tjf!rr$ .s, .mmMmi': Cornell University Library arV15913 The church Identified; 3 1924 031 433 265 olin.anx Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031433265 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED, BY A KEFERENCB TO THE HIST^ORY ORIGIN, PERPETUATION, AND EXTENSION, BTTO THE UNITED STATES BY THE REV. V. B.'^flLSON, D. B., PROFESSOR OF MORAL AHD INTELLECTUAL PHILOBOPHY AKD OF HIBIOEI IN GENEVA COLLEGE. New- York : H. B. DURAND, No. 11 BIBLE HOUSE. 1866. Entered according to Act of Congi'ess, in (lie year 1880, BY W. D. WILSON, D. D. In the C'erV's Office of tlie D«-n-a Court of the United States, iLr the Northern District of New York. Presideat White TO WILLIAM 0. PIEHREPONT, ESQ PIEBRBPONT MANOR. THIS VOLUME IS, BY HIS PERMISSION, MOST RESPEOTFDLLY DEDICATED AUTHOR. PREFACE TO THE STEREOTYPE EDITION. In sending forth this Edition of The Church Identified, I hardly know whether to call it the second or the third. The Work consists of a series of Articles, which appeared in "the Churchman" during the Autumn and Winter of 1848-9. This was the first " Edition," or " giving forth" of the Work to the puhlic. The Articles were so kindly received that a proposal was soon made to issue an edition in a book form, with a specific reference to its circulation in the Dio- cese of Western New York. That edition consisted of only one thousand copies, and w^as exhausted almost at once. I now send forth the Work a third time in a form, and under circumstances, as I trust, calculated to give it a much wider circulation, and to supply it in larger quantities. Hence this is really the third " editio" or "edition' .' In preparing this edition I have carefully considered all the criticisms and suggestions concerning it which have come to my knowledge. In some cases I have rewritten a paragraph or statement, and .expanded it without adding anything more than what seemed necessary to guard against the misapprehension into which readers had fallen concerning my meaning and de- sign. In other cases I have noticed that an important point, did not make the impression which it ought to make in order that the force of the argument might be duly appre- ciated. This defect I have also endeavored to jemedy so far as I could ; either by resorting to a new arrangement of the matter, or a new form of the statement. ' PREFACE. Besides this I have added some new matter. For the sake of comparing this edition with the previous, and to show at once what has been added, I give the following list of the Sections in which the new matter will be chiefly found. Chapter I. § 7 and 12. (( II. « 10 tt III. § 10 and 21—24. (( IV. §• 1—5 (( V. § 65. If VII. § 3 and 7. it VIII. M, 6, 7 and 8. X. § 1 — 37 inclusive. ■The first part of Chap. IV. in the last edition, has been transferred to the beginning of Chap. III. in this. The defence of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States has hitherto, for the most part, been made to depend upon the successful vindication of the seve- ral points of its Polity, and the Apostolical Succession of its Bishops. Perhaps a proper regard to what is due under the circum- stances, would require me to enter, sorhewhat at length, into the reasons for resorting to a new mode of doing what has been so successfully done heretofore, in the old. . I shall not, however, enter upon a detail of the reasons and motives for this work. Many of them wUl occur to the reader as he passes over the pages : some of them are stated in the body of the work j:tself : and perhaps the fact that the novelty of ■ the plan will attract and interest readers in what can never be too well understoood, may be regarded as all the apology that my course demands. The position of those who defend, and those who oppose the Episcopal Polity of the Church, is now greatly changed from what it was when the controversies on this subject first commenced in England ; and we seem to have followed the line of argument then marked out and pursued by the great PREFACE. vii minds of the mother Church without sufficiently considering the change that has taken place in the nature of the issue itself, and in the relative position of the parties to the con-' troversy. The question then, was not whether a Church could be instituted without Episcopacy and the Apostolic Succession — or whether such a Church could he acknowledged as a part of the Church of Christ, in case it should he iustituted — hut it was whether Episcopacy and the Succession should be retained or not in a Branch of the Church already es- tablished and identified with the Church of Christ. The early opposers of Episcopacy seem not to have designed to leave the English Church and found one on another basis, but rather to remodel that Church upon a Presbyterian plat- form. But, with us, the question has been treated as if it were whether there cotild be a Branch of the Church of Christ, without Bishops ia the direct line of Apostolic Succession. The following pages present to the consideration of the reader an entirely different question ; aijd enter iato no dis- cussion of poults of external order and organization, either as it regards their nature or their importance. This distinction can be seen and appreciated by any one who wUl devote to it a few moments of attention. The former was simply a question of reformation in what already existed by divine right, which men had a right, indeed, to reform, if reformation were needed, but which they could not abolish, and were most sacre'dly bound to preserve and per- ■ petuate. The latter was a question of instituting anew that which had had no existence before. Hence it may follow that even if Episcopacy and the Apostolic Succession are not essential to the Church, the modern sects are none the more to be regarded as branches of Christ's visible Church on this account ; for it will at once be seen that it may ap- pear on investigation that something more than any parti- viii PREFACE. cular form of organization or Ministry is necessary to con- stitute a Branch of the Church of Christ. The main conclusions of my work are so coiucident with whathas been generally held and taught by Episcopalians in this country, that I shall hardly need to say any thing more about them. I suppose that most persons have felt that there is some- thing of the acrimony of sectarian zeal inseparable from all the discussions and controversies between those who advo- cate and those who oppose the claims of the Protestant Episcopal Church. And indeed, so long as we make the peculiarities of its Constitution, Polity, and Worship the ground of our preference for it, I do not well see how the subject can be treated without exciting some of those unholy and carnal feelings which are most directly opposed to the spirit of Christianity and most repugnant to the feelings of humble and devout piety. I hope that the mode of presenting the subject, pursued in the following pages, will avoid, to a very great extent, if not altogether, this evil, which has already led the great mass of the people to shrink with dread from every thing that has the appearance of a controversial design, or of treat- ing a controverted subject. In pursuing my plan, I have carefully abstained from every statement and expression that could seem to proceed from unkind feelings, and, as far as possible, from aU that could give pain to the reader. I have wished and designed, that even if he could not agree with me in my conclusions, he might feel that I have done him no wrong and intended none. I have had no motive for writing but love for Christ and for the souls for which He died : I hope my reader will allow himself to be influenced by no other, whUe he reads what I have written. My method of treating the subject has necessarily in- volved a great deal of historic discussion and narrative. But PREFACE. ix it is the history of the Church itself that has been, called into requisition. Of this we cannot know too much. I trust that this feature of my hook wiU not only make it more in- teresting than it could otherwise be, but also more instruc- tive and profitable, by producing a greater familiarity with those great cardinal facts in the history of the Church with which every Christian ought to he acquainted. The atten- tive reader will hardly fail to get a pretty good idea of the outline of the Church's History from the followiilg pages. Thus while pursuing the main object, an incidental one of scarcely less importance will be accomplished also, without additional labor or effort. "With the Pkater that " all who profess and call them- selves Christians, may be led into the way of truth, and hold the Faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life," I commend the work to the serious and prayerful attention of aU those who, in sincerity and truth, desire a knowledge of the Lord's ways. W. D. WILSON. Geneva, New- York, September, 1850. CONTENTS CHAPTER I.— THE IMPOETANCE OF- THE IDENTITY OF THE CHUHCH CONSIDERED INDEPENDENTLY OF THE PECULIARITIES OF ITS CONSTIUTION. 13 " " n.— THE MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATION STATED AND ILLUSTRATED. - - - 31 « « m.— THE CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION, AND ITS CONDITION AT THE TIME. - - 64 « « rV.— THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND, AND ITS ■EFFECTS UPON THE CONDITION OF THE CHURCH. 112 « « v.— THE ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS AND THEIR RELATION TO THE CHURCH. .... 160 " " VI.— THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SINCE THE RE- FORMATION. - - 260 « " yn.— THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CHURCH INTO THE UNITED STATES. 278 " " VHI.— THE ROMISH CLAIM TO JURISDICTION IN THE UNITED STATES CONSIDERED. . . 313 « " IX.— THE IDENTITY OF SPIRIT. - . - 343 « " X.— THE MORAL DESIGN OF THE CHURCH AND THE EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. - . 365 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. CHAPTER I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCH CONSIDERED INDEPENDENTLY OF THE PECULIARITIES OF ITS CONSTITUTION. There is hardly any fact more certain, with regard to Christianity, than that our Blessed Saviour founded a Church, or caused one to be founded, by His Apostles, in His name. It is also admitted that this institution was, and is, most intimately connected with His Re- ligion. The proposition seems self-evident, and is almost universally held. Yet in this age but little seems to be known about that Church, its nature, ob- ject, and designs, and the great mass are ready to acknowledge that there is no small difficulty in identi- fying it, among so many claimant sects. In the midst of this difficulty, some have thought that the identity of the Church is a matter of no im- portance — thaf if we can find a church that is evan- gelical in its character, encourages sincere piety, and good morals, all is accomplished that can be necessary. Still, however, people are not satisfied with this. 14 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. They have some idea of a church established by Christ and his Apostles, as a visible and distinct thing ; and even when they affirm that it is of no material conse- quence what church we belong to, if it is only sound in its doctrines, they do nevertheless betray no little uneasiness when it is said, or intimated, that the church to which they belong is not the same identical Church as that which our Saviour founded. This uneasiness occasioned by the intimation that any particular organization of people, professing to be Christians, is not a branch of the Church which was once established by divine authority, is proof that there is in every heart a feeling, or consciousness, of the im- portance of the identity of that Church. The theo ^ ^' ■^° S®* ^^^ °^ ^^^ feeling, or to avoid of an invisi- the difficulties that arise from its admission, huich. ^j^gj.g j^^g arisen, of late years, a theory which holds that this importance attaches only to an invisible Church, and not to the outward and visible society which we call by that name. This invisible Church is supposed to consist of the number of persons — secret to us, and known only to God — ^who.have been elected from eternity to eternal life — or of those who have been the subjects of an inward change or renewal ; and it is also held that this number is independent on, and re- gardless of, outward signs and visible organization. "Without discussing this theory at all, it is sufficient for the present to note the fact that it is unsatisfactory. If the theory of the invisible Church were satisfactory to their own minds, those that adopt it would be en- tirely indifferent to the identity of the visible Church. But they are none the less unwilling to admit that the I.J THE IDENTITY CONSIDERED. ig visible society to which they belong is not, or by any possibility may not be, a branch of that visible Church which has existed from the Apostles' days, than they would have been if they had resorted to no such theory. § 3. The common impression, with regard Another , , , ,, theoiy stated. to the Church, is, that all protestant denomi- nations stand before him who is in search of the truth and the true fellowship of Christ's Disciples, on an equal footing — ^that there is one Church, called the Catholic, or sometimes the Roman Catholic, which has existed ever since the Apostles, and that all the others, being alike the result of voluntary association and combination among men. since the Reformation, it is absurd and wicked for any one of them to claim any superiority over the other — ^to be exclusive, or judge another unworthy of its fellowship. § 4. If the hypothesis here assumed be TUsimpres- correot, the conclusion is inevitable. For, if ^uate. " any number of men, taking the Scriptures for their guide, have originated a church in one form, another similar body of men, differing from them in their views of the meaning of the Scripture, may originate another church in another form, and so on; each being obliged, by the condition of its existence, to concede to the other the validity which it claims for itself. And such is the opinion, or rather, perhaps I should say, th-e feeling, of the vast majority of the people of our land, in regard to the relation that ought to exist between the various religious bodies of which it is composed. And yet there is not a denomination that acts upon 16 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. this principle, unless it be some of those whose claims are generally considered to be the least worthy of regard. Thus, the Episcopalians wiU not allow min- isters of other denominations to minister at their altars. The Baptists will not receive to their communions any who have not been immersed on profession of faith. The Presbyterians — ^that is, the old Scotch Presbyterians — will not fellowship with Congregational denominations. The Methodists and Congregational- ists have also certain views of the nature of Christ, and of the duration of the future punishment of the wicked, which exclude large classes of persons who profess to be guided by the same ruie, aiming at the same result, and equally as sincere as themselves. This exdu- §. 5. This practical exclusiveness has been siveness ne- ™ ,.,. ., _lij.j.i cessary in fouud mdispensable, not only to the exercise pvaciice. of discipline, but also, and still more, to the preservation of the distinct existence of the bodies themselves. If no test were proposed, no profession required, and no rule adopted, it would be impossible to tell what the Church is, where it is, or of whom it is composed. Accordingly each sect has singled out what it regards as its leading feature, or distinctive point, and makes that its test ; as Episcopacy, Pres- bytery, Immersion, or agreement in some articles of faith which it has decided to consider fundamental ; and excludes, more or less stringently, all who do not agree with it on these points. i 6. There seems to be a precept in the Scrip- tures for this exclusiveness : " Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove L] THE IDENTITY CONSIDERED. n them." ' " Now we command you, brethren, This exoiu- in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye = ' ^ ^ n e s s withdraw yourselves from every brother that ranted by the walketh disorderly, and not after the tradi- ^"'''p''"'^^- tion which ye received from us." ' "A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition, reject." ' " If there come any unto you and bring not this doc- trine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed."* "If he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publi- can." * § 7. The passages just cited, imply a rule Thisimpues or tradition after 'which men are to walk, "^«'''™'"y<'' -,.-,. 11 1 'l*^ Church. and the departure from which is called walking disorderly. We must, however, be able'to identify our church, as a visible society, with the Church of which the Scriptures were then speaking, or we have no right to exercise its discipline, and exclude those who do not walk orderly, according to its rules and traditions. Otherwise we are taking to ourselves an authority which was never given us, and are intruding ourselves into the office of others. Authority may be conferred upon an individual per- sonally, and then it dies with him. Such were the Prophets under the old dispensation. But, again; authority may be conferred upon a class or order of men — as with the Priesthood — and then it belongs alike to each one that belongs to that class, and as a consequence of his regular admission to it. And as 1 Ephes. V. 11. 2 2 Thess. iii. 6. » Tit. iii. 10. i 2 John 10. ^ Matt, xviii. 17. IS THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. authority of the first Icind may not be assumed by any one on whom it has not been conferred individually — so authority of the second kind may not be assumed or exercised by any one until he has been admitted to the class or order to which it belongs. Now, exclusiveness implies authority to exclude. In its exercise we exclude those whom we judge to be unworthy, according to the Scriptures, from certain religious privileges, from what we regard as the Sacra- ments and fellowship of the Church. It is no trifling matter to say to one that he shall not come to the Lord's table. And yet that is what we say when we refuse communion with any one, unless we will admit that our table, the one from which we exclude him, is not the Lord's. If then, we are of the class of persons to whom these precepts of exclusiveness were addressed, we have a right to exercise the authority to be exclusive If not, the claim is something worse than an empty mockery. But as the authority was not conferred upon the persons addressed in the Scriptures individually — for then it would have died with them and may now be exercised by no one — but as a class, as the Church of Christ — we must identify ourselves with them before we can have even the shadow of a right to exclude any one who chooses to come to our communion, from doing so. For it is" not merely communion with us — but it is, in our view at least, communion with the Lord in His Sacraments which we refuse to those who profess to be His children. t] THE IDENTITY CONSIDERED. 19 § 8. Again. There are but few, if any, we have •who will not acknowledge, that the Chris- •'""== *° p'^'"" . ° fOL-m which tian has duties to perform, and that the imply the performance of thern, if he have opportunity, oi^™"^^"'""' is necessary to his salvation. "We fully ad- mit the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Yet we affirm, and we expect all Christians to assent to our affirmation, that the Christian must keep the commandments, and bring forth the fruit of such good works as Grod has ordained for us to walk in. I shall not now stop to inquire into the grounds of this ne- cessity of obligation. All persons will agree in ac- knowledging its existence. 1. I say, then, that we, as Christians, have the duty of obedience, to them that are over us in the Lord,' which can be performed only in connexion with the true Church. The command itself implies that there are some persons whom Christ hath set over us to be our governors. And > the commandment is, that we obey them, and not others whom we may put in their stead, or who may claim to be in their place. In human affair's, to obey the rightful officers of the government under which we live is patriotism, and a high virtue. But to obey others, who have no such authority — and who set themselves up as claiming authority— ^is not patriotism, but treason or rebellion. So in religion, Christ has appointed some to have authority over us, and He requires that we obey them. Obedience to them, therefore, is a duty. But obe- dience to others, in the same matter, is a rejection of their authority, and therefore a sin. ■ Heo. xiii. IT. 20 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. 2. Again, the Lord has ordained that they who preach the Gospel shall live of the G-ospel.' And con- sequently He has commanded that he that is taught in the Word — minister unto him that teacheth.'^ Here the duty of doing something for the support of the Ministry is expressly taught. He that gives for the support of the true Ministry in the true Church performs this duty. And the declaration is made, " he that soweth little shall reap little : and he that soweth plenteously shall reap plenteously.'" But he that is not in the true Church, and gives to the support of another ministry than that which Christ hath appointed, is not per- forming this duty. He is rather doing its opposite. 3. Qnce more — there are in the Scriptures a vari- ety of commands to preserve the unity of the Church,* and for this purpose to avoid all those that cause di- visions and all false teachers.* Now it is perfectly obvious that unless we are in the true Church, we cannot be performing this duty. But on the contrary we are continually committing the sin against which .the commandments were directed. It is obvious therefore, that one cannot keep these commandments of God, and perform the duties which are required of him, unless he is in the Church. So far as these commandments and duties are concerned, it is no matter what is its name, organization, or form of government, whether it be Papal, or Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist or Baptist. Like circum- cision or uncircumcision, these things in themselves are nothing, but only the keeping the commandments. 1 1 Cor. ix. 13, 14. Luke xxiL 29. ^ Gal. vi. 6. 3 2 Cor. ix. 6, Y. * Eph. vi. 3. * Rom. xvi. 17. LJ THE IDENTITY CONSIDERED. 21 But these commandments and the duties growing out of them, do imply a distinction and a difference be- tween the true Church and the false ones. The im- portance depends not upon the form of the Church, but upon its Identity. §9. Let us pass now ±0 another topic. At christ'sPer- the close of St. Matthew's Gospel, we find a pe"«>i P'^^- promise of Christ's perpetual presence " al- ised to Hia ways, even unto the end of the world.'" chmch. Now so fa'r as our present purpose is concerned, it is no matter whether this promise was made to a par- ticular order in the ministry or not. Suppose that it was made to the Church at large, to all of Christ's people — it is the same ; for whether, by the terms of the promise. He is to be with the ministry or with the people, they must be together, and so in effect He will be with both. But the promise that He will be with them, in which way soever we understand it, implies that He will not be elsewhere — ^that there may be gatherings, and assemblies, and associations with which He will not be. The promise is of a special blessing to His Church. If we are in that Church, we shall have that blessing, if we are worthy. But if we form another organization — a false church — we forfeit that blessing, we forsake His presence. He certainly can- not be with two or more different and opposing bodies. He cannot be cpntending and, divided against Himself. Here, then, again we see the inestimable ""impor- tance of the identity of the Church. Be its name, or organization what it may, the importance is the same. It depends not upon outward form, or local name, ' Matt, xxviii. 20. 22 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. [Chap but upon the identity of that Church to which the blessed promise of Christ's perpetual presence was made — to be with it always, every day, even unto the end of the world. Ths churcii § 10. In 1 Cor. iii. 16, St. Paul calls the whiSTtie Church the Tempje of God. He had just true Worship, alluded to the divisions and contentions in the Corinthian Church — some preferring Paul, some A polios, and some Peter. He assures them that these men were but the Ministers by whom" they had be- lieved in Christ; they were not founders of distinct sects, each for himself; they were laborers together in building the Temple of Grod ; Christ was the only foundation, and no man could lay another. They were not baptized into the name of Paul. Paul was not crucified for them — therefore he could not be a foundation. There could be no other foundation than Christ, and as He was not divided, there could be only one Church with Him for its chief corner-stone and foundation. " Do ye not know," asks the Apostle, " that ye are the Temple of Grod, and that the Spirit of G-od dwelleth in you ? '" And again, the Apostle writ- ing to the Ephesians, uses the same figure. He says, " Ye are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner- stone, in Whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy Temple in the Lord."' Undoubtedly, this language is figurative. But the figure must have been designed to mean something. The Temple is that in which dwells the Holy Ghost. It is also the place in which God is worshipped. Wor- ' 1 Cor. vi. 19. "Eph.ii. 20,21. IJ THE IDENTITY CONSIDERED. 23 ship is the leading idea for which Temples are built. This must therefore have been St. Paul's meaning. And yet he says that, the Church — the true Church — consisting of those who are " built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone," is the Temple of G-od, and the Spirit of G-od dwelleth in it. Now this fact suggests rather than explains, the immense advantage that the Church of which St. Paul was then speaking, has over all other societies and associations of men. Herein is the Holy G-host, and the true worship of God ; and they who are within it, have "fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." § 11. One more thought on this subject: The church a The Church is in several places compared ™J'^'''"^''°^y- to a living body. In Romans' it is compared to an Olive tree, and we Gentiles are said to be grafted in and to have our life only as scions that are grafted in, from the tree and stalk into which we are grafted. In 1 Cor. xii. the Church is compared to a Human Body, and the individuals belonging to it to the members of the human body, as hands and feet, head, ears, and eyes — each of which has life in the body, and only in connection with it. Take them away and they are dead. Again, in Ephesians iv. 16, Christ is called the Head, and the Church His Body, and we each and severally the members — "fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth" — and, it is said, thus to grow, "to make increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." And hence we ' xi. 17. 24 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. are said to be " members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.'" These, again, are figurative expressions, confessedly so. But, as figures, they must have been used to mean something. They may point to a mystery, as, indeed, St. Paul calls it." But it is something of great im- portance — some great advantage, that depends upon membership in the Body — the Identity of the Church. Christ is not divided. His Body is not divided. St. Paul says, " There is one Body," and the advantage signified by these obscure but frequent figures, must, therefore, depend upon union with the true Church — which of course implies its identity. The com- § 12. The definition of the Church that is ofThfchuioh ™°st commonly adopted, says that "a.Church considered in is & Community voluntarily associated on the fore"oin»° to- foundation of revealed truth for religious pur- pi's- poses." Now I shall not at present gO' into a consideration of all the points involved in this definition. Two only shall I notice in passing : 1. It changes the Scripture phraseology, and is a - total departure from it. The expression " the Church," is used in the Scriptures somewhere from seventy- five to an hundred times. But the expression " a Church " is used once, and then only in the last member of a sentence which makes the expression as definite as though the definite article " the " itself had been ' used. The expression occurs in Eph. v. 25, '26, 27. 2. This change of expressions from ^' the Church" to a Church," implies that there are, or may be, many ' Eph. V. so. 2 Eph, y. 32. I.] THE IDENTITY CONSIDERED. 26 answering to all the conditions of the definition. And so it is intended. The design is, so to define the Church as to include all the voluntary associations which may have been devised and called by that name, and which, are nevertheless regarded and spoken of as distinct churches. Be it so. Then each one of them is regarded as " a Church," and not as " the Church." The question then arises, to which of them may we apply what the Scriptures say of " the Church?" They say nothing about " a church," which may be only one out of many. Which one of those many churches may ex- ercise the authority of delusiveness which our Lord has conferred upon His Church ? In which may we perform the duties we owe to the Church of which the Scriptures speak ? In which is the perpetual presence of Christ promised to His followers and people ? Which is the Temple where the true and acceptable worship of G-od may be offered ? Which is the mystical Body in which, as members of His body, we may have the life of Christ flowing through our souls, and we become partakers of Him ? These are grave and momentous questions, and yet they are all involved in the identity of the Church. To illustrate this point by a comparison which will exhibit its force more fully, let us suppose a writer to be setting forth our duty to Grod. He begins by a definition, and says that " a god is that which is ac- knowledged to be the proper object of religious worship." Now this definition is such an one as the expe- rience and practices of men have made true. It defines 2 26 THE CHURCH IDKNTIFIED. [Chap. " a god ; " and does it in suoh a way as to include the true and only G-od ; but so also as to include with Him any idol, which the fancy of man may devise or his hands may make. But may he therefore apply what the Scriptures say of the only true God, to any being or object which men may choose to acknowledge to be " a god?" If so, then we can justify' any system of idolatry that has ever existed, or that man may choose to invent; and the command " thou shalt worship the Lord thy God," may be applied to Jupiter, Baal, or Vishnu, just according as we may choose to have the one or the other for the " Lord our god." As there are " gods many, and lords many>" so there are " churches many." And as the Scriptures speak of the Eternal Jehovah as " the God " whom we ought to worship, so do they speak of that Church which our Lord and His Apostles founded, as " the Church, " that is, the only one in which we can perform our duties and obligations to the Church, and enjoy the blessings and privileges promised to it. Conclusion. § 13. Now We have seen that, as Chris- tians, we are commanded to obey those that Christ has appointed to have the rule over us.V . We are to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake, the Lord has ordained that they shall live of the Gospel,' and we that are taught are commanded to minister to their support in all good things ; * we are to mark and avoid all those that cause divisions,' and strive to pre- serve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' AVe may place a very difiierent estimate upon these ' Heb. xiii. 17. = 1 Thess. v. 12. » 1 Cor. ix. 14. « Gal. vi. 6. = Rom. xvi. IT. « Eph. iv. 3. I.] THE IDENTITY CONSIDERED. 27 duties. Some may deny that they are duties at all. It is true that many act as though they did not con- sider them so. But surely such persons cannot have taken their views from the "Word of God. Duties at any rate they are, if the Bible is to be our standard and rule, whether we consider them of a greater or of a lesser magnitude. We must admit, then, that there are duties which we, as Christians, are required to perform, that can be performed only in the Church, and which do, there- fore, imply its Identity. Grant that elsewhere we may have the rule of life and duty truly explained to us ; grant that elsewhere we may enjoy the presence and influence of the Holy Spirit ; grant that elsewhere we may have all the joy and peace of believing : yet there, be it where it may, these duties must remain unperformed — the members must go down to the grave, leaving them undone — they must arise with us at the resurrection of the dead, and appear with us, as deeds done or not done in the body, at the Judgment Seat of God. The true faith which we received — the right rule of life which was expounded to us — ^the fellowship of the Holy Ghost which we supposed we enjoyed — as well as all our joy and peace in believing — these, and all the other privileges of light and knowledge which we may have possessed and enjoyed, can only serve to render us inexcusable for the neglect of these duties, and aggravate our guilt; There they stand, in the Lamb's books, written against our names, as things left undone, which we ought to have done. It will then be found that we had bestowed upon others that which God had required for Himself. "We had conferred upon 23 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. Chap. others that honor which He required to be paid to His servants. "VVo had scattered where He would gather together into one Fold. We had multiplied and en- couraged divisions, instead of laboring and praying, as He did, that His disciples might be one, and that as the Apostle says He designed, " there might be no schisms in the body." I do not wish to magnify the importance of these things at all. , I aim simply to call attention to them, as indubitable facts tending to show the importance of the Identity of the Church. Let each judge for him- self of their importance, and as he judges so let him act. To his own Master he standeth or falleth ; for we shall all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, and every one of us shall give account of himself to Grod. But I refer to these facts as being in part the reason, and as being in themselves a sufficient reason for the importance which we attach to the Identity of the Church and for our esteeming one church, better than anpther, even though they should seem, in the judgment of men, both equally orthodox, both equally holy in the lives of their members — both, so far as we can see, equally salutary in the influence which they exert upon the morals and welfare of the community. To man they may present the aspect of equal value and equal holiness. But in their relation to God they cannot be considered as on the same footing. The reader will not therefore understand me as seeking to prove either directly or indirectly — Epis- copacy and the Apostolic Succession. I am aiming to find that Church to which we owe so many duties, and in which we may enjoy so many privileges. As L] THE IDENTITY CONSIDEEED. 29 Christians, we must have membership somewhere. "We must assemble for Public Worship — for keeping the Christian Sabbath-r-for observance of the Sacra- ments — and for the performance of other commanded duties, which require, or imply, a visible association, or church, of professing followers of Christ. And I aim at tracing the history of the Church, irrespective of the peculiarities of its organization, or • to the doctrines which it may have taught. In writing a history of the descendants of Shem, for instance — the oldest son of Noah — we should not need to inquire into the forms of government under which they may have lived, or into the peculiarities of religious belief which they may have entertained ; but we follow them historically, showing from history where they started from, whither they wandered, and the plefces in which they located. And then again from each such settle- ment we might find colonies removing to become the founders of a nation or distinct community, somewhere else. Wherever they might go, whatever changes might be made in their mode of life, their form of civil government, their opinions and usages on religious subjects — still if they should keep themselves aloof and distinct from intermarriage with the other branches of the Noachian family, we could trace their descent and identify them as the family and descendants of Shem. So undoubtedly the Church may be traced and identified. It began in the little flock which our blessed Lord gathered around Him during His sojourn on earth. Into this family new members received adoption by embracing and professing the Faith. As a body of professors they kept themselves distinct from 30 THE CHURCH n)ENTIFIED. [Chap.! all others, by their discipline and the administration of their Sacraments. . And they extended themselves from Judea and Jerusalem, in all directions, as the Lord had commanded them. Their history is before us. It is from this that we propose to draw our materials for identifying the Church. The Church of which we are in pursuit, and which we are endeavoring to identify, is properly distin- guished from all others by the title. Catholic. It is THE Catholic Church of Christ. The word " Catho- lic " means, whole, general, universal. "It is so called," says an ancient Father, " because it is spread over the whole habitable globe, from one end to the other." We may then speak of this expanded and diffused society of Christ's Disciples, as a whole, and call it the Catholic Ch%.rch. Or we may speak of it in any par- ticular nation, and call it the Catholic Church in that nation; as the Catholic Church in France, the Catholic Church in England, &o. But in either case, whether we use it of the whole, or only a part, we mean, if we speak of the whole body, that Church which has, visibly and apparently, existed ever since it was founded by our Blersed Lord and His Apostles ; and if we speak of a part or local division, then that of which we speak is the part or local division of that Church existing in any particular place. But the title. Catholic, as I shall use it, is intended to indicate only this one fact, or idea, namely : the Church, or Society, instituted by our Lord and continued in its existence to this day, or some part of it, as dis- tinguished from all others of a different and more modern origin. CHAPTER II. THE MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATION STATED AND ILLUSTRATED. Now, in order to identify the Church, it is obvious that we may take two different methods. "We may ascertain from the Scriptures, what are to be regarded as its essential Notes, and then institute a comparison between those notes, or features, and any given body claiming, at this day, to be the Church, or a branch of it. Or we may go back to the first planting of the Church, and trace its existence down the current of time, in its spread over the face of the earth, until we find it extending itself into our own country. The former method is the most common in our day — and has involved us in interminable discussions upon the preliminary matters, which are merely Notes of the Church, and thus keep us back from the subject itself: and even when the question has been decided, it leaves the appearance of making the whole matter depend upon a question of mere form. U.I shall take the last of the two methods '^^ Hisioii- " cal Method indicated above. This would be very easy stated and if the infirmities, the follies, and the wilful- '""'"'"^'i- ness of men had not encumbered the su"bjeot with em- barrassments which render a more cautious procedure and a more careful investigation necessary. 32 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Let US, then, endeavor to get a definite idea of the Identity of the Church. And for this purpose, perhaps a few illustrations from other subjects will be of the most important service. There is, for instance, such an institution as Ma- sonry. I say nothing of its merits, or demerits, but simply refer to its existence as an illustration in point. It has existed, through several centuries at least, one and the same institution. It is spread extensively over the face of the earth. It is the same institution, in all the nations where it has an existence at all. In separate towns and villages there are distinct Lodges, each with its officers, its Lodge-room, &o. He that joins any one of these Lodges is a Mason, there and everywhere. In any other Lodge, in any other nation, he would be received, as a free and accepted Mason, to the same standing and degree as that which -he had at the place where he resided. This is because of the identity of the institution. It is one and the same everywhere. If, now, several individuals, in a settlement where there is no lodge, believing the institution to be a good one, become desirous of joining the Masons, and hav- ing a lodge where they reside, there are certain rules and principles of extension by which they can obtain their object. They must first go in sufficient num- bers and be regularly initiated into some Lodge already in existence ; and having been initiated themselves, they may obtain a charter or dispensation, and go to work iinder it. In this way they become truly JMa- sons — their association is a Lodge. They derive all the benefits, whatever they may be, of this ancient II.]* MODE or HISTORIO IDENTrFCATIOJST. 33 institution, from their connection with the Lodge which they have founded. And they are Masons tlie world over. In any Lodge, in any city or nation, they would be received to the same standing, and entitled to the same privileges. But if they had gone to work other- wise than as these principles of extension require, or got up a clandestine lodge, they would not have become Masons — their association would not have been recog- nised as a Lodge at all — nor would they themselves have received any of the benefits which would result to them from being Masons — for, in fact, the course which they toolc did not make them Masons, but only imitators of Masons. The same illustration may be derived from the Odd Fellow's institution — from that of the Sons of Temperance — the Rechabites, &c. As this is an important point, I will venture one or two more illustrations : and especially so because each individual will understand it the better if I give as an illustration something that he has known in his experi- ence or that has occurred to his own thoughts. Take, then, for another illustration, the American Bible Society ; an association which, while it is chiefly designed for doing gpod to others, confers benefits and privileges upon its members. This society was, I believe, first established in New- York. It has a written constitution, established modes of operation, and estab- lished principles or provisions, for extension by means of auxiliary associations, which may be formed in every county, town, or parish. If individuals, residing in a place where there is no auxiliary society, are desirous of establishing one, they have only to ascertain what 34 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. [(*ap, are the rules that are laid down by the parent society, and strictly conforming themselves to those rules in their organization, they become thereby members of the American Bible Society. They are entitled to all the benefits arising from such membership, and can do all the good which it enables. them to accomplish. But if they proceed otherwise than according to those established rules, they may indeed form them- selves into a Bible Society — one that may confer bene- fits upon its members, and enable them to do good by the circulation of the Bible — but still they will not be members of the American Bible Society, nor will their association be one that is auxiliary to, or a part of, that older and more extensive institution, but only an imi- tation of it. Now this same thing must hold true with regard to the Church. ' Our blessed B,edeemer contemplated founding a Church, that should extend over the whole earth and last as long as the world stands.' But it is evident that He did not Himself establish it in all places. Neither was it established in all places and nations by His immediate Apostles, during their life- time. There must therefore, be certain principles on which its extension depends, and by which it may be extended; so that where a number of persons, who are already Christians, or who are desirous of becom- ing so, are found, a society maybe formed in accordance with those principles, and becomes thereby part of His Church, and not merely an imitation of it. Every society that is intended to outlast the gen- eration in which it is instituted, and to be extended > Matt. xvL J8, IL] MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATION. 30 beyond the immediate locality where it was first or- ganized, must have principles of extension, by which it can be expanded and located elsewhere. Else of course it could not be extended at all. By ascertain- ing these principles, we are able to follow the society in its spread, and identify its existence in each par- ticular place. The Church, like a vine, the root of which is at the place of its first establishment — Jeru- salem — puts forth its branches into each city, province, or nation, until they spread over the face of the whole inhabited globe, and its tendrils reach every human heart. Now a vine is one. Though it may have many branches, yet we find no difficulty in identifying them "We can trace "each one back till it articulates with the main stalk and so through that stalk to the original root, in a continuous line of unbroken succession. Or, in case we start with a branch that does not belong to the same vine, we can trace it back to its separate root and tell where it started from, ascertain, perhaps, by whom it was planted, and at any rate, we can thus prove that it is not a branch of the same vine. In tracing the vine, however, we may find here a branch crushed and deformed by violence, there one overlayed by mildew and rust — ^here one blighted by dearth or choked by the growth of. noxious weeds — and then, again, we may possibly fiind one on which man has grafted scions of a different stock so as to produce fruits of a different character. But through all, its identity caii be traced : it is the same vine still. So with the Church — -violence has been at work upon her sacred principles and lineaments ; superstition has overlaid her simple truths and simple forms ; apathy and worlds 36 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. liness have blighted her fruits, and the invention of man has been busy with efforts to engraft its own multifarious schemes upon that which is the only life- giving stalk. But the Church's historic identity can be traced through them all. § 2. It is comparatively easy to trace the 66CtS) flt T • T T 1 their origin; identity of the Church m those places where ZZ'^Zl it ^^as estabUshed by the inspired Apostles, to be now and continues with an uninterrupted suc- c urc 63. (jgggiQn fQ the present day. The admission of members from generation to generation, so as to keep the numbers good — the keeping of Sundays and other Holy Days, in religious worship — the observance of the Sacraments — meeting habitually in the same place — calling itself always by the same name — and various other notes, guide us, without fear or danger of mistake. And as a matter of fact, though we find the enemy has always been busy at work in creating divisions and schisms, yet, in the places of which we now speak, .there has never been any difficulty in de- ciding which was the old Church, and which the new sect. There may have been much difference of opin- ion as to which was the soundest and best, the old Church or the new one, but none as to the fact, which was the old and which the new. In other words, the Identity of the body has never been a matter of doubt or dispute. In all the earlier controversies — ^the Arian, the Donatist, the Pelagian, and the Nestorian — there was no doubt, no question raised that, these sects were the more recent bodies. They, of course, all claimed to be right. Bat no one of them claimed to be the Church that had existed from Christ and the Apostles. U] MODE OP HISTORIC IDENTIFICATIOK 37 Their plea was, that the Church had fallen into error and corruption, and that they were reformers. And so they were, if they had truth on their side, so long as they continued in the Church. But when' they left it to form a new one, that which they formed was a new one, and that which they left was the old. So, also, with the modern sects — the Presbyterians, the Inde- pendents, and the Methodists — in England. There is no pretence that any one of them is the Church that existed in England before the Reformation. It is fully and freely acknowledged that they are new churches, formed by individuals seceding from the old. ^ 3. Now such facts do not at all embarrass ^'^'^ "^*.'"' attended with US in our attempts to identify the Church in difficulty onij those countries where it was planted in the l°on\o''coun. earlier ages — that is, in ages so early as that wes leoeDiiy no .mere sect that then existed, has lasted down to our own. The Church that was planted there, and has outlived all schisms, and sects, and oppositions, is undoubtedly and unquestionably the one of which we are in pursuit. It may be somewhat — nay, sadly — changed in doctrinal character and general appear- ance, but, historically, and lineally, it is the same. The difficulty presses upon us only when we come to identify the Church in these latter ages, when sects are abundant, and where, until lately, the name of Christ had not been heard. Though late in reaching us, a branch of the Vine may have found (and we trust has found) its way to our country. In studying the history of the Church, we shall find that it was never inactive. The Vine was always growing, always put- ting forth new branches. The Northern nations of 38 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Europe — Sweden and Norway — were not converted until the tenth or eleventh centuries. Yet at length a branch of the Vine reached them also. So with us. Therefore we want some clue, or guide, by which we can trace the connection and identify the body. Now, to accomplish this object, I propose to ascer- tain, in the first place, what are the fundamental prin- ciples of the extension of the Church, as we find them in the Scriptures, and apply those principles to the facts of history. I propose to inquire, first, how the Church was extended and expanded by the Apostles, into other countries than that where it was first established. The method ^ 4. The method which I propose to pur- now prefer- g^g is One with which we are familiar in red adopted . ., i-i • i t-» • and used in Similar cases. For instance, the liaptist sect »ii similar ^^g g^.^^ established, in the United States, oases. ' ' at Providence, R. I.,- a. d. 1639. Since that time it has spread over almost the whole country. Yet we have no difficulty in identifying it. AVe are willing to go by the name, until we learn that there are several sects claiming the same name. We then resort to their principles of extension, and to the acknowledg- ment of communion. They have principles by which their church can be extended indefinitely. Persons residing in a place where there is no society of that communion, have only to ascertain those principles, organize accordingly, and they are acknowledged by the general body of Baptists, and received by them irito communion, and become thereby identified with them — a branch of the same vine, a church of Bap- tists or a part of the Baptist church. The same may be said of any other denomination II.] MODE OF HISTORIC IDEHTIFICATION. 39 in this country. It has its principles of extension. When in the formation of new religious societies, de- signed to belong to any existing communion, the people forming it conform to the rules and organic principles of that denomination, they become a part of it, and as a religious body are identifi(^ with it. But if they do not conform to those principles, they form a new denomination — at first by themselves : but, in the course of time, others may adopt their rules and prin- ciples, build on the same platform, and then they will become a part of the same church. And in writing the history of that denomination, we must first learn, from a study of its principles of extension, what we are to regard as a part of it, and what not ; that is, we must identify it. Now this is what I propose to do with regard- to the Church of Christ — the visible society of believers which He founded. We cannot always be guided by the name ; for that is not always an infallible guide. We must then follow the Vine historically, and trace its progress as it extends itself into different countries and thus identify its existence irrespective of its name. And in order to do this, we must, in the first place, as- certain the manner in which, or the principles by which, it was extended. i 5. I have said that this method is one this method with which we are already familiar. Allde- cannot bt ob- nommations use it in their own case, and any. therefore no one can object to its use here. There is not one of the fifty or sixty denominations of this land that is not extending its communion, or at least seeking to do so, by establishing societies in places 40 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. \OuAv where there are none of their order. And when such a society is established, they ascertain, in some way or other, that it has been established on their own prin- ciples, and in conformity to their general usages, before they receive it into their communion. They all have representative bodies, or councils, under the name of Coi&erence, Presbytery, Convention, Association, Convocation, Synod, Classis, or something of the kind ; and when any newly formed society seeks admission to their deliberations, &c., they examine, (if they have not been sufSoiently assured before,) and see if the society has been organized in conformity to their principles and usages. If so, they gladly grant the admission which it seeks. But if not, the admission is withheld. If it yields up the jioints of diiference, and conform, it is well. But if not, and its members persist in their peculiarities, they constitute thereby a new denomination — a new church. Their act becomes a fact of history. It neither violates the identity oi the denomination previously existing, nor does it throw any serious difhculty in the way of our efforts to identify it. "Whatever, therefore, we may think of the result ot our application of the organic principles of the Chris- tian Church to the facts of history, we are, all of us, prohibited by our own acts — acts indispensable to our distinct existence — from pronouncing the method un- sound or unjust. And in taking this course, it seems to me no small gain that we avoid all of the appearance, as well as the reality, of making Church-communion depend upon a mere form, or incidental fact. It car- ries all along with it the impression that it is not a U] MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATION. 41 mere form that we are seeking, but the Church itsislf — the mystical body of Christ — the fellowship of the Apostles and Martyrs — the communion of those who have been sanctified — the Temple 6f His Worship — the participation of His promised presence — the Flock that He feeds, and the Fold of His watchful care. § 6. The principles by which the Church The piinci- was extended over the face of the earth p'^V*!^ ''^'^ ' the Church la must be inferred partly from the acts of the extendedmust Apostles, in extending it, and partly from the f^omth!&rip- preoepts and principles scattered through the '"■''^s. New Testament, more or less directly applicable to the subject. The principles that I shall call attention to, are, (1) that the Church must be extended by living members, (2) going into a place where the Church was not pre- viously established, (3) for the purpose of preaching the true Faith, and establishing the Communion of the Church there. Of these principles we will speak in order. § 7. The charge or commission which our first prin- Saviour gave His Apostles, just as he was ohmch must leaving the world — "Go ye into all the ^^ extended ° -^ by persons World, preach the Gospel to every creature, who are in its teach or make disciples of all nations, bap- '^'>"'™'""™- tising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe aU things whatsoever I have commanded you,'" — raises the presumption that the Church was to be established and extended by persons who had previously been re- ' Mark xvi. 15 ; Matt. xxviiL 20. 42 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. ceived as members, and acknowledged to have authority in it. No question will be raised, I presume, that this commission, arid the duties assigned the Apostles, did at the least include the establishing or extension of the Church which He had before declared that He would build.' He did not send the Apostles to preach the ■ Grospel and leave the converts to organize a church or not, as they might choose, and in such a way as they might choose. He did not charge them to commit the Grospel to writing and leave the people to study it for themselves, and then act as they might think it required. The duties of the new life to which the converts were called, required some society, association, or organiza- tion. The Church was not a mere matter of choice or expediency : it had an end in view : it was a necessary element of His religion. It was for the support of Public Worshif) ; the administration of the Sacraments ; the comfort, fellowship and edification of its members. Therefore the Apostles were to establish it, and enlarge its extension as fast and as far as converts should be made to resort to it, and live in its communion. It was a voluntary association, only as all duties are voluntary. We may perform them or not as we choose, but if we do not perform them, we must abide the penalty of disobedience. They are not, and cannot be indiflerent in themselves; nor does this obligation arise from our consent to perform them. They are duties, because some one having authority so to do, has commanded or required them. So the Church originated in the will of Grod, and union with it is a > Matt. xvi. 18. II] MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATION. 43 part of tlie duty that He requires of us. It depends upon our wills whether we do as He' requires or not. In this sense, the Church is a voluntary association, and in no other. 1. The thing to which I wish first to direct atten- tion, is,' the fact that the Apostles went and did the work of founding and extending the Church them- selves. It is unnecessary to follow them as they went, preaching the Gospel, and ordaining Elders in every Church' where converts to the faith had been made in sufficient numbers to sustain the continued worship of G-od. The fact that the living Preacher went first with the G-ospel — not in his hand, for it was not then committed to writing, but in his heart — is the con- spicuous and the prevailing rule. Nor is this commis- sion confined to ' the Twelve ; for St. Paul, the chief Apostle of the Gentiles, was converted after the com- mission was first given, and became more efficient than any of the rest, and in no respect a whit behind the very chiefest Apostles.'^ "We also find Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, and others, laboring in the same way and sphere, though manifestly in an inferior capacity. There are,- also, instances on record in the Scrip- tures in which an Apostle did not precede other efibrts to spread the Gospel. 2. After the persecution that arose at the time of Stephen's martyrdom, Philip, who, as we read, had previously been appointed to some inferior offbe in the Church,' went down to Samaria and preached the ' Acts xiv. 23. 2 2 Cor. xi. 5. ' Acts yi. 1-6. 44 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Gospel. And the people gave heed to Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles that he wrought. And when they believed and were converted, they were baptised in large numbers. The Apostles yet abode at Jerusa- lem : but when they heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent down Peter and John, two of their number, who laid their hands on the newly baptised converts, and they received spiritual gifts.' These gifts had not before been received by the Samar- itan converts. 3. But again : We find that they which were scat- tered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Phenice, Cyprus and Anti- ooh, preaching the Gospel. Now who these men were we do not know. We loiow only that they were not Apostles. But be tliis as it may, the narrative pro- ceeds to say, that when tidings of this came to the ears of the Church which was at Jerusalem, they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch, the most distant place from Jerusalem that is mentioned, and so over the whole country spoken of. When he came and saw the grace that had been given them, he exhorted them to cleave unto the Lord. And, as we road, much people was added unto the Lord. Imme- diately Barnabas went for Saul — or Paul — and brought him to Antioch, and they remained there for a whole year, and " assembled themselves with the Church, and taught much people." Hence we see that the Church was extended by individuals previously in its communion — sometimes ' Acts viil 5-7. II] MODK OF HISTORIC IDENTEFICATION. 45 alone, as in the case of Philip, and sometimes in com- panies — going into places where they would be as seed scattered in the soil to spring up and bring forth a harvest, or like leaven hid in a lump until the whole be leavened. Thus always each branch and part of the Church had a historic and visible connection with that which existed before, and through that Church received the persons who were to do the work of the ministry, among them. "Wherever the Apostles went, they were men who had been set apart for the Minis- try themselves. And in other cases — as Samaria and Antioch — the mother Church sent forth Apostles as soon as they had heard of the conversions in those places : to the one Peter and John, and to the other Barnabas and Paul. But in no case do we iind a society starting up in- dependently of that which existed before, and organizing themselves as "a voluntary association," called or recognized as a part of the Church of Christ; the gathering and organizing energy in all cases proceeded from Christ through the Church itself, to ea:ch sep- arate branch and member. § 8. The second principle of the exten- the Sec- ^ *■ OND PrINCI- sion of the Church seems to be, that, besides ple : Persons perpetuation by additions in places where it c^ommlfm'on already exists, it must be " extended by es- of the cimich tablishing new branches in other places, and jng ^ new not by establishing different branches in the Biancii must go into a place same place. where it is not We might follow the Apostles, as they ^^^^ '"*■ went from one nation or province to another, laboring for a time in the central places of population 46 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. and influence, and see how in every case, this rule was observed. In this way a great number of dis- tinct and independent branches of the Church were estabhshed, all having the same faith, the same hope, the same rule of life, and all partaking of the, same fellowship, and forming one and the same communion. In each place the Church had to start anew, and begin from nothing. At first, therefore, it would be but small in point of numbers. They could all be ac- commodated in one place of meeting and worship, and they would need no more. As they increased in numbers, however, they would need more than one place of worship. Other places were provided. But there were then no divisions into parishes and sepa- rate congregations, each with its appropriate minister, as at the present day. This division forms what is called the " Parochial System,'''' and was introduced after the Apostles' days. But with or without the Parochial system, there could be no occasion for forming another religiqus com- munion, or denomination, in the same place. With it, the Church or communion already established might be extended as far as occasion should require, as is done, by each denomination at the present day, by forming new congregations and organizing new par- ishes. Without it, all thai would be required would be to add to the number of places of worship, and to the number of the Clergy, as fast as the increasing wants of the community might require, and leave the members to attend at which ever place they might choose. The feelings of brotherhood, and brotherly love, IL] MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATIOK 47 which are so strongly inculcated in the Scriptures, and which the religion of Christ is so peculiarly cal- culated to produce, would dispose all the Christians in each place, to belong to the same society, or church. They would also remember the Lord's prayer that they might all be _one, that He might dwell in them and they in Him.' They would be familiar with such precepts as these : " Let brotjierly love continue,"* " Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing,"' " Be of the same mind one toward another,"* " Love as brethren,"' " For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ ; for .by one Spirit we are all baptised into one body."° " There is one Body and one Spirit, even as ye are all called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all,"' "That there may be one Fold and one Shepherd."' And, as enforcing these precepts of Divine truth, we are to consider what is said of the nature and dan- ger of divisions ; " For ye are yet carnal — for whereas there is among you envying and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul, and another, I am of ApoUos, are ye not carnal?"' "Mark them that cause divisions and oflFences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them, for they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus Christ.'"" " There must also be » John xvil 21. 2 Heb. jdil 1. s PM. iii. 16. * Eom. xiL 16. « 1 pet. iii. 8. « 1 Cor.xii. 12, 13. ' Eph. iv. 4, 5. 8 John x. 16. "1 Cor. iii 8. " Eom. xvL 11. 43 THE CHUBCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap, heresies among y.ou, that they which are approved may be made manifest.'" We need go no farther to see that all the believers in one place would endeavor to " speak the same thing, that there should be no divisions among them, but that they should be perfectly joined together, in the same mind arid' in the same judgment."^ If, then, one Apostle after another should go into the same place, it would be, as St. Paul says, only to build on the same foundation, to enlarge the borders and edify the same Church. Each would not be the founder of a sect, to be called by his name, as the Corinthians' seem to have thought. And how many so- ever the brethren might be, they would make but one . communion and fellowship — " many members in one body." Such then must be the result, so long as only those who were truly the Apostles and Ministers of Christ, labored among them. False Prophets, false Apostles might come. Against these they had been sufficiently warned. They might deceive many and would do so. But the society of followers which they could establish, most clearly would not 'be a part . or branch of the Church of Christ. — ^As a visible society it would be totally distinct. And if one should come, though not a false Prophet or Apostle — ^nay, though he were an angel from heaven — and should preach another gospel — either in the Church already existing or for the purpose of founding another — he must be rejected. In the strong >lCor.xi.l9. =lCor. i. 10. 11] MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATION. 49 language of St. Paul, twice repeated, "let him be accursed.'" This must evidently be the- meaning of the apostle. He was not speaking of those who professed to teach a new religion, altogether distinct from and independent of Christianity, but of those who inculcated a view of Christianity inconsistent with the doctrine of Justifi- cation by Faith, which he had- taught them. By "another gospel" therefore, he must have meant another view of the same gospel ; for he says of it, that it " is not another," but another view, or a per- version, of the same. There was then no possible way in which another church which should be a distinct visible society, or communion, and yet a true branch of the Church of Christ, could be established, in a place where one al- ready existed, so as to produce two in a community. (1.) It could not be produced by a division, or secession, for that is condemned as carnal, and not serving the Lord Jesus Christ. (2.) It could not be by the coming in among them of false Apostles or Prophets ; for no society which they could establish would be any part of the Church of Christ. " (3.) It could not be by a person's coming among them to preach another gos- pel — another -view of Christianity — even though that person were an Apostle, or an angel from heaven ; for whoever should come on such an errand or undertake such a work, must be held "accursed." And indeed another gospel would be necessary, to constitute another church. For the rites which the ' Gal i. 8-9. 50 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIKD. [Chap. Apostles were to teach the disciples to observe, were commanded them by our Lord no less than the doc- trines which they were to teach them to believe. This appears from the broad terms of the mission, as record- ed by St Matthew,' "teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : " and so long as this was done, by all the disciples under the in- fluence of those commands for unity, brotherly love and fellowship, and of those warnings against divi- sions — some of which we have quoted — there would be no separate communions, or distinct denominations, of the accepted disciples. And all others, whether they were those that were seduced by false prophets and apostles, or those who had given heed to some one coming among them preaching " another gospel," would of course have no claim, nor pretension, to be considered a branch of the Charoh of Christ. Hence, then; we may lay it down as a rule that the Church was expanded or extended, not by estab- lishing different denominations in the same place, but by establishing the same denomination in different places. § 9. In the thij:d place, the persons going PKiNcirLE: ^^*° ^^ unoccupied field^purely missionary Each new ground — to establish the Church, must go Branch must /..i (.iiti- i ti be estabushed 101^ the purposc 01 establishmg a branch ol on the same the CathoUo Churoh of Christ, on the same Doctrinal Ba- . i r i sis and for the basis, and for the same object, as the Church ^™'c^^^4^^ itself. This basis is, the Christian Faith.' self was orig- And the object is, the glory of God in the ushed. *^ " ' salvation of sinners. These being essential ' Matt, xxviii. 