Cyprian, bv^ reiterating the necessary %i the^Church? "For we S do we feed but eke jlock:\ ^_,„, ^ sumus, uitum tamen gregem paslwj *;The episcopatf is one, a parf. of whirh, in coa ping and so o%n tlity of unity in aattjr shepherds, yet (Etsi pastores multi 1 ii l-fil i /.\:,v\ ■,t- 80 UNITY OF THE CHUECH. sistency with its entire oneness, is held by each - bishop. (Episcopatus unus est, cujus a sihgulis in ' solidum pars tenetur.)* The Churchi too, is one, ■though extended far and wide. . .As the sun has niany rays, yet'' one light. And the tree many -branches, -though one strength, resting upon its firmly clinging root. And as when many streams flow down from one fountain-head. . .yet is unity preserved in. the common source. Part a ray ofit the sun |rom its orb, this division the unity 'allows •" not ; break -a branch from the tree, /md it can bud ' no nipre:'cut a stream from its source^ and thp .... remnant dries, ^p." — (De Unit ate.) \ ."What means St. Gregory of Nyssa? "The ' whole Qhutch is the one body^ot Christ. 'Ev\(pfia ^^ov^Xgigov \ exitXr^ma mxau. . ,.Whoso ha? loaiTlt tliat I ' Chfist is the head of the Church, let him,%efore all things, bear this in mind, that the head is ever ' of the same nature and- substance as the body be- neath it. And that there is a certain fcoherence of • the whole." iTAn. Be lostom/? , «•' He (St. Piyil) calls it . owing the necessity of its . God, it is united, ai^d is ^, OHly, but in the whole world. * ' ChiiKjh that.is anipng you ife a pfirt of "the J eryhoheU, and of the b6dy ihat (■ \ ' * '«,.* V*^'i HBES? ''q"g'' w!»l' a gooJ 4eal orself-distrust, to differ in my genotally follow.d^nj ,i.e Oxford translation, which slonu, to me lis, fail* to tliia instance than'ln most others. ■.^>«* • • ■ .-■»■ \ ^ I •' -"jj^." \^\ « 'a r UNITY OF THE CHURCH. M 18 constituted by means of all the Churches ; so >' that not only with each other, but also Vith all the Church throughout the world niust you have peace. If at least ye be members of the whole body, 'h, ,/ (i. X. f/om. xxxii!) ^: -^ What means the g^eat St. Augustine ? « The - Apostle says, (1 Cor. xiii.)vif j have faith ^ that ' , 1 could remove mountains, and have not charity ^ Jo. We have, therefore, to inquire, t.Ao have ^charuy ? You wifl. find that it is they alone u,ho , ^ oT Tl'r.'^''^ ^ '^^ ^"^ ^^^"^""^ M^here the - Church of Christ is, let us hear HJm who redeemed It with Ills o^j-n blood, declaring^ *Ye shall lie' ^ss^ Vnto me. . .to die uttermost part of Ae ' ^ - eith/ Witl^isChurch,whichisdiffusidth,o4- -H^^;^^ "^^"^^ ^^"^^^ whoso^comttiunicates not, with s l^ym^m he:pommuni6ates not, thou scest, if thou d^st ^derstand whose words these, are. '(Huic^ec- 3;qaa3 per totara terram difFundItuji> quisquis non ■ communicat, cui non dJmmunicet j^es ) ^ ^^f Church assuredly is qn^, whtch ourfTcestors ^ called ihe Catholic, that tiiey might show by the name Itself that it is throughout the whoh world, ' For thi^ughout the whole is expres^d in Greek . by ^Sj^or. i^u^this Churchi^ the bodv of Christ, as tlie Apostle says, Uir body Mich is ^the Church. ' .. V\ hence. assuredly ii; IS. manifest that he who«is not '" ^ among the members of ChristV cahnot have CJiris- J"^^"^^. Nx)w_tlie .members;oi:Chr£i|:.ie '^ <-. li - >.> hi ■'X if -f • .^^ " ; ; XT < % ,\ '■ i , ' .< . :. W"'' :*• *f t' • 1.' ' :<>, ■ t » ... t . ■''4'*' 8^ tTKITY OF T]^ CHURCBf* united to each other by the charity of unity, and by the same cohere to their own head, which is Jesus Christ." (De Unitate, Sfc.) Here, thought I, there can be no mistake, — no 'misGofioeption. Such wisdom cannot be blind. Such cautious piety cannot mistake. Such weight of authority cannot be questioned ! The necessity of strict, visible unity, ■ — such unity as, both from its nature and univenality, djoes not and cannM exist among protestants, — must be preserved, or .^ death be the consequence to the separating party ! ^ And what a consequence ! The holy Irenajus reJil- ' , i^ed it -^lieV^e said : ** No Reformation of their » ^can be so advantageous, ai the evil of schism is ■ yerni^ious !" '*\hv8fftia de Ti^XixniTri Sivarat n^dg - dvTov MttTdQdaatg ysviaOai,, tJAt^J?' tou axiafiaiog ianv -f^ pXtt^Tj] — ^Adv. Har. 1. iv. Those two great lights , of the Church„.fet. Cyprian and St. Augustine, felt it when they said, .by way of warning, «'He who holds not this uniti/, hdlds not life and salva- tion!. ..He who is not thus in the racriibers of ;\ Christ, cannot have Christian salvfitlon!" And ' again,: *' Who is the criminal, the'traitor/ who so y inflame^i with the madness of discord, as to think % aught can rend, or as .to venture on rending, God^s^ . unity, the' Church of Christ?. . .Thinke§t thou any " can stdndr^nd live that withdraws from the Church,' and foj-ms for hiinseif other resting-places and . homes 7 '* (Stare tu et vivcre putae posse de eccle- sia recedentem, sedes sibi abas, ct diversa
  • mieilia . " CQjident«m.) — (i)e Unifatie:)' . ^' . t Jf i-f, f ■■■*♦. f.f.f ,, A ^^ JV i-r. ^f 4 ■".'V' i" i T UNITY OF fliE CHURCH. />- When I meditated, therefore, upon these warn- >ngs, oommg up from the very ceutre, aS it *ere, of God s power „ the Church, urging to ynity, and cpang aloud against schism as-the sure token of Ood s desertion and our coming destractioi, „ en- ?«atmg us not to rend the body of Christ, lest *e ' r" ^^ »«* underour feet, I entreated still more fervently that God would lead me without delay ,o • a phce of safety; for I began to realize, with aw- . ful clearness, that I had little safety where I sto^l. For, when I asked for certain hnowkdg, of G Js wiU, I heard around me only « confusion of ' tongues -men I asked , for authority, 1 a^i " o^lrrndtmdml pinion ; - fo, infaUibHUy, a can, ■ fimon ofdouiC-lor unity in fund^enlal faift; &.«<,„ and mutual crimiuaCion; -no claim to un,v<*>«hty, and no agreement even in thfkrk,^ es sectanamsm I But when I turned my eai, L,d ■ '■^'^"^'l '° f^ ™«» of the Fathers; echoinf ^ To.ce of God, I heard clearness andpositivenL of .-.peech,- heard the assertion in the Chult« of «^t.Ji' f «!■> I m wMx this c^vlction, tha^s be to (Sod. '}-r ^-f: .V # -... ' 1 w*^'' :'^t4 ::':T •^H ♦. •>\. 84 FALLIBILITY IN TEACHING FATAL. I had arrived at another, viz., that such reality and certainty were yet within my reach. I determined, by,'^od's help, to g^ forward, if perchance I might jrecure them!. ; , t %; .;. V ■' CHAPTER Vm. . FALLIBILITY IN.TEACmNQ FATAL TO THE CLAIMS OF ONE , FBOpESSINO TO DECLABE GOD'S INFALLIBLE ■WDiL. "7 V " Thus far, I assure my friends, ♦! had had no in- tercourse with any living Catholic. My study had been the Fathers, with Pptestant interpretations. Indeed, the editiolQs ,of both Greek and Latin Fa- thers which I.consulted, were such as had been rec- ommended to me^'by Protestants, and had been in ' my library for a| least fifteen ,:year&. While my companions and prompters w:ere, as ^ as I con- ;Sulted them, all of the ProtestajiCEpiscopal Church, / it is a.matter of thankfulnessl^.W&ich I ought here ^ to record, that I have been^fete, through the^ind- ,1 ness of various friends, to obtmn aU the books as , jBiattcrs'of reference in writiiag now, to which God's ■Jiro^dcnce directed me in originally examining thp questional;;- And, as argument after argument' seemted to fade before my mind, some of them be-' set me with entreaties; begged me to review the AngUcanclaimi, to contrast them in the light of history and charity \vith all others, and especially •f^rith those of Ci^tholifis ; and to see^ ?0ipething . " ?' 'could not be done to silence 'disoord and settle truth. l« . ■' . W w , <• . fc ■h-, „« * * \ r- : _. » — ' — r 1 4 • ^ n ,. • ' > v 1 4 V?'' .JAlUBiUTY IN TEACHKSO FATAL -gS though the imtrumeutaliiy of , "IWi^oial Cotik- , 0.^ connected with the revival of the AngUcan "Convocation." I^o^isented, even atthis poL.to ' 7C^^' '^r^^'y »f *« A-S'-n Church to give me rehef; to search anew, among Anglican pretensK>n». for some possible gronnd upon ^hich Mplftss m^ commamled by Almighty God to /'tear the Church," and destined to give an =c! ^ *ount to fl?» for failing in obedience, might strd able, to the very root of this question ;_ to in- quire, first of all, into the right, which, upon prin- ' S ^°^ T" '""'""'' *" ^"8"»» communion, and hence all communions growing out of it|couM reasonably have, to claim even my aUentirf^«;>Kn,kly disclaimed'^ any_|jjch conwction with God as ^vould em,ble it to ■* * •' ■■^■-*'-^ — ^_j-.;. - n- ■■-■■-«t- ■ ^'-y-r ■ -T- — ^--" % . ':^ / \ . • B — — »* — — „ A ,- f ■, Vs** ■ } of 86 '^S ft FALLIBILITY IN TEACHING FATAL. '$• ,■>» liii/ -'Iv ■;■>, act as an infallible propounder or interpreter of God's infallible will!* Here Wound myself arrested as by some magic inflwince ! A voice f|Dm above thundered in my ^•: "Cngrsed is the man that trusteth in man ! " er. xvii^5.) What but trusting in man, thougljl|% tds it, to, lean upon any judgment in matters ot ■ithg short' of the infallible judgment of Almighty odf What but trusting in man^'to give heed to j^ ie counsels of a Church, which proclaims itself controlled, in any degree in its decisions, Hy^tSe imperfections of man! •» Here I stand, I thought, ah utterly dependent creature, commanded by ..Almighty God to b/Heve and db certain things to save myself from His , righteous judgments. He assures me that He has commissioned a messenger to act in His stead' and tell me what these things are. A messenger pre- '-■ sents himself. But his first word is, I am not sure ;hat I can give you exactli/ and infallibly (indeed I .m suie I cannot) the requirements of^ your Sov- reign. Ought I to trust him ? Ought' I to listen 'for a moment to his word ? Ought I not at once, and out of due respect to the love, and wisdom, and veracity of that Sovereign, to turn from such ' a one as a deceiver ?, as guiltj? of the strange pre- t fcH-iia^, .11.'-' i . ■ I. * 1 liordlnean, that tlw wiiole Reformation Was not ouly crmduoted on tiia jUinciple that tjje Cliurch infallible, and thht oiie of the tliirty-nine article'} declares thia of her Iiighest court of appeal, a General CouncU, — but also, that in reference to all the solemn questions which I hav.e supposed above ad- dressed tamyself, there would be an unhcsimting acknowledgment on th put of allliur greM living teachors of fallible judgmm. \ M • • ■. -« , " ■ HrF'": : " ^'4 .' ' " 1 ■-•■..-: - ■ ■;.■ f ' ^ . ■ -■■■ — „ ,'-._v ■' . - F J- a- --— -' ■ ,; — ■ '■W- ^- '■.-'■' ^ ---. ■ . • ' *• - ■;■ . ...■,-■...-:. . - ■ ^ ., '* ■' ' ■ ■ , : ■ '.'''. ■[. -■'■./ ■".*-' -■ ■ ■ -i ASOUCAN AirrBOMXT FUKiHBt «»,siDEBm 87 ot^u. irom UOD to "tonrli/" /^^J» • y «.7 , -ana then at «,e vorVW J"'' V""^""'*'' "*' hilif,^ f 1 • ^ ** ®* confessinc? his ina- . Mtytodou: or,whatisthesa,nothb;,todo;- wi h „,„^bfe truth and certainty ? to do it no i-onaescended to speak to man. » CHAPTER IX. * . ^ . ANGLIC^ AnxnoAxT rCB^ER CONSIDERED. «an.ittea .fact'^.ee.ea :^:^^'^:''C^^ i)reiea by primitive antiquity T h-.A ni i t^^^t God. a^.a i. e.-Lru,'^l, ar ,i Origen, « one peopi^" tj^j ^^^ ' «on was to "teach a« ^«„;„... ^he pZ"'. «n 1- r . ■'■^*' ^^^ constitution was ^ ^l^& a Christ, and eve,, one „,omCrare' ' '^ h m ,: f.P« ■pfH * , ^, 11 u ■. ._ -.^^ ANGLICAN AUTHORITY FURTHER CONSIDERED. of anolhcr." That her binding, her divinely en- Joined rule was, "Be of one mm5,-r speak the same things^. Mark them that make divisions con- trary to the doctrine you have received, and avoid them." That her motto was, — that is to be taught and held « which hath been believed every where, ahvttys and by all men" [Id teneamus, quod ubi- que, quod semijer, quod ab' omnibus creditum est,] Vincentim. And that her symbol was, "One Catholic and Apostolic Church ! " Now with this truth before me, and with the admission of the Anglican communion itself, that it constituted but a, ,_p,flr^, atid comparatively a «!?««// part, of this Catholic Church, I^awrAcff communion confidently, taking the seat of supreme dictator, and against the settled faith of all other Christian nations, pre- suming, in the awful name of God, to proclaim' to mankind'^* what they must do to be saved " ! This marvellous assumption of authority, (though it strongly reminded me of something quite like it - }n an early century^) forced from me the invplun- / tary exclamation, "Whence could it pbssibly have /-^arisen? " What plausibl^ pretext even, on any' principle hitherto received by the body of Chfist, could be pleaded in its justification ? In casting my eye over the field of conjecture, I asked myself, "Has England \l iny time bdin favored with speciiil revelations fy6ia God, exempting hej- from , the oblig^ationi^^'j^idi^liii hitherto rested upon, her sons and dayghter^.fto.4!(!ai- the Church, — the 0//c,. Holy, CaaoMt'Qh]^'di; to observe the Ljuuction! '» •■*. A.- 1 t -♦■•- TT-"' "■'..: \i'. ii«- >^ " »"^- 'k^ ^ l>. ' t ( J ' i t 1' \,-. . .9 T • rt*- " ^ 'i\ ' \ r^ AlfGilCAN AUTHORITY FURTIIEIl CONSIDERED 89 ^Ob,y them that have the rule over you, and sub- m^yom-sclves?.' Did England receive the 'rfe^.. Zal " •'^"^' <^i-tly from God, .vith some speml commission, independent of the authority th '^^^^T'""" "^ °'^'' ^^*^°"^^ *« Publish it to he rest of the world, and instruct them how it was word' JrT^ ' " ^" W' "^^^'^'^ ' ^id the '■^ ' W^' '"' ^^"^fhem, or came it unto them, willfSTections howLput it inVactice?" . . It was asserted, I Mojr, -that ,lhat wo* was brought to England by thAand of-an ^^oX and - hence by a distinct and i/dependent poVer orSfe , Apostolate!^ Suppose tb4 fact of hi,ton/admitte . f^,-^P^^'^^«' " O"^ 3.o4^^>,. F A-one BapS/' - ' &^ How doe^ it agii^ with the ^t^e of th6 ' jostles, as indicated: iix the first Council of Jeru- ^ ^lem ?v It was pleaded, that soon after thelApos- - tie. a drfterent custo^ seems to have prevailed. ■ Ihat each-Diocese or/ Patriarchate was allowed to ' hold ^uncds^pf its oin, to settfe its own reli^ou. ' .disputfes. . Ihis, I saJ, was to a certain extent true " But I saw that iti^^a^ true also, thSt when such 1^ putes involved g^est|6hs of general interest, or threatened, by the violence and pertinacity of the ^isputants, the general 'peace, resort was 'fiad to tha judgment and decision of the universal C^g^r^^ in thar cases pf,Aiius and others,) audlH|he» .\ ; s^ - -J X < r > ^ 1 Vii "Ml 90 AH^'^AT PERIOD of' her XtrTHORITT this decision was once had, the matter of dispute was regarded by all true Calholics as infallibly and htncc y?/i«//y determined.,; And further, that no .decision by a nation or body Ifess than the whgl^;/.^' Catholic Church, was felt .to ^ inevitably binding, except as such decision had in some way been con* ■^curred in by the whole Catholic Church; and iu case it was made against the already declared ^ judgment of the whote Chjirch, it was at onco. either appealed from or rejecred as an act of schism. As, therefore, the decisions of the English jjflr/m- mmt&i the Ecformation, which determined the p^^^ sition of the Anglican communion, were to my mind, as I siia||^ hereafter, of this latter char. - acter, I <^f\jfl^how I could reasonably claim to be a ^«'/*«|^Wtill consent to act under them. / /" f ^' CHAPTER X;;;, ' AT WHAT PEEIOD OF IIEB AUTnOKIXy IS l^fOLkND TO BE . . TRUSTED ? '*' * Waving, for the time, the question of lErigland's independent authority in* matters of^ faith, I ^as here constrained to ask, at «;Aa^ ^ereW in the his- tory of that authority are we to trust it as a suffi: cient guide to ete«al life?* At a -period before or after the ^fbrmatipn| - The question ,is rcu- ■•';■ in '\ ■; -iTwrtLeChurcL." P«li«M's « TreaUse on the Churc V &r ■ V" ite nd IJO a- iu ^d :». n. I- . i w - IS ENGLAND TO BE TRUSTED?, sonable. fc she. maintains in the most eminent vhile she was yet in communion with the Catholic Church,— ^s she had after that event, when she was 111 a state of separation from all- oth^r parts of Chiist s body.* The question, therefore, was still pi;essed. At which of. these periods are we to ad- mit her divine authority to" teach" and direct us ? lo dictate our faith and exact our submissicm ? " * Let me p,H attention to a few words more on this point, even at the risk of being thought importunate. For upon it depends the Xirforce of ^ha ^ru,t does sU rely as tit source of her auaority? What does she lad S ., other Chr.st.an bod.o., as the teaching authoriiy in that country 1 uTb„^l cmncM puruy 4f doctnne, or superior holiness of life, or priority^ polr^r ' ^j;eora„yMngy.±icU had its origin in England i Certa7„TyL" rtSLr' con rary ., .., according to her own principles, .hat she was n Je by CA 7^ iuJuUea,thep,llarand gro,uul of the truth, received aulhoritu from m^n^' ' the qimrch of the uhole worM authority, to declare v,hat is pure doctrine- al authonty secured to her by the promise of Cftrist's perpetual pre^nce a" cording n. the principle of Dr. Hook, from the mohi.nVsL recefv^.t to the. ^ end of the word, and hence ..n authority which "co.rtd ^er change netS vaj but from .,s very nature mu«t have been We and the same evl dnl- ' and ho..r, and mo-n^e^t sinco it Was be.towed. . An authority, tT.enl lea? winch was certainly as good when held before .he Refor.m..i,fn „ con .mSa " w..luhe Whole Ca.holic Church of Chrlt.on which it wa aJS Sr ' * after the Reformation, when irf a s^e of sep«ra.i.m from .hat body Ind .hence an author.ty which had as good a right befor, the Reformat on to X ..ounce ,ts doctnnes pure as alter that event. So that its judgment Z^ d^nngupure fa as trustworthy at least as iu judgment ^rdec^taS fi. Al ■•ft 1 1'. '■ £' .r 11 -, 'm fill "> ^ ■■ . '^J^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^H ^^ r;;:-! ■\ ■. x-x: ,.x-'#^ ' x:A^-x..xy..A^v:;--:xx/:x .,:V--,.;, :-■■:'• W^\y ■■-, ■■''"''>• ' "■■ ■ X- ^X' : ' ■■■■ / ' ■ ■" >- ■ - . ■ ... V . .'■■■, ' . ■ \ \ t ■ ■ V • -.■ !^ ■: , x^-'-'x '■,■■'., ^ ■ ■ ./ 1 ...■'*■ «' --■<'■• ■ . " -■' ■ - - ■ ' ■■■_•-.■ ■ ■ * "rt ■ • ■ . . ..' ' 'Ay . . - \' . ■ / ■■■-.-■ '■■ ■ :-X'^-.:^XX.,„XX.; •^■■■■■f^:.X." :- ;:':,v,.:,.,'vxC::.': *". ' • • ■/ -^ 1'- ■.■■■'■- -1,' ,. . ■ ." ) -y 1/' V : IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) >'■ f. IJ 1.1 £"■£: 12.0 * . iJi?i \ -* ^-, '■■y- Fljulugi'dplikj ^ _,Sciences f Corporation 23 WiST MAIN STRHT WiBSTEIt,N.Y. 145M. (716) •72-450} }r • !. 92 AT WHAT PERIOD OF HER AUTHORITY Are we to ad?nit that authority when she taught -' that ,t^ Pope- is supreme head of the Church? dr when she^ taught that the Bng is? When. sh6 . itiught «8««re sacraments in the Church? or when she taught that .there are only Wo ? When she held Trmsubstantiation, or when 'she pronounced- it « rejmgnant to the plain words of Scripture ? » ♦ When she held " the Sacrifice of the Mass for the living and the^dead" as a blessed privilege; or when she cast it^a'w^ily as "a blasphemous fable?" But my heart almoSt'dies within me at'the recol- lection of this di-eadful change, .and I forbear; re- strictmg mjr inquiries to the thiee centuries and more since it was brought about. And I ask, a#I did, when this point was under examination, at what period in these centuries may we r6ly for spiritual guidance up6n the judgment of the An glican Communion ? .^tr^'^^ *"* '""^^ "P^"" *^^*= judgment, when in 1534, by the voice of Parliament, she\declaied . that the Bishop of Rome had no jurisdiction over the Church of England, and that the king wa, -rightfully her supreme head? or when, in 1536 by the voice of her Convocation at York, she de- clared : - « We think the King's Highness, ne any temporal man, may not be the head of the Church by the laws of God, td have or exercise any juris- diction or power spiritual in the same, and we think Bon of Jktan «.d Urink BU BU,o4, ye Lave « HfeTZf' ^* , > i^' '■#' IS ENOLAND TO BE THUSTEd/ ^ "'y *e Wof the Church, goncral'co/neils inter t^^n r IT^' ''"/"P' »/•«<»- hath been pressed m the ^r/.c/e. of Doctrine of 1537 * dc bated m ConvonHnn 4^ 7 . ^''*" >..-«?- Articles-Vhich were agreed to in the Synod of l-ondon in 1552 h^ th^ u- 1. ^ynoa ot and learne/S trro:tt^^^^^^^ Z^'' and establish the agreement of true ^r ^^^^^^^^ p;^essed in the declaration unanimously adopted bv ' both houses of Convocation, and signed by both the universities in the first vear nf Pi" u , ^^'^^^^^ forth in flno ^- .• ^ Ehzabeth, setting lorth, m fine, distinct propositions « /Ae Pope^s Su mmacy and .Ae Sacrifice of the MassVt ofl 1 T^''\^"^« ''^'Sle bishop was present,) which condemned ,the said declaration, suppress nrtho Mass and making the Quv.^^\C oppressing the the rh„v.i ? ^ ^^ supreme head of the Chureh? Or, again, as expressed in the f!^,TT^''"^"-^^^^^^ by Parliament, nd^ forth by the authority of the Queen in mTlt rtf "/57T ^^' ^'^^^^^^ ^- ^-^-'- -r ^ 01 1552, denouncing many of the doctrines • Paw* «Treafi,o on the Church," vol. i „ 4.9 t Burnet, on that perio That by such conscious, wilful, and deliberate act, such portion of the Church becomes formally separated from the Catholic body, and can' no longer assure to its members the grace of the Sacraments, or the remission of sijis." The above is signed by IVIessrs. Pusey, Mill, E. J. Wilberforce, Thorp, Keble, Bennet, Talbot, and Cavendish. All the other subscril^iprft both lay and clerical, fiavo acted on their words, and abjured Anglicanism. > ^ t See the Book of Common Prayer, and the Archbishop of Canterbury ia the ease above . \ «f V vV ^ / '#' ,mp m imji m r-^"*? W, .<»»■■ ■ It was, therefore, with «».r ^^appointment, tha Zi^"^' "' "° "*'«'y the CWh," I %2T, 1 """"^''' "-P^ cun.stances,whol:?JrT- ''""'"""' -- •hat I might hear, if ^S^h """"" *"*''-'' fold," ■ <^o«herd of the One ■'■:■ '• . ^ - / ■■.-..• fi vV •CHAPTER XI t. TUiC llEFORMATIOJt, TUOUSAND YEAUB BBKORfc land, a spirit of f!!- T '^^^^'^'^'ty into Eng. •io fiati,3 fe^"^'« *: P-vailing Cath^ "anifes;. T,^ ^"^rT- f '^ ^^^ '^^ "- againsMhe doi^in i: Lir ^-^ r ^ broke dut, like snm« ^^"oUstmej and then periods ^tz::^Tz7r'''"'^'^-'"'^ language 'of a popX I^^^'T'T .^''"' Church- is as foLs : I" i^B ^^^»«"«» .produced a noble array of A- • ,^ '' ^'""* • Th. i^. :». o.«.,™„ „„,^_ ^_ ^ y ' * .«*■ J" :,.i 96 TEACHING AUTHOJU'Tir IN BlWJlAND N BN and anti-Catholk usurpation of her rights." * And then, ^^tempting to give names to establish his position, he repeal* the name of JDinoth, and adds those of Dagauus and Wycliflfe ! T^ow, this writer ^ adopts the principle, " Hear the Church '* asserted, with a good deal of ability, in what he calls " the admiral)le sermon of Dr. Hoo^ ; " pronouncing, at the same time, that Church, which is "the pillar and ground of truth," to be Catholic, citing, in confirmation of his view, the following language ^om TertuUian : " So many and so great Churches are nothing else but that primitive one, from which all the rest proceed. Thus they are all primitive and all apostolical, while they all agree in the same,, truth, whilst there is among them a communion of peace, and an appellation of brotherhood, and a league of hospitality." The principle, therefore, by which I felt obliged to be governed — ^^ according to this admirable teac^^ ing — in judging of the above plea, is that " th& Church," which is "the pillar and ground of the truth," and which we are by Christ commanded to **hear," is "the One Catholic and Apostolic Church" teaching " the same truth," and cemented together by " a communion of peace7* Now to make out any reasonable claim for Dinoth, Daga- nus, and Wycliffe, against « the other teaching au- thority in England, I conceivjed it would be neces- sary to show that these divines taught the same ■-^ To tUa lut point, it will b« perceived, I recur in tbe lequel. ■>-> BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 99 -' truth, and stood in the same "communion of peace » that the other teaching authority in England ./erf not But will any one, having tho smal^st regard ^ ^putation fbr knowledge^ven pretend to . fZ\J.''^" ^t not a notoriot^id indisputable fact, that when Augustine came into England, he >vas sent by an authority, (whatever may be said -«bout Its universal jurisdiction, which we shall con- . sid^r presently,) which was in communion with " .^^^^^^ Catholic Church," and that he brought with bn, the Faith, which was then professed and acted upon, (If some half dozen men in that island niust be excepted) throughout, at least, all the rest of that " One Catholic Church ! » And that it con- tmued to be .Ae Faith professed ,.nd acted upon ^ throughout Christendom, (England included,) up to the period- of the Reformation ? Now to me, as '■ a Protestant, it was a very awkward question- how Dmoth and Dagams, and Wycliffe, and any body else who may be supposed to have acted witb as the true, /emn^, " teaching ^^ authority in Eng- land, to which, on pain of being treat^ as "hea- thens and pubHcans," all her sons an^ daughters were compelled to listen, in oppositionlto the Cath- olic authority, which alone taught, or Luld, by any possvhhty, be <' heard- for eight hldred years and more. I say for eight hundrei years and more, because, during that period, iL Protestant authority of England declares it to be the fact ■*■ ?l \ - i. ■- II 'ill 111^1 '■(i(l#* • 100 TEACHING AUTHORITY IN ENGLAND ;■ -■^■' The words arc : " Laity arid clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages, sects, and degrees of men, women, and children of the tviioLE of chuIstex^ , DOM, had been at once drowned in abomhiable idol- atry ; and that for the space of eight hundred years and more." — (Homily against the Peril of . Idola- try.) Now, 1 entreat my old friends, and especially |^ my friend who wrote the book upon wliidn I have felt bound to animadvert, seriously to consider — where, for tha^ long period, the poor sinner was to go to "hear the Church ? '* And more than all, what became qf the promise of Jesus Christ to be with His Chu^rch, " teaching all things whatsoever HE commandjii^ her alwayl (all days) to the end of tli^ world 1" For, remember, a dead Church does^ ridjt spefiLk. And " Fs^lth cometh by hearing," vmii sinners are to "hear the Ghurch," — not to get their faith from themselves, by reading books, nor to dive into the broad deep sea of centuries long; passed, and fish up from mouldy records their faith piecemeal — but to listen to ,the "pastors and teachers, given for the edification ol the Church, till we all come to unity in theJFaith; " to "sub- mit to tho^e who are commissioned to watch for our souls, and to follow their Faith." Besides, Christ's presence is promised to living, speaking pastors, and not to old dumb books, however full of wisdom they may be. My old friends must ex- cuse me, therefore, for repeating my request that they will meditate seriously upon this truth, as I V "Hffts constrained to do at the time of my great trial >, V i BEFORE THE PEFORMATIOH. lOJ Besides, the question then impressed itself anon'- me s , ,h., „,e voice ot dLh JdIS eould be he.