rr le U] Stages of Qiiaailf in tDflani LECTURE DELIVERED BY AT THE REQUEST OF THE CIIARLOTTETOWN CONFERENCE OF ST. VINCENT De PAUL SOCIETY. IN AID OP THE POOR. IN THE MARKET HALL, ON WEDNESDAY EVilNING, FEB., 25th, 1880, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentle- men : The subject which I have chosen for my Lecturo, is one of importance and goneral inlorost to every intelligent citizen. It i'j, "Eu-ly Stages of Chris- tianiiy in England." As Chrislains and ijubJQcts of the great British Em- pire, we must over take a peculiar pleasure in tracing the introduelion. and subsequent vicissitudes, of the Cliristian Keligion among the hardy Briions and their Sa.Kon conquerors. Great minds look back to the past, as well as forward to the future. Authen- tic ilisLory teaches many wholesome lessons, and dissipates many long- standing prejudices; it also servos to save us from that puerile insanity, so common among shallow writers of our day, viz , that we, our age and goner, alion, sum up, embody and expi-ess all greatness and knowledge. The man who lives only in the present is like the blind worm, in the kernel of a nul, unconscious of the glorious light with- out. Only an ignorance of the History of Chr stianiiy in Eng and could give birth to those controversialists, who fill the world with empty 6ound, and create an imaginary Church attor their own hoart. 59861 History has its lessons, bat we must read them aright. "VVe must not jump at conclusions; we must carefully feel our way to them. We are not to distort facts in order to make them conlorm to our wishes ; wo are not to accepi.idle tales, and vague conjectures, for facts, simply because they fall in with our preconceived ideas. To arrive at historic truth, we must examine the foundations of traditionary deeds ; we must compare and collate authorities ; we must impartially sift the various testimonies adduced. Wo must strive to view the panorama of events with an observant eye, and with a mind anxious only to learn the truth. If some long-hugged delusion has to be renounced, because facts are againsi it — give it up without a sigh, for, if it be only a delusion, it is not worth pos- sessing; if some cherished idol falls from ila lofty pedestal, withered by the light of truth, rejoice in its down* full, since it is only a false deitj. In a word, frcily give up the false, and eagerly embrace the true. It is only by doing this that wo vindicate our reason, or can hope to profit by the study of History. In preparing this Lacture, many authorities have been oonsalted, and that whioh is oerUin has been eepai^ 2 ated from the duubtful. Only that which can stand the te^^t of a cii^'cal scholar is affirmed. The sneering of a Gibbon, or Ihe brilliant roniancinjLj of aFroudein the pathways of History, Divine Saviour had been born, had pr» ached, had died, bad risen from the dead and ascended into heaven. He had founded his Spiritual Kingdom, the Church, which was to last lo the are alilje foreiijn to our purpose. We are' end of time, and ogitinst which the afraid of no 8cienlific,or historic truth ; power of hell was never lo prevail we gladly embrace each and every truth in any, and every department of human knowledge, with a Hrm con viction Ihat no one truth can contra- dict another, and no amount of them can be inimical to our best interests. He had given all power lo Si. Peter, Prince ot the Apo.xtles, and had founded on him, as on a firm rock. His Holy Church. (Malt, xvi, 18.) The com- mand of preaching " the Gospel lo every creature," had been imposed But we do not accept fanciful theories, upon the Apostles, and they were busy or illogical conclusions for proved following it out. ! It is contended by some that St. For the sake of perspicuity we shall I p^tor visited England ; by others that divide this discourse into two parts: yt, Paui pleached there. There is no the first will treat, of the progress of j,ood hisloric foundation for either sen- Chnatiauity in England uniil the i^nce. In the case of St. Paul we may firmi conversion of its inhabitants; the Limost conclude with certainty that ho second will consider the relation ot the ., pg^er visited Britain. All his wander- Brilish Church to tne rest of Chris- ' jngg m-e minutely recorded; the tianity, and particularly to Eome. i various points ot landing are laid down; Tha early Britons were a branch of ' ''»^ he ever visited English soil the the great Celtic family which colonized f^ct wouhl be clearly mentioned in the western Europe. It is not. to our pur- ■ Acts of the Apostles, or in some of his pose to trace their descent. Pagan '^pi^^'os. It is known that St. Peter poett were ambitious of having some i was absent from Uomo for some yours, god, ur the earth itself, as the progeni'^"cl as he, in all probability, founded tor of their race; modern writers gen- Ctiuiohos in Gaul, he may possibly erally claim a remote ancestry for tlieirj'»"ve crossed the channel. But we countrymen. Hence fanciful English- have no historic certainty of this, men bring to their shores one of the; Tiero were Christians, however, in survivors of the fl )od. Julius Crosaris. England during the life of the Apostles. the first writer who gives us any'^^^'Jni t,hc domestic history of the accurate knowledge of Britain. He ^^"'ch of Home we learn tfiat Pudens, made a descent on the Island A. C, 55, ; a senator, entertained the Apostles, but although partly successful, he soon ! aod that his palace became a Church. retired into Gaul. In the following J tii=* wife Claudia was a British lady, spring another landing was effected by! "oJ undoubtedly a Christain. Pom- the Horaan armv, but the victories of ?'>»» Grsecina, the wife of the pro- CfiBsar did not make him master of <^'J"Cul Plantius, would seem from Briton. It V7as not until the time of the Emperor Claudius, A. D , 52, that the potvor of Kome was established solidly in England. Caraciacus thu brave King who for years had held tht- Koman legions at buy, was taken pris oner, and was led a captive to Home. Claudius is said (Tacitus Vit. Agrc, cxiv^ to have given him several cities over which bis descendants ruled. In the interval, between the firs' invasion of England and the success o' Claadias, the most important event o Ukb woiid'ttiuttiGXjr hm tf aaspired ; oar Tacitus (Ann. xiii, 32,) to have been, likewise, a Curistiari. These, and others who passed from Home to E ig- land, would doubtless Help to spread the true Faith. Owing to the political relations be- tween Kjmo and the rest of the then Icnown world, Uhristian truth could easily bo propagated from thai great centre. Hence we see the wonderful Providence of God in directing the .'iieps ot St. Peter to Kome, and causing fiim to fix his See in that iriiternai tJity. VVat.Uoat doubt, soma wUoooavdraeU ia Rome wilh