20. U.] MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATION. gi elements of the Church and of Christianity, they must of course, therefore be essential to its Identity. St. Paul says, " other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid.'" This foundation is the Christian Faith, as the Apostles taught it, and the Church at first received it. I do not mean to say that every error,or mistake in point of fact, will nullify or invalidate the labors of the missionary who makes it. Such mistakes are inci- dent to human infirmity, and inseparable from whatever is to be done by fallible man. But when a missionary, or a band of them, go about to build a church on a basis or foundation materially different froni that which was the acknowledged Creed, or Cpnfession of Faith of the Primitive Church, the design itself shows that they intend to found a new church — a new reli- gious communion, rather than to extend the old one. And such a step would lead to two results, which would make the fact that a new church had been established conspicuous ' and generally admitted. (1.) The new church would not be likely to claim communion with the old, but would be likely, on the other hand, to entertain some feelings of hostility towards it. (2.) Nor would the old Church admit the claims of the new one to be received to communion and fellowship, if such claims were made. So that 'the fact of non- intercommunion; — -and perhaps of hostility — would be a sufiicient /indication that there was no identity or affiliation between them. One may err in his apprehension of some points of • 1 Cor. iii. 11. 52 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. \CaiP. the Primitive Faith. Education may have accustomed him to some modifications of the Primitive rites and customs. But these things, so long as they do not lead him to seek, by a conscious intention, to engraft them upon the Primitive Faith and customs ; or so to narrow down the Christian Platform; and restrain the liberty of conscience allowed to Christians by the Layr of Liberty in Christ Jesus, as that its members are not allowed to hold the Faith in its purity — do not neces- sarily constitute the church so established, an entirely distinct one. It may teach and practise error — but it does so unintentionally. It was not founded for the purpose of binding over its members to the errors which it inculcates. The door is not closed against the light. It has interposed no obstacles to the return to the truth, in its purity and simplicity, but everywhere professes the design so to teach that truth to its members. The design of the heresiarch — that is, the person who founds a new sect or church — is, to found one that shall embody and represent his own peculiar views. These views are of course diverse from those entertained by the Church or churches already ex- isting — else there could be no desire to establish a new one. Now we hav.e seen, under the Principle last specified, that this desire or design can not be indulged in a community where the Church already exists. The operation of the Principle now under discussion, is to prevent this design or desire from taking effect in any other community. The result would be no less a new and distinct church in the one case than in the other. The founder lays a new foundation in the doctrines and usages which he advocates, and his followers are 11.] MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFCATIOK 53 built upon that foundation, with himself, perhaps, for ' the Chief Corner-stone.' And his church, instead of being an extension of the Church of Christ, is most evidently another and a new one. We have now considered the three Principles of Church extension, which encompass the whole subject. I do not profess to have enumerated all the principles involved — I have selected only those which are the most general in their character — ^the most obviously true, and the most easily applied to the facts of his- tory. With these principles, we can follow the Church from its establishment at Jerusalem, in the days of the Apostles, to its extension and final triumph in all the remotest corners of the earth. Be it Episcopal or Presbyterian, Baptist or Papal — be its form and its doctrines what they may — the same Principles of Ex- tension will enable us to follow it in its growth, and identify its existence. We need not even know what are its doctrines or its forms — these may all be left as a matter for subsequent investigation. But the Church itself, in any place, and for any country, or any age, we can find and identify — postponing all secondary and subordinate questions until we are able to contem- plate them from a more advantageous position, and settle them more satisfactorily. § 10. The application of the foregoing Another principles would in all cases lead to the cor- livmg at the reot result. But it would require an extensive ^""^ '■^'""■ investigation of Church history — and it is possible that in many cases there are no documents extant from which the precise state of the facts can be ascertained. 54 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. "We may then direct our attention to two other tests which can be applied with a less minute research into history, and yet lead to the same result. 1. The first is indicated by the answer given to the inquiry — Does the soriely in question claim to be apart of the Church that has always existed from the Apostles' days, and to be now in communion with it, or any part of it ? Most sects frankly acknowledge the fact and the occasion of their origin as distinct and visible societies, ■ and make no claim to be any part of the Church that was in existence before them. Thus the Hethodists claim to have been founded as a church by John Wesley. They do not claim to be a part of the Church of England — from which their founders seceded, nor do they claim now to be in communion with it. Of course, therefore, they are not to be considered as a legitimate branch; and part of the English Church. On the other hand, the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, does claim to have been founded by the English Church, as a true and legitimate branch of itself. She claims to be, and in point of fact now is, in full and reciprocal communion with the mother Church. 2. This, then, leads us to the second part of our test. Does that which is claimed to be the parent Church acknowledge the one in question to have been duly founded as a branch of herself ? We have seen in the case of the Methodists, that they do not claim to be a regular branch of the Eng- lish Church, or in full and reciprocal communion with it. So it is true, likewise, that the English Church II.] MODE OP HISTORIC rDENTIFICATION. 55 does not acknowledge any such relationship, and ■would not, if it were claimed. But in regard to the Protestant Episcopal Church, the relationship claimed by it is fully acknowledged. Members go from one Church to the other by letters of transference — ^the clergy of each Church are mutually and reciprocally acknowledged by the other, and re- ceived to a full participation in the ministry.. So, with regard to the Church of England itself. Go back to a period anterior to the divisions of the East and the West, and we find it claiming to be a true and legitimate branch of the Catholic Church of Christ, and it was so acknowledged to be. After the division, it of course adhered to the Romish Bishop and party until the Reformation caused a further division in the Church, and then the B" glish Church adhered to the Reformation. That it is, therefore, a branch of the original Vine, may be safely inferred from the application of these two tests ; and the only question in regard to it is, whether it became apostate by the Reformation or not. Up to that time it was fully acknowledged to be a branch of the Church of Christ, by that Church itself. And, in fact, the two tests which I have last laid down, are the ones in most common use. You meet a man in the streets, and ask what church he belongs to — fou are seeking for the first test named. What church does he claim to be a member of ? Suppose he answers the Methodist. If we have no special object for inquiring further, and have no reason to doubt his word, we rest upon his assertion and inquire no further. But if we doubt his word, or have need to be very oer- 56 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. tain, we go to the Methodist church of which he claims to be a member, and ascertain if they acknowledge him as such. If so, it settles the question in our mind, as fully as though we had compared all the facts of his admission with the established rules and usages of that church. Now, this is what I mean by the application of our tests to particular churches. We first ask of any one, was it founded by an Apostle ? If answered in the negative, we ask by what Apostolic Church it was founded — from which branch of the original Vine is it an offshoot ; and if we find that Church acknowledg- ing its claims, we need not doubt that the younger Church was founded in conformity with the funda- mental principles of the extension of the Church, any more than we should if we had carefully examined into the facts of its early history. We presume that the Church knew the principles of her own identity and extension ; we know that she knew the facts of the case under consideration, and we are willing to abide in her judgment, expressed by the acknowledgment of communion. A traveller meets a clergyman and asks him to what denomination the parish to which he ministers belongs. He says the Presbyterian, (Old School,) and on inquiry it is found that he and his par- ish are acknowledged regularly to belong to the Pres- Dytery within whose geographical limits it is situated. The traveller never doubts after this that the minister and his people are a true and legitimate branch of the Presbyterian church. So, if the Protestant Episcopal Church claims to be a branch of the English Church, and the English It] MODE OP HISTORIC IDENTIFICATION. 57 Church claims to be a branch of the Apostolic Church, and to have been founded by the Apostles, and those claims were admitted by the rest of the Church from the first, then we could not doubt that all that was essential to their integration with the Church founded by the Apostles, has been duly observed in regard, to their origin as separate branches of it. § 11. The Church is an outward and visi- The chmch can be identi- ble institution. By the word we sometimes fled only by mean, the people who constitute the Church. <>"""»'»«'s°»- At other times it is used to indicate those rites and elements of organization by which the members are associated and united in a body or churchy but, in either view, it is a visible and tangible object. There are those, however, who think that wherever the Gospel is preached, and the Faith received, there we are to acknowledge the existence of the Church. But evidently the Church and the Faith are not the same thing. The Faith, as a system of truth, may be intellectually received, and dogmatically taught, when the rites and sacraments which were designed to unite those who receive it and constitute them a church, are not used. The Church is not a mere multitude of believers. In order to be a church, they must have been baptized and live in some sort of fellowship, join in a worship, and be bound together by some common tie. I have shown in the first chapter, that those ele- ments of organization, which constitute the believers a church or society by themselves, have a value of their own. I have by fio means exhausted that branch of the subject. Nor can I go into it fully here without ?,* 58 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. going further into points that are purely theological in the stricter sense of the word, than I design to do. If by the Faith, we mean simply the articles of truth that are to be beheved, then manifestly the faith is not all of Christianity that is generally necessary to our salvation. "Without repeating what has already been said bearing directly on the importance of the Church ; and without pausing to consider what the Scriptures say of certain rites, as Baptism and the Lord's Supper, which are parts of the Church ; we will look, at present, only at its rrioral design. That design is the promo- tion of QsisDIENCE. All the antecedent history of "God's dealings with man point to this fact. All His Institutions and com- mands were to test, to secure and to promote, obedience. Moses declares that Grod led the Israelites through the wilderness forty years, that " He might prove them and know what was in their heart, whether they would keep His commandments or no." ' The prosperity and the adversity of the Jews depended upon their obedience or disobedience. And when Saul had broken the law of G-od and saved a portion of the spoil of the Amalekites, only that he might offer it to God, Samuel thus reproves him: "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold,, to obey, is better than sacrifice, and to hearken, than the fat of rams." ■' So in the Christian Dispensation. The primary ? Deut yiii 2. 2 1 Sam.xv. 22. II.] MODE OP HISTORIC IDENTEFICATIOK 59 duty of the Apostolic commission was to preach, the Gospel.' Yet, as St. Paul says, the preaching of the Grospel itself was only a means to a further end, namely "/or the obedience of the Faith." ^ And he assures us that he was called to the Apostleship " for obedience to the faith among all nations." ° . St. Peter writes to those who were " Elect according to the foreknow- ledge of God, the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.",* Our Blessed Lord became the Author of salvation only to those that obey Him.* St. Peter asks " What shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel ? " ° And finally, St. Paul speaks of our Lord's taking vengeance at His second coming, on them " that obey not the Gospel." ' Now, in all these passages and in many more like them, the importance is attached, not to hearing or believing the Gospel merely, but to obeying it. The faith, therefore, is not the only thing that is essential, either for the identity of the Church or for the salvation of its members. Obedience to the posi- tive institutions and commands of the Gospel is essen- tial also : and the Faith itself is promulgated for the promotion of this obedience. v The first act of sin committed on the face of the earth, was (so far as we can see, or are informed) simply an act of disobedience to a positive command or institution. In the act itself, aside from the com- mandment of God respecting it, there was nothing that is repugnant to human nature. Nor could any » Mark xvl 15. = Rom. xvi. 26. 3 Rom. i. S. ■'1 Peter i. 2. 'Heb. T.9. 6 1 Peter It. 17. ' 2 Thess. I 8. 60 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. Chap. evil consequences be foreseen to flow from it except those that depended upon the divine threatening. It was, therefore, purely a test of obedience. And all the dealings of Grod with man since that time serve to en- force this precept of Holy Scripture already quoted, " Behold, to obey, is betI'er than Sacrifice, and to hearken, than the fat of rams." Hence all the orders and subordinations of men. Children are commanded to obey their parents'. Ser- vants are commanded to obey their masters'. "Wives, their husbands' — citizens, their rulers,^ and Christians, their pastors.* Nor are the recognized limits of the ob- ligations to obedience always coincident with the jus- tice and right of the thing commanded. Children and servants are commanded to obey "in all things.'" St. Peter says, " Servants be subject to your masters, with all fear : not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward ; for this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief and suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if when ye be. buf- feted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently ? but if when ye do well and suffer for it ye take it patiently, this is acceptable to God.'" So too, in religious mat- ters, notwithstanding all the corruptions and hypoc- risy of the Scribes and Pharisees, our Lord commanded " the multitude," " All, therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do, but do ye not after their works, for they say and do not.'" And the reason ' Eph. vi. 2. Col. iii. 20. a Col. iii. 22. 3 Eph. T. 22. Col. iii. 18. 1 Peter iii. 1. * Rom. xiii. 1-5. Tit iii. 1. 6 Heb. xiii. 7, 17. " Col. iii. 20, 22. ' 1 Pet. ii. 18, 19, 20. s j^a,tt. xxiil 3. II.] MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATIOlf. 61 given for this commandment is, that " the Scribes and Pharisees sat in Moses' seat," that is, in the place of ofEce and authority over them. Now, most manifestly the spirit of obedience is one of the most essential things in Christianity — so essen- tial, (as is evident from what has been quoted,) as to be a justification, on the part of those who obey, for many things, which otherwise are not as they ought to be. Jeremy Taylor remarks, " neither can I be confident that I am wise in any thing, except when I obey : for then I have the wisdom of Hitn whom God has placed over me for my warrant if I am right, or my excuse if I am wrong." Now the Church is most intimately connected with Obedience. The Church implies positive institutions — an outward visible existence. It implies not merely the preaching and hearing the Grospel, but the keep- ing tMe commandments of God — the public profession before men — ^the denying one's self and taking up his cross, that he may walk in the way of the Lord's ap- pointing, and not in the way of his own choosing. It implies meekness, humility, submission, and obedience. It implies the exercise of those virtues on which depend the harmony, the peace, and the happiness of Heaven. And each positive institution that enters as a component part of the Church's constitution on earth, is designed to train us to take our place with the Cherubim and Seraphim among the orders and subordinations of the Church in Heaven. His Bible alone — whether read in the privacy of his own closet or preached to him by the chance visitations of some one gifted with utter- ance in divine things, is not all that man needs — is 62 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. not all that his Saviour has provided for him. He needs a home — a communion of saints — a fellowship of kindred minds — a co-operation of sympathising hearts. There is a trial of his humility, his submission, and of his self-denial, which His JiOrd calls him to make — a testing of his fitness for Heaven, as well as a school to train him in that fitness. Man needs not only tp be forgiven, but to be brought back to the state of obedience from which he has rebelled. Obedi- ence can be tested only by outward institutions and commands, to which the conscience shall bend and habituate the will and the affections. It cannot be tested by mere subjective emotions or internal desires. That the Church has an importance, therefore, in- dependent of the importance of the Faith, is undenia- ble. The Church is Christianity located and , put in practice. It is a body of men believing the Doctrines, and observing the Rites and Duties of Christianity. It is the fellowship of the Disciples — the test of our faith, and of our obedience to Grod. Let it then be distinctly kept in mind, that we are seeking to identify the Church, and not the Faith. "We should identify the Faith by first seeking out the earliest Creed, and then follow that creed in its adoption or rejection through the lapse of ages, carefully noting every variation in its language, and in the sense in which it was understood and believed. But in identi- fying the Church, we start with the idea that the Church is a visible society of men and women, capable of a visible historic existence through successive gen- erations, as they pass over the stage of human action. And when we have thus outwardly and historically IL] MODE OF HISTORIC IDENTIFICATION'. 63 identified the Church, we may entertain a presumption almost as strong as certainty itself, that we shall find in its teaching " the Faith once delivered unto the Saints." At all events we have found the casket in which the jewel was placed — ^the keeper and witness to whom the Truth was entrusted, and whose testimony we are bound to take into consideration in all our in- quiries after the Truth itself. CHAPTER III, THE CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION AND ITS CONDITION AT THAT TIME. The full execution of my plan would require me to go over the whole history of the planting and extension of the Church from the day of Pentecost up to the present time, and show the application of the princi- ples laid down in a previous chapler throughout. But this, as will be seen at once, would require a great deal of dry detail which would have no immediate bearing upon the immediate practical result to which I design to bring my present undertaking. It will be borne in .mind, that while I have laid down the princi- ples by which to identify the Church in general, I am aiming to give to the present discussion of the subject such a shape as to enable one with certainty to identify the Church here in these United States, from amidst so many claiming sects. I shall select my portions of the history of the Church for the application of my principles with this view ; leaving out all others as having no immediate connection with the object more immediately before us. The Apostles, in executing their mission. of preach- ing the Grospel, first settled in the principal I owns and cities, establishing a Church in each, which was left to Chap. IH.] CHXTRCH BEFORE THE REEORMATIOlir. 65 grow until it should extend the dominion of Christ's Earthly Kingdom over the surrounding country, and meet the efforts of the Church planted in the next city spreading the Gospel in like manner over its surround- ing territory. These Churches were at first independent of one another. And if we would follow out the history of their planting, we should find the three Principles already laid down fully and exactly followed. § 1. But instead of following the long General detail of the history of their planting, it may proofs that the •' '^ °' •' Principles laid be both more satisfactory and more mterest- down above, ing to quote a few passages firom the early '"g^^'^^^^^^/j Christian writers to show that the principles to. to which I have called attention, were then substantially regarded in the same light as I have aimed to place them. Of course, it will not be ex- pected that they were then stated in the way that I have stated them ; for there was then no occasion for such a statement. The principles were not disputed nor denied, arid needed not to be stated in either an argumentative or didactic way. All that we can ex- pect therefore, is to find them recognised or assumed as unquestionably true. The evidence of the regard for these principles would be, perhaps most clearly manifested in such a work as Busebius's Ecclesiastical History, where he gives an account of the spread and perpetuation of the Chureh down to his own time, that is, through the first two centuries. In each case we find the historian carefully specifying the facts which show the conformity to these principles : and yet not in a way to imply that there was any dispute or doubt about them. But rather in such a way as to iihply 66 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. that these were the essential facts, which it was well and important to put distinctly on record. ^ 2. The first passage that I will quote is Quotations from Tertullian, who was converted to ^°^ Christianity towards the close of the second century." In writing against Heretics, or, perhaps I had better say — concerning the rule by which we are to decide who are Heretics, he says : " Immediately, therefore, the Apostles (whom this title intendeth to denote as ' sent ') having chosen by lot a twelfth, Matthias, into the room of Judas, on the authority of a prophecy which is in a Psalm of David, having obtained the promised power of the Holy Spirit, for the working of miracles and for utterance, first having throughout Judea borne witness to the faith in Jesus Christ and established Churches, next went forth into the world and preached the same doctrine of the same Faith to the nations, and forthwith founded Churches in every city from whence the other Churches thenceforward borrowed the tradition of the Faith [re- ceived the Faith] and the seeds of doctrine, and are daily borrowing them, that they may become churches. And for this cause they are themselves also accounted Apostolical, as being the offspring of Apostolical Churches. The whole kind must needs be classed under the original. Wherefore these Churches, so many and so great, are but that one primitive Church from the Apostles, whence they all spring. Thus all are the primitive, and all are Apostolical, while all are ' Dodqson's Tertullian. De. Prrescrip Her. § xx. nt] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 67 And then in reference to others, he says : — " If there be any heresies [sects] which venture to plant themselves in the midst of the age of the Apos- tles, that they may therefore be thought to have been handed down from the Apostles, because they existed under the Apostles, we may say', let them then make known the originals of their churches :. let them unfold the roll of their bishops so coming down in succession from the beginning that their first bishop had for his ordainer and predecessor some one of the Apostles, or of the Apostolic men, that continued steadfast with the Apostles. For in this manner do the Apostolic Churches reckon their origin : as the Church of Smyrna recount- eth that Polycarp was placed there by John ; as that of Rome doth, that Clement was in like manner ordained by Peter. Just so can the rest also show those, whom being appointed by the Apostles to the Episco- pate, they have as transmitters of the Apostolic seed. Let the heretics invent something of the same sort. But even though they invent it, they will advance never a step : for their Doctrine, when compared with that of the Apostles, will of itself declare, by the difference and contrariety between them, that it had neither any Apostle for its author nor any Apostolic men : because, as the Apostles' would not have taught things differing from each other, so neither would Apostolic men have set forth things contrary, to the Apostles. * * * To this test, then, they will be challenged by those Churches, which, although they can bring forward as their founder no one of the Apostles or of Apostolic men, (as being of much later date, and indeed being founded daily,) nevertheless since they agree in the 63 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [GniP. same Faith,- are, by reason of their consanguinity in doctrine, counted not the less Apostolical. So let all heresies when challenged by our Churches to both these tests, [to wit, their origin and their faith] prove themselves Apostolical in whatever way they may think themselves so to be. ' But in truth they neither are so, nor can they prove themselves to be what they are not, nor are they received into union and commu- nion by Churches, in any way Apostolical, to wit, be- cause they are in no way Apostolical, by reason of the sacred mystery which they teach." ' The ^'■mystery"'' here referred to is the Creed, which in other places the same author calls The Rule OF Faith. On this point he says : — "An adulteration by the sense imposed [on the Scriptures] is as much opposed to the truth as a cor- ruption by the pen."' "To the Scriptures, therefore, we must not appeal : nor must we try the issue on points on which the victory is either none, or doubtful — or too little doubtful, [since the very doubt is their victory.] For though the debate on the Scriptures should not so turn out, as to place each party on an equal footing, the order of things would require that this question which is now the only one to be discussed, should first be proposed, namely : ' To whom belongeth the very Faith j whose are the Scriptures ; by whom, through vjhom, and where, and to whom was that Rule whereby men become Christians \The Apostles' Creed] delivered?' For wherever both the true Christian • Teriullian as above, § xxxii. ^ Musterium. :S,6fi^o\ Epist Lt. § 20 and De XXnitate § 7. 2 Commentary on Gal i. 2. 3 Hom. xxxii. on Rom. xvi 17, 18. 72 THE CHUUCH IDENTIPIED. [Ohapi My extracts are getting to be lengthy. But I must 'beg the reader to bear with me a few moments longer. I now quote from Cykil, Bishop of Jerusalem, A. D. 350. CTRiLof ■ § 5. "While the Kings of particular na- Jeru8aiein,,j.- j^ bounds Set to their dominion, the quoted. * ' Holy Church Catholic alone extends her illimitable sovereignty over the whole world." " Now it is called catholic because it is throughout the world, from one end of the earth to the other, and because it teaches, universally and completely, one and all the doctrines which ought to come. to men's knowledge, concerning things both visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly ; and because it subjugates in order to godliness, every class of men, governors and governed, learned and unlearned ; and because it universally treats and heals every sort of sins which are committed by soul or body, and possesses in itself every form of virtue which is named both in deeds and words and in every kind of spiritual gifts. And it is rightly named ' Church,^ because it calls forth and assembles to- gether all men.'" The same author says also : " But since the word ' Church ' or ' Assembly ' is applied to different things (as also it is written of the multitude in the theatre of the Ephesians, Acts xix. 41, and since one might properly say that there is a church of the evil doers) the Faith [the rule of Faith, or Apostle's Creed] has delivered to thee, by way of secu- rity, the Article, and in One Holy Catholic Church, ' Catchet. Lect. xviij. § 21, 23, 24. Ill] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATIOIT. 73 that thou mayest avoid their wretched meetings and ever abide with the Holy Church Catholic in which thou wast born again. And if ever thou art sojourn- ing in any city, inquire not simply where the Lord's House is, (for the sects of the profane also make an at- tempt to call their own dens ' Houses of the Lord,^) nor merely where the Church is, but where is the Catholic Church. For this is the peculiar name of this Holy Body, the Mother of us all, which is the Spouse of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God.'" Here I close my quotations from individual au- thors, not, however, from want of much more like this, (for I could easily fill a volume,) but for want of room, and because I deem it unnecessary to proceed any farther. § 6. I will next call attention to another Canons class of testimony, namely, the Canons of lefoned to. the Church. We have a series of Canons that were adopted some of them very early — and all of them received the sanction and approbation of the whole Church. From these only shall I quote. And I will begin with their definition of Heretics : "And we include under the name of heretics these who have been formally cast off by the Church, and those who have since been anathematized by us, and in addition to these, those also, who do indeed pretend to confess the sound Faith, but have sepa- rated themselves and founded congregations in oppo- sition to our canonical Bishops."^ > Lect xviii. § 26. '^ Can. vi., Constantinople. 4 74 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. These Canons make provisions for persons going from one city or province to another, and being there received. But they never speak of going from one religious communion to another in the same commun- ity in that way. This shows first, that all the Churches in different places were in one communion, and sec- ondly, that they recognised none as Churches of Christ that were not in the same communion with them, and finally, that there was but one Church in the same city. They abound in laws prohibiting any of the clergy from separating from the Church to form separate con- gregations, distinctly repudiating all such from being in the communion of the Church. They are full of restrictions preventing the people from praying, marrying, or having any religious asso- ciations with heretics. I had designed to quote these Canons at length. But that will be unnecessary ; as it is not from isola- ted Canons or here and there a pointed expression, that we can best judge of their bearing in this respect. The whole tenor and frame work of them is based upon the Principles of identification that I have already stated. To show this fully would require far more lengthy quotations than I have room for in this place, or than the reader's patience would hold out to ex- amine. I have not quoted or referred to these passages as authority to give weight to what I have said, but to show that these Principles were regarded in the Church so as that no society or assembly of persons calling themselves Christians, could have been received Ill] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 75 and acknowledged to be" a part of the Church in viola- tion of them. They would have been at once put down as heretics or schismatics — a new church on a human foundation not holding to the Head, and there- fore not of the Body.' L At the time of the introduction of ''^^^ '"''J' subdivisions Christianity, the Roman empire included in iheciiureh. nearly the whole of the known world. This Empire was divided, in the first place, into Dioceses, which were the largest divisions. Bach Diocese con- tained several Provinces, and these Provinces were again subdivided into Parishes. Each city was un- der the immediate government of certain magistrates within its own sbody, at the head of which was an officer called Dictator or Defensor-civitatis, and whose power extended not only over the city, but over all the adjacent territory, commonly called the Tr^oan-rcux. or ?r«f oiKi'os [Parish,] the suburbs or lesser towns belong- ing to its jurisdiction. Such for the most part were the cities spoken of in the New Testament, in which we read of Churches being established. Each such city had a separate government by itself, and was, to a very great extent, independent of all others. This constitutes what in modern ecclesiastical language, is called a Diocese. Several of these divisions of the Empire conjoined into one, made the next larger di- vision, or a Pronzrace, subject to the authority of one chief magistrate, who resided in the metropolis, or chief city of the Province. The necessities of the Churches, to say nothing of ' Col. a 19. 76 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Cuap. the intention of their Founde'r, soon led to an associa- tion of the several Dioceses in a Province for purposes of mutual edification and helpfulness. All the early records of the Church speak of the Diocesan Churches as having one man at their head, called by a variety of names, ^^ Apostle" "Angel" "President" "Papa" &c. &o., but more generally, and always in the Can- ons or laws of Discipline "Bishop" that is, "over- seer" — to whom alone was reserved the right of ordaining the clergy. The very oldest canon or Church law, in existence, requires that for the Ordin- ation of one of these Bishops, there should be at the least two or three Bishops present and assisting, while each Bishop was allowed alone and by himself to ordain the other clergy of his Diocese. In the same code, which, as I have already said is the earliest code that has come down to us — reaching back, as some of its Canons doubtless do, to near the time of the death of St. John the Apostle, it is ordained as follows : "Let there be a meeting of the Bishops [in a Prov- ince] twice a year, and let them examine amongst themselves the decrees or canons concerning religion, and settle the ecclesiastical controversies which may have occurred.'" The Bishop of the metropolis of the Province was called Metropolitan or Arch-Bishop. Hence the Council of Antioch, a. d. 341, ordains : " It behoves the Bishops in every Province to own him who presides over the Metropolis, and who is to take care of the whole Province ; because all who have ' Apost Caa xxxvii. Ill] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION'. 77 business come together from every side to the Me- tropolis. Wherefore, also, it has been decreed that he should have precedence of rank, and that the other Bishops should do nothing of consequence without him, according to the ancient Canon, which we have received from our Fathers : or at any rate, only those things which belong to each particular parish [Diocese in the modern sense of the word,] and the districts which are under it. For each Bishop is to have authority over his own Parish, [Diocese,] and to admin- ister it with that piety which concerns every one, and to make provision for all the Districts ■which is under his City, to ordain Presbyters and Deacons, and to de- termine everything with judgment ; but let him attempt nothing further without the Bishop of the Metropolis ; and let him not do anything without the consent of others.'" Ere long, however, there was occasion for a still more extensive association, and the Bishops and Churches of several Provinces began to meet together. And then the several provinces in one of the larger divisions of the Empire, called a Diocese, as they then used the term, were associated in a sort of ecclesiasti- cal union, and the Bishop of the chief city was called a ^^ Patriarch" ox " Exarch." Of this subdivision of the Church we find many proofs in the early Canons. The Council of Chaledon [a. d. 451,] decreed that "If any [Bishop] is wronged by his Metropolitan, he is to be judged by the Exarch of the Diocese," or by the Emperor.^ • Can. ix. '' Can. ix. xviL 7S THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. Ciur. Yet even among these Patriarchs there must needs be some order of precedence. The first Council of Constantinople, a. d. 381, therefore decreed — " That the Bishop of Constantinople shall have the Primacy of Honor, after the Bishop of Rome, because that Constantinople is New Rome.'" The Council of Chalcedon, a. d. 351, also decreed that — " Following in all things the decisions of the Holy Fathers, and acknowledging the Canon [of Constanti- nople just read,] thej' do also determine and decree the same things respecting the privileges of the most Holy city of Constantinople, New Rome. For the Fathers properly gave the primacy to the Throne of the Elder Rome, because that was the imperial city."^ The Emperor Justinian decreed to the same efTeot : ""We decree according to the decision of the Can- ons, that the most Holy Archbishop of the elder Rome, should be altogether first of all the Priests, and that the most Holy Archbishop of Constantinople, which is New Rome, should have the second rank after the most holy Apostolic throne of the elder Rome."' What was here oonfemd upon the BishtJp of Rome, was, however, only a "primacy in honor" and "pre- cedence in rank ; " it was no superiority of jurisdiction and conferred no authority over those of whom it gave him the right to take the precedence. § 8. The jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome at this time, was bounded on the North by the Patriarch- ate of Milan,* that is, about the parallel of North 'Can. iii. 3 Can. xxviil ^ Nmell \Z1, c.% * Theodoret Eccl. HistB. H. c. XV. compared with Athanasius Epist ftd Solitar, in Biiigliam, B. IX. u. 1. UL] , CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 79 Latitude, 44 degrees, and extended south., Theiimitsof including the Peninsula of Italy, and the \^^^ "f'the Islands of Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily. Bishops of Beyond these limits he was not aoknow- emiyagea. ledged to have any more authority than any other foreign Bishop whatever. At the latter end of the fourth century the Church was thus subdivided, according to Bingham.' I. The Patriarchate of j ^g ^^^^-^^^^ & ^g ^^^ Antioch with . . ) II. Alexandria . . . 6 t( 6 III. Ephesus . . . . 11 (( 11 IV. CfiSAREA . . . . 11 It 11 V. Heraclea, afterwards j (, cc 6 Constantinople . $ VI. Thessalonica . . . 6 (( 6 VII. Sardica . . . . 5 l< 3 VIII. Milan .... . 7 (( 4 IX. Rome .... . 10 It 3 X. SiRIMIUM . . . . 6 If uncertain. XI. Carthase . . . . 6 ft 6 II XII. Spain,. Exarchate h II 7 If uncertain . . XIII. G-ALLiA, Exarchate !" II 17 ft uncertain . . XIV. Great Britain, Exarchate York, if any, with five provinces, and probably three Archbishops, York, London, and Caerleon. The foregoing table shows the subdivisions of the Ohurch at that early period, and it will be useful to • Antiquities, toI. iii. p. 7.-12. 80 THE CHURCH mENTIFIED. [Chap. bear it in mind when we come to read the following Canon with respect to encroachments made by any ambitious Bishop over other parts of the Church than those which rightly belonged to him. Patriarchs § 9. In almost evcry Council anterior extndingIC ^° t^i^t at Ephcsus A. D. 431, there had iurisdictiii. fceeu Something said to prevent the ambi- tion of the Bishops from going beyond their limits to extend their authority over others. In this state of things the Council of Ephesus passed the following law : — " The most beloved of God and our fellow Bishop Rheginus, and Zeno, and Euagrius, the most reli- gious Bishops of the province of Cyprus, who were with him, have declared unto us an innovation which has been introduced contrary to the laws of the Church and the Canons of the Holy Fathers, and which effects the liberty of all. Wherefore, since evils which effect the community [i. e. the whole Church] require more attention, inasmuch as they cause greater hurt, especi- ally since the Bishop of Antioch has not so much as followed an ancient custom in performing ordinations in Cyprus, as those most religious persons who have come to the holy Synod have informed us, by writing and by word of mouth, we declare that they who pre- side over the holy Churches which are in Cyprus, shall preserve, without gainsaying or opposition, their right of performing by themselves the ordinations of the most religious Bishops, according to the Canons of the Holy Fathers, and the ancient custom. The same rule shall be observed in all the other Dioceses, and in the Provinces, everywhere, so that none of the most UL] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 81 religious Bishops shall invade any other Province which has not heretofore from the beginning, been under the hand of himself, or his predecessors. But if any one has so invaded a Province, and brought it by force under himself, he shall restore it, that the Canons of the Fathers may not be transgressed, nor the ■pride of secular dominion be privily introduced under the appearance of a sacred office, nor we lose by little and little the freedom which our Lord Jesus Christ, the Deliverer of all men, has given us by His blood. The holy and oecumenical Synod has therefore, de- creed, that the rights which have heretofore, and from beginning, belonged to each Province, shall be pre- served to it pure and without restrauit, according to the custom which has prevailed of old, each Metropol- itan having permission ' to take a copy of the things now transacted for his own security. But if any shall introduce any regulation contrary to what has been now defined, the whole holy and CBOumenical Synod has decreed that it shall be of no efTect.'" Towards the close of the ninth century, Leo Sapiens the Emperor, caused a catalogue of the Bish- oprics to be made. This is given by Bingham. " The order of precedency of the Patriarchates is — 1. Rome ; 2. Constantinople ; 3. Alexandria ; 4. Antioch ; 5. iElia, or Jerusalem. Even so late as this, England was not included within the Patriarchate, or jurisdic- tion of Rome. But of this we shall see more when we come to speak of the Reformation .in England. § 10. Thus was the Church of Christ — while it ' Can. viii. ^ Vol. iii. p. 186, et seq, 4* 82 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. , [Chap. inwhatsense Constituted one Body, one Church., divided and in what ^^'^ Subdivided, each part being in perfect sense many union, communion, and harmony, with each other. And when, therefore, the ancient writers spoke of Churches in the plural number, they always meant these subdivisions, one, and one only, of which existed in the same place, and not as we now do, the several denominations or churches in the same place. Sketch of the ^ H- ^^ accordance with the Principles Extension of already discussed, and which as we have the Church be- •' . i /-,i i • fore the Ke- secn, Were entertained by the Church uni- formation. ycrsally, the communion of the Church was extended from its first establishment up to the time of the Reformation with a progressive growth from cen- tury to century, until it covered the whole of Europe — the "Western part of Asia, and the Northeastern part of Africa. Thus the Church was established in Asia Minor by the Apostles a. d. 40-50. St. Mark, the Evangelist, established it in Egypt. In the fourth century Fru- mentius was consecrated by St. Athanasius as the first Bishop of Ethiopia. And in the same century the Gospel was preached in Armenia, Iberia, Thrace, Moesia, and Dacia. Two missionaries, Columban and Wilibord — the former from Ireland, and the latter from England, planted the Church to a considerable extent in many parts of Grermany — Batavia, Friesland, West- phalia and Denmark in the seventh century. In the eighth century Nestorian Missionaries from ChaJdea converted the Tartars. In the ninth century the Church made its way into Austria, Sweden and Russia. ni.] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 83 In the tenth it became established in Poland, Hun- gary and Denmark. Of course it did not reach the Western Continent until the sixteenth century, or after- wards. Thus we see that the Church was never stationary — but always progressing in its extension. Many of the nations which we have named above were not wholly converted at the time specified, and the work of their conversion continued many years (in some cases. more than a century) before it was completed. § 12. The ravages of Mahometanism had '"'e chureh ° divided at the obscured and greatly marred a' part of the commence- Church, and the strifes between the Bishops ^^"forma- of Rome and of Constantinople for the su- uon into two T 1 1 1 1 J T ■ • Grand Divi- premacy or precedence had led to a division siom or schism. Russia and the east of Europe, including Greece and the west of Asia, and the north- east part of Africa were on the one side, and Europe, from Austria west was on the other. The former part is usually known as the Greek Church. The latter as the Western or Roman Church. The Roman Communion therefore consisted of several national or provincial Churches, which had been brought in some way to acknowledge the supre- macy of the Bishop of Rome as Pope. He and they had arrogantly appropriated to themselves the title of " Catholic" and declared obedience and submission to the Pope indispensable to God's favor. Among those Churches which had been brought into tliis subjugation was the Church of England. Planted in that Island in the days of the ApostleSj and probably by an Apostle's own labors — St. Paul — it 84 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap, maintained its perfect freedom from all foreign juris- diction or interference for four or five centuries — until after the Saxon invasion. The Island was then recon- verted in part, by Missionaries, sent thither from Rome, who, of course, brought with them a Roman influence, which, by one means and another, was in- creased, until near the time of the Reformation. Of course, therefore, the Church of England partook of the darkness and corruptions of the middle ages. While the Eastern Churches which had never acknow- ledged the Papal Supremacy, had not become nearly so corrupt.' At the Reformation then, we have the Church in what, for convenience sake, may be called two com- munions — the Eastern or Grreek, and the Western or Roman — nearly equal in point of numbers — and both equally parts of the original vine, planted in accor- dance with the Principles to which our attention has been called. They were divided by events that oc- curred long after they were established, and not by the very fact of their origin. The Reformation — which took place in a part of the Western or Roman part of the Church — constituted still another division, as we shall soon see, so as that after that event the whole Church Catholic will be found divided into three parts or communions, the Greek, the Roman, and the Reformed. § 13. It would be unnecessary, so far as the prsic- tical result of our present undertaking is concerned, to refer to any of the sects which existed before the • The independence of the EngUsh Church of the Romish Supremacy in the first centuries, and the means by which that supremacy was ac- quired, will be considered more at length in a future Chapter. nt] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 85 Reformation, were it not for the fact, that au the eaiiy some 01 our modern sects refer to them, come extinct and especially to the Waldenses and J.»i- <"' "^^'^ *<>• genses, as the link of visible union and connection between themselves and the Primitive Church Catho- lic. These sects have also served many modern speculators another very convenient turn. After hav- ing come to the conclusion that the Churches in the Roman Obedience are apostate, it is necessary to point to something that might be regarded as the continua- tion of the Church, notwithstanding this apostacy ; and, as if forgetting the whole Eastern half of the Church, these writers have fixed upon the Waldenses and Albigenses as answering the demands of their theory. It becomes necessary, therefore, for these two reasons, to give these Sects a passing notice. § 14. And here it becomes important to a distinction call attention to the distinction between sects between sects T y-,,! , T /. 1 /^i 1 ^^ *b** Church tn the Church and sects out oi the Church, and sects out A sect in the Church is a class, or number °''*" of persons, holding and advocating peculiar views of their own, but without separating themselves from its communion, or attempting to hold meetings, form con- gregations, and have a ministry, and, in fact, becoming a church by themselves. They may be denounced, excommunicated, and persecuted with inquisitions, fire and sword ; and though, in the common use of language, 'they must be called a sect, yet, notwith- standing all this, they may be only the meek, uncompromising adherents to the Faith once delivered to the Saints ; and when the awards of the final day shall show every man's work what it is — they will be 86 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [CaAP, seen with the crowns of confessors and martyrs upon their heads shining forth forever, like stars in the fir- mament of God's eternal glory. But when a class or number of persons, holding peculiar views, forsaking the communion and fellowship of the Church, set about originating one of their own, with separate meetings and congregations, separate ministers and ministra- tions, claiming to be a church by themselves, they are a sect outside of the Church. And though their faith and usages may be in perfect accordance with the Apostlic pattern, yet they, as a church or society, are new and distinct from that which existed before them. There were sects of both kinds before the Reforma- tion ; and we shall probably find the Waldenses a sect answering to the former description, and the Albigenses one answering to the latter. ' Those of the earlier cen- turies had passed away and become extinct : there were also some divisions among the branches of the Greek or Eastern Church. But with neither the sects of the earlier centuries, nor with the divisions and alienations of the Greek Church do we need now to concern ourselves. The Albigenses and "Waldenses seems to be the only ones that demand our attention. The A LB I- § 15. The Albigenses seem to have been a G E s s E s. ggj,^ ^^^ were at first called Paulicians, and are said to have been Manichceans also in their reli- gious opinions. The Paulicians are a sect " said to have been founded in Armenia [a country in Asiatic Turkey] by two brotherSj Paul and John, the sons of Callinice, of Samosata, and said to have received its name from them : some, however, derive it from one Ill] CHUECH BEFORE THE REFORMATION.' 87 Paul, an. Armenian, who lived in the reign of Jus- tinian II.'" About the middle of the eighth century, (752. Cedrenus,) Constantine, surnamed Coprony- mus by the worshippers of images, had made an expe- dition into Armenia, and found in the cities of Melitene and Theodosiopolis a great number of Paulicians, his kindred heretics. As a favor, or a punishment, he transplanted them from the banks of the Euphrates to Constantinople and Thrace ; and by this emigration their doctrine was introduced and diffused in Europe.'"' " From Bulgaria and Thrace, some of this sect, either from zeal to extend their religion, or from weariness of Grecian persecution, removed first into Italy, and then into other countries of Europe ; and there they gradu- ally collected numerous congregations, with which the Roman Pontiffs afterwards waged very fierce wars.'" " Albigesium was the name given to the whole territory of the Viscount of Albi, Beziers, Car- cassone, and Rasez. Hence Albigenses became, from this time, the name, — at first for all those who fought against the crusaders, and then^for the Cathari,* or Puritans, as they called themselves." I will now proceed to give some of their character- istic doctrines : That there are two Grods and Lords, the one good, the other evil ; that the creation of all things visible and corporal was not by G-od the Father Almighty and the Lord. Jesus Christ, but by the Devil 1 MosHEiM. Book III. cent, ix., Part II., cap. v., sec. 2. 2 Gibbon's Decline and Fall. Gh. LIV. ^ MosHEiir. Cent, xi., Pai't II., cap. v., sec. 2. 4 GiESLEE. Text Book of Ecc. lit. Ed. PhUadelphia, 1836. VoL li. p. 385, 7. 88 THE CHURCH DENTIFIED. [Chap and Satan, the evil god, who is the god of this world ; that all Sacraments are vain and unprofitable. As to the Eucharist, they believe that there is nothing in it but mere bread. They condemn Baptism by water, saying that a man was to be saved by the laying on of hands upon those that believed them. They allow of no ministry. They say that marriage is always sin- ful and cannot be without sin. They hold that our Lord did not take a real human body, nor real human flesh of our nature ; and that He did not really rise with it, nor do other things relating to our salvation. They affirm that the Virgin Mary was not a real wo- man, " but their church, which is true penitence ; and that this is the Virgin Mary." They deny the resur- rection of the body, and hold that human souls are spirits banished from heaven on account of their sins.' I will not go farther into an account of this sect. The " Facts and Documents " collected by Maitland, show beyond question, that they were, as he says, " either hypocritical impostors, or misguided fanatics," or both, aiming at no good for mankind ; and so far from being characterized for true piety and zeal against the errors of their times, they were given to sensuality and selfishness. After what has been said, it will hardly be neces- sary to add anything more to show that no modern sect can gain anything in point of respectability or ecclesiastical identity with the Church of Christ, from an alliance with the Albigenses. They neither claimed, nor were acknowledged, to be a part of that identical, ' Abridged from LniBoaoH, in Maitland's Facts and Documents, p, 233-241. ni.] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION-. 89 visible society which had existed from the days of the Apostles, and was planted by their labors. ^ 16. " The early history of the "Waldenses tac wal- is, indeed, involved in some obscurity ; but ''^''^''^' it seems clear, beyond all reasonable doubt, that they owed their name, and their origin as a sect, to a certain citizen of Lyons, [Peter Waldo,] who lived at the latter half of the twelfth century [1160.] It ap- pears, also, that he caused the Scriptures to be trans- lated into the vulgar tongue ; that he and his immedi- ate followers drew upon themselves the censure and persecution of the Church, not only by taking upon them the office of teaching, but by some of the* doc- trines which they taught.'" " It does not appear that Waldo and his immediate followers contemplated a separation from the Church, but rather a revival of personal religion within its pale, and a removal of some abuses and superstitions. * * * It seems clear, from the statements, or (what is even more im- portant) the silence, of their persecutors and their own confessions, (that is, from all the sources of informa- tion that we possess,) that opposition was not directed against some of the peculiar doctrines of the Romish Church."^ For instance, they held firmly to the doc- trine of Transubstantiation, and believed that each individual could perform the service of the Mass. There is reason to believe that Waldo designed to form a new religious Order, like the Monks or Friars, under the sanction of the Romish See, but failed in his object. We have before us, then, the Waldenses, or a sect > Maitland's Facts and Documents,- p. 467. ' p. 4G9. 90 THE CHURCH mENTIFIED. [Ciup. within the Church, differing in many respects from its doctrines, yet agreeing with it in many of its peculiar characteristics — submitting to its opposition' and per- secution. But besides these, many of them were scat- tered abroad by the persecutions, became associated with the Albigenses, and were dispersed over the great- est part of Europe. There they remained until the Reformation, and were among the first to join that movement. This fact will go far to account for the confusion of names which so often occurs in speaking of these people. Of that part of the followers of "Waldo which joined the Albigenses, and by which the doctrines of the 'lat- ter were much modified, we need not say anything further. Ecclesiastically they became the same '■'•people" a part of the same sect, bearing the same relation to the identity of the Church as the Albigen- ses themselves. But, of the other part of the "Waldenses, we need say nothing further than that, as a sect in the Church, they had ceased to exist before the commencement of the Reformation. But if they had not, they would not require to be considered as a distinct branch of the Church, since they formed no church by themselves, So far, then, as our present purpose is concerned, we may regard these two sects, that is, the Albigenses and the Waldenses, except that portion, of them which never separated from the Church of Lyons, as being but one. Shall we now claim for them the name and character of a Church, properly so called ? They were not the Church of Aibigesium — that Church was estab- lished long before the emissaries from Thrace came HL] CHURCH BEFORE THE EEF0RMAT10H-. 91 thither with their peculiar doctrines ; they neither claimed nor received communion with the Church of Albi — were in no way merged in or identified with it while they remained — ^but always continued to be a distinct, a rival, and an opposing body. They were a sect of human origin at the first, and that they con- tinued to be, until they were lost in the sects which arose at the time of the Reformation. § 17. It is evident, therefore, that nothing T.hese ° Sects rormed can be gained by any modern sect in the no.Legiumaie point of identity with the Church of Chi-ist, fj,"c^°„^'^ "^ from a connection with the Albigenses or WaMenses. They constituted no distinct part of the Church — no branch of the original vine.- As a church ' they had not existed from the Apostle's days, in a dis- tinct individual capacity ; and therefore they were not of Apostolical origin. They never were in com- munion with any part of the Apostolical Church for a moment, from the very commencement of their exis- tence as a sect. They never held or claimed the eccle- siastical jurisdiction of any one portion of the habited globe ; but were always a sect living within the limits of, and in opposition to, a branch of the Church whose catholicity was unquestioned by them, and whose right to j urisdiction is undeniable. The efforts of Waldo and his immediate followers, so far as they aimed only at a reformation, and the restoration of pure religion, cannot fail to elicit our most cordial sympathy. But we must not attribute to him an infallibility, nor let our admiration and appro- bation of his course follow him any farther than he followed the only infallible Standard and Guide of 92 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Csap. human actions. I readily concede, that his views were a vast improvement upon the Church dogmas of the age and country in which he lived. But when he cTonsented to become the founder of a sect — to lay an "other foundation '"whereon for others to build — ^he violated a fundamental law of Grod, which every sect and denomination of our land sanctions by its own use. It is the law of unity. Take the case of any village or community in which there is a parish of Presbyte- rians, Baptists, Methodists, or Congregationalists even, sufficient to accommodate all the persons of that way of thinking in that place, and where there is no pros- pect of an increase of numbers, and what they have are only sufficient for the support of the ministrations of the one parish : and none of these denominations will allow their members to form a new parish in that place — necessarily weakening, as it will the old one — presenting an occasion for inevitable rivalry, oppo- sition, and contention, between those who are thus unnecessarily divided. The organized seoeders would not be recognized in such a case as a church of their denomination, nor allowed a seat in their Council, Presbytery, Conference, or whatever may be the name by which they designate their deliberative body next above the parish. Now, assuredly we cannot deny that the Church of Christ has the power which these sects claim for them- selves to preserve its unity, and protect itself from the identffication with itself of other bodies heterogeneous to its own, and containing principles fundamentally repugnant to those on which its existence depends. I am aware that I have given an account of the III.] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 93 "VValdenses and Albigenses somewhat different from those which are the most popularly received. The truth of the case is, that but little has been known about these sects until quite lately. And writers who felt the awkwardness of their position in advocating the ecclesiastical character of churches unconnected with the past, as well as those, who, though they were in no such position, were nevertheless bent on mak- ing out the theory that regards the Church of Rome as the Anti-christ spoken of in the Scriptures, and needed these sects for the " two witnesses" have seized upon here and there, a fact or an isolated expression, and in some cases even drawn upon their fancy for facts, to make out such an account of them as would best subserve the purposes of their respective theories. But the publication of " ^/te Facts and Documents" relating to them by Mr. Maitland, has revealed a state of facts which yields but little support to those theo- ries, and has completely dissipated the hopes of their advocates. It is from this source that the foregoing account of those mediaeval sects has been chiefly de- rived. § 18. Before proceeding any further in our '"1° Church 11 r^^ i • """l not be- attempt to identify the Church since the come apostate. Reformation, in order to make our way per- fectly sure before us, we must pause and consider whether the Church had become apostate at or before the time when the Reformation commenced. That darkness, gross darkness, corruption, and superstition, had covered, as it were, the face of the earth, admits of no denial. It is the opinion of some, that "there was a time when the Church was so essentially cor- 94 THE CHURCH IDEM'IFIED [Chap. rupt, that she ceased to be a Church of Christ, and her officers ceased to be ministers of Christ." If so, then, any connection with the past, through that channel, can be of no avail. We might here enter a plea of exception in favor of the Eastern Churches, on the ground that they were not involved in the same corruptions as the Churches as in the Roman Obedience. But it is unnecessary to attend to that suggestion here, for several reasons. Those that bring this charge against the Churches in the E-oman Obedience, extend it also to those in the East. And besides, none of the sects that we shall notice claim to have been derived from the Eastern Church. Now, looking at the Church simply as a visible society, we may say that it is not apostate, or extinct, so long as it has within itself the powers of recovery and reformation. If it has the Ministry and the Scriptures, it is competent to all the ecclesiastical fuctions necessary to life and vigor. Now, that the Churches in the Roman Obedience were capable of reformation, is a position that has never been denied, that I know of, and I presume it never will. That the § 19. In the Book of the Prophet Daniei,' noraposiat^ is a prediction that, at a time then sufficiently proved from indicated, "the God of Heaven would set ' up a kingdom, which shall never be destroy, ed ; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people^ and it shall stand for ever." Now, when we remember that the time indicated ' ii. 44. III.] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 95 in this prophecy was the time of our Saviour — that, in the Gospels, the religious society, or estate, which He had come to establish, is called the kingdom of God — how He began by preaching that the kingdom had come' — how he declared to His disheartened fol- lowers, for their encouragement, " Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give unto you the kingdom,'" — and how, as He left the world, he ap- pointed unto His Apostles a kingdom as His Father had appointed unto Him^ — there seems to be no room left to doubt that the kingdom spoken of by the Prophet Daniel was the one established by our Lord and His Apostles, and is what we and they generally call the Church. If so, the declaration of the Prophet is con- clusive proof of two points : — namely, that the Church will not be destroyed, become apostate, or cease to ex- ist as Christ's Church ; and secondly, that it will not be left or given to another people — that it always will exist, and always may be traced or identified, by follow- ing the history of " the people " to whom it was at first given, and of whom it then consisted. I might enlarge upon the bearing of this text, upon the importance of the identity of the Church, and upon the mode of identifying it which I have pointed out in the foregoing sections, and intend to pursue in those that follow. But leaving all this, I will refer only to its bearing on the one point before us. It proves that the Church had not become extinct, or lost its ecclesi- astical character at the time of the Reformation, and will never become apostate. » Mark i. 14. '' Luke xii. 32. ' Luke xxii. 29. 96 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Again : Our Lord declared of His Church, that the gates of Hell should not prevail against it.^ This pas- sage implies, at the least, that the Church should not become extinct. If the language refers merely to a function of the Church, namely, that it should conduct to final salvation all souls that should be committed to its care and guidance, despite all the powers of Hell to the contrary — yet it must continue to be the true Church of Christ, in order to perform that function, as long as the- function itself is to be performed ; that is, until the Second Advent. Once more : As our Lord was ascending to Heaven, He promised, " Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. "° " Always^^ in the Greek, is " every day" — Trua-ai ras ift.€^«f. In other connections, a very important question might here be raised, whether this promise was made to the Apostles, or to the Church at large. But, for our present purpose, the question is of no, consequence ; for if the promise was to either, it was to both ; since the Ministry, as long as they were to continue at all, must remain in the Church, and inseparable from it. If then the Lord has promised to be with the Church or its Ministry, " always, every day," unto the end of the world, it has not become apostate. It is not apostate, while He is with it ; and His promise is for " every day unto the end of the world." "We may then admit that the Church had become very corrupt, at the commencement of the Reforma- tion, without entertaining any fear that it had become 'Mat. xvi.l3. 'Matxxviu. 20. lU] CHURCH BEi'ORE THE REFORM A-TIOK 97 apostate, or ceased to be the Church of Christ — the people to whom the Kingdom was given, and against which the gates of Hell should not prevail, and with whom He would be alway, even unto the end of the world. i 20. I am aware that it has sometimes T^e promises to the Church been said that the promise has been fulfilled cannot be fui- by the springing up of a new church when- "J^^^^J ''^'"■ ever the old one had become apostate. Thus it is said that the Albigenses and Waldenses came into existence, as the deadening influences of apos- tacy were creeping over the Church, and when these sects became extinct, the Baptists and others arose in their place^and thus the divine promise has been fulfilled, and there has always been a church professing the pure doctrines of the Gospel. The doctrinal purity of these sects is not a point that I wish now to discuss. But the divine declara- tion is, that "the Kingdom shall not be left to other people." And our Lord spoke of , that Church which was established in His days, when He said that " the •gates of Hell shall not prevail against it," and He promised to be " with it alway, (every day,) even unto the end of the world." The promise could not, there- fore, be fulfilled by these sects rising up in the place of the Church after it had become apostate. Nay, it was to guard the minds of Christians against admit- ting the idea that the Church, com/a? become apostate — or that any sect could arise up to take its place, in the Divine Economy, that these declarations were made. " The gates of Hell," says our Blessed Saviour, "shall never prevail against that Church which / build upon 5 98 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. this Rock — I will be with you alway even unto the end of the world, and when others come in my name doing many wonderful works ' and saying, ' Lo here is Christ or Lo there,' ^ you will not believe them, neither go after them, for false prophets and false Christs will come and show great signs and wonders insomuch that, if it were possible they will deceive the very elect." The promise implies the identity of the Church to which it was made. It cannot be transferred to any other without utterly disregarding the language in which it was made. Nay, the very promise proves that the Chnrch never can become apostate, and there- fore no sect can arise to fill its place in the Divine Economy. Such a thing would show that the divine purpose had failed, the Omniscient Foresight had erred in its predictions, and the Arm of Omnipotent Power had not been able to defend His Church against the gates of Hell. The analogy ^ 21. The analogy of the Jewish history of the Jewish seems io me to be in point. That Church be- came very corrupt at several periods in its history ; but, notwithstanding, it did not cease to be. God's covenant people. We might mention several periods when it was, perhaps, fully as corrupt as the Churches in the Roman Obedience at the commence- ment of the Reformation, and yet it ceased not to be the Church of God. Thus in the reign of King Ahaz, b. c. 728, the idolatrous religion of the Syrians was introduced even into Jerusalem itself Altars were erected to the • Matt. xxiv. 24. ' Mark xiii 21. Ill] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 99 Syrian gods, or idols. The Temple itself altered in many respects according to a Syrian model, and finally it was shut up entirely.' Manasseh, b. c. 644, upheld idolatry by all the influence of regal power, erected idolatrous altars even within the Temple itself, set up an image which was worshipped with obscene rites, maintained a herd of necromancers, astrologers, and soothsayers of various kinds, and even sacrificed his own son to the idol Moloch.'