„,. ut least, in some faint echoes thC S^:■ert7v"'''^'"''''^-■°^''■' t„ 1. . • ' ««»?'™t eptscopalians prepared obow^U,, hing?. to- submit to the doct^ „ 'f "'"''• """^ «™d m the same period, what kiml Adl'T "°"" have subsisted' bet»4„ them r Admit, for a moment, that Dinotk. „„ two or thl line, IS there one single nni'Tif ^^ /• -.i , ^epa^tes Catholics frSres^Lft'^^r:: . ean> shown he would have agreed ;ith ^^ iteWion.-theLJg^^iSr^to^hirtt «^u.„ngs.nereou,d|i,earn/hewa,':fe.^ .jlsl '« .a, V i ^^ • Bede's Eccl. Hist ubique. '^^ r:rs;^X^^r Sii -r ^'"^ '•-'. '^^ held When Auguni„e arrived in E„l„S.rrT".'' ''"'"'^"''•» '"« '""y tl.ree points, as stated by the VeneS «„«.«< » ''"''"'" ' '^'"' ""'J^ Where the interview boiween aL?.! „ :. ^^ ^'*'' ^"'•' '• "• «=• 2. 3, 4» fully described,) upon wT.S ttey c Im '„"? ' "'='"*"'"'^ "^ »""'-- 1- Upon the time of keeping Ser o n "'7 ^"'^ '"« '•"""wing : a- 3. Upon union in preaching to the SaVon^ C m """""""^ "' ''"'""'" 5 -Augustine these ditTerences were not adi-l.i f '""'" """"« ""' '"■« «" p---i..i^havi„,died.t:;sr;t2:j:;^ •"ff-:. *e \ •»'\ U 1 l! ' i \ ( ■a i. (■. I ■ i ■ i P'! ... ■ V-'r --■:. - ■ u, \ %. THE EEFORMATION IN :^GLAND. CHAPTER XII. WAS THE BEFOHMATION IN ENGLAND REALLY CONDUCTEI? OH THE rBLNClI'LE ©F SUBMISSION TO THE I'lllMITIVE CATIIOLIO -CIIURCU ? ■JP ' 'S \ \. . Mr. Palmer: in his « Treatise on the Chtirch," plcdgeis himself to "prove that the Catholic and primitive doctrine and authority of the Church of Christ, "^ as opposed /to modern jibuse$,^ and the license of an xinhriiWed- private judgment, wer^ the priiiciptes of th English reformation.** — Vol. i. p. 493. The first' important testimony which he adduces in support of his position, is from *< the necessary ^oct^i^e and qrudition of a Qlfristian man ; " "agreed upon*' (I use his own language) "by the whole Church of England,* in 1543," and is as follows : — " All things which were taught by the Apostles, and have been by a whole uni- versal consent'' of the. Church of Christy ever since that time tauj^ht contiiiuallyi and taken always foi true, ought io be received, accepted, and kept as a perfect dJctrine Apostolic^* To fehow thjit the Reformatibn in 1571 was still conducted on the same principle, or, to use his own words, that "the authority of Catholic traditipn was still solerinly recognized," he cites the canon of that tinie:-^ " Lef /preachers, aJore all things, be careful that they never teach aught in a sermon, exc(6pt that whiA is ^reeable'to the doctrine of the/ Old and New Testament, ^d which the Catholic fathers t- J ^■f •\. i ' '' ■ \ { i ■■ ■ ' . / • ^ > / * -■ . i /■! ■':■-, / V , , '. • / T'"' •■ ■■■■■■■■ / - , ' - ■■ — -1 . ■- ' — .'..*■ -' — ! ki:..-.:: / ■'■■ ■ ^ i . ■ / * ,.';-■■' ■; - ' *" ' , ■ ' / \: •s / , '. ™= KEFOKMATIO.V. IN ESOIASD. IQJ «.d ancient bid,„p, have eo'llectod from that vory rorfsrfta was re.ogni.ed by. th7churoh^ oi^l land an* by all our learned ^,eojogi„na."_ro/.l ^- drXX of ,S ' ^f-^"""' '""«'''-- Arti- cle XX., of 1563,^, foUow. : ^.. The- Chm-ch fcith power to decree ritei antf 6re.i,„nies. and au- Article XXXIW "Whosoever, through private ■- • •udgn,ent,, Willingly and pu,poseIy dod. S ' oreak the traditr«us and ceremonies of the ChVrch f •"■h.ch be not rep,gnant to the word of God, add '' .be ordamcd and approved by common, authority,' The Chureh herself, „/ co«™, being ,he judg^ of thisrepugnanee."_Jb. prsOO. '' ■ ^ rn carefuUj^ighing tins language, which, nn- ' der^ Pro estsSt training, liad hitherto considered OS tenable I perceived that it committed me and' all who^eld It, to four distinct propositions, viz..: ^ ' 1> Ihat there is in the Chureh of Christ " an an- thonty of tradition," tl^t is, Wi, authority inde- pendent of the,«T,-«en wtrd of God, and given ta' " interpret tte word to mankind, which has always ,i ousted .n the Church in ^irfneof Christ=s promise;^' a^d .s to be known by the' uniform testi„«,ny of"^ . the Church herself, sffeoking i* the person o7her successive teachers?- 2. That this authority is ihe '1 authprityof the universal Chure^u taken as final '• J I, f t:i "w- t m '% '^ i -1* w- U- r Hw .'I'- ll?- V W I ■ 1 ■ 104 THE REFOEMATJON IN ENGLAND. 10 arbiter in all mattes of -faith and discipline, in con tradistinction to any part of her, however respect- able in point- eit^i^r of wisdom, or national impor- tance. 3.' That while .tHis, universal Church has it "authority in controversies of fixith," that is, to determine at any time what is the unchangeable Taith, she ha^ also authority; in order to mee|; the peculiar exigencies of an erd, or to increase her ■:^ Means of devotion, "to decree rites, and ceremo- ■ /Y^'^S'*' "^^^ that when these are once decreed, ' neither individual nor nations have a right to "break" them, in defiance of the authority by . which, thfey were imposed, 4. That the whole Church of England, in the year 1543, (about the tenth year of the Eefoimation) regarded and ac- tually set forth bj^ her highest authority, the^doc- trine contained in th# book entitled^" A Necessary Doctrin§ and Erudition, of, a Christian man," as that which ought to be" received, accepted, and , .. kfept as a perfect doctrinff ApostQljc; because it had been " taught by the Apostles, and continually, ever since that time, by a whole universal coijisent - of the Church of Chiiit." ■ < ! My mind Waa led first to examine this last prop- osition ; to ascertain what ** the "whole Church of England," * after ten years' growth, felt herself * Hen thereris an eflectual answer to the plea, that what the Chtarch oi . r-> ^ IBngland said at this date, was said under the pressure qfthe state, and henc« . vasn»t he^eal judgment. But, in tlie first place, if this were so, what secu- ' ' . tity have we that slie has not always spoken under the same pressure, and * ' does not spoalc under that pressure now 7 She is noui bound by tlie acts of Elizabeth, ahd who does not>know tliat they are even more stringent than the . acta of Henry ? But Unfortunately for this plea, Mr. Paimei insists that thii^ ')! I *'\ -.1 ^ THE REFORMATION IN EXOLAXD. 105 W to believe and to do, on the principle Of re- fomjng herself after the pattern of «ciic and »ve doctrine." And hen. the task was com- paratively easy. The table of contents .of the Necessary Doctrine, &c.,» at once placed under . my eye the res^jUa^of her examination and jud^. ment Among other things I ibu^d, she then ga^ered from the, ever-abidi^tr^asures of the One Pathoh^ and Apostolic^hurch," "Seven holy Sacraments, as now enumerated by Catholics, ^z.. Matrimony, Baptism, Confirr^ation, Penance, Holy Eucharist, (or the Mass,) Orders, and Extreme Unctjon. ^ Also, the Salutation of the Angels, called .^vcTtfana, and prayers for souls departed." Here then I saw that the mature judgment of -the , whole Church of England," ^with the king and ^ ': p'TT' *^**^^^^^d,) profel^edly governed by Catholic antiquity, gave her Jirst verdict in favor t,f a laige part of the dogmatic truth held in Eng- land liefore the reformation. Hence it became to my mmd a serious question, what influence subse- quently operated upon the judgment of England, still expressed by the same men and the same au- thority to set that judgment against -the sacrifice - ot the Mass as a blasphemous fable ? " against five i. ■■ -i ■ u ^1; ■V' ■ ,i u,--^ 1 ■ t I! \: 106 THE REFOKMATION IN ENGLAND. of tlie seven sacraments as " a corrupt following of the Apostles ? " and against invocation of saints as anti-scriptural? If> in 1543, these things seemed to her true, according to that " authority of tradition " by which she professed to he guidcdj,. by what mysterious process are they so soon mude to appear to het false 1 Be this as it may, the re- sult showed ^clearly to- my mind two things. 1. That she- had both changed her ground of judg- ment, and also, 2, proved herself an incompetent judge. The latter had already appeared to me too . manifest, as stated above. While the plea that is sometimes urged, that new light, as she advanced, gradually broke upon her path, revealing a higher and better way, not only furnished a new proof of her sad instability, and henoe total insufficiency as a guide ; but also left some ground to hope that in this her random pursuit of truth, she might yet be so happy as to find her ly^ay back to a certain and imchanging faith. In regard to the first, that she had^ a;ctually changed her ground of judgment, or aband(D>ned what Mr. Palmer calls " the authority of Catfe^^lraditioja," was to my mind clear from the foUowmg consider- ations. In the first place, where an " authority " is, in any real practical ?sense, admitted, it is^jsubmitted to. And submitted to, not because iV i^ to us reasonable in its demands, but because it has an absolute and independent right to govern us. So that when we say we admit " the authority of tra- dition," we mean (as it seemed to me) if we mean 1 ^ - ■¥■'■ ■■*: V* THE HEFOPMATION IN ENGLAND. 107\ any ^thing, thaUt has, independent of our o^ sense oti^ reasonableness, an absolute right to define-/ ou^&ith, and fashion our obedience OtherM^ we may as well claim to admit the authori^of tl« traditions of the mosque, as those of the Christiu! Church. For if at liberty to ^lect, we may derive confirmation of sor^ truth from, ^very syst^lm Again, "the authority of Ca/holic tradition," that IS submitted to, must^ froni/the naturelof the case be accepted, because it a#ords a security be- yond any thing which we could derive from our own minds, or the minds of other men, beyond any thing indeed, which the human powers, under the most favorable circum toces, could possibly furnish. Otherwise, there would be.no reason why ^e should give more weight to « tradition » _ to something handed down to us from a remote age':^than to something furnished by the present aga. To justify us, therefore, in giving to "tradition" any real "authority " in settling questions of faith or disci- plme, two things seem to be necessary. 1 That such tradition should have its origin in the revela-^ . tion of God, and be to us the vehicle of Divine communications. And t That the channel of its transmission should be liable to no failure either from human fraud or infirmity, and hence must Jjave the security of a Divine guardianship. Be- cause Christ's religion is not the result of a mental process — not a thing wrought out or perfected in the laboratory of human reason —but a mysteri- ous, superhuman fact, a thW brought down as a f • it V^ X. ■w !|: \\ -^' H"^ iod THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. gift from heaven to earth, and handed on through the successive generations of earth by the power of heaven. Hence, I say «* tradition " springs from , God, and has ever the protection of God, it being God's first communication to mail after His redemp- tion, and designed by its perpetual light to make all other communications distinct and. certain. Soon after His resurrection our blessed Lord re- tired with His disciples, and "for forty days in- structed them in'the.thy^gs pertaining to His king- dom." Here is the foundation of that tradition, which was intrusted to the Church for her guidance in the faith. But it is not completed, though thus imparted by the great Prophet Himself. The disci- ples were commanded to wait in Jerusalem till they were endued with the power of that Divine Spirit which was to "lead the Church into all truth." On the glorious day of Pentecost 'He descended in all His fulness upon her, and Christ, her faithful Head, began the fulfilment of His gracious promise to be " with her to the end of the wotld." Thus, when He ascended up on high, " He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And He gave some Apostles, and some prophets, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all meet in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge, of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ.*' Here we have jji ac- count, by God's own hand, of the beginning of -■t. ■. ^/^. THE HEFORMATICJN IN ENGLAND. 109 tW dispensation of mercy and love.to mankind, through t^e operation of the Holy Ghost, which. He assures us, is to be carried on to (ts final con- summation, Under the. same operation, by means of His divinely ordered, and divinely sustained, priest- hood. This priesthood, in the persons of the Apos- tles and those whom they associate with them, goes . forth into aU the world, to do the bidding of their Lord. In the light of His abiding presence, and, under the power of the Holy Ghost, the Gospel i/ preached- the Church established - fundamental faith imbodied in "a form of sound words " i- converts orally trained in it, and the sacraments gradually brought to their view as occasion required Thu^ the mystical bod^of Christ, well ordoTed .andjwell furnished with ^all her:divine functions and kU her divine « treasures pf wisdom and knowl- edge," presents herself to M nations as an all- suflicient guide to eternal life, long before the Ne^ Testament had its being. Will any one pretend to say that the Christians who lived and died under this simple and oral teaching of the priesthood, were not as ^Jl furnished for their entrance into the Paradise of (|pd, as they who trust solely to the Bible at th^sent day? B.ut those Christians lived and died under the "authority of Catholic tradition." And^tbat same tradition, with that same, authority, has ever remained in the Church, an infaUible teacher and interpreter to the present ' hour, go ^that St. Irenaius could ask, « What if the Apostles hud not left us writings; would it " - 10 / • ■ M' I n i1 u tH3E REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. i^- i i^ .r '* , 110 not have been needful to follow the order of that TRADITION which they delivered to those to whom they committed the Churches ? ' * And to illustrate the benefits of this tradition by an example-'hc adds: "An ordinance to which many of the bar- barous nations who believe in Christ assent, having salvation written without pen and ink by the Spirit \n their hearts, sedulously guarding the old tradi- tipn." — Adv. Hares. I iu.'^ ^^ ^^nd that champion of the truth, St. Athanasius, could say, referring to the Arians: "It is enough to give this only answer to such things, and to say, these A things are not of the CathoUc Church. Neither did the Fathers think thus."— -(Oux o% Tavta ttJs xo^oAtxjJj ixxXeulag, ovde ravra ot naxiqeq itpQOvriaav,) — Ep. ad. Epict. This tradition, it was, to which the blessed Paul refers, whe^^ exhorting his son in the faith, " Keep that which i^ committed to thy trust." — " Hold fast the fbrni^of sound words, which thou -hast heard oi me in /faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." To wMich he referp ilso, when, guarding the Thessaloimins against false teachers, he exhorts, . "Let no ma|i deceive you by any means. Stand fast, and hol4 the ttaditions which yc have learned, whether by /word, or by our Epistle." It was this tradition to which the Fathers bowed with such uniform ai^d profound reverence. It was this to which the Vly bishop of HieropoUs,* yi * Pabiaa. <■'.. ;^fewJ- THE BEFORMATION IN ENGLAND. HJ " the hearer of St. John and the friend of St. Poly- carp, ' refers, when he says, « If any one came to^ me who had accompanied the elders,! questioned . him concerning their words, what Andrew^ and Peter said. For I did not think that what is in the 600A:. would aid me as much as what came from the jiving and abiding voice." -^^. Euseb. 1. ui. c. 39. \ ■ • It was this to which St. Irenaus refers, 4hen he says of the heretics : « We challenge them to thfit tradition which is from the Apostles, which is pre- served in the Churches through the succession "of ' presbyters." (Quum autem ad eam-fterum tra^ ditionem, quae est ab apostoUs, qu« per ^uccessiopes presbyterorum in ecclfesiis custoditur, provocamu^ ^s.) ^ Adv. Hares. I. iilc. 2. \ And St. Clement, when he says; "Wlierefore the Lord has not forbidden us to rest from good, but has permitted us to impart the divine mysteries and that secret light, to those who are able to re- ceive them. But He did not immediately reveal to many those things which were not for many, but to a few, to whom He knew them to be suited. Who were capable both^of receiving them, and of being conformed to t^em. Secret things, like God, are intrusted, not \ to writing, but to oral teaching.** (Aoy^ muTevet^t, e }'?(i.«.««T..) —Strom. 1.1. -J .' ■' ^ •, - And TertuUian, who says: " If no Scripture has determined this (observance) assuredly custom has confirmed it, which doubtless has been derived frdin .^ •IprSr'KFlPgpW^ErK-^ - 112 THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 'i * ''■I tradition; for how can a thing be used, unless it be first handed down to us ? Let us inquire, then, whether even tradition, even though not committed to writing, ought not to be received." (Quaramus an et traditio nisi scripti^on debeat recipi.)— Dc Corona. And Origen : « We ire not to credit these men, nor go out from the %st andrtJfe elselesias^cal tra- dition ; nor to beWe ^^ptherwise than as the Churches ai God have by succession transmitted t© us." — T. iii. Com. in St. Matt. And St. Athanasius, speaking of the Arians: "This has been their device a^d cunning, and they had even this deadly purposeio seek to drive from their chairs those who hold to thki teaching of the Catholic Church which has bieen handed down to them from the Fathers. '» _ ^ol. con. Arian. U. 3. And St. Ephrsem : "Be firmly persuaded of this, not as an opinion, but as a truth, that what- soever has been transmitted, whether in writing ' only, or by word of mouth, is directed to this end, that we may have life, and may have it more abim- dantly."_r. iii. Ser. lix. And St. Gregory of Nyssa: "It sufficet^for a demonstration of our words that we have a tradi- tion that comes down to us from the fathers, like an inheritance transmitted by succession from the apostles through the holy men that have come after them." (olvop nva xlfi^ov Si ixoXovdiag ix Twv inoardkltip did tuv itpe^jjg aymv nagane/npOiPTq.) T. U. 'L iv. Con. Ewnom. % y -I THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND US St. Gregory of Xdzianzum says: "May we to the lust of life, confess with great confidence, that excellent deposit („). yakii. 7r«i,«x«r«^,;x,;.,) of the holy Fathers who were nearest to Christ and the primitive faith."— I]^. i. Qrat. 6. And St. Basil: - Tell me, this pious tradition of the lathers, and as you yourself have termed it, this rule and safe criterion, is it now on the con-^ trary proclaimed to be an instrument of deceit ? "— Adv Eunom. 1. i. Again : "Let tradition shame ^ thee from sepaiating the Holy Ghost from Father ^d Son. Thus did the Lord teach. Apostles preach, fathers preserve, and martyrs confirm. * Let It suffice thee to speak as thou iast been taught, and let me not hear these sophisms." —T. ii. Horn, con. Sab. And once more : "Of the dogmas and teachings preserved in the Church, we have spme from the- doctrine committed to writing, and some we have received transmitted to us in a secret man- ner (^1- fivariigtto) from the traditions of the Apos- tles; both these liave the same force in forming sound doctrine, (aneg aficporsga r^p avrijv ia^,)^ ^^„ ' ngdg riip Biae^eittp) and no one will gainsay either of these; no one, that is, that has the least experience of the ecclesiastical laws. For sho'uld we attempt to reject, as not having any great au- thority, iJiyufiiv) those customs that are unwrit- ten, (T& aygaipa rtop (du,p,) we should be betrayed into injuring the Gospel even in primary matters, or rather, in circumscribing the Gospel into a mere name."— T. iii. De S. Sane, c^xvii. > --4fr • v, ,-5>«T?i i,=T" ^-wp(*if"''^^ 114 THE RBFORMATION IN ENGLAND. If < i I: 1 !', i1 And St. SiriciuL who saya : ** In the Council of Nicaea, the Holy (Shost favoring, at the same time that the possession of faith was juridically confirmed, it was the desira )f the bishops there assembled, that the apostolic t 'aditions (apostolicas traditiones) should come to'thelknowledge of all men." — Ep. V. ad Episcop. Div\rs. St. Epiphanius says : ** It is also necessary to use tradition ; for all thiAgs cannot be derived from the divine Scripture ; beaause the holy Apostles trans- mitted some things indeed in Writings and some in ^tradition." (^/l6 id /n^ ev^yqaffuJi xJt dk ev nhqu- SM^i nageSoixap. ol u)'W aTrooroiot,) T. l, 'adv. Hecres. . \ M. St. Jerome says distinctly : « Even though the Authority of Scripture weie not at hand, the agree- ment of the whole world i\ vail as a command. Fc that by tradition are obseAred in the Churches, have gained for themselves the authority of a writ- ten law." — (Nam et multa alk qua; per traditionem in ecclesiis observantur, auct^ritatem sibi scriptae legis usurpaverimt.) — T. ii. d^v. Lucifer. And St. Clirysostom when l^e say^, commenting oft T Cor. xi. 2, {That in aU things ye are mindful of me, and keep th^rdinapces as I delivered them to you,) ** Whence it follows that he (St. Paul) de- livered them many things also without writing, as JiV shows elsewhere in many places; but now al^ he lays down the cause. . .* If any men seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the this matter would' pre- lany other thmgs also. I \ THE KEPORMATION IN ENOLANt). 115 ^ Churches of God.'»'^ And again, commenting on 2 Thess, ii. 14, (Thcrcforb brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have learned, whether by word or ly our epistle:) "Hence it is plain that they did not deliver all things by epistle, but many things also without writing, hnd in like manner both those and these things are worthy of credit. Wherefore let us reckon the tradition of the Church worthy of credit. It is a tradition^; seek nothing further:' (na^idoatg kau, ^rjdly nlBoy 5'jrf'.) T. xi. Horn. 4. And finally St. Augustine, when he says : " But those things which we observe, not because written, .^^^. transmitted, (quae non scripta, sed' tradita custodimus), things which are indeed observed throughout the whole world, it is to be understood,' that they are to be retained as commanded and decreed^ either by the Apostles themselves, or. by general councils, the authority of which is 'most wholesome in the Church . . .The custom of our mother Church in baptizing infants is by no means to be despised, npr to be deemed in any w^y super- fluous, nor to be beUeved at all, were it not an Apostolic tradition, (nee omnino credenda nisi' Apostolica esset traditio). . . . . . .It is not to be doubted that the dead are aided by the prayers of the toly Church, and by the salutary sacrifice, and by the alms which are'offered for their spirits; that the Lord may deal with, them more mercifully than* their sins have deserved.* For this, which has been handed d^n by the Fathers, the universal Church ■W c-t^ p. 1:1 j^ ,.% .116 THJ HEFOXlMllTION IN ENGLAND. ' observes," (Hdc enim a patrlbus - traditum, uni- versa observat.ccclesia,) T. v. serm. clxxii. It is this tradition which made the faith pKiin to the unfettered, and fenced it round, and protected it against the inroads of private judgment and royal- dictation ; which supplied saving knowledge in the absence of the Holy Scriptures and of the qualifica- tions to r§ad theth, and vindicated thd providencb. wof Almighty God for delaying what seemed to Ife^ ^ "essential means ♦ for their general distribution till foMteen' long qenturies had pas^d away. Now it is this Jradition to whjch, I could not doubt, the Anglicans referl-cd, when they first spoke of being governed in their refag^htion by " the authority of Catholic tt'aditipn.".*^ut (as 'it was equally clear to me) finding that "the 'authority " of such tra.di- tion would not only rebuke them for what they had already done, but, forcing them to return upon their knees to the chair of St. Peter, would compel them to sacrifice aH-^ivate dr national aims on thg altar of Catholic unity, and offer a life of penitence in satisfaction fcr their attempted schism> tl brok§Xway from that fi||}ithority," and regard of the past, resoKed to allow nplJ^ trol their own will or action for tte future. And this they did, in facp of their own authoritative ^cliwration, that ** whosoever, through hjs priyate willingly and purposely doth openly tradmons and ceremonies of the Church, be not|p|>«(^nant to the word of God (the • The art of Printing. ' >iii*" nee i ; :'> . i\ -•4.