St. Poter, peiliaps Pmlens, or his vviTo Claudia, may l)»ive helped to introduce the light of Chrislianity into FJngliind, and henco the tiMdiiion that it came Trom St. Peter. Wo will not, however, dwell on conjectures. Tertiillian, wlio wrote before the close of the second century, attests (A.dv. Juu. VII.) that " places in Biiiian, iri accessible to the Romans, were subj *ct- ed to Cliri-tt." Therefore Chris iunity had passed the lino of forts set. up by As^ricola between the Firth of Forth and the Clyde, and had made converts amongst the warlike Caledunians. From the forogoini* we are sure that the Christian Rjli^ion was early in» troduced into E iglund, and that it soon extended its conquests. But wo have now an important fact, proved from three distinct sour;3os, it is: that Lucius, a king in Britian, and a near descendant of Caructacus, upon whom, as wo saw, Claudins boatuvved some cities, sent to Pop) Eleutherius, about the year 161, begging to '• be made a Christian by his command." The venerable Bede, the great Anglo Saxon historian (Hist. l.C. 4, and Chron. 173) thrice mentions this fact; it is, aluo, attested by Nennius, and confirmed by the Roman Acts ot Pope Eleutheriu-i, Of its truth there can be no reasonable doubt. It can bo gleaned t:om this that there were Christians at thai period in England, from whom Lucius, who is called, in his own Ungjage, Lrtver Maur, or great light, had heard of Christianity, and of its acknowledg- ed head on earth — the Pope. In fact, the narrative goes on to say that he Bent Fagan iind Dervan to Rome to be better instructed in the Relii'-'ia, and that they wore ordained by Pope El.;utherius; and on their re'turn to Bi'iiian established churches aftor the manner of those on the Continent. From this authenticated stuteraont wo can safely concliido that thero had boon previously persons professing ttie Clirislian Roligion In England, but no regular torm of church govarnuient; and that the Roman Poiuitt',-! here, as elauwhere, ostabi'filied a hierarchy in coiumuruon v^iih ihom^elvos. It wa> woine few years afier this TerLullian ooulU boaat that tbo i^aitk had p«io- tratod further into Britain than the Roman arms. We have no authentic documents to throw light on the proceedings of the Ilierachy thus founded by Kleuthoriu3. Fi'om the words of Tertulliiin we can gather that they wore not idle, and that the work of conversion went stoiidily on. Moreover, in incidental allusions to the Church of Britinn by i writers in the third century, it is ' named with those of Guul and Spain, 'thereby showing that, like them, it 'was firmly established, and had a 1 regular form of government. That it * must have been no is conclusively proved from the fact that in 314 three I English bishops, Eborius of York, Restitutus of London, and Adelphus ' of Lincoln, attended a Cv)uncil held at j Aries. We have this on the authority !of Eusebius (V. 23) Socrates (V. 21), and L'lbbei, in his collections of the Councils (I. 14 }0). Ctiristianity was thus in a fl>urishing condition in the beginning of the fourth century. During the first three centuries fierce porsecutiong raged, at various times, against the Church throughout the Roman Empire. In Britain, hoW'^ ever, the Chi istians, either through the ! good will of Prefects, or on account of the unsettled state of the country harassed by the unsubdued tribes, escaped unmolested until the reign of Dijclesian and Maximian. Those tyrants ordered a general persecution ; Churches were to be destroyed ; death was the penally of refusal to adore false gods. Constantiu.H, father of the great Constantine, was Cfflsar and chief ruler in Britain. Ho was a mild prince and opposed to persecution. Easobius, the historian (V. Cons. I. 16) and SozMtienus (t. 6), relate .in action of his well worthy of our admiration. Ho made known to tho Christiana around his palace the orders of tho Emporors, and pointed out that they must abjure Christi or resign their positions. TIjo few who preferred apostacy to loss of worldly goods, he scornfully (iismissod, avowing that he j would never trust men who were false to their God, Who can say that this may not have oblaiuod for hfm tho I glory of being tho father of the, first [Olu'bliaa Him^'or? iiolWiUwUuuiiog this mildness on the part of Constan tius, a violent persecution broke out, brought about by lessor officials. Wo are told that churches were over- thrown, that many suffered for the Faith, and others fled to the mountains. Bede relates the death of St. Alhati, protomartyr of England. His blood, in 304, sanctiCed the soil of his country', and his glory still hovers around the land he loved : let us hope that his pravers may win back his people to the Faith for which he died, (aildas, a British writer of the sixth century, gives many interesting particulars ot that time of trial (VII., VIII.). The porsecution wi fierce, but it did not fast long; Dioclesian and Maximian resigned; and under Constantius and Galerius, Gildas states, the Briton.s enjoyed freedom to servo the living God. It was a few years after the.se events that the throe bishops, mention- ed above, attended the Council ol Aries. Hence we find that the short- lived persecution bad no lasting in. jurious effects on the fortunes ol Christianity ; the blood of martj'rs is ever the fruitful seed of Christians. Then, as now, our Holy Church triumphed over her enemies, and con quered by her constancy in suffering. It is worthy of note that monasticism in Britain, as elsewhere, earl}' took root. Whilst Christians knew that raarnage was a holy state, they like- wise inew that celibacy was a holier. On account of its difficulty it had not been imposed by Christ, it had only been counselled. The lesson of St. Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor. ch. vii) had Bunk into the hearts of many. They pondered the words (v. 34) "and the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord. that she may be holy both in body ami spirit} butstie that is married thinketh on the things of the word, how she may please her husband." And then they looked at the Apostles' wish (v 7) •*for I would that all men were even as myself." Hence, from the begin- ning, chosen soul^, taking St. John, St. Paul and our Immaculate Mother for their models, were led on to tread the lofty heights of perpetual virgin- ity. They were those souls who, under «a iiapuiao of cUvijio graoe, loagod to be one of that band mon ioned in tl|Q ' Apocalypse (ch. xiv, 3 4) who sing i " heaven a camiclo none othoi* can sin:*'" to be one of thf)so " who wore not d-iS^ lilod with women ; for tlioy are virgins^© Those follow the Limb whithersoovc*^^' Ho gooth." Such souls as lhe-*e fiiv^w^^ began the monastic oi-ders. Tha'f'^ the.se or.iers existed in Britain befoi^'^^l' t'.ieend of the lourth century is ceriaiiJO' for about the ye.ir 4()G a nortain Ci)ii.if> tans, who afterwards bncamj Cae^ai^*' is said to have boon a M)nk at Win(^^^ Chester; and Polagius was covtainly M lay monk during that period. Tmi th we find Bish'^ps, Priests, Monks an;"' Nuns in England whilst it was ye C; subject to tlio Komin Kmporors. Tiii i^"* IS an important reflection for Engli.sli- ft men tOr-da}'. We cannot, in a short lecture, follow ; step by Step tho march of Ciiristianity f in Britain. Wo finii it; now firmly established, with itssaintsand martyr.