^ And it appears that at the commencement of the reign of Josiah, b. c. 611, " the book of the law of the Lord," — that is, the Scrip- tures — was almost wholly forgotten, and its contents unknown. Hilkiah appears to have discovered it among the rubbish in the Temple, and brought it to Shaphan the scribe, who examined its contents, and then brought it to the king, and read it before him. "And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law that he rent his clothes." ' The whole account seems to imply as gross and as total an ignorance of God's revealed will as could pos- sibly have prevailed in the Christian Church before the commencement of the Reformation. Even Hilkiah the high priest, seems to have known alrnost nothing of it. ' The New Testament gives hardly a better account of the state of religious knowledge and opinion among the Jews in our Saviour's time. It is represented as " teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,"^ and " making the word of G-od of none effect through their traditions."' • Jahn's Heh. Commonwealth, Boole K § 41. i^ § 42. 8 2 Kings xxii. 11. " Matt. 15. 9. » Mark 113 100 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. And yet the Jews were recognised and treated by our Saviour as the covenant people and Church of God. For this reason the G-ospel was first preached to them ; and it was not until after they had rejected the Messiah, crucified Him, and ^ even refused to believe after He had risen from the dead and sent the Holy Ghost, thus completing all the evidence that could be given — that they became apostate from God, and cast off by Him. Then, and then only, were they abandoned to their impenitence and hardness of heart. It was not, therefore, by their ignorance, as in the days of Josiah, nor by their idolatry, as in the days of Ahaz and Manasseh,- that they became apostate, (though for these things they were sorely punished by the Babylonish captivity.) It was not by their super- stition and hypocrisy, as in the days of our Saviour — it was not even for crucifying Him as a malefactor, that they fell from the estate to which they had been called. But it was for refusing to believe in Him after the fulness of evidence had been rendered com- plete by the miraculous gifts poured out on them that believed, on the day of Pentecost, that they ceased to be the chosen people of God. Apostacy ^ ^2. From the foregoing reference to the aefined. case of the Jews, we shall be able to derive some idea of what is properly an apostacy. And in fact it will be necessary to get a pretty definite idea of what is an apostacy, before we can satisfactorily settle the question now before us. Apostacy is not merely a great declension in doc- trine and in manners. It is something more, and implies a total falling away from the Christian estate, JILJ CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. IQI or covenant with God. A writer of great authority, has defined apostacy to be "willingly casting oif, and utterly forsaking both profession of Christ, and com- munion with Christians." ' And this definition, I apprehend, is as good as can be found. It corresponds with the etymological mean- ing of the word, and with its use in the New Testament. The word itself indicates an outward act, rather than an inward change of opinions or character. Thus, people may apostatize from, the Church, by separating from it, and forsaking its communion al- together. They may carry with them the Scriptures — they may (possibly) hold all the articles of the Chris- tian .Faith — they may administer Baptism and the Lord's Supper among themselves — and whatever may be their condition before their final Judge, they are none the less apostates from the Church than if they had not made any pretence of holding to the Faith. But when a Church, or any branch of it, refuse to receive the Bible as the word of God — and to acknow- ledge the Christian Faith altogether — or if, instead of the Christian Scriptures, they should substitute the Alcoran, or the writings of Plato, as their chief au- thority and guide to faith and practice, they would of course apostatize from Christ. But there may be much corruption and sin, much ignorance and degrading superstition, without apostacy. k 23. It cannot therefore be contended that the Church was apostate before the Reformation. It is probable that we have been so much accustomed to ' Hooker's Two Sermons. Serm. I. § 11. 102 THE CHURCH IDENTEFIED. [Chap. The state of dwell upon its eiTors and corruptions that the Church iD ^jjggg features in its character have con- respectto apostacy-be-tributed more than their proportion to the formation. ^ impression that we have received of it. At all events, we, for the most part, have heard but little said of those facts and features which go to show that it was not apostate. Now, how much soever the legends of the saints, and the fabulous accounts of miracles may have usurped the place of the Scriptures in their public services — yet the Church had never professed to reject the Scriptures as the Word of G-od — they rather used these legends and notions because they supposed that they enforced what was contained in the Scriptures. They set up images and pictures in their churches and chapels — ^but it was only because they supposed ■ that these things helped the devotions of the unlearned and were deserving of some reverence on account of their connection with what was truly the proper object of worship. Baptism and the Lord's Supper were not repudiated, nor neglected in their essential elements, though grossly misunderstood, and the administration of them loaded down with superstitious and foolish ceremonies. The Creed which had been adopted, and had received the sanction of the whole Church, before the division of the East and the "West, known at the present as the Nicbne Creed, had never been repu- diated, nor had any professed departure from it been made, or proposed as a thing that was allowable. And the Council of Trent, 1546, begins by "setting forth a confession of faith," and recites the Nicene Creed, "as that symbol of Faith which the holy Roman m.] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATIOIT. 103 Church makes use of as being that principle wherein all Who profess the Faith of Christ, necessarily agree, and that firm and only foundation, against which the gates of Hell shall never prevail." ' Likewise, in the ordination of the Ministry, though many unworthy men were doubtless ordained, yet the Church took good care to secure the outward forms of ordination, so as that the succession should not be lost. But perhaps the strongest proof, on the whole, that they were not apostate, is the fact that a consciousness of their errors and corruptions, and a desire for reforma- tion were so prevalent, and so frequently and so forcibly expressed. When a people are apostate, they have forsaken God, and He has forsaken them. Their prayers are no longer heard. Their sacraments are unaccompanied by any spiritual grace. Their disci- pline is without authority, and all the ordinary influences of the Spirit, are withholden. But the grace to confess their sins, and to repent, is always proof that the Spirit of Grod has not ceased striving with a people. There were doubtless hundreds and thousands who notwithstanding all their errors and ignorances, did nevertheless, in meekness and sincerity of heart, devote themselves to do the Lord's will. The accounts of the Church in that age with which we have been most familiar, have come to us through an unfriendly channel just as at the present day we often receive ac- counts of the English Church by persons unfriendly to it, which would lead us to suppose that there could be nothing good in it, if we did not know from other ■ Sess. in. 104 THE CHTTRCH IDENTIFIED. [Ohap. sources that those accounts are an inadequate repre- sentation of the subject. The humble, the meek, the self-denying, who labor to be quiet, and do their own business as the Lord hath appointed them, seldom occupy a conspicuous place on the page of the historian or the traveller. I freely grant that there was great ignorance of the truth as it is in Jesus — that their use of pictures and images was idolatry — ^their prayers to the saints a bestowing upon the creature the glory that was due to Grod alone — that their view of the Mass was in- consistent with the Atonement — their doctrine of Purgatory unsoriptural — their views of absolution, of works of supererogation, and many others that we might name, were such as tended to render the com- mandments of Grod of none effect. But still they were not worse than the Jews had been — they had not willingly and confessedly forsaken Ood, and they had the grace to see their need of repentance and reforma- tion, and many of them, at least, to set about it. i 24. There .is one important consideration The position _ ^ of the Roman in relation to this subject to be derived from riaijy changed ^^ history of the Counoil of Trent. This by the Council Council was not held until after the Reforma- of Trent. tion had commenced. The English Church took no part in it, and never assented to its doings. Now, until this Council, the Churches in the Roman Obedi- ence were not committed to many of the worst abuses and corruptions which were then incorporated into their Rule of Faith. These abuses and corruptions were in existence, and had been approved and allowed by Pro- vincial Councils ; but their formal adoption of them, ni] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION'. 105 as necessary to salvation, at the Council of Trent, put the whole Roman Obedience into an entirely new position in its relation to the Catholic Church of Christ. And it would certainly be much more difficult to de- fend it against the charge of apostacy since that Coun- cil than before ; that is, since the Reformation, than before. Until that time, they were historically a part of " the people " to whom the Kingdom was given — they had the Ministry and the Scriptures, and they had not formally and professedly set forth any new Rule of Faith peculiar to themselves, and excluding from the Christian estate, or condition, all who do not adopt their Rule.' But this Creed was not adopted until after the Reformation ; — and whatever may be its effects upon the position of those that have adopted it, its adoption by the unreformed does by no means involve the reformed branches of the Church in its legitimate consequences. §25. In conclusion, I will use the Ian- drLathrop quoted. guage of the Rev. Dr. Lathrop, late of West • Springfield, Mass. The origin of the passage is worthy of note. He and his people had been imposed upon by a man claiming to be a minister of Christ. \ The Doctor wrote two sermons on Matt. vii. 15, 16, [" Be- ware of false prophets," &c.,] in which he occupied nearly the whole of the first Sermon in proving that " they who refuse to enter into the ministry in the way which the Gospel prescribes, are to be rejected : they have one plain mark of false teachers." The doctor considers "the way which the Gospel pre- • I refer to the Creed of Pius IV., A. D. 1569, wliich will be given in a subsequent Section. 5* 106 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. scribes " to be, ordination by those that were in the ministry before them. Perceiving that this position implied the necessity of an Apostolic Succession, and that the validity of such a succession depended upon the Church's not having become apostate before the Reformation, he adds to his sermons an Appendix, in which he discusses these points : " Did the first Reformers, distrusting their past ordination, receive one from their lay brethren ? The contrary is most evident. The Protestant Reformers in England early drew up a confession of their faith, in which, as Dr. Barnet says, ' they censure any who should take upon them to preach, or administer the sacraments, without having lawfully received the power from the ministers, to whom alone the right of confer- ring that power doth appertain.' Certainly they had no apprehension that the ministerial succession was at an end " Though corruptions early began in the Christian Church, yet their progress was gradual and slow. In every age many dissented from them ; great opposition was made to them, and large councils of Bishops or ministers condemned them. The Western, or Roman Church ultimately carried her corruptions to a more extravagant height than the Oriental, or Greek Church ; but even in the former, they never came to their crisis, until the famous Council of Trent, which was opened more than twenty and closed more than forty years after the beginning of Luther's Reformation. That Council, called by the Pope's bull, and supported by the Emper- or's arms, in opposition to the Reformers established, as Dr. Tillotson says, * sever^,! articles which had never IIL] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION. 107 before been acknowledged by any general council. Those new articles, if avowed by some, yet had not been generally received in their full extent, as now declared. If they had been decreed by one council, it was but a partial one, and they were soon after con- demned by another; and, therefore, were not to be considered as the received and acknowledged doctrines of the Church " Luther and his associates, in their first opposition to the errors of the Roman Church, did not consider her as having essentially departed from the Grospel, or as being utterly disowned by Christ ; for their primary object was not to withdraw from her, but to effect a Reformation by means which might preserve the gen- eral union. They never renounced her, until they and their adherents were excommunicated, and all hopes of union were cut off; but, on the contrary, demanded a free and general council, to deliberate on means of accomplishing the Reformation so much desired. When Luther was constrained to disclaim that Church, Dr. Mosheira observes, ' he separated himself from it, only as it acknowledged the Pope to be infallible ; not from the Church, considered in a more extensive sense : for he submitted to the decision of the universal Church, when that decision should be given in a gen- eral council, lawfully assembled.' ' This,' says Dr. Maolaine, ' was a judicious distinction ; for though the papacy was confounded with the Catholic Church [Roman,]' they were in reality, different things. The • It is surprising to see hpw generally writers have agreed in ap- plying to tlie Rpman hrancli of the Church the title " Catholic " which belongs to the whole Church, as tliough the Roman were the whole and only Church. 108 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. Chai'. papacy had, indeed, by degrees, incorporated itself into the Church; but it was a preposterous sup- plement, and as foreign to its genuine constitution as a new citadel, erected by a successful usurper, would be to an ancient city.' " One cannot but feel the striking contrast between those ancient reformers who labored to .correct the er- rors, without breaking the union of the Church, and certain modern pretenders, who in the first instance separated themselves from the churches, and then ex- claiming against them as corrupt, promote and en- courage divisions in^them. "It will, perhaps, be asked, ' How do we know but the first Reformers had been ordained by some of the vilest men in the Roman Church ? ' But let me ask, How do we know, or is it probable this was the case ? The Reformers themselves appear to have entertained no scruples on this head. Let it still be rememberedj that irregularity in ordinations was not made matter of complaint against her; and that her corruptions had not so recently risen to their height ; and that she had not yet established, by a general council, her grossest errors, nor expunged her purest members. " But admitting that a- man of corrupt principle and morals, acts in an ordination, will his character nullify the transaction ? As long as the Scribes sat in Moses' seat, Christ acknowledged them as officers of the Jewish Church ; nor did He deny the authority of the High Priest, though his personal character was far from recommending him. " The person ordained derives his authority to preach from Jesus Christ ; not from the men who or- IIL] CHURCH BEFORE THE REFOEMATION. 109 dain hdm. They indigitate the person to be vested with this authority, and officially instal him in the regular exercise of it ; but it is Christ's Grospel, not their will, which must direct him in the execution of his office. If they are corrupt in principles or man- ners, it will not thence follow that he must preach heresy or immorality. He is ordained to preach the Grospel; and whoever may ordain him, the charge which he receives, and the vow which he makes, bind him to teach not the commandments of men, but all things whatsoever Christ has commanded.'" I am sure my readers will pardon this long quota- tion from one, of whom it has justly been said, " Per- haps there was no minister in the whole circle of the Congregational churches of New England more respected by his cotemporaries, or who exercised greater influence among them," when he says so much that is to our present point so much better than I could say it myself. §26. Suppose, now, that it be admitted '">«™ ""t ^ * . 1 ^^ changes in that when it was first established, the Church the form of was materially different in its constitution ^^JJ^°^j ^°^' from what it was at the time of the Reforma- out npostacy. tion, yet it is impossible to regard these departures — if they are to be considered as departures from the original plan at all — as apostacy — or ceasing to be the Church of Christ — for that Church, as we have seen from the Scriptures, cannot become apostate, Christ is with it, always, every day, even unto the end of the world. I am well aware that the great body of the Re- ' Wainweight's Ed. 1844, pp. 111—119. 110 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. formers, arid, indeed, of the Protestants generally, have regarded the Pope as the Anti-Christ. Without either admitting or denying the correctness of the opinion in this place, I will only say that, if it be cor- rect,, it does not involve the conclusion, or admission, that the Churches subject to him are apostate. Whether the Pope be Anti-Christ or not, it is evident, from the Scriptures, that the Anti-Christ was to manifest him- self in the Church ; and, perhaps, I may say that it is equally as manifest, on a careful inspection of the prophecies concerning him, that the Church, over which he should usurp his authority, would not there- by become apostate, though subjugated to an anti- christian power. The sheep which the wolf worries and rends, do not thereby become wolves. Nay, if the Pope is Anti-Christ, the very Reformation, which was a refusing to hear and obey him, is proof that the part, at least, which reformed, was not apostate, or involved in his condemnation. The com- ^ ^7. We uow come round again to the parative size point that We occupied at the close of a pre- Grand Divis- Ceding scctiou. At the Commencement of the ions of the Reformation the Church of Christ was separa- ted into two communions. The Oriental Church prevailed in Russia, Liberia, Poland, Euro- pean Turkey, Servia, Moldavia, Wallachia, Greece, the Archipelago, Crete, Ct/iirus, the Ionian Islands, Georgia, Circassia, Mingrelia, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt} The Western Church, or the Roman Obedience included, therefore the whole of ' Palmee's Treatise on the Church, Vol. I. p. 176, N. T. Ed. 1841. m.] CHURCH BEFORE THE KEFORMATIOlf. m Europe, west of Russia, Poland, and European Turkey. Palmer in his Treatise on the Church,^ has enter- ed into an interesting calculation of the relative por- tions of the Church that adhered to the two heads of this division. As the result of his computation, he says : " It is impossible to determine precisely, the number of Bishops on each side ; but there is neither proof nor presumption, that the majority of the Church took part with the Roman Pontiff against the Grreeks : and it is impossible to affirm with any certainty that the "Western Churches were greater than the Eastern, up to the period of the Reformation." » VoL I. p. 198, et seq. CHAPTER IV. THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND AND ITS EFFECTS UPON THE CONDITION OP THE CHURCH. Among the separate and distinct subdivisions of the early Church, that of England was one. Nothing in history is more certain than the perfect and entire independence of the English Church of any foreign Bishop or Church for the first five hundred years. The best proof of this is found in the history of the mission- ary labors of Augustine. The Church ^1- 1*1^ iiot perfectly certain who first planted in introduced the Gospel into England. The St. Paul. earliest and most reliable testimony refers to St. Paul. In the first century, Clement, (of whom mention is made in Philippians iv. 3,) the friend and fellow labor- er of St. Paul, says: " St Paul -published righteous- ness through the whole world, and in so doing, went to the utmost bounds of the west.'" Stillingfleet'' has shown that this expression was very generally used to include England. In the second century, Irenseus, who had seen 1 *E.'7ri TO T^g^ot Tiif Ayo-Efflf. ^p. ad. Cor. ' Origines Britannicce. Ed. 1841, pp. 38, 39. Chap. IV.] THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 113 St. John, and was a disciple of Polycarp the disciple of St. John, said that the Apostles propagated Christiani- ty among "the Celtic nations," that is, G-ermans, Grauls and Britons. But perhaps the best and most explicit testimony is that of Eusebius, the great and the earliest Church historian, who was familiar with and wrote an account of all that was done up to his time, that is, througli the first three centuries. He says, that some of the Apostles passed over the ocean ' ' to the British Islands." ' Jerome, in'the fourth century, says that St. Paul having been in Spain, preached the Gospel " in the Western parts;" an expression, as I have just re- marked, generally used to denote Great Britain. Theodoret and Venantius still later, testify to the same point. This is but a small part of the testimony, more or less direct, to this point. It is sufficient, I apprehend, to establish the point that the Gospel was established in Britain in the Apostolic age, and probably by St. Paul himself. h 2. On this point I will quote the fol- ^he inde- , pendence of lowing very pointed argument from the the eany Eng- Rev. J. A. Spooner's " Catholic saved from "^chm*. Popery." "On this point, of the independent character of the Church of England, I will be content with quoting the testimony of only a Roman Catholic writer. It is the testimony of Lingard, given in his ' History of the Anglo-Saxon Church;' and when it is known that ' '29-< John -xyW. 31. 156 THE. CHURCH IDENTIFIEP. [Chap. train the evils for which schisms are chiefly condemned in the New Testament. There being but one Church in a country still, the members of the different Churches would live in entirely different communi- ties — move in different circles — ^associate in different spheres of action, and of course have but very rare occasions to come .into either contact or collision. Be- ing united among themselves in the Church in each particular locality, they would enjoy by far the greatest share of the-benefits of an entire unity in the whole Church. There would be but very little occa- sion offeired for those jealousies, contentions, rivalries, and oppositions,, which inevitably result from there ■ being several sects in the same place, and which lead, as they have led, to great decay of religion, and to the prevalence ol infidelity and profanity amongst by far the greatest proportion of the inhabitants of our land. I am not anxious to conceal the fact, though the object we have now in view does not require any pro- longed discussion of it — that there are also alienations and misunderstandings existing to soriie extent be- tween the different branches of the Oriental Church.' And so, too, there are controversies and points of ma- terial difference, between the several Churches in the Roman Obedience, as, for iiistance, between those in France and Italy. From what has been said, it will appear that the Church, in any one or all of these separate or distinct nations, hag a right to declare itself free and independent of the control of any foreign Bishop or Church whatever, if it should choose to do so. Without saying, then, that there is a perfect har- rv.] THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 157 mony "among all ol' the BrarfoHes in each of- the great divisions of the Catholic Church of Christ — for that manifestly is not the case — I say that we may include all these Churches in three distinct classes. 1. The Eastern, including all those Branches of the Church which haye never submitted to the Papal Supremacy — the Russian, the Greek, the Syrian, the Armenian, the Coptic, or Egyptian, the Abyssinian, &c. 2. The Churches that are yet in the Uoman Obe- dience, as those of Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, &;c. . * 3. Those Churches which .were once subject to the Papal Supremacy, and are now reformed and freed from it, 'as England, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Swe- . den, Denmark, &c., without naming now the' midland nations of Europe, where, as we shall see by. and by, the case is somewhat different, and omitting to men- tion, in this place, all those Churches that have been established by any of the Churches in this class since the Reformation. In classing the churches of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, with the Church of England, I do by no means intend to intimate that I consider, them as occupying the same position in all respects. In some of those nations, there is no doubt that the Clergy at the time of the Reformation, were driven off or out of their official positions, and others put in their places in a manne.r which was at variance with what has always been regarded in the Church as essential to the validity of the ministerial office. This, however, is a point that we need not discuss here. They are 158 THE CHURCH. IDENTIFIED. [Chap. at least Churohes that separated themselves at that time from the Roman Obedience ; and if their min- istry is invalid or informal, the defect can be remedied, as. was done with that in the Church of- Scotland in 1610, when the regular succession having been lost, three .Bishops were ordained for Scotland in London, and they on their return ordained others to supply the whole deficiency. The M- -'t ^ ^^' ^^^ ^° such imperfection or inva- of the English lidity attaches to the Ministry of the English SnTafierthe Churoh. They were neither driven off nor Reformation rejected -at the Reformation, but, on the as before. in./. contrary, they were themselves the chief agents in carrying it on. And, in the ordination of their successors, all the rites that have ever been deemed essential in the Church, were carefully ob- served. The clergy were foremost in the rejection of the Papal Supremacy. They revised and prepared the Liturgy — they translated the Scriptures — and though they were sometimes compelled to submit to an exer- cise of royal authority, which they considered as an infringement of the liberties.of the- Church, yet in all the stages of the Reformation, they were the leading agents, and any thing that could affect the validity of its' position, was duly enacted and sanctioned by the Church clergy and laity in. their legitimate modes of transacting ecclesiastical affairs. We have then, before our minds, one of the oldest ■branches of the Church of Christ, reaching back, in. the commencement of its existence, to the vpry days of the Apostles, once subjugated to the Roman Su- rV.] • THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 159 premacy — but now reformed and free, — in the full exercise of her functions as a Church of Christ, and as unquestionably a part of that identical visible society which He and His Apostles founded as any other that can be named on earth ; disowned, indeed, by Rome for her Protestantism, but for that very reason owned , and fellowshipped by Churches older than Rome her- self, and which were in Christ before the sound of the Grospel had ever- been heard in the city of the seven hills. ' She has had, indeed, some vicissitudes of fortune, but thrpugh them all she has been the same — the_ Church of England — the only body of per- sons that ever claimed to be called by that name in England, or to which it was ever by any body for one moment supposed to belong. CHAPTER V. THE ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS, AND THEIR RELATION TO THE CHURCH. 'Having succeeded in identifying a part -of the Church which is free' from the Romish Jurisdiction,' and which has done .much towards extending its com- munion in this western world, we will now draw our subject within still narrower limits. Before proceed- ing, however, to trace the introduction and extension of the English Branch of the Church into this coun- try, and to identify its existence here, we will turn aside to consider the several sects to be found here, ■wjhich have come into existence since the reformation commenced. In considering these sects we shall see that some of them were formed by persons seceding directly from either the Roman or the Reformed Branch of the Church : some have been formed by divisions in those sects : and still another class have arisen as it were de novo,' by some individual collecting around him a number of persons from all sects, or that had belonged fo no sect. Hence we may divide them all' into three classes. Primary, Secondary, and Autotkentic. In this enumeration I shall have regard only to the Chap, v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 161 sects in our own country. I shall in all cases take their own statements, and accounts of their origin ; and when I can conveniently do so, I shall give those statements in their own language. My object will not lead me into any general account of their doctrines or of their principles of church-polity. Our attention is directed chiefly to their history as visible societies. PRIMARY SECTS. Under . this head, I include some nine or ten. The characteristic by which they are distinguished, is, that, with one or two exceptions, thfey resulted from attempts at what was, or was regarded as, a reforma- tion in the Church — the reformers however, failing to have their views adopted by the Church, seceded with their adherents and became a sect. • I shall take up the consideration of them in alphabetic order. k 1. "The Baptist church in this country ^^ ^^p- ' •' tista; their was founded March, a. d. 1639. ' Many of origin and the first settlers in Massachusetts were Bap- ^''^'""■y- tists, and a holy and watchful, and fruitful, and heav- enly a people, as perhaps any in the world,' says Cotton Mather. Roger "Williams ha vjng escaped the- intolerance of the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay, came to what now is called Providence, Rhode Island, in 1636, founded a colony, and became its governor. He was a Baptist, and ' many of his people entertain- ed his views.' But neither he nor any of them hav- ing been baptised, as they understood the rite, and ' there being no minister in New England who had been baptised by immersion on a profession of .faith, in March, 1639, 'Ezekiel Holliman baptised Roger 162 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Williams,, who then administered the rite to HoUiman and ten others.' Villiams had been ordained in the English Church. ' Thus was founded ' under Roger Williams as Grovernor of Ehode Island, and minister of the . Lord Jesus, and by Ezekiel HolUmau, Deputy Grovernor, with ten others, the first Baptist church on 'ihe continent of America." For this quotation, and all my others when not otherwise indicated, I am indebted to a History. of tke Baptists, by the Rev. A. D. G-illetth;, Pastor of the Eleventh Baptist church, Philadelphia, published in Rupp's Collection, 1844. But though this was the origin of the Baptist church in this country, it was not the origin of the communion to which it belongs. Our author claims : That persons holding Baptist sentiments have ex- . isted always in the Church ; that for the first three or four centuries after Christ, the whole Church held to such sentiments^ — that the Novatians, the Donatists, the Paulicians, separated from" the Church because sentiments and practices of an opposite character were being introduced — that fleeing from the persecutions of the Church which had now become apostate, they finally settled in the vallies of Piedemont and became what was afterwards known as Albigenses and , Wald- enses ; that at the time of the Reformation they be- came scattered thrqughout Europe and sprang up in part as a Baptist church. But the. first society or church of Baptists which our author names is as fol- lows : " The British Baptists continued to multiply; and in 1689, they, with forty of their bishops [preach-, ers, for they had no Bishops in the established sense ot v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 163 the word,] assembled in an association at London and adopted a confession of Faith ; the same that was adop- ted by the Philadelphia association in 1742." § 2. Mr. Gillette refers to nothing earlier ^ number . of p e r s o n s, than 1689 which can be regarded as the though hoid- oriffin of the Baptists as a church — for most ^°^ smiiar o r views, are not evidently any number of persons, though a church, ■ 1 • , ■ ,1 1 J without some agreeing m their views, cannot be regarded organization, as a church until they are gathered into some bond of union, with a formal organization. A church is a society of persons, and implies not only the existence of the persons, but it also implies that they are gathered out of the rest of the world and brought together either in some place or within some definite and visible bond of union. Mr. Gillette points out no such a'ssociation, which he recognizes as a Bap- tist church before the one named above in 1689. J should certainly differ from him on this point, but as the difference is of no material importance to our present object, I will not take up the time to point it out. h 3. There is no need that we should go The Bap- into the history of the Baptists any farther, toe' claim an- for the purposes of our preserit inquiry. Their <> * •» e r ana 1 • • _Li j_ _Li i->*i 1 r-i • • t more modern claim IS that the Church _ or Society which origin than Christ and the Apostles founded, early be- ohmch"'"""' came apostate, and that the Baptist church was founded some centuries later by persons who seceded from the apostatizing Church of Christ. Of course, therefore, the Baptist church is another, and entirely distinct from that from which its founders seceded. 164 . THE CHURCa IDENTIFIED. [Cdap. The Baptists claim in this country 4,000,000 peo- ple, 1,000,000 members, 9,000 churches, and 6,000 ministers. J 4. In giving the origin of this sect I shall Origin and foiio-^y chiefly fhe account by the Rev. E. History of tlie ■ ' "^ ■ Congregation- W. ANDREWS, Pastor of the Broadway Tab- "'■ats- ernacle, New-Yorlc, in ilupp's Collection, p. ■184. " The origin of the Congregationalists as a modern sect is commonly ascribed to Robert Brown, who or- ganized a chuTOli in England in 1583. But it appears probable "that •there were churches formed upon con- gregational principles in the reigns of Edward VI. and Queen Mary, although it is impossible to speak with any certainty concerning th&m. But the dividing line between the supporters of the Church, and the non- conformists, was not distinctly drawn until the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity passed in the early part of Elizabeth's reign. From this period there was little hope of permanent reconciliation between them and •the Church, although it was not until about the yeaj 1565 that separate assemblies were held. It is from this time that the Puritans are to be regarded as a distinct party." Brown's ch'urch, however, seems to have come to nought, and many — perhaps a majority of the early Puritans or non-conforniists — were Presbyterians in principle. " " But about the commencement of the sevenr teenth century appeared John Robinson, who has, riot inappropriately, been called the Father of modern Congregationalism. We fi*st hear of him as a pastor v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN" SECTS. 165 of g, church which had been fopmed in the north of England in the year previous, to Elizabeth's death [March 1603.]- " But not finding things to their mind in England, they left for Holland in 1608, and Mr. Robinson soon followed. " Mr. Robinson and his eongregation, Upon their arrival in Holland, first joined themselves to the church at Amsterdam [Dutch Reformed ;] but owing to the dissensions that had broken -out among its members, at the end of a year they removed tp Leyden. • In the year 1617, Mr. Robinson and his church began to think of a re- moval to America. Robinson remained with the majority at Leyden, and Elder Brewster accompanied the emigrants.—; — " They arrived at Plymouth, Mass., 1620. " To Mr. Robinson and his church at Leyden, in the old world, and at Plymouth in the new, we owe the first modern developments of the principles of the congregational polity." § 5. At first the Congregationalists ga- ''** '^°°- thered their congregations within the bospm church formed of the Church of England, then they went ';°™ "^"'^"-^ _ ° Z ft'om the Eng- to Holland, and, failing to gain their object list church there, obtained a grant of a large tract of formauoh. land in America, and came hither to settle. Of .course there is no pretence that these Pilgrims were the Church of England. Mr. Robinsdn " at the commencement of his ministry among the separatists, in common with Brown, denounced that Church, as essentially anti- christian, and would neither regard her members as brethren, nor hear her ministers preach." His opinions underwent some change after this ; "yet -it does not 166 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap; I' appear that Mr. Hobinson was ever willing to admit that the Church of England, as a National Establish- ment, was a Christian Church, although he communed with its individual members." This we are to remember, was after the Reforma- tion-r-:after the Church of England had adopted the Apostles' Creed, as the Rule of Faith — -after the adop- tion of the XXXIX Articles as the standard of her teaching on all points included in them. ; The rounds ^ ^' ■'"^® compkints against the Church of their sepa- by the Puritans, Were, at first, only against ration not such ,, r j.i i • i " i • j_ astobeessen- '''^^ use 01 the Clerical garments — against tiai to saiva- ceremonics — and certain abuses of plurality, tion. ■ .10 t • ■ 1 non-residence, &o., and against a generar laxity of discipline. Grranting that the Puritans were right in all this, these abuses did not endanger the salvation of 'tteeV.souls, so long as they. remained in the Church, and were faithful to themselves : and when they had borne their testimony against them, and " refused compliance, yet without separation.," as they told some of their own members, that they must do in regard to themselves, I. cannot see why they had not done all that was required of them. The congre- * 7- While in Holland, the Congrega- gationaiistsdb tionalists Were beyond the King's dominions, rebranch of and the jurisdiction of the English Church, the English rpj^gy claim no historic connection with a Church. past that was before them: They do not claim, to have been founded by the English Church, or any other branch of the Church, but by John Rob- inson, and other seoeders from the Church in England co-operating with him. v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN- SECTS. 167 The Coilgregationalists have 160,000 members, 1,300 congregations, 1,150 ministers, chiefly in New England. § 8. In speaking of this Sect I shall fol- '^^ °"«^ * ° and history of low chiefly Dr. Brownlee's J.ccoM«f of the the Dutch Dutch Reformed church, in Rupp's CoUec- ^^'J^"'""* tion— p. 220. " The Dutch Reformed church is the oldest church in the United States, which adopts the Presbyterian form of church government. Its . history begins with the history of New- York and New Jersey. It is a branch of the National church of Holland The Dutch "West India Company were the first who carried the ministers of the Grospel from Holland to our shores. " .Until 1772, they \?-ere dependent upon the Classis in Holland. . They receive as their Rule of Faith, the Confes- sions of Faith, &c., of the Synod of Dort. Now upon this state of facts two questions arise, one relating to the Dutch Reformed church in the old country, and the other to its mission in this country. ^9. By the Bull of Paul IV., May 19, The "Dutch 1 jrirn -if I J I Reformed 1559, and confirmed by Pius IV., Jantiary church" a S, 1560, the Netherlands were constituted ^'^"'^ ^.^J^^^ and .divided as follows: . Dutch church. 1-. Archbishopric of Mechlem, containing the Dioceses of Antwerp, Bois le Due, Ruremand, Gant, and Ypres. 2. Archbishopric of Cambray, containing Tourney, Arras, St. Omer, and Namur. ■ 3. Archbishopric of Utrecht, containing Harlem, 168 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. . [Chap. Midelhurg, Lseuwarden, Groningen, and Deven- terf ■ ' . ' ■ Now I do not design to claim for this Bull any special authority. But. the Church in the Nether- lands or Low countries acquiesced in and adopted the new arrangement, and it became therefore a part of the Church arrangement or organization. Amsterdam, when the Dutch Reformed church began its exis- tance, was in the Diocese of Harlem and Province of Utrecht.^ The Reformation was commenced by persons in their individual capacity, and not carried on, as in England, by the Churqh, in her regular course of eccle- siastical prboeedingsu The recognized authorities of the Church did not encourage the. change at all, but still adhered to their old opinions. The Protestants, consequently separated from the Church, and formed themselves into a new church. on the Calvinistic foun- dation. I have no means of ascertaining what were the rela- tive numbers of the two parties — ^the Catholics and the Protestants. Yet from all I can learn, the Catholics have generally been' the most numerous ; and at pres- ent, though the Dutch Reformed religion is established • by law, the Catholics have in Amsterdam twenty-two churches, and the Dutch Reformed only ten; other Christian denominations together, eight.' But the relative. numbers is not very important. It is always held that the identity of a society depends up- ' Bkandt's Hist. Ref. in the Netherlands, . Vol. i. p. 153, Ed 9, 1120. ^ Rakke's Sist. of the Popes, p. 242. ' Bbooke's Gazetteer, by Mai'shaH. 1840. Art Amsterdam. v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 169 on its officers and recognized authorities. This point was clearly established in the famous case of the Pres- byterian church of York, Penn. The court, in that case, held the Old School to be the Presbyterian church, on the ground, that " a popular body is known only by its government or its head," and awarded to them the name, the funds, and the property; not becanse the New School " were thought to be anythirrg else than Presbyterians," but because the recognized head and government of the church remained with the Old School, or rather,' the Old School remained with the recognized government, and the New School were de- clared seceders and their church a new one, on this ground. This, I believe, to be the established prin- ciple. We must therefore decide that the adherents to the Romish Obedience, in Holland, were the Old Church, whether they were the minority or the majority in point of numbers. And in that case, the Protestants vrere seceders, as they acknowledged themselves to be, set- ting up a rival sect Avithin the actual jurisdiction of the Church which Christ and His Apostles had estab- lished fifteen hundred years before. * 10. Finally — it does not appear that the '''''« "'""='' ^.^ ,.-_.. . . , ' . Reformed Holland Missionaries came into this country came into this for the purpose of building a Branch of the ?°™,"'^ '° '"■ ^ ^ ° tablish hero Church of Christ, on the broad Foundation the new com- laid by Christ and the Apostles. Their ob- tTeTt^om- iect was to establish the new Rule of Faith, reives had ■^ . founded. adopted by the, Holland seceders from that Church, and to extend the communion or church which they had formed on their own terms of com- 170 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. Cn*p. munion. They neither took the Apostle's nor any one of the Creeds of the Universal Church for their Rule of Faith, nor did they manifest any serious regard for the acknowledged Creeds, opinions and usages of the" Primitive ages of the Church of Christ. But in all respegts they regarded themselves as a new. sect or church — based, indeed, upon the Bible^ — but still, as a church, a religious society, a visible community, they considered themselves of an origin inore recent than the commencement of the Reformation. They were not derived from the Church that existed before the Re- formation, in any way which that Church itself or any part of it, would acknowledge to be valid. This church is situated chiefly in New- York and New. Jersey. It has 21,569 families, 96,302 individ- uals, 29,322 oommanicants, 267 churches, and 259 ministers. § 11. The following account is taken Theongio '-' and History of from Dr. Maybe, of York, Pa., in Rupp's the German f^ 11 .. Reformed Collection. church. " The German Reformed church, as its name imports, comprises that portion of the family of reformed churdhes which speak the 'German language, and their descendants, and as such is distinguished from the French Reformed, the Dutch Reformed, &o. The founder of this church' was Ulric Zwingli, a na- tive of Switzerland. After the death of Zwingle and CEcolompadius in 1531, none of their associates enjoy- ed so decided a superiority over his brethren as to give him a commanding influence over the whole church, and to secure to him the cKief direction of her coun- cils. This honor was reserved for J'ohn Calvin, the "v.] . OKIGIW OF MODERN SECTS. I7t French Reformer. Driven from his own country by persecution, he came to Basil, in • 1534. On his re- turn from a visit to the Duchess of Ferrara in Italy, who was friendly to the Eeformation, being compelled by the war to take the route through Geneva, he came ' to that city in August, 1536, and was persuaded by Farell and Viret to remain there and complete the re- formation which they had begun." Thus the reformed church was established at Gre- neva, in 1541, with Calvin at its head. " The German Reformed church in the United States was founded by emigrants from Germany E|^d Switzerland. Its origin may be dated about the year 1740, or rather somewhat earlier. The principal seat of the church in its infancy was eastern Pennsylvania, though settlements were made also, and congregations formed, at an earlier period in other states, particular- ly in the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Nev^-York. Its doctrinal system is derived from Germany and Switzerland ; but its ecclesiastical poli- ty is formed after the model of the Reformed Dutch church of Holland, by whom it was nurtured and pro- tected in its infant state, and to whom it owes a large debt of gratitude." The Heidelherg Catechism is their Rule of Faith. k 12. It is perfectly evident, from the fore- „, . „ ' •' ' The Ge-c- going account of the German Reformed man Reform- church, that it does not fulfil the conditions claims \o be requisite to constitute a Branch of that ""'^ "■ ^«"=' Church which has existed since our Lord uiiiczwingu. was on earth. It was established in this country by members of the German Reformed church 172 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. in Germany and Switzerland; and. that church, as Dr. Mayer ingenuously confesses, " was founded" hyVhio Zwingle, and consisted of.seceders from the Church that existed in those conntries before his day. MosHEiM says the same thing of them : " The founder of the Reformed church was Ulric Zwingh, a Swiss, an acute man, and a lover of truth." ( Cent. XVI. Sect. in. c. ii. § 3.) ^ § 13. In order to iudge the better of the The history , . . . . ^ 1 . ... of their origin ecclesiastical position of this religious com- examined munion, it will be necessary to recur to the ^"" ^"''''^''• history of its origin. - As early as 1519, Leo X., Bishop of Rome, author- ized . iJo6erif Simson, a Franciscan or gray Friar, of Milan, to preach indulgences at Zurich, in thQ Diocese of Constance. The indignation of- Zwinglius was aroused, and he began to inveigh against the abuse. At first, Hugh, Bishop of Constance, approved his course, and sanctioned his opposition to the prevailing abuses and corruptions in the Church. But in a short time, the Reformer became so indiscreet, and head- long — denying some most sacred truths, as well as many of the prevailing errors — that his Bishop and the other ecclesiastical authorities found it necessary to acquit themselves of all responsibility for what he might db and teach. Zwinglius was in all probability the most popular and powerful preacher among the Reformers. His indefatigable zeal agajnst the gross and intolerable abuses of the age, gained him friends : and in 1523, the Senate of Zurich summoned thd Bish- op of the Diocese, and the other ecclesiastics of the Canton, to' appear before them and answer to the doo^ v.] ORiam OF MODERN SECTS. J 73 trines of Zwinglius. ' Now the Senate neither had, nor was acknowledged to have, any authority in matters of faith. It was not an ecclesiastical or religious body at all, any more than the Legislature of New-York, or the Congress of the United States. The Bishop and ecclesiastics, constituting the lawful and recognized representatives of the Church, protested against this as- sumption and against the Senate's right to judge in the matter. They however, decided in favor of Zwin- glius, and called a more general assembly to be held at the close of the month of October, in the same year. The Senate* invited the Bishops of Constance, Chur or Coire, and Basel, and the University of the latter place, and the Twelve Cantons of Switzerland, to appear be- for/i them. I do not find that these ecclesiastical per- sonages paid any attention to the invitation, except that the Bishop of Constance in whose Diocese Zurich was situated, " wrote to the Senate to urge them to preserve the ancient religion." ' The Senate issued a Decree in favor of the Zwinglians. § 14. The Church, however, continued on ^he church . continued not- as before, m all its functions and ministra- withstanding tions, notwithstanding the opposition of the the secessions, secular authorities and the reduction of numbers, oocasioned by the secession of the Zwing- lians. The seceders, though but a minority, formed themselves into what is now called the German Re- formed church. §15. AtGe«fit;a this Sect was introduced This sect in 1531, chiefly in consequence, as Vidal gf^^"^ "^ '" says, of the alliance of the Cantons of Berne ' Vidal's Continuation of Fleury, vol iy. p. 518, 539, Ed. 1887. 174 ' THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. and Friburg, in order to defend themselves against the Duke of Savoy. The inhabitants of Berne brought along with them their preacher Farel and made him preach daily in the Cathedral of St. Peter's, Geneva. The Discourses of Farel and Viret soon made such an impression that their views were established as the public religion by the village Council, a purely seciilar bodj', in 1535. It allowed each person,,however, the liberty to embrace which religion he pleased — ^the new or the old. The Zwinglians compelled Peter de La- baume, the Bishop, to leave the city. He retired to Annecy, a village of Savoy, about 16 miles from Gene- va, and established the See of the Diocese there, where it remains to this day. The number of the seceders was daily increased by immigrants from Francej and thus soon gained the ascendency.' As we have already seen, Calvin came to Geneva in 1536. In 1541, he was placed not only at the head of the church into which these separatists had formed themselves, but also at the head of the secular gov- ernment. The Ger- § 16. As at Zurich, so at Geneva and else- mtin Rero.-m- ^jjgj.g therefore, the German Reformed ed incapable ' ' of exiending churoh was made up of those who seceded i"norairisi"s^'"°"^*^6 ^^"^>'°^' "■sJe^t^^S its regular and Church. acknowledged authorities — retiring from its congregations to form new ones of their own, taking a new name and proceeding in a new manner altogeth- er, whilst the old Church continued its functions and ministrations as before. They were, therefore, merely ' Vidal's Continuation, voL,TJ.p. 698. V.j . ORiem OF MODERN SECTS. 175 a sect of seceders, and no part of that visible society which had existed from the days of the Apostles. And therefore, although they might, and did — as history proves — extend their church into America, and other countries, yet the Church of Christ, . whose visible communion they had left, they were entirely incapa- ble of extending until they should return to its com- munion. I enter now into no. coniparison between the doc- trinal or moral purity of the Church, as it then existed in Switzerland, and that of the new church of the seceders. I grant, for all present purposes, that the result of such a comparison might be vastly and alto- gether in favor of the latter. But be that as it may, it is in vain to attempt to call them what they were not, what they never considered themselves and what they never claimed to be — a part of that continuous visible Society or Church which our Blessed Lord founded, and which had existed from its first establish- ment to their day. They had seceded from that Church, as they thought, for a just cause. They had done what they considered to be the best thing that they could do under the circumstances — and what they believed the necessities of the case would justify. But it was either their misfortune or their fault that they were a new sect and not the old Church of Christ. § 17. Nor, even in this, let any one sup- '^'^^^ ^''^ not consider pose that I am saying of them what they their position did not admit to be true of themselves. Thus =^"»f'«=""J'- Calvin, the very highest authority among them, said, " I know how great are our deficiencies, [in an 176 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. eoclesiastioal point of view,] and certainly if Grod' should call us this day to an account, it would be' difficult for us to make an excuse." [difficilis esset excusatio.\ Yiret, of whom we have before spoken, says the same : " Many things are yet necessary for us in order that we may have the full regimen of the Church." Calvin also, in his reply to Cardinal Sa- dolet says, in behalf of himself and his German Re- formed church, " We do not deny that we are destitute of the regimen which the ancient Church had." Beza, Calvin's successor, said, " Think not that we wish to abolish that which is eternal, to wit, the Church of Grod. Think not that we search after arguments by which to depress you to this our wretched and vile condition." "Writing to Archbishop Grrindal of Eng- land, he says " that we are as yet far from what we ought to be, we willingly confess." The context shows beyond a question that he referred to their eccle- siastical position. The son- of Peter Du Moulin, another of their distinguished writers, says : — " But the generous and illuminate souls make no difSoulty to acknowledge openly the scantiness of their church government, and that- their bed is shorter than that they can stretch themselves on it, and their, covering narrower than that they can wrap themselves in it. But as short and narrow as it is, they must keep it by an invincible necessity."- He also says, that so far as ecclesiastical power [power to do anything asachuroh| is concerned, it is a perfect interregnum," i. e., there, is none. In addition, I will only refer to the fact that Calvin himself made, application to the Church of England, to ordain him Bishop, and thus constitute v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 177 him and his followers, a Branch of the Church at Geneva. The application was intercepted by Roman- ists. But it is in itself a confession of the truth of ail that I have said or need to say for our present purpose of the defects. of the German Reformed church. This sect claims 750 congregations, 192 ministers. § 18. The name officially adopted by the Lutheran reformers was the " Evangelical.ji3(gJ.|f' "j "^^ "church." Evangelical Lutheran '■' As Germany was the cradle of the Re- chmch. formation, she was also the primitive seat of that church which grew out of the Refgrmation in the laud of Luther. The Germans, after they had thrown off the yoke of Rome, through the instrumentality of their countryman Luther, and others, constituted' themselves a reformed evangelical church which has been denominated Lutheran." The Elector of Saxony early instituted measures by which the Lutheran re- ligion was established throughout his dominions. The treaty of Passau 1552, in which the Elector gained some important concessions from the Emperor Charles V;, after the surprise at Inspruck, is regarded by the Lutherans as the basis of their religious freedom. A Diet assembled at Augsburg, 1555, declared that all who adopted the Augsburg Confession [all Lutherans] shoTjld for the future be considered entirely free. from the jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff, and from the authority and supervision of the Bishops (who retained their allegiance to Rome,) that all the inhabitants of the German Empire should be allowed to judge for themselves, and to join the church whose doctrine and 178 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap, worship they thought most pure and Scriptural — i. e., the old or the new. i 19. This sect presents to our considera- ment began tion Substantially the same state of facts as by individuals ^jjg Qjjg i[a,st reviewed. The movement was in their indi- , ^ _ - vidua! capaci- Commenced by an individual in the Diocese ol flnaiiy"''e8tob- Sraudcnburg, ^oon gained the favor of the lished by the seoular arm in the person of the Elector ot ty. Saxony, and the seceders became established as a new sect ; the Church still continuing, (though of qourse diminished in numbers by the secessions,) in the full performance of its functions as before. The Diet is a secular body, and no representative of the Church in matters pf faith. It consisted "of lay- men with the exception of the Archbishops of Mentz, Treves and Cologne, and the two spiritual benches in the second ' Chamber.' From the time of Otho I., [Emp. 936,] the kings of Grermany had found it for their advantage to balance the power of their nobles by endowing the Bishops with whole counties as fiefs.' This of course gave them a seat in the secular coun- cils of the Empire, as temporal lords or nobility. The Diet was, notwithstanding, as a legislature, exclusively secular, as much so as the American Congress. The Intro- * 20. It was from the church thus reform- ductionofthe^ indoctrinated and established, that the Evangelical ' , . . ,i TT -i J Lutherans Grerman Lutheran Christians in the Unitea le^s'ates.''"'" Statcs, d-scended. After the establishment of the ^ uthei-n church in Germany by the > ?eande'3 Encyciup. in voc, » Gieslee's Text Book, vol. ii p. 91. v.] ORIGIN OP MODERN SECTS. 179 labors of Luther, Melandthon and others, about 1525, the Lutheran doctrines were extensively diffused and adopted. The earliest settlement of Lutherans in this country- was made by emigrants from Holland to New- York soon after the first establishment of the Dutch in that city, 1621. To. this settlement succeeded that of the Swedes on the Delaware in 1636. The third settlements of the Lutherans in this country, was that of the Germans which gradually spread over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the interior of New- York, and. the "Western States. The year 1820 has been mentioned as the date of the -formation of the Greneral Synod of the American Lutheran church. {Chiefly fe "Unity," . . regai'dedbyita account that the Moravians claim to be a Founders, church at all. They call their society merely "j„'','h^ " ." a social organization," and say "it would Ecciesiaaucai be preposterous to conceive that the peculiar " '' views or regulations of a society such as that ,of the United Brethren could ever be adopted by any large body of men." And yet they undertake to perform the functions of a church. They administer the 192 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. ]Chap. sacraments — exercise jurisdiction and discipline, and preach the Gospel to the heathen for their conversion. § 38. Although the foregoinsr statements Another ° do- account of are copied from a document which had the iigin. a.pprobation of the Board, I cannot but think that it comes : short of what is claimed for them. I have before me another account as follows : " They derive their origin from the Grreek Church in the ninth century, when by the instrumentality of Methodius and Cyrillus, two Greek monks, the kings of Bulgaria and Moravia being converted to the Faith .were, together with their subjects, united in com- munion with the Grefek Church. Methodius was their first Bishop, and for their use Cyrillus translated the Scriptures into the Sclavonian language. The greater part of the members in process of time were compelled to submit to the See. of Rome. A few of them joined the Waldenses in 1170, and became identified with them. From this union of the Bohemian seceders and the Waldenses, arose the sect of Moravians.'''' The Moravians are Episcopalians. In 1467 three of their preachers were ordained bishops by a Wal- densian Bishop in Austria by the name of Stephen. These on their return ordained ten other bishops. This occurred in Bohemia where the Church was already established, and consequently this step was the organi- zation of a distinct and Opposing sect. Mosheim says : ^^ The Bohemian Brethren, as they are called, or Moravians, were descended from the better sort of Hussites, and that at the Councils of Ostorg 1620, and 1627, the two communities, of Bohemians and Swiss V.J ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 133 [Hussites] became consolidated into one, which took the name of the church of the United Brethren, and retained the form and regulations of the Bohemians, but embraced the doctrines of the Reformed." — [Cent. xvi. sec. iii. Pt. ii.c. 11, § 23.) k 89. Notwithstanding all this uncer- The tainty and diversity of opinion and statement *n°j„ubtedr concerning their origin, there is no uncer- however, a ... T , 1 • ' c • • Sect outside of tain'y about the mam point ot our inquiry, the chmoh. to wit, that the Moravians are a sect outside of the visible Society which has existed ever since the Ascension of our Lord. It is pretty certain that Moravia had been (imper- fectly no doubt) converted, in a great measure, before Methodius and Cyrillus, the Grreek Monks, went there, and that too by missionaries in the Eoman Obedience. At all events, the Church in Moravia was soon brought into the Roman Obedience, and the few seceders only who joined the Waldenses enter in as an element towards making up the modern sect of the Moravians. "We have already seen who and what the people called "Waldensians were. The Hussites were also a sect of seceders (probably from the Diocese of Con- stance in Switzerland) whom Huss had gathered around him. None of these things can give ecclesias- tical character to them as a part of Christ's visible Church. They make no claim to such a position in the sense in which we are using the words, i. e. to denote the visible society which has existed since His day. ^ It would certainly be strange if we are called upon to allow to the Moravians what they do not claim 9 194 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap, for themselves. "We have seen that in the Document written by one of their bishops, Schweinitz, and " sanc- tioned by the Board of the Moravian- church," they do not even claim to be considered a church at all, but only " a social organization " in vs^hich each individual can have certain facilities for leading a Christian life. But it will not altogether answer to take them at their word ; for they are regarded as a church by others, if not by themselves, and they perform all the functions of a church. But yet as a church they do not claim to have been a part of that Church which was insti- tuted in the Apostles' days and continued its visible existence down even unto the time of the origin of the Moravians. But, on the contrary, they claim, as one great point of their merit, that they arose for the pur- pose of opposing the errors and corruptions of that Church. It would therefore be doing violence to all use of language and all notions of identity, no less than gross injustice to them, to say that they were that very Church, or a part of it, which they organized themselves only or chiefly for the purpose of opposing. Their right to become a church is another question, and one which we neither deny nor discuss in this place. But the fact that, as a church, they are dis- tinct from, and not the same as the Church which had long been established where they originated, and was then in the Roman Obedience, the corruptions of which they arose to deny and protest against, is all that we are now seeking .to ascertain. The Moravians claim in this country about 6,000 people, 22 congregations, ^ clergymen, two of them bishops. V.J ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 195 § 40. We now come to the last in our lis '■'■'^ * ^ ,. Presbyterians of the Primary Sects. I shall take my account of the Presbyterians chiefly from the article of Dr. Krebs, Permanent Clerk of the General As- sembly, in Rupp's Collection. " The Presbyterian church in the United States derives its lineage from the Presbyterians both in Ire- land and Scotland. It is true that Presbyterianism was the form not only of the church of Scotland, but also of the Reformed churches on the continent of Europe, and indeed of the Puritans of England about the time of the "Westminster Assembly [1643 ;] and contributions from all these sources have been made at various times to the elements of the American Presby- terian church. But still it is unquestionable that the early founders of this church were principally Scotch and Irish Presbyterians. " In like manner, the church of Scotland was more than any other, their model in the whole arrangement of their judicatories, and in their whole ecclesiastical nomenclature, with few exceptions. And on this account the Presbyterian church in this country has always been popularly and appropriately regarded as the daughter, more especially of the church of Soot- land." "We have already examined, so far as our present undertaking requires, the ecclesiastical position ot those who came to this country as " elements to the American Presbyterian church," from, "the Reformed churches on the Continent," and after giving an ac- count of its estaBlishment here, we will proceed to an account of those that came from Scotland. 196 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. The primary ecclesiastieal union of the American Presbyterians occurred in 1706, when the Presbytery of Philadelphia was founded. At the meeting of the Synod in 1721, there was made'a declaration that the Presbyterians in America had exercised the Presbyte- rian government' and discipline according to the prac- tice of ' the best reformed churches,' as far as the nature and constitution of this country would allow. In 1728, an overture was presented to the Synod of Philadelphia respecting subscription to the confession of Faith and Catechisms, &o. " Although the Westminster Assembly's Confession of Faith and Catechisms ' always had been the only standard of faith, rites, government and discipline,' yet the Book itself had never been formally announced as the. Creed and Directory of the American Presby- terians. In the next year this Book was adopted. The first General Assembly met in 1789." Dr. Miller, of Princeton Theological Seminary, N. J., who is perhaps the highest individual authority in the case, thus begins his article on the Presbyterian church in the United States, in the " Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge," p. 966 : " This denomination is to be considered as the offspring of "the church of Scotland." Our attention is, therefore, in the first place, chiefly directed to Scotland. h 41. The Church of Scotland was brought Reformation into the Roman Obedience about the begin- m CO an . jjjjjg gf ]^q twelfth ccutury, and so continued until the sixteenth. In 1555, John Knox,' who is regarded as the great Scotch Reformer, returned from V.J OEIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. • 197 Geneva, in Switzerland, and added great vigor to the reformation which had already been begun. The Bishops and ecclesiastical authorities generally opposed the movement. The contest was carried on, on both sides, in a most unjustifiable spirit. The civil authori- ties were called into requisition by both parties, as it •was found possible to make use of them. In 1558, the reforming party in the Parliament described them- selves as " the Nobility and Commons of the Pro- testants of the Church of Scotland."