- f ,<<* , THE REFORMATION IN fefGLAND. ^ U? Church 0/ course being ;W^^ of this repugnance),' ^l*c%h,ch be orduined and approved by common ^^Sjgtity, ought openly to be rebuked," &c. I say ^^u tlfe face of this- dechu-ation. For it seemed to l^me, with the views J. had always entertained as a , dmrchman, that it.could not, with any show of rca-" t * son, be pretended that "the traditions and ceremo-- \nies " found in the Catholic Church of England before or at the Reformation, were not established ^ there by that Church (it being the only Church in exlste^ce), whicji had "power to decree rites and - • ceremonies and ahthority in controversies of faith " , «nd could not be pretended that such rites apd cer- emonies were not "ordained ai*d approved by com- mon authority,'* consistent, in the judgment of the ' Church, with the worU of God. And therefore it could not be pleaded, that^the persons " breaking » , them, however many or iiigh in poUtical station, "ought not to be publicly rebuked." ' ^ "^^ tol^> it is true, that this vie'w of tradition made little account of God's Word. But the an- ^swer which satisfied my own mind was, that "tra-' dition," in the Catholic sense, is a part of God's Word, the Mnwritien part, given before the written ' part, as the kx non scripta, or common law, ante- dates the lex scripta, or statute law, —neither dero- ... gating^from its authority nor weakening its obliga^ ti<^.* Besides, what seeined to me to be the great ■ •«' " * • Referring to the value of tradition. Penrone draws the following iim'stral ' JonfromCcero: " Pater ex eo .,„«, „„,„i« bene in.tituta rep„blfca,ut"t IMllms, non tam lege scr.pta, qua„, „on scrip.at^^tAditione nempe et cons"; \ kJ cT ■i\"\?>, " •<■?>(, ».i ■ - t / condfem of the Christian, was^ to honor God, by due submission to all that He has revealed. And finally, the thought struck lue, that there might perhaps be more danger in bt^Ueving too little thaui . too muph. At any rate, that persons, who call parts of the Bible " non-esseatial," and treat other parts as "a dead letter," (for example, St. James V. 14, 15.) should not be forward in charging tJi^fe holders of tradition with want of reverence for holy Scripture. . CHAPTER XIII. .'!! r:*. Ttu: ABOVE VIEW OF T^DITION A ItECESSART KEY TO THE FACTS OF CHURCH fflSTOBY. %''■'■" Jt had oflen been asked, by way of objection to Catholicism, — "Why, if certain matters of faith ?, and order are as important as Catholics consider ' i them, is so little said of them in the Bible ? " But J to my mind, the question was sufficiently answered^' in the fact alread^rought to view, that the Church was established, and the revelation of God made to it, many years before the New Testament was writ- ^ ten, and that that prior revelation was not made *** . void by the appearance of the latter. And here I shall be excused for introducing a passage from a li tudihe gubemetur; eo magia quod lex uRit perspicue exposta fuerit, in varios ■ensua facile trahituT, neo nisi consuotudine traditioneqiie, tamquam viva ^ /"Tac loqiiente voce, recta ac legitima mutn per ae ac veluti mortuae Scriptuno f 'inteipretatio in republtca constat ac congervatur." KEY TO THE FACTS OF CHURCH HISTORY. 119 ■^: ^ ^octrifte and, fellowship, and in breaking of ftjread and of prayers.* »* "But what is the precise 'constitution of the Church? What the orders of he| priesthood ? The number and force of her sac- raments^nd ordinances? Now there is good rea- s^vrhjthe New Testament should be less definite arid full on these points than their importjiice in this age would seem to demand. The Church, at the time when the Ne\V Testament was written, stood ah-eady (as she had long stood) before the ^^orld, with tier ministry and sacraments, and the like, and stood thei;e in perfect external unity, as fashioned and arranged by the hand of God Him- self When, therefore, the New Testament was given her by the same hand, is it at all wonderful that little should be found in it in regar4 to the peculiar fashion and arrangements of that Church, which actually Btood hpfnrc the world, booiing the - ".4 ■0: I «ii : ff^ '■i:v,': 120 THE ABOVE \1^W OF TRADITION A NECESSARY divine impress and under the divine inspiration, to speak for herself || A father dies and is found to have willed to his children and children's children, his house and fur- niture, and servants,* on condition that they hand them doAvn'-(the servants of course in their descend- ants,) from generation to generation without essen-— tial alteration. Sho\ild we expect to find in that will (on the principle of any known law or prac- tice) how the house was built? How the furni- ture and servants were arranged? And how, in minute detail, they had been governed ? Should we, in truth, expect to find in it more thditt such general descriptions as would sufficiently identify the whole ? Our Blessed Lord dies and leaves to His people, by will (for that, eo nomine, is the written Gospel,) the blessings of His Church, in her ministry, and sacraments, and ordinances ; on condition that they use them faithfully and trans- mit them unimpaired and unchanged to all future generations. Ought we to expect, on any reason- able ground, this will to tell minutely how the .church was constructed ? Wha(f was the particular order of the ministiy, and the number of the sacra- ments ? And how they and all things else in the Church were arranged ; when all, made after the divine pattern, and animated by th^ divine spirit, was before the faithful to answer promptly to their own eyes and ears every inquiiy prompted by their obe- dient hearts ? i i * Written for a alave Sut». •? a KEY TO THE FACTS OF CHURCH HISTORY. 121 Here, then, we see why many things, the begin- ning of which is not noticed, and mere glimpses of which appear, in the New Testament, hold d prora^ inent place in the early history of the Apostolic Church. They had their origin in this oral reve- lation, and were inculcjitcd upon Christians in tl.cTr nry existence, Vfhcn afterwards the »/;n-«67i revela- tion, containing the mere outlines of firitliand prac- tice, made its appearance. Hence the observance of the first day of the week, called Sunday, in place of the seventh day, called the SaUath, found in tra- dition sufficient authority, although the New Tes- tament gave no direction for the change. Hence the baptism of infants, as St. Augustine sqjrs, could « not be believed at all were it not an Apostolic tradition; " yet beeause it was an Apostolic tradi- tion, it was received with as much readiness of faith as if it had been explicitly commanded in the New Testament, although in that blessed book it is not so much as named; The same, as^SpAugustine " further remarks, must be said in regard to "prayers, and sacrifices, and alms for the dead," with invoca- tion of Saints, and many other doctrines flowing directly from that deep well of ChristiaA truth — the divine mystery of the Incarnation. ^. Another fact was urged against the present Cath- olic teaching, viz., that immediately subsequent to the Apostles' day, no traces, or at least very faint ones, of certain points in this teaching are discover- I able in the doctrines and practices of the Church. This fact I could not but admit ; but found in the 11 l\ I' J.* I -i ■ I ii i :;■ ■ ^ii'i $ :%, 122 THE ABOVE VIEW OF TKADITION A NECESSARY doctrine of tradition its perfect solution. The ** depositum " of truth intrusted to the Church, in the person ^of the -eleven disciples, by llim whose sayings and doings swelled so far beyond the writ- ten Gospels,* was not, as the Fathers testify,t at first fully unfolded tp the gaze of the unregenerate world, nor even to the babes in Christ, except as they were gradually made able to comprehend and appreciate it. . The reason may be found in the injunction of our Lord " not to cast„^earls before ^wine," and in that of^^lu-PauCthat "babes in CKrist must be^sdrWith milk, and not with meat, -JiQ^thef^Sxe able to bear it." Hence I saw why many things, although fully revealed to the Church, attd of the highest importance in themselves, seem now to have held a very subordinate place in the public teaching of the first fathers, particularly as their secret instructions, from the very circum- stances which often led to their secrecy, never transpired. Hence says St. Ambrose to the cate- chumens : " You are summoned^ the mysteries, though ignorant what they are, you learn when you come.'*— T. i. De Elia, ^: Another circumstance, too, connected with "tra- dition," helped to divest my mind of prejudice. One of the favorite objections to Catholicism pleaded m excuse f^r the introduction of Protestantism, had been with me, that which charged the Catholic Church with having, from time to time, ingrafted new errors upon old truths. But on getting a clear insight into the nature of Apostolic tradition; on finding that it consisted in a " depositum " qf truth * ■:1 ' i ■ i. H P If, ■tf r : ) mi m:.'r' — MV.l^ Hi' ' 'III, '■'■ ,!■(■■ m "If 124 KEY TO IHE FACTS OF CHURCH HISTCORY. with the Church, to he hrotight out, and applied as exigence or need might demand, I could no longer rest upon an objection so imaginary. Indeed, I ' saw clearLy that, on this principle of tradition alolfe could the Church of England defend many points of her ^ijliam'eiital fidth, as embraced in ''the Faith once (for all) delivered to the Saints."' That on this principle alonje could she, for example, maintain "thd descent into hell," and "the com- munion of saints," in (the "Apostles' Creed," and tie "Consubstantiafleni Patri,'' and the "filioque " of the Nicene, with all the kindred articles in the Atfianasian; as havinlg been transmitted ^m the Apostles inasmuch as they are not found among the enjoined Articles of Faith till the fourth and' fifth centuries. In ttuth I discovered, what upon reflection seemed so r63,sonable, that a large portion of the fundamental faith of the Church was not dis- tinctly enjoined in her "written formularies till it vras' denied, nor its-necessary adjuncts and dfc* fences maishalled, around it till it was assailed!* * Hence St Augustine siys : « The dogma of the Triniiy was not perfectly brought out till the Arians declaimed against it; nor was penance, ti^til ■ attacked by the Novatiana; nor the efficacy qf baptism, till questioned by re- baptizers. Nay, what regarded the unity of the body of Jesus Christ was nOt discussed with minute exactness until the weak, being exposed to danger. . . compelled the teachers of truth to examine these truths to the bottom . . .Thus ■ tlie errors of hei»sy, instead of injuring the Catholic cAurcli, have really for- tified it : and those who thought wrong we're an occasion of ascertaining those who thought right. fThat had been but piously bcUevei, became after- wards fully understood." , This reminds me of an error which, in the course of my examination, showed Uself continually in Protestant statements, viz., to date fhe com- Meneement of a doctrine or practice at the time, ^hen. from some denial or neglect such d ^"«'-''- '•-^- Whole weS ^ t „ro.ell1 h " "•"" •"" '•'^"'«="«'»\ A"" I «„„o, suppose .hat it wH ^.»«at. can«Ardua^» (although there wa. i^ peculiar .teence of these men a i n(MLallu4e«Lto) ia die at e n any t« " ^ • ^"^ 11 * i:!' 3 it •■i'vfi i .,!> -Xi ■.;i^- -4.- 126 THE CHUKCH OF ENGLAND !• If slie thought it corrupt, she gave no putward signs ; if she felt it to be oppressive, she uttered no complaint. IndepdJ all the signs and complaints seemed the other way. The master spirit of the nation sent forth, in the person of the king, an in- dignant rebuke against Luther and the German princes for their attempt to throw off the Papal authority; while the English nation evinced no symptom of displeasure at the royal interference ! The cause, and, so far as I could discover, the sole cause which led to the rupture between England and Home was a, personal one — was no other than the .righteous recusal of Pope Clement YH. to di- vorce Henry VIII. from his lawful wife, and to countenance his adulterous connection with his mistress ; and that the ecclesiastics were as a body forced to take part with Henry by threats and per- secutions. And • then, by way of self-justification for their fatal submission, and entirely as an after- thought, were induced to echo the German cry of ^ the Church itself. For example, it will hardly be thought fair to cite the fanaticism of WIiiteAeld and the Wesleys as an evidence tliat the Church ol England in their day was groaning under the oppressions of parliament oi the supremacy of King George ! Or the language of Abiron to Moses (Nuni xvi. 3.), " Thou takest too much upon thee, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them ; wherefore, then. Idl- est thou up thyself above the congregation of the Lord ? " as a good proof that all L^rael were groaning under the opprosKions of tlieir supreme lawgiver, an'd anxious to throw off his righteous authority ! Indeed, the fact that " Henry VIII. attempted to constitute," as Macaulay says, "an Anglican Church, diflbrtng from the Roiuan Catholic Church on the point of sujtremjfty, and on that point alone; and that his success in this attempt was extraordinary,'*, ' Showed tQ.my mind cjearly, that no dissatisfaction was felt with the Catho lie system generdltgftMitbdit the personal motive here will be sufficient to ■ e c ountfor hia t »t r «. */ . THE MERE/tHILD OF THE STATE. 127 ■ * corruption in r^igion, and enormity in the exer- cise of Papal power. v This, I know, will be regarded as a very serious, ^nd, perhaps, presumptuous conclusion. But tkat I did not come to it on slight grounds, let the fol- lowing undeniable facts bear Aritness. / At a period in England of great religious quiet- ness and devotion to the Catholic Faith, King Henry VIII. became enamoured of his mistress, Anna Boleyn, and sought, through the Pope, a divorce from- his lawful wife. This, after repeated applications, was peremptorily refused. The art- ful mistress^ at once resolved upon a plan that should remove every obstacle between herself a^dc t|le object of her >imbition ; and hencp proceeded to instil, into the mind of her yoyal pai detpnnination to submit quietly to a fi|te which he saw was already decreed. The case of Wolsey, although it sent a thrill of something: more than astonishment through the nation, fail^. to wake up the rest of the clergy to a sense of ihii0 own danger. Henry observing this, and feeling • . that their submission was essential to the accom- plishment of his nefarious purpose, proceeded to subject the whole body of tl^em, as the "fautors, aiders, and abetters" of Wolsey, to. ttbe penalties of praemunire. THey felt themselv^^iif^an evil case, and with a cowardice which nothing but their astounding position could palliate, sought to relax the royal grasp, and make their .escape, by tender- ' ing to Henry more, it is said, than £1,500,000 of , the present currency of England. The drama which followed shows, at least, how little the clergy of that nation were prepared to sjTnpivthize with the so called Eeformation, and how reluctantly they were brought, after long resistance, and a succes- sion of royal aggressions, to submit to its final, and, to themselves, fatal bondage. To their utter surprise Henry rdllised the pres- ent, unless they consented to add io it the declara- tion, which was to pass into a law, that "he, and he onlyy w&s the protector and supreme head of the Church of England ; " and that « the cure of souls, which they exercised Under him, had been commit- t; / J-i*:: ■■* THE MERE CHILD OF THE STATE. 129 ted to his Charge." TIhs demand, instead of being hailed, as protestants represent, with joy at the prospect which it opened, of freedom from Rome was actually viewed with consternation, and resisted as bemg opposed to the institution of Christ. But ' thwe was a savage cruelty about Henry which made them quail. And hence, instead of magnify- ing their office, and raising before the insultin- monai-ch the cross as their shield and banner, they rushed to the foot of his throne, and in a' tone of agonizing entreaty, besought him to retract his un- lawfuteaction. But hg remained inexorable ; and It was not till after many months, and about as many conferences, that he consented to substitute for his first demand the words, "The head of the Church, as far as the law of Christ would allow.** But this (the clergy having interpreted it in a seiise admitting the supremacy of the Pope) did not sat- isfy hinj, nor come up to the meaning he intended. Indeed, he looked with jealousy upon the facts, that the name of the Pope still preceded his own m the pubUc prayers, and also that the bishops con- tinued to receive mstitution from Rome.* During - the yeai- following, therefore, which was 1532, fee made, by the advice of his new favorite CromwtflA a further aggression. To insure to this step the more weight, the Commons were induced to peti- tion him against the right which the clergy had . hitherto exercised, of making their own canons. li;' .: Jt;' -. M * Boe Liijgard'a Hisluiy of tbo tima. 130 THE CllU^lCir OF JiNClAND I/;''! I ■ ' representing th^jt^tlicy hi^d done it against the Taws 'of the realm. 'tJbder color of due regard to this ~' • petition, Henry called Hpon the clergy to submit "the whole body of their pcqlcsiastical code to the revision of a committee of thirty-two persons, half . clergymen and half laymen, and the whole to be nominated by himself."* ' ' - At such a 'monstrous demand, we cannot wonder that the clergy, cowod as they were, should- once more arouse themselves into an attitude of resist- ance. But all was in vain. Neither remonstrance - nor entreaty for nearly two years could ^arrest the_-^ progress of the royal will. To- all and each Henry returned the stern and startling answer : « No con- . Btitution or ordinance shall be hereaftei* by the clergy enacted, promulged,. and put in execution, unless the king's liighness approve^the same, by his authority and royal assent, and his advice and fevor be ajsop interposed, for the q^ecution ofr every such constitution among his highnesses sub- \^ ■ ■ ^ jects." _ . V This in substance, but in a still more offensive form, issued from parliament, that true mother of the present Anglican Church, during the month of 'March, 1534, in tji^t famous act (25 Henry VIIL, c. 19) entitled on the rolls, «^n Act for the Sub- mission oftheClergie to the King's Majesty." If the above history be true, as to me every ' ► documentary proof seemed to declare, we seje the * See C!ooper««On the Hiatoiy of the Act ojt Submission," p. 27, "TI» ji 1 Anglic"' Olmich," to. l^ec. ii. -t>^ IF ^ THB MERE CmU) QF THU STATE* ? ISl Utter falsity. In any fair sense, ot the folIo^Ving lan^ '■ • guage found in the pretimble of the bill, and so .often cited to shpw that the clergy in this submis- «ion only carried out the already admitted principle ' of the convocation. "The Kmg> Majesty justly Snd rightfully is, apd ought to he, supreme head :y(y^ihe Church fif England, and so had beenrecog- ^ nized [when ? and y^c ? J by the clergfin their convocation.** ^ How, indeed, does this 'language contrast with ^ the convictions of - ^yery candid Protestant writer who has exaii^ned the point? / ,. " ConceriTmg this whole procBejfiHg, says Strype^ "^^ (the Chur6h of Englanjiannalist,) " The king niftk them [the clergj] Imckle to at last. It was ^ther high block'and difficulty for the clergy to gZov^ to reject the Pope*i po^rin England, Zd to ac- knowledge the kingswprime head anc^ovemor in all causes, ecclesiastical as weU as^vil; but that atilength they M»m»7/in^Zyyielde)i'unto."* "The ki^g," says Dr. Cardwell, ^aa determined to bind his fetters in such a m^nef that no strength or artifice on the part of A^j^monc/^ should enable him f^ escape fibm th^Jn ; and we know froia the subsequent history^ the Church, and the many fruitless attempts which have, been made to obtain a relaxation of them, tliat the king's design has been, eminently successful.** f ' By this act of submission, 25 Henry VHI^* '^ ■> . II -li ,^l • •Suype'sMem.ii.aSi tC«r(lw«U'g««Bj^odidia.» m . ^ ■ . ■ "■. • ' '■■''.- m £ •'■. 1 -" ■ " W 1 ■' X i'' ■ '"'■ ■ i mm .b. .--:- ■;.^'" '^' ' -■ ■■ ,:• '■ :'S^^^-; :.;:': ,'•:/. w^, ; "; W: i a- -;;V, -^r a /- THE CBttJRCH OF ENGLAND / 7; says Archbishop Wake, "the king's prkogatiVe in this particular was. somewhat enlarged,_jiii(J the Metropolitan's authority not a little abridged ; for ivoTxi henceforth the archbishop was restrained from / assembling Yds provincial si/nod, without the king'^ writ to license and authorize him. So were they afterwards obliged to take his direcdoris as to the management of their assemblies -v^hen convened, and not to deprive the prince the opportunity of making whatever us6 of them he had either been accustomed^ or should otherwise, think fit legaUy to do.** This to me looked^and still looks, vei'y little as if, previous to the above act, the clergy *'had recognized the king as supreme head of the Church of England." ' , . j To the above act, however, others in ^e same year were added, obliterating eveiy trace of the Papal jurisdiction, and transferring that jurisdic- tion, in so many words, to the king.* But ajl this was manifestly eflfected by the power of the l^ng and his lay subjects.t ? could find no evidence • 5ee 96 Henry VIII., c. i. «« By which statute," say both Coke and Black- ftone, ««all that power which the Pope ever exercised within the realm in spirituals is now annexed to the Crown." Vide also, Lewis's "Notes on the Royal Supremacy" (Toovey, London); and Pretyman's " Church »r England subjected to the State," (MastetB, New Bond Street). ,t I know it is sometimes asked, as if the question was a difficult on$ to answer, how can the above be a true statement of the case, when it is a no- torious fact, that about the time to which we refer, a large minority of tha bishops, headed by Crammer, with the majority of the two, universities, gave a decided negative to the following question : « Has any greater authority In this realm been giver by God in the Scripture tm the Bishop of Rome than to' any foreign bishop?" The following reply gave entire satisfaction to my -«||^i^i^^U.^^-TW re ader witt uus e ivB tin aB Hll thiuiure o f ihls question. ATOwedly, there ia no direct memioa of the Bishop oC Rome in the Ser^twti ve io . to ny in. • 1 •«/ ¥• • ! ..- ' , ^Mi THE MERE CHILITTJrTilE STATE. 133 that the convocation was either consulted, or did more than maintain a covvardly silence. Certain it is, that the Church gave no consent by the votes of her Bishops. For during the whole session, as may be seen by the journal, only seven out of twenty^one made their; appearance in the Hotise of Lords ; and, of that seven only four gave their votes for the self-humiliating measures, at the head -of whom stood Cranmer, who manifestly^- cared less for the preservation of his authority and dignity as ; Christ's representative, than he did for the favor / of his sovereign,— an assertion not wanting pither in truth or charity, when the following language addressed to that sovereign on his becoming arch- bishop, is duly considered. « Ordination," he says, "is used only for good order and seemly fashion." And again: "In the New Testament, he that is appointed to be a bishop or priest need- eth no consecration by Scripture." And again: "A bishop may make a piiest, and so may princes and goverrtprs also, and that by the authority of no speciflcaUo? of the spiritual authority given to the successor of St. Peter «n particular 5^5, nor even of the authority given to the successors of the Apostles in general. On these subjects the &rv««« is silent Not one of the sacred ^vritors has thought of describing in detail the plan of church govom- ment which the apostles established, to be observed atter their death For that we must have recourse, as the Oxford teachers admit, to tradition. Ilenco it was natural to expect that to confmo the question to fhe'doctrine expro-^-ly taught in Scripture, would serve the same purpose as the introduction of th« qualifying clause, « as far a> alloyied by the lata of Christ,' had served in the recognition of the king's supremacy. Many a man of timid mind, though he might in reality admit tlie authority of the Pope, might reconcile the donial °f.!!..K.'*.-.!'-!.*'.°"!f '°."°"' ^'. *'";;'^"^'"e f'^t he had only denied that it wa« dirnrtly t a u g ht I n S t npiui u .n .Pttr-^mit^nmtrwtty-tne tirsw Tcstamoiit d id not mention in dctiU the plan of Church government, see the abbve Cliaptei XIII., On Tradituth ^„___::_____™: A2^ ^^ ,_:_^.:1_ ^__._.__^ ■'-t : ft >■■ 4 r^^ t 134 THE CHURCH jOF ENGLAND /• God."* Hence Burnet declares, that " Cranmer had at this time some particular opinions Cjancern- iflg ecclesiastical offices ; that they were delivered from the king, as other civil offices were, and that ordination was not indispensably necessary, and was only a ceremony, that might be used or laid aside ; but that the authority was delivered to churchmen only by the king's commission." f In pursuance of his principles, an'd pledges to the king, he led the way, in that suicidal act, by which all the bishops, except that noble martyr Fisher, resigned their jurisdiction, and consented to become the sole servants of the king, by receiv- ing from his polluted hands the only jurisdiction which, they thenceforward either possessed, or pro- fessed to possess, in the exercise of their office. That I did not mistake in this matter, the following language, addressed at the time to their royal mas- ter, will^ sufficiently show. They say, « that all jurisdiction, civil and ecclesiastical, flowed from the king, and that they exercised it only at the l»ing's courtesy ; and as they had it of his bounty, so they, ^ould be ready to deliver it up when he should be yleased to call for it.'* Upon this the king pro- ceeded to give them authority to act in his stead, and subject to his will, in fulfilling their episcopal U * Cranmer'8 Works, ii. 101. f Bumet'8 Abridg., 1. i., p. S50. ««Craninor had declared in emphatic terms, that 'God had immediately committed to Christian princes the whole care of all their subjects, as well concerning the adminiatration of Ood's vord for the cure (/ souts, as concerning the ministration of things political.' " Jj^ us speaks ^Macaula y, r a M liff , "These a re Cffin i nsi!a.owjt.wur d a;" « feft. /. THE MEKE CHILD OF THE STATE. 