^. ^ its Bishops attending Councils, whoso decrees were sent to Korao for ap proval ; and its monks and nuns livinj; a life of celibacy. Wo find it, as we find tho Church in Italy' or Fi-anco today, — and this before tho end of th > fourth century. When the power of tho Roman Em pire began to wane p)liLical compli- cations arose in England. We shall take no other note of them than to say that Honorius, ab)ut tho year 411, seems to have admitted his inability t" pt'Oteot them, and to have t')ld then) ti provide for them-elvos. The past in- cur.-?ions of the Piols and Scots, an I the subsequent internal disorders, wer^- noi, it may bo presumed, conducive ii tho best interests of lieligion. Polagius the autiior of the Ht-re-sy known a^ Pelagianism, wa'i a Briton; his discipio Agricola, endeavored to spread tin; error in England. TheBritisii Bishop-) appealed lor help to those of France, l^rosper in his chronicles [Ad Annum 429] tells us that Pope "Ooalesllnu sent. Gorraanus, Bishop of Auxrre, in his place, so that the heretics tioiny- overcome he might guide tho Britons according to tho Catholic Faith." '•This is confirmed by Bddo, and by tho writer of tho lite of Gormaiuj,s [Constan. Vit. S. Germ, 28] Tho liisbup of Auxerre, us papal dolegate, die". t, t\vio5 lo En_i(liin'l, in 429 and 4-i<) ; jn tlio fiist occasion |)o wus accotn ill am (I by Lupn.s ol'Troycs, uii'i on the (l.iSL by Siiverus of Trevo.s. Wo lims iii^j© how intiniiit.o was tlio union b» v,;Ween the G illie. und lirilisli Cimrch, rsO.,Manism, and whilst ," he strijvo to Iceop the R)m:in Island Catholic, from bein<^ barb;U'()Us hi- , made it Christian." VVo have c>;tat)i . a short treatise "De Vita C irisliana," or a uhrisiian life, by Fastidius, a British Bishoi>, vvho lived about, this r»(M'iod. It is published in Miijno'.^ poUection ; althona-ii it seems i^ifocted with the error of Pelu^ius, ii kIii)ws fair scholarship. Bui, accordioi; to contemporary wrilcrs, Polaj^ianisin was suppressed in England by tlu; exertions of tl.o ])apal delei^'at.j Si. (rermanus, Bishop of Au.Kerro. Tais was early in tiio lifih century. A druary pcrioii now succeeds iov the Briti-li C'uirch and the Britisii tKdion. Sixons uro invited over by Vorli:^ern to assist him in maintaining- poace within his bordei-s. llLslory has related how, after a lime, moreS;iXons came over, and beifiiii to occup/ the couniry lor tlioinselves. The mighty Roman Eaipire was totleiinii; to its j fall; hordes of Norihorn b.irbarians swept over tie face of Europe. Old customs and institutions were over- tlirown; tlie cividzitioii of ages went dovvn before the tiava^^e barbarism ol Frank, and Hun, and (xolh, arid .Saxon. England did not escape. Kxpudiii)n after expedition landdi on her slioros ; the Britons were driven fri)m their possessions, and forced to seek safety in Wales, and tlio North of Eny-land Murder and pillage lided the land; those of liio Britons wlio escaped slaughter, wore now either slaves in their former holdings, oi' lurking in the mountain defiles, or sti'Uggling to live on the inhospitab e Welsh Uills. The Saxons weie pagans; liertoj Churches wore dddlruyadj tiii^ puttLurs blain, ur in exile; the flocks scattered forever. A few serls still professed the Cliristian l'\uih, but the Bidtish CiiUrcd), as a Church, ceased to exist in iis former home. S ) fully wis it obliterated, that few of its ancient '.and marks and btunJarins cm b^ assign d with oji-- taintv. Yet ti»e Faith did not porisii ; it to )k refuge in anotlior p'>rti )n of tlie Lslan 1. Tii3 B itoas w.'io were driven from t!iu Southern parts of their country, and who osliiblished themselves in Wales, and the X M'th, Carrie 1 their Faith with thorn, arui Hot up new Altars, n )t h") grand as those desecrate 1 b\' the Sixon. I)ut on which Bishops and Pri(^sts still offercil tiio Holy S.icritic.-) of tlie Mass. We can easily understand that surrour.de I by the horrors of war. compellel to fi^'it for life, and cutoff from communica- tion with Europe, religion must have suffered sorely. Gddas, who wi'O'e in the sixth century, draws an unfavor- l)le picture of the lives of some of the (Jlorgy. lie wt*s their countrymen, but thoii' f.iults are not spared; p.'r- haps, they are, on this account, rather exaggerated, fi w )ui 1 bj strange, indeol, if in tiie mi Isl ol such ignoi'ant and lawless surroun liirjjs, religion shouM not suffer. I merely ask you to obs.'.rve that during nearly l,')l) years of carnage and lawlessness the British «!nurch, ihou'fh transplant vJ, did not cease to exist, and keep its ancient Faith. In the meafltini), j)iraticil flej f^ tided the straits, an 1 assaulted the maritime towns in b^rance, Sj>ain, and lilaglaiid. All Eai'jp.; was overrun, Old the world seemod to have been plunged back into h jpoles4 barbarism. .Vnd so, indeed, it would tiave been )>ad it not b.^eii for the Cmirch of God. M Guiz »l, a Protestant Historian, be:ir8 testimony to this. Ho ^aya, (Hist. Univor. pp. 55, 5S} : " From the Jill CiMitui-y, the Carisiian Ciorgy bad powerful luians of influence. The Bishops an I Clerks had bee ime the chief municipal magistrates. * * * Tiie Bishops, and the Priests, full of life and Zoal, naturally offered them* solves to siiperinlend and to manago everything, it would be absur.i to blame them fur it, or to tax thetn with UMUrpalioa ; thd ualurai uoursu uf I things would havoitsn; the Clerj^y alone were morally uliveand vigorous ; they became powerful everywhere ; siicli is I he law of the universe. * * * The Chrisiiati Church has powerfutly ontribuiod Hiiice that lime, lo th«' development of modorn civilizition. * * * It the Christian Church ha I not been in exislonce, the whole world would have been abandoned to pure material force. The Cnurcli alone exercised a moral power. Bu' she did more ; she kept up and diffused the idea of a rule, of a law superior to all human laws; she professed the belief essential to the safety of huma- nity, that there is a ove all hurna.i laws another law." These words of a j^reat historian ought to be pondered upon by tho blatant and ignorant, who revile the Church of the past, and blaspheme what they do not understand. They will, also, serve to explain tho intense hatred of modern infidels against our Church. Now, as in tho past, could