^ In 1560, the Parliament published by their authority, " the Con- fession of Faith professed and believed by the Pro- testants within the realm of Scotland." This Confes- sion was confirmed by the three estates in Parliament on the 17th of August, and on the 24th of the same month, the jurisdiction of the Pope was abolished by the same authority. The Bishops and Clergy who were in Parliament seem to have acquiesced in this proceeding, though they did not approve of it. They lived and died for the most part Papists. On the 20th of December in the same year, "the Protestants of the Church of Scotland" held their first Greneral Assembly. It consisted of forty -six. ^g^r sons, of- whom Knox was the principal. They commenced operations as an organized sect about this time, being as yet, of course, only a small minority, and in opposition to the Church and its Clergy generally. Thus things went on; the Protestants gaining in numbers and influence. Some of the Bishops joined ' Lawson's Hist, of the Episcopal Church of Scotland from the Re- formation to the Revolution, p. 41. 198 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED., £Ohap. them — as for instance, the Bishops of Galloway, Ork- ney, Caithness and Argyll. Some of the Bishoprics soon became vacant by death or otherwise, and in 1572, a Convocation was held at Leith in which some very important steps were taken. It was not thought expedient, however, to alter the titles of the Archbish- ops and Bishops, nor the bounds of the Dioceses, but rather that they stand and continue as before the Re- formation. Some of the old Bishops had conformed, and the places of the others were now filled, but with- out regular and canonical ordination, with Protestants. This constituted what was called a Tulchan Epis- copacy — a term derived, as Lawson says, from a prac- tice then prevalent, of stuffing a calfs skin with straw, and placing it before a cow, to induce the ani- mal to give milk, which figure was called a "tulch- an " — a term derived from a word signifying a model, or close resemblance. From this time [1572] the Clergy in the Roman Obedience ceased to claim or exercise jurisdiction or ministerial functions in the Church of Scotland. This ' Tulchan ' Episcopacy continued until 1610. In 1607, James I., King of England, and Vlth of Scotland, summoned a General Assembly of the Scotch Church to be held at Dundee on the 24th of November. Each of the Presbyteries were required to send " two of the most godly, peaceable, wise and grave " of their number, as their representatives. A Conference was also held at Falkland, in Fife, in June 1608, and a General Assembly again in Dundee, on the 26th of July the same year. In all these meet- ings, progress was made towards the settlement of the V.J ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 199 state of affairs in the Church, in a more satisfactory manner. In 1610, three of those persons who were actually In possession of the Sees, or had been nomi- nated to those that were vacant, Spottiswoode, of Grlasgow, Lamb, of Brechin, and Hamilton, of Gral- loway, went to London, and were ordained Bishops by the Bishops of the English Church. They returned home and consecrated the others, who either were in possession of, or had been appointed to the vacant Sees. Thus the Church became again, in fact, as well as in name and form, Episcopal. In 1574 Andrew Melville returned from a ten years' residence in Greneva, and if he was not the first to introduce a preference for the Presbyterian form of church government, he certainly added great vigor to the zeal of those who entertained such a preference.' His party continued to increase until 1637, when they combined and drove those of the Episcopal Clergy, who would not submit to the Presbyterian rule, out of their places in the Church. The establishment of ■ Presbyterianism at this period, was no act of the Church. The Greneral Assem- bly — which met at Grlasgow, Nov. 17, 1638 — consist- ed, according to the laws of the Church and the Realm, of the King's Commissioner, (at that time the Marquis of Hamilton,) the Bishops, and inferior clergy and laity as Delegates. The King's Commissioner was acknowledged to have the right to dissolve the Assembly. Such an Assembly was the highest eccle- siastical authority in Scotland, and the only one that ' Lawson's Hist, as before, p. 131. 200 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. could make any change or regulation of any kind in the Church. But on the 21st of November, before any business had been transacted, the Bishops protested against the Assembly and refused to have aiiything to do vrith it, on the ground of illegality in the election of the Deputies, and for other reasons. This protest or " Declinature " as it was called, occasioned a good deal of discussion — the Marquis taking sides with the Bishops. On the 29th he dissolved the Assembly and withdrew. Episcopacy was abolished and Presbyte- rianism established by this remainder of a G.eneral Assembly — after the Protest or Declinature of the Bishops — after the withdrawal of the Lord High Com- missioner — and after, therefore, the Dissolution of the Assembly by what it had hitherto acknowledged a competent authority, and according to its own rules and laws.' But on the Restoration of King Charles II. to the throne of England, in 1660, steps were taken to bring back those of the Episcopal Clergy that survived, to their places in the Church in -Scotland, as well as in England. On the 15th of December, 1661, four per- sons were consecrated, for the Scottish Sees, and they, on their return home, filled up by consecration the other Sees as before 1637. Sydserf, of Gralloway, the only Scotch Bishop that survived the Hebellion and remained faithful to the Church, was transferred to the See of Orkney. The four new Bishops were James Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrews, Andrew Fairfoul, Archbishop of Grlasgow, Tames Hamilton, Bishop of G-alloway, and Robert Leighton, for Dumblane. ' Lawsos, pp. 571 — 590. V.J ORIGESr OF MODERN SECTS. 201 Thus again was Episcopacy restored to the Church of Scotland. It appears from the testimony of the Earl of G-lencairne, that the Episcopalians were six to one in point of numbers at this time.' The Presbyte- rians, who were now excluded from its ministry and its Churches, many of them settled in Ireland, some came to America, and many remained at home as a sect in opposition to the Church. § 42. But the act which has led the The Legal Presbyterians in this country to call the f;\;''^";'™™| Presbyterians in Scotland "the Church o/ torians, as the Scotland" is of a subsequent date, and re- Scotland." mains yet to be related. In 1688, occurred a change in the English Dy- nasty. James II., the last of the line of the Stuarts, left the kingdom, and William, Prince of Orange, the husband of the eldest daughter of the King, came to the Throne. James, however, had a son, who, accord- ing to the laws of England, and the oaths of all in office in the realm, was the legitimate heir to the crown. The Scotch Bishops and clergy generally, adhered to James and his son. The Presbyterians, on the other hand, readily yielded their support to "William. In an interview between Compton, Bishop of London, and Rose, Bishop of Bdinburg, Compton said to Rose that "William was satisfied that " the great body of the nobility and gentry of Scotland were for Episcopacy, and that he had directed him [Comp- ton] to say that if the Episcopalians of Scotland would undertake to serve him to the purpose that he ' Lawsox, p. 671. 9* 202 THE CHURCH roENTnTED. [Chap. is served in England, he would take them by the hand, support the Church and order, and throw off the Presbyterians." • The Presbyterians had kept alive their anirriosities towards the Church, from the time of Melville's re- turn. Their feelings had been much embittered by the proceedings of the Churchmen, at and after the Restoration : and they were ready to avail themselves of any advantage in their favor that might present itself. William, after his recognition as king, took the revenues of the Scotch Bishops and put them into his pocket, by an order published October 19, 1689.^ Ever since that time these revenues have been paid into the Royal Exchequer.^ An act, passed in the Scotch Parliament through the King's influence, on the 24th of April, 1690, gave to the Presbyterian Seceders the possession and control of the Church edifices and property ; and on the 7th of June follow- ing, the Westminster Confession of Faith was declared, by the same authority, to be the allowed and estab- lished Confession of Faith in Scotland, and "the Presbyterian church-government and Discipline " " es- tablished, ratified and confirmed."* The Bishops and Clergy, however, refused com- pliance, and continued their ministrations entirely distinct from the Presbyterians, as far as the tyranny ' Lathbuby's Hist, of the Non Jurors, p. 416, ■where this testimony as to the comparative numbers, Ac, of the Churchmen and the Presbyte- rians is abundantly sustained ^ Latvson's Hist, of the Church of Scotland since the RevolutioTi, p. 100. 'IjAwsoii'sHist.ofthe Oh. of Scotland, ^p.lOS-105. 4Ibiip.29. v.] 6RIGm OF MODERN SECTS. 203 of the laws and the violence of Presbyterian intolerance ■would permit. A large portion of the people still adhered to their comnaunion — and thus the identity of the Church of Scotland was preserved by them, not- withstanding the dis-establishment by the secular authorities, and the violence that was brought to bear against it. § 43. Now this mere legal establishment '^^''^ ^"^ai *-' Establishment of a Sect could not make it a different body didoot change ecclesiastically from what it had been before ; JJ^^ chm'dr' and though the title which belonged to the Church was given to the Sect, this fact did not change the identity of either body. Thus we have several distinct periods in the history of the Scotch Church — (1.) from 1560, the rejection of the Papal Supremacy, to 1572, the commencement of the Tulchan Episcopacy^(2.) from 1572 to 1610, the first consecration of Bishops in England for the Scotch Sees— (3.) from 1610 to 1638, when the illegal As- sembly of Glasgow pretended to establish Presbyte- rianism in the Church — (4.) from 1638 to 1661, when Episcopacy was again recognized by law as the right- ful government in the Church — (5.) from 1661 to 1689, when the Church property was transferred by King and Parliament into the hands of the Presbyte- rians, and they were constituted the "Established Church." Thus the Scotch Church, properly so called, was never Presbyterian in its form of government. " The first Presbyterian church that was organized and furnished with a place of worship in this country," says Dr. Miller, "was abput 1703," Their first 204 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Caip. presbytery was organized in 1704. But neither the Church of Scotland, nor the Sect which is by law entitled to that name, appear to have had anything to do with it. The agents in its formation were indeed chiefly of Scotch descent. But they were neither members of the Scotch Church when they came to this country, nor admitted to its communion after- wards. And, in point of fact they were as completely seceders from the Scotch Establishment, [Presbyte- rian,] as they were from the Scotch Church properly so called. The Pieaby- ^ 44- When, therefore, the Presbyterians teiian church g^y -tj^^t the Presbyterian church in America in this Coun- try, not estab- was foundcd by the Church of Scotland, lished by ihe thg j^g^j^ that it was founded by the Pres- Church of •' .J Scotland, pro-bytcrian Sect, which since their establish- peryaoc e ■ ^^^^^ ^^y ^j^g gtatc, havo been called "the Church of Scotland." It is not true, therefore, in the sense required by the essential principles of the identity of the Church, that the Presbyterian church in this country was es- tablished by the Church of Scotland — but it was established by Presbyterians seceding from the Church of Scotland, for the purpose of founding a church dif- ferent from that, and on an entirely different basis. The Irish ^ 45. If "we tum our attention to Ireland, who come to wc find the same general state of facts. In iiTis Country, 1537 ^^-^^ '^ana\ jurisdiction was abolished Seceders from . i. o the Irish by Parliament, and the Bishops, Clergy, and Church. -whole Church generally assented to the Re- formation. In the reign of Mary, the Papist, five of the Irish Bishops whp would pot conform to the Ro- v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 205 man Obedience, were expelled from their Sees. When, in 1550, the Reformation was restored, seventeen out of nineteen Bishops in Parliament approved j.t, and the rest of the Bishops and clergy generally, as well as the people acquiesced. But Presbyterianism was never established in the Church in Ireland. The Presbyterians were always, whenever there were any, seoeders from the Church, so confessedly and nomi- nally, as well as in fact. § 46. When the Presbyterians gained the '^^^ ^"°' ascendancy in the English Parliament, 1643, Presbyterians they appointed the famous Westminster As- "'"' ''^^"'' '° •^ * * ^ ^ . _ Separation sembly of Divines — to provide for a change from tiie in religion. In consequence. Episcopacy ^^"'^• and the Prayer Book were abolished — so far as the authority of Parliament could effect such a result, and Presbyterianism established instead. The Inde- pendents petitioned for toleration, and a correspon- dence ensued. From the Presbyterian replies, as given in " Collier's Church History of Great Britain," (Yol. YIII.,p. 297—302,) I make the follow- ing quotations : — " That the toleration which the Independents asked could not be granted, as it would ' be licensing perpet- ual division in the Church ; ' that ' the request sup- poses the lawfulness- of gathering churches out of true Churches — in countenance of which there is not the least example in all the Holy Scriptures,' that ' if the Church requires that which is evil of any member, he must forbear compliance, but yet without separa- tion,' 'that though tenderness of conscience may oblige to forbear or suspend the act of communion in a 206 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. case scrupled and supposed unlawful ; yet it does not bind people to a practice repugnant to the will of Grod ; of which Jiind they conceive the gathering separate churches out of true churches to be an instance ; that ' the notion of separation ' is not to be determined by the civil legislature, nor by acts of State, but by the word of Grod,' ' the same ground of separation may be plead by any erroneous conscience whatever, and thus by the same equity and parity of reasoning the Church may be broken into as many subdivisions as there' are different scruples in the minds of men,' ' and in this new shelter, the same danger may be appre- hended, and carry the scrupling persons to a further distance. And are these subdivisions and fractions in church government as lawful as they may be infinite ? Or must we give that regard to erroneous consciences as to satisfy men's scruples by so unbounded a liberty ? Does not this plainly import that error in conscience is a protection against [the guilt of] schism.' ' Scru- ple of conscience is no good plea against the charge of schism, the motives must have more weight in them,' " Such is the language used, and the views held by the men who composed the Westminster Assembly — of whose Confession of Faith and Catechism, Dr. Krbbs, " Permanent Clerk" &co., says that they " al- ways have been the only standard [!] of Faith, Rites, Grovernment and Discipline of the Presbyterians of this country." I do not intend to adopt this language altogether — or to make an indiscriminate application of it. But it states with great plainness several points — (1.) that the Scriptures do not allow of the gathering of a v.] ORIGIN OP MODERN SECTS. 207 church out of one that is already established, that is, establishing a second, where there is already one — (2.) that the civil authority or " acts of the state " can give no authority or be any justification for so doing, the matter being exclusively of a religious character — (3.) that error and evil in a Church is no justification of separation, though it may be necessary to refuse compliance in particular acts — (4.) that inasmuch as conscience may be erroneous and corrupt, its scruples alone are no sufficient plea or excuse for an act of se- paration — and (5.) that therefore, there can be no justi- fication for a separation from a Church that is truly a Branch of the Church of Christ. Now this is in the main, sound reasoning. "When the Presbyterians used it, they supposed they occu- pied the position which the Church of England now occupies — that is, the position of a valid Branch of the Church, historically connected with the past, and which, could be identified with the main Body. The reasoning which they then used for their own advan- tage, as they supposed, if> it were now turned against them, completely cuts off their claim. § 47. In considering these Sects, I have General ., ^11 Observations avoided a statement of their doctrines and on an the Pri- constitution except in so far as some allusion "^"^ ^""'• .to them came in incidentally. But of them all it may be said :— 1. That no one of them has the Ministry which our Lord instituted, continued and perpetuated in the way which has always, in the Church, been esteemed essential to its identity. 2. That no one of them is based upon the Creed of 208 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. the Primitive Church, or professes to hold to it as their Rule of Faith, but each of them has a Eule of its own, and peculiar to itself. 3. That they all have been organized not by, or with the consent and approbation of the Church in which their founders were members, but always and in all cases within the jurisdiction of that Church, and in opposition to its laws and authority. 4. That no one of them has ever been recognized as a Branch of the Church of Christ by any Church which has existed from the Apostle's days, or any that has been planted by such an Apostolic Church. But they have always regarded themselves, and have been re- garded by others as constituting a communion, or per- haps several, by themselves, which has arisen into be- ing since the commencement of the Reformation. If we look, however, at their constitution, we shall find that two of thera — ^the Baptists and Congregation- alists — are Congregational in their form of Church organization and government ; four, namely, the Dutch Reformed, the Grerman Reformed, the Luther- ans, and the Presbyterians, are Presbyterian; and three, namely, the Mennonites, the Moravians, and the Methodists are Episcopal. Yet neither upon these facts, nor on account of the Doctrines which they teach, or the Rules of Faith which they have respectively adopted, do I call thera new and distinct churches. . But it is because neither the visible existence of any one of them, nor that of any church which owns them as a branch of itself, can be traced back to an origin within many centuries of the foundation of the Church of Christ, or is, v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 209 in its ■ origin, identified with any Brancli of that Church. 5 48. I have no disposition to call in ques- ^^j^g'^'p"™! tion the piety or motives of those vpho have tiers of these been instrumental in laying the foundations ^°^^^ ^'^™'' of these sects. On the contrary I had much been good, rather dwell upon the excuses and apologies for their error — which are to be found in the times and circumstances of their lives. The abuses and evils in the Church were great, and the influence of the preceding centuries had, perhaps on the whole, been calculated to produce' views of the organization and discipline of the Church, more completely errone- ous than of the doctrines of the Gospel. The re- formers of whom we have been speaking felt deeply the evils under which they were suffering. But they saw no clear and satisfactory way of escape. Unlike the English Reformers, the Church and ecclesiastical authorities with which, by the Providence of God, they were connected, were against them. They con- sidered themselves called upon to bear their testimony against the evils and corruptions of their day. In this we certainly cannot consider them in the wrong. Yet the measure was almost certain to lead to their excision from the Church by its constituted authori- ties. And it is now impossible to say what might have been the result if they had pursued a course not less firm and faithful, but more meek and conciliatory. The truth has a power and vitality of its own, in all cases. But religious truth' is especially the object of Divine care. If they had simply borne their testimony and submitted to whatever might hava been inflicted 210 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. upon them, the good seed might, and probably would have taken deeper root, and sprung up to a more wide spread growth, and Germany, instead of being, as it is, overrun with pantheism, rationalism, and infidelity, would probably have presented us with a Protestant Church, sound in the faith, unblameable in life, and embracing the great mass of the population. But to human foresight — for man sees not as 'God seeth — ^it seemed that without some association or combination amongst themselves, their influence would be greatly circumscribed, and perhaps wholly coun- teracted and lost to the world. Therefore, they organized into churches, formed rules of faith for themselves, and undertook to perform ecclesiastical functions. But still as we have seen, they felt and confessed their ecclesiastical deficiencies — they ac- knowledged themselves to be new churches, whose visible existence could by no means be traced back to Christ and His Apostles, or identified with the Church then established : and putting their trust in Him, whose prerogative it is to bring good out of evil, they relied upon the necessities of the case for their justifi- cation in what they were doing. With this, however, we are not now to concern ourselves. "We have ascertained the fact that they are not parts of that visible and continuous Church which Christ and the Apostles founded — this they did not claim to be, and that is all that we need now to ascertain concerning them. SECONDARY SECTS. These, it will be remembered, are those that have split off froni one of the Primary Sects. v.] ORISIN OF MODERN SECTS. 211 § 49. 1. Associate Presbyterian church Seceasiona from the IN North America. Presbyterian This is a branch of the church of Scotland, """*• [the Presbyterians] and holds the doctrines of the West- minster Assembly. It was forjned in 1733. In con- sequence of the recognition of the Presbyterians as the Establishment in Scotland by William and Mary, in 1 688, a law was passed in 1712, giving the right of patronage and presentment to lay proprietors. This led to a secession in 1733, and the seceders took the title above written. They have in the United States 105 ministers, 211 congregations, 13,477 communicants. — {Rev. W. I. Cleland, and Rev. Tames P. Miller.) 2. Reformed Presbyterian church. This sect also is formed of persons who seceded from the Scotch Presbyterians in 1688, in consequence of their consenting to become the Establishment, and be supported by law. They were organized into a sect in this country in 1798. They have about 30 minis- ters, 44 congregations — {The Rev. John iV. McLeod, D. D., K Y.) 3. Associate Reformed church. Between 1660 and 1688, a large number [3,000 Wodrow,]oi Presbyterians were brought to this country from Scotland and sold for slaves, chiefly in Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The first steps towards organization into a church were taken in 1736 by the Associate Presbyterian church, Sfc. In 1751 they received a minister from the Reformed Presbyterian church, and in 1774 they received two more. In 1782 212 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. they became a fully organized sect. Efforts have been made to unite them with the two sects just named, derived from the Scotch Presbyterians, but they have hitherto been unavailing. They have about 160 ministers, and 260 congregations. — {Rev. John Forsyth, D. D., Professor in the Seminary at New- burg, New-York.) 4. Cumberland Presbyterians. This sect was founded in 1796, by the Rev. James McGrready.' It originated chiefly in an effort for a revival in Kentucky. It resulted in the formation of the sect in 1802. A Greneral Assembly was formed in 1829. They have 13 Synods, and 57 Presbyteries — [350 ministers, 480 churches, and 50,000 mem- bers.] — [Rev. Dr. Beard, President of the Cumberland College, Princeton, Ky.) 5. Presbyterians, [New School.\ In 1837 there was a division effected in the Pres- byterian church in this country. There had been for a long time a difference of opinion among the Pres- byterians, chiefly in regard to three points, " human depravity," the " extent of, the atonement," and "the freedom of the will." The party taking the extreme views on these points attempted to enforce them upon the others in 1837. The more liberal party seceded. They also claim that some measures contrary to the Constitution of the General Assembly had been' used in favor of the Old School views. They have 1,551 ministers, 1,651 congregations, 155,000 members. — { The Rev. Dr. Parker, of Philadelphia.) v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 213 5 50. 1. Freewill Baptists. secessions from the Bap- This connexion was founded in 1780. usts. The ifirst Baptist church was of general iriews, and the Baptists in several of the States were Armenian long before the Freewill Baptist connexion arose. In 1780, this portion, being in the minority, seceded. They have 898 ministers, 1,057 churches, and 54,000 members. — {Rev. Porter S. Burbank.) 2. Seventh-day Baptists. In 1665, a Seventh-day Baptist came from Eng- land, and in 1681 he and his followers came to an open separation from the Baptist church on the ground, as their name indicates, of their preferring the seventh day of the week for their Sabbath. They have forty ordained ministers, 50 churches, 6,000 members. — {Rev. W. B. Gillett, Pastor of the Seventh-day Bap- tist church, Piscataway, N. J.) 3. Disciples op Christ. These are sometimes called ' Reformed Baptist ' and ' Campbellites.' This sect was chiefly founded by Mr. Thomas Campbell, who had been a minister in the "Secession" branch of the Scotch Presbyterians, He and his followers were baptized again by immer- sion in 1812. In 1813 they were received into communion with the regular Baptists. But soon after they separated again. They claim about 200,000 members. — {Rev. R. Richardson of Va.) § 51. 1. Reformed MeNONITES. Secession „„ . , 1 ■ in-,-, , ''™"' ""^ •'» This sect commenced in loll — when cer- nonites. 214 THE CHURCH roENTIFIED. [Chap. tain members of the Menonite connexion, deploring the general decline in the piety of their sect commenced a reformation. They do not deem themselves at lib- erty to keep an accurate account of their members. — [Rev. John Herr, Strasburg, one of their Bishops.) 2. GrERMAN Baptists or Brethren. This sect are often called "Bunkers." They came to this country from Germany in 1718-1730. — (Rev. Philip Boyle, Uniontown, Md.) 3. Seventh-day Gterman. Baptists. This sect is an offshoot from the foregoing under the leading of Conrad Beissel, in 1728.— ^{Dr. Wm. H. Fahnstock.) 4. Amish or Omish church. This is a sect of the Menonites, separated from the rest chiefly on the ground of being more strict in their dress and discipline. They have about 5,000 mem- bers, and are sometimes called ' Hook Menonites,' while the others are called ^Button Menonites.' — (Shew, Zook.) Secessions. § 52. ThE CHURCH OF GrOD. m™ Refoim- In 1820, the Rev. John "Winebrenner ed church, commenced a revival in Harrisburg, Pa., vsrhich extended to some distance around. His movement was disapproved by the German Re- formed authorities, and led to a separation, and the formation of a new sect, with the title above given. They have 83 ministers, 125 congregations, and 10,000 members. — (Winebrenner, V. D. M) v.] ORIGIIT OF MODERN SECTS. 215 § 53. Unitarians. secessions from the • Unitarian sentiments made their appear- congregauon- ance very early among the desce/ndants of the Puritans in New England. In 1815, a new impulse was given to the subject by the publica- tion of Belsham's Life of Lindsey. A controversy was commenced, which led to an open separation be- tween the two parts of the Congregational church. The Unitarians have about 300 congregations. — (Dr. Lamson, of Dedham, Mass.) i 54. 1. The Methodist Society. The seces- sions from the This Society was first composed of a Meihodista, number of members seceding from the Me- thodist Episcopal church in the city of New- York, in the year 1820, together with several of their trustees. It had its origin in the ruling elder's insisting on re- ceiving the money collected in the different churches under his charge through stewards of his own appoint- ment, instead of the usual and lawful way. They have three Conferences. — {Rev. W. M. Stillwell.) 2. Methodist Protestant church. This sect was organized in 1830. It consists mostly of seceders from the Methodist Episcopal church " on account of her government and hostility to lay representation." It has 1,300 preachers, and 60,000 members. — {Rev. J. R. Williams, of Baltimore^ 3. Reformed Methodist church. This sect took its origin from a feeble secession from the Methodist Episcopal church in Vermont, 216 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. 1814. They believe in " the attainableness of entire sanctification in this life." No statistics are given. — {Rev. Wesley Bailey, Utica, N. Y.) 4. The True Wesleyan Methodist chuJich. This society was organized in 1843. It consists of seceders from the original sect, and from the Me- thodist Protestants. They united for the purpose of having " churches free from Episcopacy, Intemperance and Slavery." They have about 600 preachers and 20,000 members. — {Rev. J. Timberman, Pastor, Sfc, N. Y.) This completes the list of Secondary Sects. AUTOTHENTIC SECTS. Under this head I include those 'sects which can hardly be called branches or offshoots from any of the preceding ones ; but which are rather the organized body of the followers of some one or more influential individuals gathered from many sects, perhaps, and composed in a measure of those that had not pre- viously belonged to any sect or profession of religion. Sects which § 55. 1. Christians. profess to be ^.,. built upon the It IS claimed for this sect that they do fon?' M°' the '^°* °^^ *^®^^ origin to any one man. They Source of Di- arose nearly simultaneously in different sec- ledge. tions of the country. In N. C, James O'Kelly and several other preachers seceded from the Methodists on account of some disagreement in regard to their church government. In Vermont, Abner Jones, among the Baptists, commenced to preach v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 217 against creeds and sectarian names, and gathered a church, in 1800. About the same time a number of Presbyterians, in Ky., and Tenn., began to entertain similar views, and Barton W. Stone, with several others, seceded. They are not Trinitarians, reject in- fant baptism, and baptize by immersion. They have ■ 1,500 preachers, axid 500 licentiates, 1,500 churches, and 325,000 members. — [Rev. David Millard.) 2. The Evangelical Association. In 1796, Jacob Albright began to preach among the Germans, " among whom at this time Christianity was at a very low ebb." He was quite successful, and in 1800 his followers formed themselves into an association; and in 1803 they introduced among them- selves "an ecclesiastical regulation." "Albright was chosen presiding Elder among them, and duly con- firmed by the other preachers, and ordained by their laying on of hands, so as to authorize him to perform all transactions that are necessary for a Christian So- ciety, and becoming to an evangelical preacher." They have between 200 and 300 preachers, and near 15,000 members. — {Rev. W. W. Orwig.) 3. SCHWENKFELDERS. This sect was founded by Caspar Schwenkfeld Van Ossing of Silesia. A number of them came to Penn- sylvania in 1734. They have a peculiar custom of calling their minister to pray over and for in- fants instead of baptizing them.' They invert the words of the institution of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, (This is My Body,) and say. My Body is this — 10 218 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. that is, such as is this bread which is broken for you, &o. They have at present in this country about 300 families and 5 churches. — {Isaac Schultz.) 4. Untveesalists. This sect was chiefly founded by John Murray and Eljjianan Winchester, from 1775 to 1780. Their first * convention was . held in 1785. They believe that all retribution or punishment is confined to this world. They have 646 preachers, and 990 societies. — Rev. A. B. Grosh.) 5. Restorationists. This Sect split oflT from the Universalists in 1831, on account of the original sect declaring against any punishment or opportunity for repentance in a future world. They have 14 clergymen, and 10 or 12 con- gregations. — {Hon. Charles Hudson.) 6. United Brethren in Christ. This denomination took its rise in the United' States about 1755, and is distinguished from the Old United Brethren or Moravians by the additional phrase " In Christ." The founder was Wm. Otterbein. The sect bears many points of resemblance to the Metho- dists, though gathered chiefly from among the Ger- mans. They have 3 bishops, 500 preachers, and 65,000 members. — {Rev. Wm. Hanby.) 7. Second Advent Believers. This sect was commenced by Wm. Miller, who be- gan to lecture in 1831. They are distinguished by v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 219 their view of the second Advent and their belief that the present dispensation and order of things in the world will soon come to an end. They have already fixed upon several dates which have not realized their expectations. Their numbers cannot be ascertained. — {Most of these facts are taken from N. Southard, Ed- itor of the Midnight Cry.) § 56. 1. Friends or Quakers. Seciswhich claim some This sect was founded by George Fox. ^p<^.™' "^7- '' ° elation' or In- He commenced his labors in 1647, in Eng- spiration, be- laud. About 1655, some of the people ar- ^j ^3^ ^ J,,,^^ rived in America. They discard a Ministry, *^ ^'^e. Sacraments, and outward Forms generally. Without discarding the Scriptures altogether, they believe in an "inner light" or "« Spirit within," which is re- cognized as the principal guide in divine things. — ( T. Evans.) 2. Friends [Hicksites.) This society was founded by a secession from the foregoing in 1827. The cause of the division was doctrinal differences in opinion. 3. Shakers. This sect was founded by the French Prophets in Dauphiny and Cevennes, in France, about 1688. In a few years, several hundred protestants professed to be inspired ; their bodies were much agitated with va- rious operations; when they received the spirit of prophecy they trembled, staggered and fell down, and lay as if they were dead; They recovered twitching, 220 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. shaking, and crying to God for mercy for themselves and all mankind. Three of their most distinguished prophets came to London about 1705. In 1772 the society residing in Lancashire, England, received a revelation from G-od to repair to America. They ar- rived in New- York in 1774. They have 16 societies, and 4,500 members. — [Thomas Brown.) 4. New Jerusalem, or New Christian, church. This sect was founded by Emanuel Swedenborg, who commenced his labors in this department about 1743. He did not profess to make a new revelation, but merely to apply a new key to its interpretation. The church first received its form in England in 1783. The doctrine was introduced in the United States in 1784. The followers of Swedenborg now generally claim for him and his writings, a special inspiration. They have about 5,000 members. 5. Latter Day Saints. " The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was founded upon direct revelation, as the true Church of God has ever been." Joseph Smith, the founder of this sect, was told supernaturally that " all the denom- inations were believing in incorrect doctrines, and none of them acknowledged by God as his." Smith " was directed not to go after them. On the 21st of . Sept., 1823, a person appeared to him calling himself an angel of God, sent to assure Smith that God's cov- enant with ancient Israel was about to be fulfilled, and that he [Smith] was chosen to accomplish an im- portant part of it." He received a revelation concern- v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 221 ing the aboriginal inhabitants of this country. He was told of the existence of certain plates on which was engraven an abridgement of the records of the ancient prophets that had existed on this continent. " On the 22d of Sept., 1827, the angel delivered to Smith the records. With theiaa was found, also, the Urim and Thummin by which he translated the re- cords which were written in Egyptian characters." In April, 1830, was first organized the church of the Latter Day Saints. They have 150,000 members. — [Joseph Smith.) This closes the list of Sects in this country, so far as I am able to make out any account of them. § 57. In what I have said, I have been ™'' :*'^ count of the mainly indebted to the industry and re- sectsgiven on search of Mr. Rupp, whose collection I JJ^^iy™ '^"" have more than once spoken of. The facts are generally given as I found them stated by the author, whose name I have appended to each paragraph. I have preferred to give them as I found them, though I would not be understood to vouch for their accuracy in all cases. But if they are not cor-: rect, the error, being made by one of their own parti- sans, is most likely to be in their favor ; and at any rate no blame can be attached to me for it. § 58. Besides the Sects named above. Besides this, there are particular congregations scattered 'ge^^^har^n^ all over our land, which are in fact, com- "»' be ciassi- munions or sects by themselves, and ofsd-ibod. which no account has here been or can be given. A few individuals taking a dislike to some- tiling in the affairs or doctrine of the church to which 222 THE CHURCH IDKNTIFIED. [Chap. they have belonged, almost without hesitation, make it a matter of conscience, withdraw and constitute themselves a new church wholly independent of, and disconnected from all others. But, besides all this, the vast majority of our popu- lation make no profession of religion at all. In what ^ 39- It is, of oourse, unnecessary to sense these enter at large into a discussion of the con- Sects claim to i i i j j.1, j. b e Christian neotion between these churches and that chuichcs. visible .society which has had a continuous existence from the days of Christ. The facts of their origin present nothing that requires anything more to be said than what we have already had occasion to say, and the apJDlication of which ' is too obvious to need repetition here. I have said of the Primary Sects, and it is still more true of the last two classes that we have noticed, that they make no pretensions to be a part of the Church of Christ. Of course I would not be guilty of a misstatement or misrepresentation. Neither would I dodge or evade any fact or objection that fairly lies in my way. I therefore recur to this assertion for the purpose of explaining it in such a way as to make the whole matter perfectly clear. When I say, then, that none of these sects make any pretension or claim to be parts of the Church of Christ, I must be understood to use the words in their strictest . and most appropriate sense as indicating that society or Church which has had a visible and continu- ous existence from the time of its first establishment in Judea unto the present day, and which has always been known and called by that name. Now, in this V.J ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 223 sense of the words, all persons readily admit the cor- rectness of my assertion. For there is none of these sects that professes (1) to have had a distinct visible existence from the Apostles' days — or (2) to have been founded by a Church that has had such an existence, or. by its members with its concurrence and approba- tion — or (3) finally, to be in communion with any Church which has had such a distinct continuous ex- istence, or with one which has been founded by such a Church. On the contrary they profess to have left and forsaken that Church and its branches on account of a disagreement in doctrine, discipline or worship, in order that they might found one that should be different in those respects, and more agreeable to their own opinions and consciences. Yet, in another sense it seems they do claim to be parts of the. Church of Christ or Christian churches. I confess that I am somewhat at a loss to know in what terms they would give a precise and definite statement of the grounds of this claim. It would probably in- clude several items — such as a (1) conformity to the Scripture model — (2) a harmony with the Apostolic doctrines — (3) the fact that there have always been persons who entertained the same views as themselves — and (4) that any number of true believers, associa- ted for the purpose of religion, are a branch of the Church of Christ. Now we may admit all of these claims without at all interfering with our main proposition — for I have un- dertaken only to identify that visible Society or Church which was founded by Christ and the Apostles — I have undertaken to show that these Sects are, none of 224 THE CHUEOH IDENTIFIED. [Chap them, identical parts of that Church. This they admit, and it holds equally true, if the grounds stated above on which they claim to be considered churches of Christ be admitted. The admission, however, will raise a new issue. It is self-evident that the first two propositions are nothing to our purpose. For, most manifestly, there may be many entirely and totally distinct churches built on the same model, and inculcating precisely the same doctrines ; therefore these things do by no means' prove them to be the same, or one identical body. So with the third. A number of persons, holding similar views, do not necessarily constitute a church. For instance, there may be in the Church of England a hundred persons, holding Presbyterian views, dispersed throughout the Island : but nobody would think of calling these scattered individuals a Presbyterian church. They are members of the English Church still, notwithstanding their opinions — and form no church, society, or association, by themselves. But, if the fourth point were well founded, it. would merely show that these sects were each of them a church of Christians — but not that they were a part of that Church which commenced its existence in the first century. They are as clearly separate and dis- tinct from that Church, as they are from one another and among themselves. It is no part of my design to deny that these sects are Christian churches — that is societies sincerely pro- fessing to be founded on the Christian Faith, regulated and governed by Christian principles, and aiming at the salvation of the souls of men. But as visible V.} ORIGISr OF MODERN SECTS. " 225 Societies, they are all distinct one from another. His- torically, for instance, there can be no more doubt that the Presbyterian church is a separate society — from that which our Lord and His Apostles commenced — than that the Presbyterians aild the Methodists are two and distinct Societies. § 60. I have, in my Introductory Chap- tu,.e?spfaTrf ter, endeavored to show the importance of the churoh as the identity of that Church which Christy), en they founded ; and, to some extent, wherein that '""^ wriuen. importance consists. I shall now proceed to show that wherever the Scriptures speak of the Church, they speak of a definite visible body ; and that whatever they say of any Church they say of the one then es- tablished. This I do for the purpose of meeting a very com- mon notion — that the Church is not any one particu- lar denomination or visible body — but that it includes, and is made up of all denominations who hold to the essentials of the Faith. This theory is also intimately connected with that of an invisible Chairch, consisting of all those who are truly converted, whatever may be their ecclesias- tical relations. I shall pursue the investigation with reference to both theories. Among the first things which our Lord did after entering upon His public ministry, was the gathering around Him a number of disciples, for the purpose of teaching them His Gospel, and forming their charac- ter upon the principles of His religion. Soon after His Ascension, we find this body of disciples called "the 226 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Church." Multitudes were added, both ot men and women — branches were established in divers places— G-entiles were converted and added to their number ; — and still, the society of those that had been converted to Christ was called "the Church."' Thus the Church was founded before any parts of the New Testament Scriptures were written, and to this they refer when they speak of the Church. § 61. But it will be contended that the '"^^'•^■" Senses of word " C/mrc/i," is sometimes used to de- the Word note the number (unknown to us) who are ,'j,escripimM to be heirs of everlasting salvation ; that all true believers are members of the Church in this sense of the word, and therefore, their associations for re- ligious purposes, are to be regarded as parts of the vis- ible Church. This is a matter of so much importance, that we must examine it somewhat at length. The word "Church" is not used in the English version of the Old Testament at all. But it has, of course, its corresponding words, both in Hebrew and the Septuagint. The Hebrew word means an " assem- bly" a " congregation" a " multitude" or " mob" a "swarm," (as of bees. Judges xiv. 8,)' The word which is used in the ' New Testament for church ('Ek«ai)o-/«) rneans nearly the same, a " multitude' as- sembled," a " congregation," a " convention," an "in- surrection," a "family."^ And in the Syriao version of the New Testament, which is a sort of intermediate between the • Hebrew and the G-reek original, the ' Gesbnids in voc, ^ Schleiisxeh in voc. v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 227 same word (allowing for idiomatic difference) is used where we have the word " Church " in English. The word " Church," or its Greek original, is used in the New Testament to indicate objects other than Christians in the present state of being, as follows : — 1. The Jews while journeying in the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan. Acts vii. 38. 2. Themoiat Ephesus, and is translated " asse7n- bli/," and " concourse." Acts xix. 32, 39, 40. 3. The blessed company of the spiritual beings in Heaven. Heb. xii. 23 4. The building or house in which Christians as- sembled. 1 Cor. xi. 18, 22; xiv. 19, 28, 34, 35; Heb. ii. 12. i 62. But besides these cases, it is ap- "■*« ^°'^ ^ "Church," in plied only to a visible society of Christians, the scriptures, I know of no way of making this point so f^^' "^ '" J or denote an un- clear and impressive as it ought to be, ex- ascertainable cept by quoting the sentences from Scrip- number of ture, in which the word occurs : — persons. "I will build my Church.'" "Tell it unto the Church, if he neglect to hear the Church." " "Added to the Church daily such as should be saved." ' " Great fear came upon all the Church.''* "Persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem." " " Made havoc of the Church."' "Then had the Churches rest." ' " Tidings came unto the ears of the Church." ' "They assembled themselves with the Church.'" "Vex certain of the Church." " " Prayer was made 'Matt. xvi. 18. ^xviii. 17. 'Acts u. 47. * t. 11. = viL 1. « viit 8. lis. 31. 8 3d. 22. 9xi.26. "xii. 1. 228 THE CHJJRCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. without ceasihg of the Church." ' " Certain in the Church that was at Antioch."^ "Elders in every Church." ' " Had gathered the Church together.," ' "Being brought on their way by the Church."' "Received of the Church."' "Then pleased it the Apostles and Elders with the whole Church." ' " Went through Syria and Cilicia confirming the Churches." * " So were the Churches established in the Faith." ' " Saluted the Church." '" " Sent to Ephesus and call- ed the elders of the Church." " " To feed the Church of G-od which He hath purchased with His own blood." " " Servant of the Church which is at Cenchrea."" "All the Churches of the Gentiles" [give thanks.]" "The Church which is in their house."'' "The Churches' of Christ salute you."" " Host of the whole Church." " " The Church of God which is at Corinth." '^ " I teach everywhere in every Church." " " Set them to judge who are least esteemed in the Church."''" " So ordain I in all Churches."'" "Give none offence to the Church of God."''" " No such custom, neither the Churches of God.""" "God hath set some in the Church, first Apostles."'" "He that prophesieth edifieth the Church."'" "Interpret that the Church may receive edifying." '"" ' ' Excel to the edifying of the Church." '" " If therefore the whole Church be come together." '" " Peace in all Churches of the Saints." '' " Because I I Acts xii. 6. '■' xiii. 1. " xiy. 23. ^ xiv. 27. ^ xv. 3. ' xv. 4. ' xv. 22. 8 XV. 41. ' xvi. 6. '"xviii. 22. " xx. 17. "xx. 28. " Rom. xvi. 1. "xvl 4. i5xvi.5. "xvi 16. "xvi 23. 'SlOor.i2.2Cor.il. "lCor.iv.l7. Mvi 4. 2ivii 17. *2x. 32. 23xi.l6. »ixii 28. 2*xiv. 4. 26xiv. 5. *'xiv. 12. '■Bxiv.23. 23xiv. S3. v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 229 persecuted the Church." ' " As I have given order to the Churches of Galatia." ' " The Churches of Asia salute y.ou."' " The Church that is in their house."" " The grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Mace- donia."" "Praise in the G-ospel throughout all the Churches." ° " Chosen of the Church." ' "Breth- ren are the messengers of the Churches." ^ " Show before the Church the proof of your love." ' " I rob- bed other Churches taking wages of them." '° " The care of all the Churches." " " Inferior to other Churches."''' " Unto the Churches of Galatia." " "I persecuted the Church of God." '" " Unknown by face unto the Churches of Judea."'° "Head over all things to the Church." '* " Might be known by the Church."" " Be glory in the Church of Christ Je- sus." " " Christ is the head of the Church." " " The Church is subject unto Christ."™ " Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glo- rious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." ''' " Nourisheth and cherisheth it even as the Lord the Church." *^ " A great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church."'" "Persecuting the Church." "^ " No Church communicated with me, but ye only." "" " The head of the Body, the Church." =' " His body's sake which is the Church." '" " Nymphas ' 1 Cor. XV. 9. ' xvi 1. " xn. 19. ' xvi. 19. =2 Cor. viii. 1. 6 viii. 18. 'viiiig. » viii. 23. ' viii. 24. '»xi.8. "xi. 28. "xii. 13. '^Gal. i, 2. " L 13. "i 22. '8 Eph. i. 22. " iu. 10. 'siii. 21. " v. 23. ^o v. U. 2i v. 25, 26, 27. 2! V. 29. 23 V. 32. '^ Phil, ia 6. =5 iv. 15. 26Col.i. 18. 2Ti. 24. 230 THE CHURCH HJENTIFIED. [Chap. and the Church which is in his house." ' " Cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceahs.'" " Unto the Church of the Thessalonians." ' " Follow- ers of the Churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus." * " Unto the Church of the Thessalo- nians." ' " Grlory in you in the Churches of God." ° "How shall he take care of the Church of God."' " The Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the Truth." ' Let not the Church be charged." " " To the Church in thy house."" " Let him call for the elders of the Church."" " Borne witness of their charity before the Church."" "I wrote unto the Church."" "Casteth them out of the Church."" " John to the seven Churches which are in Asia." " " Send it unto the seven Churches." '* " The angels of the seven Churches."" "The seven Churches."" " To the Angel of the Church of Ephesus." " " Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches." ™ " The Church of Smyrna." =' " The Church in Perga- mos."'^ "The Church in Thyatira."'' "All the Churches shall know." ** '• The Church in Sardis." "' "The Church in Philadelphia."^ "The Church of the Laodiceans." " " I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the Churches." ^ We, of course, admit, that the number who will finally be saved is unknown to man, and can never be ascertained by us in this life. The word " Church,''^ • Col iv. 15. 5 iv. 16. 3 1 Thes. i. 1. ■> ii. 14. ' 2 Thes. i. 1. « i. 4. ' 1 Tim. iii. 5. « iii. 15. ' v. 16. " Philemon i. 2. " James v. 14. '= 3 John 6. 139 «io. 15 Rev. i. 4. "1.11. "i. 20. '^i. 20. "ii. 1. 20 ii. 1, 11,17, 29. iii. 6, 13, 22. 2iii.8. ^iln. 23 il. 18. ^ii. 23. 2= iii. 1. 28 iii. ij, miii. 14 »Sxxli. 16. v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 231 however, is never applied to them ; but always, and only, when used of haman beings at all, to the visible society of believers, or disciples, which was established by our Lord and His Apostles. If the reader has any doubt that my assertion is true,- that the word " Church " is never used in the Scriptures to denote what is called in the modern theories, the " invisible Church" I hope he will take the trouble to read over again all these ninety-four quotations, with a special view to that point. I have taken the pains to lay before him all the passages in the New Testament, in which the word occurs, either in the English translation, or in the Greek original, so as to remove all room for doubt, that we have the whole subject fully before our minds. § 63. That there is a visible society called "^^ ^°^" " aagea in which' the Church in the Scriptures, is admitted, the word We always so understand- the word except " '^'^""^ " ■^ ^ supposed to when we are examining some particular denote the in- passages, which seem to say, what, in our ^jj^ere™" estimation, is not true of the visible Church. We then resort to the admitted fact, that the number of those that. are to be saved, is always an uncertainty with /nan, and apply to them what we think inappli- cable to the visible society, and thiis come to the idea of an invisible Church, as the thing intended. Now I am not at present aiming to combat this idea ; but I am endeavoring to show that the word " Church" is never applied, in the Scriptures, to this invisible and unascertained number of persons. 1 know of no way in which this could be accortiplished, except by quoting every passage in which the word 232 THE OHURGH IDENTIFIED. [CnAP. occurs, with enough of the context to show its appli- cation. I am satisfied" that a careful perusal of these passages, will leave the impression, that what is called the Church, is always a visible and definite society of persons. "We find it a body exercising discipline, and " as the Pillar and Ground of the truth." We read of it as "purchased by the Saviour's own blood; "as " that wkich He loved and gave Himself for, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, with- out spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." But still it is the Church of which the ministry are made, by the Holy Ghost, "the overseers," and which it hath pleased our Lord to cleanse and sanctify, with the viashing of water : and therefore, it must of necessity be that visible Church whose members have been ad- mitted by Baptism, and for whose edification the Ministry were appointed; — for each of whom they have duties and responsibilities, and whom, for this reason, it is necessary that they should be able to distinguish and identify. In one case only, I think it probable, as I have already said, that the word " Church," is applied to a number of persons invisible to us. (Heb. xii. 23.) And they are invisible, not because they cannot bg dis- tinguished from others, and identified as Christians, but because they are not in this world. They are the " first-born whose names are in Heaven." It is not, however, on account of this description of them, that I consider the Apostle to be speaking of beings not on this earth — for the expression " Church of the first-born," may mean, either the Church of v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 233 Christ, since He is " the First-Born,'" or the Church of those who are distinguished in some way, as in Isaiah xiv. 30 ; and surely this is the case with all members of the Church. The expression "written in Heaven,''^ proves nothing for that theory: for the Apostles are said to have their names written in Heaven, Judas among the restf and Grod says, "who- soever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my Book.' But I rely chiefly upon the connection in which the expression occurs : " We are come," says the Apos- tle, " unto Mount Zion [spiritual] and unto the city of the living Grod, the heavenly Jerusalem ; and to an innumerable company of angels ; to the general as- sembly and Church of the first-born which are written in heaven, and to Grod the Judge of all. Now, assuredly, if St. Paul, by the expression, " Church of the first-born, which are written in Hea- ven" had meant those persons living on the earth, who are to be heirs of everlasting salvation, he would not have placed them, in his order, between " the angels," and " Grod, the Judge of all," but somewhere else. He was speaking to the living saints, and includes them and himself in the pronoun " we." " We," he says, " have come, in our Christian fellowship and re- lations, to the spiritual Zion — the company of angels — to Grod — to the communion of the spirits of the holy men of old ; now made perfect ; to Jesus Christ ' the Mediator, and the cleansing influences of His most precious blood." 1 Rom viii 29 ; Col. i. 15, 18. = Luke x 20. s Ex. xxxiL 33. 234 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. Chap. The " Church of the first-born, which are written in heaven" are doubtless, therefore, the orders of beings extending upward in the scale of creation, from An- gels to the Deity. We, as the redeemed of Christ, are brought into the same family of Grod with them— and if we follow on in the way of His commandments .we shall come to see their blessedness, and enjoy their society. This use of the word " Church" therefore, gives no countenance to its application to the unascertained and undistinguishable number living on the earth, who will finally be saved. The Church §64. The Church Contains, Undoubtedly, Tn d^Bad "to- S""*^ and bad within its . communion ; the gether. wheat and the tares ; the good fish and the bad ; the sheep and the goats. And the Scriptures do most unquestionably, make a distinction between these two classes of persons, and direct our minds to a still more solemn and awful distinction that will be made at the Day of Judgment. But still, neither the wheat alone, nor the good fish alone, nor the sheep alone, are the Church spoken of in the Scriptures, though they are represented as being in the Church; and, together with the tares, the bad fish, and the goats, they make up the visible Society, which the Scriptures everywhere and uniformly call the Church. The Church ^ ^^- ^^ ^® readily admitted that the an organized w^ord " Church " itself, does not necessarily ° ^' imply an organization. Thus it is applied to the mob collected at Ephesus against St. Paul.' » Acts six. 82, 39-tO. v.] ORIGIN OP MODEKN SECTS. 235 But we go behind the bare signifioation of the word, and ask — not if "a church" must necessarily have an organization, but whether "the Church" of which we read in the Scriptures, had an organization or not. Of this there can be no doubt. None were con- sidered or called members of the Church until they had made a profession of the Faith and been baptized. Now here are the elements of an organization, a basis on which it was built — ^the Faith, and a rite of ini- tiation. Baptism and Profession of the Faith. Baptism made members out of those who were not such be- fore. Hence by these elements — the Creed and Baptism — those who believed were organized into a body or society distinct and distinguishable from all the rest of the world. But more than this — there was a wor- ship in which the members engaged — there was a Sacrament in which they often participated — there was a Ministry whose instructions they received, and whom they contributed to support. Now, these facts may not prove that there was what is called " any particular organization^ But they prove that there was some organization, or some- thing — call it what you please — that gathered the be- lievers into a body — a society — a church, and thus made them distinguishable from all the rest of the world, and capable of joining as a society in united and harmonious acts of duty, worship, and charity. But there is another theory* which teaches that the Church is no particular denomination, but includes many or all denominations. We have seen that the Scriptures speak of the 236 THE CHTTRCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Church, as only one, and as a distinct, organized body of believers. Now to say that it includes several or many such distinct and separately organized bodies or societies, is to show an utter disregard for the mean- ing of words. It is a violation of common sense which nothing but the stringent demands of a theory could ever occasion. Let us inquire into the facts.. Are the Presbyte- rian church, and the Methodist church, for instance, one and the same church ? Nobody so regards them. Nobody ever so speaks of them. Then if they are not one and the same church, they cannot both of them be one and the same Church as that which our Lord instituted ; for as organized bodies of professing Christians, they have organizations distinct from each other. No matter how similar in form and in principle they may be — yet historically and in fact, they are not the same, but distinct from each other. And so they are each of them distinct from that which gathered the believers and disciples in the Apostles' days, into one body. Ask a man if there is a Presbyterian church in such-a-place, and he will say, " No — but there are a good many Presbyterians there — there is no church, &nd no place of worship — they have never organized themselves. " Such language occurs daily, and is used alike by persons of all persuasions and views, and its use shows that in the estimatidh of all men, there is no church where there is no organized society. And so with the other point. Test it in any way you please, and you will find that people do never re- v.] OEIGm OF,. MODERN SECTS. 237 gard and speak of societies having different organiza- tions — different ofRcers — different places of meeting — however similar ihey may be in their design — in doc- trine — in spirit — in forms, and in principle — as being one and the same society or church. Ask any man if he considers the Presbyterian church as a part and branch of the Methodist church — and he ■will stare at you as if you had lost your wits, or were talking in riddles. The idea is too absurd to be proposed even as a matter of inquiry. Bat why not ? Why is not the Presbyterian church a part of the Me- thodist church ; or vice versa, why is not the Methodist church a part of the Presbyterian ? Let him answer who can. But there is no more absurdity — no more mqonsistency with historic facts — no more violation to the common use of language and the common sense of men, in calling any one of these sects only a part of another, and identified with it, than there is in call- ing any one of them a part of the Church of Christ, and identified with it. The Presbyterian church is no more a part of the Christian Church properly so called, than it is of the Methodist, the Baptist, or the Con- gregational church. In the first century, our Lord and the Apostles introduced an organization which gathered the Christians out of the world into a body or society by themselves, and that \?as the Christian Church. In the sixteenth century, Calvin, and the early Presbyterians, introduced another, which ga- thered the Presbyterians from all other societies, and organizations, into one by themselves, and that was the Presbyterian church. In the eighteenth century, Wesley and the early Methodists, introduced another 238 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. organization which gathered the Methodists in like manner together into a distinct and separate society or church. And so of all the rest. •Now these sepa- rate movements, and organizations, and the churches which resulted from them, are no more one and iden- tical with the origin of the Christian Church, and the Church itself, than they are with one another. And so as we have seen is the subject always regarded, and spoken of in the common use of language. So it is in the accounts which these sects give of them- selves^as has been proved already by our quotations from their own writers. We have no way, therefore, of escaping the conclu- sion, that whatever the Scriptures say of the Church at all — the necessity of being in its communion — the ^ importance of its identity — the functions it has to perform — or the privileges of its members — they say of that visible Society which began its existence in the days of the Apostles, and must continue always and uninterruptedly until the end of the world. We apply ^ ^^' Among the Sects already enume- what the rated, we may find almost every variety of ofthochareh, doctrinc and organization. Some are, doubt- to a Modern jggg much more nearly conforined to the Body, on BO , , i ,i » i -x ■ count of the Scripturc model than others. And it is pos- tween''' them^ sible that one might find among them some and not for that are preferable on this score to some that rafur'""°" are undoubtedly branches of the Holy Catho- lic Church. This, however, is a point that we will not now discuss, since it is not because the Church is Episcopal or Presbyterian ; because it wor- ships with or without a Liturgy ; nor for any other v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 239 pecullavity of doctrine or organization, that it is said to be the Church thaf our Lord " purchased with His own blood ; " " gave Himself for ; " " that He might sanctify and cleanse it, and present it to Himself without. spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." But it is on account of identity or sameness with the Church spoken of in the Scriptures, that we can apply these things to any modern body professing to be Christians. The great point of our inquiry has been identity of origin. The same vine can never grow from seve- ral different roots. From separate fountains, flow separate and distinct streams. They may flow into one, but, until after their confluence, they are in no sense one and the same. But there has been no such confluence of these sects into the Church. They have not become lost or merged in her communion. They are as distinct from it to-day, as they ever have been since their origin. I have compared the Church to a vine, starting from one root, and throwing off" branches in diverse directions, until it had reached every nation and land on the face of the earth. We may also compare its history to a stream rolling on to the ocean. From some elevated point we may see its course through the lapse of ages. Moun- tains enclose it on both sides. Here a rook rises in rugged barrenness, there an island, covered with ver- dure and beauty, separate, for a time, its waters into several channels, each pursuing its circuitous course to a union with that from which it was separated. Perhaps the last that the eye can see will be deltas ex- tending their dividing influence into the very bosom 240 THE CHURCH roENTIFIED. [Chap. of -the ocean. The separation between the East and the "West in the eleventh centurjT is one such division. The Reformation is another. These may prove islands in a stream yet to be reunited ; or the river may empty itself by different mouths into Eternity. But whether separate channels flowing round rock and island, or separate mouths flowing into the same ocean, the stream is one and the same. Beyond the mountains flow others, that have started from other fountains, and flow in different channels. The geo- grapher never confounds the one with the other. Their identity is never mistaken. . Such is the history of the Church, and so separate from it are the diverse sects we have named. They start from different fountains, flow in separate chan- nels and have never been united with the Church in the same current of visible existence. We may, ^ ^7. We may then dismiss all considera- thereforejomit ^ion of the peculiarities of the organization, all Discussions , ,...,. . , , relating to the dootrine and discipline ot these sects, and Peculiarities ^^^ involve ourselves in the endless contro- of the Organi- zation of the versies which a discussion of these points Church. -vyould occasioji. We may lay it down as a matter of certainty, that Christ has no Church, ex- cept that which he founded in His own blood. His Church became visibly established and known by that name in the days of the Apostles ; and, by His own decree and revelation, it must ever continue successive and visible — spreading arid expanding itself over the surface of the earth, with branches in each nation, articulating with the main body, and must continue thus to exist and spread, until it includes all nations, v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 241 and He Himself comes in His Second Advent, to sepa- rate the evil from the good, and terminate the present Dispensation of Mercy. 4 68. The rise of sects is no new thing. The Rise of . Sects distinct . It commenced before the Apostles had gone from the to their reward and their rest in Heaven. *^ '""■':'' '"' new thing. The Scriptures frequently allude to them.' During the few centuries immediately before the Re- formation, they were not so numerous as they had been before ; and most of those that had previously arisen, had become merely matters of history, having no longer an existence. Thus Grod had declared his judgment of them : " Every plant which my Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up."'