135 functions. So that they were every where consid- ered the king^s bishops* & Another act of parliament, however, attracted .^my attention; particularly as it immediately fol- lowed the one, doing away with the Pope's suprem- acy, and giving the king supreme power in all causes spiritual, as well as temporal ; and designed • doubtless to sweep away every ic[ualifying clause of previous declarations and acts, and make the mon- arch the supreme and absolute head of the Church.^ It was a declaratory act, and ran in the following terms : « The king, his heirs, and successors, kings of this realm shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the ONLY SUPREME H^AD on earth of the Church of England, called Anglicana Ecclesia j and shall have and enjoy, annexed and united to the imperial crown of this realm, as well the title and style thereof, as all honor^ dignities, preeminences, yMmrftc^iow*, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and com- modities to the said dignity of supreme head of the same Church, belonging and appertaining ; and that he, his heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall have full power and authority from time to time to visit, repress, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain, and amend all such ekkors, heresies, abuses, offences, contempts, and enormities, whatso- ever they be, which by any manner of fife[RiTUAL authority or jurisdiction, ought or may lawfully m t ' m ', / It / 1 / ■■ m ■: m « Burnett AbflRg.,S Anglican Okd.*> ass. Also Lingard and Bishop Kenrick on " ValidilyJl Ih. i,r 136 THE CHURCH OP ENGLAND be reformed; repressed, ordered, redressed, cor^ rected, restrained^^^ or amended."* ' If, indeed, the act of « Submission of the clergy," left any thing to be dope by way of ihak-- iug the power of the king over the Churchi absolute- and unconditional, it seemed to me to be effectu- ally supplied In this declaratory act. For it will be observed that the little phrase, " as far as is al- lowable by the law of Christ,"- upon which the clergy had risked ' so tremendous a stake, has van- ished forever, and the naked, unrestricted, unen- cumbered spiritual headship of the nation stands before them in the. person of the king, raising aloft with sacrilegious liand, the keys wrested from the • chair of St. Peter, and, with " great swelling words of vanity," commanding^ every subject, from the archbishop to the beggar, not to seek, under the sorest penaltjesj, supreme spiritual direction from 'anjr other source on earth ! «> "^ , That here is no over-statement — no picture of the imagination — will be seen after a moment's reflection upon the stubborn feicts just adduced, and a moment's attejition to the comment upon'them im- mediately given by the king himself And here I must be allowed to use the language of another, which seemed- to exhibit to my mind a just and forcible view of the real intent of this new and extraordinary, prerogative. " 1st. It was impossible that the king should , "^v BtBtHtenof Realm. 8m Owdinal Wifemu^i S«rmon on "Th* Two.« ' 8upnmai!iei.'> •».',' \-A .^»_'*' '^.f--^-' t ■•• - w » Vr . THE MERE CHILD OF THE STATE. 137 attend in person to all the 4^ies #hich his' new dignity hi-ought with it, and hfe was glad to impose the heaviest, part of the burin upon one of his officers. The reader'^iU of course infer that this ^ office would be no other than the Archbishop. Not so ; a layman himself, he chosJfor his s^iritu-coadju- tor mother layman, the originator of the whole schen^e, Thomas Cromwell, Siis first secretary tod master of the EoUs. Him ifhe king appointed his vicegerent vicar general, and principal officer, wjth full powers to exercise and execute all and every that authority and jurisdiction appertaining^ . to^himself as head ofthe Churcl and to appoint others his delegates and commistaries tb .execute the samy under him ; authqrizin J them to resist all diocese^ and Churches, to summok before them all ecclesiastical persons, even bishopt and archbishops, •to inquire into their manners aJd fives, to punish With spiritual .censures, to issuJ injunctions, «nd to exercise all the functions of " courts,'* ' , lt^\ ^ "'^'^^^ inhibition was .„.„ ..«ueu to cne archbishops «j>id bi^ops, ordering them to abstain Irom all exercise of spiritual jurisdiction, till the king had made the visitation of their diocdses • which visitation Vas commenced in different parts ' of the kmgdom by the vicar genei'al and his dele- - gates.. The object of this measure was to probe the sincerity of the bishops in their submission to^^ the ecclesiastical hen issued to the |! i :\ \ I m If I! i • Wilk. Cot. iU. 781 138 THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND If they IKid'claim^tp wo }^ the" king's supremacy, authority as inherent in their now, it was ,ai'guecl, advance that chiini anit'l^ek to prove it, or own by their silence that it was ^de- fensible ; and by suing out the restoration of their powers from the king, would furnish a practical acknowledgment that he was the fountain from which they derived their spiritual authority. * If they claim it as 'a right, let them show their evi- dence. If they take it as a benefit of the king's highness, let them sue for it again by supplicatio"n, that they and all others mav understaiid liim to be the head power withifi this realm under G(pd, and that no jurisdiction proceedeth within the same but from him.' — (L. and ^. Rice to Cromwell. Strype Mem. App. 145.) It happened as was fore- seen. The bishops submitted in silence ; and one aftej another petitioned folK^e restoration of their ordinary jurisdiction', which .was doled out to tliem by piecemeal to be^ held only at the king's pleasure, with an admonition, that *they would have to answej: for their exercise of it before the supreme Judge hereafter, and before 'the king's person in the present world.* — Wilk. Con. iii. 787; Sfc. ■ V- . . -- , ^ ' . •. *5 3d. But the humiliation of the bishops was not yet completed. In Juiie^ 15^6, the Convoca- tion 'met. On the 16th Dr. Petrp cameiand al- leged, that of right the first place in that assembly belonged to the king as head of the ChurcHTand ui the"p,bsence of the king to the vicar gjenerarfthe TT^ I- s-V^i le r. . »• THE MERE CIIILU OF TUB STATE. 139 honorable Thomas Ciomwell, the king's vicegerent * for. causes occlesiasaral ; that he himself stood there as proctor for the said vicar, general, as would appear by the commission which he held in his hand; and, therefore, he demanded that the, place aforesaid should be assigned to him in virtue of . • that commission. ^ it was read accordingly, the claim was allowed, and l>etre took the first seat. ' At the ne^t session Cromwejl himself made his ap- peai^nce and presided, as he did afterwards on several imjiprtant occasions,' always occupying the same place, and suhcrilingxie resolutions before the arphhishopr— mik. iii. Strypc's,Mem. i. 245. "Thus it was in convocation; and the -same honor was paid to him in parliament. By the Act *for placing the Lords,' it was ordered that the Lord Cromwell, /the king's vicegerent for good ministration 6*f justice in causes ecclesiastical, and for the godly reformation and redress of all errors, heresies, and abusesln the Church, and that every pei^on having the taid office of grant from his majesty ^ his heirs, should have placeon the same form with, but above, the Archbishop^of Canter- bury, and should have voice to assent or distent as others ^he Lords in Parliament.! — - Stat of Realm, iii. Thus the vicar general took the precedencrSf /' every peer, both spiritual and temporal, whateyi might be his office in Church or statfi:'.:--!''"/ What language, I asked-^ys^TfTould tell as \ / J" / plainly ns do thoBc ^^oeeedittga^itader shield of tH g^ Acts of Parliament, what these acts wfere under y ♦ . \;' 140 THE CHUIICH OF EXGLAND -+- • Stood on all hands to mean ? But should iitiy one prefer further comment in language, let them med- itate upon the foUowmg, addressed to the king in an Act of Parliament, not long before his death : " Your most royal Majesty hath^fuU power and au- thority to correct>unish, and redress all manner of heresies, errofs, vices, sii^ abuses, idolatry, hypocrisies, and siliperstition sprung in and growing' : within this Church of England. . .Your majesty t theony and undoubted head of the Church of Eng- land, and also of Ireland, t6 {whom, by *.Holy Scripture, all authority and power is wholly GIVEN TO HEAR AND DETERMINE all manner of causes ecclesiastical, t<^ correct vice and sin whatso- ever, and to all such persons as your majesty shall appoint*** , Here it is manifest, as in other Acts of Parlia- ment, that the king's authority extended to doctrine as well as discipliner-f know it is sometimes said that the clergy never gave theif assent to such pre- rogative'in a layman. And in truth it is difficult to conceive how even fear should have prevailed upon them thus to betray their awful trust. But so it was. In petitioning the king for power aiid license to set forth "The Godly and Pious Insti- tution of a Christian J^an," they say to him, f* with- - out the which power and^ license of your majesty, we know and confess that we have none authority eyther to assemble ourselves together iv any pre- . tence or purpose, or to pubUshe zx^ thing that •^ * Stat Kealm, iU. 109. I I* I i 3 1 |«,- THE MEnE.ani#%, T„E STATE. ' UJ m#he be by „s „grced on and compylod; And ni- . b«^^t dredlie^d bo^gn sove^U lordo, :; ao ?ffl™ by our lemyngs ,vith one absent, that the -^^TT] '%""•"" I-i"'' «?'-''«l-' and agree. judgmen, of your, ^ajestie.to be recognized, over- - -ZT '°'^^'"'' -^ ;"" Grace ^MI fi„y „„„ . ^ord or sentence, init mete to be cli«„gcd. Jl M or furtk^r ^ponnded, thereunto 4 toll 1 „ 'o God and toy„„r Ughnes. apperSleth."* Here to me.it was manifest that the clergy had »ot only submitted their judgments in matter,^ .doctnne to the king's direction; but aC fd h«^^ he.r duty ,o God required this subm4ion ; .nl urely on no other ground than that 1 kin" cation to them. i,jfe«JrTbey had already yielded wlJcrariTf^™''^ „„ ,He part of Sj which absolutely required this idea, for any thin" M,,.tificatio„ They had s„bmitte/t„ ^ act of parhament which declares thit " aU declara- The king was^o brrplToJrs S'J'" "l'" ""' '"" '"'^" «' '"e keys, of Catholic verity, the chZef „^2 "^"'"'Z'"' ^'"'"f «»'«. the ex,K..itor ^elf the right of deciding dorma^ionvT"'"' ^'''''- "" ''""S^*"' '" '"- was ,.ere.sy, of dra« i„? ';'™rimt i^l'" T ""'"^"^ ""=*'""' '«'' '^"« religious instruction to hi] neon,o n ^ co„fes.s,on« of fai.h, and of giving ' itual as well as .cn,;ora„Sl/.7'"'^ ■''"'''' ''"'' '"' J'"'''dietion%pir: power to confer cpiL^'^^oZlllZ^r ^'''"'' '' "^^ """ '' '^"^ "^'^' e«rci. their function, as hird^r arErL"^:^!?- ^^ '« i, / i ^ 142 THE CIIIRCII OF ENfJl.AND, «&;C. tions, definitions, and ordinances which should be set forth by them, with his majesty's advice, and confirmed by his letters patent, should be in all and every point, limitation, i\nd circumstance, by all his grace's subjects, and v\\ persons resident in his dominions, fully believed, obeyed, and observed under the penalties therein to be comprised."* Well, I tltought, might it be said " By this enact- ment the reHgious belief of every Englishmanj^as laid at the king's feet. He named the commis- sioners ; he regulated their proceedings by his ad- vice ; he reviewed their decisions ; and if he con- firmed them by letters patent under the great seal, they became from that moment the doctrines of the English Church, which Qvery man was bound to * believe * (that is the word) under such penalties as might be assigned." An act soon followed defin- ing these penalties. And what more fearful ever proceeded, even in rumor, from the Spanish Inqui- sition?. "Alas!" I said to myself, "is this the boasted change from the tpanny of Rome to the freedom of Protestant England, so eagerly sought jind so gloriously achieved?'* That precious " liberty w^ierewith Christ- has made us free,'* trumpeted far and wide as the golden fruit of the Heformation under Henry and Cranmer! I could not repress within me feelings of indignation a» I read fo^r the first time tlje following : " If a:uy man * shall teach or maintain any matter contrary to the Godly instruction and determinations which havQ y ■# • Stat of Realm, iii. 7d3. SUBMISSION OF THE CHURCH OF E^LAND, &c. 143 been or shall be thus set forth hy his majesty, he shall, in case he bea layman, for the first offence, recant and be imj/nsoried twenty days; for the second, adjure the realm; and for the third, suffer the forfeiture of his goods, and imprisonment for life; but if he be a clergyman, Jie shall for the frst offence be permitted to recant; on his refusal or second offence, shall abjure, and bear a fagot: and on his refusal a^-am, or third:"o ffence, shall be adjudged a heretic, and suffer the pains of death by burning, with the forfeiture to the king of all his goods and chattels.'* — Stat, of Realm, iii. 896. / I: r / CHAPTER ;XV. • "\ ■ '^ ■ ■ ■ ■ HAS THE SUBMISSION OF THE CHimCH OP ESOLAND TO THE TEMtOBAI, POWER BEEN PERPETUATE© r At the death of Henry, 1547, Edward, his son, a boy in his ten^ year, succeeded tp the throne. Cranmer was stiU^chbishop, and at the height of his influence. If, therefore, he had not fuUv yielded his mind to the system of abject submission in which the clergy had been drilled by Henry, here was an opportunity to help them to throw off the yoke, and return to their spiritual independence. But Cranmer made no effort in that direction. In- deed, he lost no time in adopting measures to per- petuate their slavery to the crown. His first step w^ to throw up his commission (« show thiat % % if' •■f" ^- ^J ■^ «•> I 144 HAS SUnMISSION OF THE CiniRCII OF ENGLAND he felt that his spiritual authority died with his sovereign) and petition his new master for another. The petition was granted, and the system of the for- mer reign was thus handed over to this. Cranmer*s example was followed, as was expected, by his brother bishops. They all laid their commissions at the feet of the boy -king, acknowledging that he was "the only source of all manner of temporal and spiritual jurisdiction within the realm ; " * and humbly entreating his favor in a renewal of their powers. The same tests were applied, and the same was acted over as^ the fopner reign. The^ bishops wefe all a^in suspended from the exercise of their functions, till the king, in the person of lay commissioners mainly, could restore their seV^- eral dioceses, and assure himself of their strict and honest subordination. In addition, an' inquisition was established by him, to try heretical pravity ; and it is not the least remarkable instance of retrib- utive justice at the time, that the three leading in- quisitors,! who, as instruments of the king, had adjudged heretics to the flames, % should fii^dly in their turn suffer the salme kind of death, on the .same grounds. . ' * i The reign of the Catholic Mary succeeded the short reign of Edward ; and hence with it the pld religion to the new one of Henry. The changes which took place, with the reasons, seemed to ine to be pretty accurately given in the following. • Wilk. Cov. iii. 821. -I- qmuner, Latimer, and RidlejL^ "3^ . % Ana Bocber and Von Parrrs. i y'^': #, 4h, ■\ IT; HP ■P' The #, ^. •^ \ ' ■ ■ ■* TO THE TEMPORAL POWER BEfiN PERPETUATED ? 145 ' * V based upon Collier, Rymer, and Macaulay. 1. The five bishops, so unjustly deprived to make room for , reformers under EdwarA, recovered^^heir sees, fn the attainder of Cranmer for treason in the attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne, the (irch- lishopric was considered vacant, {jnd the adminis- tnrtion assumed by the Chapter of the Cathedral. Holegate, of York, and Bird, of Chester, were de- prived, because, having taken the monastic Vows, they had nevertheless contracted marriage de factor though they had not de jure; Taylor, Hooper, HaiO^'and Ferrar, calling themselves bishops of 'Lincoln, Worcester, Hereford, and St. David's, were removed on account of .the nullity of their consecration,the defect of their title (a patent from ^he king, with a clause, limiting their office to the time of their good behavior,) and for divers other causes j and Barloi^, of Bdth and Wells, with Bush, of Bristol, hardly escaped the same fate by: • timely resignation. (Collier ii. 364-5, Rym. xv. 370, &c.) In this madner all the men of the new learning were drawn from the episcopal bench, and, their places were speedily filled by others attached to the ancient worship. 2, Immediately after the acc^sion of Mary, an act was passed annulling Whatever had been enacted on religious matters during the nonage of her late brother ; and « little aififter, another act, repealing in like manner all acts^ passed in the reign of her father, Henry YlIL, touching religion, th'us restoring 0iQ.^ope's suprem- acy, and replacing religion on precisely the same " ' ' • '"-yds . : *. ■ • ^W*" '41 t n / i'«. : 146 HAS SUBMISSION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND »l. i. '^footing it occupied before the quarrel of Henry with the Apostolic See. The same religious gov- ernment, the 'same religious worship, the same ror ligious doctrine prevailed. What, then, are we to say of the Church of England under Mary ? Waa it the same Church with the Church under Edward -r- or the same with the Church at the accession of Henry ? If the dpostolicity of the Church under Mary be admitted, there appeared clearly to my mind an end to the present claim of the Church of England. The chain is broken. She cannot IWe her descent from that Church. She cannot connect herself with it. "Hence the high-churchmen ieU us tilat under M^ry every rule of ecclesiastical polity was violated ; that unjustifiable changes were made by the influence of the queen and of Gard- ner, and that the Church of England was oppressed by a *cAM»ia^ica/ prelacy amT clergy. " * In regard to this objection, the following con- siderations were to me a sufficient answer. First. - What Henry VIII, did under his claim of suprem- ' acy was, religiously, either lawful, or not lawful If not lawful, then to undo what he had done, was Hhe indispensable duty of ^ary and her paaiiament. But if ^7aii>/M/, then surely she and her parliament had the sanity right, which he had exercised, • to make chang^l j and hence, if she saw fit, to restore religion to its ancient foundation. Particularly in the changes which Mary made in the episcopal .1 i * S m raliMWt wL Li 47 g^ TO THE TEMPOIfcAL POWER BEEN PERPETRATED? 147 bench, she Wd have been fully justified on the pnnaple adopted by Henry .nd. accorded to hha by the bzshops that the king, as supreme head of e Chux-ch, had the sole power of giving jurisdi.- word f r. T"f" '' distinctly set forth in. the ^^ords of the king's patent under EdwaM ibr mak- 11^ bishops V ^Fe na'me, make, create, cLtituta, ana declare N. Bishop of N., to have and to hold ■ to himself the .aid bishopric during the^erm of h.V natur^ life, if for so long a tiW he behave himself well therein ; and we empower him to confer orders to institute to livings, to exercise all manner of ju-' nsdiction, and to do all that appertains to the epis- copal or pastoral office, over and above the things known to have been committed to him by God in the Scriptures, in place of us, in our name, and by our royaT authority." The whole episcopal juris- diction was not only thus made to proceed original- ly frojn the king, but the term of exercising it was ' placed at his ^11, and might, any moment, be ter- minated at his pleasure, and even that of the royal visitors, as was seen to be the fact mider both Henry and Edward. Hence that language already cited, as addressed to Henry by the suspended bishops, confessmg that not only "all jurisdiction flowed from him, 'but also, that 'Uhey would be ready to deliver their jurisdiction up, when he should be pleased to call for it.- Now surely on this pnnciple, thus admitted and thUs acted upon in the two previous reigns. Mary was amply justified" iu ifstoring and reguldlog, as she did, the bench ^, ■I i! v «;r*l ^ ,{;'.' ^ '•h«. -4- 148 HAS SUBMISSION OF THE CHUllCH OF I^NGLAND * ■ . ■ , ■ . of bishops. But let it be recollected that she acted on Uglitr grounds, viz., that what had been, un- scripturally and uncanonically done, to the hin- derance of true religion, by her father and brother, she was bound by the law of God and His Church t^ abolish. Besides, if, as Protestants assert, the feelings of the Church in England were ripe, un- 4er Henry, for the Eeformation, and rushed, as it was opened, into its arms for protection, what meant the sudden reaction under Maiy towards the old religion? Ho^jf came it to pass that the Church and parliament were so soon sustained in their vig- .orous measures for its restoration ? This circum- fetance, after every explanation and gloss that Prot- estantism could put upon it, seemed to me to ex- pose, in a manner too clear and stem for sophistry to evade, the usual pleas put forth in justification of England's schism! If Protestant representa- tions of the state of England's mind and heart b6 true, — if, as is said, there had been in her bosom such hatred of Catholic error and such yearning for Protestant truth, I could not understand how, when she had once been set free, once had a taste of the glorious liberty for which she had so long sighed, any power on earth should so soon have brought her back to what is call the despotism of Rome.* . t • To use the language of a Protestant writer on this point, «' all was over In nine days. London — the stronghold of Proiestantisni — doclarod enthiiHas- tically for Maiy. The fleet went Qver j the troops which Northumberland "!"°'^."-^-^-^"!'"! '","'" eastern countleg deserted in a body. Tlia mn ■plncy WBB crUftUd withofflt IWow.TT % ■ 'V%. ^ K f: ^^^ft»r and gp tgCrnnnmiilOTi 'on High ^«t« divinea to draw up a plot, or book, 4;c.'» 13* 9. A committee of ' iiJ J] n i' 1/ A- fi- -t» lii: TO THE TEMPORAL POWER BEEN PERPETUATED ? 149 And theri, wlient Elizabeth, the stern and inex- orable Protestant, at least by poUcy, succeeded to the throne, what a s1;ruggle to bow th^ neck of the Church again to the yoke wliich she had with com- parative ease just thiown off! And how manifest IS it, that that neck would never have been made thus to bow, but for the .power of the- Lords of the land on the one hand, and the lowest of the people on the other. The one being too manifestly led on by the lust of gain; the other by the lust of Keen- tious ^^dflp '^i°g appeared^ to me to be the facts of the mSTas furnished by the Acts of ParUament, and the most rehable historians : Ehzabeth, by the circumstances of her birth, and the adverse claims of Mary Stiiart, found it neces- sary, as she thought, to the preservation of her throne, to place herself at the head of the Prot- estant cause in England. Measures were imme- ^ diately and secretly taken, to secure to her poHcy a : majority in her first Parliament.* In this she waa' rpH,flT'i" "" " '^"""'''" ^^ "•"'• ^"- '^-^ eives a remarkable document relating to th.s matter, of which the following is an abstract of the plan recommended by Elizabeth's advisers to secure her throne. « 1. To proliibit stmlvaU mnovations except by the Court. 2. To sow dissension, particu- larly renpous dissension, among the subjects of France and Scotland, a To persecute tke Kahops and derm, under penal laws, and particularly by p»mu. vje.. 4. To labor to degrade all who had been in authority under tJeTate Ci.,cen .n the eHti«.atio„ of the people, by inquiries into their conduct, and legal prosecutions as far as posnible. 5. To displace the existing magistrates and «ubs.t„teothers, meaner in substance and younger in years. C. Tooffice; the nnht a with devoted partisans of the Court. 7. In like manner the u„|. verMties^o be l.wked after, and the discontented Weeded out. 8. Her M«j«.fy I; 111 r i r % X i jk ■i f 1 I , ■ •! ! i -• ; i! .150 HAS SUBMISSION OF THE CHU|lCtt OF ENGLAND suGclfeful.- "The statutes of Henry, her father, and ■ ^•Edward her brother, levelled at Papsd authority, and conceutrating all epclesiastical and spiritual power in the crown, were,, by • the 'fepeal^oj^lhe enactn^ents of the last rieigri, recalled into full .^V".T.:- fofce. ;■ ■: "'. . *' ..- _ "■■■;;. ■';,'■ It was erfticted, too, that the* Book, of Common Prayer with certain alterations and additi6ns should, ji/Jjif T to tl\e exclusion of ev^gr thing else, be used ty .. the ministers in all churches, under pain of for- feituite, of privation, and of death ; that the spir-' ), itual authority of every foreign. prelate within the. • realm should be utterly abolished ;; that the juris- • diction necessary for the porredion of errors/ her- esies, schisihs, and abnses, should be annexed/to * , . the crown, 1|ith the pow^ of delegating such ji^ris- "• , . diction to any persofi or jjersons whatever at the ^ . pleasure of the Severe^; thati the penalty of as- ' ; serting the Papal authority. shouW'asceM^on the — — r -Tepetition of the offence from, the forfeiture of' real and personal property tq perpetual imprisonment , ' ' and from perpetual imprisonment to death. And that 'all tfSergymen, &C., should', un(ier ,pain of deprivat^o^, take an oath, declaring the Queen to be supreme governor in all ecclesiastical and spirit- ual things or causes . . . riuouncing all foreign, ♦ _ ecclesiastical, and spiritual jurisdiction or authority »_ , whatsoever within the realm.