our Church cease to exist, the triumph of brufo force would bo secure. Amidst all the horrors, then, of that dreary period the Church of God was at work, true to her mission. Her supreme Pastors, the Popes, were ever at their post. Now the Great Leo oor fronts and turns back the haughty Attala, called by himself the scourge of God; now he stays the advanciiii; Gensoric; now he summons a Council and condemns the impiety of the Eatychians. Or now it is Pope Agipitus who negotiates a peace be- tween Thwodatus, King of the Goths, and the Kmperor Ju-tinian. Now it is Pope John III. who is addressed by Casbiodorus, prefect of the Prectorium, in these terms : " You are the Chief of the Christian people j under your nam© ot Father you direct everything. The security of tho people depenUs upon your fame an l power. We nave minor responsibilities in the adminis^ traiion ot affairs, but the supreme authority is your.s." Thus the Chuich, led by her Pontiffs, triumphed peaces, fully over the barbarian hordes, gub dued them to Christ, an I laid the foundations of civilized Europe. This was uccompli>hed, in great, part) bo- fow itw year 000, ^-^''3..- it .. .. • • i , , Towards the end of the 6Lh cennK ^^^° Bni^iand was divided by its Sti^ey^ conquerors into seven, or as >* f^® , assert, eight kingdoms. As alrf**; ^ seen, the Britons were slaves in l ^^'^ . kingdoms, and paganism ran •** ''"^' through the land. But the lonif ny ^^'^ of E iglanil's gloom was soon to ha ^^'' g'oriou-- dawn. A mighty Pope *)' been chosen to rule the Chunf*^ ^ Gregory the Groat. If ever hui***^^ being deserved that title it was sui'-O^''^ ho. Great in virtue, great in leartiiOg^'^3 ;j,reat in thought, groat in action>g** ^' was a fitting successor of an illusiii<-y ^^ line, and worthy to be the ApostP*"^^ the greatest Empire of the world. esses is only by reading his epistles thai'j'™^® can form an adequate idea of the ma^P^. [ fold labors of this noble Pontiff, or»y ^| his world-wide cares. He gave dii'* ^ tions and commands to the Bishop^^'^ Sicily, of Dalmatia, of Gaul, of Greet** '^ to tho King of France; to the PuPT®" passed, and the spouse of Christ wb® ' now putting on her glorious robes*^''^ heavenly beauty. ButGregoiy wasn*®^ satibfi-'d with directing the movemeif**® of the Church in its then limits; t'^fj longed to conquer to Christ oth" *^ nations. Ho turned his eyes towar^^^ England, and his noble soul was filli^'^* with compa>8ion for the fate of i^r ehildren. He resolved to win it to Gd*"^* He hr 1, previous to his election to ll pontifical dignity, built a uionaster^^ near tho site of ttie Ooliseum, and now ^^ from amongst its inmates, ho chos *^ forty monks to bear the *• glad fid ins; v of great joy " to England. The hea '* of this band of missionaries was callo Augustine, or Austin, afterward Abp. of Canterbury. Imagine tin seer" in that humble monastery whei the oand was about to set forth ; thint of the times and tho dittioulties travelling. They are all gathered i'l ihe chapel ; mass had been said ; thoit wallets are strapped to their bacl.s, slaves are in their hands. They buai with them the Bible, missals, chalice-, and all the necessaries for celebrating ■'tUe sacrifiuo of tbtt Mass ftuU ttdmiai^- I cenrtfT ihoSacramonfs. For their own t8 y^hey curry litile or nothing. God, as (> feeds the birds of the air, will feed aJ,,ai; God, who clolhes the lilies of in I ^t'ld vviih splendor, will provide an Ir raimenf. This is their faith ; for liT njr are jifoing to do God's work ami > ha wil' not forget his laborers. They ope all assembled before the altar, juifffd down in adoration before the hui*«l*ed Sticraraent, praying for the 8ij|i<»s8 of their mission. The noble firoiegory himself is amongsjt them; he ion'gH to be one of their number, but stilly Ueepn hii.i in Rome. Now he )Nl|,39nds the step of the altar and a,)l,h© chapel, whilst the remaining monks ^reak forth into the joyous anthem: li" How beautiful on the mountains are itbe feet of those who evangelize good ((things, who make known pe; ce." jTruly Divine Faith has its days oi {triumph. 1 The forty Apostles go down from the door of that monastery which i> , Blill standing, and we can do no better than quote the words ot Moutalamberi (Monks of the West Vol. HI. page 531) '• Where ig that Englishman worth) of the name who can look from tlu Palatine towards the Coli.-jeura, and see before him without emoiion, oi remorse that little spot of earth froni which came to him the Faith and th( Christian name — the Bible upon which he so much boasts himself — ttie Churci itself of whi"h he ha.s preserved onl\ the phantom? Here it was that tht enslaved children of his ancosiors wett received and rescued. Upon these Stones knelt those who made his couii> ,iry Ohridtiaa* Uoder that roof th« grand design was conceived by a holy rtoul, offered to God, blessed by God, accepted and accomplished by humble, noble noble hearted Christians. Down those steps wont ihe forty monks who bore to England the word of God, the light of the Gospel, Catholic unity, Apostolic succession, and the rule of Sl. Benedict. No country ever receiv- ed the gift of salvation so immediately from Popes and Monks; and also, who have hO 'O »n,or so cruelly betrayed it." St. Augusiine and his band of mis- sionaries sot out for I5n«rland in the year 596. Ethel bert. King of Kent tMijf)yed at that period the title of Bretwalda, or ruler of Britain. It is suppose I, chiefly frori a passage in the chronicles of Bo le, thai the other vings wore, in a manner vassals of the B'Qtwalda. The wife of E helbert vvas Bortha, daughter of Chaivbert King of Paris. She was a christian, ind had brought over with her a pre- late named Lindhard. Many of the British serfs were, doubtless Cliristians, out the country was, in the full sense, pagan. Eiholbert heard of the arrival )f the forty monks, and appointed to receive them in the open air, under a mighty oak. The historian Bade, who wrote before the end of the next cen- tury, and whose knowledge and good t'aith cannot be called in question, has (vreserved the chief points of interest connected with the mission and sue- oess of Augustii.e and his monks. The Apostles of England, as we may truly cill Augusiine, went forth to meet the King, and there was borne before him tlie usual weapon of christian conquer- ors, the Cross, and also a banner with a picture of our baviour depicted thereon. In a stately line the monks twarched behind, singing psulms and iQthems, which smote on the ears of the wondering pagans like pa) aus of victory. The sacred psalmody was the only sound which broke upon, and dlled, the clear atmosphere. Angels looked down with smilesof delight and !xutled in an approaching triumph ; St. Alban, England's protomartyr, and htr other Saints whose bones were uHiing 'neath the altar of God, knelt before the Almighty's throne, and oesought grace fur their country ; the iQatea of ueaveo, seeiog ia ik& years 8 as yet unfallen from tirao'tj hour glass, that England would bo called, on ac- count of lis devotion lo lier, our LadyV Dower, bowed before hev Eleinal Son and aislced for its cipeedy conversion. Her prayer was granted, for after Augustine had unfulded the obje' -I oi tluiir coming, the King readily accord ed lliem permission lo preach, and ))romiMed to provide lor all iheir wants. Novv, indeed, the missionnries beu;.". ti lo realize liovv sweoL it is to labor for the good of sou's, without the thought of earthly reward. Tliey vvere con- ducted to Canterbury, and as they noared its gates they sang; ^^By thy great mercy, O Lord, tui-n away we beseech thee, thy anger from this city and liiy holy temple, for we are sin ners. Alleluia." Tiie Britons hud, in formoi* gener- ations, a Cliurch al (Janlerbury called St. Martin'.