-' § 69. In speaking of these Sects it must ADistinotion . . ^ ° ■ between the be distinctly understood that we are speak- sects and their ing of them as societies or churches, and not *'™"'^'''- of the persons composing them, as individuals. Of their members individually, no one is more ready than I am to see and acknowledge whatever there is, in them, tha,t is good and commendable. Their sincerity and their zeal I do not call in question. And though it is an undeniable fact, that their piety is of a differ- ent character from that which we find in the Church — a difference which has very generally led them to disparage the piety of churchmen — and even to deny its existence altogether ; yet nothing that I have said must be understood to deny that their's is sincere, and may be accepted in the day of judgment. This is a point on which I wish to form no judgment — to express • See John ii. 18, &c., iv. 1, 2. Jude 18. = Matt xv. la 11 242 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. no opinion, but rather yield myself up to that senti- ment which thinketh no evil, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and never fails. These Sects k 70. We have now tested these sects by mu^on" wiS ^^^ history of their origin. "VVe may proceed the Church, to apply to them the other tests, indicated in our second chapter. It is manifest from what has been said, that none of these sects claim to be parts of ' those Branches of the Church from which their foun- ders seceded. They have indeed thought that they ought to be admitted to the communion of the parent Church, and have their ministrations acknowledged by her to be valid. But none of them claim that, as a fact, they are admitted to such a communion, or that tha validity of their ministrations has been so acknowledged. No one of them claims to be in com- munion with any church- which has existed since the Apostles' days, or with any that is in communion with a Church that was founded by the Apostles. I now proceed, therefore, to a more full considera- tion of the second test — namely, that the Church does not acknowledge them to be entitled to any such re- cognition. 5 71. I have several times referred to the ^^ <*"'■* r6lllS6S to ' &&* fact, that the Church refuses to allow the knowledge validity of the ministrations of these Sects, p^°/^ \( u^j or to acknowledge them to be legitimate communion. branches of the Church. Whatever misun- derstandings and alienations there may be among the different parts of the Church, they are all agreed on this point. 4 72. Now the Church has, from the very first, v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 243 steadily and uniformly refused to recosrnize "^^^ chmch */ ^ ^ ^laa always Sects which have arisen within her bosom, Refused to bo as valid branches of the Church itself, with sects! ° There were scores of such sects before the conversion of Const antine : the period which is gene- rally fixed upon by the sects as that at which the corruption and apostacy of the Church commenced. Even in the days of the Apostles, such sects arose. St. JuDB, and also St. John, allude to them.' Befpre, therefore, the example of the Apostles and the light of inspiration had ceased to be its immediate guide, the Church refused to acknowledge sects that had thus been got up by seceders, in opposition to her- self, not merely for holding errors — but also, and chiefly for being sects. St. Paul says of them, that they hold not "to the Head from which all the Body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered and knit together, inoreaseth with the increase of- God.''' By "holding' to the Head" the ApOstle means something more than professing to believe in Christ. "Without that they would not be considered Christians : and with it, they could not be spoken of as " not holding to the Head," if nothing more was meant by the words than believing in Christ, or professing to receive Christianity as they themselves understood and inter- preted it. The language refers to an outward unity — a visible connection with the Church " which is His Body" by "joints and bands," and they of whom the Apostle was speaking, were persons professing to be Christians without being in the Communion of the Church. ' Jude 19 ; 1 John ii. 18, 2. 2 CoUossians ii. 19. 244 THE CHURCH HJENTIFIED. [Chap. From first to last, therefore, the Church has claimed and exercised the right to exclude from her com- munion, and from identity with herself, all that have arisen as our modern Sects have done. The Right to 5 73. The right to be exclusive must be- be Exclusive, jojjg to the Church. Without it, its distinct iDdispensib 1 e ^ to the Preser- existence could not be preserved. For if the DMnct°Exi'3^ Church may not decide for herself what are tence of the the csscntials of Christianity, and whom she Church. ... . , , . , . , will receive and be united with ; and so, on the contrary, whom she will reject and not be united with, she must receive all that choose to take to them- selves the office of Preacher, or organize themselves into a church, professing to receive Christianity as they themselves understand it, and to keep Christ's Commandments as they themselves expound those commandments. A glance at the diversities of doctrine and opinion held by the different sects in our land, will show that there is hardly a doctrine or a practice that might not be thus introduced and prevail, instead of " the Faith once delivered to the Saints." If the Church may not exclude any, but must receive all that choose to come as a part of herself— on their own terms, instead of their conforming to hers, she must receive their members to feed at her Tables, and their ministers to preach from her Pulpits — for unless she does this she excludes them; or, which is the same thing, declares that they are no part of herself. The consequences of receiving them all, are easily foreseen. There would be such a variety and contra- v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 245 diction as would divert the attention of people from the devotional part of their services, and convert the seasons, which ought to be devoted to worship, into an intellectual gymnasium or a theological digladia- tion. The great mass, from hearing so many different doctrines, and so much contradiction in matters of faith, would become avowed and unblushing infidels ; and the few that remained and professed to be believers,,- would be brought to the very lowest standard or quantum of faith that might be advocated by any class of preachers, or run wild in the licentiousness of fanaticism. Every new theory must be received and circulated through the whole Church. No matter by whom originated — no matter how wild — it would find followers and advocates. They organize them- selves, constitute their leaders, preachers, and must be received as a legitimate Branch of the Church. And thus the Church must be open to all, and the preacher of each new sect, each wild fanaticism, or daring blasphemy, be allowed to hold forth in the pulpits and before the congregations of that Church which the Blessed Saviour purchased with His own blood, where- ever and whenever they choose to present themselves for the work of their calling. i 74. It can hardly be necessary, there- ''^^ "^'s'"' '" . . , . 1 c~i • 1 , ""^ Exclusive lore, to show irom the Scriptures, that the proved from Church has this right. It is implied in the '"^smptmes. very fact of its existence, and of the intention that it should continue to exist until the second coming of our Lord-. But there are passages in which it is distinctly implied. Thus when our Lord directed the reference of the case of an offending brother to the Church, 246 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. iChap after all proper efforts at a private reconciliation had failed, He iniplied the existence of this right. " But if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.'" A " heathen man," is of course one who is out of the Church, and a " publican" was one who was held in su,oh an estL- mation by the Jews, that they would have no friend- ship or familiarity with him. The Right to ^ 75. A sacred trust was committed to be Exoiusive, the Church at its institution. In the Ian- inaispensable to the Preser- guage of St. Paul, it was made the Pillar nation of the ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Truth,"^ and its duty is' to preserve "the faith once delivered to the saints."' It can be hardly necessary to prove, that the value of the Church must depend upon its adhering to the Faith, and upholding_the doctrines and principles of Christianity. Our Lord came into the world to pro- vide a way for the salvation of men. That way is not the mere dictate of the conscience — ^the offspring of human reason. It is a direct revelation from God. And, as we learn from Revelation itself, the way of salvation which G-od has chosen, is not such as the unrenewed heart and mind of man will readily under- stand or approve. To the Jews it was a stumbling- block, and to the Greeks foolishness. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned," and he is yet carnal.* And if .any man will become a Chris- > Matt, xrai 17. « 1 Tim. ia 15. sJudeS. MCor.ii. 11. v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 247 tian, he must take up his cross daily and deny him- self.' These things are sufficient to show that there will always be a tendency in human nature to corrupt the Grospel and subject it to its own control and modifi- cations. Hence the Church was committed to an unceasing warfare against this corrupting tendency. Those who in their sincerity are ignorantly in error, as well as those who are wilfully perverse, will contend that their opinions are right, and that the Church is wrong. Arid the matter will come to the pass, that either the Church must yield or they will secede, and organize themselves into a church, claiming to be acknowledged as a Branch of the Church which our Lord instituted, and to have their ministrations ac- knowledged to be valid. If now, the Church is obliged to acknowledge these claims, she gains nothing by their being a different church. She sanctions their doctrines and doings — that is, acknowledges them to be true and good in one case as much as in the other. Thus a few Presbyterians, unless the Church may exclude them, or refuse communion with them in case they leave and become a church by themselves, may control the whole Church, and compel it to become Presbyterian. A few of the Presbyterians, by the' same process, may compel the Church, with the rest of the Presbyterians, to become Congregationalists, and a few of these Congregationalists becoming Uni- tarians or Universalists, may compel the whole Church, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and all, to become 1 Luke ix, 23. 248 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Char Universalists, and acknowledge the doctrines and usa- ■ ges of that sect to be the true and unoorrupted Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And thus any handful of men, by a pertinacious adherence to what they may chance to think is right — or by persisting in what they know to be wrong, for the ruin of the Church, may compel all other members of the Church to yield their opinions — violate their own consciences, and adopt the opinions and prefer- ences of the few, unless the Church has the right to interpret for herself the Scriptures and exclude those who do not conform to her interpretation of the di- vinely-appointed terms of communion. It is no mat- ter so far as the point now before us is concerned, whether the Church is obliged to tolerate them, hold- ing and inculcating their errors within her bosom, or to receive them to communion, and acknowledge them to be on an equal footing with herself after they have become organized into another body. In either case she is alike compelled to countenance their opinions, acknowledging that they are good and scriptural, and that whatever she has held different from them is either unimportant or erroneous. The Right to ^ '^^- Q,uestions oftcn arise between a Interpret' its society and one or more of its members, out ties" dataed of Something that depends upon or involves a by every construction of their laws and regulations. church and . , , . ' Bjciety what- And in all such oases, the society, though in "™''' some sense, and to some extent, a party to the controversy, claims and exercises the right to in- terpret and put an authoritative and jfinal construction upon its own laws. In a Temperance Soc'iety — a v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN' SECTS. 249 Literary Association — a Mason's Lodge, or an Odd- Fellow's Encampment, a question arises concerning the conduct of a member, whether certain acts alleged to have been performed by him, are violations of the principles and rules of the society or not. There may be differences of opinion on the subject, even among the members who are not implicated in the disp.uted points. Yet these societies never think of appealing to any. other body than themselves, and their own judi- catories. A question arises between a citizen and the commonwealth, whether he has broken its laws and incurred a penalty or not. The commonwealth de- cides the question by its Courts, or by its Legislature, and never for a moment thinks of referring the subject to any extraneous arbiter or judicature. , A question arises between an individual State, or perhaps several of them, and the United States. Something of the kind did occur between South Carolina and the Union, in the well-remembered case of Nullification. The Greneral Government — though a party to the contro- versy — decided the question itself, and would have . enforced its own decision in the case, as it clearly intimated, by an appeal to arms — if the nullifying state had not submitted. Instances involving the same principle occur almost daily in every religious body in our country. A mem- ber of the Presbyterian church, for instance, is repre- sented to have committed some offence against the rules and regulations of the socTiety. He thinks, perhaps, that his act is liable to no blame or censure. The matter is brought before the Session. It may be carried up to the Presbytery — and to the General 11* 250 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Assembly. But how high soever it be carried, and wherever it may be decided, the Presbyterian church claims the right and authority — as Session, Presby- tery, Greneral Assembly, or in some other capacity, by herself and her own judicatories, — ^to interpret her own Documents — decide upon the acts of her own members — and deal with them according to her own decisions. She never thinks of appealing to any judicature out of her own communion, or of allowing her formularies and laws to be made of nOne effect by the pertinacity of private interpretations. She puts her own inter- pretation upon the law, judges of the acts of her members, and they must submit — or be excluded from her communion. The excluded members may be in the right, and the church altogether wrong, in the case. Yet if she decides against them, and excludes them from her communion,' they are no longer mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. The same is true of every sect and church in our land. In some form they claim the right to exercise discipline over their members^-to decide upon the terms of cpmmunion which they will adhere to and enforce. And if any number of their own members choose to depart from them, or organize on a different ■ basis, they are forthwith regarded as a distinct body — another church. The Bible itself is a document of the Church. It was written after the Church was instituted. It was written in the Chift-ch by members of the Church, for the Church, and is addressed to the Church and its members ; and the right to interpret the Scriptures and every other revelation of the Divine Will — if there can v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 251 be any other— is implied in the authority described in Matt, xviii. 15-17, where it is said that if one " neg- lects to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican." i 77. In this there is implied no assump- T^eRightto ^ * be Exclusive tion of infallibility for the Church, bat only implies no the right which every religious sect, and "'^ ' ''^' every society of persons associated for any object, find it necessary to adopt and act upon in order to preserve their -distinct existence. Although the Church has always had creeds and canons of her own composition, yet these have always been regarded by her as either brief and convenient statements of what was. contained in the Scriptures, or such subordinate regulations as were necessary for the due performance of the divine functions entrusted to her, and which, therefore, she had a right to make. The Church has never claimed the right to make addi- tions to the Faith or to decree anything contrary to the Scriptures. It is true, indeed, that the Roman Branch of the Church has advanced such claims. And in withholding the • cup from her laity in the Sa- crament of the Lord's Supper, she acknowledges that our Lord instituted the Sacrament in both kinds, and directed it to be so received.' And it may be said that Romanists generally hold that they have a right to decree, from time to time, new Articles of the Faith — which must be received on pain of damnation. The Church of England, on the contrary, claims no such right or authority. She says that " Holy 1 Oovincil of Trent, Sess. xxi. Chap, i, 252 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Scripture oontaineth all tilings necessary to salvation : so that -whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." "The creeds [the Mcene and the Apostles'] ought thoroughly to be received and believed, for they may be proved by most certain warrant of Holy Scripture." " The Church hath power to decree rites and ceremonies, and authority in controversies of Faith ; and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain anything that is contrary to God's Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant to another.'" Since, then, the Romish Branch of the Church claims the fight to decree new articles of faith, and rites, and ceremonies, which are contrary to the Scripture — the rejection of these sects by her might be nothing to their disadvantage. Her rejection might be their commendation. But when their ministrations are disowned by the . Oriental Branches of the Church which have , never fallen into the Romish corruptions, and never claimed the right to add to " the Faith once delivered to the saints," and by the Reformed Branches, which have returned for their Standard, to the Scriptures alone as utfderstood by the Primitive Church, the case is mate- rially different. A decision in which all these Branches of the Church — every body of Christians that can be identified with the Church spoken of in the Scriptures, ' Artiple vi., viii, and xx. v.] ORIGIN OP MODERN SECTS. 253 diverse and divided as they ' are on many important points — carries with it a weight of moral power that cannot well be disregarded. 5 78. Now the Scripture contains the TheOhuich n 1 1 ■ 1 ii /-ii 1 • 1 must have the trospel wnicn the Church is to preach — and Right to intei- the terms of Communion which she is tor'*/^!?"- tures for Hei-- adopt, and should enforce. "We claim for the self. Church no right or authority to make laws "of her own, except so far ^s shall be necessary for the per- formance of those functions which her Lord gave her to do. But the Church must have the right to interpret the Scriptures for herself, to decide what are the instructions that have been given her. There is no extraneous judicature — no body having authority over her to which she is subordinate, and to which an ap- peal can be made. § 79. The ^ght to be exclusive is claimed The Right to " be Exclusive by every sect and church in our land. No claimed by aii denomination will open its pulpits indiscrimi- ^^^jl^g*"'' ^°' nately to those that are recognized as minis- ters in other denominations. They will receive none, in fact, who do not mainly agree in sentiment with themselves. If they should do otherwise, their creeds and standards would be disregarded and contradicted, and the denomination itself would lose its distinctive features. Hence they are all more or less exclusive. The Presbyterians would not receive to their Presbytery,, or admit to preach in their pulpits, men who deny the Divinity of Christ, or the future punishment of the finally-impenitent. Uniyersalists will not fellowship and harmonize with those who hold high Calvinistio 254 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. notions of Election and Reprobation, or who deny the sacredness and binding obligation of the Marriage Covenant. This is only what each sect and church in our land is doing. There is no one of them that is not seeking to extend its communion. They have appli- cations from persons and societies of persons to be received into union with themselves. This devolves upon them the necessity of ascer- taining what are the opinions, the character, and the usages of the applicants. The Church examines into these matters, and accepts or rejects their application Ets it is found necessary. Now the refusal to reoeive applicants is based on the same principle as the expulsion of unworthy members, or the refusal to be in communion with them if they organize themselves separately, into a distinct church. * It is the right to decide for themselves what are their own terms of communion, and to exclude all that will not conform to them. But suppose, for a moment, that any denomina- tion — ^the Presbyterians for instance — were obliged to open their pulpits to all who call themselves Teachers of the Grospel ; or all who are recognized as such by any Sect or denomination. It would be impossible to preserve the distinctive features of their system. To- day, an Armenian would deny their view of Election — to-morrow a Socinian would deny the Atonement ; soon a Unitarian would deny the Divinity of Christ ; a Universalist the Future Punishment of the wicked ; the Quaker would deny all ordinances and creeds; v.] ORIGISr OF MODERir SECTS. 255 Shem Zook would denounce the use of buttons on one's coat as Anti-Christian; William Miller would teach that the end of the world was even now at the doors ; and Joseph Smith must be allowed to set forth the claims of his new revelation and " the church of the Latter Day Saints." And the actual creed of the church, whatever might be its name, would include all these views and as many more as any one might choose to present — that is, the Presbyterian church would teach them all. Now certainly, what could not but happen in the case of the Presbyterians, would most inevitably be the result in the Church if it were not allowed to be exclusive and decide for itself against whom it must close its pulpits and whom it must reject from its Communion. There is not an Article of its Creed that would not be denied in the pulpits — quite as often perhaps as it would be affirmed. There is not a principle of its constitution that would not be held up to contempt and ridicule — not a canon or rule of its salutary Discipline that would not be continually trampled under foot — for there is not a point in all her doctrines, or discipline that has not been denied and on account of which sects have been formed in opposition to the Church, because she would not allow them to persist in denying it within her communion. The Divinity of Christ — the Incarnation — Human Depravity — the possibility of forgiveness for sins after Baptism, were all denied by one and another Sect be- fore the Papal Corruptions began to overspread the Church, and if the sects who advocated these errors v had not been excluded and condemned by the Church, 256 THE CHXTRCH IDENTIFrED. [Chap. the Faith itself could not have been preserved within it. The Church must have yielded point after point, until she had descended to the dead level of infidelity and natural religion. And it could not be otherwise now ; the Faith would be denied, the Sacraments omitted, and the Church itself would melt away and become merged as an undistinguishable part of the unconverted world, if it were not allowed to keep up its own lines of de- markation. The'chiirch § 80. It is somctimcs thought that all thTsTwTo should be recognized and acknowledged by have erred io the Church, who hold to the fundamental what She re- . , r ^ /~n gards as Fun- articles of the Christian Faith. Suppose damentab. ^^ ^jj^j^ ^j^^ position. The questiou then arises, who is to decide what are the Fundamental and essential articles ? If the Sects themselves — then none will be excluded, for none of them will admit themselves to be deficient in these points. Shall the sentiment of the majority prevail? The Church herself is always the majority. Even at this day she is more than ten to one against all the sects combined. And besides this, she has a past of nearly two thousand years to appeal to, and to learn from the ages before us, what have been held to be the essen- tials of the Christian Religion by those who are now glorified. And they of course, are always a majority against those living in this or any one age. If the Church should draw a line excluding some of the sects and receiving others — those excluded would have the same ground of complaint that they now have, and could enforce their demand to be re- v.] ORIGIN OF MODERN SECTS. 257 ceived by an appeal to the precedent set in the recep- tion of their more highly favored brethren. For the common ground upon which they all stand, is sincerity in the reception of the Christian Religion, as they themselves understand it. Whereas, the ground on which the Church stands, is the fact that she was divinely instituted to keep and inculcate this sacred trust — the Christian Faith — whereby alone men can obtain the remission of their, sins, and are made par- takers of the kingdom of Heaven. But the fact is, all these sects have violated and rejected some of the principles of the Christian Reli- gion which the Church holds and always has held, to be fundamental. In this I refer not only to her view of the unity of organization and jurisdiction of the Church in each particular nation — but also to her view of the Sacraments, the Ministry and the Wor- ship. But an investigation into these points would lead us aside from our plan and require more time and space than can be devoted to it. I refer to the fact only for the purpose of saying that the Church must draw the line where she has drawn it,' or depart frorii what she has always held to be fundamental points in the sacred trust committed to her.* If, then, we allow the Church to have this right, the line must be drawn somewhere, so that all beyond it will be excluded. In excluding all as new sects which have been founded by persons that had forsaken or been expelled from her communion, established on a different basis, and in a country where they wage perpetual warfare against herself — she pursues a course that is perfectly consistent, and the only one 258 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. that can secure her integrity and perpetuity — she is adhering to the fundamental principles laid down in the Scriptures. The Recog- ^ 81. But after all, it is unnecessary to nition of these insist upon this point. For if the Church Sects by the '^ ^ charch, could should recogmzc these sects as legitimate m"'th^ Branches of the Church of Christ, and ao- identicai with knowledge the validity of their ministra- Herse'f. tions — they could not be identified with her so long as they continue their distinct and separate organizations with ministries and congregations of of their own, separate from hers. The sects them- selves cannot be identified with her. Their origin is different. Their organization is different. Their his- tory is different ; and until their sectarian existence ceases, they must be distinct from the Church. When their organizations are dissolved, and they cease to be Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, &c., &c., their members, as individuals, may be received into the Church and identified with her existence. But until then, no recognition or acknowledgment by her can be of any advantage to their ecclesiastical position. She cannot acknowledge that they are her- self, and that she is somebody else. She can neither change her own identity, nor the history and circum- stances of their origin. These things are fixed beyond the possibility of recall in the inexorable past. I trust now that it is perfectly evident that the Church has done only what she had a right to do, and has acted a consistent and uniform part through the whole period of her history, including now over eigh- teen centuries, and has taken the only course that v.] OEIGIN OF MODERlf SECTS. 259 could preserve her existence. At all events, there are none that can condemn the principles on which she has acted ; since they have all found it necessary to adopt and act upon the same principles themselves. Without them, neither their existence, nor hers, could be preserved. CHAPTER VI. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SINCE THE REFORMATION.' We now recur to the Church of England in order to. explain a few events in its history from the com- mencement of the Reformation in the reign of Henry Vni. to 1789, at which time the Branch of the' Eng- lish Church in America was fully established, and became complete in its organization and independent in its exi-stence. „, „ . § 1. "We have seen that the Church of The English Church always Christ was established in England in the Bia!ich'of"h6 ^'^^^ ccutury, that it continued perfectly in- church of dependent of any foreign jurisdiction until after the Saxon invasion at the close of the sixth century — that from that time the Papal influence ■ increased in England until its final rejection by the Church as a united body, in 1534, and that since that time, the Church of England, with those derived from it, constitutes the chief part of the third Grreat Divi- sion of the Catholic Church of Christ — ^to wit : the Reformed. Henry VIII. ^ 2. Hcury VIII. died in 1547, and was opposed the succeeded by his son, Edward VI., January Reformation ^ -^^ • i i /. tt , iniheiastpait 29. Duriug the last ten years of Henry's of hiB Reign, reign, he had rather retarded than promoted Chap.VL] the CHtTRCH OF ENGLAND. 261 the Reformation. The spirit which had been thus re- pressed burst forth with perhaps too much of impetu- osity on the change in the sovereignty. The first reformed Liturgy was published May 4, 1549, and came into use the Whitsunday following.' The first Book of Homilies had been published in the July before. But before the end of 1551, the Prayer Book had been again revised and materially altered. This second Prayer Book of Edward VI. was brought into use from the Feast of All Saints, November 1, 1552. In the next year the Articles (now XXXIX., but then XLII. in number) were published. h 3. But it pleased Almighty G-od to put The Aoces- a stop to the rapid progress of this work by thrpapist"^* the death of Edward, who was succeeded by his half-sister Mary, July 6, 1553. Mary was the daughter of Catherine of Arragon, and a zealous Papist. She set about restoring Popery to its former position in the English Church, and thus occasioned the first of those events, which for our purpose, we need to consider. § 4. At the time of the reiection of the Legiumate ■" Mode of Papal Supremacy, the Church of England church muod consisted of two Archbishoprics and nineteen " ^"siand. Bishoprics — twenty-one in the whole.^ Besides the immediate acts of the chief Pastors, or Bishops of these Sees, the ecclesiastical authority was exercised by ' Oakd'well's Two Liturgies o^Edwaud VI. compared. Pref. p. 13. '^ Cantekbuet, iondbn, Winchester, Ely, lAncoln, Coventry and lAtch- field, Salisbury, Bath and Wells, Exeter, Norwich, Carlisle, Worcester Sereford, Chichester, Rochester, St. David's, Landaff, Bangor^ St. Asaph, ToEK, Durham. — Collier, vol. iv. p. 188. 262 THE CHURCH roENTEFIED. [Chap, Convocations and Synods as follows : There were two Convocations, one for the province of Canterbury, and one for that of York. These Convooations usually- assembled separately, though they often transacted business in common. They consisted of two Houses each — the upper composed of the Bishops of the Prov- ince, and the lower of Priors, Deans, Archdeacons, Proctors, &o., &c.' The Convocation assembled only at the call of the king and transacted no business without his permission. The Synods, on the other hand, are councils of the Church assembled by the Archbishops, or by the general consent of the Bishops, and act independently of the state. New Bishop- ^ 5. After the Reformation had been rics founded, commenced, six new Bishoprics were erected during Henry VIH.'s reign, 1540-1542 — Chester, Oxford, Gloucester, Peterborough, Westminster and Bristol. Westminster, however, was dissolved and united to London, in the Parliament which met Janu- ary 23, and sat until April 15, 1552.^ The Bishopric of Grloucester was suppressed the same year and added to "Westminster.^ Durham was suppressed by the Parliament in March of the next year, [1553,] with the design of establishing two in its stead. But Edward dying soon after, this design does not seem to have been carried into effect.* Hence, at the commencement of Edward's reign, ' Lathbhey's Hist of Corwocation, p. 99. " Buenett's Hist. Ref. voL ii. p. 302. If. T. Ed. 1842. ' BonNETT, vol. ii. p. 324. * BuBNETT, ToL ii. p. 342. See also Colheb, vol. v. p. 601, 802. VL] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAIfD. 263 there were twenty-seven Bishoprics in the English Church. Westminster, Grloucester and Durham hav- ing been suppressed during his reign ; there were only twenty-four when Mary came to the throne, July 6, 1553. In the August following she restored the See of Durham,' and it was confirmed by the act of Parlia- ment in April of the next year, [1554.]' I have not been able to find in any documents within my reach an account of the restoration of Gloucester, or the date. But I find in Burnett' a declaration, that on or before the 18th of March, [1554,] a conge d ' Hire was issued to the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester, among others, for the election of a Bishop, and Brooks was elected. He died in the year following, and the See was vacant when Elizabeth came to the throne. It has since been united to Bristol. Ripon was erected in 1836, and Manchester, 1847, so that the whole present number is twenty-seven. During the most of Edward's reign there were twenty-seven Bishoprics. At the commencement of Mary's reign, however, there were only twenty-four, and during her reign there were, for the most part, twenty-six. My object in these statements has been to get at a definite fact whereby to determine what, in the esti- mation of the English Church, was at that time neces- sary to constitute an Ecclesiastical body, or Convoca- tion, capable of acting in a legislative capacity, or ' BxmNETT, voL ii. p. 382. * CoLLiEB, vol. Ti. p. 11, and BtmNEir, vol ii. p. 434. ' BnENETT, vol. ii. p. 427. See also Woedswohth's Eccl. Biog., 3d Ed., voL iL p. 361. a 8 . 264 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. in such a way as to have its acts binding on the Church. No Changes ^ 6. During the reign of Henry VIII., no m the Bishop- ^jhanffcs in the Clersry were made in order to lies, or in the ° °-' Clergy made effect the Reformation. Fi'sher of Rochester, Rei^nanordlr however, refused to acknowledge the Supre- to effect the macy of the King over all persons in his Reformation. , . -, ... ,i , .., kmgdom, claiming that supremacy for the Pope. He was accused of high treason, and beheaded June 22, 1535, aged seventy-seven. Changes ^ '''" ^^ ^^^ ^^^§^ °^ Edward VI., there in Edward's were Several deprivations for political and reli- "^"'' gious causes. October 1549, Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London, was deprived of his see. In April of the next year, Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of "Win- chester, was also deprived. The cause in both cases was partly political, and partly ecclesiastical. There were also four other deprivations during this reign ; Day, of Chichester, Heath, of "Worcester, Voisy, of Exeter, and Tunstal, of Durham.' I do not design to undertake the defence of all these things. I mention them only for their bearing upon the question of the identity of the English Church, through the period named above, that is, from 1534 to 1789. None of these deprived Bishops continued to claim their Sees or to exercise the functions of their office after their deprivation, and their places were imme- diately filled by others. Six out of twenty-seven were a minority too small to affect the integrity of the ■ Collier, vol. v. p. 425, 441, 600. VL] THE CHITRCH OF ENGLAND. 265 Episcopate, and no pretence is set up that the identity of the Church was lost, or that a division in the Church or a secession from it, was effected thereby. § 8. But on the accession of Mary, we changes - Z. made on the find changes made that were of a different Accession of character. She recalled all of the Bishops ^^ "'^ ^'" named above, as having been deprived, ex- cept Voisy, who had died. Four Bishops were im- prisoned — Ridley and Latimer in the tower, Hooper and Goverdale in the Fleet.' Soon afterwards Hol- gate, Archbishop of York, was sent to the Tower also.'' In March, ISSS-i, four Bishops, Holgate, of, York. Ferrar, of St. David's, Bird, of Chester, Bush of Bristol,' were deprived tor being married. In the same month Taylor, of Lincoln, Hooper, of Glouces- ter, and Harley, of Hereford, were deprived on the ground that they held their sees only during good behavior,* a condition which Mary pretended that they had forfeited .° Bishops Poinet, of "Winchester, Barlow, of Bath and "Wells, Scorey, of Chichester, and Coverdale,'o{ Exeter, had been compelled to flee the country in order to save themselves. And besides these, Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbliry, had been attainted of high treason, for signing the instrument settling the crown upon Lady Jane Grey." Thus thirteen Bishops, viz : — Cranmer, Ridley, Hooper, Goverdale, Holgate, Ferrar, Bird, Bush, Taylor, Harley, Poinet, Barlow, and Scorey, a major- ity out of all that were in possession of sees when 1 CoLLiEB, voL vi. page 14. ^ n,;d p^ge 23. 'Ibid, page 64, comp. 66. *■ Dwanie bene placito. 6 Ibid, page 66. 6 jbid. page S6. 12 266 THE CHUECH, IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Mary came to the throne, were deprived and put to silence by her on one pretence or another ; this wa¬ done, however, by any competent ecclesias- tical authority. It was, therefore, as completely an act of persecution against the Church, as though it had been done by the Emperors of Pagan Rome, or the Authorities of the Mahometan Imposter. The places of these men were all filled by Mary with men who were violent papists. And besides these, as we have before seen, Durham was restored, and Tun- stal, a papist also, restored to it. Hence fourteen Bishops of her own choosing were put into possession of sees in England, to fill vacan- cies of her own creating, within a very short period after Mary came to the throne. With a majority thus provided it is not at all won- derful that the Queen succeeded in making any ehtages in religion that she chose to maiie. Latimer had resigned his see during the reign of Henry VIH. He, with four other Bishops, Cranmer, RmLEY, HoopteR, and Taylor, .were burnt at the stake for their refusal to conform to papacy. From the list given by MArrLAND,' it appears that no less than two hundred and seventy-seven persons, including the four Bishops just named, suffered martyrdom for their religion during this reign. § 9. Of the Bishoprics, SIX, to wit: Can- CbiiDges on r^, o i ■ the Accession terbury, Hereford, Bangor, Grloucester, Saus- ofEiizabeth. ^^|.y^ ^^^ Oxford, Were vacant by death, on Elizabeth's accession, November 1558 : four became ' EssATs on Subjects Connected with the Reformation in England. pp. 6Y6-582. VL] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND 267 vacant by the death of the incumbent before the oath of supremacy was offered them, to wit : Rochester, Chichester, Norwich, and Bristol. Fourteen Bishops were deprived for not acknowledging the Queen's supremacy, and one, Anthony Kitchen, of LlandafF, took the oath. Of the deprived Bishops, some of them, as Bonner, Gardiner, and Tunstal had, in Henry Vlllth's reign, acknowledged and maintained the very supremacy which they now refused, and for refusing which, they were deprived. From the foregoing account it appears that only one of the Bishops in England that was in the exer- cise of Episcopal functions at the close of Mary's reign, continued to hold his office after the accession of Elizabeth. Stanly, of Sodor and Man, also retained his place." But of the fourteen Bishops deprived, three, to wit : Christopherson, of Chichester, Bourne, of Bath and Wells, and Tuberville, of Exeter, at the least, held sees whose lawful Bishops had been driven out by violence, and consequently, after their return, they were the rightful incumbents of those sees. Hence the number that were ejected by the oath of supremacy is reduced to eleven. Thus fourteen sees, a majority out of the twenty-six, were at that time vacant in the course of nature, or filled with Bishops acknowledging the supremacy, and who would con- cur in restoring the Reformation ; and this, too, with- out any ejection either violent or otherwise, on the part of Queen Elizabeth. Kitchen conformed. Barlow, Scorey, Coverdale, ' Bbamhall's Vindication of the Protestant Bishop'a Consecration. V^orks, yol. iii. page 232, cd. 1 844. 268 THE CHUROH 11/ENTIFIED. IChap. HoDGKiNs — besides some sufrragan Bishops — returned from abroad and were put into a condition to resume their duties and- jurisdiction. By these Bishops the vacant sees were filled up. § 10. The restoration of the Reformation generally 00^- seeras to have been generally popular, as fjim to the jg iq be inferred from the fact that only one Reformatiuu. -,.,.- . hundred and eighty-nine out of about ten thousand (that is, less than one in fifty) of the Clergy refused compliance.' These ^ 11- Now, in the first place, the fourteen Changes did non-conforming Bishops did not draw off a not effect the . i i ■ Identity of the party With them over whom they continued Ghuich. ^^ exercise jurisdiction. They Jived and died vacant Bishops — some in England, (eleven,) and the rest (three) went beyond seas.''' And when, some ten years after, the Papal adherents' seceded and formed a sect by themselves, these Bishops were not placed over them, nor did they set up any claims to be Bishops over any body, or any thing in England., And here again I must say that I am not now aiming to justify all that was done by Elizabeth. The whole matter may be stated thus in the alternative. If the proceedings of Mary, in restoring popery, are held to be valid, then the proceedings of Elizabeth are much more so : for they were less the result of the exercise of secular and political authority. But if the proceedings of Elizabeth are not valid, on account of the secular authority used in bringing them about, then those of Mary are not valid for the same reason ' Short's Bist. § 407. ^ Colliee, vi. p. 261. VI.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAITD. 269 acting with an hundred-fold greater force, and popery was never lawfully established during her reign, and no authority of any kind, either secular or ecclesiasti- cal, was required to abolish it on the accession of Elizabeth. In either case Protestantism was legally and validly established in the English Church in the first years of Elizabeth's reign. The identity of the Church, therefore, was not affected by the occurrences of this period. § 12. In a very few years, perhaps as "^^^ Eaiiiest 1 1 /rz-m 1 111 Secessions early as lobv, persons who had learned from the Eng- Presbyterianisra during their residence '»*'> '"""'<=''■ abroad, in Mary's reign began to secede from the Church, hold meetings, and form a sect by them- selves. 1. The first Presbytery was organized at Wands- worth, in the county of Surrey, about four miles from London.' This occurred 1572. Other Presbyteries were soon organized in other parts of England : and thus commenced the Presbyterian Sect in England. 2. In 1569, Pope Pius V. issued a Bull calling upon all who regarded his authority to secede from the English Church, and form themselves into a Sect in subjection to him. This Sect was first governed by Jesuits and Missionary Priests. In 1593, an Arch- Priest was appointed over them, and in 1623, they were placed under titular Bishops. 3. In 1583, Robert Brown organized a society or church, on Independent or Congregational -principles — and thus began another Sect in England. They are, perhaps, best known as "^Ae Puritans." 1 COLLtEE, Ti. p. 529. 270 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Besides these, there was also a small Sect of Baptists or Anabaptists. But .all these sects put together, included only a very small part of the population of England. The great mass of the people still remained in the Church. No one of these sects ever claimed to be " the Church of Bnglaiid," properly so called. But on the contrary, by their acts and by their admissions, they acknowledged themselves to be new Sects. • From the restoration of the ' Reformation at the accession of Elizabeth until the Rebellion of 1640, nothing further occurred that we need to notice in this place. The § 13. I need not now enumerate the Eebeiiion. (jayggg which Contributed to the growth of Puritanism in England. In 1640, the Church entered upon a more energetic course than it had previously pursued, to prevent the spread of Popery, and other forms of error in England, which provoked a deter- mined resistance from all against whom these efforts were directed. The calamities that overtook the Church, however, arose, tc a very great extent, from her alliance with the State, the administration of which had become unpopular, and needed reformation. Early in November, was assembled what is called the Long Parliament. They soo;i resolved therhselves into a " Committee of religion," and this branched off into divers sub.-oommittees, one of which was for pro- viding " preaching ministers and for removing scanda- lous ones." On the 10th of March a bill was brought into the House of Commons and passed "that no Bish- VL] THE CHURCH OF EKGLAJfD. 271 op should have any vote in Parliament." The bill, however, did not pass the Upper House. On the 17th of July, the Commons underiook a measure for materially changing the form of Church- government, but finding it impossible to accomplish any of their plans while the Bishops retained their constitutional seats in Parliament, thirteen of the Bishops were impeached of high treason. The ground of their impeachment was, in fact, the fidelity with which they had done their duty according to the laws of the Church and of the Realm. This impeachment was found untenable, and dropped soon after it was made. The opposition to the Bishops increased, how- ever ; and soon after, they were prevented from going to attend in their places in the House of Lords by a mob throwing stones, &c. &o., at them. The mob was encouraged by the Commons. The Bishops pro- tested against the validity of any laws that might be passed while they were thus deprived of their vote. They were immediately impeached of high treason for this protestation, and imprisoned in the Tower. Soon after, hostilities actually commenced against the king. In May, 1643, the Commons (who were now the only branch of the Parliament that can be regarded as responsible for what was done) called the famous Westminster Assembly, for re-modeling their ecclesi- astical affairs. An arrangement was made with the Scotch Covenanters, by which the Scotch were to as- sist the English against their king, and the English were to abolish Episcopacy and establish Presbyteri- anism in the English Church. In October, 1644, it 272 THE 'CHURCH HJENTIFIED. [Chap. ■was declared in Parliament, that Presbyterian ordi- nations should be held valid in the Church of England. The Ordinance for abolishing the Common Prayer and establishing the Presbyterian Directory was finally passed March 13th, 1645, and Episcopacy sup- pressed by the same authority the 9th of October following.' And it was made a crime to use the' Com- mon Prayer either in the Church or in their families, punishable with a fine of five pounds for the first olTence, ten for the second, and one year's imprison- ment for the third.'' Thechuvch ^ 14. Notwithstanding these laws, the did not con- Bishops and the great mass of the Clergy Bent 01- con- i- i ^r form to these ncver compued. Many of them, as Sander- chiingea. ^^^^ Haokctt, Bull, Fell, AUiston and Dol- ben, continued to use the Book of Conimon Prayer , or to repeat its contents without the Book. This change it will be observed was made by an authority that was purely and exclusively secular — for the Bishops had been excluded from the House of Lords by the mob, and then by attainder ; and the Westminster Assembly were only a committee to prepare matters for the Parliament to set forth and enforce by its own authority. "We certainly cannot call the Parliament and its adherents the Church oj England, as things then were, without doing violence to all our ideas of identity and all sense of propriety in the use of language. The Resiora- ^ 1^. We now pass ovcr several years lion. to the Restoration in 1660. On the 29th ' Beeen's History Prayer Book, p. 195. ° Collieb, vol. viii. p. 296. VI.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 273 of May in this year, Charles II. was recalled to the Throne of his ancestors. The Presbyterians had been defeated in their original intention by the Indepen- dents, and therefore readily joined with the Church- men in desiring the Restoration. It is not improbable that they entertained the hope that Presbyterianism might be established in the Church — being a sort of middle ground between Episcopacy and the Indepen- dents, who were then the ruling party. But in this they were disappointed. The Restoration necessarily implied the nullification of all the laws and ordinances that had been passed since about 1643, when the. constitutional requisites for the passage of a law had been disregarded. This restored the Bishops and the other Clergy who had been ejected by Parliament, to their old places again. § 16. Nine out of twenty-six Bishops The Filling lived to recover their sees at the Restora- cant "sees! ^'^ tion, to wit : Juxon of London, Pierce, of Bath and Wells, Skinner, of Oxford, "Warner, of Rochester, Roberts, of Bangor, Wren, of Ely, Duppa, of Salisbury, King, of Chichester, and Frewen, of Coventry and Litchfield. The other sees of course, had not been filled ; for the object of the change was to do away with Episcopacy a:ltogether. On the first Sunday in Advent, six new Bishops were consecrated for the following sees, Durham, St. David's, Peter- borough, Llanda*ff, Carlisle and Chester. The re- maining sees were filled soon after, arid all things restored in the Church as before 1643. § 17. We hstve seen the character of the measures which Mary took to secure a majority in .the Convo- 12* 274 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. of the E^^sh "Nation that should be of her views. When _ Church never she had done this, and not before, she be- changed by i- i ^ • xi any compe-'^^'^^ oompunctious about using the secM- tent Authority, ^ar authority for religious purposes, and resigned the regale into ecclesiastioal hands. On the accession of Elizabeth, six sees were vacant, four became so before the oath of supremacy was tendered to them, three were lawfully in the hands of Protestant Bishops who returned from their exile, and one conformed — making fourteen, a majority, which were soon filled, without any violence to the laws of the land or the Church, with Bishops who were friends of the Reformation. ' Thus by an act of Providence, Elizabeth was saved the necessity of any violent or arbitrary ejection in order to secure a major- ity in the Church in favor of Protestantism. Provi- dence had done the work before she had any occasion to do it herself. Even the three who held the sees from which the returning exiles had been unlawfully expelled, would not have been disturbed if they would have acknowledged the Q,ueen's supremacy. She could have provided for the returning Bishops in some of the vacant Sees. The other eleven who occupied places for which there were no lawful claimants living, might also have retained their places notwithstanding their religious opinions, if they would have acknowl- edged her supremacy. But by holding that she her- self, and her government, were rightfully subjeotto the Pope in temporal as well as in ecclesiastioal affairs, their opinion was of the nature of treason, and was so regarded. And for this they were ejected. But in the Rebellion, as it is called, the changes VI.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 275 were made without even the pretence of the concur- rence of the Church, acting either in Convention or Synod — ^by any means produced. Neither Convention nor Synod were held — from the commencement of the long Parliament in the autumn of 1640, until the 8th of May 1661, after the Restoration.' The Church of England, therefore, never consent- ed to the change that was made in its Doctrines, Wor- ship, and Polity during that period, and as soon as the state of the kingdom would permit, resumed her for- mer position and went on as before. An effort was indeed made at the Savoy Conference to modify the Liturgy so as to retain some that were inclined to se- cede, but nothing of importance in this respect was accomplished. § 18. "We now pass to the Revolution. xheRevo On the 18th of May 1688, seven Bishops '""o"- drew up a protest and petition against cer- tain measures of King James II., for introducing Po- pery into his kingdom. This protest was afterward approved and signed by six other Bishops. The meas- ure resulted in James' fleeing from the kingdom, and the call of William, Prince of Orange, to the Throne. On the accession of Williarh, however, six of these Bishops — Sancroft of Canterbury, Turner of Ely, Frampton of Gloucester, White of Peterborough, and Kenn of Bath and Wells, refused to acknowledge him as king while James was alive, and were ejected, with a large number of the Clergy, for their refusal. The Non-Jurors, as they were called, continued for soma ' IiAthbubt's History Convocation, pp. 235-2S9, 276 THE CHURCH mENTIFIED. [Chap. time to maintain a separate communion. Boothe, the last of their Bishops, died 1805,' and the party became extinct soon after. After the accession of William, an attempt was made to change the Doctrines and Worship of the Church materially. But, as Bishop Burnet con- fesses,' this was not done chiefly through fear of the advantage which the change would give the Non- Ju- rors in claiming to be the Church of England, and de- claring the adherents to William to be seoeders. This fact is sufficient to determine the identity of the Church after the Revolution with that before it. The ejection of the Non- Jurors may have been unjusti- fiable, (that is a point not now under discussion,) but it did not change the identity of the Church. From this period no change occurred that needs to be mentioned, until after the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country, having been founded by mem- bers of the English Church, became entirely indepen- dent of it, and therefore we need not pursue its histo- ry, for our present purpose, any further. The EDg- ^ 19- The competency of the English lish Branch cjiuxchto extend the communion of the visi- competent to ^ ^ ^t • , t r t . t E X I e nd the ble Church of Christ by founding new branoh- ch''"i'°'' "'sS) iS) I suppose, sufficiently obvious' from what has already been said. Being herself, by her perpetuated existence, unquestionably a branch of that Church, and having set up no standard of her own, which she would have interpreted to mean any- thing contrary to the Holy Scriptures and " the Faith * Lathbubt's Non-JurorSf p. 412. ''' Biatory of His Own, Times, p. 644, Smith's edition, without date. VL] THE CHTJKCH OF ENGLAND. 277 once delivered to the Saints," as held by the Church in its earliest and purest days, and having neither re- jeeted nor lost anything that is essential to its integrity and jurisdiction, she can send forth her missionaries with the assurance that Her Lord will accept their work. CHAPTER VII. THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CHURCH INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. "We come now to a most important stage in the progress of our investigation : the introduction of the Church into the United States. As this continent was unoccupied by Christians until the sixteenth or seventeenth century, it will be in vain to look for, or expect any establishment of the Church here by the immediate Apostles and Disciples of our Lord. We are, therefore, compelled to look to the labors and efforts of missionaries and colonists of a later date ; and all that we can reasonably ask is, that we may find that the Church was extended into this country in accordance with the fundamental principles of its extension and identity. The First ^ 1- The first Settlement made by any Settlement. Christian people within the portion of the continent which subsequently became the United States of America, was at Jamestown, in Virginia, May 13, a. d. 1607. Earlier attempts had been made, but they all came to nothing. " As early as 1580, letters patent were granted by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Humphrey Gtilbert, to go to America, and * prosecute effectually, the full possession Chap. VIL] CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 279 of those so ample and pleasant countries for the crown and people of England." His patent granted him ' free power and liberty to discover all such Heathen Lands as were not actually possessed by any Christian Prince or people,^ and to establish his jurisdiction there, ' provided, always, that the statutes he devised should be, as near as conveniently might, agreeable to the laws and policy of England ; and provided, also, that they be not against the true Christian Faith pro- fessed in the Church of England.' "° " In consequence of some collision at sea with the Spanish, as it is supposed, this expedition came to no permanent result. " Though Sir Humphrey had sacrificed the great- est part of his fortune in fitting out his first missionary expedition to this country, yet he was not discouraged by this failure. About five years after, he sold all that remained of his property, and obtained the assistance of other wealthy persons, and fitted out another expe- dition. He landed at Newfoundland, and after various reverses and misfortunes, was obliged to return. On his way home, he was shipwrecked. ' Gilbert was forced most unwillingly, to turn his course homeward. His own little barge was ill-suited for the violence of the open sea, but he would not forsake his comrades. On the voyage, the storms grew more outrageous, and he was pressed to come on board the larger vessel.' ' We are as near Heaven by sea as by land,' was the answer . of the gallant man. But he could not save the crew he would not leave. That same night, as he I ■Wn.BEEFOROE's Hist. of the American Church, p. 9, ' Ibid. p. 10. 280 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. led the way, his companions in the larger vessel saw the lights of his barque suddenly extinguished. She had sunk, with all on board.' '" " Soon afterward, Sir Walter Raleigh obtained a similar patent, and sent forth two vessels for the coast of Carolina. Six times did this man despatch expe- ditions on the same errand, till his fortune was ex- pended in the attempt. " In 1606, a new company applied for, and obtained, from James I., a charter for settling Virginia. Their expedition sailed on the 19th of December, and reached Cape Henry, in Virginia, April 26, 1607. They had with them the Rev. Robert Hunt, a Presbyter of the Church of England. On the 14th of May, the day after their arrival at Jamestown — the place of ' their settlement — they took possession of the territory, and Mr. Hunt administiered the Holy Eucharist, ac- cording to the rites of the English Church, to the com- pany.^ Among the first buildings erected was a Church. " Thus," says Dr. Hawks,' " Jamestown was the first permanent habitation of the English in America, and Virginia commenced its course of civilization with one of the most impressive solemnities of the Christian Church." § 2. A leading motive in ail these efforts A leading • • i i i motive in tiiis at the Settlement ot America, is declared to Settlement, ^ ^ u ^^^ hofioT of God, and compas- was to extend -f ' ^ the Church sion for the pooT infidels (Indians,) captiva- j^ ed by the Devil" it seeming probable that ' 'WiLBERFOROE, as aboTe. p. 16. s Ibid. p. 22. ' Narrative of events connected with the rise and progress of the Protestant Episcopal Chnrch of Virginia, p. 20. VIL] CHURCH m THE UNITED STATES. 281 God hath reserved these Grentiles to be reduced into Christian civility (civilization) by the English nation." And in the patent it is expressly ordered that the officers of the colony "should provide that the true "Word and Service of God be preached, planted, and used, according to. the rites and doctrines of the Church of England, not only in the said colonies, but also, as much as might be, among the savages border- ing upon them ; " and " that all persons should kindly treat the savage and heathen people in those parts, and use all proper means to draw them to the service and knowledge of God.'" ^ 3. In order to show how completely the Tho Doctrines, doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Eng- ^ora^hi"^'""? lish Church were enforced, I- will give an the chuicii of abstract of some of the laws adopted in the sufctiyEu- colony in the earliest periods of its existence, foro^d. [1611] for the purpose of enforcing them. The first commands that Daily Prayer, morning and evening, be observed. No person could speak against the Holy Trinity — blaspheme the name of God — speak lightly of His Holy Word, or demean himself unworthily or disre- spectfully unto any minister of the same, under se- vere penalties. The sixth law ordains that "every man and wo- man, daily, twice a day, upon the first tolling of the bell, shall upon the working days, repair unto the Church to hear divine service." No man might break or profane the Sabbath. ■ Whbeefokoe, pp. 9, 20, 21. See also Hawks' iVarraiiiie, p. 19. 282 THE CHURCH mENTIFIED. [Chap. Ministers were obliged, in addition to the daily Service, to preach on "Wednesday and on Sunday- morning, and to catechize the children on the Sunday afternoon. Every person on arriving in the colony must give an account of his or her faith to the minister, and sub- mit to be instructed, if he or she were not sufficiently informed in what every Christian ought to know.' With the policy or justice of these laws I am not now concerned. I cite them merely as proofs of the course that was taken to carry out the system of the English Church, and be identical with it. In 1621-2, met the first Legislature in Virginia| and " among the first enactments were those which concerned the Church." " The general provisions" above recited, " were embodied in a statutory form," and provision was made by law for the support of the Clergy.^ Soon after this there is reason to believe that a small number of Puritans came to the colony; but their number was too inconsiderable to produce any change in the religion of the colony, and public wor- ship continued to be conducted as it always had been, in conformity with the ritual of the Church of Eng- land.' In 1628, Lord Baltimore, father to the Lord Balti- more- who settled in Maryland, visited Yirginia. The Legislative Assembly was in session, and as he was Imown to be a Papist, they required that he should take the oath of supremacy and allegiance, but he ' Hawks' Narrative, pp. 25-27. ^ Hawks, p. SB. ' Ibid. p. 36. Vn.] CHUECH IN THE UNITED STATES. 283 refused. This act, whether right or wrong, in itself, shows, and is cited to show the strictness, with which the Virginia settlers adhered to the English Church. In 1642, however, Puritan discontent had gone so far as to make application to the General Court of Massachusetts to send ministers of that order to Vir- ginia, " that the inhabitants might be privileged with the preaching and ordinances of Jesus Christ."^ It will be remembered that notwithstanding the Puritan insinuation, the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of Christian Ordinances accord- ing to the English Church, was established and abun- dantly provided for in Virginia. Dr. Hawks'" re- marks, " that it is possible, and indeed probable, that the application was suggested by some of those who had emigrated from New England two years before, and sought a home in the southern colonies." Thus it appears that the Puritans were not content with having everything their own way in their own colony, but they must intermeddle with the more peaceable and harmonious affairs of another colony, and cause dissent and confusion there. The historian, to whom we are already so much indebted, adds, "Up to the period of Harvey's arrival in 1629, there was no complaint. The colonists were content to remain in the bosom of that Church in which they had been reared ; and there is ample evi- dence of a conscientious and general attachment to the faith which was established.'" The foregoing account has been given so much at ' Hawks, p. 61. ' p. 62. ' p. 62. 284 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Ciup length, for the purpose of showing what was the lead- ing design of the first settlers in these States. ^ , § 4. The Enslish Church continued to diction of take charge of its children in the colonies — ch°ur*°^con'! to make provision for their wants — and to tinued until gather in the wanderers and outcasts. They theRevola-'= , , t%- • • ,. ,i tion, 1776. were under the Diocesan supervision oi the Bishop of London. I need not go into a detail of the efforts that were made to introduce Episcopacy into this country, be- fore the Revolution ; nor enuinerate the special acts of supervision and fostering care which were manifested by the mother Church. I will rather pass on to the organization of the Church after the Revolutionary War. „, „^ ^ § 5. Independence was declared in 1776, The Church r in the United and peacc made by the acknowledgement of !d°an ind e- our Separate ' national existence, in 1783. pendent exis- "Qp ^o that period this country was a part of the English dominions and dependencies. And when the connection with the mother country was severed, the Church which she had planted be- came independent also. As early as August, 1782 — that is, before the re- cognition of the national independence by England — a scheme was proposed for the organization of the " Church of England people" into an independent branch of the Church, by themselves. This scheme, however, was purely an individual proposal, and re- sulted in nothing. It is indeed doubtful, whether if it had been carried into effect, the religious associa- tion which would have been the result, would have VIIl CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 285 been recognized by the Church of England, or any- other branch of the Church of Christ, as a part of that Church. And it is certain that the author of this pro- posal — the venerable Bishop "White — afterwards re- pudiated sonae of the fundamerital points which vjere understood to be combined in it. k 6. The first measure towards oomple- "^^^ *''^' ^ steps towards ting the organization of a Church in Ameri- an oigaaiza- oa identical with the English Church, was ''™' taken in Connecticut, in March 1783, when at a meet- ing of the Clergy of the State, the Rev. Samuel Seabury, D. D. was elected Bishop for the Church in that State. I do not however dwell upon this fact at length, for two reasons : first it was only local in its character, and did not profess to aim at anything beyond the single Diocese of Connecticut : and secondly, because a single Diocese is not competent to an independent existence as a branch of the Church. There must be, at the least, "two or three" Bishops and Dioceses in order to enable them to perform all the functions requisite to their existence — the ordination of Bishops for instance. But on the 13th of November, 1783, the Rev. Dr. White, afterwards Bishop of Pennsylvania, having previously consulted with the other Clergy of that city, proposed for consideration, at a meeting of the vestry of his parish, the appointment of committees from the different city vestries, to confer with the Clergy on the subject of forming a representative body of the Churches in Pennsylvania. These Committees met with the Clergy on March 286 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. 29th, 1784. Another meeting was called for May in the same year, and a Committee was appointed to confer with the Churches in other states. A few days afterwards a meeting, for another pur- pose, of several Clergymen from New-York, New-Jer- sey, and Pennsylvania, was held at New- Brunswick, New-Jersey. The proceedings of the Philadelphia meeting were communicated to them, and it was determined to call a fuller meeting in New-York, on the 5th of October following. At this convention there wefe delegates from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. At the meeting in Philadelphia, March 1784, the following basis of a general organization was propo- sed. It was also brought to the notice of the meeting in New Brunswick, in the May following, and was adopted by the First General Convention that was .duly called, viz : September 1785.' "1. That the Episcopal Church is, and ought to be, independent of all foreign authority, eoolesiastioal or civil. " 2. That it hath, and ought to have, in common with all other religious societies, full and exclusive powers to regulate the concerns of its own commu- nion. " 3. That the doctrines of the Grospel be main- tained as now professed by the Church of England, and uniformity of worship continued, as near as may be, to the Liturgy of the same Church. 1 Bioben's Journals, pp. 5, 6, and the Pre&ce, by Bp. WHte. Vn.] CHUECH IN THE UNITED STATES. 287 " 4. That the succession of the ministry be agree- able to the usage which requireth the three Orders, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons — that the rights and powers of the same, respectively, be ascertained, and that they be exercised according to reasonable laws, to be duly made. " 5. That to make Canons, or Laws, there be no other authority than that of a representative body of the Clergy and Laity, conjointly. " 6. That no powers be delegated to a Greneral Ecclesiastical Grovernment, except such as cannot conveniently be exercised by the Clergy and Laity in their respective congregations." At the meeting in New- York, 1784, eight diiferent States were represented, and it was agreed : — " 1. That there should be a Greneral Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. " 3. That the said Church should maintain the doctrines of the G-ospel, as now held by the Church of England, and adhere to the Liturgy of the said Church, as far as shall be consistent with the Ameri- can Revolution and the constitutions of the several States." There were also other resolutions, 2, 4, 5, and 6, providing for a Greneral Convention, and its meeting, which was to be held in Philadelphia on the 27th of September following. This may perhaps be regarded as the organization of the Church in this country. It took to itself the name, " Protestant Episcopal " — Protestant, to denote 288 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. ite freedom from Popery, and Episcopal, to denote its adherence to the Apostolic Ministry. It may be well to notice, particularly, that this was not called, nor regarded as, the commencement of the Church in this country. The Clergy and Laity came together, only to provide for some deiiciences in their organization. The Church had been founded here in 1607, by the Jamestown colonists. And now that a separation from the mother country had been effected, by the Revolutionary War, they came to- gether to provide for those ministrations and. elements of growth and edification for which, until that event, they had depended upon the mother Church, and the mother country. It may be well, however, to show from the records of those times, that this was not regarded iy those wlio took part in the transactions, as the origin or first establishment of the Church in this country. Thus, on the second day of the Convention, it was Resolved, that the testimonials produced from the. Churches in the several States are satisfactory. ' Here the Church is spoken of as an existing body, and as one, though distributed through many states ; and that too, before any formal constitution had been adopted, a Liturgy provided, or the Episcopate ob- tained. Again, the adoption of the Constitution of the Pro- testant Episcopal Church was not spoken of as the ori- gin of that Church ; the Preamble to the Constitution as reported by a Committee, reads — " Whereas, in the ' BioaE», p. 5. VII.J CHURCH m THE UNITED STATES. 