*'* I observed in respect 1q these enactments that v s i ;^ / %\ ■I . .r •N. f*> * Bet( fltatuteg of Realm. Lord Paget dec larea th at " the up w PffvBr Book- :M , W«i diBtaatefiil to deveniA ttoeffVu of tlie population."*- ^^ r--'- ■c #, and •ity, . tual Ihe ML • • non aid. V- fbr- pir-« . the. ipr- ■ V"\ I" to .- ' ; (ris- • '*' ■ the * ■'/ , as- -v^ the^ real-- enty Ind - of ■t #r 1 to- rit- « ; gn. rity - ■ ..; hat Book '„ • ■ *' ■ ■ TO THE TEarPOEAL POWER BEEN PERPETtJATBD ? 15 1 '/.' ' ' ■ « ■ * the parliament of Elizabeth pursued, a 'totally dif- . ferent course from that of the Parliamefit under Maiy. While^the latter 4id nothing, in respect to ■ religion, but m^dre it to its Original CathoUc state, ; and privileges^ the former established neu> forfts of , worship, and unusual prerogatives of splritu'al jiiris- ^ diction. Besides, while Mary acted in coftinJunion , With the CWch and under its approbation, I fovSd '* that Elizabeth proceedqd"Mtl?c^a»c€ of It. Every ' Hshop in the house, I saw by the journal, voted '. against these.bills; that the -Co«tJa(^^io« pre^seiited a document, amongst oth^r things^ ^ro^e^/m^- ' r against the competency of arty lay assembly to ptq- jounce on matters of « doctrine, worship^ and *dis- • cipline;;' and that^he two Universifies came to' * the aid of the Convocation, apd subscribed the doc- ument ; that feven, the lay bi^i^^itio^ in 'the House - of Lords was unusually We ; ^nd that, are the real basis of the preset ChurcH of Eng^ ' Zanrf, I asked myself, how is it possible that this Churef can be linked by unintehupted succession - ^with the CImfch of the Apostles ? • ' ' ^ /. ^sr: ."S"' <, •f s:* t ■ ■Q'l ' If ij I in m ;y ■ < 7 "' ' W i n^ * '"» if ' ■f-o^ ^ v , / < .. .-■::-■■— ■ ' " ' : 1S2 PPSITION OF PRESENT CHURCH OP ENGLAND, V CHAPTER XVI. ■WHAT 18, rUE POSITION OF THE PRESENT CHUROHj AND • t ■ ■' i ■ f i- 1> . i ';. 'A ^1- m i AND OF HER DAUGHTER ^^ AMERICA. 153 ,■■ ■ ■^' ■ ' > . ' ^ And we do hereby ^i»e and grant to the said bishop of A , and his successors, bishops of -^ — » f"fl |?oircr a»Mi authority to confirm those that are baptized, &c., and to perform aU other f unctionsi pectiliar and appropriate to a bishop, within the limits of the said See of A ' ■""'', And we do by these presents give and grant to the said bishop and his successors,. bishops of A -., full power and^ authority to admit into the holy orders of deaconed priest respectively, any person whom heehalL deem duly qualified, and to punish and" I correct chaplains, ministers, priests, and deacons, * according to their deserts. " ♦ , Upon this examination and due reflection, I be-' ^ came convmced, that, in regard to this source of % ""^^^^'^ °^ j'urisdigtion, the « Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States" stands on precisely . the same foundation as does her liiother the Angli- . can, and hence must share in any defects which the pailiamentaiy system of EUzabeth may h^ve en- t tailed upon that mother. ■ «*- . : , • I was aware that it had been pleaded that the power of efceiton is nill ta the hands of the Church. But' the eolv/l^d'eKre, as lately bo always, has » proved to be an unmeaning form. The words of the statute most ele^ly make it so. They an as follows ; «« In virt^e of which license [meaning ths ' tonge d'elire], the said dean and chapter shall with all speed and celerity (that . is, within twelve daya-),in due form, elect and choose Oe sai/L person Mmerf Jia . the king's letters missive, sent with the license] to this dignity and office, and MO other." Then the law provides that in Cfse the dean and chapter fail to do this within, the prescribed time, the duty of* election devolves upon th« Crown, and the dean and chapter incur the penalty of pr«m«Kire. Of this Bishop Gibson says, ««The only choice 4he electors have under this restraint Is, Whether they will oftey(A« fcinj' or mear a |rr«muntre." Or, as Dr. John- ' son once playfullyTemarked, " The ciwrch has about the same choice in the •lect i on of her ch i ef ministem, as n tnan flnngmit >^f wi...in«, h '^ ' tf rh^"^ - ■'soft seat for himself when he gets to tli# bott most unreasonable in itself), but also tried in this mere diocesan title, in their claim to universal jurisdiction. Now the title " Bishop :^m!, .*,»• 1^ -W FATAL TO THE A\GLICAx\ CLAIM^. 159 Of Rome" ma^ithaCatHoHcimply "the suc- cession of St. Peter." But, in the mouth of a Protestant, I felt that it might more likely be de-- signed to express mere diocesan authority. In island of England might, I saw clearly, be branded. and, without the ai For the Pope, 'as t merely, I had b claim to jurisdict* other bishop had to ^cripture, as a usurpation, uof the diocese of Rome |. believe, had no more Tthat diocese, than any I - - ', f-^ — action beyond his partic- ular, se^ But a li^l| examination convinced me that no sudi ckim m ever been set up ^ that no such jurisdiction JiwL ever ^en exercised. That, .^of the case ? Which claim seems most likely to be well founded ? ,' - • By the declarations of holy Scripture the Cl^uich , *was presented to me as "On6 Body in Christ.'* By the uniform teaching of the^ Fathers I found this idea : « The Church, one, undivided, indivisi- ble," fastened upon the minds and hearts of all the faithful in the age next to ,th<"Apostles. The Church " one ; " not separated by^iatjtmaLdistinc- tions, but one « holy nation," gathered out oraiT the unholy nations, and bound together by th©^ -^ bonds of strictest unity, and animated by, a spirit which at once raised it above all eaithly associa-^ .- , tions, and gave it a power to control and fashion them to its will. Which claim, laider tliis view • >. ': / i Sl- he he ic- ^ ^ ^'^TAL TO THE ANGLICAN CLAIMS. ' 161 ^ ^,^7-^.;-^^^^^,-seer.s mo^ likely to he M ell ibumted ? mq^t^^oi^i^^s itsdf to my under- standing ? A,cJum Waed in u«^er.«/ ;„./,,;/,. ' ^«^or a c aimbased npon,mere na^tona/ prc^a- claim- enforced by ^e«^or«rp6wQr? A claW hav- . ing Its source, in an apostle, Knked, by its very natui^, to that old foundation upon which Christ promised to ^ufld His ChUrch , or a claim traceable to no higher date, and connected with no purer source, than a corrupt son oiF„ the race of Tudors ? ^ Pressed by such an alternative, who can woid^r ^that my mmd became predisposed to yield to the f claim. of the Holy Roman See ? . 2. To. this was added a further consideration. I cast my eye over the history of mankind, and found that every association, from the most widely- spread kingdoms tojhe narrowest circle of friend- ship, was blessed with a ^ead; that the very instincts ot our nature seemed to lead to this every where as necessary to secure unity of purpose and actioi;. ^ I conter^ated the Church of God ; ^society, not only made up of Jjersons brought together out of all societies, but under the solemn necessity of be- mg and remaining so perfectly joined together, as io "speak the same things, and to be of the same mmd and same judgment;" thus "keeping the unit!/ of the spirit in the bhnd of peace.^* And I asked myself, "If it be reasonable, that a society whose iini't-^r I'o <-^ 1^^ *i — 1 ... - •'' unity la to be tUo cloauMt in the world, sho utr i^ m 14* m - T*' \ , 162 SEPARATION FROM THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER be composed of creaturgs.of the world, and called to act in the world, and upon the world, and still be the only body in the world without a distinct, , governing head ? " The thing appeared to me i0 consistent with the uniform wisdom and love of God, expressed in the order of His providence, an(^j hence not to be admitted as a reality! True, it was urged upon me that the Church is emphatically a spiritual body, and by its very con- stitution, has Christ for its head. To so manifest and vital a fact, of course, I could not object ; but to my mind it did not meet the difficulty. For I perceived the Church to be, not only a spiritual, but a visible, body. Knit together by visible ties — governed by visible laws — exei-cising visible functions — contending with visible enemies — maintaining a visible fellowship ; and henc^^ far as I could see, requiring a visible, ruling authority. Now, while our Lord was upon earth, it seemed reasonable, that He should, in His own person, exercise that authority — be, in the^ fullest sensb, our head — be both spiritually and visibly " our prophet, priest, and king." But after His ascen- sion, I could see no way of perpetuating the visible part of that atthority, but by a visiile representa- tive. This was admitted, by most Protestants, to have been done in the case of both His prophetical and priesthj authority. And I could not perceive '%hy it should not have bee^ done also in respelifc to His kingly authority. , If to express and insure His abiding invisible presence a visible represents FATAL TO THE ANGUCAN CLAIMS. 163 1^ in the one case was needed, why not in the other? To preserve . the Church in her original form, and enable her to fulfil her true destijiy^^s « the body of Christ," the visible kingly authority must, it struck me, bd|.at least^^as essential as any other. But this Icingl^ authority, by the very nature of it, could be represented by o. single per- son only at a time. That while the Dryphetical and priestly functfons might, in the samrkingdom, be shared by many, the kingly power was obliged to be centre^d in ons. 4' I felt, tb^efore, that be- fore entering upon the proof of the fact; there was a strong antecedent pr-could I account fcr this fact? The ^stion was- deeply solemn^ and'demancJed »f me a solemn answer. X© say that, by impercepti- ble gradations it .arose to this giailf he||fht, would be, to my mind, asserting,'^om the very nature of the thing, an' impossibility, t'or I could see no gradations between the power allowed and the power claimed, — no steps across that wide cha^m which separates patriarchal from Mnii?er««Z jurisdic- tion! Tb say.that^ at some unguarded moment, the Church had allowed this -power to spring into existehce, woidd hot satisfy a mind already wearied with assertion and demanding unquestionable his- torical proof. But no such proof had been offered. ' And as to mere presumption, it was uttej-ly against the idea. To suppose such an enormous ;^ower to,, have been unlawfully assumed, (when the assump- tion must have touched the very quick o^ human pride and ambition throughout the world), and without leaving a single trace of the fact in'histoiy, would, to say the least, haidly be expected to meet the demands of a disturj^ed and wakeful mind; particularly as such assumption had never been charged by any of all the turbulent spirits, who, for heresy, or' other cause, were, in early times, thrown off from the- Catholic Church by means of fr i A X ' -'^ ^P" rv l*t.* • FATAL TO THE ANGLICAN CLALM8-. * 165 : this vbry prerogative of the See of St. Peter.* ' Byt recollected, however, that I here speak of the '- ^^p\ by assumption; ol this universal jurisdiction. Ihat m Its exercise, at various periods, it came: l^to collision with kings and other temporal pow- - e4; my mind fully admitted ; but I perceived that the fact only gave additional strength to my posi- tion, by showing that if this power of the Eoman ^0 so often, in its steady spiritual progress through §e yorld, stirred up against itself the wrath ff •pnnces, how much more was it Hkely to have dole so m th omset of an attempt to "lord it over God 8 heritage " (on the principle that it was origi- nally an assumption), and hence how much" more may we expect to find a record of the. strife for which we look m min. ' In cas^, therefore, that I contiiiued to resist the 'V hav/ild'r' '" *"' '"'^""''"'' "^ "f Cardinal Maiu«, to which I on the famn.,, I \ x. ' "*'**'' * "oomhysite heretic, writing teachi^Xt u^2^^^^^ Canon,, gives the one relating to tha't See af ..itr2! •™^•''"='""'' concerning it. The words are as follows : "Sicut «nce he „a« the pn.nacy of St. Peter, so far as this, .^iz., that he fs to eW Placed over Hi. Churc7aL'';e:;,;?l To^vr^ "' ""' ^'''' ''' '" It Will bei,erc,*ivod that I fiav used thil ^mpiy as t;sT1mony forced from an honest here, c who is sHrtoring under the Bentenco ,f T ier Jhe 3 ^author,t,.of Which he feels .>ound to admit. And that I a:^:^::::!; !:^ ^ lllei upcm gUr jly to- j jibject ttI^v, msy choQs for%kbyiti TobrA«fidpr tH% •self. ,^lie - imself in an attif^tle .^ Vt^iitten S^ |fef tKe case I went to fi%nderstl66d W acted' u^ by the jmitjre. Church'. ^ ' , W %^^. The ^st, thing that struck me, as.connect ^*|js subject,' li^as the language of our blessel ♦l^imon, upofi His introduction to hirii.. " anf Simon, the son of Jonr.s, but thou «/►„.„,> ^called Cephas, (b/Petefi or Rock:) " — St^Jghn , il 35-42. 'The ^^ilrpo^ of this change of name (a" name -which/the Di^ne H^ad of the Church, had J' hitherto appropriated to Himself *) became manifest V, • laajah xxviii. "16 ; Ps. cxVii. 22 5 Dan. ii. 35 j Zach. jii. 9 ; ^p. ii. 20.„ Tlita ehinge of Simon's name ia significantly mpi tioned by tlio first three Evang^ ' lists. , St. Matthew says : " TJio Jlr«f, Simon, who is called Pel^, (or rotk.) » St. Mark says : " To ^moh he gave the name 6t Petef, or roM] Bu Luke» says : «' Simon, whom he also named Peter, orroc*." Concerping'this change, Tertullian says : «« Why did He (our Lord) c» II him Peter 1 U for the strength of his ffith, many solid substances would lend l/ljp a n^me from themselves. Or Was it because Christ is boA the rotk and the stone 1 Since Wfc rgg^ He is sot for a stone of stumbling and a rock of orence. And so it wai nre to communicate to the dearest oC His 1 iscjplis, in a peculi name drawn from tlie figures of Hiiusylf, ob Leing nearer, f ima drawn from figiirewmiof Himself." St. Ambrose says 'of Christ, who be sjglil a lmost all His names on His .the Rook,' but yp^BflP not, deny the grace of this n That*«»hould Roc k. ' bec a us e he t t a » from th » *' .'; '.'■.i. V. 'J^ FATAL jto THE ANGLICAN CLAIMS. 167 . >yhenm proce^of time^JesTis said to him,on occa-' ' sion of his solemn profession of faith : "Thou art^ ^^'^'(or €eplas\ and upon iUsrocTc I will kUd , My Church, ar(d the gates of hell shall nqf prevail- against It Ar, i I will give unto Mee the keys of the Iclngdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt - bmd on earth skU be bound in heaven, and what- soever thou sh^ltXloose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. ^JIatt\yl 18. These passages viewed ' in conjunction, ani with the circumstances under . w^ich they were spoken,' conveyed to my mind ' clearly and almo^ltV necessarily these truths, l/ rhat the change U St. Peter's nariie from Simon ' _ to Cephas (Rock)\ was designed as d preparation for the promise a/terwards made to him, that the Church should>( built upon h«f as the house of the wise man is " built upon a rock.'.'- 2. That with such a foundation the Church would never be overcome by its adversaries. 3. That, in order to enable St. Peter thus to sustafn the Church by the tnvtsMe po^r»if..Christ, he was made Christ's ' vistlle representativev being invested with a pri- macy or supremacy of jurisdiction, denoted W the keys of. the kingdom of heaven "given hiii ' by our f.ord, which, viewed in eonnection with ^' JUM JYus nb o v B I hnvo ifth c ff a rtraHslargTO mmk 4 I il n n M'lti V i ^ii -\ -■'^■r*x^ i^. ^ I V- ■ ■■ • 1 ' > ...' . \l ■" \ * ■ ■ \ ■ V / ; > I \ ~\':::Y \ \ M H ,1 \ '•^M ^.^''\^ 168 SEPARA^tlON FEOM^HE CHAIR OF ST. PETER Isaiah xxii. 22, and/ Rev. iii. 7, significantly point tp the possession 01 supreme and kingly authority. But this natural sense of' the passages of Scrip- ture, I found^nfirmed by the unifbrm and decisive voice of tWeariieat Fathers. "1 Bscy decisive, as all true Angjicans profess to concur with St. Vincent of 4en6s, that "they approve the faith in two ways/ first, by the authority of divjne Scripture, ^d/then by tradition of the Catholiq Church. It i/necessary (he says) that the interpretation of /.aeavenly Scripture be guided according to the one rule of the ecclesiastical sense."* I turned to Tertullian, and he said : " Was any thing hidden from Peter, who was called the rocJc, and whereon the Church was built — land who ob- tained * the keys of the kingdom of ieaven,' and the power of loosing and of binding in! heaven and on earth ?."t To Origen, who said;: "Observe what is said by the Lord to that great foundation of the Church, and to the most' solid rocJc, ^n which Christ founded the Church, * O tljou of little faith, why didiit thou doubt ? ' " J Whb said again, ** That Peter shauld hqve something peculiar above those (meaning the other disciples) ; tiiis was pre- r \\. ■ \ \\ '■■"' ''i' ''^■-' .' ■•■'■ "' , -i ■ ' '' ■■ "in' ' ' y * Ut fidem eram duobus his modia approbeni Pnmum divini caAonia auctoritate, deinde ecclesis Catholics traditione. . . . Utad uham ecclesii^tici sensua regulam Scriptura calestia intelligentia dirigatur. Jtdv. Oereii n. Mix. \ t Latuit aliquid Petram, sdificandae ecclesiie petram dicttim, clavis regni cwlorum consecutum, et solvendi et alligandi in cobHs, et in tetris potest^tem. DePngscript, HareUn.^. , X ESccIesiffl fundamentn et petra Bolidisaims, super qiiam Ohristua fund* ▼it.ecclesiaim, See. T. ii. Uom. t. in Exod. n. 4, , > . If lU'H''^- i I •/■./ ■^■*/ **'£ "^ i -^r It * FATAL TO TITE ANGLICAN CLAIMS.i 169 vious y ordained separafeWspe^ting Peter ; thus 1 will give toynEE tl^eys of the kingdom of heaven ; and truly, if we sedulo^ly attend to the Gospel writiW even in them we may discover even in regard \o tho^fe things which seem to be • common to. Peter;» and Jo those (the other disciples), much difference and preeminence in the WQrds ■ spoken to Peter (beyond those spoken to in the second place."* ^o ^t. Cyprian, who said :« Her- self (the Church) ^as founded first and a/one by the voice of our LW upon Peter." f "First to . Peter, upon whom He built the Church, and :from: whom He institutee| and showed that unity should W5 ; t th| Lor(i«^ve tjhis power that that should be loosed in heaveiiwhidh he should J^ave loosed on earth.".: Wh^aid-again : "Whither shall he come that thirste^h^ To heretics, ^here the'-" fountain and river of 1 water is noway lifegiving—, or to the Church, which is one, and was by the voice of the Lord fouMed upon one', who alao re-** ceived the keys ther4)f?"§ To St. James of Nisibis,I| who said: '^ Simon, the head of the Apostles ..Our Lore received him, and made ^^nCra TaioKovvra elvai Kotva wpds \rovs dSiX^ovs, vo\\j]v Sia^oiSw, xal -Ji' irapa rotij ifvripovs. T. iii. in «i • Kal ev TovTOis eSpo^tp Hi/ xaX kAt rdv itirpov Koi rovs rpis vovOerfjoavi iirspoxhv^ U Tdv rrpds rdv Uirpov tip Matt Tom. xiii. n. 31. *,t Ipsa, prima et una Super Petrum Domini voce fundata. t Nam PetroprimumDominus,Bup€|rquem wdificavit ecclesiam, et unde itatw originem instltuit et ostendik potestatem istam dedit. . . . . Efl., $ Cluce xtfOi data est, &c Wlio sat in {^ great Council of NicI iper unum, qui et clavis ejus accepit, Domini voce fuii. ^ V ■ > ij % I ;.i h\ ■^^S0k K. <4i % 7:: ^ »■ .'m ^M THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER i : \ n x: , aAd called him *the rock' of the Church." — (hat. vii. D& J^oenit. To St. Hilary, who said : " The Son of God t|6k up Peter, 'to\whom He had just before given the keys of the \ijm000l^ea.^, ^d upon il^^.Whom He was abouif to build tjie CJ^urch*,* against ^^which the gates of hell sKbuld npver prevtdl, who, ^^ whatsoever he should bind or loose on earth, shofeld' p be bound and loosed in heaven." To St. Cyril of ? Jerusalem, who said: «In the' power of the same Holy Spirit, Peter also, the foremost of the Apps- tles, and the keybearer of the kingdom of heaven,t he^d ^neas, the paralytic, in the. name of CB|ist." To St. Grdg^ry of Nyssa, who « The memory of St. Peter, the head of the tl««i|^i8' celebrated For he is, agreeably to the ^ ^^"^^ ®^ ^"^ ^y o^ ^^^^> that unbroken and most firm 'rock,* upon which the Lord built His Ghurch.**^^ %St. Gregory of Nazfanzuii^ who writes, '' Sei^ %u that, «f the disciples of, CJ"%. ife.^^JS'^"^ '^® ®*'®^ ^^ deserving " of His- cWIe ; Me is caUed a rock, and is intrusted with thej^ibundations of the Church? v. and again, "Peter *b^^- the tmb^en.'^ocli'andaiad the "keys d^liveria ta him.^^r%4a Basil, ^ saiji ^ irurWK — l^cuin P»i Mnt^if^ r'it0iai\ttScifrbi» ovpavuv KXeiiovx^S fUJH^Oi*} is used three times by St. Cyril , and ipic, ««' the chitf.and Prince." " - ' 'j^ 7^ Cat. * Super quem ec(pl|situ9 tedifi t llptaToararns T^v dtrogr ^jfl »pwro(rriiri;;>-'Tbe word traSHHyiigbo. * ^P^? implies, say^ h^ed wi^^udlpic ji| ^;viL n. 87. " .'■ " .J j^1l""'*^r*^ ^^^POS »» KtipMi r&v avoatiXav. . .ovrof yHtp Ivri Kara rtjp i^tioM aira rapa rov Kvplov,6uptov n appaxnSKal ixopwarti nlrpa, lA> «. r, Th» ei^\tip UKoiontfis. ft 'O fxiv Ttrpa KaXtira,, «ai tovs eeitstXiovs rUs SKKXnctas mattvtrat T . !■ at . HTl . • . '^ " _i: _i . . %, * •t FATAL TO THE ANGWCAN CLAIMS. I7l "One of these mountains was Peter unon ^i,' i, ► rock Chrkf «r • 1 **" ^^"^eJ^j upon which cic i^tast promised to build His Church"* And again; /^That blessed Peter who w! ^one received a greater testimony aiSbLsTn! — than the .est; he to whom were intrusted the Tyf ■* of the kingdom of heaven.'^- T ii « i ^15 « Thp Klo ^ T^ ^ Epiphanius, who said, roe* iwafibuiid my Church, :t;„i:^:„?"i' pve he teys/&c. How, could He not confi m fsfe.a.u„towhom,ofHis„w„authority,H^ga™ |k^gdo„:._ a Hom,.hcaHestyIed'a.— tfd«>;jgi»-^. (M) ^ • ^ ^ "'">'^tf/">To fl CK^Xnaia Kara navra rpp. ■i *r ' ' "^fe." ^c^e. can. Petra^icit, li™.™««„^ ecclesia, indicavit. T.H.Liv^g^^; V^ ■■*■, I , «■ 172 SEPARATION FROM TTIE CHAIR OF ST. PETER Gospels denominates Peter the Church's founda- tion. Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church."* Here, therefore, I found a cansensus of Fathers •up to Augustine, all interpreting the texts above cited, in their natural obvious sense ; making St. Peter the "rock," upon which Christ built the Church, and ascribing to him,? through, his possess sion of the keys of " the kingdom of heaven," uni- versal jurisdiction. Upon going to St. kugustine himself, I found, as we shall see hereafter, the strongest claims of " preeminence for the See of St. Peter. And, in one place, an interpretation of Ma^t. xvi. 18, which makes St. P^ter the "rock; "t although subse- * GcfieXfov Toy nerpov ivonagu rffs iKxMirtas. Homil. in Apost Prin. Pctr. ot Paul. t. i. t T. ii, Ep. liii. Genesffis. Col. 180. " If the order of Bishops succeeding to each other ia to be considered, how much more securely and beneficially do we reckon from Peter himself, to whom, bearing a figure of the Church, the Lord says, Upon Ma rock I will build my Chur(A." Sete the case of St. Augus- tine *b1y discussed by Fatlier Passaglia. Here, however, I would further observe, that while St. Augustine changed the interpretation of the passage in Matthew, he did not change Ills doctrine. While his wish4o use the jiassage against the Arians, and his want of knowledge of the Syrian language, led liim to an interpretation which favored this wish, he still looked upon St Peter as the foundation of tlie Churcli, and his See at Rome as the necessai centre of unity and authority in the> Catholic Church. Since writing the above, a kind friend has put into my hand the splendid edition of the before unpublished works of St. Augustine and other Fathers, by that Eminent scholar. Cardinal Maius; from which I cite the following new authority from that Saint : » Most dear brethren, he is gvilty gamst,"— by Theodoret, "the most solid rock," — by'Maximus of Turin, "he to whom th6)Lord granted the participaBon of His own title the rock," -7 by St. Gregory of Nazianzen, « the «)undation second from Christ," - by Origen, "the ^reat foundation of the Church," _ by tl^e Gallican Sticramentary, "the' foundation and bjigisy" -1 by* Peter Ghiysologus, "founding the Church byWs firmness," — by St. Ambrose, "the support of^he Church," — by him^ again; " the' Apostle in whom IS the Church's support," — by St. (/hrysostom, "the support of ^he faith," — by ^t. Philip, "the pillar of the Church," - and by an authority suf- ficient to terminate all controversy, the great Coun^ cd of Chalcedon, "the rock and foundati6n of the Catholic Chuich, and the basi^ 6f thq 'Orthodox ' '■•"'"-■ discovered so (unanimous and de- '" voice^mpng the Fathers of five c^turies" ■"ist,.Jh favor of making the ";roGk " (JNIatt. ^* St. Peter, and ascribing tohim the powers cmidi^djunder the metaphors of t^at Mssag?; a#d " •econecte'd the reverence Avhich ^ had al-; l^en taught J;o ac6ord to these Fathers i ' t Bw the iO)oyi referenecs, soe Passaglia, I.' f*i*»i A , TNi ?ETEB »» hurch, self the )hanius, e,f*the ail ho^ rock,'* 6hLord rock,'* idation ^reat allican by 4^8 of^he whom Dstom, , " the y suf- Coun- )fthe iodos i de. turies *' Matt ^'* )wer8 a*d id al^; IS, 1 ftd;" • #. (p.:- ^ ^ - ■. ■ "^ ■..*■■ , F*TAL TO THE ANGLICAN CLAIMS. 175 to withhold my concurrence. V^ - " ^*'T/™°">«l»^4e,howeTCr, which in th, "pon, by these same Fathers. It is, that in which When onr Lord, on one occasion had.been snAlZ a^. His :s:5t,thrttrersSt' brought inti His Church, and-conclu^ d ffis ^ec^ . ^^ihesoreu^^Me word., and "there sh^t : one fold ajd one shepherd." The " fold "-was cer! q^^. « my view, a visible shepherd. Christ Wev*, W ascend '. peared to me to- answer, this question : ' to a^'V 'r*:"' "'"^■'^"'^ "''»"' -f-^ -ith . 