^; It had been injured by the Sa.xon invadei's, but Qaeun Bertha had restored it. The monks wore put in possession of this place, and began their la;orn honorable man, and guided by the nwea spii-a'.ions of the greatest of the Pop^ibe labored in prayer, abstinence, and t^'*^'^." to conquer the ancestors of a ^rv^anti nation to God, to virtue and the ti-utiSou Eihelbert was zealous in the cuii'''*^' of Keligion ; the Monks wore true t"® their duty, and Pope Gregory sc*"^. more Afissionai-ies, and words of cou"^^' sel and encouragement. By order ®'* the Pope Augustine was consecrat^^' Bishop uf Canterbury by the Bishop "^^ Aries, in /ranee. E'.helbert assign. ^" the new Bishop of Canterbury arid ii »®^ surrounding country; a former churc ^' St. Saviour's, was restored and becan "^^ tl»e Cutiiedtal, and the Moiiasiry of > *' Peter and Paul was built for the hoiii '^ w n ti t J f of the Monks. Soon the mission f^ tended, and Augustine cotisccrali Justus, one of his band, Bishop > Rochester. Eihelbert was uncle > S.ibert, King of Essex, and throu^ hiai (ho Abb(1x Melliius was receivr iu that Kingdom. Saberct was soo converted and ifellitus was ma; Bishop of London, about the year 61)4 The King of N<>rlhuinblia was convei'i ed by Paulinus, a Roman Missionari about the vear 626. This ecclesiasii oecanie Bi iiop of York, for tne Gre;i iJregor}- had years before arrangj UiaL the Northern xMetropolitan shoui reside in ihat city. Popj Honorius i 1)26 bestowed tho pallium on tii Bishops of Canterbury anil York, tha is, he raised these cities to the digifr if Archiepiscopa! Sees, permitting th;i vvheu one died the other might cons^ crate a successor without waiting i ;',o!isult Jtxne. Tills were the tw co'K'cleii Archbishoprics of Canterbur a,ti.l YiU'lc (\stablished by the Pope, ai, endowed with singular privileges. Aii we may add that the Popes, even i our own daj', have ever shown marl^- of predilection towards England, li HM Felix, sent by Honoi'ius Arci,. iii.shop of Canterbury, convertoJ tin liast Angles. All those particu ar> are I'dati'd by Bede, and confirmed h) tho E|>isiIos of Gregory the Greai, Au^uatitio aud Pope lioDoriucj. Tiicy 1 support this theory are composed of those who blindly hate the name of Rome, and of those pious souls who, to ease their consciinces, grasp at a phantom ia order * g> justify their re- 10 jection of the Roman Pontiff. We by no means insinuate that al ItheRitual- int hold this theor3\ Many ol them know it to have no hiHtoiical founda- tion. Portsonally it is a matter of perfect indifference to us whether, or nv)t, the British Church rejected the authority of the Pope. Had it done 80, it would simply have been cut off from all communion with the rest of the Christian world. This would have been its loss, not ours. But in the in terest of historic truth, for the vindi- cation of a great Church, such as the one in England was, and for, let us hope, the benefit of some who hang their hopes of heaven on a fancied sue cession from a glorious past, we will prove the falsity of this theory. In order that our meaning may be more intelligible wo will, in a few words, depict the belief of the earlier Christian Church. Gibb >n, who is not a 8\ispected authority with those who differ from us, bluntly says that the "papacy began with the Apostles," So it did ; Peter was the recognized head of the apostolic body; tor him our Lord prayed that he " might con firm his brethern." (Luke xxii., 32.) On him was built the Church, and to him were given the keys of the kind- dom of heaven (Math, xvi., Ij, 19,) j " and when there was much disput- ing," in the Council of Jerusalem, the words of Peter ended all controversy, and the decree of the first Council of the Church was made out (Acts xv., 7 and following to 22). The Roman Pontiffs, the successors ot rit. Peter, were acknowledged as spiritual heads of the Church from the earliest period. St. Ignatius, Martyr, a disciple of the ApofeLles, speaks of the Roman See a^ ''presiding in love." St. Irenoeus, an- other who saw the ApostIes,proclaims- that "every Ciiuioi. mnM have re conr.sy to the JRorntW)." Tfiiuilian culls ^the Pope "PontKex Maximu.-*," and •' JBi8ho|> of Bishop*!." St. Cyprian ■writes : " He who abandons the Chaii' of Peter, upon which the Church was founded, does he persuade himself that be is in the Church." St. Jerome, the of Rome is outnide the Church." At thepen<- Council of Epheous, St. Cyril, of Alexi^)m andria, signed the Acts of the Council, ©rgn as " holding in the place " of the Pope.Unil tind calls him : " Father, Patriarch and on Archbishop of the wlU)io world." In biff that same Council, when it was said I It was said foundation of the que and that " Popo of we same that " Peter is the Catholic Church," Coelestine is his suiscessor and holds his place," the Fathers unanimously exclaimed : " It is a just judgment." The Council of Chalcedon deposed one Dioscorus because he " had raged against, the Apostolic See itself." And the sixth Ecumenical Council declared that " Peter hath spoken by Agatho," the Pope whose letter had been read. This continuous and unanimous testi- mony of great and holy men., of every clime, and of the first general councils in which Bishops from the East and West met, clearly proves that the Papucy, as Gibbon saj's, began with the Apostles. Even those who had been condemned lor errors by Provin- "'"' Councils appealed to the Popo, as cial did Coelestius, a Scotchman, early in the fifth century. It was, then, in the period of which we treat, the universal belief of Christianity, that communion with the See of Rome, and obedience to it, were essential requirements for salvation and of the Christian name, it is well to bear this in mind, as »t will, in the absence of other uroois, throw much light on onr subject. Let us now see how the Biitish Church stood in its