289 course of Divine Providence, the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, is become independent of all foreign authority," &c. It also spoke of meetings of Clerical and Lay Deputies of the said Church previously held. These expressions are quoted to show that the men of those times did not consider the Church in this country as originating with themselves, but that they did consider that it had been in existence as. a Church before their time. The address to the English Archbishop and Bishops, is also worthy of being referred to for its bearing on several important points nowTaefore us. The Conven- tion call themselves "the Clerical and Lay Deputies of the Protestant Episcopal Church in sundry of the United States of America." They say,. "Our fathers, when they left the land of their nativity, did not leave the bosom of that Church over which your lordships now preside ; but, as well from a veneration for Epis- copal government, as from an attachment to the admi- rable services of our Liturgy, continued in willing connection with their Ecclesiastical Superiors in Eng- land, and were subjected to many inconveniences rather than break the unity of the Church to which they belonged. " "When it pleased the Supreme Ruler of the Uni- verse, that this "part of the British Empire should be free, sovereign and independent, it became the most important concern of the members of our communion *o provide for its continuance^^ '.BiosEfiP, 12,13, 13 290 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. TheOrgani- § 7. The leading objects wMqIi claimed pietcd. ° "" ^^^ attention of the Convention of 1785, were (1) a. more complete system of union and organization for the whole country (2) — the preparation of the Liturgy, and (3) the obtaining of the Episco- pate. The Constitution reported to that Convention was adopted, with some modification, on the 26th of June the next year, 1786. • Before this time, however, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Sbabury had been consecrated Bishop of Connecticut, at Aberdeen, in Scotland, on the 14th of November, 1784, by three Scotch Bishops. The reason of his being consecrated in Scotland, rather than in Eng- land, is to be found in the fact, that the English Bish- ops were restrained, by a law of Parliament, (not of the Church,) from consecrating any Bishops, without certain oaths which could be taken only by English- men. The Convention of 1785, however, made applica- tion to England for the consecration of Bishops there. After a series of events, which need not here be re- cited in particular, an act of Parliament^ was obtained for the purpose, and the Rev. Dr. Provoost, of New- York, and the Rev. Dr. White, of Pennsylvania, were consecrated, in the Lambeth PalaoCj February 4, 1787. And on the 19th of September, 1790, the Rev. Dr. James Madison was ordained Bishop for Virginia, at Lambeth, in England, by English Bishops. The Church in America had now four Bishops — a ' BlOEEif, pp. 22, 23, 24. VIL] CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 291 number, according to the uniform usages and princi- ples of the Church, competent to perform all the func- tions requisite to an independent branch, or Provincial Church. In 1789, the General Convention met for the first time- with a full organization. The Bishops now con- stituted a separate house. A new Constitution was adopted, and the Prayer-Book, as revised, was set forth, to be used from and after the first day of Octo- ber, 1790. The Ratification bears date, October 16, 1789. § 8. The settlement at Jamestown was '"'* ^^>^ the first that was made at all, by any Chris- Jamestown tian people, within the limits of what was the °°"«deied in . * ^ relation to the United States, when they became an inde- General Prin- pendent nation. ^^J^ In this there was an exact compliance "■« church, with the terms and principles of the extension of the Church, of which we have already spoken. 1. The settlers were members of the Church, from the English Branch. 2. They came into a country (the English posses- sions of North America,) at that time unoccupied by any other branch of the Church, — 3. For the purpose of establishing here " the true "Word and Service of Grod." That all these conditions were fulfilled, i& a mat- ter of fact. The design of the settlers, however, was not exclusively religious. They did not come here for the so/e' purpose of converting the heathen. They claimed the territory for their own, and designed to found a colony, as well as a Church, .which should he 292 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chat. a part of the Church and the nation to which they be- longed. This, however, cannot invalidate the mission- ary character of their undertaking. Thus-, in the most general view — considering this western continent as unoccupied country — we find that the commencement of these English missionaries was such as to identify their communion with the English Churchj and was" no violation of the rights or claims of any other branch of the Church. The Settle- § 9. But there is ,still another light in the^EnTiisb which this matter ought to be placed. Dominions. prom its first discovery, some part of this continent was acknowledged to belong to England. Virginia, and Jamestown — the place of the first Eng- lish settlement — were within those limits. This fact must be considered as giving the English Church a peculiar right and claim here. The territory was a part of the English dominions. Hence this country — as a part of the English Domain — was a part of Eng- land — as much so as though it had been within the Island that is called by that name. Hither English- men might come and settle, with all the rights and privileges of Englishmen, subject to the laws of Eng- land, and entitled to claim her protection. The right to bring -their religion and the peculiarities of their worship with them, will not therefore be questioned. And as these colonies were a part of the English dominions, so also ■ those members of the English Church, who came hither did not lose their member- ship, or transfer it to another communion, by their re- moval. They 'were a part of the English Church still. It is, indeed; true that Royal Authority gave grants VIL] CHURCH m THE UNITED STATES. 293 to others of its subjects, -who had forsaken the com- munion of the English Church, to come and settle on this continent also. But something more than King's patents, and Parliamentary grants, are necessary, to enable persons to found a branch of the Church of Christ. He is the Sovereign of His Earthly Kingdom, and its Colonies must be founded by grants obtained from Him, and in conftrmity with His laws and insti- stutions. King Charles, or any other English King could confer ample authority for founding colonies that should be a part of his dominions and kingdom. But he had no such authority over the Kingdom of Christ. Of course I am not denying the right of the Eng- lish Puritans, and other seceders from the English Church, to come and settle in this country. So far as man, or human authority is concerned, their right was unquestionable. But although they had a right to settle here, and to have what religion they pleased, or none, if that had been their choice ; still, however, the relation of their ecclesiastical institutions to the identity of the Church could not be changed by the peculiarities of their location. They were persons whose consciences had compelled them to leave the English Church, and they came here, not to establish • the Church in which they had found that they could not live at home, but to extend the communion of that which they had themselves founded. It was, therefore, no more a part and branch of that which had always been known as the Church of England, when established in this country, than it was in that which they left in order to come here. 894 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. ThisPiind- § 10. The principle on which these re- siid^'a^^tTd marks are based is recognized and practised upon in all upon^ gyery day, in this rapidly growing ■ Republic. Emigrants are going from the States in which the religious institutions are estab- lished on a well-understood basis, into new territories. Some of them are of one religion, and some of another. They locate and form themselves into churches, as they choose. Those who were Presbyterians here, and organize on the Presbyterian platform there, are regarded as a part of the Presbyterian church still. So with every other denomination. It is not supposed, or held, that their ecclesiastical identity is changed by the change of location. If they adopt different views, and a different organization, then, of course, they will become a different church, or at least a part of a different one: but not- otherwise. So with the first settlers in this country. It was a part of the English dominions — and the settlers were Englishmen, going from one part of the English dominions to another ; neither changing nor intend- ing to change either their civil allegiance or their Church-communion and membership; Until the colonies became a separate nation, by the Revolution, they were considered a part of the Eng lish Church. The others that came here were also considered as belonging to the same church, or com- munion, as that to which they belonged on the other side of the great waters, and sustained the same rela- tion to the English Church here as they had sustained there. With regard to the immigrants from other ooun- vn.] CHURCH m the united states. 296 tries, they were of two classes : those which came to parts of this continent then belonging to England, and those who came to parts belonging to their native countries-^as the Spanish, in Florida, and the Dutch, in New- York. The case of these last will be consid- ered by and by. But those who came to settle in the English oolonies.became thereby subjects of the Eng- lish crown, and therefore stand on the same footing in relation to the object now under consideration, as Eng- lishmen themselves. § 11. Thus it appears that the Protestant ™^ ^"^ * 1 ^ ^ testant Epis- Episoopal Church was founded in this coun- copai chmch try, then a part of the English dominions, by s°Jer,mdtto members — missionaries and colonists — from '^'"^''''•' "' England in the Church of England, with the concur- the same com- rence and approbation of that Church, and ™"'"°"- under its fostering care. That it is a branch of the English Church, is, therefore, a matter that admits of no doubt. The fact, that the English Church consecrated for them the number of Bishops required by the universal practice of the Church, to constitute an independent Provincial Branch, is proof that they acknowledged the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country as a part of their own communion. Beside this, there has always been a free communion and good understand- ing between them. Until quite lately there has been, however, a law of the English Parliament excluding from the pulpits of the English Church all Clergymen who had not made certain declarations equivalent to an oath of allegiance to the English Government. This, of course, our Ministers had not done, and 296 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. • could not do. Therefore, they were excluded, by a Parliamentary regulation. This law was repealed in 1840. But the validity, and regularity of our minis- trations^ have always been recognized and allowed by the English Church, and our 'Clergy (now that the political obstacle is removed) are received to preach in their pulpits, and to minister at their altars : and members going from the Church in this country are received to communion there, simply on a certificate of their having been admitted to communion here, and so, vice versa, they are received in this country. These facts prove identity of communion between the two Churches. Though hardly anything more can be necessary on the point of our unity and identity with the English Church, yet I will quote the declaration made by the House of Bishops, in this country. May 20, 1814 : — " It having been credibly stated to the House of Bishops, that, on questions in reference to property devised, before the Revolution, to congregations be- longing to the Church of England, and to uses con- nected with that name, some doubts have been enter- tained in regard to the identity of the body to which the two names have been applied, the House think it expedient to make the declaration, and to request the concurrence of the House of Clerical' and Lay Depu- ties therein. That the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America is the same body heretofore known in these States by the name of the Church op England ; the change of name, although not of religious principle, in doctrine, or in worship, or in discipline, being induced by a characteristic of the VII.] CHURCH m THE UNITED STATES. 297 Church of England, supposing the independence of Christian Churches under the different "sovereignties to which, respectively, their allegiance in civil con- cerns belongs." This declaration was concurred in by the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies.' §'12. During the course of the precedins: ^he . Ti r -i- Nationality of sections, i have often had occasion to desig- ciimchea. nate Churches by the name of the country in which they are located — implying thereby some sort of a connection between the Churches and the States. The subject demands a few words of explanation; and we have now arrived at a point in our investiga- tion, where a due consideration of that relation will be of material assistance. By the nationality of Churches, I do not mean any recognition of the Church, as a legal establishment by the State. The idea that I wish to use is equally consistent with all possible relations between the Church and State. "Whether, as in the Roman Em- pire in the second century, the State persecutes and opposes the Church ; or whether, as in England, it supports it by law ; or whether, as jn this country, it leaves the Church to itself, neither opposing nor sup- porting it; or finally, whether, as in Scotland, it estab- lishes a rival Sect — the doctrine which I wish to make use of, is equally consistent with that relation. Where, as in the nations of the old continent, there is a Groverning Class consisting of persons who are born to authority, live in its exercise, and leave it to their heirs as an heritage when they die — my opinion ' White's Memoirs, pp. 356, 357. Also, Bioken's Jovrnals of the General Convention, vol. i. pp. 310, 311. 13* 298 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. is, that they are bound, and must, if they will regard their own welfare, make the Religion of Christ a part of the law of their dominions.' This, of course, im- plies a support of the Church and its institutions. But, in this country, where we have no such gov- erning class, but only a number of citizens called for a time to execute the people's will in relation to certain matters of a more. general concern, no such incorpora- tion of Christianity, its doctrines and institutions, into the laws of the land, can well be made. The People, who are the government themselves, yield their sup- port to religion in another way, and -thus perform, without the intervention of the state authorities, what the nations differently constituted can perform only by a union of Church and State. But the duty of " nations " and " kingdoms " toward the Church is not the subject which I wish now to present to the consideration of my readers. It is rather the fact, that the territorial limits of the jurisdiction of the" Church are commensurate with those of the nation in which it is situated. This is what I mean by the nationality of Churches. Scripture ^ 13- There are several considerations Reasons for d.erivable -from Scripture which confirm this soch a Rela- tion, idea. 1. It is obvious that the Apostles, in locating the different and independent branches of the Church, had regard to the political divisions of the world, as has been already, stated. 2. It is evident that the members of the Church, as ' Isaiah Ix. 12. VII.] CHURCH nsr the united states. 299 Christians, owe some duties to the government that is over them, and to their governors, such as are incom- patible with any allegiance or obedience to persons or governors out of the nation in which they live. Hence it has been held, by thoughtful Christians, that a belief in the Papal Supremacy by persons in nations that are politically independent of Rome, is incon- sistent with due allegiance to the national sovereignty. 3. But again. In a Christian country, the govern- ment or administration must come into either concur- rence or collision with the Church and her regulations in regard to some points. Even in this country, where there is the least possible amount of connection be- tween Church and State — some points are assumed, and must of necessity be assumed, by the State. For instance, the officers employed in the administration must either keep or violate the Christian Sabbath. And the nation must have a law upon the subject. If that law regards the day as holy, then, in so far it adopts the doctrine of the Church: if not, then, it may require, and in some cases it will require its citizens, if they are members of the Church, to violate their consciences by continuing in secular occupations which the laws have required regardless of the day. The laws of our country recognise this day, notwith- standing the many Jews, Seventh-Day Baptists and infidels, who differ from the Church in their religion on this point. Our Congress, also, adjourn for Christ- mas and the Holy Days connected therewith, notwith- standing the fact that neither Pres.byterians, nor Bap- tists, nor Methodists — thei most numerous denomina- tions in our country — regard them as Holy Days at 300 THE CHURCH ffiENTIFIED. [Chap. all. On the subject of marriage and divorce, both the Church and the State must have laws which will be either concurrent or contradictory. "With regard to many of these things, the Scrip- tures have left the Church to make her own laws and aTrangements for the mere circumstantials. If, now, the Church and the nation are co-extensive and con- terminous, there will be no difficulty in securing an harmonious arrangement between them. But if there were parts of several different and independent ■Churches, or the whole of them within the limits of the same State, it would be impossible to adapt the laws so as to harmonize with them all. This Piin- i 14. "When the Church was first planted, tntbe^mmt i^^gard was had, as we have repeatedly seen, tive chuich. to the sccular and political divisions of the earth, so as that there should never be two different Churches or ecclesiastical authorities in the same di- vision. And in following down the history of the Church for several centuries, we find this rule to have been pretty carefully adhered to. " This may be evidenced both from the rules and canons, and known practice of the Church ; for when ariy provinces were divided in the State, then common- ly followed a division in the Church also ; and when any city was advanced to a greater dignity in the civil account it usually obtained a like promotion in the ecclesiastical. It was by this rule that the Bishop of Constantinople was advanced to Patriarchal power in the Church, who before was not so mubh as a Metro- politan, but subject to the Primate of Heraclea in TbrnoA • anr{ ihia Vfivv rp.nsnn is criv«n hv two ffeneral VII.] CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 301 Counolis, which confirmed him ih the possession of this newly acquired power It sometimes hap- pened that an ambitious spirit would petition the Em- peror to grant him the honor and power of a Metropo- litan in the Church, when yet the province to which he belonged had but one metropolis in the State ; which was so contrary to the aforesaid rule of the Church that the Great Council of Chalcedon, made it ■ "J ■ deposition for any Bishop to attempt it. But, on the other hand, if the Emperor thought fit to divide a province into two, and erect a new metropolis in the second part, then the Church allowed the Bishop of the new metropolis to become Metropolitan in the Church also The canons of the Church were made to favor this practice in the erection of new Bishoprics aLso ; for the Council of Chalcedon has another canon which says, that if the Imperial power made any innovation in the precincts or parishes belong- ing to a city, then the Church precincts might be alter- ed in conformity to the alterations that were made in the political and civil state, which canon is repeated and confirmed in the Council of Trullo." § 15. I am aware that this rule is not one "^^^ ''™" ciple not to be of necessity, arid that history presents many denied on ac- exceptions to it. The rule, if strictly ad- p°e9°ent°abno° hered to, would present serious difficulties mai state of . , . the Church. in times of general commotion, when the boundaries of Empires and Kingdoms are subject to sudden and frequent changes. Still, however, the evils with which the present divided state of Christendom ' Bingham's Antiquities, Book ix., c 1, § 7. 302 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Ciup. would embarrass the application of the principle, ought not to be urged against its soundness : for those divisions and their causes are themselves anomalies and evils which ought not to exist. We have no right, therefore, to expect the rules and principles of the Church to be such as to sanction and perpetuate them. If, for instance, any part of Canada should become politically incorporated with the United States-^the Church in that part would find no difficulty in coming into our General Convention, and becoming incorpor- ated with the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country, for the reason that there is no material differ- ence between us and them in matters of religion. But if we should acquire a part of Mexico, inhabited by a Church in the Roman Obedience — the incorporation would be more difficult, and probably in fact would not take place — so great is the difference between us and them. But yet this should be no objection to the rule laid down : for such a diiference has no right to exist between any two branches of the Church. It is itself a wrong. This Prin- § ^^- ^^^ ^he practical object of this dis- cipie re cog- cussion Is to Say — what the practice of all acted upon by sects and denominations implies and presup- au the De- poses, namely, that the Branch of the Church n o mi nations J^ ' •' ' • in our Coun- whioh hasthe right to existence and jurisdio- '"^^ tion in any nation at all, has a right to juris- diction in any and every part of it, and throughout the whole extent of its Domain. I have aimed, in what I have said, to prove the nationality of Churches only so far as is requisite for VII] . URCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 303 this practical conclusion. And that, I suppose, I have proved. If not, who shall deny it ? Surely no one without condemning himself. There is not a church or sect in this country, that would hesitate to extend itself into any village, town, or settlement, where it was desired, on the ground that some other church or denomination had a society established there. The thing was never heard of. Not a denomination doubts its right to extend its communion anywhere within our country. Now this right is what I mean by the nationality of an independent Branch of the Church. And this is the right that I claim for the Church of Christ. Most of the larger denominations in our country, do not hesitate to identify themselves, by name, with the country. I believe that all of them that are any ways diffused throughout the country, or ever expect to be so diffused, do so. Thus we have "T/je Asso- ciate Presbyterian Church of North America" " The Reformed Protestant Church of North America" " German Reformed Church in the United States," " The General Reformed Sytiod of the American Lu- theran Church," " The Presbyterian Church of the United States of America," SfC, Sfc. Thus in some way or other, every denorni nation r/3Cognises the na- tionality of their church, and claims the right to ex- tend it into any town or settlement where it may be desired. § 17. The Papists do not so distinctly The Papai J, . .... j: -J. i_ disregard of recognize this principle in some oi its bear- ^^^ principle ings, while in others, they are unbounded in accounted for. their arrogance. They claim the right to ■ 304 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. . [Chai>; extend their jurisdiction everywhere, regardless of others. But still they do not recognize the principle in its relation to the independency of the national Churches. They aim rather to destroy that indepen- dence and reduce them all into one ' consolidated Hierarchy, that the Papal domination may thereby be the more effectually established, or unrestrained in its exercise. And while on the one hand, the uncer- tainty and variations of the boundaries of the secular kingdoms have doubtless done much to uprear and support that consolidation, let us also admit that the consolidation itself has done much to preserve the nations from those hostile collisions which lead to dis- memberment and overthrow.. The English ^ 18. But the Church of S^;igland and and American our owu, recogtiize and act upon this princi- Ghui'ches, , ™, , have always pie. Though We bclieve the Churches of consdous*'- *he East to be ignorant and degraded, and gdrd to this thosc in the Roman Obedience to be cor- imcipe. ^^p^ ^^^ idolatrous, we make no effort to establish a purer Branch of the Church in their midst. I say this with a full knowledge of all that . has been done. In every case, that might have the aprpearance of an exception, a caution has been ob- served, which, whether the course pursued be justifi- able or not, has saved them from the violation of the letter of the rule laid down.. Thus when the English Bishop LusooMBE resided at Paris, he claimed no jurisdiction over the citizens oi France or the Nether- lands, but only over Englishmen who were tempora- rily residing in those countries. The present Bishop of Gibraltar takes his name from a point of land be- VIL] CHURCH m THE UNITED STATES. 305 longing to the English, but he exercises jurisdiction over persons within territory belonging to the Greek Church. Yet it is only over the Englishmen who are residing there. So with Bishop Southgate, re- siding at Constantinople. He is an American Bishop, residing within the limits of the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. But he claims and ex- ercises jurisdiction over no territory, but simply and only over American citizens residing there. In the latter case, the object is purely missionary. — the improvement of the Church as it now exists, and has been in existence there, ever since St. Andrew first preached the Gospel to that people. But with regard to the two British Bishops mentioned above, the fact that occasioned the necessity of the anomaly is urged as its only justification, namely, that the Church in those places was so' corrupt that the English Church could not recommend or willingly permit her members, to commune with it. For this reason, an English Chaplain is permitted by the Eng- lish Church to hold services according to her Liturgy within the very walls of Rome itself. Yet in all these cases, she neither claims jurisdiction over, nor pre- tends to provide for any but her own children in their temporary wanderings from their home. The same adherence to this principle is seen in our course toward Texas. "While it was considered a part of Mexico, we took no measures to send mission- aries there, or to establish a Church like our own. But so soon as ib came to be regarded by our govern- ment as an independent nation, our missionaries, with a truly ApostoHcal zeal, and with the approbation and 306 THE CHURCH mENTIFIED. [Chap. support of. our Church, went thither to t^tablish the Grospel in the newly erected Republic. And until the Annexation of Texas, they were regarded as foreign Missions. But now they are placed on the list of " Domestic Missions," and may become a Diocese and eater into the General. Convention, whenever they choose to do so, and can comply with the Constitu- tion and Canons of our Church. . § 19. The application of this principle, pie applied to which is thus Seen to be established, no less subjecr^'*"' ^y *^® Scriptures, than by the recognition and practice of all Churches and Sects, is serviceable to us in many ways. 1. In the first place, others settled in some places in the United States, as their limits were in 1783, before the Church of England had made a settlement in those particular places, as the Puritans in Massa- chusetts, the Dutch Reformed in New- York, the Quakers in Pennsylvania, &c., &o. Yet, inasmuch as these were but parts of the country in which the Church of England was established before those Sects, her claim would not be prejudiced or precluded by their settlements, even admitting them to be Branches of the Church of Christ. The Roman Catholics settled in the State of Mary- land before the members of the Church of England settled in that state, though not until twenty-six years after the English settlement in Virginia. This gave to the English Church-settlement priority of claim over the Romish. But in regard to all these settlements, the Romish — the Congregational — the Dutch Reformed, &c., &o., Vlt] CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 307 it is to be observed that they were in what was then, or soon after became, territory belonging to the En- glish Crown, and therefore within territory which the English Church had a right to occupy, before the Re- volution of 1776 ; nay, was bound to occupy and pro- vide for as soon as she could. 2. But again. Since the organization of our Grov- ernment, we have acquired territory that was occu- pied before our acquisition of it, as for instance, Louis- iana, Florida, and parts of Mexico. In these territo- ries, Churches in the Roman Obedience had made a settlement, and though there was no independent or Provincial Church in any of those territories, yet the Roman exercise of jurisdiction was estab- lished there. Belonging as they did to Spain, to France, and to Mexico, nations in which the Churches are in the Roman Obedience, those Churches had a right to extend their communion within their borders. But when those tracts of country became united to, and incorporated with, the United States, the Christians there ought to have come into the commun- ion of the Protestant Episcopal Church — that being the Branch of Christ's Visible Church holding juris- diction in this country. And if the Churches in the Roman Obedience had not departed from their original purity, and assumed an attitude of schismatic opposi- tion to the rest of the Church, these members would undoubtedly have come into union with us. And their neglect or refusal has given us a right to regard as null and void, their jurisdiction, since their admis- sion to the Union; and to extend our communion into the very places where their's was before established. 308 THE CHURCH IDENTTPIED. [Chap. We do not become schismatics thereby. On the con- trary, they are the schismatics for refusing commun- ion and unity .with those, with whom, by the Provi- dence of Grod, and in accordance with the Scriptures, and the principles of the Catholic Church, they ought to be perfectly united. I am aware that I may be asked if I should give the same advice in a reversal of the circumstances of the X5ase. It is said to be a bad rule that will not work both ways. But to this I say, in the first place, that the errors of the Romish Church have no right to exist at all; nor be encouraged anywhere, and therefore their ex- istence is no valid objection to any rule or principle, whose operations would lead to evil results in conse- quence of the existence of those errors. In the second place, I remark, that no case has yet ■ occurred in which a portion of country in which a Re- formed Branch of the Church had canonical jurisdic- tion, has been brought under the jurisdiction of a Pa- pal country in temporal things. But if such a thing should happen, I could of course no more recommend the inhabitants of the conquered territory to conform to the peculiarities of Popery, than I could encourage or recommend those now living in Papal countries to conform to them. We must always obey Grod rather than man; and we are obeying man only, when we yield, even to those that have lawful authority over us, obedience in those things which they have no right to teach and command. But finally, I may be permitted to avow my be- lief, that Grod in his Providence, will never permit any Vn.] CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 309 Papal natioa to extend its dominion over one in which a purer Branch of the Church exists. If we look at the Papal nations now existing, whether we consider the South American Republics on our own continent, or the kingdoms of the old world, France, Spain, Aus- tria, Italy — we shall see but very little to encourage the belief that there are any of them likely to subju- gate any of the Protestant nations. "Where is there one that could for a moment cope with Great. Britain or the United States ? Alas ! they are hardly able to sustain themselves, crumbling in fact with their own weight, and rent with internal feuds and commotions. In these things we can hardly fail to see the hand of Providence. " Verily there is a Grod that judgeth in the Earth." § 20. If, now, we can fix our attention ''"''^ Protes- ■ tant Episcopal upon the facts and principles that have been church, there- brought before our minds in the foregoing c°JuVoh of sections long enough to See their full force chi'at for the Ti*i /.'i People of and bearing, i think we cannot fail to sge, the united that it is as certain that the Protestant Epis- ^''"^'^ copal Church in these United States, is the Church of Christ for the people of this Union, throughout its whole extent, and in all its parts, as if no ages of dark- ness and corruption had intervened between us and the Apostles, and no Sects had arisen claiming the Christian name. This communion, therefore, is the Church of Christ in and for the people of this nation — identical for all the purposes that immediately con- cern their eternal interests with that Church which is spoken of in the Scriptures. It is a branch of the 310 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Original Vine duly articulating with the parent stalk and thereby connected with, the root. The only difficulty in identifying the Church, as I said at the outset, results from the lapse of ages, and the vicissitudes of fortune through which it has to be traced. In some histories it may be concealed by the overshadcftving irapbrtance conceded to the secular concerns of the age. Passions, prejudices, and sinis- ter designs, liave also had their influence in diverting attention from the naked and controlling facts in each important epoch. My aim has been to bring these facts distinctly forward — shutting out from our view, for the time, all others, that these might be the more justly estimated in their bearing upon the main and all-involving conclusion. I do not mean to say that the Church has not in some ages been very corrupt, that it has not been, at times, greatly at fault in its treatment of its members. But my main points are to identify the Protestant Episcopal Church in these United States, as an outward and visible institution, with the Church of which we read so much in the Scriptures, and to show that it has not lost its charac- ter or importance in a spiritual point of view, by any- thing that has transpired in its past history. Relations ^ 21. The Scotch Church, (not the Estab- of the Protes- Jishment, for that is a Presbyterian affair,) ^a° chureifili and the Irish Church, are in full and iree others. commuuion with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. But neither of these Churches, nor any that are in communion with them, recognize as parts of the visible Church of Christ, any of the Sects enumerated ^^L] CHURCH in the united states. 311 in a preceding Chapter, or any others that have arisen since the Reformation. Neither of them recognize the validity of their baptisms — though individuals in their communion have so done. Neither of them receive the members of those denominations to communion by letter, or on certificate of membership, from them. And both the English Church and our own have laid down a condition that excludes their ministers from being received as ministers by us until they shall have been ordained anew, by our Bishops. But this is not the attitude which these Churches have taken towards the other parts of the Visible Church. Between us and the Oriental Churches there is free communion and full recognition, notwithstand- ing some important differences in doctrine, discipline, and worship they remaining where they were at a peri- od somewhat later than that which we have taken for our standard. "We also receive both members and ministers of the Roman Communion to the same stand- ing in ours, on a distinct renunciation of those points in which that communion differs from our standards, and a profession of agreement and conformity to ours. Thus we admit the Churches in the Roman Obedience to be true, though corrupt. Churches of Christ. The Roman practice toward us has been variant. They use certain rites in Baptism, Confirmation, and Ordination, which are omitted by us, and to which some of their members attach a great importance. For this reason they have sometimes admitted the va- lidity of our Baptisms and Ordinations, and at others denied it. Thus though they ^dmit the validity of baptisms by unordained persons in their own com- 312 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Ciup. munion, yet they usually regard as unbaptized those persons whom they can succeed in perverting from ours. The validity of our ordinations was admitted until some years after Elizabeth's accession to the throne of England. But latterly they have been al- most uniformly denied by them. In 1704, John G-ordon, Bishop of Galloway, in Scotland, apostatized to the Romish Communion. This brought the question of the validity of his ordi- nation before the Romish See. Gordon had requested ordination in the Romish Communion, thereby deny- ing the validity of that which he had before. The examination of the subject at that time, proves that it had not been previously regarded as a settled question. Clement XL decided against the validity of Protestant ordinations ; and since then, I believe, they have been generally regarded by the Romanists, as of no force or validity whatever. It would be entirely foreign to my plan, to enter into a discussion of the grounds on which this decision of the Roman See is based, in this place. Many reasons are given for it by the Romanists : as is usu- ally the case with those who are determined to do what they can find no one good reason for doing. If the Protestant ordinations were invalid in 1704, then they must have been so from the moment when the rejection of the Papal Supremacy took place, and ordinations began to be held without the Papal con- sent or approbation. But the validity of the Anglican ordinations was distinctly admitted by the Papists themselves, as we have seen, in the reign of Mary, and again in that of Elizabeth, her successor on the Vn.| CHURCH m the united states. 313 Throne of England. It is true, indeed, that a Bull of excommunication was issued against Elizabeth, and all her subjects, who were in the communion of the English Church, by Pius Y., in 1659. But, as -has been said, the Pope had then neither in fact, nor by right, any authority in England, or over the En- glish Church. Nor had any of the Bishops who were then in the exercise of the duties of the office — and whom he included in the pretended excommunication — been ordained under his supremacy — by his per- mission and approbation, or any pretence of having derived any authority from him. Of course, there- fore, ihey were under no obligations to him f and his excommunication could have no effect upon them, (as is sometimes contended,) on the ground that they had derived their authority from the Pope and that he, that gave them their authority, could take it from them again. Of course the Pope's adherents must maintain the validity of his Bull ; and in consequence deny the validity of all ministrations within the English Church and its branches, after this pretended excommunica- tion. They are consistent therefore in denying the validity of our ordinations. Bat the force of the Bull depends exclusively upon the divine right of the Papal Supremacy. If that, as we contend, and as I think I have abundantly proved, is a mere anti-Chris- tian usurpation, then of course, Pius' Bull, and ex- communication are of no force, and the whole ground for rejecting the validity of the English, Scotch and American Ordinations is shown to be untenable. It is, in fact, a mere expedient of malicious bigotry. 14 314 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. By many of tlie Roman Catholics, however, we are regarded merely as schismatics, whose ministerial acts are valid in themselves, and only. voidable as an act of discipline by the higher authority to whom we are answerable. They claim to be that authority — with how much reason, may be seen from what has already been said. But, for the most part, an insane fury for the establishment of that most anti-Christian dogma, which lies at the foundation of the system they are now engrossed in propagating — the Papal Supremacy — has driven them to disi'egard and out- rage all considerations, not only of charity and truth, but also of decency and decorum. It may be thought by many that this is a reason why we should disclaim all alliance with them, and class ourselves, at once with the Protestant Sects. But this cannot be done. A sister may become a harlot, and her disgrace may change the nature and manifestations of our obligations to her ; but she is pur sister still. "We cannot deny that the same mother bore, and the same father begat, both us and her. Others may be more worthy of our love, but neither this fact, nor any other, can change the rela- tions which not ourselves, but the allotment of Provi- dence, has formed between us. statistics of §22. The present statistics of the Pro- *« f™'*°'™i testant Episcopal Church, are :— 28 organ- ciimch. ized Dioceses, 28 [1850] Bishops, in actual discharge of Episcopal functions in this country, two Missionary Bishops, 1566 clergymen, about 100,000 communicants, and a population of about 2,000,000. vh] church in the united states. 315 In 1789, when the Church was organized, the whole number of Clergy was only about 180. Each Diocese has a Convention consisting of its Bishop, the Clergy actually engaged in ministerial duty, and Delegates chosen by the people of the par- ishes. The chief Synodical Authority consists in the Greneral Convention. This body holds its sessions once in three years, and is conriposed of all the Bishops, and four Clerical and four Lay Delegates from each Diocese. § 23. It may be expected, that I will not The Doctiinm •' '^ . Character of pass by without notice, a matter of so much the Protestant importance in this connection, as the doo- chuich!"''*' trinal character and teaching of that Body which we have identified as the Church of Christ for this country. It is obvious, that a consideration of this matter, does nol; come within my plan, and is not necessary to its completion. I will, however, make a few general statements on the subject. § 24. The first point that I shall mention The Protestant ., ,, . . Episcopal m this connection, is the declaration in the church recog- Vlth "Article of Religion," that "Holy^f.'i': .Scripture containeth all things necessary to ""'ysouroe salvation : so that whatsoever is not read of Divine therein nor may be proved thereby, is not to '"*""'" be required of any that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or neces- sary to salvation." And by the Vlllth Article, the Church declares that the Apostles' and the Nicene Creeds are to be retained — " for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture." 16 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. I have, in fact, already, in the foregoing pages, jpeatedly stated, that the Reformed Branches of the ihurch returned to the Scriptures as the only standard f Divine Truth — the only authority by which any ling can be proved to be obligatory upon man, as the ommandment of God. TheChmoh, ' § 25. "While, however, the Church in this owe V e r, (.Qmityy acknowledfiTes no other source of ight to be divine knowledge than the written Word of rete™t'th'e ^°'^' ^^^ claims, in all cases of doubtful in- wiptuiea. terpretation or construction, the right to inter- iret and construe that Word for herself. And in doing his, she professes to be guided by the earliest and Qost prevalent construction. In a preceding Chapter,' I have shown that the ight to interpret the Scriptures for herself and for her aembers in all points included in their relations to her, 3 indispensable to her existence ; and is only what is laimed and exercised by every sect and society of men. n other words, the Church claims to be above and su- lerior to any one, or any part, of her members. Else he could not maintain her Faith or her Discipline — or lontinue her distinct existence. The possession and exercise of this authority, I • lave justified fror^ the Scriptures, as well as from the necessity of the case. The inevitable inference is, that we are bound to ook to the Church as in some sense and to some extent ur teacher and guide, under God, in things pertain- ng to Religion. 1 Chapter T. VIL] CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 317 This principle modifies our duty and our course to a considerable extent. The teaching of the Church becomes thereby an important item for our considera- tion in our investigation of truth. Hence, in practice, if we find the Church teaching, or holding any thing contrary to our view of the Scripture doctrines — we may not lightly dismiss the Church testimony. It is of more importance to us, than the opinion of any one man. Its doctrinal standards are the result of the wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures possessed by a large number of men who have probably no superiors living in these respects. They have, moreover, stood the test "of many hundred years of experience and dis- cussion. And besides this, the authority necessary to the maintainance of its integrity and discipline, con- fers upon the doctrines of the Church, an importance that is not to be lightly esteemed. We should never, therefore, dissent from the doc- trines of the Church, except when, after a thorough and careful examination of the Scriptures, there is no doubt left of the irreconcilable contrariety between the two. "With regard to the Church in this country, then, we may be satisfied that she does not intend to teach, or to require us to believe, anything that is not according to the Scriptures, and contained in them or clearly deduced from them. This, of course, we ought to believe, and in all points which are not fun- damental, it is- a part of Christianity, to be willing to yield our preferences for the sake of unity, peace, and harmony. CHAPTER VIII. , THE ROMISH CLAIM TO JURISDICTION IN THE UNITED STATES. T is well known that there has long been a class of )ersons who advocate the Supremacy of the Bishop of Home over all Christians and all, Christendom. Par- ens holding these views have effected a settlement in he United States, organized a church, and claim for t the sole and exclusive right to the ecclesiastical ju- isdiction of this country. If this claim be well founded, it will greatly modify, f not entirely reverse, the conclusion arrived at in the ist chapter, with regard to " the Protestant Episcopal jhurch in the United States." If two messengers lome unto us with contradictory messages, it is indeed larely possible that both came from Grod originally, lut it is not possible that they can have been both lesigned to teach the same people. We cannot serve r obey two masters, or two different stewards of the ame Master, whose instructions either do, or by possi- ility may, require different things. The Romish claim presents for our consideration wo questions, which, though not entirely distinct, innot however be treated, in the present connections, s altogether one and the same. The one relates to the Chap. VIII.] ROMISH CLAIM TO JURISDICTION. 319 Papal Supremacy in general, and the other relates to the facts and ciroumstanoes connected with the settle- ment and organization of those in this country who advocate that Silpremacy. If the right to universal supremacy, as it is claimed for the Pope, be well founded, it follows, that no per- sons who reject that supremacy can be capable of exercising jurisdiction any where. But even if that claim be not well founded, it is possible (or at least, I am willing now to admit, for the sake of the argu- ment, that it is possible) that those who advocate it may establish a Branch of the Church of Christ ac- knowledging that claim, and thus bind the conscien- ces of all within the appropriate sphere of its j urisdictipn to all of its own teachings, which are not plainly and undeniably contrary to G-od's "Written Word . It may claim, in Christ's name, the support, the submission and obedience .which He has authorized His Church to claim any a^ here ; and, consequently, this sup- port, submission and obedience cannot be justly claimed for the same people, by any other. Branch of the Church, or any other persons. § 1. Into the general and abstract claim The of the Supremacy, I shall not now inquire g"^^/^^'"'^ '° any further than I have already done in the foregoing chapters. We have seen that it was unknown in the first centuries, and prohibited by the express law of the whole Church in Council assembled— that it was not recognized, and did not exist in England for the first, five centuries, at least; that it was always regarded by the laws of England as a usurpation; the Church 320 THE CHURCH IDENTIFrED. [Chap. of England all the meanwhile being acknowledged to be a true and catholic branch of the Church of Christ. There is nothing, therefore, in the general claim of the Supremacy which can give its advocates prece- dency of right in this country. Consequently our at- tention must be directed to the circumstances under which they settled here, and claim to have established their branch of the Church within these United States. And these facts and circumstances we must investigate in reference to the principles of Church identity, already laid down and applied to other Sects. The time ^ 2. I give the account of the first Ro- of thB Settle- mish Settlement in what was the United States, when they first became a separate na- tion, in' the language of a Roman Catholic writer, as follows : " Lord Baltimore having obtained, from Charles I., the Charter of Maryland, hastened to carry into effect the plan of colonizing the new province, of which he appointed his brother, Leonard Calvert, to be Grover- nor. This 'first body of emigrants, consisting of about two hundred gentlemen, of considerable rank and for- tune, chiefly of the Roman Catholic persuasion, with a number of inferior adherents, sailed from England, un- der the command of Calvert, in November, 1682, and after a prosperous voyage, landed in Maryland, near the mouth of the river Potomac, in the beginning of the following year. The Governor, as soon as he landed, erected a Cross on the shore, and took posses- sion of the country for our sovereign lord, the King of England On the 23d of March, 1634, the festival of the Annunciation of the ever-blessed Virgin, Vni] ROMISH CLAIM TO JURISDICTION. 321 fend, on St. Clement's Island, in the Potomac, the di- vine sacrifice of the Mass, was, for the first time, offer- ed up to Grod in this portion of America." ' This, then, was the first settlement of Roman Catholics jn the United States proper. St. Augustine, in East Florida, had been settled by the Spanish, in the Roman Communion, as early as 1564. Florida, however, was at that time a Spanish territory, and did not become a part of the United States until several years after the commencement of their independent existence as a nation. The Papists do not claim, that r am aware of, priority of canonical jurisdiction in the United States on account of this early settlement in Florida. "We need not, therefore, give it any further attention in this place. The author just quoted above continues : " Between the years 1634 and 1687, Roman mis- sionaries had already traversed that vast region lying between the heights of Montreal and Q,uebeo and the mouth of the Mississippi, the greater portion of which is now known as the United States. Within thirteen years the wilderness of the Hurons was visited by sixty missionaries, chiefly Jesuits : one of their number, Claud Allowez, discovered the southern shores of Lake Superior." ^ These missionary operations, however, were not earlier than the settlement of Maryland ; and they pre- sent nothing that we need to take into special consid- eration in this connection. ' Peof. TValter's Account of the Roman Oatholie Church in the United States, in Rupp'a Collection, pp. 113-llY. ' Waltek, vH supra, p. 119. 14* 322 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Hence it appears that this first settlement of the Ronnan Catholics was many years subsequent to the settlement of the English Church in the British Pes- sessions of North America. The right of priority of canonical occupation, is, therefore, unquestionably with the Branch of the English Church. Lord Baiti- § 3. Let US now turn our attention to the party ^ncapl! persons who founded this Romish Colony bie of found- within the British possessions. ing a Branch „. iT.Ti-j.-i- . of the Church bmce the rapists m this country refer to any where. England for their origin, it may be well, be- fore we proceed any farther, to notice briefly the origin of that Sect in England. By the Bull of Pius Y., February 23d, 1569, Queen Elizabeth was declared " a heretic and an enoourager of heretics ; those that adhere to her lie under the censure of an anathema, and are cut off from the Body of Christ" "We likewise," says the Bull, " declare the said Elizabeth deprived of the pretended right to the kingdom, and of all dominion, dignity, and privilege, whatever, and that all the nobility and subjects of the said realm, who have sworn to her in any manner whatever, are for ever absolved from any such oath, and from all obligations of fidelity and alle- giance." "We likewise command all the nobility, subjects, and others above mentioned, that they do not presume to obey her orders, commands or laws, for the future." In consequence of this Bull a few persons seceded from the English Church and formed a Sect by them- selves in subjection to the Pope. The Eomish Sect in England was at first governed Vm] ROMISH CLAIM TO JURISDICTION. 323 by Jesuits and Missionary Priests, under the superin- tendence of Allen, a Roman Cardinal, who lived in Flaiiders, and founded the Colleges at Douay and Rheims. In 1593, George Blackwall was appointed Arch-Priest of the English Ronrianists, and this form of ecclesiastical gove.rnment prevailed among them until 1623, when Dr. Bishop was ordained titular Bishop of Chalcedon, and sent from Rome to govern the Papists iii England. Dr. Smith, the next Bishop of Chalcedon, was banished in 1629, and they were without a Bishop until the reign of James II. Eleven of the Bishops who refused to acknowledge Elizabeth's supremacy, as we have before seen, re- mained and died in England. The last of them, Wat- son, of Lincoln, died in 1584. But the Romish seceders were never placed under their jurisdiction. Nor did they claim to be Bishops over them.. Not even this pretence to be the Church of England was set up for the Papists, by their most zealous defen- ders. These titular Bishops, of whom we have spoken as placed over the Papists in England, were called Bish- ops in partibus, and Vicars Apostolic. " This is an officer," says Butler, " vested with Episcopal authority, by the Pope, over any Church which is in want of a Bishop, but which, for some reason, cannot have one of its own." But if the Papists were a branch of the Church of Christ, having lawful jurisdiction in Eng- land, there was no reason why they could not have Bishops of their own. Butler was himself a Papist — his admission, therefore, is specially important, and is a Qopfession that the English Papists weve pot a "branch 324 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap of the Church of Christ, competent to the performance of ecclesiastical functions. They were, therefore, mere -iutruders into a field which the Lord had com- mitted to other laborers. This is a most important fact. They were Papists, I admit, and in communion with the Churches in the Roman Obedience. But such was not the Church of England at that time. The Papal adherents in that country could be only a sect in opposition to the Church; and whatever sympathy, coimtenance, or support, they might have from the members of another •branch of the Church in a different country, it could not benefit their situation in England.^ I will not, of course, deny that they might have gone to Rome, or France, or Spain, taken up their domicil there, and have been received into communion with that branch of the Church whose doctrine and discipline they seem to have preferred. But they could not be duly received into the Romish comrnunion, and gain a right to juris- diction any where, without first going into a country where some Church of the Romish Obedience had rightful jurisdiction, and taking up their domicil there, ceasing to be Englishmen altogether, and transferring their allegiance to some other national sovereignty. As Englishmen, the English Church was the only one for them ; and when they had rejected its juris- diction they had rejected the Church of Christ alto- gether; they could not set up another jurisdiction within her midst, unless they could prove that she had become apostate. The principle involved in such a step, is the funda- mental one of Christianity itself. It is simply this : VIIL] ROMISH CLAIM TO JUEISDIOTION. 325 whether we will obey G-od, by submitting to them that He has placed over us, or rejecting them, will place an object of our. own choosing in their place, so that while pretending to obey God, we can follow the devices of our own heart, and exult in the triumph of our own unrestrained wilfulness. The first settlers of Maryland', therefore, having rejected the jurisdiction and forsaken the communion of the only branch of the Church to which, as Eng- lishmen, they could belong, — and having never sought or obtained reconciliation in any effectual way, with any other branch of the Church, they were incapable of founding a branch of that Church any where. § 4. Whatever right Lord Baltimore had "o juris- . diction could to found a colony and a Church, was derived be gained for from King Charles; himself, a layman and 'i,/churchta member of the Church of England, and tiie Romish therefore he could give no authority to ex- ^ the Biiusii tend any other communion than that to Possessions. which he belonged. It has been said, and that too by a writer calling himself a Protestant,' " that a Romanist may reply, and that truly, that America was discovered by a member of the Romish communion — that tlie right to the country was derived from a Papal Bull," .... as a ground upon which to base the right to jurisdiction in this country by the Papists. I do not design to enter upon any discussion of the accuracy of this statement of the two facts referred to. Let them pass for the present as true. It is undenia- ' Chuboh Review, for Oct. 1849, p. 429. 326 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. ble that the British Crown did possess, and was univer- sally acknowledged to possess, the sovereignty of the portions of this continent in which both the Baltimore and Virginia settlements were made, and at the time when they were made. Lord Baltimore hirnself came here under a grant obtained from the English Crown, and not under one obtained from the Pope. Now there was nothing in the manner in which the English sovereign acquired the possession of this country, or in the tenure by which he held it, that obliged him to maintain, or even to tolerate, the Papal religion and worship within its boundaries. This I believe has never been pretended. It is too manifest to be made the matter of remark, that King Charles could not give authority or permis- sion to extend the communion of any Branch of the Church except that to which he himself belonged. But let us look at the grant. " It professed to have in view ' a laudable zeal for extending the Chris- tian Religion and the territories of the [British] Em- pire, ' " and bestowed upon the proprietor " the pat- ronage and advowsons of all churches, which, (with the increasing religion and worship of ^Christ) within the said region [granted to Lord Baltimore,] hereafter shall happen to be built, together with licence and faculty of erecting and founding churches, chapels, and places of worship, and of causing the same to be dedicated and consecrated according to the ecclesias- tical laws of our Kingdom of England." ' When we consider that " the Church of England " ' Hawks' Narrative of Mimts connected with the rise and progress of the Protestami Episcopal Chwch in Maryland, pp. 21, 22. Vlir.] ROMISH CLAIM TO JUKISDICTIOlf. 327 was a part of " the ecclesiastical laws of our Kingdom of England," it must seem doubtful whether any phurches for the Romish Worship could be built under this grant. But it is hardly worth while to notice this point at length. Any claim that can be based upon it is too feeble to deserve much attention. "Whatever may be the proper authority of princes and kings in ecclesiastical affairs — or whether they properly have any or not — it is quite certain that that authority is no fundamental principle of Church ex- tension. The King; cannot so far set the laws of God and the Church at nought, as to give her enemies the right to oppress her and trample her under foot ; or to come in and take her inheritance from her. He cannot erect any little knot of discontented subjects into a valid Branch of the Church of Christ, with all its solemn sanctions and mysterious spiritual agencies. All such churches would be founded on himself, and not on Christ. § 5. Lord Baltimore granted free tolera- TheEngUsh tion to all " professing to believe in Jesus ^^^"'^"Ijjj^,'^' Christ." On this basis things continued i!««i"iiM2. until the great Rebellion, 1640. Settlers of various views, in matters of religion, had been received into the colony. The Independents then gained the ascendancy, and repealed the laws of uni- versal toleration, and proscribed entirely " Popery and Prelacy." But with the Restoration, 1660, Lord Baltimore regained his rights as owner of .the colony, and for a season all things proceeded on the former plan. The mass of the population, however, had be- 32S THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. come Protestants. Accordingly, the accession of William and Mary to the English Throne, 1688, was followed, after some preparatory troubles, by the over- throw of Lord Baltimore's authority, and the substi- tution in his stead of a royal Governor. ' In 1675, the Church of England people made an effort to increase the eiScienoy and number of the ministrations according to the usage and doctrines of the English Church. In a short time the Protestants became by far the most numerous — thirty to one, as it is said° — and in 1692, we find them in the ascen- dancy in all the offices of State and places of trust. "It is not credible," says Dr. Hawks,' "that any very serious opposition was made to the change by a respectable part of the Protestant population — for tradition would, at least, have preserved some memo» ry of the strife." In 1692, met the first Legislative Assembly of Maryland, and the second act was " for the service of Almighty Grod, and the establishment of the Pro- testant Religion in the Province." * This act provided, that the Church of England should have and enjoy all her rights and liberties and franchises, wholly inviolable, as they then were, or thereafter should be established by law ; that the sev- eral counties should be laid out into Parishes ; that the freeholders of each Parish should meet and appoint six vestrymen ; that each person should be taxed, and the Vestries in the Parishes where there were no ' Wilbeefoeoe's Sist. of tTie American Church, p. 88. ^ Hawks' Maryland, p. 59, on the authority of Chalmers. s Maryland, p. 60. * Hawzs, iM supra, p. 71. Vni] ROMISH CLAIM TO JURISDICTION. 329 Churches should cause them to be built, and apply the remainder of the tax to the support of the clergy. Under this act the Province was divided into thirty- one Parishes, and it is said that there were then six- teen ministers of the Church of England in Mary- land.' ( I certainly am not disposed to ascribe much to the authority of the civil powers in ecclesiastical matters. But this " Reformation " in Maryland seems to have been made with but little or no opposition from any source, and the ecclesiastical authorities, such as they were, if, indeed, there were any, seem to have entirely acquiesced in it, if they did not in fact take the lead in bringing it about. This act is worthy of notice ; for Lord Baltimore's authority for establishing a Romish communion in Maryland, was from King Charles, and, of course, purely secular. If, therefore. Lord Baltimore's au- thority, acting as he did against the Church of which he ought to have been a member, and which had juris- diction where he acted, was sufficient to give validity to his act, then much more the same authority, acting in 1692, in accordance with that Church, and for the purpose of establishing the very jurisdiction which he ought to have established, and which it had never con- sented to relinquish, was valid. In either view of Lord Baltimore's authority, therefore, the jurisdiction of the English Church was fully and rightfully estab- lished in Maryland, from 1692 downward. § 6. Immediately after this. Dr. Thomas Bray was ' 8ee Hawks, as above, pp. "71-72. 330 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Dr. Beat appointed Commissarv bv the Bishop of appointed Su- ^ , ... . , •' "^ , , , i)Drintendent. iiondon, in his stead, " to redress what was amiss, and supply what was wanting in the Church " in Maryland, as far as a Presbyter could do so, and the Church of England continued to take di- rect Charge of its colony in Maryland. In 1770, at a general meeting of the Clergy of Maryland, a petition was drawn up and addressed to the king — to the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, and to Lord Baltimore, praying for the establishment of an Episcopate in these colo- nies, but their prayer was not granted.' Further § 7. In the spring of 1779, after the Rev- Churehbythe olution, the Legislature of Maryland passsd stale. an act to establish select vestries, and vested in them, as trustees, all the property that belonged to their respective Parishes, while they were a part of the Church of England. And during the Revolu- tionary war the Legislature of the State actually took up the subject of organizing the Episcopal Church in that State. They were prevented from doing so by one of the clergy, the Rev. Samuel Kbene, on account of objections to the manner in which the thing was proposed to be done.^ Ecclesiastical §8. In 1783, a number ofolergy Convened movement ^^ the first Commencement of Washinffton towards an ^ o organization. College, and the subject of an organization, the revision of the Liturgy, and the obtaining the Episcopate, was discussed. In August of the same year, a Convention of the Clergy was held in furtherance of the same objects, > Hawks, ubi supra, p. 256. ^ Ibid. pp. 290, 291. VIIL] ROMISH CLAIM TO JURISDICTION-. 331 and finally adjourned until the spring of 1784. In 1788, the Churoli in this State drew up and published a Code of Canons, and her first Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Claggett, was consecrated September 13, 1792. Sev- eral previous efforts had been made to obtain the Episcopate without success. § 9. This brings us down to a most im- The Romish portant epoch in the ecclesiastical history of right°to*'Im'^° Maryland. Up to the time of the Revolu- diction up to tionary war the Papists had no Church fully Rovoiutiop. organized, as they understand its organiza- tion. They had nothing in ■point of fact, which even themselves could regard as a branch of the Church of Christ, and since they had, as a matter of right, no jurisdiction here, they could organize none afterwards. We might, therefore, leave the subject here, but I prefer to consider their subsequent organization, to some extent, in relation to this matter. k 10. After the termination of the Rev- ^ Maryland became a Dig- olutionary war, Maryland became a regularly cese in the organized Diocese, and was one of the first jjp°/(.op'ai to move in the matter of an ecclesiastical chuich,befoie f -r-\ 1 1 iii^"y Romish union of "the Church-of-England people." oiganization This union was effected, as we have seen, in ""^ effected. 