1^""°"/'^'?' «»°°». ™" of Jo«n, West thou., me «ore ««„ M«e ? He saith to Hi^, Yea, Lord/ nou West that I love Thee.' He saith i him ■ rlr^ T. I '^^ ■"" ' ^ ^'* '» Him, Yea,- J^rd, Thou knowc^t that I Ipv^JThee, He saith ,ta him, feed M!)laM>. He saitl('Vi ^ ' St, lolui nL \5-^, * ;. w "M^ «»•■ *. , *■■ FATAl. Ta THE* \^NGLICAN CLAIMS. I love The6. Jesus saith unto him, Fied'; 177 my ■ O" i^' 4A Sheep. . .Who else could readily '^ake ^his profes- • sion for himself? And, therefore, because h0 alone" ■•' amongst all makes this profession,.he is preferred, before all (Omnibus antefertur). For love is* ' greater than -all . .And he is ^ot ordered, as at first, to feed His lambs; nor His younger sheep, " as in the second, but His sheep, that the one more ~^ perfect may rule the more perfect." — T. i. Expos, in Luc..l X. n. 175. > . ' ^ On looking further into the Fathers, therefore, I ' was not surprised to^find Tertullian affirming, that "when the chief dii-ection, as regards the feeding . of the sheep, was deUvered to Peter, on^^homUs ' on the earth, the Church is founded.* Of no other *^tue was the confession requi|3M than that q/*«^ lQve.*r—T. iv. lib. 5, in Ep: ad it^^k 10, ; ' . ' Also St. Cyprian, saying, " Peter'iOso to 'Wh^tn ' - the Lord commends His sheep, to be fed and guarded, on whom He laid and, ^bunded the Church,t''says that gold and ^Uver lie h^ io^ie, but declares that he is r^ in Christ's gface." Also St. Epiphanius, sa^'^,' "He n^eterj heard from that. same God; Feed my lambs ;,p him wa/ intrusted the flock, he leads the way ^idmirably in the power of his own Ma§tei:." ^l^T. ii. /» AncLr^ '■ ' »■■-,. • ■- , • .. ♦ ': V- ; ■ * ... • " ^ ,' • Petiw cilm summa reniin de paacendis ovibus traderetur, et super Ipium: ■velut super terrainxfundaretur eec^sia. - - t Patnks etiaid cuWm suaa Dominus paw«nda8 tudndas, ^e Mmmendat. uperqu'imposujtetlbndavitecclesiam. • / , *^ t OrHniftvttivos r.^ troi^tp^v' W.Awr M,y<3v .fa m ivviMu'ttw UiM 1 1.- *• Mftf «■'» m. ■^ m. I 1 'if if H f '-ii ■ I- 11: it ■ ■ *-St ': "I Ira -.1 ./ 't h ' °*4 It: M --f:- '■m<* '- .' • *■»» ■ '4 l-^. u I'v ' • t^ < 1*' A'* A- r" ' J.' ■ 'H m pErAKAXIO.X rBOM THE CHAIR „K ,,, r,,!.^.,, ^,. !^;i '^?'° f- ^"'''™«- saying,;" In fi„e, Peie,- .fta having bceMcmpted *y the devil, i. L, t ,' /o»c"+ 7^; • D. "ecause He knew hi^ HorSnl r^ """'' ^''l"'^ -Fathers underftood Wed IT; " ''t"°'° *=" "- «--<> ^ord a.th'eShth?^^ir^l:td"'"' °"""'^« t.» n\ • ^> "^^iuie neaa and representative is ' ^Ctosu people an,jUallible guide to thetu." . i*ed up unto everfa:./; l^^:; =" ''"*' •""^ '^' ' i-fi^.topt tl«>^ord of God as inteipi^gT^ ^ . '*IVrtru(»eccl«Sia,pra.pdnkim* •;•;■- '" f ' ' ' ^^ T Ante signiflcatDpmiriuagufd Bit illu.1.-^ r' ! ' / ' ■^t. PRIMACY OF ST. PETER IN FAITH", &C. '^179 • ■■ , "> '■','' 4 ■ ■ /' the authority of CathoUc tradition/'- to <*me to any other conclusion! sr .::1^ il lW / ' , ; ' CHAPTER XVIll •" ^ ,^^' '«HE FBIMACY OP ST. PETgll INTERWOVEN IN THE FAITH Aifl^ ^ DISCIPLINE OF THE PRWUTIVE CATHOLIC CfatJRCII. A CON-^ •" • > J^N^-^CE OF THE POSITION 05 THE FORMER CHAPTER. •V ,.' . • , , ■ / ,. ■; '-/n ■■ V ■■ - - ■ .. _. ■■ " ^ : :That no regular treatise on the Erimacy of St. - Peter, no labored defence of his prerogatives, should be found in the records of the earlj Church, was- '■ to me no matter of surprise. A th^g that stands . before the world as a fact, and is acknowledged in • the every-day acts of the Christian, is not likely, I thought, to be drawn into dispute,>^d hence to require explanation or defence. In\ Christian ^ nation, a treatise or sermoa on the Being of a God is generally consid&ed out of place. Indeed, the more notorious a truth, the. less, in most cases, is' said about it. , To find, therefore, at this day, a labored attpmpt professeSIf on the part of some -•Fathets of the first centuries to prove or justify the . papal supremacy^ would, to my mind, be rather ;a 5M«piaoM*, circumstance. The want, therefore, ,; of very abundant documentary proof, sometimes pleaded against 'the claim, | could only regard as"^ favorable , to- it ; just «/l W, aU my hfe, in regard I to the cl^ms of episcopj^^ pr of any thing else in the Churc^ which stooS bkorr it as a fact, or ^ ] 4 -it« ■in 0^X !, <* 180 PEIMACY mL PETER IN FAITH JtND 1 1 ^,-t^. V¥'-fc-i- ■ !:'f!^. "''».■!' A' -•'-Ji^PipUne. I felt, too, t 1h pos.tU is strengthened iy the fact tha r,.^f^^j «^g pe^hou worfd „eoes«.rily have th^ tfS'rw^ f'^ mentioned above, to make record, - w . . r ^^'^ "•• '™"" exceediigfc rare Ohnr«h IS j^ possessjo^ust such proif of Ifa _prmacy of St. Peters the eircumstanci If 2- ;^me nughtlbe expected to furiush^pr<^f L . fnd tf^re, f she m„v« along in the fuliihnerit of * ter holy otece, through the generations of men. ness and bU>od, and Always find the distinct foot- muttittl i f "'^ """y' ^ """•Prison ^th the mult tude Aat were opened to my view when ex- ammmg thJ question, can I now submit to my dd tends, a tte same time referring them to thTma^- ' whIh^L r ^fZ P--«'-. *e ^bst^ce'^rf Xts\^b r"*'^ '^''' P'''""*'"^ » » English *tr^^^^^'^'*"^r™«-^ !!•.«. ""f '^iXMi-^./ iosu as understood by the Facers onLbch I perceived the claims of the ^e Jhe fina l Question is, are the.o^ckims goo>in S .__■ J^ /^ < / -1 H ,^' r- • 1 ' , / ff ■4» ■;•» ^ . , '*■- ' 1 '■■:. '.. . ^li''. / 1 '■■ «• 5—^ — 'B ■ - — ^ ;' - -f' ■' ." 1 ^ • "■.:■> " / ■4 ■■■.-. .m. . v ,-- S,' r* ' /■ too, that un- tho^ trds e. the khe iHe so 3re of sn. k- >t- le c- d i- f -Li: ; DISCIPLM O, ip„IM,„VE CATH<^C CHTOCH^ 181 • S ^?i:T *■" ^"s"^'' <*»«•' «°™it«^ »f *e world. '^ For ; t * ■ . f "■" ■ « V^ . f-' ' "V." ^.. ■' * "■ ^**-*'t:. .^ 18i PftI^A<^.OP STfpEtER IN PAITH AND with the-presehoe of our Xbrd on earth as to be the spring or necessary centre of our union with Him, in the time of.Str€j^anand/St.Optatus, upon what ground, I asked myself, can we! ''s'afely sup- pose that he will not continue to be' this spring or centre to "the consummation of the world ? " 2. - Again, St. Peter I found identified with "the one Faith." So that all who would have evidence of holding that "one ^aith," n^ust be in communion with him. "Hence," decides the Council of Chalcedon, "he. (St. Peter) is the basis of the Or- thodox Faith," And TertuUian : « The chief au- '^^'j^ ^^°^^^ *^® /cerfm^- of thefiock was de-^ livdHJito Peter." iJnd St. Cyprian: ^^To him le (Christ) assigns His sheep to be fed." Epiphanius: "He (Peter) was aided by" tier, so as to be the foundation of the «ecM- rity of the Faith.* To him was intrusted the flock." " For in every way," coittinues he, "was the Faith confiimed in him who redeive^the keys of heaven." And agW-: //He became unto us truly a firm rock, upoif which is based the Faith of the Lord." And^ St, Ambrose : « He (Peter) was chosen as the Pastor pf the Lord's flock.^ J'gr^ to hhu He said, ^When thou art converted, w»- - firm thy brethren.' " And again : "" ^eter was, by the judgment of the Lord ffimself, chosen to feed the varetur; nee eqteri ^postoli singulas 8ibi quisque defenderent ; etjalnscfti^ ■y m' reu— ue Schism. Dortat. 1. ii. n. 3. ' ■ "" ' ...-— um >J I**' ■■ - . * O it Ttapa rdv warpdf w^sAtj] T. ii, iu nuct. ii.,9. ro, rnfagipaXtian r?j riareuf esfttMuv ' '.\ 1 ■ .' ■ ■ » _. ■. . • ^ . . . . - H . - ■■-■-"' V . • ■■■ ■: . ;..., , ' . - m '■ ■ ■ ' ' , ^ ' ■• l\ • ■ > ffl'' ,^ * In ) • ^^-:•" ■ <* • / DlSCIl'UNE OF PRIMITIV ■ ' f the flock, who merited t »»y ituifc.ieM..my ^mh , 'St. Chiysostom: " Poter, -irfesitte pillar of the Chun Faith." —TAii Hom.de I was not surprised, tlicrcfore, to X'ltUBCH. And disci-" >/* the 'nit. n, ^. . - , — ^ St. Iracneus declare : « To ihis Church (the Roman) on account of a, more powerful- principality (or spiritual juris- diction), it isliecessary that every Church, that is/ those who aie, on every side, faithful, resort, (be- cause) in- that Church ...... has been preserved that tradition which i^ from the Apostles."* Not ' surprised to hear St. Cyprian exclaim, after he had declared, that our Lord, «in order to manifest NUmty, has by His own authority so placed the ori- gin of that same uniW, as that it begins from one , (St. Petef)."_-IIeiwho holds not this unity of the Church, does he think that he holds the Faith 1 He- who strives against, and resists the Church, hd who abandons the cliair of St. Peter, upon whom the Church was ^i^Jujided, does he feel confident that he is in the Chuich ? » — De Unitate. Bened, EditiorC _ Thus It appeai-ed to me that the Fathers regarded the transmission of the authority of the.See°of St. Peter as^identical w^tK tKe preservation of the ti'ue Faith. So that, to^iscertain who is in possession , _*_A^ '•»"<= «""" ecclosiam propter pofemiorein principalitatera nec«8se est omnem convonire ecclesiam, Hoc est, eo« qui sunt undique fi.teles in qua "X t ' r .^""'r'"''"^' •^""^-'"^ «« 1- -t ab apoHtoii; ill — wSae. UcBrcs. i. iii., c. 3. ii. 2. ■ ^ "»uim« T- fil ■M^ 'iSp^i" A' \ '\. %..■ . ■"«' ■ -sr' .:^.. ; ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 1.1 12.5 US ^^ ■^ 122 12.2 2? 144 ■^ ^ U& 12.0 fL25 i 1.4 M' m 1.6' N « ,- Fliuiugrdptik: .Sciences -* CqrpQratiQQ 23 WIST MAIN STMIT WIBSTIR,N.Y. 145M * /* (71«) 172-4503 " ^, \- "\ / y ■T .vm-- /* Ci- «; ■/ • «■. .. 7 :/■. ¥M 186 PRIMACY OP ST. PETER IN FAITH AND of that Faith it was only needful to inquire who IS in fellowship with the Apostolic See As a new testimony to this view, I here rive a pass^e from St. Augustine, found in &.^f el! «• W, published for the first time C Cardinal Mams, .n 1852: «Do not suppose .hi you hoU ■ PaiA ,r. ^^""'"'= ''"'*' '""'=^' y- told tto Faith whieh IS preserved at Eome." Non crederis esse hervandam Eomanam. a. to '""'"''"^- "'"r-y "^ *e great Augustine Sol T T'"'';°' """'^S *» *e. Faith of Eomc in order tj be distingdshed froi heretics mark of a Catholic, given by his spiritual fether, -trr':::h;t;*j'n^!,--.-^ fte Cathohe bishops, that is, with the Church of f rT p^'™""^ "=»■» Episcopis Catholicis, hoc w" ^"'^«'=<'l^«ao<">veniret."-See Card . Again 3. St. Peter I fo>id identified with m the Church_ m whatever Sacrament. Thus in lertulhau, " TMnkest thou teavcn is still closed" Remember the Lord left here the ke,s thereof ro /•e gives, by divine mstitution, to its possessor univer- sal jurisdiction, as in the case of St. Peter and his^^ successors^d makes individual submission to it^ necessarj^ to the enjoyment of the blessings of . ^^^f « jfingdom. You may'call that Apostle Pn- ' mus mt^ pares, or Summus supra inferiores, or any ^ thing else if you only make him what^Ohrist made \ him and the Fathers ascribed to him, the fomda- ' Hon of the Church, and th^ever-living visible head to which all must be united, who would Uve unto * Christ, and be found in Him when He comes to judge the ^orld. / ' ^ ""7 ^' '^^ s;?tement of Dr. Wordsworth : ., . >Vhat ^rst struck me was the positiveness which chVacterized this statement, <' It tJccr^am," 'says he apd that,.too, in regard to a negative thing "It ^certain*' that St. Polycarp and the others named « knew nothing » of the supremacy, Now I had been led to suppose that, taking the smaU number of documei^ts of that early age. Church . historians did not regard the absence of proof in :: h DWCIPlrt^^ OF PEIMrtTTE CATHOLIC CHCRC^ 191 any particular case, «n a particular point, as mak- ^^d It had m Its fevor-.the g^ueral current of cases, of St. Polyca^, Irensus,v(,nd some .others stood a?' HP" 0.. .? : I f-l ' II \ / 77 192 PRUrACY OF ST. PETER IN FAITH AND r hardly need say that the question which disturbed the peace of the Church at the time was simply one of usage, which feinted to the time of keeping Easter. In regard to this question. Pope Anicetus ^ had made some demands upon the Churches of the East, and enforced them by a tht>eat of excommu- wication, and also Pope Victor. NoV, to me, it ap- peared reasonable that if these Churches denied the jurisdiction of the See of Eome, that, instead of end^yors to ..change the judgment of that See, ; tt^f would have questioned its authority to judge ^" — ^o«ld have charged it with usurpation. When, therefore, I discovered that both St. Polycarp and ^ St. Irenaeus repaired to the Roman See* as to thel -Wiaema.n''s Lectures «n Doe- which has not, till then, been universally received." ■ trines, S[e., p. 168. In reference to the question of the source of infallihility in thV^i^liorigL Church, about «rhich some difference of opinion, I believe, has existeXifi.und advantage was talfen of it to meet the charge of disagreements amongVrotfes: tants,-as If the cluiracUr or effect of the differences was i. .ach case itiike ! Now the 4iflerence3 among Protestants pertain to the mo« vital articled of faitli,and produce the most radical disagreements in religious practice ; whHo the differences among Catholics, particularly the one about the exact si,ur\ of .nlall.b,l,ty in the Church, are matters of mere opinion, which are l', "--Ives aggrieved aotually ^^embled m councl at the bidding of the Pope, e«,r.„W h.m to withhold from the Churches thl evil of excommnnication, not on the ground that he had no nght to proce.ed to this extiemity _ which m their exasperated state was the ground which would .certainly have been urged, if Inablelbut simply -on the ground of con4escending charity.. self-wJl, but of attachment to ancient usage,* I could not help the conviction, that instead o^ it, temg "certain" tluit they knew nothing of the supremacy of the See of Rome, they furnfehed the best arcumstantial proof that they acknowledged >t When, in addition, I reflecte^tipon the strong passage cited above, in which St. Iren»us urges upon aJl Churches the necessity of resorting to Kome because of its superior jurisdiction, I felt how different are the fad, of history from the auerttom of prejudiced and self-confident minds' ■ A J , ^"^ ""'** °° '" ""« "^ of St Cyprian And here I felt myself at home. This Father had been my fevorite study for years, and had already '-.- ■ .. .-. • ,-. -17- --' . ■^-v \' » :i :m ( III 194 PRIMACY OP ST. PETER IN FAITH AND "* , ' imparted to my mind new, arid at the time dis- qinetmg, ideas of the poAvers of the. Holy See. And whoever will turn back and contemplate, in a spmt of candor, the passages cited in a former chapter, on this point, must, I have the prcsump. tion to think, be convinced that these ideas were not altogether baseless. Still I was willingvtmd anxious for the sake of truth to reconsider tl^tes- timony.of this Father. A particuhr instanco had been adduced by Dr. WordsMfortlrl and I was led to examine whether it could, by any possibility, be so tortured even as to bear witness against those prerogatives which certainly, on all other occasions, the samt had so boldly asserted. But before pro- OBedmg, I felt bound to record my protest against the fo^tc which would make a doubtful action in a m^s hfe reverse the plain intention of all other actions of it; while cbmmon sense all the while 'sTte ^r^^ t^^ appH^tion of the exactly oppo- ^ lirJ Wordsworth says St. Cyprhn/^knew noth. tng of supremacy in Pope Stephanusr Let us see what in all honesty are the facts of the case. To amve at these facts, I thought" it right first t« , consider what he said in other cases. I" J letter to Antonianus concerning Pope Come- fv!' ^f^'^Pl^y^ -t tl^« beginning such language as this : « You wrote that I should transmit a co^y of the same letter to our colleague CorneHus, that, having been relieved of anxiety, he might at length Jmow that you communicate with km, that is, mV*^ ■# . . """^'""B OP rnmrriTi, cATjroHc cinmcn. 195 ; t^ CaAolic Church," ' An expression which will '^-ad.ly understood by those who have attend tSvtho .epeated declaration, of this saint, taakin. he cha,r of St Peter not only the «.ur eT u! thon y „ the Catholic Church, but Also her re2 ^"";:\ F" -»™Plc, in his letter ,0 CorX Wlf h3 says, "Peter, on whom the Ghur h had been built bv flip T n,.,i ij- i<- , v'turc.!! for »>/ ■,„ 1 , • Hi>nself,t*« speaking fo. at. and replyipg with the voice of ihc Church f^^^rns,'Lordi/tou,hom shall ^eg;,'" a!W foUow^g reference to Pope Fabian, the predeces- Bor of Cornehns. Speaking of the electioV of the when the phee of Fabian, that is.when the place • °* ^'"'- ™<1 the rmk of the sacerdotal lair -^vacant." J. And again, in his letter to p"^ Cor„eh„s, he says, "Moreover, after all this,"! P^udo-hshop having been set up for themsel e by heretics, (hey dare to sail ggk-i^rry letters from sehsmatiea »d profane pefl to Yhel^Z «/ thcPr,e,thood ha, begun." § It seemed to me clear from these ;«;&«(„; (and on that account more foraile) allusions to the chair of St. Peter, ■ < ill * % I e -^fl y . Ik. 196 j]: ^ ^^ W rRTMACY OP St. PETrn IN FAlTir AND <^-& , as in Cyprian's (Jay, holding a peculiar sacerdoiar ■ rank, and being the fountain of "the unity of the •priesthood," that this sainted martyr regarded the Popes of Rome as haying by divine right a cert^n jurisdictim over all other bishops, which aUother^" bishops were bound to concede.- But the case of^. P6pc Stephen was urged by Dr. Wordsworth with a view manifestly to cast discredit upon St. Cyp- rian's, testiiiiony in other cases, or in reference to the question generally. The case, -as represented, , was one of 4isagreement between this saint and that Pope on the subject of the baptism of here- tics. That such disagrjeenient existed between Pope Stephen and some of the African bishops I knew ta be certain ; but how far St. Qyprian was involvefl in it I found to be exceedingly doubtful. The fol- lowing is a description of jt by St. Vincent Lirens, whose authority is unquestionable with the Chiirch of England.' He was speaking of the zeal-of the Apostolic See. in resisting^ovdties, and continues thus: "Not to be tedious, 'we shall select one in- stance, and this especially from the AjpostoUc See, that all may see more clearly than in meridian « light with what Energy, with what zeal, with what perseverance the blessed successors (beata successio) of the holy Apostles have alwayj defended the integrity of religion as it was originally delivered. Formeriy> then, Agriphinus, bishop of Carthage, a man whose memory is venerable, was the first°to mdntain that bapjjsm should be repeated, iii op- position to the diV-ine canon, to the tule of the / /^: - ■/ / -' / *\. 'jr» I In .3a5s-_j. '7 -' / mSCIPLlNE OFyRlMITlVfi CATHOLIC CHURCtf. 197 Universal Chu A, to the judgment of aH his fei%- , priests, tb the eustcyp and decrees of his prede&s- sors; Avhich presumption was the cause of much evil, that it not only gave all heretics a' form of sa^ege, but even gave" occasion of error to some Cath^es. -^hen, tlierefor6, aU crietl out from all quarters against the novelt/, and all , priests in' cyery ph^ce struggled against it, each according to ^ zeal, Po^^phen, of blessed memory, wheat ?that time wa^ prelate -of the Apostolie See, in con- lUnction, indeed,, with his coUeagues, but yet more .than his colleagues, resisted>*nkinff it fit, as 1 suppose, that he should surpass .all others in the devotedness of his faith as^miich as he excelled them by the authority pf his station. Finally, in the epistle which was then seit td Africa, he rfc- cmd in these words : that no innovation should i BE ADMITTED, BUT AVHATWAS HAITd^D DOWN SHOULD- BE RETAINED. What^er had th^African Coun- oil or decree? None; through the m^rcy of God." — Commonit. Cyviii. - Iiithis account of the great Vincentius I ob- served two things: 1, that he bears a nphle testi- mony to the superior "authonty/' of the See of Rome ; and 2, says nothing/f /^ny collision of St Cyprian with Pope Stepyn/ And probably for ^ - •Wie reason which I found/giW in a lett^ by St ' "^ Augustine ta him, « thdt there were not wanting - persons who |naintam/d tHat St. Cyprian did not ' yield to the opinion/of Agrippinus ; but that, to . gi/e it the feanctiwf of his name, the letter and ' "^ / 17 * I « w^ v/ ■ ■ ■■ » •;.- 1 . ■ * ,■ ... ' -■ i " ■ /, •/■. w ^ • ■ ' ■ • . ,. -■•. • . '-:■ -j: ■■ / '■ :' V*-^ 'i^J >-: /..;. ' 7 / m ., I . '% 198 PRIMACY OF ST. PETER IN FAITH AND •»IF ■ ij; 1 ■ , 1. /f — ii / |y If IHf ^ '' HI ; 4 Hi 1 • W'' ml 1^ 1 ; w ». 1 ^ " li i '' Ri ;. n ^■' ■1 f- U 1":. _ _ . n ^^ .M- Br ^v.-*^*""-' ■ i 1 •^. 4' ■■■ V-» ^^ . 1 -^j , \ ' , i ♦■■■ t 1 1 - \ ii ■ documents were composed under it by presump- tuous and deceitful men." ♦ Hero I could not help contrasting the positiveness of Dr. Wordsworth with the doubtfulness of St. Augustine, and feeling some little, wonder how the former, at this distant ,, j^eiiod, should be so much better informed on the point than the latter, who lived sp near the timfe ; But St. Augustine continues, in reply ,to the. Dona- : ijists : « Cyprian either did not think at all, as you represent, or he aftei;ward& corrected his error by . the rule of truth ; or\e covered 7Aw blemish, as it ..were,-of his own fair breast, with the abundance of charity, while he defended most eloquently the • umty of the Church, spread over the whole world,. andheldmoststeadfastlytheboridof peace.»t And deferring to his martyrdom, St. Augustine remarks. "1 think that the bishop Oypriaft. may, without any . '^'"^*^ '° ^n^¥-f be compared with .the Apostle Peter, as far- as regards the crown of martyrdom But I ought rather to be afraid of being contume Hous tOAvards Peter. For who knows not that the .primacy (princedom) . ot the Apostleship is to be preferred before any episcopate whatever? But ^ although the grace of the chairs is widely different, yet one is the glorrof martyrs." + Prom this 1 '^•fTaLZ^Ln'- "■ '"""'• ^"^^ ^- ^' P- 2^«' Tom. ii. Ed. Ven. , t.5om,a«fomcypnanus.a..t,w„sen,sito.„ni„o quod eum senisw recita- «35^^«.^oc piBte^correxit in regula veritatis, a»t tunc qu;^n^ZZ _ cai.d.d.te.„„ pecor^ co8peruft ubere.caritati, dum unitatem eccfoZtoto :'*\ ■ ' DISCIPIJNE OF PRIMITlU CATHOLIC CHURCH. 199 became- convinced that! evea if the disagreement ^ between St. Cyprian aJd Pope Stephen were such as had been represente^l, it was either maintkinbd on the part of that martyr in perfect , consistency with his known revereace for the controlling au-" thpnty of the See of ^me, or was so repented of as that he died in comiriteon with that See, as,4id ■also the other contending bishops of Mfca/if we may trust St Jerome. T" St. Cypria#says that father, « endeavored to shu4a)its tha> were bro- ken, and .not to drink of \he waters of others ; and on that aecount, reprohatinlgr the baptism of heretics, forwarded the African Synod, on this subject, to Stephen, then bishop of the Eoman city, the twenty. sixth from blessedPeter; but this effort proved fruit- less. FmaUy, those very bishops who with him had determined that tW. heretics should be rebap- tized turning back to the' ancient custom, issued a new decree." — Dial Contr. Lucif. . In short, I discovered that in the whole of this con- troversy, even admitting that all proceeded from the pen of St.. Cyprian which is ascribed to it ' nothing was said even by himself or associates whic^ impUed an assumption x>x overestimate of jurisdiction ^on the part of Pope Stephen, but only m indiscreet use of lawful prerogatives.* Instead ' of any resistance of the claim of jurisdiction made by the Koman See, I found every Htigated question *~'"'";' ^I'^j; f '»'"'»'«'"«"™8'atia„„. est umen gloria manr. ium.-T. u I. „. D, Bpptism. ca^ AmaL n. 1. coL 182. 6t,niov^tjL matu^ gu^ in disdfuUs Imbuit. _ T. iv. Enar. in ft. cviii. „. l' ^^ ^ ^*V*^"'^'^ii°?«l5Jri«*"^-Toiii- iii p. 965, M. Wiieeburg. 1 A J 200 PRIMACY OF ST. PETER IN FAITH AND referred to its judgment as by divine arrangement. ^ St. Cyprian himself, in respect to Martianus, en- treats this very Pope Stephen to interfere for the preservation of discipline : " Let letters be addressed frdm THEE — (but why from Stephen, the blamed Stephen, if his (Cyprian's) own authority was equal ?) — be addressed from thee to the province and the people ofuirles, whereby Mar^i'onM^ being EXCOMMUNICATED,* another may be substituted in his room " — a request which, in my view, implied some knowledge, oH the *part of St. Cyprian, of supremacy in Pope Stephen, as the act r^fquested, to be lawful in the dioceses of other bishops, must have been ah act of swpremacy. "",: ^ Here the further case of St. Augustine was pre- sented. " He and the bishops . of Africa knew nothing," says Dr. "Wordsworth, "of supremacy in Popes Zosimus and Boniface." - It must be ainjitted, I though^that this asser- tion falls to the groulid, if it should appear that St. Augustine, in his writings, maintains, generally, a supremacy of jurisdiction in the See of St. Petpf. I tujjied to these writings: I read the following: "la the Ca*iolic Church. .... .the succ^sion of priests from the very chair of St. Pj©t€r,yo whom the Lord, after His resurrection, coi^itted his sheep to be fed, down even to the pre^lfet' bishop, . keeps me."— T. iii. Contr. Ep. Fund. Manich. Col 269. Again : « That -city (Carthage) had a bishop * Quibus littoris absterrito Martiano, alius in locum ejua subsUtutur. — Eo. IxviL p. 349, Ed. Ven. "^-5^- ni .^ -i*' DISCIPLINE OF PllIMITIVE CATH0U6 CHURCH. 201 Y^ f Ince ^ ING I in .^ of no slight authority^ who was able not to heed* the multitude of enemies conspiring against him, when he saw himself united by letters of com- munion both with the Eoman Church, in whicH. the primacy of the Apostolic chair has always been in force,* and with other lands." — T. ji. Ep. xliii. Gloria et aliis Donat. n. 7-, Col 136. I recalled, too, his strong words in respect to St. Cyprian : "Who knows not that the princedom of the Apos- tleship (at Eome) is to be preferred before any epis- copate whatsoever." Besides, he seemed to me to recognize in one of the Popes (Zosimjis) alluded to something more than ordiijary authority, " Where- as," he writes, " Pelagius ^nd Coelestius, the authors of this heresy, were, by the vigilance of the coun- cils of bishops in aid of the Savior, who protects His own Church, also by two venerable prelates of the Apostolic See, Pope Innocent and Pope Zosi- mus, condemned, &c." — T. ii. Ep. CXC. But why single out the popes of Eome in this case of discipline, if they had no more jurisdiction than^ other bishops ?