relations to Romo, and whether it acknowledged the supremacy of the Popes. It may readily be gi-anted that there were Christians in England at a very early period of the Christian era; but we have no history, or tradition, of a Church until the second century. As airo.jidy stated, Luciu^, a British King, h sent to Pope. Eleulheriu.s asking ihait by " his command he might be made a Christian," Ividenlly the first Chris . tian king of e aarly Britons recog»., nized the P(ij)o. The Bi^hopm Bent by ; Eleutherius, in response to this appeal, certainly were subject lo the See of learned, who knew Hebrew, Greek and Rome, and founded the British Church Latin, and translated the Scriptures I after the "model of those on (he Con- from the Hebrew, says : '« Whosoever I tinent," as Bede relates. Now we all* « i8 not in commnnion with the Church I know that the Churches on the Conti 11 thfi^ent owned the spiritual supromaoy o^ ♦'-"fj^rne. Honco Christianity, in an ^''lOr/i^anizod form nl leusl, curao to Knj,'- pi'iand from the Popo, ami was phuiUvl '"ion Britiijh soil in duo subjection to \'i him. '^ Forty years later, TertuUian, &< ^e q.uoted already, boasted that " places 30 of Britain, inaccessible to the RomaPM, Js were subject to Christ." Now this y same Tertulliau owned the supremacy " of Rome; for him the Popo wa.^ e ?* Bishop of Bishops." Unless, then, i those places were in communion with I the Holy See he would not havecalLid them '* subject to Christ." Therefore the British Church had continued on the lines on which it had been founded. About a century later, in 314, the Bishops of London, York and Lincoln took part in a Council at Aries, as seen above. The decrees of this Council were submitted to the approval of the Pope. Hence those Bishops recognized the supreme judicial power Tested in the successors of St, Peter. It is un- necessary to enlarge on the significance of this fact: it wpeaks trumpet tongued in favor of what wo maintain. The Council of Aries would not have ad- mitted to its discussions Bishops "independent" of Home; neitiier would such Bishops submit their decisions to the Pope. Therefore tlio British Church was still in communion with the rest of Christendom. St. Alban, who suffered for the faith a few years previously, was always honored by the Church of Rome as a saint and martyr. Had he not been in communion with her she would not have done this. Moreover, Eu&obius, in his life of Constantino, speaks of the British Church, at that period, as being joined to Borne. Other contcra- p(jrary writers, as wo said before, speak of the English Church as being on an equality with those of Franco and Sp3in. Tnis is additional proof that at the beginning ©f the fourth century there was no "Independent British Church." Coming down another century we find the British Bishops astung those of France to assist, them against the errors of Pehigianisra ; and we saw how at. (jrermanus, of Auxerre, went thithor as delegate of PopeCooloslino otj two occasions, and how, by his oxerlions, the error was suppressed. Also, the same Popo sent Pulladius, as Bishop of the Scotw, ai.d, according to Prosper, cleared Britain of the horeiy (quoted above). It is surely evident that if the British Church did not recognise the Pontifical authority they would not have invited, and received, a Papal Delegate ; neither would they have received Palladius— a Bishop con- secrated by Pope Coele^^tine. This happened in 429, and again in 446. Therefore early in the fifth century the BngUsh Church was still true in its allegiance to the Chair of St. Peter. About this same period St. Dubrice was consecrated Bishop of LlandatF bj' Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, another certain proof of the commimion of the British Church with that of Rome. Wo may add that St. Niniaii, the earliest glory of Scotland, was consecrated Bishop in Kome, and returned to his native |)laco and built near Galloway the first stone cliurch seen by the Britons ; they called it " Whitehouse," and, as if to confirm Bede (B. 3, C. 4), tiie place is still known as Whitohcm. lie is honored as a saint by the Roman Chui'ch, a certain proof of his com- munion with it. Loss than a century later we have St. David, the peculiar glory and de- light of the Wel.^h Church, which now, on account of the Saxon invasions, was the only British Church, showing unraistakeably his subjection to the Pope. At a Council of British Bishops held at Bi-evy, in the County of Cardi- gan, he was almost forced to accept the Archbishopric of Cfflleon. This was in 619. Shortly after ho assem- bled a Syned at Victoria, in which the Acts of that hold at Brevy were con- firmed, and the whole approved by the Pope, (Robbacher, Hist. Un» Tom. v. p. 15) clearly St. David acknowledged the Primacy of the Pope; and the Bishoi)s who urged him to accept the dignity of Archbishop must, likewise, have been in Communion with Rome. It would bo absurd to say that they would have ui-god him to become theii- Arohbishop, oi- thai ho would haveac copied the position, unless thoy were alike in faith anil practice. Therefore early in the sixth century the British 12 Cburoh reverenced the spiritual supre- mency of Eome. As further proof of this fact for this same period, we may montion that St. TheliiiD, St. Patern, St. Daniel, and eevenil others who lived, and worked in the English Church. »re revered as Saints by Eome. Again, it is need loss to say that this would not be unless they belonged to her Communion. For testimony regarding Scotland, we may mention the great St. Mungo Bishop of Glasgow. His relics wore held in veneration in Scotland until the days of Kn x. Bishops, Saints and Cotincils alike ndisputabl}' prove that Christainity fro.^ its introduction until the beginning of the sixth cen- tury, in England as elsowhero, re- cognized the Popes as holding the place of St. Peter, with spiritual power over al I. Before in the end of that century, viz., in 596, Augustine and his Italian Monks landed in England, and founded the Anglo-Saxon Church. Their Uission and history is well known ; their ontire subjection to Eome is be- yond .lispute. The Church which they constituted received its power and Apost)lic Succession from Gregory the Great, and the perfection of its Hierarchical organization from Pope Honorious. In every Synod held in England from the time of Augustine first Archbishop of Canterbury, to that of Wharhara the last, it was ex- pressly added at the end, " the rights and privileges of the Holy See being in all things preserved." The only arguments adducted by defenders of the theory of an independ- ent British Church," are; Ist, the Britons differed from Eome in the celebration of Easter. 