1784, and the organization was completed before 1789, by the possession of the requisite number of Bishops, (four,) an established Liturgy or Worship, and settled Constitutions and Canons of Discipline. In 1789, some four or five years after " the Church- of-England people " had organized themselves into a Diocese in Maryland, and became a part of the Pro- testant Episcopal Church in the United States, Pius 332 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. VI., Bishop of Rome, erected Baltimpre — the metro- polis of Maryland — into a See for a Bishop in the Roman Obedience ; and on the 7th of December, 1790, Dr. John Carrol came to Baltimore as Diocesan. The Nature § 11. Carrol was a native of Maryland, action! '™' where the English communion was regularly established before he was born. He was or- dained Bishop in England, not by English Bishops, but by a Bishop who had no right to perform any ecclesiastical or ministerial functions whatever, in England. He came to establish the Romish com munion where it could exist only by including those who ought to be in the English Church, and were like himself, either seceders or recusants from that Church. It was, therefore, -an act of the most direct opposition to the Church of Christ, which was, at that time, lawfully and canonioally established in Mary- land. Now such an interference with the lawful and scriptural ministrations of the Church, is opposition to Christ himself, and is what is called in St. John's Epistles, Antichrist. It comes in His name, under the pretence of His religion, but in opposition to those, who, according to His laws and institutions, are engaged in the same divine functions which the intruders come with a pretence of performing. His kingdom should be characterized by peace and charity. But such a proceeding brings, inevitably, contentions, animosities, strifes and divisions. Carrol was himself, then, a recusant, ordained Bishop in contravention of the fundamental laws of the Church, come to a See erected by one whose claim VIIL] ROMISH CLAIM TO JUEISDIOTIOK 333 to authority here was the most unfounded assumption, and within the limits of another branch of the Church, where he could have none for his flock except those that had rejected the communion to which they must belong, if they would be in obedience to Christ. I might here leave my argument as completed, since, in fact, my plan requires me to consider only the priority of canonical oocapation as the means of identi- fying the Branch of the Church of Christ for this country. I will, however, add another reason for regarding the claims of the Romanists to jurisdiction in the United States as invalid. § 13. They did not come here to found TheEomim. "^ 13 ts came to an independent branch of the Church on the buiid upon simple basis of the Apostolic Faith. They t7*'[har^f came to extend a human theory of Roman Primitivo T mi • '*"'^'i ^'"» ^ ^ , , ,. , ouiLordHim- exaggerate rather than disparage whatever aeir. is connected with, or has proceeded from it. Now, there is no doubt that our Lord did institute a ministry — that He gave His disciples, at their re- quest, a Prayer — a Form of Prayer — that He insti- tuted the Sacrament of Baptism to be received by all who should be converted to Him — and in which He also Himself, was declared from Heaven to be the Son of Grod — and the Sacrament of His Last Supper — by which His People are to show forth His death until His coming again. Most intimately, and most un- questionably, therefore, are these things connected 354 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIKD. [Chap with Him. And they were instituted by that Spirit which produces the unity and identity of spirit in the Church. How, then, will genuine piety dispose us to regard these Institutions ? I speak not now of erroneous views concerning them : nor of the superstitions of the past and present ages which have exalted the in- ventions of man, and the cunning devices of the designing into an estimation of equal importance with those Institutions which God has most certainly or- dained. But is it not the tendency of genuine piety, of pure and unfeigned love, to place too high an esti- mation upon what God has ordained — if that be possible — rather than to disparage it? There may be extremes on both sides, and the best of sentiments may be abused. Yet . the abuse shows the existence of the sentiment. The abuse of the sentiment now in question, is manifested in an over estimate of these Institutions. Its absence, on the contrary, is mani- fested by holding them in a light estimation and in a disposition to omit or neglect their observance alto- gether, as unimportant. Now the Church has always held them to be means of grace, and ordinances whose observance is conducive to salvation. The Sects, on the contrary, generally regard this view of them as a dangerous superstition. ■§ 13. If we love Him who founded the No danger • i- of Reverencing Church and gave to it its Institutions, we Ituuto'nrtoJ cannot fail to venerate and esteem them much. ^gpy highly in love for His sake. If there were any doubt or reason to distrust their connection IX.] THE IDENTITY OF SPIRIT. 355 with Him, it might indeed, be superstition to bestow upon them the regard with which piety embraces them when they are ascertained to be genuine. The feelings of piety and love and gratitude and self-devo- tion, awakened in the renewed heart by the considera- tion of what the Saviour has .done for. us, flow out toward these Institutions, in which He comes nigh unto us and is present with our souls. It rests upon the undoubted word of God that many will fail to enter into His Heavenly rest on account of their unbelief. But there is neither cau- tion nor warning in all the Holy Scriptures against esteeming too highly, or loving with too ardent a zeal, anything which our Lord has instituted or commanded. There is no intimation that such a thing is possible. The Lord loved the Church and gave Himself for it : our highest glory is to be like Him. § 14. Again. The Church has always The Regard shown a preference for worship with a stated for Liturgical Liturgy, and such was the mode of worship o haracterisuc in which our Saviour Himself engaged while °'"l^ ^'^'^ ° ° ° the Church. He was here in the flesh. It is equally cer- tain and equally admitted that the Church has always been disposed to regard Baptism as a saving ordinance — that it has always manifested a disposition to a fre- quent administration and reception of the Lord's Supper, and that Daily Prayer in the Sanctuary, Morning and Evening, has been felt to be both a privilege and a duty. Through all the vicissitudes of the Church's history and throughout all its branches — amidst all the diversities in other matters — we find an identity of spirit manifested in these respects. 356 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap- Whether we look at the centuries when the Disciples of the. Lord had to creep stealthily before the light of day should facilitate their detection, to dens and caverns in the earth there to chant their praise to Christ, their Grod, and renew their vows,, and refresh their souls in the Commemoration of the Last Supper, or whether we consider the oppressed remnants of the Greek Church, scarcely permitted by their Mahometan oppressors to meet in the most obscure and unpretend- ing hovel, made a Sanctuary indeed by the presence of their Grod with them, or whether we look to the magnificent Cathedral and splendid pageantry of the more prosperous branches of the Church in the West, or, in fine, to the chaste simplicity and subduing grandeur of the reformed Ritual — throughout the whole from first to last, and in all the parts, and amidst all other diversities, we find a unity and iden- tity of spirit manifested toward those acts of piety and faith. Combined with superstitions as it sometimes has been — and shining forth, as it sometimes does, from amidst errors and corruptions, perversities and abuses, that make us weep for the dishonor done to the Christian name — yet as tested by its regard for these institutions, an identity of spirit throughout the whole history of the Church is too conspicuous to be mistaken even by the most careless reader. The Sects, on the contrary, very generally prefer worship with an extemporaneous prayer. It is thought that a stated Liturgy is a great hindrance to the manifestations of the spirit among them. Their piety is better promoted without than with a stated Form of Common Prayer. IX.] THE IDENTITY OF SPIRIT. 357 § 15. Another point intimately con- The church's nected with this subieot, and indeed forming ''^s'^i for the ** ^ Anniversaries a part of it, is derived from the regard which ofthe import- the Church has always paid to certain days oarLo^.™fiiJ^ on which the most important events of our Lord's life occurred — His Birth, His Epiphany, His Death, His Resurrection, His Ascension, and the coming of the Holy Ghost. Let it be admitted that there is an uncertainty with regard to the day on which some of them occurs. Yet there is no such uncertainty with regard to the others — the Death, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the coming of the Holy Grhost. Most of the Sects however pay no regard to those days. The day on which the Blessed Lord died to save their souls from the bitter pains of eternal death, comes in the annual round of earthly affairs ; they apparently take no pains to identify it ', they feel no interest in observing it with appropriate commemorations ; they go about their work or their pleasures as if they were no part of the race for which He died. And if perchance they meet with one whose heart is too full of the sad recollections with which the day is associated to " eat any pleasant bread," or to pursue his ordinary vocations in the world, they regard his feelings as superstitious. On these days their piety — the spirit that is in them — does not incline them to lay aside all else, to forget all temporal concerns and indulge the feelings that the event of which they are the anniversaries, inspires in the heart of every devout son of the Church. § 16. It is not, however, because the Sects are opposed to commemorations on general principles, for 358 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. The Sects they all have some events in their history ly Days of which they commemorate — some founders their own. g^jj^j fathers to whom they look back with veneration. There have been some strange manifes- tations of this kind. Thus the same people who or- dered Christmas to be kept as a fast, a day of mourn- ing, can commemorate the " Landing of the Pilgrims" with an anniversary festival. And in general, the Sects show a disposition to impress upon the minds of their members the importance of the principal events and persons in their history, by commemorations, festivities, and rejoicings, just as the Church attempts to impress upon the minds of her members the great events in the history of her origin — the Birth, the Death, the Resurrection, and the Ascension of Her Lord, and the coming of the Holy Grhost. § 17. It is hardly worth the while to Church cannot atteinpt here a vindication of the Church "'uhs^erstt against the charge which is brought against tion and For- it, of superstition and formality in these re- '"'^"''" spects. The fault of superstition, like that of idolatry, consists not in the excess of affection — but in a mistake in regard to its object. It is idolatry to bestow upon that which is not God the honor and glory due to Him. It is superstition to bestow upon human devices and the inventions of men, relics and institutions not mentioned in the Scriptures, the re- gard which genuine piety would bestow upon those institutions which have unquestionably proceeded from the Lord Himself. Doubtless there has been much of both, superstition and idolatry, in the Chris- tian as well as the Jewish Church. But the spirit IX.] THE IDENTITY OF SPIRIT. 359 which has always and everywhere been manifested in the Christian Church in all of the ages and parts, of which we know anything, cannot be regarded either as superstition or idolatry. The Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, was promised to be sent to the Church and to abide with it forever} This promise - must have been fulfilled : for it proceeded from Him " whose word shall not return to Him void, but shall accomplish that whereunto He sends it." That, there- fore, which has always been held in the Church " always, everywhere, and by all," cannot be contrary to the unity of the spirit, but must have proceeded from the Spirit of God Himself. § 18. Now, as there has always been a The spirit of unity of spirit in the Church, wherever the verse from Church itself has existed — notwithstandinsr '*"" "' *■''* ° Church. all the corruptions that have prevailed with- in its pale, and all the misfortunes that have oppressed and disturbed its functions — so among the Sects there is perhaps in one sense a unity of spirit diverse from, that in the Church, yet for the most part there is an almost- endless variety of manifestations of spirit among them. § 19. They have, each of them, a dis- They each tinct standard or test of piety of their own. "^^'^'^^H, I need not enter into protracted specifica- standard f tions. Every one has observed the diffejence own. between the character of the piety of the Methodists and the Presbyterians for instance : a dif- ference which it would not be easy to characterise in ' John xiv. 16. 360 THE CHURCH IDEimPIED. [Chap. "words, but which no person of common sagacity could fail to observe on being acquainted with the religious experience of two individuals belonging to those Sects respectively. But to look at cases which are still more marked. The piety of a Shaker — a Second Advent Believer — a Latter Day Saint — manifests it- self in very different ways from that of a Presbyterian, a Lutheran, a Moravian, or a Methodist. And within these Sects themselves,, it is also judged by different standards and tests. A Methodist whose piety did not manifest itself by groans and responses in the time of prayer — a Shaker that could not dance, " moving about with extraordinary transport, singing and making a perfect charm " — a Second Advent Be- liever who did not think that " the time of the end was near " and " the judge at the door," or a Latter Day Saint who did not acknowledge the inspiration of Joseph Smith, and the genuineness of the engraved Tables which he claims to have discovered — ^(vould hardly be regarded by those Sects respectively as possessed of genuine piety. Thus each Sect has a spirit of its own, and yet different from that of the Church: a kind of piety peculiar to itself which can be identified as well as the visible existence of the sect, and which makes up a part of its identity. § 20. So it is in the Church. There is ofcrurohmei! somethihg in the spirit of the devout and easily disiin- intelligent Churohman which science may fail to analyse and words may be insufficient to describe, but which enables us to distinguish him as soon as we become acquainted with him, and IX.] THE IDENTITY OF SPIRIT. 361 wherever we may meet him. There is something in the books of devotion and edification which have been written by Churchmen — aside from all the peculiar- ities of doctrine — by which we can recognize at once the identity of the Spirit. The more eminent and distinguished the members of the different ages and parts of the Church which we take for illustrations, the more conspicuous does this identity of spirit be- come — the more do they have jn common with each other, and the less of the peculiarities of their age and nation. The writings of the early Fathers could be used from our Pulpits without presenting any contra- diction either in doctrine or in spirit to what is con- tained in our Liturgy. And the works of Fenelon and A'Kempis, though distinguished members of the Romish Communion, are prized as devotional guides by all who have sought a practical acquaintance with works of that kind. § 21. I will not here undertake to ac- '^'''^ ^'S"<- , . , . j« flgancy of this count for this diiierence between the Church difference be- andthe Sects in their regard for the outward 'T''°°^"'! ^ Cuurch and Institutions and Ordinances of religion and '^ secia. in their tests of the genuineness of conversion and piety. But it is difficult to understand why any persons should disparage institutions and rneans of grace which they do not doubt that they possess. If they were conscious of being without them, or in a condition to have only the form without the validity and spiritual grace, we should expect them to believe and teach either as a cause or as a result of their position, that they are of no essential importance. 16 362 THE CHDllCJi IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Again : there is always an advantage, in a secta- rian point of view, in making the test of piety, some- thing inward and subjective — for in that case, persons are committed to nothing that is permanbnt and unchangeable — but they can always adapt themselves to the inclinations of men and change from time to time to suit the spirit of the age. TheProtes- ^ 22. Suoh differences are there between (aSidenu- *^^ spirit that is in the Sects and that which cai in Spirit ig in the Church, So different is the piety ciiiirch of of the two different classesof persons. In chiiat. gY[ this we doubt not their sincerity, or their good intentions. And I have introduced the subject for no purpose of pointing an argument, or of drawing an unfavorable conclusion against them. I have spoken of it for the purpose of showing that that body, which I have historically identified as the branch of the Church of Christ in this country, claims to manifest, and is accused of manifesting, that sentiment toward the Church — even in regard to its undeniable faults and corruptions — which both nature and Revelation teach us to expect, if there really exists the identity between them which we have traced out ; and that its sympathies are with the Church, as tested by its most important Institutions and its most characteristic Ob- servances. And by this train of thought it must ap- pear, as I think — taking the claims of the Protestant Episcopal Church and the accusations of those opposed to it (concurring as they do in this point) as the pre- mises from which our conclusion is drawn — that there is an identity of spirit as well as of body clearly traced between the branch of the Church in this country and the original Vine. IX] THE IDENTITY OF SPIRIT. 363 § 23. Now this identity of spirit — that j^ij ,jg„. which has been held always, everywhere, '"y produced and by all in the Church — is the fruit of the Ghost in the Spirit of God in the Church. And whatever '^^"^''^• any particular Church has more than this is peculiar to itself, and therefore, not catholic; and whatever any one may have that is contrary to it, is opposed, to Christ. § 25. I think that I have now shown, ^^^ ^esti- niony of Ex- that if one wishes to perform all the duties perionce. commanded in the Scriptures, to enjoy the unity of the Spirit in the bonds, of peace, and to have the satis- faction of knowing that he is a co-wprker together with Grod in the work of human salvation, or to give himself up in a life of devotion to Him who gave Him- self for the world ; this may be done without fear of mistake or failure, by any of the inhabitants of this Republic, in what is here called the Protestant Epis- copal Church. I have pointed out a communion in which my fellow-travellers to eternity may find rest for their souls, with every assurance of the blessings of the Spirit and the enjoyment of the favor of Grod, which the nature of the case permits us to have. I could easily refer to experience, which attests the existence and reality of all that our course of investigation may have led us to expect. The joy and hope and peace of those who have drunk into her Spirit, are too deep and tranquil to attract the observation of the heedless and the noisy. But her " heavenly ways, sweet com- munions, and solemn vows " are being daily more and ihore appreciated and sought after ; and wanderers, weary of the turmoil and burthen of the world, or 364 THE CHURCH IBENTIFIED. [Chap. IX sick of the strifes, the instability, and the ever vary- ing changes of sectarianism, are returning for a home, and for rest, in her bosom. It is ascertained that out oi fifteen hundred clergy in the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country, over three hundred, or about one-fifth have been minis- ters in some of the other denominations. One of them thus writes of his change : — " My answer to the Dissenter is, who, but a Church- man, that has tasted the great delights of the sanctu- ary, can appreciate the Church's excellence ? My vindication to the Churchman, is, who but the soul that has been .' tossed up and down like a locust' upon ' the winds of doctrine ' and the sea of Sects, can un- derstand the mazes, the dangers,. the under-currents, and the disasters of sectarianism ? Sectarians, you know nothing of the Church's blessings! Church: men, you know nothing of Sectarianism's mischiefs ! " CHAPTER X. THE MORAL DESIGN OF THE CHURCH, AND THE EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. There is, perhaps, but little in the moral design of the Church which will help us to identify it ; but there is much in that design which will tend to increase very much our estimate of the importance of identify- ing it. Therefore I devote a few pages to this subject. § 1. In my introductory chapter I have oniy those spoken of the importance of the identity of ^^™^°°^™y the Church as manifested by several very identity. plain and obvious considerations, arising chiefly out of our duties and obligations to the Church. I shall now refer chiefly to the benefits which the Church was de- signed to bestow upon us. And in selecting them, I . shall make no mention of those which have no direct jelati-on to the main subject in hand — the identity of the Church. Most or all the benefits of the Church, which in the common sectarian view, are presented to our minds, do by no means imply its identity. They may result from any church — any mere human or voluntary association of men for the purposes of wor- ship, instruction, mutual edification and helpfulness, 366 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. as well as from the Church which our Blessed Lord founded in His own blood. There is always strength in associations. If the members are united and har- monious, the strength of their influences both upon themselves and upon others, increases much faster by the increase of their numbers, than the numerical pro- portion. A society of one thousand members is far more than ten times as strong as one with only a hun- dred. There is an increase of wisdom in counsel — an increase of moral power in forming the characters of the members to a uniformity with one another and with their ideal — and a vast increase in the impres- sion which they make upon others. But of these things I shall not speak here, because they result from the very nature of an association of men, and not from any peculiarity of its origin. i 2. The first element in the moral design of the Church that I shall remark upon, is its relation to Divine Truth. The Church This element is very clearly indicated Ground^ofThi ^y ^*- ^^"^ ^^^^ writing to Timothy. He Truth. calls the Church " the Pillar and Ground of the Truth." TheChuioh ^ 3. By recurring to its history it will instituted be- be Seen that the Church was instituted be- tnteBw°"refors the Scriptures of Divine Truth were written. written. We first read of the Church as already in existence on, or immediately after the day of Pentecost, in the common computation a. d., 33. But no portion of the New Testament Scriptures were 1 1 Tim. 3, 16. X.] EFFECTS OF SECTAEIANISM. 367 written until several years after that date. And when they were written it was in the Church and by its mem- bers ; and they were committed to the Church for use and for transmission. . § 4. The whole value of the Scriptures t''* T'''."^ ^ of the Scnp- to us depends upon our having them as they tares depends came- from the pen of inspiration. If any genuineness. part has been lost the loss is irreparable. If anything has been added to them, or anything changed in their contents, it becomes unsafe to rely upon what we have, as the word of God. Before, therefore, we can make any use of the Scriptures which we now have, as an authority for doctrine or for duty, we must identify them with those that were at first given by the inspiration of God. i 5. We may learn from external testimony rpi^^ church and frofri heathen writers, enough to prove *« ™'y p™°' that such a person as our Lord lived in ty and genu- Judea at the time designated in the Scrip- ""^""^'^ tares — that He taught a new religion and founded a Church, and that sonie Scriptures containing His doc- trines were written by his disciples. But no ^he Hea- copies of the Scriptures then written, have then have pre- , served no co- been preserved by the Heathen. They are pies of the not mentioned by name, enumerated, de- ^"'p'"'^^- scribed, or quoted" by heathen writers, so as that w« can compare the Scriptures which we now have, with what was then written. Depending upon this source then, we are but little, if any better off, than as though we did not know that a Bible had ever been written — for^we have no means of ascertaining that what we have came from our Lord or His Apostles. 368 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Nor shall we fare much better if we turn from the heathen to the Christian Sects. By their very posi- tion, the Sects were incapacitated from being compe- tent witnesses to the genuineness and identity of the Scriptures. For not only their doctrines, but the very step which they had taken, and which brought them into existence as Sects, were condemned by the Scrip- tures. This they knew and felt. Hence they would be strongly tempted to corrupt the Scriptures, in order that they might bear no testimony against them. . TheEai-i "^^^ *^^^ ^® ^°* ^ mere conjecture of Sects coirapt- what they might do, and would be likely to ItT ^°"''" ^°- But it is known that they actually did do it. Many spurious works were produced and circulated among the early sects as the works of the Apostles. Some of the genuine works were inter- polated and badly corrupted ; and others rejected altogether. So that if we were left to depend upon them we could no where find a pure and unadulter- ated copy of the Scriptures. On the contrary, all the genuine productions of the Apostles would be received and carefully preserved by the Church. Their chief desire was to know the truth and the whole truth. They had no tempta- tions to corrupt the writings of the Apostles. Those writings were constantly used in their daily and weekly worship. They were freely and fully quoted in the writings of the Fathers of the Church whose works have come down to us. And it is said, that if the Bible, as a distinct book, were now entirely lost, it could be restored by collecting the quotations made X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 369 from it in the early Fathers of the Church, and put- ting them together in a volume. Of course, therefore, by comparing the Bible we now have with what we find there quoted, we can ascertain whether the Bible is precisely the same as it was then : in other words, we can identify our Bible with that of the early Church, and so with that which the inspired Prophets, Evangelists, and Apostles wrote. Strike out of existence, then, the testimony of the Church and its members, and leave the inquirer to what he can find out of its pale alone, among hea- then writers and outside sects, and it is very doubt- ful whether he could find a copy of the Scriptures anywhere in existence at all. He certainly could have no satisfactory proof that he was in possession of all that had been written for the guidance and instruction of man, by the inspiration of God. He could not know that what he had, is the work of the Apostles and others to whom it is attributed. He could not know but that what we have, has been so grossly corrupted as to be totally unlike what it was when it came from the pen that was guided by inspiration. On the contrary, knowing as we do how the early sects, the Ebionites, the Grnostics, the Montanists, &c., &c., corrupted the Scriptures, we could not doubt that, if we had only what is derived to us through such sources, that which we might possess would have been so much corrupted as to be no safe guide to practice — no sure ground of hope. But in the Church the Scriptures were first received. By it they have been kept, reverenced and used. In the early Fathers they were fully and freely quoted, and by 16* 370 THE CHtlKCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. this means the "Word of God has been kept for us, and we know that what we have is the Word of God. h 6. But the value of this testimony The value of ■' the Church's depends upon the identity of the Church. ^ndT° uptt If. instead of th^ testimony of the Church, the Identity of -we took that of the Ebionites, we should have a corrupt copy of St. Matthew's Gos- pel, as our only account of our Lord's life, and none of the writings of St. Paul. If we took that of the Gnostics, we should be without the best proofs of the Divinity of Christ. So with each of the Sects. Did we rely upon their testimony alone, we should have a copy of the Scriptures modified and altered to accom- modate and inculcate their errors, instead of the truth as it is in Jesus. But the Church has had neither motives, disposition, nor opportunity to corrupt them. And more than this, we know from history that the Sects did corrupt, the copies which they received, and that the Church did not. Thechurch ^ '''■ ^^^ ^^is is not all — these early a witness to Fathers, by whose writings we are able to « pretaiion o f identify thc Scriptures, contain such doc- thescriptures. ^j-j^g^] statements and discussions as enable us to see how Christianity was then understood. " The faith once delivered to the saints" was explained to them in all of the Churches founded by the Apostles — ^that is, in Churches scattered over nearly the whole of the then known world — ^before they had received the Scriptures at all, and in many cases before any part of them was written. Some formularies, or confes- sions of faith — "forms of sound words" ^ existed and ' 2 Tim. i. 13. X.] EFFECTS OF SECTAEIAJiflSM. 371 wore in use as bonds of union and baptismal confes- sions from the very commencement of those Churches. Perhaps no one of these can now be found precisely as it then existed, yet divers of them we do find in all the. Churches founded by the Apostles. They are quoted, discussed, and explained, as of authority, in all the earlier writers from Alexandria and Carthage to Byzantium, and from Jerusalem and Antioch to Lyons in the west. We have also the early Canons of Dis- cipline and the Liturgies of their Worship. We have the writings of Clement, whose name was in the book of life,' of Ignatius,' the friend and companion of St. Peter, of PoLYCARP,,the disciple of St. John, of Ter- TULLIAN, of IrEN^US, of JuSTIN MaRTYR, of ClEMENT of Alexandria, of Cyprian, and of Eusebius, who wrote a history of the Church from its foundation to his days, a. d. 325. » Now , from these writings we can ascertain how Christianity was understood, what the Scriptures were thought to contain, and how their contents were explained, as well as we can learn from the writings of Calvin and Beza, and the early Presbyterians, how Christianity was understood by them. Thus we have an independent testimony, an ex- traneous witness to the faith once delivered to the saints, coming down to us in the Church from the very age in which the Scriptures were written. It is of course imperfect, but yet sufficient to enable us to identify the Faith as well as the Scriptures. All the salient points and leading doctrines of Christianity ' PM. iv. 3. 872 THE CHURCH rDENTIFIED. [Chap. are stated with suiRcient distinctness. And these writings showi that the same system was delivered everywhere : and on all these great and leading points there is a perfect harmony and agreement. "They speak of the Faith as a historic thing, which had once been delivered to them, which they must keep and hand down to others ; and not as something which they had invented, or adopted by agreement and compact among themselves, nor yet' as something that each individual had been left to discover for himself by his own in- vestigations and the exercise of his private judgment. The early ^^^ ^^ ^^1 ^^^ earlier writers, when a mode of set- question arose concerning any doctrine, or a tliDg questions . . of interpreta- dispute with the heretics called forth a de- ''™' fence of the truth, the appeal was not as now, to philology, to hermeneutios, to reason and to logic, but to the doctrine, or mrode of explaining a doctrine or passage of Scripture which had been preserved in those Churches that had been founded by the Apostles in person, and received an explanation of Christianity from their own living lips. terttjl- As a specimen of this kind of reason- LiAN quoted '■ as a specimen, ing, take the following from Tertullian's Prescription against Heretics.^ "On this principle, therefore, we shape our rule, that if the Lord Jesus Christ sent the Apostles to preach, iio others ought to be received as preachers than those whom Christ ap- pointed. . . . Now what they did preach, that is, what Christ did reveal unto them, I will here also rule, must be proved in no other way than by those same • § xxi. I quote the Oxford Translation of 1842. X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 37J Chui^hos which, the Apostles themselves founded ; themselves, I say, by preaching to them by the living voice, as afterwards by Epistles. If these things be so, it becometh forthwith manifest, that all doctrine, which agreeth with these Apostolic Churches, the wombs and originals of the Faith, must be accounted true, as without doubt containing that which the Churches have received from the Apostles, the Apos- tles from Christ, and Christ from Grod ; and that all other doctrine must be judged at once to be false, which soweth things contrary to the truth of the Churches, and of the Apostles, and of Christ, and of Grod. It remaineth, therefore, that we show whether this our doctrine, the rule of which we have above declared, be derived from the tradition of the Apos- tles, and from this very fact, whether the other doc- trines come of falsehood. We have communion with the Apostolic Churches because, we have no doctrine differing from them. This is evidence of truth." The reasons for this rule, as Tertullian says, are various. In the first place, the Heretics do not re- ceive the entire and unoorrupted Scriptures. But secondly, the Scriptures were never given to them : they have no right to the use of them : and without the Scriptures we prove that they have no right to the Scriptures as an authority for what they do : and finally, by putting a meaning upon them different from that which they were intended to have, they confound and mislead the simple and unlearned, and make the Gospel itself to convey, only at best, an un- certain sound, and peojle will not know what to be- lieve. 374 THE CHTTRCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. There is a pregnant text to this point in St. Paul's second Epistle to the Thessalonians : ' " There- fore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, ivhether by word, or our epistle." The Author- "When thls was written the Thessalo- ityofstPaui. jjjg^jjg had no part of the Scriptures except St. Paul's first Epistle to them.- They had, however, " the Faith," and were directed to hold that fast even as it had been taught to them orally — " by the living voice," as Tertullian says. Other passages of similar import might be quoted from the New Testament. But I do not design to dwell on this part of my subject. Different men will of course attach very different measures of importance to this kind of testi- mony or authority. But call its value what we may, either a controlling and ultimate authority, from which there may be no appeal — or nothing ; or place it any- where between those extremes as we please, the fact itself, that we can thus learn from the early records of the Church what was received as Chi'istianity, admits of no denial. It may be difficult to say precisely to what de- gree of minuteness we might descend in specifying the points of Christian Doctrine, which can thus be proved from the early Fathers to have been delivered to the Church by the Apostles. This much we may say, at least, that man is in a fallen and depraved condition by nature, and needs forgiveness — renewal ; that in the unity of the Grodhead there are three dis- - 2 Theas. iL 16. X.] EFFECTS OP SECTARIAITISM. 375 tinct Persons, the Second of whom was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, suffered as an atonement for us ; and that the Third, was sent to sanctify the hearts of them that believe ; that thus salvation was freely offered to all men, and all are capable, by the divine grace, of re- ceiving it ; that sin and depravity are washed away in Baptism ; that the spiritual effects of Christ's incarna- tion are conveyed to us in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ; that a Ministry was established to have charge and oversight of the believers; that respect, -obedience and support are due unto them for Christ's sake; that. there should be a resurrection from the dead, and a final judgment according to the deeds done in the body. § 8. It is true, indeed, that in these early ^he eoriy writings we find nothing on many of the ciimch man- points that now agitate the world with cOn- the great troVersies, because those points do not ap-P".'"?'' "' *■ ' CnristianLty. pear to have been thought of or suggested for discussion by any body. But most unquestionably all that is necessary to salvation, all that has come from God, was then known ; for we can have nothing that was not given to the Christians of that age and has not come down to us through them. And on all the points named above, and a great many more, there is the most perfect harmony and uniformity of teach- ing in all parts of the early Church — in those that were the most remote and disconnected from each other, as well as in those that were adjacent and more immediately affiliated. It is then undoubtedly certain that we are indebted to the Church for the preservation of the Scriptures 376 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap whole and uncorrupted, and that we must depend upon the Church, and upon that wholly and exclu- sively, for our certainty that what we have is the Scripture, as it was " given by the inspiration of Grod," ' the source and fountain of Divine Truth. We are indebted to the Church for the preservation of that which ""containeth all things necessary to salvation." And we learn from the Church too, what are the great facts and doctrines which it was understood to con- tain, and was explained to contain by those who wrote it. k 9. Was there no moral design in this? Does not this chain of facts give force and signifioanoy to such passages of Scripture as these. " The Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth?" " Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast learned ? " " Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our Epis- tles ? " " If he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and publican ? " The au- ^^^ authority of the Church in matters thority of the of faith is based upon this element of its upon its moral moral design. The necessity for it is seen design. jjj ^^ diversities and distractions that pre- vail in Christendom. k 10. It is true there are some that call themselves Christians, who, in our day, reject a part of the Scrip- tures : and the Papists have added to the Old Testa- ment Canon what we call the Apocrypha. Still, however, the main disagreement is not as to the ' 2 Tim. V. 16. X] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 377 genuineness and identity of the Scriptures, but it is in the mode of interpreting them. And the phe- nomena of the present day teach us that some Rule of Faith or interpretation is as necessary, not some au- only to uniformity, but even to a reception oary to secure of the savinar truths of the gospel, as is a ""e right intei- => . pretationof preliminary agreement as to what is to be the scnptmes. received as the "Word of Gtod, and the ultimate au- thority ill all matters of faith. Which is the most perilous? to deny that the Epistle to the Hebrews which we have is the work of St. Paul, or any other inspired man, or to deny that the Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is the Son of Grod, consubstantial with the Father ? Which is the worst, to deny that good works are necessary to salvation according to the Scriptures, or to declare the Epistle of St. James an Epistle of Straw, and a lie against the Holy Grhost ? Is it worse to reject the Book of Revelations, than to deny that the Bible teaches the future punishment of the wicked ? Which may the best be added to the Scriptures — the writings of Swedenborg, or the theory of Calvin, as an interpretation of them ? Why is the reception of the book of Mormon any worse than the modern Irvingite theory of restoring the Aposto- late and miraculous gifts of the Spirit to the Church ? The practice of the early sects was to reject the por- tions of Scripture which were understood to contain doctrines which they would not receive — that of the. Moderns, is the more subtle course of denying that those Scriptures contain the doctrines. And thus the licentiousness of private judgment has filled the 378 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. world with as many errors almost as there are varieties in the human mind. I will not here pause to say that all these contra- dictory doctrines cannot be true or safe. It is more to my present purpose to say that they involve a rejec- tion of the Church, which is the Pillar and Ground of the Truth, and the necessity of regarding those who do thus reject it " as heathen men and publi- cans," — even when the awful sanction " whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" hangs over us. If, then, it is true that no other church can certify us of the genuineness and identy of those Scriptures which were at first given by the inspiration of God, and are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- tion, for instruction in righteousness ; it is no less true, that no other has preserved to us, or could pre- serve to us, that interpretation which was' at first put upon them, and which, if we would be guided into the truth, we must now believe. If there is now a doubt about the Divinity of Christ, the freedom ol salvation for all men, the remission of sins in Bap- tism, the necessity of good works to salvation, the future punishment of the finally impenitent, the three- fold order of the ministry, the necessity of commu- nion in the Church established by our Lord and His Apostles ; there was certainly no doubt or uncertainty on these points, " while," in the language of Tertul- lian, " all were Apostolic, because all were one." These things without the Scriptures can be proved to have been taught by the Apostles " by word," even before the Scriptures themselves were written. And X] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 379 it deserves to be considered by him who would receive and hold " the Faith once delivered to the Saints " whole and undefiled, whether, and if so, when, and on what grounds, the command to stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle,' has been abrogated. § 11. "We ought to be a little more de- what tra- finite on this point. I am constructing no ^^^™ "" °^ argument for traditions, outside the Scrip- - tures in general, but only for those which are clearly seen and known to have come from the Apostolic age. The Christian world, if such an expression may be used, may be divided into three portions in relation to this point. 1. The Protestant Sects, who hold to the Scriptutes as interpreted by themselves, and each one for himself. 2. The Reformed Churches, who hold •to the Scriptures as they were interpreted and under- stood when first written and received ; and 3. The Churches in the Romish obedience, who hold to the doctrine of Development. At the time of the Reformation the conservative or Papal party claimed that their religion was the old, and that the Protestant was the • new one. On the part of the Church of England this point was stoutly denied, and issue joined with the Papists. But it was then found that so many copies of the early wri- ■ tings had been corrupted, and that there were so many forgeries current as the genuine works of the Fathers among the Romanists, that the first preliminary step, ' 2 Thesg. u. 13. 380 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Cbap. and one of indispensable necessity, was to identify the works of the Fathers, to distinguish between the genuine and the spurious, and to purge out all inter- polations, and to restore all the designed or accidental omissions to those parts that were undoubtedly gen- uine. After many years of labor and of controversy this has been done, and both parties are now pretty nearly agreed as to the identity and genuineness of the worlcs of the Fathers to which we may appeal. And what has been the result ? The Romanists have abandoned the controversy, and admitting that most of their peculiar doctrines are new and modern, they have set up as a totally new ground of defence, the position that they have a right to make additions to the Primitive Faith, or in other words, to develop and declare from time to time new" doctrines, which had not been received and acknowledged before. Hence no objection to the view which has now been presented of this function of the Church can arise from the corruptions and darkness of the middle ages, or from the present position and claims of the Romish Church. The field is clear, and we can look above ^ the fogs and mists of intervening centuries, take up the writings of the early Fathers just as they left them, and see through them what Christianity was under- stood to be when it was first committed to Holy Scrip- ture, and " written for our learning." § 12. We claim no value for this early • Grounds . upon which interpretation, on the ground that the men tor%etatfon"8 °^ ^^^^ ^S^ Were wiscr and holier than the are considered men of this, nor on the ground that they had any special authority binding upon us. X.] EFFECTS OF SECTAPJAJSISM. 381 But it is simply on the ground that their mode of inter- pretation, their view of Christianity, their Creeds, in short, must have been given on the same authority, and by the same persons, and in most cases earlier in point of time, than the writing of the Scriptures. So that in the language of the profound and cautious Thoen- nncE,' " it remains that we affirm, whatsoever the whole Church from the beginning, hath received and practiced for the Rule of Faith and manners, all that to be evidently true, by the same reason for which we believe the very Scriptures : [to be the word of God] and therefore, that the meaning of them is necessarily to be confined within those bounds, so that liotHng must be admitted for the truth of these which contra- dicteth the same," [" the Rule of Faith and man- ners."] If then the testimony of the Church, (and we have seen that we have nothing else to rely upon,) is suf- ficient to satisfy us that the Scriptures which we now have are the "Word of God, ought it not to be held sufficient to satisfy us that those doctrines which were then, with equal unanimity, plainness, and force, de- clared to be their true interpretation and meaning, are the doctrines which we ought also to receive ? If it satisfies us that Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote the Gospels under their name,' ought it not to satisfy us that they teach that the Son of God is a proper object of religious worship ? If it satisfies us that the Acts of the Apostles contains a true and re- liable account of the doings and sayings of the Apos- ' Principles of tlie Christian Truth. B. 1. chap. Ti. § 1. 382 THE CHITRCH rOENTIFIED. [Char ties, as far as it goes, ought it not to satisfy us that they teach us that Baptism washes away sins ? If it satisfies us that St. Paul wrote the Epistles, which bear his name, ought it not to satisfy us that they teach that the Ministry of any completely organized Church consists of three orders, Deacons, Presbyters — and in Timothy and Titus, some one officer at their head — call him Bishop, or what you will ? But be this as it may, the fact cannot ■ be denied, audit is nowhere denied, in practice, however much it may be in theory — that what men regard as the Church, is acknowledged to have authority over its members in matters of faith. No member is allowed to contradict anything that is held to be fundamental by any religious society or church, and yet retain his membership. The right of discipline and excommuni- cation is claimed and exercised by all. Now in the Church this right becomes one of fear- ful responsibility and import, for it declares the ex- cluded member to have denied the Faith, whereof alone cometh salvation — it outs him off from the means of grace, the fellowship of Christ, and unless he repents and is restored, from the hope of salvation. And it is as sure as the Revealed "Word of Grod itself, that what is thus done on earth will be ratified in heaven, unless i»he Church in so doing has exceeded her authority, and made that to be a term or condi- tion of communion, which is not clearly laid down in the Scriptures as of essential and fundamental impor- tance. Hence the Church, as a whole, comes to us, and each branch respectively, should come to each ihdi- X] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 383 vidual in its portion of the earth's inhabitants, with the Scriptures as the "Word of Grod and the Revelation of His "Will : and with its Creed or catechism contain- ing a brief summary statement of what the Scripture teaches that he ought to believe and do, with fuller explanations of the same truths, in her Canons, her Liturgies, her OfEces, and in the Homilies and Ser- mons of her Preachers. And this each one is au- thorized and bound to receive as the true meaning and intent of the Scriptures, until he is qualified to look beyond these elementary forms and teachings to the Bible itself, and to the teachings of the Catholic Church while ih was undivided, and all of its different branches spake and taught the same thing. And if his branch of the Church brings him no other Creed than that of the Apostles, or that which was agreed in by the whole Church, and no teaching but what is in accordance with that Creed, and the teaching of the Church in its earliest days, I confess I cannot see how the guilt or the danger of him who rejects any fundamental portion of that teaching, can be less than that of him who rejects a certain portion of the "Word of God, because it teaches what he thinks ought not to be found there, and could not if it came from God. Now I say only that it was manifestly the design of the Church that it should be such a teacher, such a " Pillar and Ground of the truth " to men. i 13. But no sect, no other Church than No mero that which Christ founded, can perform this foimtwsfun^ function. No other can have the like secu- ''™ "' "'^ Church. rity to the identity and genumeness of the Scriptures. No other could have had the right inter- 384 THE CHURCH IDENTrFIED. [Chap. pretation of the Scriptures, for then they would not have left the Church ; and no other, therefore, can bring to us the message which Christ would have us receive, or has any authority to pretend to do it. Here is a function which it is necessary for man that something should perform for him. It is a function that. can be performed by no other society than that which our Lord and His Apostles founded, and it is clear from the Scriptures that the Church was designed to per- form that function. In what I have said on this subject, I have not been considering or setting forth the authority which the Church may have to bind all her members to the reception of her interpretations of Christianity ; but rather the security which she was designed to AFFORD, that we HAVE THE ScRIPT^RES AS THEY CAME FROM THE PEN OF THOSE VTHO WROTE AS THEY WERE MOVED BY THE HoLY GrHOST, AND THE TRUE SENSE OF THEM, OR THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JeSUS. k 14. Let us now pass to the consideration ol another element of the moral design of the Church as connected with its identity. ThcChtuch The Church itself, through its Ministry lesignedtobe ^^^ Sacraments, was designed to be a ohan- a chimnel of ' ° grace. nel or means of grace. In discussing this subject, so far as our present purpose is concerned, I shall not need to enter much upon points that are purely theological, and I design to do so as little as possible. It is evident from the records, and admitted, I be- lieve, on all hands, that the Church was to be gath- ered, and extended, and perpetuated by the Preaching X.J EPPECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 385 of the Word, and the Baptism of those who should be prepared for membership. Baptism was to be the dividing line — the distinguishing mark, between those who had been admitted as members of the Church, and those who had not. If, now, Baptism is a means of grace, and designed to convey spiritual blessings, then those blessings depend upon, and flow from the identity of the Church. They imply its identity, be- cause the blessings of Baptism as a Sacrament, be they what they may, were promised to that Baptism, and that only which was to be administered to those about to be admitted, and who were thereby admitted to His Church. I put the statement into this form on purpose to avoid the question of the v-alidity of lay Baptism. I do not design to affirm or assume that ministerial authority is essential to Baptism. But I affirm as a part of my argument, that whatever is said oniy the in the Scriptures of Baptism at all, is said baptism of the of that Baptism which was to be administeredonn the sci-ip- for the purpose of joining members to the'"''^" Church. No other is spoken of, or, so far as we can see, thought of, when Baptism as an institution to be observed and administered by the disciples of Christ, was the subject of remark. The Scriptures were not speaking of what might be done by others, or of the form of Christian rites that might be used for other purposes than that for which it was originally designed. If, therefore, persons design to institute a new church, and borrow their rites and ceremonies, and even their doctrines and form of organization from the Scriptures,, we cannot attribute to these 17 386 THE CHURCH IDENTZFIED. [Chap' things the same spiritual efficacy as when Tho Identi- ^, ° , ,. ,, j- l,- 1, ty of Baptism they are used for the purpose tor wmcn depends upon ^W were Originally designed. To say that the identity of-' t. ij tiie purpose the outward form of Baptism, when used ftowhichitia^j, admit members into the Presbyterian church, the Methodist church, or any -other " voluntary association of men for religious purposes," is attended by the same spiritual results, as when it is used to admit members into the Church of Christ for which it was designed, is to commit the same logical error as would be committed by applying what the Scriptures say of the house and worship of that God who is over all, blessed for ever, to any of the idols which misguided men may have chosen to be " their god." I am not here offering the Romish doctrine, that the intention of the minister is essential to the effi- cacy of the Sacraments. I am not speaking of his intention, or what he may intend at all, in reference to particular cases, as does the Romish dogma. Their doctrine is, that unless the Priest designs to convey the efficacy of the Sacrament, no effect is produced. But I am speaking of the totally different case of the use of Baptism, to admit members into other churches ' than that which our Lord founded. And I say, that to expect the efficacy of His Baptism to follow in such cases, is as absurd as to expect the blessings that follow from a sincere worship to the true God, will be bestowed upon one who pays the same worship at the shrine of some idol of his own choosing. § 15. "With these remarks we will pass to a X] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 387 consideration of what the Scriptures say of Tie design the design and efficacy of Christian Bap- ^^J^;'^^"""^ "' tism. 1. 1. " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." ' 2, " Go ye, therefore, teach all ziations, baptizing them, &c."^ From these texts I infer simply that Baptism is a positive institution, which all are commanded to observe as the first step of their discipleship. II. 1. "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." ' 2. " Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins." * 3. " Christ also loved the Church and gave Him- self for it ; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water, by the word." ° Taking these passages together, they prove two things concerning Baptism. 1. That it sanctifies, that is, sets apart from the world and consecrates to Grod, (for I am not disposed to put any higher sense on the word as used here, and there is no lower one to be used,) and 2. That it washes away sins. The expressions are "for the remission of sins," "wash away thy sins," and " cleanse," all implying the same result, the cleansing the soul from the stain and guilt of sin. III. 1. "Verily, verily, I say unto thse, except a 1 Mark xvi. 16. ^ Matt, xxviii. 19. ' Acts li. 38. * Acts xxii. 16. 5 Eph. v. 25, 26. 388 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. man be born of loater and' the spirit^ he cannot enter the kingdom of Grod." ^ 2. " According to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." ^ 3. " Eight souls were saved by water, the like figure, whereunto even Baptism doth also now save us by the resurrection, of Jesus Christ." ■* From these passages we can infer no less than that in Baptism we "are born again," receive "the- washing of regeneration," and are put into a state of salvation. By " doth now save us," I think we can understand no less than to put into a state of salvation, and I certainly would not cite it as proving anything more. IV. 1. " So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death." ' 2. " For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." ° I shall not undertake to develop the full meaning of these expressions, " baptized into Christ." I shall rather pass them with the remark that they must be understood to indicate some close and Ultimate union with Christ to be effected by Baptism. Perhaps their meaning is only more fully explained by the following passage from Colossians.' • " And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power ; in whom also ye are • The " of" in our version in this place is inserted -without anything_ in the original to require it. 2 John iii. 5. s Titus iii. 5. " 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21. 8 Kom. vL 3. « Gal. iii. %1. ' CoL ii. 10-12. X] EFFECTS OF SECTARIAKISM. 389 circumcised with the circwnicision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ ; buried with him in Baptism, wherein also (that is in Baptism) ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead." Now in this passage, obscure as it is in many re- spects, it is manifest that the baptized Colossians, " the saints A,nd faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse," though uncircumcised in the flesh, had obtained " through the faith " all that circum- cision effected or prefigured — the " putting off the body of the sins of the flesh," and moreover, a hope in the resurrection, (" ye are risen," is the expression,) by the circumcision and the Resurrection of Christ, in con- sequence of their having been " baptized into Him." It is impossible to say that the Sacrament of Bap- tism is not the thing here intended, for the water itself and its use, are spoken of, in terminis, as the very things by which the result is accomplished — " sanctify and cleanse with the washing of water," — " the washing of regeneration" — " saved by water, the like figure whereunto even Baptism doth now save us " — " born of the water and the Spirit." As I have already said, I do not design to enter into particulars or theological distinctions and qualifi- cations. 1 cite these passages only for the purpose of proving that some very great and very important spiritual effect is dependent upon the Baptism which our Lord instituted as the Sacrament of initiation to His Church ; and that whatever that effect may be, it is dependent upon the identity of the Baptism ad- 390 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap ministered with that which was instituted by our Lord, and of which these things are said in the Scrip- tures. And the identity of that Baptism, as I have shown, depends upon the identity of its design, as well as upon the identity of outward form ; and finally, the identity of design implies the identity of . the Church. The Eucba- * ^ ^^' Substantially the same things may rist bears a be Said of the other Sacrament, the Lord's the moral de- SuppER, in its relation to the identity of the sign ox the Church. Its observance was commanded Church. to the members of His Church, and its whole efHcacy must depend upon its being in His Church. If some one should undertake to use it in connection with Mahometanism, with the Platonic Philosophy, or with a refined Pantheism, which re- gards Christianity as only one of many original reve- lations of the Infinite in the finite, nobody would be so absurd and senseless as to suppose that it would be attended with the same blessed spiritual effects that are promised to it in the Church. „^ , . § 17. Let us look at these effects. The design of the Lord's I. " Do this in remembrance of Me." ' upper. From this we infer that the observance of this Sacrament in the Church is a commanded duty. , II. " For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till ' He come.' " " The effect of the observance of the Sacrament here spoken of, is perhaps exerted upon the world of un- 1 Luke xxii. 19 : 1 Cor. xi. 24. 'J 1 Cor. xi. 26. X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 391 believers, rather than upon those engaged in its ob- servance themselves. III. " The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the Body of Christ ? " ' The word here translated " communion," xntmlx, sometimes means communication, or that w^hioh com- municates. Such, I apprehend, must be i!s significa- tion in the passage before us. For communion, in the proper sense of the word, implies two living con- scious personal agents, between whom the commu- nion, fellowship or intercourse takes place. But in this case the y.o»aiU, is between believers on the one part, and the Body and Blood of Christ — not Christ Himself — on the other, which is not a conscious per- sonal agent, and therefore the xo/vavla must be a com- munication or impartation of the Body or Blood of Christ to the worthy recipients. I shall not undertake to analyze this, which is manifestly figurative language, and to say precise- ly what it does mean, in plain didactic terms. For our present purpose it is sufficient to leave it as we find it, and say, that in any reasonable view of it, it must imply the impartation of some great spiritual benefit to those who worthily receive the Lord's Sup- per. The passages already extracted refer to the Lord's Supper so unambiguously, that there has never been any diversity of opinion, so far as I know, as to their ' 1 Cor. X. rt. 392 THE CHURCH IDENTOTED. [Coap. application. The next passage that I quote has not been so universally applied to the Lord's Supper. I shall, however, quote it, as believing that it was in- tended to refer to that subject. IV. " And Jesus said unto them, I am the Bread of life : I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven : if any man eat this Bread he shall live for ever : and the Bread which I will give is My flesh, . which I give for the life of the world. Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life ; and I will raise him up at the last day. He that eateth My flesh and- drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me and I in him." ' I lay no special stress upon this passage in this place, not only because of the doubt entertained with regard to its application to the Lord's Supper by some persons, but chiefly because, if it does refer to that Sacrament, it does not in my estimation imply any- thing more than is implied in the passage just quoted from Corinthians, which does unquestionably refer to the reception of the Lord's Supper. It is therefore undeniable that this Sacrament is the medium or channel of important spiritual graces and influences. And these graces and influences are spoken of as depending upon the reception of the out- ward elements of bread and wine. § 18. But when the Scriptures are speaking of these beneficial results of the right reception of these visible symbols, they are speaking of their admin- 1 John vi. 85-56. X] EFFECTS OP SECTARIANISM. 393 The bene- istration to the members of the Church and within its pale. No other use of these em- ^ ' = o f t h e blems or symbols is spoken of, or appears to can be receiy- have entered the thoughts of the inspired wri-^^™^^''" '"* ters, or of our Lord Himself. This, then, is the implied condition of the efficacy of the Sacra- ment, — its administration and reception in the Church ; and its administration and reception in the Church imply the identity of the Church. It is true that there is no express declaration that it shall be without effi- cacy if it is administered out of the Church. But that is not necessary. Its blessings are a special gift and grant ; and in the making of such gifts and grants it is necessary that the persons for whom they are made should be named or indicated. But it is not necessary to name or indicate all others to whom they are not made, except so far as that is done by naming or in- dicating those to whom they are made. If I make a donation to half a dozen persons indicated by myself, it is not necessary that I say that I do not do the same for others not named. That follows of course. So with our Saviour's promises. When He says He will give to certain persons a blessing, or will give it on certain conditions, we have no right to infer, and it would be most hazardous to infer that He will give it to any others, or on any other condition. § 19. I will close this part of mv sub- ' •' Forgireness ject With the consideration of one more of sma in the text. . <*"*• Eight days after the Resurrection our Lord ap- peared to His Apostles and said unto them : — ' " Whose soever sins ye T^,^it they are remitted 17* ■ ' 394 THE OHUECH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained." ' I do not design to enter upon any inquiry into the powers of Absolution here conferred upon the Apos- tles. I am not disposed to understand the words as implying any judicial power of that kind. For all present purposes we need not suppose that the words convey anything more than the authority to preach that gospel which bringeth salvation, and for the ad- ministration of those sacraments which are so impor- tant a part of the means of salvation as we have just shown them to be. The question for us is, to whom does this apply, or how far does its meaning extend. If we recur to the context we shall see, that in all probability, St. Thomas was not present when these words were addressed to the other ten. St. Matthias and St. Paul were not Apostles then, and of course were no part of those to whom the words were ad- dressed. We must therefore extend the application of their meaning to persons who were not then present; for St. Paul was not one whit behind the very chiefest of the Apostles. I apprehend that it was designed for all the Minis- try of the Church — all whomsoever Christ shall send to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments. And this I infer, not only from the nature of the ap- parent meaning of the text, itself, but also from the inference that will immediately follow from a restric- ' John XX. 23. X] EFFECTS OF SEOTARIAJTISM. 395 tion of it within any narrower limits. The grant of authority is both inclusive and exclusive. It confers remission on those on whom they confer it, and with- holds it from those from whom they withhold it. But it makes no provision for others, nor for forgiveness beyond the limits of their ministrations, or after they should be dead, or as a class, cease to exist. If then the commission or authority does not extend to the whole Ministry of the Church to the end of the world, then the time either has come or may come when the grant will cease and be inoperative. In that caSte "the promise of forgiveness is at an end, which of course is an event that will not occur until the end of the world and the second advent. It is true that this adds but very little, if any- thing, to what we have deduced from the other con- siderations just referred to. But'it connects This power the promise of forgiveness most intimately l^n'Jity of the with the identity of the Church. It promises chmch. forgiveness to those that shall receive it at the hands of those whom I have here supposed to be the whole Ministry of the Church. But there it stops — there is no promise beyond or further than that. Now these items show most conclusively that there is an important moral design in the Church in relation to the forgiveness of sins, and the renovation and sal- vation of souls. It is the channel of those blessings which Grod has promised to confer upon mankind. § 20. It cannot fairly be said by way of These con. . , . /. J 1 ■ I (. , 1 ditions of sal- derogatmg from the importance of these ,,^u„„ ^o not elements of the moral design of the Church, derogate, from that all these blessings are elsewhere pro- lance of Faith. 396 THE CHUBCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. mised, with no mention of such conditions, but simply on the ground of faith. To this I reply in the first place, that faith on the part of the recipients is the essential condition of the blessings which are said to be conferred or bestowed in the Sacraments. The only exception is perhaps, that of baptism of infants. But secondly, and chiefly ; the conditions on which Grod has promised His bless- ings can never be inconsistent with one another. And if He sometimes speaks of one where no mention is made of the rest, we are by no means to infer that they are not important or essential. We are to collect all the conditions that He has anywhere prescribed, acknowledging each to be as important as He Himself has represented it to be, and we shall then doubtless find that they all harmonize and easily fall into their appropriate places in the system, if we take the right view of them. Thus the merits and atonement of Christ are the only and sgle ground of human salva- tion : faith and repentance on the part of man is the indispensable condition of his receiving the benefits of that atonement ; those benefits are conveyed to the soul in the Sacraments, and we must bring forth the fruits of good works and obedience as the condition of our final acceptance at the day of judgment. Hence, there is no inconsistency in speaking of any one of these conditions as alone, and by itself, necessary to salvation, as the Scriptures have done. The mistake is when we infer from this mode of speaking that the means or condition thus spoken of as essential, is the only one that is to be so regarded. I apprehend that we are not authorized to institute or draw any "com- X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIAmSM. 