^ To me, therefore, it became ^uite manifest that St. Augustine did recognize in the Boman See a preeminent right of jim^diction? And now I was brought to that inbst extraordi- nary assertion of Br. Wordsworth, that the Popes themselves for six hundred years recognized in themselves no such right. I say extraordinary ; as a few hours search enabled me to verify the fol- if ..J 4 n * Boinaiieecdesie, io qua sempet apostolic* catindmTiguitpnjKips^ . f-i Sgni. OrienUUbus. Galland. 1. vi. p. 3SL t On the abovfl epiBtI»Tbeodoret remarks, " Whon the entirely praiaewor- tby Damasus learned that thia heVesy bad sprung up, he deposed and exeom- municated, not only ApoUinaiius, but alao Timotheus, his diacipl* :il ?! I •' -. J » ^ .jf v^ ^M • \: ^ 204 PRIMACY OF ST. PETER IN FAITH AND Itasius L, and read asfoUows. Speaking^ some imputed neglect, he says, " Far be this from the 9*tholic discipline of the Eoman Church. As- sWcdly care shall not beu wanted on my part to g^ard the faith of the Gospel in my people; and to visit by letter, as far as I am able, the members of my body, throughout the divers regions of the earth, (Partesque corpioris mei per spatia diyersa terrarum,) to prevent any beginning^ of a profane interpretation from creeping 4n, which may have for its object to confound devout minds by spread- ing its darkness." Here, too, I pijt it to my con- science. Did Pope Anastasius know nothing of supremacy in himself? 4. I proceeded to Pope Siricius, and found the following among other testimonies : « Taking into account my office, it is not for me to choose on whom it is incumbent that there be a zeal for the Christian religion greater than that of alt other persons, to dissemble, and remain silent. I bear the burdens' of all who are- heavily laden. Yea, rather in me that burden is borne b^ the blessed Apostle Peter, who, we trust, in all things protects and has regard to us who are the heiis of his gov- ernment."* Again: "Let it suffice that faults have hitherto been committed m this matter; and now let the above-named rule be observed by all priests who do not wish to be rent from that solid apostolic r^ • ike pMtat in nobia beatus aportolos Petnls, qui dm in omnibus, at con. fidimiuy adminirtrationis sed protegit et (uetur luBi«dea.-.ED. L ad «^'-^ Tainc.Bp.n.I,p.533. Galiaiid.T. vil. • DISCIPLINE OF PaiMITIVB CATHOLIC CHURCH. 205 rocTc upon which ChriSt constructed the Univer- sal Church." * Hcrei too, I asked myself. Did Pope SiriciuS really know nothing of supremacy in himself? , " ' 5. Satisfied with the manifest claim of this pope, I next opened the epistles of Popfe Innocent I., and read, "Let us, therefore, begin with the help of the holy Apostle Peter, through whom both the Apostleship and the Episcopate took their rise in CHRiST.t" These, then, aie the things which it behooves every Qatholic bishop, having before his eyes the judgment of God, henceforward to observe iL.. .that if any causes or contentions arise the dispute be settled, agreeably to the Synod of Nicaea, by an assembly of the same provinqe, and that it be not lawful for any one [not to the prejudice, how- ever, of the Eoman Church, to which, in alTcausjg, reverence ought to be preserved J] to leave the priests, wjjp, by the will of God, govern the Church of God, and to have recourse to other provinces. But if greater cayses be brought forward, let them, after the judgment of the bishop, be referred to the Apostolic See, as the Synod resolved and Ijlessed custom requires:' § — Ep. n. Galland. t. viii. Again : " After having caused your letter to be read several ^- ■^"^■ ^ i • Omnea teneant sacerdotia, qui nolunt ab apostolicas Petne, super quam Cliristus univenalem construxU ecellsiain, aolidate, divelli lb. n. 3, p. 534. t Perquem et Apostolatus etspiscopatus in Christus copit exordium. X The words in brackets are not found in «om« of tlte ancient manuscripts but are preserved in the best editions. . ' 5 Ad sedem Aposteiicam, eicut fynoAts^see Ep. Synod. Concil: Bardic ad Juliuffl.) statiut, et beata cohsuetudo exigit, post judicium Episcopate nferan. tur. -18 « i 2(16 PRIMACY dfe ST. PETER IN FAITH 'AND tirnes to me, I noticed that a kind of injury was done to the Apostolic See, as unto the head of the churches [quasi ad cajtot ecclesiarium] that state- mdnt was sent, the sentence of that See being still trefeited as doubtful. The renewed questioning coiitained in your /eport conip^fe me, therefore, to repeat in plainer terms the subject," &c. Ep. xvii. n. 1. Again : ** Keeping to tlie precedents of ancient tradition. . .you have. . .established the firm- ness of your religion, no less now by consulting rhe than when you for^perly passed your sentence ; ap- proving, as you have done, of a reference to our judgment, knowing what is due to the. Apostolic See, knowing that all df us who have been, placed in this position desire to foUow that Apostle from whom the Episcopate itself and the -niole ^thority of this title has been derived. Witjj tiih for our model, we know both how to condemn what is evil and approve what is commendable."— Ep, clxxxi. ad Council Carthag. Ed. Bened». S. Aug. t. ii. Again: " Carefully, therefore, and as was befit- ting, do you consult what is the secret wish of this ApostoKc dignity* (a dignity, I repeat, upon which falls, besides those things that are without, the solicitude or care of all the churches) as to what opinion is to be held in matters of su€h moment ; having Herein foUowed |he pattern of the ancient rule, which you, equaUy with myself, Jcnvw has always been observed by the whole world^f Yea, why have you confirmed this by your own act, but igiue Apostolici consulitis honoris arcana. >^ Quam toto wmper ab oibe mecum noatis esse aemtain. v.. D«CIPUNE OP PRIMITIVE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 207 that you know that, througfhout all provinces, . answers to questions always emanat*. from the Apostolic spring, especiajlly as often as questions of faith are agitated? I ahi of opinion that all our ^ brethren and fellow-bishops ought not to refer but to Peter, that is, to the aufkor of their name and honor, even as youi: friendliness has now referred (to know) what may be the common weal of all the Church throughout the whole world*. .... .Where- fore we do, by the authorit^vof the Apostolic power, / [Apostolici vigoris auctoritateJ declare Pelagiusandf Ccelestius. . .deprived of the\ommunion of the Ch.xxxch.V--.Galland. Ep. xx. at^cMeliv. n. 1, 2, 6, p. 602.t Once more : « We cannot wonder that your friendliness follows the institutes of those who have gone before you, and refers unto us, as rmto the head and chief of the Episcopate, [ad nos quasi ad caput atque adapicem episcopatus referre,] whatsoever can cause doubt; that, by consulting the Apostolic See, to wit, it may, even on doubtful . matters, decide on something that is certain and ought to be done." — Galland. t. viii. Ep. xxxvii Felici, n. 1 . * Here, indeed, I asked myself, — \ Mr .^^.„r 'r^'" r'^"""" *•« AP<«toHca fonte petentibus respond «,m- 'wm nfem debero. velut nunc nnUit vestm dilectio, quod per totum muiu lum ppnit ecclefiiu omnibiu in commune prodeuel ' ..i.Pi!!^,""' r""''""""' ''""''• •" ^*- Augurtine on the above decree: Da 06onc.I.a missa 8un^ ad aedem ApoatoHcam inde etiam rescripta W mnt Cnwi finoa at ; utinam aliquando finiatur error.*' - Serm. cxxkL t The Council of Carthage, represented a. aasiatinK the Popes, here rbake^ apphcauon to Rome a- follows: "We have considered that what hSaV done by u. was to be made known to your holy charity, that to the decree,^' "^ made by our lowl.nesa there might also be ««*, tta autWYy of the JipcZl «M, (•tiam Apostokcs sedu adbibiatui auctoritas.") — GaUwd. t. ViiL ep. xxtL Salland.!. :# I 'i I! _-..._ 208 PRIMACY OF ST. WeR IN FAlTlf AND Did Pope Innocent I. kiipw nothing of supremacy in himself? ' /. . » 6. I next considered the epistles of Popes Zosi- mus and Boniface in the time of Augustine. 1. The Epistles of Pope Zdlinjus, the successor of St. Innocent, 417. " Although," says he, « the tradition of the Fathers has assigned so great an authority to the Apostolic See that no- one should dare dispute about a judgment given by it, and that See, by regulations aid canons, has kept to this ; and the discipline of the Church, in the laws which it yet folbws, still pays to the name of Peter, , ' from whom that See descends, the f evercuce due ; for canonical antiquity, by universal consent, willed that so great a power should belong to that Apos- tle, a power also derived from the actual promise of Christ our God, that it should be his to loose what was. bound and to bind what was loosed; an equal state of power being bestowed on those who, by his will, should' be found worthy to inherit his" See. For he has both charge of all the churches, and especially of this wherein he sat ; nor does he allow any storm to shake one particle of the privi- lege, or any part of the sentence, of that See, to which he has given his name as a foundation. ..... which no one can rashly attack but at hij own peril. Seeing, then, that Piter is the head of so great authority, and that he has confirmed the sub- sequent decrees 6f the Fathers, that by aU laws, human and divine, the Boinan Church is strength- ened, and you are not ignorant, dearest bretbien> / DISCIPLINE OP PRIMITIVE CATHOLIC ClIURCII. g09 tlmt we rule over his place, mid are in possession of the authority of his name nevertheless, al- though so great be our authority that none may refute our sentence, yet we have done nothing w}iich we have not of our own will made known by letter to you, conceding this to tike brother- hood."--^, xiv., p. 18, 19, t. ix.^ Ganmtl. '2. Next the Epistles of St. Boniface, the successor of St. Zosimus, 418. Writing to a bishop of the East, he says, "On you, dearest brother, devolves the entire' care of those Churches, which you will rec- ognize as hdving been, by us, intrusted to y0u as the vicegerent of the Apostolic See."* — M. V* Rufo. Ep. Thessal. Again : " The institutidh of the universal Church" took, its beginning from the honor bestowed upon the blessed Peter, in whom its government and headship reside.f. For from him, as its source, did declesiastical discipline flow over all the Churches, when the culture of religion began tO make prog- ress. The precepts of the Synod of Nica;a bear no other testiiAony; insomuch that that Synod did not attempt to 'make any regulations in his regard, as it saw nothi% could be conferred that was supe* Hor to his own dignity; it knew, in fine, that every thing had been bestowed on him by the Woj^d^ of the Lord. It is, therefore, certain that this "7 V m -J - ! * Quas tibi vice sedia apostolico a nobis credit^ recognwiceB. t InstitiUio univewalis ecclosioB de beati Petri honore sumsit principum, in qno Kginieii ejus et sumina consistit. . " A sentence," says Mr. Waterworth, obviously capable of varioud rendering." '18^ '•I I t* L «10 PRIMACY OP ST. PETER IN PAITH AND ObnrcK is to tho Churches ifwcad over the whole woiirf rts tho head is to, its own mcmlxirs ; from which Church whoso has' cit himself off becomes on alien from the Christian religion, 4vh«Jrciia ho . has begun to bo hot in tho same bonds of fcUow- sliip."* • • Passing by many striJcW testimonies^ I |)ro- ceedcd to Pope Leo, 440, w^ says, "Th^blossed Peter ceases not to preside oVer his own See, apd he enjoys a never-cehsing fellovbhip with the ever';" lasting' priest — Chrut. for tW sMidity which > Peter hinJSelf also ma^c, a *-rock ' received from tho rock Clurist, has passed onwaii^i to hia heirs also."t— T. i. Serm.y. in Nktk-.Ord. c. br. Again: "Whereas ou? case is extended through- . out aU tho Churches -.this ^ refcred of us Py the Lord, who comnlitted thel prirrikcy. of the Apostolic dignity to the most blessed Apoktle Peter- in reward of his faith, estabUshing the ^iversal Church on the soUdity of him, die foundatiol " Wherefore, following the^example "of those \hoso : i^o.iy is yenerable unto us, we have committed tomie brother, a fellpw-bishop, Anastasius, to act ^m our stead (at Thessalonica). We have enjoihcQ htm to bc-watcliful. . . .To whom,%t your friendlj ^ ness, m all .things pertaining to ecclesiastical discf ^ JEu^iE™. y «•"•'""•* '^•i^cessa. llrf„c ergo ecclesiiB .0,0 orbe Mco li^iKif'^V*'°"''?'r '"«««»«"" nonccBperitowflcom. iiilutl'!!! jSMEiSi^^ Petne'SliriBto etiam ipeo Poira ftctUB^CMpU ui HUU8 qudflMmilHhiHHt'tu.-rodiM.f '- '<•','»♦• i,i ;■' . ►xf- .'"'>■ S^ DISCirUNE OF PIUMITIvi plino, bo obedient, we admonish you."— Addressed to tlic Metropolitans tl/rougUout liiricum. — Ev. V ^Lqo t^ proceeded to Pope Gdusius, I, /A^^W^^®^^'^^ ^^ ^*"®^ "" encyclical letter to \ W'^I^'*' ^^ Sy/i«* ocyer Ibe/ore cited : " Come, ^ou,l5!&st honorable, to thatrvhich you yourselves l)roclaMn Ihe holV chair (See), run to the immovable rqck &f Feter, Wumber yourselves with the Apos- tolic choir, may sure the cfrQwn of your victor^." • ~^'""' f* V ^^^' ^'^' C'«rrf. AyatM5. Again: ^ : " With what reason and what consistency can other t sees be, defen(|cd, if the ancient and long-ekisting reverence be i^ot paid to the.See of the most blessed Peter, rtie firjt See, by ^hich the dignity of all priests has always been strengthened and con- fimcd,t and t6 which, by the invincible and spfccial judgtaent of, the three hundred and eighteen Fathers, the highest honor was adjudged, as being menr who bore in mind the Lord's -Sentence, * Thou art Peter r and upon this rock i will build my" Church.' And again to the same Peter, 'Lo, I have prayed for thee, that thy fiyth fail not.' i^^i *^' sentence, * If thou lovest me, feecTlny iP%heep.' Wherefore, then, is the J^ord's discourse . so frequently directed to Peter ? Was it that the rest of the holy and' blessed Apostles were not ...Vyr'l" "* '""'' ^ """'•""•''-^^'•"'v"'' ea* q«ara vo« ipsi eancrth. pradicag. An„?JJr "" ' """""•.#"»»<"'"««' Petfi petram ; connumerate vo. choro Apostolico J conflrmaie vktUfiR veslne coronas. - - t Si .prime -Petri .edi an(^^>a et veluista reverentia non defertur. per " «uaiD ouiruuni sacerdotum digniloa wiiip«r m. robwata alquo firmata. .'■■•'' > ' ■. ^ " " , , -...■■ /• •1 : .\ ' :i;v; u :.k . "' ■■^. Vj' >\/i\ o .*«jf V'N, Id i^ J!-/~f:i>^^ •••*>• % V te- :"N:' ^i .■^' T \\ ■.•j?r ^^^ rf »#AjCrpB''Sl^^ PETER IN ^r^ ■•i :\ clothed •vrith liJce virtue ? Who dare assert this ? No ; but that, py^a head bemg constituted, the oc- casion of .sohism might^be removed; and that the compact bond of the b^|y of Christ, thus uniformly tending, by th^fellowship of a inost glorious love, to one head, might be phown to be owe, and that there might be OneXIhurch faithfully believed in.* . . .. . .For which cause I have said our Fathers, the merits of who^ virtues raised them to the con- fessor's most glorious palm and to the martyr's resplendent crown, — these men, filled with love for Christ, referred to that See wherein Peter, the pr jnce of the Apostles, the (thence) derived origin of tlieir priesthood, seeking thence the weightiest buttresses to give firmness to their soKd structures ; f that by this spectacle^ it may be manifest to all men thait the Church of Christ is truly one through- out an4 indivisible, a Church which, knit together by the bond of concord and the marvellous woof of charity, might be seen to be the one coat of Christ, seamless throughout. There were assuredly twelve Apostles, endowed with equal merits and equal dignity; and whereas all shone equally with spiritual light, yet was it Christ's will that one among them shojild be the ruler < and him, by an admirable dispensation, did he guide to Kome • Et um monskraretur compago corporis Christi, que ad unum caput elo. nosiBsimaailectionis aocietate concurreret j et una eswt ecclesiacui fideliter crederetur. t Ad iUam sedem quam princeps Apostolorum Petrus, lui sacerdotii sumpM prac'PiftiJepleU Chriati chariiate mittebani, mm inde aoliditaiia Bravisaima onn(UfU|roborainonta pbotentta: ' , , \ ^, DISCIPLINE OF PMMITI\T3 CATHOLIC 9iltmcit. 213 and there he shone conspicuous for" power of do^- trme ; also, made glorious by the shedding of his blood, doea he repose in a place of everlasting rest, granting to the see, which he himself blessed, that It be, according to the Lord's promise, never over- come by the gates of hell, and that it be the safest harbor for the tempest-tossed. In that harbor who- soever^hall have reposed shall enjoy a blessed and v^tern?^place of safety.* Whereas, he that shall ^ have despised it, it is for him to see to it what kind of excuses he mil plead at the day of iudg- ment."- T. X. Galland. p. 672. See also next letter. Id. p. 679. Again : « The holy Roman Catholic and ApostoUc Church has been raised above the other Murches, «q^ by any synodal decrees, but from the evangelical voice of our Loid and Savior has it obtained the primacy, the saying, * Thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will build my ehurch.' » ^- Decret Concl Rom. Sub. Gel Col. 12QI, Labb. In ibid. Col. 1215. Pope Ge- lasius is called by the second Council of Eome .".The Vicar of Chiist." Here^I am forced to forbear. The records to the same point are abundant down to the period of Gregory thfe Great. But my time and space are Iih4ted--iin4 enough, it seemed to me, was con- tained in what I have already submitted to make it certain that the bishops of Eome, as occupiers of • PoBrtans sedi quam Jpse benedixit, ut a fortis inferi nunquam pro Domini pMm.8s.one vmcatur omniumque Bit fluctuantium tulisaimus portu* In quo quirequieverit,boataetetornastationegaudebit « I: 214 PRIMACY OP ST. PETER IN PAITIT, &C. ^ the See of St. Peter, supposed themselves possessed of a supremacy of jurisdiction, and that their claim was never disputed in tha early Church ; and that Pope Gregory I. is not anMception. He may have used strong words in reference to the attempt at Constantinople to interfere with the prerogatives of the Apostolic See;, but the following was conclu- sive in my mind that he held to these prerogatives. " The care," says he in his expostulation with the Patriarch John, who had used the title « universal bishop," — « the care of the whole Church was committed to Peter, and yet he is not called the universal Apostle.** — Ep. IV. 20. And further in respect to Constantinople : " Who doubts it is subject to the Apostolic See?" And again: "When bishops commit a fault, I know not what bishop is not subject to it" — the See of Eome. And finally, in his instructions to St. Augustine : " We give you no jurisdiction over the Bishops of ^^ But we commit to your care all the bishops of Britain, that the ignorant among them may be instructed, the weak strengthened, and the perverse corrected by your authority." ♦ • Bia. Bede, L L, c 27, Besp. 9, Spelm. Condi, p. 96. 1'' APPLICATION OP FACTS, &C. 215 CHAPTER XIX. - ^ THK APmCA^o^ or THE .^CT8 IN THB TWO ^^o^^^ CHAPTERS TO MY OWN CASE. _ Near the conclusion of the' last chapter was a citation from Pope Boniface I, in the following .^rds : "It is, therefore, certain, that this church '» mT^ the Roman) "is, to the churches spread ^.^er the whole world, as the head is to it! o^ members; from which Church v;hoso has cut him^ 961/ off becomes an alien from the Christian Re- ligion. In making an appUcation of these words, which had seemed to me to.be in keeping with holy Scnpture aa understood by the Fathers of the Church generally, I asked myself how they com- ported with the tone of sentiment and action in the early Anghcan branch? whether there wa. any thing to justify the assertion of Mr. Blackstone oTt ^ V ^^' *^' "*^^ "^'^^^ British CTiurch, by whomsoever planted, was a stranger . ThX?^ '' "^"^ "' "^ ^''"'^'^ ^"- Before the middle of the first century, it ap- peaxed that the Romans had acquired, by force of arms considerable territory in Britain. From the usual policy of the early Christians, and from the feet that the feith of the Christians at Rome was 80 soon "spoken of throughout the whole world." -l. m 216 APPLICATION OP FACTS IN l^WO PKECEDING (Rom. i. 8,) we might, I thouglit, reasonably sup- pose the cross to have entered that country through ■ the breach made hy the sword. Be this as it may, I found that a king of England, if we may trust the venerable Bede, by the Latin name of Lucius, became, about the year 167, a convert to Christi- anity, and was admitted into the Church by appli- s cation to the See of Rome, the words of Bpde are: "In the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 167, Lucius, the King of Britain, sending letters ' to,Eleutherius, who had been Bishop of Rome for fifteen years with yery great credit, humbly peti- tioned and obtained the request to be ma^a • Christian." *--£^tV. V. Bede.. Hence it seemed to me certain that the Bishop of Rome, in 167, wcCs Icnown in Britain, and his authority recognized. Q The next evidence whicli I discovered of inter- course between England and Rome was in the his- tory of the Council of Aries. "On the first day of August, A. D. 314," says Fleury^ "thirty-three bishops assembled at Aries, in Gaul, for the pur- pose of condemning the Donatist schism. Great Britain was represented by the bishops of York • and London, (he should have added Lincoln.) f Pope Sylvester sent two legates, priests, and two deacons." . t After condemning the Donatists, &c., they sent * Anno ab incarnatione Domini 167 Eleutheriua RomiB pnesul factua quln- decim annos ecclesiam gloriosissiiiK nexit cui litteraa Rex Britannio Lueiua mitten^ nt Christianus efliceretur petit et impleavit t See Labbe Omnc i., 1430, corrected by Bede, U., c. 16-18.— OaJ# Jtnton. Itir 96, US. . \ *.i- ^ ■■-U \ •:.jj,,ju-'im.f ./^ -^^'% ■l'. "m- CHAPTEBS TO MY OWl* d> !ASE. the decision to PqpJ vSylvester, logethej with a synodal letter, in w%h\thby say, « Would to God, our dear brother, y^ cduld hav^ assisted at this grand spectacle ; the^ co|deninati^n of the Doila- tist* would hayer1,e6n sfiU more' severe, and our joy greater ; but you could not leave those places where the A^ostUs preside [mais vous ne pouvtez ' quitter ces Ueux ou les apostr^s presedentT, and' wherel their bioo^ continually render* glory to God. And we have judged according to the an^ cunt^age [selon IWien usage], it belongs prin-. cipaUy to ym to notify to the others, since you have the greatest part in the government of the Church [h, plus grande parte dans le gouvemement de leghse] Eccl Hist. 13, X. CA. 14. fes synodal letter is signed >y all the bishops, includ- ing the bishops of York, London, and Lincohi, and hence shows that, instead of ignorance^ of the' ^ishop of,Rome on the part of the British Church, she must have known, through the document «gned by three of her bishops at| feast, that that -tishop had the chief part of tlk government of the Church; and this by no mod^ concession, but accordmg to ancient usage ; npt by any civil or ecclesiastical arrangement, but by that right which spnngs from the possession of the See "where the Apostles preside.** The next discoveraWe intercourse between Eng. iMid and Eome I found was in the great CouncU of Ifice, 825. Among the three hundred and eighte^ J)ishops assembled in this Council, St. ■•■'V V J 4 « 1 ■ * • , i • <. .- •', . - _:..„: V^ --- --'— ~-^-"— • .- Js^I \ T^ ' ■ V " ' I - , :•.■ tr j ll^lj i 1 . . /- fi 218 APPLICATION OP PACTS IN TWO PKECEDINQ Athaaasiiw places, it is thought, the bishops of Brit- ain.— /» Hist. Asia, ad Monach; n. 23, p. 860, T. I Ed. 1698. Be this so or not, it is certain that in the second Council of Alexandria, 363, ^Britain is-named among the countries who had re- ceived the decrees of Nicie.^Lahhe\ T. ii. col 825. Now it is weU known, not only that in the CouncU ^ of Nice itself dii the legates of Kome assert the «upremacy of that See, but also that in the decrees of the Counca such supremacy was distinctly ad- initted. If-fljere can be any questio^ of the mean- ing of the sixth (^Sai^on jfrom the obscurity of its wording, that question is setUed hf the under- rtaading of those who Uyed nearest, the 4ne. Pope Gelasius, in the foUowing century, seemed to me trustwbilJiy authority, where he sa^s, as id- ready <^ted, "For with whkt reason and what con- sistency can other sees be defended, if the ancient and long-wtisti^ reverence be not paid to the See of the most blessed Peter, the Jirst See, by which the dignity bf^U priests has always Men strength- ened md confirmed, and to which, by the invinci- ^ ble and special Judgment of the three hundred and eighteen Fathers, the highest honor was adjudged, as based on the declaration of our Lord, Matt! xyi 18.^ , , .•■ But tf any thing were wanting to this authtority. It appeared to be suppKed by the great Council of Saidica, A. D. 847, whichhas ever been cpnsidered. * Sm alw citttloB ioa i^pe BonulM, CHA;PTERS TO MY OWN CASE. I belieye, by the learned as supplementary to jthat of Nice. In this Council of Sardica, Britaijn, I found, from Athanasius,* was represented ; while its acts emphatically recognized the primacy or supreme prerogatives of the See of Bome. The following may be seen in Canon iy. as proposed by Hsesius : '^K^ any bishop be condemned in any cause, and thinks the cause is good, and that a new^j^ial ought to take place, . . .let us honor the memory of the holy Apostle Peter, and let those who investigated the, cause write to the Bomaii bishop ; and if he judge that a new trud ought to be had, let it be grante^ an4 let him appoint judges. But, if he judge that the cause is such that the proceedings should not be called in question, they shall be confirmed. Is this the will of all ? the Synod answered. It it our toiU.