2nd, The Brit- ish Bishops refused to join with Augustine when he came to convert the Saxons. Those are the weak foundations on, which it is sought to erect an independent Church. Let us esamine them oloseiy. Eegarding the celeoration of Easter we readily grant that when Augustine caooe to England, the Bishops of Wales did act celebrate that Feast on the same day aa the Eoman Church. In ihe beginning of the fourth century, however, they did, as is learnt from 1 Euficbus CVit. Con. iii., 19) Socratt^\; v^IIist. v., 22) and from the procoedin^ns'< of iho Council of Aries as noted L^^e Spelman (p. 40, 42.) Moreover, it ho < to bo borne in mind that this diffoi,ad once was not one of Faith, it was on^Jo, of discipline. In the second centui-ol many hastorn Bishops dilfoied froi'^f t Eome on this point; still thoy were ii^he Communion. At the Council of Nice iiBri 312 the dispute wa« settled, and ;(}r general !)r.siR of romputaiion asHigncd.tb' The d fficulty had been merely av.Qt astronomical one, regarding the timcOV of commencant of the equinoctial Tl lunation. As we have said the Britony, Q at the beginning of the fourth century^ n celebrated Easter in accordance wiili \y the rules laid down at the Councils ot n Aricea. About the middle of the sixth ij century, or forty years before Angus- t tine went to England, the Eoman > Church had adopted a new and reform- - ed cycle of computation. Owing to the isolated condition of the British Bishops (we mean by this those in Wales) this reformation of the Calen- dar was unknown to them ; hence.when St. Augustine arrived they necessarily differed from his mode of calculation. But any one can see that this is no proof an independent Church. It merely shows that Wales was more backward in astronomical knowledge than Eome. Moreover, no one doubts of the entire subjection of the Irish Church, from St. Patrick to our day, to that of St. Peter; now from Bede it is certain that it was Irish monks, such as St. Celumban and his contemporaries, who taught this computation of Easter; and it was an Irishman, a Bishop in Wales, and disciples of Irish Monks, who held out most strongly for their old custom. The difference," therefore, was no rejection of the due authority of the Pope. Eegarding the second argument, viz. that tne British Bishops refused to join with Augustine, we will narrate the facts of the case. Gregory the Great, as may be seen from his Epis. ties, says to Augustine that lis *< com* mits to his care all the British Bishops, to instruct the ignorant, to strengthen the weak, and to correct the failing." Now, Pope Gregory was at least no I ,''.**'l|||; he was endowed witli sound ■"'"iilifie, and good judgment. Would ho . ^Me coranQitte celebrate Easter with hira, to adopt the Roman ritual in baptizing, and to aid him in preaching to the Snxons. Bede, who lived as near to that limo as we do to that of the baMlo of Waterloo, distinctly states that the.^e were the requests of Augustine. (Soc ' B, 2 0. 2) It is undeniable, thorol'ore, that they agreed in faith, else Augu.-i- tine would not have invited them to preach with him; had they dilfoicd in faith he would rather have sough; to prevent them from preaching. Tho two points of difference were ttitn matters of discipline. Owing to liio ignoranc* of the isolated chri.stian:^ somo abuses had crept in, but their faith was the same as ever. A tierce National spirit, or perhaps a fear of extermination, had kept, and still kepi, the Britons from making any attempts to convert the Saxons, who had driven them from England into Wale.^, Tiioy refused to accede to the requests ot Augustine. The words of thib prt^late, when their refusal was |»ersisted in. 13 are a certain proof that he thought thena one in faith ; und surely he knew. He said ; " you have not wished to have peace with your Broihern, you v ill have war with your enemies, and you will die by the hand of the English to whom you do not wish to teach th» way of Ufs." (Bede B. 2 c. 2.) These words are decisive ; but we have a stronger testimony still. Dinoth who was at that time Abbot of Bangor, and one who met St. Augustine together with tlie Bishops, wrote to that;,pre- ,'ate thus: "Beit known and without doubt a you that wo are all, and every one (^ 0. the British Christians) of us obedient and subject to the Church of God, and to the Pope of Eome." Sure- ly this solemn avowal dissipates every shadow of an "independent church." It is true that Dinoth was only a Welshman, and a monk; still, we do think that he knew the belief of his own countrymen better than a man of the nineteenth century. Again, in the " Liber Landavensis," or records of the Church of Llandatf it is claimed that the privileges of that ChurcL " were confirmed by the Popes of Rome." Treating ot the life of St. Oudoceus who lived in 550, it says: " As the Church of Rome has dignity above all the Ctiurehes of the Catholie faith, so the Church of Llandaff ex- ceeds in dignity all the Churches of southern Britaia." Prom all thesei t'uets and testimonies it is historically certain that thf) early British Church ever recognized the supremacy of the Pope, — was ever united in bonds of charity with Home. So well known was this, tbat when England had oon^ quered ff ales, and the Archbishop of Canterbury had summoned tho Bisbop> of St. David's to recognize his juris- diction, the Welsh bishop replied that the British Bishops had never recog- nized any gaperior except the Holy See, Whatever differences of practice, or dispates about Epieeopal jurisdiction at any time existed between Augustine and his successors in the See of Can- ' terbury, and the British, or Welsh. Bishops, it is inoontestably proved. that tho latter were subject to Kome,. and in communion with her, until the> sixteenth century. So evident is this that a groat historical critic of oar 14 day, Mr. Froonian, and one wlio is ikj lover of our Church, says; " the (!om- plote independence of the Welsh Church, of which Giraldua boasts, i- without historical foundation." (Hi lory and antiquity of St. David's by W. B. Jones, and Edward Froetnan c. viii p. 263,) and James Waylami Joyce, in " England's Sacred Synods,'' admits that King Oswy and the Synotl of Whitby in 664, confessed " the Eoman traditions." In that Synod uniformity of discipline was establish ed between those who were already of one faith. Venerable Bede who wrote within twenty five years of that Synod gives a full account of the discu-^Hion (B. 3 c. 25 26.) Colman was the chiet Hpokesraan of the British Bishop:5; St. Wilfrid uphold the universal practice of the Church, King Oswy, whose own wife and son differed from himself on the question of Erisier, o|)oned the con- ference by saying: "As we all serve the same God, and expect the samt.; heavenly kingdom, wo should all fol- low the same rule of life, and the same ceremonies; it is only a question ot seeing which is the true tradition." These