397 parison that designs to form a rule of belief or practice, between these several conditions. The disposition to disregard or omit anything in the divine law because we have concluded that it is not essential, is one of the most alarming and dangerous that man can well ex- hibit. I think we may therefore say, that the Church was designed to be the chief agent in bringing to mankind " the truth as it is in Jesus," and that in its Sacraments and Ministry are the ordinary channels of forgiving and renewing grace. But this is not all that man needs ; nor all of the moral result that the Church was designed to accom- plish. § 21. In looking at mankind a!t large, Disobedience the first and most obvious fact, in a moral "J""'""""'"'' * of man. point of view that strikes the observer, who is acquainted with the contents of the Scriptures, is that of disobedience. On examination, every sin is found to contain this as the chief element of its guilt. The evils which result, in the ordinary course of con- sequences, great as they sometimes are, are nothing compared with the fact that the authority of the Supreme Governor, upon Whom all things depend, and for all things, is rejected, despised, and trampled under _ foot. A shock is thus sent throughout the universe — the effect is felt by every created thing. If we recur to the first sin committed on earth, the transgression in Eden, we shall see that its whole guilt consisted apparently in its being an act of dis- obedience. So far as we know or can see it had no natural consequences of evil. But it was the exalta- 398 THE CHURCH HJENTIFrED. [Chap. tion of human . pride, the aspiration of human ambi- tion, the disposition to trust in human reason, to the disparagement of the revealed will or imposed com- mandments of Grod. § 22. And if we look at the dispensations of Grod to man, we shall derive a lesson of equal importance in relation to our present subject. We have alluded to this part of God's dealing with man in a previous chapter,' and shall not need to repeat here what was said there. From these considerations it is evident Theresto- ^^^^ OBEDIENCE is the Cardinal point of our ration of obe- earthly probation, as including aU the rest. dience a moral -^-,1-. . .. design of the Each of the prominent relations in life has Church. -^g precept of obedience. Children are com- manded to obey their parents, servants their masters, wives their husbands, citizens and subjects their rulers and governors, and Christians their pastors. Thus the law of obedience is made to run through all the gradations of society. And from the highest Archangel around the Eternal Throne, through each descending link in the scale of being. Angel, Seraphim, Cherubim, Apostles, Prophets, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, down to the humblest individual that waits at the altar, or serves as a doorkeeper in the House of the Lord, there must.be order and subordination ; and the duty of obedience from each one to those that are over him in the scale of the Divine ^.ppoinlments, is essential to the stability and harmony of the whole. „^ ,. § 23. Now this obedience implies £ov- Obedience ^ . . impuea gov- emmeut and governors in the immediate ernors. - <. , i . , exercise or authority over us. » Chap. IL X.] EFFECTS OF SECTAKIAITISM. 399 The Scriptures, unaccompanied by any interpreta- tion, or interpreted by each, individual's private judg- ment, cannot accomplish the result. For in the first place, but only a very small part of the human race are able, or ever have -been able to read and acquire sufficient familarity with the contents of the Scrip- tures to be able to know what they teach and require. The mass of Christians in the world cannot read at all. And a still greater number have no sufficient amount of leisure to make themselves familiar with all that is contained in the Holy Bible. § 24. But again, the endless diversities in the religious opinions that prevail in the community, show beyond question that without something having au- thority to intervene between the Scriptures and the private judgment of the individual, there is no possi- bility of bringing men into obedience to any obedience one uniform rule, such as that which is implies some t • t n • ^ objective rulo contained m the Scriptures must be, unless of laterpreia- they give an uncertain sound and contradict '''°"" themselves. The diversities do not affect mere doc- trines alone, but they affect the practice of our religion also ; and the practices which are alleged to have been derived from the "Word of G-od, are as diverse as the doctrines themselves. Some baptize their chil- dren ; others consider it popery to do so. Some think the frequent observance of the Holy Communion good and edifying ; and others pronounce it a mere super- stition and formality. Some believe that the restitu- tion of what has been wrongfully taken is necessary TO the obtaining God's favor when one repents ; others hardly ever think of the thing. Some believe that tho 400 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. tithe, at least, of their income is God's due for the support of His religion ; others are thankful that they can enjoy all the advantages of religion and have it cost them nothing. Some think that a daily service is edifying and no more than is- due to the mercy and goodness of Grod ; others think that once in a week is often enough to spend their time in the public wor- ship of God. Now all these views cannot be right. They can- not all be inculcated in the Word of God or derived from it. And most undeniably it is best for each individual to know what is the view that is presented in the Scriptures, and to follow it. • Obedience ^ ^^' ^^^ again, the idea that men may connected with violate the Unity of the Church, separate the Unity of /. ., . j j l 1. j? the Church. fr°™ 1*^ communion, and form a church of their own for every opinion which they may honestly and conscientiously hold, is a death-blow to all obedience. If man were not depraved and corrupt in his nature, it is most certain that he could not honestly and sin- cerely entertain any view or opinion that is not in harmony with the truth. But it is one of the proofs, as well as one of the worst evils of our fallen condi- tion, that we do sometimes love error rather than truth, and can most honestly and most conscientiously believe that which is not tru« and righteous. No fact is more certain, or of a more fundamental importance, than that we need something to go be- hind even our convictions of right and truth, and bring these very convictions into harmony with that which is really the right and the truth. Undoubtedly " there X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 401 is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." ' We are not for a mo- ment to suppose that all those who are wandering in the ways of error and unrighteousness are conscious of insincerity and hypocrisy. It is difficult to say whether such an opinion would imply most of unchar- itableness, or of a -total ignorance of human nature. No, those who are in error often give the most evi- dence of sincerity and good intentions. The Prophet speaks of the idolater thus : " a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soal nor say, ' is there not a lie in my right hand '!'"'' Surely he has not duly estimated the fearful import and con- sequences of the fall of man, who has not seen that it has so deranged his moral and spiritual faculties, as to make necessary sorne guide and authority out of himself, to reduce great truths to definite and positive statements, great principles to practical precepts, and to speak with dogmatic and commanding authority. "We see the necessity for this in the education and government of children. We see it in schools. We see it in our legislatures, and in our courts of civil as well as criminal judicature. § 26. If now man may throw off the re- obedionce gimen or government that God has placed '"piies'te over him, when^er he conscientiously differs mentof lufto- from it, there is an end to all government "'^• and to all obedience ; that is not obedience properly speaking, which conforms, because the thing required coincides with the private judgment of him who is to ' Prov. xiv. 12. 2 i3a_ ^Jiy 20. 402 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap do it. It is only -when private judgment is yielded up to an authority duly placed over us, that our act be- comes One of obedience, and shows any measure of subjection to the Divine Will. To give alms to a poor person, because his distress excites our compas- sion, may be indeed a commendable act, but no one vrould think of calling it an act of obedience. It be- comes obedience only when we do it because God has. commanded "be ye merciful because I am also mer- ciful." 4 27. Another essential element of obedience is, that it be rendered to the proper authority. Ultimate- ly, it should tertninate in G-od and in His Truth. Obe- dience to parents and to civil magistrates is right, be- cause God has required it. But obedience to one who ha-s usurped the authority which God has given to another, is rebellion against Him. When the people desired a king to rule over them instead of the corrupt - and wicked sons of Samuel — who, nevertheless, were over them as judges, according to the established law of God, God said unto Samuel, " they have not re- jected thee, but they have rejected Me that I should not reign over them." ' Theidenti- Here then we see the connection of our 'y V ■ ' \^ subject with the identity of the Church. We Church impli- " *> ed in its de- havc secii that man needs an authority, and m^ote°obedt^ Grod gave suoh an authority to His Church, ence to God. Jt, therefore, is- the institution which He has appointed for the moral purpose of promoting obedi- ence. We must be brought into a state of obedience ' 1 Sara. viii. 7. X] EFFECTS OF SECTARIAKtSM. 403 before we can be admitted to the final kingdom and glory of God. The Church is the agent which He has appointed to accomplish this work, and the Bible is the Rule which He has" given the Church whereby to be guided in doing it. But if we may reject this authority and government for every scruple of conscience, every conscientious opinion, we may at any time escape the test proposed. We are under no obedience so long as we may make a matter of conscience of any opinion we entertain, or of any preference we may cherish, and set up a church or authority, that shall direct and govern according to our own opinions and wishes. In that case, the government or church becomes but the reflection of the volitions of our own will. § 28. And here is the broad diflerence The church between the Church and all forms of Secta- "'.""""'.r oDedience : the tarianism. The one represents unto us the sects do not. authority and will of God, and the other but reflects our own. Hence there are as many sects as there arc classes of opinion and preferences — and a form of er- ror adapted to the weakness and peculiar susceptibili- ties of each individual, that so he may find something that he will like better, and on the whole prefer, to that which he ought, for his soul's health, to receive. Is not this the meaning of that saying of St Paul, " For there must also be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." ' In our country Popery appeals to the ima,gi- nation, to the love of pomp and show, and of arbitrary ' 1 Cor. xi. 19. 404 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. rule. Presbyterianism appeals to that element which has always inclined men to fatalism, and a comforta- • ble conviction concerning oneself, combined with a belief that the character and fate of others was foreor- dained and cannot be helped. Methodism appeals to that species of excitement and enthusiasm which re- gards " the fervor of the animal sensibilities " ' as re- ligion. And so of all the forms of error around us. They make the command " deny thyself, take up thy cross daily," to be of none effect. They exhibit to each individual some form of religion which he may embrace without this painful and humiliating duty. If he does not find religion what he wants it, he may turn reformer and present it to the world in any form that he may choose. Sectarian- § 29. Now it is but an insane folly to pTOdMeTe'n- suppose that such a system can bring men eiai obedience, "in the Unity of the Faith and of the know- ledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." No : we need something to meet us in Grod's name at every step and turn in our lives, and with authority to give us His precepts and directions, until we are trained and habituated to that perfect resignation of our own wills, that perfect humility and self-renun- ciation, that perfect obedience, which is the dis- tinguishing characteristic of the angels in heaven, and was the crowning glory and charm in the life and char- acter of our blessed Lord on earth. Hence it is necessary to have the representatives ' I use the T7ord3 of Bishop White. X] EFFECTS OF SEOTARIAUISM. 405 of the Divine authority always present in the form of a living and personal agent. And not only so, but even the human infirmities and imperfections of the minister may be turned to our advantage. The per- fect subjugation of every thought and wish to the law of Christ, can be more surely and speedily effected when the path through which He calls us to walk is attended with trials and hardships" which it grieves our unsanctified natures to bear. § 30. But ifall this self-renunciation and Tme obedi- ence must be voluntary humiliation and submission be ren- rendered t o dered to that which we have put in the place ^^^^^^"^'^ of G-od — some idol set up in our hearts — or some government which we have erected in the wil- fulness of our unsubdued heart, and put into the place of that which Grod has placed over us ; then we do indeed take up a cross, but it is not the cross of Christ ; and we make a sacrifice, but it is not upon the Altar of the true and only God ; and we obey, but our obedience is not rendered to Him whose right it is to reign on earth as in heaven. § 31. The Church, considered in this The chmch light, is undoubtedly an object of faith. It f^t^""^"'" °' is so regarded in all the early Creeds, and in all the forms of them that I remember to have seen. Archdeacon Manning, in his invaluable little work, " The Unity of the Church" has collected the testimony of the ancient Creeds and Fathers to the antiquity of this article in all the branches of the Church that were founded by the Apostles. He says, as the result of his inquiry, "It is evident that a belief in the unity of the Church forms an article in 406 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [CnAP every Baptismal Creed of every Church, both in the East and in the West. I am not aware of any Bap- tismal Creed extant in which this article is not to be read.'" " All the early forms recite- the article," says Man- ning, " in some one of these three forms. " 1. ' One Catholic and Apostolic Church,' as the Constantinapolitan or Nicene : the Creed recited by Epiphanius and the Alexandrian, which adds, /iint, ' one only.' " 2. ' The Holy Catholic Church,' as the Apostles' Creed, the Spanish, the Galilean, the forms in the Roman Ordinal, and the Apostolical Constitutions, and one of the Aquillian Creeds. " 3. ' The Holy Church,' as the Rpman, two of the Aquillian Creeds, the Ancient Eastern, the Creed of Marcellus, the Creeds of Ravenna, Turin, the African, one of the Grail lean, and the Form in the Sacramentary of Gfelasius." ^ The Archdeacon was quoting these passages to prove that a belief in the Unity of the Church was considered an essential part of the Christian Faith in the Primitive Church. The point for which I now refer to them, is somewhat diflferent, though not the less clearly and certainly proved by his authorities — viz : that " the Church " was universally regarded as an object of Faith. And this results from the necessity of the case. We have seen that the identity of the Church, that is, the Church itself, is intimately connected with ' TS. Y. Ed., 1844, p. 23. ^ Manking, libi supra, pp. 25, 26. X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 407 the highest interests of man. We present evidence of that identity. Our evidence is addressed to the un- derstanding and to the conscience for the purpose of inducing an exercise of belief, and leading us to put our trust in that which we allege to be the Church in this country, for all the purposes for which the Church itself was designed. It is in this way that every institution and gift of G-od comes to us. The Bible comes to us in the same way. We take up a book, and on looking into its contents, we find it claiming to be a revelation from Grod. "We look into its history. We . find from ex- ternal circumstances that such a revelation was once made, and under circumstances similar, or precisely the same, as those referred to in the book itself. We trace the history of the book then written, down to our own day, until we identify the copy in our hands with the original. We examine' the circumstances of its transmission, and find that it cannot have been changed from what it was when fi.rst given. We receive it as the Word of Gtod. Then it is an object of Faith — Faith based and exercised on testimony. Our Lord Himself was an object of Faith. He had been foretold by Prophets, and was attended by miracles. These were the evidences of His Messiah- ship. But it was not what is called demonstration in the strictest sense of the term. It did not produce irresistible conviction. Many who had read the Pro- phets and saw the miracles, did not believe, but con- spired to crucify Him as a blasphemer and a male- factor. So with the Scriptures. Notwithstanding the 408 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. force and satisfaotoriness of the testimony, there are many infidels and unbelievers in the world — many who pay no regard to their momentous truths and awful warnings. Hence it is evident that there must be, on the part of man, that moral element which we call Faith — a disposition, or at least, a willingness to believe — to make him feel satisfied with the evidence, and to induce him, on the strength of it, to receive the Scrip- tures as the "Word of Grod, or Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. I will not here inquire how far this faith is to be regarded as the gift of Grod, and how far it is to be considered a voluntary exercise of the' faculties of which each individual is capable, and for which he is responsible. But its existence cannot be denied, with- out shutting our eyes to the fact that there is unbelief even among those who profess to have freely weighed the evidence. To deny the ^ 22. Nor Can we deny that the evi- Bufficiency of ^ "^ the evidence is dence in thesc cases, or in any other in which to impeach ^^ ■, . j_ i t j.i ■ i God. Grod requires us to believe anything, or has attached any importance to our believing or doing anything, is sufficient to throw the responsibility upon us, and make unbelief itself a sin. There is such a thing as insufhcient evidence ; and in all such cases unbelief implies no moral fault, no guilt on the part of him who withholds his assent. But in all the cases mentioned, the Messiah, the Bible, the Church, anything in regard to which God has given us any commandment, or made any requisition upon us — ^the amount of evidence is just what God Himself has seen X.J EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 409 fit to give us. To say then that He has not given us evidence enough to produce conviction — unless we ourselves ■willfully and wickedly interpose some obsta- cle, set up some idol in our hearts, or put the stumb- ling block of our iniquity before our faces — is either to accuse Him of injustice or to impeach His omniscience. It implies, either that He did not know what evidence would be sufficient, or that He has required us to be- lieve under circumstances, when the best, the wisest, and the healthiest exercise of the faculties He has given us would be unbelief. § 33. Now all this is as applicable to the ""^ '^ "^ ^ ^ applicable to Church as to the Scriptures, or to the Mes- the identity of • 1 • the Ghm-ch as ^^°-"- to the Scrip- It is an institution concerning which, as ""«' <"■ '» '•>» T /^ 1 1 . 1 Lord Himself. we have seen, G-od has given us command- ments, and made requisitions upon us, and with which He has connected many and precious promises. It must be admitted, therefore, that He has given us the means and opportunities of doing what He thus re- quires ; and among these, first and foremost, is suffi- cient evidence of the identity of that Church with which these commands, requisitions, and promises are connected. If the evidence is not in itself sufficient, it is the fault of Him whose province it was to furnish the evidence. It implies that G-od did not know what would be sufficient, or could not furnish it, or finally, that He was so unjust, to say nothing of His love and mercy, as not to do what He could, and what He knew to be just and necessary. / Hence the Church must be an object of faith. It 18 410 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. has always been so,and such it always must be. We can have no direct intuition, no direct supernatural com- munication of the fact. . Even in the days of our Lord and the Apostles, when miracles were wrought and supernatural gifts conferred, the Church was an ob- ject of faith. If Christ was the Son of Grod, if the Apostles were truly such, if the riiiracles were genuine, there was indeed no room to doubt that the society and fellowship of the Disciples was the Church and kingdom of God. But these premisses, each of them, were objects that tried the faith of the people of that age. The points which try our faith are different indeed from theirs, but that does not alter the main condi- tion, viz. ; that the reception of the Church is with us as it was with them, and was with them as it is with us — an act of faith. With this moral element, men are satisfied with the. evidence, without it they would. not be convinced with any amount that does not take from them their moral freedom. Opposition § 34. Now from this we may proceed to to tiie Church j^j^q^^Jj^q). remark, which "indeed follows from leads to Inn- ^ deiity. the foregoing, namely, that the rejection of the Church tends to infidelity. As a general thing, the identity of the Protestant Episcopal Church with the Church of Christ is not denied. None of the Protestant Sects deny that we are a true and living branch of the Church of Christ in the fullest sense of the word. And although they claim the same for themselves, yet they do not claim that they are any of them, continuous branches of that vis- X.] EFFECTS OF SECTAEIANISM. 411 ble Church which was instituted by our Lord in the days of His sojourn on earth. Hence, in opposing the Church and advocating their own as positive visible institutions, they are seeking to persuade people to adopt, instead of the Church which God instituted, a voluntary association of their own, which is confessedly of human origin. I need not therefore go into an investigation of the character of the objections that are made against the Church in detail, to show that they all tend towards infidelity. For, be they what they may, so long as it is not denied that our branch of the Church, is a branch of the Church of Grod, or maintained that these Sects originated with the Apostles, and have contin- ued down from their days, the leading design and the main influence of all objections against the Church, and all arguments in favor of any Sect, are to per- suade men to prefer the device or institution of man to the institution and commandment of God. And this is the essence of infidelity. Men, or a society of them absolutely without religion, is not the object of any of those who oppose revealed religion. They all have some system of their own, which, under some name or another, they are seeking to introduce. They may call it " philosophy," " enlightened reason," " common sense," or " nature," or whatever they pre- fer. But always they propose some substitute for that religion which they oppose. They always aim to sub- stitute something else for the Revelations and the In- stitutions of God. Hence they deny the obligation of what came from Him, and the superiority of its ex- cellency. 412 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Char The reasoning of those who under the pretence of religion oppose the Church, does not deny the fact of its historic identity. Nor does it claim a like identity with the Church of Christ for any of the Protestant Sects. But it finds fault with the Church, with its doctrines, with its discipline, with its worship, with its piety, with what they are pleased to call its re- straints upon the moral freedom of man. It aims to show, that in all these respects and in many others, some one or more of these Sects, which are confessedly of human origin, is far preferable, if not better in point of intrinsic worth. Now we will not deny but that the Church, like every thing else committed to human keeping and ad- ministration, may err and become corrupt. But yet it is the Divine Institution ; Christ is still its head, and its members are in communion with Him, if they are true and faithful to the privileges which their mem- bership in it gives themr. To affirm, therefore, that any other Church or in- stitution, designed for the same general purpose, can be as good as that which God has instituted, is to deny His wisdom. His veracity. His power. And, since these are fundamental and essential attributes, to deny them, is in fact to deny that He is Grod. I am indeed far from charging all those who reject and oppose the Church, with the design of favoring infidelity. But there can be no denying that men's exertions often tend to and produce results which they neither foresaw nor desired. How far their sincerity and good intentions may be an excuse in the day of X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 413 judgment for the evil that has resulted from their doc- trines, is not a question for us to decide- But, so long as our identity with the Church of Christ — that is, the fact that we are a part of His Church — is not denied, all inducements and argun ents which are held out to lead people to join something else instead of this branch of the Church, involves the essence of infidelity, and tends to produce actual and avowed infidelity. If the institutions of Grod may be inferior to those which man has originated in one par- ticular, why not in all? If His will may be set aside in order to follow our own in one point, why not altogether ? No answer can be given to these ques- tions which will arrest the onward current of down- ward tendencies thus commenced, until all reverence for things sacred is gone, and faith itself has disap- peared in the abounding unbelief. I might refer to the historic developments of those Sects which have been set up in opposition to the Church. Their course has always and almost prover- bially been downward. If; is a most full and complete commentary on the doctrine of St. Paul — " the Church of the Living Grod, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth." § 85. But again, since the Church is an TheChm-oii institution of God, and one in its nature in- tra^piety.'' "' eluding so many other institutions and com- mands of His — the true and healthy development of man's religious nature can be found only in the Church. The religious sentiment is perhaps the most deep- rooted and ineradicable of any in the human constitu- 414 THE CHURCH IDEPrnFIED. [Chap. tion. It is certainly one of the most easy to be per- verted. Its worst perversion is seen perhaps in the profane blasphemy of God's holy name and attributes that is so prevalent. Another form is seen in that idola ry which bestows upon created objects and blocks of wofld and stbne, the adoration due to G-od alone. But superstition and fanaticism are undoubtedly per- versions of this sentiment, and deformities in the man- ner of its development and manifestations. Perhaps we may say that superstition results from the accu- mulation of forms and ceremonies in religion which G-od has not ordained, and fanaticism from the oppo- site extreme of turning the attention inwardly upon one's own feelings and convictions, to the disparage- ment or neglect of outward duties and the institutions which God has ordained. Now, the revelation of God was designed to guide the religious sentiment, and to produce its healthy de- velopment into piety, meekness, humility, holiness, and love. Consequently, when that revelation is de- parted from in any important particular, — whether it be in the accumulated forms of the Papal system, or in the excitements and machinery of the revival sys- tem — some perversion of the religious sentiment must be the inevitable result. Of the correctness of this conclusion we need no other proof than that which is to be derived from the undeniable facts admitted and claimed by the two classes of persons referred to. The Papists admit that they have made additions to the original system of faith and worship as it came from God, and claim that they have a right to do so. X] EFFECTS OF SECTARIASTISM. 415 Now without discussing the right to make these additions, we will content ourselves for the present with the remark, that if their piety were like that of our Lord and the Apostles — that is, pure and genuine, they would have no disposition or desire to change or modify, by adding to or taking from the faith and wor- ship, the forms and doctrines, which they introduced, and with which their souls were satisfied. The position which the Protestant Sects take is different in form though demonstrative of the same fact in reference to our present train of remark. They ail contend that the Church at a very early age became corrupt, and at length apostate. In other words, it appears that the idea of religion which pre- vailed in the early ages of the Church, was very un- like that which the Sects now entertain, and that at length it became totally unlike it, not in degree only, but also in kind. Now when we call this difference an apostacy, we apply to it a name which indicates our opinion concerning it, rather than the fact itself. The fact itself is the utter contrariety between the re- ligious character of those Sects and that of the Church before the Reformation. Now without saying that this fact, in itself considered, may as well prove their own apostacy as that the Church was then apostate, we may safely say that there must be something wrong in the faith and in the religious feelings of- those who can regard that Church, with which the Holy Spirit was promised to abide for ever ; which St. Paul declared to be the Pillar and Ground of the Truth ; and with which our blessed Lord promised His presence always, even unto the end of the world, and 416 THE CHUECH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. against -which He said that the gates of hell should never prevail — as being apostate. The Divine promises are our guarantee that it had not become apostate ; and the opinion of those who so regard it shows that their own religious feelings and condition are so dif- ferent from it that they cannot be wholly right them- selves. I need not refer then to the instances of extrava- gant superstition on the one side and of fanaticism on the other, as proof that the truest religion must be in the Church, and in connection with " the Faith once delivered to the Saints." The position is too obviously true to require proof. Let a man depart from the right ways of the Lord on either side, either to the right hand or to the left, and a peversion of his own religious feelings and of his opinions on subjects con- nected with religion, is the inevitable result. The mind is enslaved to superstition or bewildered with fanati- cism. You may see people worshipping a cross or a relic as though it were their Saviour : or, in the ex- travagance of their fanaticism, claiming a sinless per- fection of life, or a freedom with the ineffable Majesty of heaven, that strikes modesty and humility with silent horror. It is not improbable but that the great lesson which we of this age have to learn, is that the adversaries of Christianity against which we have most to be on our guard, are those who attack, disparage and undermine the positive institutions of our religion under the pretence of Christianity itself. They sap the very foundations of the Heavenly City, while they profess to be building its walls and strengthening X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 417 its fortresses. They teach men to be irreverent and indocile, while they profess to be bringing them to Christ ; and yet if they are brought there without the most self-abasing and reverential humility, and the most childlike docility, it can be only to hear the withering repulse, "Depart from me, I know you not whence you are." • Perhaps I cannot better conclude this work, than by some reflections upon the effects of the present divided state of Christendom. I trust that we may now say, with the concur- rence of all persons in our statement, that the day has gone by when it is regarded as a blessing that there are so many different Churches and Sects, so that each may find a view of religion that will suit himself. The foregoing remarks will show that such a view is based upon a principle utterly subversive of all the good effects of Christianity upon man. It loses sight of the fact, that man needs to be converted to Christ, and that, until he is converted, he cannot be expected heartily to approve of all that He has taught. But if we start with the idea that men are to have such a view of Christianity as they like, and consequently that there may be many churches, each of which are equally good — the choice between them being purely a matter of personal preference with individuals — we are reversing the fundamental fact, that man should be converted to Christ and Christianity, and not Christianity itself undergo the change, and be con- verted*to man. § 36. Let it then be understood, as a chiisiianity most fundamental point, that Christianity changed. 18* 418 THE CHITRCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap cannot be changed without ceasing to be the Eeligion of Christ— ;-the way to the favor of Grod, and to the salvation of the human soul. The Origin ^ ^^ ' '^^^ Origin of evory Sect is an at- of Sects an tempt to adapt Christianity to the wants oi attempt to ., .. ii r ,. -r change ciiiis- the times, or the preierences of men. It is, tiamty. therefore, an act of violence upon the origi- nal system. And in this attempt men are very likely to lose sight of the ultimate aim of the Religion, and settle down" into some subordinate or heterogeneous one. Thus the inculcation of a certain view of some particular doctrine, or the promotion of certain moral or political reforms, has not unfrequently occasioned the origin of a new Sect. This object is first identi- fied in the thoughts of its founders with Christianity, and then substituted f6r it. Such is the history of the rise, progress, and final result, of Sects in general. § 38. It is- obvious that the presentation Sectarian- ^ ism tiirows of SO many creeds and theories, as the Gros- theway'oTdi™ P^^ °^ Christ, Can have no other eflFect than covering the a confusion and bewildering of those who would be sincere inquirers after the truth. The subject is now so complicated that no one, whose mind and time is occupied with any important secular business — a condition in which the vast majority of people must always of. necessity be placed — can make himself master of the whole, and see his way clearly through its labyrinthian windings. Sectarian- ^ 39. The consequencc is, that these ism diminish- divisions and diversities of religion serve as es the number *-■ of Professing a pretext to the natural disinclination to the lans. j'estraints and obligations of the G-ospel, for X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 419 the neglect of the subject altogether. It is a fact which cannot have escaped the notice of any observer, that the greatest part of the people in our land are not professing Christians at all. They join in the observ- ance of Christian ordinances no where. I think, be- yond a question, that there never has been an age, or a nation since the introduction of Christianity to the •world, where — after it had been fairly introduced — there was so large a portion ofthe people living in utter disregard of its requirements, as there is now, and in this country. Or to put the same thought into another form : assuming that a public profession of religion and the observance of its ordinances are re- quired as conditions of salvation, there probably never was a people, that bore the Christian name, of whom so small a portion only are, to all human appearances, entitled to the hope of salvation. All this, I say, is true, on the most enlarged and liberal principles. The assertion is made without regarding schism and here- sy as sins which can at all endanger the souls of those involved in "them. It is a solemn and melancholy fact, that in this na- tion, the most enlightened and liberal on the face of ~ the earth — where freedom of thought and the right of private judgment are encouraged as they are no where else — w^here humanity is left to the most unrestrained liberty of development and progress — the number of souls that can be regarded as within the covenanted conditions of salvation, is less than in any other por- tion of the Christianized world. Yet the fact is un- deniably so. J 40. There may be many causes for the irreligioij 420 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. SoTeiai °^ our age and nation. Thus the amount of causes fof the attention that is paid to intellectual culture, tho American and the Cultivation of the sciences, by People. occupying the mind and attention, may be the reason why many are so thoughtless of religion. Again, the opening of the road to wealth and to power to all men, by abolishing all hereditary estates, titles, and offices, has given an impulse to ambition — in those who possess aggrandizements to retain them, and in those who have them not to acquire them — that ab- sorbs the energies of a large number of persons, to whom religion would be only a hindrance in the ac- complishment of their wishes. I admit that almost all the circumstances of our outward condition con- spire against spirituality. So unstable is everything, that men are engrossed with an unceasing effort either to get or to keep worldly advantages. § 41. But these are not the chief causes. Sectanan- ism the chief Doubtless they add vigor to the natural in- cause. clination to say to the gospel invitations, "I pray thee have me excused ; " " when I have a more convenient season I will call for thee." But the chief cause of this state of things, so saddening to the heart of him who wishes well to the souls of men, is the prevalence of sectarianism. Divers ef- ^ ^^' ^'^ Considering this subject, a vast fects of secta- field opens before the mind. Sectarianism rianism stated. .i ^ i-i i_ 11 , , 1 , cripples and thwarts all our attempts to convert the heathen ; it produces unbounded infidelity at home ; the disconnection of religion from our means and systems of educating the young ; and a very low X] EFFECTS OP SECTARIAJSTISM. 421 standard of "attainment among those of maturer years who profess to be believers. § 43. The English nation, by adopting its effects, the policy of extending the Church where- °° ™'''™'" ever they extend their civil dominion, have indeed made rapid strides in the missionary work, within the last few centuries. It is now computed that Queen 'Victoria is the sovereign of about one-seventh part of the whole population of the globe. And wherever she goes she carries the religion of Christ with her. But besides her efforts, very little, comparatively, has been accomplished, when we consider the vast amount of men and money that have been expended in the cause. Scarcely could one denomination make a beginning in any place, before some one or more of the others would send their missionaries there also. They carry with them the sectarian feelings by which they were actuated at home. Each claims to show the true way of life, yet each has a different way. To the heathen, accustomed as they are to the idea of many gods, each having a worship peculiar to him- self, and only one, the diversity between the different denominations is as great, and in fact, is the same as if each denomination preached a different religion, and were believers in as many different gods. And when this difficulty is overcome, how often have the devo- tees of blind superstition, and the worshippers of false gods, said to the emissaries of the Cross — " agree among yourselves what the religion of Christ is, and then we will give our attention to its claims." § 44. From the very limited means of investiga- tion within my reach, I am inclined to think that there 422 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. The small is not more than one in ten of our adult areinfteway population who make a public profession ol of salvation. Christianity, by a regular observance of the stated ordinances required by the denominations to which they may severally belong. In this estimate I include all denominations, of vphatever name or kind ; I include all who call themselves Christians, and not merely those who would be included by the rule or standard of any one denomination. For myself, I am unwilling to lay down any standard or test by which to decide at present, who will obtain everlasting sal- ivation. If one asks what he shall do to be saved, I, of course, as my duty requires, have a ready answer. And if he does not do it, I can tell him that he has not complied with the conditions of salvation, and there- fore has no right to expect it. But that he will not obtain it, is more than I consider myself authorized to affirm. Reaaonsfor ^ 45. Though it bc Undoubtedly true, as hoping for a TertulUau has said, that " the Faith is iixed struotionofthein a rule, it hath a law, and in the keeping Divine Law. „£ ^j^^t law salvatioH," and though God has no where told us that in the final judgment He will deal with us more mercifully than the terms of His law require, yet we may perhaps be permitted to hope that such will be the case. In judging of the outward acts. He will estimate them, doubtless, by the motives and intentions of the heart. These motives and in- tentions are in all cases, to a considerable extent, and in many cases almost entirely, the result of previous information, education, and experience. To a certain extent, however — an extent which will probably vary X.J EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 423 with each individual — we are responsible for the state of our thoughts and feelings ourselves. If, now, the prevalence of sectarianism — the pre- senting such a variety of doctrines and precepts ^by the preachers of the different denominations — has so confused the subject, in the apprehension of the com- mon mind, as that for the most part people do not know what to believe or do, and from not having the right way presented clearly before them, without any of the obscurations of controversy, denial or substitu- tion, a general indifference to the subject of religion supervenes, and the common sentiment and feeling of community is moulded thereby, we cannot doubt that this will form an excuse for much that would other- wise be inexcusable in favor of many who are not strictly within the terms of the Covenant. On the ground of considerations like these, we may entertain hopes that the final condition of many of our fellow-citizens will be better than we should otherwise venture to hope. The cause of their omis- sion of a required duty is not any perverseness of their own will, but the result of the faults of those who call themselves Christians. Their ungodly lives, their con- tradictions, their contentions and rivalries, their secta- rian zeal — often showing more anxiety to gain a proselyte to their Sect than to convert a soul to Christ — is a stumbling-block over which multitudes will fall. And shall not the consequences of the fall be visited upon him who placed the stumbling-block in the way of his' brother, rather than upon him who fell over it ? Among "those who are left in the . darkness of 424 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. heatlienism, we not nnfrequently see a sincerity, a zeal and a single-hearted devotion — bestowed indeed upon a mistaken object — which, if the object were the true God, would place these persons among the brightest ornaments of the Christian name. Among the children who, by the act of Providence, are placed in their tender years under the care of those who sus- tain no natural relations to them, we often see illus- trations of filial duty and affection towards these foster-parents that constitute an example worthy of the imitation of those whose real parents are left, by the Providence of G-od, to be the objects of these senti- ments. So, too, there is doubtless much in the world, that does not now appear under the Christian name, which would be in a condition to be considered the fulfillment of the terms and requirements of the Cove- nant, if the misfortunes of our age and nation had not exerted their influence upon it. These, and many other considerations, make us hopeful, even against the strictness of the letter of the law. ^ 46. "While the "Word of God abounds The respon- _ sibiiity for in plain and awful warnings against depart- Sina often ^^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ j^^,^ ^^ p^j^j^ ^^^ ^^ ^ rests witn ihoae who do muiiioii of the SaiiitSj as though the full and not appeal to ,- -i -tj. j» i i , i be the imme- entire responsibility for each soul rested dinteagentsof with itsclf, there can be no doubt that a large their commis- - p i_t ' '-i •!■ . » sion. share of the responsibility is placed upon those who are sent to be Preachers of the Gospel — or set in places of influence and authority — so as to be looked up to by others. St. Paul, in wri- ting to the Hebrews, says, that the Ministry watch for X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 425 souls as they that must giv# account. Ho says to Timothy, that by taking heed to himself, and to his teaching, he should save both his own soul and the souls of them that hear him. The condemnation, therefore, which it seems at first thought must over- whelm multitudes of our fellow men at the last day, may, as it appears on further consideration, be visited on those who have been the chief cause of the preva- lence of such a bewildering variety of religious teaching. § 47. It can be proved from general rea- Seotarianism •^ ° the Chief soning, and the conclusion is confirmed by cause of so abundant experience, that the comparatively '^^^^^ °j "^ small number of adults in our country who covenanted T • '!_! • _L^ j_ 1 * ji*i> conditions of are livmg withm the terms and conditions Mgroy. of the covenant of salvation, is the result of sectarianism. It operates in various ways. By presenting so many systems as true, an impression is made on the mind of the unconverted that none of them are trae, and perhaps that the truth itself cannot be of any great importance, even if it can be ascertained. It presents occasions for contentions and jealous feelings among the different Sects, which beget a disgust for the whole subject of religion — a belief that it is all hypocrisy and imposture, among those on whom the influence of religion is most needed. It presents so many different forms and doctrines, that many, who are convinced of the importance of the subject in general, and are anxious to make a profession of reli- gion somewhere, often delay year after year, in hopes that they wirll find time and an opportunity to look into 426 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. and comprehend the whole subject before they finally make up their minds. During this interval multi- tudes are called away to their final account. Now, if I may be permitted to judge of the expe- rience of others by my own, and by what I have known of theirs, there is no apology or excuse so often given for the non-attendance upon the religious duties required by God in His G-(3spel, as the fact that there are so many difierent denominations that no one can tell which is right — that they do not yet sufficiently understand the subject to take a decided stand any where. "Without stopping to consider who is to be blamed for it, the fact, I suppose, cannot be denied, therefore, ■ that sectarianism is the principal cause of the infi- delity — practical or speculative — which abounds in our land. And because of the prevalence of this evil, we are compelled to see the multitudes going on in the " broad road that leads to death," notwithstanding that Blood has flowed from the Redeemer's broken Body and pierced side, in abundance sufficient for the sins of the whole world. The stats of ^ ^^- ^ have not now within my reach things differ- any statistics, of a very dignified or reliable only one De- oharacter,^to which I can appeal, but I refer nomination j^ general terms to what is known of those prevails. ° i ■ t t i ■ countries in which there is but one denomia- tion, or church, generally prevalent. Without refer- ring, now, to countries in which the Roman Obedience prevails, or where the Oriental Communion is in pos- session of the jurisdiction — as in Russia, for instance — we shall see in Sweden, a Protestant country, an X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIAJSISM. 427 example that strongly confirms our conclusion. In these countries the children are all baptized in in- fancy ; they are taught the fundamental Articles of the Christian Faith, as they are received by those Churches, more carefully, in fact, than we teach our children the common branches of an English educa- tion ; and there is but little, if any, more disposition to deny them, or to neglect the duties growing out of them, as those Churched inculcate those duties, than we see among us to deny the principles of science which are taught in our most approved books of in- struction. The children are regarded, from the mo- ment of their Baptism, as Christians, and members of the Church. In its communion they grow up ; by it their opinions, their habits, their feelings, and their characters, are moulded, to a very great extent ; and an irreligious man, according to their standard of reli- gion, is a phenomenon scarcely to be met with. An approximation to this state of things, sufficient for the purposes of the present argument, is often seen in portions even of our own country. In those neigh- borhoods where one denomination only exists, the people are to a very much greater extent, professors of religion, than where several sects present their rival claims and contradictory views of the way of salvation. This is the direct and natural result of unity of in- struction. There is no reason why there should not be as universal a reception of the fundamental articles of the Christian Faith, if there were the same unity of instruction and testimony in regard to it, as there is in the principles of English Grammar, Arithmetic or Geography ; for the vast majority of people always 428 THE CHURCH n)ENTIFIED. [Chap. believe and act as they are. taught. But, as it is, the people are bewildered by the multitude of varying and contradictory theories. § 49. But this is not all. The standard The standard ^ ... ■, . ' i , , • j • of Christian at- of religious Character and attainment is tainment r e - lowered down SO far, that even many of prevalence of those who profess to be Christians, and who seotai-ianism. g^a,nd Well as such in the general estima- tion, can hardly be considered as coming much more within the conditions and terms of the Covenant than those who make no pretensions to Christianity. It will be quite impossible, within the limits to which we are now confined, to give any adequate idea of the coldness and indifference of our own age in comparison with the earlier centuries. The bare mention of the facts that the Christians then met daily, morning and evening, for public worship ; that they gave ■ at least one tenth of their income to the Church for religious purposes — so that not only the Clergy were well supported, but the poor also, and converts, who by the change in their religion were obliged to abandon their former mode of life — (a thing which was by no means unusual) — were supplied with all the necessaries of life, and persons in slavery were redeemed from their bondage ; and all this from the proceeds of the devout offerings of the worshippers ; and that the Holy Communion was administered at least every Lord's Day, and other Holy Days, and sometimes even daily, is, in this age, enough to lead many to think that we are speaking of ages of fanati- cism and folly, which ought to be regarded rather as a warning than as a pattern for imitation, or an ex- X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 429 ample for our rebuke. But such were the usages of the Church in the earliest ages of which we can ob- tain any account. And these were real acts of self-denial, and piety, and renunciation of the world. They took time and money from the service of Mammon and devoted them to the Lord. What a death-blow to the ambition, the avarice, the luxury, and all the extravagant and sinful follies of our age, would? be given by the return of that spirit of devotion which would make these usages characteristic of the Christians of our day ! § 50. That Christianity requires of men Tiiiaredao- a renunciation of the world, a practice of !j,™j^g ^J^ self-denial to which, by the instincts of their tnnes and Da- nature, or the circumstances of their situa- pocaiiar to tion in life, they are not inclined, is held by ohi-isuanity. all persons. Hence, in the strife among the Sects to gain numbers and outvie each other, there is always a strong temptation to lower down the standard, and underbid, as it were, one another, while they hold out equally confident assurances of salvation to all who will adopt their views and follow their guidance. Reasons will readily occur why this state of things should be less likely to lower the standard of morals than that of religion. Any open and avowed - reduction of the moral standard would defeat the ob- ject. " The world " will be likely, as it always has done, to test a man's piety by what it calls his good- ness — that is, his morality. Hence the prevalence of sectarianism will lead to the nominal elevation of the moral standard, while doubtless many delinquencies that can easily be concealed will be permitted to go 430 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. unchecked, and the opinion may prevail, as the result, that good morality is the best thing that there is in religion, if not its only valuable element. But the reduction of the standard is in other par- ticulars. Some of the doctrines of the G-ospel do not flatter the human understanding. These may, one after another, be pretermitted as unessential and open to dispute, and finally denied as erroneous ; and' thus an advance towards Deism, if not Infidelity, will show what is the influence that is carrying them on. Again, some of the requirements of the Gospel come into collision with our plans of ease, pleasure or aggrandisement. An omission of these is at first winked at, then becomes the general rule, and finally their observance is reviled as superstition and formal- ity — a relying upon works to the disparagement of the corner-stone of Christian Theology — justification by faith. Hence, instead of a Daily Worship, consist- ing of reading the Scriptures and a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, performed as both a duty to God and a pleasure to man, people will scarcely come out once in a week even, except when some excitement or pleasing novelty offers its gratification. Hence we have, by the confession of all persons, an exceedingly undevout age. And many doubtless, who consider themselves in " the enjoyment of re- ligion," are carried on by something of a far different character, and (as, alas ! we cannot doubt) many will not come to see their mistake until it is too late to amend it. Let any denomination in our land insist upon the primitive standard, and the piety of earlier days — X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIAIflSM. 431 when the fires of martyrdom and persecution consum- ed the dross and kept at a distance all that were not prepared to deny themselves and take up the cross daily, as that piety was tested — not by mere feelings and emotions that are easily excited and cost nothing, but by those outward works and duties which break the power of worldliness and avarice, and take large portions of time and money for the service of the Lord — and they would find but very few of their members comparatively, remaining to fulfil their Con- ditions of church-membership. § 51. I am limited to a few of the most The influ- ence of Seclar common topics, and my space is nearly ex- nanism on ed- hausted. I cannot, however, forbear to al- "™''°"- lude to one other point, and that is, the expulsion of the Bible and of religious instruction from our com- mon schools. It is true that each denomination may have scfeools of its own, in which children can be trained in the religious opinions and usages which they prefer. But for the most part the people must depend upon our public schools. And these schools, in consequence of sectarian jealousy and rivalry, must be without religion. They are open to all Sects and classes of persons, and no one of them will consent that his children shall bo taught the religious views of the others, and therefore none can be inculcated. Hence our children are taught all the principles of secular education, all the facts of history, all the pre- cepts that are expected to guide them to usefulness and respectability in the world — --as things about which all men are agreed, and the importance of which is denied by no one. But religion is omitted, as either 432 THE CHURCH H)ENTIFIED. [Chap. a thing not of suiRcient importance to occupy any portion of the precious hours of childhood and youth, or as a matter so uncertain and debateable as that the safest way is to let it alone. And thus the most sus- ceptible age, the season in which the impressions that sink the deepest and last the longest are made, is per- mitted to pass in infidelity and irreligion, as though Grod had never said, " they that seek Me early shall find Me." Soon the engrossing cares of manhood suc- ceed, and reach over into the infirmities of age, and thus multitudes go down to the grave as unprepared as though no Saviour had died, and no Holy G-host had been sent to sanctify them. The Faith § 52. And among those who are led to a "ff""""? faith in the Saviour, the truths of Christi- not so ni'm and ' active as it anity do not enter into their souls and be- would be if i i. ji • tj« t there were no oomc a part of their very Jiie and con- sectarianism. sciousness, as do the things which they learn in early years, and which they have not been accus- tomed to hear doubted, contradicted or deriied. Their faith is at best sickly and limping. It yields and bends before the fierce onset of the temptations and strifes of the world, or the continuous pressure of ap- petite and passion. Alas ! alas ! how often does the Ambassador of Christ hear, as a reply to his entreaties, made for His Master's sake, that men would be re- conciled to Grod, that they dare not undertake the solemn vows of the Covenant until they are differently situated in regard to their worldly concerns. If, now, all who profess and call themselves Chris- tians were united in faith and in righteousness of life, and Christianity could enter into every system and X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 433 enterprise of education together with the useful sci- ences — as a thing not less important, and equally as certain, as themselves — what a harvest of souls would be gathered into the Redeemer's Kingdom ! But now our public means for training the mind and forming the character, by neglecting and omitting Christianity, tend to infidelity — practical at least, if not speculative. The Faith for the most part retains its hold upon the mind only by the influence of the in- structions which are received at home : and the ir- regular and spasmodic efforts to awaken an interest in the subject of religion, which are made from time to time, under the great disadvantages of a world of opinion, and the force of education against them, fail altogether, to produce the desired effect. § 53. We cannot, therefore, but regard scotmiBn- ihe development of Sectarianism as the jj^^j^*^" ^"' great modern manifestation of the spirit of ficoofthe Ad- Anti-Christ, which, as St. John says, was souis. even in his day evident in the world. It leads, as we have seen, in various ways, to irreligion and infidelity, and thus to the ruin of the souls for which Christ died. § 54. Now there is no remedy for these No remedy evils but a suspension of their cause. This ^"t a return to implies that we seek out and identify the ""^ Communi- ^ -n, onofthe Church which our Blessed Redeemer found- church. ed in His own blood, and which must, at last, triumph over all rivalry and opposition. Such is the unchangeable decree of Him who worketh all things after the councils of His own will. In this country the return from Sectarianism to the 19 434 THE CflUROH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Church is neither difficult nor uncommon. It is not attended with the acquiescence in anything that is repugnant to right feelings,. or contrary to a sound in- terpretation of the Word of God. It is nothing un- usual to see congregations of very good size made up entirely of persons who have been gathered in from the surrounding denominations. A comparison of statistics shows that in our oldest and most established congregations even, about one-fourth of the annual admissions to our Communion are persons who have belonged to some of the Protestant Sects. And be- sides all the clergy that we raise among ourselves — and the proportion of our young men who incline to the Ministry is very great — probably not less than two-thirds of all we have — were brought up in some of the surrounding sects ; and about one-third had been trained for, and actually entered, the ministry 5 among them before they sought it among us. It is stated that " out of every two hundred and eighty-five persons, ordained by the late Bishop Geiswold of the eastern Diocese, two hundred and seven had come from other denominations." The number which we have lost to go to any of the Protestant denominations, is inconsiderable. And the few who have become Pa- pists — some ten or fifteen in the whole, from first to last — were, I believe, without an exception, persons who had been brought up among the Sects — ^had never fully understood the Church — and in most cases did not stay with us long enough to get into the spirit of our system. I speak not of these things by way of boasting — God forbid ! — but as signifioant facts, which show very X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 435 conclusively that the course of reasoning which I have endeavored to present to the reader, has not failed to impress others — and those, too, who are the best capable of judging of it — with the same sense of its force as it has myself. § 55. The abandonment of Sectarian- '^^ ^^''"■' *• which this re- ism — and it must be abandoned, for a king- tum wm re- dom divided 'against itself cannot stand — oni'°a°pMt of may require much self-denial ; in many cases the Repent- a severe and protracted struggle. But the ^^^^i^ ^hid, reader certainly needs not be told that such a "^ necessary •^ to gain God's struggle may be required by His Saviour. I Favor. have the utmost confidence in the good in- tentions of the vast majority of those whom I believe to be in error. I entertain not the slightest doubt that their salvation may be confidently hoped for through the mercy of the Atoning Redeemer. But I do believe that the subject of this Book has not yet been presented to their minds and consciences as it adrtiits of being presented, and as it ought to have been. Whether I have done anything towards so desirable an object, is a question which I must leave to others to decide. § 56. Yet undoubtedly the state of heart ^ '"^ "orai ■^ ^ Cause of Sec- from which a measure that results in so tarianism in- much evil proceeds, cannot be right. w™h 'a ri^t I speak not now of the external causes a'«'B °' ""• He&rU which have acted upon many of the founders of the modern sects, and which, as we con- fidently hope, will be regarded as their excuse in the day of judgment. But after making due allowance for all such causes, there is no doubt that the chief moral causes of Sectarianism are pride and self-will. 436 THE CHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Men naturally have preferences, and the natural preferences, as we must admit — unless we will deny human depravity — are not likely to be in accordance with Christianity. If, therefore, men are too proud to learn of Him, who was " meek and lowly of heart," or too wilful to deny themselves and yield their pre- ferences for the sake of unity, harmony and peace, the consequence is likely to be the foundation of a new Sect. The cases in which the Church is in the error, and the recusant separates from her communion for the sake of a truth more valuable than the bonds of peace which are sundered by his secession, are so very rare and unlikely to occur as that they hardly need to be taken into the account at present. For one such case, there are doubtless a hundred in which the opinionated individual himself is in the wrong. Yet, as I fully believe, the chief responsibility for the evils of Sectarianism must rest on those who are its leaders and chief promoters. In every society or party, the majority are always well-meaning persons, even though sadly misled and deluded. Still, however, none of those involved in Sectarianism, can altogether escape its evils. There may ^ ^7. But, after all, it is not chiefly on be much See- account of thosc out of tlile Ohurch that I ihe Church, have Written. Among oursel res the custom has been far too prevalent of resting the whole subject of the claims of the Church on one or more of the peculiarities of its constitution ; thus, in appearance at least, making the difference between the Church and the Sects to depend upon mere form X] EFFECTS OF SEOTAKIANISM. 437 or circumstantials. This method can prove, at best, only similarity, but not identity, between any Church now existing and that which our Lord and His Apos- tles instituted ; and labors, moreover, under the dis- advantage of appearing to attach more importance to matters of outward form and organization than is con- sistent with the spirit of Christianity. But further, this method exerts an unfavorable in- fluence upon the minds and characters of our members. It is one reason, as I have no doubt, why we have so ■many among us who seem to think that the Church be- longs to them instead of their belonging to the Church ; and therefore they claim to guide, control, and modify its doctrines and usages, rather than submit to be guided by it. Thus the spirit of Sectarianism — w'hich is a great blight upon genuine piety— is fostered in the Church, and by maintaining its peculiarities, no less than if the object of our zeal were merely a device of our own. The difference between a sectarian spirit and genuine piety is of the most fundamental charac- ter. The former is a zeal for that which we have chosen to adopt : the latter is the humble submission to what we have seen to be the will of Grod. I hope .that the mode of presenting the subject, which I have pursued in the foregoing pages will have some tenden- cy to promote this last named state of mind in the Church. For without it, outv/ard forms are of no avail, and it can be of but little consequence whether one is in the Church or not. § 58. The leading design of the merciful dispensa- tions of Grod to man appears to be, to bring back as many as possible to holiness and submission to his 438 THE OHURCH IDENTIFIED. [Chap. Unity and "^111. In the acoomplishmeiit of this work, Harmony in the Church IS the chief visible means and the Church r . . i r i conducive to agenoy. It is the economy ot second causes the grand do- throuc;h whioh He worlfs. In this, so far Sign for which ° our Saviour as We are permitted to judge, depends its worii"'" '"^ '^^l^ole value. Doubtless it is intrinsically better adapted to that end than any one differently constituted could be. But how well soever it may be adapted to the end, the whole tenor of the Scriptures, no less than many explicit declarations, teach us that membership in it — unless one submits to it, as to the Messenger and Ambassador of Christ, in meekness, humility and love — ^will be of no avail. " Christ formed- within us," is the grand result at which all its principles, functions and powers are di- rected. For this an outward organization was given it, and incorporated into the " very " foundation that was laid" by Jesus Christ Himself, " that there might be no schism in the body ; " for this the elements of its constitution were made channels of divine grace ; for this the Holy Ghost was sent to abide with it for- ever, and for this, charity — whioh sufFereth long and is kind, whioh envieth not, vaunteth not itself ; is not puffed up, which doth not behave itself unseemly,, seeketh not its own, is not easily provoked, and think- eth no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endu- reth all things, and never fails — is declared to be "the more excellent way," and greater than even " faith and hope." Seen in this light, the Church is no mere matter of outward form, or combination of forms. It is the X.] EFFECTS OF SECTARIANISM. 439 living -witness and testimony of Grod — the sheet an- chor of religion. And we enter its communion, not because one or more of the peculiarities of its consti- tution commend themselves to our judgment, or please our fancy, "but because we see, as St. Paul says of the Ministry, that unto it, G-od has committed the work of reconciliation, and by it, as an Ambassador, Christ comes to us, beseeching us that we be recon- ciled to God. In its communion we may be trained for the Church and communion above, where schisms and divisions can never prevail, and where we shall see, not as now, through a glass darkly, but face to face, and know even as we are known. Such a view of the subject produces a softening and humilitating effect upon the native hardness of the human heart, and teaches us to renounce our own will, that the will of God may be done ; to become nothing in our- selves, that Christ may the more fully dwell within us, and occupy all the faculties of our mind and soul. And if I shall be found to have done anything towards the accomplishment of such a result, I shall feel my- self most amply rewarded for the hours of assiduous toil and prayerful thought which I have taken from other labors to bestow on this. That such may be the re- sult, is my prayer to Him who overruleth all events, and uses all things as the agents of His Blessed "Will. THE END. pip':.