** f This, with other Canons regulating appeals, was forwarded to Pope Julius, in a Synodal letter, in which the Fathers say, '* This will seem to be excellent and most suitable, if the priests of the Lord report to the Aea<{,^ that is, to the See of the Apostle Peter, from pit several provinces." t 'Here, then, the proof seemed to me incontrover- tible, that, in the year 847, the Church in Britain must both have Jmoton and acknowledged the au- thority of the See of St Peter. .. \ * In Apologta Oont Ailaa. n.l, Tool i. part L ed. 1698. t Cone. Sard. can. iv. Tom. L Said. Cone. coL 040. X Hoc enbn optimum et valde congraentiaiimum «w videlitur, al ad cqmt. Id eat, ad Petri Apoatoli aedem, de singulia quibuaque provinciia DoiQini n laut aaM^lotea. —J>. S^. Siml. JSbnt. eoL COM. Tom. i. 1 ■S-fi 'Vf! 220 -'•mcAno»„.p,„,„^„;„^^-^^^^ • fo^rpfl *' ^' '"^'"' »^'*« fifth century, I -atcW of ^e cI^H^'lfn"""'.*" ""^^ Cefetine, in about 42r;' ^^ ""T ""^ ^"P" Britid. Church,, to a.^e,^i?' ".J" T' *° ** "va. lupu,, die B^on ofr ' *' «"™^ "The ^-iTorra^.'r^-f-'H^ Gennanus before* h^ ^. I T ^^V^^^^i and from Gaul ta^ JX ^ ''* ''""S'" "^ ^im . Stlf^^;,:'-^^-^ae.ea:i time, but found very^a^M u '^^ "^""^ iugit* ■ ^ Ittle difficulty in snppress- . Here, again, early in the fiibh century, we find tTteftc.uiOTlto„,T.lw.,i.e.,|i ya I / CHAPTERS TO MY OWN CASE. 221 the Bih£op of the Holy See exercising his authority in Britain, through a vicar, who is received there with open arms, and listened to with all the respect suitable to his high commission: ' No one, there- fore, it seemed to me, could justly affirm that, in the fifth century, the Church in Britain was "a stranger either to the Bishop of Kome or his au- thority." - / ^ , About the middle of this century, it ia^well ,. known that the Romans were compelleji'lto with- draw their arms ; and the Christiaiw%ere driven back into bordering islands or motintain fastnesses before the invading Saxons., Thus cut off from communication with the ^her portions of the Catholic Church, it struck me as reasonable that they would become 1^ in their discipline, and fall a prey, perhaps, to the prevailing heresies — partic- ularly as the heresies seem, after the mission of Gennanus, to have extended themselves in the mountains of Wales. Hence I was not surprised, to find that the British historian, Gildas, writing'' about 556, represented the Christians as having become, in his time, sadly deteriorated bothjm faith and morals. Still he gave tliem credit generally, as I perceived, for orthodoxy in respect to the doctrine of the Trinity, the Incarnation of our j^iord, and future Trewards and punishments; and also stated that, among other Catholic truths and usages, tliey looked upon St. Peter as the Prince of the Apostles, and the soui'ce of all priestly au- thorit;^ in the Chmch. , lu* '' ■• '■ 4 2^ APPMCATION.OF.FACTS IN TWO PBEGEDINO Thus far, therefore, the accumulatiye force of^ fixe testimony i* utterly against the assertion of Mr. hiA^^stone. But there is one more item. OtL looking further into the Epitome of the V. Bede, I discovered the following. record: "In the, yeal: 430, the Scots having believed in Christ, Pal- ladium was sent to them by Pope Coelestine, as their first bishop.*** Here again was an act, which, to my mind, implied at least that, in the year of our Lord 430, the Christians in Britain were under the supervision - of the Holy See, and'^hence must have known and recognized its authority. ■These facts served with» me* a doubte purpose : 1st, to show with what caution we should rebg|^. the statements of the best Protestant authprity^in ^ England, when they relate to the jurisdiction or Primacy of the See of St. Peter ; and, 2dly, to enable m& to see the little value which should be put upon the opposition that Augustine'^met with ftom the Welsh bishops and monks, in his efforts to plant -Christianity among our Saxon^ forefathers. For if these bishops and .monks, as it is pretended, knew nothing of the prerogatives of the Holy See, % ■ J V- •^ * Anno 430, Palladius ad Scotaa in Christum, credentes a CoelesUn. Papa primi^ mittitur Episcopus. — V, Bede, epitome. Though the documents are few, and the proofs somewhat inferential, which show that the Church in Britain acknowledged the supremacy of the Holy See, ■till both seemed to me sufficient, when taken with the unquestionable fact tiiat Britain was in full communion with the Catholic Church, and that this Church, at the period to which we allude, held it necessary for every Church to be in submission to the See of Bt. Peter aa the centre of Divine unity and the Mourcu of Apostulic jiowt'r. — - ■ ^ e-7*- / •3 ^^■-■^ -s. 0B4FTBIIS TO MY oWn CASK. , ' ■ r ■■ ■ A it was clear to my miiia that their want of knowl- edge must have been owi^g to their general igno- rance ; to their having so long been cut off, by the wars of the Saxons, from" all communication with other Christians, as to have lost sight of their real privileges and duty as members of the one4)ody of Christ. But it struck me that perhaps the more natural solution of the difficulty might be found in a mitit^ke on our part as to the real nature of their opposition to Augustine — an opposition growing, not so much out of prejudice to his religious views, as out of dislike to his apparent friendship with their Saxqn oppressors.* Be this as it may^ I ^ ' ' •" . .'■■';. ■■■■•. • A eeitain document, found in Wilkin's and Spel£S|n's Councils, purport- tog to bave been tiie answeir of DInoth to Augustine, is pleaded, as indicating, ' on the part of tbe Churcli of tlie Britons, an ignorance of the Jurisdiction of Borne. In answer let It be observed, that this document (1) bean intrinsic marks of tpuHousneu. It professes to have been written Boon afto^ the Saxon / tovasion, and by a people who detested the Saxon race, and jS it contains tw/ Satiw Kordt, kapio and eletmio, which, under the circumstances, is hardly con • irfstent with its genuineness. (9) It speaks of the ArcJ-episcopal Bee as flJit being at Kaerlm on Utke, when by reference to the Jtnti^iifties tf (A« CkurdTttf Britam, by Archbishop Usher, chap. v. p. 64-65, 1 found that this See ha/ ac. tually been transferred, Aftf years before the time of Augustine, to Ma or tile present St DaVid's. ^esides^ tiie document I found was not only not mentioned by ^the V. Bede, but seemed to me not reconcilable witii the account which he gives/Book ii., Ol 8, of Uie interview between St. Augustine and the Welsh Bis^ps. And finally, tiie matter of tiie document could not, except on tiie grouAd of great ignonne* or adp^h blindness, be reconciled wj|h what I kneW, from tiie above testimonies, to be botii tiie knowledge and atUmission of tii/early British Church to tiie Se^of Rome. ' / I cannot dismiss tliis point wiUiout remarking upon the strange inconsisten- cy of Protestant writers, as it seamed to me, in respect to What they call tiia introduction of Popery into England. When tiiey are seekin/testimony against tiio Supremacy of tiie Holy See, they cite Gregory the Gr^it as rgeetingauu tuprtmaey, on Uio ground of its being ajiii-Cliristian, &c/ But when they aro endeavoring to account for ite introduction into Esglahd, Uiey ascribe It, I found, t<. Uie assumption of jurisdiction over England hy tiiis very Pope Gr^- ory, through his missioniuy, Augustiiio. '^ .i't ":v 1 %/ 224 APPLICATION OP PACTS IN TWO PRECEDING could not shut from my mind the truth, made so clear by the documents above cited, that the Church in England did not, during .that early period of the faith, form»^/x9eptlon to the uni- -.Xersal recognition of the primacy of St. Peteri And, besides, after an attentive examination of the . various outbreaks in England, under ' tlie domina- tion of the Catholic rule, before the Reformation, I could see no evidence that, at any tune, the Church was dissatisfied with the existing religion ; but only that the secular power, becoming jedous of the in- fluence of the Church, acting in her GathoUc, -rather than in a national, Capacity, endeavored, by statutes of prammire, and at times "by violent per- ■ ■ . V ■ . ' , In my remarks above on tlie spurious document, I submitted what I said in regard to the two words, helpio and eUimo, to an eminent Welsh scholar, who at first concurred, but subsequently sent me the following correction : — "In the supposed document of Dinolh, it was a mistalie to call • claimio,' w 'deimio,' (as it is written,) a Saxtn word, aa it is obviously from the Latin •clamo.' " ^ " But this fact renders the document still mora auspicious, aa far as Pliilol- ogy is ooncemed. « ' Claimio • could not be derived from the early intercouiBe of the Britona with their Roman conquerors, , S ' " (1) Because the tetue of the word is not its classical sense, but a significa- tion which it obtained in later jurisprudence, and is current in theM>rman law language. " Because it is' a form contrary to the genius of the Welsh language ; and, ra fact, there exists in Welsh the identical Word Oama^, wiUi its proper signifi- cation, and in the form which the Britons gave to similar derivatives:' they changed tti^ initial rf into their «, or aspirated '/. ''' ^' ■,*>"' '^'* -* * * •'■•■■■•* -• / "It Aerais, therefore, to me clear that the worjl ' claimio,' in the sense and In the form' in which it appears in the supposed answer of Dinoth, waa de- ' nved from our English language after the Normans had, especially in the Courts of I^w, given us so many Gillicanizod Latin worda. The document, Ihorofote, is later tliaa tho time in wliicli such Norman wordsHiad (1) become :::^urreut in Kngland, itud (ii) cuwi^iunicaled, tu our Welsh uoighbora." r \ 'V -:■ ' ^: ^1^ > 4f ■'•.'■ oaAjnmtE to my^owi? case. 220 secution, to sepsHrate her from the centre of Ca^o- . lie unity. But never till the reign of Henry ^VIII. did it seem to me to have succeeded in effectually sunderiiig the tie which bound her to' that source of divine authority and to that standard of infal- lible truth. ' ^^^?^' *^® "^®^® mcontrovertifele^videncp, there- fore, I was brought to this conyiction/ that that^ di^e, visible, and ever-hving-Aeadship of the « One, holy. Catholic, and apostolic Church," mili- tant, which, from the very nature, constitT||iori, and* office of that Church seemed. to me so riecessary, was actually provided by our Lord in the appoint- ^naaoi^of^ P^to that headship, — St. Matt, xvi. 18 J St. John'^xxi. 15-17, — as understood and .* acted upon in her submission^^o the See of St. Peter at Roine, by "the one, holy. Catholic, and ap<^tolic Church,** to the present day ; and that, to We vital evangelical union with Christ, cer- tainly in the faithfuhiess of charity and good hope of salvation, it is by God's institution made essen- tial that each and every ihember-'of Christ's body be in viable and re^ fellowship with that See. And hence that no one, not maintaining such fel- ^ lows^, can have authority to exercise the office, ^^OT^^ bishop, priest, or deacon, in the Church " of God: And, therefore, the inevitable conclusion that the act of Henry VIII., perpetuated by Eliza- beth and her Parliament, and shared in by the . Protestant Episcopal Chuxch of the United States, . was an act of fetal schism — a,anuUing all authority ^ \ ^■■■Tf=^-"" "■ ■ ,? -*■■ -■• \ % o" 1 » >• - ^ ., J o ». 5 ,, h , % 4f^ • 1' ■ ' f , * «t ^ H- 226 /application of facts in two preceding Xa exercise the priestly functions in God's Church, . and endangering the salvation of the souls em- braced within its scope.*. To this point, then, dear brethren and friends, after long and painful examination, after laboring and suflfering uni^r the misgivings of conscience for years, after various and humiliating fendeavors to reconcile that conscience to my distrJisted Protes- tant position, have I come at length through the marvellous grace of God. In the progress of my mind to its present happy state, it has passed ■ ■■: i- '■-:.: ■ ■ ■ . > . • . i. .* / * The object'of my work did not lead me necessarily to speak of the poai tion of the present Greek Church. It will he perceived, however, that a large part of the Fathers which I have cited to bear "witness to the Supremacy of the See of St. Peter belonged to the early "Greek Church, and hence go to convict the modem Greek Church of schism in her present melancholy separation from Rome. But the recent pub. lication of the work of Cardinal Maius, aUeady alluded to, has enabled me to adduce another later, and, if possiUe, more important, Greek authority. It is , that of St. JVYupApnw, Patriarch of Constantinople. He is writing on the Seo- ' ond Qnmea mf Alee, and gives the folIowin|K-testimony : " Indeed, this synod is of the very highest authority, and capable of givmg the foith in all its ful-* ness; because it is aametaeal, and wholly unfettered in its action, and above the reach of calumny and reproach, and tinged with no spurious doctrine, and' In all respects perfect. For it was not only (spnducted equitably, but in the highest sense and degree according to law. Fo^, as required by the divine de- ' crees anciently set forth, the chief part of the authority which swayed and pr»l Bided over its councils, proceeded from that Western Headship (of the Church^, ' atuMnii Rome. Without which no dogma, that had been discussed in the Church or had the sanction of Hierarchical usage, can ever be considered proved or binding in practice j because tliis sacerdotal Jurisdiction stands pi*. eminent, both by original constitution and by the elevation or dignity it has i acquired from two chief Apostles." •— & JVU^ PoMarek. Con^ Torn. v. p. J14. Ed. Curd. JUaio. i~- >^ * Etenin} celebrata fiiit nquissime et in primis legitime: nam secundum edita antiquitua DIVina decreta pMemineiot in ea pnniidebat que ex oeeidentatt fagtigio, id est, ez vetere Roma, pars non modica : sine quib^s (Romania) ullum dogma, quod in ecclesia ventilatum decretis canonicis et sacerdouii consuetn- dino Gilt antea ratum ; nunquam tainen probntum habebltur, neque ip prazim deducetur ; quia illi sacerdotii princi|)atum sortitli sunt, eamque dignitatem • duobus coryphtcia Apustolis traditom habent ' r - '*' . i CHAPTERS TO MY OWN CASE. 22r w- through the following stages of manifest truth : 1. I. have seen, with a clearness which I cannot weU express, that " the friendship of the world is at enmity with God." That " we cannot serve two masters " — cannot secure the favor of two utterly and mutuaUy opposed worlds. 2. That every dic- tate of reason echoes the voice of God — « what can it profit a, man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" 3. That, to save the soul, self-wiU must 1)0 renounced, and God's wiU be submissively., followed. 4. That tHe tacts that God has re- ' vealed His will— that he commands us to know His wiU — that he promises to <' lead us to all - truth *' in respect to it^aU concur with the yeam- *^ ings of our hearts to justify the expectation of . - certainty in faith. 5. That, to secure such cer- tainty, Christ leads us out of ourselves and away from every mere human aid, ^d 4vites us to " take His yoke and learn of Ifm ; » to lo(i, through His commissioied priesthood, to Himself, as our ever-Uving, ever-present, ever-unfaUmg teacher and guide. 6: That, whUe professedly having a ^^ part in that priesthood, and so appearing as Christ's ' representative in teaching His infaUible will, I felt in r^y conscirace wholly unable to tell with cer- fo;«k, and -in many vital particulars, what that' IS. 7. That, when I turned for relief to my . bretl^en associated with me in the Episcopate, (and l^ere let me affectionately and earnestly appeal to them for the truth of my convictions,). I found that the uncertainty had increased abnost in a ,.< ' .- c I- . APPLICATION OP PACTS IN TWO PRECEDING / direct ratio with the increase of numbers, tili con- ';fu8ion, and discord, and mttual strife were the only answers that met the anxious sinner as he came to inquire, « What must I do to be saved ? " 8. That such a state of things sovunfiiendly to truth— so utterly repugnafnt to the declared pur- poses of Christ's priestiiood ~ so absolutely submis- siye of the unity and Cathohcity of His Church — so derogatory to His honor, and so fatal to His promise, could not possibly proceed from His own mstitution. And hence, 9. That the cause of this doubt and misery, attendant upon the workmg of the Anglican Communion and her American daugh- ter, must be sought in that fatal act which separated her from a divinely constituted spiritual Head, the representative of Chrfst, and placed her professedly under the supreme guidance of a temporal sover- eign, but, m reality, under the direction of each individual judgment. 10. And finally, that that Church, which is the body of Christ, and wMch, as such, we are all commanded by him to f hear " is manifestly that "one Catholic andapostoUc Chinch" which, at first founded by 'Him on the "rock," St. Peter, has ever since enjoyed His own presence, as the centre of unity and source of apostolic power m the See of that prince of the apostles. And that this Church, made manifest by her divine foundation and her no less divine preservation, yea, by her obvious principle of divine hfe and cohesion and assimilation,* rewards every sincere CHAPTEKS T^ MY OWN CASE. '^^'k ^9 1- le » effort to investigate her claims V n0w proofs of her divinity —by making it more clear, the more ^ closely her history is examined, tha(^ she has always^jyerfwhere, and by all her sons, held and taught the "one faith, once for all delivered tp the saints." That what has been charged upon h^r as an addition to that feith is resolvable eitherlnto necessary and k^rful changes in her discipline and ceremonial, into the unauthorized extravagances of overwrought individual minds, or the miscon- ceptions, exaggerations, and misstatements ,o| in- terested opponents. That, in short, the Fathers of the first five centuries taught as distinctly, though not as formally as did the Fathers of the Council of Trent, the variaus dogmas set forth by that Council as neces^y to the faith and prac- tice of the Christian man. And hence, that the Gospel standard of faith/and the Gospel rule of obedience, are to ^ found only within her pale j particularly as she%onp professes to have, through the presence of Chris.t, that infaUihility which is essential to such a standard, and in her members that childhke submission without which such a rule would be useless — « Except ye be converted, arid become as lime children, ye cannot enter into the ki%dbin o("fi)eaven." Furthermore, dear brethren and friends, I came to these convictions, as I have written this letter, under the operations of my own mind.* The cu-- • Here I f«el it to be ray duty, from tbe circumslancee in whicH I am placed to declare distiiicUy and poritively tbat eacii and eveiy pan of tU. bttw wa^ 20 :ife>' < 280 APPLICATION OP rilcTS IN TWO PREC|a)IIia cumstances in/ which I had just been placed by jthe difficulties iii my diocese forced me to keep my troubles of Wd much' to myself. Often my op- pressed spirit yearned for some confidential ear into ■which to W out its griefs; but, warned by sad experience I hesitated to trust a distinct knowl- edge ofythese griefs beyond my own breast. "^ The Ikst ^ear and a half of my episcopate was, I can ^uly say, the most trying, the Inost pain- ful, peHod of my life ; although one of apparent qmetiiess, official success, a^d restored confidence. ^ A^ef the immediate eflfects of my conventicm in the /spring of 1851 (which, as you wiU remem- « ben resulted in a reconciUation between myself and th^ disaffected part of my diocese) had- passed off, a^d my mind, long pressed down by a weight of ; ^brfr trial, had time to react, it came up at once, M to my own surprise, to its fprmer level of /Cathie bdief : indeed, it was like wakjng from a pleasant dreamy a frightful reality. I had actually flattered myself into the beUef that my - doubts had left me, and that I could henceforward act with a quiet conscience on Protestant ground. But, o» recovering from the stupefaction of over- much sorrow, I found myself fearfuUy deceived ; found that what I had taken for permanent reUef pf mind was only the momentary, insensibility of writte,, eieept whew I have given cfedit, without the dictation, Buggestlon, or ' help of any one but God ; «,d that the toolc I consulted in writ ngtr^ew ho ^"k^ h«i read while a P,^e,«u.t, except .n the u..tanc«, of^ZJ^^ OirA Mmui-KBook l: >? kf .V. CHAPTERS TO MY OWN CASE. 2Zl x opiates or exhaustion. JVTien I came again to my- self, however, I was visited with reflections whicK no man need envy. The concessions I had made, in: good faith at the^time, for the peace of the Church, and, as- 1 had 'falsely supposed, for my own peace, tose up before me as so many concessions, and cowardly ones too, to the god of this world. So that I can say with the deepest truth that the * friendliness which greeted me on my subsequent" ' , visitation through my diocese was most unwelcomti^i^^ to my heart. Every kind word of those who • had . 1 spoken agaitot -the truth seemed a rebuke to me, pyeij warm shake of the hand to fall like ice upon my soul. I felt thai; I had shrunk publicly from the consequence^ of] that truth which God had taught me — felt th^t I had denied that blessed faster who. had graciously reVealed Himself to me. - But blessed be His name for that grace which moved me to "weep bitterly." I^ei«ecution for Christ's' sake would then have been bahn to my wounded^ conscience. And nothing, I think, but the precarious state of one whom I had vowed to " keep in sickness as well as health " prevented an curlier avowal of mjr disquietude and an earlier abandonment of my diocese. ^ i^ For all this suffering, however, God forbid that ^I should blaine any one but myself. Others may • ' have acted according to their conscientious convic- ; tions ; I resisted mine, and on grounds that would not bear the test of cabn reflection, and how much \ ,5 - .■ ^4=r- 2$2 APPLICATION OP PACIB IN*>TWO PEECEDINQ less the searching ligHt of Eternity! I ought to have known myself better ; ought to have Imo^ the- way of God*s grace and truth better. Per-^ haps, however, ^ and here I try to comfort myself, * — theremaybeinall-thisatoken of Divine mercy; for it may have prepared me to bear the moj»- . patiently the heavy cross which was to be laid upon nie, to drink the more readUy of that-bitter chalice - which was put into my hand. For Lean now say, with a depth of tnith which no one but a CathoKc can understand, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom, theh, shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of life ; of whom, then, shaU I be - af|^d?" And further, 1 can now suffer, as a . Catholic alone can comprehenH, and count ft all .^ joy* ^ it only. be for Christ and heaven. And now, dear brethren, I have Only io add$ take warning by^ mj jufierings j take Courage -by my tlessingtltaie example fi^om Hi^ «who en- dured the cross, despising: the slime, and ia set down at the right hand of God." The scenes of "earth wiU soon be past, and we shdl then feel the true force of our Lord's words, «,He that forsaketh not all that.lie hath cannot bq my disciple." , I have loved you well j I have labored for ybu earnestly; and now I feel,it to be a pnvUege, too ' great for human toi^gue to express, to be aWe each day to plead in your behalf the sacrifice of a pres- ent God and Savior; yea, to plead that He may ere long, throiigh the riches of His own mercV and ^ 1 ' ' * %- ■ ■ • ■ » ■. ■ May •: :' ■»♦ ■ .. *■ V **■■■# ■■■-■,•: . .;•■ ^ CHAFTEBS TO MT OtVN CASE* ^sa the. power of lEs condescending love,- m^e you partakers of the new and'^unutterable joy which I *no^ feel, when "I declare before God that " I be- lieve one' Catholic and" drosTOUc Church." Faithfully and affectionately, _ Your Friend and Servant, ^ L. SimMAN IVES. ' ■■■■■'■■ .-'20*'"^ • "•■- ••■' V ■ ■■ \ . 1 f ^ ' -^ i i . ■: . ' .:. ."■■' " . ■ .. . . ■■■■■ ;:■ ; ■. ;. - ■.-. ^n^n*^^*^ ■ ' :.'.\ ■ ■ ■■ . ■■..-.-.-.-■ . "" . . " ' ' * ' . • \ .\ ' ■ '■ -t ■■ ■■;_"■" "X ■ ■ ' .;■■-■■ ^-.. ,. . ■;.'.■■ __ , 'V. ;■■ , LA- -■-■■-•- ■■ . • ., • ■*■■ ■-•*-';' t '■ " ,, ■ ■ ■ '' • ■ ■, , ■ ly- V ..v? ■ ■•'-,' .' ,, . . ■ ■ . ' -':: -i- *■■■■'•/ 'r - - ; ■ .» ■ - •- - ■ " " -i <,:- -• . . - ■ - ■- ■ . . - ^ \ ■:^\*- • ■■■ ■■ :■ ■"■■^ •- • -'■-^ ..:■ -. :■ \ %-T. . , -* ' ■ t ■ ' ' "'^'W'^ . - ^ ...^. "">, v;: : ■ " •^■■" ; ■• / '>''tj; ' - " -■■ ^ ' - ' / : ■'-•: ^^ . ■■•■ ■- . ., ".-'■--■'^■'t^V'- - ' ■■■ '■ ■ ^\\""' ■ ■ ■-. - -■ „ / ■ .>■■'- ■,;•■/-:> ' " ' ' "'^XV', • . / f. ' ' .■'■■■'" '* ■", * ^' ■,'■ "^"r ■'- ■* ■■■■/■ % .■••■' •-- • • ' : -\i. " : 4 ^ . y \ ■ ■. . ; ■ .■- ■■■■:• '. , •:s;;r .-• - •-■ ^%.. VV- ■ ■ ■■ ■ / ..; >- ' .V. :■;! •^•' "■- " : ^, . ■ • \- ":.":■'-:":-"'■ \''v- •■;• -'V . ' • ^^_^^^^_^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ j^HBB ■■j^MV^ • .'P\ / :; .^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 1 "^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 ^^^^^^^^^^^T '- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^L. ■ ^^m -' ■ ^^ '■-'■•'■ ■. V^^^'^'-' ■ r '■ - -■ " " ip! ' \ ^ ■ - / - ■ . ^^^^^^^^^^^^^L ^^^^^^^^^1 w » ■ ■ ' - V . ■ , ^>"'-:"> -'-^.-^^^^ ^^M r^ --^7 . .....':' ^^^^^^^^^. ;'.:.> ^.. ' .-......;, ^^^^^^^Vt / - . . .-.■...■ ^^^^^^^^^■k ^^^^^^^^^^w - """^ * ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^k ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ " ' * ^^^^^^^^. ' ' ' ' ^^^^^^^^ « *.. ' ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^r ■' "' '. ^^^^^^' .-y^^^^^^-^-"'-'- . "1 :'¥^^^^^L" '^ ^^^^^^ - ■ ; "■ ■■ ** • \' ■ ' 1^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^' - ^ '.".'.' . '-^^^^^^^^^^r ' " ■ ' '' " , ■ • ■ . - ■-'>'■- ■■*'.'■ ■ .■ ■ ' '• M . - . ■ p - .'■-■.■-*. . * ■ . " ■ , .1 1 '~ ■ < ^. ■ ■ ■ . - - . . ■ » ■ ■ •_ ;__ .. . , ■ *'■■-. » ■ ■■,.!. :. ■ ■ •■ / . .. '■■'-... ' ■■ . . — — f . _ ■ y ,^ — : — ■ ^ .'" ,, ^ . .4*^ „ * ,. • ■ - . "■,■>■ :.^i/. . " " * ■ ■ ■■ : . ,-, '