words are another proof of identity of faith ; it was only a ques- tion of disciplinary observance that had to be settled. Colman was then called upon to speak. He said that he had received his usage from the per- sons who had sent him ; and his fathers had followed it. Now Colman was an Irishman, and had been educated in Ireland. He observed the usage of the Irish Church which was ever faithful to Home. St. Wilfrid spoke next; ho showed that liome, Asia and Africa were alike in the observance of this feast; only a few people, in a corner of two distant Islands, objected. ■Thostf who had followed their old custom in good faith, were, he said, excusable, but now that the right rule, viz., that of Eorao, was known all should follow it. He ended by quoting the words of our Lord to St. Peter (Math, xvi) "Thou art Puier, and upon this rock I will build my -Church, and the gates of hell shull noi i prevail against It, and I give to tlio«> the keys of the kingdom of heaven." King Ortwy then asked (Joliniui ; " is it trao that the Lord tlius spoke to Peter?" " Yes, Sire " answered ^j,(, j^ Bi-iiisii iiishop. " Can you show l^gm-od y')nr Colcmban ever received nu.|^\)0( i.towiM?" said the King. "No," s^S^qJ Colman. " Do you all agree that tln|^ $ WDi-ds were said principally to Pettj^i.a,(l :iiiii that it was to him that the .Lo^^ goe gave the keys of the kingdom Y©ntrt i'ouvcn?" again questioned O.swjpijoT " Ye.s, we all agree to that," " ^^v^ntui tl.«n, said O^'^y, I tell you that I %xix\i not wish to go contrary to the donnj^ keeper of heaven, but I wish to obt^, tl him in everything and with all njopo power, lest when 1 arrive at the giUtjafcy of lieavun there should be no one oEg open them, if he who holds the kcJHii should be against me." These word^Pfo of a half barbarous King deserve to l-^^itt pondered by all who, like him, desii^b© to save their souls. A uniformity (not observance in matters of discipline wiiBfii esiablislied, and the Saxon and Britislthe Christiiins were mingled together air tjoi formed the glorious Anglo-Saxoi JJfti Church. ' En We can briefly sura up what ha Jlc been said. Poi»q Elutherius, at tin ifij request of Lucius, sent» Missionaries gj who established the British Church in i© 161. It soon spread as TertuUian le proves ; it had its martyrs early in the m fourth century. Its Bishops sat in \l^ council with those of France in 314 d and recognized the supremacy of tho tj Pope, as the acts prove. In 429 St. i Germanus of Auxerre went as Papal delegaio to Britian to eiappress the error of Polagianism ; about the same time Pope Coolestine consecrated Pal- i hidius Bishop, and sent him thither; < in 446 Germanus consecrated Dubricu Bishop in Britain; in 516 St. David, the glory of Wales, dutifully submit.s the decrees of his Synod tojiome. In the interval between 450 and St. David, tho British Church, in England proper, had been destroyed by the pagan Saxons, and only existed in Wales and Scotland. England was at the end of the sixth century pagan. In 596 Au- gustine and his monks came to light again the beacon of true faith, ou iCiiglish shores; hence he is truly tho Apowlloof England. His work ])r()s- poied, and within loss than a hundred yeai-s all LjiiglantI was Chi'istian. Tho British Church in Wales, by tho mouth I 15 ''^o ijroat Abbot of Barij^or, Dinotli, "aped Aagustiiie, that they " wcmc „ ^"wbodiont and Hubjoct to the Chiircii /*fS|rod, und to the Pope of Jlomu." ' 'odfi after, uniformity of observunco i^'agai'dinii; PjiiBter was Hocurc.l. Thus >e 600 tiom undoubted historic nrionu- [*' lentfl that Christianily came to il-o ,l.^^Mtons from Koti>o, and century by ^^•^^tOtury we have Bishops, Saints and -Wllncils proclaiming that they wore, "ike the rest of Christendom, subject ''"'^^.O- the s])iritual supremacy of the "'?,;the Saxon-s who had invaded Eiig- "'4it^d ; these being converted, uniLed '.'with the Britons in Wales and formed '"th« Anglo-Saxon Church. There is 'no trace, or vestige of an "Independent I' British Church ;" as Mr. Freeman says, '■'tlte idea is without liisiorical founda- " tion. The mythical " Monks from the '"East" who are said to have converted England, live only in the imagination. "Ho date can be assigned of their cotYi- '^ iiig; no name can be given them. No '' Sj^nod, no Bishop, no renowned name " ill British annals can be produi-ed as ' lending a shadow of substance to the ' modern idea of an independent Church. ' We have explained the origin of the differences, which are the solo founda- tions of this ideal Church, and shown that they were only astronomical not theological, and that ihcy by no means implied h rejection ot Porilidcal au thority. Wo give names, and dates, and indisputable docuiHoiil.rt in our contention. If historic certainty can ever be had, then it is historically Certain that England received its ad mission into the Christian family from Rome, and that itsChnich, in its early ^^;|g08, was ever subject to the supreme spiritual jurisdiction ot the Uomun See. That Church whose early Stages wo have hurriedly followed lived on for a thousand years from Augustine. Ita influence softened the fierce I arbaric Saxons, and the sullen Britons; it blended them into one nation and laid strong and deep ttio foundations of after greatness. Tho religion of Elea- therius and Gregory filled the land with Saints and learned m«n; it was interwoven with the constitution, and gave to Magna Charta its elements of true liberty and enlightened govern^ raent. The heroes of Cressy, of Poic- tiers, of Agincourt, of the Crusades, revered it, even though their lives may not have always been in accordance with its teachings. Its full effects on the history of the world cannot yet bo known, fo" England, although not now professing it, is still in a great measure swayed in her governmental policy by it, and England's race is not yet run. Very many who now boast of their privileges as British freemen, thinic little of the men who, headed by an Archbishop of Canterbury, wrung the charter of their liberties from a tyrant. Tho days in which we live are very different from those in which the events described in this Lecture trans- pired. If St. David, St. Augustine, St.. Culhborl, or any of those Saints whoso names are household words in England, were to revisit this world, they would be lost in wonder at tho transformation and progi'oss. London would terrify them. But if they found their way into the Church where Cardinal Manning presides they would find themselves at home. The same rites and ceremonies, the same vest- ments and office, the same language of a thousand years ago would speak I o their souls, and cause them to re- cot^iiisji! the heirs of their greatness UU'I their glory. ■'■S' • •• • . •, • * « • • • • »••. • ••• • • . • • ; • • ••••• •*• •• • • t • • • t